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Ask to Join The Dark Tournament

Location: River side, just below Camp SAM
Date: 2nd Day, mid morning
Tagging: Salem, Aidinia, Alex, June, Infernape
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“An Infernape hmm,” Salem said contemplatively. “I like the sound of that.”

He stood to take the Pokeball from Aidinia, but grabbed hold of her hand before she could retract it and held it for a silent moment before looking up at her.

“Thank you Miss Moon,” he said sincerely. “Your support and care have been invaluable, and the extra effort you’ve made for all our mental wellbeing has not gone unnoticed.”

‘Neither has your deliciously curvaceous body and painfully sexy teasing,’ he added mentally, but quickly shook the thought off before it could root itself in the forefront of his mind. ‘We really need to find her a new shirt,’ he thought, completely ignorant of his own state of undress.

He recalled the Infernape into its Pokeball and watched the loving display between the doctor and her Sylveon. Then after a moment he put a playful smile on his face and offered her his arm, bend at the elbow.

“I believe this is how ladies are escorted in your culture,” he told her. “Shall we return to camp and feast on your culinary delights some more? Provided Ajax hasn’t finished everything of course,” he added.

He turned to widen his stance and offer his other arm to June in a similar fashion.

“In the end your assistance was not required, but your presence was greatly appreciated nonetheless,” he told her. “Won’t you allow me the honor of escorting you back as well?”
 
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Blushing, Aidinia laced her arm through Salem's and curved her body against his. She was warm and her skin was smooth as silk. Her head tilted slightly toward Salem causing her her to gently brush against his bare skin.

"Thank you, kind sir, yes this is how a gentleman escorts a lady in Kanto." She giggle as she recalled her adopted father leading her to a dance lesson just this way when she was young. She wondered if she looked as awkward now as she had then. Her mind wondered to dancing with Salem on the beach in moonlight. Then it wondered to the beach itself.

She listened and could hear waves crashing softly at first and then louder. Then the screams from the dream from earlier. The screams from the parents she couldn't remember. The sounds of terror as their ship was swallowed by the hungry endless storm of the ocean in a typhoon. She shuddered and held tighter to Salem's arm.

"Have you smelled the soup? Megan and I thought the gator would make a delicious soup. The pottery was an ingenious idea as well. I don't know how you do it honestly you're a one man wonder Hun!" She bragged on Salem dragging her mind from the horror it was trying to relive. I wasn't even there. Was I? She questioned. She beamed a smile at Salem making her mind up to forget the dream and make everyone else's day brighter and happy despite the dragging on of this place.

"How about a sing along back at camp Salem?"
 
Location: River side, just below Camp SAM
Date: 2nd Day, mid morning
Tagging: Salem, Aidinia, Alex, June
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When Salem was younger he had been enamored with stories of knights and their chivalrous ethics. His sister took great delight in that and would, on accusation, buy him a story book and read him daring tales of charming men and loving princesses.

Salem would often reenact the scenes from those stories and pretend to be rescuing his loving sister from his evil older brothers who, half of the time, had no idea that they were playing a part. They would rebuke Salem’s seemingly random assaults, while their sister was cooing and cheering on her brave protector.

He had been barely three feet tall at the time and so to him the struggle had been very real, as where the loving kisses he’d receive in reward whether he won or, more likely, lost.

When he had eventually learned of the stories surrounding their family name Salem had chosen to believe in the nobility of their line and had even more eagerly taken to the gentlemanly ways he so admired from his books. It would eventually make for an oddly well-spoken islander, but everyone thought it more charming than anything else, and it had stuck. Despite this Salem had actually very little experience with the reciprocation of such behavior.

So when the exotic doctor, Aidinia Moon, gracefully took him up of his escort offer, and smoothly slithered up against him, his smile wavered with uncertainty for a brief moment, but then solidified on his face.

He felt larger, stronger, more reliable,… and then flushed, hotter, and overal distracted when she pushed her soft chest against his side and arm.

Her cool looking skin was surprisingly warm to the touch, he noticed, and that made him remember that it was still going to get warmer as the sun keeps rising.

They had a steady source of fresh water now and everyone would need to remember to drink lots and cool themselves often. The pots he’d made, which Aidinia just pointed out, would be very useful if they held. He remembered he would still have to check and wash them, then possibly make more.

‘Today is going to keep being busy,’ he noted with a sigh.

At his side Aidinia had fallen oddly quiet after she had accepted his arm. The look in her eyes seems distant and lonely, but as soon as she caught him looking they were full of life and light again.

‘So she is all doing it for the sake of others,’ he mused. The ‘can do’ attitude, seemingly unaffected by the bruises, perhaps all the flirting as well, it was all to keep them from worrying about her.

‘She’s as lost as Megan,’ Salem realized. ‘She hides it better, but she must be just as scared and feeling just as lonely.’

He puffed his chest out a little and drew her ever so slightly closer against him, then set to walking back to camp with her and June.

“I won’t know any of your songs to sing along with,” he confessed in response to Aidinia’s question, “but I am sure that singing will do everyone some good.”
 
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Name:Lily Matherson

Location: Woods,
Tagging: Dynami, Floyd?

Lily could feel her body shaking like a leaf, but she did her best to focus on the world around her. Her heart still seemed to race wildly despite the chaotic moment having passed. He eyes scanning the two new arrivals before her. It had all happened so fast that it was hard to tell if they had become injured or not. Both the Starmie and Floyd looked to be in one full piece. But that didn't mean much in the wilderness, she was very much proof of that.

Her words seemed to fell on deaf ears as Floyd stared at her for a long strangely quiet moment. It made Lily wonder if perhaps his head had been caught in the crossfire. But all thoughts seemed to stop as the feel of ice so cold that it burned her skin. The ice washed over her thigh, down along the long gash and bit of fabric that still struggled to cover it. The sound something close to a hiss came from Lily as she sucked in air and tried to keep herself from crying out.

Dynami quickly closed the distance between himself and Lily once more. His large body kneeling down to almost shade her small frame from sight. Lily leaned against Dynami and looked to Floyd as his voice broke through the haze that threatened to steal her away. "Yeah, I'll live. I'm tougher than I look." she smiled softly and patted Dynami's arm and pushed to sit up once more. "Thank you for helping me," she held out her hand, "my names Lily and this is Dynami." she patted his arm and smiled proudly as introductions were made.
 
Location: Camp SAM (Now with extra Gerald and Cassie)/Riverside
Date: Day 2, Morning
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Looks like Gerald gave the girl a spook. The Coconut bowl in her hands nearly spilled, but it looked like she had it...

Nope, she splashed it all over him. Although, he kind of needed that. He hadn't washed in...Two days now? Maybe he could take a dip in the river later...Err, that didn't really matter right now, did it?

What was Megan doing with her shirt though? Why was she taking it off? "Here, let me get that for you." Oh.

Oh.

Well, that was one way for him to dry off. But she didn't have to that. "Uh...I mean, thanks. You didn't have to do that, but, I definitely appreciate it."

Poor girl looked very embarrassed. Maybe there was something he could say to soften the blow further?

"Hey, um, don't you worry about the water. I mess up like that a lot too." Definitely scored a point there. Probably.

It was only then he noticed June had faded from the camp. The pots were out, but the fox was gone. Maybe the river? The pots were rather messy...Huh. But hey, Salem and Cassie showed back up, yeah? But there was something...off about them. Maybe it was their demeanor, or perchance something subtle about their appearance, but there was something that wasn't there before they had left...

Maybe he'd figure out more later.

Err, did Salem need something? "June? She must be down at the river, since she's not here."

As Salem left, he turned back to Megan. "Hey, uh, anything I can, um, get you? For breakfast?"
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June was a bit surprised to see Salem, but was more than happy to accept the fruit he offered. As she ripped into the thin skin surrounding the orange meat inside it though, the islander wanted something from her. Ever so curious, the fox followed the charmer to Aidinia, still eating the fruit.

It seems he wanted the doctor...err, her Sylveon, more like, to heal the wounded Infernape. She never truly observed such a creature at close range. There was one at the festival...how long was it since then? Arceus, ever since then, things just got crazier and crazier. After the last little...adventure, is that what people called it? She called it life threatening situation, but now she was getting off topic. Things just got worse and worse, yet somehow Gerald weaved his way through those last times. But now...

Things looked rather bleak. It was still only the morning of the second day, the sun was scorching them all, Cassie and Salem nearly got eaten, and any moment another monster could burst through the brush, simply fueled by a primal lust for meat.

Scary. She hadn't gotten chills this bad since that last event either.

It seemed wherever Cassie was found, horrible things followed. Most likely just a bad coincidence, but June couldn't help herself from making the conclusion.

Err, the Delphox seemed to completely zone out for the last minute or so, much to her own dismay. The Infernape was gone, and it didn't seem whatever Salem possibly needed June for ever came to be. Well, he needed June for something, but this was more of an offer than a order. He wanted the fox to take his arm.

...Was she supposed to? Gerald only ever offered his hand to her, and that was more a thing to keep track of her before she jumped an extra two feet up. What Salem wanted was a full on loop around his arm. She...honestly didn't know.

...But there was no point to being rude, was there? The fire type quickly took up Salem's arm, with a bit of a grin. Not a flirty or smug grin, just a friendly grin. He seemed a bit smitten with the doctor, so she'd just let that be. The Doctor suggested a sing along, which wasn't exactly the first thing June's mind would've jumped to when having breakfast in a jungle, but she wasn't one to argue. Maybe Gerald and Cassie weren't exactly the types that struck the fox as singers, but hey.

Maybe she'd be surprised. Well, except from Gerald. No lyrics were coming out of his mouth.
 
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Lady was not very pleased with the menu that day. More fruits. More greens. Sure there were some scraps of meat in there, but, seriously? You could hardly even smell them buried under all this Gogoat food! Why, just the other day she had stuffed herself with the loveliest, tastiest meal she'd ever had. There had been roasted Pidgeot, and she quite enjoyed the smokey flavor that came from the char lethal electrocution. But really the climax of the meal had been the fresh, juicy human that came with the Pidgeot. So savory and sweet at the same time, nothing really beat the taste of human blood. Why, she'd take that over any meal any day!

Well, sequels can never measure up to the original, she supposed.

And so, the Liepard carefully nosed aside all the greens and sticky fruit in order to find all the bits of Nidoqueen meat strewn within it. Hey, didn't she kill a Nidoqueen the other day? The feline's appetite only grew at the thought, successfully devouring all the bits of meat within seconds. And then, she had gone to affectionately rub against her dear trainer, and attempted to stick her maw in her human's bowl.

But got her nostrils pinched shut as a result.

Lady made sure to snort in Cassie's bowl in retaliation, but the trainer had effectively tilted her Liepard's head backwards before any snot could be released. Lady was very upset indeed.

"Maaaw!" She cried in complaint, and proceeded to paw her trainer's arm. She sought to get her attention, only to receive a bored, "Hmm." in response. The nerve! "Maaaaaaaw!" Lady stepped it up a notch. She leaned in, and growled and snapped her teeth but the trainer barely batted an eyelash. She simply plopped another piece of fruit in her mouth from her bowl. She wasn't even eating the meat! Enough was enough, and Lady finally took real action in nipping her trainer's cheek in frustration. It was honestly a harmless move. Her fangs scraped against the skin, but did not break it. It had a firm enough grip to not slip, and it pinched, at the most.

Her scythe-like tail swished aggressively behind her, and her emerald eyes burned holes into her trainer's silver ones. If only she would look her way, there would be serious trouble!

But suddenly, her ear was flicked, and Lady released her bit in surprise. Those silver eyes finally did move, and the moment they laid themselves upon her, the Liepard had pressed herself against the ground to cower. The cold heat radiating from Cassie's piercing eyes seemed to light her eyes ablaze even with the shadows that silhouetted her. A well practiced, well fitting gaze of dictatorial authority that could only be attributed to proper breeding. And she got the message loud and clear;

'Go back to your own food or I will feed you to the rabid pokemon.'

And so, Lady begrudgingly returned to her meal of... Grass food, and ate every single bite. Sure she hated being bossed around, but at the same time, it gave her comfort to know that she wasn't bowing down to just anyone, but someone who rightfully deserved it. After all, Cassie did help her take down the Nidoqueen.

The fruit was the most tolerable among the items left in her bowl, and she scarfed those up first. The leaves- or rather, what the humans called 'edible greens' she stuffed forcefully in her mouth in one go, chewed with halfhearted conviction, and washed down with the coconut water.

She gagged.

But a soft hum of an amused giggle filled her ears, and soon, Cassie was scratching that one spot behind her ear that she could never reach. and Lady was purring like the little Purrloin she was at heart. Satisfied, she decided to lay herself on the cool ground below, licking her paw clean and then rubbing it over her head. She finally decided to take an idle look around the camp.

Humble. Rustic. Boring.

Lady yawned, looking over her trainer who was still in the process of finishing her food. Arceus, was she a slow eater. Maybe it'd helped if she focused on it for a change, but she supposed she hadn't really been that hungry and simply wanted to enjoy it. Or something.

Her emerald eyes wandered to the other humans in the camp; just the red furred male and black furred female. She saw the light haired male wander off again somewhere. He must've been checking up on the rest of his pack members. Not that she or her human was a part of that pack. They were always better off as a duo, where she didn't have to share her food with that giant turtle. Why was he always after her food?

Lady couldn't help but squint slightly in Ajax's direction, her tail flicking about as a manifestation of her slight irritation. Well, at least he wasn't a Mightyena. Like the one she had the displeasure of sharing a camp with earlier the other day. Speaking of which, was that mutt dead yet?

But then, there it was. The unmistakable glint of a valuable, shiny object. Her head immediately turned in the direction it had been detected from the corner of her eyes. Her ears upright, eyes wide. Even Cassie seemed keenly aware of it. Wait, why was she snickering? There was no joke in valuable objects, she knew that!

Oh, wait, the female is taking her clothing off. Why was she doing that? Throwing it over the male's head, was it an offering of some sorts? Lady snorted. She couldn't believe the nerve of some creatures, thinking of reproducing in a time like-

Oooooh.

"Maaaw..." Her eyes twinkled brightly upon engaging her target; a shiny buckle, and pokeball, slicked with coconut milk and gleaming proudly under the ever climbing sun. It was if they were simply saying, 'take us, Lady take us with you!' and unable to resist their calls, Lady had gotten to her feet and silently scurried over.

Cassie watched, and popped some more food in her mouth.

The objects were so close... So close!

And they were two in one! Get the belt, get the ball!

Like a shadow, silent and quick, Lady crept right beside Gerald. Her claws drawn, and in one, smooth motion, her claw slashed cleanly through the belt's leather. She caught the falling end with the buckle in her mouth, and just like that, she was gone.

One moment there, the next, fleeing to the closest hut she could reach.

One moment Gerald's pants was up, and the next, it was on the ground.

Megan couldn't believe what she was seeing. Gerald was suddenly in his shorts, and the girl couldn't help all the blood rushing to her face. For a moment, she simply froze up. Eyes dead set on the embarrassingly short article of clothing hiding the redhead's genitals. 'I wonder how big he is?' And then she remembered that was inappropriate and let out a scream that prompted Lady to run ever faster and duck inside the men's hut.

In an instant, the Kanto girl's hands shot up to her face, covering her eyes in order to preserve her decency, and also Gerald's. This was possibly every worst case scenario in talking to a guy happening to her right now! And it didn't help that even the most serious looking person she'd ever met was laughing at her as well! "Noooo, why is this always happening to me?!" She whined miserably into her hands. "I'm so sorry!"

Yes, between the coconut being spilled onto Gerald, Megan's stripping of her shirt, and Gerald's pants being on the ground, Cassie just couldn't help herself. It'd started with a snort, and before long, it'd evolved into a full-fledged, satisfied, if not awkward laughter as she struggled to keep herself from spitting out the food she currently had in her mouth.

And then she inhaled,

And a piece of mango took off straight into her windpipe.

Chaos ensued with Megan's embarrassed exclaims and frantic attempts to use her shirt to cover up Gerald's boxers, added by Cassie's loud, frantic hacking, coughing, and violent pounding on her chest, Lady remained calm and unbothered, beneath the soothing shade of the men's hut,

Licking away the coconut milk from her hard earned treasure.
 
Location: Camp SAM.CG
Date: 2nd Day, Breakfast time
Tagging: Ajax, Lady
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Ajax was enjoying himself for the first time since the scrubbing he’d received back in the hotel room. How long ago that seemed now.

The big Blastoise was quite the brawler when he wanted to be, which wasn’t too often admittedly, but his large size made him quite adept at it. He wasn’t particularly quick or nimble, but he was very deliberate and could pack a hell of a punch when allowed. Brawls were never more than good natured exercise however, so when things got real and his trainer’s life was on the line he had been forced to step up his game, and he hated it. He hated it when he was forced into a fight, he hated it when he was forced to kill and he hated it when there wasn’t an end to it in sight.

It had been one stressful moment after the other starting with that speedy bug, he could still smell its death on his shell. Then he had been tasked with protecting that small human girl with the Liepard and had failed at that, she had been snatched away right from under his nose. With shame heavily weighing down his conscious and worry for his human partner pressing on his heart he had jostled through the jungle towards the sound of battle, but had been unable to get to it because of the density of the jungle. That had been the first time Ajax had been displeased with his larger bulk. Another battle with a crazed beast that ended in more death, followed by a long dread filled trek through the jungle, only to settle here near the river where he had been keeping watch for most of the night, and wasn’t allowed to rest properly after.

He had snapped at his friend in frustration and immediately regretted it. He knew that Salem would never willingly push him so if it could be helped. The human was a good one, the best one Ajax had ever known. He had been worried about his wellbeing and only ever treated him kindly and with lots of smiles, despite not having much to smile about.

Ajax may have been tired but he couldn’t have missed the enormous crocodile corpse in the river. The smell of yet more death had been all over the place and it hadn’t escaped his attention that he had not been called on to fight the river behemoth. His human was constantly looking out for him, worrying about him, comforting him, all while smiling as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

Ajax cared for that man dearly, he wasn’t ashamed to admit it anymore. He had been embarrassed about it for a long time when he was smaller and later, when there had been that Ninetales’ teasing to avoid, but they had long since moved passed such silliness. He would protect Salem and all the other ones the human cared for would also fall under his protection.

It had been many years since he had been the Don of his little Squirtle family and Salem had come to take him away, but he had a new family now and it was the Don’s job to keep them safe and secure, so he would. And he would do it in a way befitting of his best friend.

Right now however, he would be enjoying the peace for a long as that lasted, and the amazing meal the red haired female had prepared.

Looking up with another mouthful of delicious goodness Ajax noticed something from a corner of his eye. When he looked over he saw that it was the small girl’s Liepard looking him over. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then chewed some more savoring the flavor, then finally swallowed. He gave the purple feline a playful wink, the way he knew Salem would have, and watched her pull her nose up and to the side with a distinct sneer, but he could see she was still eying him from the corner of her emerald eye. He huffed bemusedly, then bend down again for another bite.

When he looked up again she was gone, and not a moment later chaos erupted in the camp.
 
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Location: Camp SAM.CG
Date: 2nd Day, Party time
Tagging: Salem, Aidinia, June, Cassie, Ajax, Gerald, Megan, Lady
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When June accepted his offer and hooked her arm into his’ Salem was pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t been sure if she trusted him enough, but clearly she was willing to make an effort.

He gave her an appreciative look and a warm smile. The attractive fox’s fur felt wonderfully soft against his skin and that was a welcome change after the sturdy ground, hard rock, and rough bark he had been exposed to so much recently.

Not being able to help giving in to the urge to touch it more, he lifted her arm slightly and brushed his cheek lovingly against it, purring with delight.

“Oh, Lady June how wonderful your fur feels to the touch,” he gushed as he led the two fiery ladies up the path towards the camp. “Please don’t be surprised if I come to steal some hugs from you once in a while. I will build you your own hut if you want it of course, but won’t you consider sharing mine with me tonight?”

Salem couldn’t get enough of June’s touch and heaped praise upon her the entire trip back to camp. He even tried to persuade the doctor to cup a feel a few times.
-

When they arrived at camp however, the scene they found there demanded all of his attention. Cassie was rolling across the floor on one side, gasping and moaning as if in the throes of something, Ajax was besides her patting her on the back.

Meanwhile, on the other side Gerald was standing with his pants around his ankles, Megan kneeling before him, clad in just her bra with shirt in hand, and her arms around his waist.

Salem was stunned for but a mere moment, not because of what he was seeing, but by the sudden feeling of homesickness that washed over him. He had always believe people not from the Archipelago to be a lot more conservative and repressive of their baser needs and desires.

With the tenseness of constantly looming danger and uncertainty stress was bound to build up and cause problems for everyone sooner or later. He had been wondering about how such a repressed people would find a way to relief some of that stress but now it seemed his worries had been for naught. Apparently everyone had a bit of the island spirit inside them.

“Oh, things are certainly heating up here!” he exclaimed, extricating his arms from both the ladies besides him and grabbing them around their hips instead, pulling them closely against himself and giving them each a playful squeeze on their backsides.

“What do you say we do some much needed stress relieving ourselves, ladies?” he asked, smiling sincerely.
 
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Cassie usually loved the thrill of dangerous situations.

There was that exhilarating rush of adrenaline and hot blood coursing through your veins. That quickened beating of your heart that let you hear it clearly, like a steady drum, in your ears. And the world, slowing down before your very eyes, making you feel like you're the sharpest, fastest, and smartest thing around. But also allowing you that last glimpse, for that perfect view to end with.

In choking, there was absolutely none of that crap.

It was purely an irritating, frustrating, uncomfortable rage filled experience where you're cussing yourself for not being stupid enough to not be able to chew or assess the situation properly to avoid such a stupid mistake, not being able to see those last fleeting glimpses because your eyes were watering up, and also not being able to suck in those last breaths you're well entitled to. It was a cheating, devious, hateful way to die, and Cassie decided she would not under any circumstances die from choking.

One hand on her throat, the other, beating her chest blue. Her hearing was mostly dominated by the sounds of her own harsh coughing and violent hacking. Cassie usually considered herself a person of grace and control, but there was absolutely nothing graceful or controlled about her choking.

Laying on her side now, Cassie was gasping for air like an exasperated Magikarp. She could hear soft grunts and concerned roars coming from behind her, followed by the gentle patting of a firm, clawed limb against her back. She turned her head upwards slightly to catch sight of a large blue silhouette towering above her, despite it being obvious they had leaned over slightly to check on her condition.

Ajax.

Of course it was Salem's Blastoise who would come to the rescue. At the most, her own pokemon, her darling little Lady had stuck her head out of the hut to see what was going on, before once again lavishing her attention to the shiny buckle and ball she'd snatched from Gerald.

That little shit.

Her hands flailed, reaching back, searching, and finally grasping Ajax's thick arm. She pulled his limb towards her back in a much more forceful manner, hopeful that he would understand the message. But Ajax looked on at her in confusion, and she could see that much from her bleary vision. So she freed one of her hands and slammed it forcefully onto the dirt. Then, she patted his arm with the other, and slammed the free hand once again to the ground.

Ajax got the message, but worry was evident in his golden eyes. He let out a hesitant roar, as if questioning if it would be alright. Cassie nodded desperately, and the Blastoise withdrew his arm. He steadied himself, took a deep breath, controlled his strength, and firmly shoved it against the small of her back.

Despite his restraint, the force was enough to knock Cassie's head back in recoil, sending her fedora flying right off her head. But on a positive note, it had successfully dislodged the piece of mango from her windpipe and expelled with one, final triumphant hack.

Cassie sucked in a long, grateful breath of air. As much as she could possibly inhale in one go, and exhaling it as her muscles turned to jelly. And she was ready to collapse and relax on the dirt for a few minutes. Hours. Maybe the rest of the day.

But Ajax’s arm had caught her before she could collide with the damp soil below, and she looked back to the Blastoise and his concerned golden stare. Well, she technically had to wipe those choke tears away first in order to, but she it was still the same end result nonetheless.

The brunette couldn’t help the small smile tugging on her lips, the gentle, hoarse chuckle that came from her swelling throat. She pushed off from his arm, sliding back on to the ground to sit on her knees, yet her hands remained holding the Blastoise’s sturdy arm. And she closed her eyes, and she pressed her forehead against his palm.

“Merci, Ajax.” She whispered in her native tongue. Cassie knew he probably couldn’t understand her, but the gesture, she found, was clear enough.

Releasing him, Cassie grabbed the lonely fedora on the ground and placed it in its rightful place on top her head. Smoothing its brim, her eyes moved to observe the current happenings in the camp.

Gerald was still pants standing with his pants around his ankles. Megan had made matters possibly worse by attempting to wrap her shirt around his waist instead, and getting on her knees to do so. Cassie could probably think of a perverted way or two on how one would be able to get the wrong idea.

Oh, things are certainly heating up here!

Bless his soul.

Cassie moved her gaze across the camp, easily settling on the platinum blond that had rightfully returned to his territory. But not on his own, no. The thought was simply unfathomable. There were two girls on either side of him; the doctor and June. His own little entourage she supposed, and Cassie couldn’t help but smirk a little beneath the brim of her fedora. This man really did hold mysterious powers over womankind now didn’t he?

What do you say we do some much needed stress relieving ourselves, ladies?

The brunette couldn’t help the laugh erupting from her throat, interrupted by her own wheezes and quiet coughing. She picked up the coconut by her bowl and downed its contents, sighing in relief as the water soothed her swelling and washed away the phlegm. Cassie wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and then, simply leaned back on her arm. Passively spectating the ongoings in the group.

On the outside looking in, the way she always did.
 
Location: Camp SAM.CG
Date: Day 2, Morning/Party time...?
-----
It was one of those days, wasn't it?

One of those days that never went quite right.

Well, it was already a terrible situation. But this was just embarrassing... Lady wanted his belt buckle, eh? Well, why'd she have to take the whole thing...Greedy little bugger. But Lady's antics were the least of his problems.

His more pressing problem was around his feet.

"I,uh, I, I..." He was so embarrassed, he could barely sputter out the words. Megan was quite embarrassed herself, desperately trying to cover Gerald's undergarments. Cassie was laughing her ass off, or was she choking? He honestly couldn't tell.

If he was less flustered, perhaps he would've given chase to the belt and June's Pokeball. Or pulled up his pants. Or did something than sit shell shocked for three minutes straight.

But, on the bright side, someone was coming into the camp. Maybe it was Lin, and she would have none of this...

No, it was Salem. And Aidinia, and...wait...what was she...
-----
Huh.

This man was interesting, to say the least. The way he caressed her fur was...also quite interesting. He eventually raised her arm to his face, and commended her on the softness of her fur. And offered her a hut for herself? That wasn't really something she needed, she'd sleep wherever Gerald was. But he also offered a night in his own shelter, which was rather nice of him.

For some reason, Salem kept bombarding her with praise as the small group walked to the camp. Not that she was complaining, she loved this praise. Gave the Delphox self confidence, which she also loved. It just seemed weird, she just met this fellow and he already seemed very happy with her. Well, it was always nice to have a new friend.

But as they arrived at camp, well...It was pretty insane. Gerald was lacking pants, Megan was panicking to cover them up, and Cassie was recovering from...something, with the help of Ajax. And Gerald was looking at June directly, with a face of confusion.

"Oh, things are certainly heating up here! What do you say we do some much needed stress relieving ourselves, ladies?"

Well, June had no idea what Salem meant by it heating up. The sun was hot as it were five minutes ago, and why was Salem pulling her next to him. She rose a clawed finger to indicate a quick pause, and squeezed out of Salem's grip. She walked towards Gerald, with a steady smirk on her face. Once the fox reached him, she grabbed a hold of the pants rim, and dragged it up his legs. Then snatched his hand, and placed it in a grasp around the rim.

"But...I...what're you...with him..." Gerald still seemed utterly flabbergasted at the events that transpired. Salem hooked up with June? Each to their own, he supposed. But still...was June aware of this? Well, she helped him not make an utter fool out of himself (Well, any more than he already did).

But she wanted to learn exactly what Salem meant...did he want food? Fire? Hmm...Guess Salem would show her in a moment, yeah?
 
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Location
Next To Hidden Forest Clearing

Time
2nd Day, About 9'o clock in the morning.

Tagging
YEEuAg1.png
lNIxplb.png
eAodC63.png
DMDvkRu.png


-----
Lily visibly winced when the Ice Beam hit her thigh. This caused Floyd to instinctively reached towards Swift to stop, but he quickly returned his hand to where it was previously. It had to be done, if that wound started bleeding again, there would be absolutely no end to it's fountain of vital fluid. Dynami stepped over a small branch and stood in front of Lily, hiding most of her body, although the ice had already stopped, he was still cautious. It was painfully obvious that the Pangoro cared for Lily quite a bit, they must of had a strong bond. After a while, Floyd finally processed the events that just happened, snapping him back into reality from the state of blank mind he was in.

Floyd cleared his dry throat and pressed his hands against the sharp grass grazing against his legs. Just as he was about to get up, he was interrupted by a sudden introduction.
'Lily and Dynami huh, the Dynamic Duo? Sounds a bit too ambitious I reckon.'
Floyd internally giggled at his own silly child-like thoughts, it completely baffled him how he could think of something like that in a situation like this. Upon looking upward, a pale hand greeted his gaze. Was she offering to help him up? Floyd stared at the hand for a moment, tracing the creases of her skin with his violet eyes. Floyd gently grabbed her hand and got up on to his feet.

"No p-problem!" Floyd exclaimed to Lily in response to her thanks while letting go of her hand and dusting the dirt off of his knees.


"I'm Floyd, and this is... Swift?" Floyd looked down at his feet with a puzzled look on his face, his teammate had gone off somewhere, again. In a slight panic, the trainer thoroughly scanned the forest around him, but thankfully, his eyes met Swift, floating slightly above the ground in the small clearing not so far away.

"Erm. Sorry, one second." Floyd breathed a sigh of relief as he trudged his way through the bushes that tried to block his path. Swift suddenly started to make a loud static noise just as his trainer jogged out into the clearing. A powerful spiral of multi-coloured light burst forth from his core and into the sky above, turning it into a mess of orange and blue clouds. Before Floyd could even contact the Starmie, the static fluctuated until a slightly muffled, yet intimidating voice came from the starfish.

"How is the subject doing today?"

Floyd paused and listened very closely to Swift, it seemed like he had picked up on some kind of conversation. This was rare, usually Swift just makes computer-esque noises when he tries to communicate with the sky, but something like a radio transmission sometimes blocked his signals.

"Sir, his mental state is very agitated, it seems he woke up with a nightmare."

"I see, and is the conditioning holding?"

"Yes sir, although initial scans showed that it cracked somewhat when he woke, it reset right after."

"
Hmm... Some initial reinforcement then, show him an image of his sister."

"Yes sir, right away."

The conversation transformed back into static as Swift lowered himself back on to his feet and the sky above turned back into it's regular blue. It took a moment for Floyd to re-think everything that just happened. He knew very well that Starmie could pick up on radio signals, but he never thought of using Swift's natural abilities to spy on radio conversations. If the waves Swift just picked up on were from the people who put them on this island chock-full of infected Pokemon, then there might just be a way to figure out what was going on behind the scenes. Like potential escape routes and such.


In a small eureka moment, Floyd shouted. This was something he didn't do all that often.

"Swift... You're a genius!"
 
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Amara
Floyd could hear a motion in the trees shortly after his shout. Anyone turning could see a shock of purple hair, and then the emergence of Amara with Crystal coming a ways behind her. The young purple haired woman once again put both Floyd and swift under her stare. Her clothes were somewhat damp, but drying quickly in the Island sun.

"I estimate that light show just now could be seen for around an 6.3 miles radius." Her eyes quickly scanned the scene taking in Lilly, Dyanmi, and the two Serviper corpses. "I see you managed to find another trainer still alive. At around this time, since the incident happened that is a 20.64% chance." Her eyes then locked on Lilly, in that unblinking stare as she took in the leg injury and then studied her face. "You should probably have your pokemon carry you, although it would be more tactical for you to ride on Crystals back. Your leg will slow us all down if you try to walk and if your Pangoro carries you it will not be able to fight. Either way it is not safe for us to stay here much longer."

She turned her swept her gaze back toward Floyd once again. "Would you not agree Floyd Johnstone?" Crystal eyed the new pair and tilted her head down letting out a soft, "Lapraa."
 
Aidinia squealed when Salem grabbed her rear. She jumped a foot from the ground almost landing atop the handsome, bronze islander. She shot him a blushing glance over her shoulder as she rushed to Cassie's side. "Oh Dear, Are you all right!? what happened?" She started trying to listen to Cassie's breathing over the chaos erupting in the camp. What ever was going on, would have to wait until she was sure of Cassie's condition.

As soon as she was satisfied that Cassie was indeed breathing clearly, Aidinia took her own breath of air and looked around her. What was going on... She noticed that Gerald, At least that's what she thought his name was, was holding his pants up. hadn't he been wearing a belt earlier? Megan was on the ground in front of him struggling to right a soaking wet t-shirt over her head.. well that was never going to work, silly little thing. The big blastois Ajax was beside Cassie, I'm pretty sure he dislodged what ever it was she had been choking on. There was a very self satisfied liepard lying in the men's tent with a belt. Aha that's what happened to Gerald's belt. Got it. Aidinia felt sure she had caught herself up a bit, but she wasn't sure what the hell she should do now. She called out to the group at large, "Anyone feel like gathering around the fire pit and singing songs or telling stories? Maybe we can make this feel a little less survivor and a little more camp pokemon" She hoped at least some would take her up on the offer. She wanted people to relax at least a bit. The stress was bound to start affecting people soon.

She began to hum an old camp song she loved. (The song she is humming can be found here) As she sat herself by the fire pit on a log and waited for the others.
 
In a moment's timing, the doctor was rearing up and taking off straight for Cassie.

And it freaked her the hell out.

Good intentions were often lost on Cassie, and that moment was no exception. Her precious space of privacy, her own little bubble was something that only certain people and pokemon were allowed to enter. Unfortunately, Aidinia was not one of those people.

As the woman drew near, Cassie was up on her feet and backing away. Her heart raced, and the sensation was familiar to being charged by a Granbull and yes, she had honestly been charged by a great many things in her short lifespan, but admittedly a redheaded super model doctor was not one of them.

Being an ace trainer was one heck of a profession, she admitted.

Within her backwards shuffle, her back hit the palm tree she had previously been lounging beneath. Operating on years of experience and instinct on avoiding fatal injury and certain death from being charged at, her body simply turned, and shuffled right up the palm tree, a good five feet off the ground and hanging on for dear life as she peered paranoidly at the good doctor.

"Oh Dear, Are you all right!? what happened?"

Oh wait.

The fog cleared from her silver eyes and Cassie remembered that this was just a human. Someone who wanted to check on her well-being, at that. 'Well, no one's ever done that before, how was I supposed to know?' A voice protested softly in her mind. The little girl lost inside the void.

She locked eyes with the doctor and breathed even breaths. It was an intense staring contest. Her throat ached still, but she was somehow able to resist a cough from leaving her frail windpipe. Otherwise, she was sure Doctor Moon was climbing up after her.

Finally, Aidinia had broken their gaze, in favor of observing her surroundings and Cassie released a long breath. She caught herself quickly enough before it could tickle her throat further. The doctor was still within her vicinity.

And then finally, finally she left. Cheerfully saying, "Anyone feel like gathering around the fire pit and singing songs or telling stories? Maybe we can make this feel a little less survivor and a little more camp pokemon?" And it vaguely reminded her of the absurdly preppy people running camps she had attended as a rising star.

When Aidinia finally decided to sit by the fire pit, Cassie made her controlled descent down the palm tree. Planting her feet firmly on the ground, she simply knelt down and returned to her coconut water, downing the rest of its contents and remaining there. Perhaps she'd braid some more ropes.

Camp sing-alongs just really weren't her thing.
 
Location: Camp SAM.CG
Date: 2nd Day, ± 9:00 am
Tagging: Salem, Aidinia, June, Cassie, Ajax, Gerald, Megan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Salem couldn’t help but feel a little abandoned. The sexy fox had fled his grasp in favor of her trainer’s pants, and the bombshell doctor apparently preferred Cassie over him, a notion he wasn’t particularly against.

Never one to let anything really get to him however, Salem focused on his next course of action. Food and comfort were almost as good at relieving stress than some sexual fun was, and his pottery would be able to assist with both, so he turned his attention in that direction.

Before he went he did noticed Cassie’s scampering up a palm tree and he couldn’t help but be impressed by the speed at which she did so. ‘That looks like she’s done that before, good to know.’

A second thing he thought he noticed was a sly smile, in his direction, from the hot doctor and a glint in her eyes. But a mere moment later she had sat herself down and was addressing the group as a whole, and Salem was left to wonder if he’d really seen what he thought he’d seen, and what that could mean.

‘She had ran at his suggestion, hadn’t she?’ he wondered, as he went to check on the state of his clay pots.
-

The pots had cooled down enough and seemed rather sturdy. They sounded solid when he knocked on them at least, and Salem felt himself smile confidently.

‘I believe these might just work,’ he thought excitedly. ‘That means the clay is good and we can actually build much sturdier huts and better cooking stations.’

Hoisting the pots in his arms and balancing them on his hips, Salem picked a cheerful tune from the islands to hum softly. The doctor’s suggestion for music had clearly stuck with him.

On his way out he passed by the Kanto girl Megan, June, and the red man Gerald. The latter was completely scarlet now, not just his hair anymore, but his face as well, and looking rather uncomfortable.

‘What an unpleasant emotion shame always turns out to be,’ he thought as he gave June a playful wink in passing. ‘It’s completely crippling and rarely good for anything.’

When he saw Megan struggling and failing with her shirt, he paused.

“I am just going to go wash these pots in the river real quick and bring back some water for the camp,” he told her cheerfully. “Won’t you accompany me, so you can wash up in the meantime, Miss? I’ll keep an eye out for you so you’ll have nothing to fear.”

At that he whistled a short, clear note, and Ajax came hobbling over to them.

“How about it?”
 
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Keeping her distance, Aidinia approaches Cassie slowly, "I am very sorry I startled you earlier, I wanted to help you. If there is anything you require please ask. I am here to aide." Aidinia bounced off back to the fire pit singing songs of her youth. She enjoyed the songs, but anyone who was paying attention could tell that the beautiful doctor was lonely and slightly scared.

After the members of the camp are finished with dinner, Aidinia walks down to the river to clean the pottery and coconut shells for the next meal. Her mind wondered to Salem's suggestion of stress reliever. She wondered what kind of reliever he wanted. She found herself searching for the white hair around the jungle grounds around her. She gathered a few things for dinner later and headed back to camp, her mind wondering back to a time when she was in camp...

Aidinia was 14 and standing on the pier with five other girls. It was time for them to dive into the river. There was a little girl behind her was crying. She was afraid of the water. Aidinia couldn't stand the idea that the girl was afraid. Their counselor was being harsh and cold and pushed her into the water anyway. Aidinia, without thinking dove into the water after her. She pulled the girl up to the surface of the water. Aidinia helped the girl begin to tread water and she began to swim slowly and then faster and she was laughing. Finally, the girl was loving the water and loving the experience thanks to Aidinia. Aidinia had managed to aid the little girls learning, but the counselor was very angered. "who do you think you are?! Answer me Girl! Who told you to help her? It's sink or swim here!" The big, ugly counselor back handed her into the ground and Aidinia was immediately in tears.

The tears were still streaming down her face when Aidinia sat back at the fire pit. She didn't even care if anyone noticed the tears flowing down her face.
 
Damian let out a sigh as she continued about her Ursaring, surely it was something to behold, however he didn't think that it would be history book worthy. Besides, who would believe her story of a giant Ursaring being taken down in a few stings from her Beedrill? There wasn't technically any witnesses.

He eyed her, walking a few paces in front of him. Despite still being mildly irritated at her ignorance he found the company enjoyable. Not to say he didnt find Mina and Ecartes enjoyable, however those two were a little odd. Mostly Ecarte, and Mina reminded him too much of his younger sister, whom he'd instantly worry the physical condition of if something were to happen to Mina. He smiled to himself and was startled when Delilah suddenly fell over walking backwards. He'd assumed it was her clumsiness but then he saw the legs. Delilah scooted backwards and Damian crouched beside it.

The body was slender. A woman? She had long black hair. Damian poked her back. Yep. Dead. No Discussion.

“Dang it...not another one,” Delilah murmured, “poor lady…” Delilah said and glanced toward him, looking for some reaction.

"Well, hopefully she enjoyed laying face down in forests, that way she would of died as she lived." he stated before standing back up and looking toward Delilah whose attention was still caught by the body.

She looked to Damian with a pair of hopeful green eyes. “What’d we want to do with her? I mean, the least we can do is give this woman a proper burial, right?”

Damian looked up and saw the sun through bits of the treetops. Burying a body would definitely be a waste of time, which seemed pretty dire to them at the moment. "Um..." he started before the body shifted and he stepped back.

Delilah jumped back in shock. “Aw come on! Don’t tell me this island has living dead people now!”

"What? Don't be ridiculous." Damian said glancing from her to the moving and moaning body before contemplating zombies. Another virus in conjunction to the berserker pokemon one?... No. That's a little too unrealistic. "She's alive." Damian stated as the girl seemingly jumped to her feet and he caught the figures features more clearly. This was a man. A very slender man. He seemed toned by what his black clothes could reveal however Damian figured if he pulled any funny business the two could take him.

"Dr. Erejast Nevashi at your service." After the flamboyant entrance the Dr. stumbled a bit and caught himself on a branch, "and I seem to have suffered a mild concussion and some bruising around my L4 and 5 vertebrae." The Dr. held up his hand, "one moment please." He reached down toward his pokeball slowly.

Damian clenched a fist as the Doctor reached toward the pokeball. He didn't know anyone here except Mina, Ecarte, and now Delilah and her Beedrill, and even that was barely. Anyone could have questionable motives.

With his left hand he opened it, fingers spread, for Orion to see behind him, then closed all but two fingers. The lucario moved right off the trail and into the brush, around Nevashi, stealthily.

"A doctor? Don't suppose you have your registration on you, we're a bit skeptical of medicinal practitioners around these parts." he joked while waving his left arm semi casually. The jokes were a defense mechanism alone, allowing people to assume Damians guard wasn't up, when it always was.
 
Location
Hidden Forest Clearing

Time
2nd Day, A little bit after 9'o clock in the morning.

Tagging
YEEuAg1.png
lNIxplb.png
B5DSMk9.png
eFS4gkC.png

-----


Glistening purple hair practically blinded Floyd as he turned his head to the rustling sound of the lush, green bushes and trees surrounding him. At first he was expecting it to be Lily who came out, but much to his surprise, it was Amara. Her clothes were stuck to her skin and her shirt was creasing up pretty much everywhere, especially around her chest and shoulders. A familiar Pokemon trudged its way out into the clearing, where the sun shone bright as ever, and positioned herself next to the Champion. Despite Amara's alluring figure, Floyd was much more intrigued by the Lapras behind her. Crystal, much like her trainer, had droplets of water running down her skin, giving it an absolutely amazing sheen when it reflected off of the beaming sunlight. This intrigued Floyd, almost putting him in a trance as he stared for a good few seconds at Crystal and Amara. His blazing curiosity only grew stronger, he wanted to learn more about the species of Pokemon known as Lapras.

This attractive sight didn't last for long however, as the blazing sun was quickly drying them both off. Not only that, Swift gave his trainer a good smack in the leg, slapping Floyd into reality once more. 'Ouch! Geez, no need to get rough!' The aspiring professor mentally winced at the short sting following his companions action, although, something distracted him even more than Swift's actions. It was the fact that Amara was standing there, and she probably heard him shout. Floyd's cheeks burned a bright red as he began to try and cover his mouth, and apologize at the same time. What came out instead was an extremely muffled, "RORRY!?".

'I'm on the verge of emotional death and the world does this to me!?' Floyd thought to himself in an attempt to calm down by unleashing inner thoughts. The trainer quickly uncovered his mouth and took a deep breath. As per nature, a large exhale followed shortly after. A loud, but somewhat calm breeze blew throughout the clearing, blowing Floyd and Amara's hair slightly to one side. The wind masked what seemed to be intense calculations being spurted forth by the League Champion, the only part Floyd managed to make out of it was, "Would you not agree, Floyd Johnstone?".

Swift rolled his way over to Crystal, and flashed his core a light blue while thoroughly scanning the new Pokemon.
His curiosity matched that of Floyd's, perhaps that was why they got along together? After a short few moments, the Starmie jumped on to the pristine shell of the Lapras and stood there, with what seemed like no real intention. Meanwhile, his trainer struggled to give a response.

"O-Of course! Yeah. I, uh, totally agree!"

'With whatever you just said.'

The tall grass gently whipped Floyd's shoes as he cleared his throat. The events of yesterday flashed back in his mind, all at once. He never did give an actual 'thank you', did he?


"Also. Thanks for yesterday. Without you I probably would have... y'know."



 
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Name:Lily Matherson

Location: Woods,
Tagging: Dynami, Floyd, Crystal
Lily knew she should have been resting, even more so she should be having her wounds looked at. But at the moment that was not a possibility, so she held onto what strength was left inside of her with an iron grip. She helped Floyd up and pushed back the pain that snapped through every nerve ending that still felt like responding. Part of her wished the numb feeling she had in her foot would spread. But knew that it was probably a bad sign in the long run.

Dynami stayed close to her, concern clear in the large pokemon's eyes. He knew lily was stronger than she looked, but she was still very much human. And she had always pushed herself too far, specially when other lives were in trouble. She gave so much, it was one of the reasons he was with her, after all someone had to look after her for a change.

"No prob..." Lily found her words cut off as Floyd excused himself. She watched as he moved to his Starmie before looking to Dynami. She smiled, but if you looked close enough one could see how drained, she was in her eyes. Dynami steadied her before they moved to follow Floyd. She paused and listened to the strange radio chatter the pokemon had picked up.

Lily couldn't make much sense of what was said, but it was clear that they were not the only subjects that Team Rocket was experimenting on at the moment. The only question was would they have to face what they were working on, or was it someone that they needed to try and save as well? She took a deep breath and was about to make a suggestion when another person suddenly joined them.

Lily paused, her body growing tense as she waited for some attack. In this setting it was hard to tell who was friend and who was foe. Thankfully the new arrivals seemed to know Floyd, so for now Lily took that as a good sign. Granted the young woman seemed to be more of a robot than anything else, at least she very much sounded like one. Lily didn't like how she seemed to give orders, but also figured that was just how the girl was. Perhaps she was simply bad with people? "Maybe she is right Dynami, I don't think another tumble would do me any good." she smiled and patted her pokemon's arm. He grunted in frustration, not liking the idea of someone else caring for. Specially when he had no idea who they were or if they could be trusted. "My names Lily, this is Dynami. I take you two know each other?" she spoke as confidently as possible considering the situation they found themselves in. "Granted that also means we need a real game plan too. Wondering around with no real idea of what we are doing is only going to lead to more trouble in the long run. I would suggest we plan away from here thought before the one Serviper I knocked out wakes back up." Lily suggested, knowing that staying still too long was probably a very bad idea for now.
 
Megan
Megan's brain was working in a dizzying spiral of embarrassment and negative self esteem. She could not believe how bad and how fast the situation had devolved. The red headed young man was going to think she was the biggest clutz on the planet and she may have killed miss Cassie. She breathed a small sigh of relief when she heard Cassie suck air into her legs after the loud smacks of Ajax. Then, it got even worse as she heard Salem's voice and it dawned on her just what position she was in on the ground and what angle his voice had come from. "Oh my Arceus he thinks that I.... am...." Her face shot up even redder than it already was until even her ears wear red. Mercifully The delphox walked over and yanked Gerald's pants back up. Megan quickly backpedaled and desperately tried to get her shirt back on.

"Wait did he just ask me to accompany him to the river and to wash up in front of him?" Her brain quickly conjured an image of her swimming naked in the river with Salem watching her. Then her brain decided to be evil and she saw another Feralgatr surface and bite her in half. Her face went from bright red to stark white. "The ri.i.iver um I need to help clean the bowls." She scrambled over and began to collect coconut bowls.

If Salem continues down toward the river alone, a pair of eyes will be watching him from the jungle nearby.
 
Amara
Amara continued to stare at Floyd as he awkwardly agreed with her and then offered his thanks. She paused for a moment, trying for once to figure out what to say in response, before settling on a simple "your welcome." She then turned her attention fully onto Lilly as the other trainer introduced herself. "I am Amara Landos and this is Crystal. I only met Mr. Johnstone forty-two hours and nineteen minutes ago. She motioned once more toward Crystal. "I concur that the longer we stay here for, increases our chances of an unnecessary encounter with wild pokemon by a factor of three per minute. Please have Mr. Dynami put you on Crystal's back so that we can make haste in vacating this area. Further conversation can be had later, or in route to a new location.

She turned her eyes back toward Floyd. "I suggest we return to the venipede clearing Floyd Johnstone, as the residual cold should still serve as a repelant toward the warm tempered native pokemon for approximately two more hours. We can there determine a wise course of action in which to proceed.
 
Location: Camp SAM.CG
Date: 2nd Day, ± 9:00 am
Tagging: Salem, Ajax, Megan, Cassie, Lady
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The ri-ri-iver! Um, I need to help clean the bowls,” the adorable Megan said as she fled from Salem.

He watched her go for a moment, confused by a particular thought. ‘Don’t you need water to clean dishes? Where is she going to clean those things if not the river?’

He stood there for a moment considering possibilities, when Ajax pulled up beside him. Finally he called after her, loud enough for anyone to hear, “Well let me know when you change your mind and I will happily escort you! I’ll even wash your back for you if you wish, I’m told I give a good scrubbing!” he winked at the big Blastoise at that last part.

“Well Buddy,” he said turning to fully face his Pokemon partner. “It seems I’ll be going by myself real quick. I think it’s best if you watch over this lot, what do you say?”

Ajax reared his head and looked in Cassie’s direction for a lingering moment, then turned back to Salem and huffed.

Salem for his part, had followed the turtle’s gaze and when he turned back said, “There’s something captivating about that one isn’t there? Alright, I’ll entrust her protection to you then, big guy. A fair warning though, watch out for that sly Liepard of hers. That one is just too charming for her own good.”

He said this last part vividly recalling Lady subduing an enraged Feraligatr in the midst of life and death combat.

Ajax nodded and waddled off to stand a fair distance away from Cassie. Salem chuckled at the Pokemon’s attempt to be subtle about his watch. The poor creature was trying to lean casually against a palm tree pretending to be uninterested, while blatantly staring right at the girl.

‘I wonder where he picked up those terribly blunt moves,’ Salem mused, making his way quickly down to the river with his pottery.

Once there, he found a shallow, slow running niche where he carefully began to wash the pots and test their carrying capacity. He was so distracted with his work that he wouldn’t even noticed if another Feraligotr was looming over him.
 
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Delilah had put up her hands in fisticuffs, ready to fight the undead nightmare that stood before her. Of course, that was until Damian assured her that this wasn’t actually a zombie. The person was still alive.

Also to her surprise, the woman was actually a man. His stature was very feminine, so it took Delilah’s brain a minute to reassess his gender.

Even after he revealed his identity, Delilah didn’t lower her defenses. After him being alive when thought dead, and a man when thought to be a woman, the green eyed trainer felt like she’d been lied to twice already. This was despite the fact that it was her own fault for assuming those two inaccurate details about him.

Still not entirely convinced that he wasn’t a threat, she kept her fists up. Not sharing that same fear, Beedrill looked relaxed as he simply observed the scene that was unfolding before them. If the doctor was truly a threat, he wouldn’t have been found in such an odd position. Surely those who organized this whole tournament would have been smart enough not to let their goons wind up face-down in the dirt where a trainer would find them.

All of a sudden, his antennae tweaked a little. Beedrill’s head turned and look off into the forest. For a moment, he thought he heard that loud noise again. Possibly the pokemon he’d helped them avoid earlier. The thought was dismissed, however, as he assumed it was simply Damian’s Lucario who’d quietly slipped away into the forest.

Beedrill tuned the noise out for now. A decision that could wind up costing them gravely in the near future.

“A doctor?” Delilah murmured to herself. A doctor would be handy in a survival situation. Of course, in her own world, she wouldn’t exactly need a doctor, since she didn’t plan on getting hurt. At least, not any more than she’d already been hurt during this tournament.

When Nevashi reached for his pokeball, Delilah had the same reaction as Damian. She prepared herself for a confrontation. As much as she was paranoid that he would attack, part of her hoped that he would. After winning multiple confrontations so far, the bee trainer felt nearly invincible. If this guy turned out to be an enemy, he’d realize just how foolish it was to challenge the great Bumble Bee!

“A doctor? Don't suppose you have your registration on you, we're a bit skeptical of medicinal practitioners around these parts.”

“Yeah…” Delilah said in agreement with Damian’s assessment, even though she barely comprehended what he was talking about. “Plus, didn’t you say something about vertebrae? Isn’t that like a plant thing? How can we trust someone who doesn’t even know if their a doctor or a botanist?”

Delilah shot a glance over to Damian. Her lips were pressed together and smiling as though she’d delivered the most clever question in the entire world. At this point, she was just trying to look as cool as Damian sounded in the story he’d told her. She even topped it off with a thumbs up, inadvertently taking her gaze completely off of the doctor for the moment.
 
Location: Camp SAM.CG
Time: Day 2, some time around 9:00 am
-----
As Salem winked at June, the oblivious fox smiled and waved back. What a nice man.

Unlike June, Gerald was fairly sure he knew what was going on here. Of all things, he never even thought of Pokemon-Human relationships...Much less between June and Salem...

"June, are you...uh, how do I put this..." The Delphox turned her head at the mention of her name, a quizzical appearance to her face. "Are you, er, aware...uh...Are you fine with Salem?" He very poorly worded. June, missing the point, nodded yes, her quizzical look transforming into a confused one. "I mean, alright, if that's what you'd like..."

As June went to walk off, Gerald called her off again. "Wait! One last thing...My belt and your Pokeball. Lady has them. Might it be possible to try and...get them back?" While June would be fine with just the belt, as Gerald could substitute it with a vine or whatever, that Pokeball could not, would not stay in the hands of the Liepard. A disgruntled growl emitted from June's throat.

"I'll take that as a yes...? She's hiding in one of those shelters as far as I know."

So June set off to recover her Pokeball...and maybe Gerald's belt. Finding Lady was easy, she was camping out in what one could presume to be the men's hut. Now recovering it...

June didn't want to hurt the cat. Mainly because it was Cassie's Pokemon. And most of her moves were either ineffective or would burn down the hut, neither of which the fox wanted.

Luckily, there was a little plan she had formulated.

The Liepard would probably enjoy a hearty meal more than the belt and Pokeball. At least temporarily. The distraction could allow her to swipe the goods while the Dark type's back was turned. But Lady was a devious trickster. June needed a plan that was just as devious.

And luckily still, she had one.
-----
With a chunk of Feraligatr meat in her paws, June walked into the shelter Lady was resting in. As the fox entered, the scent of the flesh caused the cat to perk up. Part one completed. It was time to execute the second piece of the plan.

Now, June's teeth sunk into the meat. While raw meat wasn't exactly her favorite meal, but it was meat, and the carnivorous creature was definitely peeved at the Delphox's blatant disrespect. A twitch was noticeable on the cat, the sharp tail cutting through the air. As June chewed, red dribbled down her maw, and Lady got on her feet. Muscles tensing. A friend of hers had taught June over the years; Tensed muscles meant a leap was incoming. June's plot had reached it's prime.

And with little fanfare, June tossed the meat aside. Lady leaped at the chunk, leaving the belt and Pokeball unattended. A smirk broke on the fox's face, as she picked up the belt. Slashed apart, but it could be tied back together. Gerald could tie a knot, right?...Right?

...She could measure her trainer's skills later. Lady was making quick work of the meat, and if June didn't act now, Lady would be keeping the belt. Without another thought, she snatched it up and left Lady to clean up her own mess.
-----
As June handed back Gerald's belt, his face was even more confused than before. "What the...did you murder Lady or something?"

Taking a look over herself, her paws were bloodied along with her jawline...a annoyed grunt emitted from the back of her throat. She'd have to wash up again...

"But, thanks for my belt back, though. Can always rely on you June."

The Delphox did a toothy grin at her trainer. He really was a true friend. Maybe even a bit like a brother. And then she began yet another trek to the river.

This left Gerald to examine the belt. An area near the buckle was ripped, by the impatient Lady. Leather stained crimson by June's plot, but otherwise it was intact. June's Pokeball was missing...was she holding on to it herself? Perhaps she didn't want Lady potentially stealing it again. Smart, cunning fox.

He'd rather not go through the hassle of re-buckling it, so he tied it in a little knot, pants held in place now. Sure, it was potentially cutting off blood circulation to his legs, but it worked and that's what mattered. He could finally stand with pride now...what was left of it.

While Dr. Moon was talking about sitting down, singing songs and telling stories...Well, unless they wanted to hear his stories that would sound insane to someone who wasn't actually there, and he wasn't sure that Cassie ever truly saw the thing. Considering he found the other four reeking of it, perhaps June would back him up, but she wasn't actually here now. Not to mention he promised never to speak of it again...

The only other stories were rather dull, and he couldn't sing. So...he'd be skipping that.

There was Cassie.

There was still something subtle about her...He still couldn't tell what, but it was there, and it bothered him. But on another track, he was a bit curious how she was doing ever since the incident.

As he walked towards Cassie, he spook up. "Hey, there. Want to...chat, or something?"
 
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Location: Riverside, near Camp SAM.CG
Time: 2nd Day, Sometime after 9:00 am
Tagging: Salem, June
----------------​

Salem was just coming out of the water with the last pot and placed it on the shore next to the others. There were three of them, a large one that could function as a kettle and two smaller ones that were more for water keeping and transporting, and all of them were scrubbed clean of dirt and ash now.

He stood up to stretch, wave his arms to loosen the muscles and cracked his back. He was not naked this time. Salem had kicked his shoes off, but had kept his pants on and merely pulled the trousers up around his knees. He was about to roll them back down when he saw the sexy fox Pokémon approach the riverside. He studied her graceful movements, admired her elegance, and marveled how humanoid some Pokémon could be.

‘First that maid Pokémon in the nice dress and now this alluring fox,’ he thought to himself. ‘I wonder what more beautiful things there are out in the world just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.’

Salem found himself attracted to her form and remembered the smooth feel of her soft fur and before he knew it he was getting excited again.

“This tournament seems to be dishing out horrors and delights in equal measures,” he said joyfully to no one in particular.

He waited until the latest source of his arousal reached the water’s edge before stepping up to her.

“If it isn’t the beautiful Lady June,” he called to her, approaching. “Why? What brings you down to…”

He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed her bloody appearance and was at her side in a single bounce. One hand took hold of her claws gently, while the other reached out and tenderly stroked the fur on her cheek. He looked her over closely with a frown on his face and a concerned look in his eyes.

Once he established that she wasn’t hurt in any way he breathed a sigh of relief.

“What happened to you Lady June?” he asked her softly. “Such savage marks are unbecoming of you, and this blood stains your glorious fur.”

Salem stroked her cheek again and scratched her under her chin. The gesture just seemed to come to him instinctually and he hoped she enjoyed it like he knew his own prideful Ninetales secretly did.

“You should get cleaned up,” he stated, his mind made up. “Will you allow me to assist you? I have some experience tending to luxurious fur such as yours.”
 
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Snip, snip, snip, cut away the vine and resume the work left behind.

Stringing, lining, tying, braiding.

Her long, slender fingers so easily wove between the plant fibers. They flowed with the grace of leaves caught within the wind. Dexterously, swiftly, quickly, the fibers trailed down the malicious scars consuming her overworked hands. Not a single move wasted, not an effort exuded in vain. Work was her only remedy, the one thing strong enough to keep her mind from wandering, straying, and diving off the deep end. Thin strings to keep her present.

That, and eyes.

Ever since that incident, she'd always been very keen of eyes. Of being watched and observed. She found them much more easily now, and at the moment, they belonged to Salem and Ajax. The man, leaving as soon as she’d set her gaze upon him. 'Where are you going? Why are you leaving?' She found herself wondering. There was something that... Terrified her about seeing him turn away. Watching him leave. Her muscles tensed and twitched, an instinct to go after him. But why?

Why indeed.

Her stubborn will refused to move, and she simply let him go.

The Blastoise, after having answered his trainer's call now leaned awkwardly against a tree. Well, at least in a much less relaxed and comfortable state she had, while staring directly at her.

Intense.

Unblinking.

Cassie stared right back at him, with her body fitting comfortably against the curve of the coconut tree’s trunk and her legs outstretched, casually crossed over the other while her hands proceeded to work atop her lap.

And she winked.

Cassie enjoyed her cheap thrills and she grinned in satisfaction at the rouse she got from Ajax. She’d tilted her head down just enough, so he couldn’t see the laughter in her eyes and hid beneath the rim of her fedora.

But everything comes and goes, and soon, the emotions had gone.

Cassie found that to be a recurring trend in her life. To possess something. Everything. And have it all taken away. All at once so there had been no room for recovery. You grieve them slowly, one by one, and by the time you're finished grieving, you find that you've dug a hole in yourself and you just can't climb back out again. That endless, gaping wound where all your possessions had once been. A black hole, threatening to suck you in and trap you for eternity.

The void.

It took everything.

Her lips, resembling rose petals tattered and deprived of color by a harsh storm, had lost their upturned curve, returning to the flat, rigid state it had been before. They parted in order for Cassie to let out a long sigh, tilting her head back against the trunk while doing so. Her eyes slid shut, and they stung from the lack of rest they received.

Perhaps just a few moments of shut eye would be alright…

But the eyes.’ Whispered a voice inside her. ‘There’s a pair more. They’re right there, just look.

Just let me rest. Please.’ She told them desperately, and her right hand released the vines in favor of clasping the ribbon Salem had tied around her wrist. It was almost instinctive her mind replayed the memory now stored in her mind permanently. She felt the fabric, so gentle and soft. Firm against her skin.

It is my present to you. A promise of more happy moments like this one just now,” And suddenly the void had receded, and it was far away. “Please consider it a charm that will keep you safe and guide you towards the next peaceful encounter.” She held on to it, to the memories, and she had an anchor. Something to prevent the void from swallowing her again, and she didn't have to be afraid anymore.

And her muscles unwinded, and the work was no longer necessary.

Rest- sleep even, was so close within her reach. Coming so easily, she was almost awestruck. But of course, people like her never got what they wanted.

"Hey, there. Want to...chat, or something?"

Cassie lazily opened an eye to see who it was that’d interrupted her rest. The shadows cast by the brim of her fedora shaded her vision comfortably from the mischievous sun rays that slipped past the coconut tree’s leaves.

Tousled red hair, and warm brown eyes. ‘Found the extra pair.’ She thought idly, and willed her eyelids to open yet again though they weighed a hundred pounds. Had it been anyone else, she was quite sure she wouldn’t have gone through the effort of straightening her position against the coconut trunk, adjusting her fedora to see better through, and breathing in to wake her brain with an extra supply of oxygen.

“Oui?” She asked softly, noting how her throat still ached from the strain of her previous choking endeavor. Why was she even talking? Perhaps it was surprise. In all honesty, she was quite surprised to find Gerald voluntarily speaking to her. She thought for sure he would’ve indulged himself with the other, rowdier members of the group.

She was simply out of place, out of step, and depending on her condition, won’t be sticking around long anyway. 'What about him?' Her mind wondered, and her eyes observed Gerald in concern.

'I want him to stay.
' She decided. 'He and June.' They’d both be safer that way and she’d have one less worry to occupy her mind. They at least deserved that much after what they had to go through in Route 15. Plus, she always seemed to have a knack for attracting trouble. It was probably for the best she got moving soon.

'And... Him?' She wondered again, and her hand enclosed tighter around the ribbon on her wrist. 'I'll be okay. I have a piece of him with me. His strength.'

Thus, Cassie pulled on a slight smile on her split lips for him and gestured to the empty spot beside her. The coconut three she sat under was not a particularly thick tree. They’d at least have their shoulders pressed together if he decided to accept her invitation.

But Gerald was the select few allowed in her bubble, and the notion did not scare her. ‘Think of it as a farewell.’ She told herself while awaiting his next action patiently.

Better make a good impression then.’ Another voice answered. ‘Might be the last one you’ll ever make.’

You don’t want to be remembered this way, do you? The way you are?

No.

She let out a small sigh, and then softly asked again, “Something on your mind?”
 
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Dr. Nevashi
Erejast noticed the Lucario slip into the woods and a moment later he could feel the presence of a threat behind him. His instincts had become very rusty with disuse but he had not let them go completely. The Dr. stopped his hand movement and slowly raised his hand upward open palm so the other two trainers could see. "My aren't you two an adorably paranoid pair."

He fanned himself with his hands, "dearie me I think this jungle just got even hotter under these dreadfully intense stares. I assure you two I mean you no harm. I am in the profession of saving lives, not taking them." He smiled further and fluttered his eyelashes, "beside who would want to harm two cuties like you." His expression was broken by another wince of pain as he muttered, "make that the L3 as well."

He looked over towards Delilah, "sorry let me rephrase that. I am fairly certain I fractured a couple bones in my back and I hit my head really really hard. So if you don't allow me to do something about it in a moment I am afraid I might not be the best of conversational company. I would hate to pass out on you after all as it would be terribly bad manners."

"If one of you two would be a sweetheart and take that pokeball off my belt, I am rather sure that Kiwi can fix this situation rather quickly." The Dr.s eyes finally settled on Ecarte and Mina. Oh my stars, is that Mademoiselle Willamina and the dashing Ms. Ecarte. My how she has grown ow..ow..ow." Erejast had clasped his hands together and raised them up as he spoke before another spasm was sent through his back. His smile hid his worry at seeing a child like Mina caught up in this.

Ecarte walked over and seeing Erejast smiled and then called out a greeting, "Garte..." Then she realized what the other two trainers were about to do. "Orion don't hurt him, he is a friend. Please stop Damien, before he does anything drastic." Ecarte then moved swiftly interposing her body between Delilah and Erejast. "Garte... Garte..." She would be more worried about the trainer's than the Dr., but she knew he would never defend himself if they attacked. He had sworn off violence years ago.
 
Lin
Lin and Arrow watched Salem clean the pots at the river for a moment. Just as she was about to make her move she stopped and sniffed the air, smelling blood and fur mixed together. She looked toward Arrow and the two both stopped and waited as shortly after June walked into sight heading for the river. Lin watched the fox closely and narrowed her eyes as she saw that the fox was carrying something metallic. "Wait is that a? Why is she carrying one of those damnable devices. Hmm, her muzzle and it are covered in blood maybe she murdered her trainer and took her freedom by force." A small satisfied smile began to creep it's way onto Lin's face.. but then quickly faded as she sniffed the air again. "Nope that is blood from the river beast, not human blood. Still why is she carrying that ball.?"

Then she noticed Salem's reaction to June. She studied his body language as he grabbed her fur. "He is concerned for her, but also attracted to her. This human really is a stallion in Rhut. He seems attracted to almost anything with a female form." She turned and looked toward Arrow who just gave a snort and a toothy grin back. "This male will seek to add you to his herd as well sister." Lin just arched an eyebrow at the Sceptile's joke, or rather prediction. He was teasing her, as she could tell but at the same time he was being serious.

She turned her gaze back to Salem "He is distracted as earlier. At this rate he will wind up someones meal." Arrow just nodded, although he still grinned at his sister enjoying her change of subject, and that he had made her uneasy. Lin dropped down out of the trees and padded lightly across the jungle floor quieter than the wind, until she was about ten paces from the man's back. Then she sat down on a rock and began to work on an arrow with a bone knife as she waited for the man to even realize her presence.
 
Location: Camp SAM.CG
Time: 2nd Day, Sometime after 9:00 am
Tagging: Ajax, Cassie, Gerald
----------------​

‘Is she on to me?’ Ajax found himself thinking after exchanging looks with Cassie for a while. ‘Why is she looking at me? I am the one watching over her!’

He pushed up against the palm tree a little more and it groaned under the pressure. Ajax had no idea how Salem could get comfortable against these sticks, let out a frustrated huff and concentrated on the tiny human girl again.

She winked.

‘Now what!?’ the big Blastoise thought irritably. He had seen thousands of Salem’s winks over the years and never really understood the meaning behind most of them, but the people he winked at always seemed happy about it, put at ease if nothing else.

Cassie’s wink did not put Ajax at ease at all. He did not know what she was trying to telling him with it and huffed in frustration again.

‘Jeeves would know,’ he thought, thoroughly annoyed at the thought. ‘That dumb looking Exeggutor somehow understood matters such as these instinctively, as if he spoke the secret language of smiles and winks.’

Ajax conjured up a mental image of the coconut Pokémon, all three of its faces smiling at him gleefully, and pressed heavily on the palm tree he had been leaning again in annoyance.

‘Stupid Jeeves, what are you smiling at me for!?’ the giant turtle argued with the image and applied more force. The palm tree groaned heavily, cracked, and finally gave way. The entire plant fell over and came down noisily outside of camp.

The Blastoise snorted at it in satisfaction before making his way over to the tiny human female and the glowing male. He was going to be watching over her and right now it looked like she needed saving from one of Jeeves’ cousins as well.

He stood before the trainer pair, or before Cassie more specifically. He was standing behind Gerald and looming over him for a moment, before brushing the man aside so that he could pass. Dropping himself down onto his belly shell next to the girl, he looked over briefly, gave her an angry wink, then let out a large breath and relaxed.

As long as she remained next to him he could watch over her without having to look at her, the Pokémon figured, and settled in for a nap.

He may not understand the language of winks, but he was fluent in naps and comfortable closeness.
 
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Damian made a half glance toward Delilah who still had fists raised towards the self proclaimed doctor, then acknowledged her Beedrill who did little more than twitch his antennae seemingly in notice of the new person.

“Yeah…” Delilah said in agreement with Damian’s assessment, even though she barely comprehended what he was talking about. “Plus, didn’t you say something about vertebrae? Isn’t that like a plant thing? How can we trust someone who doesn’t even know if they're a doctor or a botanist?”

Damian looked back toward her, knowing she was wrong in what she assumed she knew about plant life and anatomy. He dismissed it however and kept careful eyes trained on Nevashi, they had seemingly calmed and were no longer stern browed.

He fanned himself with his hands, "dearie me I think this jungle just got even hotter under these dreadfully intense stares. I assure you two I mean you no harm. I am in the profession of saving lives, not taking them." He smiled further and fluttered his eyelashes, "beside who would want to harm two cuties like you." His expression was broken by another wince of pain as he muttered, "make that the L3 as well."

Damian was a little caught off at the word 'cutie'. What an odd thing to say to someone whom you had just met, especially in a situation like this. Then the doctor noticeably showed a face of pain, stating another bone had been broken.

He looked over towards Delilah, "sorry let me rephrase that. I am fairly certain I fractured a couple bones in my back and I hit my head really really hard. So if you don't allow me to do something about it in a moment I am afraid I might not be the best of conversational company. I would hate to pass out on you after all as it would be terribly bad manners."

"If one of you two would be a sweetheart and take that pokeball off my belt, I am rather sure that Kiwi can fix this situation rather quickly." The Dr.s eyes finally settled on Ecarte and Mina. "Oh my stars, is that Mademoiselle Willamina and the dashing Ms. Ecarte. My how she has grown ow..ow..ow." Erejast had clasped his hands together and raised them up as he spoke before another spasm was sent through his back. His smile hid his worry at seeing a child like Mina caught up in this.

Upon his notice of Ecarte and Mina Damian felt sure he could trust the man. The Doctor must have met them some time before the tournament which meant he was in the hotel. This also gave a slim chance of it being one of the team rocket grunts that shoved everyone into the wilderness unconscious.

Ecarte walked over and seeing Erejast smiled and then called out a greeting, "Garte..." Then she realized what the other two trainers were about to do. "Orion don't hurt him, he is a friend. Please stop Damien, before he does anything drastic." Ecarte then moved swiftly interposing her body between Delilah and Erejast. "Garte... Garte..." She would be more worried about the trainer's than the Dr., but she knew he would never defend himself if they attacked. He had sworn off violence years ago.

Orion walked past Nevashi, being careful not to brush him in case it would cause any discomfort, then simply looked toward Damian. Admittedly, Damian had been confused for a moment, but assumed Orion felt no sudden sense of danger from the feminine man at the moment either.

"So, you just woke up? It's amazing the other pokemon haven't gotten to you yet." Damian stated as he reached toward Nevashi's waist, and grabbing the pokeball. He was unsure if he was meant to let the pokemon contained in it out himself so he just placed the ball in one of the Doctor's hands, then backed up toward Delilah. He was at least 99% sure Nevashi was safe, but he'd just met him so, suspicion is sort of becoming a habit.

Orion stood beside Ecarte, whom still held the sleeping Mina.

Damian took a quick glance over his shoulder back at Delilah and offered a small smile. If anything were to happen, he felt it best she know that he was semi over their brief argument.
 
Delilah wasn’t truly convinced that the doctor was a good guy, even after he regarded the sleeping Mina and Ecarte as though he’d seen them both before. The brash trainer barely met those two this morning, and knew very little about their background. For all she knew they all could have been working together on this whole evil tournament.

Or...maybe he was just a doctor. Someone who happened to be looped into a bad situation. For some reason, Delilah figured everyone who worked on this island was in on Team Rocket’s plan, while the trainers were supposed to become pokemon food. Did Team Rocket really manage to blindside even the staff members?

Ecarte stood between Delilah and the doctor. Delilah locked eyes with the pokemon for a brief moment before seeing that escalating this into a fight wasn’t going to be the best option. Much to Delilah’s disappointment.

Lowering her fists, the bee trainer floated down from her adrenaline high. Her eyes darted to Orion as he emerged from behind the doctor. For a moment she thought that he was a wild pokemon before looking to Damian and realizing the semi-anthropomorphic canine had simply managed to slip out of view.

That was pretty sneaky, and fast. She took a mental note of that tactic so that she could try to teach something similar to Beedrill in the future. While he and Delilah had their speed, stealth was definitely not one of their strong-suits.

Delilah was alarmed when Damian allowed the doctor to keep his pokeball. What was he thinking? For all Damian knew, there could have been a powerful pokemon in there that could kill them. Or at least try to kill them, Delilah assured herself.

Damian gave her a comforting smile, as if to promise her that everything was going to be okay. Even though she’d physically lowered her guard she drew a deep breath to try and relax mentally. If Damian assessed that this doctor wasn’t going to try and attack them then she was inclined to believe him.

"So, you just woke up? It's amazing the other pokemon haven't gotten to you yet."


“Yeah...awfully convenient if you ask me,” Delilah said through squinted eyes. Her expression was briefly one of surprise as she caught herself tensing up again.

Right, she thought to herself, I guess I really should try to relax.

“Uh...anyway…” Delilah’s eyes fixated on the pokeball. “Who’s that pokemon?”
 
Location: Riverside, near Camp SAM.CG
Time: 2nd Day, Sometime after 9:00 am
Tagging: Salem, Line, June
----------------​

Salem tensed. Something was different, though he didn’t know what exactly.

He was standing bare feet, up to his ankles in a slow moving section of the river and had felt a slight shift in the current. Not consciously so, and not like he could tell what it was, but there was something that disturbed the flow somewhat.

He hadn’t noticed anything approach, therefor this was either his imagination playing tricks on him or they were dealing with a highly skilled predator.

Keeping June’s paw in one hand he stepped aside and turned around slowly, casually, so as not to set anything off if it were there. Then his eyes settled onto a small woman not ten paces away from him, and they widened slightly in surprise.

The woman was sitting on a boulder jutting out of the river slightly upstream, casually carving a stick without a care in the world.

‘Where did she come from?’ he wondered. He hasn’t heard a thing, not a single rustling of leaves or splashing of water and she’d clearly gotten her feet wet.

Salem’s more primal side was utterly entranced with the casually implied grace and skill displayed by this woman. So much so in fact, that it took him a moment to realize that he recognized her.

‘Lin was her name,’ he recalled Cassie making the introduction. She was the huntress that had, by all accounts, saved his life that morning. They hadn’t exchanged any words then before she disappeared but she was here now, and a lot closer.

Salem took a more casual pose and carefully studied the woman. She was small, as small as Cassie, which would put her a full head shorter than him. He drank in the rest of her. Her features and stature, her form, her grace, her clothing, which he again noticed were quite different from what everyone else was wearing, and finally the air around her. That last bit not literally of course, but she gave of a different vibe from all the others he had met so far. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but her proximity awoke something inside of him, something savage, something he wasn’t quite sure what to think about.

‘She had a wild allure to her,’ he discovered. It was something he didn’t pick up from anyone else, not the humans at least. ‘She feels more akin to a Pokémon.’

He glanced back at June and forced himself to look a little deeper. He noticed the sharp eyes, the fangs, the claw in his hand. She was unmistakably a predator, a fact only accentuated by her current bloody appearance, and he felt that the hint of danger enticed him.

‘Cassie has something like this as well,’ Salem caught himself thinking. ‘But with her it seems somewhat forced and there is more underneath, something sweet hidden away, but wanting to come out.’

Looking back at Lin he felt a similar vibe coming from her, only more raw, more feral, but there was more to it as well. Was she challenging him in some way? Whatever it was, he felt himself aroused by her and that was something he was comfortable with. Salem had always been more a man of instinct than understanding after all.

“Lady Lin, was it?” he said by way of greeting. “It is so nice to see you again.” He said the last part while letting his eyes drop before refocusing on hers again, smiling.

“I don’t believe I thanked you yet for your help this morning.”

He motioned at June and the deeper part of the slow flowing river area then.

“We were about to get Lady June here cleaned up, did you come here with a similar purpose? If so, you are more than welcome to join us. Perhaps you would allow me to assist in scrubbing your back and washing your hair as a way of thanks?”
 
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(Insert pictures of Gerald, Cassie, Ajax, June, Salem, and Lin in here)
Date: Day 2, Sometime around 9:00 AM
Location: Camp SAM.CG/Riverside
-----
"Something on your mind?"

Ah. She sounded a tad...peeved? Maybe deciding to talk to her wasn't the best idea. But he was in now, and it'd cause too much trouble to back out and even more to try and get in again. Too many thoughts, he had to get to the point.

"Well, I was curious how-"

A flash of deep blue sweeped him aside, giving the young man a little spook. "Hey, what the-"

He stumbled a bit, before scowling at the attacker. "Hey, what was that for?" It was Ajax, the Blastoise they rode across the river on. It was Salem's, right? Either way, seemed that the trainer and his Pokemon had their eyes out for Cassie, in more ways than one in the case of Salem.

Well, if life taught Gerald anything, being rude to people was not the solution of these things...Unless they were Team Rocket, of course. He'd love to bash their skulls in verbally and physically. Well, maybe not Thomas. He turned out to be a decent man. Of course, that was implying the admin was still indeed an admin, which Gerald had to doubt. But the point was, he shouldn't be a hardass to the Blastoise. That would just end up creating more problems.

"Hey, uh, Ajax, buddy. Mind not doing that again? Please?" Maybe he shouldn't have said buddy. Oh well, what was the worst thing Ajax could do?

"Uh, anyways, Cassie, what I was asking was..." He made a subtle pause as he took note of the lack of gloves on the woman's hands. So was that what he displaced on her? No. There was something new there. And something scorched, between the creepers and tangled vines. But now the "subtle pause" had gone past subtle into just straight up staring. His pupils no longer focused on the hands of Cassie but rather the face. "Uh, sorry, I mean...What I was saying was...How have you been faring since...the thing on route 15?"

Secretly, He prayed to whatever was up there that he didn't just ruin any future relations with Cassie after the staring and mention of the Dead man's drop.
-----
June once again was met by her friend Salem by the river. The man seemed to pop up everywhere, but June wasn't arguing. The man had already proven to be a pretty good friend with the whole praise thing. Though the island charmer was a bit appalled (for lack of a better word) on June's bloodied state.

Then he made an offer. To clean her...how polite. She couldn't say no, could she? That be disrespectful. So, she graciously took his hand in stride. But as they entered the clean waters, she heard something step out of the brush. With a discontented and wary look, she saw the woman who had attempted to slit Gerald's throat sitting atop a rock. Sharpening an arrow.

Distrust set in, and a glare was shot at the hunter.

Salem finally noticed as well, seeming a tad more...excited? The Delphox didn't know why. Lin was a savage, which maybe was a tad hypocritical coming from a bloodstained fox, but at least she had reasoning.

Then Salem offered to wash Lin, of all people.

This man was quite the quick-to-trust one, hmm. This somewhat reminded June of the naive Gerald before he got involved in the that festival business in Kalos, before the fall into the grave, before ending here.

But those days were gone now. And June would prefer they'd stay gone, for her trainers safety.

But this Lin had reasoning to be here. The previous day, June had communicated...had least, probably did...with this hunter. So she decided to do a little test.

'What do you want?' To Salem, it was a nothing but a bark, perhaps a bit shrill, but to Lin, the sharp and to the point message came across loud and clear.
 
Bam!

Cassie flinched from her seated position.

Her eyes so easily traveled to where the sound had resonated, just past where Gerald stood. She hunched over slightly and peered from the space between Gerald's legs to observe Ajax. Although... A rather atrocious looking knot his belt had been twisted into, evidently being the only thing holding his pants up, demanded more attention than the hulking Blastoise going on a small rampage behind him. At least, in her book. Brows furrowed, Cassie was just about to touch upon the matter when the sound of heavy, rapidly approaching footsteps easily ricocheted her attention back on Ajax, now coming right at them.

Instinctively, Cassie had straightened her back, the way she used to in the face of a much larger, taller counterpart. It'd been about pride then. Now, perhaps it was simply about not looking so fragile. And small. Despite that being exactly what she was.

But he suddenly stopped.

Ajax had simply stood there, looming over Gerald while his amber eyes bored down at her. For a moment, she stared back at him blankly, not quite sure what it was he was trying to accomplish. And then, he simply brushed the man aside, like pushing a leaf out of your path, and she watched the massive turtle wink in response to the redhead's disgruntled exclaim, and plop down right beside her with carefree abandon. The impact of his weight on the ground flung her small frame a few inches into the air, but the girl remained with her dumbfounded expression.

He winked, yet again, and this time, at her, but the anger behind the notion made it very hard for her to restrain the small smile tugging at her lips, the way her expression melted into one of gentleness, comprehension, and light amusement. 'Does he even know what he's doing winking like that?' Cassie wondered, but moments later, she found she was satisfied when the answer came to her on its own. 'No. I suppose not. Considering who his trainer is, I suppose he was merely mimicking him.'

Chuckling quietly to herself, she lifted a hand to place over the back of Ajax's neck, slipping it easily beneath the ridge of his shell to firmly rub and scratch that one spot a Blastoise could never reach themselves, and a spot not many trainers knew about either.

"Uh, anyways, Cassie, what I was asking was..." Her attention returned to Gerald, but his eyes were not focused on her. No, they were focused on her hands. She could feel his brown eyes, so soft and gentle, tracing the surface of scarred skin. She found her eyes wandering there as well, to her free left hand, resting atop her lap. Turning it over, trying to find it what it was that was so strange about it, Cassie furrowed her brows.

He's seen her scars before, hasn't he?

Her eyes returned to his face, observing closely how his mouth remained agape, as if trying to form words that could never leave his lips. How his brows furrowed, his eyes searched, the little twitches in his cheeks. And then came the clarity, the faint panic painted from his raised eyebrows, and the twitches of his lips. 'He'll change the subject.' "Uh, sorry, I mean...What I was saying was...How have you been faring since...the thing on route 15?"

"Route 15?"

Her thoughts stumbled, and crashed. Her eyes blinked slowly, and her mind ticked silently, a sound only she could hear, as it struggled to extract memories of the horrific incident, and the memories before it. Nothing. "I'm..."

The void. It took everything, consumed it all. The thoughts that'd ran through her brain, the emotions storming in her chest. They were all gone, and all she had left were the images. The sounds. The motions. But none of the sensations, nor the experience. Like flipping through an album of photos. And she found that was okay. That was how she'd been holding on, and carrying on. Detached, once again, but this time, for the greater good. The projectiles were outside her bubble and they couldn't hurt her anymore.

"I'm fine, actually."

The void, it had saved her. It had absorbed all the pain and emotion and it kept her from tipping off the edge. It was a new page, a blank slate. And she needed to stop running away from the change. She needed to let go.

A breath left her that she hadn't realized existed. It was the weight, the pressure and stress her heart held, that she let escape from her bubble along with all the clutter that dirtied it. Her muscles unwinded further, as if they had finally received permission to do so. As if those three words had finally set them free. Set her free.

Her bubble had burst.

"I'm okay." 'But I'm not going down that easily.'

A small smile, pulling at her lips, wider and wider until she grinned a grin that was gleeful and free. Her hand rubbed Ajax's neck firmly, giving a small pat as the energy, the restoration of her being pulsed through her veins. "I got my house back thanks to all that treasure we found."

A reboot, after a long period of crashing and glitching, restoring anew the beautiful flow of thoughts she'd long missed. Everything upgraded, in perfect rhythm, synchronization, and harmony with just those three words. That admittance she needed to hear only from herself. Oh, she felt so perfectly incomplete. But it was just the way it should be.

When you fall down a bottomless pit and hit unspeakable lows, you'd eventually find you've drifted back up the way you came. And that pit would still be there, waiting for you to fall again, but she wasn't afraid anymore. After she'd been through? The horrors of Route 15 and everything else before it? She had nothing left to fear. Not even death. "And, oh, Thomas got fired. He's working in a grocery store now, paying monthly rent to stay at my house."

She laughs. No, she wasn't done yet. There were still so many miles to run and so many cliffs to climb and mountains to conquer. There was still Nine, and Peridot to come home to, and her name to clear and her worth to be proven. But most of all, there was still her team to find, because she knew they were waiting for her. And she found herself thanking her mother, for battering her and raising her the way she had been. For surely she would've been dead without it. Cassie couldn't help the soft hum of a giggle that left her, "Lady still thinks she's a Purrloin. Sorry about your belt."

Or perhaps, she'd already gone so far off the deep end that she actually thinks she's sane.

Nah.

And so, her free left hand so accurately and grasped Gerald's left. She tugged him down sharply, watching his stumble, counting the moments for him to fall forward, and then swiftly pulling his hand towards her, which crossed his arm across his torso to twirl him with his own momentum, leaving him to fall backwards just inches from the palm tree.

She felt the thud of his back hitting the bark, inciting another string of amused laughter when she felt his arm against her's, as they squeezed together to fit around the tree's perimeter. And then, looking over, she leaned into his ear to whisper,

"But, that's not what you really wanted to ask about, is it?"

There was a knowing, mischievous glint in her eyes. One that stated blatantly just how easily she'd seen through his facade and read his inner thoughts. But that was just a sheen over a swift river of thoughts. Eyes that seemed always thinking.

Cassie proceeded to pull one leg toward her, the other still draped lazily over its partner in support. She moved it casually, contemplatively, up and down while her eyes wondered to the top of the palm tree, where the leaves moved lazily with the upper canopy breeze.

"I wonder..."

Like a calm lake, undisturbed by the chaos happening around it. She toyed with the puzzle currently on hand; Gerald's original topic of conversation. He was just talking about ribbons with Salem earlier. The memory was still fresh, pre-recorded in her mind. Their casual banter tuning down to conservative whispering. What had there been to hide? Cassie leaned her head back, ready by all means to voice the questions that had been building inside her, but instead, she stopped herself. She's got this.

She was back.

So when Cassie looked back at him and pulled a cheeky grin on her lips, the answer was already in her clutches. Wrapped around her finger, or rather, wrist. She raised her left hand, flaunting the answer; the strip of black that was wrapped snugly around her wrist. "Could it be this little thing?"

An eyebrow raised, she relished the feeling of amusement that danced in her chest. It was one of the few emotions she welcomed among the others that had been severed. And she moved her right hand from Ajax's neck in order to touch the black ribbon, to trace her finger curiously along it. "But honestly, I have no idea."

Cassie recalled the conversation she shouldn't have heard, and would prefer to keep it that way. "That guy is so weird, isn't he?" And she said this with a gentle chuckle, nudging Ajax at the same time as if to imply him as well.

But then again, she was just as strange.
 
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Dr. Nevashi
Erejast gently placed a hand on Ecarte's shoulder as she stood in front of him between him and Delilah. "My dear Ecarte, while I greatly appreciate the assistance, I don't think it will be necessary. These two are just a tad jumpy is all and I quite certainly don't blame them for it. He glanced over toward Delilah and then down at the pokeball in his hand. "Oh this? This is Kiwi."

He hit the button on the ball and after a momentary bright red flash the Togepi stood there with a smile on its face, "Togepriii." Erejast smiled all the wider at seeing his pokemon, "Isn't Kiwi just the most adorable thing you have ever seen. Now Kiwi dearie I could really use your care right now."

Kiwi giggled and smiled walking over and kissing Erejast, who leaned down on the cheek. Their was a bright sparkle and Kiwi glowed for a moment. The glow and sparkle transferred to the Dr. and he stood straighter cracking his back as he did so. The Dr. scooped the Togepi up and began spinning the pokemon around energetically. "Thank you Kiwi darling I simply feel much better." Kiki giggled and cooed "Togepriii."

He set the fairy pokemon down and turned toward the other two trainers, "this is Kiwi. As for your other question, I am not sure how long I was out but after having a nightmare last night I sorta ran off and embankment. Erejast looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his head, at this statement.
 
Lin
Lin tore her green eyed gaze from Salem and looked directly at June. She smoothly and gracefully stood up on the rock and lightly leaped over to the shore. She nodded her head toward June, "I wished to test this males reflexes and awareness of danger." She looked from Salem and then back to June and shrugged, "I am not sure how he is still alive."

She cocked her head and looked June over, " you are still angry at me for threatening your partner earlier." It was said as a statement and not a question rather matter of factly. She shook her head, "I do not understand why you enjoy captivity in such a barbaric little ball, nor why you give such loyalty to your captor." She pointed toward the pokeball in June's hands, and then over toward Salem. "Trainers like that can not even properly understand you, and yet they wish to tell you what is best."

She then turned toward Salem and stalked over toward him standing right in front of him. Her green eyes bored into his as if she was judging his very soul. "Some few trainers I have met walk the very beginning of the path of harmony. However most, do not and only disrupt the natural balance enslaving your brothers and sisters to fight, dance, or breed for their amusement, whim, or profit." She stared at Salem a moment longer before easily whirling around him and moving to the waters edge. She pulled out a small earthenware bowl and scooped up some of the river water into it.

She then turned back, "you trainers are not my concern right now." She pointed toward the jungle, "The horrors that plague this once peaceful Island and the atrocity committed within ARE MY CONCERN." She said the last part with a biting conviction and a growl. "I am going to kill every single human being responsible for the state of the pokemon here." She bared her teeth and growled again, "It will not be slow and it was be very painful." Arrow made a slow pantomime of pulling one of his blades across his throat in a very clear signal of agreeance with Lin's statement.

She turned back toward Salem, "and what do you feel about all of this trainer?"
 
Location: Riverside, near Camp SAM.CG
Time: 2nd Day, Sometime after 9:00 am
Tagging: Salem, Line, June
----------------​

‘What a strongly opinionated woman,’ Salem thought as he patiently listened to Lin’s tirade.

He found her fire and intensity quite captivating, and followed her every wave of hair, twinkle in the eye, and graceful move of her sensual body with a scrutinizing look.

She was berating him for being too carefree and Salem wasn’t going to deny that, though he also didn’t see it as much a problem. Next she was berating June for being a willing captive and found that this irked him a little, but he let her finish.

He looked down to meet her eyes when she came up to him. The top of her head barely reached his chin, but despite this she felt much larger. With her so close to him he could smell her wild scent and he felt his pants tighten.

‘Uncomfortable thought it may be, I am happy I decided to keep my pants on this time,’ he thought. ‘I can honestly not tell if she would have found my reaction flattering or offensive at this stage.’

He swallowed, but his smile never wavered throughout the exchange. He decided that he admired this small woman before him, and not just physically. Her anger came from love, that much was obvious, and that meant she held a lot of love, not just for her partner but all Pokémon. The only problem is that in her zealotry she was looking for enemies where there were none. Sure, there were humans that mistreated their Pokémon companions, and those were as much his enemies as they were hers, but in her generalization she was condemning people that loved Pokémon as much as she did, perhaps even more so.

“And what do you feel about all of this, trainer?” she asked him hotly, finishing her piece.

Salem sighed bemusedly and said, “I am more a wanderer than a trainer. I travel where I want and my companions are free to come with me or go their separate ways. I am no one’s master and none of the Pokémon I travel with are my lesser. Whatever we do we do together. We fight alongside each other to ward of danger, and with their assistance I can better provide for them. My friend Ajax carries me across the seas and in return I let him rest inside his Pokeball while I carry him across the lands. We enjoy the challenges of life together and when some of them wish to test their mettle against other Pokémon I do my best to enable them and secure a safe environment.”

Salem dipped his hands in the small bowl of water Lin held in front of her and turned towards June.

“I commend you, Miss Lin,” he continued their conversation. “Your cause is certainly a noble one. Pokémon are to be loved and respected on an individual basis, same as humans.”

With dexterous hands that were accustomed to carefully cleaning fur, skin and scales he gently stroked the Pokémon’s muzzle, washing away the blood. He turned to wet his hands again and proceeded with the sexy fox’s cheeks and throat. He kept his eyes on June’s for signs of discomfort, but honestly would be surprised if he found any. Salem was well practiced and very confident in his ministrations.

“What has been done to the creatures on this island is unforgivable and must be stopped. At the same time some of my companions have been taken and I fear for their safety.”

He turned back to lock eyes with Lin.

“I want to save them,” he said sincerely, “but I need help to do so. There is not much I can accomplish by myself but I do what can for those that are here.”

Salem’s smile was gone at this point and he willed the huntress to see the truth of his words.

“I want the Pokémon in the jungle to be cured. I want my companions to be freed. I want food, I want security, I want them,” he motioned up the path towards the camp full of people, “and I need you,” he finished, looming over Lin and looking down into her green eyes.
 
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When the Togepi emerged from the pokeball, Delilah found the doctor’s explanation all the more credible. Someone who truly intended harm probably wouldn’t possess a Togepi as their pokemon, not to mention their only pokemon in a dangerous forest. It brought into question why the doctor wanted to bring it out of its pokeball though.

Delilah cocked her head as she regarded the Togepi. Nothing about it stood out as helpful, unless you were looking to have scrambled eggs for breakfast. The dark thought of eating a Togepi gave the term ‘poacher’ a whole new meaning.

That was until the Togepi had given the doctor a kiss that seemed to perk him up. It was surprising, and the bee trainer was skeptical at first. It then dawned on her that pokemon actually possessed abilities that could heal themselves as well as other pokemon. Who was to say this healing couldn’t work on humans as well?

The floodgates opened in Delilah’s mind as the weight of the situation finally set in. They’d just met a doctor, and even more so a doctor who owned a pokemon with magical healing abilities. That meant not only would they be able to recover quicker after battles, but perhaps this doctor would be able to help Alex. Wherever he was.

Before she could mention the fallen trainer, however, the next words out of the doctor’s mouth would immediately steal her focus.

"This is Kiwi. As for your other question, I am not sure how long I was out but after having a nightmare last night I sorta ran off an embankment.”

“Wait a second,” she remarked, “you had a nightmare too? I thought I was the only one! I mean, I’ve had bad nightmares before, but the one I had the other night definitely took the cake. If yours made you walk off a cliff...” Delilah paused thoughtfully, “I can’t imagine that’s happened very often either.”
 
Damian watched as the professor brought out his pokemon, the small thing. He'd actually never seen a togepi before in person. The odd egg shape was nothing more than a little oddity to him.

As the pokemon seemingly healed the Doctor Damian visibly released his tension, this man was who he claimed to be, but that brought more questions. Was he staff designed to heal pokemon for the tournament? If so, did that mean that not everyone who worked at the resort was in on the entire dark twist of the tournament?

Damian turned his attention toward Delilah who looked equally lost in her own thoughts. He admired her for a moment, for someone who seemed to be easygoing with everything he figured her a smart person when the situation called for a plan.

She seemed ready to speak but Nevashi went first.

"This is Kiwi. As for your other question, I am not sure how long I was out but after having a nightmare last night I sorta ran off an embankment.”


“Wait a second,” she remarked, “you had a nightmare too? I thought I was the only one! I mean, I’ve had bad nightmares before, but the one I had the other night definitely took the cake. If yours made you walk off a cliff...” Delilah paused thoughtfully, “I can’t imagine that’s happened very often either.”

Damian recalled his peculiar dreams as well. Perhaps they weren't random phenomenon.

"I've also had... strange dreams." he said briefly. "If this isn't an isolated incident and is something caused by a product of team rocket or the island then I think it best we hasten our departure. Let's keep looking for your friend, Delilah. That is if you think you're ready to move, Doctor. I'm sorry if I seem to be rushing but this isn't exactly a vacation area." he said calmly glancing back and forth between the two people.

Orions ears twitched at a noise in the distance. He looked over toward the Beedrill whos head rotated slightly autonomously toward the Lucario then toward the forest as if it knew of the disturbance but thought little of it.
 
Date: Day two, probably 9:30 by now
Location: Camp SAM.CG border/Riverside
-----
"I'm fine, actually."

The words caused Gerald to do a mental fist pump. It seemed that the words set Cassie free as well, too.

"I'm okay."

Cassie began to smile. Gerald, albeit a tad nervously, smiled back. As her grin widened, his stabilized into a regular smile as well.

"I got my house back thanks to all that treasure we found."

Ah, yes. The treasure. It was one of three good things to come out of that encounter. It got Cassie her house back, bought him two months on the road to obtain the last badges that had eluded him, and...well, he wasn't sure what Curt or that Que kid did with the cash, or if Jacob and Bailey even found any...But still.

"And, oh, Thomas got fired. He's working in a grocery store now, paying monthly rent to stay at my house."

Thomas? Grocery store?

The man who caught a rock with pinpoint accuracy, the man who was quite the dowser, the man who had shown enough prowess in wielding a gun to be a soldier and enough strategy to rival a general...

Gerald and Curt must've really done some cognitive deterioration on that poor man.

And it was hilarious to the red haired boy. An amused giggle, evolving into a laugh, then a roaring of it. He may of been crying, he was laughing so hard. It took a few seconds to calm his laughter. "Sorry, sorry, that was just too damned funny. Last place I'd think he'd end up was in a grocery store. Carry on."

"Lady still thinks she's a Purrloin. Sorry about your belt."

There was a certain glint to Cassie, now. A dash of happiness? No, no, no...not just a dash. Much more.

"Ah, Don't worry about it. I got it back, and..."

Just then, she grabbed his hand.

"Wait, what?"

With a quick tug, he lost footing. But through some miracle, Cassie managed to get him to land sitting up.

"Uh...Okay?"

Then, the ever mysterious woman leaned over to whisper in the boy's ear. "But, that's not what you really wanted to ask about, is it?"

Well, to be honest, no, it really wasn't. Sure, hearing how she was holding up was interesting in it's own respect, but the subtle detail he had finally picked up on interested him more. Was she going to show him it?

"I wonder..."

The suspense was killing him! Though, he noticed that what used to be a faint bit of happiness and release had grown into something much more. In fact, she looked very happy. Happier than he had ever seen her be.

Was this the girl she had used to be? Before Rocket got their grubby mitts on her?

"Could it be this little thing?"

On her wrist, she unveiled a thin black ribbon. Undoubtedly Salem's. Gerald only nodded in response.

"But honestly, I have no idea."

Salem hadn't told her? Had he just given it to her and vaguely described it?

"That guy is so weird, isn't he?"

"He is a bit strange, yeah...I'll bet if he comes back and sees us like this, his mind is gonna jump to conclusions again..." That last part came out as with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm going to assume Salem gave you that ribbon, yeah? Gotta say, your pretty lucky."

Surely he'd tell her that much, right?

"Uh, I'm also assuming a bit here, but he did tell you what they meant, right?"
-----
June's blood boiled.

Anger rose in her own throat as a low growl, her red eyes gazing hatefully on Lin.

Who was she? Who did the savage think she was? And how did she have the gall to judge Gerald?

But just as June's hands twitched for her stave...

Salem came at her with...how did she describe it...it was quite calming and comfortable. In a odd way. A bit like being pet or commended...For a moment the fox almost forgot about Lin, and her teammates who were potentially in danger, and all her problems...

But like all good things, it ended quickly. Though she had enough calm in her, just for a moment, to reflect on what Salem said before the cool water washed away the blood and hate.

"Pokémon are to be loved and respected on an individual basis, same as humans.”

Interesting. While Gerald treated June and her teammates with respect, rivaling that of humans, he never actually treated them as humans. In Gerald's mind, there were Human's, Pokemon, Wild Pokemon, and then animals. Then criminals, then Team Rocket grunts, then the admins. Thomas was there somewhere. It made sense to her.

But Salem put Pokemon and Humans on equal footing. The nice man seemed to get nicer all the time.

Yet the obvious puzzle still failed to be put together, as anger settled back in. A scowl returned to June's face, and came up to Salem's side, nigh cornering Lin. And after Salem finished, the fox interrupted with her own spiel.

'Who do you think you are to judge Gerald? Your the one who tried to kill him if he didn't spill the information. And besides, I hold on to this ball so it doesn't end up in the clutches of some annoying cat. Plus, I could leave any time I want. But I don't. Because Gerald isn't just my master. He isn't even my trainer. He is family. My other teammates are family too. Of all people, you should know that. Just because we are in Pokeballs, doesn't mean we can't be family.'

She extended a claw, judgmentally pointing at the huntress.

'And it's ironic. Turns out, we need your survival skills, and you need my flame. Unless you plan on roasting tea over a monkey. And, considering no one belonging to a Pokeball has come down with the symptoms your Sceptile has experienced...We're likely immune. So,how do you like that, Ms. Lin? How's that taste?'
 
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