There were many things that could be said of Sinnoh's mountain ranges. Words like 'tedious' and 'frustrating' were often tossed about by amateur travelers that found the harsh terrain and labyrinth-like caverns more trouble than their worth, and it didn't help that the mountains all but divided the region in two, requiring one to cross through the area several times in the course of a journey across the region.
Others viewed the mountain as a challenge, or even a hobby, pushing themselves and their Pokemon to their limits and navigating the maze in the hopes of discovering new things. Researchers and scholars adored the different habitats that had been formed over the centuries, and the Pokemon that could be found here offered more appeal for the Pokemon trainer. That wasn't even touching upon all the myths and lore that touched upon the mountains, and the prospect of even more discoveries waiting to be found.
However, there did tend to be a different sort of phrase murmured in regards to the snowy section of the mountain. Set outside the higher caverns of the tallest mountain, the mountain paths leading towards the northmost city in Sinnoh were covered in snow. The air was harsh and cold, and the frequent blizzards served as one of the greatest challenges for Pokemon trainers aspiring to be champions, and forced Pokemon to endure hellish conditions to survive for long against the wild Pokemon that had already become accustomed to the snow blanketing the ground and sky.
Once one saw past the physical challenge of the snowy mountainside, they were usually in awe of the breathtaking beauty and serenity of the snow. The consistency of the weather here could not be replicated anywhere else in Sinnoh. Snow may fall in other areas, but up here, the snowfall always seemed fresh and soft, and extended for as far as the eye could see. For an Ice-type Pokemon, this was a haven, a sanctuary perfectly suited for them.
For non-Ice Pokemon, it was painfully cold. This went double for non-Ice Pokemon that had arrived in the area abruptly, such as from the confines of a comfortable Pokeball. Or if they were a Kadabra roped into Teleporting another Pokemon, evidently with insufficient warning of how extreme the conditions up here were.
Frost had to fight to keep a straight face as A/C gasped some choice phrases and terms he never would have imagined the otherwise serene Kadabra would know. Then again, Kadabra had relatively slender, almost scrawny figures with minimal insulation in the form of thick fur or even body fat.
"Did I forget to mention that it's snowy up here?" the Glaceon asked innocently.
"Snow...I can handle," A/C managed, shivering intensely, yet Frost could see that her eyes were becoming steely focused. It was genuinely fascinating to see that she used the same coping method as Meditite and Medicham that lived up here. "You neglected to mention the air temperature plummeting like a rock on the open sea."
"My apologies," Frost said with a light bob of his head. "I will make my way down to the base of the mountain for pick-up, if that is preferable."
"Infinitely so," A/C admitted. "When?"
Frost suspected the brevity of the question was because despite the Kadabra's reduced shivering, the cold was definitely seeping into her sensitive body. Nevertheless, he paused a moment to consider. It would be difficult to predict how much time he would spend here, yet felt it better to overestimate rather than have the Kadabra waiting for him if he ran late.
"Sundown should be fine," he said finally. "Uh, nothing further, thank-" he broke off as A/C promptly teleported with a brief flash of light. Only after she was gone did he allow himself to chuckle. He genuinely had overlooked the effect the cold air might have on a Pokemon ill-suited to it. Then again, he had grown up here as an Eevee and managed fine, although that was more credit for his parents' resources than anything else, and after evolution, he found the air to be perfectly comfortable. It was difficult to remember that snow was not the main contributor to cold temperatures up here.
Frost took a few moments to admire the scenery around him. Blankets of snow as far as he could see, and snowflakes whirling around in frigid winds. All who came across such a display could only shiver or stare in awe at its splendor. Beautiful, yet dangerous. A force of nature to be admired, yet feared.
As much as he would have loved to curl up in the snow and savor the softness of the icy fluff as he observed the dance of snowfall, he didn't have all day to sit around here. With Shadow insisting on being left alone with his brother for a while, Frost decided that now was probably his best chance to get the intended visit over with, and A/C had stopped by her den quickly, giving him the opportunity to ask for transportation. It was doubtful that any of them were planning to leave the area today, which meant he wouldn't be holding up their plans, nor was he obligated to explain where he was going.
Frost stretched carefully before setting off. He was still experiencing the soreness, but now that he was in a snowy and cold area, he found that the soreness didn't impede him quite as much. Glaceon had evolved to adapt to their environment, and one of the noticeable differences was how snow and ice soothed one's body significantly faster than normal conditions. From what he had read back at home, this was typical of almost all the Eevee evolutions.
Of the seven evolutions closely associated with a specific element, all of them seemed to possess some sort of method of drawing energy from their elemental source to be used for offense, defense, or healing. The three stone evolution species had adapted so well to the radiation of the respective stones that they could absorb the energy of their element entirely, whereas Leafeon, Espeon, and Umbreon drew power from natural light sources.
Unfortunately, Frost's knowledge of the last of the evolutions was uncomfortably minimal. His parents had kept several books in their den, including the one that covered Eevee and its evolutions, plus their own experiences, but the book was outdated and contained no in-depth information regarding the Fairy-type evolution.
That was of little concern at the moment. It had taken the Glaceon a few minutes of walking to fully get his bearings, but now he could see that he was definitely headed in the right direction. The downside of the frequent wind and snow on the mountain was it tended to wipe out all trace of pathways and simple landmarks, forcing one to navigate by other means, and if they were unfamiliar to the area, the chances of getting hopelessly lost or stumbling upon another's territory and den were significantly higher.
That's how he had wound up in the area originally, come to think of it.
Frost had to consciously remind himself to watch for the branching pathway. It was a subtle detail that was easy to miss if one wasn't looking for it, and spotting such details was nearly impossible during heavy snowfall, especially for non-Ice types.
Of course, that was the whole point. If a traveler was sticking to the mountainside wall to avoid getting disoriented, they had no chance of happening upon the den by mistake. Yet if one could comfortably peer through the snowy haze, they'd see the mountain path start to curve downwards to a lower section of the mountainside. Humans had even fitted the area with a study wire fence to reduce the risk of someone slipping and taking a tumble down the mountainside. Frost could only imagine how many hikers and travelers had met their end before fencing was added to specific sections of the mountain, guiding them along the mountain route towards Snowpoint or the Mt. Coronet caverns.
Not a pretty thought, really. He really had to wonder whether the Sinnoh Pokemon League held a committee regularly to discuss whether more safety features was needed to keep travelers safe when navigating to Snowpoint or the northern Lake.
Frost reached the fence, and deliberately chose the downwards path, the one without the mountain wall to act as a guardrail. Snowflakes buzzed around his head like insects, yet he found the sensations of them brushing against his face and nestling into his fur to be rather pleasant.
It wasn't a particularly long nor sharp descent before the path leveled out again, and Frost found himself in the equivalent of an open snowy meadow. From here, his path was clear, and he felt a hint of anxiety beginning to bubble within him. Despite fretting about making this visit for the past two days, now that he was here, he didn't feel like he was up for the visit after all.
The Glaceon paused awkwardly, glancing around in the hopes of some diversion that would justify him delaying, but of course the snowfield was empty. Even the small ice-fishing lake was devoid of any Pokemon hoping for a meal, and so he forced himself to keep going.
Up ahead, he could see his destination - a simple-looking cave carved in the side of the mountain, completely invisible to the gaze of a traveler unless they either were craning their head over the side of the mountain (and thereby risking their life in an abnormally stupid fashion) or if they had taken the same route he had, which was unlikely with the addition of the guiding fence along the route.
As Frost drew nearer to the cave, he was able to note that the cave entrance had a pair of well-fashioned ice crystals flanking the entrance. Although he had seen them many times, he always paused to admire them. Artistic use of his ice abilities had never been a strong suit of his, but he couldn't help but be awed by the beauty present within such masterfully crafted crystal ice sculptures.
His eyes flicked upwards, taking note of the distinct emblem forged from ice that hung above the cave entrance. It was a beautiful design, a six-pointed snowflake that sparkled in the light, each piece of the snowflake fashioned from an icicle. Like the crystals flanking the entrance, it had been created with special care and dedication, making it more beautiful and durable than any natural ice crystal could hope to be.
Frost took a deep, soothing breath, and then exhaled slowly, a cloud of mist leaving his mouth. Despite being familiar with this den, the territory emblem marking the den filled him with unease and dread, and he could only imagine how other Pokemon felt when they spotted such a beautiful, yet undeniably intimidating territory marking.
Frost stepped forward, then hesitated again. What was the proper etiquette in this situation? He had not been invited inside, nor did he still live here, so walking in would probably be unspeakably rude. On the other paw, he had been living here during the winter months this year, so he had actually lived there longer than he had been absent since winter ended, so it might be weird to knock or call out to the occupants.
The Glaceon bit his lower lip in thought, mulling over his options, before finally relenting. If he didn't act soon, he might start trying to back out entirely. He took another few steps, until he was close enough where he could poke his head into the den, and cleared his throat.
"Hello?" he called out, his stomach doing a weird somersault as his voice echoed through the den. "Bliz?"
His ear twitched at the sound of a protesting whine from within the den, but this was thankfully followed up with an inquisitive 'hm?'
"Uh, it's Frost," the Glaceon said clearly, taking a partial step into the den.
"Then why did you call for me? You know you can come in," a familiar female voice said. Frost chose to overlook the obvious impatience in her voice, and gratefully stepped further into the den.
The den as a whole was impressively spacious, designed seemingly as one large single room, but there were two side chambers on either side of this room, the left-hand side containing several items, including plastic storage boxes and dishes, many of which Frost could see were filled with different food items or water. The right-hand side of the den had a curved passageway, keeping the side chamber concealed from view of the den entrance, and any potential occupants of the den.
The main room also contained numerous objects and items, such as blankets, protective clothing like scarves, and even pillows. They were all arranged tastefully, giving a sense of casual clutter, which Frost had to admit was a brilliant touch. Nothing was more awkward than a den that seemed too neat or too cluttered, but the way the comforts were arranged made it feel warm and inviting, so as to put guests at ease.
"I wasn't sure if walking in unannounced would be intruding," Frost explained, addressing the right-side chamber of the den. That was obviously where Blizzard was, the options of her being anywhere else in the den was so slim as to be impossible, since that area was the only spot in the entire den that couldn't be seen.
Blizzard made a vocal murmur of acknowledgement, but didn't say anything else. After a pause, Frost raised an eyebrow.
"May I come over there?" he asked finally.
"Um...no, give me a second yet," Blizzard replied hastily. Frost nodded and sat down, looking around the den idly. He knew better than to question or ignore her one absolute rule - the right side chamber was for her private use, and she was intolerant of anyone else accessing it without permission, and her permission had to be obtained for every instance of going there.
Seconds ticked by in silence, but he soon caught the sound of padded paws on the stone floor. Frost glanced over as a female Glaceon stepped into the main den area. Aside from her weary and slightly hassled appearance, she was remarkably beautiful. Her fur was sleek and soft-looking, despite its vaguely unkempt appearance. She walked with grace and confidence, and even managed a gentle smile that unfortunately was lost when she stifled a small yawn.
"So...in the future, should I just walk in?" Frost asked. "I can't help but think that'd be rude or intrusive."
The female Glaceon gave a small shrug. "We're just talking about coming inside as opposed to standing outside awkwardly and calling for me to say it's okay. You can still end up being rude or intrusive, but the simple action of coming inside isn't going to be the reason."
Frost considered this for a moment but any serious debate on the subject was cut short by the sensation of soft fur rubbing against his foreleg. He glanced down and spotted a young female Eevee standing next to him, sniffing at his paws curiously, her fur brushing against him in her eagerness to examine the scent.
"Hey there, cutie. When did you show up?" Frost asked, chuckling slightly. The Eevee chirped in response, earning a gentle ear rub in return, which she savored blatantly.
"She's been my shadow for the last two days," Blizzard said with a fond smile. Frost gave her a curious look, still rubbing the Eevee kit's ears affectionately. "She's been walking behind me constantly. Goes where I go. Sits when I sit. Lays down when I lay down."
"That sounds adorable," Frost smirked.
"Until you consider the hoops I have to jump through to get her to do specific things, or NOT do specific things," Blizzard pointed out. "She only stops to eat and sleep, and good thing, can you imagine the nightmare of trying to get her to shadow feeding?"
Frost simply chuckled and began to stroke down the Eevee's back. She purred happily and began cuddling against his free foreleg. Blizzard observed the pampering in amused silence for a few moments, but then she gave him a questioning look.
"So what brings you around?"
"Hm?" Frost blinked at the female Glaceon, pausing the petting long enough for the Eevee to whine in protest, which subsided as soon as Frost resumed.
"Is there a reason you're dropping by?" Blizzard asked. She was giving him a piercing look, as if her eyes alone would peel away the excuses or flimsy justifications that he might provide, leaving only the truth of the matter.
Frost hesitated. His first instinct was to question whether it bothered her that he had dropped by, and the realization that this was his first impulse on how to answer the question troubled him a little bit. It was similar to how Raze often commented about how he answered questions with rhethorical questions.
"I...felt like I should come visit," Frost managed finally.
"Really?" Blizzard asked softly, holding eye contact for an excruciatingly long pause. "Why?"
Frost was about to ask for clarification, but hastily swallowed the words before he could voice them. Once again, he was about to answer a question with another question, dodging around the matter as long as possible for no practical reason. Blizzard's question wasn't difficult to interpret unless he was trying to be evasive, or if he was afraid to reveal an answer to a question that wasn't asked.
The Glaceon sighed to himself. Maybe he just didn't want to be having this kind of discussion. He had been worrying about coming here, even though he knew full well that it was courtesy to explain his situation and schedule future visits. Why was it so difficult to talk to Blizzard? She was kind and understanding, yet she intimidated him for no apparent reason.
"You don't know why you're visiting?" Blizzard asked, raising an eyebrow. "I assumed you were petting the reason."
Frost cringed, looking down at the Eevee, surprised to find that she had fallen asleep from his stroking, her bushy tail coiled around her body as she leaned against his leg.
"I know you're not going to stay, Frost," Blizzard said quietly. "Much as I'd like you to, I know you won't. So don't pretend that you visit for my sake. Your obligation is to Glacia, not to me."
Frost said nothing, but he gave the slightest of nods.
"Look at me," Blizzard said gently, and Frost reluctantly lifted his head to make eye contact. "You don't have to justify your decisions to me. Whether I approve or not is not important. What IS important is that your decisions affect her," the female Glaceon nodded towards the sleeping Eevee.
"I know," Frost said blandly.
"You grew up with both your parents, right?" Blizzard asked seriously. Frost nodded. "Imagine how your life would be changed if you only saw one of them all the time, and the other only stopped by once every few months. How would you feel towards them?"
Frost winced and looked away from the female Glaceon. "I don't know."
Blizzard smiled slightly and shook her head. "You mentioned your parents were very close. Awkwardly so, even. Would you still believe that if they were perpetually apart? How do you think you would view relationships in general differently?"
"Now you're just guilt-tripping me," Frost said, unable to hide his irritation. "You were my first romantic relationship, but I don't subscribe to the notion that first romance is first love."
"Yes, I know. I'm not your soulmate," Blizzard conceded with a sad smile. "Circumstances being what they were..."
Frost just nodded. Nothing had to be said aloud, they both understood the circumstances. Even for a Glaceon, the previous winter had been too severe to risk wandering outside, and it had struck so suddenly that he had been fortunate to find shelter at all, much less the den of a beautiful and accomodating female Glaceon. With no other options for company or shelter, it had been fortunate that they had hit it off, because Frost could only imagine how terrible the winter might have been if they had disliked one another.
"If I had the opportunity to do it all over again, I still wouldn't change a thing," Frost said. "Unless I can skip the nesting stage. That was hell."
Blizzard's eyes flashed but she relaxed on seeing that Glacia was still sound asleep. "Yes, it wasn't very pleasant for me, either. I had to endure hormonal changes and the fact I suddenly didn't trust anyone near the egg. And you being in the den at all was too close."
Frost smirked slightly. "No, no, the worst part was you'd shift between hostile paranoia, and desperate for affection. But I couldn't be anywhere near the egg. And you couldn't be too far away from it before getting paranoid."
Blizzard giggled and shook her head. "And then Glacia actually hatched."
Frost cringed. "Yeah...it was more of the same, except now the egg could move and cry and get hungry."
Blizzard smiled, as if enjoying a fond memory instead of the months of her life where she was being tortured by moodiness and stress. "Spring could not come soon enough for you. I'm amazed you didn't bolt early February, when the storms subsided a bit."
"I couldn't. The lake said six more weeks of winter."
Blizzard blinked at Frost. "Wait, what does that even mean?"
