The rest of Frost's visit went far more smoothly than he had originally anticipated. It was funny how things often worked out that way. The events that one may dread facing are rarely as terrible as they expect, and it's usually their own imagination and second guessing that brings them down.

Of course, the only reason his visit didn't turn out the way he expected was because Blizzard seemed to have the uncanny ability to know what he was thinking, and she was the type to address those concerns promptly rather than allowing him to stew in his fears and uncertainty. It was actually embarrassing to admit to himself that Blizzard had him pegged so well.

That said, Frost still didn't have his future schedule mapped out perfectly. He had no idea what Shadow and Leaf intended to do moving forward, especially since Shadow had returned from his 'date' looking so somber. As such, he couldn't predict the next time he would be in a convenient range of Mt. Coronet to drop by, or whether he would have access to a Pokemon capable of Teleportation should distance prove to be an issue.

As Glacia slept, Frost took the opportunity to catch up with Blizzard a little. It hadn't been a ridiculously long time since he was last here, but he still was interested to know how she was managing, and particularly how Glacia was developing. It pained him a little to realize just how much the Eevee kit had grown within the last week or so. Glacia was still not capable of speaking, but that seemed to be something a kit picked up on when they were a little older.

Not that Frost would have guessed this normally. For such a young Pokemon, Leaf seemed remarkably articulate, his aversion to Frost's larger vocabulary not withstanding. In fact, it occurred to Frost that Leaf was probably only a couple months older than Glacia, although the exact age was still tricky to determine due to Leaf's evolution throwing off the estimate. He made a mental note to ask Shadow what Leaf's birthday was, followed by a second mental note to ask Shadow what his own birthday was.

"Any idea how long it takes kits to learn how to speak?" he wondered. Blizzard gave him a weird look.

"I can't even hazard a guess on that one," she said, sounding mildly amused. "I assume neither of us have had much exposure to other kits up in the mountains."

"Did you actually live here your whole life?" Frost asked, slightly surprised. "I was under the impression you moved up here."

"I did, but I moved here because I actually wanted to be a Glaceon," Blizzard explained. "As for my name, it involved a snow globe. I don't want to talk about it."

Frost had never been more curious about the story behind someone's name than he was at that exact moment, but Blizzard had applied a firmness to her comment that told him that he would have better chances interrogating the wall, if only because the wall wouldn't kick him out of the den.

"Has Glacia been outside much?" Frost wondered. The Eevee had hatched in January, so the winter storm had been a bit too intense to really allow her to go out, but the weather had mellowed out enough in recent days that Blizzard probably would have taken her out once or twice.

"No more than fifteen minutes at a time, and always bundled with two scarves," Blizzard answered, nodding over to a pair of scarves that littered the floor of the den. "I of course remain at her side at all times, but she has gotten a taste of the outside air. And several literal tastes of snow."

"She has no chance of being anything other than a Glaceon, does she?" Frost mused. "If so, you realize that all three of us would be Glaceon with ice-based names?"

"We all grew up on a snowy mountain," Blizzard noted, but she smiled a little.

The conversation sort of drifted into a lull after that. The female Glaceon was visibly tired, to which Frost offered to keep watch over Glacia while she napped, an offer Blizzard gratefully accepted, but she insisted on sleeping in the main area of the den to keep Glacia from becoming agitated if she awoke and couldn't see her mother. Frost had to take her word on that being a side effect of Glacia's developmental phase, because the Eevee hadn't been THAT clingy when he had still been living there, although the dependance on Blizzard sounded about right.

Frost watched as Blizzard rummaged around the den until she had located a large blanket among the clutter. It took her another moment or two of adjusting its shape with her teeth, but soon she had fashioned herself a nest of sorts, and curled up comfortably within it. Frost remained quiet, allowing his gaze to wander idly around the den as not to make the female Glaceon self-conscious, until Blizzard's breathing became slow and rhythmic, a sure sign that she had dozed off.

Only then did he allow his attention to return to her, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. There was little doubt in his mind that Glacia took after her mother - they both were exceptionally cute, even moreso while they were asleep. Glacia even mirrored her mother's sleeping position, partially curled up with her head resting on her forepaws, her tail curled close to her body.

However, Frost chose not to let his gaze linger on Blizzard for too long. He considered it extremely difficult to justify 'watching her sleep' without the self-awareness coming off as creepy. Doubly so when watching over their daughter, considering her existence alone should dispel any question as to whether Frost found the female Glaceon attractive.

The male Glaceon frowned to himself, turning his gaze to the comfortably sleeping Eevee at his feet, absently stroking her back with a feather-light touch. He hated to admit any pangs of remorse and guilt in regards to his decision not to stay with Blizzard and Glacia, but such discomfort nevertheless existed within his heart. It hadn't even been easy bringing up the subject to Blizzard originally, just a few weeks ago. She understood his decision, if only because of the circumstances that had forced him to stay at her den, but even this short visit reminded him of the fact that they did still have a close bond.

There was a mutual fondness between them, and one Frost hesitated to credit purely to Glacia's birth. They had gotten along perfectly fine before that. Blizzard was a kind soul, patient and considerate, but also firm and intimidating for reasons Frost still couldn't understand, but there was something else about her that drew him to her, something he couldn't quite pinpoint in his mind, that caused him to view her in a romantic light.

It would have been easy to simply pass it off as young enthusiasm. Frost was not a very young Pokemon, not quite in the sense that Shadow and Leaf seemed to be. He was very well educated in regards to physical maturity and phases of attraction. However, the mountains had had a very scarce supply of potential mates for a male Glaceon. There were plenty of Sneasel, but Lin's warning not to tangle with them in any sense turned him away from that option. Snowy mountains were not a common habitat for other Eevee, his parents being the sole examples, and the other common species just didn't appeal to him. Snorunt and Glalie, rare as they were, were just...weird, Snover and Abomasnow were too plant-like and difficult to approach to consider, and Frost personally did not find Meditite and their kin to be even remotely attractive.

So it would have been easy to understand him gravitating towards Blizzard. Coupled with the effects of cold on Ice-types restricted to a solitary living space, the entire matter could be blamed on science and be done with it.

But that wasn't it. Frost considered Blizzard to be a romantic partner. There was something about her that he found attractive, something that superseded physical desire. But ultimately, he didn't feel content with things as they were. He cared for Blizzard, but not the way his father cared for his mother, and vice versa. There was still something lacking in their bond, and his own thirst to see more or the world and how it operated kept him from being truly happy.

It was a frustrating puzzle in itself. Fondness and admiration for a romantic pursuit, but yet not feeling like their souls were entwined. Part of him wanted nothing more than to stay here and help Blizzard with raising Glacia, but the other part of him detested the idea, knowing he'd live a miserable existence, constantly wanting something out on the horizon but unable to truly seek it out, and for how long? Months? Years?

The contradiction was what ate at him the most. Would it be better to be distant, but visit and check-in often to stay within Glacia's life? Or would it be preferable to remain, suffer in silence for her sake, but gradually grow to resent the lie he'd be living? Giving Glacia a false image of how close her parents' bond truly was, only for the whole thing to eventually be revealed?

And worse, it might feed Blizzard's affection for him in a way he could not truly reciprocate.

Glacia's stirring broke Frost from his endless cycle of uncertainty, and he looked down at her again. The Eevee shifted a little, then yawned widely with the most adorable sound that Frost had ever heard uttered by the young Eevee. It was a happy sound, the sound of an Eevee kit that had gotten a well-needed nap and was again ready to take on her insatiable curiosity towards life.

Glacia nudged against Frost's foreleg, using him to prop herself back onto her feet, and then she nudged his leg with her head, making a giggle-like sound. Frost chuckled and scooped her up in his paws, giving her an affectionate hug, which she responded to with great enthusiasm.

Undoubtedly attuned to Glacia's sporadic sleep cycle, Blizzard awoke less than a minute later, and observed them with a fond, if tired, smile. As Glacia bounded over to her mother, Frost chanced a glance outside, and frowned.

"I'm sorry for cutting this visit brief, but I arranged for pick-up at sundown," he said, his tone apologetic. "Unfortunately, I have to rendezvous at the base of the mountain, so I will have to depart shortly."

Blizzard gave a slow nod, patting Glacia's head as the Eevee began nudging her. "Any estimate on your next visit, then?"

Frost furrowed his brow. "I want to say a week. I'm not positive on the time scale, but I want it to be no later than a week, maybe two tops. If it's more than two, assume I'm dead."

"Yeah, okay," Blizzard deadpanned. She looked down at Glacia, who was now fixing her with an expectant look, a very quiet whine coming from the Eevee, but it was gradually rising in pitch and volume. "Just a second, sweetie. Frost's going to be heading out soon, so let's give him a proper good-bye, okay?"

Frost raised an eyebrow, but smiled at Glacia. "I'll be sure to see you again soon, though. Flash me a cute smile, and I'll come rushing back."

Glacia chirped and smiled, then turned back to Blizzard, promptly resuming her whine, somehow continuing from the precise volume and pitch she had paused it on. Frost winced a little, and Blizzard's expression spoke volumes about how often she had to put up with the escalating siren of the kit's appetite.

"Thank you for stopping by, Frost," Blizzard said with a weak smile. "I hope you'll excuse the hasty farewell, but I underestimated Glacia's vocal range once before."

Even as she spoke, Blizzard was standing up and making her way towards the right side of the den. Glacia started to follow, thankfully halting her whine. Frost chuckled and stepped closer, giving Blizzard a light peck on the cheek. The female Glaceon smiled, and Frost returned it with a brief smile of his own, but he quickly made his way for the den exit, if only to spare Blizzard the agony of Glacia resuming her whine out of spite.


It occurred to Frost during his careful descent down the mountain that A/C might actually have difficulty finding him at the mountain's base. Mt. Coronet was infamously large with numerous passages leading in and out of the mountain caves, but he needn't have worried. It was less than twenty minutes of walking along the mountain perimeter before the Kadabra located him, explaining that she was scanning for brain signals in the area in order to get a rough estimate of his location.

And without further ado, she Teleported them back to the now familiar warmth of her den outside Solaceon. The air here seemed almost hot compared to the bliss of ice and snow he had savored further north, but it would only be a matter of time for his body temperature to adjust.

The Kadabra settled herself down into a meditative position near the back of her den, which Frost quickly realized was empty apart from the two of them. He was about to ask about the whereabouts of the others, but before he could even open his mouth to form the question, his ears caught the sounds coming from just outside, which certainly simplified things.

The Glaceon peered outside the den, noticing Raze first, seeing as the Buizel was sitting just outside the den entrance, overlooking the grassy area below. From there, it was a simple matter of following the Water-type's gaze to the two Pokemon below.

"This is just a spar, right?" Frost inquired, taking note of the more playful demeanor and movements of the younger Eons, in sharp contrast to the more serious and aggressive movements one would expect from an actual conflict. Raze jumped at the sound of his voice, but quickly nodded once he realized who was speaking.

"Yeah, they started just after the brief rain shower," Raze explained. "I don't think they've sparred together since before they met you."

Frost clicked his tongue thoughtfully, sitting down to watch the two. Leaf had definitely improved from the practice he had gotten recently, but Shadow was impressively more competent as well, able to maneuver with greater agility than he normally displayed. Then again, Shadow didn't seem to like moving unnecessarily, whereas Leaf was an excitable ball of energy when sufficiently solar powered.

"Are they just working on melee tactics, or any elemental techniques?" Frost asked.

"Shadow's occasionally using psychic abilities to disrupt Leaf's movements, but nothing aggressive," Raze said, his tails flicking in amusement. Frost cast him a puzzled look, which took several seconds for Raze to notice. "When Leaf charges from too far a distance, Shadow psychically trips him, then explains that Leaf's putting too much distance between them, which gives Shadow a massive advantage."

"Interesting," Frost murmured. That certainly explained why Leaf was constantly closing the gap between himself and Shadow, but not so close as to be attacking directly. Perhaps Frost had underestimated Shadow's understanding of battle tactics. Alternatively, Shadow had recognized instances of these style weaknesses from the battles within the Ruins. Cecilia's fight with the Sigilyph, and Frost's fight with Lin should have been excellent examples of a distance fighter's weakness and how to exploit it.

Yet it was clear that neither Shadow nor Leaf were experts yet. There was plenty more they had to learn about their own battle styles and techniques. Still, if they could progress so far with just his basic training and observing other spars and battles, then they definitely had a lot of potential.

"That's good for the day, Leaf," Shadow said, loudly enough for his voice to carry up to Frost's ears. Both of them seemed winded, but in very good spirits. The sun's last rays were beginning to disappear beneath the horizon, so there was little point in putting Leaf through his paces any longer before it would become outright disadvantageous.

"And that's that," Raze chuckled, climbing to his feet and stretching. Frost waited for the two Eons to make their way up to the den entrance before turning and heading inside. By this time, Raze had settled into a comfortable sitting position on one side of the den, and A/C had telekinetically drawn one of the books over to herself and was deeply engrossed in reading.

"Oh, you're back," Shadow said, as soon as he and the young Leafeon came in.

"Indeed," Frost commented. "Nice spar you two had going on out there."

"Thanks!" Leaf chirped, but his eyelids were drooping a little, a clear sign that he was exhausted. "And thanks for the spar, Shadow!" he added to his brother, giving the ebony Espeon a loving nuzzle. Shadow smiled fondly and licked his brother's cheek. Frost felt the corners of his mouth twitch in spite of himself. It just reminded him so much of Glacia's interaction with Blizzard. Fondness beyond words, and mutually expressed in their own way.

"Your mood's picked up a bit," Frost mused quietly. Shadow's silver eyes flicked towards Frost, but he didn't comment. "In any case, I was wondering whether you had a plan moving forward yet, whether travel or training related."

"Hm, I had wanted to discuss that with you earlier, but you had gone off somewhere," Shadow noted. Frost quickly noticed that Shadow wasn't focusing on him, but rather on Leaf, guiding the sleepy Leafeon towards one side of the den, and even helping the young Pokemon find the most comfortable patch of ground to lay down on. Frost waited patiently, whereas Raze observed this with obvious amusement.

The den remained silent for several moments, until Leaf had settled on a spot and had curled up. Shadow sat beside him, stroking the Leafeon's back soothingly, similarly to how Frost had stroked Glacia prior to her nap. It was almost eerie how similar Leaf and Glacia's behavior was at times, which reminded Frost of his earlier train of thought.

"How old is Leaf?" he asked. Shadow blinked at Frost strangely. "Like, when is his birthday?" Frost clarified.

"October twenty-first," Shadow answered. Frost raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. That meant that Leaf was just barely over five months old, and Glacia was just over two months. With such a small gap between their ages, it was worrisome to consider how much the young Eevee might grow in a short span of time.

"And your own birthday and age?" Frost asked.

Shadow blinked once, and for a moment, Frost thought he was going to refuse to answer, or at least question why the Glaceon was asking. After a short pause, Shadow gave a light shrug of his shoulders.

"June eighteenth. Going on three."

"Ah, so I had estimated you correctly, at least," Frost chuckled. In response to the unasked question, he smiled. "I'm fairly good at sizing up other Pokemon and estimating their age or battle experience. Leaf was very difficult to guess because of his evolution throwing me off."

"He did evolve rather young," Shadow admitted, and his silver eyes lit up with a hint of curiosity. "And you?"

"I evolved almost two years- oh, you mean my age and birthday, don't you?" Frost chuckled. Shadow nodded. "May sixteenth, going on four years."

There was an awkward pause following this answer, and then Shadow's gaze flicked towards Raze, who chuckled and waved his paw idly.

"Let's not drag me into this conversation. I have no idea when my birthday is. I count my age in springs. I'm like four or so."

"Too old to ask that question of," A/C said idly, before anyone could even think of turning to ask her. Frost shrugged, but didn't object. He hadn't really been that interested in knowing the Kadabra's age, anyway, but at least it allowed the conversation to get back on track.

"So what did you have in mind for upcoming days or so?" the Glaceon asked. Shadow was quiet for a moment, then nodded.

"Leaf and I are going to head back towards the Eterna area. He has a friend there we didn't depart from properly. And I need to visit...something in that area."

Raze and Frost exchanged glances, but neither of them found an answer in one another's eyes. If Shadow noticed the looks, he didn't comment on them.

"In terms of training...I need to continue growing stronger. So for that purpose, I want to keep in touch with you, Frost. Now that I have the basics, I think your methods will be more effective."

"Well, they certainly can't become LESS effective," Raze snickered, prompting a brief scowl from Frost. The corners of Shadow's mouth twitched, much to Frost's chagrin. He was so under-appreciated, but at the same time, he really couldn't say anything to deflect the criticism, and arguing against the statement would just emphasize how little impact Frost truly had in Shadow's psychic development.

"I have no objection with continuing to assist you and your brother in your training," Frost said, waving a paw dismissively as an expression of how little trouble it was. "I hope your continued improvement will provide me with a similar effect in my own training. However, I do have a small, but significant question for you."

"Oh? What's that?"

It was a small detail, but Frost noticed the slight tension that took hold of the Espeon's body. Fortunately, it was not accompanied by a throbbing headache, so either his hesitation was not emotionally provocative, or the Espeon had gotten better control of his psychic backlash.

Frost considered the best way to word his thoughts before speaking. "You stated a need to continue growing stronger. I wonder what purpose this serves, in your eyes. What's driving you to reach the greater level you're seeking?"

Shadow looked completely confused. "I don't understand what you're asking."

"That was a REALLY flowery wording, Frost," Raze agreed. "I understood it, but it was so needlessly dramatic."

"Then you ask it better," Frost retorted, mildly put out by the response.

Raze rolled his eyes. "Why do you want to grow stronger? See how easy that was?"

Shadow frowned. "Why? Because I'm making progress, but I'm not independent. I need to keep working on it."

Frost clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Yes, I gathered that. But what is pushing you to pursue this goal? Do you have a specific goal or level of strength before you're satisfied? Do you want to use your strength for something specific? These are all questions to consider. What do you want to accomplish?"

Shadow seemed taken aback, and his frown deepened. Frost watched him closely, searching for some tiny sign that would hint at Shadow's objective even if he refused to articulate it. The real reason Frost asked was because he was reminded of what Lin had said to him back at the Ruins about having a purpose that would drive him further. If Shadow approached the ideal of strength with a viewpoint of strength for its own sake, he might fall into the same pitfall Frost himself evidently had.

"I...want to be able to protect Leaf...and myself...and any friends I make along the way. To preserve the safety of those I care about," Shadow managed finally. Frost could tell that it had taken a great deal of nerves for Shadow to express this thought, particularly considering how stoic and evasive Shadow tended to be about his feelings about anything. He was never emotionless, but he hated to answer personal questions, and this was a very personal issue.

"That's a good goal," Frost conceded. It was at least a good starting point. There was no real need to pester Shadow further on the goal. The answer was actually very illuminating about a piece Frost had been missing about Shadow's history. Shadow had referenced protecting his brother, himself, and his friends. He mentioned Leaf first - very telling about his ultimate top priority. The mention of friends was given hesitantly, and based on the earlier conversation with Leaf, the two of them didn't have many friends growing up. Shadow was perhaps hesitant to apply the label to anyone at this time.

"Do you plan to walk back to Eterna?" Raze wondered, drawing their attention. Shadow hesitated uncertainly.

"I suppose so...but that could take a while. Is it possible to Teleport that far?" he asked, briefly glancing towards A/C. The Kadabra looked up and tapped her mouth with her spoon in thought.

"I would personally not advise relying on Teleportation for all forms of distance transportation," she said finally. "When you Teleport multiple people, it consumes more energy from you, and the greater the distance traveled, the more complications that can ensue."

"Like what?" Shadow asked, his silver eyes widening.

"Teleportation is a skill not every psychic Pokemon has absolute mastery of," A/C explained serenely. "It requires absolute focus, a very solid grasp of psychic control, and an understanding of the destination. Missing in any area of these can drastically offset the Teleportation. Extending a teleportation field over several Pokemon at once is very difficult, and the only reason I've done so previously is because I'm intimately familiar with my destination - usually either the Town's Pokemon Center or my den."

"So if you're not familiar with the destination..." Raze began slowly.

"A mental miscalculation could land you somewhere else entirely, or somewhere it is not safe for you to be, like the territory of wild Pokemon. Coupled with the amount of energy you expend to accomplish the task, you may find yourself completely vulnerable at the worst possible time," A/C stated solemnly.

"And I imagine it carries risk to members of the group. Perhaps them being Teleported to different locations within a range of destinations?" Frost guessed.

A/C nodded. "As such, I do not recommend you attempting Teleportation until one has full mastery of their basic psychic abilities, or when it is an absolute last resort, and even then, it should be limited to yourself and maybe one other. I apologize, but there is no way I will consent to Teleporting your group as far as Eterna City from here, nor would I consider it wise to teach you how to attempt it at this level of your training. If you get better control of your psychic abilities and are in the area in the future, I do invite you to drop by and I may reconsider tutoring you in that particular field."

"I understand," Shadow said, with a polite bow of his head. "Thank you for your advice and tutoring."

"It's been my pleasure," A/C replied with a smile, before returning her attention to her book.

"When might you want to leave?" Frost wondered. "Obviously, right now is impossible, since it's far too late in the day, and Leaf is sleeping...even I find myself rather tired and a touch sore yet."

"Tomorrow maybe?" Shadow said, shrugging. "Better sooner than later."

Frost considered the Espeon in silence. He still had no idea what had gone down within the depth of the Ruins, and how it factored into the shift in mood for the Espeon. And then there was the matter of how somber Shadow had been on returning from his 'date' with Cecilia this morning. He was in better spirits now, but there was almost no way those events weren't affecting his intention to leave the area, or his more open desire to become stronger for the sake of those around him.

"Tomorrow works fine for me," Frost said with a light nod. There were plenty of questions yet to ask, but now did not seem like the opportune time to question Shadow about them. With luck, the Espeon would grow more comfortable in divulging that information with a little more time and nudging.

"Perfect," Shadow said, and he began to settle into a comfortable sleeping position beside Leaf, allowing the young grass Pokemon to nestle against his side. He seemed about to say something else, but a yawn overtook him first, and whatever thought he had on his mind went unvocalized. Without another word, the Espeon closed his eyes, and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Frost chuckled quietly and walked over to determine his own sleeping space. He had had quite a long day himself, so he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get some sleep, especially if they planned to set out the following morning.

His last thoughts before sleep overcame him was the idle wondering of whether Blizzard and Glacia were also getting ready for a night's rest.