Breaking the ice

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Nick wandered in the forest of mountains with a worried expression. He never did like dark and gloomy places. As if the ominous feeling that naturally occurs here wasn't enough, today had to be extra cloudy. Still, Nick had to brave the mountain range if he wanted to get that TM. A fighting type move would be great against rock Pokemon, and it can even break walls. That just sounds cool.

The Delibird wasn't so sure turning back was an option anyways. He flew over here, but this wasn't the ideal place for a take off with all the walls of rock and bad general vision in the area. Well, at least if he fell he could slow it down.

When Nicholas was set on the ground, he had a little trouble standing at first, but he managed. As the Scraggy gave his litte speech, Nick felt the top of his head with his functional wing. By some ironic miracle not only were his goggles still on his head, but they received no damage worse than some scratches here and there.

The bird spoke up when Mordred finished admitting his guilt. "Well, I guess you're kinda right, but if I didn't chase you around... or if I didn't..." The avian looked away for a moment and sighed. He still couldn't quite say it. "W-well, there's lotsa ways this coulda ended up different. I guess finding a way out would be a good thing ta do. I-i have an idea." Nicholas got out his bag and eventually dug out an orb. It was hard with one wing, but he managed it. "I-i found this just before that Graveler showed up. It makes me feel kinda focused when I hold it. I don't know how to use it though." That last bit may be disappointing news to the lizard.

Mordred stared at the sphere for a few seconds, trying to remember what use it had. This item looked similar to one of those 'orbs' that the clan's elders had shown. They were capable of many wonders, and came in variety. These orbs were apparently useful when exploring, making them popular for explorers and hoarders. It was said that the orbs were created by Psychic types, but that was only one of the known myths. But it was a known fact that these orbs possessed great power, and could unleash their individual energies to affect the area around them. To use it was tricky, since apparently the user had to have a lot of focus. The user's focus also had to be controlled, as if they were aware of what the orb would do. And that mere detail made orbs very difficult to use.

The scraggy reluctantly reached out towards the orb, curiosity overcoming him as he wondered what power the item held. But he drew back his arm, deciding that now was not the appropriate time to make use of it. After all, with variety came its drawbacks, and it would be a waste if they'd use it and find out it didn't help. "No, just save it for now. I can't really remember how to check what kind of orb that is, but better safe than sorry. It might end up giving away our position to the predators." He said, "Let's just keep moving. We should at least find a cave or something to rest in. Staying in the open in an area filled with rock pokemon isn't a good idea."

And with that, the reptile continued on, not paying mind to the bird any longer. He had to set priorities straight. Both of them were badly injured, surrounded by darkness that shrouded the predators awaiting, and to top it all off they were practically lost.

This dice is not existing.

Nick looked at the blue sphere for a moment before he noticed Mordred was reaching out for it. Did the Scraggy have knowledge on the use of this object? The bird reached out for Mordred to grab the orb, but was surprised as the dark type drew his arm back. However, when he gave his reasoning, Nicholas had to reluctantly agree.

What he didn't quite agree with, however, was the reptile's plan of action. The avian quietly spoke his objection as he followed Mordred. "Umm... well... I'm not very good at this stuff, but don't Pokemon live in caves? I mean what if we found a den of Poocheyna or something?" He looks to the ground with withheld panic. The bird's never felt so uncertain before in his life.

This dice is not existing.

Mordred stopped upon hearing the Delibird's protest. He had a point; They wouldn't be sure if the caves they'd come by would be empty. They could be walking to their deaths. But where would they hide? Well, out in the open they could at least escape when necessary. Although they'd be more susceptible to being spotted, both of them could still outrun most of the natives in the area. But even so, it was still risky. Black Spear Mountain Range held a variety of tough pokemon, and chances are, they may come in packs.

"...You got a point there. But should we really take the risk of staying out in the open where PACKS could find us? Or do you have any bright ideas of your own?" He said, sounding a bit spiteful. He wasn't usually an easily angered pokemon, -or so he assumed- but after the events of today he wasn't in the best of moods. He felt exhausted, and the pain on the right side of his head was beginning to return as the Oran berry's effects were starting to fade. This was just not his day.

While waiting for the ice type's answer, he spotted something poking from under one of the nearby bushes. It seemed to be a cloth. He knelt down, picking it up. It felt a bit heavy on the side, similar to the band he had. But this one seemed to be radiating energy off it. Taking a guess, he decided it was a Zinc band. Similar to a defense band, but more efficient with blocking out non-physical attacks. He stood up, looking over to the Delibird. He already had a Defense band, so it would be fair if he offered this to another. "Found a Zinc Band. You should wear it. Boosts special defense, and in your state right now, I doubt you can survive a Power Gem attack."

The bird sensed Mordred's hostility and stepped back. Why was he so angry at him? Sure there was the incident, but even before then the lizard was avoiding Nick like the plague. Was Nicholas scary to Mordred somehow? Well, even Nick knew this wasn't the time to confront the reptile.

The Delibird felt something under his foot. Upon lifting it, he saw a seed of some sort. He picked it up just in time to be handed over a Zinc Band. He took it and placed the seed in Mordred's hand. "H-here, I don't wanna take something for nothing." He took the clothe and was able to make a sort of cast out of it. It was far from professional, but it would do its job until a replacement was available. "W-well... I'm not sure we should be resting at all... I mean... I know you're tired and all... I am too... but if we go to sleep without taking care of our injuries first... well... I'm not sure we'd wake up..."

(That seed's a Heal Seed BTW :P .)

Mordred accepted the seed without much hesitance, knowing that fair trade was a better option that charity. Although the seed wasn't exactly the same value as the band, it was better than nothing. He put the seed in his bag, not knowing what it is and not in the mood to try figuring it out. He stopped and watched as the Delibird turned the cloth into an improvised cast, trying to decide what action to take as the ice pokemon began expressing his concerns. The possibility of no longer waking up nearly made the scraggy shudder, not liking the idea but knowing that it could happen.

"Hmm... Alright, fine. We'll continue making our way to town then. I guess we could quicken our recovery by finding more Oran berries. But once we're out of these mountains, we're taking a break." He placed a hand on his head, feeling a slight throbbing sensation. Quietly cursing, the scraggy hoped the ache wouldn't turn into a migraine of some sort. Or worse. Ignoring the pain as best as he could, the reptile continued down the path.

[Short post. Can't think of anything. Ffffff xD]

Nicholas watched Mordred walk on and followed behind closely. It was hard for him to even look at that lizard. He could sense the reptile's anger towards him easily. What's worse, the anger was well justified. If it was any constellation, this concern helped him ignore his own pain.

Still, the bird had to try something to rid the awkwardness between the to. After a moment, he spoke up. "Mordred... are you afraid of me?" Wait, what did he just say? Nick's good wing flew to his beak. He couldn't believe it. Why did he just do that? WHY!?! Quickly, he spoke again, trying to recover. "I-i mean... it's just tha... mmmmm... I'm sorry..." The bird's voice was weak. His face pointed down with closed eyes, expecting the worst.

Mordred stopped in his tracks upon hearing Nick's words. Afraid? Was the bird joking? The last fear he would have was of this irritating Delibird. He turned around, seeing Nick cover his beak and begin stuttering an apology. Raising a brow, he stared at the Delibird for a few seconds. No, not even an ounce of intimidation could be found on the cowardly bird's face. He narrowed his eyes at the ice type, bordering to that of a glare before finally speaking back.

"Alright, I have no idea where you even got that. But rest assured, I am NOT afraid of you. You couldn't scare a Caterpie even if your life depended on it. Just because you blinded me doesn't mean you're any more of a threat." He growled. The scraggy crossed his arms, waiting impatiently for an answer. They couldn't continue spending stops just to finish these questions, so they might as well finish them now.

"Well...no...it wasn't..." The bird started before taking a deep breath. Well, he might as well finish what he started. Nick gathered his courage and face Mordred in the most dignified pose he could muster. He actually managed to avoid showing any obvious signs of fear, though Mordred probably knew better than to think that way by now. Still Nicholas spoke up without stuttering, even if only for a moment.

"When I first saw ya, the way you came up to me was like you were gonna attack, but then you just ran. The only reason I can think of someone doing that is fear. I mean, if I'm wrong, then sorry for bothering you, but that's the only reason that I can think up."

Mordred remembered their first encounter. He felt himself inwardly flinch at the reminder of his cowardly actions. If he only hadn't let go of his attack. If he only had thrown the sand, temporarily blinded Nick, and just ran, all of this wouldn't have happened. It would've been all so easy and the realization of it made the scraggy feel like slapping himself. But no, that was definitely not a good move right now. Because right now, he had to give this good-for-nothing bird an answer. Should he tell the truth or spare his dignity?

"...You're an ice type. I don't like ice types, and I can't bring myself to face them in battle. That's why I fled." He muttered, staring at the ground. He felt both embarrassed and ashamed at admitting it, but he knew that lying was not becoming of an explorer. After a few seconds, the scraggy brought his head back up, meeting with the Delibird's eyes again. "Is that all? Because if you're done with your questions, then we should get going. If we leave the mountains before night falls, we won't need to fight any nocturnal opponents."

And with that, the Scraggy turned back to the path, about to continue walking. He stopped once more, turning back to the Delibird. "Wait, no... I'd like to ask you a question in return. What were you doing in these mountains in the first place?" He asked. The reptile had answered his questions, so why not return some? In all honesty, the dark type couldn't find a reason for the bird to go up here. Except, maybe for a mission. But Nick, in the scraggy's eyes, didn't seem to be the type to go in such ominous terrains. At least, not by himself.

Nicholas also flinched when given an answer. His flinch, however, was clearly visible. That wasn't fair. Sure, there were some pretty mean ice types, but that was true for basically any Pokemon. Nick wouldn't hurt anyone... well, internationaly anyways. The bird wanted to speak out. He wanted to tell Mordred of his closed mind, but this time, Nick managed to bite his tongue, at least for now.

The lizard suggested they get moving with some pretty sound logic. Nick started to follow, but was instantly halted. The scraggy turned back and posed a question for Nick. Well, it was only fair that Nick answer it. After all, Mordred answered a tough question for him. "Well... you see, Delibird can't learn moves as easily as most Pokemon. We need a TM or someone to teach us. I-i heard there's a TM here. I think it's called Brick Break. It's supposed to be good against rock type Pokemon... so I thought it might be helpful for me."

The Scraggy seemed a bit surprised by Nick's answer. "Huh. Coincidences. I'm also looking for the TM, but I'm mostly here for the training. We'll keep an eye out for those, then." The reptile then turned back to the path, "I've got no more questions. At least, for now. Let's move." And with that, he continued on with the path. The scraggy still had some suspicions about the bird, but he decided that now was not the right time. They had to keep moving; By now the sun should be setting and the night-crawling ferals will be on a hunt. And after battling in the day, the scraggy dreaded what they would find at night.

Outside the small forest-like area, the sun was beginning to set. The sky turned from its dull blue to a slowly dulling crimson, darkening the already-somber Mountain Range. The inhabitants of the area began spreading about, either retiring to their homes or continuing with their hunt. Ghoulish echos of howls and hoots began filling the area, alerting the nearby pokemon of the awakening ferals. Eerie eyes began appearing in the trees, watching the unsuspecting travelers with curiosity.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

The Delibird nodded with Mordred's suggestion to look out for the TM. He wasn't sure what the Scraggy meant by "for now", but he decided not to ask. The bird was kind of afraid of the fighting type to be honest. No matter what Nick did, Mordred almost always seemed to respond in anger. Sure, the reptile hadn't done anything to hurt him yet, but just how long would that last?

As the skies grew darker and time went on, the bird shook more and more. He started regretting ever coming here. All the eyes looked strange, and not in a good way. It felt like something was about to leap out at him any second, but that was ridiculous, right?

Just then, Nicholas felt himself fall to the ground under heavy weight. He shouted very loudly as pain rushed in from his broken wing. When he snapped out of it, the bird looked up to see a Mightyena on top of him, paw on his wing and a horrible grin on his face. His next action was actually kind of surprising. He spoke. "Don't you know it's dangerous here, especially at night? There's some powerful predators. They can be pretty cruel too." With that, the canine pressed his paw against Nick's wing. A cracking sound could be heard, as well as pained screams from the bird. Nicholas struggled to get out from under the Mightyena, but it was useless. The dark type turned to face Mordred. "Well, nothing to see here. Go on. I got my prey so I got no need to go after you too." The bird looked to the canine in absolute fear. Prey? Sure, what part of him was thinking suspected as much, but having it confirmed like that, it made the bird sick. Now it was up to Mordred. Would he risk his life to save the bird, or would he take this chance to rid himself of the pest?

Mordred's attention snapped from the path to Nick the moment he heard the bird's near-deafening scream. He turned around, seeing a familiar pokemon holding Nick to the ground. The scraggy felt anger swell inside, being reminded of what he had to go through in Shadowhue during his first mission. First these damned canines broke a Pikachu's arm, now the he had to witness them torturing an already-injured pokemon. The reptile winced as he heard the cracking sound which was followed by the Delibird's pained screams. The sight nearly made him sick. He didn't expect Mightyena to be this cruel.

What made him snap was when the canine told him to leave. He would never leave the injured behind! Especially if that injured was his companion, and more so if that injured was going to be EATEN. He walked towards the canine, earning an amused glare and another warning. "Get off the bird." The scraggy growled. The Mightyena gave a haughty chuckle in return, taunting the reptile. Mordred pulled his foot back, preparing for a Low Kick to send the stubborn wolf off Nick. However, the attack was rendered useless as the mightyena leaped out of the way, dodging the attack in time.

"Pathetic." The Mightyena huffed, before lunging at the Scraggy with its fangs bared for a Bite. The reptile was unable to dodge in time- his arm was now caught in the canine's jaws, slowly being crushed by its sharp teeth. Mordred gave a cry, before using another Low Kick. The attack landed on the wolf's shoulder, giving the scraggy a quick moment to pull his arm away. His arm had a few gashes from pulling too quickly, but he knew it was better than having it torn off completely. The scraggy looked over to Nick, hoping that the injured bird had already moved out of the canine's range.

A distance away from the battle, nearby the bushes beside Nick was an item. It gave a faint glint in the darkness.

[For the sake of the plot, I am giving permission for Peach to have the item I got from my roll. :3]

(It was her idea. I did not in any way try to get her to give me the item.)

When the canine offered Mordred a chance to leave, Nick was sure that this was the end. What reason would Mordred have to help out the bird. He half blinded the poor guy and it didn't take a genius to figure out he found Nicholas to be an annoyance. What was there to hold Mordred back from giving the Mightyena a farewell and turning his back on the scene? Well, apparently, there was something, because to Nick's surprise, the Scraggy refused to leave Nick behind. He even so much as attacked the canine.

When the dark type jumped off Nick, the bird realized the opportunity almost instantly. However, he struggled to get up. Everything was working against him. Nick could only use one arm, making a task such as getting up from the ground difficult. In addition, the pain he felt from the canine's torture slowed his movements for some moments. To top it all off, the ground he was on was kind of shifty.

By the time Nick was standing, the Mightyena probably could have knocked the bird to the ground twice. However, for some reason, it wasn't until Nick stood that the canine paid attention to him again. Maybe the Mightyena prioritized taking out Mardred first. Perhaps his sadism wanted Nick to build up hope before it was knocked down. It could even be that the dark type failed to notice until then. Whatever the reason, that's when he reacted to Nick's struggles.

He turned to Nick and and spoke in a strange mix of intimidation and amusement. "And just where do you think you're going, tweety?" He growled at the avian, making him shake in fear. The bird wanted to run, but all he could do was step back slowly and shake like there was an earthquake under him. The dark type leaped up Nick once more, resulting in a very familiar scene. Once more, the canine was on top of Nicholas, though it was in the bushes this time around. Another difference was that the "witty" banter was cut short, and the hound went straight for the kill. His jaws opened wide and fell down, going for the bird's neck.

Nicholas was terrified. He never even came close to feeling this much fear in his life. This instant felt like hours. However, during this time, something else was happening. There was a voice in Nick's head. He'd never heard this voice before, but it was speaking to him. It was almost as if it was speaking directly to him. All that was missing was Nick's name being mentioned. The voice was instructing Nicholas. An odd thing to do at a time like this, but that's what it was doing. What little of Nicholas could consider anything other than panicking at the sharp teeth listened to this voice.

There was a loud cry of pain. However, it wasn't Nicholas that shouted this time. A loud yet short, canine yelp was heard just as the hound was suddenly sent flying. He traveled several feet in a short amount of time before his head hit a tree and he fell to the ground, unconscious, but still alive. If anyone bothered to check, they'd see a large and red bruise on the Mighyena's rib cage.

Nicholas continued to lay on the ground. His laying position was pretty normal, save the position of his good wing, which was raised up. The end was about where the Mightyena's ribs were seconds ago. The bird's eyes were wide. The only expression he showed was shock. Aside from his chest moving up and down, the Delibird made no movements. Underneath him was what looked like a CD, not that the Pokemon would recognize it in such a way. The item was cracked in half, however. It was probably useless.