Orienticetion

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Snow was not an easy obstacle for those with teeny, tiny legs that were also very susceptible to the cold. Astir had no trouble cutting through the white with his thick hide and tubular shape, but Mary was stuck duck-stepping her way through the cold with er leafy nibblets only a smidge away from falling off. As long as she kept moving, though, she could retain at least enough sensation in them to know they were still there. Granted- that sensation was pain.

She was careful not to complain, though. This was their very first mission- or, well, missions- and with Acro no less!! Their awkward introduction had been weighing on her since they parted that day. She was determined to make this experience more pleasant this time- she just wanted to prove that she was worth the time!! So she kept trudging through the snow without a word in edgewise, pushing herself to not lag too far behind.

This was yet another new experience for Astir. There was so much white... and it was so cold, he could feel it deep inside of him. It was an odd sensation, and he wasn't sure he liked it. He refused to slow down, though!! Pain and discomfort were just ways to hold a great hero like him back, and he wasn't going to be caught looking like he was out of shape in front of Rosemary, and especially not in front of the big bird guy! Astir felt like he had something to prove here. He may have been smaller than the big colorful bird, but he was stronger than he looked.

".....Hahh, whew. We made it!" Mary panted- but not too much panting. "This place is... amazing..."

Rosemary the Fomantis - 5 energy
Astir the Dratini - 5 energy

Oh great, now he'd upset them. His heart sank as the pressure on his shoulders only seemed to weigh down on him more. Why did these two have to come to his team? Why did he let them in? Why did he let anybody in!? The archeops' breaths became shallow, as if it felt like there wasn't enough room in his lungs for the oxygen he needed.

"O-Okay, j-just making sure," he lied. He was quick to turn around and start walking. He couldn't bring himself to look at them. He was losing it. He knew it. Things were so much easier when he was alone. He didn't have to hold back or hide these things when there was no one around. He didn't bother waiting to see if they caught up with him, his mind spun through thoughts far too quickly to consider that he might leave them behind.

He was caught up in a web of trying to appear normal, so much so, that he hadn't exactly noticed that the snow beneath his feet suddenly became a lot shallower. He'd only taken a few steps when the ground beneath him began to shake. He squawks in surprise as his claws tried to dig into the ground, only to be met with ice. He slipped and slid as the ground beneath him seemed to rise up. He eventually fell over the side of the rising Avalugg as the creature lifted itself from the hole it dug itself into with an irritated look in his direction...

"EEEEP!!" Rosemary yelped as an orb bounced off of her face, an orb that in the next moment almost completely buried her in items. The weight of said items caused her to sink down into the snow even more once again, preventing her from following Acro as he suddenly started to hurry off. Rosemary panicked once again- she didn't want to get left behind!! "Astir, wha- what did you do?!" she exclaimed as she fought through the pile of items to try and get purchase on the snow again.

Astir stared on in complete lack of comprehension. "I... dunno. Don't items normally fix things? This one just made more items," he asked as he observed the pile Rosemary was escaping from, picking some up and placing them into his bag with the other circle he had found earlier. He grinned to himself a little. "That's good, right? Maybe I should do it again!"

"NO!!" Mary yelped, just vaguely floundering against whatever new, unwise idea Astir was trying to cook up now. She just barely managed to get back up on top of the snow and dust herself off after this, returning to shivering violently from the cold influence of the snow. "Let's just pick these up and go! Acro's not going to want to wait for us!!" she exclaimed, hurriedly shoveling the rest of the items into her own bag without much thought. When she turned around to chase after Acro- A giant sheet of ice had emerged from the snow.

Astir's eyes grew wide. "Rosemary, look- A-!!!!"

Rosemary quickly shushed him and stiffened up. "Shhhhh. Don't make any sudden movements, and stay still. We need to make sure Acro's okay- he was standing right there!!!" A sound some feet away from her signalled the presence of the larger pokemon ending his decent into the snow. Astir looked in that direction blankly.

"......Found him," Astir said bluntly.

"Ah...." Mary replied, trying to get a look at him to see if he was okay...

He was frozen to the spot. He couldn't bring himself to move a muscle. The avalugg glared at the colorful bird, very obviously seeing the bright colors against the white sheet that he fell on. Acro knew he could easily get up and bolt off faster than this massive hulking creature could move, but he didn't. He felt paralyzed...but not quite literally.

The avalugg's gaze drifted to the two onlookers that were the dratini and the fomantis. It sized them up for a second or two before it took a deep impatient breath and exhaled curtly. "Tourists..." it huffed with disdain before the slow-moving creature decided to simply leave. Only then did it occur to Acro that the ice type was...waiting for an apology.

Now it was too late. The archeops released a breath he'd been holding before he allowed his body to limp. The colorful bird flopped into the snow and stared up at the gloomy gray sky. He was cold, but at this point he welcomed it. It was nice to think about something outside of the norm. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay here. Not only would he get sick and worry others, but he still had the two smaller members to get through these missions safely...or attempt to rather.

He pushed himself up onto his two feet and gave himself a shake. The snow that lodged itself into his feathers fell out and shifted off from his tail. He looked to the departing Avalugg, debating whether or not he should make a belated apology...but decided it was best to leave the guy alone. He looked to the two recruits, unsure of what to say after that rather embarrassing and awkward predicament he dug himself into.

"You...good?" he eventually decided to ask.

It seemed like everybody was waiting with their breath held for whatever was going to happen next. Mary was waiting anxiously to see if the giant ice-type pokemon was going to start a fight. Astir was also anxious to see if a fight would start, but less nervous like Mary and more like he just wanted a fight to happen. He didn't make any moves to start anything himself, however- since Mary was still there. Everybody was just watching each other, waiting...

And then the avalugg left.

"Whew..." Mary sighed in relief.

"...Aww." Astir begrudgingly huffed. He looked down at the snow and quietly brooded over the fact that nothing interesting had happened and he was once again left without anything to do. Mary waited for a moment, completely missing Acro flop into the snow as she took a few deep breaths to right herself... She was fine. They were fine. She just had to... forget anything from before now happened, and start over. Whip herself back into shape.

Acro came over and asked how they both were, flattering Rosemary a bit after all was said and done. It was nice to know that he would still take the time to check on them, even if they were imposing on him. "We're both fine I think, no worse for wear. We certainly didn't take any damage..." she mused, before Astir's pouting facial expression caught her eye. "... Maybe a few bruises to the ego, but no worse for wear otherwise..."

Just then, another voice accompanied by pounding footsteps could be heard rising over the snow. "Daimi, is that you over there? Are you still napping?" As fate would have it, another avalugg- this one looking more pissed than the last- was approaching the area with an equally angry-looking piloswine in tow. Rosemary froze again. Astir looked up, his broodiness suddenly vanishing all at once as a new look of interest hurried it away. The two pokemon grew closer still. "These weird footprints go right past where Daimi was. Maybe he saw them," the avalugg seethed.

Rosemary the Fomantis - 27 + 1 = 28 energy

FoxFireAlchemist carried out 10 launched of one Mt. Frostmeer :

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Astir the Dratini - 27 + 1 = 28 energy

FoxFireAlchemist carried out 10 launched of one Mt. Frostmeer :

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The voices he heard, the avalugg he saw, and the piloswine that accompanied them...they didn't sound pleased. Acro knew immediately that this wasn't a battle they should take. He looked down to the other two then up to the approaching group.

"W-We should go," he spoke quietly to them, "Now." The archeops lowered his wing with the expectation that they were to hop aboard. He could easily carry the both of them out of here. It wouldn't at all have been an issue for him.

Aboard the avalugg was another pokemon, a cubchoo. The little pokemon squinted at the group in the distance. Its small and squeaky voice piped up, "I don't think that's Daimi?" it informed the two companions, "They look funny...and weird..."

Acro Energy: 44

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Mt. Frostmeer :

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