Herbs and Spices

Chapter 1

"Goodbye Ash..." Iris whispered as the door slowly closed, trying to keep a smile on her face. Cilan waved, standing next to her. And within a few seconds, the train exited the station, and the two departed Kanto. As soon as he was out of sight, Iris's knees felt weak, but she still stood tall. "We had fun.. Didn't we?" Cilan looked at his female friend, a bit saddened. "... Yeah.." Iris looked down and replied softly. "I never thought it'd end so.. Suddenly." She smiled hearing him chuckle. "There comes an end to everything... Except friendship."

I look at him, smiling a bit. "You think... We'll ever see him again?" Cilan took a moment to think, then nodded. "Of course. There's never truly a goodbye in friendships. I doubt this will be our last meeting..." "And us?" Cilan was a bit surprised and confused at the next question. "... Pardon?"

"W-Well.. We've gotten close, despite our differences. And.. I enjoyed our adventures. But..." Iris looked out the window. ".. Your heading home, where your a gym leader and a successful restaurant owner with your brothers..." Cilan looked at her, staring. "I don't have anywhere to really go.. The village of dragons doesn't have many opportunities for me to become a better trainer... I didn't exactly have a plan for AFTER our adventures... So now I'm stuck in the middle of nowheresvill." She sighed. Cilan pondered this, taking it all in. "So your alone." He concluded. Iris nodded a bit. "Mhm.."

Cilan adjusted his bow tie and nodded. "I completely understand. You don't know what your suppose to do with your life now... I was at that place before, it takes time. Though I may not know what your place is... I DO have a proposition to offer." Iris sweat dropped. "Your not gonna slip into your evaluation time, now, are you?"

Cilan rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "No no.. What I'm thinking is this; You can come stay with me and my brothers, work at the restaurant, and you wouldn't be alone. We could visit some old friends, or revisit some cities..." He looked at Iris and smiled. "How does that sound?" Iris stared. "Your.. For real?" With a simple nod from Cilan, she hugged him tightly. "Thank you Cilan! That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me!" Cilan chuckled, losing air. "Of course-- now please let me breathe.." Iris quickly let go, causing Cilan to fall to the floor. "... I'm okay!" He laughed a bit.

After a few people left, Cilan and Iris found seats, sitting next to each other. "Attention passengers, the train with be stopping at Striation City in about an hour and a half.. Thank you for choosing our train line. Iris yawned softly, Axew popping out from her hair to let her know it was going to sleep. Cilan looked at a magazine they offered on the train. "Hey Iris, there's suppose to be a carnival coming to Striation City, wanna go sometime this week?" No response. "Iris?" He looked over and saw Iris fast asleep against his arm. He chuckled. "Alright then.. Sleep well."