Friends With Benefits

by Havoc

r0;Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.r1;
-Anais Nin

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Many days, Eleanor would sit at home, finding herself very bored and in need of distraction. The purple-furred Espeon had always been very bored by life, but it was since her trainer, Evan, had come home to take a break from training pokemon that she had especially found herself losing interest in almost everything that life had to throw at her. On the road, sher17;d had battles and changing scenery to keep her attention, but now that she was at home with Evan, all of that had flown right out the window. Her time was spent lounging around the house or the backyard, either in her favorite armchair or in a small hammock that was strung between two trees behind the small, one-story home.

And today was no different. Eleanor was slowly drifting in and out of consciousness in the chair, flicking her two-pronged tail lazily and wondering idly when Evan would be home from the grocery store. At least then there would be the slight distraction of rustling bags and the sounds of him putting food away for a few minutes, but she knew that the reprieve from the monotony of her existence would soon return once everything was squared away.

Could this get any worse? Eleanor thought to herself, stifling a yawn. In the back of her mind, she knew that, yes, it could be a lot worse. She could be starving, or she could still be in the wild, where as an Eevee sher17;d had to hunt for her food. Or, she could have been captured by an abusive trainer, someone who would beat her and train her harshly. These thoughts were small comfort, though, to a pokemon who couldnr17;t find anything bad about her life, but also couldnr17;t really find much in the way of really good things, either.

Her life hadnr17;t always been this dull, either, and it wasnr17;t too terribly long ago that Eleanor had been a much happier and more satisfied pokemon. When she was a little Eevee and Evan was a much younger boy, they had spent a lot of time together, playing and enjoying each otherr17;s company. The change had come about when Eleanor had evolved into an Espeon, and when Evan had begun to grow up more. At some point, the two had grown apart. Upon evolution, she had developed a more standoffish personality, and at the same time Evan had begun to get more serious about being a Pokemon Trainer, finding that he had less desire for the frivolous fun and games that little boys engaged in. The time that they spent together was full of more silence and less laughter, and consisted mostly of just training, battling, and assorted other routine activities. At this point, their relationship had deteriorated to the point where Eleanor and Evan barely bothered to try to be in the same room.

The sound of the door opening made Eleanor slowly bring her head up, looking towards the front of the house. A few seconds later, and Evan came into the living room, heading for the kitchen with groceries in hand. He was a rather short young man, barely five and a half feet, but he had an appearance that Eleanor supposed some human women might have found attractive. The human took care of his body, and had modest muscles, although he was certainly no bodybuilder by any stretch of the imagination. His blonde hair and black eyes were an odd combination, and he dressed a little less stylishly than might have been appropriate for modern times. Evan favored buttoned long sleeve shirts and khaki slacks, no matter what the weather or occasion was. The outfits he wore made him appear somewhat nerdy, but in an endearing way that had curried the favor of a few girls over the years.

Evan finished putting the groceries away, and came into the living room to sit down. r0;Hey, Ellie,r1; he said. Eleanor yawned, apparently having no interest in his greeting, and gave a noncommittal flip of her tail.

r0;Get that pokemon food I like?r1; she asked him, speaking through the use of her Psychic-type abilities. Her mindr17;s voice was naturally soft and melodious, but she always sounded dull when she was speaking to Evan.

r0;Yeah,r1; Evan said, reaching into a basket beside his chair for a magazine, which he then opened up and began to read.

r0;Good.r1;

That was usually the extent of their conversation for the evening. Dull, somewhat monotone, and thoroughly uninteresting. If there was anything different about this evening from any of the others, it was only that Evan was reading a different magazine than he had the night before. Dinner was similarly routine, and it wasnr17;t long after that Eleanor and Evan went to their respective beds. Evan, of course, had his bed in his own bedroom, while Espeon had a fluffy pokemon bed in the living room.

Eleanor curled up on the bed, and closed her eyes. Usually, she fell asleep right away, but tonight was different for some reason. Perhaps she was unusually attuned to her own state of mind, or maybe it was just a matter of the straw that broke the Cameruptr17;s back. Whatever the reason, Eleanor was kept up by a sudden stream of thought, mostly about the monotony that had become her everyday life.

Eleanor was growing sick of things. Life held no excitement for her anymore, and the Espeon needed something to spice things up. She rolled onto her side on her bed, and began scheming a little scheme.

Fact one: life was growing boring. When she woke up every day, all she basically had to look forward to was eating, sleeping, and hoping for a little diversion to happen her way. Solution: do something that would create fun for herself.

Fact two: the relationship between herself and her trainer was strained at best and hostile at worst. They never talked, barely saw each other, and when they did talk it was without feeling and emotion. Solution: exploit this to her own benefit, and to make it even more amusing, at Evanr17;s expense.

Eleanor smiled and rolled over onto her back, a flicker of amusement making its way through her psyche. If a breakthrough could be made to improve her own mood, she thought she must have found it. What better way to amuse herself than to confuse and annoy her trainer? She certainly couldnr17;t think of anything better than that, and if she did it correctly, it could amount to more fun than anything that had happened to her in at least a year.

------

In the morning, Eleanor woke up when she heard activity in the area of Evanr17;s bedroom. Working hard to restrain the excited laughter that was threatening to escape from her lips, she got out of her bed and hurried over to the couch, wiping the smile off of her face. She adopted her customary r0;I donr17;t really carer1; expression, and waited for her trainer to come down the hall for breakfast. When he came out to the living room, all he saw was Eleanor bathing herself as she customarily did in the morning, not paying him any attention.

Evan went to the kitchen and set out Eleanorr17;s pokemon food, after which he began to prepare his own breakfast, turning his back to where her dish sat on the floor. Once he was finished making his food, he turned back around and received a surprise. While her17;d had his back turned, Eleanor had levitated her food onto the table, and was sitting down in a chair with her front paws on the tabletop, waiting for him.

r0;Err30;Uhr30;,r1; Evan said, not sure what was going on. He couldnr17;t remember the last time that he and Eleanor had eaten together, and for her to do it now was quite frankly a shock to his system. He stood in the kitchen for a moment, unsure of what he should do in this situation.

r0;What are you waiting for?r1; Eleanor asked. She looked at him, and gave an uncharacteristic smile. r0;Ir17;m hungry, so come on over to the table and we can eat.r1;

r0;Uhr30;Okayr30;r1; Evan walked to the table and sat down, setting his plate down and picking up his fork. They both began to eat, keeping quiet for the most part but still being much closer than they had been lately. Eleanor could see Evan looking at her curiously from time to time, and she had to struggle a little to keep from laughing out loud.

Evanr17;s discomfort was quite amusing to her, and she was enjoying this very much. She could tell that the way that she had suddenly appeared to open up to him had completely taken him off-guard, and she was already pleased that she had thought of this marvelous new form of entertainment. To try to cover up her mirth, she just adopted a pleasant expression, with the tips of her ears perked up and her eyes twinkling. Evan smiled awkwardly back, trying to make sense of what was going on.

When breakfast was over, Evan got up from the table and put the dishes away in the dishwasher. It took a little longer than normal for him to clean up, because he kept glancing over at Eleanor, the expression on his face suggesting that he was severely weirded out by the way her attitude had seemed to flip around.

Once he was finished cleaning up after breakfast, Evan put on his shoes and went to the front door. Eleanor knew that he was going for a morning walk. Evan liked to go on walks when the day was still young, and the sun was not yet completely risen. At that time, the temperature was still fairly low, and it felt nice to walk outside while the air was still cool and not many people were about on the roads. He always went alone when he took a walk, but as this morning seemed to be the morning of surprise, he was greeted by yet another change to his normal routine. When he arrived at the front door, he found that the Espeon was there waiting for him, sitting up straight with her tail wagging slightly.

r0;Ellie, whatr30;?r1; the trainer asked, seriously confused. r0;What are you doing? You always just go take a nap after breakfastr30;r1;

r0;What, I canr17;t come along on one of your walks for a change?r1; Eleanor shot back, tilting her head to one side.

r0;Wellr30;No, thatr17;s not itr30;,r1; Evan said. r0;Itr17;s just thatr30;You never come along on my walks.r1; He almost had to steady himself against the wall as he felt his head begin to spin. After several years of Eleanor wanting little to do with him, this was just about too much.

r0;Quit complaining and be happy that I want to spend a little time with you,r1; Eleanor admonished him. r0;Itr17;s just a walk. Itr17;s not like Ir17;m asking you to marry me, or anything.r1;

Evan blushed, but he relented. r0;Alright. If you want to come along, I suppose therer17;s nothing wrong with that.r1;

Leaving the house, the pair walked through the front yard and down to the street. Evan and Eleanor lived in a neighborhood on the outskirts of the city, and theirs was the type of neighborhood where the houses were separated by moderate distances and lots of trees. It was a pleasant atmosphere for people to live in, especially those who valued their privacy as Evan did. The draw of the neighborhood was that there was a small enough of people that it was easy to get to know all of your neighbors well, and yet the separation between the houses meant that you didnr17;t see other people unless you wanted to. In that way, you were rarely interrupted in the middle of things, and everyone got along with each other very well.

The surroundings, being as lush and green as they were, also made for pleasant walks in the early morning and evening. The sun was just starting to shine through the tops of the trees, and the temperature was a cool seventy-three degrees. As they walked down the grassy shoulder of the road, Eleanor and Evan encountered virtually no people, with only a handful of cars passing them. Approaching the house nearest to theirs, Eleanor realized that this was the first time she had ventured so far from home since she had traveled with her trainer while he was actively training pokemon. On top that, the Espeon was startled to realize that she had never met any of their neighbors. Staying at home as much as she did, she had never had any opportunity to interact with any of them, and despite herself she was beginning to feel a little nervous. What if she ran into someone she didnr17;t know? Evan would probably know them, and then Eleanor would be forced into an awkward conversation with people who, by all rights, she should have met by now.

True to Eleanorr17;s fears, once they got to the first house, they saw an older woman kneeling in her front yard, tending to an expansive flower garden. The house was a large one, with a huge grassy field behind it, on the far edge of which was some rather impressive-looking greenhouses. Surrounding the yard and bordering the road was an immaculately-kept white fence, adorned with painstakingly painted multicolored flower designs. By the womanr17;s side was an evolutionary cousin of Eleanorr17;s, a Grass-type Leafeon.

The woman happened to look up as Evan and Eleanor approached the property, and she smiled and waved. r0;Evan, good morning!r1; she called. She stood up, brushing dirt and bits of grass from the knees of her gardening pants, and walked down to the fence. The Leafeon followed, and it hopped up on the flat top edge of the fence as the gardener leaned on the fence to talk to Evan, who had stopped upon hearing the greeting.

r0;Good morning, Allison,r1; Evan said with a smile. He looked at the Leafeon and let it smell his hand, and then gave it a little scratch under the chin. r0;And good morning to you, too, Meiling.r1; Evan looked up at Allison. r0;Wherer17;s Akio on this fine day?r1;

Allison sighed. r0;Oh, her17;s back in the house, sleeping as usual. I swear, Espeons are supposed to be daytime pokemon, but you wouldnr17;t know it with him.r1; She patted Meilingr17;s leafy head and smiled. r0;Thankfully, this little one knows proper respect for her mistress.r1;

The two humans shared a laugh over that, and then Allison looked down and noticed Eleanor standing next to Evan, looking rather out of place even to someone who wasnr17;t familiar with her. The gardener looked between Evan and the Espeon, and then she planted her hands on her hip, giving Evan a mock-glowering stare.

r0;Well, now, arenr17;t you going to introduce us?r1; she asked. r0;Where are your manners, Evan?r1;

r0;Sorry?r1; Evan asked, looking a little confused. Then he remembered that Eleanor was with him, and he laughed. r0;I completely forgot. Allison, this is Eleanor, but you can call her Ellie.r1;

r0;Ellie, then,r1; Allison said. She gave Eleanor a friendly smile and looked down at her again. r0;Nice to meet you, Ellie.r1;

Feeling uncertain about meeting a new person, Eleanor chose her form of greeting someone, and turned her nose up, looking the other way. Allison blinked, a bit shocked at her callous ignorance of a friendly gesture, and straightened up, looking back at Evan.

r0;Well, sher17;s a cheerful one, isnr17;t she?r1;

r0;Ehr30;Sorryr30;,r1; Evan said, rubbing the back of his neck. r0;Ellier30;Well, sher17;s kind of standoffish to begin with, and I guess sher17;s not really interested in saying hellor30;She doesnr17;t mean to offend you, honestly she doesnr17;t,r1; he added, somewhat unconvincingly.

Hmph, Eleanor thought. You canr17;t read my mindr30;

r0;I seer30;,r1; Allison said, giving Eleanor one last look. r0;I should get back to my gardening. I have a lot to do in the front yard, and then of course I must tend to the greenhousesr30;I might have a little bit of repair to do in there, because I think there must be a hole in the wall somewhere. Something has been stealing fruit from my Pecha plants, you see.r1; Evan noticed that Meiling looked away from her mistress at that, her pale green face showing traces of pink around the cheeks. He thought he might have just figured out who the culprit was.

r0;Ohr30;uh, alright,r1; Evan replied. r0;Good to see you, Allison.r1; He waved as Allison turned and went back to her gardening. The trainer gave Meiling a parting pat on the head, and then the Leafeon hopped off of the fence and followed her mistress. Evan continued walking down the street, and Eleanor followed along. After they were around the bend and behind the tree line past Allisonr17;s house, he stopped abruptly and looked down at Eleanor. r0;Great job, Ellie. Really nice.r1;

r0;What?r1; Eleanor asked. r0;What did I do?r1;

r0;You know what you did,r1; Evan said, looking a little angry. r0;You were really rude to Allison back there. Sher17;s my friend, and if your17;re going to be coming along on my walks, I expect you to act right.r1;

r0;r16;Act right?r17;r1; Eleanor repeated, cocking her head. r0;I acted like I always do.r1; She waited a beat, and then made her move to twist the thread of the day back her way. r0;Besides, I was just trying to hurry things along so we could spend more time together.r1; Her words had the desired effect, and she saw a most amusing expression of surprise flash over Evanr17;s face.

Appearing to have been mollified, Evan began walking again. r0;Well, er, I suppose itr17;s okay, this time,r1; he said. He hastened to adopt a stern tone. r0;But next time, I expect you to at least say r16;hellor17; back to Allison and Meiling, understand?r1;

r0;Alright.r1;

------

The rest of their walk went more smoothly than the beginning had. Evan and Eleanor walked to where their street met the main road, and then they doubled back for a short distance before taking a side road through another part of their neighborhood. Along the way, Eleanor was introduced to a few more of their neighbors, most of whom also kept pokemon, usually as pets. A lot of the people who lived in their area were retired trainers, and the population was a few decades older than Evan, so sometimes the pets turned out to be pokemon who had been battle partners in past years.

The side road looped around, and eventually it turned back into the road that their house was on. Eleanor, having never had much interest in exploring, was mildly surprised at how large their neighborhood was. The whole walk had taken several hours, and the sun was high in the sky once they arrived back at their front door. Evan unlocked the door and let Eleanor inside, and followed her into the living room. Her legs were a little tired, but the Espeon considered the outing a success. She had accomplished her main goal of getting a laugh at the expense of her trainer, and was feeling fairly proud of herself.

Evan sat down on the couch while Eleanor hopped onto her favorite armchair. r0;Whatr17;s gotten into you, Ellie?r1; he asked, after several minutes of watching her bathe herself with detached interest. r0;Your17;re acting a lot more sociable than you usually do.r1;

Eleanor acted as though she hadnr17;t heard him. Inside, she was fighting to keep from giggling like a schoolgirl, which would have been most undignified for a creature as proper and regal as herself. On the outside, she presented a picture befitting her reputation, calmly cleaning her shoulders and her back, and then her legs, feet, toes and tail. Evan was unimportant once more, pushed aside as easily as a toy one had lost interest in. Or so she wanted him to think. She chanced a glance up as she moved to wash her face, and saw that he was still looking at her, apparently waiting for his answer.

r0;What are you staring at?r1; Eleanor asked, rather coldly. She may have been imagining it, but she thought she saw a flicker of disappointment flash across her trainerr17;s face when he heard her unfriendly response.

r0;Never mind,r1; Evan said, looking away. He looked tense again, as he usually did when in the same room as his pokemon. The young man stood up, and walked out of the living room, heading for the hallway. r0;I think Ir17;m just gonna go read for a while, until lunchr30;r1;

Eleanor watched him go, and then returned to her bath, finally letting herself snicker quietly. Tormenting her trainer subtly like this was just too much fun. She had almost lost it when she thought she saw disappointment cross his face, and it wouldnr17;t do at all for her to tip him off that she was deliberately messing with his mind. That might put an end to all of her fun, and she wanted to milk this for all it was worth. The question was what to do nextr30;

Her eyes fell upon a mahogany box that sat underneath the couch. Another plan began to form in her mind, a plan that would be even more uncomfortable for Evan than just a simple walk. Inside that lovely wooden box, Eleanor knew, was a very nice chess set that Evan had received for his birthday years ago. When she had still been an Eevee, and when her trainer was still living with his parents, Evan used to play chess with his father all the time. The set had seen a lot of use, but it was still in nearly perfect condition. Suddenly grinning from ear to ear, Eleanor used her telekinesis to pull the box from underneath the couch. Holding it in the air, she hopped down from her chair and left the living room, walking down the hall. Levitating the chess set over her head as she went, she made her way to Evanr17;s bedroom.

Evan looked up as the bedroom door creaked open, and he was treated to what must have been, to him, the bizarre sight of his chess set floating through the air and being set on his bed. He picked his head up from the pillow and looked around, starting to suspect that this house might be haunted. Then, Eleanor hopped up onto the bed, revealing to him the reason behind the spooky appearance of his favorite board game.

r0;Now what are you up to?r1; Evan asked.

r0;I was bored,r1; Eleanor replied nonchalantly. She sat down on her haunches, curling her tail around her feet. r0;I thought maybe you could teach me how to play chess.r1;

Evan gave her a blank look. r0;Since when have you been interested in playing games with me?r1;

The Espeon faked a disappointed look. r0;You donr17;t want to play with me?r1; she asked, making her mindr17;s voice sound forlorn. r0;I just wanted to play for a changer30;like we used to when we were youngerr30;r1;

The plea worked.

r0;Wellr30;,r1; Evan said. r0;I guess I could teach you how to play.r1; He picked up the chess set. The box was hinged on one side, and Evan undid a small brass latch, which allowed him to open the box. Evan poured the chess pieces onto the bedspread beside him, and then he opened the box completely, so that it was flat with the outside of the box facing up. The chess board was actually the box itself, and dark squares of wood were alternated with light wood squares to form the familiar pattern of the game board. He placed the playing surface on the bed, and began to set the pieces up.

When everything was arranged correctly, Evan began to explain how the various playing pieces were used and how they could move around the board. Eleanor listened to him, but she was starting to realize that this wasnr17;t as fun as she had thought it might be. Sure, Evanr17;s reaction when sher17;d requested to play chess with him had been pretty funny, to her, but now he seemed to be enjoying explaining the rules of chess. That was no good; she was the one who was supposed to be having the fun, and not her trainer! But she couldnr17;t back off now. If the Espeon decided not to play now, then Evan would definitely be able to figure out what was going on, and then sher17;d be back to square one: lying around the house, trying to think of ways to pass the time. Better to suffer through a boring game than to lose all potential entertainment for the foreseeable future, and the delay of pleasure would only make it that much sweeter when she got to have her fun.

r0;So, you got all that?r1; Evan asked, as he wrapped up his explanation of the game.

r0;Yes,r1; Eleanor said, injecting false anticipation into her voice. Inside, she was thinking, Okay, time for a total snooze festr30;

r0;Okay then. Letr17;s play.r1;

Evan had arranged the pieces so that white was on Eleanorr17;s side, and so she got to make the first move. Using her telekinesis once again, she moved the pawn in front of her queenr17;s bishop forward two spaces. Evan made a move with the pawn in front of his queen, also advancing it two spaces. Not bothering to think much about her next move, Eleanor captured the pawn with the piece she had first moved. Immediately, Evan advanced his queen forward and captured that pawn.

r0;What ther30;,r1; Eleanor said, blinking. She had already forgotten that the queen could move as far as the player wished, and in any direction. Her impulsive moves had left her open to a loss that she should not have suffered.

Evan grinned. r0;Normally, itr17;s not a good idea for a player to move their queen out so soon, but I wanted to teach you a little lesson about chess,r1; he said. He raised one finger, like a teacher lecturing a student. Which, after all, he sort of was. r0;Chess is a game of strategy. Itr17;s not about being the one to take the most pieces, although capturing your opponentr17;s pieces is certainly a part of the game. Itr17;s about out-thinking the other person, and to do that you have to, as they say, r16;think three moves ahead.r17;r1; He pointed down at the board, and Eleanor reflexively looked down. r0;Simply put, you need to always consider the benefits and risks of every move that you think about making, and weigh them against the consequences of executing that move.r1;

r0;Consequences? Risks and benefits?r1;

Evan nodded. r0;They call chess the Game of Kings. I donr17;t know if itr17;s true or not, but I once heard that in medieval times, noblemen were schooled in the art of war by playing chess. They learned to use their resources wisely, to plan ahead, and, above all, to perceive when it was time to act conservatively and when it was time to go ahead with all possible force.r1;

r0;I seer30;,r1; Eleanor said, suddenly intrigued. What had before seemed like a boring game that she needed to get through quickly was now starting to hold a bit of appeal to her. The strategy element was something that she hadnr17;t considered. As one of the more mentally-gifted derivatives of the Eevee species, Eleanor had always thought of herself as more than a mere fighter, and this game was quickly looking like a prime way to flex her thinking muscles.

r0;Okay,r1; Evan said, clapping his hands together. r0;Letr17;s continue, shall we, Ellie?r1;

r0;Yeah,r1; Eleanor agreed, genuinely enthusiastic now. The game continued, but this time Eleanor took longer to decide her moves, and began making better decisions about how to send her pieces across the board. By thinking things through a little more, instead of going on split-second choices as she had started out doing, she began to develop her own strategies in the game. Although Evan won the game, she thought that she had done well for her first time.

r0;I think you have the basic idea of it, Ellie,r1; Evan said, starting to clean up the pieces and put them back in the box. r0;That was good for a beginner.r1;

Eleanor started floating chess pieces out of the box as Evan put them back. r0;Letr17;s play again,r1; the Espeon explained as Evan looked at her curiously. She wagged her forked tail, continuing to take pieces back out with her mind. r0;That was fun. I want to play again.r1;

r0;Wellr30;r1; Evan looked at the clock beside his bed, and it told him that the time was only eleven or17;clock. Lunch time was an hour away, but they could play another game, surely. Even if they were a little late for their usual lunch time, that was a big deal. And, besides, Evan couldnr17;t remember the last time he and Eleanor had spent so much time together, actually interacting. Although he couldnr17;t figure out what had made her change so abruptly, he wasnr17;t exactly anxious to end whatever was going on. r0;Okay. Letr17;s play another game.r1;

The pieces were set back up into their starting positions, with Eleanor taking black this time, and the game began anew. Since Evan had to make the first move for the second game, Eleanor was able to plan things out a little more at the start. By thinking about how her trainer started out, she could try to determine what his next moves were going to be. To her surprise, she found that when she actually put her mind to it and thought, she was beginning to be able to predict what kinds of moves and attacks he would make and set up.

And a strange thing started coming over Eleanor while they played that second game. She had started out today with an effort to have a few laughs at Evanr17;s expense, and her first sojourn into that territory had been successful. Evan had been quite bewildered for the entire morning after breakfast, and Eleanor had loved seeing him that way. In that respect, the day continued to be a success, but now Eleanor was beginning to have fun in a different way. For the first time today, and indeed for the first time in several years, she was enjoying being with Evan and playing a game with him. It was the oddest thing. Only hours earlier, when she had woken up to start her day, she had been full of mischief. Now, she was thinking that it wasnr17;t so bad to just have a little fun with her trainer from time to time.

Evan won the second game just like he had won the first, and this time he didnr17;t wait for the word from Eleanor before setting the pieces back up for round three. They continued playing game after game, until finally Eleanor got her first win in game eight.

r0;Wow, good game, Ellie,r1; Evan said, looking at the board. The only pieces left in play were a white bishop, a white pawn, and the white king, and the black king, both black knights, and a black rook. Eleanor had been playing as black, and she looked rather proud of herself as Evan tipped his king over. Having symbolically ended the game, Evan took a look at the clock, and received a surprise. r0;Itr17;s nearly six or17;clock! Ellie, wer17;ve been playing chess for seven hours!r1;

r0;Really?r1; Eleanor asked, somewhat taken aback. She looked at the clock as well, and, sure enough, Evan was not lying about the time. r0;Oh my.r1; They had gotten so engrossed in playing that they had missed lunch, and most of the rest of the day, too. She couldnr17;t understand how she could have lost track of the time like that.

r0;Come on, letr17;s get this game cleaned up, and then Ir17;ll make dinner,r1; Evan said. He started putting the pieces away, and closed up the game board. r0;Oh, and Ellie?r1;

r0;Hm?r1;

Evan smiled. r0;Thank you. Ir17;d almost forgotten what it was like to have a fun day with you. Wer17;ll have to do it again, sometime.r1;

r0;Ohr30;uhr30;yeahr30;,r1; Eleanor said, suddenly feeling somewhat confused, for some reason. She was confused because, for a little while, she had forgotten that she was Eleanor the Espeon, and had been in the mindset of Eleanor the Eevee, the little one who had used to have so much fun with her trainer. Who had fun not making sport of the human, but being friends with him.

Evan slid off of his bed and made his way out to the living room with the chess set, putting it back in its place underneath the couch. Eleanor followed him, still a little bewildered at her own actions. While the human went into the kitchen and began preparing dinner for the both of them, the Espeon went to her usual spot on her armchair, waiting for the food to be ready. When Evan announced that it was ready, she trotted into the kitchen. He started to place her food dish on the floor as usual but paused and moved it to the table, across from his place, looking to her to see if there was any objection. She made none, and so they sat down to eat their second meal of the day together.

When it came time for bed, Evan went back to his room, and Eleanor went to her bed in the living room. As had happened the previous night, she lied down and tried to go to sleep, but her mind was occupied with too many thoughts to allow her to do so.

Eleanor had enjoyed more fun today than she could remember having in quite some time, there was no denying that. And the fun had been had with her trainer, as she had intended, but in a much different way than she had foreseen. While she hadnr17;t planned to actually enjoy his company very muchr30;she couldnr17;t exactly say that the outcome had been disagreeable. Sure, she had not spent much time laughing, but she had received a hint of something that she had grown so unused to that it seemed almost foreign. The feeling of companionship, of having someone who one likes to spend time with.

The Espeon remembered what she had realized earlier. That while she and her trainer were playing chess, Eleanor had reverted back to the state of mind that she had often found herself in when she had been a young Eevee. She was older now, and she recognized that in growing up, she had lost a lot of what she had been when both she and Evan were little. Perhaps the Eleanor of today was more mature, more intelligent, and more restrainedr30;but the Eleanor of those years had been happy.

Maybe I canr30;just be Eleanor the Eeveer30;, she found herself thinking. Not in body, of course. Nothing can change thatr30;But in spirit at leastr30;I had friends back then, and a sort of family, too.

She glanced at the wall clock, and saw that she had lain awake for nearly an hour. Pushing her thoughts aside, she put her head down and finally fell asleep.

------

For the next week, things were very different between Eleanor and Evan. Instead of lounging around at home like she normally did, the Espeon accompanied her trainer on his morning walks, and even helped out with a few around-the-house chores. Once, she actually went into town with him. That was a very new experience for Eleanor, who had never been into the city. Even while they had been traveling while Evan was training, they hadnr17;t ventured into cities very often; only once in a while to visit a gym if there had been one in town, and they had never stuck around long.

Eleanor was amazed by the scope of the city. She had been able to see some of the buildings in the distance while walking with Evan, but she had never imagined that they were really as large as they were. Several of the buildings towered forty stories or more, and Eleanor had to turn her neck up as far as it could go to catch just a glimpse of the tops. And her head spun when Evan told her that there were even larger cities out there, with building twice as tall, and more, than these. Eleanor couldnr17;t quite wrap her mind around that. Even the local Pokemon Mart, which was a r0;merer1; five stories, was larger than any building she could remember being in.

As they walked through the streets, occasionally looking into store windows, sometimes going inside, Evan laughed at her. She looked up curiously.

r0;Whatr17;s so funny?r1; she asked.

Evan covered his mouth, and pointed at her. She realized that since they had arrived in town, she had been walking low to the ground, her ears laid back, her head turning from side to side furtively.

r0;Your17;re terrified!r1; Evan exclaimed, trying to contain his laughter.

Eleanorr17;s face colored rather nicely. r0;Am not!r1; she insisted. r0;Ir17;m justr30;nervous! Thatr17;s all! This place is intimidatingr30;r1;

Her trainer snorted. r0;Right,r1; Evan said. r0;Your17;re shaking so much because your17;re nervous.r1;

r0;Itr17;s not funny!r1; Eleanor said, sounding hurt. r0;Can we go home, yet?r1;

r0;Alright, alright,r1; Evan said, relenting. r0;If little Ellie is so scared, I guess we can go back home.r1; He shook his head, and they changed directions so that they were walking towards the road that would lead them back to their neighborhood.

Once they were out of the city limits and safely on their way home, Eleanor breathed a sigh of relief. The city had been too much all at once, and she would have preferred to have been eased into something as large as that. But, she reasoned, at least she would be prepared for the size of it the next time she happened to venture into the city.

On the walk home, Evan would keep glancing over at her and snickering, obviously still quite amused at how afraid she had been of being in the city. Eleanor would retaliate by butting into his legs, throwing him off-balance and forcing him to compensate to regain control. By the time they had gotten home, the sky was beginning to darken, and she was about ready to full-on charge and take him down into the ditch by the side of the road. Maybe being covered in muddy water would teach him some manners.

When they walked into the house, Evan prepared dinner, as usual, and they ate together. It had happened so often in the past week that it was beginning to feel quite normal to them. After Evan had cleared away the dishes, he started getting ready for bed. As he was walking down the hall, making his way to his bedroom, Eleanor threaded between his legs, rubbing up against his calves. That was sufficiently unusual for Evan to stop and take note of it.

r0;What was that?r1; he asked, looking down at Eleanor, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

r0;What was what?r1; Eleanor responded.

r0;You justr30;rubbed against me,r1; he said. r0;Like a cat.r1;

Eleanor blinked, surprised. r0;Ir30;I did, didnr17;t I?r1; she managed. Eleanor hadnr17;t shown a gesture of affection like that since she was a very small Eevee kit. She sat on her haunches, looking up at Evan. r0;Did it bother you?r1;

r0;Well, no,r1; Evan said. r0;You just havenr17;t done anything like that in a long time.r1; He scratched his head. r0;I kind of liked it, actually,r1; he added, on further reflection.

r0;Oh,r1; Eleanor said, not knowing what else she should say.

Continuing back to his room, Evan was about to close his door and get ready for bed when he realized that Eleanor had come into the room with him. He watched in mild bemusement as she hopped up onto his bed and sat down, looking at him.

r0;Err30;What are you doing, Ellie?r1;

r0;I was wonderingr30;Can I sleep in here?r1; Eleanor asked.

Evan arched one eyebrow. r0;Uhr30;I mean, I donr17;t see why not,r1; he answered. r0;But, uh, why?r1;

r0;No particular reason, I guess,r1; Eleanor said, one of her ears flicking. She scratched away the small itch that had appeared there. r0;It gets a little too quiet out in the living room, sometimes. I just want to spend the night withr30;a friend.r1;

r0;A friend?r1; Evan smiled. r0;Thatr17;s the first time in a long time that your17;ve called me that.r1; He shut his bedroom door, and changed into his sleeping things. Climbing onto the bed, he lay on his side and waited for Eleanor to pick a spot. Space was limited on the bed, since it had been made for only one person, and so the Espeon chose to lie down in the largest available space: the crook created by the bend in her trainerr17;s midsection. She curled up right near his stomach, Evan turned out the lights, and they both settled in to sleep for the night.

Eleanor wasnr17;t exactly sure what had motivated her to decide to sleep in her trainerr17;s bed tonight, but she knew it had something to do with her past. Before they had grown apart, Eleanor remembered that she and Evan would sleep together often. She was technically his pet, after all, and it was natural for small pet pokemon to sleep in the same space as their owners.

Evan said it before she could. r0;This is just like old timesr30;,r1; he said. r0;I missed this. Us being comfortable around each other, you know.r1; He gave her a little scratch behind the ears.

The Espeon said nothing, but rubbed against her trainer a bit, starting to feel happy that she had decided to try being her old self again. As Evan had said, it really was just like old times, and she was trying to figure out why she had allowed herself to go for so long without having a real friend. It was something that she didnr17;t want to have to live without ever again.

r0;Evanr30;,r1; Eleanor said. r0;Would you mindr30;petting me?r1;

r0;You want me to pet you? Usually when I try to do that, you end up biting me.r1;

r0;But I want you to pet me this time,r1; Eleanor pressed him. r0;Please?r1;

r0;Wellr30;Alright.r1;

Eleanor lounged on the bed as Evan began to stroke her fur, moving his hand along the top of her head and down her neck. The texture of her silky, purple coat made him feel as though he was running his palm along the surface of a cloud. His hand went slowly on her, and she could tell that he was a little tense, holding back to see if she was going to change her mind and lash out at his impudent fingers. But Eleanor had no intention of doing that. Evanr17;s touch was much too friendly for her to do that, and she began to make a noise that had not been heard in a long time.

r0;Are your30;purring?r1; Evan asked, genuine surprise in his voice.

Eleanor herself stopped the purring for a moment, because she was just as surprised as he was. r0;Yesr30;I am,r1; she answered, relaxing once more and restarting her purr.

For another fifteen minutes or so, Evan brushed his hand over Eleanor, his nerves calming and his muscles becoming not so tense. He pressed a little deeper into her fur, scratching between her shoulder blades. This continued until his fingers started to move less and less. Eventually, he began breathing slowly and evenly, and Eleanor knew that he had fallen asleep. Still purring slightly, she curled her tail around her body and shifted a little closer to his warm body. As she too began to surrender to the embrace of slumber, the hints of another plan began to form in her mind.

------

The next day, Eleanor made sure to spend as much time as she could with Evan, even accompanying him on rather mundane tasks like taking out the trash and washing the dishes. Even during things like that, she still felt like she was having fun, and it had nothing to do with the activities themselves. She was having fun because she was doing them with Evan. They took enjoyment from each otherr17;s companionship, and the sound of genuine, innocent laughter was heard from both of them.

In the early evening, Evan suggested that they take a walk, and Eleanor readily agreed. They left the house and started on the same route that they had been walking since they had started spending more time together. This was the first time they had taken an evening walk, but the neighborhood wasnr17;t really all that different in the evening than it was in the morning. Just like early morning, the air was cool, the surroundings were quiet, and they were the only ones walking along the side of the road.

They were just walking past Allisonr17;s house when she popped up from behind the fence, holding a trowel in one hand, with dirt all over her face. For a few seconds, neither Eleanor nor Evan realized that she was there. When it dawned on them that Allison was there, they nearly jumped out of the fur and skin, respectively.

r0;Hello there,r1; Allison said. r0;Out for an evening stroll?r1; She looked over the fence, down to where Eleanor was standing. r0;Good evening, Ellie.r1;

r0;Good evening,r1; Eleanor said, hopping up on top of the fence to be at Allisonr17;s level. She sat on the top edge of the fence just as the gardenerr17;s Leafeon, Meiling, had done the first time Eleanor had ever seen her. Allison looked pleasantly surprised by the contrast in the Espeonr17;s attitude.

r0;Well, your17;re certainly much more friendly today!r1; she proclaimed, giving Eleanor a little pat on the head. Eleanor looked up at the gardener, silently allowing herself to be petted by the older woman.

r0;Ellie has had a little change in attitude, lately,r1; Evan said, smiling.

r0;I can see that,r1; Allison said, running a hand down along the Espeonr17;s silkily furred back. Eleanorr17;s rump elevated a little as her hand reached the base of her tail, and Allison laughed. r0;Just like my little Akio. You can be a friendly thing when you put your mind to it, canr17;t you?r1;

r0;I suppose so,r1; Eleanor said.

Allison scratched between her shoulder blades. r0;I must say, you do talk quite a bit more than Akio,r1; she mused. r0;I can barely get two words out of him a day, let alone a full sentence. Itr17;s strange how silent he isr30;Her17;s quite the little troublemaker, though.r1; She winked at Eleanor. r0;Ir17;d wager her17;d be a little chatterbox if he met a lovely lady like yourself, Ellie.r1;

Eleanor blushed, and Evan chuckled at her embarrassment. r0;Where are Akio and Meiling, anyway?r1; he asked.

Allison clucked her tongue. r0;Oh, theyr17;ve both been a tad lazy today,r1; she said. r0;I found them lying about in the greenhouses earlier.r1; For a moment, both Evan and Eleanor thought that they noted a strange gleam in the gardenerr17;s eye, but it quickly disappeared. r0;But I did finally discover whatr17;s been eating my Pecha fruits.r1; She gave a little laugh. r0;Ah, my little onesr30;Precious things, but sometimes they get in a little too much mischief for their own good.r1;

r0;I know someone who has been up to a little mischief, lately,r1; Evan quipped. He glanced at Eleanor, who was looking away rather conspicuously. r0;Well, Ellie and I should probably get going. Good talking to you, Allison.r1;

r0;Sure you donr17;t want to stay for dinner?r1; Allison asked, a little hopefully. r0;I was just about to go in and whip up something.r1;

Evan shook his head. r0;Ellie and I already ate,r1; he said. r0;Thanks for the offer, though. Rain check?r1;

r0;Ir17;ll hold you to it.r1; Allison waved as Eleanor hopped off the fence, joining Evan as he started to walk away.

When they got a little ways away, Eleanor butted up against Evanr17;s leg to catch his attention. r0;She likes you.r1;

r0;Of course she likes me,r1; Evan said, shying to the shoulder of the road as one of their neighbors passed on a bicycle. They exchanged greetings as the neighbor pedaled past. r0;Wer17;re friends.r1;

r0;No, I meant that I think she likes you,r1; Eleanor insisted. She ran a little ahead of Evan and sat down in front of him, blocking his way. r0;She looked really disappointed when you said you wouldnr17;t come in for dinner. I think she was hoping for a date, or something.r1;

Evan was skeptical. r0;With me? I dunno...Sher17;s at least fifteen years older than me.r1;

r0;So? That makes her, what, forty, at the most? Sher17;s still young, for a human, at least.r1; Eleanor grinned slyly. r0;What, you think sher17;s ugly?r1;

r0;I didnr17;t say that,r1; Evan objected, reddening a bit. r0;Sher17;s pretty, but...isnr17;t she a little old for me?r1;

Eleanor tilted her head to one side in a little shrug. r0;I guess so, but why should that matter?r1; The Espeon gave a little laugh. r0;Do the parts stop working past a certain age, or something?r1;

That made Evan turn crimson. r0;Hey, now, watch your tongue...r1; He kicked a rock with the toe of his shoe, watching it bounce into the high grass by the side of the road. r0;Thatr17;s not a very ladylike thing to say, Ellie.r1;

r0;Well, then itr17;s a good thing Ir17;m no lady,r1; Eleanor retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. She turned around and started walking again, an impish little sway to her hips making her tail wave from side to side. Evan stood there for a second, lost in his thoughts, watching her walk, before he shook his head a fraction and followed her.

------

Later in the evening, around nine or17;clock, Evan was sitting in Eleanorr17;s chair in the living room, enjoying a drink. It had been some time since he had been in a good enough mood to enjoy something with alcohol in it, but he was feeling great because of how his relationship with Eleanor had improved, and so he had fixed himself a very strong rum and cola. The drink had been a favorite of his when he had reached the legal age to have such things, and he remembered the way he liked them: four parts rum and one part cola. The mixture was one that would have scandalized most bartenders, since it called for nearly four times the usual amount of rum, but Evan liked it this way.

He was about halfway through the drink, and was starting to feel a slight buzz, when Eleanor came in from down the hall. She walked over to the chair and sat on her haunches next to it, looking up at him.

r0;Whatr17;s up, Ellie?r1; Evan asked, putting his drink on the side table and laying his hands in his lap.

r0;Not much,r1; she said, scratching one ear. r0;Hey, move your hands.r1;

r0;Uh...,r1; Evan said, slowly putting his hands on the arms of the chair. r0;Okay...r1;

r0;There we go.r1; Eleanor bunched up her hind legs and jumped onto the chair. She turned around in a circle a few times, pressing into his legs repeatedly with her front paws. Finally, she curled up in his lap. r0;You took my favorite chair, so I take your lap.r1;

Evan smiled a little, and laid one hand on her side as he picked his drink back up with the other. r0;Fair trade, I suppose,r1; he said, taking a sip.

The Espeon cocked her head to one side. r0;Hey, what are you drinking?r1;

r0;This?r1; Evan asked, holding his glass up. He swirled the darkish amber mixture around, making the ice clink against the sides of the glass. r0;Rum and cola. I felt in the mood for a nice, strong drink tonight.r1;

r0;Is it good? Can I try?r1;

r0;Well...itr17;s not exactly something pokemon should be having...,r1; Evan said. He looked at the drink, and then back at Eleanor. r0;But I guess just a sip couldnr17;t hurt.r1;

Sitting back up in his lap, Eleanor took a sniff at the rim of the glass. Her trainer lowered the drink so that she could reach it, and she dipped her muzzle inside, lapping a few times with her tongue. She brought her head back up, swishing the bit of liquid around in her mouth for a few seconds, and then she swallowed. Evan watched a wide range of expressions go across her face, starting with interest, confusion, shock, and finally ending with an expression that could only be described as the purest of disgust. The corners of her mouth turned down, and she stuck the tip of her tongue out, screwing her eyes up. The small red r0;jewelr1; on her forehead even flashed brightly for a second, reflecting her apparent distaste.

r0;How can you drink that stuff?r1; Eleanor asked. She coughed once, the spicy burn of the rum biting at her throat. r0;Thatr17;s vile!r1;

r0;Says you,r1; Evan managed, his body racked by silent chuckles at Eleanorr17;s reaction. He rubbed her head, and took another sip of his drink, savoring the complex flavor that his pokemon apparently couldnr17;t appreciate. Ah, well, it only stands to reason. She hasnr17;t had the time to develop a taste for it, like I have.

r0;r16;Says me,r17; nothing,r1; Eleanor retorted, working saliva around in her mouth to cleanse her palate of the disgusting taste. r0;Ir17;ll stick with water and the occasional dish of cream, thank you very much.r1; She laid back down, resuming her previous position, and Evan placed his hand back on her side.

Eleanor stretched her legs out, clawing at the chair arm in front of her a little as she felt her muscles strain a little. She presented her belly to Evan again, and there was little hesitation this time as he began to rub her silky fur once more. The Espeon gave a purring sigh and relaxed, closing her eyes.

r0;How does that feel?r1; Evan asked, scratching her belly lightly.

r0;Wonderful,r1; Eleanor replied. She rolled fully onto her back, stretching as far in either direction as she could. When she loosened her muscles up, her body itself was the width of the chair, with her front and back legs extending over the sides. Her presentation of herself was not an accidental byproduct of a tummy rub, although the tummy rub itself was certainly nice. No, the wheels in her head were turning once again. She wondered just how far she could push this. r0;It would be better a little bit lower, though.r1;

Evan moved his hand lower on her belly, his fingers starting to stroke her stomach. r0;Right here?r1; he asked. Eleanor heard a light clunk as he set his glass down on the table again.

r0;No, a little lower than that.r1;

r0;Oh, I get you,r1; Evan said. Eleanor felt a thrill shoot up her spine, but it quickly vanished when Evan merely added his other hand to her tummy. While both of his hands on her underside certainly felt better than just one, it wasnr17;t quite what she had been aiming for.

r0;Evan, are you impaired in some way that Ir17;ve never noticed?r1; Eleanor asked, sounding for a moment like her old self. She stared right up at him, her brow furrowed in an expression that suggested irritation. Evan looked quite taken aback by the question.

r0;Not that I know of...,r1; he said, looking back down at her. r0;Why do you ask?r1;

r0;Because I donr17;t think you understand the words that have been coming out of my mind.r1; The Espeon thwacked his face lightly with her tail, the twin forks stinging slightly where they struck his cheek. r0;Ir17;m saying that it would feel a lot better if you rubbed a bit lower.r1;

r0;Yeah, and I...r1;

Eleanor cocked one eyebrow as Evan trailed off. She watched, mildly amused, as a whole host of expressions flashed over his visage, as though someone was aiming a remote at a television and pressing the channel change button over and over again. Her trainer swallowed hard.

r0;Eleanor, I...I canr17;t...do what your17;re asking me to do...,r1; he croaked.

r0;Why not?r1;

So many answers to that question, Evan thought. He decided he would go with the moral one. r0;Well, you see, your17;re an Espeon, and Ir17;m a human. It just wouldnr17;t be right. Itr17;s not natural for two different species to do something like that.r1;

r0;Thatr17;s not true,r1; Eleanor replied. r0;Different species of pokemon mate all the time. Itr17;s perfectly natural for different species to do that.r1;

So much for the moral answer. r0;Well, you see...,r1; he began, looking for another excuse. Perhaps the ethical one would suffice. r0;Itr17;s not just that wer17;re different species. Ir17;m your trainer, and your17;re my pokemon. Itr17;s not right for me to abuse my power over you as your master and do something like that, you see?r1;

Eleanor let out a shrill laugh at that one. r0;r16;Not right for me to abuse my power over you?r17;r1; she repeated, between laughs. She twisted her head around, bending her body almost double in an impressive display of her speciesr17; inherent flexibility. r0;Evan, I assure you that if you ever did anything to me that I found disagreeable, I am perfectly capable of stopping you.r1; As if to prove what she just said, the jewel on her forehead glowed brightly once more, and the couch opposite them lifted from the floor. She held it up near the ceiling for several seconds before letting it fall back down with a loud crash.

r0;Er...Point taken...r1;

r0;In any case, when have we ever been like the typical trainer and pokemon?r1; Eleanor asked reasonably. r0;Wer17;ve always been friends.r1; She laid her ears forward, like a human might hold a hand up to stop someone from speaking too soon. r0;I admit, our friendship might have lapsed for a while, but still. Your17;re hardly my master, and Ir17;m hardly your subordinate.r1;

Since both the moral and ethical arguments had been refuted, there was only one excuse left to fall back upon. And Evan needed to use it quick, because he had a female sitting on his lap who seemed to be intent on sex. As a male faced with a willing female, the fact that she was a pokemon notwithstanding, his resistance was rapidly eroding.

r0;But...But...I could get in a lot of trouble for this,r1; Evan stammered, latching onto the last thing he could use as a defense: the law. r0;This...I mean, what your17;re suggesting is totally against the law. I could get taken to jail, you could be taken to a pokemon shelter, and who knows what will happen to you there. You could be sent to an abusive master, you could be used as a breeder, you could even be killed if they find no use for you. I mean-r1;

r0;Evan,r1; Eleanor said quietly. The calmness of her voice halted Evanr17;s rapidly more frenzied rant, and he shut his mouth. r0;We are all alone out here. The nearest house is half a mile in either direction. Nobody visits. Hardly anyone ever calls. Wer17;re surrounded by trees and open fields. Who in the world would possibly find out? Certainly neither of us is going to tell anyone, right?r1;

The trainer bit his lip. r0;I...I donr17;t know...r1;

r0;Come on,r1; Eleanor pressed him. r0;What are you afraid of? Itr17;ll be fun. I promise.r1; She relaxed on his lap again, lying flat on her back as before. r0;Now, as I said before. It would feel really good if you rubbed a bit lower...r1;

Evanr17;s throat bobbed as his resistance boiled away to nothing. His shaking hands went back to rubbing at her belly, but Eleanor said nothing to encourage him to grow bolder in his explorations of her body. It wasnr17;t necessary. She knew that she had him. Her heart skipped from pure excitement when she saw him take a deep breath, and she relaxed the muscles in her lower body, causing her hind legs to sag apart.

While Eleanorr17;s heart might have skipped a beat or two, Evan felt like his heart had stopped completely. Much of his body seemed to have gone numb, and he sensed that some sort of disconnect among his brain, eyes, and hands might have occurred, because none of those three things could quite believe what each of the others was telling them. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and forced his hands to stop shaking. When he opened them again, his brain was once again his, and the incessant trembling had stilled. The Pokemon Trainer moved one hand just a bit lower, leaving his other hand where it was, feeling a slight jump in his Espeonr17;s stomach muscles as his fingers went near where she had intended for them to go.

This was not Evanr17;s first sexual experience, of course. He was a healthy young man, and as such her17;d had a number of female partners before. But, of course, he had never been one of r0;those peopler1; who had sex with pokemon, and so he was a virgin in that respect. He wasnr17;t completely ignorant of the subject, though. A friend had sent him a prank link in an email one time, which had sent him straight to a quite explicit video of a man having sex with a female Flareon. Back then her17;d closed the video in disgust, but naturally he had never expected that he would find himself in the situation that he was in right now. And, as weird as it may have sounded had he said it out loud, he wished now that he had watched that video a little bit, if only to get a small clue as to what he ought to be doing.

Eleanor must have sensed that he was a little uncertain, because she reached down with one of her front paws and nudged his hand. r0;Itr17;s right...r1;

Evan felt his fingertips brush over something warm and slightly damp, and heard a sharp intake of breath from Eleanor.

r0;Ah! There...r1;

He looked down at what his hand was on, and could just barely make out something hidden beneath the fur underneath her tail area, in a slightly darker shade of purple than her fur. Feeling just a little more confident about the whole thing, Evan parted her fur with his fingers, uncovering the smooth, slightly swollen sex that lay beneath. It looked rather different from what the genitals of a human female looked like. Instead of the lip-like arrangement that humans had, Eleanorr17;s pussy was a puffy, almost ring-like area, that was slightly puckered into the opening to her vagina.

r0;Wow...thatr17;s, uh...,r1; Evan breathed, feeling at a loss for words. He closed his mouth, realizing that talking was one of the last things he should be thinking about doing right now. Taking two fingers, he began rubbing them around the circle of warm flesh.

Eleanor opened her mouth a crack, breathing audibly, the air hissing through the slight gaps between her teeth. She had touched herself in idle moments before, when nobody was around, and oh gods, had that felt good, but that was as nothing compared to what having someone else touch her felt like. Having a set of fingers on her pussy that were detached from her own body imparted something else to the sensation, an uncertainty about where those fingers would go next that gave the pleasurable touches an even more delicious flair. When she expected Evan to rub his fingers counterclockwise, he would surprise her and start moving them clockwise. When she thought he might rub with the pads of his fingertips, he would scratch ever so slightly with his fingernails instead.

The reactions of the little Espeon on his lap were not lost on Evan, and he tried to make his touches completely random. He discovered that Eleanor would squirm her rear against his lap in an especially pleasing way when he flattened his fingers against her sex, grinding them against her. As his touches began to elicit more piercing shocks of pleasure inside of her, she would occasionally make little moaning noises.

r0;Can you...put a finger inside...?r1; Eleanor asked, licking her lips.

Evan, without a word, began to probe the tip of his index finger into Eleanorr17;s pussy. Once he pushed past the outer flesh, he could feel moisture and the smoothness of her entrance. Curious, he held his hands around her waist and, with both of his thumbs, he spread her apart. This was rewarded with an elevated groan from Eleanor, accompanied by a pronounced tremor all along her body. While her outsides might have been purple, inside he could see nothing but pink, her wetness sparkling in the living room lights.

When she felt something slip inside of her vagina, Eleanor drew her legs up almost to her shoulders, the muscles tensing reflexively as her body was invaded. Evan slid his finger in to the first knuckle and began moving it in a circle, stroking the warm walls that were grappling against him.

r0;Your17;re tight, Ellie,r1; he said, his voice husky from arousal. His member was poking against the Espeonr17;s back, as yet confined to his pants, although they both knew that wouldnr17;t last for much longer.

r0;Well...,r1; Eleanor said, trying to come up with a response. r0;Your finger is...kinda big.r1; She wished she hadnr17;t said that, because it made her very aware that his penis was going to be a lot larger, and would probably hurt for a bit when he finally penetrated her. But she was too hot and too into this to stop it now. The delight she had been feeling from his fingers on the outside climbed to new levels when he pushed his finger in deeper, to the last knuckle, and began moving it in and out.

Evan was having quite a good time watching Eleanor writhe under his touch. It was sort of interesting, he thought, to discover how an Espeonr17;s body was different from a humanr17;s. While most of the women he had been with hadnr17;t been all that impressed with being touched anywhere except their breasts and their pussies, Eleanor seemed to have some sort of erogenous zone on every part of her body. While she normally liked to be scratched behind her ears, at the base of her tail, and between her shoulder blades, these areas seemed to take on a new level of enjoyment in this situation. Her stomach was an interesting region as well. With her stretched out as she was, he could faintly see six tiny dots on her underbelly, her nipples. If he rubbed the palm of one hand over her stomach, she would begin to flail her forked tail and kick one of her legs.

The trainer was also kind of intrigued to discover that she didnr17;t appear to have a clitoris. Rather, it didnr17;t seem to matter where his finger went while he was moving it around inside of her vagina. Anyplace that he dragged his fingertip, he was greeted by a clenching of her inner muscles, a flash of heat, and an endearing moan of pleasure.

r0;Evan...,r1; Eleanor groaned. Even the voice coming to him from her mind made her sound out of breath. r0;Enough...r1;

Evan slowly pulled his finger out of her, the digit being gripped and fought all the way, as if her body had a mind all its own, and did not really want him to go. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, feeling them slide over each other, Eleanorr17;s clinging moisture making both surfaces slick.

r0;Did you...ah, you know,r1; Evan said, feeling slightly out of breath himself. r0;Did you cum?r1;

Eleanor shook her head. r0;No, not yet,r1; she said. The fur at her collar was trembling with her heartbeat, elevated from how turned on she was. r0;But you are going to make me cum, understand?r1;

r0;Oh, perfectly,r1; Evan said, smirking. He held Eleanor securely in his arms, and rose from his seat. He carried her out of the living room, down the hallway, and into his bedroom. Setting her down on the bed, he took a step back and started taking his clothes off.

r0;Whoa...,r1; Eleanor said, as Evan lowered his pants, revealing a penis that had been pretty much ready to go as soon as he had caved in to Eleanorr17;s requests for him to touch her. r0;Thatr17;s gonna be a tight fit.r1; It had not escaped Eleanorr17;s attention that Evan was quite a bit larger than her own species, and it now appeared as if that applied in more ways than one.

r0;You scared, Ellie?r1; Evan teased. r0;You want to back out, now?r1;

r0;Hell no,r1; the Espeon insisted. r0;Wer17;ve gone this far, and Ir17;m definitely not stopping until I get off.r1;

Her trainer finished with his clothes, and got onto the bed beside her. Now that he was as naked as she, and they were seriously committed to seeing this through, his anxiety had completely vanished. They spent a few minutes looking each other over, evaluating the situation.

r0;So...,r1; Evan began. r0;How do you...I mean, how do we do this? I mean, I know how we do it, but how do we do it?r1;

r0;Um...Good question...r1;

Eleanor thought for a few moments. If she had been with another four-legged pokemon, as she had occasion to be several times while journeying with Evan, she knew exactly how it would have worked. In a normal situation, she would go on all fours and allow the male to mount her from behind. If she did that in this case, however, she was fairly sure it would be uncomfortable, since Evan was so much taller and heavier than she was.

r0;Maybe if I...,r1; Evan started to say, but he corrected himself. r0;No...that probably wonr17;t feel too good...r1; Eleanor had the feeling he had just come to the same conclusion about doggy-style that she had.

r0;Okay, I think it will work best this way,r1; Eleanor finally said. r0;You lie down, and Ir17;ll get on top. Wer17;ll do it that way.r1; Since that position would allow Eleanor to control the depth to which Evan could penetrate her, which was the real worrying point of most other positions in which the male had control over that sort of thing, it would be perfect.

r0;Sounds good,r1; Evan said. He sank down onto the bed, lying flat on his back with his head resting on a pillow. His member stood straight up, and Eleanor climbed over it while she took position on top of him, her hindquarters situated at his hips.

r0;I think your17;d better start it off,r1; Eleanor said. r0;Just...you know, be gentle at first, okay? Your17;ve got a really big cock...r1; She was amused to see Evan flush red when she said that, and realized that even though he was enormous to her, he was probably average-sized for a human. She had unintentionally just flattered him quite a bit. Of course, not that she minded flattering him, at this point.

r0;Ah...Yeah...Of course...,r1; Evan said, his voice a little shaky with anticipation. He moved his hand along Eleanorr17;s flank, paused to scratch her rear a little, causing her to arch her back into his hand, offering up one of her rare purrs. His hand left her body, and he wrapped his fingers around his stiff penis. Holding her steady with his other hand, he brought the tip of his erection to her sex, feeling the warm moisture leak out onto him. With a fingertip as a guide, he relocated her entrance, and pushed up slightly with his hips.

Slowly, gradually, and just a bit painfully, Eleanor felt Evanr17;s penis burrow inside of her vagina. When the head was securely fit into her, he took his hand away and held onto her around her waist. Eleanor took her cue, and as Evan bit his upper lip, his eyes drooping until they were half-open, she drove her hips down, causing more of him to become encased in her wet warmth.

r0;Oh...,r1; Eleanor said, as the rigid cock that was invading her body went as deep as she could handle. r0;Thatr17;s...nice...r1; Although only four inches of her trainers member were inside of her, it was as much as possible, and Eleanor could not recall ever having been filled so completely. If nothing else came of this, at least she knew the feeling of being stretched to her limit, unable to take any more.

Now that they were fully coupled, they began in earnest. Eleanor had full control over most of the action, and Evan watched in wonder as she began to move her rear up and down. Her pussy was tight, a hot ring of flesh that made it feel like a rubber band was wrapped around his cock. He was rather amazed that he had been able to fit inside of her at all, but he certainly wasnr17;t complaining. The pleasure that he felt when Eleanor would make him slide out of her slick canal, the air of his bedroom bringing a cooling sensation to his skin, felt better than anything he had previously experienced. Idly, in the back of his mind, he wondered why he had never tried anything like this before.

Eleanor, although she didnr17;t know it, was wondering much the same thing as Evan. She harbored no particularly strong feelings of love for her trainer, but now that they were making r0;lover1;, she found that it was the most enjoyable thing she had done in recent memory. His member was so thick that she didnr17;t really have to do much to feel a fantastic sensation of sexual bliss; all that was required was for her to move, to make him slip in and out of her pussy, his girth caressing every surface inside of her.

While they lay together, using each otherr17;s bodies in the way that nature had intended them to, Evan was moving a hand up Eleanorr17;s back. The feeling of her fur on his skin, while he had always liked the softness of it, was made all the better when accentuated by the tingling sensations along the length of his penis. He scratched between her shoulder blades, and smiled when he saw her eyes close and her jaws part slightly. Her breath drifted out, warm and soft, against his face. For a moment, he was sorely tempted to lift his head up and kiss her lips, but he wasnr17;t sure if he would be within his rights to do so. While he knew that Eleanor was one hundred percent consenting to this union, he got the feeling that she was motivated more by pleasure than anything else, and that showings of affection beyond the actual act of sex would not be welcome. He contented himself with rubbing the soft fur on her cheeks, feeling her body vibrate as a steady purr began to rumble forth.

Eleanor wiggled her hips, grinding down on Evanr17;s length, stretching out the slippery walls of her vagina to accommodate him better. r0;You know, Evan,r1; she said, her voice playful. r0;You donr17;t have to just lie there. I want you to move a bit, too.r1;

r0;Whatever you say, Ellie,r1; Evan agreed, trying not to sound overly eager, lest the Espeon think he was too excitable. As she had bidden him, he began meeting her gyrating hips with gentle thrusts, pushing his cock into her just a bit deeper than she had been allowing him.

Eleanor cried out, a howling mewl that would have made Evan laugh if it had not been so incredibly erotic. Her paws were pushing on his chest, and as he started to make more of an effort to tunnel inside of her, her claws unsheathed. Evan grunted as she pricked his skin, but felt little pain, so engrossed in sex was he.

r0;Evan, itr17;s good!r1; Eleanor moaned, feeling her pleasure begin to climb towards its peak once more. r0;Donr17;t stop, whatever you do! Keep going...Harder...r1;

The human underneath the Espeon did as he was told, holding her rear in his palms. He took over from Eleanor, pushing her body down as he jerked his hips up, forcing another inch or two of himself inside. She did nothing to stop him, and if anything became even more aroused as the balance of domination shifted to Evan. Evan drove himself again and again into the little purple animal atop him, his efforts growing frantic as he felt himself approaching the ultimate completion of their act.

r0;Ellie...,r1; he gasped, the very task of forcing air from his lungs to speak seeming more difficult than anything he had ever done, r0;...I canr17;t...If I keep going, Ir17;ll...r1;

r0;Thatr17;s right, Evan,r1; Eleanor managed, barely able to concentrate enough to speak. r0;And I want it inside me...All of it, right now...r1;

Unable to do anything to hold back, Evan groaned loud and long, pushing Eleanor down as hard as he ever had. He very nearly hilted himself inside of her, would have done so if her body had allowed him to. Regardless, the muscles at the base of his penis began to spasm, contracting and relaxing rhythmically, his semen erupting from the tip and flooding inside of Eleanor. The volume of the fluid spurting into her forced his penis out of her vagina, and the remainder of his seed spewed against her bottom.

Eleanor almost screeched in shock, the force of his orgasm surprising her even as it sent her over the edge as well. Her insides felt as though they were rippling, the hot mess of his seed sloshing around as she came, almost losing her mind in the tumult of bliss that was boiling through her body. Unconsciously, she sank onto Evan, her legs giving out, and her body lying flat on top of her friend. Her brain registered immense satisfaction, just before it shut off for the evening, her last memory before darkness being one of relief that she had decided to do something like this.

------

In the morning, Evan automatically woke up at his usual time. He rolled over to get out of bed, and it wasnr17;t until he felt Eleanor fall off of his stomach and heard her yelp of surprise that the events of the previous night came flooding back to him. He opened his eyes wide, Eleanor looking right back at him.

r0;Wow...Did we...Did last night actually happen?r1; he asked, rubbing a hand over his face to chase the sleep away.

r0;Uh...yep,r1; Eleanor said.

For a few minutes, they looked at each other awkwardly. Eleanor was feeling a little conflicted inside. On the one hand, what had happened last night had been really fun, something that she wasnr17;t sorry had happened at all. The Espeon had very much enjoyed having sex with her trainer, especially with the element of the taboo that had accompanied their activities. But, on the other hand, she knew, deep down, that it had been a one-time thing to her. She also knew that Evan, being who he was, might not see it the same way that she did.

r0;Evan...,r1; she said, doing her best to make this as gentle as she could. r0;I hope you understand...that what happened last night...Well, let me first say that I liked it a lot, and Ir17;m not sorry we did it at all.r1;

Evan smiled. r0;I didnr17;t think otherwise. You seemed really into it while we were doing it.r1;

r0;But therer17;s something else,r1; she continued. Evanr17;s smile faltered a little, but she pressed on, knowing it had to be said. r0;I didnr17;t want it to become serious, okay? I just wanted us to be friends again. What we did was just something I wanted to do with a friend, and Ir17;m not looking for anything else from you. Do you understand?r1;

Evan looked down, and Eleanor could tell that she had hurt him a little. She started to say something else, but stopped, realizing that she had said all that she could say on the matter already. So she just waited, watching his face, for him to respond to her.

r0;Okay...,r1; Evan said finally, looking back up at her. r0;I guess I can accept that.r1; He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. r0;Ir17;m not sorry we had sex either, and if it turns out to just be a one-night stand, Ir17;m fine with that. The more important thing is that wer17;re friends again, and thatr17;s the real treasure to carry away from this.r1;

Eleanor grinned, relieved to hear that. r0;Thatr17;s good. Besides, I think your17;d be much happier with someone of your own kind.r1; She waited a beat before going on. r0;Allison, perhaps?r1;

r0;Allison...,r1; Evan repeated quietly. He thought for a few moments, and then got out of bed. r0;Hey, Ellie...Feel like going for a walk this morning?r1;

r0;Sure!r1; Eleanor said enthusiastically. She looked herself over, noting that she still bore the somewhat sticky reminders of the night before. r0;But...I think I need a bath first.r1;

Evan laughed, and the two friends walked out of the bedroom together, ready to get cleaned up and start on a new morning.

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r0;People can be divided into three groups: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.r1;
-Thomas Paine