I have nothing to say in my defense. Point to LV. I will win the next round, you just WATCH me. :3
Kasu had never been caught quite so flatfooted. Here she stood, berry juice running down her chin to drip into her scraggly ruff, being teased by a lithe Ninetales, the likes of which she'd never met before, and said Ninetales was not only a friendly but a comrade - one they had been looking for, no less.
It should be noted that Kasu was never at her best within the first hour after waking up, and this night was no exception, especially considering the previous night's insomnia. So she just stood there, mouth ever so slightly open, ruff sporting a brand-new red-brown stain below the chin. Nimahri arched a slim eyebrow.
"Sure you're all right?"
"Uh…" Before Kasu could reply, something even more unexpected happened.
"Mrow?"
Kasu stared.
From somewhere behind Nimahri, a tiny 'mon appeared, one which Kasu had never even heard of. It was blue-and-black, with yellow eyes and a distinctly feline build. From its size and the uncertain way it moved, the 'mon was very young indeed, little more than a cub, Kasu surmised. The little felid stared back at Kasu for a long moment, "mrr"-ing faintly, then started padding toward her on unsteady legs. Kasu stood rooted to the spot as the blue 'mon approached.
Nimahri was watching.
"Yeah, I don't know what he is either. Just a baby, obviously - I found him just a few days back. Some human musta dumped him off."
"Dumped him off? You mean, left him to fend for himself?" At Nimahri's nod, Kasu exclaimed, "That's horrible!"
"Some humans are like that, kid." Clearly Nimahri thought along the lines of her fellow Doom Patrol members as far as humans were concerned, but her voice didn't have the utter condemnation Tenebrae's invariably did. Kasu started to comment, then was interrupted by a small squeak as the little cub tripped.
"Oh, whoops! Poor little guy," Kasu murmured, nudging the cat back to its paws. He stared at her with curious eyes, then, with a triumphant "Mewp" snuggled quite comfortably against Kasu's stained ruff.
"Uh…" Once again, Kasu found herself totally at a loss for what to do or say. Nimahri just chuckled.
"Hey, he likes you already," she laughed, sweeping past the stunned Eevee. "Are we going to wake up my - excuse me, our - lazy teammates sometime soon?"
"Uh… sure, but what about…" Kasu looked down at the cub.
"Oh, I've been calling him Arthur." Nimahri stopped and with another graceful sweeping motion turned to face Kasu again. "He keeps up pretty well, for a little cub. He already knows his name, so if he falls behind or gets distracted you can just call him."
"Uh…" Nimahri swept around again and started off in the direction of the hollow. Kasu stared after her.
"Well, fine," she muttered. "Okay, Arthur…" At the sound of his name the cub looked up at her. Without hesitation he broke into a loud purr, and Kasu smiled despite herself.
"Okay, Arthur. We'll go slow. Not like that big yellow show-off," Kasu grumbled, glaring off after Nimahri, who was already out of sight around a bend in the trail. Arthur gave another little squeak as Kasu moved to go down the trail, but as she turned to help him he was already on his paws and toddling along beside her.
"You're slower than I expected," was Nimahri's comment as they entered the hollow. Kasu gave her a look.
"What… is that the cub you were talking about?" Archimedes asked, clearly as surprised as Kasu had been.
"Wow," Firefang commented. "Nevah seen anythin' like him before."
"Me neither," Duskpaw said excitedly. "Must be a foreign 'mon."
"Probably," Tenebrae agreed, studying Arthur carefully. Arthur toddled about, examining all those present curiously, mewing in surprise when Firefang scooped him up.
"This lil' 'un needs a bath," she commented. "Bad."
Nimahri looked a little shamefaced.
"I was a little… occupied."
"Ah'm not criticizing ya," Firefang reassured her. "Only a cat 'mon knows how ta give a cat bath." She proceeded to demonstrate, to the chagrin of Arthur, who like any kitten was not a fan of bathing. Firefang, however, would not be deterred, and after a short few minutes of wriggling Arthur seemed to give up.
In all the furor over Arthur, Kasu slunk to a place next to Duskpaw, who gave her a quick grin and leaned in to whisper, "Can't blame him. I used to hate it when Mom gave me baths."
"Me too," Kasu whispered back, and they shared a grin.
"Arthur aside," Nimahri said, "I'm afraid there's something very strange going on up there on the mountain. That's why I came down, myself."
"What kind of 'strange' are we talking about here?" Tenebrae asked. "I'm not taking on any of the greater 'mons, if that's the case."
"I don't think any of them are involved, though it wouldn't surprise me much if they were," Nimahri told him, referring to the strongest of all the 'mons, creatures on the level of the great birds such as the firebird Moltres. "No, the problem seems to stem from the Eon pack that lives up there."
Kasu gave a little jolt at that, and Archimedes leaned in closer.
"Eon pack, eh? Figures the trouble would be there," Tenebrae commented. "It's always precisely where we need to go."
"You were going there?"
"Kasu is, at any rate," Archimedes said, looking at her. "We were providing escort - Tenebrae's idea - up to Queen Emeria's range. Emeria is an Eon, isn't she?"
"Yeah, just like Jakian was," Nimahri confirmed.
At this point Kasu had to butt in.
"What kind of Eons are they?"
"You don't know?" Nimahri asked. Kasu shook her head violently.
"My old pack regulated our evolutions. We had to become one of the triad, Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon. I'd never heard of any others, not until I met Tenebrae and he told me about this Jakian."
"And if I know these boys, they told you nothing useful," Nimahri said scathingly. Tenebrae grinned, not at all abashed.
"Well, Eevee," Nimahri said, "the ones on the mountain are exactly like your old pack, as far as regulating evolution. Except they all train to evolve into just one variant of Eon - they call themselves Espeons, powerful psychic 'mons. They can read the next movements of anyone around them, they're so attuned with their senses. Very, very powerful." Nimahri sounded a little awed.
"Yup, that's Jakian to a 'T'," Archimedes confirmed.
"How do they do it?" Kasu asked, desperate for this information.
"Not a clue, Eevee."
"My name is Kasu."
"Kasu, whatever." Nimahri flipped one of her many tails. "It's some kind of secret, and I had no reason to ferret it out."
"I see." Kasu had almost expected this answer.
"What's the issue up there?" Tenebrae asked as Kasu seemed disinclined to question the Ninetales further.
"Emeria's called 'Queen' because she keeps order on that mountain," Nimahri began. "Most of the 'mons on the mountain look to the Espeon pack to run rogue 'mons and humans off the mountain, so they can live in peace. In return, they are literally at the pack leader's beck and call. It's been like that forever, as far as I can tell.
"About five years ago or so, the old pack leader stepped down and passed on leadership to Emeria. So far, she's done a good job, and the majority of the mountain is happy with her. But there are whispers…" Nimahri glanced around, saw she had their undivided attention, and continued.
"Emeria had a brother, Aheba, who rumor says was not happy with his sister being chosen over him. Unfortunately, there's said to be a faction of Espeons and other 'mons who support him, though no one really knows who is on what side. Aheba himself has gone to ground - no one can find him. The whole mountain is on edge. That in and of itself would probably sort itself out, given time - Aheba's faction is much, much smaller than that of Emeria, and should it come to an out-and-out fight there's not much dispute on who would win. But there's a snag."
"A snag?" Duskpaw was totally caught up in the story.
"The pack itself, as of two days ago, was swearing up and down that Emeria's allying herself and the pack with some dark creature. Frankly, I think they're making a big fuss over what is likely just a shy dark type 'mon seeking advice from the great Queen, but with Aheba's faction sneaking around on the mountain the rumors all get blown out of proportion. Planting the seed of doubt in the loyal ones, I think. Half of them are sure that Emeria's trying to sweep the mountain clear of all the dissenters by allying herself with some terrible dark legend, and the other half is on the fence." Nimahri sighed. "It's chaos up there. And there's been a whisper that Aheba's got some kind of plan; no one really knows what he's up to, but the rumor is he's gathering the strongest, most unexpected 'mons to him, gaining all the most unusual powers he can, to counter the Espeons' ability to predict the opponent's moves. They can't predict the effects of powers they've never seen before." Nimahri looked right at Kasu. "In other words, if you're wanting to go up the mountain, don't."
Kasu bristled, ever so slightly. She could see the truth in Nimahri's words, and she understood that in her own slightly abrasive way the Ninetales was looking out for her. But to have come so far, and be told to turn back… No. It might be the smarter idea, but Kasu wouldn't - couldn't - turn back, not after everything.
So she set her jaw, and spoke with a flat voice.
"Thanks for the warning. But I'm not turning back now." She looked around at the assembled, blue eyes crystalline. "It might be crazy, it might be stupid, but something has got me this far. I have to see this through." She stood up.
"Kasu…" Tenebrae stared at her. This was not the easygoing Kasu he knew. This was a determined creature, unwilling to let anything stand between her and her goal. Archimedes just shook his head, remembering his conversation with Firefang just that morning.
"Listen, Kasu, don't go crazy on me," Tenebrae continued.
Kasu turned to him, her eyes softening a little.
"I have to do this, Tenebrae. Just like I had to leave my pack and go west. None of you," and she looked at each of them in turn, "have to come with me. None of you had to come in the first place. You chose to travel with me, and I really appreciate everything you've all done for me. But this is my journey, and if you choose not to come along, that's your affair. I…" She paused, and saw, among her assembled friends, the familiar gleaming red eyes.
"Kasu…" Tenebrae stared at her, noting that her eyes looked just over his shoulder rather than at him. What could she be seeing, he wondered.
"I have to go on," she finished, meeting Tenebrae's eyes. The silver fur, stirring in the light night breeze, caught a hint of moonlight and glittered.
There was a stunned silence, during which no one moved. Kasu remained standing, her fur tossed in the breeze. The stain on her ruff was all but ignored; no one dared laugh. This Eevee had a sense of undeniable presence, as though, Nimahri thought, the spirits themselves watched over her. With the heightened senses of the Ninetales species, she felt the fleeting touch of something otherworldly, something rare and strange, like she'd never felt before.
Then it was gone; the spell was broken as the presence faded, and Kasu again became simply a determined young Eevee, looking badly in need of a good dunk in a river. Nimahri filed the moment away for later examination.
"Well, Ah'm still comin'."
Firefang had not spoken at all since taking Arthur. Now she sat, Arthur between her paws (much cleaner), looking totally at ease. Kasu stared at her.
"Well, Ah was comin' ta see mah buddy Cataract, after all," she explained. "Ah still have a ways ta go. You'll not be alone on that mountain."
Kasu blinked, then slowly smiled, grateful to the brash Persian. Firefang smiled in return.
"Ya got somethin' special, hon," she said softly. "Ah wanna see how far ya go. Nah, kid, you'll not be alone for a while, at least. You've got me."
Arthur gave a sharp mew.
"And this lil' 'un, too, Ah think," Firefang laughed. "Better he stays with a cat like himself, Ah think." Kasu expected Nimahri to object, but the Ninetales actually looked quite relieved.
"I'm coming too!" Duskpaw shouted excitedly. "I wanna see the mountain. And maybe we can help out Emeria, you know?"
Kasu smiled at him. "Maybe. Thank you," she added in a softer voice, and Duskpaw just grinned.
Tenebrae looked at Archimedes, and then at Nimahri. Then he spoke.
"Our agreement was to escort you to Queen Emeria's range. We'll take you that far at least, then… well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it." Archimedes nodded emphatically, and Nimahri made no objection.
"I understand." Kasu swiped at her eyes quickly with a paw. "I… well, thank you. For everything."
"Ya already thanked us," came Firefang's gentle reminder. "Now that we've settled that… Nimahri? Was there a special reason ya named this cub 'Arthur'?"
"Um…" Nimahri seemed nonplussed by the sudden topic change. "Well, I like the name, and he answers to it, so…"
"Is that the only name he'll answer ta?"
"Yeah. I tried to nickname him yesterday. He wasn't going for it."
"We may've a problem, then," Firefang said, eyes twinkling mischievously. "This cub's a girl."
Silence.
Then, howls of laughter as Nimahri stammered in shock.
I'm sorry, I can't even take my OWN story seriously. :3 Hope you enjoyed it!