Tale Of The Guardian Master

Chapter 19 - Frustrated Kirlia

Once the two were outside of the building, Chris walked over to the brush bordering the woods and set down the Rattata, petting them each as they sniffed around, stopping to rub against both Chris and Kirlia for a moment before they went into the woods one by one, leaving the two behind as they nibbled things on the ground along the way. "There... That feels pretty good..." he chuckled, looking down towards Kirlia who faced where the Rattata went silently, until slowly facing the ground again. "...Hey, don't worry about it..." he told her, suddenly picking her up and setting her on his shoulder. "...You were upset I got hurt. It was sweet of you... You just happened to go a little too far... I really do appreciate it at heart though. I never thought someone would come to care about me so much... Especially since we haven't known each other very long... Guess I'm doing something right to win you over, huh?" he smiled, causing her to jolt and flush brightly as he went to his rucksack and lift it from the ground, walking off in the direction of the center, watching the sun rising in the distance. "Its just a shame we have to walk all the way back... Still, that was definitely a night to remember... Ha ha..."

Walking along, he glanced at Kirlia randomly, seeing her expression returning to a somber state. Rubbing the back of his head, he let out a sigh, trying to think of a way to cheer her up after what happened. Although, he didn't even know what exactly was making her feel the worst out of it all... Him being hurt...? Her turning into... What she did? Looking around, he suddenly found a large boulder at the side of the path. Sitting her on top, she turned her face side to side confused as he put his rucksack down and rummaged through it, taking out bandages, cotton, and disinfectant. "So then... I think I could use some help tending to my face... Who might be willing to help me...?" he asked, with Kirlia suddenly shooting up with her hand in the air, making loud sounds as if to say "me!! me!!" repeatedly. With a chuckle, he rubbed her head and told her thanks, carefully teaching her how to take care of his injuries. She learned surprisingly quickly, and with nervous, trembling hands, she dipped the cotton in the disinfectant, holding it out. "Good! That's how its done!" he smiled, leaning his face forward until it pressed against the cotton in her hand. Kirlia nodded and pat the cotton around his face, wiping here and there clumsily as he let out random hisses, Kirlia quickly pulling the cotton away each time in a panic, not wanting to hurt him. "D... Don't worry. Its just doing its job. But... I think I'm ready for some bandages now... Want to try?" he asked, handing the small box to her, getting a nervous nod in response.

Teaching her how to open and peel off the paper from the band aids, she started sticking them randomly all over his face, trying to put them over the spots hurting him most, until you saw more band aids on his face than his own skin. Feeling in the box for more, she tipped it upside down discovering it was now empty. Facing up at Chris, she made a sound as if to ask how he felt with a nervous expression, and with a chuckle as he felt all the band aids covering him, he gave her a rub on the head. "You did great... Thanks for taking care of me." he told her, lifting her up and giving her a hug. "You've got a great heart Kirlia... Thanks for caring so much..." he said, suddenly rubbing his nose against hers, getting a flushed and sudden wide eyed expression in response as she jerked her head back, startled by the new feeling of his nose against hers. She rubbed the tip of it with her small hand shyly, finally showing a slight smile from having so much of his attention again. With a nod, he put his things away and resumed his trip back to the center, eventually managing to hitch a ride on a small truck carrying hay on the back. "Ahhh... Now this is nice... Smell the hay? That's country for ya..." he sighed, Kirlia smelling the hay and suddenly doing the same, sitting back and kicking her feet happily. Looking down at her, Chris smiled and ruffled her hair, causing her to shout in irritation and shove his hand away, puffing her cheeks with a scowl.

"That's the Kirlia I know..." he smirked, suddenly taking her hand and holding it gently. "Its great to have you back..." he chuckled, causing her to face her hand flushing with "eh...? ehh?!!" noises in shy embarrassment. She didn't pull away however... In fact... She actually inched her way against his side, resting her head against him as she slowly gripped his hand also, letting out a happy sigh now that she had him back too, with Chris watching the last of the sunrise, and Kirlia feeling the morning light against her face. "...Wadaya know? We're already here..." he muttered, noticing the center poking out from the trees nearby. The driver gave a slight honk, and in response Chris waved his hand up, lifting Kirlia under an arm and grabbing his rucksack under his other. Counting to three, he stood and carefully jumped off the truck, making Kirlia scream and flail nervously as he landed on the ground, telling her to relax with a laugh while sitting her down and waving at the driver, who gave a second honk before speeding along. "Nice guy! That shaved off a ton of walking!" he laughed, looking down at Kirlia who clutched his pants leg, still startled from being suddenly lift in the air when he jumped off the truck. "Ahh... Ha ha... Sorry about that... I promise I'll work on my warnings..." he said nervously, patting her head as she scowled up at him.