Adele's POV

A world of hazy colors and blurry lights swirled around me. A cold wind chilled me, my body devoid of much more warmth than I had expected. As my vision began adjusting to my surroundings, I smiled at the thought of winter: Falling snow. Cozy fires. Romantic moments in the night. I had one of the best times ever the night before even. I was playing with Roni, I won the game of catch, I managed to thank him for everything and I even got to sleep next to him. I felt a bit too drowsy to recall all the details, but warmth welled in me just the same, forming a warm blush that crept up at the thought of his name; Roni…

He is just about the cutest guy I know, being so helpful and spending time with me. I worry about him, but that just doesn't stop me from teasing him. He's always funny the way he over-thinks things, how he misinterprets my meanings, and especially whenever he blushes. How I act around him is a little different from when I act around others. I'm not half as hyper as I would be around him, yet I think it still bothers him a bit. He's sweet how he doesn't say how it bothers him, but just nods and smiles. When I'm not around Roni, I can actually be calm and a lot gentler when playing, which is actually a big deal of sorts. I suppose this is what close friendship is, right?

But just where exactly had my snowy white, source of heat through the night, had gone? I stood up and looked around to see-

"Roni's disappeared…" I murmured quietly to myself. Usually, I would be one of the first people to wake up between the two of us, but I was all alone. I could hear the leaves rustling, grass rippling and the wind blowing against me. Had I merely dreamt that last part? Had he really agreed to let me sleep next to him or had he just brought me home after I had fallen asleep? I began rewinding last night's events, paying attention to more of the details: We had played together, we had watched stars together, and I think that I asked to sleep next to him… was I missing anything? Suddenly, I felt and heard my stomach grumble- first things first…

A few berries and a walk around the clan grounds later, I began to think if Roni was okay. Normally, he wouldn't go off somewhere unless he had something to handle or was busy, like always. I considered the idea that possibly, he had gotten an earlier start to go and help everyone he could. Around the village, Roni was like a miracle worker; he could do a lot of the normal work, but when it came to certain problem that needed major thinking over, your main options would have been one of the clan leaders, or Roni. I was beginning to miss him though.

"Hey there Adele," someone called out to me; I looked up to see a familiar Espeon. She smiled at me and laughed. She sat before me, forked tail flicking slightly. "Hey there Mimi," I echoed back to her. Mimi was one of the clan leaders, and also another of my best friends. She was taller than me by a solid inch and the Espeon clan leader; third in command. The position of the clan leaders is the highest, followed by the patrollers, look-outs, and then those who are not any of the three. She taught all the other Espeons alongside the Umbreon clan leader and his group of Eons. The two groups were very small in size and would join together in order to handle training and such. Mimi adopted my, "tradition" of teasing Roni, but I would usually get caught up in it too.

"What happened to your man," Mimi giggled, "Did someone steal him away?" I gave her a slightly shocked look but quickly recovered. "N-no. You know how Roni is; he's always busy during the day helping everybody. He's just too much of a good guy sometimes."

"Eh? You said, 'during the day.' Does that mean you two are meeting… at night?"

The last part of that sentence was carried out telepathically. I blushed hard as a response; Mimi just looked at me with a satisfied grin. There were three people in the world that could actually get me to blush, or could tease me and get a solid response out of me. Mimi was one of those people. I cursed slightly under my breath.

"So are you two an item now," Mimi pressed, the gem upon her forehead glowing for a moment. "Aww, that is so cute~! So you two have been meeting each other at night. But, what was with that game? When you pinned him? And you slept beside him last night? Did he do anything bold? Come on, tell me everything~!"

"D-don't just suddenly break into my mind like that Mimi! I'm calling mind rape for that! Stop invading my mind," I replied telepathically back, positively glowing and understanding how Roni felt. "S-so… Yeah, I did spend last night with him, since he is busy during the day. Just stop asking questions. I've been thinking to look for him though, since he disappeared this morning. I probably shouldn't worry about it though… Roni is Roni…"

"But isn't that exactly the problem? Roni really is Roni after all…"

"Eh? What do you mean? I know what I meant, but what do you mean exactly?" She just looked at me, an almost evil smirk on her face. She cleared her throat and signaled a verbal response.

"I see it like this…" Mimi started out, "Roni is Roni which puts him at the risk of being aimed for by a lot of females. Roni is that kind of guy with a great personality and that fur of his is gorgeous. We both know how he goes around helping everyone, everyday, even when we have to force him to take a break or vacation off from it. He just hardly rests. Usually, it's the clan leaders' or patrollers or off-duty look-outs job to take care of Eons' complaints, but little Roni uses his days to help everyone, which in turn helps us.

"In this, Roni does not only appeal to the people he helps, but also a great number of the single females in the clan. Plus, that number doesn't just include the low parts of the flow of power, but all over to the look-outs, patrollers and even the clan leaders. It applies to the whole berry, so to speak. Additionally, because you are one of the closest people to Roni, you also hold power to this theory. When the time comes around, you will also hold value to a lot of the guys in the clan, stretching to the look-outs, patrollers and clan leaders, just like Roni. Because you are closest to Roni, the male who appeals most in the entire clan, single males who could win you over could show that they are better than Roni, leading females in that male's direction, hypothetically. But because you and Roni are so close to one another, this will send the message that you are an enemy towards them."

Shockingly enough, Mimi was actually making more sense than I would I would usually grant her for. She was the kind of person who would normally be drifting off into space during a clan meet, even if she was one of the leaders. She had always been this way, especially since the day we met.

Less More Than Half a Year Ago

I wandered around the clan grounds aimlessly. There wasn't a huge deal over why I had been roaming around, because simply… I had gotten lost. Hopelessly lost. So lost, I had sworn that I had passed the same berry bush enough times to have known exactly how many berries had been plucked off since the last time I had seen it, and just about what time they had been plucked. I know that living around a place for so long would mean that you would have had absorbed the details, but I really wasn't one who paid enough attention to detail; that was Roni's thing. Usually, I would recommend where the two of us would go, and then he would lead the two of us there. Unfortunately for me, Roni had been called up by the leaders to discuss something. He assumed that he was blamed for something he hadn't done, but was in a hurry to clear it up and left me to stay put. I felt like an idiot for not following his directions to the letter, but I felt like even more of an idiot for not knowing my own way around. Did I mention I have a horrible sense of direction?

"Ugh, I can't believe that I don't know how to get around my own home," I whined, trying not to cry. I was too proud to ask anyone that passed me by for help, and too embarrassed to admit to anyone that I was lost when they asked me. I really missed Roni.

"Oh, careful there," I heard a voice tell me, but just a little too late. I bumped into someone right before me. I jerked my head upwards in shock, bringing my eyes to a pair of purple eyes lock with my brown ones. The Espeon smiled at me, patting my head.

"Are you lost," she asked me, her red forehead gem glittering in the light. I seemed a bit hypnotized by this before I brought my attention back to the question the Espeon was asking.

"You don't have to say anything," the Espeon continued before I could get out an actual response. My head felt slightly foggy for a moment. I had guessed that the Espeon had used her psychic powers on me to pull out the info; just as all other psychic-types were stereotyped to do.

"…Y-yeah… I'm lost…" I admitted, quite defeated. She continued to pat and rub my head, earning her a small purr that escaped from my throat. I was beginning to feel calmer, but not by a lot. The Espeon seemed to giggle at something. Was it my purring from her petting me?

"My name is Mimi, and you're Adele right? You really need not to rely on your friend Roni for support all the time. Become a little self-sustaining, 'cause he seems to have done very well himself," The Espeon, Mimi, told me. My eyes widened at this. How could she just go through my mind like this? I felt really uncomfortable, like my mind wasn't under my own control.

"Look, I'm sorry for doing so," Mimi continued, but ceasing to pet my head. Apparently, I didn't need to really say much at all if all she was going to, like Roni would say, 'invade the sanctity of my own personal mind.'

"Well, you should come along with me Adele, Roni will be waiting. The meeting with him will have been over by now, and he's probably having a fit over your safety."

"I suppo-, w-wait, what," I said quite surprised, "Are you a patroller?"

"Even better; I'm one of the clan leaders. I'm kinda new to being one of them, and I haven't been to any of the recent clan announcements, so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't notice. Anyways, Roni asked me, and really nicely, to go and find you. He was saying something about how he knew that you would probably roam around, and how you would look like any, 'stereotypical' lost kit. He said, and I quote: "Adele would probably go off in one direction, and then circle off from there. She'll look like any other stereotypical lost kit. Just in case, so that you won't mistake her for any other Eevee, just try reading her mind. If the first thoughts that come to it are, 'Why'd Roni have to go off at a time like this,' or, 'Why don't I pay attention to details,' or something along those lines, you know you've got her."

"He seems to really care about you, since he was practically trying to get the other leaders to rush the meeting so he could get back." I could only stare at Mimi, my eyes tearing up as I thought back through what she had just said. Roni was really worried about me. He knew that I was going to mess up and made sure that I would be found safely and everything. Roni… Roni was…

"Well, what are you waiting for," Mimi asked, taking my paw, "Don't worry. Just hold on tight."

I did as instructed and was suddenly whisked away in a flash of light, followed by a tickling sensation. I knew that the moment that feeling ended, I was going to be embraced…

That day wasn't only the day I had met Mimi and become friends with her; it was the day I noticed how much more Roni meant to me and how much he cared for me. I remembered crying in front of the leaders and snuggling Roni just like in his, 'stereotypical' kit idea. It was also quite amazing to me how much more mature that Mimi was back then. But who am I kidding, I couldn't have Mimi any other way.

"… Thus also complying why the Reverse Hikaru Genji and Hikaru Genji plans should not be disregarded as impossible to apply with either of you," Mimi finished, who apparently talked through my entire flashback.

"I need to go find Roni," I told her, who seemed like she was going to start on a whole other section on her theory. She paused a moment before nodding to me.

"I'll just wait here," she said, allowing me to dash off, "Go off and get you guy~!"

I began my search with the regular places that I would normally find Roni. I checked the clan square, at our places, the look-out point, and even the baths. I was beginning to run out of options. Then, an idea struck me. Quickly I ran off to the meadow, all my hopes being put on that Roni was there. I mean, there were no other places he could really be unless he was discussing something with the clan leaders.

The meadow was a really serene place where there were odd, "sinks" of tall grass, hills, and patches of flowers that budded everywhere. I could just barely make out a few of Roni's definite features out in the distance, just when I had entered the meadow. The only thing that confused me was the Pokémon next to him; a white Eevee. I thought I was seeing his twin or something, but I eventually noticed that this Eevee's fur was several shades darker than Roni, their fur a light gray rather than white, and a collar of dark silver around this Eevee's throat.

I watched with anticipation as the two of them had apparently been talking. I saw Roni shift weigh on his paw slightly at the Eevee who merely giggled and said something that caused him to pause and assumedly, re-think. It nearly made me fall over as I watched the new, gray Eevee strut closely pass him, brushing her tail just gently enough against his muzzle to make it look accidental. I focused harder on this scene now, watching Roni's reaction carefully. He turned his head away so that I couldn't see his reaction, but it was clear he was slightly bothered by whoever it was. But, the strongest assumption I had was that this new Eevee was clearly effeminate; that this Eevee was a female. A female flirting with Roni. My Roni. Only I could be near him like that, even if he wasn't my mate. My heart felt as if it would burn through my chest. Rage beginning to build within me. The female Eevee was still talking to him, saying something to him that made him switch from unsettled to slightly calmed, or confused. Roni apparently didn't say mucng in response, but would slink back slightly in response. I had to watch her circle Roni slowly, her eyes tracing every part of him carefully before her eyes flickered and she nipped his right ear slightly. I felt like blasting that Eevee into the ground right where she had just been standing. What really hurt me though was how Roni was taking this so calmly; the nip had only caused him to blush and move half a step away from the Eevee.

To my relief (and hopefully Roni's as well), the Eevee walked away in the opposite direction. He collapsed to the ground, appearing to pant heavily. Just who was that Eevee? And why was Roni so exhausted? I ran over to him, calling, "Roni~! Roni~! There you are," I said to him. I managed to burn and bottle off a bit of my emotions from the run over to him. I decided that interrogating him didn't seem like a good idea, especially since he seemed so tense.

"It's alright Ada," he said using my nickname that he really hadn't said in some time. "Just give me a moment to rest."

I snuggled beside him, taking in his scent and warmth. I buried my head into his collar, holding back my sad, angry tears. I couldn't let anything happen to Roni. He belonged to me. He was almost, or could really be, all I had. I looked up at him after a while, tears flowing down freely now. I guess not a lot changed in the amount of time long ago when I was separated from him. But, I couldn't let anything happen to him. I couldn't let anyone take him away from me.