She left. Quickly. After nearly a days walk, she figured that it had been enough of walking. The sun was, again, low in the horizon and Karey was disappointed. There had been no pokemon on the way. Throughout her whole day's walk, she had not spotted a single pokemon in the forest.

"At least there's water here," Karey said, happily, "and hot springs!"

She let out Treecko and began to undress. The hot spring was a small one, but big enough for a couple of people and just the right temperature. Karey carefully slipped in, feeling relaxed and forgotten, letting the warmth of the water eat at her muscles. She heard a faint sigh of glee when her pokemon also jumped inside. She giggled.

"Like it?"

"Treecko!"

Karey closed her eyes in contempt, feeling complete and whole. Then, the trees rustled from above.

Panicked, she shrieked.

"Who's there!"

The sound came from above her. It was a quiet shivering of the leaves, but she heard it. A leaf fell from a twig of the very same spot she had heard the rustling from. It drifted lightly on the air, and landed on her chest. Karey alertly covered herself with her arms and continued to glare at the innocent branch above her. Whatever was hidden in it, they were well concealed in the leaves.

"Tr-?" Treecko chirped, worried about it's master, "Treecko?"

Then, she heard a twig snap and, assured now that it wasn't just her imagination, she ducked into the water until it was up to her nose, still looking up.

Suddenly, a flash of gray and green darted from one tree to the next, and settled in the tree in front of Karey. She gasped.

"How did you find us? Why did you follow us? Who are you? What do you want? I know you're human!"

At Karey's last remark, she could have sworn that she had heard a small gasp of surprise come from the tree. Something large, fleshy, and green fell from the branches and into the dirt.

Worried, Karey jumped upwards and out of the hot spring. She grabbed a towel from her backpack and headed for the spot of impact- where she saw the person fall. Karey had to brush through some bushes and trees before she came across a small clearing covered in moss and tiny mushrooms. She sharply sucked in her breath.

There, lying on the ground, was a boy whose ears were that of an animal's of some sort. No, not cat ears, they sort of looked like... umbreon ears. Yes, this was an umbreon! A human umbreon! ...A human umbreon? Karey's eyes widened at the memory of the PRA Lab of scientists; of last month's newspaper. This was the Half-Breed! A human umbreon!

Yes, this boy had a tail of fluffy dark fur and on his elbows and forehead were circular markings of gold, and he wore dark, green pants. He looked about her age, maybe seventeen, even. His eyes were closed, as if he was sleeping. Suddenly, though, they snapped open, and he quickly sat up.

"Oh my god, oh my god, you're not supposed to see me." He exclaimed, backing up on his elbows and feet into the darkness of the forest. "I'm sorry for spying! I just wanted some food! Please don't turn me in!!"

By now, the half-breed was on the verge of tears and his eyes were screwed shut in embarrassment. Karey tightly gripped the ends of her towel together as she knelt above him. She placed her hand on his foot- the only part of his body nearest to hers- and smiled reassuringly. At this, the boy stopped crying and blinked at her. "Do you have a name?"

"...Kane." He cleared his throat and looked away sheepishly. "Sorry."

"For what?"

His cheeks reddened. "C-could you... perhaps, put on some clothing?"

"Eh-" Karey blushed. She stood up and ran off in the direction of her clothing. "By the way," she said, slipping on her gray tank, "My name is Karey." She slipped on her jean shorts and her black, finger-less gloves and smoothed out her damp, dark, purple hair that stretched down only a little ways past her earlobes. "And I would give you some food, if I had any for myself."

"But..." Kane stood up, "I thought you had rice balls."

'So, that's what happened to my unfinished lunch,' she thought, "Hey, you're a pokemon, right?"

"Uh-"

"Yes, you are!" Karey smirked, "Yes, you are a pokemon! And I challenge you to a battle!"

"Wh-"

"Go! Treecko!"

"Treecko!"

"Treecko? Wait, I'm not-!"

"Treecko, pound attack!"

"Wah! No! Stop!" Kane demanded, effortlessly scurrying up a tree and hanging onto it for dear life. "I'm not a pokemon! I won't be captured in a pokeball!"

"Well, lookie, lookie," Karey teased, pointing to his ears, "Those ears! Those aren't human ears! And that tail! It isn't a human tail!"

"Humans don't have-- Wha- wait a minute! Just because I'm a half-breed, doesn't mean that I'm a pokemon!"

Karey pouted. She returned her treecko and balled her fists. "And I've always wanted an umbreon..." She murmured.

"Please, I don't want to be caught... I'm just a human-" He paused, wincing, "-half breed... from the PRA." Kane muttered as he climbed back down the tree. He jumped onto the ground in front of her and crossed his arms. "So, you have no food?"

Karey shook her head.

"Well, then, bye."

Kane turned to leave down the path, but before he could, Karey latched onto him, wrapping herself around his waist. "No! Don't!" Kane's eyes widened. He felt as if she was going to choke the life out of him. "Don't leave me to go through this forest alone! There are cannibals out here!"

Oh my wow, I got... one whole review! .

Thanks, Gladdecease, for starting them out! I hope there will be more reviews hint hint. Sorry for the chapter delay... I was grounded. ;; Oh yes, and this chapter was quite short. Oh well, deal with it. I'm the author, and I can make these chapters as short as I want! Bursts of ego Bwahahahahahahaah- thunder, lightning in the background -ahahahahahahahaaaaaahhh!