Toughening Up

First topic message reminder :

[Energy: 17 - 10 (Entry Cost) = 7]
[Exclusive Item: White Silk (Reduces cost of every other Pokemon rolled by 1)]

It was a dark, rainy day in Shadowhue Forest.

Conditions were particularly unfavorable for a certain Taillow. The rain had completely soaked his feathers, making flight much more laborious. Not that he would be able to go anywhere. The foliage was so dense that one couldn't even see the dark, cloudy sky. It was as if the treetops were a barrier, completely preventing Pilot from escaping the confines of the shady woods... It made him nervous, to say the least. In his opinion, Shadowhue Forest sucked.

But at the same time, it was perfect. During the small bird's battle with Hidon, his new partner, the surrounding environment had helped him win. However, he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky the next time. Pilot had decided that he needed to train in every possible location, and in all conditions, to be as prepared for his next sparring match as possible. Arceus forbid he fell behind his new partner...

...He didn't come to Shadowhue Forest just to physically challenge himself, however. There was also a subconscious component to his choice of location. Pilot had been raised very close to Shadowhue Forest, and the similarities between his birthplace and the murky woodland were stunning.

Ever since he had left the nest and became a messenger, the Taillow never heard back from his parents. And when he returned to his mother's nesting site, it was completely abandoned... The unknown whereabouts of his family troubled him, to say the least. Almost instinctively, Pilot was guiding himself towards the place of his birth.

To keep himself distracted from the physical and emotional discomfort he was experiencing, Pilot began to sing. Music made him feel as if he wasn't completely alone (which was a feeling he hated), and as narcissistic as it sounds, the sound of his own voice soothed him. One song in particular fit the situation quite well. "The sky is crying~♪," Pilot sang, "Look at the tears rolling down my beak...♪"

Upon seeing the Paras, Pilot let out a savage battle cry, dove at the mushroom Pokemon, and ate his Blast Seed. The bird opened his beak, and a giant ball of fire spewed out. The attack had connected perfectly, but this wasn't necessarily a good thing. He hadn't even thought about what the Blast Seed might do to his bag of stuff and his teammate! The Paras had caught on fire, and was running around in circles, desperately attempting to put it out. It had dropped Pilot's satchel, which was also engulfed in flames. "My bag!" He cried. Almost immediately, Pilot realized his mistake, and tried to fan out the flames with his good wing to save his items. Well, there goes my messenger bag... Good thing I didn't bring my exploration bag. He thought, not even noticing his partner.

Depending on Mim's proximity to the Paras prior to Pilot eating the Blast Seed, she could've been singed by the flames, or she could've escaped unscathed. Either way, it seemed that Pilot was showing more concern for his bag than for her, having not even acknowledged her presence.

"SWEET ARCEUS!" Mim cried as the fleer was engulfed with flames right before her. If it wasn't for being barely a few inches apart, she would've joined them around the clearing, crying from the intense pain. Luckily, her tiny clawed feet took action and forced themselves into the dirt, stopping the reptile to an immediate halt. Now was a good time to catch her breathe. Mim looked around the scene and caught eye of her companion, who was trying to put out the fire that landed on his back, but to no ones surprise, failing. "Where did that come from? Was that...you who...shot that fire?" The wanderer asked between her large intakes of breathe. Being as inexperienced as she was, Mim was unfamiliar with blast seeds and what they were capable of. As such, she was surprised to think her friend here was capable of such power.

After finally fanning the fire out, Pilot looked up from his charred bag, giving the Helioptile an odd look. "I ate a Blast Seed," He explained, confused as to how the electric lizard didn't have the common sense to connect the dots. Yet, he was also amused by his partner's amazement. "I would show you again, but that was my last one... Oh, well. Basically, when you eat one, a huge ball of fire comes out of your mouth!" Pilot chirped cheerfully, enjoying the fact that he had taught Mim something. It made him feel as if he were a hardened veteran at exploring, even though that wasn't the case at all. "They're really useful for dealing with ferals. Especially when they're weak to fire..." The bird trailed, motioning over to the Paras, who was still running in circles with a flame on its back. Did he feel bad for the poor thing? Heh, no.

(c r a p sorry again dude, 'nother absence ;v;)

Mim took a moment to stare over at their opponent, now most likely weakened a ton from the flames overtaking its body. She looked back at her companion with an expressionless, almost doubtful look. "Huh. Really?" She asked, finding the idea of her partner bursting flames from his beak more believable. Then again, the wanderer still had little to no clue on how exploring or these odd items worked. She would've been able to discover that a little earlier in her life, if it weren't for her strict parents absolutely forbidding her to touch their item pile. Oh well. Perhaps it wasn't too late to learn....But where to start? Who could she go to for the advice afterwards? Maybe...Pilot could be the one to share the knowledge? After all, he didn't really seem to mind Mim's bewilderment. But now wasn't the time to be blurting out questions, they would regain their energy and Mim would bring it up afterwards.

"You're telling me that didn't hurt your mouth?" Mim asked out of curiosity, tiredly lifting herself back into a more straighter standing stance. Every once in a while she would look back at the poor Paras, wondering if they should be doing 'the right thing'. Maybe some mercy would be shown if they helped out? She turned to the flying type and silently beckoned her head towards the feral, oblivious to the foolishness in her suggestion.

Don't worry about it! Everyone has a life. =]

"Sure, it hurt," Pilot said, coughing up a small plume of smoke. "I mean, if I were a fire Pokemon, it wouldn't... But it doesn't feel like your mouth is on fire... It's more like eating something that's really spicy, or... Well, it's hard to explain," He continued, not knowing exactly how to describe the sensation that Blast Seeds caused. "You'll find out if you try using one, I guess. It takes a while to get used to," The bird finished, his voice now sounding a bit hoarse. As much as he loved using Blast Seeds (breathing fire was very enjoyable for him), the pain in his throat was beginning to make him regret his decision. Oh well, it's not like I can change my mind, Pilot thought.

Too caught up with himself, Pilot was completely oblivious to Mim's sympathy for the Paras. He didn't notice her looking back until the end of the conversation, when she finally motioned towards the defeated foe. What, she wants to put him out of his misery? That little buttmunch took my stuff! Pilot angrily thought to himself, his face scrunching up in a dramatic scowl. "Listen, if you want to put him out of his misery, go for it... But I'm not wasting any more of my energy on him," The bird grumbled.

Eating something spicy...did that mean it had flavor to it then? Could something that immidiately bursts into flames taste like anything at all? As tempting as it was to ask about this 'important' detail, the youth kept her mouth shut, for she was beginning to sense the avian's impatience with the scowl taking shape on his beak.

His refusal to help was still agitating to Mim, despite the reasonable excuse they BOTH had to just leave the varmint ravaged by the flames. But the decision wouldn't sit well with the wanderer, even worse when she realized on her own, with the lack of useful moves and items altogether, there was nothing she could provide for the Paras. It wasn't like using the move pound would do any good, especially since the slink would easily catch fire. Pilot would probably be too exshausted to put the flame out.

After a defeated sigh, Mim spoke up again. "Alright. Let's just get going." The traveler forced herself to stare only at the space ahead of her, not back to the weakening cries of the enemy. Mim knew if she was going to be an official explorer, she would have to get use to treating them with no mercy. After all, her partner seemed completely unfazed by it, the kind of mental strength that other pokemon would look up too. The Paras was only a small sacrifice, good riddance, even. What she expected out of joining the guild would make it all worth it...right? Thinking about this brought discomfort to the girl's face, which she refused to let show for more then a second.

"Ready to leave when you are." She said, meeting the Tailow's annoyed expression with a more exshausted one.

Pilot huffed, and nodded at the yellow slink. She looked exhausted, and understandably so. They had been inside of the dungeon for hours... Fatigue was beginning to set in on the bird's body, too. It hurt to move ("No pain, no game," Pilot might say), and they still had a long trip ahead of them. The two of them would be walking all night, unless if they decided to set up camp somewhere along the way. Not that the impatient bird would allow that to happen, of course. He wanted to get back to Grassveil as quickly as he could, so he could rest up for another day of training!

Before he took the lead, Pilot noticed something that infuriated him. Even after he had told the Helioptile how he felt about the Paras, a look of pity remained on her face. Mim was visibly distracted by the bug Pokemon's cries of pain. Why is she still all upset? That buttmunch put us through all of that trouble, and she still feels bad for it! What a lightweight... He thought to himself bitterly, narrowing his eyes. The Taillow was about to say something, but decided to keep his beak shut. After all, yelling at the yellow slink wouldn't do anything to help. Maybe over time, she would toughen up a little bit...

After giving Mim a strange look, Pilot stepped in the front, and the two began their journey back home. It wouldn't take them long to exit the dungeon, but getting home would (quite literally) take all night...