Difference and Acceptance

Hey guys here's the next chapter. I felt since I got chapter 15 up I might as well work on another chapter. In this chapter we'll be checking up on Shadowflame and see how he feels about becoming a father soon, and how Annabelle is coping with her pregnancy. I'm basing Houndoom Pregnancy off of a Wolf so her gestation will be 9 weeks. She's currently 3 weeks pregnant.

Every Spring was special for a Houndoom pack. The males got to court females, the females would talk about which male was best and who they wanted to mate and have pups with, and the pups got to run around and chase butterflies and playfully wrestle together in the grass.

All the houndoom were cheerful, except for one. Resting in the shade of a tree, a pink, tan and black female houndoom was miserable.

Annabelle groaned. As happy as she was to finally be pregnant, she wasn't liking how it seemed to make her tired all the time. She slowly stood up from where she had been laying on the ground, and went to find her mate. At three weeks pregnant, her tummy was only slightly rounded, unlike one of the other houndoom females, who was getting close to dropping her litter and was carrying four. Her tummy was quite swollen.

Spring also meant Harvey and Leo were finally old enough to find mates of their own, but neither of them seemed interested. A few of the Female Houndoom seemed interested in the two Males, silently admiring their lightly muscled builds and sharp curved horns.

"Man, I don't understand girls sometimes," Harvey grumbled as he and Leo engaged in their favorite pastime, play fighting. Leo rolled away from his brother and fell into a crouch, his rump in the air, tail waving playfully, "Yeah, I know, everytime Spring comes they start acting crazy, watching the guys and making sure they look good." He yelped as Harvey launched a sneak attack on him and pinned him to the ground.

Shadowflame watched from his spot nearby, a small grin formed on his muzzle as Harvey attacked his brother. Shadowflame knew Harvey had the skills to be a good Alpha if he tried, or even be a good mate for any female. He then frowned, 'but,' he thought to himself, as Leo got the upper paw and bowled Harvey over, 'neither of them seem interested in any of the females.' He sighed, 'maybe in time they'll stop being so childish and realize that there are quite a few females interested in them'.

Annabelle walked over and sat next to Shadowflame. "What's wrong dear?" she asked. Shadowflame sighed again, "Nothing, it's just, my boys are old enough now to find mates of their own and I'm afraid they'll decide to leave, like their older brother Flick did." Annabelle frowned at his downcast look, and licked his muzzle. "Don't worry, Shadow, they have to grow up eventually, besides, you never told me about Flick."

Shadowflame smiled slightly at his mates affection, and began the story, having a flashback as he told the tale. "It was a warm sunny day, back when I was still struggling to find pack members. I was out hunting, stalking a Stantler fawn when I heard whimpering from some bushes. Curious, I walked over to the bush and poked my head in. What I saw almost broke my heart. Three Houndour pups, barely a year old lay on the ground. Obviously they weren't old enough to be away from their mother, so why were they here? I thought to myself. I couldn't just leave them there, though, so very carefully, I picked one up by the scruff of it's neck and carried it home, then returned and did the same with the other two.

Once I had all three safely in my den, a female houdoom who at the time was nursing her own litter, offered to care for them until they could be weaned. I of course allowed her to do so, and then I would raise them myself. When they got older and could eat solid food they acted like normal pups, running underfoot and playing together. They all loved me and knew me as their parent.

I watched them grow up and learn to hunt and how they played together, always roughousing. But Flick was never too rough with his brothers, he was very gentle because they were smaller than him. One day Harvey came back with his first kill, a pidgey. He was so proud of it and I praised him on a job well done. When Flick became a teenager he came to me one day and had me sit down with him, he said: 'Dad, I feel like I could be a great leader like you, so I'm going to go and start my own pack, and maybe one day you will see me again.'

Of course, I was sad, but I understood and knew he was right. Harvey and Leo were saddened by the news when their big brother told them he was leaving, they were reluctant to see him go and cried for a time after he left. But in time they knew they would see him again and played with each other like old times.

Coming out of the flashback, he finished, "And I know one day he'll return, he's still my son and I am proud of him. I can only imagine what he's doing now." Annabelle who had listened quietly as he told the tale, had tears budding in her eyes. "Oh, Shadow," She whispered, "I had no idea, it's a wonder the poor things survived that long on their own before you found them, I wonder what drove their parent's to abandon them..." Shadowflame slowly shook his horned head, "I don't know, but they are safe and loved with me now," He paused to watch Harvey and Leo, Leo had Harvey pinned under him and Harvey was begging him to get off, "Even if two of them still act like pups." He said with a chuckle.

Annabelle smiled softly, "Remember, I have our pups on the way, they'll be here in a few more weeks." Shadowflame got a thoughtful look on his face. "You know, I'm not sure what to think about that. I've raised pups before but they weren't my own. Now I'll be having pups that are my own flesh and blood, and I'm a little nervous."

Annabelle chuckled and shook her head. "You think that's bad, I'm the one who has to give birth to them. I've never had pups before and I think I'm more nervous than you are. I've seen that one female that looks ready to give birth any day now and she doesn't seem bothered by it at all." Shadowflame walked around Annabelle and leaned down to push his nose against her belly then stood up, "Well Angela has had several litters before. She's experienced with this. I remember when she had her first litter," He shook his head, "She was freaking out when she first went into labor. Thankfully her mate was able to calm her down."

His mate grinned, "Well I hope you're there to help me when the time comes, I'm not sure I could do it without you." Shadowflame moved so he was sitting next to Annabelle and pressed his forehead against hers. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He muttered.

Meanwhile, Harvey and Leo were still wrestling, Leo had gotten Harvey under him and was gently chewing on his tail, teasing him. Two passing female houndoom giggled as they watched the two males, one turned to the other and said, "Ooh, Skyla, look at him," She motioned to Leo with her nose, "He's a handsome one." Skyla nodded, "I agree Lyra, but I'm liking that other one more." She only had eyes for Harvey. Lyra and Skyla were sisters, and had been looking for a pair of handsome males such as them. Harvey had pushed Leo off and pinned him down again.

"Harvey...gerroff me!..." Leo grunted under his older brother's weight. Once Harvey got off of him, he saw the two approaching females, and his eyes widened in surprise and his tail went straight up when one of them, a petite female with her headfur flopping over one eye approached him. "Hi there, handsome," She said. "H...hi..." Leo stuttered, a dark blush settling over his muzzle.

Harvey raised an eyebrow and cocked his head at Leo, "Dude, what's wrong with you?" When Leo didn't answer, Harvey huffed, shrugged, and walked off. Soon an unknown Male approached the pack. He was looking for females. Leo snorted an ember tinged cloud of smoke and shook his head in irritation, then turned his head only to see the new male amongst the pack members.

Harvey sat down with a thump in surprise at how handsome the new male looked. He had never felt like this before. The male caught sight of Harvey and came over. Harvey admired the Male's well muscled body and sharp gaze. He knew a good looking male when he saw one. The Male flashed a grin, showing his sharp teeth and long canine teeth, and gave a wink. "Well, what do we have here?" He said as he circled the smaller Male. "I am Harvey. My Father is the pack Alpha." Harvey puffed his chest out proudly.

"And if your wanting to claim a female, you better talk to my father first." Harvey said. The unknown male stared at him, then roared with laughter. "You've got spunk, I like that, kid." He chuckled, "Call me Dark." Harvey smiled slightly, "Nice to meet you, Dark." He ducked his head, to hide the blush forming. What was wrong with him? He had to talk to his Father about it.

*Back with Luna*

"Now what do I do?" Luna said to herself, then sighed and placed her chin on her paws, careful not to touch her black eye. She sat in silence for awhile, sniffling occasionally, before she heard rustling in the bushes, her ears pricking up at the noise. "Momma...? Daddy...?" She asked hopefully, thinking one of her parent's had come looking for her. Instead, what came through the bushes was an elderly shiny Houndoom with a notch in her spade shaped tail.

Luna screamed.

"Goodness, Child, whatever is the matter?" The Houndoom Female said as she approached the Riolu cub. Luna scooted back as the Houndoom approached her, until her back touched a tree and she couldn't go any further. "G-get away from me!" Luna screamed, but the Houndoom didn't stop until she was right in front of her. Luna whimpered and leaned away in fear as the Houndoom sniffed her and then looked her over.

"Leave me alone" Luna whimpered as she struggled to stand, then cried out and fell as her hurt leg rebelled against her. "What in the world happened to you, Child?" The Houndoom Female walked over and carefully curled up around the hurt cub. Luna sniffled and told her what happened. "...And that's why I ran away. I was told no one cares about me..." The Houndoom looked at Luna with pity in her eyes, "My word, Child, you poor thing," She licked the tears from Luna's face, "Well, no worries Child, Mama Tidepool will take care of you. Now, tell me your name."

"I...I'm...Luna..." Luna stammered. Tidepool gently inspected Luna's wing, "never in my life have I seen a Riolu like you, and I'd say your wing is broken, but don't worry, Mama Tidepool know's someone who can help us with that." She slowly stood up, picked Luna up by the scruff of her neck, and placed her on her back, before turning and going back the way she came.

Shadowflame tells the story of how he found Flick, Harvey and Leo, and he and Annabelle discuss how nervous they are about becoming parents. It looks like Leo may have hit it off with a Female but Harvey seems to have caught the eye of an unknown Male, I wonder how it will turn out. And turns out the Female Houndoom is friendly, and is going to help Luna with her broken wing. I wonder who she was talking about...? Reviews plz!