A/N: I'm back from my holidays and I'm glad to say that this chapter is complete and ready for all of you to see. So, all the usual disclaimer stuff and thank you.
Chapter 4
Vysivius had been talking with the elders of the clan, discussing the subject of what to do with Alivia. It was set in his mind that he would keep the girl from harm, standing true to his kind's own morals. The others in the group however were strongly against this, seeming to side with the ruler's son and heir. "The girl was a mistake and should have never been involved. It would be complete idiocy to let her stay, particularly for what she was doing in her previous form. Enthal and-" one of the elders called out to its leader, as an act of defiance. Vysivius's ears perked at the sudden outcry, and unlike Alivia's defiance earlier, he did not look amused.
He snarled at the offender, his sharp teeth were able to be seen, making the scarred ninetales appear even more menacing. The elder soon shied away from its leader "I ask you elder, do you question my ideas out of spite? Or do you simply think I am unfit for the position of which I hold?" his tails fanned out in a threatening display to the others "Enthal and Kuron mistreated her, and you talk about this girl as if she committed a terrible crime. From what she has told Drio, I learned that the event only occurred because she was trying to complete a noble act. She gave up herself to save her small rodent friend." He explained to all of their unconvinced looks. "You are all so quick to jump to a conclusion on this girl. Is this why my own son has been acting this way? Has he become polluted by your tunnelled views? I will have none of this. You all know what I shall do. The girl is now part of our clan and she is also royalty for the time being. I will awake the girl so that we can make this official in all of your presence. Perhaps when I have no more to learn from her, then she shall be transferred across to another family, although I demand if this happens that the family are powerful and she will not be mistreated. If we mistreat one of our own kind then we make ourselves no better than the humans. Which I shall remind you of the fact that one of them is now a member of this clan." He raised an eyebrow, challenging anyone to speak up. He knew well that the clan would not defy him twice.
"Father I cannot stand to see you deluded. It is clear to me and the elders that the amount of stress you have been under recently has lead to the human exploiting the weaknesses shown." Jadunius appeared from behind his father, standing with a mean glare to match the cold tone that he used. The faint flicker of flames in the distance flared a small glow to emphasize the sight of the younger ninetales before them all.
Vysivius turned and frowned to his son, the elders watching on with a silent stare that could not be broken until the two had finished. "How dare you take that tone to your own father, as well as your leader. Unfortunately Jadunius, you will still have no say in our meetings until I am sure that you have grown up. Your actions over just the past few hours have proved to me just how much you have to grow. Your physical appearance is deceiving and clearly if anyone is unfit, it could be some of these elders." He turned and faced the elders that were watching the two of them "It does trouble me that my own kind is questioning me, when they are deceived by the appearance of others youth. For sure I am certain that my son will grow and mature to be a grand leader. However, he is far from that time."
Jadunius growled with a bitter tone "So you just expect us to accept the fact that a human is living amongst us. If anyone is being deceived, it is you father. You may be comfortable with this little game you have for the human, but we are wary of whatever she may plan." He responded with a serious tone, assuring his points with a nod of the head every so often. His tails were slowly swishing behind him and despite his eyes suggesting a relaxed demeanour, the young ninetales was in truth trying to outlast his father's will. His gaze was broken and his face curled into a frown of confusion as his father started chuckling aloud, the silence of the room was dominated by that sound alone. "What could have been funny about what I said?" Jadunius snarled, but the older ninetales continued, his own tails twitching and flailing in the same manner its owner was.
Vysivius turned and looked at his son again, a comical smile on his face before he started to walk past "My son, even if she did have a plan, she would not be able to execute it because she is not comfortable enough in her new form, and by the time she would be, she will likely have decided that there would be no point because any change that the curse makes is irreversible. You, me and most of the others in the clan know that. She would be foolish to try anything. Also, she is likely too scared and confused right now, despite her sharp talking, it is clear to me that she is very insecure at the moment." Jadunius followed his father away from the elders "Jadunius, I request that you treat her as if she were a friend of yours from now on. Don't think it escaped me that induced her sleep. You may regret the decision in the future." Was all Vysivius needed to say for his son to stop following and leave him in between the elder meeting point and his own home.
Vysivius huffed as he paced himself further from his kin; the younger one's attitude had made him unsure of his clan's loyalty to him. The thought had only crossed his mind once before, but that was whilst he was still young and far too naïve to understand the situation at the time. This time he was sure that there was at least one of the leading figures having thoughts of overturning his rule. Of course, there was little reason to worry because many of the others were loyal and would not switch at any point. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as the royal's living space along with the others. He peered inside to see that most of his blood were gone "Probably had things to do." He muttered to himself. "Must find the girl." He nodded to himself and let his body get engulfed by the vast inferno covering the entire living area, except for little corners that were just out of reach. It was truly a peaceful place for the royals to sustain their lives, and although some may deem the lifestyle rather boring, it was essential to keep the image that the royals were always watching over their subjects, making sure that they are their priority. This included even the minor royals to make visits to various parts of the clan, all to ensure that there was a settled and relaxed feeling throughout the clan. It was the easiest way to keep things under control. Panic can lead to irrational thoughts and irrational thoughts can lead to bad things more times than good. One brash decision could put Vysivius's well constructed dynastic legend at serious risk.
However, keeping the elders and his fellow royals calm was more difficult; they were more aware of everything going on, and it worried the leading ninetales that if someone such as his son were to become corrupted by the possibility of plotting elders, then his life would surely be at risk. The elders were smart, very smart, and because of that, Jadunius would be no more than a pawn in their game. If all of this were to take place then his dynasty would surely be erased from clan history. Those who spoke out against would face intolerable punishment. These were the things that Vysivius could see unfolding in his mind and every time it made him shiver.
Moving to the far right corner, Vysivius was just out of reach of the fire in which he lived in. In this corner he spotted the young Vulpix he had been searching for. She was lying at an awkward angle and he face seemed as if her sleep was anything but relaxing. The closer he got to her, the more he noticed that she was scrunching her face into a dissatisfying frown. The ninetales leaned down and nudged her with his nose, using just enough force to roll her onto her back. However, just at that moment she woke up and gripped tightly at his muzzle, her claws digging in immediately, making the older pokemon's eyes water from the sudden sting of pain. "Get away! Just because I don't know myself doesn't mean I'm afraid!" she growled. When her eyes opened, the determination in her voice was gone and her eyes filled with fear, knowing that she had done wrong. Without even thinking, she retracted her claws and fell down to the ground with a soft thud, looking up at the ninetales that now had a small trickle of blood running down the side of his muzzle. She shuffled away a little bit and gave a nervous chuckle before gulping "Uh…sorry Vysivius, I didn't mean to…I just…please don't hurt me." She whimpered.
Vysivius winced and could feel the blood edge its way down his muzzle, soaking the patch of fur that it ran down. He looked to the Vulpix with rage filled eyes, his previous frustrations starting to peak at this. However, looking into her eyes he could see that she was genuinely fearful of him now, the sight of a much larger being bearing down on her was too much and she started to scream. He calmed himself and pleaded with her "Forgive me Alivia, today has been very stressful for the both of us. I let my stress get the better of me." The last part was muttered, although he knew she would hear it, and it pained him to admit that he was being overcome by such a simple force. This confession did not calm the girl however; instead she continued to retreat back against the wall until she was pinned up against its rough surface, the reflection of the fire showing through her fear stricken eyes. "Alivia, please do not fear me. I did not intend to frighten you. It was an honest mistake on both parts I believe." He nodded, licking his lips only to get the metallic tang of blood to his tongue; he could feel the small wounds throbbing as they tried to heal, more blood trickling out, although it was slowing fast.
At his words she jumped up, still scared, but she was feeling more determined "What do you mean a fault on both parts? All I did was react naturally to being suddenly woken up…by the way you can thank your son for me being in that sleep. Once again I didn't ask for it." The girl defended.
"You still reacted by cutting into me, which caused me to react naturally as well did it not?" he raised an eyebrow to her and she was about to answer before she closed her mouth again, sighing out through her nose. She had calmed down and wasn't scared anymore, so she slid down the wall she was up against, closing her eyes as she got to the floor. "What I was here for was you." She opened her eyes and shrugged at him the best she could, "We need to validate your position in the clan. Or else you will not be treated well or even thrown out of here. Regardless of what you are now or what you ever have been." He paused to gauge her reaction; she blinked with a stoic expression and nodded. "You took that rather well…" he shook his head "Anyway, we must go now to make your place official. I warn you, although you may already know, your presence here isn't very well accepted here; some may even choose to disregard the knowledge in disgust, but do not take offence, we are just not used to this happening."
Alivia jolted to life at those words "How can I not be offended? I am going to be looked at like I'm a pile of dirt!" she snapped "I know I'm not your average Vulpix, but seriously they have got to understand I didn't mean to be where I am. It's hard not to get offended or upset if no one likes me…they don't do they?" she asked, not from the hope she was wrong, but because she was looking for assurance. "I knew it! Fine let's get this over with…I've had enough attention from the others in here anyway." She rubbed around her eyes and stood on her paws.
She started to walk past Vysivius, her body language softening in an instant when he was out of her sight. "What is that tone you keep on using? It is confusing, I think you're saying something, but the way you say it gives me the feeling you're saying something else." He watched as her ears twitched and she looked around at him with a confused expression "Your last words?" he tried to remind but she widened her eyes and looked at him fearfully. His eyes widened for a moment as he realised what he said. "No, I meant the last words you said were just an example of that tone."
She thought for a moment "Oh…you don't know what sarcasm is?" she raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head in response. She walked closer to him as if examining as a result of an experiment "Well when I said I've had enough attention from them, I was using that tone to basically tell you that it was the complete opposite. I only got attention from Drio and your son…I am not a solitary creature…I do need to talk to other rather than being stared at, which I know is attention, but not the good kind." She rambled, only receiving several nods from the leader for the duration of the rant; in truth the words were going straight over his head after she told him about the tone.
To move along he broke out of his daydream and smiled down at Alivia "Come on then. Let's go to the elders, and remember what I said." The girl sighed, but followed him nonetheless, knowing when it was time to give in. "Any questions whilst we get there? Make them quick though." He chuckled, making her frown suspiciously at him. He looked down to her and noticed, mimicking her "Come on, what could I possibly do?"
She snickered at him and shook her head, her footing becoming uneven and she nearly tripped at the action, but soon she regained balance "Do you really want me to answer that? Just a moment ago you were pretty much waiting to kill me…that is what you could possibly do." They exited the royal's cave and Alivia gave a small cough as the two of them finally cleared themselves from the smoke, before realising that nothing was in her lungs "Okay then, here's a question; why am I not coughing on the smoke? That was never a normal thing for me."
"The smoke is not going to affect you as much now because of what you have become. This does not however you are immune; you are simply more tolerant of its properties." He explained, increasing his pace as the two of them drew closer to their destination. "Alas young one, we are arriving. I will answer any questions you may have after this meeting. However, now your time of judgement has come."
Alivia froze up and was struck with a sharp shot of fear that took the apprehension from her mind. Vysivius noticed her reaction almost instantly and moved to push her along with him, giving an irritated sigh "I didn't mean that kind of judgement. When this is done I'm going to need to know what you get fearful of."
Alivia looked up at him "Anything that could bring me to death. That does also include anyone of you guys baring your teeth at me." She pouted, feeling confident enough again to not be pushed. When she looked away from him she saw that she was in a large area that looked like it was a cave, but something about it seemed different. Other than the fact that there wasn't a large fire there, it looked almost the same, but the air inside there felt different, and oddly stale, although lighter because there was far less smoke in the air. In an almost perfect crescent shape were many ninetales sitting down and looking at her. Alivia soon felt as small as she was again and shook a little bit, muttering to Vysivius "Do you think they heard what I said?" she didn't even need to look back to know that he had nodded. Some of the on looking ninetales cast a sly smirk to her, making her feel even more uneasy in front of them. From appearances she could tell that most of these ninetales were in the latter half of their lives because their faces, particularly their eyes showed the wear that their life had taken on them. "These are the elders, right?" Vysivius nodded and then stepped into the middle of the crescent with her.
He cleared his throat and swept a looked across to each of the ninetales there. "I know what you are all thinking. I know you think that this girl is an abomination. My brothers I do not come here pleading your mercy for this poor soul. No. I come here showing you that we have nothing to fear. Alivia is now only separated from us by her memories. If we are able to survive longer as a clan then you must understand that with the increasing number of encounters with humans we need to adapt and get smarter. If we want to reduce the risks then we must have the edge over the humans. The only foreseeable way to have the edge over them is for us to know more about them." He looked around the room and waited for any reaction "Do you not see what I am suggesting, my brothers?" all of them stayed still and silent. "I do not understand how you can miss the solution in which we have been unexpectedly provided with." He cheered, urging a response.
Alivia stepped away from Vysivius and called out "All of you listen!" All the ninetales gasped at her loud introduction "Vysivius is talking about me. Apparently I'm the solution to helping you all out, saving your clan possibly." They all stared at her, dumbfounded, having expected a young child's voice to have come from the small body. The voice was what they expected, but the tones and the words she used told them that she was older as a human than what she was as a Vulpix "I know it sounds unlikely…I mean if I was you I would definitely be sceptical of a little vulpix that used to be a human and then she was claiming that she can help save your clan…that does sound really sketchy doesn't it? But you really must listen to Vy, he knows what he's talking about, and although he's never actually mentioned that part to me, I can only agree. I am no threat to you…heck if I tried anything I am certain I wouldn't be alive for longer than ten seconds after…and because I'm not a threat, the only thing I can do is help you, even if you don't trust me after I do help you. If I have to stay this way, which I'm pretty sure I've been told I do have to, then the least I can do is help my uh…my 'kind'." She winced as she finished her last word, the memory hitting her at full force. She swallowed it down and grinned at them sheepishly. She turned her head to Vysivius who was smiling at her and gesturing for her to continue "I hope you can look past what you see in me. The fact I have to stay as what I am means that I now kinda have a moral obligation to help you all. I will co-operate as much as possible. My knowledge of how humans behave and react will be useful because that way we can all work out the best way to keep them away…The only risk I can think of is that if we are too enthusiastic in our approach and we use every tactic all at once, the humans will get curious, trust me, they are creatures of curiosity and as you know, they are often quite opportunistic, so we want to avoid making them curious. I have so many ideas already, but I must ask of you to please give out even just a little bit of your trust into me." She finished, bowing down to all of them and looking to the leader once again to see his smile as wide as it was before.
Vysivius took to the centre and captured the attention away from Alivia, letting her recover "So you see my brothers, the girl is willing to help us because she knows where she now belongs. Although I am sure you may find it difficult to believe, the best way to keep humans at a distance is by using a human's knowledge, and this is the best opportunity we have. You may see this as a blessing I disguise. On another note, I must urge you to all treat Alivia with respect at all times you are working with her…" he looked back at her and narrowed his eyes in thought before he turned again and announced "In fact, you will do as she says because from this moment on I declare her the newest member of the royal family. She is nothing significant in there; however, she does have more power than you all. To add to this, she can also tell me anything, and you are all aware of how any family will protect their relatives no mater what." He stated in a cold tone, delivering the hidden message just as he wanted. "Is that understood?" all the other ninetales nodded in acknowledgement, making their leader smile "Alivia, address your kind with a pardon." He nodded.
"Uh, pardon?" she replied, feeling confused. She looked to see that all of the ninetales were now bowing to her, making her the same height as them for a moment until they rose "Thank you for listening to what we had to say?" her voice was shaking from the situation she was in. She recalled in her mind, Vysivius saying that she was now part of his family, so she had more power, and she was now addressing them. The moment it dawned on her that she was now the centre of attention she assumed the role as best she could "I ask for your assistance, and I ask that you be kind to me. Any gratuitous behaviour and I will see to it that you regret that action. Now if you could, please leave this room, we will reconvene when I believe we are ready to start the work. Vysivius and I have to discuss further topics and we wish that these remain private. Finally, if you wish to ask me any questions, either about what we will try to achieve, or about my past, then do not hesitate to come over and ask for me, Alivia. You can all leave now." She nodded and gestured one of her forepaws to the exit with one quick swish.
The moment that the last of the elders had left, Alivia turned to Vysivius and snapped "What the heck? You just dropped me into something as big as that without even asking me…How do you think I'm going to be able to keep humans away just through knowledge because I was one? And y'know, I may be a vulpix now, but it doesn't mean I'm completely broken on the inside. I still have everything mentally that I did have when I was a human. That does mean that I have some kind of loyalty to my own…my former species." She paced back and forth, muttering empty curses, her face scrunching in frustration as she knew she had to decide between the two.
Vysivius broke her pacing "I cannot truly understand how it must feel, but I am sure that being reminded that your humanity has been taken is as painful as a heavy dowsing of water. However, you must see this as an opportunity. As your leader I command you to carry out the duty of safeguarding the clan's secrecy from humans." Her eyes widened in horror at the command, the fur on her back raising slightly as she shook her head, trying to deny her ears of what she heard, trying to convince herself that she wasn't being told what to do by another pokemon, it was too surreal for her. She huffed and looked at him "I trust you have no problems even after your little outburst?" he raised an eyebrow.
"You can't be serious!" she barked, her tails rising on instinct to try and form a threatening display "You can't just order me about after everything that happened. I didn't agree to suddenly being your tool to help some pokemon that I don't even know…not that I wouldn't, I mean…" she whimpered as Vysivius's expression shifted to a darker side, showing the girl why he was the leader and what he went through to defend that position. Vysivius closed his eyes and turned his back to her in an attempt to calm himself, for both of their sakes "Vysivius, I'm sorry." Alivia said as she took a couple of steps closer before tripping over her feet and accidentally tumbling into his back legs, knocking the ninetales over in the process.
Alivia stood up straight away to check if he was okay, but she was caught out by a shout from just inside the area "I knew it! I knew you were plotting to kill all of us!" she looked to the source and saw Jadunius glaring at her, his red eyes were fixed on her with an angry flare about them. Alivia backed away from Vysivius as he got up, assuming the worst from it all. Vysivius stood in the way of his son "Father, step aside, I will rid you of this little wretch. I saw it with my own eyes that she dived in to attack you." He tried to get past, but the older ninetales was one step ahead and blocked the younger one's path.
"I didn't do anything I swear. I fell over and hit him…it wasn't intentional." The girl defended, staying a safe distance back so that she wouldn't be struck down. "Jadunius, I promise I wasn't trying to hurt anyone…please forgive me for what I did." She bowed her head in hope that the situation would be resolved at that point, although she knew that it would not be that simple as she heard Jadunius struggle to get past his father. "Vysivius, let him through, he wouldn't hurt me…not seriously, he just wants a scare for me to remember him by. Isn't that right?" she tilted her head, a small smile emerging from her, letting the younger ninetales know that she was getting satisfaction out of his anger, which would only serve to infuriate him more.
Before Vysivius could protest, Jadunius propped himself up high enough so that he had a clear view of Alivia. Vysivius held his breath in anticipation for a few seconds as the two stared at each other. Vysivius sighed as nothing happened for a few more seconds, but he recoiled as a large blast of fire screeched past him, blocking any sight of Alivia as she was taken in by a wall of fire. Jadunius cheered triumphantly. "What have you done!? You must stop acting so irrational. It will cost many lives if you continue."
Jadunius rolled his eyes "Spare me your words of wisdom. Just a moment ago they nearly got you killed. You should be thanking me, father. She is gone now and you are safe; I will only protect our kind, especially you father." He smiled warmly to his father. His ears perked and he looked back to the large wall of flames to hear faint giggles coming from inside "…How can she possibly? Even a vulpix like her would not be able to take that blast." He muttered to himself as he saw the small figure emerge from the flames, shaking herself to get rid of a shiver she was feeling. Jadunius leapt at her and knocked her to the ground, making her yelp as her body scraped on the ground, the small jolts of loose rocks and stones dug into her skin. He picked her up roughly and threw her from his jaw. Just before she hit the ground again, her body was suspended in the air, just inches from the ground. Jadunius was about to charge again before he was held in the same energy that was holding the injured vulpix.
"Control yourself! What Alivia was saying was completely true. What happened was an accident. If you ever hope of succeeding me then you have to analyze a situation, otherwise I am in every right to be able to pass that honour of leadership to anyone I please." He lifted Alivia over to his back and gently placed the poor girl on there, despite his best efforts she still yelped out and winced from the pain, her fur was matted with dirt and blood from being dragged along the ground by Jadunius "Do not fear little one, you will heal up soon." He looked back to his son "Go fetch whatever you can to help your new family member out, she will need some assistance to heal properly." He saw as his son's jaw dropped at what he heard. "Do not disobey me. She is your family member and you will help her. Move along and be back to our den as quick as you can." He dropped the hold he had on his son and watched as Jadunius darted away, doing as he was told. Vysivius began to walk out, keeping a close watch on Alivia's condition as she mumbled in a semi conscious state "The next few hours are going to going to be uncomfortable and probably very difficult, but your survival is ensured, I am truly sorry about my son." She groaned weakly in response as she tried to turn and face him, although her wounds were too fresh and stung at any movement. "I understand." Was all Vysivius said to her as they continued on their way back.
A/N: I hope this is good enough for you guys. There were a few parts I had to keep re doing, which is why it took so long, but I thank all of you for your patience. I'll update whenever I can. Thank you.