M--ix up.

[A-ub--re]

The sun beamed down on the park, light rays gently caressing the area, dust motes swirled lazily in the heated air. A path built of white gravel, framed in delicate hoops of iron meandered through the large green space that was the park, large trees lined the path, accompanied by shrubs and untamed weeds. Dappled shadows shaded in the path, shifting and twirling with the occasional breeze that rustled the leaves. A few patches of foliage had been cut back to allow for small benches, and water fountains,. The occasionally jogger passed by, the rocks shifting beneath their feet in mini avalanches. The sounds of happy chatter could be occasionally caught, and for the most part everyone seemed happy, cool, and content. It was a beautiful day to be outside, to breathe in fresh air, and to splash about in the malfunctioning sprinklers.

" Do .. I think I changed my mind about coming here Aubre."
A male voice quietly stated, before letting out a noise between a sigh and a meow. A large lanky cat, slowly stepped from the concrete sidewalk into the white slashed crosswalk, ivory claws clicking quietly on the pavement. Both of its ears were declined in fear, the feline's onyx eyes wide in fright. Its tawny coat stood on end, its tail twitching nervously from side to side. The normal lion like strut of a Persian was non-existent in this beast, replaced instead with a hunched, fearful gait, its large head dropped below its shoulders. The fear filled gaze was currently staring at the path that began across the street, the tar gradually shifted to white stone. The light gradually shifted from red to green, just as the Persian set his caramel colored paws on the springy grass of the park.
"Maybe we can skip to the ice cream eh Aubre? Achilles did this on purpose "Meet us on the path indeed" .. he didn't .. there are trees !"
The feline took a few steps to the right, laying its broad head on its trainer's darkly clad knees. Unlike most people she was dressed in head to toe--foregoing summer fashion, sweat poured down her body--which the Persian could feel through the thick fabric.

A petite girl, a few inches below five and a half feet, laid a reassuring [trembling] hand on the Persian's crinkled brow, her slightly marred face bent with a small smile. The smile disappeared however with a single look at the shadowed path. All of those shadowed alcoves provided a perfect place for attack, who knew what lurked there! Grotesque images flashed through her mind, the pursed line of her mouth contorting into an obvious frown. The girl's green eyes now matched the horrified gaze of her Persian. Reaching up with her free hand, the girl pulled her hood down over her bangs, hiding the choppy cut of her auburn hair, and her fearful gaze.
" I .. they'll be mad if we ... we have to Arbori."
The girl, the one called Aubre, managed to mutter--her voice seasoned with the spice of defeat. Taking a deep breath, the girl and feline took a step onto the shadowed path, forcing their legs forward a single foot at a time. Tan paws drug forward, followed soon after by bright red trainers, the movements were short and jerky--drawing odd gazes from those around them.

Dark green eyes flitted from shadow to shadow. Images of knife-wielding fiends crouched in the shadows leapt through her mind, even as they passed by the shadowed recesses.
"No one;s here ..."

Each breeze was like torture, their eyes drew to every shaking leaf, and laughing child. Every shift of the pebbles sounded like the drawing of a blade.

The Persian;s eyes followed his trainers in a spastic dance, except his darker eyes roved fro, gnarled trunk to whipping branch. Paws kneaded the ground beneath him, the cat's entire body was tense with nerves--a single noise could send him running.
" .. Evil trees..looking at us like that..they want to scratch my gem now .. and if they do that well Aubre will get rid of me. .yeah.."

So distracted were they by the monsters of their imaginations that the pair failed to notice the broad path splitting into two. A single large frond separated the forks--and like a knife split the fearful travelers in two.

The Persian wandered down the right path, his trainer the left--neither of them noticing the absence of the other.

Until about a quarter of a mile in, when they paused to ask the same question:
" This isn't so bad right?"

The words died in their throats.

They were alone.

In the city of hell. Surrounded by trees [strangers]. Completely lost. Afraid. Frightened .. and worst of all . ..

Late.

"AUBRE"
"ARBORI---WHERE ARE YOU?"
The pair raised their voices in a rare octave--one a few above speaking. Only the rustle of leaves greeted their calls.

Shit.

---

[Jacen Zidar]

"-fail to understand why we came out here, Jacen." The sultry, but ever-so-slightly irked voice of the persian floated down the path the little procession was now moving down. Hatshepsut was in the lead a little, her large paws scrunching on the loose gravel in a way that made her flick her ears back slightly in annoyance. She prefered to move in silence, yet here it was utterly impossible. But if the gravel irked her, it was the heat that was making this trip frustrating. Like Jacen, Hatshepsut vastly preferred the cold wind and snow of winter to the heat and - especially - the humidity of summertime. Her coat was light enough in coloration to reflect the sun rather than absorbing it, but she still walked with mouth slightly agape, panting only the tiniest amount in an effort to keep her muscled body cool.

Jacen continued his slow walk down the path, having more difficulty than usual walking on the shifting surface of gravel. Unlike his companion though, he was far from unhappy despite the way his legs were beginning to ache from the effort of moving. He glanced down at the cream-colored feline as she smoke, smiling slightly. "I didn't make you come along, darling." he said gently, watching her ears flick again at his tone of voice. "You're free to go back to the hotel if you want to." When no response seemed forthcoming from the persian, Jacen merely shrugged inwardly and continued on his walk.

It was an exceptionally warm day out, but at least it wasn't as humid as it had been recently. Still, it was not on an infrequent basis that Jacen reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead and neck. He had worn clothes that weren't too bad in the heat, but the fact remained that there was no escaping the temperature by wearing cool clothing - not that Jacen had much that was very cool in the first place. Unlike many, he didn't own tee shirts or shorts, or really anything too cool. At the moment, he had chosen to garb himself in the closest thing to cool clothing he'd been able to find in his closet. He wore a pair of brown shoes (their previous shine utterly covered by dust from the path they now walked on), khaki pants, and a silk button-up shirt of a sky-blue color. He had rolled up the sleeves almost to the elbow and for once was wearing neither tie nor cravat, opting instead to simply leave the first and second buttons of his shirt open. It was hardly exposing, showing only the hollow of his throat, but it did allow for a little extra air circulation, which was helpful.

Jacen continued along the path, his thoughts wandering here and there as the three of them walked - Hatshepsut the proud persian padding along in front of him, Jacen himself hobbling along the path, and the ever-present Thor walking protectively at Jacen's side, the only one of the three not the slightest bit bothered by the temperature. They were here, quite simply, because Jacen needed to get outside. The hotel room had seemed entirely too cramped suddenly, and even though the air conditioning was much appreciated, Jacen could always go back to it later. For now, the oppressive heat was preferable to the even more depressing atmosphere in the hotel regardless of its creature comforts. As for why the persian had come along... That, Jacen wasn't entirely sure. He had of course let her wander about the hotel room, and the hotel at large, as she wished. He hadn't expected her to follow him outside, but when he informed her (and the other pokemon scattered throughout the room) that he was going for a walk, she had wordlessly slid off the chaise she had claimed as her own and come out with him. Something told him she was somewhat regretting the decision now though. For Jacen, it was a welcome chance to stop letting his thoughts whirl around so much and just observe other people going about their lives.

A group of kids - Jacen smirked as he labeled them such; it was a mark of the last few years that he now attached that label to anyone under the age of 20 - walked down the path opposite the trio, chatting amongst themselves. A couple had pokemon - one held a rattata, while a spearow flapped overhead from branch to branch. Jacen had his eye on Hatshepsut, who gave the rattata a hungry look and smiled, baring a full set of pearly fangs. Of course she wouldn't actually try to attack the tiny creature, but the pokemon didn't know that. The trainer stumbled a little as the rattata clambered up over her shoulder and attempted to crawl into her backpack for safety, and as the young man walking next to her made room for her, his shoulder bumped Jacen's. "Sorry." he mumbled as the group passed by.

Jacen, however, was already off-balance from the stones, and the bump which might have made a normal person sidestep a little made him lose his balance, and it was only Thor's quick reflexes that kept Jacen standing. The typhlosion gripped Jacen's shoulders with his strong paws, turning his head to glare at the passing adolescents. Thor snarled menacingly at the group, but before Jacen could tell him to calm down Hatshepsut spoke. "Oh please. He didn't mean to jostle him. Don't be so protective." The persian said perhaps a bit more sharply than was strictly necessary.

Thor growled at that, but Jacen was quick to interrupt what would doubtlessly become a quarrel - or maybe even a fight, if Hatshepsut did not tread very carefully. "Hatshepsut, please." he said, his voice at a perfectly normal speaking volume, yet with a tone that seemed more a command than a request. The persian gave him a rather reproachful look, and probably would have remained silent had not Thor spoken. "He could have hurt-" "You've attached yourself to him like he could break if anyone touches him ever since we got back. Stop treating him like a toddler." The persian's tone was excessively cool, her muscles tensed ever so slightly as though ready for Thor to spit a gout of flame in her direction. Only her quickly-twitching tail betrayed her irritation with the fire-type.

Jacen quickly stepped in before Thor could even think of resplying. Leaning over a bit, keeping his cane in a positon to hold himself up, Jacen slipped out of Thor's tightening grasp, smoothing out the small claw marks from his shirt. "That's quite enough." he said, more to Hatshepsut than to Thor. He understood the persian's frustration, but now was not the time to discuss the matter, and Thor was not the one to tell off about it at the moment.

Of course Hatshepsut understood why Jacen had told her off - however lightly - but it still irked her. She stood a little taller, turning away from trainer and typhlosion slightly. "I will see you back at the hotel. I've had enough walking for now." With that, she turned and bounded lightly into the bushes.

Jacen looked after her, but did not call for her. She would be gone for a while, he knew. Ordinarily, he would have let her come back on her own, but in a city full of Pravus members who would love to rise up in the ranks by bringing in a beautiful pokemon like Hatshepsut, he was loathe to leave the park without her. So he continued down the path, taking the next turn in the vague direction she had been going. Doubtless she would not leave the shade of the park. He would have to find her sooner or later.

Hatshepsut, meanwhile, stalked through the neatly-trimmed bushes for a few minutes before emerging into a shaded area set aside for reading. It was grassy, with a stone bench in the center. Without much hesitation, she hopped up onto the bench and arranged herself into a comfortable lounging position, surveying the area around her keenly before beginning to meticulously clean the fur of her paws. Her tail still twitched spastically every second or so, but she was not given to muttering to herself, and so fumed in silence at the annoying fire-type and her own trainer, who enabled the behavior simply by letting Thor follow him around like an oversized lapdog. Eventually Hatshepsut yawned langorously, letting her nose dip down slightly as her eyes slid into that 3/4-closed position typical of dozing cats. She was hardly asleep - her head was still upright, and her ears still flicked at passing noises - but she did not open her eyes as she heard someone stumble into the clearing. Whomever it was smelled frightened, and Hatshepsut could tell by the sound of the footsteps that it was human, probably either a small adult or a young adult. Female, she knew from the smell... And she smelled of other pokemon as well, though none seemed to be present. The persian continued lounging, assuming that whomever it was would go away upon seeing the bench occupied.

[A-ub--re]

Aubre lifted a worn nail to her mouth, biting at it nervously. The girl began to move forward slowly, her eyes flickering back and forth hopefully. The trainer drew her shoulders forward in a hunch, closing herself off to the world--which seemed much louder without a single Pokemon at her side. The shadows seemed to deepen with each step, reaching for her like the death-bringing Unown had. The trees , and gravel had lost any beauty her mind had given them. The trees shifted into gnarled sentinels, skeletal fingers waving at her in mockery, the simply white gravel was now an alarm to whatever was watching her. Even though it was ridiculous Aubre found herself, staring at the silent oaks most of all--thinking that what had seemed like a silly fear on her Persian's part might actually be reality.

Those trees looked like evil schemers to her. Those whorls? They were drooping eyes glinting with wicked plans. That branch was as large as her arm--it could easily have drug her Persian into a silent death. Wait a minute--what the hell was her problem?
" .. Arbori just wandered off.. how silly am I --trees...really..trees?"
The admonishing words did not stop her from turning around. The girl was still looking for tattered tawny flesh hanging from an innocent branch, or fro a bloody hand.

Dropping the now aching hand to her side, the girl, stuffed her hands into the front pockets of her hoody. Pale fingers clenched in fear, a jogger running by in a blur of bright colors and drab stripes.
"Arbori probably got tired and is resting on a bench..maybe if I just turn around .... ? "
It appeared, even Aubre did not find her own commands worth listening too and pushed herself resolutely forward. The trees seemed to grow in size, the shadows growing , sunlight was now the minority.
"I can do this .. the parks right there..no one is going to hurt anyone this close to all those people ..."
Unless they were like a majority of criminals? Maybe the Nada denizens didn't care?

A frantic glance to the left and right soon followed those words, as did a quickening of pace.

--

"Arbori .. Arb ..hey ..."
Aubre began again, her voice thrown back at her in its insignificance. Maybe he couldn't answer? Maybe he was just sleeping..not strewn on the path in pieces by someone who was now tailing her trainer. Right? After all who would kill a harmless little kitten like Arbori?

Rounding a corner, the girl found herself pausing, staring at the tawny shape stretched along the bench. Reaching up to her hood, the girl pulled it down with a quick shake of her orange locks. Rubbing a hand across her eyes--Aubre blinked a few times. Deciding that this was no figment of her imagination, she began to speak to the feline:
"Arbori..how'd you get up here? Why didn't you answer when I called..you okay?"
The girl's voice was hesitant--something was off here. Maybe it was a ghost? Her Persian's coat was not that shiny, nor was he that muscular--his claws weren't that long..or sharp were they?

Leaning against a nearby tree--being sure to examine it first--the girl reached out to pet the Persian. No doubt the little demon in her brains w ere playing tricks on her. Of course it was Arbori! Maybe he had a tummy ache?

-----

The Persian meanwhile emerged into the open lawn of the park. Quickly Arbori closed his eyes against the bright midday sun, stumbling backward as a Frisbee zoomed by inches from his nose. Turning toward the daunting path, the feline let out a toothy grin:
"You have no power over m--"
Somewhere inside a twig snapped, and the chubby feline leaped away from the little woodland with a yelp.

A few laughs from onlookers brought the cat's ears down to a rest, and with a blush spread about his cheeks, the Persian began to run toward the playground. Occasionally he would cast a quick glance at the tangled undergrowth--Aubre would see him no doubt!



(Shoot me. This post makes no sense--Aubre would have turned around, or stopped not kept going. Same for Arbori--but ti didn't work that way. My apology for the EPIC.Suck.)

[Jacen Zidar]

Jacen and Thor walked along the path together, the silence less companionable now that Hatshepsut had run off. True, she hadn't left with any particular feeling of malice, but Jacen knew that she was irritated at Thor - perhaps rightly so - and it put something of a damper on the afternoon. Every now and then, Jacen would slip slightly on the gravel, usually because his cane had sunk in suddenly, and Thor would twitch as though about to rush to him, and once he very nearly grabbed Jacen by the shoulders again in an attempt to hold him up. Perhaps it was time for Jacen to rethink how he was going to address the typhlosion's tendencies now that the fighting was over. He had assumed that once they were back to a relatively peaceful life Thor's protectiveness would at least begin to ebb away. Even if he had been showing no progress Jacen would have remained optimistic that he would eventually get better, but it seemed that Thor had become even more protective in the last couple of months. Actually... He'd been getting downright possessive lately, which was rather worrisome.

After stopping a moment to see what was around him, Jacen began moving toward yet another of the little seating areas they'd passed along the path so far. With a little effort (there was no backrest on this particular bench, which made sitting down tricky without simply falling over backward onto the ground) he seated himself, while Thor positioned himself at the entrance to the little nook, keeping an eye on everything around them. Jacen watched the pokemon from the corner of his eye, wondering how best to deal with his behavior. Perhaps a look into a psychology book would help him. He really had no idea how to properly deal with what might very well be a variant form of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the war, and he wasn't going to guess again and risk making it even worse.

- - -

Meanwhile, Hatshepsut dozed, swiftly reaching what is commonly known as "kitty zen." The dappled shade on her coat was just cool enough that she didn't need to pant as much, the breeze had a thousand different smells for her to analyze, and no one was bothering her for once. So she daydreamed about hunting stantlers or furrets or pidgeys, while keeping her real senses attuned enough to the area around her to notice anyone approach. And sure enough, approach someone did. Her ears flicked, which wasn't unusual. Most would think her asleep at this point; only the slightly sped-up flicking of her tail betrayed the fact that she had snapped out of her daydream.

The girl began speaking, talking to her, the persian was sure. But she hadn't just called her "persian" or the more loathed "kitty," as most did. She had called her... What was it? Arbori? Odd name... Had she been mistaken for another pokemon? Hatshepsut found that rather unlikely, seeing as she knew that she was a superb specimen for her kind. She would not be confused with some random city pet.

But that seemed to be exactly what had happened. Hatshepsut reluctantly opened one eye slightly, finding the girl to be standing quite close to her, reaching out a hand to pet her shoulders. Hatshepsut was quick to react, opening both eyes and staring sharply at the girl as she smoothly whipped her head around and clamped her jaws down firmly on the girl's wrist. She was not biting - had this been an actual bite, the girl's wrist would have been broken by now, for the persian's premolars were resting neatly on the joint. It wasn't something she'd aimed for, actually, but it had worked out quite well. No, this was no true bite, but her jaws held the girl's wrist firmly all the same, and would probably leave little indents for a few minutes at least afterwards. Hatshepsut looked at the girl levelly, turning her head only slightly so as not to twist her wrist. She wasn't really aiming to hurt. Just making a point: Don't touch.

- - -

After a minute or two, Jacen stood up and began walking down the path again, Thor falling in to his left and behind him like a bodyguard. They came to another fork in the path soon enough, and Jacen paused. One side seemed to lead off toward the gardens - Jacen had been there already though, and going that way would in fact be leading him back the way he had originally entered the park. The other side, however, led to an open area where various groups of people and pokemon were scattered about, some just lying on the grass, others playing frisbee, and a few over at the playground. Jacen decided to go in this direction, thinking that perhaps he might spot Hatshepsut if she either entered the field (which seemed to be a rather central area of the park) or came near it. She was stealthy when she wanted to be, but the fact remained that her cream-colored coat wasn't difficult to spot in green bushes like these.

Walking about on the field was also much easier than moving on the loose pebbles had been. The ground didn't shift when he walked on it, which meant Jacen didn't need to concentrate on keeping his balance any more. Instead, he could pay attention to the people around him, observing them - the entire reason he'd come here in the first place. Over on the playground, a mother was shouting shrilly for her child to get down off the equipment and come home with her, while the child seemed to be offering no response whatsoever to their mother's threats. Jacen looked in the direction of the shouting, his eyebrows drawing together slightly. He never did understand why parents screamed at their children... Why would a child leave a playground to return to a mother who was only going to yell at him anyway?

Not that Jacen would likely be a much better parent... It was one of the few things he didn't have a great deal of confidence in himself to accomplish well. Although, to be honest, he had welcomed the idea of being a parent. It didn't seem to be in the cards for him, however. At least it certainly hadn't come up yet, and likely wasn't about to any time soon. Jacen was briefly absorbed in his thoughts while watching the children on the playground, and didn't notice the large cat bounding in their direction. Nor did Thor, who was likewise busy glaring at a group moving past them on the opposite side.

- - -

At roughly the same time Jacen had stepped off of the path, Arbori made his initial appearance in the field. Not so very far away, a dozing electrike opened its eyes, watching the cat for several seconds. It tensed, then slowly stood up, glancing sideways to its trainer - sound asleep. Slowly at first, the electrike began trotting toward the feline, but as it got within fifty feet or so it broke into a dead run, barking at the top of its lungs, sparks shooting up from its body in its excitement. Ordinarily the little dog wouldn't have even thought about chasing a persian, but this one seemed skittish, so maybe, just maybe, it would give him a good game of chase.

[A-ub--re]

The young Persian's pace decreased, muscles slowly began to relax. The feline's legs stopped their long loping strides, and gradually shifted into much shorter ones. The ears atop his head slowly rose to attention, the blush receded, and the horror in his eyes gradually turned to the normal anxiety. The distance between him and the wicked trees grew--and Arbori let out a breath he had not known himself to be holding.
" Now they can't reach me .... but what about Aubre? Poor Girl never believed me about those trees..."
No. Even though his trainer was a small little thing, even the nastiest willow couldn't stuff her into its dark maw. Much like the earlier imaginings of his trainer, he saw bones splintering, blood spraying--all ended with a bloodied tennishoes rapid descent to the rust colored grass below a large tree.
"Heh. They are now just trying to scare me--they won't draw me back in."

A few park-goers cast odd glances at the human-less Persian--who seemed to be muttering to himself. For the most part though the cat found himself ignored, free to walk where he wished. Above a lone bird let out a high-pitched sigh, and Arbori paused.
" Chivalri ? "
No answer greeted his whispered inquiry. Realizing that he was now standing in one spot, Arbori started forward again. The feline's progress toward the playground was frequented with pauses. At each one of these pauses, Arbori would glance quickly from left to right, before sidestepping any sapling trees, and dark hedges.

The anxiety about hios trainer gradually disappeared, the Persian allowed himself to relax. No one was screaming [except some happy children], nothing in this park was dangerous [besides the trees --and now that he thought about it, they were sealed behind the magic barrier of semi-circular steel], and the weather was much too sunny for a evil criminal to lurk in the shadows. At this thought, the Persian cast a glance at his own elongated companion. No--no shadowy villains lurked in it.

So Aubre [and himself] were perfectly safe.

Lifting his broad head, the Persian allowed one of his rare smile to slip out. The whiskers fanning from his face crinkled, as did the skin leading down to his nose. Then like a pane of glass, the moment of happiness shattered. A ebony-tipped ear swiveled back, the sounds of little feet pounding against blades of grass was now obvious. Instantly Arbori felt his body go tense--the steps picked up pace, and static leapt across his back. A loud bark shattered the final barrier of short found glee, and like a rocket the Persian shot forward.

Stinging sparks leapt across his hind legs, needle sharp teeth snapped at the air a mere inch from his tail. The fur along his back slowly lifted, and his tail now resembled a feather duster, the tail whipped quickly to the right, in an attempt to keep it away from the playful hound.

The clumsy strides slowly grew regular, the feline looking every inch the graceful creature he was thought to be. The speed picked up, and besides the buzzing barking in his ears--it seemed he was gaining on the hound. With a powerful surge of his back legs, the Persian leapt over a stone bench, catching his back leg on it, and hitting the ground in a clumsy pile. Picking himself up the feline did something it had tried not to do--turned around. A sparking snout loomed mere feet from his own nose, and with frantic clawing the Persian rose back to his feet, and leaped forward. The feline ran with its head thrown over his shoulder, constantly checking on the progress of the Electrike--luckily for him nothing decided to run in front of him.

The entire chase ground to a halt, as a purple wall rose in front of the feline. Unable to stop his frantic progress the Persian ran headfirst into the fleshy obstacle. The entire world became a blur, as his sensitive head rammed into a much thicker wall of muscle beside it--this one a vibrant navy. Like a stack of dominos, the feline fell forward, followed by the purple wall.

The hound continued its barking, and the Persian began to roll about on the ground, its ears flattened back. A uncharacteristic hiss tore from its mouth.
"tree-lover!"
The weight on his back was immense, and a decent ache was began to roll down his spine. Blinking, the feline realized that a cane lay nearby, along with a pale hand, and instantly, the look of aggression turned into a look of terror.

" Oh my.. I am ..."
It was then that he realized the blue 'wall' as a fellow pokemon. Shit. No doubt he had just tackled his trainer to ground like some kind of freight train.

The trapped feline's heart beat a rapid tattoo against his rib cage, his breathing grew more rapid, as it tried to shrink away from whatever was going to pick a fight. It seemed he had not only trees to worry about, but sneaky little dogs who chased scared kitties into crippled men.

--

Aubre saw the feline's eye slowly open, and blinked. her little Persian would never look at her like that so haughty, and cold. Not to mention, those lashes were just a little too long. The girl's hand began to pull back, her green eyes following the Persian's tail in its lazy arc. The realization that this wasn't her Persian hit home, just as the strange cat latched her mouth around Aubre's wrist. The torn fabric of her hoody , likely rested on the edge of the feline's nose, shifted slightly. Aubre had made a weak attempt to pull her wrist free, but feeling the pressure of needle sharp teeth on her skin made her pause. For what seemed an eternity, the trainer merely stared at the odd cat, her green eyes wide with fear. The girl slowly blinked, and just as her eyelids came together her mouth began to babble.
"Oh my lord..I thought you were--I am so sorry. You don't have rabies? No of course not you're much to well taken care of. Once again sorry about that--I am looking for my ca--Persian. "
The words were whispered, it was obvious that she was frightened--but by the way her eyes kept roving around it was not of the strange beast biting her wrist.

" I ... ...can you ...sorry."
One more apology ought to do it. No doubt this feline had serrated teeth--and if she tried to pull away, her wrist would be sliced to tatters..probably.

Hopefully the cat had just been annoyed at being woekn up.

Right?

It probably didn't work for some kind of thief...

Probably.

[Jacen Zidar]

Jacen took stock of what was around him for a few seconds before deciding to make his way over to another bench and sit down - really, he would rather sit on the grass despite the stains his light-colored pants would accumulate, but he didn't particularly want to ask Thor to help him sit down and stand right now, so instead he aimed his course for the park bench about thirty feet away - up a low hill, which made it slow going for the crippled man. Thor didn't seem to mind the oozing slowness of their walk (he had gotten used to it many years ago), but cast his eyes all around the area, making sure that he missed nothing. He noticed the chase going on, of course, but as he looked the persian being chased toppled head over heels on a bench, and he snorted derisively. The chase was over, he thought, and either way such a skittish cat would come no where near him. He was far too intimidating for a scaredy-cat (ha) like that to think of coming close.

However, that ended up being exactly what happened. Jacen took three small steps toward the bench before he noticed the barking coming much closer. He turned to look at the source of the sound, and had just enough time to tense his body a little and utter an almost dismal-sounding, "Oh..." before the persian plowed directly into him. Really, there was nothing he could have done to avoid it. Dodge? Not likely. His instant of prior warning did not help lessen the blow however, as seventy pounds or so of cat slammed into him, sending him literally almost head-over-heels. He landed hard on his shoulder, sending the cane flying as he flung out both hands in an attempt to prevent too much damage from being done on the fall. In the instant he fell, his mind was on two things: The irony that he had been thinking of lounging on the grass just a moment ago, and Thor's no doubt violent reaction to this.

Thor, meanwhile, scarcely noticed what had happened until a moment later, when Jacen's cane hit the ground. He glanced to the side, his eyes widened and he prepared to let loose a fire attack of some kind, but before he had the chance the persian had plowed right through his frail trainer and slammed into the typhlosion's midsection. Thor was anything but frail, but the impact of a large cat at a dead run could knock him over (as Hatshepsut had proven on more than one previous occasion before) and in this case it did. He was knocked off his feet, slamming down onto the ground, where he rolled to his side immediately and snarled menacingly at the persian. Flames rose to life at the back of his neck, and one clawed paw glowed with a menacingly dark aura as he prepared a shadow claw attack. The moment he had his back feet planted, he leapt for the persian, aiming to pin him down before actually delivering his attack. Wouldn't want to miss, after all. Persians were slinky creatures.

Jacen bounced a bit on the soft earth, but though the fall had certainly hurt he was fairly sure nothing had been broken (even below the waist where he had little feeling, he would have noticed a broken bone). He was more worried about the pokemon that had caused the fall in the first place, and with some difficulty he turned himself to look at the pokemon, defending himself from Thor's assault. "Thor, stop." he said, his tone commanding but without shouting. When Thor ignored him Jacen's eyebrows drew together slightly, and he repeated the order a little louder, "Thor, step away from the persian." He was fairly sure that Thor would ignore him again, however, and so as he spoke he fumbled his hand into a small, cell-phone sized pouch at his belt and withdrew Thor's pokeball. Sure enough, while the typhlosion was far from deaf he ignored his trainer's direct order. His attack passed harmlessly through Arbori, however, as the familiar red light reached out from the ball to engulf Thor, drawing him quite unwillingly back inside. This, of course, left a rather oddly-sprawled (for below the waist he fell like a disjointed ragdoll, legs akimbo and uncontrolled) Jacen on the ground next to the persian, and a very confused electrike running off to its trainer, having had quite enough of this particular chase.

- - -

A couple of seconds passed after Hatshepsut grasped the girl's wrist in her mouth, seconds that seemed to stun the girl. But she seemed to blink herself out of it a moment later, and began babbling at such a speed that after missing several words Hatshepsut simply stopped listening and stared her in the eyes with a look that very clearly said 'I really couldn't care less.' There was a reason why the people at Pravus didn't like her very much; the haughty persian was downright mean to almost everyone aside from Jacen himself.

When the girl paused for a moment, Hatshepsut's ears swiveled back to their forward position, showing that she was no longer ignoring the girl, and she did hear her final statement. With a sniff (more to get the tattered cloth of the girl's sweatshirt away from her nose than anything else) Hatshepsut hinged her jaws open a half an inch, backing her head away from the girl's wrist until she could speak without biting her. "You need to wash your hands. You taste awful." was her only comment for the moment as she lowered her head to groom a paw lightly. Truthfully, she hadn't tasted like much of anything, but the persian felt the need to make some sort of comment about the mangy-looking human's state. Truthfully, Hatshepsut fully expected the girl to run away at this point; she smelled so strongly of fear that the tangy scent tickled the cat's nose, almost to the point of sneezing.

[A-ub--re]

[ AUBRE ]

The girl shook while she waited for the Persian to let go--no doubt the cat's keen ears could pick up the heart pounding away in her chest. Aubre did her best to keep her breathing steady--no use in hyperventilating, or having some kind of faux asthma attack in the middle of the park. Besides, if this turned out to be some kind of trap--for theft, or murder--she would need what was left in her lungs to scream. The screaming was looking to be a more viable option as the Persian continued to ignore her pleas and apologies. It appeared the cat was used to ignoring begging--not a good sign. The fangs remained a gentle pressure on her wirst for what seemed an eternity, and when the cat removed her mouth left it took her a while to notice the absence of the threatening fangs. Upon noticing however, Aubre's wrist remained stiff--as if she feared moving it would provoke the vicious feline, or that in lifting it the appendage would fall off. Now reassured that it was in no further danger, the girl lifted the hand back to her chest--quickly rotating it in an effort to find blood or broken skin. The wrist was still a pale white--and it seemed to be in one piece, no blood or exposed bone. With an quick movement, the hand buried itself in the girl's ratty pocket, where it soon met her other hand. The girl made no comment about the saliva coating her arm, or the slight smell of cat. Instead she shrunk inward, and locked her two hands together, being sure to keep all sign of skin [besides her face] inside the folds of the baggy sweatshirt.

No use in giving the Persian another thing to bite. Aubre gradually moved her eyes downward, and toward the Persian. The sable colored ears now faced forward, it appeared that the feline was giving her permission to speak. Even though she was still terrified, and her mind screeched at her to run away she still took the time to be polite:
'Than...k you."
Not exactly what most people would have chose. More than likely most people would have screamed at the cat, smacked at it, or gone to find its trainer. Aubre merely stood there, looking terrified--and lost. A demure little smile tugged at her lips--and soon disappeared when Hatsheput finally spoke.
"Oh. Maybe I should..."
Aubre was not about to argue with the powerful creature lounging on the bench before her. Just like the scent of fear tickled the feline's nose, the girl was bombarded with an image of strength. It was obvious in the elan muscles that lined the feline's side, and the cold haughty look that she had opened their encounter with. This was not a creature to be offended--utterly terrified or not. The screams to flee were quieted through a much more intense urge to not anger the Persian.
".....Sorry about waking you up Miss. As I said I thought you were someone else.. rather obvious you aren't now......also sorry I asked if you had rabies"
The girl's voice was timid, not to mention quiet. It was not often that Aubre was outspoken--or even conversed with others. The entire situation had made her nervous, and given her an urge to explain herself--which she was very bad at. The second she stopped speaking, the girl took a step away from the stone bench. Both of her panicked eyes glanced up both sides of the path, the gloom pressed down at her from all sides, and she shrank away from it, and back into the area by Hatsheput.

No Persian was walking up the path. No one was here--but her, this cat, and probably its trainer. No one to ask.

The girl was not exactly anxious to expose herself to the shadowed path, and instead asked the cat:
"Have you seen...any other Pokemon? A Persian maybe? Statodyle? Caravay? Sorry.. I really have no one else to ask."
One quick question, and then she would scamper away like a skittish rabbit.

Maybe. Unless the cat told her to do otherwise.


[ ARBORI]

The Persian's head slowly cleared, the dull ache in his head [and the much stronger ache in his spine] began to fade. The world slowly turned itself upright, the sky was once again blue, the grass an emerald green. Arbori stopped stumbling, and dropped the claw reaching out toward the Electrike. A large boulder on the ground slowly moved, tan taking the place of blue--and the earlier wall of muscle was revealed to be a Typhlosion.
" Oh no..no..no..."
The Electrike had definitely been in league with the trees--first the poor crippled fellow, and now a giant wall of super powered pokemon. It was obvious that the fire type was very much his superior.
"I ..it was the..."
The words babbled away into a gulp, as flames sprouted along the Typhlosion's broad neck. The normally beautiful sight, had turned the Persian's insides to a cold lump of ice. Muscles refused to obey--he was too scared to run, and nowh e very much resembled a wet kitten. Dark ears slowly lowered against his broad skull. The thoughts of the poor crippled, and the cane laying inches away vanished from his mind. The world slowly faded, and now it consisted solely of the Typhlosion stampeding toward him.
" Oh Arceus...father who art ....."
The feline began to murmur to himself, even as the Typhlosion dove toward him, shadows rippling about one of his brawny arms.

Jacen did not even register in the Persian's mind, nor did his orders.

The Typhlosion dove, Arbori was freed from his shackles--leaping into action. What action? The cat turned tail to flee--tripping over the cane in the process, and slamming his already sore head into the grass. Knowing there was no escape now, the feline closed his eyes, and waited for a strike.

Waited.

Waited.

Waited--why did death take so long?

The Typhlosion was gone. Slowly the cat opened is mahogany eyes, and turned about, flinching as if still awaiting a royal ass beating.

"YIPEE~"
Like magic the giant hot-headed beast had disappeared. The Persian instantly rose back to his feet, grinning from ear to ear.

The presence of the cane beneath his feet made him blink. Slowly the smile faded--and his head twisted toward Jacen.
"Oh dear lord...thank you..."
The pokeball in his hand proved this not to be a work of god, but modern technology.
"I am so .. so ..so sorry. Sir. "
The sight of the twisted legs caused him to shrink inward, tail now drooping against the ground. The poor man--hopefully he hadn't done that.

--

Taking a few steps backward, the Persian scooped the cane up into his mouth, and took a few tentative steps toward Jacen. Speaking around the lacquered wood, Arbori dropped the cane inches from the man's hand.
" I am so sorry....do you need any help? Getting back up I mean. If I hurt you. .I apologize again. Feel free to let the big brute tear me up."
Trees had done worse than anything the Typhlosion could have done.

[Jacen Zidar]

Well, at least the girl was respectful... Even if it was clearly out of sheer terror. Hatshepsut eyed Aubre, her goldeneyes tracing the edges of her ripped-up sweatshirt. How on earth could she survive wearing that? Hatshepsut herself may not have been much of a hot-weather cat, but her coat was designed for this kind of weather, at least when it thinned out in the summer. The girl's sweatshirt was dark, soaking up all the heat and sun. Somehow, she doubted it had anything to do with the girl being cold. She seemed to hide inside the shirt, making herself look as small as possible as though she wanted others to think she was just a pile of clothes.

The girl set about apologizing for waking her up and asking if she had rabies, but Hatshepsut seemed to brush aside the apologies. "I wasn't sleeping anyway." she said with as close to a shrug as one could give using only the facial expression. "You're looking for your persian." It was more a comment to herself than to the girl. Hatshepsut paused for a few moments, seeming to consider. Of course she had been paying attention to what was around her throughout her walk with Jacen and Thor, but hadn't been trying to commit it all to memory, so it was entirely possible that she had passed a persian walking around alone and simply hadn't noticed it. Another half-shrug. "Is it as skittish as you are?" she asked, noting how the girl shied away from the path - the very part of the woods most people were afraid to leave. (Granted this wasn't exactly a forest; beyond the path lay simply a few small lawns, but the analogy worked.)

For a moment or two, Hatshepsut's eyes lingered on the path, flicking almost lazily from one side to the other. Perhaps the girl was being chased by someone. She seemed like the street urchin type; maybe she had gotten in trouble with some kind of overseer of homeless children and was trying to get away from him. Or she might just be nervous without her persian by her side. Hatshepsut could see how that might be the case, as the image in her mind of a persian - street cat or no - hardly matched Arbori's decription. She imagined a pokemon rather like herself, although probably not as powerful or well-groomed, judging by its owner. Then again, the girl had mentioned a statodyle as well, so perhaps her pokemon weren't so weak after all.

Eventually her eyes returned to Aubre. "I don't recall seeing any other persians... Or any of those pokemon for that matter." In a fluid motion, she stood up on the bench, then stepped down into the gravelly ground and stretched langorously, tail tip vibrating slightly. "But, there is someone in the park I would like to locate as well." It wasn't a direct invitation to accompany her, but Hatshepsut glanced back at Aubre nonetheless as she stalked back toward the path. Her expression was impassive - whether Aubre followed or not she really didn't care, but the look was given to show that she wasn't going to bite if the girl did decide to follow along.

- - -

Jacen remained on the ground, his slightly annoyed expression changing rather quickly to amusement as the persian whooped gleefully at Thor's disappearance. He would definitely have to do something about Thor now. He had been bothersome before, but Jacen knew Thor probably would have killed the persian had he not been able to grab the pokeball fast enough, and that was unacceptable - moreso than the refusal to follow orders, which Jacen also would need to have a chat with Thor about. But, that would have to wait. Right now, Jacen's most pressing concern was getting to his feet again. Crag, Goliath, and in fact all the others except Thor and Hatshepsut had remained behind, and even if Hatshepsut were here she could do little to help.

The persian's prancing stopped, and as it moved to retrieve his cane Jacen rolled over onto his back. Unfortunately, that was about where he would have to stop. Sitting up was difficult enough, nevermind standing. While the persian might have been able to physically support his weight, standing up again required being picked up bodily, which was something that, in the absence of pokemon, generally took two people to do (lifting deadweight is not an easy task). As he considered this new problem, the persian dropped the cane to the ground near him. Jacen brought it closer to him, but didn't actually pick it up - he couldn't use it at the moment anyway. He smiled at the pokemon's apology, shaking his head slightly.

"It's fine, no harm done, I don't think. I appreciate the offer but I don't think there's a great deal you can do to help." He didn't relish the idea of letting Thor out of his pokeball again to pick him up, but unless Hatshepsut was nearby and could return to the hotel to get Crag, Jacen didn't see many other options. He paused for a few seconds, then looked back at the persian. "I don't suppose you've seen another persian in the park today?" That would be all too lucky, but it was worth a shot. Not that it would help; just because this pokemon had seen her didn't mean he knew where she was.

[A-ub--re]

Aubre was hot. In fact, the hoody was like one giant weight, the clothes underneath it kept the swrat from showing--but it was there, clinging to the dark surface. In fact, when the sunlight hit her right, it could be seen glistening along her forehead--turning her bright bangs dark and drab. The girl would much rather pass out from heatstroke, and endure the constant feeling of moisture then spend a few seconds with the hoody off. It was her blanket, her armor--and no shy little soldier went into battle without their armor. The idea was repulsive, and not to mention terrifying. Occasionally the girl would wept a trembling hand across her forehead--and glance futilely about for a water fountain. No porcelain glistened in the forest--so the girl did not whine, merely ignored it. The girl ducked inside the folds of the clothing every so often, and when she spoke, the fabric seemed to muffle her words.

[Whoo--random paragraph]

--

"Oh..."
Aubre murmured to herself, the word was just a single puff of air. It held no real significance, besides showing the Persian that she was respectful enough to pay attention when the feline spoke. The minute after the words left her mouth though, the girl tilted her eyes [which were currently pointed at the ground] back toward the Persian's whiskered face. Wide eyes tried to discern the expression she had not found in the words, was the cat offended? Maybe she thought Aubre was calling her lazy? The girl had almost decided to backtrack her own words, when the Persian spoke again.
"...Mmhmm. I don't know where he is..."
The girl seemed to shrink again, the words hung in space, conveying the fact that she wa worried. While most people would not find anything dangerous about being lost in a park, Aubre could think up at least six horrid scenarios. The next question caught the teenager by surprise, and for the first time in her conversation of mumbling she found herself completely and utterly tongue-tied.
" I'm not...no..."
The girl bit back her own retort, and ended with a very subdued answer. The girl seemed to be agreeing, just because it was safe.

"Thank you then...maybe they took another path.. But no pokemon it must be a quiet day..."
One would have found Achilles or Laan by now. Hell--if Achilles was here, he would have already frog-marched her across the park, and drug her back home. No swear words echoed around the park. No screams. If they hadn't walked down this path--or down the others, where were they?

The movement drew her mind back with a mental slap, and with a gesture of reverence, Aubre stepped away from the bench, giving the Persian plenty of room to lay on the ground. Why was her tail moving? That meant she was angry--in cats right? Why? What had she done? Maybe she should apologize again--
"Okay...I ...I hope you find them ...Miss."
No need to be disrespectful, the girl waited until the Persian started forward, before she herself moved.

The stone bench was now too quiet, the shadows much darker without the Persian to distract her. The girl's eyes caught Hatsheput's, and without so much as a thought, she trailed after her, being sure to keep in the middle of the path, in the sunlight.

Whenever someone passed however, she half threw herself into the foliage bordering the pathway, sometimes stumbling over the semi-circle fencing on either side of it. The girl did not want to intrude on anyone's personal space, which is why she trailed behind the Persian. At the start of each path, she paused, glancing down each thread of gravel, for bright scales, or waiting kidnappers. Maybe this was still a trap.

" ... Who are....? Nevermind."
No need to be nosy--it was just as horrid as being rude.
--


“Are--Are you sure sir? I can always go find someone else. And what do you mean no harm done?--I bowled into you like some kind of wooden battering ram….”
The Persian’s ears flattened against his skull, his tail curled tightly around his back-end, and blush covered his face. Whiskers drooped slightly, it was obvious he truly was sorry--he hated hurting other people. It was for that reason that he had stopped being a fighting pokemon , and became a lap kitty. When he spoke the word WOODEN though, his face contorted into one of annoyance, or at least one of sour taste.
“ Another Persian? ….No. Sorry sir. Never seen one of those actually. Just a few dragons, and some naughty little flying types….”
Blinking he shook his head.
“Are you sure I can’t help? I can go find the Persian if you want--I’m sure they aren’t too numerous around here. Even though I am a clumsy idiot I do have the nose of a ….”
The feline threw a few quick glances about, making sure his trainer was not in earshot.
“Well trained pooch. If you need to ..you could let that.. Typhlosion fellow out again, I’ll just go hide out somewhere.”
Maybe in a bunker?

Oh lord did he feel like a jackass. How did Achilles deal with doing things like this to people all the time? Was he too evil-hearted to care? Monstrous dragon.