Author's Note: Sorry for the slight delay, but I found the sixteenth chapter of "Leaf of Time" hard to write and didn't want to update only one of the stories. However, I still haven't been able to finish it, so I'm putting up "Silver" and will try to put "Leaf of Time" as soon as I do finish it. The good news is that I've finally got back to the point I was before in this story! It will be both easier and harder respectively to write the story from this point on. I chose to take Dennis out, for all you who read this before, because I chose to bring a different character in earlier, and the changed past of Jack wouldn't allow him. Instead, Jack's character has pretty much become a mixture of their personalities, though I hadn't planned that at first. This chapter actually turned out much longer than I had thought it would end up, but that's all the better for my readers I guess. Anyway, sit down, read, and enjoy. Oh, and review! -EeveeInHeat

Silver

- Chapter 16: A Third Addition -

Eve walked alongside Silver through the snow, still confused about his answer. She had prepared herself for either yes or no, but was slightly caught off guard by him asking her to wait. However, she was still relieved that he hadn't said no, at least yet.

With Silver seeming to be absentminded at the moment, Eve decided to try and help, looking around for some berry bushes. She was unsure how anyone could find them in all this snow, but she still tried. Then she realized the dune in the snow nearby meant something was under it.

Smiling as she figured it out, she started toward it. Silver seemed to automatically turn with her, deep in thought. How long would it be before he could decide? What would he say if she told him her true feelings about him?

Mentally sighing from all the other questions raging in her head, Eve started to bat at the mound, the now shaking branches throwing their snow off. She was glad to see that she had been right and that it was a berry bush, though she didn't recognize the fat, green fruit. However, they were still berries and the size of them was encouraging, though there were few that had been growing even before the cold had claimed some.

Besides her, Silver began to snap off a few branches, his movements still seeming to be automatic as he continued to think. Following his example, Eve tried to get as many berries laden branches as she could fit in her maw. Both of them now carrying berries, they headed back to the den, trudging through the snow.

As Eve fell into the routine of bringing back provisions to the den, she couldn't help but become anxious about the still silent Silver. Though he didn't appear as absentminded anymore, he still hadn't said anything. However, as they walked side by side, their sides touching, Eve felt herself calm down. Worrying wouldn't help anything.

Soon, Eve felt herself begin to tire from all the work. She was sure she should be able to go on longer than this, but she felt her limbs begin to tire as they methodically moved through the deep snow. However, determined to help Silver, she ignored it and continued on. She couldn't have been more relieved when they finally got back to the den with their last load for the day.

Putting the berries down on the pile, Eve mentally sighed as she saw that there were no sweet flavored berries still. She didn't let her disappointment show, though. She ate the few berries she picked quickly, trying to ignore the spicy taste to them. She had never been able to adjust to other berries, but she was willing to try. Silver had been trying hard, and it wouldn't be fair to be picky.

Finishing up her meal, Eve went over to her spot and curled up. As Silver laid down next to her, she wondered what his answer would be. She wanted him to give his answer then, but she stopped herself. He had been a wild Pokemon all his life. With only a few examples of humans, most of them bad, the choice was probably hard. She would just have to wait.

She inwardly sighed as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

(0)

Silver was the first to wake the next morning. As he glanced down at the still sleeping Eve, his thoughts immediately returned to the question. He knew she was waiting for him to tell her, but he was still trying to work up his courage again to tell her.

He stayed still and let her continue to sleep, knowing she would want to go out again. He knew she had been tired yesterday, so he wasn't about to wake her early. Instead, he contented himself with watching her sleep, wishing he wouldn't be so hesitant to tell her.

Silver's ears perked as he heard something coming from outside. After listening for a second, he confirmed that the sound was the crunching of snow as someone approached their burrow. The memory of the incident a few days again still in his mind, his neckfur instinctively rose and he had to suppress a growl.

Silver got up carefully, careful not to wake Eve. He slowly approached the entrance and looked out. He couldn't see anything from the angle, but he could hear someone outside.

"I'm sure that's a den now. I wonder if it's occupied. Don't kid yourself, of course it's occupied; look at all these prints. I wonder if they'll come out soon."

Suspicious, Silver slipped through the short tunnel and instantly got into an offensive stance outside, letting his fur bristle up to make him appear larger while baring his teeth to try and intimidate whoever it was.

Standing nearby, looking a little startled, was the Growlithe from before, recognizable by the large grin that was almost gone. After a few tense seconds, the Growlithe said, "Uh, h-hello."

Silver stopped his growling, but kept his hackles raised. He didn't reply, waiting for the Growlithe to continue.

"I . . . I was looking for some shelter. Could . . . could I possibly stay here?" it asked hesitantly, shuffling its paws in the snow.

Silver held back from answering, his mind immediately leaping to two different answers. On one paw, he enjoyed company and would love to make a new friend. Plus, someone else here would provide more protection.

However, he wasn't just about to invite a potentially dangerous Pokemon inside the burrow where it could easily get to Eve. Also, it was hard enough already to gather berries for two of them, let alone three Pokemon.

Letting his fur flatten, Silver sighed, feeling a little bad for his answer. "We're struggling with our provisions as it is," Silver said.

"Well, I can help gather food, I promise," it said enthusiastically, its tail wagging some.

True, Silver thought. However, there was still Eve. She had just gotten better from her sickness, and she was very trustful of other Pokemon. Silver paused as he remembered why she had gotten sick; they couldn't find a place to stay. If someone had been kinder and allowed them to stay somewhere, maybe Eve wouldn't have gotten sick.

"Silver? Is everything okay?"

Silver looked back to see Eve slowly coming out of the tunnel behind him, a curious look on her face. When she saw the Growlithe waiting anxiously, her fur bristled some, and she pressed against Silver some, her gaze not leaving the new Pokemon for a second.

Lowering his voice to confer with Eve, he explained. "This Growlithe is looking for some shelter, and he's willing to help gather berries. He didn't seem to have any ill motives. What do you think?"

Eve looked down at her paws, her slight frown showing her indecision. "Well, i-if you think it's okay, Silver," Eve said quietly.

Silver looked back up at the still nervously waiting Growlithe. "As long as you help to gather berries, then you can stay," Silver announced.

The Growlithe immediately let out a sigh, his hot breath forming a small cloud in the frosty air. "Thank you," the Growlithe replied happily, his tail really wagging now. Silver couldn't help but smile as the large grin reappeared on the Growlithe's face.

"I'm Silver, and this is Eve," Silver introduced.

"I'm Jack," the Growlithe replied.

Nodding, Silver turned and slipped back into the den, Eve quickly following him. Jack soon came in after them. "This is the den. We keep the stockpile over there. That's pretty much it," Silver said, the den suddenly seeming small.

Jack looked around for a second, before suddenly pointing at one wall. "What that black stuff?"

"Oh, that's . . . leftovers of our old berry pile. We got into a . . . situation a couple days ago," Silver said, skipping over the details.

"Okay, what's next?" Jack asked.

"Well, now we go and gather berries. Just gather as much as you can before nightfall and put them on the pile. And we'll have to hurry, for the berries will start going bad in just a few days," Silver instructed.

"Okay, then, I guess I'll go and start gathering," Jack said, going back out.

"Are you feeling up to go back out?" Silver asked, turning to Eve.

Eve nodded quickly. Though he was still slightly worried about her keeping up, he really didn't want her to stay until he knew more about Jack. He didn't want to distrust him, but he didn't want to put Eve in any unnecessary danger, either.

Heading outside, Silver saw that Jack had headed to the right. Wanting to cover more ground, Silver started off to the left, Eve coming up right next to him. Like before, she pressed against him as they walked through the cold snow.

As Silver paused to check the area for any possible bushes in the snow covered forest, Eve asked, "Uh, Silver? Are you sure about Jack?"

"Well, not completely," Silver admitted, "but he is willing to earn his keep. Also, I . . . I remembered how we had been looking for a shelter also. If someone had done the same for us, you might not have fallen into the river and gotten sick."

"Oh, yeah," Eve murmured, her hung head and lowered ears showing her guilt.

"Come on," Silver said, laying his tail across her back, "we need to get moving."

Nodding, Eve started walking again, still feeling bad about her doubt.

Heading off again, they started another day of endless searching and gathering. Though they didn't meet up with Jack, they could see the food he had gathered added to the pile. Silver though grew worried from each bush they found. More and more of the berries were bad from the cold, much more than Silver expected. By tomorrow, there might not be any left that were still good.

As Silver and Eve came back to the den with their last load, the sun was beginning to set. Silver jumped a little when he saw the Growlithe inside, before he recognized that it was Jack. "Hey guys," Jack said, noticing their entrance.

"Hey," Silver replied once he had set down the few berries they had found.

"Uh, when do we eat?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Now," Silver said, grabbing a few berries and sitting down. Eve grabbed a few and sat down beside him.

As they began to eat, Silver studied the stockpile, gauging how much they had. He was glad to see that they had gathered enough to last a few weeks if they rationed it out. By then, the short winter of this area would be over and new berries would begin to grow. They might just make it.

"So," Jack began as he ate his small meal, "how long have you two had this den?"

"We came here as winter started," Silver said, taking a bite of his berry.

Jack nodded and finished swallowing before he continued. "I've just been roaming around for a while. I started looking for some shelter when it began to snow. I didn't know it was so late in the year," he said sheepishly.

Silver grinned and continued eating.

After a moment of silence, Jack spoke up once again. "So, how do you two know each other? Are you two mates?"

Silver almost choked on the bite he was chewing. Hiding his reaction, Silver quickly swallowed so he could answer, seeing Eve too startled to speak beside him. "Uh, well, w-we're just friends. I'm helping Eve find her trainer," he explained, trying to see Eve's reaction out of the corner of his eye, but failing.

"Oh, I just thought you two would be with living together and such," Jack replied, a slightly confused look on his face.

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. As they finished, Eve went over to lie down in her spot. Silver paused, but saw that Eve was watching him, waiting for him. Though he felt a little self-conscious with Jack there, he went over and laid down next to her. Silver watched Jack look at them even more confused before lying down himself to sleep. Silver fell asleep, wondering if there would be any berries left to gather by tomorrow.

(0)

Like usual, Silver woke early. However, Eve also woke early as did Jack. With all of them awake, they decided to go out then in the morning light. Silver was worried about Eve, who appeared tired from so much work, but she seemed determined to go on.

The day started out bad with any bushes they found empty or completely frostbitten. By the time the sun had reached its zenith, they still had found no ripe berries. They finally stopped as they saw Jack nearby.

"Any luck?" Silver asked as they approached.

Jack shook his head sadly.

Silver sighed. "I guess the frost has finally taken the last of them then. It won't do much good to continue searching."

"I should have tried harder yesterday," Jack muttered.

"It's okay; we should have enough for the rest of the winter. Winter here doesn't last very long," Silver explained. "Let's just go back to the den and try to keep warm."

Jack nodded, and they went back to the den. Eve immediately sank down onto her spot, ready for the rest. They all sat in silence for a while, before Silver remembered his resolve to train. He was about to go out, when he thought of Jack. He could probably help, and Eve would stay calmer if he wasn't there when Silver was gone.

"Hey, Jack, can I talk to you? Outside?" Silver asked, snapping Jack back to the present.

"Huh? Oh, okay," Jack replied, a little confused.

As Silver headed toward the entrance, Eve looked up worriedly. "We'll be back soon," he promised.

Outside, Silver headed away from the den a little until he was sure he was completely out of hearing range. "Jack, do you know how to fight?" Silver asked.

Jack immediately became nervous. "Well . . . I-I don't like to admit it, but I was kind of bred to fight," Jack murmured quietly.

Silver was surprised, but that was all the better. "Could you possibly help me learn to fight better?" he asked.

"Why do you want to learn that?" Jack asked.

"Earlier, a Pokemon came into our den and attacked us, the reason our food pile was destroyed. I want to be able to fight better to protect Eve," Silver explained.

"Wait, I'm still a little confused about your relationship," Jack said.

Silver paused, but decided to tell him. "Well, I . . . I like Eve, but . . . I haven't told her, yet. I still don't know if she likes me as well," he admitted, looking down at his shuffling paws.

"She seems to like you," Jack replied.

"I don't know . . . Anyway, I need to get stronger so that I can protect her," Silver continued, making eye contact again.

"I'll teach you for that reason. I don't really like fighting at all, but you just want to protect someone else. First, let me clear an area. We can't practice on this snow," Jack said, motioning Silver to move.

Silver stepped away and gasped as the Growlithe suddenly let out a wave of flames at the snow. The snow quickly melted into large puddles in the new large clearing. Though the damp ground was muddy, it would still be better than trying to battle in the deep snow.

"Okay, what moves do you know?" Jack asked as they moved into the cleared area.

Silver paused, having not thought about it in a long time. "I know Tackle, Iron Tail, Helping Hand, and Sand-Attack."

Jack thought for a second before continuing. "Okay, come at me and show me your Tackle."

"Won't it hurt you?" Silver asked, hesitating.

Jack chuckled at the question. "I'm a trained battler. I can handle a Tackle."

Shrugging, Silver crouched down and gathered his power into his back legs. Finished, Silver launched himself at the Growlithe, only to be thrown to the side by a swift paw. Silver got up and shook off the snow he had fallen into.

Glancing up, he saw that Jack was watching with an amused smiled on his face. "Okay, we'll start with your power first. I saw that you didn't start to prepare until you had fully crouched."

Silver was a little confused, but nodded.

"If you gather your energy as you crouch, you can launch forward twice as fast and cut down the time needed to execute the attack," Jack explained. "Why don't you try it again that way?"

Silver nodded and went back to his starting position. Silver focused on the instructions for a second before trying it out, focusing his power as he began to crouch. Jack was right, as Silver found himself ready to leap so soon, that he wasn't prepared and the entire move was thrown off.

Slightly embarrassed, Silver picked himself up and tried it again. This time, he was ready and launched himself forward quickly. However, he was still suddenly swept away by a flashing paw, throwing him on his back.

"Next," Jack instructed as Silver got back up, "you charged in a straight line. Unless your opponent doesn't know you're there, coming straight on allows the opponent to batter you away easily or even counterattack. You need to swerve slightly to either side so that you can confuse the opponent. Feinting could also help if you can do it well enough."

Silver inwardly sighed, not knowing it would be this involved. However, he still got back to his spot and came forward in another Tackle, trying to implement what Jack had talked about. As he got close, he tried to feint to one side, but somehow, a paw flashed out of nowhere and flipped him on his side before he could make contact.

Huffing, Silver got back up, waiting for the next lecture. "That was better, but I could easily see through that feint. Also, you need to watch all of your opponent, not just the part you aim for. If you don't, your opponent can pull something that catches you off guard, just like I did. Do you want to try again?" Jack asked patiently.

Silver immediately nodded, still huffing a little from being flipped. It was starting to get annoying from being stopped so easily. He was now focusing more on at least just hitting Jack than practicing. Setting that as his goal, he ran at the Growlithe. He watched the fire type carefully as he closed in. However, he still had only a second's notice as Jack's paw rushed out and tripped him, making him land on his face.

Silver let out an annoyed sigh before getting back up. "You were watching too closely and not concentrating on the swerving part to allow you to dodge easier. Your focus cannot stay on just one part, but all of the variables of your attack," Jack explained.

Sighing, Silver took his position again. As he began to crouch again, he remembered his resolution; to be able to protect Eve. He would make sure he learned everything Jack had to offer in order to become better. As he began to charge again, he was prepared to work all winter if he had to.

(0)

Eve sat worriedly, wondering what was taking the two so long. It would only be a few more hours before the sun set. Eve got up and paced over to the entrance, checking to see if they were back. She was getting really concerned now. Silver had just got up and mysteriously left with Jack a long time ago. Had they gotten into trouble? Did they need help? Eve's thinking didn't help matters as her worry only grew.

Finally, she made up her mind to go check on them. Slipping out of the den, she studied the area. Silver's and Jack's old tracks went away farther into the trees. Eve quietly padded along their trail, wondering where they had gone. As she continued, she began to hear grunting nearby. Continuing more quietly, Eve crept up to see what was happening.

Eve gasped quietly as she saw Silver suddenly charge at Jack in a snow cleared circle. As Silver got close to Jack, Jack flipped Silver easily with a flick of his paw. Eve tensed, wondering why the two were fighting, when Jack let Silver get up and began talking. Though he wasn't speaking very loudly, Eve could tell the Growlithe was instructing Silver.

Why is Jack telling Silver how to fight? Eve wondered, still watching as Silver got into position again and continued to train against Jack. Why would Silver want to fight? As Eve continued to think, she remembered the recent fight with the Houndour. He had been beaten up by the intruder badly. Was he training so it wouldn't happen again?

At first, Eve thought that was it, until something else clicked. Silver's hesitance to choose his answer to her question, his reaction to Jack's question; was it because of her? Was he feeling weak because of her power? He hadn't seemed unsettled when she had saved him from his Cyndaquil friend, but now that he had actually seen her fight, was he feeling inferior?

Eve had been trained by her trainer a lot before she had been captured. Though he wasn't a traveling trainer like so many other humans, he still said she needed to be able to defend herself very well. However, all that training didn't mean a thing when she was taken away, chained up, and forced to do so many horrible things.

Eve shook her head to clear it from those disturbing thoughts. All that was in the past now, thanks to Silver. But was he acting so weird because she was stronger than him? She didn't think Silver would be like that, but why else was he training. Obviously, he believed he wasn't strong enough for some reason or other.

Was that why he hesitated about answering? Did he think he wasn't strong enough? Eve sighed, thinking it might just be true. She needed to tell him what she thought, that he didn't need to be powerful.

She paused as she remembered something though. All males had a sense of pride. Some had more than others, but they all still had some. Even her trainer had had pride in everything he did. If she tried to intervene, he might take offense. What should she do?

After a while of just crouching in the snow, Eve could come up with only one solution: let him continue. Maybe if he trained a while, he wouldn't feel bad anymore. Maybe he might go with her if he convinced himself he was stronger.

Sighing, Eve turned and trudged back through the snow to the den, suddenly feeling the cold of the snow. As she slipped back into the den, she wondered how long Silver would take before he stopped training. Even more on her mind, though, was how long would she had to wait for him to decide?