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“Come on, berries… come to me...”
The shiny Poochyena was standing on his hindlegs against a small berry tree, trying to reach the low-hanging Oran berries with his paws. Unfortunately, they were just out of his reach.
“Grr… Calypso, a little help?”
He looked behind him where a shiny Eevee was busy gathering leaves and branches. She quickly came over to him, climbed up his back and stood on his shoulders, managing to reach the branch above.
“I got it!”
She called out as she pulled herself up onto it, and began batting and shaking down berries with a smile.
“Heads up, Fang!”
The Poochyena dropped down on all fours and began gathering the Oran berries into a small pile, counting them up.
“Six berries… two to eat now, four to bring back?”
“Sounds good! Uhm… a little help getting down again?”
Fang smiled and hurried back to the small trunk, standing up again. Overhead, Calypso held onto the branch as she swung herself upside-down beneath it, letting go with her hindlegs. She held on with her front paws until her legs found purchase on Fang’s shoulders, and let go, dropping down on top of him. She smiled and got down to solid ground, giving him a quick nuzzle before heading over to the berries.
“Think we have enough leaves?”
She asked as she sat down, munching on an Oran berry. Fang came over as well, picking up his own berry to eat as he laid down beside her. Both his beige and brown fur, and her silver fur sparkled in the rays of sunlight peering down from between the forest canopy.
“I’m pretty sure. If not we’ll just get some more tomorrow.”
He chuckled softly and took a bite of his berry, eating happily. Calypso leaned against him as they ate, her long ears twitching every once in a while in response to sounds from deeper in the forest. Fang’s right ear twitched as well, his left being almost completely gone; all that remained was a torn base of the ear. Neither of them seemed to mind the injury, however, as they ate their berry lunch huddled together.
Time passed and they got to work carrying the remaining berries, as well as the leaves and branches out of the forest and towards a beach overlooking the great ocean. Their den was beneath a small, wooden dock; from the outside it looked like it was nothing but sand except for a small hole beneath it, but on the inside it was large and roomy, leaves, grass and a few twigs covering the floor of the hidden den. Fang was the first to reach the entrance, but stayed outside and looked around as Calypso crawled inside. Only when he was certain there was nothing following them did he follow her into their home, placing the leaves in his maw around the den’s floor. Calypso rolled the berries over into a corner, saving them as dinner for later. She smiled and peeked out of the entrance while Fang fixed up their floor, turning to her.
“Training?”
She crawled out and looked in at him with a smile, nodding.
“Of course!”
Her face disappeared from view, and Fang crawled out with a soft smile. The Eevee was already heading over to where they had gathered up several sand piles to be used as targets. She walked up to the closest one and gave herself a small run-up, before slamming into it with all her might as she practiced her Tackle. It had taken many hours for her to learn it, under Fang’s tutelage. She hadn’t known any attack moves when they literally bumped into each other, as the trainer she had ran away from had bred her forth as a defensive battler. Not that Fang understood the logic behind it; unlike her, he was born wild. Sadly, his family had forcefully tossed him out when his shiny fur attracted attention from more predatory Pokémon. He had found new family in Calypso though, and watched her charge at the sand pile with a proud smile.
“Remember, turn at the last moment to-”
“Not hit it head on and get a concussion, I know.”
She finished with a laugh, Tackling the target again and again. Fang sat down and watched her practice until the sun began reaching horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange, pink and purple. Calypso was panting tiredly, laying beside Fang in the sand as they ate the berries saved from earlier.
“You’re getting much better each day.”
The Poochyena complimented before taking another bite of his berry. Calypso giggled and leaned against him, finishing her own.
“I have a good teacher.”
She stated with a smile and looked at the setting sun.
“It’s so beautiful...”
“It really is.”
Fang agreed as he looked out at the horizon, licking his lips of Oran juice. They laid there in silence as the sun slowly disappeared further and further beyond the ocean, until the forest lining the beach began coming alive with rustling and the calls of nocturnal Pokémon. Fang nudged Calypso, who was almost falling asleep.
“Come on, time to head inside.”
“Right...”
She mumbled sleepily and got up with a yawn, padding over to their den under the dock. Fang followed her over, constantly glancing over at the forest as the sky grew darker. Once she crawled inside, he quickly followed and took one last look at the outside. The Eevee curled up on the soft leaves and grass, looking at him.
“Cuddles?”
Fang came over and smiled softly, curling up around her.
“With you? Always.”
She smiled sleepily and nuzzled his cheek as he placed his head in the nape of her neck, looking towards the entrance. Like he did every night, he began singing softly to help Calypso fall asleep as she huddled close to him, feeling safe in his company.
“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound...”