It was a day like any other. You had decided to spend some time in the forest again, wanting some alone time with yourself for a bit. The distant sounds of bird Pokemon chirping in the distance reached your ears as you walked down the worn dirt path, your feet on autopilot as you made the way through your normal day route. You took a deep breath of fresh air, the sunlight filtering through the canopy above casting pretty shadows on the floor below.

It was really the beauty that always drew you to this place. It was like another world out here, somewhere all those petty conflicts and the endless struggles of daily life didn't matter. Nothing mattered, just you and this wonderful, serene nature. Granted, it wasn't like there was no risk coming here alone; wild Pokemon still roamed around these parts, after all, and the best you had when it came to defense was some repellent and bear spray. Decent enough, you assured yourself, but not the best. You often considered getting a Pokemon to come with you, but you were never some kind of trainer, and Pokemon in general seemed to dislike you, so you decided long ago that you wouldn't get involved in that business. Besides, wasn't that whole thing pretty much slavery, anyways? Not getting involved in that, you thought to yourself.

You've never had what you considered a great life, but you often chalked that up to your own personal faults. To put things simply, you are as boring as a bag of bricks, and as dense as one too. You've never had any great sweeping passions, or any sense of charisma that could draw people to you. You just never found any reason to develop a personality, and as a result most people couldn't spend more than 5 minutes around you before being bored to tears. You never really cared, though, and at a certain point you just accepted that your life was going to go down this route, where the only person who knew you on a deeper level was yourself. But that was just par for the course. Life might not be sunshine and rainbows, but it's still perfectly livable.

Well, until recently.

It started with a biking accident, some kid in his car not looking where he was going and sending you flying 5 feet. The hospital bill was pretty hefty, but that was just the start of your troubles. After that, it seemed that your crappy job had enough of you, and you got kicked to the curb, followed up by your college debts defaulting on you, saddling you with an eye-watering fine on top of everything else. And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, your long-distance girlfriend of 2 years decided to finally break things off, something about how she wasn't feeling it anymore. By the end of it all, it was like your world was turned upside down, and the little light that was in your life faded away like it was nothing.

You needed to get away, get away from the disaster that was your past and future, so you ran away to here, like you always did. You knew, in the back of your mind, that these things would probably pass. It's not like you've had zero struggles in the past, and you got through those just fine. No, that wasn't your main issue. Break-ups and crippling debt surely sucked, but in that moment, you realized something that had been staring you in the face for a while, but you just wanted to deny it and say you didn't care:

You are alone. Truly, utterly alone.

That seems to be the message of this entire thing, and you couldn't deny it any longer. Would this last forever? Would you ever get out of this rut? Was that even possible at this rate. You didn't have the answers, and you probably wouldn't have them for a while, so the only thing you could do was keep walking, and forget about all of it for just a brief moment, even if that ultimately led to nothing.

You continued to wander for a little bit longer, completely enraptured by the nature passing you by. Just when you were truly feeling at peace with yourself, a quiet noise caught your attention. You stopped in your tracks, your ears focusing in on the sound you thought you heard. It could have been just nothing, but it was always good to be careful when it came to these things. Your head scanned the area carefully, a worried expression crawling on your face. The sound seemed to be coming from deep in the forest, and it sounded an awful lot like someone was walking through the grass.

And it was getting closer.

A growing sense of dread began to form in your stomach, your legs beginning to shake nervously as the sound drew closer and closer. Your hands drifted to your pockets, gripping your bear spray tightly as you prepared for fight or flight.

"Oh man…" you thought to yourself, "Let's hope this is nothing…"

Deciding to take action, you began to call out. "Hello? Is anyone there?" you said timidly, the quiet tranquility of the forest being your only answer. The rustling, however, only continued to draw closer, and you were seriously starting to get freaked out.

"Hey, if you're listening, answer me! I'm warning you!" you shouted, your body swiveling around anxiously as you tried to keep on your toes.

"Audino?"

The sound behind you caused you to jump in your shoes, hastily turning around to the source of the sound. In front of you, standing a few feet ahead on the forest path, stood an Audino, her large pink ears swiveling back and forth as she stood there in silence. The Pokemon's eyes were glued to the floor, her hands behind her back and a shy smile on her lips.

"…dino… Audino…"

You took a good few steps back, your breath growing frantic as you tried to quell your rising panic. A wild Pokemon was standing in front of you, just a hop and a skip away. To say that this was dangerous would be the understatement of the century. You've had the unfortunate honor of hearing the stories, the many cases where wayward trainers or naive kids wander in the bush alone, only to never return. It was fortunate if even a body was found, considering the many ways your average Pokemon could eviscerate the flimsy human body into ash. And this Audino was certainly no exception. Your hands rested over the hem of your pockets, ready to fight or fly for your life if need be, if it ever came to that. You needed to be cautious with your movements, however; who knows what might set this Audino off? As you took a closer look, however, you began to notice something strange.

Why was she still standing there?

The Audino continued to shuffle in place, her eyes still glued to the floor as she ground a foot in the dirt, seemingly waiting for you to make some kind of move. You didn't know what she wanted, or what the right answer to this problem was, but it was clear the Audino wasn't angry at you or hostile to your presence. It was a risk, but someone had to break this stalemate, so you decided to try something.

"H…hi?" you stuttered, your breath freezing solid in your throat as the Audino finally looked you in the eyes, her bug-like eyes staring into yours as she gave you a curious expression. A noticeable redness was growing on her cheeks as she continued to look in your eyes, her smile widening as the two of you continued your standoff.

"Uh… so…" you started to say, "uh… I'm… sorry?"

The Audino blinked, her head tilting cutely at your random apology.

"Audino?"

"Uh… I'm sorry for intruding on your territory, Ms… Audino? I'll just be taking my leave, OK? I will never come back here again, swear to the lord above."

"Audino!" she replied, shaking her head as she waived your apology off, like she was saying that she didn't care about that. Well, that was good at least. Out of all the Pokemon you could have crossed paths with, at least this one wasn't bloodthirsty or starving for human flesh.

"…Well then. Guess I gotta be going. S-see ya?" you said, your feet beginning to turn in the opposite direction as you prepared to bolt from the scene. Before you take another step, however, a sharp sound got your attention.

"A-Audino!" the Pokemon shouted, causing you to stop in your tracks as you looked back at her. She seemed to be conflicted about something, the hands behind her back noticeably twitching in anxiety.

"…Huh? Did… did you want something else?" you said, confused at this Audino and her logic-defying behavior. You just offered to leave her territory, right? Shouldn't that be the end of it?

"-dino…" the Audino squeaked shyly, her eyes falling to the floor once more. Slowly, the Pokemon shuffled closer to you, her steps heavy and careful as she drew closer. You froze in place as she drew near, fear crawling up your spine as you wondered what she was gonna do. Soon enough, the Audino was standing directly in front of you, just in arm's reach. Taking a deep shaking breath, the Audino retracted her hand from her back, revealing an object she had been hiding this entire time. She stretched her hand out to you, offering you what seemed to be some kind of gift. It was colored a deep red, a petaled bulb attached to a green, thorny stem. It almost looked like a…

…a rose.

She was giving you a rose.

…

…wait, WHAT?!

To say you were shocked wouldn't properly describe how you were feeling right now. It was like you had been struck by lightning, five times over in five minutes. Your mind went blank as you stared at the scene in front of you, the Audino growing increasingly flustered as you continued to stand there, stunned and frozen in place.

"Audino…"

The sound of her voice brought you back to reality, your eyes falling back to the gift she was still holding in front of you. You weren't an idiot, though you could seem that way sometimes. You knew what she was trying to get at with this gesture, and the noticeable blush on her cheeks wasn't helping to hide it. Question is, what were you going to do? Were you really going to accept… this?

You refreshed yourself mentally. Considering the situation before you, it was obvious what needed to be done, and there was no time to ponder it. Unless you wanted to end up 6 feet under, you really need to take this bullet.

Taking a deep breath of your own, you raise your hand to the Audino's, gingerly taking the rose from her, mindful of the thorns as you grasp the flower between your fingers. The plant was giving off a pleasantly floral odor, like it was freshly picked from a pristine garden. As soon as you took the rose, the Audino jumped back a good few places, her eyes refusing to meet your own as she shyly looked away. Seriously, it was like watching a schoolgirl dote over her neighborhood crush or something. It was utterly bizarre, especially considering you seemed to be that crush.

"Uhm… thank you?" you said, hoping to placate the Audino somewhat.

"A…Audino…" the Pokemon squeaked, her head between her hands as she continued to act coy. Despite the weird scene, you took note that she was thoroughly distracted right now, which means that now would be a great time to make a clean getaway. It would probably hurt her feelings, sure, and she might kill you the next time she catches you in her sights, but who is to say that you're safe right now? It would be suicidal to continue to stay here…

Or at least, that's what you would say…

You look down at the rose in your hands again, your eyes drifting to the flower and the still-blushing Audino in front of you. Honestly, though it came out of nowhere, it wasn't like you hated her gesture. In fact, it seemed to be oddly… endearing? She was bold enough to confront you in the middle of the forest and basically admit her feelings, which you were sure wasn't easy, considering you've had crushes in the past as well. The least you can do is return the favor, right?

That's a good idea, right?

Reaching into your other pocket (the one without the sprays), you pulled out a pretty big energy bar, the flavor being chocolate and peanut butter with a healthy side of nuts, your favorite flavor. It was a shame you couldn't enjoy it now, but it was worth it.

"Hey, Audino?" you called out, getting the Pokemon's attention immediately. Her eyes drifted to the object in your hands, a confused expression crawling on her face as she studied it.

"Audino?"

"I… I thought I would return the favor, you know… so, here you go?" you said, stretching out the snack in a nervous offering. The Audino's eyes continued to be locked on the object, almost like she couldn't believe it was there, before her eyes drifted to yours, and you swore you could see a growing prick of emotion behind those eyes.

"…d…dino?" she mumbled, asking if you were really doing this.

"No tricks. Here, take it."

The Audino smiled warmly, her happiness at your offering evident on your features. With a joyful cry, she accepted your gift with enthusiasm, unwrapping the bar and taking a tentative bite. You could hear her give a happy purr as she enjoyed the treat, the Pokemon appearing to enjoy the flavor as much as you did, her eyes closed in bliss as she savored every bite. Soon enough, the Audino finished with the energy bar, letting out a happy sigh as she patted her belly cutely.

"You like it?"

"Audino!" she replied, nodding her head in approval. You found herself smiling at her enjoyment, something warm poking at your heart as you took her in. Being an Audino, of course, she was absolutely adorable, her round and thick body accentuating her soft and kind features. She really was a nice girl; hell, you wouldn't mind taking her on a date, if she was a human, of course. But, that's just life, you surmised.

"…well, it was really nice to meet you, Ms. Audino," you started, deciding that you really needed to wrap your little excursion up, "I oughta gotta get going right now, so… I'll see you around? Alright?"

The Audino's eyes opened at the sound of your voice, a sad but accepting expression on her face. Her eyes fell down to the floor once again, the Pokemon nodding slowly as she took in your words. Damn, why did this feel so bad? Were you that desperate for companionship? It wasn't like you wouldn't see her again, right? So why did this feel so… sucky?

"Uhm… sorry…" you stammered, your feet feeling like lead as you turned your back to her, your heart holding you in place as you found yourself standing in place. Your eyes fell down to the rose in your hands, the sweet scent of the flower reaching your nostrils once more, only helping to bring you down even further.

Just classic. Why were you such a jerk? Why did you always bring others down? Is this what you really want from life? Sure, she wasn't human, but her feelings were still earnest as any other girl. Why couldn't you just accept that?

You stole a glance back at the Audino, hoping somewhat that she had taken her leave. She was still standing there, eyes still fallen to the floor in a wistful expression as she wringed her hands anxiously, the Pokemon clearly conflicted deeply about something. She really seems crestfallen at you leaving her, isn't she? You take an internal sigh, not believing what you are about to do, but your heart doesn't want to listen anymore.

"Um, Ms. Audino?" you say, the Pokemon's head shooting up in surprise at your voice. "Do you want to, uh… w… walk with me?"

You internally winced at your awkwardness, hoping that the Audino didn't take it the wrong way. The Pokemon blinked a few times, clearly taken aback by your offer.

"…dino?" she finally said, the tone of her voice equating it to a "really?". You nodded your head and offered her your hand, inviting her in earnest.

"Yeah, I'm serious," you replied, feeling increasingly awkward at your big gesture. The Audino, however, seemed to take your offer with great happiness, her hands flying to her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes.

Uhh…

Before you could react, the Audino let out another happy cry, running towards you and wrapping you in a tight hug. You froze in place as she crushed you between her arms, the air in your lungs being forced out as she squeezed you like you were in the coils of a python. You were really glad you didn't tick her off before; there was muscle behind that flab.

"C… cant breathe…"

Your wheezing finally caught her attention, and she finally pulled away, a coy yet endearing look in her eyes. You took a second to catch your breath as she continued to look at you, the Pokemon giving you a warm and happy smile once your eyes met.

"Alright… you really should warn me next time when you do that…"

"Audi-di-di… Audino!" she replied, a light giggle escaping from her throat at your words.

"Well, let's get going, shall we?" you replied, taking a step forward on the trail as you prepared to continue your walk. The Audino immediately attached herself to you, letting out a chipper cry as she locked her arm tightly with yours, the strength of her grip evident with how she clung to you. It was like she already saw herself as your girlfriend or something, even though you just met like, what, 10 minutes ago? You weren't really in a position to pull away, however, so you just decided to roll with it for now, hoping that this situation would at least end on a high note.

"Audino?"

"Yea, let's go," you said, human and Pokemon now walking arm-in-arm down the forest path, the only sound being the silent whisper of the trees surrounding you.