Chapter 71
Hearing the crunch of twigs under her feet, May tried not to look too uncomfortable. The trio had been walking throughout the eerily silent forest for a while, without a single inclination as to what caused the silence of the wild pokémon.
All thoughts of May's lost appeal were out of her mind, instead she was focusing on the here and now—why the forest was so silent.
From beside her, Cilan was still murmuring, scratching his chin thoughtfully as Iris continued to mope, neither seeming at all intrigued by the small clearing which was appearing before them, their eyes scanning the deserted trees around them for a clue.
Hearing a soft cry from at the base of a tree from the clearing, May blinked as she saw a tiny pokémon huddled at the base, a group of starly flying around it in what May could only describe as a predatory manner.
Glancing at her friends, May grimaced as Cilan focused on another tree, appearing to search for any trace of the silent pokémon. Iris, however, had noticed the horde of starly, and appeared as concerned as she did.
'Hey! Leave him alone!' Iris yelled, jumping forward, effectively breaking the silence and catching the Starly's attention. The hord of pokémon floated moodily as they stared at the young Unovan, who clenched her fist, her eyes roaming around the clearing for an option.
May focused on the pokémon, seeing it was badly injured, with cuts and bruises covering its tiny body.
At Iris' voice, the flying types faltered, pulling back to inspect the humans.
At their pause, May hesitated only slightly before running past her friend, knowing she only had a small window to do what she wanted.
'May!' Iris snarled, and May could already hear the lecture she'd receive from the Unovan woman.
'Distract them!' May hissed back, ducking under a swooping Starly, its eyes intent upon the Johto woman.
'Hey, you lazy tepig!' Iris called, picking up a rock and throwing it at the one that had attacked her friend.
'Iris!' Cilan hissed as May rolled forward and picked up the shivering bug type, covering it with her jacket to ensure it remained safe.
'Got you!' May whispered before glancing at the glaring eyes of the starly around her, whose small black eyes were focused on the pokémon in her arms.
'Didn't you hear me, you lazy slakoth?' Iris hollered, pulling the flying types' attention away from the Hoenn woman.
As one, the flock of flying types flew at the Unovan woman, who let out a slight squeak.
'We'll meet in the next town! Stay safe and don't get lost!' Iris called as she grabbed Cilan's arm and rushed away, the horde of Starly hot on their tail, appearing unaffected by the Unovan man's frantic yelp.
'Let's go,' May whispered as she clutched the bug type closer to her, its large head poking out above her arms, heading in the opposite direction of her friends.