Chapter 3: Throné & Antony

Antony knew nothing about Snakes of any kind, human or otherwise. He just knew to avoid the collared humans from a young age. It was just common sense for an Eevee that - for some godsforsaken reason - decided to call a city like New Delsta home. Really, the location was the lesser of the two evils; the monsters outside the city were much more fearsome than the humans in this city. At least he could outsmart the humans as many times as he needed to. While he wasn't the fastest Eevee in the city by a long shot, he liked to think he more than made up for that in bulk and simply knowing where to hide.

It was only a matter of time before he walked right into a trap - and a net, to boot. Antony had been so focused on trying to get out of the trap that he hadn't noticed the Snake approaching until it was too late. Ugh, he really hoped it wasn't the harsh and loud one. Or - gods help him - the fat lady. Getting captured was one thing, but he'd much rather not get caught by those two in particular.

Thankfully, it didn't seem that was the case. It was a human woman with brown hair that had approached. Her face didn't seem to hold any mirth or joy whatsoever...in fact, she seemed a little sad. Before Antony could wonder about that, the woman raised a finger to her lips.

"Shh," she urged the little one. "Keep quiet. I'm going to set you free."

Antony was stunned, and before he knew it he and the net had fallen to the ground in a heap. The woman was even kind enough to help untangle him from the net as well. If there was any doubt that she meant what she said, it was dashed as the Eevee wriggled out of the ropes. He wanted to get a better look at her face, to thank her properly...but by the time he got his bearings, all he could see of her was her back as she walked towards the backstreets.

The little Eevee followed, making his best effort to not get caught by anyone else. He stopped his pursuit when he saw her walking into the fancy building where the Snakes convened. He had a hard time thinking about how someone so kind could be one of them.

The second time he encountered the woman - who he had learned was named Throné - was after he evolved into a Vaporeon. It rained often in this area, so said evolution didn't come as too much of a surprise. If anything, this helped him exponentially when it came to hiding from most of the Snakes.

Throné was the exception to that. Their encounters were similarly short to their first - although she had these delicious little dried fruits on her that she gave him. It didn't take Antony long for him to learn that he wasn't the only small creature she doted on; there was a stray dog as well. Perhaps she was a lover of animals at heart.

It was learning about her desire for freedom that really tugged at Antony's heartstrings, though. It was one thing to live on the streets and survive like he did...but he didn't want to imagine being forced into that kind of lifestyle. How could Throné ever stand it?

Thankfully, it wouldn't be long before Throné pursued that freedom she so craved. And of course Antony was adamant on coming along. He wanted to be able to help her like she helped him, how could he do that if he was in the city and she wasn't?!

Other than a gentle protest on Throné's part (about how Antony really didn't have to come along with her), nothing was said as the two walked into the night.

Author's Note: Honestly, the only reason Throné doesn't have an Umbreon is because I already gave Therion one in the previous Octopath EV and didn't want to pair the same profession with the same Eeveelution. To explain Vaporeon specifically; several of its PokeDex entries state that it has the ability to become invisible in water. Figured it'd be perfect.