Of Rangers and Caves [Camping Trip]

[NPCmod]

If you have received this flyer, that means that you signed up for a TRAINING TRIP a team building exercise utilized by the vigilante group nearest you! You'll get to experience the thrills of sleeping in a cave/forest/toxic wasteland for days on end, with few comfort items and a lack of a water supply. Not only that, but you'll be training your lovely pokemon against the enraged, mutated, and usually violent wild pokemon in the area with all of your vigilante friends. After experiencing these wonderful and sometimes terrifying days, you and your camping buddies will become stronger, grittier, and more adapted to fighting that oppressive government/evil organization no matter what kind of post-apocalyptic terrain you encounter. To make your camping experience more enjoyable, here are some rad rules, tantalizing tidbits, and all around common sense reminders to make this trip flow smoothly.

And Yes, backing out now does give your fellow Vigilantes all the rights to mock you for the rest of your most likely short ranger life.

• Remember, always have set buddies! Everyone should have a paired up partner that will share a tent with you, face the wilds in the wilderness with, and (if your vigilante group also doubles as a girl scout troupe) go to the bathroom with. Also, be sure to actually like your buddy, for when tensions get high, it has been known that buddies who are not on close terms to have thrown each other off steep ledges. While this does seem like a quick fix to get rid of your partner, the strong men in blue will disagree, and escort you to a detention facility.
  
  (In other words, the charries get to pick. Oh god what have I done ._.)
  
  
• Also, we would like to remind you that even if tents are co-ed, fooling around after hours is highly unadvised. Contrary to popular belief, your tents are not sound proof, and other people can and WILL here you. Some of your more perverse camp mates may also have a recording materials to blackmail you in the future, so it is best to not even start.
  
  (No seriously, gutterminding this would be bad. I know lots of you have fanfiction sites anyway, so post that kind of stuff THERE. Not that you would break the rules <3)
  
  
• Although the area around you may smell like sulfer, with the invention of SOAP and WATER you yourself will smell fresh and clean. Just combine the soap and water and brush it against you skin and Violah! You just made your camp mates like you so much more! Yes kids, even when you're roughing it, bathing is important!
  
  
• Never forget your trust backpack! Without it, you'll be sleeping on a cold hard floor with a single pair of clothes and mooching of everyone's food and water. No one likes a mooch!
  
  
• Unlike other team building exercise, weapons are ALLOWED and RECOMMENDED. Not all creatures out there are cute and cuddly, after all. Us humans must defend ourselves using violent tools to make sure those wild pokemon don't bother your smore making.
  
  
• On the front of weapons, it is also advised to NOT USE THEM ON YOUR CAMP MATES! It is much cleaner and easier to make them stop singing the Poke`Rap for the fiftieth time by throwing the nearest blunt object at them. Also, see the first bullet about our friends in blue.
  
  
• On a final note, is that the superior officer/boss? He's in charge around here! Show that guy some respect! He's vigilante royalty!
  

Thank you for reading this wonderful, not-sarcastic at all, camping guide. Have fun on your trip, and have everyone come back in one piece!

Posting order will be detirmined by the first set of posts.
Ignore the wild pokemon list. You might see things that are not on there. This cave is mysterious :o

[Furoi]

No one told her that there were going to be ghosts in this cave. Sure, she assumed that there was a few zubats, and an ample supply of rock and fighting types. Those things didn't bother her- ghost types did. And spending five days in a cave full of them was not her idea of a fun camping trip.

Furoi nervously fumbled through her supplies, all which were tightly packed in a hiking bag. Where the hell did she put that flashlight. She was sure that she packed it, who would go into a cave without one? What if it fell out on the way here, what would she do? "Guys, guys! I can't find it! What am I gonna do?" She flailed, falling to the dirt road.

Shii growled, pulling a flashlight out of one of the side pockets, and threw it at her. "Happy now?" He turned away, facing the entrance of the cave. He hated it when she was like this, all freaked out- it was pathetic. They've been in plenty of dangerous situations before, and now she was freaking out because a couple of gastlies might torment her. Did she really think that having a flashlight was going to change anything at all? "Get over yourself. If the others came up to see you nearly pissing yourself, then I'm going to find a way to throw up."

Furoi scrambled to her knees, flashlight in hand. "I'm not scared, I'm concerned, there's a difference." She stood up, putting the heavy backpack on. "You know that ghosts hate me because of, well, you know."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, 'cause obviously I hate your guts. Why else would I follow you around nearly every second of the day?"

"That's not what what I-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm the friendly ghost. For the most part. Heh" He flashed a devilish grin, and floated beside her. Shii reached into one her pockets, grabbing a folded paper covered in red ink. "So who's all comin' to this thing." He unfolded the paper, revealing the flyer that he had vandalized after Furoi signed up. Pirate adventures, two person tents- he got a little creative this time. Actually, he was disappointed by how many names were on this list. He thought that the whole tent thing would scare them away, or at least give furoi a dock on her pay that week. "Ah well, that just makes all the people coming even more epic, I suppose. Wait..." His eyes narrowed as he read some of the names-one stuck out in particular. "Why the HELL is he coming?"

Furoi smirked, "You shouldn't say bad things at about the boss, he's a stiff, sure, but he'll kick your ass."

He balled up the paper and slammed it into the ground, "I don't care about the boss, you should know who I'm talking about." He huffed, kicking the ball of paper again. "This is so gunna wreck the trip for me, y'know? I fuckin' can't stand him." He proceeded to float off to the entrance of the cave to kick i'ts walls feverishly. Kicking things was his way of taking out his anger or something- Shii is very violent no matter what mood he's in. And he's crazy possessive. Never a good combo.

A Gallade appeared right behind Furoi and whispered in her ear,“Thank Arceus he doesn't know about your encounter with Mr. Ronaldson in the park.” He smirked a little as he saw his trainer's face turn red. The mention of that day always made her blush- It was amusing to him. “It'll be interesting how you'll handle both of them.”

“I'll think of something, eventually,” Furoi sighed, “but with Shii...gah, I don't know. He needs to get over himself.” She turned to look up at Veni. It was so weird seeing him as a Gallade, even though she had used that dawn stone a couple of days ago. Furoi was used to him riding on her shoulder, whispering information her ear, but now that was impossible. He was almost as tall as she was and most sane people wouldn't go near the giant green blades on his elbows. But he was still her serious Veni, no matter what shape he was. She smiled, turning her head to watch Shii abuse more cave walls, ”You're used to it, right? I'm not going to hear a story of you randomly toppling over and stabbing someone in the chest, right?”

Veni hesitated, glancing down at his arms once or twice. “I think so. I will only fall over and stab a guy in the chest if you request it.”

That's what I like to hear,” She chuckled softly, “Could you take care of Shii for me? I think the others should start showing up soon. It'd be kind of weird if they saw a Banette trying to beat up a rock. ”

“Of course, miss,” he stared at the reanimated doll, and then vanished. Teleportation was so cool. Veni already had Shii in hemlock, catching him off guard like that.

Furoi glanced up at the cave again. The haunted cave. It's large, arched entrance made it look foreboding, as you couldn't see far into it without some kind of light source. The flyer said that there was a small spring in the middle of the cave, too, but it looked so huge, even from the outside, like there were many tunnels and paths that they could get lost in before even finding the water source. The last thing she would want to do is get lost in there, and have her flashlight run out of batteries or something. She was nearly shaking at the thought of it. Maybe it was part of the training or something.Yeah right, knowing these guys, we're probably going to be too busy having fun or something to get any practice done. Yeah, with this many people here, what do I have to worry about? Everything is going to be fine.

Yeah... she'll just keep telling herself that.

[.~.Atticus Bordeaux.~.]

A cheerful whistling sound echoed through the forests around the Muerte Cave, the source of it being Atticus, one of the more academically challenged Rangers who had unwittingly signed up for something that could very well be the end of him. With those more vengeful and violent ghost types looming in the shadows, things were most likely going to get out of hand. Of course, with his oblivious nature to such things, it was not likely to cross his mind.

The man stopped abruptly, looking around him before letting out a sigh. "Crap. I think I took a wrong turn..." he muttered, scratching the back of his head like he usually did when such things popped into his head.

From behind him, a shadowy figure in a top hat floated up beside him, mumbling profanities under his breath, wondering how his trainer got dressed in the morning. "Do you have the map?" mumbled the Dusclops, looking around him for any sign of the other Rangers.

"Yes, I have it. It's just difficult to read is all. Lou did run off with the flashlight. Any sign of him?" said Atticus. The Dusclops shrugged, twisting around sharply when he heard the sound of footsteps coming up behind him. A red and gold Breloom slowly crept up behind his trainer, teeth chattering against each other in fear. He backed up into Atticus, causing the two to jump. Atticus let out a sigh upon seeing his teammate, Lou however looked like he was having a heart attack. "You have the flashlight, Lou?" asked Atticus, crouching down a little to come eye-to-eye with his Breloom. Lou, having gotten over yet another panic attack, pulled out a long, black object and hit the switch, handing it to Atticus.

Once illuminated, you'd see Atticus wasn't in his usual attire. A black and grey, horizontally striped tee replaced the usual checkered shirt. Over this he had a black leather jacket, being the only water proof article of clothing he owned. Besides those minor details, he looked mostly the same, only his hair draped evenly to each side of his face and was no longer tucked behind his ear.

The trainer and his two Pokemon wandered aimlessly through the woods, glancing back at the map every so often. The map really didn't seem to be helping. If anything, it didn't match the area they were in at all. Every turn they took either lead them to a dead end or a chasm, a hazy mist floating within them, leaving the mind to only guess their true depth.

Eventually they stopped at one final dead end, leaving out one simultaneous sigh before they took a break, sitting down on the damp, grassy ground.
"Atticus, are you sure we're in the right place? Whoever made that map was clearly drunk while they were coming up with it." hissed Fletcher, tossing a rock into the darkness ahead.

Lou then began to freak out. "Yo-you mean we're l-l-lost! Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap! GET ME OUT OF HERE! Why did you have to take meee! I bet this was all a set up! We're all going to DIE!" cried the fungus, huddling up in the corner as he rocked back and forth.

Atticus could only stare at his less-than-suitable Pokemon that he decided to use on this mission. Sure, he had the rest in his bag somewhere but he thought it would be a great idea to bond with him and let him out of his bloody Pokeball for once. There goes that brilliant idea.

Atticus got up and looked around in a confused manner, biting his lip while he tried to make heads or tails of this accursed place. All he wanted to do was meet up with the others and get on with this trip. Instead, it looked like he was going to be camping out in this dreary corner of the woods while he waited for somebody to come along. Dubbing that a less than appealing course of action, the Ranger got up, hoisting his satchel and rucksack onto his person, walking off and leaving Fletcher and Lou to follow.

"You better have some idea of where we're going. I don't intend to stay here for longer than five days, unless I have some more clueless Rangers to fuck with." hissed Fletcher, picking at the dirt that clung to his feet. Maybe he'd run into some other ghost types who shared his hobby for causing people grief. The specter could only hope as they stumbled towards their destination.

Atticus hummed softly away to himself, running his fingers through the crows nest he called hair, hoping he'd see someone or something up ahead. It was then he heard sound of something coughing and spluttering up ahead. Given his curious nature, he ran off ahead to find out what was going on, the walking fungus and phantom flitting along behind him. They just hoped he didn't get eaten. After all, who would protect Lou. Certainly not Fletcher. As for the mischievous phantom, Atticus was the only one he liked who could cook him fried eggs and bacon, meaning that if Atticus were to suddenly die, he would be in a bit of a pickle.

Atticus' emerald hues focus on two shadows in the distance. one was tall, almost human-like. The other was small and had stubby legs. The first thing Atticus thought was a man wrestling a midget, but of course, that wasn't what was happening, much to Atticus' dismay. Instead he made out the shape of the two as a Banette that was currently in a Gallade's hemlock. Not the most common sight you would imagine seeing but it was pretty damn entertaining. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the Banette. It was Shii, that Furoi girl's Banette. The first time he met him was rather awkward. He and his trainer were covered head to toe in body glitter. Shii's presence must have meant Furoi was close. With that he walked on past Shii and his tall friend towards Furoi.

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Fletcher and Lou however decided to stay with their Pokemon kind, Fletcher snickering at his breathless friends and Lou staring fearfully at the Gallade's sword-like elbows. "Hey there Shii. Who's your friend?" snickered the Dusclops, having never met Veni before and was eager to find out who he was. Perhaps this little trip would be more fun, now that he had his partner-in-crime here. Time to cause a little mayhem...

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Atticus wandered up to Furoi, dropping his satchel and rucksack onto the damp ground. "Hey Furoi. Am I late?" he asked, looking around to see if anybody else was in sight. He sighed and unzipped his bag, taking out a black beanie and placed it on his head. "Damn, it's cold." he hissed, zipping up his jacket. He turned to Furoi again and yawned. "So, what's gonna happen? We go in, camp out and kick the shit out of anything odd?" he chirped, looking around for any sign of the other Rangers. When he signed up, he did see a few names of people he knew. Skie, Furoi and Gennie being the only those he recognised, and that Gregory guy Gennie mentioned to him. Frowning at the thought of Gennie with somebody else, he scratched his nose and waited for everyone else to show up.

[gennie]

((I really don't like this post :C But meh..))

Two sets of eyes surveyed the darkness before them. One set of eyes were wide, not wide with emotion they were simply naturally wide, but they held a bright, elusive radiance that absorbed the nightmarish surroundings with a hidden embrace. The second set flickered; the pupils slashed side to side in order to catch any foreign sudden movement. The owner to the first pair eyed the petit Ranger from the side, its long grin stretched (which was a wonder seeing how it already was super long to being with) as the eyes watched Gennie nervously react to the cold, silent environment. The girl paused in her step for what felt like the millionth time that whole trip, her head quickly snapping towards her right, her eyes wide and observing the bushes and trees.

“B-Boo…” Gennie whimpered, her eyes slammed shut, her whole body enveloping in and unwelcome cold.

“Boo… wonders why Genevieve is so….” The Ghastly’s words slipped through its long mouth, almost blending with the surroundings. The Ghastly delicately levitated around Gennie, her eyes stuck on her owner, wide and bright. “Edgy…Does Genevieve not like Boo’s home..?” Somehow the Ghastly found her owner’s reactions amusing.

“I…I’m n-not edgy,” The girl swallowed, almost choking on her words from lack of air. She’s been holding her breath for so long it’s a wonder why she’s still alive. “I-I love this place. The dank, cold darkness wrapping my body is… is just so welcoming, heh. Y-you’ve gotta’ love it.” The ranger uneasily smiled at her pokemon who gave her a flat stare.

The Ghastly’s narrowed eyes only flashed within the darkness. Gennie, the flamboyant optimistic girl, did have a nervous side. She rarely showed it, she’d give you that, but when she did it was clear as day. The girl had only a select few fears, but since she wasn’t afraid of most things, her ‘fears’ turned to near phobias. Though she could safely say that her fear of the dark wasn’t nearly as bad as her fear of huge bodies of water, since there was a cure for her nyctophobia unlike her hydrophobia. All she had to do was be around people; that’s it. Simple enough—it was just the quest in finding those people that was the hard part. Sure she was hiking her way through a horror movie just waiting to happen, but her destination was to meet up with a group of fellow Rangers. The goal was locked in her mind, and was pretty much the only thing that brightened up her gloomy night.
Boo also helped, well, sort of. Gennie loved all pokemon, but she had to admit, her least favorite was Ghost, but she would never say that to Boo… afraid she might possess her in her sleep and make her walk of a cliff or something. Boo was her pokemon, and Gennie would do anything for her… Even visit graveyards—which by the way isn’t one of Gennie’s favorite places to be, somehow the whole idea of being surrounded by dead people didn’t strike her fancy as much as others.

“So, Boo, you know where we are going…right?” Gennie gathered her composure enough to ask without a stutter, though she didn’t fully regain her optimistic self, at least not yet. The ranger’s tiny pale hands gripped the bands to her backpack, bumping the luggage a bit further up on her back so it wouldn’t hurt her shoulders.

The ghost pokemon simply advanced further into the darkness for her reply, causing the girl to gasp, her body shaking as she called out, “Wait up!” Her feet picked up dust as she sprinted forward.

Earlier in the day she had entrusted Boo with the directions to the cave, also known as the meeting point. Boo knew this part of Remoor like no other in spite of her never actually living there. Gennie always guessed it to be a sort of instinctual part of the Ghastly to know the spookier places, but she never questioned Boo, she always just simply trusted her. The ghost had picked up speed, tumbling through the air—happily chuckling. The ranger too shuffled her feet to match the speed of her pokemon, her lips parting to shout yet another ‘wait up’ but Gennie came to no avail; her words lost within the intangible wind. And for a split second her mind was lost in the darkness around her, Boo had suddenly stopped and had slowly turned to spy at her owner, but Gennie whizzed past unable to halt in her sprint and when she did attempt to stop, the tip of her shoe caught in her other shoe’s shoelaces. All her surroundings flew by as she stumbled forward onto the ground, her knees roughly scraping the dirt beneath her.

“Ooh… darn.” Gennie pouted, brushing her hands off before she began to pat at the mud splatter on her knees and skirt. When the ranger lifted herself from the ground, she groaned at the sight of mud that stuck to her shin. “…Heh, well it’s funny, not even a day in the camping trip and I’m already dirty.” The girl laughed, a sincere smile sprouted at her lips.

Boo slowly approached her owner, an amused snicker slipped its lips. “Genevieve should…slow down on these… hills… no one knows what…could happen.” The ghastly wheezed, while Gennie gave the pokemon a side-glance, smirking.

“Thanks for the warning.” She giggled.

After she was satisfied with grooming herself, the girl tugged off her beanie, her eyes caught silhouettes of humans a bit further in the distance. Gennie noticed pokemon as well, but instead of her thinking that the pokemon were automatically wild, her mind registered the thought that the silhouettes were Rangers and the pokemon belonged to them. Excitedly Gennie ran forward, her right arm shot to the sky waving madly as she noticed a female and a boy. The boy struck her familiar, and caused the girl to advance him quickly—almost pouncing but not quite—as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

“Atticus~ Oh it’s nice to see you …” Gennie giggled, separating herself as she grinned up at the fellow Ranger, “I didn’t see your name on the list!”

That was right, really… Gennie didn’t continue reading the list once she spotted Gregory… But she felt kinda’ bad now seeing how she missed out that not only one of her best friends was on the list but a second one: Atticus. The girl smiled wildly almost forgetting the female that was there, her eyes averted quickly to the raven-haired girl. “Hi there! My name is Gennie, and you are?”

Boo slowly caught up, eyes blank as she stared at her owner. She had just warned her not to run, and what did Gennie do? Run. The Ghastly shot a glance at the group of pokemon a few feet away, but she only snickered and kept herself close to Gennie, hovering nearly inches away from her left shoulder.

[Gregory Gene]

(( FUDGE YEAH CAMPING TRIP.
Combining my Skie/Gregory posts xDD Because it’d get annoying otherwise, you knooow? xDD I’ll be posting back and forth with accounts. So both accounts get posts. Lol xDD When they split up for tent time (lol) I’ll split the posts up too. Like, still both posts'll be on one account, but I'll separate them. But for these first few or whatever, Greg and Skie’s posts’ll be mingled up. xD
And lol. Skie's playing with Baxter xDD <3 ))



…

“Gregory.”

“…”

“Gregoryyy…”

“…”

The man wasn’t exactly ‘ignoring’ her. More like…seeing how long this new bout of whining would last if he didn’t respond.
Gregory Gene, a man of few words anyway, was walking at a steady pace through the thick, darkening forest. At his side, his strongest Pokemon walked; Amelia his Delcatty. He knew very well that entering a place where many of the wild Pokemon would be ghost types with a normal Pokemon was a bit unwise.
Which was why, in his pocket two more of his team waited.

Tank, the man’s Torterra. And Ranger, the man’s Smeargle. Both of whom had attacks that could easily damage a ghost type.

He had a bit of different outfit on today. Usually he dressed up a bit—simple black dress shirt, buttoned down, and a nice black tie. Black pants and the usual black boots (not to mention the usual, spiked collar around his neck)—but today he was wearing the much simpler outfit.
A thick, warm, dark hoodie (not quite black—more of a very dark gray), and jeans. The collar was still there, as it always was. A sort of luck charm he’d developed a larger liking for over the years. And, the thick boots that added onto his height were there as well.

A large, heavy bag filled with spare changes of clothes and supplies was strapped across his back, set comfortably in place and his hands gripped the straps in front of him lightly. His balance was right, and it really put little stress into the hike. It was healthy anyway—they’d been walking for a good few hours now, ever since reaching the thicker forest limits.
Gregory had insisted.
Besides, flying the entire time would’ve been boring. No chance to see any of the forest like this, from down below. He liked that. And it was, as said before, healthy.

This made his walking partner, and younger sister, a little agitated.

“Gregory, are we there yet?” she breathed out like she was exhausted.

Funny though, because the young Ranger Agent was barely winded, despite the long walk.
But when she was forced to do things she really didn’t want to do, she really did pull the irritating little sister card.
She wanted to just…just fly all the way to the cave. Her reasons were simple; she hadn’t seen Kaine since she left the base. She wanted to make her way to the stupid cave with him, but there was some mix up, and Gregory half-pushing her out the door muttering about schedule changes and blah blah blah she wasn’t with Kaine. And she wanted to be.
So. Simply put. She wanted to get to the cave as fast as she could.

But Gregory wanted to stop their flight short so he could to some sightseeing.

Gawd.

The girl sighed and leaned over, resting an arm on one of her stronger Pokemon she had with her; Engine, the Juraptix. She was moving steadily, matching the girl’s pace, through the trees, her head low and her white eyes seeming to always stare straight ahead, but Skie knew they were just taking everything in.
“This isn’t fair,” she huffed, shifting the backpack she had resting on one shoulder across her back to a more comfortable position. “I mean, I wanted to keep flying.”

“This is good for you,” Engine said smoothly, and Skie glared at her brother when she heard him snort. “You need the exercise.”

“I train like, every day anyway!”

“Yes, but you still need. The exercise. This will help keep you in that shape. Make you stronger. You see?” Engine tilted her head a little, feathers ruffling on the back of her head. “This isn’t a bad thing.”

“Bah.” Skie sighed, shoulders sagging.

Engine was one of the five Pokemon Skie had with her for the trip. High above them, a grouchy, fat orange was soaring around in slow, lazy circles. He couldn’t exactly see them through the thick canopy, and that did make him nervous, but he moved at their pace, making his way towards the Meurta Cave entrance up ahead.
Her other three Pokemon were smaller. Two were pretty brand new on the team, and one not so much. There was Baxter, her new Statilee whom she had ‘won’ in the casino (that place was so damn annoying. She had so many berries it wasn’t even funny), and there was also Fillet, the Corphish (another Casino Pokemon), along with the other water type Pokemon, Truffle the Poliwag.

Rawk and Ace, the brave, brave, brave things, had volunteered to stay behind and literally ‘babysit’ the rest of her team. The other little ones, Valentine, Monty, and Riley (her Rattata, Nidoran, and mega-tomboy Aipom) didn’t want to go at the time. And Skie wouldn’t force them. Not on something like this.
How long were they gonna be out here?
She wasn’t sure. And she honestly didn’t want to deal with a bunch of whiney Pokemon either. (ha).

…

This was boring. She told Gregory so and he glanced at her, his gray eyes flashing a pitiless emotion.

“We’re almost there,” he told her, voice rumbling in his chest. “You can be patient and keep walking for a little longer.”

“’A little longer’ means like, another 2 hours for you!” The girl sighed heavily, leaning against Engine even more. Really, she was just being lazy. Or…she was really wanting to be lazy.

“No…” Engine blinked her milky eyes. “No, it’s just up ahead, actually.” Her feathers unruffled, resting back into their sleek fall down the back of her head. “I hear voices.”

Skie blinked, turning her head a bit and straining.
She was part Steelix now, after all. And cave Pokemon were known for their ridiculously strong hearing. Though she was nowhere near as well-sensed as a real Pokemon, she did catch faint clips of words and whispers, when she knew Gregory could hear nothing at all.

“Finally!” she actually pulled away from Engine and darted ahead, the heavy bag doing little to wear down her effort run. She moved through the thick trees and finally, the voices growing a bit louder with every passing second, she burst through the thicket, and her eyes rested on the big, dark, looming mouth of the cave.

…
She seemed to pause for a second, merely standing there, staring, not even taking any of the other trainers in.

It was dark in there.
And Skie hated the dark.

She mumbled something under her breath, stuffing a hand into her pocket as she let her own large supply bag drop to the dirt ground behind her. Her hand wrapped around a Pokeball, and in a matter of seconds (and a flash of red light) Baxter the Statilee was staring up at her with those big, rusty colored eyes.
She turned from him for a second, kneeling down to dig through one of the front pockets of her bag, pulling out a flashlight. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s practice. One more time. You know, just in case.”

“You brought extra batteries though,” Baxter watched her take the flashlight and unscrew the top, actually dropping out the batteries before pulling out another pair from her pocket. She grinned at him, rolling each one between her fingers at him before dropping them into the flashlight. “These things are dead. Let’s see if you can juice ‘em back up.”
The girl reached down, and the yellow Pokemon clambered up her arm, perching rather clumsily, but firmly, on her shoulder. “When I flick the switch, try it, alright?”

Baxter nodded, and Skie let her thumb switch the button on. And a second later, the Statilee’s feathers on its tail and ears were scruffing together rapidly, and with a little nod of his head, sparks and arcs of thin, yellow electricity curled and climbed down across her gray hoodie-clad arm.
It did no damage at all to her. The electricity actually felt like only a light tingling, thanks to Steelix DNA’s handy ground-type feature. She never had to worry about static shock again.
And she grinned when the flashlight, with its batteries presumably dead, flared to life and shone brightly until she laughed and he stopped the electrical barrage.
“Awesome. We’re good.”

“I don’t like the dark either.” He shook his head, clicking his sharp teeth together. “But yup. We’re good. Thanks to me.”

“Yup, thanks to you. Now get off my shoulder, bud, you’re heavy,” she tilted forward a bit and smiled when he scrambled down onto the ground quickly enough.

And she didn’t notice it, but Gregory had emerged from the trees a few minutes before, watching her with curious eyes as that electricity flew. It did make him a bit nervous—but she was alright. And he knew she was aware of her own limits now. For the most part—anyway. The girl had been known to ‘experiment’ with those limits, however. (damn her for trying to swim in the deep end without testing first in the shallow end that first time in the river. Steel doesn’t float, sweetheart). Funny though, how she’d figured out electricity couldn’t hurt her any longer. Baxter had a tendency to…well. Accidentally zap things, still learning to control himself. Skie had been around when one of those ‘accidents’ happened.

And in all honesty, he was glad for it. It was like a little plus side to make up for…all the cons that weighed her down.

Gregory’s eyes drifted while his sister celebrated as the flashlight blared to life, moving forward a bit more, closer to the cave. His eyes took note of three trainers; Furoi, Atticus, and Gennie.
He wasn’t aware of it, but a bit of a smile crept into place when his eyes settled on the girl. Ha. She was always smiling, wasn’t she? Always bright and cheerful.
The tall man moved a few steps closer, watching as she moved quickly towards the other two…Rangers……

…

He blinked as he watched the girl just about leap at Atticus, wrapping her arms around the other man in a tight hug.
And Gregory didn’t notice it, but his eyes narrowed in the same instant. His hands drifted down slowly before he stuffed them into his jeans pockets. Some sort of noise rumbled deep in his chest as he watched her fall away from…from him.
…
What the hell was that? Why did he feel so…hm.

The man blinked again as his thoughts seem to split. Half of him…honestly wanted to march over there, pluck the girl away from him, and march off. Simple as that. Put a bit of space in between them. _{Andmaybestealahugfromherhimself.}
And the other half was what he’d expected of himself. That half didn’t mind. Didn’t want any conflict, and was more than okay with the simple hug—a little show of friendship.
But that first half did surprise him.
Just a bit. Because he swallowed it back and ignored it, even as he let that deep breath of air (one he hadn’t even realized he’d breathed in) out in a low ‘hffffff’.

He didn't notice, but beside him his Delcatty was purring. Loudly.

“…OOooh.”
Gregory jumped at the voice, blinking his gray eyes wide for an instant before he looked down to his side, where Skie was glancing between him and Gennie.

The girl wasn’t dumb.
And besides—hell, he was totally pouting. If that little bit of jealousy wasn’t completely obvious she didn’t know what was.

“Genie that’s adorable,” the girl grinned. “She’s cute. I like her hair.”

“Hn.”

“I don’t get it. What’s going on?” Baxter was gripping the girl’s jeans in one clawed little paw, staring at the small group of people a short ways away. “What?”

“Nothin’ bud. Greg here, was just gonna go say hi,” and upon speaking the word, she had actually maneuvered behind him and shoved him hard enough to make the large chunk of a man stumble a few steps before he actually huffed out another breath, and walked on his own.

“Hello,” he rumbled when he reached them. “Furoi, Gennie,” he said, nodding to each of them. “..Atticus,” though there was only a tiny, tiny, split-split second pause before he said his name. There was no anger or anything behind those eyes. And even that touch of envy didn’t show through. It sounded more like he couldn’t remember the man’s name.
But oh ho. Like he would forget.

“Hey guys,” Skie trotted over next, grinning. “This is gonna be fun, huh? Haven’t been camping in a while. I forgot how a tent…works.” She shook her head, laughing.

And high up above, still staying up in the air via updrafts, Brute was making another slow circle. Smoke trailed lazily up out of his nostrils, dissipating into the air in seconds. Bah. He didn’t really want to come. Pf. Camping. He’d have to keep a constant eye on Skie, though. Reason he came.
I mean come on.
Dark cave. Cramped spaces. Co-ed tents.
Kaine McAllister.

Ah ha oh ho ho.
Yeah no. Brute wasn’t gonna let that slide.
But he stayed airborne for the time being, because bah. He simply didn’t feel like being social at the moment. He felt like brooding. As usual. Being grouchy.
The fat, grumpy orange dot in the sky.

[||Cody R||]

{{This post is...meh. I just needed to get it out. Poor Cody, bein' teased by his Pokes. I needed to get some Vice in there...pervy Vice. XD}}

<…Cody better be careful in more ways than one. With his newfound interest in what Furoi’s lips can do, he might be interested in other things. Are you catching my drift?> Vice blinked his eyes up at Blaze and waited for the Charizard to translate what he had said in order for his trainer to understand it. As he did so, Cody stood staring at his traveling bag. He was missing something, even if he couldn’t mentally pinpoint just what the moment. He’d already packed his clothes, his shampoo, his soap, his underwear, and even his toothpaste—yet there was something else missing.

“Vice thinks you need condoms,” Blaze muttered abruptly.

Cody’s head whipped around, his eyes immediately locking in on the two male Pokemon. They were just that—males. They, too, had a sex drive…or at least he thought so. So with that in mind, the youth shrugged what they had clearly been conversing about in Pokemon speak and acted as if it hadn’t somewhat mentally scarred him. Sure when he had heard Furoi was going on the trip and that there were going to be co-ed tents, he was more than overjoyed. The thought of doing anything, however—he wasn’t ready for that. They had barely even started dating. Still, the thought had weaved its way into his mind, taunted him at the wrong moment as well. If he hadn’t been focused before on his packing, he sure wasn’t now. Not with the thought of Furoi and—

“Make that a whole box,” Blaze added with a snort. Cody rolled his eyes as the behemoth of a Pokemon continued, “You do know we’re just kidding. We actually really do like Furoi. She’s sweet, pretty—hot, but you didn’t hear that from me—and is just all around the best person we can see you dating. Anyone else is a no-go!”

<I think I mentally destroyed Cody. He can’t help but to think about it now, heh. This should be interesting. He is a guy after all. Thinking about that stuff is in his DNA…> The lobster Pokemon blinked once again up at the Charizard, this time wishing for his words not to be spoken to Cody. Blaze simply dipped his head in understanding, and then turned to his trainer as he finished packing up the rest of his things. He did take note of a gray sweatshirt he’d seen Furoi wearing around the base once and smirked to himself.

“You’re taking that so you can keep her warm during those lonely nights, huh?” Blaze winked. It was a simple gesture, yet, somehow managed to bring fourth a confused expression on Cody’s lips. He’d never seen his Charizard wink—it was strange to him. “You don’t have to answer that, I know the answer. I’m just joking. And really, don’t think about what Vice said, we’re just messing with you—with your mind. We’re actually really looking forward to this shindig.”

Cody chuckled under his breath, zipped his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I’m excited, too. But we’re late; can you fly us down to that damn cave? I’m sure it won’t take that long with your speed, and I know you’re going to hate flying either way.” Cody climbed atop his Pokemon as did Vice who had found its way inside Cody’s duffel bag. “Don’t think I haven’t seen how many Twinkies you have been eating lately, buddy boy. You really need to work out some more, which is what you’ll be doing. No being lazy and mooching off like you always do.”

By the time the three got to the cave, Cody could already tell that there were people who had arrived before them. He could see Furoi, Skie and her brother, some girl he’d never seen in his life and—wait. Cody squinted at the male standing a little too close to Furoi. He didn’t like that, not one bit, but he wasn’t one for jealousy. He’d play some mind games later on, just not now. Blaze snorted at Cody’s expression, swooped down below and allowed Cody to descend from his large back. Once he’d touched ground, Cody marched up to Furoi and took his position by her side with his hand wrapped around hers.

“Hey Skie, Greg, Furoi...and people I've never met before. I’m sorry I’m a little late; I got a little caught up back on base with some things,” Cody explained, shooting an angered glance in both Blaze and Vice’s face—the water-type had unzipped himself from the inside of his trainer’s bag. His eyes then focused on Furoi’s while his lips upturned into a grin. “But I’m here now.”

<The bastard. Look at his face, you can tell when he’s looking at her that he’s envisioning her naked!>

“I don’t think so, Vice. I think you simply have a crush on Furoi.” Blaze turned to Skie and waved. “Heya, Skie!” The chubby Charizard’s wings stretched out as he released a yawn. Flying while on a Twinkie-filled stomach was pretty tiring, not to mention bothersome, but Cody was right: he really did need to shed some weight.

“Furoi, this is Vice. He finally got the nerve to tell Blaze that he wanted to meet you,” Cody smirked down at the Pokemon. He glanced over towards Shii next and grimaced. “I get this vibe that your Pokemon doesn’t like me one bit. Did I do something to him? I mean, he doesn’t hate me because of you and me—does he?”

Cody never really understood what was so odd about the way Shii and Furoi had connected, he’d only assumed they were best friends like he and his Charizard. So when he began dating Furoi the thought of the Pokemon being jealous—or whatever he felt at the moment—had never crossed his mind. All he’d thought about was dating Furoi, nothing else. After all, it wasn’t everyday he’d met a jealous Pokemon. But that wasn’t important now, all the trainers were on a mission to explore Muerte Cave—no matter how frightening the prospect of ghosts popping out at him was.

“Well, when are we going to start kicking some ghost butt?” Cody asked. He placed his lips against the shell of Furoi’s ear, sensing her nervousness. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” The words were soft and only meant for the girl in order to ease the fear that emanated from her silhouette.

[Kaine McAllister]

(Finally, lol! I...yeah. xD It's probably not that great but here ya go. )

One hand adjusted, fingers flexing over the black strap of a fair sized, green satchel bag strewn across his back. “Let’s move it guys, stop fooling around,” he said, deep voice carrying over his shoulder as he stepped forward, posture almost perfectly straight. He was dressed differently, almost out of sorts in comparison to what he usually wore. Today was so strangely simple: dark blue jeans, plain black t-shirt, leather hiking boots…none of the usual things the other Rangers were used to seeing him in. He had a jet black hoodie wrapped around his waist, tied down by its own sleeves to keep it out of the way, and to keep him from getting too hot. Kaine typically didn’t wear belts either, especially not belts that came with pokeball slots along the outer edges, like an old fashioned cowboy gun holster, suddenly turned Pokemon efficient. There were six of them in total around his belt, three to each side of his body, every one minimized to its smallest size and locked into place by a gearing mechanism. He only ever wore it for missions like this, where he was gone for indeterminable amounts of time, and would be camping out or moving constantly. In fact, he hated the belt as a general rule- it was a Santoro-brand made object that was a personal favorite of an old enemy in his home region. And that man really had been a cowboy.

It was a shame that the belt was actually useful- it was impossible for a thief-on-the-run to simply steal a pokeball from it. They’d have to pause, fiddle with the single, almost invisible gear hanging just below each pokeball, and somehow find the right combination of left and right moves to unlock it…to steal it. Again, impossible. Even a complete idiot would notice if someone was messing with a belt for five or so minutes, and the thief would find themselves out of luck when the owner turned and knocked them on their ass. It was kinda sad though, to think that people had to implement such measures to protect themselves and their Pokemon. But that was Remoor for you. Full of sad truths.

“Keep up you guys. Don’t fall behind,” he called again, his brow furrowing as he glanced over his shoulder. It was hard to tell his emotions while he was wearing that visor, but the tone in his voice had a slight warning in it, like a parent ushering his kids to walk in front of him instead of behind. And he almost sighed as he turned back onto the path he was following. They really were just like kids. He could hear them moving around in the background, shuffling through trees and underbrush, darting around and goofing off while there was still sunlight left in the sky, no matter how little. He glanced upwards, brown eyes flashing beneath his visor as he realized he only had a little time left to get there before it really got dark.

He’d already been on the trail with them for about a few hours. And before that he’d gone into town to gather a few things he thought he might be needing for the trip. In fact, his schedule had turned pretty erratic and completely changed from what it used to be. He hadn’t planned on taking all his Pokemon either, particularly Po, but the Muk’s own insistence in the matter held, and just like Haze, she was currently resting in her own pokeball, completely quiet while the “kids” ran around like they were on a sugar high. He sighed, a little bit disappointed. He had hoped to start the trip out with –duh, who else- Skie. But then a few unexpected issues had come up and left him sorting out some paperwork, getting up early to handle and speak with a few new recruits, and then heading into town on his own business. And to make matters worse, he knew his time with her would be shaky anyway- particularly because Brute had gone with her. And she’d left the Pokemon that actually liked him, back at the base to guard the rest of her team.

At least for now, he could focus on getting to the meeting spot. With the boss coming along on the trip, he actually had more initiative to put more concentration into his work than he usually did- and that was saying something because when he was working, he was normally dead set on getting whatever it was, done. He could remember glancing over the details of the trip earlier, and the names listed, but only a few came to mind now, causing him to frown a bit. There were a lot of good Rangers on this trip, and many people would argue that numbers were a great asset to a team, and skill even better. But as usual, the man’s mind jumped to some of the cons of the situation, concerned. A lot of Rangers gathered together on one trip made them very powerful, but very vulnerable. One disaster could cost them so much. He almost growled at the thought of losing Reid – their leader, even if the man could take care of himself and proved it on a number of occasions. But hadn’t there been a breeder on this trip as well? Two maybe? And Gregory, one of their strongest members was going. And as he thought about it, the other names came back to him. Cody, Atticus, and yeah, even Skie. The Rangers couldn’t afford to lose any of these people. (He completely failed to place himself into the same category). And many of them had become so close to him that if something did happen he’d…well it wouldn’t have been pleasant, that’s for certain.

And yeah, he kept wondering about Skie, the usual overprotective concern for her multiplied because of their relationship to one another now. He didn’t like being away from her for very long, even if he knew Gregory was probably with her. It was irritating actually, not having her with him. He’d gotten used to it a lot lately.

He paused as he came across a fallen tree, the bark slick with green moss, red and brown mushrooms clinging to the rotting wood. He placed one hand on the surface to vault over, grunting as he landed and straightened up again. The satchel against his back shook a bit from side to side, and a slight, annoyed groan broke out from an open pocket on the side, big enough to house a Pokemon. In fact, a blue head popped out, pushing back the flap that housed her in the pocket, her crimson eyes flashing.

”Oh. My. GOD. Are we there yeeeeet?” The little horsea shook her head from side to side, not realizing that her voice was maybe a little –too- loud. She slumped lazily in the pocket compartment, glaring at the forest floor. Meet Misty Mae: the newest addition to his team, after Skie realized she had one too many Pokemon to babysit already. He decided to bring the little Pokemon for fast training, but he was beginning to wonder if doing so was going to give him a headache. Even though she was adorable as any regular Horsea could be, she had a personality that was just…not suited for such a small, adorable Pokemon. In fact, she seemed completely impatient with the whole trip, popping out of the side pocket to comment or ask a question like some weird jack-in-the-box before diving right back in.

He smiled as she disappeared once more, snuggling down into her pocket. He had advised her to stay there as a lookout (because she wouldn’t hear of it when he told her that as a water Pokemon, and a small one at that, her skin was sensitive to so much humidity in the air outside), and now he tried not to laugh. “I’d say a few more-“ He took a step forward and nearly tripped as a sandy, armored ball bolted from between two bushes and crashed into a tree.

“…”

A sandshrew bounced back, unfolding from his ball after the hit, the leaves on the tree rustling, his small black eyes darting from side to side. In one of his clawed hands he had a hold of a black flashlight, and –to Kaine’s confusion- the little Pokemon had a brown towel wrapped around his shoulders and tied around his neck to look like a cape. He recognized the towel too, and felt his brow twitch in agitation. That was one of the towels he packed for the trip. How did that little-

“Edgeworth. What’re you-“

“Be still! …” The little sandshrew’s brow furrowed. He gripped his flashlight a little tighter and flipped the switch on so that a blinding white beam of light shot out of it. A glint entered his eye as silence consumed the scene. A cricket chirped somewhere. “He’s coming,” he said softly, his eyes focused on a green, thick bush. Kaine turned and stared at it too, blinking, confused. He heard Misty Mae pop out of her pocket again, equally curious.

“Cubone.” How in the world Tombstone managed to get a towel too, he didn’t know, but she stepped out of the bush slowly, and with her came a jet black towel (or was it two?). She wore hers like a cape as well, but it wrapped around her body completely, hiding her form, and another part of it was settled over her head like a dark hood. Only her snout was seen below the hood, poking out like some weird…white…mask-like thing. She moved, and Kaine cocked a brow as she thrust her small hand out, her white bone club pointing straight over at Edgeworth. “Cubone.” Her voice was unnaturally deep for her, and the man was a little confused for a minute before her hand fell away, and the club disappeared beneath the folds of her towel with the rest of her. Because that’s when she made those pitch perfect breathing imitations of a certain famous t.v. and movie character.

“Never!” Edgeworth shouted back, very dramatic. He held his flashlight out in front of him, glaring over at her. He looked absolutely serious too, and Kaine finally ducked his head, reaching up to pinch his nose. They weren’t serious. “I will never, ever join the Dark Side!” Oh, they were serious.

“Cubone.”

“The force is with me! You aren’t indestructible! Fate will see you suffer for the things you’ve done! No. The force will!” He jumped at her, flashlight beaming, and her bone club clacked against the base of the tool as their weapons met. They stood there, like true enemies locked in actual Jedi Knight and Sith combat. With the occasional rasping noise thrown in and the grunt of Edgeworth as he tried to gain some ground.

“I am never letting the two of you watch that again,” Kaine whispered. It was a marathon on television actually, and one that quickly had the two youngest members of his team completely entranced. He had gone to bed the other night, expecting them to get bored with it as well. Pft. Shows how wrong that assumption was. “Where did you two get those towels? You’re getting them dirty. And if you break that flashlight I’m going to-“

He paused as Tombstone aimed a harmless kick at Edgeworth, and the sandshrew curled into a ball, rolled backwards and caught himself, sliding back against the grass with his…light saber…pointed towards her.

“Han, no! Look out!” Edgeworth’s eyes widened as Tombstone turned, lowered her bone club and raised her other hand, pointing it directly at Kaine.

…

Kaine felt his brow twitch again. “I don’t have time for this. You can pretend to choke me later and you can pretend I’m actually dying from it then too.” He made a move to step forward, actually smirking in spite of how silly it all was. Tombstone paused, brought her hand back down, stared at it for a few minutes, and then raised it again in his direction, her hand shaking with an effort of trying to make it happen. He laughed. “It’s not gonna work.”

“Aw. Han is no fun,” Edgeworth said.

“That’s because I’m not-“ Thunk. The man let out a sharp gasp of air and reached back, wincing as a bone club bounced off his head and landed on the ground nearby. “Ow! You…Hmph. That’s the way you wanna play? Then fine.” He bent down, picked up the club and smirked at her as he straightened. “Uh oh. Looks like I got Vader’s saber.” He started to walk off and Edgeworth cheered. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. The little goofs. They were turning into major Star Wars dorks. He smiled, glancing down at the white bone club in his hands. He could hear Vader right on his heels, demanding for her saber back. And there was some Jedi in the background cheering him on as he walked. The little idiots.

But the walk was a short one, even if he kept urging them onward. In fact, he heard Mae almost shout her relief to the sky – having spotted the others first. “Finally!” She was so happy that Kaine had to reach back and keep her still so she didn’t fall out of the pocket. “We’re here!” And with that, she announced their presence to the rest of the Rangers already gathered in front of the cave. An instant grin spread across his face. He recognized a few faces, and was relieved to spot Skie amongst them. “Sorry. Got stalled back at the base with a few extra tasks. How’s it goin’ guys?”

He resisted the urge to yawn – a little surprised at the fatigue beginning to show. But then again, he had done a lot today. That or maybe he was just beginning to lose his edge, or the latest update on his two “kids” had exhausted some of his nerves. “Boss here yet? Oh and uh.” He shook his head. “Darth Vader and some Jedi are going to be joining us on the trip. Just give ‘em a few minutes. They’ll show up.” He held up the bone club. “I stole her light saber.”

“Yeah, it was funny,” Mae said, pausing as she glanced around. Her eyes narrowed on the group of Pokemon (particularly the ghosts) that were beginning to gather around the front of the cave. She squirmed in her pocket and glanced at Kaine, but the man only reached back and pressed his hand against her to tell her to keep still. Maaan. She wanted to go talk to them. … They didn’t look so tough. But her eyes darted for the underbrush as a pair of bushes rustled. Tombstone came charging out, still wearing her get up, and on her heels was Edgeworth. Kaine snorted.

“Told you,” he said flatly. He shrugged. “A…marathon came on t.v. And they…they’re obsessed with it now. Ten bucks to the first person that can guess who is playing what,” he said sarcastically, throwing the bone club through the air towards the sandshrew and cubone. Tombstone jumped instantly and caught it, but once she did she seemed to notice she was in the company of people…and very abruptly hid the club under her dark towels, looking away in very indifferent manner. Edgeworth only blinked, glanced at her and scratched at his neck absently his free paw. “Hello.” He flicked the switch on the flashlight and turned it off. “Look Skie! Look at what I brought you!” And he suddenly switched personas completely, running towards the brown haired girl with his paw out to show her the flashlight. “For you of course.”

Why that little. That was his flashlight. The little sneak. Kaine snorted anyway and smirked. Trust Edgeworth to steal his flashlight and give it to Skie going, “Oh I brought it for you, do you like it?” He reached back and adjusted the weight of his satchel again. He loved his team too much.

[Reid]

Heaving up the pack onto his shoulder once more, Reid looked out at the trail of rangers in front of him. He was bringing up the rear, mainly because they needed a rear guard, and besides, he would likely be the slowest. Why would he be the slowest? Well, for two fold reasons. He had volunteered with carrying the tents, a chore he hadn't realized would be so taxing, and the real reason, that he was busy mapping this place. Every while, he would stop, and pull out two things, a sheet of canvas, and a pen, but no ordinary pen. It looked like an old fountain pen, save for a few things. The ink was more secured, and the pen was reinforced, meaning no ink spillage, and no breaking it. Both necessary things, when one was working in the wilderness. Like he was doing right now.

This was simply a rough copy, on cheap canvas, but it still took a while to make. Large parts of the map were empty, as he was only doing it on a narrow line, but what he did have was detailed as much as he could. Any and all landmarks, as well as areas of rest and hiding, were marked, though only in ink and lacking color. Those other aspects would be added on later, when he got serious about it. As far as he knew, no serious maps had been made since the catastrophe, and a good working knowledge of the land was important. Still, it was not in near enough detail for his liking. He'd had to hurry on, and most of the outlines were rough. He'd have to come back here later on the trip with the rest of them. A good search would do the rangers well. They all needed to learn the land, with the war and all.

Reid sighed once more as he rest aside the pen for now, placing it back in his pocket and folding up his map, that going in a small container he owned. Pravus. They were at the root of this trip, and honestly they were at the root of everything. No matter where you looked, they were there, at least in some force. They had their fingers in everything, and honestly, no where was safe from them. Even he had his doubts about his rangers loyalty at times, as one had to. Especially after that incident. A violent shake of his head followed this thought, and he hissed to himself "No. Your not thinking of that right now." He had to keep himself together, right now, the rangers were near.

Many of them were hopelessly optimistic. A few were realists, sure, but most of them were far more concerned with having a good time than saving their lives, and that had an effect. They didn't seem to realize just how hopeless things were. Then again, he liked that. Their optimism was probably the only reason they'd gotten as far as they did. But now, they were likely to have to deal with the true beast of Pravus. Why? Mewtwo was gone. The one check to Pravus, the only thing that posed a true threat to them, and gave both pause, was each other. Now that one of the checks had vanished, mysteriously, Pravus had no reason not to strike, and strike hard. Hence this mission.

This was supposedly a fun trip, but that was not the reason they were here. They were here for training, and they would train. It was no longer okay to just slide by, messing around. It was a war now, it was just waiting for the first strike. This entire time he was putting on a brisk pace, walking towards the rangers, quite a few who had managed to enter the tent. So, he was the leader of this group. All without- once again a violent head shake came from him, nearly knocking off his straw hat, and he thought "No! People are around. You can't think of that." He had to be strong, for them. Besides, he had to get over there. They were likely getting ancy, being by themselves, and the lousy buggers probably hadn't realized they'd left him with the tents.

Still, as he walked towards the cave, he had to wonder. What would the future hold for them? Reid had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that things weren't going to be easy on this trip, but that was a normal feeling. Ever since she'd gone, everything had seemed that much more mysterious, and evil. Still, as he approached the cave that they were to stay in, he sighed, and looked around. His Pokemon were out scouting, and he expected them to return soon. Hopefully it would remain unchanged, but since no one had yet ran screaming out of the cave, he assumed that at least the place was safe enough.

Just then, a shadow passed over him, and he looked up, to see his Starraptor, Vick, corkscrewing over him. Dipping down rapidly, gaining speed, he seemed sure to ram down into the ground, until just short, he spread out his wings, and slowed, landing gracefully on the ground. Reid however, was not impressed, looking at him and saying "Yeah yeah. So, whats the report?" Reid couldn't help but grin slightly as he saw his Starraptors hurt look, saying

"Does nothing impress you? In any case, I have nothing to report. Things seem to be calm around here, nothing extrodinary to remark on. " Vick stretched out, then fluttered up, perching on top of Reid's shoulder and saying "Ah. Its nice to be on here again."

Next came Allie, jogging up at a easy pace, even with her pack on. Reid waited for her, then as she got up, he asked "Any reports?" Well, at least report one had gone well, hopefully the rest would do the same.

"Nothing to report, luckily. Things seem quiet around here." She smiled, and walked up to him, saying "You okay? You seemed worried walking." She was always was concerned with him after he nearly died.

Reid rolled his eyes, and said "I'm fine. Now lets wait for Ternac. He should be back soon."

Then a voice seemed to float over them, saying "Oh, but I am!" The lights seemed to dim, then a blast of colorful lights came out, and when the lights faded, Ternac was there.

Reid winced, rubbing his eyes then saying "Gah. Was that really necessary? I can't see!" Ternac just grinned, saying

"Of course it was. Now. as for my report, as always, nothing is happening, but I warn you. This is not natural. This place is a brooding place, and I can garantee you, something should be happening. This quiet is bad. I warn you, somethings going to happen." Ternac's voice rang out in their heads, at first playful, then serious, as he warned them.

Reid couldn't help but agree, saying "I think your right, this place has a sinister feel. Still, its the perfect place to train. Now, that things seem to be quiet, lets go in." Stretching out, he walked the last bit of the distance into the cave, and looking at the group of people, set his pack down. He then said "Everybody, listen up. We have four tents, and eight people. Each tent can fit two comfortably, and three if need be. Now, its time for everyone to pitch camp, and if your not setting up a tent, you need to be preparing the other things, such as our fire, and gathering wood. Are we clear on this?" Nodding, he said "Now, lets get this going. No slackers, everyone is going to pull their own weight on this trip."

[Furoi]

(OOC: OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. SO. SORRY. But anyway, expect another cycle or two of normal stuff, before the NPCmod shows up.)

"Veni! Stop! I can't take it anymore! GAK!" Shii cried, making more heavy wheezing sounds while he tried to remove the Gallade's strong arm off his neck. Of course, this got him no where, having noodle-ly cloth arms didn't make him the strongest of pokemon. The ghost stopped wriggling as soon he heard people approaching from the forest, Fletcher and those people hang out with him to be exact. Oddly enough, Shii didn't start begging for his teammate to put him down, to be spared from inevitable embarrassment. Instead, he just smirked.

Time to put on a show.

"Veni, dearest teammate, please put me down. I don't think I can make it much longer..." He whispered, looking up at him with a tear in his eye. Veni raised an nearly invisible eyebrow at him, not buying this crap, and tightened his grip. Having his archrival on the team in a hemlock felt so good, Veni wondered how he survived as a tiny little Kirlia. Then, oh so theatrical, Shii cried, "Think...think Ven...of...GAK...the...the children. How...disappointed...they'll be...if I'm gone. HACK"

The Gallade scoffed. "You'll have to do better than that to-"

And then the ghost went limp.

Veni blinked, glancing down at his teammate. He was joking, right? But...but what if he wasn't? Maybe Furoi was right, maybe he was not as used to this stronger body like he thought he was. Did he crush Shii's wind pipe on accident? Veni's eyes widened, grabbing the ghost with both hands holding him out in front of him. With a rather loud, dramatic voice, he prayed "Oh Arceus, Oh Dialga, Oh Palkia. Please spare him! I'll do anything!" He was dumfounded. Shii was dead, and his cold body was resting in his sinful hands.

Furoi gritted her teeth while she watched both of her pokemon act like idiots. She was smart enough to know that Shii was, well, immune to strangling--but it would do the world some good if he was-- but she was a little surprised that Veni forgot about that. Oh well, he would remember soon enough, hopefully before Shii gets the brilliant idea to light him on fire. Again. Thank Arceus she had won plenty of burn heals at the casino.

Veni gasped when he saw Fletcher and Lou coming closer and closer. What would other pokemon say when they found out that he committed the cardinal sin among trained pokemon: Killing a teammate? Sure, it was technically a homicide, but that still didn't get you very far in a trial, at least, not from the cases he's been reading about. He'd be exiled, shunned, sent to spend years in a dark dingy cell with pokemon of low moral fiber, or maybe be put down by a Nurse Joy. Out of a small panic the psychic started shaking the ghost, making his huge head bob back and forth. "Wakeupwakeupwakeup OH HEAVENS wake up!"

... it was a smart move at the time.

But it was too late. The breloom and dusclops were here, and if Veni wasn't in a panic, he would of commented on that ghost's smashing top hat. Instead, he looked at the two of them with a grim expression plastered on his face. He looked down to the two of them and whimpered, "Shii...he...he..."

"Is a badass muthafucka!" Shii cackled, whipping up shadow ball in his free hand, smashing it right into the psychic type's face. Ven hit the ground- hard- and stayed in a daze for the moment, while the ghost was now free of his grip and now beaming at his successful trick. "Boom. Headshot." He shaped his smoking hand into a pistol and blew it off cowboy style. He focused his attention to Fletcher and the pokemon with him, still grinning as wide he possibly could. Finally, someone he was happy to see. "'Sup Fletch. The idiot over there is Veni or Ven... or Dumbass. It's your call."

Veni raised an arm. "Please call me the first one. I have dignity, unlike you horrible pranksters."

Shii ignored him, obviously. "So who's this guy? Is he awesome like us?" A devilish smirk lined his face, as one of his hands spawned a ball of blue fire. "Or can I mess with him?"

...

"Hey Atticus," Furoi said smiling at Atticus as he approached, her attention switching back to us normal humans. Well, mostly normal, because Atticus definitely held the record for the coolest handstand she's ever seen. "I hope we're early, it would kind of suck if they left us. Not that they would, but it sounds like there might be some nasty stuff in the caves..." she smirked, "Not like we couldn't handle it." She shivered a little when Atticus mentioned the cold, reminding her how freezing she was. "Yeah it is kind of cold." Furoi, thinking that the cave would be a little warmer since it was summer, decided to wear a thin white tee-shirt with a loose vest, and cargo pants. Right now, it felt like the middle of winter, thanks to the ghosts no doubt.”Hnn, ghosts...”

“Yeah, beat up anything wild or strange...” her voice grew a little distant. She wondered if she was truly prepared to fight whatever lurked in the caves. That thought made Furoi grip her flashlight even harder, making her knuckles turn white. Even though she had brought her whole team with her, Shii was the only one who could fight his own type. He was her strongest member, sure, but he also had as many mood swings as a teenage girl. Most of the time, especially when Cody was around, he would just find a corner nearby to sulk in, or plan Cody's death. It was kind of hard to tell.

Furoi leaned against the stone wall attached to the entrance, watching the forest for signs of rangers. She noticed Gennie first, it was hard not to. Furoi was speechless as she the girl run straight towards Atticus, nearly tackling the guy into a hug. ”Ah, well, there's nothing wrong with being energetic.” Furoi thought, falling into a soft smile as she watched the girl grin up to Atticus. “Oh, um, Hi Gennie,” Furoi said after Gennie introduced herself, “My name's Furoi. Nice to meet yah.”

She slumped back against her leaning place, shifting her attention to the other rangers that showed up. Gregory and his sister Skie. She had met the Beast Rangler once in Lesterfield a while back, and got to be around him long enough to realize that the guy wasn't one of those creeps that spent most of their time shopping at Hot Topic or listen to that oh so tasteful death metal, but, aside from that, she didn't really know the guy. As for Skie, although Furoi had never met the girl, she did hear a lot about her from Cody. Needless to say, Skie sounded like a pretty awesome person.

To Gregory's short greeting she nodded, though remained kind of quiet and vacant. She was starting to get anxious to see Cody especially with all these people showing up. What if he got lost and couldn't make it time, or didn't show up at all? They were childish worries because obviously he could handle himself- why else would he be on the field while she was stuck watching pokemon procreate. But still, she couldn't help it. It didn't help when a member of her own team was wishing for bad things to happen to him, either.

Furoi's face lit up when she saw Cody appear with Blaze. Her whole demeanor looked less intense; her fingers fell into a relaxed grip around the flashlight that she was nearly crushing moments ago. It was obvious that she looked less freaked when he was around, as much as she tried to hide her fears before. Naturally, when his hand found hers, her face had gotten hotter. Normally she hated how her pale skin made her blushes all the more visible, especially with all these people she barely knew around, but she didn't care if people knew about their relationship. It was bound to come out eventually. Her eyes locked on his, flashing a little smile. “Yeah. You're here now.” She glanced at the Crawdaunt in his backpack, listening to speak in their native tongue. That was a language she hadn't heard in a long time. When Cody introduced the pokemon, she smiled and waved at him with her flashlight holding hand. “Hey Vice~”
Furoi glanced at her banette, who was shoving his fist indignantly in front of his face in anger. That was new. “Yeah...” she whispered, “but it's not your fault, I think. He's been like this since...well... I'll tell you later. It's a long story.” She sighed, watching her ghost pokemon shuffle off into the forest.

She tensed when Cody brought up the ghosts again. The thought of them living in the cave that was only a few feet away-- and probably all over the forest too-- was unsettling. It irked her that she was so easily freaked out by them, not wanting to become a burden because a trivial thing like that. Shii just left too, making her even more defenseless. Her nerves eased only a little when Cody whispered into her ear, mouthing a thank you back to him.

Somehow, Shii's zipper like mouth found a way to form into a snarl. Like hell would he let that idiot go up to Furoi to hold hands with that stupid little smile of his. He would love to go over there and rip the two of them apart, and maybe Cody's head off too while he was at it. Oh, and don't think that he didn't here what that Charizard said either. If he were to go over there, he would rip that little Crawdaunt's head off too. Of course he couldn't, at least, not with this many witnesses around. But he'd definitely cause so mayhem to him later. He settled with trying to pull the finger at him when he glanced over there. Oh yes. Now he'll be sorry.

But, apparently, even flipping the guy off didn't work out so well. Veni, now sitting up, pointed this out. “What on earth are you doing?”

“I'm flipping him off, duh. What do you think I'm doing?”

“Shii...” Veni said, putting a hand to his face. “ You need, err, fingers to do that. Right now it looks you're showing off your hand or something.”

“Well, uh, hmm. Who cares. He still knows that I hate him,” Shii huffed, folding his arms. Honestly, he felt worse when he stayed here, not being able to do anything. Maybe he could find a hoothoot to beat up somewhere, that would make him feel a little better.“I'm going to get some firewood or something. Ven, Tell her where I am if she's too busy schmoozing with Cody to notice that I'm gone,” He sighed, disappearing off into the woods.

He didn't even point and laugh when he saw a cubone wearing towels. That's how mad he was.

…

Back in her home town, they didn't let the kids watch Star Wars out of the fear of a bunch of psychic kids imitating the characters, and err, actually force choking someone. That would have been a mess. She didn't get a chance to watch much TV on the road either, leaving the girl completely out of the loop. Furoi blinked at the visor-waring man, very confused. ”Darth Vader? Jedi?... Are they guy in those movies where the guy cracks the whip and uh..finds things? Wait..that doesn't sound right. Maybe that, um, pirate movie or uh...um... okay. I give up. We're buying a TV when we get back, for sure.” Shii was nagging her to get one anyway he was dying to watch shows on comedy central and MTV to get some ideas. (Punk'd anyone?)

She breathed a sigh of relief when Reid showed up, although that relief was short lived. She noticed instantly that the boss had showed up with not only his things, but ALL of the tents. The heavy, bulky tents. Whoops. ”Were...were we supposed to bring those?” she thought, half listening to his orders. Part of her wanted to find Shii, and coax him back to the caves. She needed him, and was a little worried. There were a lot of scary things out there, things that he couldn't handle by himself. She heard the word 'firewood' in the middle of Boss's speech, giving her a chance to do so.

Furoi slipped off her bag, and started walking back into the woods. She turned, saying loud enough for “I'll do the firewood thing. I think one of my guys had already started, anyway. So, uh, be back.” She said, gesturing to Veni to come with her. And before anyone could object, they were off into the woods.

[NPCmod]

(OOC: So, So, SO sorry about this, Dusk. But, for the sake of this thread, I couldn't wait for yah anymore. But, if you wish to hop back in later, you are welcome to. :3 And, no, this isn't a plot point. You'll probably not see these two again any time soon. Hopefully. Cookies to the ones who know which character Carl has a crush on.)


“Caaaaaaarl, I'm bored. Like, seriously,” a Misdrevus whined. She floating around in figure eights, entranced by the addicting rush of flying upside down. But really, that could only entertain the woman for so long. Carl was being extra boring today, sundering around the woods thinking of something violent or crazy to do, even more crazy than normal. However, he was much more fun than all the other ghosts in the North who were much more crazy and way too mopey for the Misdrevus's tastes. “You Sableye are all the same, never speaking unless you have to. I'm a woman you know. I need ATTENTION!”

“Ngh,” The Sableye groaned finding a tree stump to lean on. He rolled his sholders in and out of their sockets, trying to think. It made that gross popping sound that Seer absolutely hated, but somehow, it made Carl focus. The ghost was pretty weird, even for his species, he didn't even like shiny things, for crying out loud. But Carl had come to terms with that fact a long time ago.

What to do, what to do. That was the question. It was always the question, actually. Things got boring here real quickly when the war was over. Humans were too afraid to even come up to this part of the region any more. Carl didn't want to move to the populated area, though, he liked it up here. Peace quiet, and plenty of territory for everyone. Seer was one of the many pokemon that would not appreciate that fact, for she headed to the human place every single time she had the strength.

Dirty, rotten, stupid HUMANS. If I saw one, I'd, I'd well, I'd do something bad. Hehe.

Seer pouted, not making a dent in Carl's concentration. Damn Sableye. She huffed, and floated down to stare right into the ghost's shiny eyes. Her expression went form bored to menacing in a matter of seconds. “And you won't like me when I'm bored and ignored.” Her high pitched was lowered, speaking in a creepy tone.

“Oooh. Rhyming. Scary,” The sableye shot back, his expression was dry and unimpressed. “Well, shoot,” he said, popping his shoulder back into place, “you obviously have something in mind.”

Seer cringed. That shoulder thing was flat out disgusting. She shook her head, trying to ignore what she saw, before having a mischievous glint in her eyes. Yes, yes, she did have an idea. An idea Carl would love too, but she needed to dangle it in front of him first. “Guess what I saw today?” She said, with a smirk, “Someone extra special.”

The sableye's eyes lit up. There was only one thing, a pokemon, that could fit the extra special category.“Y- You don't mean...” he said slowly, grinning wider and wider, “that...that amazing, extraordinary shiny sableye I saw in the war. SWEET ARCEUS, TELL ME WOMAN. WHERE IS HE!” He stood up, hand clinging with Seer's ghostly body.

The Misdrevus rolled her eyes, “No. I did not see your little man-crush. Now let go of me.”

Carl dropped her, disappointment shaking from is very core. “I don't have a man-crush on him...puhleez. It's just...just...” He waved his hands in the air, “I've never seen anything like him, his golden fur and green eyes. And his movements were so strange, but when he got in a fight it was like, WOAH!”

Seer raised an eyebrow at him. Sounded like a man-crush to her.

“If only I could like him, then I could spend my eternal ghostly life in happiness and bliss and...” he trailed off, clasping his hands and tilting his head, as if he were some crush-stricken pubescent human.

“But ANYWAY,” Seer said, interrupting the Sableye's fantasies. “I did see a human, heading for the caves. I bet there will be more because it's rare for people to travel up here alone anymore, y'know?” She giggled, wondering how many victims were there. “We should, like, totally mess with him.”

Carl sighed, slumping back into the trademark sableye hunch, “Fine. Lead the way.”

-x-

The ghostly duo easily found there way to caves, both knowing the terrain oh so well. Lots of humans were there, too many to actually do some real torment. Damn pokemon, getting caught and being so obedient to their human masters, probably even attack them at the sight of their ghostly forms. Carl even sneered at the ghost pokemon, who were hanging out by the caves. Traitors, the lot of them. And both pokemon hated traitors.

But... if eight people had at least two pokemon, that would be sixteen against two. Traitors or not, the ghosts would be creamed. “God damn it, Seer. What are we supposed to do? They're just going to rip us to shreads, you know.”

“Well, uh...”Seer sighed, scanning the ground. Her eyes stopped on a rock, large enough to fit in a human's hand, heavy enough to cause real damage if thrown by a pokemon. Too bad she didn't have arms or...

But wait, Carl did. And Carl hated humans.

“Hey, throw that rock over there at one of them!” She giggled, “If you kill one of them, I'll give you a cookie. Full of diamonds.”

The Sableye folded his arms, pondering for a moment.”Fine. But we run immediately after it hits. We'll find out if it's dead later.” He scrambled over, picking up the delicious looking rock. He was no geologist, but it looked like it came off the cave walls a while ago, for they were the same color. Ah well, as long it was hard. “Now, would you start the countdown, Mrs. Seer?”

“Miss Seer to you, Mister. But, like yeah, of course. Here's three~”

He winded up eyes narrowing as he focused on his target. For some reason, he decided to hit the male with the long-ish hair (but he was a pokemon, how could he judge).

“And here's two~”

Carl summoned up his dark and ghostly powers, strengthening his wind up even more.

“And ooooooooone!”

The sableye shot the rock out of his hand, moving towards Atticus's head with a powerful, yet non-lethal force, and (yes I know this is god modding, but for sake of the thread) knocking the man unconscious.

“Shit!” Carl rumbled, knowing that the throw didn't kill his target. “Hurry, let's get the fuck out of here!”

And off they went, deep into the difficult to navigate woods.

“CAAAAAARL!”

“What now?”

“I'm booooored agaiiiiiiin!”

[gennie]

The female ranger removed herself from Atticus’ side, yet her bright full eyes remained upon his figure. She held no vestiges of being embarrassed; however her cheeks were immediately lined with a bright pink tint as she felt Boo’s delicate form glide down her back and through the crack between her right arm and hip—the ghost pokemon emerged with large, slit eyes locked with the other male ranger who had approached them only seconds ago. Gennie cringed, her skin cold from her Ghastly’s presence. Why did that pokemon always have to do that? Why couldn’t it be normal and just float around her body instead of floating through? The ranger never complained no matter how hard the delicate caress put her on edge. Gennie knew one thing though, whenever Boo did warp through her, it was for a reason—and not a reason like, oh she spotted another Ghastly that seemed interesting but more among the lines of something worth Gennie’s attention too.

The breeder flexed her fists twice before she straightened her posture and peered over her shoulder at the man who was pushed before them. Then that was it. After she spotted the man’s looming, dark figure, the girl’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as her hands clasped at her mouth (possibly keeping her from squealing). This wasn’t a fan girl’s move—trust her—this was more like, oh man a creepy man just appeared behind her looming in the dark with the full moon as its background! Possibly wielding a butcher knife drenched with the crimson liquid that belonged to his ranger victims!

Gennie grew stark white, her Ghastly tumbling through the air around the man. “Gregory… Gregory…” It called as Boo tumbled to Gennie, rolling right through her and appearing at her shoulder once more. “Gennie is tense…” The ghost’s yellow orbs averted to Gregory. “Is this man… a bother..?”

Gennie closed her eyes and allowed her breath to regain itself in her lungs. Even though she had Atticus and Furoi with her, the sudden appearance still scared her—how was she going to survive this trip if that was the key thing? Sudden surprises. The girl’s unusually timid eyes wandered for Gregory’s own hues before she panted, a weak smile pressed on her lips, “G-Gregory! I-I’m so glad you made it.” Her voice sounded distant…

And then in one shot, guilt filled Gennie’s gut as a few awkward seconds rolled by between the rangers. She was so happy to see Atticus—a man she had only met a few weeks ago—and when Gregory came around – the man she pretty much talked about all the time—she freaks out like a ditz in a horror film. The breeder swallowed her fear and her signature grin plastered across her face. “Gregory!~” She cried out once more—she probably looked a bit weird there, but who cared. The girl ranger then stepped forward and stretched her arms out, ready to do the same to Greg that she had done for Atticus before she paused, caught mid-hug her arms only inches from Gregory.

Should she hug him? Would that make it awkward between them? Would he take it the wrong way? What if she smelt bad? Gennie quickly lowered her arms by her side before she giggled once up at Gregory, her facial features taking a clumsy smile. She never thought so hard into one hug it sort of made her head ache, but she was glad she did anyways. Gennie was hoping Gregory would want to camp with her, but then again, what if that was weird? They had just met and Gennie wanted them to sleep in the same tent for the trip? Maybe she should let him offer…
What if he didn’t offer?

The teenager shook her head, her hand ascended as she rubbed her forehead. She really did not want to screw this up for them—for her, she meant. Well the best thing to do was to act normal and like yourself in these screwy situations. Gennie sighed, her eyes fluttered open only to peer into bright yellow orbs, a white grin taunting her mind. “Genevieve is… nervous… About what?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gennie grinned, as her elbow slightly nudged Gregory’s rib. The girl twirled and pressed her hand against his shoulder as she leaned in, “Ghost pokemon are scary, what do you think?”

“Boo heard that…” The Ghastly chuckled and tumbled, “Boo enjoys… Gennie’s compliments….”

Compliments? The girl smiled confusingly.

Gennie sighed as her ears picked up the authoritative voice of Reid. The girl picked only a few words she liked most out of his lecture, which consisted of tents and two to a tent. That was her chance; maybe she could offer it then and there? Maybe slip it in all nonchalantly like she saw those risqué ladies do on those movies she rented before the trip? Gennie then bit her lip—she was no match to those kinds of girls, what if her ‘risqué’ approach didn’t have the similar affect?

What was going on with her? Why was she second guessing herself so much? Her eyes desperately wondered for something soothing and as her gaze dropped upon Atticus, a smile widened upon her lips. There! She could ask them both, she knew guys liked to hang out with each other maybe then it wouldn’t be as awkward between her and Gregory. Not only that, Gennie did like Atticus, he was sweet… And it would be nice to get to know him better…

The breeder stepped forward, her eyes dancing on Atticus as she giggled, “Hey! I had the greatest idea how about you and I-” A sudden ‘CLONK’ interrupted her offer as her eyes widened at the collapsing Atticus. Genevieve stepped back, her body pressed against a body behind her as she squealed in shock. What the hell just happened?

Boo chuckled eerily through the night sky, her eyes bright at the rock that bounced from the man’s head. “Hehehe Boo knows where this is from.”

Genevieve’s breaths finally lengthened as the sight became more familiar too her, but when she felt her back heat up due to something pressed against it, her eyes slowly checked over her shoulder. Quickly she pounced forward, her hands clasped behind her back. “I am so sorry Gregory! I shouldn’t have been that close….”

The girl bit her lip, “I was wondering, though, if you wanted to camp with me, you know, in the tent and all, but I’m sure we can find someone else to join us—another guy if you want, I was going to offer Atticus, but … yeah… and so I don’t know what to do, and I don’t want you to feel weird if you don’t want to- and so I’ll shut up.” Gennie giggled madly, clapping her hands. “I don’t want to bother you Gregory, in fact I was wanting to catch up a little seeing how I haven’t seen you in forever,” Gennie grinned, her smile pursed cutely.

The breeder averted her eyes to Furoi, the ranger waved happily, “I’ve heard of you! You must be Furoi right? The other breeder with me~ So glad to finally meet you, how do you like the job?”

Gennie then spun on her heel and clasped her hands at the girl who came with Gregory, “Hello~ My name is Gennie, I’ve seen you around before… but I’m sorry I don’t know your name..?” Gennie gave a clumsy smile.

[Skie Loon]

(( Aww, poor Atticus. xDDD
lol my characters are so weird D|
And this post feels just...just awful to me xDDD But I had the muse, and it came pretty easy, but still. Bley Dx Tell me if I need to fix anything. Like seriously ._.
And...and lol. Sorry Kaine >.>''' Brute's fault not mine. xDD ))


“Fifteen men on a dead man’s che-est, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.” Orange and green wings flapped heavily, keeping the Charizard airborne as he continued circling hiiiigh up above the mouth of the cave where forest met rock creepingly.

Treasure Island; a movie he’d watched via the VCR back in Skie’s room at the base a few days earlier. That…that damn song was in his head. Or something. And he mouthed them out loud without really realizing it, only aware of that blasted tune in his head. “Cutlass swipe and somethin’ about lead, and a big-ass hole in a battered head, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.”

…He was a little bored.


Meanwhile in Camalo—at the mouth of the cave…


Engine snorted, retractable claws on her feet clicking into the rocks as she exited the forest to help keep herself from slipping.
Camping…was definitely something familiar to her. For the first year of her life, she’d been out alone. But…then it wasn’t really ‘camping’. It was more like plain old ‘survival’. Though when Skie had found her, then came the campfires and the horribly constructed tents, and the flaming marshmallows and…

The Juraptix paused.
At first she saw this is as a bit of a chore. She’d have to keep her trainer, and the smaller Pokemon safe, because part of her knew that Brute would probably be too distracted keeping a wing between Skie and Kaine. But the wave of pleasant memories quelled that ‘chore’ thought, and she hummed a low, pleased noise in her throat, the feathers on the back of her head and neck ruffling for a second.

Baxter, was mixed on this, however. His feelings on the trip were hazed.
Half of the little Statilee was so excited it wasn’t even funny.
The other half was just beginning to realize that ghosts were scary as hell, and he was already pretty afraid of the dark.
This caused for some dilemmas in his desire to. Uh. Go into that cave just up ahead. Similar to Fillet’s own feelings. The Corphish only wanted to come to prove to a certain purple Nidoran that he was not “A big, stupid chickenface” as Monty has put it so poetically.

And little Truffle the Poliwag was just freaking ecstatic.

Like Skie. And Gregory for the most part.

But Gregory was becoming a little…well.
Upset, at the moment.

The reaction he’d received from Gennie upon his arrival (thanks to Skie and her pushing), wasn’t what he’d been...hoping for. A smile, yeah, that cheerful one he’d always see on her, and…and maybe one of those hugs he’d seen her give Atticus (without really realizing it his eyes flickered to the other man, flashing a little more envy just below the surface).

But she’d seemed afraid of him for a second.

And it made him blink before he took the tiniest step back. And Amelia stared, wincing for him because he sure as hell hadn’t; not on the outside anyway.
And the Delcatty stared up at the Ghastly, curious, as it spoke. She was tempted to go all ‘cat’ for a second and bat at it, see what the ghastly felt like (curse it, why did they have to look like little purple balls?) but she held back the urge. She was a well trained kitty after all.

“Sorry. I hope…I’m not a bother,” he answered for Boo’s question, voice rough and almost hesitant.

“Nice, Genie. Go and scare people jeez.” Skie rolled her eyes.

Gregory ignored her, though, waiting for it…waiting for it—ah ha! There it was! He almost smiled when she said his name again, that grin on her face, and raised her arms up to hu—…wait. What was she doing?

He blinked again.
Because she’d dropped her arms.

Without hugging him.





What.

And while his mind was buzzing with little, whiney, sad questions, Skie became a bit preoccupied after patting her brother on the back (poor guy).

“Hey, Blaze!” Skie grinned at the Charizard cheerfully, waving a hand back. “Hola Cody,” she smirked, watching him slip right on over to Furoi’s side. She’d never really met the girl face-to-face yet, but hell, if Cody liked her (Rocket liked to fill her in sometimes as to just how much), she had to be cool.
And part of her wanted to coo and tease her friend in his cute little fluffy moment, but she held back, mostly because the center of all of her fluff-related attention stepped out of the woods.

“Kaine! Hey!” she grinned, eyes flashing a happy blue when he showed up. Jeez, it was good to see him. She’d been a little worried.
Not that…well. Not that she thought he couldn’t take care of himself or anything. But still. She’d missed him, that was for certain.

And really. She couldn’t help but laugh out loud at what he said.

“I…pff…I always did wanna meet Vader,” Skie snorted, eyeing the treeline for the alleged Sith and Jedi to appear. And when they did. Oh ho.

Amelia actually purred a little.
That was adorable.

“Tomb. Tomb, you are totally the best Vader I’ve ever seen. I swear. Just…my God.” She grinned, even after the Cubone had hidden her ‘light saber’ away under the dark towels when she noticed everyone.

Baxter blinked, staring at the two his-sized Pokemon from behind Skie’s leg, a little clawed paw gripping her jeans lightly. “Skie what are they doing.”

“Playin’ Star Wars, bud.”

“…What is that.”

“…” Skie made a mental note to sit down with him and have their own marathon. Poor little guy didn’t know what he was missing. “I’ll fill you in later,” she told him, giving him a smile, and he nodded.

The girl crouched down when Edgeworth offered her the flashlight, resting her elbows on her knees as he held it up for her.
“For you of course.” he’d said.
MuhGawd.
She didn’t bother looking up at Kaine—she’d give it to him later or something anyway—instead taking the flashlight before practically yanking the little Sandshrew into a hug (he got a lot of those, didn’t he). She actually stood, still holding onto him. “Kaine, I’m stealing Edge,” she hummed, holding the little ground Pokemon close. “And you’re not getting him back,”

“Maybe now since..since you got another flashlight I don’t hafta…hafta charge batteries if they go out ‘cause you have two now.” Baxter, a bit jealous of all of this attention (that wasn’t aimed at his cute little self), proceeded to climb his way up his trainer’s back like some sort of newborn kitten with its new little claws. Skie didn’t complain, but she huffed when those claws dug into her back before he draped himself with a tired sigh over on of her shoulders. “Phoo. You’re tall.”

“Hayoucalledmetall,” she grinned. “An’ hi Mae,” she waved the flashlight at the Horsea, arms (and shoulder) otherwise full.


And meanwhile (apart from Engine being certain she heard voices from off in the woods, and Brute still growling out that song) Gregory was. Still. Upset.
The big, hug deprived baby.

But, lucky for him, his attention was averted for a moment when Reece showed up. “Sir,” he rumbled. “That’s…a lot for one man to carry. I can call out my Torterra if you want help with all those,” he offered, eyeing the tents (and all that other stuff he had with him) strapped to their leader’s back. “That goes for everyone,” he spoke up. “If anyone needs a break from carrying anything I can call him out when the cave is wide enough.” Always the softie, wasn’t he?

“Oooh,” Skie blinked. “Can—“

“That doesn’t mean,” Gregory continued, giving his sister a side glance. “That I’ll give anyone a break from the get-go. Work for it.”

“Aw!” She breathed out a sigh and lowered her chin onto the top of Edgeworth’s head with a huff. “An’ hi Reid.” Gathering wood hm? Mmkay. She’d call Brute down here in a second to help out with that. But about what Reid said..
… “Hey Kaine—“

“SKIE CALLS KAINE.” Baxter announced, scrambling up onto her shoulders so he had one foot on each and his front paws on her head, staring around at the small group. “SHE HAS DIBS. SO NO ASKING. KNOCK ON WOOD. Or I’ll bite you!” He clicked his teeth, but quickly hunkered down again, that shy streak coming back again and quieting him.

“…Yeah what he said. I guess.” She cleared her throat, finally placing Edgeworth back on the ground before laughing, a little embarrassed at her loud little electric dragon’s claim-call. Jeeeeez.

“Wow, Skie.” Gregory rolled his eyes before he shifted again; Gennie was talking (lol).
Andohgreatwhat. No way. Okay, uh. He should try and stop this right? Genie and Atticus in one te—

THUNK – Thmp



…

“Uh. Atticus? Dude!” Skie bent down next to him, poking and prodding along with checking to make sure he was still alive. “Man he’s out. What the hell was that—“

“Go and see who threw that,” Gregory growled, waving an arm towards the trees, and a second later Amelia darted off, disappearing. He trusted her enough to handle herself. Against whatever it was. Hell, if they were throwing rocks they couldn’t be much of a threat. Not really. “He’s alright though?”

“Well, yeah. Breathing and all. He’s. Um. …Bax, did you pack me that marker—” She shut up when she heard Engine growl. Good God, the man had just been struck unconscious with a rock and Skie wanted to scribble a mustache on his face!
…Couldn’t blame her though. He was okay, ‘cept for that bump that was sure to be there, and besides. She owed him for that clown thimg. Hmph.

Greg sighed, shaking his head. “Guess I’ll be calling Tank out to carry him anyway. Unless someone else has an idea. I doubt anyone’d want to add a person onto their backpacks though.” He shrugged, wondering how to work around all this.
Silly though, because again his attention was pulled (jeez, why was she so good at doing that) to Gennie again when she addressed him. And it was maybe a bit funny, because he found himself smirking while she went on. Once her rushed offer was done his smile slipped away and he crossed his arms. “Sure.” He said simply.

“You guys should bring Atticus in that tent with you,” came Skie’s voice. “Needs someone to look after him and all. And if he starts going all crazy or something with amnesia, Greg, you can sit on him or something to hold him still. And—“ she blinked, staring at that look he was giving her.

Not angry, exactly.

More like a horrified question that he couldn’t manage to say aloud, but could clearly say it anyway.

Why?

“…Uuuh, BRUTE. GET DOWN HERE.” Skie called, wanting a distraction to keep herself from feeling guilty. Well jeez, she shoulda thought that through a bit more. She’dve been pissed if someone decided Atticus should bunk with her without asking, really. But…uh. Yeah. Less guilt, more calling Brute down out of his grouchy circles.
At the same time, while Skie was calling Brute down (firewood tiiime), Amelia came back out of the woods. She stared at Gregory for a second, wondering what was wrong, before shaking her head. “Nothing. Sorry. Probably ghosts. But yes—couldn’t find them.”

“Hm.” For some reason Gregory didn’t feel too bad about that.




“Hmmnmnmmm.” Brute blew out a puff of smoke, glaring at empty sky with half-lidded eyes. Gah. What did she want? Couldn't he fly around wishing the camping trip would get canceled in peace?

Though when he did look down he blinked, worry flashing through him for a second. One of those guys was floored. But when Skie called him she didn’t sound panicked or anything. He was probably fine. …Pf. Probably saw a ghost and fainted. Ha. That was pretty funny.
He actually laughed, shaking his head as he started descending his slow circles. Pft. He’d make fun of someone when they woke up, he knew that. And—

Oh ho ho.

Look at that. White hair. Like the perfect target gleaming up at him from the dark rock ground near the front of the cave.
…It was pretty tempting. And hell, since when did he hold back any form of spite when it came to McAllister?

So with a nasty, wet, slurping noise, the brat of a Charizard gathered a good amount of spit in his jaws, aimed, and, well, fired. Hopefully, it’d land right on that arrogant, cocky white head of his.
But pff. He was still pretty high up. And Brute had been known for being pretty lousy with his aim anyway.

[||Cody R||]

{{I feel like this post is really bad, but I had the muse and was excited to just be back. Sooo yah. Here ya go, let the crappyness begin! Gotta love Casper the friendly ghost/Dia. xD}}

---

Casper the friendly Dia watched from a tree branch in the distance as a rather large Charizard circled the mouth of the cave he had been yearning to enter, but was prohibited from doing so by his trainer Cody. His breaths came and went as his lungs screamed out in annoyance; trying to keep up with Overweight-Blaze had been harder than he expected. For someone who ate Twinkie's and Devil Dogs for breakfast, along with many other delicious treats, the thing could soar—and fast, too. It wasn't all too logical to Casper, though his mind wouldn't dwell on just what laws of Physics would explain how something so fat could fly circles around him—maybe kicking up a dust funnel in the process. He had other things to think about: such as how he would persuade Cody into letting him venture inside with him; how he would convince Skie to get her great beast to bring back a portable DVD player with a Lazytown disc inside; and how he would finally tell Kera how he thought she was wonderful…

Casper had a crush: a strange one given his weaknesses as well as species different, but a crush nonetheless. Once their trainers had brought them back to Furoi's breeding center, turned on the TV and put NickJr on for the two, Casper was smitten. It was ironic, also, since Cody and Furoi had also connected that day, which would have explained why as soon as the two—both sick at the time—entered, they shut up. Strange connections had formed that day, strange connections indeed. After all, it isn't everyday you find a bird-type even willing enough to be around an electric-type, and to find a Dia—or any bird in general—who was actually infatuated by a Mareep—or an electric type—well, that was rare. And in actuality, it was very rare. Still, Casper held true to his feelings, even if they were clear signs of young, puppy love. Chances are he'd forget about it eventually; the key word being "eventually."

The thought that none of this would ever happen—him talking to Kera—arose in the pit of his stomach as he glanced back down at the expanding group below him if he didn't do something…and quick. It wasn't like Cody had even invited him on the camping trip either. He'd told Casper that it was for "big" Pokemon only, which meant everyone but him was allowed to go. Crockett, who was the newest addition to the team, was even going. It was mediocrity or—or something, at least it was to him. Casper knew that his opinion didn't matter, unfortunately, for he was still a "baby." No one would ever listen to someone as inexperienced as himself, even if it wasn't his fault. Training was sparse when on a team filled with heavy hitters and higher leveled Pokemon—and when it came to Casper, who couldn't fight much as it is, the training was even lesser. Sure it wasn't fair…what could he do?

Dropping from the tree branch and flapping his wings in suit Casper descended slowly towards the ground, only to hide behind a bush, which, from behind, he could see everything from. From Vice's rapid twig pinching, to Blaze's butt scratching—it was clear. However, just how he was going to sneak into the group without alarming his trainer, he hadn't a clue. Maybe he'd ask Shii…that would help. The little bird marched off in Shii's direction, just missing his little display and folded his feathered wings at his sides. He hadn't really spoken to Shii much before, just a few comments here and there about how Casper believed himself to be invisible…when in reality he wasn't. Most of the time Shii probably ignored him, though Casper wouldn't believe it to be true.

"I need help…"

----

He was too close. Too, too, close—a little too close for his liking.

While not one for jealousy Cody knew that Atticus and Furoi had known each other longer than he had known her, which slightly threatened his position—even though that wasn't the case. And Atticus, who was currently preoccupied with a hyper Gennie, was still too close to Furoi. A few inches closer to Furoi and the guy could easily brush his fingers against hers. But again…Cody was not one for jealousy. Instead, he focused his attention on what was about to happen and the like: scary ghosts; haunted caves; co-ed tents; campfire stories; co-ed tents; eating s'mores till someone finally throws up; …co-ed tents. A glimmer in Cody's eyes that wasn't there before had formed, as well as an uncanny thought of what Vice had been saying to Blaze earlier.

He wasn't thinking about the physical, so much as simply sharing a tent with Furoi. It couldn't be so bad…right? He shrugged and glanced back down at the girl, then flashed a smile in Atticus' direction. He'd be a good boy—no, a good man and push his slightly vulnerable manhood aside for now, as well as for Furoi. And if Atticus was a friend of hers—well, then…Cody had a lot of manning up to do. Not that that wouldn't be hard, seeing as something else had already caught his attention and shifted it away from his bruised pride: the scarlet rising on Furoi's cheeks. Upon seeing the light flush Cody's cheeks blazed and he dropped her hand. Everyone around them…they would see that they were definitely a couple, and he wasn’t exactly sure if either of them was ready to go public. Then again, Skie and Kaine…they don't mind.

Cody chuckled, glanced over to Skie, and thought, "Heh. Heh. Heh. Don't think I haven't seen you two sneaking into broom closets or heard what goes on inside. Don’t think I miss the make-out sessions in corners…I see everything." Of course Skie wouldn’t ever be enlightened on what Cody happened to be thinking about; it was only a sort of preference for him—for him and Furoi. A couple. Hm. He had to get used to that again, it had been a while since his last relationship, and it was refreshing.

"Hey…uh…Atticus, right? I'm—er—Cody. Nice to, uhm, meet you," he finally muttered, his jaw clenched in the slightest bit; no one would realize the sudden tension of his jaw, however, for he replaced the forming grimace with an ever-so-cheesy, yet, signature smile of his. It worked wonders, his smile did—even in the most awkward situations, such as the one he was currently in. "I'm guessing you’re a friend of Furoi's, and so am I…" The man glanced over to Furoi out of the corner of his eye, smirked to himself, and held out his hand in front of Atticus. A handshake, a simple handshake…guys still did that, right?

Vice appeared at Cody's side when Furoi waved, his claws opening and closing rapidly: a clear sign of excitement for the male water-type. For a moment Cody's mouth opened, as if to speak, but Pokemon language came out, of course, not from him. Vice was speaking, not that anyone would understand, but was speaking nevertheless. <Oh mannn. She's so going to be my queen when I rule the world; fuck the female Corphish courtesans—I want Furoi! Yeah cutie, wave to me. See how Cody likes that. Yeah Cody, up yours!> From behind the Crawdaunt Blaze stood, snorting in entertainment.

"What'd he say?" Cody wondered, although he knew it was bound to be anything but good. The last thing his Pokemon had said was along the lines of intercourse, he knew that it was most likely the same thing now—maybe just a little more, or less graphic.

"Oh nothing. He just has a crush on Furoi…no biggie," Blaze replied before walking off towards Skie's newer Pokemon, Baxter and plopping down beside him. "And thinks he's going to eventually rule the world and have female courtesans and Furoi as his queen, but again—no biggie," he finished in a softer tone, barely audible to anyone's ears except his own and the Crawdaunt. Amused Blaze was, frightened—that too. Vice was always a little off-kilter, his newest comment only justified it all the more dramatically. Luckily no one beside Pokemon could understand him, for that wasn't even half of the smut and evil that left his mouth—

"Is he giving me the finger?" Cody asked after taking one look at the Banette holding his fist in front of his face and shaking it indignantly. "You better tell me why he hates me, I don't think I'll live past today if you don't…" he told Furoi jokingly, only to see Kaine appear who was muttering something about his Pokemon watching a movie…or something of that sort.

Of course, when he saw the little Cubone and Sandshrew appear in uniform that emanated that of Star Wars characters, a smile lined his tensed lips. His younger team members hadn't seen Star Wars, though he knew if they did, Casper and Crockett's nerdy sides would surface and they would probably do the same. Unfortunately for Crockett and Casper, Rocket and Blaze would most likely put them in their places by torching/electrocuting their asses—again, most likely. The consequences of making a mockery out of one of their favorite bunch of movies would be more drastic…way more drastic.

"Hey Kaine, I kept Skie sane for you…err, sorta. If you count antagonizing people in elevators and having your Charizards basically break down walls keeping her level headed, then yea, I did a good job," Cody teased, messing up Skie's hair. "Oh and I'm still taller…shortie," he added, smirking down at Skie. She was short—well, shorter than him.

Orders sounded from in the distance, although they completely slipped Cody's mind. All he'd manage to take in was the sight of the tents he had brought. Was he supposed to bring one of his own? Was he going to have to sleep on the floor now? Was he going to have to share with someone? And could he share with Furoi? He'd only been guessing when he'd thought of co-ed tents, now they really did have to share. A new sense of uneasiness rested in Cody's stomach as he mulled over numerous questions in his head. He could always sleep with another guy—

"Oh ho. No way am I sleeping with a guy…nu-uh, you have the wrong guy!"

Searching for firewood sounded great right about now.

Really, really great.

So great, yet not great enough because Cody spilled a question out of his mouth that he thought sat on the backburner of his mind in regards to sleeping in Furoi's tent: "Want to sleep with me? I mean—er, not that. I meant want to sleep…in the same tent…as me? If it's awkward I won't push you, but…yeah. You want to? I could always have Blaze stay in the tent with us…'cause I'm a guy—and you're, well…you're a girl. Hmpf. I'll shut up now."

Cody was so flustered that, by the time Atticus hit the ground unconscious, he was already thinking of ways to take back the stupid that had fell from his mouth—"Wait. Atticus…man, no sleeping. We're on a mission; you can sleep later, but not now. Okay? So wake up…" No response.

"He is clearly unconscious and will be out for a while," Cody stated stupidly, basically repeating what Skie had already told everyone. "Well, Greg, guess you'll be babysitting. Tally-ho wood searching we go! C'mere Blaze!"

Blaze growled from deep within his chest, lumbered away from where he stood behind Skie and walked up to his trainer. "How about you stay behind and help set up tents? You're good at that stuff, aren't you? I'll…hm." Blaze smirked to himself and slipped over to Furoi's side just as she said she'd collect wood herself. "Can I come with you, Furoi? You might need another type that could take out ghosts if they happen to be in the woods as well, so why not me?"

Cody shrugged. "He's right. We could get camp ready while you and Blaze look for our heat for tonight. And about the ghost thing, he's right again…" he answered, before moving over to Reid's side. "Anyone else want to help?"

[Kaine McAllister]

(Aw. Now Kaine is all not-Kaine-ish. o^o -hugs her Kaine plushie- Lol he used to be having fun. xDDD -sigh- |: Nice job, Brute you made him mad omg. xD -wants to smack a certain fat orange dragon upside the head- .... I hope he comes out of the pet he's in soon. I liked it when he was having fun. xD Lol. Not angry. D:....Theonlygoodthingthatcameoutofthatwasthathemadehimtakehisshirtoffbutstill. >-> And lolmypostsuxsobad. xDDD )

The dying sunlight glinted off the surface of his silver visor as he ducked his head, unable to resist the smallest smile. It was impossible not to feel a sense of reunion as all the Rangers and their partners gathered around the mouth of the cave, introduced one another or caught up with old friends. There were still a few names that even he didn’t quite know yet, and a few faces he could only barely recognize as someone he spotted at some point in the base. But even so, he didn’t feel awkward or out of place. Everything appeared to run smoothly for an operation so loosely detailed, and for a minute he stopped worrying about the finer points of the “mission” that he’d been running on repeat in his mind since he left. Every toss of the coin involved a risk, and yet he didn’t feel the consequences weighing on him yet. This trip did not have to be just about the job, now did it?

No, it didn’t.

The grip around his green satchel bag slackened quite a bit as he lifted his gaze again. Skie had her arms wrapped around Edgeworth and the little Sandshrew was doing his best to nuzzle up into the hug and get the attention he wanted. “As far as he’s concerned, seems like you can have him,” the man said, finally reaching around to the pocket that Misty Mae was ready to fall out of from wanting to get out. Though only a small Horsea, she was the most psyched for the training opportunity and the daunting tasks ahead. Kaine didn’t mind working with the younger Pokemon, especially because he already had Edgeworth and Tombstone to handle, so one more “kid” wouldn’t hurt him much. After all, there were the two veterans as backup, though he hoped he wouldn’t need either. Regardless, there wasn’t a single member on his team that didn’t need the experience. It was just a sad fact that the stalemate-like stance with Pravus thus far had made them all rusty in battle.

But then again – with Mewtwo gone, he couldn’t exactly call this a stalemate anymore. Pravus would be on them soon enough. This trip was maybe one of the last times they would get training without actually being forced to defend themselves.

He growled a bit at the notion, but helped Misty Mae out of the pouch she tried to climb out of. He held her loosely in the crook of his arm, her bright red eyes moving from one new Pokemon to the next in earnest. “I could take him. I want to fight him, can I fight him? Please? Oh, how about that one? Can I? Can I?” He felt her squirm against his chest a little more as she spotted another Pokemon (usually those that were much, much larger than herself). But when he didn’t let her go and tossed his satchel bag to the ground, rolling his shoulder, she knew the answer was a subtle “no”. She couldn’t exactly wriggle out of his arms anyway, even if he was being very gentle. She sighed softly, a little depressed. It wasn’t fair that she kept being treated like she was too small to handle anyone else.

But she found herself glancing up and staring at him as he lowered her voice to explain. ”Don’t worry, Mae. You’ll get a shot at something soon enough. But we can’t go fighting teammates, you know?” Kaine’s dark brown eyes flashed below his visor, and he smiled gently, hoping it would be enough to coax her into a relaxed state of mind for a little while. He hated to see any of his Pokemon disappointed – he was such a softie- but every one of them, especially his younger partners, needed to learn a little patience. “Besides,” he whispered. “Not like I need to see you beat them to believe you could. Just wait a bit, I’m sure something will come up.”

Something usually always does, he thought, winning Mae over while keeping some of his deeper concerns to himself. All of which, that seemed to return and root themselves in his mind as their leader joined them at the site. Automatically, he became a little tense and gave Reid his full attention, though the weight of all those worries seemed slightly heavier with the boss around. He had been kind of hoping that, for once, he could stop feeling like he needed to play the part of veteran-watch-dog. He knew many of the Rangers could take care of themselves, and they proved it on multiple occasions. But as he reached up with his free arm and felt some of the tension knotted in his shoulders and neck, he knew he couldn’t help his concern.

These people were friends. The years had taken plenty from him, especially in the midst of missions. Having Reid with them made it all the worse, maybe, because of the job expectations and the seriousness that suddenly infected the scene. It reminded him that it couldn’t all be fun and games, and he frowned a bit as he thought of that, ignoring anyone else temporarily. Sometimes he really envied how naïve Tombstone, Edgeworth and even Mae were on these matters. They were too young to understand why he suddenly felt so distant for a few seconds while he considered the options Reid gave the crew.

“Crystal clear, boss,” he grumbled, blinking at the agitation in his own voice. The words were too low for anyone to hear other than maybe one or two people standing close to him, but judging from the rigid manner in which he stood..it was also transparently clear that he was not exactly pleased. Something was bothering him, and he almost missed it when Skie addressed him. Thank God for Baxter, though, whose sudden outburst shocked him out of a few morbid thoughts. His hand fell away from his neck, ignoring the troubles fixing their frustration there.

But while he kept silent, and blinked at the suggestion, only barely surfacing from his thoughts, though Mae felt obliged to speak her mind. And damn if she wasn’t as loud as Baxter was.

“KAINE WAS GONNA ASK HER ANYWAY AND I CAN YELL LOUDER THAN YOU CAN SO THERE.” She paused and leaned back against Kaine’s chest, looking quite proud with herself and her loudmouth. Cute, but then again. It was a bad habit he’d have to deal with soon enough, but at least for now it –surprisingly- helped him ease his nerves a bit. Seriously though. Like Skie even had to ask or call dibs. He knew the rules for missions, and though things might have been a little different if it was just the two of them together, sharing the same tent with her was a great big duh anyways. It would piss off Brute, sure, but he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep otherwise, and he wouldn’t try anything while they were out here. Not with this many people around, though even more important, not with a mission like this hanging over all their heads. Focus was important.

Though easing up a little couldn’t hurt, and keeping close to her wouldn’t do any harm. He’d probably need it, if for anything else than just the comfort of having her near. Still he glanced down at Mae, unable to resist a smirk. “Gee, I sure do have a loud mouth.”

“Yeah, you do,” Mae said, staring up at him. She was still a happy little camper, even with that accusing look he gave her. Finally, still laughing under his breath, he glanced up in time to find Cody, one of the Rangers he’d heard so much about from Skie and spotted around the base quite a few times. Regretfully, he never actually found the time to have a conversation with the guy, but it was hard not to smirk at what he said. “Oh? Elevators, huh?” Oh boy did Kaine and Skie have a history with those. “Figures.” And then, very seriously he added, “Skie, you have a very unhealthy obsession with those things.” Ha, like it wasn’t his fault. After all, hadn’t he been the one that on multiple occasions been banned from using those things, especially when Skie was doing the same.

Chyeah. But still, he didn’t mind Cody, and he certainly wasn’t jealous of the time that Skie sometimes spent with him. Kaine spoke to Skie often enough to know when things were troubling her, and at times when he was gone and she needed a friend to help her relax…well to be honest, he appreciated the fact that Cody had been there. Though he regretted it, whenever he was gone, he was happy she had friends, and wasn’t worried that the time the two spent together would come back and bite him in the ass. He trusted Skie completely, and Cody was no different. “Seriously. Cody.” He paused only briefly, adding, “Thanks.” Granted, Skie never went into too much detail on some things with him, and he knew many of those aspects were probably more private to Cody, but still. She considered him a close friend, and Kaine wasn’t ungrateful or upset with him for that.

He was thankful.

“AGH,” Edgeworth yelled, the little Sandshrew’s arms flailing through the air after Skie set him down. “Somebody’s throwing stuff!” Kaine cocked a brow, but in the next second Atticus dropped, everything went quiet, and then the little Sandshrew went still. Kaine reached up and ran his hand through his hair, trying not to laugh at their luck. “Great,” he muttered. “One Ranger down already,” he said, grinning up at the sky. But his eyes were flashing with annoyance below his visor. This trip had just started and already one of them was unconscious. Fun. He let out a sigh he’d been holding in and shook his head at hearing Skie’s and Cody’s grim deductions. Atticus was out like a light, huh. Perfect. Damn it. “Should have seen that one coming,” he growled to himself. “Somehow.”

“Waitwait!” Edgeworth shouted, interrupting as Gregory sent his Delcatty out into the wooded area. “What if they throw something at you too?” He rushed after the fast Pokemon on all four paws, his old brown “cape” billowing behind him as he went. “I’ll protect you!” And then he disappeared into the underbrush to tail after her. He didn’t even care that Amelia seemed like a perfectly capable Pokemon on her own. Kaine sighed again. Knowing Edgeworth, the Pokemon would get a little lost, chasing after her. He glanced apologetically at Gregory and shrugged, feeling slightly exasperated.

“He has superhero syndrome,” he growled. “I’m working on fixing that.”

“Why does he get to go, huh?” Mae demanded, glaring off into the trees. “I could go too! He’s not even all that strong.”

“Hush, Mae,” Kaine said softly, staring into the trees with a newfound interest. Gathering firewood would be easy enough. He’d set up enough camp sites in his lifetime to know how to start a good campfire without a decent fire Pokemon on his team. But at this point, dry or wet wood didn’t matter when you had quite a few Rangers with Pokemon that would ignite anything. It would be best if he helped to set up the tents, actually, since there were so many and he had plenty of experience with that as well. Skie seemed to volunteer Gregory for taking care of Atticus – and he felt a little bad about that- but to be honest, he’d be too worried about the Rangers that were left to focus much on watching over an unconscious one. Reid wanted work to start getting done, and the sooner it was finished, the better. “If you’re gonna use Brute to make the fire, tell him not to overdo it because he-“

Splat.

Sick. Just. Freaking. Sick.

A loose growl flowed out of the back of his throat, his dark brown eyes fuming below his visor. He reached up quickly to take it off and make sure that none of the Charizard’s spit had landed on it, because hell. A whole hell of a lot of it hit his shoulder and splattered everywhere. That. Brat. At least, thank God, he hadn’t busted the visor. The man’s fingers traced the outer edges of the visor carefully, his vision having already averted to the hated blacks, whites and grays. “Lucky shot,” he grumbled, finally breaking the intense silence that had fallen over him. Silently, he was still fuming, but a slow smirk spread over his face. That’s the way he wanted to play? Oh ho, fine.

Mae and Tombstone though, were disgusted. Especially Mae as a glob of Charizard spit fell upon her nose. She squirmed enough and fell out of Kaine’s arms, shaking her head from side to side in an angry fashion before glaring up at the sky. “WHO DID THAT?” She demanded, shuddering only briefly. That. Was so. Damn. Gross. Tombstone though, took a step back the instant a drop landed on her snout after it hit Kaine. Once she realized what it was, she nearly threw the towels off of her in an attempt to wipe it off her nose. She was still freaking out about it and shuffling under a whole lot of black towel minutes later, when Mae was yelling. And damn if when she brought the towel away from her face and threw it to the ground, she wasn’t looking absolutely horrified by what had just happened.

And oh, Brute had better watch that sensitive tail when he landed. If Tombstone wasn’t going to do anything about it, Mae certainly would, and though young, she knew fire Pokemon hated water. And that flame on his tail of his looked like such a good spot to practice her aim on. Spit on her, would he? Nevermind, Kaine. He. Spit. On. Her.

“That’s too bad,” Kaine said, his smirk growing more and more wolfish by the minute. “I liked this shirt. But then again.” He reached down and untied the hoodie he wore around his waist and lay it carefully on top of his satchel bag. Caves were very cold, wet places, and pending upon the depth, it would have been important to pack a few extra clothes for the trip and even a jacket of some sort. The hoodie would help with the chill inside, even though it was clearly summer. But that didn’t mean he had to go around wearing it now, did he? They weren’t in the cave, after all. “It was getting. So. Hot. Out. Here.” He ignored any looks he might get, and definitely didn’t pay attention to anything anybody said. Even Reid was out of his mind now.

Brute on the other hand.

Oh, if Brute hated him now, he’d hate him so. Much. More. In just. A minute. Even so, while he fumed and probably caused a few frowns or worried glances here or there –it was all too obvious he was not at all pleased- Edgeworth finally returned, panting. Though, the little Sandshrew slid to a stop when he spotted Kaine. “We totally scared them off, I thi…what’s that….?” He blinked and tilted his head a bit at the goo still sliding off of his trainer’s shoulders. “That’s…ew.” He said, after staring at the mix of color in it and having a good guess of what it was. He even turned away a bit, feeling a little squeamish. It bothered him a bit that something like that had happened to Kaine, but for the moment, he couldn’t even look at the man without feeling his stomach twist into a knot. The righteous anger on his behalf just wasn’t happening. Not right now at least. He just stared warily over at the trees, hoping his trainer would take care of that soon.

Because if not he just might lose his stomach over it.

Kaine of course, tried not to notice the reactions of anyone else as he slipped his hands down to the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up and over. Damn Charizard, the jealous, overprotective jerk. But if he wanted to play games. Well then. Kaine had better play. And though walking around half naked in front of a whole lot of people wasn’t exactly preferable in most places, he was a guy. And because of society’s fun little quirks, it was much more acceptable for him. It wasn’t like Kaine wasn’t terrible to look at either, he had his own advantages in that respect, but it was just the concept though, that might have made a few people wince or frown. He was overreacting maybe, but nobody could blame him all that much. That. And he knew it’d piss of the fat orange dragon oh. So. Much. Especially.

“Hey Skie,” he said, turning the shirt inside out and balling the whole thing up. “Did you say you were collecting firewood? ‘cause I should go with you. Hate for you to go alone.” He was so nonchalant, his smirk so typical, given the situation. In fact, he almost seemed unaffected by the whole event. But there was just that extra edge…hidden somewhere in every action that he took that spoke on a number of levels about just how pissed off he really was. Leave it to Brute to put him in a bad mood. “And everybody knows, when those trees get really thick and close together, it’s so easy to get lost. We could be gone for hours if we’re not careful.”

He snorted. Though he was pissed, it didn’t seem like a bad idea, what with all the heated emotions he was feeling right now. Getting “lost” might be kind of fun, most especially because Brute would have a hard ass time finding them through all those trees. But still. He finally managed a sense of self control and regarded Edgeworth only after throwing the shirt he used to wear against the ground near his satchel bag. Sighing, he reached back and felt that stress again resting in his shoulders. Pity he didn’t care about any of the looks, whether good, disapproving or otherwise, he might have been getting. He only knelt down, un strapped a long shovel from the side of his satchel bag, snatched bottle of water out of a pocket and growled.

“If anybody needs me, I’m going to dig the latrine. Be back to help with the tents later.” He sighed, obviously not going to keep to his word about helping to get firewood with Skie. Even if he was angry, it was still a mission, and as frustrated as he was, he needed to get a handle on his own pride and just ignore the dragon problem he was having. “Seriously. I’d like to avoid a forest fire, so don’t let Brute overdo anything,” he growled, calling out to Edgeworth at the last minute. With the shirt gone, the Sandshrew had no problem trailing after his trainer without hesitation. He let out a sigh of relief and hoped the man would burn it later. It was so gross just thinking about it.

“For anybody that is setting up tents, be careful not to get too close to the cave. Even though you can’t see it, some of the stakes won’t be able to set in the ground because the rock bed rises as you get closer to the mouth of the cave. Try to keep away from it, especially if the stakes are plastic. They could break. And if they’re metal, it would bend them.” Yeah, he was agitated, but his voice was completely calm as he said it. He planned to return to help it was just. Damn it. He needed to cool off for a minute or two. And digging a latrine would both be useful and give him something to take his frustration out on.

[Reid]

The first thing Reid noticed, after finishing his statement, was that everyone seemed to know each other, at least somewhat. People seemed to be talking to each other, which was something he liked. Having your group be at odds with each other was bad, but having friends in the group made things a lot easier. At least, it made it easier to cooperate, because no matter what happened, at least you were doing it with people you knew and respected. It had a boosting effect on moral, and that was always something he appreciated. Arceus knew it was hard enough to keep people moralized.

Phie soon had volunteered to collect firewood, and was off before he could even wish her good luck, if he had been so inclined. The rest luckily, weren't so fast to ditch him to find wood. Skie had volenteered to help him gather it, and others were busy talking amongst themselves, Gregory even offering to help, which he handwaved away, when he heard a loud yell that Skie totally had called Kaine, and that no one else should think of rooming with him, and Kaine's own pokemon's reply that it was not only obvious, but her voice was much louder. Cody had once again put his foot in his mouth, asking Furoi if she would sleep with him, soon realizing just how dirty that sounded, and making a fool of himself. This of course brought a almost visible smile out of Reid, though beyond that faint trace of a smile, nothing else broke from him. Laughing, well, that was not likely to happen.

Laughter was something he did not do much of much anymore.

That was when a loud thonk could be heard, and a swiftly knocked out Atticus fell to the ground. Reid immediately sprang, hurrying down to the downed ranger, and checking swiftly his breathing and heartrate, right after Skie had gotten there. She had been indeed right in saying that he was breathing and fine, but he didn't like t his one bit. Gregory already had the problem covered, sending out his Delcatty, but Reid was more worried about the next time. He hadn't expected something to happen so soon, but if that was the case, perhaps they should form up defenses sooner. "No need to rush. Let them play, who knows how long it will be until their next break." Reid thought to himself, saying "Best keep him here for now, he's stable enough."

He had to say though, his rangers handled this well. He liked that in them, he knew this would only be the tip of the iceberg, since the departing of mewtwo. It didn't help that he was now paranoid, what with the Destinae incident, and the death of Seriyah.


Kaine was seemingly going to advise Skie to something, when a sickening splat was heard. Apparently, a giant loogie had been hawked, and spat right on Kaine. Great. Just freaking great. Apparently the camaraderie was not shared amongst all members.

Kaine was understandably pissed, and seemed to be fuming as he took off his shirt, and decided to go dig a latrine, while advising them all to watch the stakes of the tent, they were likely flimsy.

Reid by now had decided that pitching camp was simply the best idea. Setting down his equipment, he sighed to himself, and picked one out, staking a spot for himself. He had to assemble this thing now, and he wasn't too pleased about this unfortunate turn of events. Kaine off fuming, quite a few rangers out collecting firewood, while he and Cody it seemed were the only two left too pitch tents. Well, his Pokemon could help. Probably. Thinking of that, he said "Skie, I have to intervene, we only need one person on that. I would perfer you stick around and pitch tents. And Vick, please follow Furoi. I don't want anything happening again."

Allie certainly was trying to help, already having grabbed one and enthusiastically set about putting it up, even if that wasn't always the best idea. A few moments of frustration had almost sent the fighting type into tent snapping mode, but fighting back the urge to show them all some mean tent-fu, she had managed to assemble one of their tents. Clapping on her own efforts, she surveyed the tent, completely missing out on the entertainment behind her, with the rock thwack, and the spit. Turning around, she looked out at the group with surprise, and asked quite curiously "What just happened?"


Vick had this entire time been flying around in circles above the camp, testing out the thermals, and other such flying things, allegedly because he wanted to be able to fly at a moments notice without trouble, but in reality so that if any spontaneous race broke out, he would be ready. There was no way he was going to be one upped by all the pokemon flying around here. No freaking way. Still, he had heard his trainers command, and sighing slightly, figured he would do that. Giving a shrill caw to let his trainer know he'd heard, Vick started to follow Furoi, circling above her so as to watch her moments. Reid wouldn't be happy if he missed something that was chasing her.

Ternac meanwhile, was busy studying the cave. Ignoring the outside world, he seemed to be meditating, hovering slightly above the ground in the center of the camp, while his mind probed for any signs of life inside the cave. So far nothing serious, a few pokemon, nothing too strong, had shown themselves, but other than that, it seemed oddly deserted. There were a few area's where things seemed to be odd however. As if something strange was going on, and he could quite sense it. The feeling unnerved him. He wasn't used to not knowing, and hated that. Besides, he still had that weird feeling down his spine, that things weren't going to end well. The fact Atticus had been knocked out, only confirmed it for him.