Chapter 2

Heart and Soul

Branches crunched underneath Spirit's paw as she walked through the shade in the woods, wishing through the trees. Crunches were heard behind her as she furthered down the mountain.

"Why did you run?" Lightning flashed across the sky, showing the outline of the figure following her. Rushing after the poor and defenseless Espeon. She panicked and fled the scene, only to be blocked by a wall, with the faint echoes of whispers haunting the air.

"Why did you run….." the ghostly figure popped up again walking closer and closer to Spirit. She froze in her place as her eyes grew wider as the monstrosity grew close and closer with every step. "Don't worry, I'm here to help you…" the silhouette said, till she gave out a loud shriek, waking her up from her dream.

"You alright? That must've been some nightmare." Oran berry aroma flew through the air, pulling Spirit towards the kitchen table.

Almost devouring it first, she realized Soul had nothing to eat.

"Huh… are you going to eat?"

"I eat blueberries, not Oran. It's better you eat it anyway, you'll need the energy."

Spirit looked sternly at Soul, and wouldn't stop till he ate something.

"Alright, alright. I'll have some. *Snicker* I'm the one supposed to be taking care of you….. but it's the other way practically."

Soul put his face down to level with the plate, and took some of the crumbing off and ate it.

Spirit still looked stern at him, seeing his midnight black fur flow as the wind came into the den. She was still staring intensely and would not let up until she saw him eat the plate before him. He forced down a few more pieces then left the table, pushing in his chair. Suddenly, Spirit no longer had a stern look and giggled at Soul.

"Thank you for the breakfast Soul!" She exclaimed. On the cave entrance, three knocks were on the cold wet stone. Strawberry scent flooded the cave as if a strawberry orchard was nearby.

"It's me, Jenny!"

"Come on in Jenny!" Soul replied to her cry.

Jenny strolled in through the door, her hair no longer had a rose in it, but her hair still crashed down like a waterfall onto her pure cream strawberry fur.

"How can I help you Jenny?"

"Oh, I was wondering if Spirit could help me." Jenny asked Soul.

Soul looked back at Spirit, who was still devouring her breakfast, finishing her breakfast, she lifted her head up from the plate, showing blue and teal streaks of Oran berries in her fur. Jenny started to snicker at the fact that Spirit didn't notice all the streaks in her hair.

"Hey Spirit,*Snicker* you got a little something on your face*Snicker*." Spirit, confused, turned around and looked into the mirror before her and saw Oran berry juice stuck in her fur. "Yuck!" She screamed as her paw touched the dripping juice, in turn making her paw blue.

"I'll be right back!" Walking into the bathroom and turning on the sink, she washed the blue gunk of her face.

"So what did you want her for?" Jenny's mind had gone blank, sweat started to appear before she finally thought of an idea.

"Oh. I just need her advice on what to pick out for dinner tonight."

Soul stared into her eyes with an intense gaze, bringing down her sweat even more.

"...Well if she wants to go… I can't stop her even if I didn't want her to go."

Spirit had just walked out of the bathroom when she heard about Jenny.

"I'll go." Jenny was excited when she heard Spirits' response.

"Great just tell me when you're ready!"

"I can go right now." Spirit and Jenny walked out of the den, into the forest.

"Hhhhhhh…. some time to think."

Soul jumped up onto the counter, opening up the fridge. He grabbed some pecan berries and bread, then he grabbed milk and the eggs.

"I'll make myself a cake….. now….. where's the bowls?" He pondered before he frantically looked around his house for a bowl.

Meanwhile…

Spirit and Jenny strolled through the forest, walking into the Pokemart.

"So what did you need my help with?" Jenny spun around to see Spirit behind her.

"Oh. I didn't need your help. I just needed to ask you a few questions, if that's alright."

Spirit cocked her head to the side, and spoke in a curious voice.

"Well what are the questions? Are they about how I got here?"

"No. First off, do you remember anything before you fell down the cliff?"

Spirit thought long and hard, but couldn't conjure up a thought about what happened that night.

"I'm sorry…. I can't… I wish I could."

"Hugh….. it's alright….. secondly…. I can see you blush when your near Soul….. so I'm guessing you like him…. that's the question I've been waiting to ask."

Spirit's face blew up a bright cherry red when Jenny had asked.

"Just the reaction I was expecting….*Snicker*... don't worry, I'll keep your secret."

Spirit sighed with relief as Jenny said that.

"Thank you…."

"But I do have one more question for you, Spirit." Jenny flaunted her tails as she spoke to Spirit.

"I want to know why you like him. I mean you only met him yesterday, right?" Her eyes pierced through Spirit, but then Spirit sighed as she realized how stupid the situation was.

"I honestly don't know why I like him….. he just…."

Jenny had cut her off and just giggled at Spirit.

"What's so funny?!" She got onto Jenny with a pissy tone.

"It's alright…. the reason will come over time."

The two went back to shopping for the berries and water.

"So when did you come here Jenny?"

"That was a while ago Spirit. See when I came here, I was released into the wild by my trainer, and I came here to Viridian forest cause I heard there was a Poke Village. When I came here, I found lots of food and supplies. And then I moved in here. I have found tons of friends here!"

Jenny smiled at Spirit who then smiled right back at her.

"Jenny, did you get everything you need here? Cause I need to get back to Soul."

"Awwww… you miss him already?" Spirit blushed a bright cherry red color yet again.

"N-n-no! He's just supposed to show me around the Village today!" Jenny laughed as she watched the Espeon turn red instead of purple.

"Calm down….. it was just a joke Spirit. I didn't mean anything I just said. Come on, I'll pay for these and we can go."

Paying the cashier, the two walked out of the Pokemart with two bags.

About 20 minutes later, they arrived back at the den.

"Soul! I'm back!" Soul jumped when he heard Spirit calling for him.

"So…..he likes her too…." Jenny thought to herself. Setting one of the bags down on the counter, Spirit then turned around to greet Soul.

"Are you just about ready to go check out the village Spirit?"

"Yeah, Just give me about 20-30 minutes to get ready."

Spirit walked off into the bathroom locking the door behind her. Sizzling was heard as he had over cooked his cake.

"Man….. there was an hour of effort wasted….. no I have no surprise for Spirit."

Jenny started to smell the burnt cake aroma in the air.

"What's that burning smell? It smells like smoke from a flamethrower attack…"

Soul put a mitt in his mouth, and pulled out the cake. Steam emitted from the black rock that was once a cake.

"What happened?! How does the Umbreon who cooks all the time! Burn a *giggle* cake that bad?"

Soul snapped at Jenny gritting his teeth.

"Hey! Shut up! I didn't do it on purpose!" Jenny leaped back at the sudden snap of Soul. Calming himself down, he threw the cake away.

"Hugh… I'm sorry Jenny…. I didn't mean to get snappy. It's just….. I wanted to surprise Spirit when she came home… I mean cause she's been really nice to me, and she's been looking out for me since I found her yesterday."

Jenny started to look down at the floor, feeling bad for Soul.

"I'm sorry I laughed, I wasn't trying to be mean, it's just….. your the best cook I know, and i've never seen a cake burnt that bad. So I giggled a little."

Spirit walked out of the bathroom ready to go.

"Cmon Soul, let's get going."

The two walked near each other, exiting the cave without Jenny.

"Man….. love really does thrive on a thorn, doesn't it?" Jenny said to herself.

Soul directed him and Spirit to the center of the Poke Village.

"This is the Village square, not much happens here except festivals. And there are only 4 festivals. The Christmas festival, The 4th of July festival, the one that happens on November 18th, and the one that happens May 6th."

Spirit looked back over at Soul, seeing his Crystal clear, Cherry red

"So the closest one is Christmas. Am I right?" Soul looked back at Spirit who gave him a purple eyed steely gaze in return.

"Yeah you're right."

"So what's the next guide?"

"Up next is the battle arena deeper in the woods."

They traveled deep within the woods, where shade took over and blotted out the sun.

"So, up here is where you battle for either training, gambling, tournaments, and it's also a popular hang out-spot for Eeveelutions like us."

"So why is no one here today?"

"The battle arena is closed on every 2nd day of the week. And it's also closed on the 10th, 17th, and the last day of every month."

Strolling back through the forest, they end up back at the Village square.

"If you go up straight ahead, there's a restaurant. My friend works there, so do you want lunch Spirit?"

Grumbling was heard from Spirit's stomach as they mentioned food.

"Yes please!"

The duo walked towards the restaurant to walk inside. Walking inside, somebody is wearing a red shirt and an apron, Soul knew exactly who it was.

"Hey Luke, how have you been?"

A young Lucario spun his spinning chair around to see Soul." Hey Soul! I haven't seen you around lately, and who's this? Did you find a mate or something."

Spirit and Soul both blushed in union but Soul covered for himself, by hiding his blushes.

"No. Spirit is just a friend."

"Well okay then, can I take your order?"

Luke walked the two over to the closest table to his work station.

"What can I get you guys?"

Soul and Spirit both looked at the menu, scanning it almost to see what's on today.

"Can I get the Blueberry ale mode?" Spirit asked

"And can I get a piece of cake Luke?"

"Coming right up Soul."

For a matter of minutes, it was complete silence for the two, just staring at each other's reflective eyes. It was only then, Spirit got fed up with the complete silence.

"So, how did you meet Jenny?"

"We go a while back….. it all started when she first moved in here. I was one of many Pokémon in the Village back then… I was at the Pokemart and she needed help getting around town. I showed her everything thing she needed to know. I even took her to this restaurant and sat in this exact seat….. so you can see why I'm not that talkative. It's just a time where…"

Soul went silent, freezing himself in time almost. Spirit was just about to lean over, but their food just arrived.

"Here you go Spir…. what's wrong with Soul….."

"Nothing Luke…. I just…. apparently I brought up some memories…."

Luke stared at the almost lifeless Umbreon with a curious look, wondering what was going on inside his brain. Soulless, he walked off as he talked to Spirit.

"Alright….. I'll just drop the first food off….. that should jog him….. I made it with extra sugar in case something like this happened. I'm sorry, he just was never to open with anyone…. not even with me."

Luke walked off into the kitchen, carrying the platter of silver.

Suddenly, Soul jolted up, waking him up from his trance.

"Huh?! Oh. Spirit. I'm sorry….. where were we?" Soul was now all back to normal, acting like nothing happened. His ruby eyes stared at Spirit, waiting for a response from her.

"Oh….uh….. we just got our food?" Soul and Spirit both looked down at their food, and started to eat.

"*Gulp* So….. what did you ask me again?"

Spirit didn't want to trigger Soul again, so she decided that she would ask Jenny about it later.

"Oh…. it's nothing! Nothing…." Spirit's face started to turn bright cherry red, Soul then started to give a serious look.

"Seriously! It's nothing Soul!"

After Soul stopped giving his serious look, the two finished their dinner and headed straight for the den. It was shivering cold outside, enough to make the sun freeze.

"Seriously Spirit, what did you ask?" Soul asked in a giggling voice.

"Nothing! Please stop asking!" Spirit snapped at Soul, she was getting irritated by Souls antics.

The two walked in the den, stopping to look at each other one last time.

"I'm going to go to bed Soul, it's way too cold for me."

Spirit walked over to the bed laying down underneath all the blankets, but still cold in the end.

"God…. I can see her shaking…. but she'll be cold if I don't do it, but she'll be warm and mad at me for doing it….." Soul pondered about his decision as he walked up to the bed, laying down beside her.

Relief was heard as Spirit didn't shiver any more as her tail curled up near Soul.

Drifting to sleep, not a cricket was heard.

It was just dead silence.