Rustfur slept remarkably well that night. At least, until a slender but strong paw gently shook him. When he slightly opened his eyes, he could vaguely make out brown paws and creamy fur. "Mmm... Not now, Mom." He would've rolled over, but he could feel Sapphire still at his back. Again the paw prodded him, this time accompanied by a soft voice.
"C'mon, Rusty, wake up..."
Rusty? The only Pokemon that know that name are me and... The Espeon looked up at the figure interrupting his sleep. Sure enough, the brown paws did belong to a Leafeon, but they weren't his mother's, as he found out when he saw this Leafeon's face. "Sapphire!?"
Behind him, the Leafeon jumped slightly and came awake, looking around sleepily. "Rustfur? What's the matter?"
Oddly, the reply came from in front of her, not from behind as she had expected. "I think you startled me."
Still laying on the ground, Sapphire raised her eyes to meet the owner of the voice. "Rustfur?"
She looked at the Espeon standing over her, blue eyes wide in awe. He stood about a foot taller than herself, and the young Leafeon was able to see smooth muscle under his short lavender fur. "Is that really you? You look..." Now she understood how Rustfur felt when he'd seen her evolve. She sat up, still staring at him.
A tail tapped her on her shoulder and she turned around. "Sapphire, look at yourself..." the younger Rustfur murmured in wonder.
Slowly, she looked herself up and down. "Okay, Rustfur," she began, glancing at the Espeon sitting next to her, "I now see why you stared at me like that."
"I'm glad you do, because it still hurts where you smacked me." the older Espeon laughed, smoothly striding over to his beautiful mate.
"I'm sorry, Rusty. I wasn't really thinking when I did that." she murmured, gently brushing her cheek against her companion's.
"So, is it safe to say that Sapphire will be my mate?"
The older Sapphire took a step forward and crouched in front of the young Espeon, so that their eyes were inches apart. He pulled away a little, but held her bright azure gaze evenly. He knew this Leafeon better than his own mother, but there was something in the ocean-blue depths of her eyes that was different; more mature and motherly. She laughed, a sweet note in her voice. "Yes, Rustfur, I will be your mate one day, and you will be mine. There's no other Pokemon alive I'd want to spend my life with." She quickly swept her tongue between his ears, as gentle as a mother would do for her kit. The Espeon felt himself blush hotly.
"If you're us, how old are you right now?" Sapphire asked.
"A year and a half." the elder Espeon answered.
"Am I having this dream so that you can tell me something?"
The older pair of Pokemon exchanged a swift glance. "You always liked to get right to the point, didn't you, Rusty?" the Leafeon giggled.
"Yes, actually, we do have something to tell you."
"What is it?"
The two Pokemon spoke as one: "Fury of earth and fury of sky, one from the past, but both in the present, and born of nature's love, will lead the way to the dawn of the heavens."
"What does that mean?"
"We don't know yet..." the adult Sapphire admitted, looking toward the ground. "We've got absolutely no idea... That's why we're here, so that hopefully you two could have more time to figure it out."
"We'll give it a try, Sapphire." It felt odd talking to the startlingly beautiful Leafeon standing across from him, when she also stood right next to him.
"Good. We'll know if you figure it out." Rustfur laughed.
Again, Sapphire stepped up to her young mate-to-be, and Rustfur to his, who blushed at being able to see the lean muscle under his coat. Each of the older Pokemon gently licked the forehead of each other's younger selves. That was the last Rustfur saw of his older self.
Beside him, Sapphire stirred and sat up. Rustfur also sat up, with a little more difficulty, due to his injured foot. "Did you have the same dream, Sapphire?"
"Did you see us when we were a year and a half old?"
"Yes."
"Then, yes, I had the same dream." she finally answered. The Leafeon wriggled with happiness. "Aaah! I can't wait!"
"Can't wait for what?" Rustfur asked as he pawed at an itch behind his right ear.
"I can't wait until we're that age!" Sapphire squealed joyfully.
"Why?"
"Come off it, Rustfur. You know why." She nudged him in the right shoulder, generating a cry of, "Ow!"
"Oops, sorry." she hastily apologized. "But did you see yourself? You looked so...so...strong. And I get to spend the rest of my life with that Pokemon! And I also saw how you were looking at me; you can't wait either."
"All right, I'll admit it. I'm looking forward to it." Sapphire's excitement was becoming contagious. "But, I can't help but worry about what they told us. It sounds almost ominous."
"You're right, it did." Sapphire agreed, having calmed down. "I wonder what it means, though?"
"I wish I knew... But I doubt we're going to figure it out right this second. Let's go find something to eat."
"We should get someone else to come with us, in case those idiots are still in the area." Sapphire advised.
"Let's see if Ravenpaw will go with us." Rustfur pushed himself into as standing position and delicately tested his injured foot against the ground. As he did so, he drew in a sharp breath. "Ouch!" Sapphire quickly fell in on his left side to support him as they progressed toward the Umbreon.
He must have heard their pawsteps, as he raised his black head and glanced at them. "You two are up and about early. Especially you, Rustfur. Are you sure you should be walking on your foot yet?"
Rustfur shrugged. "I'll have to start using again sometime. Why not now?"
"True." the Umbreon yawned. "So, what do the two of you need?"
"We were hoping you would come with us to find something to eat." Rustfur answered.
"Sure." Ravenpaw sat up and stretched. "I wouldn't mind."
Soft pawsteps, accompanied by a familiar scent caught Sapphire's attention. "Hey, Rustfur, there's your dad."
Rustfur followed her line of sight, and, sure enough, there was his father, several berries held in his mouth. The Flareon went over to his mate, set the berries down, and lay down next to her sleeping form, a concerned look in his eyes. "Dad, are you all right?"
"Yes, I am, Rustfur. I'm too sure about your mother, though." he added. "She hasn't spoken since yesterday morning..."
"Give her some time, Fireheart." Ravenpaw said calmly. "I can't imagine it'd be easy to find out your brother who you thought you'd never see again is a part of the organization that almost took your son."
Rustfur limped forward and gently licked his mother's ear. "I love you, Mom." he whispered.
"Come on, Rustfur..." Sapphire delicately nudged the young Espeon. "Let's give her some time alone."
"All right..." he sighed. "Let's go find something to eat."
Sapphire nodded, and they followed Ravenpaw farther into the trees.
"It's all right, Rustfur. Your mother's fine." Sapphire murmured soothingly.
"She doesn't sound like it, from what my dad said. I wonder if there's something I could do..." Rustfur muttered, half to himself.
"There might be. I bet we could come up with something after a good meal."
"Speaking of that... Sapphire?" Ravenpaw threw a glance over his shoulder. "Do you want any specific kind of berry?"
"No, I'll take whatever you're able to find." the Leafeon responded.
"Then, hold on a second." Ravenpaw disappeared into the bushed and shortly reappeared, carrying a branch with about ten curling pink berries on it. He gave his head a quick shake and they fell to the ground. "Help yourselves." he offered.
"Mago berries!" Rustfur exclaimed.
"Yep, my personal favorite." Ravenpaw nodded.
Rustfur and Sapphire each took three berries apiece. As the young Leafeon ate, she saw a splash of scarlet amidst the cool green of the forest. She quickly swallowed and asked, "What's that?"
"That?" Ravenpaw got up and padded over to the vibrant splash of color. He bit off the plant just under its head. He carried back and extended his paw, then placed the delicate flower on his outstretched paw.
"Wow..." Sapphire murmured. "Rustfur, look at it." Its crimson petals were gathered in a tight, delicate bunch. "What is it called, Ravenpaw?"
"It's a rose." he explained. "Sometimes humans grow them in places called gardens."
"A rose? It's beautiful..."
"I know where it would look even better." Rustfur gently picked it up and turned toward Sapphire. She understood what he was going to do and lowered her head. Rustfur lightly tucked the rose behind her right ear. "There. You couldn't look prettier."
"You... You really think so?" she asked, shyly looking at her forepaws.
"Yes, I do. The rose brings out your eyes." he whispered. "We should have looked for a rose a long time ago."
"I doubt you would find another one out here." Ravenpaw commented, finishing his berries.
"Then I hope this one doesn't die too soon."
"Don't worry, Sapphire, it shouldn't. As a Leafeon, plants in your proximity can live without a source of water."
"How do you know that, Ravenpaw?" Rustfur wondered.
"Your mother told me once." Ravenpaw explained. "Let's get back and see how she's doing."
"All right." Rustfur agreed. Again, Sapphire assisted him with walking. Several times Rustfur threw a glance at the crimson rose perched by Sapphire's nicked ear. He was amazed at how different she looked.
She caught his last glance and met it with her captivating blue gaze. Rapidly he threw his gaze to the ground. "I saw that." she giggled. "You'll have to be quicker than that, Rusty." She lightly licked the cheek of the embarrassed Espeon.
'I'm sorry." he murmured. "I know it embarrasses you when I do that. I can't help it though."
"It's all right. It doesn't bother me anymore."
"There you are, Ravenpaw." Swiftclaw spotted the Umbreon's return and stood up.
"What's up, Swiftclaw?"
"I need you to help me with Rustfur's training."
"I assume you mean psychic training. He's not going to do any other kind of training with his foot in the condition it's in."
"Yes, I do."
"Okay, I'll help."
"Thanks." The bright rose tucked against Sapphire's pale, creamy fur caught Swiftclaw's eye. "Sapphire, where did you find that rose?"
"It was just sitting in the forest by itself. Rustfur put it behind my ear for me." She smiled sweetly at the young Espeon.
"It looks good there, Sapphire."
The Leafeon looked past Swiftclaw and saw Rayne come up behind him.
"Thank you, Rayne." Sapphire answered.
"So, Rustfur," began Swiftclaw, "do you want to get some practice in?"
Rustfur nodded. "Yeah, we can."
Sapphire giggled. "Now I can finally see how you train."
________________________________________________________________
Author's Notes:
This is a highly important chapter that plays a huge role later on in Shattered Truths.
The rose. Keep it in mind. Also think about the prophecy and what it means; it
essentially covers the majority of what happens in ST.
To those who don't feel like waiting to read chapters that I have not yet posted,
allow me to refer you to my deviantArt page under the same name; "Eeveexpert".