All in all, springtime wasn't TOO bad.
The blooming of flowers, the happy chirping of birds in the trees, and the reappearance of the sun were all lovely in their own way, even at the cost of the purity of a blanket of snow covering everything with its dazzling beauty.
Even the rain was nice, cleansing away dirt and breathing new life into everything. A fresh start, in its own way. Creation following destruction. Life following death and stagnation. And the fresh smells in the air were divine.
None of these things made Lin any less reluctant to be treading this familiar path, unmarked by dirt trails or stone, or anything else that might normally indicate a path. Yet it was one she had taken many times before since she had met her comrades. So much had happened in the past year, and even moreso in the past few months, but this walk never seemed to change.
The Weavile's black fur was freshly washed, and her crown and tail of red feathers were nearly groomed, and had the sun been out from behind the massive wall of grey cloud, she may even have glistened in the light. Her sharp red eyes scanned the area, perceiving more details in a glance than most could with a long stare, and her long blue scarf trailed loyally behind her, its silks glistening from a fresh cleaning job as well.
A few male Pokemon looked at her as she passed them, the recent rainstorm having ended long enough for them to emerge from shelter, but she acknowledged them only with a glance and then moved on. None tried to stop her, or chat with her, or even wolf-whistle. Not that any of those actions would have accomplished anything pleasant in return. She smiled briefly to herself. There were a few advantages to being raised within a Sneasel pack. The reputation of the species, backed up by the presence of viciously sharp claws, was more than enough to keep unwanted attention away.
Not that she was fond of the reputation her species held. Many believed Sneasel and their Weavile kin were vicious, underhanded battle enthusiasts who'd as soon claim their defeated opponents for pleasure as kill them. She doubted many of those who believed the stereotype had actually seen this happen, nor had they actually had the laws of Sneasel society explained to them.
Lin's gaze soon fell upon a large white rock practically leaning against an aged tree stump, the claw markings that once graced the aged bark had been burned away with a carefully applied flame, and replaced by different markings. The rock bore the same markings, confirming the current owner of the territory.
Well, aside from the publicly unknown detail that it had been Lin herself who had made the markings in the rock. Cecilia's claws were ill-suited for such precise marks against stone, although it was her handiwork on the tree. She had complained that the tree stump's marks had been difficult to see by passing Pokemon, so that's how Lin had been roped into making a replica of the territory marks on something more visible.
The things she did for her friends. Cecilia's chosen territory mark was ridiculously convoluted, with some sort of strange figure eight pattern and an X shape in the center. Not hard to make in wood, but an utter pain to do in rock. Most Pokemon were content to simply make a notable scratch in something, maybe a little more personalized, but Cecilia liked her complex marking, so...
Lin made her way past the rock towards the partially hidden den. The former owner had probably been a digger of some sort, because it was a den dug out of a small hill hidden behind a number of trees. Or possibly that had been the owner before; Cecilia had been the owner already by the time Lin had met her, and she had never asked for the details.
Lin quite purposefully chose a navigation route that would keep the interior of the den from her line of sight. She had learned this was the best path a long time ago, not only because the terrain was easier to navigate, but because it was uncomfortably common for the Quilava to not be alone.
More frustrating was that Cecilia seemed genuinely baffled that this would bother anyone. Lin had to concede the point on that - it was her den within her marked territory. Anyone intruding into that layer of privacy should probably just be glad the Quilava wasn't prone to flambeing intruders.
Lin approached the den cave entrance and paused, using her honed hearing to pick up any telltale sounds that'd confirm whether Cecilia was even inside, and whether it was a good time to call for her. Even with the slight annoyance tugging at Lin's mind in regards to how tedious the task of fetching Cecilia could be, she still put her foot down when Force eagerly volunteered, citing that 'turnabout is fair play', while Iris blushed and giggled. Lin decided it was wiser not to encourage whatever it was they were planning.
It didn't take too long for her to catch the sound of voices from inside, although she made no effort whatsoever to catch the words being said. The tones alone suggested it was simple chatter, yet that meant only so much, and Lin wanted to speak to Cecilia in private regardless, so there was no advantage to going inside.
"Hey, Cece?" Lin called, leaning her back against the outer lip of the den entrance, facing the opposite direction of the den.
There was a brief pause before Cecilia replied, sounding slightly confused. "Yeah, Lin?"
"Could I see you for a minute or two?" the Weavile asked, inspecting her claws idly. Another pause, probably a quiet reassurance to her guest that she'd be back in a moment, and then the pattering of the Quilava's paws reached Lin's ears. A moment later, Cecilia emerged from her den. Her flames were burning at a remarkably low intensity, and her fur seemed slightly untidy, but she was in good spirits regardless.
"Hey, Lin!" Cecilia chirped. Check that, she was in great spirits, even for her.
"A little softer, please," Lin said, making a slight downwards gesture with her paw. Cecilia nodded and sat down, looking up at the Weavile curiously. "The birds have migrated back north. They're flocking back to the dust tower to nest."
"Why are you speaking in code?" Cecilia asked blankly.
"In case you have a guest," Lin answered, raising an eyebrow at the Quilava and then glancing towards the den entrance.
"Yeah...but you're not saying anything secret. We don't even HAVE a secret code."
"But do you know what the message is?" Lin asked, slightly amused by Cecilia's genuine bewilderment.
"Kaito's back from Johto, meet in the Chateau attic," the Quilava replied promptly, still using the bewildered tone. "Does he tell you to give me coded messages or is that something you just do?"
Lin sighed slightly. "Never mind. How long until we can expect you?"
"Do you think I have a timetable?" Cecilia asked, starting to sound slightly annoyed. She blinked and took note of the sheen of Lin's fur and scarf. "Did you wash up before you got here or...?"
Lin snapped her claws. The look of bewilderment on Cecilia's face intensified.
"...you realize we're the only ones talking, right?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, force of habit," Lin admitted sheepishly. "I think I've taken the minute or two of your time I requested, so I'll see you later, Cece."
With that, the Weavile departed, her scarf again trailing behind her from the light spring breeze. Cecilia blinked after her for a few seconds, then shrugged and made her way back into her den.
"That was weird," Cecilia remarked brightly, as she reached the bottom of the incline leading from the entrance way to the main den area. It was a wonderfully spacious and cozy den, the walls all expertly dug out and padded until they were as sturdy as concrete, but with the natural look of dirt and soil.
The Quilava even had sections of the den organized fairly well. One area kept a supply of water sealed in containers she had gathered from human cities, usually the trash bins, but she had taken to just gathering them up from the streets ever since the incident with the Dumpster fire. In similarly airtight containers were a variety of fresh fruits of various types and sizes, but also some meat, although her current supply was all out. She didn't like storing meat in her den too long. She always found the quality to be lacking after a few hours, whether it was cooked by her flames or not, and it sometimes attracted scavengers to her den, and then she'd have to deal with that.
The far corner of the den had a fireproofed blanket she had swiped from Eterna City before winter struck. It kept herself warm, was plenty soft, and was far more reliable as bedding than virtually anything else. Plus it couldn't catch fire, so what more could a Quilava want?
The blanket was currently in use, and Cecilia was amused to see that despite the short span of time she had been gone, the black-furred Espeon had managed to doze off. His body was far more relaxed now than their previous encounters, and she had noticed the slight circles under his eyes whenever they made eye contact, so him sneaking in a cat nap was, aside from the terrible pun, completely understandable and even expected.
The Quilava wrestled with the decision of whether to wake him or let him sleep a little longer, followed immediately by the decision of how to wake him. After a lengthy pause, she walked over to the dozing Espeon and nudged his cheek, taking care that her flames had receded before making contact. The Espeon's tail twitched and his silver eyes fluttered open.
"Hey, gorgeous," Cecilia teased, giving the same cheek a playful lick. "Where were we?"
Shadow yawned and stretched his forelegs before sitting up, the motions of which Cecilia observed shamelessly. Even his stance was more relaxed and at ease than before, and his face and eyes devoid of the tension and stress that seemed to have claimed them over time.
"Ooh, right, I was asking you about your gorgeous fur," Cecilia said brightly. "That wasn't natural, was it? You didn't have black fur as an Eevee, you evolved like this?"
"For some reason," Shadow said with a shrug. "Thought I was an Umbreon at first."
"Well, you know I'm a fan of it," Cecilia giggled and winked. Shadow smiled weakly, and despite the black fur, the Quilava had a hunch he was blushing. "I suppose you'll want to head back to your brother, though," Cecilia said thoughtfully. "I guess your de-stressing walk paid off."
"Ah...yes, it did," Shadow said. Yup, definitely blushing. He got to his feet and slowly began to walk towards the entrance to the den, with Cecilia a pace or two behind him.
"Feel free to stop by if you're in the area," Cecilia chirped. "Oh, but I suppose you're traveling...any idea where you're going?"
"Not yet," Shadow admitted. "I'm looking for somewhere quiet and calm, but I'm also concerned about the weather because of Leaf..."
Cecilia considered this for a few moments. "For a Leafeon? I dunno, Floaroma Town? Otherwise, I'd say Johto, but I'm kind of biased. Sinnoh weather's kind of bleh."
"Where's Floaroma?" Shadow asked, giving the Quilava a curious look as they stepped outside the den. Cecilia examined the area around them.
"Let's see...well, it's to the west of Eterna, so you'd have to go...a LONG way that way," she said, pointing. Shadow winced. "Headache?" she asked, momentarily concerned.
"Hm? No, actually, my head's fine," the Espeon said, sounding pleasantly surprised by his own statement. "No, the problem is we came from the Eterna area, so we'd have to go back and then some and..."
"Why did you leave? That's a great area," Cecilia wondered. Shadow hesitated, a slight crease forming over his brow. "Oh, never mind, you don't need to tell me," the Quilava said, giving the Espeon a brief nuzzle. No need to bother him when he's in such a good mood and state of mind.
"Thank you," Shadow replied. He smiled briefly at the nuzzle and touched her cheek momentarily. She giggled and glanced up at his eyes, and for a moment, they made eye contact, and actually held it without him looking away awkwardly. Then he blinked, as it trying to recall something he had forgotten, something he knew but couldn't quite place his paw on.
"Something wrong, Shadow?" Cecilia asked, genuinely perplexed by the expression.
"It's nothing, something just seems familiar," he said, shaking his head. Their eyes met again, but this time, the Espeon's gaze was a little more intense, as if searching for something in her eyes. It was the kind of thing that Cecilia herself sometimes did when trying to remember a face, so she merely smiled and kept the eye contact.
Flashes moving so quickly they were a blur of motion.
An enormous city, packed with humans and Pokemon. Streets lined with stores and enormous windows. Several towering buildings, one black tower broadcasting signals across the region. A brightly colored sign, welcoming travelers.
An open meadow and stream. Pokemon frolicking about, as a pair of elderly humans look on. Trainers come and go regularly, and the Pokemon here change just as often. A lonely Cyndaquil remains, the one constant in an ever-changing place.
Sadness. Fear. Anger. As these emotions filled her mind, the scenes shifted and slowed down.
A creature of nightmares. A simple-looking bipedal canine, eyes masked in black fur. Moving swiftly to attack a Vaporeon. Its Jolteon mate darts into the fray, but the Riolu dodges nimbly. Its eyes gleam. Eyes as yellow as the Jolteon's fur. A familiar Jolteon. A familiar Riolu...
Those eyes...
The images were gone.
Cecilia's jaw hung open, her blue eyes filling with tears and shocked horror. She backed up several paces, and cried out in agony as pain flooded her skull. She clutched her head with her forepaws, her body shaking uncontrollably. The pain did not linger, but the emotions clung to her tightly.
"What was that?! What was that?!" she practically screamed.
Shadow moved closer, looking confused and concerned. "W-what is it?" he asked, gripping her shoulders with gentle paws. Then he cringed. "You saw what I saw, didn't you?"
"What you saw?" Cecilia repeated, looking up to stare at the Espeon's face. "Those were your parents, weren't they?"
Shadow looked away. He still remained calm and relaxed, but his eyes glistened. "...yes."
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" Cecilia said, her eyes bulging slightly. "I didn't know!"
"It's not your fault," Shadow said seriously. "I'm sorry to distress you over my own problems." He glanced upwards, towards the silver gemstone on his forehead. "I must have linked our minds briefly by mistake. I'll work on that. Thank you for your help today."
"N-no problem," Cecilia stammered, fighting to regain her composure. She finally managed to force a smile back onto her face, but nothing could force her glistening eyes to dry up. "Anytime," she added weakly.
"See you...Cece," Shadow said, smiling slightly at the sound of the words. As he began to walk away, his forked tail flicked upwards and stroked beneath the Quilava's chin. She shivered, and a rare blush came across her face. She watched as the Espeon departed, until at last he was gone from sight. She slumped into a listless sitting position, staring at the ground at her feet.
Her body felt numb, and coldness seeped into her limbs. Her flames had gone out entirely, unwilling to burn and crackle with happy energy.
That Riolu...she knew that Riolu.
That Jolteon, and the Vaporeon...Rio and her mate...
Those eyes...
Shadow said it wasn't her fault, but she wouldn't believe that. She couldn't accept that. To think that he might even like her, even as simple infatuation, much like her interest had been...it was like ice water to her soul.
They weren't traveling with their parents.
Shadow didn't know it was her fault, but now SHE knew it was her fault. It had to be her fault...but she hadn't wanted this...
Her flames reignited with a 'fwoosh' sound, filling her body with warmth and energy once more. Anger blazed in her heart, shoving away the remnants of self-pity and guilt. She'd deal with those later. First, she was going to get answers.
And they'd be coming straight from the source.
