Hello everybody! Thank you for being patient with me over April. Camp NaNoWriMo was wonderful and I will hopefully be posting the new story I wrote during it here on Fanfiction. It is not a Pokemon story though, so it's okay if you don't want to read it.

Also, I really hope this chapter posts correctly this time. I tried earlier but none of the words would show up, so, if there are any problems and solutions to said problems, please tell me?

Review response: Dear Alice-Chan123, hi! I'm very glad you enjoyed the fixed chapters and I hope you enjoy this one's 'feels' as well. The action should pick up over the next few chapters but this one is more an exploration about the group and how certain members feel about each other. I cannot tell you who Jack is, all I can tell you is that he was very dear to Mira's heart.

Dear Shadow Snivy hello again! Your flashback wish has been granted! I hope you like it, it was the only thing I could really think of. We will be hearing more about the legend Castor was told in future chapters, but since you do not like spoilers, I shall leave it at that. Mira and Dale are very adorable together aren't they? I love the shipping name you gave, Mirale, it sounds like the word miracle, which is what I'm going to need to get those two together officially. So, I got Bolt Strike correct? Yay! I spent quite some time looking up which electric moves a Pikachu couldn't possibly learn to help show how badly Sekani was 'laying it on'. Here is the newest chapter for you, let me know if you can actually read it please, I've been having trouble with the Copy-N-Paste function again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or their world, the only things I own are the characters and the plot.

Chapter Twelve:

Meiro Woods

Trees, that was all any of them could see for miles. Oaks, pines, elms, sycamores, it seemed like any tree type that existed was represented in some form in Meiro Woods. Leal took a deep breath, savoring the exotic scents all around him. With an excited sigh, he turned to Dale, "Friend Dale, your forest never ceases to amaze me! The trees are so numerous and so tall! The air, it smells so ... strange! Like, like..."

Dale smiled in amusement, "Like a forest?"

Leal paused thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose. However, the word I was looking for was 'clean' I believe."

Dale laughed softly, "I'm glad you like Meiro Woods, Leal." The Eevee turned his eyes forward again, focusing on the invisible path ahead. Leal walked alongside him, admiring every aspect of the green haven. For a Pokemon who had spent his entire life in Kasai Desert, the Grasslands had been a shock. Meiro Woods in comparison to either was nothing short of surreal.

Behind him, Leal could hear Castor attempting to make Cora laugh. The poor Squirtle had been very quiet throughout the trip so far, her thoughts no doubt lingering over her missing brothers. He could sympathize in a way. After all, it had taken them just over a week to get to the edge of the forest and another two to get this far inside, anything could have happened to her siblings by that time and she would not know.

On top of that, Meiro Woods had a somehow ... silencing air about it, the towering sentinels of wood seemed to require a hushed tone to things. Even the other Pokemon they had met, Bug-types mostly, had seemed much more disposed to the quieter forms of fun then the rowdy desert residents Leal knew.

Leal looked back down and Dale, "How much farther until we stop, friend Dale? I believe I can hear Ahanu's stomach complaining even from here."

Dale cocked an ear backwards, listening for a moment before replying, "Oh, that? That isn't Ahanu's stomach, that's Sekani. He's probably bored with all of this marching. As for lunch, there should be a stream just up ahead, we can stop there."

Mira spoke up for the first time in over two hours, "I'll scout ahead and let you know how far it is." Before Leal could ask if she wanted an escort, the Pikachu was already gone. Leal sighed, this time unhappily, I understand that she is independent, why must she always do things alone? How am I ever going to repay my honor debt if she is always running ahead?

Leal shook his head sadly, "Tell me Dale, were there females of Mira's disposition in your home den?" Dale didn't respond, he was staring off into the distance where Mira had disappeared with a strangely far away look on his face, as if his mind was no longer tied to the real world. "Dale? Friend? Are you with us?"

Dale jerked slightly and muttered sheepishly, "Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Sorry, what were you saying?" Leal cocked his head at Dale, Strange, he is usually so alert from what I have seen. Why should he become so absentminded so quickly. Nothing has changed in our surroundings since Lady Mira left, so what has sparked it? Wait ... Leal's mind flickered back to all of the other times over the past three weeks when Dale had slacked on his attentive vigil of the world. A piece of the puzzle suddenly began to click into place. Could it be? No, surely not!

Leal's old question was forgotten in favor of a new one, "Friend Dale, what ails you? You seem very distracted of late. Are you becoming ill?"

Dale shook his head, "No, no, I'm fine. Really, I am."

Leal narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "I will not be so easily swayed, my friend. I have noticed your growing distraction for some time now and have finally found the cause I believe." He leaned closer to the Eevee, "I believe that you have become infatuated with the fair Lady Pikachu and seek to gain her affections, am I correct? Hmm?"

Dale's eyes widened and Leal could have sworn that he was blushing under his brown and cream fur, "What? No! No, it isn't like that I swear!" Leal straightened triumphantly, now convinced that he had discovered his friend's ailment.

He clasped his paws behind his back and chuckled sympathetically, "Oh, I knew it! You seek the enigmatic Lady Pikachu's affections but know not how to pierce her cool exterior! That is why you spend so much time with your mind far from our quest! You are in lo-"

Dale frantically pounced on the Riolu with an air of someone desperate, "Keep it down will you? I don't want the others to know!"

As if on cue, Sekani appeared next to them and asked, "Hey, why have we stopped? Does this mean we can have lunch now? Please?"

Dale glared at Leal warningly before speaking, "No, Sekani. There is a stream just up ahead that would make a much better place to have lunch, so you'll just have to wait."

Sekani whined loudly, "But I'm hungry! You aren't going to starve this handsome Aipom until he's nothing more than an empty, ugly husk are you? Think of all the heartbroken ladies I'll never get to meet if you do! Please, please, please?"

Ahanu waddled up from the back of the group, nudging past Castor and Cora to look down and Dale, "Hey, we've stopped. Does that mean it's lunch time?"

Dale was audibly grinding his teeth, "No, Ahanu, it is not time for lunch. There is a stream just up ahead, that is where we will stop for lunch."

Leal squirmed slightly underneath the irate Eevee, "Um, friend Dale? This is most uncomfortable, could you please relinquish your perch upon my person?"

Dale gave him a warning look before climbing off of him. Castor looked puzzled, "Uh, Dale, why were you standing on top of Leal?"

Leal saw Dale's lost and embarrassed look and chivalry overrode the boyish pleasure of teasing his friend for his crush, "It was nothing, Castor. Dale was merely proving his prowess in the art of surprise pouncing."

Castor did not look entirely convinced. The Charmander stroked his strange necklace thoughtfully as he studied Dale and Leal. However, before he could comment further, Mira's voice broke into the conversation, "Are all of you coming or what? The stream is this way."

Leal saw Dale give a tiny sigh of relief as the other Pokemon hurried past in the direction of Mira's voice. Leal smiled, "Do not worry friend Dale, your secret is safe with me."

Dale smiled gratefully, "Thank you."

Leal just shrugged and whispered, "It would be dishonorable to proclaim your affections for Mira to the world before you are ready." Besides, it isn't as if I harbor any feelings for Mira other then friendship.

As the two entered the stream cut clearing, Leal studied Mira from a safe distance. The Pikachu was off to herself as was usual, munching on a piece of fruit that they had collected the day before. Whenever the company stopped to rest, Mira would almost always separate from the others and find a perch to watch the world from. Sometimes when she was watching the world, a dark look would pass over her eyes and one of her paws would clench softly, making Leal believe that she wasn't really paying attention to the scenery around them but was instead wrapped in her own thoughts.

Leal sat down next to Dale and munched absentmindedly on one of the last poffins residing in his bag. Passing one to Dale, he swept his eyes briefly over the others. Sekani and Ahanu were attempting to reach an apple hanging from a branch that was positioned just out of reach over the stream. Sekani was perched on Ahanu's large blue head, stretching out his tail-hand as far as it could go but still lacking the necessary two centimeters that would make his attempts a success.

Cora was floating happily in the water, watching the two ever hungry Pokemon and giggling at them while Castor yelled at the two to stop being greedy and simply eat some of what was in their bags.

Leal's eyes flicked back to Mira who was watching the entire scene with an odd expression on her face. She almost looked like she was smiling, but Leal could see a hint of melancholy in her green eyes. I have seen that look before ... she gets it many times when we are playing and laughing. I wonder what she ponders when she gets that expression.

"She's thinking about Jack." Leal jerked his head to look down at Dale. The Eevee was stretched out on the ground, nibbling his poffin with a vaguely discontent air about him.

Leal glanced from Mira to Dale and whispered, "Say again?"

Dale's ears twitched at the sound of Sekani falling in the stream with a shriek of surprise and whispered back, "Jack. That's who she's thinking about when she gets that look on her face."

Leal pondered this for a moment, "Pray tell then, who is this Jack that makes her so sad?"

Dale's voice became tinged with sadness, "I think Jack was her mate."

Leal nearly howled with surprise, "What?" Dale glared warningly at him and Leal lowered his voice, "Her mate? She had a mate? What happened to him?"

Dale shrugged, "I don't know for sure but I think ... I think he died."

Leal looked over at Mira, the Pikachu had, amazingly, joined in the ruckus Sekani and Ahanu had started by zapping the stubborn apple with a mild lightning bolt. A mate? Really? That would explain her aloof behavior I suppose. After all Pokemon mate for ... oh. Leal looked over at Dale sympathetically. No wonder Dale does not wish for anyone to know of his affections. "I am sorry, friend Dale."

Dale simply sighed, "It's not your fault."

The two Pokemon watched as their friends started a water battle, unable to resist laughing as Castor fled to a safe distance in terror and Mira snorted at their antics. Leal glanced over at Dale and saw that he still looked melancholy. Apparently admitting the impossibility of forming anything other than friendship with the warrior Pikachu out loud was worse then simply letting it lie in his mind.

Leal searched his brain for a way to cheer his friend up. Something he had overheard his father discussing with his older sister came to mind and he turned to Dale, "Do not give up hope, friend Dale. A mate is out there for you somewhere. Perhaps this is simply an ... infatuation with her commanding presence and warrior spirit. Yes?"

Dale seemed to consider this carefully. Finally, his ears pricked up and he smiled weakly, "You are probably right, Leal. I'll feel fine in a little while, once it wears off."

Leal beamed at Dale, his aura throbbing with happiness at making his friend feel better, "Good! Now, if you will excuse me, I must aid Sekani down from that tree." And then give him a firm reminder about why he is not to steal Lady Cora's rations!

Dale watched as Leal, Castor, Cora, and Ahanu all stood at the base of the large oak tree Sekani had climbed, yelling advice and encouragement to help the odd little Aipom down. Apparently, Sekani was as terrified of heights as he was of dark places and Ghost Pokemon. Dale shook his head as Leal resorted to hammering the trunk with his small paws, trying to shake the pesky Aipom down. All this for Cora's poffin stash, he doesn't even like her poffins!

Sekani had first climbed the tree to elude Cora, but then discovered that he had gone much too high. Despite being a climbing Pokemon by nature, Sekani had been raised on the Grasslands where the trees grew only a few feet high at most. Now perched on a branch twenty feet up, he was too petrified to come back down.

Dale listened to the shouting and was reminded of when the group had left the Kasai Caves. Sekani had been the first one out, screaming, "Freedom!" shrilly at the top of his lungs for a full five minutes before running smack into the only cactus in a ten mile radius. His screams had promptly changed from ones of exaltation to ones of agony. It had taken another three minutes before Sekani's friends, aided by Quarry's family, had managed to corner the Aipom and pull out the cactus needles while listening to him scream pure murder.

"How he can fill his lungs with that much air and not look like a floating Jigglypuff is beyond me" Cora had commented as she spread the last of her specialty healing balm on Sekani's various poked areas. Dale had to agree, his energetic friend appeared to have a genuine talent when it came to screaming.

Dale flattened his ears as Sekani proved his mental statement with a stream of shrill pleas for Leal to stop hammering the tree. "Stop! Hold it! I'll get him down!" Dale's ears pricked again at Mira's voice. The Pikachu marched past Leal and glared up at Sekani, "Last chance to come down on your own, Aipom."

Sekani, his eyes squeezed tightly shut, shouted, "I've already told you! I can't! It's too high!" Mira's sigh was audible even from Dale's position on the other side of the stream.

Looking up at him, Mira shrugged, "Okay, you asked for it." Dale held his breath, she isn't going to zap him down, is she? Instead of 'zapping' Sekani down, she shot up the tree like a streak of yellow until she was sitting on the same branch as Sekani. "Now," she said in a calm but surprisingly gentle voice, "I know this is your first time in a tree this size. But, really, it isn't any harder then climbing the Grasslands' trees. So, first, I want you to take my paw."

Sekani shook his head, "No! That's one less paw to grab this branch with!"

Mira simply shook her head, "Come on! You're a tree Pokemon by nature, surely this isn't all that hard?" When Sekani still wouldn't budge, she stated calmly, "Would it help if I used Raichu clan magic to keep you safe and sound?"

Dale's ears shot up at that, magic? Her clan can use magic? Sekani cracked one eye open, "Magic? But ... you said that you're an Electric type. You guys can't do magic."

Mira snorted, "Who says? Besides, how many Raichus and Pikachus have you met to form this 'no magic' theory? So, do you want to try it?"

Half an hour later, the seven friends were on their way again. However, Sekani refused to say so much as two words to Mira. Aipoms did not like to be tricked into bravery, apparently. Dale shook his head in silent amusement as he remembered Sekani bouncing happily from branch to branch on the oak tree once he had been convinced that Mira's 'magic' would keep him safe. Once he had returned to the woodland floor however, Mira had revealed that Raichu clan 'magic' was really just the ability to overcome their fears with a little bit of encouragement and that the only thing keeping Sekani safe in the tree, had been Sekani.

Now that Sekani knew his life hadn't really been protected by magic and that he had been tricked into believing himself safe, he had seemingly forgotten how much fun he had been having in the tree and became instantly incensed at the tricky Pikachu. Still, being tricked out of a tree is better than being zapped out of one. Dale found his eyes wandering to Mira again, taking in the delicate patterns of shadow and light that moved over her glossy yellow fur, the way her black tipped ears twitched subconsciously to every noise the forest made. The strangely vibrate coloration of her eyes. Glancing back at him, she offered a tiny smile before turning her eyes forward again.

Dale suddenly thought back to Leal's words and realized that the Riolu had been very, very wrong. It wasn't her tough warrior spirit or commanding presence that he had grown to love, all of that was just a front. No, the Mira he had grown 'infatuated' with was the hidden one, the Mira that loved to study the stars at night or coax Sekani down from a tree without using lightning. The Mira he had fallen for was kind and gentle, a Pokemon you could trust to keep your secrets and share your woes without complaint. The Mira he loved knew how to play, to dance, to prank, and to smile. The Mira that apparently only came out around him.

Dale shook his head hard enough to make his long ears flap. He had to banish those thoughts, they were improper, "Something on your mind?"

He looked up hastily, blushing under his fur when he realized that Mira had noticed his violent head shake. Doing his best not to stammer he said, "Uh, no! Not at all, I mean ... not really. It wasn't important."

Mira's eyes held doubt, "Are you sure?"

Dale was inwardly flattered that Mira cared enough to press further, as a very private Pokemon herself, she rarely pressed further into other Pokemon's business if they didn't want her too. However, he wasn't about to admit that he had been admiring her in the dappled sunlight. He bit his lip, Oh, boy. I don't want to lie to her, but I can't tell her what I was thinking about!

"Aaah!" Dale's head whipped around, ears snapping straight at the high pitched sound, That sounded like a scream!

The others had heard it as well and their small caravan came to a halt. Ahanu blinked, "Was that what I think it was?"

Castor took the lead, pointing off to the left, he yelled, "It came from that way! Let's go!" His orders spurned everyone into action, Mira springing into the lead with Leal and Dale right on her heels. Dale's heart pounded as the scream sounded again, a desperate ring to it. That does not sound good.

The bushes seemed to part way as Mira surged through the brush and into a new clearing. With practiced ease, her eyes took in what was happening. Curled against the tree, the Paras wailed again, it's small claws raised to fend off its two attackers. A low growl reverberated in her throat, purrloins, I hate purrloins.

Two purrloins paced in front of the trembling Paras, their cruel laughter striking a raw nerve in Mira's soul. "Come on, sweetie, it doesn't have to be this way. Just give us what we want and we'll be on our way." The Paras gibbered something unintelligible, shying away from the taunting paw that batted at her. Flattening her ears against her skull, Mira sparked her cheeks, preparing to give the two sniggering bullies a 'shocking' lesson.

"Hey! You two!" Mira glanced to the side as Dale burst out beside her and called a challenge. Inwardly, she scolded Dale, should have kept quiet, that way we would have the element of surprise.

The two purrloins whirled, obviously not expecting to be interrupted. The one on the right sneered angrily at them, "Yeah? What do you want, Eevee? Can't you see that we're conducting business?"

Mira felt her temper rapidly wear thin, the two bullies reminded her far too much of someone she loathed with all of her being. She took a menacing step forward, "Leave that Paras alone."

From behind her, Leal bristled, "Aye! Cease your foul play with that Paras! You dishonor your clan name with such lowly actions!"

As they others burst from the bushes and voiced their agreement, the two Purrloins exchanged glances. The one on the left sniffed disdainfully, "Dishonorable? Seven against one is hardly any different. Trying to intimidate us?"

The right hand one smirked, "Yeah, if you want to drive us off, at least have the decency to put your honor where your mouth is. Fight us fair and square."

As Mira coiled her muscles to show the two what real 'intimidation' and 'a fair fight' was, Dale's voice murmured low in her ear, "No, let me." Turning her head, she looked at him in surprise. Dale's body was stiff and straight, his ears were standing erect as poles and his fur was fluffed in restrained anger. Still speaking in a low voice, he said, "This is my home. This forest has long stood as a safe haven to the shy and the weak and now those two are trying to take advantage of that. I am not going to let them get away with this. Let me fight them alone."

Castor moved closer to him, "Dale, are you insane? Two against one isn't fair! Besides, those two sure haven't earned any rights to fair play, just look what they did to that Paras."

Dale shook his head, "I am looking, that's why I want to beat them by myself. They think that numbers is all it take to win, if I show them different, it might save others from getting beaten up." He smiled in an oddly cruel way, "And besides, I'd say that a three-legged Pokemon is more than a match for those two spineless excuses for magikarp. We're both missing a limb after all."

Mira felt something twinge inside her, pride perhaps? Castor was glowering and obviously about to tell Dale 'no way', "Okay then, I was getting tired of constantly frying people with lightning anyway."

Cora hissed, "Are you crazy? You can't let him do this! He'll get creamed!"

Mira scowled, "I don't 'let him' anything. It's his choice, besides, it's a good idea."

The others started to protest again but Dale ignored them. Stepping forward, he called, "You two have a deal. A fair fight, me against you two. Loser leaves in shame."

The Purrloins stared at him in disbelief, "You ... against both of us? Really?"

Dale nodded, "Really." The two bullies looked at each other, then back at Dale, and promptly burst out laughing.

Once they'd recovered from their laughter, the male purrloin stood up and struck a pose, "Very well then, Eevee. You will have the privilege of fighting Chono!"

The female purrloin leaped up and struck a perpendicular pose to her sibling, "And Neko!"

Together they slid into fighting crouches and called in unison, "The Perfectly Petrifying Purrloin Pair!" Mira groaned and slapped a paw across her face, the one thing worse then bullies ... bullies with catch phrases and theme songs.

Dale blinked, "Seriously? What kind of two bit criminals take time to make up a choreographed catch phrase?"

Chono and Neko hissed with rage and shouted in perfect sync, "Two bit? Two bit? How about two bite? As in, biting you!" Without further pause, the two purrloins lunged at Dale. The battle was under way.