Beginner RP: K'sariya Yeboah (K'sariya)

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #10

Raigho expels a wave of draconic force from his body, one which just barely peters out before hitting Tella and K'sariya in their shelter! Smoochum is sent flying into a snowbank... And doesn't reappear.

The little Pokémon will be fine— an Ice-type, she has nothing to fear from cold or snow and will go about her business as soon as she wakes up.

Encounter Over!

Smoochum: 0% [FNT]
Raigho: 81.60% [CON-1] (Used Dragon Pulse)
[HAIL-∞]

The same immunity to cold, unfortunately, cannot be attributed to Raigho or the two humans. Fighting against the waves of sleet and hail, Raigho beelines it hastily for the shelter that K'sariya and Tella have found.

Tella, however, is already paying attention to the next step. "Look," she says, indicating the gap that is hidden on the other side of the outcropping. A narrow cave entrance, dark but with slightly warmer air wafting gently out of it, is here. It's wide enough, barely, for the two slender young women, but getting through will necessitate returning Raigho to his ball and then releasing him immediately afterwards.

Inside, the cave isn't warm, exactly, but it's much warmer than outside; and the air is still and calm. Meltwater flows in slowly from somewhere high above, making a steady dripping noise leaving mineral deposits on the ceiling and floor in the form of stalactites and stalagmites, respectively. And there is movement somewhere within, a faint scraping of feet on the stone that is only audible to those inside the cave where the howling wind is a distant, hollow sound.

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 1,813
  
  
• Active Effects: Darkness (Reduced accuracy of all moves barring creative ways of seeing or dispelling the darkness.)
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 81.60%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Raigho powers valiantly through the swarming of his brain. Draconian waves pulse violently from his form, repelling everything--and most importantly, his opponent--from his form. Snow whisks away from his body and throws the Smoochum into one of the snow banks deepened by his attack. The Zweilous shakes his head vigorously, trying to gain his bearings, and then sees the depression in the snow where the creature had fallen. He seizes the opportunity to selfishly seek shelter from the hail.

K'sariya snaps her companion into the ball as she listens and follows Tella's gaze. She sidles her way inside. Hand shoots out to support her body as she leans against the wall of the cave, panting, as soon as she's in. She's never been more grateful for still air in her life. The cold sears her lungs. Raigho crashes from her ball, urgently forcing his way out in case of danger. He gives a mighty shake, spraying the snow and ice caked onto raven locks of fur about their shelter. It draws K'sariya's attention, causes her to look up and back toward him. He comes with a chortle to her side. Both heads press up against her leg, one nuzzling into the back of her knee and the other rubbing its forehead on the side of her calf.

The woman kneels to ruffle the moist fur of both heads. "Thank you, Raigho," she praises in a soft, breathless whisper. He'd made a good showing despite having not been out of the ball in so long. K'sariya's incredibly regretful for the lifestyle she's been trapped in--one where bringing out Pokemon risked them being stolen, and that was a gamble she was not willing to take.

He notices the sound in the darkness before she does. Tucked behind the steady, soft plops of dripping water that echoes about is a different noise. The whisper of feet against rough stone finally comes to her attention as Raigho breaks away from her with a low growl. He grows tired, and his brain still swims, but he stands his ground nonetheless. One head bumps into the neck of the other in his befuddlement, but the other manages to keep its focus long enough for it to bare and slightly part its fangs.

Teeth cast wicked spiked shadows upon the wall, the spires dancing threateningly as the soft blue flame licks at the inside of his mouth. The restrained beginnings of a Dragon Breath bubble roughly with his growl up from his throat as he takes another step forward, commanding the source of the noise to show itself while also trying to illuminate it.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #11

In the flickering blue light cast by Raigho's flames, the details of the interior of the cave are revealed: the roughly oval chamber of dark grey stone, forty metres deep and almost thirty metres across at its widest point, is dotted randomly with stalagmites that come to chest height on K'sariya; at the far end, cloaked in shadow but just barely visible in the flickering light, is a treasure trove.

K'sariya can spot dried berries, hardy tubers, and even a few large pieces of frozen meat of some kind— and it's just above freezing temperature in here, so those had to have been brought in here sometime in the last couple of days in order to still be frozen.

Notably not in evidence, however, is the mysterious source of the scraping noise that Raigho heard.

Raigho, now that he is in a new situation and has a long moment to get his bearings, finds his confusion waning, and his stance steadies. He opens his maw wider and intensifies the flames within, ready— no, impatient— to tear apart whatever it is that's sneaking around.

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 3
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 4,281
  
  
• Active Effects: Darkness (Reduced accuracy of all moves barring creative ways of seeing or dispelling the darkness.)
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 81.60%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

In the flickering light, she gathers her own bearings, eyes finally beginning to adjust with a bit of something to hold onto. Stalagmites rise like ominous lower fangs from the stony ground, most only a foot or two short of being her own height. Gaze follows the scattered repetition of mineral spires to the barely-lit back of the cave. She squints, trying to make out the shape.

Relief beats in her chest as she spies basically everything they'd need clustered at the back of the cave. However, she is not so foolish after hearing those sounds to think that it is simply free. K'sariya steps warily forward toward her Pokemon. Raigho's impatience mounts, his snarls amplifying. A minute crimson light slowly seeps from him as he grows increasingly agitated, the Work Up thriving on the anger as he becomes exactly that--particularly worked up.

"Raigho, Dragon Breath. See if you can flush it out," she whispers. The Zweilous lunges at the opportunity to vent his aggression. The cerulean-bodied dragon surges forward both heads now letting the suppressed move flow. Head split and swing outward away from each other as he begins a slow but steeled march deeper into the cave, doing a continuous sweep in and out with both heads to try and flush out anything that could be hiding behind the stalagmites. K'sariya steps carefully after him, watching the reach of the flames to make sure she could stop him once (and if) they got too close to the cache.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Battle Post #2

Raigho, both heads belching blue-purple flames that wash between and past the stalagmites, crosses half of the cavern before the unseen watcher makes its move. Another Machop, this one apparently in much better shape than the one back at the camp, bursts through the wall of flame. Clearly, the Pokémon had been forced out of hiding by the cunning tactic.

Visibly burned by the purplish flames but still going strong, the Fighting-type ducks under the stream of fire and slides underneath Raigho, one muscled leg lashing out to sweep the dragon's left foreleg and hind leg from underneath him and send K'sariya's Pokémon slamming to the ground.

Raigho stumbles to his feet and whirls to face his opponent, in obvious distress but clearly unwilling to back down against any foe due to mere pain; the Machop also turns to face K'sariya and Raigho, ready to fight... but holds its position, as though watching carefully to see exactly what the intruders intend now that their challenger is out in the open.

Behind it, unnoticed by the wild Pokémon, Tella is just now emerging from the crevice that constitutes the cave's entrance, having remained outside to watch for trouble while K'sariya was squeezing into the cave and checking for danger. The younger woman freezes stock-still, practiced eyes taking in the situation unfolding in front of her; after a second of observing the stalemate, she lowers her hands to form a circle in front of her exposed navel and exhales sharply but quietly. This is a gesture that only a skilled martial artist or psychic would understand: Tella is suppressing her aura so that anyone scanning the battlefield for danger or killing intent, such as this Machop, will have a tougher time noticing her.

She does this because things do not look good for K'sariya and Raigho. The dragon is favouring his left legs, front and rear, after the expert blow from the Machop. Tella suspects that she could step in if absolutely necessary, but her reserves of strength are already running dangerously low; any expenditure of psychic and somatic power large enough to actually harm the tough Fighting-type would trap her in this cave until such time as she had a chance to rest.

The decision, as before when the group had been deciding whether to set out into the storm, is with K'sariya. And Tella is hesitating to act because she suspects that anyone who's survived the kind of tough life K'sariya seems to be living likely has a few ingenious tricks up her sleeve...

Current Encounter-within-an-encounter: Machop

Machop: 72.09% [ATK+1][DEF+1] (Used Bulk Up, Low Sweep)
Raigho: 33.33% [ATK+1][SP.A+1][SPE-1] (Used Work Up, Dragon Breath)

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 5,736
  
  
• Active Effects: Darkness (Reduced accuracy of all moves barring creative ways of seeing or dispelling the darkness.)
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 33.33%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Their plan backfires when a blue-skinned creature lunges through the cerulean flames. Both heads give a startled snarl, snapping at the suddenly-appearing opponent, but this Machop is healthy--and fast. It sails below him, ripping leftward limbs out from underneath him. Raigho gives a sharp cry, weight crashing down onto the left side of its form. Yellowed ivories grit, flame huffing from between clenched fangs in his frustration.

The Zweilous staggers, but still whirls to face his adversary. Labored breath churns through his lungs. Anxiety pounds in K'sariya's chest, pupils flicking rapidly side-to-side as she tries to subdue her panic. Fists clench and she casts a glance over her shoulder at Tella, and then quickly away. This was something she would have to do at her own--she already knew that.

She looks to Raigho, sees the way that he holds his weight upon his right side. Even as she watches, the Zweilous staggers to his left, pressing the entirety of the left face of his form up against one of the stalagmites to save his energy. Eyes draw quickly over the myriad of mineral spires that stretch from the stony earth, and then back to the Machop. K'sariya grits her teeth and pulls her hood over her head.

"Plug your ears!" she snaps back quickly behind her to Tella, the order's harshness born of urgency rather than aggression. She directs her focus back to her wounded companion. "Raigho, step behind it! Hyper Voice!" comes the command. Heads raise slightly at attention, and then give a sharp nod. The right-heavy Pokemon stumbles back and to his left, taking brief shelter behind the stalagmite to put it between him and the Machop. Then, almost instantly after he takes cover, both jaws part. K'sariya's hands fly up just in time to plug her ears.

A screaming roar bursts from both maws, a repelling wave of blue energy bursting from between his fangs. The stalagmite snaps in half from the blast's pushing force as Raigho attempts to do two things: one, to throw the hardened mineral spear at his opponent, and two, blast the Machop back into the stalagmites behind him. ​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Battle Post #3

Raigho's preparations for the Hyper Voice attack do not go unnoticed. The Machop responds swiftly, taking advantage of Raigho's stumbling gait and reduced focus to strike first.

Seizing the dragon by one of his legs, the little Fighting-type uses Raigho's weight against him, pivoting on one foot and hurling Raigho hard against the wall of the cave.

Raigho lurches to his feet, enraged and ready to try again. Scurrying behind one of the stalagmites as best he can with his injured legs, the Zweilous bursts forth with an eardrum-rending roar that echoes through the cave, forcing K'sariya and Tella to their knees with pain even with their hands over their ears.

The Hyper Voice, backed by the raw force of Raigho's draconic power, pulses outward in waves of sound that erode the very stone of the cave. Machop, not quite swift enough to cover its ears in time, is rendered temporarily deaf in an instant, a small trickle of purplish blood coming from its ears.

Raigho isn't done. A visible, bluish wave of sonic force rushes out of his maw at the speed of sound, and slams into the stalagmite directly in front of him, snapping it off at the base. The rough projectile isn't accurate; rather than flying at the deafened and disoriented Machop point-first, it tumbles end over end and slams into the Fighting-type side-on, shattering against Machop's toughened muscles but leaving a large welt across the wild Pokémon's side.

Machop, its balance too good to be thrown off even by such a heavy blow, skids backwards and comes to a gentle stop with its back resting against the cave wall. The little Pokémon prepares to retaliate, having gotten the measure of this unfamiliar and challenging foe... then glances up and dives out of the way, almost in time to avoid a sudden rain of sharp rocks from above.

The heavy crash of Raigho's body against the cave wall, followed by the Hyper Voice attack, have had an additional unexpcted effect: the results of the fighting have destabilized the smallest of the stalactites ten metres above, and they are now falling like deadly stone hail. The first few narrowly miss Raigho and draw a bloody gash across the wildly scrambling Machop's right arm; and one strikes Tella atop her shoulder, driving the sharp point of the rock dagger partway into her clavicle and driving her to the ground with the sheer force of the blow.

Both seriously hurt but neither yet defeated, Machop and Raigho dash for the nearest overhanging shelters from the remaining stalactites; over a span of ten more seconds, the rest of the small stone spears crash to the ground. There's a brief, heavy silence then, broken only by the quiet groan of a half-conscious Tella from amidst the settling dust.

Current Encounter-within-an-encounter: Machop

Machop: 9.30% [ATK+1][DEF+1] (Used Seismic Toss)
Raigho: 4.59% [ATK+1][SP.A+1][SPE-1] (Used Hyper Voice)

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 7,838
  
  
• Active Effects: Stalactite fall! (Effectively a Rock-type Hail)
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 4.59%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

With inhuman speed, the wild creature manages to somehow completely evade the attention of both heads with eyes locked on it, surging forward before Raigho can even react. Perhaps it is his weakness that keeps him from being able to even strike back when he is seized by one of his limbs and hurled without a moment's notice across the cave. K'sariya watches helplessly and with a disheartened scowl. She tenses, figuring that that would be it, her hope mostly snuffed for her Zweilous no matter how much she wants to believe.

Pain sears through every bit of Raigho's being as he is brutally impacted against the stone. Battered form falls to the ground, his breath stolen completely from him. However, the adrenaline that courses through his veins empowers him to rise once more. He stumbles forward at the most proximal stalagmite, still seeing the potential of the order he has been given. The scream bursts from both maws with incredible power, sending forth cerulean energy that rips thunderously through the cave.

Rough stone scuffs K'sariya's knees as she falls with a startled cry. Not even her fingers grinding into her ears could completely block out the sound. With her eyes clamped shut, it takes the curious sounds of much smaller stones hitting the ground for dark orbs to fly open and see the deadly rain. She stumbles and lands on her ass, and kicks herself back toward the shelter of the entrance.

"Tella!" she tries to shout in warning, but it's too late--the woman forced onto the ground in moments, struck harshly upon the shoulder by the falling daggers of rock. K'sariya lunges forward, grabbing the woman's torso with a grunt and straining as she drags her back beneath shelter. She drops to her knees, propping the woman's upper body up on her own form even as the deadly hail still falls.

"Shit, Tella, shit," she curses as her adjusted eyes sweep frantically over the wound. She scrambles for the Ranger's first aid kit, remembering the bandages that had been in them, a myriad of small "fuck, fuck, fuck"'s streaming consistently from cold lips. The gauze's distinct texture brushes her fingers and she grabs it, ripping it from the kit.

The drizzle of death comes to a stop but she's too distracted to notice, her mind racing faster than she can even dream of keeping up with it. She clenches the bandaging in her fist, the other free hand shaking as it reaches to hover her fingers about the remainder of the rock that protrudes from the woman's shoulder, hesitant. The woman is prepared to take it, to put pressure on the wound once it was out, but she just had to gather the courage, first.

Meanwhile in the calm, Raigho lies still. Senses seek out the spot where the Machop had dove for cover. Then, without hesitation, oceanic Dragon Breath sears from one maw toward it. He will not be caught off-guard, this time--the other maw keeps close watch in that direction and its surrounding areas, jaws slightly parted as a growl simmers in the back of his throat, prepared to burst into a startling Roar if the Machop even tries to come near. He keeps his back near the wall, second head taking in every odd flicker and shadow cast by the flame for his potential rival.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Battle Post #4

"...Gallant, is that you...?" Tella murmurs, with a distinct Kanto accent that was hidden before. Her eyes are closed and she's clearly delirious. "Why's it so cold...?"

The blood leaking from her shoulder makes a tiny spattering noise amidst the stone dust coating the cavern floor, the only sound in the entire cavern aside from the scrapings of K'sariya rummaging around in the medicine kit.

Halfway across the cavern, Raigho stands perfectly still, the fire in one of his mouths dimmed and hidden by a billowing cloud of drifting dust. His two heads, their distinct identities for once united by a mixture of desperation and frustration, watch carefully in the direction of the rocky overhang where Machop was last seen, and each prepares its own reaction for when their opponent shows itself.

Then, less than a metre away, a small figure steps out of the cloud of dust... But Machop isn't facing Raigho; instead, it's staring off at a right angle, searching for the dragon and failing to see it in the poor visibility!

Raigho's second head is the first to react, having been prepared for Machop to appear out of the gloom. It juts its neck out in front of Machop, and lets out an ear-splitting roar that sends the cave shaking with reverberations again. This time there's no deluge of danger from above; Machop, however, is taken by surprise, and reacts by leaping backward away from the roar... and straight into the path of Raigho's equally surprised second head, which reacts in a panic by blazing forth with a sudden burst of the Dragon Breath it had prepared!

Machop is sent skidding across the floor of the cavern, unconscious, to land somewhere amongst the rubble.

Encounter Over!

Machop: 0.00% [FNT]
Raigho: 4.59% [ATK+1][SP.A+1][SPE-1] (Used Roar, Dragon Breath)


Raigho's roar also seems to wake Tella. "...Uh....?" she murmurs, beginning to shiver violently as she opens bleary eyes to squint at K'sariya. "What...?"

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 0
  
  
• Active Effects: It is dark.
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 4.59%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Energy Powder x1
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

She speaks with an unfamiliar lilt to her words, one that gives her pause, but not for long. Her brain processes the last part of the incoherent mumbling and in one quick motion, she eases the spike from her Ranger's shoulder. In a flurry of frenzied movement, she begins wrapping, the bandage crossing beneath the woman's arm to arc back over the shoulder and across the injury. Free hand puts firm pressure on the wound as soon as she's finished, waiting for a few moments to ensure that the bleeding has at least been slowed.

Immediately after the pause, she sheds the coat that had been given to her. Goosebumps race across her flesh as the chill kisses her skin, creases of the breeze's icy lips drawing her hairs to attention in its wake. Gently, she drapes it over injured shoulders, and works the arm opposite of the injury into the jacket's embrace, pre-warmed by her own body heat.

The woman flinches harshly at the roar that rips through the cavern once more. In the dim, she leans her form further over Tella's, arm rushing up to shield her head as she glances nervously at the ceiling. Dammit, Raigho, don't you get us killed! she curses. Gaze sweeps downward to where the Ranger's head rests upon her legs as she hears more coherent speech, focusing her sight to find Tella squinting up.

"Oh, good, you're alive," she says, the smallest bits of relief present in her tone, but it comes from possibly the only person who can get them out of this place not being dead more than anything else. She stops for a moment to listen to the silence that has suddenly overwhelmed the cavern. There'd been the roar, and then uneven shadows striking them from the back of the cave, and then... nothing.

"Raigho?" she calls, gently, wary of triggering another avalanche of spikes. No sound comes back to her. K'sariya's fists clench, but then she sees a maw open in the dark, cerulean flames bubbling up to swirl between slightly-yellowed ivories. The woman notices the way the head staggers with every step, heaves downward and struggles to raise back up each time it grows closer, until the battered dragon collapses against her side, one head falling gently upon the uninjured of Tella's shoulders.

"Oh, Raigho," she murmurs, digging in her pouch for the Energy Powder she remembers having rummaged by. She is thankful for not having used it on the Machop--they'd likely not be able to make it back if she had. K'sariya tugs open the drawstring-secured pouch and with a groan of great effort, pries open one stubbornly-shut, blue maw. "This'll be bitter, but you just have to take it, okay?"

​

She floods the beast's maw with the medicine and he immediately gives a snarl. Both hands fly to snap shut his retching maw. The other reacts to the first's distress, snapping frantically at her right shoulder and teeth piercing slightly her flesh. K'sariya gives a hiss but the force of the bite is drained by her companion's weakness. Her grip holds firm until Raigho's struggle fades and the only sound left is their combined labored breaths echoing in the confines of the cave.

​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #12

Tella's shudders subside as K'sariya's ministrations begin to return her chilled, injured body to something more like working order.

"I... Where are we?" she asks. Then her eyes focus and seem to sharpen, their colour shifting in imperceptibly small increments from dull grey to ice-blue. "...K'sariya. The Park. I remember. The rocks, they broke my focus... I'm... sorry you had to deal with that."

Tella rises to her feet surprisingly quickly for someone who was half-conscious mere moments before, once again barely shivering despite the cold; she removes her coat, then withdraws a flashlight from one of the bulky item's many pockets and turns it on. "Thank you for getting me back on my feet. And if I'm not mistaken, we now have what we came for," she says as the beam sweeps over the treasure trove of food. "I'll carry what I can; grab the rest and take the lead when you're ready."

Then she places the coat in K'saria's hands and strides confidently over to the pile, barely fazed by the faint spots of blood already beginning to soak through the bandages wrapping her shoulder and her thin white t-shirt. What she won't— can't— tell K'sariya is that her reserves of psychic energy are running dangerously low; if she delays for too long, she's not sure if she'll make it back to the camp. It's a race against time; soon, she won't be able to hold off the cold and the strength-draining effects of her injury and rapidly numbing limbs at the same time, and her choices will be to die of frostbite while struggling through the snow or to collapse with physical exhaustion until the cold-protection gives out.

"Time is of the essence," she says simply in place of explaining any of that, swinging off her backpack and pouring in a double armful of the stored berries, tubers, and meat. The pack has room for more, but she's pushing it already with expecting her overtaxed body to carry any of this at all. Tella resolves that if it comes down to her survival, she'll have to ditch the backpack.

She heads for the entrance of the cave at a slow and steady pace, leaving it up to K'sariya to keep up, and trying her best to hide the fact that this is the fastest speed her propped-up muscles can manage.

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 2
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 3082
  
  
• Active Effects: It is dark.
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 54.59%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Chilled lips part, foreshadowing a cold-stuttered reply, but Tella answers her own questions as she trawls down the track of her thoughts. She blinks at the apology, but otherwise only offers a curt nod. The younger woman's coherency is a salve to her emergency-driven panic. K'sariya holds her breath for a moment, reigning in the labored heaving of her shoulders.

Like the undead, Tella rises, and K'sariya hauls herself to her feet also. Eyes grow slightly wide in the dark at the rapid nature in which the Ranger recovers. She wonders, idly, what kind of super-strength steroids they give the Rangers to make them this strong. Quietly, almost a bit resentfully, she wishes she had that kind of superhuman strength, if only just to make it through the cold nights and the times gone hungry. The tumultuous emotions, however, sway hidden beneath the waves of dark, stormy eyes. She slips the coat back over her already-icy shoulders, fumbling fingers managing to zip it back swiftly enough.

Raigho's collapsed form still breathes difficultly against her for a long moment as Tella speaks and rises. Lips remain curled back in a near-permanent snarl, salmon tongue swiping with utter disgust about cerulean-gummed maw. Eventually, however, the restorative nature of the powder has found its way into his system, and he rises, grudgingly, to dual-clawed feet. He picks his way after Tella, finding his bearings, and shoots two sets of mild glares over each shoulder. The Zweilous would hold the bitterness of the powder against her for a while, but in the end, it had likely saved them. While her heart warmed only for them, she would prefer that heart to still beat rather than to end altogether.

K'sariya staggers forward, finding her balance put off for a moment by the lingering pain the series of roars had inflicted on her ears. One hand stabilizes her vaulting form. Palm closes calloused digits around the freezing cold stalagmite as she uses it for support as she fully regains her bearings. The stress eases from her a bit more quickly as the piercing beam of Tella's flashlight illuminates their prize. She cannot help but reach down and give Raigho a praising scratch as she sees it. He responds with the quietest of contented growls, unable to resist responding to a good scratch despite his small, bitter grudge.

The dark-skinned femme hurriedly crouches, opening her own small, belt-fastened pouch. There isn't room for much, but it is enough. She looks at the backpack that Tella loads up and arm reaches out, making an attempt to halt her as she turns away.

"I'll carry that," she says without hesitation, and it is notably not a question. Perhaps it is unwise to command what could be her only chance at survival in this frozen waste but the hardened planes of K'sariya's features show she will refuse to take no for an answer. That is, unless given one good reason why the injured, previously-unconscious-two-minutes-ago Ranger should be carrying the backpack when the older woman had next to no load.

Regardless, they make their way to the cave's entrance. The Powder has fully kicked in by now. Its affects show visibly on her Pokemon: he has less difficulty standing now and his breathing has evened. She stares past the dark cheeks of the small opening's maw, out into the blinding white flurries that rain from above. Knowing his role now, Raigho hastily shoves forward, facing the alabaster storm with warming flames in front of them. K'sariya steps out after him, prepared for anything. Or, so she hopes.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #13

The world grows dim and distant as focus turns inwards, shoring up what's left of flagging strength by sacrificing the unnecessary— thought, lucidity, perception.

An arm reaches out and halts her as she turns to go; blurry words, and the backpack being tugged from her hands. A moment of confusion; a half-smile of weary gratefulness for an older companion's thoughtfulness, rescuing one more valuable sliver of a flagging supply of strength.

The feeling of being guided, following another: an unfamiliar sensation. Leaden limbs move mechanically, mimicking the actions of someone else with mindless efficiency. Cold wind assaults the skin, but even this is a distant sensation. Up ahead, a beacon of flame jetting from feral mouths, clearer in the mind's eye than in frost-rimed and barely-open physical orbs.

Then, a distant sound, piercing the veil of dulled sensation: "Smoochum, smoooooooooch!" A small and eager creature approaches, excited that her playmates have returned! Recovered so soon? marvels sluggish mind. Concern fills that mind: an obstacle. Is there time...?

Thoughts shut down, eyes freeze shut; there remains only numbed sensation from nerves held teetering on the brink of frostbite, and sounds filtering into awareness. Body comes to a stop behind companion, still functioning at full physical capacity but acting only out of basic, vestigial programming left by the mind which has flown: 'mimic the actions of the one who is in front of you, and follow.'

Out in the real world, Smoochum has returned: well-rested in even such a short time, the little Pokémon is racing across the snow, approaching Raigho at full speed and keen to play again!

Current Encounter-within-an-Encounter: Smoochum II: The Smoochening

Smoochum: 100%
Raigho: 54.59%
[Hail-∞]

Spoiler

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ] [DEF+1]
Invictus: 100% [DEF+2]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 1
  
  
• Spoiler

  Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards first encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (since last encounter): 6,619
  
  
• Active Effects: Snowstorm (Hail)
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Unavailable (Guarding the Camp/Machop)
  
  Spoiler

  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 54.59%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  Poké Doll x1
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Pack swings as she dutifully shoulders the burden. Perhaps it was consideration, and perhaps it was not wanting the majority of the supplies Raigho had nearly fallen for to be in the hands of the weakest of the two of them. While she's certain that Tella even on her worst days is physically stronger than herself, K'sariya can see clearly the pallor of the woman's skin and the daze that swirls in the Ranger's eyes. Arms shift as she takes the weight somewhat comfortably. She presses forward.

The storm is a relentless creature. Legs slough through the snow. Fortunately, where the wind had mostly raged against them on their journey to the cave, it now seeks to aid them--for the most part. Fangs of ice rip her flesh raw as she squints into the blinding white with each glance over her shoulder at Tella. Even through the alabaster flurries, she can see the icy hue that creeps over the girl's lips and ears and fingers, can see the way it seems as if even the Ranger's eyes will freeze shut soon. At every spared look, K'sariya half expects the woman to be gone, fallen away and lost in the raging of the snow.

On one of these such looks, there is a sound. Gaze immediately whirls back forward. "Shit," she spits, anger boiling in her gut. Can nothing go right? Narrowed orbs flash to Raigho. He seems oblivious, having not hear the dismal sound through the snapping of the flames. The obsidian-furred dragon shakes the ice from his pelt as she looks at him, dropping the Flamethrower for the briefest of moments. In that second, he hears the sound. The snarl that rips from his throat ascends over even the howl of the wind. Hail pelts K'sariya's features as his protective fire drops in his distraction.

Left hand flies out. Digits dig deeply into dark locks while her right hand flies to her waistband-secured pouch. She pushes past the greens until she feels the surface of the small sphere of glossy plastic. Palm envelopes the item, hurriedly pulling it out. Finger fumbles over the bi-colored orb, searching for the risen surface of the pseudo-Pokeball's button.

She finds it and tosses it. The sandbag-weighted ball inflates instantly as it soars. Divided red and white of the Pokeball mimicry fold in on itself, giving way to a chubby, pale pink mass much like the Smoochum itself. Fat, teardrop form of an air-filled Cleffa soar straight toward the Smoochum on the favorable wind. One the two downward-slanted, triangular ears placed on either side of the crowning curl fails to inflate, seemingly stuck, inverted, to the rest. K'sariya prays that it'll still work, however.

Raigho struggles against her grip, the other head turning to bite at balled fists, but by then her right hand has been freed and it restrains the other.

"Move! Flamethrower!" she commands sharply, surging forward with what may be the last of her strength, trying to pull her stubborn Pokemon along toward where she remembers their refuge being. It takes her positioning her body so that Raigho doesn't even have a chance to look back and glimpse the Smoochum before he finally gives into her orders. Within moments, he casts once more a protective veil of flame at their sides, preventing as much stray hail from reaching them as possible, though it still pelts their backs with the dragon positioned in the front.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #14

"Smooooooch!" screeches the Smoochum in absolute glee as a huge, puffy, soft-looking friend! flies toward her! Those other playmates are instantly forgotten, rough and tumble sorts as they are; they've got nothing on the absolute enchantment that is the Poké Doll!

Smoochum takes a flying leap and lands on the soft toy, exploring it exuberantly with her sensitive little lips as her species is wont to do. An ear— failing to inflate at first— responds to her clambering over it by popping upright, to Smochum's immense delight; she squeals with intrigue and utter, naïve bliss. Finally, a friend who won't run off somewhere and leave her behind!

Meanwhile, her three other "playmates" are, quite hurriedly, running off somewhere, leaving the silly creature behind. Eyes, straining to see through the driving elements and the glare from Raigho's flames, are finally rewarded by the sight of a makeshift igloo: safety! The igloo is made of a single massive, curved sheet of pure ice, smooth and hung with icicles where the water spewed out by Tella's Poliwrath has dripped and then frozen; almost six metres high, the structure is accessible via a short tunnel entrance that K'sariya and her weary companions are just able to get through by crawling.

As soon as they make it through the tunnel of ice, K'sariya and Raigho will notice four things: one is that it's warm in here, wonderfully so. A pile of red-hot rocks right at the centre of the stony floor— the ones that Tella's Blaziken has been heating this entire time— are giving off enough warmth to easily counteract the slow misty drift of cold off of the igloo walls.

The second thing the two will notice is that Tella's Pokémon are all inside, gathered at varying distances from the rocks (Blaziken is sitting cross-legged on the red-hot stones,) awaiting their return. The third is that Tella has followed them in, crawled past them halfway to the rocks in the time it took them to take all this in, and then promptly curled up and begun to shiver violently. (Her Blaziken rushes to her side and begins to emanate heat, albeit not too much lest he give his Trainer hypothermia.

And lastly, K'sariya will notice that Machop is awake, sitting facing Invictus, the two of them quietly watching each other with a mixture of mistrust and mutual understanding. The wild Pokémon glances up, then, feeling the gaze of unfamiliar people.

"Chop?" the Fighting-type asks Invictus, clearly wanting to know if these are the ones who saved its life.

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ]
Invictus: 100%[/SPOILER]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 1
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards present encounter): 24,598
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 54.59%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

They struggle through the snow. It becomes more and more heavy to lift her legs above the ice. Every time her foot falls, unfamiliar shoes seem to double in weight. Despite the warmth of the boots, they prove to be a tad bit too small. The harsh backs bite easily through threadbare socks, scraping blisters down the back of her ankles. Her smallest toes cram against the others as raw-worn flesh flinches away at even the slightest touch of the boot's interior. And yet she finds some strength to struggle on, grounding her fleeing sense of reality in the freezing cold through the warmth of the flames and the feeling of draconian locks clenched between her fingers.

By the time she sees the arching ice of the igloo, she has nearly lost the energy to blink away the ice that cakes her eyelashes. And yet the sight of it dredges up enough to do it not once, but twice, incredulously, as if she cannot believe that she hasn't died in this frigid wasteland.

Raigho senses it, too. Where his Flamethrower had dwindled in its height with his own mounting exhaustion, it soars again as he feels the rise in her energy and feeds off of it. Right hand finally releases him, choosing instead to grope blindly behind her, realizing she hasn't check to make sure Tella, well, you know, hasn't dropped into some satanic ice pit from hell while she was too focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Fortunately, she hasn't. Things seem to be going well again, for now.

K'sariya stumbles through the entrance and to her knees--a parched, frozen refugee eager and exhausted to drink from the well of warmth that swirls within. Arms quiver violently to support her weight as her labored breaths shake her form.

Invictus rises instantly as her Trainer stumbles back in. Feet shuffle excitedly upon the stone. Attention is taken, however, by the inquiry from her odd, mutually-understood friend. Great head turns to look at him for a moment, and then back at K'sariya and Raigho. Then, she gives a nod and a metallic grunt.

By the time K'sariya looks up, Tella has already made her way past her unnoticed, scrambling to the rocks where her sturdy fire type rushes to her. The sight of the other's Pokemon makes her remember her own. Raigho too recovers from his own worn daze and spies the Machop that has recovered--one he had not seen before, as he'd been in the ball. Lip curls instantly back from his teeth and dark hair bristles along blue spine. His snarl rips through the cavern, weaving into the sharp snaps of the fire. Dual toes take one careful step forward toward the Machop, both heads beginning to snap viciously in the air with warning. Flame curls between parted jaws.

Fire, however, does not scare the Lairon that has been charged with guarding the Fighting type. Before Raigho can even take another step or two forward, she has stomped her way between them. A low bellow threatens through hard throat, reverberating through the niches in steel form to make the sound ring with a strange intensity. Coat shines briefly with the light of her Iron Defense, and Raigho, taking check of his weakened state, and remembering who he was facing, reluctantly backs down.

It happened so quickly that at the end, K'sariya only has the time to reel and take in the aftermath. The woman blinks, rapidly, and then remembers what they'd risked their life for. She doesn't have the energy to rise. Instead, she hauls herself weakly along on her knees toward the pale blue humanoid.

Hand sweeps to open her pack. She'd grabbed most of the greens, and they take up most of the room, so she finds them easily and pulls them out. Hand extends, palm open flats, with the offering to the creature they'd worked so hard to save. It almost wasn't worth it.

Almost.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #15

Machop reacts only slightly as K'sariya approaches, and as she draws nearer it becomes obvious that the earlier tilt of the wild Pokémon's head was all the movement that Machop can manage; his seated position was something Machop had had to ask Invictus to maneuver him into, in a last-ditch effort to preserve some pride. His muscles are still recovering from his near brush with death; his blood is cold and his pulse weak. When K'sariya— a strange bipedal Pokémon of a type he's never seen before— reaches out towards him, the proud warrior is helpless to do anything but accept whatever this stranger intends for him.

Perhaps it is some comfort that Invictus, whom Machop regards as his saviour, trusts this odd being; but it is nevertheless genuine surprise that runs through Machop's frozen body when K'sariya does not strike, but places food in his mouth; familiar food. Food from his home, taken from him by a stronger Machop earlier that day! As he bites down on the life-giving stuff, respect for the newcomers flares to life; they have defeated one who proved herself his better in combat, and braved the storm that struck him down, all to return to him that which he had lost.

"Ch.... chop, ma?" he asked haltingly of Invictus through chattering teeth, curious now about the one that Invictus had described as (here, a concept impossible to translate into any human language, too simple and also too complicated for a human mind to grasp: the meaning of "K'sariya" in Invictus's mind.)

Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39% [FRZ]
Invictus: 100%[/SPOILER]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 1
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards present encounter): 28,359
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 54.59%
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

Metal plates clink together with somewhat nervous shuffling as the two draw near one another. Protruding, blunted spikes undulate in one, shuddering ripple down her spine as her armor draws tight against itself. Trust coils somewhere in her heart, but it simmers low, far lower than the affection she fosters for her Trainer. And there is something about seeing K'sariya, weak with cold, not even able to stand, that shakes her to the core with unease. While she could always feel the despair of the dark-skinned girl through the confines of her ball, she could never see it--and there was something about the combination of both that terrifies her.

And so she fearlessly remains near the Machop, the creature that could so easily strike her down should he regain strength. He is weak, and if he'd sought to hurt her, he would have done it when she had helped him sit up. But she knows that even at its weakest, a human's strength is nothing to a Pokemon's, and seeing the vulnerability quivering in every fiber of K'sariya's form sets her to guard.

The crested creature takes a bite from the food and though Invictus sees with striking cerulean eyes the familiarity, she cannot identify why. Sunken orbs spy the genuine respect that crosses pale features and she allows herself to relax a little.

Clicking ivories push out an inquiry toward her and her form eases a bit more. Air huffs from rocky throat in a confirming response, and then another ringing grunt that urges the creature to take the rest of the food.

K'sariya, despite being the one with the food, almost feels like a spectator to it all. The exchanges between the two Pokemon leaves her out a bit. So she shifts the food to her left hand and reaches slowly for the rest that lies in her pack. The girl can feel the weight of the rest in Tella's backpack but doesn't yet want to make any sudden movements until the Machop is completely sure and comfortable with her presence.​

 

Beginner RP — K'sariya Yeboah — Non-Battle Post #16

Weak hands rise to receive the remainder of the food that Machop can stomach; it's only a few more bites before shrunken stomach and weak jaw muscles can process no more. The near-dead Pokémon loses consciousness, drifting to sleep and slumping sideways to either collapse on the warm stone or be caught by K'sariya; whichever K'sariya would choose.

Invictus approaches K'sariya then, and leans ever so gently against her side, wanting nothing more than to support her Trainer. Behind them, Tella begins to stir, but when she opens her eyes she remains quiet. There's nothing she can do right now, as thoroughly drained as the Machop but without the option of letting herself remain unconscious as long as she has a job to do.

For now, she and her team will watch, so that K'sariya and her Pokémon can rest.

~~~~~~~~~~Twelve hours later~~~~~~~~~~

The heated rocks in the centre of the igloo are no longer red-hot, giving off just enough warmth to keep the interior pleasantly heated. Tella's five Pokémon— Wrath, Venn, Champ, Blaze, and Lae— are seated around the edge of the slightly sloped circle of stone that forms the shelter's floor; they've spent all night taking turns watching the entrance while the others slept. Tella herself, despite her resolve, has drifted off to sleep as well; she hasn't the psychic force left to keep her exhausted body artificially awake. Raigho, similarly tuckered out by his ordeal in the freezing storm and the harsh fight in the cave, is out like a light too.

Machop startles awake, not remembering at first how he got somewhere warm and with the feeling of safety to it. Memories return slowly, and exhaustion almost forces his heavy eyelids closed again. Then he notices another pair of eyes, watching him in the darkness: his movement has awakened K'sariya, too.

"Machop," he says haltingly, directly acknowledging K'sariya herself for the first time. "Chop, Machop?" He wants to know what drove her to do all this for a complete stranger; his serious, earnest nature won't let him simply accept charity without understanding it.


Current Encounter: Machop

Machop: 6.39%
Invictus: 100%[/SPOILER]

~~Park Run Statistics~~

• Trainer Name: K'sariya Yeboah
  
  
• Location: Enigma Ruins | "Mt. Oktori"
  
  
• Remaining Encounters: 1
  
  
• Characters Written by Trainer (counting towards present encounter): 30,304
  
  
• Active Effects: None
  
  
• Pokémon Stats:
  Invictus the Lairon — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 100%
  Gender: Female
  Ability: Rock Head
  Nature: Brave
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM26 Earthquake, BM Head Smash
  
  Raigho the Zweilous — Currently Out of Poké Ball
  HP: 54.59% [SLP]
  Gender: Male
  Ability: Hustle
  Nature: Hasty
  TM/HM/BM/SM/MT: TM100 Flamethrower, TM31 Dark Pulse
  
  
• Total Items:
  Park Ball x3
  
  
• Total Captured Pokémon:
  None yet!

 

K'sariya watches the frail creature gingerly take the food. Heart pangs a bit as she feels that rapport again, that kinship with being cold and weak and hungry all at once. She jumps forward, surprised, when the Pokemon's eyes close and it begins to fall, but she is not quick enough--Invictus, however, is.

Stony limbs quickly shuffle to pad the pale-skinned Machop's fall. Sloped steel plates gently catch crested skull. Banded legs slowly lower armored body down to the stone. Her head inclines to gently nuzzle K'sariya's hand, still extended in her failed attempt to catch their falling refugee. Then, Invictus' pitted dial swings to lay head gently in the weakened Pokemon's lap, careful to keep her head tilted so that the ground bears her weight and not the Fighting type's limbs. Abyssal pupils swim through crystalline orbs as she looks over to K'sariya. Gazes meet and hold for a long moment. Then, gradually, ashen lids ease to a close. Air huffs with a final sigh from shadowed nostrils before the Lairon descends into slumber.

The Trainer crawls forward to place herself in a position to lean against her beloved, rocky creature. In the low firelight, she sees deep blue figure of a sulking Raigho near the entrance. Arm extends and she snaps twice in rapid succession in a stern beckoning. Lips curl at the sound but the Zweilous grudgingly picks his way over. He doesn't have the energy to keep up his aggression, though, once her fingers sink into ebony bangs. Uneven nails scratch comfortingly at his scalp. Head cannot resist leaning into the touch. The other soon nuzzles her arm in a demand for attention.

"Hey," comes her soft murmur as she leans into her steel companion's fire-warmed hide. The Zweilous draws closer and settles his heads upon her lap. "Did good." Voice slurs almost to an incoherent mumble as the warm embrace of the igloo guides her to sleep.

***
​

On the other side of her rough pillow, their quarry rises. The Machop starts and jumps, sitting up straight. Invictus, always a heavy sleeper, fails to wake. K'sariya, on the other hand, has woken at nearly every shift of movement inside the igloo, forever existing on the paper-thin awareness of paranoia. The awakening of their patient is no exception.

Earthen eyes turn to watch the wild Pokemon as he takes in his surroundings. She holds his gaze when he looks to her. Raigho gives the smallest of shifts at the others' sounds, but do not wake in his exhaustion. A small, ringing snore sounds in a metallic echo in the confines of Invictus' plates.

There is a lilt in the creature's voice that is close to a chilling echo of human expression. Hand raises to knead a bit nervously at her necklace as she hesitates, but eventually answers.

"Been there," she says, voice hoarse as she speaks for the first time after waking. Teeth draw in the inside of her lower lip. It feels bizarre talking to an unfamiliar Pokemon. She'd reared Invictus and Raigho from gifted eggs, learned every one of their mannerisms and quirks by heart. And while she could catch the drift of almost anything her two companions could express, this Machop felt like entirely new territory. She wonders where its more human characteristics begin and end.​