I'm fine, don't worry.

It was rather calm at the small pond. Probably because it was so late. Most Pokemon already went home. The sky was growing darker as the sun had disappeared behind the trees. There were a few dark clouds in the sky but other than that, the weather was nice.

A small, blue colored Houndour appeared near the pond, but she didn't look well. She had pretty much been dragging her body all the way from Pecha forest. She was trying to reach Grassveil but she was in too much pain and too exhausted to reach it. The reason she was in such a bad shape was because she got hit rather closely by the self-destruct of a Pineco. She had been too busy warning her companion, a Togepi, to escape herself. The two had gotten some help from a Ledyba and a Hoothoot but she needed to rest now.

Niracamda sighed and slumped under a tree near the water of the small pond. She couldn't go on anymore like this. The Houndour was rather relieved to have been able to get this far. She didn't have to worry about getting attacked by wild Pokemon now. She could maybe rest here a bit. She would probably feel a bit better then. The Houndour looked at the water. She wondered what Deimos would have done if he was in Pecha with her and also how he was doing. As far as she remembered, he was investigating some rumour about a ghost.

Deimos was sat at the waters edge, having decided to check the pond just in case he had missed anything before. He wanted to make certain that everything here was like before. He had sensed something off prior, something that made him want to check. He sensed a some sort of black in the area close by. He was unsure of if it was in Pecha or the small pond, thus he had went there first.

It seemed that there was no blast here from the terrain and such. His mind was in a rush, worried as to what it what it truly was. These thoughts were soon interupted as he felt something crawling out of the woods, towards the area. He looked over, soon rushing over as fast as he could. He saw a familiar short, blue form from a distance. From that, he was worried.

When he reached he, He paused next to her, staring down at Niracamda. She seemed hurt... What on earth happened? Did the blast hit her? "Nira... What happened?" He asked, honestly worried for her due to her condition.

Niracamda heard a familiar voice, one she rather did not hear. She glanced over at Deimos, who was noticeable worried for her. Why was he here? The hound managed to avoid wincing from pain as she slowly sat up. She didn't want him to see her like this. He was her bodyguard. She knew pretty well she should not go into a dungeon without someone to protect her but she did that anyway. Deimos didn't seem like the kind that would get angry, but she couldn't be too sure.

Niracamda looked at the Absol. She didn't want to worry him but she also didn't want to lie to him. She was rather unsure what to say. "N-Nothing bad happened. I....was just exploring Pecha forest." Niracamda tried her best to not let any pain show through her voice and didn't look at Deimos. She kind of wished the painkiller she got back in the forest was still working. She was not the best at lying either.

Deimos glanced around cautiously to be safe, not knowing if she had actually been followed or if she had truly escaped from whatever attacked her. Deimos was overall quite worried about the Houndour... The second she leaves his protection things go to hell. Once he was certain they were on their own, he sighed and sat down next to her, rummaging through his makeshift bag.

He knew he had some sort of berry in there, maybe something that could help. He was no expert on berries and such, knowing full well he couldn't help much in regards to treating injuries. "Your body's physical condition says otherwise... So please don't try to lie about it to not worry me" He spoke, tone seeming relatively Calm. He knew panicking in this situation would be a stupid idea that would only cause the two trouble at this point.

Niracamda glanced at Deimos when he started going through his bag. She was wondering what he was looking for. Of course, he knew she was lying. She didn't think that he was going to believe her. Niradamda let out a sigh and looked at the ground before her. "Sorry..." Her voice was barely audible. She was feeling bad for more than just lying to him. It was probably better to try to explain what happened.

"Well.... I was.... exploring Pecha forest.... with this Togepi. I wanted to look at this herb... and I must have scared a Pineco.... I... warned the Togepi.... but... the Pineco exploded.... before I could get away." Niracamda probably was no longer able to hide she was in pain. It could probably be heard through her voice. She already got Deimos worried, it was no use to hide her pain or lie about what happened anymore.

Deimos eventually stopped messing around with his bag. He sat next to her, willing to use himself as a support if she wanted to move closer to the waters edge. Though he felt somewhat bad for not being able to do something to help with her injuries, he wanted to help however else he could. He listened quietly to her story, doing naught to interrupt her.

Eventually, he smiled a little... She used herself to shield another despite the risk... That was brave for a non combatant to do. In his own way, as her guard he couldn't help to feel proud for her, that she was willing to go as far as that to protect another. "Your still in one piece, that's what matters" He spoke, trying to remain positive.

Niracamda didn't know how to feel anymore. She was relieved Deimos didn't seem to be angry, but she was still feeling bad for making him worry. Still, she was happy he was with her. It made the pain a bit more tolerable. The blue Houndour leaned a bit against him, mostly to prevent herself from falling over.

She glanced over to the small pond. She had to get her wounds cleaned. The Houndour hesitated. She didn't want to trouble Deimos, but at the same time she was going to have a difficult time to reach the water without any help. Niracamda hesitated and eventually decided. "I'm sorry.... Deimos.... Could you.... Help me? I need to... clean... my wounds..." She asked Deimos in a rather quiet voice. She figured that trying to get to the pond herself would only worry him more.

Deimos had remained perfectly still at first, not moving away when she leant against him. He didn't mind using himself to support her, that's what allies are for after all, to watch out for each other and support others in their times of need. He nodded when she made a request for him to help her towards the water. Instead of being seated now, he lay down outstretched, willing to carry her over.

The Absol chuckled to himself a little, recalling that this wasn't the first incident of him outright carrying someone. He remembered how he served as transport for Russell and now potentially Nira, if she had the strength to lift herself up. "Climb on if you can... I'll carry you over"" He spoke. He didn't have much of a contingency if she couldn't move any further, over than trying to lift her on his own.

Niracamda almost fell down when the Absol decided to lay down. The action confused her a bit. He did seem willing to help her after all. So why did he do that? The Houndour also saw how Deimos was chuckling to himself. She had no idea why.

Only after Deimos explained he was going to carry her, she inderstood why he lay down. Niracamda nodded and carefully climbed on his back, making sure she would not fall of or hurt him. She didn't like being in this situation. She felt she was a burden to the Absol. "Sorry for...the trouble" She said once she was on his back.

Deimos had waited patiently to see her reaction. He understood her confused reaction until his explanation, considering his move was pretty much out of nowhere. He held perfectly still, letting her climb onto him and hold on properly before he rose up. He walked towards the water slowly, each movement made carefully in order to avoid dropping her. As soon as he reached the waters edge he slowly lay down once more, providing ample room for her to climb off.

"It's no trouble... Friends exist to help one another after all" He spoke. He was only speaking logically there, believing her to be a friend under his protection. He didn't know of anything more than that, nor did he expect any more than that.

Niracamda tried her best to stay strong. Being carried surely helped her a lot, but her body was still in pain. Once they reached the pond and Deimos lay down, the blue Houndour carefully moved from his back to the ground. She stared at Deimos for a moment. "Friends...?" It actually made her a bit happy to hear that. She had been worried he was not considering her as a friend. "Thank you..." She said.

Niracamda slowly moved closer to the water's edge and lay down. She slowly started washing off her wounds, starting with the one on her shoulder. It was probably the worst one of all of them. The water in itself didn't feel nice , but she knew it was important to do this. She couldn't help but let out a whimper though. Cleaning it all would take a while.

Deimos rose once Nira climbed off of him, taking a moment to glance around just to be safe. He paused when he heard her first comment, one that sounded more like a question at first. He simply chuckled once she had finished speaking and nodded, smiling somewhat. He was glad she didn't mind the way he saw her. She was more than just a client to him, she was a clear friend.

"Any time Nira" He spoke, his tone softer than normal in nature. It was clear enough he wasn't kidding when he referred to her as a friend. For an otherwise somewhat solitary individual, it was a nice change of pace to have someone to consider as a proper friend.

Niracamda wasn't happy that Deimos saw her like this, but at the same time he was there and saw her as a friend. She quietly cleaned her wounds, letting out a few whimpers now and then. By the time she was done, it was already dark out. Niracamda looked at the water and slowly got up.

She could stay there, but it seemed better to go back to Grassveil and find a place to rest there. Getting there on her own was going to be difficult. She glanced at were Deimos had been, hoping he was still there. He didn't want to cause him any trouble but she could at least use some company on the way there.

After a while of sitting by her side and letting her clean her injuries, Deimos finally payed attention to the time. It he grown later than he had anticipated. He honestly hadn't realised so much time had gone past. The Absol rose from his seat, glancing around the area before turning his focus back to Nira. The Absol waited for her to rise from her seated position, standing up on his own.

"It's gotten later than what I expected to be honest..." He spoke, his tone still relatively gentle. He knew that just cleaning wounds doesn't take away the pain after all... He had to stay around to support her after all. He couldn't call himself a friend if he just abandoned her after all.

Niracamda was relieved to see Deimos was still there. She smiled slightly and moved closer to him. The Houndour agreed with Deimos. "It really has gotten dark... I should go to Grassveil and well... rest." Most of her injuries weren't hurting as much anymore. Her shoulder was still hurting a lot. She made sure to not lean on her front paw.

Niracamda looked at Deimos. She hesitated a bit before asking the question she wantes to ask. "Could you accompany me until I found a place to stay? She really hoped he would say yes. She felt rather vulnerable like this.