Hello again! Thank you everyone that gave me reviews! You guys helped me continue with writing the next chapter :) I'm happy with how this chapter came along. Hope everybody likes it!
Chapter Two
Vera stood on the sidelines, looking on in awe at the raw power and skill Raiden possessed. The massive fire Pokémon ducked and dodged every one of Ivysaur's attacks with ease, using his insane speed to his advantage. It was almost like he knew what the grass type was going to do before it even knew what it was doing.
Before long, Vera saw the Ivysaur tiring. Its vine whips were slowing as well as the power behind its blows. Raiden saw his foe exhausting himself and quickly took the upper hand. He charged, using an intense flamethrower. Vera had never seen such a powerful move.
The blow threw the dinosaur-like creature into a tree. Ivysaur made contact with a resounding 'THUD' and slid to the forest floor. It didn't move. Only one hit and Raiden's opponent was unable to fight…a one hit KO. Vera's eyes were the size of saucers. In all her years she had never seen such a strong Pokémon. 'And Raiden is a WILD Pokémon!' The Ninetales gawked, snapping her jaw closed when her Arcanine companion turned to her. His breathing was even and his fur wasn't even sweaty at all. If she hadn't known better, Vera would have thought he had just been taking a stroll through the woods. 'H-he doesn't even seem to be phased from fighting…'
Raiden padded up to Vera. Her crimson eyes gazed at him warily. Not liking the look on her face, the Arcanine made a purring sound to mollify her.
"Come. You are safe now." He rumbled, walking behind her and giving her a gentle nudge. "I don't think he'll be getting up anytime soon." Raiden chuckled. Vera looked at him as if in a daze. 'This insanely strong Pokémon is being so kind and gentle to me.' She shook her head to clear it, grinning at Raiden.
"Thank you." She murmured, thinking that the Arcanine's smile was brilliant. The girl couldn't fathom what would have happened to her if he hadn't saved her—two times now. "So… where are we going anyway?" Vera asked as she kept pace with him. It was almost comical how different their strides were. Two steps of Raiden's equaled four of her own.
"I want you to meet my pack." Raiden beamed at her. His whole face lit up when the Ninetales smiled back at him. "We have a healer too. She can fix your wounds." He added as an afterthought.
Vera almost forgot about her injuries in all honesty. Her ribs still bit into her when she moved too fast, but other than that she only had a few scrapes and bruises from her journey down the rapids. She nodded to her companion. Vera wandered off-handedly, how many Arcanine were in his pack.
The pair traveled for another hour or so before Raiden stopped in front of an archway made of two trees that had branches intertwined. Bushes lined the base of them, obscuring what lay beyond. The Ninetales halted beside him, throwing a questioning look at him.
"We're here." He announced, padding through the opening. With a flick of his tail he signaled the vixen to follow. "Welcome to my home, Vera."
Creeping past the entrance, Vera gasped. Her ears flicked forward in excitement.
From where she stood, the girl could see they were on an expanse of planes. The flat terrain met a jagged, rocky cliff about a mile away. It rose up high into the sky. A gorgeous waterfall tumbled down the cliff into a clear, blue lake. The sparkling water fed into a river. She assumed it was the same river she had fallen in earlier-but here it was calm. Upon closer inspection, Vera saw small holes carved into the wall on one side of the waterfall. The entrances were smoothed out from obvious use. Vera pondered if they were dens.
"It's beautiful." She murmured.
Raiden trotted a couple of feet ahead of her, twisting his head to show he wanted her to follow. Vera trailed after him, unable to keep her eyes from roaming. She had been watching a Beautifly fluttering in the distance when she plowed into Raiden.
"OOF!" Her breath whooshed out of her. The Ninetales reeled back; tripping over one of her many tails and fell flat onto her back. Raiden snorted in amusement.
Vera scrambled to her paws. She dipped her head in embarrassment, muttering a 'sorry'. The Arcanine's eyes twinkled as he turned toward what looked like a den entrance and called out.
"Mina, can you come out for a moment." He plopped his haunches on the ground. Vera assumed the reason Raiden didn't enter the cave himself was that his immense size prevented him from doing so. The Ninetales didn't follow his example, settling on standing at his flank as she puzzled over how another Arcanine could fit into a den of that size.
"Coming!" Came the answering bleat; along with the sound of scuffling. Vera had to contain a gasp of surprise when a Flaaffy popped out of the cubbyhole. 'Wha-?!' The electric type smiled cheerily at the large fire Pokémon, clapping her front paws together. "What can I do for you Rai?" She obviously hadn't seen the new arrival who was slightly obscured from her view due to Raiden's bulk.
"Will you attend to Vera while I join the hunting party for dinner?" He asked politely, gesturing to the pretty, young Ninetales at his side. The Flaaffy blinked at her before she bounced over.
"Oh but of course! Hello there! I'm Mina! Oh Raiden, you've found a pretty little thing!" She gushed, looking over the girl. Mina frowned when she saw the small injuries barely visible through her silky, cream-colored coat. "You poor thing! Come, come—I'll fix you up in no time!" The sheep Pokémon all but shoved Vera into the den, already mumbling what she'd need under her breath. Before completely disappearing into her dwelling, she peered back at her leader. Raiden's eyes were slightly clouded with worry. "Don't worry, my dear! She's in good paws. You run along now." She shooed him away.
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Vera lay, bleary eyed inside Mina's medicine den. Her side was wrapped in multiple long leaves and her cuts slathered in healing salve. The Flaaffy had given her a couple of berries to help ease the nagging pain in her side. She figured out later that a side-effect to them was drowsiness.
The Ninetales had been pleasantly surprised when she found out that only a few paw-lengths inside the entryway the den opened up into a larger area. The space was about the size of her room at home. Instead of wood floors and smooth walls, the room was all carved out of rock. Little holes cut out of the one wall served as a place to store berries and dried herbs. There were two or three nests inside, one of which Mina had motioned her to sit in.
As she treated Vera, the sheep bubbled about how nice it was to have a new addition to the pack and how she had never seen Raiden so protective over anybody before and how he just might even have a crush on her. At the last topic the fox protested that he could never feel that way about her. They had just met for Arceus' sake!
After a couple of minutes of pleading from Vera for the Flaaffy to just let it drop, the electric type gave in with a huff. She ordered the newbie to stay where she was until she came back, declaring that she was going to get more herbs to restock her inventory.
"What a pushy, energetic Pokémon." The Ninetales mumbled. She gave in to the urge to close her eyes and fell asleep, dreaming about a pair of gentle amber eyes.
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"Vera." A deep voice called to her, awakening the fox from her nap. She cracked her eyes open groggily. A big, pink tongue ran across her snout, followed by a rumbling purr. "Hello there, my little vixen." Raiden crooned his muzzle so close to hers that their noses almost touched.
"How'd ya get in here?" Vera asked, trying to blink away her sleepiness. "Aren't you too big?" The Arcanine chuckled.
"I admit it's a tight fit." He mused. He rose to his full height, ears brushing the ceiling. "Once I get past the entrance I'm okay, though." Raiden motioned towards the entrance. "Dinner time- I'll follow you out."
Vera glanced at him curiously, rising to her feet and flexing her muscles in a long stretch. She brushed past the other fire Pokémon and slipped out the aperture. The legendary followed her out. He had to crouch low to be able to crawl out of the place. Vera watched him shimmy his way through the narrow tunnel, finding the sight entertaining.
When the Arcanine finally exited the den, he noticed the vixen smirking at him. He stalked toward her mischievously.
"Do my struggles please you?" Raiden rumbled, grinning back at Vera. The fox froze before lowering her chest to the ground and wiggling her butt in the air playfully. He pounced. Vera bounded away, yipping in delight.
Raiden was hot on her heels. She could hear him breathing close behind her. They flew across the flower filled field. Vera peeked out of the corner of her eye when his pursuit suddenly stopped. When she turned back around she ran headlong into a Donphan. It spun on her, snorting in rage.
"Who are you?!" The elephant-like Pokémon growled, pawing at the ground.
Before Vera could reply, Raiden answered for her.
"Stand down, Iwao. She is with me." He stated coolly. Coming up from behind her, Rai glared back dangerously at the Donphan. Surprisingly it backed down fairly fast with another snort of derision. It turned back to its meal of…Geodude?
The Ninetales backed away warily. She had only ever seen Pokémon eat Poké chow before.
"Vera." Raiden caught her attention once more, dropping a Rattata in front of her. "You must be hungry too." He rumbled, looking at her expectantly. Her eyes widened slightly.
"O-oh yeah." She stuttered. Giving the mouse a tentative sniff, she peered back up at the Arcanine skeptically. The fox knew that she needed to do something before consuming the meat and let her instincts take over. She let her body go through the motions. Opening her mouth, the Ninetales used flamethrower. Immediately the fur of the Pokémon burned off and the meat cooked through. Satisfied, the vixen tore into her meal.
The meat's juices seeped into her mouth as she chewed delicately. Blood stained her muzzle and neck fur a muddy red. Vera was surprised how good it tasted, licking her chops lazily when she finished off the rodent.
Hunger sated, she began trying to clean her fur. She methodically licked the side of her paw and dragged it over her snout. Once she realized it wasn't doing much, Vera glanced at Raiden not far from her. Her companion stood over the carcass of a Tauros. All that was left were the bones. 'Whoa…what an appetite.'
As if he felt her gaze, the Arcanine looked over at her. Trapped by his amber orbs, Vera could only watch as he padded up to her. His eyes were smoldering.
"Let me help you with that." He growled softly. Eyes still on hers, he dipped his head. His warm, smooth tongue lapped at her snout. Rai began at the tip of her nose. His ministrations continued all around her muzzle and down to her neck, thoroughly cleaning her fur during the process. The intimateness of his actions made her body grow warm. She closed her eyes and a strange rumbling began in her throat automatically. It wasn't a growl…it was a purr!
Snapping her eyes back open, Vera jolted in surprise. Raiden backed off reluctantly.
"The sun will be setting soon. I'll show you to your den." He murmured, traveling back across the field. The Ninetales followed behind trying to make sense of her emotions. They passed a huge opening to the small cave next to it. Rai pointed his paw at the large den, "That is my den. Don't hesitate to get me if you need anything."
Watching her newfound friend disappear into his cave, Vera entered her own. It was small but cozy. A nest was assembled in the back. She curled up in the dried leaves and moss, covering her nose with her tails to keep warm. 'Why did this have to happen to me…?'
Thinking about how crazy her day has been, the girl fell asleep. She really hoped she could figure out what she was going to do tomorrow.
A/N: Reviews, comments, and/or advice are welcome!
