This choice: Teach her how to build a nest. • Go Back...Chapter #7Meridian Forest by: Unknown “When you settle down in a new place, remember the first order of business - a nest!” you instruct as you trod around the forest, inspecting it and looking for any potential hiding spots. “Building a good nest is the most important thing you’ll do in the wild! If you don’t hide it well enough, you’ll get eaten in your sleep on the first night.” Autumn gazes at you blankly for a moment, looking for instruction. “Well, go on! Try finding a good spot on your own. I won’t always be around to guide you, you know.” Autumn nodded immediately, eager to be in control of her own destiny for once. She began bounding around the clearing, checking all the nooks and crannies while you sat down and watched, smiling. Every once in awhile she would point to some alcove of the forest, you would shake your head ‘no’, and she would continue her search. After about half an hour, her eagerness had completely deflated, and her face looked frustrated and defeated. Smugly, you stepped aside, and revealed that you had been sitting next to a prime hiding spot the entire time - an alcove in the stone wall of a hill.
The Vulpix’s spirited enthusiasm immediately returned to her as she saw the spot you had picked. Even she, with her limited experience, could tell it was perfect. Over the next hour, the two of you bonded as you taught her how to conceal a den, sitting back and passively instructing her as she draped long grass over the exit and stamped mud into the nooks and crannies. She didn’t mind that she was doing all the work -- she preferred a more hands-on approach to learning, anyway. As you sat there, your old hunting instincts naturally came back to you. You became cognizant of every sound, every movement in the leaves around you, hearing birds chirping even miles away. You smile at the feeling. It was almost nostalgic. It was the reason you were able to fend for yourself so easily in your youth; you were notorious for being impossible to sneak up on-
Wait. Hold on a second. Your ears twitch as they pick up the ever-so-faint sound of leaves crunching around a dozen meters behind you. You strain your ears to confirm, and can sense them softly getting louder and louder. Someone was sneaking up on you! You turn around, staring into the forest as you step between it and Autumn, who was busy admiring the den she had created, oblivious to the danger. The footsteps stopped for a moment, before becoming quicker and more confident - and before you knew it, two figures emerged from the bushes; a Lucario and a Bisharp. You immediately calmed down. From their faces, you could tell they were nervous, and from their posture, you could tell they were young and inexperienced. Hell, you could almost smell their fear. You and them both knew that if they tried to attack you, you would down them fairly easily, so they must have some other plan in mind.
The Lucario quickly worked up the courage to shift his face into something of a nervous smile. “H-hello, visitors, to the h-humble Meridian Forest!” He called out his rehearsed line with as much courage as he could muster. Autumn turned curiously towards the two, but you scooted her back behind you. They couldn’t hurt you, but they could certainly hurt her.
“Who are you two supposed to be?” You ask, interrupting his planned speech, as you slink slowly closer towards the young Lucario.
“W-we are simple citizens of the forest, here to greet… to greet… uh...” He grows increasingly uncomfortable as you slink smoothly closer to him. Soon, you were sitting directly in front of him, and your immense size became apparent. Even sitting down, you were just as tall as he was, if not even larger. His companion, the Bisharp, nervously backed away, leaving him to deal with you alone. He could smell your breath in his face, still meaty from your previous meal. If you wanted, you could snap forward and wrap his whole head in your mouth in an instant. However, for now, you were content with just teasing him, as you found his fear amusing. “To g-greet our… lovely guests. And uh… in addition, we are o-obligated to escort you to our capital...”
“Oh. So you’re trying to kidnap us?” You ask, frankly, mostly just to mess with him, but also trying to discern exactly what they’re trying to accomplish with all this.
“What? No, no!” He insists, trying not to anger you. “It’s just that… all Pokémon in the forest have to register with our lovely q-queen Boudicca.” He holds his breath as he anticipates your reaction. Your expression looked untrusting, but on the inside, your excitement grew. ‘Queen Boudicca’? Apparently, the forest had found another ruler! And this one was even more entrenched than you used to be. Nobody ever called you ‘queen’, after all. You could tell that you would be able to defeat these guys fairly easily, but you decide you wanted to go along with it just to see what’s going on. You suddenly brighten up, jollily patting the Lucario on the back, startling him and causing him to yelp cutely.
“Well, alright, then! I’d love to meet her! Lead the way,” You agree. The Lucario nods, walking briskly down a forest path with his companion, desperate to get this over with. You turn back and wave at your daughter. “C’mon, Autumn!” You yell, and the Vulpix hops on your back and rides you as you follow the two strangers towards whatever adventures await you. As the four of you walked deeper and deeper into the forest, you started noticing more and more developments in the trees that you had never seen before. You saw fire-type Pokemon making campfires so the others could harden mud into bricks and build small huts. You saw Pokemon living in wooden nests up in trees, walking easily along high-wires to visit their neighbors. You were impressed! The forest seemed have become much less savage and untamed in just the past few years. It was almost like a completely different place. You couldn’t be sure yet, but maybe this really would be the best place to raise Autumn.
Eventually, you came across a large clearing that seemed to be the center of town. Adobe houses littered the open clearing, with the ground scorched clean of grass by fire. Families lived together, and merchants offered trinkets on street corners. Predators and prey lived in relative harmony, and you even saw a few pred/prey couples, which is something you've never seen before. Bakers cooked meat and boiled stews, with the delicious and delightful scents spreading out throughout the entire town. Eventually, you were brought before a particularly large, stone building, which seemed like one of the most prominent areas in town. The Lucario stepped forward and pulled at a large, metal doorknocker. You and Autumn watch curiously as the door slides open with a loud creak, and a unusually large female pyroar stepped out, adorned with silver and gold jewelry.
The Lucario and the Bisharp immediately slopped to their knees, bowing before the feline. All was silent for a moment as you stood there, and the pyroar stared at you, expectantly. You shifted, awkwardly. You weren’t really sure what was going on. “Bow,” The Lucario whispers, nervously, but you just started at him blankly in return. Were they really expecting you to bow to this pyroar? You didn’t even know who she was.
“Oh. An insolent one, are you?” The pyroar raised a brow. “I’ll let it pass this time, stranger. I am Boudicca, queen of the Meridian Forest. I would like to welcome you to your new home.”
“Charmed. I’m Oriana, and this is Autumn,” You introduced yourself. Autumn hopped onto your head and waved at the strange ‘queen’. “But I don’t think I’m planning on moving here. I’ve already got a home.”
“Oh? Are you… declining?” ‘Boudicca’ looked genuinely surprised. “Haven’t you seen the kind of marvels we have here? We’ve never had a Pokemon decline before...”
“Yeah, well, the place I come from is pretty cool, too,” You shrugged it off, unimpressed. “Sorry, but I’m not planning on moving anywhere right now. I just came here to get some training for my daughter."
“Well, I’m sorry, but once you enter the forest, there is no leaving,” Boudica announced. “You’re one of my subjects now. You’ll get a life of peace and prosperity, and all I ask for in return is a little respect and obedience.” You didn’t like where this was going. You particularly didn’t like how she was bossing you around so casually, as if you were just going to sit there and take it. Then again, if all the pokemon are here are truly her ‘subjects’, you’d have to fight an entire small army in order to fight back against her.
“Your ‘subject’? Excuse me, lady, but I’m nobody’s subj-” You growled, walking up to face her, but she interrupts you.
“Stop with the hostility! We’re a peaceful society. We don’t tolerate that here,” Boudica glared at you. “Besides, there's no need for it. I’ll just have my two guards here give you a tour. I’m sure you’ll love it here once you’ve taken a look around -- everyone else has, after all.”  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
