Before I Change My Mind

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#3 of Team Foxy

Luna the eevee doesn't rest easy when her partner's out sick! Going solo, she takes on a rescue mission to rescue a torracat named Koa. But things don't go as planned, and the two find themselves closer than expected...

The third entry in the Team Foxy series. Rated for Mature Themes.


Luna, a rookie explorer of the Sand Continent, arrived alone in the Holey Meadow for a job. She wore the red neckerchief and the satchel of her explorer team, Team Foxy, as she tracked down an SOS. She knew the client, Koa, fairly well from the daily gossip in Sahra Town. He was a torracat, a fresh face in town, and a playful feline who loved to lounge in the sun and sand. Luna surmised he wanted to try someplace new, and somehow got caught in a bind, in a meadow of all places. Luna could handle such a mystery dungeon even with her partner out sick. And though she would never admit it out loud, it also gave her a chance to sate her curiosity.

But past experience with sketchy missions still drew her suspicions. How did a strong, fiery feline get in trouble in such a rare, pleasant place? She needed to do some digging. A quick chat with the local digletts would be just the ticket.

When she heard idle chatter from one of the numerous holes in the meadow, she cautiously approached and spoke up:

"Um, hello?"

A diglett immediately popped out, visibly annoyed. "What do you want?" he barked.

"I'll be quick," Luna answered, tensing up a bit, "A torracat wandered through here, right? Black and red, big forepaws, fiery ball on the neck? Ring any bells?"

"Ooooh! You must be the explorer coming in to take out the trash," the diglett realized, his mood snapping hard to gleefulness. "We sure saw a torracat, right guys?"

Rowdy voices from beneath the grass called out in agreement, their words overlapping like a riled audience. Luna froze up, alarmed.

"He tried to play Whack-A-Mole with us, but we played Whack-A-Kitty instead. Bounced him a hundred times, we did!"

"I thought it was fifty times?" A voice questioned from below.

"Zip it!" The diglett snapped. He shot back down. One "OW!" later, he popped right back up in front of Luna. "You want to find that kitty, lass? You just go straight on ahead. Just don't let him get any bright ideas! You're just as small and brown as we are, you know."

Luna laughed nervously. "W-well, thanks for the directions, and the warning. Don't worry, I'll keep that overgrown kitten on his best behavior." She started to walk ahead. "Have a good day!"

"Anytime!" The diglett cheered.

Luna breathed a sigh of relief as she left the diglett and his friends to their own devices. But moments later, the same diglett suddenly popped up again in a hole right beside her, stopping her dead in her tracks with a startle.

"Oh! You know there's bigger foxes like you around here, too? Don't let them get any bright ideas either! The lot of them are hooligans. Don't give them the time of day!"

Luna composed herself after a moment's pause. "Wouldn't dream of it, diglett! Ha-ha-ha. Th-Thanks for the heads-up!"

"Anytime!" The diglett cheered, again. And then he zipped out of sight.

Luna waited a moment. Once she was convinced that the coast was clear, she strengthened her resolve to press on.

"I'm not letting a couple of 'hooligans' scare me off," she muttered, staring at the ground.

With a huff she started walking again, eyes on the path through the holes and the grass.


"Look who's paying a visit!"

After some travel, Luna had stopped hard, again, as a pair of heads suddenly popped out of the tall grass nearby to greet her with unnerving friendliness. Both belonged to evolutions of her kind, one black with a yellow ring on the brow, and the other reddish-orange with a poofy, pale-yellow tuft. The umbreon and a flareon undoubtedly lived in these parts.

"Hey there, cutie!" greeted the flareon, speaking after his friend.

"Um, hi," Luna greeted back, "You must be the bigger foxes the digletts were talking about."

"Heh, you bet," The umbreon confirmed with a smile, as he walked out of the tall grass with his flareon friend. "The name's Shade, and this is Kindle. What's a cute explorer like you doing all alone out here?"

Luna groaned and rolled her eyes. Their intentions were obvious, blatant even. But she appreciated the warning she got nonetheless. "Sorry, guys. I didn't come to chill. I'm here on a job, like any explorer."

Kindle frowned, hard. "Ugh, that blows."

Shade was not so easily discouraged. "You must be working pretty hard without a partner. You sure you don't want to take a load off with us for awhile? It's not every day a cute girl like you comes around by yourself. And you know what they say: what happens in the mystery dungeon, stays in the mystery dungeon."

"Rrrmh," Luna grumbled. "Someone dumb enough to stir up trouble in a freakin' meadow needs to come back home, and I'm the one responsible to see it through. I'm sorry, the answer's no. Besides, you'd just get carried away if I even gave an inch."

"Is that really a bad thing?" Shade volleyed with a smirk.

"That's not what I came for in the first place!" Luna shot back with a huff.

"What if we helped out on your rescue?" Asked Kindle, somewhat desperately trying to salvage things.

"What? No!" Luna replied, immediately shooting the flareon down. "If you want to hang out so bad, you take me out on a date. You know, the way you're supposed to do it."

"What if the date was in a mystery dungeon?" Kindle volleyed.

"That would kill two birds with one stone," Shade added.

Luna groaned loudly, exasperated. "A mystery dungeon's not a dating scene! It's supposed to be...mysterious! And dangerous!"

"To explorers, maybe. We can act dangerous if that's more your kink," Shade offered, unphased.

"No!" Luna shot down again, growing angry. "Guys, I'm not going to drop everything to screw around. Please let me do my job, okay?"

In response, Shade finally shrugged.

"Well, Kindle, we tried. She's not as needy as I thought she'd be," he said.

Luna glanced away as Shade's words spiked her anxiety. Kindle drooped like a deflating balloon.

"What was your name again?" Shade asked.

The eevee snapped her gaze back to the umbreon, stumbling a bit in response. "L-Luna. It's Luna."

He shot Luna a smug look. "Well, Luna, we'll be around if you reconsider. It's actually quite easy-going in the meadow here, in case you didn't know. You're bound to have some time to kill after that little rescue mission of yours."

"...Thanks? Don't count on it, though," Luna replied. She started to walk past the two of them. "It's just not my style."

"There's a first time for everything," Shade answered back.

"Ah-heh-heh...In your dreams, maybe," Luna awkwardly shot down.

She kept walking. She didn't look back. But before long, she hung her head as she started to mutter: "Dammit. Do I really come off that easy? At least I had a good excuse to throw off those creeps."

She sighed. "At least Brush wasn't here. She'd _encourage_guys like that these days. Ugh...why did things have to blow up with Ray?"

She finally peered behind as she walked, and it seemed she was not followed. She made note to find another way back.


Some time later, Luna finally spotted a lone pokémon down for the count. A torracat lay sprawled on his side, close to a row of tall grass. The flame bell on his neck charred a little circle in the vegetation beneath him. The sight of him brought Luna much relief.

"Hey!" she called out, picking up pace to close the distance, "You're Koa, aren't you?"

"Yes," Koa answered weakly, his voice a baritone pitch. He tried shifting his head to Luna as she approached, unable to move much else. "Sure glad someone came to the rescue."

Luna sat down before him, taking a breather as she peered down at Koa. The sight of him up close gave her pause, more exotic and easy on the eyes than she anticipated. "Luna of Team Foxy, at your service," Luna greeted, doing her best to stay professional.

"I had a feeling you were part of Team Foxy. But where's the fennekin on your team?" Koa asked.

"Brush came down with the fire-type fever, but I'm still on the job today," Luna explained. "So, you're going to tell me how you ended up like this, right?"

Koa glanced away in embarrassment. "I should have left the digletts alone. They're stronger than they look."

"At least you owned up to it!" Luna replied approvingly. "Anyways...you're looking pretty weak, but I can help with that."

The vixen sat down near the feline's face and plopped her satchel aside upon the ground. Her head dove into the opening and rummaged the contents until her head sprung back with a large, Oran berry in her mouth, held closely by the stem.

"This'll perk you right up," Luna assured, her words muffled by the delicate grip of her teeth.

The way the berry hung in Luna's lips, obscuring her muzzle, looked quite cute to Koa. He tried pushing his luck.

"Could you bring that to my mouth? It's not easy to move," he asked.

"Hmm?" Another pause from her. She then reasoned: "Er...I suppose I could."

Koa watched, his interest piqued, as Luna shuffled further in, leaned down, and planted the Oran berry right upon his mouth. He took hold with his teeth and wrapped his lips around the fruit.

For a brief moment, their noses touched.

Luna pulled away, breaking the stem off the berry in the process, and lifted her head back up. She let the stem drop gently from her lips. "H-Hey, you shouldn't eat so fast," Luna advised.

"My bad. I must be famished," Koa replied. He eyed her closely as he licked his lips clean. He pressed his luck again: "Can I have another Oran?"

Luna eyed Koa, on-the-fence. "Well, you are pretty big," she replied, still keeping an air of professionalism. "Let's make sure you can get on your feet."

She dove her head back into her satchel and pulled out a second berry. "Take your time with this one," she advised again, speaking through her teeth.

Koa nodded quietly, awaiting her approach.

Luna leaned down once more. As another Oran pressed against his lips, the torracat opened his mouth nice and slow. As Koa's nose approached Luna's, he cocked his head ever-so-slightly. His body turned to lie upon his stomach as his forelegs tucked in. His tongue slipped the stem out from Luna's teeth as his lips gently met her own. Koa's sizable paws now flanked Luna as he pressed a kiss upon her, indulging the moment with the vixen for all its worth.

As his hot breath poured down her cheeks, she cooed with unexpected delight.

Koa broke the kiss, his face lingering close to hers. "Is this part of the rescue, too?" he teased.

Luna quickly got back on track. "Cute," Luna replied, unamused. Her tone took on an air of annoyance. "You just caught me in a mood, that's all."

Koa grinned. "Didn't expect you'd have a thing for torracats. I mean, as long as we're here, right?"

Luna stared back with utter disbelief. "A mystery dungeon's not a love shack!" Luna objected, as she scrambled to put a short distance between them. She began to slip the explorer satchel back on her person. "Listen, Koa. I only know you from what I've heard in town, and I came out here because I had to rescue your sorry hide. Can you let me do my job before you go for the pick-up lines?"

Koa nodded and rose to his feet. "Alright. I admit that was a little...forward," he answered.

Luna sighed. "At least you owned up to that, too."

The eevee began to turn. "Follow me and we'll find a safe route out of here."

"Hmm? Don't explorers like you warp out of places like this?" Koa asked, "With that badge of yours, I mean."

Luna sighed. "If only. That'd sure make my job easier. Come on, we can still make it home before sundown. You can walk now, can't you?" She added with a smirk, "I did give you two Orans."

Koa grumbled a bit. "Of course."

He followed Luna through the Holey Meadow, staying close behind.


Things didn't go quite as planned.

Though Luna got to Koa without too much trouble, leaving the Holey Meadow with Koa in tow did not leave them unscathed. More than a few wanted to beat down Koa a second time for causing a ruckus with the digletts in the first place. But they ultimately failed to do so with Luna amplifying Koa's fire and barraging the opposition with her Swift attack. As Koa shot blasts of fire and snatched enemies in enormous fangs of flame, Luna's dazzling pirouettes in the air rained stars and pain on all who opposed them. But their victory came with great cost. The two of them arrived at the entrance of Sahra town in the dead of night, the waves of the nearby ocean having lulled most to sleep. Both of them were a grimy, unkempt mess from their ordeal.

"We finally made it. Yaaaaay," Luna cheered weakly.

"That was miserable," Koa replied, just as weakly.

"We made it home. That's what matters," Luna replied back. "And I'm not sure we would've pulled it off if you didn't pull your weight. So...thank you."

Koa turned his head away to hide the blush in his cheeks. "It was nothing. I wouldn't have you fight alone."

Luna smiled gently. "Even so, I can't have you going home looking like that. What would the guildmaster think?"

"...That you bit off more than you could chew?" Koa suggested hesitantly.

"Y-Yes!" Luna confirmed with a stammer, "So let's get you washed up. Come on, we'll have the bath house to ourselves."

Koa turned back to look at her with surprise. "Wait, you want us to-"

"Yes! I'm not going to let you get sick licking off all that grime. Besides, I want a bath too."

Koa raised a brow, hesitant to read further into Luna's intent after being shot down before. "Okay. I'm game. Just know that water doesn't quite agree with me," he warned, pointing to his bell.

"I doubt you'd boil the entire pool," Luna assured.

Luna and Koa made their way together towards the bathhouse in the heart of Sahra Town. The short walk proved quiet and uneventful, leaving both of them to dwell in their thoughts. But they kept such thoughts to themselves, for now. They entered the open archway, snaked through a narrow passage, and finally entered the bathhouse itself, Koa's bell guiding the way like a torch. The dark stone surrounding the sizable pool felt dry to the touch, and the water was at a standstill, illuminated by the glow of moonlight. No one had been there for hours.

"Looks like I was right," Luna remarked to Koa, smiling as they approached the edge of the pool. "Come on, you go first."

Koa uneasily peered to Luna, to the water, and back. "You know, I could still use my tongue."

"No, you'll get sick!" She shot down. She got behind him to start pushing. "Come on, -erk-! In you go!"

Koa anchored his paws right at the very edge, bracing against Luna's push. "I'm not really sure about this!" he insisted.

"Do you want to take a bath with me or not?" Luna challenged.

Koa immediately fell quiet. After a long pause, he spoke again in a hushed tone. "Well, when you put it that way..."

He leaned his weight over the edge of the pool, falling in headfirst with a big splash. The grime on his body raced into the water. But no sooner had he fallen in did he turn right around and grasp the pool's edge. As he raised his head above the water, his tufts of fur and whiskers drooped with aquatic weight as his bell, once exposed to the air again, ignited back to life with a poof of flame.

"You're looking a lot cleaner already," Luna cheered, stifling a giggle.

"This is the worst," Koa replied grumpily.

"Oh, please. You'll be fine," Luna volleyed. "Now it's my turn."

Koa watched as the eevee began to prepare. Luna slipped her explorer satchel off her body, letting it settle upon the stone floor like a sack of potatoes. She then sat down close to him as she reached up behind her neck and felt for the knot of her red neckerchief. However, it wasn't unraveling as she hoped it would.

"Oh, no. Why'd Moe have to make it so tight?" Luna said.

"Moe?" Koa repeated.

"A friend in the guild," Luna explained. "He's sometimes too good with his hands."

"The timburr? Pffft!" Koa couldn't contain himself. "Is he now?"

Luna quickly raised up her paw to shake it at Koa. "N-Not what I meant!" she protested.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it," Koa confirmed, showing mercy. He sensed a different opportunity, anyhow. "You look like you need help with that," Koa offered. "I don't have thumbs, but I do have teeth."

Luna deflected with a nervous smile. "How about you meet me at the shallow end? A little swim ought to cool you down."

"Whatever you say," Koa confirmed, smiling back.

Koa pushed off the edge and began his strokes towards the shallow end of the bathhouse pool. Luna circled around ahead of him. By the time the torracat's feet touched the bottom a couple of feet below, the eevee had already waded into the ankle-deep water ahead of him. Koa eagerly closed the distance, sauntering to Luna as he emerged from the deep end, dripping water from head to tail as his bell gave off steam.

"Now let's have a look at that knot," Koa offered.

"Maybe you ought to let me soak up a little first," Luna suggested.

"Well, if it's a soak you want..." As Koa trailed off, he swiped at the water by his feet. The splash caught Luna by surprise as it sprayed her head-to-toe.

"Ackpht!" Luna recoiled from the direct hit as Koa got his revenge. But then, it escalated. Not one to back down, Luna counterattacked. She rapidly leaped in circles around Koa, barraging him with splashes.

"Aphhbt!" Koa swiped the water at Luna repeatedly to counter her, but the eevee bounded through the water with surprising speed. He spun in place, struggling to keep up, until finally he sat down and threw up his paws in surrender.

"Okay, okay! You win!" He pleaded.

Luna showed mercy. The water calmed around them as they both came to a stop and gathered their bearings. As they both calmed in turn, their breaths heavy, the eevee strolled up to the torracat and sat beside him. Not a hint of grime remained on them, and her mane got so drenched that it lost its floofy shape, now sticking close to her svelte, brown fur.

"Oh, Koa," Luna remarked, "Do you always pick fights with the wrong pokémon? First the digletts, now me."

"I wasn't picking fights with them, nor with you," Koa lightly pushed back. "It's more like...a little rough play."

"Oh?" Luna pressed.

"With the way they pop out of the ground? How could you not want to pounce them?"

Luna chuckled. "You know, they warned me not to let you get any bright ideas. Am I like a diglett to you?"

"N-no, not at all," Koa denied.

"You sure? I am quite small and brown," Luna continued, turning the screw.

Koa set the record straight: "You're far cuter than any mole in that meadow, and much smarter than them, too. I'm drawn to you for far different reasons. You're not the sort I'd pounce."

He leaned in towards her. "I may not look the part, but...I'm gentle when I want to be. Especially if it's with you."

Luna peered up to Koa as she felt echoes of her mood in the meadow. After a pause, she hesitantly reached for the verbal hook he now dangled before her. "Koa...I try to be careful about that sort of thing."

"I've heard that you're careful. But I also know you're interested," Koa teased.

Luna sighed. "Okay, so maybe I am. But you've got a ball of fire that'd burn a hole in my fur. It's not smart to let you get that close."

Koa frowned. "So that's why you've put off untying that neckerchief." His eyes looked down to the water in thought, before peering back at her. "You know...it'd be easier to take off now that your mane's all wet."

"Well, I suppose it's not as poofy now," Luna admitted.

"You'd at least trust me to take that off without hurting you, right? Sparing you a night with a wet cloth around your neck is the least I could do."

Luna narrowed her gaze. "You promise you won't burn me?"

Koa nodded. "I burn you, and you might as well throw your whole guild at me. I'd deserve it."

Luna cast her gaze aside. "Alright. Go ahead and give it a try," she instructed, "And take your time with it, too."

"I'll be careful," Koa assured, as he enjoyed the little boost to his ego.

Koa circled behind Luna in the ankle-deep water and sat down close behind her as she remained in place. His eyes fell upon the square knot of the neckerchief as he scootched in. It rested right below her nape, sagging a bit without the normal poof of her mane to rest upon.

"This'll be easy," Koa remarked. "A press and a tug will untie this in no time."

"What do you mean, 'a press'?" Luna questioned.

"That neckerchief's a bit loose now. How else am I going to hold the knot in place?" Koa pointed out.

"Oh, right. I knew that," Luna volleyed back.

Koa reached up with one forepaw. He pressed it upon Luna just aside the knot of her neckerchief, cupping her shoulder in the process with his pads. He cocked his head and slowly leaned down. As he opened his mouth to gently bite one loop, he took care to angle his bell away from Luna's body.

"N-No holes," Luna reminded him. She tensed as his grasp and the heat of his breaths pouring down her neck proved more sensual than she expected.

"Mmm," Koa confirmed.

With great care, he pulled one loop of the knot further and further out, until finally the corner of the neckerchief broke free as the loop came completely undone. He lowered his paw to the water and drew his mouth further into the back of her neck as he pulled out the other corner, until the square knot gave way and a single tie remained. One last tug finally pulled the corners apart. Koa took hold of one corner and stripped the wet cloth from Luna with ease and a small sense of triumph. He leaned over and around her as he placed the soaked neckerchief close by her feet.

"There you go, Luna. No holes, and not a single burn," Koa said. "Told you I'd be gentle."

"Hrrrm!" Luna suddenly groaned with frustration through her lips and teeth.

Koa leaned back a bit with surprise. "Something I said?"

"This is turning into a one-night stand," Luna complained.

"Um, isn't that how you roll?" Koa asked, a bit perplexed.

"Part of me's squirming that I keep walking right into this," Luna went on. "And it's messed up the more I think about it. It's like Brush has really been rubbing off on me. I mean, do you know how many guys I've slept with by now?"

"Uh...I've heard rumors," Koa offered, without going into further detail.

Luna quickly counted them in her head, then turned her head to Koa as she exclaimed: "Two! It's been two guys."

"Oh. Is that all?" Koa asked with surprise.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luna whined.

"You've barely gotten action with just two flings," Koa pointed out, "You really are hard-to-get."

"Hrrrm!"

Luna spun around in full and glared at Koa, who quickly realized his mistake. He withered under Luna's angered gaze, his ears drooping to the sides.

"I shouldn't have said that," Koa admitted, peering away.

Luna eased her glare as she sensed his regret. "Yeah...you shouldn't have."

As Luna calmed, Koa slowly brought his gaze back to her own. "Looks like I got too forward again. Me and my big mouth."

As Koa's mood grew more forlorn, Luna sighed. She walked up beside him, sat down, and leaned in close to comfort him. The gesture gave Koa some pause as he turned to look down at her.

"Oh, Koa. You shouldn't have said that, but it doesn't mean you're wrong. So let's not end tonight on a bad note, okay?"

Koa gently returned the gesture, enjoying her warmth. "Got any ideas? I did just kill the mood."

"Well...let's just go about it differently," Luna offered. "Brush needs to get better, and I could use a day off tomorrow."

"A date, then."

"Yes, a real date. Drinks at the juice bar, walks along the beach, that sort of thing."

"How'd you know I'd like the beach?" Koa asked.

"Oh, just a feeling." Luna answered. "And then we'd wash the sand out our toes and relax for the rest of the day."

"And what's your idea of relaxation?"

"Oh, that depends on how well the date goes," Luna teased.

"Then I'll have to be on my best behavior," Koa deduced, grinning.

"Yeah, you better be," Luna confirmed, smiling back.

Koa looked towards the exit of the bathhouse. "How about I walk you home? It's the least I could do."

Luna rose to her feet. "Yeah, I'd like that. Let me grab my neckerchief and we'll go."


Luna and Koa walked out of the bathhouse together after shaking themselves dry. Luna led the way, after she stuffed the red, wet neckerchief into her explorer satchel and slipped said satchel onto her back, while Koa followed close behind. They traveled some distance from the center of town into the clusters of huts most of the pokémon called home.

"Here we are," Luna said, coming to a stop in front of her home. They turned together and walked towards her door.

"You're farther from the town square than I thought," Koa remarked.

"It's good for a little peace and quiet, at least until Brush comes knocking on my door," Luna explained, adding a laugh. Koa chuckled back as they reached the door together.

"So, I'll come by first thing in the morning for you. Would that work?" Koa offered.

"Yeah, that'd be great," Luna confirmed. She slipped her head into the crack of the door and slowly swung it open.

"Then it's a date!" Koa confirmed as well. He began to turn back towards the street. "See you tomorrow, Luna."

"But it'd be even better if you just stayed over for the night," Luna blurted.

Koa barely took a step in the other direction when those words froze him in place. He turned his head back to Luna, who still stood within the frame of her wide-open door. "Uh, what?"

"I mean, that'd save time for tomorrow, wouldn't it? We could just get going the moment we wake up."

Koa about-faced. "Isn't that just tempting a one-night stand before the date?" He pressed, confused.

"Then we'll make it a two-night stand. Now get in here before I change my mind," Luna ordered, as she hurried in and waited for him.

Koa slowly blinked. "Yes, ma'am," he confirmed.

The torracat strolled into the hut. The eevee quickly shut the door.