The bark startled her out of her mindless daze, her head perking up just in time to see a Stoutland running up to her, a barrage of licks soon to follow. There was a sputtering retort, followed by a choked-up chuckle at the pup's happy display. Her eyes were still blurry from the lingering tears of frustration that had gathered, but the relief she felt in knowing she was no longer alone trumped all.

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Yet what truly grounded her was the voice calling out her name, and the subsequent face belonging to it.

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Despite the situation and her slightly disheveled look, Brynnhildr flashed Gwyar a trembling smile as he approached. She couldn't quite remember when she'd last been this happy to see someone. It showed in the way her hands stilled against the Stoutland's fur, how her face lit up before her eyes blurred over once more.

[break][break]
"H-hi," she managed before the lump in her throat threatened to silence her. "you came?"

[break][break]
It had meant to be a statement -a grateful one- but the words came out questioning, bordering disbelief. She wanted to ask why Gwyar was here, how he'd found her, but unlike her emotions, her mind wasn't that far over the place to forget. She'd called.

[break][break]
In her hour of need she'd called him. Instinctively.

[break][break]
And he had answered.

[break][break]

+ Gwyar Wledig

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Brynnhildr chokes on a chuckle, wiping away the blur of tears that have formed. "Well, it was quite the alarming turn of events," Still is, she adds quietly, trying her best to gather her bearings. But she feels the tears keep biting away at her attempts, fueled by jumbled emotions and her inability to deal with the foreign feeling they represent.

[break][break]
"I got lucky when they stopped chasing me..." The Unovan replies, accepting the hand offered. The warmth of his palms radiates through her cold skin, and only then does she realise how numb she truly is. But she pretends to be fine, habitually not wanting to burden Gwyar further.

[break][break]
Her mind digs further into the habits drilled into her subconsciousness. Voices of a time she wants to forget.

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"Fool."

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And it drags them to the surface.

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"What have you ever amounted to except being a burden?"

[break][break]
It makes her doubt the relief she feels even more; surely she's just being a nuisance. The smile doesn't fool her.

[break][break]
He'd already went out of his way to come and get her. She should just be grateful he did and not pester him.

[break][break]
By the time she's on her feet her mind has reached its verdict and relapsed. The woman's shoulders slump, like she's trying to make herself smaller, the notable tremble in her hand somewhat kept at bay as her fingers squeeze his hand. Somewhere in the back of her mind memories replay; her anxiety finding its roots within them.

[break][break]
She's afraid of the man's reaction.

[break][break]
Brynn's only realising how hard she's squeezing Gwyar's hand when her own cramps, violet eyes shoot up in panic. "Sorry, I just-- sorry."

[break][break]
In her panic she rambles, with every word her presence seems to slink away further. "I was stupid. I should've known better, but I still--" her eyes flicker back and forth anxiously, as if she's expecting something bad. "It was a stupid mistake-- you have to believe me"

[break][break]
In the distance, thunder rumbles menacingly.

[break][break]

+ Gwyar Wledig

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Panic still dances in her eyes when he grabs her shoulders, trying to make her focus on the now rather than the thoughts in her mind. Her gaze is pinned on him; yet however strangely, she does not see Gwyar in the first few seconds, rather a distorted view of someone else. But they don't own the piercing blue eyes looking back at her.

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And they would never use her name.

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"I- I...," Brynn's falls into silence as panic shifts into confusion, and then something that looks an awful lot like cautiousness. The tension in her shoulders fade underneath the pressure of his fingertips, and for a moment that's just all she does.

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Allowing the silence to fall over them, violet eyes endlessly searching for the truth in the knight's eyes.

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"Anyone could've made it."

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Then why had they blamed her alone for those mistakes?

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No. That was then. They'd cast her aside years ago to fend for herself. Never had she breached the rules they'd set since they had; but even before that none had bothered telling her that it wasn't her fault.

[break][break]
When she finally relents to those eyes, she casts her eyes to the ground at their feet, her speech muffled.

[break][break]
"-don't want to go home-"

[break][break]
Like a startled deer Brynnhildr suddenly rears her head, her hands back on Gwyar's arms while her eyes peer at the treelines behind them, clearly put on edge by the sounds of breaking branches interrupting the forest's silence. She sucks in a sharp breath, gently pulling Gwyar with her as she takes a step back. "Nononono," Her voice but a silent whimper as a first Ursaring breaks through the thicket. "They're back."


[break][break]

+ Gwyar Wledig

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

While she's petrified for reasons beyond her ken, Gwyar just makes it look easy; the way with which he orders- asks? his Gallade to take care of the towering bears that've found their way towards them.

[break][break]
She merely watches as the Gallade makes short work of an Ursaring, turning to the next one. It's piercing red gaze seems to stall the other Ursaring, some even looking at where their comrade disappeared into the thicket; pained grunts seem to come from behind them, but the Ursaring in question doesn't seem to resurface just yet.

[break][break]
But their slowed reaction does not last. It's only moments after that they decide two should do the trick, and pincer the pokémon from both sides. Thunder beckons the rain; little drops announcing the coming of a downpour in the make. It's cold soothing on skin heated by panic and a surpressed flight response. The thunder did call forth something else however, from the depths of the cave behind them it stirred, a low growl echoing.


[break][break]

+ Gwyar Wledig

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

What... what was that thing? Even compared to the Ursaring it seemed enormous, hulking over those present before it like they were mere pups. But these pups were ready to fight it if necessary.

[break][break]
And by the look of it, fighting it wouldn't only be a necessity, but an inevitable turn of events.

[break][break]
The only thing that worked in their favor as the lumbering bear made its way out of the cave's depth was that even the Ursaring surrounding them seemed to back away from it. If she hadn't had her eyes pinned on the gigantic monster in front of her, she would've seen how some had even decided to abandon their prey, choosing safety over rewards.

[break][break]
Gwyar, who'd positioned himself before her, now quietly pushed her back, planning on taking the beast down alone. Brynn hesitated but moved back a bit, not wanting to get in the knight's way. She could go even further back and allow him all the space he needed to fight together with his team, but her heartstrings stung at the mere thought, as if that meant abandoning him for her own safety.

[break][break]
Reaching out towards her bag, Brynn fished out one of her other pokéballs and tossed it out, letting her shiny Drilbur Delta take the stage.

[break][break]
"I might not be of much help, but I'll do what I can!"

[break][break]

+ Gwyar Wledig

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Brynn nods, leaving the battlefield to Gwyar and his pokémon. "You heard him, Delta, just wait for my sign and dig as widely as you can."

[break][break]
All she has to do is wait for the opportune moment.

[break][break]
The very moment they clash, Brynn gives her Drilbur the go-ahead. It disappears underground almost instantly, clawing away at the ground that grows to mulch underneath their might. Using the vibrations of those above it, it deflects the main field of battle as not to disrupt the soil there, making a turn once it knows it has passed the Ursaluna's back.

[break][break]
And then it starts digging in a single line behind it, over and over again, a tunnel as wide as its reach allows it to. Once. Twice. Above ground the only tell-tale sign is the subtle change of the upper layer- less solid, like someone just having overturned a field.

[break][break]
When the Drilbur pops back up it nearly catapults itself out of the ground, letting out a loud cry -amplified by the cave's echoes- to distract the Ursaluna and to warn Gwyar, before disappearing back into the ground, out of harm's way.




[break][break]

+ Gwyar Wledig

[attr="class","pokeclass"]