Arc 1 - Emerging Shadows

Of all the ways to wake up on a fine spring morning, a gentle nibble or licking at your ear by a loved one is probably one of the better ways to go about it.

Unfortunately, if your loved one is a younger brother who has no understanding of gentle, nor of 'nibble', it's bound to be a hell of a lot more painful.

This is how Shadow found himself with a searing pain in his left ear and a perpetual scowl on his face that morning. To add insult to injury, his younger brother was as happy as a well-rested kit could be, whereas Shadow had sported shadows under his eyes for the past several nights. Sleep did not come easily to him, and when he did finally succumb to unconsciousness, the rest was short-lived, either by his brother remembering he became hungry at random times when the moon was out, or by the dreams that tormented him every so often.

The Eevee scratched another line into the tree bark, diagonally intersecting the four he had made the previous mornings. This was Day Five. The milestone filled him with a heavy heart. Until now, he had stubbornly refused to abandon hope that their parents would catch up to them. He had made countless excuses in his mind, that maybe one of them had injured their legs and were making slower progress. Each night before going to sleep, he had stared at the horizon, hoping to see the silhouettes of a Jolteon and a Vaporeon coming over the hill towards them. Each night had been restless, plagued with fears and worry. Each morning had arrived with nothing resolved or changed, except for the intensifying fear nesting in the pit of his stomach. Still he had not given up hope, and had done everything he could to distract his brother from wondering the same things he was wondering about the delay of their parents' arrival.

"Shade-oh!"

The Eevee flinched, breaking free of his troubled thoughts and refocusing on his brother, who was staring at him expectantly. The mispronunciation of his name was deliberate, too, just to get a reaction out of him. Even without their parents refereeing their arguments, the little twerp still knew how to push his buttons.

"What, Leaf?"

"I'm hungry!" both Eevee said in unison, Shadow adopting an exaggerated whine to his words. Oblivious to the mocking, his brother's tail wagged, his innocent eyes widening cutely. It was the same look the rascally little Eevee would use to sway their mother to his side of the arguments, often accompanied by an innocent cuddling against her yellow fur. Even at such a young age, Leaf had mastered how to manipulate the parents.

Shadow shivered involuntarily, his eyes beginning to sting. Taking over as Leaf's caretaker had been rough enough the past five days. Why hadn't the parents arrived here yet? This was their emergency meeting spot. They had gone over this routine twice a year, even before Leaf was born. They had told him to take Leaf here! They had told him to keep him safe, and that they'd follow soon, but yet...

"Shade-oh?" Leaf whined again, his brown eyes looking up at Shadow pleadingly. "Food?"

"I know," Shadow said, turning his face away so that he could wipe his stinging eyes without Leaf noticing. Now wasn't the time to worry about that. Even if it was the time to worry about it, Leaf wouldn't be satisfied until he had eaten, so there would be constant interruptions to his thoughts. He needed to stay strong right now for his brother's sake. Until they could figure out what to do. And if the worst really had happened...no, he couldn't let himself think things like that. It was stressful enough to be hiding his own uncertainty. Leaf wouldn't be able to understand. He was still too young.

Shadow gazed around the area carefully. The spring was still young, so it had been challenging to collect a supply of fruit or even nuts from the budding bushes, and the next best place to hunt for food would be the forest itself. However, his parents had warned him that the forest was a dangerous location, and only to be used as a last resort, just like this emergency meeting spot. It was the home to many different species of Bug and Poison Pokemon, and they were known to be fiercely protective of their territory. They had gotten by here for the past five days, but this spot would never be able to serve as a long-term living area.

The older Eevee circled around one of the trees, hoping to catch sight of a few stray fruits that other wild Pokemon had missed or dropped. Even some of the tree nuts would do in a pinch. Yet all he could find were twigs and grass. Up ahead, however, he could hear the cooing of a small bird Pokemon that was probably seeking its own meal. Shadow smiled to himself, bringing his body lower to the ground and moving forward cautiously, until he could see the shape of his intended prey just up ahead. It didn't take long for him to realize that Leaf was following close behind him, watching everything he did. That could pose a problem as well. If Shadow had to resort to hunting or fishing, Leaf's persistent presence would interfere. He had already startled one of the Starly that Shadow had gone after the previous night.

"Leaf, you're going to have to stay there for a second, okay?" Shadow said, frowning a little at his younger brother.

"What? Why?" Leaf asked, his eyes widening apprehensively. "Don't leave me alone, Shadow!"

"I'm not, I just need to go over there and-"

"Please don't leave me alone! I'll be good!" Leaf whimpered. Oh, this was not going well at all. The young Eevee was becoming visibly agitated and louder, the noise alone forcing Shadow to abandon any hopes of hunting in the area. Unless they stumbled upon some fruits or edible plants, the forest was the only hope for getting food this morning. Shadow would have cursed his luck if he wasn't dead set on not teaching Leaf those particular words. His dad had given him a painful swat with his tail once for being too free with his words when a fishing attempt failed, and that memory was more than enough to dissuade him from cursing aloud.

"Fine," Shadow conceded. "Come with me, but stay close and keep quiet."

"Okay," Leaf sniffled, cuddling against his older brother. Shadow rolled his eyes, but stroked a paw along the younger Eevee's back, wondering how long it would be before the younger Pokemon remembered being hungry.

Five minutes later, they set off towards the entrance of the forest, taking care to keep off the worn dirt path leading between the trees. Shadow had heard more than enough cautionary tales about traveling Pokemon trainers, and just as many stories saying that Eevee were considered absurdly valuable to those trainers, but somehow they almost never stumbled upon the many clans dedicated almost exclusively to the Eevee line, of which there were at least three within Sinnoh alone. Shadow had no idea WHERE the clans would have been located, but his mother evidently had been born in one, so he had to take her word on that.

It seemed that the moment the Eevee brothers stepped within the trees, time had ceased to have a meaning. The leaves overhead were so thick that the sun seemed to have been blotted out, and only scarce rays of light shining overhead every so often gave any indication that it was daytime.

The sudden darkness made Shadow feel a little uneasy, and if the way Leaf was practically treading on his tail was any indication, the younger Eevee felt the exact same way. Every so often, Shadow caught a glimpse of an insect Pokemon flitting through the thicker grass, or the crack of a twig beneath a larger Pokemon's feet, but he never saw the Pokemon that made the sound, nor could he get a good look at the Bug-Types.

Once or twice, he had to urge Leaf off the path so that they wouldn't be seen by something up ahead, and at least one of those times, he even saw a human passing through. He completely changed direction after that close encounter.

Eventually, the two of them came across a half-empty bush of berries, and without taking time to consider what type they were, or even what flavor, Shadow plucked several of them and pushed them towards Leaf. The young Eevee happily pounced upon the fruits, devouring them with surprising speed, as Shadow watched the bits of fruit fly in all directions with a hint of disgust on his face. When Leaf had eaten his fill, Shadow took a couple of the berries for himself, taking the time to eat neatly if only to set a better example for the little one, but his efforts went unnoticed, as Leaf was too busy staring at something just out of sight behind a cluster of trees.

"What are you even looking at?" Shadow finally demanded, walking around to get a better viewing angle. He ended up coming face-to-face with a yellow cocoon shell with small black eyes and a single downward-pointed stinger of some sort in front of its chest. Other than the stinger, it had no other limbs to speak of.

"What is it?" Leaf wondered curiously.

"It's a Kakuna, I think," Shadow said slowly. He really had no idea if it was a Kakuna, but Leaf didn't have to know that.

"Can I play with it?"

"No," Shadow said firmly.

"Why not?"

"Just leave it alone, Leaf."

"Can I ask it if it wants to play?" the little Eevee insisted, moving closer to the yellow cocoon. "Hi Kakuna!"

Shadow groaned. This was going to badly, he just knew it. "Leaf, I swear to...look, we need to go now. It doesn't want to play."

"You didn't even ask it!" Leaf protested indignantly.

"I'm going to leave without you," the older Eevee attempted, unable to keep the desperation from his voice. He even started to take half-hearted steps away from his brother, but of all the times the clingy little guy chose not to go into a distance-induced panic attack, it was the time that actually mattered.

"My name's Leaf," the Eevee chirped to its new 'friend', his tail wagging happily. Throwing caution to the wind, Shadow rushed over and clamped his teeth on his brother's tail, attempting to drag him away from the cocoon. He probably should have realized how many ways that particular method could go south. His brother shrieked in pain, raising a din loud enough to raise the dead. And then he immediately burst into tears, his legs lashing out and striking Shadow in the face hard enough to disconnect him from his tail.

"Ugh..." Shadow groaned, pressing a paw to his nose and sniffing, relieved to see no blood on his paw when he withdrew it. Leaf had curled into a ball now, crying loud enough to give the older Eevee a headache, and probably attracting every living creature in the area to the scene.

And that's when he heard the buzzing. The angry buzzing that filled his heart with dread. The buzzing of the very large yellow and black-striped hornet that hovered menacingly beside the immobile cocoon Leaf was sobbing in front of.

The buzzing of an adult Beedrill that did not like having a pair of Eevee harassing one of its Kakuna kin.

Shadow broke his no-swearing rule on the spot. It summed up their situation nicely.