Chapter 4 – A Day of Relaxation

Crystal

"Rise and shine sleepy heads." Acura said before walking away. I managed to open my eyes and saw a wall of reddish-brown fur. I stared at it before realizing that it was the Vulpix. 'Wait, I slept with the Vulpix?' I suddenly jumped out of the bed and hit the wall. I then looked at the Vulpix, Aeden, and crept away, making sure I didn't wake him.

"Did you sleep well?" Mother asked.

"Yeah. I guess so." I replied, half asleep, despite my surprise a few seconds ago.

"You skipped dinner." She stated the obvious.

"I wasn't hungry."

"I see. In any case, you need to eat." Mother indicated the leaf of berries to me, and I walked over to them and took a bite out of the food.

"He told me his name last night." I said between bites.

"Really? He actually remembered it?"

"Yeah. He said it was Aeden."

"Aeden, huh? It's definitely is an old name."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I've noticed that Ninetales seem to like old names. I think it has to do with this region's ancient path. A forgotten language maybe?"

"A forgotten language?"

"Yes. This land used to be controlled by a species that thought themselves better than us. Rumor has it that a natural disaster forced them away, and we were left with their structures. Their technology is really interesting, from what I've read. Maybe you'd like to take your friend out to go look at the architecture?" She winked at me, and I blushed slightly before returning to my food. She then walked off to wake Aeden up.

Aeden

I was woken up abruptly as Ember nudged me. "Wake up, Vulpi- I mean, Aeden."

"But it's still night time." My eyes were still black, and my hearing was still somewhat faded.

"No, it's morning. The sun has already risen, and it's time you got up." She told me.

"Right, can't see. Help me up?" I asked.

Ember picked me up by the scruff and lifted me. I was set on my feet again, but my balance still needed work. My body was still pretty damaged, and Ember guided me to the eating area, where I was given a leaf of Oran Berries.

I ate it all, due to me missing dinner. Ember spoke up as I finished the leaf.

"Now, the doctor's assistant said to give you this medicine every day. You'll be tired all day, but you will heal faster. Understood?"

"It doesn't taste very good."

"I don't care. Do you want to see again or not?"

"Of course I do. I was just saying."

I finished the medicine then tried to make my way outside. I had to turn around as Ember stopped me one more time. "Oh, I almost forgot. Your eyes will be sensitive to light, so you'll need to wear this scarf. It's going to feel weird around the eyes, but it should help block the light."

Ember folded it and tied it around my head. "Now don't mess with it, okay?"

I nodded and turned around and Crystal guided me outside.

It was a warm day outside, and I can only imagine what the sky looked like. It felt nice to have heat radiating down from the sky. I could smell the grass as I tried to follow Crystal. Her three cousins ran over and jumped on my back. I was knocked over to the side, with a loud cry of surprise.

I could hear Crystal yelling at them, but they seemed to tune her out. "Are we playing hide and seek now?" One of the female Eevee asked.

"I wanna be it. I wanna be it." The male cried, and he reached for the scarf around my eyes. I felt his paw trying to reach under and I covered my head and tried to roll away. Crystal was screaming at them now, and her mother ran out. "Inside, now!" She barked at the three.

They immediately stopped and the male withdrew his paw. Crystal's three cousins scurried inside with their aunt close behind.

Crystal walked over to me and bent down to eye level. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you did they?"

My paws were still over the scarf, and I tried to get up on my elbows. "No, but I think one of them undid the scarf. It seems loose now."

Crystal moved behind me and retied the scarf, keeping it firm on my head. "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you." I said, and she backed up.

We walked to the field of tall, brown grass where the grass was dry and stiff, and the summer heat was trapped. We eventually reached a mound of dirt, somewhere in the middle of the field. Crystal and I laid down and looked over the golden field, or she did, at least.

"It's really beautiful today. I wish you could see this." She said.

"Me too." I sighed. "It's so warm out. I could stay here forever."

"It does feel good, doesn't it?" She smiled, leaning up against me.

We heard rustling and immediately looked to the left, ears perked forward and waiting for more movement. I felt Crystal get up as she turned in that direction. She got in a stance for fighting, or rather, defending, and then we heard a voice. It was male, and it… sounded like it was laughing.

"You like this spot, don't you?" The voice said. "You're too worked up, sis."

Crystal then relaxed and laid down again. "What do you want Acura?"

"What? I can't visit my favorite little sister?"

"I'm the only sister you have here." She said, frustrated by the interruption of her day.

"And it seems you dragged your boyfriend out here too." The male Eevee chuckled.

"Will you cut it out? He's not my boyfriend!" Crystal yelled. She was back up in an instant and I could hear her tail swishing.

'Boyfriend?' I thought. My ears shot back at the yelling.

"Oh really? And for what other reason would you take him here? Have you forgotten what Big Sis would do every night?"

"That was her choice! I happen to like this spot, and I don't need you ruining my day!"

"Who says I'm ruining it? I just-"

"ENOUGH!" I barked. My tails were spread out again and my head began to hurt. "I want to enjoy the day as much as anyone else does, but I don't want arguing in it!"

"You should tell your girl-" He started.

"I don't want to hear it!" I screamed. I had advanced on his position and he was backing away, ears back. Crystal was surprised that I was advancing upon him. "I don't want to hear the arguing! I've had enough of the negative attitudes for a lifetime!"

"But I didn't-" He began saying as he stumbled over a hole in the ground.

"Shut up!" I stepped right over it. "I don't care what you think of me. I don't care what you think of your sister. I don't want to hear what you have to say. You're loud, your obnoxious, and most importantly, you can't leave me alone! You can hate me all you want, but leave her out of this! If you want to fight, wait until my eyes have healed, you got that?"

Acura tripped over a piece of wood, yet somehow, I never noticed it, even though I stepped on it. He fell to the ground and continued to back up. Crystal was following us, not sure of when to stop me. I had gotten on top of him now and glared from behind the scarf. I was emitting heat waves now, and he could definitely feel it.

"Now scram!" I shouted.

He scurried out from under me and I exhaled a breath to calm me down. I could hear him as he ran through the grass, running as fast as he can to escape my sudden uproar. I was probably the scariest thing he had ever come across. Second, only to his father.

Crystal walked up next to me and gave a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I thought you were going to torch him." The image came to my mind and I smiled. I actually like the idea. He was nothing but a jerk in my eyes.

I looked to my left to meet her gaze. I turned around and tried to make my way to the mound.

"What you did there was really surprising. I'm sorry we were arguing over you."

"It's okay. What matters is that I put him in his place."

Crystal giggled. "Yes, I guess you did."

I then tripped over the hole. "Ow, that wasn't there last time."

"Which reminds me, how did you avoid all of those obstacles?"

I tilted my head and my right ear went to the side as I thought about it. "I don't know. I think I was just focusing on your brother."

We reached the mound and settled ourselves on top again. I turned to look at her. "What's his problem anyway?"

Crystal looked at me. She looked down as she thought about it. "Hmm, well, I think his attitude started when our big sister left to start a family. He felt so alone, and I guess he felt that he had to fill the void she left. He became bossier and began teasing me and tossing his duties on me."

"All of this because your sister left?"

"Yes, and now he's passed it on to you."

"What about the other three?" I asked.

"Oh, those three are just visiting. Our uncle is busy with work. He studies the leftover architecture from the creatures that used to live here."

"What are you talking about? Are you saying he studies buildings?"

"In a manner of speaking. He's actually trying to figure out how they were built."

"Really?"

"This morning, my mom suggested we go and see them sometime."

"Sounds like fun, but I can't see them in my current state." I laughed.

Crystal laughed too. It felt good to know that I had made someone's day, despite what had just happened.

"He lives on this side of the mountains." She continued.

"What's he like?" I asked. I was imagining a Flareon, much like Flare.

"You'd like him. He's really smart and funny."

"Is he a Flareon? Like your parents?"

"What? Oh, no. He's a Jolteon." She corrected me. "I'm hoping we can go over there during the summer. It's about three days of walking to get there."

She leaned up against my shoulder against and sighed. "You're really warm, you know that?"

I looked at her, despite me being blind. "Hmm, I can imagine." I then rested my head on my paws. The day went on, and the heat was so relaxing that we actually fell asleep there.

The sun was directly above us when I woke up, and I got up to stretch my body.

"Mmmm. What time is it?" I asked. Crystal woke up when I shifted my weight to stand up, and looked around. It was hotter than it was earlier, and Crystal then looked at me. She moved her head down from me, to her paws, then back to me. Realization dawned on her and she jumped up and tumbled down the mound.

I started as she squeaked and slowly made my way down, careful not to slide or step on anything. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

She looked at me, heart racing. She then calmed down and stood up, remembering that I couldn't see her. "Um, no. Nothing's wrong." She said hurriedly, brushing herself off.

"I'm kind of hungry. Want to have lunch?" She asked.

"Yeah. That works." I replied. We began making our way back, and I decided to run ahead, despite having no clue where I was going. Crystal was running behind me, telling me when I needed to make minor adjustments. She seemed to understand what I was trying to do.

At one point, I tripped and she ran right over me. She suddenly gasped and came back. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I repositioned the scarf and began walking back. Crystal walked alongside me. "Here's an idea, how about you not run?"

"Funny, I had the same idea." I looked at her and smiled. My foot suddenly fell into a hole and I was back on the ground. "Where do these hole keep coming from?" I yelled. I tried to get back up, but it was too deep. Crystal dragged me out and I felt something against my paw. I suddenly jumped back with a cry.

What I had felt was not something I was expecting to see, or rather hear, here.

"Diglett dig." A small Diglett popped up from the hole. It didn't sound too happy that I had ruined its home, and Crystal wearily pulled me away.

"We need a marked path here." I said. "This grass is too thick, and there are obstacles everywhere."

"It's an interesting idea. We should try that sometime. I recall that father burns the brush down to keep the grass from overgrowing our den."

"How does it stay green if he burns it all?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask him that. Though he may teach you to do it someday." She laughed.

We had reached the den and Ember looked at us. The three young Eevee were excited to see me, but didn't dare move.

"We're back." Crystal said.

"Welcome back. Lunch is ready. "

"Where's Acura?"

"You mean he's not with you?" She asked.

"No, he left us when Aeden scared him off." Crystal replied. I blushed at the comment, and it wouldn't have been noticed if the temperature hadn't risen slightly.

"Oh really? What happened?" Ember asked. I was guessing she ignored the temperature, her being a fire type and all.

"Well, he began teasing us and Aeden started yelling at him. It was really something to see." Crystal said happily.

"Well now. I hope there wasn't too much trouble. I'm probably going to guess he's off by the river then. Now eat up. I'll have a talk with him when he gets back."

Things seemed to be going smoothly now, as the three cousins were let back outside. They had fun leading me around, guiding me by their voices. Crystal had to suppress a laugh when they forced me into a tree or rock.

'I hope this damage isn't permanent.' I sighed after hitting my head on another rock. The three Eevees were giggling yet again and Crystal intervened. "Okay you three, move along. I think he's had enough head hitting today." She smiled, and the three ran off and started tackling each other.

Crystal and I headed out to the field again, and before I knew it, I was surrounded by tall, golden grass.

"Let's go to the river."

"Just as long as you don't splash me."

"We're not going into the water. I promise."

We walked through the grass in silence, the beaten down grass being the source of any noise.

When we reached the river, I felt cool, green grass and moist dirt under my paws. The field had ended and we made our way down the path where I met with the loose gravel. Crunching sounds came from below us as our weight shifted the gravel. Crystal walked up alongside me, and drew in a breath of the river air. She then exhaled. "This is wonderful, isn't it?"

"I guess." I said as I moved forwards. Crystal noticed this and stopped me.

"I thought you said you weren't going to be going in the water?"

I looked back at her, my ears slightly slanted. "I figured getting my paws wet wouldn't hurt, right? Just a long as I don't have to swim." I then waited for her to guide me forwards. I didn't want to fall off an embankment and get carried away.

She walked forwards and guided me around logs and larger rocks and we eventually reached the water's edge. I put my paw forwards, and brought it down slowly, tapping the cold water. I withdrew it quickly as I drew in a sharp breath. "That's cold."

"You'll get used to it." Crystal said, giving me nudge. I then put my paw on the water and let it sink under. It was cold, but otherwise very nice. The hot summer day bombarded me with heat that my fur soaked in, and it was becoming unbearable. I then put another paw and let the sensation of cold water run through my fur. Within a minute, I was laying on my stomach, water lapping at my neck.

"It feels good doesn't it?" Crystal asked, getting in the water herself.

"Yeah. A little on the cold side, though." I replied.

Crystal laughed. "Yes, it is. But you'll get used to it. It's days like these that we go to the river to play."

I sighed, remembering my dream, or the part where I reached the waterfall.

"Aeden, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah." I replied quickly.

"No, you weren't. Would you like to talk about it?" Crystal asked, her ears behind her head.

I brought my head down and repositioned my body. "Last night, I had a dream. It felt more like a memory, though. We were attacked and my parents fought to their deaths while I ran. Not long after I escaped, I heard their screams and the attackers began to chase me. They were faster than me, but I guess they held themselves back. The Scizor and Sneasel chased me to the river and I slipped on a rock and was carried off of the waterfall."

"That's horrible!" Crystal said. She had moved closer to me and put a paw around my shoulders. I was crying again, but I didn't care.

We sat in silence for about 20 minutes as I calmed myself down. The scarf was wet in front of my eyes, and I stood up to leave. We walked back up the trail to the field and turned left towards the distant mound. We got on top and laid ourselves down again. The sun was warm, the field was quiet, everything seemed right, except for the eyes. I wished I could see.

We laid there in silence for a few minutes before I rose my head again. "Where's Acura?"

"What?"

"Didn't your mom say he'd be at the river?"

"Yeah, I think she did. Maybe he moved?"

"Yeah, you're probably right." I said, lowering my head again and falling asleep again.

Finally, another chapter. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy.