Disclaimer: I don't own or claim to own anything about Pokémon. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc. This fanfiction is only intended for entertainment purposes and will not be monetized in any way.

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Chapter 4: First Friends

I woke up with Mom licking my head, a little groggy. I yawned and looked around. It seemed we were still in Ruby's and Phoenix's burrow but they were missing. Mom and Dad were the only other pokemon in the burrow. Sunlight streamed through the entrance from the outside. Mom continued to groom my fur, cleaning moss and dirt from my pelt and making me feel better. I couldn't help but despise when my fur was dirty, there was always an intense need for my fur to be perfect in the back of my mind. I sighed in contentment and let her clean every part of me. By the time she stopped I was purring with my eyes closed.

After she was done grooming me Mom said, "You're finally awake I see. We let you sleep in since yesterday was busy and today might be busier. I have to say, I was worried it would be past mid-day when you finally awoke." She had an amused look on her face. "Everyone in the clan is already out and about. The ninetales are all doing their jobs and the vulpix are being taught. Luckily we don't have jobs here and you aren't required to go to class since we don't live here."

"If everyone else is out doing something then what should we do?" I asked, a little disappointment leaked into my voice, I couldn't help it. I didn't like that I was different from the other vulpix, I wanted to meet and learn new things with the other vulpix. I remembered how much fun they seemed to be having chasing each other around yesterday and wanted to play as well.

"Don't worry dear, we can do whatever we want as long as we don't go against any rules. We will show you around and accompany you throughout the day." Dad said, walking over to us.

"Um..." I started saying suddenly feeling nervous. "D-do you think I could join the class with the other vulpix?" I couldn't help from shifting nervously from paw to paw while thinking 'Will the others even like or accept me? What if they think I'm weird?' I looked down at my shifting paws and forced myself to stop.

"What, you really want to sit in on a boring class? Me and your Dad can attest to how bad class is." Mom said, obviously disinterested in my request. "There are so many more exciting things to do like watching ninetales train, hunting, fighting, and showing you around. Even helping out with other ninetales jobs would be more exciting than listening to a teacher all day!" She pouted.

I was becoming less hopeful by the second as Mom continued to spout reasons not to go. I tried to argue, "How boring could it possibly be if you get to learn new stuff. I also want to meet the vulpix and possibly play." I gave my best pleading look.

Mom seemed to want to say something but Dad spoke up before her saying, "Of course we will join the class for a little bit if that's what you want. Petal here has just never enjoyed class so she can be a bit biased." He turned to Mom and said, "No complaining, this will be Astra's last day here before we go back, if she wants to learn and make friends then we shouldn't stop her."

I couldn't help but do a little dance of excitement with my front legs at being told that we would indeed go to the class. I got up fully and walked around with a mix of excitement, nervousness, and impatience. My parents watched me journey around the cave.

"Okay, we will go but you have to eat first. Today will be a busy day and you will need energy." Mom reluctantly agreed with Dad's logic. She lay on her side and beckoned me over.

I walked over and ate quickly. I was hungry but I wanted to get on with the day. I didn't know how long the class went on and didn't want to miss it. After I was done I said, "Let's go already, I don't want to miss that much." I tugged at Mom's tail fur towards the entrance.

Mom laughed and exclaimed, "Ow, stop it!" She pulled her tail from my mouth and in a spooky voice she warned, "You're lucky you're a vulpix, y'know many pokemon and humans have been cursed for just touching a ninetales's tails let alone pulling at them!"

I wasn't creeped out like she intended but intrigued instead. I asked, "How does cursing work and why would someone get cursed for touching a ninetales's tails?"

Silver was ready with an answer saying, "You're always so curious, aren't you? Well to answer your first question we don't exactly know how a ninetales curses someone. Discovering how to curse someone is an incredible feat, in this big clan only the elder and a couple of older ninetales can do it. I do know stories of this that have happened to cursed individuals though. A great many of the cursed, the more lucky ones, are cursed with general misfortune which basically means they are prone to accidents for the rest of their lives. Some of the unluckier humans however are turned into pokemon, unable to communicate with their previous family and friends and stuck in a body they do not know. Most of these pokemon turned humans die out pretty quickly." I gave a little gasp of shock before he continued. "They are the pokemon they turned into by all means but they don't gain the instincts that a normal pokemon has and can't use powers or hunt."

When he stopped speaking I asked, "Why would a ninetales do something so evil?"

Dad continued explaining, "This is within the scope of your second question, most of the time being cursed is a punishment for commiting horrible crime like abusing or murdering other pokemon for no reason. Sadly this is not always the case, sometimes those who get cursed don't deserve it. You see, some of our kind are so egotistical and narcissistic that they think that their tails being touched is a crime, so they curse whoever touched their tails." He said this last part with much anger in his voice. "Anyways, enough of this subject, we should head out before it becomes too late." Dad said before walking out.

I hurried to follow him, my mind racing from the new information I was given. 'Are there really pokemon that are that evil, to ruin someone's life for such a inconsequential reason? If there are, I hope I never meet them. Also why would someone abuse and murder pokemon, I get that pokemon have to hunt for food but to kill without any reason is horrible.' Mom followed behind me as I was lost in thought. My thinking was interrupted when I got a glance outside the burrow. There was much more activity than I remembered from yesterday. Occasionally there would be a ninetales exiting or entering the clearing from the entrance, those who were entering always had something in their mouths, some came with prey, some with plants. To the side of the clearing there were ninetales grouped into pairs, each pair standing facing their partner with a bit of distance separating them. I watched wondering just what they were doing before one of them fired a ball of fire at the partner across from them. To my surprise, the ninetales the fire was directed at didn't move a muscle to dodge the attack. When the fire hit them I accidentally let out a little squeak of concern.

After Mom heard my accidental outcry she caught what I was looking at and said, "Don't worry they are not hurt." To my surprise she was right. After the smoke dissipated I saw that there was no burnt fur or flesh like I was expecting, the ninetales was completely unharmed. Not a single piece of fur was burnt or even had soot on it. Mom continued after I saw that they were unhurt. "They are simply dueling each other. Ninetales and vulpix can't get hurt from fire attacks, we actually absorb the energy that was used to create the attack when struck by it. Dueling is a way of testing each other to see how powerful their fire attacks are. The more energy that is absorbed by the defender is an indication of how powerful the attack from the attacker was. When we teach you how to use fire attacks this will be one of the ways we test your growth, do you understand?"

I nodded and we continued on, my eyes still focused on the group of ninetales attacking each other. Next to the first group was another group that was split into pairs and dueling each other but this second group was more mobile. One ninetales of each pair was firing fireball after fireball towards their opponent while the one being fired at was constantly moving dodging from side to side to avoid the fire. This exercise didn't need to be explained to me, it's purpose was obvious. The one firing the fire was training their accuracy while the one being fired at was training their dodging skills. I wanted to join in but I knew no one would let a vulpix join in fire training, especially one that couldn't attack yet. I followed Dad to a hole that was a few holes away from the place that I went for a check-up yesterday and entered.

When I entered the burrow I heard something about humans before the lecture cut-off and all eyes were on us. There was only one ninetales in the burrow and I was surprised I recognized who it was. Mercy, my grandma stood in the back of the burrow. 'I thought I knew the voice when I entered.' In front of Mercy there were only four vulpix each of a different size. They were still sitting with their bodies facing Mercy but had their heads turned to try to get a peak at us. Mercy seemed surprised that we had entered while the vulpix whispered excitedly to each other.

Mom was the first to speak, "I'm super sorry for interrupting, Mom. Astra really had her heart set on joining the class, she is more curious than most. Do you think it's okay if she joined for today? We will sit with her to make sure she behaves." She bowed her head in apology.

Mercy smiled lovingly at me and said, "Of course she can join! Who am I to stop a curious mind from learning, especially my lovely granddaughter. First let's introduce you to the class, come up here."

I walked up to the front of the class while thinking, 'You can do this Astra, don't be weird. I just have to introduce myself. I wanted to make friends and this is the first step.' I walked up next to Mercy and sat down, even with the self-encouragement I was super nervous. Once I got to the front with Mercy the four vulpix stopped whispering and waited for my introduction. I took a deep breath and said, "Um… hello. Uhh… my name is Astra and I was umm… hatched six days ago." My voice squeaked uncomfortably at the end. All I could think about was how bad I did, 'Why can't I think or say a proper sentence without stuttering?' I was shaking a little bit which I hoped they didn't see. I swore I heard one of them giggle quietly and I flushed with embarrassment. I decided to finish my introduction quickly so I could get out of the attention of the others before I could be even more embarrassing. "I hope to get along with all of you." I quickly rushed to the back of the class where my parents waited.

Both Mom and Dad noticed just how shaken up I was and Dad said to Mercy, "Can we head outside for a minute it won't take long." She must've noticed my condition too because she simply nodded. Mom and Dad led me outside. When we arrived outside the teaching burrow they got on either side of me and cuddled me. They started cooing and licking my head while I started to tremble in earnest tears of frustration and embarrassment leaked out. Dad said, "Calm down and take deep breaths Astra. We will go back in only when you are ready."

They were so comforting I couldn't help but vent my insecurities to them saying "My introduction couldn't have gone worse! My fur is a different color, I'm way smaller than them, and I can't even speak right in front of them! They probably think I'm weird and hate me." Tears started streaming down my face as I talked about my frustrations.

Mom replied to me soothingly, "Honey, you being special isn't a bad thing. I am super proud to have a daughter as kind, curious, intelligent, and unique as you! It may seem like they didn't like you from your perspective, but I could see that they are extremely curious about you and wanted to get to know you. Do you know how hard it is to get vulpix to stay silent for even a few seconds in a day, but they were so enraptured by you that they stayed silent for your whole introduction. I don't really think they cared when you stuttered, they were too interested in what you were saying."

I felt a little better from her soothing and encouraging words, but it didn't really get rid of my insecurity. "If I was born normal I wouldn't have to worry about them disliking me so much, I could just be friends with them. I want to play with them and chase them around like they were doing before. Can you seriously tell me that being almost half their size is a good thing when I can't keep up with them with my short legs or if they playfully pounced on me that I wouldn't get crushed by their larger weight and size! I got sick from just practicing how to stand, if I exhausted myself again, who's to say I won't get sick again!"

By the time I was done ranting Dad had a sad look on his face and Mom looked on the verge of tears. There was only silence left after I was done talking, other ninetales who were walking by all seemed to stare at the sad state me and my parents were in. The silence persisted a while longer before Dad was able to speak up. "Astra, I'm not going to lie to you and say that you're wrong, I know you're smart enough not to believe that. Me and your mother both constantly worry for your health, if you hadn't noticed. We are saddened at the fact that you will never be as big or strong as others of our kind no matter how hard you train. We had hoped you wouldn't notice or be deterred by the size of your body, but it seems like this subject has been bothering you for quite a while. It's one of the things that we can't help you overcome no matter how much we want to." Dad started crying out of frustration for not being able to help. Our family was all a sobbing mess, I kind of wished we were somewhere more private but the moment was a little spontaneous and I couldn't help but keep crying. Dad continued, "If you really want to we could just go back to the burrow, I won't judge you or belittle you. No matter what you decide to do, we will still love you. Even if this is the case, think hard about this decision because something tells me that even if no one else will judge you, you yourself will never forgive yourself if you make the wrong choice. There will always be a part of you in the back of your mind constantly asking the question 'what if?'"

After he was finished with his speech he and Mom stood there waiting for my decision, they actually seemed intent to go through with whatever my decision was. I was extremely tempted to go back to Ruby and Phoenix's burrow, I had already messed up, surly they thought I was weird. If I went back the other vulpix would continue being friends they would continue to play together like nothing happened and maybe even forget me entirely. But I knew Dad was right, there was no real choice, if I allowed myself to give up now I would always feel regret, if I gave up now I would always feel like I could back down. It will just get easier and easier to run away. My reclusiveness will keep growing like a snowball rolling down a hill if I didn't crush it down now. With this reasoning in my mind I made my decision. I would go back and I would try my hardest to make friends. If I fail I will have at least tried, I will feel better knowing that I didn't give up. After making my decision I noticed I stopped trembling or crying. Without even saying a word my parents looked proud, they must've guessed my choice already and they nodded at me. They cleaned my face of the evidence that I had been crying and we headed back inside.

We settled in the back of the class. Everyone noticed our re-arrival but the lesson just continued without any disruption for which I was thankful.

Mercy was talking about humans when we entered, she said, "Humans are dangerous, they have a device called the pokeball that can completely trap you. If you get trapped, you will be subject to their will, there is nothing you could do to get away after that. This pokeball has the ability to trap you at any time after you are trapped for the first time. You still have free will but if you disobey them you are likely never to be released from your pokeball again. You never know what kind of master you will end up with. Some will be kind and friendly to you but some think of us as tools to be used, they will work you past your limit and possibly abuse you. So if you see a human, your best bet to escape is just to run away and inform the clan. Don't try to fight them as they always have more than one other pokemon at their disposal. They will beat you down until you're too weak to move."

With this explanation of humans I was frightened. I had heard tidbits of information about humans before but I never thought they would be this scary. I couldn't help thinking 'They could just come and take me or someone I care about randomly? Then after they catch you there is a random chance that your captor is a mean and abusive human. How is that fair, how do you fight against that?' I looked at the other vulpix and they seemed equally terrified at her explanation.

Mercy continued her lecture after she gave her words time to sink in, "That being said, there are nice humans as well as evil ones. Humans that go out of their way to help and protect all pokemon. This forest we live in is a good example of that. This forest we live in is named the Fae Fire forest otherwise known as the ninetales reserve. What that means is that there are some humans called rangers who go out of their way to make sure that other humans don't capture us. You see, our kind is heavily sought after in the human world. Ninetales are endangered which means there are a lot fewer of us than there should be. A long time ago when these reserves were not yet set up, humans frequently caught us. Ninetales have always believed in only having one mate for our entire lives so when they tried to breed us or repopulate it always went wrong. With the amount of us that were captured and no new vulpix produced our species as a whole dwindled in number. Humans who decided that the risk of our extinction was too great to ignore decided to create these reserves to protect us. Sadly while this precaution mostly protects us, some malicious humans still slip by to sneakily capture us. Every once in a while someone is captured, friends and family can do nothing but morn their loss. This sadly is what happened to poor Azar recently as most of you remember." She looked down in sadness.

'Who is Azar?' I wondered, I must've been the only one who didn't know because the other vulpix looked sad as well. 'At least humans aren't as bad as Mercy made them sound at first. I was worried that capturing was a common occurrence and that Mom, Dad, and I were at risk of being captured.' I thought as I looked at my parents, relieved that I could see them to insure they weren't gone. Mom gave me a reassuring lick on the top of my head but said nothing.

Mercy continued with her class, "Okay that's enough of that dark and dreary subject. Now let's talk about battle strategy and then after that will be free time. Today's topic is typing, advantages, and disadvantages…"

Her explanation stretched on for hours but I was interested in everything she said. I learned about the 18 different types that a pokemon could be along with examples of the pokemon that had these types. I already gathered that I was a fire type like all other vulpix and ninetales but I didn't know that I could also use other types of moves than fire moves. I could apparently also learn some psychic, normal, ghost, and dark moves which fascinated me. I also was taught what I was resistant and weak to. I was resistant to fire, grass, ice, bug, steel, and fairy attacks but I was only weak to water, ground, and rock moves. I was happy to know I was weak to less types than what I was resistant to. I also paid close attention to the strengths and weaknesses of fire attacks. Fire is not effective against fire, water, rock, and dragon but effective against grass, ice, bug, and steel. By the end of the lesson I was happy I decided to come back to class.

"Okay guys, class is over for today. Let's go outside and you can do whatever you want as long as you stay close to me." Mercy said as she started to lead me and the other vulpix out.

When we arrived outside the four vulpix stopped and looked at me. I walked over to them and said, "Hello! I introduced myself earlier but I never caught your names." I fained a confident voice so I didn't give away my nervousness.

The second biggest vulpix spoke up in a squeaky masculine voice, "I'm Cole, the best and strongest of us here!" He puffed his chest out. The other vulpix gave him dirty looks.

This is when the biggest of the vulpix spoke up in a confident sounding feminine voice, "Do we really need to have another wrestling match to remind you who the actual strongest vulpix is?" Cole seemed to lose his confidence. She continued, "I'm Tana by the way. Don't mind what Cole says, I'm the actual strongest. He just wants to look good in front of the new beautiful vulpix, he has been staring at you very intensely by the way." She smiled evilly and Cole flushed and looked away from me. I felt a little embarrassed and flushed as well at the implications of what she said and that Cole didn't even deny it. "I'm the oldest of our group. I've already learned how to use fire attacks and I'm almost ready to become a ninetales." Tana sounded extremely proud of her accomplishments even if it was something every vulpix did when they grew up.

The smallest of the vulpix, still much bigger than me, then introduced themselves in a quiet high-pitched feminine voice, "H-hello, my name is Rosie or Rose for short. I was hatched not too long ago. I hope we can become friends!" She backed away shyly after introducing herself like it was the only way she could keep from fainting from nervousness. I could easily relate to that feeling and already felt a bond of friendship form between us. I found whole demeanor to be extremely cute even if she was bigger than me.

At last the third biggest vulpix stepped forward. They seemed to be impatient, stepping from paw to paw and looking like he was about to burst from the words trapped in his throat. I was surprised that they were the last to introduce themselves due to how impatient they were acting. They started making meaningful glances at Tana like they wanted something. To my surprise Tana spoke up again saying, "Oh sorry, I forgot. This is Ember, he has a birth defect that makes him unable to speak. You can usually tell what he's thinking from his body language, he's getting really good at expressing himself, sometimes it feels like he is speaking. I can tell he is really excited to meet you." He nodded agreeing with her assessment of his emotions and smiled at me.

I was happy, none of the vulpix seemed to think of me as weird or hate me, one of them even called me beautiful which made me feel so proud that I felt honestly a little weirded out that I cared so much about my appearance. After they were finished with their introductions I asked a question that I was really nervous about, "So do you think we could be friends?"

Before anyone else could get a word out Cole said, "I don't know, do I really want to become friends with you? Not everyone can be friends with me, with how awesome I am. I don't know if I want someone so weak as a friend, maybe if you begged me." He had a sly smile on his face, obviously looking down at me.

Sadness and disappointment welled in my chest. I was already nervous that even if they didn't seem like they disliked me that they still wouldn't want to befriend someone like me. So such a blatant rejection tore away at my heart. The hope that had previously filled my chest drained away as I tried to keep what I was feeling off of my face. My eyes watered but I just barely managed to keep the tears from flowing. I choked out a few words, "I-if that's what's n-needed, I c-can..."

Before I could finish my sentence Tana hit the top of Cole's head so hard with her paw that he slammed head first into the ground. She then yelled at him, "I cannot believe how absolutely horrible you are! Can't you see how uncomfortable you just made her! If you really think that highly of yourself, maybe none of us is worthy enough to be your friend and you can be "awesome" alone without us!" Her shouting definitely turned some heads in our direction but no one stopped her. After Tana's outburst I finally noticed that the other two vulpix also stared angrily at Cole. Tana then walked towards me and said in a calming sympathetic voice, "I'm so sorry Astra, you have no need to do what he said. The rest of us would love to be your friend. I don't know why he is being such a jerk, you might not want to be friends with Cole, he only seems to act like this with you." When she said this Rose and Ember nodded in agreement.

My emotions suddenly reversed from feeling sad to incredibly happy. Tana seemed so nice, she even stood up for me even when we just met. I felt proud at the accomplishment of making new friends.

Rose spoke up "Now that we're friends do you want to come play with us?" Her shyness seemed to have evaporated away after we agreed to be friends.

I accepted the invitation and we played a game called tag where one person is 'it' and tries to tag the others before the game ends. I was worried I wouldn't be able to run but to my surprise it came naturally to me. The game started off well, Rose was the first one to be tagged and we all ran away from her. Everyone else seemed to be able to outrun her but when she chased me I got tagged pretty quickly. I tried my hardest to tag anyone else but I was by far the slowest. Soon enough I had collapsed on the ground panting heavily. I wasn't too saddened by my loss because I was expecting it, I was too small and weak to really stand a chance. Everyone came up to me to see if I was alright and I playfully tagged Cole when he wasn't expecting it. We all laughed and Cole was declared the loser which made me feel a little better. He was mad and sulked at my trickery. Tana seemed to understand that I wasn't having too much fun with how slow I was, so she suggested a new game. The game was called hide 'n seek, everyone had to hide while one vulpix tried to find us, the last one hidden wins. This game had nothing to do with strength and speed so I excelled at it. I always would find the best hiding spots and with my small body frame I easily fit into the tiniest of crevices. Being the seeker was also fun, the other would make the funniest surprised squeaks when I found them. After winning several games my parents came over and said it was time to go. I said my goodbyes, they seemed sad that I was going, I reassured them I would see them later.

Mom set me on Dad's back to let me rest, they were watching me when I was playing so they knew I was tired. Mom then asked me, "Did you have fun with your new friends?"

I couldn't wipe the smile from my face if I tried. I nodded enthusiastically at her and said, "Today I had the most fun ever! I enjoyed both the class and playing with my friends. Though this one vulpix named Cole is a big meanie, he said I was weak, but the others are super nice."

Dad spoke up after I mentioned someone being mean to me. "I'm glad you had a great time. Say If this Cole fellow ever bullies you again, tell me and I'll do something about it." His voice sounded a little vengeful and he had this onimus aura around. I wondered what he was implying he would do to Cole. Mom rested a tail on his head to snap him from his wrathful thoughts.

I suddenly yawned loudly and Mom giggled. "Why don't you take a little nap honey. We will wake you before the ceremony to introduce you to the clan starts."

I became a little worried at the mention of being introduced to the entire clan, 'I could barely handle introducing myself to four vulpix how will I do it in front of a whole clan?' I decided to make my worries known, "Will I have to speak in front of the whole clan? Is there anything I have to prepare for like a ceremonial dance? What if I mess up, will I be rejected from joining the clan?" I sounded more than a bit stressed.

Mom replied to my stream of questions, "Calm down, you won't have to do anything complicated, in fact I'm pretty sure all you have to do is stand in front of everyone and the elder will do all the ceremonial stuff. There is nothing you could possibly do to get rejected from the clan. After the ceremony there will be a celebration and many ninetales will want to meet you but me and your father will be with you so you don't have to worry much about that. Stop worrying and just rest, everything will work itself out. I swear, sometimes you think too much for your own good."

I nodded a little relieved that some of my worries were quelled by what she said. I decided to do what she suggested and take a nap. Maybe I would feel less stressed if I felt rested. I closed my eyes and let Dad's soft fur entice me to sleep.

I woke up to what I remember being the elder's voice. The sun had already drifted past the center of the sky, a bit closer to the horizon than before. The elder said, "Does she always mumble in her sleep? She's so cute! You're so lucky, when my daughter was little she would drool quite a lot in her sleep." I moaned from the grogginess I felt and stirred a little. "Oops, I seemed to have woken her up. It's getting close to the ceremony anyways."

I blinked many times trying to bring the world back into focus and looked around. I was still on my dad's back but we were now in front of the massive tree next to elder ashe's burrow. The elder and Mom were staring at me and talking to each other. They both seemed to make adoring faces whenever they looked at me. "What's happening?" I said in a dazed voice.

In a slightly teasing voice Mom said, "We were just going around and showing you off, you were just too cute to keep to ourselves. Everyone seems to share the same opinion of how cute you are. We were just showing the elder when you woke up."

I flushed in embarrassment at the thought of how many people viewed my unconscious form. I buried my face back into Dad's pelt, to slightly hide myself. I yelled into his fur, "You're evil!"

Dad said, "I had nothing to do with this your Mom insisted that we let people see you. I tried to stop her, I swear." Shifting the blame entirely onto Mom.

"Hey don't make me out to be the evil one while making yourself seem like a hero! If you were truly against letting everyone see her sleep, you wouldn't have carried her around the clan with me." She protested. I stared at her with all of the ire I could muster. "No, don't hate me!" She still had an amused look on her face but sounded truly devastated.

The elder piped up then saying, "We should get her prepared for the ceremony, bring her over." When he said this he was standing near the base of the Ever-burning tree. Mom picked me up and set me beside him. The elder then rubbed his front paw on the charcoal of the tree until his paw pads became pure black and smudged his dirty paw on my forehead. I felt instantaneously irritated as my pure white fur was dirtied. The elder laughed at my obvious anger and said, "Sorry, it will probably be harder to get out of your white fur than the normal red fur of a vulpix but it's customary for the kit being introduced to be marked with the charcoal of the tree during the ceremony."

"Ugh, it will be horrible cleaning you later, charcoal tastes horrible." Mom complained. "But I will help you clean your fur of it as soon as I can, so you only have to deal with having unclean fur for a little while." It seemed that every vulpix and ninetales hated having their fur messed up as everyone present was sympathizing with my feelings. I decided to tough it out until the end of the ceremony if it was necessary.

"Okay, I will go and gather everyone. You can just stay here and we will start after the clan has gathered." The elder said as he walked away.

I waited in anticipation for a while as a group of ninetales started to grow in front of the tree a little ways away from me. Most of the ninetales were chatting to each other and some were looking at me. I could tell I was the focus of their attention which made me slightly nervous. I saw the four vulpix I met earlier each accompanied by two ninetales, who must've been their parents. Tana waved one of her tails at me in greeting but otherwise kept her distance.

Dad came up to me and said, "Are you ready?" When I hesitantly nodded he continued, "Don't worry everything will be fine. Your mother and I can't stay here with you but we won't be that far away. We will be watching the ceremony with the rest of the ninetales." They made sure I was okay before they went over to the group and started up a conversation.

I stood there alone as the last few stragglers joined the group. I counted 19 ninetales and 4 vulpix in the group. If this was indeed the largest clan of ninetales out of the three total clans throughout the world and not many ninetales lived outside clans, then I could easily see what Mercy explained earlier. There was truly only an extremely small amount of ninetales and vulpix left in the world. 'Did humans really do this to us? Why couldn't they leave us alone?' I thought, feeling a little sad.

Eventually the elder came back after everyone was gathered in front of us. He then said to me so no one else could hear, "We are about ready to begin. Don't worry, you just have to stand there and I will do all of the talking. I've dealt with vulpix far more nervous than you are in my time as an elder." He gave me a big goofy smile and I couldn't help but smile in return, a little bit of my fear melting away.

"Okay everyone, If I may have your attention!" The elder said in a loud and commanding voice. He waited for the ninetales and vulpix to stop talking and face him before continuing. "Today we are here to induct a new kit into the clan! As you all know, our numbers have been dwindling as a species. It is true that we are being protected by humans as of late but still ninetales go missing every once in a while. I can only hope that those that get taken are healthy and happy." The crowd mumbled in agreement, I could hear hints of sadness in their voices. Elder Ashe waited for the voices to die down before continuing his speech. "But this is why we celebrate and give thanks to every new vulpix kit that joins us in this beautiful world. Every kit carries on the hope that our species will survive!"

His whole body seemed to inspire confidence, he sat with his chest puffed and his neck straight showing all of his impressive height. His tails moved as he spoke, they seemed to flow in the wind, moving gracefully. I always found the appearance of a ninetales to be rather beautiful but the way he stood made him look regal and majestic.

I stared in awe as he moved his tails to wrap around my back. "If you didn't already know this is Astra, daughter of Petal and Silver. She is rather special, in all of my years I have never seen or heard of a vulpix colored like she is, which is quite beautiful if I may add. Whether this is a boon or an omen has yet to be seen but I have a feeling she will be destined for great things." I had a feeling he was referring to the fact that Mew seemed to be following me but he didn't state that information. "She has shown great intelligence and curiosity, which are some of the traits some of the most notable ninetales in all of history seem to share. However with all great destinies, there are always hardships. I wish her luck wherever fate may lead her." I was flustered by the end as he seemed to be throwing compliment after compliment at me which I felt weren't that accurate. 'I'm not that intelligent, everyone seems to know more than me.' I thought as he continued, "Now it's time for me to induct her into the clan. I, Elder Ashe, leader of the Burning-Tree Clan, hereby ask the kit Astra to join our clan in the hopes we can work together to bring our clan to a brighter tomorrow. I promise to always try my best to lead you to success and will always help you out when you are in need. Do you accept my invitation into the clan, Astra?"

I was a bit nervous at the sudden attention but I spoke anyway, "Yes, I do." I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say more but he seemed to be fine with my response.

"Then by the rights the ancestors have given to me, you are hereby accepted as a member of the clan." He nodded at me and I smiled back. "Now that the ceremony is over with, it's time to celebrate! As usual after every initiation ceremony, every ninetales is free of their jobs for the rest of the day and eat however much you want!"

There the whole group cheered and more then a few dispersed from the main group.

Mom and Dad walked over from the crowd conversing with each other but I only caught the end of their conversation. Dad said, "... and I have to say how great it was to see our friends again. I still can't believe Sol ended up as a guard."

Mom responded, "I know right? When he was a vulpix, he insisted he hated fighting!" They both laughed. When they reached me Mom said, "Hello dear! We wanted to be the first ones to welcome you to the clan. I mean technically you've always been part of the clan since we were part of the clan and we're your parents. The ceremony is really just a tradition. Anyways, welcome to the clan!"

"She really didn't need to know that Petal, it sorta takes the fun out of it." Dad said as he gave Mom the stink eye.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I only realized what I said after I said it. Ignore what I said Astra. I'm always a little pessimistic when it comes to the clan." Mom said looking down.

"Even though you were already part of the clan. The ceremony is still a sign that the elder officially accepts you into the clan and it introduces you to the rest of the members. Oh and welcome to the clan." Dad said, smiling at me. I smiled back.

Mom spoke up, "Oh, before we forget, your friends came to see us to ask if they could see you. They seemed really excited when we said they could. You better not keep them waiting."

I couldn't help but run to the group of vulpix that were currently paired up jumping around and spinning around each other at the same time. When I reached them they stopped and greeted me. I asked, "What are you doing?" Genuinely confused at the sight of them bouncing around each other.

"We're dancing to celebrate our new clan member!" Rosie said as she laughed. "Join us Astra, here you can dance with Ember. I'll just watch for a little bit. Are you okay with that Ember?" Ember nodded enthusiastically and wagged his tails in excitement.

I agreed and took Rosie's place beside Ember and started imitating what I saw they were doing before I joined them. I felt a little silly at first, doing little hops and twirling about with Ember again and again. When I got into the rhythm I started truly enjoying myself, laughing and panting to catch my breath. While I was dancing I saw my parents watching us with bemused looks and giggling with each other. I also saw the other pair, Cole and Tana, dancing about with the same glee that I was experiencing. They must've made up with each other from before because they looked truly happy. I looked at Ember across from me bouncing in rhythm, he wasn't laughing audibly but his face was wearing the most overjoyed expression I had ever seen.

I danced for as long as I could before collapsing, I didn't want to stop but my body didn't give me a choice. I went to the side and Rosie started dancing for a little bit. I watched while panting to recover. I watched for a little while before they stopped. I looked around and noticed just how many ninetales gathered around us making adoring expressions. I even saw two other pairs of ninetales try their hand at dancing, it was way more beautiful of a dance than we had managed. They twirled around over and over again, their bodies formed a circle with their tails touching one another's head completing this circle. Their lean and agile bodies moved gracefully matching each other's movements perfectly, their pawsteps were synchronized. I got lost in their flowing movements for a while thinking, 'I hope when I'm a ninetales I can match their beauty.' The other vulpix snapped me out of my musings.

"Me, Cole, and Ember are going to get some food, you and Rose can join us but both of you can't eat yet." Tana said as they walked towards a large pile of food that multiple ninetales were hanging around and picking out their meals.

I shrugged at Rose and she shrugged back, not knowing what to do, we walked side by side after our friends. They quickly picked their meals and started eating. I felt compelled to try the food since everyone eating looked like they enjoyed it but knew I couldn't. 'Wow, Cole and Tana seem to like each other more than I thought with how Tana yelled at him before.' I thought as I saw them sharing the same large piece of prey, happily munching down on it side by side with one another.

Rosie saw where I was looking and whispered, "Ember and I think Cole and Tana like each other more than they like us, they are trying really hard to hide it so don't say anything to them."

I looked at her shocked and whispered excitedly, "Really? I would have never guessed! Tana seems super nice and Cole seems... not nice."

She whispered back, "Yeah it's really obvious if you stick around long enough. They tease each other a lot and after class sometimes they break away from our group to talk alone with each other."

My burning curiosity had been piqued and I had to know more. Still whispering I asked, "How did it start?"

"Actually, me and Ember have no idea when exactly it started, they were like this before either of us were born. Apparently Tana was the only vulpix in the clan for a long time. It's actually rare for a vulpix to be born, the fact there are five of us at one time is seen as a major boon for the clan and our species. Anyway me and Ember have been theorizing, well mostly I theorize and Ember agrees. We think that Tana must've been super lonely until Cole was born and she must've been happy she finally had a friend. So they hit it off really well and became super close. That's one of the reasons I'm glad that we have you as a friend! When Tana and Cole go off and talk, me and Ember are left alone. Ember isn't the best at keeping up a conversation as he's mute, he tries his best but his body language can only do so much and it's hard to play anything with only two vulpix. So now that you're here we can talk and play without them!" She sounded especially enthusiastic about having another friend to play and talk with.

I was happy she liked that I was her friend but sad for another reason. I hated to ruin her mood but I had to tell her the truth, "Well I don't think me and my parents are staying for long." Rosie's expression imminently fell and my heart felt it had been ripped out in sadness as I continued, "It's not that I don't want to stay Rose, but my parents really want to live outside the clan for their own reasons."

There was so much disappointment in Rosie's expression that I really wanted to comfort her and say that I would never leave but I knew that wasn't true. She spoke up in a sad voice, "I see… I know Ember's here but it still always feels like I'm alone or the least liked. I want to talk like Tana and Cole do constantly but I don't want to be pushy. Do you think you could convince your parents to stay?" Her voice was a little bit hopeful.

I sighed and said, "I'm already planning on trying to convince them Rose. Trust me, I want to stay as badly as you want me to stay. But don't get your hopes up too much, I have a feeling that this is one decision my parents just won't budge." A few tears leaked out of her eyes and she sobbed once.

"Hey, what's wrong Rose? Astra, did you make her cry?" Tana accused sounding a little confused and angry. Cole and Ember sat behind her, done with their meal, also confused.

I pressed my ears back against my back and shrunk back feeling ashamed that I made her cry.

Just as Tana was about to press me further Rosie spoke up, "No, she didn't do anything mean to me, she just told me something really sad and I couldn't stop myself from crying." She said this in the middle of a sob but smiled at Tana whilst tears still fell from her eyes.

"Uh huh, what could possibly be so sad that you are crying like this?" Tana asked with clear suspension in her voice.

Rosie replied, "It's nothing really. Astra just told me that her parents were taking her back outside the clan, so she won't see us again. I got my hopes up that we would stay together is all." Tana, Cole, and Ember looked at me in surprise, the shadow of sadness fell on their faces soon after.

Tana was the first to rein in her expression and in a smile that looked fake said, "Well if she is going soon then we just have to enjoy the time we have left with her!" The other vulpix smiled at me and agreed.

Tana must've known how much I enjoyed hide 'n seek before because that was all we played. We played that game many times before it got dark and I got tired. After I said goodnight to everyone I rejoined my parents and we headed back to Dad's parent's burrow.

When we got back I asked the question burning in my mind, "Can we stay in the clan?" Even before I had finished the question my parent's faces turned stern.

Dad sighed and said, "Astra if we stayed here we would have no more chances to leave. The elder doesn't just randomly let ninetales go and abandon their duties to the clan as we have. A ninetales has only two chances to live outside the clan if they want to, when they evolve from a vulpix and when they couple with another ninetales. We decided to leave when we became a couple as it was the only way we could leave together." I sat down as I felt like this was going to be a long lecture and he continued, "You might think that living in the clan is all happy and there is nothing wrong but that is not the case. When you become a ninetales you get assigned a clan duty. This job you get assigned becomes the main purpose of your life from then on. There are no breaks from this job, you work from morning till night and the only time you get off is when you sleep and eat. There will be no time to talk or play with your friends and we would no longer be able to see you that much. It is a horrible and lonely way to live and we pity our friends who were too afraid of living outside the protections of the clan to be free. We don't want to be the ones to separate you from your friends but we also don't want to lose you. Besides, when you become a ninetales you wouldn't be able to see your friends anyway." I sighed as I knew what he was going to say next. He then said, "That is why we aren't going to live here and we are taking you back home, I'm truly sorry honey."

I started to cry, after what Dad had explained I knew that he made the right decision, it truly did sound like a lonely life and I didn't want to make them constantly work for the rest of their lives. I still couldn't help but feel sad that I wouldn't see the friends I had made today ever again.

Mom cringed at seeing me cry and tried to explain their reasoning further, "After what we heard from the elder, there are even more reasons we cannot not live inside the clan. If you truly are destined to do great things or save the world, we need to train and prepare you. I have the feeling that if you were trapped inside the clan, you wouldn't be able to leave and do whatever it is that fate has in store for you. Look on the bright side, the elder gave us permission to train you to use fire moves early. If the older vulpix saw that you were being taught fire moves before them they would just grow jealous and angry that they were not being trained as well. They would try to use their fire core by themselves and get hurt like you almost did."

She was obviously trying to cheer me up with the prospect of fire moves but I still cried. I loved my parents but since I had made friends, my heart felt heavy at the thought of living without them.

Dad said, "Astra, I saw how much fun you had with your friends so how about a compromise. If you come with us to come live at home and stop crying we will come back here every once and a while."

"Really? I could see them again?" I blinked the tears away. 'I knew I wouldn't win this argument so this compromise is great if I get to see my friends again!' I was beaming at what I considered winning the argument.

"Yes, as long as you come back with us. It wouldn't be more than one visit every full moon though." Dad said.

I nodded in agreement at his proposition thinking, 'Not as much as I thought at first but once every 30 cycles is better than nothing.' I dropped down on the nest and groaned, my whole body had started to ache a while ago but I kept going until now. "Why does my whole body have to hurt?"

My parents laughed and Mom said, "It wouldn't hurt if you weren't hopping and playing all day long. Don't worry you will be able to rest your muscles all day tomorrow when we head back. We will be getting up early tomorrow to make it home in one day so we should go to sleep now. Here you need to eat." She laid down in front of me showing her belly. I crawled up to her and started nursing. After I felt full, I yawned and we all curled up together to fall asleep.

End of Chapter