Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is a little collaborative fic with my friend, the fun and lovely Viroro-kun. We just put a couple ideas down and this came out of it. Hopefully you enjoy it!
The forest was quiet, save for the chirping of Kricketots and Kricketunes.
Everything was going on as normal, and the sun shone brightly on the trees.
Near the river that run through the forest, though, something unusual just came about: a small Pancham, unconscious and wet, had been sent to the river's bank after getting dragged by the water. The panda's body was covered in bruises, as if it had crossed paths with a belligerent Pokémon that day.
The Pancham slowly opened his eyes and grabbed his head, groaning as he put himself in a sitting position: that day hadn't started in the best of ways, for sure.
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?" He heard a sharp voice that made his pounding headache worse.
He could see a black figure lined with gold in the distance rushing towards him.
He squinted his eyes, and made out that it was an Umbreon, and a female one at that.
He sighed and tried to stand up. "Been better."
"Can you walk?" Concerned red eyes looked him over, as if fully taking in the scope of his injuries.
He didn't respond, but instead tried to pull himself off the ground and on to his feet before his legs gave out. He would have collapsed on to the sandy ground had it not been for the sudden support of a warm flank beside him.
"Take it easy." He could hear the exasperation in her voice, but it was tinged with warmth.
"Calm down, I'm not dying here," the Pancham said, scoffing quietly as he tried to stand up again: his feet wobbled for a few seconds, but he managed to find his balance, sighing in relief.
"Come on, I know a place not too far from here. You can rest there." the Pancham tried to walk but found himself stumbling and leaning on the Umbreon for support. She didn't say anything, but just helped him move, keeping a slow but steady pace.
"Uhm, thank you," the Pancham said, gulping and turning the other way. He stood silent for a few seconds. "So, what's your name?"
"It's Luna. And yours?" She asked without missing a beat.
"Call me Peter," he replied. "You live here?"
"I guess you could say that." It seemed to be a sore subject for her, so he decided not to pry for now.
"Ah. I'm not staying much, anyway."
"You're staying until you get better. No objections." She emphasized her point with a nudge.
"I have training to do." Peter scoffed, blushing in embarrassment.
"There's no point in training if all it does is make sure you won't be able to train anymore," She rolled her eyes at his persistence. "Just stay put until you get all better. Then you can train even harder."
Peter sighed. "Great, now I have to be bored to tears until this stupid body heals up."
He was shaken out of his thoughts by a soft declaration of "We're here." They had arrived at a small, shady clearing that was well out of the way of the main path.
Luna lay him gently down upon the soft vegetation and told him "Wait here. I'll get some things that might help."
"Alright," Peter said, sighing; he was already getting bored.
A few minutes later, Luna returned with smattering of herbs and berries.
"You could've gone slower, you know. You were almost too fast," Peter said, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"And save you the pleasure of my company? Please." She laid down the berries in front of Peter. "Besides, I imagine you didn't have much to do anyways."
"Only because someone doesn't want me to train," Peter said, grabbing an Oran Berry and munching it slowly.
"Can't have you getting hurt even worse than you are now." Her smile turned to a frown as she asked, "How did you get hurt this badly anyway?"
"An Ursaring said he was better than me, I disagreed. He was right." Peter sighed and stuffed the rest of the Berry in his mouth.
"At least you had the guts to stand up to him." She smiled, but her face quickly fell.
Peter noticed it and tilted his head. "Uhm?"
"Never mind. It's not important." The teasing glint returned to her eyes. "However, for you, rest is going to be very important."
"Why are you being so interested in it?" Peter asked, glaring at Luna.
"I couldn't exactly leave you there, could I? You were collapsed on a beach."
Peter sighed. "Doesn't mean you have to be so thorough in helping."
"And why shouldn't I?" Luna raised an eye at this remark.
"Well, I don't even know you," Peter said.
"So? Is that any reason to leave you out there alone and cold?"
Peter rolled his eyes. "I just want to train, okay? So please allow me to do that. I'm already feeling much better, you see?"
He tried to stand up, only to fall back face first on the ground.
"Yeah. Muuuuch better." She deadpanned, before nudging him on to his back and arranging the foliage into a more comfortable position.
"Get some sleep." She yawned, and he was about to respond with some comeback, when he felt himself suddenly get drowsy. His last thoughts before fading to blackness were realizing what a sneaky trick she had pulled.
For the following hours, Peter was lost in his dreams, until he slowly opened his eyes again and scratched them, yawning softly. He put himself back in a sitting position, stretching his arms. He hadn't slept that well in years. The sky was filled with stars, though Luna was nowhere to be found. While he was still very sore, he could at least walk now, so he ventured out of the clearing and took a look around.
The forest was silent and dark, and Peter made sure to keep some landmarks in mind to return back to the clearing later. As he went on, he suddenly stopped feeling the ground under his feet, and turning around he could notice to be floating, engulfed in a light blue aura.
"W-what?" Peter asked: he tried to move, but the aura was blocking him in any direction, as he floated aimlessly in the air.
"My, my, what do we have here?" A voice purred. Peter could see two white orbs and one red gem in the darkness. As the figure stepped out into the moonlight, he saw a sleek, purple body with a forked tail.
"Uh… you are an… Espeon?" Peter asked, squinting his eyes as he tried to make it out.
"Sharp one aren't you?" the Espeon remarked dryly.
"Look, if I was trespassing or something, I'm new to this place. I am sorry, now can you get me back on the ground?" Peter asked, annoyedly.
"Am I not allowed to appreciate such a cute sight in this boring old forest?" The Espeon faked a hurt look.
"Let him down Soleil." Another voice spoke out, and Peter recognized the familiar red eyes.
"Just when I was starting to have fun…" Soleil sighed, but her psychic grip did not release. "I can't let him go though."
"And why not?" Luna narrowed her eyes at the Espeon. Obviously they knew each other.
"Oh, Luna! Don't you have some psychic mumbo jumbo you can use to free me?" Peter asked.
Luna rolled her eyes. "Yes. That 'mumbo jumbo' is asking my sister to stop being unreasonable. Still haven't told me why this is reasonable, by the way." Luna looked pointedly at Soleil.
"I am simply aware of the danger that lies with people we don't know, dear sister," The words were accompanied by a smirk. "What if he attacked you while you weren't looking?"
"He's been hurt. He couldn't harm a fly," Peter had to admit that jab hurt. "Anyone can see that. Or has the sun made you blind?"
"Just because I evolved into an Espeon…" Soleil grumbled but reluctantly let Peter down.
"Finally," Peter said, scoffing and turning back to Luna. "So, she's your sister?"
"Peter, this is Soleil. My sister who's spent too much time in the sun that the common sense has been baked out." There was a teasing edge to her words. "Soleil, this is Peter, professional Ursaring wrestler."
"Veeeery funny," Peter said, rolling his eyes and putting his hands behind his head before turning to Soleil. "So, nice to meet you, I guess."
"Again with the sun jokes. Nice to meet you too, I guess." She mimicked Peter's response. "Well now I see why you wanted those herbs. You seem to care an awful lot about him Lulu. Finally found someone who'll take you?"
Luna sighed at the pet name. "Please. Stop using that name. And you know it's not like that. Besides, you'd probably scare away any guy interested in me within the forest."
"Suuuure it is. Peter? Any comment?" Soleil looked with a smirk at Peter.
"You keep having your little girly debate, I'm off to get some water," Peter said, scoffing and walking onward without looking at either of the two.
"Wait!" He turned back at the call, seeing Luna rushing over with some herbs in her mouth. She set them down in his hands, explaining, "These are for you. Since you're getting water right now, take the herbs with you. They're as bitter as Soleil on a rainy day, but they'll go down easier with water."
"Uh," Peter said, looking first at the herbs and then at Luna. "Well, thank you. Though…"
Luna looked at him curiously, urging him to continue.
"Well…" Peter gulped and looked the other way. "It's pretty dark and I'm not sure where the river is. Can you… lead the way?"
Luna smirked, almost emulating Soleil. "Is Panda boy afraid of the dark? But if you insist, I guess I should show you the way."
Peter gulped and looked the other way. He had never felt so embarrassed, and he didn't want Luna to also see him blushing. She led him through the foliage and shrubbery until they cleared out into the rushing waters of the river.
"Alright, that's good. Thanks," Peter said, fidgeting nervously as he walked up to the river, making sure with every step to not accidentally fall into it.
This wasn't enough to stop him from tripping on a pebble and falling face first into the freezing water, reemerging with a yell and shivering from the cold.
He felt a set of teeth grab him by the neck and drag him back to the edge of the river, where he flopped down on to the river bank.
"Jeez Panda boy. Always getting into trouble. Where would you be without me?" Luna smirked down at him from where she had dragged him out of the rushing waters, placing the red spiky berry she had seemingly pulled out of nowhere right on top of him. "It might be a little spicy for you, but it'll warm you right up."
Peter didn't pay much attention to her words, grabbing the berry and swallowing it whole. One second later, he jumped on his feet with his face a nice shade of crimson, yelling even louder than before and spitting on the ground. Luna sighed as Peter desperately lapped at the river water, which to him had never felt more cool or refreshing.
"Look before you leap Panda boy. And you still haven't eaten your herbs." She tutted disappointedly, like a scolding mother.
"Sorry," Peter said, blushing and lowering his head, as he stared at the herbs. Man, this whole situation was so embarassing. He munched on them slowly, making a few nasty expressions and downing lots of water on the side, until he finished and rubbed his belly. Taking a deep breath, he stole a glance at Luna by his side, and sighed. "I don't really like it, but… thanks."
A smile, not a smirk this time, spread across Luna's visage. "Don't mention it." She murmured, diverting her glance elsewhere.
"I do have to mention it. I'm not a big fan of holding debts, but you have just been so… nice," Peter said, rubbing his neck and looked the other way.
"You don't owe me anything, Panda boy. Someone's gotta take care of you." Her teasing was back, but there was an underlying warmth to it.
"Could you stop calling me 'Panda boy'? I don't think you are that much older than me," Peter said, groaning slightly but with a little smile on his face, before returning serious. "Well, I just don't like to have you go out of your way to help me and get nothing in return, is all."
"I just did what any half-decent Pokemon would do."
"Doesn't mean you shouldn't be rewarded in some way," Peter said, shrugging. "Though, I don't have much with me. Is there anything you'd like to have for the help?"
"Yeah sure. Your eternal servitude." Luna rolled her eyes. "No seriously, I don't need anything."
As she said it, though, something clicked in Peter's mind, and he gave a frown, then sighed. He wasn't a big fan of the idea himself, but he had to repay Luna.
He got on his knees, and looked down. "I swear just that, then. I am honorbound to you now, as thanks for your help."
"I really didn't do that-"
Peter cut her off, staring at her. "I won't accept a no for an answer. I want to repay you, and that's the only way I can think of."
Luna sighed in resignation. "If that's what you really want I guess."
Is it really that important to thank me? I mean, I didn't do all that much, Luna thought as she looked at the now "honorbound" Pancham. Whatever that meant.
Author's Note: What did you think? There's gonna be more to this story for sure, but leave a review and tell us what you like or dislike so far. We're both looking to improve our writing, so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.