Not a very balanced chapter this time, and it's pretty short too. Sorry. So we're having it in the middle of the week and with any luck I'll have another chapter up at the usual time. Next chapter's normal, I promise!

Kitten

-

At the Pokecenter the next morning, Elliot wanted to put off leaving. He felt nervous about going back out into the wilderness, but also, his next destination…he just didn't know.

He called his mother, who looked pleased to talk to him two days in a row. "I'm glad you called," she said. "Your sister's finally home." A six year old girl's head popped up from the bottom of the screen.

"Hey-hi!" she said, holding up a pokeball. "And lookit!"

Elliot's sister had been gone for months. She'd left a little while after him for an extended trip down in the islands with her classmates. It hadn't been meant to last so long – Elliot's mother hadn't been very forthcoming with the details, but there'd been some sort of delay. She hadn't seemed worried, so Elliot had thought it was okay.

"Hi Merci," he said. "What's that?"

"Secret." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Their mother laughed and put her hand on the top of Merci's head. "She found an abandoned meowth kitten by the market, and we –"

"Nawme!"

"– well, I was wondering if you could take it. I don't know anything about meowth, I like growlithe better, and you're a trainer now."

"Sure," Elliot said.

Merci's face loomed over the screen. "Take good care of him or else I'll HATE YOU!" She burst into giggles and dropped out of sight.

-

-

"Okay, guys, we have somebody new my sister got. We'll be taking care of it for a while."

The six looked at him. He opened the pokeball – it had pink unicorn stickers on it he'd need to remove, he noticed – and out came a tiny, fuzzy kitten, hunched down to take up the tiniest possible space.

Prowler stiffened.

The others looked at it in interest.

Fur started to stand. Her ears tilted.

Din leaned forward to sniff.

Prowler growled.

Everything stopped. Din froze. The kitten managed somehow to pull even tighter into itself and flatten down until it seemed to be merged with the ground.

"Prowler, what's wrong? I thought you'd like a kitten." Prowler hissed at him viciously. Elliot flinched.

((Persian don't adopt the young of othe-)) Caw's knowing voice was cut off by a swipe he should have expected but didn't. He was sent tumbling. Prowler's gaze returned to the kitten, the other pokemon shuffling nervously out of her glare.

"I don't understand, Prowler," Elliot said unhappily.

She turned sharply back to him again. ((Where did you get this? This shouldn't be here. Put him back.))

"My sister got him. He was abandoned." Elliot didn't know what was wrong. "I thought you'd like a kitten," he said again. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

((Put that back.))

"I can't. I told you, he's abandoned. My sister found him."

((That can't be here.))

"Why not?"

((That can't.))

((Persian won't tolerate other meowth or persian,)) Caw said from a good distance away. ((They drive off or kill any others in their territory.))

Prowler whirled and screeched. Startled, Caw's wings froze up and he dropped low enough for her to pounce. He turned red and she fell through him. Snarling, her eyes followed the retreating light back to Elliot and she ran at him. He recalled her as well.

After a moment, he recalled the others and walked over to the kitten, who was still holding perfectly still, eyes closed. Elliot picked him up. As the kitten was separated from the ground he curled, making his body into a disk shape. His tail wrapped around his face.

"It's okay," Elliot told the kitten. "She gets mad sometimes but it's okay. She'll calm down and then you'll have a mommy again."

The kitten showed no sign of uncurling.

-

-

"Look," Elliot was saying as Prowler formed. He was kneeling in front of her, holding the kitten out under her nose.

Prowler bit.

"Ow!" Elliot wailed, dropping the kitten and cradling his hand. "Prowler, what's wrong? You liked Din."

((Put him back!)) she screamed.

"I can't. We have to keep him."

This time she seemed to understand. She turned away and walked off.

"Prowler!" Elliot yelled. "He needs to be taken care of. He's just a baby. What if he gets sick and dies?"

((That would be better,)) Prowler said, facing away. She was lying with her paws tucked under her and her tail wrapped against her side.

"That's a horrible thing to say!"

She ignored him.

Elliot picked up the kitten again and dropped him against her. "Make friends," he ordered. "Stop being mean."

Prowler stiffened, pulling her check back so she wasn't touching, then turned her head to one side and stared off as if the kitten wasn't there.

Elliot sighed and went off to gather wood.

Minutes passed. The kitten uncurled an infinitesimal amount and mewed timidly.

Prowler hissed, ears flat. The kitten recurled.

When Elliot returned, the kitten was cowering where he'd been left, and Prowler was off on the other side of the clearing.

"Come on, Prowler, what's wrong? You liked Din."

((Male.))

"Huh?"

((That is male.))

"So?"

((That will die anyway.))

"Why?"

((Because that is male.))

"I'm a boy."

Prowler didn't respond.

"I'm a boy and I'm not going to die."

((You won't have claws!)) Prowler screamed. Elliot flinched.

"He's just a baby meowth," Elliot said after a moment. He picked him up again and offered her the kitten. "Look at how scared he is."

Prowler turned her head away.

"Is this about what Caw said?"

Prowler snarled, jumping to her feet, one paw raised. She stopped the swipe at the last moment.

"Please tell me what's wrong," Elliot said pathetically. "The kitten wants to be your friend. He's scared and lonely." He held the meowth out.

Prowler wouldn't look at him. She stared off into the distance as if the kitten didn't exist.

Elliot set the kitten down by her and left the clearing.

It was getting late and cold. The kitten began to tremble. He mewed pitiably.

-

-

Caw was the only one who noticed anything wrong. Elliot was happy Prowler was being nice finally, holding the kitten between her paws and licking it. The kitten was purring loudly, trying to make up for the lack of returning sound. Caw saw the persian's absent look and how disinterested and mechanical her licking was.

Din was off to the side, cowering and depressed. Prowler had growled at her when she'd tried to approach. None of the others were paying attention.

The next morning, before the dawn's mist had faded, Prowler stood and walked to Elliot. She fished the still sticker-covered pokeball out of his bag, picked it up, and pressed it against the kitten. Then she picked the pokeball up in her mouth and walked away.

Caw's eyes opened. Silently, he took flight.

Elliot woke up to screams and crashing sounds. He pulled himself out of his sleeping back and ran barefoot to toward the noise.

Prowler was on the ground. She'd apparently been interrupted in the process of digging a hole. Caw was circling above. Some black feathers lay on the ground.

As Elliot watched, she glanced down and pulled up more dirt, only to be interrupted as Caw dove. She slashed at him, opening new gashes and knocking out another feather.

((You have no right, Bird!)) she screamed.

"Prowler, Caw, what…"

((The persian was digging a grave.))

"What?"

((The persian was digging a hole to bury the pokeball.))

Elliot stared, noticing the ball on the ground underneath Prowler. She was standing over it to prevent Caw from swooping down and grabbing it. As he watched, she shot a glance at the murkrow and started digging again.

"You killed…" Elliot whispered, horrified.

Prowler turned to him. She looked maddened. ((I have to!))

((I tried to tell you,)) Caw said. ((Persian don't-))

((Carrion eater, kinless! Your mothers eat their own eggs!)) Prowler screeched. ((Abandoner and betrayer! You have no right!))

((The small meowth is his. You can't take his property,)) Caw said. ((You can't steal from your owner.))

"Prowler, why?"

((Because he is small and weak and he will die!))

"He's not going to die."

((Then he will suffer and kill.)) Prowler turned away, pulling up more dirt and deepening the hole. Caw flew at her and she swatted him into a tree. Painfully, he flew back up into the air.

"Give him to me," Elliot said, holding on his hand. "I'll get rid of him. Okay?"

Prowler didn't do anything for several moments. But then she picked up the pokeball in her mouth and brought it to him.

-

-

"Hi Mom…yeah, about that…no, no, nothing like that. But I can't – yeah, I can't keep him…no, actually. My persian got really upset…no, I don't think she was jealous…she was really upset…no, not like that, she kept saying he was going to die and to bring him back…no, he's fine, I asked the Nurse and she said there wasn't anything wrong. But she said, and my murkrow kept saying this too, that persian don't get along with other cats and won't adopt kittens…I know, I don't understand why she likes Din. Maybe because they're different species. I don't know. So I've really got to give him back, sorry…no, really, my persian was really upset. She tried to bury the pokeball while I was asleep…yeah. But the Nurse Joy said Merci'd probably be able to take care of him, meowth are easier than growlithe…yeah, you can ask the Nurse Joy there…I know…sorry again…yeah, bye."