{Comes after "Chirin Meets Gunya"} The long crackled howl made Norra jump two feet. Ah, she was becoming an Upper World baka and not staying attentive at all times! "Artemissa'?" Norra turned back to the Houndoom. "You norra' should'a walk'a! Norra' feel'a well'a 'nough!" she told Artemis. Chirin came bleating, greeting them before he even got there. He even forgot to retrieve his charms that he had left at the glade's edge. His thoughts were full of Gunya, his lost and now found uncle! He stopped in the woods just beyond, feeling an edge of the guilt he'd left them feeling. Still, there had been a battle. It could have turned dangerous out there if the lambs had been present, and he was still unsure about Phalaris. Gunya was family and apparently he had been very close to Ysgard. Chirin thanked his dah for being reborn in him, for giving Gunya the chance to be with his brother again. Gunya, like Chirin, had lost everyone he was close to. He supposed Phalaris was a friend he had met along the way; they did not seem especially close. But in time they all would be! He stepped towards the edge of the woods, looking out on the little pouch of the white-flower glade, walled in by the trees. "Artemis!" he cried, tail flashing. "You're awake!" "Chirin!" Petunia stood bolt upright and ran over to him, followed by Selden. "Oh, goodness, I heard those awful ramming sounds--I was afraid you were getting hurt! Was...that...?" "Yes," Chirin grinned sheepishly. "That was me and another ram. But the fight ended fine. No one lost--we all won! Petunia, Artemis, everyone--" His tears beat him to it and the new cascaded out on the bumpy ride of his fresh sobs. "This day be blessed for me--today...My uncle and me found each other." Selden was nearby, so...he seized him and began to wail. "I met him--my uncle!" said Chirin to Artemis, standing up from hugging Selden. His whole body streamed with electricity. "He and I embraced in the brightest soul-light! He came here lost, like me...and we met! He says I'm my father--his brother--reborn! Ohhh...but...there is one thing...They've never met enemies as friends before--him and his friend, there are two rams, and both of them are friendly, but they're rather scared...of houndooms and marowaks and other hunters. But--I'm just so happy I feel like I'm going to burst open straming white light on everything!" He jumped in the air. "Oh wonderful shining day!" Norra sighed at the crying pokémon, but decided it was crying of happiness. Chirin apparently cried a lot. "Wherra' issa' yorra' uncle'a kin?" she asked, peering around the Denryuu curiously. "Oh...Artemis, I'm so glad you're healed...or healing. But you shoud still take it easy. Here's what happened out there... I told them I had to go back to you in here and let you know I was all right, so you wouldn't worry. Everything is all right. I hope they decide to join our flock too when we go to our winter home! It's been so long since I was with denryuu from where I grew up..." He had to stop just to grab more words from his spinning thoughts. "Artemis, you remember how you saw--THREE CHIRINS! This morning! You must have been seeing the future! Because there are two other rams now, who come from my own homeland." Chirin threw his arms around Artemis's neck and sobbed drily, pouring with too much good feeling to contain and it was trying to spill out any way it could. In his excitement his *dneki* cropped up and he had to step back from Artemis, avoiding touching her, to keep from shocking her again. Artemis smiled and looked at Norra. "Thank you for your concern. But at the moment I'm to hungry and thristy to consider not walking." She gazed to look over at Chirin. "OH! Chirin! That is sooooo wonderful. I am soo happy for you, words can't express the happiness I have for..." She paused to think of the words Chirin had used for her...light-brother? Perhaps that would be it. "Light-brother!" She laughed slightly, it was wierd saying that. Artemis looked up to see the clouds. "It's not a shining day...the sun isn't shining. The clouds hide it." That small phrase confused Artemis for a moment, then she smiled a toothy one, and chuckled. "Heh, nevermind, I understand now." "He wanted to wait outside the forest...with his friend. My kind if fearful of forests. I get scared of them at night. We like to be out in the open where we can see enemies coming, and our lights can reach each other." Chirin glanced behind him at the trail awaiting their passage through it. "Another thing...I told them I've made friends with you, Norra, and Artemis...and they've never been friends with enemies before--I mean, hunters. In my homeland, both of your kinds, hunt us if you can. That's why they're a little scared to come into the woods to see us. I told them that I would bring everyone outside into the grasslands, since we're going to be heading that way anyway. Does...does that sound good to you?" "Aa. I unnerstand'a." it actually made Norra a little proud to think that she, Norra' Flecka, a short Marrowak, could cause such fear in big tall Denryuu that they wouldn't even come up to meet the whole flock in person, and they hadn't even seen her yet! Well, of course she had once been one of Keel'alla's mighty generals, but, she doubted Chirin had mentioned that. Chirin laughed. "Oh, you see, the sun shines anyway, behind the clouds. And it was reaching me out there, I felt it shining through my skin and into my bones! It washed me with light! I felt myself shining, full of power and radiance! All because...that's the feeling that came from the spirits. And from the energy of connecting with someone in my family again after so long away." Family meant a lot to his kind, and Chiirn hadn't felt so excited and safe and renewed in so long. All of the darkness had been worth surviving, and more. He would walk through the shadows ten more times if that was what he would have had to do to meet this uncle of his! "I never knew this uncle of mine...he lived with another flock. But I'm meeting him now! Artemis...if you want to walk anyway, we can all start out towards the fields. And meet the two rams! Karama..." he remembered now. "I'm sorry that they are not from your flock, or that I forgot to ask them if they knew of your flock. But we will when we get out there. I can't wait." He hopped back up, dancing backwards till he stood in the glade entrance. "Let's go!" "Sound'a good'a." Norra nodded in assent. Artemis smiled and cocked her head slightly. Giving a laugh and returning a hug to Chirin. She'd rather have him hang on her then anything. For she was still cold. "Hmm, I guess I did...then Luna of Light sent a message perhaps? Perhaps my illness was a good thing?" As Chirin's heart leapt, her's joined in...loving every moment of the joy. "Sure! I need to stretch...and perhaps there will be something for me and Norra to split along the way and some place to grab a drink. I'd love to meet them, and I understand Chirin. Remember the way it was before? I don't really care for forests either. We also prefer open areas, it does make *catching* easier for my kind. Although we can live just about anywhere. Giving reason to why some many hate us I suppose." Chirin blanched a bit at the direction the conversation was taking, but he too understood. "Everyone lives in the place that helps them most and is closest to their souls," he said. "You and I have come such a long way from the fear and violence we first met in. We have enlightened each other and the journey has only just begun." He stepped towards the forest trail again, "This is why the rams are a little afraid to come in here to meet all of you--there is a lot of magic and mystery around the eerie lake, and it carries with it many fears. They fear going into a strange place full of enemies that they have never met as friends. We are a hunted people. We walk with caution and live carefully." Chirin realized he was stepping on his belt, and when he reached down to pick it up and put it back on, the sack flopped weightless and empty. "My stones! Oh, goodness, I almost forgot to bring them along. Pebbles, you are not forgotten," he said, pushing his way through the flowers again to where Artemis had been resting whenhe'd left. He found the pebbles a bit scattered but otherwise unharmed. He picked each one up, licked it, rubbed it on his white chest, and place it in the sack with words of thanks and love. "I cannot forget," he said, "it was you too, everyone, who offered me this reunion. I take it with trembling hands and lights and forever thank you." "I stand'a inna' back'a. Norra' wanna' scare'a Shirinna's kins, anna' make'a sure'a nobody getta' lost'a." Norra said, standing up to her full height of almost three feet. Artemis had suggested something about splitting a meal. "Yorra' right'a, I amma' hungry, we'll pick'a somma'thin offa' as we go'a 'long'a." she agreed. "That's very thoughtful of you Norra," said Chirin, "Very nice. I'm going to do my best to make veryone comfortable with each other, for there's no other way we can live as a flock." He sincerely hoped the enemies would not talk too openly about hunting, or, worse, decide to hunt too close to the pharamps' company. Even Chirin himself had not gotten that used to having hunters for friends! With his sack full of the pebbles again, Chirin felt among them with his flipper for a moment, gathering their knowledge. "Artemis," he said as he started down the trail checking for he other sheep, "how was your dream-journey? I see it was a healing one. I'm sorry I didn't stay by your side as I had said...the rams arrived while you were asleep and I wanted to go see who they were and make sure they were firendly." Karama and Fluffy bounded over to Chirin. "You found your uncle!" Karama said. "Err...Where is he?" Fluffy was looking curiously at Chirin. It was clear she was wondering the same thing. Snake rose her head and smiled. "I'm only guessing," she said, grinning. "but I think Chirin is quite happy." Karama forced a small smile. "Thats okay...," she began. "Maybe he knows of my flock." Snake looked at Tod'd "Err...We are going to be going somewhere, so I think that I will help you," Snake muttered so only Tod'd could hear. Snake whispered something in Fluffy's ear and she giggled. Karama walked over, curious, and Snake told her the same thing, and Karama burst into a fit of giggles too. "I'm very happy, Snake," he said. "Only...when we go out, I would like for us to approach very carefully. Snake...you and Tod, oh, I didn't even see you get back! Tod..." he didn't really have time to stop and care for him now. They had to get out of this glade and on their way. "Tod, I'm very happy to have you with us, it's me Chirin, I...I guess you can't see my lights, but be assured I will try to do my best to help you recover your sight. Until then...well, we're going to be a traveling group. Snake, you're going to stay with him, now? Only because I could not feed him myself, and we're headed out to live in a place where Rapidash run. It will be a long journey and I just don't know if Tod can keep up. So Snake...I guess this is goodbye for now? Or were you planning on coming with us? Tod, I guess it's up to you what you decide." He only hoped Snake could care for him herself. He had his flock to watch, and although he would try his best to heal Tod, the journey would be long and he would not have much time to devote to a blind pokemon. Chirin could only hope Tod recovered his eyesight. "Whenna' I come'a out'a forest'a, I hope'a I norra' make'a themma' die offa' heart'a 'tack!" Norra laughed, recalling the event as a small Cubone when Dosha's father had died of that. Mur'ada didn't even really have to do anything! Artemis walked up along side of Chirin... "My dream-journey was amazing...I had no pain, everyone was peaceful. I romped and played seeing other Chirins. It was just amazing. I chased the crickets in play...the ones I had eaten, they were happy and sung for me. Along with grasshoppers." She looked back to see Snake and her 2 compainions giggling. "It's not nice to tell secrets Snake, it's how others become suspisous of another." Artemis looked over to Norra, then back to Chirin. "Okay, well try pickin' up something small then so we can eat quickly...and Chirin we won't eat near the others." Artemis laughed at the last part and walked on. Limping slightly on one paw, but that in time would pass. "What's going on?", Tod'd asked a little scared. The noise, along with a famialar smell was starting to scare him. He wasn't sure where either was comeing from. But the smell was simialar to one he had smelt when he went to fight the underground. He didn't know it, but the smell belonged to Boulder, the one who ordered a Dugtrio to kill him. "Ohh..." Chirin let out a breath, immediately moved by Tod's poor bewildered stare...a stare at nothing. How had this happened? Had a spirit touched him and taken his sight? The totodile's face was injured; he had been burned or...something. Definitely an evil doing. Chirin made his way over to Tod and held his flipper out. He touched Tod's paw. "It's me Chirin...I'm here for you now. Snake's led you to me. How are you? We're going to be taking a long journey...are you up to walking or do you need to rest? This glade is very good for healing and resting. I'm going to try and bring your sight back, i will." Chirin stroked his cheek on Tod's scaly scarred face, hoping th touch would reassure him. Boulder had lain quietly off to the side, watching the proceedings with interest. "I suppose I'll have to take a different route to follow you all." He rumbled musingly, looking at the trees leading to the grasslands. Many of them were clustered together too thickly to make his way through very easily. "I might arrive some time after you, if I don't get dragged down by all of those branches." "Ohh...I'm sorry that I never even thought of that. The trail is very thin and loses itself at times. I had to scramble around bushes and things just to get there, on my way. I think maybe...hmm...I just don't know a way for you to get out of this forest easily, without...too much noise. But if you come behind us, I can let the rams know you are coming and that I have a friend among the stone people. They know stones well, although not moving ones like you! because of the places in Pharos where the stomes live." Boulder nodded thoughtfully. "Just as I suspected. The growth is very thick in these parts. I'll wait a minute before I come along, and blaze my own trail. Hopefully not literally, of course." The Steelix laughed slightly at the unwitting pun, tailflame blazing steadily. Norra's laughter...and sense of humor...put Chiirn in a bit of unease. Perhaps coming from anyone else, like Gunya, it would have been harmless, but out of a marowak's mouth it took on that hunter- and-prey feeling that made him nervous. He asked the spirits of the forest to please steer Norra away from that type of humor when they went outside. "I canna' go anna' look'a right'a now, iffa' yorra' want'a." Norra offered. She really WAS hungry, and was ready to eat another one of those delicious Rattata that seemed to populate Lake Eerie. "I appreciate all of your efforts to be gentle to my uncle and new friend," said Chirin. "It touched me very much to hear your words." Thyme hung back a bit. She had only just got used to the Storyteller Now there were more than one. She still wasn't quite used to being part of a flock. Thyme looked around at the surrounding woods. This place - -this Lake -- had always been her home, for so long as she could remember. From one mareep among the plant pokemon to one mareep among many, and among flaafies and ampharosses. Plants didn't move quite so fast, or so far from home. She wasn't a plant. Yet she felt that her roots were firm in the soil around the lake. She couldn't picture leaving it all behind. What had the storyteller called it? The eerie lake. It did not feel so eerie to her as comfortable. She had friends here, it was the only home she had known in her life. Even traveling around with the others she knew she could always return home to the lake. Were there more rattata in her secret place? Who - what was she, really? She had thought she knew, but these strangers that had come to the lake... Chirin had noticed Snake and Karama and Fluffy whispering again too, and it had made him rather uneasy. He had hoped their behavior would have become more open by now. "It is what lambs do," he said to Artemis, "I'm sure it's nothing bad, they're just excited. I'm so glad you had a great dream-journey Artemis...and you too saw the vision again! Other Denryuu. You're about to meet them now in the flesh and lights." "Snake is not a lamb," said Petunia, who had never been fond of the arbok and her strange habits of just hanging on Chirin. She fixed Snake with a stern look. "Thyme?" Chirin made his way over to the one ewe who had seemed to connect to him. She stood apart from the hubbub. The one he had dived into wanting very much, wanting to wait for. She looked anything but happy, and in his excitement he had forgotten her. She was clearly frightened by all the excitement of pokemon all bigger than she was. "I'm so sorry I lost track of things," he said, squatting down by her. "All it is, really, is finding two rams, one who is my uncle-- my family. It's just been so long since I found family and he--he says I'm my father reborn. And I believe him...I remember my dah and I know I have his face. I see it when I look in water..." He felt that he was apart form her now...she too had lost everything, but it turned out that he had not. The spirits of the world had salvaged Chirin and Gunya for each other. "Are you okay? Please...talk to me. I would never want you to be unhappy." > laughed slightly at the unwitting pun, tailflame blazing steadily. > "That sounds like the best," he said, "you can go behind Norra and Artemis and the others. I'd just like the rams to meet the sheep first. If they see everyone all of a sudden it would just frighten them. I'm glad you understand." He had made such a fuss all of a sudden--leaping in the air like lightning, bleating and going crazy, dancing as if possessed--no wonder the poor lamb felt overwhelmed. He sighed, wishing...wishing something, wishing she could just be happy again and talk to him. There would be so much time for it once they found their new winter home... Petunia was giving Snake the same stern look that she had not stopped giving her from before. Until she joined Chirin and Thyme. "Thyme, are you okay? You sure slept a long time this morning!" she said with a bit of false cheer. Unlike Chirin, who had dived down into her apparently sadder mood with her, trying to reach her and work with her to get happy again, Petunia had remained on the surface of happy, or tried to anyway, trying to just tug Thyme back up there. It was what she had always done before with lambs and it usually worked well. But there was something deeper about Thyme--she sensed that Thyme had changed ever since the attack on the beach. Norra grinned. Chirin had such a way with words to make her feel special (ack, corny @_@). "Be right'a back'a, thenna'!" she sniffed the bushes, trying to smell the Rattata scent that she had become familiar with. After a while, bingo. Rattata feces. There were Rattata somewhere nearby. She followed the telltale scent to a burrow. That's funny, she didn't see any Rattata nearby. They must be out foraging, or something. After ten minutes of long, strenuous wait, where her stomach growled constantly, finally a Rattata came back, carrying a piece of tin can it had found triumphantly. "YAHHH!!!!" with a cry, Norra brought her bone down on the Rattata's head. It squeaked, dropping the shiny piece of metal. Norra picked up the Rattata and gave it a solid smack on the back of its neck with her bone, breaking it and killing the Rattata instantly. She didn't think one Rattata was enough for both her and Artemis, but, she didn't have thyme to catch another. Running back to the glade, she nearly jumped out of the bushes with her prize in hand, but, remembering there were herbivores there, she skidded to a stop, tumbling into a bush, and called, "ARTEMISSA'! I got'a break'a'fast'a!" So quickly? thought Chirin. He did not yet catch a scent of blood, and he had not heard a struggle, although he'd heard Norra's scary cry. Marowak voices still put him on edge--especially when they sounded violent. He looked round the glade, hoping Iris was still with them--had she slipped off again? It was often hard to tell with her. Would she go with them or were they venturing too far from the glade that was her home? Iris had mentioned friends and family in another place, too--or had that merely been something she'd used to hide what she really was? He remembered her puzzling smiles. After all, if he had had those kinds of spirit powers he supposed others would have felt afraid and humbled when they met him--not the best way to make friends. That was a big reason why many powerful spirits sometimes went about as smaller, weaker pokemon, or small rocks or plants. Thyme nuzzled Chirin. "Remember, I haven't been-- I only just started to think of myself as a mareep." She laughed. "My roots have always been on the lake, along with my --well..." Sure, she thought of them as her parents, but they were only her adopted ones. To her mind, she had always been a plant pokemon, until recently. Perhaps that's why Mom and Dad couldn't deal with it when she got bigger. But still... It had taken her a long time to get used to Chirin and the others in the herd. So far as she was concerned, Artemis and the others -- what folks called predators -- were also her friends and part of the flock. But what about these new ones? Thyme sighed. "I'm not quite sure how I feel, right now. Perhaps I'll feel better after I meet your family." "I'm fine, Petunia -- thank you." Thyme stretched. "I just didn't want to get up." Artemis laughed heartedly, and sighed. "Well, one thing that could solve both the problems is that we all could ride on Boulder and he can clear a large and more prettier path." She nodded at the subject of Snake and the arbok's compainions. "She's right, Snake isn't a lamb...which I have no blame for the little ones. Yet it's rude...and I'd rather she not do such a thing around me. I can hear well enough to know something is up by the way they giggle." Chirin knew something was still up with all three of them. But what? Were they the ones carrying darkness? "I think now is the time," he said to those three, "that the whispering stopped when you are in the presence of the whole flock. It makes many people nervous and they wonder if you are whispering about them. It passes bad feelings along. and after all," he said, trying to lighten the mood, "why whisper? I for one would love to hear what you have to say, I love talking--you must know that by now-- and if you're my friend, anything you have to say is important." He spread his arms, smiling. "So there...let's have everything out in the light." Her attention turned back to Chirin. "And my dream-journey was even more luckier...b/c Lunar of Dark wasn't threatening his twin, Luna of Light...like he was last night. Although, last night Luna of Light was even more controling. Nights when the Lunar of Dark rules is a time I usually sleep for the fact of darkness and yes my kind would normally run that time. But I'm not exactly like my whole kind." "No one is like their whole kind," said Chirin. "Show me a typical Houndoom, typical Denryuu...there is no such thing. People talk of crossing lines when the lines are not really there--only perceived to be. And rules are always changing." His ears wiggled. Once again the hungry stomach of Artemis grumbled...and then Norra came a callin' and she thought ~just in time.~ She gave a nod to Chirin and the others before dartin' into the bush and meeting up with Norra. "Umm...breakfast!" v He watched Artemis go, hoping she and Norra did not take too long. Perhaps when they reached their winter home, the hunters would have more room to...eat... without being so close to the sheep. Even just the knowledge that they were busy eating something they had killed, over in those shrubs, made Chirin's lights flicker a bit. Norra nodded in reply, and grabbed a hind leg from the Rattata, ripping it off after a bit of tugging and devouring the thigh meat, like a chicken drumstick. "You canna' take'a whatta' you wanna, I norra' thatta' hungry." she told the Houndoom between bites. "Oh, Thyme," Chirin stroked her woolly back. "I guess that I know a little how you feel--this flock took me a long time to really feel a part of, to sense the whole as one, and not just a bunch of pokemon thrown together. There's an important difference, after all. I never really healed from losing my flock and leaving my home. This lake is an amazing place. It's shown me its frightening side...I've experienced some of its darker secrets. Nevertheless I don't know if it could ever feel like a home to me like it does to you. I guess you feel about the lake like I do about Pharos...that one special place that feels like home. "If you want to stay by the lake, that's your choice...your light- path, but I would miss you very much, and I don't know of anyone who would stay there with you. I know the journey will be long, but in spring I know I will come back. come winter the lake is going to be a very cold place with too little food. I think you would have had to leave sometime anyway. You have a good coat of wool there, but hunger can only be solved by good grass and browse. Boulder's told us of a warmer place full of food where the Rapidash live. Don't you want to explore, see these new places? I know I do--I'm very excited to," he said, ears wiggling. He sensed that Thyme might not have the same lust for exploration that he did. "But once you meet my family I'm sure you'll feel different...after all they're denryuu, like me. And they carry many stories and tales that I don't even know, probably. They'd probably love to be your friends too--I was nervous at first, and me and that one other ram did meet heads. But it all turned out well. I'm just nervous about how they'll react to Artemis and Norra." He nuzzled her face. "So do you feel better? I don't want to leave until I know you're okay with all this. I guess it's kind of sudden." Artemis quickly gulped down pieces of it...not taking too much, and not thinking of savoring it for flavor. Too hungry and too excited about all the going ons. Within a few minutes Artemis bounded back up into the trail. Not noticing the small blood traces on her muzzle. Fluffy looked innocently at Chirin, and glared at Petunia for a split second. "Snake was just telling us something that happened before she met you, Chirin," she began. "She was in the forest, looking for a rattata, and she heard one. When she tried to catch it, she hit her head on a tree and soon realized that she had no heard a rattata, but another ekans that had slithered on a twig and broken it..." She giggled a little again, and Snake blushed furiously. "Left a big bump, that did," she muttered. "Ah, well...that must have been very nice story," said Chirin realizing even more Snake's limitations. She didn't even seem to pause at telling a lamb about a hunting story, or a would-be one. The denryuus' many tales certainly included enemy hunts, but being told it from a denryuu who had not done the hunting anyway, and being told it directly from the predator who had tried to make the kill, were too different things. Karama, however, didn't seem too fazed by it, so Snake must have muted any frightening details. "There's no need to whisper then! I love to hear the sounds of your voices like everyone else's. You have the same right to speak up that everyone does. No need to hide it." Karama, however, was not listening, she was very nervous. She knew only all too well of her differences. "Chirin," she began. "What if the other flock doesn't like me? I mean...I look different (my wool I mean) and I use water attacks and my own electric attacks hurt me! What if they do not like me because I am so...so different?" Fluffy fidgeted a little and ran a flipper nervously across the cresent moon shape on her forehead. "I'm sure that they won't have any problem welcoming ones of silver wool," said Chirin, wanting to ease the lambs' worries. They might seem petty to someone older, but to the lambs themselves they were very real and strong. "They will probably know you are kissed by Clef as soon as they see you. Among my kind there are those all black, and those partly black, that I know--and those of silver, like Denrai. I'm sure my uncle and his friend will find you two very beautiful." Chirin smelled the blood easily, and the trail shuddered with his lights as he saw Artemis arrive back. "Uh...." His flippers gestured to his own mouth--a difficult move because, on his long neck, his head was just about out of his flippers' reach unless he ducked it down. "Aretmis...uh..." All he could look at was teh blood. "Your face, uh...you'd better clean you face before we go out to see my uncle." He smiled nervously. "Got a little bit of-- breakfast on there." 24650 Norra finished the remnants of the Rattata that she could and followed, rubbing her skull helmet where the blood had leaked with the back of her wrist and followed Artemis back to Chirin-tachi. Chirin blinked his lights to Norra, signalling his presence still at the glade's edge. He was not leaving yet. He wanted to make sure Thyme felt comfortable continuing before they departed the glade. and he had to say goodbye to the beautiful flowers that had done their very best to shelter them and shield them from harm. What had gotten through to Chirin anyway was that horrible evil, but its warning was something Chirin actually felt better for having gotten. Now he was able to prepare for it over the winter. If he had made such progress with his gift during the fall by barely using it, then imagine what he could learn before spring came. Norra noted Chirin's lights and walked over there, and waited. She would wait for the sheep and everyone else to get moving, then she would bring up the tail of the group. Chirin gave her a grateful gleam of his red bulbs. He hoped Gunya and Phalaris were not growing impatient at the wait, although he knew he had hurried back bolstered by the energy surge from his kin and his ancestors. Two branches of a broken tree had come together again. So long he had thought he'd lost it all...but he was only just discovering family that he had never known he had been blessed to have. His father's family had been shadowed from him all his life, only now coming to light. Gunya had said his flock had been taken by humans or....something, but with the two of them working together Chirin felt more sure than ever that there was hope of finding them again someday. Fluffy and Karama flushed a little. Snake looked over at Chirin. "Errr...Maybe I should stay here with Tod'd...," she muttered. ClrBear430@aol.com wrote: Norra noted Chirin's lights and walked over there, and waited. She would wait for the sheep and everyone else to get moving, then she would bring up the tail of the group. "If that's what you feel is right, if that's what your light-path calls you to do," said Chirin. "I feel bad that I can't help Tod as much as I might need to. If you think that you can help him, care for him, care for a blind pokemon, then that may be what your ancestors are telling you you must do. It is a very selfless thing to do...he will need you to do many things for him. Once everything with my flock is settled, then if I can i will prepare a way to heal Tod and head back here, to do what I can for him. We have to hold out hope that Tod can recover his eye sight. Miracles can happen, if we put our souls into bringing them on." He turned to Tod and touched his shoulder. "I'm sorry that I can't heal you right now..." He swallowed, feeling dark and slimy to have to say such a thing to someone who had suffered one of the worst things that could befall a living breathing pokemon. Artemis drooped her head, and licked her chops. Having an embarrassed look on her face. She whispered quietly hoping others would hear. "So, sorry Chirin...I really am. Is it off?" Chirin looked at her from all angles in the plentiful light his tail provided. He sniffed at her snout too. Smells could frighten sheep as easily as things they saw. He smelled the meat on her breath, but Gunya and Phalaris shouldn't get a whiff as long as they did not come too close--and Chirin had the feeling they would not come too close. "It's off," he said. "It's fine, you were trying to eat in a hurry...and...uh...we are in a hurry." Artemis looked at Snake and her compainions, trying to make sure not to show her muzzle just incase there was still blood left on it. "I'm sorry for my suspions...it's just so uniqe to have a Arbok follow us around...or any group/flock/pack. B/c they are solitary pokeys. And Fluffy, I think they might like havin' ya around! B/c their electric attacks can't harm grounds or rocks, but since you have the element water you can help protect them from predators like them if there is a threat!" Artemis hung her head for a minute and would have drooped her ears if she had any. "There should be no problem with fluffy or Karama, my uncle is very nice! I met him, I know, I wouldn't be taking everyone to meet them if I didn't think they were as full of light as any of us. Gunya wants to meet the other sheep especially." "Yes, I'm sure they will...and I hope they will learn that I am blessed with Luna of Light and not Lunar of Dark..." In beliefs of her pack those 2 'beings' were very different from each other. Usually Lunar of Dark was what most would call evil and Luna of Light was good. "I hope so too," said Chirin. "I will plead the ancestors to help them understand. I'll do everything I can." He hoped it would not come down to choosing between his uncle and Artemis and the rest. But if it did, perhaps it would say that he and Gunya were of light-paths too different to lie parallel anymore. But Gunya was as excited to have met him; Gunya had been through what Chirin had--losing his flock. Chirin wished that Gunya hda not had to go through what he had gone through. It did not matter that Gunya had been much older. That might have even been worse...for as you grew older you grew more attached to the paths forged in your youth. Gunya, like Chirin, might never fully recover from what happened. But at least they were not alone anymore. Snake smiled and flicked her tounge in his ear in an afectionate sort of way. That is what her mother used to do. "My mother did that to me," Snake said softly. "It is a way of showing how you care for someone else." Chirin felt the forked tongue's cool wetness briefly wrap the end of his striped, cone-shaped ear. He had not known that Arboks cared for their young in such a way--what little he had known of the serpent- folk was that eggs were laid and the young hatched ready for the world on their own, with little or no care from the mother. Well, the flock's wisdom could be wrong; he had learned well that there were exceptions to everything! "My own mama used to do the same thing to me," said Chirin. "Know that I'm not trying to reject you from our flock or anything. It's just that Tod's free to come with us, but I will be watching over the sheep first and foremost. Caring for someone blind would...require that I devote almost all my time to being his eyes and watching over him. And he needs meat to eat, which I cannot provide myself. I would if I could, but I'm just...I'm only one denryuu. I'm very sorry. As I said, as soon as I discover a possible way to heal Tod I will come for you." Snake smiled slightly. "I will stay here with Tod'd," she began. "And wait for you here...Maybe after you and the others get aqainted with your uncle you could bring him and his flock back here, and I could meet him too...but right now I want to stay with and help Tod'd." "That would be great," said Chirin, who still felt nervous leaving Snake alone with Tod, but she had demonstrated her ability to take good care of herself before. She was powerful, and could defend Tod if need be. What Chirin worried about was whether she was up to keeping a constant vigil. It had been easy for Chirin to do--always watch--but a denryuu's life was just that, one of constant vigilance. They were made for it, from their keen eyes, ears and noses to the lights on their tails. "You are a creature of true light," said Chirin. "Tod...you're lucky to have Snake for a friend...Just remember Snake, that you must devote yourself to it. Enemies are always waiting to steal a quick meal...and you must keep watch always." He touched the side of Snake's neck. "I know you can do it. And Tod, I will find a way to restore your sight while Snake cares for you. Winter's coming though...I hear that there are warm lands up north of here. If you need to you can head up there." Fluffy walked up to Snake, hesitated, then hugged the arbok, who looked slightly suprised, then she grinned down at the flaaffy and flicked her tounge in her ear as she had done for Chirin. Fluffy giggled. "That tickles," she giggled. Snake smiled again. "You be sure to get back as soon as you can, okay little one?" Snake said to Fluffy, who nodded. Then Snake looked over at Karama, who walked over and looked up at the large serpent pokemon. Karama also hugged her friend. Snake smiled at Karama, then looked back at Chirin. "I really want to meet your uncle, but I need to stay here with Tod'd," Snake said. All this flicking of tongues in ears--on the part of this arbok, especially--was making Chirin feel a little creeped out. Deep down inside he felt too guilty to admit it to himself, but he was glad that Snake would not be with them, because she had always made himuneasy--there were dark spirits around this one--Cinder's spirit, most likely, affected her. She needed to live a life more natural to her kind. Arboks didn't flock with sheep, not even with each other. "You will meet my uncle...somehow, it will happen," said Chirin. "And before we go, Snake, Tod, I want to give you something...do something to help protect you and keep you close to me." He fumbled one of his pebbles out in his flipper. What to tie it to? He took another strand of silk off his belt and bound it up. This had to be quick, but he did not want to botch this. He took care to stroke it on all side with his light, murmuring as he bound it in the silk, which was rather worn and losing its stickiness. With the silk- weavers going to hibernation, he would have a hard time finding silk during winter--unless it were REALLY warm with the rapidashes. Chirin placed the necklace around Tod's neck. "I'm giving you one of my precious stones to help give you knowledge and love and light. It is a part of me and all the flock. Snake, this is for you too--only you can't wear it, so Tod can wear it for the both of you." Snake smiled. "We might have to go north...," Snake said. "If you find that Tod'd and I are not here when you return, then you will know where to go." Chirin paced around the pair with his lights in a pulsing shine. After a few circles he came to stand before them again. "Both of you are my dear light-friends, so I give some light to you. Tod, what I just did was shine my light around you to give you protection even when you are far away from me. During the winter I will be doing many things, and one of them is trying to find a cure for your blindness. Snake," he said, "you are very brave and giving. And me...I love to see new places anyway... I want to see the north lands someday, and if I don't find you here I'll follow the spirits' guidance into the north. The grasses and the nidorans are sure to be whispering about two friends, an arbok and a totodile roaming together. I'll follow the trail right to you. I only wish I could help you more than I am, for right now, but from here our light-paths diverge, I guess." Snake was about to talk to Tod'd when she saw a rattata. She fought the urge to gulp it down. She looked at Tod'd. "Tod'd," she began. "What do you wanna do? You wanna stay here so we can meet Chirin's uncle and his flock when they arrive, or would you rather journey north for the winter?" It was dawning on Chirin that he would not see Snake for a long time. Maybe he had used up all his tears out in the grass with Gunya. Maybe he was still feeling a little numb. Or maybe he and Snake had never connected like true light-friends. Not like Hampty, not like Iris, not like Thyme. Snake had never really connected deeply to him; he had looked after, but drifted away from her as she grew large, and dangerous. She had nearly attacked him once. What he felt was a satisfaction of feeling things fall into a better position for all of them. Snake was headed out on a life of her own, and she would have Tod as a constant companion. Unlike most of her kind, she seemed to need company. He had never really known what to make of Snake. From the start he had tried to be her friend, but from the very start she had frightened and confused him. She had jumped to his defense many times, though, when she could have abandoned him and slithered away. Hampty never had (though Chirin knew he would if the need ever arose). It must be that being a light-friend meant more...what really defined one anyway? What was it that made him connect instantly with some and never really find others? Was it kind--the fact that she was, uh... an arbok? What, then, to make of Artemis? No, there was a spirit component to it all...the spirits gave him signs, signals; they helped tell him who was his true light-friend and who was more a fair-weather acquaintance. From the beginning the spirits had sent him signs, in bolts of lightning or a pretty pebble in the sand. They simply sent him signs now that everything was well with their parting. He returned to Thyme and the others, seeing that everyone was ready to go. He didn't want to keep his uncle waiting and make him wonder. "The spirits speak to me," he said. "The glade, it speaks to me. They are telling me that the time is about ready now for us to go." Chrin stood at the mouth of the trail, waving his tail and feeling a vestigial tingle in his spine and legs, where his body had absorbed the impact of a charging ram. He stood there feeling the trail breath cool air from the open fields beyond. "I guess whatever you wanna do", Tod'd replied feeling kinda bad that he has to be a burdon for another pokemon. "But first a bite to eat would be nice. How about some...", he was about to ask for some fish, but he realized catching fish would be to much of a bourden for an Arbok, "Rattata?", he said. Chirin hoped Snake would not be afflicted by any evil spirits during her time caring for Tod. Oh, how he wished he could do more than what one denryuu could do! All he had done for them was give them directions, throw a small spell on them and send them off alone. That couldn't be right, not for a blind pokemon and one whom he was afraid could not truly care for another's needs. "If you really feel that this will overwhelm you, you can come with us," said Chirin, "both of you. I was just worried that you couldn't keep up. And that I can't find food for you, Tod, my... my own eating habits... being as they are very different from your own." "I realize that Chirin. Your a very good friend.", Tod'd said. "But I'm not sure I'm ready for a long journey. I would hate to be responcible for slowing you down.", he said. "Never feel bad for slowing someone down," said Chirin, feeling tears course up and out. Tod could not see them and he felt better for it-- he didn't want to trouble the poor totdile even more by looking upset, even though he cried several times a day usually. "Never feel badly, because you can't do but what you are able to do." He dimmed his light, feeling it blip in sympathy, forgetting Tod could not see it. "We probably won't be moving quickly anyway, if it comes to that. But the two of you together seem like similar kinds. It might be easier for the two of you alone together rather than with our large and loud bunch. I just feel like I'm abandoning you to the mercy of the spirits of forest and field and lake." Which, he asked inwardly, to please pass his wishes to Tod and Snake all winter. Thoughts could affect things for a while around. He wasn't sure how far, but it was pretty far he knew. At least the distance between Pharos and here! Which was the farthest distance he could think of, really. It had to be a lot longer than the second longest distances he could think of, which were between here, and Watakko, Phos and Clef. Artemis sighed in relief, thankful the blood was off her muzzle. She didn't want to frighten Chirin's uncle and didn't want to ruin the rams happy day. She nodded in agreement. "Yes, your most likely right Chirin, although nothing will rid me of my worries till I fully know. I mean, now I have 3 Chirin electricitys to watch out for...and I'm not in the best of health to even take yours." Artemis quickly added as well, along with her stating of Chirin's powerful *lights* "Not that I can't handle coming nor that I think you will shock me on perpous...just a percaution." "Of course...after what happened before, it's sure understandable! But everything should work out fine as long as we take things carefully. They already know that I have hunter friends, and I'll go out first and warn them again about all of you. As long as a denryuu knows that it will not be harmed, it will not attack anything. In times of safety and peace we're peaceful too...like any pokemon...or so I would like to think." He giggled. Artemis watched with intrest as Chirin and Snake talked, ears catching all the sounds surrounding the 2. Waiting paitently to get moving although her legs began to hurt and her thrist more savage. "Chirin, I really have no means of breaking up this moment. But could we begin this journey again? My legs have begun to hurt again and I'm rather thristy." "I'm sorry," said Chirin. "I guess I waited a little too long for everyone. Just--mind that we have a new person with us--my nidoran friend," he gestured to Hiro. "Just so everyone knows that he's with us, so there aren't any...misunderstandings. Now," he said, brandishing a pebble in one flipper and clutching his stantler charm in the other, "We journey into new lands and things, we will not turn away and fall into dark, we will climb towards Phos!" Exhilarated by the sound of his own bleats, Chirin bounded briskly down the trail before doubling back to wait for the others. He blushed a little. ~ Hiro passed some other bushes, some berry, some not - but all appeared to be getting into the same condition as the first bush. "Blast it!" he grumbled, after finding another non-edible thing. If all the shrubs in the area were like this, then how was he supposed to find something to munch on? He looked at the trees nearby, in a way as if he'd only just noticed they were there. The bark on the tree closest to Hiro was loosened up enough to where it would be easy to pull it off. And there was also a good bit of it...perhaps the other pokemon in the area hadn't gotten around to nibbling on it yet. Bracing himself against the tree trunk with his forelegs, Hiro tore a piece of the bark off. He had been fed bark before, and thought it had been okay....if only a bit tasteless compared to other things he could eat. But that had been back home...wherever that was compared to here. Would the trees here taste just like the ones there, or would they taste different? He set the bit of bark onto the ground, and pinned it down with one paw. Better to eat and not have your food move around all over the place, that's what Hiro thought. It tasted faintly of the pine needles he had tried to eat not too long before - but that shouldn't have been too surprising, given that both came from the same source. This stuff, though, actually tasted good...well, a little bit. It was palatable, and that was what mattered most to Hiro. And it did help to curb his hunger some. He didn't finish the whole piece of bark, as it was a bit bigger than what he was used to. Leaving it behind, he started roaming again, wondering if he could find something other than bark. He had a feeling that if he didn't find something else soon enough, then bark would be his main course for the next long while. A very faint smell caught his nose, and he turned his head in what he thought was the direction of the smell. Could it be...? It smelled a bit like flowers...but during this time of year? Anything was possible, he concluded. Even flowers. He changed his direction, heading toward that fleeting scent. Bark may have been plentiful enough, but flowers were tastier. His ears, though, picked up the sound of other creatures in the area...predators? Or not? Suddenly more alert, the nidoran tried to keep himself hidden a bit. He was curious about finding out whether or not these flowers he smelled were real, but even that wasn't enough to allow himself to make it too easy for "bad" pokemon to spot him. Chirin was having himself a last graze in the glade, enjoying the flowers for what might be the last time for a while. After they left here and went out into the grasslands, they would not be coming back here until probably next spring. But sheep had good memories and Chirin would easily know the way back. He hoped Iris chose to come, anyway...she seemed willing to continue on with them, even knowing they would be traveling somewhat far away--beyond a simple day's trip back. Maybe when he did come back he would face this evil spirit and drive it away, break its hold on him and anything it touched. Thoughts of the future so far away felt fuzzy, fantasies flung out. But Chirin smiled around the cud he chewed. Sometimes those visions and fantasies were powerful enough to make themselves come true. Like they had today. Wait until he told Gunya and Phalaris that it had been with a houndoom's help that he had met them! His eye caught a spot of movement at the glade's edge, wriggling in the flowers. "Iris?" The denryuu pricked his ears up, blinking in question. His light made one pulse, two, then held a beat as he focused on the place. He stood up, glancing around; no one else seemed concerned, and it was probably only some poor little pokemon trying to avoid getting caught under their feet. Looking around, he saw that the glade was not the pristine sea of flowers it had been when he had first gaze on it in the sunlight. Heavy grazing and trampling had scarred the pretty place with bare holes and patches and fallen stems. Herbivores were far from harmless. Every pokemon seemed to have to destroy things, take them into themselves, in order to live. Chirin would make sure to leave an offering to the poor glade before he left. Was this why Iris was not with them right now? Had their treatment weakened her, hurt her? "Iris?" he called again. Hiro grinned happily. So the flowers really were real! And they smelled so good, too... His attention was more on the flowers than anything else, so he was caught off-guard a little bit when he heard someone's name being called. He froze slightly, wondering if he'd been spotted. By the way that Ampharos was looking in his direction...he probably had been. Who was this "Iris" person, though...? It certainly wasn't him! "Er, 'scuse me, sir," Hiro said, a bit timidly...this WAS a larger pokemon, after all. "But I don't think I'm that 'Iris' person you're looking for..." He tensed himself to run, in case he needed to. "Oh...I'm sorry," Chirin's lights pulsed in slight surprise as a nidoran, not a vulpix, peeked out from behind the flowers. "Iris is a friend of mine, she's with us and I didn't see who you were from under those flowers." As for smell, it was no surprise that between the flowers pumping their thick aroma into the air, and the smells of so many other pokemon near, Chirin had missed that of one little nidoran. He gave the nidoran a smile, backing up to give him room. "We must be quite a crowd for you to see," he said, feeling glad that no one had hurt the nido and that he, not Norra or Artemis, had found him first. "Are you hungry? These flowers are good. If you want to eat some just stay near me, and none of the hunters over there will hurt you. They're my friends." He crouched down. "That's okay, though...that you thought I was her, I mean," replied Hiro, relaxing a tiny bit. "I wasn't exactly, er, being too obvious a moment ago..." The proximity of predators was making him nervous, but the flowers were extremely tempting. "Y-Yeah, I'm a little bit hungry...," he said. His gaze flicked over to the predators. "You're absolutely sure that they won't hurt me?" His ears quivered ever so slightly from his nervousness. The poor nidoran must be hungry, he realized, attracted by these strange flowers still healthy and alive so late in the season. His hunger must have been what caused him to venture so close despite the presence of so many large pokemon, including a houndoom, arbok and marowak. On all fours he nosed some dead grass away from the edge of the clearing, helping to clear the way for the young pokemon to reach the green, sparsely leaved stalks. They grew well in the dark ashen soil; this was a clearing born from a brush fire probably not too long ago. Chirin had been in these parts before, although not in this clearing. He remembered, sitting at this edge of the glade and looking into the eyes of another nidoran, that he was very close to where he had first met Calima on that night. "I'm Chirin-chirin," he said, turning to this nidoran. Somehow it seemed right, all of a sudden. "What's your name?" The poor thing was so nervous! "I won't let them hurt you," said Chirin. "They know better than to hunt anything that I talk to. We respect each other that way. It's...a long story, really, but we'r friends and it's always been an agreement. I understand why you're nervous though...I still have my moments when I am myself." "Name...? Oh yeah, duh, name. I'm Hiro," said the nidoran, wondering if he was wise to give out his name to this other pokemon. He still wasn't fully convinced about the predators, though...not until he saw for sure. "If you say so...It's just that...well, I've been told to never trust predators...they've always been bad news whenever they came around. And so far I haven't seen proof otherwise..." He willed himself to relax even more. "Nice to meet you in light, Hiro, friend in the grass. Of course you haven't met them like I have," said Chirin, "I've known them for a while. I still don't trust new enemies I meet--all of the ones you see back there, I met in light during the great crisis of dark and light. Soon we'll be leaving for our winter home, and if you like you can have this glade to yourself for a time." Chirin gave a laugh. "So, where are you headed to for the winter?" "Nice to meet you too." The thought of having this place, with all its flowers, to himself for a while made Hiro giggle a little bit. Where was he headed to for the winter? Uh oh..."Actually, I haven't made any plans yet for that," he replied, a bit sheepishly. "Is it really that close by? I mean, I know the weather's been changing and all, but..." He wished he knew how badly the winters hit here. That way, he could know whether he should be leaving for somewhere or not. "From what I can tell it is coming here very fast," said Chirin. "I think winter will blow on this place harder than my homeland--where I spent last winter. We're going to a place where it will be warmer and there'll be enough plants for us to eat. There's the north lands too, I hear they stay warm all the time." Chirin smiled. "Some places are out of reach of the spirits that kill and freeze and bring the snow and ice." Norra nodded, and waited for everyone to get moving. Ow...winter coming fast? That didn't sound too good. But the other stuff Chirin was talking about..."Really? You are?" Hiro was interested. Places that stayed warm all the time? That sounded nifty...all the places Hiro had ever known were warm only part of the time. "Hey, can I ask something?" Hiro said. "If it's not too much of a problem...do you think I could go with you?" He laid his ears back, and sounded a bit timid again. "I know we just met not too long ago, and I dunno if I should be asking that, but...I have no idea where I'm gonna go right now..." "Oh, you don't have any place...?" Chirin closed his mouth a moment. "Of course you can come. You won't be any problem to us at all, not at all! If, you don't mind the presence of...large hunters...They wouldn't hurt you if I said you were my friend--which I will, no matter what--because you are." Chirin bent forward to sniff the nose of the nidoran. "Welcome to the flock. And it's the most...unique flock in the world, I think, probably. We have some sheep, but we also have a houndoom, a marowak, a Steelix, a vulpix, and...hm...There's probably others too but you know, at this moment I can't remember!" He giggled. "And you've come at a great but turbulent time. I've just met my uncle...when I thought I'd lost my family forever, all my kin. We were so happy to meet each other. And that's where I'm leading everyone, out of the forest to meet my uncle and his friend. I'm just...well, a lot of things, both light and dark, have happened to me today and last night, and this, is, by my ancestor's biggest thunder, the best thing that's ever happened to me." He wiped at a tear. They had given him their thunder...this was what they had been leading him through all of this towards. He could just feel it. Petunia heard the talk, and spotted the nidoran Chirin was talking to. It troubled her that the ram seemed to fall for everyone that happened to walk by and asked to join the flock. Couldn't anyone take care of themselves, or did they just see Chirin as easy to take advantage of--which he was? Well, a nidoran wouldn't be much trouble at any rate... of course, she remembered Calima well, so she shouldn't really be thinking along those lines...it was more like, this nidoran didn't seem nearly as troubled or, well, insane. "So, what light-path do you come along?" Chirin had sat down on his bum by the nidoran, apparently warming to him quickly in the way he always seemed to. "Light-path means, the places and feelings and things that you have come from before we met just now, and are heading to. Do you come from a warren?" Maybe, if he didn't have any warren, he could find one to join once they got clear of the woods. It was good nidoran-land out there. "Warren? No, I don't think I came from one," Hiro said. "Or at least we never called it that back home. Er, we, my family, that is." He thought for a moment. "Let's see...there was my mother, my father, my grandfather, and some siblings of mine..." He trailed off for a moment. "Well, even if that could be considered a warren...it's gone now, I think. Mainly what I've been doing since then is traveling around a bit. I did have others with me - " and here Hiro faltered a tiny bit "- but I have no idea where they could be right now." Had evil spirits stolen them away? Was this one another of the many sole survivors called to the lake? Chirin would not get caught up in what the evil spirits had done. This nidoran had come from the direction of the cursed glade, like Tod had. It seemed anyone coming from that way ended up arriving here affected, some more than others. Just one more reason to keep Hiro with them now, and do his best to work on his gift and just... do what he could. They had suffered the evil thing's wrath and had all lived. Chirin had exerted all he could on it for now. From here they would move forward. Beginning to feel like he was prying too much, Chirin nuzzled the nidoran's cheek with his own muzzle, refraining from asking more questions. "I know how you feel, me and many others here lost our families too. After we head out of here and rejoin my uncle... who knows what we may encounter? I touch my charms and ask the spirits for everyone to find peace and good health in our winter home--and, if the weather allows, lots of playing and stories! I love stories. I've never been to where we're going. This will be new for both of us. And should darkness try to harm anyone I'm preparing for that too. Our winter will be spent in light." Hiro began to shy away from the nuzzle, then stopped when he realized it wasn't a bad thing. "Even so, it's still not a good thing to think about," he said. "I try not to think about it too much, at least." Hiro didn't believe much in spirits, not having seen or heard much about their existence. Peace and health were always important, though, so he didn't see any reason to argue. He continued listening. "Winter spent in light? That sounds good." He grinned. He didn't quite know what it meant, but it sounded good to him anyways. "And new things are always good!...provided that they don't turn out to be bad eventually." "Without new things...life becomes stale, like old grass," said Chirin. "I always take comfort in familiar things, but I think my favorite days of all are a mix of familiar and new. And I've yet to experience a day, really, when there's nothing new." He selected a flower head within reach of his mouth and grabbed it with teeth and tongue, then nipped it off, munching on it. He wanted to get going soon, but really he had not been gone all that long and his uncle and friend were not in a hurry. His eagerness came from just wanting to be back with Gunya. A large flock seemed to just take more time to gather up to go somewhere or do something. Chirin stood up, licked his apricorn shell and sparked a small bolt to catch everyone's attention. "I feel the air and forest speaking," he said, "and the glade's flowers nod to me and I feel it's time to go out to the field. Oh, and this," he geatured to Hiro, "is my Nidoran friend." ~ Thyme nuzzled him back. "I can't really stay here -- not alone, anyway. But it depends on whether or not they can accept me for who and what I am. I may also be a mareep and perhaps one day I will evolve -- but the way I was raised, the one I was raised to be, well, Mom and Dad didn't know anything about mareep. Until they sent me off on my own, I just thought I was an odd-looking bellsprout." Thyme laughed at that. She still had roots here, but they could not hold her to the lake, not really. Still... She looked away from Chirin and back towards the land that she had traveled -- that they all had traveled in their searches. "Even if I leave the Lake, a part of it will stay with me forever. My roots are here." "I'm sure we'll be coming back in the spring," said Chirin. "Just for the winter, we need to move on. I guess us sheep have needs quite different from bellsprouts! We need to move a lot more to find food. I don't think of it as a forever goodbye--just a change of seasons, change of places. That's how I grew up--we moved to different places when the weather changed. Because food follows the seasons, it moves with them--everything grows and changes together. and in the wintertime we would stay in the valley and by the sea, and when spring came we went to the slopes and mountainsides. We moved sort of...north in the summer, and spent our days high up in the windy places. It...it was nice." Chirin shouldn't have gotten started talking about the place he still thought of as home, even after so long. "Oh Thyme," he said, "I'm sure that my uncle and his friend will accept you! You're quite a charming mareep and if he's anything like me, he'll be quite interested in hearing stories and things that you learned growing up raised by bellsprouts. Not to mention, Denrai himself was raised by Meganiums! And he was the founding sire of all the flocks by Pharos. You'll be like family to us," he said with a chuckle, ruffling her wool. He stood up. "Let's journey there now, then--it's a journey, even if it's a short one. From the forest to out in the fields, this trail we take will feel like a bridge--it felt that way to me when I went back and forth on it before." Knowing Thyme was with him in this made him feel surer about leading them out. His head filling with fantasies of a secure and fun winter with family and friends, Chirin stepped over to the trail. Artemis smiled, walking on...her legs ached. If she wasn't with others she'd probably gnaw them off, then again, it is her feet. And she needed those. "Well, at least I know I have safety..." Her voice was still quite uneasy and crackly. But her hopes high to meet these knew Amps. As the flock began to move towards Chirin, Iris followed them, she yawned, and plodded along at the pace of the sheep. She could get used to this. It wouldn't be that hard. Picking up her pace a bit, and weaving between the legs of the mareep, Iris made her way to the front, where Chirin was. With a little yip, to let him know she was there, she smiled at him, 'Is it okay if I walk up here now?' "Of course!" Chirin smiled at the little fox, as energetic as he was-- and a lot safer to the others in that state! The air still buzzed around him from his current; his whole body was as excited as his soul. He was sure that his uncle wouldn't be afraid of a vulpix kit, and he would go ahead of them anyway when they got there. He began to sing to himself, hopping and blinking, even twirling around, as he headed down the trail. Spraying his light everywhere. Chirin skipped ahead on his overly eager legs and discharged some of the electricity that had built up in him from his excitement. In the company of so many pokemon vulnerable to it, he had fallen into a habit of containing it all, all the time, where his flocking days had been punctuated by sparks and thunderclaps. The rocks there bore many scars. With his *denki* growing steadily, what did escape had turned from mere static cling in his mareep-hood to, sometimes, dangerous voltage. Chirin stood in place, whispering to the ground to accept his current. With a loud snap, he let the excess out from his tail, sending it into the ground. He fell back in with the others, and let his flipper stroke Artemis's back as they walked. She sounded none too good, still in recovery, but it was she who had insisted they get moving, so Chirin at least felt satisfied that he was doing his best to please everyone here. "You definitely have safety between Boulder and me," he said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. Even if it wasn't her uncle they were about to meet. Norra sweatdropped at the dancing Ampharos and stuck to the tail of the group like she said she would, taking her time. Thyme followed the storyteller to the trail. Bellsprouts were quite a bit smaller than meganium -- but then, so were mareep. Was it common for some species to be raised by others of a different species? Could a flaafy or an ampharos mother nurse the young of, say, a growlithe or a vulpix? She thought that analogy would fot what Mom and Dad and Rooty had been to her. Mareep ate plants, after all -- or the leaves from them. So, mareep migrated from place to place with the change of seasons? This was yet another piece of the puzzle she had set out to learn. Where would she go next, on her journey? What else would she learn? Chirin glanced round to make sure everyone was coming, as a group. You could never be too sure of these things. For a moment he felt a little guilty, like he were forcing everyone to go or something, but they had really all chosen to come. They knew they could leave any time they wanted to. He dropped back to walk beside Thyme a little while. Not only was he very fond of her, but she was worried about being accepted. He prayed to his ancestors to make the meeting smooth, while his thoughts fondled the memory of her saying that someday she would evolve. Thyme wondered what it would be like to evolve. The prospect did seem a bit scary. Sometimes, things seemed ot move a little too fast for her. Funny thing, that -- with Mom and Dad and Rooty, she had always thought that things moved a little too slow. She had to smile at the thoght; either things moved too fast or too slow for her. The best thing she could do would be to find her own pace. Things had a way of working themselves out, and all in good pace. Always. Hiro sighed. Everything seemed good so far...especially since those predators hadn't seemed inclined to go after him yet. Perhaps he really could trust them... He shook his head. Whatever! He quickly nibbled on a few flowers as the others started to leave. If he was going to leave also, then he would do what he had originally come here to do. Mm, these flowers were as good as they smelled... After taking just enough to satisfy him for right now, Hiro started following the others. He took care to stay at least a few feet away from each of the predators, more for his own comfort than anything else. Even if they could be trusted...he still didn't feel comfortable around them yet. Boulder watched them all leave, his keen eyesight piercing through the rtees to identify the thinner places where he could squeeze himself through with minimal damage. He waited until Norra nd hiro, at the tail end of the group, were much smaller figures in the distance, then rose to follow. Not really worrying about being quiet now, he picked his way through the forest, plowing through bushes when there wasn't enough room around them, and throwing off a few bolts to get limbs out of the way if he couldn't get under them. Chirin kept to Thyme's side for a while, and as he smelled Gunya and Phalaris again he parted from her and bounded ahead. When he saw their lights beyond the trees, his own reacted, brightening suddenly. They had spread away from the trail into the grass and grazed there while they waited. "Gunya!" He bolted out through the last stretch of forest, tail bobbing up and down with his long leaping strides. His charms jangled on his neck, flying out behind him, and the pebble-filled sack bounced on his hip. "*Aa-a-a-amp!*" 24783