Rowan staggered from the hollow of the crystal tree like he was hung over. While he wasn't thirsty, his mind felt foggy and phantom pains hammered at him. Compared to yesterday, however, he felt much better. The crisp cool air of Chloe's room revitalized him much more than the humidity in Fergus's. The moment he stepped into the open room, the candles along the wall sprung to life.
Glancing backwards into the hollow, Rowan could see Chloe's gentle breaths as she slept peacefully. For a brief moment his heart skipped a beat at the sight. The light from the candles seemed to almost dance across her fur hypnotically. He never knew a shiny could be so alluring.
"She's...gorgeous." Rowan breathed before snapping out of it. Quietly slipping out the door, Rowan headed to the pantry to get something to eat and, if he could, bring Chloe breakfast as well.
"Calm down, she's a pokemon," Rowan thought to himself as he trotted down the hallway. "And I'm…"
Rowan slowed down and stopped in the hallway, he came to a realization. He was a pokemon now, why was it weird for him to be attracted to another pokemon? Holding himself to his human standards was pointless now.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Rowan turned around to see Felix. The Servine looked groggy, having just woken up himself.
"Oh, hey man," Felix greeted him with a yawn. "What're you doing up? You didn't wake Fergus up did you? He hates getting disturbed this early in the morning."
"Oh, I think he's still sleeping," Rowan replied. "I'm just getting some breakfast."
"That's a good idea actually, I'll join you."
The two chatted as they made their way to the kitchen. Rowan was hard pressed to actually call it a kitchen however. The room was more of an oversized pantry than anything, the majority of the shelves barren.
Guilt flashed through him once again at the thought of eating what little food they had stored. No one was going hungry, Fergus made sure of that through his meticulous budgeting, but Rowan still couldn't bring himself to feel good about it.
With his jaws, Rowan picked up a small basket and carried it with him as he walked around the room. Settling on some hard biscuits for himself, he rolled an assortment of berries into the basket.
"That's more than I've seen you eat. Is some of that for Fergus?" Felix asked as he interweaved one of his vines around a few berries of his own.
"No um," Rowan stammered after setting down the basket. "It's for C-Chloe."
"You're our guest until we find out from Administration what to do with you," Felix grumbled. "You're not her errand boy, let her get her own food."
"She's still asleep," Rowan replied nervously. "Staying in Fergus's room has been sorta rough so she's… letting me sleep in her room."
"Oh, that was fast," Felix said bluntly before taking a bite out of one of the larger berries.
"Huh?" Rowan said, confused. "Well yeah, Fergus's room was nice and all but he keeps it a bit too humid for my tastes and Chloe won't let me sleep on the couch so… I guess it makes sense."
"Of course it does," Felix chuckled lightly. "What's it like sleeping with Chloe?"
"It's… nice," Rowan admitted without thinking. Instantly he realized his mistake and sputtered a flimsy defence. "I meant the room! The room is nice! Sleeping with her is a bit weird, but it's not like anything's happening, not that I mind her company!"
With every word, Felix's grin grew wider. Blood rushed to Rowan's face as he felt himself blush, hard. If it weren't for his fur, he was certain Felix would have noticed.
"Look," Rowan said, flustered. "I'm only there because my room hasn't been cleaned out yet...speaking of which, do you know when that'll be?"
"Dunno, but don't try to change the subject," Felix said as he took a step towards him. "Take a chill pill and level with me. What do you think of her, really?"
"I'm not dignifying that with an answer," Rowan spat before snatching the basket in his jaws and brushed past Felix. The pokemon snickered as he watched him leave.
"Yeah, you're right. Can't keep your princess waiting huh?" Felix called after him.
Ignoring him, Rowan returned to Chloe's room to find her already awake. She was in the middle of grooming herself for the day, using the reflection of herself in the crystal to straighten her fur.
"G-good morning," Rowan said as he shut the door behind him. "I brought breakfast!"
He cursed under his breath. Thoughts from earlier were looming over him as well as his conversation with Felix. As much as he tried to act natural, he still greeted her awkwardly.
"Good morning," Chloe replied as she finished and turned around. Rowan quickly removed the hardtack from the basket and brought the berries to her.
"I didn't know what you liked so… I got a couple different ones." Rowan said nervously.
"That's alright," Chloe said softly, stepping forward to see its contents. "I'm okay with whatever you give me."
Rowan's heart skipped a second beat that morning, his mind going blank. Conflicted on how to feel or even respond, his mind went to war on itself. He stared off into empty space for a moment, not hearing Chloe until she was inches away from his face.
"Rowan?" Chloe asked. "You okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Rowan replied, quickly putting some space between them. "Sorry, I was just… thinking about something."
Chloe looked at him doubtfully, but thankfully didn't press the issue. His head fog still hadn't cleared and this was beginning to overwhelm him.
"I'm...uh, gonna go exercise," Rowan said as he continued to back away. Using it as an excuse, he darted out the door before Chloe could say otherwise. Sprinting down the hall, he could hear Chloe yelling for him but he couldn't make out what she had said.
Once outside, Rowan bolted off into the fringes of Bitterbark Forest and made a beeline to his training grounds. The act of just running helped clear his mind. Nothing was simpler to him than putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward, not stopping until his breath ran ragged and his limbs burned.
The world around him faded in and out with every bound. Each sharp turn he took exhilarated him to his core. Jumping over anything he could granted him the freedom he needed, untethered by anything in either world.
Sadly he wasn't able to keep it up forever, and eventually exhaustion gripped him. Stumbling in an attempt to leap over a fallen tree, Rowan spun head over heels into the ground behind. Panting heavily, Rowan rolled over onto his back and gazed into the sky above him.
With clarity, he recognized how strange he had been acting towards Chloe. He couldn't hold his standards or his common sense to her, or any pokemon for that matter.
"She's just being kind…" Rowan rationalized. "I bet that 'she will have me' bit was because she thought I wouldn't stick around after not being able to join right away."
Each limb throbbed to the beat of his heart even though his breathing was returning to normal. Rolling over, he stood up and began walking around as he continued thinking.
"But still… What about in the future? Is it wrong for me to have feelings for her? I'm...not normal, a freak of nature. Do I even have the right?"
Coming to a pond's edge, Rowan could see it beginning to thaw. Its center was a deeper shade of blue as the ice began to melt; a sure sign winter was close to an end.
After he rested enough, Rowan took off again. Snow and dirt kicked into the air at the force of his strides as he distracted himself. Fergus had invited him over to drink again, but Rowan didn't feel up to it. Alcohol was the last thing he needed. He wanted to be clear of mind when he finally confronted himself, and in turn, asked Chloe what she thought about everything.
"I haven't seen Rowan since he went outside this morning, have you seen him?" Chloe asked, poking her head into Fergus's room. The otter was in the middle of setting up his bed, a half empty bottle next to him. The room reeked of alcohol.
"I'm 'fraid not lass," Fergus said as he picked up the bottle and took another swig. "He was s'sposed ta swing by and drink with me tonight, but the bastard plumb forgot, he did."
Chloe's nose crinkled as he drew close. He was used to Fergus's drinking, but she still didn't like the smell of it.
"Alright, I think I'm going to go look for him. It's getting late." Chloe replied, closing the door to escape the smell. However Fergus seemed to have other plans.
With a foot the otter stopped the door from closing and gave her the stink eye.
"Chloe," Fergus slurred as he pointed to her. "When are ya gonna confess to the lad?"
"Confess? You told me last time to act like the leader!" Chloe protested. "You said I needed to lay off or I'd scare him off!"
The drunk pokemon wagged a finger in her face.
"I said that...first part I did," Fergus reminded her. "But yeeeer the one that talked about runnin 'm off!"
"You also said you wouldn't meddle!" Chloe growled.
"Yeh well, that was then, this is now," Fergus retorted, swaying where he stood. "I changed my miiiind." Raising his hands a little, Fergus began to mimic her.
"I will have you Rowan!" Fergus mocked her. "Lass! Ya already half assed confessed to em!"
"Fergus, Shut up, you're drunk!" Chloe yelled before letting an exasperated sigh tear from her lips.
"Drunk or not, he makes a good point," Felix said from down the hallway, walking towards them. "If y'all are gonna be arguing this late, could you do it inside the room?"
"Sorry Felix," Chloe apologised. "Wait… what do you mean he makes a good point?"
Fergus mumbled something incoherently, vaguely waving towards the snake pokemon.
"Chloe, What this drunkard is trying to say is that you need to be up front with Rowan about this. I know you're trying to hint to Rowan that you like him in your own way, but it's honestly failing. It wouldn't surprise me if he thinks you're just being friendly, but I think he likes you too." Felix explained.
"And how would you know that? Last time I checked, you've been checked out on everything until your vacation is over," Chloe demanded, not believing him. The Servine leaned against the wall.
"How long have you known me?" Felix replied with a grin. "Pushing people's buttons and lounging around are kinda my strongest qualities."
"And you're worst ones," Chloe spat; Felix just shrugged her off.
"Whatever you want to think is kinda irrelevant, you need to talk to Rowan about this. The sooner the better, for both your sakes," Felix continued.
"Aye! Fer both yer shakes!" Fergus yelled loudly before falling backwards onto his back, stone cold asleep. Chloe shook her head at his sorry state.
"I saw Rowan going into your room a while ago," Felix grunted as he hefted Fergus's weight, putting the intoxicated pokemon to bed. "If I were you, I would stop putting this off and just tell him. Human or Pokemon, you're both adults. I'm sure you can figure this out."
"Fine," Chloe replied, deflated. Leaving Fergus in his care, she stomped away and headed to her own room. "But I can't spring this on him right now. He's got enough on his plate, just like us."
In her heart, she knew her comrades meant well so she couldn't stay mad at them. Getting her act together and acting like their leader was enough for the team in an official capacity, but their concern for her well being was touching to say the least.
Pressing her forehead onto the door, Chloe closed her eyes. Behind this door was the pokemon she cared for and more than anything she didn't want to ruin things between them. Despite this, a part of her wanted to charge into the room and take what she wanted. It was a struggle for her not to give into her baser instincts.
Summoning her courage, she pressed on the door's release and opened the door. Hesitantly she walked in and saw Rowan with his back to her, staring at his own reflection intensely.
"Hey Chloe," Rowan said, turning to face her. "Can we talk?"