You hold your head high and say aloud, "I would rather die than be Flik's mate." And that’s not hyperbolic. The words coming out of your mouth even surprise you. Who knows why but that is the case. Maybe you don't want your womb to be a pawn in Boc's bid to become Elder, or maybe there is some part of you that had accepted being food the second the vulpix surrounded you, and now you want to fulfill that role. Whatever the reason, you just signed your death warrant.
Your father's tears pour off his face, and he can not bring himself to look at you. Boc growls, obviously frustrated by your choice snuffing him in front of the tribe, "as you wish, Lulu." He turns his attention back to Lady. "Then we still demand a kit and for whoever helped Xander to face our justice."
Tavein steps forward, "It was me; I helped Xander hunt your pichu." Another gasp comes from the crowd.
Under Lady's breath, she says, "no Tavein, don't do this."
He mumbles under his, "I am older than I should have lived anyway, granted extra life by your tails. Let me die for our kind. It is what I want."
Tavein returns to talking to the pikachu, "Xander and I worked alone. He killed the pichu and I ran away with the body."
Boc shouts, "where is the body then?"
Tavein smiles then licks his chops, "I ate everything. It was so tasty and tender; my only regret is not walking off with five pichu to save for later. Your pups are even better eating than you. They’re like snack-sized pikas."
The tribe, infuriated by those remarks, begins to spark with electricity. "Hand yourself over, murderer!" Yells Boc.
Tavein walks, with head held high, right up to Boc. Boc’s cheeks spark with electricity, “pika-CHUUUUUUUUU!!!” Boc unleashes not a Thundershock but a Thunderbolt upon Tavein. Boc is one of only a few pikachu in the tribe that has mastered that move. Instead of an amorphous static ball, a single precise bolt, like a tiny lightning strike, jumps between Boc and Tavein, hitting Tavein on the head, crackling in an eerie manner. Tavein yelps and collapses to the ground in writhing pain. Sparks jump around his fur, the silver hair on his head stands up straight, and his muscles clench and twitch - even after the bolt has faded his body continues to writhe.
Boc shouts over the convulsing vulpix up to the hill of onlookers, “Let this be a warning to all you bastards. Eat our young and suffer the same fate.” He turns back to Lady, “we will give you till tomorrow morning to select a kit."
Tavein has now stopped twitching but is still alive. He slowly gets up, clearly in great pain. Pikachu circle him and force march him away, Tavein limping with each step. The tribe of pikachu leave back into the brush and with them your last chance at life. But at least this is now your choice to die.
Lady lets out a sad sigh. Your hunters approach from Lady's side. "What of the pikachu now, Lady?" Asks Maz.
You look up at Lady; she has tears in her eyes. She says, "Lulu. I'm not going to lie to you; I think you made a mistake. War may end your tribe and my kind as we know them. I've fought for two hundred years to keep the delicate balance in our forest and you may have just single pawedly undone all my work. But the tribe has forsaken you as you have it. So I don't blame you for not being loyal. And ultimately, it is your life and choosing death over a forced mate is something I can respect. I will still honor your honesty with my promise earlier. Vulpix… "
Maz and crew come around and bite your ears and tail once more. They outstretch you again with your neck exposed to Lady. Lady positions her jaws around your neck once more. She says nothing. You do not cry this time though you are just as tense. This is the end...
You brace yourself.
*CRRRRRUNNNNCH*
The jaws clamp done with such force, your spine crumples like a dry leaf. Your eyes force open and a small amount of blood shoots from your mouth. The pain is so intense but you can not express it other than quite gargling.
The vulpix release their hold, and Lady brings you up to her head level. Without wasting but a second, she violently shakes you from side to side, like a chew toy.
*SSSSSNAP*
Your spine splits in two near the base of your skull. Instantly, your body goes cold, limp, and numb. You feel no pain anymore and your ears ring softly. You are looking down at your lifeless body, dangling from Lady's maw. Your body is motionless except for your right back paw twitching. A small piss stream dribbles down your left thigh. Below are Lady's front paws - dots of red blood from your throat drip onto them- and three vulpix looking up, licking their chops and wagging their tails.
Lady tosses you down to the group casually. You make a soft thud in the ash, landing with your back down and head up. You can see they are talking but the ringing in your ears prevents you from understanding. Soon, Lady leaves and one vulpix starts dragging you away by your tail. The others walk on either side of you. Your vision starts to tunnel. You are dying looking up into a peaceful blue sky painted with fluffy, white clouds. Like Lady promised, a sense of peace starts to fill your heart. As though prey was what you were meant to become. You were hunted fairly and you lost. Now your body will feed the vulpix and their kits. You will never be a mother, but what is more motherly than feeding young? That thought makes you happy somehow. As you fade, a peace washes over you. But will it be everlasting like Lady promised?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thus, ending your story. You elected to die instead of becoming a mate with a buck. Your body was promptly dragged away, ripped to shreds, and made into dinner for hungry kits and their parents. The tribe will remember you as the pikachu who snuffed their kindness to get you out of your predicament. And the news of your death is propagated through the tribe as a warning to any other pikachu foolish enough to think they could find a Thunder Stone. Your hunters remember you for tasting good even though your meat did not sit well with them due to an anxious feeling about a potential war between your two kinds. Lady also remembers you as the pikachu who helped undo her life’s work.
The next day Lady stands by her principles and does not sacrifice an innocent kit but instead ripped off one of her tails as an offering. The tail contains a portion of her power and one hundred years of her life. The tribe excepts her offering. Xander and Tavein are brutally executed, then decapitated. Their heads, along with Lady’s tail, are hung from the Crooked Tree as a warning to all vulpix to respect the treaty.
While a full-blown war is averted, a cold war breaks out between the pikachu and vulpix. Fights break out at the watering hole and sometimes result in death. Due to the increased tensions, vulpix population dips, and prey numbers rise as a result. Larger predators begin to move in to hunt the excess of prey and in so, life for the tribe becomes more dangerous, especially for pichu. More pichu die in their youth and the population growth of the tribe stagnates.
You leave no legacy. But hey, at least your death was mostly painless!
