Dusk

Ah, the moon. Ever since I was a hatchling, I've alwase been taught to warship it. But lately, I've been wondering if we've been warshiping it too much. We don't go out in the daytime because that's when the... other pack is roaming. You see, my kind is divided into two packs: the Midday pack and the Midnight pack. I'm obviously in the midnght pack. My best friend, Silver, is a rule breaker. One day, when everyone was sleeping and I was about to drift off, she woke me up. "Moonlight," she whispered. I grunted. "I can't sleep." I rolled over to face her. "Then why don't you go see what daylight is like," I said sarcastically, trying to hint that I wanted left alone. I should have known better. I knew I had messed up when a mischevious grin crept across her face. "Shh!" I knew there was no point in trying to stop her. Once she's set on doing something, she's going to do it. However, I could not let her go alone. We crept through the exit to the territory-- a gap between two low-hanging tree branches-- and into the dense forest.

Rockruffs aren't supposed to leave the territory, which is why Silver often sneaked out when everyone was distracted. I never left the territory. As far as I'm aware, this was the first time she went out in the daytime. The reason I went with her is because she's one to jump head-first into danger, and if she ran into the other pack... We decided to train for a bit, not realizing that Silver was one level away from evolving. Once she defeated a Purrloin that was willing to battle us, she became overcome with a white light. I knew she was evolving, for I had seen Rockruffs evolve in the den before. I watched excitedly, but quickly noticed something was off. Instead of growing upward with long, handing arms, she grew outward and took on the shape of a Midday Lycanroc. I know what they look like because they often come to raid our base, and vice versa. Of course, the Rockruffs aren't involved in any of that. Once the light faded, Silver must have noticed my horrified look, because she asked, "What's wrong?" There happened to be a pond nearby, so I showed her her reflection. She gasped. "But how...?" I alwase thought that whatever pack a Rockruff was in determined what form they evolved into. I guess I was wrong. "We need to get home, now," I said. "But then they'll know..." I shook my head. "it doesn't matter. We need to go home."

Since the two clans share an ancient rivalry, we decided it would be best to not make a huge fuss about it. That went out the window fast. We figured it would be best to quietly wake up Silver's parents and let them figure out what to do from there. But the thing is, Silver's mom is very quick to call for help at the slightest hint of danger. So, of course when she saw a Midday Lycanroc in her den, she completely freaked. "Midday Lycanroc! Midday Lycanroc! Stay away from me! Sharpclaw! Star!" She called for the alphas, who also happened to be my parents. They came over and my dad growled at Silver. "What are you doing here?" "Um... I..." I don't think I ever heard her stammer before. "Leave my pack alone." My dad sounded so sinister, I couldn't blame her for backing down. As he prepared to swing his arm and rake his claws through my friends flesh, I shouted, "Dad, wait!" He turned around as if noticing me for the first time. "Moonlight! What are you doing here? Go back to bed." I stayed put. "You can't hurt her!" His expression turned to one of shock and then anger. "Don't tell me your with this Lycanroc!" "Dad!" I practically screamed. "That's Silver!" Silver's mom, who was watching everything go down from her den, reacted to this. "Not my baby! She's sleeping right--" She noticed that Silver wasn't there. "Oh..." She looked at the submissive Lycanroc. "Silver? Is that you?" Silver nodded meekly, and her mom went up to hug her. "Oh! My precious baby! What happened." Of course, she left out information. "Well, Moonlight and I couldn't sleep, so we decided to train. When I evolved, I evolved into this form!" "That's because you evolved in the daytime," my dad growled. "You know you're not supposed to evolve in the daytime." She put her head down. "I know..." "Well," Dad said, "we can't have a Midday Lycanroc in our pack. Star and I will talk." As the moon started coming up, They went back to their den, and Silver's mom was suddenly all over her, saying things like, :Are you okay?" and "It'll be alright." Once she was done, it was the Rockruffs' turn. "Wow!" "What's it like being evolved?" "I can't believe I get to see a real Midday Lycanroc, right up close!" She finally made it back to her den, and I stayed with her, not wanting to see my parents. At about midnight, when everyone was eating, the Rockruffs still trying to swarm Silver and the Lycanrocs keeping their distance, my parents emerged. They found Silver's mom and began talking to her. "No! You can't!" she screamed suddenly. Naturally, Silver crept closer to see what was going on. I watched, until she came running back and pulled me aside. I knew from the expression on her face and the tears welling in her eyes that my parents had not made a nice decision. "They want to throw me out of the pack!"

I really tried hard to convince my parents not to throw her out, but as they are the alphas, I couldn't really prevent it. For several days I sat in my den, thinking. ''Why did they do that? Where is she now?'' Well, that last question was answered today. It was nothing too big; they just stole some food and uprooted shrubs. I figured that, since tensions have been low lately, they just wanted to make sure their presence was still known. Well, I was wrong. One of the Midday Lycanrocs-- the female alpha, I think-- stepped into the middle of the clearing and said in a voice loud enough that everyone could hear: "Next time, you'll think twice before throwing out your own family. Consider this a warning." Another Lycanroc stepped up next to her, and it took me a moment to realize that it was Silver. And, for a brief moment, our eyes locked.

So now, I'm in my den, still thinking. Was that raid... her idea? I have to go find out. It's daytime, so I'll go in the night, when Silver's pack is sleeping. Once night hit, I set out before anyone wakes up. I'm not quite sure where other pack lives, but I can follow the fresh scent they left behind. I quickly make my way to what I believe to be the entrance to the other territory. They have it neatly lined with shrubs with a small hole that goes underneath them as an entrance. I crawl through and poke my head out the other end, checking to see that everyone was sleeping. There territory is neat, with flowers dotted around the large clearing. I can see Lycanrocs sleeping under a second layer of larger shrubs; those must be the dens. I have to admit, if we were battling over who's territory was nicer, our unorganized clearing with just the surrounding trees to mark the border and randomly dug holes as dens could not compete. I quickly scan them, seeing if I can spot Silver. I can't see them, so I guess I have to check each individual den. I know it's risky, but I have to find my friend. I figure I at least have an advantage because I'm a Rockruff so at first glance, I won't seem like an intruder. I quietly check each den; luckily everyone's sleeping; until I get to the biggest shrub. There's vines hanging down to cover the entrance, and when I peak inside, there's a thick layer of grass to serve as a comfortable bed, something I did not see in the other dens. There are three Lycanrocs. I notice that one is the same Lycanroc that gave us our "warning" earlier, and another is Silver. I step in pad carefully over to her, lightly poking her with my paw. "Silver." She pops her head up and looks at me. "Moonlight? What are you doing here?" "I came to see you." "You shouldn't be here." "That never stopped you." She sighs. "Let's go somewhere else before the others wake up". She leads me to a concealed area between two unused shrubs. 'Your territory is very nice," I told her. "Tell me about it! Oh, and by the way, my name's not Silver anymore. It's Golden." "Ha! What a creative name change." She giggled. "I know, right?" I'm relieved that we're still friends, and that we can still laugh and giggle like old times. But then I remember why I came. "Was it your idea? To do the raid?" She nods. So it really was her! "But why?" I ask. "Moonlight, when your parents kicked me out of the pack, that was the most hurt I've ever been in my life." That makes since... I would be pretty upset, too. I tell her that I understand and that I forgive her. "I'm glad. I didn't want to do anything horrible, just... show that I was upset. You know?" I nodded. "Well, you should get back before anyone realizes you're gone." I don't want to leave her, but I know she's right. Besides, I can alwase visit her again.

I do keep visiting her; it's almost nightly at this point. I also made a point to train hardcore until I evolved, just so I can't get in trouble for going out. Now that I'm evolved, my parents have started talking to me about what's going to happen when they are no longer around, about the responsibilities of being alpha and blah, blah, blah. Here's where the problem comes in: when I'm alpha, I'll have to pick my mate. I've alwase looked up to her, how she's not scared of danger or challenging things. She's been my closest friend for as long as I can remember, but ever since I evolved, my feelings have... changed. Her smiling face... Her warm eyes... There's no denying that I'm in love.

It happened today. I went to our usual meeting spot at our usual time, and she was guarding it. An egg. My egg! No... Our egg... She's letting me hold it for a little bit before insisting I give it back to her. "What are we gonna name it?" I ask. This is where things get rediculous. We actually start fighting over what we're going to name the egg! She wants to name it things that have to do with the day, I want to name it things that have to do with the night. I know. Shocker. "We're both from the Midnight pack! It's in its blood!" I say. "I'm sorry, but your pack abandoned me. Do you really want to honor that?" Then it hits me: Dusk. The time of day in between the two, when one pack is emerging and the other is going to sleep, when no one rules. Golden lovsd the idea. We agree to keep the egg a secret due to the fact that if either clan sees it, they'll want to know who the other parent is. We move it out to the woods, and I suggest that we take turns watching it. A look of panic crosses Golden's face. "you're suggesting I leave my egg?" Okay, so that isn't an option. "How about this: you stay and guard the egg, and when you go back, you can say you got lost or went on an adventure or something." "Works for me," she says.

Turns out, that wasn't such a good idea. I wake up the next day to the Midday pack storming our territory. "Where is she!?" the wolf in the front screams. I realize it's the same wolf that Golden slept with. I learned from her that she is, in fact, the alpha, along with her mate, Light. Her name is Bright. They're sibilings, which explains their similar names. Once Golden had found the other pack, they took her in and sort of became her parents. No wonder she's so mad. My parents run up to meet her. "Where's who?" my dad growls. "You know exactly who I'm talking about. You threw her out, you can't just take her back! Now what did you do with her." "If you're talking about Silver, I don't know where she is." "Liar! You're probably holding her hostage! Give her back now and nobody get's hurt!" My dad laughed. "Is that a threat?" "Yes, it is." "Well, it's not very menacing. I could destroy your entire pack in one swoop." Bright's eyes narrowed. "So, you want to challenge me, huh? Well, so be it."

My dad lands the first hit, and it's on. The Midday Lycanrocs leap into action, and the Midnight ones do the same. The clearing is covered in blood within moments. I feel horrible for slipping away, but I have to tell Golden. She's the only one who can stop this. I find her in the same spot I left her, and tell her what's going down. "Oh, no," she whispers. "You have to come back with me! It's the only way!" "But the egg..." "The egg will be fine." She shakes her head. "I can't, Moonlight. Don't you see? Dusk is the most important thing in the world to me. I thought you felt the same." "Dusk is important to me. But so are the lives of all the pack members." "I can't, Moonlight." I can't believe I actually liked this Pokemon, let alone love her. I sulk off without another word. When I get back, I slip into battle as if I were never gone. It's over quickly, with us chasing the intruders away. Many are injured, and we know they'll be back.