Anne, being the 'packleader' alongside Ettie, would take point in the patrol - leading Princess, Duchess, and Ruffian in an almost fanned-out formation as they took to sniffing about for any signs of the intruders. Thus far, they hadn't found anything suspicious - just traces from local harmless pokemon, such as a couple of shed feathers from a taillow, or wild berry pits from a zigzagoon. Certainly, they were potential pest pokemon for crops - not that Anne cared about that - but they otherwise weren't any real threat to a wooloo herd, which was the important thing.

Glancing up to the sky - and at the slowly dipping sun, soon to disappear behind the canopy of trees beyond - Anne couldn't help a soft rumble of discontent. The second that night properly fell, she was sure that the threatening pack - whatever it may be - would begin prowling and closing in on the pen. And if they weren't prepared, they wouldn't be able to protect the wooloo. The lycanroc would turn her attentions to Spot - and would briefly bark, asking him if he sensed anything.

But, regardless of whether the Lucario had any more of a lead than they did, it seemed that someone would find something. Namely, a low and unenthusiastic 'whuuff' from Princess - which drew Anne's attention to where the snubbull was gesturing towards a bush. At first glance, there didn't seem anything unusual - but as Anne stepped closer...

... The scent of an unfamiliar pokemon was here. Faint, but nonetheless present. And on top of that, there were tufts of fur - deep black flecked with strands of yellow - caught on a pointy branch. Anne wasn't sure what pokemon it might've belonged to - the yellow meant it surely wasn't something like a mightyena. But perhaps Spot's packleader - Trainer, her mind corrected - would know? The lycanroc trusted in Julia's counsel. Biting down on a portion of the branch, Anne would break away the part that the fur was stuck to - passing it to Duchess, with a barked command to bring it to Julia.

The young electrike yipped in affirmative - carefully taking the broken branch. Immediately on the move, she squeezed under the fence to get into the pen, before sprinting away to deliver it.

Meanwhile though, Ettie's communal bleating would come to a pause at Julia's approach. Blinking up at the older woman, Ettie would beam brightly. "Yup!" She agreed, turning her attention back to the wooloo, and reaching out to pat them on the head. "Is friend!"

The wooloo, in turn, would bleat in soft contentment - nuzzling against Ettie's palm.

Ettie giggled at this, getting up from her position on her stomach, to instead sit on the grass. "Wooloo soft. Wooloo round! Wooloo friends!" She spoke to Julia, openly sharing her thoughts even as she continued watching the wooloo she was petting. "Ettie likes!" Though wooloo weren't necessarily canids, their herd dynamic appealed to Ettie in almost the same way - they had their big ol' family, much like a pack of canid pokemon!

But, Ettie now glanced about - at the fence surrounding the pen. "But... Pen not safe. Wooloo stuck, predators not-stuck. Easy prey..." Ettie spoke, a hue of concern to her tone. It wouldn't be hard for predators to make their way into the pen by digging, jumping, or just breaking though. Whereas the wooloo, with their preferred form of locomotion being rolling around, wouldn't need a particularly tall fence to stop them. They were basically cornered here, Ettie noted. "... Ettie protect wooloo. Pack protect wooloo!"

And it would be about now, that Duchess arrived - the little Electrike letting out muffled barks, past the short branch in her mouth. Startled by the barking, the wooloo that Ettie had been petting would bleat in surprise, before rolling away - but the young wildchild was more focused on her packmate. "What have, Duchess?" Ettie questioned, cocking her head as Duchess handed over the branch - which, tangled in a few budding pointy twigs at the end, were tufts of fur.

Ettie tilted her head a little as she tried to identify the fur, but... She didn't have much of a clue, what sort of pokemon it'd belong to. "Fur?" Ettie prompted Julia, holding up the branch to the ranger. Maybe she would have a better time identifying the fur?

Aura... It was something that Anne didn't wholly understand - the lycanroc lacking the same senses that Spot did, to percieve this energy that all living things gave off. The idea that there was something that Spot could see of her - no matter how hidden she may be in sight, sound, or scent - a small part of her brain, from her early days of a rockruff taught to hide from larger predators, disliked it. And yet, all the same, it was something that would surely prove invaluable today all the same. It was something that, though she couldn't sense it, she trusted in Spot's ability to. Even for as strange as she found it all.

As Spot pointed out the malicious auras he could sense to Anne, the lycanroc would stare off in the directions indicated - ears twitching back with a hue of agitation. She shared in the lucario's desire to move in and investigate - though with the wooloo needing their protection, she wasn't keen on leaving them unattended. With how spread out the auras seemed to be, that was just asking for something to loop back around whilst they were distracted, to take advantage of that window of inattention.

No - they were better off continuing to patrol. Perhaps if they continued looking, they'd find additional clues...

Meanwhile, as Julia identified the fur, Ettie would cock her head - visibly curious. "What Umbreon?" She'd ask - gently taking the branch back, so that she could look the fur over once more. It was smooth and sleek to the touch, definitely not soft like Ruffian's or wiry like Anne's... She wasn't sure if she'd actually seen such a pokemon as an Umbreon, however - and Julia seemed uncertain of something about them, too. What were they like?

Well, either way, Ettie would give Duchess some praise as well - patting her on the head. "Good Duchess! Help lots!"

And safe to say, Duchess was eating that praise right up - her tail wagging a mile a minute, as she yipped happily, bouncing about. She did a good! She did a good!! The excited electrike would run in a small circle once, twice, thrice, before running off - heading back to join the rest of the pack.

Which, perhaps, was good timing. As the sun continued to set, the surrounding light was beginning to dim - shadows growing longer, stars beginning to become visible in the sky above. Though it wasn't too dark to see (yet) for the two humans, perhaps a flashlight would be a good idea... Because it was safe to say, that the predators were here.

Anne would be among the first to spot them - shadows just beyond the foliage of the forest, prowling, lurking, eyes gleaming in the ever-dimming light. Snarls and growls sounded - a large pack of... something, Anne could not identify, beginning to make themselves known. Immediately, she began to bristle - hackles rising as she snarled at the gathering predators. Ruffian and Princess, too, would begin to growl - though Duchess, as she arrived, couldn't help but be unnerved by it all. There were a bunch of pokemon - too many for them to fight, it almost felt like...

... And the first strike would suddenly come Spot's way - as out of that darkness, a Liepard suddenly made itself known, claws flashing in a sudden Fake Out! And it was not alone, either - Anne having to dodge to the side to avoid a Night Slash from a second Liepard, and the glowing of an Umbreon's rings slowly approaching.

They needed backup, Anne believed in the moment - and thus, throwing back her head, she would let loose a Howl - both to embolden the pack (Spot included,) and to alert Ettie and Julia. Duchess, too, would join in with a Howl of her own - making a duet.

As the howls rang out, Ettie snapped to attention near-immediately - glancing up from the small cluster of Wooloo she had begun playing with. "... Pack fighting." She spoke, recognizing the meaning behind their call. "Predators here." Without even waiting for Julia, she was off - running in the direction of the pack, fully prepared to back them up.

Julia Davis

An Eevee? Ettie wasn't sure - just cause she'd seen a pokemon before and could recognize it didn't necessarily mean she knew what it was called, so she'd initially shrug. However, as Julie pulled her phone out to browse through the Pokedex, Ettie would stand on her tippy-toes to peek at the screen as well - watching the ranger scroll through the pretty pictures and bring up Umbreon, until... "That?" Ettie questioned, pointing to the picture of an Eevee, grouped with its evolutions. "Ettie... Saw? Ettie think?" It'd been a long time ago (and during a hunting trip where it was the one that got away, Ettie was pretty sure,) but it did seem familiar!

The first liepard's eyes narrowed as she came to realize that her Fake Out had not worked as intended - and the feline, in seeing the charged projectile, would attempt to leap aside to avoid Spot's incoming Aura Sphere. However, what the liepard did not expect was for the projectile to twist about in mid-air, changing trajectory to slam into her side! Struck heavily, she'd yowl as she was sent tumbling - only able to stop her momentum by digging her claws into the ground. Not about to take this lying down though, she'd fling herself forward - claws flashing at blinding speeds as she attempted to dart past Spot and swipe at the lucario with an Aerial Ace!

The second liepard and Anne, meanwhile, would be circling each other - eyes narrowed and fangs bared as they walked slow, steady, paces. They were sizing each other up, watching for the first twitch of weakness, waiting for the perfect time to strike. However, whatever they had been waiting for, Anne would see her opportunity first. As the second liepard heard his companion's yowl, he was distracted for the briefest moment - just long enough for Anne to charge and strike the feline with an Accelrock! The attack sent him stumbling back - though wasting no time, he'd simply tackle into Anne with a Play Rough, sending them both tumbling into a wild wrestling match!

But, amidst the chaos, Ettie and Julia would both arrive on the scene - and the approaching umbreon was intercepted by Ribbon! As the little cutiefly let loose a burst of energy, the dark-type eeveelution would be sent reeling back - looking quite caught off-guard by the sudden interception. But, it was not daunted by this - a noxious-looking fluid beginning to drip from its jaws as it prepared to use Toxic--

-- But before the umbreon could even think of getting close to Ribbon, interference would come in the form of Ruffian charging in, slamming into it with a Take Down!

Ettie whooped in encouragement as she watched her pack fight - cheering them on as her eyes cast acrosst he battlefield. Even if she still displayed that excitable and childish side, there was calculating look in her eyes as she considered how to direct and aid her pack. "Duchess, help-Howl!" In response, the little electrike in question would waste no time in throwing her head back to do just as much...

... But, from somewhere in the shadows, a Dark Pulse would slam into Duchess, drawing a yelp from the electrike as she flinched, interrupted.

Safe to say, Princess did not appreciate this - her eyes snapping in the direction that she believed the Dark Pulse to come from, as she let out a low and enraged snarl in response. And yet, to charge blindly into the shadows would likely be suicide - especially when the barely-seen beasts seemed to be growing in number, and in proximity. . .

Ettie seemed the slighest bit intimidated by this, stepping closer to Julia - and yet, at the same time... "Something... Not-right..." She murmured. Something was weird about this whole situation, and she didn't like it...

Julia Davis

A trading of blows - as the liepard raked her claws over Spot in a passing blow, she in turn was struck with pure concussive force from his Vacuum Wave, sending her stumbling. At first, she made as though to hiss at the lucario - teeth glinting and her back arching partway... But, a thought seemed to pass through the feline's mind, and instead, she let out a plaintive meow in Spot's direction. Oh, poor her - here she thought that she could just find something to fill her belly - she was just so hungry, you know? And prey is so hard, sometimes, for a helpless little thing such as herself... Surely, they wouldn't miss one little Wooloo being absent, would they?

Waltzing closer to Spot, she'd use Attract - looping and trailing her tail up along the lucario's leg, and bunting the top of her head against his chin in a flirtatious fashion. She'd look him in the eye with a smouldering look - purring to him. Perhaps, he could forgive her for her trespass? And maybe even ask his companions to take it easy on her and her poor friends, while he was at it..~

The second liepard was still locked in a wrestling match with Anne meanwhile, fang and claw clashing as they growled at one another. However, with her superior size and overall leaning towards strength, Anne proved to be the one with the upper paw - slamming the dark-type feline into the ground with a snarling Counter! But, her opponent has a trick of his own - claws swiping at the ground to fling dirt into Anne's eyes in a Sand Attack! Blinded, Anne stumbled back and rubbed at her eyes with a paw - growling in irritation - as the liepard took this as his opportunity to slip away from the grapple.

With their superior size, it wasn't hard for the umbreon to throw Ruffian off of them - the pup tumbling briefly before he could right himself. But as soon as he was upright, he would waste no time in slamming into the eeveelution with a Play Rough - not about to let up on his opponent anytime soon! ...

... Except, the umbreon's fangs still dripped with venom - and in the close proximity, it was trivial for the dark-type to bite down onto Ruffian's shoulder, inflicting him with Toxic. Ruffian snarled in response - and as if deciding that two could play at this game, would bite down in turn amidst his Play Rough!

As Julia made the decision to pull out a flashlight though, something seemed strange. Firstly, the light itself - it felt as though it wasn't reaching as far as it should've. Or, perhaps, that it wasn't illuminating things as brightly as it could've. Though the edges to the shapes of the shadowy beasts were more distinct with light on them - even if the shapes themselves were vague, hard to identify as one pokemon over another - there weren't any details to be made out. It was as if the flashlight's batteries were dying, or as if--

-- Suddenly, almost as soon as the light began shining upon the shadows at the edges of the battlefield, something would swoop down at Julia - sharp claws swiping to knock the flashlight out of her hands. A gliscor would glide just overhead of the duo - circling about once, before settling in some open space at the middle of the free-for-all with a wide and toothy expression.

Which, the sight of the pokemon had Ettie making a soft whine in the back of her throat, like that of a nervous pup, huddling against Julia. She was admittedly afraid of bat pokemon - she didn't like them one bit - and this one... Was a bit too close to how some bat pokemon looked for her comfort, it was safe to say. Eyes locked onto the gliscor, Ettie found herself tongue-tied, thoughts stuck on trying to figure out what to do about the pokemon before her.

Which left Duchess and Princess having to decide for themselves on what to do. The electrike would stay behind her adoptive sibling for cover - managing this time to get a proper Howl off, to support her team.

Princess, however, was more than ready to engage the Gliscor - snarling as she charged head-first, preparing to use Crunch -- Only for the Gliscor to use Brick Break in turn, flipping forwards and slamming its tail into Princess, to knock her away!

Julia Davis

The female liepard yowled as she was struck by the Silver Wind - managing to avoid being completely blown over, though her pelt was left marred and glittery in the wake of the attack. However, it seemed that she was perfectly willing to play up just how much it actually hurt - using Fake Tears as she attempted to hide from Ribbon behind Spot. Rubbing her cheek against his side in faux-affection, she'd meow softly and sadly all the whilst. Such rough and cruel treatment, she'd lament to him - was this really what she deserved?

Surely, if there was some good in Spot's heart - (Lucario were noble creatures, weren't they?) - he'd make sure that this slight against a noncombatant did not go unscolded...

Julia's reassurance seemed to help a little - some of the tension draining out of Ettie's body, even if the young child remained close by. She couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze away from the gliscor, though - the scorpid pokemon in question snickering at the two humans, as well as Princess, in a taunting fashion. However, before the Snubbull could respond to the disrespect, Julia would have a plan - namely, sending out her huntail, Marina, to use Whirlpool!

Much like with Princess before, the gliscor would attempt to swing its tail at Marina - but the strike missed, just grazing against the water-type's tail. Round and round, the water began to rise and spin - and though the gliscor attempted to take wing to escape, it would find itself pulled into the tow. Spun around dizzily, the gliscor flailed in the water - but something strange began to happen...

... Namely, the gliscor's form beginning to shimmer strangely; wavering, wobbling, like the water that enveloped it, until - in its place - there was suddenly a zoroark! And as soon as the zoroark's ruse was revealed, the shadows in the forest beyond began to disappear as well - the fox pokemon being all too dizzy to properly maintain them!

(Ettie, too, seemed to relax a little at this - even if she still felt a little unsettled.)

Whilst the other enemy pokemon were occupied though, Anne managed to get some of the dirt out of her eyes - and she couldn't help a displeased grumble. She had lost sight of the male liepard, and he had slipped away - but to where? Was he just waiting for the right moment to strike..?

The sound of bleating broke the lycanroc from her thoughts though - and Anne and Ettie both would glance back towards the pen, to see a lone wooloo. The little sheep pokemon was crying out with a worried look in their eyes - attempting to butt their head against the fence, as if to get to the group!

Ettie blinked, moving over to the wooloo, and reaching out to pet them through the fence. "What wrong?" She asked softly, her tone reassuring. "Is okay, pack protect!"

The wooloo, however, shook their head - bleating once more, before grabbing the sleeve of Ettie's jacket in their mouth and trying to pull. It was then, that Ettie noticed the distant sounds of distressed cries, from other wooloo...

Anne, her eyes flashing in recognition, would snarl as if cursing at herself. This was one hell of a situation, but the lycanroc was not about to abandon her allies to this fight. Barking to Duchess and Princess, she directed the two pups to follow Ettie - and immediately moving over to Julia, she'd use her head to push the ranger in the direction of the pen. Though she was loathe to leave Ettie alone in a dangerous situation, she trusted Julia, and she trusted in her younger packmates.

Ettie, now understanding the situation, would begin to scale the fence - "Julia-friend! With me!" - only pausing just long enough to lift Princess over, and to give Duchess a chance to squeeze through the fence. But once the three were in the pen, they were off in the direction of the herd - the little wooloo leading the way!

While Spot's attention wasn't on the female liepard, she'd flash Ribbon a wide and toothy grin. Oh, she knew just how powerful a good Attract could be in the right paws - just as powerful as the pokemon you allure, really. All it took was inserting the right thoughts into this mutt's head, and he'd likely cause all the more mayhem than she ever could. Though, as soon as Spot looked back to her, she'd return to her flirtatious wiles - purring to the lucario, and nuzzling him. He was such a good guardian, she praised him - keeping her safe, from these uncouth brawlers - and she was so, so thankful for it...~

But, the illusions being broken was certainly an issue, in the feline's opinion. With zoroark unable to maintain the ruse, the enemy was sure to rally without the pressure of feeling outnumbered. But ultimately, the group knew they likely wouldn't win the fight - that wasn't the point of this little conflict in the first place...

... But, that didn't keep the feline from cursing a litany internally, when the trainers ran off, and when Spot was returned to his pokeball. No, no, no - this wasn't how it should go! Even as nervousness crossed the liepard's expression, she'd soon bare her fangs at Ribbon - and arching her back, she'd hiss at the cutiefly in a usage of Screech!

And from the shadows, her mate would make himself known - the male liepard darting out from the shadows to capitalize on the Screech, by attempting to claw at the cutiefly with Slash!

Seeing her opponent's return though, Anne snarled - wasting no time in stepping in to try and help back up the cutiefly. She'd slam her front paws on the ground - and from the point of impact, a line of sharp stones would shoot up from the earth in a Stone Edge rushing right towards the male liepard! Though he managed to dodge the brunt of it, the sharp edges would still graze at his hide - drawing a wince from the feline.

. . . . .

As Ettie, the pups, and Julia ran, they'd be led by the little wooloo to the barn that the herd rested in at night, both for safety and for warmth. Through the barn's entrance - the doors wide open - the herd could be seen huddled together at the back of the building, letting out frightened bleats and trembling against one another. But they weren't the only ones here - namely, a trio of individuals were present as well; two men and a woman blocking the way out of the barn.

The trio were all holding catcher poles - and as one of the wooloo attempted to make a break for it through the gap inbetween two of them, one of the men would snatch up the wooloo with the pole. It began to bleat and struggle in fear against the loop around its neck, but was unable to break away as the man scooped it up in his arms. "Here's another wiggly one - get this one in the truck w' the rest,"

"Just a few more, and we'll be out of this dump before anyone knows it." The other man spoke with a grin.

However, the wooloo that had been guiding Ettie and Julie would display a surprising amount of fight for a pokemon raised as livestock. Throwing itself forward, it would tackle-roll into the back of the man's legs - sending him toppling over, with the help of the element of surprise! "The fuck!?"

The frightened wooloo he had grabbed would take this chance to slip away from his grasp. Now free, it fled out into the pens beyond - the pole trailing behind it (not that it seemed to be paying much mind to it,) and bleating up a storm all the whilst.

The woman, however, was displeased with this - muttering out a brief "Dumbass..." before glancing over her shoulder, to spot Ettie and Julia. "And that's why I didn't want any of them slipping away!"

The second man, however, simply would crack his knuckles - before pulling out a pokeball. "What're you worried about? 's just a kid, a couple of pups, and a little lass - we can handle them just fine." Tilting his head to the side and grinning though, he'd mention "Unless, of course, you two're willing to forget you ever saw us, to avoid diving straight into a world of hurt?"

Ettie, in response, would let out a wordless snarl - baring her teeth at the trio. Duchess and Princess would both begin to bristle and growl, too - lips curling, and the electrike's fur audibly sparking with electricity all the whilst.