Painted Ghouls

Chapter 25

The next few days were event-less, to say the least. After showing Lucas the stack of berries she had found, the two happily ate, filling their stomachs. Apparently, the male had not found any berries when searching for any, so they were lucky that Athena stumbled upon the one she found. Together, the two managed to hide the heap just a bit by piling debris and other useless rubble around it, shielding it from the eyes of hungry Pokémon. Their makeshift protection around the berries seemed to be working- so far, no Pokémon had come across the pile.

Other than constructing the barrier around the food, Athena didn't have much to do for the following days. She mostly spent her time wandering about the ruins of Mauville City, trying to absorb as much information as she possibly could. Who knows? Such information could come across as useful someday. Surprisingly enough, in the days they had been in this area, she had only come across one Pokémon. The Beautifly.

Granted, the Beautifly did mention something about a territorial Pokémon. She recalled how he mumbled to himself about a creature known as Armaldo, who claimed the city as its own, and dared to attack anyone who entered it. The Combusken had yet to see any glimpse of the strange creature, fortunately enough, so perhaps the Pokémon had left Mauville City. The reason why was unknown to her; it could very well be due to the shortage of food here. It was a blessing that she came across the pile of berries.

Blinking, the fire-and-fighting type released a hefty sigh, her vision planted on her feet. She was mindlessly sauntering about the ruins of the city, following the dirt path that tore through it. Dark shadows were casted across the land, signaling that the sun would soon set. It would be smart of her to look for Lucas so they could get some rest soon. Although she didn't feel tired at that moment, she knew that it was best to sleep early than it was to sleep late.

However, before she could lift her eyes from the ground to search for the eon Pokémon, she flinched, her stomach growling. A greedy pang of hunger washed over her, causing her to switch plans momentarily. Remaining silent, the young fowl Pokémon made her way over toward the heap of rubble protecting the stash of berries. The pile consisted mainly of small pieces of wood and metal- all of which could be easily moved by both her and the Latios.

Setting a piece of charred wood down onto the white, cracked tile, Athena would reach her claws into the small hole of the barrier. For a few moments her claws would pick about hastily, before a berry managed to scrape against her white appendages. Dragging a yellow berry out of its pile, she surveyed it a bit, before plopping it into her beak. Swallowing the treat in one piece, she released a sigh of relief. Quickly, she stuffed her arm back into the hole, before dragging out yet another berry. This time it was a cheri berry.

Plopping the berry into her beak, she would allow it to roll around a bit, before she swallowed it whole. Satisfaction poured through her as her stomach began to grow full. Now finished with her meal, she bent down to scoop up the hunk of wood she had moved from the pile, and placed it back into its appropriate. Fixing Brendan's cap- which sat atop her head- to prevent it from falling off of her, she turned heel and strolled away from the area.

Lucas was floating toward her, a blank expression on his features as he halted in front of her. "The sun has set," he spoke, motioning toward the sky with his head. The Combusken's gaze flickered toward the sky; surprisingly enough, the sun had already set. Apparently the sun liked to sink beneath the horizon quicker during the winter.

Bringing her attention back onto the dragon-and-psychic type, she nodded. "Where are we sleeping tonight?" she asked, yanking Brendan's cap off of her head. The two had yet to find a suitable spot to sleep, despite being in Mauville City for quite a few days now. The spot Athena originally thought would've been good turned out to be a rather poor area, for not only was it cold, but the beam was too close to the ground to be comfortable. Thus, they had to search for a different spot to sleep that night.