The Doomed Sprout
Chapter 6
Out of all the reasons to leave their peaceful little spot, for it to be Lumin was the last one Fen would've ever guessed. Still, it's kinda hard to ignore the fact that they're now running away under the shine of the moonlight, the forest that only the Shinx of their party ever got to enter slowly disappearing from view. Fen was internally praising Sera's decision to teach her how to run first, because her old self would most definitely be falling behind, in both the figurative and literal sense, yet she's able to somewhat keep up with the Eevee. Surprisingly, Lumin was ridiculously effective at running through the rough terrain, never slipping once or getting distracted... Never looking back for either of his comrades either, though, but maybe that was due to the angry expressions and sparks made by his family, chasing right behind us. Must be pretty daunting to face them, even if only by sight, whatever he did to make them this angry wasn't something he could just take back.
« H-hey, Sera, do you know... what's going on ? », the Nidoran said, panting already.
« Aside from the fact that I was lied to about being protected ? Nothing ! », she flared, glowering at her before tripping and refocusing on the path ahead. « All I heard is something about Outcasts, but Lumin was the one they were chasing, not us ! »
Fen looked at the Pokemon in question. « He's been the one feeding them, heck, I'm pretty sure they're not catching up to us because they've been doing nothing but eating and sleeping, you can't blame me for not thinking his family would turn on him ! »
« I don't know what you were thinking, but that's not how Commons work ! »
« Fine, fine, run now, figure this out later ! »
Sera nodded at this, before hastening her pace, much to the Nidoran's despair, who was barely able to keep up.
As the trio kept running, the growls and sparks grew more and more distant, though so did Lumin, his fur and tail shimmering in the darkness, giving them a direction to follow, even if it was likely the Shinx was just running straight ahead blindly, all the wind and dust making it hard to look around. Eventually, the pair couldn't even see the Pokemon chasing them anymore, they'd probably gotten too exhausted to keep chasing, or they somehow managed to hide their sparks and light, which Fen desperately hoped wasn't something they could do. Still, it seemed Lumin hadn't realized, as he just kept running and running, forcing Fen and Sera to give chase again. He eventually led them into a forest, this one much more akin to a jungle, with various trees of different heights and shrubs all over, hiding Lumin from sight. As the Eevee yelled in his direction to come back, Fen took some time to focus on the scents all around her, now that they were in a much less windy area. She picked up on a familiar Shinx's scent, and started to move again, poking at Sera to follow her. Wherever they ended up in, yelling in the middle of the night while being chased wasn't a good idea.
It took a few hours of walking around the trees and sneaking near a few sleeping Pokemon (would ten meters be deemed as ''near''?), but eventually, the trail of scent came to an end, Lumin staring them down as they approached, and Sera doing very much of the same back at him. Fen, meanwhile, looked very uncomfortable about this entire situation.
«..Hey, listen, I don't know what happened, but all I know is we're now in a forest, and we all want to sleep. So how about we just look for someplace safe, and deal with.. whatever happened later ? »
Sera grumbled, moving her gaze away from Lumin. « Like we can even sleep, A Luxray pack on our tails is likely to keep running through the entire night »
« Are you sure about that ? They managed to lose us as it is, when clearly they should've been faster. Heck, Lumin's managed to lose us for a while, and he's supposed to be young ! », Fen pointed out. « I remember him telling me he was hunting for all of them, so maybe they're just completely out of it ? »
Sera tilted her head, seemingly confused « ...I didn't catch that. But I guess they can't find us in this forest. The other Pokemon that are in there though… We need a spot to hide in »
« ...Ah, heck, I was thinking about using the iPod, but I forgot it all the way back... »
« I got it », Lumin's voice rose up, though it seemed strangled. He was looking away while speaking. « It doesn't work right now ».
While her plan was still ruined, a sense of relief washed over at the fact that she didn't lose such a relic from the past, and a bargaining tool to keep Sera around. Speaking of…
« Out of batteries, probably… Any survival tips, Sera ? »
« If there was a strong Pokemon that left some aura around, most Pokemon will stay away. It'll only last for a few days though »
Lumin stood up, not saying a word, shining and wagging his tail lightly as if to invite the others to follow him, before moving to the right. His paws were barely making any noise, moving swiftly and letting a slight burn on some leaves from the electricity building up, which made Fen realize once more just how screwed she really was on that first day, had that Shinx not let her climb the tree, she'd be dead as soon as she fell asleep. Her mental thanks to the tree gods was interrupted as she bumped into an annoyed Shinx's behind, followed by another bump on her own behind by an Eevee lost in thoughts. Fen giggled at that, before looking over Lumin, to see a dozen tree stumps, alongside broken trunks and scattered leaves. Her control over the aura wasn't very strong, only letting her feel some purple wiggles at the center of the destroyed stumps, though her instincts let her know whatever was here was deadly.
« Are we sure that's a good idea ? What if the Pokemon comes back ? »
« I'll keep watch », offered Lumin, although it seemed more like an evidence, the way he said it.
« Good », Sera said flatly, before nudging the Nidoran to move. « Cmon, let the stupid Shinx make up for bringing us into this, and let's sleep »
Fen sighed, before acquiescing, going to rest on the smushed grass, Sera piling on top of her unapologetically. It was going to be a short night, but no one was in the mood to argue.
As her eyes were closing in with exhaustion, she could see Lumin getting closer, his frustration apparently letting way for the warmth of a cuddle bed.
Through the dense forest and the lush trees, light finds its way onto the ground, illuminating the surroundings and slowly waking up all the Pokemon living in the area. Soon enough, the trees started wobbling around as Mankeys moved along the branches, dodging the Chargabugs hanging around. Pokemon of all sizes spring into action, scouring their area to guarantee their safety, and hopefully find a Pokemon that hasn't woken up yet. Of course, they've all made sure to avoid the ''death's lair'', where a dangerous Ursaluna lived… at least for a few months. There had been a huge fight a few days ago, and no one dared to look in the den to see the result, as a second, even stronger smell filled the air that day, and still was scattered all around. No one, that is, except one curious Spinarak, who was lucky enough to survive entering the lair, and who knew that it was now unoccupied, a perfect chance to set up a gigantic web in peace ! Though, to her immense surprise, it seemed he was beaten to the punch by a rather strange group, at least that's what her senses were telling him, and one of them was… It was an equally powerful scent to the last one, and he wanted nothing to do with this. The Spinarak quickly fled, hoping to finally claim the area for himself later, weaving its way onto the branches and ignoring all other Pokemon that presented a lesser threat than whatever was in the clearing, passing by even Outcasts lugging around a…
Wait, Outcasts ?
The Spinarak grew frustrated, hiding in the tree he was latched onto. What was up with the forest today ?! Nothing but trouble, that's for sure. In the meantime, he'll have to stand there and watch for an opening. Outcasts are easy prey, after all...
Now that the sun was up, the trio of Pokemon were all doing their morning chores, from Lumin who had gone for a small hunt (for vegetables, which confused the Eevee), to Sera who decided to clean off her fur from all the dirt and dust thanks to a nearby muddy pond, and Fen who was sleeping soundly, still struggling to get her sleeping schedule to adapt to the new world. When Lumin came back carrying some Pecha and Leppa berries, Sera attempted small talk.
« So… How come you're only bringing berries, and not meat ? I thought you were a hunter »
« The Nidoran asked before to not bring any meat as food. I eat meat during the hunt for berries, if I come across any Pokemon », he grumpily replied.
« I mean, Nidorans don't eat too much meat, but it's weird still, food is food... »
« She is indeed weird ». Lumin seemed uncomfortable, for whatever reason, which Sera caught onto.
« Err, right, well, thank you for the meal, and we should wake her up soon, no ? Does she always sleep this much? »
« I've not been around her long enough to know, but back then on the tree, she did wake up late. Dangerous habit »
« ...Okay, I suck at this, let me just wake her up, she can do the talking with the dumb commons ». Right as she said this, the Eevee put a paw in her mouth, before squeaking « Sorry, no offense ! ».
Sera quickly swatted at Fen's head with her tail, still wet from the muddy bath, which jolted the poor Nidoran awake, lunging away by instinct.
« Wow, I didn't know you actually had survival instincts. Nice », teased the shiny, though her quivering smile betrayed her anxiety. Why do I keep antagonizing the two Pokemon not trying to kill me ! And why am I standing there !, she thought. Thankfully Fen seemed to not mind, stretching her muscles.
« You keep getting awfully close to my spikes, you know, that's not so bright from you », Fen replied with a smile, before turning her attention to the berries on the ground, salivating at the thought of dinner. That'll have to wait though, as she looked at Lumin.
« Alright. It's the morning, and even if we're probably all angry, I feel like we need to clear things up before doing anything else. Lumin, what in the heck happened back there for that Luxray family, which I'm pretty sure is your family, to start chasing you for so long ? »
The Shinx spaced out for a second, before sitting down and looking back at Fen and Sera
« It's because of you three. You contaminated me »
Sera scoffed, while Fen simply focused on what was said.
« By contaminating, do you mean that you've started copying what we do ? », Fen asked, Sera raising a paw in confusion.
« Yes. I've been gathering leaves to sleep better. And I shouldn't, it's dangerous »
« As in oversleeping, or is there more to it ? »
Sera stood up, as Lumin glanced at her before replying.
« Outcasts are seen as easy prey due to them not having good instincts. If I start acting like an Outcast, I'll be attacked a lot more, and so will be my nest »
« So your family pushed you away to protect themselves ? »
« Yes »
Sera cleared her throat, as a frustrated Nidoran paid her no mind.
« But that's stupid, you're the one feeding them ! We all saw that during the chase, they couldn't even keep up, they're all bent out of shape and eating too much ! How do they plan on hunting ! »
« Outcasts do not belong in a family ! », Lumin lashed out, baring his fangs, scaring Fen and Sera away, the both of them jumping backward from the sudden intense reaction. « I've tried », he mumbled, before slouching on the dirt.
Sera tentatively walked to the Shinx, patting its fur. To Fen's surprise, Lumin seemed to relax at that contact, lightly purring despite his gloomy expression.
« You mean the third Pokemon that ''contaminated'' you ? », she asked.
Lumin nodded. « I am not the youngest of the pack, there was one besides me before. An Outcast »
« I don't remember you ever bringing that up. Weren't you the one all up in arms about Outcasts being dangerous while also being easy prey, and all that stuff ? », Fen chimed in, annoyed.
« And I'm right, aren't I ? », he replied, his voice cold. « I've kept her around me too long, trying to teach her how to survive and hunt, and in the end, she was still the same as ever, so they chased her off »
« They ? So you didn't want to do that ? », Sera questioned, still petting Lumin.
« ...No »
The Eevee seemed pensive, apparently piecing things together. « Is that why you're not attacking me, and why you listen to Fen ? Because you've been used to how Outcasts act ? »
« I don't know »
The discussion slowly died down, Lumin not wanting to talk on the matter more. Slowly, the little group ate up the berries and prepared to get going, though there was only a crude plan on what to do : find someplace safe. They couldn't go back, and none of them had gone this far away, especially Fen, who happened to be the one making the decisions. According to Sera, the leftover aura was going to dissipate ''too fast'' for them to remain here another night, so they needed to get a move on, hopefully without any Luxrays around to chase them
As Lumin was about to lead, Fen stopped him, strapping back the charger onto his leg once again. Wherever they end up being lost, there'll always be some music to cheer them on. Keeping Pokemon at bay helps too, I suppose.