FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Man, I've been losing so many days this month, it's not even funny. This was a pretty hectic month for me, surprisingly, but I guess it was just bound to happen sooner or later with my luck. Anyway, this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, not by much though. And it should satisfy you, or at least I hope it does, until I come up with another one next year. Sounds so far away when I put it like that huh? So, you all know what to; read it and remind yourselves that Comments and Votes are welcome and appreciated.

**********8**********

Eevee & Kai

The battle between Berret, Eevee, and Kai was heating up. Berret had led them away from the house and brought the battle to a more open area with only a few small trees here and there around them. He didn't want any outside interference while he took his time to tear Eevee and Kai apart. He wanted to hear them beg for mercy before he puts them out of their misery. Although the large feline was the superior fighter, Eevee was able to fight, more or less, on par with him with Kai's help. Berret managed to block several punches and kicks thrown by the blue pup and multiple slashes by Eevee. Because of their different body types, Eevee was forced to pick his shots and rely on Kai to handle at least one of his arms.

"You should quit while you're ahead, or at least still alive," Berret spat. "You wouldn't want to die over something that's none of your business."

"After what you tried to do; it would be an insult to her and me if I didn't do anything," Eevee growled back as he tried to slash at Berret with his claws.

"Yeah, you're real good at sneak attacks. Shows how much balls you've got." The zangoose swiped at Eevee and Kai again, only to miss by a hair.

"You're one to talk. You sent your dumbass cronies to blindside me twice just to get weaken me enough for you to take me out." He dodged another slash at him. "It looks to me that you're only as big as a newborn pup."

The zangoose didn't take too kindly to the insult and decided to stop playing around. Kai had no idea what they were talking about, but he didn't really care at the moment. He was busy focusing on dodging and trying to land a clean hit. He leapt up into the air to deliver a roundhouse kick to Berrets' skull, but the large cat caught his foot and held him in the air. The surprised pup flailed helplessly as he was quickly whipped around and thrown at Eevee. The brown fox hadn't even processed the thought to dodge before Kai head collided with his. The two canines rolled across the ground in dizzying pain. Neither had a chance to gather any coherent thought before they were both kicked in their sides. Despite enjoying their pained cries, Berret wasn't going to stand for being insulted.

"I didn't think was possible for you to piss me off anymore than you already have, but you managed to do it," he growled as he stood over them. "I honestly thought about dragging this out, raising your pitiful hopes so that you've convinced yourselves that you had a chance of beating me, and then take it all away from you in an instant. You should be thankful I've granted you that much leeway." Eevee gritted his teeth and ignored the pain in his head and right side as he struggled to stand back up. He found it a little difficult, and painful, to breathe and assumed that at least one of his ribs were broken. He could feel a little blood trailing down the side of his face from where Kai had collided with him. Thinking of him, he glanced over in his direction. The blue pup was curled up in a ball holding his stomach and whimpering. Eevee could see a small amount of blood smeared on the grass next to him and immediately regretted having him fight along with him. He was just too young to be involved in something of this magnitude.

Still, this wasn't the time to be regretting decisions. Turning back to the large feline, he spit out a little blood that collected in his mouth and growled as fiercely as he could. "I'm not thankful... for any of the... shit you're putting everyone through! I swear... on my life... that you're going to regret everything you've done!"

"I don't regret shit, fur ball! And you're talking way too much shit for someone that's already half-dead!" Berret made another swipe at Eevee, much faster than any he's made so far, catching the fox in his ear just as he ducked out of the way. Eevee took this chance to leap at him, intending to at least scratch him. He surprised both Berret and himself when his claws managed to make contact with the felines' body, making three deep scratches across his chest. The zangoose winced in pain, letting Eevee make his way behind him and latch himself onto his back. "Get the fuck off me, bastard!" Berret shouted as he tried to reach the brown fox. Eevee held on for his life and continued to inflict some form of injury by biting and digging his claws into foe. Granted, he didn't feel proud that he had to resort to more desperate measures of fighting, but at this point, it more about survival than anything else. "You want to stay back there, fine!" Having finally gotten tired of his desperate struggling, Berret leaned backwards, fully intending to crush Eevee under his body weight. Of course, Eevee saw this coming. Bigger opponents tend to try to crush anything latched onto them that are smaller than they are.

The fox jumped as soon as he was sure the zangoose wasn't going to back off at the last second, which meant he had to stay on him until he was practically upside down. He watched Berret fall flat on his back and curse the air when he realized that the brown fox wasn't under him. He then quickly bit his ears as hard as he could. Berret shouted in pain and made to swipe Eevee away, but he kept missing. He eventually decided that it was better to bear with intense pain for moment than to drag it on longer than it needed to.

Eevee was surprised when the zangoose rolled over and stood up. However, he took this opportunity to rake his head with three of his claws, using only one hind leg to stand on his shoulders. The pained shouts and curses from Berret gave him a sense of pleasure he wasn't sure was a good thing, but he didn't have long to think about it. A hard strike to his side made him to yelp in pain and send him rolling across the ground. If he wasn't sure something was broken before, he was now.

"Well damn," he muttered. It was definitely over now. He knows he heard something snap and it was starting to hurt too much just to breathe. He saw blood pooling from where he was hit and could already tell it would end badly for him if the wound wasn't treated soon.

Looking back up, he saw Berret standing over him. How he got there without Eevee hearing him was beyond him. The zangoose had trails of blood all over one side of his face and one eye closed, somehow making him more intimidating than he already was. He brought a claw to the fox's throat.

"Game over, hero," he sneered. As much as Eevee wanted to say something smart in retaliation, all he did was cough up more blood. Just when things couldn't get any worse, he was saved from his demise by some kind miracle. A large orange beam blasted Berret off his feet and sent him flying. Had he the energy, he would've looked as surprised as he felt. A few moments later, he saw Cari running past him with a deadly serious look in her face.

Just as Berret shook off the shock of the surprise and sat up, he saw the mightyena leap at him with her jaws open wide. He instinctively put an arm up to defend himself. Cari clamped down on his arm with enough force to nearly crush his bones. The zangoose cried out in pain and tried to fend her off with his other arm, but the black dog yanked at the arm she held to prevent him from doing anything. All the while she was adding more pressure to her bite, eventually breaking the skin and drawing blood. Barret couldn't do anything but take it because every time he tried to retaliate, she would yank his arm around and bite even harder.

"Quit it, you crazy bitch!" He shouted, but instantly regretted it. This time, Cari bit down as hard as she could and actually crush some of his bones. The zangoose screamed out in pain and immediately attempted to bat her away. The mightyena let go of the broken arm to dodge his blow and snatched up the other one on her jaws. She quickly crushed the bones in that one as well, resulting in the large feline howling in pain. To say she pissed was the understatement of the century. She was outright furious. She spat out the now useless limb and stood over Berret, watching him writhe around in agony.

"I'm going to kill you!" She growled with unrivaled hatred. "How dare you cause harm my trainer?!"

"It was... that lombre..." he grunted. The black dog immediately stomped on his right arm with her forepaw, making him cry out again.

"Fucking liar!!! Fay told me everything that happened! You told him to do that, just like you told her that you'd kill anyone she told of your sick attempt at rape!" She lifted one of her hind legs and gently pressed clawed paw on his testicles. Berret was gasped and froze up when he felt her claws on his privates. "I should make sure that nothing like that ever happens again."

"Please... show mercy..." he begged.

"Why should I?! So you can go back to being an insecure little shit that picks on children?!" She shouted. "You've never shown any sort of kindness to anyone and you expect me to let you walk away?! No, this is going to stop here and now , but you're going to suffer first!" Cari quickly snapped her jaws around Berret's neck. The zangoose panicked as the furious black dog slowly and painfully cut off his air supply. He couldn't use his claws to try fighting his way out, nor could he wiggle free due to her holding his globes hostage. As much as it frustrated and pained him, there was absolutely nothing he could do. The helplessness he felt in his situation actually made him... cry. Tears fell from his eyes and trailed down his cheeks once he realized that this was how he was going to die.

"Cari, drop him right now!" someone shouted. It was Carmen, limping her way over to her mightyena and her dying captive. The mightyena didn't hear her trainer command and continued choking the zangoose. "Drop him, Cari! You can't kill him!!!" The black dog's ears perked up this time and stopped squeezing Berret's windpipe, but still held him in her jaws. "Look, I'm fine! Nothing to worry about other than a sprained ankle. I really can't have you killing other people's pokémon. It'll be bad for us if Nana and Papa come back and there're people ready to sue them. I'll have a talk with the trainers about them and the cost to damages to the place. Trust me when I say that they'll pay for all trouble they've caused."

Cari growled a little before releasing the now unconscious zangoose and going up to her trainer. Carmen knelt down and scratched behind her ears to further show the dog that she was okay. "In the meantime, there's someone who needs some serious first-aid." She got up, returned Berret to his ball, and both of them ran over to Eevee. He was barely holding onto his consciousness, trying to steady his breathing and his heart to prevent from bleeding out. All the while, he kept thinking about how hurt Kai was, or how Fay, the rest of his friends, maybe Westen, would react to seeing him like this. He thought about all the times he's come close to dying because of his rash actions and figured that maybe Death likes it when he knocks on his door. He keeps tricking him into doing it all the time it seems. His eyelids were getting too heavy for him to keep open now and he knew that he might be crossing the other side this time. He looked down at the pool of blood one more time, just to confirm his cause of death to himself.

"Man... that's a lot of blood..." he muttered just before he passed out.

*****8*****

There was faint beeping sound coming from somewhere, he just wasn't sure where. The air smelled oddly clean for some reason, unnaturally clean and cool. Under him was probably the most comfortable... whatever he was laying on, he's felt in a long time. He felt completely relaxed and didn't feel any sort of pain that was present not too long before he blacked out. There was nothing but white all around him, like he was an empty part of space. It was... nice. Of course, he came to the most logical conclusion his foggy mind could think of at the moment.

"So this is what being dead feels like? It's not at all how I imagined." Eevee thought. "I thought Arceas was going to come down and show me the wonders of the afterlife, but all I get is clean air... and something beeping in my ear. Where the hell am- *gasp* No way... I couldn't be there. Aww, damn it, no way! I didn't do anything bad enough to get sent there, right?" As he thought about this, the beeping in his ear picked up in tempo, which he took as a bad thing. "Damn it! What did I do to deserve this?! I'm a nice guy! I haven't hurt anyone... except for that beedrill back at home, but he was picking on a defenseless kid. Then there was that time when I was Kai and all those geodude wanted to gang up on us... but we were just defending ourselves. If I got sent here because I made Berret's face my new scratching post, I'm gonna be pissed! I wonder what Fay is doing right now. She's probably crying because I got myself killed trying to defend her honor. I should've told her that I thought she was beautiful. At least I would've died without any regrets."

He regretted thinking that immediately. He had almost forgotten about his friend, Aipom, and his trainer, Eric. They were probably both out looking for him right now. It saddened him to know that they'll never be able to see him again or even know that he was dead. He knew that Aipom wouldn't take his death too well, if she ever found out. He figured that she'll probably find some way to bring him back just so that she could kill him again for getting killed in the first place. Then she'll probably bring him back again just to tease him about getting killed over a girl and fondle his balls again. That part didn't even sound too bad for him that time. It sure beats being dead and alone.

Not only them, but the friends he was traveling with were most likely grieving his passing away, except for Westen. He highly doubted that the lizard could care less about him. Still, he wondered what they were going to be doing now that he was gone. He knows that Mia would try to get them back home, but he wonders if she could do it alone. It was hard enough keeping everything together when it was the two of them. Maybe Kai or Nina could help her out until they found their way home; they seemed more mature than the other kids.

"You know, for Hell... this isn't all that bad. I thought there was going to be pits of fire, everlasting torture, and unbelievable sights that would give anyone nightmare for years. It's giving me lots of time to really think about things and appreciate everything I've lived through. If only that damn beeping would stop, I would be more content right now!"

"Eevee, are you okay?" someone asked.

"Wait, what?" Eevee immediately opened his eyes to see Fay staring at him. "Fay? Wha... Are you dead too?"

"No!" she exclaimed, wondering how he could've ever come to that conclusion. "You're alive! We're in a pokémon center." Eevee looked around the room, seeing that he was in a pokémon center. It was sort of eerie how it seemed to look the same as the other ones he's been to. Still, this was way better than being dead... or dreaming that he was dead. Fay nuzzled his against his cheek. He could feel a slight dampness to her fur and assumed that she'd been crying recently. "We were really worried about you. You're friends and I stayed by your side the whole time you were recovering."

"Really? Where are they now?" he asked.

"Um... I think Carmen took them to the cafeteria to feed them. That was just a few minutes ago."

"Kai too? What happened to him? Is he okay?"

"The riolu pup? He's fine; just has to refrain from doing anything strenuous for a little while." Eevee sighed in relief, not knowing how to deal with the guilt if something terrible happened to the pup. "The only ones that actually suffered some injuries were, um... Mia and Westen? I think that's their names. Both of them had a few scratches and cuts, but those will heal completely in another day or so."

"That's good. So... we're alone?" Fay nodded. "Well... I'm glad that you were here when I woke up," he said smiling a bit. His female counterpart smiled as well and nuzzled his cheek again.

"Me too. Just... don't do anything like that again. You really scared me." He tried to return her affection, but his whole midsection suddenly exploded in pain.

"Ah, f-f-fudge!" he shouted, barely catching himself from swearing in front of her. Fay jumped in surprise at his shouting, but quickly recovered.

"You shouldn't try to move! You'll open up your stitches!"

"Stitches?" The fox gave himself a quick onceover to check the damage done to his body. He was wrapped in bandages from his shoulders to his hips. Now that he thought about it, he could feel something somewhat tight around his head. "Damn... Berret really fu-... messed me up," he sighed. "Speaking of that overly large excuse of an asshole, what happened to him?" Fay looked a bit upset that Eevee had asked her about the zangoose's condition, but it was mostly because she didn't want to think about the feline or his associates.

"From what I heard, he's still in pretty bad shape from the beating you and Cari gave him, more from her than you really. She broke both his arms and almost castrated and killed him." Eevee visibly winced a little when she mentioned castration and made a mental note to really thank the mightyena for saving him and giving Berret the beating he wished he could've given him. "He's also lost an eye from where you scratched his face. I really can't say that I pity or feel any sort of sympathy for him. As much as I don't like others getting hurt, I... think he deserves what's happened to him. Does wanting him to suffer like this make me a bad eevee?"

That little bit of information about Berret's eye actually made Eevee smile a little. He felt proud that he inflicted everlasting damage that the feline won't forget anytime soon, but Fay's question had him thinking too. He had asked himself the very same question when he raked his claws across Berret's face. Now that he had time to ponder on it... he didn't see why they should think themselves as bad pokémon. They were, after all, being bullied and nearly killed by him.

"I don't think you're a bad eevee, Fay," he said. "I think we're just relieved that something was done about him, even if this incident has crippled him. I mean, it felt good inflicting pain on him, but it was because I knew he could do so much more to you and the kids. I didn't want anything else to happen to you so... I'd do it again if given the chance." Fay smiled wider than he's ever seen her smile. The female fox licked and nuzzled his cheek very affectionately.

"You're so sweet," she said. "I'm just really sorry you all had to get hurt because of us."

"It's okay. As long you're happy and I can... see your pretty smile, I don't... regret anything," Eevee replied, trying to hold back his yawns. He felt really exhausted all of a sudden.

Fay saw that he was going to fall asleep and got up to excuse herself.

"I should go. You need some rest so that you can get your strength back and you're not going to get it talking to me." The fox hopped off the bed and was making her way to the partially open door.

"Wait!" Eevee shouted before she got too far. "Can you... um, lay next to me while I go to sleep? It's just... I'll feel better if you're, um... close-by or something." Eevee felt highly embarrassed asking her this. He couldn't see it, but Fay was wondering why he was acting so nervous all of a sudden. Her intuition told her that from the way he was asking, that he either had a crush on her, or was probably just nervous asking her such a thing. She couldn't really say that he wasn't cute, both personality-wise and physically, and that she wanted to leave him yet. He did just compliment her on having a pretty smile, so that earned him a few points with her.

"It'll be a while before anyone else comes in to check on him," she thought. "I guess I can just... keep him company until everyone comes back." It took all her willpower not to start giggling and smile like she was mad. "Sure, I'll lay with you," She said coolly as she made her way back to the bed. As soon as she jumped on the bed, she could see that Eevee was thrilled with her staying with him. His tail was wagging pretty fast, something he apparently didn't notice until he hit hers with it. The female fox snuggled as close as she could get without accidently bumping his wounds. Once settled, they both lay their heads down and closed their eyes. Eevee was soon fast asleep, feeling a thousand times better than he knew he looked.

In the cafeteria of the pokémon center, Mia, Westen, and the kids were enjoying lunch, or at least trying to. The group, save for Westen, was feeling gloomy about Eevee and the condition he was in. They had yet to see him wake up from his slumber.

"Is Eevee gonna be okay, Mia?" Tammy asked, stuffing her mouth with a pink poffin.

"Yeah, he's been sleeping for a long time," Kato added, stuffing his mouth with a red poffin.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine," the buizel said reassuringly. "The doctors say he should wake up any time now. How's your head, Kai? Do you still have a headache?"

"A little," the blue pup mumbled. "My head feels like it's still pounding sometimes, but I'm okay." Nina, Perry, and Westen were quietly eating their food, not really having anything to contribute to the conversation. It's been two days since their fight with Berret and his gang. They had been told by Carmen the extent of Eevee's injuries. The kids didn't fully understand what it all meant, so Mia had to dumb it down for them. Westen didn't show any hints of concern for the injured fox. He didn't make any smart remarks about it, so the buizel assumed he had enough respect and sense not to say anything.

While the skarmory and lombre are fine, they're suffering a world of punishment at the daycare. The two are to take care of all of Cari's chores under her supervision, run intense training drills, help around the house, and whatever else Carmen could think of that would serve as punishment until their trainers get back to pay for damages to the house and medical bills. With Berret out of commission, the two were actually targets of abuse from the younger pokémon in the daycare. Cari wouldn't let the younger pokémon go as far as outright attacking them, but she let them get in a couple of well-deserved shots every now-and-then. The skarmory would snap at them sometimes, which always earned a warning growl from the supervising mightyena, but the lombre would take it quietly and move on with his day.

"Hey, what's with the long faces, guys?" Cari asked as she approached the table.

"Nothing really; we're just wondering when we get to talk to Eevee again," Mia replied as she bit into a blue poffin.

"Eevee? He just woke up a little while ago." Everyone, except for Westen, jumped in their seats in surprise.

"Really? We can talk to him?" Nina asked excitedly.

"Err... no, not anymore. He went back to sleep." Mia and the kids' excitement were shot back down when she said that, but not as much as before. "But... look at it this way; at least you know he's fine. He just had a conversation with Fay and since they're taking a nap, you guys can check on him when he gets up around dinnertime." She saw a few smiles appear on their faces and proceeded to sit next to her trainer at the table next to theirs.

*****8*****

A week has passed since Eevee had first awoken from his fight with Berret. He's been cleared from the pokémon center on his second day of consciousness since he was showing signs of a fast recovery. During that time, he's been able to talk with his friends again. Most of them showed their concern for him, Mia and Kai especially, but he assured them that he would be okay as long as he didn't move around too much. Kai felt guilty about not being able to be much use in the fight and apologized several times. Eevee cheered him up though by telling the pup that he was sorry for letting him fight in the first place and that he should've been more concerned for his safety. The fox had noticed the wounds across Mia's back and asked her about them. She told him not to worry about them since they didn't hurt anymore.

When Cari came by, Eevee expressed his sincere gratitude for saving him from certain death and for dealing with Berret. The mightyena appreciated his praise, but told him that the zangoose's beating was long overdue. Westen was surprisingly quiet around him, not even making any smart comments about his reckless decision to fight a losing battle or mentioning the deal they made prior to the fight. In fact, the treecko told him that staying at the daycare until he well again was more than enough to repay him. Eevee didn't argue with him, thinking that free food and a place to stay for multiple nights was a fair trade as well. Needless to say, the brown fox was glad that everyone made it out okay and didn't injure themselves as much as he did. Until Eevee was back on his feet again, everyone stayed at the daycare center. Carmen was a little reluctant at first, due to having extra mouths to feed, but with Mia occasionally going out to feed herself and the group, it didn't turn out quite as expensive as she thought it would be.

"Are you sure about this?" Fay asked, clearly showing concern.

"If I can't do this on my own, there's no way I can even think about going on that walk with you," Eevee replied, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. He looked down the flight of stairs as if they were his worst enemy. He had been trying to get down the stairs on his own for two days now, but every single time he tried, his midsection would start hurting again and either Cari or Carmen would have to come by to carry him down. Today was the day he was going to do it. "Okay, I'm ready." He took a cautious first step down. "So far, so good." A second step was quickly followed by a third, a little too quickly because he winced at a sharp pain in his side.

"Are you okay?" Fay asked, seeing the pained look in his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine; just a moved a little too fast for a second there." He took the rest of the way at a fairly slow pace, reaching the bottom in just under two minutes.

"If I have to wait that long for you, I might as well just go get somebody to carry you," Fay said, a bit of teasing in her voice. Eevee grinned and playfully licked her cheek, earning a giggle from her.

"Give me a break, it was my first time. I'll get faster soon enough," he replied.

"I'll be an old eevee at the rate you're going. C'mon, you need some exercise outside anyway." The two foxes walked side by side as they made their way outside through the giant tarp serving as a temporary back door until the glass could be replaced. The warm summer sun was high in the sky and the wind that was blowing felt pleasantly cool against their fur. Immediately, Eevee could see Tammy, Kato, and Perry playing tag with the shinx cubs and some other pokémon nearby. Nina was sunbathing next to Kai, who seemed to be meditating. He could see Westen sleeping under the shade of a nearby tree, but Mia was nowhere in sight. He assumed that the sea weasel went off to Cari somewhere.

"So, where do you want to go to first?" Fay asked.

"Um... I don't know. I'm feeling kind of hungry, but I'm not feeling those poffins or that dry food, so... someplace with food."

"Okay, um..." She looked around to see if there was anything nearby that would satisfy him. "Oh! There's a berry bush over there! Do you want to eat that?"

"Sure, that sounds good." Fay led over to the mentioned bush that was only a two minute walk away. There were pecha berries all over it, making Eevee drool in anticipation. Fay picked one off and set it in front of him.

"Eat up," she said happily. Eevee was happy to do so, but a thought struck him that made him hesitant to start.

"H-hey, do you wanna... uh, I don't know... share it with me?" He felt his face and the tips of his ears heat up with embarrassment. Fay cocked her head to the side, wondering why he wanted to suddenly share food with her. "I-I mean, you don't have to... You can get your own... it's just, um... what?" The female fox was giggling at him.

"You're cute," she said. "Sure, I'll share with you." She lied down opposite of him and took the first bite. Eevee was thrilled that she had actually agreed to share with him, to the point where Fay had to remind him to eat.

As they ate their small meal, Eevee couldn't help but stare at the beautiful fox in front of him, except for the times she glanced in his direction. He would suddenly find something else to look at, hoping that she didn't catch him staring at her. It was almost as if he were under some sort of spell, a completely new experience to him. Her subtle beauty and charm attracted him to her like a magnet for reasons he couldn't even explain to himself. He felt that he needed to... do stuff with her, no matter what it was. His brain thought of hundreds of things the two could do together. He knows he'll be content as long as he's with her, or at least that's what his instincts told him. They haven't steered him wrong so far, although they led him down the painful path of righteousness, but he wasn't complaining about it much.

"So," Fay started, "I know it's a little late to ask you this but... Do you have a trainer?" The sudden question made Eevee gasp as he was swallowing, resulting in him chocking and going into a couching fit. Fay jumped up to help him, but he held his paw up to stop her. Once he calmed down, he turned to face her again.

"Why... do you ask?" he panted.

"Well, when Carmen went to look for your pokéball that day you fought Berret, she couldn't find it. We all thought that it was strange because trainers always leave their pokéballs with her in case of emergencies or whatever. So, when none of us could find it, she assumed that you were a wild eevee and had to stop you from bleeding out herself while she was driving to the pokémon center. I was kind of wondering the same thing. Cari told me everything you told her about yourself, which... didn't help much, so I was thinking that maybe you could tell me." She looked at the ground shamefully, as if she was being rude for asking.

"Oh..." He hadn't expected her to ask him that, but he should've known that it was only a matter of time before anyone asked him. He was taken to a pokémon center to be treated without a pokéball after all. He sighed, dreading the conversation he was going to have, what he needed to have. He was going to leave her eventually; there was no question about that, but doing so without an explanation would be inconsiderate to her feelings. "I have a trainer... but we got separated."

"Separated? How did you get separated?" she exclaimed.

"It's a long story, but it'll explain why my friends and I are here... and why we have to leave as soon as I'm fully healed." Shocked once again, she opened her mouth to ask another question, but Eevee stopped her. He told her the whole story from the beginning, from the day he was captured to how he ended up at the daycare. He told her of what he knew about how the other pokémon were taken from their homes, or trainer in his and Mia's case. She hung on his every word, gasping and going through all kinds of emotions. As he was telling her this, her mood seemed to worsen the more she came to realize that her new friend, and savior, was going to leave and possibly never see her again. By the time he was finished, she was practically depressed.

"So... now you know the whole deal," Eevee said, feeling just as depressed as she did. "As amazing as it is hanging out with you and the others, at the end of the day, I just want to go home. If I could, I would stay here with you and wait for the day my trainer might pass by here." Fay's ears perked up at the sound of the idea.

"Why don't you do that?" she asked.

"I can't do that because Mia also has a trainer and we both have the responsibility to get the kids back to their homes. Staying here won't get anyone where they want to be and I want them to be happy, even if it means that I have to wait longer to get what I want." Fay's heart skipped a beat when he said the last part of his sentence. She didn't think that he could be any nobler than he was already, but he surprised her yet again. He was unlike anyone she's ever met before. Sure, she knew a couple of his imperfections, or quirks as she likes to call them. She knows that he doesn't like it when anyone, especially girls, touch his privates for reasons that she now knew thanks to his story. She doesn't mind his occasional swearing, but she noticed that he tries to censor himself around her and the younger pokémon. As far as she knew, he was the nicest, most honest, responsible pokémon she's knows.

"So... When will I see you again?" Fay asked.

"I don't know but, when I find my trainer, I'll be sure to make coming back here to see you my top priority." The next thing he knows, Fay leaned forward, giving him a lick on his cheek.

"I think I can wait for a slowpoke like you to come back around here," she said playfully, though somewhat a little forced. "Just don't keep me waiting too long. I'll miss hanging out with you." Eevee was grinning ear to ear and licked her back.

"I'll miss hanging out with you too." Both foxes smiled contently at each other, feeling better after everything was said and done.

"So... You wanna finish eating this?" she asked as she shuffled on her paws. Eevee stared at the mostly eaten berry.

"Nah, let's just... Soak up some sun." He rolled over onto his back and stretched out, Fay following his example and snuggling up to him.

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