The Thunder Clan - 10

Chapter 10 - Fever

A few days had passed since the visit of the Earth Tribe. On this particular morning, Roxy found herself waking up in tears.

She gasped in confusion for a moment, feeling the tears staining her fur. There was a hurt deep in her heart, and at first she didn't know why. After her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw that she was still in the safety of Makari's hut, it hit her. Memories of what she had just been dreaming about returned to her.

"Roxy…" Makari was at her side in an instant, laying a comforting paw across her shoulder.

The distraught Pikachu shivered and let the tears flow for a few moments. This was nothing new. It was almost routine at this point. Sleep was never pleasant because it was always filled with dreams of home. In those distant, fleeting moments of subconsciousness she was back at home, safe in the loving comfort of her master's arms.

To have that suddenly yanked away from her the moment she woke up was hard on her. Sometimes, it felt almost too painful to bear.

"S-sorry…" Roxy murmured.

"Now Roxy, what have I told you about apologizing for your emotions?"

She clenched her eyes shut and shook her head. "I miss her so much…" she lamented, "Every day, every night…I just wanna go home…"

Makari let out a wistful breath. "I am sorry, Roxy…" he spoke softly, "I am so sorry…"

A moment of poignant silence passed.

"I just wish I could help you…"

After it had felt like her moment of sadness had run its course, Roxy forced herself to get up and eat some breakfast. She didn't feel any happier, but knew that wallowing around would just make her feel worse. It was the early hours of dawn, and Taka would be expecting her soon.

To her elation, Makari did not have patrol duty for the whole day and could join her. Roxy put as much pep in her step as she could, and the pair made their way directly towards the training area to begin the day.



…



"May I make a suggestion, Taka?"

The Pikachu's ears twitched upon hearing his brother's voice, and he turned to regard Makari. "What?"

"Roxy is making advancements in her self-defence skills, so perhaps we should test them?"

Taka furrowed his brow. "Just what do you think I have been doing?"

Makari chuckled and shook his head. "No, I have a better idea. What if I sparred with her?"

"You?" Taka replied, slightly incredulous.

"What?" Roxy chirped at the same time.

"Taka, there are many things you excel at, but 'going easy' is not one of them. I can prove to be a foe that can match Roxy's current skill level, and you can observe her without having to focus on yourself."

Taka paused for a moment, but then put one of his paws to his chin. "Hmm…"

Roxy glanced between them, feeling a little unsure. It was true that putting things into practice against Taka was difficult because he was so skilled, moved so fast, and hit so hard. However, the thought of fighting against Makari, even if it was just practice, didn't sit well with her for some reason.

"I suppose that is an acceptable idea," Taka said at last with a nod.

"I am glad you agree. Shall we do it now?"

"Yes. Begin at once."

Roxy jumped slightly. "W-wait! What's happening…?"

Makari held up his paws. "Relax, Roxy…I am going to pose as a…Well, as an 'easy' enemy. Just something to test what you have learned so far. I will not hurt you."

"So, you…you want me to fight you…?" Roxy quivered just slightly.

"Well, not really," Makari replied, "We just want you to defend yourself. We shall leave offense for another day."

"Oh…Okay…" Roxy muttered, still feeling unsure of the whole situation.

"Stand up straight, pet!" Taka barked, "Your foe is approaching. If he touches you, you die."

"Aah! Um, okay…Uhh…"

Roxy took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind as she got into a ready position. She tried to recall everything she had learned since Taka had started training her. She knew that the most important thing was to keep her eyes on her foe and watch closely for what would come next. Predicting, or in her case worrying about, the next move was less important than adapting and reacting to whatever did happen. Roxy's studious brain allowed her to remember all of the movements she was supposed to do. She also knew that staying 'bouncy' on her toes was key to keeping herself out of harm's reach.

In her mind, Roxy knew what she was supposed to do. It was putting it into practice where things got difficult.

Makari got into a ready stance as well and made his first move. Starting simple, he swiped towards her with a paw. It looked more like he was trying to give her an exaggerated pat on the shoulder, but Roxy understood the intent. She analyzed the situation as quickly as she could, ducked her head, and brought up her paws to catch his paw before it could hit her.

He flashed a quick smile of approval at her, but quickly moved seamlessly into his next 'attack'. This time he went downwards, sort of like a punch to her gut. Roxy prepared herself to block, but something clicked in her brain and she realized that it would be better to dodge to the side instead. She shifted to the left, feeling his paw brush against her fur which told her she had been a bit too slow. This had obviously been his intent, however, as he grinned again.

Roxy let out a breath. This was actually turning out okay. Makari wasn't moving slowly, but he wasn't moving as quickly as Taka did either. As he continued making strikes at her with his paws, she understood that he was using specific moves in order to test her whole pallet of self-defence moves. This was a lot easier to handle than Taka, who preferred to go all-out and often left her frazzled.

Over time, Makari slowly began to speed up. Roxy did her best to mimic what Taka had taught her and continued to fend off Makari's various attacks. At one point he even purposefully baited her down onto all fours, forcing her to smack away his oncoming paw with her tail. The whole thing was a tad inorganic, but with every move she slowly began to gain more confidence in herself. These moves weren't so complicated after all. It was sort of like learning how to dance.

She wasn't perfect, and Makari managed to lightly hit her a couple of times. Roxy found she had a really easy time performing all of these dodges and blocks, which was a pleasant surprise to her. Climbing trees and darting over her house's fence took more agility than this. Deciding which move to use within the span of a second or less was where she faltered. Roxy did not feel at all confident that she was ready to defend herself against a hungry predator, but she was starting to feel hopeful that, with enough practice, she might manage to get there one day.

Something clattered to the ground beside them, startling them both. The two looked down to see that Makari had tossed them both blunt spears, and Roxy realized that he wanted her to practice defending with a weapon now. The two picked up the spears at the same time, and Roxy got back into a ready stance.

Thus, the test continued. Roxy wasn't quite as good when it came to defending with a weapon in her paws, but she had still come quite a ways. Makari never really reached the speed with which an actual predator would be attacking her, but it was fast enough for Roxy to truly test what she had learned. She did her absolute best to keep herself from being hit with Makari's spear, no matter what she had to do. Honestly, though, getting hit by Makari wasn't nearly as demoralizing as getting hit by Taka.

By the end, Roxy was quite winded. She was feeling elated, however. By a rough estimation, she had managed to block, dodge or parry at least three quarters of Makari's strikes. Roxy took a moment to give herself credit and pat herself on the back. She was learning and she was improving. Maybe she could learn to fight. Panting, she glanced over at Makari to see he was giving her a warm smile.

Suddenly, something jumped down in front of her and let out a screech, raising its limbs up to attack. Roxy screamed in terror and ducked her head down, cowering beneath her paws.

After a moment, instead of being attacked, Roxy heard a sigh. Cautiously, she peered up from between her paws. There was no deadly predator standing in front of her. Instead, it was a very annoyed-looking Taka. Roxy slowly stood back up and glanced around in confusion. She realized that Taka must have climbed one of the nearby trees and jumped down suddenly in front of her.

Roxy's terror quickly turned to irritation. She gave Taka a cross look and stomped one of her hind paws, trying to hide the rosy flush of her embarrassment. "T-Taka!" she exclaimed, trying to sound frustrated, "What was that for??"

Taka was giving her a flat look. "You have learned to perform a collection of moves. Congratulations."

Roxy skewed her lips. Not a word of that had sounded congratulatory.

"If I had been an enemy, however, none of that would have helped you. You would have been dead before you could take another breath."

A shiver ran up her spine, like it did every time Taka talked about her death so casually. "Wh…What d'you mean?"

"I mean that you still have not learned one of the most important things about combat and self-defence. Practicing the theory is one thing, but when something catches you off guard you still freeze up and cower like a newborn cub."

Roxy stared at him, mouth open but no words coming out. She realized that he was right. She hadn't been able to recall a single thing she had learned once Tazoka had been staring her down. "But…" she murmured. She then turned to look pleadingly over at Makari, but the Pikachu simply had a small frown on his face.

"To survive," Taka continued, "you require instinct. You have none. Predators will not walk up to you and request a friendly duel to the death. A fight for your life will usually start with someone else sneaking up on your back. When the tides shift from calm to danger in the blink of an eye, you need to be able to rely on your instincts to quickly adapt to the situation and keep yourself alive."

"I…But…" Roxy muttered, trying to think of what to say. She could feel a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She'd thought she had done really well in that training exercise against Makari. Now, all of her elation was gone. "But how am I supposed to train something like that??"

Taka glanced at her for a moment before he simply shook his head. "It is not something that can be taught," he explained, "Perhaps you can figure it out on your own…Most, however, are born with it. It is as simple as the fact that Pichu are born with a sense of instinct, from the moment they take their first breath."

Without awaiting a response, Taka began to trudge off towards one of the overturned logs at the edge of the training area, whereupon he sat down and faced away from them.

"…I was born a Pichu…" she murmured.

Makari stepped over to her and laid a paw across her shoulders. "I do not wish to be negative, Roxy, but he is right."

Roxy groaned and stared down at the ground.

"Do not give up, though. Things will work out."

"How'm I s'posed to learn that…?"

There was a noticeable pause before Makari replied. "I am afraid I do not know."

Roxy simply sat down on the ground in a huff.

Makari stepped around in front of her. "By the looks of things, Taka wants you to take a break. Wait here, and I will go fetch some berries okay?"

It was nearly midday, and Roxy was just noticing her stomach starting to growl. She gazed up and tried to smile at Makari, but her spirits weren't in the best of places right now. "Okay, Makari," she said, "Thanks."

With that, Makari wandered off, leaving Roxy alone in the training area with Taka. She sat there in silence, mulling over her thoughts. Whether it was deserved or not, Taka had effectively drained any sense of accomplishment from her rather successful test. After a few minutes in thought, though, she realized that they were both right. She had completely frozen in fear when confronted by Tazoka. The thought of predators, much less fighting them, still gave her crippling anxiety and made her feel sick to her stomach.

She glanced over at Taka. He was still an enigma to her. The two rarely interacted outside of her training sessions, and those were always chock full of tension and animosity. Roxy had no reason to hate Taka and wanted to smooth things over with him, but it was as if Taka had built a wall. She wasn't sure if the whole situation was more disheartening or frustrating.

Roxy got to her paws. With his recent actions fresh in her mind, she had decided that she needed some answers.

"Taka?"

The Pikachu glanced over towards where she was standing nearby. His eyes said that he was listening, but his mouth uttered no words.

Roxy hesitated slightly, the creeping feeling of stage fright briefly overcoming her. She glanced away for a moment to collect her thoughts, then sighed and started to speak. "Look, I…I know you hate me. I can't say I fully understand why, you probably aren't gonna tell me, and I'm probably not gonna change much. Whatever, though. It's fine I guess…"

Taka arched an eyebrow.

"So why…" Roxy frowned. "Why do you still keep teaching me?"

For what seemed like a really long time, the two simply stared at one another. Taka didn't move a muscle, which made Roxy feel very uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what to do with herself until he finally answered.

"Because you continue to show up every day."

Roxy blinked in confusion. "…Huh?"

"I respect dedication. No, I do not like who and what you are, but I appreciate your desire to change this."

Taka then turned away and returned to whatever he had been doing, leaving Roxy standing somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh…" she murmured, unsure of what to make of such a response. She stood there for a moment, wondering if she should say something else, when Taka suddenly stood up. He walked over to the area where some of the weapons were laying and picked one up. He tossed the spear to Roxy, who yelped in surprise before barely catching it before it hit the ground.

She gazed down at the weapon. This wasn't like what she had been using so far. This was a full-length spear, and it was topped with an actual sharp point. In truth it looked a little dull, probably for training purposes, but it would still hurt a lot if she got hit with it.

Roxy then gazed up at Taka, who said, "I say we move on. Let us practice some offensive moves."

She looked down at the spear in her paws once more, feeling a wave of trepidation. She could feel a familiar sense of anxiety sweeping in. Her mind was asking doubtfully if she was ready for this.

One more gaze up at Taka, however, steeled her nerves a little more. He was a good teacher, even if he was a little brash. As her teacher, Roxy needed to trust him. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Taka half-rolled his eyes and replied, "We will start with the basics." The way he spoke the last word hit Roxy's ears as if he had said 'super-easy basics for baby cubs'.

With a slow, calming exhale, Roxy tried her best to clear her mind. She told herself that there would be plenty of time to worry later. Now, she was in a relatively safe environment with a Pokémon that, despite all outward appearances, was trying to help her.

"Adopt your stance," Taka instructed.

Roxy nodded, trying to remember what stance she had taken in previous lessons with the short spear. When it was clear in her mind, she got ready and lifted one hind paw off the ground.

"I'm back!"

Roxy faltered slightly in surprise, nearly losing her balance. She glanced behind her to see that Makari was back with another pouch of assorted berries.

She heard Taka groan from behind her. "Must you, Makari?"

Makari gave his brother a flat look. "Yes, I must. Roxy has not eaten since the sun rose. It is time for some nutrition."

Roxy glanced back at Taka, and saw that he looked rather irritated. Aside from a quiet growl, however, he said nothing.

Makari rolled his eyes while smiling good-naturedly. "I promise we will be quick," he said, holding back a chuckle, "Come, Roxy. Have three and then continue."

Roxy's stomach answered for her, growling rather loudly and making her cheeks flush slightly. "Heh…" she chuckled awkwardly, "Thanks, Makari." She gave him a warm, grateful smile before stepping towards him. She reached in with her paws and picked up two berries, a Leppa and a Wepear.

She and Makari sat down, happily munching on berries and letting the sweet, succulent, juicy fruit fill their stomachs. The Leppa tickled her taste buds in just the perfect way to make her smile brightly.

Roxy could feel the impatient eyes of Taka boring into the back of her head, but she ignored it.

She did, however, try to eat as quickly as she dared without giving herself a cramp. She was supposed to be learning after all and didn't want to keep her teacher waiting.

Then, she reached in and picked up a random third berry. She was about to eat it, but paused once she got a good look at it. "What is this…?" she asked, gazing at the fruit. It was unlike any berry she had ever seen before. It was shaped almost like a rounded cube, but with a point at the bottom.

"That is known as Drash."

"A 'Drash Berry'?" Roxy repeated the word with a confused tone. She could remember almost all of the berries that had been listed in her master's encyclopaedia, but she had never seen or heard of this one before.

Makari nodded. "They grow near the river. Some say they can cure fatigue and illness."

"Huh…" Roxy turned it over in her paws and examined it. "Is it good? What does it taste like?"

Before Makari could respond, the air was filled with the sound of Taka loudly clearing his throat. Roxy flinched slightly and quickly got the message that he was getting impatient. She quickly bit into the pink berry.

It wasn't bad. Quite crisp and crunchy, but with a mild taste and just a hint of spiciness. It certainly wouldn't make her favourites list, but it was quite edible. She finished it off, quickly thanked Makari for the meal, and then turned back towards Taka.

"Okay," she said, already feeling invigorated, "Let's do this!"

From there, Taka spent about ten minutes instructing Roxy on how to properly hold the spear in her paws. Roxy paid full attention, not wanting to miss anything. The faster she learned, the less time she would spend feeling the aches of failure. She was so focused that she almost didn't notice the sky darkening.

Eventually, though, she turned her head up towards the canopy to see what was happening. She was greeted with a raindrop directly between her eyes. "Ack!" she cried out in surprise.

Like the rainstorm that had assaulted her on that fateful day a few weeks ago, this one started just as suddenly. Moments later, the whole forest fell victim to a heavy torrent of rain from the dark clouds above. It cascaded down like a raging waterfall from the heavens, utterly drenching the whole forest in seconds.

Including her.

At first, Roxy felt herself reacting the same way as before. She still hated the rain, and her first instinct was still to get out of it as quickly as possible. She lost her focus as the rain started pounding down on her, causing her to glance wildly around as she subconsciously looked for a safe haven.

She caught herself though, and turned to look back at Taka. Again, he was seemingly unfazed by the sudden arrival of the rain. It looked like he didn't even notice it. He was, however, giving her a skeptical look with a raised eyebrow.

Roxy stood there for a moment and tried to calm down. Her thoughts had all shifted to feelings of misery and disgust. Her now-soaking wet fur chilled her and made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. She still felt that need, that burning desire, to get away from the rain in any way possible.

Instead, she shook her head.

Her first step was to force herself to stay put. She had already been learning how to force herself to do things she didn't want to do, so that was relatively easy. The difficult step was to make herself accept the rain. She could stay out in it, sure, but it was a different story when she needed to ignore it and focus on her training.

It was cold, it was wet and it was absolutely miserable. How was she supposed to focus when she was feeling like this?

Nevertheless, Roxy knew that she had to try.



…



"Tighten up your grip, Roxy! You have almost perfected it!"

Roxy grit her teeth in determination, narrowed her eyes at the target sitting before her, and let out a huff of breath. She silently encouraged herself, repeating the words endlessly in her mind. You can do this. You can do this! She set her hind paws in the ground and readied herself. Learning basic slashes and stabs with the spear had been the easy part, at least relatively, and now she had moved onto the first really 'big' move.

Roxy kept her eyes locked on her target, difficult though it was to keep her vision clear. Her fur was soaked from the rain that continued to pour down all around her. It seemed like the downpour would never end.

"Yes, Roxy! Yes! Keep at it!"

"Makari, shut up!"

Roxy tried to block out the sound of the two brothers arguing. She just had to focus on doing what she had learned. It was easy. Simple! Cub's play! It was just a leap into the air and then a driving plunge straight downward. Anyone could do it.

Clearly, Roxy's attempts at psyching herself out weren't working that well.

"I can do it…" she murmured, going for the simpler approach. The sooner she did this, the sooner the lesson would be over and the sooner she could go inside.

After one more moment's pause, Roxy took off running. She built up speed for only about five steps before nimbly leaping up. She held the spear up like she had been taught, with the sharp end pointed forwards, and then shifted it so that it was pointed straight down. She aimed it towards the target below her and let gravity do the rest.

Shunk!

Roxy felt the impact of the spear as it punctured the wood and then slid right in. She landed on the ground and looked down to see the result of her attack. The head of the spear was completely sunken inside of the wood of the target.

"Hah…!" she huffed, "I did it…!"

"Good job, Roxy!" Makari cheered.

She turned around to face the other Pikachu, the mere action flinging drops of water everywhere, and smiled at Makari. "Thanks!"

Taka was silent for a moment, but then spoke. "That was not bad. Passable."

It wasn't exactly the greatest compliment, but Roxy took it. "Thanks, Taka…I think I'll be able to get better at it…" She stood there for a moment, panting and reflecting on what she had just accomplished. It had almost been like learning an acrobatic move or something. In some small way, it was even just a little bit fun to do.

Makari had stopped smiling, and Roxy was quick to notice. "What?" she asked.

"Taka, that is enough for today."

Taka shot his brother a look.

"She needs to get inside. Look how she shivers."

Roxy blinked, but then glanced down at herself. She was shivering, and quite a bit too. She was struck by how she had almost not even noticed. Now that she wasn't focused on other things, though, she realized that she was freezing.

Taka looked like he was about to shoot Makari's request down, but after a few seconds he relented and shrugged his paws. "Fine…" was all that he said before standing up, turning around, and unceremoniously departing.

Makari wasted no time in rushing to her side. "Come on," he said, placing a paw across her shoulder and beginning to lead her along, "Back to my hut."

"O-okay…" she murmured, "I am feeling kinda worn out…" She allowed herself to be guided by Makari's gentle paw as they walked through the rain-soaked forest village back to Makari's hut. Training had gone on for most of the day, and it had rained heavily the entire time. At some point, Roxy had just gotten numb to it.

"Taka really wore you out, hm?" Makari asked, commenting on her sluggish pace.

"Heh, yeah I guess…" she replied. In general, she just felt sort of weak, which was to be expected after a long day of training. Oh, what she wouldn't give to spend a few hours in her master's hot tub.

"Well, come on," Makari urged her, "My hut is right over there. Let us get out of the rain."

"Yeah, let's…"

Finally, they reached the door of Makari's dwelling, Makari took a moment to shake the water out of his fur before entering, but Roxy felt too lethargic to do so. Once she was inside and seated on the ground, Makari handed her one of the woven grass towels. She used it to dry herself off, taking a moment to appreciate just how well the primitive huts were able to keep the rain out. It was pretty much dry as a bone inside.

"Thanks…" Roxy half-whispered as she dropped the wet towel at her side.

"My pleasure, Roxy," Makari replied, "You have done such a good job today, Roxy. Just relax for a few minutes, and then I will get us both some food."

"Mkay…"

For some time, Roxy just sat there and stared ahead at nothing. She felt incredibly lethargic and worn out, but she didn't really feel tired. She was still cold and shivering a little from being in the rain, but it felt like there was something else. She furrowed her brow, wondering if something was wrong with her.

Minutes passed and she continued to sit still while Makari moved about in the background. She began to notice a few more things, such as her mouth becoming dry. She felt a weird chill run through her body that had nothing to do with her damp fur. She started to get worried. She was beginning to feel a growing sensation that there was something not quite right with her.

Makari said something that she didn't hear.

"N'huh? Wha?" she said, turning to look at him. Doing so gave her a cramp in her abdomen that made her wince.

"I was asking if you wanted more Leppas, or something else?"

"Oh…" Roxy took a moment and considered the choice, but neither option sounded very appealing to her. Not even her favourite Leppas sounded very appetizing. "I…I don'…" she murmured, realizing that she didn't feel hungry at all. Thinking about food was making her feel sick.

"…Roxy?"

"I don't think I'm…hungry…"

Makari was at her side. "Roxy, are you okay?"

She was about to say 'yes', but all of her confidence in that answer drained out in a second. She simply shook her head.

"What is the matter?" Makari asked in a caring and concerned voice, "What do you feel?"

Roxy hadn't been sure about it before, but now the exact nature of her malady was becoming clear. She grimaced as she brought a paw down to her abdomen and held it there. "M…My tummy…"

Makari's eyes shot down to where her paw was. "Your stomach hurts?"

She nodded slowly. "And I feel…"

"Yes?"

"…weird."

Makari leant down next to her and placed one of his paws over her stomach. Roxy winced. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Mnnnh…" she groaned, shutting her eyes and leaning forward so that she could clutch her abdomen with her paws.

"Do you just have a stomach ache?" Makari wondered out loud.

"No…" Roxy muttered, "Something's…wrong…"

Fear started to course through her body. She'd had her fair share of stomach aches over the years, usually from eating too many Poké Puffs, but this was different. There was a pain in her stomach that was different from a stomach ache, but she had no idea how to explain the difference. Coupled with the way she felt, including the chills and tiredness, told her that something was definitely wrong.

Makari placed one of the blankets over her back, but it didn't help very much. It still felt like there were living raindrops moving around under her skin. She moaned in distress.

"I, uh…Uh…" Makari was saying.

Roxy slowly turned to look at him, giving herself a dizzy spell in the process. He was pacing about, looking a little frazzled and perhaps even stressed out. There was a worried look on his face, and he looked like he wasn't sure what to do. Roxy watched, fascinated. Makari was usually so calm and collected, giving off the impression that he had all of the answers.

"We should, uh…" he started to say, but then something seemed to occur to him. He walked over to the hut's doorway and peeked outside. Roxy could tell by the sound that it was still raining heavily

"Roxy?"

"Mmnn…?"

"I am going to find Miri and bring her here, okay? That would be better than having you walk through the rain. That means I will have to leave you alone for a short time, okay? I promise I will be quick."

That sounded like a perfectly reasonable course of action, yet Roxy still felt a sudden spike of fear drive itself right through her heart. Even though she knew better, it sounded to her anxiety-ridden mind like Makari was suggesting he abandon her. Pain from her stomach rippled through her body, making her wince and moan in pain once more.

"Miri will be able to help you, and her hut is not far."

Roxy raised her head slightly and looked up at the other Pikachu. There was an unexplainable worry clouding her mind, and it showed in her expression. Roxy realized that she didn't want him to go anywhere. She didn't want him to leave at all.

"O…Okay…" she spoke, her voice low and hoarse. Roxy knew that she was being silly, so why did saying that make her tremble with fear.

"I will be quick," Makari repeated as he turned to head out the door, "Just stay here and…and try to breathe, okay? Keep breathing."

With that, Makari was gone. Roxy was left alone in the hut with only the sound of the pouring rain and Makari's blanket to keep her company.

Roxy could feel the distant rumbling of panic, but she tried to take a few deep breaths and calm herself down. She told herself that there was nothing to worry about, and that Makari would be back before she knew it.

Still, though, she couldn't help but reflect on what had just happened. She had never seen Makari like that before. This was the first time she had seen him so shaken by something.

Roxy groaned in pain as she pulled the blanket tighter around her. She had no idea what was going on. All she knew was that her stomach was on fire and her head felt woozy, not to mention the fact that she was shivering like crazy.

Luckily, time seemed to pass in a quick haze and Makari soon returned with Miri in tow. They were both dripping wet from the rain outside. Miri wasted no time in leaning down next to Roxy.

She repeated her symptoms to the Audnio, who listened closely while also gently examining Roxy with her paws. She felt Roxy's forehead and stomach, and Roxy winced when she pressed her paws into her abdomen slightly.

"It is your stomach, and not lower. Right?" Miri was asking.

By this point, Roxy was lying on her side and clutching her midsection with her paws. She moaned instead of replying, but nodded her head.

"What did she eat…?" Roxy heard Miri ask Makari. She didn't listen to anything else, though. She simply laid her head down on the ground, shut her eyes, and tried to endure the pain.

It had only gotten worse, and now it was nearly unbearable. It felt like there was a pack of Fire-types going wild in the pit of her stomach. She was vaguely aware of Miri asking her a few more questions, which she answered as best she could, but not much else besides the pain.

Time seemed to move strangely, like the world had shifted into a dreamscape. At some point she had been moved onto the bedding and was resting under one of the blankets. The dim light of the evening had morphed into the flickering light of the small torch. Despite how much pain she was in, Roxy could feel herself slipping in and out of full consciousness.

Roxy had often been terrified during this whole ordeal, but this was a new kind of terror. There are few words to describe the sheer horror of knowing there is something wrong inside of one's body, and not knowing what it is.

At some point in the night, she was jolted awake by a greenish glow and a weird sound. Whatever it was seemed to envelop her. Weakly, she tilted her head slightly to see Miri standing nearby with her paws held up.

"Will that help…?" a voice asked. She was pretty sure it was Makari's.

"It should…Although, there is nothing I can do for her pain…"

"Are…Are you sure?"

"I am."

There was a sigh that almost sounded mournful.



…



It was the worst night of Roxy's life.

It felt like being trapped in a nightmare that she could almost escape, but just not quite. For hours upon hours that seemed to blur together, all she could remember was pain and discomfort. Memories of the world around her were dizzied and skewed. She honestly couldn't tell if she had slept through the whole night, or had not gotten any sleep at all.

Only when morning arrived did things start to get better. Roxy woke up to the relative warmness of the sun's rays. She still felt just as dizzy and disoriented, she could still feel herself shivering and sweating, and she still felt sick to her stomach.

However, there was no pain in her stomach. That, at least, had gone away.

"Are you awake…?" Makari's voice floated to her from somewhere nearby.

Roxy mumbled something unintelligible in response.

"Here…"

Something was gently pressed against her muzzle. Roxy thought she could smell berries. Was Makari trying to feed her? Her mind was in too much of a haze to deduce much else, so she opened her mouth. A small berry, one small enough to fit into her mouth, was gently urged in. Roxy focused on chewing it and swallowing it. She hardly noticed the taste at all.

"Is your stomach better?"

"Mnnnnnnnnnn…"

"N…No…?"

Roxy could hear the anguish in his voice. It sounded like he had just lost something that he had worked really hard on. It was as if victory had been snatched right out from under his muzzle. It broke her heart to hear him so distressed.

"S…S-st…Tummy…dussn'hurt…" she murmured, sounding drunk in the process.

"Huh…?" Makari replied, leaning down a little closer, "Your stomach does not hurt?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh…! W-well, that is wonderful!" Makari started to say in a somewhat elated voice, but his enthusiasm quickly died. "But, you are still feeling ill…"

Roxy moaned and closed her eyes, though she could still feel the world spinning around her. Her heart hammered in her chest, but she felt so weak and she couldn't stop shivering. There were alarm bells going off about every single part of her body, but she just felt so dizzy and confused that all she could so was lie there and moan.

She opened her eyes to see a blurry image of Miri standing next to Makari. When had she gotten there? Roxy wondered if Miri had always been there, or if she had dozed off and hadn't even realized it. The two were talking to each other, but she was too out of it to understand what they were saying. Only one thing was for sure to her.

Makari sounded very worried.



…



The whole day passed like one long fever dream. Moments of wakefulness blended together with fleeting moments of sleep. It all rolled together into one confusing, stressful ball of mayhem in her mind. Nothing in her body felt right. She was almost convinced that she had caught some rare jungle disease and was going to die, yet her mind was so muddled that she hardly cared.

At least her stomach didn't hurt anymore.

The day continued into the evening, and soon night had fallen once more. Roxy was still swimming through half-alertness and dizzying mental imagery. She was lying under three blankets, yet she was still shivering. She barely had any idea what was going on. It felt like the world was ending or something.

Soon, the last rays of light disappeared. Roxy was at least aware that she was still lying in Makari's hut. Or, at least, someone's hut. She was pretty sure it was a hut anyway. Her mind was muddled, her body was totally sick, and she was really scared.

The blankets were nice, though. Despite how primitive they were in their creation, they still managed to warm her up. She was lying next to something, and whatever it was acted as an anchor while her world twisted and tilted around her. Maybe her master could go over to Miri's hut and pick up something to settle her nauseous stomach. Roxy was so thankful for the hot water bottle she had been given. It really helped.

Roxy was only vaguely aware that her worlds were starting to blend together.



…



Finally, blissfully, the next morning arrived and Roxy awoke feeling much better. She opened her eyes, moaned softly, and then yawned. Her head still felt a little clouded, but most of her symptoms had at least started to abate.

Roxy yawned again and stretched out her four paws, feeling that she was still beneath the blankets. By this point they were starting to feel a little stuffy, though she was a little too tired to bother removing them. She simply sighed and let out a quiet groan. Her head was throbbing and she felt really weak, but compared to before she was feeling leagues better.

It was nice and relaxing under the blankets, if perhaps a little bit too warm. Roxy simply laid there for a few minutes, feeling a sense of calmness return. The last day and a half were a total blur to her. All she could remember was that she had gotten very sick.

When she finally felt the urge to move, Roxy started by slowly trying to roll onto her back. She was still sleeping against something, which she could feel against her back. She struggled for a moment beneath the heavy blanket as she rolled, and then she completely froze.

That 'something' against her back had fur.

Panic briefly spiked through her mind as she cycled through all of the horrible things that could have been there. Thankfully, that only lasted for a brief second, after which she calmed down and felt her fear being replaced by confusion. Was someone on the bed with her? She rolled herself completely onto her back and pushed the top half of the blankets off of her, after which her eyes darted to her companion.

It was Makari. He was curled up and lying next to her on the bed beneath the blankets. He was lying on his stomach, but the side of his body was pressed up against hers. Roxy paused for a moment and stared at this, trying to process just what it meant.

A number of possibilities occurred to her. A few of them made her cheeks turn rosy.

She was stuck for a moment in complete confusion, unsure of what to do and whether or not to wake him up, when the decision was made for her. Suddenly, catching her by complete surprise, she sneezed.

It made her head spin slightly for about a second. She tactfully wiped the bridge of her muzzle with her paw, and then looked down at Makari once more. The other Pikachu was starting to stir. Truth be told, Roxy was happy to see him there and especially for him to be the first one she saw after being so sick. It was just like how he had been there on the first night she had woken up in the village.

Makari's eyes fluttered open and he yawned. "Mmm…" he mumbled, "R'ksy…?"

"Makari…?" Her voice still sounded 'sick', and it was almost a whole octave lower than usual.

Wakefulness returned to Makari rather quickly as his eyes locked with hers and he saw that she was awake. He smiled in excitement and quickly sat up next to her. "You are awake!" he quietly exclaimed, "How are you feeling?"

"Better…" she muttered. Roxy tried to sit up, but it felt like her muscles were too weak to do much of anything. Seeing this, Makari took her forepaws in his and gently helped her up.

"You look better," he replied, "Oh, this is wonderful!"

Roxy fought off the brief wave of dizziness upon sitting up, and then turned to gaze at Makari who was now sitting right in front of her. A moment later, her lips curled into a smile. "Yeah… I feel a lot better…"

She squeaked in surprise because, a moment later, Makari suddenly leaned in for a surprise hug. She found herself staring forward, wide-eyed. Suddenly, she felt a lot warmer and it had nothing to do with the warmth of the hug. It took her brain a moment to process this, but it soon decided that it was enjoying the sensation of warmness and closeness.

Makari moved back and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he spoke, "I am just really happy to see that you are okay."

Roxy gazed at him. He was smiling, but she could see the lingering worry in his eyes. He looked like he wasn't entirely convinced that she was going to be okay or something. "I'm…I'm fine," she replied with a reassuring smile, "Although…I don't even know what happened to me."

Her companion frowned. "Everyone was worried," he said, "I am not afraid to admit that I was frightened. You were in so much pain, yet you seemed delirious as well. It happened so suddenly that it caught us off guard."

Roxy glanced away, shivering at the few horrible memories she did have. "I remember…losing my appetite and getting a really bad stomach ache."

Makari nodded. "It got worse and worse…You were writhing on the floor in pain. I…" He too glanced away. "I did not know what to do."

She returned her gaze to him, gulping.

"I brought in Miri to use her healing abilities, but they are more suited to physical injuries. She was able to help somewhat, but then you really began to fall ill. You were freezing cold, and you did not seem to respond to anyone. It was as if you could not even hear me…"

"Oh gosh…"

"I was…I was very worried for you."

Roxy smiled and reached forward to place a paw on his shoulder. "I'm okay now, though…I just feel a little crappy, and that should hopefully get better."

Makari turned to look at her and smiled as a brief moment of silence passed.

"Did…you figure out what was wrong with me?"

His expression fell slightly. "We are…not completely sure. Miri suspects that, for whatever reason, it was the Drash Berry that made your stomach hurt."

Roxy perked up slightly, suddenly remembering the strange berry that she had eaten. "The Drash Berry…" she murmured, mulling this over.

"It was the only thing out of the ordinary that you had eaten."

"Do a lot of them grow here?"

Makari tilted his head slightly. "Yes…Why?"

Roxy nodded her head. "I guess that makes sense…Drash Berries don't grow where I live. They must be native to around here. My digestive system probably wasn't prepared for the 'strange new' food. It happened to my master once when we visited Hoenn. Who knows? Maybe I lack an enzyme that your clan have developed over the years. I should have been a bit more careful."

"I…" Makari blinked. "Wow…That is very insightful…"

"Well…" Roxy replied with a shrug, "I'm not a doctor or anything…" She paused and then asked something else. "But…I had something more than a bad case of food poisoning."

Makari nodded. "Indeed. Miri noticed how cold you were. She says that you were out in the rain for too long."

"Ohh…" Roxy nodded again, "I might've caught a fever or a bug…Maybe even mild hypothermia?" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Ugh! That was awful…" She turned to look at Makari, only to find that he had a strange expression on his face. She frowned and tilted her head. "What?"

"I…" he spoke, "I am just so grateful that you are going to be okay." There was a very distressed look on his face. "I…truly thought we were going to lose you."

Roxy started. "Wh-what??" she quietly exclaimed, looking at him with wide eyes, "What do you mean? I got really sick, but I wasn't gonna…die." She paused. "…Was I?"

Makari fixed her with a grim expression. "Roxy…" he spoke, "In the wild…Most who get sick do not survive."

There was a moment of silence, in which Roxy felt her whole sense of security shattering around her. She found herself staring ahead at nothing. "What…?"

"That is simply the way of nature," he said, "Only the strong survive."

Roxy shot her gaze back to him. "But…But you…" she was about to argue against him, to express her disbelief in his claim and to provide all of the reasons why he was wrong. However, the reality slowly began to dawn on her, and it drew her breath away.

Out here, there were no Pokémon Centers. There were no doctors or veterinarians, or anyone with even basic training in first aid. There was no medicine, nothing like bandages, and no medical tools. Aside from Miri, there was nothing out here to stave off injury and illness aside from her own self.

A shiver ran through her body. Roxy thought about the worst thing that had happened to her medically, and the answer soon followed. During the last year that she had been a Pichu, she had caught an extremely bad strain of some virus. She had been throwing up for about a week, couldn't leave the house, and was on both painkillers and a horrible-tasting antiviral medicine.

If that had happened while she was out here, then there was no doubt in her mind. She would be dead.

"Oh heavens…" she whispered. As if she didn't have enough to worry about, this was a whole new huge thing to be afraid of. If she broke her leg or caught pneumonia or something, what would her chances be then?

"Roxy…"

She turned to look at the other Pikachu.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to make you worry." He cleared his throat and then smiled at her. "I am just happy that you are getting better. We must think about the positives."

"Y-yeah…" Roxy said as she closed her eyes, trying to use what she had taught herself to rid herself of the worries, "You're right. I guess I got pretty lucky, huh?"

Makari nodded once she opened her eyes.

"But, I guess I worried you guys as well…" she said, "It's nice to know you all cared, though."

"You may still be a bit of a stranger to some of us, but everyone has gotten to know you, and everyone was afraid for you. No-one wanted the worst to happen, and especially not I."

A smile crept onto her face. "Aww, Makari…"

"I stayed by your side as much as I could, only leaving to fetch Miri. Maybe you were too sick to know I was there, but still I wanted you to somehow know that I was there for you. You have survived in this unfamiliar location for this long, and I was not going to let illness take you from us."

Roxy was enraptured by what he was saying. "Wow…" she whispered, "You…You were there the whole time?"

Makari nodded.

Roxy gazed off for a moment as vague, cloudy memories started to come to her. In her few, fleeting moments of lucidness, she could recall someone being there in the hut with her. "Makari, I…" she spoke, "I don't know what to say…"

"Well, there is no need to thank me. I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Is, uh…" Roxy mumbled, "Is that why you…?" Instead of finishing her question, she glanced down towards the bed she was sleeping on.

"Yes," Makari replied simply, "Even with the blankets, you seemed cold. I thought I would try sharing my body heat."

Her gaze snapped back up to him. "Oh," she said, "…Oh! Oh, okay. Heh…" She chuckled a bit and scratched the back of her neck.

"I hope I did not alarm you when you awoke…" he said with a frown.

"No, no!" Roxy quickly replied, waving her forepaws in front of her, "No, you didn't. No. It's just…Y'know…" She trailed off.

Makari tilted his head for a moment. He looked like he was about to respond, but then the two heard the noise of leaves rustling. They both immediately glanced towards the doorway, where the hanging leaves had been parted.

Roxy was surprised to see Taka poking his head in. He glanced to one side, not seeing either of them, but then turned his head in their direction. His eyes widened just a fraction when he set his gaze upon her. He hesitated for a brief moment, and then turned and left without saying a word.

Makari and Roxy glanced back at one another. "Heh…" Makari said with a bit of a smirk, "He kept acting like he did not care, but…" His gaze drifted to the doorway. "He was worried about you."

"He was…?" Roxy spoke, "How do you know?"

Makari turned back to her and winked. "I know," was all he said.

Roxy thought about this for a moment. Taka worried about her? It almost seemed too fantastic to be true. After another moment or so, Roxy sneezed once more.

"Are you okay?" Makari immediately asked.

Roxy sniffled and replied, "Yeah…I'll be icky for a few days, but I'm fine…"

A big, warm smile appeared on his face. "Okay," he said, "I am just so glad that you are getting better. Truly I am, Roxy…We all are."

"Th-thanks…" Roxy muttered, flushing a little bit.

"I should go get Miri. She will probably want to see you. Will you be okay here? I will only be gone for a moment."

Roxy laughed. "No, I'm fine Makari. Go ahead. If I need help I'll yell, don't you worry."

Makari nodded and then stood up. "All right. I will not be long." He stepped forward and gave her one more quick hug before departing out of the hut, leaving Roxy alone.

She stared after him in silence for a moment, feeling her brain going a mile a minute. She thought about what had just happened and what Makari had just said. Still, she got a shiver every time she thought about the sickness she had just gone through. Roxy hated getting sick, but this had been a big one to say the least.

She remembered what Makari had said about getting sick in the wilderness, and how survival wasn't common. Though this thought weighed heavily on her, she thought about something else instead. Makari had stayed by her side the whole time she had been sick, watching over her and doing what he could to make her feel better. It was a vague feeling, but she felt like she could remember a sense of guardianship during her dizzying fever dreams.

She had known that Makari had a caring heart, but this showed just how much he could care. He was so worried about her wellbeing that he didn't leave her side. Roxy remembered that Makari was one of the best warriors in the village, so it made sense that the wise ones would want him out on patrol protecting the village quite often. In the past, he had disappeared to do something along those lines almost once a day. Yet, if he had been given any tasks, he had ignored them all in favor of staying with her.

Roxy could feel a warm smile slowly slipping its way onto her face. Makari's acts of kindness towards her never seemed to cease. She had essentially shown up on his doorstep one day, and he had done nothing but care for her and try to make her comfortable and safe. Plus, he had never asked for anything in return.

It was no wonder she was cheering and hugging him whenever he came back from patrol. She enjoyed being around him, even in this hostile environment, and it wasn't hard to figure out why. His unending kindness, caring and calming attitude made her feel all warm and fuzzy. When he was around, it was hard not to smile.

Roxy was till gazing out the door, and she realized that she was subconsciously counting the seconds until he returned. There was a jumpy, excited feeling in the pit of her stomach that matched the exuberant grin on her face.

She giggled softly, closing her eyes and smooshing her cheeks with her paws. Her whole face was burning and her heart was thumping, neither of which had anything to do with being sick.