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Post by Atticus on Jan 2, 2016 14:53:14 GMT -5
"A hundred!" she gasped. This place was so old!
"Are these flowers a hundred then, too? And these trees?" she asked, gently patting a pink blossom in front of her.
Her stomach rumbled, and her attention snapped like a twig. "When are we eating?"
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jan 2, 2016 19:47:38 GMT -5
Dominia could not hold back a little giggle. What an inquisitive little girl! It would take all day to answer so may questions. "We can get something to eat tonight," she told her, motioning for her to follow her down another road. "Stay close, darling. Some of the trees might be that old! But I don't think the flowers are. They are likely not much older than you."
During every other season there was no reason to collect food in one place; the local plant life produced more than enough food all the time, and Pokémon could safely and easily pick it right from the source. But in winter, the villages were sure to build up an ample supply. The mild winter had led to some confused fruit trees still bearing little fruit in late December, and so the store was not as well-stocked as it had been in past years by this time, but not one was suffering as a result. Food was still being collected, and no one would go hungry.
The food storage building was one of the most secure buildings in the little village. This did not mean that it had a lock, or a guard of any sort, though someone was always nearby. It simply meant that it always had a roof that did not leak, and airtight walls and windows. Neither wind, nor cold, nor water could touch the food in any season. Dominia pulled the door of the dark room open and allowed Winter to walk inside. "Take your pick, darling. Anything you like."
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Post by Atticus on Jan 8, 2016 19:45:03 GMT -5
Winter had never seen so many berries in her life. Everyone in the ranch was well fed, and with the bigger Pokémon, food bowls were bathtubs for the little Eevee, but... it was so colourful! All the different smells... she wondered how they'd taste!
She waited for the 'okay' from the Ninetales and hurried forward, tail wiggling excitedly. She took a plump, blue berry between her teeth and chomped down, the delicious juices coating her taste-buds. "Mm!" She voiced her contentment, licking her lips. "These are really good, Doh-min-yuh!"
The Eevee didn't expect movement in the food den, however, so when she saw movement in the back, she jumped a little. Though she was surprised, the cub was wrought with curiosity rather than fear. She steadied her ground and tilted her head, mouth dropping into a wondrous "o"-shape. A shaggy, white figure emerged, a clump of berries dangling from her mouth.
The Absol looked at the round-eyed Eevee, then to Dominia. She placed the berries between her thick, black claws.
"Who's this?" she asked, softly. Her tone was void of all authority, and she carried her head almost parallel to her chest, as if she was a dog who had done something wrong.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jan 8, 2016 20:08:57 GMT -5
Watching the child rummage through what appeared to her to be a great wealth of food was beyond entertaining. but Dominia nearly let a laugh escape. She did, hoever, keep her composure. "This is Winter," she replied, nodding to the Eevee. "She's come to stay with us today."
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Post by Atticus on Jan 15, 2016 17:33:23 GMT -5
The Absol blinked. A new member of their little covenant? Dominia looked delighted, and she wanted to reflect the feeling, but... an Eevee kit so young... where could she have come from? What happened to her?
"Hello," she greeted the 'vee quietly, who yipped in return.
"Hi, there! I've never seen a Pokémon like you," Win observed.
The white creature nodded, her head lowered shyly. That was no surprise.
The brown cub cocked her head, but her attention flitted back to her Ninetales escort quickly.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jan 15, 2016 17:39:41 GMT -5
"She is an Absol," Dominia explained gently. Her gaze returned to the Pokémon before them, and she gave an encouraging nod. "Why don't you introduce yourself, dear?" She was aware of the Absol's shyness, of course, but camaraderie had always been an important part of the Pokémon Village to her. The villagers did not have to like each other, but she waned them to feel that there was a sense of community here; and that meant that everyone had to know each other's names at the least.
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Post by Atticus on Jan 31, 2016 11:48:01 GMT -5
"An Absol?" Winnie echoed, gaze flitting between the white beast and the sandy fox. She bounded over to the mountain Pokémon, who took a step back, caught off-guard by the Eevee kit's immediate and boundless energy.
"Yeah, you can call me Win, if you want! So what's your name?" she chirped, her tail swaying slowly behind her.
"O-oh," the Absol whispered, trying to compose herself. "I'm... my name is Tzerua. It's... nice to meet you, cub." Her crimson gaze flitted to the Ninetales. Winter was staying with them only today? She wanted to ask about her parents, but... felt it would be wrong in front of the kit, if perhaps something had happened to them.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 2, 2016 19:58:39 GMT -5
Dominia could see the trepidation in the Absol's eyes, and unwilling to risk Win's delightful mood, she simply smiled back sweetly. There would be time for questions later. A little one could run around like this for only so long before she would be down for a nap.
"Why don't you both come out of there now? It looks like you have everything you need," she observed, nodding to the berries set between Tserua's paws. She backed up, waiting for them to both be clear of the door.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 3, 2016 21:33:04 GMT -5
Tzerua nodded and lifted the berry stems between her pointed teeth, padding timidly out of the den.
Winter's dark eyes followed the shaggy creature back into the sunlight, where her mouth dropped into a curious "o" shape. "Whoa, your tail is like... like some kind of shovel?"
Tzerua looked back, wide-eyed. Shovel? What was a shovel?
But the Eevee had already moved on, berry juice staining her muzzle as she giggled and bounded past the beast to roll in the flower beds.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 3, 2016 21:47:15 GMT -5
Dominia's tails curled in surprise, and her eyes shined as she watched the child run off. A shovel? Was she a human's Pokémon?
All her previous theories suddenly stood on shaky ground, and she wondered how many assumptions she had made that now had to be effectively keelhauled. It certainly did explain her bouncy, charming demeanor; if she had been with good people, and her mother had been the problem, she had never known fear. But then, was she missed by someone who had a right to miss her? The fire fox found her fur prickling at the question.
For now, it would have to rest in ambiguity, as her attention was drawn to a spark among the flowers that jumped the plants and found its way right to Winter's nose. Dominia gasped and hurried forward, but by the time she reached the Eevee she had already been strongly zapped; not enough to paralyze or badly hurt, but it was a good shock, the kind that stops a creature in their tracks and makes them draw back with a frightful cry; it was quite a shock for an infant. Dominia prepared to scorn, but as she saw the different shade of yellow among the buttercups, and the darkened fur and prickling cheek of the little Pikachu, she understood that she had no one to reprimand.
Even several paces away from Winter, the tiny Pikachu, who stood only a few inches taller than the buttercups among which she stood, was still giving off electric sparks from a red pouch that looked ripped open; a burgandy, the color of congealed blood, parted the pretty red circle, and within it tiny sparks danced. The pikachu's face creased into a fretful, but not completely repentant frown as she realized what she had done, and her eyes landed on Winter. She was hardly visibly unless one was looking for her; only the darker, almost browned side of her face stood out in the flower patch. But when she was discovered she was quite a sight: tiny, of course, but badly scarred on her right side; her right eye was nearly entirely covered by a cataract. Still, the mouse's gaze was sharp; Dominia sometimes wondered if she even had a blind spot. And while she had not meant to shock Winter, she had not gone out of her way to avoid it, either.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 3, 2016 21:52:36 GMT -5
The Eevee squealed, jostled by the electricity that had her fur tingling. She paused her rolling and shuddered, quickly getting to her paws once she was mobile. What was that sensation? It was... her ears pinned back. Had the flowers... shocked her?
"Mom!" she called for help, but quickly remembering she was not here, raced for Dominia's forelegs and tucked behind them. Peering, she could see something brown and ruffled among the long stems of the flowers.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 3, 2016 22:01:38 GMT -5
The child's cry made Dominia start, first in disappointment, and something mirroring stupefaction. Her gaze quickly turned from The Pikachu to the Eevee as she watched her scamper between her legs.
That's what the Pikachu reacted to, anyway, because her head cocked to the side as she eyed Dominia curiously. She may be half-blind, but she was pretty sure that Ninetails didn't make Eevees. And she knew Eevees.
"Where did you get that one, Dominia?" Despite her small squeaky voice, she spoke with an air of informality bordering on casual authority as she waddled toward the Ninetails. Dominia wasn't offended. That was just how Lemondrop talked.
"This is Winter," she explained, quickly regaining her senses at the question. "She's come to stay with us. Winter, it's okay, darling," she said more gently, lowering her head to the Eevee. "Lemondrop didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident."
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Post by Atticus on Feb 3, 2016 22:10:01 GMT -5
At Dominia's soothing reassurance, the Eevee poked her head out, her long ears unfolding upwards.
"Oh," she chirped, and stepped out from beneath the Ninetales. "Hi there!" She shook out her fur, as if shaking off her bad first impression of the sparking Pikachu.
Her dark eyes hesitated on Lemondrop's blind one, her singed fur and her damaged cheek pouch. The cub's head tilted to the side curiously, and something in her chest began to feel... out of place. Why did this Pikachu look like that? She was... injured. But beyond anything Winter had ever seen.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Feb 3, 2016 22:29:33 GMT -5
"Yeah, Sorry," Lemondrop peeped. As the Eevee did her examination, she was doing her own. Something was vaguely familiar about her. But it was nothing she could put her finger on. She grasped for some sort of semblance of politeness. Areceus knew it wasn't her forte, but she was trying. Being untouchable meant that she didn't have to try so hard to be intimidating. "Winter?" She repeated the name Dominia had used, testing it out on her tongue. No, it wasn't familiar. Not as a name, anyway.
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Post by Atticus on Feb 3, 2016 22:34:53 GMT -5
"Yep! Winter!" the Eevee said proudly, puffing out her chest. "Daddy named me that, 'cause I was born in winter!" The kit wiggled her nose. "Thinking about it, my dad's not very original, huh?"
She sniffled and rubbed her eye with her forepaw, which was beginning to feel heavy. It had been an exciting day, to say the least.
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