Chapter 21: Storm Clouds

Bryce awoke the next morning with Violet snuggling up close to him, still asleep. He didn't bother to move. She looked like a sleeping angel. Leaning forward, he kissed her snout softly. Violet awoke, looking up at him with her purple eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

She slowly sat up, smiling. "It's fine. If there was any way to wake up, it would be like that." She yawned, her fangs showing.

"First I said your tail was cute, now your fangs? I must be crazy." Bryce said aloud.

Putting a paw on his cheek, she smiled and kissed him. "…or just really in love."

"That too." He laughed. Violet held him closely, still leaning against his chest. He looked into the cloudy sky and dense landscape. Turning to Violet, he asked, "Want to just stay here?"

"What?"

"You know, just stay here for the rest of the day."

She giggled. "I don't know how you're never bored sitting here all day."

"Oh, I was never one to be constantly bored. I always found something to do or think about. I don't need anything but you." He said sweetly.

"I wish most people were as nice as you."

"Believe me; I'm not near as great as you are."

Violet slowly got up. "I wish I could stay here all day, but I promised I'd visit my parents today."

Nodding, Bryce rose as well. "All right. I'll see you later then."

Violet walked away, heading back to her valley. Bryce took his usual walk. Ever since he started living here, he took daily walks. Usually he spent a long time walking, and his legs were getting stronger. He took a different route from his usual one, watching all of the Pokémon wake up and began to eat. As the path took a winding route, he noticed a small pond where several Magikarp and Lotad were swimming. There was also a Starly on the ground, breathing heavily. Bryce walked over to help it. As he approached, it froze and stared at him.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to help."

The Starly lowered its head, signifying it was okay for Bryce to come nearer. He bent down and looked at its wing. It was bleeding and appeared to be strained. He looked up at the tree above it. Once he saw what happened, Bryce winced. A clump of feathers were on a fork. The Starly had torn its wing while flying through the tree.

"Star?" the bird asked.

"Yes, I can help, but I have to take you back to my camp. Is that okay?"

"Starly." The bird nodded.

Bryce scooped the Starly up carefully and began to walk back to the area where all of his stuff was. He brought a small emergency kit just in case. It wasn't Pokémon medicine, but it was better than nothing. The Starly's eyelids drooped, but would open again.

"Go ahead, rest. It'll conserve your energy." Bryce said.

The Starly nodded off, resting its head against Bryce's shoulder. A few minutes later, he reached the camp and gently set the bird on his sleeping bag. Leaning over, he reached the first aid kit and opened it. Some of the packets were different, with pictures of PokéBalls on them. It became apparent after more searching through the kit that they were designed for Pokémon. Facing towards the Starly again, he noticed it was watching him intently.

"This might sting a little." Bryce spoke softly, spraying the wound with an anti-bacterial. The Starly closed its eyes, expecting more pain. However, it never came. It opened its eyes again, looking up at Bryce.

"No pain?"

It shook its head "Star."

"Good." He said, bandaging the wound carefully. The Starly slowly moved its wing back and forth, testing if it would move around. The sprain was better, but still there. "You might want to stay here for a while." Bryce suggested. The Starly nodded. It hopped into his lap as Bryce leaned against the wall of smooth rock. He watched the darker clouds cover the sky. Hopefully no rain would come. While he did have a place to stay dry, he didn't want Violet to walk back in the rain. She was taking a while. What was keeping her?

Bryce didn't realize that it had been two hours of staring at the sky until he checked his watch. Violet was right, it seemed that time was always flying by without him noticing. He rose up from his position and carefully assessed the Starly's wing.

"It looks a lot better; how does it feel Starly?"

"Star!" The bird chirped happily. It glowed in a white light and began to change shape completely. Once the light dimmed, the Starly was much bigger and its wing was fully healed, the bandages gone.

"Staravia." Bryce said. The Pokémon had evolved right in front of him. He couldn't help but smile.

"Star." The bird nodded, flying around him. It seemed it needed to go back.

"You know the way?" Bryce asked.

"Staravia." The bird nodded, flying in the direction it came from. Bryce watched it cut through the air as if it was a dolphin swimming through water.

"Seems like you really are a nice guy." A voice spoke from behind him. Bryce turned to see Rio. He looked weary.

"What are you doing here?"

He sighed. "I'm just gonna say it. Violet and I are…getting married."