A Muddy Night

Growing up with a former explorer leads to rather interesting bed-time stories. One of many the young Rally heard in her early days was about the beauty of Cattail Marsh on a clear night. Though getting there first required trekking through Pricklemist Hill, the petite pokémon had finally found her way to the entrance to the Marsh.

Dusk was on its last legs as night was beginning to fall. The young Riolu was tired from a long day of muddy encounters and intriguing new acquaintances, but she'd made it without giving up. Pulling an apple from her rather-small messenger bag, Rally sat down on an unusually clean log just outside the entrance to the mystery dungeon. She would need her strength if she wanted to find the spot from the stories.

[Energy: 18-15+5=8]

Coming fresh from a disturbed period of respite from the small body of water near Grassveil, Deimos had, on his way away from the town, heard of an interesting location. A supposed area flooded terrain with brilliant views on a clear night... One that wasn't overly far away from the hill engulfed within an ocean of pure white. At the time of hearing this, he figured he had no reason not to investigate it, even with his still generally battered and bruised form.

Having exhausted most of the remaining hours of daylight till the fall of dusk in his trek away from Grassviel, the Absol was hoping that if he could find the marsh... he could find a suitable location to rest. Having arrived only barely on the outskirts of the so called 'Cattail Marsh' before dusk had fallen completely, the Absol glanced into the area. Existing on a slightly elevated, improvised viewpoint, forged by his own Stone Edge move, Deimos closed his eyes and let out a faint sigh.

"Hopefully this area is quieter than the Copse... I could use a good night's sleep for a change" The Absol muttered to himself before reopening them, taking in what he could see of the area from his slight elevation.

Rally made sure to eat her apple right down to the core; never once had she left any remains from eating fruit, as there were nutrients throughout them. Once she had sated the rumbling in her stomach, she was free to psych herself up.

"I can do this," she reassured herself, her voice a bit shaky at the premise of any ferals she may encounter along the way. Nevertheless, she did her best to remain calm as she entered the mystery dungeon.

A generally flat, water packed area it seemed to be, the Marsh. That much Deimos could understand quite easily from his position. Shaking his head slightly, he dropped down from his slight elevation and advanced forward cautiously. He didn't have the same feeling of freedom that he did within the ocean of pure white that surrounded Pricklemist.

Glancing down slightly and letting off a faint sigh, he knew he couldn't physically take that much of a beating with his already battered body. He could feel the crisp air running through his white fur, especially along the wounded region on his side. "It's late... I should use this to my advantage while I can" The Absol muttered as he advanced into the 'Mystery Dungeon'.

Despite the setting sun, the sky and surroundings of the marsh were very clear. The petite pokémon found herself shorter than the cattails around her, but still advanced into the thick brush at a reasonable pace. It was in her best interest to move with precision, so that she could find the spot from her Nursery rhymes with as little encounters as possible; knowing her luck, however, she'd likely stumble into a large nest, so the young Riolu was forced to be sure her pace wasn't too quick. Likewise, should she move too slow, she could find herself in a thick puddle of mud and get stuck, so she also needed to keep her pace not sluggish and her steps light.

The member 'Lunatea' has done the following action : Dices Roll

'Cattail Marsh' :

Deimos quietly advanced into the dungeon, taking note of the general terrain. It was certainly a far cry from the stability he had been used to within the mountains and back on the hill. His sensory ability of the ground was working overtime, constantly flooding his brain with information about differences in the group, ever so slight as to not notice, but different nonetheless. He personally didn't overly approve of the large amount at first, but he found it easy to come to the conclusion that It would be necessary due to the visual obstructions between his eyes and the ground.

The presence of water felt as a strange difference, he couldn't accurately sense through it. It was as if there were sudden gaps every time his sensory ability encountered water coating the earth, making it much more difficult for him. For all he knew, there could just be a vast hole through the earth of water and he'd stand no chance of detecting it prior.

"Hue!~" A shriek of terror rang out into the night. Running at top speed, Rally had a Lotad on her tail. One false step was all it took to anger the feral; of course, how was she to know the lily pad she thought would keep her out of the water was actually a pokémon? She'd never been here before. And unfortunately for her, ferals were very unreasonable when it came to reasoning with them. At least, it seemed like a feral. When she first stepped on it, it did not let out any words, but simply a bit of a yelp, followed by a stream of water guns aimed at the unlucky Riolu. As she ran, the Lotad gave chase, shooting more and more streams of water. The irony of the situation would have been apparent to the petite pokémon were she not filled with fear as she tried foolishly to flee.

[Energy: 8-3=5]

Deimos froze for a moment, hearing a sudden shriek and the sounds of sudden flowing water. Glancing towards the scene, he could sense rapid footprints within the soggy soil, causing him to growl. "Violence already?" The Absol muttered under his breath, taking a moment to move closer, being ready to fight if need be.

This terrain still felt odd to him... he needed to adapt better to such terrain if he was to become one of them. To do the role that he was working towards, he had to grow used to more environments. He didn't move to strike, not really knowing what was going on.

The more Rally tried to run, the more her paths were limited by water gun attacks. Eventually, the young Riolu was chased to a muddy section of the marsh, deeper than the puddles before and now possessing puddles of water floating in mud. This sticky ground was just soft enough for the petite pokémon to start to sink, and when her left foot unexpectedly remained firmly in place, Rally slapped down face first against the mud.

"Hue...not now. Not now!" the Riolu panicked. The Lotad had caught up, and with an angry look in its eye it growled at the stuck and scared Riolu.

What was Deimos truly to do? He could hear the voices and a sudden splash of liquid. Letting off a faint sigh, Deimos pressed onwards towards the source, keeping his mind focused on what he could sense. The Absol wasn't really the type to openly intervene in fights, but considering the cries and such, he presumed it was a Feral and a non Feral.

Quietly pressing forward through the large Cattails, he soon enough managed to catch sight of the scene. He glared at the Lotad, but seeing the position that the Riolu was in, he knew not to move in. Closing his eyes in concentration, a faint aura formed around him and the Lotad... an indication of Future Sight.