A quick sploosh echoed through the forest, spooking a few sleepy flying types out of their nests in the trees, as a bowlful of minced carrots was dumped into a steaming pot, fire crackling underneath and wisps rising up above. Pulling his arm away, a blue-furred sea lion peered over the little, makeshift campsite, stacking the now-empty bowl next to his hiking pack, stroking his white mustache a few times before turning back towards his work, grabbing a spoon, and stirring the pot's contents viciously. The Samurott took a deep breath as a tangy, mouthwatering scent wafted past his nose, and he furrowed his brow and smiled in concentration, digging his hindpaws into the grass and lightly smacking his tail on the ground.
"Yeah, this's comin' along nice," He muttered under his breath, holding onto the pot's leather-wrapped handles in a white-knuckle grip. Bits of ginger and strands of carrots swirled around in the dark purple oran broth, getting swept up by the water type's motions and spinning deep into the berry juice. A faint, chilly breeze sent ripples across the surface when it blew over the food, and the Samurott began to slow his pace down, letting the last of the soup's ingredients simmer. Taking a step back, he wiped his brow, beads of sweat having formed from the heat of the cooking fire. "Alright, an' now-"
His ears flicked within his shell helmet when an audible cough rang out from nearby, and he snapped his head around, staring at the awakening Mienshao a few paces away from him. The fighting type had curled up into a ball on a thick patch of grass, blinking blearily as she covered her mouth with her paws, her fur sleeves hanging uncharacteristically loose and shaking each time she coughed.
"So you're finally up an' at 'em, huh, Erin?" The Samurott hastily wiped his gauntlets before grabbing the soup spoon and scooping up some of the liquid, stomping over to his friend as she wriggled around. Erin tiredly turned her head towards him, her whiskers twitching each time she sniffled, and she rolled over, face scrunching up into a pained wince. The sight made him grimace, and he held a paw underneath the spoon, offering the scoopful for the girl to try. "Hey hey hey, quit movin' around, okay? Here, open up an' try some o'this!"
"Bluh... nrrmgh, Cyan...?" Erin said quietly, a slow, groggy tone intruding and overpowering her usually chipper voice. The pink mink raised her head slightly, staring up at the sea lion. "Ucch. I feel all sniffly-snuffly."
"That's why I'm givin' y'a taste o'the soup right now," Cyan replied bluntly, scooting even closer to the Mienshao until he was mere inches away from her. It took a moment for his remark to register, but when it did – helped along by the delicious smell of breakfast – she promptly opened her mouth, using a sudden burst of energy to lean forward and snatch the spoon out of her friend's paws. "Hey!"
"Mmfhmfhm-nnh..." A giggle turned into a groan as Erin clamped her jaws down on the spoon, fluttering her eyes shut and flopping her head back as it ached from the exertion. She quickly gulped the mouthful of food down, letting her utensil drop to her side afterward as she replied. "Oooogh, yuch, everything's pounding really hard... I hate being sick, hate it! I hope I don't accidentally get Butterfree sick whenever we find her..."
"Well, you're jus' goin't'have t'get used to it, since you've got a real bad cold!" Cyan said, picking the wooden stirring spoon up and glancing away for a moment, sharply inhaling through his nose before spraying a strong water gun out, washing the spoon off completely. He brandished it like one of his seamitars, then walked over to the pot of soup, stirring a few more times to wave the thickening plumes of steam away. "An' y'aren't goin't'get miss Butterfree sick, either. You were in an' out o'sleeping all day yesterday, so Bill an' Rose told me t'head back an' bring you home!"
The Samurott gave a start when his friend let out a loud gasp, followed by an even louder sneeze, eliciting a round of nervous chirps from the local flying types as they hopped off of their nested branches and flew away from the campsite. Melting flakes of snow and the occasional dead leaf drifted down as the trees shook, and Cyan craned his neck to stare towards the higher boughs, narrowing his eyes as sunlight filtered through the forest's chilly, wintry canopy.
"What!?" Erin exclaimed with a hoarse cough, and Cyan spun around to stare at his friend, tension surging through his muscles as he watched the fighting type roll onto her side, trying to push herself up onto her footpaws. "Nonono, I'm not that sick-"
"What d'y'think you're doin', Erin!?" The Samurott hastily jogged towards her, reaching out with both paws and pressing them onto the Mienshao's shoulders, easing her back down into the patch of thick grass. She wriggled and fidgeted against his grasp, gritting her teeth in pain as her headache and stuffy nose wore her down. "I've been carryin' you back t'Treasure Town for all o'yesterday afternoon, so we're already on th'way, okay? Now quit tryin't'get up and jus' rest, okay? Sheesh, I don't want y't'go an' hurt yourself!"
Erin looked up and down and all around, staring at her surroundings to figure out where the two of them were, then pushed against Cyan a bit more, wiggling her arms and whipping her fur sleeves about aimlessly. "B-But I'll be okay! We need to help find miss Butterfree!"
"An' I think that it's better t'keep y'safe an' healthy, rather than riskin' you getting' injured in th'middle of a mystery dungeon!" Cyan replied. "Bill an' Rose both thought th'same thing, too! Now cut it out before y'go an' hurl or somethin'!"
The cooking fire's crackling punctuated the end of the statement, leaving the pair of Pokemon to sit there and wait, a tense silence settling over the clearing. Cyan reaffirmed his grip on his friend, his mustache shaking as he leaned over and glared firmly at the pink mink, and Erin slowed to a stop, her expression a strange, unpleasant mixture of an unhappy frown and an ill grimace.
"Mmmmph... but I wanna help miss Butterfree, a-" She opened her mouth to keep speaking, only for no words to come out; her jaw hung lamely in the air as she gazed up at her friend. The sea lion standing above her blinked, confusion etched across his face as she nodded her head and twitched her nose at him.
"Erin?" He grunted, listening as the Mienshao made a couple short, strange gasps, gently rocking back and forth each time she went 'aah'. Cyan's heart began to pound in his chest as worry took hold of him, and he gave the other Pokemon a shake, moving his wrist to her chest and rubbing lightly. "Are y'chokin', Erin? Snap out o'it!"
The only answer he got was a smack in the face, courtesy of a pair of long fur sleeves, and the water type recoiled, letting go of his friend with a grunt of dismay. Stumbling back a few steps, Cyan rubbed at his eyes, curling his paws into fists and snorting grumpily as the feeling of Erin's soft fur faded away, and he stomped his hindlegs, smacking his tail against the dirt. The small shell embedded in the fan-shaped appendage left a nasty gash in the grass, and the Samurott whipped his tail about to clean the blade off.
"AaiiIICHOO-!" Before Cyan could voice one of the indignant remarks running through his mind, Erin sneezed a second time, her eyes going as wide as saucers as she lurched forward and sat up straight, her body going rigid from the small shock. The wind slowly kicked up again, blowing through the campsite with a blustery gust, ruffling the Mienshao's tail and whiskers all the while, and she took a deep breath... then sniffled, pulling a face. "Yucchhh, bluchuch. Oooogh... Cyan, can I have s-some oran medicine? I need it pronto-pronto!"
The groan helped pull Cyan back to reality, and he walked over and caught the fighting type as she began to topple over onto her backside again, gritting his teeth as she brought her paws up to her muzzle, sniffling and coughing into them. The sea lion wrapped his blue-furred arms underneath the pink mink's, hefting her up with a tug, and he glanced around the forest's clearing, an idea quickly popping into his head when he spotted his hiking pack, still guarding the pot of soup.
"How about I do y'one better an' get y'some soup, huh?" He replied, half-carrying-half-dragging his friend over to his backpack, stepping sideways across their makeshift campsite. "An' for Arceus' sake, don't go sneezin' all over me, got it!? If y'get me sick, then there's nobody 'round who'll b'able t'take care o'us!"
"Heeheehee, don't worry, silly," Erin giggled hoarsely but cheerfully, the pleasant sound finally returning to her voice for the first time since she had woken up. It made the corners of Cyan's mouth curl into a tiny, relieved smile, his mustache grazing the tips of his friend's ears. "You won't get sick as easily as I did, so I know you'll be okay! You're too big and grumpy to let a cold get the best of you!"
"Hah! Yeah, that's ri-" Cyan puffed his chest out and smiled wider at the praise. Then the rest of her words registered, and he did a double-take, eyes widening, then narrowing towards the Mienshao; she was staring up at him, clutching her paws in front of her mouth to try and stifle herself. "H-Hey!"
She couldn't hold back, bursting into peals of laughter at his annoyed reaction, and the Samurott rolled his eyes and mumbled out a brief 'bah!', pulling Erin over to his hiking pack, unceremoniously dropping her down in front of it, and clapping his paws together to dust himself off. Erin grunted when she landed on the grass, leaning back and resting against the big leather bag that lay behind her, and she fidgeted around a little bit, her laughter quickly subsiding when her headache picked up in strength.
"Alright, alright, quit movin' around an' have some o'this," Cyan said – more to himself than to Erin – as he grabbed the spoon and one of the bowls from before, giving the steaming pot of soup a few more stirs before scooping some of the purple broth out. Dumping the berry-and-vegetable mixture into the wooden dish, he carefully rocked the liquid in circles before ambling slowly over to his sick friend, wafting some of the fragrant steam over to her as he offered her some breakfast. "How's it smell, huh?"
The pink mink leaned forward and took a whiff, whiskers bouncing as she sniffled audibly. Her muzzle broke into a big, excited smile at the scent of the food, and Cyan took a deep breath and relaxed as the happy grin offset her pained, furrowed brow. "Oooh! Mmm, that smells really good, Cyan, what is it? I bet you used oran berries in it, didn't you? That's all I can smell, heeheehee!"
"Yeah, that's part o'it! Go on, take it an' have some! You're th'one who's supposed t'b'gettin' better!" He answered after a moment, holding his arm out towards Erin for a second or two longer before giving up and placing the bowl of soup on her lap, and the water type spun on his heels and grabbed another bowl from the small stack, serving himself some soup as well.
Erin nodded, craning her neck to look down at the wooden bowl sitting on her legs, and she brushed her fur sleeves out of the way before deftly picking the soup up, bringing the edge of the bowl to her lips... only to recoil from the sheer heat. She gripped her meal tight, making sure not to spill a single drop even as she shook her head and glanced over at the pleasantly-roaring campfire, the chilly, winter gales sending flickering embers into the air, their tiny, orange light standing out against the snow and greenery.
The heat from the fire and from her food sank into her fur, and the Mienshao leaned in close, holding her soup to the wind and blowing on it to help cool it off. She winced almost immediately afterward, head pounding from the strain, and made herself take a deep gulp of the broth, managing to drain half her bowl in a single go. Her eyes shot wide open, her mouth flattened out, and a tingle ran down her spine at the sheer, sharp taste of the citrus-y fruits and the flavorful, zesty taste of something else entirely, both of which were only evened out by the sliced carrots.
"MMMMMMmmm!" Cyan nearly jumped when his friend made a noise, and he whirled around, air whistling past his shell armor, just in time to see Erin chew rapidly and then swallow. He sighed in relief as the pink mink wriggled around, happily smacking her lips before slurping more of her breakfast. "'Ish guud!"
"Don'talk with y'mouth full!" He shook his head and sat down opposite Erin as he spoke, holding his bowl of soup in one paw and stroking his mustache with the other. Erin sniffled and puffed her cheeks out in response, making a little cough in the back of her throat before gulping down the bite of food. "How's that for a way t'clean out your stuffy nose, huh!?"
He didn't get a reply until after his friend had completely drained her serving of soup, a feat which took only a half-minute longer for her to do. The Mienshao dropped the bowl into her lap and energetically bounced where she sat for a few seconds... and then she practically melted into Cyan's hiking pack, leaning back more and more and sliding down the bag as the purple-tinted, citrus-y broth did its work. Erin sniffled and coughed, loose fur sleeves waving in the wind as she yanked her paws up to her now-running nose.
"Ooogh..." She mumbled, her enthusiasm for the meal dampened – albeit only a little bit – by her sinuses. Cyan snorted, taking a sip from his own bowl before taking Erin's and serving her a second, smaller portion; she gladly took it, drinking it much slower this time. "This is really really strong stuff, Cyan! Like something I would get back at the guild at home... mmgh, haaaww..."
The Samurott paused and blinked at the compliment, arm half-outstretched towards his breakfast as he turned his head to peek at Erin, his ears perking straight upwards from within his helmet. "Wait, like at th'Delibird Guild? You serious?"
"Mmhm," Erin grunted as she yawned, putting her food down and stretching her arms and legs out towards the campfire, her fur sleeves, tail and whiskers all shaking in the wind as she fidgeted in the grass to get comfortable. The fighting type let out a soft giggle as she rested her head against Cyan's hiking pack, using it like a giant pillow. "You're a really great mercenary, but I bet you'd have made a really great rescuer, too, heeheeheeoooh..."
"H-Huh!?" The water type exclaimed. "E-Erin?"
But her eyes had fluttered shut as she dozed off, leaving Cyan alone in the makeshift campsite, an uncharacteristically strong blush rising onto the sea lion's blue-furred cheeks.