While Lady Mayfire's estate in Santalune City was nowhere near as opulent as Lord Kachu's mansion or the houses of her more extravagant friends, the Delphox's home was an undeniably lovely place to visit. The entire house had been designed with the theme of the woods, with rare photographs of pre-revolution Santalune Forest and art pieces celebrating nature (all fireproofed, of course). Guests were usually brought straight to the backyard, which had a small Berry orchard and an amazing view of the gradually rebirthing forest.

But today, the guests in the gazebo were far more interested in the tiny bundle of fur in the Lady's arms.

"He's so adorable!" Baroness Gorax cooed.

"Look at those little ears!" A Delcatty purred.

"What's his name going to be?" An Aromatisse asked.

Lady Mayfire was an elegant creature, with smoothly groomed fur and a chic green dress. Small emerald earrings shaped like leaves adorned her ears, and her voicebox was a custom-made designer brand. She was cradling a newly hatched Fennekin cub, sleeping soundly in her arms. Mayfire smiled down at her cub.

"I'm not certain, to be honest. I'm thinking about something from the older myths."

Gorax chuckled. "Sounds like it'll be a big name for such a little guy."

Mayfire shrugged. "I…suppose I'll think of something that fits. Names are important to think about." Playfully, she nudged her sleeping cub's nose. It made a strange giggle-snore before nuzzling itself back into his mother's arms. The Delphox cooed and looked out over the forest.

Santalune forest was a shadow of it's former self. The place had been completely destroyed during the Revolution – apparently the humans and loyalists had tried to use it as a base, and the revolutionaries had been…excessive in flushing them out. The forest had been replanted and was slowly being rebuilt, but it was sealed off to outsiders for the time being.

"I wonder if he'll be able to play in that forest..." Mayfire sighed wistfully. "This house is lovely, but…well, I know most Delphoxes prefer the desert, but I'll always love the woods."

The Aromatisse nodded. "I know how you feel. Do you think it will be recovered before…you know?"

Gorax shrugged. "Hopefully. Apparently, they've hit some delays since Celebi left."

Delcatty's eyes widened. "Wait…he's gone?! Does that mean…?"

"Not like that, dear." Gorax shook her head reassuringly. "He's still around…He's just withdrawn from the public. I think he just needed a rest from all those rabble rousers."

"The humans?" Aromatisse asked.

"Not just the humans. The ex-revolutionaries, the loyalists…honestly, everyone and their human were begging him to go back and change things. Change everything. Change the victor, change the fight, change the battle, change the fashions…I suppose that's the problem with being a time-traveler. Everyone expects the world from you."

"Ah…" Delcatty winced. "That…would get tiresome, I imagine. Especially for such a little guy like that."

Gorax nodded. "Yes…some are never satisfied with how the world is. Human, Pokemon, doesn't matter. Sometimes, you gotta accept the way things are…You hear about what his goodbye note said?"

"No, I haven't."

"I think it was a quote from a human philosopher…it said, uhh…"

Just then, the young Fennekin abruptly woke up and started squirming. Before his mother could hold him down, his wriggling paws had already upset the tea set on the gazebo, splattering tea all over the table.

"OH! Oh dear…"

"Aheheh…You forget how messy little children can be." Delcatty chuckled.

Mayfire sighed, trying to regain control over her squirming son. As soon as she had gotten him to settle down somewhat, she let out a sharp whistle. "Scruffy!"

At the sound of the whistle, the gardener stopped trimming the trees and ran over to the gazebo. 'Scruffy' was a young man with messy brown hair and a shirt and jeans that had become rumpled with his work. He took a deep breath and rubbed his neck. "Yes, ma'am?" he asked, giving a polite smile.

Mayfire motioned to the spill. "Clean this up, we'll be eating inside now."

Scruffy nodded, taking a washcloth out of one of his pockets. "Yes ma'am."

"Good boy, Scruffy." She nodded.

The guests quickly got up and started walking away as Scruffy started wiping the spilt tea off the table. As they did, Gorax noticed something interesting. She didn't mention it in front of the human, simply raising an eyebrow and walking off to join the others.

As soon as they were out of earshot, 'Scruffy' grumbled. "That's not my name…"

Gorax caught up to Mayfire and the others just as she was placing her excited son into his playplace. The Delphox was clearly spoiling the cub – not even a week old, and he had been built his own playplace that had been filled with Fennekin-friendly toys. The cub promptly started batting about a big ball with his nose, much to the amusement of his mother and her guests.

"Heehee, look at him go!" Delcatty giggled. "He's already got Tackle down…"

"Don't talk like that." Aromatisse chided harshly. "He's not growing up to be a…battler."

Delcatty swallowed. "I'm…sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, it just…came out, I'm sorry…"

Aromatisse sniffed. "Those days are over, and good riddance to them. We'll never have to…battle again."

Delphox hummed, watching her son's heroic battle against the big ball. "Actually, have you heard some of those rumors? About the, um…battle clubs?"

"Yeah, I've heard about them. I can't believe Pokemon would willingly go back to fighting." Aromatisse spat. "After all we went through…"

"Well, at least they're choosing to fight this time…"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Gorax swallowed, seeing that the conversation was going to a very bad place, quickly changed the subject. "Say, Mayfire, was that a collar around Scruffy's neck? A pet collar?"

Mayfire blinked. "Erm…why do you ask?"

"I just noticed it while I was coming inside. He was trying to hide it, but I could tell. I think there's even a tag that says 'Scruffy' on it."

Mayfire chuckled. "Well, yes. That…used to be MY collar. Back in the days."

"Wait…" Delcatty blinked, glancing out the window. The human had finished cleaning the gazebo and had returned to trimming the trees. "Scruffy was your trainer?"

Mayfire nodded. "That's correct. When the revolution started, we had just completed the Kalos tournament. We…won it, in fact." The Delphox blushed under her fur. "I…don't suppose I can't take some pride in that."

Aromatisse was able to retort, but Gorax interrupted her. "That is very impressive. You should be proud – it was all your blood and sweat, after all." She assured her friend with a smile, hoping to calm Aromatisse down as well.

"I suppose…" They both said at once.

"Hold on…" Delcatty deduced. "…if that was your collar…"

Mayfire nodded, sighing. "Yeah. He called me 'Scruffy' when he first caught me…never changed the name when I evolved."

Aromatisse winced. "Oog…That would be embarrassing. Isn't that more of a boy's name?"

The Delphox smirked. "Scruffy – well, my trainer – was okay, but he wasn't very bright about certain things. He couldn't tell the difference between a male and female Braixen if both of them bit him in the leg at the same time. When he caught me in Santalune Woods, I was…" Mayfire stopped, swallowed and continued. "…I was pretty ratty, so he figured he could call me Scruffy."

Delcatty giggled. "And now it's his name, with him serving you. That's pretty poetic."

Mayfire shrugged. "I suppose so. He cleans the house, trims the plants, and cooks the meals, quite well, too. That psychic job course was excellent."

"Wait…" Aromatisse blinked. "You actually paid for a psychic job course for him? I thought those were expensive for the humans…and isn't it dangerous for them to learn so fast?"

"Well, I wasn't willing to bear through the trial-and-error phase of his cooking. He tried making Pokeblocks one time before the Revolution, and…let's just say they were unforgettable and leave it at that."

Gorax snapped her claws as if remembering something. "Speaking of unforgettable Pokeblocks, did you go to the food fair last night? I heard one of Kachu's cooks made those complimentary Pokeblocks, and…"

Lady Mayfire and her guests chatted on through the rest of the day, discussing Pokeblocks and celebrations and fashions and all sorts of matters that concerned Pokemon ladies of the New Era. And through it all, Scruffy stayed out of sight, either working in the garden or touching up the food in the kitchen. The conversation never returned to him or Mayfire's past, which is what they both wanted right now.

It wasn't until the moon rose that Mayfire's guests started excusing themselves and returning to their own homes. Mayfire bade them all goodbye before gently setting her child to bed. The Delphox tenderly kissed her sleeping son on the forehead, smiling happily down at him. Tears started forming in her eyes before she wiped them away, slowly and reluctantly leaving her child to his rest.

Mayfire heard a rustling in another room, and decided to make another stop before she went to bed herself.

Scruffy's room was quite modest, but her trainer was always a rather simple sort. The only vanity he really had was a stand that displayed the Kalos Tournament trophy, the last trophy awarded before the Revolution began. Kalos Champion: Tobias Grayson. The gold paint had been chipped away during the scuffle reclaiming it, revealing the base underneath. Regardless, it's owner caringly kept it clean, and was in the middle of wiping it down when Mayfire came in.

Scruffy turned to look at his employer. He didn't hide his neck from her…there was no point. Just as Gorax had suspected, the pet collar was around his neck. A small tag in the shape of a Pokeball dangled from it, with the name 'Scruffy' engraved in big letters. He gave a wan smile.

Mayfire smiled back. "You did good tonight. The dinner and tea was delicious. You deserve a good rest, Scruffy."

'Scruffy' sighed. "Could you…not…my name isn't Scruffy, you know."

Mayfire smirked. "It wasn't my name either, Tobias."

Tobias mumbled. "You never complained…"

"I did. You thought I wanted a nicer collar." Mayfire retorted.

Tobias removed the collar from around his neck and placed it next to a picture of him and his winning Pokemon team. Dedenne, Pangoro, Sylveon, Noivern, Barbaracle and Delphox. They were all smiling…at least, it looked like they were smiling. "But…come on, give me some slack here, I couldn't have known…"

Delphox shook her head, her smile gone. "You 'couldn't have known' a LOT of things, Tobias. It doesn't change anything."

Tobias chuckled nervously, tapping the collar. "But seriously, if this was the worst I'd ever –"

"The worst you've ever done to me?!" Mayfire snapped. Suddenly, she had grabbed Tobias by his shirt collar and forced him up against the wall. Her face was a mask of pure rage, her teeth nearly snapping of her former trainer's nose. Her eyes…Tobias felt a both fire and ice emanating from within them. "You. Don't. Know. Anything!"

Tobias stammered in terror. "Wh-wh-wh-wh-what did I – "

"You CAUGHT me. Took me away from my home, my cubs…Would you like to know why I was so… scruffy when you caught me?! I had spent the entire day hunting for food for my day-old cubs, and then YOU appeared. When I woke up, I was cities away from my children and you wouldn't go back to the woods! I got an insulting name and a collar while MY. CHILDREN. Starved in the woods!"

Tobias eyes went even wider. "I – I – I didn't know…"

"You didn't know. You didn't care. All you cared about was THIS!" Mayfire slammed the trophy. "This was your endgoal, and I was just another pet to help you get this…look at this. Look."

Mayfire released Tobias and scratched the trophy, stripping off a bit of paint. "It's PLASTIC. Not gold. Remade every year for six tournaments worldwide. Worthless. THIS is why I had to lose my cubs?"

"I'm sorry!" Tobias cried. "I'm sorry, I swear, I – "

"'Sorry' isn't good enough! You – "

Mayfire stopped when she turned around to look at Tobias. The boy was curled up in the fetal position, sobbing in terror and guilt. It was just like that night…

"I will rip you apart, you little nothing! I'll take your eyes out and leave you on the street like the rat you are!"

"Stop! Please! Shelly, what did I do to you –"

"NEVER! CALL! ME! SHELLEY!"

"Barton, enough!"

"Pleasestoppleasestopleasestopleasestop…"

"Look, he's lost everything already! The revolution is over! We've WON!"

"But he hasn't lost enough! I want him to suffer! I'll make him suffer every day of his life for– "

"For what? For that stupid name? You didn't lose half of what I did – or hell, what Tobias just did. Let it go!"

"Why are you protecting him? You of all Pokemon ought to know just how much – "

"I do. So let

me deal with him, alright? I'll make sure he doesn't forget."

"Hmph…"

"Barton. He cost me my family. I can punish him just fine. Leave him to me."

"…help me…"

"Fine. But make sure he pays for everything he's done to us…"

"Please don't hurt me…"

"I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. But there's something that you need to do for me…"

Mayfire's eyes went wide, and her mouth went dry. "Oh Arceus…I'm sorry, Tobias, I just…I don't know what came over me, I just…"

"S-scruffy. My name's scruffy. You said that's my name, it's my name, I won't talk back again…"

"Sh-sh-shhhh…" Mayfire was on the floor, trying to comfort her former trainer. "It's okay, Tobias. It's gonna be okay. Don't worry…it's going to be all right. I'll n-never yell at you like that again, I promise."

As gently as she could, she wiped Tobias' tears from his eyes. "Look at me. You're not…You…you remember when we were ambushed by those Team Flare goons in the caves, and I got…I got beaten and captured, and you ran the entire route to the Center in the rain and stayed with me until I was all better…"

"But I…I-I…that doesn't change…"

"You did a lot of things, Tobias. Not all of them were good, but…you're not like that. I don't hate you, I could never hate you. This…what happened…shhhh…"

Mayfire drew Tobias into a comforting embrace. "It's alright. It's going to be okay. I'm sorry, this wasn't your fault."

"I-I-I'm suh-horry…" Tobias sniffled. "I never shoulda…"

"You didn't know. It doesn't change things, I know, but… what's past is past. Listen, we'll…we'll do something you'll like tomorrow. Something nice. Just relax. It'll be okay. Shhhh…"

It took a long time before Tobias cried himself to sleep, and Mayfire had to pick him up and carry him to his bed herself. She carefully tucked him in and turned off the light, leaving him to hopefully sleep off this drama.

Mayfire took a deep breath and slumped next to Tobias' door. She honestly had no idea what came over her…maybe her newly hatched cub and the conversation with her friends brought her bad memories up to the surface. Maybe she figured Tobias had gotten a bit too flippant.

Or maybe she was just a passive-aggressive vindictive fox with a grudge.

She liked to think she was better than Barton was…he had wanted to tear Tobias to pieces, blind him, dump him on the street like garbage. She had…she wanted to think she was protecting Tobias from his wrath. But maybe that wasn't entirely the case…did Tobias really deserve that? Or… this?

Any of this?

Mayfire growled, remembering what Gorax had said earlier. Sometimes, you just gotta accept the way things are… Easy for her to say. She hadn't been a trained Pokemon before the Revolution, she didn't have to deal with all these conflicting feelings.

The same trainer who took her from her children saved her life a dozen times. Wanting to protect him while humiliating him for what he did to her. Why couldn't she just forgive him? She kept thinking that she would, but then she'd think about what happened to her hatchlings…

But she had her own child now, she could start over. They both could…maybe.

What's done is done. There was no changing what happened. That was what everyone kept saying...

Dammit. And Celebi had to pick NOW to disappear. What was he thinking?

PS.

I've recently uploaded an old story of mine called LXGames. I'm quite proud of it for what it is, but it's received almost no attention so far. If any of you readers could check it out and review it, that would be wonderful.