Rock-types were a tricky bunch, if you asked Ettie. Certainly, the Lycanrocs and Rockruffs she was familiar with were easy to spot - but short of a good nose, there wasn't much that could tell you a disguised Geodude from a normal boulder!

But perhaps she'd learn fast - because in a place like Route 111, there were plenty around! And fire-types, too - but those tended to be less tricky. It'd been awhile since she last came to this route, though it felt familiar to her all the same. Almost like coming home, considering it was one of the first places she visited after leaving her original pack.

Did this place have anything new to offer, she wondered?

Ettie did not notice anything amiss of the figurative mask Nikita wore, in the face of her poor grasp of language. Nor did she seem to understand what he meant by 'child services' - giving a slight tilt of her head, though she didn't question Nikita further about it.

Before long, the hunt - the search for this lost human - was what held Ettie's attention, as the group kept moving through the snow. Even if he had a jacket like Nikita said, that only covered so much - and could only do so much, if night fell, and the cold truly set in once again.

But, perhaps the group wouldn't have to search for long. Sounds would draw Haru's attention. A scent on the air had Anne's nose twitching. The pack - attuned to one another's body languages - needed only a bark of command from Anne to begin marching in the direction of the source, picking up the pace a noticeable amount.

The only overt indication that they had noticed something would be when Ettie glanced back to Nikita - mentioning "Pack found something." before she, too, would begin jogging alongside the hounds. Was it prey? An injured predator? The lost human?

Only time would tell.

BREWING...
^{(Storing unless otherwise stated!)}

CHARACTER Ettie [break]
Flask of Facades (Complete)

SPOILER: Click to show

- 1 Form Change (✓; Advent Calendar)
- 5 posts referencing "Deception/Masks/Lies" (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
- 1 Complete Thread (✓)

Flask of Malediction (Complete)

SPOILER: Click to show

- 1 Form Change (✓; 5th Anniversary)
- 5 posts referencing "Supernatural/Curses/Spells" (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
- 1 Complete Thread (✓)

Flask of Infatuation (Complete)

SPOILER: Click to show

- 1 Form Change (✓; 5th Anniversary)
- 5 posts referencing "Love/Lust/Charms" (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
- 1 Complete Thread (✓)

Elixir of Ghlochidia (Complete)

SPOILER: Click to show

- 1 Scarecrow (Purchased)
- 3 posts referencing "Scarecrows/Cornfields/Chainsaws" (1) (2) (3)
- 1 Complete Thread (✓)

The notion of learning again feels equal parts daunting and encouraging. The idea of the pack getting to learn together, though, does seem to help her warm up to it. Though she doesn't respond verbally, she smiles softly - thoughtfully - and nods. Maybe it would help - and even if not, reading felt more and more like an important skill by the day...

. . .

As the Type: Null is spritzed with a Potion, the beast snarls weakly at Nikita - attempting to stagger to its feet, but slipping on its own blood and falling back down. Its claws dig into the floor, and it is as though each exhale of its heavy breaths is paired with the rumble of a growl. And when Delle attempts to approach, to give a friendly greeting, the masked beast briefly lashes out a claw, as it voice rises once more in a shriek! She is sent stumbling back to avoid the swipe - whereupon she decides to return to Ettie's shadow.

But where one might see the beast's behavior as a sign of aggression... Ettie feels as though it's less hostile, and more confused. Scared. Injured and exhausted, near strange beings it doesn't recognize - and could anyone blame it for being so reactive?

So, she recalls most of her pokemon - to avoid crowding it. Only Anne, Scarlet, and Delle are left - until two other pokemon are sent out: Anat the Lucario, and Bouba the Slurpuff.

Anat is quick to catch onto the situation - and glancing to Bouba, she'd bark instructions to the Slurpuff. In response, Bouba would hum - letting out soothing sweet smells, in the form of Aromatherapy. The scents seem to catch the Type: Null's attention - and though at first it growls at these new pokemon... The sounds would taper off, as it fell quiet. Watching.

And with that, Ettie would drop down to a knelt position - to make herself appear smaller, less threatening. She shuffles a little closer to the Type: Null on her knees, speaking softly and gently. "Is okay..." She murmurs. "Is friends... We help." Anat, too, would follow this lead - crouching low and shuffling closer with soft little huffs and yaps to the chimeric beast.

The Type: Null rumbles softly - eyeballing the group - and this time Anne speaks up with a bark. Though the Lycanroc does keep her distance, she watches as well - closely, carefully. She trusts Anat to protect - but if need be, she is prepared to step in as well.

But, with a little patience, Ettie is able to get close enough to begin bandaging at its flank. And Anat, in turn, begins using Heal Pulse to tend to the worst of the Type: Null's wounds.

A strange pokemon - but well... Ettie was willing to welcome this one into her pack, too, if Nikita wasn't going to bring it into his. And one's pack always looks after their own.

Redeeming:
- Gacha Ticket x1 (Mission)
- - Gacha here

- Shiny Swap x1 (5th anniversary)
- - Anne the Lycanroc is shiny now :3

- Level Tutor x2 (1 ultra deep sea, 1 goodbye galar)
- - Nameless Smeargle learns Sketch x2

- Type 1 Evo x3 (5th anniversary)
- - Mary the Wooloo evolves into Dubwool
- - Meri the Wooloo evolves into Dubwool
- - Adraea the Murkrow evolves into Honchkrow

- Type 2 Evo x2 (5th anniversary)
- - Bran the Rookidee evolves into Corvisquire
- - Nameless Rookidee evolves into Corvisquire

- Type 3 Evo x3 (5th anniversary)
- - Bran the Corvisquire evolves into Corviknight; learns Steel Wing
- - Nameless Corvisquire evolves into Corviknight; forgets Fury Attack for Steel Wing
- - Ruffian the Herdier evolves into Stoutland

Let's get the form pack on Ettie! Here's to another good year =w=

"Not safe," Ettie stresses - glancing up to Nikita with concern. "More pack better." This was a dangerous place - and there was safety in numbers. She wouldn't leave him or his pokemon by their lonesome, even if the solitude was invited, whatever he meant by that. Even if it made him a little grumpy, she'd stay by his side - she'd rather he be safe enough to be grumpy in the first place, than get hurt.

But when it comes to reading the book - and Ettie's confusion - the young girl doesn't answer Nikita's words right away. She furrows her brows as she tries to stare harder at the words, tries to dig into her brain for some semblance of understanding... Though, the most she succeeds in is giving herself a slight headache. "Ettie- I..." She mumbles, appearing confused for a good few moments. "... Should-can read? Used to... But... can't, now..." She frowns deeply, the confusion seeming to shift into a sense of distress. "Is... It's confusing."

Maybe she'd regain the grasp on words she had from those 20 years, with time... But today didn't appear to be that day.

Perhaps it was a good thing that a distraction came along, though, before Ettie could withdraw into her own thoughts. As Winters disappears and Nikita gestures for silence, the wildchild would nod - following close to him as the group moved to investigate.

Winters would be the first one to notice though - a bloodied hallway, the torn up remains of a pair of Nagandel... And another Nihilego, fighting a strange chimeric pokemon, wearing some form of helmet. The helmeted beast is bloodied and worn out, breathing heavily as it staggers backwards, away from the Nihilego. But when the Ultra Beast reaches out a few tentacles with its ever-eerie whistling call, the helmeted beast shrieks in response, as if to try and scare the Ultra Beast off, firing off elemental orbs in a Tri Attack!

The strike does force the Nihilego back, but not enough to stop its advance completely...

... But as Ettie catches sight of the conflict, she's already making a call. "Delle!"

A shadowy shape shoots out from Ettie's own shadow - the Marshadow zipping across the floor, before suddenly rising up behind the Nihilego to strike it with Force Palm! The jellyfish jolts from the strike, limbs spasming as it drops to the floor with a shrill and alien noise of its own.

The helmeted beast, meanwhile, seems alarmed at the sight of newcomers - but when it tries to turn away and leave, it loses balance and collapses onto the floor, body heaving with pained breaths.

Mythic prompt done xwx

Nikita Sokolov

Indeed, Ettie is quick to shake her head as Nikita suggests heading home. "Not safe alone," She states. Even if Nikita had his pack - it was easy to be overrun, or snuck up on, or even just plain bamboozled, as Ettie had learned in their prior adventures through here. "Won't abandon." She wouldn't leave him behind, to face whatever might lurk down here.

Though, for the time being, things were quiet as they descended into the ship. The pack remains close together - unwilling to let their guards down for even a second, when it would be so easy for a monster to pop out from some debris or around a darkened corner. But, nothing happens - nothing jumps out or attacks - allowing them to come across where some of the deceased Rocket's belongings lay, alongside a ship log.

A curious Zeke pokes his head into the bag. Ettie glances at the log, meanwhile - squints her eyes, appearing briefly befuddled. The writing... Something about it feels like she should be able to read it - from that forgotten time of twenty years - but though her brain claims it's legible, that it should be, she can't quite make sense of the words beyond that it was indeed writing. Nikita certainly seems able to read it, on the other hand - and she briefly wonders what it says...

... But, the peace is shattered when something further ahead shrieks - a sound unlike anything of the normal inhabitants of the realm. It is an animal sound, one of rage, pain, fear - and the pack collectively perk their heads to glance in its direction.

(Anne, however, is briefly bewildered when Zeke pulls his head of the bag with an egg in his mouth. One that Cassie is quick to snatch away, carefully cradling it.)

Was the Rocket's pokemon still here, on the loose - an opportunity for a different sort of interrogation? Or did someone - or something - else wander into the realm..?

Nikita Sokolov

For being around a couple of dead bodies, Ettie would calm down awfully quick as soon as the actual danger had passed. In truth, the dead bodies themselves didn't really bother her all that much - death was something that she had long-accepted as a part of life. At best, she seemed to at least have some sympathy for the dead - death wasn't pretty or pleasant, after all.

Perhaps if they hadn't just dealt with a Nihilego, she would've been a bit more wary - because a corpse can imply a nearby threat... But right now, she felt safe enough - for being in an otherwise dangerous realm, filled with equally dangerous predators, at least.

But, seeing how Nikita reacted to the other one - and the intent sniffs Zeke was giving it... "... Was prey?" She questioned, glancing to the detective. It seemed so, at the very least. And he was upset at his prey having been stolen - which was quite understandable.

But, at the very least, when Nikita checked in on her and her pack, Ettie shook her head. "Not hurt, pack okay." She confirmed, glancing back to her pokemon briefly. Noone had gotten caught in any sort of crossfire, and the Nihilego had been dealt with pretty quickly. "Friend-pack okay?" She asked in turn, glancing to Nikita and his own pokemon.

Noone had really gotten hit by anything, though - unless something had happened that she didn't see before.

So, there came the question. "We leave?" She asked, glancing back the way they came - then towards an open doorway leading down into the ship proper... "... Or we explore?" Decisions, decisions...

Nikita Sokolov

Even after being snapped back to reality, something twisted in her heart; but Ettie tried to push the feeling back. Raised a hand up to distract herself by feeling through Anne's mane, letting her fingers run along the rugged stone spikes and through the soft fur, and across the surface of the wiry coat that made up most of her sister's hide.

As the group ascended up towards the deck of the ship and Nikita spoke up, Ettie blinked a bit - as if she didn't expect the change in his tone, firmer than usual. But, she did not protest it - nodding and filing in close behind him. Even if the child had a penchant for shenanigans and goofs, she was still cooperative - she knew the danger of this place very well by now.

Danger, which took the form of a boot slamming down. Zeke and Madame both snarled as they were among the first to ascend to the deck - and were near ready to charge into the fray. But, a bark from Anne called the two back, into a more defensive formation - as she, too, came to see the threat.

A large man - at least, that's what Ettie initially thought. But there were a number of strange things just in this person alone. Blue-tinted skin, sharp teeth, strange features that set him apart from the average human... But then came the fact that it was clear he was long-dead, a walking corpse bloated and showing signs of suspended decay... With a Nihilego attached to the deceased man's back, puppeting him along.

From towards the back of the pack, one of the Primarinas - Cassie - raised her voice in song. A current laden with pink petals rose in turn, a Springtide Storm enveloping the puppet and Nihilego both, to try and stop it in its tracks.

Prompt 4

Nikita Sokolov

"E-ter-na-tus...." The mention of the name makes Ettie pause, falling unusually quiet. She appears to be in deep thought as she stares back up at the ship, then at the surrounding area. It takes a potentially concerning amount of time before she blinks, and speaks up again. "Is... The Skeleton." She murmurs with the certainty of truth - the child's mind drifting to twenty years that she had lived and lost in a dreamworld Galar.

Twenty years that only existed in vague figments and fragments... Of another world that she grew up in, that she became a woman of her own merit, that was suddenly undone. Of a pokemon she raised like a child, no longer with her.

Initially, she seemed to withdraw or check out mentally - just slowly walking alongside the group. Anne and Aurien - who had been there for those twenty years - shared a glance, and then back to Ettie. And the Lycanroc in particular seemed as though she were about to bark...

... But then the explosion of the toxic bubble that Nikita detonated made Ettie jump - and she blinked owlishly, snapped back to reality. Glancing to the bubbles, then to the revealed eggs, Ettie begins to shy away from the sight. "Mmm... We move?" She suggests softly, gazing to the revealed nest. "Mama, Papa... maybe near..." Which, Ultra Beasts just seemed like more trouble than they were worth to deal with, in Ettie's opinion.

But, thankfully, the Mightyena pair were able to find something. As Zeke sniffed around near Detective Winters with Odor Sleuth, he'd perk up upon taking notice of something - and lifting his head, he'd bark to draw the group's attention! Turning to face the wall, he'd paw at it's surface - 'swimming' along it as the realm allowed for.

Whatever trail he found, it seemed as though someone had ascended up towards the deck of the ship.

Nikita Sokolov