The Conductor (Jolteon x Vaporeon)

Chapter 29 - Shell

"Y-you had a dream..?"

Tempest looked down into his lap, nodding with embarrassment. He was currently sitting down on the spare mattress Vanessa kept leaving out for him every night in her room, sitting cross legged and feeling very sheepish.

When he had gone to rub his eyes upon waking up, he could feel that his fur had gotten wet. As he was having a dream about his mom and his sister, he figured he'd been crying in his sleep, and the last thing he heard before waking up was..

"W-what was it about..?"

Tempest glanced up at where Vanessa's voice was coming from, convincing himself that he could somehow see her looking right at him. She must have been, if she saw him nod, but it was still too dark to tell.

"It-.. just some.. family stuff, I don't really know if I want to get into it right now.."

The Vaporeon hummed quietly across the room, the sound of fabric rubbing against itself heard as she shifted around in her bed.

"W-well.. you've told me stuff before.. a-and if you're not feeling good, then.. I want to h-help.."

Tempest had a lot of thoughts racing through his head. Part of him wanted to tell Vanessa, and another part of him was still freaked out that he was even in her room in the first place. She was right, though, he had trusted her with things from his past before.

"If you really wanna know.. it was just about my mom and my sister. I should have moved on by now, but.. I really miss them, sometimes.. I guess the wraps around my paws must have awoken that memory as a dream.."

Vanessa didn't say anything at first, quietly listening from her bed. Tempest began to get a little anxious once she didn't respond for a while, but told himself to be patient.

"C-can I ask what your mother was like..?"

Tempest figured they would probably be talking for a while, swinging his legs around. He laid down on his side, still facing the side of the room where Vanessa was, just a bit more comfy.

"She was the best I could have asked for.. she was always sweet and caring, looking out for us kids.. she had the most beautiful singing voice, she was an amazing cook, she was always able to keep her cool.. she taught Amber so many things, and she probably would have taught me, too.. and no matter what, as long as she was with dad, or one of us, she had a smile on her face.. she was always living in the moment.."

Tempest sighed as memories of the Glaceon flooded his heart, his voice beginning to choke.

"She sounds like she was a w-wonderful Pokémon," Vanessa whispered, almost sounding sad. Tempest felt a smile spread across his face, unable to help nodding in agreement.

"She was the best! I really wish she were still out there so I could show her how much I've grown.. she'd probably say something like 'Oh you're growing to be just like your father!' and then make some big fancy dinner to celebrate.. she always had so many fun stories to tell, too.."

Tempest made sure to keep his voice down, but was otherwise completely invested in talking about his family, his sadness fading into an undertone as excitement took ahold of him. He heard what must have been a muffled, tired giggle from Vanessa.

"W-what kind of stories?" Vanessa asked. Tempest seemed like the more he spoke, the more he cheered up. Unburying old memories seemed to help him lighten his shoulders, and it was charming to watch the Jolteon light up. Even though he hadn't known them for long, he still had so many moments that he treasured.

"Oh, all kinds! Before they settled down to have sis, and then me a few years later, my dad said that they traveled all over the world! My dad used to travel, kind of like I'm trying to do, and I guess they met in one of the towns he stopped in or something.. he was kind of vague about a lot of the details, but after that, they traveled together and played music for festivals anywhere they could! He would play his guitar, she would lend him her voice, put together a little dance performance sometimes, and everyone was amazed!"