Rose and Roma quietly mourned, neither knowing what to do next. Rose had reached forward and closed Michael's eyes gently, feeling as if the small act could help put him at rest somehow. Her companion remained silent, lowering his eyes to ground as tears lid down his scaled cheeks. Turning to him slowly, Rose reached out for comfort and he obliged, climbing onto her arms and up to her shoulder. He was considerably larger than before, but could still fit comfortably on her shoulder, draping his body across her shoulders and wrapping his tail loosely around her neck. She placed her hand against his cheek and pulled him closer to her face, leaning into him and sobbing quietly.

Roma allowed her all the time she needed, not saying a word as the sun set and plunged them into darkness. He had defeated the haunting Pokemon that had slayed his friend in one shot, he feared no evil. He would have stayed still all night, if not for the rustling sound he heard behind the tree Michael leaned against.

He let out a low and dangerous hiss, feeling outraged that someone would interrupt his and his master's mourning period. Rose sniffled and looked up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her free hand.

"Leave us be." Roma spat, bearing his pointed fangs. Cautiously, two Patrat's emerged from the tall grass, staring curiously at the Pokemon and Trainer before them.

"What…are you doing?" One of them asked, peering curiously at Michael's limp form. Rose could feel Roma coiled around her, preparing to spring at any moment. She gently stroked his head, telling him to relax without words.

"They are highly curious Pokemon, Roma, try to be understanding." She explained, dully examining the two Pokemon as they crept forward. "We are just mourning the loss of our friend. There…there was an accident, and he was killed." The two Patrat's gasped, taking a second look at Michael before grasping the situation.

"I see…" One of them said, placing a paw on his chin in thought. "Well, we will need to take his body."

"Don't. You. Touch. Him." Roma snarled, sliding smoothly off of Rose's shoulder and standing before them, leering down. They backed away a few steps, holding up their paws in surrender.

"It's custom!" The Patrat squeaked, pinning his ears against his head in fright. "He must be buried at one of our burial grounds." Rose gently placed a hand on Roma's shoulder and the agitated creature relaxed slightly beneath her fingertips.

"That…that sounds nice." She told them, smiling slightly. "May…may we come? He was important to us…" The two Patrat's deliberated for a moment, whispering to each other in hushed voices before one of them nodded his agreement.

Cradling Michael with as much care as she could, Rose followed the Patrats through a deep forest. After about an hour of walking, one of the Patrats, the one who had done all the talking thus far, cleared his throat.

"So…you really cared for that Patrat?" He asked, his tone a little disbelieving. Roma let out a soft hiss, but Rose interrupted him before he could speak.

"Yes. Michael was a new addition to our team, but he was a very valued member to us. We had only spent a few days together, but he finally opened up to us." She mumbled, glancing down at his lifeless form.

"He was my first Pokemon friend." Roma explained, some venom in his voice. "He was a worthy comrade."

"Wow…" The Patrat turned and looked them with wide eyes. "Most Trainers and Pokemon don't really respect Patrats. They find us weak or annoying, pests. That's why we were so curious when we found you crying over him. I've never met a Trainer who actually cared for a Patrat before…oh, here we are, let me go find the elder. You two-er, three, wait here." They had reached a clearing with many holes in it which Rose recognized as their nests. Several Patrats were standing guard around the perimeter, and as they approached, all eyes fell on them. Rose ignored the stares, gently stroking the fur on Michael's cheeks instead, while Roma sent each of the watchers a vicious glare, causing them to stiffen and turn away.

After a few minutes the Patrat returned without his previous companion, and instead was accompanied by a rather weary looking Watchog. The skinny Pokemon tottered up to the carefully, eyes darting from Roma, to Rose, to Michael.

"Oh…what a shame…" The Watchog spoke with a tired, gloomy voice. "Another fallen friend. My guard here has explained the situation to me and thought it is unusual, and as far as I know it has never been done before, I will allow you to witness his burial, as he was your friend." Rose smiled gratefully and Roma bit his tongue, holding back a snarky comment.

"Thank you, elder." Rose replied, bowing her head. The Watchog smiled kindly and turned to the lookouts nearest him, clicking his teeth once to get their attention, and then twitching his tail erratically. They seemed to understand and four of them hustled forward. They surrounded Rose and she presented them with Michael's body, gently lowering him into their waiting paws.

"Come, while you were waiting we prepared a spot for him. It's under an old Oran tree, a place of respect."

The burial was short and sweet, the four Patrats who had carried him lowered him into the ground gently and threw a few purple flowers on his body. The elder Watchog encouraged Roma and Rose to participate, handing them small flowers to add. After they tossed the purple blooms in his grave, the Patrats took turns grabbing handfuls of dirt and tossing it over his body. Once again, Roma and Rose participated, adding a handful after handful until he was completely covered and the ground was level again.

The Patrats left silently, leaving Roma, Rose and the elder Watchog alone. The ceremony was over and Michael was gone. Rose hung her head feeling as if she simply had no more tears left. Roma slid into her lap, passing through the curtain of her hair and pressed his forehead against hers. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, and soaked up his comforting presence in silence.

"You two have been through a lot today. If you would like, you could stay with us tonight." The elder Watchog offered, placing a paw on Rose's shoulder. She lifted her head and smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you."

Rose lay in a particularly thick area of grass, the stalks she had bent down forming a soft bed for her. Roma lay atop her, his long body reaching across her abdomen. His chin rested on her collarbone and his burning eyes glowed faintly in the darkness as they stared at her face.

She stared up at sky, thinking that just twenty-four hours ago she had been so carefree and happy, lying next to N and learning constellations. She let out a gentle sigh and placed a hand on Roma's neck, massaging the tight muscle that was coiled there.

"Did you know there is a Serperior constellation? N showed it to me last night. I can't remember where it is exactly though. Next time we see him we'll have to ask him." Rose mumbled, letting out another sigh. Roma hummed softly in response, the sound reverberating through him and traveling through her chest. She laughed softly.

"Can you feel it when I speak?" She asked, closing her eyes. He chuckled and nodded against her.

"Does that make you feel connected to me?" He joked, a quiet laugh rumbling in his chest. She found herself smiling and was surprised, thinking that nothing could lift her spirits.

"Roma?"

"Yea?"

"Don't ever leave me. In any form." She told him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. In response he curled his tail around her side, letting out a quiet whimper.

"I won't. I'll never leave you. Promise you'll never leave me? Even to go stargazing with a boy?" He whined, voice shaking. "If you do, I'll have to ground you forever. Don't ever leave me."

"I promise."

Okay, I have a couple things to say. 1. I was half delirious with exhaustion while writing this, so that is why it is short and most likely terrible. If I get enough complaints I will re-do it. I'm sorry guys, I just wanted to get another chapter out while I still had inspiration. 2. I realized that I had anonymous reviews disabled, as that is the default setting. I changed that. I don't know if that was deterring some of you from reviewing, but it's changed now. I just hope I don't get too many negative comments now. 3. This is going to be the last bummer chapter for a while. Sorry for being so dreary! Things are going to look up from here :) Thanks for reading as always!

-Vayel