[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 4/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING

[attr="class","illie i"]chittering causes the pair to pause, stop, linger. her golem is confused, almost comically. a clay hand rises to hesitate, to point, and then to scratch at a crafted head. where's it coming from? forward? behind? right? left? she leans forward, balancing carefully with heels slightly digging into the automaton's chest. a hum escapes, one of contemplation, of consideration, of deciding.

and then, she points. up, finger drawn toward the tree line.

"there," she murmurs. it had been a guess if she's being honest but sometimes guesses end in success. playfully swinging from a branch is a chimchar. the source of the chittering, of the noises they had heard in the first place. her head tilts slightly to stare and deus shuffles closer. heavy footsteps alert the fire type to their arrival, to the interruption of playtime. chittering rises in volume and she's offering a small smile. "sorry to intrude!" her tone is light, almost pleasant. there's something weighing down the syllables but they still manage to hit their marks. the monkey swings closer, flopping itself upside down with a grin.

beneath her, deus raises a hand in a wave. "you're a cutie," she giggles. the chimchar's flame burns a little brighter at the compliment and in turn, her smile brightens. more chittering, more giggles. and then, a hand is extending toward the fire type, inviting and enticing. "would you like to come along? you could swing from my friend's arm if you'd like!" as if to voice its excitement at the thought, the golurk lets out a higher pitched rumble.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] CONGRATULATIONS!

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 3/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING

[attr="class","illie i"]the walk has been peaceful so far. calming, even. she's resorted to spreading her legs out a little further over deus' shoulder, contemplating if she wants to move further or simply settle into her position. before she can decide, however, the faint sound of wailing falls over both of their ears. deus turns with a quickness she hadn't been expecting, one that almost sends her toppling off. she flails slightly and regains her solidarity as the automaton shuffles toward the source of the noise.

they find a small sobble in the grass of the next clearing. the poor thing looks positively frightened. tears leak from big eyes and more shrill cries escape its mouth. the sounds only seem to grow louder as it notices the duo approach. in fact, she's not positive but the little guy might have been startled further by their presence.

the scientist is quick to scramble down from her perch, ignoring the way her body aches as she goes. her feet collide with the ground and while her left leg almost gives out with pain clinging to every inch of skin, she shifts forward. her approach is slow, cautious not just for her injury but for the sobble as well. "hey," she whispers, lowering herself until she's laying in the grass on her stomach with her attention trained on the water type. it ceases in its cries for a moment, simply staring at her as if she has dozens of heads. "are you alright, little baby?" illeana hesitates at first before offering a gentle hand. her smile is soft, reassuring, in the face of sobble's tears.

and then, the water type lets out a softer wail, eyes watering further. it stares at her hand before darting forward to meet the skin of her palm, clamoring over her arm in an attempt to reach her shoulders. once it finds the right spot, it settles into the space between her cheek and her shoulder, snuggling into the warmth of her skin without hesitation. "you wanted to cuddle?" she's confused at first by the brazen way it climbed its way onto her body but really, she's not exactly complaining. it's cute, incredibly so, and a little bit like herself if she's being honest. a light giggle escapes before she's rising and shuffling back toward deus. "i can give you lots of cuddles if you'd like to come along!"

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"]CONGRATULATIONS!

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 2/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING

[attr="class","illie i"]the walk continues with one more little addition. the sobble soon falls asleep within moments of her automaton's movement resuming. soft snores escape him, masking the other noises of the safari zone. perhaps that's why she misses the scyther that crosses their path. if she had bothered to glance up from the adorable sight of her new sobble, she would have seen something odd.

the coloring of this scyther is off in a way that's half familiar, half not. her golurk only pays enough attention to give a gentle wave before their small party is drifting off into the trees. and the rarity that was the discolored scyther is left behind for another trainer to find.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 2/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING

[attr="class","illie i"]the temperature slowly begins to descend as the sun paints colors into clouds. pink into orange and orange into deep blue. dusk settles and with it comes the supposed witching hour. a gateway to realms, a time for magic and ghosts, apparitions and presences that flutter in the peripheral. and perhaps that's what draws them deeper into depths of the safari, deeper into the unknown and away from the fading touches of sunlight.

everything settles with an eerie air the further they wander, the further her own ghost brings her. and somehow, it almost feels like home. an odd sensation that's halfway between worlds and yet closer to existing in a state of being. no pressure, no failure tainting actions, no grief weighing her down. only life and existence and the ever present feeling of eyes honed in on her back. a shiver brushes feathery fingers down a spine and she's slowly craning her neck to observe their surroundings.

of course, this brings her face to face with the creature with eyes like scopes. the very ones that have been trained on her back since they shifted further into the shadows. she has to stifle a gasp if only to not wake the slumbering sobble at her shoulder, eyes wide as saucers. how long had this little thing been there? and is it real? or a trick of the light, of the shadows and the spirits that linger in netherworlds?

"lovely evening," she whispers, voice not even attempting to rise any further in volume. no, there's a sleeping baby on her shoulder and the last thing she wants is to have to quell more tears. it'll only end in more... both from her sobble and herself. the dreepy stares at her, unmoving, unyielding, unblinking. she stares back. corners of lips quiver and quirk upward and the ghost of a smile finds its place on her face. and perhaps that's exactly what the ghost of a dragon wants to see. a spirit of a smile, an imprint left behind of a life form long since passed. it coos at her, small wispy body slowly drifting closer and closer until it, too, settles against her. and where the sobble had climbed his way onto her shoulders, the dreepy doesn't. instead, it'll nestle itself into the strands of her hair, tucking and wrapping itself into dark waves until it's a makeshift blanket fort and it's content and warm.

a sigh escapes and they continue, a hand slowly rising to stroke at the dreepy's head once the automaton's clay limbs begin to move and creak again.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] CONGRATULATIONS!

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 1/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING

[attr="class","illie i"]apparently half of this trip is meant for her to become a sort of cat tower for the pokemon she's gathered. sobble still lightly snores on her shoulder, tail wrapped slightly around her arm to keep itself rooted in place. dreepy has taken to shifting through her hair until it's comfortable and settled into the role of observer. and while chimchar isn't specifically hanging from her, it still swings lightly on deus' arm. a cute sight, really, but it slows them down slightly.

deus rumbles out a soft warning, a signal for approach. a tyrogue crosses their path moments later and she has to stifle a giggle at the look it gives them. curious yet confused and slightly concerned. to be expected of a large automaton decorated with both herself and different pokemon like the weirdest christmas tree anyone's ever seen. she offers a soft wave, one that mirrors that of her automaton's, and then they're shuffling on. the tyrogue merely shakes its head and darts away into the bushes, leaving the group to their own devices.

further they drift, clearing after clearing shuffled through.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 1/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING

[attr="class","illie i"]the psyduck wanders up to a golurk with every intention of causing some sort of interaction. it's focused, goal clearly held within its mind. and yet, as soon as it nears, a blank look crosses its mind and she can practically see the gears stuttering and sliding to a halt within. whatever thoughts it seemed to have been entertaining all but vanish without a trace. and with them went all semblance of understanding for the water type.

it lets out a soft coo of sorts, tilts its head in its hands, and stares blankly at clay feet. odd, she notes. is it alright? or is thinking hard for it to handle right now? sometimes, she understands that feeling a little too much...

the psyduck leaves them a moment later, waddling off into the bushes from which it came. and maybe that thought will return later on but right now, it's given up on the endeavor. the automaton beneath her rumbles and continues forward, no more mind paid to the weird occurrence.

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtag"] illeana reyes

[attr="class","wildnote"] 1/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING