The Rain

Warning, this story may cause the sad on the reader.

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It all took place in the middle of a beautiful clearing. It was mid-spring, and the soft smell of damp soil hung thick in the air, even after the latest rain had passed. The blades of grass were still sporting small beads of water even as the clouds above parted to show the sun and the litter of Eevees made their way out of their collective den, where they had been confined by their caretaker for the duration of the rain, to play.

Well, a litter may not be the best description for them; they weren't all of the same parents, after all. It was all in the way their species worked, just as natural as living in dens burrowed deep underground for the safety it provided them with. It was, after all, much more effective that way, especially with how much energy each young Pokon could have before growing up and evolving.

Alia, the Leafeon, had been the caretaker chosen for this expedition into the outer world. The young Eevees from this particular tribe needed to let out all of their energy and to play amidst branch and limb; to get to know the environment they would live in for all their lives - if they were lucky - so, there was no avoiding it. They still needed to be watched over by someone older, and Alia had just been perfect for the job.

Dark brown paws, with a multitude of small green sprouts growing all over limb and body alike, stepped lightly over the damp undergrowth as Alia's dark, wet nose tested the air for the scent of any possible threats to the Eevees she took care of. A slight turn of her head in the right direction was all the indication the young ones needed that it was safe, and that they were allowed to play.

Alia knew better than to try and stand in their way. She simply stood there by the entrance to the trail they had taken to the clearing and allowed the twenty-odd little Eevees to burst past her. Four of them apparently started playing tag, running around the clearing in circles, pursuing each other. Another seven seemed to take a liking to a play where all hid around the corner, while one would try to find the others.

Some five others had a different interest in the clearing, and the Leafeon observed as they tried to dig and search for all sorts of different items they could find - from pebbles to beautifully looking flowers; all of which would be proudly presented for her inspection afterwards, Alia was sure. It was all enough to bring a pleasant giggle to the Leafeon's lips as she watched them thoroughly enjoying the bliss of childhood.

A group of four more seemed to join the first four, though Alia couldn't quite tell whether both groups were playing the same game at the same time, or whether they were playing similar games. Alia laid by the center of the clearing, where her keen senses could keep tabs on all of her little brothers, sisters, cousins and otherwise unrelated little ones she had to take care of.

The Leafeon also enjoyed the warm blades of sunlight that made their way through the thick cloud covering the skies, her body naturally absorbing it and turning it into oxygen. It wasn't a process she understood; just one that she did. She stayed there, calmly taking in her surroundings, until a little tap on her hind leg brought her attention to a single Eevee that stood besides her.

"What is it, Mei?" Alia asked, turning to look at the young Eevee, bringing the little one's name from the back of her memory as the Leafeon was fixed by her deep brown eyes.

"I-... It was Kai," Mei started, and the little quiver of her bushy tail told the Leafeon all that she needed to know. "I find a pretty, pretty rock, and Kai throws it past the bushes!"

"Ow. That was not nice of Kai." Alia said, looking past the pouting Eevee to where Kai stood amidst the other scavengers, all trying their mighty best not to look guilty once the Leafeon's attention fell on them.

"It was not!" Mei huffed and puffed, feeling justified by Alia's reaction. "I told them they was going to be in trouble when I told you! You will get them for what they did, right? Right?"

Alia had to suppress the urge to giggle in front of Mei's little fit. How easily the little ones could take to righteous vengeance always surprised her, but Alia didn't have it in her to "punish" the group of scavengers. Still, she couldn't really just let the matter slide - Mei still watched her with expectation setting her brown eyes ablaze, and she wanted to see something coming from the slight the other ones had committed.

"I'll tell you what," Alia said, after a quick twitch of her sensitive ears told her what she wanted to know about the direction where Mei had indicated to her. "Why don't you go and look for something better for yourself?"
"Bu... But-..." Mei started, and Alia could tell that hadn't been quite the reaction she expected. The Leafeon gave the Eevee an affectionate pat to the head as she went, in a conspiratorial tone, "I meant past the bushes."

That tiny little detail sold her whole bargain with interest. Mei went from pouting and sniffling to beaming and nearly jumping in place, clearly tempted by the prospect of going beyond the limits established to the rest of her litter. The young Eevee could already see the look in the others' faces when she came back with something special, belonging only to her.

"Don't go too far," Alia felt the need to add, and Mei nodded sagely, though the older Leafeon knew, in her heart, that her warning had fallen on deaf ears.

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The Lurantis' bulging, light red eyes quietly studied the clearing that laid just a few feet in front of her, though most of the stimuli she got from what transpired past the treeline came from her two green antennae as they twitched in the soft afternoon breeze. The canopy above her helped camouflage her presence, and the natural stillness of her body sealed the deal as she hid amidst the undergrowth.

Her large, scythe-like appendages were kept close to her light pink body, as her killing tools were largely unnecessary to what she intended to do by watching the clearing. She knew this particular tribe of Eevees tended to come to this particular space, for she had been watching them for quite a while, following their footsteps and the flattened foliage they left in their wake.

She hadn't been stalking these Eevees out of hunger, as she had caught herself one earlier that week - though not from this tribe - and wouldn't really feel the need to hunt for a short while. In truth, she had simply come to watch. Her species and theirs were quite intertwined in their base natures - as predator and prey, they had evolved together to make the most of living in the same environment.

As such, just as the Eevees had produced their offspring a short while ago, so had the Lurantis, who had a batch of eggs waiting for her back at her own nest. Eggs that would soon hatch, unleashing a wave of hungry Fomantis into the world - just in time to catch up with the Eevees' own little ones. Though the Lurantis never stopped to think about it, the balance of it all was quite surprising.

But the reason - the true reason why this Lurantis had made the trek from her nest to watch the young Eevees at play - was far less grim. In truth, she had never had younglings to look after, and, deep within her chest, she felt the fear of failure that often came alongside first attempts. She knew it was rather senseless, but if they were so interconnected, perhaps she could gleam something from observing them.

That had been her excuse to get there, at least. She had reached the clearing shortly after the rain clouds departed, and waited in the same position for hours as she questioned the wisdom behind her decision. The Lurantis had been just about to give up on her quest altogether when she first heard the laughter coming from the clearing, after she so effortlessly bypassed the Leafeon's senses.

Slowly, she fought the urge to inch towards the treeline, to get a closer look - she couldn't tell whether such an urge had been driven from her need to watch and learn from the Eevees' caretaker, or from the hunger that never quite settled within her. Either way, it would be a bad idea to get closer. All of the time she had spent getting in position would be wasted if she were spotted.

So, the Lurantis resigned herself to watch from this distance, catching on to the little snippets of conversation that went on in between the young ones through her keen senses, only rarely actually getting to catch a glimpse of what they were actually doing. She had to keep herself from giggling from all the tomfoolery and ploys that took place in between the young ones.

"I got you! Now you're it!" Went one, voice marked by exhilaration of achieving an objective, something the Lurantis could identify with.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Complained another, sounding rather winded after what the Lurantis could only suppose had been a hard run.

"Look at what I found!" Toned a third, ablaze with glee and amazement in the way that only young ones knew how to produce.

"Give it back, Kai!" Someone - the same as before? - whined, and the particular conversation that developed around it caught the Lurantis' ear. It happened closeby, so she drowned out all the other sounds to hear it.

"No, it's mine now, Mei." The Eevee in question, Kai, the Lurantis surmised, answered. His response was followed by several mean-sounding giggles and laughter.

Something flew past the tree line, parting branch and leave alike, and landing with a dull thud near the Lurantis' feet. It was a beautiful, slightly milky quartz crystal.

"I-... I'll tell Alia!" The Lurantis wondered who Alia was, for the mere mention of their name seemed to be enough for all the laughter to die down.

The conversation that took place in between the unknown Alia and the young Mei happened out of earshot for the Lurantis, who felt content with witnessing the effects it had on the group of bullying Eevees.

"What are you going to do, Kai?" One of the Eevees asked, in hushed, worried tones.

"Yeah. Do you think Alia will keep you from coming to play next time?" Proposed another, though her proposition was met with scorn.

"Alia would never do that," Said Kai's voice, apparently unabated, though that quickly changed. "Hey! Don't look in her way!"

Some giggling ensued, though it died down rather quickly. The Lurantis reckoned that Kai had a particular hold over the other Eevees; maybe he was older, or just had a knack for leadership. Despite not liking it, the Lurantis knew he would likely evolve first, as his set of behaviors were exactly what it took to survive. Someone like Mei, made of softer material, either grew out of it or was outpaced and caught by predators.

Predators like the Lurantis, idly watching from the shadows.

"Alia didn't do a thing, didn't she?" The collective giggling restarted after a brief pause, as if the little Eevees regained their confidence.

"Ha, I told you!" Came Kai's voice, sounding proud of his victory as he was urged on by his lackeys, probably standing nearby.

"Shaddup!" That had clearly been Mei's voice, though it wasn't in the sad tone the Lurantis expected. Instead, she seemed happy; jubilant, even.

"Hey, you can't go that way!" One of the other Eevees shouted, just as the Lurantis' ears caught the sound of grass being flattened underfoot.

"Alia let me!" Mei answered simply, and that explained to the Lurantis the contentment in her tone.

The Lurantis felt a warm anticipation bubbling up deep in her chest, the predator within her coming to life with every step the little one took past the confines of the clearing. She felt her body languidly swaying from side to side, mimicking the movement of the leaves as the breeze crept past them. The Lurantis would have to be lying through her teeth if she were to say that she wouldn't seize the opportunity presented to her.

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The untamed undergrowth proved more of a challenge than Mei had first expected. She was always pushing away at limbs, branches and leaves that got in her way, sometimes nigh hitting her in the face, and that was not to mention how the tangled mess underneath seemed to have hands that gripped at her feet. She had yet to learn the secrets to travel outside of trails, and it showed.

The Lurantis, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do: nothing at all. Years of experience had honed her senses and trained her body for this very moment. She slightly raised her appendages, and stayed in this position for as long as it took for the first signs of the Eevee's arrival to become visible, her anticipation for what she knew came next ever-growing deep within her.

Mei hadn't been worried about predators - in truth, she didn't even truly grasp the concept as of yet - as she made her way through the harder terrain past the tree line. Her eyes had been looking at the ground, searching for the little, beautiful, milky crystal she found - she came all the way out there following the direction she saw Kai throw it towards, and she wouldn't give up until she could show Alia her finding.

The crystal Mei had been looking for was lying amidst the mud, close to an odd looking, pink tree that swayed from side to side with the wind, easily dismissed by the Eevee. With a squeal of happiness, Mei went to pick it up, and that was when her instincts got the best of her. As the little Eevee got up, her prized possession clutched close to her furry chest, she was met with a pair of red, unblinking eyes, watching her intently.

Had she been any predator other than a Lurantis, she would probably be grinning widely at the pathetic picture in front of her eyes. This couldn't even be called a hunt - it felt as if the prey had just delivered herself to the predator. All the Lurantis had to do was to extend one of her claw-like appendages around the Eevee's form, while raising the other towards her lips as she let out the breath she had been holding. "Shhhh..."

The weird-looking tree not only had eyes, it moved. Mei watched, bewildered, as the sunlight glinted off the sharp-edges of the claws presented to her - her body locked in an ancient struggle: fight, flight, or, what it ended up choosing for her, paralyze. Even if she had been able to tell that the being in front of her was most likely dangerous, she couldn't do a thing about it. The command she was given, then, sealed the deal.

She felt the Eevee's fur standing up on edge as her claw gently beckoned her further. The Lurantis had been mindful not to allow the sharp edge to touch her, knowing full well this state of mind Mei found herself in could easily be broken up by any sort of pain whatsoever. All it would take was a single noise, the slightest of squeals, and her meal would be compromised.

"Come with me," the Lurantis said softly, watching the way her voice seemed to soothe the uncontrollable shudders that had since taken over Mei's body.

"W-... Where?" Mei asked, trying to look over her shoulder, still clutching the crystal she had found - as if it was an important possession, as if it could protect her. "My fa... My family is over there."

"Yes, I know." The Lurantis answered and, noticing stubbornness beginning to take root in the young one's movements, she added, in a hurry, "I just want to show you something."

"I ca... I can't go too far. Al-... Alia will worry." Mei seemed tempted, but still unconvinced; hanging on the edge of her curiosity, still held by the natural caution instilled in her very bones.

"I'm sure Alia wouldn't mind," the Lurantis said, feeling as if she fought a losing battle. An idea came to her mind as she saw the crystal, still held by her quarry. "I know where you can find more of that."

That seemed to do the trick. Despite being enraptured by the sight of it, the Lurantis watched the battle going on inside the Eevee's pretty little head through an impassive mask. She cherished when her proposition seemed to win more and more ground, until the little one stopped fighting her guidance entirely. She was still utterly confused and afraid out of her mind, but her little brain still urged her to follow.

Insecurity was, after all, a powerful thing, especially in a prey's mind - it made Mei cling to anything that even remotely resembled her comfort zone. How ironic, then, was that, in this situation, the one presenting herself as such actually wanted the opposite: to lead her away from the security of her home and family, towards the lands where the Eevee's screams wouldn't matter in the least.

The Lurantis guided Mei through the shadows, her sharp, deadly claws a silent reminder of the one in charge. She took the Eevee to where the forest was thickest. The abundant undergrowth made it difficult for the little one to match the predator's sure, confident stride. Many a time Mei tripped, and was quickly brought back to her feet by the Lurantis who watched over her with attentive eyes - like a mother would their child.

Good things, however, could only last so long. And the time the Lurantis got from her initial interaction with Mei was no exception. Boldness soon outgrew the fear, and the little one did what a little does: she became stubborn. The Lurantis could see the signs as they presented themselves. Mei's scent had changed; it was no longer composed purely of sheer, unabated fear. There was determination alongside it, now.

"Is it still far away?" The young Eevee asked, hesitantly, at first. Then, as the Lurantis' answers proved unsatisfactory, she became insistent. "I don't wanna see the pretty rocks anymore. I wanna go home."

"But we've come so far," the Lurantis tried to bargain, turning her pink gaze down to the little one. "What will you-" she started, but it was clear the young Eevee was not buying it any longer.

"I don't care!" Mei bawled, ducking underneath the enclosure of the Lurantis' claws and starting towards the way they had come. "I don't wanna go with you!"

"Ah, ah, ah." The Lurantis reaction was quick and graceful. Silent as a swift breeze, she swirled around herself, repositioning her claws, and wound one around the little one's neck. "I don't wanna see any of that."

For a second, everything went still. The birds chirped, the frogs croaked, insects buzzed and leaves swished in the light afternoon breeze. Yet, the type of silence in between the Lurantis and the Eevee was a troubled one, fated not to last. Soon, it was interrupted by a crescendo of heavy breaths and sniffles, as, between tears and whimpers, the little one ousted her dissatisfaction with her situation.

The Lurantis looked down at Mei, the reality around her melting into that single, young creature she had captured for herself. The Eevee was no longer trying to flee, she was just crying and shuddering, shrieking with all the might her vocal cords could muster. Her little, prey brain knew she couldn't flee, so her next instinct demanded her to get the attention of the others of her kind.

But that option had long since been wiped out of the table by her natural predator's careful planning. She was too far away to be heard. Though the Lurantis felt satisfied in knowing that no one would come to her aid - she still pulled Mei closer, pressing the delicate brown tufts to her lithe, insectoid form, and basking into the feeling of the little one's quickened heartbeat and faster breathing against her exoskeleton.

At first, Mei tried to fight the Lurantis - though heavily out of her depth - her struggles were soon made useless by the Lurantis' superior strength and weapons. And as time went on, Mei noticed that she was, in fact, not dead. The Lurantis hadn't moved to kill, as she expected, but to embrace her - this experience as a whole laid outside of what she had been conditioned to expect, and it confused her.

"Are you scared, my dear?" The Lurantis asked, pulling back from her embrace and using her appendages to wipe away the tears that welled underneath Mei's beautiful, brown eyes. It wasn't rhetorical.

It took Mei a while to come up with a sentence that wasn't a nonsensical, incoherent mewl, but she did manage to brave through her nervous twitching. "W-... Why me?" She asked.

Despite her kind's natural, placid mask, the Lurantis looked down at the Eevee with genuine interest - her curiosity piqued by Mei's unusual question. "What was that, little one?"

"Why di-... Why did you pick me?" The Lurantis had still been trying to wipe away the tears, though Mei pushed the claw away with her paw. "I am... I'm small, and young. You... There were several of us there."

"Oh, why, indeed." The Lurantis slowly tilted her head to the side. "Let me tell you a secret. If I was allowed to choose between all the members of your... No, if I was to choose among all the Eevees in the world, do you know who I would choose?"

The answer for this question took Mei some time to come up with. "You would... Pick someone fast. Like Alia." She said, and shivered, looking up to meet the Lurantis' gaze, true curiosity sparkling on her own. "Someone strong, like... Like Kai. You would..."

The Lurantis made a soft, shushing noise, shaking her head in the negative. "No, little one, I wouldn't." And she spoke nothing but the truth as she went, "You, little one, is a very special type of Eevee. I could tell just by hearing you. And when you came right up to me, I just..."

"I couldn't help myself. I needed you, Mei," the Lurantis said, remembering the name she had heard only in passing - as she would countless seasons afterwards - which clearly shook the little one. "So, if I could choose any Eevee in the world, I would choose you. Every time."

Mei's little ears twitched - once, then twice - as if trying, and failing, to understand the meaning of the words said to her. She shook her head feebly, and the Lurantis felt some pressure on her claws as Mei tried to back away, though she quickly changed her mind. Beads of a transparent, salty liquid grew up underneath the little one's eyes, and the Lurantis forced the little one to come close to her.

Once more, the predator took her prey into a loving, all-consuming embrace. The prey, this time, leaned into it - tears running down her furry face - and the whole world seemed to fall away into the background as she was allowed to cry. In the clutches of those sharp, deadly claws, pressed against the insectoid body that had taken her away, sharing her warmth with the one who was sure to devour her, she felt peace.

Soon, they resumed their track - no words were spoken in between the both of them, for no words were needed. All communication was made through the liminal space of both of their senses, a whole new language that only a predator and a prey shared with each other. It was a dance, truly, marked by the sound of dried foliage crumbling under their weight in perfectly matched unison.

One would be lying if they said that the trip went smoothly. Despite all the coaxing in the world, a living being did not relinquish their own life without a struggle. Despite her acceptance of the whole ordeal, there were moments when her resolve faltered. Ever so slowly they approached the Lurantis' nest - the final stop in Mei's death parade - and, needless to say, the little one felt afraid. It was only natural.

Three times reality reared its ugly head in front of Mei's eyes, and three times the Lurantis had to stop and just hold her little one together. And every time she did it, the young Eevee was rewarded with a warm embrace and proud pats to the head from her predator. This relationship of theirs, dysfunctional as it may be, wasn't one of antagonism; it was of mutual support and appreciation.

"Come on," the Lurantis said, having long since left the little one to walk free from the confines of her claws, as she gestured towards the entrance to a large, deep hollow. "We are almost home."

Mei stopped shy of the last rocks to the hollow, gaze sheepishly shifting in between the dark of the Lurantis' nest and the path they had taken to get there. She severely doubted she could make her way back even if she tried, and she knew there was no going back from this point she had reached, but... A question still burned deep within, etched onto the depths of her chest.

"What are you waiting for, little one?" The Lurantis emerged from the darkness of her den, and Mei didn't even notice the pack she so carefully cradled within her claws.

"I..." The young Mei started, though words failed her midway through. "Will it... Will it hurt?" She went to meet the Lurantis' gaze, expecting some sort of comfort, or reassurance, though there she found none.

"I am afraid it will, little one," the Lurantis said, then gave Mei some time to comprehend the weight of her words. She knew the blow would hit hard against her Mei, so she proceeded to reach out and give her fur a soothing caress. "Worry not," the Lurantis added, holding up the pack she held for Mei to inspect. "I will make it easier for you."

The Eevee regarded the pack with a mix of awe and fear. Slowly, she sniffed the strange, colorful vines, carefully weaved together to form the beautiful structure. Never before had she seen such craftsmanship - not even Alia's works, with her ability to command plants, could come close to holding a candle to the work of this predator. There was something sickly sweet coming from within, and that aroused Mei's natural curiosity.

Mei gave the Lurantis a doubtful look and, when no objections were presented, peeked into the contents of the pack. There, she saw them. They looked like ordinary leaves, with swiftly serrated edges - like the ones she would find and ignore on her exploring trips - though these presented Mei with that fine, attractive scent, that alone was enough to make the little one salivate.

"Try one." The Lurantis encouraged, tilting her head to the side in amusement as she took in the little one's reactions. "They are as sweet as berries, I'm told. Maybe even better."

"Why don't you have them?" Mei asked, whipping her gaze upwards. "If they are so delicious, then... Then why do you have to..." The Lurantis, able to tell the fit coming, made another shushing noise.

"Our bodies work differently, little one." The Lurantis said, shaking her head in the negative. "That which nourishes you might poison me. Eevees like you eat plants - like these -" the Lurantis took one of the leaves and presented them to Mei, who was already hard pressed to deny their allure. "- so that Lurantis like me may eat Eevees. Such is the way of the world, little one. We may not escape it, only embrace it."

Mei didn't really have a way to refute that statement - and how could she? She was just a young Eevee, and knew little of the ways of the world, as the Lurantis so cleverly put it. What she did know, however, was that there was no escaping the predicament she found herself in. She decided to trust the Lurantis, then, in that what she offered could lessen the pain she was about to feel.

Mei took the leaf she was presented with and quickly popped it into her mouth, half-expecting some sour taste to make her retch, but... It never came. As her teeth tore at the vegetable matter, mixing the contents with her saliva, which she swallowed, she began to feel the effects. It all started in her mouth: a pleasant, light numbness spreading forth. She could still move her jaws, despite not feeling them.

The Lurantis offered her more leaves after she had finished the first, which Mei happily took as well. The more leaves she masticated, the more the effect spread through her body. A fresh, crispy evening breeze beat against her body, and she could barely feel it. She continued chewing something, even when the leaves ran out and the Lurantis guided Mei into her embrace once more.

With a gentle movement, the Lurantis guided one of Mei's floppy ears up to her jaws, which swiftly opened up and bit into the soft flesh with little more than a mewl from the Eevee. Mei's delicious, young meat gave way underneath the Lurantis' mandibles and, as they did, a completely different sensation flooded the predator's senses. Blood. Sweet, metallic, warm blood, flooding into her mouth as she continued feeding.

The Lurantis tore skin, burst small capillaries and easily broke whatever little cartilage could be found there. Streams of blood naturally occurred, running down Mei's head and staining the intoxicated Eevee's chestnut brown coat a deep red. Thanks to the effects of the leaves the Lurantis had given her, Mei was able to sit through the whole process as both of the most delicate parts of her body disappeared into the Lurantis.

At the edge of suppressed consciousness and drug-induced delirium, Mei shuddered, giving her predator a start. Were it not for the Lurantis' claws, she would've fallen onto her back. She hugged herself, running her little hands over her blood-slickened fur, and huffed out audibly. "It is... It's raining." Mei went. "I don't... I don't want to get wet. Moth... Moth-ar will be... Mother will be mad."

"Don't worry, little one." The Lurantis said, between one final bite and swallow, lifting Mei's chin with one of her claws, so that her light-red gaze met Mei's addled, brown eyes. "You like the rain, don't you? I know you do. I won't tell your mother. Let the rain wash over you, little one."

"You... You promise you won't... You won't tell mother?" Mei asked, trembling slightly. When she received confirmation from the Lurantis, she gave a dreamy sigh, and then she let the rain wash over her.