A sprawling meadow lay before me, dotted with trees and bushes that offered shelter in the case of poorer weather. The orange light of the rising sun steadily expanded over the grass, the green stalks rustling in the early morning breeze. At my side, a second Eevee walked, her fur a light shade of brown that looked dark in comparison to my snow-white pelt.

"I think they're following us," my companion whispered, glancing over her shoulder with a giggle. I immediately knew she was referring to a pair of male Eevee that had been following us from a distance since we had started our walk.

"I hate April," I sighed, not looking behind me, "All the males start practicing their courting strategies."

"I just hate the rain," my friend said, looking up at the gray cloudy sky. I followed her gaze, but shrugged. It probably wasn't going to rain until this afternoon, but rain didn't bother me much. "I think they're walking faster," she added, looking over her shoulder again.

"Stop encouraging them," I muttered from the side of my mouth, "Ignore them."

"Hey, wait up!" one of the males called. Naturally, my friend stopped walking, but I rolled my eyes and continued. It took my companion a few seconds to realize she wasn't 'supposed' to stop and she hurried to catch up with me.

"We stop when WE want to stop," I told her irritably. She nodded, but looked behind us again. "Stop doing that!" I hissed at her sharply.

"Why?"

"Because that's what they want you to do," I explained, rolling my eyes. The other Eevee looked at me blankly. "Who the hell taught you about courting?" I demanded. This was supposed to be one of the first things a female Eevee learned about after passing the age of a year, so how come she seemed not to understand the concept of making the male come to you?

"Uh...I don't remember, that was two years ago," she whined. I sighed again, but dropped the subject, stopping at our usual hangout location, only a little ways outside our clan territory. I knew there were still a few clan members that patrolled the area, so it was considered perfectly all right to be here, so long as we didn't go too far.

"None of the others are here yet," I noted, sitting down and casually grooming my white fur. "Well, let's get this over with," I muttered, looking up at the approaching males. Now that we had stopped, I could tell the males were very hesitant. My friend sat next to me, staring at them, her brown furred tail swishing energetically. I worry about her sometimes.

"Hey, you two, uh...what's up?" asked one of the males, whose name I couldn't recall. The other one only smiled nervously.

"Nothing, just waiting for our friends to arrive," I said, pausing my grooming to look at them, but just as quickly returned to my task.

"Uh, can we keep you company until they come?" the same male asked hopefully, his ears perking up.

"Sure," my friend said brightly. I winced, but didn't object. The two males looked relieved and walked over, exchanging looks, clearly undecided on which one would sit next to which female.

"We didn't say you could sit near us," I pointed out, watching with slight amusement as they stopped in their tracks, looking unsure about what to do. Hm, maybe April did have some benefits; I could laugh at the clumsy attempts at courting. I'm pretty sure all the clan males were taught as one group, and so the less ambitious ones followed the lesson plan literally, rather than developing their own style of approach.

"But we MIGHT let them if..." my friend paused and giggled. Both males stared at her. "If you kissed," she finished cutely. My eyes widened.

"...each other?" the more nervous male asked.

"Yeah," my companion giggled. The males exchanged uncomfortable glances before one of them tentatively touched his mouth to the cheek of the other male. They backed away extremely quickly.

"No ambition at all," I said with an exaggerated scoff of disappointment, catching on to what my friend was hoping for.

"...you'll let us sit by you...if we kiss each other?" the male repeated, looking at us suspiciously.

"Why not?" I agreed, grinning a little. My female companion nodded eagerly. A subtle whine left the throat of one of the males, and they stepped off to the side to talk to each other. Despite their attempt at privacy, I clearly heard the phrase 'take one for the team'.

"It'll be worth letting them sit by us just to see them kiss, right?" my friend whispered, giggling.

"You're so mean, Kira," I said, stifling a giggle of my own. The two males had apparently come to a decision, because they walked towards us again.

"You promise you'll let us sit near you?" one of them asked, sounding paranoid.

"Cross our hearts," Kira responded, making a slashing motion across her chest. The males nodded and looked at each other uncomfortably. The more confident of the two leaned forward and touched his mouth to his fellow male's. Kira's eyes glazed a little as she watched and I giggled into my paw.

"HEY! What do you think you're DOING?!" a loud voice shouted, alarming the four of us. The two males broke apart, their cheeks burning crimson. I winced at the volume of the shout, cringing as the yellow spined pelt of one of the clan's patrollers came into view. The Jolteon's quills were shaking with anger and the occasional spark of electricity leapt from his fur. "We'll have none of that sort of thing in this clan!" the Jolteon shouted, storming over to the terrified males and seizing one of them roughly by the ear. The Eevee whimpered and the other backed away anxiously.

"Ah crud," Kira complained under her breath.

"You two, come with me!" the Jolteon snapped, practically dragging his captive back towards the direction of the rest of the clan. The other Eevee looked faint, giving us a terrified glance.

"Sorry," my companion said, her ears drooping apologetically. Shaking, the male followed the Jolteon.

"What was that about?" an Eevee asked as she and two other Eevee about our age came over, looking curiously towards the departing Eevee. I giggled.

"Kira convinced them to kiss, Petal," I whispered.

Petal blinked, "...why?"

"You don't think that's attractive?" Kira asked, sounding surprised. Petal shook her head.

"That's gross," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"What about two males wrestling?" Kira pressed, her tail flicking with amusement.

"That's normal battling," Petal said, sniffing as if the entire conversation was rude. The two Eevee accompanying her were male, so we chose to change the subject rather than see if Petal's opinion was the only one that differed from ours, and before long we were playing a rousing morning game of tag.

I had just tagged one of the males, when we heard an unfamiliar voice call, "Excuse me."

"What was that?" Petal demanded, her fur bristling as she looked around. The answer to that question soon surfaced in the form of a canine with bright orange fur decorated with black stripes. It had thick, creamy fur on its stomach, tail and on top of its head. This particular Growlithe had particularly soft brown eyes and stood a bit taller than any of us.

"Hello," the fire canine said politely. Almost every Eevee backed away from the canine as if it were disease-ridden, their expressions a mixture of disgust and fear. Kira cringed a little, but she didn't match the expressions of the other Eevee. I scowled at them and stayed where I was.

"Hi," I said. The Growlithe smiled a little, giving the other Eevee a look of bewilderment.

"I guess they're shy?" he asked, gesturing towards the repulsed Eevee. I sighed.

"More or less," I answered vaguely.

"Ooh, Darkness," one of male Eevee said in a childish tattling tone, "you're talking to a Growlithe."

"Bite me," I snapped back. That shut him up nicely.

"You'll get in trouble," Petal warned. I rolled my eyes.

"That rule is stupid, anyway," I muttered. The Growlithe looked at us blankly.

"Go away, you ugly Growlithe!" one of the males growled, trying to appear threatening. The fire canine flinched. Ugh, and this is what the clan teaches the kits; that all Pokémon that aren't Eevee are not to be trusted and should be avoided, under penalty of clan punishment. It's the most ridiculous and paranoid teaching I've ever heard, and our clan had about a dozen other rules just like it.

"Why don't you go away?" I snapped at this Eevee, who promptly recoiled and hid behind Petal. "What did you want?" I asked the Growlithe politely.

"Ooh, we're telling!" the male Eevee warned in the same tattling tone as before, and he walked away, Petal and the other male following quickly. Kira hesitated and looked at me uncertainly. I shrugged and waited for the Growlithe to answer, dimly aware that she chose to follow the others, leaving me alone with the canine.

"Uh, nice friends you've got," he muttered awkwardly, scratching the back of his head with a paw. I shrugged.

"Sorry about them," I said.

"I was just going to ask if anyone knew where there were Rawst berries around," the Growlithe said with a sigh. "My name's Alister." I blinked, surprised that he didn't have a name more fitting of his specie, but then again I can't really talk unless I become an Umbreon.

"I'm Darkness," I said. He smiled and nodded.

"If you don't mind me asking...why did you get named that?" he asked, no hint of taunting evident in his question.

"From what I heard, my parents had decided on the name 'Dark' if I was male. The question apparently came up with what if I was female, which I am," I explained, giggling briefly. The fire canine smirked briefly but nodded politely for me to continue. "Well, there's some sort of naming thing where you add 'ess' or 'a' to the end of a male name to make it female. So they toyed with that, I guess. 'Darka' didn't sound good and 'Darkess' sounded awkward, so they made it 'Darkness'."

"Oh, I see," Alister said. He looked me over briefly and I knew what he was thinking.

"When I was born, I was born with this white fur," I said, gesturing to myself. "I was female, and they kept the name 'Darkness' for irony's sake. I don't really know my parents, since they weren't really identified to me when I was old enough to remember. Most of us are raised by everyone in the clan, you know?"

"Kind of, I belong to a pack and we follow the same sort of thing," Alister agreed. "Now, I don't want to keep you. I was just looking for Rawst berries."

"Oh, there's a bush of them a little bit that way, I think," I told him, pointing him in the right direction. He thanked me and hurried off. I think he was embarrassed by how the other Eevee had acted towards him and was in a hurry to go before I got in trouble or something. I shrugged and turned to return to the clan grounds, picking up my pace just as the clouds overhead spilled some rain down from the heavens.

"You could have gotten in trouble," Kira told me later that night. I nodded, but in truth I didn't really care. "Petal was going to drop a hint to one of the elders."

"I don't care," I muttered. Kira blinked at me. "Well, we'll probably never see him again anyway, so what does it matter?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Kira agreed, lying down in the grass to sleep. I stayed awake a while longer, thinking. We probably wouldn't see the Growlithe again, but part of me hoped we would. It wasn't fair how the clan treated those of a different species, just because they were different.

Several days passed without incident. It was about noon, and a large portion of the clan had gathered together so that the leaders could address the maturing Eevee. Unsurprisingly, part of the lesson or whatever focused on the upcoming courting season. I knew all this stuff already, so I wasn't really paying much attention.

"...use caution..." Yeah, caution to avoid males or females of other specie lines because they're 'no good' and all kits born from such an unholy union were disgraces to the Eevee bloodline. I hate listening to this crap.

After what felt like an eternity of mindless existence, I just got up and left, finding a fluttering Butterfree far more interesting than whatever stupid rules they were going over. I followed the insect Pokémon a little ways, barely aware of where I was going. The Butterfree paused its flight and gazed at me somewhat curiously. I giggled and crouched as if to pounce, my tail flicking energetically. After sitting for who knows how long, I had a lot of pent up energy.

The Butterfree made a slight giggling sound and flapped its wings, dodging me when I pounced at it. It hovered a little bit off the ground, staying at a height where I could tackle it without overexerting myself. I grinned and pounced at it again, but it darted forward, knocking me onto my back, twittering with amusement as I righted myself and pounced at it again.

"Why, I recognize that pretty white fur, anywhere," chuckled a familiar male voice. I looked up and smiled a little as the vaguely familiar Growlithe walked into view. It was his eyes that I recognized more than anything. They were an instantly recognizable shade of brown and were filled with gentle warmth, a sharp contrast to how the clan said that most Houndour or Growlithe were vicious killers. "Darkness, right?"

"Alister, right?" I echoed, waving a paw at him.

"I didn't expect to see you around here," Alister said, looking around. I hesitated and looked around as well, unsure precisely where I was. I glanced back the way I came, satisfied that I was still within an appropriate distance of the clan grounds. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, since you're the only one that was friendly to me," he assured me with a chuckle. I smiled in agreement.

"This Butterfree's teasing me," I complained, pointing at the butterfly Pokémon, which twittered, still hovering in the same spot it was when Alister had first distracted me. Alister glanced at the Butterfree blankly, but then grinned and pounced at it. Caught by surprise, the Butterfree squeaked and narrowly dodged the larger Growlithe. I pounced at it next, successfully knocking it out of the air, but I was careful not to damage its wings.

"Nice one," Alister praised.

"You helped," I reminded him, getting off the Butterfree, which giggled sweetly as it returned to the air and fluttered off. "So what are doing here?" I asked him.

"Just taking a walk," he said, breathing deeply. "Get in some exercise while I can. Otherwise I get all tired and irritable."

"You normally lazy?" I asked. Alister shook his head, chuckling. I noticed his brown eyes seemed to shine when he laughed.

"DARKNESS!" a voice shouted from behind me. I cursed under my breath, cringing from the force of the shout. Alister blinked and quickly took a few paces back. "What do you think you're DOING?!"

"Playing!" I shouted back, losing my temper. Big mistake, seeing as the Flareon scolding me was right behind me. I didn't realize he was so close.

"You know the rules, Darkness!" the fire type shouted in my face. I shut my eyes when drops of moisture hit my face, my fur bristling from the stress of being shouted at. "And you, Growlithe, GET LOST!"

"Hey! He didn't do anything!" I protested. Alister stepped back quickly.

"I'm sorry," he muttered to the Flareon.

"GET GOING!" the Flareon snapped, baring his teeth angrily, then turning and storming back towards the clan grounds. "Follow me, Darkness!" he ordered without looking back. I winced and looked at Alister apologetically.

"Sorry," the Growlithe said weakly. "Looks like I got you in trouble after all..."

"Don't worry about it," I muttered. "They just have stupid stupid rules. It doesn't matter."

"Well...guess this is good-bye," Alister said.

"DARKNESS! GET OVER HERE!"

"I'm coming!" I shouted back, then glanced at Alister. "That's stupid. I'll see you around, 'kay?"

"How?"

"See that hill? I can't point, they'll see me pointing. Tomorrow night, wait there," I whispered. Alister blinked. "They'll be watching me tonight. And night is the only time we can meet, when everyone else is sleeping, 'kay?"

"You sure? I don't want to cause more trouble..." he said hesitantly.

"You won't be, just meet me there," I insisted.

"This doesn't seem very smart," Alister said uncertainly.

"And these rules are stupid," I growled, "Look, just be there. See you then." With that, I turned and hurried to catch up to the pissed off Flareon. In my mind's eye, I could still see the weak smile the Growlithe had given me before I had left. I could still see the small shine in his eyes when he laughed.

"What did you DO?" Kira demanded that night, looking at me with an appalled expression. She, like everyone else in the entire clan, had probably heard the shouting lecture I had received from the clan leaders, even though they hadn't been able to pick up what was being shouted.

"What?" I asked, rubbing my ear. Being shouted at by several adult Eons for about an hour had left me hard of hearing for the rest of the day. Kira repeated her question. "I ran into Alister again," I muttered.

"Who?"

"The Growlithe from the other day," I explained, rubbing my ear again. "I'm meeting him tomorrow."

"WHAT?!"

"Shut up!" I snarled, covering her mouth with a paw.

"Sorry," Kira mumbled. "What?"

"I'm meeting him tomorrow night," I repeated, sitting down and grooming my fur. Kira, distracted, wandered over and began to help so that I could finish explaining what had happened.

"I don't know, Darkness," she said uncertainly. "If you get caught..."

"Ugh, it'll be fine, Kira!" I growled, curling up, "Just be quiet and let me sleep." The smaller Eevee nodded and lay down near me as I looked up at the sky. A strange churning sensation filled my stomach as I thought about tomorrow night. It was a feeling I had never felt before, yet I somehow knew it had to do with Alister. But that couldn't be it...could it? Was it normal to feel this way so soon? I couldn't ask anyone about it; I wasn't close enough to anyone who would know, but...I just couldn't shake this feeling, this knowledge.

I think I'm in love.