Rise and Shine

Avaria blinked her eyes open groggily, immediately glancing around the area to remind herself where she was. It was darker then average out, so she assumed it was most likely almost nighttime, or maybe the next morning. Didn't matter to her which it was. She looked down, realizing that she was on a somewhat larger tree branch a bit higher off of the ground. That's right. I went up here to get some rest, and then that dream got me a bit confused... The Oshawott shook her head. There was no reason to think about it, if it wasn't real or present then it didn't matter.
"Anyway, let's take a look around. See what's here." Ava muttered to herself, standing up and grabbing her scalchop off of her front. Stepping a bit further out on the branch, she threw her shell as hard as she could, watching it chip into the side of the trunk midway down. Grinning, she stepped back over closer to the tree and jumped down onto her shell, using it as a stepping stone of sorts to get down. She eased herself off of it and grabbed onto the shell, kicking off of the trunk and landing on the ground, before placing it back on her front.
"That only took a bit more effort then I would have liked." She commented to herself, starting to walk around the area. The moon seemed to be slowly edging downwards towards the horizon, signifying to her that it was the morning. With her bearings in mind Ava started to walk through the trees cautiously, one paw on her shell as she looked around for anything or anyone.

A certain young Sentret had been up way before dawn would peek over the horizon, exploring parts of the forest. On this particular morning Zack had no specific purpose in mind. He hadn't found a suitable pokemon to target on the guild's outlaw bulletin boards the previous day, and so having no plans had merely decided to spend the day practicing his climbing and finding food from the various plants that grew in the forest.
Quickly and swiftly hopping through the treetops, Zack found various berries, popping them into his mouth and munching on them before continuing on his way. It wasn't long before he spotted an Oshawott walking on the forest floor below. Curiously he watched her from the shadows of a tree as he quietly munched on another few berries he had found. As far as he knew, Oshawott were Pokemon who preferred daylight rather than the darkness that accompanied this period of time before dawn. Then again so did the normal Sentret so he couldn't really judge based on the social norm, perhaps the Oshawott was just used to waking really early.

The Oshawott stepped towards a bush on the ground, searching through it for any berries to eat. Her search revealing nothing, she paused a moment as she took a step back from the bush, standing still. She reached back with her paw and felt for the second shell she carried on her back, checking to make sure it was there. Sure enough, it was. To some carrying it without being able to use it might be seen as dead weight, but it was something Ava felt the need to hold on to.
"Great." She grumbled, not particularly happy about not finding anything and turning around, looking over at the tree Zach was in and not seeing him as she walked towards it. Grabbing her own scalchop from her front, she swung it into the trunk of the tree, letting out an exasperated sigh as she sliced at it repeatedly, simply letting out steam. Besides, why not perfect her skills with her scalchop while getting some frustration out at the same time? The slices she made in the bark were even and straight, all of them close together and precise with one another as she kept it up, showing no sign of letting up on it.

Zack blinked at the Oshawott. She appeared to be looking for something... perhaps she was hungry too? Before he had a chance to find out however, the female was venting her frustrations on the tree he was currently perched in.
Taking some of the berries he had gathered previously, he dropped a few of them from the branch he was skillfully balanced on, each of them landing on Avaria's head in turn. Perhaps with the food in hand, this crazy Oshawott would stop attacking the poor helpless tree trunk.

Ava was almost too distracted to notice the berries dropping onto her head as she let her frustration out on the tree. Almost. She paused for a moment and her expression immediately changed, placing her shell on her front and calming down.
"So, mind telling me why a random stranger would drop someone they didn't know some berries?" The Oshawott asked in a more level and almost monotonous voice, picking the berries up off the ground and beginning to eat them. I'm sure there's somebody up there, no doubt about it. And if not I can laugh about it all I want later. Right now I'm just hoping that it actually is a random stranger, I don't feel the need to run into anybody familiar. She told herself, thinking the situation through in her head. As she did so she tossed a berry in her mouth, looking up at the tree.

Zack chuckled as the Oshawott stopped attacking the tree he was in; so she was looking for food after all. The young Sentret hopped across the branch he was balanced on, standing on the end so that he was visible to the Oshawott on the ground.
"Well I figured there was no need to attack a tree over not finding any food if there was a way to prevent it. And plus I already ate most of them, why not share the rest?" he grinned, flicking his ringed tail. His good mood not was not easily soured by the Oshawott's monotonous tones.

"Well, then I guess I should be grateful that you just so happened to come along." A small smirk formed on her face, as if amused by the Sentret's attitude and comments. The Oshawott picked up another berry, eating it as she thought the situation through, continuing to watch the Sentret.
"You were in the tree, dropped some food down, most likely because you thought I was looking for it. Which means you probably didn't just get there, I assume you've been watching me at least since I was by the bush, if not for longer. I'm just a bit curious, if you will, as to why you decided to stop and keep tabs." Ava said in one breath, her voice carrying a bit more of an amused tone to it, as if she was enjoying herself. As she popped another berry into her mouth she kept her paw at her side, open to grab her shell if she needed to.

"I was looking for my own berries. You just happened to be here where I normally search for food when I don't have the cash to buy a meal in town," shrugged Zack, "I'm probably the reason you couldn't find anything, if i'm honest. Besides, Oshawott aren't common sights here, though you do seem to have a habit of scratching up the trees whenever you do. I was curious."
The Sentret flicked his ringed tail once more after fully explaining himself before he spotted a tasty looking group of berries in the branches above him. Raising himself up using said tail, he reached out for the berries without jumping and running the risk of falling out of the tree.

Avaria finished off the berries Zack had dropped on her, nodding her head as he explained that to her. Sounds good, I'm just getting paranoid. I should probably try and fix that. She thought to herself, before thinking about the last bit he had said.
"Strange, I don't usually scratch up trees like that. There must be more then one of us around here then." The Oshawott explained, thinking. He said there aren't a lot of Oshawott around here, maybe I've got some family that ended up around here. Less then likely, though. She told herself, watching the Sentret get more berries and noticing a brown cane of sorts with a golden hook on his back.
"What's the cane for?" Ava questioned, figuring it was some sort of family heirloom or other such object.

Zack blinked as he gently lowered himself back down onto the branch, berries in hand.
"It was my dad's cane," he replied, his cheerful tone taking a more solemn note for a moment before returning to normal, "I'm not exactly big enough to use it properly yet, but I will be when I evolve," he grinned, popping a berry into his mouth and deliberately dodging most of the question in order to conceal his familial roots as a thief. After all, he'd only known this Oshawott for about ten minutes. If she knew he was a thief she'd probably just turn him in, or at the very least he'd be recognised as an outlaw by the exploration guilds, which currently he was not.

The Oshawott showed no sign of surprise at the Sentret's explanation, despite finding it rather coincidental in her own head. Seems like that's something we've got in common. Hope it turns out well for him.
"I guess I can see how something like that may prove useful in the future." She simply commented, thinking about what one could do with a cane. To be honest she still preferred her scalchop to any other tool anybody else might have, and part of the fun for her was figuring out how to work with them. I bet something like that would make a bit of poke if it were sold. No, not not stealing it. He could be lying about it having been his father's, but something tells me he wasn't. Besides, I don't need it. Ava decided, thinking about it for a moment but quickly pushing the thought out of her head.

This dice is not existing.

This dice is not existing.

Seeing as the Oshawott didn't question him further, Zack continued to eat the berries he had previously gathered, relaxing again after a few short moments.
"So, how come you are in the forest anyhow?" he asked after finishing up the berries and hopping into another tree to continue the search. He had realised that whilst Avaria had asked him a fair number of questions, he hadn't really asked her any.

Ava glanced around the area, her sight following Zack as he moved to another tree. She checked for anything else around as Zack asked the question, grabbing her scalchop and looking at it, simply holding it in her paw because she felt like it.
"I tend to wander around a bit, but usually I come back here afterwards. It's a nice break from running around." She answered, careful not to reveal much about her own thieving habits.
A nearby sound caught her attention as another pokemon started to head their way. Ava didn't know what it was, but she had decided it wouldn't be the best idea to leave herself open. Without saying anything she threw her Scalchop into the tree, wedging it into the bark before climbing onto it, using it to gain some height as she jumped up to a lower branch. The Oshawott leaned over and grabbed her shell, prying it out of the bark and moving in closer to the tree to try and stay out of sight. As she finished a Swadloon moved out into the area, walking by the trees and holding what Ava thought seemed like a Reviver Seed.

Zack watched with interest as Avaria swiftly climbed the tree using her scalchop. The ease with which she did it showed that she had much experience with the unique version of climbing and thus was likely being true to her word. The young Sentret hadn't been given any reason to doubt her anyway, other than the cautiousness and skepticism that was part of his nature.
His gaze switching to the Swadloon that had appeared from the undergrowth, Zack blinked watching as it wandered through the area where the Oshawott had just been stood, clutching the reviver seed protectively underneath the leaves it weaved around itself.

Ava gazed down from the tree, watching the Swadloon pass by. A reviver seed...that could come in handy. Too bad he's over there in the tree, I could grab it and go if he wasn't looking. She thought to herself, trying to come up with an excuse to attack it. The Oshawott got an idea as she grabbed her scalchop and stepped out further onto the branch above the Swadloon, looking down at it and grabbing her shell in her paw. She glanced over at the tree Zack was in, checking to see what he was doing over there as she prepared to jump back down.