"C'mon, Ceci! You promised we'd go ice skating today!" one of Cecilia's younger brothers said in a whiny tone as he shook Cecilia from her sleep.

"Yeah, Ceci! You promised!" one of her younger sisters chimed in.

Letting out a soft sigh, Cecilia finally stirred. "Alright, alright, we'll go soon. Just let me get ready and eat a little, alright?" she asked in a sleepy tone.

The two smiled brightly in response to what she had said. "Okay!" they chimed before rushing off to do their own thing while they waited.

Sighing, Cecilia quickly got out of bed and got herself ready for the day before heading over to the kitchen to get some breakfast. Once Roxanne and Jared had seen her, bright smiles crossed their faces.

"Hurry up and eat Ceci! We wanna get there before it gets too crowded!" Jared piped up.

Roxanne nodded in agreement. "Yeah! It's no fun when there are too many people around."

"I take it you three are going ice skating? Be careful out there. Cecilia, make sure your team is well cared for, and Julien and Roxanne, listen to your sister, alright?" Cecilia's mother chimed in, receiving nods from the three.

Soon after, Cecilia was done eating and the three headed out, making sure to be bundled up for the harsh, cold weather of their region and with ice skates in hand. Cecilia had also decided to let her two team mates, a Luxio and a newly evolved Furret, out so they could get some exercise while they made their way to the nearby frozen lake.

Cecilia's Luxio, ever the stand offish type, prowled ahead while Cecilia's Furret stayed with the group, playing around with the three siblings while they walked. Soon enough, the lake was in sight and, deciding to give her team some more exercise, Cecilia let them roam while her and her siblings put on their skates.

"Alright, you two! Now, take it easy, okay? Stripes and I will be around to help you stay on balance, so you two don't have to worry too much about falling over, okay? But like mom said, you two need to be careful." Cecilia said, receiving impatient nods from Jared and Roxanne.

"We know, Ceci! Let's just get skating!" Roxanne responded, getting to her feet and eagerly starting out on the ice. Jared followed closely behind. Sighing a bit, but smiling slightly and letting out a soft laugh, Cecilia followed them out onto the ice with her Furret.

Jared and Roxanne were immediately wobbly as they hit the ice, nearly falling over a few times, but thanks to Cecilia and her Furret helping, they didn't. The siblings giggled and joked around as they skated on the ice, with Cecilia's just enjoying skating around with them. Cecilia's Luxio simply prowled the perimeter of the frozen lake, just glaring at them.

Soon enough, more people had joined in on the lake and it was starting to get rather crowded. More than a few times, the group got jostled and nearly knocked down by others. It was at this point, they decided to leave and wait a while to see if the lake cleared up a little before going back out.

"Okay, well, while we wait, who wants some hot chocolate? I've got enough money for that and some lunch, so why don't we get some?" Cecilia suggested, bringing enthusiastic cheers from her siblings and enthusiastic sounding cries from her Furret.

Laughing softly, Cecilia purchased some warm meals for her team, herself, and her siblings as well as some hot chocolate for her and her siblings. Turning her attention to her Luxio, she called out "Bolt, buddy, I got you some lunch! Why don't you come eat before it gets cold?"

Her Luxio snorted a bit before coming over to the group, picking up his bowl of food in his jaws, and wandering off a ways away before setting the food down and beginning to eat. Cecilia let out a soft sigh before turning her attention back to her food and continuing to eat.

Jared frowned a bit towards the Luxio before turning to his older sister. "Ceci? Why does Bolt not like to be around us?"

Cecilia let out another sigh. "I don't know... I guess that's just how he is... he just likes to be off on his own."

"Oh... well at least Stripes likes to be with us! He's nice and cuddly, too!" Jared responded brightly, cuddling up to the Furret for emphasis.

Roxanne giggled and nodded in agreement, cuddling up to the Furret as well. "Yeah! Stripes is the best!"

Cecilia laughed softly at the two. "Well, I'm glad you like him. I just wish Bolt could be a little more friendly so he could get your cuddles. Though, I'm sure with more time, he'll be open for cuddles." she responded, receiving excited grins from Roxanne and Jared.

Soon enough, the group was done eating and looking over to the frozen lake, Cecilia noticed that it had cleared up a bit. "Alright, you guys wanna go skate for one more hour before heading home?" she asked with a grin, with her siblings cheering in response. With that, the three headed off on the lake yet again, with Cecilia's Furret following behind as usual.

However, near the end of the skating session for the group, Roxanne had ended up hitting a thin patch of ice and stumbling, fell into it. One minute, she was giggling with the others and the next she was gone.

"Roxanne!" Cecilia shouted, preparing to jump in and grab her sister, but she was beat to the punch by... her Luxio. Bolt had apparently seen what happened and, despite being so stand offish, had quickly jumped into action, rushing over and jumping into the ice cold water. From there, he located Roxanne, grabbing the hood of her jacket and hauling her out. Though, it seemed he had also injured his leg while going after her as he now had a large gash on it and was limping slightly.

As they broke to the surface, Roxanne coughed and sputtered, plenty of water coming up as she did so. Bolt simply shook himself dry before checking on Roxanne to make sure she was alright. Sighing with relief, Cecilia wrapped the two in a tight hug. "Thank goodness you two are alright! Now, let's go home and get you both warmed up." she spoke, hoisting Roxanne onto her back before lifting her Luxio.

The Luxio made some protesting noises, but was interrupted as Cecilia spoke. "I know you don't like being carried, but just... let me do this... please, Bolt. You saved my sister, this is the least I could do. I don't have any potions on me right now, but there are some at home I can use." Letting out a sigh, the Luxio relented, allowing Cecilia to carry him and Roxanne back home, with Jared following behind and Cecilia's Furret having been called back to its Pokeball. The group was silent throughout the trip.

Once back home, Cecilia explained the situation to her mother, who had been frantic upon seeing Roxanne and Cecilia's Luxio all wet from being in the frozen lake. Quickly, she had taken Roxanne for a warm bath while allowing Cecilia to tend to the Luxio's wound. Sure, Cecilia's mother was a Pokemon nurse, but she wanted Cecilia to learn how to take care of her team on her own for basic injuries.

Cecilia immediately moved the Luxio over in front of the fireplace in the living room before setting him down. Afterwards, she grabbed a potion and some bandages before getting to work cleaning and wrapping the wound.

"Alright Bolt, now, this is going to sting a little, but it's going to help, alright, buddy?" she spoke in a calm voice as she sprayed some of the potion on the wound. The Luxio flinched slightly as it was applied, but didn't pull away. Once the medicine was applied, Cecilia wrapped the wound. As she did so, she continued to speak.

"Thanks for saving my sister, buddy... I know... I know you don't like me or really anyone else that much, but I'm glad you were there to help..." she spoke in a soft voice as she finished up wrapping the Luxio's leg. Soon after, she threw a large fluffy blanket over him. Sighing with content, the Luxio nestled into the blankets, resting his head in Cecilia's lap and closing his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

A bit of a surprised look overtook Cecilia's features, though she didn't move out of fear of disturbing the Luxio. Instead, she stayed there with him, gently stroking his head with a soft smile on her face. A few moments later, Roxanne was all warmed up from the bath and was being carried out of the bathroom by her mother, sound asleep.

A soft smile overtook Cecilia's mother's face upon seeing the scene between Cecilia and Bolt. "Well, seems Bolt is starting to warm up to you, Cecilia." she remarked with a soft smile.

Cecilia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I was pretty surprised when he just fell asleep with his head in my lap... and that he let me treat him so easily. Normally it takes a bit of persuasion for me to get him to stay still long enough for me to even apply the potion, much less put on a bandage." she responded with a soft laugh.

Cecilia's mother let out a soft laugh as well. "Well, it's good to see that he's starting to trust you more. And you said that he was the one to rescue Roxanne? He really deserves something special for that."

Cecilia nodded in agreement yet again. "Yeah. Maybe we could make up a special dinner for him as a thanks? It really is the least we could do for him after what he did."

Cecilia's mother nodded. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I've got a few recipes I could use for our little hero."