Haven't touched this one for awhile have I, sorry about that. Writers block has been hitting me hard and I've kind of been slacking. I'm trying people, I really am, so please just bear with me.
"Come on Mr. Dante, it's time to wake up" I heard Riley say as he and about five other paws poked at me. I mentally groaned and cracked an eye open, seeing almost a dozen eevee kits surrounding me with excited looks on their faces.
'Oh what fresh hell is this' I mentally sighed, looking at the collective of eevee before sighing again and slowly picking myself up from the soothing heat of the water.
"I'm guessing these are your friends" I said, giving a long stretch and a wide yawn before looking at Riley with half lidded eyes. He nodded happily and introduced me to each and every one of them, which I counted to be at about seven, not a bad number. "Good, now may I ask why you woke me up?"
"Me and my friends were wondering if you'd take us to the field to play?" I sighed and nodded, telling all of them to ask their parents first before we went anywhere. After about five minutes, I was leading a troop of eevee like a marching band, much to the amusement of all those watching.
"Riley, why do you choose to hide yourself under me instead of walking behind me like the rest of your friends?" I asked offhandedly. He perked up, his ears tickling my chest as he smiled up at me.
"Because, I like you a lot Mr. Dante" he said happily. I quirked a brow and looked down at him curiously. "You seem like a very nice Pokémon, and you remind me of my daddy" his good mood instantly took a 180, that smile turning into a sad frown. I smiled sadly and leaned down to lick him behind the ear comfortingly.
"I'm sure he was a very good Pokémon...out of curiosity, what was he?"
"An Umbreon" he answered immediately.
"Ah, well he made a good choice, believe it or not, Umbreon are the most dangerous and powerful of our evolutions." That seemed to get his attention, as well as the rest of the kits since I felt all seven eyes trained on my head. "We are most dangerous because we are the only duel type eeveelution, just not in the sense of our battle abilities, and the humans also do not recognize us as such. We aren't allowed used Poison type attacks, but we secrete poisonous sweat when we deem it necessary, it is quite handy to have on paw whenever we are desperate."
"Wow" he breathed, a smile returning to his muzzle after hearing this information.
"Now do me a favor and keep that smile up, it looks much better than that frown." I told him with a smile of my own, stopping to nuzzle him playfully. He happily nuzzled back before jumping out from under me and leaping on top of me, balancing himself on my back. I looked back at him while chuckling, noticing that the other kits were watching us curiously. "What, were at the field now, play."
I regretted those words almost instantly, because next thing I know, I was buried under a pile very playful eevee.
"Why do I even open my mouth sometimes?" I sighed and picked myself up from the ground, making a couple eevee fall off in the process. One was stubborn though, and hugged my back with all four legs. I chuckled and curled around to grip the kits scruff in my teeth and pull him up off my back, right before running off with him still in my hold.
"Hey, get back here with my friend!" one of them shouted and sprinted off after me, the others following suite. I peeked back and skidded to a halt, spinning around and sidestepping the lead eevee, and leaped over the rest, leaving them seemingly mystified as the watched me soaring over their head. After I landed, I looked back at the little ones, shaking my tail playfully and fading out of site, letting the eevee in my jaws drop to the ground with soft thud.
"Mr. Dante?" Riley called out in utter confusion, not taking his eyes from the spot I once was. I grinned and tapped his shoulder, earning a small scream from the little fox.
"You have to be aware of your surroundings at all times, isn't that right little one?" I asked, turning my head to look directly at the kit that was trying to sneak up behind me. He froze on the spot after my crimson eyes met his hazel irises.
"Indeed it is" I heard a voice whisper into my ear, startling me and making me quickly put myself between the owner and the kits.
"...Don't...do that" I growled out, glaring at the giggling Sylveon before me. She grinned and nuzzled me softly, making me sigh as a small smile formed on my muzzle.
"Sorry, just couldn't help myself" she said and nuzzled me again, right before she was tackled away from me by a wave of brown and white.
"Ms. Angel!" They all yelled in unison, smothering her in utter adorableness. It almost made me gag it was so sweet.
"Well hello young one's, how are you all doing today?" She giggled from under the pile of kits. They all responded with yips of delight as they crawled all over her, making me grunt and walk off towards one of the random trees that dotted the field and laid down, setting my head on my paws, relaxing under the shade while I watched them laugh and play.
At least I tried to, had the entire group not suddenly piled onto me.
"Why me" I sighed under the pile of eevee kits, to which my only response was a musical giggle. I forced my head past the wall of fur to stare at the Sylveon with a bored expression.
"You look comfortable" she giggled, earning a glare from me.
"Very funny" I grumbled and forced my way out of the pile, shaking the dirt and grass from my fur before going over to the nearby pond on the side of the field, drinking my fill while the kits continued to play.
'Why did I suggest I do this' I mentally sighed and looked at my reflection, the mirror images eyes boring into my own as if to call me out for my own stupidity.
"I know your right behind me" I grumbled, feeling soft ribbons encircle me soon after.
"There's no need to be so grumpy" she giggled and sat down next to me, nuzzling me softly. I growled quietly, keeping my eyes locked on the water.
"Is something wrong dear?"
"I'm fine, just tired...and wondering why I offered to watch a bunch of kits" I replied, letting my head fall into her shoulder. She tightened her hold on me in response, rubbing my head with the tip of one of her ribbons.
"I can answer that question for you" she said, pushing my head up with a ribbon so our eyes locked. "But where's the fun in that"?
I just looked at her with a deadpan expression, making her chuckle.
"Your enjoying this aren't you"?
"Only a little bit". I sighed, pulling myself from her hold and wading into the pond, dipping my head under the chilled water, instantly waking me up fully and definitely making me much less irritable.
"Good to know at least somebody's enjoying themselves." She chuckled at my reply, stepping into an water and sitting down right next to me, returning to nuzzling me.
"You know you were having fun before I came around."
"...I can neither confirm or deny that." She shook her head in amusement and rested her head on mine, right before we were both hit in the face by a large splash of water. Looks like the rest of the kits decided to join us in the water, great.
"Please end me" I groaned, slowly dropping into the water.
I can't thank you enough for watching my little boy for me Dante." Esther told me, nuzzling me happily while Riley was busy saying bye to all of his friends.
"No problem Esther, he wasn't too much of a hastle, but I could definitely go for a nap right now" I sighed earning a giggle from her while she wrapped her tail around mine and pressed her forehead to mine. "What are you doing?"
"Just stay still, you'll see" she replied, not budging an inch. I raised a brow, but did as I was told and stayed still while she kept on with whatever she was doing. That's how we stayed for about the next fifteen seconds, at least that's how long I think it took until my mind suddenly went blank and my entire body went limp, suddenly finding myself supported only by Esther as my legs turned to jelly. "Good to see at least some of my power still works on dark types."
"What...did you do...to me?" I groaned, trying and failing to move my legs while Esther gently laid me on the ground.
"Just used a little bit of my power to relax your muscles and clear your mind, seems to be the only ability I have that effects dark types. Thought you would appreciate it seeing that you were most likely stressed out from watching all of those little ones."
"Not that...it's not appreciated...but I don't like feeling so defenseless." I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move, picking myself up with shaky legs that threatened to buckle at any moment.
"Wiles, can you come over here please?" Esther called, a Vaporeon showing up soon after.
"How may I help you Esther?" It said, it's tone deep and masculine as it stood beside her, giving me a quick glance before turning his attention back to her.
"Could you please help Dante here, I may have used my ability without his permission and he refuses to relax until it wears off." He nodded and moved up beside me, using his tail to lean me onto his larger frame.
"How many times have we all told you that others don't like it when you do these kinds of things without asking first, I'm honestly surprised no one has actually done anything about it." he chuckled before looking at me with that same smile still on his muzzle. "Another thing that surprises me is that this poor guys still able to stand, quite an achievement there my friend."
"Usually I leave the ladies weak in the knees, there's a first for everything I guess" I said, earning a hearty laugh from the water jet Pokémon.
"Oh, a jokester are you, that's refreshing." He said with a sarcastic undertone.
"Oh sod off" I barked and pushed off of him, stretching my body to work out the muscles as pin pricks of pain worked around my body as feeling slowly returned to my limbs.
"Hey, I was trying to help you, you don't have to be a prick about it!" He shouted, making me growl as frustration soon set in.
"I don't need help, so screw off before you piss me off." Looks like that was all of took to make the water type lose his temper, showing it by trying to nail me with a Water Gun, only to hit dirt, right along with his face after I pinned him to the ground with my snarling muzzle inches above his face. "That was probably the stupidest decision you've made in your entire life."
"Dante, stop it, that's enough!" Esther shouted, trying to push me off of the Vaporeon. I growled at her, making her back up while I leaned my muzzle down and sniffed at his neck.
"I can smell your fear" I chuckled darkly, reveling in the look of sheer terror he was showing off. "Now listen to me and listen good, I don't know you, but I definitely don't like you. My hunches are rarely wrong, so I suggest you keep your distance from me before I show you my wild side."
"Ngh...w-what hunch?" He asked through his chattering as the scent of piss filled the air.
"I know a dark heart when I see one, you may have fooled the others, but I can see through this little charade. Even the purest of souls can hold the darkest of sins, so be very careful around me, are we clear?"
"DANTE, GET OFF OF HIM RIGHT NOW!" I growled and turned to look at Esther, who's expression was far from content. I snorted in contempt and left the guy laying there while I made my way back to my den, parting the crowd that had formed to watch the spectacle, not sparing a glance for anyone, my eyes locked ahead.
"So, you want to tell me why you pulled off that little stunt Dante?" Kata, the Vaporeon council member, nearly shouted while stepping into the entrance of my den. I peeked an eye open to watch him enter my home with a Jolteon and Glaceon, most likely other members of the council. I sighed as my afternoon nap was interrupted and stood up to meet with them, groaning as my joint popped and cracked in protest.
"Can I help you Kata?" I asked him, tiredness and boredom clear in my tone. I swear I saw a vein bulge in his forehead as a snarl formed on his muzzle.
"Yes, you can Dante" he growled out and got inches from my face. "You can start by telling me why you threatened my son."
Okay, now his anger made sense, probably would have reacted the same if I had a kid that got humiliated in public. My face remained the same however as I calmly sat down and licked the back of my paw.
"Its quite simple really, I could sense who he really was, and I was not happy with what I found."
"So you threatened my only child because you simply didn't like him?" He asked, his eye twitching as his short temper made itself quite apparent.
"Pretty much, I am an excellent judge of character when I choose to be, and, very rarely, are my hunches wrong." As soon as I finished my sentence, I felt a claw press itself against my neck, threatening to tear my throat open.
"Maybe I don't like the feel of you Dante, tell me why I shouldn't just rip your throat out and end you right now" he threatened, showing only mild surprise at the fact I wasn't panicking at how easily be could have just killed me then and there.
"Two reasons, reason number one." I quickly faded from my spot, and before he even knew what had happened, he was on the ground with my claw inches from his femoral artery. "You couldn't kill me if you tried."
"Dante, release him!" The Glaceon ordered, his voice matching that of Siècle, the Glaceon council member. I looked back at him with the fiercest glare I could muster, freezing him on the spot, turning to look at the Jolteon as well when I saw them trying to sneak up while I was distracted.
"You come into my home, my territory, and threaten me, that's grounds for execution in the wild." I said, a feral grin forming on my muzzle. The temperature in the den dropped as fear began to take over the three while they watched their newest member take down one of the strongest of them in little more that a second. "If you truly wanted me to listen, then you should have remained civil about this. You may run things differently here, but I still follow the rules of the wild. If you want me to respect you, prove to me you are worth respecting."
I pulled my claw from the water types neck and walked back towards the end of my den, looking back with a look of pure contempt that made them all shiver in fear.
"Now get out of my den before I really get ticked." Kata gritted his teeth, but reluctantly backed off and started to leave with his friends, looking back at me to show his anger.
"You need to learn your place Dante, we do no operate like wild Pokémon. We have rules and laws we all have to abide by. You are not exempt from this, and if you continue to break the code of conduct set by the council, we will be forced to make you leave."
"Oh, I'm terrified" I chuckled, rolling my eyes while giving them a cocky grin. "Your punishments mean nothing to me, there is nothing you can do to control me. I am my own Pokémon, not yours. I will try and abide to your rules since at least half of them are common decency, but if I see it as a stupid and useless law, then I will make my own decision."
"You are testing our patience Umbreon!" The Jolteon growled, her fur bristling as at least a thousand volts traveled through it, almost making her glow with a very deadly light.
"And you are testing your luck" I snarled back as my rings began glowing brighter and my pupils dilated. Before we could exchange the full extent of our rage induced power, Siècle jumped between us and released a frigid blast of cold all around him, cooling us down figuratively and literally.
"Alright, we all need to just calm down, let's keep this civil" he pleaded, looking at me with a calming gaze. "Please Dante, we're just doing out jobs. We understand that this whole 'following the rules' thing might not be what your used to, but please just understand where we're coming from."
I raised a brow and relaxed my stance, calmly walking towards him and sitting down while looking into his jet black eyes.
"See, now this is what I wanted. No threats, no yelling, just a civil conversation between two sensible beings, you could both learn something from Siècle here." This earned a small blush from the ice type while it just pissed the other two off more, making me grin in amusement.
"I will try and follow your rules, but I wish to see a list of all of the rules your clan has in place, preferably in human writing since I never really learned how to read any other form of writing."
"I can do that, might take a little bit to translate, but I will see to it. Just, please don't threaten any more of your clan mates from here on out." Siècle told me, receiving a nod in agreement.
"Very well, now please leave me be, I wish to finish my nap." The Glaceon nodded and made his way out of my den with the other two, noticeably more upset than him, followed. I returned to my nest and curled up to sleep for the next few hours, wanting to be well rested when I went out for my midnight walk, least I would have had a certain Jolteon not walked in soon after the others left.
"Don't really see three council members walking out of a den at the same time often, can only imagine what you did." Another sigh escaped my muzzle, but I couldn't help the small smile that grew soon after.
"Hello Jules, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I greeted the Jolteon, picking my head up as he came to lay down beside me.
"First off, before we go any further, what was with the council walking out of your den. Kata and Tara looked totally livid, only Siècle looked like he wasn't ready to kill somebody."
"Long story short, I ended up threatening Kata's son and he came to threaten me back." I replied with a shrug, watching as the Jolteon's eyes widened in surprise.
"Hold on a second, let me get this straight, you threatened a council members son...do I even want to know?"
"Nope." He shook his head with a sigh, looking at me with disappoint clear on his face.
"Come on man, you can't go around threatening clan members, that's gonna get you exiled faster than you can blink." I shrugged and laid my head back down.
"There are reasons for everything I do Jules, best not to question it."
"Whatever you say dude, now for what I was really here for, I was wondering if you would like to have a battle with me." I looked up at him in surprise as I canted my head in curiosity.
"Me and you, battle, what brought this up?"
"Yes or no man" he urged, making me narrow my eyes in mild annoyance.
"Watch your tone" I warned, my lips curled back to show the whites of my teeth. His ears flattened along the back of his head as he shied away from me.
"Sorry, but can you please just give me an answer now, it's important." He repeated, much calmer this time around. I gave it some thought, not seeing much harm in a friendly spar, so I nodded my head in agreement.
"Awesome, meet me at the field tomorrow at noon, I wanted to show my class how a real Jolteon should fight."
"Aren't they always the one beating you around?" I asked, chuckling as a blush quickly formed on his muzzle.
"Hey, they team up on me, a mon can only do so much" he defended, making me laugh all the harder.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever dude. Now if that was all you wanted, I would really like to try and get some sleep, want to go for my walk tonight and I need to be rested to do that. Stay or go, it's your choice." I told him, laying my head back down and letting my eyes fall closed.
"Actually, I was wondering if I could stay here tonight, kind of need to avoid Eve for awhile."
"Like I said, stay if you want, but it she comes by, I'm not saving your ass." I told him without moving an inch of even opening my eyes. He didn't say anything after that, just walked around my den for awhile before the sound of his paw steps closed in beside me, right before a small weight fell on my neck, probably his head so he could use me as a pillow. I let it be, seeing as he wasn't really moving all that much, and his warmth did feel kind of nice against my side.
"Sleep well Dante."
"You to Jules." Anything after that fell from my mind as I let my consciousness wander off into the world of dreams.
Starting to think I made Dante bipolar...oh well, the story will still go on as it is.