Were it not a matter of life or death, perhaps a few details would have been seen as strange to the target. Corviknights and Honchkrow, roosting together on the ridges above the den. A thick fur curtain over the entrance keeping out the elements. A multitude of tracks, belonging to vastly different canids.

But as it was, there was plenty of alarm amongst the pack as a stranger barged into the main cavern of the den. Some pokemon growled, some yelped, others grumbled or whined. There was a multitude of eyes upon this lone victim, hackles rising and lips curling back to bare teeth...

... But Ettie - groggy as she was - raised a hand, and the pack settled down. What would the stranger think, to see a lone child have such simple authority amongst beasts? "Rest." She spoke simply to the injured person, gesturing for a Lucario - Anat - to come tend to them with Heal Pulse. They would be ushered to one of the beds in the den - a nest of furs, feathers, pillows, blankets... "Is safe. Will protect."

To have an injured person flee in here, there must have been an intruder - another predator - in the territory hunting them. And though Ettie was a gentle soul towards humans, towards beasts she spoke the language of fang and claw.

She gestured to a few of her packmates for them to follow, secured Scarlet - her Doublade - at the small of her back, and began to march out of the den as a group. Behind her, trailed Anne - a shiny Dusk Lycanroc, Princess - a Granbull, and Alexander - a Houndoom. In her shadow, Delle - a Marshadow - lurked, quiet and watchful. Ettie was tense - and her only hope was that whoever she'd run into would be easy to chase off...

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Ettie distantly recognizes Onyx as well, from the tournament; remembers the generally pleasant time she had letting Yip playfight with his Pinsir. And it is, perhaps, due to that recognition that she doesn't immediately act upon her agitation. That she hears him out, rather than chase him away - despite her instincts desiring otherwise.

But, that doesn't change the sharp look she has as she stares Onyx in the eye - stepping forward. The bouncy and friendly demeanor that he might have remembered from her is not present here, instead being the careful yet firm countenance of a wolf weighing whether Onyx and his accompanying pokemon were friend or intruder.

As he speaks, Ettie listens and considers for a second, before asking one simple thing in response. "Why?"

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Ettie once more considers Onyx's words. Though some of what he says goes over her head... She understands enough of it, for things to click in her head. League, Rocket...

... For the longest time, she didn't really worry about the faction conflicts - and she was content to simply not think about it all too much. It wasn't as though she needed to understand it, to live as she always has, as a wolf. At best, she simply understood that it was two packs at eachothers' throats from time to time - conflicts over resources, territory, and the like.

But especially after the prison, especially after the time spent with Josh Devlin... She felt the calm before a great storm on the horizon. Something was coming, even if she didn't wholly fathom what.

That was something to think about another time, though. Because in the now, it did not matter. All that she knew was this was a man who has killed before. And if she allowed Onyx to do as much, the man would be killed in turn. Ettie didn't necessarily judge either person for that - she was no stranger to bloodshed either.

But it sounded as though the man didn't want to kill anymore, so...

"... No." She decides eventually - voice firm, her lips curling back a little to show her teeth. "Ettie made promise. Ettie protects." If he truly was a man deserving of death, she'd be the one to decide it. Not this intruder.

And as if to back up her words, the canines at her side would begin to growl - a clear warning for Onyx and his pokemon to leave.

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Ettie had hoped that Onyx would readily turn around and leave; would he really want to draw the ire of the pack?

However, the shrill shriek of metal on metal told her all that she needed to know. It harsh against the keen-eared canids; Ettie and co flinching and growling from it all. But, they were ready to make some noise of their own.

One by one, Anne, Alexander, and Delle - who emerged from Ettie's shadow and used Copycat - would all begin to Howl in chorus, whipping themselves and their kin into a combat-ready frenzy!

Princess, meanwhile, would let out an Intimidate-ing snarl, paired with a rather Scary Face to make her feelings known on the matter to Onyx and his pokemon.

Ettie, for now, hung back - though Scarlet's tassels wriggled as the Doublade stirred at the potential of combat, brushing against the wildchild's wrists. "Not yet," She spoke to them in a soft voice - her sharp gaze watching as Onyx fell back.

She had to be ready for any possibility - it was something she learned living in the wilderness, and it was something that Navy emphasized in his own lessons.

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