Komorebi

木漏れ日

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."

- Ernest Hemingway

It was a quiet night in the midst of a cool Winter, a slight breeze coursing through the trees to produce an increasingly soothing sound throughout a ravine. Then there was the even more soothing sound of a small waterfall, softly beating the hard rocks beneath it into submission before flowing into a small lake below, amidst a large mountain. The perfect setting to relax and think in without disturbances.

Yes, this is it, the small black umbreon thought as it laid down under the shade of the willow tree at the top of the waterfall, where there was a small hill that offered a wondrous view of the forest. A decent place to finally rest, it thought as the golden topaz of its eyes began to disappear under the cover of fatigue. With that, and an almost invisible translucent layer of a purple aura surrounding the small dark body, the umbreon slowly surrendered to sleep's embrace.

Elsewhere, a small eevee trudged along through the forest, eyelids sagging and movements slurred, the hopes of finding a safe place to sleep beginning to dwindle. Maybe I should just chance it and sleep right here, he thought as he stared at the ground, feet dragging before he shook his head. No, it's too dangerous. I just need to find... his thoughts trailed off when he looked up through a clearing in the foliage, his mouth curving into a tired smile. Through that clearing, he could see in the distance a large mountain, one with several hills, crevices, and waterfalls. Perfect; there shouldn't be anyone on that island.

With that, he found himself no longer falling asleep as he began running, with the ground soon turning into an incline that gradually became higher and higher as he traversed up the mountain. He dodged through the trees as he ran, the entanglement of trunks and leaves becoming thinner and thinner as he grew closer. Two days, he thought to himself as he panted heavily, sprinting as fast as he could despite the ache it caused him. Two days since I last slept... too long...

Soon the trees were substantially fewer than the thick forest far behind the eevee as he continued running. He was now more than halfway up the mountain as he jumped from one large boulder to the next. He could see a never-ending forest from where he sat; a break in the rocks where a grassy knoll sat by a high cliff face, providing a small resting place. Not here, the eevee thought, puffing in his exertion. Still not safe... After a few short seconds to catch his breath, he was off again. The top of the hill in front of him, where he knew the waterfall he saw coming from the cliff face originated. There was probably a pool of water there that he could drink from. Safe water, obviously not stagnant, coming from the top of the mountain where it accumulated from the clouds.

"Nearly... there..." he huffed out between gasps for air, pushing his frail body to its limits. You couldn't just evolve already, could ya? No, you had to be that one that wanted to 'be boring' and wait. Which is, obviously the better choice. But still, finding somewhere to rest is more important right now. With one final push and that thought in mind, he jumped for that ledge in front of him, grasping it with his front paws. It took him a second to realise his hind legs wouldn't make it, and his eyes widened as he grasped onto the grass with his front paws, clutching at it as his hind legs desperately clawed the wall of dirt before finally pulling himself up and over.

With more than a few gasps, he rolled onto his back and he began chuckling to himself quietly as he tried to regain his breath before he stood up and dropped his jaw at the sight before him. Wow... Before him was a small ravine filled with several trees and bushes and a small lake in the centre that ran from one waterfall to the one he must have seen running down the cliff. Just... wonderful, he thought, his eyelids sagging yet again at the promise of rest. He slowly made his way down the hill, his body still recovering from his race up there, before he finally made to the clearing, walking over to the waterfall. He noticed a willow tree at the waterfall hill up from where he was currently, and as soon as he saw it he had decided.

Of course, it would have to be a willow tree, he thought, a weak smile on his face as he began to climb. At least now I don't have to pick where I'll sleep, he mused. After a few more seconds he had reached the top and was continuing to breathe heavily though now they were mixed with slight huffs of laughter. Then he let out a deep sigh before finally walking over to the willow, preparing to lay down, before he noticed something. It was an ever so slight purplish glow and caused his head to tilt in confusion as he walked around the trunk, his eyes widening further than he thought possible when he noticed the black fur. And once he'd walked all the way around, he just stared at what was in front of him.

What is an umbreon doing up here!? I mean, I know I'm up here but this is just insane, he thought. And a female nonetheless! Is she crazy? But as he began to move closer, he realised he had made the mistake of moving way too loud, thanks to his exhausted body. Which, of course, caused gold to appear from beneath the umbreon's eyelids, causing the eevee to freeze. Less than a second after their eyes made contact, the eevee found himself upside down, dangling over the waterfall, with nothing but a purple glow coming from the umbreon, which he traced up to a purple loop around his waist. He looked to her, then to the drop into the water far below, then to the purple aura surrounding him, then back again in rapid succession.

Unfortunately, this was not good for the poor, exhausted, eevee, and his head just couldn't take it. His body grew limp, and his eyelids closed as he fell unconscious, surprising the umbreon standing up by the edge of the cliff. The expression on her face wasn't exactly an expression, more so just a neutral face devoid of any emotion. Well, there were slight traces of anger, confusion, and curiosity, but to the untrained eye, it would just look like a blank face.

After a few seconds of contemplation, the female let out a sigh, reasoning the little eevee was probably young – of course, it even fainted in shock – before she reduced the stretched out purple aura of her psychic, laying the eevee down on the grass on the other side of the flowing water that led to the waterfall. Now she would hear him if he tried to cross the stream over to her. It's not like he could have touched you anyway, you had a layer of psychic, she thought to herself with a sigh. Don't get so worked up over nothing, but then again... what was that kit doing?

She decided she was far too tired to think about it anyway and slowly returned to her position under the willow, double-checking her psychic was active before drifting into sleep once more.

As a light slowly began to filter through his eyes, the eevee remembered what had happened the night before. Hah, what a silly dream, he thought, rolling over onto his other side and looking over the stream to where the umbreon sat, looking out to the forest lit by the morning sun. The eevee froze, his eyes wide, as he stared at her. There was a faint glow that still surrounded her, causing him to narrow his eyes in curiosity. Is that a... psychic? How is she manipulating it like that?

His thoughts trailed off when she turned to him, her eyes meeting his yet again as he slowly stood up. A tired look crossed her face as she let out a groan and pressed her paw to her face. Why do I have to deal with this kit... she thought. I came up here, finally thinking I've found a place where I can be alone-

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard splashing, and turned back to find the eevee walking across the river, a look that certainly didn't match his age – at least the age she had placed him at. "What-" she began flatly but found herself cut off by a far deeper voice than she had expected.

"Just what did you think you were doing last night!?" he exclaimed, a look of anger on his face. Before she could respond, he continued. "Holding someone out over a cliff like that without any form of provocation, what is your problem!?"

"Stop there, kit, you were the one that approached me whilst I was sleeping-" she began, but again found herself cut off.

"Kit? Kit? I am no kit, thank you," he retorted, letting out a huff of exasperation. After a few moments, he looked up to see her surprised face as she thought.

"I agree that I may have reacted... distastefully... but it would do you well to remember not to approach someone like me whilst I am sleeping," she told him, and he let out a sigh.

"Fine," he murmured before he looked at her in the eye again. "How old are you?"

"What's it to you?" she asked, her face having returned to its seemingly default blank state.

"You were calling me a kit, is all, when I am fairly certain you are younger than me," he told her, lightly shaking the water off his paws before stretching. It had been a while since he had slept, so he guessed he could be grateful to the strange female umbreon that helped put him unconscious.

"Oh really now, well, I don't just give out my age to anyone," she began. I don't talk to anyone. "But seeing as I may have made a mistake, I will tell you that I am seventeen seasons," she finished, waiting for the look on the eevee's face that told her if she had assumed correctly or not. When she saw it, she found herself with the answer and a look she wasn't expecting.

"I thought as much..." the eevee trailed off with a smirk, his voice laced with triumph. "I'm eighteen seasons," he told her. There was a moment of silence as the umbreon sighed inwardly.

"Alright then, I will apologise for my mistake, but now I must be on my way," she told him, standing to leave. It's not like it really matters to me the less conflict the better, she thought. I don't want to continue talking anymore.

"No, wait," the eevee began, having already moved past any of the negativity he had harboured earlier. "What's your name?"

Now, she could have replied saying that it wouldn't matter as she'd never see him again anyway, but something in her relented. Maybe it was the curiosity in his eyes that she found she absolutely couldn't ignore, or maybe it was the way his attitude seemed so... euphoric. "It's... Viraelia," she murmured, her actions confusing her head, sending all manner of thoughts ricocheting around her brain. The eevee smiled - grinned even - before he continued.

"Well, Viraelia, nice to meet you, even if you may have threatened to throw me off of a waterfall," he said. "I'm Theroux."

"Alright. Well, you can leave me alone now, I've decided I don't want to find a new place to go, and I'm not the sort of company any normal pokémon would keep..." Viraelia was still talking, but Theroux was no longer listening. He was still staring at her, but his mind was in overdrive. So many questions, so many answers, but one thing was standing out to him and it was irritating him to no end.

"Why do you have that translucent purple glow around your body?" he asked, stopping whatever she may have said.

"That is none of your concern," she replied with the slightest hint of anger in her voice. "Listen, I just want you to stop. I just want you to leave me alone..." she trailed off, walking down the hill.

"I need your help!" Theroux exclaimed suddenly, causing her to turn and look at him.

"Why." Theroux couldn't discern the questioning tone in her flat reply.

"Because, I don't have any moves to protect myself, and your psychic is obviously potent enough to help me," he replied, to which she turned her body more to face him.

"Help you with what?" she then asked, at the same time cursing herself for saying the wrong thing. You should have told him to ask someone else, but you ask another question? You are so thick sometimes, she thought to herself as she realised something. "But first... why don't you just evolve?"

Theroux sat down, sighing as he tried to find the words. "I... I haven't decided yet..." he trailed off, and she tilted her head.

"Eevees usually evolve at around ten seasons, why haven't you? Well, I know most of them don't really think about it, and choose what is perceived as popular-"

"That's exactly what I think!" Theroux exclaimed, cutting her off and surprising her. "They're just following what's conventional and it's stupid, and the reason I won't evolve yet is because I've been travelling to find out what I'm really meant to be... and I can't exactly travel safely unless I evolve... it's a paradox! This is why I need your help!" he exclaimed again, his desperation growing as she sat there, silently taking in what he was saying.

He isn't as shallow as I first thought... but still... "What makes you think I'll help you? What's in it for me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You'll get to travel around, and I can hunt for you," Theroux replied.

Well, that does sound a little nice, but it's just when I've finally settled down somewhere I can rest peacefully... "Even if I were to accept, which is doubtful, what exactly would a small eevee like you be able to catch?"

"All manner of things, including farfetch'd, slowpokes, tauros. I can be very precise, and I am very fast and stronger than I look."

Actually, provided he can deliver, that sounds rather... tempting... but still. "Look, Theroux, I can't do this, good luck-"

"NO!" Theroux yelled, startling her, as he continued. "Sorry, but I have one more thing in it for you."

"Which is?" she questioned.

"I won't annoy you," he told her simply. Before she could ask, he had already begun to elaborate. "If you don't help me, I'm probably as good as dead. I've survived so far from luck, but it's already running out. You need to help me, or I will die. So, I will stay here, or wherever you go, and I won't leave you, won't stop annoying you, until you agree."

Viraelia was speechless until her expression hardened and her eyes narrowed. "What makes you think I won't throw you off this cliff?" she asked, calm as if she were making polite conversation.

"I know you wouldn't," he told her. "And to start off with my schedule of annoyance, I will begin by calling you Viri. Viraelia is a mouthful."

Viraelia stood there for a moment. She thought about yelling, and getting angry. That wouldn't do anything. She thought about feeling sad. That wouldn't do anything, either, she thought before she looked up. "Fine," she murmured, surprising Theroux.

"Wow, really!?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. She nodded. "Thank you!" he exclaimed, moving towards her, to which she reacted instantly.

"STOP!" she yelled, causing him to do exactly that. She quickly recollected herself, but not quickly enough before Theroux saw the pain in her eyes. "If I am to travel with you, one thing must be abundantly clear."

"W-Which is?" Theroux asked with confusion on his face plain as day.

"You are not, under any circumstances, allowed to touch me..." she trailed off, a deep breath leaving her lips. "Are we clear?"

"Y-Yes..." he trailed off, breathing deeply himself. "Anyway, I won't call you Viri anymore, now that you've decided to-"

"No," she cut him off, turning so that he couldn't see her eyes lighten. "Please call me Viri."

"So..."

"Shh."

"But-"

"Quiet."

Theroux's ears dropped at his failed attempt of conversation... for the fourth time. He looked over at her, staring off into the distance until she turned to him and he turned his face back towards the direction they were heading. They had continued like this for almost an hour, and Viri had not once spoken up of her own accord. Theroux thought it was because she might have been annoyed, but over the hour they had been walking her face had not strayed from its default 'neutral' expression. Theroux couldn't reason why one wouldn't be talkative, especially on a journey like the one they were on.

Viri was perfectly content in her own thoughts, which seemed to never cease springing around in her head. She was constantly asking the question; Why did I accept, only to find that she could not find a logical reason. Everything doesn't have to make logical sense, idiot, she mused. Though despite thinking that she couldn't figure it out, she knew deep down there were reasons she had whimsically tagged along. It was certainly far too dull to live in one place, she knew that from having tried to settle down in even the most scenic settings only to grow weary of it. It was always missing something. So, that was one reason. The other...

She cleared her mind of such thoughts. Best not to dwell on the past, she told herself, coming out of her thoughts only to realise Theroux was trying to speak to her again. "What?" she muttered shortly, giving in. I'm glad I didn't refuse, though. His incessant annoyance would probably drive me to do something drastic.

Theroux smiled at his first successful attempt. "I'm sorry if this is personal, but do you surround yourself with a psychic aura to stop anyone from touching you?" he asked, causing them both to stop in the middle of a forest clearing. A tree was just a few metres away, and the swaying leaves indicated a swift wind was blowing.

"It's not personal," Viri began, turning to him. "Personal would be why. But yes, that is the reason."

Theroux pondered for a moment with a thoughtful expression, until he came up with his next question. "I've already said I won't touch you, why do you need it around me? Isn't it unpleasant having to maintain it every day?"

Viri eyed him. "Trust doesn't work like that."

He eyed her in return. "It does for me," he stated, causing her brow to raise. "If I say something, I won't go back on it. Ever."

Viri's blank expression seemed to change, ever so slightly, to a somewhat teasing one. Almost as if she were ever so slightly smirking. "Well, alright then. Prove it."

Theroux was confused for a second before he noticed the translucent layer disappear and his eyes widened. Then they narrowed again. "I can't prove anything from you doing that, you're just baiting me," he stated. "It seems that, in your eyes, I could just not do anything right now and touch you later when you're not expecting it." For a second nothing happened, but then he heard her speak up again.

"Well said," she replied, the aura returning. "Again, trust doesn't work like that. Now, why don't you go and hunt like you said; catching an elusive farfetch'd, a slowpoke nowhere near water, or a tauros seven times your size. I, am going to sleep."

With that, Theroux watched as she curled up under the tree and he let out a sigh. Well then.

And so, most days flew by in the same fashion. They would walk, silently, from one place to the next, Theroux would hunt for them both, Viri would sleep under whatever available shade, and nothing much came of anything. They never saw any other pokémon. Before they knew it... a week had passed.

As darkness began to settle, and Viri sat in front of her meal of a farfetch'd, she thought for a moment, this isn't actually too bad. I think I'm even enjoying myself, she thought. Good food, a respectable travelling companion that respects my preferred isolation, and a never-ending display of... beautiful scenery... Whilst she was thinking this, she didn't realise just how close she was to smiling. The closest she'd been to smiling for a long time.

"Good?" Theroux asked her, having finished his meal. She nodded her thanks, before curling up against the trunk, readying herself for sleep. Theroux sighed lightly at her usual silence before he looked up at the full moon, taking a moment to take in the night air. He looked back at Viri, the light purple aura surrounding her as usual. He found himself thinking he would like to know more about her, as she was so mysterious in her cold, silent, and isolated personality, but whenever he thought he might get the chance to say anything she would stop him. He sighed, shrugging as he laid down a closed his eyes. I suppose it has only been a week, he thought. The longer we continue, the better a chance I have for having an actual conversation. I have no idea about her at all... it's just so... intriguing... Though, I suppose I don't exactly deserve anything from her, seeing as I – well, I didn't exactly lie to her – but I sort of... left out some parts of my story. Well, if anything comes up I'll have to tell her and just hope she understands how desperate I was...

A month had since passed, and now, as the two sat down to another evening meal, Theroux found himself surprised when he was asked a question.

"Have you decided yet?"

In fact, it was so surprising that Theroux almost choked on the food in his mouth. "Excuse me?" he asked after he had finished coughing.

"On what you want to evolve into," she added, the eye contact she was giving him almost scaring him.

"Well, not exactly... no," he replied. "I've been finding it hard to narrow down..." he trailed off, realising that this was his chance. "So, what about you?"

"What about me?" she replied, just the reply being enough to intensify Theroux's enthusiasm levels.

"Are you enjoying... this?" he asked.

"Elaborate on 'this'."

"Travelling around, not having to hunt for yourself, sleeping all day, every day," he replied, smiling lightly. There was a silence that followed which caused Theroux's smile to fade until she finally replied.

"More than I'd first thought," she admitted, looking around the clearing they had decided to stay in that night.

Theroux's smile was back. "That's good, at least..." he trailed off again, trying to find words to say. Idiot! First chance for an actual conversation and you don't know what to say?

"Well, I'll be going to sleep now, good night," she told him, and Theroux was crestfallen.

"Good night," he murmured, slouching his head onto his paws in dismay. What if she doesn't take me seriously because I look like a kit? Hold on, he then thought, thinking about something for the first time since the beginning of their journey. "Wait, Viri," he began, causing her topaz eyes to train on him once more. "Why did you ever agree to this journey in the first place?"

She let out a sigh. "Maybe I'll tell you one day. It's certainly not an impossibility given the amount of time you're taking to decide."

Theroux rolled his eyes. Well, it's not like I expected her to actually tell me, he thought. However, as he curled up to go to sleep, he heard her speak up again.

"There's something on your tail," she murmured. He turned his head and brought his tail up to his face, his heart leaping in his chest for an instant before he concealed the faint patch of white on his tail as quickly as possible.

"I must have dragged it and got some gravel on it when I caught our food earlier," he replied calmly, standing up. "I'll go wash it out before I go to sleep."

"'kay," she replied shortly, closing her eyes again.

Phew, Theroux thought as he tried to bring his rapidly beating heart back under control. That was so close, thank goodness we didn't have a fire going or she would have noticed for sure. After he had reached the tree line of the clearing and was out of sight, he bolted as quickly as he could to the nearest bushes, searching for that ever important flower. He darted this way and that, taking nearly twenty minutes before eventually finding what he was looking for.

As he held the several small purple flowers in his paw, he lifted his head and began to smell the air, searching for the distinct scent of water. Finding it, he was on his way in no time, knowing he really needed to get things done as soon as possible. Come on, come on! Don't be too late! He exclaimed in his head as he put the flowers in his mouth and sprinted off towards the water source.

After a few more moments, he found it. It was a small stream, with clear water reflecting the radiant moon. But Theroux didn't have the time to waste admiring, and within seconds he was in the water, scrubbing furiously, the previously clear and reflective water turning brown.

Feeling refreshed and full of energy, Theroux made his way back through the trees towards the clearing. After a few moments, he reached the encampment where he and Viri had settled in for the night, but something was different. Something's... not right, he thought, but even after thinking hard he couldn't figure out what it was. However, as he laid down to go to sleep for the second time, he noticed Viri move. He paused for a moment, unsure. "Viri?" he whispered, hoping for some kind of response. But there was nothing. At least, not for another few moments, when Viri shifted again, a soft sound escaping her lips as Theroux's eyes widened. Was that a... whimper?

Focusing his hearing, Theroux heard it again, though this time it was accompanied by the sound of her small form as she shifted again, rolling over from her left to her right. She's having a nightmare, he thought, unsure what he should do. But then, one simple fact startled him as he realised what was wrong. He looked at her closely to make sure, and his eyes widened. I'm not just imagining it, he thought, his heart pounding as he decided to move closer. She isn't surrounded by her psychic aura.

After a few more seconds, Theroux almost had a heart attack when her eyes suddenly opened and she shot up into a sitting position, breathing heavily. She turned her head to look at Theroux, who looked so tense he could've passed as a statue. "Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked, as casual as usual. Looks like she hasn't noticed yet...

"No, I just got back from washing myself," Theroux replied. "Were you having a nightmare?" he then asked, surprised at his own bluntness.

"Possibly," she replied as she looked him over. "Seems to me like you did more than just wash that patch out, your whole coat seems to be brighter," she added as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He ignored her latter comment and decided on something.

"Well, are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, almost fearing her answer.

"I'm fine, I don't need to talk about it," she replied, as short as ever. Well, at least, her bluntness is a testament to her mentality right now, Theroux thought, a sigh of relief escaping him.

"If you say so," he replied, turning to finally get to sleep. However, he stopped himself, realising something.

After that moment, from Viri's perspective, it would almost seem as if he were arguing with himself before he turned and faced her again. "What?" she asked, experienced enough with Theroux's expressions to know that he had something to say.

"There's something I need to tell you," he said, causing Viri's eyes to narrow.

"Well spit it out, because I would still like to get some more sleep," she replied, and Theroux let out a huff of frustration.

"It's not that simple, I don't know how to put it," he replied, causing Viri's gaze to soften.

"Put it simply, then," she replied. Theroux then took a deep breath.

"Okay. Your psychic isn't active."

For a second, nothing happened, but then Viri's eyes widened and she seemed to stop moving. Her irises dilated and her fur seemed to stand on end, and Theroux found himself quickly worried when he recognised the state she was in.

She was showing all the symptoms of a panic attack.

"Vi-"

"DON'T MOVE!" she yelled out, surprising the eevee as she backed up against the tree and looked down at her paw. She couldn't even hold it still, but she could clearly see that there was no aura surrounding her. Then her mind began to shut down as her body became paralysed with fear, her heart rate rising and her vision blurring until...

"VIRI!" Theroux yelled, his voice so loud that it echoed throughout the clearing and caused Viri to turn to him in shock. The gentle, calm voice that followed was such a mismatch for Theroux's booming shout that Viri almost didn't realise that they were one and the same. "I've already told you," he began, looking directly into her eye. "I am not going to touch you." With that, he calmly sat down with and air of absolute solemness. "You need to calm down, and think. It takes mental solidarity to form that aura, so just... breathe..." he told her, his voice as gentle as it could be.

Viri couldn't speak, but she clamped her jaw shut and listened as the wind coursed through the trees, hoping the serene sound would calm her like it usually did. But she could not take her eyes off Theroux. She could not shut off the part of her mind that was figuring out a plan of escape if he were to go near her. Her heart rate began to rise again when she realised she wouldn't be able to calm down without stopping these things, but then the words played back in her mind. I am not going to touch you. She then took another deep breath and, using all of her willpower, turned her head away from him, her eyes following but continuing to leave him in her peripheral vision. No. Then, she closed her eyes and shut her mind from everything but the sound of the wind. Within moments, the aura had appeared once again, and Viri continued to shut her eyes and breath deeply.

"So, "Trust doesn't work like that", huh?" Theroux called out to her, causing her to open her eyes to his grin.

"Thanks," she murmured suddenly and looked down at the grass beneath her paws. "I..."

"Shh. Forget about it, I'm sure you have your reasons," he told her and she looked up at him again. "I'm not going to ask or expect you to tell me, either," he added, and for a second he thought he saw the tiniest smile in the corner in her mouth, but the instant it was seen it vanished and Theroux doubted it was ever even there.

Then when he looked out towards the moon, there were a few seconds of silence until Viri spoke up. "You deserve to know for managing to gain my trust," she trailed off, almost as if she couldn't come to terms with what she was saying.

"Are you sure?" he asked, trying to appear calm on the outside despite almost going crazy that a chance had appeared in front of him. She nodded, turning to him.

"I decided to come with you because you called me Viri," she told him. "I have a hard time trusting people because two out of the three people I have ever trusted betrayed me. Those two were my mother and father, leaders of our clan, who were going to sell me out to an opposing clan as a mate for someone. I don't even remember. The other I trusted was my friend, and she was the one who called me Viri. You reminded me of her. She was killed for helping me escape, and the nightmare I had earlier was me watching her get caught and her throat slit. Even before then, I had never let anyone else touch me because of something that happened to me when I hatched. I couldn't break my shell, and I developed an extreme sense of claustrophobia. I barely let my parents touch me, and when they betrayed me I just couldn't take it anymore. So, there. Now you know," she told him, feeling a great weight come off her shoulders. So... she was right in the end. It did help to talk to someone about things.

Meanwhile, as Viri felt relieved, Theroux was staring at the ground blankly to try and take it all in. With that kind of messed up life, there's no wonder she has these problems, he thought as he turned to her. "So... how did you manage to trust me after all that?" he asked and she shrugged.

"I don't know, but thank you for somehow breaking through," she murmured.

"Well, now that you trust me..." Theroux began, walking over near her. "Do you think you'd drop the psychic?" he asked, and she seemed taken aback for a moment.

"I don't think it would end well," she muttered.

"Well, you can't keep going like this, and I'm not just talking about the psychic. I'm talking about the fear of touch – it's not good for you," he told her, and she couldn't help but nod her head.

"I know, but I'm far from recovering from that," she told him as she let out a yawn. "Anyway, the sun will come up soon and we're going to be super tired in the morning before we head out somewhere new, so I think it's time we both get some shut-eye."

"Good idea," Theroux replied as he walked away from her and laid down, brimming with joy that he had finally gotten somewhere with her. But then his smile had faded, and he thought very seriously. Should I tell her? After many moments of decisive thinking, he decided against it. It has to be at the right time, otherwise, she may react badly and I might lose that trust. I can never let that happen, not with all that has happened in her life...

With that thought, he slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Several hours later, Viri awoke to the darkness of early morning, the sounds of the nearby forest reaching her ears as she got up and stretched. She let out a deep sigh, her eyes narrowed from tiredness as she turned and looked at Theroux, who was still sleeping. She was almost surprised at how innocent and cute the little eevee looked, making her forget the mature young male inside for a moment. He really needs to evolve soon, it's just weird, she thought as she looked to the horizon where the sun was just starting to peek out over the forests and mountains, the sight filling her with energy.

After a few seconds of watching it, she turned to Theroux again and remembered what he had said the previous night. "You can't keep going like this." After a moment of deliberation, she decided on an impulse and closed her eyes. In an instant, the purple layer of her psychic disappeared, and with a shaky breath, she opened her eyes and walked right up to where Theroux was still sleeping. Her heart rate had risen incredibly, and her front legs were slightly shaking, but she still tried to focus and calm her mind nonetheless. She slowly raised her paw, resolving to move it towards him, but before she could a sound caused her already-paranoid mind to shift into gear, her entire body turning and her psychic manifesting instantly.

After realising it was only a branch that rustled in the wind, she let out a sigh. Honestly, you're pathetic, she told herself as she removed her psychic, intending to continue until she realised – too late – what she'd done. She froze, her eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat as she slowly turned her head to find her tail laying lightly on Theroux's.

She unwillingly cried out as she jumped back, her psychic returning as quickly as she could muster as she leant back against the tree, subconsciously holding her tail in her front paws. After a few moments, her breathing normalised and she let out a long breath, her senses finally coming back to her as she watched Theroux roll over, still asleep. Good, he's still asleep, she thought. If he knew what just happened I wouldn't hear the end of it, and if he knew that it may have... helped... she then stopped, realising that she had felt something different. She felt a little better, almost as if she didn't feel as... lonely. Continuing her train of thought, she realised something daunting. If he knew that it may have helped... She stopped as she shivered, not wanting to think about it.

As she finally let go of her tail and stood up, she noticed Theroux open his eyes and roll onto his haunches, stretching as he did. "Good morning," she murmured, thankful her voice didn't portray the stress she just went through. He looked at her and yawned as he stretched, his eyes shutting involuntarily as he tried to get his tiredness out of his system. Unsuccessfully.

"Good morning," he murmured his reply, his narrowed eyes showing exactly how deprived of energy he was.

"So, where to today?" she asked him, watching him breathe to try and awaken himself more. However, she grew confused when he slowly opened his eyes and stared out to the horizon.

"What's wrong?" he asked suddenly, causing her eyes to widen.

There's no way he should be able to think something was wrong, I'm not showing anything, she thought, puzzled. "What makes you think something's wrong?" she asked, and he turned to her.

"Nothing, but I can just feel something's off," he replied.

What is with him?

"Well, I'm fine," she told him. "So, where to today?" she repeated, and he sighed.

"If you say so," he murmured, turning back to the horizon again. "I'm think of heading out that way," he told her, pointing towards the forest behind her with his paw. She turned and looked before nodding. "By the way, why haven't we encountered any other pokémon on our trip?"

"I have a move active that causes pokémon to subconsciously stay away from us, but it only works on weak pokémon," she replied. "Besides, this area has little to no pokémon, being on the outskirts of pokémon territory and nearing the humans' territory," she added and he seemed to freeze for a second.

"O-Oh, that makes sense," he replied, stuttering for a second before regaining his composure, hoping she didn't pick up on it.

"Are you afraid of humans?" she asked, and after a moment of trepidation, he replied.

"Yes."

"Why? Do you think they're going to catch you?"

"Yes."

"Well, don't worry, I doubt any humans would be able to catch us while I'm around, not that they would want to, anyway," she said.

"I wouldn't be so sure..." he murmured quietly, quiet enough that she didn't hear him.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, taking another breath before abruptly standing. "Well, let's be on our way," he said, walking towards the forest.

Several hours and rests later, the two finally found what they had been looking for the entire day: a clearing with a nearby waterfall. As they entered it, Viri watched the water flow from the waterfall into a small lake, thinking that she hadn't washed for a few days. Such is life, being so lackadaisical, she thought to herself as they neared the closest tree.

"Finally..." Theroux groaned as he ran under it and collapsed on his side, letting out a large groan. "I can't believe it's dark... it took us the whole day to find this place!" he exclaimed as Viri followed and laid down as well.

"But just look at this place... it's beautiful and worth it," she replied as she shut her eyes and laid on her back, stretching. Theroux watched her for a second, growing curious. Since last night, she's grown a little more... emotive, he thought, surprised. Either way, it's good for her. Either way... I really want to touch her... he trailed off, only just realising what he'd thought. He quickly rolled onto his side, facing away from her to hide his heated face. What's your problem? "Oi, get us food," Viri muttered as she stood, unaware that she had interrupted his train of thought. "I'm gonna go wash."

"Huh? Oh, okay," he replied as he watched her walk over to the lake, jumping to his feet. You're just loving not having to do anything, aren't you? With a sigh, he quickly disappeared into the forest, searching for his prey.

Viri looked over her shoulder as she watched him leave, relinquishing her psychic as she stepped into the lake, sending a chill down her spine when she felt the refreshingly cool water soak into her black fur. If he's taking this long to decide, it must really mean a lot to him which one he'll choose, she thought as she immersed herself into the dark liquid. Well, it meant a lot to me. But it's not like it was that hard for me to choose... I can't exactly imagine myself as anything other than an umbreon, she thought, picturing herself as a really awkward looking vaporeon. That would be a sight.

After a few moments of wading in the water to get used to the temperature, Viri started to swim around, enjoying the way the coolness felt against her body. After walking all day she still felt incredibly stiff, and she knew she had to start moving more. Not having to hunt really takes its toll on the body, she thought. I'm so lazy though...

Meanwhile, Theroux found himself in a quandary. He couldn't find anything.

Your move is too powerful, Viri, he thought in dismay as he realised, without at least any scents to go on, they wouldn't be eating that night. Still, I can't give in too easily. I'll stay out a little longer, just in case, he thought, moving a little quicker on his feet, his silent tread allowing him to remain invisible and inaudible as he made his way through the darkness.

Almost an hour later, Theroux slouched his way into the clearing, keeping his eyes to the ground. Viri didn't even need to acknowledge he didn't physically have any prey to know that he didn't catch anything. Just the way he was walking was enough. She watched him as he slowly made his way back up to where she laid under the tree, avoiding eye contact the entire time, and as he laid down. He still hadn't taken his eyes off the ground when he murmured the words, "I'm sorry."

Viri watched as he laid his head on his paws and sighed, his entire body clearly showing his overwhelming chagrin, and suddenly, something clicked inside of her. It started in her chest, a strange tingling feeling that began to grow. Then, her body began to shake ever so slightly and she could feel a slight pressure at the bottom of her throat. When the sides of her lips began to turn upward and her paw rushed to cover her mouth, she just couldn't take it.

After a few more moments, Viri laughed. She rolled over onto her back a clutched at her sides as she experienced a fit of laughter for the first time in many years, all while Theroux slowly turned to her and looked at her like she was mad. The sound was so foreign to him that it had shocked him into silence, disbelief filling his head as he tried to comprehend what exactly was going on.

Eventually, the laughter began to dwindle as Viri tried to sit up, small giggles accompanying her on her way. When she was up on her haunches, she leaned forward and looked directly into his eyes with a smile on her face. "Do you really think it matters?" she asked, only to be met by silence. Taking the chance to continue, Viri let out a sigh as she looked up to the moon. "So what, you couldn't find anything. It's not like we're going to starve, we can just find some food in the morning," she told him, and eventually Theroux found it in himself to speak.

"You laughed..." he trailed off, not able to believe it. Viri realised it herself, the only reaction she could possibly muster being another small smile.

"Yeah, well... I couldn't help myself," she replied. "I've never seen you look so down, and to think it was because of such a trivial matter-"

"It's not trivial!" he shouted, cutting her off. "You came with me with one of the conditions being that I hunt for you, and I couldn't do that! It's not acceptable!" he exclaimed, surprising her momentarily before her eyes narrowed and all traces of her previous emotions disappeared.

"Don't be so ignorant," she told him, her ice-like voice scathing. "I just told you it was okay, and I don't want you to ignore what I say again, go cool off." With that, and without any time to respond, Theroux found himself in a similar state to the night he had first met her. He was dangling over the water with the purple of her psychic around his body, but before he could even comprehend anything, he was in the water.

When he went under, Viri let out a huff of frustration. Why do you have to be so difficult? After a few moments, she sighed and got up and walked over to the side of the lake as Theroux swam over to where he could stand. He didn't look angry like she had expected but instead looked distraught. She was confused, but before she could say anything Theroux had begun clawing at the water.

No! His eyes had begun to water. Not now, not now, not now, he repeated in his head, watching as his front legs began to change from brown to white as he continued to claw at the water in a vain attempt to stop that which he dreaded from happening. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, tears now falling down his cheeks, the tone of his voice changing to show his hysteria.

Viri watched in shock, her eyes wide and mind in overdrive as she tried to understand what was occurring in front of her as Theroux finally stopped thrashing about, instead collapsing in the water as he completely broke down. He sobbed uncontrollably, and Viri had no idea what to do or why such an emotional outburst was happening. But, at least, she had to try to understand and help him. So, taking a few tentative steps into the water near him, Viri spoke out clearly. "Theroux." Not getting a response, she tried again, a little louder. "Theroux!" Still, no response. "THEROUX!"

It still took him a few moments, but eventually the sobbing died down as Theroux tried to control himself. After it had died down enough for him to speak, he still found it hard to do so without his words being laced with the overwhelming sadness that was flowing from him. "P-Please d-don't hate me for t-this," he stuttered out, keeping his eyes away from hers.

"Theroux," she began, her voice calm. "What are you talking about?"

"I b-betrayed your trust," he told her, his lips quivering from his sadness and the cold of the water. Seeing his discomfort, she used her psychic to pick him up and put him on the shore before walking over to him. As she walked over, she could clearly see his entire body, and there was not a spot of brown fur left. It was all white.

"In any case, you need to calm down," she said. "I don't hate you, and you haven't betrayed my trust," she assured him. "Just explain, slowly, so I can understand."

"W-Well," he began, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. Fortunately, it worked, and he found himself speaking clearly, but there was still a distinct undertone of sadness in his voice as he spoke. "Although I really am trying to figure what I want to evolve into, I'm a-also running away from a bunch of humans that want to capture me..."

"Why do they want to capture you?" she asked, finding herself somewhat unnerved that he still wasn't making eye contact with her. He's so... ashamed... she thought, feeling overwhelmed and shocked by his pain.

"They did some research thing, the scientists in the town... I'm the last non-evolved irregular eevee in this region, and they want to capture me a force me to evolve..." he trailed off, unable to continue as a powerful sadness hindered his ability to think properly as he continued. "I'd rather die than let that h-happen..."

Viri's eyes widened. She knew he wasn't joking, and obviously it was affecting him greatly. "Why did you need to cover yourself, why didn't you tell me?" she asked softly.

"I thought about telling you, especially after what happened last night, but I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if I lost your trust, and I just didn't know how you would react," he told her. "Losing your trust is worse than being forced to evolve into something I don't want..." he murmured, and Viri was shocked again. She couldn't say anything. She was just so overwhelmed by what that statement meant that she couldn't possibly think. "I couldn't take that chance... not when you're the first friend I've ever had. I've been on the run for many Winters now, and the clan I was a part of never really accepted me, an orphan... but ever since I found you my life has been so much better and every day..." he slowly trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Every day I just grow more and more in love with you... A shiver went down his spine at the thought, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Theroux..." Viri trailed off, not knowing where to start. She looked down and bit her lip, finding resolve. After a few moments of not saying anything, Theroux found it in himself to finally look at her. When he did, he was shocked. "I trust you, Theroux," she told him, her voice firm. "It isn't in my place to decide if you should or shouldn't have hidden such things from me, but I cannot let you think that I am so easily affected by them."

Theroux took in every word that she said, but he simply could not recover from his shock that Viri no longer had her psychic aura around her. From what she had said, he had no doubt in mind that she had decided she would no longer need it around him, something that made him feel so incredibly warm on the inside. But, of course, once his mind finally decided to think again, he realised that they were in terrible danger, and the joy on his face was replaced by urgency. "We need to go," he told her, his voice serious. "Now that my scent is no longer hidden by the mixture I used to dye my fur, the humans' mightyenas will be able to pick it up!" he exclaimed, causing her to nod her head in understanding.

"I won't let them get you," she told him, and for a moment, it seemed like time had frozen. He saw the determination to save her friend deeply ingrained in her eyes, and he couldn't help but feel an immediate spasm of pure, unadulterated happiness. "I have a plan."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, curious. She then looked at him and gave him a sinister-looking yet determined smile.

"I'm going to erase their minds of anything to do with you," she said as she suddenly cocked her head to one side, her ears moving as she heard something. Theroux did the same, and they both arrived at the same conclusion. "They're close. Now, how long can you swim for?"

Theroux looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Just trust me, how long without rest?" she repeated, and he took a moment to answer.

"Non-stop; probably twenty minutes."

"Good," she muttered, thinking for a moment. "Alright, here's the plan: you're going to hide in the water behind the waterfall whilst the mightyenas follow your scent to this clearing. When they arrive, I'll kill them and erase the humans' minds."

"Kill them!?" Theroux exclaimed, shocked.

"I know you're a special case, but would you want to lose your will and be controlled by a human? All the captured pokémon I have encountered have lost the ability to even speak, so don't question me on morals," she cut in. "It may be harder for me to stop them if I have to restrain myself, and when it comes to protecting you I will not have that."

And again, Theroux was left speechless by the honesty and determination to help him that would have otherwise been so unexpected. "O-Okay," he replied, making his way towards the water once more as his face heated. "Stay safe," he murmured as he slipped into the water. When he turned back, he found her smiling at him again.

"It's ok, this should be over in a few minutes," she told him as he began swimming over to the waterfall. When she watched him disappear under the whitewater, Viri took a deep breath. It was incredibly easy now that his fur colour had returned to the original white of an irregular or shiny eevee. Let's do this, she thought, closing her eyes and sensing the first of three mightyenas entering the clearing. Then she smiled.

From Theroux's perspective, he was surprised when he heard the first sounds of battle. Almost as instantaneously as the battle began, a yelp sounded the end of one of the mightyenas and after a few moments, another two were heard. Just how strong is she!? After another few more moments, he heard the voices of humans. He could tell by the tones that they were shocked, obviously that their mightyenas had been taken down, having expected an eevee to be an easy catch. Although Theroux couldn't hear very well over the roar of the small waterfall, he could tell that they had been silenced, and after a few moments, he heard Viri's voice.

"It's done."

As he swam back to sure, he was shocked. There were pools of blood around all three mightyenas, and two humans were laying on the ground. Uninjured, but unconscious. He only saw one wound on each of the mightyenas; a single slit to the neck. After a few moments, he was on the grass of the clearing. "How did you...?" he didn't finish his question, but Viri understood what he was trying to say.

"I used swift to precisely target, I do practise regularly," she told him before she winced. Immediately Theroux's eyes widened with concern, but she stepped back and held out her paw to stop him. "I'm fine, one of them fired off a hyper beam and grazed me," she muttered, but Theroux couldn't see any wounds anywhere.

"Show me," he said, and she turned to reveal only a slight graze. "How strong are you?" he asked in disbelief.

"I've done nothing but train for the last several years, so I would say I'm pretty strong," she murmured. "Anyway, shall we get going? We don't need to be here when they wake up."

"Alright," he replied, and after a few moments, the two had left the clearing behind.

Soon enough, in the dead of the night, they finally found a place far away enough for them to rest and relax. It was just a plain grassy clearing with a few large rocks, but the stars shone brightly down on them as they both laid down in exhaustion.

"Thank you Viri, for everything you've done," Theroux spoke up in the silence, causing her to look up at him. She still didn't have her psychic aura, and it was slightly messing with him. "Also, are you serious that you aren't going to use your psychic around me anymore?"

"Firstly, you don't need to thank me," she replied. "And secondly... yes. It still makes me feel quite... vulnerable... though."

After taking a moment to let that sink in, Theroux stood up, deciding to act on what he had been thinking about the entire hour walk. "Viri," he began, looking at her in the eye. "It's thanks to you that I can say this, but I've decided." Her eyes widened, despite her exhaustion, and she watched in surprise as his body began to glow. "And I've never been happier," he continued, a large smile on his face, his entire body now engulfed in an incredibly bright light. After a few more intense moments, the bright light disappeared, leaving the dark form of an umbreon in its wake.

"Congratulations," she said with a smile on her face. "I hope this doesn't mean we'll be parting ways now, right?"

"Of course not," he replied, his smile brighter than ever as he walked over in front of her. His blue rings were the only things that clearly distinguished himself from Viri and her yellow ones, and they shined brightly to match the energy inside of him. "Now that you've helped me, it's my turn to help you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her blank expression returning.

"What do you mean what do you mean?" he asked, humour in his voice. "Don't tell me you've forgotten? I'm going to help you not fear touch. No one should have to live such an isolated life," he told her, his voice soft.

As her eyes widened, Viri couldn't help but feel odd. Seeing Theroux like he was now certainly didn't help the matter, either. You look so... mature now, she thought, almost with wonder. Not to mention you actually look your age, and look quite powerful... attractive, even... she trailed off, not realised what she'd thought until a moment after. However, she quickly hid her awkwardness well before he could pick up on it. "But still, I only helped you at first for my own benefit, and I've nothing to offer you for your help. You've no reason to stay with me, anyway, and there's no reason for you to help me if I'm not ready or wanting to be yet, so why would you even bother?"

"Because I love you," he murmured quietly, sitting back on his haunches.

"I mean, it's far past being irrational, you're being plain stupid," she continued. "You can't even-" but then, she stopped when his words registered. Her eyes widened, and she stared right into his eyes as he smiled.

"I love you, Viri," he repeated. "Being with you is infinite remuneration," he told her simply, and something inside of her finally snapped when he said those words. Tears began to form in her eyes and fall down her cheeks as her mouth remained agape. She slowly looked away, unable to comprehend what she was feeling as she continued to cry, but not out of sadness. An insurmountable joy had filled her so much that she simply couldn't hide her feelings behind the wall she had used for so long, and an insurmountable sadness at her helplessness somehow merged with it to confuse her to the very core.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she eventually managed to choke out, her paws trying to wipe away her tears until eventually she managed to control herself. "I d-don't know what came o-over me..." she trailed off. "I was just so happy... yet so sad at the same time... I just d-don't know," she repeated, looking into his warm, compassionate eyes once more. You're just lying to yourself, Viri, she told herself. Of course you know.

"It's okay, Viri... just know I'll always be here for you no matter what," he told her, never ceasing the warmth and compassion. "You don't have to-"

"I love you," she murmured softly, her head lowered.

"Hm? You'll need to speak up Viri, I can't hear you-"

"I said, I love you, Theroux," she told him, louder than before. "But I can't drag you into my mess-"

"Your mess is my mess," he murmured simply. "How can I ever be your mate if I can't even help you through anything?" he told her, causing her heart rate to skyrocket. It took her a moment to recover from his words before she went to speak again, but before she could he had already started again. "And before you say anything, yes, I mean it. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I will not let you remain in this condition any longer."

"Theroux..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I don't even know where to begin... but..." she trailed off again, almost unable to say it. "I cannot lie. I want nothing more than to be your mate, but-"

"It's fine, Viri," he replied, standing up again. "I have a feeling I know what you're going to say, so I'll spare you the mortification," he added, a smirk on his lips as he watched her hide her face. "We can just be mates. How does that sound?"

Suddenly, she realised something and smiled when she looked up at him. "Sounds good."

Then, with a smile, he moved a little closer as he whispered, "although I was already going to give it my all, it doesn't hurt to have a little incentive, does it?"

With that, he slowly returned to his spot and laid down, leaving Viri to wallow in her embarrassment. Although, she couldn't deny the latent euphoria inside of her at the inherent curiosity of his words.

The next morning came along swiftly after the two had fallen asleep. But when he remembered the previous night, along with half the things he had said to Viri, he was the one mortified.

Did I really say all that!? Tell me it was a dream, he screamed inside of his head. Maybe it was the evolution, or maybe it was just out of a need to say such things at that time, but Theroux had found himself speaking right from his most inner self that night. In his head, he began counting the things he told her that he would definitely have needed to build up courage first before saying. He counted four until he reached the last major thing he said to her before he told her good night, and thrust his head into his paws.

"That's it, I can't go on anymore..." he murmured aloud. Death would be kinder than having to speak to her again after implying... he cursed himself for thinking about it again. Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it-

"Good morning," Viri murmured from behind him.

She's going to kill me slowly.

"Good morning," Theroux replied. "Uh... sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks," she replied as she looked him over in the sunlight for the first time. This... is my mate... she realised, a smile forming on her lips. In all honesty... she never thought it was part of the hand fate had dealt here. But fate works in funny ways, she thought. "You?"

"Yeah, I did..." he trailed off, a moment of silence ensuing before Viri spoke again.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked, the question catching him off guard momentarily.

"What plan? Oh, that plan... well, I was up for a long while thinking about it, and I know this will probably sound pathetic, but I think the only way you'll overcome the mental barrier is through time... and me," he added, causing her brow to raise.

"How?"

"I don't know, but I have no idea how else I can put it. All I have in mind is for us to keep doing what we've been doing these past months, for as long as it takes," he told her. "It'll be no easy task, but... we won't even have a chance if you don't pull your weight either. I'll need you to try your hardest, okay?"

"Sure. Well, I was intending to give my all anyway, but a goal is easier to work towards than not working towards anything. You know, goal; an incentive," she added, slightly stressing the word as she gave a hint of a smirk.

Killing me slowly.

"I was hoping you didn't remember me say that..." he trailed off, his face heating.

"Oh, but it was ever so charming," she replied with a smile before realising what she'd said, her own face starting to heat. "Damn, I caught your suggestive repartee," she murmured.

"'Suggestive repartee'!?" he exclaimed.

"Yep. Anyway, are we going to head off? Wherever we're going I'd like to get there early if I'm to hunt for the first time in a while; I'll have to warm up first," she told him and he shook his head to clear it of his embarrassment.

"You'll hunt?" he asked, not bothering to hide the surprise in his voice. "But you're so lazy..."

"We'll take it in turns," she replied flatly, ignoring his comment. "I need to be a bit more active; I haven't been feeling the best. It is important for one to know the times to be lazy and the times to not, something I have been forgetting recently."

"No arguments there," Theroux murmured.

"Mhm, especially considering how much nothing I've been doing," she replied. "You may as well just let me do all the work, for now, to make up for it."

"Nope, that would be unacceptable," he told her. "We're both even now, so I'll do my fair share."

Viri rolled her eyes. I'm never going to get anywhere... how could I have ever thought I could in the first place? Don't be stupid Viri, you know what he's like... "Fine," she murmured as Theroux stood up with a smile, turning towards the horizon.

"Shall we, then?" he asked.

"Alright," she replied, giving a slight smile as he turned back to her. Which was when he realised something.

"Hey, Viri, you really should have smiled more before last night," he told her, causing a puzzled look to form on her face.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it makes me want to smile when I see it," he told her simply, turning as he began walking out of the clearing.

"'kay..." she trailed off, glad he didn't see her heated face.

Since then, a week had passed. And unfortunately for Viri, the week had been one filled with embarrassment for her. Particularly for her thoughts. Not only had she been thinking about Theroux far more than she normally would, but she had started to develop something odd. It was a strange, almost impulsive, feeling. One that forced Viri to really think hard about it almost non-stop until she had eventually come to the conclusion that it was what Theroux had been hoping for in his plan.

She was starting to want to touch him. In truth, she had felt quite the rush when she accidentally did so earlier in their journey, and ever since then and especially after what happened the night Theroux evolved, she had found that feeling growing stronger. However... she was still far too uncomfortable with it to ever act out on that feeling.

'It's a paradox!'

She smiled, remembering his words. On top of that, she found that hunting had certainly made her body ache at first but now it felt almost back to normal. It would be best to remember never to have such a long period of laziness again, she thought, looking from where she was sitting to Theroux, who had just returned with their evening meal.

"You know," he began, dropping the carcases of two rattata on the ground in front of him, "and I know I've said this already, but hunting is way easier now that I've evolved!"

"Obviously," she replied. "How are you finding it?

"Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "I don't really think I could ever think of myself as another evolution... but, before I even started on this journey I knew I wanted to be only two of them."

"What was the other one?" she asked, and he smiled at her.

"A jolteon," he replied. "I didn't want to be a vaporeon, flareon or glaceon, but I don't think I would have minded being an espeon or leafon. It came down to me wanting to be either an umbreon or a jolteon. Oh, and I would never even contemplate being a damn sylveon."

"But you'd be a pink espeon?" she asked with a light laugh.

"Of course, psychic types are heaps cool!" he replied.

"Yeah, but psychic-types are weak against dark types, not to mention their psychic moves don't even have an effect on us," she told him, silence ensuing for a moment whilst Theroux withdrew into his thoughts. "Theroux?" she asked, wondering what he was doing.

"Which would mean that your psychic wouldn't even work on me, even if you hadn't decided you could trust me enough to not have it up..." he trailed off, and Viri averted her gaze.

"Mhm, so if you were to decide that the best way to help me is to just touch me..." she trailed off, leaving the rest up to Theroux's discernment.

"... then I would be able to just go ahead and do it, right?" he finished for her, and she nodded. "If it ever got to that point, what would you do?" he asked, and she looked at him once more.

"I would try and let you."

His eyes widened for a second before he spoke again. "Well, I doubt it would get to that. I'd rather not, either, because when I touch you I want you to be absolutely comfortable with it."

"Well... I'm already comfortable with it..." she began, trying to find the right words as Theroux's heart beat faster. "But my head isn't, if you get what I'm saying? It's... I don't know how to put it... involuntary?" she murmured, unsure of herself.

"I get what you're saying Viri, don't worry," he told her with a smile. "That's what phobias are, right? Irrational fears? Everyone has at least one for two," he added, and she nodded. "It makes sense, too. Yours are rationally irrational fears, in the way that they both formed by perfectly acceptable reasons."

"Which are?" she asked, wondering where he was going. She hadn't thought much about them herself, but she did have a feeling what he was about to say would at least make some sense.

"Your claustrophobia, as you've explained, formed by being unable to break your egg, right?" he asked, and she nodded. "Since then, your claustrophobia evolved further into your fear of touching others. At least, that's the conclusion I've come to, and I'm sure there were other factors involved also. But either way, phobias are things we don't have control over. It's nothing to be ashamed of or angry at, it just is."

For a second, Viri turned away from him as she thought it over. What he said was actually rather plausible, and she had no trouble in believing what he said. "Well, that certainly all makes quite the sense," she responded after a few moments. "Though... what are your phobias?" she asked, causing him to freeze for a moment.

"Oh, you needn't be bothered-"

"Come on, it's your turn to feel vulnerable," she cut in, a devious smile slightly gracing her lips. "Besides, you've nothing to be worried about, we're mates, right?" she asked, and he couldn't help but feel a slight bliss at her words. Even if there was an underlying ominous tone to them.

It seems just so unreal I tend to forget sometimes, he thought as he took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Fine..." he murmured as he turned to face her. "I'm... afraid of heights."

Viri seemed to think about it for a moment before replying, "yes, that also makes quite the sense."

"That's it? You know, that should be your catchphrase, I just love the way you say that," he told her with a huff of laughter. She looked at him with a confused expression, which only made him laugh even more.

"What should be?" she asked after he'd calmed down a little.

"The 'makes quite the sense'," he replied, rolling onto his back for a moment as he looked up at the stars. "Winter's coming soon..." he murmured absentmindedly, feeling a gust of wind rush through their campsite.

"Indeed, it is... I would very much like it to come sooner, though," she said, rolling onto her back also. "I thoroughly enjoy the cold, rain, and snow... I wish it were like that all times of the year."

"Y-Yeah..." he murmured, unable to think properly as he looked at just how close they were. Mere inches; the closest he'd ever been to her, with or without the psychic aura. After a few moments, he quickly calmed himself and continued speaking. "Well, I do enjoy the Winter season, but sometimes there's just no comparison to swimming in a clear lake on a hot Summer's day, don't you think?"

"That sounds like a lot of work..." she trailed off tiredly, rolling onto her side, shocking Theroux once more.

Just how daring is she right now? How close is she going to get!?

"Anyway, I'm going to sleep now, good night," she murmured, curling into a ball as he laid there, trying to regain his composure. He actually couldn't move. He didn't trust his body to work correctly whilst he was so close to her, and knew that if any part of him wanted to rebel he could end up accidentally touching her.

"G-Good night..." he whispered, trying to figure out the best way to move. Alright, he thought, using his body weight to roll himself the opposite direction before letting out a sigh of relief as he managed to do so without touching her.

After closing his eyes for a moment, he realised how comfortable the grass was where they had decided to settle for the night. He found himself incredibly relaxed, especially with Viri's soft snores beside him, and couldn't keep his eyes open any longer as he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning, a sharp ray of sunlight mercilessly beat on Theroux's face, forcing him to screw his eyes shut as he let out a long yawn. That sun comes from death itself, he thought, opening his eyes to a squint. Viri's lucky she's facing the other way, he thought as he looked at her peaceful face in front of him. Then, after a painful moment, he realised that he'd rolled over in the night. So, being ever so careful, Theroux took a moment to look at his position, nearly fainting when he noticed how close he was to her. He wasn't touching her, but if he moved so much as half an inch his paws would touch hers.

Taking a second to calm his thoughts, he slowly moved them downwards to allow a little space. Too close, if I had been a little higher... Dismissing his thoughts he took the time to admire how peaceful Viri was, a smile forming. It's going to be a pleasant day when you finally overcome your fears, Viri, he thought as he breathed in the fresh green grass. It had a very delightful scent and had an instant soothing effect on his body, almost as if he could just fall asleep again then and there. He was perfectly content just staying there like that until Viri woke, which happened to be only a few moments later.

She yawned, causing Theroux to open his eyes and watch as she opened hers. She smiled when she saw his smile and gave a tired greeting. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he replied. "I was thinking we should go through the forest and try to find a lake to stay at tonight, if you can muster the energy to go swimming, of course. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me-" she began, but she cut herself off.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but was met with silence as she closed her eyes. "Viri...?"

"Y-Your tail..." she trailed off and his heart rate quickened in response to his shock as he looked down, finding his tail barely over the top of hers. Wasting no time he quickly pulled it back behind him.

"I'm so sorry I didn't realise, I didn't-"

"Never mind," she cut him off with a sigh, looking away. "Need to start from somewhere, right?" she murmured, rolling onto her feet before shaking the grass from her pelt. Theroux, his mouth wide open, sat there in shock until a smile came across his face.

You've come so far, Viri, he thought, remembering just how frightful it had been for her when her psychic had dissipated without her knowing, and he wasn't even anywhere near touching her then. Come to think of it, she hasn't had any nightmares since then... I wonder if talking about it helped? After a few more moments, Theroux followed her lead and stood, shaking the grass away. Doesn't matter. Improvement is improvement, and I will help you, Viri. Even if it hurts me... even if it hurts you.

Another week had passed since then, and Winter was now fully upon the two in all of its cold, grey glory. Nightfall was almost upon them, and neither umbreon could see a hint of blue through the onslaught of grey clouds. With snow thick enough to render the ground beneath invisible, deep enough to chronicle journeys and cover cold paws, they slowly tread through it.

A blissful sight indeed, Viri thought, smiling to herself as she looked around at the scenery. It's unbelievable to think of Winter's natural colours as 'depressing'; it's more of a pleasant nonchalance.

"And why are you so chipper, indolent one?" Theroux spoke up, eyeing her with curiosity.

"The preferred endearment is lackadaisical, but sure," she replied without looking back. "Perchance I enjoy the cold greyscale."

"Mhm, makes quite the sense, given how you share those attributes," he told her, a smirk on his face.

"Bluntness is helpful for getting straight to the point and making things simpler," she murmured. "And yes, I did just classify my own demeanour and your sentence as the same time, deal with it."

Theroux rolled his eyes with a sigh, watching her as she left the trail and walked over to a small hill, stopping at the top.

"Come here," she said, turning back to look at him. "It's magnificent."

Once he got to the top, his eyes widened at the sight before him. "Wow..." he trailed off, the image of a large, ice-covered lake in front of him. He smiled, turning to Viri. "Cold and greyscale, however gloomy it may seem on the surface, is still quite beautiful."

"Cut the useless coquetry," she told him as she walked down the hill, leaving prints in the snow. Theroux chuckled to himself quietly before he followed them down to where she sat by the surface, tentatively moving her paw to touch the ice, gently applying pressure to it before coming to a conclusion. Interested in her actions, he silently watched as she stood and placed her weight on the paw, continuing to the point where she moved her other paw out as well. Deciding the ice to be thick enough, Viri walked out onto it without hesitation and smiled as she turned around to look at Theroux on the shore. "Come on, it's thick enough."

"It's not very safe, Viri. What if the ice breaks?" he asked, clearly worried.

"We're already quite into Winter, and we're not that heavy. I highly doubt it will crack, so let's have a little fun," she said, her smile making it hard for Theroux to refuse. After a few short moments and a sigh, he smiled as he slowly stepped out onto the ice.

"Alright, but don't go too fast as I doubt my ability to stay upright," he told her as he took a few more cautious steps until he reached her. "So... now what?"

"Watch this," she said as she dug her claws lightly into the ice and used her shifting centre of gravity to propel her forward a few metres, slowly sliding on her paws until she came to a stop. "Just start with that and then I'll show you something really cool you can do on ice."

"Uh... okay..." he trailed off, looking down at his paws as he dug them into the ice like Viri had, moving his body backwards a bit, then shifting his weight forward at the same time to fall flat on his face into the ice. Moving his head so that it wasn't pressed into the ice, Theroux let out a long moan of pain as Viri began to laugh.

"Theroux, you idiot..." she trailed off as she laughed a little more. "You forgot to release your claws... you won't be going anywhere with them still planted."

"Well, whose fault is that for not clearly explaining?" he questioned as he narrowed his eyes at her, slowly standing and regaining his balance once more. "I'm all for tackling you into the snow right now, so you better watch yourself," he warned as he shook the numerous tiny ice crystals from his face and head. After a few moments of not saying anything, he looked at Viri again to find her thinking. Then a smile formed on her lips.

"Hmm... alright. If you can catch me, you can tackle me into the snow," she suggested, the smile on her face beginning to take on a more condescending hue.

"What? You sure?" he asked, confused.

"It's not like you're going to catch me, not in a million years," she replied candidly as she looked out to the centre of the frozen lake. "Begin now," she announced suddenly, quickly standing and walking off calmly. Theroux watched in fixation, blinking as if to clear his head.Uh... what? You'd better not be underestimating me, Viri, he thought determinedly as he stood, beginning to move forward. He looked down at he paws as he walked, finally finding a way for him to walk without sliding everywhere, but when he looked up again Viri was way further away than she had been moments ago.

How even!?

He quickened his pace, finding himself able to run comfortably once he'd gotten the basics down. Ahead of him, Viri was still walking but she wasn't even looking at him. He smiled. I hope this will serve as a lesson for you to not underestimate me and my ability to pick things up quickly, he thought in triumph as he got closer and closer, his running becoming less and less awkward as he progressed. You're done now, Viri.

Up ahead, Viri continued walking calmly until she suddenly stopped. This is about far enough, she thought, turning to find Theroux speeding towards her. Perfect. Taking a moment to make herself comfortable, Viri sat down and waited for him to get closer. She could imagine what he was thinking, something along the lines of 'underestimation'. But Viri was never the type to underestimate. And as such, when it became apparent he would reach her in a few seconds, Viri stood, planting her claws into the ice. Then, almost without any effort, she pulled herself along the ice so that she was a metre or so to the side when Theroux hurtled past her, unable to do anything as he slid helplessly far away from her. She let out a laugh when his efforts to stop were rewarded by him falling onto his stomach, sliding another few metres before finally coming to a painful stop.

"Didn't realise you lose the ability to direct yourself the faster you go, did we?" she called out to him, a laugh escaping her as she watched him try to stand just to fall back onto his face again. "I've plenty of experience on ice, I wouldn't have challenged you without knowing that you would never be able to get anywhere near me," she added as she began walking towards Theroux, who was laying on the ice, obviously having given up trying to stand.

"Well... I've... never been... on ice before..." he murmured in between intakes of air, the extent of his exertion quite obvious. She stopped a few metres away as she sat with a smile, waiting for him to get up.

"I think we'll put our contest on hold until you learn how to correctly-" Viri began but stopped her sentence suddenly, her ear twitching as she heard something. Her eyes widened as she realised what it was, taking a moment to take in Theroux's condition as she calmed her thoughts. "Theroux, look into my eyes and try not to move," she said calmly.

"Huh? Why?" he asked, his breathing still indicative to his exhaustion.

"Just do it, please trust me," she continued, looking down momentarily to see a crack appear between her legs, looking up again to see him doing as she had asked. Then, without hesitation, her eyes began to glow a light gold, and Theroux found himself feeling a little cold for some reason.

"What're you doing-" he began but was cut off as a familiar purple aura materialised and wrapped itself around him; the only warning to his body being sent sliding across the ice. In shock, Theroux slowly stood to his feet, wondering just what was going on, before he looked back to the centre of the ice only to be confused at what he saw. Viri had disappeared. She's really got to stop showing off how good she is at... his thoughts slowly trailed off as he looked at the blue that had appeared in the centre, his eyes widening at the realisation. "VIRI!" he yelled as he began to run towards where the ice had collapsed, but before he could get any further the rest of the ice cracked and shattered around him, causing him to fall into the shallow but freezing water. Within seconds he was on his feet and splashing towards where she had been only moments ago, calling her name again only to hear nothing in return.

No, this can't be happening, Theroux thought before he fell into the water, madly rushing to find her as tears began to form in his eyes. But just as he was about to dive from the shallows into the deeper water, he heard something. His ear twitched and his head shot towards the sound, to the sight of Viri pulling herself out of the water onto the snow, completely soaked. "Viri!" he yelled again as he ran towards her as fast as he could, watching her as she hunched over and coughed up water, watching the air she exhaled turn to steam as she breathed heavily. Within moments he had reached her, only to find nothing but a weak smile on her face.

"I'm... all good..." she trailed off weakly as she continued breathing heavily. "Just... a little tired... from swimming," she continued. "Nothing to worry... about."

"Viri... you nearly scared me to death!" he exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief as he caught his breath. "You saved me, in my exhaustion the sudden cold of the water would cramp my muscles and I would have drowned if I'd fallen in, and you knew that didn't you?" he asked and she grinned in reply. Well, tried to. Her face was too cold to make any kind of expression and there was definitely some kind of a pun there.

"Well of c-course... I h-h-happen to-to b-be sma-a-art..." she told him, her body shaking slightly, causing him to frown in concern.

"Viri, you're drenched in freezing cold water, we need to get you someplace where you can dry off," he told her as he looked around, noticing the snow starting to whirr around them; the beginnings of a storm. She nodded as she picked herself out of the water, and he gave her a smile. "Let's hurry."

A short while later, Theroux squinted his eyes through the blinding snow as he looked into the distance at a large mountain, his lips curling into a smile as he spotted what was most likely the entrance to a cave. He turned back to Viri and yelled out to her over the loud winds, "I think I've found some shelter, come on!"

She lifted her head after having lowered it to protect her eyes from the snow as she squinted to see, nodding her reply. This is not good, she thought, finding each step harder than the last as her muscles began to lock up. Cramping muscles, increased oxygen intake, slowed heart rate... She looked up again, watching him walk with determination. I'm already afflicted with the early symptoms of hypothermia. I don't want you to see me die like this... so I'm not going to, she thought as they began to climb the hill, coming up to the entrance of the cave.

Theroux ran forward, looking into the entrance with a smile, only for that smile to fade as he turned. "We'll have to keep looking, it's just an alcove," he muttered. "Don't worry, we'll find a place soon." With that, they continued on. Not good, Viri thought. If we don't find somewhere soon... she shook her head to clear it and pushed on, finding it harder and harder for her body to move. Moments later, she couldn't move it at all. Moments later, she collapsed. "Viri!" Theroux exclaimed as he turned and rushed over to her. "What's wrong?" he yelled, afraid his voice would be drowned out by the roaring winds. She didn't move. Her eyes were closed. "Viri, talk to me, please!" he exclaimed, becoming desperate.

Damn... it... Viri thought. She didn't have the strength to do anything. She could barely breathe, despite needing to get her heart beating faster, and she couldn't even open her eyes anymore. Her entire body was weak, and soon enough her internal organs would start to shut down until her heart stopped beating. She couldn't even hear anymore, all she could see was black, all she could feel was the snow she laid in and the wind that beat into her, chilling her to the bone. She couldn't feel anything but the cold. I'm sorry... Theroux...

"Viri! VIRI!" he continued yelling at her, receiving no response. Damn it! Without hesitation, he moved closer and placed his ear against her chest, ignoring the cold of her fur as he listened intently, finding what he was looking for; a heartbeat, however weak. Without a second to waste, he dug his head under her and manoeuvred her onto his back. His eyes widened momentarily at how cold and stiff she was before he quickly stood to his feet, finding it easier to balance her because of the rigid state she was in. As soon as she was balanced right, he set off up the mountain as fast as he could without dropping her.

Hang on, Viri, he thought as he looked at every possible cave entrance, ignoring the pain of his paws getting cut on the jagged rocks. He continued on until finally he found what he was looking for. Staying careful yet quick as possible, Theroux made his way over to another possible entrance. "Please, please, please," he pleaded with a weak voice as he reached the entrance, his relief insurmountable when he found a small cave and rushed inside to lay Viri down at the deepest part; far away from where the wind and snow could reach her.

Moving forward again, he pressed his ear to her chest once more, finding her heart still beating but fainter than ever. He could see the pads of her paws were people, and he knew that if her body temperature lowered any further she would probably die. So, without any further hesitation, he laid down behind her and pulled her into him, ignoring her freezing cold fur. He was slightly bigger than her, and he curled himself around her to protect her from the wind as he tried his best to share his body warmth. Come on Viri, you can't die here, Theroux thought as he held onto her, feeling her body begin warming slightly. He was still a long way from heating her, but he knew that in a couple of hours if Viri survived that long, he could bring her body temperature back up.

Once the adrenaline in his system began to fade, Theroux realised something. He was touching her. It doesn't count like this, though... he thought. I want to hold you like this when you're conscious, maybe not as tight, though, he thought. Still, those thoughts caused his heart to beat faster, which caused his body to stay warm. Fortunately for him, he was only in the cold water for so long, and he didn't even submerge into it fully. But Viri had fallen right in and her entire body had been affected. If only a snowstorm didn't pick up... you would have been much better off, Theroux thought as he rested his head on the back of her neck. As painful as it was, all he could do was wait.

Slowly, tired eyes began to open to golden light as it shone through what seemed to Viri to be a cave. They didn't stay open long, as her body still felt hardly recuperated, but the warmth she could feel was so nice that she couldn't help but smile as she dug herself into it more and fell back asleep.

Theroux stayed completely still with wide eyes as he tried to calm himself. And it wasn't even because he was scared she had woken before he had the chance to move away from her, this time, it was because she, however unintentional, nuzzled right into him. Needless to say, such physical affection for the first time was very hard for Theroux to deal with. Stay calm... stay calm... he thought as he resisted the temptation to return the gesture, ever so slowly and carefully beginning to let go of her and move away from her.

He let out a sigh of relief as he sat up, until suddenly a pain in his paws caused him to wince. The pain was rather intense, and when he went to look at his paws his blood turned cold at the sight. The pads were covered with painfully raw cuts, and he knew they were probably infected for not being taken care of properly. Damn it, he thought, irritated with himself. But still, he was grateful and found himself not caring about them any further. The pain was a small price to pay, and easily bearable in return for Viri's healthy recovery. Speaking of which, Theroux thought as he looked at her sleeping form, the sight of the steady movement of her chest moving up and down beginning to soothe his mind and injuries.

He looked outside, noticing that there must have been a break in the clouds because the sun was shining brightly into the cave. He regretted leaving Viri's side, because now he was beginning to feel cold, and knew she would feel the same. Still, the cold of the stone floor was rather soothing for his paws. If only the cold floor could treat them, he thought. We'll have to find some sort of herbalist if they're infected. I don't know a thing about medicine...

The sound of movement caused Theroux to leave his thoughts, looking up to see Viri as she slowly pulled herself into some sort of a sitting position, the only difference being that she was lying on the side of one of her back legs. She was currently facing away from him, and after a short moment of waking herself further, she sat up normally and turned to see him behind her. She let out a yawn before murmuring, "Well... it seems I'm alright."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, breathing a sigh of relief that she seemed to be perfectly fine.

"A lot better than last night, but still incredibly tired, and hungry," she replied, her eyes still adjusting to the light.

"I'll go get us some food, then," he told her, getting to his feet, only to let out a yelp of pain as he applied pressure to his paws for the first time. The back ones weren't as worse off as the front ones, but he knew he probably wouldn't be able to walk on them for a while – at least not without an intense stab of pain.

"Theroux, stop," Viri began, her voice stern. Doing as he was told, and with a sigh, he sat down as she walked over to him.

"It's nothing-"

"Show me your paws," she told him, cutting him off. He tensed as he looked away, not wanting to show her. After it was obvious that he wasn't going to show her, Viri let out a sigh before she reached forward and grabbed his foreleg, lifting it so she could see his cut paw. His eyes widened in shock and surprise, but before he could say anything, Viri spoke again. "You can't go out and hunt like this; they're infected," she told him, dropping his leg. "You cut them when you carried me up here, didn't you?" she then asked, and he was shocked and surprised again as he looked at her.

"You were awake?" he asked, but she shook her head.

"I have no recollection of what happened after I collapsed, being half-dead and unconscious, but I do know that neither you nor I can teleport," she replied simply. "And I also know that this cave has nowhere near the warmth or shelter for me to recover from hypothermia..." she then trailed off, looking away. "You saved my life, for which I am grateful. Now, I shall repay the favour and tend to your wounds."

Theroux was surprised once more at her words, finding his shock becoming a common occurrence. "Wait... you have knowledge of herbalism and medicine?" he asked, and she nodded.

"I studied with the elders of our pack, finding any form of information and research to be interesting," she replied. "I'll be back soon with some food and, hopefully, a remedy for your paws," she said as she got to her feet and walked out of the cave before he could say another word.

She touched me, Theroux thought as he held up his paw, staring at it as he contemplated. He let out a shaky breath, hoping this was the catalyst he had longed for.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, Viri was walking through the white forest, enjoying the look of the snow. She let out a sigh, unable to stop smiling, and she thought, I actually... did it. Her heart was still racing. And I didn't even want to stop, it wasn't uncomfortable at all, in fact, I want more... Finding herself staring at a patch of green coming out of the snow, she cleared her head and focused on the task at hand. She'd found what she was looking for. As she walked over to it, she found herself thinking it was not only fortunate that the plant she needed was a common one, but that Theroux's injury only required an easy treatment. In fact, all she had to do was place the grass-like plant on the wound and wash it out.

As she picked the plant up in her mouth, her ear twitched as she heard something, and instantly her eyes narrowed as she caught traces of a scent. She turned, sighting a bird drinking at a pond. A farfetch'd... perfect, she thought as she sent a single swift star towards it, smacking into the wild duck pokémon with such force that it was sent flying several metres. Viri smiled as she continued over to it, happy that there was no trail of blood in the snow despite the farfetch'd's limp form. As she neared it, she noticed the broken neck, and that there were no visible punctures through the skin. Nice, she thought as she picked it up with her psychic and had it float by her as she walked back. Clean kill.

Moments later, she arrived back at the cave and placed the farfetch'd down, spitting out the plant at the same time. Theroux, who had noticed her come in, tried to get up from where he had laid down on his side, but Viri's words stopped him again. "Stay there, it'll be easier for me to treat them," she told him as she walked out of the cave momentarily, coming back with a bundle of snow in her psychic aura. She placed it down next to her as she sat next to Theroux, who was watching in amazement, before picking the plant up and taking a bite of it. Next, she took a mouthful of snow and began to chew it, melting it in her mouth, before moving closer to Theroux and picking his paw up again. Then, she leant forward and licked his paw, allowing some of the green paste-like mixture to coat it and seep into the cuts. Theroux yelped at a momentary jolt of pain before it began to soothe his paw, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

Repeating this to all of his cut paws, she walked outside and spat out the rest of the mixture. When she returned, she picked up the plant and held it near Theroux's maw. "Eat some of this; it'll help out your immune system and increase the painkiller effect," she said, and he obliged. Though, not without some discontent.

"Ugh!" he groaned as his face contorted in disgust. "Ris irs disgustring!" he mumbled as he chewed, causing Viri to laugh lightly.

"Deal with it," she told him as he took a moment to swallow.

"So blunt..." he trailed off with a grin. There was silence for a moment before he lifted his head off the floor to speak again. "Viri..." he began, causing her to look at him. "Thank you."

"No problem-"

"No, Viri," he cut her off, surprising her with his unusually stern tone. "Thank you," he repeated, trying to show the height of his gratitude. "What you did..." he trailed off again, the words not needing to be said. She knew what he meant.

"I should be thanking you," she said quietly, turning to hide her face. "You were right," she added, even quieter.

"What?" he asked, not hearing her words.

"Nothing," she replied quickly, standing up to move the farfetch'd over to him. "You need your strength; eat," she told him. "If we're lucky, you'll be healed by tomorrow, so don't walk on your paws at all," she said as she quickly left the cave, stopping him from asking any more questions. He let out a sigh as he stared at the floor, knowing he couldn't do anything about it but wait.

Viri wasn't seen for the rest of the day. Theroux was bored out of his mind while she was gone, having nothing to do and no way to entertain himself without moving. However, it gave him the time to really think things over; to think about the past few months, and especially Viri. When he reflected on their time together, it almost seemed like a dream to him. One that he wouldn't ever wish to wake up from.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he registered the sound of paws against the cave floor, turning to see Viri with the dark backdrop of dusk behind her. "Where have you been? You've been gone all day," Theroux said, moving to get up.

"Don't move, you'll only worsen your condition," she quickly told him. "It's not just your paws; you're sick. You feel very weak, yes?" she then asked, and before he could say anything else, he realised she was right and nodded. "That's your body fighting the infection, it'll take a lot out of you but with the medicinal herb I gave you it'll have no trouble quickly dissipating the harmful bacteria."

"That's a relief, I guess," he murmured before he realised he didn't get an answer from her. "So, where were you? I was worried."

Viri let out a groan as she laid down, ignoring his question for a moment. When he was about to ask again, Viri spoke up before he got irritated. "You don't need to be worried for me, I'm an independent-"

"I don't have a choice, Viri!" Theroux exclaimed, standing up before she could say anything. "I love you, so I can't not worry when I don't know where you are," he continued. "I know you're capable and independent, but I can't do it Viri, you know? I just... can't."

Viri laid there for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise until she composed herself and let out a sigh. "It's not like I went far, I was just on top of the cave..." she murmured quietly, looking away. "I just needed some time alone to think. I didn't think about how you'd feel... I'm sorry."

For a second Theroux just stood there and stared at her, his own eyes wide at her words. He was surprised she didn't respond with something to justify her actions, and even more so at her apology. "It's... it's okay, Viri," he started, unsure of what to say. "I just don't want you to walk out and leave for so long without even telling me a word of where you're going. By all means, go away and think, but please let me know when you do."

"Alright," she murmured simply, laying her head on her paws. "Now lay down before your condition worsens. I'd rather not stay here any longer than we need to."

"Oh, sorry," he said, quickly laying down. The sounds around them died down after that, leaving only the wind. But in the silence, Theroux found himself thinking of something that had come to his attention earlier, when he was left alone to think. Specifically, what Viri did when she saved him at the lake. "Viri," he began, causing her to let out a long groan before looking at him.

"What?"

He paused for a moment before realising she was just tired and continued. "Um... I was just thinking about how you saved me from falling into the lake yesterday, and that you used your psychic, right?" he asked, and she closed her eyes again.

After a few moments, she answered, "Yeah."

"So... you know what I'm asking, right?"

"... mhm."

"So?" he continued, watching as her eyes opened slightly.

"So, I used a move on you that allowed the psychic to affect you," she murmured, closing them again. "It's already worn off now, see?" she asked, a psychic wall forming beside Theroux before passing through him.

"... Okay then."

He looked out the cave to see the last of the light disappear as the sun set. He smiled and let out a sigh before turning back to Viri, finding himself surprised when he found her to be fast asleep. His smile soon turned to a frown, however, when he realised something. After all the time he had spent with her, he could tell when there was something wrong, and that was what he could tell right now. She was fatigued.

He looked at her again, this time listening to her breathing. It was faint and almost seemed strained. No, Theroux thought. It's strained. He remembered the farfetch'd he'd eaten just before, that he'd eaten all of it. Viri hasn't eaten since the day before yesterday... yet she still hunted for me. Why... he thought, feeling his eyes begin to tear up slightly. Still, he realised this was just her way of caring for him. She wasn't good at it, which is why she neglected her own needs without even thinking about it, something that almost got her killed earlier with the whole lake incident. Damn it Viri, you need to think more about yourself, he thought as he wiped away his tears and laid his head on his paws, letting sleep cure his weakened body.

"Oi, get up."

Theroux's eyes opened, but he instantly regretted it when blinding light caused him to blink again in pain. "Stand up, and tell me how your paws feel." After a few more seconds of adjusting to the light, Theroux looked up at Viri, her usual blank face greeting him.

"Ngh... okay," he murmured, letting out a yawn as he stood. "Well, the pain isn't too bad, but they still feel a little sensitive."

"Hm... alright, sounds like you're making a steady recovery," she said as she walked over to where another farfetch'd laid, and she turned back to him. "Eat up, you're still not healthy yet."

Theroux stared at her. "You eat it; you haven't eaten anything for a bit, have you?" he asked, and she looked back at him for a moment before using her psychic to drop the duck in front of him.

"I ate before I brought this back. Once you've finished, walk outside and look to the right where there're a few rocks to jump on that lead to the top of the cave, which is where there's snow for you to sit your paws in for a bit." With that, she left him in the cave as she walked outside. Theroux watched her leave, sceptical of her answer but knowing he could do nothing about it. He let out a sigh, deciding to let it go for now and trust she was telling the truth. But still...

Meanwhile, up on top of the cave, Viri sat as she admired the view before her. The sun had just risen and it bathed the crystal snow in glorious light, causing the display to look even more aesthetically pleasing. She loved it, and the clear dark blue sky of dawn, coupled with the cool, soothing breeze made it all the more satisfying. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, only for her eyes to open wide in shock when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and winced. If only we were in a more pokémon populated area, I'd find some more food for us, she thought as she heard a thud behind her and turned to find Theroux behind her, the farfetch'd on the ground in front of him.

"I'm not that hungry; I had a whole farfetch'd last night and you need to eat, you sly fox," he told her with a knowing look. "I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but if you were to up and die on me because of that... you know I'd end up killing myself, right? There's nothing else here for me, Viri, and don't even bother trying to get me to eat it," he told her, picking up the farfetch'd again before walking over to her and putting it down next to her. "Now eat it, or am I going to have to force-feed you?" he asked, and she just stared at him wide-eyed for a moment.

"Uh... I'll eat it..." she trailed off, laying down as she pulled it in front of her and bit into it. As she began to dig into it, Theroux could tell just how hungry she was by how much more eager she was to devour it than she usually was. Seriously, Viri, you were this hungry and couldn't care less about yourself... he thought, his face heating slightly. As weird as she shows it, she sure does love me, he thought, feeling warm on the inside despite the cold.

"Say, Viri..." he trailed off and she looked at him whilst halfway through pulling at her meal with her teeth. "You are the epitome of eccentric," he told her and she took a second to swallow what was in her mouth.

"Pretty much," she answered, proceeding to return to her meal before realising she'd already eaten all the good bits and let out a huff of discontent. She then proceeded to throw the remaining parts into a bunch of rocks before standing up. She let out a long sigh of satisfaction.

"Feeling healthier now, are we?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"Much," she replied, either not noticing his sarcasm or ignoring it. Theroux couldn't tell which. Well, this was Viri, so if he were to guess it would have to be the latter. "Now, let's go for a walk whilst the snow is numbing your paws."

"Ok," he replied with a sigh, following after her as she walked down the steps. "Viri."

"Yeah?" she answered, not turning to look at him as she continued her way down to in front of the cave.

"How... how are you?" he asked, unsure how to phrase the question for specificity.

"Uh... good? Why?" she asked, still continuing forward as she reached the bottom of the path and looked for a safe way to traverse the sharp rocks Theroux had cut his paws on.

"Well, it's just... uh..." he trailed off. "Never mind. We can talk about it later. But another question and this might kinda seem like it came out of nowhere, but what would you do if you found yourself before your parents again? Like, would they try and capture you or something-"

"They're dead."

Theroux stopped. "... pardon?"

"I said," Viri began, turning to look at him, "they're dead. I... I haven't told you any more of my story since that night, but I should have. Because... I was going mad, Theroux. I couldn't do anything to stop the nightmares and when I couldn't take it anymore I snapped. I returned to where my pack resided, waited for my mother and father to be on patrol, and killed them both. After being forced to learn so much in light of becoming my father's successor, it made it incredibly easy for me to recall schedules for the pack and kill them." With that, and having found a way to get down the mountain they were on, she continued forward.

"You... killed them? Your own parents?" Theroux asked quietly, seemingly unable to come to terms with it. For a second, Viri stopped, and then realised something heart-wrenching. Her eyes widened as she turned, words ready on her lips, but none of them were able to come out when she saw Theroux's blank eyes as he stared at the ground, his tears melting the snow they dripped on. Her mouth was open, but nothing would come out, and for a second she felt as if her heart was being torn out of her chest.

She was so disconcerted that she wasn't even shocked at the feeling of her eyes watering. "I'm... so sorry, Theroux, I just said it without thinking," she began, attempting to apologise, but before she could go any further Theroux gave her a smile.

"It's okay, I-I'm fine," he told her as he wiped away his tears and composed himself for a moment before speaking again. "I understand... I know that even though you had the parents I never had, they weren't the parents I'd desired for all those years. By all means, your youth was probably worse than mine even with a family to call your own," he added with a huff of laughter, but Viri's face was still disconsolate.

"Still, I shouldn't have said that..." she trailed off, moving closer to him so that her face was closer to his. Theroux was about to ask what she was doing, but before he could say anything, Viri leant forward and licked his cheek. In a second she had already turned and departed down the mountain, while Theroux stood there, still in shock, making this the second time he had been caught off-guard by a sudden gesture of affection. However, this time, it was the first she'd willingly done so herself, which was why Theroux didn't trust himself to move without falling over. "Hurry up," Viri called out to him, realising she'd kind of paralysed him. He then shook his head and followed her down the pass, walking up to where she had stopped for him.

"Alright, let's go," he told her, avoiding eye contact.

"Sure," she replied, doing the same as she tried to hide her heated face.

After that, not much more happened for the rest of the day. Viri had said it was good for Theroux's paws to walk on them whilst the snow could numb them, and that it would help pump blood around his body and purge the rest of the infection. They'd visited the lake they fell in, finding it to be frozen over again, and this time, they didn't make the mistake of running out on it. By the time they had returned to the cave, it was already well past dusk.

Letting out a moan, Viri slumped to the floor and rolled around as she let all her aching muscles stretch. She let out a sigh of pleasure as she felt her bones crack before laying on her side to watched Theroux as he laid down also, smiling. "What are you so happy about?" she asked, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Do I need to get a permit to smile?" he asked her, and she rolled onto her stomach to rest her head on her paws.

"I suppose not, I just thought..." she then trailed off, deciding against it.

"Thought what?" he asked, moving around so that he laid on the ground facing her, about a metre away.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," she replied as she shut her eyes. "It's too late, I'm going to sleep," she told him.

"Alright, I won't bother you," Theroux told her as he rolled onto his side, enjoying the feeling of the cold floor. Though it is a bit chilly, he thought, feeling a cool – no, freezing – breeze blow into the cave. He shivered involuntarily, letting out a sigh as he endured it. After a few moments, he heard Viri move, but he didn't pay much attention to it, thinking she'd just gotten more comfortable, but very soon it became apparent that wasn't the case when he felt a presence against his back. "Viri?" he asked, almost in confusion.

"I noticed the wind while we were out; it's going to be cold tonight," she told him and she rested her head on her paws once more. She was laying on her side opposite to Theroux with her back up against his, and Theroux found himself slightly shocked. He had thought all of it was just stepping stones to Viri overcoming her fears, but that was just his small mind. Viri had already overcome her fears.

"Viri..." Theroux begun, somewhat unsure of himself. "Have you... have you overcome your fear of touch?" he asked, and Viri grew silent. Behind him, she had frozen. She wasn't ready to answer that question, and in an instant, she was up on her feet and out of the cave. "... Viri...?" he asked aloud, incredibly confused. He then rolled over, finding nothing but an empty space. Seriously...? I don't think I've seen anything more out of character, he thought with a slight huff laughter. No, he thought as he quickly staunched his laughter. That was not funny. Taking a second to let out a sigh, he quickly followed after her.

Idiot, idiot, idiot... Viri thought as she let out a huff of annoyance, letting her head drop back lazily as she looked up at the clear sky with its beautiful plethora of stars. Why did I have to be so stupid, there's nothing wrong with telling him, she told herself. But, Viri, if you take a moment to consider your situation, you know very well what might happen if you do. And? Well, as you sit here arguing with yourself, it's a fact that you're feeling particularly strong emotions on the matter-

"Viri, you look like you've gone mad when you argue with yourself so I would insist you don't do it."

Viri turned quickly to find Theroux behind her, a smile on his face. "I wasn't arguing with myself-" she began but cut herself off when she saw his risen brow. She let out a sigh before turning back to the stars as he walked up next to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, to which she could only huff at in reply. "You should know by now that I'm pretty good at making connections, so unless you want to be embarrassed, I suggest you just tell me."

"You can't embarrass me, Theroux," she replied with a light laugh and he smiled slyly.

"Challenge accepted," he told her as he walked over to her and leant closer to murmur, "you avoided my question and you're anxious because you think it'll lead to us-"

"Alright, that's enough, thank you," Viri interjected as she shut his muzzle with her paws, her face as hot as her breath.

"I thought you preferred bluntness, though," he replied with a smirk as he freed his mouth.

"I do," she replied, returning her vision to the stars as she let out another sigh. He followed her gaze and smiled as he saw them too. Although it was windy and the night would be cold, there wasn't a cloud in sight and many resplendent lights lit up the sky. "Beautiful sky tonight, don't you think?" she asked, and he sat down by her side.

"Indeed," he replied as a gust of wind blew over the top of the cave, blasting the snow into the brisk night air. It was cold enough as it was, but with the addition of the wind it made the both of them shiver. "We should get back inside."

"No, I'm fine," Viri replied quickly, and before he could say anything against it, she added, "please stay here with me for a bit." He looked at her for a moment, gazing up at the sky, before she turned to him.

"Sure," he replied with a smile, and for a moment, he briefly saw her smile herself. It made him feel all the more warmer, despite the cold. Though, it was nothing compared to the feeling he got when he felt Viri's side up against his own as she moved closer to him. He'd looked away, but when he looked back at her in surprise he found she was already staring back at the stars, unsurprisingly. He smirked away his question as he followed her gaze, only then realising there was a full moon that night. "Such an incandescent moon," he commented, mesmerised by the blue light it gave off.

"You're right," she murmured, closing her weary eyes as she slowly leant her head down onto his shoulder, almost instantly feeling her mind and body calm as an immense feeling of content overtook everything, relaxing every part of her tense psyche. She let out a long breath of repose as she leant further onto him the more she relaxed. His fur was so soft, save for a few ice crystals, and it was easy for her to drift into a state of somnolence.

For Theroux, it was much the same. When he felt her lay her head down, he was momentarily surprised, but after that, he found himself feeling rather lax. Instead of the normal anxious excitement that he thought he should be feeling, he felt so exultant he could almost cry. "What am I right about?" he murmured tiredly with a smile, closing his eyes as he rested his head gently atop hers.

"All of it," she replied softly after a moment. She took a deep breath, not caring anymore. "I am no longer afraid, and I did avoid your question because of my trepidation towards such... ventures," she murmured, opening her eyes to look out upon the landscape.

"I'm glad," he said as he did the same, lifting his head to look at her. She sat upright to return his stare as she smiled.

"About which part?"

"All of it," he replied. "I'm incredibly happy that I was able to help you overcome your fears, and I... um, I'm also glad because... uh, because we share a similar trepidation towards such... ventures," he told her, looking out upon the landscape. His face was heated considerably saying that last part, and it was all he could do to stop her noticing. He wanted to, at least, try to remain as stoic as her.

But she noticed, and she chuckled at his obvious attempt to get her not to.

"Well, Theroux," she began, and he turned back to her with a weak smile. "We aren't actually mates yet, but..." she trailed off for a second, trying to find a way to put it. "But... we could, uh, maybe put our t-trepidations aside... and, uh, y-you know," she finished as she looked down at the snow beneath her paws, realising that she'd stammered multiple times. Theroux, however, was wide-eyed with surprise. He would never have expected her to say that ever, and just when he was about to try to reply, a large gust of freezing wind rushed between them, causing them to shiver in unison.

"Uh, w-well," Theroux began as he looked around awkwardly. "We should continue talking, uh, inside the cave, otherwise it's too cold," he told her, and she nodded meekly in reply. He then stood and walked over to where the rocks that led down were, and he proceeded to start jumping down.

Meanwhile, Viri waited for a moment until he was out of sight before slumping into the snow with a groan. Then, she smiled. And she couldn't stop smiling. Stop it, Viri, get a hold of yourself, she told herself, but she couldn't. Her heart was beating wildly and even when she thrust her face through her paws into the snow, she still couldn't stop smiling. She couldn't even think straight.

"Viri, come on," Theroux called out when he got to the second to last rock, noticing that she wasn't following him. "You'll catch something if you're in the cold too long," he added as he jumped to the last rock, only to find it had a patch of ice on it. He realised too late, and ended up skidding right off the rock, face-first into the snow. Goodness, he thought. That's not good. He turned to call out to Viri about the ice, but before he could she called out something from above.

"Theroux, look at the sky," she said, and he looked behind her to see nothing but the stars.

"What am I looking at?" he called back, his brow raised.

"You can't see it right now, but give it a moment and you'll be able to see it from there," she replied, and for the faintest moment, Theroux thought he could see a flash of green on her fur. He was about to question again, but then he saw a flick of something colourful in the sky, and then he realised what it was.

"Oh! Aurora!" he exclaimed with a smile as greens, blues, purples, and reds streaked across the sky. "Fantastic!"

"Isn't it?" she replied as she began to climb down the rocks.

"Yeah, that's made my day even better," he replied, turning back to her. When she reached the second to last step, he remembered about the ice. "Wait, Viri-" he began but she had already jumped. She looked up as she did, but the second her paws came into contact with the rock, they slipped out from under her and she flew off the rock before she knew what had happened. Right into Theroux.

The collision sent the two of them rolling through the snow a few metres until they came to a stop just underneath a tree. Theroux looked up at her as he laid on his back, stunned, with her equally stunned laying on top of him. She let out a groan as she opened her eyes to find Theroux's face only inches from hers.

"I know you brought it up, but I didn't think you were so eager Viri," he told her with a smirk.

"Your banter is not appreciated at this time," she replied flatly as she narrowed her eyes. He laughed lightly in response before his expression softened, and he smiled up at her.

"I've never been close enough to realise how beautiful your eyes are," he murmured and she let out a sigh.

"Useless coquetry again?" she asked as she shut her eyes and relaxed her head onto his chest. He let his head rest back onto the snow and closed his eyes also, feeling just as exhausted as she was.

"Not really," he murmured. "I was just surprised, is all," he said as he looked up to the leaves of the tree above them. "A willow tree, huh?"

"Is it?" Viri asked, not bothering to move. "I love willow trees. They're very calming."

"They're my favourite type of tree, also," he murmured. "Do you remember this was where we met?" he then asked and she opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at him.

"We met on a mountain," she told him. He smiled cheekily for a second before he pulled her closer to him with his paws and flipped himself over so that she was laying on her back, and he was standing over her.

"Look up, we met under a willow tree, Viri," he told her and she looked past him to see those drooping, carefree leaves. She smiled before returning her vision to him.

"I remember," she told him before smirking slightly. "I also remember someone fainted in shock."

"Hey now, I was exhausted and hadn't rested for nearly three days, and you know that I'm scared of heights," he told her matter-of-factly.

"Excuses, excuses," she said with a grin. He smiled also, looking down at her affectionately before he could realise it. She noticed and felt her face heat when she realised the position they were in, and looked away.

"Viri..." he began, and she looked back at him. "I accept your proposition if you still wish it," he told her, and her heart skipped a beat as her face flushed again.

"O-Of course-" she began but cut herself off when he pressed his muzzle into her neck and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. She shuddered at the feeling before he gently nuzzled her and licked her there, sending more shivers down her spine. "T-Theroux..." she moaned as he continued to lick her neck, her eyes closing as she felt a deep comfort and pleasure envelope her. She smiled as she felt her body relax in a cathartic reaction to his affectionate nuzzling, her ears twitching to every new sensation she felt.

After a few moments of this, he suddenly stopped and looked up at her to see that her face was considerably emotive of her pleasure, especially in light of her usual apathetic and expressionless face. He smiled for a moment before saying softly, "If you want me to stop, say so." She opened her eyes, only then having realised that he'd stopped.

"I don't want you to stop," she murmured quietly, and he smiled. He leant down once more and nuzzled his head into her neck, causing her to shut her eyes in pleasure.

"I love you," he murmured as he continued to nuzzle her softly. He then started to move his head lower, continuing down to the front of her chest where he began licking again. This time, Viri let out a moan of pleasure as he continued further down her body, her heart in a flutter as she screwed her eyes shut further in anticipation. However, after a moment, her tense body relaxed again as she opened her eyes to see the calming sway of the willow's leaves in the cold wind. She smiled as she shut her eyes again with that image in her mind.

"I love you too," she replied softly, letting herself relax lazily into the soft snow beneath her.

The morning sun was brighter than usual, which Viri noticed when she opened her sleepy eyes to it. She groaned as she turned her head into the snow to avoid it. Confounded sunlight, she thought, rolling over onto her back with her paw draped across her face. After a few moments, she lifted her paw and smiled in elation the second she saw Theroux's peaceful face. Just remembering the night before made her feel all warm on the inside. With a sigh of content, she rolled over onto her stomach and stretched out her front legs as she stood, loving the feeling of her bones cracking one by one as she smiled lazily.

Nice morning, she thought to herself as she looked around, having to narrow her eyes because of the sun reflecting on the snow. No wonder it's so bright. A vivid azure swept across the cloudless sky, unusual for the season but it was still invigoratingly cold. She inhaled deeply, loving the feeling of cold air in her lungs, then exhaled with a sigh of satisfaction. She turned to the sound of movement, and she watched as Theroux's rolled onto his back with a yawn. He rested his head back against the snow and opened his eyes to see her standing there, upside down from his view.

"Good morning," he greeted her cheerfully, rolling upright onto his stomach before standing and walking over to her. He nuzzled her neck before standing back with a smile, finding her to be slightly surprised. "Oh, sorry. I just feel really happy and energetic," he explained, and she nodded awkwardly.

"Good morning, and it's fine," she murmured. "We really are mates now, finally, so it doesn't really bother me." He was about to reply, but he smiled instead. "How are your paws?" she asked and he held one up for her.

"Feeling great," he told her as she grabbed and examined it.

"Mhm, the cuts have healed and there're no more traces of the infection there," she stated as she let his paw down. "How does the rest of your body feel?"

"Exuberant, yet slightly off," he replied and she nodded.

"Mhm, that sounds about right," she said, turning around and beginning to walk. "You'll be back to normal in no time."

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked, starting after her before she turned to stop him.

"I'm gonna get us breakfast, so go find us a new place to stay," she replied. "I don't want to sleep on that cold cave floor again, try and find a nice grassy area," she added, turning again.

"Alright, I'll go do that then- hey, wait a second Viri, how will you know where I am?" he questioned, and she turned once more to tap the side of her nose with her paw.

"I've taken in your scent Theroux, remember?" she told him, feeling slightly awkward yet somewhat gratified as she remembered the previous night. She turned away once more to continue walking, letting out another sigh. "If you need to find me, you can track my scent too," she added, not turning back as she walked towards the forest.

He watched her leave as he decided his best bet for finding grass would be in the forest also. He didn't want to end up distracting her, so he headed into the forest from a different direction where there was the least snow. Now, let's see if we can find someplace nice. Maybe somewhere with water for us to wash, though, seeing as we're both covered with each other's scent, he thought, his face heating as he entered the forest.

It was still rather cold, but Viri didn't let that stop her as she silently watched her prey, observing its movements and studying it carefully to be sure she would catch it as efficiently as possible. It was a stantler, and a slightly smaller-than-average sized one at that. She allowed herself a smile as she felt her heart throbbing in response to her decision to catch it without the assistance of moves. It was something she used to do all the time, but for the sake of a quick takedown she had swapped it out and eventually stopped it altogether. But now the nostalgia was flowing through her with adrenaline as she readied herself.

Oh, how I missed this, she thought with a grin. Analysing an opponent's weaknesses and strengths was something Viri was very good at, and enjoyed doing. She had to think of different possibilities and account for them all, something that gave her a sense of rapture when she predicted correctly. The only unfortunate thing was that the stantler was in the middle of a clearing, which made it impossible for a ninja kill, no matter how skilled she was at hiding her presence and moving silently. Stantlers were simply too paranoid, and always looked around their surroundings frequently. She would have to just have to bolt at it and hope it didn't notice her until it was too late. So, she waited until it had begun its routine check before bending to eat some grass, and she set off with an incredibly fast acceleration.

At this point, her eyes were focused on the beast's neck, right where she would bite into to finish it off, so she didn't notice its head turn slightly to the point she was visible in its peripheral vision. Though, she certainly noticed when the stantler jerked its head upright and began to gallop away as fast as it could. Unfortunately, though it had terrible acceleration, the stantler was quite fast and the gap between it and Viri was too large when it noticed her. Viri knew this, and realised that she would never catch it if she were to just simply chase it, but she didn't stop. Her eyes were wide but focused, her pupils in slits as she ran after it into the forest, but at that point she stopped staring at it and her eyes began darting around at her surroundings. She looked ahead, past the stantler, reading the patterns that were right in front of her, coming to the conclusion that up ahead the stantler would gradually turn right.

Without a second to waste, Viri instantly changed direction and began running diagonally right. As she darted, weaved, and dodged through the foliage, she kept her eyes on the deer pokémon and used her acute peripheral vision to watch where she was going. She smiled as she watched the stantler ever so slightly begin to bear right, right towards where she would eventually intersect with it and jump onto it. As soon as she got a hold of it, it would be all over. So as she grew closer to where their paths would meet, she found herself getting riled up, preparing for the moment. In fact, she was so focused on when she would catch the stantler that she momentarily lost focus of where she was running and felt her paw snag on something. The second it happened, she snapped out of the zone she was in and closed her eyes but she wasn't able to do anything to stop herself from tripping up and falling into a roll.

Then suddenly, she didn't feel anything, and she opened her eyes momentarily to find herself in mid-air. It only took a moment more for her to realise that wasn't all, and she quickly covered her head with her paws and shut her eyes again before coming into contact with the ground again. She let out a cry of pain as she began rolling down a short incline for a moment until she rolled in such a way that she come to a sudden violent stop on her chest at the bottom. She'd hit her head, hard, and was dazed for a moment as the dust settled around her, causing her to cough before she let out a groan of pain.

Disorientated and confused, Viri barely registered her front right leg in an uncomfortable position, pinned under her weight. She felt stinging pains all over her body, but specifically, the one on the side of her forehead was bothering her, and she could feel a steady stream of blood flow down the side of her face, among other scratches. She let out another groan before realising she needed to get up, but there was a recurring urge to get her leg out from under her weight. Following that urge, she slowly rolled onto her back, not caring for the several sharp stones that poked into her back, as she held her right leg in her other paw. Still somewhat disoriented from the hard hit to the head, it took her a few moments to realise why she was being so careful of her right leg, specifically the foreleg. She shut her eyes, hoping that it wasn't what she thought it was, but she couldn't bring herself to look down at it to check.

She laid there for a few moments, becoming aware of a dull pain in her foreleg that she knew she couldn't ignore. It was somewhat nauseating, but eventually, she brought herself to look down at it, only to feel her heart in her mouth when she saw it. Closing her eyes and rested her head back, she let out a shaky breath as tried to calm herself and think straight.

Okay, Viri, you need to move, she told herself. She knew that the adrenaline in her system would soon wear off, and the dull ache of her broken foreleg would turn into excruciating pain. She took a moment to estimate how long that would take, but she found it much harder to think because of the concussion she knew she had. It took her far longer than usual, but she estimated she only had minutes until the adrenaline dissipated. If she knew her way around the forest, she might have been able to find some plants that put the body into a state of panic; thus inducing more adrenaline production, but in her condition she knew she'd have no way of finding such herbs. But that wasn't even the worst of it. A dreadful realisation came to her mind as she realised she needed to realign the bone where it had broken.

She slowly sat up on her haunches, several small stones dropping from slight depressions in her skin as she did so, holding her injured leg to her chest, but then she stopped. Her eyes widened, and she couldn't move as she stared blankly at the ground. MOVE, she screamed in her head, but her body wouldn't obey. It couldn't. It was in shock. She could do nothing but sit there and stare, breathing heavily through her gritted teeth. MOVE, she screamed in her head once more, slowly letting her right leg hang and she brought her left one upwards. It shook slightly as she continued moving it upwards until it near her mouth, and she slowly clamped down on her front left ankle with her teeth. She clamped down harder, blood beginning to flow from the wound as she began to feel her body move slightly again.

Yes, she thought as she began to move freely again. Wasting no time, she cast her gaze around the shallow ravine she'd fallen into and quickly found a stick which she promptly grabbed and stuffed into her mouth as she looked down at her foreleg and worked out where the bone pieces were. She felt a deep feeling of dread as she closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and quickly pushed the pieces back into position. Her eyes widened and she cried out in agony, shattering the stick in her mouth. "FUCK!" she cried out loudly at the acute stab of pain in her foreleg, and she resisted the urge to bawl her eyes out at it. It was almost unbearable, but she closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath as she tried to compile her thoughts.

She slowly got to her feet, chiding herself for using such unpleasant language, before beginning to feel the adrenaline wear off. Need to find Theroux, she thought with urgency as she began to climb the ravine. It was incredibly hard for her with only three legs, but somehow she managed without falling once. Once she got to the top, she let out a shaky breath, feeling the dull throbbing in her foreleg beginning to sharpen. She gritted her teeth and began moving, ignoring the pain to the best of her ability. Lifting her head upwards, she sniffed at the air in search of Theroux's scent. Gotcha, she thought, somehow smiling in determination as she headed towards him.

Where are you, Viri, Theroux thought as he laid in wait. Sure enough, he'd found an area akin to what she'd specified, but he'd been waiting there now for over an hour. Granted it took half an hour, but that meant she should be there already. With a sigh of exasperation, he stood up and searched for her scent. In the back of his mind, he felt uneasy, though. He knew she shouldn't be taking this long, whether there was anything to hunt or not. She would have returned by this point, with or without food.

"What are you up to..." he murmured to himself as he walked away from the clearing.

Her vision was blurring. It was getting harder to think straight, and on top of that, Viri didn't think she could smell Theroux's scent anymore. Must be sensory overload... she thought, her eyelids drooping. She'd lost quite a bit of blood, both from the cut in her forehead and where she had continuously bitten herself to induce further adrenaline production. If she let that dissipate, it would make it that much harder to just walk, let alone think. However, keeping it up was incredibly taxing on her body.

"Viri...?"

She continued limping along for a moment before the sound registered, and she looked up to see Theroux standing ahead of her. His face was blank with confusion as he took in the sight of Viri's battered body before him before he rushed up to her. Are you okay? What happened?" he asked quickly, seriously concerned with the blood covering one side of her face.

"I... stuffed up..." she murmured, blinking a few times as she slowly woke from her trance-like state. "I'll be fine, I just... need to rest," she told him, placing her right leg so that it seemed she was standing on it.

"What did you do? Is there anything serious?" he asked, but she shook her head with a smile.

"It may seem serious, but I only cut a part of my head that bleeds a lot," she told him with a smile. "I'll be fine once I clean up and rest for a bit, but I did sprain my right paw, so I won't be very fast."

Though, the fact being, saying those few words with the absence of pain in her voice took more out of her than walking did.

"Oh, of course," Theroux replied as they began walking, with Viri limping on three legs. "How did it happen?"

"I was in the process of outsmarting a stantler when I tripped and fell into a small ravine at full speed," she explained, finding it progressively harder to walk on her left foreleg.

"You're such a klutz that I'll have to keep watch on you, just to make sure you don't go killing yourself," he told her, turning back momentarily. "I'm serious, by the way. You're too reckless."

She saw the look in his eyes and turned her head to the ground to stare at the snow. "It hurts to talk," she murmured quietly, and he smiled.

"I won't bother you then," he said, returning his vision to the path ahead. "We're nearly there, anyway, so you did well to get so far with a sprained paw."

She didn't reply but instead looked ahead of them to try and catch a glimpse. She desperately needed water – freezing water – to clean up her injuries and numb the pain in her right foreleg. She could feel the adrenaline slipping away again, and the dull ache began to sharpen once more. Yet she ground her teeth and paid no heed to it.

"And, here we are," Theroux announced suddenly, and Viri's eyes widened in response as she looked around for water. It was a small clearing, but there was a river that ran through it and a cave-like structure nearby where the snow couldn't reach the grass inside. Good job, Theroux, she thought as she hobbled over to the fast-flowing stream, taking a moment to lay down before she slowly placed her right foreleg into it, letting out a sigh of relief. From behind, Theroux's brow raised at the peculiar way she lied down. "Uh, Viri, you did a little more than sprain your paw, didn't you?" he asked, walking up next to her before laying next to her.

"Mhm," she murmured, her eyes closed. He looked at the cut on her forehead, above her right eye, and how the blood from it pretty well covered the right side of her face. He frowned for a moment before he leant forward and began to gently lick and clean her face. She didn't move or try to stop him, and was far too tired to even if she had wanted to. Which she didn't. After all that had happened, she'd rather just let him take care of everything else for now.

"Is it broken?" he asked in between licks.

"Mhm," she responded after a moment, feeling her left paw begin to ache.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked after she moved it out from under her head and placed it in the water also.

"I needed to keep the adrenaline going..." she trailed off, her eyes closing once more.

"Alright, you can stop now," he told her as he continued cleaning the blood from her face. "And all before lunch," he then muttered with a laugh before realising that she had fallen asleep. Whether that was good at this time or not, he hadn't the slightest idea. But he decided to just let her rest.

He stood up, deciding to get some food. But as he walked away, he felt tears in his eyes, but he ignored them and continued on. Truthfully, he was very perturbed by Viri's condition. He couldn't help it, and he didn't know what he could do to help her. So he let out a sigh, and wiped away the tears as he set out to do what he could do.

Viri slowly opened her eyes to darkness, realising that she was no longer on her stomach in front of the river. Instead, she was laying on what seemed to be grass, and she was on her side with her right leg in front of her. It still had a dull ache, but the cold water had done wonders for the pain. Fortunately, she healed quickly, but it would still take her upwards of a month until it had fully repaired. She wouldn't be able to walk on it at all for a week minimum.

"Theroux...?" she called softly, closing her eyes again. She heard a shuffling begin her, then she heard his voice through the darkness.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning up against the cave wall.

"A lot better... very hungry, though," she replied after a moment, not bothering to move. "What time is it?"

"After an hour or so I decided it wouldn't be a good idea for you to keep your legs in that cold water, so I moved you in here," he told her. "In which you continued sleeping until now; close to midnight," he added. "If you're hungry, there's some food for you over there."

"Good decision," she murmured. "Getting me out of the water, that is. And the food. That was good, too."

"Glad to be of some use," he replied with a light huff of laughter. "Are you comfortable?"

"No."

"Would you like me to move you?"

"I'd like you to move you, over here," she replied. "I'm a little cold." Theroux smiled and obliged, laying down next to her so that he was facing the same was she was, his chest up against her back.

"Better?"

"Better."

"How's the pain?" he then asked, enjoying the feeling of the grass against his pelt. It was an enjoyable change to the cold snow and hard stone he'd slept on previously.

"Bearable. Paws?"

"Huh? Oh, they're doing fine," he replied. After that, they both just laid together in silence, calmed by each other's presence. Theroux was going to ask her something else, but before he could, she was already asleep again. Goodness, she must have really been tired if she can fall asleep again so soon, he thought, laying his head on the soft grass.

For a moment, he began to think about how fortunate he was. So fortunate to have Viri there with him, so fortunate to have finally evolved. He couldn't wait for the future. He loved her so much, and he knew she felt the same towards him. Those thoughts put a giant smile on his face as he finally fell asleep, his worries at ease now that he was holding her close and out of harms way.

I love you, Viri, he thought as he slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep.