[attr="class","rosepost"]His confidence was contagious.[break][break]

And calling for back-up made her feel better, too. "Okay, the fire's going out, but what are-" Her question was interrupted with the Dragalge that hopped out of the lapping waves to strike with a fell stinger. She lurched to the side to land in the sand, but the Dragalge was undeterred. She could imagine she'd be angry if her home was surrounded by oil and fire, too.[break][break]

Togekiss used air slash to launch it far into the sea. "We need to work quickly before the entire ocean comes out swinging," she said breathlessly as she stood back up.
[break][break]ollie morales [break]06. Use non-lethal methods to calm or capture rogue pokemon.

[attr="class","rosepost"]She hopped on the balls of her feet at his agreement. "Um, yes, I will teach you everything."[break][break]

They spread out by the extinguished campfire. Keiko did her best to make a flat-ish playing field and went through the entire deck to explain each card's purpose and ability. After lots of hand gestures, explanations, and personal testimonies to the efficacy of various cards, she set them up for a game. She narrated each of her moves and offered rationale.[break][break]

To advise him, she left her side of the game to sit behind him, curling around his arms to comb through his deck and weigh his options for which to play.[break][break]

"There's two strategies here, but it looks like your deck is better set for tributes so you can use more powerful monsters, since mine can take a lot of hits and you're not going to be able to take more actions than me." She leaned her chin on his shoulder as she picked a card, coaching him to use it instead. "If you can predict my moves, you could win in just two turns with this deck."[break][break]

She put the cards back in his hands and gave a light squeeze. "I'll take it easy on you, just play slow."[break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]"Oh, you are just the cutest." Pelipper cawed with exasperation as Keiko rushed to her newest cutie. She claimed a victim every time she came to this beach. It was inevitable, like the sunrise. She scooped up the Sylveon and nuzzled it.[break][break]

"You're coming home with me." He seemed a little resistant at first, but he must've seen that the fight was futile. He leaned against her instead, accepting his position in her arms.[break][break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]"No harm in him trying, right?" She was amused by his outburst, but at least he caved quickly. His Togepi was oddly capable. She held her breath as it faced the sea and wagged its finger.[break][break]

It dropped litter on the beach.[break][break]

"Litter." On the beach. She needed to scream.[break][break]

She walked over with the intention of throwing Togepi into the ocean to fend for itself when she noticed one of the objects it'd summoned was a boxset for a card game she recognized.[break][break]

She pulled it from the sand immediately, brushing off the cover to reveal it was a recent expansion. She hadn't played lately because she had been busy since moving to Hoenn. Still, her eyes lit up at the prospect of revisiting it. "Wanna play?"[break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Hoenn's beaches were filled with pokemon. Natural, wild ones.[break][break]

In Sinnoh, this is the kind of attention she expected when wearing incense. Or out in sea. But there was something about Hoenn that was filled with displaced pokemon. Sometimes, they were swarms.[break][break]

She kept pokeballs handy, now.[break][break]

[break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Incredulity fills as he looks at him, wondering, You respect me less than a gogoat?[break][break]

He offers no solutions or tasks, just soothing words, but any relief is temporary. She's going to lose her mind without a plan. "Stranded doesn't mean we have to be helpless. We have to do something!" She gestures erratically with her hands, out at the abyssal word beyond their shore. "I can't just wait around for help."[break][break]

She's really, really trying not to throw a tantrum, even though the restlessness at her core makes her want to scream and shout. She brings her knees to her chest and rests her chin. "Can Togepi, like, split the seas? We could walk to civilization." Not that they knew what direction that was...[break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Keiko sighed with good humor at June's remarks. "Like the mean older sister I never had..." She teased with a smile.[break][break]

Going down a floor was a good idea. She followed June, who seemed intrinsically opposed to wasting time. [break][break]

"Right, you got it." Keiko pulled out her pager, one lent to her by the Rangers that allegedly worked well underwater, and pinged their location for support units. "You think there's anything super cool in here?" She walked along some crates and peered inside one with the lid ajar. She was nosy, but she wasn't a thief... so no harm no foul, right? [break][break]

She reached her arm inside and pulled out a heavy spiked ball. "This looks like the kind of thing you chain into the ocean floor to deter submarines," she mused aloud, completely unafraid of the implication that it was an explosive device. She put it back gently. "I wish there was something to take back, like a knick-knack."[break][break]

june sleigh [break]09. Use signaling methods to call for additional support.

[attr="class","rosepost"]She chewed on his explanation for a moment before speaking. "Too good to sleep with Mr. Gogoat?" The pokemon was plenty warm, and oddly loyal. She was endeared to it. [break][break]

"In any case," she exhaled, "we need a plan for today." Pelipper was off somewhere, and they had few ideas. "Trying to go off on our own in the ocean when we don't know what direction to head is a bad idea, but we could build a raft for contingency." [break][break]

"Or we could build a message with stones in the sand for anything flying above. Or we could scout the island - I'm sure there are plenty of pokemon out here..." She continued rambling, seeking some kind of plan because the absolute worst outcome on the island, hands down, was having nothing to do and no structure to exist in.[break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]She heard his footsteps while she sat with the kneeling Gogoat, brushing out the strands of its fur as thanks for staying at their camp. She took her time before acknowledging him, though she didn't need more time to think of her response. She had stewed on it long enough.

"So you opted not to wake me."[break][break]

Her annoyance is clear. Gogoat raises his head, but she scratches under its chin to encourage it to relax. She couldn't be mad at it, after all. "We need to work as a team. Making unilateral decisions is not teamwork."[break][break]

It's then that she turns to look at him, but his bedhead startles a laugh from her. She turns back to the Gogoat, shaking her head.[break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Celestic Town is cold. Folks wore two layers in the summertime. Keiko, three. She despised the chill. Her dream, complemented by the discomfort of makeshift island life, was filled with a chilling isolation. Her Togekiss is there, though, and she keeps Keiko company, bumping her with her nose periodically for encouragement while Keiko finishes her paper route. She chases Togekiss' warmth to keep the chill at bay -[break][break]

She wakes to Rex.[break][break]

She wakes to Rex?[break][break]

She moves quickly to scoot back to an appropriate distance, sitting on her knees. Her early morning thoughts trickle through slowly. But her estimation, it's five in the morning, since that's normally when she wakes. But if Rex is asleep, and inside and asleep, he hadn't woken her up at all. Or she'd picked up sleep walking and had returned to the tent, but she didn't find that fathomable at all. [break][break]

The urge to pull him up by his collar and wake him up viciously is only stamped down by the fact he looks so young when he's sleeping. And she's sure the sleep is a deep one after his emotional day before. She fully intends to give him an earful, but she'll let him try to get a full eight hours. She slides out of the shelter to see the Gogoat by the extinguished fire, licking at her storage clipboard. [break][break]

So it wasn't time for the Gogoat to leave just yet. She didn't know what to make of that. Unfortunately, they were not leaving just yet. No sign of Pelipper on the horizon. [break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]She wondered what that felt like, forgetting faces. Her family was small, and ancestral memory was a big deal in Celestic. They kept faithful records. Hell, journaling was damn near a requirement to live there. She forgot little, and that that she couldn't retain was most certainly recorded.[break][break]

"Do you really think you'll forget?" The event seemed so deeply embedded in his psyche.[break][break]

His fear was misplaced, as far as she was concerned, but she'd overstepped enough for one day. It was his past to work through. He would eventually find peace. In time. She would not rush him. "Very well. Wake me before long, okay?" She wasn't sure how solid his internal clock was, but she didn't want to sleep through the night and leave him a sleep-deprived mess. It wouldn't do either of them any good.[break][break]

Althus Rex [break]

[attr="class","rosepost"]Keiko arched a brow at the other woman's panic. She tried not to take it personal, but the disregard felt a little personal. She followed behind June, slower. "I can handle it," she assured, and Pelipper used hydro pump behind Keiko defensively, the forceful jet keeping Sharpedo from getting close to her as she made her way to the building.[break][break]

She squeezed through the opening, popping into a room that was half-filled with water. "Time to snatch and grab, then." She followed Pelipper through an open window, pulling herself into a room that wasn't a drown risk.[break][break]

"You don't think she was actually gonna leave us to the sharpedo, do you?" Pelipper stared at her.[break][break]

june sleigh [break]