Blinding Blizzards

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Mordred was shaking. No, he was not shaking from fear. He was shaking from the SHEER COLD. His arms were wrapped around him in attempts of lowering his freezing temperature. His eyes were reduced to mere squints due to the blizzard, causing him to see in blurs. His teeth chattered, feeling breathe escape his throat and appear as a visible fog as it disappeared into the violent evening.

The blizzard raged on, dropping countless bullets of snow upon the unlucky passers-by of Icicle Woods. No one had foreseen this harsh weather, but only few came to the Woods anyways, so it would be expected. The snowy ground grew and grew, inches by inches as it continued to bury the trees and whatever was left upon the unholy grounds. The spindly branches of the trees shook wildly, allowing its eerie rattling to accompany the unnerving roar of the blizzard. It was a picture of terror.

The lone Scraggy continued on, gripping his scarlet hood as it fought against him in order to go with the wind. He refused, tightening his grip on the fabric as he trudged through the thick layer of snow. He had to find shelter or he would be good as dead soon. He'd heard of many stories about the dangers of Icicle Woods, but he never imagined it to be as harsh as it was.

Willpower steeled, his squinting eyes attempted to find a makeshift shelter. A cave, or something similar. Anything to take cover from the weather. If it weren't for the fact he was part Dark Type, he would've been as good as blind right then and there.

Mordred was about to reply in congratulations to the Riolu for already being able to find potential team members when he was interrupted by the Sneasel. "Rescue Teams are merely mercenaries. They may act noble and right, but the reward and prestige is their real motivation most of the time." The ice type said. The Scraggy gave a confused look at the other dark pokemon, now conflicted with his opinion on the pokemon. Did the Sneasel have something against rescue teams? It seemed like it, with all the venom that was present in the statement. The explorer gave a chuckle.

"Well, there are some that are like that. Not all rescue teams or explorers are in it for the money though, some are just there to help pokemon as much as they can. However, rescue teams aren't everywhere, you know. The only emergencies we're ever alerted with are ones that already have rewards assigned by clients, but surely true rescuers would be willing to help even without any merits in mind. If we were only told more about bigger incidents then maybe..." He paused, realization hitting him like a brick. The guild never posted any issues or assignments unless there were rewards. If they did, then rescuers would've been able to find out about issues like his clan.

His clan.

The clan that literally went as far as using weapons. The clan that went as far as killing their own weak. The clan that he'd left behind. If word only got out, and the guild would've been more willing, then they would've stopped the association. It never occurred to the scraggy how the solution was right under his nose the entire time. He'd given himself the illusion that he had to settle it for himself, when in fact he was one of the first of his family to branch out from their land and actually become part of another. The only problem to this was that the Guild he had joined was still fairly new and unprepared, but the possibility was still there.

Mordred shook his head, snapping out from his thoughts as he returned to the conversation. He had to worry about that another time, but not in the presence of strangers. "Uh, but yeah! There are good teams and there are bad, but not all are in it for the bounty."

Kira wondered why the guild only bothered putting up assignments with rewards too, she wondered if the pokemon who sorts the missions trashes the ones without rewards, in attempt to keep the guild afloat. Kira sighed, but instantly brightened up a bit, she would help any pokemon she saw. She would be the best, she would find the rarest items, and rescue pokemon through any impossible situation. She had to, or else she's be a big liar and would be looked down on and ignored. "I was rescued by a team and i didn't put up a job. They saw me in trouble while on a mission they were assigned and saved my life" she spoke, remembering the moment in a slight haze.

Cry rolled her eyes and mindlessly sharpened her claws on a nearby rock. "You are from 'civilized' areas. Out here, the places not cared about, we kill each other for a single meal. Just to live for one more day. Just for a place to hide from the cold and larger predators. This has happened for so long. Survival is all I grew on." She pointed out the cave, the blizzard pretty much gone down now. "I suggest you start walking home while the weather is improved unless you wanna get caught in it again. I of course will stay here... in the wild."

Mordred looked over to the entrance. A smile crept onto his face when he saw the raging blizzard slowing down to a simple drizzle of snow. It would be safe to travel it now, and surely in a matter of a few minutes the snow would calm down to the point there would be no trouble in leaving the area. The only problem would be that more predators would begin showing up, which meant that beginning the trek out of the woods now would be the best course of action to avoid further attacks. The scraggy definitely didn't want to have to fight any more ice pokemon, and with his newfound epiphany, he was now more eager than ever to head back to the guild. That, and he didn't want to waste any more of his precious time dawdling instead of training like he first planned.

He looked down, noticing that his arm had melted enough that he could only feel a slight tinge of cold from the ice it was encased in. He moved and stretched it, testing out whether or not it would be safe to use. It seemed like it was in good shape, which added to the scraggy's intent on leaving. He wouldn't have any problems fending himself from any attackers while departing, ridding him of any worries that would prevent him from making the trip back to Grassveil. The dark pokemon stood up, ready to begin his trip. He faced his two 'companions', a grateful look on his face.

"Well, it seems the Sneasel is right. Better time than ever to leave now before anything feral wakes up and prowl the area. Kira, if you want, you can come with me since we're both planning on leaving." He looked over to the Sneasel, pondering something for a few seconds before continuing. "How about you come along, too? It must be rather dull having to live out here without anything else to do except fend for yourself and hunt. If you come along, I'd be happy to show you around other areas. Who knows what adventure awaits." He asked, a hint of enthusiasm in his voice. Inside, he really wanted to prove to the Sneasel that the life of a rescuer wasn't all about riches. He wanted to defend the name of the guild, and he was willing to prove it.

Kira was grateful for the scraggy's offer, she leaped from her spot with a, "Please!" She didn't want to go out there completely alone again. It was a bad idea the first time, so it'd be a bad idea the second time too. She looked to the sneasel, she wasn't too sure about her, but it seemed like she was really a nice person. They just thought differently. Kira waited for a reply, feeling a bit useless at the moment.

Cry was a bit surprised by the sudden offer to join Mordred. It was quite unexpected of the scraggy to give such an invitation. She had kept him at an emotional arm's length, had given him no food, had barely talked to him... she had been pretty cold to him. Yet he was offering to bring her to a place without regular blizzards and feral pokemon threatening her life every day. That... was something. Cry was silent for a couple moments before answering. "There must be another reason after the way I treated you. What is the catch?"

Mordred seemed glad that the riolu would join him. Although he was confident of his condition, the more companions meant less difficulties when making the trip back home. He turned his attention to the sneasel, waiting for the pokemon's reply. To his surprise, the ice type began to question his motives. He paused, thinking of what to answer. In truth, he didn't actually have any reason to bring her except for her strength and, well, it was kind of his duty to help out pokemon. The sneasel lived in such a rough life, and being part of the guild, the scraggy suspected he had to help her out. The deed may also clear the guild's name, at least for this pokemon. That, and... well, the ice pokemon reminded him a bit of himself. Before he left his clan, that is. He was alone, and had to fend himself from his enemies who he also had to call his 'family'. Sure, he didn't have to literally kill pokemon to eat or endure blizzards, but the feeling of lonesomeness was something he could connect to.

"... Just empathy, I guess. And for you to come along, you'll need to lend your strength whenever we encounter feral pokemon. Besides, I'd like to prove that not every explorer is a gold-digger." He said. "But you don't actually have to join the guild, I guess. If you want, we could just bring you along to Grassveil then let you on your way. A bit of civilization can't hurt." And with that, he waited for the Sneasel's reply.

Kira felt awkward, like she wasn't supposed to be there. She decided to go look around outside, "Well, erm..i'm going to go look around, just in case." she sighed in relief as she exited the cave. She stretched a bit and noticed something in a tree as she arced her back a bit. She climbed her way up the tree with curiosity, it was difficult and she nearly fell several times. She was about to grab it, but the branch broke and she fell to the ground, "Eep!" she cried as she fell. It wasn't that big of a drop so she wasn't harmed, she looked for the item in the snow to see if it was worth her trouble.

This dice is not existing.

Cry thought about it for a while, weighing her options. If she didn't go, nothing would change. Every day would be like the one before, just with new challenges to survive through from time to time. On the other hand, she could always come back if she decided to leave. She could overpower or outsmart this Scraggy. "...I will give it a chance." Cry went to the mouth of the cave, looking out. She then spoke her name. "...Crysel. Cry is also an acceptable name."

Mordred raised a brow. Crysel? What an odd name. But it sounded suitable for the sneasel. "Nice to have you on board then, Cry. Let's go." And with that, the scraggy adjusted his treasure bag and walked out of the cave. Looking around, he spotted Kira nearby a tree. Judging from how one of its branches seemed to have been snapped off, the riolu had just fallen off of it. Suppressing the urge to laugh, he walked over to the fighting pokemon. The branch didn't seem too high from the ground, so the fall was pretty much harmless, save for a possible ache in the back if she had fallen that way.

"Kira, are you alright?" He asked, unable to mask his amusement. The riolu seemed to be looking for something. An item? "Did you find something?" He asked, surveying the area as well.

[Short post, sorry. xD]

Kira spotted something red in the snow. Diving for it, she scooped up the item and examined it, "Oh...My...Arceus..." her eyes went wide. She held it up in the air and shouted, "APPLE!" she smiled and immediately began to chow down on the delicious apple. She had forgotten all about the bruises and pain on her back in order to enjoy her tasty find. She accidentally ignored the other pokemon as she wolfed down on the apple.

(Meh mine's short too..)

Cry rolled her eyes at the simple to please riolu and went a little ahead of the two. "I know the area better than you two. There are certain areas we wanna avoid in order to not invade territories... and there is a nasty predator out there that can eat Weaviles in one bite. I'd rather not run into it. Follow me." With that, Cry walked forward, leading the two to the exit of the mystery dungeon.

Mordred suppressed the urge to laugh as he watched the riolu scarf down the apple. He was amused at how the fighting pokemon could find so much happiness in a single fruit, but he couldn't actually blame her. He had his own obsessions with food as well, particularly sweet food. He began to wonder if he'd be able to try out a Watmel berry again. He shook his head, trying to banish the thought as he felt his cravings begin to rear their ugly head again. This was no time to think of snacks, they still had to find a way out of the woods. The dark pokemon looked around, seeing the sneasel take the lead.

"Hey, wait for us!" He said, walking hurriedly after the Sneasel. The thick blanket of snow prevented him from running, able to reach up to his knees. It irritated the scraggy, finding the inability to run much of a hassle. He persevered, simply trudging through the frost-covered ground as he followed the ice pokemon.

Kira felt rejuvenated after eating the apple and was practically leaping off the trees. When the reached the end of the jungle she smiled and said, "Thanks for helping me out, Cry!" she frowned when she realized it was growing late. She bid them farewell and left the dungeon as quickly as she had found the two, she wasn't sure what to think of the sneasel, but she liked the Scraggy, he was nice. The sneasel scared her a bit, she wondered if they would all ever cross paths again.

Cry stopped at the edge of Icicle Woods, looking back at the only home she had known. She was leaving it and probably not coming back for a long while. Even though it held bad memories, it was still Cry's home. Perhaps she'd visit every now and again? Perhaps... she may build up the courage to face her clan after the pain she inflicted on them. Turning away, Cry looked to unknown (to her) lands. "You know the way Mordred. You lead the way."