Story Notes:
Basically, I've been wanting to make a very long lasting series with lots of intrigue and such, and have finally come up with this. I like the story-line behind it, though for now I'm just going to post the first chapter to see just what everyone thinks of it. No sex until later chapters.
Chapter 6: Family Reunion
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The Eevee awoke from his dream and looked around drowsily. It was night, the air still smelled faintly of smoke, fire, blood, and death, but it had grown much more subtle now. He winced slightly as he moved stiff joints, attempting not to move so fast that his stitches would break and let his wounds open again. "Nnnf...ow..." He grunted.
Ruby had left, probably to burn the rest of the bodies, leaving Syon snuggled into a nearby rock that was still warm from the smoke intensified sun. His body grumbled in protest to him standing, moving, and stretching...but it soon quelled its complaining when his muscles were nice and stretched out again, if still somewhat sore. Syon felt rather sick, but just dismissed it as shock from the battle and limped his way off into the darkness to get a drink from the local stream.
With his head bent and eyes closed, he was the perfect target for the strike team that had been sent out for one specific mission: Get an Eevee. And it wasn't just any Eevee...it was Syon himself.
Babbling water wasn't anything that would draw attention to it, so all Syon did was flick his ear, then leave it alone while he lapped at the water to slake his thirst and wash the taste of blood from his mouth.
Suddenly, a pair of wet, blue paws grabbed him around the neck, and yanked him into the water. The Eevee yelped, then struggled as he just got a mouthful of cold creek water as it rushed by him. He looked up, startled to see the streamlined body of a Vaporeon clutching him to...her? Her, underside in a manner that left him helpless. All he could do was struggle in vain, and breathe water. It wasn't long before the combination of the two served to make him black out.
The next thing he knew, he was thrown up on shore, and a broad, thick tail brought across his back with a loud smack to bring him back to consciousness...and to make at least half his bodyweight in water come gushing from his mouth. He coughed and sputtered, rolling onto his side and panting, breathing in glorious fresh air. Wait...something was wrong.
The air he was breathing carried not a single trace of blood, not even that tiny bit of metallic scent that permeated the air in Bloodgrass Fields. He opened his blue eyes to look around, gasping in shock at seeing...well, green. Lots and lots of green. It almost hurt his eyes...and probably would have if it hadn't been night, and thus the colors were slightly dulled.
"Finally...geeze." Came a female voice to his left. He rolled over to regard his captor and struggled to his paws, growling out a challenge. The female just rolled her eyes and laughed at the Eevee. "Oh come now, you don't want that..."
A heavy paw fell to Syon's back, knocking his recently regained breath out of him and pinning him to the ground. He craned his neck and looked up in startlement to see an Ursaring pinning him quite effectively to the ground with one of her huge footpaws. "Hey there kiddo. No rough-housing now...we didn't drag you twenny miles just to kill ya." She smirked, showing off a set of impressive fangs. As if her finger-long claws weren't enough of a threat.
Syon's growl died away rather quickly, and he switched to a bit more of an intelligent mode. Questioning. "What do you want with me?" He asked, glaring first at the Ursaring, then to the Vaporeon when the bear turned to look at her.
The Vaporeon smiled then, pleasant...like silk over a knife. "Want with you? Why we don't want you...but someone does. An Absol named Sloan. Heard of him?" She asked, purring softly...
Syon's eyes widened. "...Sloan sent you for me? Why?"
The water type shrugged and sat down, her large tail curling about her slender legs. "Fishbait if I know kiddo, but he says it's important. So, it's important." She concluded with a slight nod. "Now...you're going to come with us quietly, I'm getting tired of carrying you, and I don't want you drowning on the way there."
The Eevee just snorted, but stood as the large Ursaring paw left his back. "Fine..."
Both of his captors nodded, and began walking off, leaving Syon to limp after them...wondering what Sloan had in store for them.
He'd have to wait awhile longer, as they led him through the forest until daybreak. The Vaporeon stopped in place, yawned, then turned around. "We're stopping for the day. The town is just a few miles away, but Sloan said to only travel by night, so...get comfortable kiddo. You're sleepin'."
"Mrf..." Was his only comment as he limped over to a tree, snuggled into its roots, and promptly passed out again into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.
A sudden spurt of water against his face brought him awake, sputtering. "Pthpppp...the hell was that for!?" He growled at the Vaporeon, who only giggled and smiled, wiggling her ear fins at the Eevee.
"Just a little fun." She said, giving a wink to him before padding off into some brush.
Syon grumbled and stood up, stretching out, then shaking himself and pawing at his muzzle...grumbling about the water. "Hmph..."
The sun was setting when he looked for it, bathing the forest in a familiar fiery glow that helped him settle, if only a little. Pawsteps behind him made him turn to find the Vaporeon nosing a small pile of berries towards him. "Eat, it'll help with your wounds and maybe we can get their sooner."
Syon regarded the berries with contempt, suspecting...something...but after biting down on one, he discovered them to be quite fine. The berries disappeared into his greedy maw in no time, and did indeed help his wounds enough that he could move freely, if a bit slower than normal.
Why his captors were giving him food, he didn't know, but he managed a mumbled, "Thanks..." to the Vaporeon as they continued their journey.
She only flicked her tail in response, a gruff chuckle from behind him telling of the Ursaring's amusement at the 'savage's' politeness.
When they broke through the woods, it opened out into a wide open plain filled with long, billowing green grass. However, dominating the horizon was a humongous city, gleaming dully in the silvery moonlight of night. Small farms dotted the landscape surrounding it, no one out tending them currently due to the late hour.
The Vaporeon's tail gestured for Syon to approach and stand beside her, the water type's foreleg swinging around his shoulders like an old chum. "There she is, Prismatic City. Whatcha think?" She asked, giving the young male a big grin.
Syon thought better of fighting his way out of her grasp and just grumbled under his breath. But he had to admit... "It's huge..."
A giggle escaped the Vaporeon as she nodded. "Yes kiddo, it is. Now c'mon, it's even bigger up close." She let the Eevee go and stepped off ahead of him, humming an old tune under her breath.
The little fox was curious about this female...they were enemies, and yet she treated him like an old friend or something. Weird... "Alright." He said, padding off behind her and looking at the farms they passed. Farms were something he'd never seen before, as where he came from they lived off what they could hunt, forage, or what they got off of raiding trading caravans.
They were stopped at a massive wall with gates the size of two Tyranitaur in both height and width. The Eevee felt incredibly small standing in front of them, and looking up at the two Rhydon guards that stood looking down at the small group with impassive eyes. "State name and purpose." They both said in unison.
The Vaporeon sighed and rolled her eyes, pushing the Eevee back behind her with a gentle push of her tail. "Sergeant Bubbles and Corporal Kotek escorting a captive Bloodgrass warrior."
The Rhydon seemed to bristle at this...or would have if they had fur. "...why is it not on a leash?" one commented, glaring at Syon with contempt in its voice and eyes.
Syon just glared right back and bared his fangs. Bubbles just smiled. "Because Sloan ordered that he be treated like a guest, not a captive."
Both turned their glares at her, then grumbled. "Fine. You may pass." They banged their massive fists against the gates three times in unison, the twin doors slowly creaking open in response to the password of sorts.
"C'mon you, let's move on." Said the Vaporeon, turning to look at the Eevee who was still glaring at the guards. "And take off that scowl, you won't be touched so long as Sloan's name is sitting in your protectorate."
The Eevee snorted, but nodded and followed after, the doors closing behind Kotek with a thud, the two guards on the other side locking the doors again behind them with a large wooden brick.
Inside the gates was the city...an impressive one at that. Hard, packed earth roads lined the circular city, intersecting and crossing at different angles, paths, and sometimes just becoming narrow alleys before stopping at the back of a building. Bubbles, Syon, and Kotek took a very winding path that left the Eevee dizzy and completely lost within the city, wondering if the interior was a maze for the purpose of confusing any invaders lucky enough to breach the humongous stone walls.
While the buildings and architecture were impressive enough, what took Syon's breath away was the giant palace sitting in the center. It looked like it had been carved directly out of some giant piece of quartz crystal or something, the ivory white bricks gleaming dully in the moonlight, giving the place an almost mystical, ethereal feel. Bubbles led them to the gates for this awesome palace, the doors of which were just as impressive, having been carved and gilded with a dark iron color to successfully outline the complex symmetric flower patterns on the front.
On the each door was three stones, and the middle dominated by a larger one. The three on the left, starting from the outside was blue, yellow, red. The three on the right starting from the outside was green, icy blue, and black. The center jewel was a giant pink pearl. The center one was the only identifiable gem of the lot. There were seven guards standing before this door, one of each Eevee Evolution.
Seeing the small group, they nodded, turned around, and used an attack on their respective jewel. Vaporeon used Water Gun, Jolteon used Thunderbolt, Flareon used Flamethrower, Leafeon used Solarbeam, Glaceon used Ice Beam, Umbreon used Dark Pulse, and finally an Espeon unleashed a Psychic attack. This kept up for a minute, before the doors finally gave way and began to open slowly with hardly a squeak.
The guards' attacks died off, and they opened just like the doors to let Bubbles, Syon, and Kotek pass. As soon as they were inside, the Vaporeon grinned and turned to look at Syon. "Wasn't that just an awesome sight? We don't know how our Empress did it, but she managed to get those doors to work like that! It's so cool!"
The Eevee mutely nodded. It was indeed an impressive display of power...but he wasn't one to enjoy someone showing off. Much. "Yeah..." He said quietly.
Satisfied, she grinned, then turned and led them down the hallway of the palace towards their destination, wherever it might be. The interior of the palace was just as impressive as outside. Artwork done by very talented artists lined the walls in skillfully positioned places, seeming to make the hallways flow and remove all the hard corners there were. A comfortable carpet lined the flooring, various doors, open and closed, dominated most of the walls that weren't occupied by artwork.
They went through another series of confusing passageways, turns, back-tracking, and circles, and Syon just started to think that Bubbles was purposely trying to get him lost so he couldn't escape. They arrived at one door though, and stopped. The Vaporeon turned to him and nudged him with her front leg. "Sloan is in there. He's probably waiting for you. Maybe we'll see each other again, maybe not."
She grinned darkly. "Hopefully it's not in the town square. I'd hate to see your pretty little head publicly removed."
Syon swallowed a nervous lump, and turned to watch as the two left the Eevee to himself. He shivered and rubbed at his neck, quietly hoping the same thing, and gently pawing at the door. A muffled, "Come in." sounded from within, so he opened the door with a push on the handle. The Eevee slipped inside and closed the door with a gentle kick of his hind leg before padding closer to the Absol waiting by a lit fireplace.
Sloan was outlined by the flames, making him appear dark and foreboding. "Please, make yourself comfortable Syon, that journey must have put a lot of strain on your wounds..."
Syon looked around, then back at his father. "I'll stand." He said simply.
The Absol sighed slightly, then nodded and stood up, stepping closer to the Eevee, who bristled. Sloan stopped, and sighed again. "Syon...I don't...I don't know what to say." A weak smile was hid in the shadows of his face. "Sorry just won't cut it, will it?"
A deep growl was his answer, and he only nodded. "I thought not." A soft chuckle left him as he turned around and padded back to the fire, staring into the burning embers. "Please at least come closer to the fire, so I can see you. I don't want to see my son as nothing but darkness"
There was hesitation on Syon's part, but he caved and decided to step closer into the firelight, laying himself out so that the Absol could get a good look at his son. Green eyes examined the Eevee's scarred form, admiring the firm musculature that resided beneath the soft baby-fuzz of a young Eevee.
"My brother has trained you well I see..." he whispered.
Syon's mane bristled, and he nodded slightly. "Yes...he didn't abandon me like you did." His ears splayed out then, and he bit his lip to keep out the slight choke in his voice.
Sloan did catch it though. "I had no choice..." he began, but the Eevee just turned his head away. The Absol sighed and continued. "I had no choice, someone told of a child that would bring ruin, and it would be born on the next full moon. You were it."
"And you believed them?" Came the shaky reply.
Sloan nodded. "Yes...the one who gave it was known for being accurate with his predictions. A sentence had been made by the Empress as well, that said child would be executed on the spot. We couldn't bare to see it, or even do it ourselves...so we left you, hoping that perhaps you would either be found...or die..."
The Eevee splayed his ears out, then pinned them back. "Someone did find me...and I haven't hurt anyone except you and your men when you attacked us...you slaughtered innocents. We never did that..."
The Absol bristled this time. "Yes you have...the Bloodgrass have taken thousands of innocent lives, killing the traders as they raided them and taking everything, even the women for breeding purposes. We were only returning the favor."
Syon lowered his head, shocked at hearing this. His father had never said a word about what went on during the raids, just the results... "I didn't...didn't know..." was all he said.
"Of course you wouldn't know, Jag wouldn't tell you that. While you were raised by him you're still my son. I've just met you, but...I already know you're more like me than Jag."
The Eevee bristled and growled. "I'm nothing like you...I would never abandon my child, even if it was said it would kill me in the end...I'd never do it." He began to slump and curled up into a little ball of misery. "Never..."
Sloan reached a paw over and tugged his son close despite the protests this aroused from the young male. The bite to his paw was even ignored. "I know Syon, and I'm sorry...I want to start all over and raise you as you should've been raised." He winced slightly, looking at the necklace around Syon's neck. "...even if your mother is dead."
The Eevee stopped biting and just lay there, unmoving. "...my mother is dead?" He asked, looking up at Sloan, who nodded and hooked a claw around his necklace. "See this? I gave this to your mother as a gift for our anniversary, and now, ironically...you're wearing it, which can only mean she's dead."
Syon mouthed an, "Oh..." before looking down at the necklace.
Sloan looked at it as well. "...did you kill her?" To which the Eevee shook his head, relieving the Absol greatly.
"No, I didn't...I found her body and this was on it...I liked it, so...I kept it."
The dark type had to struggle to quell the growl. He hated looting dead bodies, and disliked anyone who did it. But he thought to himself, 'Syon didn't know any better. These men who raised him were mercenaries, so he's bound to think like one.' "I see..." was what he said instead.
"Syon, I don't want to imprison you, so instead I'm going to let you stay here, with me. But you have to do a few things for me if this is to be so."
Syon grumbled, but perked his ears to listen to the offer.
"First...I don't want you attacking anyone around here. If anyone attacks or attempts to push you around though, I want you to tell me as soon as you can, and they will be dealt with. Secondly...I know you were raised by Jag, but please...at least call me your father, or whatever you want. I just want the son I never got to have again."
The Eevee could feel the emotion in that last request, and looked up at Sloan with a strange look. It couldn't be described...just one of confusion, anger, frustration...his chest hurt with all the emotions flooding him at once. It proved to be too much for the young Eevee, and he slumped against the Absol's chest and just...cried.
He cried...and cried, and cried, letting out pent up years of frustration, stress, anger, and everything accompanying it out in one night. He'd never been allowed to cry, Jag claiming it showed you were weak to show such a strong emotion. Once he'd grown into what the mercenary Absol had claimed was an adult's age, he'd told Syon that he was not allowed to cry anymore, and was beaten until he would stop.
Now, with Jag not around, and just a soothing fatherly presence he'd never felt before surrounding him, he was allowed to let it all out. Finally he passed out, still sniffling softly and whimpering against his father's snow white fur, curled tightly around himself.
Sloan just smiled, and curled up around his son, licking gently at his tears until the little Eevee stopped whimpering and just slept peacefully. He sighed softly and shook his head, looking out the window at where the full moon sat. "Sol was wrong..."
Perhaps he was...
The Eevee awoke from his dream and looked around drowsily. It was night, the air still smelled faintly of smoke, fire, blood, and death, but it had grown much more subtle now. He winced slightly as he moved stiff joints, attempting not to move so fast that his stitches would break and let his wounds open again. "Nnnf...ow..." He grunted.
Ruby had left, probably to burn the rest of the bodies, leaving Syon snuggled into a nearby rock that was still warm from the smoke intensified sun. His body grumbled in protest to him standing, moving, and stretching...but it soon quelled its complaining when his muscles were nice and stretched out again, if still somewhat sore. Syon felt rather sick, but just dismissed it as shock from the battle and limped his way off into the darkness to get a drink from the local stream.
With his head bent and eyes closed, he was the perfect target for the strike team that had been sent out for one specific mission: Get an Eevee. And it wasn't just any Eevee...it was Syon himself.
Babbling water wasn't anything that would draw attention to it, so all Syon did was flick his ear, then leave it alone while he lapped at the water to slake his thirst and wash the taste of blood from his mouth.
Suddenly, a pair of wet, blue paws grabbed him around the neck, and yanked him into the water. The Eevee yelped, then struggled as he just got a mouthful of cold creek water as it rushed by him. He looked up, startled to see the streamlined body of a Vaporeon clutching him to...her? Her, underside in a manner that left him helpless. All he could do was struggle in vain, and breathe water. It wasn't long before the combination of the two served to make him black out.
The next thing he knew, he was thrown up on shore, and a broad, thick tail brought across his back with a loud smack to bring him back to consciousness...and to make at least half his bodyweight in water come gushing from his mouth. He coughed and sputtered, rolling onto his side and panting, breathing in glorious fresh air. Wait...something was wrong.
The air he was breathing carried not a single trace of blood, not even that tiny bit of metallic scent that permeated the air in Bloodgrass Fields. He opened his blue eyes to look around, gasping in shock at seeing...well, green. Lots and lots of green. It almost hurt his eyes...and probably would have if it hadn't been night, and thus the colors were slightly dulled.
"Finally...geeze." Came a female voice to his left. He rolled over to regard his captor and struggled to his paws, growling out a challenge. The female just rolled her eyes and laughed at the Eevee. "Oh come now, you don't want that..."
A heavy paw fell to Syon's back, knocking his recently regained breath out of him and pinning him to the ground. He craned his neck and looked up in startlement to see an Ursaring pinning him quite effectively to the ground with one of her huge footpaws. "Hey there kiddo. No rough-housing now...we didn't drag you twenny miles just to kill ya." She smirked, showing off a set of impressive fangs. As if her finger-long claws weren't enough of a threat.
Syon's growl died away rather quickly, and he switched to a bit more of an intelligent mode. Questioning. "What do you want with me?" He asked, glaring first at the Ursaring, then to the Vaporeon when the bear turned to look at her.
The Vaporeon smiled then, pleasant...like silk over a knife. "Want with you? Why we don't want you...but someone does. An Absol named Sloan. Heard of him?" She asked, purring softly...
Syon's eyes widened. "...Sloan sent you for me? Why?"
The water type shrugged and sat down, her large tail curling about her slender legs. "Fishbait if I know kiddo, but he says it's important. So, it's important." She concluded with a slight nod. "Now...you're going to come with us quietly, I'm getting tired of carrying you, and I don't want you drowning on the way there."
The Eevee just snorted, but stood as the large Ursaring paw left his back. "Fine..."
Both of his captors nodded, and began walking off, leaving Syon to limp after them...wondering what Sloan had in store for them.
He'd have to wait awhile longer, as they led him through the forest until daybreak. The Vaporeon stopped in place, yawned, then turned around. "We're stopping for the day. The town is just a few miles away, but Sloan said to only travel by night, so...get comfortable kiddo. You're sleepin'."
"Mrf..." Was his only comment as he limped over to a tree, snuggled into its roots, and promptly passed out again into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.
A sudden spurt of water against his face brought him awake, sputtering. "Pthpppp...the hell was that for!?" He growled at the Vaporeon, who only giggled and smiled, wiggling her ear fins at the Eevee.
"Just a little fun." She said, giving a wink to him before padding off into some brush.
Syon grumbled and stood up, stretching out, then shaking himself and pawing at his muzzle...grumbling about the water. "Hmph..."
The sun was setting when he looked for it, bathing the forest in a familiar fiery glow that helped him settle, if only a little. Pawsteps behind him made him turn to find the Vaporeon nosing a small pile of berries towards him. "Eat, it'll help with your wounds and maybe we can get their sooner."
Syon regarded the berries with contempt, suspecting...something...but after biting down on one, he discovered them to be quite fine. The berries disappeared into his greedy maw in no time, and did indeed help his wounds enough that he could move freely, if a bit slower than normal.
Why his captors were giving him food, he didn't know, but he managed a mumbled, "Thanks..." to the Vaporeon as they continued their journey.
She only flicked her tail in response, a gruff chuckle from behind him telling of the Ursaring's amusement at the 'savage's' politeness.
When they broke through the woods, it opened out into a wide open plain filled with long, billowing green grass. However, dominating the horizon was a humongous city, gleaming dully in the silvery moonlight of night. Small farms dotted the landscape surrounding it, no one out tending them currently due to the late hour.
The Vaporeon's tail gestured for Syon to approach and stand beside her, the water type's foreleg swinging around his shoulders like an old chum. "There she is, Prismatic City. Whatcha think?" She asked, giving the young male a big grin.
Syon thought better of fighting his way out of her grasp and just grumbled under his breath. But he had to admit... "It's huge..."
A giggle escaped the Vaporeon as she nodded. "Yes kiddo, it is. Now c'mon, it's even bigger up close." She let the Eevee go and stepped off ahead of him, humming an old tune under her breath.
The little fox was curious about this female...they were enemies, and yet she treated him like an old friend or something. Weird... "Alright." He said, padding off behind her and looking at the farms they passed. Farms were something he'd never seen before, as where he came from they lived off what they could hunt, forage, or what they got off of raiding trading caravans.
They were stopped at a massive wall with gates the size of two Tyranitaur in both height and width. The Eevee felt incredibly small standing in front of them, and looking up at the two Rhydon guards that stood looking down at the small group with impassive eyes. "State name and purpose." They both said in unison.
The Vaporeon sighed and rolled her eyes, pushing the Eevee back behind her with a gentle push of her tail. "Sergeant Bubbles and Corporal Kotek escorting a captive Bloodgrass warrior."
The Rhydon seemed to bristle at this...or would have if they had fur. "...why is it not on a leash?" one commented, glaring at Syon with contempt in its voice and eyes.
Syon just glared right back and bared his fangs. Bubbles just smiled. "Because Sloan ordered that he be treated like a guest, not a captive."
Both turned their glares at her, then grumbled. "Fine. You may pass." They banged their massive fists against the gates three times in unison, the twin doors slowly creaking open in response to the password of sorts.
"C'mon you, let's move on." Said the Vaporeon, turning to look at the Eevee who was still glaring at the guards. "And take off that scowl, you won't be touched so long as Sloan's name is sitting in your protectorate."
The Eevee snorted, but nodded and followed after, the doors closing behind Kotek with a thud, the two guards on the other side locking the doors again behind them with a large wooden brick.
Inside the gates was the city...an impressive one at that. Hard, packed earth roads lined the circular city, intersecting and crossing at different angles, paths, and sometimes just becoming narrow alleys before stopping at the back of a building. Bubbles, Syon, and Kotek took a very winding path that left the Eevee dizzy and completely lost within the city, wondering if the interior was a maze for the purpose of confusing any invaders lucky enough to breach the humongous stone walls.
While the buildings and architecture were impressive enough, what took Syon's breath away was the giant palace sitting in the center. It looked like it had been carved directly out of some giant piece of quartz crystal or something, the ivory white bricks gleaming dully in the moonlight, giving the place an almost mystical, ethereal feel. Bubbles led them to the gates for this awesome palace, the doors of which were just as impressive, having been carved and gilded with a dark iron color to successfully outline the complex symmetric flower patterns on the front.
On the each door was three stones, and the middle dominated by a larger one. The three on the left, starting from the outside was blue, yellow, red. The three on the right starting from the outside was green, icy blue, and black. The center jewel was a giant pink pearl. The center one was the only identifiable gem of the lot. There were seven guards standing before this door, one of each Eevee Evolution.
Seeing the small group, they nodded, turned around, and used an attack on their respective jewel. Vaporeon used Water Gun, Jolteon used Thunderbolt, Flareon used Flamethrower, Leafeon used Solarbeam, Glaceon used Ice Beam, Umbreon used Dark Pulse, and finally an Espeon unleashed a Psychic attack. This kept up for a minute, before the doors finally gave way and began to open slowly with hardly a squeak.
The guards' attacks died off, and they opened just like the doors to let Bubbles, Syon, and Kotek pass. As soon as they were inside, the Vaporeon grinned and turned to look at Syon. "Wasn't that just an awesome sight? We don't know how our Empress did it, but she managed to get those doors to work like that! It's so cool!"
The Eevee mutely nodded. It was indeed an impressive display of power...but he wasn't one to enjoy someone showing off. Much. "Yeah..." He said quietly.
Satisfied, she grinned, then turned and led them down the hallway of the palace towards their destination, wherever it might be. The interior of the palace was just as impressive as outside. Artwork done by very talented artists lined the walls in skillfully positioned places, seeming to make the hallways flow and remove all the hard corners there were. A comfortable carpet lined the flooring, various doors, open and closed, dominated most of the walls that weren't occupied by artwork.
They went through another series of confusing passageways, turns, back-tracking, and circles, and Syon just started to think that Bubbles was purposely trying to get him lost so he couldn't escape. They arrived at one door though, and stopped. The Vaporeon turned to him and nudged him with her front leg. "Sloan is in there. He's probably waiting for you. Maybe we'll see each other again, maybe not."
She grinned darkly. "Hopefully it's not in the town square. I'd hate to see your pretty little head publicly removed."
Syon swallowed a nervous lump, and turned to watch as the two left the Eevee to himself. He shivered and rubbed at his neck, quietly hoping the same thing, and gently pawing at the door. A muffled, "Come in." sounded from within, so he opened the door with a push on the handle. The Eevee slipped inside and closed the door with a gentle kick of his hind leg before padding closer to the Absol waiting by a lit fireplace.
Sloan was outlined by the flames, making him appear dark and foreboding. "Please, make yourself comfortable Syon, that journey must have put a lot of strain on your wounds..."
Syon looked around, then back at his father. "I'll stand." He said simply.
The Absol sighed slightly, then nodded and stood up, stepping closer to the Eevee, who bristled. Sloan stopped, and sighed again. "Syon...I don't...I don't know what to say." A weak smile was hid in the shadows of his face. "Sorry just won't cut it, will it?"
A deep growl was his answer, and he only nodded. "I thought not." A soft chuckle left him as he turned around and padded back to the fire, staring into the burning embers. "Please at least come closer to the fire, so I can see you. I don't want to see my son as nothing but darkness"
There was hesitation on Syon's part, but he caved and decided to step closer into the firelight, laying himself out so that the Absol could get a good look at his son. Green eyes examined the Eevee's scarred form, admiring the firm musculature that resided beneath the soft baby-fuzz of a young Eevee.
"My brother has trained you well I see..." he whispered.
Syon's mane bristled, and he nodded slightly. "Yes...he didn't abandon me like you did." His ears splayed out then, and he bit his lip to keep out the slight choke in his voice.
Sloan did catch it though. "I had no choice..." he began, but the Eevee just turned his head away. The Absol sighed and continued. "I had no choice, someone told of a child that would bring ruin, and it would be born on the next full moon. You were it."
"And you believed them?" Came the shaky reply.
Sloan nodded. "Yes...the one who gave it was known for being accurate with his predictions. A sentence had been made by the Empress as well, that said child would be executed on the spot. We couldn't bare to see it, or even do it ourselves...so we left you, hoping that perhaps you would either be found...or die..."
The Eevee splayed his ears out, then pinned them back. "Someone did find me...and I haven't hurt anyone except you and your men when you attacked us...you slaughtered innocents. We never did that..."
The Absol bristled this time. "Yes you have...the Bloodgrass have taken thousands of innocent lives, killing the traders as they raided them and taking everything, even the women for breeding purposes. We were only returning the favor."
Syon lowered his head, shocked at hearing this. His father had never said a word about what went on during the raids, just the results... "I didn't...didn't know..." was all he said.
"Of course you wouldn't know, Jag wouldn't tell you that. While you were raised by him you're still my son. I've just met you, but...I already know you're more like me than Jag."
The Eevee bristled and growled. "I'm nothing like you...I would never abandon my child, even if it was said it would kill me in the end...I'd never do it." He began to slump and curled up into a little ball of misery. "Never..."
Sloan reached a paw over and tugged his son close despite the protests this aroused from the young male. The bite to his paw was even ignored. "I know Syon, and I'm sorry...I want to start all over and raise you as you should've been raised." He winced slightly, looking at the necklace around Syon's neck. "...even if your mother is dead."
The Eevee stopped biting and just lay there, unmoving. "...my mother is dead?" He asked, looking up at Sloan, who nodded and hooked a claw around his necklace. "See this? I gave this to your mother as a gift for our anniversary, and now, ironically...you're wearing it, which can only mean she's dead."
Syon mouthed an, "Oh..." before looking down at the necklace.
Sloan looked at it as well. "...did you kill her?" To which the Eevee shook his head, relieving the Absol greatly.
"No, I didn't...I found her body and this was on it...I liked it, so...I kept it."
The dark type had to struggle to quell the growl. He hated looting dead bodies, and disliked anyone who did it. But he thought to himself, 'Syon didn't know any better. These men who raised him were mercenaries, so he's bound to think like one.' "I see..." was what he said instead.
"Syon, I don't want to imprison you, so instead I'm going to let you stay here, with me. But you have to do a few things for me if this is to be so."
Syon grumbled, but perked his ears to listen to the offer.
"First...I don't want you attacking anyone around here. If anyone attacks or attempts to push you around though, I want you to tell me as soon as you can, and they will be dealt with. Secondly...I know you were raised by Jag, but please...at least call me your father, or whatever you want. I just want the son I never got to have again."
The Eevee could feel the emotion in that last request, and looked up at Sloan with a strange look. It couldn't be described...just one of confusion, anger, frustration...his chest hurt with all the emotions flooding him at once. It proved to be too much for the young Eevee, and he slumped against the Absol's chest and just...cried.
He cried...and cried, and cried, letting out pent up years of frustration, stress, anger, and everything accompanying it out in one night. He'd never been allowed to cry, Jag claiming it showed you were weak to show such a strong emotion. Once he'd grown into what the mercenary Absol had claimed was an adult's age, he'd told Syon that he was not allowed to cry anymore, and was beaten until he would stop.
Now, with Jag not around, and just a soothing fatherly presence he'd never felt before surrounding him, he was allowed to let it all out. Finally he passed out, still sniffling softly and whimpering against his father's snow white fur, curled tightly around himself.
Sloan just smiled, and curled up around his son, licking gently at his tears until the little Eevee stopped whimpering and just slept peacefully. He sighed softly and shook his head, looking out the window at where the full moon sat. "Sol was wrong..."
Perhaps he was...