Warrior Eevees #2: Pearl's Shadow

12- The Warning

A moon cycle later, Pearl was even less certain that she and Geyser would ever get along again. She was beginning to spend a lot of time in her den, trying to plan out patrols in advance so she didn't make any more stupid mistakes. Stupid mistakes were feeling more and more inevitable.

"You, um, assigned me to two different patrols," Bubbles pointed out one sunny morning while Pearl was struggling through the patrols again.

Pearl hated the way they talked to her, a little like she was a kitten again. She knew they were trying to be nice to her, but she wished her Tribemates would just yell at her if she made mistakes. Then she would know that they took her seriously. A Tribe couldn't survive without a leader, but Pearl wasn't sure that she was much better.

"Of course," she said, running as quickly as she could through the patrols that she thought she had so carefully worked out. "Okay, go hunting with Shell. Reed can take your spot on the border patrol, and that still leaves Mist and Rapids in the village."

...Right? she wanted to ask. There was no one to ask. She was the leader of the Lake Tribe now, and she had to be confident.

No one contradicted her, so Pearl padded over to meet Fish, who she had assigned herself to hunt with. As Tribe Leader, she thought she maybe left the village too often. But she couldn't help it, the stress of being around her expectant Tribemates got to her, and she needed to swim and hunt.

Another thing she needed to do eventually was patrol the border with the Forest Tribe. A show of confidence. She wasn't confident.

Vaporeon could become invisible in the water, but at least that was the only place they were invisible. She found the Leafeons' ability to blend seamlessly with the terrain unnerving, and she couldn't walk by their border without the terrible, creeping feeling that she was being watched. Stalked, maybe, like they stalked land prey.

Without Geyser's friendship and with Silent being too young to go truly diving, Fish was her favorite Pokémon to hunt with. Her father seemed wonderfully oblivious to how anxious Pearl was over her leadership, blindly proud of his daughter. She allowed him to lead the way across the lake, slipping into the wake he cut where swimming was easiest.

The weather had only grown warmer over the moon cycle, and the lake was coming into its full springtime splendor. The water was still clear before the floating plants regrew but thick with underwater lake weed. The sun sparkled off each little tiny ripple and the wind ruffled its surface into soft waves whose lapping lulled Pearl to sleep at night. And the fishing was good. The Lake Tribe was beginning to fill out again. Floe was expecting kittens with Shell. Things were going well.

None of that really had to do with Pearl's leadership, but still, it was a load off her mind.

"We're so proud of you," Fish kept telling her whenever they resurfaced. She believed him, but she didn't love the reminder of her position, so when Fish said something else to her, she almost didn't hear him.

"Who's that?"

Pearl jerked her head up. Another Vaporeon was rushing through the tranquil lake water, throwing up arcs of water droplets.

Reed.

Oh, fishdung, I must have messed something up.

Reed flared his frill to break next to Pearl and Fish, breathing hard.

"One of the patrols found something. I think you need to see."

"I- Of course," Pearl agreed. "Right away."

Fishdung, I should have stayed in the village. Why do I always have to run off hunting?

...At the same time, Arceus, I'd hate to stay in that village all day...