A Late Start

Firelight

"Lexi, wake up, food's ready!" I heard Ethan's voice calling me. My eyes snapped open, it was dark out, guess I must have fallen asleep. Silas had moved from my side and was now curled up on top of me, he wasn't asleep though, just watching me. My body felt stiff but I stood up and stepped out of my tent, Silas following close behind.
"Ugh. How long was I out?" I called out, eyes still not adjusted to the darkness.
"You've been out like a candle since before I got back, must be like 4? 5? Hours at this point."
"Jeez, I don't even remember falling asleep." I slowly made my way towards the glow emanating from the campfire Ethan had evidently lit while I was out. A camping skillet hung loosely above the flame, the smell of freshly cooked meat blanketed the area. I was also picking up the smell of some different kinds of herb, although I couldn't pick them out. Ethan had set up two camping chairs around a tree stump he was using as a table.
"Smells nice," I remarked. "Didn't know you knew how to cook."
"I dabble, better than just eating raw. Flavour is a bit odd, but it's the best we've got." The memory of earlier today hit me like a truck, I visibly recoiled.
"You mean... The Watchog?"
"Yeah."
"Oh god. That really happened didn't it."
"Yeah... it did, I still have no clue why it decided to attack Royce though." Once again I could feel my heart in my throat. "Relax, at this point, it's no different to any other steak you've had." I guess he could sense my distress.
"You're right. We didn't have any other choice... did we?"
"Not unless you call starving a choice. By the way, has Silas eaten meat before?"
"Not as far as I know."
"Well, I kept a few of the offcuts in case he wanted some." He placed a plastic plate with all sorts of strips and other odd bits on the ground. "Help yourself if you feel like, I cooked half of them for you since I wasn't sure what you prefer." I took a seat at the table across from him as Silas approached the plate set out for him with curiosity.
"I'm never going to get used to this," I said quietly, cutting into the slab of meat with the cutlery already set out.
"Hey, don't worry too much. It gets easier after a while."
"I hope so, even though I've eaten meat before its... Offputting to know that it was so recently... Alive." The last word rolled off my tongue with a shudder. I swallowed hard before popping a piece of the odd meat into my mouth. The flesh was juicy, slightly tough and had a very strong flavour. Nothing like conventional packaged steaks. It wasn't bad though, the herbs Ethan had used took a bit of the edge off the taste. It was surprisingly palatable.
"Not bad," I said after swallowing. "Very... different though."
"Yeah, wild meat is a whole other animal huh? Doesn't help that this wasn't exactly an ideal hunt."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, the creature was stressed by the time I was able to... you know, plus the wounds from battle made the meat tough."
"I guess that makes sense."  It was at this point that I realised how hungry I was, and all of my thoughts and issues around the situation fell away as I scarfed down the rest of my portion.
"Hungry huh?" Ethan joked. "Very unladylike."
"Oh shut up, I haven't eaten since this morning."
"Haha, nothing like an aching stomach to put your doubts aside." A glance told me that Silas hadn't eaten either, he'd completely cleared the plate Ethan left for him.
"Wait, did Silas not have lunch with you two?"
"He hasn't left your side all day, I offered but he was insistent on staying with you."
"Worried about me huh buddy?"
"Eevee." His tone was low, and he looked up at me. I put my hand down and gently played with the fur on his head.
"I'm okay Silas, really, you don't have to look out for me like that." He jumped up into my lap and curled up again. "Where is Royce by the way? I haven't seen 'em since I got up."
"He's resting, even though Silas took the bulk of the damage he was still far from energised," Ethan responded, tapping his hip as he spoke. "You know it's easier for them to recover inside their pokeballs right?"
"Yeah, I know, Silas never really took to the idea though, even back in Kanto he would get moody anytime I put him in his ball. I don't wanna force it on him unless he gets really hurt." I ran my fingers over his back, feeling for any trace of the cut from earlier, Aside from some of his fur being sticky and matted the wound was completely healed.
"You're gonna need a bath tomorrow bud." He let out a weak whining sound in protest to the idea. "I'll probably have to wash your scarf too, wouldn't want it getting stained or tattered. Well, more tattered anyway." The ends of the garment had become frayed from being so close to the ground, and there were a few holes in the fabric, I assume from sharp natural objects and wear and tear. This time my comment was met with a full groan from a, particularly indignant Eevee. "Don't give me that tone Silas, I know you don't like taking it off. But if you want to keep it in one piece it's going to need maintenance from time to time." He continued to quietly sulk about it, he always does, but he also knows I'm right so he doesn't actually fight me about it. Another few hours went by as we sat around the fire, talking about this and that. It must have been around 10 pm before we both decided to get some sleep.