Hello again! I really hope everyone enjoys this chapter. :) It has some sweet moments hehe. I'd love to hear what y'all have to say! Enjoy this new chapter!
Disclaimer: (I know I forgot to put one in the first two chapters but the same goes for them!) I don NOT own Pokémon!
Chapter Three
"No! Don't leave me! Please don't leave!" Vera yelled. She clasped her mother's hand; the skin was steadily growing colder with each passing moment. "Mama please…" She choked on her words. Tears beaded at the corners of her hazel eyes as she begged.
"Hush, baby—I'm right here." Sally weakly soothed her daughter. She hated being cause of her child's sorrow. "I'll always be right here…" She laid her other hand over Vera's heart.
"But it's not the same! Please don't die…I love you." The brunette refused to believe this would be the end. She sacrificed everything to take care of her sick mother, and all for nothing. She hated that she was useless. She hated that her mom was in pain. She hated that fate was taking her family away from her one by one.
Giving her little girl a tired smile, Sally whispered back. "I'm sorry baby. It's just…my time. I…love you…too." Saying her last words, her breathing ceased.
"No! MOM!?" Vera shook her shoulders. "M-om…" Her voice cracked as she was overcome by grief.
Vera awoke from her slumber with a start. In her disoriented state, she forgot where she was and how she got there. The girl leaped to her feet, thinking she would go check on her mom to see how she was doing.
Once her eyes adjusted and she saw her surroundings, everything came rushing back to her. She was a Ninetales and her mom was really dead.
"It wasn't just a dream." The vixen moaned. Her tails drooped, dragging on the ground as she padded out of her den. It was still night. The half-moon hung high in the sky and stars speckled the dark blanket above. Vera ghosted past Raiden's cave, not wanting to wake him. He had done so much for her already. She didn't want to disturb him. When she thought she was in the clear, the Ninetales trotted over to the river's edge to get a quick drink. Her cream-colored pelt glowed in the moonlight, a stark contrast to the darkness cloaking the earth.
Delicately, the fox lapped up the icy water before turning to walk across the field. She stopped about halfway across the plane, lowering her haunches to the ground and looking up at the shining dots in the sky.
"Mom…" She whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. Vera missed her now more than ever. Her mom would be able to help her—tell her what she should do.
"Vera." A voice rumbled. The Ninetales whipped her head around, startled. She knew that voice. Seeing a large, familiar form standing only a few paces away the girl turned around quickly in an attempt to hide her tears. Raiden wasn't fooled. "What is it?" He asked, sitting beside her.
She didn't answer for a while, refusing to look at him. The Arcanine didn't prod her any further to her astonishment. The vixen sighed, lying down in the soft grass.
"My…mother died recently." Vera replied quietly. "I miss her so much." She whispered, lowering her head to her paws with a low whine. It felt like someone had grabbed her heart and crushed it between their fists. She was alone now, in a new form with a new life waiting for her to snatch the reins up and get a grip. Her recent past still haunted her like the shadow, though. It wouldn't be easy to make such drastic changes in her lifestyle.
Raiden settled down beside her. Their sides pressed together, transferring body heat. Bug Pokémon trilled in the distance. The calls made the song of the night.
"I am alone now. My father left us when I was little and my brother lives far from home with his own family. He doesn't even know our mom died. I was going to tell him but…" She paused, struggling with what would be okay to tell Raiden. "Something…happened and now I don't know where I am or what to do."
The massive Pokémon slung his forearm over her, dragging her closer and wrapping his body around her. The position they were in was like when they were on the bank after he had saved her from drowning, she mused.
"Vera, you aren't alone. I'm here now. I'm sorry about your loss, though I know saying so does not help. I myself lost both my parents, but at a very young age. I had to grow up fast and learn how to survive on my own. It was a rough life, but now that I'm older I understand that things happen for a reason. I found my purpose was to take in Pokémon that are orphaned or outcasts. One day you'll find out why things happened the way they did…We can try to find your brother once you are all healed up if you'd like." Raiden murmured in her ear. His breath tickled, causing the small appendage to twitch. The Ninetales eyes widened at his proposal.
"You would…do that?" She asked, hope beginning to bud. Her crimson eyes found his amber orbs. There really was no end to his kindness it seemed. He had such an awful childhood, yet he turned out like this somehow.
"Of course, my little vixen." He crooned, touching his nose to hers. All he wanted was to see her smile again. Vera blushed from the contact, but didn't pull away. Raiden growled softly in approval. "Though it is a beautiful night, it might be best to rest more." He mumbled. The look in his eyes showed that he hated ruining the moment.
"Yes, of course. I'm sorry for waking you." Vera pulled away and stood, shivering when the cool breeze hit her once more. Raiden followed suit.
The two padded side by side back to the caves. The Arcanine paused outside his huge den, staring longingly at the Ninetales. He glanced from her to his domain.
"It's kind of chilly tonight. Come in." He rumbled a tender smile on his countenance. Vera gaped at him, wondering if he was serious. The massive Pokémon chuckled at her, prodding her inside. "I won't do anything, I promise my dear."
Vera snorted, letting herself be guided into the large tunnel.
To her surprise, the burrow went pretty far into the cliff. At the end it opened up even more into a room. It wasn't as big as the medicine den, but close. A large nest resided in the very back of the lair. When she went to lie down by the opposite wall, Raiden shook his head. Vera looked at him questioningly when he stood on top of his nest and gazed at her expectantly.
"Come here." He commanded softly when she didn't budge. The vixen padded over to him warily. The majestic Pokémon grinned at her, motioning for her to lie down. When she did, he curled around her once more, laying his neck over hers. "Goodnight Vera." He whispered, closing his eyes. A deep purring noise started in his chest.
"Goodnight Rai." She murmured sleepily, drifting off from the sound into a peaceful sleep.
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A couple of suns later, Vera found herself stalking a Doduo. The bird Pokémon's heads were squabbling over which one got to eat first. The Ninetales rolled her eyes, creeping closer while concealed by the underbrush.
She had awakened that morning to Raiden nudging her at the first sign of light, insisting that she go on a hunting party with him and Iwao. He figured she'd want to do something other than help Mina collect herbs for a change since her wounds had healed nicely. They had traveled together for a while through the forest until the Arcanine decided it was time to split up. He told them to meet in that spot after they hunted for a while. Then everyone separated.
One of the Doduo's heads finally backed down resigned to keep watch while the other pecked at the ground first. Vera was only a few paw-lengths away now. Of course she had never hunted in her life, but she wanted to impress Raiden. She knew that Doduo would be a tricky meal to catch due to its speed, so she'd need to take it completely by surprise.
The bird Pokémon was taller than her, standing at about 4'7". It was still pretty young, she assumed. Vera watched as the head that was supposed to be keeping watch turned completely away from her. She took the opportunity, letting her new instincts take over.
Springing out of her hiding spot, the Ninetales burned the Doduo using flamethrower. It cried out in surprise and pain, beginning to turn toward where the attack came from. Before the heads could start attacking her, Vera latched on to one of the creature's necks with her jaws. Her teeth tore through the soft flesh. Blood seeped into her mouth as she tightened her grip until she heard a snap.
The other head screeched in fury, pecking her with its sharp beak. Vera swiped at its eyes with her clawed. Small lacerations marred her newly healed body from the bird's attacks. She managed to scratch its second head's eyes, blinding it. When the Pokémon recoiled, she snapped that heads neck as well and it slumped to the ground. Panting the Ninetales stood over her kill. Pride swelled inside her. She did it!
After a minute of pondering whether she should continue hunting or not, the girl decided it would probably be best to take her kill back to their meeting spot now because it would most likely take her a while to drag it back since the creature was larger than her.
A half an hour later, she made it back and settled down to wait for the others to return. Vera kept vigilant for any sign of them coming into the small clearing.
When she heard a bush rustling she turned. Raiden and Iwao appeared from the brush, sliding a Mamoswine behind them. Apparently at some point they joined forces and took down the gigantic Pokémon. The girl guessed that the ground and ice type had migrated for the coming winter. She still gawked at their catch.
Raiden, however, seemed pretty impressed with her kill as well. He padded up to her with one of his ever-present grins.
"You did well." He greeted. Vera glowed in pride, hopping up to meet him. The Arcanine's smile widened when she bounded up to him. She placed her forepaws on his fluffy, cream-colored chest fur and leaned her head back to look at him.
"Thank you, but you boys did amazing!" She chirped lightly.
The male barked out a laugh, enjoying her praise. He tilted his head down to gaze at her in her new position. His eyes met hers and her heart leapt in her chest from the warmth emanating from his amber orbs. She pushed off his chest and went back to the Doduo.
"Should we head back?" The Ninetales asked, grabbing one of the Doduo's necks. She shuffled awkwardly back toward him, trying not to step on it.
Raiden nodded and went to help an irritated Iwao drag their kill as the group went back home for breakfast.
A/N: I'm grateful people are even reading this but it'd still be nice to get some more reviews please! XD
