Painted Ghouls

Chapter 10

What is he doing? the torchic thought, her eyes fixated onto his hands. He was using the berries he grabbed to form a strange, blue cube out of them. That's really weird.. Never before had she seen someone use berries in such a crafty way.

"This is called a poké block, I think," Brendan informed her, as if he had read her thoughts. She looked up at him, drawing her attention away from his hands. "It's just two berries mashed together to form a cube, but I don't know, they're nice to make. It passes the time, I guess." With that, he placed the poké block onto the ground. Athena lapped the treat up with her tongue.

It doesn't taste any different from a regular berry, she thought as she swallowed it whole. What was the point of making it?

"If you want some more, I hope you don't mind grabbing berries?" Brendan asked, bunching his shoulders together awkwardly. Athena reluctantly nodded, turning heel. "Thank you!" he called, watching her speed off.

Her feet released a pattering noise as they hit the ground, and with each step she took did she pick up her pace. Flapping her yellow wings multiple times, she fixated her vision onto a bush chalk-full of berries. Eagerly, she bounded toward the bush, picking off as many berries as she could hold in her beak. After staggering around a bit to regain her balance, she hastily scurried toward where her trainer sat, pleased to see him still mashing some berries together.

Padding over to him, Athena promptly dropped the two berries she had collected on his lap. Brendan offered a smile to her in thanks, then continued fiddling around with the berries he held in his hand. Forming yet another cube, he placed it in front of the torchic.

How many is he going to make? she pondered, bending down to eat the treat. I can only eat so much..

Brendan watched her eat the poké block, before moving on to make the next one. "Man, I'm hungry," he mumbled, shuffling his feet around as he grabbed the two berries Athena had deposited in his lap. Mashing them together, he quickly made another blue snack. Once again did he set the cube in front of her. Eagerly, she gobbled down the cube.

Now I'm full, she thought, leaning back with a small sigh.

Thankfully, no more poké blocks were placed in front of her. Instead, she heard the distinct noise of Brendan digging through his backpack, and she quickly looked up to see him pull out several pieces of bread. Silently, he ripped off a chunk of the wheat, and placed it in his mouth. After a few moments, he managed to finish his meal. He then proceeded to close his backpack, and strapped it over his shoulder once more.

"Hey, wanna continue walking around?" he asked, lifting himself to his feet. "It won't be for too long, since we gotta go home soon." Nodding her head, the torchic scrambled to her feet, only to be picked up by the human.

I'm capable of walking myself, she thought, her vision fixated onto at his face. Instead of struggling against his grasp, however, she simply kicked her legs at the air silently. I am pretty tired, though..

The two remained in a prolonged silence, having nothing to talk about as Brendan sauntered aimlessly about. Whenever a wild pokémon popped up, he simply turned heel and headed toward the opposite direction. Athena was beyond grateful for that.

Stopping by a small bush, Brendan plucked a single red berry off of it, before continuing onward as he nonchalantly handed it to Athena. She couldn't help but notice how sweat trickled off of his hand as he did so.

The temperature isn't so bad, she thought, swallowing the berry whole. Was he just more prone to hotter temperatures than she was? Considering she was a fire type, that was likely.

Soon enough, Brendan gently placed Athena down on a small log. He settled himself beside her, and even took off his white cap to fan himself with it. "Is it just me," he panted, leaning forward, "or is it way hotter than yesterday?" The torchic flapped her wings in response.

"Are you hungry?" Brendan politely asked, grabbing the strap of his backpack as he looked at the pokémon.

She shook her head. No, you gave me more than enough already.

With a shrug, Brendan simply allowed his hand to fall onto his lap, his eyes drifting off toward some random direction. Then, he scooted off of the log, heaving a tired sigh as he wiped his forehead. Athena followed suit. Once her talons were on the ground, she began to idly circle a random patch of grass, having nothing to do.

The sun was already showing signs of its upcoming departure, and Brendan was clearly exhausted, despite not really doing much that day except for walking and eating food. Turning to face her trainer, the chick pokémon watched as he laid his hat beside him, before lying down, using his arms to support his head.

I thought we were going to go home soon? she wondered, cocking her head in confusion. What is he doing?

As Brendan continued to look up at the sky, she walked toward him, her steps slow and steady. Ceasing to a halt by his side, she wiggled her rear as crouched down, her chest feathers brushing the green grass beneath her. With a loud caw, she jumped onto his stomach, scaring him as he instinctively sat upward. Calming down, he glanced at the torchic who triumphantly puffed out her chest as she stood on his stomach, proud of her victory.

"You scared me," he said, rubbing his cranium with a single hand as he propped himself up on his elbow. With a loud yawn, he added in a muffled tone, "I'm guessing you want to go home, huh?"

Precisely. Athena nodded her head.

Brendan watched her for just a bit, a tiny frown evident on his features. Soon, he shrugged his shoulders, clearly giving in. "Fine, fine," he said. "Up we go."

With his arms wrapped around Athena, he lifted himself to his feet. She wiggled around in his grasp just a bit, before relaxing. He stood still for just a bit, making sure he didn't forget anything important. Using a single hand to place his knit cap back on his head, he began to move forward, heading back toward the assumed direction of their home.