The black of night gave way to the light of day as the hours passed. The sun poking its head out from behind the horizon of treetops. I was still feeling awake and energetic despite being up for 48 hours straight. This ability to absorb moonlight is honestly stupid. I wonder if grass types have a similar ability? I felt movement on my side and look to see the alolan vulpix stirring, inadvertently causing her brother to do the same. I can still feel the instinct to watch over them in the back of mind. Who would have thought my life would ever turn out like this?

I look back over to the pair of tents where the two twins slept. I felt bad at how I reacted to them trying to help me, despite I had very little mental control over what I did or said in those moments. But some part of me, the same aggressive part that made me feel like lashing out last night, felt like I should not. Like they deserved worse. I hate these new emotions and instincts!

I hear a yawn and see that the snow-white fox has her eyes open. It took her a bit to fully wake up and notice her surroundings, but after she looked around and realised, she was laying against me, which oddly enough made her brighten up. It’s not the reaction I was expecting but it just made me feel happy inside. Her brother woke moments later, and he realised his current position quickly, but he didn’t seem to mind it. I don’t know when it happened, but he had moved in his sleep and was happily laying flat out on my tail.

I heard a zipper being undone and looked over to see Oliver leaving his tent. He stood up and stretched and looked over to me before quickly looking away and going about sorting some things out. Both Aron and Froakie joined him. They all were extremely quiet, which worried my quite a bit considering the number of hushed sounds I heard from both twins tents last night. It was five minutes later that Jennifer’s door opened and her, Hoot, and Fen all left the tent. None of them looked in my direction. They simply went about their morning routine in silence.

Is everything okay? I hear the female vulpix ask.

Yeah. Yeah, everything is fine. I unconvincingly lie. Everything is okay.

She doesn’t respond, instead she looks towards the two people and their pokemon moving about, packing up parts of their setup. A few minutes of this silence stretched out before she asked another question.

What are we going to do?

Her addition of ‘we’ in that sentence gave me a second of pause before I decided on asking her something.

So does that mean you two are going to stay with me? For the time being anyway. Both foxes nod to this question. Well then, I guess we will stick with those two still unless they don’t want us around. They both just continue to watch the twins go about their morning routine.

About ten minutes pass before Jennifer gets up and walks over to us. She has a dish of food for us, but she gets about three meters away before stopping and placing it on the ground. She seemed nervous and that feeling to defend these two foxes rose again, but I forced it out of mind. I wasn’t letting that take hold for no reason. She stood there for a minute before finally speaking up.

“So, what are you going to do Shade?” She nervously asked. “It does seem like you want to look after those two as well so I’m not sure what you want to do?”

I wanted to respond, but I couldn’t find the words. I wasn’t sure what I should say or how to convey it.

“Well, if you want to still stay with us, we will be leaving in about half an hour.” She adds before heading back to her sibling. I waited a moment before getting up, the male vulpix sliding off my tail and the other rolling as she no longer had my side to lay against, and I move towards the food, swiftly followed by the two foxes that I guess I’ve adopted.

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Or did they adopt me? Does it work like that? Is it just they accept me? Eh, doesn’t really matter does it.

I didn’t have much to eat, I wasn’t feeling hungry right now anyway. I noticed Jennifer constantly looking back at me and would turn away if she saw I was looking. Oliver did it also, but I either didn’t catch him as much or he simply was doing it less.

Do either of you have names. I suddenly ask the two foxes at my sides, surprised at my own sudden question. The two vulpixes are similarly surprised but shake their heads. Then I guess you should both get one. Both stop eating to look at me curiously, unsure of something. I ignore their looks as I try to think of two names. Two came to mind rather quickly.

I look first to the alolan vulpix. You can be Lumi. I shift my gaze over to the other fox. And yours can be Sune. (Lu-mi, soo-nei)

The names just kinda popped into my head. I got sune from the creature a vulpix is based on, a kitsune. Although I am not too sure why Lumi came to mind. I don’t even know where I know the word, but I think I remember the name being related to snow. Oh god, I really hope I am not mixing it up and it could be a really bad word.

The confused look on Sune and Lumi faces didn’t change, but they didn’t seem to object to the names. So that’s good!

I noticed the twins had finished their breakfast and were packing up their tents now. Sune and Lumi had both finished what food we were given so I stood and walked towards Jennifer and Oliver. Jen noticed our approach first and she had a small smile on her face before she turned back towards her packing. I guess my outburst last night really did a number on her trust with me. Oliver saw us and he had a large smile on his face, definitely more outwardly excited that we would still sticking around. But still, it was quiet. Neither trainer spoke. I knew something was wrong, but I just hoped it wasn’t me. I hope my instinctual reaction last night didn’t ruin the companionship I had with the two of them.

Once they finished packing the last of their gear, the trainers returned their various pokemon, and we all headed off. Oliver and Jennifer walked ahead; their silence occasionally broken up by quiet chatter. Lumi walked beside me while Sune stayed further back, but still remained close to me. I guess some wounds don’t heal as quickly. I think to myself as I picture the scar on my side and think of everything I had to leave behind in my old life.

My mind swam through a sea of memories until it reached a fond moment from my old life.

This memory starts in a park I always use to visit in my high school years. The park was next to a main road and had a slope to it that led down to a small stream. The area was always had plenty of shade was lots of trees I was swinging slightly on a swing as I watched car after car pass by. Beside me was Milly, on her own swing, similarly slightly swinging back and forth, while she wore a party hat. The both of us had been invited to a birthday party of a close friend and we came. I distinctly remember the song Stereo Heart playing in the background.

“Thank you for bringing me.” Milly quietly says to me. “This was nice.”

“Well you were invited as well.” I respond. “It would have been wrong if you were the only one of the 8 of us not to show. Especially when I would have come.” This brings a small smile to her face. In highschool, she had always been shy, basically following me as I was one of the few people she would trust. So she would tend to just join my friend groups. No one ever complained about her just being around. Despite how little she talked, everyone considered her a good friend.

“Hey guys, come over here!” I hear Jonathan, a close friend, yell out to us. “We need a group picture!”

With that I hopped off the swing and grabbed Milly’s hand and pulled her over as she would have tried to get out of the photo. And what good would have that been!

Our 9-person group of 3 girls 6 guys all got together for a photo, marking that moment for decades to come.

I still remember where that photo was standing in my room. It always sat on my bedside cupboard and it was one photo I would never leave behind, considering the birthday boy, Lee, was killed the next day. That’s the worst part of that memory. But I guess it’s good to remember the good times while they last. All I can do is move on and look forward, remembering the mistakes of the past to help pave the way.