Firia and Nirusui fixed their gazes on me as I approached the point where I could listen to my brothers from their respective platforms.

Firia could be intimidating because of her constant need not to smile. Her black eyes only reinforced that sensation. However, her physical appearance gave the opposite impression, looking more like me than any other family member. She had the same mane wrapped around her neck with a thick tuft between her two-pointed ears and a thick tail, all of a dull yellow color. What made her different from me was her height, three times mine, the red fur, and the tail, which was much longer than mine. Firia had the habit of always keeping it up, giving the impression of an almost white flame surrounding her like an aura.

On the other hand, Nirusui was Firia's living counterpart. Calmer and with a less intense looking despite her eyes were also black. She was the only one in the family who had no fur on her body but elegant blue scales all over it instead. Nirusui's ears were two yellowfins, and she had a third one, more thick and dark-blue color, in the middle of her head. Around her neck, she had a white ruff, and just below it, a row of scaly spikes ending in an incredibly long and heavy tail with another fin designed to swim at the end. Nirusui had a body intended to move through the water like a fish. If I didn't know she was my sister, I'd never have associated her with a Pokemon from my species.

I sit on the mark I left in the past to indicate the right place from where to listen to my brother's voices.

"You got here relatively quickly," said Firia with a more relaxed face. "I thought you'd take longer to answer the call."

I lean my head. That's surprises even myself from all I went through to get here.

"You doubted of Massara's powers efficiency?" I asked.

"No. More like how much it would take you to even start coming back home."

I frowned.

"Don't get me wrong, we knew you were meeting with your friends from the forest and thought you'd spend more time with them before coming here," Firia explained.

"We'll meet again later as long as this meeting isn't too long."

"It all depends on Zikay," said Nirusui. "It's still amazing how the fastest Pokemon in the forest is always the last to show up. We'll have to wait for him a bit more."

After naming the missing brother, it wasn't half a minute later that the three of us felt Zikay already arrived. Firia and I were the ones who noticed it the most because our fur bristled when he was around using his powers. That time was no exception.

Zikay entered the room like a lightning bolt, emitting sparks in all directions. I instinctively took cover and moved away from the supposed direction I calculated after hearing him behind me. Firia and Nirusui neutralized the electric projectile with their powers, and I watched how Nirusui sank in her water pool and expelled a tremendous and powerful torrent that hit Zikay hard, pushing him aside. Firia extinguished the flame torrent she was about to use to stop his advance.

Zikay recovered from Nirusui's water impact quite naturally. He was just a little dizzy. His fur was bristly, forming a large number of spikes all over his body. There was practically no part of it that wasn't covered by one; even Zikay had a white piece that pretended to be a mane like mine or Firia's. Zikay turned around, expelling an electric wave around him. He still was emitting sparks.

"Always trying the be the center of attention," said Firia seriously. "Where were you? You're late."

"What do you want me to do? Massara may have incredible psychic powers, but her telepathy is less effective when the one who must receive the message is far away. And guess what, at that moment, I was at the other end of the forest." Zikay shook and stomped the ground, releasing more sparks with each movement. "Ugh, I'm still overcharged. By the way, I like your new look, Nevui. Pointier than usual.

Firia glared at him, causing some lava bubbles to explode and drop near Zikay. He dodged Firia's contained attack in the blink of an eye. Literally. Zikay showed Firia his best smile and a short naughty laugh. Emotionally speaking, they were opposites. Firia rarely smiled (in public, at least), and Zikay, there was hardly a moment when he wasn't laughing. That occasionally led to a fight between the two with a different winner each time. I found it difficult to see my brother as a worthy fighter with a personality more geared to having fun than competing. But Firia made it clear: a Jolteon should never be underestimated, no matter what.

"Then discharge yourself, will you? Your static electricity is bothering both me and Nevui."

Zikay looked at me and started laughing. The bristly fur was much more noticeable in me than in Firia. I looked like a brown furball. "I completely forgot about that."

"Zikay, please," said Nirusui.

The Jolteon held a few more laughs and began to calm down. "Okay, okay. I'll remove the electricity from my body now. Sorry for the inconvenience, sis."

I didn't reply. I only wanted it to stop.

Zikay went to the platform with the electrically charged gems and touched them with his front paws. Then, he passed a large quantity of electricity to the stone, which lit up with a greenish hue as tiny lightning bolts appeared and disappeared within it. Soon after, the stone returned to its original state.

"Well, that would be it," said Zikay, sitting on the platform. "If you still have fur bristled, it's not my fault."

"It's always your fault when it comes to this," Firia replied, "but let's leave it at that; it isn't the reason why I ordered a family meeting."

"Sure, sure. So why did you do it, then?" Zikay asked. "I was in the middle of a race when I got Massara's message. Is it serious?"

"Maybe. But it will be as much as we want it to be. If we prepare and anticipate, it'd be the least of our problems."

"And what is it about?" I asked.

"Humans."

A self-defense mechanism was about to trigger after hearing that word. I was told how dangerous humans were to any Pokemon in the forest, especially an Eevee like me. Firia said that our species was very precious to them.

"I don't see anything weird about humans," said Zikay, shrugging off the importance. "I've seen them more times than family."

"And you didn't notice anything strange in their behavior?" Firia asked, clearly with a clear hidden message in the question.

But we were talking about Zikay. Perspicacity wasn't one of his strong points. And as expected, he didn't guess that time either, no matter how hard he tried.

Firia didn't want to extend the subject more than necessary. "I've met with some other herd leaders near our cave, and all of them told me they encountered humans in their respective territories. I suppose you know what that means."

"Oh, now I'm following you. Although, in my defense, the humans I usually see never entered the forest. Perhaps it's their catching Pokemon season?"

"Possibly, though the reason they're wandering the deepest area of the forest isn't relevant," said Firia. "What's relevant is how much it affects us and how we should act about it."

"Shouldn't the other family members also know about this?" I asked. "I don't understand why only the four of us met with."

"We'll explain to them after the meeting," Nirusui answered. "But don't worry about them; they know how to take care of themselves."

"Moreover, I ordered our natural brotherhood to meet here for something more than alert the others, and it's to agree on what you will or will not be able to do from now on," Firia added.

I felt uncomfortable. Firia was too strict imposing behavior rules. She was very capable of forbidding me to leave the cave until the catching Pokemon season was over or, simply, had been days, even weeks, after someone saw a human near our home or another Pokemon territory near to ours. Firia even dared to put any family member to watch over me to make sure I followed those rules.

"Nevui, I know what you're thinking," said Nirusui after seeing my worried face. "You have nothing to fear. I make sure Firia is a little more permissive than she usually is in terms of the actions that need to be taken to protect us.

"Are you sure you about it?" I asked unconvincingly.

"Well…"

"Yes, she has. I can confirm it," said Firia. "However, my flexibility has a price, one that you may not like."

I closed my eyes, accepting Flareon's conditions without sawing anything. It was already an achievement that Firia would've agreed to not be so harsh with her rules.

"What are your requirements?" I asked.

"If you want to keep meeting with your forest friends, you will have to attend theory classes with almost all family members."

I lean my head, very surprised.

"Those classes will be for—" Nirusui didn't finish the sentence. She was unable to say it with her characteristic calm.

"Oh, it's to clear up her doubts about evolution and help her to make a decision, right?" said Zikay, finishing Nirusui's previous sentence.

"What a time you chose to be sharp," Nirusui complained.

I remained silent. Inside myself, I was furious. It seemed it was the perfect day for my uncertainty to be the main subject in any conversation, whether by accident as happened with my friends or by obligation at that very moment. My brothers also knew how little I liked that topic to come up unless I chose to talk about it myself. Firia crossed the line. Not only because she brought up the taboo subject but because she was imposing that rule on me to leave the cave.

I couldn't hold myself, and the rage emerged.

"What kind of condition is that?" I asked, full of anger. My brothers looked at me. "Why must I decide about my evolution just to leave the cave as I've been doing until now? What's the point?"

"One of great weight," said Firia.

"Which one?" I inquired further into my fury. "You all know what's my opinion about this and agreed we'd not talk about it unless I wanted. And you want me to decide by force! You're forcing me to do something against my will!"

"it's not that, Nevui," Nirusui tried to calm me down. "We just want you to see our points of view as evolved Eevee. We don't pretend you to make a decision as soon as possible an evolution."

"I don't even know if I want to evolve!" I replied. My anger subsided a little because I didn't feel right. Nirusui always had good intentions.

"Enough!"

The lava reacted to Firia's simple but powerful word, and dozens of drops flew in all directions. Most of them bathed her platform, and I watched as the Flareon stepped on the molten rock as if she was stepping into a water puddle. Others fell in Nirusui's pool, producing steam for a few seconds before turning into rocks as they sank into it.

We all shut, the silence only broken by the lava drops converting into rocks in Nirusui's pool and lava bubbles bursting in Firia's.

Then Firia spoke again.

"These are my conditions, Nevui. If you disagree with them, prepare not to leave the cave for a long time. Is that what you want?"

If I can get you to not decide for me, of course! I yelled mentally. I really wanted to say it, but I wasn't blinded by anger, and my own mind reminded me of how bad it would be to answer that way. I hated being locked up.

I had no choice to give in.

"All right, I'll take the classes," I answered without reducing my anger. "Although I think I won't need you to show me the life of a Flareon. If being that evolution is to end up like you, I definitely don't want any of that life.

Nirusui, even Zikay, worried about my reply. Both looked at Firia, who seemed to have listened to only how I accepted her conditions and ignored everything else.

I've never hated my sister so much.

Then, our ears caught the sound of footsteps. Without warning, a Pokemon of pink and white fur entered the room. It had blue-paled eyes and two bow ties, one in its neck and another in its left ear, from which came two ribbons as long as her own body. In fact, it had them attached to this, one of them curled up on one of its front legs. Its presence made my anger disappear almost wholly, resulting in little more than an annoyance.

"Oh, s-sorry," said the Pokemon shrinking and backing up a bit. I accidentally took the wrong path. I still don't know all the cave tunnels yet. Please, forgive me."

"It's all right, Faeris," said Nirusui. "I think your presence benefited us more than you can imagine." Nirusui looked at Firia as if she was trying to send a message to her just as Massara would.

"Although you interrupted a natural brotherhood meeting, "said the Flareon. "Be more careful next time."

"Y-Yes. I'll keep that in mind. I promise."

"Nevui, darling, you can go now. Tomorrow you'll begin your classes with me, okay?" said Nirusui.

I nodded, but I kept my head down. I was still upset by the recent conversation, and I didn't try to hide it from Faeris, who was still in the room, afraid to leave without one of my brothers' authorization. I left them all there and went back to the surface, to my place in the cave.

The berries smell made me forget for some time about the recent meeting and focus more on filling my stomach. I didn't know how long I had been talking with my siblings or how long it took me to reach the deepest part of the cave after going through most of the other family members' rooms. So, I quickly ate to not give Zilgus the false and indirect message that I wouldn't meet with him again and went to our typical meeting place.

Since Zilgus and I didn't agree on an approximate sun position that we thought correct to see each other again, I waited alone in the tree where I always stayed with my friends. I sat by the tree for quite a while before some strange noises in the undergrowth put me on alert. Then I saw the creamy fur of a Linoone.

As soon as Zilgus saw me, he rushed over.

"Have you been waiting long?" he asked.

"Quite a while."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know how much your meeting would last, and apparently, I had one in my pack, too."

"Really?" I said with my ears up. "Let me guess, it had something to do with humans."

"It seems your meeting was about them, too, isn't it?"

I looked away, remembering the conversation I had with Firia. I nodded. "Yes."

Zilgus tilted his head slightly, catching the tone with which I answered his deduction. "It doesn't appear to be the only topic you discussed." He approached me until sitting next to me. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I nodded again. Despite not liking that topic, Zilgus was the only one I was more open to talking about evolution.

"But can we go to the riverbank?" I asked for. "The berries I recently ate made me thirsty."

Zilgus accepted, and both went to the river. It was far from the tree but close enough to not feel we were getting further away from our respective homes. Soon we heard a current water sound, and then we saw the river itself. It was wide and a little deep in the middle, ideal for some water Pokemon to swim in there without problems.

I cautiously approached the riverbank, which to get there, I had to descend a not very steep but slippery slope. When I held on tight to the ground, I drank until I quenched my thirst. Then I returned with Zilgus, who sat beside a tree whose roots protruded from the ground and its trunk was inclined toward the river as if it were desperately looking for water to drink.

"Feeling better?" Zilgus asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Tell me about what happened at the meeting. You look like you want to get it off your chest."

"I don't want to throw all my anger at you, Zilgus," I said, a bit upset. "It's not your fault at all."

"But if you don't do it, you'll take away from me your sweet tone in which you always speak," he said, a small smile put on his face. "I don't like to see you with an angry face. It doesn't suit you."

I hid a smile. Since Zilgus evolved, his mentality changed considerably, passing from treating me as a friend to something more like a little sister. And we were born almost at the same time. I found it weird at first, even annoying. But I soon began to see him as the Pokemon with who I could share my emotions. Zilgus was there for all I might need: he listened to me, gave me advice from time to time, and always tried to make me feel good, to make me happy. He was like the ideal complement to Zikay's endless happiness, but Zilgus knew how to deal with other Pokemon, something Zikay lacked.

Without entering in details, I told him about the meeting I had with my brothers. Zilgus's reaction was what I expected: he omitted the human part talking as if he had already listened to that too many times in one day and focused on the main subject of the discussion with Feria. He asked me to elaborate to give him a more precise point of view to provide a better opinion.

"I'm not the best to say this, but I think your sister Firia is right for you to take classes to know your siblings' life as evolutions they are," Zilgus said after processing all the information I gave him. "Obviously, I disagree on how she imposed that condition," he quickly added as he saw me giving him a glare, "but I think it has a background that you didn't see or let her explain."

"Firia doesn't explain anything," I replied. "She acts as she sees fit."

"You think so? I've had a few chances to meet Firia when I was a Zigzagoon and never stopped seeing her as the one to watch over the safety of all your family. Why should the topic of your evolution be an exception?"

It was hard to admit, but Zilgus was right. Firia was as severe and stubborn as one could imagine, and her methods were perhaps not the most suitable. Still, she always kept an eye on the family's happiness and acted as a protector in cases where a family member couldn't solve a problem by itself. She was even among the first to accept Faeris as a new member of the family. However, I still didn't understand her intentions to give classes because of humans' increase in the forest.

"You seem to know what went through your sister's mind to impose those conditions on me. Could you clear it up for me?"

Zilgus laughed. "I'm not a psychic Pokemon with the ability to get inside others' minds and find out what's going on inside. And if I were, I doubt I got anything." He looked at the river. "I cannot give you the answer you seek, only the one you'd heard most from your family's mouth: they do it for your own good."

"You're right. I've heard that a lot."

Zilgus looked back at me. "But I'm sure it feels better that I say it to you now than they did earlier. Am I wrong?"

I shrank a little. "Yes."

"I thought so," Zilgus said with a smile. "I think the best thing you can do to at least understand why your sister put that condition is asking her directly. Or to another family member, if not. I doubt she decided something about such a delicate subject for you by herself." I looked at him as if he'd just said something stupid worse than extinguishing fires with dry tree leaves. "Okay, maybe she is capable of it, but your siblings must have felt the need to control her a little, at least, don't you think?"

I nodded. Nirusui wanted to explain things the most despite my anger and Firia's consequent reaction at the meeting. If I wanted to clear up my doubts, she was the best choice.

"Thank you, Zilgus. This conversation helped me to calm myself and think better. Now I know what I have to do to get the answers I want."

"Glad to be of help. If anything else comes up and you want to talk to me about it, don't hold back. I'll be in the same sun's position by the tree. And if those classes take all morning, I'll be back after lunch."

"Really, Zilgus, thank you for everything you do for me. Sometimes I think you overdo it."

"There's no excess when it's about assisting my best friend," said Zilgus proudly. "I didn't cross any limits… that I know about."

I had a short laugh. Something told me that the Linoone actually did cross a limit when it was only to help others. He could be annoying, but maybe it wasn't that bad.

After the conversation, Zilgus and I had nothing more important to talk about than how he'd have to act to survive the human Pokemon catching season and how little they care about his species, almost to the point of abhorring them. The truth is, I was jealous.

Soon the sun began to emit its classic orange hue, a sign that it was about to give way to the darkness of the night. Zilgus and I said goodbye and returned to our respective homes. I went back to processing everything that happened that day and trying to not think about it constantly. After such an intense day, what I needed most was to sleep peacefully.