[POV: Gale]
{Be strong, my Champion. I will have need of your abilities soon, and I fear that you will not be ready.}
She raised her head blearily, checking around the room immediately. Then she sighed, and buried her face in her paws, feeling her body throb in rhythm with her latest torments. He's not here, she thought, sighing with relief. Then she groaned and struggled to her feet, legs shaking unsteadily. She made her way towards the door unsteadily.
I had hoped that maybe things would have changed him… but I suppose I always think that, and it has yet to happen.
She sighed pitifully again as she exited their room. Well, his room. She just didn't have one of her own as of yet.
Once outside, she paused for a minute to think. Where should I go? I definitely don't want to stay here…, she thought. She briefly considered going to find Wolfe, but decided that that wouldn't be a good idea. Chances are, he'd ask her questions that were better left unasked. She lowered her head and sighed. Then she started to blindly walk down the main hall of the base, towards the bases entrance.
Will he ever change? Will I ever change?
She didn't have an answer.
She was so lost in thought and her own misery, that she didn't notice when someone called after her. She also didn't notice when a few people started walking beside her, as she just kept her head lowered, and her thoughts on her life. She didn't notice, that is, until she reached the blocked exit, which was manned by a gardevoir whose job was to open and close the entrance.
"Where are you three headed?" the gardevoir asked.
Gale snapped out of her stupor, and quickly looked around her to see who it was that the gardevoir was addressing. She let out a slight smile upon seeing who it was.
"Just going out for a little walk to enjoy the weather. Also to just cool down a little. Those private rooms in the pool area are mighty nice, but very hot," Wolfe answered for them cheerfully.
Lura hummed in agreement, smiling brightly. The gardevoir shrugged its shoulders, and then turned to the door.
"Alright, be careful out there. Heard some rumors circulating that bandits have been spotted in the area," it told them, before its eyes glowed and the wall that served as a door entrance began to move, eventually allowing them to see into the outside. The trio quickly nodded their thanks, and exited the base.
Outside, Gale noticed that the sun was actually quite high in the sky, and guessed that she had been out for a lot longer than she had intended to be. She couldn't help but frown a little as she remembered why she had been doing so in the first place.
Him, she mentally spat.
"Looks like it's going to rain soon," Wolfe said suddenly, breaking the silence as they walked with no particular destination in mind. Gale frowned, and then looked at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
He flicked his tail towards the east. She turned her gaze towards where he had directed, and saw a mass of dark clouds building. She blinked in surprise. How did I miss that, she wondered? She sighed sadly and returned her gaze to her paws.
"So, you're Hail, right?" Lura asked her. Gale nodded, and glance at her.
"Yes, though that is a nickname of sorts. My real name is Gale Valentine. You can just call me Gale though," she replied with a soft smile. Lura beamed at her.
"Well, my name is Lura!" she exclaimed cheerfully, before stumbling on tree root that was sticking out of the ground. Before she could fall, however, Wolfe easily caught her with a paw and a laugh.
"Careful there, love! Don't want you to injure yourself now," Wolfe chuckled.
Lura blushed, and giggled. "Oops! I really don't know what's up with me, I'm never usually this careless," she told Gale. Gale chuckled quietly.
"It's alright, Lura. We all have our off days, so it's no big deal," she excused her. Lura smiled at her brightly again.
"So, what can you tell me about yourself?" Lura asked her. Gale nodded once, then sighed.
"Well, not a whole lot I suppose. Has he," she flicked a tail at Wolfe, who chuckled, "told you anything about me yet?"
Lura shrugged with a smile. "Sure he has, he's spoken about you a lot! Mostly about how distracting you are when you have hiccups. He also told me that you used to be a mercenary, though that was as far as that conversation got before we decided to go to the hot pool area…" she replied, before trailing off with a blush forming.
Gale looked at her quizzically. Then she shrugged, and giggled. "I think that half of our mission was filled with him flirting, and the other half with him getting distracted by me," she laughed. Lura giggled cutely.
"Yeah, that sounds like him! To be honest, I'm surprised that nothing 'fun' happened while you were both gone. He's awfully upfront about that," Lura said.
Immediately, Gale blushed, her white fur turning a deep crimson, as Wolfe laughed openly. Lura blinked in confusion, shifting her gaze from the blushing vulpix and the laughing umbreon. Then her expression cleared as she caught on, where she giggled again.
"Oh. Oh, I see. So, you two did have some 'fun'!" she smiled.
Gale shifted her tails uncomfortably. Then she nodded mutely, blush still very present and visible.
"Yes love, yes we did. You wouldn't believe how fast she said yes. I couldn't sleep, she was so persistent! I think she's in love with me if I'm honest," Wolfe laughed.
Gale glared at him, as Lura giggled again. "Somehow, I doubt that's how it actually happened. Although, I do know that people fall in love with you rather easily, so that might be true," Lura said cheekily, grinning at Gale.
Gale turned her glare to Lura. "No! He just did something for me, which no one had done before. So, I caved, alright?" she huffed.
She giggled. "We're just teasing you, you can relax," she told her.
Gale pouted. "Well that wasn't very nice."
Wolfe snorted. "You should be used to it hon, if you're going to stick around me at all," he told her with a wink.
Gale frowned. "Who's to say that I'm going to be sticking around you?" she challenged.
Wolfe stared at her seriously. "I do."
She blushed, and then looked away. "Maybe," she said shortly. Then she shook herself. "Now, where exactly are we heading?"
Wolfe shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know, I was just following you," he said passively.
Gale blinked. Then she huffed in annoyance. "Fine, I know where we're going."
Lura giggled. "Lead the way!" she exclaimed cheerfully, pausing to gesture with a paw.
Wolfe only chuckled, as Gale pulled ahead of them.
They walked for a short while, with Wolfe making the occasional ignored quip. Gale found that she was strangely enjoying their walk. She hadn't done anything as calm as this in a long time.
Finally, they reached their destination, which was actually on top of the Dark Army's base. Gale heard Lura let out a quick gasp of awe as they sat down on cliff's edge.
"It's beautiful!" she gasped.
Wolfe hummed in agreement. Gale kept her silence, instead enjoying the view.
For as far as they could see towards the south, there was nothing but mountain after mountain. If she looked to the west, she could just barely catch a glimpse of a huge expanse of water glinting in the distance between the mountains. If she were to look east, she would see where she and Wolfe had recently returned from. And to their north… Memoria.
And directly overhead, there are some serious storm clouds gathering, she noticed with amusement.
"Gale?" Wolfe asked suddenly.
She turned her gaze to him. "Yes?" she questioned.
"Do you mind if we talk in private for a moment?"
She hesitated. "Uh… sure, I don't mind."
He nodded, and then flicked his tail away from Lura, before walking in that direction himself. Gale followed, although she was a bit hesitant. Lura waved her finned tail at them distractedly.
"You two go have fun, I'm just going to…" she trailed off and went back to gaping at the view. Gale heard Wolfe chuckle in amusement.
"Arceus I love her," he whispered to himself, though Gale heard him. Inside, she felt a jolt of pain. I doubt anyone has ever or will ever say that about me.
Wolfe's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Knock it off," he ordered.
She flinched. "What do you mean?"
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Your self-pitying."
She flinched again, and turned her gaze onto the ground in front of her. "I don't understand what you mean," she mumbled.
He stopped, and then sat down before turning to face her. She paused as well, though she didn't sit down. Wolfe growled angrily, causing her to shoot a shocked glance at him.
"Gale, are you going to tell me what's wrong? Or do I have to do something to get you to spill? And don't tell me nothing, or that it's none of my business, or that I wouldn't understand. Just… tell me. How can I help you if I don't know the problem? I can't. So come on hon, tell me," he said sternly, glaring at her.
She stared at him, fighting herself on whether or not to tell him. Finally, she let out a loud sob and rushed at him, where he put his fore legs around her, pulling her close.
"Oh Aurumn! I don't know what to do! I want to tell you, I do, it's just that I don't know how you can help! And… and I'm scared… I just don't know!" she wailed.
She numbly felt Wolfe start to stroke her gently with his tail, too wrapped up in her own inner-turmoil.
"Just tell me," he murmured softly.
She buried her face into his chest and didn't answer. She dimly heard him sigh, and then felt his grip tighten on her, until she could feel him holding her firmly… yet she found that it was very comforting.
"Whatever is wrong, I can help you. Trust me hon. I can," he whispered.
Slowly but surely, her sobs grew more and more controlled, until she was quiet, sniffling every now and again.
But, she still didn't say anything.
She heard Wolfe sigh. "Just tell me if my suspicions are correct. Does your boyfriend hurt you?" he asked her.
She flinched. Wolfe growled softly. "That's what I figured," he snorted angrily.
Gale pulled away from him and stared at him wide eyed, tears still in them. "Don't," she whispered.
He glared at her. "No, Gale. I'm not just going to 'don't'. I don't have much respect for a man who would abuse someone's trust like that. He's supposed to be there to protect you!"
She looked at the ground miserably. Even as she did so, the first rain drop from the skies fell to the ground in front of her. "Please don't try to help me, you'll only make things worse," she muttered sadly.
"Not if he's out of your life," he growled.
She shook her head and raised her gaze to his, eyes pleading. "Please don't kill him," she begged.
Wolfe shook his head gruffly. "It sounds to me like he deserves it. But, fine. I won't. I don't understand why though. Who is it?"
She sighed, and pawed at the ground. "It's-," she was cut off by the sound of a lightning strike nearby, followed by a loud yelp.
Then there was another lightning strike, followed by another yelp. It sounded like some pokemon was terrified, and under attack. Gale's ears pricked towards the sound, as did Wolfe's.
They exchanged glances with each other, before looking back towards the direction they came, as well as where the yelps were coming from. Then they started sprinting towards the sounds.
[POV: Artul]
"And this is the exit!" Via exclaimed cheerfully, guiding Artul through the open doorway. She turned her head back to look at him and smiled. "The doors are open for a half hour once a day, though it's usually a little later. I'm guessing some other soldiers wanted to go outside, so the gatekeeper probably decided to just leave it open. Which suits our purposes just fine!"
Artul nodded at her, not having the heart to tell her that he already knew that. She was just way too adorable about it.
Once outside, Artul immediately took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air immensely. He had been cooped up inside of the Dark Army's base for over a week, and the air started to smell stale after a while. It also didn't hurt that it was a lot cooler outside, especially after their visit to the hot springs.
"So, this is the outside! Though I'm fairly certain that you already knew that. I don't know about you, but I think that it smells great out here, especially after being inside the base for a while. It's… unfortunate that duties often don't allow me to be outside very often," Via told him, as they approached the tree line, which was around 20 meters from the base's entrance.
"You seem to have a lot of duties… isn't there anyone else capable of your position?" Artul asked her.
She shook her head. "No, I'm the only psychic type in the Dark Army that has received any premonitions or sightings of the future. So, that leaves me. But, I guess I don't mind a whole lot. I mean, I get a lot of respect!" she said cheerfully, though Artul thought he saw something else flash in her eyes.
But, he decided that it wasn't his business to pry. If she wanted to talk, then she would talk. But… he had to admit that he was worried about her. She seemed to be so sad underneath all of her cheerful exterior. Although she also seemed to be very cheerful at the same time. It was rather disconcerting.
Via looked behind her, then suddenly stopped, and began to blush furiously. Artul stopped as well, and stared at her quizzically. He noticed that she was staring directly towards the Dark Army's base. He turned to follow her gaze.
At first, he was confused. Then he spotted a familiar vaporeon sitting on top of the cliff that formed the Dark Army's base's entrance. Then he was even more confused.
Does she like girls, he wondered? Or is she blushing because she saw them kissing while in the same room as them?
He didn't have an immediate answer. The thought that she was interested in girls as opposed to men made him feel… sad, for some reason. Now, he wouldn't think any less of her if that was her preference. No, that did bother him. It just made him feel disappointed.
He lightly poked her with his paws so as to get his attention. Via jumped, and then shook herself and looked at him.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Are you… attracted to girls?" he asked cautiously, ear flicking uncomfortably.
Her eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head vehemently. "No, no I am not. Why do you ask?"
He pointed a paw at Lura. Even from this distance, Artul could still see a large smile on her face as she gazed out over them. Via followed his paw, and then looked back at him. "Er… I'm confused. Because you saw Lura, you thought that I was gay?" she asked with a giggle.
Artul began to blush slightly. "No! I just… You were… I mean…" he broke off, not being able to finish his sentence. He sighed and shook his head. "Never mind."
Via frowned at him, then shrugged. "Well, I suppose that you don't need to tell me if you don't want to," she said with a smile.
Artul returned her smile, and then glanced up at the cloudy sky. "Should we stay out for much longer? It looks like it might rain soon," he asked.
Via followed his gaze, then shrugged. "A little rain never hurt anyone. So, I say that we stay out as long as we can."
He lowered his gaze to look at her. "Well, what did you want to do out here?" he questioned.
She beamed at him. "Well, I was won-," she started, before cutting herself off with a gasp. Then she bolted past the stunned jolteon, and made her over to the tree line. Specifically, towards a clump of bushes decorated with pink flowers.
"They're so pretty!" she exclaimed. Artul tilted his head in confusion as the eager espeon started to sniff them deeply.
"Er… they're flowers. Aren't they supposed to be pretty?" he questioned confusedly.
Via turned to glare at him halfheartedly. "Yes, but I can still enjoy them, now can't I?"
Artul blinked rapidly. "Of course, of course! But what makes these flowers so pretty to you?" he said hurriedly.
Via giggled lightly. "Because pink is my favorite color of course!" she smiled.
He flicked an ear thoughtfully. "Is that because you yourself are pink? Or-," he broke off with a startled yelp as his surroundings were lit by a blinding light, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Artul blinked in surprise, partially blinded by the brightness. He shook his head to clear it, and then gaze to his right.
A lightning bolt had struck almost exactly on top of him, missing him by a hair. He gulped audibly. "Well, that was random. And lucky," he said shakily.
He looked at Via, who appeared to be holding back a fit of laughter. She opened her mouth to speak to him, but he never got a chance to hear her, as another bolt of lightning crashed right next to him. He let out another startled yelp, which was cut off as another bolt of lightning struck near him, this time almost directly on him.
Artul panicked, and started to sprint rapidly towards whatever shelter he could find, with the lightning seemingly following him, striking him or the ground near him, each time causing him to run faster, as well as to yelp in pure terror. He thought that nature itself was now out to get him, bringing down upon him the power of the heavens.
Finally, he found his way into the safety that was the Dark Army's headquarters. There he stood, standing in the middle of the entrance under the protection of thirty feet of solid rock, staring out into the now pouring rain in horror. He waited for another lightning bolt to crash down in front of him. But… it never came.
Instead, he heard the sounds of hysterical laughter coming from just outside the entrance. He blinked in confusion, worried that someone had lost their mind. That was when he realized that there were four voices out there.
As he thought and processed this, four figures made their way through the pouring rain and into the shelter of the bases entrance. There he saw that they were Wolfe, Lura, Gale, and… Via. He frowned at them.
"Why are you all laughing! I nearly died! And how come none of you got struck by lightning? She's even wearing a metal piece of armor!" he shouted, pointing a paw at Gale.
Wolfe, Gale and Lura were laughing too hard to answer him, and Via wasn't that far behind them. Artul huffed in annoyance, and turned his back on them quickly. "Fine! Next time you all almost die, I won't cry or be worried, I'll laugh," he muttered moodily.
Finally, he heard them get their laughter under control, until Via began to speak to him.
"Artul, you weren't in any danger," she laughed. Artul blinked in shock, then snapped his head around to stare at her.
"What do you mean I wasn't in any danger! I almost got struck by lightning!" he exclaimed.
This time, Wolfe answered him. "Actually, you were struck directly a few times. Artul, you know what a lightning rod is, don't you?" he questioned, obviously trying hard not to laugh. Artul nodded, almost glaring at him.
"That's your ability. Lightning Rod," he deadpanned. Then they all burst into laughter again, leaving a stunned jolteon to just stare at them, before he too slowly began to laugh.
[POV: Cordina]
"Mama, watch me!"
"No, watch me ma!"
Cordina smiled brightly to herself as she watched hers and Lura's kits play with each other, taking turns jumping off of their bed and onto a pile of blankets. They were so adorable, it made her heart ache just watching them.
While most people or pokemon that weren't part of the eeveelution family often struggled with picking out identifying features of a eevee kit, which would help them identify who their parents were, Cordina or any other eeveelution member had no such difficulties.
She could clearly see that Malik was an exceptionally good looking kit, with evidence of him being Wolfe's son shown clearly in his body figure and shape, as well as in his face, such as the bridge of his nose. But there were also obvious signs of him being her son as well, such as the fact that his pelt was an unusual color compared to most, which made her immensely proud. She could tell just by looking at him that he would lead a warrior's lifestyle.
And then there was Keaira. She was an absolute angel, having about her an air of grace, as well as one that radiated calmness. That is, when she wasn't riled up. Dear Arceus did that kit have a temper. She also was a very beautiful eevee, though that didn't surprise her one bit. While Cordina may have been the more physically attractive of the two, something about Lura just made Cordina think that she was by far the more attractive one, although she knew that wasn't physically the case. It only made sense that Lura's offspring held the same qualities about her, especially with Wolfe as the father.
The two kits had picked up early on that Cordina and Lura had special relationships to the both of them, and the kits saw them both as their mothers, with Wolfe as the obvious father. And she loved them each the same, as though they were both her own, even as she knew that Lura felt the same way.
And obviously Wolfe did as well.
Cordina was brought back from her thoughts as she heard a knock at their door, which also drew the two 'vee's attention.
"Come in!" they yelled in unison.
Cordina smiled and shook her head at the two as the door opened to reveal a familiar furret, one who usually got on Cordina's nerves, but she was too relaxed to care right now.
"Oh, hello Iris. What do you want?" she asked.
Iris beamed at her. "I just stopped by to visit you, Cory darling, as well as to see your kit!" she said cheerfully, making her way over to Cordina.
Cordina smiled brightly back at her. "Well, that's fine by me! Malik, Keaira, come meet Iris," she told the two kits. They exchanged looks, and then scampered towards Cordina and Iris.
There, they sat and waved their paws cutely at the furret, who cooed at them gently.
"Awh, they're so cute! Which one's the slut's?" Iris asked cheerfully. Cordina glared at her.
"Language, Iris. And I don't think you need to know that answer, as I know you'd treat them different," Cordina growled.
Keaira looked at Cordina quizzically. "Mommy, what's a slut?" she asked sweetly. Cordina sighed, and massaged her forehead with a paw.
"Nothing you need to know about yet sweetheart. Aunty Iris is being naughty and using bad language around you two, language that you should never repeat to anyone, least of all to your father," she answered. Keaira stared at her wide eyed, before nodding and turning to look at Iris.
Iris smiled at the two kits. "Well, regardless, they're both insanely adorable," she complimented. The kits beamed at her with their eyes closed, before they bolted away to go back to their game, causing Cordina and Iris to laugh together.
"It's hard to believe that one of them came from something as ugly as that vaporeon," Iris muttered to Cordina quietly. Cordina sighed.
"Iris, will you please stop insulting one of my mates? She hasn't done anything to you. Point in fact, she barely even knows you, let alone you knowing her," Cordina told her.
Iris stared at her steadily. "But she has done something to me. She's clouded your eyes from who you should really be with," she replied.
Cordina rolled her eyes. "She has done nothing of the sort, and I am with the one's that I should be with. They love me and I love them," she retorted.
"I'm sure you don't love them that much. How can you love a boy anyway?"
Cordina smiled evilly. "Very easily. If you'd like, I can tell you in great detail what I love about him, all the way down to the most private of details," she said, winking at the furret.
Iris huffed, and made a gagging sound. "No thanks, I'm good dear. But you know, you could still be with the one that you should rightfully be with, if only for a short time," she returned suggestively.
Cordina rolled her eyes, and went back to watching the kits. "Not going to happen Iris, now please stop asking."
"Sorry darling, but I know that you would enjoy it. But, I'm not going to force you to anything that you don't want to do. Just think about it is all I ask," Iris said. Cordina sighed, and then turned to look at her.
"Fine, I'll think about it. Now, can you leave please?"
Iris smiled at her brightly. "Of course dear, anything for you! I'll talk to you later!"
With that, she turned and started walking out towards the door, swaying her hips suggestively as went. Right before she exited, she looked over her shoulder and winked at Cordina. Then she disappeared, leaving Cordina to roll her eyes.
"She walked funny mama," Malik said, staring after the furret with his nose twitching curiously. Then he turned look at Keaira. "I think we should walk like that! It looked cool!" he exclaimed. Keaira agreed with a little cheer.
Then the two started walking around the room, their hips swaying in a very adultlike manner. Cordina groaned, and then face-pawed. Hard.
Before she could get them to stop, she heard the door open, and in walked Wolfe, Lura and Gale, chatting together quietly. They all stopped as soon as they saw how the two kits were walking.
"Daddy, momma! Look how we're walking! Isn't it awesome?!" Keaira and Malik shouted.
Gale and Lura started giggle softly as Wolfe sighed and shook his head. Then he glared at Cordina good naturedly. "You're starting them on this awfully young, aren't you?" he asked teasingly.
She slammed her head into the floor and groaned. "Iris," she said shortly.
A collection of 'oh's filled the room followed by laughter.
[POV: Wolfe]
"You're going to have to tell me at some point, you know that right?" he asked Gale quietly as they made their way towards the interrogation room. Duke had asked them to oversee part of the interrogation of their captive, the glaceon that is known as Temna. It was the day after their excursion out of the base, early morning to be exact, and Wolfe was anxious to get this over with. The sooner they were done, the sooner he could get back to his mates and kits.
"Maybe, but not now. There are more pressing things to deal with," she hissed back. Wolfe rolled his eyes, and flicked her shoulder with his tail.
"Sure, but afterwards we're talking, alright?"
She huffed in annoyance. "Fine, we can talk afterwards. Maybe," she said, glaring at him slightly out of the corner of her eye.
He shook his head in annoyance, though he let the matter drop for now. He then sighed. "Why does Duke want us there anyway? We aren't exactly professional interrogators you know," he muttered mutinously.
Gale swatted him with her tails. "We were the ones to bring him back. He figured that we might be able to intimidate him, if only slightly. A nervous opponent is a malleable opponent."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know that. Still, wouldn't it make more sense if I was human? That's how I was when I beat him, and he was unconscious for all of the trip home."
"Sure, but then he might get aggressive again. We were sent as we are, now deal with it. And quit complaining," she chastised.
"No~," he whined, pawing at Gale's shoulder like a kit. Gale's nose twitched. Then she started to giggle.
"You really are something, you know that right?" she asked. He grinned at her.
"Oh, believe me hon, I know. If you'd like, we can ditch for a moment and I can remind you just how much of something I am," he purred seductively, rubbing against her gently. She turned her head to glare at him. Then she batted him with her paw once.
"Down boy. There isn't enough time," she replied. He frowned at her.
"I'm sure that we can be late 20 seconds," he challenged. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"20 seconds? If I remember right, it was much longer than that last time."
He shrugged. "What, I was holding back. Although there would be the problem of you and walking," he mused, staring up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Then he sighed sadly and looked at the ground. "Fine, I suppose that it would be a bad idea. But I still plan on collecting on that promise of yours," he told her with a wink.
She blushed, and then swatted him with her tails again. "Bad," she said shortly, before staring straight in front of her with a huff.
He laughed lightly, and focused on the corridor in front of them, watching the soldiers of the Dark Army as they passed by. He smiled to himself as he saw a group of three, one human, a weavile and an emolga. The emolga was currently perched on the human's head, humming cheerfully. The human was obviously displeased with the small pokemon's antics.
"Freya, get off," he heard the human mutter.
"Nope!" the emolga, Freya, chirped. The human sighed again.
"Why in Arceus' name does a ditto have to be so fond of such an annoying way of travelling?" the man complained bitterly. Then the group was past them, and Wolfe heard no more, though the conversation already made his day a good one.
"Well, that was amusing," he laughed.
Gale giggled, and nodded. "I would agree, yes."
Wolfe started humming happily, certain that this day promised to be a good one. As if to confirm that, Gale joined him, much to his surprise. He didn't think that she knew the tune, or that she would join him even if she had known it.
Eventually, they reached the prisoner containment area, where they stopped humming and became businesslike. Via was already waiting outside of one of the cells, waiting for them. Once they were close enough, she bowed her head in greeting.
"Greetings," she said.
Wolfe waved a paw dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, hello and all that jazz. What, no hug?" he asked.
Via stared at him impassively. "I figured that she had already given you one," she said, pointing a paw at Gale. Wolfe immediately turned to her.
"Yeah, about that. How come you didn't give me a hug? Am I suddenly unhuggable?" he asked in a hurt voice.
She rolled her eyes. "Great, Via. Now you've gone and given him ideas," she muttered, glaring at the espeon, who giggled.
"Well, my apologies, but no hugs for now. Business and only business, that's the situation here. Now, are you two ready?" the espeon asked.
Wolfe frowned, and then sat down, pouting. "No. I didn't get my morning hug yet. I'm not moving until I get it," he proclaimed.
Via and Gale groaned in agony. Via turned to the ice fox. "Is he always like this?" she asked in disbelief. Gale massaged her head with a paw.
"Oh, you have no idea," she muttered. Then she sighed, and quickly wrapped a forepaw around Wolfe as best she could, before breaking away. Wolfe beamed at them.
"Alright, we can go now!" he exclaimed, leaping to his paws and padding towards the door.
"You're like a child, I swear," Gale muttered, though there was some amusement in her voice. He flicked her nose with his tail gently as he passed.
Via shook herself, and then turned towards the door, which glowed purple for a moment before opening. Then she walked in, a purple glowing bucket floating behind her. Wolfe tilted his head at it.
"What's the bucket for?" he asked. Via ignored him, instead flicking her twin tail tips for them to enter. Once they did so, the door shut behind them, leaving them in the cell with an unconscious glaceon.
Well, I suppose that answers the question about the bucket, he laughed mentally.
"Give me a moment while I take some precautions," Via told them, before approaching the glaceon's still form. Wolfe turned to Gale.
"So, about that promise," he said cheerfully. She shook her head in amusement, though she did look slightly pained.
"There is the small matter of my boyfriend you know," she replied. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well, that didn't stop you when we were in the field, now did it, 'sis'?" he grinned. She blushed slightly, and then shook herself.
"That was a slightly different situation you know. First off, we were alone. Secondly, there was no chance of him finding out," she retorted.
Wolfe grinned. "Technically, we weren't alone."
She rolled her eyes again. "Yes, Bill the pervy pikachu was there, but he's dead now, so that point is irrelevant. For all intents and purposes, we were alone."
He frowned. "But we still had a witness, one who we barely knew," he reasoned.
She swatted his nose with her paw. "Irrelevant. Dead now."
His nose twitched furiously for a minute. Then he opened his mouth to speak, but cut himself off as they heard a splash of water, followed by a spluttering sound. Then there was the clanking of chains moving.
"Don't bother. I'm limiting your abilities so you can't 'freeze your way out'," Via said, drawing Gale and Wolfe's attention. Wolfe grinned widely as he approached him.
"Well, I see you woke him up!" he exclaimed brightly. He turned his attention to Via. "So, you're limiting his abilities? To what extent?" he asked her.
She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm limiting his abilities. He can't use any of his 'powers', so to speak, until I allow him to. It's fairly handy, especially in situations like this," she said modestly.
Wolfe gave a low whistle of appreciation. "Damn, that's certainly impressive," he complimented. Via glared at him.
"Can you not flirt right now?" she begged. Wolfe frowned.
"But I wasn't flirting," he said confusedly.
"Wolfe?!" a male voice suddenly exclaimed. Wolfe snapped his gaze towards their captive. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"How is it that you know my name, but I've never heard the name Temna before?" he asked suspiciously.
The glaceon stared at him, stunned. "How are you a pokemon? I thought you were a human!"
Wolfe blinked. "Well, surprise, surprise. I'm special. Now, you never told me how you recognized me."
Temna stared at him impassively. "You're voice."
Wolfe sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, whatever. You know me, I don't know you. We've established that. Now then, will you answer our questions for you?"
The glaceon shrugged. "Not much I can tell you if it's about the Memories. I'm a mercenary, they hired me, simple as that," he replied dismissively. Wolfe raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, just answer our questions to the best of your abilities, how about that?"
Temna shrugged. "Shoot," he said.
"Alright, where was that Memory encampments destination?"
"Nor," came the short answer. Wolfe shrugged.
"Easy enough I suppose. Why was Nor their destination?"
The glaceon shrugged. "Beats me, I just marched where I was told."
"Fair enough. Alright then, do you have any idea whatsoever about Memoria's plans?"
Again, Temna shrugged. "Not really. I assume that they want to gain control of the other territories, though I'm sure you've already gathered that much by now. Do you mind if I ask you a question now?"
Wolfe shrugged. "You just did, and the answer is: it depends on the question. Now, what was your relation to Crux?"
"To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of him. But, we were put on the same squad, so there's not much that I can say about that. Alright, how can you turn into a pokemon or human?"
"Pass. Now then, is there any information that you can give me that would help us out here in any way?"
The glaceon huffed in annoyance, as Gale giggled quietly. "Not a whole lot. My main task was in capturing or subduing you two, although we were brought into the mix rather late. Before that, I was on mostly recon missions, scouting the land and spotting potential threats. Occasionally they would send me and my squad up against some random enemy forces, but that was really it. I was kept away from any important meetings due to the fact that I was merely a mercenary, and not an actual soldier."
Wolfe nodded understandingly. "Alright then, how do you know who I am?"
Temna eyed him, a slight smirk appearing on his face. "Pass."
Gale sighed painfully as she turned to Via. "I have a feeling that it's going to be a long day," she muttered pitifully. Via hummed in agreement.
[POV: Lura]
Lura watched the two kits sleep, adoring the way that they slept. She smiled brightly to herself, as she turned to gaze at Cordina, who was also sleeping.
Unfortunately, she had woken up after Wolfe had left, though she figured that he couldn't have been gone long. Regardless, it was still sad to not feel him wrapped around her whenever she woke up. It felt like she had barely any time with him at all recently, which was also something that she wasn't a fan of.
She turned her gaze to the other sleeping eevee in the room, this one pure white with a black collar. She smiled again. Nova had stopped by right before they had gone to sleep, and asked to spend some time with the kits, as well as with her and Cordina of course. But, Lura knew that she was mostly here to see the kits.
She still found it heartbreaking that Nova was barren. She obviously had so much love for kids. It seemed like such a waste for someone to say that she couldn't have the thing that she wanted most. Lura wished that she could somehow help.
But, she knew that was an impossibility. After all, she was simply a vaporeon, with now special abilities at all.
She sighed sadly at where her thoughts were going. She wished that Wolfe was here for her to talk to. Then she blinked as a thought struck her. She could talk to Wolfe. But… she didn't want to bother him if he was busy… she sighed, and decided to talk to him anyway. The worst he would do would be to tell her that he was busy.
'Wolfe?' she sent tentatively.
'Yes love?' came the immediate response. Lura smiled brightly again.
'Are you busy right now?'
'I'm never too busy to talk to you, you should know that. What's on your mind?'
This was where she hesitated. Then she sighed, and decided to speak anyway. 'Well… it's about Nova and Kage. More specifically, Nova being barren. Do you know how that happened?'
There was a pause. Then, 'I have my suspicions, but I don't know anything for certain. Why? Is it because of Nova stopping by last night?'
'Yes and no. It's more about me feeling bad about her not being able to have kids. I feel like such a horrible pokemon for having one, when she can't,' she sent, almost crying now.
'Lura love, you are not a horrible pokemon. You're not horrible at all. You're the sweetest, gentlest and most caring pokemon that I know, or have ever known. Just the fact that you're thinking about this now, when most would be focused on their own kids, proves that. You're a wonderful pokemon Lura. That's a big reason as to why I love you so much.'
Lura sniffled once. Then she sighed and buried her face in her paws. 'I wish you were here right now,' she said.
"You could have just asked, love. I would have been here immediately," Wolfe said from behind her. She felt a warmth press against her back, and she immediately snuggled into him as hard as she could.
"I thought you were interrogating someone," she whispered. She felt him nuzzle her head, as she started to relax.
"Lura love, you are so much more important than anything I could be doing right now. Whenever you need me, or even want me, I will be there for you. No matter what I am doing, or where I am. Just tell me you need me or want me, and I'll be there," he whispered to her. She felt a glow of happiness fill her, as she murred happily. She turned her head so that she was looking at him, and immediately found his lips place over hers as he kissed her, which she returned gently.
Then they broke away and he smiled at her. "Do you feel better?" he asked. She nodded happily.
Then her thoughts returned to Nova, and she immediately felt sad again. She sighed. "I just wish that there was something that we could do for her," she said sadly. She felt him kiss her forehead gently.
"Does this really mean that much to you?" he asked. She nodded.
He sighed then, before rotating himself so that he was in front of her. "Well, there is something you could do, though I'm not entirely sure that it's the best of ideas," he told her. She perked her head up immediately.
"What is it?" she begged.
He frowned. "Before I answer that, I have to ask you a question. How would you feel if you were to get pregnant again?"
She blinked, not expecting that at all. Then she frowned as well. "Well, I wouldn't opposed. I would want to know why you want another one though, when we already have two."
He smiled at her sadly. Then he took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "There is something you have to know about us love. You see… you can't get pregnant by me again. It's physically impossible, no matter how hard we try," he said gently. Lura's eyes widened in shock.
"What?! Why not?! What happened?" she asked rapidly. He hushed her gently with a kiss. Then he broke away and spoke again.
"It's part of my mark, something that I wasn't aware of until recently. I can only have one kit with someone that I've marked. Any other person, there is no limit. But, with me, there is only one," he answered her. She blinked at him, and almost began to cry again.
Then another thought struck her. "So wait, why did you ask how I would feel if I got pregnant, if you can't get me pregnant? Do you know a way around that?" she asked hopefully.
He shook his head sadly. "No, love. There is no way around it that I know of. We just have to be happy with what we have. But, the reason why I asked you that, is because you can help Nova. Have you ever heard of something called a surrogate mother?"
