Ettie's wanders were taking her further and further from 'home' in distant Fortree, to say the least. Each new place was a new discovery, a new adventure - so many new sights, sounds, and smells! And even in places that the young wildchild had been to before, she was pretty sure that there were plenty of things she had yet to find; be they new pokemon, or hidden crannies, or even simply turns she didn't take the prior time through. It was truly boggling, just how much Hoenn had to offer, compared to the comparatively tiny territory in 119 that she originally called home.

Safe to say, the pack here hadn't originally been here for any particular reason. It was just her pack wandering as usual, playing amongst the snow and looking for new friends to make. There was a light dusting of snowflakes coming down - one that'd occasionally have the pups shaking themselves off, so that the snow didn't melt into their fur. But as they moved, something would catch their attention... Namely, a set of trails in the snow.

One appeared to be from a human, and the other from a pokemon of some form. A trainer-pokemon duo? Ettie cocked her head as she looked the trail over - glancing in the direction it went. Judging by the interest that some of her packmates showed, the trail was fresh - whoever it belonged to had been through here not long ago. New friends, perhaps? Ettie would never say no to new friends! "Let's go!" She called, gesturing for the pack to follow.

Thus, the pack was off - following the twin trails through the snow with practiced ease. However, Anne couldn't help note something about the trails they were following....

... Namely, that there was another scent trail here. Fainter, older, but present; and this duo was following close to it. She casted a glance to Haru - and their eyes met, clearly thinking similar things. Whoever this duo was, they were tracking someone - and the lycanroc couldn't help but wonder who, and why...

But another question worth asking was, how long would it take before Nikita and Winters realized they were being followed? And how would they feel, about being followed by a pack of beasts...?

The two companions apparently saw little need for idle chatter. Aside from the occasional instruction—such as a warning about a low branch--Nikita and Winters continued in comfortable silence. Sharp eyes surveyed the path, looking for signs of a struggle or dropped gear. A lighter clicked as the detective lit up.

A bit of white in the undergrowth caught Nikita’s attention. “Hm.” He held up a hand for pause as he knelt in the dirt. A set of pianist’s fingers reached under the bush, emerging with a dirtied sock. “Tch.” Obviously disgusted by it, the detective quickly placed it to the side. Whether the littering or smell of wet feet bothered him more. But the size seemed right and it was something at least.

The Houndstone leaned in to give it a sniff. Briefly, a crimson light showed through strands of scraggly fur. “Hou.” Looked like this belonged to the idiot they were trailing.

Looked like he’d gotten his shoe stuck in the mud from last week’s thunderstorm.

Though their suspicions were confirmed, Nikita made no move to rise. Instead, he peered straight into the murky woods ahead of them. His thin lips pressed into a line. In his years on the force, the human learned to trust the hairs on the back of his neck. The ones that were currently standing at attention. “I take it you are aware of our uninvited guests?” The ghost type’s expression made it clear that he was. “Stone.” A second Pokeball was jerked off of Nikita’s belt. From it, a tall, spindly lizard emerged. Its cool eyes are bisected by a gruesome scar.

“We are being followed.” The Intelleon nodded. Her long fingers tapped at her elbow. This sort of thing was not uncommon. “I need someone to investigate.” Without a noise, the lizard disappeared up a nearby tree. Her skin rippled for a moment before the lithe creature disappeared from sight. Before long, she’d drawn even with the strange human and her pack of, ugh, dogs.
she began preparing a Snipe attack.

Nikita, meanwhile, grateful for a break, settled upon a stump at the edge of the target’s abandoned camp.

A cloud of smoke billowed from his mouth. “I do not appreciate being followed.” He stated plainly.

A winding path through the cold woods, a path that the pack followed closely. Ettie couldn't help but wonder what the duo - whoever they were - were doing, going so deep into the off-road wilds... She almost felt as though this person should get more packmates, it was safer in numbers! And yet, that being said, she also recognized that a lot of trainers' pokemon tended to stay in their balls.

Anne - and some of the pack by extension - had a better idea of why this duo were out here, on the other hand. But that only raised further questions - namely, who the third scent trail - fainter and older - belonged to, and why there was a lone person out in the wilds like this. Humans may be untrustworthy creatures, but they were not made to survive alone, not when a pokemon could easily decide to prey upon them...

... But, a good ways into following the trail, something itched at the back of her head. The feeling of being watched, by some unseen individual - not unlike the feeling of being watched by a predator - and it was not a feeling that the lycanroc liked. Glancing back to her packmates, she'd let out a low rumble - a warning for caution, that had a few of the pups glancing about at their surroundings as they moved. They couldn't see anything, but - perhaps, as long as they kept an eye out, it'd all be okay...

Meanwhile, a clearing would come into view up ahead - and Ettie perked up, when she spotted an older man seated on a stump. Despite the ultimately cold reception that he gave, she didn't seem all that bothered by it. Instead, she'd just blink briefly - "Oh. Ettie sorry," The young girl spoke with a nod of understanding, before smiling and waving "And hello! Friends!" She'd chirp, wiggling briefly.

Anne would give Nikita a brief lookover as Ettie spoke - and it wasn't hard to tell that the wolf was quite unimpressed by him, as she stared at him with all the airs of a wild animal assessing a threat. Neither he nor his companion appeared all that friendly - which didn't exactly help with her natural suspicion towards other humans, ultimately. Ideally, she was prepared to leave with the pack, at the first sign of undeniable trouble.

But, speaking of the pack... Duchess would continue to sniff along the trail - clearly intent on continuing to search along, as Princess and Ruffian both kept watch for her. The Electrike would briefly veer near where Nikita had found the sock, before cocking her head in curiosity, staring off in the direction of where the scent trail seemed to continue. Glancing back to Ettie, she'd bark - pointing with a paw.

This got the wildchild's attention - and she'd hop down from Anne's back, to approach the little electrike. "What find?" Ettie asked, briefly glancing in the direction that Duchess was pointing. "Pokemon?" Duchess shook her head, however - which had Ettie tilting her head. "Human..?" Duchess nodded - and Ettie frowned. Alone? That definitely wasn't safe - though surely, this human had a pokemon in a pokeball with them at the very least, right...?

From her silent perch, the Intelleon allowed her aim to swivel from packmate to packmate. Finally, feeling them to be the leader, her point settled on the Lycanroc. Though, it did not seem these mongrels were much of a threat. When the trio began to speak, the water type lowered herself into a sitting position on the branch. Her feet swayed in concert with the light woodland breeze. In truth, she was glad to be out of sight. Children--walking snot and germ factories—were more trouble than they were worth.


The wildness in this child was apparent. It did not take a detective to suss it out. The signs were apparent in everything from her stilted speech to the gnarled mess of curls. The clothing she wore, meanwhile, would not look out of place in Neverland. The urge to run fingers through that bird’s nest—to corral it into something human--came as a surprise. Aside from his grandson, Nikita rarely felt the urge for physical contact. “It is quite all right,” Nikita murmured in response to her apology. “Try not to repeat the mistake. Some humans can be rather twitchy.” Blue eyes met blue as he turned briefly to the irritated Lycanroc.


Nikita did not respond to the greeting. It seemed a pointless endeavor, as they were already in the midst of a conversation. “Friend? Hm.” The detective mulled the world over, sampling it like one might a fine wine. After a moment, he sighed. This situation reminded him of Little Red Riding Hood. “Young ladies should not trust so easily.” At his side, the Houndstone perked up slightly. Dark, glowing eyes met Annie’s evenly. “Wolves are not constrained to fairy tales.” His eyes flickered to the Lycanroc. “A metaphor, of course.” Still, with his hand no longer near his firearm, he did not quite fit the role of the wolf. He certainly did not eat grandmothers—their skin was far too tough.


As the little pack investigated, the man took a long drag from his cigarette. The ghost type glared as smoke wafted over his skinless snout. After a moment, Detective Winters rose to join the teenager and her pup. “Have you noticed anything out of place?” Aside from a feral woman with the body language of a wolf. No doubt another missing child that wasn't worth enough money or notoriety to investigate. “Screaming or fighting, perhaps?”

Another drag of the cigarette followed. Ah, how his wife hated these things.

There seemed to be a shift in Nikita's demeanor - one that had Anne, in turn, briefly tilting her head as she reassessed the man before her. He was no less suspicious to her now than he was before - but he seemed a bit less hostile, even if still not outright friendly. And she could, at the very least, ease up in turn.

Ettie, though, would smile a bit more brightly at the older man accepting her apology, and she nodded in response to his caution. Maybe she should let people know, when they were approaching, then? So that they didn't misunderstand, and think that Ettie and her pack were hunting them? That seemed like the ideal answer, if people didn't like getting snuck up on, at least. "Ettie warn, then!" She declared with a smile - whether or not she had misunderstood what Nikita meant would likely be up to the detective.

But there was another warning - namely, about Ettie's trusting nature. The wildchild blinked a second, tilting her head as Nikita spoke of 'wolves' and 'metaphor'. Safe to say, she didn't wholly understand what he meant. (So was he not really speaking about wolves? What was he talking about, then?) But it sounded as though he was concerned about her trusting others - to which she smiled gently. "Is okay!" She reassured Nikita, briefly lifting a hand to pet Anne on the shoulder. "Pack protect pack. Is safe!"

(That, and there would likely be an element of surprise against any would-be attackers, when they come to realize that Ettie had zero qualms in using her teeth and nails in a fight.)

As the houndstone looked Anne in the eye though, the lycanroc would meet his in turn - studying him for a moment, as if she were trying to gauge what the ghost-type's own thoughts may be. It was hard to read much in the skeletal face of the beast, though, without things like the lips to convey a snarl, no ears as far as she could see, or even a tongue to loll. So, she'd simply make a chuff of greeting - waiting to see what the houndstone's own response would be.

But before long, the pack had taken to investigating - and Nikita, in turn, would come to join in. As the detective asked questioned, Ettie would perk up - before turning her attention to the scene as a whole, looking around. There was some broken vegetation, including a low-hanging half-snapped branch near where the shoe had gotten stuck in the mud and snow. Did the person that Nikita was tracking use the branch to pull themself free? "Broken plants... But not-fight, Ettie thinks..." There would've been a lot more stuff disturbed here, and perhaps even signs of blood, if there had been a fight or struggle...

All that aside though, Ettie shrugged - unable to help wrinkling her nose a little as she noticed the cigarette smell on Nikita. "Duchess says is lone-human... Not safe - but maybe has pokeballs?" Ettie spoke, explaining the gist of her understanding of the situation. She certainly hoped that the human had pokemon on them, at the very least... Glancing to the electrike in question though, she'd ask "What way?"

To which, Duchess would take a second to sniff around, before pointing with her paw - glancing back to the group with a bark. If her nose was right, then it seemed as though the human they were tracking was wandering deeper into the wilderness...

Ettie nodded happily, in response to Nikita's words - idly wiggling in place, almost like she were trying to wag a tail that she didn't have. "Ettie ok, Ettie not-lone." She emphasized reassuringly, (although potentially unintentionally driving Nikita up a wall in the process, with her odd speech.) Her gaze briefly shifting over towards Ruffian, who was studying Winters just the same as Anne was.

Although whereas Anne was just gauging to see where they stood with the houndstone - be it as friend or foe - Ruffian was clearly sizing him up, as if he intended to tussle the ghost-type later. Princess, seeing this, just sighed and shook her head - before yawning widely. That was none of her business, and Ruffian was going to have to learn to choose his battles a bit more wisely one way or another anyways.

But, all the same, Anne's gaze on the houndstone softened with a friendly hue, when the ghostly hound gave a greeting in turn. Mutual acknowledgement, acquaintanceship. She'd return the bow with a respectful dip of her head, her own tail giving an idle wag, before she turned her attentions back to Ettie's and Nikita's interactions.

Ettie's frown grew, however, at hearing that this other person hadn't brought his pokemon with him. She could see now, why Nikita and his pack were seeking the missing individual out - surviving in the wilds on one's own was a grueling task, in her opinion. No wolf was meant to roam alone forever - and in her eyes, humans were the same way. The faster that they could find him, the better...

Anne and Duchess would both walk side-by-side - the larger lycanroc assisting Duchess, in remaining on the trail. Ruffian and Ettie would follow after, as Princess and Haru came up right behind - both groups keeping their attentions on the surrounding area. As the detective spoke up though, Ettie glanced over her shoulder at him - visibly thinking for a few seconds - before shaking her head.

"Ettie not-see. Not-here long. Pack move-lots." She spoke. They didn't have any one territory or den that they've settled down in - not yet - and instead led a more nomadic life, moving from place to place wherever Ettie's wanderlust (or the pack's needs) led her. Hoenn as a whole was so big, so new, when all she had known previously was the deep wilds of Route 119. But as a result, having only relatively-recently arrived in this area, there wasn't much of a chance for Ettie to notice anything amiss up until now.

As far as the search itself was going though, the pack moved at a steady pace - only pausing to investigate when something else of interest, such as the tracks of a wild pokemon passing through the area, came up.

Ettie, however, frowned gently - pulling her jacket around herself a little tight, and watching the puff of her own breath in the winter air - as a thought occurred to her. "... Cold not-good... Hope lost-friend stay-warm..." She spoke, wondering how long a lone human could stand weather like this. The pack didn't have to worry about it as much, between their fur coats and Haru - a fire type - being around to help them stay warm... But this person didn't exactly have either of those going for him.

Maybe hurrying would be a good idea, she wondered - though there was only so fast that they could go, while staying on the trail...

Ettie did not notice anything amiss of the figurative mask Nikita wore, in the face of her poor grasp of language. Nor did she seem to understand what he meant by 'child services' - giving a slight tilt of her head, though she didn't question Nikita further about it.

Before long, the hunt - the search for this lost human - was what held Ettie's attention, as the group kept moving through the snow. Even if he had a jacket like Nikita said, that only covered so much - and could only do so much, if night fell, and the cold truly set in once again.

But, perhaps the group wouldn't have to search for long. Sounds would draw Haru's attention. A scent on the air had Anne's nose twitching. The pack - attuned to one another's body languages - needed only a bark of command from Anne to begin marching in the direction of the source, picking up the pace a noticeable amount.

The only overt indication that they had noticed something would be when Ettie glanced back to Nikita - mentioning "Pack found something." before she, too, would begin jogging alongside the hounds. Was it prey? An injured predator? The lost human?

Only time would tell.

At Nikita's question, Ettie nodded. "Yes." She responded simply, not offering much else. Whether what the pack picked up on was the person they were looking for was up in the air - but she trusted that it otherwise would be something of interest. Anne wasn't one to get distracted, after all.

Distant screams soon grabbed her attention, though. On one hand, this was a good sign - because it confirmed that they were approaching a human, and meant that whoever was out there was very much alive. On the other hand, this also meant that they were in distress - and only time would tell if this was because they were in extreme pain, or cursed with extreme danger.

Either way, Ettie would glance to Anne and Duchess - and pointing ahead, would state "Go." She took point in a way that felt unusual coming from a young girl such as herself - but it was practiced and comfortable for her all the same.

Anne was a bit reluctant to leave Ettie and the other pups alone with the detective and his pokemon - though she regarded Winters with respect, she had not decided upon whether the man was friend or foe. She'd be loathe to let someone who was a threat get close to her sister.

But, even that being said, the two canines would follow Ettie's direction. The Electrike and Lycanroc both were swift - darting on ahead with Quick Attack and Accelerock respectively. The sooner they could reach the human in need, the better.

Nikita Sokolov

Anne and Duchess - as well as Winters - would be the first on the scene. Seeing the tree, the collapsed tree, and the struggling young man inside, the two would share a glance before nodding. They'd both bite onto the tent - careful to not catch the camper with their teeth - before working together to tear it away, revealing the individual within.

And as Ettie came onto the scene, her expression immediately filled with sympathy. She stepped forward to soothe the young man - murmuring "Is okay... Friends help... Is safe..." and holding onto his hand, allowing him to squeeze it through the pain he was surely in.

It would be a bit of a group effort, to force the tree back enough for him to be pulled free - Haru being the only one not pushing it, so that she could help Ettie pull him out from under it. But once he was free, Ettie would begin applying first aid. It would be a simple thing to transport him back to his home - Anne would tolerate having him on her back, for now.

By the time that she was done bandaging him up though, only then would she notice Nikita was gone (though Anne had taken note of his departure near immediately.) She glanced about, confused - wasn't he trying to find this poor guy? Where'd he go..?

... No matter, she supposed. She just had to bring the young man home, and then he could heal in safety with his pack.