Chapter 2

Traitor. The word hung in the air for a moment while Ever blinked in surprise. "W-what?" he finally stammered. "I am no traitor."

"So tell me why you and Jewel weren't with the rest of the tribe. How the humans found our new home so easily," Crag said, baring his fangs.

"He was teaching me how to hunt! We came right back after our disaster sense warned us of the attack."

The large male snorted. "You are too young to learn how to hunt. Evernight used it as an excuse to keep you away as his human friends attacked us."

Ever's pelt fluffed in anger. "How dare you! Humans are no friend of mine. You know what they did to my father!"

"And now, your mother," Crag growled. "My mate. Gone! You will leave our tribe lands. We no longer recognize you as absol."

"I demand to see Highpeak!"

Crag shook his head. "Highpeak is gone too. I am leader now."

"I am not a traitor," his voice dropped to an intense whisper. "I love the tribe. I would never want any of us captured."

With one swipe of his muscular forepaw, Crag sent him sprawling into the tall grass. "You have a day to leave our territory. If a tribe member finds you here after then, he will kill you. On my orders. White. Let's get Brine to the healer."

Ever got back to his aching paws, watching as the two situated Brine's prone form on their backs. "And if you go to the healer, we'll kill you there, even before your time is up," Crag added over his shoulder. "Come along, Jewelstorm."

The small female came to stand next to her brother. "No," she said.

"You've done nothing wrong, sweetheart. Don't think you need to be punished with him." Crag struggled to look back at his daughter while keeping Brine over his shoulders.

"I know my big brother, and he isn't a traitor. He's the rightful heir to the Skysword! If you banish him, I will go with him," she said, planting her paws firmly.

Ever felt a rush of warmth under his pelt, though he murmured, "You would be much safer with the tribe."

"Not without you in it," she countered.

"You are too young to stray from the tribe! I demand you come with us," Crag snapped.

"No," she repeated. "I will only run away. My place is with Ever."

After a lengthy pause, Crag finally growled, "Very well. Go with him. Return when you realize the folly of your actions." Before he turned away, Ever caught a calculating gleam in his eyes. Crag nodded to White and they continued down the path, leaving the pair in silence.

"He turned the tribe against me," Ever murmured. It was like a dam breaking. All the loss they'd experienced that day hit him and he started shaking. The elder who told him stories all the time, gone. His mother, gone. His tribe, gone. Even his childhood friend, gone. There would be no way he'd see Brine again, he realized.

You can outpace grief if your paws are moving, Gale had always said. He hadn't realized exactly what she meant until that moment, as he gazed down at his sister. She was his responsibility now; he had to keep her safe no matter what.

Jewel pressed her pelt against his. Her green eyes were dull, likely with the same thoughts. "I believe in you," she said.

Looking into her big, trusting eyes, Ever felt a little better. He wasn't alone. He didn't know where they would go or what they would do, but at least there were two of them. And of course he would keep her safe, he always had.

"Let's find a place to sleep," he said. "Get our strength back."

She bobbed her head. "Papa said we have a day. That's plenty of time."

They waded into the tall grass for a way, until Ever felt he could no longer pick up his paws. He trampled some blades until he'd made a crude nest for them and cuddled next to his sister. As soon as his eyes closed, he was fast asleep.

The sun was well in the sky when Ever woke, accidentally displacing Jewel by her squeak. "Where to?" she asked sleepily.

He yawned and shook out his pelt. "North, I think," he said. "We know there used to be tribes that lived in the forest and even farther than that. I don't know what's beyond the grasslands to the south."

With Mount Eternal in the distance, Ever set his paws to the north. His pads were sore from yesterday, and he couldn't imagine what his sister must be feeling. She kept pace with him, though, ever as he moved briskly. He'd decided they needed to be at the forest edge well before nightfall and that left little time to waste, especially since he needed to hunt for them soon.

There were no fresh scents of the tribe ahead of them, even as they passed what remained of their camp. "They must be retreating farther south," he thought aloud. It bothered him. Grassland wasn't their natural territory. They were meant to live among the snow and ice of the mountains—their bright white pelts stood out here.

"What are they going to do with the other absol tribe?" she asked.

"Join them, maybe."

"Only one tribe… how sad." Her tail drooped.

"Hey," he said, nudging her. "How about we get something to eat?"

Immediately, her tail went back up. "I see some high ground up ahead!"

They scaled the small hill and crouched down in the grass. "Patience is the key to success," he murmured to her as they waited. She'd need to learn how to hunt right away now that it was just the two of them. Some time passed, and he felt his pelt get hot as the grass and sky were still empty of prey.

After what felt like an eternity, two pidgey set down close to where they hid. He stalked forward, hearing his sister following shortly behind. She veered away from him, toward one of the birds, while he focused the other. Their gazes locked; he nodded. He leapt, his paw landing squarely on his prey's neck with an audible snap. Jewel growled in frustration as the other bird flitted away.

"It's okay, one's enough for both of us," he said, though he could've eaten the whole bird by himself. He restrained the urge to gorge himself and let Jewel have her fill first.

"I wonder what it's like," Jewel said after they'd cleaned the blood from their muzzles and continued walking.

"Hm?"

"To be captured."

"Cramped, I think. How else would you fit in a little ball?" he said, shivering at the thought.

"I hope Mama's comfortable," she said.

"Me too," he murmured.

They walked in silence for a while. She was the first to break it. "Do you ever think about your Papa?"

"A lot," he said. "Sometimes I wish he'd come back."

"Not all the time?"

"Just when you annoy me," he said, blinking affectionately.

"Hey!"

He laughed, even as their conversation faded to quiet once more. He'd barely known his father, but the tribe had always remembered him as a hero. When the human trainers came, it had been his father that stood up for the tribe and fought them off. Until, of course, one human had been prepared and caught him instead.

"Are we going after the Skysword?" Jewel interrupted his thoughts.

"What?" he said, surprised. "No."

"Why not? We're headed the right way."

Ever tilted his head to one side, measuring his words carefully. "I have to find the Skysword without any help. And I'm not going to leave you yet to find it."

But, said a small voice in his head. The Skysword is supposed to change destinies. You could use it to free the tribe members that were captured.

"I'm coming with you to find it," she said stubbornly. "You need me."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," she said, weighing the word heavily. "No absol hunts alone."

"My father found it alone," he said.

"He didn't have a cool sister like me," she said, puffing her chest out.

"That is true," he admitted. His grandparents had been captured before they could have another child.

"So we're going for the Skysword, then."

"One pawstep at a time, Jewel."

"What does that even mean?"

"Let's get to the forest first," he said. "Then we'll decide whether to go get the Skysword."

She seemed pleased by this, if her tail in the air was any indication. She didn't realize he was stalling for time, and would continue to do so until she was grown. If he was going after the artifact and had to take her with him, he surely wasn't doing it when she was barely older than a cub.

His eyes fixed on the distant form of Mount Eternal, shrouded as always at the top by clouds. Where the sky touches the earth. It had to be there.

They reached the forest in good time. Pleased for the moment, Ever glanced up at the sun, which slid ever closer to the horizon. In a few pawsteps, he would be farther than he'd ever been from the tribe's territory. By his side, Jewel took in the odd scents around them. He did the same, recognizing very little.

They needed to find three things before night fell. "We need to hunt, find water, and a place to rest," he said. "Let's see what we can find."

Belly rumbling, he slunk into the sparse grass which grew beneath the forest's extensive canopy. Little light reached this far down. Ever felt he stuck out among the brown leaves which crunched under his paws. An unfamiliar bird called to another, taking wing in a flutter of air. It sounded huge, but when he froze and looked up, he didn't see even a feather of it.

Instead, a strange bug buzzed past. It had three faces, all frozen in a pleasant expression. Two tiny wings kept its large, limbless body aloft, fanning a sweet scent around it. "What is that?" his sister hissed, shrinking low to the ground.

"I don't know," he answered, watching as it buzzed away, unaware of them. "Let's keep going, it might come back with its friends and attack."

Ever picked a direction and was soon following the sound of fresh, running water. Where there was water, there was prey, so they would likely be able to finish two necessities at the same time. The undergrowth was lusher here, with thick bushes dotted with bright berries and tall grass. They'd found a stream of fresh water, trickling down the slope. The air was rich with the scents of potential prey pokemon. All they would need to do is wait here for…

A rattata emerged from the bushes and fearlessly stooped to drink from the stream with him and Jewel. Ever couldn't believe his luck. The stupid thing had come right to them. As he leapt at it, it turned and squeaked, "Hi! You two look new—eek!"

Something smashed his head in midair, propelling him into the stream with a splash. "What are you doing!" another voice exclaimed. "You could have hurt her!"

"Of course, I'm hungry," he growled, shaking water from his fur. A mouse-like pokemon stood before the cowering rattata, balanced on its thick tail. It was mostly brown, with a striped tail and a white circle on its belly. Two alert ears twitched at the top of its head.

It watched him warily, only coming to his shoulder in size. "Eat the berries then!" it said, shaking a small fist at him. Upon hearing its voice again, Ever discerned it was male. "They're here for everyone to share."

"You look tasty, what are you?" he asked.

The mouse hitched higher on his tail. "I'm a sentret and I'm not afraid of you!"

"Ever," his sister sounded like she had her mouth full. Figuring the two prey pokemon would bolt, he glanced over at her. She trotted up with her tail high in the air, several small berries clamped in her jaws. "You have to try one!"

He sniffed cautiously at the berries she dropped at his feet. "You have to be more careful," he hissed. "These could be poison."

"Actually Mr. Big and White, nothing poisonous grows in the Sweet Forest. You must be really new," the sentret said. "Why don't you try the blue one? Those are the best!"

Ever turned and regarded the sentret and rattata, who remained on their side of the stream, watching him with big eyes. "Why are you still here?"

"We like visitors," said the rattata. "Even big, scary ones like you."

He tilted his head to one side. "I eat rattata."

"Things are different here," she said.

"Everrrrrr." Jewel nudged him. "They want to be our friends."

He regarded her, and then the two across the stream, who seemed to be awaiting something. At his feet were the berries his sister had brought. They smelled sweet, not unlike the rare sugar grass that the tribe ate for special occasions. He nosed the blue one, sniffing closely, but it seemed fine. He ate it, blinking in surprise as it seemed to explode with juice.

"Good, huh?" the sentret asked. "There's enough in the forest for all of us."

"Are there no predators here?"

The sentret and rattata exchanged glances. "Not anymore," the rattata squeaked. "They all left because of the Honey War. Either they were chased off or eat berries like the rest of us."

"So we need to be like you if we want to stay here," Jewel said.

Ever was too busy eating the other berries Jewel had brought. "You say there's a war going on here?" he asked finally, cleaning juice off his muzzle.

"Yes. Between the combee and beedrill queens," said the sentret. "Are you still thinking about eating us?"

He shook his head. "We need to stay here for a while," he admitted. "And those berries taste better than you would."

"I told you, Bandit," said the rattata, nudging her companion. "He looked like a big softie to me."

"Right," Bandit said, breathing out a tense sigh. "We got off on the wrong paw, I think," he continued to Ever. "I'm Bandit, and this is my mate, Cherry. What… who are you?"

"I'm Jewel," his sister said enthusiastically. "We're absol!"

Their eyes shifted to him expectantly. "Call me Ever," he said.

Lightning boomed in the distance. He glanced up, seeing a hint of cloud through the canopy above them. "Do you know of a place we can nest for the night?"

"You can stay with us tonight," Cherry said, earning an incredulous glance from her mate.

"Sure!" Jewel said.

And that's how Ever found himself in a cozy little burrow by nightfall. It smelled freshly dug, with the sweet tang of berries in the air from past meals. A few tree roots cleaved through the roof. Jewel was already asleep, exhausted, in the back corner, a copper glint among a pile of tiny rattata and sentret babies. It seemed his sister was a master at making friends.

He, on the other paw, was being watched almost constantly by Bandit. The sentret sat watch at the entrance to the burrow as the sound of sheeting rain filled the air outside, accompanied by the occasional crack of lightning. Ever crept out of his corner to sit next to him. "Won't this place flood?" he asked quietly.

"No way," Bandit whispered. "My kind knows how to dig. It all stays pooled at a nook at the top. It's a little soggy getting in and out for a while but dry paws in here."

The absol nodded. He went suddenly still, barely hearing the sentret suggest he get some sleep. Dread hit him as his horn started to vibrate. A vision of lightning striking a huge tree filled his vision. It splintered at the base as it loomed upon what looked like a wall of the odd bug pokemon he'd seen earlier, with the three faces.

"Something wrong?" Bandit asked as Ever shot to his paws, accidentally scraping his horn against the ceiling.

"Take care of my sister. You know what will happen if she comes to harm," Ever said, putting growling menace into his words.

He raced out of the burrow, instantly getting soaked. He glanced up, turning in a circle, trying to find the tree in his vision. There! Beyond the canopy of trees, he could see a tree towering over the rest. That had to be it. His paws initially slipped on the wet undergrowth as he ran full-pelt toward it.

Unlike his last vision, he arrived before the disaster struck. The bug swarm slept in some sort of wall, interlocking their bodies for protection. "Wake up!" he hollered. "This tree is about to fall on you! You have to move!"

Thousands of confused bug faces blinked sleepily at him. "Go!" he barked, motioning with his horn. Much too slow for his tastes, the bug wall broke up into individual bugs, which scattered into the forest.

BOOM! This close, the crack of lightning nearly deafened him. The tree gave an ominous lurch, limbs shaking as if flailing at the air. Ever raced away from the falling trunk, until he noticed panicked motion at the periphery of his vision. With one small wing flapping uselessly at its side, a bug with a red gem at the center of its heads thrashed forward much too slow to get away.