FSE

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As instructed by Atemis, everyone went about their business into the next day until further orders from Xerneas were received. They were all processing the situation differently. They hardly spoke to each other after their briefing and into the next day, and the morning started as normal, except for the obvious difference. It was a little difficult for Atty to fix breakfast himself, but fortunately, he didn't have to do it alone. The umbreon decided to skip his own meal and spend a little time alone. But unbeknownst to him, someone else had the same idea as well.

Juniper was all too eager to get out of the house. She didn't have much of an appetite today. Her thoughts were all over the place as she thought about her trainer. "I can't believe I almost blurted that out," she thought to herself, "I hope no one caught on. If they were to know... what would they think. What would he think?" The leafeon sighed and rolled on her back as she took in the sunlight. Her mind raced as she thought about the umbreon endlessly, eventually tiring herself out and closing her eyes while the morning sunshine shimmered over her half plant body.

She was about to drift off into a slumber until she heard footsteps nearby. June didn't think anything of it, as she thought someone was just passing through. She knew otherwise when she heard a voice calling out to her from outside the flowerbed. "I know you're in there, June. Come out here." The grass type's heart jumped and skipped a beat at the sound of her name, and immediately sprang up on all fours as she left the cover of her foliage, meeting a familiar lycanroc face to face. Luna gave her a concerned look. "What's going on with you? You're acting even more evasive than normal. You didn't even bother to say hi."

"I-it's nothing. It's just such a beautiful day, and I just wanted to enjoy it alone," June answered with an edgy expression and a coy smile. Luna wasn't having it.

"C'mon, who do you think you're trying to fool? I know you better than that, June, and I know what this is really about."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the leafeon continued to try and tip toe around the lycanroc's confrontation, but it was a losing battle for her.

"Oh, so this isn't about you having a crush on the master then?" Juniper jumped in shock, turning hot and bright red in the face at Luna's sudden proclamation.

"W-what?! Don't be ridiculous! I..I would never!" Luna stared at her with a raised brow. June finally gave in and sighed heavily. "How did you know?"

"I've known for years, June. You always act differently when he's around. I've seen the way you look at him." The leafeon blushed and hung her ears low.

"Am I.. a bad pokemon?"

"Of course not. Why would you even ask that?"

"Well.." June looked away, afraid to make eye contact with the rock type as a look of shame filled her face. "It doesn't seem very... appropriate... to have such feelings for your trainer."

"If that's how you feel, then ask yourself this. Do you think Atty would think any less of you if he knew how you felt?"

The leafeon looked at Luna intensely with wavering eyes. "N-no?" she stuttered.

"Exactly." Luna gave a smile and a comforting paw on the grass type's shoulder. "Listen, I don't know anything about these sorts of feelings, and I can't imagine how troubling it must be for you, especially now. But I do know this. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. The only thing that matters is what feels right to you."

She stared unblinking at the wolf pokemon for a moment, and finally managed to crack a smile. "Thank you, Luna."

"Of course." She hugged the leafeon, who reacted with a quiet purr.

"Does.. anyone else know?" Juniper asked as they separated.

"I don't believe so. They appear oblivious to it."

"What about Atty?" the grass pokemon said with a blush.

"I highly doubt it. He looked pretty clueless." Luna chuckled. "So, how do you feel about Atty's new form? Kinda cute, isn't he" she said with a wink.

June giggled shyly as her cheeks turned rosy. "Y-yes. Maybe in his new form, I could perhaps.." She stopped herself mid sentence. Those feelings of doubt began to overcome her once again.

"What? Tell him how you feel?"

She nodded, "Yes. But.. I don't know if I can. I don't even know where to start."

"Well, you don't have to figure it out right away. It may not be today, or tomorrow, or even the day after. But when the moment is right, you'll know it in your heart."

The lycanroc's compassion and support seemed to brighten up the leafeon's mood. Her ears perked up slightly, and she gave a warm smile. "Thanks, Luna. I have to say, I wouldn't have expected this sort of talk from you. Val's usually the one to handle this sort of thing."

The rock type chuckled. "I learned from the best I suppose. Anything for our little sister. Now, come along. We saved some breakfast for you."

June felt a little growl in her stomach, and giggled, "I am a little half starved after all this moping."

---

Later into the day, at around noon, a lone absol decided to take a short stroll in the woods to help clear her thoughts. She sat under the shade of a mighty oak, listening to the gentle breeze rustling through all the leaves in the forest. Abigail stayed there for about an our, thinking mostly about Atty as everyone else no doubt was. She decided to head back before it got too late. As she approached the property, she noticed a familiar figure in the obstacle course from the thick brush. It was Tess. One of Abby's greatest fears was to be alone around the luxray, which happens more often than not. She could try to find a way around, but the absol feared the risk of making any sort of sound that might draw the attention of the lioness before her. The only other option was to wait for her to leave.

Tess was busy blowing off some energy with some of the dummies in the yard. It was mostly endurance training using her wild charge attack, which as many know, is a powerful electrical attack that always results in recoil damage. Her goal was to reduce this as much as possible to maximize it's benefit. She dug her paws into the grass turf beneath her as she charged her electrical energy. Once the sparks began, she charged at the straw stuffed target, and as soon as her speed picked up, her body became engulfed in golden, voltaic energy. The ground shook beneath her while she rushed towards the mannequin, and drove straight through it as she made contact, causing the dummy to combust and send little bits of hay everywhere. She stopped dead in her tracks, taking a moment to recover from the force of her attack. As she calmed herself, she inhaled deeply, taking a deep breath of the fresh air around her. The luxray's ears perked when she caught a whiff off something out of the ordinary, but yet so familiar. It smelled like a mixture of pecha and cheri. She knew exactly what it was, and chuckled. "Abigail."

She followed the scent towards the edge of the property that led towards the woods, very close to where the absol was hiding. "Oh no," she thought while covering her face with her paws and trembling. As the lioness closed in, she noticed a bit of white in the brush. She smirked, and thought to herself for a moment, then got an idea. She looked around for a second, shrugged, and walked away until she was out of sight. Abby peaked out from the bushes to see if she was in the clear. The luxray was nowhere to be seen. Feeling that she was in the clear, the absol tried to make a beeline for the house. When she reached the halfway mark, she was immediately tackled hard and pinned on her back. She was dazed for a moment, and once her head cleared, the only thing she saw was a pair of yellow eyes surrounded by red sclera staring her down. "T-T-Tess!" she stuttered meekly, "I-I thought you left."

The luxray chuckled. "Far from it, Abigail. I can't believe you fell for that. You are way too naive for your own good. It's almost embarrassing."

"I..I'm not naive.." Abby feebly said, trying hard not to look at the lioness directly in the eyes, as it felt as though Tess was peering into her soul.

"Of course you are, you are just too naive to figure it out, " the electric cat snarked.

The absol became teary eyed. "S..stop making fun of me."

Tess leaned her head in real close until they were nose to nose, leering at the submissive feline beneath her. "Make me."

Abby gulped as her heart raced a bit from the luxray's intimidation. She became paralyzed with fear. "U..uhh."

Tess laughed maliciously and pulled away. "That's what I thought. You don't have the strength nor the courage to stand up to me. All of Atty's pampering and protection has made you weak. As if you weren't already."

"I'm not weak." Abby tried to build up some courage and act tough, if only a little, but failed miserably with a little squeak in her voice. She suddenly felt some pressure and pain on her horn. Tess was pressing her paw hard against it.

"You can't even hold your own in battle, let alone stand up to me. Hell, you even blew it with your mega evolution. It makes me wonder why Atty's bothered to keep you around all these years." Abigail began to tear up and sniffle as she shut her eyes tight and looked away. "You gonna go crying to Atty now? Cause that's the only thing you seem to be good at." Abby was on the verge of tears from the pain and torment caused by the luxray, and as she sat helpless, the absol noticed a glow around the lioness. Tess was suddenly incapable of any movement, and stood there in shock as she felt a force slowly lift her into the air and thrown abruptly across the field and into the straw target dummies, shattering them to pieces on impact. She got up and shook the debris off, but some of the straw remained stuck to her fur like glue. The electric pokémon snarled a bit and looked in the distance to see a familiar purplish figure by Abby's side. "A psychic blast on the unaware, Jewel? Quite a cowardly move, don't you think?"

"At least I don't use my power to bully others. Have you no shame, Tess?"

"Shame? You're one to talk, you little harlot. You're the one always sneaking off for one night stands with males you've barely known a few days." The espeon's little psychic stunt seemed to have left the luxray a little more crotchety than normal. Though her comments hurt, and sparked a bit of ire within her, Jewel was aware of what Tess was trying to do, and knew better than to respond, less she stroke the cat's ego even more.

"If you're trying to coax me into fighting you, you're wasting your time. I am not simple enough to be riled by childish insults, and I won't stoop to your level. Besides I think we both know who would win between us. It's just a matter of brains versus brawn."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tess was getting a little more snarky now, even more than usual.

"C'mon, isn't it obvious? You rely solely on brute force. Therein lies your weakness."

"Why you insolent little- I have no weaknesses!" The luxray's rage went over the edge. She lunged for the espeon, claws extended. When she got close, Jewel's eyes began to glow, and the gem on her forehead sparkled. The cat's attempted assault was halted when she was just mere inches from the espeon, and was covered in the mystical energy once again, and rendered completely helpless as she was suspended in mid air.

"Your weakness, Tess, is anger. It blinds you. And unless you conquer it, it will end up destroying you." Tess was launched back in the direction she came from, right back into the rubble. She huffed and mumbled to herself as she lay defeated. Though her body hurt, the real injury was to her pride. Jewel helped Abigail get to her feet and walked her to the house. The absol clung to the espeon, looking back towards the luxray only to meet angry glares before averting her gaze once more.

---

It was early in the evening. After breakfast, Atty had spent much of the morning avoiding Jewel's advances, and she had been giving, put mildly, very strong signals. He hadn't been a pokémon for more than a day, and already he was getting bedroom eyes, and from his own espeon. He was flustered, confused, and dumbfounded, as Jewel was the last one she expected to exhibit this sort of behavior. He hid in the brush near the lake, but honestly didn't expect it to work in his favor. Thankfully, she left him alone around noon, but rather than go back to the house, Atty chose to use what was left of the day to relax by the basin. The sun felt rather pleasant on his jet black fur as it set behind the trees in the surrounding forest. As it was close to disappearing for the night, his ears perked. His newly heightened senses picked up on footsteps approaching. Figuring it was Jewel closing in, his first instinct was to jump back into the bushes nearby and hope she didn't find him. A light bluish figure appeared. The ninetales, Valentine, was looking around for him, sniffing about and picking up on his scent, following it to the shrubs.

"You can come out, Atty. It's only me." The umbreon poked his head out, sighing in relief when he saw who it was. He shuffled his way out of the thicket to greet her.

"Sorry, Val. I thought you were Jewel."

"Is she still bothering you?" She rolled her eyes, "That girl just doesn't know how to take a hint. I gotta hand it to her though, when she sets her mind on something.. or rather 'someone'.. she doesn't quit until she gets what she wants."

"Has she always been so.. you know?"

"Longer than you can imagine." The vixen huffed. "But you can rest easy, hun. Jewel's a little preoccupied with something a little more demanding at the moment."

"Did something happen?" Atty cocked his head and sat near the kitsune.

"Some trouble with Tess again. Nothing you need to concern yourself with right now, though. But that's not why I'm here. When you ran off and didn't come back home, I began to worry." She sat with him, nudging the umbreon gently with a look of uneasiness. "How are you doing right now, hun? With all that has happened to you so far, I can only imagine what your going through right now."

"I'm adapting. Slowly but surely. My new senses are driving me nuts though. Everything is so much more acute now." His nose and ears twitched a bit as he rubbed a paw over the bright blue ring on his forehead. "Val, how do you live with this day after day?"

"Something you have to get used to, I suppose," she chuckled, "What about Xerneas? Are you at all nervous about what your first task will be?

"Quite," he answered plainly as his ears hung. "And the longer I have to wait, the more nervous I'll become. I've been trying to relax, but haven't really had much success."

"Well, perhaps I can help with that." She placed a paw over his own and smiled warmly.

"Yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"Maybe a change of scenery, for starters. Come with me." She stood up and gestured for him to follow, which he did. The umbreon couldn't help but stare at her tails, all nine of them swaying gently in the air. It was almost mesmerizing to watch. At the same time he was trying not to look at her more private areas, which made his heart race a bit at the mere thought of it. Atty thought it wouldn't be appropriate to look at his pokémon in such a way. He walked with the vixen up the lakes edge a short distance before they stopped. "Have a look." Val gestured upwards above the water. It was an open sky, which gave them a perfect view of the sunset behind the trees. You could hear the kricketots chirping as the sky turned orange and the forest slowly grew dark.

"Pretty," Atty said plainly.

"Yes. What do you say about watching the day end together? What better way to help you destress than spending time with a close friend?" She leaned in and gave him a nuzzle on the cheek, making him blush and chuckle nervously. Val then flopped over on her back to look straight up, patting the soft patch of grass next to her as she made herself comfortable. "Why don't you join me?" He did as asked and took the open space next to her, nearly brushing up against her and lying face up beside her. He smiled and sighed contently at the view of the sky. The ninetales looked over at him and grinned happily as she took note of his relaxed expression. "Feeling any better?"

"Much. Thank you."

They continued to lay side by side until the sun had completely disappeared from view. The moon had taken its place, and it was now dark. Val and Atty chose to stick around a bit longer to enjoy the stars, until the fox pokémon spoke up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Do you ever feel like there's something missing in your life?"

Atty turned over on his side to meet her gaze, cocking his head at her question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, you don't have a mate, and you've never shown any interest in finding one. All of your time is spent caring for us and other pokémon in need."

"Helping those in need has always been a passion of mine. I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else," he answered.

"But don't you ever feel lonesome?"

"Nah. As long as I have my girls in my life, I don't need anyone else. Or anything." He smiled and returned his gaze to the heavens above, until he was interrupted by another question.

"So what do you do when you.. you know.. have urges?"

Atty was shocked at her choice of words. "That's a bit personal don't you think? Where is this coming from?"

"I was just thinking of other ways to help you relax. And perhaps, if you're interested we could.." she hushed herself towards the end of her sentence to see his reaction.

His eyes widened. "Not you too." He shook his head and looked away. "I don't think it's such a good idea."

"Why not?" the ninetales gave a sly smile.

"It would be wrong, because you're a pokémon, and I'm..." he stopped himself at the end as he thought about it more.

"Human?" Val answered for him.

"Yeah. That sort of relation is often looked down upon, and it's even illegal in some regions."

"Why so?"

"It's a consent issue. That and some consider pokémon to be a lesser species." Atty sighed.

"That's a bit insulting, don't you think?" she frowned. "I mean, I'm giving you my consent right now, aren't I."

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then what's the problem? And besides, no one has to know but us. It's up to you, though. I won't force it on you, like a certain espeon we know."

"Thanks, Val. I'll... give it some thought." There was a bit of relief in his tone. But whether it was because of his friend's reassurance, or because the conversation ended, she couldn't tell. They just laid there in the grass for about an hour, watching the stars. But after his little talk with Val, Atty was feeling flustered and couldn't get his mind off the subject of intimacy. The more he thought about what she said, the less strange it seemed. He let out a sigh and spoke up. "Val?"

"Hmm?" she turned and looked at him with a comforting smile.

"I think..." the umbreon's face turned bright red as he worked up the courage to speak up, "I think I'd like to.. give it a shot. But I don't know where to start."

Val rolled over on all fours and crawled up to him. "The most important thing is trust. Atty, do you trust me?"

He just stared for a long moment as she got closer and closer until their snouts were just mere inches from each other. He smiled sheepishly as his heart thumped harder and face grew hot. "With my life." She leaned in and nuzzled him and planted a kiss on his nose, causing him to murr. He suddenly felt something soft press against his lips. Atty didn't have to think about it to know what was happening. They were kissing. He was kissing his ninetales. And for whatever reason, it didn't feel weird at all. In fact, it felt pleasant. It made him feel all warm inside, his heart pound, and a mixture of emotions surge through him. He knew this night, this very moment, would be filled with nothing but love, passion, and ecstasy.

---

The following dawn was rather cool, but not enough to wake Atty and Val up from their slumber. The had spent the night by the lake in each other's arms, so to speak. Atty was snuggled up against the ninetales, and though it was dimly lit, the light of the morning sun hit him in the face and woke him abruptly. He stood up, yawned, and stretched, and nudged his friend. "Wake up, Val. It's morning." She lifted her head lazily and gave a yawn as well.

"Already?"

"Yeah. We should probably head back. The others are probably worried."

The fox pokémon got up slowly and shook herself awake, "Good idea." They headed back to the cabin together. Thankfully, it wasn't too far away. It was only a couple of minutes of walking at most. Atty was able to open the door quietly to avoid disturbing those who were still sleeping. The were alone in the living room, and Val was about to head upstairs. "I'm gonna go freshen up, and probably sleep in for a bit."

"Wait, Val," Atty spoke up, stopping the vixen in her tracks at the foot of the stairs.

"Yes?"

"About last night.. does this make us, you know?" He blushed a bit, but refused to make eye contact.

"What? Mates?" He nodded. Val smiled, and stepped down for a moment to answer his question. "Some pokémon mate for life. Others, not so much. What happened between us was doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want it to. As far as you and I are concerned, it was just a relaxing night between old friends. Nothing more."

"So, not mates then?" he said sheepishly.

"No, hun. Just friends with benefits. Feel better?" He nodded. "Good." She giggled and gave him a kiss on the nose. "I'll see you later, Atty. Maybe at noon or so." She gave a yawn as she began to head upstairs and disappeared from sight. It was then his necklace began to sparkle and glow dimly. He looked down and noticed.

"Must be Xerneas." He went back outside in the front yard before rubbing the stone. A faint, transparent image of the goddess appeared before him.

"Good morning, Atemis. I hope I'm not disturbing you. I wanted to speak with you last night, but I know you had your paws full." She winked.

"Wait.. did you listen in on us?" His face was beaming red. He tried to hide his face with his paws.

"Only for a moment." She giggled, "But that's no business of mine. And before you ask, no, you've nothing to be ashamed of. But that's not why I'm calling." Xerneas took a moment to herself and cleared her throat. "I have an assignment for you. It's a simple rescue and should help get you started. A young ralts is being held captive by a group of agitated cave dwelling pokémon. We don't have the details of what you'll be expecting, but we know where you can find out. A little further west, you can find a pokémon village."

"A village? But I've been out there before and have never seen it," the umbreon proclaimed.

"Ah, but only pokémon can find it, you see. It has gone unseen by humans for generations, thanks to the illusion effects that many ghost and psychic types are gifted with. You'll be visiting this place often, so it would be a good idea to get acquainted. The village is run by a houndoom named Vyn. But he's not who you're looking for. No, you want Okumura."

"Okumura? Who might that be?"

"He is a millennium old dusclops, and one of Darkrai's high priests. Okumura owns a small shine dedicated to him. He can help you further. Any questions?"

Atty thought for a moment, but in the end, shook his head. "Not right now."

"You know how to reach me if you do. Good luck. And be careful. These are dangerous times for all of us." With her final word, the silhouette of Xerneas faded, leaving the umbreon alone to plan out his next move.