Runaway

Birthday

The first thing I remember was a crack of light. I was surrounded by darkness, but I could see a small glimpse of light. I struggled around for a bit, and the crack grew larger in size, so wriggled around for a few more moments until I heard a crack, and fell flat on my face. I was on something smooth and cold. I didn't like it, and it sent shivers down my body. My surroundings were blurry, and it didn't appear much brighter than where I was previously. There was also a small draft that blew through my damp fur.
Suddenly, I felt something warm and wet on my forehead. It was unfamiliar, but regardless, it felt nice.
"Wha-?" I started to murmur, but a calm, soothing voice told me to stay silent. The voice also seemed to be a bit worried. I wanted to know where I was, and who the voice was, so I started to speak again, only to be silenced once more.
"Please," The voice begged quietly. "Stay silent. If you must speak, only do so when I tell you to. And do not speak above a whisper."
"Why?" I whispered back, my voice cracking slightly. I felt more of the warm, wet thing run over my body. The thing was flat and bumpy. I soon later learned that this was a 'tongue', and that was how I was bathed.
"Let me start off with a couple of things." The voice said. I looked up and saw a creature standing before me. Was this thing my mother? If so, she was very beautiful. She was white, and pink, and had mesmerizing ribbons surrounding her. But I was jolted out of these thoughts when she began speaking again. "I am your mother, and I want to keep you safe, so I have some things to tell you. Firstly, don't speak unless I tell you to. Secondly, you must listen to everything I say. If what I say contradicts what I said before, you will follow that new order. Do you understand?"
Don't speak, and listen. Those seemed simple enough. But why were those rules there in the first place? I looked at her inquisitively, and she simply responded with a small jerk of the head.
"Why do I have to do these?" I asked quietly. My mother's eyes grew wide with fear upon hearing this, and I could now see that even though she was beautiful, she carried a sense of sadness and worry around with her.
"Because if he hears the ones who are talking he'll-"
She stopped, and she silently urged me to stay quiet. I quickly figured out why.
The wall opened up, letting in a flood of bright light that temporarily blinded, and caused me to turn away, wincing. I held my eyes shut tight, and yelped when something picked me up quite roughly. My eyes still close, I heard a small slam, and the redness behind my eyelids became black, which led me to believe that it wouldn't hurt to look now. I opened my eyes and saw him.
He had a sharp, clever face that also exhibited cruelty and unkindness. His breath reeked, which made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.
"Well, well, well..." The man said with a gloat. "It looks like little Sylveon's egg hatched." He looked at me, checking my paws, ears, and tail. He lifted me up higher still, and looked at my privates. I immediately felt violated, and made to cover myself up, but my legs were too short.
"Looks like it's a girl." He mused, looking at me with a sickening curiosity. "You'll be mighty useful when you evolve." And with those words, he let go without warning. Time seemed to slow to a standstill, and I could see his twisted grin, and my mother's shocked and terrified face. Time seemed to resume, and I hit the ground with a painful thud. Almost immediately, my mother rushed over. Or at least, she attempted to.
The man gave her a swift kick in the side, flinging her across the room. Other strange creatures in cages, watching the scene unfold, winced, as if they had been kicked, rather than my mother. I wanted to shout at him to stop, but my mother glared at me, warning me to stay silent, or else. The man spit upon the ground, and he walked away, the wall opening up again, and closing. He was gone now.
I tried to get up, but I didn't know how to walk yet. Even if I did, my body hurt to much to do anything. But I persisted, and slowly made my way towards the still shape of Sylveon. She was breathing, but her side was bruised.
"Who was that?" I asked, my face lined with anger. Sadly, my mother looked up at me.
"He...He's an illegal Pokemon breeder... He forces two Pokemon together and makes them breed. He either keeps the baby for future breeding, or he sells them for profit." Her eyes streamed with tears, whether from the pain of her bruised ribs, or from the horrible situation I was born into, I never knew.
"But... why? That's wrong," I protested. "He can't just do that!" My mother began to weep quietly, and I felt her sadness overcome me, as my vision blurred once again, and I felt hot, wet tears pour down my face.
"We are powerless against him. He is the master, and we are nothing but objects used for profit and sick cruelty." Her body racked with sobs of anguish, and I nuzzled up against her, trying to comfort her and myself.
"I'm sorry I birthed you into this... I'm sorry my little Eeeve..."
Life here would not be easy, that much I knew. If only I knew it was going to get worse...