Bitter~Sweet 2 Ula'ula Mischief

Chapter.21 Elite Camping

- ( Day 3 since landing... It feels like only yesterday when Alex, and me reunited, well...technically it was.

Alex was overjoyed to see me after I dived in front of a great ball, and stopped it in it's tracks. I never did show how painful that was on my face. Managed to even keep my cool despite the poor landing.

The sun was setting at the time too, just like it is now. The warm orange in the sky was proof of that. 

Her eyes sparkled with recognition, and relief. I used to have a crush on her when she first evolved. That was, until Oranguru told me how unlikely she would reciprocate. Things were awkward since then.

Because she used to be human, I realized why she never saw me as anything other than a friend.

Our journey was long, but we got through the worst of it at least. We had some close calls though, and I realized some shortcomings of my own.  

After Tapu Lele outright confirmed that she indeed used to be human, wiping any doubt left in my mind, well...let's just say I started treating her as more of a sister since then.

 My greatest failure came when we were leaving the island. The encounter with both Tsareena, and Gyarados.

That day, I learned that I haven't been relying on myself enough. I've been relying on her to take the lead, when we were supposed to be equals. Because of my weakness, we were separated, so I decided to work to get stronger.

Against the odds, I managed to keep the humans at bay, and eventually I found the trail of chaos that Alex left behind. I'm glad we're back now, but Alex needs time to mentally recover.

Denied once again by the Tapuus, her once bright confidence is waning. What can I do though? How can I help bring that smile back out?) - 

Sid? Did you find any firewood yet? You've been more quiet than usual you know. You're starting to scare me.

- Sorry, was just lost, in thought. I've just been trying to figure out how we got ourselves into this situation.  Have any luck finding any sticks? -

I've mostly been collecting these lumps of charcoal around here. Also ripping some of the dry grass shouldn't hurt.

- Charcoal? What the heck is charcoal? - Alex's face starts grinning. Ehhh? Yoou've nnneverr hearrd of Charcoal? It's only the best way to cook Barbeque outside since I was little.

- Please don't treat me like an uncultured simpleton Alex. Just tell me what to look for, and I'll help you. - Pfff, you're no fun. Look, just pick up any black rocks you find that seem lighter than regular rocks. ( I'm just surprised you're ok being anyway near fire.)

The sun will be setting in a bit, and I really don't want to be caught in the dark. Sid raises an eyebrow.

-I thought you weren't scared of ghosts anymore.- I..I'm not. I just don't want to get lost if we drift too far from Acerola, that's all. - How about we just put a pin in that then for now. My arms are nearly full, let's just head back. We can pick up some dry grass along the way. -

Can't you just put the charcoal in both hands so you can carry more? -Alex... My hands can't even reach each other. 

There is no way I'm going to be able to carry more unless I put it in my mouth, or store it in my backpack, and I don't think I want burnable rocks touching the berries, let alone on my tongue. -

Wait really? I thought I heard you clapping your hands that one time. - No, that was probably my stomach. I smack my stomach, lightly to make generally the same sound. You got to work with what you have sometimes.