You know how time passes without you knowing it? Yeah, that's what's happening with me. It's very, very hard, almost impossible, to believe that sixteen years have passed since we left home. Not very much had happened, really. The biggest thing was probably that Vulcan is no longer with us, he opted to stay at one of the cities we passed through. That city was the first one we went through that was inhabited by both pokemon and humans. That meant that that was the first time that I saw a human. They were peculiar, to say the least. No fur or anything to protect them from weather, they instead rely on these things made of cloth called clothes. They also couldn't understand a thing we were saying. How dumb are they?
Enough of that, let me tell you about the biggest event that had happened in the sixteen years: Vulcan leaving us. As much as I hate to admit it, I kinda miss the teasing and head-rubbing habit of his.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
As we neared the 'city', as Vulcan called it, the forest we were travelling through thinned out. I could hear noises, lots of them, all foreign, in front of us. As the noise got louder, my ears splayed back in an attempt to block some of it. Vulcan noticed this and laughed,
"Don't tell me you're scared of loud noises!"
"I am not!" I shouted back. I noticed Cloud roll his eyes and sighed but ignored him.
"Aw, is the poor widdle Zorua in denial?" he cooed mockingly. My fangs bared instinctively and I gave off a growl.
"I'm going to clobber you in a second…" He laughed harder, stood up on his hind legs and ruffled the tuft of fur on my head.
"Good luck, little runt." I snarled and twisted my head to bite his paw but he was too quick for me. Withdrawing his paw and jumping back a bit, he grinned back at me. "Still too slow."
"Shut up." I was about to leap onto him again but a voice interrupted us.
"Hello? Anybody out here?" As if a switch were thrown, Vulcan's mood changed from joking around to serious. Cloud also looked around, probably preparing his Psychic attack too.
"Who's there?" Vulcan called out, looking every which way. A bush next to us suddenly rustled and we all stared at it. The head of a Vulpix suddenly poked through. The Vulpix had three curls on top of its head and bangs. Its muzzle was still quite short and it had two differently colored eyes, left one amber and right one light blue. I've always wondered what heterochromia looked like, now I know. Our guards dropped as the Vulpix squirmed out of the bush. He was quite startled when he noticed Cloud.
"Y-y-you… P-Please don't kill me…" he suddenly pleaded, pressing his body to the ground in quite obvious fear. I looked at Vulcan, expecting him to know something about this but he seemed frozen in place- scratch that, he seems smitten with the Vulpix. I mean, wow, I've never seen him like that before. Look at that, his cheeks are even a bit pink! I'd die before I let Vulcan hear this but I think that it's kinda cute. Anyways, I think I'm correct in saying that we were pretty confused as to why the Vulpix said that. Then again, we haven't been in a town or city in quite a few months so maybe something happened between then. In the end, Cloud was the one to ask the Vulpix.
"Why would we kill you?" Cloud asked, curious.
"Y-You're a legendary, aren't you?" he replied shakily, looking at Cloud.
"Yeah, so?" The Vulpix then stood up straight and cocked his head, suddenly looking as confused as we were.
"You're not like what everyone says at all…"
"What did others say about me?" The Vulpix then blinked a few times, still looking confused as ever.
"Haven't you heard?" We all shook our heads, "There have been many reports of killings in villages by legendary pokemon, one or multiple is not clear. Everyone's been saying that all the legendary pokemons are involved and are dangerous, so we should stay clear of them."
"Um… I've never heard of that, when did it start?" I asked him.
"Only about a month or so ago." Yeah, that's what I thought.
"Well, I think we can say that I'm not involved in anything of sorts," Cloud explained. "Now, let's start in the beginning with introductions. I'm Cloud."
"I'm Luna, and that frozen fire-type, as ironic as that is, over there is Vulcan," I continued, pointing over to said Quilava, who still have yet to shake himself out of his trance.
"I'm Fenwick," he replied simply.
"That's a beautiful name," Vulcan suddenly blurted out. We all looked at him for a second and he shied away, covering his face. Ha, his cheeks just turned even more pinkish-red! That's just adorable, even more than one of those fairy tale books mommy read to me before. It was about a… a princess and a commoner falling in love, I think? Cloud's voice broke me out of my train of thought.
"Anyways, putting Vulcan's uh… comment aside, do you know anything about the city ahead?" Cloud asked him.
"Oh, Sonizor?"
"Sonizor? That's a pretty weird name…" I commented.
"Yeah, well, it's the formal name."
"What do you mean, formal name?"
"I mean, it's usually called 'City of Sound' by most people," he shrugged. I can still notice that he is slowly edging away from Cloud, leaning towards me instead.
"Does that have anything to do with the absurd amount of noise from the city?" Cloud asked. Fenwick was slightly startled; I can tell by the fact that his fur suddenly stood up a bit. Vulcan took this moment to finally peek out from his paws, which were still covering most of his face.
"You mean the music?" Fenwick said, "There's music playing everywhere, twenty-four-seven. The humans built the system. I admit, it can get pretty annoying when you live there for a couple of years."
"There are humans?" I asked, a bit excited. I've never seen a human before, wonder what they were like? Maybe I could have a conversation with them and learn more about them.
"They even put some stupid motto on their city hall saying 'We built this city on electronic progressive house music' or something like that, I've never really understood, nor cared, about it. But anyways, some of us wild pokemon live in the city with the humans. They're cool, they don't catch us or anything, unless we go up to them and demand it. Hell, they even built this tower with lots of rooms just for us wild pokemon to stay in."
"Sounds like a very… chill city."
"Guess you could say that."
"You say you live in that city? What are you doing out here then?" Cloud asked. Fenwick suddenly became nervous, giving a smile and looking to the side. Wait, wait, wait. Back up, back up. That smile was totally fake!
"I just… I just came for a stroll! Yeah, I just came out for a little walk. Nothing much."
"You're a really bad liar, you know? Whatever, the reason you're out here doesn't matter. Since you live there, mind giving us a tour?"
"There's no way in hell you're going into that city like that," Fenwick pointed to Cloud. "The City of Sound may be chill, but one glance at you and panic will spread faster than wildfire. Contrary to what you may think, humans were the ones who spread the rumor of legendary pokemon killing to us wild pokemon. They'll do anything to stop you entering, even if it means that they'll have to shoot you with those loud sticks they call 'guns'."
"But- But I didn't do anything!"
"Not their concern. Can't you just transform into another pokemon or something?"
"I've never used Transform before…" Cloud mumbled.
"Then I guess we're not going." Fenwick smiled.
"Hold on. Cloud can just stay back; I've got things to ask people around anyways. You can show me and Vulcan around the city then." He looked nervous again. Honestly, what was his problem?
"H-Hey now-" With that, he suddenly turned around and sprinted towards the bush he came out from. Too slow; with the training from my attempts at maiming Vulcan, my reaction speed was very fast. I lunged at him and the next thing I knew, I was standing on top of his back, my claws gripping onto his pelt and my face being whipped by the wind and leaves as he sprinted with me still on his back.
"Get off! Get off me!" he shouted.
"Not until you show me around!" I yelled right back into his ear, making him flinch. That momentary lapse of concentration caused him to trip and we both went sprawling on the ground. By the time I picked myself back up, Vulcan and Cloud had already caught up. I turned around, saw Fenwick trying to get up, and pounced onto him, making him fall back down again.
"Oof! Oowww- Get off me," he moaned. Before I could yell my demand into his other ear, Vulcan grabbed me and pulled me off. "Geez, you sure are heavy for a tiny one, aren't you?"
"What did you say?!" I snapped. How dare he call me tiny?! And heavy to boot!
"That's enough, Luna," he scolded me. "If he doesn't want to show us around then we can't force him, okay?"
Peh, whatever, stupid love-struck Quilava. How did he even fall in love for another male anyways? That's just weird…
All right, here's where things may get a bit confusing so I'll explain it to you. I'm going to hand this diary to Fenwick and let him put his perspective in it. You might not understand why I would do this right now, but you will later. I hope.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Ouch, that Zorua sure has a loud voice. I involuntarily flinched as my ear rang from her yelling. It was that critical moment where I shut my eye that I suddenly tripped. We both went sprawling onto the ground in a heap. I had to lay there for a bit and catch my breath before quietly trying to get up. I had hoped that that maniac, Luna, as she called herself, didn't hear me and that I could slip away before she recovered. No such luck, I lost my breath again as she jumped onto my chest.
"Oof! Oowww- Get off me," I moaned. Man, she was heavy for a little fox! Thankfully, that shy Quilava pulled her off me and told her off. "Geez, you sure are heavy for a tiny one, aren't you?"
"What did you say?!" she snapped.
"That's enough, Luna. If he doesn't want to show us around then we can't force him, okay?" he said. The way he said that made me feel a bit guilty, like I'm cold-hearted or something. "Come on, we can just find our way around ourselves."
"All right, fine," I mumbled. They turned to look at me. "I'll show you to the entrance but that's it, okay?"
"That's good enough!" Luna exclaimed while Vulcan nodded. Oh boy, I'll have to get this over quickly. Me and my guilt…
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
As the trees and bushes cleared away to reveal to us a road leading into the city, I turned back towards them.
"Right, here's where I leave you guys then. Bye!" I started to walk back the way we came, away from the City of Sound. A sharp pain stopped me however. Oh my God- You've got to be kidding me. Luna was latched onto me, biting the nape of my neck. I groaned quite audibly. "What more do you want?"
"Are you running away?" Luna asked, her voice muffled by my neck fur.
"Let go of me!"
"No."
"Earlier, you said that me showing you the entrance was good enough-!"
"Your highness?" My blood ran cold as we all turned to look at the new person. A Helioptile. Not just any Helioptile either, one I'm quite familiar with. "It is you! Your highness! You had us all worried!"
"What's he saying?" Luna asked me, letting go of my neck.
"Your highness?" Vulcan also asked, looking perplexed.
"Uh… Yeah, I may have left something out when introducing myself," I mumbled in reply. I suddenly remembered something: Cloud! I can't let Apollo (the Helioptile) see him! I looked around and noticed that Cloud was gone. Weird, he was just here, wasn't he?
"You mean, you two don't know?" Apollo questioned in disbelief as if someone just told him they didn't know what the colour yellow was. "This noble Vulpix here," he pointed at me with one of his little paws, "Is his highness, Royal Prince Fenwick the Second! Future ruler of Sonizor!"
Total silence reigned for a minute.
"P-Prince?" both Vulcan and Luna said at the same time.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot to tell you that."
"How in the world do you manage to forget that you're a prince?" Luna asked, scowling. Did I upset her by leaving out that little fact?
"Silence, commoner! You shall not speak to his highness in that manner!" Apollo exclaimed, moving in between us. Now that's ironic, a close acquaintance of a legendary pokemon being called a commoner. Come to think of it, I never did find out the relationship between those three.
"So, Prince Fenwick," Vulcan said, looking straight at me. I gulped nervously. "What were you doing in the forest and why are you so nervous of going back into the city?" I looked at Apollo, expecting him to say something. All I got in return was a blank stare. I guess the cat's out of the bag…
"I was running away from home." They continued to stare at me. What, was that not enough?
"What for?" Not enough then…
"Alright, fine," I sighed, "As future ruler of the pokemon of Sonizor, I am expected to find a mate before I am crowned. It was too much trouble, all those pokemon just lining up outside the door, wanting to be my mate. I'm not interested in finding one!" For a split-second, I swear I saw Vulcan look downhearted, but I blinked and his face remained curious. Must be seeing things…
"Your highness, that is very irresponsible of you!" Apollo exclaimed, "You caused quite the bustle when we discovered you disappeared! The army sent out search parties all over the place!"
"I was only gone for a day…" I mumbled.
"You have an army?!" Luna's eyes widened as she shifted her stare to the Helioptile.
"But of course, how else would you protect an empire?"
"Protect from what, exactly?" she snorted. A loud rumble from overhead interrupted them. We all looked up and saw dark clouds looming above.
"Weird, it was sunny until a moment ago," I said to nobody in particular.
"You commoners!" Apollo jumped, "You must've done something to anger the sea monster Kyogre, haven't you?!"
"Hey, don't you start pointing fingers at anyone, mister!" Luna shouted back.
"Guys," I stopped them before their little spat escalated. "We should go inside then. I mean, with all that's going on, running away is pointless now." Yeah, now that Apollo knows, it was kinda pointless since he, and probably some search party, will be able to follow me easily. I mean, I'm just as athletic as the next pokemon but those guys were trained for endurance and speed, there's no way I can outrun them.
"Fine, take me to your palace," Luna grumbled, "Your highness." Somehow I get the feeling she didn't add that out of respect…
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
So…
"-The great warrior Luna is reduced into this?" I asked, staring at the ball of grey fur. She was snuggling- no, that's not the right word. She was pushing her face right into the Quilava's fur while curling up into a ball. We never actually reached my home, the rain came down first. We were forced to take refuge under a bus stop (built by the humans. I still don't know what it's really for though, except as a shelter from rain). It was getting dark and Apollo had fallen asleep, leaving us (to suffer) under the shelter from the rain.
"Don't look at me," she whispered. Another crack of thunder sound and she yelped, pushing herself further into Vulcan's fur.
"You're scared of thun-?"
"Don't say it!" she interrupted me by yelling into the fur. Vulcan looked like he was about to say something, but somehow she sensed it. She pulled her face out of his fur and glared at him. I could see her ruby-red eyes glistening with tears and her cheeks red, showing even through the fur, from embarrassment and utter humiliation. "Don't say anything," she said, her voice wavering.
Another crack of thunder, the rain poured down harder than ever. With the loud boom, Luna once again pushed her face into Vulcan's fur in an attempt to block out the noise. Her whole body was shivering, either from the cold or her fear of thunder. Or was it a fear of loud noises? I'll never know.
Her body jerked and then froze when Vulcan put a paw on her head. I looked at him and saw his face donning a calm, warm smile. He slowly rubbed and petted her head. Her shivering then continued, but only slightly.
"Don't worry, I won't," he whispered, making her ear twitch a bit. It was such a sweet scene, I had to hold myself back from crying out 'D'aww'. Despite his slightly abnormal first impression, Vulcan seemed to be a pretty nice guy. I'd give a lot to have a friend like him by my side.
The petting seemed to calm her somewhat; her breathing slowed and her shivering stopped entirely. Soon, I noticed that she had fallen asleep while Vulcan played with the little tuft of fur on her head, twirling a few strands around his digit. The little devil actually looks all cute and innocent when sleeping, huh?
"Sleep tight, little girl," he whispered.
"Hey, uh, Vulcan?" I spoke softly so that I wouldn't wake Luna up.
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask what relationship do you two have towards that Mew- Cloud, was it?"
"To Cloud? Well… Simply put, us three are siblings-" He saw that I was about to interrupt and held up a paw to stop me. "It's weird, I know. Let me clarify, Luna and Cloud are siblings, I am their step-brother that their father adopted before they were born."
"Yeah, that begs another question: Just who are their parents then?"
"Well, your highness," he chuckled, "Have you heard of the name Pyro Umbraculo?"
Pyro Umbraculo? Pyro… Umbraculo. A peculiar name, but it does ring a bell. Pyro… Hold on, let me think for a bit.
"I think I've heard of that name before. It was connected to some big event, was this 'Pyro' a famous pokemon?"
"Oh yes, he's famous. It's not that much of a surprise that you can't remember, it was about nine years ago anyways, that big 'event'." Nine… Nine… I was still a bit young then… Something about…
"A legendary pokemon?" I mumbled. Then it finally clicked, "Don't tell me. Their father is also a legendary pokemon?!"
"Was. About nine years ago," Vulcan calmly recited, "The great pokemon of legends, The Shadow Mew, passed away. It was a horrible death, caused by another pokemon while he had not the strength to defend himself. This was the pokemon who had done some horrible things, some may say that he deserved what he got. But there are also those who knew that he had also done many good things deserving of a reward, some who even owe their life to him, me included. If he hadn't taken me in, I have no idea where I would be right now. Yet he was always the humble pokemon."
No way…
"That's how the story goes. I can't tell you much about his deeds but he was a great pokemon alright. And a great father, too. His mate, my step-mother, Mew, was devastated back then. Along with Uncle Aqua, the Light Mew," he finished.
"S-s-so…"
"Yep, Cloud and Luna are siblings all right. Cloud the Mew and Luna the current Shadow Mew."
"Luna's the Sh-Shadow Mew?!"
"She doesn't know that yet though. And its tradition to let the Shadow Mew, and the Light Mew of course, be oblivious until they find themselves and their true identity. We shouldn't tell her, so sshh," he winked, flashing me another smile. Deep breaths, Fenwick, deep breaths. They're both legendary pokemon. Cloud proved himself to be quite docile and probably wouldn't go into a killing spree in the foreseeable future. The city's safe from him. But Luna though… She's pretty violent and feisty, she could be dangerous.
"But I think it's still a long way until she finds her true identity. I mean, come on, the Shadow Mew being scared of a little thunder? That's pretty sad, I think." Luna suddenly squirmed a bit and her hind leg kicked out, right into the Quilava's stomach. I'm pretty sure she's still asleep though.
I stared at her sleeping form, still pushed up against the wheezing Quilava, who was holding his stomach and gasping desperately for air.
"You deserved that, probably," I told him, grinning. He just nodded wearily.
The rest of the night wasn't really eventful. We got tired of waiting out the rain and went to sleep, my mind still heavy on the main topic of our conversation.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
There you go, Fenwick's little point-of-view on the day. He's not that great of a storyteller, is he? I'm sorry you guys had to endure through that poor writing of his. Apparently I kicked Vulcan right in the guts while asleep when he was badmouthing me, ha! Serves him right. And yes, back then I didn't know about the whole 'you are a Shadow Mew, now go rule the world' thing put onto me yet, so you can guess how I felt when I woke up to Prince Fenwick pampering me with questions such as 'Are you hungry, can I get something for you to eat?': Satisfied.
Anyways, in the morning, that little Helioptile (Apollo, was it?) took all of us to the palace. It was nothing too grand, really. A human house that was just a little larger than normal. Fenwick told us that this was a palace the humans called 'Mayor's house'. It's supposed to be this extravagant place that holds the king and queen of the pokemon of the City of Sound and the human equivalent of this.
The human 'king and queen' of the city weren't really worth much notice. It was only the fact that they were the first human I ever saw that made me look them over. Humans were pretty weird. They don't have any fur so they made these garments made of cloth called, guess what: clothes. I mean, it sounds like a term they made up just because calling them cloth pieces didn't seem sophisticated. Another thing is that, while we can totally understand every word they say, they can't seem to understand us at all. Our meeting went something like this:
"Oh, Helioptile and Vulpix!" the elderly woman gasped and smiled, "You're back! And I see you've brought some friends!" Fenwick and Apollo nodded at her. I, however, made a reaction that was somewhat more noteworthy than theirs: I ran straight up to her and sniffed her. A human's scent was nothing too interesting. Walking around her, I observed her body shape and style from below. "What's this? Do you want something, little Zorua?"
"Don't call me little!" I exclaimed at her. All she did was smiled and petted me on the head.
"Aww, aren't you just the cutest?" Although I admit that the petting felt good, I didn't like being called 'little'.
"I'll forgive you this time, it's your first time meeting me after all. So, what's your name?" I asked, looking up at her.
"Oh my, are you hungry? Or is it something else you need?"
"I didn't ask for anything! What's your name?" I raised my voice a bit, wondering if she had hearing problems. She was pretty old, after all, her senses may have dulled with time.
"Stay right here then, I'll go get you something to eat. I hope you don't mind dark-type pokemon food," she then turned around and started to walk away before turning back around again. "You are a dark-type, aren't you?"
"Hey, I didn't say I wanted any food! Didn't you hear me asking for your name?!"
"Of course you are, silly me." She then turned and walked away again.
"Come back!" I yelled after her. This time, there was no reply. I looked away from the doorway and back towards the others, expecting some answers from them. No such luck, they were all barely holding back their laughter. My face grew red from anger and embarrassment.
"What?!" I snapped.
"Humans can't understand us!" Apollo finally gave in and laughed his tail off. "Don't you know that, commoner?" I turned my glare at Vulcan instead.
"You could have told me!"
"It was too tempting to see you react around a human, I couldn't let this opportunity pass." Vulcan then burst out in laughter too. I lunged at him, fangs bared. He, again, was able to dodge it, pulling his arm back and into the air. "Still too slow, little-"
Chomp. I grinned in satisfaction as I bit down on his hind leg. Got him.
"Aaaah!" he screamed, trying to push me off. "Let go, let go!"
"Uh-uh" I mumbled, looking at him with possibly what could only be described as a glint of malice and satisfaction in my eyes.
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I'm sorry!" he yelled in quick succession, "Ow, ow, ow. Please let go of my leg, Luna! I'm sorryyyyy!"
I took my sweet time looking at the pained and desperate expression on his face before letting his leg go. "That's what you get," I cooed, licking my lips. He was too busy tending to the bite mark on his leg to respond. Hm… No blood, maybe I didn't bite hard enough.
"Are you okay?" Fenwick, who had broken out of his laughing state, walked— no – curled around Vulcan and looked at his wound I caused. "It doesn't look too bad; do you think you can walk?"
"My, my," a foreign female voice called out. We all turned to look at her. "What's with all this racket this early in the morning?"
A Ninetales and an Arcanine walked out. For a second, I remembered the reason I ever left home in the first place: to find an Arcanine by the name of Burst. My hopes rose but I was soon let down.
"Fenwick!" they both exclaimed upon spotting the Vulpix. The Arcanine rushed over to him and pulled him into a hug, licking him all over.
"Mom!" Fenwick whined. "I'm not a baby anymore!" Yeah, it doesn't seem like this female Arcanine would be named Burst. Not that 'Burst' was a female name either.
"That's right, you're not." The Ninetales stepped forth, looking at Fenwick straight in the eyes. His voice was quite deeper than what I'd imagine a Ninetales's voice would be like. "Which means that you should be responsible for your actions. So, anything you'd like to say to us regarding your little… Escapade?" Fenwick started to look nervous, his eyes darting around with an uncomfortable grin on his face.
"Um… I'm sorry for running away?"
"You should be. Like you said, you are not a baby anymore, you shouldn't even be considering an immature stunt like running away. You've caused your mom great trouble and worry by doing so, not to mention wasting a lot of pokemon's time looking for you. Make no mistake, there will be a punishment for this."
"But first, let us take care of you," the kinder Arcanine mother took over. "You smell like you need a bath! Oh, and thank you, Apollo, for bringing him back. You are dismissed." Apollo bowed and left the palace-home in a hurry. You know what? I'll just call it a home. It wasn't as great as my home, so it can hardly be called a palace, am I right?
"Before we do that, Agnes, why not let him introduce his friends?"
"Oh, right. Mom, dad, this is Vulcan and Luna. I met them in the forest," he told them, gesturing towards us respectively.
"Let me guess, they found you, made you bring them into our city, and you guys ran into Apollo. Am I right?"
"Dead on, dad," Fenwick said despairingly.
"Oh no!" the Arcanine, Agnes, suddenly exclaimed. I noticed she was looking at Vulcan. "Dearie, you're hurt!"
"O-Oh, it's nothing really, ma'am."
"No, no. You might need to get that looked at. Some wounds look better than they actually are, you know?"
"I'm sure if he says it's fine then it probably is, no need for a fuss," the Ninetales argued. "Pain is a part of learning, so I hope it was a valuable lesson."
"You can say that," Vulcan mumbled in reply. I could feel a grin building up. And that lesson would be to not mess with me, isn't it, Vulcan?
"Anyways, let us introduce ourselves. I am Agni, and this is Agnes," the Ninetales introduced himself before gesturing to the Arcanine, who gave them a friendly wave. Huh, pretty similar names, how cute~! It's like they were meant to be together, soul-mates or something like that.
"Nice to meet you!" Agnes chirped.
"Likewise." Both Vulcan and I gave a little bow of respect.
"I must thank you for bringing Fenwick, here, back to us. You have our gratitude," the Ninetales continued.
"Oh, no, it was no trouble at all! I found that he is quite a pleasant pokemon to be with," Vulcan smiled.
"Even though he did insult me when we met," I mumbled. His dad heard this and glared at him in a way that said 'I can't believe you did that'.
"Oh? Did he now?"
"I didn't!" he protested. "I never insulted you! The only thing I ever said was that you were heavy for a little-"
"I take that as offence!" I yelled back at him.
"That's enough, Fenwick. You and I are going to have a long talk after this, young man."
"Yes, dad," he moaned. Vulcan seemed to take pity at this.
"Your highness-"
"Just 'sir', will do."
"Uh, yes. Sir, don't be too harsh on him. I'm sure Luna doesn't really take offence or anything, she just acts this way to everyone." I was about to protest but Vulcan shoved a paw over my mouth. I contemplated chomping down on his paw but that would look bad in front of these royalties.
"Even then, Fenwick needs to learn more manners if he is to become the next ruler of Sonizor."
"Agni, dear, don't you think you are a bit too harsh on little Fenwick, though?" Agnes intervened.
"He is not a cub anymore. He needs to learn of respect and responsibility."
"But-" She was interrupted by Agni holding up a paw.
"I've made up my mind, Agnes. Nevertheless, a punishment is in order for running away at the very least."
"Sir, I don't think-" Vulcan was cut off when the Ninetales shifted his gaze to him. Even here, I felt a little chill go down my spine from his cold gaze. "Um… Never mind."
"So… Would you like to go and get cleaned up, Fenwick?" Agnes said after almost a minute of silence.
"Yes, Mom." Both of them left the room, leaving us with Agni.
"So… Um… Wh-what are you two going to do now?" Both Vulcan and I blinked, we searched the room for the source of the timid, stuttering voice. Our eyes finally landed on Agni, the only one in the room besides us.
"Come again?" Vulcan asked.
"What a-are you two going to d-do now? I mean, do you need anything f-from us?" he asked again. Whoa, talk about a change in personality.
"Hold on," I said, "Weren't you just all tough and stern just now? What's going on?"
"Hey," he whined. Yes, whined. "I've got to set a good example as a parent, right? I can't act like this in front of Fenwick…" he mumbled. All right, so the king apparently talks like a hero in front of his son but acts like a coward to outsiders. I guess it must be Agnes who does the 'ruling' around the city.
"Well," Vulcan said awkwardly, "I guess we do have a question to ask."
"Ask away then," Agni replied happily. I swear, his behavior is like a cub when Fenwick is not around.
"Have you ever heard of an Arcanine named 'Burst'?" Agni assumed a thinking stance.
"Hmm… I know one named Agnes…" Yeah, of course you do, she's your mate. "But 'Burst', huh? Ooh, wait a minute. I think I have heard of that name before!"
"You did?!" we both exclaimed. Finally, after so long, a lead!
"Yeah, I don't know much though, but I've heard it from the local innkeeper. Here, let me take you there." He then pranced (Yes, he actually did prance) towards the door before he suddenly tripped. We both gasped a bit as he went sprawling on the floor face-first with a sharp 'Nine!' (Apparently that's how their species yelped). Agni then stood up, switching back to his 'regal, stern ruler' mode and acting like nothing happened. We both looked at each other for a second before following him.
As we walked through the streets, he nodded greetings to various passing pokemon. Soon, we arrived at a wooden building only slightly larger than the other surrounding buildings. A dainty sign said 'Ye olde inn' hung above the entrance. He stopped in front of it.
"Here you go. I hope you find what you're looking for." he smiled, his tails shifting from side to side.
"Thank you for helping us."
"Remember, you can always come to us for help or a place to stay. We'll be happy to accommodate you!" he told us. "See ya!" He then turned around and started walking back towards the house. We watched as he tripped, recovered quickly and laughed it off, before walking through the wooden swing-doors made for quadruped pokemon.
Inside was a musty, old atmosphere. Not that that gave a negative feel about the place, it actually made the place have an atmosphere of nostalgia. A Galvantula was manning the counter alongside a human female. She looked at us for a second.
"Go on, Galvantula, see if they want something," she spoke. The Galvantula nodded and then approached us.
"Good morning, how may I help you?" he said in a friendly tone.
"Yes, uh… We were told by Agni that you could help us."
"By his royal highness? Why, I'm honored!"
"He said that you might have some information on an Arcanine named Burst."
"Of course!" he then sat down, getting a bit more comfortable. "We had a customer named Burst a month or two ago, came here with his Meowstic friend. I never forget a customer, especially one as generous as him! He gave us a tip of almost half the cost itself, can you believe that?"
"Uh, okay then. Do you happen to know where he went?"
"I'm pretty sure he mentioned the seaport town Vanence just east of here. Why?"
"Oh, we're just looking for him. He's… an acquaintance of ours, you see," I replied, quickly making up a reason on the spot.
"Hm, all right then. Good luck finding him!" he smiled, as much as a Galvantula could, and waved at us with one of his legs as we walked out.
Even though we had only been in there for no longer than half an hour, the breath of fresh air hit us as we stepped outside. No more overwhelming smell of wood.
"So… Vanence, huh?" Vulcan mentioned.
"Yeah. I guess we're going there next," I replied, looking up into the bright, blue sky. Such a beautiful day. The city's sound system was playing some smooth, electronic music, making me feel more relaxed than ever. I wonder what Cloud's up to the past day. Was he bored? I know I would if I were him.
"Luna?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I'm going to stay in this city." I laughed and looked at him. His face was totally serious. Wait a minute, he wasn't serious about what he just said, was he? "I'm serious." Okay, hold on a minute. I don't want you guys to misunderstand: I hate how Vulcan always teases me and messes up my head fur and all that. But at the end of the day, he is still my brother, even though it's not by blood. He does have his good sides, as shown by last night when it was raining. What I'm trying to say is, I don't want him to leave us mid-way through the journey.
"H-hey now. Don't even joke about that. I'll bite you again, you know?"
"I'm totally serious, Luna. I think I want to stay here in Sonizor." Once he said this, I suddenly felt anger bubbling inside me.
"For what?!" I snapped. "Just so you can be with that Vulpix who doesn't even love you or even know that you love him? You're just going to leave Cloud and I, your siblings, for someone who doesn't even understand how you feel?!" He winced, a look of pain crossed his features for a moment.
"Luna, try to understand my feelings a bit," he mumbled. "Please just let me stay here. You didn't want me to come along in the first place, remember? Why are you so opposed of me leaving now?"
I could only stare at him in silence. It was true that I hated his guts and him coming along with us was the worst thing that could've happened. Back then, not now. I'd hardly realized it, but I had gotten used to his teasing, maybe even grown to like it a bit. Is that why I don't want him to leave us now?
"Be reasonable, Luna." Those words made my eyes widen, tears threatening to spill. Those were pretty much the exact same words Daddy told me the last time when I spoke to him. He noticed the impact of those words on me, though maybe he didn't know why it affected me so, he still noticed that I was hurt and that was what mattered to him. He pulled me into a hug. "There, there. Don't cry, little girl."
I didn't know what to do. I bit down on Vulcan's shoulder, though no strength was put into it at all, sapped by the sobbing, I was powerless as I tried to bite him. "Stupid Vulcan," I sobbed. "Stupid, stupid Vulcan."
"Please just let me do this," he whispered into my ear, hugging me tighter. It took me a few minutes before I responded with a weak nod. Who am I to stop him? He should be able to do whatever he wanted, it was his life, not mine.
"Come on, let's go see Fenwick," he said as he started to walk off. "Let's go, Luna."
We slowly walked back to the big house. We weren't in any hurry so by the time we reached it, it was a bit past noon. Agni was quite surprised to see us there (he almost tripped over himself again).
"I thought you two were gone!" he exclaimed quite excitedly. Fenwick then came out and Agni switched back to his 'king' mode. "So, do you need something else from us?"
"I'd like to take you up on your offer, sir," Vulcan said. "I'd decided to remain here in Sonizor so I was wondering if you could let me stay."
"Well…" Both Fenwick and Agni were quite surprised at this.
"Don't worry, I don't intend to stay for free. I request a job at the palace; I can be a butler, a cook or even a guard, I've had some experience in battling from my father. Let me work and earn my stay, sir!" Vulcan exclaimed, standing up straight.
"From your father, eh?" Agni pondered, "I can't say that that means you'll have decent battling skills compared to the others…"
"I'll train some more then."
"Dad, can't you let him stay?" Poor Fenwick was just looking desperate. He probably wanted a friend like Vulcan and now Vulcan offered to stay, but the decision depends on his father. "Please?"
Agni looked at his son who was pretty much begging him. He could see how much he wanted this Quilava to stay. He probably thought that his son didn't have many friends, and here one presented itself right on his doorstep, asking to stay. Well… Actually, I didn't know what was going on in his mind, I was just guessing. But basically, the outcome was that Agni allowed Vulcan to stay for free without having to work, despite Vulcan asking to repay the favor.
"Our palace is too big anyways," Agni had replied, "It gets boring and lonely at times, isn't that right Fenwick? Just being here would be a favor in itself. Though I hadn't imagined that you would come asking for a place to stay, I admit." The moment he finished, he was smothered in hugs from Fenwick, along with a torrent of 'thank you' yelled at the top of his lungs. It was quite a humorous scene, combined with the panicked look and thrashing from Agni trying to get his son off him. Vulcan himself was smiling, sitting back and watching. I, myself, couldn't really smile. So Vulcan really was leaving us…
"Luna," Vulcan whispered as he walked over to my side. I looked at him, tears threatening to spill yet again, but I forced a smile.
"Good for you, Vulcan. You get to stay with Fenwick. For free, too!" I forced a chuckle before my throat blocked up. He hugged me again and I shoved my face into his fur. "Promise me you'll come visit."
"I promise," he said, "I'll definitely come visit you and Cloud again back at our home."
I nodded slowly and pulled myself off him. I noticed that the father-son duo had finished messing around and dried my face hastily. "Well… I guess I should be off."
"I'm sure we'll meet again," Agni said, smiling. Fenwick nodded in agreement and waved.
"Goodbye… Vulcan," I mumbled to him, turned around and started to walk away.
"See you later, Luna! I'll definitely go back and visit you, I swear on dad's name!" I heard him shout. Not once did I turn back.
Spice and Wolf OST – Tabi no Tochuu(In the midst of the journey)
I couldn't remember how long it took but I soon noticed myself back where I started – Where we found Fenwick. Or rather, where Fenwick found us.
"Luna?"
I recognized that voice and looked around. There he was: my brother, Cloud. "Hey, Cloud. I'm sorry you had to wait for a whole day."
"Where's Vulcan?" he questioned. I sighed and looked back at the city wistfully.
"He left to follow his dream," I said simply, still looking at the City of Sound. Yesterday, I had found the noise annoying and even intimidating, making me hate it so much. But somewhere along the way, I had grown fond of its music. The music of joy, of sadness, of anger or of love. The diverse range of sounds and the sheer amount and variety of feelings those can make you, one can only discover it first-hand. Maybe I can bring you here to Sonizor and let you experience how simple noises can create a melody that strikes your heart so.
"Luna?" Cloud said, snapping me out of my trance.
"Oh, yeah. We should move. An innkeeper I asked told me that the Arcanine we were looking for, Burst, probably headed towards Vanence port town to the east."
"'Probably'? That's not very encouraging…"
"It's still better than wandering aimlessly like we've been doing for the past years. I've never imagined we'd be gone from home for so long. I wonder what Mom, Arno and Ren are up to?"
"We can ask them when we get back."
"You're right. Speaking of, what were you up to while Vulcan and I were in there?"
"Nothing much, really. When that Helioptile came, I just hid out and came back here alone. I guess I just trained by myself to get my combat skills up. Never hurts to be prepared."
"Sounds pretty boring…"
"I admit that it was. Anyways, we should get going," he proposed. I nodded in return.
"Good idea. Let's move on."
"So… The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Its past noon now so…" he looked up at the sky before pointing to a direction. "East should be that way." He started flying in that direction. I lagged behind slightly. After a few steps, I looked back.
"I'll see you again someday, I hope, Vulcan," I whispered to myself before hurrying to catch up to Cloud.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
So… Yeah. That's how we lost Vulcan in our journey. But I still believe that once we get back home to Mom and Arno, we'll definitely have a chance to see Vulcan again.
"Luna? Something wrong?" I looked over to the side to see Cloud staring at me with those bright red eyes of his. We were lying on the grass under the starry sky, listening to the wind blow past us.
"Nothing," I smiled, "Just remembering that day we met Fenwick and Vulcan stayed behind."
"That day seven years ago? Again?"
"Can't get it out of my mind. You can't seem to, either, can you? You can still remember how many years ago that was."
"Yeah, I can't either…"
"I wonder how he's doing," I pondered before giggling, "Maybe Fenwick finally sees how Vulcan feels and they're lovers now." Cloud also smiled with me.
"Maybe… We can ask him that when we see him again." I nodded. Yeah, we can. He'll definitely come to visit us when we're home. He promised me…