Straightforward. He appreciated that.

Moreso, he appreciated how she also had enough sense to come armed. (He caught the twitch of her hand as it rose from its place at her side. Just what did she plan to counter his own attack with?) Henri pivoted on his heel and shot a look at his Decidueye. For the pair, it seemed they both chose to rely on a ghost type for this mission. How quaint.

The howl of the pack's alpha had been enough to make Henri lift his head so he could eye the horizon. So the Mightyena chose to prowl in a pack. Safety in numbers, he could understand that. The hunters approached, but it was a shame that they were face to face with two seemingly capable hunters.

As the pack came into view, he noted about twelve in total. And despite how rabid they seemed, it looked as though the pairs were quick to branch off and formulate the moment they saw the two at the entrance to the town. Four approached with their maws opened and dripping. They were there to feed and they would take by any means necessary.

"Spirit Shackle."

His Decidueye made the gesture of drawing back a bow. It didn't take long for concentrated energy to form and take on the shape of such. The shot of energy flew forward, but before it reached the four Mightyena, the shot curved. The Mightyena were more than ready to dodge it, so the fact that it missed seemed shocking.

But that was the point of the miss -- to serve as a distraction.

The arrow bounced into various angles and curves in a violent display of what almost seemed like a honing missile. Streaks took their way into the sky to form the haphazard pattern before the shot finally ripped through and downed two of the Mightyena.

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Camellia Lemaitre

The smell of burnt fur and flesh overwhelmed his senses but Henri didn't seem to flinch in the slightest. It almost came in the fashion that he was used to it. They'd managed to parry the first wave and send them with their tails between their legs, but alas, peace was not a luxury the pair had. Something about the coast seemed clear so Henri took the opportunity to turn his attention to Camellia to share his thoughts for their next move. Surely more planned to loom around the town, ready to strike the moment that the pair were to clear out. His lips parted to speak up, but the moment he caught movement from the corner of his eye, Henri lunged at his partner for the mission.

This wasn't an attack, and it was obvious in the way that the split-second he moved to push her, something latched onto his shoulder. Blood sprayed into the air like a sudden spritz of rain that poured down in an unholy baptism on the Mightyena that latched itself onto Henri's arm. Out of pure instinct, the mercenary raised his fist and slammed it into the wild pokemon's skull a few times. Once, twice, three times. It didn't seem like the pokemon was ready to release.

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Decidueye, Leaf Blade."

With the order given, his Decidueye didn't hesitate to draw its wing back as a flurry of grass and dead leaves gathered in its wake. It solidified into something that looked more like a spear, and with careful precision, it shot the energy at the Mightyena from a point blank range. Such a shot was lethal, as the moment it hit, the dog gave a whimper as it came into contact. Blood met blood as the beast was slain. He held no sense of sympathy as this was ultimately the price for a battle of attrition. At the very least, Henri bent down to examine the heap that was the Mightyena's fresh corpse, and reached up with two fingers to close its eyelids. He wasn't a pious man in the slightest, but the comfort of a prayer that Arceus could bless the pokemon in the afterlife seemed to offer a touch of comfort.

"Remain alert, they're not here simply to terrorize. They're here to kill, as well," he warned. "You're alright, aren't you?"

Henri stood to full height once more and glanced at his left arm. Blood trickled down it and didn't seem to stop. He couldn't simply let it flow. The mercenary ripped his sleeve clear off of his arm and used some of it to tie around his arm as a pseudo-tourniquet, then glanced to Camellia's Lampent.

"This will sound insane, I'm sure, but this is only a temporary halt. I'll need you to use your Lampent to cauterize the wound."

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Camellia Lemaitre

In a fluid movement, calloused fingers gripped onto the knife handle before he flipped it in one fell swoop and shoved it between his teeth. The moment that the Lampent's fire began to burn the wound shut, molars clenched against the hardened grip of the handle. Nostrils flared and face twisted into something akin to disgust. Burning flesh had a certain smell to it that didn't settle well. The moment that the wound finally closed, he heaved a breath and allowed the knife to fall out of his mouth and into his palm that waited below. The taste of the rubber grip still lingered on his tongue and allowed a distraction from the pain.

"Thank you," he offered.

Once he wiped the knife's handle clean of any saliva, he offered it back to Camellia and looked further off. These Mightyena seemed to have some intelligence to them. Henri rolled his shoulder and left himself pondering. Just why did he dare to jump out in front of his fellow Rocket? He didn't know her, so why risk life and limb in her place? Maybe it was a kneejerk reaction because he'd always been the protector in his job. But maybe it was a touch of human connection. Whatever it was, he couldn't seem to compute the reason behind his actions and quite frankly, he didn't like not having an answer.

The howls came again, this time somber. One of their own had fallen at the hands of the Rockets that stood there before the town's outskirts.

Pack mentality would be the Mightyena's weakness though.

As more charged forward to avenge their fallen comrade, Henri stared them down. It seemed that the one who had claimed alpha status of the pack made his charge just beyond the next wave. Littered with scars of war and other battles, Henri acknowledged the old dog deserved its title. His Decidueye launched another attack with Spirit Shackle, ensnaring the next wave for Camellia to make the next blow.

"If we can best that war dog ahead, we'll be out of the woods," he reasoned. "Let's take its head as a message."

There was something barbaric about killing pokemon, but perhaps it would keep the Mightyena from further attacking this place.

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Camellia Lemaitre

The area around them, for lack of a better term, smelled revolting.

The smell of burning hair never settled well, as sulfur practically assaulted Henri's nostrils. What remained of the pack either managed to flee or became nothing but cinders. There was something vile about killing a pokemon, but with a pack mentality of kill or be killed? It came as the only option. Henri glanced at the cauterized wound on his arm and acknowledged that indeed their time had come to a close here. He chose to take her suggestion at face value: he should go to the hospital to have the injury properly treated. Would he, however? Likely not. Henri was as headstrong as he was stoic.

Until it became an issue, he'd pay the injury no mind other than minimal first aid treatments.

"I see you've got a hint of Kalosian on your tongue," he acknowledged. "Moi aussi. (Me too.)"

It wasn't often he used the language anymore, but he'd stumbled upon a handful of other people from the region. Small world, he supposed. Henri withdrew his Decidueye and finally turned to face Camellia. With a swift movement, he pulled his rotom phone from his pocket and tossed it in the direction of the dual-color haired ally he'd made. Even if she didn't manage to catch it, the phone still floated in the air from the rotom fused in.

"We work well together, put your number in."

While it seemed more like a command, the near-monotonous tone Henri had reflected something akin to reasoning. If she chose not to, Camellia didn't have to give him her number.

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Camellia Lemaitre