FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 3: Rebel

Cassandra

Cassandra sank into the chair with a heavy sigh. Every muscle in her body hurt. Veronica's training seemed more ruthless than usual. For the last two weeks, it had been nothing but drill after drill, making her practice everything from basic stances, to advanced guard techniques, to full-contact sparring.

But she wasn't stupid. It became obvious the true nature of her punishment when Delphine and Fury were allowed to join in. Knowing Veronica, it was a ploy to drive them away, a theory confirmed by how ruthless Lucille was during sparring, particularly with Fury. He didn't like her and he made sure she knew it every time they faced off. Lucien asked him to stop, but it just made Fury double down, forcing Cassandra to play referee and get between them before feelings were hurt. It was exhausting mentally and physically, trying to keep up with the training and keep the peace between her team.

A much-needed reprieve finally came time to leave for the junior trainer's battle tournament being held in Lumiose City, the capital of Kalos. It was only for children Patrick's age who didn't yet have their trainer's license. It was going to be Patrick's first tournament, so there was no way Cassandra was going to miss it sore or not.

The battles were more comical than suspenseful. The poor children clearly had no concept of battling. They hesitated too much and tried to explain everything to their Pokémon which often took so long the Pokémon never had a chance to react before it was too late. The Pokémon weren't much better. They spent half their time swearing and trash-talking which only Cassandra could understand. It was adorable how much they tried to emulate the exciting League battles they watched on TV. She spent half the afternoon hiding her laughter.

The best part about the day was finally being off her parents' radar. This was Patrick's day, so all their focus was on him. All she had to do was keep her head down.

So she sat quietly in the stands and stroked Fury who lay curled in the seat next to her. She had to give him credit. For a wild Pokémon, he was handling his first human event nicely. It wasn't uncommon for recently captured Pokémon to feel overwhelmed in a human city, but other than his shock at seeing traffic for the first time he handled it well.

"I still don't get the point of this, Boss," Fury said. "If it ain't for trainin' or huntin', why are they fightin' each other again?"

"Because it's fun, Fury," Cassandra explained. "This is how humans and Pokémon grow close to each other, or some other BS. Honestly, I think it's because they can't think of anything else better to do. Don't Pokémon in the wild have battles or something?"

"Not really. Predators would be all over you in a minute if you wore yourself out playin' around. Some 'mon do, but it's usually a whole big thing."

"Really?"

"Master, perhaps it would be best to hold off on the conversation until a later time," Lucien said. "I sense some uneasy auras around us."

Cassandra nodded and fell silent. A few minutes later, Wes returned to the stands. He frowned when he saw Lucien and Fury.

"Cassandra, I thought you agreed to keep your Pokémon in their balls for now,"

"But Fury's never seen a tournament before," Cassandra said. "You know Lucien will be good. And Delphine--" she looked to her other side and stopped, her eyes widening. She could have sworn the Braxien was sitting next to her this whole time.

"Lost someone did you?" Wes asked.

"No," Cassandra said quickly. She jumped to her feet and scanned the room, but there was no sign of the missing fire type. "She's just, uh, taking a piss."

Wes sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Cassandra, I don't want to tell you how to look after your Pokémon, but you're going to insist on keeping them out of their balls, you need to keep an eye on them. Now Patrick's match is going to start in a few minutes. Please go find Delphine before she gets into trouble."

Cassandra hurried out of the battle hall. Of all things, Delphine, why did you have to wander off now? "Lucien, please tell me you can sense her aura," she asked, not caring if anyone overheard or not.

"I do, Master. She is outside."

"Outside? Why is she outside?"

Lucien shrugged. Cassandra rolled her eyes and headed for the back door. The first of the snow was beginning to fall. Cassandra shivered and zipped up her coat. Delphine wasn't too far from the back entrance, standing in front of a dumpster. She seemed to be holding something against it.

As Cassandra drew closer it was easier to see what was going on. Delphine had a small feline Pokémon pinned against the dumpster. Its purple fur had turned white from the accumulated snow.

"Delphine what are you doing?" Cassandra asked, trying to keep her anger in check.

Delphine didn't take her eyes off the Purrloin pinned against the dumpster. "Just doing some investigating, Cassy."

"Get offa me!" the Purrloin cried. "I ain't done nothin'!"

"Oh really?" Delphine countered. "Then explain this." She held up a watch in her other paw. Cassandra recognized it immediately as Wes'. It was a birthday gift from her and Patrick. She could only stare in shock. She hadn't seen any signs of a Purrloin anywhere near them all day.

The feline refused to look at the evidence. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"He is lying," Lucien said.

"I know he is!" Delphine cried, shaking the Purrloin. "I saw you following us, you little shit. Now start talking or I'll--"

Cassandra snapped out of her stupor. "Wait, hold on. What is going on?"

Delphine looked at her and started to speak when the Purrloin bit his captor's paw. Delphine swore and dropped him. The Purrloin took off down the alley with Cassandra's Braixen right on his heels.

"Dammit, Delphine," Cassandra said, following after them. She rounded the corner and tripped over something, falling to the ground and landing on her knees.

"Ow! What the hell was that?" she asked.

A teenage girl around her age was being helped up by a slightly older young woman. The first thing Cassandra noticed was the teen's obvious attention to fashion. Her clothes looked as if she wore them out of the store. Her coat, hat, and boots looked as if she wore them out of the store and they were color-coordinated to match her red hair. The woman with her was different. She was dressed comfortably and clearly hadn't put as much time into her outfit as the teen did.

There was no time to figure it out or make sure anyone was okay. She looked around for any signs of Delphine and the Purrloin, eventually seeing them rounding the corner up ahead. She jumped to her feet and continued hurrying down the street. "Sorry! No time to explain! Hope you're okay!" she called over her shoulder.

Lucien led the way. The chase continued for several blocks, weaving through pedestrians and traffic alike. But she couldn't seem to close the gap between them. Finally, it looked like Delphine had stopped running when they cornered her in an alley. There was no sign of the Purrloin, but at this point, Cassandra didn't care. Sweat ran down her face despite the snow falling around them and her lungs felt close to bursting. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

"I swear when I get my hands on that punk..." Delphine said.

"But first I need to get my hands on you," Cassandra managed between breaths. "What the hell was that? Just once, Delphine, could you at least try to stay out of trouble?"

Delphine's ears fell. "Sorry, Cassy. It's just the Purrloin was up to something."

"We established that," Lucien said.

"Can't you track him?" Fury asked.

"I do not know his aura signature and without it, it would be impossible. It would be no different than tracking a scent I did not know."

Delphine swore and kicked at nothing sending a plume of snow in the air.

"What's gotten into you?" Cassandra asked.

"It's just something was off about him. He followed us, Cassy. I don't like it."

Cassandra went over to her Braxien and patted her head. "It's cool. Just next time, don't run off like that." She frowned at something caught on the end of the stick protruding from Delphine's tail. It looked like a scarf. "Hey, what's that?"

Delphine took the piece of cloth and rubbed it between her paws. "No idea, but it's soft. Can I keep it?" She wrapped the scarf around her neck and posed as if waiting for a picture.

Fury tilted his head. "I don't get it."

"Humans like to wear them to keep warm," Cassandra explained. "I could get you one if you like."

"Nah. I don't like havin' things 'round my neck."

"Anyway, I guess Delphine can keep the scarf. There's no way I can track down the owner and give it back. And I doubt they'd want it now that it smells like Pokémon."

"I don't stink, Cassy."

"I didn't say you did."

"You didn't say it, but it's what you meant."

Cassandra smirked and headed back to the main streets. Hopefully they weren't too far from the battle hall and could get back in time.

No one broke the silence until Cassandra noticed Fury shake the snow from his fur. "You know you can go in your ball if you're cold," she said.

"I'm good, Boss," Fury replied. "This ain't my first winter. At least you humans have those thingies in your house to keep warm."

"You mean heaters?"

"Yeah, those. I remember this one winter, me and--" his ears fell. "It's nothin', forget it."

"Aw, come on, I wanna know--" Delphine began. She was cut short when Lucien slowly shook his head.

Her Lucario then leaned over and whispered. "Master, we are being followed."

Cassandra continued to look ahead. She had sensed something a few blocks back, but she had ignored it since being stared at was kind of normal for her. "Is it the Purrloin?" she whispered.

"Nah, different scent," Delphine replied. "Plus it's a girl. "Probably a stray looking to warm up for the night."

Cassandra turned down a nearby alley so she could talk to the Pokémon in private. She didn't have any spare Poké Balls, so taking it home wasn't likely to happen. But she could take it to a Pokémon Center. They often took in strays.

When they were far enough away from the street to not be overheard, she spun around. A young Eevee stood a few feet away. The small fox-like Pokémon froze. Cassandra stared at the Eevee. Most Eevee had brown fur, but this one had completely white fur as if it ran through a bag of flour.

As if someone had hit the world's resume button, the Eevee bolted and hid behind a nearby trash can.

"Y-You're in t-trouble now, v-villain!" the Eevee shouted. "Yuny the hero will punish you!"

Cassandra immediately burst into laughter. The little Eevee didn't even reach her knees at full height. Also the Eevee's voice was squeaky and didn't carry a hint of threat to it. It wasn't long before Delphine and Fury joined in.

The Eevee was not amused. "I mean it! You knocked down Natasha and stole!"

Cassandra stopped laughing and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I don't really know what you're talking about. I didn't steal from anyone."

"Yeah, that damn Purrloin is the thief, pipsqueak!" Delphine shouted.

"I think she is referring to the scarf," Lucien said.

"Oh. Well, that's easily fixed," Cassandra said. "Delphine, give the scarf back."

Delphine clutched protectively at the scarf. "But it's mine."

"It was stuck to your ass, and you wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't pointed it out to you. The Eevee wants it back, so hand it over."

"How do we know it's her trainer's scarf? I don't see anyone here."

"It's Natasha's!" The Eevee yelled, jumping out from her hiding place. "I'm not a liar!"

"Okay, everybody calm down," Cassandra said. "Delphine, what reason does this Eevee have to lie about the scarf?"

"It's cold, Cassy. Maybe she just wants it to keep warm."

Cassandra put her hands on her hips and gave the Braixen a scolding stare. "Delphine, give it back."

Delphine grumbled under her breath and unwrapped the scarf from around her neck. The Eevee cautiously approached and sniffed at the scarf then snatched it in her jaws and ran off.

"Wait, hold on," Cassandra called after her. She jogged over to the Eevee. "You shouldn't be wandering around out here by yourself. Where's your trainer?"

The Eevee's ears fell as she looked around at her surroundings.

"She's lost," Fury said.

"N-No, I'm not!" the Eevee cried.

"It is all right, little one," Lucien said soothingly. "We can help you find your trainer."

The Eevee's grey eyes lit up. "You will? Thank you so much! I take back what I said. You're not a villain. You're nice." She turned to Delphine and pointed, "But she's not."

Cassandra laughed and patted Delphine on the shoulder, preventing any further argument. She crouched down in front of the Eevee. "I'm Cassandra. This is Fury. That's Lucien. And the mean one is Delphine."

"Fuck you, Cassy," Delphine grumbled.

Cassandra stuck out her tongue at the Braixen then turned back to the Eevee. "What's your name?"

The Eevee planted her paws and puffed out her chest, striking a heroic pose. "I'm Yuny, and I'm a hero!"

"Oh? I had no idea we were in the presence of a real hero," Lucien said. He held a paw to his chest and bowed. "It is an honor to meet you."

"There's no such thing as heroes, pup," Fury said, frowning.

"There is too!" Yuny shouted.

Cassandra lightly rapped Fury on the head. "Hey, what's gotten into you? We already have one mean one."

"Just statin' facts, Boss. This pup shouldn't learn the hard way what the world is really like."

Yuny whined and hung her head. Cassandra glared at her Furret and scratched Yuny behind the ears. "Don't listen to him, Yuny. He's just grumpy. I'm sure you'll become the strongest hero of them all. Now let's find your trainer and get out of this weather."

Yuny yipped happily and climbed onto Cassandra's shoulders, placing her forepaws on top of Cassandra's head. It felt awkward having an Eevee on her head, but she was warm, so she wasn't complaining.

"What is your trainer's name, Yuny?" Lucien asked.

"My trainer is Natasha, and she's really pretty and smart, too," Yuny said. "She's the best at everything."

"That's nice, but we were kinda hoping for something more like tall, thin, long hair, things like that," Cassandra said.

"Oh. Well, she's a really good dresser. And she has red hair. It's pretty."

Cassandra grimaced at Yuny's description. Red hair and a good dresser sounded like the teen she ran into before. That conversation was not going to go well.

The best place to begin their search would be the place where they first ran into the teen which meant going back to the battle hall. Going back was inevitable, so she might as well get it over with now.

"You're the first human I ever talked to, Cassandra," Yuny said. "I wish more humans would talk to me, but Akamaru says they can't understand us."

"That is correct, little one, Lucien said. "Master is the only one who can understand Pokémon like this."

"That is sooo cool!"

As they walked past the boutique, Yuny bounced up and down while crying out, "Oh! Cassandra, can we go in? Please?"

She grabbed the young Eevee to steady her before she fell to the ground. "Why is it so important?"

"Natasha wants perfume, and I wanna get it for her. She was supposed to get some but she says it's taking too long. So I wanna get some and surprise her. She's been very sad since Akamaru got hurt. This will cheer her up."

Delphine faked retching noises earning an admonishing glare from Cassandra.

"Master, this may not be such a bad idea," Lucien said. "A gift would go a long way toward ameliorating the situation."

"Maybe, but we don't even know what kind of perfume Natasha is waiting for," Cassandra said. Looking through the shop window, anything in that store was too expensive, and it would cost even more if it was something hard to come by. A thought crossed her mind. "I have an idea on where to go."

A few years ago, Cassandra had come across a Budew lost in the middle of a blizzard. Her parents let her care for the Pokémon and helped track down its rightful trainer. Both the trainer and Pokémon were very grateful for what she did and told Cassandra they would always help if they could.

It was time to call in that favor.

"Master, are you truly going to see...her?" Lucien asked. He rubbed his paws together nervously.

"Come on, Lucien, you'll be fine," Delphine said, teasingly. "I'm sure she won't try to do anything strange to you. At least not without your permission."

"That is not reassuring."

"Don't worry, Lucien," Yuny said. "If you're in danger, I'll come save you."

"If he needs protectin' from what it sounds like, pup, you ain't savin' him," Fury said.

The apartment building where Rose lived wasn't too far from the boutique. Just another two blocks of walking which wasn't a big deal. Cassandra just hoped the Roserade's trainer wasn't home. It would make the process go a lot quicker.

The doorman of the apartment building let Cassandra in without a problem. It wasn't her first time visiting. Fury's first ride on an elevator was hilarious. He was beyond stunned to see that after getting into a box they were taken to another place entirely without moving.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

Cassandra smiled and scratched the Furret behind the ears. "I'll explain later." She went to the apartment at the end of the hall and knocked on the door.

It didn't take long before the door opened, revealing a green plant-like Pokémon on the other side. The Roserade smiled the white rose petals on top of her head fanning as if in bloom. "Cassandra! How are you! You look wonderful, dear. Hello, Lucien," she added, licking her lips seductively.

Lucien turned away the inside of his ears turning bright pink. "Hello, Rose."

"All right, that's enough teasing," Delphine said. "We need your help with something."

"That's awfully rude of you," Rose said. She waved them inside with the red rose bouquet that was her right hand. "Come on in."

"Hey, is Marvin here?" Cassandra asked.

"He's never home, dear." She hopped onto the sofa and crossed her short legs. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, and who is your friend there?" Her red eyes widened. "And is that a shiny Eevee I spy?"

"Oh, this is Fury," Cassandra said. "He's the latest addition."

"And I'm Yuny!"

Rose chuckled. "It's nice to meet you, Yuny." Turning to Cassandra, she added. "Another non-fighting type I see. I bet Veronica was happy about that."

"She was 'happy' all right," Cassandra replied. "I gotta get straight to the point: Yuny needs a bottle of perfume."

"And some medicine for Akamaru," Yuny added. "He got hurt and I want to make him feel better."

Rose sat there for a moment, her chin resting on the bouquet of blue roses that was her left hand. "Perfume, I can do. The medicine will be tricky without knowing exactly what's wrong with your friend, but I should have something. I assume you're looking for something outside the usual fragrances you'll find in a store. Wait here."

She hopped down from the sofa and disappeared into the next room.

Yuny hopped onto the sofa and stretched, sticking her tail in the air. "She's nice. Why are so afraid of her Lucien?"

"You see, there comes a time when--" Delphine began. Cassandra grabbed the Braixen's muzzle, silencing her.

"Don't," she warned.

Delphine pulled her mouth free. "I wasn't gonna say anything weird, Cassy. I'm not that evil."

"So, how do ya know her?" Fury asked.

"I found her wandering the streets when I was six," Cassandra said, grateful for the subject change. "It was the middle of a snowstorm and I heard her crying. I took her home and my parents made some phone calls and found out her trainer was looking for her. I still visit whenever I'm in the city."

"She also has the biggest crush on Lucien," Delphine said, grinning.

Lucien lowered his head, the insides of his ears turning bright pink again.

A few minutes later, Rose returned with four glass bottles, two filled with a bright clear liquid, another containing a cloudy red liquid, and the fourth solid color making it impossible to see inside.

"There you are, dear," Rose said. She placed the bottles with the clear liquid on the table first. "One bottle is for you Cassandra. It's my special creation; no store has it. I'm sure you'll find it much better than that store brought nonsense. It also has a calming effect on Pokémon."

Cassandra removed the top of one of the small bottles and sniffed. Immediately she felt a sense of calm wash over her, the sweet flowery aroma filling her nose. Yuny sniffed the bottle and smiled. "Wow, this is amazing. Thank you so much, Rose."

"You're very lucky. It took two years to age."

"Two years?" Cassandra asked. "Rose, are you sure--"

"Ah, ah," Rose chided. "After what you did for me all those years ago, it's the least I can do. If you hadn't found me, I would've frozen to death in that snow. I was planning to give it to you as a gift when I saw you again anyway."

Rose placed the next bottle, the one with cloudy red liquid on the table. It was also the largest of all the bottles. "Now this is the medicine for your friend. It's no cure-all, but it will do wonders for pain. It's much better than that nonsense the humans give us. Just remember to give him one spoonful each day. Any more than that, and you'll knock him out."

She placed the last bottle on the table. "This one is for you, Cassandra. It's a special Pokémon repellant made from--actually, it's better you don't know. Just be careful with it. It's very powerful stuff."

Cassandra opened the bottle and sniffed. An unholy culmination of the worst smells imaginable struck her senses like a punch to the face. She reeled and gagged. Her vision blurred and she felt lightheaded. Somehow she regained enough of her senses to close the bottle again.

All the Pokémon were on the floor, their faces buried in their paws, grimacing at the terrible stench.

"What the hell, Rose?!" Delphine asked. "That is just nasty!"

"I don't feel so good," Yuny said.

"Please don't throw up on the sofa, dear. It's expensive to clean," Rose said.

Cassandra packed up the bottles. She made sure to separate her bottles from the others so as not to mix them up, especially the Pokémon repellant. "Thanks a lot, Rose."

"Think nothing of it, Cassandra," Rose said. "One last thing. I've been hearing a lot of Pokémon asking about you. I don't know what's going on, but they're desperate to find the one who speaks to Pokémon. Please be careful."

"Thank you for the warning, Rose," Lucien said, bowing. "You have done so much for us. I hope I can return the favor one day."

"If you really feel that way, go on a date with me and I'll call it even."

Lucien stiffened. Cassandra laughed. "Pokémon don't go on dates," she said.

Rose tilted her head and smiled. "Oh, we don't? I guess we can simply skip to what comes after then."

Lucien hurried out of the apartment. Cassandra and Delphine laughed all the way back to the elevator.

When they were on the elevator and the laughter had died down, Yuny asked, "Cassandra, what comes after?"

"Fun and games," Delphine answered, smiling slyly. Fury snickered into his paw.

"Not funny, you two," Cassandra said.

It felt as if the temperature had dropped another ten degrees while Cassandra was inside. She zipped up her coat and started down the street. Yuny returned to her shoulders.

"Master, I find what Rose said to be concerning," Lucien said.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Lucien, she was joking. She isn't going to do anything strange to you."

"That depends on your definition of strange," Delphine added.

"That is not what I mean. What Rose said about Pokémon asking about you. I understand you are well-known in Aquacorde, but why would Pokémon in Lumiose look for you?"

"Does it matter?" Fury said. "It ain't too many things they could want from her."

"That is what worries me," Lucien said.

"We'll figure that out later," Cassandra said. She handed Delphine Yuny's scarf. "Can you track Natasha's scent with this?"

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Because you stole it."

Delphine grumbled something about not stealing anything then sniffed the scarf. Tracking down Natasha was easier than Cassandra expected. After returning to the place where Cassandra ran into Natasha, Delphine immediately caught on to the human's scent. The snow fell heavier now. Places that had been shoveled were filling up again. At its current rate, stores would have to close early. If they didn't find Natasha before it got any heavier, they would be forced to put their search on hold.

Yuny didn't mind the snow. The entire time, she talked non-stop about how much she loved the snow and about Natasha's other Pokémon. Natasha had a Flareon, Leafeon, Vaporeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon. She went over their likes, dislikes, favorite pastimes, and her favorite games to play with them. "Everyone says I'm going to evolve into a Jolteon," Yuny said happily. "I'm gonna be the fastest, strongest Jolteon ever!"

"Boss, hold on," Fury said. "I think I hear somethin'."

Cassandra stopped and listened. She couldn't hear anything other than the cars driving through the slush in the streets.

Lucien pointed down one of the side streets. "Someone is calling out to someone."

"Natasha!" Yuny cried. She jumped off Cassandra's shoulders and ran down the street. Cassandra hurried after the Eevee. Yuny was running straight toward the traffic, and with her white fur, she blended in almost perfectly with the snow.

"Yuny, stop! Don't run into the street!"

The Eevee wasn't listening. She squeezed between two cars then slipped on a patch of ice.

Cassandra rushed into the street, and scooped Yuny into her arms, using her momentum to carry them out of harm's way. It also carried them into the path of an oncoming truck in the opposing lane. Lucien grabbed Cassandra and leaped out of the way. The truck driver leaned on the horn and kept going down the street.

"Master, are you all right?" Lucien asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cassandra replied, ignoring the people staring at them. She turned to Yuny. "Are you okay?"

Yuny whined, her ears flattening against her head. "I'm okay. I'm sorry. You almost got hurt because of me."

"Hey, are you all right?"

Cassandra looked up to an older woman standing over them. Her red-brown hair was speckled with snow. It was hard to tell if this was Natasha or not. Cassandra hadn't gotten a very good look during their first encounter. The woman standing over them matched the description. Red hair and her clothes were a little worn, but she was well-dressed. The woman didn't seem to recognize her, so it was safe to assume this wasn't Natasha.

Standing up and brushing the snow off her pants, she said, "I'm okay. Thanks for asking."

The woman stared at the Eevee in Cassandra's arms. "Where did you get that Eevee?"

"Rebecca!" Yuny cried.

"I found her," Cassandra lied. "I'm trying to track down her trainer. Someone named Natasha. You know who that is?"

The woman nodded. "I do. Thank goodness you found Yuny. We've been worried sick looking for her."

"Well, lead the way, Rebecca. I'm Cassandra by the way."

Rebecca frowned. "How do you know my name?"

"Uh, lucky guess? You look like a Rebecca."

Cassandra didn't like the look she was getting, but Rebecca didn't push the issue and pulled out her cell phone. "Hey, Natasha, I found Yuny! ... Yeah, someone named Cassandra picked her up... Where are you?... We'll be right there."

The snow was starting to come down even harder, so they agreed to meet Natasha at a nearby café. Natasha was already waiting for them, still wearing her coat covered in melted snow. Standing next to Natasha was a Leafeon.

"Yuny!" Natasha cried. She ran over and pulled the Eevee into her arms. "I was worried sick about you! Don't you ever run off like that again." She spoke to someone on phone. "Griffin I found her!...Hold on, I'm about to find out now..." She turned to Cassandra. "Thank you so much for finding her! I don't know what I would've done if--You look familiar. Have we met?"

"No," Cassandra said quickly. "I get that a lot. Anyway, I'm Cassandra." She held out the bottle of perfume and the medicine. "Here these are for you."

"What's this for?"

"Uh, an apology?" Cassandra lied. The gifts were supposed to be a distraction. Instead it drew attention to something worse. There was no way she could tell them how the idea for the gifts came about. "When I first saw your Eevee, I tried to capture her. She's not hurt or anything; I just felt really guilty. This one is medicine. She's been out in the cold for a while, and I don't want her to get sick. Just remember to give her one spoonful a day. Now this is perfume as a peace offering."

The Leafeon's ears rose, his caramel-colored eyes staring at Cassandra suspiciously. Natasha stared at the gifts in her hands. "I-I just don't understand," she said. "You found my Pokémon, and you're giving me things?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No! I'm just surprised. You don't see people this nice."

Rebecca took the bottle of medicine from Natasha, opened it up, and waved it under her nose. "I've never seen kind of medicine before. What is it, and where did you get it?"

Cassandra played with her hands. "Uh, I have a friend who does a lot of volunteer work at a Pokémon Center. It's just a different type of potion. It's been approved and everything," she added quickly. "He just doesn't advertise it because he can't make a lot of it."

"Nice save there, Boss," Fury whispered.

Cassandra scratched him behind the ears and whispered back, "Not now."

"That's weird. I volunteer at Pokémon Centers all the time, and I never heard of this medicine," Rebecca said. "What did you say it was called again?"

"Uh, it doesn't have one. My friend always called it the potion 2.0. He actually plans on seeing if he get it manufactured."

"But if it works, we might be able to give it to Akamaru," Natasha said. She turned back to the phone. "Griffin, maybe we could give this to Thief. ... She said it's been approved, so it should be fine."

Leafeon sniffed the bottle in Natasha's hand. "No human made this. Yuny, who is this girl?"

"That's Cassandra," Yuny cried happily. "She's super nice. We talked about so much together. She got the perfume to cheer up Natasha and the medicine for Akamaru."

Leafeon walked around Cassandra, eyeing her suspiciously. A low growl emanated from Fury. Cassandra stroked his back, hoping to calm him down. The last thing she needed was to cause a scene.

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out okay," Cassandra said. "I hope your Flareon gets better."

Natasha frowned. "How do you know Akamaru's a Flareon?"

"I told her," Yuny replied.

Leafeon's ear twitched as he stared at Cassandra. She was at a loss for words. There was no way she could tell Natasha how she got the information.

Delphine shoved Lucien into one of the tables, causing several people to jump back in surprise. "What did I say about standing too close to me, you blue-furred pain in the ass?" she yelled.

"I will stand wherever I please!" Lucien shot back.

"Hey, you two! I can't afford to pay for anything you break in here!" Cassandra scolded. She grabbed the two Pokémon by the scruffs of their necks and steered them toward the door. "Outside, right now!"

The snow was coming down even harder. Within seconds Cassandra and her team were covered in the white flakes. "Thank you so much for that," Cassandra said. "I honestly had no idea how I was gonna explain that one."

"You are welcome, Master," Lucien replied. "This snow is getting worse. We should return quickly."

Cassandra's hand flew to her mouth. "Shit--I forgot about the junior tournament! Patrick's match was coming up."

She ran back to the battle hall. It was over, she knew it. Even without knowing how long they had been gone, there was no way she hadn't missed her little brother's final match. Most of the families had already left by the time they arrived. Questioning one of the remaining parents revealed the tournament was canceled so families could get home before the weather got worse. Cassandra hoped it was a blessing in disguise.

It didn't take long to find her family waiting by the entrance. From the looks of disappointment on their faces, they weren't happy.

"There you are," Wes said. "I see you found Delphine."

Cassandra couldn't look him in the eye. "So how'd the match go? I heard it got canceled."

"It did after your little brother's battle," Veronica said stiffly. "Which he won, by the way, not that you were there."

"Sweet, you won?" Cassandra said happily. "Nice job, Pat!" She held up her hand for a high-five.

Patrick didn't return the gesture. "Where were you? You promised to watch my battle."

"Uh, I went for a walk and lost track of time I guess," Cassandra said lamely. "Pat, I'm really sorry." She wanted to tell him the truth so badly, but not in front of their parents. It would only cause a fuss.

Patrick turned away. "Sure," he mumbled.

"You can explain where you've been this whole time on the ride home," Veronica said. "Now recall your Pokémon and let's go. If we hurry, we can get on the highway before the snow gets any heavier."

Cassandra quietly recalled her team. There was no one to blame but herself. She could have just left Yuny out there in the snow, she could have simply given the Eevee back without worrying about getting a gift. A dozen of other different ways she could have handled it swam about in her mind. But she would do it again if she had to. Leaving that young Eevee to fend for herself would have been too cruel and the situation was her fault to begin with.

As they drove away she caught a glimpse of a Purrloin sitting in the alley between the buildings, watching them.