Aurora

Evolution, Part One

Whoever you are, thanks for reading this far! (Oops that rhymed). The chapter header in this chapter is by aesthefic (check out her profile; she's really cool). Anyway, I hope you like this!

I toss and turn in my nest of blankets. It's probably almost midnight, but I still can't sleep. I can't believe I'm going to evolve tomorrow. So many new abilities, and how will I learn them all? What will I look like? Will my evolution distance me from my friends who are evolving into different Eons? What will it feel like? What if it goes wrong? All these thoughts clamor in my head. At this rate, I'll never get to sleep. Mind buzzing, I turn over again.

At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because when my mother softly calls my name in the morning, I leap up with a jolt. I'm two years old!

My mother laughs. "Come have some breakfast before you get ready," she says. Not thinking I can eat, I follow her into our central cave.

After forcing down a few cold fish, I go outside to wait for Tide. At the actual evolution ceremony itself, only the leader and the Eevee's family are present. The party afterwards, however, is usually packed with guests and is fun and chaotic.

I see Tide coming, and I have to force myself not to run up and meet her. As she draws closer, I see that she is clutching two items in her mouth: a Water Stone and the legendary shard of ice that never melts and is used for Glaceon evolutions in our Clan. My heart beats faster.

Tide smiles when she sees me. "Ready for your ceremony?" She asks. I gulp. She laughs. "I know," she says. "It was the same for me."

I lead her into our cave, where my parents meet her, smiling. My mother's eyes seem unusually shiny.

We assemble into the standard position, with Tide and me facing each other and my parents on either side of me, a few paces back.

"Evolution is a major milestone in the journey to adulthood," Tide begins. My mother is already sniffling. Continuing with her speech, Tide says, "Evolution determines your abilities, appearance, and your role in the Clan. Aurora, do you understand and respect the importance of evolution, and the importance of the choice before you?"

"I do," I croak.

"Have you made the important choice of which Eon you wish to evolve into?"

"I have."

"Please state your choice."

I take a deep breath. "Glaceon," I say firmly.

"Very well." Tide brings forward the ice shard. "Please touch your nose to the ice."

I oblige. Tide begins to chant in another language. As she does this, I can feel the ice start to quiver with contained energy.

She finishes on a dramatic note, and suddenly white fiber-like strands sprout from the ice and wind themselves around my fluffy body. They twine closer and closer, until they completely cover my brown fur. Next, they wind down my legs, also turning them a bright, glowing white, and spiral around each other past my paws, my legs tingling as they start to grow downward. I feel my tail and ears lengthen the same way too, and strange, long antenna-like growths sprout from my forehead. Finally, a few places fade slowly to teal, and my evolution is complete. A chilly wind blows through the cave. Behind me, my mother bursts into tears.

"Congratulations, Aurora," Tide says softly, as I examine each of my paws, then turn in circles to get a glimpse of my tail.

"I'll leave you now for your party," she continues. "Don't forget that you'll need to report for training half an hour early from now on to learn your new abilities."

Heart swelling with pride, I watch her leave.

My parents and I start to get ready for the party. My father shows me a few ice tricks to cover the cave in beautiful blue ice. Trying them myself, all I manage to do is make it snow. Laughing, my father assures me that it takes practice.

A few minutes later, the guests arrive and chaos ensues. Greeted by a shrieking Brook ("YOU'RE SO PRETTY I LOVE IT!") I have a surprisingly good time over the next few hours.

When even Brook eventually leaves, I ask my parents if I can be alone for a while. They "understand completely," and I'm free to visit the border for a few hours. However, just as I'm about to leave, I'm called back into the cave by my father, to see my parents sharing a look. I'm suddenly nervous, but I don't know why.

"Aurora, we think it's time for 'the talk,'" he finally starts, somewhat awkwardly. Oh. "Now that you're evolved, it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect that you'll want to start dating soon. We just want to let you know that we're okay with that, but as Eon parents always remind their children, it's illegal to meet with Eons from other tribes, so even if those Umbreons look super hot, you need to restrain yourself."

Noticing my bright red face, my mother quickly steps forward.

"We're not saying we're expecting you to try it," she assures me, "but we just wanted to warn you." I nod shakily. My father sees my embarrassment and grins.

"Sorry," he says. "I just thought we should get that over with. You can go now."

Considerably more eagerly than before, I dash out of the cave.

Yay happy birthday Aurora! And for those of you who were too lazy to read the whole description, one human year is about eight Eevee years, growth-wise. Aurora basically turned sixteen :O

...when I try to make aesthefic draw a chapter header for me 😂