Christmas Eve conversations

Christmas Eve dawned with heavy snow fall and a Pallet Town Black Out, Steven was surprised by the sheer amount of snow on the ground. Sure, it had snowed quite a bit before, but not the amount that currently lay on the ground. He looked at Vali when she let out a soft laugh and took the steaming mug of hot-chocolate from her, "You though I was joking about how much snow we get sometimes, didn't you?"

"Just a bit," Steven looked at the still falling snow, "How much more will end up falling?"

"Not too sure, Dragonite and Charizard will likely go out to clear the clouds if it snows much more," Vali glanced at the thick clouds of snow as she bent down to pick up a shivering Vulpix who cuddled into her chest.

Vulpix snuggled into his mother figured chest with a low sigh. Steven glanced at Vulpix's still white tail, "How long will it take for his tail to darken?"

Vali shrugged a bit, "I'm not too sure. It's diffrent with every Vulpix especially when it comes to males and females," She drank from her cup of hot-chocolate, "Shouldn't be longer than a month though. Maybe another week or two before it starts to darken, I'm not too worried about it."

Vulpix glanced at him and let out a soft yip as he shifted to look fully at Steven. Steven reached out and gently ran his fingers across the downy soft fur of the little fox's right ear. Vali moved a bit closer to him and Vulpix leaned into the touch. They both looked to the side when they heard a soft click and found Daisy standing there with a camera. The eldest Oak grandchild grinned a bit, "I thought it would be nice to document the moment."

Vali rolled her eyes a bit before she eyed the camera, "Is that my camera?"

"Mine actually," Daisy said as she put it away, "I might not take many photo's, but I do keep a camera around just in case,"

Vali glanced at him, "I'm going to go see if Delia wants any help in the kitchen. I'll see you later, Steven."

"Sure," Steven watched her go with a little bit of confusion.

Daisy let out a groan as Vali disappeared deeper into the Oak residence, "Damn it, she's really angry at me."

Steven looked at her in surprise both at the fact that Vali was still angry at the other girl and the fact that she knew it, "How did you know?"

"Despite not being as close to her as my brother or Ash, I did grow up around her somewhat and I've seen her angry," Daisy ran a hand through her slightly short hair, "I really can't blame her for being mad at me even if she isn't completely sure why she's angry,"

"Why wouldn't she understand why she's angry?" Steven felt confusion run through him.

Daisy eyed him for a few moments before asking, "Just how much do you know about Vali's past before she arrived in this world?"

"Quite a bit," Steven narrowed his eyes at her.

Daisy smiled a bit, "So you know about her relationship with her relatives or at least some of it," Steven stiffened at the casual way Daisy said that and felt irritation at the lack of care she was showing towards Vali's past, "At least some of it from the way you're reacting," She rolled her eyes, "Don't give me that look or act like that, it's not that I don't care about Vali's past. I really do care since it fucked her over so badly," Steven relaxed a bit and noticed Eevee standing nearby behind Daisy listening in, "Vali doesn't like anyone bringing it up. Despite how she acts, it still affects her greatly."

"I'm aware," Steven tried to keep his cool, "But why bring it up?"

"The scars from her past run deep, Steven," Daisy smiled sadly, "With how I got so caught up in my journey and forgot about my little brother, she's probably remembering her relatives and how they treated her. Granted while I will never willingly do anything to my brother like what they did to her, I still seemed to ignore him," She looked at Steven with a regretful expression, "Somewhere in her mind, she's remembering the times when they ignored her whether it was seemingly forgetting about her presence in a room or acting like she didn't exist. That's where the anger is coming from, I don't think she'll ever fully forgive me for accidentally ignoring my brother,"

Steven understood where she was coming from and had to admit that it would explain why Vali was still angry with Daisy despite the eldest Oak grandchild apologizing to her little brother, "I understand where you're coming, but why did you not contact your brother?"

"I was going to contact him whenever I was in a town and actually managed it for the first few months," Daisy's eyes filled with guilt, "But as time went by, I got so absorbed in my travels and training my pokemon that it just slipped my mind. I'm actually jealous of Vali," She had a self-deprecating smile on her face, "She actually remembers to call home and doesn't let herself get too caught up in training,"

"She does get caught up in training," Steven retorted earning a look of surprise from Daisy, "Vali's pokemon are her family and she gets caught up in everything to do with them. Taking care of them and their needs always takes up most of the room in her mind, she would forget to eat or sleep if it weren't for either myself or her pokemon making sure she took care of herself,"

"That sounds like Vali," Daisy shook her head with a soft smile, "Thanks for taking care of her, Steven. All of us were worried about what would happen when she went on her journey,"

"There's no need to thank me," Steven protested the very thought, "Taking care of Vali isn't that hard and I'd do it anyway since she'd my friend,"

Daisy let out a giggle though Steven wasn't too sure why. She shook her head, "I'm going to go make sure the boys don't get into any trouble. See you later, Steven."

With that, Daisy disappeared deeper into the house. Steven watched her go and wondered what exactly had cause the girl to giggle.