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It was a warm summer day in the meadow. Shadow exited the den where he and his family lived and looked around. The members of his little clan were busy going about their work. They were a small clan but they were strong in friends.
His children (Heart, Lotus, Snowflake, Spark, Fireball, and Forest) were busy training with their mentors. Not long ago, Shadow, his mate Lily, their six children, and the other members of the clan left the forest where they lived and moved onto the meadow. They had come there when life in their birth clan became unbearable. It was all because of the leadership if Shadow's brother Midnight. He had taken over the clan when their father died; a position that rightfully belonged to Shadow since he was the oldest.
Midnight had lead the clan through fear and bullying; keeping the Umbreons separate from all the other Pokémon. But Shadow had believed that the Umbreons were meant to live with the other Pokémon and their children deserved to choose what they would evolve into.
"Hi, Dad," Heart, the oldest of his children, called.
Smiling, Shadow went up to her and her mentor Luna.
"What are the plans for the day?" he asked.
"Well...Sombra, the others, and I were going to take Heart and her siblings out to teach them battle techniques," Luna said.
Luna and Sombra were brand new mentors (Heart and Forest were their first apprentices) but their own former mentors were training Lotus and Spark (their second apprentices) and Snowflake and Fireball's mentors were very experienced having trained apprentices back when Shadow was an Eevee and in training himself.
"Come with us, Daddy," Heart said.
"I can't, Heart. You and your brothers and sisters need to concentrate on what your mentors are teaching you. I'd just be a distraction," Shadow said. He looked at Luna. "But I will stop by at some point to evaluate them."
Lily came up to Shadow as the rest of the clan went about their daily task.
"You should spend some time with the kids," she said. "They miss you."
"And I miss them," Shadow said. "But there's still a lot of work left to do. The boarders need to be enforced. The camp needs to be set up. The clan needs to set up alliances with the other Pokémon."
"There are patrols out protecting the boarders. The camp is secure. And I can talk to the other Pokémon. Spend some time with the kids this afternoon."
☀️☀️☀️
Fireball and Snowflake circled each other looking for any advantage. Suddenly, Snowflake lunged forward and tackled Fireball to the ground.
"Very good form, Snowflake," her mentor New Moon said.
"Thanks," Snowflake said getting off her brother.
"You got beat by a girl," Sparks said to Fireball laughing.
"Like you faired much better against Lotus," Fireball spat back.
"Boys," Eclipse, Fireball's mentor, said. "Behave or we'll assign you to take care of the little ones for a week."
"We'll be good," Fireball and Sparks said together.
Looking after the baby Eevees wasn't something that they liked to do or would normally do.
"How's the training going?" Shadow asked coming up to the group.
"Daddy," Snowflake said as the Eevees ran up to him, "I pinned Fireball...again!"
"I saw that," Shadow said.
"Are you here to assess their training?" Luna asked.
"Actually, I came to see if training was done."
"It is," Sombra said. "We were about to take them back to Lily and go hunting."
"Go hunting. I'll see that they get home safely."
"Dad," Forest said, "this isn't the way home."
"I know," Shadow said. "But I've been so busy setting up the clan and you six have been training that we haven't spent a lot of time together."
☀️☀️☀️
The six little Eevees laughed happily as they climbed all over their father. Shadow laughed with them; he loved playing with his children.
"This has been fun, Dad," Forest said. "I can't remember the last time you played with us."
"I know and I feel guilty about not spending time with the six of you," Shadow said.
"It's not your fault, Daddy," Lotus said. "You and Mom have been busy setting up the clan and territory."
"You're still the best dad, and leader, there's ever been," Heart said.
Smiling, Shadow nuzzled each of his children. He knew times like this were fleeting. Be fore he and Lily knew it, Heart, Forest, Lotus, Spark, Snowflake, and Fireball would be done with their training and choosing which form they wanted to evolve into. Shadow vowed to set aside some time every day to spend with Lily and their children and to cherish these moments.
"Come on, kids," Shadow said getting to his paws, "let's head home."