Learning Who You Are

Chapter 4: Decisions and Changes

Here's the fourth chapter. Enjoy.

It took Gren and I only a few second to realize that Y-ran was no longer with us. I looked around, confused as to where he would have gone, but Gren merely sighed and shook her head.

("Now see what you've done? You've scared the poor kid off.") Gren looked at me reproachfully, red eyes flashing in annoyance.

("Me! What about you? You're scarier than I am. I mean, what Pokemon in its right mind would want to be purple?")

Gren sighed, not falling for the bait this time. ("Well, I guess he'll show up eventually.") She took one more look at me before jogging into the trees. I sighed heavily as she left, shaking my head in wonderment. A small snort escaped me before I followed her, wondering what exactly it was about the Espeon that attracted me to her.

-----

I had only managed to get a few minutes of sleep before a crunching noise outside of the thicket awakened me. My fur bristled as the sound of paws on the forest floor came closer. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a purple head thrust itself into the thicket, followed by Gren's body and then Akaenon. They both turned to me, expressions surprised.

("Well, this is a surprise! Seems you've found our thicket.") Gren smiled serenely at me. ("You're welcome to stay if you want.")

Akaenon gave his purple companion a disdainful look and rolled his eyes, but sighed in a resigned kind of way. He moved to the rear of the thicket and sat down, turning his head to pick a few burrs from his ebon coat. I looked him over closely for a moment before getting to my feet.

("That's alright. I don't want to invade your privacy. And besides, I think Akaenon will be much happier with me gone.") The Umbreon gave me an odd look as I pushed my way through the slightly less-dense tangle of branches that served as the entrance to the thicket.

Sunset was upon the landscape. The mere forty days of spring were almost over, the leaves already starting to wilt. I breathed deeply as I walked along. Even though I hadn't gotten that much sleep, I wasn't tired. Soft grass bent beneath my paws and a light breeze wafted through the thick ruff of fur around my neck. The dusk was beautiful, and the moment was enhanced further as I once again came upon the river. Oranges and yellows danced across the surface of the river, throwing beautiful shadows of reflected light on the trees along the bank.

I walked to the edge of the river and reclined on my haunches. My reflection shimmered across the surface of the water, my ruffled appearance staring back at me with familiar brown eyes. I didn't really know what I was still doing in this forest, I should have been back with Maggie by now. True, the girl wasn't my favorite being to be around, but I felt bad just leaving like that.

I sighed quietly at the dilemma. I knew nothing about living in the wild, I had proved that to both myself and Akaenon and Gren earlier. If I went home I would once again live the cushy life of a pampered pet, but I would also have put up with R-wen every single day for the rest of my life. There was no clear answer to my problem. I shook my head and stood, turning back to the forest. I needed to find somewhere to spend the night while I thought about my situation.

---

I yawned and stretched as the first rays of dawn sunlight began to filter into our thicket. Akaenon was still asleep, as always, but I was more of a morning creature. I shook the dirt off of my light lavender pelt and wandered nonchalantly out of the thicket, the sunlight glinting off the red jewel embedded in my forehead.

A yawn escaped me as I made my way to the river for a morning drink. A few Pidgeottos flitted back and forth, bringing food for their young, but otherwise the entire forest was asleep. I loved this time of morning. I sat down after taking a short drink from the river, admiring the deep oranges and light blues that heralded the dawning of a new day. Taking a deep breath, I let the calm serenity of the moment fill me.

I jumped when I heard a branch crack behind me. Turning, I saw the form of Y-ran emerging from the shadows underneath the trees. He still looked half-asleep, eyelids drooping. Though he didn't seem to be all there, a determined look was set upon his face as he marched toward me.

Y-ran hadn't seemed to notice me, but as he came within in a yard of me he suddenly became aware that he was not alone. He shook his head and looked up at me with his youth-filled brown eyes, a confused emotion filling them.

("Oh. Hi, Gren.") He shook his head as if to clear it and continued to the water. I nodded a greeting and watched as he lowered his head to drink. The two of us sat in silence for a few moments, both enjoying the peace of the morning.

("I'm going back.") His sudden statement caught me off guard.

("What?")

("I'm going back.") He didn't say back to where, but I knew what he meant. He didn't really look like he wanted to leave, but his tone said that he would not change his mind.

("I wish you the best of luck.") I didn't really know what I was wishing him luck for, but it seemed like he needed it. ("This forest will always be here if you ever wish to come back. Don't forget that.")

He nodded and stood. ("Say farewell to Akaenon for me.") I nodded as he stood and turned back to the forest. Without another word he loped of into the trees, brown fur vanishing into the shadows.

---

I don't really know when I had made the decision to return to Maggie. I guess it was spur of the moment, but as I ran through the forest an odd sense of misgiving came over me. I can't say exactly what it was or why I felt it, all I knew was that whatever the danger was, I seemed to be heading towards it.

-

It didn't take as long as I had thought it would to reach the town where Maggie lived. It was still too early for the humans to be up and about, but a few of the neighborhood Pokemon greeted me as I walked along the familiar streets.

Maggie's house was near the center of town, which meant more time for me to run into R-wen or any of the other Pokemon who had bullied me, but by the time I caught sight of the vanilla colored shutters I had luckily gone unharmed. I had been gone three days, but as I climbed the steps of the porch I had the odd feeling that I hadn't been missed. I shook my head to rid it of that depressing thought and walked up to the front door.

Setting myself right in front of the door I sat down, tilted my head back, and yowled. Well, as much as an Eevee can. My high-pitched cry of "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" echoed back at me from the wood door, ringing in my ears. I called three times, then waited for an answer. Almost as soon as I stopped calling the door opened, revealing the very tousled face of Heather and something I had not at all expected to see.

Behind heather stood the tall form of a Ninetales, its bright red eyes fixated upon me. It stared for a few moments before looking up at Heather and uttering a confused "nine?..." Heather raised a brow at me in response.

"And here I was, hoping you'd have gone away for good. I never liked Eevees." And with that she struck me a hard blow in the chest with her foot, sending me rolling off of the porch, and slammed the door. I got to my feet and shook myself. Once I had regained my bearings I looked back up at the door, only to see the Ninetales still standing there. It gave an odd, quirky smile before sending a small jet of flame at me, just hot enough to singe my fur. I growled angrily and glared at her, anger at the situation flaring up inside me. Anger at Heather and Maggie for so easily abandoning me. Anger at R-wen for chasing me away. And now anger at this strange Ninetales for taking me place. The emotion over-powered me, and I could feel it taking its effect. I felt my body starting to change, felt my legs elongating and my ears and tail changing shape. My fur shortened and became coarse, the dusty brown changing to bright gold. The brown of my eyes changed to red, as did parts of my fur. It wouldn't be until later that I realized how closely I resembled Akaenon.

The anger continued to fuel me, even as the change was complete. My breathing was harsh and my muscles shook with unreleased energy. Before I knew what I was doing I had launched myself at the Ninetales, beginning the first real battle I would experience.

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KX: Well, there's chapter four. Didn't really turn out the way I wanted, but at least now Y-ran has evolved. So, hope you liked it, and please review! Chapter five should be up shortly.