Necessary Risks

After much training, Leif finally had gained the TMs he needed to become stronger. Nevertheless he realized a great untapped potential. Two new moves wouldn't make him strong. No, it would take much more than that. He would have to train... to explore... to endure the worst conditions. His quest for strength lead him to a cold place, freezing conditions that adventurers braved. Sitting above a patch of thinned ice above the stream, he meditated. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours. The cold melted away as Leif became lost in thought. Unaware of the biting cold, his entire focus was devoted to his breathing. Secluded as he was, he hadn't expected to see any other Pokemon in the area. After all, he didn't bring a partner. He would be unaware of an adventurer who he would surely encounter later on this day.

(Currently 3 energy)

Not far from the area where the Abra was resting, Sova was attempting to walk along the ice, with a bit of a struggle.  He was completely focused on not walking on any thin ice, paying no mind to anything other than the ground around him.  He paused for a moment to look up and check the area around him, to notice an Abra meditating a few feet away.

Surprised at the sight, he lost his footing for just a moment and slipped, falling forward on the ice.  The charm on his necklace made a tinging sound as it hit the ice.  "Oww....what are you doing?"  He said in a weak sounding voice as he struggled to regain his footing and stand on the slippery surface.  This certainly wasn't his most preferred situation to be in, but he couldn't return home until he was finished searching for his parents.

(Energy : 1)

Leif, stunned at the sight of another pokemon, leaped upwards. His heart began racing as he quickly fell out of his meditation. The moments he spent hanging suspended in the air, while short, felt like a solid minute. He could see the expression on the Eevee's face, it was clearly non-hostile. But he also saw himself instinctual preparing to launch a shadow ball. He forced himself to move it away from this other pokemon that clearly meant no harm, and instead redirected it elsewhere. Elsewhere, as he would soon find out, was into the thin ice where he was previously meditating. It was now, where he began to realize that he was now falling closer to water.

Coincidentally, he had a strong aversion to water. He knew about as much on the topic of swimming as a particularly dense lump of lead. Consequentially, he couldn't swim very well, but he was an expert at sinking. Struggle as he might, he found himself plastered between the layer of ice and current of the stream.

He also happened to be able to control his teleportation at short distances. Sometimes. As panicked as he was, this was not one of those times. He attempted to escape with a teleport, directly above the hole, and now plunging below the ice and being sucked under the ice by the stream. A second teleport placed him on ice. Only this time, away from the river. While the teleport didn't bring the water with him, he had already grown extremely cold from the unpleasant experience.

Exhausted, after what felt like an eternity but probably lasted no more than 30 seconds, he found himself again looking towards the Eevee. He had been too disoriented, and hadn't remembered what the pokemon asked, so he mumbled out the best he could, "My name... Is Leif..."

Sova ended up near the hole where Leif fell into the water, but did nothing to help as there was nothing he COULD do to help. It happened so fast, he couldn't swim in the cold water in the state he was in, and he had to take his time getting to the hole to make sure he didn't slip in himself. He sighed in relief as the Abra teleported back onto land, alive, though he felt guilty for spooking the Pokemon and causing the situation in the first place.

"I'm Sova....I'm sorry, I-I didn't see you earlier, I was trying to avoid falling through the ice. Are you okay?" His voice still sounded weak as he spoke, now also with a hint of worry. Perhaps he should have been more worried about himself, as he really wasn't suited for such a harsh climate and it was taking a toll on him.

Huffing and exhausted, the Abra replied to the Eevee, "It's fine... I... Didn't expect... to see anyone else here..." he pondered on what he just said, after getting a few more breaths of air, his speech steadying out, "Sova, nice to meet you. What are you doing here of all places? You sure don't seem to be meditating..." his eyes danced around, scanning for any other possible dangers, and to observe the condition of this other Pokemon. Eevee was obviously about as he was. He also took note of the necklace and charm this other Pokemon happened to be wearing.

"And yes... I'm fine. Just a bit shaken. I'm not wet, that's a horrible danger out in this cold... be careful you don't fall in the water, even being able to teleport and get the water off me, I'm still stinging with the bitter chill." he stood up, and shook off the snow that now plastered his body.

Sova was very relieved that the friendly Pokemon was not hurt, what a burden it would have been if the situation was worse and caused by him. He thought about Leif's question. Why was he here? He had forgotten for a moment while his thoughts of his goal were replaced with worry for the Abra, but now that he had been reassured of Leif's safety, he could focus on his goal again. "I'm....looking for my parents. I can't sit around and chat, sorry." His voice still sounded weak and shaky, but his face showed focus and determination regardless.

He began walking away from the psychic type, focusing on keeping his footsteps on the ice firm and avoiding slipping, while making sure not to break the ice again. Though his movements were slow, even for someone treading cautiously. He had been looking in the snowy area for a while before meeting up with Leif and was feeling the effects of extended time in the harsh cold, taking no time to rest. It was quite clear he was in no shape to continue alone, yet he did anyways.

Asking Leif for help would be selfish anyways. He didn't want to burden someone else with his problems....

Leif watched Sova's movements, realizing the Eevee was in worse shape than he imagined. His eyes grew wide with realization. "you're in no condition for being out here alone. I'm in no condition to be out here alone... The worst thing you can do is be alone in this bitter cold. Chat or not, I'm going with you." his voice was stern and assertive, but someone with a particularly keen ear might hear a quiet tone of concern. He treaded across the ice towards the Eevee confidently, not slipping. His time meditating had paid well in aiding his focus, giving him strength even when his body began to grow weary.

Sova had actually gotten used to walking on the ice, though he had to focus on not slipping.  In his time exploring, he'd never actually tried to walk on such icy terrain before now.  He stayed to the patches of snow scattered on the ice to get better footing and scout the area while he didn't have to worry about slipping.

"You can come if you want, but you don't know how long I'll be out here or where I'm heading.  I don't even know.  I would appreciate the company though."  Despite how weak he was, his voice did not falter.  Normally he would be a lot more friendly and inviting but he knew he was in a dangerous and stupid situation and he just had to focus on the task at hand.  He knew any second a feral and dangerous Pokemon could attack.  Focus was absolutely necessary.

Lord E V carried out 1 launched of one Frozen Stream :

(for anyone else reading this, that roll was for me.)

Leif followed along by Sova, also stepping on the snow. "Well, this way, if something bad happens to one of us... The other will be there. And yeah, company can keep the spirits up too." Leif felt the tension that Sova had being weak and aware of hostile Pokemon. Just as he was noticing the emotions this other pokemon was feeling, he forgot himself. His foot fell into a deep hole covered in snow, tossing his head down onto a rock. He grumbled confused "wh.. hu..." he grew quiet and began breathing shallowly as his vision slowly darkened and he began to faint. He felt the energy flow from his body as he lost consciousness.

(currently 0 energy)

Sova was actually relieved to have a companion with him in this place.  He felt safer, less vulnerable....aaaaand then that feeling was gone.  Now instead of an ally to watch his back, he had a weight to carry.  Of course he could just leave the other Pokemon behind, but in the state Leif was in, Sova didn't think that would be a very good idea.  So he waited for a while. After a bit, he got sick of waiting, hoisted the Abra onto his back and continued on.

After a few minutes he finally came to his senses and realized what he was doing was stupid.  Wandering through a cold, frozen environment and accomplishing nothing.  It took the weight of another Pokemon to realize this trip was too much for him and without speaking a word, he turned around and began walking the other way.  Risking his own life would be a considerable option, but risking this other Pokemon's life as well as hindering his own movement even further, he couldn't do it.

Leif's eyes slowly blinked open. He could feel a smooth warmth beneath him. There was something brown that he was above, and it was moving... What was happening... where was he... Suddenly his memories began to slowly come back, he pondered in his head "I was meditating... I saw you... and... we were talking, and then I woke up here..." He thought to himself about what happened, "was it sleep powder? Hypnosis?"

He began to regain his sense of self and realized this familiar pokemon struggling for his sake, and he hopped down. He began to speak out loud, "What happened? My head... I was talking to you, that's the last thing I remember..." He winced at a headache, "Are you okay? ...Am I okay?"

Sova was relieved to have his normal weight back, no longer feeling that collapsing in the snow would feel better. He sighed in disappointment at the thought of his answer to the Abra's question, hating to say the truth. "Neither of us are okay. I'm exhausted and you probably have a concussion. We both need to leave." It was hard to tell though the disappointed face he had, but he felt entirely to blame for the unfortunate events that had befallen Leif.

He paused for a moment to catch his breath before attempting to change the subject. "We're almost out of the snow, we'll be able to rest soon. Where do you live?" He waited for Leif to gather his bearings before continuing. Leaving the seemingly disoriented Abra behind after causing him so much trouble wouldn't be right.

"We're not okay..." He said thoughtfully, his thoughts seeming to be slow and cloudy. "Leave..." He paused for a bit, letting everything register. "Right, it's cold out." he could feel his head throbbing, the light glaring off the snow and ice was almost overwhelming, he couldn't focus and seemed to have a hard time remembering what happened and understanding his surroundings.

"I live... Uh, Grassveil... I live there..." He held his arms tight and close together, feeling the cold intruding on his comport. He watched the Eevee expectantly, waiting to follow. He hadn't remembered that a hole had tripped him and made him hit his head. In fact, even if he did, the concussion would have prevented him from understanding it. So try as he might, he couldn't tell why he felt like he was supposed to be angry.

Sova noticed the confusion Leif seemed to be going through, he wasn't serious about the concussion but it seemed he was right regardless. "I live in Grassveil too....come on, I'll make sure you get back safe. First we need to get out of here, then we can rest for a bit once we get somewhere safer." Seeing the bad shape his companion was in didn't help him to be any happier, but he tried to focus on getting out of the cold before feeling bad and began a slow paced walk to make sure the Abra could keep up.

"Hey, let me know if you feel really tired....oh, and don't go to sleep for a while." He sounded very worried despite trying to hide it.

"You too, huh? Oh, okay... Let's go then." His walk seemed to be a little dizzy and off balance. He was able to keep up thanks to the generous Eevee talking the slow pace. He couldn't hear any of the concern in the friend's voice, his mind was too clouded and slow. "If I'm tired? Nah, I don't feel too tired... Okay, I won't sleep." He tried to make sense of his surroundings, but the more he tried to force his memory the more it seemed to slip. He couldn't remember why he came here. Or what they talked about. Just that this Eevee was friendly.