'Uncle' Kalin refused to budge an inch from his bed as his eyes opened to take in the morning sun from the holes above. Who'd have thought that newborns had more energy than Julexa? He spent the entire day playing with Marie and Sariah after he, Candice, and Julexa found them.

Julexa remained asleep in her bed. She probably found the one thing that had more energy then her: Newborns. Marie is the first up as she scampers over to Eevee and gives him a hug. "Buneary! ("Good morning!")" She says, sitting down near him. Her missing, cottony-soft fur is slowly starting to grow back, but it is taking some time. Sariah is next to tell Eevee good morning, with a peck on the cheek, sitting down near her sister.

"Vee. (Heya kiddos.)" mumbled the Eevee as he reached his paws out to give both Bunearies a hug and a smile. Initially, Kalin was worried that the girls would have been afraid of him. It warmed his heart to see them trusting of him, but he supposed that was due to the naiveity of a child. Candice had her hands full alright. "Eevee? (Where's your mother?)" asked Kalin, pulling his head back to glance around.

Marie is the one to answer that question: "Buneary, buneary!("Out catching fish. She goes for a brisk swim in the nearby river every morning!")" Speaking of Candice...she hops in right about then, carrying a small net full of Koi and Tuna. Seeing Eevee awake, she sashay's over and kneels down. "Lopunny? ("Are you alright? It's not like you to stay in bed.")" Granted, she only met Eevee, but she goes off of what little time she has had around him. Julexa yawns and rolls over--still sound asleep.

Eevee. (Just a little tired. You're a tough one to be able to take care of these two and still have the energy to swim in the morning.)" commented Kalin as he stretched his muscles and began to rise up. "Vee? (But they're worth it, huh?)" asked the Eevee as he reached his paws out to pat Marie and Sariah on their heads.

"Lopunny! ("You bet. I love these two very much.")" She says, as she squishes the two Buneary in her arms. Finally, Julexa decides that she cannot sleep through the ruckus and gives a sleepy yawn, rolling to her feet and rubbing her eyes, giving a wave as she stumbles over and plops next to the two buneary, who hug her tight--the warmth of the hug sending her back to sleep again. Smiling, Marie carries the sleepy Pichu back to her bed, returning to her sister's side after.

Kalin didn't realize how much he envied Candice as he watched her hold her children tightly. To have something more to live for than just one's self and friends. "Vee. (Well, I'm starved. Thanks for always bringing fish in the mornings..you didn't have to go out of your way for us.)" said the Eevee as he walked over to the net full of koi and tuna. "Eevee? (This..object. Did you learn how to use it from watching trainers, too?)

"Lopunny. Lop, lopunny, lop-lopunny.("No. A magikarp got caught in a net back at home. As I went to untie it, a bit of it came off, and some remoraid got caught in it. From that, I was able to teach myself.")" She says, with a nod. She takes a few fish and cooks them by lighting her hand on fire. You notice it doesn't harm her at all. At this point, Julexa wakes up with a yawn and a smile on her face as she pounces Marie, and starts to wrestle with her, Sariah joining in soon after.

Kalin watched with awe as Candice lit her arm on fire to cook the fish. So THAT was how she did it. "Eevee? Vee.. (Is that right? That's pretty useful. I lived among humans for a time, but the thought of using their teachings never occured to me..I guess because I was younger then and thought that Caleb and I would always be together. Or maybe because I just can't hold things like you can.)" said Kalin as sat on his hind legs and looked down at his paws.

Giggling, Candice reaches down with her unlit hand and ruffles Kalin's ears. "Lopunny, lopunny lop.("It's okay. I'm here now, so, I'll do everything that you can't.")" She says, with a smile, as Julexa continues to keep the little ones entertained while Kalin and Candice were talking. "Lopunny.("That sis of yours...she's a real treasure. I don't think I've seen any pokemon tolerate those little devils as much as she has in the past two days.")"

She muses, offhandedly, as she flips two tuna over while she holds them over the flames that dance about her right arm, cooking them as best as she can--given the circumstances and all.

Kalin couldn't help but blush a little as his ears were ruffled. At the mention of Julexa, a grin formed on the Eevee's face as he glanced over to her. "Vee. (That's because it takes one to know one.)" He then turned his attention back to Candice. "Eevee. (She was so scared when she fell in..she lived with a human, too. She takes it like a champ though, nothing can bring her down. I'm told that I'm overprotective of her sometimes.)"

Candice looked over at Julexa. A few minutes of silence is observed as Julexa snuggles and tosses Marie up in the air, giggling filling the room as she keeps them occupied. Sariah slips away and hops back over to Kalin and Candice. Buneary? ("Is that fish I smell?") She asks, as she watches mommy cook, and help out as best as she can by being extra hands. Julexa starts tickling Marie as they wiggle and roll around on the floor. Candice can't help but smile.

"Eevee! (It sure is! Smells great, doesn't it? SOME POKEMON around here could use that appetite of yours.)" noted Kalin as he rose a paw up to rub Sariah's head.

Sariah giggled and lowered her head some as Kalin rubbed her head. "Buneary.("What are you saying?")" She asks, in a playful manner as Marie joins the gathering, having her fill of playing for now, followed by Julexa following her nose. "Pichu?("More fish?!")" She says, exasperatedly as she sits down and watches it being cooked in front of her eyes. The last Koi is seen being lifted by by Marie to be cooked by Candice.

"Eevee! (Yes, more fish!)" proclaimed Kalin happily as he leaned over to Julexa to whisper behind her ears. "Vee. (And if you behave yourself and thank Ms. Candice, we'll go to Truce later and see if we can score some more of those grapes.)"

Her ears perking, she happily accepts the Koi given to her by Candice. "Pi-chu!("Thank you!")" She says, with as big of a grin as she can muster. She starts to eat her fish as a few fish are put on the net inbetween Julexa and Kalin. She picks up her two Buneary and feed them herself, one fish at a time from the small pile that's left.

Satisfied with Julexa's behavior, Kalin smiled and took a seat next to her before helping himself to some of the fish. Cooked food..it certainly tasted much better than raw. He idly wondered how he'd make do on his promise, finding someone to talk to Truce wasn't easy and he was too proud to beg. As he ate, Kalin felt as if he should break the silence.

"Eeeeveee..vee. Eevee? (I think I'll go looking for Finn and Xenayo again in a couple days..I won't be gone for days, just from morning until sundown. Would you mind watching over Julexa while I'm out?)"

Julexa beats Kalin to it. "Pichupichupi? ("Hey, Candice, would you like to head to Truce? It's been a few days since we've been in town..")" Candice seems to nod. It HAS been a long time since they were. She seems to nod at this. "Lopunny lop. ("Sure, why not? It can't hurt...")" She says, with a smile, as she stands up and wraps up the berries for the time being, setting them down near the beds.

'It can't hurt.' She has -no- idea. Kalin finished the last of his fish and rose to his feet. "Eeeevee? (I know it's a bit of a longshot..but I don't suppose you learned how to speak human, too?)" asked Kalin, refusing to get his hopes up. It was possible, he was constantly amazed at every little thing that Candice had picked up from them.

Candice scratches her chin. "Lopunny.. ("I am not proficient in speaking human. I have heard them talking...but, it doesn't seem posible that I'm going to learn it...")" She sighs, then, as Julexa pats her back reassuringly.

"Vee..Eevee. Vee? (Oh well..it was worth a shot. We can still go anyway, I've met plenty of beasts there in the past who could understand us. I became friends with a moogle named Riko that way and helped him out a little. I also met this creature one night who looked a little like you, but her fur was a different color. Others out there have their own ways of understanding us..it's pretty mysterious, isn't it?)" said Kalin as he glanced out to cave's mouth.

Shrugging, Candice stands up and heads towards the mouth, Julexa staying behind to watch the young ones, as they shouldn't be left alone. "Lopunny! ("Be good for Julexa now, girls!")She says, as she walks outside of the cave and waits for you to join her so they can walk to Truce.

"Eevee! (Don't be too rough with them!)" hollered Kalin towards Julexa as he gave Candice a nod before walking over towards her. He idly wondered what possible surprise Truce had in store for them today. Perhaps someone would threaten to blow up the ocean or attempt to start a cult to worship some grass somewhere. "Vee. (She has an ulterior motive for asking you to go, you know.)"

Candice tilted her head. "Lo...punny?("Ulterior...motive?" She says to Kalin as they walk down the path towards Truce. "Lopunny? ("What would that be?)" She asks now, before they get too far from the mouth of the cave. Looking back, happy laughter permiates the air from the cave. It couldn't be that big of a deal...right?

"Eevee. (The berries around here taste great and all..but there's food in Truce that she really likes. There's just one problem..)" said Kalin as he glanced off to his side.

"..Vee. (..I don't have any way to acquire it. The people of this world use these shiny metal round things to trade things with one another, kind of like in Treasure Town..the place I told you about that I'd like to see here. It sounds simple, but it's a little more complicated than it seems. I don't really understand the details..so I'm hoping we'll run into someone I know who can help us out. If that doesn't work, I suppose there's 'Plan B'..)"

Candice coughed, and swallowed hard. 'Plan B' was not something she wanted to resort to again, it was degrading and not very well received--even back home. "Lopunny.("I hope that you can find your friend in town.")" She says, matter of factly as she looks a bit uneasy when she says this, and for good reason too. Her 'Plan B' made her uneasy and ashamed of herself by even mentioning it.

Kalin could sense Candice's uneasiness, causing him to glance over towards her with his head cocked. "Vee? Eevee. (Are you alright?..it's really nothing to worry about. If it comes down to it, I can take care of it. It hurts my pride a little, but I picked up a few things about deception from someone I once traveled with."

Candice looks down at Kalin. "Lopunny, punny.("Oh..that's good. I was afraid I'd have to degrade myself for it.")" She says, rubbing the back of her head as she walks beside Kalin, laughing sheepishly as she does so. Turning a corner, the gates of Truce can be seen from their location on the top of a small hill allowing them to see over the trees just enough to see the walls.

"Eevee..vee. (Looks like we're here..a lot of things have happened here, you know. This town attracts all kinds of people and beasts, some of which lash out to hurt others. It's a mostly peaceful place, but there are days that I'm afraid to come here.)" said Kalin as his eyes gazed into the familiar sights of Truce. "Eevee. (We'll start with the fountain, where you fell at. Maybe Twilight, Helios, or the Berry Man will be around.)"

Candice nods to Kalin as they make their way into the city limits. "Lopunny?("You'll have to tell me sometime..)" She says to Kalin as the guard welcomes them to Truce and allows them into the city, pausing to look at the Lopunny, scoffs slightly, and turns back around to return to watching the road.

As the fountain entered their view, Kalin's pace picked up as he quickly jogged towards it. His initial reaction was one of caution, which could be noted by his sudden stop and scrutinization of the area. Were there any invading forces nearby? Ravenous monsters devouring all life in the area? Enormous robots stepping on the innocent? The answer was no..this time.
Kalin let out a sigh of relief as he leapt up on a bench and looked into the water. He didn't see any familiar faces when he sized up the situation. He waited for Candice to catch up before speaking out. "Eeevee. (Doesn't look like anyone I know is here..but that's okay. I think I have an idea.)"

Candice comes to a stop a little behind you, looking around and seeing it was, indeed, rater quiet in the fountain area. "Lopunny?("You do? Well, I'm interested in hearing what your plan b is...but I am not doing mine..")" She says, sitting down by the fountain and listening to the gurgle of water as it hits the basin from being shot up into the air from the fountain's tip. Meanwhile, Julexa has her hands full at home. Little did they know, she was actually looking for the Buneary at this time.

"Vee. (Come with me. There's one stall in particular that I've always smelled food from. I call it a stall anyway, since that's what they were called in Treasure Town. I have no idea what they're called here.)" said Kalin as he began to lead Candice back westward a little, stopping in front of a pair of tents. He glanced at the north tent and gave a nod.

"Eevee. (Some time ago, Julexa found out that you can sneak in to those stalls from behind. I believe I can distract the guy in there and have him come out..would you be willing to sneak in from behind to grab some things? It's easier for you to do than me.)" explained Kalin, glancing off to the side afterwards. "..Vee. Eevee? (..I know it's a little wrong..but I can ask Mogwai or Twilight to make it up to the guy later. What do you think?)"

Candice nods, getting down onto her knees and grasping the end of the stall as she peeks one eye around and waits for Eevee to do his thing. Julexa, on the other hand, runs out of the cave and looks outside in the bushes. "Pichu...pichupichupi...?!("Come out come out wherever you are. Okay, thisisntfunnyanymore!")" She calls out as she frantically searches high and low for the two Buneary, if they're even out here.

"Eeeevee. (We're mainly here for these round little green things all bunched together, but I'd really like one of the round orange ones if you can find one.)" whispered Kalin before heading around to the other side of the tent. With a nod, Kalin began to cautiously approach the front of it. He sighed deeply and held one of his rear legs up, limping weakly towards the shopkeep inside. As he got close enough, Kalin let out a pathetic cough as he lumped over, shivering all over.

"..Oh my goodness!" gasped Fritz as he left his counter and knelt down beside Kalin. "You poor thing! Is your leg broken..? U-um, maybe I should take you over to the house of animal husbandry to get looked at.." Kalin winced. 'Uh oh.' he thought to himself. He hoped Candice was already on the move.

Indeed she was. One of Candice's furry paws can be seen in the shopkeep window for just a minute as she scurries around in the stall. She sees some small, oval-shaped things on a vine, and she grabs as many as she can carry. Seeing some orange colored balls, she grabs them too. Giving a wink to you from inside, she quickly ducks out of the back and makes haste for the Square. Julexa soon finds the two and drags them back inside, telling them not to run off like that, and sits near the mouth to keep an eye on them.

Fritz proceeded to scoop Kalin up into his arms, signalling the Eevee that it was time to go. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Kalin's body gradually turned into viscuous matter, falling in between the man's fingers and collecting into a puddle on the ground. "What the--" shouted Fritz as he staggered back in shock. In that second, the puddle of water(?) on the ground shifted out of the tent and eastwards into the town square at a slightly slow pace.

Fritz blinked his eyes a couple of times and stepped out of the tent to follow the puddle, but stopped as soon as he saw Kalin lying still just outside. "..What is going on..?" he asked aloud as he bent down to scoop up the Eevee, the escaping puddle of water barely escaping his sight. "..Come on little guy, I think I might need help too--huh?" blurted Fritz as he held 'Kalin' out and looked him over.

He then gave the Eevee a forceful squeeze, confirming his suspicion. "..This is a..doll?" Completely bewildered, Fritz slinked back into his tent and took a seat, dropping the Eevee doll inside and holding his palms to his face.

Candice is sitting around behind the fountain, keeping the fruits in her lap so it doesn't get dirty by sitting on the ground. Now, to play the waiting game--hopefully Kalin gets away from him and they can make off with the fruit that they have acquired to the cave for Julexa and the Buneary.

The puddle of water continued its journey towards the fountain, forming into a ball and leaping inside. A couple seconds later, a blue quadraped creature with a long tail and fins cupped around its head leapt out of the flowing water and landing on its feet beside Candice, breathing heavily. "Undin..eon! (Whew..that was cutting it close. If I'd have waited a couple seconds longer, he'd have seen my substitute too soon.)" said the aquatic creature, smiling at the Lopunny before continuing on.

"Unnn! Undineeeon. (Great, it looks like you got some! The oranges are my favorite, they don't grow anywhere that I've seen so I've only ever been able to get them from him. They're very juicy and they remind me of my favorite berry from my world. They were just as precious there, because plants didn't grow out in the open..the villagers' pokemon had to contribute to growing them from inside our cave system.)"

Caught up in the moment, it didn't dawn on Kalin that Candice might not recognize him; he hadn't told her about his other forms yet.

Candice nearly screamed when she heard the splash and see something leap from the fountain. However, she was staring at a figure that -looked- like Eevee, but...not completely. She knew what this creature was talking about, but she couldn't quite piece together that she was talking to Eevee right then. "...L...Lopunny?("Y-your welcome..?")" She says, with an air of uncertainty as she stands up to head back to Julexa and the cave.

She starts to fiddle with one of the orange balls. Her hands were too fluffy to get a good grip on it, so, peeling it was a slow process once she got started. However, it was soon shed of it's orange outside, holding it in front of the-creature-that-looked-like-Eevee's mouth so he could eat it, if desired.


Kalin was still panting heavily. The journey of the puddle was the longest one he had taken since obtaining Undine's blessing. It's a strange paradox; Undineon had both lungs and gills, but while traveling in a state of water, it is a sensation similar to holding one's breath. "Unndineon. (Oh, um..thank you. But I like to take my time and enjoy these, and..we should hurry back before my form fades. Can't let that guy see me when it does, you know?)" said Kalin, glancing nervously off to the side.
He'd hate for her to carry it unpeeled the whole way back. "Unn! (Oh, I know! Come on, there's a place I want to show you before we get back to the cave.)" said the blue creature, running forward and beckoning Candice with his merman-like tail.

Nodding, Candice follows after you to see what he has to snow. Seeing as he didn't want the orange...she casually eats the orange as she waits to see what Eevee has to show her. Julexa is back to playing with the Buneary...obviously over what made her angry about the Buneary leaving the cave. Passing the time until Candice and Kalin return is what the plan was.

As the two pokemon reached the Rabite Forest, the blue creature took a different path at the first fork. It immediately led to a giant tree with a large carved hold leading within. "Uun. (It's just up here.)" said Kalin as he entered the hollowed out tree, walking along a slope around the inner edges leading upwards. After a short distance, the a large hole in the tree's bark led to a perch outside where Undineon proceeded to sit down.

After a couple of seconds, his blue scales spontaneously fell off his body and trickled down the branches, as if detonating a water balloon. Kalin's Eevee form remained where Undineon once sat, glancing towards Candice with a smile on his face.
"Vee? (Isn't it cool? You can see this side of the forest and the road from here. The cave is just out of sight, but this a great place to watch the road for danger. Oh yeah..thanks for carrying that orange. Can I have some of it now?)" asked Kalin, reaching his paws towards her.

Candice sits down by Kalin. Oh...how could he do that?! Candice wanted to ask--but now is not the time. She sets the orange down in front of Eevee; a quarter of it already missing as she does so, coughing a bit. "Lopu~unny...("Sorry Kalin, I was hungry..so...I ate a few pieces of it...")" She says, in a sheepish manner as they settle down, her legs hanging off the side as they look over the forest and the paths below. A Rabite hops up the side of the path, to graze nearby.

"Eeevee? (Oh, that's okay. I wanted to share some of it with you, anyway. What do you think? Pretty tasty, huh?)" asked Kalin as he picked up the orange and tore off the remaining quarter, handing it back to Candice. He then peeled his first slice and put it in his mouth, savoring the flavor.

Candice pets Kalin as she holds her quarter to eat it. "Lopunny("Yes. It's juicy and sweet. I'm sad that it didn't exist in my world.")" She says, as the Rabite comes closer, and Candice reaches down to pet it as well. The Rabite looks up, with an indifferent gaze, and goes back to eating it's grass, not really fighting the Lopunny's petting, but not exactly enjoying it either.

"..Vee. Eevee. (..I used to come here a lot in my first few months in the cleft..I'm still a little cautious around humans, but I'm not as afraid of them as I used to be. Some of them are very nice.)" explained Kalin as he gazed out towards the road.
"Eevee...vee. (It's strange. I was like an entirely different creature when I first fell in..something happened to me at the time and I didn't remember anything about my life outside of the cleft. That's where my fear of humans came from..before, we relied on each other to survive. My best friend was a human..so it scares me to think that Darkrai could tap -that- far into someone's heart.)"

Kalin then glanced over to Candice, his head tilted a little to the side. "Eevee? Vee? (You said they make you fight each other in your world? Why? From the sound of it, your world seems like the perfect place..sunlight, flowing rivers, vibrant life..why would anyone need to fight?)" asked the Eevee with curiousity. It had bothered him for a long time, and Julexa was too young to talk to about it. Perhaps Candice would have an answer.

Candice's face slowly turns from smiling, to one of concern as she hears Eevee ask what he did. "Lop...lopunny. Lopunny, lopunny lop.("The trainers back home compete in something called a 'League'. They go out and catch pokemon, often tearing certain pokemon from their family and friends they had growing up...to go around and fight others of their kind...with almost no say on their part. They'll even be forced to fight their family and friends if the trainer comes across them..")

Candice pauses for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing...telling you about how they have places called 'Pokemon Centers', where the trainers just leave us in the hands of a Chansey...not knowing if we'll pull through or die...it can be a brutal place to live.." She says, finally, as she picks up the Rabite tocuddle in her arms. Surprisingly, the Rabite does not object to this; instead, it contently wiggles it's short, puffy tail.

'That's horrible..did Jameson do that, too?' Kalin idly wondered to himself. "Vee..Eevee. (I see..the struggles in your world sound kind of like mine. Heck, maybe it's the same one, and we're just from different time periods.)" Kalin stopped as soon as he mentioned the idea. If it were true, he'd have just told Candice that her world was doomed. Not that it mattered; both of them lived in the cleft now. He supposed that the humans would get what they deserved.

But if that were the case..in some remote way, could Candice's actions cause the Eevee to cease existing..? Kalin shook his head in some strange attempt to shake those thoughts away. Perhaps a change in subject was in order..the context of battling made him realize the predicament that her mate was trapped in. A hint of passion could be heard in Kalin's voice as he broke his pause, turning to gaze out at the road.

"Vee..Eevee. (It's not right..no one should treat us that way. It's not just humans..other pokemon and other creatures of this world feel like they can ruin our lives and tell us what to do just because they can't understand us or we aren't as smart as they are.)" Finishing his orange, Kalin then rose up, his eyes still fixated on the road.

"Veeeee. (Even in the Beast Kingdom, they look down on those of us who have relations with humans. That has to change..we're not mindless monsters. We have feelings too..and children to make futures for. We have to come together and stand up to them. I want to make that dream a reality.)"

Candice just nods. Looking out over the road, she just sighs and sets the Rabite down on the path again. It happily goes back to eating it's grass as Candice slowly finishes her orange while thinking. "...Lopunny.("You know...you're right! Let's march up there and give them a p--")" Candice let her words trail off as she just recalled what Kalin said to her when she first fell in: 'There is no way out..." Sighing, she mentally tosses that plan aside.

"Eeevee. (Well..I guess that's enough daydreaming for now. Let's go home..we've been gone for a while now and Julexa will blow the place up if we don't get these grapes to her. That's what those are called, by the way..wasn't sure if you knew that or not before.)" said Kalin as he turned towards the hole in the tree and slowly making his way to it.

"Vee..Eevee. (I didn't mean to sound so depressing..there's just as many wonderful things in this world. Maybe we can take the kids to a place I found south of Truce where some pokemon and humanoids live together sometime. And maybe next time we're out, I'll show you that giant stick thing that flies in the sky in the town west of here.

Oh yeah..there's also a pond near the cave I need to show you sometime. Its nectar is sweet, but it's..a little strange. I don't know how to describe it..but it's not something that Julexa or the girls should be drinking.)"

Candice nods as she follows Eevee towards the cave. As they get down the trunk of the tree, loud exasperated screaming can be heard from the cave, as well as a sound of wrestling. Upon nearing the cave mouth, The two come back to Julexa's fur standing completely on end, and two Buneary on the floor, twitching and sparking lightly. From the looks of it, they finally pushed Julexa over the edge, the small Pichu grunting and panting as sparks jump from her cheeks.

Vee! (Uh oh..it looks like we're too late.)" noted Kalin as he rushed in to check on the three. Surely she wouldn't have shocked them TOO hard..?

Julexa takes a few calm, deep breaths as the three are fully concious, except their muscles are rock-solid and are unable to move. At most, it looks like she only used Thunder Wave on them in order to make them stop bugging her as she sits down. "Pichu.("Sorry Eevee...they just got on my nerves...")" She says, as the two cry out for Candice...who walks up just to make sure they are okay..which they basically were.

Kalin laughed a little as he gestured for some of the grapes that Candice snagged. "Veeee! (Oh sis..you're an awful babysitter. Well, I'm an Eevee of my word. Look what we got!)"

Julexa puffs her cheeks cutely as she crosses her arms. "Pi-chu!(Am not!")" She says, as she grabs ther grapes and starts to eat them.