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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 12:58:30 GMT -5
The winter had been incredibly forgiving: they had yet to have snow stick, even on the mountain ranch, and Christmas had been 70 degrees. The Pokémon were starting to wonder if they were all mass hallucinating, and the ice types were getting angrier with each passing day. While the nights were cool and the days were wet, it simply did not feel like winter.
But in the last week, Vivian had other things to worry about.
Trotting across the ranch, she was obviously on edge. She hated keeping secrets from Angelo. At least secrets like this. But when she had laid an egg the week before, she wasn't going to jump right into announcing it. This hadn't been the first egg she had laid after Austin's. It happened from time to time; not often, but a few times in the last few years. She would hide them in the warm hay of the barn, out of harm's way, and over the next day or two she would feel the warmth slowly leave the little orb. Whether they were duds or she was doing something wrong, she didn't know, but every egg she laid never amounted to anything but a series of stressful days before she had to get rid of it. It wasn't worth telling anyone about, so she never did.
But this latest one was different. It had stayed warm- alive -for a whole week now, and what was more was that it was now beginning to move and rattle. Vivian's cautious nature had still kept her from telling anyone, but she had been paying close attention. The hidden egg was always her predominate thought, and she had assiduously cared for it in the many hours she could sneak away from the others and do so in secrecy.
It was dawn; the few careful hours when the nocturnal Pokémon were going to sleep, and the diurnal Pokémon had yet to wake up. Her plan was to pop in, check on the egg, and then return to Angelo. Pushing her way through the sleepy barn, she slunk to her egg's hiding spot and nosed into the hay in search of it. Her nose struck the shell, and her tail, nervously ticking behind her, went limp. The shell was cool to the touch, and no longer shaking. Well, that was it. Another dud. Just a little mess to clean up. She pawed at the straw to pull it away from the egg, but as she revealed the dark brown shell in its entirety she drew back in surprise. The egg was in pieces, and empty.
She spun around, her wide eyes glowing slightly in the dim light, and it did not take her long to find the little ball of fluff curled up in the hay a few paces away, shivering slightly. Nearly buried in hay and almost the same color, she had completely missed it when she had come in. But there it was. A living, breathing Eevee.
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 13:22:14 GMT -5
The first few moments of life were breath-taking and fleeting-- the young Eevee did not have the capacity to remember the sudden smells that hit her nose; the strong redolence of hay, and scents which she would later learn belonged to family and friends. The hay was rough, but supported and sheltered the newborn just enough to keep her warm and safe until her mother arrived. And there she was. Some instinct was yelling at the tiny fox, telling her the importance of this smell. She let out a little squeak as fresh air touched her downy fur, and wiggled to try to find warmth again.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 13:31:50 GMT -5
Vivian let out a heavy sigh. This isn't what she expected, but now that she was here, staring down at the little creature she had created, she wasn't sure what she had expected. But it was moving. Alive. As far as she could tell, it was whole and healthy. This was the best things could go, wasn't it?
The answer should have been yes, but when she approached the little Eevee and nosed the hay away from her, she felt her stomach churn. She licked the little creature's fluffy back- it felt robotic and foreign -and then gently picked it up. How long had it been since she had held a baby this way? Austin was nearly full-grown now; Chance was bigger than her. It was like being forced back in time to a place that wasn't unpleasant, but scary and foreign. Even the third time around, this felt strange.
Hoping the child's cries would stay quiet- she didn't want the entire barn to descend upon her -she picked her way to Angelo's usual sleeping spot. The dim morning light shining through the windows and opening of the barn made her spots fade from a glowing red to their regular black. Her injured shoulder seemed to be amplifying the pounding of her heart, but she worked not to limp as to keep from jarring the little creature in her mouth. She set the baby down gently and sank into the hay with her. It was cooler here- they were closer to the front of the barn- and she pulled the little one under her mane to keep her warm.
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 13:55:24 GMT -5
As a nocturnal Pokémon, Angelo of course enjoyed a romp around during nightfall, but with most of his family and friends as daytime-dwellers, he took the chance rarely. He had adapted his internal clock to daylight-- well, mostly to the hours his wife was up. Today was no different.
He was curled up in his nest, mildly aware of the absence by his side. The winter had been so warm, there was no gust of cold air to alert him to the solitude of his nest. Instead, as the sun's red rays leaked in through the barn windows, the Umbreon stirred. Every morning his body argued with him, but he asserted himself enough to blink open a deep, crimson eye. The fox surveyed his surroundings drowsily and rolled to his side, realising suddenly that there was a big, fuzzy mutant missing from his nest. Not that he was really concerned; Vivian was a Pokémon who enjoyed her privacy. Or she had shit on her mind, or shit to do. He trusted her.
But what did light a spark in his brain was that he could smell her, as well as something else. "Viv?" he called out lazily, still waking up, really, and dragging a paw over his eye. Something in him was stirring, a basic instinct that had been locked away for so long he could scarce identify it. The blurry shape approached him, something dangling from her mouth. This piqued his interest, and he rolled onto his stomach, lifting his neck. "Viv...?" the Dark Type repeated, staring at the shape that was lowered and tucked into the mutant's mane.
"...You going to say something?" he mumbled, poking his nose against her mane to try and identify the foreign object. After poking something that was harder than neck fluff, and that squeaked, he pulled back, eyes wide and ears perked.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 14:07:02 GMT -5
Vivian's paw curled inward, toward the little Eevee nestled against her chest, but she did not stop her mate from nosing around, even when he entreated her to speak. When he drew back she shuffled backward a little until the baby was no longer concealed under the warm yellow fur. She nosed the Eevee forward enough so that her father could clearly see her. Her gaze rested on the little fluff ball for a moment more before she lifted her eyes to meet Angelo's. Unable to decide if she wanted to sound enthusiastic or cynical, her voice came out a sarcastic-sounding mix of both. "Surprise."
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 14:24:23 GMT -5
Angelo's eyes followed his mate's movements as she shimmied backwards, revealing the little ball of brown fur. It squeaked as it was once again void of protection, and Angelo's already rounded eyes widened considerably.
"Is... that's... she's ours?" he asked, dumbfounded. It only made sense that the baby was their's: hers and his. The idea of Viv having a cub with anyone else was a concept that never even came close to crossing the Umbreon's mind, considering the couple's personalities and their history together... and, well, it wasn't like the two weren't "active" enough to result in another offspring. But it had been so long since they had conceived Austin that he had lost all hope of having another. Hell, he had come to terms with it after all these years.
The black furred Pokémon inched closer, letting his little nose take in the scent of the newborn. She squeaked and batted blindly at her father's cold nose, and the old Pokémon felt himself getting quickly consumed by instinct and emotion. This cub was their's. It smelled like Vivian, and it had awoken the age old instinct to protect and care for; something one would only feel towards their kin.
"H-how?" he murmured, but it was pretty rhetorical, as he was pleased as could be. He was just so shocked that the stupid questions just poured out of him. The excited father began to cover his newborn in kisses, to which the little fox wiggled and squealed.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 14:35:05 GMT -5
A small smile pulled at the fire-dark canine's lips, and she rested her head on her paw, watching Angelo and her daughter in silence for a minute. She could see him getting stupid with excitement, and all she could think about was how endearing he was. She was still overwhelmed, and she couldn't channel that into excitement yet, but at least he could. There he was, as always, letting her know that things would be okay. He had done the same thing when Austin hatched. Their son was grown now, but nothing had changed for their daughter. So had to hope, with that in mind, that her enthusiasm would arrive. It would be late, but it would get there before this little Eevee had the chance to wonder if she was loved by her mother. "What do you want to name her?" she asked softly.
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 15:07:41 GMT -5
Angelo had curled up next to the baby, his bushy tail resting over her flank. It had quieted her down some, but she still squeaked occasionally as if questioning who this new smell was and what business he had being her blanket. The Umbreon had curled up with his son the same way when he was still just a baby, and a wave of nostalgia suddenly flushed the Dark Pokémon. Where was Austin? He had to be the next one to know. Other than maybe Chance, however, he wanted to draw the line there. This cub being his second, he felt he was more prepared going into this, and definitely didn't want his new daughter getting overwhelmed by too many Pokémon.
The mention of a name set his ears erect, and he looked at his mate with his head tilted lightly. Names... naming was one of the hardest parts of being a parent, it felt like. And this time, Angelo had no time to really sit down and think about it, either. He wasn't letting his offspring spend her first few days nameless.
Unfortunately, Angelo was just about as creative as a plank of wood. Probably less so.
He looked at their surroundings, trying to pull a name from their environment. Hay? Nest? Brownie? Fuzzbutt? What about the weather... Sunny? Cloud? Dawn? Dawn wasn't so bad, but it would clash with Donatello's nickname, and that wasn't a can of worms he wanted to open.
The month, the season...?
"Winter...?" he muttered, mostly to himself but loud enough for his wife to hear. It had been a peculiarly warm season. Not a single snowflake fled the clouds yet. Come to think if it, it was probably as pleasantly strange as the arrival of his new daughter. The Umbreon had a thin coat, after all.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 15:22:41 GMT -5
Vivian's ears twitched at the suggestion, and she looked outside at the brownish-green that was the ranch. The season's title seemed to fit the setting as well as the new arrival did into their plans. But she didn't have any other suggestions. And if she didn't love it right away, she was sure she would grow to like it. "Winter?" She said it alloud to try it out, to see how it felt on her tongue. Well, if it didn't fit the weather, it could fit something this year. "Okay."
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 15:28:35 GMT -5
Angelo was relieved that his suggestion wasn't a total bust. "Winter," he repeated, gently moving his tail away to look at his newborn. Well, her fur was a little bit paler than most Eevee he saw. In more ways than one, the name fit, and he decided that it was enough. Hopefully she would grow up to like it, too.
"Winter..." he nosed the little cub, giving it another lick on the brow which it acknowledged with a squeak.
"Where's Austin?" the Pokémon suddenly asked, lifting his head to refocus on his mate. No doubt his son hadn't met his sister yet, otherwise the Umbreon would be all over the little 'vee.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 15:43:24 GMT -5
"You probably saw him last," she replied, at a loss. She had been wondering the same thing; she hadn't seen her son in hours. With Chance not on the ranch, he was likely with Chris. But with her mind in different places lately, she had no idea for sure. She rose to her paws ans shook herself off. "I'll go find him."
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 16:02:32 GMT -5
Angelo nodded. "Okay, I'll keep Winter warm..." A sentence he never thought he would say... though it was certainly in line with the weather. Not that he was to blame for it. He sighed and nosed the little cub again. It would take a while for him to properly digest that... he had a daughter. A second child. It was so random, but it was probably one of the best mornings of his life.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 16:42:46 GMT -5
After a long night of running around, Austin was exhausted, and looking forward to spending the day sleeping. His sleep cycle was as poorly set as it could be; he slept when he was tired, and usually not for long. But he got the sleep he needed, even if it wasn't at the best times, and he didn't complain. He was an adult now, after all. He couldn't rely on anyone else to put him to bed.
Walking with his eyes half-closed, he nearly ran into his mother before he saw her. He hardly had time to regain his bearings before she was trotting toward the barn again, entreating him to follow. Puzzled, he did as he was told; that was where he was heading anyway. He sauntered into the barn after her and looked down at his father through sleepy eyes.
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Post by Atticus on Dec 28, 2015 16:45:20 GMT -5
Angelo didn't have to wait long for his mate to reappear with their first-born. Despite how vastly huge the ranch was, his family had a habit of wandering around the same few places, it seemed. He was looked as pleased as could be as Austin approached, and he moved his tail away when he was close enough to identify just what his father was revealing.
"Austin," he started, beaming with pride as his two children met for the first time. "This is your little sister... Winter..."
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Dec 28, 2015 17:03:05 GMT -5
"Hmm?" He tilted his head to the side a bit, and his gaze shifted to the little Eevee lying with his father. Angelo's words went right over his head as he fixed the infant in his sights. He was silent for a minute before mumbling, "That's a baby."
Vivian's tail swished slowly, and she rolled her eyes at her son. Winter hatching at dawn wasn't the most convenient for any of them, but she thought he'd at least be cognizant.
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