Chapter 10

"Macy, wake up!" I nudged her. She was sound asleep when I woke up earlier this morning. I had found a stream with a large pool with a waterfall, so it could have continuous flow of water (which could be turned into a bathtub). "MACY!" I kicked her lightly. Slowly, her eyes snapped open. "Macy, come along. I have something to show you, and I can teach you about poisonous plants along the way, if I see any." She nodded slightly, taking time to think about what I had said.

"Okay," she replied, nodding. She slowly sat up and stretched while yawning. She stood up, but as she did, some of her joints popped. "Ouch," she muttered to herself.

"This," I stated and pointed, "Is poison hemlock." I gulped and continued, "If you eat this once, it can kill you. Please don't mistake it for the wild carrot." It is tall, skinny plant with feathery-like leaves, with white flowers in clusters. The wild carrot is similar, but its stems are hairy and on the leaves, there aren't as many leaflets." Macy blinked and stared at me. "Ha. It seems like my intelligence has stunned you."

"No, I'm just impressed. That's amazing how you remembered that!"

"I learned over the years, you know? I always gardened with my dad. It was fun and I learnt a lot!"

"It sounds like you did." She smiled and turned around. "And what's this?" she asked.

"That's a bracken fern. It's edible, but it has been linked to stomach cancer." I shrugged. "I don't think you'd want to eat it, it doesn't taste very good to me. Come on, we'll need more supplies." Macy nodded and followed me to a copse. "Okay. We need to gather as many of these things as possible. I'll show them to you." I showed her my journal. I showed her the long list of edible plants that grew in the spring. She blinked and stared at me. "Don't worry."

We gathered all of the necessary ingredients for a delicious stew. I tasted it to make sure it was all right. "Mm… Macy, this is good! What do you think?"

"Wow, it's so delectable! I could eat this every day, you know?"

"Yes, but maybe not every day, I'd get tired of it." We were silent for a while. "Macy… I've been thinking about Saunders… I mean, I hate him, but I hope he's all right…"

"You did stab him," she muttered. "I've been thinking the same thing. I hope he's all right too. Do you think you can live with yourself, after that incident?"

"I think I can… that's why I'm thinking about setting up my own alias… Aurea Juniper, you like that?" I asked, looking at the juniper berry spice that was scattered on my fish.

"That's a great idea!" She nodded. She looked at the fennel seeds… "Fennel… Fennel… do you like that name?"

"Yes, I do. It suits you, since you seem to really like the fennel seeds. They are delicious after all."

"Almost a liquorice flavour. I love it! I have always loved liquorice."

"Really? I don't like liquorice, but this is pretty good. Hmm…" I looked around. "It's nearly three o'clock. Macy, I have to go now. I have to go to the Pokémon centre to get Rosy's bandages replaced. Unless you want to come along."

"Sure. That's fine with me."

"Steady, Rosy…" I watched as she lied down on the ground. "There you go." I grinned slightly. I looked at Rosy closely. "Umm… Macy, come over here and check this out."

"Okay," she said while she walked over to where I was. "What's up?"

"Look… do you not see that lump around her abdominal region?"

"Is that good or bad?"

"I-I think she's pregnant, Macy," I uttered. "Are you, Rosy?"

"Yes," she neighed, looking at the ground. "I have been ever since I was a Blitzle."

"Wow…" I gasped, not knowing what to say. "I guess it'll be due any moment now…"

"Yes," Rosy neighed. "I can feel it."

"Rosy… you can go be with your herd if you want to," I said.

"No… they don't seem to like me…," she replied, shifting her ears towards me. She slowly got up. "I'd rather stay with you two. You don't seem to run away from me whenever I walk up to you…" Snorting, she noticed something in the sky. "The stars are coming out now…"

"Indeed." Macy nodded and looked up. "Shall we go to bed now?"

"Okay," I replied, nodding.

A/N: In three days, this fic will be one year old! Wohoo!