vesper's already on the move. that's one less thing to worry about. allrianne follows to the best of her abilities. lexis moves with her, pacing frustratingly around her, but she can only move so quickly while carrying cassie in her arms. 

"lex, take her." lexis whines and lowers herself so allrianne can put cassandra into a tuft of the dog's fur. the espeon has her gripes, but her claws stretch and she closes her eyes. lexis takes of, paws scrabbling, and allrianne moves faster. 

there's a break in the treeline. lexis steers her towards a cave opening. allrianne has her doubts, but the wolf wouldn't lead her into any danger. she's lost sight of vesper. 

trees crack and smoke curls from down below. allrianne can't entirely make out what's going on, but there are enough cries that she knows both of her pokemon are still okay. for now. 

"lexis, tell them we're clear." the lycanroc lets loose a howl. and several beats later, a purple cloud rises from a centralized point. and then it catches fire. the explosion rocks her, all the way from where she stands, and she nearly tumbles. but she steadies herself and then plops down on her ass, breathing hard. 

vesper hale

☉

breath caught, she looks up as vesper calls out to her. lexis' tail swishes at the comment, but the wolf decides to be flattered more than offended. so allrianne lets it be. she watches vesper roll her rocks for a bit and then she stands, wiping the dirt from her undergarments. she fondles the fringe of her shirt, frowning at the rips and tears in it. 

she hadn't worn her gear when crossing the ocean. more low-key that way. but the threadbare, cheap tank certainly leaves much to be desired. and there's a whole stretch of forest filled with rampardos between herself and the fucking clothes she'd left to dry.

the brush rustles again and allrianne tenses, but then she relaxes when lexis' tongue lolls out of her mouth. hemlock and wisteria emerge; the latter walks with a bit of a limp, but other than that, both seem fine. 

and hemlock holds a bundle of clothes in her webbed hands. 

"thank fuck." she takes the clothes graciously. they're somewhat dry now. and when she slips them on, she sighs. she thanks both of her pokemon, promising wisteria that when cassie's feeling better, she can get some healing done. 

and then she makes her way to vesper. "you collecting rocks? or have you just gone mad?"

vesper hale

☉

gone mad, surely. allriranne watches her arrange the rocks in a circle; she starts to piece together what's happening when vesper adds some kindling. but she stands, brows raised as vesper tries to explain what she needs while holding a stone in one hand. 

hemlock lazes in the sun and watches them with one eye open. the lizard doesn't have the wherewithal to understand the irony of the situation, but she's keen enough to sense the smugness radiating off of her master. 

allrianne doesn't join in on the laughter. unlike vesper, she's still piecing together the ramifications of an island filled with dinosaur pokemon. rampardos are bad news as it is, but if they're unlucky enough to cross paths with a horde of tyrantrum? 

she shudders at the thought. 

but the sun sinks lower and despite vesper's inadequacy, at least she had the sense to start a fire. allrianne snaps her fingers and hemlock gets to her feet. she belches a plume of fire onto the kindling and it catches immediately, burning quickly. 

"wisteria," she says to her toxicroak. "gather dead wood. take lexis and get some thick stuff. slow burning." 

the pair go off and allrianne squats down by the fire. cassandra pads up to her side, tail gracing her hip affectionately. allrianne scratches the espeon's cheek and then sits down so the cat can curl up in her lap. 

"we'll sleep. gather our strength. as soon as the sun's up, we're hunting for aerodactyl."

vesper hale

☉

"who knows?" she says with a shrug. "there's probably a reason it's untouched. could be some kind of whack nature preserve." the idea isn't a half bad one, but allrianne has little interest. she'd tended a few smuggling jobs in her early years as a recruit, but most of them require teamwork, communication - a small team. 

she stretches out by the fire. lexis offers her wolfish body as a pillow. allrianne's stomach grumbles, but she ignores it. food isn't dire yet and she can send lexis off to hunt in the morning. 

"aerodactyl or not, we gotta find something that can carry our weight and tame it well enough to get us the fuck out of here." she sighs. "or hope another boat passes."

vesper hale

☉

cassandra can charm just about anything when it comes down to it. the dangerous part will just be getting close enough to one and buying the espeon enough time to sink its proverbial claws in such a beast's brain. coaxing out instinctual bloodlust is no easy feat. 

lexis shifts against her, puts her head on her paws, and sighs. allrianne reaches up and scritches her wily mane affectionately. then she stretches her legs, puts her still-sodden boots by the fire to warm them. 

"good news is lexis'll be able to hear anything offshore and hemlock can send a signal. we'll figure out the logistics in the morning." she turns on her side and sighs into lexis' scruff. 

"i'm going to sleep."

vesper hale

☉

she makes a face at the nickname, but she doesn't say anything. no, she'd rather let vesper believe she'd fallen asleep. and with her face hidden in lexis' mane, it could very well be the case. her toes curl and the crackling fire, as it smolders into little more than embers, lulls her into a fitful sleep. 

when she wakes, it's to her toxicroak with a couple of archen swinging dead from her arms. she tosses the birds next to the ashes of the previous night's fire. lexis jostles, leaving allrianne's side to take one of the birds for herself. 

ari sits up, alert now, and frowns down at the bird. because this catch only adds more evidence to her suspicions. 

wisteria leaves her master to pick the bird's feathers. vesper still sleeps on by the time the bird is completely plucked and roasting on a spit. 

vesper hale

☉

she doesn't have salt. so the meat is tough and flavorless. but a few bites is all it takes to quell her rumbling stomach. she'd eat the whole thing if she needed to, but the task before her is going to be difficult - she'll need vesper at top strength too. 

the sun continues to rise and allrianne starts to grow impatient. she has half a mind to kick the woman awake. how she can even sleep so soundly on the barren rock and with the sounds of the jungle around them is beyond her. but just as she stands and gathers the nerve, vesper wakes on her own. 

allrianne blinks, turns, follows her out of the cave because the woman looks like she's fucking sleepwalking. and only when vesper's shucking her pants down does allrianne realize what's happening. she twists on her heels and calls her pokemon to her. lexis has another catch she's munching on and sharing with cassandra, the latter of whom looks freshly rested. 

"left some food out for you. it's gone cold now, but you should eat it. we've got a hike ahead of us today." she points up to a spot of elevated ground a few miles away from them. it's not exactly a mountain, but it's large enough not to just be a hill. 

"something's nesting out there. saw a few shapes this morning. that's where we go."

vesper hale

☉