[X] My Assistant

[Ceilni]

"He's so adorable. What a precious little guy. And helpful too."

Darci nodded.

"I hatched him, and ever since i raised him, he's been this way. He's so nice to everyone and everything. He really is precio- OW!" She said as Victor pecked her in the back. "Yeah, yeah. I love you guys too..." She said, turning back towards Maxwell and Victor. She pet them both on their heads before turning to DC who had just let out her pokemon and persuaded her new shroomish to go on it's merry way.

"Well, maybe you'll feel up to helping out after you've had lunch... Methinks there will need to be some serious training sessions soon..."

Darci laughed and nodded before being very surprised when she moved backwards and her phone beeped.

"Um..." She pushed herself against the tree and then moved forwards, repeating this several times. Each time her phone beeped. "That's kinda funny." She said. Neither knew that an extra pair of eyes were watching from the a small distance away.

"Would a Tempeh stir fry be alright with you?"

Darci grinned.

"That would be great! Vic made it all the time! I'm looking forward to it already!" She said, laughing happily. There was a quiet Shfft sound from the bushes nearby. Darci turned. "Was that a pokemon? Think it was one of ours?"

SCARPER TYM. OMG *shot*

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 14 2009, 06:12 PM

[Red Kitten]

"Um... That's kinda funny."

"What's funny?" DC inquired. She had gotten up and had painfully transitioned into a squatting position in the middle of the clearing, all her weight on the good leg. This made her very unstable, and she had to concentrate just to stay upright. She tested the ground with her fingers, trying to find a place that was dry enough to be a good foundation for a fire. She brushed some leaves away and pressed her palm to the earth underneath. The dirt was damp, but not muddy, and she knew that it was the best that she was going to get. DC began to place some small rocks in a circular shape to contain the future flames.

Shfft

DC froze instantly. In the wild she was always on alert, so it wasn't unusual for her to be startled by a sudden noise or movement. But this noise in particular made her skin crawl. It was unexplainable, simply a gut feeling. Stop it, don't let your fears overcome you, DC scolded herself mentally.

"Was that a pokemon? Think it was one of ours?"

"Could be. Devil! Is that you?" DC often subconsciously tossed around Devil's name when she was nervous, perhaps as an intimidation technique.

Suddenly, Magic whipped around and scampered over to DC, abandoning its compost feast to promptly hide behind her leg. "Oh, so now you want to be friendly." The fungus had no reaction. It simply cowered next to DC's calf. DC frowned, her eyebrows raised in concern. "Now that's odd. There might be a wild Pokemon in there, maybe a natural predator of Shroomish." She reached for a Pokeball and used it to snatch up Magic. Somehow she felt a little bit better now that the Shroomish was safely clipped to her belt.

"Of course, it could just be one of ours. My Pokemon don't usually take this long to hunt. They should be back any time now, hopefully with some kindling." DC wasn't exactly sure if she was trying to reassure Darci or herself. But she knew she would feel much better when Devil returned. The feeling of being stranded with only an untrained Shroomish to defend her was not one she liked.

[Ceilni]

"What's funny?"

"My phone keeps saying that i get reception in the tree or something stupid. It's probably a mega spam. It's just text spectacular." She said, turning it off before sighing.

After inquiring about the sound, DC replied.

"Could be. Devil! Is that you?"

Darci sighed.

"Maybe..." She sighed before staring at the bushes. She stared at the leafy bushy bunch of greenery. She felt as if it was somehow staring at her. She felt almost intimidated, by a bush... She felt a rush that she rarely felt rush through her veins while knowing in the back of her mind that she would probably be disappointed by one of their pokemon coming out.

"Oh, so now you want to be friendly."

Darci looked back at Shroomish. It seemed to be cowering behind DC as if something really, REALLY, bad was going to happen. Darci brushed it off but it was still kept in the back of her mind.

"Now that's odd. There might be a wild Pokemon in there, maybe a natural predator of Shroomish."

Darci nodded but turned away. She threw her cell phone in her backpack and sighed. Just as she did so something jumped from the bushes. The dashed and grabbed Darci's and DC's backpacks. Just as the figure was running, it stumbled over DC's sprained ankle and clawed at Darci's injured arm for support, yanking her forwards and into the dirt.

"AGH!" She screamed, hitting the floor. Just as she hit she started to tear but scrambled up when she remembered her new Eevee, Vincent, Was in there. She jumped up and ran, hoping DC wouldn't follow with her hurt ankle.

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 14 2009, 09:09 PM

[Red Kitten]

What happened next was so quick that DC hardly knew what hit her. A person, that appeared to be a man, had come rocketing out of the bushes. Then, said person darted over towards DC and before she knew it he had tripped over her injured ankle, quite forcefully in fact. DC's eyes were nearly watering from the pain as she fell backwards onto her tailbone, emitting a a noise she would have normally been ashamed of, if she wasn't so distracted by her ankle. In the back of her mind she registered that Darci had cried out as well and was likely also in pain, but DC was a little preoccupied with her viciously throbbing ankle. Her breathing grew sharp and ragged as she clawed off her boot, growling in response to the extra agony the act caused, and held her ankle for a moment. At this point the girl was practically curled into the fetal position, eyes snapped shut, but the contact from her warm hands seemed to absorb some of the pulsating pain and she was able to bear it.

She began to regain her self control when the feeling in her ankle could be once again described as a dull throb. It was at that exact moment that DC realized that she had just been robbed, that Darci had apparently gone after the mysterious figure, and that Devil came bursting out of the underbrush in response to DC's shout. He had a mouthful of kindling, which he dropped the instant he reached the clearing.

"Char!" He ran at full speed to his DC, his blue eyes filled with worry. DC wanted nothing more than to cuddle him for comfort, but she knew better. She knew precisely what she had to do, the only thing she could do in this situation.

"Devil, we were just attacked, by a human." She paused, attempting to catch her breath, Devil standing at full attention with his head cocked. "Darci's gone after him. I need you to follow her, fast as you can, and assist her. If she gives you an order, you must follow it." Breathe in, breathe out. Focus DC, focus! "I've taught you not to use your powers to harm humans, but at this time you must make-" Breathe, breathe, ankle throbbing, Focus! "-an exception. Now go, but use your discretion!"

Devil's head nodded quickly and he dashed off in the direction that DC pointed. He was reluctant to leave her in her current condition, but he wanted to please his trainer as well. If he heard any sign that she was in trouble again though, he was going to ignore orders and return to her side. Devil reached full speed, the flame on his tail whipping behind him. He didn't stop or even consider slowing down until he had finally reached Darci. His little lizard brain knew that he had to let Darci know he was there to help.

"Charmander!" he cried out boldly from behind Darci, hoping to catch her attention. He couldn't really see what was going on in front of him, but he tensed his muscles to prepare for combat.

Meanwhile, DC was struggling to her feet, grappling for her walking stick. She didn't even bother to put her boot back on. "There's no time," she told herself as she began to limp, almost hop, in the direction Darci and the thief had gone. By now her ankle was even more swollen, and had turned a delightful shade of purple in places. With the hand unoccupied by the stick, DC searched for the knife in her pocket, fingers closing on it purposefully when she found it. She was unsure of what she was planning on doing with it. After all, she was hardly trained in knife fighting and the thief could be armed to the teeth for all she knew. But, somehow, she hoped that the sight of a knife might frighten the man, at the very least put him on edge and make it more likely for him to make a mistake. Now if only she could reach them in time...

[Ceilni]

Darci's arm throbbed and she could feel the bandages flowing and flying off. Apparently it was enough to scratch off the bandages. Many things that she valued were in that bag. She wanted that bag, she NEEDED that bag. DC needed hers too and she wasn't gonna let some damn thief stop her. DC had her supplies in there, Darci had her cell phone, her supplies, and her mementos in there! She jumped over a log but her toe caught the bark. She yelped and braced herself with her injured arm, although it was just habit. She cringed as pain exploded in her wrist. The sling DC had offered had been all but forgotten, and she shook for a second before scrambling to her feet.

"Victor! Vincent!" She called, an unknown feeling welling up in her chest. Anger and Sadness exploded through her entire body. Her right hand went into a tight fist and her left did the best it could to do the same. She forgot the splitting pain in her arm and picked up her pace. Tears reached her eyes and she reached towards the man a fair distance away from her. "Vic...! Vincent...!" She panted, jumping forwards, tears spilling. Even one memento lost, would be one thing from her brothers she would never get back. This single thought sent a strong emotion through her body.

"Charmander!"

Darci turned a bit to see Devil behind her.

'DC must have sent him.'

Darci nodded to him.

"Is-Is she okay?" She asked, turned away from him and jumping over more vegetation. Just after she jumped she saw the thief trip and fall, apparently if had hurt since he laid there for a while. While she had the chance she put her lessons to use and jumped. Vincent had insisted that she at least took self-defense lessons if she wouldn't let him follow her, and she had done it. She landed on his shoulders and jumped off. "MY! BAG! NOW!" Some sort of furious emotion exploded from the depths of her soul and for once in a long time, she was going to get violent. Her voice was low and almost growling in a feral way.

"W-Wait...!"

"Devil! Use Scratch!" She roared, hoping Devil knew or at least would learn during this experience. As she order she spun and thrust her foot towards the man's torso. She didn't know who he was. She didn't care. She wanted the bags back, and she wanted revenge.

"WAIT!" The man grabbed her ankle and flipped her onto the ground. She yelped when she reflexively caught herself with her hand again. she rolled over onto her back and hoped that Devil would get him down.

just so everyone knows, it's Yandere Darci.

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 14 2009, 10:33 PM

[Red Kitten]

Devil hesitated for a split second upon hearing Darci's order. It went against every fiber of his being to obey commands from another trainer, especially such an odd command as this. To attack a human was the mark of a bad Pokemon, a truly insane creature that was at risk for being locked up for the rest of its days, or worse. Then he remembered, this was the human that had hurt DC. Rage exploded in Devil's tiny chest. His eyes reflected the fire inside him as he bared his teeth in a fearsome snarl and outstretched his claws in preparation for the attack.

Just as he was plotting out the best place to wound the thief, the man had Darci by the ankle and flipped her onto her back, the girl giving a yelp of pain. Darci was down, and he knew then that it was up to him to avenge DC, to make her proud. Devil instantly threw his caution to the wind, the beast inside him truly taking over as he lunged at the thief and raked his claws across the man's chest. The man howled, using one arm to fling the Charmander off of him. Devil had been unprepared for this. He was so used to fighting things closer to his size and it had never dawned on him that this man had a considerable size advantage. His body tumbled into the dirt, and he yelped upon sustaining a few bruises.

The little Charmander was quick to get back on his feet again though. He snarled at the man, spitting a few warning embers that died before they reached him. But he was currently too weak to attack again. He was forced to pause and catch his breath, the wind having been knocked out of him somewhat when the thief flung him across the forest floor. Devil did his best to prepare himself for Darci's next order. The girl was clearly not in her right mind, but then again, neither was Devil, and he was prepared to carry out any crazy commands she gave him in DC's honor.

~~~

DC was still nowhere near Darci, Devil, and the thief. She had slowed down quite a bit but was still trying to make her way down the trail that they had taken. It was a struggle, and a painful one at that, but she told herself that she had to find them, somehow, some way. Gritting her teeth, DC pushed onward.

Cheepie had just returned to the clearing and was puzzled to find nothing there but one of DC's boots. Cheepie had never been an extremely intelligent creature. Her intellect could be best described as around average. And she was certainly a follower, not a leader, and was unused to making decisions for herself. Confused, the little bird decided to wait patiently beside the boot. DC would have to return to it at some point, right?

[Ceilni]

The figure howled in pain as sharp little claws raked across his chest. Smirking, Darci spun from her place on the ground and kicked the man in a less then pleasurable place. He yelped before scrambling up and attempting to run again. She jumped up as quickly as possible while the man was stumbling to take his first take, and spun, kicking him harshly in the chest. She couldn't control herself. It was like she was a robot and some very angry, vengeful person had her remote. Best she could, she ran forwards while he stumbled. She jumped, bringing up her leg and kicked the man crushingly hard in his jaw.

"Wai- Stop! What are you!? Stupid!?" The man yelled as soon as he recovered. He held his jaw. For once, Darci got a look at his face. He had wild shoulder length brown hair which was held back in a ponytail. His eyes were green and he was slightly tan. He had a long, jagged scar under his right eye which ran from the bridge of his nose to just just below the far end of his eye, making a line under the panicked green orbs. He wore a dirty, gray, button-up shirt which would have nearly been a dress shirt if it wasn't so dirty, and black slacks which almost hung completely over his brown dress shoes. To Darci, he looked a bit out of place here. He jumped forwards and pushed her back against a tree, pinning her by her shoulders with his hands, keeping her arms length away. His hold was crushingly hard and was painful.

"Devil use Scratch, aim for the face! The eyes! The eyes!!" She yelled, wishing almost inhumane pain to this person. She was almost fully intent on beating him to death. Since she knew most pokemon needed a second or two to prepare for such an attack and jump, she struggled against the hold and swung her leg forwards again, kicking the man in the shoulder. Reeling slightly, he hit a tree.

"Dammit! I said stop!!!" The angry outburst was spoken upon deaf ears as Darci hooked her leg behind the man's neck and pinned him to the ground. Still pinning him, she flipped him over and waited for Devil. Surely Devil would attack and blind the man. Surely, right? She grabbed his right arm with both arms and held it, making sure he didn't do anything to counter Devil. Her left arm throbbed in protest. In the corner of her eye she saw what seemed to be another human. DC?

~~~

Kaito arrived back at the site where Cheepie was waiting. He looked around and noticed that Victor and Maxwell were gone. Did something happen? Kaito dropped the small bundle of sticks it had tied together, best he could with a beak, with a small thin vine. It hit the ground and everything was silent. Kaito fidgeted for a moment but it was only about ten seconds before Kaito started to panic.

"Toooor!! Torchic! Chiiiic!" It cried out desperately, hoping that the voice of it's mother and trainer called out from somewhere close by. He hoped it was a joke. After several seconds (three) Kaito saw the prints in a small patch of dirt nearby. Little tears gathered at the corner of his eyes as he ran after them. He was a fairly fast runner, thankfully unlike Maxwell, and quickly made his way down the path until he saw DC a bit further up the path and called out.

"Torchic!"

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 16 2009, 11:10 AM

[Red Kitten]

Fatigued as she was, DC pushed herself to move even faster when she started to hear shouting up ahead. Her muscles burned, sweat drenched her skin, and her mouth was bone dry. She could feel a faint ache in her temple, most likely the beginnings of dehydration. But she could hear Darci's voice, plus the voice of the thief close by. Overwhelming worry for her friend and her Pokemon caused DC to forget about herself and struggle on.

"Torchic!"

DC turned around, craning her neck to see what had made the noise. Sure enough it was Darci's Torchic, looking as frantic as DC herself felt. "Kaito!" DC's voice was hoarse. "Come on buddy, we've have to get to Darci!" She continued to hobble down the path, figuring that Kaito would follow her.

When she finally reached her destination, DC was shocked by what she saw. Darci had a dirty, bloodied man pinned to the ground, restraining him to the best of her ability. Neither Darci nor Devil looked like themselves. Both the girl and the Charmander had a crazed look in their eyes, one that disturbed DC deeply. "Devil use Scratch, aim for the face! The eyes! The eyes!!" Devil was poised in a predatory crouch, claws and fangs fiercely displayed, and was about to attack...

"Stop!" DC's shout was so loud that it made the rest of the forest seem quiet by comparison. Her thoughts were running around her head like a Rhyhorn stampede. "Devil, halt!" The Charmander had whirled around, and the sight of his trainer calmed him considerably, but he remained rooted to the spot, prepared to attack if given the order.

"Darci," she choked, her yelling having used nearly all the breath she had managed to catch after her wild limp to find the thief. "I know you're out for revenge. But let's not do anything rash." Come on DC, now's the time to be tough. Can't let this schmuck detect any weakness, it could mean the end of all of us. But what to do, what to do?! We can't just let him go, he might fight back. The only way to be sure that he's out of the way would be to kill him, but I do not want his blood on my hands, or Darci's, no matter what she thinks. I suppose we could tie him up well? But I don't have any rope. DC felt panicked. She now truly realized how pathetically unprepared for this kind of situation she was. The thought of something like this hadn't even crossed her mind when she had so naively prepared to set off on this adventure. Heart pounding in her throat, DC waited for Darci's response. Maybe she would calm down, and the two could figure out what to do.

[Ceilni]

Kaito ran by DC. Every muscle in it's small bird body was screaming for him to go faster, to hurry, to move his feet faster.

"Kaito!"

"Chic!" Kaito chirped as happily as it could, being surprisingly so for his situation.

"Come on buddy, we've have to get to Darci!"

Kaito nodded. It's small feet pounded the ground, the pace growing painfully fast as the Torchic ran, desperately trying to reach it's trainer, it's friend, it's mother.

Kaito was shocked to see what was waiting. It stopped abruptly and ran towards the man, more in concern then anger. Kaito knew the man wasn't good, but he certainly didn't deserve all that. Did he?

"Devil use Scratch, aim for the face! The eyes! The eyes!!" Darci had just yelled, scaring Kaito to the point to squeezing his eyes shut and cowering.

"Stop!"

Darci blinked. Her mind processed very, very slowly.

'I've heard that voice somewhere before. Do i know that voice? Yes. Yes i do... DC...?'

The thief took that time to tear his arm from her death grip and attempt another run. Darci, out of pure reflex, jumped up and dove forwards. she grabbed her left thigh and placed her hand on his back, pushing him down to the ground with his leg in the air. Her left hand's grip decreased significantly as she slowly returned to normal when she noticed that when the thief fell, the two bags went flying into soft bushes nearby. She sat on him and left his back to his back with her right hand, giving her left a well deserved rest. She sat there with a blank stare, regaining her usual state of mind.

"Darci, I know you're out for revenge. But let's not do anything rash."

Darci winced at the words.

'Darci, i know your Yandere. But don't do anything reckless. Please.'

Darci opened her mouth to agree as she looked up at DC. However, she was interrupted by the thief, a reminder that she was still sitting on him.

"Dammit! Dammit! Ow! Get offa me 'ya crazy gothic emo bitch!" He yelped, his right hand clawing at the loose, muddy dirt. His left was trapped under him. He flailed and Darci looked to DC, hoping she would deal with this. The thief looked barely older then both of them, yet he acted much more wild then the two of them. Well, the two of them at the moment.

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 17 2009, 04:53 PM

[Red Kitten]

DC's anxiety began to lessen as she urged herself to think, although her blood still rushed and her heart leaped in the back of her throat. Darci appeared to be calming down as well, much to DC's relief. Together, they would find a way to get out of this situation in one piece. Somehow.

DC snapped back to attention quickly when the man escaped Darci's grasp, but Darci was quick to pin him down again. DC had to admire Darci's courage. As she listened to the man shout obscenities at Darci, an idea began to form in DC's mind.

"Devil! Stand in front of him and prepare an ember, aimed for the face! But don't shoot, not unless I say so." Determined, DC limped over to face the thief.

DC peered down at the man, gesturing at him with the point of her walking stick. "Alright bub, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but I advice you not to move at all, unless you want a face-full of ember!" Devil snarled menacingly at the man, as if to prove a point. A warm glow could be seen coming from his mouth.

"Darci, what do you propose we do with this delinquent? I'm honestly against turning him loose. He'll end up preying upon more innocent travelers for all we know." As DC said this, she thought about Sora out there traveling on her own and shuddered. What if this man had run into her instead of them? Or worse, what if there were more thieves in the forest? DC suddenly felt sick in the pit of her stomach and she silently hoped that Sora would escape the woods unharmed.

Before Darci had even responded, yet another idea struck DC. Devil wasn't the only one who's attacks could negatively affect the thief. With her free hand she reached for her belt, fingers closing tightly around Magic's Pokeball. Her eyes clouded over slightly as she recalled the battle from earlier, Magic's golden stun spores glinting with dangerous beauty as they drifted through rays of morning sunlight. A smile twitched at the corner of DC's mouth, but she held it back in favor of keeping a straight face in front of the thief. Yeah, I'm willing to bet that'll work. It's not the most ideal thing in the world to do, but out here without cops or phone service... Well it's the best damn thing I've thought of so far. DC waited to see what Darci would say, just in case she had a better idea. But if not, DC knew exactly what she was going to do.

[Ceilni]

Darci was quiet. She really wasn't too sure what had happened. The backpacks were stolen, the rest a angry red blur, muddled up in her mind. She shook her head and sighed, wondering what to do with the man under her.

"Devil! Stand in front of him and prepare an ember, aimed for the face! But don't shoot, not unless I say so."

Darci watched curiously as Devil made his way to the thief's face. Devil seemed to still be upset, and she honestly didn't blame him.

"Alright bub, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but I advice you not to move at all, unless you want a face-full of ember!"

"Chiii..." Kaito chirped from behind a tree, slowly coming up and approaching Darci. She smiled sweetly and gingerly swept it up with her only free arm, her bad one. She hissed slightly but placed Kaito on her lap.

"Hi, honey. I hope mother didn't scare you." She laughed.

"You're Psycho." The thief said from under her. She was quick to bring up her leg and smash her heel against the back of his head, mashing his face into the soil.

"Shut up, Dumbass." She said, saying an honest curse for the first time in a while. "How old are you anyway?" She asked, glaring down at him.

"None of 'yer damn business." Darci quickly readjusted in such a way that sat on his back, her ankles curled around his in an easy pin. Her left arm was busy shakily sweeping up Kaito and placing him on the ground while her right grabbed his thick, yet soft, brown hair. She yanked his head up so he faced directly into the mouth of Devil.

"You'd better answer all the questions i ask. You're staring into the face of the Devil." She said, smiling sadistically. She would never freely admit it, but she loved doing things like this. Darci continued to pull his hair up, causing him to look more clearly into the mouth of Devil. Hopefully if she continued doing this, DC and Darci might get some answers out of him to help decide the punishment. To DC is probably looked like she was just being sadistic and cruel. Not that she wasn't, however. There didn't seem to a reason for the questions.

"Darci, what do you propose we do with this delinquent? I'm honestly against turning him loose. He'll end up preying upon more innocent travelers for all we know."

Darci nodded.

"I agree." She said, tightening her grip on his brunette locks. "Now. How old?" The man apparently noticed the threatening glow in Devil's gaping maw. She noted that he was apparently smart enough to know when to give up.

"Nineteen! Nineteen! There! Let me the hell go!" Darci mashed his face into the ground once more.

"Nah. We still got plans for you." She said as she turned back and noticed a slight twitch at the edge of DC's mouth. Her hand was closed around Magic's pokeball. "Your name. Give us your name." She growled, hoping that maybe this would work.

"Screw you!" Darci yanked his hair up towards Devil again. "Alright! Scarper! The names Scarper!" Darci smirked. The man obviously disliked the idea of becoming an over-sized decorative torch.

"Well, if we don't deal with you first. At least we have something to report to the authorities." She said, releasing "Scarper's" hair. Darci smiled. At least she gave a reason for the questions. "A nineteen-year-old named Scarper. Plus we have your appearance. Sorry." Darci nodded. "DC, go wild. Just don't kill the guy." She said, being a total contrast from the Darci earlier, which DC was probably still confused about.

[Red Kitten]

DC watched Darci question this so called 'Scarper' with mild amusement, which of course she kept hidden behind her stony facial expression. Now that Darci seemed more like herself, more under control so to speak, DC had no qualms with allowing her to toy with the man a little. Part of her was eager to put part two of her plan into action, but then again she wondered if it might be too harsh. As she mulled it over, DC realized that too harsh or not, it was a necessary precaution. Scarper could very possibly be armed, and what would stop him from coming after them after they turned him loose, be it immediately or later that night when they least expected it? DC nodded, more to herself than anyone, as she firmly decided the next step to take.

"OK dude, I didn't want to have to do this, but you asked for it," DC said icily as she triggered the release on the Pokeball in her hand. Out popped Magic, the look on its mushroom face just as sour as ever, but now mixed with fear. DC heard Scarper give a little snort of contempt when he saw that her threat turned out only to be a Shroomish. DC ignored him and looked down at Magic, being sure to make direct eye contact with the fungus creature.

"Magic, I hope you're fully prepared to take an order from me right now. If it helps, this is just as much for your own good as mine."

"Shroo!" it snapped haughtily, angling its face away from DC's gaze.

Scarper rolled his eyes. "I applaud your Pokemon training skills."

"Hey! I've heard enough out of you! You're hardly in a position to be making snide comments." DC promptly shot a cloud of dirt in Scarper's face using the end of her walking stick. As the man coughed and sputtered, DC propelled Magic over towards Scarper by nudging it with the stick, positioning the squeaking, protesting creature so it was just a stretch away and facing the thief. Now this is the part where it gets a little iffy... she thought. "Alright, Darci, I want you to slowly get off of him please. And you, Scarper, or whatever the hell you said your name was, don't move a muscle. Devil, if he moves at all, I want you to let him have it!" Devil gave a bob of his head in response, but kept his eyes trained on the man before him.

"Magic, once she moves, I want you to shower this guy in you-know-what. Immediately. Do that for me, and I will make it up to you, somehow, however you want, OK? Just do it." DC avoided giving the direct order, knowing that once Scarper knew what he was in for he might risk the ember and try to make a break for it anyway.

Magic perked up at the sign that it was going to be rewarded. "Shroomish! Shroom, shroom!" It put on its game face and puffed up in preparation. Well thank god, I think it's going to do this for me. DC winced, knowing that this was not the ideal way to train a new Pokemon, but desperate times do call for desperate measures. She only hoped that she could train Magic to do things for her without ending up in its debt every time.

[Ceilni]

"OK dude, I didn't want to have to do this, but you asked for it,"

"'Kay babe, I didn't want you to have to do this, but whatever." Scarper replied half honestly.

"Magic, I hope you're fully prepared to take an order from me right now. If it helps, this is just as much for your own good as mine."

Darci tightened her hold on him a bit as he adjusted. Just as he did so, a small wallet tumbled from his pocket. Scarper adjusted, apparently not noticing the lack of wallet. Scarper turned to face the shroomish.

"Shroo!"

I turned away, it's attitude not in the least bit hidden. He rolled his eyes.

"I applaud your Pokemon training skills."

"Hey! I've heard enough out of you! You're hardly in a position to be making snide comments."

Scarper gasped as dirt was thrown towards him. Soil quickly entered his eyes and his lungs, causing him to rabidly blink, cough, and sputter. Darci watched in silent pleasure as Scarper's eyes watered and he coughed wetly.

"Alright, Darci, I want you to slowly get off of him please. And you, Scarper, or whatever the hell you said your name was, don't move a muscle. Devil, if he moves at all, I want you to let him have it!"

Darci nodded and Scarper groaned. His body already ached with the bruises, cuts, and the force of his coughs. He was looking forward to scampering away and not coming out until he was good as new again.

"Magic, once she moves, I want you to shower this guy in you-know-what. Immediately. Do that for me, and I will make it up to you, somehow, however you want, OK? Just do it."

Darci very slowly got off of Scarper. finally released, his arms flopped to his side and his legs hit the ground in a face-down sprawled out fashion. Laying his cheek against the ground, he looked up frustratedly at DC. He debated in his mind for a moment to run, but he didn't necessarily want to become a flame-topped comic relief. Darci got up and watched Scarper, making sure he didn't try anything. With her good hand, she picked up his wallet and opened it. Inside was an ID with everything but 'SCARPER' blacked out with what seemed to even be tar, but was probably thick black paint. The fold for the money was empty and only held a small plastic square wrapping which suggested he was a typical young-adult hormone hurricane.

Darci backed away as she saw the faint golden glitter of the Stun Spore floating through the air. Watching for a moment, she shook her head and turned back to the contents of the wallet. The other thing in the wallet was a picture of what seemed to be a much younger version of Scarper with an even younger girl. Darci crinkled her nose in disgust, thinking that the girl was his underage girlfriend. He sure seemed like the type. She heard a loud, harsh sounding, sneeze. She lowered the picture and looked at Scarper.

"Woah." She could only say with a small snicker. Scarper was slowly starting to curl up on the ground, his eyes watering and tearing while he continually coughed and sneezed. His breaths were slowly fading into wheezes as if dozens of jumpluffs were hopping around gleefully in his lungs. "Nice one DC. Apparently, he's allergic." She blinked, watching the oh-so-macho thief who had jumped them and taken their belongings writhe on the ground in allergy reaction induced discomfort, although he could barely move because of the stun spore effect. Deep down, she almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost. But not really.

"B-Bitches...!" He wheezed between sneezes and coughs. Darci whistled an amused whistle.

"Hey, DC. Got anything that would remove this?" She asked, flashing 'Scarper's' ID towards her. "It's like Tar or Something. Maybe paint." She nudged Scarper with her foot. "Oh, and do you want me to check his pockets?" She offered, knowing that maybe they could get more proof if they did need to get authorities involved.

You need not feel sorry for the guy. I'm just a total bitch to my support characters (He will totally be reoccurring. He's just too fun to pick on. Like our own personal team rocket! jk, he's not that lame...)

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 17 2009, 11:55 PM

[Red Kitten]

Magic's stun spore had the desired effect, plus a few added bonuses. Scarper was without a doubt feeling the paralysis coming on, but he was also coughing and sneezing up a storm. "Devil, step away from him. Don't want any stun spores blown toward you or anything." Devil obliged, but his face was still crinkled up in a snarl and he made sure to keep within an ember's range of the thief's face.

"Woah. Nice one DC. Apparently, he's allergic."

"Guess so," DC replied, feeling somewhat proud of herself for thinking of the idea in the first place. "Well Scarper, looks like you picked the wrong girls to try and rob today. Hopefully you've learned a valuable lesson from this. But probably not." She leaned down to look Scarper in the face, smiling acidly. "Don't worry though. The paralysis should wear off before you starve. Maybe. I wouldn't know really." In truth, DC was pretty sure the spores would wear off before the end of the day, but she did enjoy teasing the man a little.

"B-Bitches...!" The thief sputtered.

DC raised an eyebrow. "Be careful who you're calling a bitch. With the swelling you've got going on, you're going to be the one with the dog face." Sure enough, Scarper's face was puffing up a little as a side effect of the allergic reaction. It was reminding DC of a Pikachu with a ponytail, with the red swollen cheeks and all.

"Hey, DC. Got anything that would remove this? It's like Tar or Something. Maybe paint." Darci nudged Scarper with her foot. "Oh, and do you want me to check his pockets?"

Brow furrowed, DC took the ID from Darci and examined it, scraping at the black substance with her fingernail. "Yeah, go ahead, but make sure there aren't any more spores in the air that you're walking into. You'd best wait until they dissipate." She pulled her knife from her pocket and carefully began to peel the stuff off. It wasn't perfect, but the ID appeared at least somewhat readable when she was through. Wordlessly she handed it back to Darci.

The one thing DC hated about her paralyze-and-flee plan was the lack of Scarper being handed over to the authorities. Although the thief definitely had a price to pay for it, he was still most likely going to get his freedom back in the end. For now anyway. As she was mulling this over, another idea struck DC. "Hey Darci, is your cellphone by any chance a camera phone? Do you think you could take a few pictures of this guy for the police? Then I suppose we ought to get moving again."

It was just then that DC remembered about her abandoned boot back in the clearing, that and all her cooking equipment. "Oh yeah, still want to have lunch? I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry right now. Although I'm thinking that for the sake of saving time, peanut butter sandwiches might be a faster, though more boring, alternative to stir fry." She made a face.

Yeah, I was hoping he could be a reoccurring NPC. ^^ I figure the stun spore would last long enough for Darci and DC to get away, but it would wear off before he starved to death or anything like that. So maybe five to six hours of paralysis? Something like that. Oh, and I refrained from having DC read his ID out loud, in case you had specific information in mind for him.

[Ceilni]

"Devil, step away from him. Don't want any stun spores blown toward you or anything."

Darci watched as Devil stepped back. Scarper seemed to be somewhat miserable, actually.

"Guess so,"

Darci giggled, almost still feeling somewhat bad for the guy, but oh well. Her back and mementos, his pain.

"Be careful who you're calling a bitch. With the swelling you've got going on, you're going to be the one with the dog face."

Scarper choked and coughed again. He clenched his teeth and pressed his chin against his chest. Apparently he was strong enough to stand up to it more then most people. This hinted that he probably didn't really mean to hurt them and had been mostly trying to get away.

"S-Sorry..." He could feel his face swell and he could taste the disgusting acidic sour bile rising in his throat. He swallowed it back down. He wasn't in any mood, not to mention condition, for an almost crazy beat-up session.

"Yeah, go ahead, but make sure there aren't any more spores in the air that you're walking into. You'd best wait until they dissipate."

Darci nodded.

"I was already checking. There are none." She stepped forwards and kneeled down. Her left arm rested on her knee and she reached her hand into his back-pocket, feeling quite awkward. One by one, she checked all the pockets and dumped their contents on the ground. She sorted the things on the ground. "A letter titled 'Dear Brother' on the front, Another picture of him and a girl, A picture of him in a hospital with a girl..." Darci crinkled her nose. "Twenty cents, a cellphone, and Bill of some sort." She said, leaving them on the ground. Darci took the ID with a frown. "Tch. And you had a nice name too, Ambrose." Scarper flinched on the ground. "Ambrose Loki Scarper. Hometown, Arasam. Date of birth, November 13th. Age, Nineteen." His picture seemed like back when he was an honest citizen, not a thief. "Wow. Born on Friday the 13th. Your next birthday is Friday too."

"Hey Darci, is your cellphone by any chance a camera phone? Do you think you could take a few pictures of this guy for the police? Then I suppose we ought to get moving again."

Darci sighed.

"It is, but the lens broken, i was gonna get it fixed in Arasam." Scarper's eyes slid towards them, glaring at them miserably.

"A-Arasam? You're even going the wrong way. It's more east then south." He hoped that if he offered to help, they would leave him alone. It was a bad idea to pick on these girls. One was a crazy goth chick with red, red eyes and the other looked like a tough girl. Darci kicked him hard in the back, her eyes flashing a disturbing unreadable emotion for a moment. His back made a pop sound and Scarper's fetal position tensed in pain.

"Oh yeah, still want to have lunch? I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry right now. Although I'm thinking that for the sake of saving time, peanut butter sandwiches might be a faster, though more boring, alternative to stir fry."

Darci shook her head.

"I don't care. We have time." Her voice was a bit lower and she mumbled semi-audibly.

coolies, okay. thinking in the RP btw, it's gonna start raining in four to fives hours or so.

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 18 2009, 05:25 PM

[Red Kitten]

DC snorted. "Sucks about the camera phone. Ah well, whatever." The heat mixed with her hunger and fatigue was making her care less and less about the thief each minute. She was ready to move on from this. The sooner they got to Arasam the better.

DC limped over to her backpack and was able to pick it up, although the act involved bending down and balancing on one foot. After the pack was securely resting on her shoulders, she used her walking stick to push herself back into a standing position, just in time to see Darci kick Scarper again. This time she actually winced at his pain. DC had always been pretty empathic, making it difficult for her to watch someone hurting, no matter how much she didn't like the person.

"OK Darci, I think we've done all we can do here. Let's head back to the clearing and get the stuff I left there." The more she thought about it, the more disturbed DC felt about her previous actions. Thief or not, she couldn't believe the condition she was about to leave this man in. He was beaten practically to a pulp, having an allergic reaction of some degree, wouldn't be able to move for at least a few hours, and was utterly helpless. DC suddenly felt sickeningly guilty and wanted to be as far away from the man as she possibly could. Her hunger had morphed into heartburn, little shoots of stomach acid lapping destructively at her esophagus.

After recalling Magic and a very reluctant Devil, DC noticed that Darci didn't seem quite herself again. She brushed it off though. The situation had been stressful for both of them. But still, she was getting the gut feeling that she should get Darci away from Scarper as fast as possible. "Let's go, I'm starving." DC began to hobble back down the trail, a little quickly, refusing to look at Scarper as she passed.

~~~

Once they were out of Scarper's earshot, DC asked Darci, "Do you think he was telling the truth? About Arasam I mean? I mean, I wouldn't know. But I don't really think we should trust him... I don't know."

DC stayed silent for a little while, until they came upon the clearing. She limped over to her boot, where Cheepie was waiting patiently. She leaped up and down, flapping her wings wildly and squawking when she saw DC and Darci. DC scooped up the Pidgey and ruffled her feathers before recalling her. "Don't worry Cheeps, I'm sure Devil and Magic can fill you in on what happened." She made the painful transition from standing to the ground in order to slide on her boot and put away her pot and pan.

"I'll do the stir fry tonight, for dinner. I don't really feel like putting in the effort right now... Is a sandwich OK with you?" DC felt oddly depressed for some reason, but she did her best to hide it. She figured she was just over tired and over hungry. Not to mention sick of her injury. And the fact that she might have just condemned a man to die alone in the forest. No, calm down, the stun spore will wear off. It has to. Then he'll be fine. Probably he'll try to rob someone else as soon as he can walk. DC had to make an attempt to make herself feel better, and thinking of Scarper as a mindless, evil crook sort of did the trick. Even if she knew that probably wasn't the case.

[Ceilni]

"Sucks about the camera phone. Ah well, whatever."

Darci shrugged indifferently before nudging the same spot she kicked with the end of her converse. Scarper flinched again. She gave a small, slightly sadistic grin, before it quickly faded and she went to retrieve her backpack. Halfway there, piercing pain shot through her left arm causing her to misstep and hold her forearm. Her punctures were dirty and had started bleeding in the struggle, the exposed flesh throbbing. Her wrist was slightly awkward to the side slightly inward with her hand limply hanging downwards. Darci gave a grunt of discomfort before, with one hand, swinging the backpack over her shoulder and carefully slipping the other into the strap.

Scarper's eyes went towards them, half glaring half pouting at them. He seemed to be attempting to get up but only managed a twitch from his leg. He curled in on himself tighter.

"Crazy world we live in." He whispered to himself before coughing and squeezing his eyes shut.

"OK Darci, I think we've done all we can do here. Let's head back to the clearing and get the stuff I left there."

Darci nodded but turned to Scarper once more. She lifted her foot and kicked the back of his head, his face being mashed into the ground again.

"Let's go, I'm starving."

Darci glared at the thief.

"Consider yourself lucky, Scarp." She seethed before turning away. Kaito gave a slight peck to her ankle and she looked down. The little torchic was looking at the floor, feet inward in a very shy or intimidated gesture. The side of Darci's mouth twitched into the smallest of smiles as she picked Kaito up with her right hand and set the little chick on her left shoulder, letting him sit there. As they walked away a seviper slithered it's way to Scarper, nudging him quietly.

~~~

"Do you think he was telling the truth? About Arasam I mean? I mean, I wouldn't know. But I don't really think we should trust him... I don't know."

Darci shrugged. Apparently back to normal.

"I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not. Although we have bee heading south for quite a while. Guess on the information to go South and the map in my bag, there is a large river to the south which heads east. We could try it although it has very strong currents. West and North won't help, seeing as though West is where we came from, and to the north is the Western foot of the mountain where Scarper is..."

'And probably will be for quite a while'

A voice in the back of her mind snickered. She quickly brushed that off.

"... East is the only other option. Although a bit less... wet it's a bit of a climb. Climbing as in, some rock face climbing. Worst case scenario in both east and south; South, we are dropped off a waterfall which we don't know is there or we are drowned by the strong rapids and currents. East, you or i fall and get injured further and starve to death if no one finds us." By the time she finished, they were back at the clearing. Her arm throbbed and she smiled when she saw Victor and Maxwell call out their respective species names in concern and happiness.

"Don't worry Cheeps, I'm sure Devil and Magic can fill you in on what happened."

"Guys, Kaito can explain it all. He'll tell you what happened." She winked at Kaito, a silent sign to make up a story and keep Scarper out of it.

"I'll do the stir fry tonight, for dinner. I don't really feel like putting in the effort right now... Is a sandwich OK with you?"

Darci nodded.

"Yeah. That would be fine with me." She jumped a bit when her phone beeped. Grabbing her phone, she opened it. Clicking several buttons, she checked the text she got and smiled. "It's from Vin and Vince." She laughed, probably confusing DC.

Vince = Vincent
Vin = Vince
Two different people
Vince is Vincent's Twin although he does not play in the band.
Confusing, i know. Although that's the point.

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 18 2009, 07:29 PM

[Red Kitten]

"Yeah. That would be fine with me." DC heard a small beep from Darci's phone and watched as she picked it up. "It's from Vin and Vince."

DC rubbed her temple. "I'm not gonna lie, I get your brothers' names mixed up a lot. Probably 'cause they start with V's. What do they have to say, anything interesting?" She gave a small chuckle, somewhat halfheartedly because Scarper was still on her mind. Ugh, I wish I hadn't done any of that stuff. But what else was I supposed to do? It was in the heat of the moment and all... Oh shit, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. DC didn't really know who she was apologizing to, Scarper, or herself, or maybe god? That would be strange, as DC didn't believe in god. And she was still disturbed about how eager Darci had been to kick the thief around while he was paralyzed, although she forced herself not to think about it. Darci seemed cheerful enough now. She had been scared and angry without a doubt, causing her to behave in ways she normally wouldn't. DC herself still felt a little violated that she had almost been robbed, but even that thought didn't ease her mind about the condition she'd left Scarper in.

"So it's a choice between forging a dangerous river or scaling dangerous rocks?" DC mulled it over. "I doubt either of us will be able to climb up any rock faces, you minus one arm and me minus one leg. I think the river thing is risky, but it might be our only option. I'm sure we can figure out a way to do it safely. We can just walk along the bank to find the best place to cross. Or maybe there'll even be a bridge somewhere, although that's probably just my wishful thinking." She grinned ruefully.

DC pulled out a package of whole wheat wraps and a small container of peanut butter from the insulated compartment of her backpack. Using a knife from her mess kit she began to spread the peanut butter onto the thin bread, rolling it up when she was finished and wordlessly handing one to Darci. She bit into her own, chewing softly on the sticky peanut butter, and ate the entire thing without even tasting it. I've got to occupy my mind somehow, she thought.

"Hey Darci, this might sound kind of odd, but what would you say to a friendly, noncompetitive battle after we eat? Just a quickie, one Pokemon each sort of thing. I just really need to blow off some steam right now." And I'll betI know someone else who needs to do the same, DC mused, thinking of Devil.

Do you still want to have at this over AIM? If so, PM me so we can try to figure out a time when we'll both be online. =3

[Ceilni]

"I'm not gonna lie, I get your brothers' names mixed up a lot. Probably 'cause they start with V's. What do they have to say, anything interesting?"

Darci blinked, hearing her laugh sounded a bit... odd?

"You are aware my Brother Vincent has a twin whose nick-name is Vin, right? I get and nick-names mixed up too, but Victor's is Vi. I've called Vince, Vi and Victor, Vin before. My parents and their Vs..." she chuckled, opening the message and reading it out loud. "Darci, hope you are well-" Darci mock laughed. "- and hope you pokemon are as well. I want you to know..." Darci trailed off, looking almost panicked at the message before closing it up and shoving it in her pocket. Darci then sighed and giggled nervously. "Uh. Vin's in Arasam."

"So it's a choice between forging a dangerous river or scaling dangerous rocks?"

Darci nodded.

"Yup." she said, thinking about what made DC seem a bit... different?

"I doubt either of us will be able to climb up any rock faces, you minus one arm and me minus one leg. I think the river thing is risky, but it might be our only option. I'm sure we can figure out a way to do it safely. We can just walk along the bank to find the best place to cross. Or maybe there'll even be a bridge somewhere, although that's probably just my wishful thinking."

"It's just wishful thinking, last i the last bridge was smashed by a flash flood." She sighed. "I'm torn anyway. To me, Climbing would avoid any water related accidents seeing as though the dark clouds coming in front the east threaten to completely pour again. The river poses the issues of; Waterfalls, flash floods, but there will be no climbing. We could probably manage both, but the condition which we finish in is questionably good or bad..." She mulled it over until the silence was broken.

"Hey Darci, this might sound kind of odd, but what would you say to a friendly, noncompetitive battle after we eat? Just a quickie, one Pokemon each sort of thing. I just really need to blow off some steam right now."

Darci sighed.

"Scarp on your mind?" She asked, pausing before adding. "Think we should'a dragged 'im somewhere safer, yo?" She asked, feeling horrible about what she did as well. I know he should probably be jailed, but if he could be jailed, couldn't we be charged with necessary violence? Potentially Assault since he didn't mean to physically harm us? Her eye twitched. It was an unpleasant thought for her as well. She waved her injured hand causing her to wince and quickly set it in her lap.

"Anyway, that sounds fun. I know someone who needs exercise anyway so..." She shrugged "Why not."

She smiled, although Scarper was on her mind too. Damn. I really shouldn't have done that... Hope he's okay...

This post has been edited by Ceilni: Aug 29 2009, 04:08 PM

[Red Kitten]

We did this battle over AIM, and I’m putting it all in one post for easy reading.

DC flashed a smile. She stood up, clutching her walking stick for support and reached for a Pokeball. "Devil, let's go!" She gave it a toss and Devil appeared, looking confused. "It's OK buddy, no danger this time. Just a friendly battle with Darci. You up for that?"

Darci stood and snapped her fingers, Victor emerging from the bushes where it had run off to. "Hey, Vic. Are you ready for this?" Victor's feathers ruffled wildly and it chirped. "Alright. Friendly battle, okay?"

"Char!" Devil appeared to be excited to challenge Victor, apparently seeing him as a worthy enough opponent. The flame on his tail grew larger and brighter as he tensed his muscles in a battle stance. "Alright Devil, I want you to start out using Plan Beta, understand? I'll give you further instructions when the time comes." The Charmander gave a brief nod, before charging at Vic. He went just close enough so his opponent was within range and let loose with a spray of embers in Vic's direction.

Victor watched as Devil's flaming tail seemed to suddenly burst with life of it's own as it grew, twisting and churning in it's firey state. Darci watched closely as Devil was given a comment for 'Plan Beta'. Apparently, she had code for moves too. As Devil dashed towards Victor, he tensed. "Wait for it Vic..." Devil came closer and let forth an ember worthy of fear. Victor dove to the side. It was narrowly dodged, even if they were usually easy to avoid. "Rave!" She yelled, pointed a finger. Stars of some sort slowly appeared and shot towards Devil at am alarming rate. Darci wanted to be careful, and besides, a bad slip, and an Ember could be back news. She didn't want to take that chance and let it get that close again.

Devil had been expecting Victor to retaliate somehow and his plan had been to dodge whatever the Hoothoot threw at him. When he saw the stars flying at him, the Charmander made a decent attempt to move out of the way, but it was futile. He was hit instantly with some of the stars, followed quickly after by the ones he had managed to avoid at first. It was like the stars had tracked Devil's movement somehow and were able to chase after him. Damn, that's swift, DC thought. This complicates things a bit. "It's OK Devil! I know it's not your style, but go with Plan Gamma-Alpha!" Devil was quick to pick himself off the ground, a little bit scratched and bruised from the impact. After distancing himself from Vic quite a bit, Devil made a small growling noise. It was not his usual vicious snarl though. The growl was more along the lines of adorable. And it rarely failed to make an opponent lower its attack a little, to avoid hurting the 'poor, little, precious Charmander'.

Victor heard the growl and hesitated a bit. He was starting to actually like the charmander, and the growl only made him start to hesitate more. 'Damn.' she seethed in her mind. "Vic! What are you doing!?" Victor immediately looked up at Darci for a split second then looked to Devil. "Vic! Rumba!" She yelled, Victor running forwards. His wing started to glow a very pale white and by the time he was halfway, and continued to very quickly charge at Devil. Being close enough to attack, Victor j umped, swinging it's wing down.

He's going for a physical attack! This is an opportunity! DC thought rapidly. "Devil, go for Plan Phi-Beta! Be quick now!" Devil braced himself and took the wing attack, moving slightly to the side so it wasn't hitting him head on. Instead of focusing his energy on avoiding the attack, he took advantage of Victor's currently close position to unleash another ember attack. At this range and proximity, it would probably be extremely tricky for Victor to completely dodge the little flames. It was a smart maneuver, although it had a price. Devil's shoulder and side still throbbed from the wing attack. DC knew that the Charmander would have to be diligent about dodging attacks now.

Darci watched as the Wing attack made contact. 'Yes...!' She then saw the ember building up. [i]'No...!' "Vic! Dodge!" Victor attempted to dodge, he really did, but it was much too difficult to dodge in a situation like this. He managed to hop somewhat but ember scorched his entire left side of his upper body. "Vic!" Darci thought quickly. Victor was still very close to Devil, although he was damaged. "T-Tango!" She yelled, Victor regaining it's balance and hopping forwards, aligning the crown of Devil's head with the sharp end of his beak. If he did this right, it would hit solidly for a good blow. Darci cringed. If he screwed up, it might be countered again. But hopefully, it would be close enough to allow Victor to hit and jump back a foot or two. "Vic! If it hits, jump back!"

"Good Devil, but don't get cocky! Try Phi-Alpha, but use your discretion and fall back on Plan Zeta if you have to!" Devil, being a creature that disliked being cautious, allowed the peck to strike him, but moved slightly so it hit his shoulder. Unfortunately for him it was the same shoulder that had taken the wing attack, and the stab of Victor's pointed beak delivered acute pain to the already aching area. Devil's eyes watered but he didn't hesitate to immediately outstretch his claws in an attempt to rake them across Victor's front. He was still pretty close to Vic, so he hoped the Hoothoot would be unable avoid his glinting nails at this point. Otherwise he would have just taken a peck attack for nothing.

Victor's sharp beak jabbed into Devil's shoulder. Victor could feel the jerk as he head abruptly stopped. The pressure on the front of his face was minimum, being used to it. Darci swung her arm towards Devil. She then noticed that Devil's sharp claws were raised up and were poised to attack. "Vic! Brace!" She knew this couldn't be dodged very well, so she just gave up on dodging this one. Victor's Wings stretched across his chest. The claws raked across the surface of his wings, but they were slightly cushioned by the feathers which protected him slightly. Little claws cut through the skin under them easily, causing Victor to jump back again. Darci made a first with her good hand. "Rave!" Victor let out more swift stars as they shot towards the little lizard for the 2nd time.

DC cursed to herself. The scratch attack had been somewhat successful, but she wasn't sure if it had been worth the extra damage Devil had just taken from the peck. And now to make matters worse, Vic was unleashing another swift attack. Likely the only reason Devil was still hanging in was thanks to the growl attack. "Devil, don't bother to dodge this one, it's no good! Brace yourself for impact, then back to Plan Beta, double quick!" Devil nodded his scaly, orange head briefly and darted directly at the stars that were currently shooting toward him. It was painful, but it allowed him to take a beeline route to Victor. Once he felt he was close enough, yet another batch of embers exploded out of his mouth in the Hoothoot's direction.

Darci nearly choked her her own spit when she saw Devil charging through the swift stars into towards Victor. "Vic! Counter another Rave, then prepare for impact!" She yelled. Victor quietly watched as Devil approached. His feather ruffled slightly and he prepared the Swift attack. He felt energy drain out of him as Bright, shiny, golden-yellow Swift stars appeared around him. He watched for another split second before shooting them towards Devil a couple milliseconds short from a second and quickly braced himself. He felt the harsh lick of ember splash across his upper body as he leaned forwards, eyes squeezed shut, wings in, head down, well, body down since his head practically was his body. He fell backwards, feeling the effects pretty hard. Hie entire body stung with the burns from ember. Carefully, it stoof up again, teetering on it's foot. Sure it was more experienced then the charmander, but the charmander had a better body for fighting.

Vic's latest swift attack had left Devil in pretty bad shape. His breaths came out quick and ragged, and his entire body felt bruised and abused from the way he'd recklessly run through the stars. When DC saw Victor prepare yet another swift attack, she cussed under her breath and thought wildly. "OK Devil, stick to Plan Beta, but carefully this time please!" Devil inwardly cringed at the sight of the new batch of stars, but remained rooted to the spot, watching them approach. As they came near he allowed them to strike right away, but he attempted to keep them away from his chest and head by absorbing the brunt of them with his limbs and sides. By the time the stars were finished, Devil appeared to be at the end of his rope. The Charmander was panting and his little body shook. However, Vic seemed to be in pretty lousy shape himself, and the thought of potential victory urged Devil on. He forced his burning muscles to keep moving and released more embers at Victor.

Victor wobbled and tripped, quickly picking itself up. Darci fidgeted, worried. "Vic! Try Tango! One last time!" She yelled, knowing this was the end of one of them. Victor tiredly leaned it's head back and waited for the sign that it was close enough. As he felt the heat of the embers, he umped forwards and swung down. By the time he reached Devil however, it was pure bodyweight since he had fainted halfway though. It's beak still aimed at the charmander, yet would be easily dodged, unlike usual where it hit nearly every time. Darci sighed, and put on a tired smile as she watched, hands on her hips. "Mi cases es sou queso." She laughed. She always said goofly little lines at the end of every battles she lost or tied in. This phrase however, meant 'My house is your cheese.'.

When Devil saw that Victor was about to attack again, he moved away as fast as his exhausted body allowed. He was about to use another ember, when DC called out, "Yo, Devil, no no. You're finished baby, you won!" She smiled, Scarper currently having disappeared from her mind. The battle had been an excellent distraction. Devil was thrilled by his victory and roared in delight, "Charmander!", before collapsing in pure exhaustion. DC chuckled at him. "Well I have no clue what you just said Darci, but that was a great battle. Vic's got guts, following through with an attack like that even though he was about to faint."