PokèDruids [PkmnWattys2016]

The End of the Beginning of the End

Chamberlain waited rather impatiently outside the main gates of the fort. Eros was pacing around, uneasy and restless at the prospect of this certain guest. Sicily didn't seem like she cared too much, but she ended up pacing much like Eros, with a more upset look upon her face. Chamberlain didn't really care for having people interrupt his training and often shouted at them when they did, and as a result, he was less than content on meeting this person.

Maybe at about an hour later, Eros stopped pacing and stared into the forest, alongside Sicily, who joined him in looking towards the greenery. Chamberlain did the same, looking up and joining eyes with the two bodies who walked through the trees. First popped out Hank, looking about suspiciously, followed by Cerci, who cradled something in her arms. Chamberlain only heard about the two through Eros' stories, making him minimally informed on their history with him. None the less, he kept his guard up near them, initially posing themselves to be unkind.

Eros walked up to them and asked, "Got him?"

Hank sighed a breath of relief and whispered, "It's a her. Can you believe it? Only a month old."

Cerci revealed that she was holding a baby wrapped in cloth close to her chest, eying it mysteriously, as if it could attack her at any moment. "She's... I can't bring myself to explain it, but just having her here..."

Chamberlain suddenly became curious, as did Sicily. After all, Pokemon do love babies (as stated by that one weird lady in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl)... "Is that a child? May I observe?"

Cerci frowned and looked at the Marowak, whispering to Hank about the Aegislash before replying, "And who are you?"

Eros replied for Chamberlain. "A friend. He's helped with my training and taught me a lot."

Chamberlain nodded in agreement and added, "The name's Chamberlain."

Cerci continued to look uneasy, returning her gaze to Eros. "Well, I see the fort's all nice and clean. Somebody had a fun winter, didn't they?"

Eros smirked, although he wasn't amused enough to laugh. "It was interesting while you were gone. Say, what's her name?"

"Cindy."

"Cindy?"

"There's actually a story behind it." Cerci continued to talk, although she decided to look at the child as she did so. "Hank and I initially agreed on Sophie, because it's kind of close to Cerci and we didn't have a ton of other ideas. Trust me, we did our research on names, but none of them really matched her. Then, about a month after she was born, we were watching the tele, and-"

"The 'tele'? Are you serious?"

"-the tele, and she looked at one of the Pokemon on the screen, and guess what? She turned into a Cyndaquil right before our eyes. And a cute one, too. So we called her Cindy."

"Aww." Eros gave a soft smile. "She's adorable."

"I know, right? Anyway," bringing her attention to Eros, "I do believe that you wanted to see me as well?"

"No. I mean, I always want to see you and all, but not explicitly."

"That's not what the messenger said."

"Messenger?"

"Yeah. It said that 'the counsel' wanted to see me, and told me the location. A few random Pokemon, who I eventually found out all knew you, met up with some of your lackeys and discussed the threat of the island of mages. Also, they brought puffins. It was a good day, that day."

"They did? They never told-" It was only then that he realized that THAT was what they were talking about every time he zoned out of their conversations. "Oh, wait, never mind. Go on."