Nightfur was sitting there, waiting for Ironpaw to wake up. I hope that he doesn't do that all the time! Nightfur thought to himself. Ironpaw yawned just then, eyes blinking open. Nightfur got in his face that split second. "Hiya! I'm Nightfur! What's your name?"

Ironpaw backed up in alarm, looking at his surroundings. When he didn't see his mother or father, he began to cry. Myrtle came in, and looked at Nightfur with a stern look. She picked up Ironpaw, and comforted him with soothing words. Ironpaw looked up at Myrtle, eyes full of sadness. He buried his face into Myrtle's chest, sobbing.

Myrtle looked at Nightfur. "Nightfur, go get one of the berries from our supply."

Nightfur grabbed a ripe, plump Pecha berry, and handed it to his mother. "Here's a berry, mother!"

Myrtle began to nudge the berry at Ironpaw. "There you go sweetie... it's alright. Eat this... It'll make you feel better." Ironpaw took the berry in his small paws, and began to eat its flesh. He looked around at the nest, then back at Myrtle.

"Is momma... and daddy..."

Myrtle interrupted him, wanting him to get off the topic of his deceased parents. "Ironpaw, why not go and play with Nightfur? I'm sure you two can play something together around the nest."

Ironpaw got down off of Myrtle's lap, and walked to the edge of the nest, where he sat, silently. Nightfur padded over to sit beside him, and looked out, hearing the rings of metal on metal, the sounds of his father's labors in the warm forge, where he melted metal and shaped it into items that others in Pokemon communities such as the famed Treasure Town, on the other side of the mountains, used for cooking, building, and if one was willing to pay enough, fighting.

"Sounds like Father's workin' in the forge. Did you ever want to do something like that? Hey?" Nightfur looked at Ironpaw, confused. Why doesn't he answer me? I'm not going to hurt him, or bother him. Nightfur sighed, and he turned around, going to play with the small nuts that he found in a corner of the cave that their nest was sheltered in. When Nightfur looked back at Ironpaw, he saw that he had lowered his head, looking at his feet.

Evening came, and Nightfur was a bit unhappy to share his part of the nest with Ironpaw.

"Can't we make the nest bigger so he has his own part?"

"Nightfur, just eat your food, and get ready for bed. Besides... I think the best brother in the world would share his part of the nest with his brother." Myrtle was smiling at this, as she knew that once Nightfur said something... he rarely went back on it.

Sorrel looked at Myrtle, projecting an aura of worry to her. Luckily for them, the two young Riolu were not old enough to know how to use aura, so they could communicate without worrying the youngsters. Even still, the use of aura wasn't needed. Myrtle could see the worry in his eyes. Something wasn't right.

Nightfur protested going to bed that night, saying he wasn't tired, he wanted a drink of water, so on and so forth. Ironpaw, on the other hand, or paw, in his case, fell right to sleep, facing uneasy dreams of his ordeal. Nightfur was finally settled down, and he as lay there, starting to doze off in the comfortable grasses and ferns that lined the nest, he heard his mother leave the den, along with his father. They began talking in hushed, but worried voices. Curious, Nightfur crawled out of the nest, hiding just inside the den's entrance.

"... But we can't just leave. There's no reason we should. Especially now with two children."

"Myrtle, we have to. There's rumor that those thugs that killed my brother and his mate attacked another family. Another metalworker. I'm one of the more well known metal-smiths in the area. It's only a matter of time before they come looking for me."

"Train me, then."

"Train you in what?"

"Swordplay or whatever you call fighting with those sharp metal sticks of yours. A mother protecting her young is a dangerous foe."

"Myrtle. I don't want you to."

Myrtle gave him a strong look, staring at him with her big red eyes, full of fury.

"Myrtle... fine. I'll teach you. I think that I should start teaching Nightfur the basics of the trade as well..."

"Not yet."

Nightfur got bored of the conversation at this point, and curled up in his nest, falling into the deep comfort of sleep, Ironpaw at his side. Unwittingly, his paw dropped from on his chest, gripping Ironpaw's paw. The two slept on, oblivious to the world around them.

The next morning, Nightfur woke up to see that Ironpaw was sitting on the edge of the nest again. He got up to his feet, and sat down beside him. "What's wrong? Come on, you can tell me! I won't tell anyone else!"

Ironpaw looked at him with large, sad eyes, tears on the brim. "I miss Mom and Dad... I'm scared that those big scary guys are going to come back for me."

Nightfur smiled. "Don' worry! Mother and Father gonna protect us! And I gonna protect you!" With that, Nightfur leaped onto Ironpaw, knocking him over. Ironpaw rolled with it, bringing him on top of Nightfur, sitting on his chest. They spent the rest of the morning wrestling and rough housing, neither one keeping the advantage for long.

A/N: Well, we're at the end of another chapter. I think I'm going to try to write a better introduction to this than I currently have, mainly at the request of one of my friends, explaining the cause of the transformation. So, NinjaLayor out, and please give me feedback. I could use the reassurance that I'm writing something you want to read.