[b][u][color=f49ac2][h3][center]~Melody Hemlock~[/center][/h3][/color][/u][/b]
Sounds. Lots of sounds. Footsteps, the light breeze, the unmistakeable sound of a giant rock snake sliding along the ground…

Well, it was a lovely day for dying. That, at least, was for certain.

And then suddenly, there came a voice out of nowhere, like a messenger of salvation. If she was religious, she'd have said that it was like he'd been sent by Lord Helix himself.

[color=fff200]“Sorry for barging into your party,”[/color] said Ryley. [color=fff200]“But we need to lead it to the Spinarak nest.”[/color]

Melody stared at him. She… hadn’t really expected anyone to come after her. Really, she’d basically resigned herself to a slow and painful death. 

But… Ryley had come after her. Ryley had followed her right into the face of danger, and now here he was, trying to save her.

She wanted to cry, and she really wasn’t sure why. Her throat felt a little tight.

[i]This boy can be your friend too,[/i] whispered the ugly little voice in Melody’s head. [i]You wanted friends, didn’t you? He’s not Abigail, but protect him with your life anyway. And maybe if you stick with it for long enough, he’ll be grateful enough to be your friend forever. That’s what you want, right? To have friends?[/i]

It wasn’t fair to think like that, and Melody shook herself. They had to survive the Onix first. But she smiled tentatively anyway. She had to be brave, even if Abigail wasn’t here, and especially in front of… her newest friend.

Because really-- someone showing up to save your life, right in the nick of time? Well, it's pretty hard [i]not[/i] to feel grateful to them. Even if you're probably both going to die.

[color=f49ac2]“T-thanks,”[/color] she said tentatively. A quick glance up told her that the Onix was heading in the opposite direction. Were they in the clear? [color=f49ac2]“For… for coming after me. I didn’t think anyone would.”[/color]

Unfortunately not. Even as she watched, it swung around, starting to head back.

Ryley was still standing up— not good. Melody thought fast: in a surprising display of strength, she yanked him down onto the ground next to her. [color=f49ac2]“Sorry,”[/color] she whispered, recalling her Pokemon at the same time.

And then it hit her… like a ton of rocks. Heh. So paying attention in biology in middle school was going to pay off after all.

[color=f49ac2]“Let’s play dead,”[/color] she said, as softly as she could manage. [color=f49ac2]“I don’t know if we’ll be able to lead it to the Spinarak nest in time. But… Onixes don’t eat meat, do they? I’m pretty sure they only eat rocks. So it was probably chasing us because it was angry, not because it actually wants to eat us. If it thinks we’re dead, it’ll leave us alone... uh, hopefully.”[/color]