A week after returning to Willow Creek, Pixie and I met up at the river bordering Willow Creek from the Bandits.
All I wanted to do was shred them apart.
"I already know what you're thinking." Pixie narrowed her eyes at me. "We aren't striking the Bandits."
"You heard Mud Tail!" I growled. "If we don't, they'll attack us!"
"Amber Dawn and Obsidian have already started a program to repopulate Willow Creek." Pixie stated. "Tomorrow night, everyone is to meet at the other side of Willow Creek and Amber Dawn and Obsidian will be setting up the singles with each other."
I remember Amber Dawn, the Zebstrika who mothered Otter, Moth, and Acorn. Obsidian was a Mightyena and also her mate, even after Berry...
My claws unsheathed at the thought.
"Amber Dawn isn't with Berry." Pixie growled. "But Berry is..."
My black eyes flickered and stared at Pixie.
"Berry is what?" I hissed softly.
"Coming to the Mating Night that Amber Dawn and Obsidian are setting up." Pixie sighed.
I recoiled in horror.
"I don't wanna go then!" I snapped.
"You have to, Willow Creek's population is lower than it has been in a long time!" Pixie retorted. "You don't even have a mate!"
"I mated with Felis a week ago." I admitted. "I knew what state Willow Creek is in."
"Please." Pixie scoffed.
"Excuse me?" I growled.
"'I knew what STATE Willow Creek is in!'" Pixie said mockingly. "That's Tauros spit! You love her!"
I didn't reply.
"So if Felis died in the Bandit attack, you wouldn't care?!" Pixie snarled.
"NO!" I yelled abruptly. "I...just..."
"Just because you mated once, doesn't mean you can't again!" Pixie said. "I'm going, and you better go too!"
Pixie got up and walked in the direction of Mud Tail's den.
"Colt! Ginger! I better see every color of feather on the mating floor!"
Amber Dawn called to her Zebstrika son Colt and her Mightyena daughter Ginger from a previous litter as they collected feathers to decorate.
"How can you have a Poochyena child?" I asked Amber Dawn as she worked her way through the volunteers.
"It's not too common, but if you have the Interbreeding Gene, your children have a chance of being the father's species." Amber Dawn explained.
"Incredible." I replied. "My sister told me everyone had to go to the river tonight, so I thought I'd come here and volunteer."
"I hope you're ready for action, honey." Amber Dawn chuckled. "Do you have a girl you're attending the Mating Night with?"
"Uh, yea." my face heated up. "I do."
"Excellent." Amber Dawn gave a warm motherly smile, as if I was her own son. "Do me a favor and find some berries for the buffet. Try to find some rarer berries."
"OK." I gave a small smile and walked away from the river to search.
I trotted across the forest and inspected the bushes, trying to avoid Oran and Pecha Berries.
Finally, I found a Salac Berry bush.
And I found myself tripping face first, I knew I didn't trip on a twig.
I looked up to see Berry.
"Can I help you?" I muttered dryly.
"Actually, you can." Berry growled. "I might be knocking up more than one girl tonight. I want you to stay out of my way!"
"If that's what they want to do." I shrugged. "No forcing anything."
"You know I won't listen to you." Berry stomped his paw in the dirt. "You just evolved barely more than a week ago, you don't know what a female wants!"
I leaped on top of him and kicked his ribs.
Berry reacted badly to this, and nipped my left fin. I slashed his muzzle and jumped off of him.
"I warn you." I hissed. I plucked two Salac Berries and walked away from the angry Berry.
The Mating Night was starting, and everyone appeared to have showed up. Sadly because of the Bandit attack, there was literally 30 Pokemon tops, if not, less.
I entered the clearing surrounded by trees, it was between the Bandit border and the Human border, so we'd have enough time to run if either groups attacked.
Berries were lined up in the circle and the circle was filled with slabs of meat stripped of the fur it once had. The clearing was also surrounded by a rainbow assortment of feathers and cream colored rocks. Moss beds were all over the clearing.
"You guys went all out." Sea Coral said in amazement. "I can't wait to meet somebody here!"
I sighed, Sea Coral's egg group wasn't really that big. I was pretty sure the whole Swanna family was wiped out by the Bandit attack. I gave a fake smile as I waited for Felis to arrive, the sun was still falling when she did.
"Hello, Riptide." Felis purred.
"Hey, Felie." I mentally slapped myself at the nickname I gave her. "Want to try some of the berries?"
Felis nodded and we headed over to the small buffet.
"Did Dew come as well?" I asked.
"Yes, but she might be avoiding any male contact. She made that clear to me on the way here." Felis answered.
"She doesn't want a mate?" I said puzzled.
"Mostly because she doesn't want kits, she's not too fond of them." Felis shrugged. "To each their own, I guess."
I didn't judge Dew too much, I waved at her as I saw her perched on a tree branch away from the crowd nibbling on a Pecha Berry.
Many things happened in the hour that followed: it turned out there was a living Swanna, the youngest one Kelp. He saw to Sea Coral quickly and talked like they knew each other for years.
Me and Felis saw that residents from Tall Plains had showed up. An Umbreon named Gold showed up.
"Me and my friends are sperm donors in Tall Plains, our job is purely to keep the population going." Gold gave a curt nod. Four Pokemon came to his side.
"This Pidgeot is Brock, the Smeargle is Saturn, the Zangoose is Cloud, and the Marowak is Silicon." Gold introduced his four friends. "We shall get going."
"And get busy!" Saturn snickered. Cloud glared at him and the five males split and took different sides of the clearning.
Suddenly, a shriek alarmed my ears. I turned away from Felis and saw what I had fear would happen.
Berry was climbing towards Dew.