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What Gods Leave	By : Twill Category: Pokemon > General Views: 3361 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Traitor woke to Esper idly bathing his neck with her tongue. Judging from the soft green glow above, the sun had risen long ago, but Esper's warm body against his didn't provide much motivation to rise.
“I thought you were going to sleep the entire day.” She shifted to lay more atop him, their manes still spread about them.
Traitor tried to blink the sleep from his eyes. “You could have woke me.”
She chuckled. “I did.”
Esper had shown an odd interest in him since they first met, back at his old clan. She, along with Douse and Ember, came as envoys a few days after the Rising. They wanted all the Zoroark clans to join together. When he'd heard of his own clan's plan to retreat to the mountains, Traitor approached the three.
Esper's piercing gaze never seemed to relax, and those magenta eyes bore down on him. “What are you thinking about?” Her nose hovered a hair above his.
As the subject of her current fascination, he felt the question was more a formality. “Nothing. We're leaving today, aren't we?”
She shook her head and lay back against him. “Yes, the other packs are already ahead of us, but we shouldn't arrive too late.” Her claws raked satisfyingly along his ribs.
The desire to flip her over and- Damn vixen. He shook his head slightly – had to keep his guard up. “You said everyone had a role. What's yours?”
Esper smiled knowingly down at him, but before she had a chance to respond, someone approached. They both looked up to see Ember walking towards them.
Ember didn't bother to quiet his movement, and he spoke cheerily. “Morning you two. Esper, if you're done with him, the elders wanted to speak with Traitor before we get moving.”
“Well, don't keep them waiting.” Esper shifted enough to no longer pin Traitor beneath her, and pushed him upwards.
“But-” It could wait. He brushed a few stray leaves off himself and followed after Ember. “How far away are the other packs?”
“Couple of days, depending on how fast we move. Speaking of, you don't look too excited.” Ember eyed him.
Traitor tried to stretch the stiffness from his limbs. “I'll be fine,” he said through a yawn.
They walked back towards the clearing where they gathered last night. This time, Zorua darted about the meadow, leaving rustling trails in the tall grass. Traitor only counted a handful. As they approached a group of three older Zoroark, Ember made a hasty departure.
Only one of the elders, Winter, could truly be considered old. Graying fur covered her snout, and a faded but obvious scar ran up her left arm. He'd heard she earned it by stopping a Haxorus from rampaging through her pack's grounds – alone. When a Zoroark grew too old to benefit the pack, they left, to spend their last days alone, rather than burden the rest. Despite her age, Traitor didn't envy anyone at odds with the elder Zoroark.
Winter spoke in a tired but firm voice. “Hello, Traitor. I hope you are finding yourself welcome here.” She stood slightly ahead of the other two elders, eyes sharp. Winter obviously held the dominant position of the three.
Traitor bowed his head. “I am. Thank you for everything you've done for me.”
Winter nodded in return. “Think nothing of it. I wish we could have spoken longer, but we have been busy. Hopefully we will speak further after the clan unites.”
While the other two elders didn't speak, he felt their eyes on him, watching for even the slightest twitch of the nose. He felt judged.
“That would be good,” he mumbled, shifting before them. Only Esper had ever looked at him like that, and not with half the intensity these three could muster.
Winter continued, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “The real reason we wanted to speak was because we heard you wished to search out the humans. That would be a great benefit to our clan. Despite our difference in opinion with the other clans, few are eager to be the first.”
Traitor mentally sighed but tried to hide any outward reaction. Ember told them? “I uh, well yes, I was considering it.” He did owe his new clan.
“Good. You will be serving your clan well. One of us will speak with you further once we join the other packs. Now, we'll be leaving soon. You should get ready.” Winter's eyes glittered, predatory despite their age. The dismissal was clear.
“Yes, thank you.” Traitor bowed his head once more and retreated. He meandered back towards Esper's hollow. The clans needed someone to reach out to the humans, and he had intended to offer himself for the task, but being more or less ordered to, did feel stifling – a strange thought. It didn't matter. He joined the clan, and he'd do whatever the clan needed to survive.
But by the time he returned, Esper had already gone. Grumbling, he made his way back towards the remaining food. None of the kills could be brought with them – the added weight would slow them too much. Besides, as long as they remained on the move, game would be plentiful.
After eating as much as he dared before a long trip, Traitor found a tree to sit against, his mane cushioning him against the rough bark. While a few of the other Zoroark flashed a smile at him, none treated him any different than his old pack would have. None approached, but as a newcomer, he should make the first move.
Something stopped him though. As he watched the others mill about in determined chaos, he couldn't help but feel lost. The last time his clan's packs had joined had been before his birth. Now, he knew almost nobody, and would be thrust into a group of almost a hundred other Zoroark. And things no longer made sense.
Ember called out from a short distance away. “Hey! If I have to drag you there I'm not going to be happy. We're leaving.”
Without him realizing it, the others had gathered, Winter at their front. The eldest Zoroark leading a pack meant one thing – if you couldn't keep up, you didn't deserve to run with the pack.
The elder's eyes scanned the group. “Today we begin our journey to unite the clans, and in time, all Zoroark. We will build a clan to rival the humans themselves, and ensure we remain known as the predators we are!”
A guttural cheer erupted from the gathered Zoroark, a mass of dark fur and crimson slashes like spilled blood. Traitor stood and cheered with them. The small, extrinsic voice in the back of his mind that drove him to seek out the humans cheered the loudest.
“The hunt begins!” Winter turned and dashed off into the forest.
As if one, the rest followed, over thirty Zoroark bounding around trees and foliage, avoiding pits and fallen trunks with predatory grace. They raced east towards an unknown destination.
Ember sought out other friends to run alongside, but none of them spoke. The first day would run them ragged, and no one wanted to waste the energy.
Trees, berry shrubs, streams, prey trails – under any other circumstances, the pack would have stopped. Food always took priority during travel. What other reason did a pokemon have for changing hunting grounds?
Traitor followed those ahead. Sweat dampened his fur, and a light froth built around his muzzle. Occasionally they stopped to drink from a stream they passed, but unless Winter halted them, they ran, chests heaving for a gasp of cool spring air.
They moved like a herd of whispers across the lush land. Sunlight faded, but to a Zoroark's sensitive eyes, dusk didn't slow their advance. Not until Winter called for a stop, the pack slowing among a dense stand of wide-trunked trees, did the weary pokemon relax.
“Rest. We begin again early tomorrow.”
Traitor didn't even bother to look up at the elder Zoroark's words. As soon as they slowed, he found a tree to collapse against and slumped to the ground. In truth, he could have probably continued on for hours, but his sore muscles protested against the exertion. Sweat tickled his hide, but he didn't care, slowly panting to ease his burning lungs and allow the gentle, numbing warmth to spread throughout his body.
Esper stepped from the shadows, composed if not a bit breathless. Her narrow mane swayed across her back. “I hope you aren't tired.” She approached and sat atop him, straddling his hips.
“Did you talk someone into carrying you?” He let his tongue loll from his mouth, too tired to match wits with Esper.
She chuckled. “Maybe,” and brought her muzzle close to his ear. “You know how persuasive I can be.” Despite the run, her fur felt soft and fresh against him. She rested her chin in the crook of his neck, and her body melted against him.
Traitor waited, but Esper remained limp against him. After a few seconds, her breathing slowed – asleep.
“Rest easy,” he whispered, and with a smile, closed his eyes.
---------------------------------------------------
Esper had already gone when Traitor woke. She always seemed to have somewhere to be – an annoying habit at times. He still hadn't managed to ask what role she chose. Her ability to bully others into doing what she wanted would be wasted on clearing brush.
With a yawn and a stretch, he rose, looking above to judge the time through the heavy canopy. It couldn't be too late, the dim light above still tinged the leaves a soft orange. They wouldn't eat today.
About half of the other Zoroark moved about, preparing for yet another taxing day of travel. A stream ran not far from where they'd stopped, and Traitor searched it out. Cold, clear water trickled just fast enough to be considered safe to drink from. It tasted fresh.
Another Zoroark joined him, and knelt to drink. “Well. You're our newest brother.” A hint of gray at the male's muzzle surprised Traitor.
The words left Traitor's mouth before he thought about them. “You aren't an elder?”
He scowled. “I'm not so old, pup.” Indignation melted to mirth, and the Zoroark laughed. “Only a fool would take that position. I didn't want it, and Light did. My name is Rain. You know my son, Ember.”
Traitor's eyes widened, and he bowed his head to the elder Zoroark. Whether he gave up the position or not, Rain had still lived a long time. “It's good to meet you.”
Rain sighed. “And this is why I came to speak with you.” The large Zoroark advanced on Traitor. “Ember sticks up for you, I hope you know, but you have to accept your part in the clan.”
Traitor unconsciously stepped back from the looming Zoroark. “I don't understand.”
“You,” he poked Traitor in the chest for emphasis with a sharp, blood-red claw, “don't think of yourself as one of us. I don't know what you blue-eyes were like in your pack, but we helped you out, like we would any Zoroark. Save formality for the humans. You're our kin now, part of our clan. Act like it.”
The tirade took Traitor aback. “I-”
Rain didn't let him speak. “I told you I don't like telling others what to do.” He turned to walk away, but continued talking. “Esper might have got her claws on you first, but you caught the eye of a few other vixens as well. Watch yourself, pup.”
Traitor gaped at Rain's retreating back. Not much of a discussion. He glanced at his reflection in the shallow stream, blue eyes looking back at him. A torn leaf drifted slowly through his mirrored face. He slashed it with a small pulse of dark energy.
Behind him, the others had all risen, and were gathering to once again head for the other packs. If nothing else, he'd have plenty of time to think.
Ember nudged Traitor in the side, the fiery accents in his coat gleaming beneath the early sun. “Don't mind him. He might pretend to be intimidating, but he wouldn't hurt a Joltik.”
Traitor glanced at his friend. “Do you spy on everyone?”
“Just you.” He slapped Traitor on the back. “Now come on, we're picking up the pace from yesterday. Hope you slept well.” Ember winked, and once more, they ran, ran until the ache became soothing, and day became night.
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It took almost four days, four days with no food besides a few scavenged berries, and little enough water. The vegetation had thinned out since they left. The large, wide-trunked trees gave way to thinner plants with whip-like branches, and the sky remained constantly visible.
A few Zoroark ahead of Traitor stumbled as they crested a low hill, and as the pack slowed, he saw it. Below, a huge gathering of Zoroark waited, black and red more numerous than the low shrubs, some of which were already cleared. Behind the gathered Zoroark, a wide river with steep banks flowed, extending to the horizon in each direction. They cheered.
Zoroark ran down the hill with renewed vigor, and Traitor couldn't help but join in. Sweat matted his fur, and hunger squeezed his stomach, but a wide smile split his muzzle.
The group below responded in turn, letting out a feral cry and rushing the new arrivals. Traitor's pack made it down the hill before the two groups met with a crash. Bodies slammed into one another, and the ensuing tangle of black and red tossed them about. Even at the back of the group, Traitor fought to keep on his feet amidst the swarm of greetings.
A firm grip caught Traitor by his chest tuft, and a wispy looking Zoroark pulled him aside. The Zoroark shouted good-naturedly over the din. “Blue eyes huh? Where'd they pick you up. Last I heard, the other clans fled.”
Traitor tried to force his mind, on the brink of delirium from exhaustion, to think of a reply. A second Zoroark, one Traitor had seen before saved him from having to speak. Fog, if he remembered correctly, pounced on the other Zoroark and dragged both of them to the ground. He heard “Brother!” before the pair crashed to the ground.
Already, Zoroark began to disperse from the chaotic meeting. The elders had discreetly broke from the group, and a group of nine Zoroark huddled together, one of the nine so gray they looked half silver, the red in his fur still vibrant. He looked about for any familiar faces, but Esper found him first.
“Here it is. Here's what you joined us for.” She moved close, though whether to show affection or to use him to hold herself upright, Traitor couldn't tell.
He grunted. A wide plain stretched beyond the river, filled with grass tall enough to hide a Blitzle. It rippled like a slow-moving pond in the spring breeze. An entire clan, over ninety Zoroark, would start here to rival the humans.
Traitor met her intense gaze. “I'm starving.”
“Idiot,” she muttered and lightly shoved him towards the river. “Let's find something to eat.”
Closer to the river, where the Zoroark had made some progress in clearing the bank, a small area lay filled with a variety of dead pokemon. The scent of fresh blood set his mouth watering, and in that moment, he completely forgot the other Zoroark around him.
Traitor dropped to his knees and sank his teeth into a Sawsbuck's tender flank. He tore off strips of flesh, uncaring of the blood that smeared across his snout. Zoroark could go without food for quite a while, but after such a grueling trip with only vegetation to eat, nothing felt better than a proper meal.
Others from the pack had also set about the laid out kills, and some had already spread out to find someplace to rest. With so many of them there, it seemed impossible to find someplace quiet, but they had all the room they could want. Everything belonged to them.
Finishing up his meal, Traitor stood and found Esper not too far away licking her lips. He approached, but she grabbed him and walked off into the waist-high grasses.
After locating a suitable spot, Esper fell back onto the soft grass, pulling Traitor down with her. Esper set about licking his muzzle clean, and he returned the favor. The two of them basked in each other's warmth, letting the first meal in days settle. Esper lay atop his chest.
“Shouldn't we be with the others?” Traitor asked, still in a haze of exhaustion and contentedness.
She spoke into his chest tuft. “Not today. Tomorrow is for greetings. Today is for bloodkin to reunite. We rest, well-” Her mane spilled across her back and onto the ground around them. It looked strangely exotic.
He ran his claws through the long strands of sleek red and black fur. “I have a question,” he asked.
“Mmm?”
“I've been meaning to ask, but you've been awfully hard to get a hold of the past few days. What did you choose as your role?” Maybe not exactly the right time to ask, but for all he knew, she'd disappear again before he got another chance to ask. This way, she had nowhere to run.
The claws she'd been running along his sides stopped dead. “I really don't think it matters. You'll be away most of the time anyway.”
“Oh come on. It seems like most of the Zoroark got to choose what they wanted to do. It says a lot about them.” He had been somewhat forced into his choice, but he would have made it himself – eventually. Never had he seen Esper on the defensive, and for a moment, he thought she'd refuse to tell him.
Esper glanced away. “I'll be looking after the young.”
Traitor blinked, and then let his head fall back with a laugh. “You? I thought you didn't even want-” A low, dangerous growl cut him off.
Esper grabbed his snout in a rough grip. “Be very careful, pup.”
An intense glare pinned him in submission. Not angry, but fierce, and an emotion he couldn't quite place blazed behind her pink irises. He tested her grip, but it only tightened, forcing his jaws shut, her own face so close he could feel her hot breath against his nose.
“They're sending you off soon, the day after tomorrow. I have no claim on you; you can do whatever you want. I'd like to think you won't let every star-eyed vixen you find drag you off, because you aren't as dumb as you act. Pup.” She released the grip on his muzzle, and sat up, still pinning him to the ground, tall grass hiding them from sight.
Without missing a beat, she continued. “So make good use of your time among the humans. You could end up leading this clan someday, if you wanted. Do what you must, and by blood or not, you're one of the most important members of this clan. Don't disappoint me.”
Not that it had been an issue before the Rising, but no other Zoroark made less sense than the one sitting atop him. He grinned. “I won't. Keep an eye on the little ones for me.”
Esper leaned in, a dangerous gleam in her eye, and the least amused smile he'd ever seen, fangs gleaming inches from his face. The scent of blood still hung heavy on her breath. “Wrong answer.”
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What Gods Leave