Willow paused as she surveyed her prey cooly. A lone Deerling, grazing calmly in the distance with a blissful expression on its face. She narrowed her eyes, brandishing her hunting knife in her hands. She rested her foot around a twig, silently creeping towards the creature. She would not be able to outrun the Deerling, but she had more endurance, which meant she would chase it until it could no longer run anymore. At least.. this would be the plan if Kali hadn't insisted on helping her hunt. Kali was much faster than Willow, and could use her illusions to help them hunt. Though secretly, Kali preferred hunting without her illusions.. with bigger prey she tended to use them to help her. With this young deerling.. it would be as usual.. Kali would chase the creature into Willow's trap. And they'd have enough food for the carnivorous members of her team. Herself, Kali, and Castiel. This Deerling should have just enough. After all these years.. even with the convenience of human stores with their pre made and cut food, she preferred hunting. It was better that she knew her food had come from the wild, and her own hands assured the creature did not suffer before it passed. Pokemon trainers usually fed their pokemon processed pills or sugared candies made of berries, which Willow was sure was not good for them.
Willow darted from her cover, spooking the Deerling as she let out a wild snarl, flashing her teeth. The Deerling turned and fled, panic causing its eyes to roll back in its head as it ran directly into the jaws of a waiting Kali. With a snap of her teeth, the Deerling was dead. Willow scampered over towards it as Kali lay the creature down, blood dripping from her muzzle.
"Well done." Willow thanked Kali as she bent down over the Deerling. She blessed the creature, thanking it for giving its life so they could survive. After sitting vigil for a moment, Willow carved into the creature, sectioning flesh from bone.
Willow gathered together several dry twigs, reaching into her tattered backpack to pull out flint. She struck one rock against another, blowing and poking until the twigs lit. Slowly but surely she had a small, controlled fire in the shape of a square which allowed her to set a flat rock she'd found nearby on the fire. Moments later, the scent of cooking meat tickled her tongue, causing her mouth to water.
However, she threw the first piece to Kali, as this was her kill.
"It tastes of human. We must be near a settlement." Kali projected, using her illusions to communicate.
"I could not smell it because of the approaching rains."Willow curled her lip slightly as she popped some meat in her mouth.
"You are correct." Willow sat something like an animal, with her legs folded up against her chest, spread wide enough to allow her to jump up and start running if something bad happened.
"We should seek shelter there.. in the human place. Though i do not like it.. it is preferable to keep my skin and furs dry so i do not catch disease again."At the scent of meat drifting across the clearing, a stream of light appeared from the pokeballs Willow had tied to her body with paracord. Castiel appeared, standing a foot or so taller than an average Kabutops, scars littering his body. He immediately charged at the Deerling, cutting away at a good sized chunk of meat for himself. He let out its eerie cry as Kali growled at him, the burble of some kind of ancient monster from the depths of a world no one dared to know. Always the Alpha, Kali flashed her teeth, bearing down on the Kabutops.
"No." Willow commanded.
"Kali. Do not fight.""He has challenged the hierarchy." Kali snarled.
"I do not wish to treat your wounds after a spat with his scythes. I had enough last time he challenged Fury."Kali flicked her ear, letting out a growl.
"Very well. But i will keep an eye on him."As the trio finished their meals, Castiel returned himself to his ball in a huff. What was left of the Deerling was bones and skin, and Willow dug a whole with her hands, burying it inside. What little was left would feed the ground, and more life would stem from this single death.
Wiping the blood from her hands and onto her pants, Willow sheathed her hunting knife and headed towards the city with Kali close behind. As they approached the city, Kali used her illusions, disguising herself as a Gengar. This was a ghost, native to the region, one most people wouldn't ask questions about due to their human fears. Not to mention, this form baited others into using moves which had little to no affect on Kali. If something was going to happen.. she was already one step ahead of them. Not only that, but some Gengar could talk to others by using Psychic.. so talking with her trainer was covered as well.
Willow's eyes flicked to a flamboyant poster which was stuck to the walls of one of the buildings. A man wearing strange clothing.. and some kind of thing on his hat. Annoyed looking Pidgey were flying around him while an Ekans was leering from his sleeve, looking as if it was about to bite him. It was bright and tacky with a word she'd never read before. 'magician.'
"What is a Magi-can?" Willow asked, staring at Kali.
Kali as Gengar shrugged her shoulders.
"I have never heard this word."Willow reached for her field guide, rifling through each tattered page one at a time. Not a single one said anything about a Magi-can.
"It is not in the guide." she growled.
"A new experience...""Perhaps it shall be another thing like that 'battle royal' which was not a battle of royalty, nor a battle to become royalty.. but a battle to see who is best." Willow suggested.
"Perhaps. Only one way to find out." She floated around Willow, pausing at the sight of another human. A female, with yellow fur on her head. The scent of a Quilava radiated from nearby.. it smelled like the scent was coming from her bag strangely enough. Scenting the air again, Kali caught the faint scents of a bird pokemon, an Arcanine, some kind of ghost type, and one of the Eevee evolutions. It was harder to smell things when she had cloaked herself in illusion, and with the threat of rain as well.
Willow just stared at the girl blankly. It was kind of amazing how different humans could look from one another. How this one had blonde fur on her head which was impressively long. An easy target.. if someone grabbed her by the hair.. it would be easy to control her. The blonde furred human had sharper, angled features, and judging by distance was actually a bit taller than Willow, with slightly lighter skin. Willow made the decision to survey the female from a distance. If the female decided to approach, Willow would respond in kind. However, for now she was just going to stand here and not say a thing.
