Inheritors

Part 6

Most species possess juvenile characteristics that are shed upon adulthood, which range from distinct physical traits that have no counterpart on the adult, proportional differences such as the ratio of body to legs or head, to differences in metabolism or growth capabilities. In many cases there are differences in tissue type between juveniles and adults, ranging from surface distinctions such as fur type or skin color to ones as dramatic being made up of translucent spongy tissue verses firm opaque muscle.

The area between Pallet and Pewter was a long stretch of unbroken forest. Most of the early parts he came to were new growth, the thin-trunked, close-packed trees just starting to weed each other out, and a wide variety of low bushes and high grasses still covering the ground. There wasn't much variety of pokemon there, too forested for field pokemon and too close to field for forest ones. The inhabitants were largely jack of all trade sort of pokemon, rattata and spearow mixed with pidgey flying in to look for food from their nests deeper in. Partway through he came upon ruins, old buildings rapidly overtaken by forest, unmaintained roofs rotting and clinging vines covering their walls. He would be an adult by the time the first walls started to be pulled down by the weight of them.

A number of pikachu were living in one house, and it seemed rattata had taken over a number of others. Pidgey were nesting in the roofs. Deus was amused at the thought of pokemon living in houses like people, but they were too out of proportion for the illusion to really work and aside from that there was nothing really of interest there, and he ignored the buildings. He considered catching a pikachu, but he had three pokemon already and besides, he didn't really want a pokemon from this place. He continued on, making his way into older forest.

There was a large nest balanced in the interlocking branches of an old, twin-trunked tree. It was at the wrong angle to see the pidgey chicks inside, so Deus went upward to peer over the edge.

The chicks were tiny and recently hatched, with one still displaying damp, stuck-together feathers. Deus reached to part those where the wing buds were attached to the feathers of its left side.

The mother had just returned. It let out a shriek of anger, swooping down. Deus caught it easily, holding it still while he continued to examine the babies.

He'd inadvertently stopped its voice along with the rest of it, but its raging thoughts were loud enough to prickle on the edge of his mind and alert him to the attempt. He relaxed his grip partway and immediately it began shouting at him, \\My children! Mine!\\

"I am not going to catch them," Deus informed it, and, feeling this really should not need explaining, "I do not want a bird and also I have enough pokemon for now." He considered having one of his pokemon fight it, but it was too strong for them to do much of anything against it and so there wouldn't be a point.

The mother quieted down but continued to hiss through its open beak with each breath. Deus finished examining them and returned to the ground, letting go of the bird as he did so. It settled onto the nest, glaring at him. He paid no more attention to it and continued on his way.

The vulpix in his arms patted at his wrist with one paw, but it wasn't thinking anything in particular, just the general background noise of accepting puzzlement at the world at large. As he continued this shifted to include a new tint of confusion, and he examined it to see that its eyes had just begun to open to slits, though they were still unfocused.

He looked over its tail again. The tip was now a wide brushy tuft, and the rest of the tail was wider. The first split should be soon, he estimated, before the next day. He touched it, feeling the cleft forming down the center.

The sun was sinking below the trees, and Deus thought he should stop for the day. The vulpix's thoughts of food were growing more insistent again as well.

He settled down under an overhang made of rock and soil, releasing his pokemon. He shifted things a bit, smoothing the underside and shifting the tree branches above to more perfectly fit into the gaps. There were old dead limbs which he broke off to use as wood for the fire, snapping them into neat chunks. While the vulpix lapped at its supper, he stacked the logs for the campfire into a box shape, then set the vulpix inside when finished. Its now pinkish white nose flexed, sniffing at the dried, powdery wood.

He lit it on fire, the resulting foosh of air as the wood caught all at once almost drowning out the vulpix's surprised squeak.

The sandshrew was thinking horrified thoughts.

"Stop that," he told it.

\\Lit on fire,\\ it chattered. \\Will you want a glass sandshrew, too?\\

"It is not even that hot," Deus said, annoyed. The logs shifted a bit from the heat, and he reached in to fix it with one hand before his neatly built box was ruined. It was unlikely the sandshrew would have known, so he added, "Vulpix are fire pokemon," even though he still felt it should be obvious he'd know better than to make such a mistake.

\\It's a child, even I can see,\\ the sandshrew babbled insistently, still radiating horror and panic. Irritated, he flattened the emotions down.

The nidoran had no similar complaint, focusing instead on its desire to be fed. Deus offered it a radish, which it snatched greedily and began to gnaw. He tossed another to the sandshrew, which caught the root between its paws. It watched him distrustfully for a few moments, then began to chew at the food without taking its eyes off him.

Unbothered, Deus started to eat a sandwich.