For the record, I haven't actually seen the movie Love, Actually, I've just heard it's a good one. And as you can tell, this chapter is told from the perspective of Mayor Lumine; I really enjoyed looking at his perspective.

Also, if you haven't yet, I would love if you guys checked out my new story, Spirit Animals, after reading this chapter. Don't worry, I'll still be working on this one. I hope you guys like that one too.

Answer from the previous question: I'm from the United States.

Question for the chapter: If you could become any Pokemon, which would it be and why?

ELIOT LUMINE, 41

I was born in Lycan Hollow, central Sinnoh, in early summer of the year 198W. It might have been an odd name for a year, but I didn't make the rules; I just lived by them.

My father, Herschel Lumine, was a member of the village council who eventually became mayor. He helped to enforce the laws that had kept the village tranquil for generations, and, once he became mayor, he also negotiated with the central government of Sinnoh in order to keep our mountain home as secret as possible from the general public.

My mother, Kelly Lumine, was a teacher at the local middle school. Fortunately for me, I never had her as my teacher; that would have been extremely awkward, to say the very least. That said, I'm sure she was great at what she did.

Neither of my parents were born as Lycanrocs. From my understanding, both of them had been bitten by were-Lycanrocs when they were in their late teens, and had met each other online using some dating site that was now obsolete.

It was kind of funny, really, because neither of them had wanted to tell the other the truth about their condition; they'd kept it under wraps until one fateful night, when they'd slept with each other at my mother's home, both bringing their wolfsbane so that they were harmless. There had been much laughter when the big reveal had occurred.

Eventually, my parents decided they wanted to get married, and they wanted to have children as well; the only problem was that they didn't know if their child would be a werewolf as well. They didn't want to risk birthing someone into a world that would fear them for something they had no control over.

So, as my parents would tell me in the form of a bedtime story, they were summoned to Lycan Hollow by one of the golden Guardians, and they'd made a life here for themselves.

Although every were-Lycanroc turned into a full Lycanroc upon arriving in the village, not every resident had the ability to infect others with lycanthropy. Some had been born as Lycanroc. That number included me when I was born in 198W, and tests were done to see how much lycanthropic DNA I contained.

Fortunately, it was only about 3%, meaning that I would not become dangerous around the full moon. I would be a harmless wolf, or at least, as harmless as one can be with such sharp fangs. When my mother learned this news, I'm told she fainted with relief; it was either that or post-pregnancy hormones, but who cares about that distinction?

From a very early age, my father impressed upon me that my fangs were both my greatest asset and my fatal flaw. I should only use them when absolutely necessary to protect those I cared about, because they would only be fatal to others, not to me.

I took him seriously; after all, fathers are supposed to be role models, and that held doubly true for my own dad. He was on the town council, and he would often come home from work telling stories about just how important leadership was. His favorite thing to say seemed to be the following:
"Different types of leadership are required for the good times and the bad. Ideally, a leader should be able to adapt to both."

When I was ten years old, the mayor of the village, Mayor Springfield, passed away. He'd been elderly and ill, so his death wasn't a surprise, but it was a sorrow nonetheless; a funeral procession was held which, it seemed, was attended by almost the entire village.

Beyond the personal loss experienced by Mayor Springfield's family, the village had also lost our north star, if you will. The demise of Zachary Springfield left a void that, it seemed, nobody could fill.

Enter my father. He stepped up to the plate when nobody else would, and for that, he was rewarded with an appointment to the position of mayor. With great power comes great responsibility, but the villagers placed their trust in Herschel Lumine. It didn't matter that he hadn't been born here; the Pokemon of Lycan Hollow were accepting almost to a fault, and they selected him based on his qualifications.

When my father was selected as mayor by the town council, my life changed quite a bit. For one, we moved from our relatively small log cabin to the much larger home dubbed the Big House. It was right next to the lake, situated away from the rest of the village.

To some, this may have been isolating, but not for me as an energetic Rockruff. I craved those moments when I got to dash through the crisp mountain air and expend some energy.

Another way in which my life changed, however, set me apart from the rest of the students. It seemed that everyone wanted to be my friend, but I was unable to tell whether or not they really cared about me. Perhaps they were only sticking by me because they wanted the bragging rights of saying they were friends with the mayor's son.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I found a close circle of a few friends whom I could count on. Although most of them have moved away since, I still talk to them on the phone once in a while. The truth is, once you're accepted into the extended family that is Lycan Hollow, you'll never truly leave it, even if you move thousands of miles away.

When I evolved into a Lycanroc at age thirteen, I began to notice more and more looks coming in my direction. The Pokemon who stared at me didn't mean anything malicious by it; I simply attracted attention by virtue of being the mayor's offspring. Puberty is hard enough for a regular Lycanroc, but when you have such standards to live up to, it's even more awkward. I'll spare you some details.

On my sixteenth birthday, I was hanging out near the schoolhouse with two of my best friends, fellow Lycanroc Michael and Nicolai. This day might have been a quarter of a century ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.

We were talking about my upcoming birthday celebration and debating how many Jigglypuffs a Rapidash could consume at its hungriest. This was a rather heated argument, but it was quickly forgotten once Nicolai abruptly changed the topic to girls.

"Eliot, have you found anyone yet?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Anyone for what?"

Michael laughed. "What do you think he means, Eliot? He's talking about girls to date. Because you're sixteen now, which is the age when dating starts."

Although he'd been laughing, Michael seemed to genuinely think that "dating starts at age 16" was an axiom of reality, that it was true in all circumstances. I might have objected to this, but I was more shocked than anything else that Nicolai had brought this up so randomly.

"No, and there's nothing wrong with that. But why did you ask?"

Nicolai pointed down one of the dirt paths that passed for streets in this village. "Because there's a real hot chick there; are you going to ask for her phone number?"

I looked where Nicolai was pointing and saw the individual he was referring to.

A female Lycanroc, probably about my age, with magenta fur where my beige was, strode towards the three of us. She didn't seem to be going for us specifically, but if she hadn't noticed me, she would soon.

"You don't know Emaire Robinhood?" Michael asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Eliot, she's the prettiest girl in all of Lycan Hollow, and she's your age to boot!"

"I barely know her, and this is a town where so many people are friends with one another. What makes you think that I'd be able to ask her out? What makes me different from all the other boys?"

Nicolai winked at me. "You're Mayor Lumine's son. All the ladies love you, and you can have any of them you want."

"But ladies aren't just objects", I protested. "They're individuals with thoughts and feelings as well!"

"Indeed they are, Eliot" Michael responded. "But you have to see it the way we do; their thoughts are, We want to be with Eliot Lumine! Their feelings are, We love Eliot Lumine! You don't know your own appeal, dude."

I was tempted to tell my friends to leave me alone, using a few choice words to get that point across, but that's not what I did.

Instead, I gritted my teeth and tried to summon all the courage I could. I was sixteen now; in a human society, I would have been old enough to drive. I could do this.

I walked up to the magenta-furred Lycanroc, the girl referred to as Emaire, and said, "Uh…hi."

"Hello. Who are you?"

I chuckled nervously, a million Butterfree flying around in my stomach. "I-I'm Eliot. Eliot Lumine. D-do you know my f-father?"

Emaire's eyes grew wider than…well, let's not go there. The point is, she looked stunned.

"Your father is the mayor of Lycan Hollow? That's amazing!"

"Y-yeah, I suppose it is. A-also, it's m-my b-birthday, so if you w-want, you could c-c-come over to the Big House t-tonight?"

I could hardly believe the words that had exited my mouth. To think that I'd just asked a girl to have dinner with me…anyone who'd suggested that even a month ago should have been locked away in an insane asylum.

Emaire laughed, and my heart sank. I'd just embarrassed myself in front of my friends; how gullible could I be?

To my surprise, however, this laugh switched to one that wasn't taunting at all. Rather, it brought to mind wildflowers rising up from their snowy blankets after a long winter. It brought to mind the chirping of Flying types.

"I've got nothing better to do tonight. So why not? If your parents are okay with it, that is."

"I d-don't see any r-reason w-why they w-wouldn't b-be" I replied, trying to control my stutter. It kicked in whenever I was nervous, and I could hardly have been more nervous than I was when talking to a girl.

"That's true. We are…wait, how old are you? Sixteen or something?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yep, sweet sixteen it is."

Since it was already late afternoon, I showed Emaire the way to the Big House. To be fair, she most certainly already knew how to get there, since, to my knowledge, she'd lived here her whole life. Still, it was the least I could do when she'd been so receptive to the idea of dining with someone she barely knew.

Not for the first time, I wondered if Emaire's seeming enthusiasm for me was genuine. Did she care about me on my own merits, or did she only want to eat dinner with the mayor's son for the hell of it?

I introduced my mother to my new female friend, and they seemed to get along fairly well. When my father returned home from work an hour or two later, he had a different take on it.

My dad pulled me aside and gave me a stern reminder.

"Dating can enrich your life, yes, but don't let it distract you from what is truly important. If you want to be on the town council one day, let alone become mayor, you will need to set your priorities in order."

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, Emaire isn't my girlfriend. She's just someone I met and decided to invite over for dinner."

My father winked at me. "I think you'll find that there's not as much difference as you think between the two. Anyway, happy birthday, Eliot."

My mother was more than happy to grill up 33% more steak for Emaire that evening, as well as bake an extra cake. It would be a lot of food, but a Lycanroc's appetite is much more powerful than that of a human.

Eventually the sun sank behind the mountains, the candles were lit, and the four of us sat down to a delicious, yet heavily awkward, meal. I was all too aware of the fact that I was sitting on the same side of the table as Emaire, and my parents (another couple) were on the other side.

No. She's not my girlfriend. There's only one couple at this table.

When the cake was brought out, and I blew out the candles, I found myself wishing that I would one day be successful and content. That I would get everything I wanted out of life. It was a vague wish, but having Emaire next to me didn't exactly help me be more articulate.

After our dessert, all four of us took part in the standard tradition of jumping in the lake to clean the barbecue sauce and residual cake out of our fur. Once that had happened, Emaire went home, and perhaps the most pleasantly uncomfortable evening of my life was over.

I'll never forget the look my father gave me as he went up to bed that evening. One look often tells a thousand words, and this one was unmistakably saying, You're not fooling anybody but yourself.

My father, as it turned out, was right. Once news spread around the community that I'd eaten dinner with Emaire Robinhood (and this happened quickly in a small town), it felt as though the entire village were debating the same thing.

Does he love her, or does he not?

Over the next two years, I tried not to let all the stares get to me. But I'd be lying if I said that they had no effect.

I pushed that question to the back of my mind during the last two years of high school. It could wait, but my final exams (administered by the central government of Sinnoh, rather than the Lycan Hollow town council) couldn't.

Once I had completed these exams, I ran outside the school building and back towards the Big House. Along the way, I saw a familiar face, and I stopped dead in my tracks before I suffered a head-on collision with her.

"Emaire!" I exclaimed. "You sure finished your exams quickly!"

The magenta Lycanroc winked at me. "Yes, I did. They were easy as hell, all you needed to do was figure out the-".

"There's no need to brag, Emaire" I replied, laughing. "I get it, you're smarter than I could ever be."

"Don't say that, Eliot" she responded. "You're pretty smart as well, I'm sure of it. After all, you have to be if you ever want to become mayor."

Even though I'd just finished my final exams, supposedly the most stressful part of any eighteen-year-old's life, the prospect of becoming mayor felt far more daunting. I'd have to prove myself to the town council, and their blessing didn't come easily.

And then there was the fact that my father would need to retire first. As far as I could tell, he loved being mayor, and wouldn't have given it up for anything. Nor did I want to pressure him to give it up, because he was doing a great job.

"Can we not talk about the mayoralty right now?" I asked, walking in the direction of my home. "Trying to figure everything out is difficult enough as is."

"Trying to figure everything out?" Emaire asked, winking at me. She didn't do this innocently; rather, the manner felt more like someone trying too hard to look innocent.

"Yes. Just, like…how to apply to be on the town council, how to find a new home here away from my parents, maybe see if there are any other cities to move to."

Emaire didn't seem to buy it; I wouldn't either if I were in her position, since I thought I sounded wholly unconvincing.

"I know what you're really thinking!" she exclaimed happily. "You're thinking about me."

I considered lying about it, trying to convince Emaire that no, I didn't have a crush on her. I wanted to convince her that there was nothing whatsoever that worried me beyond my future employment.

But, as I looked her right between the eyes, I knew that any efforts to do so would be fruitless. So I relented.

"Yes, I am thinking about you. I'll admit it."

Fortunately, my stutter had gotten less severe over the last two years, but I still suffered the occasional relapse. On the whole, though, I felt more confident than I had the first day I'd spoken to her.

"I knew it. You're good at a lot of things, Eliot, but you're a terrible liar. I could see right through you."

"Fair enough" I responded, trying not to sound too embarrassed. "Anyway, do you want to hang out at my place? We could maybe go swimming in the lake."

Emaire winked again. "That sounds great; it seems you can see right through me as well. I'm so glad we understand each other."

It was a very hot day by Central Sinnoh standards, but the glacier-fed lake was still frigid, just like it always was. I didn't mind this, though, since it was more refreshing than anything else.

As we were bathing in the cold lake, my mind was racing a mile a minute. The rapid pace of my heartbeat kept my face warm.

I never asked my parents for advice about dating. If you're a guy, and you want to make the first move, what do you say?

But do I REALLY want to make the first move? It seems like Emaire already did that.

Speaking of Emaire, I could hear her laughing from fifteen feet away. "Your face is the color of a Cheri berry!" she exclaimed. "It's so cute!"

Yep. She's definitely making the first move.

It was hard to know how I felt about that. While I was certainly flattered that she seemed to care so deeply about me, I was also more than a little anxious. Could I possibly live up to her standards?

I remembered that Michael and Nicolai, two of my best friends, had referred to her as the prettiest girl in the village. How could I be worthy of her?

And yet, at the same time, it's entirely possible that Emaire felt the same way as me. She was attracted to the mayor's son, but might fear I was out of her league. Meanwhile, I was too socially awkward to take the initiative, and worried that I didn't deserve to be with her.

How could a relationship, or even a close friendship, blossom under such conditions?

Perhaps Arceus had a plan for us. Maybe some things were just meant to be, and everything happened for a reason. But then again…

I shook my head, shivering violently. The water suddenly felt extremely cold, even more so than it usually was. How could I consider us a couple so soon? I needed to have more time to think about it.

Eventually, we both got out of the lake and laid down on the grass in order to be warmed by the summer sun. I was all too aware of the fact that Emaire was close to me, so close that she could have rolled over and hugged me had she so desired.

There was something about that moment, how simple and pure it was, that induced me to say the following five words: "I like you, Emaire Robinhood."

As soon as the words left my lips, I had the urge to clamp a hand over my mouth for saying something so bone-headed. Of course, the damage had already been done. Words could not be taken back.

Emaire rolled over until she had practically pinned me down. It all happened so quickly, and for a few terrifying seconds, I thought she was going to maul me for having the nerve to say that I liked her.

I was completely at her mercy, but she did something I didn't expect. She snorted with laughter.

"Ya think?" she asked rhetorically, laughing uncontrollably as though it was the funniest thing in the world.

"What do you mean?" I asked, breathing heavily. "Also, please get off of me."

Emaire rolled over to my right and resumed looking up at the sky. "I mean that it's an open secret, Eliot! The way you act when you're around me, it certainly seems that you like me. And it's not just that you like me; I think there's more to it than that!"

"No, there isn't," I protested. "You're just so kind, and I like hanging out with you. I'm sorry that we haven't talked as much lately."

She laughed again, a sound so warm that it could have melted the largest glaciers in the Coronet Range within seconds.

"Stop trying to run away from the truth, Eliot. You're attracted to me; to put it in layman's terms, you like me. Well, I've got another secret for you, though it may be an open one."

I didn't even ask; rather, Emaire rolled over again and stopped just short of climbing on top of me once more. Leaning against me, she said, "I like you too."

She's into me as well. Me, one of the most socially awkward wolves in this village! Me, who doesn't have a clue about anything related to getting a girlfriend!

Then again, if she really does like me, I've clearly done SOMETHING right.

I felt my face flush once more as I smiled widely. "That's really flattering, Emaire. I honestly don't see why you'd feel that way about me, though."

Emaire did her classic clever, mischievous wink, one I'd gotten used to. When she spoke again, she seemed on the verge of laughter.

"If you want to know why I like you, maybe you should look in the mirror."

And so our relationship began. There was never a specific moment when one of us said, "Okay, we're a couple now", but it became an unspoken agreement between us that we were committed to each other.

Recalling the advice my father had given me, I tried to focus on what was truly important. As I filled out my application to be on the town council (a very long, confusing form containing information that the current council members probably already knew about me), my mind kept wandering to the image of Emaire Robinhood.

Her eyes were her most endearing physical quality. Whenever I blinked, I could picture those bright teal pupils shining in the summer sun, lit up with a smile on her face. I could see her winking at me the way, it seemed, only she could.

Beyond her physical qualities, I quickly grew to appreciate how empathetic and caring Emaire was. That was far more important than any amount of attractiveness (although that certainly didn't hurt!)

Of course, not every change that came as a result of us getting together was a positive one. For one, I had hoped to keep the relationship on the down low for the first few weeks, just so I could get accustomed to the reality of being in one before everybody in the village knew.

How naive could I get?

As it turned out, pretty naive indeed. There's no way I should have even entertained the notion that our romance could be kept under wraps. Certainly not in Lycan Hollow.

Since people no longer had to spread rumors that we were together, rumors were instead spread about whether or not our relationship was genuine.

I'd struggled with this question for quite some time, but I came to the conclusion within days that the answer was yes. When you looked into Emaire's eyes, you couldn't help but be totally convinced of her sincerity. After all, some say that the eyes are the window to the soul.

A month after finishing our final exams, Emaire got permission from her parents to move into the Big House with me and my parents. Some members of the community probably felt like she didn't deserve to marry into the village's First Family, but if they did feel this way, I didn't hear anything from the Rapidash's mouth.

As much as I liked (okay, loved) Emaire Robinhood, I couldn't see myself actually marrying her. After all, I was still only eighteen, still too young to think seriously about marriage. Even so, make no mistake about it: Emaire and I had become very close.

Every morning, we had the same routine. Depending on who rose from bed first, either I would go to the guest room to wake her up, or she'd come to my room to wake me up. We would brush our fangs and then make breakfast together. (She was a much better cook than me, but I learned a lot from her.)

Before eating breakfast, we would say our prayers to Arceus together. We would thank him for the meal laid out before us, for the ability to enjoy it, and the opportunity to enjoy each other's company. It might sound corny, but when you felt as fortunate as I did, you always wanted someone to thank, whether it be a higher power or just the universe in general.

We did almost everything together; it was as though I'd found my other half, the half I didn't know existed until now. It seemed as though we clicked perfectly, and I sometimes wondered where Emaire had been for the first sixteen years of my life.

Perhaps paradoxically, I began to worry. It seemed like we were soulmates, but wasn't some bickering always present in a healthy relationship? No two people, not even couples far more committed to each other than us two young adults were, ever agreed on everything.

We did have minor debates over whose turn it was to set the table, or to do the dishes, but on the whole, the relationship was unnervingly peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, that I felt certain that one day, something had to go wrong.

One evening that winter, just after my parents had retired to bed, Emaire and I were playing chess by the fireplace, feeling the crackling fire heat up our fur. She was much better at the game than me, which made me worry that maybe I wasn't smart enough to be on the town council.

When I brought this up after she checkmated me for the third time in a row, she laughed me right out of the room. (No, not literally.)

"Just because you're not great at chess doesn't mean you're not great with people. If anything, you don't want a leader to be manipulative and calculating. Maybe you're just hard-wired to be empathetic."

I was going to argue with her, but I didn't know what to say. Fortunately, I was saved by the bell; in this case, the doorbell.

"I'll get it," I said.

An envelope had been pushed through the door's mail slot. It was a little wet, since there was a considerable snowstorm going on out there. Even so, the return address was very much legible.

My heart leaped right into my throat. After filling out my application to be on the town council, and all that waiting (and as Tom Petilil tells us, waiting is very hard indeed), I'd finally gotten a response. It had turned what might have been a boring evening with lots of cabin fever into an exciting one.

I took the note into the living room, where Emaire was waiting in anticipation. "Who was it from?"

"It's from the town council" I responded, panting with excitement. "I'm going to find out if I got in!"

"I bet you did, and not because of nepotism; you're genuinely a good fit. Oh, Eliot, I'm going to be so proud of you! Actually, I'm not 'going to be' proud; I am proud!"

"Really? Before you even know if I got in or not?"

"Yes, really! You had the courage to submit an application, something I couldn't do. That takes guts!"

"If you say so" I replied, but I really didn't feel as though I'd done anything particularly brave. It was just something I'd expected myself to do; or rather, something the village expected me to do.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Eliot?" my girlfriend asked me. "Rip it open and read!"

With a deep breath, I slowly tried to tear the envelope apart with my claws. However, they were shaking too much, so I resorted to using my teeth. Perhaps this wasn't the most sanitary method, but it worked.

I cleared my throat and began reading the letter. The text of the letter was as follows:

Dear Mr. Eliot Lumine,

We have received and processed your application to be a member of the Town Council of Lycan Hollow. We apologize for the long wait, but the delay was necessary in order to come to our decision.

You have been accepted as a member of the Town Council. Your work will begin one week from today, since we have to furnish your office properly. Welcome to the team!

Sincerely,

The Town Council of Lycan Hollow.

"Well?" Emaire asked me, once I'd put the letter down in mild shock and excitement. "What did the letter say?"

I grinned, showing off my fangs in all their glory. "I'm in."

"Eliot, that's wonderful! I knew they'd accept you; how could they not? You have all the right qualities!"

Emaire sounded euphoric, and I didn't blame her. If my romantic partner had been accepted into his dream job, been given such a prestigious position, I probably would have reacted in much the same way.

She reached out and pulled me into a hug, knocking over the chess pieces on the board. I suppose you could call that a draw, but it was pretty clear that I was on the fast track to losing that game.

"I'm so proud of you! When do you start?"

It was incredibly heartwarming to see Emaire so enthusiastic about my prospects. I grinned further as I responded with, "Next week. They have to prepare my office first. But I'll still live here; I'm still me."

"Of course you are. You're the Lycanroc I couldn't help but fall in love with, and you'll always be that Lycanroc. Never forget that."

I nodded. "I won't forget it, trust me. I'll never forget that first day we met, even."

We embraced each other, wrapping one another in our arms. We never wanted to let go; indeed, we fell asleep in that position.

When we woke up, it was rather awkward explaining to my parents how we'd ended up in this position; from their vantage point, it must have looked rather suggestive. But as soon as that had been squared away, I was able to tell them the Good News.

They seemed at least as happy for me as Emaire was, and I felt immensely satisfied with myself. This Good News might not have been quite as amazing as salvation from Arceus, whatever that meant, but it was the next best thing.

When I arrived at my office in Lycan Hollow's Village Hall, I was struck by just how professionally they treated me. After all, I was only eighteen, and yet they were talking to me like they would a much older wolf.

"Sir Eliot Lumine, would you like us to bring you some hot chocolate?", as well as "Sir Eliot Lumine, here is your first assignment" were the first two things my boss told me (not necessarily in that order.) My boss, of course, was the mayor, and if you've been reading carefully, you'll recall that the mayor was my father. This dynamic was a little weird, but I quickly got used to it.

The job of being a town councilor wasn't particularly demanding, but I tried to soak up as much of the experience as I could. Every day when I arrived, I'd sit behind my computer for an hour or so before I was given an assignment, usually in the form of a data entry task. Once I'd completed a few tasks that morning, I was allowed to head to the break room for lunch.

The other town councilors were all at least thirty years old, and many of them had children of their own. A few were even old enough to be my grandparents, so I worried that they'd treat me differently thanks to my lack of seniority.

Fortunately, this was not the case. The other councilors seemed to regard me with respect, in keeping with the tradition this village had of welcoming outsiders. I suppose it should have been no surprise, then, that the Lycan Hollow Town Council's traditions would follow a similar theme.

For the most part, I enjoyed my time working as a councilor. There were ups and downs, but that's true for every job, not just this one.

Although we stayed in our offices for the majority of the day, for the last hour we all met together in a conference room. In this room, we discussed the issues of the day that the village was facing. Every week, we voted on a budget for the following week. This was a big responsibility, and I took it seriously.

My life settled into a routine, but it never felt boring. There were always new things to talk about with the other councilors, or so it seemed. While many of them were parents, a situation I couldn't relate to, I was all too happy to hear stories about their children.

In return, I would occasionally talk about Emaire. I made sure not to reveal anything too personal, since I didn't have her permission to discuss these topics, nor did I want to go to any significant lengths to obtain it.

The weeks went by, and the harsh winter came to an end. When spring comes over the mountains of Lycan Hollow, it's always welcome to see the woods awakening after having been blanketed in snow. As a child, and even into young adulthood, I'd often enjoyed exploring the forest that bordered the village.

Although my parents had always granted me a wide latitude to hike away from the village for a couple hours, they had also made sure I remembered two important rules.

One: I was not allowed to be out after it got dark. When I was fourteen, I'd ended up breaking this rule, and I had been grounded for it. In spite of the fact that I didn't tend to hang out with friends, this punishment still sucked.

Two: Under no circumstances whatsoever were I to cross the raging river ten miles from the village, nor was I allowed to ask about the reason for this. I rarely ventured more than half that distance, but on one occasion at age seventeen, I'd actually seen the river.

I could still picture it three years later when I learned the truth. Much like the lake beside the Big House, this river was glacier-fed, meaning that the water was so cold you'd almost forget how to breathe. It was quite wide, with white-water rapids that even the most intrepid rafting expeditions wouldn't touch with a ten-mile pole.

To make a long story short, even if my parents hadn't forbidden me from trying to cross it, I would have stayed on my side of the river. It was simply too dangerous, even for a strong swimmer such as myself.

In early August of 200W, when I was twenty years old, I was called into a meeting in the conference room. By this time I'd been working with the town council for roughly a year and a half, and had gotten closer and closer with Emaire.

However, Emaire wasn't with me at this meeting. Since she wasn't a councilor, she wasn't allowed to attend. And that was a shame, since, as it turned out, I really could have used her presence that day.

Lycan Hollow was in the midst of a heat wave, so the fans were on full blast in the conference room. Even with that, we were all drenched in sweat and felt somewhat drowsy. As soon as Mayor Lumine (AKA my father) brought up the topic of discussion, though, I was wide awake.

"Today we'll be talking about the Zoroark clan that lives about forty miles from us. More specifically, we are going to discuss the defense budget and whether or not it should be increased as a result of recent events."

I don't remember the specifics of what we agreed to, but I do remember how it made me feel.

Suddenly, my life in Lycan Hollow no longer seemed so tranquil and ideal. It no longer felt as though nothing could go wrong. On some level, I'd expected this reality to come with adulthood; I just hadn't expected it so soon.

My father, using a digital slideshow he'd prepared, told us about the threat posed by the Zoroark clan known as The Illusionary. Tensions between the two clans, Lycan Hollow and The Illusionary, were the worst they had been for many decades, and diplomatic talks were not going well.

"I need to remind you all that the last time tensions were this high or higher, there was a war between the two clans, leading to heavy losses on both sides. It is in all of our interests to prevent another one from occurring."

My throat felt hot suddenly. War? Between the two clans? Why did they keep this from me for so long?

Fear and anger were duking it out within me to see which emotion would be the dominant one. The latter emotion won out.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Dad?" I blurted out, not caring about decorum. "That's something that would have been nice to know!"

My father shook his head. "Eliot, son, there are some things you didn't need to know when you were a kid. I wanted you to be carefree. But you're twenty now, and mature enough to know the truth."

It was as though my life were a jigsaw puzzle, perfectly arranged, and then it had shattered into a million pieces. Everything I knew (or rather, everything I had thought I knew) came crashing down in an instant.

My life isn't what I thought it was. I'll never think about this village the same way again. Oh my Arceus, we could be under attack soon!

I crumpled to the ground in a dead faint after that.

When I woke up, my legs were propped up on a pillow just outside the conference room. My stomach was churning with embarrassment as I saw my father looking over me with concern.

"Eliot, are you all right?" he asked me, worry evident in his eyes.

"Yes" I replied, feeling all the blood rush to my head at once. I could barely believe what had just happened.

"I'm sorry that I brought that up in the meeting. But if you want to be mayor, you're going to have to deal with upsetting news. You'll need to be able to reassure people, even when you're panicking on the inside. Because if you don't, you can't be an effective leader."

Everything my dad said was true, and I knew it. If it wasn't enough that my view of the outside world had collapsed just as suddenly as I had, my view of my own potential had also crumbled like a cookie.

How am I ever going to live up to my father?

Originally I was going to tell Eliot Lumine's whole life story in one chapter, but then it would have been something like 15K words, and that would've been insane. The rest will be told in a later chapter (which I have already written.)

Thank you all for following this story thus far, and I'll see you next time in four days. From here on out, updates will be released every four days until further notice.