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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 4, 2012 21:36:56 GMT -5
The mutant blinked as she caught the glimpse of a shadow pass over her head, and she looked up just in time to see the Skarmory flying off. Her eyes narrowed. No doubt this was something Donetello had caused again. For Arceus' sake. At least when she wandered off, she didn't cause trou.... well, she didn't cause trouble she brought home. As she heard the Houndoom approaching she stood up and trotted into the woods to meet them. She had a slight limp on her right front leg, but it did not slow her down at all. Then again, she was not a naturally slow Pokémon to begin with. She was a bit taller than an average Umberon, with a thick muscular build that made her look very manish. There really was not a feminine characteristic about her, except for maybe the tuft of yellow and black hair on her head. As she approached the Houndoom her lip curled. "[Donetello, what the hell is trailing you?]" she demanded impatiently. The Houndoom came to a stop and looked down at her uneasily. " "
"[No shit. Why?]" She raised a brow, and he flinched under her gaze.
Now the fire dog's eyes narrowed. ""
"[Freakin great,]" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "[Well, if it comes back, make sure you lay on your back so it can pound you into the ground and leave the rest of us alone.]"
Donetello frowned. "[Yes ma'am,]" he muttered, his voice falling in an ambiguous zone between sarcastic and sincere. The mutant turned and stomped away, and he watched her uneasily. After years of traveling with her, she was still as unpredictable as they day they had met.... even moreso now. Every time he thought he had some idea as to what was going on in her head, he was very unpleasantly surprised.
"[Yeah, pretty damn impressive, actually,]" Lemondrop muttered, following her companion's gaze to the scorch marks. She looked ahead again, unable to swallow her feeling of uneasiness and anticipation. She was itching to see what all the fuss was about, and to maybe see Zap in action. He was much more interesting when he was moving. Maybe even Bount would pleasantly surprise her.
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 4, 2012 22:04:50 GMT -5
Austrays cursed herself all the way back. She felt the eyes of something on her just as she left. And she didn't like it. Stealth was something she was good at; and something saw her. That uneased her. But if she could get bount to throw out Upbeat... And get a good distance away, there'd be nothing to worry about. But then again... There was a human there. A trainer perhaps? It didn't matter to her. She was simply guarding her kin, that was all that mattered to her. And although she didn't get the satisfaction of seeing it run in terror, she made an impression on the Houndoom, which seemed to be retreating to the same encampment. Perhaps it would wise the others to stay away...
Soon she found her trainer and Zap, on their way though the woods. With a graceful dive and expert timing in her land, she sank her weight into the ground just in front of Bount, who immediatley stopped. Zap in turn looked up to her, tilting his head wtih a concerned furrow in his brow as he blinked his large, alien eyes, "[Just what's happening...?]"
Skarmory didn't bother to hide her stress, she furrowed her own brow, though hers was in a bit of anxious spite for not destroying them all when she had the drop on them... Especially that mutant.... "[Another camp. I found a houndoom and sent it scurrying.]"
Zap blinked with surprise, having remembered the Pokémon he dodged past in his after dinner sprint, ""
Austrays gave a shake of her head, "[No, an Arcanine, Big. A tiny ninetails, an espeon , and umbreon, bot kittens, and some weird... Mutant. A human too. Might be a trainer. I figured it'd be best to come back.]"
Zap gave a nod, seeming to disregard that Lemondrop was hearing every word of this, "[You always were smart! But will we need-]"
She immediatley interrupted him with a nod, "[Upbeat.]"
The two looked up to Bount, though neither seemed surprised as he already had a familiar looking Pokéball in his hand. Though unlike normal balls, this one had five locks around it's edge, seperate fromt he standard one. Using his free hand, bount slipped his headphones back over his ears, showing a bit of ingenuity as his hand went to his pocket, and the music went quiet to all but him. Could he understand the two? Or was he smarter than he let everyone believe?
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 6:01:55 GMT -5
Lemondrop's eyebrows rose as she listened to the exchange. There was something hauntingly familiar about the description that Austrays offered for this new camp, but she kept quiet, mostly because she could not be excactly sure, and she partially hoped she was wrong.
Her gaze shifted quickly to Bount, and she grew wary at his change in demeanor. She climbed onto Zap's head and looked toward his eyes from the edge of his forehead. ""
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 5, 2012 6:15:30 GMT -5
Zap gave a slight nod as Austrays took back to the skies, though stayed only just above the tree line in her flight, Bount continuing on his stroll, seemingly following Austrays without even looking up still.
"[Yeah, Upbeat is rather... Large for his species.]" Zap answered with what sounded like a hint of worry, knowing full well what Upbeat was capable of as he continued, "[Bount got him as a Whismur way back... And I spent three days in a PokeCenter recovering.]"
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 15:45:04 GMT -5
"[Uh-huh,]" Lemondrop muttered, her eyes glued to the Pokéball in the blonde's hand. After a minute her gaze turned to Zap again. She opened her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut again without speaking a word. If her inhibition proved right, she would mention it later. Besides, she wanted to see what this Upbeat was all about.
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 5, 2012 17:30:20 GMT -5
Zap, Austrays, and especially Bount, kept quiet along the rest of the walk. All the while the strange Pokéball was clutched tightly in Bount's hand. Everyone was on edge, it was obvious. Even Zap, while usually a contently peacefull Jolteon, was discharging energy, creating a luminescent aura around him and the tiny pikachu, revealing him to be on edge. Ausrays was overly wary, circling above them and scanning every single spt about them, which then revealed that Jolteon was purposely making the aura, giving Austrays perfect vision of their surroundings. While normal eyes could only see the small amount of light that circled the yellow canine, Austrays senses magnified it to cover a good thirty feet in every direction.
After a long walk, another light was spotted in the distance. Almost immediatley, Zap dropped his aura adn Austrays fell below the tree line, landing at her trainer's side. IF one were to pay attention, none of their steps made a single sound, as if they were used to having to be quiet. Even the Steel Bird was quiet, which sounded just as impossible as the lack of sound from her steps, which... still left some deep footprints due to her weight.
As they closed in closer to the light source, Zap and austrays looked to each other simultaenously and then up to Bount, who had the faintest curl of a frown on his lips. Just who were these people?
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 17:38:58 GMT -5
The silence was unsettling to Lemondrop. While she stayed silent with her companions, she was easily picking up her own uneasy electric aura, though it completely coexisted with Zap's and was barely noticeable as a second entity. When his went out and he stopped she climbed to the top of his head again, peering through the woods at the camp. Her eyes narrowed, and her tail twitched as she realized that yes, she did know these Pokémon. All of them. And the cornball with them, too.
She frowned and tapped Zap's head to get his attention. "[Zap, I know them.]"
The Houndoom was pacing back and forth uneasily, his head lowered. As they watched, it was clear that his gaze was lowered mostly to avoid that of the mutant Flareon-Umberon, who kept glancing from him to the two younger Pokémon. All of them remained completely oblivious to the other team's approach.
After a moment the Arcanine lifted his head and let out a massive yawn, opening his mouth as wide as he could to show off two rose of impressive yellow-white teeth. He stretched his front paws as far as he could without disturbing his trainer, and beside him the Ninetails stirred and lifted her head as well. She stood up, shook her head, and trotted around her companion to peer at her sleeping trainer before her gaze rested on what was left of the fire. It was nothing but a tiny flickering flame now, so black that it was hard to pick it out from the ashes of the fire. She dutifully glided to the fire pit and stomped out the last of the flames, blackening her tiny lithe feet in the process. The Arcanine grimaced playfully at her, and she sat down beside the fire pit and began to lick the soot off her paws nonchalantly.
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 5, 2012 17:50:05 GMT -5
Zap blinked, looking up towards the pikachu , tilting his head and shifting the small thing's balance without even thinking, seeming to retain some of his demeanor in all this seriousness, "[Eh? You do?]" though his voice was at a whisper. Sure, they, were out of earshot, but he knew Austrays would go into a tizzy if they didn't keep quiet. Though sure enough, she turned her head, setting her "thousand yard stare" glare on the small yellow creature, her tone carrying a tune of demand as well as concern, "[Who are they, then?]"
Strangely enough, Bount had not moved, or even looked down to his conversating Pokémon, as if he knew they were discussing something. His face, seeing as one couldn't rely on just where his eyes were, was still pointed in the general direction of the light, which soon went out. Zap and Austrays looked to where the light had been, and zap let out a dejected sound, "Tch! Can you still see, Austrays?" Who simply odded, her predator eyes seeing every detail ahead of her. But her focus was now on the mutant... She still didn't like it. She wanted it down first, and she'd have to hope Bount would think the same.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 18:06:50 GMT -5
Lemondrop flinched under Austrays' stare, but she replied curtly, "[That's my trainer's brother. They're annoying as hell, but not a threat.]" She looked ahead at the team, her gaze shifting from each member thoughtfully. "[Unless you attack them first. They're pretty strong.]"
But she didn't think she was giving them any new information in that regard: there was no hiding the brute strength behind most of those Pokémon. Since Judis and Victoria had evolved, Note had really stepped up his training, even on his part-time Pokémon. His team was very strong, Lemondrop had to admit. And they had grown up a lot. Of course, that only made them annoying in a different way... a more dangerous way for her.
"[You can stop that any time now,]" the mutant said calmly, he gaze fixing on the Houndoom with an obvious air of impatience.
He stopped and lifted his head as if he had heard his name called. After a minute he sat. "[What do you want me to do?]" he demanded, exasperated. When she was like this he found it best not to argue with her.
The mutant, Vivian, curled her nose at him. ""
Her words were cut short as the Umbreon and Espeon slammed into her, and she ended up under them with a surprised yelp. As soon as they heard the sound both jumped up as if they had been electrocuted and began a panicked assortment of apologies. She picked herself up, scowling, and they both backed away and distanced themselves from her. For a minute it appeared that she would pounce on them, but then she just sighed and rolled her eyes.
The Houndoom watched the exchanged with an amused sneer, his spirits lightened by her deliberate restraint, and he let out a soft chuckle. "[Alright, Vivian. I'll make myself useful. I'll be back soon.]" He stood and started into the woods toward the team.
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 5, 2012 18:33:22 GMT -5
Austrays suddenly frowned, her eyes shifting from the mutant to the now approaching figure. She then went back to a villainous smile as she realized it was the houndoom, but she knew that they had stealth on their side, and she wanted to keep it that way. Without shifting her gaze, she whispered ever so softly to Zap, "[It's our friend from earlier... We should hide.]" She was hoping to give Bount the same idea, but as everyone glanced to where he was, there was only a spot on the ground. Though the ever so soft sound of a sniffle came from above, as Austrays and Zap looked up to see Bount, high up in a tree, laying along a branch with his back to the trunk of the massive titan of earth.
Austrays could only smile as she flew up silently, making not a single sound as she perched herself on a branch adjacent to Bount, looking down and waiting for Zap to hide as well.
Zap smirked as a crazy idea came to mind, taking a split moment to loosen his body as he whispered to the companion sitting atop his head, "[Hope you have a strong stomach...]" and with that, his whole body vibrated, the air around them grew warm for only a split second as he seemed to fade. An instant later the two were at a considerable distance, behind a bush, but still within sight of their original place. He smiled again with a touch of pride, "[It's no teleport, but I love that move.]"
All that was left to do now is watch the approaching Houndoom, and spring an ambush if need be.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 18:45:29 GMT -5
Lemondrop felt her heart skip a beat as they suddenly appeared somewhere else. She started in surprise and looked around. "[What move was that!?]" she hissed quietly.
Donetello stopped as he came to the spot where the team had been standing. He frowned and sniffed the ground. Though the being were gone, their scent was not, and his lip curled as he recognized the scent of the Skarmory that had warded him off early. Suddenly on his guard, he looked around warily in search of the strangers.
Vivian glanced over her shoulder at him as he stopped, and after sparing a glance at the Espeon and Umberon, she hurried to his side. "[What?]"
"[We're being followed,]" he muttered, his keen red eyes scanning the area. Vivian eyed him in surprise, but as he caught the scent of the other group she turned and looked around. Her eyes narrowed, and in the dim light her pupils faded and her eyes let out a soft eerie red light. She boldly put her nose to the ground and followed Bount's scent trail for a few feet before stopping and looking around again.
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 5, 2012 19:00:54 GMT -5
Zap looked uncomfortably at the two in the distance. It was definitley the Houndoom he dodged earlier, but that other... Thing. What the hell was it? But he answered the little one's question, knowing a whisper would be out of earshot. "[Agility....]" His voice trailed off as he watched. This wasn't their game now. This was tactics. This was Austrays' game. And she had the drop.
Austrays watched down at the two with her decisive stare, They were side by side, just close enough to put them both in a crater... But...
She leaned forward, slipping off the branch as she folded her wings, straightening herself into a nosedive, putting every ounce of her weight into the freefall as she made contact, landing just in front of them, heving up a cloud of dust like smoke screen. The crater she now stood herself up in was atleast a foot deep and twice as wide. Once the dust settled, she was standing in the center of said crater, staring at them and waiting for a response as her beak seemed to smile, singing out a chiding tone, "[Hello.]"
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 19:08:37 GMT -5
Vivian, who was far closer to her than her companion, jumped up and back about a foot, letting loose a string of curses. Donetello jumped in surprise and spun to face the Skarmory in surprise, his fur prickling in surprise.
A vicious snarl ripped from the mutant's throat, more out of the indignation of being startled than actual hostility. She glared the Skarmory down, her long metal claw extensions digging into the ground as her panic subsided. "[What do you want!?]"
Donetello cast his companion a wary glance, but he said nothing. As his fright dwindled he looked at the Skarmory calmly, wanting to hear the answer to Vivian's question as much as she did.
The Arcanine's ear twitched, and he looked up as he heard the mutant's string of curses. He frowned, and glanced at the Ninetails, who had not seemed to hear it.
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Post by madmarionette on Jun 5, 2012 19:17:09 GMT -5
Zap blinked idly, completely taken aback by the display, this wasn't normal for Austrays. By now they should be IN that crater, unconcious or worse. But, considering what the pikachu had said, and considering the strange mutant... He couldn't question her decision. He continued to watch, tense as ever should things go awry.
Austrays looked idly between the two, calm as a slowpoke in a pond, as if she were invited to tea. her head then tilted as her tone changed... Oddly. It still carried out like a song, but this one... was almost hypnotic. Not like a jigglypuff, but definitley worth noticing. '" she snapped back at them, her play with words as skilled as her play of stealth. But her gaze then fell to the Houndoom, and although she didn't show it, a certain air about her warmed with annoyance, "[... Didn't I tell you to -leave-?]" the question drifting off like a madman's lullaby.
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Post by subtleAssiduities on Jun 5, 2012 19:22:27 GMT -5
Lemondrop's eyes were glued to the unfolding scene. She had flinched slightly at Austray's dive, but now she was watching eagerly, curious to see how this played out.
Donetello's eyes narrowed. "[Yes, you did. But you didn't tell me where to go, ma'am. I returned to my trainer.]"
"[And you followed him,]" Vivian added in an acid voice, her tail lashing like an angry cat. "[Last time I checked, your piss didn't mark the border of this forest, so I don't know what gives you the right to follow us around.]"
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