Kougra sat impatiently on the couch, staring out the window and fiddling with her paws. She'd been waiting for what felt like hours for the others to come back, and there was only so much Parcheesi you could play with an old Appletun before you got bored out of your mind. So when she saw Basil and Hemlock pushing through Auntie's bushes, she was elated!
"LILY! Teddy! They're back they're back they're back!" she squeaked excitedly, bouncing around the couch. Her tail wagged as she pressed her face to the glass, watching the two approach.
Hemlock opened up the door, a sweet smelling piece of wood tucked gingerly under her arm. "Guess who's back, losers?"
"Hemlock! Don't be crass." Basil rolled his eyes as he followed behind her.
Kougra ran up, looking at the huge log of wood with sparkling eyes. It smelled of cinnamon - just like Auntie said it would! "Mmmm... Oh! We got an ingredient too!"
Basil smiled. "Less work for us, then. What'd you get?" He seemed awfully tense as he imagined what Kougra might have found...
Kougra pointed to the plump pumpkins resting on the tablecloth. "Teddy got em back for us, we're gonna make a pumpkin pie!"
Relief washed over the baker's face. "Ooh, excellent choice! That'll go well with the cinnamony scent."
"Oh, hey, what're they doing outside?" Hemlock pointed out the window at Yuki and Lilac trotting to the door.
Lilac swung the door open, floating in triumphantly. "Yuki got the Sattreon, hoohoo!"
Yuki padded in behind her, a bag with a big jar of golden powder hanging off her back. "Hehe... Lilac did most of the talking..."
"Oh? What's that?" Basil asked the Snomvee, staring at the jar intently.
"Just a little something to add some golden shimmer to our pie~" Lilac cooed as Yuki tucked the bottle into her fur. She trotted over to the kitchen table and set it down. "It's cultivated by one of the most talented Florges in the land, so don't you go worrying about its quality, hmm."
"Ah, alright! As long as it doesn't have an overwhelming flavor, that sounds good." Basil definitely seemed a little nervous about the pie, being a baker and all, but seemed to approve of all the ingredients.
"Yippee!" Kougra shouted, raising her arms in the air. "Now we can bake our pie, right?!"
Auntie Appletun butted in, shaking her head. "No, no, no, dearies, not quite yet. Every pie needs a little something special to make it really pop!"
"What do we need?" Kougra leaned in curiously, trying to listen as best as she could.
Auntie sat down, scratching her chin in thought. "Hmmm... well there is one spot I know of. Every night, the Volbeat dance over by the lake. If I give you dears a jar, it'd be easy to collect loads of their shimmery essence! It'd also be quite a nice view~."
Lily's ears perked up. "Ooh... finally, something that doesn't sound dangerous... it...actually sounds calming."
"I'm so excited! A light show just for us!" Kougra stamped her feet on the ground in excitement, clasping her paws together.
As the whole group got up to set off to the lake, Auntie stopped Teddy by grabbing his shoulder. "There, ehm, is one stipulation, dear. The Volbeat don't tend to like it when bigger Pokemon watch their shows... sometimes, they get a little intimidated." She frowned.
Teddy looked over, looking confused. "...What now?"
"I know, I'm sorry, sweetness. I haven't been able to catch a show myself," Auntie comforted the big plushie. "Looks like we're both gonna have to sit back for this one."
The big Gengar looked tense as it turned away. "Who's... gonna protect the little ones? If anything... you... you know."
"I can assure you it's entirely safe out there - the Volbeat are more skittish than ornery!" Auntie said, patting Teddy's shoulder.
Hemlock looked around, then looked at Teddy. "You don't gotta worry. I've got fighting experience if anything goes down."
Teddy didn't look too pleased with this, but simply grunted, shuffling away. Under their breath, they mumbled "if anyone lays even a finger on them, you're..." No one quite caught the final part, but it definitely shook the Teddiursa, who walked out with a pit in her stomach.
--
Once they made it to the lake, Kougra having the very important job of holding the jar, the bayou was already filled with Volbeat, their flittering wings spreading glowing dust everywhere.
Kougra excitedly ran over to the edge of the water, unscrewing the lid of the jar and holding it out to the sky. Specks of shimmer slowly drifted into the jar, mesmerizing the little Pichu.
Lily padded up behind her, sitting down and staring into the sky. The Volbeats smiled, happy to share their show with others! "It's beautiful..."
Basil and Hemlock sat side by side, the Teddiursa looking down at the grass, blush on her face. She took a deep breath, as to gain up courage for...something. She yawned exaggeratedly, stretching out her arms and slowly wrapping one around Basil. The Chikorita simply leaned into the embrace, feeling content.
Yuki padded up to the water, peering into her reflection. "You guys think we could swim in here?" frost asked curiously. She nosed at the shallow water, enjoying the odd warmth.
Lilac ran up, paws pattering on the mud, and leapt into the murky water. She arose from the shallow depths, her fluffy fur seemingly missing with how much the water slicked it down. "Water's just fine!"
On second thought... maybe I won't go in. Yuki giggled, looking at the sopping wet Swirlix.
"We hope you enjoy our gift to you all..." the Volbeats chimed in unison, twirling around in the sky. "May many delicious goodies come from our Shimmer..."
Kougra looked up confusedly. "How'd they know?" she asked Lily.
She didn't seem to realize the jar was 'Auntie Appletun' branded.
Fourth ingredient down!
