Thunder: :3 I have my paw back!
Me: *Hits head repeatedly with a baseball bat* This song, is stuck, in my, head!
Shard: …what song?
Me: From FROZEN!
Shard: That Disney movie with all the ice and snow? I love that movie!
Me: LET IT GO, LET IT GOOOO! CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMOOOORE!
Thunder: Don't worry little author, I can cure you!
Me: No you can't- LET IT GOOOOO!
Shard: *Winces* Your singing is terrible.
Thunder: Yeah I can! All you have to do is listen to the answer of a simple question! Shadow, when is one of the worst times to sing 'Let it go'?
Me: W-When?!
Thunder: During the Titanic! :D
Me: …That's so wrong. *Ahem* Anyways… thanks to everyone who has forgiven me for missing the anniversary. ;u; Thankz! Especially from that one guest that hugged me… YAY! FREE HUGS! *Crushes Shard with a hug*
Shard: o-o A… Ack…
Me: Hey, Thunder, it worked! The song is no longer in my head!
Thunder: GENIUS.
Me: Back to the serious matters… this chapter was supposed to come out a week earlier, but unfortunately I fell sick for that entire week. X.X This chapter also was supposed to be a bit longer, but I grew lazy and realized there wasn't much more I could put in here. Well, I hope it doesn't seem a bit rushed…
Shard: H-Help… meeh…
Shard's POV
Pokémon bustled around Silver Falls just like on any typical, mid-spring day. My gaze stretched across the shimmering, pearly water with rays of rippling silver that captivated me. The sun was situated near the center of the partially clouded sky and most of the neighboring flowers were still in fresh, vivid and flourishing states; it was difficult to not admire the beautiful surroundings. My attention only diverted when Thunder had asked if I was ready to leave yet. His voice was soft and caring, and I couldn't help but smile.
"...Yeah. We shouldn't be late to Cedar Square anyways." I tore my gaze from the lake and climbed to my azure-furred paws. As I padded towards the tree line, Thunder fell into step with me, giving a quick nuzzle to my neck. A few sparks buzzed lightly from his soft, golden fur, and I rubbed back at the warmth with a growing blush. Soon we were showered only by light filtering through the treetops, and bright green grass was pressed beneath our paw steps. We were walking closely with each other as we begun to trot south.
"Do you know what's going on at the Great Sequoias?" Thunder questioned. His ears angled to hear my answer better.
"Other Pokémon said it's definitely an announcement from the Swords of Justice. I don't know what it's about though." I meekly smiled and, when Thunder's gaze appeared lost in the surroundings, I began to enjoy the restful silence.
Immediately my thoughts trailed to a certain subject, it's still hard to think we're a couple now. My stare was dragged over to the jolteon. His fur weakly shined with tiny sparks. That red, slightly charred scarf waved in the breeze, and some of his ruff's white fur peeked out in a messy, cute look. His smile and cobalt eyes revealed delight and the way he walked showed his calm state.
I couldn't help but muse about the thought further. After everything that had happened, with Ruby and Thunder's cluelessness, the jolteon only showed signs of being a friend. Only after Ruby attacked me at Forest Grotto was when he acted differently, and I thought something bad had caused that; instead he was sharing my feelings. Whatever the rest of our relationship held I carried faith that it was bright. There were downsides though, like Ruby still lurking in Sugarcane somewhere and Petal disapproving of Thunder, but I chose to ignore those factors. The forest was in a golden time of beauty, nothing was disturbing us, and there was a safe feeling in the atmosphere. It was like the perfect moment; no reason to wilt it with negative thoughts.
After losing time with my thoughts Pokémon were popping up more often. I started to hear muffled, tangled chatter, and it wasn't long till big groups of Pokémon were all heading in a single direction. The thick trunk of the Great Sequoias and its huge, leafy dome loomed out clearly. We were just a moment or two away from arriving at Cedar Square. "Well we got here fast," I giggled.
When I faced the jolteon he leaned over, kissed my cheek, and pulled back with a loving grin. "Let's hope we find a place to sit without getting run over," he chuckled. The jolteon padded into Cedar Square while I remained where I stood, as still as ice, and was rubbing my rosy-shaded cheek. I'm gonna have to get used to that.
With my rapidly beating heart, I followed the jolteon; we quickly found a nice place to sit close to the Great Sequoias. I rested against Thunder's side and settled my head on his shoulder; instantly I felt my face heat up further, and what felt like a permanent grin was etched on my muzzle.
In wait of the announcement I sluggishly observed the area. Beneath our paws was a mixture of brown and green leaves. My ears instinctively lowered, so the onslaught of noise around us wouldn't hurt so badly. Small, slim cedars were lining the edge of the square, and the dusty Sequoia towered above all the other trees. Its verdant top swept to one side so it shadowed Cedar Square, and only small rays glinted through its spring leaves. Golden beams of sunlight glared on the Great Sequoias' platform as a natural spotlight. Darkness filled the crevice behind the platform; it was where the Swords of Justice would exit out of in a matter of minutes. A loudred leaned against the tree from on the platform's ramp, stared out at the crowd, and it seemed that he was waiting for a signal so he could start the meeting. "When do you think it'll start?" Thunder inquired.
"Probably soon. This place is packed... they wouldn't keep everyone waiting much longer." I snuggled deeper into his fur while answering. Tiny, glowing streaks spread to my icy fur and gave me a sense of warmth and affection. My eyes nearly closed till my attention was caught to the Sequoia's ramp. A ladybug Pokémon with slanted, sapphire eyes fluttered towards the loudred, and flailed its four arms at him in a dramatic sense. The loudred, gaining an expression of understanding, nodded at the ledian and marched onto the platform.
When the loudred was at the wooden edge several eyes were drawn to him; the announcement was about to start. "Fellow Pokémon!" he roared, slowly quieting the noise. As he spoke I barely saw a rugged, dark blue horn sticking out of the crevice behind him. "Many thanks to all who has attended! I am here to introduce four very important Pokémon, belonging to the noble Swords of Justice. We deeply appreciate your presence and we are glad you have come…"
The owner of the blue horn stepped out of the Great Sequoias, revealing his resemblance of a colt. He had a red mane and his body was mainly a cream color. As he stepped out his fluffy, sky blue tail flicked into sight, and it gently waved behind the quadrupedal. About halfway to the loudred it took on a running stance; a hardly noticeable, daring gleam sparked in his cerulean eyes. He held his horn so it pointed directly at loudred. He scraped his hoof against the wood, grinned mischievously, and charged at the announcer.
Before his jagged horn made contact, however, Keldeo threw his head so he bucked up and raised his front hooves so they were high above the bipeds head. Most Pokémon were snickering and adorned giant smiles. The loudred's circular ears shifted, apparently picking up the Keldeo's clopping, and he had halted in mid speech. He could only whirl around halfway to face Keldeo before a powerful, giant water spiral for each hoof shot out, and blasted the loudred offstage. The colt-like Pokémon bashed his front hooves down, threw his head back, and laughed out towards the Great Sequoias' treetop. He then took on a prideful, virtuous composure and stared out at the crowd. Cheers erupted from Keldeo's humorous entrance; everyone was overjoyed to see another appearance from the new Swords of Justice member.
I didn't need to look at Thunder to tell he wasn't laughing; his sides didn't heave with any laughter, and a worried gaze was centered where the sulking loudred wobbled off. "Hi everybody! Let's get this meeting started!" Keldeo chirped. Coming from behind the energetic colt were three taller Pokémon; one was a slender, green deer with blunt-tipped horns. A bovine Pokémon with mostly brown hide came off to the right, and in the middle was a tall goat with aqua blue fur.
The bovine known as Terrakion spoke in a hearty tone, "Bro, if you rush out every time then Cobalion will yell at ya' too!" Cobalion leered at him with cold, flashing yellow eyes, but the goat didn't respond more than that.
Virizion tapped her hoof in impatience. "Do we have to start out like this every time? We practically scared off the announcer." Keldeo and Terrakion laughed at her comment. I glanced towards where the loudred had trudged away earlier only to notice his absence; he probably felt obliged to leave because of Keldeo's water stunt.
Cobalion glared menacingly at the two carefree legendaries. "This is no time for nonsense," he stiffly growled. Despite Cobalion's demanding words, Terrakion and Keldeo decided to laugh a while longer. The audience eventually broke out into chatter; it looked like it'd take a moment for things to resettle.
"The meeting started like this a couple months ago too," Thunder sighed. "Do they always act like this?"
I was quick to answer. "Most of the time they do, and it usually resolves fast. Keldeo is just making it a little worse, I guess."
He shrugged. "Well it shows legendaries are like us… it's kind of funny, don't you think?"
A smile played at my muzzle as I nuzzled the jolteon. "Yeah."
Before we could talk further Cobalion walked to the edge of the platform and held his head high, silently signaling everyone to return their attentions. Virizion and Keldeo were hanging back by the crevice for the moment, probably so Virizion could scold the colt. Terrakion slowly walked to Cobalion's left side and scanned the crowd with a hard, piercing gaze, and the noise had faded away faster.
"Sorry for the wait," the Iron Will Pokémon apologized. He paused and briskly glanced over his shoulder to see the conversing Virizion and Keldeo, then faced the crowd again. Cobalion wouldn't wait anymore to begin the announcement. "Over the last few months we have traveled to nearby areas, and the last place we stopped at has been a quiet forest known as Creek Woods. We learned of a certain tradition they have to celebrate spring's successful arrival, and the Swords of Justice think it is a great idea if we bring it to Sugarcane."
You couldn't cheer for something you didn't know much about yet, so there was only a weak applause. "It is called the Spring Festival. There are games, prizes, and special events that happen throughout one day, and it happens during mid-spring, so the festival takes place when nature is at its best. Those who have resided here for some time know we have an Autumn Festival, so why shouldn't we have one for spring as well?" There were more cheers, being stronger and louder than before.
Cobalion stepped away as Terrakion stomped up. "It's great that you all like this idea! Some of you might be thinking about a winter and summer festival as well… and I'm saying this for closure, but we shouldn't have more than a few special occasions per year, and we already have more than just seasonal celebrations." A few groans came from around us, but they were easily drowned out from everyone else who was happy. "But in order to start this festival we will need some Pokémon to help set it up. We are targeting to have the festival take place in a week."
Virizion and Keldeo were finally walking over to Cobalion's side. Keldeo, despite his goofy attitude earlier, appeared just as respectful and brave as the other three members. Terrakion glanced over at Virizion and walked away from the edge. The green deer understood the message and gracefully stepped up to take his place. "If you come back to the Great Sequoias tomorrow you can talk to us and sign up to volunteer. If you do decide to sign up, you get access to every wondrous event and some Poké."
She backed down and glanced at Keldeo, signaling him to walk up and finish off the announcement. The colt looked frozen though; his cerulean eyes no longer had that daring gleam, but they were so full of terror that the whole audience must have seen it. He only took one step before he became paralyzed again.
Thunder leaned down so his muzzle was by my ear. "What do you think's wrong with him?"
"…He's…" I shortly stopped and gave it some thought. "…maybe since he acted like everyone's a friend earlier it was easy to talk, and now he has to act proud and leader-like. It's probably hard to act responsible in front of so many Pokémon."
I stared up into his dark cobalt eyes as he responded. "Makes sense. How'd you come up with that?"
"Star acts like that all the time," I giggled. The slight amount of tension in the air was instantly lifted for us. "If she has to act serious at all then she gets super nervous."
Keldeo was finally in front of the other Swords of Justice's and his mouth was slightly ajar, not in a shocked way, but it showed he wanted to say something but didn't. He then sharply shook his head, scratched his neck with a midnight blue hoof, and forced out his words. "Some of the events are swimming competitions, races, free berries and other things." He paused and sharply looked back at the other legendaries. Virizion gestured with her hoof to continue. "Thank you all for coming out, and I humbly remind you to volunteer."
It was obvious that was the ending sentence for the announcement. The four quadruped legendaries steered back into the Great Sequoias as everyone exploded with ear-splitting noise, and I quickly pulled myself to my paws. I wanted to talk to the jolteon beside me about the festival, or at least say something before leaving, but it was impossible with all the activity around us.
"Let's hurry!" Thunder shouted, showing his thoughts were exact to mine. He already was shoving his way past the other Pokémon with me swiftly following him. As we were running I lost sight of Thunder's yellow fur but I continued to trudge along, and his goldenrod ears had soon returned to sight. We were still stuck with the departing crowd once we reached the cedar trees, and we had to run some distance further till we were far enough from the Pokémon.
My hind legs ached because I went from sitting to a full-on dash. I slumped back into the sit position and my stare fixated on the grass. My gaze had then peeked up to see Thunder, who didn't look tired at all. It wasn't a surprise; evolving into a jolteon had its perks.
What good is it to be a glaceon? I suddenly wondered. Before I could find something else to think about I dwelled further on the subject. I'm vulnerable to heat and I'm fragile. Why didn't I evolve into a jolteon to be faster?
My eyes widened at the thoughts. I stared up at Thunder and he returned the stare. Don't think like that. The jolteon was waiting for me to catch my breath; his sides weren't heaving at all and his breathing remained regular. "Something wrong?" His eyes were edged with worry.
"Just tired." I gathered myself to my paws and started to stretch. Just because I struggle to catch up with him, or I hold him back at times, doesn't mean I should worry about it. His shadow passed over me as soon as I was done.
"You sure?" he questioned with concern.
"I'm sure," I answered sincerely.
Thunder kissed me between the ears. "Good. Anyways, I gotta tell you something." The electric fox bounced back playfully and an eager look danced in his eyes. It made my smile return. "I got this idea during the meeting. If there's a festival in a week, and it'll be fun and stuff, we should…" He then stopped. His surplus energy vanished and he took on a calmer stance. "Shard, would you like to come to the Spring Festival with me?"
It took me a moment to understand what he was saying. My heartbeat echoed in my ears, and my grin stretched a bit wider. "As in a… a, a date?"
"Yeah!" the jolteon beamed. He leaned over and kissed me on the nose. "An official first date!"
I shyly smiled and felt my face heat up again. My tail started to twitch in nervous excitement, and the forest seemed to brighten at his words. "Of course," I weakly squeaked. I took a few steps forward and nuzzled him affectionately, which he happily rubbed back to. However, during our sweet moment, my thoughts wandered once again. It's still hard to believe this is happening. I've been dreaming we would be a couple for so long, but now it's come true and I can't be happier. I pulled away, my smile beginning to be feigned. But why does something feel… wrong?
A voice suddenly squawked out from behind me. "Shard!"
I barely had time to twitch an ear until the breath was knocked out of me and I was pinned by a mass of feathers. A pale pink beak was shoved against my muzzle, and I stared up into a pair of beady black eyes. I was missing the warmth of Thunder's pelt already. "Skylar..." I whined. Her talons tightly wrapped around my hind legs and my head whirled from the sudden tackle.
The pidgeotto quickly hopped off and fluttered briefly in the air. "I'm gonna help out the entire forest and volunteer for the Spring Festival!" she chirped. As I came back on my paws I rubbed a hind leg with my tail; she scratched me with her talons. "We'll be allowed to all the events! I'm pretty sure the Spring Festival stuff is available to everyone, but I bet there'll be something that only volunteers can take part in. Oh, I hope there will be sky races! I'll leave everyone behind in the clouds!"
"Good for y-" I couldn't even mutter three words before she interrupted me again.
"Oh, are you on a date with Thunder? Hi Thunder! Oh, wait; did I ruin a moment for you? Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry! Should I leave? I probably should leave." Her wings snapped open. I opened my muzzle to say it was fine, seeing the moment was already ruined, but she darted into the broad blue sky as a blur of tan before I could, and she quickly vanished past the treetops. I sighed.
"She rushes too much," Thunder chuckled.
I laughed. "You got that ri-"
"S-Shard!"
What now? I turned around to see a dot of yellow stumbling towards me. Her cheeks appeared stained in tears, and her fluffy tail drooped behind her as she came over. My eyes widened and a dreadful feeling threaded the air. The slight irritation I felt earlier instantly vanished. "Fawn, what's wrong?!"
The fennekin was soon by my side and buried her head in my flank. "Sh-Shard… I… I s-saw Ruby…" she cried, choking between sobs.
Thunder's ears pricked in alarm. My ears and tail lowered from the painful reminder of the luxray. "What happened?" I demanded, curling my tail over to comfort her.
Fawn was wiping at her red eyes, which glowed in despair, with a tear-soaked paw. "She… I-I saw her, tormenting a… a noctowl, that wa-was returning to her nest. She t-tried to st… steal her f-feathers for some rea… son. I yelled at her to s-stop, but she… she… attacked me, with claws." My fur bristled with both panic and fear. I moved my tail from around her slightly and scanned her for the wound. It only took me a short moment till I saw the gash starting from her shoulder, and then it sliced halfway down her forearm. A crimson hue bled out of it and her golden fur was flecked with blood. The terror I saw in Fawn's eyes was enough to chip anyone's heart.
"You shouldn't do things like that Fawn. We're lucky that she only got in one hit," I sadly remarked. It was hard to keep my tone even; my voice felt like it would start to crack and turn high-pitched. My gaze shifted over to Thunder for a heartbeat, and I saw he was waiting for his chance at a way to help. "Thunder, can you please find Velvetleaf, or at least anything to patch this up?"
The fox nodded immediately and was already dashing through the trees. I looked back at the deep slice again and grief washed over me once more. It was a miracle that Ruby didn't do worse, but the wound was still very deep. A certain question swirled in my mind, and when Fawn had started licking her cut I couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Why were you out here on your own?"
The fennekin paused in treating her wound and glared at the grass, which was partially dotted in crimson, and her eyes drifted shut. "I wanted to watch the meeting," she whispered timidly. The pained words were filled with remorse and regret. She then lifted her teary gaze to meet my weak one. "Do you think we can hide this from my clan?"
Even though I wanted to lift her spirit I shook my head. I wouldn't be helping her if I lied. "I don't think it'll heal fast enough. It looks too deep."
The fennekin weakly sighed and lied down on the scarlet dappled grass. "Great."
We waited in silence for a couple moments before Thunder bolted out of the undergrowth with soft, velvety leaves in his muzzle, and he quickly dropped it at Fawn's paws. Thunder threw one glance at me before saying, "I'll patch it up."
I shakily nodded in appreciation; he knew I'd be uncomfortable in doing it myself. My vision blurred and I gained a lightheaded feeling whenever I had to tend to blood. While Thunder was wrapping up Fawn's forearm I tried not to look, but the wound was quickly bandaged and I didn't have to look away for long.
Fawn limped over to my side once again. "Is this Thunder?"
One of the jolteon's ears lowered in confusion. "Uh… you guys are friends?"
I nodded to answer both of their questions. "Yeah…" I then realized there was something I never told Fawn yet, and stared down at the injured cub. "…and we're dating."
She took a moment to respond. Her mouth opened slightly and her ears pointed straight up in shock, and then she spun around to face Thunder. Her sorrowful mood was replaced with surprise and a little happiness. "No way!"
Both of his ears started to droop. "Um… Shard told you about me?"
"Of course!" she squeaked. She barely avoided putting pressure on her wounded leg as she stumbled over to the electric type. "We're great friends, and she had a crush on you ever since you guys met! I'm glad you finally broke up with that horrible monster of a luxray!"
Thunder flushed red in both embarrassment and shame. I felt my face flare up as well; he didn't know I had liked him for that long until now. "W-We should get you back, t-to your home," Thunder stuttered.
A distraught expression whipped back to Fawn and her ears went limp. "Okay…"
"C-Come on, let's go," I stammered. I picked Fawn up by the scruff despite her protests, and I started to lead ourselves towards the Fennekin Clan. However, during the entire walk, Ruby plagued my mind. Fawn's wound proved she was still cold-hearted. Why was she trying to get noctowl feathers though? She was also capable of hurting Fawn further so why didn't she? The gruesome image of the luxray flashed in my mind; her ivory claws were shining with Fawn's blood and her savage, yellow eyes were blazing with anger. Her daggered fur crackled with electricity and lips were curled back to show lethal fangs. The picture was so strikingly accurate in my mind that I thought her hot breath was slipping down my neck. Please don't have her attack me next.
Oh ho! Ruby... she is mentioned yet again. Eep. I wanna get out my spatula for self-defense, but that didn't work too well last time. This was a week late, and then I aimed to have this finished on the weekend, but I'm busy with a project that will- hopefully- come into play at the beginning of April. And I'm sure some of you might like to check it out... it involves Shard and Thunder. I wonder if anyone can take a guess on what it is. If you want to, review your thoughts about what I'm planning. :3 Except for the one person that already knows... yeah, you know who you are. Don't spoil it for anyone! x3
The next few chapters are going to be pretty sweet. :D Hope you enjoyed.