Fanfic net acting weird over the weekend, delayed the update. Going to be starting weekly Saturday updates now!

With no more silly Legendary Pokémon chasing, the next couple of days could go much smoother for Milo. Even though their pace was already on the slower side, things finally felt more leisurely than stress-inducing. So long as they didn't venture out too far or poke any mythical ancient ruin-like structures, everything would probably be fine.

It hadn't even been that long since Milo had hung up his adventuring life, yet it felt like it'd been an eternity since he'd actually gone out exploring and roughing it like this. Guess a few months of warmth and comfort at home does that to you.

The path they followed today was much nicer than yesterday, with the wide-open walking space as they trailed by the riverside. Without the strain of pushing through thickets, Clara's attention was glued to the terrain around them instead, drinking in the sights.

Milo felt an arm tug on him and turn his head towards the river. "Oh my god, Milo, look, Wishiwashi! Look at all of them!"

"Yeah? It's just a school of them."

"What do you mean 'yeah'? Look how many there are! I've never seen so many Pokémon in my life!"

Milo chuckled to himself. He'd almost forgotten for a moment that Clara hadn't really seen many Pokémon outside of the city. Nothing against droves of Pidove or Trubbish, but Milo was more a fan of other types of Pokémon. Not everyone had been given the chance to adventure like he had. Plus, he'd been barraged with bedtime stories as a kid about everything to do with the Pokémon world from his- well, never mind.

"You should see them when they fight. Thousands of them, somehow acting as one."

"For real? Go fight them, Milo!"

"Very funny."

Milo laughed as Gigi turned and stuck her tongue out at the notion.

As they continued, Milo hadn't expected to go full tour guide mode, but it was fun yapping about all the various Pokémon that they passed by. He didn't have his Pokédex with him anymore, but he was familiar enough with most of the Pokémon they encountered: everything from the nearly inanimate Lotad to the singing flocks of Pikipek. Clara's gaze never unfocused, locked in as if they were glued to the screen of a nature documentary.

After half a day's worth of hiking, Milo picked up on the faint sounds of crashing water ahead. "Oh, I almost forgot the river opens up into some falls. We should almost be at the cliffside."

"Cliffside? Um… is it safe?" Clara asked, slowing her pace.

"There's no railings if that's what you're asking." Milo replied with a cheeky smile. Realizing it probably wasn't the best time for a joke, he quickly added, "We'll be fine. We just won't get too close, yeah?"

Milo took Clara's hand, squeezing it slightly. Turning her head away, she nodded slightly and the two continued on. Before long, they'd reached the falls themselves. The cliff drop itself wasn't massive, but the view opened up to a vivid tapestry of bright green below. The sound of the water rapids were far more apparent now, acting as a gentle background to the unfolded scene.

Seeming to have already forgotten the warning, Clara's eyes grew wide as she stepped forward. Before she got too far, Milo caught her arm. "Not too close, remember?"

Clara gave a small nod, and the two approached together. Milo scooped up Gigi to give her a better view too. While gazing out at the seemingly endless jungle below, the air itself smelled less of dank vegetation, and more of the fresh open air that hung high above in the skies. The occasional bird Pokémon could be made out faintly above the tree canopies.

Milo's eyes were darting around at the scene below them. It really had felt like forever since he'd actually gone out and done something like this. For a moment, he almost regretted never truly visiting this place before. There was certainly a sort of… hard to describe charm about the place.

"Yo, Milo? You in there?" Clara waved her hands in front of Milo's face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Wha-? Oh, sorry. Kinda spaced out."

"Ya don't say?" Clara turned back towards the valley, gazing out longingly. "I don't blame you though. How many people do you think have even seen this place?"

"Probably not a ton. Good pick, Clara."

"Tooold you! Man, but we can barely see the falls from here; we're way too close!"

"I'm pretty sure if we follow the cliffside, it curves outwards a bit. We could probably get a better view of the falls from there."

Clara turned with a vigorous nod, "Mm, sure!"

Continuing along the cliffside, Milo couldn't help but lose himself staring out beyond. While the scenery was admittedly beautiful enough on its own, there was something else there that Milo couldn't quite put his finger on. His eyes kept jumping around, trying to figure out what exactly was so enthralling. It felt like there was something about this place that was beyond logical comprehension – something mythical. And it made his heart thump like nothing else.

Milo felt something enclose around his hand. Clara was staring at him, with an almost incredulous look. "You still with me, Milo?"

"Huh? What?"

"Oh my god. Alright, guess I'm leading now."

"S-sorry. I'm just a bit distracted…" Milo felt Clara's grip on his hand tighten slightly. "H-hey, you can let up a bit."

"Hmm, 'fraid not, Mr. Distracted. Gotta make sure you don't accidentally walk off the cliff." Despite that, her grip loosened slightly.

Being pulled along did end up helping Milo get his bearings back. This certainly wasn't the first time Clara had dragged him along somewhere, not that Milo minded. Clara's soft grip was grounding and strangely comforting.

As Milo had thought, the cliffside did curve outwards, and more dramatically than he'd initially expected. They eventually reached a small section where the cliff jutted out.

Clara let go of Milo's hand, walking forward. "Woah… Milo look! You can see the whole waterfall from here!"

"Hey, wait up. The edge might be unsteady!"

"Duh, I'm not stupid. Obviously, I'm not gonna go that far. C'mon, take a picture!"

Milo rolled his eyes. He walked up across from her, as Clara posed with arms wide open. Whipping out his phone, he clicked photo after photo as Clara switched up her pose more than a half a dozen times.

"Ok, your turn, Milo!"

"I don't need a photo. I'm not going to post it anywhere."

Clara stared back at him, "Oh, just get over here already. I wanna remember that you were here with me when I look back."

"Fine, fine." The two swapped places, and Milo 'posed' as best he could for the photo.

"Milooo, you look like a statue. Loosen up!"

"Okay? Like this? Or?"

"Alright, how about..." Clara pointed towards the falls, holding up her phone, "Just turn and look out there then. We'll go for a candid shot."

Rolling his eyes, Milo did as instructed, staring out at the falls. As he did, he felt that strange feeling from before growing again. The feeling that something magical was just beyond, and it was calling out, almost within reach.

And then, for just a moment, he could swear he saw it. Something glowing, floating… pink?

"That's it! You look great!" Clara squinted at her phone to check out the photo, before looking back up. "Wait, Milo. What are you doing?"

It was pulling him. He wanted to… no, he had to get a closer look. There was something out there, and it was drowning out the reason in his mind. He unconsciously stepped forward, eyes scanning for the strange creature(?) that he saw.

"Milo, stop! You're getting way too close to the edge!" Clara stepped forward, wanting to grab Milo, but her legs buckled when her eyes glanced downwards past the cliffside. Despite her protesting mind, she couldn't force her legs to take another step. "Milo, get back here!"

Blinking his eyes, Milo felt the strange trance break. He looked back at Clara who looked on the verge of tearful panic. Arceus above, what was wrong with him? "C-crap… sorry, I don't know what came over me, I just-"

"I don't care! Just get back here already, you idiot!"

"R-right…"

Milo had literally just walked over the same patch of dirt and stone towards the cliffside. There was nothing there. And yet, when he turned, his foot caught, and he tumbled backwards. His brain barely registered what followed. A scream? The jolt of pain from his back hitting rock? Suddenly, he was falling.