Just a few days after their permanent decision to become committed lifelong mates, Leafy and Aquamarine were having a lively afternoon chat by the lake's shore when a gentle gale swept over the water's surface – a sign that a small rainstorm would soon be upon them. Since it was only rain rather than a thunderstorm or squall, they decided they would endure it willingly, the cool rain feeling rather refreshing after an unusually warmer early spring day. It was calm throughout the rainstorm, with barely the slightest breeze to be felt, the rain falling steadily in a stream of small droplets for hours. Near the end of it all, though, Leafy caught the downwind scent of what he initially perceived to be some sort of harmless aquatic lifeform, such as a Wartortle or Marshtomp. It would not be too much longer before he knew the truth about what it really was, though: trouble.

Moving into the area from the oceanic coastline some twenty-five miles to the southwest of Lake Watercress, an imposing reptilian figure skulked around the lake shore for prey: a huge male Feraligatr. He had been searching for a stable source of prey for weeks now, and had only recently discovered the beauteous freshwater ecosystem that is Lake Watercress, its vicinity teeming with much life. Today, he had decided, would be the day he officially "moved in" to the area, having scouted several times before and witnessing a wide variety of potential prey both around and within the lake. Keeping a relatively low profile, he crawls on his belly along the southern lake shore on alert for any reasonable quarry.

The longer Leafy smelled the scent, the more he tried to convince himself it was not a potential threat, until he could deny it no longer: that scent was foreign, and had the stench of something unmistakably reptilian about it. "Oh no… don't tell me it's a dragon. I don't have much I could do against one of those, and neither does Aqua as far as I can tell. Unless…," he thinks, turning to face her before asking, "Aqua, do you happen to know any ice techniques?" "Uh, yeah, I think so. Aurora beam and icy wind for sure, at this point. Why do you ask?" she responds, cocking her head slightly to one side in curiosity. "Because I'm starting to think that there might be a dragon around here somewhere. You smell that?" Leafy asks, sniffing the air in the direction of the distant Feraligatr. "Yeah, I do now," Aquamarine confirms, keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding beach.

Swimming in the nearby waters, Skelly and Seagana are having a relaxing time feeding on freshwater prawns together. "Mmm… these prawns are scrumptious!" Skelly comments, with Seagana wholeheartedly agreeing as she takes a bite out of another prawn. Suddenly, the Feraligatr dives into the lake directly above them and approaches them rapidly, getting a speed boost from a quick burst of aqua jet. "Whoa, incoming!" Skelly shouts, barely dodging the Feraligatr's initial lunge. "Seagana, move, now!" he yells, frantically trying to swim to the surface and scan the shore for any sign of Aquamarine or Leafy. Spotting them not too far ahead, he gives Seagana the cue to distract the Feraligatr however she can while he gets help from their friends. "Got it!" she responds, facing the Feraligatr as he makes a return pass. "Can't catch me you overgrown lizard!" she snidely remarks before initiating a small whirlpool around herself, dizzying the Feraligatr a bit and giving her the chance she needs to attempt an escape in the opposite direction Skelly swam. Soon thereafter, the big bullish beast breaks free of the rotating current and gives chase after the fleeing Seadra.

Leafy and Aquamarine continue to search for any further sign of the mysterious reptilian intruder when Skelly emerges from the lake's surface as close as he can to them without inadvertently beaching himself. "Aqua, Leafy, come quick! There's a big bad Feraligatr trying to eat me and Seagana!" he cries out worriedly. "Really?! Where?" Aqua asks him, entering the nearby waters around the small Skrelp. "Not too far from here. Come, follow me!" he continues, wasting no time in heading back to where he and Seagana were feeding moments before. "Leafy, follow us along the shore as best you can!" Aquamarine tells him, diving into the lake just behind Skelly. "Will do baby, but please be safe!" he advises her while making his way along the lakeshore, paralleling her path in the water almost perfectly.

A minute later, Aquamarine and Skelly arrive at the place he and Seagana first encountered the hostile Feraligatr. Not seeing Seagana or the reptile anywhere in the vicinity, he scans the distant lakebed and sees the two squaring off in the shallower depths. "Hurry, this way!" he alerts Aquamarine, leading her over to the fight scene. Back on the surrounding shore, Leafy resumes indirectly following their progress, though the shore is starting to meander farther and farther from where Aquamarine and Skelly are heading. Seeing her friends fast approaching ahead of her, Seagana lures the Feraligatr toward a small reef about halfway between her present location and the shoreline, making it considerably more difficult for him to follow her while flitting in and out of cover. "All right, Skelly, do whatever you can to help Seagana here. I'm gonna head around to the opposite side and flank the savage from the rear," Aquamarine states, doing just that as Skelly fulfills his end of the deal by spraying spurts of poisonous toxins at the Feraligatr, distracting him and forcing him to dodge at the risk of being poisoned.

Knowing full well she cannot feasibly take on a rampaging Feraligatr alone and expect to emerge victorious, Aquamarine takes a cue from Seagana and decides to attract the Feraligatr's attention. "Hey you big blue bully, if you want a piece of me, come and get it!" she shouts, quickly gaining his attention. With the Feraligatr now on fast approach, Aquamarine swims away from the reef and straight toward where Leafy is, alerting him to what is happening and vanishing into water right before the big lizard impacts her head-on. To this, Leafy takes over, challenging the beast blatantly. "Stay away from my mate and take on someone more risky you jerk, if you dare!" he calls out at the Feraligatr, easily provoking the already highly provoked as he exits the lake and comes ashore to face his newest contender.

After roaring to signal his imminent assault, the Feraligatr makes the first move, lunging toward Leafy with an ice fang attack. Leafy narrowly escapes harm and counters with a powerful razor leaf, doing only superficial damage to some parts of the Feraligatr's thick hide but causing deeper cuts on others. Bleeding, the Feraligatr bellows deeply and viciously snaps at Leafy with a few powerful crunches, one of which barely grazes Leafy's tail and tears off some fur and skin. "Ah!" Leafy winces. "That hurt, but not as much as this will!" he adds, using giga drain on the Feraligatr to weaken it a bit and healing his own wounds in the process. "Leafeon fight well, but Leafeon die easily to mighty Feraligatr! Mwah ha!" the Feraligatr remarks smugly, faking a lunge to Leafy's left before suddenly aqua jetting to the right, tackling Leafy to the ground as he attempted to evade and pinning him, being of a much heavier weight than his victim. "Aqua!" Leafy yells as the Feraligatr exacts vengeance on the poor Leafeon with an ice fang to the back of the neck. Leafy yelps loudly and starts to feel faint from a potentially lethal combination of that attack plus all the weight crushing on him from above.

"Leafy!" Aquamarine responds, bursting out of the water and leaping onto the Feraligatr's back, biting down as hard as she could into the beast's neck. To this, the Feraligatr staggers backwards a few steps and attempts to dislodge his Vaporeon hitchhiker by shaking and twisting his body around wildly. Leafy slowly begins to recover, using synthesis to heal himself greatly and get back on his feet. Thinking smart once more, the Feraligatr backs up against a tree and reverse body slams Aquamarine into it, giving her a bad concussion on impact and knocking her out instantly, her limp body sliding to the ground weakly. "Heh, stupid Vappy go bye-bye to big strong Feraligatr!" the blue brute gloats, grinning unforgivingly. "NO!" Leafy screams uncontrollably, rushing straight at the Feraligatr and driving a razor-sharp leaf blade deep into his gut, causing serious super-effective damage, blood gushing everywhere, including onto most of Leafy's face, chest, and back. "GUWAH!" the beast roars in pain, grabbing some nearby branches from a tree and using them to put pressure on his otherwise open wound. "You… leave this place now… and NEVER return! Understood?" Leafy snarls under his breath, a look of pure savagery upon his own normally peaceful face. "Gr… so be it. Leafeon win today. Feraligatr win tomorrow, but somewhere else as promised! Leafeon earn Feraligatr's respect. Me leave now," the Feraligatr concedes, lumbering away as quickly as he came, never to be seen again in or near all of Lake Watercress henceforth.

Wasting no more time than needed, Leafy hurries over to Aquamarine's side with a few sitrus berries he frantically gathered from a nearby bush, force-feeding them to her unconsciously. "Aqua, wake up! Please Aqua… oh God, don't tell me I've lost her!" Leafy whimpers, tears rolling down his face. Every passing second seems like eons to Leafy in this moment, his countenance as sad as any Leafeon could ever be and his heart sinking deep into grave anguish. He does not lose all hope, though, for his sincere faith in the Lord keeps him from doing so. "God, please… hear me out. I love this girl with all my heart, and I feel she's a literal gift from you to me, and I to her. Please, even if this is the last prayer you ever answer for me, let her live! Be with us both Lord, always… whether in this life or the next. Amen," he prays out loud softly to himself, choking up several times, especially at the end. A full minute having already passed since he first fed her the sitrus berries, Leafy nearly feels like dying himself, when suddenly, it happens: Aquamarine steadily begins recovering consciousness, the first visible sign being when she slowly opens her eyes and sees Leafy bawling next to her. "Leafy…," she utters, smiling faintly and licking a fresh tear from his face. Straightaway, he opens his eyes and smiles wider than he ever has in his entire life thus far. "Aqua, oh thank God, you're all right! You're back! With me… oh Lord, THANK YOU!" Leafy exclaims vociferously, wagging his tail uncontrollably and hugging her tighter than ever before. She barks happily and nuzzles Leafy, holding him close to her too, wagging her tail weakly as she does so. "Thanks for saving my life baby. I likely wouldn't be here without you," Leafy admits. "Same here, honey. Same here," Aquamarine confesses. "I hope I never lose you like that, especially to some stupid Feraligatr!" Leafy adds, licking Aquamarine's face tenderly. "Me too! I'd never wanna lose you like that, ever! I hope to God that remains forever the case," she agrees, nuzzling and licking Leafy's face all the same. "Come my love, let's have a celebratory feast! My treat!" Leafy announces while getting back up and reaching his dominant forepaw out to Aquamarine. "Oh Leafy, I'd love that! Most definitely I would!" she says, smiling warmly, taking Leafy's forepaw, and getting back on her own feet with his help.

As another day at Lake Watercress comes to a close, Leafy and Aquamarine have sufficiently filled their bellies with much delicious gourmet cooking from each other, made possible only by their working together as a single culinary preparing unit like a pair of wild canine chefs. They are now resting peacefully for the night in their den together, retroactively discussing their meal. "That was one of the most tender delectable meals I've had yet! Brilliant! You did well Leafy. Like a true cooking champion," Aquamarine praises him. "Thanks sweetie, that means a lot to me, but remember, it's us that worked together, for what true chef would ever forget to credit his number one assistant?" Leafy notes, chuckling slightly. "I hope you've got a little room left for an extra special dessert I've had planned that's the tastiest thing you'll ever consume, and it's on the house, too!" he continues, smirking naughtily. "I know that look, and I wonder… could this 'extra special dessert' of which you speak be the priceless confectionary creation known as candy kisses?" she inquires cleverly, smirking naughtily in return all her own. "Well, let's find out, shall we?" he obliges, pouncing playfully upon his mate with all due affection taking over him, making out with Aquamarine all the night long.
Tonight, their love for one another is stronger than ever before, and Heaven only knows that it will only continue to grow stronger in the days, months, and years ahead: the sign of a truly blessed loving mateship and marriage.