PLEASE NOTE: I do not own Pokémon, and I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it, because the idea of capturing animal-like creatures to make them fight each other is pretty sick, actually. Be this as it may, every species of Pokémon referred to in the following text and everything else that is a part of the Pokémon franchise is the property of their rightful owner, however, the actual story belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended.


WARNING: This story contains sexual intercourse between one female and several male Pokémon. If this bothers you in some way, then I advise you not to read further. I am not responsible for any kinds of mental damages that this story may or may not cause.


Thank you.


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Ruin of the Meek

Part 1: They cannot go on


The sunlight bathed the forest in its gentle warmth. June had just begun and the world seemed to be full of life and energy. It was still a long time until the more depressing seasons of the year would arrive and so, Moon was looking forward to at least three very enjoyable months. She loved the summer sun, for she was an Espeon. The gem on her forehead glowed in the warm light and filled her with joy, making her forget all her worries. A gentle breeze ruffled through her purplish fur, ensuring that she wouldn't feel too hot. During this time of year, the world was certainly beautiful beyond comparison; the singing of many bird Pokémon could be heard in the distance, the grass was green and soft under Moon's paws and the trees and bushes had never looked more alive. 

The Espeon was currently busy looking for edible berries, roots and plants, which she piled up on a big leaf that she could trail behind her, just like her father had taught her. From him, she had learned how important it was to always be gentle, tender and careful, no matter what she did, so she took a lot of time collecting the food, as she tried her best not to destroy or rip out anything she didn't need.
Not only had Moon received a large amount of valuable advice from her father, he also was the one who had given her a name. He was an Umbreon, and when his daughter had been born, he had named her after the thing he adored the second most only after his mate. Moon's mother hadn't objected, probably because she had never been particularly interested in her daughter...

"Moon!" Just the sound of this voice was enough to make the Espeon wince. She turned around and saw her mother stepping out from the brush. Her fur was brighter than Moon's, but the gem on her forehead was of a dark red shade; it almost had the color of blood. Even though Moon had reached adulthood some time ago, the older Espeon was still taller than her. She also seemed to be sleeker and more elegant than her daughter, but she was not beautiful. This was something Moon was absolutely certain of. A creature with such a hard, cold stare could never be called beautiful.
There was something about this Espeon called Reska that made Moon instinctively duck a little and expect the worst, and there were certainly a lot of things about her that just made the younger Espeon angry. From the way Reska had raised her daughter, Moon had learned that a Pokémon like her should not have children. A Pokémon like Reska should not even have a mate, at least not one like Pharion, Moon's father. She simply didn't deserve him.

"You're taking too long." Reska always seemed to be yelling, even if she was talking in a calm tone. Everything about her was intimidating.

"You always take too long with everything you do. If you were to consider spending a bit more effort on finding food that we desperately need to stay alive, you might just manage to return home with at least half as much as this for once..." Reska stepped aside, granting Moon an unobscured view on the large pile she had gathered. The younger Espeon frowned as she spotted many berries that looked old or squished and quite a few roots and sticks that didn't seem to be edible at all. At first she wanted to speak up against her mother, but Reska's hard stare was resting on her, making it very hard for her to gather up enough courage for something like this. In the end, Moon simply kept quiet, but she managed to at least keep looking at her mother without turning away.

"I don't even know why we keep feeding you," Reska spoke with just a hint of disgust in her voice. "Then again, you'd probably starve if you had to live alone, so throwing you out of our den would be a rather cruel thing to do..." The older Espeon turned her back on her daughter and slowly started walking. "Let's head back and see if your father has done something useful for once." Since Reska had left without taking her leaf with her, it was up to Moon to take both leaf stalks between her teeth and drag all the food along behind her. Even though she was used to this, it was still very exhausting work, especially since she had to watch out not to drop anything and still follow her mother without falling behind, as Reska took every opportunity she could find to yell at her daughter.

For a while they walked without talking, avoiding hills and dense bushes with the only noticeable sound coming from Moon, as she was panting through her clenched teeth. Then, Reska slowly came to a halt and turned her head to look back at her daughter.

"It's not easy having to drag all this stuff with you, is it?" she asked. Moon stood still and opened her mouth, now taking deep breaths, almost gasping for air.

"It'd be a lot easier if you helped me," she spoke, managing to sound at least a little bit accusing. Her mother now turned around to face her and slowly sat down. Nothing about her posture signaled that she might feel insulted, but her forked tail was raised, swaying from the left to the right in an almost threatening manner.

"You have to learn how to do this by yourself." Moon was certain that she knew exactly how to stay alive on her own; her father had always taught her very well. However, she decided not to say anything as Reska continued: "You know, you wouldn't have to work so hard if your father actually managed to bring down some prey for once." Moon's eyes tightened. It wasn't too hard for her to take when the older Espeon insulted her, but she wouldn't let her get away with speaking badly about her father.

"Daddy is too gentle to hurt anyone," she said, now with a bit of sharpness in her voice. "That is something truly admirable." Very slowly, a small grin appeared on Reska's face, but it didn't serve to make the older Espeon seem any friendlier.

"Just listen to yourself," she spoke in a mocking tone, "calling him "daddy". You're not a little girl anymore, Moon, you're an adult now, and you should act accordingly." Moon slowly became less angry again. Reska wasn't talking about her father anymore, so anything she was going to say now was at least more or less acceptable. "You should try to find a mate, for example," Reska added. "Someone you could live together with, someone you could mate with... It must be really embarrassing to still be a virgin at your age." The older Espeon noticed that Moon wasn't going to say anything in response. She turned around and started walking again; however, she kept talking, even though her daughter had trouble picking up the leaves and following her quickly enough.

"You know, I've had dozens of males before your father," she spoke in a tone of voice that sounded as if she was proud of what she was saying. "Just about everyone wanted me. In the end I decided to settle with Pharion, of course, because..." The word hung in the air for a moment. Reska shook her head. "Actually, I don't even remember the reason," she mumbled. Moon's ears twitched as she heard these words. Reska had always claimed that she loved her father. The younger Espeon had never actually believed her, of course, but it still surprised her to hear her mother talk this way.

"I thought you love him," Moon spoke. Reska looked at her for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Oh, I do love him," she replied. "I just don't know why."








The small family of two Espeons and one Umbreon lived in a cave that they had dug into a hill with a large tree on top of it. It wasn't particularly big, as this would have caused the hill to collapse under the weight of the tree, but it was enough for three Pokémon. The entrance was framed by two thick roots. It led directly into the one room the cave had, which served as a place for both eating and sleeping for every member of the family. Moon was relatively certain to know the reason why her parents apparently didn't need any private space just for themselves, and she wasn't quite sure what to think about this.
Next to the entrance there lay another large leaf, which had a pile of food on it, that was just a little bigger than Moon's and certainly a lot smaller than Reska's. However, Moon was sure that her father had collected the tastiest berries, plants and roots he had been able to find, whereas Reska had probably taken just about everything she had stumbled across. Still, the younger Espeon's gaze remained on the food only for a second, as she quickly recognized the yellow rings in front of the dark cave entrance, which were the only part of her father she could clearly make out in front of the black background. She immediately let go of the leaves she was dragging and dashed towards her father.

"Daddy!" She almost ran him over, but managed to stop right in front of the Umbreon and rubbed her cheek along his neck in an affectionate manner. Moon then looked at his face and saw him greet her with a loving smile.

"My sweetie..." Her father gave her a soft lick across her cheek and kept his eyes on her for a moment. His red eyes were deep and full of warmth. A long time ago, Moon had wished for her mother to look at her this way, too, but nowadays she was quite glad that only her father did this. It made it special. It showed her that nobody cared about her as much as her father did, and this made her feel warm and safe and happy. Only Pharion could invoke these feelings, and he managed to do it just by looking at her already.
However, after a short while her father raised his head in order to look at Reska instead. Moon watched what was going on with Pharion's face and to her it was as if she was being impaled by an angry Nidorino. Her father's smile grew broader, his eyes seemed to glisten and he started to slightly wag his tail. Reska, however, did not seem to be nearly as excited as he stepped closer to her.

"I missed you, my love," he spoke. Hearing those truthful words, Moon swallowed. She slowly sat down, not knowing whether or not she actually wanted to witness what was going to go on between her parents. Her father had always been the best mate the young Espeon could possibly have imagined; he was honest, faithful and so very devoted to Reska that he probably didn't even know of the existence of other females, with the single exception of his daughter, of course. It was painful to watch how his mate treated him.
Very slowly, Reska's gaze went from Pharion's face towards the pile of food next to him. She frowned.

"What is this?" she asked, sounding as cold as two blocks of ice crashing into each other. The Umbreon looked at the food as well and blinked.

"That's the food I've collected," he replied and turned his head back towards Reska, once again showing her a broad smile. "I've made sure to only pick the very best..."

"If I remember correctly, I had asked you to bring back at least a Rattata," Reska remarked before looking back at her mate. "I'm sick of those plants. It's been ages since I last ate a good piece of meat!" The smile on Pharion's face disappeared and his tail stopped wagging as he looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I tried to catch something, but they all got away, I'm really sorry..."

"You didn't try hard enough!" Reska shouted at the male in front of her, who seemed to be shrinking in size. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't have gotten behind this by now?! You let them escape on purpose, just because you're not willing to kill anyone! Not even for your mate!" Moon pricked up her ears and managed to hear her father mutter "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." over and over again, but the older Espeon apparently didn't care about what he was saying.

"And you claim to love me," she spoke, sounding very disappointed. She breathed deeply. "I must say, I'm surprised. Do you remember how you said you'd fulfill all my wishes, no matter what I'd ask for?"

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I tried, but I just couldn't, I'm sorry..."

"You know, I thought I could trust you, but you apparently don't even want to try to make me happy these days, I really..."

"Why don't you just go hunting by yourself if that's so important to you?" Moon snarled. She had clenched her teeth. Right now, she hated her mother. Her father was the sweetest, gentlest, most wonderful Pokémon to ever wander this planet, and Reska had nothing better to do than hurt him. The older Espeon turned her head towards her daughter and apparently tried to stare her down, but Moon didn't feel intimidated this time. Instead, she felt her muscles become tense, readying her for an eventual battle. She knew that she would fight for her father. It wouldn't matter that her enemy was her own mother, she was ready to take on everyone who wanted to hurt him, everyone in the whole world.

"Hunting?" Reska spat out the word. "That's the male's job." She shook her head. "Well, I guess I can't expect you to know about these things, Moon, you've never been with anyone, after all..."

"Can't you see you're hurting daddy by demanding these things from him?" Moon cut her off. She was trying to calm down a little, but it was hard. Of course her mother wouldn't attack her, but she almost wished she did. Nothing could possibly make her angrier than her father being treated in such a terrible way.

"I hurt him?" Reska spoke in an unbelieving tone. "What are you talking about? I'm just taking him up on an offer he made, and it's certainly not my fault that he's too much of a wimp to keep his promises..." Moon growled and shot her mother a hateful stare, but before anything else could happen, her father looked at her and said:

"Please go inside the den, sweetie. This is something you shouldn't have to bother with." The younger Espeon blinked. As she noticed Reska's triumphant expression, she began:

"But daddy, I..."

"Please... Your mother and I need to be alone for a while, my sweetie..." Moon looked into her father's red eyes and swallowed. They showed an expression of indescribable pain and she knew she would just make it worse if she insisted on staying with her parents. Her father didn't want her to witness Reska yelling at him. He wanted to protect her from things like this. After a short moment had passed, she lowered her gaze.

"I'll do anything you want, daddy," she whispered. Moon then turned around and slowly padded through the entrance and into the family den. The faint glowing that came from the gem in her forehead barely illuminated the darkness, but her eyes would soon grow used to the absent light.
Moon sat down near the far end of the cave and sighed softly.







Reska and Pharion had walked a little ways into the forest, so that Moon wouldn't be able to hear them. The Espeon was sitting in front of her mate, continuously yelling at him, while the Umbreon kept his eyes to the ground, apologizing for everything she accused him of having done. After a while, however, he slowly raised his gaze a little. There seemed to be an orange hue around Reska's body, which came from the sunlight that filtered through the canopy. It was obvious that she was very angry at him, but right now Pharion only noticed her shining black eyes and the sound of her sweet voice. He wasn't able to focus on what she was saying; all he knew was that she was talking to him, and he didn't need anything else. Very slowly, a smile formed on his face as he remembered how very lucky he was to be allowed to spend his life with this wonderful female.

"I love you," he whispered. Reska stopped shouting at him and frowned.

"Were you even listening to me?" she asked in an annoyed tone. Pharion swallowed.

"I... I'm sorry, Reska..." he stuttered as he slowly stepped closer towards his mate, "I tried my best, but... then I looked at you, and now I can't think of anything else than you..." He stopped as the Espeon leaned back a little; apparently she didn't want him to come too close to her at the moment. He sat back down on the ground and sighed deeply. "I want to be good enough for you," Pharion continued. "I'm really sorry for all the things I've done wrong... Please forgive me..." Reska's expression slowly grew softer.

"That's alright, I guess," she spoke calmly. "But you really have to try harder." The Umbreon nodded quickly.

"I'll do anything you want... Anytime you want... Really, I promise..." The Espeon smiled a little. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted from Pharion's back. All he wanted was to make his beloved mate happy; something had to be terribly wrong when she wasn't smiling.

"I probably shouldn't be too hard on you," she said, now inching a little closer towards her mate. "Now, there's something else I think we should talk about..." she went on, turning her head in several directions, apparently making sure that no one was nearby. Pharion smiled at his mate. She had forgiven him and everything would be alright... From the moment he had gotten to know her, he had known that he wanted to spend his entire life with her. He had never really known why, and he had never actually wondered why; there was something very special about Reska, but he couldn't really say what it was, and it didn't matter anyway. He had such strong feelings for her that they drowned out every single rational thought.

"It's about Moon," the Espeon spoke. "Don't you think she's getting a bit too old to live with us?" Pharion blinked. He had never thought about this before; sure, all children leave their parents at one point, but Moon...?

"Well... she's an adult, yes," he spoke slowly, "but as far as I know, she's never expressed a desire to leave us..."

"That doesn't matter!" Reska snapped. Pharion winced a little at her sudden outburst, and so she went on in a softer tone: "It's just natural that she wants to leave. Maybe she doesn't even know it yet. She might need us to help her understand that she has this wish." She brought her face closer to Pharion's and showed him a somewhat mischievous grin as she whispered: "And just think of all the time we'll have just for ourselves when she'll be gone..."

Pharion swallowed. He usually never disagreed with his mate, but his daughter was the only living creature he truly cared about, except for Reska, of course. Moon had never seemed like she'd live alone rather than with her parents. In fact, she had always appeared quite attached to the Umbreon; when he thought about it now, he noticed that the young Espeon had never been very close with her mother. Pharion couldn't understand why.

"If she wants to go, I won't stop her," he spoke, "but she doesn't want to, at least not yet. Just last night she said she wants to stay with us forever, and I..." The Umbreon stopped talking, not just because Reska seemed to be getting angrier again, but also because his own words had made him think. Recalling the situation, he couldn't help but notice that Moon hadn't said anything about her mother. She had told Pharion that she wanted to stay with him forever, but not...

"I think you haven't understood me." The Espeon's voice was shivering a little, but she apparently managed to stay calm. "I doubt that Moon will truly be happy unless she can find a male to be with. And we'd get to have some time alone..." She gave him a peck on his cheek. "That'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

Reska's lips had barely touched his skin, but it had been enough for Pharion to feel like he was on fire. His ears and his tail stiffened up and his cheek was tingling where Reska had kissed him. She was such a magnificent, divine being and just the thought of her touching him was wonderful enough already. Pharion knew that he only existed to fulfill her wishes. There was no way he could deny her anything.

"I'll talk to her about it, and if she wants to leave..."

"I want you to make her leave, don't you get it?!" The Espeon was staring at her mate angrily. He blinked and shook his head.

"But... my love, we can't just..."

"Of course we can!" she yelled. "You're her father! Tell her that we're tired of her being around! Tell her to leave us alone!" The Umbreon looked concerned.

"You... you must be a little confused..." He lowered his gaze. "I'm really sorry I've made you so angry... I know you love Moon, you can't really..."

"Didn't you just say you'd do anything I want, anytime I want it?" Pharion didn't look up. He hated himself for disagreeing with his mate, but he had to do it. He was sure she didn't mean what she said, she was just a little worked up at the moment, and this had been his fault. Reska was kind and loving, she'd never ask him to do something like this.

"Please, dearest..." he began a little hesitantly, "I just don't think you really want me to do this, Moon is our daughter, and..."

"You're such an idiot!" The Espeon turned around and dashed off into the forest in the direction of their den, leaving her mate behind. Pharion quickly raised his head.

"Love, please wait...!" 

But she was already gone.







It wasn't unusual for Moon that she wasn't sure whether or not she was doing the right thing. As she had grown older, it had become harder and harder for her to leave her father alone with her mother. There was no way to tell what she did to him. With a female like Reska, just about anything seemed to be possible, as long as it resulted it emotional suffering. However, Pharion had made it very clear that he wanted Moon to stay inside the den, and the young Espeon didn't want to be disobedient. She knew she had to be a good daughter, not only in order to make up for her mother being such a terrible mate, but simply because she loved her father and she wanted to do everything she could to make him happy.

Not very much sunlight found its way into the den. Most of the time it was only illuminated by the two Espeons' glistening red gems and the faint glowing of the yellow rings in Pharion's black fur. Thus, Moon immediately noticed it as her mother entered. An angry red light made her face visible in the darkness.

"Get out of here, you little brat!" Reska barked. "I want to be alone!" Moon blinked in surprise. She didn't move.

"Where's daddy?" she asked. For a short moment she felt like adding "What have you done to him?", but the thought of Reska physically attacking her mate seemed deviant. She did appear to enjoy hurting him, but so far she had never been actually violent.

"Somewhere in the forest, I guess," Reska replied as she sat down on the ground. "Go look for him and leave me alone!" Moon nodded. She certainly didn't want to stay with her mother any longer than she absolutely had to, and judging from the way Reska acted, there had to have been some kind of argument taking place between her mate and her, which meant that Pharion certainly needed someone to talk to. Moon would be there for him. Without saying anything else she quickly dashed out of the small cave and into the daylight.
Her mother's traces were still easily visible in the grass. Moon followed them into the slightly deeper parts of the forest, perking up her large ears so that she wouldn't miss any sound that possibly came from her father. She heard the usual noises of bug Pokémon and bird types, but there was something else there as well. It sounded like a mixture of heavy breathing, sobbing and whimpering; someone was crying.
Looking behind a few more bushes, Moon finally found her father. He was sitting under a tree with his head hung low, and as far as Moon could tell, his whole body seemed to be shaking. She approached him very carefully; he hadn't noticed her yet.

"Daddy?" she whispered. Pharion jerked and quickly raised his head. For a moment the Espeon saw his teary eyes and the damp fur on his cheeks. She felt a sudden sting of pain and anger. This was Reska's fault.
Pharion apparently didn't want her to see him cry, as he turned his head to the side and breathed deeply, trying to stop his tears from flowing.

"My sweetie..." Moon quickly stepped up to her father's side. This was not an entirely unusual situation. The Espeon gave her father an affectionate lick across his cheek and watched as he slowly turned his head in order to look at her. His deep red eyes seemed so full of sorrow that Moon instantly felt the desire to snuggle up to him to make him feel better. She knew that right now her father was recalling every single situation in which his mate had hurt him in some way. Moon feared that one day this might simply become too much for him to take.

"You don't have to hide anything from me," the Espeon spoke in a warm, yet worried tone. "I'll be there for you and I'll always do my best to make things better." Pharion smiled at her. Moon was glad that her presence seemed to make him feel a little better, but she also sighed inwardly because she knew that this was not the same kind of smile he showed his mate.

"Please don't worry too much about me, my sweetie," he said calmly. "You shouldn't weigh down your mind with such problems. I'll be fine..." Moon shook her head and stepped closer towards him, softly rubbing her cheek along his.

"I'd do anything to make you happy, daddy," she whispered. "I know you need someone who truly cares about you..." She retracted her head a little and looked deeply into his eyes. "I love you."
The Umbreon nodded slowly and kissed Moon's cheek in return. She closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed this mild intimacy while blushing under her dense purple fur. Moon breathed deeply and her nose was filled with the scent of her father, the one person who had loved her and cared for her from the very beginning of her life. It made her feel safe and warm; she knew she didn't have to be afraid of anything when she was with her father.

"I love you, too, sweetie." He was being completely honest, but Moon knew exactly that he didn't have the same feelings for her that she had for him. From Pharion's point of view, Reska always came first. The older Espeon owned the true love of the most wonderful male in the world, and she didn't appreciate it one bit.

"It's simply awful that Reska treats you like this," Moon spoke in a low tone. "You should ask yourself if she's really..." Her father shook his head.

"You shouldn't say such things about your mother," he said, sounding neither angry nor hurt. He always spoke to his daughter in a warm, caring tone of voice, no matter what had happened. "Reska just lost her nerves because I made her feel unloved..." He lowered his gaze and sighed deeply. "This is all my fault. She was right to get angry at me, I really acted like a..."

"She'd never get angry at you if she really loved you!" Moon knew exactly that what she was saying was the truth. She knew that, if she was Pharion's mate, she would be so very grateful that she would assure him of her love every single day. She knew that she would never get angry at him. It was simply impossible to get angry at someone like him.
Her father just smiled at her and shook his head again.

"Just because your mother got a little upset doesn't mean she wouldn't love me, sweetie. I made a mistake and she corrected me, and everything's going to be alright." He placed his head on the back of Moon's neck in a protective manner. "Don't worry so much, my sweetie," he continued in a soothing tone. "Your mother will have calmed down soon, and I'll do my very best not to annoy her so much ever again..."

"She made you cry, daddy," Moon spoke lowly as she rested her head on her father's shoulder. "How can you still protect her?"

"It wasn't her intention, my sweetie," Pharion claimed. "Reska would never hurt me on purpose and I tend to sometimes be a bit too emotional anyway. Everything that happened was my fault. Please don't accuse your mother of anything."
The Espeon sighed deeply. When it came to Reska it was downright impossible to make her father accept the truth. She decided to let this topic rest for the time being and instead focused on the feeling of her father's warm, soft fur gently brushing across her cheek. Before she knew it she was purring lowly, simply enjoying being together with the Umbreon without Reska anywhere around.
After a short while her father began to talk again.

"There's something your mother wanted me to talk about with you," he began slowly. The topic was apparently making him feel uncomfortable, as his tone of voice had become even more careful and hesitant than it usually was. "You know... you've reached a certain age at which you might not want to be so... close with your parents anymore." Moon decided to forego mentioning that she had, in fact, never been close with her mother and just listened as Pharion continued: "Reska thinks it could be time for you to leave us and have your own life now, so..." Moon instantly stepped back and looked at her father while shaking her head. It didn't surprise her that such a suggestion had come from Reska. However, the younger Espeon knew that leaving was out of the question, even if she had wanted to. She couldn't just leave her father alone with someone who kept trying to ruin his life.

"I never said I wanted to leave, did I?" she asked. Pharion shook his head and smiled understandingly.

"You're right, sweetie, and that's what I've told your mother, too... But she thinks you might actually want it without even knowing it yet, it'd just be natural, after all..." Moon blinked. She wondered why it was apparently so very important to Reska to get rid of her. So far, the older Espeon had just ignored her whenever she could.

"Do you want me to leave, daddy?" she asked in a lower tone, feeling her mouth slowly going dry. Her father looked at the ground.

"My sweetie, it's really not so important what I may or may not want, I'd like you to make this decision without having to worry about..."

"But I want to know, daddy. Please tell me..." Pharion sighed deeply.

"I... I don't want you to leave, sweetie, I want you to stay with me forever..." He raised his gaze again and smiled sadly. Even if she had tried it, Moon couldn't have turned away. Her gaze was locked with his as he spoke: "I love you, and... of course it hurts when someone you love has to leave, but... I know it'd be wrong to keep you here against your will..."

"I've never wanted to leave, daddy, and I don't think I ever will." Her father seemed to be surprised.

"But... Reska said she was sure you'd want to..."

"Reska doesn't know anything about how I feel!" Pharion instantly ducked a little and his ears twitched. It was as if a shiver went through his eyes and Moon immediately felt terrible about what she had done. She knew she couldn't act like this in front of someone like her father, who got yelled at on a daily basis.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I'm really sorry, I didn't want to shout..." Pharion shook his head and smiled again, but it appeared somewhat weak. His tail was trembling slightly.

"It's alright, my sweetie," he replied. "I'm just a bit too sensitive. I'm the one who should apologize, I didn't want to make you worry..." Moon slowly stepped closer towards him again. Her father had taught her how to be calm and gentle, but Reska's bad influence sometimes came through. Even though she hated this thought more than anything in the world: she was, after all, her mother's daughter.
The Espeon gave her father a kiss on his forehead and spoke softly:

"I'll always be there for you, daddy. I won't leave you alone." Pharion said nothing in response, but he gently nuzzled his daughter's cheek. Moon closed her eyes and tried to imagine a life without Reska. 
It didn't work.








For the rest of the day, the atmosphere was tense. The family had come together in the den and not a single word was spoken as they ate what they had foraged. Moon noticed that Pharion kept giving his mate hopeful looks, but Reska didn't even seem like she wanted to acknowledge his existence. The younger Espeon sighed inwardly. It just got worse every day and she knew exactly that her father would never try to change anything. He would keep letting Reska mistreat him until it would be too late.
Looking at the entrance, Moon could see that the sun was setting. It reminded her of how tired she was. The constant worrying about Pharion exhausted her, and her own inability to do anything to help him just made it worse. She swallowed the last few bites of her meal and stretched her neck a little.

"I think I'll go to sleep," she announced, feeling a slight bit uncomfortable for having broken the silence all of a sudden. Her father looked at her and smiled as usual; the expression of her mother just seemed indifferent.
Pharion padded up to her and kissed her cheek.

"Have a good night, my sweetie," he spoke in such a warm tone that it made Moon's heart beat faster. She gave him a lick across his nose in return.

"Good night, daddy," she whispered. Pharion's eyes slowly moved in the direction of his mate and he nodded at Moon. She understood what he wanted her to do and turned her head to look at her mother.

"Good night, Reska," she said, trying not to sound too disgusted, if only for her father's sake. The older female nodded.

"Good night." Once more, Moon looked at Pharion. She tried her best to find something to say, something that would make everything better at once. However, there was no such thing, and thus she simply smiled at her father in an, as she was hoping, reassuring way. The young Espeon then stepped up to the wall of the small cave where she lay down and curled up around herself. With her head now resting on her front paws she closed her eyes, trying her best to remain calm.



When she heard the voices, she wasn't even able to say whether she had slept at all. Maybe it was just a minute that had passed, maybe it had been a few hours; there was no way to tell. She knew it was not very polite to listen in on a private conversation between her parents, but she also knew that she had to make sure her father would be alright. Moon stayed where she was and kept her eyes closed, but she perked up her ears attentively.



"I'd never try to keep you from doing anything you want to do, love, please believe me..." Pharion and Reska were sitting right in front of the cave exit. The Umbreon kept both his head and his tail in a low position; he was trying his best not to enrage his mate. Reska was sitting in front of him, coldly staring at him.

"If that's the case, then why do you insist on me staying here?" Pharion quickly shook his head and attempted to appear even smaller.

"I'd never insist... I... I mean... I just meant to say that... maybe you shouldn't go alone, what if something happens...?" Reska snorted disdainfully. The way she was sitting there, so very elegant and strong at the same time... Pharion was admiring her almost divine magnificence, and it only served to remind him once more that he was, in fact, not worthy of being her mate. He tried his best, but he always did everything wrong...

"I can watch out for myself!" Reska replied. Her tail was slowly swaying back and forth. "I've done this so many times now and nothing every happened. You should trust me a bit more." Pharion nodded quickly and lowered his gaze.

"Are... Are you sure you won't feel lonely...?" The Espeon rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Look, Pharion, I love you, but that doesn't mean I'd want to spend every single moment of my life together with you. I need some time for myself every once in a while." Pharion didn't say anything in response. He kept staring at the ground, now shivering a little. "I'm just going to go for a walk," Reska continued. "You're acting as if I was going to leave you and never return." Her eyes tightened a little. "You don't think I'd ever do that, do you?"

"No, no, of course not..." The Umbreon kept shaking his head. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I'm sorry... You can go for a walk, of course you can... I just... I just..."

"You just feel lonely without me, don't you?" Reska asked. Pharion nodded quickly without saying anything. A disfavoring noise came from the Espeon.

"Well, then you should stop being so selfish! I need to be alone for a bit! Do me a favor and try to understand me for once!" The Umbreon was pressing his body against the ground now. He had done it again. He had made Reska angry. Every single time this happened, he swore to himself that he would become a better mate in the future, but nothing had changed so far, and he hated himself for being so insufficient.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Please don't be angry, I'm sorry..." Reska had apparently enough of seeing him cower in misery. She stood up and turned her back on him.

"Have a good night," she said. Pharion raised his gaze and quickly sat up. He took a deep breath so that his voice wouldn't shiver too much.

"I... I'll be waiting for you..." Reska looked over her shoulder at him.

"I don't know when I'll be back. I might be gone for quite some time." The Umbreon nodded and managed to smile at her.

"That'll be alright... I'll wait..." Reska kept her gaze on him for a moment. She then began walking away.

"I love you!" Pharion called after her. The Espeon didn't stop walking as she replied:

"I love you, too." 
Pharion kept staring at her until she disappeared from his area of view.


"Daddy?" Now that Reska was gone, Moon knew it was safe to talk to her father. If the older Espeon had found out that she had listened to them talking, she certainly would have been in trouble, but Pharion wouldn't be angry at her.
She had stepped up behind him without him noticing it. Now that she had spoken, he quickly turned around to face her, blinking in surprise.

"My sweetie... I thought you were asleep..." Moon looked past her father and noticed that there was absolutely no light coming in through the entrance of the cave. It had to be night, which meant that quite some time had passed since she had lain down to sleep. All she could clearly see was the Umbreon in front of her, as his rings were glowing softly. For a short moment she felt excited; it was night and she and her father were the only two Pokémon in the den. However, she quickly shook this thought off and mentally scolded herself for it. This was not the right moment to be thinking of such things.

"I woke up," she replied. She kept looking at the entrance. "Where has Reska gone to?" Her father turned his head to the side.

"She... She's just going for walk," he mumbled. Moon blinked.

"That's a bit unusual," she said. "I mean, it's dark outside and she's left you behind... Why would she do such a thing?" From what the Espeon could see, it looked like Pharion was trying to make a smile appear on his face, but he didn't quite manage to do it.

"She does that quite often, sweetie. She says she sometimes just needs to be alone..." He looked at the ground and his ears drooped. "And that's not surprising... I keep making her feel bad, after all, so she probably just doesn't want me around all the time..." Moon couldn't take seeing her father so sad. She quickly stepped closer towards him and gave him a long lick along the side of his right ear.

"You've never made anyone feel bad, daddy," she spoke in a soft, warm tone. "You're a truly wonderful person, and it's awful of Reska to just leave you alone like this..."

"There's a good reason she did that, my sweetie," her father replied. He raised his head a little and this time he smiled at Moon. "And I'm not alone... You're still here for me, after all. And I'm sure Reska will be back soon." The Espeon nodded slowly. A certain thought had begun to form in her head.

"Do you think she's going to any kind of special place, daddy?" Pharion shook his head and sighed a little.

"She's probably just strolling through the forest... She has to recover from me always annoying her so much, you know..." Moon looked at him with a concerned expression.

"Daddy..." she began, but then she didn't continue. Telling her father that he hadn't done anything wrong wouldn't be of any use. He was simply unable to accept the idea of Reska just being an awful female, so he would proceed to feel responsible for everything, no matter what Moon said. The young Espeon shook her head and turned towards the cave entrance again.

"I'll follow her," she said. Moon simply knew that something was going on. It wasn't hard to tell that Reska kept at least one big secret from her mate, and she was going to find out what it was. Maybe it'd help her make Pharion understand that staying together with Reska was going to completely ruin him sooner or later.
The Umbreon frowned slightly.

"She said she wanted to be alone, sweetie..."

"I'll pay attention not to let her notice me, so I'll certainly not bother her," Moon replied quickly. Her father didn't seem to be convinced.

"It might be dangerous outside..." he began slowly, but the Espeon cut him off:

"I'm a big girl, daddy, and I promise I'll be very careful." She showed him a reassuring smile, even though the thought of leaving her father all alone in the den made her feel miserable. However, if she managed to find out something about what Reska was up to, this would benefit him in the end. 
"Besides, I'll be close to Reska," she added. "If anything does happen, I'll be able to call for help... and in case she gets in trouble, I can help her, too." The Umbreon slowly lowered his gaze and sighed a little.

"If... If you want to go, sweetie... I won't stop you, I won't order you to do anything..." Moon could tell how worried he was about her. She gave him a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Reska and I will be alright, daddy. I promise." These words did seem to cheer him up at least a little bit. He rubbed his cheek along hers and whispered:

"Please take care, my sweetie..." Moon closed her eyes for a short moment.

"I will, daddy." She had trouble moving. The Espeon wanted to find out what Reska was doing, but she also wanted to keep being with her father, especially now that they were so very close to each other. It would be wonderful to just snuggle with him all night long... but at some point, Reska would certainly return, and she would hurt Pharion again. If Moon wanted to help him, she had to act now.
Very reluctantly, she stepped back and looked at her father.

"I'll be back soon," she spoke. It was hard for her to just leave the Umbreon alone. Someone like him desperately needed those he loved to always be close, and Moon never felt completely alright without him, either. She turned away from his woeful red eyes and headed towards the den's exit. Before she went outside, she looked back over her shoulder. Her father was looking at her with a weak, but hopeful smile on his face. It was another one of those moments at which the Espeon wished that she could say something that would make him feel better, but as usual, nothing came to her mind.
She sighed inaudibly as she made her way out of the small cave, leaving her father behind.



Following Reska was not very hard. There weren't many nocturnal Pokémon in the area, so the only prominent scent in the air was the Espeon's. Apparently she had gone rather deep into the forest. Moon knew she didn't have to hurry much. She could tell from the trails that Reska couldn't be moving very quickly. However, the older Espeon did seem to have a definite destination in mind that she wanted to reach. She had walked in a more or less straight line, which only got interrupted by a few trees or bushes that stood in the way. From the beginning on, Moon hadn't believed that Reska was just taking a stroll. Maybe she was seeing someone else, the younger Espeon thought. It certainly wouldn't surprise her if Reska betrayed her mate. Moon recalled how her father had said that the older Espeon did this quite often. She wondered for just how long this had been going now...
Even though the forest became increasingly dense, Moon eventually came upon a small clearing. So far, the canopy had been too thick to grant her a clear view on the sky above, but now she could see everything. The movement of her paws eventually slowed down to a halt as the Espeon decided to sit down for a moment. It was a clear summer night, so the moon and hundreds of stars were easily visible. In spite of the circumstances, Moon smiled softly. Her father would have loved it. This was a night during which those who truly loved each other were supposed to sit side by side, marveling at the sight bestowed upon them by a gentle world. Seeing the great black sky unfold above her, an endless darkness with an uncountable number of smaller and larger lights illuminating it, Moon was once again reminded that there was only one Pokémon in the entire world that she wanted to spend the rest of eternity with. Everything seemed so pure and wonderful...
She took a deep breath and Reska's scent pushed itself back into her mind. The young Espeon gritted her teeth. Even when she was absent, the older female kept ruining everything. Moon stood up again and shook her head. Everything was quiet, except for the low sound of running water. There was a stream, not too far away. The Espeon knew she couldn't allow herself to lose her concentration; after all, Reska's trail would become harder to follow the longer she waited. She quickly left the clearing behind her, trying not to let her thoughts trail off to her father again.
It was just a few minutes later that Moon finally heard something. It made her stop instantly and perk up her ears. All she could be certain of, however, was that the sounds she was picking up were voices. She was still too far away in order to understand what was being said, so she had to get closer. Very carefully, she tiptoed through the dense forest, making sure not to step on a twig or anything else that could have made a noise and give away her location. Her father had not only taught her how to move without making a sound, he had also shown her how to hide effectively, and this knowledge certainly came in handy during this situation. As she drew nearer to the source of the voices, hardly even breathing in order to stay completely quiet, she could hear which words were spoken.

"...so you've been training that Attract move of yours, haven't you?" It was a male's voice, deep and a little rough; still, whoever was talking there seemed to be amused.

"You know you don't need to use that on us, babe, we're always ready." A different male had spoken. His voice wasn't as deep, but he seemed to be a bit impatient.
A soft chuckle came in response. It made Moon's entire body shiver slightly.

"It might not be necessary, but it's still a lot of fun..." It was Reska. In spite of Moon's efforts to keep quiet she sped up her walking pace a little; she simply had to see what was going on there.
She looked around and saw a few larger bushes, which, as she assumed, were standing right between her and the Pokémon she had overheard talking. Moon crouched down and snuck under the leafy branches, trying to remember all that her father had taught her. Since her purple fur was relatively easy to make out in the darkness, she should always make sure that there would be a thick layer of canopy between her and whomever it was that she didn't want to be discovered by. Right now, she managed to see through the branches with just one of her black eyes; it was a little hard to really recognize anything, but it'd have to be enough.
Reska was sitting in front of a tall, strong tree, facing towards the right, from Moon's point of view. The distance between the two Espeons wasn't bigger than maybe ten meters. Moon didn't want to turn her head, as this would have caused the leaves to rustle. Aside from Reska, she could also see two Raichus who were looking at the older female. One of them was a bit taller than the other one, but Moon couldn't make out any kinds of special details about them; it was simply too dark. There was one thing they had in common, though: They had raised their tails, slowly moving them back and forth. As far as the young Espeon could tell, they were anticipating something.

"You like playing your little games with us, don't you?" The words had been spoken with a chuckle. They hadn't come from either of the two Raichus, so there had to be at least three males there in total.
A mischievous grin appeared on Reska's face. Moon could only see it because of the small amount of light coming from the Espeon's gem.

"I guess I do, sometimes. However, I hardly think anyone of us has come here tonight just to joke around..." The smaller Raichu nodded quickly in response. The tip of his tail was now moving in circles.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right! Now, when do we finally get to begin?" Moon recognized the voice. This Raichu was the second Pokémon she had heard talking. It seemed like he wanted to step towards Reska, but the taller male next to him held him back with one outstretched paw.

"That's up to her, I suppose," the electric type said. Moon blinked. She hadn't heard his voice before, so there had to be at least four males there with Reska. The younger Espeon tried to let her gaze wander a bit, but it was simply impossible to see anything other than Reska, the tree behind her and the two Raichus in front of her without moving her head. However, now that the smaller Raichu was standing in a slightly different position, Moon could make out one more detail that almost made her gasp; between his hind legs, his large erection was easily visible, sticking out in front of his bright fur. The young Espeon knew she shouldn't be too surprised, as she had more or less expected this, but actually seeing it was something completely different. She quickly looked back at Reska, who was looking at the taller male.

"How very nice of you to make this clear, Liskar," she remarked, still grinning slightly. "Then again... maybe you just don't want to share me with anyone?" The Raichu named Liskar turned his head away a little. Reska smirked. Her gaze wandered and finally came to rest on the other Raichu's erection. When she spoke again, her tone of voice had changed. She was now sounding... seductive? This was the first thing that came to Moon's mind, but after a moment she realized that "lusty" was a much more fitting description.

"As far as I can see, no one here is in the mood for waiting any longer, including myself." She paused for a moment and looked up at the males in front of her. "So... which one of you boys wants to go first...?"
What followed was a mixture of grumbling noises, small growls and repeated utterances of the word "Me!". Moon tried her best to concentrate and, upon hearing another voice that had previously been unknown to her, came to the conclusion that there had to be at least five males. The smaller Raichu was hopping in place, waving at Reska with his front paws, apparently trying to get her attention. Liskar, on the other side, remained relatively calm; he simply raised one of his front paws and said something that Moon couldn't understand in the general noise that was building up. The older Espeon just seemed to be watching the scene unfold, all the while grinning to herself. She raised her head a little more, seemingly looking at someone who was standing further in the back.

"Could you come a little closer, Maryn?" The grumbling noises slowly died down and were replaced by shuffling sounds. The two Raichus moved aside, letting a relatively large Ivysaur step through between them. The leaves around the bud on his back teetered slightly as he came to a halt directly in front of Reska. He didn't say anything, but there was a suggestive grin on his face, which the Espeon returned.

"I'm not quite in the mood yet, so I need a big, strong male who knows what a female needs to help me a little..." Very slowly and certainly not without elegance, Reska turned her back on the Ivysaur. She then lay down on the ground, rolled over on her back and spread her hind legs widely. In spite of the darkness, Moon could see the Ivysaur called Maryn lick his lips.

"Come on," Reska whispered. "Do your best, then you might be in for a great reward a bit later on." It was now that Moon really didn't want to keep spying on the older Espeon. She felt the strong desire to either jump out of the bushes and tear Reska's throat open, or run back to the den so she could be alone with her father and forget everything that was terrible. However, the incredibility of the whole situation seemed to have taken control over her body, paralyzing her completely. It was like a shock. It certainly wasn't surprising that Reska betrayed her mate, but right now Moon was witnessing her doing this with not just one, but at least five other males. Had the young Espeon not seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it; the pure excessiveness of it all would have seemed too absurd even for a female like Reska.
Moon held her breath as the Ivysaur slowly lowered his head between the older Espeon's hind legs. The other males had gone completely silent, so all Moon could hear were the sounds of Maryn licking Reska's vagina at a slow pace and the soft purring sound that came from the Espeon in response. Reska had closed her eyes and sometimes one of her hind legs twitched just a little bit. The glow of her gem seemed to become a bit more intense with every lick the Ivysaur gave her. It didn't take long, however, until she opened her mouth and spoke:

"Mmmrrrr... That's nice, sweetie, but you'll have to do better if you want to make me moan..." Reska's hind leg was obscuring Maryn's head from Moon's view, so the young Espeon couldn't really see what the Ivysaur was doing, but whatever it was, it seemed to be just what Reska wanted. A long, drawn-out moan escaped the older female's lips, followed by a small chuckle.

"Ooohhhhhh... yeah, that's it, just like that... Hmmm, you wanted to make me beg for it first, didn't you? You're such a naughty little boy, teasing me like that..."

"You're not much better, babe," the smaller one of the Raichus said. Reska opened her eyes to look up at him with a questioning expression. The male pointed at his clearly visible erection, which made Reska roll her eyes.

"You have to understand that there are some things that are worth waiting for, and..." All Moon could see was a sudden movement of Maryn's head. There was a slick sound, followed by Reska's body tensing up and a loud, blissful squeal coming from her.

"Aaahh, yeeeeesss!! Keep doing that, keep... mmmmyeeeaaaahh... Oohhhh, yeeesss..." The Raichu seemed indecisive for a moment, but then he reached down with one of his front paws, grasped his erection and started to slowly stroke himself.
This was apparently enough to break the initial silence that had taken over the males. Moon heard some of them mumble lowly to each other. Once again she paid as much attention as she could, but she only heard familiar voices, which made her rather certain that there were really not more than two males she hadn't seen yet.
The Ivysaur kept licking Reska, who had closed her eyes again, obviously focusing completely on her own enjoyment as she kept groaning loudly. Eventually, the masturbating Raichu started panting slightly as his motions became quicker. Moon saw that Liskar nudged his side with his elbow, which made the smaller Raichu let go of his erection and sigh deeply. He kept his eyes on the Espeon in front of him and seemed to have a bit of trouble controlling himself; he clenched his fists and shook his head, his tail swinging back and forth.

It did not take long, however, until Reska gently pushed the Ivysaur's head away with one outstretched front paw. It was easily visible that a shiver went through her whole body. A satisfied smile stood on her face.

"That was great, sweetie," she cooed. "I won't forget this..." Maryn, who apparently did not talk much, simply nodded in response and then stepped aside, granting all the other males an unobscured view on Reska's most private area. The smaller Raichu winced slightly. Liskar placed his paw on his shoulder, probably in order to prevent him from simply jumping onto the female.
Reska opened her eyes and her smile turned into a grin once more.

"I'd say I'm ready for something a little more intense now," she spoke slowly, "however, I'm still not quite sure who should go first..." The mumbling started again and the smaller Raichu shook off Liskar's paw. He took a step towards the Espeon, who had, until now, remained on her back. She immediately rolled over and stood up to face him, which made the electric type hesitate a little. Reska's gaze went from his face down to his erection; she then turned her head a little to look at Liskar.

"Liskar, why does your brother have to be so impatient?" The taller Raichu simply shrugged in response. His brother lowered his gaze.

"I didn't mean to..."

"Quiet down." The Espeon moved her head a little closer to the Raichu's ears. "Some females might feel offended at a male acting so quickly," she spoke in a lower tone. The Raichu nodded, but didn't talk. Slowly, the grin on Reska's face grew broader. "Lucky for you, I'm not one of those females. I don't have anything against such straightforwardness." The male raised his head again and blinked.

"Does that mean I'm finally getting to...?" The Espeon interrupted him with a soft chuckle.

"I guess so..." She took a step back and then turned around very slowly, keeping her eyes on the Raichu, who had his gaze locked on her hindquarters. Reska then lowered her torso to the ground and spread her hind legs a little, gently brushing across the male's face with her forked tail. "If you think you can handle me, that is..."
The Raichu gasped lowly and then grinned in a way that was very similar to Reska's.

"Oh, I'll do you real good, babe," her murmured as he grasped the Espeon's hips with his front paws and positioned himself behind her.
Just one short moment later he had already buried his entire penis inside of Reska, who responded with a surprised, but affirmative shriek. She pushed herself back against the Raichu, who immediately began to thrust his hips against her hindquarters at a very quick pace. For a moment, all that was audible was the slapping sound of the two Pokémon mating, Reska's deep, lustful moans and the Raichu's low grunting.

"Hey, what about the rest of us?" one of the other males suddenly said. A Nidorino came into Moon's area of view. He walked past Liskar and Maryn, who seemed to be waiting their turns rather patiently. The smaller Raichu slowed his movements down a little and Reska turned her head to look at the male that was now standing at her side. Her gaze apparently rested between his hind legs as she replied:

"Just sit down. I'll... uuuhhh... I'll take care of that..." The Nidorino nodded and did as he was told, sitting down next to the Espeon and spreading his hind legs. However, before Reska could move, Liskar's brother groaned relatively loudly.

"Oohhh... Wait a second, babe..." He leaned forward and lay down on the Espeon's back, supporting his weight by placing his front paws on the ground. He then shoved himself closer against the female again. "Mmhh, yeah... that's a whole lot better..." As he kept mating with her, now apparently more forcefully than before, Reska yelped blissfully.

"Ahh, yes... that feels just right..." She turned her head a little and Moon couldn't see what she was doing anymore, as the Nidorino's large body obscured the older Espeon from her view almost completely. Still, it wasn't very hard to tell what was going on, as sucking noises reached Moon's ears, joined by the side of the male reclining his head a little and slightly thrusting his hips forwards.

It was now that the younger Espeon slowly got a firm grasp on reality again. The Raichu, slamming his member into the sleek female over and over again, the Nidorino, now apparently holding Reska's head in place with one of his front paws... she did not want to see this. As her gaze wandered to the right, she noticed that the fifth male had joined the others who were waiting; he was a Ninetales, a bit smaller than the average size, but he was sporting a rather large erection. Moon was certain that she didn't want to still be around when he would get his turn. In fact, she didn't want to stay for even one more moment.

The young Espeon closed her eyes and tried not to listen to the lusty moans that came from three different Pokémon. She slowly retracted her head and, as soon as she wasn't in touch with the branches anymore, quickly turned around and ran away.



Her head was filled with so many different thoughts that it almost made her dizzy. Most of all, she felt completely disgusted by Reska's actions, but at the same time she was worried about her father. As she had gained a certain amount of distance from the older Espeon and her lovers, her paws began moving a little more slowly. There was no reason to keep running, at least not for now. It was much more important to think about what she should do. It was hard for Moon to tell how her father would react if she were to tell him about what she had just seen. Maybe he wouldn't believe her. Maybe he'd try to talk to Reska about it, and that certainly wouldn't solve anything. The older Espeon would probably just deny ever having been unfaithful, and from then on she'd be more careful. The way Moon saw it, there was only one possibility to make sure her father could find out about what his mate did to him almost every night: he had to see it for himself.
Moon stopped walking as she noticed that she had reached the clearing she had been on before. The moon was still easily visible. For a moment the Espeon wondered how Reska could destroy such beauty apparently without caring even in the slightest bit, but then she decided not to think about this. She knew she would never understand it.





Pharion was sitting motionlessly, staring into the dark night. His gaze was firmly locked on the spot where he had last seen his beloved Reska. She would return to him any second now. Surely she knew how painful it was for him to be separated from her, and she would never want him to suffer. He had made her leave by doing or saying something stupid; he couldn't really remember, and it didn't matter too much, either. She would step out from between the trees and greet him with a loving smile, and then they would snuggle all night long, simply because it was too good to be together with one's true love than not to enjoy it for as long as somehow possible.
Sometimes the leaves moved a bit and it always seemed to Pharion like the moment of his mate's return had come, but in the end it was just the wind and nothing else. Reska was all that was on the Umbreon's mind. The longer she was gone, the colder and lonelier he felt. The whole world seemed darker, not just because of the night, but because his beloved Espeon wasn't with him. Every single second became pure torture. Pharion had had everything, and now he had lost everything, and...
He jumped to his paws as a faint red glow became visible in the darkness. Reska had finally come back, there was no doubt about it; the gem on her forehead was a beacon in the dark night, it brought the warmth back into Pharion's heart and took the loneliness away from him.
He blinked. An Espeon had stepped out of the forest and was now walking towards him. Her resemblance to Pharion's mate was remarkable, but it was still impossible to mistake her for Reska. There was something very distinctive about the Umbreon's true love, something very special, something that nobody else had...

"Daddy!" Pharion blinked again. Of course, the Espeon coming towards him was Moon, his daughter. For a short moment he felt as if he had just awoken from a deep sleep. He had only been thinking about Reska. Now that Moon had found her way back into his mind, he instantly became disappointed with himself. His daughter had been out there all alone and he hadn't even thought of her. He was a terrible father.

"My sweetie..." Pharion blinked as Moon slowly stopped walking. She was standing right in front of him, and just for a moment, his gaze was locked with hers. She then turned her head away quickly.

"What happened?" he asked. The Espeon's expression had been so very full of worry... Pharion felt an icy cold beginning to form somewhere in his spine and slowly spread throughout his body. "Is... Is your mother alright...?" He spoke these words in a whisper. Just the mental image of something having happened to Reska almost made him panic already.
For some reason, the mentioning of her mother seemed to make Moon feel uncomfortable. She kept looking to the side.

"Reska is... fine," she spoke. It sounded like she actually wanted to say something else, something that she was very angry about, apparently. Her voice was shivering slightly, and Pharion was sure to hear her grinding her teeth. However, what mattered the most was that Reska wasn't in danger. The Umbreon breathed deeply and nodded to himself. Of course she was alright. She had ventured into the forest all by herself about a few hundred times by now; surely she knew how to take care of herself. Still, it was impossible not to notice that something was making Moon feel very uneasy. Pharion carefully stepped closer towards her and gently nudged her cheek with his nose.

"What about you, my sweetie?" he asked. "Are you feeling fine, too...?" Reluctantly, the Espeon turned her head towards him. She looked at him for a moment and then said:

"You don't have to worry about me." It appeared to Pharion like she had trouble looking him directly in the eyes, as she turned away once more and then walked past him and into the den. This confused the Umbreon. Moon didn't usually act this way. Whenever she was alone with her father, she usually stayed close to him, but now she apparently wanted to keep her distance. Pharion remembered what Reska had told him before; maybe Moon had really become a bit too old to still want to be so close with her father...
For a moment, he didn't know what to do. He stared at the dark forest unfolding in front of him, but Reska was nowhere to be seen, and him sitting in front of the small cave certainly wouldn't just make her appear out of thin air. The Umbreon turned around and noticed a weak red glow coming from inside the den. Very slowly, he moved towards it, until he was able to recognize his daughter lying on the ground, facing towards the wall. Pharion sat down about two meters away from her. If she didn't want him close to her, he certainly wouldn't force her.

"If there's something you'd like to talk about with me, my sweetie... I'll always listen..." He had spoken in a low tone, trying his best not to sound intrusive or anything like that. Moon had never kept secrets from him, but if there was something she couldn't tell him for some reason, he knew he had to be very careful not to sound like he was trying to meddle with her affairs.
Very slowly, the Espeon raised her head and looked at her father. Her dark eyes almost seemed to swallow the faint red light coming from her gem. She didn't say anything.

"I'll always help you whenever there's any kind of problem," Pharion continued. "You just have to say it and... I'll..." Her eyes were as black as a cloudy night at the bottom of a big lake. The Umbreon stopped talking. She had her mother's eyes...

"Are you sure you're feeling alright...?" Pharion could only whisper as he had suddenly noticed how quiet the world had become. Nothing was moving, no one was talking... there wasn't even the slightest bit of wind that could have made the leaves outside rustle... talking loudly simply would have seemed out of place...
He watched as Moon stood up, still not making even the least bit of a noise. She moved towards him and then sat down right in front of him. Her gaze was locked with his. Very reluctantly, she shook her head.

"I am not feeling alright..." Her voice seemed to echo from the walls of the den. Pharion almost winced; she had, unlike him, not whispered.

"What's wrong?" The Umbreon was really starting to worry. All kinds of different things could have happened to his daughter out in the woods; then again, she did not seem to be physically hurt in any way, so it was unlikely that someone had attacked her... Still, looking into her eyes he could see she was in pain, so there had to have something occurred that had made her feel this way...
Moon did not answer her father's question. Instead, she just kept looking at him, quietly suffering. It seemed to Pharion like there was something she wanted to say, but for some reason she just couldn't... maybe because she didn't want to hurt him. One thing in particular instantly came to the Umbreon's mind; it would certainly explain why his daughter was acting this way...

"If... If you don't want to keep living here, my sweetie... that'd be fine..." Moon raised her ears in a somewhat surprised manner, so Pharion felt the need to explain how he had gotten this idea. "You know... Maybe you've... met somebody... and... after all, your mother did tell me that you'll probably feel a desire to have your own life very soon, so..."

"Reska lied," Moon spoke in a very calm and serious tone. "Every single thing Reska has ever told you has been a lie." 

Pharion blinked. He had heard his daughter's words, but he had trouble understanding what she was trying to say. It simply seemed nonsensical to him. He slowly shook his head and frowned slightly.

"I... I'm sorry, my sweetie," he said, "I... I don't think I can follow you..." Moon seemed to become a bit tense. Her ears, her tail, her fur... Everything about her appeared to stiffen up a bit.

"Reska is nothing but a..." She had spoken through clenched teeth, but all of a sudden, she stopped. Pharion could easily see the anger in her eyes. The young Espeon was apparently mad at her mother, but the Umbreon couldn't imagine why. Very slowly, Moon shook her head and breathed deeply.

"I know you can't understand what I'm trying to tell you," she said. "That's not your fault. I just..." She turned her head to the side. "I should just go to sleep..." Pharion gave her an affectionate lick across her cheek, which made her look back at him. Her black eyes showed an expression of both worry and exhaustion. Pharion knew he had to help her somehow; it was what he was there for. He had to be a good father, he had to make sure she was happy...

"Whatever is wrong, my sweetie... You can talk to me, you can explain it to me, I'll help you as much as I can... I promise..." Moon sighed deeply and the Umbreon suddenly saw something else in her eyes, an emotion that he knew very well. She wanted to do or say something in order to make things better somehow, but she couldn't... Pharion often wished he could be a better mate for Reska, but in the end, this never really seemed to work out, no matter how hard he tried. Right now, his daughter appeared to feel the exact same way...

"Thank you, daddy, but I really don't need any help. Still... there is something I have to ask you to do for me..." Pharion nodded quickly and smiled a little. Maybe everything would be alright again if he just did what his daughter wanted him to. Moon took a deep breath and lowered her gaze a little, so that she wasn't directly looking at him anymore.

"Please," she spoke in a lower tone, "please promise me you won't tell Reska that I followed her tonight." The Umbreon blinked. He felt more and more confused, and he tended to get worried when he was confused.

"My sweetie..." he began, trying his best not to accidentally make his daughter angry, "I... I'm sorry, I don't think it'd be such a good idea to keep secrets from your mother..."

"It's very important," Moon said. She had lowered both her head and her tail. Asking her father to do this for her seemed to make her feel uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, daddy. I can't tell you why, but I have to ask you to do this for me. Please promise me not to tell Reska." Pharion swallowed. Neither did he want to disappoint his daughter, nor did he want to keep any secrets from his mate. However, now that Moon was apparently so very worried about something, he knew he couldn't afford to make her feel any worse.

"I... I promise," he spoke, his voice shivering a little bit. "Don't worry, my sweetie... I won't tell her." Moon nodded.

"I know it wasn't easy for you to say this," she whispered. She then raised her head. "Thank you, daddy." Her nose came in touch with his. "I love you."

"I love you, too, my sweetie." Moon kept staring into his eyes for a few more moments. Pharion couldn't help but notice that there appeared to be something she really wanted to do, but couldn't, for some reason. She then turned away rather reluctantly and lay down near the den's wall.

"Good night, daddy."

"Good night, my sweetie..." Pharion kept looking at her, even though the faint glow of her red gem was the only thing he could really make out in the darkness. After a while it seemed to become weaker. His daughter had fallen asleep.
The Umbreon sighed softly, turned around and slowly stepped out of the small cave. The black night seemed impenetrable, but he still sat down and stared into the forest. He was still worried about Moon, but she was asleep now and there wasn't anything he could do for her, so it didn't take long for his thoughts to once again focus entirely on his mate. He could almost see her right in front of his eyes. Surely she would bring light into this darkness that had taken over. A being as pure as she was... upon her return, everything would be alright again...



It was impossible to tell how much time had passed. As Pharion was concerned, being separated from Reska for even one second felt like an entire day already. Not being with his mate made him suffer, but it wasn't Reska's fault. She needed her freedom, and Pharion just had to accept this. He loved her. Anything that made her happy was fine.
The spot of red light slowly moved through the darkness, coming right towards him. A broad smile appeared on the Umbreon's face and his tail began to wag. It was beyond his control, and he hardly even noticed it in the first place. 
Reska looked directly at him and nodded slightly. She then padded right past him and into the den, where she sat down and sighed. Pharion's tail slowly stopped moving as he turned around to keep his eyes on his mate, even though he could only see her back at the moment. After a short while, Reska turned her head to frown at him.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked. Pharion quickly looked to the side.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable..." He smiled and turned back towards his mate. "I'm just so happy you're back... I missed you very much..." The Espeon's gaze went over his entire body. For some reason, she seemed to be wondering whether or not he was being serious.

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?" Pharion quickly shook his head and lowered his body a little.

"No, I... I'd never want to do that, I'm sorry..." Reska was staring at him coldly and he just couldn't look at her. He knew that everything he did was wrong... "I just... I just wanted to tell you that I love you... Really, I... I'd never..." He stopped talking as he heard the Espeon murmur something incomprehensible. Pharion looked up at her again and saw her rolling her eyes.

"I love you, too," she said in a tone that made it clear that she would tolerate no dissent on this matter. "Anyway, I'm feeling very tired now, so I hope you won't mind me just going to sleep." Pharion blinked. He had actually hoped that they could stay awake for a bit longer and just enjoy some time alone with each other, but on the other side he certainly didn't want to keep his mate up against her will.

"I... I don't mind..." he said. Reska nodded and lay down on the ground, facing away from him. Pharion kept looking at her for a short moment, then stepped up to her side. He lay down next to her and carefully placed his head on the back of her neck. The Umbreon closed his eyes and sighed happily, ready to fall asleep together with his mate. He would certainly dream of her...

"What do you think you're doing?" Pharion opened his eyes again and raised his head a little. Reska was not looking at him and her voice had had such an angrily calm tone to it that he instantly knew he had done something wrong again. He blushed under his dark fur.

"I just thought... I just wanted to be close to you... I mean... I'm sorry if..."

"You're just doing whatever you want, aren't you?" Reska snapped. "Don't you think you should have at least asked me first?" Pharion looked at the ground. She was right, of course. He couldn't just do things like this without really knowing if she wanted to be near him, too.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm really sorry... I didn't want to make you angry, really... I just... I've been alone for such a long time, and I love you so much, I hoped that maybe you'd like me to..."

"Can't you just love me from a distance?" the Espeon interrupted. "Like, one or two meters away? That would be very nice." Pharion swallowed.

"Yes... Of course..." He stood up very slowly, walked a few steps away from Reska and then lay down again. Her gaze was resting on him, as she apparently wanted to make sure that he really did as he had been told. The Umbreon knew that his expression had to be very pleading, so he quickly lowered his head onto his front paws and closed his eyes, as he didn't want to further annoy his mate.

"I hope you'll have a good night..." he said lowly.

"Good night," Reska grumbled in response. Pharion waited for a moment, then he added:

"I love you." The only answer he received was something that sounded like a low growl, so he decided to keep his mouth closed and just tried to sleep.
Without Reska lying right next to him, he simply couldn't help but feel terribly lonely.







The next day went by without any kind of unusual incidents. The only difference was that whenever Moon looked at Reska, she instantly felt the desire to bite her as hard as she could. However, she managed to restrain herself. The older Espeon would certainly get what was coming to her as soon as Pharion found out what she did when she left him alone at night. 
Moon had planned to lead her father to Reska's secret rendezvous point as soon as possible, but as the sun began to set a heavy rain came over the forest. Even though Reska probably wouldn't leave the cave due to the sudden change in the weather, she still decided to just act like she was going to sleep and instead keep her ears wide open. Now that the older Espeon was more or less forced to stay inside the den, she seemed to be a lot nicer to Pharion, which made Moon get even angrier at her. Reska was never herself, she was always acting, always lying. She examined the specific situation and then went with whatever would give her the biggest advantage. She did not care about anyone other than herself, and Pharion was the one who had to suffer from it. Of all the males in the world, she had just had to pick him and ruin his life. Moon could not comprehend how or why her father should deserve something like this. There simply wasn't any justice in the world.

When the young Espeon awoke the next morning she quickly took a look outside. Only a few clouds were visible in the sky and they all seemed white, puffy and innocent. Moon nodded to herself and didn't know whether she should be happy or sad that Reska would probably have ample opportunity to betray her mate this night. She decided not to think too much about it. Reska would do whatever she wanted and Moon would do whatever was necessary.
It was another regular day. Pharion, Moon and Reska spent their entire morning gathering food. Then they ate without talking very much, even though it was rather obvious that the Umbreon kept trying to get at least a bit of attention from his mate. However, Reska did her best not to get involved in any kind of real conversation with him, and so he fell silent after a while, even though his gaze rested on the older Espeon, silently begging her not to be so cold. Moon was used to this whole procedure; still, it worried her that it seemed to make Pharion sadder every day.
For a great part of the afternoon she simply sat outside of the den and waited for the sun to set. Eventually, Reska came walking right past her, completely ignoring the younger Espeon. Moon looked after her until she disappeared in the forest, then turned her head to see Pharion sitting at the entrance of their small cave. As soon as the Umbreon noticed his daughter looking at him, he tried to gain control over his facial expression and smile at her, but Moon could clearly see that things were all but alright. She sighed deeply and walked towards her father. Reska certainly wouldn't be gone for very long; this was one of her usual smaller punishments that she made Pharion endure, but Moon still wasn't sure what he might end up doing if she didn't comfort him to make him feel less lonely.
In the evening, the older Espeon returned. Pharion instantly began apologizing for whatever it had been this time that he had supposedly done wrong. Moon did her best not to listen to what was being said, as she had heard all of this much too often already. Just a few minutes after Reska's return the younger Espeon yawned deeply, claimed that she was feeling very tired and lay down on the ground with her eyes closed and her ears open. For a moment she wondered if Reska would be heartless enough to leave her father alone twice during a single day, but she quickly came to the conclusion that this was a question that didn't need to be asked. If the older Espeon had planned to meet up with her many lovers again tonight, she would certainly not let anything hold her back.
Moon noticed that Pharion was unusually quiet. She assumed he didn't want to take the risk of making Reska angry again, so he simply didn't say anything at all. Since not a single word was spoken, the younger Espeon eventually began to think that both her Father and Reska had gone to sleep already. However, this assumption didn't last long.

"I'll be going now."

What followed was just what Moon had expected. Pharion made it very clear that he would feel a lot better if his mate either stayed with him or let him accompany her, but in the end there was nothing he could do against Reska's determination. Moon heard the older Espeon walk away. Silence followed, only interrupted by low whimpering sounds coming from Pharion. Hearing her father suffer again was simply too much for Moon to take. She opened her eyes and slowly rose to her paws. The yellow rings in Pharion's fur were easily visible in the darkness. The Umbreon was sitting at the den's exit, staring outside. Moon didn't want to startle him.

"I'm still awake, daddy," she said lowly. Pharion turned around to look at her. There was not enough light to clearly see his face. Moon carefully stepped closer towards him.

"Is there something that keeps you up, my sweetie?" the Umbreon asked. He didn't seem to be very surprised; he sounded very concerned, though. Moon took a deep breath.

"There is something I... we have to do," she replied. Now that she was standing right in front of him, Pharion's red eyes were easily visible. He blinked.

"What is it, my sweetie?" The Espeon kept looking right at her father. It was important that he'd understand how serious a matter this was.

"We have to follow Reska," Moon said calmly. "Please believe me, daddy, this is very, very important." Pharion looked surprised at first, then seemed to become very worried.

"Your... Your mother told me not to come with her, my sweetie..." He lowered his gaze only by turning his eyes a little. Moon nodded.

"Remember, daddy," she replied, "we're not coming with her, we're coming after her. That's a difference." The Umbreon lowered his head as well and winced slightly. It was obvious that this situation was making him feel very uncomfortable.

"She... she didn't really tell me not to do that, I guess... but..." He looked up at Moon again. "But why do you even want me to...?"

"There's something I have to show you," the Espeon interrupted him. "It's very important. Reska isn't just going for a walk, she..." Moon quickly stopped talking and shook her head. There was a questioning expression in her father's eyes. "There's something she does," she continued. "Something she hides from you." Pharion blinked.

"If... if she really does keep a secret from me, my sweetie, then... there's probably a good reason for it, so... I don't think I should..." Moon huffed lowly. Now that there was a chance to show her father who Reska really was, she had become a bit impatient.

"Please trust me, daddy," she spoke in a lower tone. "You have to see this. I..." She sighed softly. "I'm very worried about you, you know..." Moon gave her father an affectionate lick across his cheek. He slowly stood up and kept looking at her. "I want to help you, you see," Moon went on. "Please trust me... I'd never let anything or anyone harm you..." Pharion closed his eyes. After a moment, he nodded.

"Alright, my sweetie," he mumbled. "I'll come with you... if this is really such an important thing to you..." Moon smiled.

"Thank you, daddy," she whispered and gave him a kiss on his forehead. He opened his eyes again and she showed him a warm, loving smile.

"Let's go."








The night was clear and silent. Moon was walking relatively slowly, following Reska's scent. The older Espeon had apparently taken the exact same route as she had the other night, and probably during many other nights before that one as well. Moon slowed down very often to look over her shoulder and at her father, who always showed her a somewhat uncertain smile. Pharion was walking without making even the slightest noise, which sometimes made the young Espeon wonder whether or not he was even still there.
Moon decided to pause for a moment as they reached the clearing. She sat down in the soft, cool grass, looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

"You have to remember that I just want to help you, daddy," she said lowly as her father had reached her side. He nodded slowly.

"Of course I remember that, my sweetie..." He sat down next to her. "Why would I ever have doubts?" The Espeon looked at her father for a moment, but quickly turned away again. This was going to be very hard for him, and it was not only Reska's responsibility, but also hers.

"You will not like what I'm going to show you," she mumbled. "You have to see it, though. It's... important..." She had spoken the last sentence mostly because she had wanted to reassure herself. This was the right thing to do. Pharion had to know what was going on.

"If you say so, my sweetie..." He had spoken in a confused tone. Moon sighed and stood up again.

"We should go on," she said.



As they came closer to the place where Reska had her secret meetings, Moon paid more attention to what she was hearing. There was a slight bit of wind in the air, making the leaves rustle a little. Other than that, she couldn't pick up anything. Once again she turned around to make sure her father was still behind her. He seemed to have noticed that something was going to happen.

"Is anything wrong...?" he asked with a hint of worry in his tone. Moon swallowed. So many things were wrong...

"We're getting very close now," she replied lowly. They continued walking and, after just a few moments, the Espeon could make out the noises of Pokémon talking in the distance. She took a deep breath and wanted to say something to Pharion, but all of a sudden her ears picked up a relatively loud high-pitched squeal.

"That was Reska!" Within less than a second Moon's father had already run past her, heading for the source of all the voices. The young Espeon didn't even know what was going on at first, but she quickly pulled herself together and ran after her father.

"Daddy, wait!" she shouted. "You don't understand, Reska isn't in danger!" However, it was no use. Pharion was faster than her and he could see a bit better in the dark, which made it easier for him to get through the dense forest and harder for her to follow him. He probably hadn't even heard what she had said; he just wanted to get to Reska as quickly as possible, nothing else really mattered at the moment.
Moon almost tumbled over a root, but managed to keep her balance in the last second. She had to duck under a few low hanging branches and then finally reached the bushes that she had used as a hiding place during the other night. She came to a halt and, after a short moment, noticed a hole in the leaves. Her father had apparently jumped right through the bushes. He was now standing completely still, staring at the sight that unfolded in front of his eyes.

"Oohhhh... Mmmm, that's good, go deeper..." Moon couldn't see Reska, but she heard her lusty moans, accompanied by low grunts that had to come from a male Pokémon. The younger Espeon carefully followed her father through the hole he had torn into the bushes and finally saw what was going on.
Reska was lying on her back with her hind legs spread widely and her front paws wrapped around the Ivysaur named Maryn, who was standing over her, shoving his erection into her over and over again. The two Raichus, the Nidorino and the Ninetales were all watching. They had probably noticed Pharion and Moon, but since they didn't know who they were, they didn't seem to care. Reska, however, had her eyes clenched shut and whenever the Ivysaur slammed his hips against hers she moaned or squealed loudly, so she certainly didn't have any idea what was going on around her.
Moon looked at her father. It was as if he was frozen in place. He was staring at Reska, but it was impossible to tell what he was feeling. Maryn looked up at him and grinned for a moment before focusing on the female below him once more. Finally, Pharion opened his mouth.

"...love...?" Even though he had spoken in a very low tone, Reska's eyes immediately shot open and she reclined her head. As soon as she had recognized the Umbreon, she growled at the Ivysaur that was mating with her.

"Get off!" Maryn blinked. He slowly stopped his motions and looked at Reska with an unbelieving expression. The Espeon began to wriggle.

"Get off, you big, dumb idiot!" she shouted at him. The Ivysaur quickly stepped backwards and, along with the other males, watched as Reska quickly stood up and turned towards Pharion. From what Moon could tell, she was very angry, and not the least bit embarrassed.

"So", she said coldly. "Now you know." Pharion kept quiet. Reska waited for a moment, then she asked: "Aren't you going to say anything?" The Umbreon blinked. He shook his head very slowly.

"Why did you... What did you..." He fell silent again. Moon could hear Reska grit her teeth, but before she could say anything, a lightning-shaped tail had poked her hindquarters. She looked over her shoulder at Liskar's brother, who was obviously displeased.

"What's going on, babe?" he wanted to know. "Can't we just continue?" An angry grin appeared on Reska's face.

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? But I'm afraid it wouldn't be very... polite." The Raichu simply shrugged in response. Reska rolled her eyes. "This is Pharion," she said as she turned her head back towards the Umbreon. "My mate."

All of the five males behind Reska looked at each other for a moment and then decided to step backwards a little. They apparently didn't want to get too involved in this.

Reska glared at Pharion, who kept shaking his head.

"I... I don't... understand... you said... you said you loved me..." The Espeon grunted lowly.

"Everyone needs a bit of excitement every once in a while," she replied. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Her tone was so hard and commanding that Pharion began to shiver. He quickly lowered his gaze.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry if I... did something wrong again..."

"You don't even know how to get angry, do you?!" Reska shouted. "You... you're such a pathetic little worm!" She jumped, landed right in front of the Umbreon and slapped him across his cheek so hard with one of her front paws that he fell over onto his side. Reska growled loudly as she watched him slowly standing up again. "And you call yourself a male! I'm going to show you what..." Before she got another chance to hit him, Moon had already thrown herself against her. Reska rolled across the ground and the younger Espeon quickly positioned herself in front of her father.

"Leave him alone!" she yelled. "I won't let you hurt him again!" Reska rose to her paws and bared her teeth.

"I can do to him whatever I want, you little brat!" The red gem on Reska's forehead shone brightly in the darkness. "He's mine!" Moon shook her head.

"No, not anymore! I'll fight you if I have to! I'll kill you if I have to!"

"My sweetie..." Pharion's voice was just barely above a whisper. Moon turned her head to look at him and she whimpered slightly. Pharion's deep red eyes were full of pain. Looking into them made Moon think of tears, of torture, of loneliness and hopelessness. "Please don't," he mumbled. "Please... don't..." The younger Espeon nodded and quickly turned back towards her enemy. Reska didn't look like she was going to attack her. Everything about her made it obvious that she was angrier than ever before, but she was standing still, not really threatening anybody.

"I think we should just go home, daddy," Moon said firmly. "Reska probably won't come with us." The older Espeon snarled.

"Do whatever you want, but get out of my sight." Moon nodded and carefully nudged her father's cheek with her nose.

"We'll go back to our den, daddy. Don't worry, I'm here for you." Pharion blinked. He looked at Reska and then back at his daughter.

"Alright, my sweetie..." he whispered. Moon gave him a kiss on his cheek and then slowly started walking, her father at her side. He was leaning against her a little and she was certain he'd fall over if she didn't support him.
Moon could feel Reska's cold, hard stare resting on them. She was glad when there were finally a few bushes and trees between her and the older Espeon.







Getting back home took quite a while. Moon didn't want to risk letting her father fall, so she had to walk very slowly and right at his side. The moon had already traveled a great part of its journey across the night sky; it was way after midnight.
They entered the den together and Pharion slowly sat down on the ground. His head hung low, so the Espeon couldn't see his face, but she could still almost feel his pain. She remained at his side and just looked at him for a while.

"Are you alright, daddy?" she asked after some time had gone by. The Umbreon raised his head. At first it looked like he wanted to smile at her, but it didn't seem to work. He lowered his head again.

"...no..." Moon swallowed. She began to gently caress his back with her forked tail.

"I'm here for you," she reminded him. After a short pause she added: "I think we should run away." Pharion looked at her again. It almost looked like his eyes were bleeding.

"...run away...?" he repeated. His voice sounded weak and hollow. There was no strength left inside of him. Moon nodded quickly.

"We could go somewhere else," she said. "We could run away to a place that doesn't remind you of Reska. She won't come after us. We can be just with each other, and things will be alright... I... I promise I'll never let you down... I will never betray you... I will never... leave you alone..." It was hard for her to keep talking while looking into her father's broken eyes. She wondered if there was any hope things could get better if she just kissed him. But this would probably just confuse her father and then he might feel even worse...

"...I promised Reska the same things..." Pharion spoke lowly. His own voice seemed to scare him for some reason. His ears drooped and he ducked, as if there was anything nearby that might attack him. "...I can't leave... I... can't..."

"You didn't give Reska any promises," Moon replied. She tried to smile reassuringly, but she feared it wasn't very convincing. "You gave those promises to the person you thought was Reska. You gave those promises to your one true love, a kind, loving, caring and gentle Espeon... you thought it was Reska, but you were mistaken..." Moon stopped talking as she realized those words were probably hurting her father even more. She breathed deeply. "Let's get away from here, daddy. Just the two of us, together. We'll find a new home and things will be alright... Please..."

Pharion looked at her for a long time. He had trouble thinking clearly; she could see it in his eyes. What he needed was a place to rest and someone who cared about him. Moon carefully wrapped her tail around his. She wanted him to be happy, nothing else. If only he could get himself away from Reska, he might feel better in a few days.

"...Reska... doesn't... really... love... me..." he said. It sounded like he had to spend a lot of effort on every single word. He closed his eyes for a moment. "My sweetie... if... if you want me to leave, together with you... I'll come..." Moon smiled upon hearing those words. She slowly stood up and after a moment her father did the same.

"Let's go find a new home, then," she spoke. "Don't worry, daddy, you can lean on me." Pharion still wasn't able to keep himself on his paws, so he had to rely on Moon's support once more. They left the den very slowly and carefully.

"Thank you... my sweetie..." Pharion mumbled. "I love you..."

"I love you, too, daddy," the Espeon replied. She looked up at the sky with all the stars and the moon shining brightly.

She was determined to do whatever it would take to make her father happy.





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