Amber's POV
Mira....my poor sister...
She has been restless for the entire night.
It was around midnight that she started to whimper and whine.
Her breathing was really fast, as if she was panicking.
I instantly wrapped my paws around her, trying to soothe her.
The amount of stress she had, was unbelievable.
Her feelings were shared with me.
Once they did, I became paranoid as well.
I placed Mira's head in my fur.
Her wining stopped, but she started to shiver now.
It seemed that nothing could calm her down.
Three hours later...she finally calmed down enough.
I have no idea why she was so scared and paranoid, but it scared me.
Part of me wanted to ask Anshul about it, but I didn't want to wake Clyde up.
It made me sad to see my sister like this.
Anshul said that the full moon lasts five days.
We have been here for four nights, so its only tomorrow and then we can leave.
I hope Mira will calm down then.
Before I knew it, sleep overtook me, and my eyes closed.
...
...
...
When I slowly started to wake up, my paws felt an extremely soft and fluffy mon in my grip.
My eyes slowly fluttered open.
The first sight I saw, was two cyan blue eyes staring into mine.
Mira had a soft expression of curiosity in her eyes, looking at me.
I smiled warmly at my sister, hugging her fluffy soft fur.
She hugged me back, feeling rather calm than tonight.
"Mira? Did you have a terrible dream again?" I asked my sister.
"n-no? w-why? i-is t-there something t-that happened?" Mira asked in her usual shy tone.
"you were whining, a-and shivering....it took like three hours for you to calm down..." I told her, a hint of worry in my voice.
Mira shook her head.
"I o-only f-felt c-colder than u-usual...." Mira stated in a soft voice.
"aww, come here, let me warm you up." I said, hugging her closer, while rubbing her back in a soothing way.
Mira squeaked softly, before placing her head on my shoulder.
"you had me worried all night! I thought you had a terrible dream again." I stated.
"I-I'm s-s-sorry s-sis." Mira apologized in a sad voice.
"it's not your fault Mira, but it just scared me." I responded.
Mira hugged me too, rubbing my back.
The soothing feeling Mira was giving me, calmed me down.
"t-thank you s-sis." I thanked Mira.
She just rubbed my back more.
After a little time, I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.
...
...
When I woke up again, Mira was still hugging me.
We fell asleep again, sleeping for two more hours.
I heard something in the hallway.
My defensive instincts kicked in, getting up and growing my vines.
Mira slowly woke up from me getting into my defensive stance.
She got behind me for safety.
The noise happened again.
Mira squeaked behind me.
I began to slowly pad toward the door, staying silent.
One of my paws slowly raised to the door handle, looking back at Mira to see if she was ready.
She nodded at me nervously.
I nodded back, turning to the door again.
My paw slowly pushed the handle down, doing it as silently as possible.
When the door opened slightly, it barely made any noise.
I heard the noise again, this time I was able to hear its location.
With me knowing its exact location, I used my vines to quickly subdue whatever was making the noise.
"ehh! Hey! Can't I go---" I heard the voice say, but it was cut off when I used my vines to pull it toward the door.
When I got a visual of the mon, my worry instantly went away.
Clyde was looking at me with a slightly annoyed look.
"why are you quietly making noise so early in the morning!" I asked, slightly annoyed as well.
"umm, good question....I was actually looking for some berries. You know, for our next pie?" Clyde explained, looking at me with a sheepish look.
I had a questioning look on my face.
"are you sure?" I asked, feeling that Clyde was hesitant.
"I'm sure, I'd not know what to do else in the storage room." Clyde reconfirmed, no hesitation in his voice this time.
"hmmm, fine, but don't sneak around like that, I could have mistaken you as somemon else." I warned him, placing him on the floor.
"ok, I will. Thanks for placing me down." Clyde said, rubbing the back of his head.
I nodded at Clyde, before turning back to Mira.
She had a scared expression on her face, shivering slightly.
My vines carefully picked her up out the bed.
Mira squeaked softly, whining when she was lifted from the warm covers.
It made me call out in adorableness.
"aww, you are so innocent!" I teased my sister a little, making her squeak again.
My paws wrapped around Mira, hugging her close.
"s-s-sis! d-d-don't d-d-drop m-m-me!" Mira called out, scared I'd lose my grip.
"don't worry Mira! I'd never drop you!" I said, hugging her closer.
I earned another adorable squeak from my cute sister.
She is so precious to me.
Her extremely soft and fluffy fur helped me calm down almost always.
Mira is my little sister, and I loved her so much for that.
If she asked me something, it would always be my first priority to help my sister first.
"aww, look at you two fluffies cuddling! Don't mind me, just admiring the cuteness." Clyde said, still in the door opening.
Mira whined from embarrassment, when he said cuteness.
I saw Mira's blush grow on her cheeks, making me grow my vine again.
Clyde looked in horror, when he realized what was going to happen.
"NONONONO! SORRY! Sorry!" Clyde called out in panic, my vine grew more.
He tried to get away, but he always failed.
"EHH!" he yelped from surprise, as my vine caught him again.
"I get it! I get it! sorry Mira!" Clyde tried to make it all ok, by saying sorry.
But he embarrassed my sister, and whoever does that, must pay.
Clyde was thrown back into the room, landing on the soft carpet.
"tell your sorry!" I demanded.
"I'm sorry!" Clyde yelled, not wanting me to tickle his tail.
Mira squeaked softly, holding back a giggle.
"you made her squeak again!" I called at Clyde.
"nooo!" Clyde yelled, already knowing what is coming.
My vine began to tickle Clyde's tail, making him laugh loudly.
He tried to get my vine away from my tail, but I was too fast.
His laughter became louder and louder the more I tickled his tail.
Mira was smiling at what was happening, blushing a little as well.
"what did you do wrong!" I demanded Clyde to tell.
"I-I hehe I-I hehahahe!" Clyde couldn't get his words correct, because I kept tickling him.
"I what!" I rephrased him.
"I-I made m-Mira e-embarrassed! Hehehe!" Clyde got through his laughter to tell me what he did.
"don't do it again!" I warned Clyde, letting him go.
He scooted away, getting some distance in between me and him.
Mira looked at him, still a small blush on her face.
"i-is a-a-Anshul u-up y-yet?" Mira asked Clyde, stuttering.
Clyde shook his head.
"he is deep in sleep." Clyde answered.
I tilted my head at this.
"how do you know?" I asked Clyde, now curious.
"well, come take a look yourself." Clyde said, padding toward the second bedroom.
Me and Mira followed him.
...
My eyes landed on the sleeping Flareon.
He barely moved at all, only his breathing was what made him move.
Mira looked at him worriedly.
"didn't Anshul only cuddle with Mira yesterday? I wonder why he is so tired?" I asked out loud.
My sister made a little squeak again.
"maybe he didn't sleep too well tonight." Clyde stated.
"maybe, but Anshul isn't a mon that sleeps in a lot." I stated back.
"well, I think it's best to let him rest." Clyde said, padding back to the door.
I nodded at Clyde, also padding out of the bedroom.
Mira didn't want to leave as quick though.
My paws softly wrapped around Mira, and began to move toward the door.
Mira whined softly, as she couldn't stay with him.
...
Me and Mira were on the couch, she was relaxing in my fur.
Clyde was making a pie by himself, listening to my instructions as he made it.
"a-amber....I-I'm s-scared." Mira whispered to me.
"aww, what is it Mira? Why are you scared?" I asked, sounding worried.
"t-this v-village j-just d-doesn't f-f-feel s-safe..." Mira said in a sad tone.
I hugged her, trying to calm her down.
"shh, it will all be alright." I tried to soothe her.
Mira slowly calmed down.
Clyde continued with the pie.
It took some time for Mira to calm down.
...
Clyde was done with the pie.
He padded to a chair in the living room, and sat down on one.
Clyde began to talk with us, telling about how his wound healed yesterday using clean water.
"was the water clean?" I asked Clyde.
"surprisingly, it was! Unlike ninety-nine percent of this forest and village." Clyde joked, making me and Mira giggle.
"did you notice anything tonight? Like Anshul moving around a lot?" I asked Clyde, hoping he'd know why Anshul was sleeping so long.
Clyde shook his head.
"I didn't notice anything at all." Clyde said.
"hmm, I guess he's just tired." I stated.
...
We continued to talk for some time.
Clyde also made us laugh with some jokes over big boy.
As more minutes passed, I noticed that Mira was worrying more and more.
She got so nervous, that she had to hug me again.
"I-I'm w-w-worried about h-him." Mira stuttered.
"it's alright Mira, he'll wake up soon." I reassured Mira.
Just as I told Mira that, a familiar fluffy mon padded out of the hallway.
Anshul was in my peripheral vison.
Mira had her head in my fur, so she didn't see him immediately.
I patted on her back.
"look! Anshul!" I said in a happy tone.
Mira's ears raised, instantly looking around the room.
Quick POV switch to Anshul
Non-canon
I just woke up, and I was padding toward the bedroom door.
Clyde and amber could be heard talking.
When I opened the door, I padded into the hallway, still a little sleepy.
I stopped in the living room.
Somemon faintly said my name.
I looked confusedly at the two sisters that were on the couch with each other.
Suddenly, I saw two familiar light blue ears raise.
Cyan eyes followed after the raising ears.
An innocent glare broke me out my thought.
I was too late at this point.
The floof has spotted me, and the floof won't give up, until she cuddled my fluff!
The only thing I could try, is get away from the floof, but the floof is too fast for that.
When I saw the floof getting up and jump off the couch, I knew I was in trouble.
My paws instantly turned away from the floof.
I attempted in vain to get away from the floof.
The bedroom door was still open, so I quickly ran back into the bedroom.
Floof made soft squeaks of adorableness.
My fluff was impossible to hide.
I could only hide behind the door.
Floof entered.
It didn't take long at all for floof to find me.
"AAHHH!" *floof*
Floof hugged me.
(sorry, I had to X3)
Back to Amber's POV
Mira saw Anshul, and instantly her tail began to wag.
Anshul saw her looking at him.
My sister had an innocent look in her eyes.
She quickly jumped off of the couch, and ran at Anshul.
The poor Flareon didn't know what to do.
Mira tackle hugged him.
Anshul caught her before she fell.
"woa! easy there Mira!" Anshul said.
"I w-was w-worried!!" Mira called out.
Anshul hugged her tightly, carrying her to the couch.
They both jumped up on the couch.
"hey Anshul? did you sleep well?" I asked, now curious.
"to be honest....no....I had quite some trouble sleeping......" Anshul answered in a tired expression.
Anshul had a worried look in his eye.
"is something troubling you?" I asked Anshul.
"well.....something.....yes....but....nothing new." Anshul said, taking breaks between words.
Mira looked worried, she hugged him closely.
Anshul's eyes slowly closed, when he placed his head on Mira's shoulder.
"it's.....just....that....castle....just.......worries........me." Anshul said, his breaks becoming longer and longer.
"don't worry Anshul, we only need to stay here for the night, then we can leave." I said with a slightly relieved voice.
Anshul fell asleep on Mira's shoulder.
Mira was a little surprised about it, but then rubbed his back softly.
I looked at Clyde now, wondering why Anshul was this tired.
"what happened tonight?" I asked, growing a little suspicious.
"nothing happened tonight, Anshul went to bed at the exact same time as me."
"maybe he had a bad dream, and wasn't able to fall asleep anymore..." Clyde thought out loud, making a point.
"hmm, okay then..." I said.
I looked at the sleeping Flareon.
He was sleeping on Mira's shoulder.
Mira was happy, smiling brightly as she pet the tired Flareon.
Clyde was watching with a smile.
...
One hour later
The oven beeped, meaning the pie was ready.
To my surprise, Anshul woke up from the oven.
Mira looked at his sleepy expression.
"huh? How long did I sleep?" Anshul asked, looking around in confusion.
"a-about an h-hour." Mira answered Anshul.
He looked at Mira.
"sorry, did I fell asleep on your shoulder?" Anshul asked Mira.
A blush appeared on Mira's face.
"y-y-yes, b-but I d-don't m-mind." Mira stuttered.
Anshul sat in a better position.
Mira now placed her head on Anshul's shoulder.
I readied the pie for eating.
Like yesterday, I placed four pieces in four bowls and placed them on the table.
We all began to eat.
...
Anshul was done with his piece.
"how is the storage?" Anshul asked.
"we are running out of berries, sadly..." Clyde answered.
Mira whined when she heard that.
My gaze was instantly locked on my sister.
Her ears were down, and she had a sad look in her eyes.
She knew, that Anshul would look for berries today, this made her sad.
"ugg, I'll try to get back quicker than two days ago, besides we only have to stay here till tomorrow, so we won't need as much as two days ago." Anshul stated.
Mira couldn't help herself, she ran to him, and hugged him tightly.
"p-p-please...s-s-stay.....s-s-safe." Mira begged to Anshul, clearly worried about the Flareon.
Anshul wrapped his paws around her.
"I will Mira, I'll be extra on guard today." Anshul reassured Mira, rubbing her back.
Mira nudged him once, before breaking the hug with a blush on her face.
Anshul nodded and padded to the hallway.
Clyde was watching with a sad expression on his face.
He was sad to see Mira like that.
...
Anshul came back into the living room, his leaf back around his shoulder.
"I'll be back way before sunset." Anshul said, opening the door.
We all waved at him.
"c-come b-back s-s-soon." Mira stuttered, tears in her eyes.
When the door closed, Mira began to sob to herself.
I instantly padded to her.
She hugged me tightly, now crying into my fur.
"Mira, he'll come back." I tried to reassure her.
"I-I'm s-so s-s-scared." Mira stuttered between sobs.
Clyde also jumped on the couch.
"Mira, it's Anshul, perhaps the strongest mon I know."
"he'll be ok, I know he will." Clyde also tried to reassure Mira.
Mira continued to sob into my fur.
It was the same thing that happened last time Anshul left.
...
Anshul's POV
The look in Mira's eyes hurt me.
She was on the verge of tears, and I just left.
Just when Mira needed me the most, I had to do something else.
If I didn't do this, we'd be in danger.
"now, to find him..." I thought.
I padded through the village, his leaf bag was filled with all types of things.
My parents their journals, the red shadowmarks book, stitching wires and a lot of different berries o mix into medicine.
I was padding with haste, wanting to get there as soon as possible.
There were almost no mons on the streets.
Some Murkrows were watching me, but they couldn't blame me for anything weird.
I had to get out of this village.
My pawsteps were faster than usual.
The path to the entrance was all I could think of.
It wasn't far away.
"halt!" I heard one of the Bisharp yell again.
"ugg déjà vu." I thought in my mind.
"where we going?" one demanded to know.
I noticed that there was one different Bisharp.
"berry hunting." I answered them.
"again? Didn't you do that two days ago?!" one questioned out loud.
"four mons, berries are rare in this forest." I informed them, not willing to give more information.
They looked at me, judging me on the spot.
"humpf, fine, go ahead." They said.
I padded past them, speeding up when they couldn't see me anymore.
...
The forest was exactly like two days ago, overgrown.
It made me wonder how they hunt in this forest, despite the lack of sight and life.
This made me only more confused, on how they get prey here in the first place.
I shrugged it off and continued running.
All around me was thick forest growth.
The grass made it almost impossible to stay aware of direction.
Everything looked the same as well.
"where was it? ugg, I can't remember." I stated to myself.
It made me frustrated to move through all of this.
I followed my instincts, hoping that it would lead me to the place.
...
After a while of searching around, I got the feeling that I was going around in circles.
"he went this way! I'm sure of it!"
"shut up, genius! Before he hears us!" I heard some voices somewhere behind me say.
I'm being followed.
This made me start to sneak around the forest, being careful to make as little noise possible.
...
After a while, they lost me.
Their last words were. "where did he go! You scared him off, you bloody moron!"
I snickered at the frustrated dark types.
When I was out of their hearing range, I began to speed up again.
The forest made it really hard to run around.
"where was it!?" I thought in frustration.
I was getting the feeling that I was lost.
...
"he must be around here somewhere!" I heard close by.
I lowered myself instantly.
"they are getting way too close." I thought.
There was a very low chance of me knowing where I am.
All my goal was, is to not get seen.
...
After a very long time, I finally reached the open area.
I was very relieved to have found it.
"finally....after so long...." I said.
The mon was nowhere to be seen.
This made me a little paranoid.
I sat down, observing the environment with my sense.
...
...
...
"...hehehe..."
A slight smirk appeared on my face.
As I opened my eyes, two familiar red eyes were staring me down.
...
"...well, I'm impressed..."
"...here, you, are..."
"...alive, unharmed, and ready..."
"...tell me, did you, find the, truth..."
...
"I sure did, I have proof." I said.
...
"...I don't need, proof..."
"...I've tested, you long enough..."
"...yet, I need your, help..."
"...can you, follow me..."
...
"of course, lead the way." I answered it.
Its red eyes faded into darkness, before seeing a cylinder like tail flick out the darkness.
I began to follow it.
...
"...so, I assume, you have, a lot, of questions..."
"I have some, but most will probably be answered soon." I said, trying to get a visual of it.
...
"...you sure, about that..."
I flinched slightly.
"yes....how bad are the scars he left on you?" I asked.
...
"...see, for, yourself..."
...
!!!
He began to light up the surrounding area.
I expected it to be an Umbreon....
But what I saw....was no regular Umbreon...
It was looking at me.
Its entire body, was covered, by scars...
Every single scar, was marked.
Marked with lighter fur.
There was light gray and white fur.
These white and gray pieces of fur....marked his scars.
His fur around his scars, is white or gray.
"...you, seem, surprised..."
"...tell me..."
"...why, do, I look, like, this..."
...
"you seem to be undergoing some kind of syndrome...a rather special syndrome...one I haven't seen before." I answered him.
...
"...undergoing!.."
"...I've, had this, since I was, tortured!.."
"...even when, I cut, it, off..."
"...it still, grows back, as white or gray..."
...
"don't worry about it"
"if you really got that when you were tortured."
"I'm certain that it would have disappeared by now..."
"I think it is permanent." I answered.
He nodded at me, dimmed his rings, and began to guide the way again.
...
...
"...tell me, why are you so...different from the rest..."
"...you are willing to help...no mon else would..."
...
"you never gave me a reason to not trust you"
"sure, you were being very vague, but that's no reason at all"
"I read some of the things you went through...it's completely normal to act the way you do, after having gone through that." I explained to the mysterious Umbreon.
...
"...I'm surprised you're here..."
"...no because I underestimated your skills, but that you risked everything..."
...
"the moment I entered that village, I knew that something was wrong."
"part of me wanted to turn back, but then the full moon would get us."
"I knew I made a mistake, and I could have avoided all of it...if only I listened to Mira..." I looked at the ground.
...
"...Mira...the Glaceon?.."
"yes...she is so precious to me...she is just so kind...not only Mira, my other friends as well." I explained.
...
"...she has a very strong bond, with the Leafeon..."
"...it reminds me of me and my sister..."
I turned my head at this.
"your sister? You have a sister?" I asked, now curious.
...
He shrugged at me, making me even more curious.
...
...
We were padding through the forest for quite some time now.
...
"...we are getting close..."
I nodded at him, still following him closely.
...
"...just one thing..." he said, stopping in his tracks.
"...my sister has gone through unexplainable terror..."
"...she doesn't trust others at all, but she trusts me..."
"...her first reaction, is to attack..."
"...could you just keep that in mind..."
...
"of course, but what are your names?" I asked.
...
"...we'll get to that..."
...
I recognized where we were.
The place where I scented blood.
Me and my friends specifically avoided this open space, because of me thinking it was a trap.
...
"...now then, don't forget what I said..."
I nodded at him, padding toward the den.
He held the door open.
His scars were visible in the light.
They were all slash or stab scars.
As I padded into the den, the Umbreon closed the door behind us.
"...she is sleeping, let me go get her..."
"wait"
"if she is wounded, isn't it smarter to let her lay down?"
"it's better to save her strength." I told him.
He shook his head.
"...she has horrifying memories of beds and strangers..."
My expression turned into a understanding, yet disgusted look.
"I am so sorry..." I apologized.
"...don't worry about it..."
He padded toward a door, opening it when he reached it.
Two more doors opened, before I heard him talk.
"...sis...he's here...the Flareon is here to help..."
"w-what? n-now?"
"...yes, he is here to help you...he means no harm..."
...
I heard the voice of the Umbreon, and another feminine voice I'm not familiar with.
"are you sure...I'm scared brother..."
"...I'm sure sis, even if he tries something, I'm still here..."
"brother please...I d-don't w-want to f-feel this...p-pain anymore..."
"...that's why he is here..."
...
"o-okay..."
After the last words, pawsteps could be heard.
This made me both curious and worried for the wounded mon.
She sounded destroyed, almost like she lost all hope...
Then, the Umbreon came back through the door.
This time, he was carrying a Sylveon.
The Sylveon looked extremely weak, her ribbons were limp, not moving at all.
Beside her limp ribbons, an extremely deep and big slash wound ran all the way down from her shoulder, to her hind leg.
It was on her side.
"...sis, he's not going to hurt you, I promise..."
"that's not guaranteed..."
"I'd have to use pain reducing medicine." I said, not wanting him to make a promise, he can't control.
"...her pain threshold should not be underestimated..."
"...she has survived like this for three years...three, whole, long, painful years..."
I decided to watch, for now.
...
He placed her on the couch.
She was very weakly trying to look around.
Once she saw me, her gaze never left.
I noticed that she was shivering.
"...sis...you're starring again..."
When the Umbreon said that, she flinched a little.
"umm, h-hi..." she greeted me.
"hello...just before we begin. I'm not going to do anything, without explaining it first." I stated right off of the bat.
She was looking at me.
The first thing I noticed, is that she was looking at my left eye, my blind eye.
"a-a-are you familiar with healing others?" she asked, sounding very nervous.
"I am, despite my appearance. I have healed very dangerous and painful wounds." I answered in a calm tone.
She was still on edge.
...
It remained silent for a little.
"should we introduce ourselves?" I asked, breaking the ice.
She looked at the Umbreon.
"...fine then, my name, is Blake..." the Umbreon said.
Blake...that's a very fitting name for an Umbreon with a syndrome that makes his fur partially white or grey.
The name interested me.
Is it all coincidence that his name fits his white fur, or is it what he names himself?
I nodded at Blake.
"my name is Anshul." I introduced myself.
...
The Sylveon stayed silent.
"...sis, we introduced ourselves, go ahead, and tell your name..." Blake said to his sister.
The Sylveon shook her head, and covered her eyes.
Blake got close to her, and began to rub her back, soothing his sister.
"...I'm sorry, she has never been the same after...that..." Blake apologized, hinting at what happened and caused them to be like this.
"it's ok, I fully understand."
"it is very scary to have a stranger in your den, when all strangers have been nothing but cruel." I said.
I looked at the Sylveon.
"you don't have to trust me, but your wounds are very fatal."
"can I take a look at something in my leaf bag?" I asked.
Blake's sister was looking at me.
She gave a very disbelieving nod.
...
I carefully removed the leaf bag from my shoulder.
My paw disappeared into the bag, pulling out a journal.
The pages were quickly looked through.
It was a certain page I was looking for.
They were looking at me, I could feel their gaze on me.
"Blake, you were wondering why your fur is white and gray, right?" I recalled.
"...yes...but I guess it doesn't matter..."
"torture syndromes." I mumbled to myself.
Blake tilted his head.
"the sudden whitening of fur is said to happen, when a mon goes through extreme emotional stress. Examples are loss of close relative, insanity and torture... the fur can return to normal, but in extreme cases, it will never return to its original color."
"strange, further examination tells how the whole fur becomes white, not only where the most pain was.." I read what was noted about the syndrome.
The Sylveon was really surprised.
"h-how do you know..?" she asked.
...
That's a question I'd rather not answer...
I shook my head, a hurt expression on my face.
The siblings dropped the subject as well.
...
"...sis...he has gone through a lot to be here..."
"...we are running out of time..." Blake said to his sister.
She looked at Blake.
"he has no idea what I've gone through!" the Sylveon snarled.
"actually"
I got the red book from my leaf bag, placing it on the table.
"I do know what you have gone through..." I said.
She looked at the book, her eyes widening.
"...he has infiltrated the castle, to learn the truth..."
"...this Flareon, lied to his friends to be here..."
"...beside him...I've no idea, if there is any other mon that's willing to help..."
"...you need his help, sis..."
"...please, accept...for me..." Blake pleaded to his sister.
She grew some tears in her eyes.
Blake rubbed her back in a comforting way.
...
"m-my n-name is Ciana..." The Sylveon introduced herself.
"Ciana...I promise you, I'll be extremely careful."
"I'll announce everything I do, before doing it."
"if you want to hold your brothers paw, I'm completely fine with it."
"I will answer any questions the best I can." I explained to Ciana.
She placed her paw on Blake's paw.
The giant slash wound, was on the right side of her body.
Blake made room for me on the couch.
"now, before I do anything, I'll have to inspect the wound carefully." I said out loud.
My mother's journal in one paw, I inched toward Ciana.
Ciana was nervous, squeezing her brother's paw tightly.
I jumped up on the couch, slowly looking at the wound.
Ciana whined from uncomfortable feeling she had.
"your ribbons, how long have they been limp?" I asked her.
"...about fifteen hours..." Blake answered.
"hmm, you can't move them entirely?" I wanted to be sure.
Ciana nodded at me.
"hmm, you must be very exhausted."
"tell me, how much do you sleep at night? And if you sleep, do you feel tired after sleeping?" I asked, inspecting the painfully big slash wound.
"...she does sleep..." Blake stated.
"I a-always dread s-sleeping..."
"b-but the times that I do sleep...I feel weaker the next morning..." Ciana added.
...
"how much does the initial slash wound hurt?" I continued to ask them questions.
"I can't lay down on that side. If I do, it just hurts way too much."
"even now, it...hurts..." Ciana was flinching a lot.
"has the pain lessened anytime?" I asked her, now flipping through my mother's journal again.
"n-no...but it was way worse one time..." Ciana said.
"...one night, she woke up with fresh blood in the wound..."
"...it was terrible. The wound has bleeding again..." Blake recalled.
My paw stopped on the right page in my journal.
"it seems that your wound won't heal on its own, because of small pieces."
"those pieces are probably from that sword..."
"now I know why babiri berries are not allowed."
"they are used to heal wounds like this." I stated.
"...is that all?.." Blake asked.
I shook my head.
"no, sadly those small pieces are what is causing all the pain."
"it is also the reason why the wound won't heal."
My expression turned into a sad one.
"the bad thing is, that I'll have to remove those pieces myself..." I told the two with a worried voice.
...
"...uhh, does that hurt..." Blake asked.
"that depends...the bigger the pieces, the more it hurts..." I said.
Ciana was now worried.
"do it....r-release me f-from this p-pain...p-p-please..." Ciana begged me to remove the pieces.
"after I remove the pieces, I'll need a babiri mixture to remove all possibilities of infection."
"when I've put the medicine on the slash wound, I'm going to have to stitch it close."
"once the wound is fully healed and closed, I'll have to remove the stitches, leaving behind a scar." I explained everything I needed to do to Ciana and Blake.
"...please, be careful..." Blake said.
"do you have tweezers?" I asked.
To my surprise, he nodded.
He padded off the couch, going into a closet.
Closing the closet door, he had two tweezers in his paw.
One was smaller for precise work.
...
I began to remove the pieces out of her slash wound.
Ciana was squeezing Blake's paw, trying to keep it together.
"very carefully." I thought, slowly opening the tweezers.
The tweezers were very effective to remove the pieces with.
It was terrifying to see how many pieces there were.
There was one bigger piece, trying to remove it ended not so well.
Ciana flinched really badly, whining from pain.
Blake rubbed her back.
"...calm down sis, those need to come out..." Blake said.
I waited for her to calm down.
...
Once she nodded at me, I started to remove the pieces again.
The smaller pieces were easy to remove.
However, the more I removed, the more she started to flinch.
It was because the pain would focus more on one point, except of divided pain over a larger area.
I had to move faster, that or I needed to remove the bigger pieces first.
"this will hurt." I said, warning her.
She tensed up, trying to absorb the pain, and take it.
The bigger pieces were harder to remove, and hurt more as well.
Ciana flinched really hard, when I finally got one of the bigger pieces out.
Blake began to soothe her again.
...
It took quite some time to remove every single one of them.
Ciana was now crying from pain, but she wanted me to continue.
The last one was pretty deep into the wound.
"one more." I stated.
"d-d-do.....i-it.." Ciana commanded me.
I got a hold of the sharp piece of metal, trying to pull it out.
Ciana flinched really hard, whining as I try to pull it out.
This was going to hurt.
The tweezers had a firm grip on the piece of metal.
I had to put some power on pulling it out, finally freeing Ciana from those terrible puncture wounds.
Ciana screamed out in pain, some tears going down her cheeks.
Blake soothed her, nodding at me to continue with the next step.
...
I began to mix various berries and mixtures, creating the medicine I need.
"Blake? Do you have babiri berries?" I asked, hoping that Blake had a lot.
"...yes, check the storage room..."
"...use anything you need..." Blake said, holding his paw in the air, it was aimed at a door.
I opened the door, revealing many different berries, but mostly babiri berries.
The babiri berries were required to heal the wound, and remove any bacteria as well.
Many berries were used, mixing them all for different purposes.
One was medicine, that needed to go directly in the wound.
Another needed to be swallowed, easing any pain she would have, it was the first medicine she needed to take.
To ensure that ALL metal bacteria is gone, I mixed sitrus berries, that increased the healing speed, with babiri berries, to remove the bacteria, and oran berries, to help her swallow the otherwise thick syrup like liquid. I made a lot of these, she'd have to drink these every eight hours.
Another type of medicine would have to be put on the stitched wound, to help heal the wound correctly.
It was insane how many berries I had to use.
Using my mother's journal, I mixed everything like it was supposed to be mixed.
The things I used, were naturally used for mixing, mostly I used a pestle and mortar to crush the berries, and mix them together.
The trick was, to grind the berries at the right strength and amount of time. My mother's journal kept all of this info on the page of the medicine, making it way easier.
Once I was done, I took some flasks to store the medicine in, closing them off with a cork.
...
I carried all of the medicines and mixtures into the living room, the two siblings were staring at me.
"I've made the medicine you need to recover, as well as a hefty supply for the ones you need to swallow...some of these mixtures need to be put on your wounds, this one needs to go in your slash wound." I said, holding up an ointment.
Ciana whimpered, shaking slightly from fear.
"don't worry. I have made a powerful pain numbing type of medicine. I highly advise you to drink it..." I told Ciana, holding up a half filled flask.
Blake was staring at the medicine.
"...you sure it works..." Blake asked, one eyebrow raised.
"I'm one hundred percent sure."
"it might taste terrible, but that is minor inconvenience for it's extremely useful effect." I stated.
Blake looked at Ciana, before turning back to me.
"...can I, give it to her..." Blake asked.
I nodded at him.
"of course." I said, pawing the flask over to Blake.
He nodded at me with a grateful look.
Blake pulled the cork out, now slowly going toward Ciana's muzzle.
"...drink this sis, it helps to numb your pain..." Blake said.
Ciana opened her muzzle, readying herself to drink the medicine.
Blake poured the medicine into her muzzle, going slow to let her drink it.
...
Once she drank all of the medicine, I waited until it took effect.
She looked around, probably weirded out by how she was feeling.
"she'll stay like that for a short time. I should have enough time to put the medicine on the wound, stitch it, and then give you the other medicine she needs." I explained to Blake.
"...go ahead, be careful..." Blake said.
"of course." I responded.
I got some of the ointment and put it in the wound.
Ciana flinched when I did that, but it was way less sensitive than it otherwise would be.
...
I got all the ointment on the wound.
My leaf bag had the stitching materials in them.
"Blake, can you get the stitching wire out my leaf bag?" I asked.
Blake nodded, getting off the couch.
He went to get the stitching tools.
As I got all the ointment in Ciana's slash wound, I noticed something.
She had a scar on her paw.
It looked like a slash scar, a clear white line from the scar was visible, something that would never disappear.
I shrugged it off, and waited for Blake to give me the stitching tools.
Blake gave me the tools, and I nodded at him.
He got back on the couch, holding Ciana's paw with his paw.
Once he got comfortable, I got ready to stitch Ciana's slash wound.
...
Ciana was still under effect of the pain numbing medicine.
Her calmness made it easier to stitch the wound.
The skin was partially dead, so I had to make sure that I got healthy skin while stitching.
Dead skin would just disappear eventually, so it was no problem to keep it as is.
Ciana began to flinch a little, when I was around halfway done with stitching.
If the wound was stitched, the worst would be over.
Blake was soothing Ciana again, rubbing her back in a soothing way.
He was watching me stitch the wound.
"...how...after three years of searching for an answer..."
"...you look in some books, and immediately know what to do..." Blake said.
"..."
I didn't answer that question...
Blake noticed instantly.
"...I went somewhere I shouldn't have gone...I'm sorry..." Blake apologized.
"it's ok....j-just please, don't mention it...." I said, sounding dead serious.
...
I finished Ciana's stitching, now done with that, I pawed some of the medicine that needed to go on the stitches.
The medicine was wearing off, meaning that she'd feel more pain now.
"Blake, you need to apply this medicine to the stitches, every eight hours."
"you should notice it, when it starts to hurt again."
"reapply the medicine, by putting it on the stitches, like this." I showed Blake how to put the medicine on the stitches.
Blake nodded at me, watching me apply the medicine to Ciana's stitches.
"now, something that is also important, is that she needs to drink this here." I stated, holding up a different flask.
Blake tilted his head.
"...what does that do..." he asked, sounding curious.
"hmm, it makes her recover faster...it destroys any bad bacteria that might have infected her blood...it also numbs the pain." I answered him.
"...how much does she need to drink..." Blake asked, wanting everything clear.
"whenever she is thirsty, she should drink about three gulps, only three."
"if she drinks more than three, it would numb her a little too much, meaning she could not move for some time..." I explained.
"it's very important that she eats tons of sitrus berries, those will help her heal and regain her strength."
"there is a lot of those flasks, look, they are the same medicine that's in that flask you have there."
"Ciana should recover in....about a week. I'll have to remove the stitches personaly....but first...I need to return to my friends...they are probably worried sick." I stated.
"...Anshul..." Blake said.
I turned to him.
"...you don't know, what this means for me..."
"...I'll help you and your friends escape from that terrible village..."
"...I now fully trust you with my life, and Ciana's life..."
"...can you...accept me...and my sister...as friends..."
...
"...of course I can."
"we're too far in this, to not be friends."
"I hope that my friends are also ok with it."
"now, I have to go...they are probably worried sick about me." I said, now needing to leave.
"...we'll help you all escape, when the time is right..."
"...I'll brew an escape plan..."
"...I cannot thank you...enough..." Blake said.
I nodded at Blake.
"Ciana will return to her senses pretty soon."
"tell her, that she has a new friend."
"that new friend, is me." I told Blake.
Blake nodded one more time.
I opened the den door, and began to run back to the village.
...
"Mira...I'm so so sorry for lying...it was for our safety." I thought, as I was running back.
The forest was against me.
No clear path at all, making me lose time by going around things.
"this damn forest!" I cursed to myself.
I started to use my claws to get through the high grass and bushes.
Many things were stuck in my mane again.
It was so annoying to get through all of this overgrowth.
"why does it always have to be ha----" I stopped mid-sentence.
My paws slammed down into the ground, stopping me in my tracts.
"where is my leaf bag?" I questioned myself.
I began to look and feel around for it.
After several minutes of searching, I didn't find it.
A sense of panic was growing.
Until, I realized that I left it in Blake's and Ciana's den.
"Blake...please keep it safe..." I begged to myself.
It hurt, but I had to keep running.
...
...
When I arrived at the village, something was off.
There were way more dark types around than usual.
*caaww!*
"the he----" I couldn't finish my sentence.
I was knocked down by the honchkrow.
the speed It knocked me down with, made me scrape along the ground.
"you! You're under arrest for treason! Betraying! And suspected for illegal business!" the honchkrow snarled at me.
"grrr, do you have proof!" I snarled back at it.
The honchkrow looked around my body, presumably looking for my leaf bag.
It kept a grip on my head.
"where is that bag! Where have you been!" it snarled again.
"..."
I didn't say anything else.
"you don't have to talk, we'll just force it out of you!!" it cackled.
Something hit me on my head, making me feel very dizzy.
My vision blurred, and I was lifted off the ground.
Before I knew it, my eyes began to close.
I blacked out..
...
Mira's POV
Anshul is still not back.
The longer he was gone, the more I became stressed and paranoid over the Flareon.
Amber and Clyde have been trying to soothe me for hours.
"Clyde...where is Anshul? shouldn't he be back by now?" Amber asked Clyde.
"he should have been back...I don't trust this..."Clyde said, sounding slightly nervous.
I was sobbing into my sister's fur.
She was the only mon that could cheer me up out of situations like this.
But, not this time.
The Flareon had been away, for way longer than he said he would.
This made me terrified for him.
He is one of the only mons, I can stay close to.
...
One hour later
I was crying more and more.
"Anshul...there is something wrong!" Clyde said.
"he'd never stay gone for this long!"
"the sun is setting, there is only a single hour left, before the sun is fully set!"
"Amber, can you do the thing?" Clyde asked Amber.
Amber nodded at Clyde.
She got up, and stood firmly on the ground.
Her vines grew, and stuck into the ground.
Amber now focused all her energy on the ground.
...
...
!!!
"he has been in the village!"
"I can sense the warmth of his body temperature in the village!" Amber said.
"where!" Clyde called out.
"Follow me." Amber commanded.
Anshul....was here?
But....if he isn't here.....where is he then?
I got up from the couch, eager to see Anshul.
"w-where i-is h-he?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"let's go!" Clyde said, opening the den door.
We followed Amber, as she was running through the streets.
...
...
Amber led us to the village entrance.
"he has been around here somewhere." Amber stated, looking around.
I began to look everywhere for him.
All I wanted, is to see him safe...
Clyde stayed close to me, as some dark types were around.
"what are you lot doing out so late?!" a Bisharp demanded to know.
"none of your damn business!" Clyde snarled back.
The Bisharp took it personally.
He tried to slash me in the back.
It wasn't until a vine stopped him from doing so, that he was in trouble.
Amber used her vines to throw the Bisharp against a building.
"If you ever try to attack my boyfriend again! I'll make you one with nature!" Amber intimidated the Bisharp.
I was shocked that they just tried to attack Clyde like that.
"Mira, try to get Anshul's scent, we can track him down then." Clyde told me.
I nodded at him, and began to sniff around.
Clyde looked around, making sure that nomon would ambush us.
The Bisharp ran away.
Amber shrunk her vines, now looking at me.
!!!
"A-Anshul...." I said to myself.
"have you got a scent?" Clyde asked.
I looked into the direction the scent went.
"lead the way, sis." Amber said to me.
I began to lead the way..
...
...
My ears and tail were down.
We stood before the stairway that lead to the castle.
I was about to turn back from fear, but then a paw was placed on my shoulder.
"we are here for you Mira, come, let's ask this creep what he has done to Anshul!" Amber said.
...
...
We ended up at the throne room again.
My tail was between my hind legs, and I was shaking from fear.
This is where I saw the mon from my nightmares.
"Mira, stay close to me." Amber said.
Amber wrapped her vines around me, keeping me close.
The big wooden doors opened, and we padded inside.
Clyde had none of anymon's shenanigans.
When we were close enough to the throne, Clyde spoke up.
"where is he!" Clyde demanded to know.
The Umbreon looked at Clyde.
"who..."
Clyde was becoming angry.
"don't you dare play oblivious."
"not two days ago, we were here."
"our Flareon friend Is missing, I demand you to tell me where he is!" Clyde snarled.
"tsk tsk tsk. How sad about your little friend...I ha---" the king got cut off, when Clyde shot a weakly charged shadow ball at the throne.
"we followed his scent here! He was in the village! Tell me where he IS!" Clyde called out.
"he has been accused of murder! Treason! Betrayal! And illegal business!" the king called back.
"he's taken prisoner, until he tells where the mon is, that he's doing illegal business with! Until then! He'll be held here!" the king said, a toothy grin appearing on its muzzle.
"you are full of Garbodor's and lies! He would never murder anymon!" Clyde yelled in frustration.
"STAND DOWN PEASANT! You have no rights to speak to me like that!"
"I have as much equal rights as you have! You are no king! You're a lying, lazy, fat, Tepig!" Clyde intimidated the 'king'
The Umbreon's eyes glinted with unknown energy.
He looked at me.
!!!
I was frozen, I was too afraid to move.
He was eyeing me down, scanning over my entire body.
Suddenly, a vine slapped against his cheek.
"YOU DISCUSTING PERVERT! How dare you look at my sister like that!!" Amber snarled in anger.
The king had his paw on his cheek, a red mark was on his cheek from the impact.
"grrrrr"
"FINE! Have it your way!"
"tonight is the last full moon!"
"good luck with finding a den by then!!"
"oh, don't worry tho! Those two cuties will be kept alive!!"
"get the HELL out of my village!!"
"and don't you dare return to that 'den' of yours!"
"now, GET THE HELL OUT! Before I kill you off myself!!" the Umbreon was screaming it's lungs out.
...
"let's go." Clyde said, pulling Amber with him.
"n-no w-wait! W-what a-a-about A-Anshul!?" I said, tears in my eyes.
"I have a plan, just follow me." Clyde said.
"N-NO!" I tried to run, I wanted to find Anshul.
"Mira no! we can't! they'll kill us!" Amber said, holding me with her vines.
"N-NO! A-Amber! d-don't l-leave h-him h-here!" I screamed from sadness.
Clyde got really close to me.
"we aren't leaving anymon. We need a plan, before we safe Anshul." Clyde whispered to me.
I trashed around in Amber's vines.
"Mira, stop struggling." Amber demanded.
"NO! i-I d-don't w-want t-to l-leave Anshul b-behind!" I screamed, trying to get loose.
Amber placed me on her back, her vines keeping me from moving.
"C-Clyde please! D-Don't l-leave A-Anshul b-behind h-here!" I stuttered.
"I'm sorry Mira, but we have to move now...we can no longer stay in the village." Clyde said.
When I heard Clyde say that, I realized something.
"m-m-my s-s-scarf...." I said.
I began to cry really hard.
"Clyde, Mira's scarf is still in the den." Amber said to Clyde.
"we'll get it, they can't stop us from just fetching something from the den." Clyde said.
"come, we should hurry." Clyde added.
...
As we got out of the castle, some dark types were behind us.
"what do you lot want!" Clyde yelled.
"we want revenge for what you did to the king!" they yelled.
"that's what that lazy Snorlax gets!" Clyde taunted, we reached the staircase.
We started going down the stairs, the dark types still chasing us.
Clyde got enough of it.
He used icy wind on the staircase, creating a slide on a staircase.
Some of the dark types slipped and fell down the staircase.
"hehe! That mon fell ova!" Clyde joked.
I could hear Amber giggle.
We made it down the staircase.
"get them!" the dark types yelled.
"no way! The other way!" Clyde said, as he used ice beam, creating a wall of ice, closing off an alleyway.
Amber and Clyde ran toward the den.
...
Clyde stormed into the den, pushing the door open.
"quick! Get the scarf!" Clyde said.
Amber rushed into the bedroom, with me on her back.
She already had her bracelet on.
My scarf was on the bed, I quickly picked it up from the bed.
I softly wrapped it around my neck.
When my scarf was around my neck, Amber ran back through the den.
Clyde closed the door, and began to run as well.
...
"there is the entrance!" Clyde said, using surf to clear the way.
Amber ran faster, not wanting to stay here any longer.
"where are we going?" Amber asked Clyde.
"trust me, I know somewhere." Clyde said.
We ran into the overgrown forest.
The farther away I got from Anshul, the harder I cried.
Clyde leaded us somewhere.
...
...
"Clyde? Where are you bringing us?" Amber asked in a worried tone.
"it might seem strange...Anshul and I have been working on an escape plan."
"I'll explain it, once we reach there." Clyde said, vaguely.
Amber didn't like this.
...
...
"were are we Clyde? I'm getting worried!" Amber said, sounding a little scared.
"I can fully understand that."
"it's just...I can explain it better when I find him." Clyde said.
"who is he?" Amber asked.
"it's a mon that saved my life."
"remember when I fought that mightyena alpha?" Clyde said.
Amber nodded at Clyde.
"...I saved his life..."
!!!
Clyde instantly turned to the voice.
My eyes widened when I saw two red eyes.
They looked like the ones that have been following us around the forest.
I began to shiver.
Amber grew her vines in defense.
"who are you!" Amber demanded to know.
"...calm down, I'm not here to hurt you..."
"...I'm here to help..."
"Amber, lower your vines." Clyde said.
"no! I don't want to lose Mira!" Amber called to Clyde.
"...hmm, do you three just so happened to know a flareon named, Anshul..."
Amber's eyes widened.
"how do you know his name?" Amber asked.
"...he helped me..."
"...he saw me as a friend..."
"...he...helped my sister..."
The mon padded forward.
An Umbreon with a lot of scars appeared.
The scars had white fur around them.
"...Anshul helped my sister..."
"...in return, I'd help you all escape the village..."
"...follow me, I'll explain it all at my den..."
Clyde instantly started to follow the Umbreon.
"hold it! how do we know you didn't just eavesdrop on us!" Amber called out.
"...I can prove it, by my alive sister..."
"...the wounds she had, could only have been healed by Anshul..."
The Umbreon turned around and lead the way.
Amber's vines shrunk.
We all began to follow him.
...
...
The Umbreon opened his den door for us.
Once we were inside, I noticed Anshul's leaf bag.
"t-that's A-Anshul's bag!" I said.
"...indeed...he forgot to bring it with him..."
"you said something about your sister? Where is she?" Amber asked.
"...let me go get her..."
The Umbreon padded into a hallway.
...
He soon came back with a very tired looking Sylveon on his back.
He placed the Sylveon on the couch, sitting down beside her.
"...sis...we have some nice mons as visitors..."
"...they are the Flareon's friends..."
The Sylveon opened her eyes weakly.
Once she saw us, her eyes flew open.
"b-b-brother....w-w-who a-a-are t-t-they..."
"...easy sis, they are with the Flareon..."
The Sylveon seemed to calm down when he said that.
...
"...where is your Flareon friend..."
I became very sad, pulling Amber close to me, so I could cry into her fur.
"he has....been taken prison..." Clyde said with sadness.
The Umbreon shot a very serious look at Clyde.
"...he what!.."
The Umbreon got up from the couch.
"...oh no, this isn't good..."
...
He calmed down.
"...my name, is Blake..."
"...I'm one of the only survivors of that castle..."
"...I was tortured there...for no good reason..."
"...that...is my sister..."
"...we together, are the only survivors from that hellish village..." the Umbreon said.
"my name is Ciana." The Sylveon said.
"well, I'm Clyde." Clyde said.
"I'm Amber." Amber said.
"I-I'm M-M-Mira." Mira said.
...
"...I can see that you're all really worried about your friend..."
"...I promise you, we'll get him out of there, and escape this nightmare together..."
"...it may be the last thing you want to do, but...can you all trust me and my sister..." Blake asked.
Clyde nodded.
Amber nodded.
I nodded.
"...good...for today...we rest...tonight is the last full moon..."
"...this will give us the advantage..."
"...they will be extremely tired tomorrow morning, in no state to battle at all..."
"...I'll craft a plan tonight..."
"...tomorrow morning, we'll safe Anshul, and escape all together..."
"...it's very important, that we sleep now..."
"...we'll let them become exhausted, giving us the advantage..."
"...now, sleep, I'll be brewing a plan while you all sleep..."
Blake picked Ciana up, and carried her back to bed.
"A-Anshul.....p-p-please b-be s-safe..." I prayed.
"come Mira, Clyde, let's sleep on the couch." Amber said.
We all got on the couch.
All of us laid close together.
...
It took me a long time to fall asleep, because of my crying.
After a long time, I finally fell asleep on my sister's fur.
...
To be continued
Hello everyone! This was chapter 19 of Shatter Me! I hope you all enjoyed! It seems that the two mystery mons have been revealed! And with it, comes a darker story. They promised to help Clyde, Amber and Mira to get Anshul back, and escape the castle once and for all. I'd really appreciate it, if you all comment your opinions of this chapter! I always love to read them! I hope to see you all in the next chapter of Shatter Me! Have a great day! ^w^