Author's Note: And time to end the cliffhanger. Thanks for the reviews everyone! Anyway, I've finally caught up to the already written chapters, though numerally I'm a whole chapter ahead. Must have been where I split chapter five and six into parts. Still, though, I've got to change several parts about them with newer details and a few major changes, so I'm probably going to stay at this regular schedule I've got going so far. -EeveeInHeat

Silver

- Chapter 13: Cold -

Silver's heart stopped for a second when Eve suddenly dunked into the water as the ice gave way beneath her. Without a second thought, Silver leapt in after her. His body immediately tried to stop from the shock of the icy water hitting him, much colder than the outside weather. He barely kept himself from gasping for a breath, knowing he wouldn't survive if he did. His body was tossed a little as he took a second to reorient himself.

The water threw him around from its strong current. Silver waved his paws around, trying to swim in the raging water, but his struggles were almost useless. He barely knew how to swim before, and he was way too inexperienced to swim in this current.

Remembering his objective, Silver opened his eyes, though they stung from the freezing water. A little farther down river, Silver saw a bundle of brown being dragged away, a few bubbles coming off it. It had to be Eve.

Silver desperately tried to start moving toward her his legs wildly swinging to try and control his movements. When his body's course was barely changed, he tried harder, though still to no success. As he began to want to breathe, Silver started concentrating on holding his breath, his legs started to move on instinct. Soon, his body actually started moving more to his will, and he slowly started to move toward the flowing brown body that was Eve.

Silver's lungs were starting to burn as he finally reached her, though he was distressed to see no more air bubbles coming from her. Bubbles rushed out of his mouth as Silver latched onto what he hoped was her mane.

As Silver continued to hold his desire to take in air, his instinctive padding brought him toward the closest bank he could find. Silver's lungs were really started to burn now, black appearing on the edge of his vision, as he finally reached a side. The current was weak here, allowing him to stay mostly stationary with his paws barely touching the bank.

Silver tried to move up, but the ice blocked him from escaping. Silver's mind raced as his vision continued to fade. How would they get past the ice? Taking the first idea that came, Silver spun in the water, his tail glowing as he gathered energy into it. His Iron Tail broke it with a muffled crack, the ice flying out and away.

Desperate and weak, Silver kicked up through the hole, scrabbling at the edge to pull himself up. His vision was almost completely black before he pulled Eve fully out. Letting go of her mane, Silver gasped as he finally took in a breath.

As his body tried to get in as much oxygen as possible, he almost lost his grip, but found a slight traction with the frost to keep his paws still. After a few more struggling gasps, Silver pulled himself out of the freezing river with about seven pounds of extra weight in water absorbed into his fur. The air seemed even colder as it hit his wet skin, making him instantly shiver.

Silver's teeth were chattering a little as he looked over for Eve. She was splayed out on the ice nearby. Quickly, Silver grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her to the bank. Though her back end was dragging along the ice, he did not stop until he was sure they were off the ice river.

Silver gently put Eve down, panting as he had not fully recovered his breath. He looked Eve over, her fur completely flattened with the soaking. Worried she might have swallowed water, Silver came up to her and moved her onto her back. Though he had only been taught rudimentary lessons about swimming, he knew that he needed to get any water Eve had swallowed out so that she could breathe.

Silver placed his paws on her stomach and gently but quickly thrust down. Eve heaved and some water was spat out. Encouraged, Silver repeated the process until Eve stopped coughing up water. After checking to make sure she was breathing, Silver moved his thought process to the next step, taking everything one at a time.

When he noticed the cold again, and that snow was still falling, Silver realized they needed shelter now, or they would freeze, especially while they were drenched. Silver looked around frantically and saw a tree nearby that might provide a little shelter.

Silver grabbed Eve by the scruff again and started to drag her over the snow to the tree. He tried but failed to keep Eve off the snow, so they left a wide trail behind as he pulled her through the ever rising snow.

It seemed like an eternity before he finally reached the large tree with the little protection it would provide. His sides starting to shiver from the cold, Silver headed between two roots to settle down.

As Silver stepped forward, he suddenly stumbled as the snow gave way. Holding Eve tightly, he started to panic as he continued to fall past the ground. Finally, Silver hit some ground, Eve next to him. Once the snow had settled, Silver sat up and blinked open his eyes.

He gasped as he saw he was in a small burrow underneath the tree. It had been mostly dug out, part of the walls and ceiling made of the roots of the tree. The burrow was more than large enough for both him and Eve, the ceiling high enough for him to stand with his ears up. It seemed just like the perfect shelter.

Pausing, Silver remembered that the den might already be taken. Raising his nose, Silver took in the air deeply, almost sneezing from a small amount of dust. Silver's tail tiredly wagged as he found no other scents beside earth and roots. They had finally found a place to stay.

Silver turned around and saw that the entrance was a small, short tunnel that had been hidden by the snow. Though it was much warmer inside the den, it was still cold, and getting colder as the open entrance allowed the air in.

Shivering, Silver picked Eve up and pulled her to the farthest wall away from the entrance to keep her in the warmest part. Finally safe with a good shelter, Silver allowed himself a moment to rest a little.

After slowing his rapid heartbeat and catching his breath, Silver realized they were both still drenched. Worried about the shivering Eve, he leaned down and started to lick her fur dry, making sure to go the wrong way to fully dry it and keep her as warm as possible. Though he normally would have been uncomfortable doing it, he only thought about making sure she was warm and safe. Even with this thought, he still stopped before rolling her over, too self-conscious to touch her there.

Now that Eve was mostly dry, Silver began to dry himself off. By the time he had finished, he was growing extremely tired by all the sudden exertions. The light had also heavily darkened as night began to set in. His eyelids already drooping, he suddenly paused as he wondered if he should lay next to Eve.

He immediately made his decision when Eve shivered. Curling up next to her, he laid close enough for their fur to touch to help keep her warm, his tail laying over her. He instantly fell asleep from exhaustion.

(0)

Silver woke up with Eve pressed closer to him than the night before. Easing slowly away, Silver got up and stretched his aching muscles. Now that he had had some rest, he began to plan what to do next.

Now that they had a stable shelter, the next objective was stockpiling some food. Most berries had a week at most before they all shriveled from the cold weather. If they were going to get enough for winter, he would need to start gathering food now.

Glancing back to check on Eve, Silver headed over to the entrance. Silver poked his head out the den to look around. The snow had stopped, the sun now out. However, the sun's rays would not be melting the sun anytime soon. The snow was now about six inches high, shocking him by touching his belly as he came out.

Looking around, Silver headed for the first mostly covered bush he saw. Going over to it, Silver brushed the snow off. Not really noting what the berries were, Silver leaned in to snip off a few berries. He paused as he realized he would have to make several trips. Thinking quickly, Silver instead snapped the branch off, carrying twice as many berries than he could before as he headed back to the den.

Silver came down and placed the berry branch down to the side. He glanced at Eve before going for some more berries. He continued to work as quickly as he could, glad that the den was still staying much less cold than the outside. Eve stayed asleep in the same position as before each time Silver checked her, making him slightly worry.

Silver rested slightly as he placed another berry branch on the growing pile. When he was outside, he could tell it wouldn't be long before the sun would begin to set. The day was almost over, but Eve was still not awake.

Worried, Silver headed over to her and placed a paw on her. Thankfully, she was warm . . . not even slightly cold. Leaning down, Silver was worried to see her breathing was slightly faster than it should be. Something had to be wrong.

Trying not to panic, Silver wondered what he could do. Eve shouldn't be this warm for no reason. But what could he do? I need some help, Silver decided.

Checking on Eve one last time, Silver slipped back out into the white forest. Unsure where to go, Silver went to the river, using it as a guide so he wouldn't get lost. He was about to head downstream, when he saw a strange lump on snow on top of the river nearby. Though against the bank, it was too far out to just be snow.

Approaching it, Silver saw that it was actually a large den made of sticks and logs. Any ice near the wooden den was broken, allowing Silver to once again see the sinister river. Ignoring the water, Silver went up to the den.

He paused, unsure how to get their attention, when he finally just called out, "Hello?"

He waited a moment before hearing a quiet splash. He was startled when a head suddenly popped up out of the water and glared at him. With a brown furred hear, the paler fur shooting up around its eyes and the almost black snout, the still most startling feature was the large teeth outside its mouth. "What is it ye want?" the Bibarel asked.

"S-sir, I have a f-friend that I think something is w-wrong with," Silver started.

"We can't help ye, so go away," the Bibarel said, about to dunk under the water.

There was another splash, before a second Bibarel appeared, this one looking much friendlier. "Honey, we can still tell how to help his friend," she said, a motherly tone in her voice. Her head turned to face Silver, and she said, "What's wrong with her?"

"I-I'm not sure. She's really warm and taking deeper breathes than normal. Yesterday, we were outside a lot and accidently fell in the river," Silver said.

The motherly Bibarel paused, before nodding. "She may have a cold. Try to get her to eat some Oran berries, they should help her recover. Also, she'll need plenty of rest," the Bibarel explained.

"Thank you so much," Silver called as he turned to go, seeing she was done. The Bibarel nodded in response and went back under the water.

Silver dashed back to the den eager to help Eve. Inside, Eve was still asleep, her breathing still deep. Silver quickly went through the small pile of berries and pulled out every Oran berry he found. They had four in total, so he would need to make them count.

Silver paused as he realized Eve needed to wake up to eat them. He needed to get her the Oran berries now, not when she woke. Coming up with an idea, Silver brought the Oran berries over to Eve. Carefully, Silver punctured one side of an Oran berry with his teeth. Placing it over Eve's mouth, Silver slowly squeezed the berry, allowing the juice to drip down into her maw. After a little, Silver stopped to tilt Eve's head back, sighing with relief when she instinctively swallowed the juice.

Silver continued the slow process until he had completely squeezed out two Oran berries. Placing the others to the side for later, Silver checked Eve's head. She was still running a fever, but Silver hoped the Oran berries would start to work soon.

Unsure if he should, Silver hesitantly laid down beside Eve. Her body was warm against his, another thing to make him worried. Out of habit, Silver laid his tail over her. Realizing too much warmth may be bad for her, he went to pull it off. However, Eve suddenly scooted slightly closer to him, though she was still asleep.

Sighing, Silver left his tail over her and tried to sleep. It was a while before sleep came, though. His thoughts were running around in his head, preventing him from relaxing for a long time. Finally, though, he was able to fall into an uneasy sleep.

(0)

Eve slowly woke, her head hurting slightly from a headache. Her first thought was on how she was starting to sweat a little, though she didn't feel that warm. Her second thought was on how she felt something pressed against her tightly, while something else draped over her.

Enjoying the warm, Eve tried to huddle against whatever it was. Eve held her breath when the thing began to move. Her cheeks lit up when she realized it had been Silver next to her. She kept her eyes down as he got up, unable to meet his eyes.

"You're awake," Silver said, sounding extremely relieved. "How do you feel?"

"A-a little s-sick," Eve murmured, still slightly embarrassed.

Eve looked up when Silver suddenly put two large, blue berries in front of her. "Here, I was told these Oran berries should help you get better," he explained.

When she looked at the berries, she suddenly realized how hungry she was. "Thanks," she murmured, before quickly eating the two berries. She felt much better once she had consumed both, and sat up. Looking around, Eve saw that they were in what appeared to be a small den. "Where are we?" Eve asked.

"I found this burrow by accident, but no one was using it, so I brought you here," Silver explained.

Wondering how she missed this, she tried to remember what had last happened. We were crossing the river, and then something happened . . . a loud crack . . . I fell in! Eve suddenly remembered. "What about the river? How did I-" Eve stopped as she looked at Silver. "Did you pull me out?"

Silver nodded, though he didn't meet her eyes.

"I-I don't know what to say. Thank you, Silver," Eve said, still stunned.

"Uh, you're welcome. I'll go get you something water," he replied, adding the last part quickly.

As he went out the small tunnel, Eve laid back down. He saved my life, Eve thought slowly. Why would he risk his for mine? Eve wondered, watching the entrance. Eve suddenly blushed as she then realized she was dry after the whole ordeal.

Before she could speculate more, Silver reappeared, a piece of ice in his jaws. He placed it down in front of her and sat down. Eve only realized how thirsty she was when she started lapping at the melting chunk of ice. Though the ice melted quickly, Eve was still able to quench most of her thirst with it.

"I'm going to go collect some more berries. I'll be close if you need something. Try to rest," Silver said, before going back out.

Eve watched him until he was fully gone, her heart fluttering for some reason. Am I . . . am I starting to love him? I-I can't; he's my friend and wouldn't want that . . . would he? Eve covered her head as she tried to stop her thoughts, but they still continued. We couldn't be anything; I'll going with my trainer. But . . . if he comes with me, maybe we could- No, he wouldn't want to be captured, right? Eve sighed as the unanswerable questions flew through her mind. I need to ask him if he will, Eve finally thought, putting the other thoughts aside.

Tired, Eve curled up and went to sleep.

(0)

Silver came in one last time, the berry branch dragging behind him. After working the whole day, the growing pile was finally starting to put hope into Silver. At this rate, they would be able to make it. He was extremely thankful of all the nearby bushes.

Sitting the berries down on the pile, Silver went to check on Eve. She had fallen asleep again, though it appeared to be a more peaceful sleep. Checking her forehead, Silver was relieved that Eve's fever had dropped some; she was starting to get better.

With Eve getting better, a growing stockpile of food, and a protective den to keep the cold out, things were finally starting to look up. Silver sighed contentedly and laid down next to Eve. As he placed his tail over her, he wondered how he could tell her how he felt. However, he knew he would be waiting at least until she was healthy once more.

Enjoying the feel of Eve beside him and the knowledge that she was getting better, Silver quickly fell asleep.