"I wonder how long he'll stay asleep."

I questioned out loud, watching as my "trainer", Derek, slept in this morning. I had awakened at dawn, my eyelids were still heavy. Even now, I missed my night schedule. I sighed, closing my eyes and not letting my memories surface. I was too tired to deal with it normally, and I doubted a random mental breakdown would be good. A small whine escaped my throat as I stretched out, feeling my tense, sore muscles relax a bit. Today felt normal, and it was for the most part.

Let me introduce myself, my name is Andrew, and I'm a Leafeon. I'm 5 years of age by the human measurement of time. Derek told me that my age, compared to the average lifespan of a human, would be about 25. My pale yellow fur and leaves shone from the energy they've picked up, and just by the fact they were clean as well. My voice was rather low and deep, yet holding a youth note to it. Now, until I...became a loner, I thought of myself as kind. Now I knew I was colder, number. It wasn't hard to tell by the anxious looks of others. Derek never commented on them really, besides "Losing someone does that to you." I winced, as an image of someone I didn't want to think about crossed my mind. I should also explain that I've mastered basic telepathy. I had always understood the human language, and when I one day accidently "talked" it surprised me, this was before I met Derek. Derek and I never really understood how I developed it, he thought it might be due to the fact my father was an Espeon.

Derek is actually the reason I'm still alive. He had found me starving in a cave near the edge of the forest. It was clear I was doing it to myself, staying out of the sun. When he came, I bit and snarled at him, telling him I wasn't moving. I kept yelling at him, telling him I was going to stay in the dark, I wasn't going to leave where I belonged. He merely sat with me for an hour, asking me about what happened. I have no idea why I talked to him, maybe I was just lonely, and it was nice to finally talk to someone again. I explained everything to him, everything I felt, and everything that happened, and eventually just broke down. All that bottled up emotion, all that pain just drained from me, providing a much needed relief. He offered to take me with him, give me a purpose again, and here we are.

For the first year, I was mainly recuperating, mentally and physically. I still was a bit unstable with my mind even now; still, it took awhile to get to this point. I sometimes thought about suicide, which was what I initially attempted by starvation. But I decided no, I remembered a promise I had made. I was going to live for that person, as they requested. I was recovering physically because starving myself had really messed my body up. It took awhile for my body to get used to absorbing sunlight again. I got sick a lot, and it took me a month to walk normally again. It took me two to gain back my stamina, something that was probably irritating to him, but he didn't say anything.

Being with Derek this time, I've learned a lot about him. As far as him in personality, he's rather serious, but if you catch him at the right time, he can be...relaxed. Whenever I am with him, I find the strange urge to talk, which makes me look rather needy. But, I'm not the only one, anyone who is around him gets that strange need to say something. That's not the only strange thing about him. His senses are unmatched by any of us. No human's senses should be able to pick up a scent that's so faint that not even I could notice it. I've asked, several times, but he always avoids the question. The most any of us has ever gotten out of him about it was "Let's just say it's a gift, and a curse."

Derek was a tall man, 6 feet and 4 inches. His eyes were a deep blue, which held an odd wisdom, something that made him seem omniscient. Those blue eyes were covered with long velvet black hair that went down to his waist. His body was thin, and he wasn't muscular, yet something told me he was dangerous. It never bothered me, nor anyone else. Though it did ruin Amal's first meeting of Derek.

This year I have been attempting to help him get badges, but so far I was a little too brutal for those gym battles. I haven't killed anyone by accident, well, not yet anyway. I wonder why I always end up going in too strong, intent on just fighting, not knowing how much force to use, just going in. I wasn't the only Pokémon he had; in fact he had 4 others, and though I don't talk to them much, I know a little bit about each of them.

The first Pokémon was a female Zangoose named Tina. She's quieter than me, and though she can tolerate others presences, the only one she talks to or smiles around is Derek. Derek was usually serious around most of us, the most one of us has ever done was a small smile. Yet, around her, I've noticed him laughing, smiling all the time around her. We all have noticed it, but none of us were sure about them. Sadly, due to the nature of his travels, and the nature of his money, he was forced into getting her a pokeball, something that he was rather upset about doing.

The second is a male Umbreon, who calls himself Ares, something I had to tell Derek about. This Umbreon I knew, better than the others, because he was my "Brother-in-law" in human terms. I only met him once when me and her were together. The memory wouldn't surface at the moment. We don't talk anymore, and he can't stand the sight of me, he blames me for what happened. I didn't care, he was a reminder, and it worked better for both of us.

The third is a male Arcanine, Darcel, who, for the most part, is the sanest out of all of us. He is kind, but rather Naïve about a lot of things, something I don't intend to go in-depth with. That was the only Pokémon that Derek ever caught, and whenever he offered to free him, he wanted to stay. He's been a nice addition, and he is very similar to Derek. He is a good listener, and is very accepting of things. The only difference is that he is very stubborn, and sadly, very empathic. Something that isn't good when you are hiding something.

The fourth is actually Darcel's mate, and is a male Ninetails named Amal. We found the poor thing beaten and weak and only Darcel convinced him that he would be safe. Amal was still a bit skittish of us, save for Darcel, but it was always refreshing to see someone find happiness. I just hope they would live a good long while together. None of us ever minded them, and Derek, who Darcel considers a father, had even done the Pokémon equivalent of giving a blessing. I opened my eyes again, going back to the present.

The air was cool, damp, and oddly nostalgic. The forests aroma was so strong in the air, comforting me. It was home, my beautiful home. The shades of green all mixed around me, the brown of the trees fitting in with the darker green. The sun shining through, illuminating the damp grass, making it glisten in such a way that made me smile. The ribbons of sunlight not only did that, but also landed on me, slowly energizing me and "feeding" me. I remembered times when I would have taken off to play in the mornings like this with...I stopped the name from appearing. I shook my head, clearing those thoughts.

I began walking, needing to explore this haven. I smiled at the sounds of the little Pokémon scurrying, their soft cries barely audible, but oddly setting an atmosphere. It was so nice and calm, one of the few things that brought me even the slightest joy was this scene. All my worries were seemingly erased by my sanctuary. I knew I was just avoiding my pain, rather than confront it. I knew it wasn't healthy, but it was all I could really do.

My deep thought was interrupted when a very bitter and strong scent crossed me. It was odd, metallic if I had to put a word to it. I growled, instantly recognizing the horrid stench. It was blood, and from what I could tell, a rather large amount. I was confused for a moment when an odd scent was mixed in with it. It was strong, though not strong enough to overpower the blood stench. The scent was familiar, and I had smelt something like that before, but what it was escaped me.

I wasn't an asshole enough to ignore it; she would have never forgiven me if I had done such a horrendous thing. I felt something odd, but something I was used to. My face grew stoic as my emotions slowly drained. I growled, I really didn't want to deal with this so early. So I raced towards the source. It wasn't hard to tell where it's coming from, the only scent that wasn't soothing, and the one scent that was out of place in my home. As I crossed the final few trees, I found myself in a very small clearing, slightly surprised by the bright suns full force. Shaking my head, my vision cleared to show something that threw me off.

I saw a large Pokémon, and instantly I curled my lip at what I smelled. This thing was looking for a mate, or just something to satisfy himself. I recognized the species instantly, it was a Houndoom. She always disliked those creatures, though she never voiced it much. I shook my head, attempting to not let any memories come up at the moment, not then. I looked back at the Houndoom, and I didn't notice a scratch on him. I cocked my head in confusion, where was the scent of blood coming from? I moved slightly to my left, trying to see if there was one I hadn't noticed. My heart skipped a beat as I saw what was directly in front of him.

There, barely standing, was a Flareon. That explained the odd heat in the clearing. I had no idea what it was, male or female, by the way its body was. Its face was bruised and a long cut was standing out on its forehead. Its body was matted with blood and dirt; small cuts covered it as well. One eye was closed, but it stood its ground against the Houndoom. I growled, damn stupid Houndoom, trying to force itself on something and then nearly killing it when it refused. He growled "I don't like my toys disobeying. I wonder why you are resisting against such an amazing feeling...It doesn't matter, just stop pissing me off!"

That thing wasn't a Pokémon; it was a piece of garbage, a piece of garbage, which I intended to kill. So he thought of people as toys, eh? This was going to be both for me and my mate, I sighed as I realized I was numb enough to think of her. I silently moved to its side, still out of view. I smiled as I blended in nearly perfectly with the forest. I didn't look at the Flareons reaction, as I dashed towards the Houndoom, tackling him back.

I heard an odd bark come from him; it reminded me of a human cough. I winced for a half second; the bone-like armor on his body hurt, and would probably leave a nasty bruise. He didn't recover as I quickly hit him with Razor leaf, the leaves flying from my body so quickly, a human eye would probably have trouble seeing them. I watched as he suffered the same pain the Flareon went through, small cuts appearing all over his body. He howled before I quickly used Leaf Blade, the large blade ended up leaving a large gash along the Houndooms side. Blood coated me now, and I barely noticed, I was intent on killing this thing. The Houndooms face was contorted into agony, right before I used X-scissor, the energy flying in the shape of a bold silver X. It hit his throat, splitting it wide open. I watched as the bastard die, spraying me with his crimson blood. I sighed weakly, noting I had to clean up soon. Death never really fazed me anymore, especially when it was scum like him.

I turned my head and focused my gaze on the Flareon. It had passed out from its injuries I assumed. I walked over to it, and sniffed lightly. It was a woman, that fact was now obvious. As I was still bent down near her, I inspected her wounds. They weren't as bad as I thought initially. The cuts on her flesh were shallow for the most part, save one or two. I moved to inspect the cuts on her face, and cringed. The gash on her head was deep, and the cut on her eye needed to be treated if she wanted to keep seeing. I got up and looked at her, and wondered if I should take her back to the group to be treated. Her wounds weren't life threatening, and whoever she was with would come to help her. There was something strange however; I couldn't pick another scent up on her. That made no sense, if she was with anyone, even for a second, they would have left a slight scent. She couldn't have been out here alone, no, there was someone else. But for now, I just assumed she was lost. I looked back at her lying there and an image I promised to never see again appeared.

My mate lying on the ground, her body broken and battered horribly. My Umbreons beautiful black fur tinted by her maroon blood. Her eyes barely open, tears flowing down them. Her jaw was slack, as her body twitched. Her breathes were slow and weak, Ruby blood trailed from her lips to the ground. Her eyes were gazing to me, begging me to help her, the pain in them obvious.

My legs gave out as I gasped in pain. I bit my lip, holding back the sobs that threatened me. Warm tears slid down my cheeks as I shook. I felt like I was breaking, every piece of me that I had taped back together had begun to fall apart again. Her image, one that I tried to avoid, burned in my mind, making it hard to breathe.

God, it never got easier, never...

I shook my head, dispelling the image. Quickly, I ran over towards her and managed to get her on my back...after several failed attempts. I wasn't a monster, strength wise, but I had enough muscle to support her. Oddly, I noticed she was rather lighter than the average Flareon, something I learned by being playfully tackled by some random trainers Flareon. I walked back, attempting to make sure she'd stay on my back. While I carried her, I noticed her breathing was calmer now. Her heat provided a counter to the slight chill of the morning.

As I walked out into the clearing where Derek was, I noticed that he had already released everyone. As soon as I took that first step, everyone eye's turned towards mine. The first reaction I noticed was from Ares. His glare held accusation, and hatred, something I had expected. Tina's gaze was shocked and concerned, and I had no honest idea if it was for me or the Flareon on my back. Amal's reaction was odd, he just threw a glance at her, and just raised an eyebrow, curious as to who she was, and like he knew she would be fine. Darcel was overly worried, and as he nearly raced over to us, Amal quickly whispered something that sounded like "She's going to be fine."

Derek kneeled down next to me and gently took her off of my back and rested her on a small blanket he had with him. "What happened?" He asked, focusing on her injuries.

"She was being attacked by a Houndoom," I replied, equally focused on her.

"Why on earth would such a thing attack her? She looks harmless enough," I knew he was just talking to himself, but something compelled me to answer that question.

"The bastard was just some horny mutt," The words came out in a snarl, as I remembered his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Darcel's surprised face. Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Derek instructed Darcel and Amal to go find the Houndooms body and burn it, in case it belonged to a pack. He knew my scent would be all over it probably.

"Her injuries aren't fatal, but I'll have to treat her eye." Derek told me as he got out a complex kit. I didn't watch him as he worked, but I did notice Tina went over to him for a minute, and he whispered something to her. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but Tina dashed off after something he said, grabbing a lighter as she went. I began cleaning the blood off myself as he worked, trying to distract myself.

He looked over to me for a minute, and instantly I asked "Where do you think her pack is?" That damn urge to talk occurred.

"Pack?" His expression became puzzled, before he continued "I don't smell any other Pokémon on her," He paused "Nor do I smell any close by that have her scent on them."

"You're telling me this small girl has been surviving on her own?" I couldn't believe it, she looked so weak. He looked down at her before sighing, and placing a hand on her. He closed his eyes and then gasped before pulling away. He looked over at me and nodded, attempting to keep a stoic face. But it was easy to notice that haunted look in his eyes. Sometimes, Derek could be scary, such as now. None of us understood or even knew what he was fully capable of. But what we did know was that he was more powerful than all of us combined.

Still, none of that was important then. This small weak girl has been alone; she might as well have been wearing neon lights that told everyone "Hey, come eat me! Easy kill and free meal!"

"We'll have to keep her for a few days," he looked down at her before saying "I'll ask her if she wants to come with us." That was probably a good idea; she looked so fragile, so breakable. To believe she's been alone surviving for god knows how long was a very hard thing to do.

"You might as well go lay down for awhile, you don't look that good." He said to me now, his tone felt like he knew exactly what had happened, and knowing him, he probably did. I wasn't exactly stable right then, so I took his advice to go lay down.



During that time, I only woke up once, to Darcel and Amal talking to Derek, Tina talking as a translator.

"The Houndoom's body was gone?" His voice was colored with confusion and worry

"Maybe some other Pokémon found it and took it as a meal?" Amal suggested, and Tina quickly translated.

"Perhaps...I don't smell any Houndoom in the area." Derek answered quietly. I was too tired to think about it. For some reason, it felt like my body was drained of energy. I sighed softly before I fell back into unconsciousness.



I woke up again at night, as I did so I frowned. There went my sleeping schedule. I looked around, and noticed a fire was set and burning. There was a small note written on a small slip of white paper next to me that said "We're camping a few yards away, the less people she has to deal with, the more likely she'll accept to stay a few days. Just take care of her for now."

I looked over to her then. She was now bandaged; the white covered most of her body, which made me wince. I wondered how she would react when she came to. Would she be grateful? Would she be angry? Would she be sad and scared?

Those thoughts were going to be soon answered, as I heard a restless groan come from the Flareon. Slowly, she opened her uncovered eye and looked up at me. "You're awake..." I said, an odd tone of happiness coloring my voice. Her gaze focused on me for a moment before recognition slid across her features, which were then dampened with a look of depression and resignation. I was confused, why was she sad? Did my cold eyes put her off?

"You're the one that saved me..." She said, less a question and more of a statement. Her voice was high and soft, her words flowing calmly and smoothly. I nodded once before staring back into the fire. I never did like meeting someone for the first time; I always ended up obsessing on what not to say, and ending up making an ass of myself. I looked over to her again, wanting to see how she was doing, but she continued to look at me. It was so quiet, that I nearly jumped when she spoke again.

"So, what now? Are you going to hold me down and fuck me?" Her tone was so empty and cold, anger barely there, it sounded more like a resignation "Or do you want me to suck you off? Or do you want me gently?" I was appalled to say the least. Why in god's name would she think that!? I helped her out and she assumes I just wanted sex?

"Of course not" I snapped, snarling the words, honestly deeply offended. The words made her jump, and her features changed into an expression of surprise "Why would you think such a thing?" I managed to calm my voice abit.

Her eyes turned sad and in a bitter voice she explained, still sounding like she was expecting me to do something. "Every time I get help from someone, they all expect the same thing." I felt sick, as the Houndoom's face crossed my mind once again. It disgusted me that so many Pokémon would take advantage of such a...harmless creature. The word I nearly chose scared me.

I looked back at her before I said, as calmly as I could at the current situation "I would never, ever do such a thing." She looked back at me with such exorbitant emotion that I winced. It was a mixture of depression, surprise, and oddly, relief. I felt like talking again, trying to comfort her or just to see her meet my gaze again, I wasn't sure what it was. "Listen-"I suddenly realized I had no idea what her name was "May I ask what you call yourself?"

She looked up, surprised I was speaking again "...Lata." I didn't miss the fact she took a moment to decide if she should tell me or not. "Yours?"

I smiled, I liked that name. I froze for a moment, when I realized what I had just done. I had smiled? "Andrew," I answered before I shook my head quickly. I continued my earlier thought "Lata, "It rolled off the tongue nicely in our language "We want you to stay with us for a few days, to keep checking up on your injuries, alright?"

"We?" She cocked her head, confused

"Oh, I'm not alone. There are a few others...they just thought I should let you get used to me first. We didn't want to scare you." I admitted with a sigh.

"Your pack?" She sounded anxious then, which confused me.

"Not quite...You'll understand when you see them." She didn't press the issue any more after that. I stared into the fire that was winding down. It hadn't exactly been providing much heat, it was the short breezes from behind her that were keeping me from shivering. That was short-lived as a strong breeze blew past us, sending chills through me. God I hated the cold! I nearly jumped when I felt a very warm head on me.

"Because you're cold..." she mumbled, before a small whine escaped her. Without even a moment for me to understand, she passed out. I blinked at her before I realized how much stress the wounds have taken on her body. I smiled before I decided to fall asleep again, noting that after this I wouldn't be sleeping for awhile.



I awoke to a painfully bright and hot sun. Well, I thought it was the sun until I remember who had decided to keep me warm. I looked down at the Flareon at my side for a moment before smiling. After I guessed, by the suns position, that it was noon, I decided I should wake her. Otherwise I might have melted. I softly nudged her with my muzzle, watching as she squirmed in response. I watched as she strained to open her eyes, then being dazed for a minute or so. I chuckled as she staggered around, trying to wake up.

"Good morning, remember who I am?" I asked, curious to see if she was still as dazed as I assumed.

"Oh... Andrew," She said to herself before she stretched out, the clearing suddenly filled with heat. I ignored the soft whine as I focused on trying to stay awake; it was hotter than boiling water! She instantly looked back, mumbling a sorry. "It's alright..." I replied, very dazed.

"So, what about the others?" She asked, suddenly remembering what I was saying. As soon as I was about to go get them, Derek and Tina appeared as if on cue. Derek maintained a very calm polite expression, while Tina was her normal Derek happy self. Lata tensed when she saw them, but I whispered a quick quiet encouragement to her, that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"Good afternoon Lata, I am Derek." He greeted her with a small incline of his head; Tina translated "I assume Andrew has told you that we would appreciate if you stayed with us?" I remembered that she never answered me. I looked over to her, and she seemed as nervous as Amal did around Derek. "Yes," she squeaked "And I will..." She stopped and looked at me for a moment, then looked back at Derek before I noticed her stiffen then ask "Are you Andrew's trainer?" Tina translated all of that, while I attempted to hold in my laugh, and succeeded for the most part. Derek failed at that.

"No, of course not!" He laughed before he caught his breathe "I consider him a good friend, and in no way me his 'trainer'!" I had the strangest compulsion to translate, which made Lata's jaw drop. I grinned at her surprise, feeling rather smug. It'd been awhile since I've actually enjoyed myself like this. I decided to see how she would react to my other talent. I chuckled "I think I've made her go into shock Derek." If she was shocked before, she was now nearing a heart-attack.

I laughed, I actually laughed. Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed Derek's surprised, then quickly dissolving into happy expression. Tina did the exact same. "Andrew is rather talented in speech." Tina told her in our language. "I'm Tina; it's nice to meet you." She smiled happily at her. Lata composed herself enough to acknowledge her introduction.

Derek moved to take 2 poke balls from his belt, and Darcel and Amal came from them in a red beam of light. Darcel looked at me immediately, surprise coloring his features. Did I still have blood on me or something? That's the only thought that made sense then. I looked myself over inconspicuously, trying to check myself. I seemed to be clean.

"Hello Lata, it is nice to meet you. Don't worry, these are all nice people, they won't hurt you." Amal looked at her with a knowing look, and for a moment, something odd passed between them. Something I knew only they would understand. Darcel looked over at Amal for a moment, sadness coloring his features, before he greeted himself quietly.

"He's right, and I hope you don't mind our company." Darcel smiled, though it was obvious something was bothering him. He shot another glance towards me, and I continued to ignore them politely. I really wanted to know what I was doing that was so odd to them that they kept stealing looks at me, but this wasn't exactly the time to ask.

"Thank you." She said very shyly. Apparently Derek had made the right move of letting her meet me first if she was this shy. I then realized something.

"Where's Ares, Derek?" I asked suddenly, before getting a very sad look from him that said everything. "I see..." I mumbled quietly.

Derek looked over at everyone and told us "We best go back to camp for now. I think it's time for breakfast." We all nodded, everyone, save for me, seemed quite hungry. I walked with them out of habit. I was shocked as I felt a very warm presence next to me. I didn't look to my side as I smiled. She trusted me a little now...Progress, some at least.Chapter End Notes:Again, hope I didn't fail astronomically >.

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, and is applicable for all consecutive chapters that follow.