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Chapter 8

"Settling In"

"Avery..."

"Avery."

The boy suddenly awoke, to the gentle prodding by Luna. He looked up groggily at her as she giggled, "Not tired huh?" She teased him.

Rubbing his eyes and yawning, he smirked, "Maybe just a little."

Luna stood up slowly, offering her hand down to the boy. He took it and looked around as they stepped out of the taxi, "Where are we?" Avery questioned.

Ares joined him on his left as the taxi began to take off. And the sight Avery was given made him gawk in awe. "At your new home," Luna said, rubbing his hand calmingly.

The house was less of a house, more like an entire mansion. When Avery had heard of a mansion this was the exact thing that would come to mind. They were in a large driveway with a fountain, a hedge maze and garden out front. The mansion itself was at least three stories tall, and that wasn't even counting a potential attic. The house was mostly made of a light stone brick, with the roof being a dark gray tile. The mansion clearly had multiple sections, with the main section, and two off-sections to the left and right. With a garage on the left, and on the right it almost seemed to have a tower. Avery was in complete shock at the view, unable to comprehend that this would be his new home.

Luna giggled at his expression, "I know, it's a lot…"

Avery couldn't even find his words, "But… how… why?"

She hummed, "It's a long story, we can get into it later, alright?"

Ares laughed, "Yes, I think I've gotten lost a time or two when I was new to this place."

Luna gently began to guide the child forward, towards the towering mass of a building. Ares interlocking his arm with her other as they walked. They came upon the doors, which were large and looked heavy. The door unlocked from the inside without Luna having to lift a finger, and they opened it.

Upon stepping inside Avery wasn't even able to look around, as a few party poppers went off, and a resounding cacophony of pokemon called out, "Welcome home Avery!" Avery reeled in shock for a moment at the sight, even if he couldn't hear them. There was a big banner with the same words on it, a few balloons, and a bunch of pokemon. He could only guess what they were based on what they were wearing, but it was mostly suits, dresses, and a few were wearing aprons and chef hats.

Luna gasped in surprise, and Ares immediately chuckled. Luna held her hands together, "Oh my… you didn't have to do all of this!" she said to the pokemon she considered friends more than servants.

Her secretary Sarai spoke first, as she stepped forward in front of everyone, "Of course we didn't. We wanted to, dear!"

Another one stepped forward, a Heliolisk wearing a suit, "We've had this planned for months, waiting for the day you got the news!"

Luna smiled as tears brimmed her vision, "Thank you." she leaned down and pulled the still shocked Avery close to her in a hug, "This is all for you Avery! I'll admit, I'm surprised too."

Avery nodded as he blushed wildly, every single pokemon was now looking at him. All in happiness and intrigue. Luna put her hand on his shoulders and stood back up, as she kept him in front of herself, "Avery, these are all my friends. I have half a mind to call them all family."

Avery looked around in shock still, a Mienshao, Heliolisk, Aegislash, Haxorus, Emolga, even an Arcanine. The list went on as a few more than a dozen pokemon looked back at him. Avery lifted his arm slowly and waved shyly, "H-Hi everybody. Nice to meet you."

Luna smiled, but slowly she looked downcast again as she looked up at everyone. "Everyone, this is Avery. He's unable to hear, so the only way to communicate right now is telepathically or on paper." She finished with a nod.

A lot of them seemed apprehensive, a few of them held back their saddened looks as they gasped. Sarai couldn't contain her sadness as she walked around the child who was looking around curiously and grabbed Luna's hand in both of hers, "Dear you told me…"

Luna nodded sadly, "He lost it that day. I didn't even know…" She felt new tears brimming her eyes.

Sarai quickly rubbed her hand soothingly, "No dear it's alright. He's home now, come, let's celebrate!"

Avery knew that their surprised reactions were probably them all learning he was deaf. So while Luna explained he studied the interior finally. The main room they were in was a typical mansion with two staircases on each side leading up to the second floor. And in the middle of that was a glass chandelier. The walls were a darker material that resembled wood, with the floors being about the same but some other kind of wood, and much shinier as if it was polished hourly. The ceiling, which looked miles away to the child, was a cream color. Around the walls were multiple light fixtures and a few paintings, mostly landscapes and such. The few chairs and other furniture he could see were all a cream color as well, with a dark oak frame.

The thing that stood out the most however, was the foldable table that had a bunch of snacks on it. Just seeing it made him feel his stomach rumbling as he looked around. Most pokemon were conversing, a group was around Ares, and Luna was still with her secretary. Avery walked over and gently grabbed her paw, to which she quickly looked down and smiled, "Oh I'm sorry honey. Is this too much? I can show you to your room if you'd like."

Avery shook his head, "It is a lot… but I um… I'm hungry."

She seemed to start giggling as she looked up at the table full of snacks, "This is your welcome party Avery, and your new home, you don't need permission to check out the snacks."

Ares chimed in, "Try them! Avan has some of the best tasting foods I've ever had."

Luna nodded at that, and gently gripped his hand. "Just don't make yourself sick, okay? Oh, also dinner hasn't been served yet, so don't fill up!"

Avery nodded and she released his hand, he laughed a bit, "Okay mom, jeez…"

Luna froze momentarily but quickly realized he was joking and rolled her eyes, "Alright, go explore!" she said, gently pushing him forward a bit.

Avery obliged and passed through to the table, he arrived at the white clothed table and at eye level he was absolutely enamored by the selection. Small sandwiches, truffles, a chocolate fountain… It all looked absolutely wonderful to him. He grabbed a small plate, getting a wide assortment of things to try. Looking up at the very top of one of the glass towered holders, he noticed something he absolutely loved, chocolate covered pretzels. Sadly, he was too short to reach it, and he didn't feel comfortable climbing on the table. Reaching one hand up futilely just to confirm, a saddened expression washed over his face for a moment.

A large orange and black paw scared him for a second as it reached up and grabbed a handful, depositing it onto his plate for him. Avery looked to his left curiously to notice the Arcanine from before, they smiled down at the child before winking at him and leaving him to his devices. Avery watched the arcanine in stunned silence for a moment, smiling finally as he looked down at his plate.

Finding a chair in a corner of the room where he could analyze everything, Avery took his first bite. And clearly Ares hadn't been lying, he hadn't had such good food in a long time. Even if it was simple, it was vastly better than canned foods which he'd grown accustomed to. And while the food at the Rehab Center was better, it still tasted like he expected it to, mass produced food meant to fill them up. But this was different, it tasted homelike, as if someone put in effort to make the best they could.

This made Avery halt as he almost bit into a sandwich, he looked around again. And once again it hit him that this was all done for him. And if not for him, because of him at the very least. He didn't know how to feel about it. He scanned the pokemon again, Ares was heatedly speaking of something that he could not know. And Luna was surrounded by some other female pokemon, he assumed she might be talking about him or otherwise. 'Not everything is about me.' he had to remind himself mentally. The inability to hear definitely worried him sometimes now that he'd been found, anybody could talk behind his back and he'd be none the wiser. Trust doesn't come too easily when you let yourself think like that. He saw his reflection in the plate below him, 'Being deaf doesn't make you special in a bad way Avery.' He smiled slightly as he remembered Avah's words to him in the first days of the apocalypse, then he frowned. He'd likely never see her again, phones were useless as well…

Looking up again he noticed the Arcanine, they were off to the side just like he was, scanning the crowd and idly picking at a few snacks. He studied them for a moment, noticing the pink flower in her mane, and the pink scarf she wore around her neck. He thought at that moment that she looked rather lonely, however, who was he to talk? He knew nothing about this place or who stayed here. But he couldn't help but admire the Arcanine, it had always been one of his favorite pokemon. He remembered a day when he might've caught one at the expense of his parents, but the memory faded fast.

He realized he might be staring too much when the Arcanine glanced at him, it took Avery a second to realize he wasn't invisible as he averted his gaze, hiding his blush of embarrassment at his lack of manners. He couldn't help but glance back again, and she was still looking his way with a tilted head, and when his eyes exuded surprised, he swore he could see her giggle. This sent Avery over the edge of embarrassment, he was purely terrible at acting like someone of high society. Surely if the Arcanine were to tell Luna she'd be disappointed, he'd been stuck in a bunker for most of a year, his social skills were clearly lacking. Here he was sitting in a corner away from the crowd, at his own party!

In the corner of his vision he noticed a flash of orange, looking up to his right with unease the Arcanine sat there. She smiled down at him with what he could only assume was her attempt at acting nice after he'd been rude. Slowly she held her paw up and put it out, it took a moment for Avery to realize it was supposed to be a handshake. Slowly Avery lifted his arm and grabbed her paw, his hand was merely the size of a single one of her toes. He knew Arcanines were massive, but this definitely was an understatement compared to what he felt now. "H-Hello…" Avery muttered with a gulp as she gently shook his hand.

She nodded, and Avery felt a psychic connection prick at his mind. He was confused, as it felt nothing like Ares. It felt like a new one, cautiously he decided to allow them into his headspace. A habit he deemed to be a problem, but one problem he would save for different times. After allowing it in, there was a bit of a fiery rush through his body, faint and distant though it instantly passed. And though he allowed it in, he blocked the connection from his emotions, purely allowing the contactor the ability to communicate. "Nice to meet you." A voice simply said, soft and sweet, yet a hint of fiery passion hid behind it.

"H-Hi?" He asked nervously.

The Arcanine chuckled on his right, "It's okay human. I am not trying to intrude on your mind I promise."

Suddenly realizing that the psychic connection was from the Arcanine, Avery's confusion ran wild. But he replied, "O-Oh, right. Sorry for staring." Avery said, scratching under his ear and avoiding eye contact.

She hummed, "I hadn't noticed, eye contact means that you humans wish to talk right?"

Avery stuttered, "W-Well yes sometimes it's… I wasn't trying to…" Avery sighed to himself at his own mannerisms.

The Arcanine nodded her head once, "I see. I'm sorry I must've misjudged the situation. Forgive me, young human."

She began to turn when Avery felt bad, "N-No I'm sorry… I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. It's not that I don't want to talk."

She stopped her turning and tilted her head again, "Oh. I misjudged again, sorry human, I'm not used to this."

Avery's curiosity over her own mannerisms increased, "No you're okay. I'm Avery by the way… unless you prefer to say human."

She smiled, "I'm Nadia. I don't like calling others by their name before they introduce themselves, I've been told it can be rude."

Avery continued his curiosity, "Why is your default to say 'human' though? Not to be rude or anything!" He reassured her.

Nadia tilted her head and looked upward as she thought to herself, "Is that not proper? I haven't interacted with many humans I admit. What should I have called you?"

Avery felt flustered, she was technically correct. He knew it'd be rude to say she sounded sorta robotic or evil when she said human. But he thought again for a second, "Well, if someone didn't know your name, would it be correct to say 'pokemon' or 'Arcanine' in the same situation?"

Her eyes widened and she thought for a lot longer, before she shook her head, "That would be odd too. If I haven't introduced myself yet, it's usual for them to say Ma'am or miss to me. Does that mean saying 'human' is just as odd?"

Avery slowly but surely nodded his head, and the Arcanine put a paw to her face in admonishment, "Oh my. I'm sorry, I'm still learning about society and all. What would it have been normal to call you?" she asked in curiosity.

Avery thought for a moment, "Uh, kid… child… you know. Usually age related words until we're adults, then we go by ma'am. miss, sir… the same things you'd call other pokemon now."

Nadia nodded intently, as if she was mentally writing it down in her mind, "I don't know the difference between kid and child… is that like calling someone a pup?"

Assuming she meant puppy, as in Growlithe or young Arcanine, Avery nodded at her. The pieces finally connected in Nadia's mind and she smiled brightly, bowing gratefully. "Thank you so much for explaining that, pup. Ever since I've become part of this society after being a wild pokemon, it's been very jarring. I am kind of liking it though."

Avery blushed and nodded, "Of course Nadia…" Silence reigned for a moment as Avery felt like questioning her now, "I am curious though, how can you speak to me? Aren't you only a fire type?"

She nodded, "We can learn psychic powers, just not the big scary ones. I always had somewhat of an affinity for it."

"So any pokemon that can use psychic powers at all can speak telepathically?" Avery questioned as he leaned in.

She scratched her ear, "Oh, uh, not quite. You have to choose to learn the ability to do it, it doesn't come naturally."

Avery nodded in understanding, choosing not to pry more than he should as he figured he was probably already annoying the Arcanine enough. But he did want to ask her something, but his face flushed red in embarrassment he decided to ask anyway, "Nadia?"

She watched his face with a raised eyebrow and mild amusement, "Yes?"

Avery felt like running away but pressed forward, "May I… Um… Feel your mane?"

She giggled, laying down to be closer to him and slowly putting her head near him. Avery gently and cautiously held his arm up, putting it on the side of her face where her mane started. His eyes widened immediately, it was way softer and pillow-like than the child had ever imagined. And he could feel a lively warmth that washed over his fingers as they streamed through her mane. Nadia closed her eyes and slightly leaned into him, it almost seemed she was enjoying it. Avery felt her regular fur on her head, it was silk-like and still felt warm to the touch. It took Avery a few moments to realize that he was essentially petting her, and he suddenly felt ashamed of himself as he retracted his hand, "S-Sorry Nadia… I'm being very rude, you're not just some animal."

Nadia opened her eyes and looked at him with a saddened expression, mixed with almost a hint of annoyance and a short growl escaped her maw, "When did I say you could stop-... Sorry." She said suddenly, covering her mouth with widened eyes, "I don't know where that came from… Forgive me... It's quite alright though Avery, I have to admit I understand why other pokemon would let humans pet them. It feels… good." She said quietly. Avery almost saw her stripes on her cheek turn pink as if she was embarrassed by herself.

Suddenly Nadia's ears perked up, and she looked over at the rest of the party. She nodded and said something out loud, before turning back to Avery, "Your mother is calling for you pup."

Avery flustered again and averted his gaze, "She's my best friend. Not my mother."

Nadia's eyes gleamed and she tilted her head for a moment, "I must've misjudged the situation yet again. However, it was good speaking to you Avery."

Avery stood up and bowed politely, "You too Nadia, we should talk again some time."

Nadia smiled, "I would like that." She replied.

Finally taking his leave from the Arcanine, and depositing his plate of food in a trashcan nearby. He walked over to where Luna and Ares were standing, he really felt out of place in the open here. But Luna's smile was gentle as she gazed at him. Ares pricked at his mind and he opened, to hear Luna tease him near instantly, "I see you made a friend."

Avery agreed as he nodded his head, "She's eccentric, but she's very polite."

Luna giggled, "Nadia is a darling, she's an adolescent, the youngest pokemon around here, she's taking a while to adjust. I'm actually glad you two met, maybe that's what she needs."

Avery chose to stay silent on that, as he looked between her and Ares, "Nadia said you called for me. Is everything okay?"

Luna's eyes widened, "Oh yes. I wanted to ask if we could take a photo with you."

Avery laughed a small bit and raised a brow, "What? What's it for?"

She leaned down and pulled him in closer, "Just a reminder of the wonderful day I brought you home is all." She said in a reminiscent tone.

Avery shrugged, "I don't look nearly as pretty as you Luna, but I'll take it if you'd like."

Luna blushed, "Oh you're just too sweet Avery. Nevermind that, I'm not going to make you dress in fancy clothes unless you want to. Alright?"

Ares cleared his throat and interjected, "Most pokemon around here consider it weird that I still follow the tradition that I shared with my previous trainer." Ares looked left and right before giving me a mischievous smile, "Honestly, the others think I'm a little weird for wearing kimonos."

Avery laughed at that, "I think they look cool. Probably comfortable too, unlike those suits."

Ares stood up and held his arms out with a smile, "I know right? I've tried to tell them that too!" They both laughed at that.

Luna perked her head up, "Alright you two, the photographer is coming, heads up."

It was a few hours later. The party had mostly ended, and Avery had dinner with his two caretakers in a private dining room. Avery was grateful for the party, but was exhausted all the same. It had been a long day, and Luna knew it when she looked over at the little boy as he struggled not to doze off. Luna giggled shortly before walking over and gently petting his head, "Avery dear, you look exhausted. Would you like me to show you your room?"

Avery slowly nodded, and got down from the chair, she glanced at Ares who was smiling at her, "I'm going to settle him in."

He nodded, "I could use a bit of sleep as well, I will see you in the morning Avery." He said ruffling his hair a bit before exiting. He stopped himself slightly, "Oh, and I'll keep the connection up for a bit, I'll tune out." Luna nodded at him.

Luna gently guided the child back to the main room of the mansion and up one of the large sets of stairs, "Careful now, I don't want you to trip."

He yawned, "I'm okay Lulu."

She smiled, "The third floor is where everyone else lives, and where my office is. This second floor is mostly our bedrooms and a few guest ones."

She led him all the way down the left hallway to a larger door, "And this room is all yours honey." she opened it, and even the tired Avery widened his eyes at the sight of it. The room was large, the same size as the first story of his old house would've been. The walls were gray and blue, and the floor was stained wood, with a large carpet covering the half with the bed that was colored black. The bed itself was larger than any he'd ever used, the size of his old parents bed. It had a large frame with large dark blue curtains he could shut to enclose it. There was a corner of the room with a large TV and a few beanbags, and he spotted a game system under it. Another wall had a large bookcase, but it had only about a dozen books so far. On the far wall was a large arched glass window into the back garden, with a small cushioned platform to sit on in front of it.

Avery was speechless as he continued to scan the room, "L-Luna… You didn't have to do all of this…" he said quietly.

She leaned down and gave him a short hug, "Of course I did, this is your home Avery, and I'm going to give you the best that there is. Do you like it?"

Avery slowly lifted his hand and wiped away a couple tears as he sniffled, "Y-Yes I do."

She kissed his forehead gently, then offered him her hand again. He took it and she led him to the far wall, there was a whole bathroom that was entirely his, as well as a much larger than needed closet. Inside the closet was a bunch of stuff from his old room, "I didn't know where you'd want this, or if you would. But it's in here if you want it." Avery nodded.

Avery yawned again though, and felt himself leaning farther and farther against Luna's side. She giggled and bent down to pick the child up, "Okay, it's bedtime Avery. You can explore more in the morning little one." he didn't dispute her as she carried him over to his bed. She pulled the covers back and gently set the child in, Avery was enamored by how soft it was, and another large yawn overtook him as Luna pulled the covers up over him. She leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly, "Sweet dreams, hatchling."

She stood up and was about to walk away, "Luna…"

She turned quickly to the barely awake boy, "Yes dear?"

"I love you,"

Luna didn't know why but that made tears flow from both eyes faster than she'd imagined. She came back over and hugged him again, "I love you too Avery," she said confidently. The boy seemed to almost pass out instantly afterwards. Luna carefully exited the room and turned the lights out, as she took a final glance at the child and smiled sweetly before shutting the door.

Returning to her own room, whilst walking down the hallway she ran into Ares who had just finished coming out of a shower. "Oh, hello dear, I was just going for a glass of water before bed."

She smiled and nodded, "He's asleep, you can cut the connection."

He obliged, then kissed her cheek, "Well? Did he like the room that I painstakingly built?"

She giggled then shoved him lightly, "All you did was design the perfect little boys room, you didn't do any of the work actually building it."

He laughed, "I'll take that as a yes then."

"I am worried about one thing though…" Luna said wearily, as Ares looked at her questioningly.

She sighed, "Miss Lea told me Avery sometimes has night terrors and… We are on the other side of the house."

Ares rubbed her shoulder sympathetically, "He'll be okay. He knows where we are."

Luna sighed but nodded as she rubbed her eyes, "Alright I'm going to bed."

"See you in a few minutes," Ares said with a nod as he continued on his way.

"Luna!"

Luna whipped her head around wildly, "Avery? Where are you? What's wrong?

"Luna help me!" The voice of Avery said in such terror it broke her heart.

All Luna could see in every direction was darkness, and she couldn't stand it, "Avery I'm coming sweetie!"

"Luna, they've got me! Luna help! Please!" He begged.

Luna whimpered and tried running but it never brought her anywhere, and his voice was growing farther away by the second, "Luna, save me!"

"I'm trying!" She yelled hysterically.

"No please, don't!" Avery's voice was nearly gone, "Luna!" was the last thing she heard before his voice disappeared.

"No!" Luna screamed, "Give him back!"

Luna shot back up in bed with heavy breathing, and she glanced around the room in a panic, quickly realizing it was all just a dream. She got her breathing under control and sighed, as her heart rate fell. She laid herself back down in bed slowly, and tried shutting her eyes. No matter how much she tried she felt dread. She couldn't help but feel something was wrong, she knew that she might be panicking for nothing but it was useless.

Slowly she opened her eyes again and left the bed, putting on a gray nightgown and slippers. She exited the room and walked down the large hallway, she felt stupid doing this, dreams weren't real, and there was no safer place than this mansion for the boy. As she got closer to his room, she noticed the door across from his was wide open, and she raised her brow curiously. That was when she noticed Avery's door was open inward as well, and she felt a bit of panic hit her. Had he been kidnapped? Was someone looking for him? She hurriedly ran to the door entrance and peaked inside, and what she saw was nothing like what she expected.

Avery was breathing heavily and shaking on his bed, but wrapped around him carefully and nuzzling his face was Nadia. Avery was holding onto her mane carefully as she continued to console the boy. Luna walked closer, and Nadia's head shot up, "Miss Spirticlaw!" She said worriedly.

"N-Nadia?" Luna expressed confusedly.

She gently unwrapped herself from the boy, much to Avery's dismay, "I-I'm sorry. I heard him whimpering and crying and came across from my room to check on him, he said he was having nightmares. I-I'll leave right away." Avery was watching them with confusion, and when Nadia moved to leave Avery looked upset.

"No!" Luna said with a sigh, as Nadia halted. "I-I mean… It's okay Nadia. He looked to be very comforted by your presence."

"He said holding my mane made him feel much better…" She said sadly.

Luna whimpered, "Please, keep helping him then, if you wouldn't mind?"

She jumped back up and wrapped around Avery again who quickly hugged her, "Yes Ma'am. Would you like me to… connect you?"

With a nod, Nadia brought her in as she walked over and sat on the bed in front of Avery. "What's wrong. hatchling?" She said sweetly as she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"I-It's nothing Luna, I'm sorry I woke you up too… Please don't kick me out." He said slightly panicky.

Luna gaped and brought him closer for a hug, "Kick you out? I would never Avery. You know that!"

He whimpered and stuttered his words, "I-I know… I'm just too much work… I'm sorry." Nadia whined and nuzzled his head again.

Luna grabbed him and lifted him up to meet her eyes, "Stop talking like that this instant. And instead, tell me what happened honey."

He sighed, "It was just… just a nightmare."

"About?" Luna encouraged.

"My parents were there, then they disappeared… Then there was a bunch of fire, and… you were there… You said I was worthless and that I-I would be better off dead. Then a bunch of pokemon laughed at me a-and-" He stuttered so much he couldn't continue. Nadia licked his head gently.

Luna kissed his cheek, "Shh… I'm right here hatchling, please stop crying, I've got you." Luna felt her own tears fall at just how broken her boy was, it made her feel so awful even though she knew that there wasn't anything she could've done. She waited until his cries turned to sniffles, and she nudged him lightly, "Avery."

"Y-Yes?"

She sighed, and locked eyes with him, "Back then, your momma… Your momma made a promise with me. And that promise was for me to keep you safe, and look after you as long as I lived." She waited for Avery to think about those words for a moment, then continued, "I would never break that promise. Not in a million years. I love you, and there's not a single thing that's going to stop me from keeping that promise."

"Luna…" He said sadly.

"And before you asked. Even if she hadn't made me promise, I would've done everything all the same." She reassured him as she rubbed circles on his back.

His breathing had calmed and he slowly opened his eyes again, knowing she was saying the truth. "O-Okay… Thank you… I miss them Luna."

Luna nuzzled him, "I do too little one. So please, don't make me have to lose one more loved one because he thought I would get rid of him..." She begged him.

"Okay… I'm sorry mo-... Luna."

She slowly lowered the boy back into the bed as Nadia hopped off of the bed, and she tucked him in. He looked quite peaceful as Nadia cut off the connection. Nadia looked up at Luna, "I could… stay in here… If you'd like me to Miss." Nadia said with a blush.

Luna smiled at Nadia, "Where do they have you working Nadia?"

She stuttered, "O-Oh… They're teaching me how to do a bit of everything."

"And you sleep in that room across the hall?"

She nodded, "It was supposed to be for guests, but they ran out of room upstairs. It's been a very nice room so far, thank you."

Luna hummed, and leaned down to rest a paw on her shoulder, "I have a special position for you."

Nadia tilted her head as Luna continued, "Could you be my boy's bodyguard? Obviously I'm asking that you keep him safe and stuff but…" Luna sighed, "You already comfort him, I don't want him to feel like he just has a bodyguard that doesn't care for him… I think he needs someone like you, a sort of big sister."

Nadia's eyes widened and she looked up at her, "You trust me to protect him like that Miss Spiritclaw?"

Luna smiled and nodded. "I do, and I think he does as well. Also, please call me Luna like my friends do."

"Yes of course Miss- Luna… I'm excited I've never had siblings, or any kind of family really but that doesn't matter…I'll be the best older sister you ever could ask for." She promised diligently.

Luna nodded at her happily, "I know you will Nadia."

Nadia jumped up on the bed which was plenty big for the both of them. She gently laid by his side, and the boy absentmindedly in his sleep seemed to nestle himself closer to the Arcanine. And Nadia gave him a gentle lick before laying her head above his. Luna smiled and laughed quietly to herself at the sight, Avery had always wanted an Arcanine when he was a trainer. She knew she was bringing her boy home, but she didn't expect to end up with a sort of daughter as well. She knew her boy was safe with Nadia, and so she left back to her room and managed to fall asleep peacefully once again.

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END

Yeah honestly you guys are right, I'm liking the way the story is slowly coming to a close instead of dragging it out. Either 2 or 3 chapters left, I'm happy with it so far. And even if it didn't do well I've had a blast writing it so far. Thank you guys for the reviews, means a lot.

Also to anybody that reads my other stories, either tomorrow or the day after will be a new Fate Decides chapter after 10 long months lol. :)