The two weaved through the tangled shrubs and mud, straining to hear if the sound came again. Upon reaching a tall and mighty oak, they paused beneath it and Musha shuddered. "Th-there's something close. I can feel it." Hina looked at her small friend and held him close to her chest. "It's okay," she whispered. "You stay here, then, out of the rain. Wait for me."

She strained to look up in the tree, but the sky was too dark and the downpour obscured her vision. But there's something there, she thought. "I'm going up." Before Musha could object, Hina had jumped and hoisted herself to the lowest limb, and begin to clamber up the trunk.

She had quickly made her way through about six feet of branches when she sensed something just a little above her; over the sound of the wind and rain she thought she could hear a soft sound…a whimper? And was that a faint shadow she saw just above her? Hina was beginning to regret coming up the tree more and more every second, and with all of her remaining courage summoned up a quivering "H-hello?"

A bolt of lightning suddenly lit the dark evening sky as if in response to her fear. And for less than a second, everything was bright; like a late spring morning. A few branches above her, a Pokémon huddled against the tree, its thick, curly tail wrapped around its drenched body. Upon hearing Hina's voice it had swerved its attention downward, and met her stare with frightened, amber eyes- until they vanished a second later as the lightning faded to black.

Hina's pulse quickened and she crouched against the bark, at a loss of what to do. Maybe she'd imagined it. It'd just been a short moment, it could have been a splash of color from anything, a disfigured branch…but as much as she wished it had been so, she couldn't forget those eyes. Real, wild eyes that she had never seen the likes of in her life, and full of a tense panic…

CRACK! A roll of thunder pursued the lightning's flight a few seconds later, with nearly as much force as the first. "Aaah!" Hina yelped, and she felt the tree shake beneath her feet; suddenly something plummeted down at her and the next second she too was falling from the heights of the large tree.

"Hina!" Musha cried out in alarm, and the little Munna tightened his focus with all his might to soften the impact of his friend's landing.

"Ohh-fff!" Hina covered her eyes before she hit the ground, expecting to crash and experience real pain…but she found her landing softened and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Musha, where would I be without you?" She gripped the soft grass thankfully, when she was greeted with a groan. "Get OFF of me."

Hina's froze instantly, her fingers coming loose from the "grass" she'd been pulling. Thin, silky blades of grass. Warm, too…and with a growing dread, Hina realized that the "earth" beneath her had a heartbeat. With a cry, she scrambled off and backward against the tree, breathing hard and eyes wide. Musha whisked down to her in frenzy, twitching all over.

"Hina! Hina! Are you alright? Are you hurt? What did you-" he turned his attention to the shape raising itself to a sitting position a few feet away. "Where did THAT come from?"

"THAT is the Pokémon you said would be up there," muttered Hina, standing up and putting up a defensive position. She could see the Pokémon a bit more clearly now, and cocked her head. She'd never seen one like it before, and was bubbling with curiosity; its body shape was very similar to hers' but somewhat stockier, with a much thicker tail.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Hina growled warily, taking a step forward. Was this creature a predator, lured here by their scent? Was it going to destroy everything she had put all her life into protecting….?

She wanted a better look at this strange Pokémon, which so far had made little to no movement other than sitting up…but it could be a trick. Taking another step, she peered into the cold night, ready to go on the defensive. She now could see its head was cast down and it was breathing hard, and holding its leg tight to its body.

"Leave me alone," the Pokémon growled, barely moving. Musha let out a whimper, but Hina frowned. The voice didn't sound as savage as the words indicated- rather, they seemed full of pain. She took another step forward so she was very close and knelt besides the stranger.

"Hina, come back!-"

"You're hurt." Hina stared at the newcomer matter-of-factly and then looked at his leg in his arms. He rose his head and glared at her, and again she saw the amber eyes. "And you're sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong," he snapped.

"Anywhere, anything, and everyone that's on this land is my nose's business," Hina shot back, not understanding his temper. "And that includes you. So you better come with me." She rose back to her feet and extended a hand.

The Pokémon looked up at her for a moment, eyes wide, then he let out a strained laugh. "Haha! Oh wow, you really had me going there for a minute there. I'm sorry, but I can't afford to play Nurse Audino right now. I'm fine and stayin' put right here." He slowly laid his leg down flat with a pained smirk. "See? All good here." He grimaced.

Hina stared at him with confusion. Since when would anyone refuse shelter and help? She'd been right from the beginning, wild Pokémon were absolutely crazy. A few miles away, another sound of thunder boomed. "Fine," Hina said after a moment, "You just stay here, under the tree where lightning strikes, until the rain is over. Whenever that may be." She whipped her hair behind her face and turned her back to him. "Come on, Musha. We are going home for a nice meal and bed. If he wants to get electrocuted, let him."

She didn't need to turn around to know she had him eating out of the palm of her hand. She'd seen how he shivered in his drenched fur coat, and cringed at the barrage of raindrops that continued to pelt him.

"Hold on, sister. I don't want to catch a cold or anything out here, so…I'm going to take you up on that for an hour or so," He struggled to get up but yelped in pain. Hina sighed. "Musha, I'm going to need your help here…"

Fifteen minutes later the three managed to trek their way through the forest and to an enormous, daunting tree, a large hollow at its base. Against the stranger's protests, Hina helped him walk the way without damaging his leg. Musha floated behind, nervous as usual, and finally they all sat themselves in the warm, dry crevice of the tree walls. The rain was still going fairly strong, but Musha's pale glow served as a nightlight in the dark space.

Leaning against the bark, Hina noted that indeed her guest looked quite a lot like her- he was red in appearance, with a cream colored belly and curly locks of hair. His fur was still dripping with water, and when he noticed her looking, he shook himself off fiercely.

"Hey!" Musha yelled indignantly.

"Hey yourself," he retorted in an exhausted voice. Now inside and out of the elements, he seemed much more at ease, and he began to let his fatigue show.

"How much provisions do we have left?" Hina turned to Musha, whom burrowed into the back of the hollow and returned with two small Oran Berries.

"There are only a few more left," he said apologetically. "We really didn't have many to store before last winter, Hina."

"It's a good thing spring is on it's way then," Hina smiled, despite her growing unease. But if it's not a plentiful harvest, we may end up starving… Musha nodded vigorously and dug into his berry eagerly. Hina turned to her visitor, who watched them curiously despite his annoyance. "Here." She handed him the berry.

He looked at her palm in mild surprise and then up at her face. He scowled. "No thanks."

Oh, here we go again, Hina sighed. "This will help you. At least a little. It's my fault you're hurt."

"Eh-eh-eh!" the red Pokémon interrupted her, wagging his finger. "Now see, what you're doing, is speculating. Speculating that you're responsible for my injury when in fact it was something much more exciting and more dangerous than what a cute little thing like you could have done. Second, who's to know that will help me? Maybe I don't like Oran Berries. Maybe I'm allergic to them!" He crossed his arms. "Eat it yourself."

Hina rolled her eyes. "Oh, really. Tell me then, how did you manage to break your leg in two different places?"

"How else do you figure?" he groaned restlessly, leaning back against the wall. "I got stuck in a messy battle." He looked her way and managed a grin. "But you should have seen the other guy."

"Battle?" Hina furrowed her brow. This guy just keeps bringing up weirder and weirder things. "Why would you be battling to begin with?" She recalled her old life, living with her Master in harmony, who endlessly told her how battles should be avoided.

The Pokémon's expression fell, and he looked at her oddly. "Why battle? What do you think? To show them who's boss! Now they know whom they're messin' with! " He pounded his chest with his fist, a fire in his eyes that hadn't been there before, but cringed as he struck with more force than meant. Then he glanced back at her. "Huh…I'm actually surprised it didn't come to that with you earlier."

Hina took a step back, startled. "Me? Battle? N-never!" The stranger slowly sneered knowingly at her and she began to feel nervous. Maybe this had all been a very bad idea.

"Ahh, don't worry about it," he chuckled coolly, eyeing her, "I don't fight girls." He returned to reclining and let out a long sigh. After a moment Hina felt she could relax, and came close again, still holding the berry.

"What's your name?" she asked abruptly, hands behind her back and leaning forward. He didn't seem like a threat, but there was something about him that was off.

He snorted a laugh and shook his head. "Name? If you're meaning what everyone calls me, I guess that would be Simisear…not that it particularly matters to me."

"Simisear…" Hina searched her memories, knowing she'd heard that word before…and then it hit her. The Master's Pokédex had contained the names of all Pokémon species, with her own included. She held back a laugh. "That's, um…very original. For someone like you." She hadn't realized that as a wild Pokémon, they would never be blessed with a special nickname given by a trainer.

He looked her over suspiciously. "You're making fun of me."

"N-no!" Hina exclaimed, waving her hands emphatically. "It's fine!" She took a step back in embarrassment. "I'm Hina," she said with an awkward smile. "And this is Musha. I'm sorry you got caught in that thunderstorm, Simisear. And I'm sorry for your leg." She motioned at it and frowned. How could wild Pokémon enjoy being hurt?

Simisear snorted. "Hina? Now that's a weird name." He turned away with a sniff. "And honestly my leg doesn't hurt that much. I'm just a bit cold from the rain… and wet. Rain is wet."

Hina bit her lip self-consciously. If only it weren't so cold in the cave… "I can go get some dry branches to build a fire. Or some of the old autumn leaves for you to bundle in…" But even as she was speaking she saw a light dawn in Simisear's eyes and a grin flicker across his face. "What-?"

"No wood needed," he said, and he rubbed his hands together. "I'll do it myself." He took a deep breath and then exhaled a small stream of fire. Musha cried in alarm and lunged behind Hina, who stood open mouthed in surprise.

"I didn't know you were a fire type Pokémon!" she breathed as Simisear held the small fireball to his chest, a look of contentment spreading over his face. "Then that rain must have-"

"What do you mean, you didn't know?" he asked, "You couldn't tell by my fiery charm? And I told you before, I can handle myself." The ball of flame brushed his fur but didn't singe it; rather, it seemed to blow against it, glowing faintly, spreading tangible warmth through the hollow. Then he looked up again. "Hey. Do you still have that last berry?"

She nodded and handed it over, hoping he would eat it to relieve some of her guilt. He took it in one hand while the other balanced the small ember, and then to her surprise he winked at her. "Watch this." He tossed the berry into the center of the flame.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Hina cried out much louder than she meant to. She rushed up to him. "There are hardly any left, and you're incinerating it-?"

But even as she was still yelling his hand withdrew from the flame and the berry came out, warmed and roasted, losing some of its shape but looking as delicious as ever.

"This is the only real way to eat an Oran Berry," Simisear said, grinning at her, eyes gleaming dangerously. "You haven't lived until you've tried it this way." Watching her stare, mouth still slightly ajar, he tore the berry in half and tossed one side her way. "Eat it." He opened his mouth and dropped the meal down the hatch with a satisfied growl.

Hina exchanged a look with Musha (whom, as usual, was shaking his head fervently with the logic it must be poisoned), and slowly rose it to her lips. It smelled delicious and her stomach rumbled- a nostalgic scent of berry pies from long ago filled her, and quickly she gobbled the berry up. She knew instantly Simisear had been right- this way tasted infinitely times better. "Mmm…"

"What did I tell you," Simisear said, looking smug. "A little warmth goes a long way…although, I suppose that was a bit more than a little. Maybe a lot. Who's counting." Hina's ears pricked and she looked at him with a sudden interest.

"Say that again."

He looked at her, startled by her sudden change of tone, and cocked his head. "What? A bit more than a little?"

"No! 'A little warmth goes a long way!'" Hina was suddenly excited, and began to bounce on the balls of her feet, a smile spreading across her face. "Ohhhh, you've just given me an idea!" Musha stared at her in concern, maybe the berry really had been spiked with something…

"Are you going to stop the Teeter Dance and tell me what you're talking about?" Simisear demanded, his fireball at last dissipating between his paws.

"You!" Hina cried out, beaming at him as she pranced to his side. She knelt at his side and grabbed his arm. "Youyouyouyouyou, YOU have the element of fire!"

"We went over that a few minutes ago-"

"Which means you have the ability to partially control climate! To control sunlight!" Musha let out an "oooh" of understanding and Simisear swiveled to stare at him in question. Hina continued, "I'm a water type! I can somewhat control the rain, and the fronts in the immediate area!" She clasped her charm and showed it to Simisear, whose eyes lit up instantly. "I have an obligation to protect this garden, and I want to restore it to its former glory. And you, Simisear, are going to help me. In exchange, you can stay here and I'll take care of you."

His eyes shifted from the charm to her face. "Wait….what?"

"It's no wonder the plants have hardly been growing, and why the winters have been so harsh! There's no sunlight! There hasn't been a warm day here in years!" She was positively ecstatic now. Simisear scooted back quickly as far as his injured leg would allow.

"Woah, woah, woah, girl," he objected, "Yeahh…that sounds fun and all, but see, I've got places to go and things I wanna do. I have better things on my to-do list than playing fixer-upper." Hina opened her mouth to respond, but said nothing. Her face fell and the energy seemed to seep out of her body. Simisear grimaced, feeling almost bad for shooting down her joy so harshly, but seriously, who did this girl think she is-?

"You really don't have a choice!" a voice snapped, and Musha zipped up to him, a rage coming over his normally fearful character. He wasn't going to just sit and watch this ungrateful snob walk all over his best friend! "Let's see you try and leave with a broken leg."

"Musha!" Hina cried out, a hand to her mouth. Simisear's face fell and he leered at Musha, whom returned it just as hostilely. You have to hand it to him, though, Hina thought, fighting a smile behind her hand, he had a valid point.

"My. Leg. Is. Fine." Simisear snarled through clenched teeth, his tawny eyes blazing. "And it most certainly doesn't need no 'takin' care of'."

"So fine that you need to impose upon us, eat all our food, and take up all our sleeping space-" Musha was cut off by Hina, who grabbed her small friend and covered his mouth just in time to back him away from Simisear, whom had smoke billowing out through his fangs.

"Hey, it's late," Hina changed the subject. "Guys, let's all just hit the sack, okay?" She faked a long, dramatic yawn. "Wow, I'm tired. It's been a looong day. So calm down. Guys. Please?"

Simisear glared at her and Musha for a few more seconds, then grunted and rolled over to face the wall. "Fine by me." He curled his long, thick tail around his body and tucked his head between his paws, his leg still lying out awkwardly. Musha slowly stopped shaking in anger and the glow around his body dimmed drastically. Hina and Musha watched the newcomer quietly in the dark for a few moments until his breathing became soft and quiet.

"Finally he shut up," Musha said bitterly. Hina followed him to the opposite side of the hollow and sat down in exhaustion. She smiled tenderly at her friend. "I haven't seen you so worked up in a long time."

Musha flushed, seemingly embarrassed, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hina, but there's just something about that guy. He doesn't seem right. And he's way too arrogant." He floated up and nuzzled her. "You know I don't trust wild Pokémon."

Hina sighed. "Well, we're going to have to trust him. We need his help, Musha." Musha closed his eyes and nodded sulkily. Then he looked up at her.

"I don't think he really broke his leg in a battle," he whispered. His cheeks continued to burn and he cast his eyes downward.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Hina asked, stroking her friend curiously. But he shook his head and said no more. Hina cast a glance at Simisear's sleeping shape, and let out a sigh. She was becoming tired herself, and as the sound of rain pattered outside, she began to drowse.