Phione tugged at Ethfael’s tail, his eyes glancing furtively back and forth across the empty room as though he expected someone to appear at any moment. “‘Fael!”

The Dragonair looked down from his book in surprise, regarding the little Water Type with bemusement. Even though he was young, Phione knew better than to interrupt Ethfael while reading: it was an unspoken rule recognized by every member of the Team. Still, the child was clearly agitated by something, and since the Dragon Type was the only one around, he was obligated to deal with the situation. With a sigh, Ethfael closed his book and replaced it on the shelf before turning his full attention on his young charge. “What is it Phione?” he asked, with deliberate patience.

The younger Pokemon looked around the room again with wide eyes, searching for something, though Ethfael hadn’t the slightest idea what it could be. Not finding the object of his search, Phione beckoned for the Dragon to lean in closer, which he did after a moment’s hesitation. “‘Fael,” the child whispered into his ear, “Today Anu’s birthday!” The little Water Type positively beamed as he shared the news, thoroughly proud of himself for sharing such wonderful news.

Ethfael blinked in surprise, uncertain why this was such a revelation to his small companion. Yes, today was Anues’ birthday. Era had been planning a surprise party for him all week long: it was rather difficult to forget. It was his job to fetch the Gardevoir and bring him to the celebration, since none of them believed he would come to a party of his own accord, even for himself. Unless his mind was on other things the Psychic would likely have figured it out by now, but Ethfael hoped he wouldn’t mind humoring Era--the Pikachu truly loved having the excuse to celebrate. Regardless, Anues had agreed to meet him later that evening, so the Dragon would be bringing the Gardevoir to his birthday party whether he liked it or not.

Receiving no visible response, Phione’s expression turned to a pout, frowning at his guardian in displeasure. He stared up at the Dragonair with accusing eyes for a long moment before elaborating. “Today Anu’s birthday,” he said again, “‘Fael promised to look at Phione’s present!”

Ah that was it. “So I did,” Ethfael said apologetically, “Why don’t you go get it so I can see? Anues shouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.” The child’s eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously, bouncing off to the other room almost before the sentence was complete. The Dragonair shook his head slightly: Phione’s enthusiasm never ceased to amaze. If anyone was more excited for this day than Era, it would have to be Phione--she’d talked about it half the week, but he’d been chattering about it all month. Now that his moment was finally here, the little Water Type must have been fit to burst, waiting around for the event itself.

It didn’t take long for Phione to pop back into the room, carrying a piece of paper very carefully between his flippers. The child moved with painstaking care, afraid of dropping his precious treasure, and he didn’t take his eyes off of it even as he held it up to Ethfael for examination. “What ‘Fael think?”

The Dragonair scanned the sheet with curious eyes, a rare smile crossing his expression as he reached its conclusion. Looking down at the anxious Phione he nodded in approval. “I think it’s a wonderful present Phione,” he said gently, “I’m sure Anues will--”

A sudden crack caused the pair to jump, Phione’s eyes widening with terror as his present was tossed into the air out of his reach. He jumped for it but missed, toppling to the ground with a soft squeak, and cringing as he waited for his masterpiece to hit the floor. It never happened. An amused pair of ruby eyes met Ethfael’s as their owner reached out a hand to pluck the paper from midair. “Irilyss,” the Dragonair said, looking somewhat unsettled, “You startled us.”

The female Gardevoir offered one of her half-smiles in return, shifting the other items she held so that she could better examine Phione’s handiwork. “You’d think you two had seen a ghost,” she said lightly, “I thought I was the only one who saw those.” It was amusing to the Psychic that her Teleport had startled them so, especially when Anues’s had a sound that was so very distinctive and different from her own. A smile flitted across her face as she finished looking over the paper in her hand, glancing down at Phione as he picked himself up. “It looks like one of us is ready for tonight anyway,” she said, passing the present back to its owner with a steady hand before returning some of the packages she held to the other hand with evident relief.

Phione glowed with pride at Irilyss’s compliment, grasping his present gratefully with both hands. “Iri saved it!” he said happily, looking up at her with delight, “Iri think Anu will like it?”

The Psychic smiled slightly, nodding in assent as Ethfael had done before. “I’m certain of it,” she replied, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the best part of his night.” There weren’t many things that could elicit a reaction from Anues, let alone make him happy, but Phione’s present might be enough to do the trick. At the very least he would appreciate the child’s efforts: it was no secret how fond the two were of one another.

The little Water Type smiled brightly, cradling the gift carefully in his hands, and Ethfael shot Irilyss a look of appreciation. So long as Phione was happy, he wasn’t getting impatient, and that was one less issue for the Dragonair to deal with. The Gardevoir nodded slightly in return, before shifting the weight of her packages again. “If you wouldn’t mind Ethfael,” she said, allowing some strain into her voice, “I could use some help taking care of these.” He nodded, maneuvering his tail around a couple of her parcels and gently holding on to them for transport to the next room. Irilyss strode over to the door and gestured for her Leader to go ahead, glancing back at Phione as she did. “Be sure to put that somewhere safe, so you’ll be able to give it to him later,” she said, before stepping out of the room and leaving the child to his own devices.

Phione frowned at the advice, looking at his paper with a furrowed brow, deep in thought. He smiled suddenly as an idea came to him, and toddled over to the boxes where important things were stored. He set his paper gently down on top of one before rummaging through another, making a sound of satisfaction as he found what he was looking for: envelopes! With careful hands he folded his present carefully, so it would fit inside, and then sealed it shut with the careful use of water droplets since he didn’t know how to use the fancy wax seal. He did, however, use the pen that Ethfael always used when signing important things to write write three letters on the front in large, childish script: A-N-U.

The child smiled happily to see his task finished, and returned the pen carelessly to the place he’d found it. Now that his part was complete, Phione could bounce off after Iri and ‘Fael, to see what surprises they were planning. He clutched the envelope close to him as he did, thinking with excitement of the moment that Anu would open it--the gift that had taken Phione all month to make. Folded safely inside was a small colored drawing the two of them holding hands, and a carefully written note: Happy Birthday Anu! Love Phione.