Chapter Two

Friendship

Days went on like this: SnowBotamon ruled over the baby Digimon, Elecmon became more and more tired, and Poyomon seemed to watch it all with his shy smile. He played with Paomon and the others, but also wandered routinely over to SnowBotamon's rock to talk to her: during her would-be napping hours, no less. But he was almost like an outsider, still. Not stupid enough to fit in with the others, not smart enough to be accepted by SnowBotamon. As much as he stayed on the outside watching, she watched him back, suspiciously. What was it about him that made her feel so out of place? It wasn't as if he was challenging her authority and power over the babies, but his watchful eyes made her uneasy, almost like she was doing something wrong. She didn't know why she felt this way, but even when she closed her eyes, she saw his little smile, his small bright eyes watching the whole village. It irritated her; he made her whole takeover seem almost like a game. Whenever she was planning her next step, here he would come, scurrying over, calling, "Yuki-chan!"

He was nice enough, she supposed, and if he had come to Primary Village before she had become so bored with her life there, she surely would have befriended him. But not now, after so much had changed. He didn't see this, unfortunately for her, and kept on after her, trying to be included in what she was doing. And now that he had come around, Paomon had an obvious crush on him. SnowBotamon didn't like this idea: those who acted on their feelings caused trouble. They were impulsive and didn't stay in line. Paomon was already one of the harder-to-control babies – SnowBotamon didn't need her to be even more problematic.

One day, feeling especially annoyed, she left her post at the rock and traveled to higher ground. She found another rock: flatter, wider, and warmer, and stretched out on that. Soon she was napping peacefully, further away from the babies, and out of sight.

She hadn't been asleep long before she heard an annoying voice in her sleep. "Yuki-chan!"

She opened one eye to see Poyomon standing there, smiling sincerely. "Hiya, Yuki-chan!"

She sat up. No more sleep for her now. She wanted to glare at him, but knew she couldn't. The meanest she could get to these little puffballs was by being sardonic, something they were not aware of. Sarcasm, to them, was not in existence. They took her literally for everything she said.

"Hello, Poyomon," she said. "How did you find me?" She had thought he wouldn't be able to when she moved.

"I was worried about you getting lost or too far away! SO I came looking for you."

"I'm not that far away. I could still see Primary Village over these bushes, if I jumped high enough."

"I thought you might be going further. But you didn't really."

"Nope. Why don't you go play with the others? I usually don't like to be woken up during my sleep," SnowBotamon said, trying to make her voice caring.

"Ok, Yuki-chan!" He hopped off before she could correct him on her name.

When it was finally time for dinner and SnowBotamon went back reluctantly, Paomon was waiting for her. SnowBotamon sighed inwardly. Paomon, though a fox, was not very smart.

"Snowy! Hiii!"

She plastered a smile on her face. "Hello, Paomon."

"I hafta talk to you, about Poyo!"

"Go ahead… But try and make it quick. Remember, no one will eat until I've started."

"Okay!" she said eagerly, smiling broadly. "Well, I kinda like him, you know?"

"I'd figured as much."

"So you are friends, d'you think he likes me back?"

"Woah, first of all, we're not friends. Second, I wouldn't know. I don't talk to him when I don't have to."

"Oh." None of this seemed to register in her brain. "Well, next time you talk, can you ask him? Thanks!" She scurried off to the dining area.

SnowBotamon sighed, not being able to refuse now. She hopped after Paomon. If she kept the babies waiting too long to eat, they might start a rebellion against her. To them, nothing was more important than food. That was one of the ways she had gained their support, after all.

She didn't want Paomon and Poyomon to be anything other than friends, of course. She wasn't even sure if she wanted that. Poyomon was smarter than her, and instead of making him stupid, the alliance would only increase her intelligence. It seemed almost like a good thing, but it wasn't. Too many intelligent subjects would eventually learn there was really not much behind SnowBotamon's arguments, and would educate the others in this. She would no longer have the babies to serve her.

But Paomon was watching her, so she decided to just ask him now, instead of procrastinating. At least this way she wouldn't have an excuse to talk to him.

"Poyomon, I was wondering if I could talk to you," she purred as Elecmon served the food.

He looked up. "Of course, Yuki-chan!"

"Don't call me that. It's about Paomon."

"What about her?"

"Well, you two are friends, right?"

He nodded.

"Right. So I was wondering if you liked her, as more than a friend," she said, bored.

He blinked, staring at SnowBotamon. "Umm…"

Elecmon put her food down in front of her. SnowBotamon, at being the last served, and at seeing the eager, hungry eyes of the Digimon, nodded to all of them and started eating. This was their cue to dig in also.

Poyomon, looking relieved, also started to eat again.

"Don't think I've forgotten," she warned him after a moment. "I need to give her an answer, or the idiot will just keep pestering me."

"Umm…"

"I'll tell her you don't like her, then."

"No!" he protested.

She smirked at him. "Then I'll tell her you do."

"No, don't do that, either."

Irritated, she glared at him. "Make up your mind! Do you like her or not?"

"Well, I… Hey, wouldn't you dislike it if babies were more than friends? Wouldn't they be able to, you know, rise up?"

She looked at him, suspicious, but he just gave her the same vacant smile he always had. "I can't decide if you're avoiding the subject, or just stupid."

He looked back at her silently.

"And besides, if you ask me, you're too young! I don't know why even Paomon would be so stupid as to have a crush when she's only a baby Digimon!"

Poyomon smiled and continued eating, and SnowBotamon thought he might be smarter than she had thought. Of course, she had thought of those options, the possible rebellion, but if he had thought of it, then she might be in more danger than she knew. What if all the babies had it on their minds? Was Paomon trying to take over? Maybe she just saw that Poyomon was the smartest baby besides SnowBotamon, and decided to use him to try and dethrone their leader.

SnowBotamon shook her head, annoyed at herself. She was being too paranoid. Paomon was just a baby. She couldn't think that comprehensively. SnowBotamon could, but that was because she was, in a way, older than the other babies. And so was Poyomon, or at least more intelligent than them.

The next day, SnowBotamon was intent on finding a rock that Poyomon wouldn't wake her at. She passed the one she had napped on the day before and went far beyond it, until she couldn't hear the babies playing anymore. She was still in Primary Village, but almost in the forest that surrounded it. The rock wasn't as sunny as she liked it, but at least she didn't hear any of the babies laughing. She fell asleep, wishing for more sun.

She dreamt of finding what she had been waiting for her whole life, and a wave of serenity enveloped her in the dream. This was her purpose, this was the reason she was alive. She wanted to bask in the warmth of knowing her path and embrace it fully. She didn't care about taking over the village anymore. Power was not an issue now that she knew her true self. It was the happiest she had remembered feeling, ever since she was younger, blissful and unaware, as the others were now. Her heart soared with ecstasy and she never wanted to leave the dream. It was perfection. There was nothing she wanted more than just to live it. But when she awoke, the dream – and her purpose – escaped her head.

What most agitated her was that she had been awakened by none other than Poyomon. Jumping up, she glared at him, not even masking her true feelings. "What do you WANT?" she demanded. "Why do you always have to wake me up!"

He blinked. "I-I'm sorry, Yuki-chan… I just… I just…"

Tears glistened in her eyes. "You just WHAT? You ruined it! I was about to know, and you ruined it! How could you do that!"

"I just… I was just… worried…"

"It's all your fault!" she yelled. A hot tear rolled down her cheek, much to her dismay. "I could have… I could have seen…"

"Please, Yuki-chan… don't cry… I know you will see it again, whatever it is you're talking about."

"You don't know anything! Just leave me alone!"

"I'm sorry, Yuki-chan…" Poyomon's eyes were watery now.

"Oh, shut up, you crybaby! I said leave me alone! And stop calling me Yuki-chan!"

Poyomon said nothing more, but hurried away, after giving her the saddest look she had ever seen on anyone before.

SnowBotamon fell back down on the rock and shut her eyes tight, not letting any more tears fall from them. She was ashamed at the one that had escaped, and ashamed at the way she had yelled at Poyomon. After all, he hadn't meant to do anything. As he had said, he was only worried. And the look he had given her made her stomach wrench and her heart hurt with guilt.

Even closing her eyes, the tears fell, rolling down the sides of her face. She tried to hold them in, but then found no reason to do so. There was no one around to witness this weaker side of her. So she let herself cry, but she still did it silently.

She hadn't wanted to hurt him so badly as she had. His face as he had run away was so pained she felt like a monster. Or at least more of one than she was already. She hadn't wanted to yell at him like she had. It had all come without warning. Now she wished she could take it all back. But, of course, that was what regret was. And now the only way she could feel better was to apologize to him.

Now that her tears had stopped, she smirked at the thought. Apologize! Imagine that, SnowBotamon, the ruler of all the babies at Primary Village, the Digimon whose heart was as cold as the ice she attacked with, apologizing to a tiny little Poyomon. It was absurd, really. No, she would have to just bear Poyomon being angry at her. She could stand that. Anger didn't last forever. And this way, at least maybe she'd remember her dreams next time.

Feeling a considerable amount better, but not quite able to remove the image of his sad face from her mind, SnowBotamon hopped back towards the village. When she arrived, a crowd was in a large clump, all the babies together. Creeping closer, she watched with suspicion, until Nyokimon spotted her. "Oh! Snowy!"

The crowd seemed to unfold, revealing a sad looking Poyomon at its center. He stared at SnowBotamon blankly.

"What's going on?" she asked, though she knew. Poyomon had told his sad story to all the babies, attempting to gain support from them, to get revenge on SnowBotamon. It was a good plan, and she feared it would work.

It was Paomon who answered. She advanced towards SnowBotamon. "Poyomon came here and was crying. He won't tell us what happened!"

SnowBotamon looked back to Poyomon. He hadn't told them? He hadn't stabbed her in the back after she had been so cruel to him? He wasn't even angry at her.

"You talk to him, Snowy! If anyone can find out, it's you!" Nyokimon announced, smiling.

Others nodded, agreeing. They cleared the area, until only SnowBotamon and Poyomon remained. She moved closer to him slightly. "Look, Poyomon…"

"I'm sorry, Yuki-chan! I really am. I'm really really sorry for making you not see, or something." He looked it, too. Poyomon almost seemed like he'd start crying again.

"I'm sorry too." Those three words, so sudden, felt foreign in her mouth. She flushed bright red at this. It was almost as if she was showing weakness, like when she had been crying. Only now, there were tons of baby Digimon around, not within earshot, but watching. "For yelling at you. You didn't deserve it."

Poyomon's sad face turned into his shy smile again. His eyes shone brightly with happiness. "I forgive you, Yuki-chan."

"Thank you for not telling the others… I know you could have, and they would all turn on me."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that, Yuki-chan. Just… won't you tell me about what I ruined?"

"Oh, I suspect you didn't ruin it. I probably would have forgotten it if I had woken up by myself, anyway."

Poyomon, smiling happily, moved towards her and hopped up and down with joy. "Will you tell me about it?"

"I guess. There's not very much to tell, though."

"I still want to hear, Yuki-chan!"

SnowBotamon couldn't help but smile. It wasn't a fake one, either. This was an actual smile. She could remember smiling, back when she was younger, before she had become so jaded. But the absence of it made this one seem even more valuable. She couldn't get the smile off her face, as much as she couldn't stop the happy feeling in her heart. And then she said something she never expected, something that was even more a surprise than her apology. It came more of a shock to SnowBotamon than even to Poyomon.

"Friends?"

It took a moment for Poyomon to register what she had said. He smiled, wider than she had seen him smile, and hopped up and down, before answering, "Friends!"

:3 Review please!