Umm... well hey there. I'm hoping that none of you who read this are too upset with me, for taking, um, how long has it been? A little over two years, to realize that this is something worth finishing. Wow, I feel really bad, but at least I'm not finishing it at all. And I do intend to finish it. Chapters might be slow coming but I'm getting excited so I'll try to work on it as often as possible. Well, enjoy!

Seasons Of Change – Chapter Five

Under the moon, a large male slunk out of his cave, looking each way warily for other pack members. With a smirk he trotted low to the ground out of the Alphas cave and down the cliff, taking each step carefully so he didn't knock any rocks around and wake others. Successfully he reached his destination cave without any commotion. Scowling he stepped carefully into the darkness of the cave, little rays of moonlight shining though on him from the windows of the cave. He stalked up to the sleeping form of a Leafeon lying on its side and watched it for a moment before quickly smashing his claws onto its jaw, locking them closed. Aki brought his jaws up to its neck swiftly and brutally and closed his teeth around its throat, ending its life as fast as possible. The female's chest suddenly stopped rising and falling. He checked once more that she was dead and left the cave again before anyone could realize that he had struck again.

---

The sun slowly rose over the Leafeon pack grounds, creating a beautiful glow in the forest, and Zaira was up early as usual. She climbed down her family tree and met up with her two friends, which she did every morning. Warai and Damu were chatting and laughing dumbly; Zaira had always been the smartest of the group. After all, she was the only one who despised Aki out of the three.

They greeted her as she sat down beside them. The peace didn't last long though; because the first chance he got, Aki was barreling towards them.

"Aki, what the hell do you want now?" Zaira growled.

Aki was panting, but not smiling. "No, it's…Sokea…when I went to see her this morning…she was…dead." He said between breaths as the others gasped. It was hard for him not to smile.

They shook they're heads as Damu began to cry, being the sensitive Leafeon she was. Zaira felt something in the pit of her stomach as Warai led Damu back to her tree with an arm slung over her wracking body. Something was not right…

Aki, seizing his chance, bounded up to Alpha rock and cleared his throat once before calling the attention of the clan. Faking sadness, he informed them of Sokea's death. After he had calmed them down again, he spoke again: "Since you all know Sokea was my future queen and we were to have pups this next birthing season, I've decided to pick another mate because of the short time till then. Hopefully I will be able to produce an offspring to follow in my paw prints, just as I have followed in my fathers."

Sitting in the crowd with an awful look of horror, she knew what was next, and it all seemed too fishy.

"My new mate shall be," he said slowly, scanning the packs eager females with disinterest, because he had already made the choice when he'd made the kill. His brown eyes, filled with a darkness that only Zaira could see, came to rest on her.

"Zaira."

---

Tiron closed his blood red eyes and inhaled the scent of Rattata, thick in the grove of trees he had just stumbled upon. The thought of a fresh meal excited him thoroughly, for he had not eaten for a couple of days. It was difficult to disguise himself in the sparse foliage of the fall season, especially in the daytime, but he managed to blend in underneath a thick nettle bush to wait for something to happen by his hiding place.

And it was so close, he could almost taste it now. The little purple rodent was busy sniffing around in the fallen leaves and pine, looking for some small morsel to eat. Tiron could only guess that the Rattata had a similar situation to himself, not having eaten in a couple days, but he would soon put it out of its miserable existence.

In a flash of black fur and disturbed leaves, Tiron pounced and wrapped his jaws around his prey's body. It struggled, but Tiron laughed and knew that his kill was successful as it's body went limp.

He ate a bit, but before he gorged the whole thing down, he thought of his sister Suvi waiting patiently back at the camp, hungry. Normally he would have just told her to practice more and catch her own food, but considering the situation they were in, he felt it was somewhat of his duty to sustain her. So he lifted up the bloodied body in his jaws, and the Umbreon skulked back to the camp on a half empty stomach.

---

A lonely petite Espeon lay in the depths of the deep cave, curled up with her head on her paws and her heart heavy. It took all she had not to cry again like she had that night, nearly two weeks ago now. Kaivo's lovely and sweet presence had distracted her until now, but whenever she was left alone for too long her mind started to wander to places she didn't want it to, almost like a naughty pup.

Kaivo. Before he had come here, before they had become friends, her existence in the pack was like torture. It wasn't like a pack at all, like they called it, but a hateful existence; a gang of killers and thieves. Sometimes she wondered why any of them were even staying here in the first place. Some of them were even nice, like Kaivo, Jani, and Guida... All Leafeon, now that she came to think of it. All seemingly innocent. They didn't belong here like she and the rest of them did, and yet they managed to make a place for themselves and oddly enough stayed...

She wasn't one to complain though. She was grateful that they stayed here with her, almost everyday she was. Although a part of her wished that they would leave someday and make a better life for themselves. They didn't deserve the same as she did. They deserved better.

Thinking about Kaivo at least kept her busy for awhile. Suvi knew he would have been there with her, or they would have been together somehow if Guida hadn't taken him out to hunt, and that comforted her in a way. She sent a silent prayer to wish him luck in finding a good meal, for they were beginning to get more scarce everyday. The last time she went out to hunt, which was early yesterday, she barely made it away with a couple of berries just starting to rot. She'd gotten by on scraps from the pile until now, but her stomach was beginning to growl at her. Maybe a drink of water would help, she thought, and lifted herself up and out of the dark cave.

The walk to the gentle stream made her relax, and she was soothed even further by it's sounds in the quiet and dark of the night. A huge yellow moon glared at her from the sky and from it's reflection from which she drank. In all the quiet, she could hear a rustling in the bushes what sounded like a little ways away. Her ears perked up, her violet eyes observing the dark blues and browns of the autumn forest. Suvi lowered herself to the pine covered forest floor and raiser her hackles, ready to pounce. Slinking through the brush separating her from the noise, she peered out into the night.

The sight she saw startled her greatly. There, on the other side of the forest, was a Vaporeon, but he wasn't an Outsider: he had no rings around his eyes and the scent that was being blown across the river was unrecognizable to her. He wasn't drinking or bathing, but just sitting at the edge of the water looking in, as if he was waiting for something. But why was he so close to their territory? Everyone knew that the sparse ended edge of the forest was where the outcasts were sent to live, and it's not like the death and uncleanliness was hard to detect.

It was so quiet she could hardly take a breath or else he would have heard her, though she was downwind so it was unlikely he would smell her. Another rustle came from behind the foreign Pokemon, and another shape emerged from the brush. It was another Vaporeon, but this time she recognized it. The newer arrival had the dark black rings that identified her as an outsider, and her smell was familiar too. Her name was Callirhoe, and Suvi had talked to her once or twice; she seemed nice enough.

Preparing to pounce and protect her fellow Ousider, Suvi unsheathed her claws and moved closer. But what she saw surprised her even more. The foriegner didn't attack, and neither did Callirhoe. Instead they smiled at the sight of each other and Callirhoe snuggled up against the strange male, muttering his name quietly.

Suvi was suspicious about this scene, and unsure about what to do. Should she stay and eavesdrop, or was it better to forget what she saw here?

Ultimately, she already had enough to deal with and didn't want to get involved with more problems, so she backed up quietly through the bush and hurried back to her cave. Tiron must be heading back soon, she thought nervously, afraid of what he would say if he arrived back before her. She shuddered more out of nervousness than anything.

The campgrounds were dead quiet as she arrived back, it was almost eerie. She had hoped she would be unnoticed returning, and let out a sigh of relief as she approached her cave.

"Suvi."

She stopped short and froze at the sound of her brothers voice, turning around slowly to see him walking towards her with a half eaten Rattata hanging in his jaws.

"B-brother, I just went to get a drink of water, I was only gone a few moments..."

He only glared at her. The blood dripping from his face only made him that much more intimidating.

"Get in," he said simply, but there was anger in his voice. She was aware that upsetting him further would be very much against her own interest, so she obeyed and slunk into their home.

In the darkness Tiron's golden rings lit up and faded, sending shivers through Suvi's body as he slowed approached, his rings getting closer every time until he pushed her down and dug his claws into her soft underbelly. She gasped and looked into his blood red eyes, and tears began to form in her own. He snapped his teeth in her face. "I told you not to leave tonight. You ungrateful bitch," he paused his angry growling to strike her across the face. She winced in pain and felt blood drip down her cheek, but did not dare make a noise. "I brought you food," he started again, seething, "Food that I could have eaten myself, and left you to starve. But no, I felt bad for you. Well, not anymore," he laughed angrily. The Umbreon got off of his sister, grabbed the carcass, and walked to the other end of the cave to begin eating. "You can find your own food you little bitch, and you had better obey me next time, or else."

She listened silently to the sound of his teeth ripping through the meat of the Rattata. She could have thought about how hungry she was, or about how Tiron had changed. She could have thought about the good old days, when they used to play together as pups. When things weren't so complicated. But she knew her brother loved her... she knew for a fact. He had proved it to her, and now she could never forget. She would never be ungrateful to him again, she vowed. She could have thought about the searing pain that ripped through the cut on her face, but right then all she could think about was how lucky she was to have a brother like Tiron.

After all, the Pokemon he was devouring so furiously wasn't her.

---

His heavy breathing was getting on his nerves. He shouldn't be this tired, Kaivo told himself, and yet here he was, panting like there wasn't enough air in the world. Guida was hunched silently in some bushes a few feet ahead, and even though he was much older, he'd been running as much as the young Leafeon, probably even more, and was still ready to run another who knows how many miles. Kaivo frowned and realized that lazing around with Suvi had been making him soft. Either that, or he'd already been soft... it's not like he ever had any real training anyways, he remembered. That made him think about his dad... and Aki...

"Now!" came the call from Guida, and he disappeared in a flash. Kaivo, still dazed from his uncomfortable memories, ran forward and jumped through the bushes after his teacher. Guida was holding steadily onto a good sized Raticate, but it was struggling. Kaivo sprinted forward and locked his jaws around its neck while holding onto its soft body with his claws. Soon the struggle was over and they had made their kill. Guida smiled proudly at his pupil and ruffled the fur on his head.

"Good job kiddo," he said, his voice filled with pride.

Kaivo quickly forgot his previous thoughts. The proud look in Guida's eyes filled him with a feeling he'd never had before. He was actually praising something Kaivo had done; his father had never done that before. And for a moment, he thought maybe this really was where he belonged and someone above was looking out for him. For he had been happier here than he had been at home for his whole life, except maybe when he had been really small, and his grandfather was still alive.

One thing he did miss about home though was Zaira. Suvi reminded him so much of his mate-to-be, the way she was kind and gentle, even the way she laughed. It hurt his heart to think about her, but the pain was slowly going away. He hadn't seen her when he was leaving, but then again he hadn't paid much attention, his exile was so overwhelming. Maybe she missed him as much as he missed her, though he doubted it. She was probably glad he was gone like the rest of them, and had moved on to someone much tougher and stronger than little, pathetic Kaivo.

No, he wasn't that Kaivo anymore. He had changed, even his look had changed. He was no longer who he had been, but a newer, improved version of himself. The kill he had just helped make proved it. Guida began to lift the body onto his back to carry back to their home, but Kaivo dove underneath it, smiled at his older friend, and lifted it up onto his own back. He would prove he had gotten stronger, to his teacher and to himself. The two Leafeon slowly made their way back to the Outsiders camp, and just over the horizon, the sun started to rise.

---

Zaira sat alone in the Alpha's cave, listening to the quiet sounds of the Pokemon within the woods. Some would say the forest was going to sleep at this time, but really it was just coming alive with nocturnal beings. Although Zaira was not one of them, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Thoughts were racing through her head like wild Rapidash, so much so that she could not even concentrate on one. It had been like this all day it seemed, ever since Aki had made his announcement.

Okay, she told herself. Get your thoughts together, Zaira. You have to think straight, you're the only one who seems to be able to...

First she thought of the events that had happened earlier that day. Hearing about Sokea's death... that was the first thing that had happened that day. She grieved for her fellow pack member, although she was older and they hadn't really spent much time together. She thought it was so sad how she had died... she had...

Zaira sat up so fast she got dizzy. Aki had never revealed how she'd died. This was strange because just a couple days ago Sokea had been obliviously all over Aki, her usual hyper active self. How could her health have deteriorated so fast without anyone knowing?

The strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, the feeling that something wasn't quite right with all this, grew with this realization. She got up quietly and exited the cave, tiptoeing so as to not wake anyone up. Because any Leafeon up at this time of night was suspicious. Very suspicious.

Of course there was no sign of Aki anywhere, he'd gone off into the forest just before sunset to attend to some important business, as he put it. That hadn't bothered her earlier, but now it was making her feel even more uneasy. What could possibly be important in the forest at night?

Zaira set her course for the woods as well. Slowly and ever so quietly she snuck underneath the sleeping forms of her pack, up in the canopies of the trees. A bad feeling filled her again, a feeling of betraying her own people by sneaking about under their noses.

Soon she reached the river where their territory ended and who knows what was beyond that. Like most others, she'd never left the grounds, and going into the deep forest was a frightening thing to her. But she knew that they buried the dead just past the river in a sort of graveyard area. She stuck her nose to the ground in the tall grasses just at the bank of the river, and breathed in the scent of mud, grass, and the fresh scent of Aki, so she knew she was going in the right direction. Without giving it another thought in fear that she would turn back, Zaira splashed through the small river as quietly as possible into the dark unknown.