"Do not fret, Miss Eleanor," Grigori walked in the direction the girl had pointed, "I'm sure that 'Jesabel' is perfectly safe. Perhaps she is not even in a tree after all!"

Note to self: do NOT mention the Skitty being in a tree. In all honesty, that'd probably be one of the most idea places for it to be hiding. The branches would provide cover from any birds of prey, and anything on the ground would be unable to reach it (hopefully). Yet Eleanor seemed especially upset at the idea, and that was not what they needed.

Castform, meanwhile, stuck back with the girl. It bobbed around her head and made happy little calls. An attempt to cheer her up, but its effectiveness left a little to be desired. Its only party trick was a scaled down Rain Dance, which it still hadn't mastered to its fullest potential.

Its other moves were out of the question. What Pokémon would Hydro Pump or Hurricane at a time like this?

The tall man started his search in the undergrowth, careful to not upset any of the natural fauna in the area. Skitty weren't very big, so they couldn't leave big tell-tale signs of a hasty exit. Any bits of fur would be a half-dozen pink hairs, paw prints as light as a feather. 

"Do you have any Pokémon treats on your person, Miss Eleanor? Maybe that would get its attention." Grigori examined a particular point of interest. Either someone really needed to get their scalp checked out after a terrible hair dye attempt, or that was the fur of a certain feline. "You were right. It went this way. Come, we'll track it down."

He did not wait up, and quickly delved further into the undergrowth and light forestry. 

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eleanor blair teska

Thank him? They’d barely just started the look. And there was no way it was ‘sleeping on a pillow’. But Grigori liked the positive thinking. “Yes. Fast asleep in a bed of Swanna feathers, with a pleasant dream on its mind.”

Castform stuck with Eleanor, dead set on keeping her relatively happy. Its little Rain Dance caused its own heart to flutter with joy. It tried to venture deep in the bush she looked in, but did not see the Skitty anywhere in the thicket. “Castform…” cried softly. Where could it be?

As Eleanor pulled the treats from her pocket, Grigori straightened back up from his painful position and carefully trod over. He takes half the treats and bounces them in the palm of his hand. “Hmm… how to best do this…”

“I guess we should split up a bit,” he decided on. “If you could continue your search over here, Ms. Eleanor, and I’ll venture off to the left again. And Castform… can do whatever it so pleases.”

“Guwhawhawhawha!”

So, the grunt went back to the general area he just left and continued his search. Now armed with treats, he tried to bait out the Skitty with the piece of food. Yet as the first and second minutes passed, not a single trace of existence showed itself. Odd. Usually, food got most Pokémon out of any hiding spot. Worked with the Mawile that loved to hide in plain sight.

“Ms. Eleanor, any luck on your end? I’m not seeing– not seeing any, uh… not seeing a…” he stumbled on his tongue. Didn’t want to upset her with dismal results. “Anyway, how is Castform over there?”

Castform hovered above the girl, constant with its chimes and whistles as they investigated.

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eleanor blair teska (WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS AND BUSINESS IS BOOOOOOOOOOMMMIIINNNGGGG)

Ah, so this is what this whole thing was about? Jesabel did not like the prospect of a bath and ran off into the wild. Typical Skitty behavior. They were notorious for their self-bathing habits and always caused mischief to avoid it. Even if said mischief made the necessity of the action more and more justifiable. A run into the woods? It’d be lucky to only need a bath.

“That’s good, then,” Grigori said. Good thing his Castform, now dubbed ‘Castie’, had some sense in its mind. Last thing they needed was two pokemon to look for instead of one. Not that it’d be hard– the Castform loved to make its little blips and chimes. Maybe he should call it Windchime, if Castie didn’t stick…

The Castform did its cry at the affirmation of its good behavior. Why it was so happy that a slight breeze picked up! And then another little gust. Did the forecast call for all these sudden gusts? And why were they picking up in strength?

By the time Grigori noticed the breeze that now whipped through the blades of grass and thick foliage, it was too late. “Wait, Castform, don’t–”

Its happiness reached a peak alongside the sudden winds. With too much to contain in its localized area, a massive Hurricane whipped outward and forward. Leaves were plucked from their homes, branches scattered in every direction possible. A trail of barren dirt followed the solidified wind while it whimpered and died off far in the distance.

“Miss Eleanor, are you alright?!” Grigori rushed over to the girl. He scanned the destruction left in the Castform’s wake: awful. Terrifying. They needed to work on that still. “I am so terribly sorry for that. Castie gets… terribly happy, sometimes. And it’s tied to the weather, so…”

But perhaps all was not lost. One particular thick bush, stripped naked of its thick green leaves, now had a splash of pink within its brown branches. Castform, oblivious to the wreckage it just caused, quickly flew over to the pink blob. It called out to the other two, motioning to the likely target of their search.

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eleanor blair teska

Grigori waved goodbye to Eleanor, her Skitty safe in her arms. It had been quite a relief to find the cute Pokémon relatively safe and sound. Sure, a little fluffed up from Castform’s Hurricane, but nothing horrible. The little grey orb floated happily next to Grigori, its chimes following the girl as she left the area.

“All’s well that ends well…” he let his arm fall back down to his side. This was certainly a nice change of pace. Despite the awful things he’d done earlier to that stranger, this might help counteract that… he sighed.

Fat chance in hell. A drop in the ocean; broken bones did not begin to mend themselves because he helped a girl find her precious Pokémon. There is still a mountain of regret on his shoulders, and a single pebble being tossed to the side made negligible difference. He looked to the Castform, unsure on what to say.

“Cast!” The creature danced around Grigori. Oblivious to the conflicts that waged inside his head. Instead, all it could do is summon a miniature rainstorm. As the water droplets fell to the ground, the light refracted off of it to form a rainbow.

“Hmm,” a smile broke out on his lips. No, those thoughts were those of defeat. Every journey began with a step. Every mountain moved piece by piece. “Let’s go home, Esteemed Castie.”

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eleanor blair teska