Chapter Four
It was two days before Arric was well enough to leave the small medical building, his burns had healed enough that they only ached mildly and it was four days until Tak was finally well enough to the leave. His burns had been extensive, most of it was down the left side of his upper body, bandages were still wrapped across his chest and his upper arms. The Eevee had the same expressionless look on his face when Arric came to visit him the past few days but he could tell in his eyes he was in pain.
"Are you all set?" Arric asked as he gathered his pack on his back.
Tak nodded pulling his own pack on, weighing it on his left shoulder before shifting it fully onto his right. Once adjusted he straightened up, ready to leave. Hannah, Bree and Quin waited in the doorway with Grace shifting on her toes impatiently. They headed for the entrance of the village to begin their trip towards the Vaporeons territory, eager to move out of the constant dry heat of the canyon.
Vesper and Lea met them at the entrance, Lea sweeping them all into a tight hug before plopping them down. She smiled warmly at them, wishing them a safe trip and to not get into too much trouble before starting back towards the village. Vesper eyed Tak carefully, judging whether the Eevee was well enough to travel but finally gave a nod of approval before turning to Arric.
"Head towards the coastline and even you should have no trouble finding the Vaporeon territory."
His gaze drifted over the six Eevee, taking in each of them, "Whoever you may pledge for, remember Flareon will always accept you." His eyes stopping on Quin who shrunk under his gaze, "No matter your past mistakes."
Quins eyes sank to the ground and Hannah placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Grace cleared her throat, bowing her head quickly at Vesper, "Thank you for letting us stay Master Vesper, we should be off now."
Vesper nodded and with a final gesture of goodbye, he left the small group at the entrance, heading back to the village himself. The group watched him leave silently before Grace huffed to herself, adjusting her pack and striding forward.
"Let's go, we have wasted enough time already."
Arric raised a brow at the others and Bree shrugged before the group followed behind Grace, who was almost jogging ahead of them. Hannah and Bree followed while Arric, Quin and Tak took up the rear. Arric supported Tak when he felt the Eevee stumble beside him. Grace never faltered with her fast pace and soon Arric felt himself stumbling as they made their way down the mountain towards the coastline. The air began to cool down and vegetation returned, night falling just as they reached the outskirts of the forest that marked the turn towards the coastline.
"Arric." Quin quietly hissed to him, pointing behind them.
Arric looked back to see that Tak had stopped, his body hunched over in pain as he leant on a large stone. His tongue panted and his face was twisted in a grimace as his other hand held his side. Arric sprinted back to him with Quin trailing behind. Tak growled as they approached his voice edged with pain,
"I am fine Arric. I only…... need a moment to….. to rest."
Arric paused, waiting for Tak to catch his breath, wondering what his next move would be. He knew Tak was putting up a front. Clearly in pain and pushed at Graces fast pace, they should have rested several times hiking down that mountain and now Tak was paying for it. Tak took a deep breath and straightened, ready to move again and took a few steps before stumbling to his hands and knees with a pained groan.
"Arric he can't go any further without rest, especially at the rate Grace is going!" Quin pointed out, kneeling beside Tak, "She will have us running all night soon!"
Arric bit his lip and looked back at the girls who had not noticed they had stopped and were almost already out of sight in the night. Grace was hurrying for a reason and Arric suspected it was because they were already three days behind. They should have been in the Vaporeons territory yesterday. Throwing his pack at his feet, he cupped his hands and called to the others,
"Grace! Hannah! Bree! Come back, it's time to set up camp!"
His voice echoed out in the night and he watched as the three stopped clearly discussing something amongst each other. Grace waved her hands around in frustration, arguing with Hannah, who had both hands planted on her hips. Bree looked towards their group and seeing Tak on the ground she raced towards them, which seemed to decide for the other two as they followed quickly behind her. Bree knelt next to Tak, helping Quin pick him up and leant his back up against the stone. His chest heaved with each breath, trying to shoo Bree away as she felt along his bandages for any signs of tears or bloodstains. Quin left to find some wood to create a campfire with Hannah while Grace stormed into camp, threw her pack to the ground and sat on it, crossing her arms across her chest.
Quin and Hannah returned with enough kindling and wood to start a fire, which Arric made short work with. Vesper had made sure that he knew how to create some fire and even more so how to do so without fire power. Arric had to admit that it came in handy. With the fire ready, Hannah prepared a small stew and soon they were all eating quietly. Bree tried to help Tak eat but the Eevee growled at her, grumbling that he was fine and he did not need her pampering. She chuckled and left him to eat while digging into her own.
After finally settling herself and succumbing to the fact that they were not going to travel any more for the night, Grace threw broken up sticks into the fire. A scowl crossed her face and she had a dark look in her eyes as she occasionally glared at the others as if it were their fault for not moving faster. If they did not reach the Vaporeon territory by tomorrow, then they will have no time for her to show them how great they are! Her friends will never want to pledge Vaporeon with the little time they spent there. It was unfair and it only made her blood boil more until she could not take it anymore and threw her hands up in frustration.
"You know this whole Evolution Ritual is ridiculous. If we don't have enough time at each village then how are we going to know who to go for! If you guys weren't so slow, we would be in the Vaporeon village by now!"
The others watched her silently, Quin fidgeting with his small bowl, Bree shaking her head. Hannah glared at her but did not speak. Arric took a breath to speak but Grace cut him off,
"I know Quin didn't mean to start the fire and you had to rest your wounds but honestly, would it kill you to speed up a bit? I mean, we got to spend extra time at Flareon, so sure you would be happy with that Arric. It only seems unfair that we will be spending no more than two maybe three days at the Vaporeon village before moving on."
Silence fell over the camp until a short snort cut through the air. Tak watched her with a cold stare, his eyes reflecting the fires light in a deep pool of black. Arric thought he recognised Lycia's cold glare in his face and wondered if the two were related.
"You act as if I enjoy struggling to breathe." Tak voice was low and laboured, "As if I want to rush to your precious Vaporeon Tribe at the expense of my health."
Grace puffed her cheeks in anger, "That is not what I am saying Tak."
Tak laughed, it was bitter, slick with ice and Arric started to feel his fur rise on the back of his neck, "Isn't it? You want to blame someone. Well blame the damned Flareon." He leant forward, his teeth glinting in the firelight, "But I won't be blaming Arric for being part of a tribe that clearly doesn't respect him and I sure won't be blaming Quin for destroying something that was obviously a stupid idea to begin with. Wooden pillars and roof near a forge full of fire hotter than the volcano itself? Stupid."
His words dripped from his mouth like venom, Quin backed away clearly afraid and Arric wondered if this was the influence of being around the Umbreon. Their calm demeanour was one thing but they were known to be downright cold when it came to the way the other tribes worked.
"So blame them for setting us back. I won't be pledging Flareon any time soon, heck I would rather pledge Sylveon if it were a choice between the two, no offense Quin."
Quin shook his head with a downward gaze and Grace held Taks gaze for a long time before sighing and returning to flick sticks into the fire. An awkward silence fell over the camp and soon the group broke off to their sleeping gear.
It was a while before Arric fell asleep and when he finally did he found himself walking the same foggy atmosphere as before. This time he saw the faint outline of a volcano in the distance, the lava oozing from the top and dripping down the side to pool at the base. He could feel the heat from where he stood and for a brief moment he found himself walking towards it in lack of knowing any other direction. He then suddenly remembered the creature from before and froze, his heart pounding in his chest. His eyes flickered around him, hoping it was long gone but something deep inside told him he was not alone.
"Arric."
A low growl rose from the darkness and two brightly shining violet eyes pierced the fog. Arric turned towards it, too scared to move in fear of the creature finding him.
"Look."
Arric looked around him in confusion but only saw the volcano in the distance and the pitch black fog around him. Turning back to the creature, whose eyes now swirled to a bright sky blue.
"Look!"
The creature roared at him hearing it move around in the dark. It sounded heavy, its claws scraping against the stone, a metallic sound that sent shivers down his spine. Arric wanted to run but his feet would not move. His breath felt heavy, he was panting with fear and felt sick all at the same time. An ice cold feeling clawed at his feet and he looked down to find that the ground had turned to ice and was slowly climbing up his legs, trapping him. Arric struggled and it only made the ice climb faster, he tried to scream but no words came. The mass of the creature slinked around just out of vision, nothing more than a shadow. The ice reached his face and Arric squeezed his eyes shut willing for it to stop, his body shaking with cold. Soon the ice had completely encased him and Arric struggled to breathe. His breath became short and panicked. He struggled more and felt himself rock and finally falling forward, hitting the ground.
Arric woke drenched in sweat and shivering. His blanket had been kicked off him during the night and the air was dewy, the soft light of morning peeking over the distant mountain. Panting he quickly looked around the camp and only saw his friends sleeping peacefully around him. He grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his head, closing his eyes and willing himself to calm down.
"It was just a dream, all a dream."
Once he had calmed himself down, he gathered his things and rekindled the fire enough to make a small fire to cook breakfast for himself and his friends. Sleep was the last thing on his mind and he wanted to keep himself busy in order to forget his nightmare. He sat by the fire watching the small pot of crushed fruits and herbs boil softly, the sweet smell of the broth stirring his friends from their slumber. Quin wandered over, rubbing his eyes and sitting next to Arric, shortly joined by Tak while the three girls went to the nearby river to wash up. Arric spooned some of the broth into six bowls and handed one each to Quin and Tak before taking one himself, blowing on it softly as he sat back down. The three enjoyed their meal in a comfortable silence, Tak only speaking up once finished.
"You were pretty restless last night Arric."
Arric froze, almost choking on his mouthful. Coughing and spluttering he squeaked out, "Yeah just a bad dream I guess."
Tak raised a questioning brow at him but stood, wincing slightly as he stretched and left to wash his bowl, just as the three girls returned and collected theirs. Arric finished his bowl and followed Quin to the river, rinsing out his bowl before returning to pack up camp. Once packed the six Eevee headed out again, Grace still leading the way at a brisk pace but noticeably slower than yesterday. Arric walked behind with Tak and Bree, engaging in idle chit chat with Bree along the way but his mind kept returning to his nightmare. He kept wondering what it could mean. Who was the creature and what was it trying to show him? Why was there a volcano now just as they finished visiting the Flareon Tribe? And why was this dream so intent on killing him? Arric went over everything the last two nightmares had shown him but it only left him with more questions than answers.
Graces gasp snapped him back to reality, realising that they were on a downhill slant towards the ocean, the salty air on his tongue, making his nose wrinkle. The sun was slowly dipping its way towards the horizon, its light dancing across the waves. How long had he been lost in thought? Grace barrelled her way down the dune, whooping with the others close behind her, followed slowly by Tak and Arric. In the distance just at the edge of a rocky cliff face, a small bungalow village could be seen. It was not very big compared to the Flareon village. A lot of the buildings were on thick stilts and floating platforms and Arric could see Vaporeon engaged in various activities. Their blue hued bodies glistening against the white of the sea foam.
As they neared, Arric spied Karn talking with Grace and the others. Karn was tall, about the height of Vesper but it was his long dolphin like tail and finned frill that made him look much larger. His skin mimicked that of the deep sea ocean, almost black while his frill resembled the white foam on top of the waves. He held out a webbed fingered hand towards Arric and Tak as they arrived, looking over them carefully.
"Vesper mentioned you two were wounded saving Bree and Orion. I always told my brother one day that workshop would go up in flames. Too bad I wasn't the one who did it."
The Vaporeon Leader chuckled as he clapped Quin on the back, the little Eevee flying forward into the sand. He picked himself up, brushing himself off and smiled softly. Grace nodded eagerly,
"It's the reason we were so late coming too, Tak having to rest and all."
She glared at Tak but said nothing more. Karn nodded and gestured towards the village inviting them to walk with him.
"I'm afraid my mate Aria could not meet with you as well. She is leading a scouting party at sea at the moment, though I expect her to return in a few days." He paused, "It is a shame you will be gone before you meet her. She would have enjoyed that."
Karn led them through the village, along the floating walkways that attached to the platoons that housed most of the buildings. The buildings looked like small fishing huts, open doors and windows, with silken drapes over them to keep out the insects. He stopped before some smaller huts, each one containing a bed, a small table with chairs, a wash basin and a kitchen counter. Big enough for one person to sleep and live comfortably.
"Pick a hut, it's yours for your stay. I'm sure Grace or any other of our Vaporeon residents would be happy to accommodate any of your needs."
Grace was bursting with excitement, "I'll give you guys a tour of the underwater village if you like?"
Arric tilted his head, "Underwater village?"
Grace nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yes! Above water is mainly for guests, underneath the water is where everything Vaporeon thrive!"
Karn placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her, his sky blue eyes shining brightly, "I think that is a splendid idea. You have such a short time here, why not get to it?"
Arric glanced towards Tak who nodded his head in agreement. Grace shrieked and bounced around as they each picked a hut, placing their stuff down before gathering again. Grace lead the way with Karn close behind, chatting to the other Vaporeon who reported to him, greeting each one with a warm smile. They headed for the cliff face, entering a series of caves lined with small torches. It was surprisingly dry in the caves, the soft sand scrunching under their feet soon turning to stone as they descended down, the cave tunnel seemed to go on forever until it finally opened up into a large cavern. One side of the cavern was covered in thick glass, revealing underneath the ocean. Tunnels branched off the large cavern, winding their ways to smaller pockets of caves, each one with one side of glass looking out into the ocean. Arric pressed his nose up on the glass and took in the sights before him. A village made of coral and stone was laid out before him on the ocean floor. Vaporeon of all colours, shapes and sizes swam through the streets, in and out of their homes and towards the surface.
"We live mostly under water as you can see. We can breathe underwater so the caverns here and the village above are for our young Eevee to live and our visitors to stay." Karn explained. He pointed out towards the deeper part of the ocean where the ledge dropped down. Arric could just glimpse the tops of coral and stone buildings. "We expand just a bit past the drop off there. It's easier to swim and hunt for fish there. We are the only export of seafood for our tribes so it is important we are in our prey's element."
They continued through one of the tunnels, the friends staring in awe at the sea life that swam past the glass. Vaporeon waved as they swam past, their hair mostly tied back to keep out of their faces in the water, their tails propelling them forward with amazing speed. They stopped at another large cavern that overlooked the village below the drop off. It jutted out of the underwater cliff, the coral a rainbow of pinks, purples, blues and greens.
"Vaporeon are calm under pressure, provide all the sea bearing trade such as seafood, shells and seaweed. We help with water transport and are powerful. What's not to love about Vaporeon!" Grace bubbled with pride as she pointed out the largest building on the cliff, "That is the town hall where most of the meetings are held or our festivals. You guys should really come see the Moon festival, it's beautiful! You-"
"Karn! Karn!"
Hurried footsteps rang through the cavern as a group of Vaporeon raced toward the group of Eevee. Stopping before them heaving with breath, dripping with water, some of them sporting small wounds. Karn hurried to the lead female, a lithe Vaporeon with pale blue skin and a white frill, her hair a deep blue, braided and tied as a bun to the side of her head.
"Aria! You've returned so soon?" His eyes searched hers, "What happened?"
Aria stood straight, grasping her mates' hands in her own, a scared and wild look in her green eyes,
"The Gyarados are coming!"