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[attr="class","illie b"]tensions are thick and heavy around them. still silence continues, growing in volume until it almost feels suffocating. the scientist shifts on her feet with an uncomfortable urge to leave. it shouldn't be her first instinct, really, but it always has been. things get tough, uncomfortable, unbearable. and she leaves. every time, she runs away. would this be different? would she stand her ground if they find a body beneath the mass of rocks? no, a small voice echoes. she wouldn't.

words distract her and she hangs on them like a lifeline, anchoring herself into the moment away from cowardice. the plan sounds simple, effective, just. she can play it out in her mind almost like a movie in a way. one action leads to another until it's a snowball effect of coincidences guiding her partner away from this exchange, away from this point in time and onto the next. the mission will be complete by then and the next issue will arise followed by another and another. does this sort of thing happen often for her? does she always leap into action at the first sign of danger? it sounds so different compared to the plush walls of a lab, to the protection a library wields.

"good," she murmurs, gaze darting between kaida and the rubble. "that sounds like a good plan. the experts should be able to repair the tunnel back to what it once was." that's their job, after all. not hers or her partner's. no, they had merely been called out to assist, to assess, and to clear. there is nothing else keeping them here besides a civic duty to uphold, a standard sense of heroics to follow. her eyes linger on the last few boulders as deus shuffles over to clear them away. can something so broken be mended? will it be the same or less somehow? will she?

the woman is grasping onto the small bits of hope that bleed through words, offering nothing more than a slight bob of her head. if it can't be helped, they will have to bury it. somehow, she almost wonders if that had been destined for them in the first place. would the world do that? offer such a sad place to rest for one of the creatures it created? yes, she believes it just might. "hopefully," she has to pause, has to gather herself after her voice breaks apart. "it won't come to that."

and as the telltale sound of rubble collapsing and breaking apart surrounds them, it seems her hopes had been placed with more than just good intentions. an audible sigh of relief escapes her, followed quickly by whispered words. "thank god." there will be no burials tonight.

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An intimidating sight awaits them. Despite its injuries, the beast that survived the collapse snaps open its eyes and growls, dark red coating over its broken armor as it rolls to confront a perceived threat. Kaida recognizes the Pokemon as a Rhyhorn, a Pokemon well-known for having a whole lot of strength, and not too much intelligence, an injured and frightened one is an unimaginable threat. "Stay back. We can handle it." She warned to Illeana, Ormr raising his head and rattling his tail to similarly warn off Munin and Jotun. [break][break]

Kaida took out a Pokeball, one marked with a green tinge to it. A Pokeball for those she needed to bring to the Rangers to heal. "Don't worry, you'll be fixed, I promise you." She attempted to calm the beast, approaching cautiously. Her words meant nothing, or the Pokemon didn't believe her, snarling and swinging its horn to foil her approach and any throw she might make. "...Ormr, keep it still." She ordered, and the serpent's eyes flashed gold, a paralyzing Glare. As the Rhyhorn's eyes widened in shock, Kaida threw herself at it, tapping it swiftly with the ball. In a matter of seconds, the Pokeball was still, ready to be transported. The Rhyhorn couldn't possibly fight its way out of the enclosement. [break][break]

Kaida fell back, cradling the Pokeball as she turned her head towards Munin, "Munin, can you check the walls? Be careful, show me any weaknesses later." The Krookodile nodded and lumbered off, carefully eyeing the walls with its zooming eyes. Kaida regarded her captured patient, with those injuries, the Rangers would need to keep it a while to heal. Hopefully it wasn't too distrusting of humans. Abruptly, She seemed to remember Illeana nearby and looked over at her, "Don't worry. Our friend here will be alright."

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[attr="class","illie b"]her relief is almost palpable. sure, the rhyhorn is injured with cracked armor and blood dripping from wounds but it's safe, whole, in one piece. no death, no burials. her mind is eased enough for her to relax, for the tension in her muscles to slowly ebb away. kaida approaches the injured creature first, a command to stay back slipping from her partner's lips a moment later. deus stills by the rocks, shooting a questioning look toward its trainer. she locks eyes with the automaton and with a slight dip of her head, the scientist is warding her companion off.

the golurk retreats back to her side while kaida gets to work on saving the injured beast. a soft rumbled greeting follows as deus returns and then, both observe the unfolding events.

the rhyhorn meets kaida's caution head on, swinging its head wildly at the woman. illeana almost flinches in her spot, that helpless feeling pooling in her stomach the more she lingers on the sidelines. as if pained to be an observer, she's tentative in speaking, in offering assistance. "are -- are you sure you don't want help?" her voice wobbles slightly, meek and hesitant. she doesn't want to be yelled at but... they're doing this mission together. the least she can do is help.

it seems, however, that her help isn't needed.

instead, kaida manages to make swift work of enclosing the rhyhorn in a pokeball. with the help of her ekans, the injured creature is safely put away into a greenish ball. another sigh of relief escapes illeana a moment later, her body settling back into a mild calmness. and then, she's slowly shuffling closer, a question already falling from her lips. "what will you do with it?" it's simple to ask, really, but she wants to ease her mind further. her footfalls slow until she's a little closer to her partner and once she's satisfied with the loss of distance between them does she fully stop. deus rumbles behind her, an ever looming protector at her back.

"i hope so," she murmurs softly. a gentle smile rises and before she can stop herself, she's bending slightly at the waist in a half bow. "thank you for saving that rhyhorn and for your help today." it has to be said, this much she has come to understand. it might be waved off with the pretenses that this is simply fulfilling a duty to the league but she wants to make sure her gratitude is known before they part ways. over her shoulder, her automaton coos out similar sentiments.

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Kaida never had time to answer that she needed no help, the concern being appreciated but uneccessary. She lately answered afterwards, past the point where it could have been useful, "I was sure, see? I'm alright." She hadn't taken a hit in the chaos, and a quick look over her body revealked only a few scrapes on her arms from the brief tussle between her and the Rhyhorn. [break][break]

"I'm going to take it to the Rangers. They can heal it, and then put it somewhere it can live. Better help than I can offer." She had no healing Pokemon, and no means to transport this Pokemon back to a home afterwards, "It'll get better there, that I know." [break][break]

Kaida shot up awkwardly as Illeana bowed, hastily returning the bow with a speed that suggested she was struggling to remember what to do for the sake of politeness. "Thank you for being my partner today, it helps make a job easier." She could hear Munin returning, that was fast, there must be little to report. "Will you be going home? We've completed what we had to do." She had to go, the Rhyhorn needed quick help.

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[attr="class","illie b"]a hum, a glance over, a brief nod. kaida's okay, the rhyhorn is safely tucked in a pokeball, and her mind is slowly slipping further into that soft sense of ease. dread no longer knots at her stomach, pulling and twisting and wrenching until she's nauseous. it subsides in gentle waves until there's nothing more than the faint nose crinkle at the sight of dried blood on the cavern floor. "i'm glad," she breathes after a moment, after a pause that might have lasted too long.

her head tilts at the plan. bring the rhyhorn to the rangers, allow them to oversee the rehabilitation it needs, and then release it into an area it can thrive in again. realistically it sounds good, perhaps better than any other alternative she could even think to conjure up. maybe that's why her lips curl into a relieved smile or why her body relaxes enough to almost look comfortable. even the bandages, slightly coated with a thin layer of dirt, feel less aggravating, less suffocating. a weight lifts away and beneath it, illeana reyes seems to almost come to life again. it's not enough, not complete, but it's something.

"between you and the rangers," she begins, deus moving to gingerly offer a large hand to her once more. back to her previous perch, back to being carried as if she's made of porcelain and noticeable cracks. perhaps she is but that's neither here nor there. "the rhyhorn is in excellent hands. thank you, again, kaida." and oh man does she mean every word, every syllable as grateful and genuine as she could possibly convey.

the hint of a light, definitely amused, giggle escapes at the rushed bow. it's both warm and funny to see someone actually return such a gesture. she's gotten odd looks from it before, been called a princess just for a silly gesture, but this somehow makes it worth it. her smile is wider now, almost bright against the darkness of the cave. "it's no problem at all! you were the best partner a girl could ask for," it's fond, slightly teasing even. despite the tension earlier, things worked out and maybe even a sort of understanding rose between the rubble. munin returns seemingly as quickly as it had gone and only seems to cement the relief further in their minds. her gaze flitters between pokemon and trainer for a moment before stepping closer to the extended clay hand, finally returning to the perch of deus' shoulder. once she's settled against muted colors of clay does she lean down, careful to not teeter too far forward. "i think so," she murmurs. should she do something else? is there anything even left to be done? well... maybe the report? somehow, paperwork sounds infinitely worse than climbing into the fluffy blankets of her bed. "heading home sounds like the best option." a pause, an uncertain fidget. "if you get any updates on the rhyhorn after you leave it with the rangers, just give me a call!" both trainer and automaton wiggle their fingers in a wave of parting, slowly rotating to head back toward the way they had originally come from in the beginning.