Veera sighed as she looked forlornly off the rails of the ship she was on, her eyes full of longing.  But... she need to find Shia.
When she'd first awoken, she'd asked about him. Her long time friend, Loona, had told her that he'd left. Why, she couldn't say. All Veera knew was, she needed to find him.

But they'd gone the wrong way. They'd gone to the town instead of back to the maze. Veera couldn't bring herself to leave the safety of her friends. She still remembered what'd happened when she'd tried to escape on her own. She... She couldn't allow it to happen again. She wanted to say something, but.... she just couldn't bring herself to do so. Veera had always been the shy one of the pack, and Brene's tortures hadn't made her any braver. Quite the opposite. So out of fear and cowardice, she followed. desperately hoping she'd find some way to find or track Shia again.

A chance that never came. When they got back, they kept her within the guild. For her own safety, or so she was told. 'There are bad mons out there,' they took her.  'They're looking for Shia. If you go out, they might think you know something, and take you away and do bad things to you.'
Veera didn't want any more bad people taking her away. She'd been the victim of one such bad mon. Been tortured, mentally and physically, against her will.

So she stayed in the guild. Let them 'care' for her. Some tried to talk to her, but she rarely spoke back. Not out of refusal of cooperation, but mostly because she found she had nothing to say to them. She couldn't fault them for the care they tried to give her. They washed her, fed her, tried their best to comfort her. They even gave her little 'jobs' to do around the place, just to try to take her minds off of what had happened.
A commendable effort, but it was for not.

She just wanted to find Shia. Alas, even if she were to sneak away, somehow get past the bad mons looking for him, and her apparently, and the gate guard, she couldn't make it far. At first, everyone around her thought it was just sickness. But when her belly began to swell, everyone knew what it was. She was with egg. A fact that soon became apparent when she laid. Among them, only Rai and Loona had any idea where it came from, while everyone else in the guild was confused. But Veera knew. It's why she needed to find Shia.

However, her being with egg meant she could not split away from the group as they traveled. Even now, on the boat, she still kept it, in her little basket they provided for her.

Even after several weeks afloat on the sea, no one really knew how to approach her. Several of her... 'guildmates' had tried. But none were successful. As her thoughts were only on one thing. The thing she wanted to find more than anything else. The thing could no longer acquire. Or rather, the mon.

She could no longer find Shia.

It sank her even further into a depression, and she knew not what to do. Yet, she told no one. About any of it. About where the egg came from. About what she'd gone through.  She wasn't ready to talk, nor did she think she ever would be.

Weeks went by, and soon they landed in the Snows. While the falling snow piqued her curiosity for a little bit, it did not hold it for long.  Basket in hand, she trudged towards the guild housing she was assigned to, her feet moving slowly as they took her to a destination she had very little interest in arriving at. As she knew, that nothing could replace-

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted as her eyes caught a glimpse of a streak of light blue. The eevee blinked, twice, and then rubbed her eyes with her paws. Her mind denied what she saw, in the distance: A shinx. Could it be-

No. It couldn't be... There was no way. But, she kept looking and, upon seeing those red orbs from the side, she knew. She didn't know how, or why, but, at that point, there was no doubt about it.
This was Shia. He was here!

He had not noticed her, himself apparently too focused on his own arrival here. Veera tried weakly to call out to him, but the word died in her throat. Her feet, which up until now had been slowly trudging through the snow, picked themselves up, one after the other, and soon, before she knew it, she found herself running, yes, running after him. She saw him enter the building, and saw that he had forgotten to close the door behind him.

So, without a second thought, she entered the same building, setting the basket down beside her, and closed the door behind her. The sound got his attention, and for the first time since that fateful day, she heard his voice.

"Oh. I should have guessed I'd have a rooma-"

His voice died in his throat as their eyes met, his red eyes going wide and staring into hers. She could see the sudden fear he had upon seeing her.

"V... Veera?!" He said in shock. The Shinx's mouth hung open in sheer surprised, as Veera heard him stammer as he searched for what to say to her.

"I... I'm so sorry!" He finally and shakily said. "I... I know... you must be angry with me for what I did. W... what happened. I... I tried... but... I couldn't... I..." He sniffled. "I know... I can't make it up to you. I know you couldn't ever forgive me... But... I..."

Veera slowly began to approach him. She stopped in her tracks however when he took out a knife. But instead of pointing it at her, he turned it around. He wasn't going to attack her, he was trying to present it to her.

"I... If it's revenge you're after. Here. Take it. I won't resist. You're well within your rights." He stammered, his body quaking as she resumed her slow march towards him. "I... I won't scream or call for-"

The Shinx stopped mid sentence as Veera's paws wrapped around the iron weapon, the same one he'd used when he'd tried to fight Brene, and failed. She saw him keep his eyes on the weapon as she held that wicked thing in her paw.
She looked at the shinx in front of her, a look of determination now clearly visible in her eye, and in her mind, as she tossed the blade aside. The iron clattered as it hit the wall and fell to the floor.

"Veera, W-wha ar-"

He didn't get the chance to finish before the eevee lunged at him, her paws wrapping around the surprised Shia, pulling her to him in the tightest hug she could muster. Tears flowed from her eyes as she sobbed into the flabergasted Shinx's shoulder.

"Shia..." She sobbed. "W... Why would you think I..." She sniffled again. "... Was ever angry with you at all?!"

"B... But..." Shia stammered. "It's my fault! I... I couldn't protect you when you needed me the most!"

"You tried to save me from her." Veera replied.

"I failed!" Shia cried. "I only ended up causing you even more misery-"

"Stop it." Veera argued back. "Stop blaming yourself for what happened! It wasn't your fault. Brene... She made me do things. awful things. You... You tried to take me away from it. Isn't that enough? If anything, you should be mad at me for raping you!"

"How could I be mad at you for that? That bitch forced you to do it. If I hadn't fouled up, you wouldn't have ever needed to-"

"It's not your fault!" She cried again.

"I've killed mons!" Shia protested. "I have blood on my-"

"I don't care!" Veera cried. "I don't care about what you did in Sandstone. Ever... ever since you've left, all I've cared about is finding you again."

The two fell silent, the male Shinx finally accepting the hug back from the crying Eevee in his arms. The two simply sitting there in their embrace, the two getting tears on each other's fur.

It was then that he slowly opened his eyes, and spoke.

"That.... Over there... Is that?" Veera looked to see that he was pointing towards it. The basket, with the egg clearly visible.

"Yes... It is." Veera sighed as she felt Shia back away.

"I... See..." He sighed, salty tears still welling from his eyes. "I... I'm so sorry. I... Is that why you came? I... I take full responsibility. If you want... I... I swear I'll raise them for you, as best as I-"

"No." Veera told him sternly. "I... I want to raise it..." Shia looked like he was about to say something, but Veera beat him to it. "...Together."

"Together? You mean..."

"Yes... Shia. As mates."

"M-Mates?! I... I... I..." Shia stammered. "I mean, are you sure? With me?!"

"I'm more sure than anything, Shia. I... I need to tell you something."

"Anything... Veera."

"Shia... I love you. I've always loved you, from when we were still friends in the maze, and even now. I ... I never said anything because I knew you had eyes for Loona."

"V..Veera, I didn't..."

"But... deep down... I always held that slim sliver of hope. When... When they took me back to the city, I... I wanted to look for you, to tell you how I felt, to thank you for trying to save me, but..."

"But they were looking for me, I bet."

Veera nodded.

"I'd all but given up hope. When I found you again..." Veera couldn't find the words to continue.

"Veera I... I didn't know." Shia sighed. "I came after you because ... because it was the right thing to do. And then... "

"Shhh. shhhh... Don't say it. I know... I know..." She comfortingly sighs. "I already told you, I don't blame you for it."

"Veera..." Shia sniffles. "I.... If it means this much to you... then yes... I'll accept. I'll be your mate."

Upon hearing this, a new well of tears flowed from Veera's eyes as she once again pulled him close, this time, their lips locked close. Veera's eyes closed, as did Shia's. Both of them embrace the warm glow of each other's company.
A quite literal glow, in Veera's case. The sheer overflow of happiness and love between them had caused her body to shift, and morph in glorious evolution. And yet the two barely noticed as their deep, longing kiss continued.
It was only when Shia opened his eyes that he finally took notice in front of him, when his newfound mate was no longer an eevee. But now, something much grander. A physical embodiment of their new life together to come.

"Veera!" He spoke to her in surprise. "You're a..."