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Stormy waits impatiently, shifting her weight and peering over his shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of the Mightyena pack. Just as he bites his lip and whispers about how cute and fluffy they are, she allows a muted but exasperated groan to pass through her lips.[break][break]

"Okay, okay, but let me see."[break][break]

She groans, reaching for his binoculars as he begins to remove them from his face. Then, with a pleased smile on her face, she takes a moment to observe the pack. Her shoulders sag as the dopamine of adorableness sets in and makes her grin.[break][break]

"Because you already have a pack at home. Don't you have like ten Mightyena and Poochyena now? Besides, if you take these guys from their home, it'll probably upset the ecosystem. I know, boring, boring, but it's true. As a ranger, I'm ordering you to not do it."[break][break]

She smirks as she says this, shaking her head as she presses the binoculars into his chest. The woman tucks her scarf in tighter against her face, shoving it down the front of her coat to make sure no wind can invade. [break][break]

Something catches her peripheral though as she turns, and she can hear the sound of puppies crying- but it doesn't sound normal or relaxed as they usually are. [break][break]

"Kyle?"[break][break]

Just as she turns to see if he's picked up on what she's noticed, snow begins to tumble at terrifying speeds down the side of the mountain, headed for the group of straggling puppies that had been distracted chasing leaves in the wind. [break][break]

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Her heels kick up snow as she skids down the side of the hill in pursuit of her friend. His words are sharp and to the point as he orders Alpha to help hold the avalanche back. The Pokemon stays back while the pair race to rescue the pack of Mightyena. The older ones are confused, pacing uncomfortably as fear locks them in place. Several younger Mightyena do their best to keep them moving, to bare their teeth at the humans, to flee.[break][break]

"I'll.. I'll take the avalanche."[break][break]

The woman's face pales as she says this, as she comes to terms with what she's agreed to, what she's facing. Twice before she had been caught out in the snow, buried alive, unable to fight the cold.[break][break]

Not this time. This time, she would rescue these Pokemon and she wouldn't fail again.[break][break]

Besides, Kyle was probably the better pick to deal with the wild dogs anyway.[break][break]

Two Pokemon appear at her side then as she focuses on what she needs to do. Tyranitar and Rhyhorn shuffle their feet uncomfortably in the cold, but they're alert, they're ready.[break][break]

"Stone edge, make a barrier! We can change the direction of the avalanche, we just need to move quickly!"[break][break]

They both growl and take a determined step forward, their feet leaving deep imprints in the snow. The ground begins to tremble a bit as they focus their energy, and sharp rocks begin to jut up from the ground, effectively building a rough-looking rock wall behind them. The avalanche continues to barrel down despite the hyper beam, but it was enough time for the rock wall to be built.[break][break]

Arcanine has returned, facing his own fears of the storm. [break][break]

"Arcanine, I need you to help steer the avalanche, I need you to melt as much of the snow as you can!"[break][break]

He dips his head, ears flattening as he considers her request. She nods, glancing up at the waterfall of snow. With a deep breath, the giant dog Pokemon leaps into the fray, blasting round after round of flamethrowers up the hill, hoping he can melt some of the worst of it before it reaches them.[break][break]

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It certainly is the safer of two choices - Stormy had intentionally chosen the more difficult and more dangerous task. She had no real method of encouraging a pack of wild, terrified Mightyena to follow her, but she had enough sense and idea generation to solve the avalanche situation. At least for long enough that Kyle and the pack could escape.[break][break]

The stone edge wall begins to groan, the sharper points cracking off and breaking as the avalanche slams into it at full force. The weight of the snow and ice is impossibly heavy, and, while Arcanine is doing his best to melt the snow and prevent it from breaking the wall, his efforts are nearly useless.[break][break]

"Keep extending the wall! We just need a little bit more time."[break][break]

Stormy shouts over the rumbling noise, her voice nearly lost. But Tyranitar and Rhyhorn still push on, groaning under the pressure but maintaining their formation. More and more rocks rise from the ground to bear the weight of the snow. It seems to have slowed down, the rocks don't fall quite as quickly. [break][break]

The woman glances over her shoulder as Kyle releases another Mightyena. Arcanine picks up the high-frequency noise and flattens his ears to it, forcing himself to focus on his task and to not obey the commands of another trainer.[break][break]

"I don't know how much longer we can hold it, Kyle. You need to get out of here!"[break][break]

Fortunately, it seems for the most part the Mightyena pack is following his direction - albeit with suspicion and anxiety. The younger ones urge the older and weaker to the front, pushing them along as they scurry away from the natural disaster. [break][break]

Slowly but surely, the rock wall continues to break and the thundering noise of the snow continues to bear down on them, pushing Stormy and her crew closer and closer as they run to escape as well.[break][break]

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Stormy experiences almost like a chill when Kyle calls for Alpha, like she herself was being moved by some motivational speech. The two Mightyena make headway, finally convincing the pack that they were safe, that it was alright and beneficial that they follow their commands.[break][break]

The rock wall rumbles and trembles, shattering under the weight. Panic rises in Stormy's chest as her Pokemon retreat, unable to hold it back any longer. Thousands of pounds of snow and ice come rushing towards them, threatening to devour everything in its path.[break][break]

"It's time to go!"[break][break]

She turns tail to try and catch up with Kyle, but her shorter legs and distance between them already makes her slower. By this time she'd returned Rhyhorn and Tyrantitar to save them from unnecessary suffering, but the snow was up to her knees and she looked about ready to fall right in.[break][break]

Her Arcanine tumbles down the side of the mountain, several hundred feet ahead of the oncoming avalanche. As he gets closer, he scoops her up onto his back and joins Kyle, even offering him a shoulder to grab onto should he need it to escape.[break][break]

"Grab on!"[break][break]

Stormy's hand reaches for Kyle's.[break][break]

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Stormy's fingers wrap around his forearm as his hand clasps around hers. Her grip is like iron as she uses her momentum and his own to pull him onto Arcanine's back. The dog Pokemon doesn't even seen to notice, not flinching despite Stormy's knees squeezing his ribs to hold herself up.[break][break]

His breathing escapes in hot pants as they fly across the snow: orange against a field of white. The Mightyena run ahead of them, even the straggling ones managing to keep a decent pace. They lag behind but Arcanine doesn't surpass them.[break][break]

Kyle's question seems to relax the painful tautness of her shoulders, and she forces herself to take a breath, to calm down. And in doing so, a relieved and nervous laugh escapes as she glances over her shoulder.[break][break]

"I sure hope not. I've had it with winter. Gimme a blistering hot day any day, my friend."[break][break]

The avalanche folds over itself as it hits the base of the mountain. It spreads out like terrifying streams before coming to a halt. It's as if the world has taken a deep breath, and then there's nothing.[break][break]