Herbs and Spices

Chapter 5

The sounds of soft snores filled the rooms of the gym leader brothers.

Iris sat on her bed, and sighed. "That was scary, wasn't it, Axew?" She asked the sleeping dragon. Axew yawned scoldingly at it's trainer. "Right.. You must be tired. Well, goodnight." She smiled and kissed the dragon's forehead, sneaking over to the windows. She opened a window-door and stepped outside, onto the balcony.

Iris glanced up at the roof of the restaurant, it seemed climbable. She grabbed onto the pipe and tried lifting herself up. She sighed as she made it to the top, sitting and staring at the night sky.

Stars glowing brightly, not a single cloud. The full moon was out, shining over all of Unova. "It's beautiful..." Iris glazed up, a soft wind flowing through the girl's hair. Her stomach hurt a bit, and she hugged her knees and sighed.

"It is, isn't it?" A voice spoke. Iris jumped, looking back to see Cilan smiling at her. "You're up late... Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Iris smiled weakly, and looked down at the tiled roof. "I... Couldn't sleep." Cilan walked over to her slowly, and sat next to her. "Nor could I. Still a bit startled by the Beartic?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Well, yeah.. I hate Beartic more than any other ice type..." Iris frowned, hugging her knees to her chest. "Mind if I ask why?" Cilan asked, looking at her a bit confused.

Iris sighed, handing a picture to Cilan. It was a picture of 3 year old Iris, with two young adults. "These were my parents... We weren't living in the Village of Dragons yet... We lived just outside of a small town."

Cilan waited patiently for her to continue, Iris seemed hesitant. She took a deep breathe and sighed, continuing.

"We were.. Picking berries near the house. I was in a tree picking apples... When I heard a loud roar and a cold breeze. When I got off the tree, I saw my parents trying to fight off a huge Beartic herd... My parents told me to run back to the house and wait.

I waited there for 3 hours... Nobody came back. I went to the berry trees, and..."

Iris choked up, her voice cracking. Cilan looked at her worried. "They... They were killed... By the Beartics.." She spoke, tearing up. Cilan saw the pain in her eyes, and softly touched her shoulder. "I'm.. Sorry about that." He whispered.

Iris turned and hugged Cilan, crying on his shoulder. He rubbed her back comfortingly. "I.. I miss them..." She cried. "I've been alone my whole life... Had nobody to comfort me."

Cilan lifted her chin softly to look a him and he smiled. "You're not alone anymore... I'm here for you." He spoke softly. Iris turned a few shades of red, as she wiped her tears. "Thank you..." Iris whispered, her voice weak. "Anytime..." Cilan smiled and kissed her forehead, standing up. "Try to get some sleep... Tomorrow we're doing whatever you want."

He slid down the roof, and Iris smiled a bit. "C-Cilan?" She peeked down the roof, but he was gone. ".. Thank you for caring..." She whispered.