Virah yawned as she slid out of her sleeping bag, eating a Caterpie had been odd, to say the least, and the memory of killing it yesterday was still clear in her mind. It stuck itself there the same way Whitney did… okay, maybe that’s not an apt comparison or even a right one.

And speaking of Whitney, Virah got up and noticed that the pinkette was already awake and was so focused on staring at her Pokewatch that she didn’t notice Virah getting up. Whitney was watching something and a closer look got Virah to see it was a saved video of sorts.

“Good morning Whitney,” Virah waved to the pinkette

Her friend turned her head away from her Pokewatch to look at Virah.

“Hey,” Whitney smiled lightly, her energy used up- missing. Lethargic- That was the right word to describe Whitney's state at the moment and after what happened last night, Virah could understand why her friend would act like this.

Despite that though, the pinkette still tried to put on a cheerful smile, “good morning,”

“Eating that Caterpie was… normal, Whitney,” Virah decided to break the ice, rip off the band aid, and face the pain-

She curled her knees and pressed her chin on top of them, she hummed, noticing just how cold it was inside of their tent- huh, didn't they have a heater in here? She turned her gaze towards said heater and saw that it had been turned off… Huh.

Virah shook her head and turned back to Whitney, “we're going to have to start doing that when we go on our journey you know? Since most of our supplies won't last us when we stay out in the wilds for weeks.”

“They can,” Whitney refuted, “we just need to buy enough,”

“Mhmm.” Virah hummed, she felt guilty when she considered what Whitney was suggesting, after all, she was leeching off of the pinkette already wasn't she?

And Virah didn't know if Grene would do the same- she most likely won't, since Grene had finances of her own, - but Virah asking Whitney for food was already set in stone, and thinking about Whitney buying her weeks' worth of food made her feel like a piece of shit.

“I think I'll help you buy them- the uh, food I mean.” Virah replied, “it's a good idea right?” She put on the best smile she could. It was shaky and felt brittle but it got the message across. “I- I'll help you in buying them- the uh, food, I mean. Yeah…”

Whitney smiled softly, “thanks,” the pinkette said, “you better win most of your fights during our journey then, if you want to buy food that'll last us weeks,”

Virah found herself huffing in offense, “that's just obvious,” she said honestly, “and… I don't know how well I'll do against other professional trainers-” ones who have been raising their Pokemon for years even, “- but against casual battlers and kids our age? I think I'll do well against them,”

“Bah, you're a bully,” Whitney said, and the way- the way it sounded familiar yet so different to Virah's ears- the way the words felt like they should be energetic but clearly weren't- it made Virah feel guilt and her heart clenched at the thought of her letting Whitney witness a Pokemon getting killed and then eating it afterward.

“I know,” Virah grinned, “but I'll stop fighting other kids when I finish my first journey,”

“Uhuh…” Whitney trailed off.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

And then silence.

It was the pinkette who broke it, “say,” Whitney started, “how… do you feel about not having parents?”

“It sucks,” Virah didn't get why Whitney started this kind of topic and usually she won’t answer properly but for some reason, she felt that the moment that they were sharing with each other- this little event with just the two of them being the only participants- in this tiny little world that made up of only their tent, Whitney, and herself- she felt that being honest was the right call.

“Really?” Whitney said.

“Mhmm,” Virah confirmed.

She didn't know why the pinkette seemed surprised that not having people to take care of you sucked, or even why she herself was agreeing and saying yes when usually, her personal pride would make her say no and tell Whitney that she was independent and that it was freeing but… it just felt right.

Everything she was saying felt right, and she didn’t care what kind of consequences her words would have in the future.

Saying them just. Felt. Right.

“I thought that- you know- I think- I’ve always felt that doing whatever I wanted to do without my parents nagging at me is a good thing,” Whitney said, “it’s why I admire you, you know?”

“You do?” Virah said in shock, “you admire me?”

“Yeah,” Whitney smiled, “I- I think that it’s only you who’s taking care of yourself is kinda cool,”

Virah’s cheeks turned rosy, “you don’t mean that,”

“I do,” Whitney nodded, “I… my…” the pinkette sighed, “Grene’s parents didn’t lie to her,”

“About what?” Virah asked, though she could guess where her friend was going with this.

“About killing Pokemon, back then… Grene looked like she knew what she was doing and she even looked like she expected things to turn out like that, you know?” Whitney ranted heatedly, “mine told me that Pokefeed is dug out of the ground,”

Virah giggled, Whitney huffed, “see?” The pinkette said, “they embarrassed me,”

“I’m sure they love you,” Virah consoled, “they wanted to protect you from knowing something so harsh so they decided to lie to you,”

“They pampered me, is what you’re saying,” Whitney drawled.

“Maybe,” Virah grinned, “but hey, at least you eventually learned everything yourself right? That’s independence!”

“Yeah, but it only happened because I was with you and Grene,” Whitney groused.

“Hm… maybe,” Virah leaned back and let herself slump against her pillow, “I personally feel that you would have still seen something like this all by yourself,”

“I know,” Whitney said, “I… I’m glad that it was with you two,” the pinkette added, “I mean it.”

“Why?” Virah asked.

“Because I know that you two will still treat me the same way even if I cried and whined like I did,” Whitney answered and Virah thought there was some hidden meaning behind the pinkette’s words, though she couldn’t place just what they were. Whitney sighed, “and- I guess it’s also- we can also look back to the same moment from last night when we grow up and laugh about it,”

“Mhmm.” Virah hummed, speechless, “I guess we can huh?”

She wasn’t sure if she and Whitney would even be friends in the future- still be friends but a part of her wanted to keep Whitney by her side- to chase her even when she ran away- to- to- to go along with the pinkette in everything she wanted to do. Through thick and thin, Virah wanted to stay with her.

All of those meaningless thoughts were flushed away a moment later.

“Here’s to… growing up?” Virah said, unsure.

“Here’s to growing up, I guess,” Whitney repeated her words with a soft giggle.

In the end, their conversation lulled into a sort of comfortable silence that left Virah feeling… light hearted? Nostalgia was the closest thing she could compare it to but she didn’t feel like they were the right kind of… feelings? Emotions? To call what she was feeling at the moment?

She couldn’t really describe it but that’s just how it is- ‘that’s just how it is when I’m dealing with Whitney,’

That effectively sums up her interaction with Whitney, wasn’t it? Because if she wasn’t getting swept up by the hurricane of energy that left her feeling dizzy, she started to feel anxiety and worry about how she felt towards her friend- and Virah really didn’t want to ruin that title, to turn it into something more.

She already liked the way she and Whitney interacted- they were basically like uh, sisters? Sisters.

‘That.’ Virah shifted her gaze and gave Whitney a side glance. ‘We’re like sisters.’

It’s like- the way they talked- had fun with each other- and just overall enjoyed each other’s company- it was comfortable, nice- and Virah didn’t want that to go away just because her stupid heart made her take a risk that’ll expectedly and understandably fail.

She didn’t know how Whitney would react to her saying that she loves her but Virah was sure that it wouldn’t be… kind? Happy?

Virah knew that the pinkette had her limits- just look at the way she reacted to eating a Caterpie.

Whitney had basically lost her energy and what’s more, she blamed her parents for not telling her the truth about Pokemon predation- and if Whitney can blame her parents and even hate them then what in Ho oh’s name is Virah compared to that?

Whitney could easily hate her if she confessed, and Virah concluded that she would never do it. Not unless she was forced to.