A *Shocking* Encounter

[Energy: 16 - 10 = 6]

OOC:

Shrouded by mists of mystery. Concealed on top of a somewhat, not really mountainous hill, sat a small, abandoned shack. Hidden within this house, was a legendary treasure. At least, that's what Ariel had heard. Rumours of some weird treasure hidden in Pricklemist's infamous house floated around Grassveil Town for the past few days. It hadn't been long until the rumors spread to the ears of the eager little Taillow. 

Ariel approached the edge of the hill, where she ran into her first obstacle. Unsurprisingly, Pricklemist Hill was… misty. Even though she was barely at the hill, the mist obscured her vision, making it difficult to know where she was flying. Not wanting to get lost, she veered back and landed on the ground. Ariel eyed the fog distastefully, unsure what to do about her predicament. Should she brave the fog? Ariel didn't want to get lost, but she didn't see many other alternatives. 

Straight after, Ariel met her second obstacle. 

Grrgurrrguurrr, her stomach complained. 

Ariel was hungry.

[Energy: 16 - 10 = 6]

OOC:

Loren was awestruck by the beauty of Pricklemist Hill. It wasn’t a place that would typically be described as being beautiful, but Loren had yet to see such thick mist in his life. The way it shrouded the air and lay like a veil upon the trees seemed almost mystical. Loren admitted that the mystery the fog brought was slightly intimidating, and gave him a foreboding feeling, but he was confident in his own abilities. He had, of course, read up on the area extensively before deciding to journey here.

The majority of feral Pokemon here should be Grass and Normal-types, with the occasional Flying-type, he thought decisively. The Flying-types will be perfect for me to test my Electric-type moves on, despite the fact that I’m not yet experienced enough to release electricity that will do substantial damage. Regardless, I’ll be able to train my accuracy by casting Thunder Wave on them - they’ll be nice moving targets.

The only thing he didn’t like about the mist was - Loren shook himself, dissatisfied with his appearance - the way the humidity caused by the fog made his wool stick out. It wasn’t at all like the way his wool expanded in size neatly and comfortably when it was electrically-charged; that felt airy and soft. This, however, gave him a slightly sticky feeling, and he did not appreciate it in the tiniest bit. He had groomed himself before coming to Pricklemist Hill, but now the state of his wool was a mess.

Oh well, Loren tried to ignore the feeling. It’s worth it. This place is unique and exquisite. I should be thankful enough that I’m able to see this sight in the first place. He continued traipsing through the woods, stepping on dead leaves with loud crunches, as he tried to take in all of his surroundings.

The plain, faded bag hanging around Ariel's neck was weightless and empty, besides for a couple of dust bunnies inside. The little supplies Ariel had brought she had consumed on the way to Pricklemist. Isn't there a forest at the top?? Could I scavenge for food there? 'Scavenge' was a strange word for Ariel. She never had the need to go out and look for food before. Even on her past mini explorations. Don't heroes in stories always seem to spend days without eating? Maybe I'm just a hero and I just don't know it yet!

Her attitude lifted, the Taillow trudged on with her head held high. She hopped forward in silence for a while, sidestepping at the occasional pine tree. "Does this hill go on forever??" Ariel complained to herself, shuffling her feathers in boredom. Moisture from the air was gathering on her feathers, making them feel sticky and heavy. Ariel was unsure if she could fly when her feathers felt like this.

The landscape started to flatten out, and to Ariel's delight, a forest was in her small view. Jumping in the air excitedly, Ariel was quickly reminded of her extra weight thanks to the mist. The Taillow wobbled in the air a bit as she tried to adjust, flapping her wings harder. As she entered the forest Ariel noticed that the trees were positioned closer together than she was used to, forcing her to slow down to dodge around them. She surveyed around as she went, but all Ariel caught glimpse of were sticks, trees, and more fog.

A loud crunching noise caught Ariel's attention. Curious, she headed towards the noise. Was someone here? Maybe they could help her! When the Taillow arrived at the source of the noise, Ariel was awestruck and confused at what she found. A strange-looking clump of.. mist? wobbled forward as if it had a mind of its own. Ariel squinted, unsure if she was seeing things correctly. She approached the strange... thing, unable to resist the temptation to reach out and touch it with her talon.

Loren froze in place as he heard an unidentified creature approaching him. Limbs tense, he spread his legs apart slightly and stood his ground. Strategies and facts ran through his head as he considered the prospect of battle. Despite all his knowledge of combat, this would be his first real fight. Fine, this is good. He thought, undaunted. I can put my knowledge into action now. I just have to wait for the right timing…

He shuffled on the spot, warming up his body for conflict. Something was coming out of the mist - something thin and sharp-looking. Was it a blade, or a talon? There was no way for him to tell, the world blurring before his eyes in a hazy mess. Slowly, it drew closer to his body. Determined and resolute, he forced himself to wait. A bit more… just a bit more; now! He thought, as the strange appendage came into contact with his wool. Loren used Thunder Wave, allowing a weak electric current to run through his body in an attempt to paralyse the “attacker”. He held his breath and leaned forward, albeit slightly apprehensively, to observe the state of the Pokemon he had just shocked.

Instead of the mist dispersing under the pressure of her talon, it felt quite solid and soft, until… "Aiieeee!" Ariel squawked as a clamping sensation held her still for a moment. She jumped back in fright, her wings flailing. Ariel was dumbfounded. Did it just shock her?

A face stared at her from the "fog." A rather agitated looking face. Slowly, Ariel began to put the pieces together. What she assumed part of the thick fog hanging in the air, was actually a Mareep. "Oh!" was all she managed for a moment, dazed. After a pause, "Sorry..! I thought you were a cloud?" Her words came out jumbled, still a bit shocked.

Wait, is it a feral? This is a dungeon after all! Ariel thought suddenly, a panicky feeling rising in her chest. Unsure how to respond, she ducked behind her own wing, bracing herself for the plausible onslaught.

Loren was only able to see a small, blurred figure - about half the size of himself - before a shrill squark pierced his ears. He heard the sound of wings flapping frantically, and tensed himself once again in case he needed to retaliate. However, he was quite taken aback when he heard the strange creature speak in a flustered voice. It’s capable of coherent speech… and it thought I was a cloud? That doesn’t seem like aggressive behaviour to me - what feral would do that? Perhaps it’s another adventuring Pokemon like me, after all… Loren pondered his options and choices before ultimately deciding that the bird Pokemon would be of no threat to him.

Suddenly, guilt rushed through him. He had just shocked an innocent bystander! Stepping forward through the fog, he approached the bird, only to see it shielding its body with a wing. It’s a Taillow. It seems to be under the impression that I’m a feral, he realised. Lowering his voice, speaking softly in an attempt to calm the Taillow down, he apologised. “It’s okay, don’t be afraid. I don’t intend to harm you, and I’m very sorry; I hope I haven’t injured you?” Loren gave a small laugh and glanced around. “I… I thought you were going to attack me. I suppose you thought the same of me. It’s understandable; this place does give off quite an uneasy aura.”

He gently prodded the Taillow with his nose in a curious manner. “I’ve never personally seen a Taillow before,” he murmured, mostly to himself. Looking up at her, he smiled apologetically and began to introduce himself. “I’m Loren. What’s your name?”

OOC:

Ariel waited anxiously. To her surprise, the Mareep didn't attack her. He didn't shock her. Instead, he began to speak nicely to her. She peeked up at him from underneath her wing, confused. Ariel caught herself sizing him up as he spoke. The Taillow felt she had a decent chance of beating him in battle, even though he was much bigger than her. Maybe? Ariel felt guilty after thinking that. He was being rather nice to her for a pokémon that just zapped her. She wished that more pokémon that attacked her had his manners.

"I'm Ariel," she answered after he introduced himself. She examined Loren curiously. She liked the way his wool looked. It seemed very soft and cuddly, like a warm blanket. Ariel felt stupid about mistaking it for part of the fog.

"So… you're not wild? What are you doing out here then?" Ariel asked. Was he here because of the rumors too?

Sinnamon carried out 3 launched of one Pricklemist Hill :

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OOC:

“Nope. Not feral. Not even in the slightest,” Loren shook his head. “I came out here because I have a love for exploration. Seeing new sights, expanding my repertoire of knowledge and skills… that’s what I travel for,” he said earnestly, eyes shining. “I heard that there was something interesting to be found here. A strange urban myth seems to revolve around this area, regarding the presence of an abandoned house at the peak of this hill.” Deep in thought, Loren tilted his head to one side. “I haven’t been able to find any factual evidence to back this up, but I figured that it was prominent enough to warrant investigation, so here I am.”

He looked at the Taillow with sharp eyes. “I suppose you must be here for the same reason, since this isn’t exactly a great place to take a casual walk. Um, if that does happen to be the case, would you perhaps… like to join me? It’ll probably be safer if we have each other’s backs,” Loren looked at the ground, awaiting Ariel’s response.

[Energy: 0]

OOC:

Ariel cocked her head as Loren spoke. He used a lot of complicated sounding words. Ariel wondered if it was worth the time to ask what repertoire and prominent meant. "Yep!" she said, confirming his speculation on why she was here.

Ariel flapped her wings in excitement. "Join you?" she echoed. Ariel was sick being of alone in the middle of this fog forest. The more the merrier, right? "Okay! I'd love to join you."

Ariel turned around in a slow circle, her eyes exploring the area around her. She didn't see much besides mist and the outlines of trees. Ariel faced Loren again, shooting him a blank look. "Uhh, do you have a map, maybe? Or know which way to go...?"

Loren was astonished to hear Ariel’s enthusiasm in joining him. Nobody had ever reacted this positively to being around him! Of course, it wasn’t as if many Pokemon from his hometown had hated him either, but most were completely indifferent to him and didn’t feel compelled to include him in their activities, being a bookish, slightly awkward Mareep. He felt his spirits rising at this new prospect, and couldn’t help but let out a broad smile.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a map. There was one in the library that I couldn’t take with me, of course, but I took note of the important landmarks I would need to look out for!” Loren replied eagerly. He slowly plodded forward, trying to recall the information that he had memorised beforehand. “Right around here there should be a particularly tall, jagged tree with three large boulders at its base - ah, there it is - and we need to continue north from here until we reach…”

“Oh… sorry. I can’t seem to remember any more…” he trailed off, uncertainly. You messed up your chance to possibly impress this Taillow and make a friend, he berated himself silently. Loren’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Well, I suppose we should just go uphill from here, and figure out what to do as we go.”

He pushed through the bushes, trotting up the gently sloped ground, when suddenly he heard a loud rustling noise from behind him. “Ariel…?” He turned around in alarm, eyes wide.