Arcane Explorers: An Eeveelution Story

Chapter IX

[Aconi POV]

Lipo and I walked through the forest, glancing around at our surroundings every once in a while. The fall leaves were really pretty… Lipo pointed towards a clearing in the distance. "I think I saw a little pond over there. Do you want to go check it out?" I shyly nodded and followed him to the clearing.

As we walked into the clearing, I noticed a small pond, just like Lipo had said there was. We walked over to it, and he laid down by the edge. I walked to his side and looked into the water. I nervously dipped a paw into the cold water. It felt somewhat nice, even though it was cold. I laid down next to Lipo, leaving my paw in the water.

He looked down at my paw before looking at his own. He nervously reached his paw out towards the water, hesitating for a moment before slowly dipping it into the water. He quickly pulled it back out. "A-ah! That's cold!" I put a paw over my mouth and quietly giggled. He shook his head before looking back out across the pond, scanning through the woods, as well as the clearing.

We stayed by the pond for a little while before Lipo heard something. I noticed him turn his head to the right and stare into the woods. He stayed silent. I did the same and listened closely. A very faint sound was coming from that direction. It was far away, but it was definitely getting closer. As it was nearing, I could finally make out what it was. Very rapid pawsteps. I stared into the woods, as did Lipo. I was scared. Suddenly, a familiar mon came running into the clearing. The Jolteon ran up to us, and as he did, I tried to hide behind Lipo. "A-Anion… what's w-wrong…?" Anion shook his head. "There’s no time. We need to leave here. There's a small army of Vaporeons on their way to kill every Jolteon in this forest. Any Eeveelution remaining will be taken in for questioning."

We both lie there in shock. I just barely managed to say what was on my mind at that moment. "M-my brother… h-he might b-be out there…" Anion looked at me, which made me just a tad bit more nervous. "I'll look for your brother. You two need to make a run for Evesight. What kind of pokemon is he?" My nervousness rising, I managed to answer. "F-flareon… h-his name is C-Carbon…" Anion nodded. "Got it. I'll find him and bring him to Evesight. You two need to get going." Lipo stood up, though I hesitated. Anion seemed to pick up on my thoughts. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your brother gets to town safely. I've got plenty of battle experience if I need it. Hurry on now, we don't have much time. Maybe an hour or so before this forest is overrun by Vaporeons." I shakily nodded as I stood up. Anion turned towards the woods. "Stay safe." He sprinted away.

Lipo turned to me. I could feel the fear beginning to overwhelm me. 'Would Carbon be safe…? Would he accept the help from Anion…? Would he-' My thoughts suddenly stopped. I froze up completely. The first thing I noticed was the warm feeling I had, part of which was caused by a limb wrapping around me. It took a moment for me to process what was happening. I could feel my face heat up. Lipo was hugging me. "Your brother… I'm sure he'll make it out okay. I believe in him. He seems like a strong mon…" Lipo spoke in a comforting tone, trying to help me feel better. My body suddenly moved on its own. I hugged Lipo back.

We stayed in that position for what felt like forever, though it was likely only a few moments. We both pulled out of the hug and looked at each other. There was a very faint hint of red on Lipo's face. "I-if you'd like, you could ride on my back… we might get there faster. Besides, you're still healing." I shyly nodded. Lipo nodded before lying down, allowing me to get onto his back. I got onto his back, and he stood up. I grabbed ahold of his mane, and he took off into the woods.

. . .

I wasn't sure what had awoken me, but shortly after I'd woken up, I realized that I was still on Lipo's back, who was running through the woods. He seemed to notice me waking up. "We're nearing the town. Should be there soon." I glanced at our surroundings as he ran. The forest was thinning, and it seemed to be late afternoon. Not a single mon was in sight, other than Lipo. Speaking of Lipo, he'd seemed to become very tired. He didn't seem to care, however.

I could see a dirt path in the distance. We arrived at it fairly soon. Lipo ran out onto the path and went left. "... Have you ever been to Evesight before?" The sudden question surprised me a little, causing me to flinch. "N-no…" Lipo nodded. I looked up and could see the gate in the distance. There didn’t appear to be any guards, which was strange. Lipo ran through the gate and into Evesight.

There were Eeveelutions walking through town, quite a lot of which were Espeons. Some stared at us as we walked through town. Lipo appeared to be looking for something. I noticed what seemed to be some sort of inn up ahead. Lipo seemed to notice it too, and he sprinted towards it. He slowed down as we neared the entrance. Lipo opened the front door and walked inside.

An Espeon stood on the other side of some kind of table. "Welcome! How may I he-..." The Espeon paused. His blue mica eyes carefully looked us over. Lipo spoke up. "A-are you alright…?" The Espeon stared at Lipo for a moment. "Y-yes… I'm sorry, I've just never seen a pokemon like you before. My name's Topaz." He reached out a paw. Lipo nervously shook the Espeon's paw. "L-Lipo…" Topaz picked up a small piece of paper and a pencil. "I'm assuming you two will share a room?" Lipo looked at me. I shyly nodded. Topaz wrote something on the paper and pawed Lipo a key. "Room 71. Enjoy your stay."

Lipo walked down the hall towards our room. We soon arrived at the door, and Lipo opened it. He walked inside and let me off of his back. "I'll take the floor. You can take the bed." Lipo placed his bag against the wall, as did I. He laid down next to the bed. "A-are you sure? I could s-sleep on the floor if y-you want-" Lipo cut me off. "No. You sleep in the bed, you're wounded." Lipo curled up and fell asleep. I sighed and crawled onto the bed. I laid down and fell asleep.

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A/N

Hey! I don't really have much to say this time around, so I'll skip my usual rambling. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

-Volt

(10/28/23, 23:56, -5 GMT)