Houndoom and I laid down as we waited for Ninetales to come back with food. Despite how much we offered to take care of hunting for the three of us, she wouldn't let me nor Houndoom even join her on hunts. It was starting to get a tiny bit old, since it's been a while since I have started to miss the feeling of hunting, but it's not like I was going to stop Ninetales from providing for us; she felt as though it was her duty as the eldest member of the pack. Whatever, it probably had to do with how the hierarchy works in a pack of Ninetales and Vulpix. So what if Houndoom got a bit irritated about how he hadn't sunk his teeth into a live prey for months? Years? At least we were well fed.
"As much as I am starting to like that Ninetales, she needs to quit hunting for us. We're both fully grown, she knows that, and yet refuses to let us take over hunting for even a night!" Houndoom groaned. "Ninetales said she lost her kit right?" I asked. "Yeah, she did. What does that have to do with her constantly hunting for us?" Houndoom asked. I shrugged. "I don't honestly know. I'd assume Ninetales take care of the youngest in the group first, and I don't know how old our packmate is, but she's probably older than we are. Ninetales have ridiculously long lifespans after all," Absol said. "Well, let's ask her, what's the worst that can happen?" Houndoom stood up and glanced at me.
"Alright, let's ask her," I said.
0-0-Ninetales-0-0
My eyes squinted as I saw what looked like a human's vehicle pull into a dirt field. What were one of those doing out here? Humans preferred living in cities, towns, or whatever large group of human dens are called. I still intently watched as the human male, a young one, stepped out of the vehicle. He stretched, closed his car door, and walked deep into the trees. My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I turned around, grabbed my catch in my jaws, and turned around to get back to my pack.
The walk back was quite peaceful, which was part of the reason why I chose to do almost all of the hunting. This was just some quiet time alone, for my heart to relax, and for myself to find some peace. While my pack members have certainly been nicer to me in the last week since I first started hunting for them, I still just desired some nice, quiet solitude. I also get to use the excuse of me being nearly two hundred years, which would then mean I should be providing for the pack. That's how it worked in a group of Vulpix if there wasn't a Ninetales around, so I assume that is how it works for most, if not all other pack pokemon.
My eyes got struck by the lighting of the clearing my two other members were waiting in; they looked bored. Perhaps I should let them hunt for once, as I am sure both could hunt pretty well, but that would require me giving up a potential hour of solitary peace. "Hey Ninetales, how old are you?" Houndoom immediately piped up. I tilted my head. "That isn't the most polite thing to ask a Ninetales. Let alone a female. Whatever, you likely didn't know that can be considered offensive amongst my kind," I said after spitting my prey's leg out of my mouth. "Wait, you Ninetales find that sort of stuff offensive?" Absol asked. "Yup, we only ever share that stuff with very, very young Vulpix that like to ask that question. Otherwise, we do not like being asked our age. Older males usually use that as a way of finding the more naive females and vice versa. You can probably guess where that goes from there. An unwanted mate, kit, or just a broken Ninetales," I explained.
Houndoom bowed his head. "I'd like to apologize then. Didn't know you would take offense," he said. "You wouldn't know the customs of Ninetales, given how you seemingly hated them a week ago. For your question, I am two hundred years-old. Which is still considered quite young for a Ninetales, but by then, we are more aware of the world. Either due to watching friends or trainers on their deathbed, or due to other circumstances. Think of it like a twenty year-old Houndoom, but with the knowledge of an elder," I said. "So, is that why you always go out hunting for us? Because I'll have you know, that I could probably hunt better than you can," Houndoom said.
"That is likely true. I am not very skilled in that aspect, but I never expected to be the one hunting for a pack… or a Vulpix. I figured my mate would take care of that, and I became a bit rusty over the years where he did hunt for me. I do also hunt because you two are the youngest here. But I mainly choose to go hunting so I can be alone for a little bit. My heart still aches a bit from… Well, let's say I use that solidarity to cope with that heart ache," I answered. Houndoom tilted his head, which made him look like a young Vulpix I might add, and spoke. "So what I'm hearing is, you hunt because you're hurt on the inside," he said. I only nodded.
0-0-Absol-0-0
I simply watched as Ninetales laid a good couple paw paces away from the carcass she had retrieved for us. The way her tails covered her body up was a tiny bit cute. No wonder why humans wanted Ninetales so badly; they seemed quite powerful and might be considered adorable by some humans. Even despite her gesture, I knew deep beneath that shiny coat of hers, she was in some emotional turmoil. There wasn't a whole lot I could do, as I know Ninetales definitely will not open up to me. Either because she felt like it would burden her, or it was a lack of trust.
I padded over to her, licked the top of her head, and turned to get my fill of food. "Thank you for hunting for me and Houndoom again," I said. I could see at the very edge of my vision, Ninetales had a tiny little smile. I could tell that such a small gesture actually helped to show that I did appreciate her being here; she was one of us now even if she did have that uptight-asshole-looking body of a NInetales. She was mine and Houndoom's snobbish asshole. And for that, it was only fair for us to be nice to her.
0-0-Houndoom-0-0
I'm starting to get a bit tired of my new pack mate, don't get me wrong, I don't hate them, but Ninetales is a bit… stubborn. No matter how much I try to convince her to let me hunt, the damn girl won't even budge in her resolve to hunt for me and Absol until she dies. While she did explain how she does it because that's how Ninetales and Vulpix work in the wild, that is not how Houndoom does things. We take turns. Yes, we make sure our young get enough food to grow big and strong. But the adults take turns hunting. One night it's males, the next it's the females.
Considering there's two females, it meant that I hunt one day, Absol or Ninetales hunt the next, and then whoever didn't hunt had to hunt by the third day. By no means am I mad about getting a meal everyday, since I will admit, Ninetales is a damned good hunter. Each time she went hunting, she either brought a big Sawsbuck, or a bunch of Buneary… weird looking Sawsbuck and Buneary, but a catch is a catch right?
On top of that, whenever I chose to use one of my packmates as a pillow, Ninetales just happens to be the best candidate. There are many things I don't like about Ninetales as a species, but I will give credit where credit is due. They're soft, more specifically their fur is soft, and made perfect for a Houndoom to rest their head on. Absol was also a pretty good pillow, but on some nights, it was her turn to use me as a pillow, so I made due with Ninetales.
I set my rear down next to Ninetales, who was laying her head down on her paws, and her tails were perfectly draped over here. Unlike Absol, who had very noticeable, well defined muscles, it seemed like Ninetales lacked that. Or her fur was so thick that you couldn't really tell how strong her body was. If it wasn't, then that wouldn't matter. Ninetales aren't known for exceeding in close quarters combat.
"So, can I hunt tomorrow?" I broke the silence. "And if I say no?" Ninetales asked. "I'll… I'll…" I paused as I pondered on what I would actually do if I was denied another hunt. "Listen, I know you just explained to me how your species works, but mine works differently. Regardless of age, unless you are a pup, will take turns hunting. Now, do I look like a pup to you?" I asked. "No, no you do not. But I'd still like to do things my way. I'd rather be useful to our group than not," Ninetales said. I shook my head. "With the Houndook system, you won't be useless, Ninetales. You just get a couple nights where you relax and have some good food, then you go hunt again," I explained.
Ninetales tilted her head and thought about it. "Well… You did have to put up with my methods for a week. Perhaps we can alternate each week? One week I do all the hunting, then the next you can hunt, and then after that, Absol takes over hunting. After we do that we start over again," Ninetales said. "It is a good mix between the two, as I still get to provide for you and Basol for a week, but then you and Absol also get to hunt. So I believe you start hunting tomorrow as the sun begins to set?" Ninetales asked. I tilted my head as I thought about it.
Honestly, it wasn't too bad of a proposal, especially since this is likely the closest thing I'll get to the Houndoom way of doing things. Considering how stubborn Ninetales had been for the last week, she had denied me any possible chance, and now she was giving me a good middle ground. "And if we seek out a prey that is too much to handle alone, you can come back to wherever we are resting for the night and ask for assistance," Ninetales said. I chuckled. "We Houndoom are born with teeth and claws. We're ready to fight within minutes of hatching from our eggs," I said.
Ninetales' head recoiled. "No memories of you hatching and immediately seeking refuge near your mother's belly?" She asked. "Well… even though we can fight upon hatching, we do seek out our mother's belly for milk, warmth, and safety," I said in an almost Mareep-like manner. Ninetales had a small smile make its way to her face. "Good. Any pup or kit without that immediate instinct is going to grow into a psychopath," Ninetales said. "And why's that?" I asked. "Well, if you can't even love your mother, or your mother didn't love you, could you ever be mentally stable? Everyone needs to bond with their mother and to learn from them. For that matter, growing up with a missing parent is also simply wrong… but I do get that is how living in the wild is sometimes," Ninetales stretched a forepaw out from under her tails.
"My only desire was to have kits and raise them. It made my heart melt when I first laid eyes on my first litter of Vulpix. It melted my heart once more when my second litter, which was composed of one kit, looked up at me with love filled, innocent eyes." She said while keeping her eyes on her paw. "Hey," I said, getting her attention. "You'll see that kit again. For all we know, he's still alive. Heck, he might've found somebody to care for him in your absence, but he'll still be your son right?" Ninetales nodded. "Then when we find your pup, you'll get to look into those eyes again," Houndoom said.
Ninetales nodded before opening her mouth. "May I lead our group tomorrow once we start walking. We can play tag along the way to make such a boring task go faster," she asked. "Well… go for it. I ain't stopping you from leading when it should've been your turn after Absol's the day after we met you," Houndoom said. Ninetales' eyes sparkled a bit.
"Thank you, Houndoom," she said. I rolled my eyes. and settled down next to her. Moments later, Absol rushed over and laid her head on my belly. Suddenly a couple tails draped over the two of us.
"Sleep well, you two."