So The Ninetales Lied

This wasn't Grassveil or Blackspear. This wasn't anywhere near the two. The tyrantrum's steps shook the very cavern around them. Dirst and pebbles fell from the roof as she grumbled and griped to herself. They were given faulty directions and now they were stuck in this cave for safety while the blistering sandstorm and heat outside raged on. It would have been fine for a pokemon such as herself, but Osiris was a different story. On top of that, it wasn't like her species was immune to overheating.

"I am never taking directions from the word of locals again," she grumbled to aloud. She puffed a harsh exhale through her nostrils, a pocket of sand flying out. She could still feel the grains between her toes and scales. It was irritating, coarse, and everywhere. Normally she wouldn't mind, but this was just a cherry on top of the horrific day she had. Night was going to fall soon at the very least, so the two could get moving again eventually...hopefully.


(52 - 35 = 17)

It wasn't as if Victoria was wrong. From his perch atop her head, his tail wrapped around a pointed edge of her crest to keep himself stable, Osiris investigated their surroundings. It was much, much better than being stuck outside in the desert - he thought the blistering sands would tear a hole in his face with how bad he was getting pelted.

"It could be worse?" Osiris tried to convey, not sounding like he believed himself all that much. "We coulda got sent up north, with all those awful ice-types. At least we found this cave and we're not out there in the heat anymore."

Upon further investigation, though, this looked like a fun enough diversion to him. They were going to be trapped in this cave for as long as the sandstorm was raging outside, and that meant they had time to kill. And here the two of them were, sitting in a big ol' spooky cave ripe to be investigated and explored. Maybe there was cool stuff to be found? Or some kind of underground oasis or spring - he'd kill for some cool water right about now.

"Yoooou wanna poke around a bit? See what we can find while we're stuck in here?" the dratini probed, leaning off the side of the tyrantrum's massive head to grin impishly down at her.

45 - 35 (entry cost): 10 energy

The noodle wanted to explore. She heaved a sigh, not particularly enthused with the prospect of exploration herself, but despite her displeasure, she turned and started to wander further into the cave. It's not like this cave was going to be particularly difficult anyway. What could possibly give her any sort of trouble here?

"I would prefer we didn't dally around for too long," she spoke, "We're likely gong to need to rest for the night. It would be bad news if we were caught in the desert utterly exhausted." She stopped suddenly, only after a few steps did she realize a sort of...problem the two were going to experience.

"...It's dark down there." She pointed out, "Have anything that could light the way?"

That was fair, Osiris thought. Times like these really made him wish he was a dragonair already - he doubted he'd have the muscle strength to carry Victoria, but being able to fly around would make things easier regardless. Just being able to fly up and scout which way to go would solve a lot of the problems they had.

Not this particular problem that she posed to him, though. Did he have anything to make some light? "... Nope," Osiris admitted after a moment of thought, popping the 'p' sound with a grin. "I mean, some of my moves light up a little bit. I could maybe see how long I can hold a thunder-wave in my tail - it's electricity, that's bright, yeah?" Fashioning a torch out of himself wasn't quite a solution—if he even could do it—but it was better than nothing... maybe.

He'd have to hop off the tyrantrum, or at least find a way to situate himself so that his tail wasn't touching her in the meantime. But exploring in the dark sounded kind of fun to him; it made things spooky and exciting! The only concerns that were evident to him were getting lost in the cave, or come across hostile pokemon, or maybe getting separated. But the last one wasn't that likely - it was hard to miss Victoria, with her powerful footsteps, strong voice, and domineering presence.

"If you think you can hold it," The tyrantrum spoke, though her voice lacked the same enthusiasm Osiris had. It had been a while since they left Everspring, but that didn't make her wounds just go away. The tyrantrum could feel her body weighing down a little, exhaustion set in. Still, she kept her head high and had full intent to continue with the dratini in whatever he wanted to do. Sure she needed to get back to her kingdom, but they'd surely be fine for at least a little while without her.

She looked down at the dratini expectantly, ready for him to lead the way this time around. For all she cared, he was running the show. She was just here to make sure he didn't die along the way or something. That'd be annoying. Especially since it would essentially render the events of Everspring entirely pointless.

That was all he needed to hear. Besides, who knew? Maybe he'd get lucky and it wouldn't work, or something else would make him stop. Then they could go spelunking in the dark. "We'll see!" Osiris exclaimed, untangling himself from his spot and leaping bodily off the tyrantrum's noggin. He landed with a soft whump onto the ground, which curiously enough wasn't totally solid. There was a thin layer of sand where he'd hit the ground, although further investigation showed him that it wasn't coating the entire cave's floor.

Kinda neat, he thought. At least it wouldn't chafe against his bandages. Just getting them on while riding around on a freaking dinosaur (as awesome as that was) proved difficult - he didn't need any help undoing that. He took the lead, his tail suddenly crackling with a current of electricity, and he made an effort not to simply throw it outward like he had done every time before. "Feels... kinda tingly, holdin' onto it like this. Hehe," Osiris laughed.

It worked, though. It wasn't the brightest of lights or even the most consistent with how the current came and went - not to mention how it announced their presence with a constant crackle of electricity - but there was a noticeable improvement. Definitely better than stumbling around in near-darkness, though not as fun. He'd just have to set about remedying that, peering out curiously into the lit-up cave to see what he could spot.

the sunset hero carried out 10 launched of one Sandstone Cave :

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Right off the bat, a wide sets of eyes looked back at the dratini. The unblinking eyes stared on as the set of claws in front of them poked about curiously. Victoria could easily recognize the pokemon as an Anorith. It was...rather strange to her that this creature was here. Normally they lived closer to the water. How on earth did it survive out in a desert like this?

A deep grumble echoed in her throat to serve as a warning to the little guy. This dratini was off limits. The anorith squeaked in terror before it slowly started to scuttle away as quickly as its fore-claws could take it. It tried to move deeper into the cave, but it was so slow that it barely even moved even a foot from its original spot. While she did not find the bug's woes to be humorous, she was at least relieved that it wasn't going to try to start anything.

It would have been far less satisfying to step on a bug of all things.

Kat carried out 10 launched of one Sandstone Cave :

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"Aww," Osiris cooed, watching the little bug scurry away in fright - or try to, anyway. He heard the growl behind him and figured Victoria didn't like the sight of it—even when they were super-duper-strong dragon queens, it seemed like all girls didn't like bugs—but he thought the anorith looked cool. "Kinda cute, isn't it?" he asked, his heart going out to the little bug who for all intents and purposes just got ambushed by a dratini and a tyrantrum. The eyes completed the look in his opinion.

His question was mostly rhetorical, of course, as he didn't expect his companion to agree. Instead, he just lead them further along, giving the rock-type bug a respectful berth as he slithered past it. "Oh look, there's another one! Maybe we're in some kinda hive or something?" the dratini exclaimed with genuine excitement once more, spotting a second anorith nestled into a crevice all the way against the cave's wall. It spotted him as well, its foreclaws flexing absently as it looked at him, but did absolutely nothing else. The giant dinosaur behind him probably had something to do with that.

A hive of these tiny bugs. Ugh. They were an ancient species of pokemon, just like her, but she could hardly see herself being compared to the likes of these insects. She didn't respond to the dratini's opinion on the little buggers being "Cute" at all. She couldn't say anything pleasant, so she opted not to say a thing at all. Victoria followed along behind the dratini with little to no care for the anorith's well-being. Fortunately, the dratini's wide berth prevented any harm from coming to them.

"If this is a hive, then it's likely to have some sort of defense. I hope they're wise enough to not try to drive us off," she commented with a hint of disdain. The light crackled and shined on, she could just barely catch the movements of a small banded tail waggle back and forth before it disappeared into a hole only large enough to permit Osiris entry and filter her out. The tyrantrum eyed the opening cautiously, before she decided to walk along side the dratini. She placed herself between Osiris and the hole. If whatever it was wanted to attack, perhaps it'd think twice.

The dratini missed the movement of the sandile's tail, too enamored with the anorith in the distance. He sure hoped that they were in a hive because he wanted to see what awesome bug these things evolved into! Maybe one of them had a mom or a dad hanging around. "It's not like we're causing trouble," Osiris commented. "We're just visiting for a minute!" And it was pretty rude to kick out visitors. Especially when your cave didn't have a door and anyone could just waltz in, looking to escape the desert heat.

His investigations were interrupted when the fizzling light of this thunder-wave abruptly cut short, the stream of electricity slipping through his grasp. It died out immediately, darkness suddenly surrounding them while he wondered briefly what'd happened - then he noticed his tail didn't feel funny anymore. "Oh, shoot, it slipped. Hold on," the dragon wyrm exclaimed roughly, slightly alarmed. Osiris summoned another one, focusing on the feeling of holding that electricity and trying to maintain it. The cave once more lit up around them...

... and a pair of nosepass' were suddenly in their path, arms tucked at their sides as they stood a healthy distance away, completely still. Osiris blinked at the sight of them, wondering if he just failed to spot a couple of statues. "Look at the noses on these things!" he pointed out excitedly, eyes wide and curious as he studied them.

Being plunged into the darkness was-to put it lightly-annoying. The dratini was quick to strike it back up, though this time a duo of pokemon seemingly appeared out of nowhere between them and deeper into the cave. They stood still and steady, sentinels at the service of the hive-or so she presumed. The tyrantrum looked down on the significantly smaller pokemon. They had large noses indeed, ones she didn't find very amusing.

"It's not, but some don't favor having anybody else on their land," she mumbled to the wyrm. She had little to no patience in waiting for a response. She instead decided to perk herself up. She stood as tall she could in such a cramped and small cave. Her voice spoke softly, but with a firm demeanor, "Greetings!" She stepped forward, already forgetting about the wretched little thing she saw crawl away just a moment before.

"We'd like to pass through...and you appear to have stepped into our path. Is there a problem?" Diplomacy first-Stomp them second.

"... I don't think they talk—"

"Our apologies," a voice cut Osiris off, somehow rigid and smooth at the same time, like flaky chalk on the sidewalk. He flinched at the sound of it and turned his head to stare at the speaker, the nosepass on the left. "There is no problem—we do not mean to impede you. Just the opposite, if you should like."

The one on the right chimed in, the only notable difference between them being the slightly lower baritone of this nosepass' voice. "Your advice to your smaller friend rings true; it seems many here indeed find you awe-inspiring." it said, the rock-type's whole form twitching to the side in a stiff attempt at a sideways nod. Iris' gaze flickered to the direction the nosepass gestured and spotted the same anorith that had been staring back at him earlier, seeming almost wary.

Not far off, he saw a pair of much more humanoid-looking pokemon, with a yellow body and black accents - and one hell of a scary-looking hairpiece. Mawile, he recalled. They stood behind a nearby pillar, focused on the giant tyrantrum with as much caution as trepidation - that is to say, quite a bit. Osiris realized that maybe they were making a few of the smaller locals nervous... and these nosepasses had a problem with that, maybe?

"Would you allow us the pleasure of attending you while you take refuge? We can show you everything there is to see in this humble abode." the second nosepass... asked, really, but he had a feeling that it was less of a question than it seemed. There was no aggression in its unnervingly monotone voice, or their nonexistent, statue-like body language, but he felt a sliver of tension in the air regardless. Osiris merely glanced up at his companion's face, studying her expression in the flickering light. Maybe she'd been right about not poking around here.

The nosepass weren't hostile-or so they wanted the duo to believe in Victoria's eyes. Her critical gaze watched the duo, with only a small and occasional glance away to movements in the corner of her eyes. They were scared of her. Good. She preferred it that way. If these nosepass were guardians of sorts, then they had more to lose than her. Antagonizing her would result in a disaster for these two. Although, this all also meant that they had all the more reason to get rid of her through more permanent and immediate means.

At the very least, they were polite. They wanted diplomacy, but there was a stain in their offer, one she didn't like. Instead, she decided to turn the tables a little. She did not respond immediately despite how quickly she made her decision. Instead she left them to rot in agonizing silence, a thoughtful rumbling hum that bordered a growl echoed a moment after. Once she was satisfied with her pause, she spoke, "I see."

"I understand that my presence may be upsetting your locals, so if you believe that accompanying us would settle their fears or prevent conflict-then you are free to join us. However, I do not believe we are in need of a tour guide. As kind and hospitable as you sound, I am from a land where locals of the environment are eager to turn on those they befriend. I must be cautious around those who suddenly promise such good will. I assure you, we will not disturb any so long as they don't disturb us."

It was easy to forget that Victoria was actually a queen, Osiris thought, watching her go back and forth with the strangely diplomatic rock-type natives. One could be easily forgiven for just assuming her to be a kick-butt-first and ask-questions-later type of ruler, but instances like these and her occasional nuggets of wisdom proved an effective reminder. Had she been a queen for long, he wondered? She seemed practiced at it.

"It gladdens us to hear as much," the first nosepass responded, causing Osiris' eyebrow to twitch at his unpleasant voice. The torturous silence was torturously suspenseful for him, but if it had any such effect on these two rock dudes, they gave no indication. "We'll cause you no further inconvenience, then. Enjoy the refuge of the sandstone cave."

And then, rather anticlimactically in his opinion, the two of them spun like freaking tops, sand and dirt flying up all around them as they tunneled through the freaking ground. Osiris raised his tail to cover his face, but he couldn't just not look at something so ridiculous, silly, and kind of cool. By the time the dust clouds had cleared, the two nosepass were gone, and there was only a big ol' hole in the cave floor to indicate that they were there to begin with.

"You know, I don't think I saw mouths on those guys," Osiris noted absently in their absence. He was tempted to slither over and look down the holes they'd drilled away into, but only just resisted. "Maybe they were psychics. Those guys are always a little weird."

The sudden closure of the tense situation baffled her. She blinked as the two spun out of the situation and disappeared all together. It took a moment of processing before she reached her conclusion on how she felt about this. Her eyes narrowed. This didn't seem right. They were so quick to leave despite their apparent concern with the inhabitants. Were they truly going to trust a promise of a stranger? She hadn't expected it to work-so she didn't trust that it did.

"Osiris, hop on." She instructed with little to no regard to whatever nonsense the kid babbled about. Sure she needed the light to see, but she would feel a lot safe if the kid were up and off the ground were things could attack and take him away at a moment's notice.

She lowered her head for the dratini to hop on, her eyes still honed in on the spot where the nosepass left. "I don't exactly trust that we're out of the woods just yet," she grumbled in a much quieter tone meant for the dratini's ears only.