Ettie did not like it here all too much, she's decided by now. It was a dangerous place, one of predators aplenty looking to make her prey and unreality that she could barely make sense of without the help of Scarlet or Delle. Were it not for the presence of friends, she'd rather stay well away from this place...

... But, a friend was here. Nikita, namely. And as far as Ettie understood, he was hunting for something. Prey, that was hiding here - but had thus far proven elusive. And being the pack creature that she was, Ettie wasn't about to leave him to hunt alone.

Thus, when Ettie made her appearance, it was - as to be expected - not alone. Two Mightyena - Madame and Zeke - flanked her, alongside that of Anne and the Primarinas. Scarlet sat sheathed at the small of her back, and Delle lingered in her shadow as per usual. She came prepared, to say the least - even if there was a hint of unease and wariness in the way she regarded her surroundings.

But upon seeing Nikita, her eyes lit up - and she'd bounce over to him. "Friend! Hello!" She greeted in kind, wiggling a bit in her usual happy way as she smiled up to him. As he mentioned the shipwreck, she'd nod. "Pack ready-hunt. Madame-Zeek find-prey!" They both knew Odor Sleuth, which would more than likely aid in staying on the trail. "Which way?"

Though, it seemed that the female of the two Mightyena - Madame - did not have the greatest opinions of Nikita or Winters. The dark-type looked detective and Houndstone both up and down, before turning her nose up with a scoff - appearing unimpressed. Zeke, on the other hand, seemed a bit more amicable - idly sniffing to get a whiff of Winters' and Nikita's scents.

Nikita Sokolov

Ettie giggled. "Zeke new! Madame less-new." She commented with a smile, reaching up to scritch the two hyenas. Madame had been around for longer than either Primarina; but Zeke was definitely the newest of the group. But given the twisty tunnels and the chaotic and dangerous nature of the zone, most of the pack remained in their balls.

While Ettie hadn't seen much in the way of violence between humans, that wasn't to say that she was a stranger to violence in general. After all, when she still lived in the pack she grew up with, she was taught to hunt. Even now, now that she had her own pack, they would hunt to help provide for one another; and hunting was rarely ever a pretty affair.

Madame would lift her nose in a snooty fashion as Nikita commented on their senses; indeed, her nose was far better than whatever in the world he and his sack of bones had in the way of senses. Any prey wouldn't escape the notice of her or her assistant (which was to say, Zeke,) that was for certain.

Ettie, though, smiled and nodded. "Pack help friend!" As soon as this hunt was over, Nikita wouldn't have to come here anymore, right? Then they could leave this place behind. Ettie wasn't all that interested in staying here, once she knew her friends wouldn't be here, after all.

And thus, she followed his lead - up towards the abandoned wreck of some old, large, ship. Glancing up to it, Ettie couldn't help but be a bit awed - but she also wondered... "... How here?" She asked - raising an eyebrow. Did it come in here through a rift, like they did? Or had it always been here? But it looked so big, compared to the tunnels!

There were also some large bubbles, seeming to float through the 'air' around here - bubbles that... Ettie wasn't sure if she liked the colors of; or the smell some of them gave off. She had a feeling that she didn't want to touch them, if she could at all help it...

Prompt 30

Nikita Sokolov

"E-ter-na-tus...." The mention of the name makes Ettie pause, falling unusually quiet. She appears to be in deep thought as she stares back up at the ship, then at the surrounding area. It takes a potentially concerning amount of time before she blinks, and speaks up again. "Is... The Skeleton." She murmurs with the certainty of truth - the child's mind drifting to twenty years that she had lived and lost in a dreamworld Galar.

Twenty years that only existed in vague figments and fragments... Of another world that she grew up in, that she became a woman of her own merit, that was suddenly undone. Of a pokemon she raised like a child, no longer with her.

Initially, she seemed to withdraw or check out mentally - just slowly walking alongside the group. Anne and Aurien - who had been there for those twenty years - shared a glance, and then back to Ettie. And the Lycanroc in particular seemed as though she were about to bark...

... But then the explosion of the toxic bubble that Nikita detonated made Ettie jump - and she blinked owlishly, snapped back to reality. Glancing to the bubbles, then to the revealed eggs, Ettie begins to shy away from the sight. "Mmm... We move?" She suggests softly, gazing to the revealed nest. "Mama, Papa... maybe near..." Which, Ultra Beasts just seemed like more trouble than they were worth to deal with, in Ettie's opinion.

But, thankfully, the Mightyena pair were able to find something. As Zeke sniffed around near Detective Winters with Odor Sleuth, he'd perk up upon taking notice of something - and lifting his head, he'd bark to draw the group's attention! Turning to face the wall, he'd paw at it's surface - 'swimming' along it as the realm allowed for.

Whatever trail he found, it seemed as though someone had ascended up towards the deck of the ship.

Nikita Sokolov

Even after being snapped back to reality, something twisted in her heart; but Ettie tried to push the feeling back. Raised a hand up to distract herself by feeling through Anne's mane, letting her fingers run along the rugged stone spikes and through the soft fur, and across the surface of the wiry coat that made up most of her sister's hide.

As the group ascended up towards the deck of the ship and Nikita spoke up, Ettie blinked a bit - as if she didn't expect the change in his tone, firmer than usual. But, she did not protest it - nodding and filing in close behind him. Even if the child had a penchant for shenanigans and goofs, she was still cooperative - she knew the danger of this place very well by now.

Danger, which took the form of a boot slamming down. Zeke and Madame both snarled as they were among the first to ascend to the deck - and were near ready to charge into the fray. But, a bark from Anne called the two back, into a more defensive formation - as she, too, came to see the threat.

A large man - at least, that's what Ettie initially thought. But there were a number of strange things just in this person alone. Blue-tinted skin, sharp teeth, strange features that set him apart from the average human... But then came the fact that it was clear he was long-dead, a walking corpse bloated and showing signs of suspended decay... With a Nihilego attached to the deceased man's back, puppeting him along.

From towards the back of the pack, one of the Primarinas - Cassie - raised her voice in song. A current laden with pink petals rose in turn, a Springtide Storm enveloping the puppet and Nihilego both, to try and stop it in its tracks.

Prompt 4

Nikita Sokolov

For being around a couple of dead bodies, Ettie would calm down awfully quick as soon as the actual danger had passed. In truth, the dead bodies themselves didn't really bother her all that much - death was something that she had long-accepted as a part of life. At best, she seemed to at least have some sympathy for the dead - death wasn't pretty or pleasant, after all.

Perhaps if they hadn't just dealt with a Nihilego, she would've been a bit more wary - because a corpse can imply a nearby threat... But right now, she felt safe enough - for being in an otherwise dangerous realm, filled with equally dangerous predators, at least.

But, seeing how Nikita reacted to the other one - and the intent sniffs Zeke was giving it... "... Was prey?" She questioned, glancing to the detective. It seemed so, at the very least. And he was upset at his prey having been stolen - which was quite understandable.

But, at the very least, when Nikita checked in on her and her pack, Ettie shook her head. "Not hurt, pack okay." She confirmed, glancing back to her pokemon briefly. Noone had gotten caught in any sort of crossfire, and the Nihilego had been dealt with pretty quickly. "Friend-pack okay?" She asked in turn, glancing to Nikita and his own pokemon.

Noone had really gotten hit by anything, though - unless something had happened that she didn't see before.

So, there came the question. "We leave?" She asked, glancing back the way they came - then towards an open doorway leading down into the ship proper... "... Or we explore?" Decisions, decisions...

Nikita Sokolov

Indeed, Ettie is quick to shake her head as Nikita suggests heading home. "Not safe alone," She states. Even if Nikita had his pack - it was easy to be overrun, or snuck up on, or even just plain bamboozled, as Ettie had learned in their prior adventures through here. "Won't abandon." She wouldn't leave him behind, to face whatever might lurk down here.

Though, for the time being, things were quiet as they descended into the ship. The pack remains close together - unwilling to let their guards down for even a second, when it would be so easy for a monster to pop out from some debris or around a darkened corner. But, nothing happens - nothing jumps out or attacks - allowing them to come across where some of the deceased Rocket's belongings lay, alongside a ship log.

A curious Zeke pokes his head into the bag. Ettie glances at the log, meanwhile - squints her eyes, appearing briefly befuddled. The writing... Something about it feels like she should be able to read it - from that forgotten time of twenty years - but though her brain claims it's legible, that it should be, she can't quite make sense of the words beyond that it was indeed writing. Nikita certainly seems able to read it, on the other hand - and she briefly wonders what it says...

... But, the peace is shattered when something further ahead shrieks - a sound unlike anything of the normal inhabitants of the realm. It is an animal sound, one of rage, pain, fear - and the pack collectively perk their heads to glance in its direction.

(Anne, however, is briefly bewildered when Zeke pulls his head of the bag with an egg in his mouth. One that Cassie is quick to snatch away, carefully cradling it.)

Was the Rocket's pokemon still here, on the loose - an opportunity for a different sort of interrogation? Or did someone - or something - else wander into the realm..?

Nikita Sokolov