Ninetales saw his kit and his friends fall out from the bush, his heart stopped for a moment. He was sure that the unknown bug-type will kill them all for getting too close. He dashed as fast as he could and inserted himself between the kits and their adversary, he sighed a relief when nothing had happened yet.

The bug being surprised by my appearance went into a bizarre fighting stance raising its bladed weapons to the sky trying to look more intimidating.

"DAD! You came!" his kit shouted

"Everything is going to be all right" he tried to reassure them, knowing well that his life might end here.

Something hit his face suddenly, he didn't even sense his opponent moving, was his opponent so much stronger that he had imagined. Maybe it was a warning shot, it did not hurt him at all only took him by a surprise. He focused a bit of his attention and found that he had been hit by a berry. 'A BERRY OF ALL THINGS!' He thought angrily.

'Is it telling me that I am not strong enough, that I need to be stronger to challenge it.' He growled while gathering all of his energy to show how strong he really is.

He pounced to attack the other pokemon, flame leaking out of his mouth.

Just as he was about to hit the bug-type. It shouted in a distorted voice "I'm soray!". He stopped, the meaning behind these words were fully caught in their truest sense by his mastery of reading other pokemon.

Ninetales was baffled, he had never seen such a weak display of fighting spirit in all of his many of years of life.

He knew that the giant bug as his kit had called it was strong, which was evident on the deep markings it had made into the trees he had seen before. He also could feel a high amount of energy emanating from it but...

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He had been following this giant bug from the first day he had felt its presence near their nest. But now, looking at the quivering sobbing mass in front of him made his powers deflate in embarrassment. How could he not see, he had been following this bug for many nights and days. It had never shown any aggression towards anything. Only quietly munching on oran berries in its own nest and spreading some silk around.

Ninetales was deeply ashamed of its immature actions and casually nudged the whimpering bug with its paw. The bug in question tensed for a moment all motion and sound stopped after a while it looked up with teary eyes to meet his gaze. Ninetales looked at the eyes of the bug, in those wet unblinking red orbs he could see the level of intelligence, that he had not seen in a wild feral pokemon before.

Looking deeper into her psyche, lost in those eyes he saw intelligence, not seeing any signs of cunning and deceit, but instead he saw something else that he could not place.

---------------------

Anya stirred as something softly nudged her on the side. She tensed as if waiting for something to end her miserable existence of a life. But seconds passed by, nothing happened, she finally found the courage to look up, her eyes were met with the chocolate brown eyes of Ninetales. She tensed again. Ninetales was studying her and she let him, there really wasn't anything else she could do now that she had surrendered, she just hoped they would just leave her alone.

After a while Anya felt something bump on her again this time she slowly turned her head to its side causing the Ninetales also to stir. On her side she found the Vulpix sniffing at her, soon joined by the Eevee. Their muzzles poking all around her body, only when they went near her arms did she jolt and quickly threw the arms away from those curious noses.

Ninetales also jolted from the sudden action made by Anya, fearing worst that it had suddenly attacked the young kits. Only to find that the bug in question tried to keep its sharp weapons away from the noses of the curious kits. He chuckled a bit in realization, whatever it was it meant no harm.

---------------------

The sun had reached zenith and Ninetales barked a short order. The kits tensed and joined him even the oddly placed Rattata had scurried along out from somewhere.

Before they turned to leave Anya heard the first words ever spoken to her, since she turned into a pokemon.

"Dad says, you can come too" Vulpix cheered merrily.

Anya stared at the Vulpix tears flooding out of her eyes again. She had finally found something or someone to talk to.

Ninetales turned to walk away with the trio of young pokemon following it. Anya stood up and followed after and shouted happily "I'm coming!"