The Search Begins

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Sosio gazed at the forest, so shrouded with thoughts, she couldn't even think. The trees were mellow, yet she was filled with excitement as she strolled down the autumn lane, breathing the crisp air as if it was made of a gold that would never last long enough.

The leaves reflected the golden air feel, in all shades of orange and yellow. Even the trees that were brown seemed colorful, whether covered in sap or moss or nothing at all. The amount of trees was almost overwhelming, the need to land on them rising. But she was stuck to traveling the ground as her wing lay crippled awkwardly on her side.

Sosio's Energy Level:

*Energy from latest post: 6*

Sosio hurdled over nothing and flapped in the air, sticking her feet for a landing and standing still. She didn't want to continue up the hill at such a speed. For some reason, she had a bad feeling...

"What do you think might be up there?" She asked out of nowhere.

She was beginning to think for herself whether she should go up or go off to the side--away from the Ursaring and off the island. Hopefully the insect's input was enough to make up her mind.

E=6

Now, after the Bug type and the Fletchling seemed to have gotten a fair distance away from the Ursaring, out of the blue the Fletchling asked a question.
"Up where?", the Nincada responded.
"I can't see a darn thing."
Considering the way the question was phrased Ned was already getting a bad feeling about the situation. What was up there...that meant that the geography had changed significantly and thus that there would be a high likelyhood of encountering someone...or something.
Couldn't the terrain just stay normal, with lots of places to hide and few Pokémon to go look for him? No, that would be a good thing and good things weren't allowed to happen to Ned.

Suddenly remembering the fact that he can't see, Sosio let Ned off the tip of her wing onto the ground, where he could sense stuff, somehow better than he could on her back.

"It's just a hill, but I can't see what's atop it. I think there might be Pokemon up there, though, so what do you think?"

Knowing the Nincada, Sosio was fairly certain he would want to go the opposite way a Pokemon might be, and in that case, they were cornered. Behind them was the Ursaring, and before them was a mystery. The right seemed overly appealing to Sosio, mostly because the trees got thicker off to the left, and the sparkle of the lake was visible to the right.

E=6

"A hill you say?", Ned wondered out loud, glad to finally have solid ground under his claws again. Ground types like him simply weren't made to be away from the ground for too long.
"On the one hand it would give one a good view. On the other hand we would be easily noticeable for the Pokémon in the surrounding area, especially those hiding in its shadow.
On the hill itself not many Pokémon should be due to the increased visibility mentioned above. So I guess the best idea would be to get up there, look for a direction to travel into and then get away again. Quickly if possible."
Ned was beginning to shudder already. He had a plan - a detailed one at that. And that could only mean that some part of it was going to go horribly wrong.

"Okay." Sosio agreed coolly.

She was actually rather surprised. The Fletchling never thought about the hill that way. So at that, she began climbing it. For the most part, it was a 45 degree angle up off of the water's surface, but it was a bumpy terrain at that. Her knees were bent most of the time, because of the way she had to scale it, and felt awkward.

Sheesh... If I could only fly, this all would be so much easier...

Sosio had convinced herself now that her wing had been broken for so long, surely it would never heal. The Fletchling wasn't one to be negative, but this was going on for far too long. She faced that it was broken forever, and there was nothing she could do about it.

E=6

Ned meanwhile had little to no trouble with the elevation, his claws providing a good hold on the slope.
Hearing the Fletchling's lament he found himself sighing silently however.
If only he could fly. How often had these thoughts crossed the Nincada's mind already? Too often to count certainly. He had been waiting for his evolution for so long now that he was doubting it would ever happen. Maybe some Pokémon simply were not meant to evolve, no matter what they did.
But there was no way to make any definite statements on his predicament, so the Nincada simply drudged on forward, hoping to be able to find a new place to hide as quickly as possible. His species simply wasn't meant to walk around in the open this much. It surely was exhausting.

Sosio was so busy focusing on climbing, she didn't even think to look and see how Ned was doing. In a sudden second, one of the bird's thin legs slipped out from behind her, causing her to land on her chin, forcing out an "oof."

She then lifted herself back up with her wings, shaking her head rapidly and standing up again, brushing herself off.

"I'm fine," the Fletchling spat before anything was said.

She proceeded climbing up the hill, using her beak this time to ensure she didn't fall again. A spill like that would be embarrassing, especially if she made the same mistake a second time.

E=6

Ned couldn't help but chuckle at the Fletchling's admittedly rather inept climbing of this little hill. Was it seriously having problems with this incline? It wasn't even a remotely steep one.
Hopefully this wouldn't mean that Ned would have to carry the Fletchling up the hill as he definitely didn't have the energy left for that anymore. How coud all those other Pokémon walk around like this all the time? Why didn't they get exhausted? Probably this was just one further disadvantage Ned was subjected to due to his species. If only he would finally evolve, then he would never have to walk again, being able to fly whereever he wanted to. But that would have to happen first and Ned's waited so long already that he'd begun to lose hope it would even be possible for him to evolve.

Sosio was miserable having trouble climbing even such a weak hill. Her legs were so weak, she could barely handle even a little incline. Having to walk all the time, unable to fly, really put pressure on her knees. The Fletchling, however, was nearing evolution, so surely then she would spontaneously regain her strong wings?

It wasn't long before they reached the top of the hill. There, the trees made a circle around a clearing, down which light was able to shine directly. In the very center was some sort of monument, but to dedicate what? The surrounding forest seemed dark and menacing in comparison, and Sosio continued to have a bad feeling.

(Yay noodles)

As they reached the top of the hill, Ned tried to take up as much of the situation as he could in as little time as possible. After all they couldn't be much more out in the open even if they were deliberately trying to be, standing on a hill like this. So there was forest all around them except for that one area in which some sort of monument seemed to be located.
"Well, I guess it's clear where we should go to. Anywhere but onto that clearing. There couldn't be a place more obvious to indicate the presence of adversaries."
Ned couldn't deny that he was feeling intrigued by this strange place, but his survival instincts had gotten him this far. He wasn't going to simply ignore them for the sake of curiosity.

Sosio first stood tall to see if anyone was hiding behind the monument ahead, then went back down onto her flat feet and nodded. As much as she wanted to explore, now wasn't the time. Besides, if she came back with someone stronger and more fun, she would know where it is. 

At that, she gestured to the right with her wing.

"I can see water that way, which means it leads back to an edge of this island. If we hurry, it'll only be half the walk it took to get here in the first place."

Sosio didn't want to pressure speed on Ned, but she was telling the truth. If this was the true center, going either way would take equal time, unless they ran. It wouldn't lead to the stepping stones, so the two of them would probably have to walk the circumference of the island to find where they came...

E=6

Now this was some good news. Water meant that they might actually get out of here more quickly than expected. And considering all the feral Pokémon they had been running into, that was quite the relief.
"Then I suggest us making haste before we are beset by further inconveniences. Even if it is just the edge of the island and not a direct way off of here, we can still use the coastline to wander alongside it until we find a way out of here. We'll have to be careful however - I expect an increase in Pokémon density in the coastal regions. For now however we should get down from this hill. Standing around here isn't the most safe thing to do after all."

The bug-type practically read her mind. 

"Right then, let's go."

Sosio lept off of the hill and slid down by her feet, hopping occasionally to keep balance as well as to accelerate. Walking down hills could be considered a skill, but even so, if she could fly, she never would have to again. As the hill met the flat ground, the Fletchling lept off and landed with a bounce, as if the ground were spongy. 

Once she landed, she turned around to see how Ned was doing now. Surely it would be much easier for him, since insects could practically climb walls. The only reason why every incline and decline seemed like a huge one to Sosio was because she was used to just flying over every obstacle, which made a broken wing the worst one yet. 

E=6

Ned meanwhile had trouble keeping up with the sliding Sosio, the way down taking him just as long as the way back up. Sometimes having a good hold could be an inconvenience as well it seemed.
Finally however he was able to reach even footing once more.
Pokémon with the ability to fly really were to be envied. They were not limited to two dimensions, they could move freely in all three of them. And the worst thing was that Ned would eventually evolve into a Pokémon capable of flight. It made waiting for it to finally happen worse than any torture.
But at least it had taught him patience. Something that this bird apparently was lacking in, considering how she was treating her wing.

Once Ned arrived at the point Sosio stand waiting patiently, she hopped upright and turned towards the direction they intended to go. She began walking that way with her tall, straight, stiff backwards-bending legs. Her beak pointed the direction she walked, as if saying "always go this way". Always moving forward was almost Sosio's style, but hers was a little more "Just keep moving in any direction, because eventually you'll get there". Sosio didn't care where she ended up, besides the case of this one journey headed to Aileron, but she was more about enjoying the trip. The Fletchling barely even cared how long it would take just to get to the edge of the island. Life was all about living in the moment, so that's what she did.

E=6