Chapter Text
Azrael flew through the sky, the gentle wind carrying faint snowflakes that instantly disappeared once they hit the talonflame’s body. They had a special bag on their back, with Eira inside it and poking her head out.
It’s been a few months since her egg hatched. Azrael did go back to work at the guild, but not as often as before. They prefer to stay at home to help raise Eira. Besides, Kalani liked being at the guild and working there, so it was fine enough.
The shiny had decided that once every few months or so, maybe even more often, they would take Eira out into the snowy mountains. It would be good for her to be in the proper environment for her species, at least for a few days once in a while.
Azrael continued to fly through the area, going to the village further in. They slowed down as they approached, quickly scanning over the various pokemon that were outside.
A small shinx looked up and spotted them, and she gasped. “Hey!” She yelled out, a smile on her face.
A greninja nearby looked up and saw them, and he waved an arm up. “Hey there!”
The talonflame flew down and landed nearby. “Hello again,” they greeted.
“Hi again!” The shinx’s tail flicked around in excitement.
“Hey, Azrael,” Gale stepped over, noticing the bag with the snom on them. “And who’s this? Wait, is- from that egg?”
“Yes.” Azrael nodded, carefully adjusting their wings and using their beak to take the bag off and set it down on the ground.
Eira slowly crawled out onto the snow, wiggling her nubs at it and her eyes wide. She blinked and looked up at the greninja. “Hello,” she greeted softly.
“Her name is Eira,” the shiny explained. “And since she’s an ice type, I thought it would be beneficial for her to come out into the snow once in a while.”
The shinx child laid on the ground nearby, watching the snom curiously. Eira looked around, taking in the village and looking down at the snow occasionally.
“Ah,” Gale nodded a couple times. “Makes sense. How long do you plan on staying here?”
“About a few days, if that’s alright.” Azrael looked up at him.
“Of course it’s alright!” The greninja huffed. “You two can stay at my place too.”
“Thanks,” Azrael laughed a bit.
Eira crawled around a little, wiggling her nubs in the snow. She stopped and looked over at the shiny. “Dad, is it…weird if I want to eat this?”
Azrael laughed again. “No, it’s not weird. That’s normal for snom. That’s part of why I brought you here.”
The shiny noticed Gale blinking in confusion for a moment when the child spoke.
“Oh,” the snom muttered, looking over the snow again and then using her nubs to pull a tiny pile towards her, she began eating it.
The shinx nearby simply watched curiously, and then took a bite out of the snow in front of her, quickly coughing it back out. “Bleh,” she huffed.
The greninja rolled his eyes. “Hey, stop trying to eat snow for a minute and go grab some extra blankets for my place, please.”
The shinx huffed again, getting up and running off to one of the nearby houses.
Eira was busy crawling around in small circles and munching on some snow.
Gale stepped over, closer to Azrael. “Um,” he mumbled quietly. “Did I hear that right earlier? She sees you as her dad?”
Azrael nodded. “Yes. I was the first one she saw when she hatched, and I’ve spent the most time with her. I take care of her most of the time, really. Lily does help me of course, but…that’s just how it turned out. And I’m ok with it.”
Gale hummed a little. “I see. But didn’t Kalani hatch with you guys too? But she called you guys by name.”
“True,” the shiny shrugged. “All three of us were there at the time and Lily was the one mainly raising her. So I believe she sees Lily as a mother, like Celio does.”
“Guess that makes sense,” the greninja mumbled.
Azrael laughed a bit. “It’s interesting, isn’t it? Our little family. None of us are related to each other. Lily found Celio’s egg and raised him. I just appeared in the forest and they took me in. Kalani’s egg was found by someone in the forest and Lily agreed to take it in and she stayed. And then Eira’s egg that I found around here.”
“Yeah,” Gale huffed a small laugh. “I guess I kind of feel that way about this village. I’m not from here and I have no family here. But…these pokemon ARE my family.”
The shiny looked over at him. He really has come a long way from that scared and timid frogadier they first saw in the guild. He’s gotten stronger; physically and emotionally.
They were about to speak when they felt something nudge them. Azrael looked down, seeing Eira there and she blinked slowly.
“Alright, nap time,” they muttered, picking up the bag with their beak and carefully scooping up the snom into it.
“Oh, right, uh, this way,” Gale stepped over, taking the bag with the snom in it and holding it carefully.
The talonflame flapped their wings, rising up into the air to hover by him. The greninja headed over to his home and they followed behind him.
~~~~~
Some time later, Azrael sat in their makeshift nest of blankets inside Gale’s home, with Eira settled by them on the bag. Gale had stepped out to do some things around the village.
The shiny watched the small snom as she slept. She must’ve eaten enough snow to get her fill and gotten sleepy from it. They knew that snom liked to eat snow to keep their icy shell in good shape. While it wasn’t completely necessary, Azrael felt it was best to bring her here for that reason.
Plus, she’s actually part ice type. While Kalani’s wing pattern showed that she technically came from an icy environment, it didn’t mean she needed to be raised in such an area.
Azrael was glad they had a place they could fly to out here that was safe. That they could stay with familiar pokemon they trusted.
Their mind began to wander.
It felt so long ago, and yet so recent.
Their original reason for coming to this area those months ago. Celio had healed completely from his injury. Kalani still had the scars on her body. They had faded a little bit, but they were still there. The long marks of those claws that slashed at her.
Almost hard to believe the same pokemon that did that was now right here. As a small snom sleeping peacefully.
She has no idea about her previous life. The suffering she went through. The pain she caused.
And she never will. Azrael made a promise. They would keep her safe and make sure she lived a good and healthy life.
~~~~~
A short while later, Gale came back in, carrying a small bag. “Hey,” he muttered, walking over and sitting down on the floor nearby. “Brought some food.” He pulled out a couple berries from the bag and put them down by Azrael.
“Ah, thank you,” the shiny mumbled, adjusting themselves a little and then leaning over to eat the berries.
Eira shuffled a little, slowly opening her eyes. She blinked a couple times, and then she woke up more once she spotted the berries. “Can I have some?”
The shiny huffed, pausing their eating to look at her. “You’re really hungry? After all that snow?”
The snom grumbled a little. “Yeah, I am.”
Gale sighed, pulling out another berry and putting it down in front of her. “It’s fine, I grabbed plenty.”
Eira wiggled a little in excitement. “Yay! Thank you!” She crawled a bit closer to the berry and began eating it.
Azrael sighed and continued eating their own berries.
After a few moments of quiet eating, Eira paused, looking over at Gale. “Dad told me about you.”
The greninja flinched a little, looking a little unsure. “Oh, really? What uh…did they say?”
“That you’re a good pokemon,” the snom explained. “You really helped them out a while ago. Celio and Kalani said the same thing. They said you’re a good friend, very strong and brave.”
Gale froze, some color appearing on his face. Then he fiddled with the bag he was holding, looking down at the floor. “O-oh,” he mumbled.
Azrael snickered. “It’s true.”
“Yeah, I think you’re cool!” Eira giggled.
The color deepened on the greninja’s face. “T-that’s a little, uh, um,” he mumbled quietly, unable to properly speak. “I uh, well, um, t-thank you?”
Azrael and Eira laughed, and then the snom continued eating.
“T-that reminds me,” Gale cleared his throat, trying to calm himself down. “Why didn’t Celio and Kalani come along?”
“They’re busy with work,” the shiny sighed. “Kalani works at the guild regularly now, she sort of took my place. I do work there from time to time, but I usually stay at home. Plus, they’re not big fans of snow. But they did ask me to tell you; they promise that the next time I bring Eira over here, they’ll be coming along. They want to visit and see how you’re doing.”
“Oh,” the greninja frowned. “Well, that makes sense. Neither of their species were really built for this area. But I’ll make sure their stay is comfortable! When are you thinking of coming back?”
“I was originally thinking every few months,” Azrael explained, adjusting their wings a little. “But maybe about once a month would be best. At the very least, every other month I believe. Eira can really benefit from being in snow. So I want to try to bring her out here often.”
The snom finished her berry, looking up at them. “We can’t just move out here, Lily and Celio and Kalani would be sad.”
“Yes, they would, and that’s why we won’t.” The shiny shuffled in their nest, leaning closer to Eira and gently nuzzling her face with theirs. “But coming here is good for you, and that’s why we’re visiting for a bit and then going home.”
Eira hummed and nodded. “Ok, good.”
Gale chuckled. “It’s a lot of work to raise a child, but I think you’re doing a good job.”
Azrael lifted their head back up, ruffling their feathers a little. “Well, thank you, I do my best.”
“I think so too!” The snom did a small hop in place. “You’re a good dad!”
The talonflame’s face felt warm, and they reached over with a wing to partly cover the child. “Alright, alright. That’s enough of that.”
Eira laughed underneath the wing cover, and Gale laughed at the sight.
Azrael’s heart felt warm as well. They truly felt so happy at this moment.