Pit stop

Shara was lazily drifting on the thermals. The goggles on her eyes were dirty with sand and she didn't even want to know what she looked like.

Flying through a sandstorm might not have been the SMARTEST thing to do, but it certainly was interesting. And nearly deadly. details.

Whatever the case Shara was weak from the hard flying and even the rising air currents were hard to keep up with. Here was as good as anywhere to take a break. She dived towards the forest and fell through the canopy.

ENTER PECHA FORREST: -5E
E:11

After a long hike back to Pecha Forest, Cracker had returned to the tree he'd grown fond of during his time with the Ralts and Zorua. It was much the same now as it was back then, still old and gnarled, hollowed out over time but still very much alive. At least in this part of the forest, it was the biggest tree around and most certainly the oldest.

Of course it paled in comparison to the great Oaks back home, but it wasn't without its charm. It was however, in need of a good make-over. A big old tree was nice and all, but the hole at the base of its trunk could use a door, and the few knot holes further up could be made into a window or two, or maybe another exit. There was a lot of work to do to make this old pillar of wood liveable.

"Well, I better get started!" the Aipom said aloud, clapping his paws together before leaping up onto his tail to launch himself up onto the lowest hanging branch.

The first thing he would need was some leaves for bedding as well as a place to hide the belongings he owned which currently resided in a Gold Ribbon he wore like a back-pack. Adjusting the Special Band around his forehead, he immediately got to work collecting leaves and was doing well when he suddenly heard something crash into the foliage ahead. He looked up just in time to see a Pidgey clobber him in the head.

Cracker promptly lost his balance and they both toppled out of the tree to the forest floor, the Aipom landing unceremoniously on his noggin.

((Energy: 22))

Shara had hit something pink and decidedly fleshy when she broke through the canopy. She was sent careening off course, driving a rut into the ground in a crash landing. She managed to prop herself up on her wings and get standing. She spit out a bit of dirt.

"Bleh, at least the dirt is moist." She said to herself, before making the connection and realising she had hit someone. An Aipom. was it wild? "Yo, Monkey boy, You alright?"

[E:11]

Hit hard by the sudden impact, Cracker laid face down with his body poised above him awkwardly and the big beefy end of his tail on the ground behind him. With a groan he flopped flat and pried his head out of the face-shaped intent it had made in the soft soil. He was too dazed at first to realize what had hit him, but as he regained his senses, his eyes focused in on the Pidgey in front of him.

Shaking it head sharply, the Aipom jumped to his feet and wobbled unsteadily as he held up his paws in a defensive manner. The Pokemon in front of him was talking, which was a good indicator that she wasn't feral, but she had just assaulted him out of nowhere, so he didn't know what to expect of the unfamiliar flying-type. She certainly didn't seem dangerous though.

"Ow... my head," he groaned, giving up his defensive stance to rub a small welt on his forehead. "I'm okay I think, but where'd you learn how to fly? Coconut Academy?"

((Energy: 22))

"Where did you learn to dodge? OH RIGHT YOU DIDN'T!" Shara shot back.

With her wings free from carrying her she pulled her goggles up. there was a small trickle of sand from the inside of the lenses, forming two neat piles at her feet. Shara would dust herself off, but she was already pretty sandy. The sand had probably even buffeted the last of her hair dye out. Now she just looked like any other featherbrain.

At least she could try to be a CLEAN featherbrain. "You know your way around here? I need to find a pond or something to wash out this sand. While I'm at where exactly am i? Kinda got off course. there was a sandstorm, mortal danger, that kinda stuff." Shara said playfully.

[E:11]

Still nursing the spot on his head, Cracker's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't usually get angry or annoyed, but this Pidgey was already starting to rub him the wrong way. The little feathered beast reminded him of a flock of Pidove and Tranquill he'd stirred up once. Granted that whole incident had been his own fault, but he felt little remorse afterwards, since they'd completely overreacted. But these flying-types bore the same snarky attitude as the Pidgey before him now.

He considered just leaving this winged wrecking ball to her own devices, but the unpleasant look on the Aipom's face abruptly passed as a deliciously mischievous idea came over him. This rude little pokemon would be the perfect candidate for a little harmless pranking. It was only fair in the monkey's mind, seeing as how the Pidgey was treating him so poorly after having only just met him. Although it might potentially interfere with future relations, he wasn't really sure if she'd make a good friend anyway.

"You know, you're right," he said with a shrug and a grin. "I totally should've seen a clumsy little bird coming out of nowhere, but I guess my agility just isn't up to 'speed'." Pausing to giggle at his own joke, he then bounced up onto his tail. "You must be an exciting adventurer to risk flying in a sand-storm, huh? 'Cause it's either that or you're really dumb." Bearing a grin, the Aipom swung upside-down, still standing on his tail. "You're in Pecha Forest, by the way. And if you need to wash off all that 'adventure', there's a nice little pond riiiiight over this way. Just follow me!" Hoisting himself back upright, the monkey leapt into the tree overhead and proceeded to lead the way, grinning to himself the entire time.

((Energy: 22))

The look on the face of the aipon worried Shara. He seemed angry for a second. Then again he still did joke around about her being a clumsy bird. Thats fair, Shara supposed. The Monkey was making slight jabs at her, but she didn't mind too much.

This wasn't the first time Shara had take up a stranger's offer for help, But she had gotten out of tighter situations. Granted she was no fighter, but as long as there was a sky above her head, she had all the freedom she could need. An old tune popped into her head and she sung it without even thinking.

"Take my love, take my land, take me where i cannot stand. I Don't care I'm still free, you can't take  the sky from me~" Shara sang, starting to bob her head as she walked along. "Take me out, to the black, tell them I ain't coming back. Burn the land, and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me~"

[E:11]

Cracker was swinging through the trees like the freest of free spirits, performing all manner of back-flips and loop-de-loops like they were child's play, when the avian following along on the ground began singing. The melodic sounds nearly made the monkey miss the next branch he was aiming for, but he quickly hooked his tail around it and swung himself to safety. He couldn't take his eyes off the Pidgey the entire time though.

He'd never heard such a beautiful melody; certainly not since leaving his homeland, anyway. But the music sung by his village were still nothing like what he saw coming from the little bird. The Aipom was awestruck at first, subconsciously swaying to the rhythm before he realized he was starting to fall behind. Shaking his head to clear out the fuzzy warmth of the Pokemon's tune, he leapt off his branch and swung down closer to the Pidgey, appearing abruptly in her path.

"Wow, that's a wonderful song!" he complimented, grinning broadly. He meant what he said, but he was already concocting a terrible little plot in his fuzzy head. "In my home land we have a song we sing too. It's called the Song of the Forest. Wanna hear it? Of course you do! It goes sorta like this!" Without even waiting, the Aipom began rattling off a series of ear-throbbing shrieks and warbling calls as he attempted to replicate the literal sounds often heard in the forest back home. It didn't help that he was practically tone-deaf.

((Energy: 22))

Shara visibly winched when the The monkey began to sing. Was he playing a joke on her? She realized if she said nothing then there would be an awkward silence. She would break it to him slowly then. She sighed. She was too sober for this crazy.

"Thanks. I'm nothing special. I just really love music. That song's origins are Unknown, If I were to hazard a guess I would say Noctowl or Murkrow since it describes the sky as 'the black'. And uh. That wasn't really a song you uh. 'sung'. You arn't good. But as a piece of wisdom I picked up on my travels says, Sucking at something is the first step at getting sorta good at something." Shara said.

She felt kind of bad, It seemed like the Aipom was just ignorant. not playful or joking. That had put Shara off balance. Still it was nice to chat with someone. She just had to stay positive, the sun will come out tomorrow.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot the basics. Let me introduce myself. Aria the wanderer, I would say adventurer, but I'm more explorer and less fighting bad guys. Though that might change soon. Anyway what's your name?" Shara asked.

In her mind Shara had always called herself by her birth name, after a while without talking with someone she even forgot she had an alias. It was something she had to deal with. Ah well what can you do?

[E:11]

After his somewhat intentionally brutish display of the ambient sounds of his homeland, Cracker released himself from the branch he hung from and flipped upright onto his tail, giggling profusely. He really was terrible at singing, but he enjoyed trying, even if it hurt his own ears. Even more amusing to the purple monkey was the Pidgey's attempt to let him down gently by telling him he was a terrible singer. He knew that of course, but he hadn't exactly intended to try and sing an actual song either. So the punchline to the joke was his own to enjoy; even if it made him look mildly insane.

As he balanced on his tail giggling to himself, the Pidgey finally decided it was appropriate to introduce herself, which made Cracker realize he hadn't even bothered to do the same himself. Normally he was very punctual about that sort of thing, but Aria's initial behavior had sparked an instant dislike in him. Although she didn't seem as arrogant now, he still couldn't quite forgive her for blaming him for being in her way, as if he'd had any chance of avoiding the surprise collision. It was only fair to share names though, since she offered up hers. Until he was sure of her true nature, though, he decided to continue playing the fool.

With his usual, goofy grin, Cracker flipped upside-down and balanced on his head as he used his tail-hand to grab the Pidgey's wing against her will and shake it in greeting. "My name's Cracker!" he proclaimed. "'Cause I break things--at least that's what my Granny used to say! But what does she know!" Wobbling awkwardly, the Aipom promptly lost balance and was forced to catch himself with his tail.

"Anyway, the pond is this way," he said. Swinging upright, he returned to the trees with a springy bounce from his tail. As he started to lead the way again, Cracker rattled on to keep conversation going. "So you like adventuring too, huh?"

((Energy: 22))

The aipom was a bit... whimsical. to say the least. He didn't really seem to have much of sense of personal space. That was alright. Shara kind of like his attitude. She wistled a small tune while she thought.

"Yeah, I do. I suppose living around here you've heard about those guilds. I'm gonna join and be the very best like no one ever was!" Shara said, eyes twinkling like stars.

She flapped her wings and took off like a missile. She looped around the Trees the Aipom was jumping through and loop-de-looped through the branches.

"And I can bet you I'll be the fastest too! Nothing's gonna get in the way of this girl's dreams!" Shara said, placing her forewing on her chest and smiling proudly.

That's right. She was here to fulfill her destiny. To leave a mark on this world. She once again walked along the forest floor, not wanting to fly too much after the long trip she had to get this far. She chirped a few happy notes, a spring in her step once more.

[E:11]

The few moments the two spent dancing around through the trees put a huge grin on the Aipom's face. He was already beginning to reconsider his decision to prank the Pidgey; she actually seemed to be as free-spirited as he was, if not more so. Maybe they'd just gotten off on the wrong foot. Either way he was disappointed when she returned to the ground. Clearly the journey she'd spoken of had exhausted her.

Continuing to lead the way via the trees, Cracker descended to the lowest branches, watching the Pidgey with interest. He didn't quite know what to make of her, but she was different from every other Pokemon he'd met so far. Staying ahead of her, he wrapped his tail around a branch and dangled upside-down.

"Yeah, I've heard of the guilds," he said slowly, putting his arms behind his head in a relaxed manner. "I thought about joining a couple times, but it's just so intimidating. I mean I'm all for adventure and everything, but those guilds seem pretty rough to me. Maybe if I had someone to team up with, it wouldn't be so scary, but I dunno."

Swinging off the branch, Cracker hopped along through a few more trees before coming up with a wonderful idea.

"Hey!" he chirped. "You're not too tired for a game, are you? I mean you said you can fly super fast, right? I'm pretty fast up here too. Wanna have a race? I bet I can beat you!" The Aipom giggled and bounced up and down, hoping she'd say yes. "The pond is just up ahead in that direction there. Whoever gets there first wins, what d'yah say?"

((Energy: 22))

Shara smirked. She spent long times in the air, this would be nothing. The aipom might have been counting on the wind blowing in the wrong direction above the canopy, or that shara couldn't dodge through trees. But whatever the reason She would never give up a chance to show her stuff.

"I say ready," Shara pulled her goggles down over her eyes. "Set," She hopped in place, getting ready to move.

"GO!"

With one beat of her powerful, though exhausted wings, Shara was in the air. She flapped harder, gaining speed. Her wings were exhausted, but pushing this much out of them should be no problem.
She dodged between tree trunks and under and over branches, Sure in her ability to win.

[E:11]
{Alright, I'll give you a post to run some interference or whatever, then my next post I'll have Shara pass over the lake, cementing her victory.}

Grinning broadly, the Aipom ducked out of the way as the Pidgey came zipping past. He was already quite impressed with her speed, even despite being tired from her journey. This was going to be a very fun race. However, she did begin it rather quickly, so the purple monkey was just a little unprepared. Giggling with joy, Cracker immediately made pursuit, jumping, dodging and weaving between trees and branches.

"He-hey! Wait up!" he jibbed. Aria was not only fast, but very acrobatic as well, just like him. She dove in and out of tight spaces between the foliage like this was her element instead of his. It excited in him a burning competitive spirit the likes of which he hadn't experienced since leaving home. "I'm gonna beat'cha, Aria! Watch this!"

Leaping off a branch, the nimble Aipom danced along a string of branches like they were aligned just for him, before leaping into a somersault. As he spun, his tail whipped out to snag a branch, stop him short and whipping him around in a tight circle. Using the built up momentum, he hurtled himself forward, zooming past the Pidgey like a little purple bullet.

Having taken the lead, he swiftly caught the next branch and began springing from one to the other, inadvertently changing the terrain behind him. It was a tactic he'd often used back home, and a lot of his play-mates would always accuse him of cheating. Whether it was intentional or not, even Cracker didn't know. He just wanted to win! Bouncing off the branches like he did, though, caused the foliage and smaller limbs to sway and bob about erratically, obscuring the path ahead. If Aria could navigate her way through, then she was truly deserving of a win, because in the Aipom's experience, not even the best trackers back home could ever beat him.

"I'm wiiiinning!" he called back. "Better hurry and catch up!"

((Energy: 22))

Shara smirked. The Monkey thought he could outspeed her? time to really get moving. Shara took one deep breath. She felt the air around her, each feather perfectly aligned. She beat her wings in rapid succession. She became a blur, tearing through the forest with all of her speed.

Time seemed to have slowed down, The aipom seemed to be swinging in slow motion, that grin plastered on his face. In reality Shara only got one good look at him before she shot forward into the clearing, over the lake and back into the woods.

She tilted her wings and looped backwards above the canopy, then folder her wings and dived into the pond. The clear water was so refreshing. Rays of sunlight fell onto her submerged form and Shara took a second to appreciate the beauty.

She floated to the surface and lay on her back, the cockiest grin on her face.

"What was that about winning?" She smirked.