She had saved him. It wasn't her anymore, or at least she wasn't an eevee anymore. She'd evolved, a thing he knew of from hearing other Pokémon speak of it. It was when a Pokémon changed into a newer version of themselves. And she'd done it to save him.

Breathing was still hard for him, so he didn't say anything, just sat in her paws as she held them afloat, oblivious to the roaring of the river around them.

"Are you ok?" She had to speak loudly to be heard over the river, and her voice... the first time he'd ever heard her speak, and already it was his favorite sound. "I can get us to shore, I think."
"I'm ok." He managed, and she smiled.

She was blue now, with sleek scaly skin instead of fur. She had fins and a tail like some water Pokémon he'd seen, but her eyes... they were exactly the same. Lavender and shining, lighting up when she looked at him.

"You saved me." She said so softly he barely caught it.

"Not very well." Shade joked. "And you saved me back."

She smiled, flashing sharp white teeth. "My name's Waterlily."

"I'm Shade."
She smiled at him. He smiled back. He was still cold and exhausted, but drifting here with her, nothing else mattered.

Waterlily glanced around them. The soft, grassy river banks had been replaced by steep stone cliffs, not very tall but much too high to reach from the river.

"I can't get us up those." She said, worry clouding her gaze. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." He said, and he meant it.

"We'll just have to keep following the river, until there's a place to get out." She said.

So they did. She navigated around sharp rocks, sometimes ducking under water but always keeping him afloat. They didn't speak, partially for exhaustion and for the noise of the river, but also because there was no need. There would be plenty of time to get to know each other once they were safe. Besides, he was content to drift with her, to bask in her closeness and utter realness.

The sun set, the moon came up, shining in a sky of stars. Waterlily looked beautiful in its light. From the way she looked at him, he wondered if to her, he was beautiful too.

It was approaching midnight when her new fin-like ears twitched and she turned her head downstream.

"Can you hear that?" She asked, plunging her head under water to look. When she came up, her eyes were wide with fright. "Shade, up ahead... hold onto me. Don't let go, no matter what. Promise?"

He was a little bit distracted by her voice saying his name, but he understood what she needed from him. So he nodded. "I promise."

She smiled. "Trust me." And then she dove, plunging them both into the dark depths of the river.