part two of Chirin's story: the storm

Written by: Wynnyelle, Storm, Coral, Liz, Neon Dragon & Nepryne


Calima woke up. She got up and looked around. She
quietly slipped into the forest. It was awful in
there. Then darkness seemed to want to hurt her, to
scare her, to kill her. She was drowning in the
darkness of the forest. She walked to the right and
came to a clearing with a large pond in the middle.
Inside, there was only one kind of animal. Many
sharks. But, sharks were salt water animals...

"Chomp!" One of them said in a low voice.
"Chomp...CHOMPERA!" These were a pokemon called
chompera. A shark pokemon, that, lucky for her and her
frineds, ate only water pokemon. Calima saw a rock in
the middle of the pond and decided that she could
stand there for one of the competions.

Calima looked around and saw a part of the clearing,
htat had a lot of flowers there. And lots of fruit
trees. There were only apricorn and apple trees
though. There were two small boulders there too, where
the flowers ended. Calima had an idea. Her double kick
was good agains rock pokemon. So maybe it would work
on a rock! Calima walked too one of the boulders and
started kicking it. She was making some sort of
bowl-like thing. After she was done, she slowly
flipped it over so the hole she made was up. She did
the same with the other boulder, until they wer both
rock bowls. 

Then, she saw a place filled with other nidoran. She
walked foward and said: "Hi! My name is Calima, and I
am making a competion for two of my frineds. Do you
think that you could do me a favor?"

"Sure. We can," said a nidoran male. "What do you have
in mind?"

"Well, I have two rattata friends who are arguing
about who is stronger. So I am making a competition to
help them find out. I was hoping, if they could use
your tunnels, as a sort of a maze. I was also hoping
that you could put in something that could fight them
on occasion."

"Sure, we have competitions like that a lot. We use
weedles for the fights. They have a good poison sting.
And they are very advanced, they even know horn attack
and leech life."

"Okay. Thank you. All the other competions are ready.
Would you nidoran like to watch?"

"Yes!" All the nidoran said together.

"Great! Now, will some of you come with me to tell
others of the competion?"

"We will!" said a black nidoran male, and a white
nidoran female.

Calima stood there for a moment, staring at her
followers. They reminded her of someone.

"Parden me? What is your name again?" the white
nidoran asked.

"Calima."

"C-Cal-Calima???"

"Yes, what are your names?"

"I'm-I-I'm Kurohori. A-and this is-is-is Klima," the
black nidoran said.

"But, those are the names of my sister and
brother...Then that must mean that you are, you
are..."

"Your brother and sister," Klima said.

"Oh my Dendeona. Klima! Kurohori!" Calima said,
running foward and hugging them both.

"So, will you come with me? Oh my Dendeona..." Calima
said, her eyes shining with tears of joy.

"Yes Calima," they both said at once. And they started
off.


Calima, Klima, and Kurohori wakked through the forest.
Calima wasn't so scared now, because her brother and
sister were with her. Calima was so happy! 

"I thought that you were killed by a quilava. What
happened?" Calima asked.

"The black and white quilava?" Klima asked.

"That shoots out green and black flames?" Kurohori
asked.

"Yes."

"Well, the day our parents died, and the quilava
appeared, it first killed our parents, then flamed us.
We are not sure how, but the flames didn't seem to
hurt you. But it hurt us really badly. Thinking that
we were dead, it left. When you looked at us you burst
into tears. You thought we were dead. You ran out.
Then we were found by the other nidoran and we have
lived there ever since." Klima explained.

"Wow........You lived with no family for that long?"
Calima asked.

They nodded.

"Wow....Oh! Here we are! I need to tell the mareep
over there, Klima, can you go over there and find
Chirin, another mareep, and Kurohori? Can you find the
two rattata, Razkle and Moonscar? And maybe Klima and
Chirin can tell Mecha and Berry... Mecha is a
pidgeotto and Berry is a Rhyhorn. Ready? Lets go!"

* * *

Chirin trotted with more skip in his step as he went, under the clear 
blue romping sky. Phos had helped to lift the heavy haze that last 
night's experience had plunged him into. But he still didn't feel the 
same. It was like he was still not all the way back, although things 
appeared like they always had before, and he felt all right, except 
for the nagging little headache that clear air and sunshine were 
helping cure. 

His trot dampered to a stroll as he thought again of Mama's face. He 
knew now that he would never see her again alive, her or any of the 
others. That life was a place he could never return to and its soul 
was in the other realm. He let himself cry a little, but picked up 
again and kept going. The longing he felt for them was as big and 
strong as the Rock Pharos, and he could not let it swallow him.

He entered the forest proper again and could easily smell the flock 
now. He could sense that the badness of last night was clearly going 
away. Coming in among the mareep again he found them grazing, or in 
the shade ruminating, at peace in the small clearing. Some of the 
lambs played, and Willy was at the far end of the field. Chirin 
decided not to greet him for the moment. He studied the mareeps' 
faces, more mareep here than everyone of all ages put together in his 
old flock. And each was different. Different sizes, diffrent tints to 
their fair wool, different faces... some with longer noses, bigger or 
smaller ears, some carried their tails higher, or wagged or blinked 
them more. And each had a different bleat.

How had they all come to be on this farm? Had they also lost flocks? 
Most strangely of all they did not even know what an Ampharos was. 
How could that be?

Maybe on another day he would have leaped in, saying "Let's play 
Jumpluffs!" or something. But right now he felt, different.


He touched noses to Petunia, Selden and some of the other ones he 
knew better, getting reacquainted with all of them and becoming part 
of them again. "Chirin!" cried Selden, trying to hop on Chirin's 
back. Giggling, Chirin had a romp with the little lamb, pleased to 
see that his foot was much better.

"Where'd you go?" said Petunia as Chirin and Selden stopped for a 
brief rest. "We woke up and couldn't find you anywhere! Me and some 
of the others were getting worried."

"I was..." He did not want to tell them everything. In fact he did 
not know just what to say, he was just glad that the darkness had 
been chased off.

"Were you with Calima?" said Poppy.

"No." He looked around and didn't see her. "Where is Calima?"

"That's just it, she was gone too when we woke up."
Just then Chirin saw someone marching across the clearing, 
shouldering aside a couple of grazing mareep in his way. Any others 
before him simply moved out of his path. 

Willy stepped up to Chirin, chewing his cud as he stared down at him.

"So the wildling returns. I thought we'd gotten lucky and something 
had got you and that nido."

Chirin's ears drooped. "I really want to just be friends. And I don't 
like it when you say bad things about Calima." He kept his gaze 
askance in submission to the larger, older ram, staring out at a few 
mareep relaxing by a stand of pine saplings. 

"Too bad. Just so you know, I don't consider you--or that rodent--a 
member of this flock. You got us into this and now thanks to you, we 
have nowhere to go but these wild places, and enemies from all over 
the place are going to hunt us down, one by one. Thanks a lot."

Chirin didn't know what to say in return. Willy's words just seemed 
to hammer so solidly and he was pretty sure Willy didn't mean "thanks 
a lot" like Chirin thought it meant because it went totally against 
everything else Willy said...But he remembered now that since his 
journey last night, things were looking up for them. "Things will get 
better," he said. 

"Of course. They can't really get worse."

Calima walked over to the other mareep. Chirin was
there too.

"Klima! Chirin is over here!" Calima said. Klima came
running.

"Hi Chirin. I am Calima's sister, Klima. Our brother,
Kurohori is off to find Moonscar and Razkle. Calima
has told us so much about you. It is a pleasure
meeting you," Klima said.

"Chirin, we are having a competition in a clearing over
in that directon. We have to got through just a little
forest and then you will see such a beautiful place...
Will you come?" Calima asked.

***

"Hi," Kurohori said, approching Moonscar and Razkle.
"I am Kurohori, Calima's brother. She has set up a
competition for you two. Calima asked me to get you and
then find her. Please come? Calima said she worked
hard."

Moonscar looked at Kurohori is disbelief.

"Calima said that all of her family had died. Why
should I belive you?" Moonscar asked.

"There was a mistake, our parents were killed, but we
survived. Please come?"

"Fine. I will. Razkle? 'Bout you?"

* * *

Chirin sniffed at the nose of the new Nidoran, who was as white as 
Calima. They looked and smelled quite similar and were obviously 
sisters.

"Oh, you mean...Calima, you found your brother and sister? I'm so 
happy!" Chirin hugged Calima. The meeting with the spirits was 
bringing good fortune already and he felt it warming him up. "My 
flock... isn't coming back... but I'm so glad yours did, or some of 
them. Both of you are so white and pretty. How about you all join our 
flock!"

Willy growled. Then he blew his top, seething with sparks. 

"NO MORE NIDOS!" 

Chirin flinched, his ears low and the left one kept twitching. He had 
forgotten Willy was right behind him. "But, Willy, the Nidos aren't 
hurting any--"

"I DON'T CARE!"

"Well, I care," said Chirin. "Please let them visit, please and stop 
spreading the darkness. When someone is mean and harsh, it make the 
spirits of dark stronger. When you think bad things, it makes it 
stronger."

"And this is why I'm not leaving my flock to your care. If I recall 
you're also the one who says Mareep evolve to become bald."

"That's right." Chirin wagged his tail, blinking it in affirmation.

"Grow up Willy. If you do not want to go to the
competion, then thats fine and dandy. Anyone who wants
to go, please step forward. And if Willy says no, then
ignore him! You have the right to go if you please!"
Calima said.

Klima's eyes flashed red.

"No Klima!" Calima said.

"Sorry. Do you have the rage problem?"

"Yes."

"So does Kurohori."

***

"Are you coming Razkle?" Kurohori asked.

"Competition?" said Chirin, not sure if he liked the sound of that. 
He now recalled that Calima had already mentioned a competition, but 
he had been too excited about meeting her family. "What competition?" 
he said as Willy leaned towards him and hissed words into his ear.

"You keep this up and the competition around here is going to be me 
against *you*."

"Willy... I don't want to fight you," he bleated as Willy trotted 
off. He scuffed his front foot against the ground in apprehension. 
Maybe, just maybe, they could talk it out...but he was feeling less 
sure now. He may have spoken to the dead last night and come back 
okay--if irrevocably changed, as those journeys did to all who went 
on them--but Willy was bigger and stronger, with a more powerful 
presence. Worst of all, Chirin got a whiff of dark around him. But 
his own spirit was exhausted and needed to rest before doing 
anything.

Calima and Klima walked foward and scratched Willy's
fave like meowth does to Team Rocket. They giggled and
then turned to Chirin.

"A competion between Razkle and Moonscar," Calima
said.
"I have prepared three games. Whomever wins at least
two out of three is the winner. Will you come? And any
of you other mareep?"

Chirin's mouth froze open. "Don't--scratch him like that--you'll hurt 
him and make him bleed--and his cheeks are already scratched from 
yesterday--"

Willy whirled around at the giggling nidorans. "I'll show you who's 
bleeding!"

He charged at both of them, not seeming to care whom he hit. Chirin 
ran at him from the side, unleashing a small electric jolt to shock 
him and slow him down, but it missed, and Willy butted him to the 
side. Chirin landed and rolled over on the grass as Willy continued 
to charge them. "Stop," he cried, "Stop, please!"

Any other mareep that had been in the way scurried off, regathering 
in nervous clumps at a safe distance to watch.

Calima squealed in pain as Willy hit her.

"Calima!" Klima said, running over to her sister.
Klima glared at Willy. "You know Willy? You didn't
have to do that! All Calima did was ask if you wanted
to watch the competion, then you start complaining
because Calima has found us, and she thought we were
dead! Please, can you be nice?"

"YOU scratch my face up and THEN tell ME to be NICE? Listen, Nido, I 
want you AND you sister and any other relatives of yours who happen 
to be infesting my flock to GET OUT! Or you'll be killed."

The ewe named Coddy had sidled over to Willy and was licking his 
cheeks clean. Chirin was helping Calima up.

"Are you okay?" he said. His voice was limp with fear, and the 
feeling that something in the air was pushing and pressing, building 
up like electricity.

Calima got up weakly.
"I, am not leaving... And I will...not die..." Calima
said weakly.

"Calima, save your streagth," Klima said.

Calima lay back down. She was hurt, and she was having
a hard time just breathing. Then Kurohori and Moonscar
appeared.

"What happened? I was asking Razkle about the
competion and I heard a squeal. Calima! Waht
happened?!?" Kurohori said.

"Calima!" Moonscar said, stunned.

"Please no fighting in the flock!" said Chirin. "We all need to come 
together. Nobody scratch or hit anyone anymore, please! It makes me 
upset to see it, too."

"Sometimes," said Willy, "you have to fight to settle things. But I 
don't see where nidos have any place here. I do not lead nidos. If 
you all go now," he glared at Calima and the others, "we won't kill 
you."

He let fly an electric line of light from his tail, and growled in 
warning.

"Willy--"

Chirin was cut off by Willy whirling towards him.

"We've met heads before and you know who won then. You know who would 
win now. Either you keep quiet, or I kill you too."

"Willy no!" Petunia raced over. Coddy, glaring at Chirin from 
Willy's side, turned on Petunia now, growling, as a second ewe showed 
up seemingly on Willy's side and also faced Chirin and the nidoran. 
Chirin felt something dark and evil building up from the ground, like 
a mountain was struggling to break up and out, and one word from him--
or anyone--could cause it to burst through. Chirin ducked his chin to 
the apricorn shell that still hung around it and prayed, 
concentrating on breaking the tension somehow, this thing that was as 
alive as they were.
In a nearby tree, one of Ebony's ruby eyes snapped open "EXCUSE me...but I was kind enough to let you all stay in my territory, yes? So, I would appreaciate it if you would allow me my sleep." She threw Willy an annoyed look before shutting her eye once again, muttering something. 

Mecha chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with a wing "Urr...maybe it would be a good idea to keep it...just a little quieter?" 
Willy glared at Petunia. "If you're against me--and that seems to be 
what you're getting at there--then you're with the wildling and the 
Nidos. So you go too."

"I couldn't leave the flock!" said Petunia, aghast.

"Then get away from him."

"You can't tell Petunia what to do," said Chirin. "If--"

"If she's in this flock I can. And I thought I told you to shut up."

Willy ducked his head but Chirin was prepared this time. He had 
already ducked his own on instinct. He ran forward as Willy did, and 
the rams' heads crashed together with a jolt that jarred down 
Chirin's spine. Both mareep fell away at the crack of connection.

Sparking, Chirin stood back up, his head spinning. He thrust his head 
forward, searching for Willy. Finding him, he ran forward again at a 
full charge.

Ebony's eye snapped open again, a full glare this time around "Mecha...you said nothing of a battle of Mareeps when you asked if they could stay." 

Mecha by then, was in the process of taking action. He hopped towards them "Enough! Please, both of you!" 

Chirin skidded to a halt, glad that Mecha had stopped the fight, but 
knowing somehow that it would not come to so easy a rest. The fight 
lingered on in spirit and would not die yet.

"I'm so sorry Mecha." Looking up at his bird friend, he instantly 
transformed from fighting ram to grateful lamb. He looked down at the 
ground, sensing he had gotten carried away.

Willy seemed less grateful at Mecha's intrusion.

"Fine," he said, giving the Pidgeotto a glance and then the Noctowl. 
Looking back at Chirin, he said, "So... where were you planning on 
taking us next? This isn't enough grass to last the rest of today."

Chirin, forgetting the fact that Willy had stated he was the leader, 
remembered the hills replendent with perfect pasture not too far to 
the west and southwest.

"The same way were were going before. That way." He pointed with his 
tail's end. "Beautiful, delicious grass far away there. The kind you 
like to roll in."

"*I* don't roll in grass. But I'm sure the littler and queerer lambs 
would enjoy that. Not to mention Nidos."

"I'm sure they would," said Chirin, not realizing that he had just 
been insulted. "If everyone's ready, we can go soon. Oh, but Calima," 
he said as the Mareep began to gather up to get moving 
again, "do...your sister and brother want to come too?" he said. Only 
after the question was out, did he remember Willy had forbidden it. 
He also remembered something about a Nidoran competition, but as he 
wasn't exactly fond of those things he decided not to mention it, and 
hoped it and other conflicts would be left with one's droppings, as 
his uncle had been wont to say sometimes.
Chirin saw Willy walk away from them and go off to apparently talk to 
Coddy, and he hoped that it was a sign that Willy was freeing himself 
from the influence of the dark forest spirits. He didn't see Willy 
wander past them, alone, away from the edge of the flock.

* * *

Willy waited until everyone else, including those nidorans, was 
distracted, then he slipped away. He smelled someone. A familiar 
someone. Trotting after the smell, he soon saw who he knew it was, 
trotting towards him.

"Willy!"

"Striper!"

"Where are the rest?" said Striper. "Are they okay?"

"They're okay, but I don't know for how much longer," said 
Willy. "Are you here to take us back? You have to know that I'm ready 
for market, though? Look at me!" He turned his nose towards the wool 
on his side, which though thick was not what it had once been. "That 
wildling's got a better coat, practically, than this."

"I came to bring you all back," said Striper. "Bub said he won't harm 
you. But if you insist, I'll try to find a better place for you 
all...I'm not sure what I can do actually. But where are all of you?"

"Not far from here. But wait. This is the deal. That damned 
wildling's conned almost the whole flock into following him, thought 
I don't know how. I make a suggestion, I get timid little looks and 
shuffles in the dirt. He says we're moving and they jump up and 
say 'where to.' Oh, and he's bringing these Nidos along who keep 
scratching my face up whenever I try to bring a little order to 
things. I'm pretty sure they've got some sort of--rabies or 
something, they're nuts. But if that wild mareep goes, I'm pretty 
sure his crazy little friends would pack it in and head off away from 
us. The only thing is, he's tougher than he looks. He's not half bad 
fighting, I'm not even sure I could beat him. Or kill him..."

"But I could." Striper's tongue loled out of his mouth briefly as he 
smiled. "And I've been waiting to."

"I got to get back to the others," said Willy. "Keep yourself hidden--
downwind and all--and strike when the moment's right. He's always 
running off by himself, he was gone half the night. He'll be easy. 
Only wait till he's alone--those Nidos would back him up and he's got 
a Pidgeotto on his side, I think."

"You got it," said Striper, and the two parted ways.

Willy returned to the flock, grazing his way in as if he had never 
been gone. Chirin and his peeps didn't know a thing, and with luck 
they never would even after the deed was done. 

Still, he wanted a chance to flatten the son-of-a-Slugma in battle 
first.

"eh?" Razkel stuttered "a competition? what sort of competition?"
Calima stood up. She felt a little better. She could
lead the others to the clearing at least.

"Follow me. I can take you all to where tho competion
is going to be held. Follow us," Calima said, her
brother and sister beside her.

"Wait!" Moonscar said. "I'll go get Razkle!" And he
ran off.

"Razkle? Will you come with us to the competion?"
Moonscar asked Razkle.

Moonscar looked at Razkle.

"A competion between you and me. Calima had set up
three games, and whomever wins at least two outta
three wins. C'mon! We gotta go!"

Razkel followed, muttering "This should be good for a laugh. I've never won anything in my life, how the heck do I manage to get caught up in these things?" Razkel felt at the moment his past was trying to haunt him, what with the bad dreams of all his lost battle's and now this competion, fine it would be another thing to add to the long list of things he'd failed at. 
Calima saw Razkle coming with Moonscar. 

"Oh, your coming...Good. So! Everyone who is going,
please follow me!" Calima said, walking into the
forest with Klima and Kurohori at her sides. She hoped
some other pokemon would come too.


Berry plodded along after Razkel interested in what was going on, but she'd noticed Razkel didn't seem happy about it all. 
"Fine lets get this over with" Razkel muttered though his teeth as he followed Calima. The memory or the disappointment in his trainers eyes kept flashing before his own, why the heck was he going along with this competion anyway?, it's not like he had too.
"Okay, Razkle, Moonscar, Berry, Klima, and Kurohori
are all coming, anyone else?" Calima asked.

"Would anyone mind my coming?" Mecha said, head tipped to a side. 

A fluttering came from the trees as a rather cranky Ebony made her way down "I doubt I will be getting my sleep at this rate, yes? So I may as well come along.." 

From somewhere to the side came Teazel, who had been watching things 
from a little distance away. "I'll come too, if no one objects to 
that," she said. "Might be...interesting." She stifled a yawn. "Plus 
there's nothing much else for me to do around here." -Well, nothing 
much else YET,- she thought.

As all his other friends talked about the competition and it appeared 
to Chirin-chirin now that this was more of a fun thing, like a game--
not a battle--he felt warmer towards it. "I'll come. How about we all 
come. But," he said, looking at Willy, who had rejoined them, "if you 
don't want to that's okay too."

"Like I need your permission not to go?' said Willy. Chirin sighed. 
Was there anything he could say that Willy didn't find fault with?

Well, he thought, there was something else good about this--it would 
help them all put their anger aside. "Let's go, Calima," said 
Chirin. "I want to meet all the other Nidoran, too."
Striper watched all the talk from the cover of the forest that 
enclosed the clearing. He saddened when he watched Willy. He still 
didn't have the heart to come to grips with it yet, but Chirin wasn't 
the only one he would have to kill. Willy was keeping them out here 
as much as the wildling was, knowing that if he returned with them he 
would be sent to market and end up on some human's plate. Striper 
growled to himself, pawing the ground in frustration, not knowing how 
to handle it. He was used to dealing with more direct problems, such 
as chasing off Vulpix, digging out Diglett infestations, and of 
course herding and guarding the mareep. He had promised his master 
that he would return them safely...better to kill one for the good of 
the rest, than let them all die out here...

He would do it. He just needed to figure out how to get them 
separated from the others, especially Willy. They couldn't know that 
he had killed either of them--especially not Willy--or they would 
never trust him again. Only the thinnest veil of friendship and 
familiarity held their natural fear of him at bay. If they found out 
anything of this, in their eyes he would become like any other enemy.

This "competition," which seemed a lighthearted gathering of various 
Pokemon, seemed like it might present opportunities. As the mareep 
and other pokemon accompanying them picked up to go, he followed 
secretly, from a long distance behind.

* * *
Calima smiled. 

"Great! Everyone, follow me!" Calima said, walking
into the forest, Klima and Kurohori at her sides.

"I'm glad everyone is coming Calima," Klima said. 

"Me too," Kurohori added.

Calima smiled and nodded. It wasn't long before they
reached the clearing. 
The short trip took them generally south. The mareep settled in 
mostly behind the nidoran, browsing leaves and chewing their cud as 
they watched with vague amusement. Chirin looked excitedly around 
him, wandering the area sniffing and looking. It was a charming 
little pond, and a rock poked its nose up in the middle, sky-gazing. 
Chirin sky-gazed too, his eyes on a cloud that resembled a Hoppip. 

Until he looked back at the pond and saw the water furling in long 
rippling lines, betraying somethign beneath. A fish pokemon with 
sharp-looking teeth surfaced before plunging back down, apparently 
sensing the arrival of new pokemon, sensing the shift of a balance. 
Chirin put aside thoughts he'd been having of a bath. For a creature 
that large to exist in there, those calm waters had to run pretty 
deep.

Calima ran over to the pond and
jumped in. She swam to a rock in the middle and stood
on it. The other nidoran of the warren came foward to
watch the competion 

"There are three competions. This is the first one.
Moonscar and Razkle have been arguing about who is
stronger, so that is why this is taking place. As you
can see, this pond is filled with chompera, the fresh
water shark pokemon. All of the contests are a bit
dagerous, as is this one. Chompera eat water pokemon,
but some will eat land pokemon if givin the chance.
So, when you are down ther, try not to be scared, and
they can sence fear. They will leave you alone if yu
are not too scared of them. Kikou, the pink nidoran
(female) you see behind you, had hidden two apricorn
under the water. As small as this pond may seem, it
gets much bigger as you go under. Way bigger. If you
need air, then nod to the goldeen that will be with
you. She shall blow out some bubbles and you can grab
them for more air. On the count of three, jump in and
find those apricorn, the first one to retrive their
apricorn wins! 1....2....3!"

When it came to the rules...Mecha was totally lost. "Huh...?" was all he was able to say. 

Ebony looked as if she understood at least. She gave a eerie grin to Razkel and Moonscar "May Gira's children be kind to you both...and may Karma watch over you both." 
Chirin's tail light flashed a series of quick bursts, in panic. He 
ran to the water's edge, his wool's sparking showing his 
fear. "That's too dangerous!" he cried. "Moonscar, Razkel, they could 
eat you!"
Chirin noticed that many, if not most, of the assembly of pokemon 
were looking at him. But he didn't care. No songs had been sung for 
their safety, no dances had been danced. The spirits and genies had 
not been called on to protect them in this danger...danger that 
wasn't even needed for anything. He looked out at Calima on the rock, 
Calima who had called this gathering. And he remembered the time when 
he had seen her eyes glow red with a fire that was not hers.

This place suddenly felt bad to him, wrong, like chill water inching 
up his legs. He didn't know what to say or do, but hoped fervently 
that Moonscar and Razkel agreed with him and decided not to go in 
that pond. 


"No! Moonscar! No!" cried Chirin as he saw his Rattata friend slip 
into the pond. Totally helpless, he scrounged in his mind for what he 
could say to usher the genies in to protect Moonscar and Razkel, but 
all the things he knew in his head had found good places to hide.

"Crazy Lights! Protect him...Oh...Phos and Mother Megga..." said 
Chirin finally, at a loss. He saw Willy and other mareep giving him a 
strange look from up at the forest's edge, but didn't care. Still at 
the lake's edge he pressed his nose to the wet sandy soil, trying to 
concentrate.

* * *

"Don't ask me, I don't buy into his religion," said Willy as a 
Nidoran near them looked up at him. "Hey, Chirin! I think you're 
scaring the Nidos!"
Moonscar took a deep breath and jumped into the pond.
Moonscar yelped as the cold water splashed over him.
It was very cold. The water soaked him to the bone. He
tried to breath but it made his head spin. A goldeen
swam up to Moonscar. It giggled and blew out five
bubbles. Moonscar gulped them, and, with his lungs
full again, he swam further down into the pond. Calima
was right, the pond got much bigger as he went down. 

A chompera swam up to Moonscar and smiled and said:
“Are you here for the competition?” Moonscar nodded
furiously. The chompera giggled and then said: “Okay.
I’ll try to remember not to eat you.” And she swam
away and joined another school of chompera. 

Moonscar nodded to the goldeen, and she shot out five
more bubbles. Moonscar grabbed them and swam further
down. 

“We are almost to the bottom Moonscar, then you can
find the one of the apricorn and then return to the
surface,” the goldeen said. Moonscar nodded and swam
further down. Before Moonscar realized it, he was at
the bottom of the pond. It had sand, and this amazed
Moonscar. He thought sand was only found above water.
But he was wrong. Now he could walk, but slowly. He
spotted a krabby nearby. Moonscar was about to go ask
it for direction, (he would use body language), when a
chompera darted over, opened its mouth, exposing rows
of razor sharp teeth as big as Mecha, and it grabbed
the krabby and gulped it down. Moonscar stood there,
horrified. He had become a pale color and was shaking.
He remembered Calima’s advice and stopped shaking and
continued his search.

It was beautiful at the bottom of the pond. Plants
that looked a bit like purple seaweed grew in various
places, there were a few corsola, and some real coral
reefs too, and tons of shells. And there was the
occasional krabby and kingler.

Moonscar looked under rocks, shells, in the seaweed,
in the reefs, but no sign of an apricorn. Moonscar
looked around in the sand, and he spotted a black
object, half buried in the sand. Moonscar walked over
to it and got a good look at it. It was an apricorn!
Moonscar then found a problem. How would he get it up
to the surface? Goldeen saw this problem too. She blew
Moonscar a few bubbles and then darted off. Moonscar
gulped the bubbles and then watched in amazement as
the goldeen darted back, being followed by a chompera.
It gently picked up the apricorn in its teeth, and
then nodded to Moonscar. 

“Get on,” it said. Moonscar nodded and got on. The
large shark pokemon then darted, at full speed, up to
the surface. It jumped into the air and Moonscar clung
on for dear life. Then the chompera landed on it’s
stomach in the water, poked its head above water, swam
to shore, not noticing Chirin, deposited the apricorn
on the ground, and put Moonscar on the shore too.
Moonscar thanked the chompera, and it swam away.

Chirin had been clutching the apricorn shell round his own neck, 
pressing his nose to the cool wet sand just past where the flippers 
of the water's edge gently slapped down in their rhythm. A smooth 
pebble or something was against his nose and he imagined it was a 
pathway to the depths of the pond. He prayed and begged to the pond 
to let Moonscar come back up...and begged the spirit of the tree who 
had given him this apricorn shell, to help pull him out if it was 
necessary.

Moonscar had been down there far too long. Still Calima sat upon the 
rock, and he could sense her power over the rock, the pond, and 
anything within it. Calima had a strange power that Chirin did not 
understand. Chirin returned to his begging, calling into his mind 
images of Moonscar rising up triumphant...

All at once, at the sound of a great splash, Chirin's head snapped up 
to see the chompera swimming towards the shore with the Rattata 
safely aboard it!

"Great Mother Megga!"

As the chompera deposited an apricorn, and then a seemingly calm 
Moonscar, upon the shore, Chirin looked at it all with amazement. 
Magic was at work here.

He looked at the apricorn the chompera had left...then at the one 
around his own neck...

The forest. A place dangerous and full of darkness, but also where 
some good always lived and shone its light. 

Calima. Her presence upon that stone had given her some kind of power 
over the pond and the chompera. Had Calima commanded it all? The 
spirit that had possessed her and made her eyes red was not present 
right now...or was it, in a more hidden way? 

Again, in his mind reared the spirit of that memory, that image...of 
her red eyes and her rage, which gave her uncanny powers. He had 
never really thought about it before, but now it was coming out of 
hiding, laying itself down over what he had just seen. Chirin looked 
into the eyes of a Rattata that had faced death as calmly as a Mareep 
chewed its cud.

"Oh, Moonscar...the spirits brought you up safely. I'm so happy." 
Chirin only realized he was crying when he felt the warm wetness on 
his face. He hugged the soaking wet Rattata. Perhaps they had both 
done it--Chirin calling on the power of his apricorn and the pebble 
his nose had touched, and Calima controlling the chompera. Together 
they had helped Moonscar overcome the forces of the pond. "I think I--
" Chirin stopped himself from saying *I had a vision.* 

Had he?
He remembered the pebble that he had had his nose on. Letting go of 
Moonscar, he turned back to it, and nudged it out of the sand with 
his front fot. It was smaller than his eye and very pink. 

With difficulty but determination, he worked his apricorn shell open, 
picked the pebble up in his mouth between his lower front teeth and 
the pad on the upper front (sheep have no upper front teeth) and 
dropped it inside. He closed it again, and said another thanks to it 
inside his head. Chirin-chirin would always remember how it had 
forged a link between him all the way to Moonscar on the bottom of 
the pond. He looked back, in awe at Moonscar.

"You said thank you to the Chompera. What happened down there?"

Razkel smiled, maybe this wasn't so bad, after all he grew up in a sewer and used to have to do allot of underwater swimming and could hold his breath for ages. 
At the count of three he dived in to the water, the iciness of the water chilled his skin but the fact that he knew the ice attack 'blizzard' it didn't bother him at all and for a moment he wondered if he could use it too his advantage. 'better not, I might be okay with the cold but the Pokemon that live in the water might not be'. Using is tail as well as his paws he swam to the middle of the pond. 
Taking a deep breath the Rattata dived. The water was surprisingly clear at the surface but in the early morning light he could see no further than a few feet. Swimming with strong strokes he steadily made his way to the gloomily lit bottom. In the corner of his eye he spotted a Goldeen swimming towards him, he blew out the remaining breath he had and continued to swim. The Goldeen worrying about the Rattata blew a bubble but Razkel ignored it, the Rattata knew that having oxygen in him would slow his descent, he would wait until he desperately needed to breath. 
He could now see the sandy bottom of the lake and as he neared it formed oddly shaped clouds as his swimming disturbed it. His lungs starting to burn he frantically looked this way and that trying to spot apricorn, a movement just a head caught his attention, was that Moonscar?, no, as the sand settled he realised it was one of the Chompera and under it was one of the apricorn. 
Finally acknowledging this burning vacuums that were his lungs he nodded to the Goldeen, the fish Pokemon, looking very much relieved blew 3 large bubbles and Razkel sucked then in greedily. The added air made him rise a little but he controlling it and swam towards the Chompera. Razkels heart sank suddenly as he realised the fish was protecting the apricorn and it bit the water threateningly as the Rattata approached. 
'I haven't go time for this' Razkel thought starting to panic, he looked about frantically hoping a solution would present it's self. He could feel himself shaking, both the cold and having to hold his breath starting to effect him. 'Cold! that's it'. 
Concentrating hard on the cold feeling that was slowly overtaking his body he formed it in to an underwater 'blizzard' attack and aimed it at the Chompera, the fish Pokemon reeled back as a wave of freezing water hit it. Razkel shot forward, scooped up the apricorn and set off to the surface, he nodded to the Goldeen that had rejoined him after also backing off from the cold water, it blew a large bubble and Razkel smiled as it filled his lungs adding extra lift as he swam. 
A few moments later his ears broke the surface.

With the apricorn and pebble together round his neck, becoming 
part of him in their nearness, Chirin was much more confident that 
Razkel would be all right diving down there. He came to understand: 
this competition was sanctioned by the spirits of the pond and the 
glade, who would guard them from danger, even enemy danger. And, 
somehow, by Calima. And they might be offended if he placed no trust 
in their ability to do so. Yes, he might have helped in his own small 
way, but with the special pebble with him now, he could simply call 
on its power when needed, and Calima and the spirits would manage 
everything else. The pebble had also come to him to remind him that 
he was but a pebble here.

He had never realized the powers his friend had!

Realizing that where he was standing was sacred, for now, but for the 
competitors, he made his way back up through the sedge, then grass 
and bushes, to where he saw Petunia and Teazel watching, among 
others. He settled down, ruminating and enjoying the feeling of 
closeness, safeness, and relief. 

Petunia had a worried look on her face. "Are you all right?"

Chirin turned to her with a smile. "Wonderful," he said, a bit of 
dark green stuff accidentally falling from his mouth. Then he turned 
back to the competition, enjoying it as it had been laid out for them 
all to enjoy, a coming together of two flocks.

He did not see Willy coming behind him, the only warning of his 
approach was the crunch of foliage and the ram's familiar smell.

Willy leaned his head in close, his snout to Chirin's right 
ear. "After those rats are done risking their necks," he rasped with 
hot air, "You and I are going to battle. If you refuse," for Chirin 
had turned his head at Willy, wool bristling with sparks, "you 
concede. And you're just plain dumb if you think the flock can go on 
like this."

Oh, why did Willy have to ruin the day with this?

"It's such a beautiful day, Willy, why don't--"

"A beautiful day for a battle."

"If we battle this once, then we'll never have to fight again?"

"That's right. We will treat each other with respect. Whether you win 
or lose, you can be a part of my flock. The battle simply decides who 
will be leader."

"Well... then you can just be leader, Willy. We don't need a battle 
to decide that. You're older and bigger. And you've been with them 
longer, too." 

"But we do need to. Until we battle, everyone in the flock is taking 
sides. We can't have that. And voting won't work."

He was right. Chirin had seen several ritual battles among rams in 
the flock. He remembered the crashes of thunder as their heads had 
collided...so loud he had heard nothing else.

"I'll talk about this later," said Willy. "But we're going to do it."

Chirin was glad that Willy hadn't demanded a yes or no from him right 
now. He returned to watching the competition down there, pondering 
what the next task was, so he could take his mind off his own 
upcoming competition.

He saw no way out of it. But... he had faced far worse dangers in the 
night. Surely one little ram's battle was nothing in the face of that?

Still, he concentrated in the back of his head, beginning to prepare 
mind and body energies, warming to the task deep inside and feeling 
the anticipation growing inside his gut.
Moonscar took a deep breath, and jumped into the
water. The cold liquid soaked his fur. He had never
been underwater before. When he tried to berat, it
made his head spin. Moonscar looked to his left and
saw a goldeen swiming around him. It was so pretty.
Mooncar didn't move, the goldeen was pretty... So
pretty... It took him about 10 seconds to realize that
he was sinking. He swam twoard the goldeen and nodded.
It winked at him and blew out five bubbles. Moonscar
got them all. With his lungs full agian, Moonscar and
the goldeen went further under the pond. Calima was
right, the pond was getting bigger. It was HUGE!
Moonscar looked to the left and regretted it
instantly. A huge chompera swam by. Mooncar panicked
for a moment but then rememberd Calima's advice. One
of the giant shark pokemon swam up and said: "Hello
there. Are you in the competion?"
"Yes he is," the goldeen said.
"Hrm. Okay. Bye," the chompera said, swimming away.
Moonscar nodded to the goldeen againa and grabbed five
more bubbles. Moonscar looked down. It was a very long
way down. How would he win if it was so far? But he
wouldn't give up. He swam down.
"We are almost to the bottem," the goldeen said.
Mooncar nodded then, he hit bottem. The goldeen went
ahead and shot about seven bubbles out, and Moonscar
grabbed them. There were tons of chompera down here.
But they didn't seem to notice Moonscar's presence.
But on occasion one would smile or wink at him. The
sand felt strange to Moonscar. He never knew sand
could be in water. He saw many shells scattered about
the place. And there were many krabby and a few
kingler. Moonscar swam over to a krabby and, before
Moonscar could do anything, a chompera swam down at
top speed and grabbed it. Moonscar turned white all
over. The chompera gulped down the krabby and swam
off. Moonscar stopped shaking and returned to normal
and continued his serch. He looked under rocks, under
shells, in small caves, and in the sand. But he
couldn't find the apricorn. He nodded to the goldeen
and grabbed seven more bubbles. Moonscar saw something
black half buried in the sand. He swam up to it. It
was the apricorn! He then discovered a problem. How
would he bring it to the surface?
"I'll carry it," goldeen said. She poked a hole in the
apricorn and put her horn through it. She lifted her
head up and the apricorn was on her horn! That was a
good idea, thought Moonscar. He nodded toward the
goldeen and grabbed five bubbles. Then they made their
way to the surface, Moonscar grabbing air bubbles on
occasion. Then, at last, they reached the surface, and
Moonscar scrambled out, breathing heavily.


Chirin saw Moonscar dive in again and, after watching air bubbles 
rise up and pop on the surface, he saw the Rattata come up alongside 
a Goldeen, the goldeen bringing up another apricorn.

He wondered if he could do it. It looked like fun! But, as Calima and 
the spirits here had created this state of being in the pond for 
Moonscar and Razkel alone, he decided maybe it wouldn't be safe if he 
tried anything in there himself, not before he made sure he was 
welcome. "Thunder Natu, thunder Natu," he sang to himself, voicing in 
a soft bleat a song that had just come to being in his head, from the 
other world somewhere. He pretended Crazy Lights was sitting next to 
him as he watched the pond and softly sang the newly born song. 

"Thunder Natu, lightning Xatu..."

It was nicer to pretend Crazy Lights was on that side of him instead 
of Willy, who heard him singing and gave a demeaning snort. Chirin 
kept on singing anyway, refusing to let Willy's dark little action 
dampen his own light. Chirin leaned against Petunia and just sang on, 
letting his song give him its energy for the challenge he would face 
as he watched the two Rattata braving their own.

With a jump Chirin realized no one was keeping watch for enemies. 
Well, maybe some of the nidoran were, but he wasn't keeping track of 
them; they knew how to take care of themselves and had burrows close 
by to hide in. The mareep were all here, ringed around the pond up 
from the edge, on the outside of where most of the nidos were. Most 
of them were resting and chewing as they watched the pond activity, 
or eating whatever greenstuff was within immediate reach. Once again 
Chirin remembered that he was not with his family flock. There were 
no adults here and, worse, for all that Willy claimed to be a great 
leader, it was clear he knew little of life beyond the farm.

He had to go check, but he wasn't about to do it alone. "Petunia, I 
have to...uh..." what? Willy was looking at him with narrowed 
eyes. "I want to take a walk," he said. So what if Willy came? A 
strong mareep like him would be good to have around, and he wouldn't 
engage Chirin in battle yet since the rest of the flock was here.

"You want to take a walk now?" said Petunia. "Pardon me for 
asking...but why?"

"Just to sniff the air and smell what it says," he said. "Can you 
come with me?"

"Well, okay," she said, and followed Chirin up the slope and out into 
the area of shrubs and stands of trees beyond. They were heading 
southwest--almost directly upwind of the pond--away from the forest 
belt. Far, far southwest of here, many many days away, stood the 
rolling hills and valleys of his homeland. He was not taking them 
there--he didn't want to return there--but grasslands sprawled from 
horizon to horizon not far beyond where they were now. That was the 
land these mareep--and himself--needed to be. They had had too much 
of close forests and it was making them all jumpy and quarrelsome. 
Once they had room to graze and space to see, things would brighten 
up for them.

Chirin and Petunia walked a long way. Birds flew overhead and from 
very far off, to the north, came a smell of Rapidash. The noise 
drifting up from the pond floated out through the air, becoming more 
and more faded, swallowed in the blessed quiet breeze. Chirin felt 
the cool wind ruffle his coat and realized how he had yearned for a 
little peace, quiet and near-solitude, just for a little while. Room 
and time to stretch his legs and go where his inner feelings took 
him. The lovely wind lifting his wool and beating on his face as his 
legs whipped the grass under the noonday Light...felt so good that it 
transferred its energy to him, making him jump and gambol round the 
bushes and through the grass. He tried to get Petunia to play and 
chase him, but she declined, laughed and shook her head at him. 

"You're quiet a jumpy lamb, aren't you! You should have brought 
Selden, not me!"

"No...not Selden." Catching his breath, he stopped to graze, look 
around and sniff the air thoughtfully again, on all sides. No enemies 
so far, but he wanted to check just a little further. Listening hard, 
he could still hear the many voices by the pond, ebbing and flowing 
like the lapping of the pond itself. 

"I came out here to check for enemies," said Chirin, picking up and 
walking again. "There's a lot of pokemon by the pond and anything 
could come. The Nidoran know this place but we don't. And we can't 
run down burrows."

"Are you sure there are enemies out here? It seems so empty," said 
Petunia, scaring Chirin even more with her innocence. Was this really 
what they all thought? It couldn't be. Even if there were no 
enemies...it was certainly not empty!

"There are enemies anywhere," said Chirin. "But we have good noses to 
smell them coming and good *denki* to--" He stopped, sniffed, wagged 
his tail, which was now flashing, and sniffed again.

"What is it?" Petunia looked where he was looking.

"Growlithes," he said. 

"Oh dear," said Petunia. "I--" She smelled the air. "I don't smell 
anything!"

"It's very faint, after smelling a lot of stuff out here you 
learn...how the air breathes the smells, in its rhythms. I smelled it 
that way." He pointed with nose and tail to the west. "I smelled it 
again. More. Most of the air spirits bring things in from the west. 
Let's go back...we have to go tell the others, I think they could be 
coming here."

"The--Growlithes?"

"Yes. Growlithes and Arcanines. They hunt in packs."

"But--what are we going to do? Are they coming this way?"

"I don't know. But if they are, it might not be too bad. Let's just 
get back. I think we've been gone a while."


Chirin made his way around to the east side of the lake, which was 
where they had arrived from and where most of the mareep were 
clustered. Chirin slipped in next to Willy.

"Willy... there's a pack of Growlithe, Arcanines too maybe I couldn't 
tell. We have to tell everybody. Everybody has to get ready! It might 
not be so bad, we're a lot more than they would be--"

"Where?" said Willy. "Did you see them?"

"No, I smelled them, way out to the--"

"Then how do you know it's a pack? Did you smell it strong?"

"No, I... they always come in packs. But even if it isn't... I think 
we should pretend it's a pack just to be safe."

"And ruin this fine event?" Willy lay back on his side, sighing as he 
motioned with his foreleg to the pond. "Trust me, I have a feeling it 
isn't a pack at all and that whoever the Growlithe is, it has no 
intentions of hurting anyone here. He's be... outnumbered."

"Yes, but--"

Willy jumped up and got in his face. "And if you tell everyone here 
and make them panic I'll be most perturbed."

Chirin backed away. "I have to! PETUNIA AND ME SMELLED A PACK OF 
ARCANINES TO THE WEST! THEY MIGHT BE COMING HERE!" 

Several nearby Nidorans dashed over the ground, darting for their 
holes. The mareep moved close to one another, brimming with 
electricity and bleating to one another helplssly.

"How dare you make my flock panic!" Willy tried to headbutt Chirin 
but Chirin dodged him. "He smelled a tiny little smell from miles 
away and calls it a pack of Arcanines! Everybody settle down!"

"If they attack," said Chirin, "we have more numbers, what my flock 
always does is this--we attack together and combine *denki*. And 
Arcanine don't like water. So the pond--"

"Before we all go crazy," said Willy, "I want to know if this isn't 
just one of your little spirits. Petunia, did *you* smell it?"

"Well--no, but Chirin's wild and he's lived out here all his life, I 
guess you just have to know what to look for--er, smell for..."

"You know what a Growlithe smells like, we all do. Chirin, take me 
out there. I want to smell it for myself."

"Okay," said Chirin, hoping they'd be back soon and that he was 
wrong, and Willy was right. He went around the pond with Willy behind 
him, as the mareep settled down again--but not quite like before. 
Chirin used the inside of his mind to call on the air spirits to push 
the dogs back, influence them away from the forest and the pond.


The journey through the calm, wide lands under Phos's light looked 
and sounded and smelled the same the second time coming out 
here...but the spirits in the air had changed, the trees and the 
grass and bushes were not feeling the same. Chirin sensed the shift 
immediately, like the shift inside him.

"I guarantee you," said Willy, "we're not going to find any *pack* of 
Growlithe, and no Arcanines."

Willy sounded strangely sure of himself, thought Chirin, even for 
Willy. Was there something he knew that Chirin did not? He let the 
bigger ram trot ahead of him.

"Hm," said Willy as they walked along, falling back with Chirin in a 
walk. "That's strange. Nothing yet."

"I didn't smell it till we were far out there," said Chirin. "I don't 
think we should go that far again. I want to head back as soon as we 
smell them."

Razkel swam to the shore dropped the apricon and shuck his fur. "Erm do we have to do this more than once?" he asked realising Moonscar had already collected 2 apricorns.

Calima saw the panic and said: "Do not worry! Even if
there is a pack of arcanine or just one growlite, we
do not need to worry. We outnumber them. And I have a
good plan. Tuyo!" A nidoran male, who had a darker
color to his fur stepped foward; "You know these
waters better than anyone, and you have even
befriended the chompera. I need you to find the
strongest chompera and bring them to the surface. They
are water types. If they are on guard, they can shoot
a strong water attack from the pond, and drive the
arcanine or growlithe away!" 
"Gotcha Calima," Tuyo said, diving into the pond. A
goldeen swam after him. After a while, Tuyo came back
up, followed by three tough looking chompera.
"The one in the middle is Geyo, the one to the left is
Sioma, and to the right is Gikomyo. They are the
strongest chompera in the lake. They should get the
job done incase any enemies come," Tuyo said panting
and gasping for air.
"Great! Next competion in a few moments. Right now,
lets all have a break and get to know eachother. The
nidos and the mareeps, and the chompera too," Calima
said, jumping in the water and swimming to shore.
A young nidran female, normal color, walked up to
Willy and gretted him.
"Hi! I'm Kluthoya. Whats your name?" She asked.
Calima ran over to the tall flowers, where the next
competion would be held. There were a few apricorn
trees at the end of the flower forest. And the bowls
she carved out were at the beginning. There were a few
oddish and bellsprout in there that could make you
fall asleep or slow you down with a stun spore. They
could slow you down, and few would attack. The flowers
were so tall, a tauros could get lost in them.
Occasionally there would be a gloom and weepinbell,
and only one victreebell and vileplume. And two
bellosom. Calima stood there and waited until it was
time for the next competion to start.


"Shoo!" said Willy, striking out with his forefeet at the startled 
Nidoran. He missed, as the Nidoran was much too fast for him. "I've 
seen enough Nidorans to fill the entire farm!"

"That was mean!" said Chirin, watching the Nidoran scamper away. "She 
was trying to be nice. And she could have told us what she knew about 
a pack coming!" As he looked at where it had hidden itself in the 
grass, he smelled that smell again.

"I smell it! There!" His nose pointed dead west.

"I don't smell it, I..." 

The two mareep waited, waiting for the breeze to blow its breath 
again, and when it met Chirin's face he received its message, 
stronger this time.

"Oh, I smell it," said Willy. "You think it's coming from that copse 
down there?"

That was where Chirin was looking. "I think so. Let's get back before 
anything sees us."

The two of them hurried back at a canter, the worried wind at their 
tails hurrying them along. Chirin took its hint and ran a little 
harder, glad when Willy sped up his own pace. Chirin's legs were 
growing longer and stronger and he could run faster than he used to. 
He concentrated again on building up his *denki*, which, ever since 
the fight with the Growlithe, had begun to speak and respond to him, 
waking up from the fitful lamb-sleep it had been born in. 

* * *

Over in the east (so they could not smell him) Striper roused from 
his midday nap, licking his lips of the residue of Pikachu meat that 
had been his breakfast. He heard that wildling shouting something 
over by the pond, but he as too far away to make out what it was. 

He'd better check it out, as surreptitiously as possible of course. 
Taking his time about it, he circled the pond, trying to discern if 
there was some kind of danger to his flock.

Calima snorted. Why was Willy so mean to her kind? Oh
well. She turned around and saw the three chompera,
Geyo (male), Sioma (female), and Gikomyo (male)
greeting Chirin and Willy. Calima smiled slightly.
Even Willy wouldn't dare be mean to them. They were
strong, even against electric attacks. Calima lay down
and went to sleep. She was quite tired.

***

Moonscar was very tired from the last competion. He
smiled when he saw that the chompera were greeting
Willy and Chirin. They were nice, so it seemed. He
walked over to Razkle. 
"You did pretty good. The goldeen told me everything
that happened," Moonscar said to Razkle.

"yeah?" Razkel said panting "You think so?" he looked over at the Chompera in the water "Hope that one I had to use blizzard on is okay, it wanted to keep the apricorn I think, It can have it back now if it want's" and with that he tossed his apricorn in to the pond. 
Berry had plodded over to where the two Rattata were catching there breath, she nudged Razkel and smiled at Moonscar.


As Chirin raced along, concentrating on how his breathing played 
against the rhythm of his running feet, he heard Willy give a bleat 
of fear. He looked over his shoulder to see, far behind them, a group 
of orange, white and black figures just moving out of the copse.

"Is that them? Is that a Growlithe pack?" said Willy.

"Actually...it looks like an Arcanine and Growlithe pack... Come on!"

"You never said anything about them being so big!" said Willy. "How 
fast can they run?"

They would be lucky if they made it back to the pond first.

"Really fast! They have wind in their feet..." Chirin paused for 
breath as he ran. The pebble in his apricorn shell rattled with its 
own panic, bouncing against his chest and swinging against the 
movement of his body. "It's going to be okay! Just...keep, in your 
mind, focus your electric... We have...our *denki*! We have--"

"Shut up with that already and just run!"

The Arcanines were still far off, but coming into clearer view. The 
grass bowed and submitted before their great paws and the shadows 
cast by their great furry figures. Arcanines, pokemon of wind, fire 
and fur, who were said to help Haru change the leaves in autumn, when 
he awoke and commanded them. When fire raced through the forests and 
fields, that was the Red Arcanine. 

They were big and powerful, but much, much fewer than this flock. 
Chirin was praying to the ancestors to help them, send them something-
-like a lightning storm. But he could noot assume the spirits or 
ancestors would help them. It was arrogant and the best way to assure 
they would withdraw all help.

"Crazy Lights... Crazy Lights...come to my sight in a lightning 
craze!"

Willy was panting too hard to make a comment as Chirin ran singing 
the song, around bushes, through a copse and finally into the forest, 
to the pond. Rather and run around they burst right down to the 
shoreline.

"Mereep! Mereep! Meriipuuu!" cried Chirin, waving and flashing his 
tail. For extra attention, as the masses didn't seem to take his 
shouting all that seriously, he lanced a jagged spark from the tip of 
his tail up into the air. Willy followed suit, making a bigger spark.

If the flashes of blue-white didn't grab their attention, the noise 
sure did. Chirin saw Nidoran crisscross around and in bushes and 
rushes in desperate darts into their holes. 

"Arcanines!" cried Chirin and Willy, now making their way towards the 
flock on the opposite bank. Around the pond they both ran, Willy 
shouldering ahead of Chirin. 

"I knew this Nido sinkhole was full of no good!" said Willy to the 
frightened Mareep. "We leave now, back like we came, maybe they'll 
forget us and take the Nidorans!"

"No," said Chirin, although his voice lacked Willy's power and 
depth. "No! The Nidoran have their holes to go into. And Arcanines 
don't hunt Nidoran, they're too small. They like...bigger pokemon."

"You mean like us?" said Willy, his face glaring down at 
Chirin's. "How do you know all this anyway?"

"An Arcanine pack lives around Pharos too," said Chirin more 
softly. "My flock's battled them. My cousin got killed by them. 
That's how I know."

"Calima? Mecha?" Chirin called to his friends. "This is what we can 
do, everybody call up your *denki*. You all have one. We'll come 
together and blend our energy and defend ourselves as one! And Crazy 
Lights is helping too. Even though you can't see him, he's there." 
Chirin wasn't sure if he was just pretending, to make himself feel 
better, or if he was saying what was true. "We can do this! And 
remember, they hate water! So let's go down to the water now! That 
way we can go in it if we have to."

He ran down to the water. Petunia was following him, and Selden too, 
with Poppy trailing him rather fearfully. Bit by bit the others 
herded themselves down to the pond's edge.
Mecha nodded, smiling at Chirin "Alright Chirin, I'll try my best!" 

Looking annoyed, Ebony turned away from Chirin...and ended up looking right at Mecha, who threw her a pleading look. With a sigh, she turned back "Fine..I shall play along..." 
"Everyone, come close together. Closer is better," he said, suddenly 
remembering a fragment of one of the songs always sung when the flock 
back home had seen the enemy approaching and stood where they were, 
watching, waiting to defend, with their legs shaking and electricity 
overflowing, like they could not keep still enough to stop from 
spilling some.
Mecha moved closer, to the point his wing was just barely touching Chirin's wooly side "Alright then Chirin...you're in charge." 

Still deciding to play along, Ebony moved nice and close to Mecha, making him sweatdrop slightly "Ummm...Ebony? I don't think he meant quite that close..." 

"But the closer the better, yes Chirin?" she commented. 

Chirin began to sing, slowly, as he watched the hem of trees at the 
opposite side of the pond. The Arcanines' smell came to himpowerfully 
now, and he could feel that the others smelled it too now and were 
being consumed by the spirits of the instinct that rushed into them, 
rousing fear. Chirin sang what he could remember and created the rest 
new. It was fitting. They were all in a new and strange place.

"Deep in the dark there comes a light

Phos, Phos, Light of Might.

He gave the oldest ones this gift

Phos, Phos, break the Night.

Crack the clouds with the spirits' song 

And give it back, and sing along

The darkness only makes us strong

We shine our light, it will come out right."

"That was a wonderful song Chirin." commented Mecha, still slightly nervous from exactly how close Ebony had decided to place herself. 

Chirin wanted to nuzzle Mecha and his other old friends just to give 
and get some comfort, but he had to remain where he was. He could 
feel the collective charge building, and chanted, whispering. Petunia 
and Selden began whispering with him, "we are lightning, denryuu, we 
are lightning, denryuu," but he couldn't tell if any of the others 
were. He was doing everything he could to build up their power and 
make them one big bolt of lightning...

He heard the snap of branches and the bushes rustling their terror 
and giving way to the predators just beyond view. He clenched, they 
all clenched, and a spurt of electricity connected his wool to the 
ground for one brief moment. "We are lightning...denryuu..."

Willy stood on the very end, barely touching flanks with the mareep 
nearby, all except for Coddy and Cleomie. 

When the greenery parted way for the firey orange beasts running in 
at them, nobody needed to give the cue. Chirin was not a single 
mareep, but part of one bigger Pokemon.

"We are--" The bolt of lightning zagged through the air in a great 
arc, striking one of the Arcanine. 

In what looked to Chirin like his battle with Striper made bigger, 
grander, brightened by Phos's light, the great dog yiped and howled 
in pain, every part of it seeming to curl, like vines inside its body 
were yanking taut, and jerking it into spasms. The electricity danced 
its dance within the Arcanine writhing on the ground, tumbling down 
the slope towards the water. Behind him, two other Arcanine had 
arrived but kept their distance from the mareep, having seen what had 
happened to the one who had rushed in.

It was then that Chirin noticed that two more Arcanine and two 
Growlithe were rushing in towards either side of the flock, two to 
each side. At that moment one of the mareep at the rear of the flock 
gave a death scream.

Mecha cringed "Darn it..!" 

He took a deep breath, flying up and divebombing the first Arcanine he could got to, talons outstretched. 

Ebony, who had been leaning on Mecha, nearly toppled over. With a sigh, she flew up as well, ruby eyes glaring as she cast a Hypnosis attack at the enemy. 

The three chompera saw three arcanine heading towards
another mareep, they powered up with focus energy,
their bodies turning red, then they unleashed their
hydro pump attack, soaking the arcanine.

***

Calima faced her enemy, a growlithe, she lowered her
horn and charged, aiming for its throat.

***

Klima and Kurohori saw a growlithe heading for Chirin
and Willy, they cried their battle cry, and leaped up
over the two mareep, they then used double kick.

***

Moonscar leaped for a growlithe and bit it deeply, the
wolf pokemon howled in pain.

***

The nidoran lowered their horns and charged at a few
arcanine. They growled and shot a strong fire spin
attack at the attacking nidoran. One of them got hit
and was carried off by a growlithe. The remaining
nidoran cried out in anger and charged the arcanine.

Fire. the air filled with fire. Chirin and the Mareep beside him fell 
back, shooting sparks from their wool and tails as the Growlithe 
backed off. All was screaming and fire and all Chirin could do was 
concentrate on the enemy right before him and watch his back and 
sides. At last all of the current that his soul had built up, found 
release, swinging its light and power in streaks towards the 
Growlithe. 

"Mereep! Meriipuuu!"

(Although he had not counted there were probably
about 7 to 10 arcanine/growlithes, a pretty normal sized pack)

And his *denki* answered his call. As Chirin fired the bolt together 
with Petunia, the Growlithe ducked it, and flamed. "Aah!" With a cry 
of pain, Chirin-chirin leaped back. Still the fire clung to the wool 
on his forepaw. Screaming, Chirin turned and flung himself into the 
pond. The last thing he heard before going under was the Growlithe 
snarling behind him. 

Chirin paddled with all his might under water, thinking only of 
getting further out. He came up splashing, and looked around. Several 
other mareep were in the water now and more were heading in. 

"Eeep! Eeeep!" cried a tiny lamb. It was Selden, but where was Poppy? 

"Here!" Splashing forward and hauling himself up out of the water, 
Chirin ran for Selden. The Growlithe ran at them but Chirin fired his 
electricity. It landed at the Growlithe's front feet. The dog leaped 
back, reluctant to attack but unable to abandon them. As Chirin 
herded Selden into the water ahead of him, the Growlithe took 
advantage of him turning his back. It raed at Chirin as he splashed 
into the water.

On instinct, Chirin again called up the lightning within him and 
discharged his *denki*. It flung itself in the Growlithe's face as 
Selden bleated behind him. Chirin felt his own electricity surround 
his legs where they were underwater, as the pond was briefly 
electrified.

The Growlithe yipped in pain, jolted backwards, briefly airborne. It 
shook its head as if disoriented, and turned off in search of easier 
prey.

Selden clung to his neck as Chirin paddled backwards into the deeps 
towards where most of the other mareep were, not realizing the effect 
his electricity had had on the small body of water, and many other 
mareep had released their current into the water, and still were. He 
felt the hum of their energy, through his body under the water. A few 
small Magikarp and Goldeen floated to the surface belly up, and 
Chirin did not know why... Paddling over to them to see if they were 
all right, Selden held his neck tightly, making it a little hard to 
breathe.

"Poppy," Selden was whimpering in Chirin's ear, "big Striper get 
Poppy..."

The chompera swam toward Seldon and Chirin. 
"Are you okay?" they asked.
"Yes," said Chirin. The Arcanine pack had made off, but the mareep 
were not making any motions to leave the water yet. Bleats and 
buzzaps of fright played in waves of sound over the pond's 
surface. "Thank you for helping us. You could have just dived down 
but you helped us." His words felt hollow and forced, like he had to 
say something so he said it. "My flock is very grateful."


***

Calima felt her horn dig into the growlithe's neck. It
howled in pain and collapsed. The blood was through
Calima's fur.

***

Klima and Kurohori didn't hit the growlithe, but the
enemy's fire hit them! The yelped as the fire cinged
their bodies.

***

Moonscar scratched and bit the growlith furiously. It
howled and wimpered in pain.

***

The nidoran watched the reatreating growlithe and
arcanine that they had fought off, smiling. But one
was crying.
"My baby... Oh Dendeona... My poor, poor baby..." She
cried softly.

Amidst all that was happening, Teazel felt pretty helpless. Her first 
impulse was to go out and attack the nearest growlithe or arcanine 
she could get a hold of...but all of her knowledge with battles and 
fire types told her that she probably wouldn't survive very long 
against one of them.

The scent of the fiery canines was making her nervous, and the sight 
of them making her even more so. She readied a couple of her vine 
whips, not to attack, but to defend her life, if it were to come to 
that.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind nagged at her. -You coward,- it 
seemed to say. -You should be helping out, not just standing there, 
no matter what the problem is!- That thought clashed with Teazel's 
common sense, which was telling her at the same time, -But those are 
fire types. You don't stand a chance against them.-

Cursing mentally, she wished for a brief moment that she wasn't a 
grass type. Then perhaps she would have more courage against this 
foe...

She caught sight of some more of the dogs. By then what little 
courage she did have at that moment was swallowed by nervousness and 
fear, and she ran, while that voice in her mind, the one that had 
berated her moments ago, grew even more fierce. But Teazel wasn't 
caring at the moment, and her only thought was to find somewhere that 
wasn't too close to the growlithes or arcanines.
* * *

"It's going to be all right Selden...here, get your leg around my 
shoulder." Chirin tried to work his neck loose, enought to breathe 
more freely. 

"Big Striper...get Poppy, get Poppy, Chirin, get Poppy..."

"I don't know where Poppy is." Looking out at the pond, he saw an 
Arcanine's tail flash into the brush, pursuing one of the mareep who 
had not managed to reach the lake in time. He didn't know who it was, 
but its last scream made him draw his breath in a gasp. Selden was 
crying softly, would have surely been crying harder if not for his 
trying to swim and cling to Chirin. Chirin's muscles tensed in an 
impulse to dart out after them...but he knew that he could do nothing 
right now except pray that the poor thing's soul escaped darkness on 
its way up from its ruined body. Under the water, his tail's light 
shone brighter to help guide it.

One more death that was his fault.

"Shhh..." he did his best to nuzzle the lamb. "We'll find Poppy," he 
said just as the words the lamb had been saying all along connected 
in his mind.

"Get Poppy," Selden sobbed. "Big Striper get Poppy..." 

The chompera looked at the sobbing Sedon, then to
Chirin.
"What is wrong young mareep?" they asked.
Looking at the chompera up close, Chirin tried not to cry at its 
question. He had never seen something with such a big mouth, so many 
sharp teeth...and yet it didn't even seem out to eat him. Again, that 
strange magic that had been present at the lake was also here...and 
although the Arcanine had shattered the spell somewhat, it still held 
true within the pond.

The pond that Calima had come to and cast her magic over. 

Whatever magic it was that created such odd peace among beings 
usually at odds, Chirin wondered if Calima was the one weaving it. 
Everyone had a *denki*. Some had one of fire, others had one of 
quickness, others, lightness of body...and added to this, some had an 
unseen element to theirs. There were definitely spirits who hovered 
around the little white Nidoran...yes, maybe more than one.

Whatever it was had not saved Poppy. 

"He just lost his best friend in the whole world," said Chirin, and 
then he did break down and sob. Selden, too, began crying all over 
again.


***

Calima watchec as the growlithe dropped dead. She
collapsed, she was so tired.

***

Moonscar squealed and bit the growlithe in the neck.

***

Klima and Kurohori fell to the ground, wimpering. The
growlithe were moving in for the kill...

***

The nidoran surrounded the mother nidoran.
"That growlithe made off with my baby... My baby..."
She sobbed.

The Arcanine were gone. The smells of burnt leaves mixed with the 
stench of blood, both hanging in the air, like a spirit in mourning.

Chirin, feeling the slight pain and tenderness in his right foreleg 
where the Growlithe had burnt it, paddled ashore, parting lilypads as 
he waded up over the sand and pond scum. He had to check on the 
others, make sure they were all right. Selden, who had never stopped 
clinging to him, let go and walked close beside the wild mareep as he 
came, out, shaking his wool out. The flexing of his *denki* to 
exhaustion had thinned it considerably, leaving it with a mangy, 
after-lightning-storm look. 


Bit by bit, the dazed wool pokemon, mostly half tharn, waded ashore, 
some with lilypads and other pond plants draped over their backs. 
Many were half tharn as they gathered slowly around Chirin, Selden 
and the few others who had come ashore near them. It was something 
they could do without any thought, something to follow. Most of them 
had also lost some of their coats, and they no longer looked like the 
luxuriant clouds they had when he had first run down to the fence to 
meet tham that day. The blue skin showed through the patches of down 
left on Willy's hindquarters.

"I can't find Aspen, Rose or Poppy," said Willy. "Or Azalea. Bushy, 
stop moaning, you're not the only one burnt. And stand still! I can't 
count you if you're milling around."

To keep the peace Chirin decided to skip telling Willy to be nicer. 
They couldn't be fighting now. Some of them had returned to grazing, 
numbly nibbling nearby plants. At that moment Chirin heard someone 
bleating from the other side of the pond.

"Who's that?" Chirin turned, trotting around the water.

Willy and Petunia were two of the group who ran over with him. A 
badly burned mareep lay bleating with pain, curled half under a bush.

"Oh, no..." said Chirin. He couldn't remember what plants helped with 
burns. All he could do was nuzzle the poor ewe, whose side and 
shounder were raw and pink with a livid wound, the wool around it 
blackened. "It's going to be all right. Shhhh..."

"Reeep, reeep," Azalea was wailing. "Reeep..."

"It's Azalea, she's burned bad," said Willy to those just coming to 
see. As he looked back at her Chirin saw the ram shudder. "I don't 
know what we're going to do but we can't stay here."

Chirin agreed with him. But there were things they had to 
do...several things, before they could move on. The dead as well as 
the living must be tended to. 

He racked his mind, trying to remember what to put on a burn to 
subdue its pain. Fire spirits were full of energy and rage and when 
one got inside through the skin, its anger and movement always caused 
pain. The plant that helped calm it had a sticky substance...but he 
just didn't know what it was... "Does anyone know how to fix a burn?" 

"Yeah," said Willy, "the farmer would know. We have to get her back 
to the farm or she'll die."

"The farm's too far away for us to get there with her," said Chirin.

"Well," he said, "maybe you should have thought about that before you 
dragged us out here you crazy moron!"

"Please--let's not fight--"

"Let's not fight, let's not fight, I did the let's-not-fight thing 
with you when we came here and look where it got us. Blame the 
spirits if you want, it doesn't change anything. Three more dead and 
one probably going to die."

Chirin nuzzled Azalea again, starting to cry, and of course Selden 
followed suit. "You won't die, Azalea," he said. "I'm going to find a 
way to heal you. We all will."
Calima stared at the dead growlithe. Her breathing was
heavy, and she hadn't gotten up yet. She was too tired
and weak.

***

The chompera saddened at the sight of the poor, burned
mareep. 
"We could get one of the youngsters to shoot a little
cool water on the burn. It will make it a little
better.

***

Klima and Kurohori opened their eyes and saw that the
growlithe and arcanine had gone. They sighed in relief
and tried to get up. But their burns were too severe.
They couldn't budge.


***

The nidoran saddened at the sight of the crying mother
nidoran. The arcanine had made off with her only
child. She sobbed louder and louder.


Azalea opened her mouth, maybe to say something, but the angry fire's 
pain had shaped her face too tight and twisted to reply. The burn had 
seared her whole left side almost, down to her hind leg and up to her 
neck, badly burning one ear that Chirin could tell would never look 
the same again. It was amazing that she was even still alive, but 
the children of Phos and Watakko were strong and tough, and could 
survive things that would kill another creature.

"I don't see why you're arguing, Willy," said Petunia, stepping in 
beside Chirin and Selden. "We all came out here of our own accord. 
Chirin never made any of us come! In fact, if Chirin hadn't come 
along neither of us would be alive! So I'd say you owe him your life. 
As for the argument of going home, you have none there. You'll be 
killed. Likely all of us will."

"things will get better," said chirin. "We can't lose sight of the 
light--we have to always look for light."

"Growwwwl!" A Growlithe's howl burst from the wood opposite, and 
every sheep turned its head, panicking before someone said, 

"It's Striper!"

"Striper? Good thing you're here," said willy as Striper ran to meet 
them, as if it were no surprise that the sheepdog had followed them 
all the way from the farm. "We got a badly burned ewe here and unless 
she gets back to the farm she'll die."

"Are you--" Azalea was struggling to speak again. "I said I'm not 
going back... I'm good for nothing but roast lamb chops now, look at 
me, oh... Striper...ah...what are you, in fact, doing here?"

The oddness of his being here had seemed to distract her from the 
pain, which was good, in fact Chirin was wondering the same thing. 
Perhaps the dog had come because he wanted to protect them...not that 
he could have done anything about the pack attacking...

"Well, Striper," said Willy, "I guess if you want to stay with us, 
that would be great."

As Chirin looked up from Azalea's face to Wily and Striper, he 
thought he saw a twinkle in both their eyes...some kind of spirit 
hovering between them, connecting them in a less-than-light way.

He turned back to Azalea. "Lie back, relax. I'm going to do 
everything I can remember to help you."
At the sight of Striper the chompera growled.
"Hurt any of those mareep, then we will take the
pleaseure of feeding you to our young."
"Aw, you don't scare me," huffed Striper, with a snort flame, 
although he backed away from the water's edge a bit. "I'm on their 
side, anyway! I help take care of them back on our farm and I came 
after them to try to keep them out of trouble." 

Chirin looked at Striper in a different light now than he had back 
when they had met in a battle-for-life. He had faced this Growlithe 
and beaten him, escaped alive, and his *denki* had come awake for him 
in that very fight,a feeling he'd always remember. Chirin knew that 
some genie or other guardian spirit had probably tossed him a bit of 
luck that night, but he had done more since they had last met. He had 
seen the unowns and spoken with the dead. He had fought Arcanines. 

Now he felt both the living and the dead calling to him again, not to 
fight other lives, but help save them. 


***

Moonscar yelped at the sight of Striper and jumped in
the pond.

***

Calima got up, and saw Striper. She turned around and
saw her brother and sister. They were almost dead.
"Klima? Kurohori? Are you okay? Oh, I'll find
something to help you..."

***

Klima and Kurohori looked at their sister. They shook
their heads.
"No Calima. We know that you want to help. But it is
our destiny to die here."


"Don't give up!" cried Chirin. "Everyone who has been hurt, we have 
to get them over to where Azalea is. That way they are close together 
and can fight together to keep their lights. I mean, not lights, but--
" He had a second thought. "Yes. Lights. The soul is the light inside 
everyone. But sometimes spirits come from outside and try to take our 
bodies away. The fire spirits came to us today and now they are 
fighting to take some of us. Everyone come together! We all have to 
drive out those forces!"

He was already shining his light as bright as he could, shining it 
over Azalea. Petunia and some of the other mareep had already begun 
to do so in the wake of the attack, as if they did not need to be 
told to do it. 

"Calima," he said, "let's get your brother and sister over here, to 
join the circle." The proper paint and things to wear were not here. 
Chirin-chirin did not remember what song to sing. But he and the 
other mareep had their lights. As long as they had them, it should be 
enough. 

"We just have to shine our lights bright. We are beacons."

Someone asked if they should put water on Azalea, but Chirin 
said, "No, I don't think so. There's a plant to use that helps with 
the pain but I don't know what it is. I can't remember! If anyone 
knows, please see if you can find some... Until then, Azalea?" He 
leaned in close, placing his chin to her sweating forehead, and his 
tail bulb to her back, which was not burned. "We will use our energy 
together. You will live."

***

Azalea stared up, at the light bestowed on her, flooding her eyes and 
warming her body. The burns hurt terribly, but she concentrated not 
on that..but on him. The wildling, Chirin was his name. No one had 
ever spoken to her so sweetly, back at home she had been mostly 
ignored, or picked on by some of the other ewes. Azalea had a homely 
face (even more homely now, she knew), a nasal voice, and a bad habit 
of putting her foot in her mouth, without even knowing it.

Fever was creeping into her. She began to shiver involuntarily.

***
"Evil spirit, out! Out!" Opening his apricorn shell he picked the 
pebble up in his mouth and flung it on the ground next to Azalea with 
a downward jerk of his head. It bounced twice and lay there, the side 
with the one dark crease face up.

It had to mean something--something about what was possessing 
Azalea's body and taking her soul away... But what? Chenja would have 
known. Lararu would have known. "Oh, great Phos, oh, send a sign!"

Chirin threw his head back and looked at the sky, searching for 
something in the clouds. There--a large enemy pokemon, an Arcanine? 
Yes--the Arcanine that had attacked Azalea had sent part of its soul 
up there to influence that cloud. More things appeared in the clouds--
an Ampharos with its head down, grazing maybe, with its mouth open, 
facing away from the Arcanine's head...

The spirit must leave through the mouth. "Azalea, keep your mouth 
open!" 

Azalea stared out and up, meeting Chirin's eyes but not seeing him. 
Her mouth hung ajar, though, so it would do. Chirin shone his light 
brightly, and the others had begun to follow suit now, or at least 
many of them. 

"Can this really make Azalea better?" one asked, in some confusion.

"Yes! We all have to concentrate!" Chirin himself was sweating 
now. "We are beasons, evil fire spirit! Our light will find you! So 
go! Leave Azalea! Go! For we are Denryuu!"
***

At the sight of Striper, the nidoran reatreated to
their burrows. All except the poor mother.
The chompera snorted.
"These mareep WANTED to escape from the farm! They
didn't want to be someones dinner!"
"Well, who's to say that every mareep put up on the auction block 
goes to a slaughterhouse? And speaking of not wanting to be anyone's 
dinner I'd say they've been achieving that quite well so far, 
actually. The poor things don't know anything about life out here." 

Striper watched the mareep gather about Chirin and begin shining 
their lights in weird ways and chanting. That wildling really did 
have to go, and fast, before he filled all the rest of their heads 
with his witchcraft. What was Denryuu, anyway? And who would have 
thought his own dear flock would be sucked into a cult?

Like farmer Bub said, you never knew what lived out in these hills.

***

Moonscar poked his head out of the water and watched
Striper.

***

Calima looked at Chirin and her brother and sister.
"Too late Chirin.... They are almost dead..."

***

Klima and Kurohori looked at Striper. They were
worried about the growlithe. It was growlithe that had
hurt them after all.

***

The mother nidoran took no notice of Striper, and just
cried louder, and louder. She was so sad. 

The tears flowed freely down his face as Chirin gave himself to the 
beacon-power that surrounded him and all of them, lifting and 
enveloping them all to the rhythm of the chant. He heard Calima 
saying it was too late...but he could not abandon the magic now or 
its power might be broken.

"We are beacons. We are beacons..."

"We are Denryuu," he whispered to Azalea.

Azalea's body stopped its shaking and she broke out in a fresh, cold 
sweat. His own nose pressed to her clammy forehead, connecting them 
and feeding her more power to drive the spirit out. 

"We are beacons, we are beacons, we are Denryuu..."

Definitely, without a doubt, this was an agent of the same darkness 
that had followed him from the fields of his birth.

"We are beacons..."

Azalea stirred of her own accord this time, Chirin felt it right 
away. Lifting his head up to look at her, he saw her eyes looking at 
him with her own soul, not that of the spirit. 

"Chirin?" she said, barely audible over the soft chanting. Her eyes 
still squinted with her pain.

"Yes, it's me..." Chirin remembered that the two Nidoran were still 
in dark's clutches and tried to keep the light-power going. But they 
looked to be on the far side of lost. 

He suddenly felt guilty for having poured almost all his energy on 
Azalea, all but forgetting Calima's brother and sister--the only 
family she still had.
The chompera only snorted

***

Moonscar got on land and dashed behind Chirin.

***

Calima lay down, crying. She banged her paw on the
ground.

***

Klima and Kurohori were getting weaker.

***

The mother nidoran jsut kept crying.

Striper had noticed there were many Nidoran about--he smelled them, 
besides. He knew that he was in a warren. But he knew well not to 
kill in front of the sheep. That was the quickest way to drive them 
into a panic. 

One of the Nidoran was uttering wails of mourning. Striper assumed 
the cause was the pack's attacking, but he kept out of it. What did 
he know of Nidos? Aside, of course, from how to snap their necks 
and eat them?

That Pikachu would only sustain him so much longer. He was getting 
hungry. If he stayed with the flock, he would have to excuse himself 
to hunt every day. Looking out for them was one thing on the farm, 
quite another in the wilds. Things couldn't go on like this, 
especially if Chirin planned to take them any further away. 

* * * 

"Come here," said Chirin, gesturing her towards him with a blink and 
wave of his tail. She should not have to mourn alone. At once he 
remember Poppy and the other two that Willy had said were missing. 
Looking back at Azalea, though, he knew he couldn't abandon her 
yet...not until they knew that she was going to survive.

Azalea was still looking at him, from deep black eyes set in a 
narrow, rather pale blue face. The attack had turned her left side 
and shoulder into an angry field of black and red gore. The fire had 
raised a few blisters on her left cheek around the jaw, and the skin 
had swollen up around it, but it appeared to Chirin as if the worst 
might be over. How her small, fine-boned body with legs like sticks, 
had survived such a trauma was more than he would have thought 
possible. It had taken all of them, all their concentration, to drive 
out that spirit and call her soul back before the damage got worse. 
Chirin himself felt weak and tired now, some of his soul's energy 
having been transferred to Azalea.

Azalea opened her mouth again. "You saved me," she said. An 
expression--it was hard to tell what--played on the right side of her 
mouth--something between a grimace and a smile.

"We all saved you," said Chirin, "and you saved you."
The chompera looked at Calima, Klima, and Kurohori.

***

Moonscar dashed past Striper and stood nxt to Calima.

***

Klima and Kurohori's eyes closed. They were dead.

***

"Klima, Kurohori.... No....." Calima said, snifling.
She cried even louder than the mother.

***

The mother nidoran ran to Striper.
"Do me a favor please...." She wispered so only
Striper could hear her. "Take me over there, in the
wood where no one can see us, and kill me... Slowly,
quickly, however you like... Just do it....
Please...."

Striper had killed more Nidorans than this warren probably numbered. 
They were always making a nuisance of themselves on the farm, and 
some of the ones killed had probably come from this warren. Yet no 
animal of any kind had come to him and submitted, begging to be 
killed. She stood before him, pleading in her eyes. He could just 
pick her up, shake her once, and have himself a much-desired dinner, 
and judging from the sun, just about on time. 

Maybe he had been too long trained. Maybe it was so unusual that his 
instincts didn't know how to respond. But it would have actually been 
easier for him to kill her if she had run away, letting him chase her 
down. But he soon got over it. Food was food.

"Come on." Striper wanted to get this over with. It made him feel 
strange--guilty--and, unsure how to handle it, he focused on his 
hunger as she led him into the forest. He would need a meal if he was 
to do his work on the two rams tomorrow and get the rest of the flock 
home. Because home they were going, and with their leaders gone he 
could resume his proper place of authority, and put a stop to this 
crazy nonsense. 

He made the Nidoran lead him a little farther than he thought was 
needed, just to be certain.

* * *

"Shhh....shhh..." Chirin hugged Calima, rocking her to soothe her, 
like a little lamb. Selden leaned against him, also crying a little, 
in a listless, tharn sort of way. Azalea kept looking at him, then 
those black eyes would wander away when he returned the gaze. She 
looked no better, but the fever was gone. At any rate, the day was 
getting on. They might as well stay here or close by here for the 
night. Close by was better than here...the place smelled like blood, 
and now that the flock was recovering from the shock of the attack 
and its aftermath, they were becoming more aware of the here and now. 
The blood scent was making them jumpy. At any rate, they had no dead 
to bury here. Only when they found a place they could settle down and 
live in would they perform rites, in the way that the flock had 
always treated those dead whose bodies were taken by pokemon eaters. 
That he remembered well.

He looked at the two dead Nidoran lying side by side and wondered 
what was to be done. Chirin himself had no place doing much for them 
unless the other Nidoran sanctioned it. The warren must lead the 
rites and help their spirits to go free. 

He wondered where Striper had gone, but dismissed it. "Everybody," he 
addressed those near him, "we should all be proud of ourselves. We 
worked hard and the spirits answered our call to help Azalea."

"You healed her," said a mareep he did not know the name of. "I'm 
sorry I never trusted you at first." A couple of other mareep waved 
their tails in agreement.

"We all healed her," said Chirin now feeling slightly uncomfortable, 
seeing Willy stomp his front foot in disgust. "We all have power we 
didn't know we had, and we used it to overcome a strong dark power. 
We're a flock. A flock is always strong together." Those words 
provoked tears for some reason, but he let them come, tears came from 
deep within when the eyes spoke for the soul. 

Looking down at Azalea, he saw her crying too, but she was clearly 
trying to hide it so he did not notice. Trying to get up, she fell 
back and sucked her breath in with a ssss sound.

"No, no," he said, as Selden stood still leaning close to him, "you 
should lie there and concentrate on healing. You don't have to go 
anywhere for all the night. I'm going to keep close watch on you, 
you're going to be all right."

"I hate to be a bother..." she said, pain still tightening her 
voice, "but there's the possibility I won't just jump up and become 
fully mobile tomorrow morning."

"Then I'll stay here till you are," he said, more softly. Azalea 
looked down, her chin against her singed chest.
The chompera stared in horrer when they watched the
nidoran follow Striper into the woods. Two of the
large fish pokemon dived down into the pond. But Geyo
stayed.
"I'll will stay here until you must leave. Okay
Chirin? Willy?" He asked, slightly nervously.
Although, he could just grab five mareep and swallow
them whole, he still had fear of electric elements. He
looked around. The nidoran were slowly coming out of
their burrows. They sniffed the air, and the ground.
They walked over to Calima and nuzzled her, trying to
help her feel better. Two of them were digging graves
for Klima and Kurohori.

***

Moonscar watched as the mother nidoran followed
Striper into the woods. She seemed, to be excited,
almost happy, about what awated her there. He was
getting suspicious. He quietly, folowed them into the
woods, waiting to see what the nidoran was so pleased
about.

***

Calima watched as the nidoran dug graves for her dead
brother and sister. They were the only living family
she had. And now she had none, no family. No living
relitives. She was the sole-surviver of her family.
She watched as the nidoran mother followed Striper
into the woods. The nidoran looked pleased. Whatever
Striper had in store for her, must be the answer to
her prayers. And Calima knew this prayer. Her wish,
was to die. She turned her attention back to her
brother's and sister's funeral. The nidoran slowly,
gently pushed the bodies into the graves. Then they
burried them. Calima walked in-between the graves, and
began to chant.

"Dendeona, Dendeono,
take these nidos oh, yes oh.
Let them join you Dendeono,
take these nidos oh, yes oh.
Let them play on the stars,
take these nidos oh, yes oh.
Dendeona, let them join you,
take these nidos oh, yes oh.
Let them dance together in the sky,
take these nidos oh, yes oh.
Take these nidos oh, yes oh..."

Calima cried a bit after she was done with the chant. 
"Take these nidos oh, yes oh..." Then she burst into
tears.

***

The nidoran heard the traditional chant to help
spirits depart into the afterlife. It was the young
white one. But that was their matter. Hers was much
more pleasent, for her anyway. Once they arrived at
their destination, the nido-mother sat down and looked
at Striper.
"I do not care how you do it. Fast, slow, however you
like. And I do not care what you do to my body. Just
do it, I want to be with my son..." She paused. "He
was carried off by the arcanine..."

***

Klima and Kurohori, watched as their bodies were
slowly pushed into the graves, then burried. Calima
chanted the traditional chant, that helped the spirits
depart into the afterlife. And that is where Klima and
Kurohori were heading.
*Farewell, Calima," they said, rising up into the
afterlife.

Chirin stayed close by Azalea, who was helpless right now as she 
recovered, as the Nidoran buried Calima's brother and sister. He kept 
his tail burning bright to be a beacon for them, as well as those in 
his own flock who had died. They haunted him, they shadowed him. And 
yet he could do no more for them right now than hold his light high 
and help them with his thoughts. He kept their faes in mind, what he 
remembered of them anyway. Remembering how he had sung with Poppy and 
Selden in the night, he cried silently, looking away from Selden so 
the lamb wouldn't see.

He had cried enough today to fill a pond the size of the Chomperas' 
home. He knew Azalea could see him crying, but he just didn't care. 
Chirin looked down at the ground, letting the tears fall. He was 
weary, drained in body and spirit, tired of leading this flock for 
today. But no Ampharos were going to dash in, their shouting-yellow 
bodies breaking through the greenery. He knew Mama was with him right 
now, waving her tail at him through the bushes that waved in the 
wind. He knew that was the closest they would get to each other 
today. 

It just wasn't enough. But what could he do now? He had to lead them 
on. Nobody else here could or would do it.

"Mother Megga," he whispered.

Azalea's sharply nasal voice made him jump. "What're you thinking 
about?" 

He looked over at the mareep lying there, with that big raw burn mark 
there on her side like a strange, swollen, huge flower had landed on 
her...or like a big fruit had exploded there. Yet she sat so calm. 
Chirin sniffled, ashamed to be crying when this ewe, no older than he 
was, clearly had things much worse.

"Thinking?" No one had asked him that for so long--not since 
Mama. "I'm thinking about home, and my Mama."

"Ah." Azalea inclined her head, her nose twitching. "You looked 
pensive, is all. Listen...I have an idea to help fix up this 
unsightly mess on my side here. If it doesn't get covered something's 
going to come along and infect it. Shoo!" she said, shaking her head 
at the flies that buzzed over the wound. "Perfect, now I'm going to 
have maggots. What a world." Contrary to what she was saying, Azalea 
smiled.

Chirin's nose wrinkled, but he returned the smile. 

"Feeling better?" she asked. 

"Yeah..." *She* was asking *him*? "Are you? What's your idea to cover 
that?"

"Well, sterilized bandages would be ideal, but as that doesn't 
exactly grow on trees we'll have to settle for the kind of stuff that 
does. Leaves."

Chirin gathered up some broad, clean aspen leaves in his mouth and 
laid them over the wound, until he could look at her and imagine she 
was healed and whole again. Selden helped, clearly seeing it as a 
game, for he kept bringing Chirin leaves even after they were done. 
How long would it take her to heal?

"Ah, perfect, you're adept with your. . . perfect. Oh, and--ah, oh, 
this is a rather embarrassing--ah, I'm rather hungry, not that it's 
an acute emergency--"

Chirin ripped up mouthfuls of the best grass he could find in the 
clearing and laid it all by Azalea's mouth. As he watched her eat it 
up he felt a strange feeling, something like a happiness, full of 
hope and Jumpluffs. 

"Mph, good," said Azalea, some grass falling from her mouth. "What, 
you're going to just watch me eat?" As Chirin turned away to go eat 
some grass for himself she piped up again. "I mean, ah, no I didn't 
mean for you to--oh whatever, don't listen to me, i talk forever."

Chirin ate some grass, then brought her some more, and rested beside 
her, chewing his cud and enjoying the strange good feeling of light 
that he got just sitting here, like a light that hadn't been lit 
inside him before, was lit now.


* * *

Striper licked the last traces of blood from his mouth as he trotted 
back to join the others. He had double checked to make sure no one 
had seen, but even if the mareep found out, they knew he killed nidos 
back home and it shouldn't bother them any more here. They knew he 
had to eat. 

Time was digging late into the afternoon.
The mareep were mostly grazing or at rest in the glaze around the 
pond, where the grazing wasn't very good but there was at least some 
grass and shrubbery.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning," said Willy. "As we can't go back to 
the farm and I am willing to make concessions for the good of the 
flock, we're going to have to hope that Chirin over there knows where 
he's taking us." He turned to Chirin, who say by Azalea only a few 
paces away. "Do you know where you're taking us?"

"Uh...I know the lay of the land." He swallowed his cud. "I know 
there are hills to the southwest full of delicious grass. It'll take 
only a few days to get there, that's where I'm taking us."

"A few days? A few more days of *this*?"

"We we can't stay here. We need a place wide and open, where we can 
see all around, watch for enemies, uh that kind of thing. And there's 
a lot of us. Most flocks aren't even near this big. So we need a lot 
of room to graze and a lot of good grass to eat. And a place where 
the dark forest spirits don't live--where there's more light and air. 
You don't want to stay in the forest, do you?"

Willy growled at him. "There you go again, trying to make me look 
stupid."

Chirin sighed, used to Willy by now. "Oh...uh, there's something 
else. If Azalea's not better yet I'm staying here tomorrow until she 
can walk."

"Chirin," piped up Azalea, "you might want to reconsider there, there 
exists the possibility that I won't get up for another week!"

Chirin turned to her. "What's a week?"

"Seven days."

Ouch. "But I can't leave you here."

"Oh, Chirin, don't go making me feel guilty and everything..."

"We'll leave both of them here," said Willy. "We can head on out 
southwest and they can catch up at their convenience."

That would have been the best plan, except that he suddenly knew that 
without him they might not do so well. They were tougher than they 
had been, but still naive of the dangers of enemies seen and 
unseen. "I'm not sure what to do," he finally said. "We'll wait and 
see how everyone's feeling tomorrow and we can decide then."

"It may be your only option," said Azalea. "From what I can see, this 
place'll be grazed clean by tomorrow with us here. That'll not only 
force us to move along, it'll give the Nidoran a pain in the stomach 
as well. If you have to, accompany them and I'll catch up. I can 
follow your scent, after all we're quite a smelly crew." 

Another Mareep stepped in cautiously near Willy, opening his mouth to 
speak. 

"But without Chirin, what about enemies..."

Willy spun on him. "Oh, and you think I can't deal with enemies? Look 
at what's happened to us *with* Chirin. We're down to a count of 61 I 
believe?" He snorted at the two lying down. "59 if we leave them, and 
all the better. I never cared for having ugly ewes in my flock 
anyhow. Or wannabe witch doctors."

Azalea just ducked her head.

"Don't you call her ugly," said Chirin, feeling an anger inside him 
that he had not anticipated. Even during his battles with Growlithes 
he had felt more of an instinctive defense...but now his wool began 
to spark and he felt a growl rising in his throat. "She's not ugly."

Willy smiled, Coddy and Cleomie smirking on either side of him. 

"Ah, Chirin, let it go," said Azalea, looking at the trio of bigger 
mareep. "He's only saying it to dig at you, trust me, I have 
experience dealing with him and his rather beefy cohorts."

"And who asked you?" said Willy. "You picked an interesting time to 
start putting your hoof in your mouth again." Chirin's growl rose a 
notch and he stepped in front of her. It placed him close to Willy 
and he felt his head lowering in readiness to headbutt him, though he 
had no plans to.

But didn't he...? Chirin remembered.

"Tomorrow we battle, Chirin," said Willy. "After a good sound rest, 
or as sound as we'll get in this freaky place. And the battle will 
decide *who* decides where we go next, what we do next, and who stays 
behind."

* * * 

Azalea felt her guiltiness overspilling, and her tears nearly doing 
so, at the sight of Chirin defending her. No one had ever defended 
her. Together with a flighty feeling like she was racing through 
clouds, together with a friend at last, came a little nagging dark 
voice in the back of her head. It told her that it was too good to 
last.

Calima sniffled and cried. She was so upset. She
forgot all about everything. How she wished she could
just jump into the pond and drown herself. But her
friends were all she had left. She turned to look at
Willy. If she wanted more friends, she might as well
try to be nice to Willy. 
Calima slowly got up and walked over to Willy. She
looked up at him. Although he was a bit rude, Calima
had to admit that he was a handsom looking mareep. She
then said: "Willy, I have lost the lats of my
relitives, so friends is all I have left. And I love
them. Now, friends are my family. I was hoping, if you
could also be my friend?"

***

Moonscar watched in horrer as Striper grabbed the
nido-mom in his teeth, shook her, and ate her. But the
whole time, the nido-mom was smiling. Moonscar
followed Striper back, staying out of his sight, and
wondering if he should tell the others.

Willy was still smirking at Chirin and Azalea getting all cuddly 
there--the wildling had about the worst taste in ewes imaginable! 
Ick, he could have her--but Willy was pretty sure her crazy jabbering 
would either bore him to tears or drive him to headbutting every tree 
in sight before long. Calima's little nidoran voice startled him 
slightly. Why was she asking to be his friend, when all they ever did 
was cuss each other out? In a Nidoran warren, besides? He turned to 
look at her from a face still scabbed over with scratch marks on each 
cheek. There were some pokemon he would never understand and this one 
was a real case.

"So it's claws 'n teeth one day and "be my friend" the next? 
Shouldn't you at least wait till these ugly scratches you just had to 
give me, heal?" He snorted. "You're almost as nuts as Chirin. You're 
just a little off-center right now because you just lost your brother 
and sister. It'll pass. In the meantime, sure, be my pal. Only my 
pals need to be some things: Not annoying and they don't talk back to 
me or rough me up. You think you fit the bill, sure, be my buddy. but 
you know, it's a shame for poor Chirin cause you can't be both our 
friends."

"Who's to say?' said Chirin. "We shone a great light today in defense 
of our flock and friends, and I think that we can use that light 
power to stop fightng. Yes, Willy and I are going to battle. But once 
we do, then we'll know our place and I hope we can be friends then." 
He hoped. 

"Yeah of course," said Willy, "but you know, that Calima has chirin 
to thank for leading us all here and attracting those Arcanine here, 
who then killed her family. So really Calima ought to be my friend 
now not yours."

Chirin averted his eyes from Willy, looking at Calima with sorrow and 
apology. Why did Willy always have to strike so deep?

"See?' said Willy.

"I see," said Azalea. "I see that you can't fight honestly, so just 
like back at the farm you resort to guilt-tripping. Chirin don't let 
him get to you, just remember that he owes you his life."

"And just like back at the farm, you can't shut up," said Willy. "You 
ugly rattata's tail, you're just sticking up for the only ram who'll 
ever look at you."

"Chirin, no, Again he's trying to get to you, not me," said Azalea as 
Chirin lowered his head at willy, growling. He raised his head again, 
realizing Azalea was right, concentrating on the light inside him, 
trying to cast out the strange new dark that clouded it when Willy 
put her down. A connection had been forged between his soul and 
Azalea's during the driving out of the dark being, and he felt 
himself changed now. Chirin was of the Pharos flock--the beacons of 
the sea. He would not let Willy turn him into anything else.

Calima saddened worse.
"I can be both your friends if I like Willy. And
Chirin is not crazy. And I only scratched you because
I thought you were being unfair to Chirin and the rest
of the mareep. Please be nice. Please?"

***

Moonscar leaped in between Willy and Chirin.
"Please, you two, don't fight."

Razkel not wanting to get involved kept out of the way, Berry plodded forward next to Moonscar agreeing with the other Rattata, they shouldn't be fighting amongst themselves.
Ebony settled herself nearby Razkel, not anymore interested in getting involved than him. She gave a slight yawn...daytime was usually when she was still asleep...but still...she couldn't nod off just yet. And she certainly didn't want to get left behind... 

Not that she cared really about the Mareep and such...unless Mecha did. 

Mecha, meanwhile, looked to be getting a bit nervous from all the tension "Yes...let's try and keep ourselves calm. We're probably all just a bit..tense..." 
Razkel sweat dropped realising he was sitting next to an Noctowl. "Hello there" he said a little shakily.
At any other time Chirin would have just agreed with them. Hanging on 
his tongue were the words, *let's just be friends.* Looking at Mecha 
he felt a twinge of guilt.

But what would happen if they did not have this battle? As it was, 
the flock was divided. Their battling wouldn't mend it completely. 
The flock was too large, had been through terrible dark days since 
leaving the farm, and they knew that more trouble lay ahead. But it 
would give them a leader and bring some peace. They would know their 
place. If the flock still did end up splitting, it was probably for 
the better. They couldn't hang in the air, like Jumpluffs with no 
wind, not knowing where to go or what to be.

Chirin remembered the apricorn shell round his neck and its charming 
powers, but he did not need to call on them to make a decision this 
time. As much as he hated to fight, ram battles were how disputes had 
often been settled within the flock of Pharos, and between them and 
other flocks. It wasn't a matter of right or wrong. It was their way. 
Some said Phos and Bangaa had crashed heads in the great dark cave as 
they fought for the light, before Phos had managed to grab it.

He didn't need to wonder what his ancestors were telling him from 
inside his body right now either. Every drop of blood inside him had 
known that this moment was on its way, that the battle was a spirit, 
an entity in itself that they would face. But he could only do his 
best to explain it to his non-mareep friends and hope they understood.

"Ram battles aren't deadly," he said. "They are a ritual. It's what 
mareep do when things like this come." Couldn't they also feel the 
tension, the spirits in the air pulling and pushing and grunting with 
the strain oof the flock, which the indecision and uncertainty about 
who was leader, was trampling them and tearing them apart?

He wanted to say Willy could just be leader, but he had already 
stated that a while back and it had not worked. What he hoped for was 
that after Willy won (for he almost certainly would) he would still 
allow Chirin to advise him. He probably would, since he was doing 
that already.

Chirin turned and gave Azalea a nuzzle. The ewe's eyes darted up at 
his only briefly, then she turned away and he wished he hadn't done 
it. Before she tucked her tail bulb between her back legs, hiding it, 
he saw it glowing a rich orange-yellow.

"If we're going to battle," he said, "let's do it over there, not 
here, so no one gets hurt."

Selden whimpered and rubbed his head against Chirin's shoulder.

Chirin felt his energies beginning to churn again, generating 
electricity. He tried to review in his head the things that were done 
before a battle commenced, but it was simple really, something you 
were born knowing. His body knew, and was guiding him here. *Mama, 
Dada, please let me be doing this right.*

Looking at Azalea again and catching her looking at him, he couldn't 
help but smile a little, and hope that even if he lost, he would 
still look good to her and she would still look at him that special 
way. What he really wanted was for her to heal. He took this chance 
while his soul raced inside him, to imagine her healing, helping her 
to heal. 

"If we're going to battle now, so be it," said Willy.
"I'm--I'm sorry to intrude again--but if I may," said Azalea, "we 
might want to wait until we can all get out into the field? These 
ritual battles tend to mushroom out of control, and where space is at 
a premium this can creat unforseen complications--ah, such as, ah, 
certain invalids being put at risk for--trampling? Again, I apologize 
for any...intrusion..." She flinched, cocking her head, her nose 
twitching as if she had an itch there.

"No," said Chirin as Willy looked at her with his brow 
furrowed. "You're right. We'll wait till we can leave." Again he 
tried to nuzzle her but she looked away, stuffing her tail light back 
under her legs and the leaves covering her wound. She clearly didn't 
like him touching her. "And while we're here maybe we can come up 
with a way to not have to battle at all."
* * *
Ebony regarded him with a glance from her ruby eyes, and nothing more.
Razkel a huge grin on his face sided up to Mecha. "Who's yer friend Mecha?" he asked though his teeth, hoping Ebony wouldn't hear. "Didn't invite her round for lunch did you?"	
The other mareep slowly returned to grazing, seeing that a battle was 
no longer imminent. The mareep, who naturally nibbled the greens here 
and there frequently, were also using it to dispel the sense of 
unreality of the last few days, right up to the attack and then the 
dispersal of the evil spirit from Azalea.

Chirin turned his attentions back to Azalea, folding his legs under 
him and settling down beside her. Suddenly he didn't care what 
happened with the battle so long as she still...wanted to be his 
friend. Did she even want to really be his friend? He smiled at her 
but she ducked her head, barely smiling back, looking instead at the 
grass he'd brought her.

"Again I apologize for for interjecting like I did."

"It's fine, no, thanks to you, we have a day to prepare. We're all 
tired anyway and i'd much rather enjoy the evening...although I'm 
nervous. This battle's making me nervous." He sighed. "How're you 
feeling?"

"Better. A notable improvement over earlier. But this may take weeks 
to heal entirely. My immediate concern is how to get up and moving 
again." She brought her front feet out and tried to haul herself up. 
Pain clenched her face around her eyes as she moved. The leaves fell 
away from the wound and the blackened wool around it. 

"Let me help you, you can lean on me if you want--"

"No. Ah, no. I mean, no thanks...I'm fine as it is. It appears worse 
than it is."

"i think I remember what plant can help," said Chirin. "I don't 
remember the name but I remember what the leave smell like. If we can 
find some..."
"My goodness," said Azalea rolling her head around to loosen her 
neck, "I was beginning to worry about getting bedsores. Not to 
mention that the--ah, natural...processes of...need to be... Pardon 
me, I have some... business that needs urgent attention?" 

Still wincing a little, Azalea walked a short distance away, turned 
with her backside faced away from Chirin... Clouds and Watakko! 
thought Chirin, he could learn a lot of big words from listening to 
her talk. He giggled and shook his head. She seemed so smart. She 
even seemed to squat and pass droppings gracefully. 

"Ah!" said Azalea, tripping over a tree root as she came to rejoin 
him. As he tried to catch her she ran forward into him. Chirin braced 
his legs, stopping her lesser bulk. 

"You okay?"

"Yes--just, was concerned that I would land on my wound and pick up 
debris, possibly getting it infected, not to mention some amount of 
pain..."

Chirin followed her talking as best he could while he searched for 
the plant that helped heal burns. Their search took them in a slow 
walk around the pond, full of poking their noses into bushes and in 
the reeds, sniffing around and nibbling what was tasty. In the last 
hours of Phos's light, the battle tomorrow didn't seem like a threat 
at all. Chirin enjoyed sampling the plants of the pond and listening 
to the first night insects beginning to sing and chirp. He also 
enjoyed the smell of Azalea, accompanied by...that voice. She was 
beginning to shed the smell of burned wool and flesh, letting her own 
scent shine through. 

"The pond's beautiful, isn't it?" said Chirin, looking out at the 
water.

"Beautiful?" said Azalea, swallowing a mouthful of sedge. There was a 
piece of it stuck between her bottom teeth. "Ah...well I always did 
enjoy the squish of mud and pond silt between my hooves." Then her 
nose twitched and she tucked her tail down, turning away to crop off 
another mouthful of sedge. "Well--I didn't mean to sound like that--
ah--not enjoy, per se, just if it happens by accident I don't--"

"I LOVE that feeling," said Chirin, who in fact was standing in the 
soft pond's edge right now. Azalea looked up at him with her nose and 
now ears twitching oddly...and she began to smile, but instead turned 
away again, eating more grass.

Chirin smiled to himself and enjoyed some of the sedge too.
As they nibbled the grass, Chirin looked up and out across the still 
pond, imagining what went on beneath that smooth surface. Not far up 
the opposite slope stood a cluster of several of the younger mareep, 
enjoying Phos's sleepy last rays as they they moved up over the tips 
of the pines. Crazy Light jumped up on the tiptops of the spruces, 
dancing the dances he loved. Chirin hummed softly to himself, singing 
along with Crazy Lights.

Those mareep in the grass in front of the trees were talking quietly 
among themselves, about something. Chirin was too far away to hear 
them, but the light-flickers and ear-flicking gave way their 
whispers. 

Pleased to see the flock was returning to peace again, he resumed his 
own eating, grazing his way over till his head was near Azalea's and 
he could see her at his side. He pretended he was just grazing there 
because the grass was greener.

Clearly pretendig the grass was greener a few steps away, Azalea fed 
her way away, till her tail faced him, and she tucked that behind her 
leg on th far side from him so he could not see that either. Chirin 
wanted to ask what was wrong but his wise ancestors swooped into him, 
and stopped him, telling him he could only keep quiet, and hope, and 
wonder.
Azalea wondered if he had seen her tail do that orange-light thing it 
seemed to like to do just to embarrass her, before she'd hidden it 
away on the other side of her--the burnt side. She did her best to 
keep that side of her facing away, humiliated at the walking 
monstrosity she'd become, on top of being homely and always saying 
stupid things. Oh, she knew she was smart, but not in the ways that 
mattered. 

She couldn't stop staring at Chirin--at his woll, different than the 
other mareep, and the strange twinkle in his eyes, as if they really 
did possess a power, the power that had healed her. It confounded all 
the attempts of her mind to explain how, but she knew he had saved 
her life. This was a wound that should have killed her. And now he 
was being nice to her--humoring her, no doubt. He pitied her because 
she was hurt and in pain. 

It wouldn't last, she thought, dipping her head to the water to take 
a lap. The ripples mercifully obscured the image of her own face 
staring up at her from the lake. After she had healed up he would 
tire of her and her awkward chatter. After he was done feeling sorry 
for her he would not want to be seen with her.

Azalea had to pee now. It was always one thing or another, wasn't it? 
She had told herself not to give in and enjoy this time with him 
because the hurt when he left her wouldn't be worth it. He liked that 
Petunia already, she could tell. Those smiles he gave 
Azalea...couldn't be real. Ewes like her didn't get those smiles. 

*You stupid ugly dungface,* she thought inside her head. The way her 
feet seemed to leave the ground when he looked at her, told her it 
was too late and she had no control now. 

Azalea edged away from him, but fed her way back again. Try as she 
did, her willpower was nothing against this. She kept feeding, trying 
to figure out what to do. Talk to him? What would pop out, something 
else stupid like muddy feet? 

She ground the grass between her molars in frustration, filling to 
the brim with things she didn't know how to react to as she stared at 
Chirin while he ate. The wildling would often look up and around, 
sniffing the air, prompted by a message in the wind that her own 
untuned nose, used to the much stronger farm smells, hadn't picked up.
Chirin wandered up from the pond, over to the southwest side. The 
evening called to his legs to run into its cool embrace. He got a 
good shiver all over. He picked up to run but remembered Azalea had 
to take it easy. "I'm taking a short walk out there," he said. "Do 
you want to come?"

"Ah--of course. I mean I do. Yes." Again that nose twitch and the 
rish orange glow of the globe on her tail, a light increasingly hard 
to hide as Phos's light lifted up and away, allowing the shadows to 
creep out of their sleeping places where they hid in the daytime.

The two mareep headed out alone, side by side. They didn't go far--
opnly far enough for Chirin to feel that they were alone, but close 
enough to dash back to the flock if danger came. Now that he was 
older and stronger, being away from the flock no longer terrified him 
as it once had. He found the place by the edge of the forest where a 
mossy stone poked up through the soil and tree roots. The stone, 
quite a tiny sister to the great rock outcroppings guarding the lands 
back home, had one area blank enough to use for a form. 

"I want to head out there tomorrow," he said with his nose pointing 
out over the fields and copses at the forest's edge. "Tonight I'm 
going to make a form, to help call on the spirits' protection for us 
all tonight," he said. "And another one to help me win that battle 
tomorrow." It might be unlikely, and he might not care if he lost, 
but something in him wanted to give it all he had. The true winner 
would only be divined if both rams threw all their being into 
it. "You can help me."

"A--form?"

Chirin explained. "It will help strengthen our already strong light 
powers," he said. He nearly went on to explain that their two souls 
were now connected, twined together like two vines...but again he 
kept quiet. At the thought of the two of them twisted together like 
vines he felt a strange warmth in the light on his tail and glanced 
behind him. Like Azalea's, it glowed a color richer in yellow and 
orange, rather than the more orange-yellow-whitish, muted light it 
usually made at leisure. He had never seen it do that before. And, as 
he tried, he realized he couldn't make it change to normal either.

"Ah, how interesting...to summon the protection of forces unseen," 
Azalea was saying. "I've often speculated about things unknown, you 
know...usually only ending up even more perplexed..."

"Me too, all the time," said Chirin, even though he didn't know 
what "preplexed" meant. More than ever he felt the new Light in him, 
both seen and unseen.


* * * 

Striper patrolled the area around the pond, searching for an 
opportunity to strike. He saw Willy, but where was Chirin? Was he 
alone? Hm...

The Growlithe kept as quiet as he could, taking a page from a 
Sneasel's book as he prowled round the way, trying to figure out 
where the wildling had trotted off to.
Another Mareep trotted up to the water's edge, her own reaction to 
the reflection that looked back at her almost the opposite from that 
of Azalea's. Smiling at it, she peered down close at the water, as if 
making sure there was nothing the matter, before gracefully taking a 
few dainty sips of it.

With a smirk, she looked at Azalea from the corner of her eye. Too 
bad for her...as if that little nerd wasn't repulsive enough as it 
was. Fate must have just chosen her...

With a fluffing toss of her wool, she walked off to look for 
Willy...she didn't care much for the wilding. He was dirty...not to 
mention small. As her vain mind continued toiling away at how fate 
had choosen her as the beautiful one, Ivy spotted Willy, making her 
way over. Willy would hopefully get them home soon...she wasn't meant 
for this kind of life. Of course, there was more to see...but it was 
dangerous. 

With a shudder, Ivy recalled the pack of creatures like Striper 
himself coming down and...she was just glad SHE hadn't been killed...

Willy stopped to take another look around. Where had that Ivy got to? 
She was quite a ewe--much mroe attractive than Coddy and Cleomie, 
although they were bigger and sturdier. Oh, he would keep them too, 
but he wanted to get to know Ivy a bit better.

Coddy and Cleomie narrowed their eyes at the pretty ewe from far away.


********

As Ivy walked away from the water, a younger Mareep jumped into it, 
more interested in the mud than the water really, rolled around 
gleefully in its sticky, dirty glory.

With a contented sigh, she layed down on her back for a moment, 
looking at the open sky. This was SO much better than the stupid 
farm! There was actually something to do other than sit around all 
day grazing. Then go back in the farm. Then graze 
again...boooooorrrrriiiinnngggg!

Grinning, she spotted Striper...she remembered how those others like 
him had attacked before. But he was safe, and she knew it. Cause he 
was their pal, right? He had protected them and stuff, even to the 
point he had come out with them.

In a flash, Snapper had him pinned, laughing "I gotcha Striper!"

Her tailight sohne in the fading sunlight "Can we play? 
Pllleeeaaassee? Just for a lil bit?"
"Ah, that's good. Little lower," said Willy as he lay neatly with his 
legs folded under him in the closely grazed patch of clover. Cleomie 
moved her front feet lower as she lightly pounded his back. Coddy had 
brought him more clover and she laid it at his feet.

This was the life! Of course, they might not be so loyal to him 
anymore if lost this battle. 

Hm, where was Chirin? Maybe Striper would do his job on him tonight, 
and no battle would ever have to take place.

Not that that would be all good, he thought as he ate up the clover 
and Coddy brought more. He wanted to headbutt Chirin till he was one 
with the ground they fought on. They had to see him win, and see 
their crazy little exorcist put in his place. It had gone far enough.

Willy yawned, getting sleepy. "All right ewes, that's enough," he 
said, and at one cock of his head they settled down on either side of 
him, keeping him warm and cozy as he chewed his cud in the early 
autumn crispness. 

That done, he got up to make the rounds and begin to gather everyone 
in. Everyone who was a *real* part of the flock. That excluded Chirin 
and anyone too chummy with him. Almost everyone was visible, the 
natural instinct to keep each other in sight working in their favor.

He stopped to watch a group of mostly lambs talkign quietly, as if in 
secret. What were they talking about?

* * * 

Striper crept up on Chirin, but to his frustration Chirin had another 
mareep with him.

Should he kill them both?

No, no. It was too risky, too harsh, and besides, they were close 
enough to alert the rest by screaming. 

Striper lay waiting for his chance.

* * *

Chirin, who had been rubbing berry juice on the rock, stopped. "I 
smell growlithe."

"What--I don't--" Azalea inhaled, and her ears pricked up. "Oh! 
That's Striper!" She smiled. "He must be patrolling for us right now. 
It's fortunate we have him along."

"Yeah," said Chirin, remembering the look he and Willy had exchanged. 
He returned to trying to complete the image in the fading light. "I 
now bring lightning," he said, scratching a vertical bolt with a 
sharp-edged rock... "Lightning, lightning, Denryuu lightning...it 
meets us, we meet it...with a shiver." He shivered for real--an 
excellent sign. Yes, the spirits were working with him all the way!
"Oh!" the Growlithe huffed in surprise as Ivy pinned him. "N-not 
right now Ivy, I'd love to but right now I'm--checking for enemies." 
He saw the tail-lights of Chirin and Azalea bob into the movement of 
trotting, one of them--Chirin--outpacing the still-recovering ewe.

"Why...hi Striper," said Chirin, smiling at the Growlithe pinned 
under a Mareep. He giggled, waving his tail in both greeting and 
pleasure at the sight. 

Azalea, walking carefully so as not to aggravate her wound, came to a 
stop behind Chirin, looking past him at Ivy. She would do her best to 
avoid her for now.

"Do you like to play?" said Chirin to both of them. "I love to. I 
always loved to play Ram of the Hill."

Standing there watching Striper reluctantly roughhouse a little with 
Ivy, Chirin looked back around him. Azalea had left his side, 
returning to the rock where he'd been working. As much as he'd love 
to play, he had to complete this form. And he wanted to.

Chirin returned to the rock with the materials he'd collected: dark 
berries, leaves, pond silt, the sharp rock, and ash from the Arcanine 
assault. It would infuse the form with even more power if he used 
that ash.

He finished up the form of himself on the rock, outlining in white 
scratches with the rock. The *denki* was the line he drew everything 
else around because it was the first and last part of you, existing 
before you were born and living on after you died. Chirin drew his 
light bright.

He then drew Willy opposite him, lying in submission, beaten but 
still well and alive. He drew a dark spot in Willy because Willy had 
a dark part of him--but then he reconsidered and drew a light there. 
since he'd drawn a light in Willy, Chirin added one to himself too.

The dark spirits had to be addressed. They had to be kept away 
tonight and tomorrow and all throughout the rest of their journey. 
Chirin drew several of them and placed a light coming down on each in 
a shaft of lightning, breaking each shadow's power by turning it 
light. For extra good luck he drew two ancestors, not making them 
into anyone definite. This way all the ancestors could share, all 
using the form to transfer their power to Chirin if they so desired.

Chirin drew his electricity coming out from him, defeating Willy but 
not hurting him too badly. He was already feeling bad enough about 
having to fight him at all...having to inflict pain on another living 
thing.

The tail lights of himself and Azalea lit up the rock as he put the 
finishing touches on at last.

"What--ah, pardon my asking, but what is, er, that thing around your 
head intended to represent?"

"It's this," he said, puffing out his chest so the apricorn shell 
bounced against it. "It's part of me. A friendly tree gave it to me 
and it's helped me survive in the forest. I put it in the form, and 
now it's become me on there too. I'm on this rock and here."
He sighed. "I hope I did this right."

"Looks good to me--most intriguing, in fact. No one on the farm ever 
did this stuff. I doubt Willy would appreciate it, though." She gave 
a laugh. Chirin laughed too. It was true that might be unfair of him 
to call on the spirits for help, and increase his power like this, 
but Willy was free to do the same...and Chirin, though he'd grown, 
was still smaller than Willy. He needed an extra light or two. 

"What is that above both of you? Appears to be an entity 
with...lights or something...on its ears?" 

"It's Crazy Lights." Chirin's voice softened. He wasn't sure how to 
explain to her, about Crazy Lights. But their souls were connected. 
Each had a part of the other inside them. Azalea ought to know. "Whan 
I was younger, I made him as an imaginary friend...but I, I still 
think of him sometimes and pretend he's there. Sometimes it seems 
like he really is there. One time...I thought I saw him."

Azalea took a small step back and gave him a strange, almost worried 
look. "Ah...you say you saw your imaginary friend?"

"I think I did. But I don't remember. Anyway that's him there. I 
found that he helps me and gives me good luck. If he's real."

"I dunno, Chirin, ah, perhaps he's there simply in spirit."

"Spirits are real," said Chirin.

"I mean--of course they are, that's not what I was intending to..." 
She hung her head. "I'm sorry." She'd forgotten what he had done to 
heal her. When that fever had come over her... who was to say that an 
evil spirit had indeed swept in to inhabit her mind and body? Who was 
to say other things existed, that couldn't be explained? 

Chirin nuzzled her, forgetting she didn't seem to like that. "I think 
I know what you should do," he said with a soft smile. "There is 
something inside you that's making your soul run in circles. It pulls 
and tugs at you..." he shook his head, unable to discern more. "You 
have to find your light and fly free. You know," he said, ducking his 
head to look at her bowed face, "relax?"

"Ah, I know, relaxation's on the to-do list," said Azalea, looking 
away. "Ah--um--I was thinking I wanted to take advantage of these 
last sunlight hours and find some good grass? I'm rather hungry." She 
sniffed the air ahead of them, jus past the rocks. "Mmm--smells like 
good pickins just over there, if I'm not mistaken--that is, if you'd 
care to join me or would you prefer to head back to the pond? I'm 
open to either option, I just wanted to give you a--"

"I'd love to." He trotted out to grab some grass, waiting for her to 
come along beside him. Azalea kept her gaze ahead of her sometimes as 
they went, but mostly down at her front feet, and she never looked at 
him. Chirin gave the rock a glance now and then as they nosed about, 
nibbling, keeping it in his sight, staying connected to it. But more 
powerful to him than even the form on the rock--the finest he'd ever 
made--was the beautiful rich orange glow on the end of Azalea's tail.
Calima walked over to Chirin and Azalea. 
"Hi!" she said, trying to act happier then she really
was. "What are you two up too?" 
Chirin was pleased to see that she was so happy, especially 
considering her brother and sister had just died... but realized it 
must be a front. Again, he knew how it felt to lose your family.

"Hi Calima. How've you been doing?" he said with a soft, low flicker 
of his tail that gave a hint of sorrow--of the funeral.
I-I'm fine Chirin. Thank you for asking." Calima was
still sad about her brother and sister. She tried not
to show it, but it did show.

Calima looked to her right, and saw Striper, pinned
down by another, younger mareep. Calima giggled a bit.
It truely was a funny sight. At last, Striper managed
to shake the baby mareep off. And he growled slightly,
shaking a bit. Then he slipped back into the shadows.
"I don't trust him Chirin. I really don't trust him."

***

Moonscar was realived that there was to be no fights.
He smiled and walked over to the pond, hardly noticing
Chirin, Calima, and Azalea. He spotted Striper and
snapped into focus. 
"What the heck is HE doing HERE?" He snapped. He hated
Striper. He looked at the water and started drinking,
while waiting for someone to reply.

"Striper," said Willy, swaggering down to the pond shore, "is here to 
protect the flock from harm. It's his job whether we're on the farm 
or not. Growlithes are loyal. So if you have a problem with that, you 
can always go join your own kind." He tossed a grin over his shoulder 
at Coddy and Cleomie, who giggled, their tail lights blinking.
"Hrmph..." Moonscar muttered. He walked to the right
and was muttering about biting Willy's stupid face
off, when he bumped into Striper be accident He looked
up at the wolf pokemon, shaking.
"Heh-heh, sorry? Ulp..." He muttered.
* * *
He could understand that. She was a Nidoran and he was a Growlithe. 
Chirin himself would rather stay out of his company. "I know how you 
feel. He's an enemy that's nice...but not all the way nice. Not like 
Mecha."
"Well, I still do not trust him. He's up to something.
I know it, I can feel it."

"Ah, I observed that even on the farm there was an air of suspicion 
and distrust--even outright fear, sometimes, in the evenings during 
winter when it got dark during grazing," said Azalea. "However I've 
never known him to harm another Mareep. Nidoran, though, ah, er, I 
must say otherwise. He's been known to kill those--although the 
farmer always gave him Growly-Chow." She twitched her nose. "My 
sentiment is that the Pokemon can't suppress his instincts--even when 
provided with another food source--but that his being trained blunted 
some of it. It would be interesting to observe whether he changes his 
habits now that he is entirely reliant on his hunting ability." Her 
ears wriggled and she looked down, rather embarrassed. "Ah, not that 
I'm *interested* in seeing whether he begins to kill...anything..."

"I know what you mean," said Chirin, sensing that Azalea had dug 
herself into a hole of rather big words. "Being out here makes you 
different. But he came to protect the flock so I think maybe--if he 
has to--kill other Pokemon--he'll just do it so they don't have to 
see." At least he hoped Striper would.

"I believe he's aware of the panic that would ensue should any type 
of bloodshed happen in our sight." She shivered. "Not that--my wound 
here isn't making me almost afraid of myself." She had seen the 
nervous glances of the other mareep, who had smelled burned flesh and 
wool on her and avoided her out of instinct, except Chirin.

"You've been a brave mareep, Azalea," said Chirin. "And the wound 
will get better. Actually I want to help it get better, that's one 
reason I wanted to come out here. I want to find that plant that'll 
help drive the pain away. That fire spirit is still partly in you--
it's in the wound, causing you that pain. Calima, do you know a plant 
that helps burns heal? I know there are bitter berries that cure 
poison, but I forget what helps burns."

"I pardon my rudeness," said Azalea. "I believe you're Chirin's 
Nidoran companion? Whose brother and sister died today--I'm sorry, 
you probably would prefer not to speak about that right now." 

* * *
Ivy, still approaching, giggled a bit as well, much like with other 
two. Her tail light shimmered as she smiled in Willy's direction, 
hoping for even a small glance in her direction...hopefully her wool 
was still fluffed and nice as it was before. It would be horribly 
embarrasing if she had gotten a twig or anything of the sort caught 
in there...

She continued acting a bit shy...she had learned from experince and 
heard herself that it was the best way to gain attention...for the 
most part anyway. It worked for her quite often...

********

Snapper giggled as she continued her playing with Striper, tail light 
bright. She stood a bit away from him, looking to be almost stnading 
the way a preditor does when about to lunge itself at prey "Hey 
Striper, do you think I could come along sometime to keep watch? I 
wanna be able to help. Can I, please? I'll try not to be a burden or 
anything, I really promise!"

As she headbutted the growlithe playfully, she looked up at him with 
one of those adorable little expressions little kids can 
make..^^; "Pretty please? With a cherry on top? If an danger comes, I 
can help to see it by flashing my tail light, see?" As if to prove 
her point, she shone her tail light as bright as she could "Just like 
that. I can spark a bit too."
Striper dribbled his lips. "Oh...all right, yeah, sure, come on." 
This wasn't going to make his job any easier, but she was bound to 
get tired and tuck in with the others when night came.
Striper made his way around the pond with the lamb in tow, wondering 
however he was going to get this over with.

Snapper jumped a bit...then tried to regain her composure, lowering 
her head a bit as if a warning...then blinked "Aren't you one of 
those guys that went under the water to get the acorns...?"
"Why hello Ivy." Willy sauntered over to her with a little twinkle in 
his eye. He secretly hoped she didn't notice how thin his wool had 
gotten since the attack, and hoped it grew back fast. It only made 
him appear smaller! Not making eye contact--that would seem too 
direct--Willy just grazed his way over, his tongue and teeth fumbling 
for even one good bite. After over 60 mareep grazing here for the 
better part of a day, in an area they had to share with nidorans 
besides, there was almost no grass left. Eh, maybe the little nidos 
would starve to death once they left. Good riddance.

"Hello Willy.." Ivy replied softly, a slight grin making its way onto her attractive face. She noted with satisfaction on her part that the other two ewes were glaring at her, jealousy evident. Willy himself looked a tad bit smaller...but of course, his wool would come back. And the closer to him, the better...especially once he won the fight tommorow against that runt of a Mareep... 


"Hard to find a bite to eat. Just as well we're leaving tomorrow. We 
would've left today except for dear ol' Chirin taking pity on that 
mangy Rattata-faced excuse for a ewe."

"Yes, it is rather difficult, isn't it?" she said, being careful of the mostly dirt ground. She smiled, looking at Willy with admiration "I look foward to tommorow...especially when you put that Chirin back in his place." 


He glanced over at Cleomie and Coddy and caught them stealing glances 
at him and Ivy, while they slowly nibbled their way over. He gave a 
deep baaa of a warning at them, sparking, and only then did they stop 
glaring at Ivy. 

Ivy felt victorious once again, seeing Willy give them the baa of warning and such. That would hopefully teach those tramps that they were no match for herself. 


"Oh, you've got a little twig or leaf of something in that coat of 
yours, no, the other side," he said to Ivy, poking at it with his 
nose.
Ivy smiled mareepishly as the twig fell from her wool, a result of Willy's poking "Why thank you for getting it out for me..." 

Even if embarassing, how could she argue with Willy getting it out for her? 

*********** 

"I know, Striper scares me too sometimes," said Chirin. 

Chirin had had his fill, and Azalea seemed ready to head in too. He 
sniffed and looked about, and seeing all was well, he picked up again 
towards his rock. He grabbed bits of choice grass and leaves, even a 
few flowers no one had eaten, and laid them at the foot of the rock, 
right below the drawing he had made.

"I give this to you," he whispered, "to thank you for all you've done 
for me so far. And..well, yeah I'd like it if you helped again 
tomorrow? It's just that he's a lot bigger than me and if I lose, he 
might not let me give advice and the mareep could die out 
there...well, okay, I kind of want to win just because I want to win 
but I also don't want to hurt him too much either." He sighed, unsure 
of what to say to his ancestors next. "You fought battles once, Dada, 
and Grandda and all the rams. You know...how nervous I feel."

Laying himself down before the grass, Chirin bowed his head to the 
ground and closed his eyes in concentration.

Azalea paced around, still pained by the wound but much better, while 
Chirin lay silently. He might have been asleep, except that his light 
was shining powerfully, and was perked up in the air. Azalea felt a 
little uncomfortable watching him...praying or whatever he was doing. 
He said and did things she had never seen anyone do, but she knew he 
wasn't crazy. 

Well, she fervently hoped.

"Let's all shine our lights bright tonight for those who have died," 
said Chirin as he got back up and turned to Azalea and Calima. "We 
have to be beacons for them." And with that, he headed off back to 
the pond clearing.
**********
Snapper puffed out her chest, looking rather proud to be allowed to go along with Striper himself. The great preditor who choose to remain by their sides instead of to murder them as the pack had before. Also keeping her eyes sharp, she looked around for anything that looked dangerous...and also tried to sniff the air as Chirin had. 

She noticed Mecha and that other Rattata..Razkel? And that big black thing that made her spark a bit unintentionally... 

********* 

Mecha rested a wing on Razkel's head "Don't worry about Ebony...she told me herself she just eats bug types. There shouldn't be anything to worry about.." 

Ebony fixed up her feathers as best she could, noticing with relief that night would be falling soon...that would certainly prove better for her. 
Coddy and Cleomie turned their rears on Ivy and Willy, with their 
tails to the sky. They wandered a bit away and settled down to chew 
their cud and ruminate on the whole situation in general.

"I always hated that prissy," said Coddy.

"Yeah," said Cleomie. 

"What do you say we get her."

"Get her--how?"

"I dunno." Coddy chewed and swallowed, then chewed some more. 

"Trample her?"

"Maybe."

They glanced areound to make sure Ivy wasn't listening, but she was 
fully absorbed in Willy, and herself of course.

"Just headbutt her to death," said Coddy. "And trample her. The two 
of us could kill her."

"Yeah. But Willy can't know."

"I know. We'll just wait till we get her alone."

"Yeah."

They chewed some more.

*****
Calima was a bit tired. And their was not alot of
grass left. Too bad, the nido kinda liked the grass.
But their were still the tall floweres, AND the fruit
in the trees, that could be knocked down by
headbutting the tree. And their were more fruit than
grass! And the chompera often brought tasty little
water fruits and plants for the nidoran. This would
last them until the grass grew back.

***

Moonscar hid behind Striper as Snapper puffed out his
chest. This made him look bigger. Moonscar couldn't
belive he hid behind a nidoran killing,
good-for-nothing, son-of-a-muk growlithe.
Snapper took a peek over...and grinned "Don't move Striper...you've got a really big Rattata behind you!" Her tail light flickered "Don't worry, I'll get it!" 

With that, she pounced on Moonscar "I gotcha!" 
Chirin and Azalea reached the pond again and Chirin looked around at 
the flock scattered in clumps, ringing the bank. Most had settled 
into resting now. They were at peace. Chirin sighed, feeling the 
weight of the long day pressing softly on his back and shoulders. He 
took deep breaths, clearing thoughts of tomorrow's battle from his 
head, relaxing, unwinding as he observed the flock, his nose feeling 
the air for any messages of danger as Phos went to sleep. Finding 
none, he let himself enjoy the crispy, early-autumn wind blowing over 
his back, against his side, tickling under his belly, and the 
chirping conversations of water bugs in the reeds. And of course, 
Azalea being close by his side. Maybe he would have himself a bath...
*******

"Hay you son-of-a-muk! Get off me! You little *beep*
fat *beap* *beap* *beap* looser!" And with that he
opened his mouth, exposing his sharp teeth.
"Son-of-a-muks! You are all big, fat, son-of-a-muks!"
Snapper's ears went back at the yelling. Still, she was curious... Sniffing the small Rattata carefully, the little Mareep gave a sneeze as she sniffed a bit too closely "Whazzat all mean? And whazza muk?" 

***

Calima heard Moonscar cursing. She ran over to
Moonscar, who was pinned by a mareep, who was with
Striper. 
Calima growled and decided to take a leaf out of
Moonscar's book.
"Son-of-a-muk... Are you okay Mooncar?* She glared at
Snapper. "Get off of him!"
Her eyes flashed red.
Snapper sniffed a bit as she got off Moonscar, tail drooping "I whaz just playin..." 

Inwardly, she sighed. Why did it seem Striper was one of the only one who ever wanted to play...? Usually when she tried that on her sister, or most anyone for that matter, they'd yell.... 
Moonscar bit Snapper's legs. 
"They mean very bad things. and a muk is a very bas
thing! Son-of-a-MUK!"

"I'm no SON of a Muk!" Snapper bascially...well, snapped "I'm a GIRL!" Her wool sparked a bit as she turned her head with an audible 'HMPH!' 
"Stop it Moonscar. Do you want to play Snapper?"
Calima asked curiously.
Snapper grinned "You mean you wanna play? K!" She did a small, happy jump "You can play watching with me an' Striper! It's fun too! You keep an eye out for anything that's there and not a Mareep, cause you need to protect 'em, and you pounce on 'em." 

She then pinned Calima, giggling "See? You do it just like that!" 
Moonscar cursed.
"Your still a son-or-a-muk..." He mumbled, walking
away. He hardly noticed that he had sat down next to
Willy.

***

Calima giggled and crawled out from under Snapper. 
"My turn!" she said in a sing-song voice, pinning
Snapper down.

Chirin's tail began wagging as he watched them play. It felt like a 
long since he'd played anything. 

"Ah, go join'em," said Azalea, ah, that is, if that's what you'd 
prefer. I'll be fine here. I'm tired, anyhow, come to think of it--
I'm thinking it would be a good idea to--" her nose twitched--"find a 
place where we can sleep. Ah--" She ducked her head down and her tail 
light between her legs, lighting the ground below her and 
silhouetting her legs. "I didn't intend to say--I mean I didn't say--
I didn't intend for it to sound like we were going to sleep in the 
same place..." she looked away, "not that I'm trying to discourage 
it, but not trying to encourage it..."

Chirin let her wind down of her own accord this time.

"...and in fact I stand one hundred percent neutral on the issue."

Chirin was giggling. "You talk a lot when you're nervous."

"Nervous? I'm not nervous. Just, ah, somewhat apprehensive after such 
a long and treacherous toil through unfamiliar terrain?" She wiggled 
her ears. Both burned and good ears seemed to move fine, but the 
burned one was looking like it would heal misshapen. He didn't care. 
She was still beautiful.

"Chirin play? Azalea play?" said Selden, hopping up and down in front 
of Chirin. 

"Sure," said Chirin. "Let's go. I have this idea what we can do, we 
can play this game I love called Denrai. I get to be Denrai."

"Be?"

"Yes..." Chirin took one last look at the mareep around the pond. 
Something wasn't right. Willy was there, with his ewes fawning over 
him; Petunia grazed calmly near where they were; and the few others 
he knew by sight were here. But there should be more mareep.

"Azalea? Is someone missing?"

Azalea's eyes scanned the banks and slopes, and in between trees. 
Just as Chirin recalled that group of whispering lambs, Azalea spoke.

"Blossom, Minty, Sage, and a bunch more, that whole clique of lambs--
where're they?" Azalea's eyes got a little wider. "I'm hesitant to 
jump to any conclusions here, but--"

"Jump to them," he said. "It's dangerous out there, even if they're 
close by something could happen to the poor things, they're so young. 
We'll go look for them. Selden, stay here, we're just going to slip 
round the pond and go find them, we want all the flock to come in 
close around the pond so we can all see each other, now that it's 
getting darker soon."

"Good idea, keep him happy," said Azalea in a low voice. "The rest of 
the flock could possibly panic if they think they're missing...I have 
my doubts, actually, being as nobody else seems to have discovered 
their absence... Perhaps Striper could help us look?"

"Yes," said Chirin. "Good idea."

Chirin went over to Striper, trying to stay calm. "Uh...Azalea and me 
think that some lambs might be missing. Uh, what are their names?" he 
said, turning to Azalea. As he did so he felt another mareep at his 
side and saw that Selden had followed him. 

"I go look?" he bleated while Azalea rattled off ten or so names to 
Striper. "I help Chirin."

"Sure," said Chirin, knowing he couldn't get him to listen and stay 
here. "Striper, we're going to look all round the pond to see if 
they're missing or not...I think they are...and could you help us 
look?"

Striper straightened up, his formerly playful expression stiffening 
into one of answering the call of duty. "Of course. That's why I'm 
here. Are you coming too?" he said, looking at Azalea and Selden. 
Azalea was wounded and Selden very young. 

"I have an idea," said Chirin. "With Striper with me, I'll be safer. 
How about you stay here with Azalea, Selden, and we'll be coming back 
really really quick?"

Selden looked at Azalea, with her naked, burned shoulder, burned ear 
and burned wool. He shrank away from her, sticking his snout against 
Chirin's flank. Azalea looked down in shame.
Chirin went to nuzzle her but she looked away from him, which was 
just as well, because Selden hid behind Chirin, obviously afraid of 
the sight of her. Even when Azalea turned so her wounded side faced 
away Selden still stayed away from her, knowing what was on the other 
side. 

Snapper giggled as Calima pinned her...but looked up as she heard what Chirin said. She pulled herself from under the small nidoran and nudged Chirin "Can I come? I can sniff the wind like you, even if it makes me sneeze. And I'm big and tough too, see?" She stuck out her chest once again,as if trying to prove a point "See?" 
Chirin smiled weakly at Snapper. "Sure, you can come--"

"I dunno," said Striper, "you're a brave mareep snapper, but it's 
best if only two of us go. It's miiiighty dangerous. We'll only be 
gone a short time, you play with Miss Niro there and we'll be back 
real soon."

"I'm going," said Azalea. "My wound's feeling better, it's drying up 
and we'll need more than one light out there, right, Chirin?"

"What about Selden?" said Chirin of the lamb who wouldn't leave his 
side. "Well, we can't wait anymore. I'm going looking. If you're 
coming with me, stay close--we don't want to lose any more."
"I won't have little lambs out there!" said Striper. "I'm the 
Growlithe here. You listen to me, just like back home. Snapper, 
Selden, you stay here. Azalea, you too, you're wounded there."

"I--ah, I feel the need to accompany Chirin," said Azalea. "Not that 
I'm attempting to be insubordinate or anything, just that--"

"Very well," huffed Striper. Chirin was already trotting off into the 
forest. Azalea picked up after him, and the dog ran last of all. 
Before heading off he turned around.

"You lambs Stay Here!"

***
Willy snorted at the rattata. "Why won't the rodents leave me alone?"
Ivy's ears flickered "It seems they run rampant around here, doesn't it?" 
Willy snorted. "The sooner we leave this pest-infested sinkhole the 
better. And those shark things give me the creeps." He looked 
about. "Hm, looks like Chirin's skipped off with *his* ewe again. 
Maybe this time they'll get permanently lost."


"Perhaps.." Ivy said with a sly grin..then wrinkled her nose "Yes...and I think many of us will be glad to get away from these filthy pests..." 



* * *

"You know, I don't think I could bring myself to kill Ivy," said 
Coddy, looking at them from a distance as they lay, still ruminating. 

"Me neither. I don't kill other beings," said Cleomie. "So what do we 
do with her?"

"We drive her away."

"How?"

"I dunno. But this flock's not big enough for the three of us. Either 
she keeps her snout off Willy or she goes. I always kinda wanted to 
push her in the mud."

"Yeah."
*****
Snapper pondered for a moment, her light flickering in thought...then grinned "Striper, if i stay behind, can I watch out for big mean preditors until you get back?"
Striper perked an ear, as if considering, then said, "You bet. You're 
our watch-mareep till we get back."

Seeing the lamb seemed mollified, Striper ran to catch up the other 
two mareep, whose twin tail lights were heading round the pond.

Striper trailed them, knowing he couldn't kill Azalea. No, this would 
not be his chance. 

"If Striper were to go the opposite direction," said Azalea to 
Chirin, "we could circumnavigate the pond in half the time."

"That's right. Striper, how about you go the other way? And when we 
meet up we'll know we searched everywhere."

Chirin and Azalea poked their noses and tails into bushes, down 
trails, keeping calling to a minimum. Chirin didn't want to attract 
enemies, especially with Azalea's wound. 

They met up with Striper all too soon, and nobody had any lambs.

"Then they really are missing," said Chirin. "Oh Mother Megga, the 
poor things. What could have happened to them?" He racked his brain, 
trying to think of how or why... He remembered their whispering and 
felt an echo of it in the tree branches breathing in the wind. And he 
wondered. Wandering off seemed unthinkable... "Why would they want to 
leave? It's so scary out there...full of enemies..."

"Put yourself in their hooves," said Azalea. "You and I didn't smell 
any enemies. No droppings or anything. No screams of dying lambs. 
Striper?"

"I didn't smell anything or hear anything," said Striper. 

"Therefore we can probably draw the conclusion that they weren't 
attacked. We smelled mareep--but that's everywhere and I don't 
believe we can discern anything from that. They have to have wandered 
away purposely, so where they went is a matter of motives. Would you 
go wandering off into a strange place if your flock leaders weren't 
coming too? My hypothesis--dare I say it--is that they're tried to 
return to the farm." She flinched. "I could be wrong, of course, this 
is all a matter of speculation..."

"No, I think you're right," said Chirin. "Home...they're homesick. 
I've felt homesick too. I know how it feels. They may be with this 
flock...but they still feel lost." They weren't thinking about being 
sold at market years from now. They were thinking of the only place 
where things had felt safe and secure, and real.
"We've got to go back down that trail and look there," said 
Chirin. "And we should go back to the flock and tell them. They might 
be getting worried. They should know where we are, especially so 
Willy can be the complete leader till we get back." 

"Right," said Striper, and the three of them ran back to the water, 
Striper easily outrunning them while Chirin went along with Azalea, 
whose wounds still hampered her but was getting quickly better. This 
ewe was as tough as a Blissey, thought Chirin.
"Willy!" 

Willy reluctantly turned his head from the sight of Ivy's face to the 
rather less picturesque sight of Chirin running along the bank 
towards him, followed by his mangy, mangled ewe friend and led by 
Striper. Chirin was the one who had called his name.

"What is it?" said Willy, annoyed that his flirting had been 
interrupted. Couldn't they ever learn to respect his status? If 
Striper wasn't here he'd give those two a sound bashing...

"A whole bunch of lambs are missing," said Chirin. "We came to tell 
you we're going to go look for them, and while we're gone you're 
leader."

"I'm leader anyway."

"Of course he is," said Azalea, clearly trying to avoid an argument, 
though she didn't have to worry. 

"Look you piece of gutter slime, I won't take any more of your 
sarcasm," said Willy as the ewe shrank behind Chirin.

"I wasn't being sarcastic, Willy, please believe me," said Azalea.

"Leave her alone, Willy, and the three of us are searching. This is 
important--we can't fight right now. After we get the missing ones 
back we can talk things over."

"I never said I wanted to talk anything over," Willy called after 
them as the three sped away. "There he goes," he said, turning to 
Ivy, "coming over here just to make me look stupid. I mean like 
twenty of them must be missing. But what can I do? But I'll tell you, 
if they DID wander off I'm going to give each one of them a lesson 
they won't forget, when those scraggly little freaks drag them back 
here. So what is this, did they just decide to pick up and leave?"
Ivy moved closer to Willy, nuzzling him briefly "Well, that's a bit 
difficult for someone who's already made himself out to be odd in the 
head several times by now." 

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? I mean that wildling's a complete 
mental case. And he hangs out with other mental cases. But just when 
you think you've seen the last of him...he comes frolicking back, 
spouting more nonsense and throwing himself on the ground and 
screaming about spirits. He's got staying power, I'll give him 
that." 
"All these mental cases he continues to bring to us...and insists they come along. And he always does manage to find his way back...no matter what. 
And you're right...they deserve whatever you give them if they're wondered off. They probably just wanted to make themselves out to be heros or something of the sort..." 
"You got it. Chirin's been trying to do that from the beginning. Why 
half the flock supports him I'll never guess."
"They just tend to go to the one they see as a 'hero'...although the way things have been going, I'm not seeing much overly heroic about him, are you?" 


* * * 

As they walked along the trail Chirin called into his blood and 
*denki* that piece of him that was Denrai. He was Denrai again. As 
the Hoothoots high above heralded night with their calls, he headed 
along the trail, keeping a watch out for distant lambs' lights. 
Beside him was Azalea, walking on his left like she always did, to 
hide her wound. Striper brought up the rear. They made a good team, 
he thought to himself; Chirin was through being angry with Striper 
for once having tried to kill him. Although he worried for Azalea, he 
was glad she had come along. They were connected in spirit, after 
all. Was she feeling the same chills he was--was she thinking of 
Denrai, feeling the sense, the power, of pretending to be him deep 
inside? As they walked he tried to tune into her, feel with his 
thoughts through that wool and skin and skull of hers into all that 
went on inside.

"I smell'em," said Striper. 

"We're going the right way," said Chirin, who smelled them too. He 
smelled the oil from their wool that had brushed against bushes and 
low branches. They were getting closer.
Snapper, proud to hear that SHE was in charge of making sure the 
flock stayed safe, walked carefully about, making sure that nothing 
dangerous would come. Nothing would happen with... 

Snapper, the powerful Mareep, ally of what could be a dangerous 
preditor but chose to be their friend instead, on duty! 

Sparking her wool once again to try and make herself look bigger, 
Snapper walked off, sniffing the air constantly...and sneezing now 
and then as well. 

Also, she kept close to the ground...even if that wouldn't help much 
anyway, as her tail light was bright. 

Walking proud and sturdy, her tail high...but her body close to the 
ground, she kept looking...and finally, realised she smelled something 
in the air. 

Following the odd smell...she found herselfr face to face with a meowth, 
who appeared to be stalking around the Mareep flock. It hissed at 
her, just before Snapper shocked it, chasing it off. 

Snapper stood tall again as the meowth ran off hissing, her tail light 
bright. She had done it! Chasing off the evil preditor, saving the 
flock of might Mareep! 

...It was then that a Persain hissed from behind her, striking her 
with it claws out. 

With a loud BAAA of surprise, Snapper fell foward, bleeding claw marks 
up and down her woolly back. She cringed back from the Persain, 
sparking "I-I'm not scared of you...well...maybe a lil...." 

Before the Persian could strike again, Snapper BAAAed loudly 
again as a shiny bundle of feathers swooped in, shooting 
something or other at the cat pokemon, and sending it the way 
the meowth itself had gone. 

Mecha rested a wing on Snapper "You ok?" 

With a sniff, and eyes watering, she turned away "I'm fine!" Running 
away from Mecha, she called back "I can take care of myself!" 
Willy flicked his tail's light, sparking his wool as a signal over to 
the opposite shore where there had just been some commotion. Whatever 
it was, the Pidgeotto had taken care of it.

"That bird's the only really good thing the oddball brought with 
him," he said to Ivy. "You know he could probably scout for us 
tomorrow, I think I'll ask him if I get the chance."


* * *

"Maaa...Reeep! M'reeep, reep! Reee, reep..."

Chirin's ears perked at the distant bleats of lambs. He broke into a 
run down the twilight-shadowed trail. When he turned a bend, their 
lights came into view.

The frightened little lambs ran at Chirin, circling round him. The 
rubbing of wool roused electricity to prickle from their bodies. 

"Maahhhh..." one lamb cried. "I'm scared."

"Mahhh..."

"It's okay, it's okay...I'm just so glad you're all right!" he said, 
nuzzling them all as much as he could, spreading good feeling around. 
Azalea and Striper arrived to find him surrounded by the young lambs. 

"Good work, Chirin!" said Striper. "Let's get them back to the pond 
for now."

"Ah, where's Bushy and Blossom?" said Azalea, looking over them 
all. "I don't see them here."

"Lost," said one lamb, who stood shivering against Chirin. "I'm sorry 
we left...I wanted to go back home..."

"I know how you feel," said Chirin, ears drooping as he looked the 
teary, runny-nosed lamb in the face. "I'm a long way from my home 
too. I have an idea, how about we all go back to the pond right now 
and get some sleep? All together. You can sleep all with me and i'll 
even tell you a story. I know some really good stories."

The lamb sniffled, at least he wasn't crying anymore. All the lambs 
seemed quieter and calmer now, Chirin felt them coming out of being 
tharn. "Striper!" said one, and now they gathered around Striper too. 

"Are we all ready to go back to the pond?" said Chirin.

"Yeah," said many of the lambs, but some just stood there sniffling 
or still crying. 
"I'm too tired," said one. "I wanna go back home."

"Me too," said another. "I don't like the pond."

"I don't either," said Chirin. "That pond is yucky. That's why 
tomorrow, we're going to leave there forever and we never have to go 
back. From there, we're going to a wonderful place that has endless 
grass and endless boundless space to run and play. And tomorrow I'll 
play a game with everyone. Tonight, we'll all get back to the pond, 
and I'll tell you all a story."

"Will you tell me two stories?" said one lamb. Chirin laughed, he 
felt Azalea nudging him humerously with her good shoulder.
"Yes," he said, "two stories, if there's time. So we all have to get 
back really fast so there's time."

Striper had looped around them, bringing up the rear and herding 
along any who lagged behind. 

"I must say I admire your way with the little ones," said Azalea to 
Chirin as they all headed back. Chirin flicked an ear.

"It's easy. You just have to say what they want to hear. You have to 
think like them. They're scared and feel like no one's with them. 
That's why they tried to go home. They sensed the dark spirits too, 
just like we did, only they felt like no one cared for them and no 
one would protect them from the shadows. And the fire-beasts 
attacking only brought in more dark, and that dark still lives in the 
air and trees around the pond. They sense that. I think we all do, 
even if not everybody knows it." He sighed, his tail a little lower. 
How could they feel safe sleeping on a ground still haunted by the 
dark spirits and those whose lives it had taken today? "I pray the 
ancestors that things get better once we reach the hills." Inside, he 
prayed some more, imagining that Crazy Lights was just ahead of them, 
leaping and bounding and flashing the lights on his ears. Crazy 
Lights danced a twilight dance and Chirin hummed a tune for him. And 
they all headed slowly but steadily back to the pond.

"Ah," said Azalea, "about the two who're still missing..."

"I'm going to take someone else out here to track'em down once we get 
these lambs back," said Striper, as Chirin started all the lambs 
playing a walking game to keep them going even though they were 
tired.
****
"Chirin puts on a good show," said Willy. "He's so weird they have to 
notice him. He makes a show about caring about every little lamb who 
has the stupidity to stray, when really he's just putting the rest of 
us at risk. I'll give him credit, though, if he really did beat 
Striper that one time he's got at least one trick shoved up that--
tail of his."

At that moment the first of the lost lambs broke through the trees 
into the clearing. Followed by none other than Chirin in their midst, 
along with Azalea and Striper. "Stay here," said Willy, "I'm going to 
figure out what in the hell's going on here." 

Willy marched over the overgrazed grass, his eyes dead set on the 
lambs. He would "talk" to them first.
As Chirin arrived in the clearing again the first one he saw coming 
was Willy, marching up to them like he wanted to fight. Chirin 
flinched, but stood where he was. "It's okay," he whispered to the 
lambs.

"All right," said Willy to the lambs in front. "You want to tell me 
whose idea was it to go traipsing around the forest just as it's 
getting dark? You know if it weren't for Chirin being dumb enough to 
risk his life for you you would've probably gotten killed."

The lamb ran behind Chirin and Azalea as Striper walked over to Willy.

"Not now, Willy. I need you for something," said Striper. "Two more 
lambs are still wandering back there somewhere, and Chirin and Azalea 
need to stay here and get these settled back in. They also have to 
make sure they stay here."

"Okay, okay, I'll help you search for'em, but first, do we know *why* 
they left?" He faced the lambs again. "Mah'? Do you mind telling me?"

"Please, Willy, be nice, or they might run away again--"

"Shut up Chirin. This isn't your flock. Why'd you run away? Just tell 
me and I won't get angry, *m'reeep,* why're you all acting so scared?"

"I could take a wild guess," Azalea mumbled into Chirin's ear as he 
struggled to keep his tail high and lit, struggled to shield the 
lambs as much as he could. It was late and he was too tired to battle 
for them...but he knew now why he wanted so badly to win tomorrow's 
fight. It was to put a stop to these dark tirades, when Willy became 
possessed by an evil spirit in the head--Chirin remembered the dark 
spot he had drawn on Willy on the rock. The light he had drawn on it 
had not come to power yet. "Please, Willy...if you just act gently 
with them they'll be more than willing to tell you--"

"And maybe I should just gently headbutt you into the lake and you'll 
be more than willing to shut up." 

He stuck his nose an inch from the crying lamb's. "Blossom. Why--did--
you--run--off?"

"We--we wanted to--go back, to the farm," said one lamb. Anything 
else she had been about to say was drowned in sobs. "I miss it..."

"Was it your idea? Or was it Bushy's? Heh?"

"Willy, stop it!" said Chirin, moving in between him and the lambs. 
He just couldn't take it anymore and he was on the verge of tears 
just watching. "Please! You're only scaring them more! It doesn't 
matter why they left--we should all be thanking the spirits for 
helping bring them back safe. Let's all get to sleep and we'll settle 
it tomorrow."

"Settle it tomowwow, well I for one don't believe in putting off till 
tomorrow what needs to be settled today. Except our battle and we 
know the outcome of that, so it's really already settled. So all you 
lambs tried to go back to the farm? I guess you know *now* how stupid 
that was. You can't go back. You're stuck here, and that's that."

"I could take them back, really," said Striper.

"No. They're a mess. The farmer will send them straight to market--
for meat. Half of them are burned, half of them are lame, all of them 
are filthy, and tharn. Or they will be by the time they get back." 

Some of the lambs had started crying again. Some stood rocking back 
and forth, chewing cud, with glazed-over eyes. Petunia was coming 
down the way. "My goodness, Willy, yelling at them's only going to 
make things worse--"

"Who's leading this flock? You or me?" Willy growled and lowered his 
head at her and she retreated. Willy was sure a sight to intimidate. 
His wool sparked, his tail flashed, his foot stomped. "All right, 
Striper, you want to go back up the trail and look for those last 
two?"

"Yes," said Striper, "but only if you calm down and stop losing your 
temper."

"Yes, Striper." Willy rolled his eyes, but stopped pawing the ground 
with his hoof. "Let's go."

"You all stay here with them," said Striper, "Chirin, Azalea, settle 
them in. Snapper?" he called. "Good girl, you've done a great job 
there. I need you to be lookout again, till it's time to sleep."


Chirin flashed his tail in affirmation as they began to gather round 
the lambs. "I'll tell you a story now, just like I promised," he 
said, watching Willy's tail light disappear down the trail after 
Striper. They would be all right.
Just as Chirin began to delve into his mind for a good story--there 
were so many to choose from!--he remembered how much all his friends 
had enjoyed it the last time he'd told a story. "Okay...I'm going to 
tell the story of the birth of Denrai. Calima, Moonscar, Mecha, 
Razkel, Petunia, and, uh, anyone else, do you want to come listen?"

To his surprise, several of the other mareep ambled over towards the 
little group nestled in the shade of the trees at the clearing's 
edge. Chirin waited for everyone who wanted to come over, to come 
over.


***Calima's History***

Calima watched Moonscar tussle with Willy. Personally,
she hoped that Moonscar tore the son-of-a-muk mareep
limb-from-limb. She walked over to Chirin.
"Hey Chirin, I have something to tell you....... This
warren holds a secret. This is where I was born. I
know the chompera, most of them are about my age or a
little older, and I have been all over this warren.
You see these other two graves? Those are where my
parents are burried. Rumor has it that the black and
white quilava is here now." Before Calima could finish
their came a growl. A few nidoran screamed and ran out
of their burrows.
"Ikiomamola is here! The evil one!" Said one nidoran
as he passed. Nidoran came flooding from their
burrows. Then a quilava appeared, carrying a
squealing, kicking nidoran in its mouth. The quilava
was black and white. And his eyes were red. 
He pinned the nidoran down, and gave put his claw next
to its neck. The claws were very long and sharp. He
slowly slided it toward the nidoran's neck. It cut
into the nidoran's tough flesh, then it kept going.
the quilava was sure not to hit anything vital. Before
he was halfway finished, he pierced its legs, and it's
stomache. Then it shot a green and black flame into
the air. 
"I'll get you Calima!" He said, dissapearing.
Calima was shaking furiously. She ran over to the
nidoran. She was bleeding badly. 
"Chirin," Calima whispered. "We need to put her out of
her misery. Or she will die a painful death."

Moonscar squealed and ran over in front of Willy.
"Look you son-of-a-muk! I have something to tell
you... I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR FREAKING ATTITUDE!!
I REALLY WISH THAT I COULD JUMP UP ONTO YOU AND RIP
YOUR FREAKING THROAT OUT!! YOU WOULDN'T BE SO SNOTTY
IF THERE WERE A FEW CHOMPERA HERE!! YOU WOULDN'T BE SO
MEAN IF YOU COULDN'T TALK!! YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN
SO MEAN TO THE LAMBS!! I WISH THAT YOU WOULD GO TO
HELL! IF CALIMA WAS HERE, SHE WOULD RIP YOUR THROAT
OUT WITH HER HORN AND TEAR YOUR BODY APPART! HYPER
FANG!" And Moonscar leaped onto Willy and bit the back
of his neck.
With a chench of muscles Willy sent a surge of electricity out 
from his coat, briefly glowing with chaotic fingers of sparks. At the 
same time he gave his shoulders a twist, attempting to fling Moonscar 
off, hopefully snapping his spine too. He realized though that the 
electricity might clamp the rattata's jaws tighter on the nape of his 
neck. Head-ramming angry, he bucked and leaped and twisted his body 
violently.

"I'll teach you to mess with the top ram you piece of pond muck!"


Barking loudly, Striper ran around Willy, waiting for an opening so 
he could jump in and kill the rabid thing if Willy didn't. He knew 
how to handle these...but then again...it might be in his best 
interest to let the rat do its job, if it somehow got lucky and 
really killed Willy...

"No! No!" Chirin raced over, knowing it was too dangerous to jump in, 
but desperate to save the flock from more death and harm. What Willy 
had done appalled him, but what Moonscar had done appalled him too. 
And now whatever spirit had possessed Moonscar might just be out to 
send him into death. Chirin's bleats barely sounded over the zaps of 
willy's *denki*. "Moonscar get off him! Oh, stop, he'll kill you!"
Azalea and Selden huddled with the lambs, watching the attack. She 
knew there was nothing to do but hope it was taken care of. 

She looked around the pond, at every single mareep now watching the 
battle. "If we could leave this godforsaken place *tonight* I would 
do it," she mumbled under her breath. She hoped Chirin didn't get too 
close to the fight ...but he knew how to take care of himself.

"Maah, maah, maah..." Selden began to bleat at the sight of the 
electric struggle. Azalea tried to nuzzle him but he jumped away from 
her, backing in with the older lambs, and kept on bleating. As if 
that were a cue, the other lambs started to bleat too.

She didn't notice the strange quilava break in from the brush further 
down the bank, until the nidoran poured from their holes. The Quilava 
snatched a nidoran in its jaws, threw it down, mauled it up, screamed 
something amid the screams (and bleats) and shot green fire, and 
disappeared back whence it had come.

If the lambs hadn't been panicking before, they did now. "Maaa, reep! 
Maaa, reep! Reeep, reeep!" They bolted down the other way, huddling 
with the mareep on the south side of the pond, away from both Willy 
and where the Quilava had appeared.

Yes, Azalea definitely wanted to leave here. She was beginning to 
wonder if that spirit stuff Chirin seemed so devoted to really did 
have some substance. as the flock huddled close against the trees, 
someone brushed up against her wound, sending a strange numb pain 
shooting through her. She weaved her way to the edge of the crowd.

Staring back from the opposite side, she noticed that the Quilava had 
left its prey half-alive on the slope. Nothing to do about it now--
except *stay away*. The scent of blood was enough to tell her that. 
If the Quilava didn't return, something else would come. Maybe 
Striper would clean it up before scavengers did...in fact, he 
probably had to.

Moonscar heard the squealing of nidoran, and the cry
of a quilava. He jumped off Willy and watched in
horror as the quilava left its victom half alive. he
stood frozen on the spot.
Willy shook himself off, hating the smell of that Rattata's drool on 
his neck. Not to mention he'd actually managed to break the skin. He 
looked over at the scene he'd missed: some predator making a Nidorn 
kill. Well, it was gone now. The flock had crowded together on the 
opposite side of the pond, the south side. They seemed okay for the 
moment, or as good as they could be.

"You ready to go, Striper?" said Willy. He wanted to get those lambs 
before they got in more trouble. In and of themselves they might be a 
nuisance, but he couldn't be losing two mareep here, two there. Also, 
he realized he had to start looking like he cared or more might turn 
to the younger wildling ram for guidance. He snorted in disgust.

***

Calima walked over to Chirin and said: "What do we do?
Call the chompera, call Striper, call anyone..."

"I'm here," said Striper. He picked up the Nidoran, ran off into the 
bushes with it, and snapped its neck.

Chirin heard the crack of its spinal cord and an involuntary shudder 
ran through him, the reverberations of the spirit of the pained 
Nidoran touching him as it swooped away from a place of so much pain.

He saw Azalea up above the far bank with the rest of the flock. He 
had to make his way over there, to reassure them...

He spoke out, more loudly than he'd intended. Along the line of his 
voice ran a subtle tremor. "I don't want to stay here tonight, 
not..not for another heartbeat more than we have to," said 
Chirin. "We'll wait until Willy and Striper bring the other lambs 
back, then we're leaving."

"For once, I agree with you," said Willy, and Striper emerged from 
the bush, without the Nidoran.

"It's, um, taken care of," said the Growlithe in a low, gruff 
whisper. "Willy, let's go, those lambs could be anywhere how."

Striper took off down the east trail with Willy following.


***

Calima walked over to Chirin and started to explain
things.
"That was Ikiomamola, which means, the evil one. He is
an assasin, a killer. He has assasinated many pokemon.
He wants to torture them first. Like he did with the
nidoran. I know all this, because I was born here.
And, Ikiomamola was my best friend as a cyndaquil.
Back then, his name was Cinder. But when he evolved,
he became evil, so we call him Ikiomamola now. We are
not sure why he changed, but it is my destingy to
avenge my parents by riding the lake of that quilava.
I am ot sure why he wanted my family and I dead, for
all we know, he might of sent those arcanine and
growlithe! Argh...When I get my paws on him, I'm
gonna... Do something bad to him!" Calima's eyes
flashed red.
"That's terrible," said Chirin, going over to give her a hug. He had 
never heard the word "assassin" and he did not know its meaning...but 
he knew what a killer was. "It's so sad that he used to be your 
friend... there is definitely a dark spirit inside him. It is not 
Cinder now, he is somebody else in Cinder's body and Cinder's soul is 
lost and trapped somewhere, because the darkness is overpowering him. 
I never met Burakuru but maybe he did. There's a lot of dark in the 
world." 

Chirin looked again at the flock. Willy was away from them right now 
and so was Striper.The attack had made them nervous all over again--
he could see that plainly in their electricity-fluffed wool, making 
them look twice as large. Poor Azalea, robbed of half her coat, 
looked lopsided. He felt the hairs on his own back and neck prickling 
up.

"I want to get over there to make sure they're okay," he said, 
getting up and heading down along the slope. "When Willy and Striper 
get back with those lambs, we're leaving. I want to take us out into 
those fields where I was earlier and sleep out there. I feel the 
darkness all over this clearing...but if this is your warren you 
don't have to come with me. But I would miss you."


* * * 

Willy and Striper had been traveling along the trail some time now. 
It was getting dark and they were far from the pond. Where were these 
stupid lambs? thought Willy. It was completely unfair. If they had 
the gall to go get lost, why should he have to risk his neck 
searching for them? And meanwhile he was leaving the whole flock in 
the care of that runt.

"You smell anything?" he called over at Striper.

"Not yet," Striper barked back. "They've probably gone off the trail. 
I'll have a sniff ahead of you."

Striper took the lead, following his nose. Willy trudged on after 
him, and when they went off the trail, twigs and things got stuck in 
his wool. Stupid lambs! When he found them he would give them a 
headbutt for every piece of junk and dirt that he would make *them* 
clean out of his coat.

"Are you sure about where we're going here?" he asked the herd 
Growlithe.

"Sure as anything."

Striper was sure, sure than he'd ever been before. As soon as they 
reached a more open area he would signal to Willy to take the lead 
again...
Striper let Willy go ahead of him, then he leaped for the jugular. 
Momentarily blinded by the light on Willy's tail, he leaped past with 
mouth open. The shadows on the trees swung crazily as he knocked the 
mareep on his side. For an instant Willy's eye found Striper's as the 
growlithe sank his teeth into the side of his neck and tore.

"What are you doing!"

Striking out, finding his current, Willy got to electrocute Striper 
once before he died. 

Flung back by the attack, Striper leaped in again. Willy, bleeding to 
death, fell down but struck out with his legs. Striper danced back 
from the dying mareep, who spurted with electricity, trying to bring 
Striper with him. How could he still be alive? Mareep really were 
tough. Striper knew he couldn't use his fire or it might be smelled. 
He waited for the prey to lose a little more life... Willy's sides 
still heaved and sparked...then Striper ran in from behind Willy's 
head. He clamped his jaws on Willy's neck again. With a crunch he 
broke the spinal cord. 

Willy's body twitched slightly. His tail blinked a few last times, 
flopping fishlike on the ground, then fell dark. Around him the woods 
darkened.

The wind lifted his still-fluffed wool around the blood leaking out 
onto newly fallen leaf litter. The smell of his blood blended with 
autumn leaves. Willy's eyes were still open, staring in shock at the 
dog who had once protected him, the look mirroring Striper's own 
feelings. Striper licked the blood from his lips and stared back. He 
had killed a mareep, of his own flock.

The flock would smell it. They might come out here and see it. Where 
were those two lambs anyway? Striper set his paws to the ground, 
scraping away leaves, and began to dig a hole, remembering him as a 
lamb. He had watched Willy grow up, and now look at what he had done. 
All plans to return to the flock erased themselves from his mind. He 
wasn't going anywhere near them. He couldn't, ever again. Had he 
really told himself he'd had to kill Willy?

Striper pushed Willy into the hole; the mareep flopped in with an 
eerie thud. Trying not to look down at the dead ram, he knocked the 
pile of loose earth into the hole, shoved it in, covering the mess he 
had created. He stomped on it. In a sudden fray of panic he dug up 
more earth, scattering it over the blood on the ground. 

Then he ran.

He told himself that he'd had to do it--but now he had tasted mareep. 
His mother had told him about this, that the instinct to kill had not 
been squashed even through generations of humans breeding them to 
herd mareep and miltank. "Once you taste mareep blood you can never 
herd them again," she had said. "It will awaken an instinct that 
can't go back to sleep."

Striper knew this was true now. In anguish, grief, despair, bordering 
on madness he turned from the grave and ran away, wishing he could 
undo what he'd done. 

Chirin, it was Chirin's fault. If that little ram lamb hadn't lured 
them all away... But what did it matter? He was not Bub's dog 
anymore. He was a wild Growlithe now. He ran howling through the 
wilderness, northward, fast way from the pond and every other place 
he knew. Debris flew, twigs snapped, under his paws as he ran, 
wanting to get himself utterly and forever lost. In the huffig and 
puffing of his lungs, the pain and fire, he was being reborn. 

* * *

Chirin's mouth deftly plucked a few leaves off a nearby bush. Azalea 
joined him on the same bush, which was all but denuded. He kept an 
eye out on the east trail, but Striper and Willy did not arrive and 
it was getting too dark to just leave the flock. "I'm worried," said 
Chirin. "They've been gone a long time."

"Those are two of our most capable flockmates," said Azalea. "You'd 
be hard pressed to find a better search team. They'll come back."

"I hope so," said Chirin, though he wasn't sure if he hoped so. Of 
course, he wanted them to be safe...but come back? He shook the 
thought from his head. How dare he wish that they didn't come back! 

Chirin lay down to rest and Selden lay down against him. Azalea did 
too, from the other side. Chewing quietly, Chirin took this moment to 
enjoy the autumn evening and the contact of warm woolly bodies. He 
fluffed his wool against the chill breeze. Around and behind them the 
flock was settling in again, though not like before the attack. Many 
still milled around, not finding much to eat and still smelling blood 
in the air. They needed something to think about focus on, to keep 
the light alive.

"We all must keep our tails bright to be beacons," he said, "for the 
ones who died. We can't do anything for them here because we wouldn't 
want them to have to keep coming back here. This is a bad place for 
mareep and I feel darkness all around it. I promise, as soon as Willy 
and Striper get back, we'll leave heading southwest--tonight, if you 
want. Is that what you want?"

"Yes," said one, and many of them flashed their tails in a definite 
agreement. 

"Okay, then that's what we'll do. But does anyone want me to tell a 
story while we wait?" His ears wiggled. "I know I love to hear 
stories. They give me a nice chilly fluffy feeling." He forced 
himself to smile, and found the smile took root and became a little 
bit real. He looked at Calima, flickering his tail in question to see 
what she wanted.
Calima didn't answer Chirin. She was in shock from the
sudden attack. Her best friend, Cinder, had become
evil.
Chirin waited for an answer, but it didn't come. And he knew by the 
slight movement of her large, sensitive ears that she'd heard him. He 
moved cautiously over, and nudged her shoulder with his 
nose. "Calima," he said softly, "are you all right?"

Chirin didn't notice Moonscar throw himself into the water from 
across the pond, but Azalea did. She watched the little scene in 
perplexion, not sure what he was up to, but when he didn't resurface, 
she decided that reasons didn't really matter.

"Ah, Chirin? A Rattata--I believe one of your, ah, acquaintances--is 
under the water and not resurfacing," she said, nodding her tail's 
end at the opposite bank.
Chirin wondered if Moonscar had decided to bring up another Apricorn.

***

Moonscar moved from the spot and jumped into the pond,
in an attempt to drown himself. There were too many
deaths! He wanted to be out of this world of blood and
death.

They all watched.

"Still not coming up," said Azalea. "I believe there's a, ah, 
critical moment at which...ah..."

"Moonscar?" called Chirin. "*Meriipu!* Moonscar?"

"It's difficult to discern sound from above the water if you're 
beneath the water," said Azalea.

"Moonscar?" Chirin hopped up and made his way along the sloped bank, 
keeping an eye trained on the water, watching for 
movement. "Moonscar!"
"I doubt it's too serious," said Azalea picking her way through the 
brush after him. "After all I observed that earlier just this day 
they remained submerged for a much longer duration and didn't suffer, 
due to some sort of phenomena I'm not familiar with. That's not to 
say, of course, that I'm not becoming rather worried! Right here," 
she said, stopping by the pond's edge. "I saw him jump in from here."

Chirin stuck his head down underwater and looked. The water was dark 
and murky. He didn't see anything. "Moonscar--" he tried to call, but 
the bubbles flew up in his face. He came out coughing, the wool atop 
his head plastered flat to his scalp. "I didn't see him anywhere!"

He needed Calima's help. She had called upon the spirit of the pond 
today and understood its powers better than he did. "Calima!" he 
called.
Unable to wait longer, he waded in. It was a steep dropoff from here 
and instantly his feet left the pond bottom. 

"I suggest calling the Chompera for some assistance," said Azalea 
just before he ducked under. He came back up again. 

"Good idea, I will! Uh--Chompera?" How did you summon them, anyway? 
Just in case calling didn't work, Chirin began trying to reach the 
spirits with his thoughts, to help him, as he took a breath and 
ducked under again.
Chirin's limbs pumped, fighting his own body's lightness, 
thinking thoughts of heaviness to help him sink. Shining his light 
around, he didn't see Moonscar or any Chompera, and the water below 
was black. It went down very deep. He continued to swim before his 
air ran out, hearing and feeling the pond speaking to him. Water was 
very communicative and told vividly of unseen spirits in warm spots, 
cold spots, the movement of the water and the gurgly, flowy sounds.

*Moonscar...Moonscar...* Chirin called in his thoughts, lighting his 
tail as brightly as he could and swinging it in all directions. It 
was even easier to get lost down here than it was in the forest. He 
prayed the pond was not angry at them or against them in any way.

A nearby chompera heard the noise and the splashing.
He swam up close and saw a rattata and a mareep. He
got under the two of them and pushed them to the
surface. Then he swam back down.

***

Calima snapped back into reality and ran over to
Chirin and Moonscar.
"Moonscar? Moonscar? Moonscar!"

***

Moonscar lay down, gasping for air.
"Want...to...be...away...from...this...evil...place..."


"Then why don't we get out of here?" Razkel said from Berry's back, the Rhyhorn was moving agitatedly from foot to foot, bordering on the edge of panic, the Rattata was doing the best to keep her calm but it was hard going.

"Oh, Moonscar...I'm so happy you're alive...oh thank you, 
Chompera...thank you good spirits..." Chirin clasped the almost-
drowned Rattata to his sopping wet chest, while sitting on his buns 
in a Flaaffy like manner. His wool wanted to fluff up in chills of 
relief, but couldn't under the weight of the water. He 
giggled. "You're all wet. What happened? Were you trying to get 
another Apricorn...or did...you fall in?" He was almost certain the 
evil spirits had shone their shadows on this. There was no such thing 
as an accident. "What happened--why did you jump in?"

Still hugging moonscar, Chirin looked at Razkel, and at Berry, whose 
nervousness had quite a powerful aura--powerful enough that it was 
jumping over to the flock and making them nervous too. They 
clustered away from her, edging to the southwest edge of the clearing 
with nervous, mumbling bleats. "I want to leave here too," he 
said. "But Willy and Striper are still out there looking for those 
two lambs..." Not to mention that the evil power was definitely 
mounting again, and before they left he would have to disperse them 
or the darkness would trail them. These spirits were like Pidgeys--
somewhat easy to disperse, but always flocking back even stronger 
than before. At first he had not been sure whether all his friends 
had felt its presence, but without a doubt, everyone did now. With 
the sun having set and twilight fast dying, he felt it was only a 
matter of time before the dark spirits took power, perhaps even 
heralding Burakuru herself. He shuddered, remembering stories told to 
him about the Dark Ewe. Was that quilava possibly her in disguise? 
Burakuru was master of disguises and could change shape, and that 
quilaza, while male, had been mostly black....

He had to stop thinking like this. "Everyone we have to keep our 
lights bright," he called to the flock. "Remember that, it's so 
important. I'm worried," he said to Azalea, letting go of Moonscar 
and smoothing out his water-spiked fur with a hoof over his purple 
back. "Striper and Willy should have been back."

"I have to agree with you," said Azalea. "How about you and I go have 
a look? They'd be down that trail."

Just then two lambs ran in from the east, bleating with sobs. 
Answering bleats sounded from the flock. "those are the missing 
ones," said Azalea in a relieved but vaguely dark voice, as Chirin 
ran to the two lambs, giving nuzzles and pleasant sparks all round 
and helping them to the flock again. As Chirin turned to ask Azalea 
what was troubling her, he remembered that Striper and Willy were 
still not back.

Azalea turned to the two lambs. "Did either of you see Willy and 
Striper?"

"No," said one as the other one bowed her head. "We got all alone out 
there...and we were getting lost...so we came back."

"I know why you wanted to go back to the farm," said Chirin. "It was 
because you sensed what we all did--that this is a bad place. And as 
soon as Willy and Striper gt back we're leaving it forever."

"You mean..." said the lamb, sniffling, "we don't have to sleep here?"

Chirin-Chirin smiled with a twinkle of his tail. "No." The twinkle 
turned to a worried flicker. He took a breath and turned to Azalea 
and Calima. "We have to go look for them. Something's wrong now, I 
can feel it."

"It's getting dark already," said Azalea. "I suspect foul play 
somewhere along the line, on the part of the many predators lurking 
in these woods. I'm not altogether sure it would, therefore, be 
intelligent to search for them."

"I know..." Chirin's tail lowered as he looked at the darkening, gray 
smear of the trail. "I don't kow what to do. I only know that if it 
were us out there, I would want to be searched for. Who knows what's 
happened."

"Chirin, I think...ah, I'm not in favor of giving up on them 
altogether, but... for the sake of the flock--" Azalea sighed too.

"How about we get them out into the fields, then I'll go back and 
wait here just a little longer..."

"That would be just as bad, if not worse, than going down the trail 
alone. In addition, if they do arrive back here to find us absent, 
they'll easily track us to the fields." She started. "Not to say your 
decision isn't in the best--"

"No, no, you're right," said Chirin, looking at the anxiously buzzing 
mareep.
Moonscar looked at Chirin and managed to gasp: "I
wanted to escape forever..." But that was all he could
say.
Escape forever? But there was nowhere to go under the water but more 
water...Did Moonscar mean what Chirin thought he meant? 

"I'm going to get us all out of here, Moonscar," said Chirin hugging 
Moonscar a little tighter, but not too tight, hearing the little 
creature's heart pound. "It was a bad spirit, one of the dark ones, 
who tried to take you with it. You can't give up now. None of us can."


***

Calima stood frozen with fear. Moonscar had tried to
kill himself. Calima couldn't, no, wouldn't belive
what she was hearing.

He looked out at the flock, which was also anxiously buzzing. He 
wanted to go now, they wanted to go--but the need to wait for the 
last two kept him standing there, held by a string of Caterpie silk. 

Chirin suddenly remembered the form he had made earlier--a powerful 
one, detailed and sporting several different colors. He ran over to 
it. He heard Azalea running after him. "Chirin, what is it?" 

"No, no enemies. I wanted to see the form I made."

He had drawn Willy lying on his side. He'd been careful to place a 
good light on his tail and show his *denki* strong in his body...but 
that black spot--the dark spirit inside Willy--he had only placed a 
small light in. He had not erased it. "Oh, why didn't I erase the 
dark in Willy?"

"Oh, Chirin..." Azalea stepped close beside him. "Your drawing didn't 
cause Willy to get hurt! Don't blame yourself. If something has 
happened this had nothing to do with it."

"We don't know that. I didn't mean for it to...oh, I shouldn't have 
been so selfish!"

Chirin began to cry.

"Chirin, don't cry." Azalea's heart leaped, and so did her stomach as 
she took the final step towards him on shaky legs, to nuzzle him. Her 
light was doing that warm, rich yellow shine again and she tucked it 
between her legs. She felt bad enough that she hadn't jumped in after 
him in the water...but she'd told herself, that he could take care of 
himself. But so could Willy and Striper.

As Chirin cried against her, Azalea allowed herself a small fantasy 
of the two of them bathing in a calm, cool pool...but with Lavender 
there, not Azalea. Lavender didn't exist. She was the pretty ewe 
everyone liked, whom Azalea pretended to be inside her head.

Moonscar wanted to give up, and end it all. But when
he looked into Chirin's eyes, he knew that it wasn't
his time to die yet. A strange light flashed in
Moonscar's eyes, and he was suddenly filled with a
power he never thought he had. He leaped up into the
air and landed on his feet. He was going to go with
Chirin. But, he wanted to tell Chirin something about
Striper first.
"Chirin, well, ya know that nidoran mom that
dissapereard with Striper? I, kinda know what happened
to her..."

***

Calima looked at Moonscar, who was filled with sudden,
and powerful energy. She listened to him, and waited
to hear what had happened to the nidoran mother.


*****
It had been a while since Teazel had had a decent night's sleep. And 
even with all the events that seemed to be going on within the mareep 
flock...she still needed some rest.

She was too close to the mareep flock for her comfort, though. 
Especially after that attack from the growlithe pack, she didn't feel 
safe sleeping so close next to such an amount of mareep. Edging away 
from the flock a bit, she started looking around for a good place to 
rest.

-Man, do I feel like not walking tonightt,- she thought, as her feet 
stumbled over various roots and rocks that lay on the ground. A few 
steps later, feeling a bit of grass underneath her foot, she stopped.

-Well, it's not as far away as I'd like  it to be...but I don't feel 
as though I have the energy to go any further.- Lying down on the 
grass, she put her head on her forelegs, and half-closed her eyes. 
She could still see the lights from the different mareeps. Watching 
them, she relaxed a bit more, until she went into a state of near-
slumber, which seemed just as nice as real sleep right now...
*****

Chirin stopped sobbing. A different feeling washed over him as Azalea 
rubbed her head against his neck and cheek. The soul feeling started 
in his chest and his head and worked its way along his back, running 
the course of his *denki* all the way to the tip of his tail. His 
wool stood on end. Every time they touched, the connection came 
alive, its light blinking on. 

"Oh Azalea, that feels so nice. You have a magic."

Azalea, her cheeks turning a purple color--blush over periwinkle blue-
-muttered something under her breath, thhat might have been a "don't 
mention it." Giving her head a shake, looking away towards the pond, 
she began to talk again. "Was saying that your beautiful--in the 
manner of skill and execution, that is--drawing there probably didn't 
play into Striper and Willy's disappearance as much as you might 
think. But if you'd like, and I believe it's necessary if only to 
avoid guilt later on, we can make another run down that trail and 
ascertain whether they really are gone."

"I'd like to," said Chirin softly. Oh, if they didn't find them...if 
they were really gone...Chirin knew Azalea didn't believe his form, 
or any form, had much power, but he knew otherwise. He had seen 
Chenja and Lararu take great powers under their control with their 
forms. A form, in addition to invoking spirit powers, had a spirit of 
its own and could bring death to an entire flock, never mind two 
small pokemon. If Willy and Striper really was gone there was no 
doubt in his head as to why. He had done it. He had wielded spirit 
powers carelessly and selfishly. He glared at the rock...but first, 
the search...

He seemed to recall Moonscar saying something before, just when the 
wonderful Jumpluff-and-Ledian light feeling Azalea gave him had 
pushed out all other thought. Turning to him and Calima beside him, 
he said, "Me and Azalea are going down the trail to look for them. 
I'm sorry...did you say something to me before?"


Azalea's feet made little nervous steps as Chirin talked to Moonscar 
and Calima. She pored over the words she'd said. She had sounded so 
cold and indifferent. Did Chirin think she didn't care? Did he think 
she didn't like him near her? 

It was better than him finding out the truth of what she felt about 
him. 

She wasn't too eager to find Willy...she didn't want to think abot 
whatever was holding him up, but it had done them a favor. Willy had 
put her through too many bullyings back on the farm for her to want 
him back now. But Striper was another matter. He'd never gone out of 
his way to be nice to her, but he'd been friendly enough and even 
saved her from being thrown in the water trough by Willy and his gang 
a few times. (Though most of the time he hadn't been able to...) 

Azalea paced around, worrying. Of course she wanted to search... but 
more to put Chirin at ease than anything else. She knew Willy and 
Striper, and they wouldn't have been gone this long of their own 
accord. She knew they weren't coming back. But Chirin didn't...

...and besides, it was all worth it for a solitary walk with him down 
a quiet trail.


Chirin rolled a bit of cud around in his mouth, chewing it as he 
looked at Moonscar. Both of them were still rather damp and Chirin 
shivered in the cooling of nightfall. 

"Are you cold?" Azalea sidled up to him again, with her good right 
side. She rubbed him some static. "Have some sparks. Not--Just 
because, catching a chill can bring on illness and out in this 
wilderness we lack medical help, so in this time of crisis we should 
all, be..." she said, furiously blushing again.

"Thanks," he said, giving sparks back.
Moonscar looked at Chirin. The mareep was soaked
to the bone and there was nothing he could do about
it. Moonscar, who had felt this sudden burst of
energy, wished he could give all of it to Chirin. He
started making a picture in the dirt, with one of his
little clawy. It was a picture of Striper and the
nidoran mother. Moonscar was too afraid to tell of
what had happened, but maybe he could draw what had
happened. He drew the nido-mom in Striper's mouth. And
the whole time the nido-mother was smiling. He got a
little red berry from out of nowhere and smeared the
juice on for the blood. For a rattata, Moonscar was a
good artist. 
Still enjoying the exchange of "fuzzy buzzies" with Azalea, Chirin 
watched Moonscar in curiosity at first, but as the form took shape it 
turned to one of horror. Shocked to the bone he watched the form take 
shape. What was Moonscar trying to do--bring more bad luck? Hadn't he 
already seen what Chirin's form had done? What was he doing, drawing 
a Growlithe--or Arcanine--here and now, when the dark ones could so 
easily bring them back?

"Moon...Moonscar..." 

Moonsca stepped back and looked at his
drawing.
"I-I would not like to TELL what had happened to the
nido-mom, so I drew it," Moonscar said. "Come look..."

***

Calima peeked at the picture and gasped. She was right
the whole time. Striper had killed the nido-mother.
Calima also knew why she was smiling, because death
was her wish. She wanted to be with her son, and she
was. Calima saddened more, her ears drooping.

"Moonscar get rid of that!" cried Chirin. "That calls to the spirits 
who are flocking with Burakuru! There are strong dark spirits 
following us right now and a form like that, with blood--" Seeing the 
flock of mareep glancing at them from a distance, through the thin 
veil of trees and brush, Chirin lowered his voice, and it trembled. 
He clutched at his apricorn shell, fumbling it open. What was 
Moonscar trying to do?!

"Chirin, I wouldn't be so...so quick to..." Azalea trailed off as 
Chirin clutched the pebble between both his hooves. He then dropped 
it on the ground and pressed his nose to it, praying to the spirit of 
the pond as he had earlier in the day for Moonscar's welfare. 

"Ah...er...ah Moonscar that's a very interesting picture there," said 
Azalea. "It seems to have aroused some of Chirin's more powerful 
supersti--ah, instincts."

"Erase it!" said Chirin, putting the pebble back, wrapping the shell 
closed again and giving it a lick. "The pond spoke to me through the 
ground. You must erase it. This pond has fallen under darkness. We're 
definitely being followed. You erase yours...and I must erase mine. 
Mine has already hurt two Pokemon that were with us. The dark spirits 
are using its power to twist things...they're twisting everything we 
try to do and making bad things happen. That form you just made could 
make the Arcanines come back."

Chirin reached his own drawing in a single bound. He picked up the 
sharp rock in his folded front foot and began to scratch the image 
out into light. All the while he shone his light as brightly as he 
could. He concentrated on obliterating both himself and Willy from 
the rock. In anger he slashed at the dark spot in Willy, and then 
tried to calm himself down as he gently smoothed the rest of it into 
white. He had to keep calm...otherwise his own anger could redouble 
onto the part of his soul that he had put on this rock. His front leg 
ached by the time he was done. He stood back and looked at the form 
that was all light now and wiped tears off his face. 

"I wouldn't be so terrified, Chirin--" Azalea began, but Chirin cut 
her off.

"This dark has followed me for a long time now. I know when it's 
close and it's really close. I--I still want to make one more search 
for Willy and Striper, though," he said. "I hope I'm wrong and my 
form did no harm to them. Does anyone want to come with me?"
Chirin, still catching his breath, wondered if he had overreacted.

No, he hadn't. For all he knew Moonscar could have harmed himself 
with this form.

He knew that in better times, back before all the dark had fallen 
over them, forms would have been so much safer to draw. Even earlier 
today he would have thought so. But not here, not after how the dark 
ones had used his own form to kill or otherwise take away both Willy 
and Striper. He was young and didn't know how to use them safely yet. 
He sighed, wishing Lararu and Chenja were here. Chenja would have 
made a form ringing them in safety...she would have led a running of 
lights all along it to give it the flock's light power. Chirin still 
remembered the time they had had runnings of lights. The flock had 
done them for many different reasons. He looked at the mouth of the 
trail that had swallowed Willy and Striper, and 
remembered...frolicking, creeping, trotting, singing to the *Amph, 
Amph, Amphaa* as all the flock ran with their lights flashing, making 
the line they traveled, alive.
<<<possibly relocate this>>>
"I do..." called a small voice as Snapper walked foward. The blood had dried, clumping the wool on her back in some places. "I wanna find Striper. He's my friend..." 

Mecha looked over "Chirin...I would....but maybe Ebony and myself should keep an eye on the flock instead..." 

Ivy wrinkled her nose before fluffing her wool a bit. Willy would be fine...he was probably just proving he was tough... 
Chirin looked at Mecha and Ebony. Had Mecha found a mate? Oh, that 
would be wonderful...Perhaps even in bad places during bad times, 
good things happened. It warmed him inside.

"Yes," said Chirin, "that's a good idea. I'm worried something could 
happen while we're gone. Me, Snapper and Azalea are going...we'll be 
back soon. Thank you, Mecha, and Ebony." The idea to draw a form to 
help them search blinked on, then off again in his head, as he 
remembered all over everything concerning that. He had to do some 
serious learning and preparations before anyone attempted to make a 
form of anything again. 

Chirin trotted down to the trail's mouth, with Azalea and Snapper 
following. They slowed to a walk as they went deeper in. Chirin kept 
his light high and bright, although the poor thing was getting tired 
after so much intense shining. But an accidental brush against 
Azalea's side as they walked was enough to ignite it again in that 
strange rich yellow. 

"I hate to be the one to speak first, but...no evidence of them yet," 
said Azalea after a long, quiet, cautious stretch of wordless walking.
Snapper wasn't scared....not at all. Nope, not even in the slightest.. 

A twig snapped. 

With a loud "REEEEEEEEEP!" she ducked behind Chirin...then sweatdropped "I wasn't scared..." 
<<<<>>>>>>>

Moonscar knew something like this would happen. He was
half blinded by tears. He turned tail and ran off into
the forest.
He stopped after a long run and collapsed, pounding
the ground with his tiny paw.
"That...stupid mareep! And his stupid spirits! Argh! I
NEVER want to see that *beep*ing mareep again!" And he
ran off, into the darkness.

***
Chirin burst into tears. All he had wanted to do was protect them! 
What else could he do--let the dark things just descend? But perhaps 
he had been too intense...he scolded himself for just bursting out. 
He had forgotten the fear had found them too. "Moonscar, no! It's 
dangerous! Come back! I'm sorry!"
Moonscar ignored Chirin's cries. He just ran on.
He looked around for something that could end his
miserable life. And he found it. An arbok, sleeping
with her little baby ekans. It was perfect. Moonscar
ran foward, bit the large snake pokemon, and leaped
back as it shot up, hissins. Moonscar saw there,
waiting for the snake to attack and end his life for
good.



"Moonscar! No! Come back!" Calima screamed. She lay
down next to his drawing. Although quite frightining,
it was most likely the only thing that she would ever
see that had anything to do with her good friend
Moonscar. 
Calima glared at Chirin, her eyes were red. 
"You *beep*ing mareep and your *beep*ing spirits!!
I've had enough of it!! Look what you have done!! You
are the reason that Moonscar might never come back!!
I'll fix you so YOU never come back!!" Calima
screamed, roaring a roar not her own, and charging at
Chirin, horn down, ready to kill him.

Chirin only stared in shock as the Nidoran charged and bore down on 
him. That voice--it was not hers. Those eyes--they were not hers. 
They were another Pokemon. 

She had been possessed right before his eyes. 

"EEEEP!" Chirin ran from Calima, making sure to obliterate Moonscar's 
drawing before he did. 
Calima roared as Chirin destroyed the picture. Oh,
Calima hated it. But it was the only thing that
reminded her of her friend. 


"Stop it!" cried Azalea. She too had heard and seen Calima's change 
and for a moment it had brought Chirin's spirit talk a jump closer. 

Azalea took off after Calima. Someone had to stop that Nidoran before 
she hurt Chirin. 

"Light--Phos and Watakko!" Chirin screamed in desperation, waving his 
tail as he ran, calling to mind the only thing left that he could 
think of to ward off the thing in Calima's body. "Give Back Calima!"
Either Chirin's spirit call worked, or Calima heard
the hiss of an arbok. Calima knew what Moonsar had
done, and she knew why. Calima snapped back into
reality and ran into the forest where Moonscar had
gone. 
"Chirin! Come! Moonscar is in trouble!" Calima
screamed.
It didn't take her long to find Moonscar. He was
sitting down in front of a wide-awake and mad looking
arbok. Although the arbok would naturally kill a
rattata, it seemed a bit nervous. This one was,
different. It seemed like it WANTED to die. But Calima
knew, that the arbok would attack Moonscar anyway,
unless she hurried.


Chirin should have known all along that the power that had possessed 
Calima on and off all throughout their journey would eventually bare 
its poisonous barb and bear down on him. But, as quickly as she had 
started to charge him, something made her stop and take off into the 
forest. 

As she ran off, Chirin staggered to a halt, panting, watching as she 
ran off, too afraid and upset and confused to do anything. He didn't 
know what to make of what she had just done. But he knew, whatever it 
was, it wasn't her fault. That had not been Calima charging him. Not 
his energetic and beautiful white friend who nuzzled him and played 
with him. 

Whatever had possessed her had either left her again, or changed its 
mind. Had he managed to ward it off or scare it away with his own 
voice? Impossible...

...but so was all that had just happened.

"Chirin! Come! Moonscar is in trouble!" Calima
screamed.
It didn't take her long to find Moonscar. He was
sitting down in front of a wide-awake and mad looking
arbok. Although the arbok would naturally kill a
rattata, it seemed a bit nervous. This one was,
different. It seemed like it WANTED to die. But Calima
knew, that the arbok would attack Moonscar anyway,
unless she hurried.
Chirin ran after her--that was Calima again, for sure. He ran after 
her, taking time to catch her up as she was much faster. Whatever 
trouble Moonscar was in, he felt like it was partly his fault, for 
scaring him. Oh, why hadn't he handled it better, staying calm like 
Chenja would have? He wished he were older!

Chirin reached Calima and the Arbok and reared up to stop his 
headlong dash. One glance told him what to do. Inside, his soul 
charged into his *denki*.

"Mereeepuuu!" A bolt of blue tore out from his tail, scraping the air 
with a deep rip. It connected with the Arbok's head like a crown of 
light. 

* * * 
"You're all crazy!" cried Azalea as her galloping hooves beat a 
rhythm on the ground as she chased them down. Of course, Chirin 
wasn't crazy...was he? No, there had to be an explanation. Needless 
to say, she had a long mental list of questions to ask him at a 
later, more convenient time! This was only the second time he'd had 
an outburst today. She would get to the bottom of this!
A spasm rippled through the Arbok's coils as the giant snake (over 11 
feet long, i just read!) hissed its pain. It leaped back from Chirin 
and angrily puffed out the flaps on either side of its head. It 
looked twice as big. And Chirin remembered these things from back 
with his family, and what they said about Arbok. Once you were within 
striking range the only hope was your *denki* because you could never 
outrun them.

Chirin fired another bolt, but the ground found it before it reached 
the enemy. "Run!" he cried to Moonscar as the Arbok hissed at the 
strike of the spark. "I'm sorry for what I did--I was only trying to 
protect you, because I love my friends! I didn't want the dark to 
hurt you! Run Moonscar! Run back to the pond! Run!" he cried as the 
Arbok leaped at Chirin with its fangs bared.

As the snake left the ground, light surrounded it from in the air 
with a loud electric bang. But the light was not Chirin's.

"You think I'd--merely stand back and observe?" shouted Azalea. "No, 
no--a friend's in trouble I help on the double! Say, that rhymes." 

As her nose twitched most endearingly, the Arbok landed, its pain 
hissing out of its mouth. 

It wasn't through yet. As Chirin joined Azalea's side, the giant 
thing reared up over all four of them. Chirin heard Azalea mumbling 
something low under her breath, intended for herself only to 
hear, "don't run Azalea, don't run Azalea, don't run."

"We'll fire together," said Chirin, but the snake struck first. Both 
mareep leaped away but the Arbok's fangs found Chirin. As pain sliced 
into him he felt its long muscular coils wrap him tightly.
As the snake's purple body squeezed him, pressing his limbs against 
his ribs, Chirin felt the blood rush to his head, pressing on his 
eyeballs. *Denrai...I'm Denrai...* Unable to inhale, he gave a last 
shock, feeling it shudder through the Arbok. Chirin didn't have any 
more electricity to discharge, but a second shock buzzed through both 
him and the Arbok. He felt the Arbok's grip give and as he tumbled 
out onto the grass the giant snake slunk away, its sinuous, willow-
branch slithering kinked by electrocution.

"You looked like you were in need of assistance," said Azalea as 
Chirin sat up, breathing in deeply as to dispel the squeezed 
sensation. Azalea's waving tail suddenly lowered, along with her ears 
as she rushed over to him. "Oh no...Chirin...Something's very wrong."

"Poison," said Chirin, the word coming slurred through a suddenly 
thick tongue. From the way she looked at him his face must be swollen 
or something. Feeling the pain on his shoulder, where he had been 
bitten, Chirin tried to stand, but collapsed onto his belly with all 
four legs sprawled out. 

"Poison...poison...I know there's a method to treat poison but I 
can't recall it--"

"My flock..." As Chirin slipped away into another world, he clung to 
Azalea, trying to remain here. He had to tell her how to get the 
poison out--the magic, evil substance that stranded the soul and took 
over everything, destroying all it touched inside 
you. "Suck....it..." 

"Now I remember! But how do I suck it out?"

As Azalea disappeared through dark boughs of stars, Chirinc clung to 
her, trying to hold on to the feel of her against him. He had driven 
the evil from her...now she had to do so for him.

***

"Oh my god! Oh My God! He's--Wait, he said suck it out." She looked 
around. "Well time is of the essence here!"

Azalea nosed into his wool, searching for the fang marks. Finding the 
swollen, discolored place collecting around two small holes, she put 
her mouth to it and sucked with all her might.
The arbok had tricked them! Calima squealed and jumped
onto the arbok, biting and scratching it.
The salt of blood trickled into Azaleas mouth, along with a fierce 
bitterness. Pulling her head back she spit it out, nearly 
retching. "I think we'd all appreciate it if you didn't taunt our 
adversary into another attack right at this moment," she called to 
Calima before administering another suck to the wound. 


* * *

*I am Denrai, I am Denrai, I am Denrai, Dennnn.* 

Chirin lashed out with the *denki* in his soul, fighting the darkness 
for control of his body. He fought the confusion of this dark place 
where he hung, out of his body, trapped in the spirit realm in a 
sleep from which he could not wake. He had no body to use to fight 
it, only his soul. He concentrated, forming the image of his apricorn 
shell and the pebble in his mind. With his soul, he grabbed the 
spirit of the shell, and took out the spirit of the pebble, which was 
inside. Fighting the chaos all the way, struggling to hang onto their 
substance, he shone his light. He imagined he was running, and his 
soul took off, waving his tail in a solitary running of lights. He 
tried to picture Azalea, but couldn't get a clear image; he heard her 
voice, though, calling to him from the other world. He was in this, 
the world of spirits, while she was in the other world. He reached 
out to her, trying to talk, but it was so difficult...

***

"Chirin come on!" Azalea shook him. "I have suctioned out all the 
poison I can. We need an antidote."

"Azalea! Chirin!"

It was Petunia running over to them. She took one look at Chirin and 
gasped. He wool ballooned out.

"What happened?" 

"He suffered an Arbok bite to the shoulder," said Azalea, leaning on 
his chest, feeling for a sign of life. He still breathed, but 
weakly. "I recall hearing that their poison is lethal, and..."

Azalea threw herself on Chirin's chest and began to cry. 

"Oh no..." said Petunia. "How am I going to tell the flock? They're 
all asking where Willy and Striper and Chirin are..."

"Tell them nothing yet," said Azalea, looking teary-eyed back up at 
Petunia. "He isn't dead yet. If you could, though... I believe 
there's a species of bitter berry said to help with poison cases, 
though I lack any experience. If you, or anyone, has any idea what or 
where it can be located, we could try to administer a dose to Chirin. 
I would look myself but I can't leave him alone while he's--so 
vulnerable."

"I'll start looking," said Petunia--a mareep who had used to avoid 
her back on the farm.

Looking into Chirin's still face, Azalea wondered if it wouldn't hurt 
to pray. She threw her head and front feet back on him and began to 
do so, trying to remember all that Chirin had called her back to life 
with on this very same day. No, she didn't believe it could really do 
anything... but there was nothing else she could do. She wasn't about 
to ask a thing from the Rattata or, especially, that Nidoran. Before 
closing her eyes to pray she gave Calima a glance to make sure she 
wasn't about to try anything.
"Please..." she whispered, "I don't have any evidence that a supreme 
being in fact exists," she said, sniffling, "but if it does, I would 
greatly appreciate your doing my Chirin--ah, not my--yes...my Chirin 
a favor? Not that I'm attempting to express ownership of Chirin or 
any other close affinity with him, especially without his consent--
but oh, the way he looks at me. Not unlike the rapture of a Muk for a 
mud puddle. Ah, in a more attractive version that is. So come 
on...you...if a you exists...you made us meet. Don't remove him so 
quickly! Surely if this is what people call destiny, you're not going 
to withdraw support for that?"
Calima was so mad at the arbok. It had bit
Chirin-Chirin! Calima squealed again and thrashed
about, scratching the arbok. It shook Calima off and
bit her. Although the poison didn't hurt her (as she
was a poisone type as well as the arbok), the bite
did. She started bleeding. She limped over to a tree
and hid behind it. It was too narrow for the arbok to
get to.

***

Moonscar had it. Nobody hurt his friends and got away
with it. He leaped onto the arbok and bit is with his
hyper fang attack.

Bleating in utter terror and seriously beginning to wonder if these 
two were insane, just really stupid, or if there really were such a 
thing as possession, Azalea cried out whilst trying to shield 
Chirin's inert body from another attack. She readied her own 
thundershock just in case it were needed. Azalea was one who loved to 
observe other kinds of Pokemon in their daily lives, and she had 
witnessed many interesting slices of life, a window on the lifestyles 
and day-to-day struggles and joys of many creatures. She had once 
watched for half a day as a Caterpie wove itself into a Metapod; 
another time she'd watched Digletts in their holes. And there had 
been plenty of Nidoran and Rattatas around to observe. But never had 
she seen anything as crazy as this. Watching these two attack an 
Arbok was simply... astounding, almost as much as it was frightening.

"I highly recommend you allow the Arbok to retreat without further 
ado!" cried Azalea. "It was retreating before, when we electrocuted 
it! What exactly are you attempting to accomplish--getting us all 
killed? Reeep!" she cried as the Arbok swung its body high in the 
sky, in an attempt to throw Moonscar off of it. "Chirin--if you're 
going to regain consciousness, now would be an EXTREMELY opportune 
time..." she said, her voice stunted by the fear the Arbok 
inspired. "Please don't die...I like you, and yes, I like you that 
way," she whispered, hoping and not hoping he had heard. More like 
not hoping. Perhaps someday she would have got the courage to tell 
him her feelings, but now with his life hanging in the balance, she 
might never get to.
Petunia raced back to the flock. She didn't know what berry Azalea 
was talking about--not that she'd ever understood much of what Azalea 
said. But the flock, someone in the flock would know.

The mareep, still waiting by the pond where they'd been all evening, 
lifted their heads from grass and browse as Petunia rushed back, 
skidding to a stop. 

"Does anybody know where to find a... poison-fixing berry or 
something? Chirin's been bitten by an Arbok!"

"What?" said someone as the Mareep began to spark in surprise. 
Suddenly they were all bleating to one another. Some leaned together 
for comfort, others trotted out in the direction Petunia had come 
from, wanting to see for themselves. They didn't go far, though; when 
they saw the rest of the flock was staying put, they rejoined them.

Only Selden ran out from the rest. 

"Chirin Arbok? Oh-no-Chirin!"

* * *

Chirin was Denrai. Chirin faced the blackness. The blackness was 
Burakuru, or Bangaa. There was no light, because Chirin could not 
open his eyes. He was thankful, though, for it meant that his soul 
still had one hoof in his body.

They were trying to steal his light. 
Chirin had to do something.
*No! You won't take my light! And you can't keep me here!*

Someone was whispering to him. Azalea? he tried to say. Trying to 
move, he found every muscle hurt. 

* * *

"He's moving!" Azalea's heart leapt up, her cold sweat fading. Her 
prayers had been answered.
It was Azalea. Hovering over him like a genie, she was pulling him 
up, using their mutual soul connection like a vine to wrap him with 
and tug him back to his body. With the two of them working together, 
no amount of darkness could keep a hold on him. Chirin kicked out at 
the empty void where the dark spirits had thrown him, his feet 
feeling their way back into those of his body, entering the muscles 
again. He did not care about what Calima or Moonscar had done. In 
fact he was thankful. The darkness might have possessed them, but in 
the end, the link between him and Azalea had only grown stronger. He 
had passed her a piece of him and now she gave of herself. 

"I'm coming," he said. He heard his own voice, and felt his own mouth 
moving. It would be a hard journey back, but he would be okay.

He would be more than okay. Before, he had been wondering how on 
Mother Megga he was going to lead that flock to the hills, but now he 
knew that if he had to, he could do it. He had spoken with the dead. 
He had faced the dark black. And he was still alight. And, now, never 
alone. The ancestors had led him to a special friend who had a soul 
bond with him, flowing both ways now. Soul bonds never broke, never, 
and they didn't happen to everyone. 

*Thank you,* he sent to his ancestors. He knew they heard him. When 
they got to the hills, even if they had a day of peace before then, 
he would find a place where he could lay down offerings and thank 
them a hundred times over.

Chirin relaxed a moment, waiting to regain himself before pressing 
forward with another surge of energy, to wade through the shadow-
poison towards his body. If he could have opened his eyes yet, he 
knew he would be crying now.
The arbok slithered away and Moonscar jumped off.
Calima had been bitten. But the poison didn't hurt
her, but she was bleeding and the purple-green poison
was coming out too. Calima knew of the PoisonCure
Berry. She told Moonscar to look for a golden-green
berry. That would help Chirin-Chirin.

***

Moonscar nodded and shot off, fast as a bullet in
search of the PoisonCure Berry. He looked around
franticly. He at last caught sight of a golden-green
berry. Moonscar couldn't get to it. His ears twitched,
and he watched in horror as a white and black quilava
slinked towards him. But it didn't seem to want to
attack too much. It looked at Moonsar, then at the
berry.
"Trying to get that berry are you? I do belive I can
be of some service. I am Cinder, I can help you get
that berry, and offer you a great gift. The gift of
power. Do you take the offer, Moonscar?" It asked. It
was a male.
"I-I take the offer, if it will help me get the berry.
See, my friend was bit by an arbok so..." Moonscar
started but was cut off by a gasp from Cinder.
"Oh dear, how AWFUL! I'll get the berry down, then you
come back here. Understand?"
Moonscar gulped them nodded. 
"Good, here you are," Cinder said, climbing up the
tree and retreiving the berry. He tossed it to
Moonscar and he grabbed it and ran back to Chirin.
Azalea was helping to make Chirin comfortable by helping him roll 
over onto his side, rather than on his back with his legs up as he 
had been.

"Oh Azalea," he said, "I felt our connection get even stronger. You 
brought me out of the darkness!"

Azalea blotted the tears from his face with her woolly front 
leg. "Ah, it...was, merely what any other mareep would have been 
inclined to do. You were the one who survived the poison. It was your 
persistence and stamina that let you triumph. I was merely attempting 
to cheer you on."

"And you did. Don't you see? That was the most important part of all. 
That was your soul talking to my soul." 

"Ah--I wouldn't venture so far as to..."

He licked her face. Azalea looked away, her cheeks blushing purplish 
red like berries. "Ah, say, here comes Moonscar, in quite a hurry. 
Just as a precaution, brace yourself," she whispered, clearly bracing 
herself, "I had to make judgements on near-strangers but, ah he does 
appear rather unpredictable."

Moonscar put the berry in front of him.
"I-I found the PoisonCure Berry. It will make you
better. Eat it, I gotta, go quickly, bye?" 
Moonscar ran off.
"That's it, that's the sunberry," said Chirin. "I remember the name 
now. Thank you Moonscar!" he called, though the purple rodent had 
already scurried away into the bushes. "I wonder where he's going," 
he said, stretching his neck to eat up the berry. "Maybe to get one 
for Calima? Calima are you feeling better?"

"Just one moment," said Azalea, blocking his snout's path towards the 
berry. She sniffed it. "Confirmed. It's an ordinary berry. Sunberry--
I've never heard it called that."

"That's what we called it back home, because it has powers of Light, 
of Phos," he said around a mouthful of berry. He swallowed quickly, 
feeling its effects even as the pulp slid down his throat. It left 
behind a sad little lump, that always seemed to swell up in the wake 
of sudden memories. His homing instinct told him he was closer to 
home than he had been for some time--albeit still far away--but he 
felt even farther than when he'd first come to the lake. He tried to 
get up--still not healed yet. He relaxed, looking and sniffing 
around, letting the berry's light energies heal his body, becoming 
part of him. Everything you ate left something behind in you, a piece 
of its soul, changing you forever even though you might not notice. 

"Is your home a long distance away?" said Azalea.

"Yes." A strange thought came to him. "I wonder, even, how I lived 
through that journey to get to the lake. It took me days...but 
nothing hurt me the whole time. And I was a little lamb, traveling 
alone. I must have had a genie--or my ancestors themselves--or 
something, following me and holding away dark powers." The light on 
his tail glowed brighter with the flaring of his mind. 

"It does strike me as odd that you survived such a trip, when our 
flock can't even hold together for a single day. I know it's futile 
to do so but I pity the poor mareep killed today and yesterday. I 
also dread future encounters." 

"I do too, I'm scared, but we can't stop here. I'm going to do all I 
can to--infuse us--" he'd never said that word--"with the power of 
Light. And the dead are with us," said Chirin. "They are traveling 
with our flock. When we reach the hills we'll do everything right for 
them. I'm going to do my best." He had to, because if not for him 
they would still be alive.

Azalea blinked her tail in agreement. After all, the issues of things 
unseen *were* a matter of open speculation.

"I think I can walk," said Chirin, getting up as Azalea hopped to her 
hooves, at his side in case he caved. But the berry had cleared 
things up. His strength was restored. "Calima? Are you okay? Did you 
get a berry? We're going to head back to the flock now, I'm worried 
about them and we need to get going." He sighed. "If Willy and 
Striper still aren't back yet I guess we have to start moving anyway."

"I fear that's our only remaining option," said Azalea, looking 
somewhat fearfully behind her at Calima, with a look usually reserved 
for distant predators.

"Maybe they found a place to sleep, and when Phos comes back up, 
they'll find their way back," said Chirin.
***
Moonscar found Cinder waiting by the tree.
"Now, for my part of the bargen.." a strange,
purple-black light surged from Cinder's body and into
Moonscar's. Moonscar thrashed around, but the evil
power was to strong. When the light faded, Moonscar
looked a bit different. He was now jet-black, with
blood-red eyes.
"I do thank you for the power of evil. I shall be glad
to occompany you in your mission to destroy Calima, O
Great Cinder," Moonscar said, laughing a blood-curling
laugh.

***
At any rate they wouldn't get far tonight. All Chirin wanted to do 
was get them away from the pond anyhow, and that would not take long. 
At that moment Petunia came loping up to them. Chirin waved his tail, 
blinking a greeting, which Petunia returned, showing some surprise. 

"Chirin! You're all right!"

Azalea smiled, nose twitching. "Poison-curing berries are a miracle 
antidote."

"They are," said Chirin. "How are they over at the pond?"

"Oh, all right. Half of them are sleeping, some just browsing 
whatever's left in reach. It looks awfully eaten-up in there. Some of 
them keep on asking where you and Willy and Striper are. Willy and 
Striper are still not back."

Chirin sighed. The sunberry might have driven out the poison, but 
only sleep could restore his energy. He had none left to make a 
search. "I..." A big wide yawn swallowed his statement. 

"I suspect it's in all our best interest to--ah, not disregard them, 
but for the time being...I'm uncertain how fruitful a search would 
prove. We already combed the immediate area including a short section 
of the trail."
***
Moonscar watched as Chirin ate the berry. He
looked at Cinder, waiting for instructions.

***

Calima watched, confused, as Moonscar darted off as
soon as he gave Chirin the berry. She was very
confused.

"Come on Calima, we're going back to the flock," called Chirin-
chirin from Azalea's side as they headed back towards the pond's 
south bank. Calima had apparently not been bitten half as badly as 
Chirin had. He recalled something about Arboks using most of their 
poison on the first bite--since one bite was usually all they needed 
to make.

"Not to be antisocial or anything," said Azalea in his ear, "but I 
would exercise caution around your Nidoran friend there."

Chirin only nodded. He was not angry at Calima for trying to kill him-
-as long as she didn't try again. Calimaa had lost her brother and 
sister today and they had all seen a lot of blood and death. He knew 
that affected different pokemon in different ways. All he could do 
was lead them out of here and hope things got brighter.

He realized they were only three. Had Moonscar returned to the 
flock? "Where's Moonscar? Moonscar?"
***
Cinder looked at Moonscar. He grinned slightly.
"Well, soon after Chirin gets that flock somewhere
else, we will attack them. For now, we must follow
them in secret. You agree, yes?"
Moonsar nodded. "I understand. But I very much doubt
that Chirin will leave without me. I KNOW Calima
won't. So what are we going to do about that?"
Cinder looked thoughtful for a moment, then he said:
"Good point. But I think that she will leave anyway.
Lets be off, we an hide in those bushes... And spy on
them. We will follow them too."
The two evil pokemon quietly and quickly jumped into
the bushes and watched Chirin and the others.

***

Calima thought she heard something. She turned around
and saw.. Nothing. Calima sighed and walked over to
Chirin and lay down. Her shoulder still hurt.

"Moonscar?" Razkel said looking around "No idea" he grinned evilly "maybe he's been eaten" 
Berry grunted a sound that clearly said she disapproved of Razkel's statement. 
"Sorry!" The Rattata muttered "I don't believe it I'm getting told off! If you want me and Berry could have a look around see if we can find him"
"Oh, thank you," said Chirin, "yes, that would help us a lot. I don't 
want to leave without him. I'm worried, after the Arbok. Me and 
Azalea are going back to the flock. I want to make sure they're 
okay." And, also, they needed to see him, to know that he was alive 
and okay. Chirin and Azalea headed back to the flock quietly, Chirin 
looking over his shoulder to see what Calima was going to do--follow 
them or look for Moonscar. As he got a last glimpse of her white form 
on the moonlit grass, he wondered who he was really seeing. Thinking 
back on her chasing him round the trees by the pond, screaming she 
was going to kill him, he wondered if it had really been just her 
grief, as he wanted to believe. The dead could do that. But Calima's 
frightening rages were more than that, a bigger and worse monster. 
Two souls inhabited that nidoran--one light, one dark, and the dark 
was growing. 

"You had the good fortune to be out cold for the worst of it," said 
Azalea suddenly, as if she knew what he'd been thinking. "The two of 
them--the Rattata and nidoran--assaulted the Arbok again as it 
attempted to retreat. I've never seen anything even closely 
resembling such behavior. Chirin, I have my reservations about 
allowing them to accompany us to your hypothetical hills."

"I know," said Chirin. "I'm scared too. But it's not their fault. 
There's a dark being that got lodged inside Calima somehow--I know 
that quilava has something to do with it--and she can't control when 
it rises up and takes over her body. I think that when we came here, 
it met her again and sneaked in through her mouth or something--maybe 
when she as on that rock in the pond. Or maybe when the Quilava came. 
and now that it's night--oh, I shouldn't be talking this way, it'll 
make me more scared. I don't understand all of it but the pond is a 
bad place that gives dark spirits really scary powers. I want to help 
her but I don't know how." He blinked back tears. Again, he longed 
for his family flock and their knowledge. "All we can do for now is 
hold our tails high and shine them bright. When we get away from this 
pond, the evil spirits won't be nearly as strong as they are here. 
Forests, are like that--most evil spirits live in the forests, and 
other dark places."

"I can attest to that," said Azalea. 

He had to figure out how to tell Calima--because she didn't seem as 
aware of the dark spirit living in her. Chirin needed her to join him 
in helping her. He couldn't do it alone. He feared not Calima's 
reaction when he talked about it, but the reaction of the evil 
spirit. From what he could tell, it was a paranoid being and 
unpredictable, ready to rear up as soon as he said or did the wrong 
thing.

"Chirin!" said several Mareep when he and Azalea reached the flock 
again at last. Chirin put on a smile, flashing his tail cheerfully. 
It was all false, the smile, the light, but with work he could make 
it real. He had to. As Selden bounded over to him, saying his name 
over and over as he nuzzled the bigger mareep's side, Chirin felt it 
starting to be real.

"Everybody," he said, "we're leaving now. I know Willy and Striper 
aren't here yet, but they'll find us if they come back tomorrow. We 
won't be going far tonight, just to the fields right past here."

The mareep who had lain down to sleep began to unfold and lift their 
heads. Some, like Petunia and of course Selden, followed Chirin right 
away as he led them out of the clearing through the narrow forest 
belt. Others stood right where they were.

"If Willy isn't here, we don't have a leader yet and we ain't 
moving," said Coddy.

Chirin sighed. He hated to fight. But Phos had given him a light so 
he could light any dark place, and so he did his best now.

"Nobody has to follow me if they don't want to. But if you want to, 
you can come with me now. Everyone remember to hold your tail bright--
we are of the Denryuu and even bad places like this pond can't take 
that away."

"Your words were delicious to my ears," Azalea murmured in his ear as 
Chirin walked out through the forest with most of the mareep 
following. "Not--ah, not delicious in the sense that--not that I was 
attempting to imply--but it--. Merely that I'm uncertain whether I 
could have made so eloquent a statement."

"Thanks a lot," he said. "You know your words are delicious too."

Azalea didn't seem to hear, but she did blush, her tail, like his, 
flushing along with it into richer yellow. "Not to change the subject 
but--what's the Denryuu? I, ah, I've been intending to question into 
that for some time now."

As Chirin began to explain the two of them, with Selden on Chirin's 
other side, reached the forest's edge. Chirin looked to his right 
over the grass and scrub, to the place where he'd left Calima and the 
others. He flashed his tail and made a loud spark to get their 
attemtion. "Meriiipu! Meriipu!" Maybe they had found Moonscar...
The cool crispy air sailed in Chirin's nose and lungs. He breathed in 
slowly and deeply, feeling the sensations it made and detecting any 
smells it spoke to him with. The air was feeling friendly to the 
southwest. It stroked his face and wool with a brisk breeze. 

He tried to put out of his mind the dangerous, haunted place behind 
them, trying to sever all connection with it lest the dark latch onto 
the thoughts in his mind. Chirin imagined all the feelings that the 
pond had left in him going out with his breath and, as he walked to 
the side over by a bush, his droppings. It was back there but no more 
would it fester inside him. "No more," he said in a quiet low voice, 
almost singing. 

As he waited for his friends to reappear, Crazy Lights stood facing 
him, alternately blinking the lights on his ears. "Sing a song, 
Chirin," Chirin imagined him saying. 

"No more

No more will the sharp-toothed waters cry
No more will the fires burn
No more will pond-spirits haunt my sighs
No more...Now, I just yearn."

He had ended it that way because he couldn't think of anything else. 
Now, though, as the song's soul echoed in his head, he decided he 
liked that, because it was true.
Calima darted after Chirin. She walked next to him,
wincing as her shoulder started to bleed again. But
she pretended to ignore it. She was worried about
Moonscar, but he was tough, he would be alright. And
they needed t get the flock away from here.
Chirin stopped to give Calima a nuzzle, to reassure himself as much 
as her that they were both okay and together again. He easily smelled 
the blood, just as he saw the small stain like a red autumn leaf on 
her shoulder.

"Oh...Calima are you okay? You're hurt."

Just then the breezes whispered to him of enemy scent--Typhlosion, or 
Quilava. But as soon as it had come, it was gone again. He knew there 
were plenty of enemies out on the prowl, the children of Burakuru--
children of night. And these mareep might have been toughened, their 
*denki* kindled up by the threat to their lives, they were still very 
new to living out on their own. 

"I guess...we never found Moonscar," he said softly. The Arbok must 
have got him, or something, Chirin didn't know what. Moonscar had 
triumphed at the pond competition, on his last day of life. Would 
Moonscar's soul live here by the pond? Would he live with the soul of 
the bloody form he'd made, that Chirin had destroyed too late? Why 
hadn't he just jumped in and erased it as soon as he'd seen Moonscar 
add the blood?

Moonscar couldn't be dead. It was too soon yet to tell, but his inner 
voice, from deep in the place where his electricity welled up, told 
him that it knew. He looked down at the ground, facing away from the 
flock as he cried, not wanting them to see him. They would only lose 
heart and weaken against the night at a time when they had to be 
strong. 

"Oh, Chirin," said Azalea, her voice cracking. They were all tired. 
Azalea rubbed against him so her neck was by his nose. He sobbed into 
her wool, hugging Calima tight too.

***

Moonscar and Cinder never took their eyes of Calima
and Chirin-Chirin. 
"When do we attack, master Cinder?" Moonscar asked,
curiously.
"As soon as the flock are resting somewhere else. Then
we will attack and, hopefully kill Calima. And maybe
Chirin too, just for the fun of it," Cinder replied,
grooming his fur.
Moonscar grinned. He really liked THAT idea! Moonscar
nodded and said to Cinder: "A very good idea master. I
would be fun."

***
At the sight of Chirin crying, Selden began to cry too, burying his 
face against Chirin's woolly side in an imitation of Chirin himself.

* * *
(Meanwhile, within the Flock)

"What, are we just going to stand here while he cries?" said 
Cleomie. "Where's Willy anyway, we need him to set them straight."

"Be quiet," said another mareep. "If you're so against Chirin why 
don't you go set him straight instead of talking behind his back."

"I'll set you straight." Cleomie thrust her head forward as if to 
charge. Coddy laughed when the challenger flinched away.

"Didn't you see the great flash of lightning he made out there?" said 
another mareep with wide, innocent eyes. "And how he brought the 
lambs back. And he saved Azalea!"

"He brought her back to life," said another mareep. "I know she's 
really ugly, but still. Pretty amazing."

"Yeah, yeah," said Coddy. "Okay, so he's not the worst ram around. 
But if Willy and Striper don't come back we're in trouble out here. 
Chirin can do some neat stuff but--some of the stuff he says. You 
know how the farmer says--the light's on but no one's home."

"There was definitely something going on in Azalea that he got rid 
of," said the mareep with the wide eyes. "I know he talks about 
spirits alot, but..."

"He thinks we're all going to go bald, turn yellow and grow lights on 
our heads!" said a ram who had been Willy's friend. "The day I do 
*that*, I'll call him leader." 

"Yeah and if he was really amazing he woulda fixed Azalea's face 
too," said Coddy, and she, Cleomie and the ram laughed.

Petunia stepped in beside the wide eyed mareep and some others as 
those three mareep laughed. "I don't care even if some of what Chirin 
says is a little, well, hard to believe--like that bald stuff. I 
think we're going to be okay."


* * *

Sniffling, Chirin peeled himself away from Azalea's shoulder, 
breathing in her scent once before his face parted with her 
wool. "Oh, Moonscar."
"No problem" Razkel said as he waved a paw from Berry's back "We'll have a quick look then catch up with you guys". The Rhyhorn moved off in to the bushes behind them. 
"Moonscar!" The Rattata called every now and then, wondering if Moonscar was even alive to hear him.
Every call of Razkel's that Chirin heard seemed to pierce him 
somehow. He should be searching too. Moonscar had been his friend 
before he had met this flock. Chirin wondered why he had really 
wanted to lead these Mareep. Why did he feel drawn to them, why did 
he want to take them to these hills? Was he just trying to be some 
kind of showoff? Had he abandoned his other friends to join them for 
some selfish reason? 

The guilt that whacked him when he began to walk away from them to 
join Razkel told him otherwise. Everywhere he stepped, he stepped in 
guilt, but only the ancestors knew why. Why were they giving him 
guilt? *Oh pharamps who live in the grass and trees now, what are you 
trying to tell me?*
Calima looked around, and she thought she saw a pair
of red eyes. But she must have imagined it. 
"Chirin... I think we should go... Moonscar, if he was
alive, would have been back by now..." Calima said
through sobs.

***

Moonscar looked at Razkle. Any moment, he would see
him and Cinder.
"Cinder," Moonscar whispered, "do something!"
Cinder nodded and a little purple light zoomed into
Razkle's mind.
"This will make him think that he found you, dead."
Cinder explained. When he tells Chirin, they will
leave," Cinder explained to the shocked rattata.
"A great idea master," Moonscar said.
***

Razkel blinked "Berry we'd better go back and tell the others, there isn't anything we can do now" 
The Rhyhorn nodded sadly and turned around and quickened her pace to catch up with the flock.
Calima walked up to Razkle.
"Is Moonscar.." She started. She was sure everyone
knew what she ment.

***

Cinder and Moonscar never took their eyes off Chirin
and Calima. They would attack when they found another
place to stop... Or sooner. It was up to Cinder.
***

Razkel jumped down from Berry's back and found he couldn't look at Calima, he just couldn't. "I...um...Moonscar's....he's..."
There was no mistaking the look on Razkel's face. Chirin sparked. He 
shook his head fervently, suddenly wanting to headbutt something... 

"No. He isn't!"

His cry was at first silent--until he got his breath in. Then he 
bleated and bleated, not caring who heard, not caring about 
anything. "He isn't!"

Chirin looked back to the flock, flashed his tail and 
sent up a spark. Heads turned at the zap sound and the mareep, who 
had mostly been grazing or chatting, picked up after Chirin as he 
turned southwest at last, but not without a last sniff towards where 
Moonscar had disappeared.

"Tomorrow I'll make another search for him," said Chirin, "just to be 
sure. It'll be easier to see him by Phos's light." If not...then 
Moonscar was one of those who would always live here, at least a part 
of him, some of the time. Half of him regretted not blotting away the 
Moonscar's drawing, half of him regretted having done it so suddenly 
and without thought--because now Moonscar's feelings for Chirin in 
the last moments of his life had been angry. And he was probably 
angry still. That anger now had the power of a free soul behind it--
and would it still try to lash out at him? 

What of Willy and Striper? They had never liked him. What if they 
blamed their deaths on him--and joined the dark for a chance at 
revenge? That's what the flock had thought might have killed Chenja, 
thought Chirin. Mama had said it was probably a snow-pharamp who had 
chased her soul from her body, but Chirin remembered hearing the 
whispers and quiet, low bleats during the span of days they had 
prepared her to enter the spirit world, gathering offerings and 
trying to placate angry souls. They had placed emphasis on staving 
off the angry dead. 
At the time Chirin had not understood or thought much of why. Now he 
thought, maybe it had been that wandering ram who had tried to claim 
a young ewe from Chirin's flock, Dionu. The ram had fought for Dionu 
nearly to the death, against both her and the mate she had paired up 
with only a season ago. How the thunder had slammed and torn the air. 
The invading ram had limped away beaten, and Chirin's uncle had found 
his body, well chewed on, several days later--dead of his wounds or 
of someone's witchcraft, no one could say. His body had been found 
just before the first snowfall of the winter when Chenja died and it 
had been dumped into the sea. As Chirin walked through the quiet 
grass right now he remembered the sea wind in his face as they 
dropped the cotton-wrapped body all the way down. It floated briefly, 
dashing against the rocks a few times before the cotton grew heavy 
and the waves received it. They threw him to the ocean so that he 
would drift away and his soul would not come back to hurt them. And 
then, backing away from the ocean so *he* would not see, everyone 
shone their lights, so the dark would not hurt him--which would have 
angered him. 

Chenja herself had led the song for him, as they had stood upon the 
peak.

*Dark leads light and blind leads blind
Who is the beacon who lured you astray?
That made your *denki* damn Pharos from day
And made you enemy to your kind?

Burakos, burakos! cast them away
Burakos, burakos! leave him be
Burakos, burakos! let him seek
The light, the peace, and there he may stay.* 

But the ram had not been appeased, nor had the dark corrupting him 
been shone out. The dead found a way. Chirin knew now who must have 
killed Chenja.

So sad, so sad. Why couldn't people let things be? Why couldn't they 
find peace and love? Why, when there were so many things in the world 
that clamored for your enjoyment? For whatever the reason why so many 
failed to let go, Chirin feared Moonscar now, just like he feared, in 
a more distant way, the dead ram who must have taken Chenja's life.

*Moonscar, I'm sorry, Moonscar, I'm sorry,* he chanted in his head as 
he walked with the flock. He felt better now that he and his friends 
were all together and moving along, and he felt himself coming a 
little unbound from the fight-or-flight feelings he had felt most of 
the day. He kept his eyes open, sniffing the air and casting his 
light at shadows they passed. They were out of the forest now, 
walking through grassland dotted with copses. The moon, Clef, 
silvered the waves of grass with her light. 

"What's wrong?" said Azalea. "I mean--I know what's wrong, that is, 
ah, I know multiple unfortunate incidents are troubling you, but--"

"I'm okay." He knew that if he spoke about it right now he might cry, 
and the flock shouldn't see that right now, they had to think he was 
happy and confident or the same fears would creep into their beings. 
It was also not good to mention death in the dark... and he just 
didn't want to mention it in front of the others. He was getting the 
feeling that some of them thought he was odd, though he didn't know 
why. But oh, he was grateful Azalea was walking beside him, keeping 
that special light lit.

* * *

Azalea didn't say another word as they walked. She knew she'd put her 
hoof in her mouth again. No he probably didn't even want her walking 
next to him. Who could blame him? *You WILL shut up, you WILL shut 
up,* she said in her head. She had had it up to here with her own 
mouth. He was only humoring her because he was that kind of mareep--a 
sweetie who couldn't say no, who was taking pity on her. And she 
could only push his patience so far. 

She had to distance herself from him, it wasn't fair for her to tread 
on his shadow, driving him crazy. It would hurt, but bit by bit she 
had to begin to wean herself off his company.

It could start tomorrow.

* * *

"This looks like a good place to sleep," said Chirin, stopping where 
the ground sloped up. They stood on a low hill. Beyond lay more grass 
and woods, a patchwork of dark and light. This was far better than 
sleeping in the forest, unnatural for mareep. Here they could all see 
each other and would have no trouble spotting approaching enemies. 
Chirin felt the wind in his wool and sensed it welcomed them. "Well," 
he said, "what do you think? Do you feel good stopping here?"

"It brings a homey, open airy feeling to me," said Azalea, forgetting 
not to talk. "Then again, these words are coming from a mareep who's 
exhausted enough to sleep on hot coals. Ah--not that your choise 
isn't a perfectly reasonable, honest and intelligent one."
Despite his weariness and sadness, a small grin cracked his face, and 
his rather big long ears undrooped. "Well, I guess we can sleep 
here." He knelt down and folded his legs under him, making himself 
comfortable. "Tomorrow morning I'm going to go make one last look for 
the ones who are missing." 

The ground was soft and grassy, and the open sky above hearkened back 
to the old days on the mountainous slopes back home. "I'm still 
worried," he said as Azalea bedded down beside him. "What if enemies 
try to sneak up on us while we're asleep?" He shivered. "I'm scared."

"Your fears are more than reasonable, and they mirror my own. 
Thus...I have a small proposal to make...merely an idea, open to 
rejection or agreement."

"Relax, I'm always open and your ideas are good." Chirin yawned 
again, blinking tired eyes.

"We take turns standing sentry for the night. One by one, or in twos 
if people prefer. Each picks someone to wake before they go to sleep."

It took Chirin a moment to sort it through in his mind, then he 
realized it would work perfectly. "And this way they can keep a light 
on, too," he adds. Back home someone was nearly always up and 
grazing, but everyone had had more than just a long day today. It 
felt to Chirin like he'd lived a year today. 

"That's a great idea," he said, after running over it in his mind and 
realizing it would work perfectly. "Everybody, Azalea has an idea."

Azalea closed her eyes, wishing she could close her ears too as she 
heard grumbles and snickers among the near-silent flock--something 
you could only hear if you knew too well what to listen for. She 
listened with embarrassment as he repeated, in his own words, her 
suggestion.

"That's great," said Petunia, already lying down as well, "but... can 
I please not go first?"

No one looked too eager to stay up anymore. 

"I'll do it," said Chirin.

"Out of the question," said Azalea. "I'll stay up."

"No, no, you got burned," said Chirin, yawning again. "You need rest."

"You got poisoned! I'd say that's far more serious."

Chirin smiled. "We'll both stay up."

"The matter now concerns whom we'll wake up next," said Azalea.
"Wake me up!" Snapper insisted, wool sparking just a bit "I wanna help!" 

"If that's the case, may I go after Snapper?" Mecha asked. He wanted to do more than he had been... 

Ebony frowned, and wanting still to win over the metal bird's affections, grinned "I can go after Mecha..." 
"Yes," he said, nodding to Snapper and grateful for her boundless 
energy, "thank you all for helping so much. Well..." He felt the need 
to say something to all the pokemon as they knelt and lay down, but 
couldn't think of much. "Phos keep your light bright in the night. 
You're such a beautiful flock, and you were all so brave today." He 
looked for Moonscar near Calima, and remembered--and swallowed to 
keep from crying again, unsuccessfully--all day had been alternations 
of crying and trying not to cry. With no Moonscar sleeping near him, 
it was like a hole in the flock.

"Ancestors keep you safe in your dream-journeys. Good night."

He walked to the southwest edge of the flock and grazed for a bit. As 
Azalea joined him nibbling he looked out at the lands they would 
travel to tomorrow. He wondered what was out there. Behind him the 
quiet, tired bleats of the day's end dwindled into sleeping and 
snoring. Their tail lights lowered to a dim, flickering sleep-glow.

"Kind of increases your own sleepiness just observing them," said 
Azalea. "Or so it does for myself."

"Yeah." Chirin enjoyed a roll in the grass. If he was awake, he would 
enjoy it. If anything it might bring his mind off Moonscar and he 
couldn't let what had happened make him less alive. Azalea watched 
him roll blissfully in the soft grass, as if she wanted to try but 
was too embarrassed.

***

Moonscar silently poked his head from the bushes, then
he returned to Cinder and told hi of his plan.
Cinder nodded and Moonscar leaped out of the bushes
and walked slowly to Chirin.
"Er, hi. I am Cio (pronounced see-oh). I am Moonscar's
brother, and I couldn't help overhearing what you said
about my poor brother... Oh dear... So, if it is okay,
may I accompany you? Moonscar would have wanted it..."
Moonscar said, forcing a sob.

As Chirin lay belly up in the grass (foreshadowing, anyone?) he heard 
a voice. His heart leapt. He snapped to his feet. "Moonscar?"

Azalea was pointing with her tail at the coal-black, red-eyed 
rattata. "Ah...I believe he claims to be a blood relative, and as 
they say there's a black sheep in every family..."

Chirin sniffed at the Rattata. He'd never seen a black one before. At 
first the rattata looked a little scary...but then Chirin smelled 
him. And he smelled a lot like Moonscar, easily enough to be a 
brother. 

"You want to join my flock?" said Chirin, only belatedly realizing he 
had said *my flock*. "Well, if you really want to..." If this was his 
brother he owed it to Moonscar. This might be his only way to make 
peace...and, in a way, have Moonscar back. Had Moonscar called this 
brother of his here all of a sudden, to continue the journey in his 
stead? Chirin smiled; the poor thing looked tired and full of grief.

"There, don't cry," said Chirin, his own tears stinging his eyes 
along the overworn paths of crying. "Moonscar is with us even right 
now. You can join us."

Azalea eyed the black thing suspiciously, but said nothing.

Razkel watched the new Rattata and nodded a greeting towards him. Something started nagging in the back of his mind but he pushed it away, the whole thing was giving him a headache.

Chirin waded through the fluffy, buff-colored sea of "improved wool" 
mareep, looking and sniffing the snoozing bodies for Snapper. He 
felt, for a brief moment, like the only soul here, and he was. 

"Chirin," a voice hissed in his ear, making it twitch. He turned 
around as he made his way through.

"You didn't have to come, I'll be right back over there to sleep with 
you when I wake her up."

"Those are not the circumstances worrying me," although she did blush 
a little. "I have my qualms about that black thing. Isn't it odd that 
he pops out of nowhere as soon as Moonscar dies?"

"Well..." It was odd. "Rattata usually hide. They're small and have 
many enemies. But there are a lot of them, we just don't see them. 
Moonscar might have a whole family hidden around here."

"But if I'm not mistaken, you and Moonscar traveled quite a distance 
from your point of origin, or at least Moonscar's point of origin, 
which is pivotal here," she said, stumbling over someone's legs as 
she kept by Chirin's ear.

"He could just be really shy," said Chirin. "And he's so sad. I know 
how he feels. It doesn't matter to us if he joins the flock. Rattatas 
don't even eat grass, and even if they did, surely there's more than 
enough."

"Maybe you don't know how he feels. I'm not trying to be 
unsympathetic here, I'm just saying...."

"He can't help being dark. I know, that looked scary to me too. But 
your real light is inside you."

"Ah, Chirin, you're right. I can't argue with that." She 
sighed. "Still, I don't know why but I'm inclined to feel suspicious 
and I can't shake it."

"Azalea, be quiet," one of the sleeping mareep mumbled, with his eyes 
still shut. "I'm trying to sleep."

"There's Snapper. Snapper, wake up," he whispered, nudging her 
shoulder with his nose. "Time to be lookout. Good luck, I know you 
can do it. Me and Azalea going to sleep now."

After he had woken up Snapper, Chirin and Azalea returned to where 
they had left Cio. The rattata had curled up asleep, all but 
invisible with his red eyes closed. Maybe it was that glow in his 
eyes that made Chirin a little nervous, more than his black color, he 
thought. 

He said a little prayer for Cio, and the flock, to be all right, and 
gave his light a last lucky flash before lying down in the soft grass 
with his back against Azalea's and, at long last, dozing off. As he 
drifted into sleep he savored the warm feeling he got from being 
against her.

* * *

Azalea pretended to go to sleep too. But she didn't. Her burn wound 
throbbed gently, a persistent dull pain reminding her of the soul 
connection she now shared with Chirin. Before leaving the farm she 
would not have believed such things existed, but she was a changed 
sheep. 

She kept an eye on Cio, watching his midsection rise and fall with 
quick little rattata breaths. Rattatas in general had always left her 
feeling a little unpleasant in general, but never afraid. Yet, 
although this black one showed much better behaviour than his 
deceased brother, he made her much more nervous.

But he didn't have rabies, he didn't smell of disease in any way. And 
rattatas didn't eat mareep. Maybe Chirin was right.

Being against Chirin made her feel safe. It made her feel all those 
things she shouldn't feel for him. Even back home and assured of 
total safety, she had never felt this good. Or this alive. Sinking 
into it, she closed her eyes.

Berry and Razkel settled down just a small distance away from the rest of the flock, and next to a fallen tree branch. 
The young Rhyhorn was already a sleep, she twitched every now and then in response to some image in a dream. 
Razkel on the other hand was wide awake, he broke though the back of the rotting branch and was picking at the bugs inside. The last time he'd eaten insects was when He, Mecha and Hortence had been searching for Twirl, funny it seemed so long ago. 
The image of Moonscar's dead body kept flashing across his eyes and for some reason he couldn't stop himself thinking about Twirl. What if her small Rattata body was lying dead somewhere? He shuck that image away and scolded himself for thinking that way, Twirl was just fine, he was sure of that. 
He sat on the branch crunching the last of the bug's he'd found and looked out over the flock.
* * *

*Just as the Jumpluff's spores rain down
And raise up children of cotton,
You reap what you sow, you should know, you should know--
Nothing you do is forgotten.*

Chirin stared at the silent tree trunk standing sentinel over the 
pond bank, at the top of the slope. Two nicks in the bark stared 
back. He realized the tree trunk was made of stone, bark and 
all. "Sing that again," he said--it seemed familiar somehow and he 
liked it, he wanted to remember.

"It's happening!" 

He spun round at the voice. It was Calima. She stood on a clear patch 
of forest floor--in a blackened spot of ash. She was screaming.

"It's happening! It's happening again! Run! Hide! It's happening 
again!"

"What! What's happening?"

"It's happening again!"

Up from the ground rose figures of stone--Farmer, then Striper and 
Willy. Flashing with sparks, Chirin ran.

He ran through bushes that tried to grab him by the wool. He kicked 
and screamed and ran his way to another place. Chirin was not 
himself. He was in someone else's body--or was he? He hovered, 
following the trail of someone just ahead, running. It was early 
morning, Phos just rising, hidden behind a pale veil of clouds in the 
overcast sky.

Someone was running away, being chased. Someone was chasing someone. 
He heard the frantic breathing up ahead, and caught a glimpse of her--
an Ampharos. Twigs crunched under his feet, he was running and he was 
not running. Someone ran in pursuit of the ewe, and he was merely 
riding along. 

The sounds of labored breathing and brush rustling far ahead faded 
away. Chirin stood in the greenery, in a place he had never been. He 
was his Mareep self again. He ran ahead, trying to follow where the 
ewe had gone.

"Light-sister?" 

He trotted forward to where the forest broke open. In the morning dew 
he followed her trail, pausing, listening. She was gone. Chirin came 
to a bush, and knowing something was in there, he nosed his way in 
under the umbrella of branches.

A skull lay there on its side. Chirin backed away at first, but it 
was old--weathered clean and white. He nudged the skull over, turning 
it upright. A red head jewel, set into the skull's forehead, glinted 
in the light of morning and that of his own tail. It was the skull of 
an Ampharos ewe. He had seen them before.

Then, as he watched it, feeling the sadness he always felt when 
seeing something that was not alive anymore, the skull moved. 

*Help me.*

For some reason, the skull moving did not frighten him. It looked 
fragile and vulnerable, and the light flashed alive, strobing with 
desperation. "How can I help you? Who--who are you?"

"Help me."

The light flicked once more, then died. 

In his sleep, Chirin rolled over, the light on his tail pulsing with 
his heartbeat. His front feet pawed up at the sky, as if trying to 
grab onto something.

He woke up slowly, roused by the paling sky and the spirits who 
always told him when it was a new day. But this time he woke up a 
little earlier than he usually did. He opened his eyes to find 
himself lying faced the other way, in the spot Azalea had been in. 
Calima and the others were safe and sound. But Azalea was gone. He 
sniffed and felt the ground nearby and found it still warm, and 
smelling that familiar Azalea-smell, still tinged with burned wool. 
Standing up and rubbing dew off his face, he looked around for her. 
He saw a clear track running through the grass where the dew had been 
disturbed, and after a moment's stretch and a gaze over the sleeping 
flock, he followed her track, trotting off to where it led into a 
copse at the bottom of the hill. As he went he thought back on where 
he had been only a few moments ago when dreaming. In his mind the 
sweet ewe's voice still lingered in memory: *Help me.* 

He trotted a little faster, thinking of stone trees and white skulls. 
"Azalea?" he called, pausing to sniff the air at the copse's edge.


"Shh," came a familiar hiss from within.

"Azalea, what is it?" He ran over to where he found her crouched 
still as stone, watching something. 

"Shh! If you would like to observe, scooch in here." She made room 
for him and he crouched down next to her. Only then did he see what 
she was staring at. A tiny Spinarak was weaving its web, building the 
beautiful spiral pattern strand by strand with its delicate little 
legs. Beads of water decorated it. Chirin had only ever seen this one 
other time, a long time ago. 

"They're amazing," he whispered.

"It has adopted a pattern of spinning," said Azalea. "A clear spiral 
pattern beginning from the middle and radiating outward. I've been 
watching it since just before sunup, and I suspect they can sense the 
sun coming up before we can."

Chirin could easily believe that, watching the little creature deftly 
dance along its thin, dew-strung threads. Other pokemon had powers 
that he would never know. "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?"

The two mareep watched, enraptured. Chirin crouched lower, shifting 
his legs to get more comfy.
***
Calima suddenly had a bad feeling about Cio. Maybe he
was Moonscar, and Chirin was right about his spirits
of light and dark. Or was he a realative. Maybe. Then
something caught Calima's eye. There, in the same
place as Moonscar's, was the same cresent-moon shaped
scar.
***
Azalea sneezed.

The spinarak startled, but still clung to its web. Now, however, 
other less pleasant things also clung to it. 

"Oh, geez. Spinarak, I sincerely apologize. You too, Chirin."

"That's okay." Chirin was going to nuzzle her--just because he really 
liked to--but she had already extricated herself from the little 
niche between bushes and trees where they had been crouching. She 
strolled back to the copse's edge, flashed her tail, and he followed. 
Without a word the two of them headed back to the flock, but more 
slowly than they had come, grazing along the way. Chirin enjoyed the 
lush juicy taste and leaped and rolled in the soft stuff. Rolling and 
playing in the grass never really got old!

As he walked, he felt better than he had last night--he seemed free 
of the dark spirits who had brought him down and sad with grief 
yesterday. Although, he would always miss Moonscar. 

"I have this game I used to play back at home with my flock," he 
said, flopping on his side while Azalea grazed. "It's called Denrai. 
Do you want to play?"

"Ah, sure, only you'll have to describe the rules to me. I'm afraid 
I'm unfamiliar with it."

"No rules, except I get to be Denrai." He smiled. "But...I guess you 
can be him if you really want to."

"Ah--pardon me for sounding so clueless--but could you, ah inform me 
on who, exactly, Denrai happens to be?"

"Sure. A long long time ago, there was an old ewe. She really wanted 
to have a lamb, but she was too old. She had stopped having heat 
years and years ago, and her mate had died. So she--oh, and her name 
was Rona--Rona one night went to the rock peak that is the shrine of 
Clef. She brought an offering of many different berries. And she 
prayed and prayed for a lamb.

"Then--it happened." Chirin, who had been lying down, jumped up. "A 
lightning bolt--" he shot a spark skyward--"shot down from Clef! And 
it struck the old ewe while she sat there praying. You see, Clef had 
decided to help her. They say that Phos gave Clef a bolt of lightning 
and she drove it right down into Rona.

"And the stars shone silver and the moon was brighter. But nothing 
else seemed to happen at first. But soon, Rona realized a miracle had 
happened. She was pregnant! And then she gave birth in the middle of 
spring to a lamb who shone as silver as the moon. "I name you Denrai, 
a lamb of Clef," she said. 

"And then Denrai grew up and had all kinds of adventures. When we 
played Denrai back home we pretended he had even more adventures. 
There are others, too, who had adventures with him, other people who 
live around Pharos."

"They're still alive? When did these incidents occur?"

"No," he said, "they're not alive like us, but they are still there. 
But I'll tell you all about all the others and then we can play."

"I see. I would most appreciate your stories, you're an uncanny 
storyteller. Not that--ah, just--yes, I would enjoy more stories."

Chirin looked up the hill, where the mareep still looked asleep. He 
sniffed round, and finding no evidence of enemies, he joined Azalea 
for some more grazing, enjoying this time just before Phos awoke to 
be out here, almost as if he were back home. He almost told her about 
the place he had gone to and the skull he'd seen in his sleep-
journeys, but decided not to--not until he could figure out what it 
meant. Azalea listened to more stories from Chirin, told while 
chewing cud, and then, "Let's play," said Chirin. "You get to pick 
first."


"I choose Dini," she said. "Not because she's Denrai's mate--"

"Great! I'll be Denrai. Okay, we're pretending you're hiding on the 
island and I'm swimming over..."

And finally, after a long time, Chirin got to play Denrai, becoming 
the moon Ampharos just before Phos stood up in the east. 

They headed back up the hill as it got closer to sunrise, covered in 
dew and with a few grass stains from running around, but Chirin's 
head still swam in Denrai's adventures. Still feeling like he was 
Denrai, he arrived back where Calima was sleeping, not far from Cio.

"Chirin," Calima whispered. "Chirin. Look at Cio, he
has the same scar as Moonscar had..."
Chirin looked closely at Cio. She was right. 

"Ah, I believe scars are not an inherited characteristic," said 
Azalea, staring at the black rattata as if he had grown another head.

It could not be. "Cio can't be Moonscar," said Chirin. But his voice 
sounded small and far away, and not too sure.

***

Cio slowly opened on eye then shut it tight again.
Calima was on to him. All of a sudden, for a brief
moment, he was the old Moonscar in this awful form.
But he soon returned to evil Moonscar, playing as Cio.
He drifted into an uneasy slumber, wondering if this
was right, what he was about to do.

***
Again, he thought of the drawing with blood in the dusty ground, made 
by Moonscar... destroyed too late. He stared at the scar like the 
nicked stone tree he had seen in the dream place. Carved into 
Moonscar's head, it stared back at him. 

"But Cio's so nice," said Chirin, not wanting to believe in Moonscar 
being eaten from the inside out by dark, as what happened when you 
got touched by Burakuru's gold rings of darkness. No one really 
agreed fully on what happened, but it always involved dark. "Maybe 
when Moonscar died, his soul went into Cio too and the scar went with 
it," he whispered as they watched the sleeping Rattata. "And he lives 
on here." Indeed, looking closer at Cio's features, apart from the 
color they strongly resembled Moonscar--like a brother. To know for 
sure he would have to speak to the spirits. But he began to get the 
feeling that this rattata's coloring was not the only thing odd about 
him. "When he wakes up we can talk to him. But let him sleep for 
now."
Moonscar yawned and got up. He walked over to
Chirin, an evil look on his face.
"Chirin, I have something to tell you. That little
furball was right, I am Moonscar. I have no brother
named Cio. Oy! Cinder! Time for work," Moonscar said.
"'Bout time. Shall we, get to buiesness then? I will
take care of Calima. You destroy little Chirin,"
Cinder said, leaping from the bushes.
"Gladly master," Moonscar said, leaping onto Chirin as
Cinder delt with Calima.
"I have something to tell you, brat. Your little
spirits are non-excistent. They are some stupid
stories that adults made to fool you." Moonscar
laughed at the shocked look on Chirin's face. "Oh,
your scared. Chirin bravery is a virtue which I must
teach you before you die. I bet little Chirin-Chirin
too scard to fight Moonscar huh? Well, then you are a
chicken. You always have been. Cinder helped me, he
helped me find that evil rules. Tis a pity you shant
join us. Time to die now!" Moonscar said, then biting
the back of Chirin's neck.

***

Calima watched as Cinder circled her. Calima growled.
"So, you came back?" She stuttered, never taking her
eyes off the quilava.
"Yes. Mwahahaha! Time to die!" Cinder replied, leaping
onto Calima, ready to snap her in half.
***

Then it was true, he thought for an instant, feeling the rattata draw 
blood. He had misjudged. Moonscar had indeed been possessed and 
transformed. It was not Moonscar attacking him. This was a pokemon 
made of a shadow, a shadow made into a pokemon--a true child of 
Burakuru herself.

Dark had taken his flock but it would not take him.

"Chirin!" screamed Azalea as Chirin channeled his *denki* down his 
spine up through the roots of his wool. 

*Denrai, I am Denrai!* As his imaginary adventures flashed back to 
him, the giant spark ripped outward, surrounding both himself and the 
transformed Moonscar in blue-white radiance. The black thing's voice 
drowned in a flock of loud zaps as the vine of light lived. 

Azalea unleashed a simultaneous thundershock, aiming for the little 
black body attached to the ram's neck. Failing that, she circled in, 
preparing to grab the thing with her own teeth and wring his neck 
herself if she had to. With the release of her attack, her healing 
burn wounds complained with a dull throbbing pain--the same pain that 
had kept her up most of last night.

To the strike of bolts sang terrified bleats.

"Mareep, reep, reep!" 

"Mereeepuuu!"
The rest of the flock fled the hilltop, backing down to watch from a 
safe distance. A quilava, especially one who had already attacked, 
were no joke and without any other direction to take, the instinct to 
flee took over. 

"Chirin!" Selden bleated hysterically, standing alone as Chirin and 
Azalea fought the possessed thing. He was too scared both to fight 
and to abandon the friend who had once saved him. 

Petunia had begun to leave with the rest, but stopped. Who was she to 
run out on their leader--or at least the closest thing they had to 
one?

Calima looked like she needed a little more help. Petunia stood back 
from the Quilava, building up her static as she waited for a good 
time to strike.
***
Moonscar had blood al over his face. He just kept
ripping and tearing at Chirin.
Realizing his *denki* had little or no effect, and out of 
electricity, Chirin rolled over, screaming as his legs kicked and his 
body twisted and jerked, trying to fling Moonscar off or crush him 
under his weight. Pain wormed into him as the rat gnawed the nape of 
his neck. 

"No! NO!" Azalea darted in and aimed a kick at Moonscar. Her hoof 
shot out towards the black rodent's skull.


***

Calima squealed and wriggled out from under Cinder and
leaped onto him, scratching him all over.
Petunia's thundershock cracked out at Cinder's face, but she wished 
she could draw it back in as Calima jumped onto the flaming pokemon 
first. 

"Oh, no--Calima, no!"

Some of the other mareep had approached again, as if beginning to 
realize what was going on and what it might mean. 

"We need help here!" cried Petunia, appearing as if she were still 
sparking, but more like flashes of light. After a moment it winked 
out again, as if retreating, leaving her looking herself over, 
relieved to see she was normal and okay. 

That was about the weirdest thing she had just felt.

"Calima get off!" bleated Petunia. "Get off, I'll shock him, I don't 
want to hurt you!"
> "Calima get off!" bleated Petunia. "Get off, I'll shock him, I 
don't 
> want to hurt you!"

Several mareep ran to Chirin and Azalea. Seeing the struggle they 
struck out with sparks, all aiming for the rattata. 

Chirin's heart soared as he heard Azalea fighting for him. She could 
have run with the others...but she was right here. Even with her 
burns! He felt her soul energy transfer to him, and was suddenly 
stronger.
A sharp pain connected with Moonscar's head, and he
yelped and fell off Chirin. There he lay, bleeding
slightly.
"I am much impressed, you fight for your friends,"
Moonscar mumbled to Azeala.
Several other mareep were now surrounding them, ready to attack. 

"If you go now, we won't kill you," said Chirin.

"I do not advise that," said Azalea. "I recommend killing him no 
matter what he does. He'll come back, Chirin!"

She was right... but there still might be a way. "You are not 
Moonscar. Maybe you were before," he said, standing over him with 
sparks gathering in his wool, dancing on his shoulders. "But now 
there is a dark in this body. Dark," he said, "Leave my friend alone! 
Go away and give Moonscar back his body!"

Chiri shone his light in the changed rattata's face. 

"Careful, he may lunge for you right there," said Azalea, stepping in 
close beside Chirin. Chirin glanced out to where Petunia and Calima 
fought Cinder. "Bushy," he said, recognizing one of those in the wall 
of wool around Moonscar, "go down the hill and get some mareep to 
help Petunia and Calima over there. Quick!"

Bushy turned and raced down the hill. Chirin's dark eyes returned to 
staring into the alien red ones. He concentrated on the staring, 
willing the dark spirit weaker. "I know you can conquer the dark, 
Moonscar," he said. "You're good. You're strong. You came with us all 
the way from the forest in the north." 

***

Calima hard Petunia's words and leaped off Cinder. She
waited for the mareep to shock the large quilava.

Petunia's pent-up energy discharged in a large bolt. It surged 
towards Cinder's chest.
***
"Look you," Moonscar growled, shutting his eyes
against the light, "I didn't get taken over by some
spirit. I chose to become evil. And Cinder helped."
Moonscar lay there, breathing heavily, barely able to
move much but his mouth.
The sight of him lying there pulled tears from Chirin's eyes. "That's 
not Moonscar talking! That's the evil! Moonscar--you wouldn't choose 
to be evil! Who chooses to be evil? It's the shadows! Cinder took 
advantage of you! He did something to invade your body and trap your 
soul somewhere lost in the dark!" Chirin knelt down, placing his 
front feet on Moonscar's chest. "You have to fight it! Reach in--we 
all have a *denki*! Yes, Rattatas have one too!"
"LOOK!!" Moonscar yelled at Chirin, biting him on the
nose, "I WANTED TO BE LIKE THIS!! WHAT PART OF THAT
WON'T MAKE IT THROUGH THAT STUPID LITTLE HEAD OF
YOURS!?" Moonscar lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Fine, go ahead and kill me. As if it will make much
of a difference to me," He paused, and was suddenly
Moonscar, long enough to say these words, "It is true,
I wanted to become evil..."
Then he was back to evil.

***

Calima laughed as Cinder whimpered as he was shocked.

Seeing Cinder was still moving, Petunia began churning up her energy 
stores for another shock. With a lash of her tail she sent it lancing 
towards the Quilava.

Calima darted over to Chirin, looking to see what he
would do.

***

Salty drops landed on Moonscar's chest as Chirin bleated, crying. Cio 
had become Moonscar just for a moment! Yet Moonscar still couldn't 
break free. "Moonscar come back!" he blubbered as the fur faded again 
to black right underneath his feet. "Moonscar! No! I won't kill you! 
I can't kill you!" 

"I can," said Azalea, lifting a foot over his head. She held it 
there, quivering for an instant. Then she put it to the side. "Ah--
oh, geez, I really don't want to do this either! Chirin maybe he'll 
respond to your exorcism! If we could restrain him somehow--" She 
paused. "You hold him, I'll be right back." She dashed away. Chirin 
pinned Moonscar beneath his feet, holding his head back so he 
couldn't bite his nose again.

"We're going to help you, Moonscar. It's going to be all right."

Nothing that came out of Moonscar's mouth about wanting to be evil 
convinced Chirin. He did not believe it and knew that Cinder, or a 
follower of Cinder, had possessed him, no matter what color he chose 
to be. 

Petunia's second spark struck Cinder square in the gut. The Quilava 
screamed, weakened, dropped his head down and launched a volley of 
flames from his shoulders. Petunia dropped to her belly. She ducked 
her head and they rode over her, toasting the wool on her back. 


Several mareep, including young Bushy, ran in towards the attack and 
joined Petunia fighting Cinder, attacking with electricity from a 
distance away.

Snapper took a nice deep breath...then ran up to try and ram the big fire thing. She was big an' strong like Chirin was! 

Mecha readied himself to attack Cinder, just in case he would be needed. He hated to have to kill another pokemon also but...he kept his eyes on Moonscar. But he would only do it if he HAD to...he didn't want to have to... 

Ebony watched from a side, only planning to step in if Mecha himself got into trouble... 
As Petunia recovered herself, several Mareep joined her side, 
covering for her. "We'll do what we did for the Arcanines!" said 
Petunia, gtting up. "Everyone join your spraks together! One, two 
three!"

The bolts snaked together with loud buzzes. The combined attack 
speared towards the Quilava.
Snapper helped as best she could, hoping she would be able to help, at least a lil bit. Her sparks joined in with all the others. 

Mecha was impressed by the large, combined attack...at this rate he probably wouldn't have to help them. But he was still here in case... 

* * *


Chirin glanced away from Moonscar. The mareep over by Cinder appeared 
to be overtaking him. He almost ran to help them, but then who would 
keep this possessed Rattata from attacking any of them here? No, he 
had to concentrate on Moonscar right now. 

Azalea came running back up the hill carrying something in her mouth. 
Brethless, she dropped the vines by the prone Moonscar.

"Let's tie him up," she said, taking up one of the vines. Lacking 
opposable thumbs, heck, lacking *fingers*, this was going to be 
difficult.

Holding Moonscar down with one foot Chirin took up a vine in another. 
No one in the flock had ever taught him how to tie a knot. 

"I'm so sorry we have to do this," he said as he and Azalea began 
trying to wrap the squirming, ranting Rattata in the vines. 

"How do you tie a knot?" said Chirin as he fumbled with the ivy.

Moonscar struggled as Azeala and Chirin tied him in
the vines. Once the two mareep had sucsesfully tied up
the rattata, he began to wriggle and squirm. Until he
started to gnaw at the vines. THIS would get him free.

***

Calima, so scared of being taken over by spirits. She dug a
hole and hid in it, shaking.

***
"I don't think so!" Razkel said pouncing on Moonscar, seeing the Rattata start to gnaw on the vine. "I really don't have a clue what's going on, but your not getting away that easily"
"I don't have a clue either but TIE UP HIS MUZZLE!" Azalea looped a 
vine around his snout. "Quickly, Chirin Razkel hold him still while I 
tie it!" 

Chirin was already holding Moonscar down with his forelegs, and 
leaned on him a little while Azalea finished of the knot, deftly 
using both her mouth and her front feet to work the vines around each 
other. Moonscar tossed his head to either side in an effort to avoid 
them.

"He can't talk if we tie his mouth closed," said Chirin.

"He can't bite either."

***
Cinder's body coiled into a spring of muscles and jumped, all four 
feet leaving the ground, and landing on Petunia's back.

"Reeeep!" Petunia screamed, kicking and sparking, but the Quilava's 
weight slammed her legs out from under her.

"Save Petunia! Save Petunia!" cried Snapper (I figure she'd take the 
lead here, Hana) and the mareep surrounded cinder again, a storm of 
wool that lashed with lightning. 

Beneath the Quilava a light began to glow. Petunia's body was 
flashing white...
***
Razkel nodded and did his best to hold the squirming Rattata still. "Berry give me a hand" he said to the Rhyorn who placed a foot on the tied up Rattata pining him.
Moonscar struggled to remove the vines of his muzzle
and body. Once finished, the other pokemon backed
away. Moosncar struggled. Cinder, who had been
attacked Petunia, and hopefully possesing her, had
lept off her to help Moosncar. He got in front of him
and unleashed his flamethrower attack. Only, they were
black and green flames (Cinder is black and white and
all of his flames are green and black). They charred
the vines, but didn't hurt Moosncar. He struggled
loose and darted off with Cinder.
Calima watched them, and managed to hear, "...these
flames do not harm evil..." from Cinder.
Calima stood there. If those flames didn't hurt
Moosncar... or her... Then she was... she was...
evil...?
***
Petunia wriggled onto her back and flung the Quilava off her with a 
kick of her hind legs. Cinder's long body flipped and rolled in the 
grass as the snow-white light left Petunia's body. 

Cinder, seeing he was outnumbered, ran snarling at the circle mareep, 
who jumped back in fright, admitting him. 

"He's getting away!" cried Snapper as the Quilava darted towards the 
brand-new burrow that Calima had dug herself into. Sniffing at the 
burrow and apparently determining that Calima was inside, Cinder 
rolled some flames off his back, towards the hole. He would smoke her 
out.

Petunia got to her feet and ran down through the grass, not realizing 
in her panic that she was running on two legs, not four. The rest of 
the mareep watched Cinder, but didn't attack further, and started 
heading away. To them, the scene was now simply a Quilava catching 
its prey--not something that had anything to do with them, and would 
only endanger them if they interfered further. Yes, Calima had been 
an acquaintance, but several of them had seen (or heard) her trying 
to kill Chirin yesterday, despite her having helped them escape from 
the farm. To them, that was a red flag of disease or other 
instability--and she was not to be trusted. Mareep did not attack a 
predator unless it attacked them, which Cinder was no longer doing. 


The group now headed away from Calima and Cinder to keep themselves 
safe. They ran, huddled together, back towards the hilltop, where 
Azalea and Chirin--flock members--struggled with the other enemy. And 
the sight of a strange pink pokemon--who sounded like Petunia, and 
acted like Petunia, but hardly looked like her--running among them 
caught their attention instead. They stared. A few of them had seen 
the black rattata change briefly beneath Chirin's feet to Moonscar 
and back. Had this ghastly thing now happened to Petunia?

Petunia stared back down at them, returning their frightened gazes 
with a very frightened one of her own. "What's wrong?" Her voice 
sounded subtly different--lower, less lamb-like. She looked at them, 
then down at the ground, as if only just discovering her drastic 
change in posture. "I'm pink," she said. "What--Why am I pink?!"

* * *

Chirin was still helping Azalea and Razkel, who was much better at 
securing the vines around Moonscar, when he heard Petunia's voice. 
But it sounded different. For a moment he thought of his big sister 
back home.

"And--I'm on two legs! What's happened to me?" came the 
voice. "Chirin! Help me!"

Chirin looked down the hillside to see a Flaaffy running up, with the 
other mareep following. Petunia--she had evolved. Wonderful! But--
where was Calima? 

"Aaah," said Azalea, now seeing her changed flockmate. She 
scrutinized the worried sheep's face and saw the clear resemblance, 
as the familiar scent reached her nose. "Petunia?"
***
Chirin stood there with Petunia and the other mareep, who had reached 
the hilltop before Cinder had attacked. 

"Perhaps we should have stayed to attack them after all," said 
Petunia, who like the others had been too slow to stop Cinder and 
Moonscar escaping. "Cinder made it look like he wasn't coming up 
here, Chirin I'm so sorry..."

"Cinder's full of dark tricks," said Chirin. "It's not your fault. We 
all did the best we could do."

"They'll be back," said Azalea, watching them dart off. "Count on it."

All the pokemon up on the hill watched them run away, not trusting 
that they wouldn't suddenly turn and attack again.

Chirin turned to the trembling Nidoran and hugged her. "It's going to 
be okay," he said. "We're all going to have to do something about 
this, because Azalea's right. They will be back."

"They'll be back," said Coddy, "cause of her. They're after the Nido, 
not us. We go our separate ways, problem solved."

"Yeah," said Cleomie.

"Well, then go," said Chirin. "Calima's my friend and I'm not leaving 
her."

They said nothing.

"You were saying something about the fire not hurting you," said 
Chirin, who had noticed that Moonscar, in his new form, had not been 
harmed by Cinder's flames. "You're immune to the fire too?"

"No wonder she got out of the burrow all right," said Azalea. "I was 
wondering myself."
***
Moonscar and Cinder darted behind the bushes, and
started speaking to eachother in whispers.
"Darn..we almost had her there! Hrm.. why didn't the
flames hurt her?" Moosncar asked Cinder in a hushed
voice.
"I'm not sure, although I seem to recall, as a youn
cyndaquil, accidentally giving her some of my own dark
power. The rage of hers for instance, I have that too.
It is the sign of a dark pokemon. So, if she has that
power, it is quite possible she has a few more of my
powers as well, like the ability to posses and
unposses pokemon. Although I very much doubt it, she
might even be able to use my dark flame one day..."
Cinder replied nervously.


Calima watched Cinder and Moonscar go. 
"Chirin, Cinder said that his flames harmed no evil
pokemon. But they didn't harm me...." Calima said,
trying to keep from crying.

"Shh..." Chirin rocked his friend in his hug, "you know you're not 
evil. Dark doesn't come from if you can get burned or not. You know 
you're not evil. And I know it." He sighed. That wasn't entirely 
true. "Still..." and he loosened his hug, "I know there is evil 
lurking inside you, a spot of dark that won't go away. It isn't you. 
It's a thing of dark that got into you somehow, I don't know when. 
But I...I've seen it, when your eyes glowed red with a raging fire 
inside. Just yesterday it plucked you out of your body and stepped 
in, and tried to kill me. It isn't you, Calima. I know I should have 
talked to you before, but I didn't want to say anything. I was scared 
that the dark spirit would rise up and flood you again."

He sniffled. "Now we all have to keep watch. That Cinder, he is of 
the dark. I don't know why he wants to kill you, but he will not stop 
until he kills you, or his power is destroyed."

"We could probably kill him all together if he attacked us again," 
said Azalea. "Assuming he didn't make a getaway."

"But that's not it," said Chirin. "Killing his body won't do it. His 
is a soul power and only other soul powers can make it go away. 
Killing someone--makes a light dark. We have to find where this dark 
is hiding, in you, Calima, and in Moonscar and Cinder--and then we 
have to shine our light in it. And I don't only mean lights on our 
tail. The lights on our tails come from our souls. And everything has 
a soul, even if you can't see it shining with your eyes." He smiled 
at Petunia, who still looked petrified--and pink. "Your *denki* grew 
today. It stood you up. When you evolve it is the ancestors plunging 
into you, and giving you new powers. They're blessing you."

"This--is being blessed?"

Chirin blinked his tail's light strongly, saying yes, but then his 
bulb and smile faded. "It's a wonderful time, the standing up, the 
shining blue," he said. "Don't be afraid."

"Blue? I'm--pink now."

"Look behind you."

Petunia looked to see her tail's light now shone blue. "Oh--goodness! 
It's all over--all changed back there too!"

Petunia plopped down on her bum and began to cry.

"Don't cry," said Chirin, running to hug her too. Petunia sobbed into 
his shoulder.

* * *

Azalea only let Chirin hug Petunia. Yes, he clearly liked her... He'd 
never hugged Azalea like that, not quite like that...Of course she 
had never really let him, but still...no, he'd never hugged her like 
that. 

So mareep did evolve. Not that she hadn't believed Chirin--just now 
she knew what they turned to. Apparently the sight of Petunia in all 
her new glory had shown him that Azalea was simply a burned, ugly 
mareep. 

Her burn scars were itching and paining her. Giving her body a spark-
over to scratch them, and causing them more pain, she grazed her way 
away from them, holding the tears in until she was far enough away. 
Couldn't hurt to keep watch for enemies, she thought, giving the air 
a shiff through her nose, which was now beginning to run.

* * *

"Today I'm going to try to remember what to do about dark that's so 
strong and so hard to shine out," said Chirin, still hugging the 
sobbing Petunia. "And when the dark and danger is over, we must have 
a Dance of Lainergie--the Wattoowattos. That's when they do when you 
turn to a Flaaffy. You're beautiful," he said, stepping back and 
looking at Petunia's pink teary face, trying to reassure her. Why was 
she so sad and scared?

"Wait a minute," said Coddy. "Chirin. If this happened to 
Petunia...is it going to happen to..."


"All of you!" Chirin nodded, smiling. "When your *denki* receives the 
call of the ancestors and decides that the time is right."
Calima sniffled then got a good look at Petunia.
"Your a flaaffy now. I think it makes you look
pretty," Calima said in a shy voice.

***

Cinder looked at Petunia. Moonscar swore that he
fancied her now. There was a strange light in his
eyes. Moosncar sweatdropped.


"It's a wonderful part of a denryuu's life," said Chirin. "I guess 
maybe it seems scary at first, if you never saw it. But..." He 
sighed, looking at Petunia's forlorn face.

"I don't like this," she said, looking at her plump pink lap. "The 
wind feels so weird now that I have almost no fleece. It...looks 
weird. I don't like it."

"Oh, Petunia...just think, your ancestors granted you new power 
today. You are closer to them, closer to the lightning and the Light. 
The Light has three colors, yellow, blue and red. You are in the 
blue."

"Thank you," said Petunia, nodding to Calima. 

"The best place to
talk to the dark spirit--to--figure out how they are working, and 
who, and what, they are..." Chirin lost track of his own 
sentence. "This is the best place, because it just got touched by the 
dark. Cinder and Moonscar--the possessed Moonscar, who isn't really 
Moonscar--they were just here." He opened up his apricorn shell. 
Looking around in the grass, he made his way to the small burn scar 
where Cinder's flames had scorched the green. He began trying to 
scoop up some of the ash into the shell. "I'm going to try and absorb 
a tiny bit of this dark--essence." He hoped he was using that word 
right. "The--what it really is. But i have to make it safe first." 

He crammed some more burnt blades into the shell; they fragmented 
apart, lying like a black snow on the pebble in there.

Chirin closed the apricorn shell. He stood there, and took a deep 
breath, and let it out, concentrating, picturing the dark now trapped 
in there, subject to his powers to make it harmless.

Then, in front of everybody, he began to dance.


* * *

Azalea had rejoined the flock. Hearing Chirin call Petunia 
beautiful...well there was no way she could just chew her cud through 
that. She arrived at the edge of the group and peered past their 
woolly sides, trying to see. She saw Chirin cavorting in small 
circles, shouting...or was it singing?

"Curl away, Curl Away! Darkness, spin and curl away! Curl into me, I 
take you into me! I take you in my Light! The Light, the Light!"

Azalea sighed. That ram sure was a...different one. Where did his 
songs come from? Had someone else taught him all this? If so he had 
quite a memory. She remembered that just earlier today--when they had 
played pretend--he had sung these kinds of things too.

Chirin landed from his last jump, panting and sweating. He looked 
around. Where was Azalea? Spotting her way out at the edge, he 
wondered why she was over there. "Azalea, come here." But--she'd 
probably want a reason why. "Our souls are connected--I want you to 
help."

* * *

So, that was the only reason he wanted her around. Well, it was 
better than nothing. Azalea walked over to him, but said nothing, 
just stood there trying not to swoon in the smell of his sweat.

Chirin opened his shell, rather messily. It was coated inside, 
through and through. So was the pebble. He tipped the tiny, enchanted 
pinch of ash onto the grass and began spreading it around. Azalea 
helped him, not sure what he was doing but eager to help. 

chirin kept spreading the tiny bit of ash out until it sparsely 
dusted a patch of grass, barely visible.

Then, he ate the grass.

Calima walked a little ways away from the mareep and
started nibling the grass. There was a burning
sensation in her mouth. She spit out the grass and it
was charred black. She exhaled a small ember.. like
Cinder's....

"Chirin! Look what I did!" Calima said, sneezing
and exhaling a small ember.

***

Moonscar and Cinder watched open-mouthed at the
nidoran. Well, Moonscar was, Cinder was still staring
at Petunia.


Razkel smiled at Calima "Nice going, just keep away from me when you have a sneezing fit"  He then looked at Berry who was sitting chewing at a patch of grass and wondered if she knew any attacks.	

Chirin's mouth dropped open. A stray grass blade fell from it. Just 
as he had done this first step in driving out the darkness...just as 
the last of the ash-dressed grass had graced his throat. 

No, he couldn't have possibly done it. 

But the darkness itself could. It was in the air, and it had touched 
Calima, even more so than himself. He put a foot upon the pebble that 
had fallen from the apricorn shell, bracing himself against the dark 
that hovered here even as the first light of Phos touched down on the 
hill. 

"How did you do that?"
"I don't know how Chirin, it just.. happened.." Calima
said, sneezing again, exhaling another small flame.
The flame curled just under Chirin's chin. Chirin jumped back, 
feeling heat at his throat.

"Ah, I'd either do something about those allergies or take an 
extremely large drink of water," said Azalea. "Or just take extra 
precaution not to sneeze in the company of anyone combustible." She 
nodded towards her burned shoulder and flank. A range of blisters had 
sprouted on it, a few dotting her neck and jaw, and although some 
wool was beginning to grow down over the angry red wounds and most of 
the singed wool had fallen away, it looked worse now than it had 
before. 

***

"Master, Calima can use dark flame!" Moonscar said. He
then growled at himself, realizing that someone might
have heard him.
"Thats nice Moosncar..." Cinder muttered, never taking
his red eyes off Petunia.
Moonscar sighed and tried to pull Cinder away. 
"C'mon Romeo! Lets go!" Moosncar said, struggling to
make him move.

***
Chirin looked to see where Azalea was, wanting to lean against her. He 
was afraid. He waved her tail for her to come over, for he didn't 
want to lose his contact with the stone. 

"What's the trouble?" she said, walking over. "Aside from a Nidoran 
suddenly expelling flame?"

He leaned against her. 

"Ah..." she said, but said no more.
Petunia had wandered out towards the northeward edge of the hilltop, 
feeling set apart from them. She wanted to believe she was 
pretty...but couldn't help feeling that Chirin and Calima had only 
been humoring her. She had seen the looks of the other Mareep--her 
friends since before she could remember. Well, not all her friends, 
but her flock. 

How could she be pretty if she'd turned pink and lost almost all her 
hair? 

She thought she heard something rustling in one of the clumps of 
bushes near the hill's base. She sniffed the air, but smelled 
nothing...it was to the north anyway, and the wind wasn't blowing 
that way.
"Hey can I help?" Razkel asked squirting a water gun attack in to the air.	

Azalea and Chirin gave the rattata a curious look, then laughed. It 
felt good to laugh, thought Chirin. And...Razkel could squirt water? 

Well, if Calima could spit flames, why not? After all, "anything is 
possible," had been Lararu's favorite thing to say.
"Water wouldn't achoo! Really help me achoo! get rid
of this flame achoo! Attack. When achoo! A pokemon
achoo! Learns an attack achoo! It's permanent! Achoo!"
Calima said, sneezing and exhaling a small ember every
time she did. She was sure to turn away when she
sneezed as not to hurt her friends. Calima looked in a
puddle made by Razkle's water gun. She placed her paw
in the water, yelped, and drew her paw back. 
"Ouch! That hurt!" She yelped. She sniffed the water
and took a small sip. 
"Well, I can still drink water at least.." Calima
muttered.
Razkel laughed too and squirted a stronger blast in to the air like a fountain.


"Wait, you hurt when you touched the water." Chirin knew that 
Typhlosions, as well as the fire dogs and foxes, avoided rain because 
they were really made of fire, in essence, and the rain could kill 
their bodies like it could harm flame. Others, like Sudowoodos and 
Marowaks, also avoided rain, because somewhere in them, their soul 
also had a fire part. But not Nidorans. 

Calima could breathe fire...water hurt her...

"This might mean," said Chirin, "that you have a soul of fire. You 
are a fire-lamb."
As if on cue, a fresh and abruptly cooler wind breathed through his 
wool. Petunia, robbed of most of her coat, shivered, sparking over 
her lower extremities to keep warm. Everyone looked to the west, into 
the wind's face.

"I smell rain," said Azalea as Chirin inhaled, tasting the change of 
weather with his nose. He swayed his head and wiggled his ears, 
gauging and feeling the distant storm. For a storm it was. This was 
no ordinary breeze. 

Perhaps he had been shouting to the spirits so hard and so long that 
they had finally decided to answer, in a big way. Rain. Rain killed 
fire. He had asked for the evil dark fire spirit to be destroyed...

"Will it be a thunderstorm? I enjoy those immensely," said 
Azalea..."Calima, you'd better dig a really deep burrow."

"Yes," said Chirin. The rest of the mareep were staying up on the 
hill, instinctively, since it was the highest ground. 

"If I am a fire anything, it would be a fire kit. I am
not a lamb," Calima pointed out. She looked at the sky
and whimpered. It was raining.
"Ack! Rain!" Calima said.
"I have an idea. If we dig a BIG burrow, you and me
and your friends could fit inside?" Calima said,
digging one of the largest burrows she had dug in a
long time. When it looked as though a few mareep could
fit inside, Calima called for Chirin, and Azeala to
come in. She made it big enough for a flaaffy even. 
"Wait! Err, Petunia! You come in first!" Calima said.
She dug a small pasage, like a hallway, big enough for
a flaaffy, and she made a few, larger rooms for the
other pokemon. Calima watched some mareep enter the
burrow and into the other rooms, making themselves
comfortable. Calima realized that this would mean alot
more digging. So she kept digging, and she wouldn't
stop until everyone could fit. 
"I need some help please!" Calima hollered to the
others. She hoped Razkle would help too.

***

Cinder and Moonscar already were in their own burrow.
The entrance was sealed and they would be fine until
the rain stopped.


Calima stopped digging for a moment. She turned to the
mareep that were already in the burrow. She said that
if it was a thunder storm, then they could go out if
they wanted. She ran out of the burrow and said the
same to the other mareep, then she returned inside to
finish the big burrow.

The wind slammed into Chirin's body, making him skitter back. The 
mareep clustered in clumps of wind-whipped fleece on the lee side of 
the hill as the gusts threw small sprinkles of rain.

"Calima!" he shouted, bracing himself with Azalea behind him. He 
heard her breathing, under the wind's wheezing roar. "Calima! Quick! 
Over to this side!"
None of the mareep entered the burrow, although some of them peeked 
inside.  Burrows were dark and close and made them nervous. They stood outside, 
sheltering against the wind's fury by putting the hilltop between 
them and the wind. A shudder--his spirit's cry--ran through Chirin's 
body as he waited to see if Lightning would come. He nudged up 
against Azalea as the wool on their heads flew back, waving and 
thrashing. 

"I can feel them!" he said, close to her head so she'd hear. "My 
ancestors! Can you feel yours here, right now?"

"Ah...Maybe!"
"Please..."said Calima, "It's safer in here. What if is a really
bad storm? You could be hurt! Just, please come in
mareep, and someone, please, help me finish this!"
Calima said. "Chirin... please.. can you help?"
"We'll be okay out here!" said Petunia. "Rain doesn't bother us!"

* * *

"Maahhhh..."

A tiny lamb's cry peeled away from Chirin--first close, then distant. 
Chirin looked around to see Selden tumble down the hill in a flash of 
white fluff and blue hooves, shoved head over heels by the wind.

"Selden!" Feeling the air spirits lifting and lightening him as he 
ran like an Arcanine down the grassy hill, Chirin let it carry him 
after Selden. 

"He's too lightweight; he may not stop at all! Selden try not to 
fluff your wool!" Azalea darted after them, half tumbling, half 
sliding, half carried down the slope. 

Even after Selden reached the bottom he kept rolling, the light on 
his tail seeming to blink on and off as he went, scrabbling uselessly 
on the ground in an attempt to stop himself. "Reeeee...!"
Razkel dived in one of the holes and started digging, it wasn't one of his better skills but he'd at least try and help "You really think we can get everyone underground?" he asked thinking about his Rhyhorn friend.

Berry sheltered under a near by tree and was wondering about the same thing.
Calima nodded. 
"If we try, I'm sure of it."
Razkel grunted as he moved some more earth. "If you say so"
Berry looked up as the lamb cried and watched as Chirin went after it. The wind not bothering the Rhyhorn one bit, ran after them.
Chirin sprinted with the wind pushing him, helping him nearer as it 
hauled Selden away. He couldn't tell whose side it was on. "I'm 
coming, Selden! I'm coming!" he cried as rain slapped his body, 
seeping into his wool. 

He jumped at Selden and missed. 

"Chih--"

Another gust smacked the lamb backwards, cutting off his voice.
The wind was all but picking him up, Watakko's children gone mad, 
wanting him.

Chirin gathered speed again and jumped. "Phos and Watakko, Great 
Chenja!"

He landed on Selden and held him down as the downpour lashed his 
face.
Snapper dashed down after Azalea, hoping to help...but ended up with a similar problem as Selden... 
"Oof!" Azalea landed smack on her stomach as someone landed on her. 
Then, "Oof!" as Snapperbumped onto Azalea's head, driving her chin 
into the soaked grass. As the weight was lifted and she lifted her 
head she saw the lamb in front of her, losing ground almost more 
quickly than Azalea was able to gain it. 

Aiming for the bulk of the lamb's body, she jumped at Snapper, 
landing on her hindquarters just as Snapper slid further. "Gotcha 
kid," she said, knowing Snapper couldn't hear her over the howling 
clouds. She clambered onto Snapper's middle to hold her down. The 
wind drove the rain harder against them, pounding the mareep as the 
wind tugged. Every raindrop speared her still-angry burns, like a 
storm inside her. 

* * *

"Berry!" cried Chirin, seeing the young Rhyhorn thundering towards 
himself and Selden. Rain was in his eyes, pounding his ears, licking 
into his nose and mouth. He strained to see Azalea through the forest 
of raindrops sheeting down between them.
***
"Chirin!" Calima cried. "We need to all help make this
burrow so we can all fit! The wind may get strong
enough to blow all of us away! Bring the lambs in
here, then we can dig, and make the burrow big enough
for us all!"


The larger mareep were sheltering the younger lambs, who bleated in 
fright at the wind trying to shove them down the hill. All the flock 
gathered together on the lee side of the hill, clustering close 
together to prevent anyone else being pulled down. However, some of 
them began pushing the lambs towards the burrow entrance. The lambs, 
reluctant to enter a dark place, bleated more, their cries more seen 
than heard in the storm's cry. 

"Chirin's out there!" Petunia pointed. "Chirin!" She stumbled down 
the hill, nearly falling forward a couple times. She turned around, 
backing down, and the wind almost knocked her on her back. "I have to 
do something!"

* * *

Puddles collected in the grass around Chirin, and just above the 
grass the droplets released by the driving rain created a white mist 
that, with his head near the ground, he could barely see past. 

But his ears felt it coming. They always did. The felt the crackling 
and the presence of electricity, the *denki* of unseen souls dancing 
in the air, calling, talking to him from his head to tail tip.

His mouth fell open as a bolt of lightning flashed in the dark 
billowing clouds, touching down far away. He felt his *denki* rise in 
response. "Mama..."

* * *

Up on the hilltop, a change came over the mareep. Feeling the energy 
gathering, they too began to spark. Some of the bigger ones struggled 
up towards the hilltop, oblivious to the wind butting at their chests.
"Chirin!" Calima screamed over the rage of the storm.
"I'm coming!" Calima ran out, and squealed in pain as
the rain lashed against her tiny body. She struggled
up the hill, her pain increasing with every step she
took. She finally reached Chirin.
"Come... burrow... we... all hide in it... We will...
be... safe... in there" Calima managed to gasp.

***

 Fluffy bleated in fear as she was pushed into the
darkness of the burrow. She shined her tail light and
got a look around. It was like a cave, only made of
dirt. The dirt was soft, and there were different
rooms. 
She watched as a few of the other lambs were pushed
into the burrow, their tail-lights shining as well. It
wasn't so scary now that there was light.
Fluffy walked into another room where Razkle was
digging. He appeared to need help.
"May I help mister Razkle?" Fluffy asked, wagging her
tail excitedly. She walked over to another part of the
small room to start a new passage to another room. She
started digging. It wasn't easy for her. Her hooves
were not built for digging. The dirt kept getting suck
between her hooves. But she tried, until there was a
new hallway. Now she had to work on a new room. The
dirt was all over her. She went back to work.

Chirin was faintly aware of Calima next to him as he struggled to 
hold Selden still, bracing him to keep the wind from taking hold of 
him. He heard her trying to say something, but couldn't hear what it 
was. "Calima!" he cried through the rain swimming in the air. "If 
you're a fire pokemon now this rain will kill you! Get back to the 
burrow quick, or get behind me! I'll get Selden there!"

He braced himself over Selden, straddling him with his front legs, 
while his back legs caged Selden from behind, keeping him from 
sliding back. Step by step, he herded Selden's body with a sort of 
shuffle, plowing slowly through the soup of mud, water, and grass. 

"Mahh..." Selden cried, closing his eyes against the rain. "Mahhhh..."

Chirin pushed through the wind with his head and shoulders, butting 
it, cleaving it, his whole body like a fist. Pushing his way towards 
the beacon of the hill whose shape flickered through the rain, he 
reached another pair of struggling, rain-flattened, mud-soaked 
mareep, only knowing they were there by the acute flash of their tail 
lights.

"Azalea!" 


He heard Azalea, who had Snapper beneath her in a manner similar to 
Chirin and Selden, shouting something to him that he didn't make out. 
But her light shouted it all. 

"Come on! Get behind me, we'll shield you!" In between gusts, Chirin 
shuffled forward, curling and bracing every time another sheet of 
wind swooped at them. Shuffle, brace, shuffle, brace, Chirin 
staggered on. Azalea seemed to understand his intent, for she 
scrabbled up behind him, hauling a muddy and coughing Snapper between 
her front legs. Feeling them at his rear, he kept on, holding his 
tail low for them to grab if they had to. 

This was the spirits' response. Watakko had sighed her great breath, 
driving her air children out to catch the dark fire thing and snuff 
it out.

But in doing this, would it take Calima too?

Calima knew now that Chirin couldn't here him. The
pain was intense. But she stay put, and drew the
intrance to the burrow, and a mareep by it, which
clearly state, 'we need to get in the burrow'.

***

Fluffy looked proudly at the room she had made. She
sat down, walked over to one of the walls, and drew a
picture of a strange pokemon on it. It resembaled a
nidoran and a mareep combined. It looked like a mareep
with nidoran ears, a horn, buck teeth, small spikes on
her back, and nidoran claws. 
"Hi Fluffy!" said a voice behind her.
"Nimo!" Fluffy said excitedly. "I drew your picture!"
Fluffy's imagninary friend smiled and looked at the
picture. She wagged her shining tail excitedly. 
"I only came to see how you were doing. I need to
leave.." Nimo said sadly, dissapearing.
"Bye Nimo.." Fluffy said, sadly, working on a new
hallway to a new room.


Snapper regretted what she had done...now she was nothing more than a burden to Azalea... 

Her eyes shut tight, she started to cry and bleat. 

The rain pummeled Chirin's nose, drumming it numb. As he crouched 
over Selden again, he saw a blue light ahead, silhouetting a 
Flaaffy's shape through the rain, fading in and out as sheets fell 
towards them.

"Hold on! I'm here!" Petunia's voice poked through the storm, then 
she was in front of Chirin. 
Together, they stumbled forwards through the rainsoaked grass, 
laboring towards the hill shuffle by shuffle, shielded by the 
Flaaffy's heavier body. Bit by bit, the sight of the hill grew 
stronger through the hurricane's gales.
Calima got close to Chirin, so he would hear her say
to him, "Lets go to the burrow. It's really big now."

***

Fluffy started digging a new room as soon as she
finished the hallway.

Calima's words were all but drowned in the storm's splatter of rain 
on the puddled grass and the rain hammering over his skull. The wool 
on his head had fallen flat, swarming in the sheen of water running 
down his face. 

"I'm...getting to the hill..." he called, forging his way forward 
behind Petunia. The wind's whack had forced her to crawl along on all 
fours, no longer a position she could easily walk or run in. He was 
amazed that the sheer force of the gales had not plucked her off the 
ground, sending her tumbling. Well, she was pretty close to him, and 
this was a Nidoran who could battle Arboks. 

Again, he remembered her standing on the rock in the pond...her eyes 
flashing red in rage as she attacked an Arbok...and lastly, expelling 
flame from her mouth. Calima had powers.

Just in case, though, he tried to keep near her.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and Chirin strengthened at hearing 
its purr. He was being spoken to by the Ampharos in the sky. At his 
back he felt a familiar someone brushing his tail--he glanced around, 
feeling the wind push on his neck and bat his ear. Azalea was there. 
He flashed his tail at her, keeping it bright. He thought he felt her 
give it a squeeze but wasn't sure.
Calima struggled foward toward the entance to the
burrow. Many of the mareep were inside, huddled close
together, their tail-lights bright. A few of the
mareep were waiting for there to be enough room for
them too. Slowly, one by one, the other mareep would
walk in too. Calima hoped there was enough room for
Berry, Mecha, the other bird whom she didn't know that
hung out with him, Petunia, herself, Azeala and Chirin
could all fit inside. Even if they could all fit,
Calima thought they should all dig so the mareep could
wander freely within the burrow. Once to the burrow,
Calima helped the others in. Then she started digging
more rooms, asking for help.

***

Fluffy came into the main room and watched Calima dig.
She wagged her tail, and helped her.

"We're almost there!" cried Chirin, tasting cool rainwater on his 
tongue. He kept the hill, wavering through water and wind, in sight 
through tensely squinted slits of eyes. As they reached the foot of 
the hill, the wind's punches lightened--although that comparison, he 
thought, could be likened to a "weak lightning bolt." 

Each drum of thunder, the voice of souls, carried his steps, each hit 
of wind a stepping stone, the air carving against his body. The evil 
dark fire being, and the darkness that took his flock, had angered 
the spirits. That's why the wind was blowing so hard. But the 
ancestors are bringing lightning to help him through. They were 
casting down their *denki*, he could feel them close to him. 

Step by step, feeling the power of the Ampharos who loved him, he 
began the climb up the hill, against the beating wind. Petunia 
snatched Selden up in her arms, struggling up the rest of the way 
towards the burrow entrance. He saw other mareeps' lights just 
inside. 

Calima--had created THIS? 

She had not only the power of fire behind her breath, but the power 
of the ground-spirits behind her claws. Awestruck, and feeling his 
mind skid on the edge of fear, he made his muscles stone and climbed 
the hill, his hooves skidding on the slippery grass and sinking in 
the mud. 

"Help me get her in!" Azalea called. Chirin was already turning 
around to half-guide, half-push the drenched Snapper the rest of the 
way into the giant burrow. The three muddy, soggy-wooled mareep 
entered the burrow with water running off their heads and sides. 

Snapper's tail was flickering fearfully. Once inside, Chirin felt a 
shiver, tingling all over from the sudden absence of beating rain. He 
go the sensation of entering the caverns below Pharos, all that time 
ago, as the dank, soil-scented burrow welcomed him into its cozy 
mouth. He shook himself off. 

"Calima? Razkel? Is everyone okay?" 

Outside, thunder boomed. Thunder. 

He would make sure they were all okay...

Then he was going back out there.

When Calima finished another room, a little larger
than the main room, many of the mareep scramled inside
it. Some started digging. They were clearly not very
good at it. Calima started digging some more rooms.

***

Fluffy watched as Calima and a few other mareep
started digging. She wagged her tail and started
helping. She liked to dig.

"Calima!" Chirin called again. "Are you in here?"

"She's here," said a mareep. "She's back there digging more rooms. 
Where did she come from? She's an amazing digger!"

The same awe that must be showing on Chirin's face was also on the 
other mareep's. "I don't know where she came from." He was going to 
say he thanked the spirits she was here, but he was still not sure. 
He liked Calima and she was his friend, but she often scared him. She 
had strange powers, seeming to gain new ones each day. But more than 
that, she had a frightening darkness trapped inside her that had 
reared its ugly head more than once. "But she's my friend," he said, 
gazing in amazement at the rooms, whose astounding dimensions were 
well lit by yellow mareep tails (and one Flaaffy tail), big enough to 
house half the flock. She had dug this, with little or no help, in 
such a short span of time...

This far outshone the flame-spittle she'd shown him above ground. 
Were her own ancestors channeling power into her? 

"I must say that this accomplishment upends the laws of physics," 
said Azalea, gazing around with the same wonder. "Particularly in 
terms of where the undug dirt that once occupied these spaces is 
disappearing to. Wherever she came from, they must have incredibly 
roomy burrows."

"She's amazing," he said, accidentally brushing against her side as 
he stepped around to look at it from another angle.

"Ow." Azalea winced. "I'm okay, I'm okay!"

He had brushed against her burned side. "I'm sorry."

"No, no--it was the storm's pounding that irritated it. Burst half of 
these disgusting blisters."

"Let's find you a place where we can rest." Chirin could hear the 
vibrations and sounds of digging further down the passages. "I'm sure 
there's a room you can stay in till the wind goes away."

"Preferably close to the exit," said Azalea, searching with him by 
poking her tail around. "In the event of a cave-in."

Chirin smiled. "You think of every possibility."

"I prefer to err on the side of caution."

They both giggled. Chirin paused to put his nose to the newly dug 
floor, though, and uttered a prayer to the spirits of the ground to 
hold the burrow safely up for all of them. They were at the mercy of 
the ground spirits right now...and the ground was where many dead 
lived. Others may have seen merely a dark, cozily lit passage heated 
by the crowding of woolly bodies, but Chirin felt something in 
addition to all that--the passage of the dead among them, brushing 
them with stray air currents and the occasional soft fall of soil 
from the ceiling. 

Outside, the thunder beckoned to him again.
Calima stopped digging. Now the mareep could wander
freely through the burrow. She sighed in relief and
sealed off the exit so rain wouldn't make the burrow
all muddy.
"There.. We don't want the burrow to be muddy.."
Calima muttered to Chirin and Azeala.

***

Fluffy snuggled up to Chirin and said, "I like to dig.
It's nice down here, I wish I was a nidoran, don't
you?" She wagged her tail.

"No," said Chirin, "but Nidorans are awfully nice. I still like being 
a mareep though." He smiled, nuzzling the cute lamb. Even if he could 
have magic digging power like this...he wouldn't give up being one of 
the Denryuu.

"Ah," said Azalea, poking at the sealed entrance, "I recommend re-
opening this. There are many of us down here and the available oxygen 
is likely to be depleted without an open entrance, and the rain is 
pointing away from the hole anyways so it won't blow in. Not right 
now, anyway. Besides," she said, "it's getting kind of stuffy."

Chirin smiled. "Yes." He moved to the entrance and broke down the 
blockage, and the noise of rain and wind resumed, along with cool air 
drifting in, carrying a spray of reflected rain. "Mareep need to feel 
open air, and rain doesn't bother us. But--Calima--thank you very 
much. And thank you to the souls who helped you dig it. This--
is...just..."

"Amazing," said Azalea. Chirin smiled. 

"Yes. Thank you for the word."

"I have plenty where that came from."

He giggled. She sure did. "Let's find you a room to rest in," he 
said, careful to avoid brushing against her wounds.
Calima nodded. "I might, dig a small room for myself,
and It wouldn't get muddy?" Calima said, digging a
hole big enough for about three nidoran.

***

Fluffy smiled and wagged her tail, nuzzling Chirin
back. 
"You wanna see my picture of my friend, Nimo?" Fluffy
asked.


"A picture?" Chirin wasn't sure what she meant or what she was going 
to do, but would love to see what it was. "Yes, thank you! But first 
let us go to a room where Azalea can lie down. Her burns hurt and she 
has to rest."

They found a room near the entrance, not far from Calima's. "Okay," 
said Chirin, as they settled in, folding their legs down under them 
and breathing in the moist, fresh-soil, rain-washed air. In the close 
room he could hear Azalea's breathing echo with his own, and, more 
remotely, with Fluffy's. "You said you wanted to show me a picture of 
your friend Nimo." Again, curiosity filled him and he wagged his 
tail, blinking it eagerly. He was also lifted up by the tingly good 
feelings he got from hearing and feeling Azalea breathe.

Azalea suddenly had some trouble catching her breath but she wasn't 
sure why. But she knew it was Chirin. It was always him making her 
change inside. Too bad he didn't change her on the outside too--aside 
from her blushing, and that darned tail with its obnoxious, dandelion-
yellow shine it always put on when she got those sweet feelings. She 
tucked the thing behind her.

On another note, she had a hunch that depending on what the "picture" 
turned out to be, Chirin might react...like Chirin sometimes did.
Chirin saw some of the larger and sturdier mareep leaving the burrow 
again, called by the thunder even with the wind so fierce. Though 
they did not remember Ampharos or even know what one was, Chirin 
realized that mareep didn't need to be taught to love lightning or 
shown how to dance in its strikes. He fidgeted, his body as eager to 
get out there as his soul was. A few sparks ticked over his damp 
wool, tiny chips of cool light. 

"I feel it too," said Azalea in his ear. "Unfortunately, you'll have 
to catch a bolt for me this time."

"I will," he whispered right to her ear, wishing she could join him, 
but he knew her seared skin wasn't up to it. Well, the ancestors were 
bound to return to the skies in the future. "We'll dance together in 
the next storm."

She only nodded a reply, her nose twitching. Chirin wondered whether 
he'd said the wrong thing.
"C'mon!" Fluffy said excitedly. "It is in a room I
made myself! There are no other mareep in it!" She led
them to the room where she drew Nimo. A, half mareep
half nidoran female.
"She told me that she liked nidoran so much, that she
found a way to become HALF nidoran. She is a good
digger," Fluffy said, pointing to the cute picture she
had made.

***

Calima yawned and curled up in her burrow, fast
asleep.


**********

Drop.

Another drop.

Yet another drop.

Thyme looked up and felt a raindrop splash on her face near her eye. 
She blinked. Rain. Rain helps plants to grow. But then, she wasn't 
a plant. Mom and Dad told her that, didn't they?

The air smelled wet. The wind blew leaves around, swirling in 
patterns across the ground and the sky. Small branches blew past 
her, some catching in her damp, wooley coat. Thyme fancied she heard 
thunder some ways off.

Yet another drop.

Another drop. 

Drippity-drop.

There was something in the air. A storm? She just remembered the 
last big storm they had with thunder. She had been very young then. 
Most of what she remembered, she thought of as smells. First the 
smell of the air, like an energy traveling on its currents. A smell 
of smoke, a bright flash -- she remembered the flash.

Drippity-drop. The rain won't stop.

The rain won't stop . . . The sky cried, just like she cried, too. 
Did it have the same problems as her? She imagined That it did, that 
maybe it had been told by Leaf-Bringer and Grass-Eater that it wasn't 
their true-born child. The legend told it different ,but who knew? 
But then . . .

Then, that legend belonged to Rooty and Mom and Dad. Not to her. 
Not to a Mareep who didn't know what she was and no longer knew who 
she was. All she had was her name.

Thyme. Was that a true name for a Mareep? What was a mareep, anyway?

She heard a funny crackling noise and looked behind her. 

Lightning seemed to spring from her tail, very faint, but 
unmistakable. An answering rumble seemed to echo from the sky. Was 
Rain her true brother? Is this what it whispered to her, through the 
trees?

Was it?

Was she . . . ?

***********

Chirin stared at the image, alive and flickering in their lights. 
Half mareep, half nidoran. Those same spirits deep inside of him that 
opened him to a lightning bolt's gift now spoke to him here, telling 
him to remember this, and be afraid. 

He breathed in and out, dispelling evil with his tail. Half mareep, 
half nidoran. Oh, he believed Fluffy. He knew well that some people 
had powers to transform--as Mother Megga had done at the beginning of 
time. 

"That's a very...beautiful...creation," he said. "I...I have to go 
now, I have to go outside."

He went back to Azalea and told her where he would be, then he rushed 
out of the burrow. He skipped telling her about the picture or what 
Fluffy had said, trying to keep his face and light straight--his 
face, easier to control than the light. 

All of a sudden he had to get out of this burrow. He didn't know why 
but he sensed the dead...or something...rearing up out of the soil, 
up from the floors, down through the ceiling like roots gone mad. 

He tried to convince himself that the burrow had not turned against 
him. It was keeping them safe from a storm that would have blown half 
of them away. If he took Azalea out the storm would hurt her wounds. 
But he, himself, had to get outside. He was drowning in dirt and dark.
"Crazy Lights, come on, we're getting out of here."

He raced out, focusing on the call he was feeling, not by anything 
the living had taught him, but by the memories of generations of 
Denryuu, all alive inside his body.

Other mareep, and Petunia, were out on the hilltop when he stumbled 
up, the wind swaying him, lilting, as he splayed his feet. Debris 
antched up from trees and bushes flew in the air, tossed by angry air 
spirits who had ben offended by what Burakuru's dark young had done.

chirin channeled his *denki* instinctively, tuning into the tone and 
direction of the electric air, the way it danced. He spoke to the 
lightning, close beside Petunia and several others. They all called.

"Mereep! Mereeee..."

"Denn-raaaiii!" he screamed as rain pelted his face.

As the lightning struck him he remembered his mother holding him up 
in a thunderstorm to receive its kiss. The gift of a lightning bolt, 
given maybe by Mama, surged through him, kindling the blue-white 
flame of his deepest self. Ecstasy flooded him like the light 
bleeding everythng he saw into electric brightness, blind in white.

He was lightning. He was magic. 

"...help me..."

A ewe's voice, that ewe's voice...it was familiar. She was calling 
him--again. 

"...help..."

As quickly as it had struck him, it was over, absorbed. Chirin stood 
tere, confused...still reeling from the infusion of ancient yet new 
energy. Who was that ewe calling for help?

He stood there in the storm, calling for more lightning, not sure 
what he really wanted from it now.

Fluffy knew that something about the picture upset
Chirin, so she erased it quickly. She walked through
the burrow which was difficult as many mareep were
snuggled inside.
She snuck past a few mareep and looked outside of the
burrow. She saw lightining streak across the sky and
hit a few mareep, making their wool puff and shine.
Fluffy wagged her tail. She wanted to meet the
lightining too. She was as grown-up. She wanted to
feel the lightining go through her body.
With a, 'reeeeeeep!' of joy, she bounded out and, with
great difficulty, made it to the top of the hill with
the other mareep who were meeting the lightining. 
"Mareeeep!" Fluffy said, hiding in the middle so she
was protected against the wind. She waited to meet the
lightining.


Rain-spiced air ran cool up his nostrils. Mottled gray sky surrounded 
Chirin's head, the horizons on the perphery of his vision. Lightning 
enticed his wool to stand up. Hearing a younger lamb's voice join the 
swooning chorus of bleats, he glanced down and saw Fluffy. He stepped 
over to the leeward side of her, along with Petunia on the windward 
side, helping shield her from the wind. 

* * *

"I can only begin to hypothesize what a small lamb like Fluffy could 
have possibly done to inspire such a sudden and desperate reaction 
from Chirin," Azalea murmured to herself, feeling a heartbeat of pain 
thrum dully through her wounds. "Then again Chirin is easily 
inspired. I only wish I had his passion for life. But..I most 
definitely have a passion for *him,*" she finished, smiling to 
herself, then frowning.

A lamb stumbled, shaking, to the burrow's entrance. 

"Selden, come in," said Azalea. "You appear to have caught a chill."

Selden hung there in the threshold with his mouth open. "Chirin?" 

"Ah, no, I'm afraid Chirin had some--business to attend to outside. 
Oh I wouldn't venture out there, he'll return shortly," she said as 
the lamb turned his head around. Water dripped from his wool and his 
light gave a low, shivering strobe. "I, ah, suggest you come inside 
and allow my wool to provide some heat and insulation for you." 

Selden looked at her, threw his head back, and sneezed.

"-Choo!" A smattering of sparks flashed off his tail.

"Ah...I now highly recommend it, in fact. Here," she said, realizing 
that it was her burnt side, which faced him and the entrance, that 
was causing him to linger in the entranceway. She shifted herself 
around, doing a shuffling 180 around the room. "Now you can approach 
my more pleasant side."

"Passing," he said, walking towards her and laying down against her 
back. "Passing Chirin. Azaya passing Chirin." 

"I...see," she finished, nodding enthusiastically. "In fact Chirin 
should be passing by here shortly, of course only after the storm has 
flayed the fleece off his back. Only kidding," she added as Selden 
gave her a blissfully ignorant stare. Now that he was against her she 
could feel him shivering. Passing him sparks didn't seem to help, 
although it made him smile. She could only hope he didn't come down 
with anything.

"--Choo!" Selden lifted his head again, his nose running.

The bout of lightning had passed, the ancestors catching their 
breath, perhaps charging up. Chirin stood there, weathering 
intermittent gusts of wind that, however fierce, didn't blow through 
his mind. Inside there a calmer storm brewed. 

Who was that ewe who had called him? Both in the first streak of 
morning and first streak of lightning. The voice had almost sung to 
him. Not right over him, as an adult might have been if he'd stood 
next to them, but farther away and yet inside his mind. Was it only a 
whim that had toyed with him, like a song bursting random from his 
throat? Or was it really someone--a person? (ooc Note: i've noticed 
he sometimes uses "person" to describe one of his own kind--
mareep/flaaffy/ampharos)

Hearing his thoughts, the storm gave a pause. Air drifted calmer, 
currents loosening. The quieter sounds returned to his ears, subtler 
smells to his nose. Through the cloud-shrouded day, past the hill 
down among some scrub, sparks flicked, flirting among the green. 

A someone. He looked around. Who was missing? "Mereepuu!" He popped a 
finger of his own small lightning in the air, making a louder sound 
than his own voice could. "Mareeeep!"

He glanced about, sniffing the air. 

"I'll be right back." It could be a lamb in there, he thought, 
running down the hill. Any one could have been flown away without 
their seeing. He ran towards the plump, storm-tousled bushes, 
sidestepping and leaping over branches strewn on the grass. His 
hooves made squish sounds as he ran, tail high. "Mereepu! Mereeep?"

Fluffy hadn't got her first taste of lightining. She
saw Chirin, and darted after him.
"Hi Chirin!" She said, wagging her tail. She found it
much harder to stay on the ground here.
Her tail wasn't wagging anymore. She was struggling
not to get blown away in the storm.

"Fluffy!" said Chirin, turning around to see the lamb running down 
the hillside after him in the sudden relative calm. Water lined down 
his nose, leaking from his fleece; he gave himself a shake. The 
spirits had stopped their rage to let him get the lamb out of these 
bushes and safely back; they might start their lashings again 
soon. "I'll be right back up on the hill, there's someone in these 
bushes I have to find! Meriiipu?" 

He paused, gazing into the darker, twig-spiked caves of space inside 
the big bushes. He smelled wet wool--a young ewe's wool. Someone was 
in here. "Reep?"

A stale-plant smell wafted up under his nose. He remembered his 
apricorn shell and looked to see that it was still shut and unharmed 
by the storm. It felt slightly heavy, and smelled stronger, staler; 
water had leaked in. He gave it a lick anyway. "Come on Crazy 
Lights," he whispered. To Fluffy he said, "You can help me look but I 
think you should go back to the hill. If the storm starts now you 
could get caught out here."

"I wanna come with you Chirin!" Fluffy said, puffing
herself so she looked bigger and stronger. "See? I'm a
big mareep!"

Chirin smiled, warmed by the lamb's smile. It felt strange...to be 
looked up to. He had always thought of himself as the baby. He 
bounced his front legs briefly up, tossing a spark to leap off his 
coat and over her head playfully. In a final wriggle he calmed 
himself down. "You are a big mareep. But make sure you're big enough 
to not get blown away if those Watakko start blowing their wind 
again." He sized her up. She was bigger than Selden, but smaller than 
Snapper, and the wind had snatched Snapper off her feet. If he was 
going to find this ewe he had better hurry.

"Mereep," he called, nosing further in and searching for a light as 
he brightly blinked his own. Brittle twigs of the bush's 
understructure poked his head and chest. This wasn't right. How could 
any lamb have ended up so deep in? But his nose nevr lied. There was 
a ewe up ahead... a ewe with an unfamiliar smell. Then again he 
didn't know everyone in the flock personally yet. "Mother Megga, 
nudge me the right way," he said to himself, looking around at the 
greenery for a clue.
Fluffy smiled proudly and said to Chirin, "Watakko
must be strong. Is Watakko a jumpluff? I like those!
We saw them a lot at the farm, and I tried to fly like
them! Pity it never worked..." She looked at Chirin.
"I'm not really a little mareep. I am still a lamb,
but I was the runt, and I was always small for my age
compared to the other mareep. Snapper is younger than
I am for crying out loud!" Fluffy looked at herself,
annoyed. 
"I'm sorry," said Chirin. "I didn't mean to say you were younger. 
Just that the wind spirits pick up light things easier than heavy 
things, just like we do. And you're very light. So the wind might 
pick you up, if it comes back." Through rhombus cracks in the 
crisscross bush branches, he saw more clouds approaching, still far 
off. A breeze brought a scent-message of fresh rain, heralding 
it. "Denrai was small too. There's nothing bad with being small. It 
means you can fit in small places," he said, caught up in new 
thoughts as he placed his front foot forward, trying not to crack too 
many twigs, for that might pain the bush and he was already nibbling 
the few leaves within reach of his head. They had had a rule back 
home, that no one should eat too much of one bush or branch--unless 
one had no choice.

"I wanna evolve into a big yellow thing with lights on
it's head like you said mareep do. But first I will be
a pretty flaaffy like Petunia!" Fluffy said.

"You will become an Ampharos," said Chirin, heartened that she 
believed him. "And you'll be a Flaaffy first, too, just like Petunia. 
But you're already very pretty." 

Branches and twigs had scratched up his feet, face and ears. Chirin 
wondered if he should drop the search. But his next step brought the 
light of the other side of the bushes into view. Dropping his head, 
he rammed his way through the last curtain of branches and trotted 
out, wiggling in the feeling of freedom. Fluffy emerged behind him. 

"Meriipu? Reep?" he called, sending up another small wiggle of 
electricity.
***
Thyme heard this strange sound, a "mereepu" coming from somewhere. It was faint, she could not hear it so well over Brother Rain, but . . . 

"Hello?" She called, shaky voice at first but her voice taking on a stronger, louder note as she repeated "Hello?" again. "Reep-maru? Mareep-reep?" Hello, who's out there? she wondered. 
***

Fluffy tried to send up electric sparks too, but they
were quite feeble. Even a baby could do better than
she could. But her size and pathetic attacks were made
up for her speed and intelligence.
She looked up at the sky. 
"It Watakko licing up there with Phos?" Fluffy asked.

"Yes. They are mates," he said, his rather long ears wiggling. He 
couldn't help letting his smile widen. That was one of his favorite 
parts of the story. 

He gave the area one last glance and sniff. If there'd been a ewe 
here, she was gone now. It could have been anything, even someone 
grazing here earlier.

A fresh gout of wind blew his damp coat, chilling him. "I think we 
should go back," he said, realizing now that he should make sure 
Fluffy stayed safe rather than letting her get blown away while 
looking for a ewe who wasn't here.

A ewe who wasn't here.

Wasn't it odd that that voice had called him in the lightning...and 
then only a few moments later, the ghost of a spark had shone down 
here? Was she here even right now, in the air, watching him? Was he 
staring straight at her without knowing it? She had called to him for 
help...

"You should--we should get back to the hill so you can stay in the 
burrow," he said, passing her as he headed uphill again, through the 
sodden track their hooves had made in the rain-flattened grass. He 
flashed his tail, feeling new rain slap him. "Come on."
Fluffy nodded reluctantly.
"You stay too Chirin. I have been digging, so the
burrow is even bigger!" Fluffy said proudly.

Fluffy walked into the burrow. She looked back to see
if Chirin was coming in with her. She hoped so. She
wanted to show Chirin how good she could dig!

***Just waking up***

Calima yawned and stretched. She burst out of her
smaller burrow and scattered a few mareep. They jumped
back with alarmed 'mareeep's.
"Terribly sorry chaps," Calima said to them.

***Evil plans***

Moonscar and Cinder were in a fairly large burrow.
They had a secret entrance to the larger one filled
with the mareep, and Calima along with her friends.
Cinder had called for a vulpix to snatch Calima, then
that would lure Chirin out, and they could save him
for an afternoon snack.

***Vulpix attack***

The jet-black vulpix with blood-red eyes darted next
to the entrance of the large burrow. It had dug a
large hole, and had placed strong sticks, held by a
sticky substance close by. She would grab Calima, and
drop her in.
***

Chirin nodded, blinked, smiled, not planning to stay but not wanting 
Fluffy to follow him back out. She would get hurt out there. As they 
entered the burrow he felt the revived wind riff the wool on his back.

He remembered all over the image of the creature half-mareep, half-
Nidoran. Such a beast had never been seen or spoken of by anyone in 
the flock, but they had known well of the mysterious shape-changing 
powers some pokemon possessed. Many stories told of Ampharos changing 
into Lanturns and back, or those who looked like everyday pharamps, 
but were really Lanturns, venturing up from the deep sea waters to 
learn of life on land. Promuupis had been such a person, born of a 
lightning bolt striking the edge of a wave that had divided into two 
souls, one Lanturn, one Ampharos. Each had shared the same soul, and 
when the Lanturn had died, Promuupis had too.

A few of the things Fluffy said frayed at his mind, not settling 
quite right. As she bounded into thw burrow ahead of him he looked 
and sniffed her over. But she was as Mareep as any of the others. He 
gave her a sniff on the nose as a parting gesture and turned to head 
towards the burrow Azalea had settled into.
Fluffy led Chirin to the room where the drawing was.
She had erased it, as it seemed to bother Chirin. She
started digging.
"See? I'm a good digger! Wanna try Chirin? It's fun!"
Fluffy said happily, wagging her tail as she worked.
> Fluffy said happily, wagging her tail as she worked.

"No, but thank you anyway," he said, noticing all too well her 
fervor, if not much talent, for digging. 

He was still throwing curious glances over his shoulder as he entered 
the burrow Azalea lay resting in. Azalea gave a sharp smile, slightly 
uneven with the pull of the blisters puckered on her left jaw.

"Ah, my lightning-loving friend...er...ah...not...what I meant..." 
she said, trying to back out of her beginning.

He smiled. "I *am* your lightning loving friend. I felt three bolts. 
Here." He lay down with her and Selden, rubbing up static from his 
water-limp coat. "Here's yours, and yours."

"Chirin..." said Selden, in a nasal voice. He sneezed again.
"Oh, Selden, are you cold?" He tried to warm him up but he was even 
wetter.

"He's been sneezing and shivering," said Azalea. "He seems to have 
suffered a little hypothermia out there."

"Oh, Selden." Chirin nuzzled the lamb's face, which was quite warm. 
He sniffed him over. Selden smelled just to the side of perfectly 
well. Spirits slipped in when one was weakened and Selden had 
definitely been attacked out there. Chirin recalled the struggling 
chain of mareep sloshing through an assault of wind and rain...

At that point Fluffy bounded into the burrow too, and the four wet 
mareep clustered together, gathering warmth and passing it around. 
Chirin decided that whatever dark inclinations the burrow had had 
before were sleeping now.

***Waking up*** 

Calima walked into the room with Chirin and Fluffy.
She greeted them and sat down to groom her fur.
"Hi, Calima," he said, eyeing her and Fluffy. Again, Fluffy smelled 
just like a normal mareep--not a trace of anything else. But Chirin 
would watch.

***Evil Plans***

Moosncar chuckled as he presses his hear against the
sealed (secret) entrance to the big burrow. The
pokemon within suspected nothing.

***Vulpix attack***

The vulpix lept into the burrow, scattering mareep as
she did. The huddled close together as the vulpix
grolwed.
Chirin jumped up, feeling Azalea getting to her feet behind 
him. "Something's going on," he said. Something from within, by the 
sound. Had something tunneled through? Oh, why oh why hadn't he stood 
with his first inclinations for them to all tough it out in the open? 
He ran out into the main room...

"Tell me, where is the nidoran?" She barked at them
all. They hastly pointed in the direction Calima went.
The vulpix smirked and darted into the room. 
"Hi Calima!" she said, grabbing her, darting outside
and tossing her into the deep trap. She darted back in
and said to Chirin, "If you don't come to save your
friend, she will drown!"
Who was this Vulpix--and how did she know Calima's name? How did she 
know that he was her friend? 

Cinder! Moonscar! They were in this! And they had drawn yet another 
pokemon into their evil! 

"Wait!" said Azalea as Chirin dashed for the hole the Vulpix had 
exited through. "You could get killed! It's most likely a trap for 
you as well as the Nido! Let her go, Chirin! You have a flock here!"

"I can't let her die! Water will kill her!" As Chirin ran past her, 
she turned to the lambs. "Nobody follow me!"

Chirin raced out through the hole, hearing Azalea climb along behind 
him, breathing hard. "This is crazy," she said. "I know she's a 
precious friend, Chirin, but this is clearly an orchestrated attempt 
on both your lives. Please!"

He felt her mouth grab and tug on his tail. 

***Trapped and drowning**

Calima was stuck in the trap. The rain was getting
through the sticks up top the hole and the water was
rising. The water stung her, it burned. She opened her
mouth, and shot a stream of green and black flames and
burnt the sticks to a crisp. She tried to scramble up
the hole's muddy walls, but it was too hard. Even
though the water would rise, pushing Calima to the
surface, the water was her weakness, and she would be
dead by the time the water got to the surface of the
hole, and she was already getting weaker.

He could no more turn around and go back than he could sprout wings 
and fly. He grasped his apricorn shell as he paused in the tunnel, 
and focused on sensing the burrow's intentions and feelings. 
Darkness, evil...created by the claws of those possessed by Burakuru. 

*Chenja, Lararu, Mama,* he prayed inside hie head as he pressed the 
apricorn shell to his closed lips. *Please strengthen my light 
against Burakuru's rings.*

Then he was climbing through, out the burrow into the rain-slashed, 
clouded day. Clouds heavy with spirits, he reminded himself, who on 
the hilltop had sent him the strength he would need.
Fluffy darted out of the burrow, and hid behind a bush
to watch Chirin.

***Near death***

Calima floated to the surface of the water, struggling
to stay alive. She saw the blurry figure of Chirin at
the top.

***Ready to pounce***

Cinder stood poised, ready to pounce on the mareep as
soon as he got Calima out. They would BOTH make a nice
snack.

Chirin ran across the shor stretch of grass, already smelling the 
soil of the newly dug hole before he rounded some bushes that barely 
provided shelter against the wind, which although weaker than it had 
been, was still dumping rain and snapping twigs.

He saw the piles of newly shoveled earth, around a hole. Over the 
loud splashing of raindrops inside the hole came the familiar 
squealing of Calima.

Azalea scrabbled at his coat, trying to haul him back. "It's a trap! 
I have an extremely powerful suspicion here--"

"Please Azalea! She's dying down there!" He reached the hole and 
peered in. Calima barely bobbed above the surface of the muddy water, 
her white face and ears with dark open mouth screaming, sinking into 
the brown liquid in a mess of pouring rain.

"I'm coming!" Chirin leaped in, splashing in the mud. He surfaced and 
swam over to Calima. "I got you!" he said through a mouthful of the 
fur on the nape of her neck, straining to hold her above the water. 

Pawing at the sides of the big pit and only coming away with clumps 
of mud, Chirin suddenly realized with a dark bolt of horror that he 
could not climb out. He could only keep treading water...but for how 
long.

*Spirits give me enduring power,* he thought, saving his breath as he 
continued his body's rhythm of paddling, gazing through a squint at 
the storm above him, ringed by the pit walls.

* * *

"Chirin! Don't panic! I'll get some vines, we'll pull you out!" 
Azalea screamed, circling the hole. "Ah, why did you jump," she 
muttered to herself, running off to search for some vines. with work 
and Petunia's help they could rig up something to haul them out with. 

As she poked quickly around for vines, bleating, she had a quick 
sniff around, because she was sure those weird enemies of Calima's 
were in the vicinity. Not that the rain allowed for much in the way 
of discerning enemies. On top of that, her blistered side was 
bothering her again.

"Confound these burns!" she said around a mouthful of vines, wringing 
them off a bush branch with jerks of her head.
Glimpsing someone's light behind the bush, she saw it was Fluffy.

"Fluffy! Help me grab some vines, we'll both haul Chirin and Calima 
out!"
"Petunia!" Azalea's ragged scream cut through the air as she called 
to the Flaaffy on the hilltop, sparking to be heard as she and Fluffy 
gathered vines. "Petunia! We need your help!"


Azalea saw the blue light of her tail bob up and down amid the rain, 
in a pattern down the slope as its owner ran towards them.

Azalea picked up a vine in her mouth and flung it up at Petunia's 
fingerless hands. "Chirin's drowning in that hole! I need your 
strength! Chirin! We're coming!"

* * *

Chirin calmly treaded water, knowing he could swim far longer if he 
had to. And help was on the way. He tried to relax and remain calm, 
and hold Calima's head above water. He tried again to get a hoofhold, 
but the mud kept giving way. In addition, the sides of the walls had 
grown soggy and chunks of mud fell into the hole. 

He prayed for the spirits to let Calima live. Above their heads, 
thunder rumbled again.

Coddy, standing in the pouring rain next to Cleomie, swallowed her 
cud and nodded towards the southwest side of the hill. "Who's out 
there?" she called into the rain towards the tail light of the 
stranger, which at this distance was pretty much all she could see.

"Hey, Coddy! Something doing down this way too!" Cleomie's tail 
blinked towards the north side, where Petunia--now some oddball pink 
thing--was involved in a struggle with a few others. Several sturdy 
mareep up on the hill stood watching, braced against the powerful 
wind gusts, which were amplified by their elevated, coverless place. 
By now their skin was weathered numb, but the wind had lost a bit of 
its initial punch and it was at least bearable in terms of standing 
up. Coddy and Cleomie stood chewing their cud with the wind at their 
backs (it had begun blowing the other way, as hurricanes will) and 
watched what they were able to make out of the fracas. 

Thyme almsot saw something, almsot herd -- but everything was lost as the leaves rustled in the trees above her. A branch came down a few inches from her. She jumped back a bit and stumbled on another. "REEP!" 

* * *

"Grab hold!"

Petunia and Azalea loosed the end of the twined vines down into the 
pit. Chirin paddled over to take hold, but he couldn't use his mouth 
(it was full of Calima) and he couldn't use his hooves (they were 
keeping him afloat). Thrashing around he let go of Calima for a 
moment and tried to wind them around her. "You first," he said as he 
twirled the vines round her midsection, knowing he could go as long 
as he needed to down here while she was in serious pain and danger. 

Only--if this was a trap, where were the ones who had set it? Were 
they safe up there? If only he hadn't been so quick to jump; he could 
have helped Azalea fetch vines and haul Calima out by now. What was 
done, was done, though. He cleared his mind of dark thoughts as he 
helped get the vines good enough around Calima--he couldn't afford to 
let darkness smoke up his mind during this time of danger.

Azalea had instructed Petunia to loop the vines round her waist. The 
Flaaffy took the rear, behind Fluffy. Fluffy and Azalea grabbed the 
vines in their mouths and stood ready to start pulling backwards. 
Azalea stood at the forefront several yards from the pit, for if they 
slipped forward she'd rather fall in herself than let Fluffy, who'd 
always been rather weak in strength and constitution, land in the 
water. "Chirin--or Calima--when you're ready to be pulled upwards--
give a holler!" 

As another gust of wind dashed at them, causing Azalea to stumble, 
lightning illuminated the sky in a double flash. Thunder followed, 
its crack echoed by the break of a tree in the copse some distance 
away from the hill. Feeling her confidence soar for purely 
instinctual reasons in response to the electrical storm, Azalea 
braced herself, ready to begin. She would save Chirin, the one she 
loved. Yes, she loved him. He was crazy and often foolish, but she 
loved him even more for it.
The pink ekans watched from behind a bush. She
watched a mareep and a flaaffy try to pull a nidoran
(who latched onto the vine and squealed). The nidoran
was a snowy-white color. She staggered toward a tree
and hid under it. The water harmed her. When she fell
down there, she used a flame attack. 
Snake slithered out of the bush, got in front of the
two sheep pokemon, and slowly slid her tail down
toward a mareep.
"Grab on!" Snake hisses franticly. "I'll help you... I
am not here to hurt you..."

"Reep! Reep!" Chirin screamed, discharging electricity as the scaly 
pink coil slunk down towards him. Its subtle reptile odor filled him 
with terror as he kicked and splashed in the mud, drenching his own 
face with a flap of sludgy water. Another one of Cinder's *burakos* 
after him now?

Up above he heard Azalea and Petunia give similar screams. 

* * *

"I can't believe this! I can't believe this! We're under attack!" 
cried Azalea as Petunia jumped back, batting at the pale ekans. 
Fluffy, bleating and crying, bounded behind Petunia. "Don't run! 
They'll know you're prey if you run!"

Azalea knew Chirin could hang on in the water and he was actually 
safer than them right now, but theyhad to evacuate the area 
immediately. She ran round the other side of the pit and flung the 
vine back down. "Petunia give that thing your best shot--I mean, 
shock! Then join me here, if you can!"

As Chirin secured the vine around himself, gripping it in his jaws 
for extra measure, Azalea began helping him repel up the side of the 
pit. His hooves slid in the runny mud on the sharply sloping, nearly 
vertical pit walls. 
He heard a loud boom as the Flaaffy expelled her *denki* towards the 
enemy, but he couldn't tell if she'd hit it or not. Would there be 
more to come?

Chirin's weight drove Azalea's feet into the mud like stakes as she 
held on, afraid to lift her hooves lest she tumble forward. He was 
heavier than her, but was obviously hauling himself up part of the 
way or she would have been in the water too. Oddly, the ekans didn't 
seem to be attacking them, but why would it? It hadn't made an 
ambush, it had failed to fool them into thinking it was friendly (a 
black Rattata was one thing, but Cinder and his goonies were really 
pushing it here) and it was outnumbered. "Come on, Chirin," she said 
as his tail appeared above the rim. "Almost there!"

The ancestors must have given him that last boost under the rump as 
he crawled up onto the grass and loose, muddy soil, his coat oozing 
mud and water. "Oh Azalea," he said around a cough as she nuzzled 
him, helping him to his feet. Standing there panting, with red burn 
scars glaring blisters down her shoulder and her curl of wool 
plastered down around her eyes, she had never looked so beautiful. He 
stood there for a moment against her as the rain washed them and 
thunder drummed overhead. 

"What happened?" he said finally, separating from Azalea and having a 
look around.

"Nothing that didn't already shake its tail in your face," said 
Azalea with a wry grin. "I--apologize for loosening my grip on the 
makeshift rope, the sudden appearance of the ekans clouded my 
thoughts--"

"It's fine. You were wonderful. Let's..." he looked around in the 
wind-whipped downpour. "Where's Calima? We all have to get out of 
here," he said, motioning with his tail for Petunia and fluffy to 
join them; they were only too eager to. "Calima?"


"Where is Calima you say? If Calima is the nidoran,
she is over there, taking shelter under a tree. And
who is this, Cinder you speak of?" Snake asked
curiously. Then she narrowed her eyes and was stern
witht he electric sheep. "I wasn't going to hurt him
you know. Trust me, if you had been forced to battle
for humans so they can steal pokemon, you would be a
changed pokemon too. I think I can apoligise to
pokemon by helping them. Whether they are predator or
not. I'm really sorry for scaring you." A rattata
darted past and Snake made a lunge for it, missing it
by a mile.
"Shoot! I suck at hunting!" Snake said, curling up and
sighing.


Calima darted in between Chirin, Azeala and Petunia so
she could be close to them and stay out of the rain.
She looked at the ekans curiously.
"Hi?" Calima said nervously.
"Calima! Oh, Mother Megga," he said, hugging her and giving her cheek 
a lick. (It tasted a little like mud.) "I'm so glad you're alive. 
Come on, let's get out of here!"

Petunia had already begun herding Fluffy back towards the hilltop. 
Chirin followed Azalea, who kept jumping up and down and scuffing her 
hoof in the wet grass, her body doing a dance of pleading for Chirin 
to hurry up. He felt all too powerfully what she did--they had to 
leave this place where every enemy pokemon seemed to suddenly be 
targeting them.

"Let's wait the storm out on this side of the hill," he said, 
reaching the lee side of the hill, which was now the opposite side of 
where it had been before due to the wind change. He and Azalea stood 
there waiting for the others to catch up.

"This place keeps growing odder by the minute," said Azalea, 
shivering a little in her rain-soaked coat. "If we don't figure out a 
plan to shake these predators I can only imagine what we'll be 
experiencing over the coming week--presuming we survive that long."

"I can't figure it out," said Chirin. His tail drooped low to the 
ground, its light shattered into yellow flecks in the puddle below 
it. He looked round at it, watching the pattern that the soul-image 
made in the raindrop splashes. "There's a great darkness I can't 
shake. We can't shake it." He struggled not to cry, lifting his tail 
up even though the cold had bitten it numb. It just didn't want to 
rise. "I'm just glad we're all okay right now. Calima, come on!" He 
kept his eye on the Ekans, who had not left yet. They were out of 
striking distance of the rather young enemy, but he was taking no 
chances. Not after Moonscar. Not after the Vulpix.

Chirin's mouth curled into a cry and he ducked his head, his tears 
joining the sky's cry falling to the grass. He sobbed freely, giving 
the dark feelings of despair inside him release. Azalea turned around 
parallel to him and leaned against him.

***
It seemed as if the weight of the rain was too much fpor the foliage above her. It seemed to fall upon her in a rush, soaking through her wool. 

Thyme managed to pick herself up. She was soaked. Not that storms or rain bothered her. She liked the rain, and the lightning. But it was time to move on and stop feeling sorry for herself. 

Where would she find mareep, anyway? she wondered, climbing the hill. It seemed that her wool could hold no more water. It ran off her hide in rivulets as she walked. She was in no rush to get up the hill. This was just as well, since she had to watch her footing on the rain-slicked grass. 
***

Calima darted into the burrow to dry off and rest.
But, instead of resting, she walked over to Snake.
"You don't want to hurt anyone, do you?" Calima asked.

***

Snake smiled. 
"Of course not... But the mareep seems not to belive
me... Sometimes, all I want is a friends..." Snake
said, sniffling.

"Don't," said Azalea as Chirin moved to dart between Calima and the 
ekans. Chirin paused, watching. The ekans clearly wasn't going to 
attack her imediately, but he remembered what Moonscar had done. As 
Cio, he had also fooled them. "I can't let her get hurt," said 
Chirin, but he didn't move, just stood there watching them talk near 
the burrow. Now that the wind had lessened most of the mareep had 
come out for a graze, spreading out over the sodden hillside, 
avoiding the ekans. It might be pouring, but hunger was hunger. 
Chirin saw that Selden was not among the lambs coming out. 
Remembering the Vulpix, he dashed into the dark hole, praying as he 
came in from the rain.

"--Choo!" Selden sniffled, blinking reddened eyes as Chirin entered 
the burrow. He was one of the only mareep left inside and the only 
one not getting up to exit. He looked up when Chirin approached him, 
but didn't say his name or wag his tail.

Chirin sniffed Selden's nose, smelling sickness instantly. He pressed 
his cheek against the lamb's, and felt the fire of an angry spirit 
inside. "Selden's not feeling good," he said to Azalea. "I have to 
get some of the others to help. Like when we got the spirit out of 
you. I don't want to keep him in here but if he goes out there in the 
rain it could get worse. Oh, Selden." He whispered a chant to 
himself, then licked Selden's wool cap straight and nuzzled 
him. "We'll get you better." He wished Chenja were here, for what 
felt like the thousandth time. Chenja had used her *denki* to expel 
*burakos* spirits in ways that had made pharamps sojourn to Pharos 
from flocks mountains and mountains away, just to be healed by her.
Chenja had been given a special gift. 

"Annie," said Selden. "See Annie?"

"Annie's the farmer's daughter," said Azalea. "Oh, Selden, I'm afraid 
Annie isn't available right now..."

Selden gave a weak whine, then sneezed again.

"Selden?" Chirin felt his head again--burning up. "I know what to 
do," he said. "We're going to make you better. We will."

* * *

"I'm not sure what plants help, but my great-grandmother once showed 
me some. I only remember their smells, though," said Chirin as he and 
Azalea tramped around in the still-heavy rain, poking around in the 
bushes for something that would help Selden. He had left Selden in 
the burrow, after he and Azalea had done their best to push loose 
soil into the hole the Vulpix had broken in through. Chirin felt a 
sense of urgency. Selden was not safe in there.

Just then he caught a glint of someone's light beyond the bushes, in 
the copse. He flashed his light in response, remembering his search 
for the ewe. Filtering in a breath of air, he smelled the strange ewe 
again, more faintly, through the rain. "Mereep?" he called.

"Ah I believe everyone is on, within, or around the hill and its 
adjacent area," said Azalea. "Of course that's only an educated 
guess."

"No, someone's out there," he said. "I saw her light."

"Her light?"

"Yes," he said, waving and flashing his tail towards where he'd seen 
the flick of yellow.

"Ah, as they say, the... more the merrier," said Azalea, flashing 
hers too.
When the light didn't return Chirin broke his gaze's connection with 
the deeper darker reaches of the copse. "I think it's a berry we 
should look for," he said. "Some berries calm the spirit fighting 
yours and make it more tired. That way Selden can fight his way back."

"Ah, those appear to be some specimen of berries...in those branches 
far out of our physical reach." Azalea's tail pointed upwards, to a 
tree whose branches were pregnant with clusters of purplish berries. 

"Ahhh...ohhh...those are the ones! They have special power!" Chirin 
leaped at the berries, but they were far out of reach. He leaned on 
the trunk and pushed, trying to shake some down, but it was a sturdy 
and solid tree with a trunk too thick to sway. He heard a buzzing zap.

"Ah! Missed again," said Azalea. "I'm afraid the electrical abilities 
of a Mareep aren't intended for striking small targets." She sent up 
another small shock, but it crackled to the side, missing the branch.

Chirin stiffened his tail and gave it a try. The bolt popped and 
missed, but closer to the berries than Azalea's had been. He gave it 
another try....still no good.

He had an idea. He stared at one of the berries, concentrating on it. 
In his mind he formed a connection. Electricity, invisible in the 
air, began to coagulate. "Chirin, may I ask what you are doing," said 
Azalea, he coat rising in the lighter rain under the trees. She 
wiggled her ears, clearly feeling the current too.

Sparks suddenly appeared, small and weak but on target, briefly 
fizzing over the berries. It winked out, then on again as Chirin 
channeled his *denki*. Nothing fell, though.

"I was not aware that electric currents could be utilized in that 
manner!" cried Azalea as Chirin made a second try, concentrating, 
feeling small bits of electricity leave him unseen, climbing the 
shoulders of air spirits up to the branch. *I am Denrai, I am 
Denrai,* he chanted mentally, concentrating on the tiny fits of 
sparks that appeared one moment, and churned invisibly the next, 
charging and discharging. 

Still no berries fell, but Chirin was mesmerized by the sensation, 
the pathways his *denki* was traveling along. 

"I can't do it, Chirin, how are you doing that?" said Azalea as 
Chirin gave up, remembering Selden. 

"I don't know," said Chirin. "I think it's when you concentrate on 
your *denki* and your deep self. But...we have to get thoe berries 
down for Selden. I'm worried about him. What if that Vulpix digs back 
in."
"Well, let's disprove once again the assumption that lightning never 
strikes twice, and hit that branch at least once," said Azalea, 
striking from her tail towards the branch again. After expending a 
lot of electricity, and Chirin was tingling all over from it, one of 
them--Chirin wasn't even sure which one--struck a twig laden with 
berries down from a somewhat higher branch than the one they'd aimed 
for.

"Thank you, berry tree, and I'm sorry if we hurt you." After pressing 
his nose to the base of one of its roots, Chirin picked up the sprig 
in his mouth. They walked to the edge of the copse side by side 
beneath the spread of spruce, aspen and some berry trees, sniffing 
and checking to see it was safe. Chirin looked over his shoulder for 
the strange one more time before he followed Azalea out into the open.
Snake looked at Chirin and sighed. She slithered over
to him and tried to act cheerfull.
"What are you doing? May I help you?" Snake asked.

***

Calima walked next to Snake (staying in a postition so
she was sheltered from the rain).
"Just give her a chance Chirin. Besides, all of
Cinder's followers are black. Not pink."

Chirin's wool pricked up even in the rain as he and Azalea backed 
away, sparking, but only a few steps this time. Why was Calima so 
quick to trust an Ekans, especially after what she had been through? 
Again she radiated fear to him...whom did he really fear more, the 
ekans...or Calima?

"My aunt is all black," said Chirin. "And she is good. I love her." 
Hearing that his words sounded a bit harsh, Chirin fumbled for an 
amendment. "That Vulpix wasn't black. But..." He sighed. "I'm not 
saying you're a follower of Cinder," he said to Snake. "I 
just...Well, we went through a lot of danger on our way here. We got 
attacked by Ekans several times. I think I'm getting so that 
everything feels dangerous now. We've been tricked. We've been 
fooled...well, I have. Where I came from, Ekans and Arbok are 
enemies. They attack young lambs if they can. So...I'm not trying to 
be mean, I'm just afraid." Even her slithery shape sent shudders 
through him. Try as he did he couldn't bring himself any closer to 
the ekans than a few paces away. He felt Azalea's side moving with 
her breath and saw her fearful gaze from the side of his own. The 
ekans was looking at them in such an innocent way that he felt 
ashamed. Wasn't Mecha an enemy too? What had he become?

Chirin brought his tail back up, blinking it happily. He took a step 
forward, knowing she could have had a meal of Calima easily by now if 
she'd wanted to. "Nice to meet you, pink Ekans. I'm Chirin, of the 
beacon flock of Pharos."

"I'm Azalea, of Farmer Bub's mareep ranch," said Azalea, putting on a 
happy light too, almost but not quite as convincing (or convinced) as 
his.
Snake smiled.
"I'm Snake, nice to meet you Chirin and Azeala," she
said happily.
She spotted another rattata and tried to grab it. But
she missed again.
"Darn... I really suck at hunting... I could't catch a
dead magikarp if my life depended on it..." Snake
said, cursing under her breath.
Chirin and Azalea both flashed fear, their wool giving off a round of 
pops.

***

Calima giggled. She looked at Chirin.
"Yes, the vulpix was black. And I really trust Snake.
She seems nice. But, she might need some help
hunting..." Calima murmured to Chirin.

Chirin backed away again, swallowing. "Uh...it's been nice meeting 
you, we have to get back to the burrow--Selden's not feeling good. 
Phos's-light-to-you!"

He didn't need to tell Azalea to bound as quickly as he did across 
the grass towards the hill. Several mareep turned their heads as they 
approached, and Chirin flashed his tail in happy blinks to make their 
running appear like play not fear, not wanting to frighten anyone. 
*Mother Megga, Mother Megga!*

"Did you see how *calm* Calima remained--even suggesting that we 
assist the Ekans in *hunting*?" Azalea hissed in his ear as Chirin 
entered the burrow with the berries in his mouth. "How she stood 
there calmly while that--ekans nearly made a kill?" She 
shuddered. "If that enemy thinks she can travel with me, she's sadly 
mistaken. I'm sorry, Chirin. I just can't do it."

"I know how you feel," he said, bringing the berries in to 
Selden. "There's something...about Calima. I don't know what it is. 
Maybe later I can talk with her." But what would he ask? 'Why do you 
act so strangely?'

No, he had to do something more. He had to sit her down to get the 
evil spirit out of her, that was haunting her. Maybe after the storm 
he would finally get a chance to arrange such a session--when the 
spirits and the ancestors themselves told him it was time. 

"Yes, I'll talk with her, but first I need to help Selden." He 
settled down beside the lamb, who lay on his side, but not sleeping. 
His tail bulb flickered lethargically. "There, there," he stroked 
Selden's side with his nose. "I think just me and Azalea will help 
heal you right now. That way it can be nice, calm and quiet. Just 
relax." Chirin realized he wasn't sure that these berries were 
eventhe right kind, although their smell was familiar and he knew 
they were safe. He ate one first himself anyway. They had a blandly 
sweet taste. "Oh, they're so good," he said, trying to rouse Selden's 
enthusiasm as he nudged them over to the lamb's face. Selden flicked 
out his tongue, moving his head just enough to nibble them. He didn't 
miraculously awaken upon eating them, but Chirin knew it might take 
time for the light spirits to help drive out the dark. He didn't need 
to divine where the evil was coming from. He had to purge this burrow 
clear of it at first or it would keep rebounding back into Selden. 

"Beacon, beacon, my light
Beacon strong I hold you tight
Push back these roots of dark...
Push the out of sight!"

Chirin paced around Selden as he sang and chanted, his tail light 
throwing flashes of brightness. Shadows swooped on ceiling and floor 
and he chased each one, running, swooping, rounding up the dark and 
casting it out, picturing it crawling away through the dirt.

Selden moved his head and gave a weak smile, watching with bleary, 
confused, but faintly amused eyes. 

Azalea stood sentry in the threshold while Chirin chased the demons. 
As Chirin opened his apricorn shell and cast the pebble, she peeked 
outside to see if anyone was coming.
Chirin watched the pebble bounce, roll and land with its plain side 
up. Other thoughts kept crowding into his mind, breaking his focus--
thoughts of whether he had led that ekans towards the flock by 
bolting in among them. And thoughts of whether he should have left 
Calima alone with it. But Calima's giggle...her giggling as the Ekans 
lunged for a kill...had been as frightening as the time Calima 
herself had lunged for him. 

He cleared his mind, herding the thought patterns towards healing 
Selden. "Let the light in, we'll both let light in," he said softly, 
shining his tail over Selden's body, moving the light over each part 
of him, until his tail bulb clinked against Selden's smaller, and 
much weaker, one. "Light to light, soul to soul, denki to denki, 
makes us whole." And again he let his light move over Selden, seeking 
out that evil spirit and calling to Selden's lost soul. He felt, 
also, like he was calling to his own. 

* * *

"Is everything okay in there?" said Petunia, approaching the 
entrance. 

"Ah I would say so," said Azalea, "or as okay as is possible at the 
moment. Chirin's attempting to purge Selden of his illness."

"He's healing Selden?" Two more mareep turned their heads. "Like he 
healed you?"

"Ah along a similar vein, yes, I would suppose, but he currently 
requires peace and solitude to attempt to perform...healing." 

"He brought berries in there, he had'em in his mouth," said 
Coddy. "He'll just give him the berries and make it look like he did 
it."

"I will not debate differing beliefs as to what will restore Selden's 
wellness," said Azalea. "But I would be on alert for enemies, ah I 
believe there is an Ekans lurking off near the copse down that way, 
attempting to find a suitable lunch. It's quite some distance away, 
but I feel obliged to inform the masses."

Several Mareep gave the copse a good look--but not all. "We can 
handle some stupid ekans, you ugly ewe," said Cleomie, giving a snort 
as she returned to grazing. Azalea returned to watch Chirin carefully 
performing his next miracle.
Chirin's light filled the small burrow as he summoned all his *denki* 
to shine it, resting it on Selden's chest. "We are lights, we are 
lights, we are denryuu," he said repeatedly in a low voice. "Azalea. 
Shine yours too. Mine isn't enough. The spirit has Selden in its 
claws. We are light, we are light..."

Azalea's tail buld clinked with Chirin's. She squinted in the light 
that bathed them and the little lamb.

* * *

Outside, a few of the mareep grazed their way over nearer the copse, 
just close enough to make out the white nidoran and the pink ekans 
together in the pouring rain. They watched, from a safe distance, in 
fearful fascination.
***
Thyme paused in the rain to rest. She looked back at the part of the woods she had just left, the branches whipping in the wind. The sky, cloudy and overcast, permitted no shadow to intrude upon its domain, though darker shadows did, indeed, lurk beneath the trees. 

For something that wasn't supposed to bother her, for something that was supposed to be good for all living, growing things, the rain was starting to wear on her already dampened spirits. 

She continued her trek. What else could she do? 

***

Chirin's light was tiring, his *denki* telling him to give it a rest, 
by way of a faint headache. He relaxed his light's tension, smoothing 
Selden's wool with his nose and cheek again. The lamb was asleep 
again. If the souls of light he had tried to summon up didn't help, 
he would have to try something more drastic. There had to be a reason 
his ancestors were not helping yet. Perhaps they already were; Chejna 
had sometimes taken many days to heal someone. 

"Until he's free of this, I don't think we can move on," said Chirin 
quietly, stepping back from Selden. "I'm not going to leave him here. 
If only it weren't so cold out there." His ancestors had flashed 
their lightning to him--had they known Selden was sickening and tried 
to channel their power? Had they given him three infusions of *denki* 
for this? "I just wish I knew how to use *denki* better. I don't know 
anything about all of this. and I'm afraid to try to invoke the Light 
by a form. After what I did last time." It would be a long time 
before he drew anything again.

"You're too hard on yourself," said Azalea as a blue light shone 
behind them. Chirin looked past Azalea at Petunia. 

"Pardon me," she said. "I only came to see if there was something I 
could do to help Selden."

"Yes, yes," said Chirin. "He needs warmth. He needs Light. He needs a 
constant light vigil because as soon as we leave him in the dark the 
evil spirits will take back over. Me and Azalea, our lights are 
tired."

"I'd be more than happy to take over for a time," she said, bringing 
in a few more mareep, mostly young lambs who must know Selden well, 
Chirin thought. "My light's much stronger than it was before I--
before I evolved. I can finally put it to some use."

Chirin hated to leave Selden here, but the lamb was better off with 
mareep who could shine more brightly, and he needed to get back out 
to check around and make sure no one--such as Cinder and those in his 
shadow--were lurking around. He also wanted to see about Calima.

"We'll be back soon, Selden." Chirin gave him a quick lick on the 
cheek and a final feeble light-flick before he himself flicked out 
the exit, back into the rain, whispering a thanks to the ancestors 
for staying around in the sky, as he heard distant thunder. Azalea 
followed him out.
Snake looked at Calima (shielding her from the rain).
"Why did you giggle?" She asked.
"Because, you DID look a bit silly when that rattata
got away. I just wished you hadn't cursed," Calima
replied. She sighed.
"My friends was a rattata, but we are enemies now...
Cinder possesed him..." Calima sniffled.
Snake nodded. "
Hey, what do you say we get out of this rain? If
Chirin doesn't want us in the big burrow, then we will
dig a smaller burrow inside it. Okay Calima?"
"Sure."
The two were about to go ask Chirin if they could
enter the burrow, where there came a growl, and Cinder
leaped out of nowhere.
"Stand back Calima..." Snake hissed and Calima crawled
behind her.
"Hello there... Hrm... protecting a nidoran, I'll take
that little rat now thank you," Cinder hissed.
"No, she is not a rat, and she is my friend. Go pick
on another nidoran or something!" 
Cinder shook his head.
"Fine then!" Snake roared, shooting poison barbs from
her mouth. They hit Cinder and he wimpered.
"Go!" Snake hissed at him. He bounded off, followed by
Moonscar. They probably went off to find a herb.
"Thank you Snake!" Calima said, hugging the large
snake pokemon.
Snake looked startled then smiled. She nodded and
gently wrapped a small part of her tail in on Calima
then took it back off in means of returning the hug.

"I want to get some more berries for Selden," said Chirin as he 
walked through the grass towards the copse. A couple of trees had 
been felled from the storm's early lashes and the breaks in the 
trunks stood out sharply, even through the misty ghosts of rainfall 
marching past them in sheets. He shivered in the chill, running an 
electric buzz over his body to warm himself. 

"Oh my god," said Azalea and Chirin looked just in time to witness 
the sudden attack on Calima and the Ekans. As the ekans fended off 
Cinder and the dark-possessed quilava retreated, he realized he'd 
been wrong about the ekans, at least in terms of her being one of the 
*burakos*. 

"She really isn't with Cinder," said Chirin. "Maybe..."

"She's still an ekans, Chirin," said Azalea. "I hate to appear so 
suspicious, but...Well, if you'd like to talk to her I understand. 
She's been your friend for a long time."

"I have to go over there to get berries anyway. It's okay if you're 
scared. I'm scared too. But I think she'll be okay. Even though she 
did...almost kill that rattata...right there."

"I have to grab some grass anyway," said Azalea. "When you've 
procured the berries and exchanged whatever conversation you'd like 
to with Calima, join me and we'll head back to see Selden."

"Thanks." Chirin gave her a special smile and allowed his special 
light to shine...only more pleased when hers did, too (when he peeked 
back there). It was just the thing to warm him up in his wet wool 
coat.

He trotted over to Calima and stopped in front of her, while Azalea 
grazed a short distance away, nearer to the fringe of the rest of the 
flock. He approached Calima and her friend, flickering his light 
appeasingly. 

"Calima...I'm sorry. I haven't been nice to you and your new friend, 
and...I'm sorry. I saw you, ekans...saw you save Calima. I was wrong 
about you. I see the light now," he said, remembering a phrase his 
family had sometimes said.

He remembered also the need to discuss driving out the dark spirit in 
Calima...and wondered whether he was doing the right thing by 
trusting either of them right now. The spirits--he didn't know if it 
was his ancestors, or others--were telling him to be frightened of 
both of them--even Calima--or especially Calima. But he knew there 
was light in her--they just had to find a way to get out the dark.
Snake smiled.
"Aw, quilava re easy... The evil ones are a little
harder to beat though..." Snake said.
"Well, I need to hunt now... I could use some
practice. The reason I am not good at hunting, is
because I used to belong to a human, and I never
learned how to hunt. I always had food and water
giving to me by my old trainer. Ah well, I'll be back
soon. See ya." And she slithered into the forest to
hunt.

Calima smiled and waved.

Azalea kept one side of her vision on Chirin at all times while she 
grazed the soggy grass, swallowing almost more water than greens. She 
heard the gist of his noble apologies...he was being too nice again. 
Too nice, that is, for his own good.

Then other conversations pricked her ears--both her good one and her 
burned one, whose hearing didn't seem to have been damaged along with 
its appearance, although its electroreception had.

Azalea tucked her tail between her legs to make herself less visible 
in the rain, and fed her way towards the talk, remaining far enough 
away that they didn't notice. She already had a good idea what it was 
about.

"...No, I think I remember she did go with them," said one of the 
four mareep, all with their heads low as they ate facing away from 
the wind. "It was Calima, Azalea, and Chirin. I know Azalea was 
there."

"But he brought them back safe!"

"I think it was a coverup. So we wouldn't notice that Willy and 
Striper never came back. He wanted them out of the way. So he could 
be leader."

One of them lifted her head and glanced around. Azalea put her head 
in the grass. The mareep didn't see.

"He didn't need to kill them out there," said the first mareep. 
Azalea knew who it was--it was Tearose, who never said anything to 
anyone's face, but talked a streak of lightning behind their 
tails. "He bewitched Willy and Striper. He possessed Calima too...Or 
Calima possessed him."

"I think that's right," said the one next to her, whom, like everyone 
here, Azalea knew well. 

"You think so?"

"She was with him right at the beginning. Remember, when she dug into 
the barn? She was helping the whole way. And how she popped off at 
Willy--just before he went away. I bet him and her--and there was 
that drawing Chirin did! Of Willy dead!"

All four of them paused, one gasping. "I do remember that!"

"And don't you remember at the pond? When he ran down screaming? He 
knew something way back then. It's like Calima led him there 
possessed. And she was *controlling* those fish. Her and Moonscar. 
Don't forget--it was Chirin, Calima and Moonscar together at the 
beginning. They came here *together*."

"But--Chirin healed Azalea! He--"

"She would've got better anyway. The first thing Chirin said before 
he led us away," Tearose lowered her voice, "was that we're going to 
evolve into freaks and go bald. He cursed us. Now look at 
Petunia...yeah I know, I feel bad for her too. But look at her--and 
she was the first one to talk to him and help him. And now she's the 
first one to change."

"And she changed with Cinder! I saw it! You think...Chirin's with 
Cinder..."

"I don't know for sure," said Tearose, "but...just look--"

"But Calima! First, she goes crazy. Then, Moonscar goes crazy. I 
dunno if Chirin's...gonna..."

They grazed for a moment. "All I know is...I'm scared," said 
Tearose. "None of this stuff ever happened on the farm. No one ever 
went pink and bald on the farm. And all these crazy enemies! And 
yeah, I'm scared Chirin's going to go crazy too."

"He already is crazy."

Azalea stepped in. 

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to report that. That and every other 
piece of nonsense that spouted from your mouths prior to that."

"Go ahead, Chirin-lover." They giggled. 

"You showed Chirin your love-light," said Tearose. 

"Yeah, you got the love-light for Chirin!"

The worst part about it, thought Azalea as they laughed again, was 
that the insult made her proud.

"Look, she's hiding it in her legs!" one called as she trotted away.
***
His unease with the talk of hunting reflected in the nervous flickers 
spasming in his light, but he was just relieved she'd chosen to do it 
out of his sight. And he was glad they had a moment alone.

"I have to talk to you, I want to help you," said Chirin. "I believe--
that there's a dark being inside you, that we need to make it go 
away. Now..." he sighed. "I'm sure you don't know it's happening, but 
I think sometimes, you get possessed by it? But--there's ways to 
help. And I want to help, because you're my friend. Before you get 
hurt. I need your help to get the evil spirit out. But first I need 
to help with Selden." He sighed, waiting for her response and 
silently asking his ancestors--and hers--not to be offended. His 
tail's light mounted into full brightness, his only protection in 
case the evil spirit pounced at him now.

At that moment Azalea came trotting up. "Chirin--it's rather urgent, 
or so I'm led to believe," she rasped in his ear. "Nasty rumors about 
you, about Calima, everything--are running rampant. I know Tearose, 
she couldn't have fabricated all that, none of the four I heard 
talking about it could've. A meeting of everyone in the flock is in 
order and I suggest we settle the ekans business here and now. My 
advice," she said, "is that the ekans remain distant from the flock 
or it's only going to worsen."
"Why?" He looked at her with wide eyes. "What did you hear?"

Azalea told him, in brief, everything she'd head.

Chirin's head spun. Suddenly the ground didn't feel so level and the 
rain seemed to come at him from four directions. It was just too much 
at once. "That--that they would think those things--that's terrible," 
he said, beginning to cry.
Snake glimpsed a rattata sleeping. It was in the
forest. She lunged and quickly swallowed it so Chirin
wouldn't see.
She slithered back over to him and said to Chirin and
Azeala, "I understand if you want me to leave. But, I
wouldn't, ya know, attack any of you or anything..."

***

Calima looked at her two mareep friends to see what
they would say.

"You can stay with us," said Chirin as Azalea gave him a look, but 
wiped it off her face before he could see. If the ekans really wasn't 
going to do them any harm, and she clearly wasn't, what was the use 
of harboring shadow feelings? He smiled. "Welcome to the flock. But, 
uh...If you try to meet the other mareep they might get scared. So 
maybe sleep in a burrow farther away. And bit by bit they'll get used 
to you. I'll make sure to tell them all that you're nice, so they'll 
know you're safe, and then you can stay more close."

He was more troubled that Calima had not seemed to noticed anything 
he had said about her holding the shadow spirit. Was she trying to 
avoid the subject? He swallowed. 

"Ah, I suppose my advice will not be taken," said Azalea. "Chirin--"

"I know, I know," he said, "but I couldn't say no if she really is 
nice."

"Moonscar was really nice too."

"But I can't keep being afraid that everyone's going to get 
possessed! Being possessed...just happens. Oh, and Calima, about the 
shadow spirit in you...I don't think we should talk about it right 
now, but soon I feel that I should help you. But right now I have to 
get the berries for Selden..."

Chirin felt a little dizzy. It was all too much to digest, even with 
four stomachs. He felt like people, seen and unseen, were pulling his 
legs in all different ways. "And I don't know what to do about the 
rumors except have a meeting. And I don't want to do that till the 
weather's better and Selden is better. Oh Azalea..." 

She let him cry against her good shoulder again. "I'm sorry," he 
said, muffled by wet wool.

He turned at the sound of squishy footsteps. Someone was coming. It 
was Cleomie. She was marching up to Chirin with sparks in her wool 
and sparks in her eyes--a mix of fear and anger--but more fear.

"Coddy turned freak--just like Petunia did! You--witch! You cursed us 
all!"
Snake hissed at Cleomie.
"Just because on of you evolved doesn't mean you are
cursed! Why can't you be nice?" She hissed.

***

Calima walked over to Cleomie, raised her paw to
scratch her, thought better of it, and just sat down
and growled.

Fluffy marched up to Cleomie and said to her, "I think
that when we evolve, we look pretty! When we evolve,
we are not freaks! I wanna evolve too! I'm not a lamb
anymore, so it might happen here and now! Oh I wish I
was strong enough to hurt you so bad!" And she began
to glow white. And she began to grow.
Chirin jumped in between the two different evolutions. "Stop it, 
please! If we think in shadows, more shadow spirits are born. Oh mama 
Watakko, please calm the air!" 

Cleomie jumped back from Fluffy as she finished up evolving. Fluffy 
was indeed a Flaaffy--one of the smallest and cutest ones Chirin had 
ever seen, in fact. She must really be older than he'd thought. "We 
are all beautiful. And no one here has become, or will become, a 
freak. There is no such thing as a freak."

Azalea trotted back over to them carrying berries in her mouth. 
Seeing Fluffy's rather abrupt change, she dropped them. "Another one? 
It appears to be coming into fashion, isn't it." She blinked twice.

"Thanks for the berries," said Chirin, rushing over. "Now that we 
have three Flaaffies, we'll be able to defend against enemies better."

"Oh, that's right, make like it's no big deal everyone's suddenly 
turning into these things," said Cleomie. "Of course you would. You 
know everyone's saying you've bewitched the flock? Put a hex on'em?"

"I know," said Chirin. "Azalea told me."

"So what do you got to say for yourself?"

"I didn't. Becoming a Flaaffy is a wonderful stage of life--or so 
they say. My sister was one." Was.

"Well just your family's full of weirdos doesn't mean you should give 
us the same--disease."

"My family is not full of weirdos." Chirin kept his voice steady, but 
the electricity leaked from his coat. He felt deeply bitten all of a 
sudden. "If you talk that way you may rouse the anger of my 
ancestors. And I wouldn't do that."

Cleomie smiled. "Oh, I'm so scared, your dead family's gonna come out 
and grab me!"

Chirin breathed in, breathed out, closing his eyes, and telling his 
ancestors that she didn't really mean it. He tried not to cry at the 
words Cleomie said that seemed to spit cud on his dear mah-mah.

When he opened them, he turned to Azalea. "Let's get those berries to 
Selden."

"Right away." They picked them up in their mouths, and Chirin tried 
to keep himself calm and turn his thoughts to the lamb that needed 
him as they turned to head back to the hill.
Fluffy looked at herself and bleated in delight.
"I evolved, I evolved!" She said, trying a little jig.
She glared at Cleomie and powered up her mega-punch,
just incase.

***

Snake glared at Cleomie. It was hard for her to keep
from attacking. And the struggled showed too.

***

Calima was having the same problem. Her eyes were
turning from red to normal rapidly.


When Chirin looked over his shoulder he saw the tension, the spirits 
that Bangaa had released in the ancient days pulling the air taut 
between them. Calima's eyes were flashing red. 

The berries fell from Chirin's mouth.

"Calima! No! It's the dark spirit inside you! Please listen to me!"

"Shut up you superstitious witch!" said Cleomie. "And take your 
spirits and shove'em down your throat! Or I'll tell Coddy she can 
deal with you!"

"Please, please..." Chirin groveled on the ground, licking his 
apricorn shell. Beyond the group of angry sheep pokemon stood the 
edge of the copse. He looked up at the dark, swaying crowns of the 
trees, beings much older, wiser, and stronger than they were. He knew 
they were swaying in emotional pain, wracked by the air spirits and 
the dark erupting at their feet.
"Yeah, you better beg," said Cleomie, apparently assuming he was 
begging for her not to attack him. But he wasn't. He was trying to 
soothe all the dark misting over the whole flock, to calm an anger 
around them far more dangerous. He tensed his muscles, shining his 
light and a shiver pricked his skin. Azalea stood behind him, 
swishing her tail low.

Snapper sat inside the safety of the burrow, looking out with a longing in her eyes. Why did she wish she was out there...? Last time, she had ended up cold, muddy, and wet...but still...

As she began creeping once more towards the exit, she heard a familiar voice call out "SnapDragon, don't you DARE!" With a wnce, she turned to face Ivy.

"I-I just wanted to go out like the others! Something out there attracts us!"

Ivy snorted, keeping her eyes firm on her younger sister "I know you won't like me saying this...but you're too small. I can't just let you--"

"Leave me alone!" Ivy's eyes widened as her younger sister glared "I don't CARE! You ALWAYS boss me around!" Snapper's eyes filled with tears "You AREN'T my mother!"

Taking a step back, Ivy shut her eyes. Unlike many Mareep here...she did indeed remember her. Snapper didn't...not many did. "Snapper...I know I'm not your mother...but I am going to make sure you stay safe!"

Snapper lowered herself into a fighting stance like she had seen Striper do many times before "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!" With those words, a white light surrounded the young Mareep "Just because I'm younger than you...!!!"

Ivy's eyes widened in fear as her sister grew in the light...

Fluffy looked into a puddle and gasped. She didn't
look like the other flaaffy. She had silver wool, a
silver light on her tail, and a golden moon shape on
her forehead, surrounded by silver. The silver was
rapidly covereing her body, and she was turning all
silver!
"Ch-Chirin? Why am I silver?" Fluffy said as soon as
she was all silver. The moon and her eyes were the
only exception. Her eyes were golden too, as was the
moon on her forehead.
Chirin watched with bated breath as the last sprinkle of Clef's dust 
dotted Fluffy. "Denrai," he whispered, breathing out. 

Then he saw the moon shape on her forehead, just beneath the fringes 
of her woolly curls. A moon shape.

Moonscar.

Denrai...Moonscar...What had happened to Fluffy?

He lifted his tail. This was a definite sign. "Come," he 
said. "Selden's sick...and you've been blessed. You have special 
spirit powers. You can help."

Chirin picked up the berries in his mouth and hurried back to the 
hill.

***

Calima glared at Cleomie.
"If you do not like it here, then just go!" Calima
said.

Snake nodded, hissing in Cleomie's face.
"You know what? I think you're right. Only a whole lot more are 
leaving than just me. Don't you hiss at me," she said, although fear 
streaked her voice.

***

Moonscar and Cinder watched from the burrow. They were
getting tired of all the evolution. Soon it would be
impossible to get to Calima and Chirin!


In the little burrow across the way, Selden woke up, still feverish 
but feeling a little better from the berries. Hearing the angry 
bleating, he began to cry.

Once the light faded, a small Flaffy(sp? ^^; Tired...ehehe) stood in Snapper's place.

Ivy's mouth hung open "S-Snapper?!"

Her eyes setting on Ivy, Snapper sniffed "I-Ivy...w-what happened to me...? W-why am I...?" She looked at herself, tears streaming down her pink cheeks "W-what am I....?"

Hanging back for a moment, Ivy finally approached her sister...then trotted over and nuzzled her "Shhh....it's alright..." Wrapping the larger pokemon in an awkward hug, Ivy felt herself nearly jump in surprise at the strong grip her sister now had.

"I...I'm sorry I-Ivy..." Snapper forced out between sobs "I'm so sorry..."

Ivy nuzzled her again "Shhh....I'm sorry too..." She smiled weakly at her, wiping the tears from Snapper's face "Mom wouldn't like to see you cry like that..."

Snapper suddenly smiled past the tears "I-I guess I'm the big sister now...right?" Both laughed for a moment before Snapper cuddled her sister. 
Snapper looked up, her blue eyes drifting towards Selden...wasn't he 
not much younger than she was...? Then, how...wasn't this only for 
big Mareeps to do...?

Ivy let go of her sister, looking over as well "Looks like our 
yelling scared Selden..."

"I'll go cheer him up..." Snapper took a deep breath, sticking out 
her chest "After all, I am a big, strong Ma--urr....whatever I am!"

With a smirk, Ivy turned her back to her sister "A tomreep through it 
all, neh?" Mom had always said...right from the moment her younger 
sister had been born, that she was just like her Dad. Ivy's own 
father had been different...but it didn't matter.

Snapper smiled at her sister and butted her playfully before trotting 
over, trying to get used to her new legs as she went "Selden? You 
ok?"
Selden looked at the strange creature poking her head in. It smelled 
like Snapper...but clearly wasn't....Upset by yet another strange 
sight, and feeling ill, he kept on crying.

"Selden! Are you okay?" called Chirin around the sprig of berries in 
his teeth as he entered the burrow, shaking the rain out of his 
wool. "Wow...Snapper, you evolved too!" Wasn't she young to evolve? 
Well, occasionally someone evolved early...but not usually this early.

"There, there Selden..." As Chirin nuzzled him, murmuring in his ear, 
Selden stopped crying.

"Chirid?" he said, sniffling.

Chirin giggled. "Yes, I'm here. Mother Megga, you sound all stuffy. 
Here. Me and Azalea brought some more berries." As Selden began to 
eat the berry cluster Chirin had dropped, eating the stem and leaves 
as well, Azalea deposited hers as well. Chirin stroked Selden as he 
finished up eating. The smell of illness was all but gone. With the 
help of the berries, through which the trees' powers had flowed, he 
and the other mareep had successfully driven out the invading spirit 
and called Selden's soul back. Light vigils were a wonder that way. 
Watching the little lamb brought tears to his eyes as he thought of 
it all.

"Ah Selden, a pleasure to see you appearing far more chipper than you 
previously did," said the verbose ewe. "In addition we have a pharanx 
of Flaaffies--did I get that name right, Chirin--as a front line of 
defense against exterior threats."

A loud boom from outside, followed by bleating shouts, interrupted 
her speech. 
"Speak of the devil," she said as Chirin peeked outside too. 
Something had definitely cropped up. The mareep had crowded on the 
flat spread of grass to the south side of the hill. As they jumped, 
bleating and screaming, towards something in the middle--Chirin saw a 
white-blue spark spout up from the center. The crack reached his ears 
a moment later. He caught a glimpse of pink, Flaaffy flesh in there.

"Phos above! Stop, stop!" Chirin's hooves hardly touched ground as he 
raced down the hill. He slid on the wet grass to the bottom and 
scrambled back onto his feet. "Meriipu! Stop!"

He broke through the roused crowd, their energy apparent from the 
sparks dancing in the rain and wet wool, the charged air tingling on 
his ears. Petunia and Coddy tumbled in a kicking, screaming roll of 
pink skin and white wool. Apparently realizing electricity had little 
effect on the other they had resorted to other more physical attacks. 
Their feet kicked, their arms grappled, slapping and punching each 
other, pulling on each other's hair. Petunia's nose had bled down her 
face and smeared on her chin. 

"Stop!" Tears coursed down Chirin's face as he threw himself down, 
praying to Mama herself for the darkness to lift. As if things 
couldn't get any worse. "Oh, oh, please, stop!"

"Stop this infantile and pointlessly aggressive behavior this 
instant!" said Azalea.
Chirin yelled. Chirin screamed. Chirin thundered lightning from his 
tail. But they would not stop. They separated for a brief instant, 
circling each other, then both of them thrust their heads forward. 
They collided with an electric smash and Coddy, who was shorter but 
heavier, knocked Petunia backwards and landed on her with a grunt. 
Chirin ran into the fray, trying to pull Coddy off by a leg. She 
kicked back at him. 

"Chirin are you crazy!" Azalea burst in after the ram. Seeing the two 
of them interfering, a few more came forward and, tugging at each 
opponent, pried the sparking-mad Flaaffy ewes off each other. 

"What is this! Why are we fighting in the same flock!" said Chirin, 
looking up at Petunia. 

"Because, mr. Spirit-lover, it isn't the same flock!" said Coddy as 
she caught her breath. She spit a wad of cud at Chirin's feet. With a 
scratch on her cheek, a bruise forming on her forehead and an 
aggregate of blue sparks round her lashing tail, she looked about as 
horrifying as a Flaaffy could hope to look. Chirin took mincing steps 
back, standing beside Azalea. "Your flock ain't my flock! Not 
anymore! Or Petunia's!" She shot a glare at the ewe, who was sobbing 
with her face in her hands.
Chirin stopped sobbing long enough to speak. "I know... that we've 
had bad dark...bad...things..." He struggled, trying to avoid saying 
the word spirit. "But, oh," he broke down again, "please, don't 
fight..."

"Mah, mah, you big baby," said Coddy, flicking a sparkline at him 
under the nose. "You seemed pretty big'bad about battling 
Willy...till you killed him, cause you knew you were going to lose."

"Yeah," said Cleomie, finally catching up and joining in. 

Chirin started crying all over again but was beyond caring. "Oh you 
can't think...You have to believe, I didn't kill him." Yet even he 
wasn't sure enough to say it more loudly. Looking around he saw Coddy 
wasn't theonly one staring at him from under angry brows.

"That's what the fight was about," Petunia whispered to him. "I know 
you didn't do it. But Coddy..."
"Striper too," said Cleomie. And Azalea was his partner in crime."

"Cinder!" someone yelled. "Your Nidoran friend's going to kill us 
all!"

Talk erupted all over the flock, spiked with angry shouts. Some were 
shouting at Chirin, some at each other, but many strong evil spirits 
had just run their flippers over everyone's heads, building up 
static. Selden was standing outside the burrow with Snapper and Ivy, 
seemingly reconciled with Snapper's new form. They stared out at the 
confusion and he saw Ivy pick up towards them, even though it was 
still raining.

"No! You idiots! Can't you see that Chirin can't possibly be 
responsible for all of our difficulties?" Azalea shouted. "You're 
scapegoating him! Use your brains a little!"

Chirin just watched the spark-snapping sea of discontent crash its 
waves at him. His legs quivered and he looked out over the angry 
faces, at the copses and hills in the distance. He looked up into the 
rainfall and it ran into his own tears. Never in his life had he 
wanted so much to just run away from all of it.
Fluffy marched up to Coddy and Cleomie.
"Leave Chirin alone!" She bellowed at them. "Chirin
has done nothing to you, nor has Snake or Calima.
Calima is running from Cinder, the stupid thing is
after HER not us. There are many of us here, we can
overpower that stupid quilava! And the rattata!"
Fluffy suddenly fell over, clutching her head in
distress, the moon shape on her forehead shining
brighter and brighter, like it was powering up a
strong attack.
"Flaaa! Flaaaffffyyyyyy!" Fluffy screamed, turning to
Coddy, and a golden-silver beam shot from her forehead
and into Coddy.


Snake suddenly felt foolish. She was with pokemon she
would normally eat. She slithered into the forest. She
silently slitered behind a lamb. She snatched it,
ignoring it's bleats of fear and pain, she slithered
off into the forest. There came a snap. Snake had
broken the lamb's neck. It was gone. And so was Snake.
She slithered off, carrying her kill along with her.

Chirin screamed as the bright light briefly blinded him. He felt 
someone's mouth tugging on his tail and smelled Azalea strongly. He 
also knew her tug. A high whine screeched out from the light and he 
realized it was not a screech, but someone screaming.

Something popped, a sound like a melon splashing on a rock. 

The light lifted to reveal a sight rather like a squished melon. 
Coddy lay on her back with something big and red on top of her. 
People were screaming, mareep rearing up and running. "Oh my god, Oh 
my god," Azalea was panting, and Chirin realised that the red thing 
was Coddy's chest split open. The blood spilled out in red runnels 
onto the grass as the rain fell hard, revealing pink innards slowly 
being washed clean. 

Calima huddled close to Chirin, her eyes wide and
fearful. She screamed when she saw Snake drag Coddy's
body away.
"Chirin, I know this may shock you, but Snake killed
on of the lambs just not too long ago..." Calima
whispered.
She huddled closer to Chirin.

The scent of fresh blood screamed up his nostrils as Chirin jumped 
into the air and ran. Setting his sights on the hills beyond the 
copse, he broke into a full gallop, remembering his last chase after 
Mama's face, feeling the same feelings of suddenly being alone. 
Selden...Azalea...everything melted away behind him, becoming part of 
the mess of dark madness ruled by shadow of the past many days. He 
would escape this shadow if he had to run forever. The tears peeled 
back across the sides of his face in the whipping wind. He wanted to 
hear no voices, see no people. He was running alone once again.

Fluffy fell back, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Wh-what did I do? H-how did that happen? Oh my god!"
Fluffy screamed.
She screamed, turned tail and ran off into the forest.

Calima fell over as Chirin began to run. She darted
after him screaming, "Chirin! Don't leave me here!
Wait up!"
Chirin heard Calima's calling to him to wait up, and he ran harder. 
But the Nidoran was catching him, he knew he couldn't outrun her. 

He wheeled to face her, backing up to keep a plane of air and rain 
between them, as if they could temper the feelings and the *denki* of 
him and Calima--two different planes of them too, he sensed. His 
mouth hung ajar, his lips tensed back in fear, fear of everything. 

"Don't follow me. You--you should go back to your warren back by the 
pond. It's--dangerous out here... Phos's light to you."

His throat clogged with sobs as he turned and ran again, threatening 
to choke off his labored breathing.