[IC] Of Sea and Sky | Medieval Pokemon RP

[TwilightDragon]

Rain fell from the sky, pattering against the earth and producing a calming, natural melody. Birds chirped and cawed, scampering across the forest floor and fluttering between branches of the dark pines that made up Nightshade Forest. Creatures whose natural element was fire hid under rocks and pines with especially filled boughs. The day was turning to dusk—every wild Pokemon was getting their work done before night overcame the forest and the predators who relied on darkness ventured out. As time went on, the sun slipped behind the northern mountains of Luria, and shadow began to crawl over the land.

Nightshade Forest was mostly known for the Pokemon that came out at night. Glowing eyes seemed to peer at unwanted visitors from behind shadowy bushes and branches. At times, there was the bark of a Mightyena or the sharp screech of some larger beast deeper within the forest. Noctowl hooted and other, smaller beings hid under roots, hoping to scamper home before they could become a beast’s supper.

Soft paw pads carried Zuria across the forest floor, her vermillion eyes staring straight ahead. Her black pelt, although marked with bands of glowing azure, helped her blend in with her surroundings rather well. The strangely colored Umbreon Morph was nearly silent as she prowled toward a grounded Pidgey. The bird was probably resting on its flight home—a grave mistake on its part. It didn’t know that a hungry predator was upon it as it cooed softly and preened its feathers.

Zuria’s stomach growled as she took a step closer, pressing her body close to the ground. The Pidgey wouldn’t be able to see her behind the bush. Almost there. she told herself and raised her hackles in order to be able to jump on her prey. The Umbreon’s rear accidentally bumped against the brush, and the bird was alerted. It screeched as it took flight, and Zuria cursed under her breath. Arceus, damn it! Zuria growled, angry at herself as she stepped out from behind the bush. [i]I don’t know what’s wrong with me…

[Rune_Alchemist]

Night. Levinia had to admit, the night was her favorite time of the day. Specifically twilight. The time just before the sun set and the moon rose. She always found herself to have more...energy, in those small hours between dusk and dawn for whatever reason. Perhaps it had something to do with her being a Morph. She was a predator after all, and most predators tended to become more active around those hours so they can hunt their prey under the cover of night. Not that it mattered much to the Luxray morph. She didn't think too deeply about those things. She lazily opened one of her yellow eyes, waking up from the brief nap she had been taking.

Giving a stretch, giving a yawn and a small growl as she shook the water from the rain out of her fur. She must have been more tired than she thought, if she had slept through a rain shower that was still going on. Maybe she should go take refuge in a human town for a few days. Sleeping in the wild was fun and all, but sometimes it could become tiresome. She quickly dismissed the notion though. No good could come from dealing with humans, unless it was at spear-point. Sitting up, she yawned again, and took a look around her current position.

Earlier in the day, she had climbed up a tree and taken a rest on one of its limbs. A usual practice for her when she slept and she didn't have a nice, dark cave to make her home for the day in. Time to get moving then. Just as she went to leave the tree, however her stomach gave a low rumble. Well, maybe dinner first, then time to get moving and see where the winds would take her.

Nimbly jumping from the branch she had made her bed, she landed on the ground with a low thud, her weight leaving paw prints in the muddy ground. Once on the ground she sniffed the air, picking up the scents of anything that might be near, though the wet ground had muted the smells, so it was difficult to pinpoint the exact location of anything through smell alone. Well, good thing she was able to rely more on just her sense of smell.

As the sun set, the Luxray's eyes glowed a gold color and began to observe the surrounding area, picking up on various smaller pokemon that were scuttling around, attempting to make it home as night fell so they wouldn't become prey of the predators that lurked in this forest. A Rattata scampered away from her, taking refuge in a small den under a tree. A pidgey that seemed to have been startled by something some ways away took to the skies. She even spotted a Mightyena that seemed to be chasing down some larger prey. No, no. None of these would do. While she supposed she could go challenge that Mightyena for his food, she couldn't eat it all herself and she doubted the pokemon would be so kinda as to share. She needed...something smaller. Setting off quietly through the forest floor, It didn't take her long to find the perfect prey, Thanks to a Luxrays natural ability to see pokemon and people through objects.

A hoothoot made the unfortunate mistake of making a late night snack out of some berries on tree that was close enough to the ground for her to be able to reach with a little skill. Stealthily, Levi moved to a position where she could pounce on the bird pokemon without much trouble. She wanted this to be quick and clean. No need to make the pokemon suffer if it didn't have to. With a low growl and confident grin, she narrowed her eyes, then pounced. The poor hoothoot didn't stand a chance against the trained predator.

Her jaws locked firmly onto the bird, emitting a chilling aura from where she had bit the bird in the process. The hoothoot screeched, and struggled feebly as it attempted to free itself from her jaws. Levi landed, holding the hoothoot beneath her as it continued to struggle. Giving the hoothoot another swift bite, the pokemon was silenced quickly. Taking a relaxed posture, the morph took a seat, observing the area around it once more, to make sure she could dine in relative peace.

[TwilightDragon]

Zuria’s ear flicked in irritation as another growl escaped her stomach, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. Hunger was a horrible thing, especially when it was festering in one’s stomach for a day or two. The Umbreon shook out her fur, annoyed at the moisture that made it hang heavy on her body. She would have to look around more—she couldn’t go without another day of eating. She walked back into the brush, sniffing at the air. The screeching Pidgey had probably alerted the rest of the birds of the area that there was a predator afoot. She should have swatted it out of the air before it could fly out of reach, but she didn’t think that fast. A low growl escaped her lips as she ducked under a low hanging branch, parting her jaws to taste the air.

The rain was making it hard to hunt. It washed away the scent of the smaller Pokemon that she could hunt, and the only smell she caught was one of larger creatures. There had been a Mightyena close by, probably hunting a Stantler or Sawsbuck. There was another scent… one that was neither Pokemon nor human. Another Morph? her jaws clamped shut, and a snarl crossed her face. She had made it clear that this was her territory, and no one else’s. She had scratched the trees, rubbed against bushes and bark, and even stuck arrows deep with the ground. This Morph obviously ignored those signs.

Zuria’s ears flattened against her skull as she followed the smell. She heard the screech of a Hoothoot, but then it fell silent—there was no fluttering of its wings to signal that it had fled. Not only was there a Morph in the area, but it was hunting as well. That only made Zuria even angrier. The Umbreon Morph pushed her pace into a trot until she stumbled upon a sitting Luxray with a dead bird in its mouth. Even though the Morph was bigger than her, Zuria rushed out of the brush and lowered her head.

”What are you doing in my territory?” she snarled, making her fur raise up so she could appear bigger. If she could successfully beat the Luxray, then she could take its food. Honestly, she thought this was a fair fight—the Luxray had no moves that could seriously hurt her, like Bug or Fairy Type moves. Then again, Zuria had none that could fatally harm it, either. It was going to be balanced fight, even if the Luxray had high attack. Zuria had speed and defense on her side. Though, the Umbreon was bound to slip up. She was reckless, after all.

[Ipsie]

The sight of the sun setting was rather comforting to a certain individual that night, despite the fact that it was raining. Water pitter-pattered on the roof of a rickety, humble cottage, raindrops sliding down the overgrown flora crawling about its walls. A small figure was silhouetted in the dim light of a candle, leaning an elbow on the windowsill. Half-lidded, pale yellow eyes started out at the darkening land and the small houses scattered about in the distance that lined a haphazardly paved path. She could make out the sight of figures retreating behind closed doors, snuffed-out lamps and concealed windows as the night grew late, the landscape growing stiller and quieter as sleep became its main priority. Save for a certain Morph.

Eris pressed her head against the cold glass of the window, hearing nothing but the soft lullaby of the rain and the hooting of wild Pokemon in the forest nearby. She stood up and pulled the curtains closed, sighing as she turned to glance at her bedroom. The little room was mostly empty, save for a few packed bookshelves, a closet, and a little bed in the corner. One that would likely be unused tonight. Mother would be driving me mad about bedtimes right now, if she were here...

A sad sigh escaped her lips. But she was scarcely tired in any way. The fact that it was raining would surely deter any human right in their mind from going out at this time of day. It was the perfect condition for a little much needed freetime – just right for a Ghost-type to roam. Of course, there were always risks. A Morph hunter could appear, the rain might stop; she might not make it home on time before anyone noticed she was gone, and that would lead to trouble.

Eris shook the thoughts out of her head, not wanting to pass up a chance to have some freedom. She was going to die horrendously somehow, someday, anyway. It was not long until a translucent, pale blur floated through the walls of the cottage, unseen by anyone. The white Ghost Pokemon weaved in and around the ever-thickening branches of the forest, simply passing through most of them thanks to her intangible presence. She smiled, feeling a sense of peace wash over her as she took in the shadowy surroundings of the Nightshade, watching the scenery pass by her and enjoying the sense of freedom at last. She glided through the woods, going unnoticed to the wild Pokemon in the area as she was nothing more than a faded shape in the shadows. The only evidence of her presence was a sudden coldness in the area and a chill down your spine. Wild Hoothoots and Noctowls hooted to one another, and predators stalked the forest ground below for any weak souls. Being a Ghost-type, Eris rarely needed to eat, which was good in the case of her limited money and supplies.

The Froslass paused for a moment, hovering still atop of a branch as she caught sight of movement of something faintly glowing blue several feet below on the forest ground. Her faintly glowing vision made out the vague, four-legged shape of an Umbreon, which was not an unusual sight for a forest this dark. She admired the unusual coloration on what she assumed was a wild Pokemon, observing it as it failed to catch a fortunate Pidgey. Though, there was something about it other than its appearance that made her continue to watch it further as it approached another predator. Eris found herself silently floating there for a while, feeling bothered by the thought. It looked and acted just like any wild Pokemon in the Nightshade, but there was something different. Something off, and she did not know what. Perhaps she would figure it out by the time she returned home...

[Rune_Alchemist]

Just as Levi was about to dig her fangs into the hide of the hoothoot, one of her ears twitched as she picked up the sound of someone, or something trotting towards her position. She stood still, not turning to face the sound of the disturbance, instead she was content with taking a leisurely sitting position, with here eyes closed. It didn't take long for the source of the disturbance to make itself known. Another pokemon perhaps? No, it smelled to different. It was definitely another morph. Well, that was good, then. At least it wasn't a human she would have to scare off. Though, she had to wonder what this morph had wanted.

”What are you doing in my territory?” The Umbreon snarled.

Ah. So she had stumbled into her 'territory' then. How precious. Levi turned her head, just enough so that she could get a look at the Umbreon Morph out of the corner of her eye. She had to admit, the Umbreon was a rare breed. The blue rings on its body were indeed beautiful. But such a thing meant nothing to the Luxray morph. As far as Levi was concerned, this had become her territory the moment she had decided to rest here. If this Morph didn't like it, well, she was up for having a little...fun. She turned her head back to the Hoothoot that was going to be her food without so much as another glance at the other Morph.

"Your territory?" She began, her calm, arrogant tone clear to anyone who may have been listening. Even more so emphasized by the fact she didn't even turn to face the other one addressing her. "My, my. I have no idea what your talking about, runt. This became my territory as soon as I came here. So why don't you go on and leave before you do something you'll regret, hmm?" There was a brief pause, Levi turned her head ever so slightly again. "Or, perhaps you would prefer I have you for dinner instead? I haven't had a guest to the dinner table for quite some time. I could use some...intelligent company for once" She chuckled, a dark grin spreading across her face, sharp predatory teeth clear to any who saw it.

Her whole demeanor suggested that she didn't think Zuria was a threat at all. She was confident in her combat abilities, in human form and feral form. Of course, her joke about having her for dinner, was simply that. She would never harm another morph in such a way. She would have rather had met on more...amicable terms, with this umbreon, but she was intelligent enough to know that at this point the only course of action would probably be to fight. Perhaps after that, they could...try being less aggressive.

[PrincessOfMyBedroom]

Kale walked the battlements of Castle Silverlanding. He was on watch at the moment, keeping an eye out for any enemies that may dare to appear. Tension was high between the two lands as war drew near. It wouldn't be a surprise to find a soldier or two trying to get information on the opposite castle, in order to get a promotion. Kale didn't need to do that, he earned his rank through strength and experience. It was raining but Kale wasn't bothered by it too much, he was more disciplined than that. Besides, he wasn't a mere soldier, he was a full fledged knight. His crimson locks clung to his face and he brushed them out of his eyes so they didn't block his vision. Seeing was kind of important when one was watching for danger.

He glanced by his side where his Pokemon partner, and dead brother, Aiden was floating. His twin brother had been badly hurt on a simple patrol when his squad was attacked by a dangerous and powerful Morph. The healers had tried desperately to save him, but his wounds had been too bad. Since then he had developed a dislike for Morphs. Before then he didn't care about them unless they attacked. But now he really wanted the Morph who killed his brother dead. A few weeks after his brother's death, he discovered a Honedge on a patrol. He realized it was his brother, and the two had been fighting together ever since. He had gotten some strange looks from the other knights. But once he told them that his brother still wanted to fight, even after death, they understood. Once a knight, always a knight.

Aiden was using his soul sucking cloth to cover himself from the rain. Kale chuckled at this, it was just a funny thing to see. Even though his brother was now a Pokemon, he still did some very human things. Aiden looked at him when he chuckled, and snapped the cloth, throwing the gathered rain water at Kale. Even if it didn't do much, it was still funny. Both of them laughed and then returned their focus to the patrol.

[Raijinslayer]

Korrey

Korrey was bored, scratch that, he was beyond bored. He was currently flying around the sky on Shade's back, he didn't know where exactly, looking for something to do, or more importantly, someone to fight. He didn't care who they were, or even what they were, just as long as they could put up a good fight. He wanted a challenge a real honest challenge, but he didn't think he was going to find it tonight.
"Shade, where is the nearest castle friendly to Luria?" he was tired, and wanted to sleep with a roof under his head.

That would be Castle Silverlanding, Korrigan, do you wish to stay there for the evening

"Yeah, go in for a landing please. Here's to hoping they recognize the Living guardian of Lord Layr's most loyal supporters"

As you wish, I just hope they have cleaner battlements for me to rest on then Castle Umbraisis

"The battlements at home are fine, you just hate having the smallest speck of dirt mess up your beautiful plumage, you vain bastard"

Shade refused to make a comment, silently changing his course from 'nowhere-in-particular' to Silverlanding. Hopefully, the inhabitants would be to shocked/frightened by his arrival. Really, those rumors about him stealing souls are way over blown. He couldn't steal souls, only drain life, and even then he couldn't do it enough to kill anyone. Well he could, but he had sealed that power away when he joined forces with the Umbraisis family. He knew that such power should never belong to anyone family, so he responsibly restricted his powers, and they would stay that way until he ever decided to split from the family.

Fang

Fang was out hunting solo, looking to see if their were any good, unclaimed hunting spots for her clan. Their current location was running low on food, so it was up to her to find a new one. She had left Razor in charge while she was gone, since he was the second strongest and the next best leader, only thing holding him back was his desire to kill every human he saw. That would get him killed one day, and she would rather not have the rest of the clan suffer for his hate. What made it even more ridiculous was that he had never met a human, only gone by stories he had been told. He was such a child sometimes, even though he was 3 years her senior.

She was flying high over Nightshade forest in her feral form, about a good 4 hour flight west of their island home, and had found no good land that hadn't already been claimed, Which meant that they would have move some poor sap out of their territory. It sucked, but it was either them or her clan, and as the Alpha, she had a duty to her clan. She was about to fly back, when she felt a grumbling in her stomach. She needed to eat something quick, else it would be a hard trek over the stretch of ocean between Luria and the island. She landed on a tree branch, using her sensitive ears to pinpoint prey, a Mightyena was eating something, a Pidgey flying off as if startled by something, and. . . voices. Human, no not quite which means they were Morphs, and seemed to be having a territory dispute. She glided silently closer to wear they were.

"Luxuray and Umbreon, eh. And a Hoot-Hoot for the winner"

While Fang was positive she could take the Mightyena, why give up on a possible free meal, and it's not like she had anything to worry about type-wise with either pokemon. So she got into position, and waited for the fighting to start, so she could make a break for the Hoot-Hoot. It would last her long enough, or at least to the coast where she would be able to catch something else, or steal from the human towns.

[Eklispe]

A Collab between Eklispe and Avanhelsing

Collab Post

Zaegar stalked over the rooftops gazing down upon the unwitting populace below, it was really quite amazing how nobody ever looked up. He continued moving over towards his intended target tonight, a noble of some renown, and none of it good.

It was a wonderful night for a walk. That would be true if he was a normal boy, however he was not. This man had a job to do tonight and it involved killing a noble. He could smell the blood in the air and so could Z. His friend was in his usual form of looking almost identical to Alex except his hair was black and he had fox ears. Few could tell the difference but Z's tail could be visible from above them.

As Zaegar closed the distance between himself and his mark he noticed a pair of people wading through the crowd, clearly going against the flow. His eye's narrowed as he noticed that one of them had a tail, that meant that either it was a morpher, or a pokemon in disguise. Either way they clearly had a mission in mind, and looking at their direction they appeared to be heading to the same place he was. He sped up his rooftop racing to make sure he arrived before they did, then sat and waited to see what they did when they arrived

Alex looked up since he could have sworn that saw someone watching him from above. The pack had taught him to watch everywhere around him no matter what. He needed to be so he could be safe. Z looked up and growled at something only he could see. So Alex was on edge. He scratched his friend's ear and got a smile for that. Once they got to area he looked around and yelled up to the roof. "Come on down. I can hear you." He said not loud enough to bother the guards.
Zaegar looked down curious as the pair had seemed to notice him, sloppy work he would have to be more careful if he wanted to pull of this hit. He silently shimmed down the building and stepped out of the shadows to lean on the wall. "And everybody can hear you." Zaegar retorted, "Got a reason for calling me down or you just need someone to chat with beside your friend there?"

Alex raised his eyebrow and smirked. "They can't or they don't want to. Z's illusions can sort of mask my noise. Oh Z can you shift back?" He asked his friend as he removed his illusion. Now a large Zoroark was standing next to him looking at the man. "No we are going to need friends to get us into that place. Without your help I can't kill the slug." He said laughing softly. "Oh I am the Shadowfox."

Zaeger managed to look unimpressed, "Guess that answers both of my questions. Well then Shadowfox, the name's Zaegar."

Alex looked over the man. "So do you have any skill in this cause we need to get moving now." He said looking worried.

Zaeger grinned "Skills is a bit of an understatement, ya i can get you in. Long as i got dibs on the loot I'll get you where you need to go." He gestured at them to follow him as he went back to the rooftops. "Lucky for us this here noble likes his tree's, he's got them grown just so that, if you're real careful, you can get from this here rooftop all the way inside his house. And you can bet someone as greedy as him hasn't bothered to hire guards for the inside."

Alex sighed as Z redid his illusions s the too climbed in over the wall into a window bold as brass. With a quick flick of his wrist he knocked out one of the guards. "You coming?" He asked seemingly not afraid to be caught. He was going to get this guy no matter what. "He is in the dining room. I intend to kill him with Serviper venom in his wine." He told him once he was in. "Lead the way." He told the man. "This guy is rich."

Zaegar muttered under his breath "Tell somehow how to get in without touching and guard and he just has to go and knock people out." He hurriedly followed after, "Well seems you got this under control, if we are going with the get rid of everyone in our way approach. Anyway unless you need me for something else I'm go find this guys treasure room. All these nobles have one somewhere."

Alex nodded and quickly moves off. "Go get the treasure.I am going to go kill a noble with his favorite wine." He said handing a vial of something green to Z who changed his look to that of a servant. The Zoroark ran off to go kill the noble. Alex waited for his friend to come back. He did not know what that guy was but he figured that the guy could take care of himself.

Zaegar ran off quickly covering ground and looking for the most likely place the noble would hide his treasure. He looked in disgust upon the Golden door that he found, pathetic. He silently and adeptly picked the poor quality lock on the door and opened it. He looked in awe upon the horde of treasure within. Luckily for him it was on the ground floor or else he wouldn't be able to pull this off. He morphed into his pokemon form and grinned, he loved how much stronger and faster he was in this form, and it was perfect for getting the job done. Quickly with the air of someone who had done this before he used Brick Break on the floor shattering the stone. Then he quickly ripped through the soft soil underneath and made a tunnel to a short distance away from the mansion so that he could come back for it later. Now for the tricky part, he gathered all the gold above the hole he had made and used Flame Charge liquifying it and causing it to run down the carefully crafted downhill tunnel. Now to make sure that no one would find it. He carefully used Brick Break on the pillars supporting the room and left only one uninjured. He had laid the stress just so soon the sole pillar would break and the room would come crashing down disguising the hole he had made.

Zaegar morphed back and went out of the room carefully closing the door and re locking it, panting with exertion. He went back through the empty hallways to where Shadowfox had been waiting, he was gone now. Zaegar looked around irked, well he would make sure the job had been done right, never know when people were gonna mess something up. He carefully whisked himself into the dinning room through a servants entrance and managed to get up to the rafters watching the dinner take place below him. So far so good the slob of a noble was about to... no wait he was giving the wine to a taste tester. Arcues dam it, Serviper Venom would take effect immediately, there was no way the noble would take the wine now. Zaegar watched frustrated as the servant convulsed to the ground quickly dieing from the poison

Alex had been taught to never leave something to other, even Z. So he decided to sneak through the building and climbed into the rafters to watch, He then noticed one rather large problem. One was that the noble was a sack of lard too big for the toxin. Second he had a taste tester. Damn it. Z looked worried as the servant died. This was bad.

A guard looked around bored, a servant dieing was no big deal in this place, however unfortunately for the pair of would-be assassins his eyes happened to wander up to the rafters and he spotted Z's to conspicuous ears. He yelled out "Up the there! The Assassins!" He immediately whipped out his crossbow and took a shot at Z.

Zaegar groaned as a guard noticed them, it looked like there was going to be no easy way out of this, there were two guards in the room and from the sounds of it at least three more coming up the stairs. He shouted to Z "You take that one!" pointing at the one below Z. Then promptly dropped down to attack the guard below himself. The guard managed to roll out of the way as Zaegar dropped down attempting to slice him. However Zaegar hurled a knife at the man as he came to his feet sticking it right in his throat. Zaegar bounded over to him and ripped it out making sure the guard was facing away from him.

Z dove to the side as the bolt was fired. The guard who had fired at him earned himself a dagger in the throat. He gasped in pain before collapsing screaming in pain from the rather horrid death. "Get the guards! Z help him!" He called to his friend as he turned to the noble. With a horrible grin he lunged for the man with his sword drawn. He hoped the pig would run.

Zaeger quickly got to work picking up chairs and anything else he could find barricading the stairway from the upcoming bodyguards, it would take them a while to hack through all the stuff in the way and that time would be more than enough to escape.

However the fat slug was not fast enough to get away so Alex quickly slashed his sword towards the man's head. When he did so the man turned his head to him and was quickly removed of his head with final gasp. Alex grabbed the removed head and stuffed it into a bag and began to turn and run through the hall they had come in. "Zaegar! Come on! We are getting out of here!" He yelled running for the window figuring the guards were in pursuit.

Zaeger quickly turned away from his makeshift barricade and sprinted after Alex, it should hold until they were able to make good their escape. He quickly vaulted out the window after Alex and ran into the town far away from the uproar, in addition to the mayhem already there the pillars he had set up before came crashing down taking half of the mansion with it. Zaegar grinned that was the most mayhem he had caused in a while, after making it a safe distance form the mansion he came to halt panting. "Mission accomplished." he said with a grin to Alex

Alex ran helter skelter away from the building. He had not destroyed the building and that meant that Zaegar had been the one to do it. Impressive. "Yes it was. Well my masters need proof so I shall meet you tomorrow in the Main Square for your payment. Good Night." He said vanishing into the shadows.

[Raijinslayer]

John had been bored, wandering around town with nothing to do, when he saw the mansion of some local lord collapse. Well then, that seems fun.

"Come on Axia, lets go heck it out." He yelled over to his companion, before hi-tailing it to the action.

The golden dragon-type was close at his heels, giving out a roar of manic glee that her master soon joined in.
When they arrived at the scene, John gave Axia a signal to start sniffing around for any scents. She quickly found one, and from the growl she gave, it was a Morph to. What luck, If there was anything he loved to do, it was hunt Morphs. They gave such a good fight, a shame it was all for naught in the end. He followed his companion to the area where he could see a dark-haired man by himself in a small alleyway.

"Why hello there, Morphy" John yelled, Axia giving a low menacing growl, both of their eyes seeming to shine with insanity, " perhaps you want to come tell me about what happened in yonder castle over there. Once I lay you on the rack, of course." Torture, something he had always wanted to try, but had never had the control to do, since when ever he fought an enemy, he ended up killing them. Maybe today would be different, but he severely doubted it. He rushed at the man, mace swinging through the air, shield at the ready to block an attack should he need it. Axia had taken a preemptive measure by using Dragon Dance, and was ready to charge the Morph if he tried to escape.

She hoped he did, as she wanted to hack the man to pieces, would have done by now if John hadn't taught her that when he attacked first, that meant he wanted to play with the enemy, and she respected her master's wishes.

[DimCarcosa]

Odessa sat on a rare piece of dry (comparatively dry, anyways) earth, careful to keep her entire body under the makeshift canopy that Blain, the lumbering Abomasnow that served as her traveling companion, made to shield them both from the rain. Rain. Of course it had to rain, and keep raining, the day she decided to make her way back to Glassfield through the Nightshade Forest. She had been warned, but she hadn't expected the rain to last so long. Blain didn't seem to expect it either; otherwise, he'd have tried to stop her. To make matters worse, the rain and darkness obscured the traveler's marks that were set to guide people through the forest. A trip that should have been over in an hour or two stretched until what little was visible of the sun made it clear that night was quickly approaching.

As the sky gradually became darker Odessa nudged herself closer to the meager fire that she had made from whatever materials she could scrounge from the immediate area. Blain sat just outside the improvised shelter, seemingly enjoying the cold rain. He had decided to stay outside and scare away any potential attackers. After all, only the foolish or the desperate would dare going toe-to-toe against a seven foot tall Pokemon; both would be easily taken care of. She grabbed her spear from the ground and looked it over. A solid shaft of pseudowood topped off by a wickedly sharp solid steel spearhead. Almost like a hunting spear in design, though lacking the protrusions designed to stop a charging Pokemon. The flickering fire reflected off of the spearhead in an enchanting fashion. She could just stare at the reflection until she...

A loud roar interrupted her thoughts. She immediately identified it as Blain, who had already gotten to his feet and assumed a threatening pose. She halfway stood up, gripped her spear tightly, and called out to the Abomasnow. "Hey, everything okay out there?" Blain remained silent for a few moments before giving a dismissive grunt. Must have just been a Ratticate that got too curious. Odessa settled back down. "Glad you're okay. Are you sure you're okay out there?" She asked, but was answered with nothing but a small movement and silence. She grinned and slowly lowered herself to the floor until she was laying on her side, using a small pack as a pillow. She knew that if there was anyone that needed rest, it was Blain, but the old bastard as too stubborn to admit it. All she could do is use the opportunity to rest. She'd have to treat Blain to something nice at Glassfield, maybe a massage at one of their renowned bathhouses. Now that she thought about it, she probably deserved one as well.

---

Blain sat outside of the shelter that he had built out of manipulated bark and leaves, the creeping sense of fatigue was hardly felt by his hardy body. He was used to keeping watch of Odessa while she slept, and was damn proud of his job. He had already shooed off several smaller Pokemon with a stern glare, but the Mightyena that he had caught eyeing him gave him a small measure of worry. It wasn't the Mightyena itself that worried him, but rather the attention that he might have brought on them through his roar. Still, it was a problem that would be taken care of when it presented itself.

With a low rumble Blain steeled himself for the long night ahead.

[Archmage MC]

Magnus was busy preaching to the commoners who were attending his preaching when a loud crash could be heard from outside. "... And that is all for today. Hail the Helix Fossil." Magnus said as people filed out of the church to look at the commotion. Coming down from her perch, Magnus's Gardevoir commented on the situation, having seen a mansion fall from her perch at the top of the church.

"Hm... " Magnus said, pulling out one of his books and sifting through it. "Well, he wasn't a worshipper of the Helix, so thats quite sad. Oh well. Lets go check it out. Keep on high alert." he continued, going to his chambers to grab a few vials of chemicals that had been cooking in his alchemy lab. Once he had a good amount stuffed in his robes and satchel, he went to go check up the commotion, Gardevoir following suit in a protective manner.

When they had gotten in range of the ruined mansion, Magnus saw someone he didn't recognize and a morpher, the unknown person getting ready to attack said morpher. "Hm... stay on guard. I'll see if either of them can be converted. And if by chance the morph does and the other person doens't, I guess we'll have to defend the morph." Magnus said. "Come to think of it, Morphs are probably an untapped demographic. Imagine if we could convert them all, what a joyous thing that would be." Magnus continued, approaching the two but keeping a safe distance.

"Hey you two. You shouldn't fight unless its under the guidance of the Helix Fossil. Have you let the Helix Fossil nto your hearts?" MAgnus said, pulling out a preaching book that contained a vial of chemicals that the others couldn't see, Gardevoir keeping herself nearby but concealed, ready to strike if things went bad.

[Raijinslayer]

Fang

Fang flinched at the sound of a roar, then cursed to herself, hoping she hadn't given her position away. Who was the idiot who had decided to piss of an Abomasnow?!?!

John

John froze in his charge, and stared at the rambling guy in the robe. He had no idea what the guy was talking about, only that he wanted to stop the fight. Well then, that simply would not do.

"Oi Crazy, go preach your rubbish elsewhere, I'm trying to apprehend an assassin here, in the name of his Lord. . . um, the royal brother with the Ho-oh." That usually made people back off, and if this guy didn't, then he would get the old 'Smash and Bash' as well. He focused all of his attention on the priest guy, knowing Axia wouldn't let the Morph get the drop on him, but he also made a signal with his hands, telling Axia to use Dragon Dance again.

[Archmage MC]

Magnus wasn't phased by the idle threat. Worshippers of Ho-oh were far and few between, and that mirrored the weakness of the pokemon itself, but he didn't say it out loud. "Honestly? I was in the middle of preaching some tennits and stories and I hear a building collapse. I come over here and see that you are fighting a morph. I assumed that your fight caused the building to collapse. And being the mansion it was, some lord was going to be very angry." Magnus went on, flipping some of the blank pages in his fake preaching book.

"Of course how do you know it was the morph who 'assassinated' someone? It could've just as easily been one of those Arceus extremists or something. Unless you knew the Lord who owned this building personally, it would be better off to see proper judgement under the Helix Fossil than your own sort of vigilantism." Magnus continued, putting his hand inside the book, ready to toss the vial if need be, although to everyone looking onwards, he just looked like he was in prayer. "Worship the Helix Fossil, and I can very easily pass judgement, or explain your reasoning. Either or will do just fine. But you really shouldn't demolish buildings for a sport. One day you'll mess with the wrong person, and the Helix can't protect you if you don't worship it."

[Eklispe]

Zaegar mentally cursed, a morph hunter, after he was already tired from the nights exertions as well. Still if he played this right he might be able to bluff his way out, though the angry looking man wasn't leaving much room for conversation, luckily some old guy was giving him some time to compose himself. While their attention wasn't on him he quickly and subtly rubbed a balm on himself, the stuff was worth twice it's weight in gold but after tonight that wasn't an issue, it masked all scent of morph so there was no way to tell until it wore off. Hard as Arcues's basement to find too. He finished and called out. "Hey you guys seem to be tossing out he word Morph a lot but you got the wrong guy. Let your little dragon there sniff me out and he'll tell you i ain't no morph. He probably smelled the guy i was chasing to here, i was following him because he was running away from the mansion but he gave me the slip." His experience made the lie slide off his tongue with ease.

[Raijinslayer]

"What, but Axia is never wrong, and she smelled a Morph's scent and that scent led to you."

He gave a look over to Axia, who gave a shake of her head. She couldn't smell the morph, but she was still very suspicious of the man. For most people, that was enough reasonable doubt to leave the guy alone. John was not 'most people'.

"Okay, Let me explain something here, first to Crazy Fossil Guy, then to you, Morphy. Fossil Guy, I came to investigate the mansion crumbling, same as you, and my Axia here followed a Morpher sent to this guy, right here. Also, since his scent came from the scene of the crime, he more likely than not has something to do with it, which I will find out shortly. And while I don't know the noble personally, he is a vassal of the lord of this land, and that is reason enough for me to apprehend his murderer, or his murder's accomplice."

John then turned to around to face the Morpher, with an overly elaborate flourish. This was another of his signals to Axia to Dragon Dance once more, as he knew that right now, a fight was inevitable. Just the way he liked it.

"As for you, I trust my Axia's sense of smell more than I trust you, so you should turn yourself in, or get ready to fight. Please say you're going to fight, I promise that you might die if you fight hard enough, reason why that's better is that means that you won't get tortured." John began to close in on the Morph, eye lit up with insanity shield and mace at the ready. He knew that Morph's hated to get cornered like this, and would lash out. If this man did, than he was right and he was free game, if he didn't, oh well. He'd probably survive. Maybe.

Axia, kept an eye on both the strange man who kept mentioning some stupid fossil, and the man who she had been sure smelled like a Morph a second ago. She also took another whiff, catching another scent on the wind, a Pokemon, she couldn't tell what kind, only that the smell came from the same direction as the Crazy man. So he wasn't alone, good, it meant this was more fun. She would be ready to strike, once either of them tried to strike at her master, powered up by 3 Dragon Dances, she was confident that she could out speed and overpower anything that came about.

[Eklispe]

Zaegar continued to lean casually against the wall, this wasn't he worse situation he had been in and it wouldn't be the last. "So let me get this straight, Ya say you trust your pet dragons sense of smell more than anything, and yet she doesn't smell morph on me? And from the looks of it your pet dragon doing the funky dance smells something else and yet you refuse to even consider the possibility that you're wrong." Zaegar sighed. "Well I'm just not seeing a whole lot of sense here." While his hands were still behind his back without moving his arms at all Zaegar reached for a few of his toys in case something went wrong and the Hunter wasn't able to be convinced.

[Raijinslayer]

"Well, it's a good thing I don't like to make sense, that's the fun of not being sane." John said, before making a fast charge at the Morph, his shield up, and his mace ready for a swing, not at the man's head, but his legs. So that if he did turn out to be wrong, he wouldn't get into to much trouble.

Axia was focusing more on the man her master was attacking then the crazy man, not completely blind to what he was doing, but not entirely aware either.

[Eklispe]

Zaegar kept his toys in reserve and decided instead to retaliate simply. He jumped up dodging the mace swing and pushed off the wall kicking at the man shoving him away and then returning to his neutral position, "What does it take for a guy to get left alone around here?" He complained loudly.

[Raijinslayer]

Axia struck the moment the man moved, smashing into him from the side before he could react. Her speed and power extremely boosted, she sent the man into the wall of another, fortunately abandoned building.

John turned around after he stabilized himself, only to see Axia plow into the man and send him into a building.

"Well obviously, look less suspicious and do a better job of covering your tracks." John replied as he walked over to the hole, guard up as he motioned for Axia to take the lead inside. If the guy wasn't a Morph, he would most likely be seriously injured. Not so for a Morph, as they were much tougher than people, and sometimes even pokemon. Which made fighting them even more fun.

[Archmage MC]

Magnus sighed as the two people decided to fight anyway, the one man's pokemon acting rashly. "You do know other people are here inspecting this rubble. If any of them get caught in the crossfire, I WILL take both of you out! No harm shall come to the innocent under the watchful eye of the Helix." Magnus shouted at the two through the hole in the wall they had made, the two of them passing a few bystanders as they flew past, who also looked at the strange fight before them. Magnus moved closer with the people, Gardevoir following close behind, staying in cover but readying an attack just in case.

"Hello, have you accepted the Helix Fossil into your heart?" Magnus said at the onlookers, still holding his hand inside his 'book' in case things got hairy. One of the unlookers hailed Magnus as he addressed the small crowd, pleasing him.