Amour in Galar form

48. Attic date

Sorry for the lack of updates, university kinda keeps me busy😔 But here is a new chapter, I hope you like it :)

Previously:

Snow caused problems and Ash, Serena and Lucario almost died in an avalanche. Lucario saved little Skwovet from freezing, but was also a stubborn donkey and almost got himself killed. The group met the ranger Mortimer and got to spend the night in his cabin. And for some, that night will be a little different...

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Scratch, scriich, screek...

Serena woke up in the middle of the night to strange scratching noises. At first, she thought it was her dream, but when the sounds continued even after she woke up, she realized they were coming from the real world. But what was causing them, she didn't know.

She sat up on the couch where she had been sleeping and let the blanket roll off her body. The living room was dim, but the moonlight from the window illuminated it enough for her to see around her. Gou and Chloe were sleeping peacefully on the mattresses on the ground, so no sound came from them. Nor did it come from Lucario, who was still asleep on the same sofa as the evening before. Nor did it come from the large grandfather clock opposite Serena's sofa (it was 3 a.m., by the way), so the source of the sound was still a mystery to Serena. A mystery that was beginning to interest her more and more.

She sat up a little better and was suddenly about to have a heart attack when from somewhere there was a small quiet "Shh..." She quickly turned her gaze in the direction of the sound and saw Ash looking at her from his mattress and holding his finger in front of his mouth, a sign that Serena should keep quiet. Serena raised her eyebrow questioningly at the sight of it and in response Ash pointed towards Mortimer's kitchen section. Serena slowly moved her gaze from her boyfriend to the kitchen and was surprised at what she saw.

The little Skwovet that Lucario had rescued had apparently finally woken up and started moving. Serena saw it running along the kitchen tables, dragging all sorts of things with it, from berries to kitchen utensils. That was apparently the source of the strange creaking noise that had woken Serena, and apparently Ash too.

Skwovet seemed to be tucking things away in his tail, and Serena was surprised at how many things he could fit in there. "He's been doing that for a while," she heard Ash whisper, and realized he meant Skwovet's strange hoarding. "I'd be interested to know what he's going to do with that stuff."

"Yeah, me too," Serena whispered back, watching Skwovet tuck the dish towel into his tail. "I wonder if he has a plan for them?"

"Maybe," Ash replied, moving to sit so that he was leaning against Serena's sofa. As he moved, Pikachu rolled over in his sleep to sleep on Ash's pillow, but Ash didn't notice. Instead, he looked at Serena, and said suddenly, "The moonlight makes your hair shimmer prettily."

"Well, thank you," Serena said, surprised at this sudden remark, but smiled anyway. Ash grinned back, but said no more. Little did he know, though, that that little compliment made Serena feel really good all of a sudden.

But their tender moment was suddenly interrupted by a slightly different kind of squeak. They turned to look, and saw Skwovet disappear into the stairs leading upstairs. They looked quickly at each other and then Serena whispered, "Let's follow him."

"Good idea," Ash grinned back and got up from his mattress. He grabbed Serena's hand and then they started creeping towards the staircase, leaving Pikachu and the others to sleep unaware of this new 'adventure'.

Silently they crept up to the stairs and then Ash peered up. He couldn't make out much at the top of the stairs, as it was completely dark, but he caught a glimpse of a small figure disappearing into the shadows upstairs. He glanced quickly at Serena, who was silently pointing her finger upwards. Ash nodded to her and then they started to climb the stairs.