A/N:

My upload schedule will be changed slightly next week as there have been some changes made to my schedule. I'll upload my fan fictions when I can, otherwise I'll be doing a double upload the week after to make up for missing anything.

Chapter 64

Watching Cilan prepare berries, Iris began setting up a camp fire for lunch. Grabbing the firewood they'd gathered, Iris barely heard May hum a tune, cleaning a pokéball, leaning casually against a tree neary.

Glancing at May, Iris could see the playful smile on her lips, her sapphire eyes sparkling. From where she stood, Iris had no doubt that May could see Iris glancing at Cilan, and the Unovan woman tried not to show her insecurities at being caught.

She couldn't help that being out here was bringing back a lot of good memories of traveling with Ash, Axew and Cilan. Near Cilan, Axew was running around the camp trying to be useful too, carrying berries with an eagerness, apparently as eager to help the Striaton city gym leader.

'What can I do?' May asked, pocketing her pokéball before rubbing her hands together eagerly.

Both Unovans sent May a dismissive glance before Iris said, 'we're pretty much a well-oiled machine at this stage. If you want to do something, go practice your appeals and train your pokémon in that clearing we saw earlier.'

Hesitating, May glanced from one person to the next before Cilan agreed, 'relax, May. We've got everything handled, just focus on what you need to do. Iris and I have a routine and trying to incorporate you will just take longer.'

Nodding her head, May smiled once before walking back to the clearing a short walk away, and Iris smiled at her friend's back.

The duo worked in silence, with Iris finally getting the campfire going as Cilan began transferring the cut up berries into a pot.

Glancing at Cilan, Iris pressed her lips together, wondering how simply being around another person could just make her so happy? Her friends would think she was crazy for how much she cared about Cilan, especially since they were polar opposites. However, when she was working with Cilan like this, she felt complete.

Seeing Axew play with some of the pots from Cilan's backpack, Iris chuckled, pretending not to see Cilan's frown.

'Axew, please be careful. With how much you've been training you could damage my things if you play to roughly,' Cilan called out, though Axew seemed unbothered by Cilan's request and Iris didn't look up to ensure her dragon type was behaving, moving some logs to create a place to put the pots.

Once she'd created a sturdy spot for the pots, Iris glanced at her Xtransceiver to see how far Muelland would be.

If they kept going the path they did, without any distractions, then they'd get there by that afternoon.

'Let's get there as soon as possible so we can relax inside. May will probably want to keep practicing too,' Iris beamed before popping a berry in her mouth, winking eagerly at Cilan.

Nodding his head, Cilan hummed once before saying, 'it's good to be on the road again. I'd almost forgotten how amazing fresh air in nature can be. It's delectable aroma, dirt, plants and that sharp air… Ah, it's delicious.'

Rolling her eyes, Iris frowned at him, 'are you really appraising the taste of nature? Do you miss appraising that much?'

'Try it. It smells like home, but not quite. It's like someone changed a subtle yet critical ingredient,' Cilan nodded, turning to stare at Iris with his hands on his hips.

Closing her eyes, Iris took in a deep breath, enjoying the atmosphere. There was the smell of the fire burning, the air, plants and soil like Cilan said, but also the unmistable scent of Cilan.

Kyurem, she'd missed this.

Snapping her eyes open, Iris stared wildly around the campfire, hoping no one had any inclination of what she was thinking.

Cilan, on the other hand grinned at her, 'see? It smells great, doesn't it?'

'Yeah, that's some great flavour, alright,' Iris mumbled uncertainly, feeling very grateful that May was training elsewhere and Cilan was as oblivious as he was.

From where she was sitting, she could see Axew watching her, though Iris pretended not to look at her starter pokémon.

She had to get a grip, and fast.

A/N 2:

Housekeeping and some notes re: my stories on here and good old pat ree on (already posted on Mt Chimney Catastrophe)

Firstly, thank you so much for supporting me by reading, reviewing, liking and following my work, it really does mean the world to me. With regards to Patty, I'll continue uploading the chapters ahead of time on pat r eon starting next month. I'll be honest, I've been struggling to upload my fan fictions there simply because I feel like I'm uploading more than I am writing and editing. For my sanity (and hopefully motivation), I'll be uploading the chapters for the month in one document per fan fic just so I can focus on my work. I have also adjusted my pricing slightly.

For clarification purposes, I'm at the stage where I want to focus on my own stories for a bit. I still love Pokemon, but I'm writing these fictions with the pacing of the anime in mind, and I'd like to just focus on a more realistic pacing of a story with my own characters, world and lore. I've written a fair bit for both May, Gym Leader and May's Belated Journey so I've got a buffer to focus on my own stuff. I love how interactive the Pokemon community can be, but I'm really hoping that my dream of being a successful author can come to fruition (which is super hard because I'm such a perfectionist too, so I'm constantly reading and editing my own fiction).

As you can (hopefully!) tell from my stories on here, I try not to half-arse anything. Given that one of my favourite series is Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, I really hope that I can write something with characters as realistic, raw and human as some of the people he's portrayed, as well as incorporate lore, worlds and cultures that I've created from scratch (probably using cultures from ancient history as a rough guide. I don't want to start adding real cultures or beliefs in there because, frankly, I doubt I'd do them justice, especially since cultures are so nuanced)

Unfortunately, that probably means I shouldn't be focusing on my fan fiction as much as I have been, especially since fan fiction and hobbies don't keep a roof over my head (if only it did, hey?) and I can't become a successful author just publishing fan fiction (unless Pokemon become aware of my work by some miracle and like it enough to ask me to work with them for a series based on adult characters, but that wouldn't happen, especially to me)

Like I said, I've got a fair bit written for both of my fan fictions, so uploads should continue as per usual (if only I could schedule chapter uploads on here so I can just power through with my own works) but I'm really hoping to publish a few original stories, otherwise on Kindle or maybe Royal Road (assuming Fan Fic lets me upload those names). If any of you are interested in reading more of my work but can't support me via Patty, I'd love to know if you have a specific preference for platform. As always, my dms are always open if you don't want to leave a public review.

I'm just itching to get some of my own work out there and see how people react to my original work and characters. My persona as lS2l started because I wanted feedback/to see if people liked what I could create, and I'm at the stage where I want to do it with my own work. Pokemon is a great foundation with a tonne of lore and characters (especially ones I struggle to write like Dawn, Drew or Serena, as well as unique ones such as Brock, Harley or Cilan), but they're not mine. I hope that I've added depth to them and added my own touch to them, but they're still characters I haven't created, with their own unique looks, style or catch phrases that I didn't create. It's a small nuance, but 10 year old me wouldn't have wanted to work with other people's characters, worlds and lore without trying to make my own.

Oh and by the way, I think I'm only halfway with what I've written for both of my fan fictions, and that's not even including the third arch I want to write too. Don't think I'm abandoning my fan fictions, I'm not. I'm at the stage in my life where I should otherwise do something about my dreams or give them up, and to try and fail is better than to not, right?

Sorry this is so, so long. I just wanted to update you on where things are regarding my personal desires. I promise I'll try to upload next week, though I have no idea when given how busy it will be (I might have to do a double upload the week after next, but I'm hoping it won't come to that). Also, I have uploaded everything I've written for Mount Chimney Catastrophe on Patty as well and lowered the rates for my tiers.

I really want to start publishing my own stories, so please let me know if you have a preferred platform. I have a special interest in fantasy (I've written one story for over 15 years), but I'm trying it out with some general fiction for now because I'm a wuss haha (namely, one of the ones from Patty, so that will probably become early access)

Like always, thank you so much for all of your support and I'll do my best to upload my stories next week sometime. We should be back to regular schedule from the week of Monday the 9th May. Sorry this message is super rambly, my head hurts and I probably need sleep and hydration (it doesn't seem that way, but I only got to take a 1 hour nap, heh)

If anyone has any suggested platforms, let me know. Once again, I can't thank you enough for continuing to read my work. I won't disappoint you, but if I disappoint myself and not try to achieve my dreams I'll have even less time to upload my fan fictions.

Thank you so much for continuing to read my fan fiction, and I hope some of you will be interested in reading my original pieces too :)