A followup to these stories -

Part 1 - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/40247271/
Part 2 - https://www.furaffinity.net/view/41353850/

It's getting colder and colder around me with every twenty-or-so steps I take. I left Flygon behind me, as he promised me to keep an eye on those pesky spirits at the hilltop graveyard. But I promised HIM to return to the mountains whenever I got the chance. As I am saying that to myself, I look around me. There's snow everywhere. I hear the roaring of a waterfall that is violently pouring its water into a pool -- a small lake, if you will -- surrounded by rocks covered in snow and ice. Suddenly, I hear a soft sobbing next to me, about ten feet away. I look around, and I notice a small polar bear sitting at the edge of the lake. 'Eh... hey, little one', I ask, 'are you OK? Can I help you?' The polar bear cub looks at me, and I can see a big drop of liquid coming out of its nose. 'Did you... catch a cold?', I continue asking. The answer doesn't come from the cub, but rather from someone else: 'No. He is always sick, and will never be cured. I'm sorry to break it to you, wolf' A cat-like creature with sharp white claws and a washed-out, red-colored haircut approaches us: 'I'm Sneasel. And hey, leave Cubchoo alone, he'll be just fine. He's only playing and doing his thing right there' I sit down and look at the cat -- or, should I say, weasel -- as she slowly walks across the lake in the direction of the polar bear cub. I want to introduce myself and ask what Sneasel is going to do with Cubchoo: 'I'm-' 'I know who you are. Don't tell me that I don't know who you are, wolf. Your name's Lay, right? I saw you chatting with Flygon a couple hours ago' I'm astonished: 'Y-You mean... a-at the graveyard in the mountains? You're saying you were spying on me up there?' Sneasel holds still, then jumps right into Cubchoo. She attacks with a claw, but barely misses her attack as Cubchoo hops off his rock and quickly crawls behind my hind paws, covering himself up with my tail. 'Hah, look at him!', Sneasel laughs, as she makes herself ready for a second attack, 'that lil' hairball can't even protect himself, even from the most basic hunters out there like me!' 'D-Don't be so mean to him!', I respond, 'what did he do to YOU? He could as well be searching for his family, don't you know?!' 'That's not my business', is Sneasel's reply. She crosses her arms and starts arrogantly tapping on the cold ground with her foot: 'Hunters gotta eat too, and YOU should know, right. You're a predator as well' 'Y-Yeah!', I say, '...b-but I don't EAT people like the monster they sometimes make me out to be! I may be an Arctic Wolf, but I am very aware of what I eat for dinner' Sneasel yet again gets into a pouncing position, her eyes fixed on Cubchoo: 'That's your own choice' But just when she is about to ambush the bear cub, Sneasel is being distracted by someone from the other side of the ice lake, shouting above the loud noise of the waterfall: 'He's right, Sneasel! C'mon, leave Cubchoo alone and run off! Go look for food elsewhere!' All three of us look across the water, where another critter with the appearance of a snowy tree is frantically waving at us, slowly emerging from a hill of thick snow, revealing his true form. Next, he comes marching our way, summoning a couple of small ice crystals that he eventually fires at Sneasel, all the while shouting: 'Ice Shard!' Sneasel deftly manages to dodge the attack by hopping from one icy rock to another. Then, she lands on the frozen surface of the ice lake with her feet. Finally, Sneasel fights back using a powerful ice beam. This goes on for another two minutes, and during that long period of time, I manage to bring Cubchoo to some big rocks so he can hide from the ongoing cold chaos there. Eventually, Sneasel grows impatient from constantly avoiding incoming attacks, and as her last considerable option, she decides to finish it off with brute force. But her enemy already saw this coming and thwarts her plans by slamming her away with his bare arms! 'Now THAT'll teach you!', he shouts, 'now go and leave Cubchoo and that wolf alone!' Sneasel replies with some growling, then finally turns tail and runs off behind a steep hill. 'PHEW!', the tree-shaped critter exclaims, 'well, that's another brat taken care of! You're free, Cubchoo. She won't harm you anymore' Cubchoo and I emerge from behind the rocks, and I immediately sit in front of the brave stranger. 'Fankyoo!', I start off, 'even I was struggling with her! She should be more polite to others when meeting them. My name is Lay' 'Ah, nice to meet you!', the creature replies, 'and you're welcome! I really can't stand it when someone is being mean to someone he just met. That's just... well, disrespectful. I mean, come on, it already happened at the graveyard. It shouldn't be happening twice in a row. That just becomes too much to handle, I should know. Hi, I'm Snover' We both shake each other's paws. 'B-But...', I continue, 'hold on for one second -- You KNEW Flygon and I were visiting and meeting at the hilltop graveyard? How's THAT possible?' Snover has a warm look in his eyes: 'Yes, I saw it all with my own eyes, even though I was taking a stroll in the forest below at that moment' Cubchoo comes wobbling our way, and Snover puts an arm on one of the cub's shoulders. I am flabbergasted. I really don't know what to think of this situation. Yes, I'm of course very grateful that Snover came out of nowhere just to help us out. But at this moment, I really don't know what else to say. Does Snover want to come with me and possibly Cubchoo? Do I have to go with him? 'Come Lay, Cubchoo', Snover says, 'I know a nice old cabin where some men are having a break from a ski trip right now. If we're there in time, perhaps they will allow us to join them and... well, stay for a while' I nod. I look at Cubchoo, who is anxiously wobbling from one side of the cold lake to another. Snover walks up to him, picking him up, bringing him to me and with that bringing the whole new group together. After Snover puts Cubchoo on my back, we follow him as he walks off, telling us to come with him. He certainly knows where to go. Only a light red-tinted feather remains on the ice. A feather belonging to Sneasel, who dropped it during the battle with Snover. Would she ever return to the ice lake for whatever reason, then she would come eye to eye with what is essentially a part of herself, a reminder of her loss. A loss that she knew all too well she deserved to experience. It's a reminder that she should be nicer to the people she meets.

THE END

Snover, Cubchoo, Sneasel © The Pokémon Company / GameFreak / Creatures Inc.