The Fox in the Forest (Open)

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If one would go East of Grassveil, Lumina has noted, they would come across a tall, dark forest, where light barely seemed to touch the ground. At first she had thought it had been just that; a forest, nothing more. But now the Vulpix knew she was wrong. This was a Mystery Dungeon, and apparently, quite a challenging one at that. Perfect.

Lumina had always called herself an explorer, even though she didn't have a shiny guild badge or a treasure bag. She liked exploring, and had a strong interest of the warped way the world worked in these Mystery Dungeons. Therefore, she was an explorer. In her eyes, it was easy enough.

She wasn't a strong fighter, still being a low level, but she was a skilled one, and that had won her many battles in the past. That was why the Vulpix felt sure of herself, she could handle this. Whether she would actually be met with success this time, well... that was still to be determined.

(Energy: 7)

The Vulpix stood back up quickly when she saw 'Ira' forming the Shadow Ball, but she couldn't react quickly enough and the shadowy sphere hit her directly in the chest. She cringed, biting back a yelp as she glared at the black and red vixen. She was an outlaw, wasn't she. Of course, that was what she would get for giving this Zorua the benefit of the doubt.

"So I've heard." The Vulpix hissed. She wasn't sure how much of a chance she stood against the Zorua. She was probably stronger, even after taking that blow from the Flabebe earlier, and Lumina had taken a bad scratch or two herself. She weighed her options quickly, trying to find the best way she could resolve this. Assuming that she was an outlaw, she had no idea what Ira was wanted for, it could be anything from minor theft to murder.

She took a few steps back, trying to stay light on her feet in case the dark type attacked her again. Her ears flattened and her fur bristled, her chest still stinging from that blow. Her mind raced, trying to come up with a good plan. "Mind telling me what you're wanted for, Ira?" She wondered, narrowing her eyes. If she responded, then Lumina could be sure if she was really an outlaw or not, and possibly how much danger the Vulpix was in here. Then again, she couldn't be sure if the dark type would give her any information, the Pokemon standing before her was effectively a stranger.

"Living," Mirage hissed before becoming engulfed in a dark sphere, charging a Dark Pulse. The hard hits from the Flabebe and other pokemon from earlier had weakened her a bit more than she had thought, but she still had some kick in her. She gave a barking sound as a dark pulse raced towards the Vulpix at a horizontal angle, hoping to strike the vixen's chest once more. The zorua had seemingly gotten nothing from this little trick on the vixen, but at least she could really check to see if the vulpix had nothing on it once it was down and out.

Alright, it had been stupid of her to expect a straight answer. She narrowly dived away from the Dark Pulse, grimacing as she looked back at the Zorua. She fired a pair of Embers back at her before darting off into the shadowy forest. This was a fight that Lumina couldn't win, that much she was sure of. She was up against a criminal, wanted for Arceus-knew-what, without a single ally in this whole forest. She didn't like to back down, but she liked to think that she had some sense. She was getting out of here while she still could.

The zorua was struck with the embers, and snarled before charging towards the Vulpix, wanting to get in close now. Her claws glowed and grew longer, as she prepared to use Fury Swipes on the fire type. Ranged attacks gave more time to react, so a close and physical one might land a hit on the vulpix.
"Just give up!" she growled, her paws reaching out as she attempted to slash at the vulpix, desiring to harm it. Hopefully her intimidation would have the vulpix just back down, then she wouldn't have to waste time on this small fox of fire.

Lumina kept sprinting, narrowly weaving through the tall trees. She needed to get out of this Mystery Dungeon - though which way the path back out was, she couldn't be completely sure. She cast a glance behind her to see the Zorua charging at her, her claws abnormally long. She had managed to dodge one of her slashes, but two of them hit her flank and her leg.

The Vulpix skidded to a stop, her ears flattening. Maybe she could talk things out. She highly doubted it, but it had to be worth a shot. "Okay! I'm leaving, alright? You can just walk the other way and we'll both have one less thing to worry about." She hissed, trying to keep a neutral tone, though she failed in preventing a bit of spite from slipping into it.

Mirage picked up on the spite in the vulpix's voice, but ignored it, she had this pokemon in her paws right now. The pokemon seemed to be quite willing to leave right now though, bringing Mirage to relief as she would no longer have to deal with this pest. Although, there was one thing she wondered, "What's to say you wont attack me from behind, or even go and cry to the guild, whining about how you were tricked and some dangerous ol' zorua scratched you?" Mirage's tail was raised, attempting to look more intimidating as she glared down at the vulpix.

Lumina sat down momentarily, though she stayed light on her feet in case the Zorua tried to attack her again. "I'm not petty enough to go crying to the guild about this. You're already wanted, aren't you? What's one more little poster on the outlaw board going to accomplish?" She scoffed. No, she wasn't going to waste her own poke and items trying to get her revenge. Tempting as it may be, it wouldn't be worth it. Someone else must've wanted her caught already, and all the Vulpix needed to do was wait for them to come along and handle this. "As for attacking you from behind, frankly, it wouldn't be worth it. You're stronger than me anyways, aren't you? If anyone should be worried about being attacked from behind, it should be me - and I'll just assume that you want this 'pest' out of your fur sooner rather than later." She explained. With that, she stood up and began walking in the other direction, trying to show she was done talking. She kept her ears perked, listening closely for any sound from the dark type.

The vulpix could be lying, and the zorua should be attacking, but Mirage remained where she stood, letting the pokemon go. Mirage was having yet another moral dilemma, she should really attack from behind and take the vulpix out while she still can, but then again she could just leave and forget the vixen ever even existed. The vixen's tail twitched, before she turned away from the vulpix and took off, decided not to waste he energy on the vixen. A small voice at the back of her mind kept nagging her though, saying she should have attacked, and that she was going to regret not having done so.

(End the thread here or do you have something in mind? I need to cut back on threads to make room for the new dungeon)

There were a few moments of silence before she heard footsteps heading in the other direction, and the orange Fox Pokemon released a breath, looking down at her paws. That was closer than she would've liked. She briefly turned her head, glaring into the pitch-black forest, before picking up her pace to a quick walk. She hadn't been ready for this place, that much Lumina was now aware of. She'd be back eventually. But for now, it would be wise to get out.

(We can end it here, I don't have anything in mind.)