(ACE) The MARSH Team

Martha continued to stay at Mum's side and comfort her while, as predicted, Carmen's words had caused quite the conflict. Sadie almost lost her temper with the Charmander and blurted out how she had lost her Trainer. The young Flaaffy's heart welled with sympathy at the thought of such a terrible thing happening. The only human whom she had ever had close contact with was the farmer who used to sheer off her wool, and even then they were never close. For a moment Martha toddled away from Mum and took Sadie's hand, holding it tight. She didn't know what to say.

The little Oddish seemed confused by Mum's reaction to it and she ran up to Virgil, hiding behind his legs. Martha started to walk towards the little one to try and comfort her when Seth decided to voice his opinion. As usual, he did not care what the others thought of it. "It's not your kid, therefore, not your responsibility. Leave it. There's no need for you to risk your life and limb to care for a kid that's not even yours." Martha already felt herself getting riled up but the next thing the Smeargle said shocked her to the core. "After all, if push comes to shove, we could just eat it." "No!" Martha stomped her foot, her cheeks reddening. "That's really mean! We can't leave her here, she won't make it! And we can't eat her! That would make us just as bad as the dead ones!" She felt a pang of guilt at her words, remembering her sister. "Besides, it's not your decision what we do with it. It's Mum's!"

Looking up at the Kangaskhan for an answer, she spotted the newcomer that had caused so much commotion before. A little Scorupi wearing Blackglasses. He had cautiously scuttled over to have a look at the baby. Martha flashed him an apologetic smile, hoping that her yelling hadn't scared him. If either Seth or Carmen had another smart comment to make, she wouldn't hold back.

Sadie felt dead inside. Everything around her seemed to blend in as one. It soon felt like she couldn't tell who was being mean, and who felt sorry for her. Nobody knew what she had been through. And it was simple; a bond that was stronger than anybody could ever imagine was broken with the pull of a trigger. The Frillish wanted to cry, but she felt no tears coming out of her. 'Would anybody even notice if I had left?' Oblivious to the others, she slipped away from the scene.

Sadie leaned against a tree and softly sang the song she hummed earlier.

I dreamed what what you were offering
Imagine lying next to me
You should, and your reputation talks
I will write our story in my mind

She slumped against the tree and continued to sing. When she was done, Sadie noticed a little Skorupi resting on the tree root. She looked down at it and let out a soft smile. "Hey there, little guy." She said softly.

Akira jumps in surprise at being recognized and swiftly crosses his claws over his eyes and curls up into a tight ball of chitinous armor platting.
"Please don't eat me!" He whimpers and starts to cry again.
His tears cut trails through the murky river mud to expose the brighter blue shell underneath.
Arceus Above, he was going to die.
Not caring how pathetic he looks Akira rocks back and forth, pleading for it to be quick.
Behind his dark glasses flash remembered images of knives and scalpels and long needles dripping with strange drugs.
His head feels hot and tight as if the shell was shrinking in on him.
The Skorupi's tears plop onto the mud.
"Please...please..." He says numbly as he cries. He doesn't want to die.
In his mind he tries to take himself back to place that was warm and dark and safe but the horrors of the torn corpses sneak back behind his eyes and all he can see in front of him was claws and teeth and big, big, heavy bodies and they see him.
Akira just huddles and cries, too terrified to even flee.
It was been a horrible two days for him, from the experiments to the massacre to the Alakazam and now he was going to get smashed into a bloody ball of goo.

Rhea was confused when the small Oddish went to Virgil, who immediately offered her his support. Though this was much to the chagrin of his brother Seth who wasted no time making his opinion of the matter known. "Is this really that difficult for you? It's not your kid, therefore, not your responsibility. Leave it. There's no need for you to risk your life and limb to care for a kid that's not even yours." Leave it? Leave it?! She couldn't just leave it! It was only a babe, freshly hatched and completely defenseless! "After all, if push comes to shove, we could just eat it." Ok, now he was asking for it.

Without warning Rhea charged at Seth, stopping just short of stomping her large foot right on his stupid face. She huffed angrily, her breath coming out deep and ragged as she fought back the urge to just pummel the shit out of him. But...the baby was right there, and she was crying again at the angry display. "I-I..." she didn't know what to say or do to calm the little one. It was so upset... "That's really mean! We can't leave her here, she won't make it! And we can't eat her! That would make us just as bad as the dead ones!" Rhea couldn't help but think that she was talking about the raging she had been doing, constantly frightening the newborn. Guilt was slowly eating away at her for it. "Besides, it's not your decision what we do with it. It's Mum's!" Huh? She had been talking about Seth? Not her? Her decision...

The Frillish was singing again, rather randomly once more, but this time Rhea noticed that it was having a calming effect on the little one. It had stopped crying and was looking at Sadie with wide, adoring eyes as it took in the sound. Rhea noticed the little twerp of a bug who had caused all the trouble before but chose to ignore it. She had to worry about the tiny Oddish right now. It was more important. No, not it...she. She was taking in the sound. The little one was a girl, Rhea could tell despite knowing next to nothing about grass types. But any mother would be able to tell that. She looked at Virgil, then down at the small female still hidden by his legs before letting out a heavy sigh. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

__________________________

Oddish wasn't happy with all the roaring and shouting, the mean voice was picking on Momma and making Momma really angry. She didn't like it so she started to cry again. But the soft voice above her was comforting, she didn't think he would let the mean voice get to her, but soon another voice started floating through the air once the angry one was quiet. Oddish peeked out from around Virgil and looked at the pretty voice with an amazed expression. Her eyes sparkled with happiness at the pretty sound and she allowed herself to relax.

When the pretty sound was gone she whimpered sadly at its loss but felt herself squeaking in fear as suddenly she was being lifted off of the ground. Momma had ahold of her and was lifting her up to eye level. Not sure what Momma was going to do Oddish shivered in fear, trying not to do anything that would make Momma mad, but a big hand cupped around her and held her close, making her feel safe and warm. Her shaking stopped and she looked up at Momma with big, round eyes. "Oddish!" she chirped happily, snuggling into the rough, clawed hands. A soft word floated to her ears and the little Oddish felt herself warm at the sound. "Eliana..."

A name...Momma had given her a name.

Seth had just about had it with all of these women bitching at him constantly. "You know, you don't exactly have the smallest mouth either, you know," the charmander retorted, earning Seth's glare. "You're an asshole to everyone, you try to kill your own brother, you call Mum a bitch constantly, and then you get angry at me as soon as you hear me make a rude remark. How about you try shutting up, I haven't heard you give out a single compliment or helpful comment once! You're just as fucking bad as me you shithead!"

As soon as he was about to comment, the little fluffy one added her own remark. "That's really mean! We can't leave her here, she won't make it! And we can't eat her! That would make us just as bad as the dead ones! Besides, it's not your decision what we do with it. It's Mum's!" A snarl came from the painter, who was clutching his tail tightly, and then the giant bitch clambored over to him, stopping short of running him over. He didn't flinch, glaring up at her defiantly as she panted from the excursion. The babe wailed at the display, still in his brother's care.

That. Fucking. Did it.

He didn't care they all hated him. That was normal. No one had ever liked him, and that suited him just fine. No, what bugged him was that these hypocrites were yelling at him for actually suggesting something, for speaking his own mind as he saw fit. He didn't hurt anyone -the radish was too young to understand him anyway- and they lashed at him like he'd already eaten the plant himself. Oh no. He wasn't the kind of guy that stood by and let himself get attacked. Not anymore. He threw down his tail, splotching the ground with blue.

"Shut the fuck up, the both of you!" he snapped at the two that had actually spoke, turning from Rhea for the moment. "Have you never been around a newborn? Well I have. They're needy, they're fragile, and what's more, they're noisy, which is kind of a problem nowadays." His voice was an angry whisper; the low volume hiding none of the venom his words held. "You stupid bitches don't understand that little cute thing is to us!"

He turned to Carmen. "You want a fucking compliment? You're fucking annoying and dumb as bricks, there's your fucking compliment. My suggestion was to keep up safe, to keep those lamebrained zombies from finding us and killing us. With your loudmouth on our side, I'm surprised they haven't already caught up with you-- oh wait, they have!"He pointed at his brother, who only sat in silence as the creepy fish lulled the oddish into happy gurgling. Not that he cared Virgil had been wounded, but he didn't want to be carted off by some bird either. "And what I do with my own brother is my own goddamned business, not yours.

"And you," he growled at Martha, teeth bared in a snarl, "You wanna talk morals, in this day and age? It's better it dies a quick and merciful death by us than a brutal one by one of them. It may still be alive when some rotter is tearing its guts out. You can't be fluff and sugar all the time, Princess, get fucking used to it." He then turned back to Rhea, who was holding the oddish aloft, a strange look in her eyes.

"It... was only a suggestion. But I say you do something with it that won't endanger the rest of us. It's a beacon to those assholes. You wanna keep the rest of your kids safe, or risk all of them for one that you didn't even lay?"

Virgil sighed as Seth ranted. Though he said all of his speech with crude cursing and ill manners, the liepard couldn't help but feel the same. He sat up, wincing lightly at the pain in his side, watching the entire scene. As Rhea stared at the oddly colored oddish, he couldn't help but voice his own opinion. "...I... I agree... with Seth." He stood, limping to Rhea, his emerald eyes showing the seriousness of his words.

"We have enough problems without raising a young one, especially a species none of us know much about. We barely have enough to feed ourselves, and a growing girl is more than one mouth. Please, Rhea, consider everything before keeping her. We're a weak bunch, hungry and beaten. I don't know if we can survive much longer with a baby's crying to help the undead find us..." He sighed, knowing his view would likely get him a foot in the ribs... or face. "Just... think through everything rationally. I know how hard it is raising a little girl, to try and provide for one. Besides... do you really want to raise a child in a world like this? To bring in a life to a hell without joy or compassion? To always live in the shadow of fear? At least we all have memories of before this Apocalypse. She won't. This world will be all she knows... and... would it be fair to her?"

Carmen was getting angrier at Seth, she hated him. She knew that she was an annoying bitch, in fact, she enjoyed being one, but he was annoying even her, and she had a high tolerance to annoyance. At least she hadn't insulted anyone, except for him, of course, and Arceus. She had been annoying to everyone, but she had not directly insulted anyone except for those two. Here he was constantly harsh, rude, cruel, and too serious. This was already a dangerous, serious world, and Carmen didn't want it to be like that. She wanted to live in a world which at least had some happiness, if it was only joking with each other in a ruined world, but no, Seth had to be so serious, to be mean, not joking, not annoying, but mean, to everyone.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Her rage was getting to a point where she had no control over herself. This was a horrible day, and to top it all off, the ass hole of a bug which had stung her was back. Her teeth were set ablaze as she used her Fire Fang, and she leaped towards Seth and Virgil, if they thought that there were too many mouths to feed, and that it might be useful eating a baby, then how about they got eaten. After all, they had to have more meat on their bones, and two adults take more food than one baby. She flew forward, ready to bite each of them with her Fire Fang.

The Skorupi that she had smiled at was now starting to panic again, especially now that Sadie had actually spoken to him. Martha's instincts told her to go and comfort the poor thing, but right now she told herself to ignore it for the time being. There were more important matters at hand. "What the hell is wrong with me?" Mum questioned herself more than anyone else. Martha quickly responded to this by rejoining the large Normal-type and stroking her leg for comfort. "Nothing is wrong with you, Mum! It's just ... it's just a surprise, that's all! Don't worry, we'll figure it out in the end! I'll help you!" To her surprise, Mum suddenly moved over to where the Oddish was and picked her up, speaking a single word to her, softly. "Eliana..." Martha understood. "That's a lovely name," she said with a sweet smile.

Her beam quickly faded though when Seth decided to kick up a storm once again. He addressed them all in turn, his voice raised into a harsh snap. He eventually turned to Martha with a snarl, but the Flaaffy simply stood her ground and did not budge, staring at him with hard, stubborn eyes. "You wanna talk morals, in this day and age? It's better it dies a quick and merciful death by us than a brutal one by one of them. It may still be alive when some rotter is tearing its guts out. You can't be fluff and sugar all the time, Princess, get fucking used to it." Martha still hadn't moved by the time he'd finished, but her chest had been puffed out as far as it would go and her cheeks were bright red. The orb on her tail began to flash as she glared at her fellow Johto native. "Seth! How can you even talk about--"

"...I... I agree... with Seth." Martha turned slowly to Virgil, her eyes wide. The words that came out of his mouth at that moment had been the last thing she had expected to hear. She stared wide-mouthed at the Liepard as he actually justified all the terrible things that his 'brother' had said. At first she was horrified by what she was hearing, but by the time he had finished she had to admit that he had a point. Confused, the small Electric-type tugged on her wool in frustration as she looked up at Mum. "Mum ... you're not going to do anything-- CARMEN DON'T!"

Out of nowhere, the Fire-type had shouted at them all to shut up and was lunging towards not only Seth but Virgil as well, her fangs coated in flickering orange flames. "No! Stop it!" Martha cried desperately, ambling over towards the two brothers. Not wanting another fight to break out, Martha directed a Thunder Wave in Carmen's direction, hoping to immobilize her if it hit. "Stop fighting!"

"Please don't eat me!" The Skorupi cried out as it curled into a ball. Sadie was confused. She could sense that he was in pain. Emotional pain. "Why would I do that? I would never eat something like you..." Sadie then chose to take a risk as she reached out her to gently stroke the terrified Skorupi's back. It could go in one of two ways; the Skorupi could feel more comfortable around her, or the Skorupi would attack her like she did with Carmen. "Shhhhh... Everything's alright, little one..." She murmured with a soft smile.

Everyone else was shouting over the child. And by everyone; she meant Seth was pissing everyone off. It made the Frillish a little sad how someone would just be a complete douchebag 24/7. It made no sense. Who would want to live that kind of lifestyle? It brought a tear to Sadie's eye just thinking about it.

(OoC: Kaze, if you don't want Sadie touching Akira, I'll edit the post.)

Akira stays coiled up tight, making sure the softer armoured plates of his lighter underside are completely covered by the thick navy plates of his battle armoured tail. All that protrudes from his ball of mud streaked shell are the still white hollow needles of his tail and forelimbs.
His head is tucked in tight so that only a fraction of his Black Glasses can be seen of it.
The Skorupi's tiny legs zip together around his tail, creating a defence that is nearly impossible to tear apart although far from impossible to penetrate as the deep fang mark splitting the shell on his back can attest to.
Blood-like the transparent fluid of his Haemolymph oozes from the crack where the Houndoom had bit him.
Curled in tight Akira screws his still blue eyes up tight and tries to ignore the nightmare images that still played across his eyelids whenever he dared close his eyes.
He can feel the beat of his heart in his throat as his stress levels get higher and higher and higher.
Darkness begins to eat away at even the nightmare images of the torn corpse of his parents as he starts to hyperventilate.
A searing pain splits his head as if something is trying to grow out of it and then...
Then there's a comforting touching on his shell, a soft touch meant to calm not pierce.
The steady trickle of tears slowly ceases and Akira's panic subsides as he begins to breath normally again.
The pain and with it the fuzziness retreat as if someone had pulled them out of him.
"Everything's alright..." He murmurs back under his breath, relaxing a fraction.
He still does not uncurl but his breathing becomes more regular as his rising emotional turmoil is defused.
"Everything's alright..." He repeats softly.

((OOC: That was exactly what Akira needed <3))

Rhea couldn't believe her ears. Well, at least Seth she could believe when he started his ranting, but when Virgil agreed with him...Rhea was floored. It was like her mind came to a screeching halt as Virgil explained his reasoning for wanting a creature he had only moments ago been kind and gentle to dead. Pretty soon the voices began to fade and the large Kangaskhan could only hear a white noise, like static, echoing through her mind. She could see mouths moving, felt the difference in pressure in her ears as they spoke, but couldn't actually hear anything.

Eliana whimpered as Momma held her tightly, grip getting more and more secure as the other voices around spoke. She had no idea what was being said, all she knew is that it was making Momma upset. She cuddled into the firm claws as they held her close, close enough that it began to muffle the sounds of the voices that were upsetting her Momma. But in a flash the sounds of a fight broke out and Eliana began to cry. "Hush little one," a soft whisper told her, Momma's eyes looking down at her. She quieted almost at once and let Momma handle the noise.

Rhea wasn't going to take this kind of crap anymore. She swung her tail to land in between Carmen and Seth, willing to take the full force of the Fire Fang in her desire to just end all the stupid bullshit. She was done with everyone's selfish attitudes and obnoxious personalities. Glaring at everyone she let out a low growl before finally adressing them. "Look. I don't care who you are, where you came from, or what the hell your species is. Life is life and it deserves a chance. Yes she is a baby, yes she makes noise, but the fucking Charmander makes more noise than Eliana does and I don't see you offering to kill her."

The last few words had been dripping with venom as she glared at Seth and Virgil both, ashamed at the way the feline had presented his case. "I'm taking Eliana and getting the hell out of this place. Anyone who wants to come can, but I am not dealing with this shit anymore. I have a baby to think of so you all can either chill your tits and get over yourselves or just go off and die. Your choice." With a heavy heart Rhea pushed past the group she had called her family and forced herself on towards the gate, tucking Eliana gently into her pouch as she walked.

It took all of her strength to not look back.

((OOC: So...more crazy. lol. Rhea is so broken))

When Virgil ended his words, he knew that Rhea hadn't heard them all. Her eyes unfocused, guilt stabbed his chest more painfully than the bird's talons ever had. His face fell, knowing that the kangaskhan must have felt the same... and that was what truly hurt. Before he could even attempt to repair any damage, Carmen erupted into a furious rage, lunging for both Seth and himself. While Seth was all too ready to face the lizard, Rhea's tail slammed down inbetween them. "Look. I don't care who you are, where you came from, or what the hell your species is. Life is life and it deserves a chance. Yes she is a baby, yes she makes noise, but the fucking Charmander makes more noise than Eliana does and I don't see you offering to kill her."

"I would if I could, Crazy Bitch," Seth growled, glaring at the charmander. "But some people here don't like nonsensical violence. Makes a lot of sense to me." However, Rhea didn't seem to hear him.

"I'm taking Eliana and getting the hell out of this place. Anyone who wants to come can, but I am not dealing with this shit anymore. I have a baby to think of so you all can either chill your tits and get over yourselves or just go off and die. Your choice." Virgil knew that statement was mostly directed at him, the kangaskhan condemning him for his views. And who could blame her? For a woman so family driven, it was an abomination to think of killing the little plant. His ears drooped, and while Seth sat and growled at the charmander, he limped as fast as he could after Rhea.

Coming up beside her, he struggled to keep up. Rhea, I..." The words fell on his tongue. "...I just wanted to know that you actually wanted this. But... I was stupid to not know otherwise." He gave a small chuckle, beginning to pant as he tried keeping with her pace. "But I'll help anyway that I can. I'm sorry... for saying those things..." He slowed, his shame getting the better of him. What had he been thinking...?

Carmen's attack had no effect, when Martha zapped her with a Thunder Wave. Carmen's body stiffened slightly, but it only made her angrier. Carmen thought about attacking everyone here, Martha attacked her, to protect Seth and Virgil, and they both deserved death, the only ones in the 'family'-the most dysfunctional one Carmen had ever seen in her life-that deserved to live were Mum, the odd Oddish, and the annoying singing Sadie, who was rising up on the 'deserves to die' list when Carmen saw her petting the bastard bug that had knocked her out. Momentarily paralysed, Carmen had no way to dodge Mums tail which slammed down between her and Seth and Virgil.

Slam! Carmen hit the ground, if Martha hadn't paralysed her, she could have landed on her feet, but no, she hits face first, damn it! Carmen stood up as the paralysis wore off, and Carmen spoke quickly.

"I'm only going along with you if Seth, Virgil and Martha aren't. I'd prefer it if Sadie stayed away as well, but I suppose she can come, but I doubt that those conditions are going to be met, so I guess I won't be going."

Carmen strode over towards Sadie.

"Move it, I've got some unfinished business with this bastard here!"

((OoC: EDIT: Evolution removed))

Her Thunder Wave hit, much to her surprise, and just as planned it rendered Carmen immobile. The Charmander glowered at her, but Martha stood her ground and glared back defiantly, ready to attack again if she needed to. She wasn't about to let Carmen cause yet more trouble and only wanted to try and keep the peace. But she suddenly realised that, upon paralysing Carmen, she had only made the Fire-type angrier.

But then Mum's tail came slamming down between the two quaralling Pokemon and she firmly let them all know that she didn't care what they thought and that she was going to let little Eliana live. After promptly telling them to either get over it or die, she stomped off towards the gate, cradling her baby in her arms.

"I'll come too," Martha called eagerly, starting to follow after Virgil. More than anything she just wanted to get away from all the fighting. Only Seth and Carmen were the ones causing trouble, and she finally decided that didn't want to have anything to do with them while they were being like this. She cast a brief look behind her at Sadie and the small Skorupi, hoping that they'd come along as well, before starting to run awkwardly and catching up with Virgil just as he apologised to Mum.

Martha smiled and patted his side as she reached him, glad that he was coming along. "So, where're we going?" she asked, skipping in her step slightly. "Oh, and Mum? If you ever want me to look after Eliana for you then I will! I'll hold her, hug her, I'll even fetch berries for her! Just tell me what to do and I'll do my best." She beamed up at the Kangaskhan, hoping that her offer would make her feel a little better. She didn't like to see her like this.

Sadie could feel the bug type's breathing slow down, though it still stayed curled up. She was very curious now; what is making this bug so scared of, well, everything? The Frillish wanted the bug to be comfortable around at least one person, so she took another risk. She slowly reached her arms out to the bug and picked him up. Sadie held the bug in her arms like a mother would with a child. "Shh... don't cry. Everything's alright."

Speaking of mothers, Sadie listened in on what the others were saying. Rhea was leaving the marsh, and was inviting anyone to come as long as they didn't fuck with her. Seth, surprisingly, didn't have much to say while Virgil apologized to the Kangaskhan. Carmen stated her opinion on going. It was plain and simple; she didn't want anyone else to come, but wouldn't really care if Sadie came along or not. Martha clearly wanted to go with Rhea. Sadie was about to respond, but she saw Carmen approaching.

"Move it, I've got some unfinished business with this bastard here!" Sadie's grip on the Skorupi tightened slighty out of protection for the little bug. "No! I won't let you hurt this poor creature!" She turned her body to the side slightly, keeping the bug away from the Charmander. "The only reason he attacked you was because he was scared. Don't blame him for his own fears, you jerk!"

(OoC: Permission was given to pick up Akira)

Akira's sobs ceased but he still trembled faintly with fear, the soft pressure on his shell of being hoisted in the air causing an electric jolt of terror to cause every muscle in his body to involuntarily stiffen and lock into place, virtually paralyzing him.
The navy carapace that held his organs in place (cracked as it had been by the Houndoom's fangs) was his armor, his defense.
The tiny bug type feels deep in his cracked chitinous shell that staying curled up was his best if not only chance at survival. The scraps of years of trauma that danced behind his eyelids, mirroring or even superimposing themselves over the horrible mental images of his poor, scattered and turned inside out mother were of the dark rooms that suddenly became blazing bright and the Skourpi can almost feel the sharp slivers of metal that dug their way into the chinks in his armor to deliver their poisons directly into his soft vulnerable insides. Some had seared inside him like molten fire, others that chilled and numbed him like ice and others still had been virulent acids that had eaten away at him like a living thing. Oh how he had screamed.
"Everything's alright..." His madness mantra is all that keeps him clinging to life.
He cannot see but he can hear and he can hear the voice of the fire lizard coming to kill him and only the desperate seed of hope caused by the voice of the one holding him prevents him from voiding his bowels in terror.
Everything'salrighteverything'salrighteverything'salrighteverything'salrighteverything'salright" He repeats so rapidly it is impossible to tell where one word ends and the next begins in the desperate hope that reptition might make it come true.

Rhea had to restrain a small smile as she heard Seth's comments about Carmen behind her. "Rhea, I..." It was strange for Virgil to be so tongue-tied and it caused the large Kangaskhan to pause. "...I just wanted to know that you actually wanted this. But... I was stupid to not know otherwise." She frowned, knowing that what he said was true, but was still feeling the sting of his betrayal from before. She never expected anything like that to come from him. "But I'll help anyway that I can. I'm sorry... for saying those things..." That was more like him.

Martha quickly called out her decision to come and frankly Rhea was happy. She really liked Martha and thought she was a very sweet, feisty girl. Much like herself. The lamb caught up fairly quickly and offered her own words of comfort to the Motherly Pokemon. "Oh, and Mum? If you ever want me to look after Eliana for you then I will! I'll hold her, hug her, I'll even fetch berries for her! Just tell me what to do and I'll do my best." Rhea looked at Virgil and Martha and offered them both a tired smile. "Thank you...both of you."

"I'm only going along with you if Seth, Virgil and Martha aren't. I'd prefer it if Sadie stayed away as well, but I suppose she can come, but I doubt that those conditions are going to be met, so I guess I won't be going."

Rhea finally stopped and turned back to what remained of the group. "Well they are already over here so I guess you aren't going!" She finished with a huff and turned back to the ones who stayed by her side, not really caring what the others did. Sure she didn't like the thought of leaving others to their death, not when she had the strength to protect them, but it was their choice. Eliana was the only thing that mattered now...

Eliana gurgled in delight at the warm, cozy pouch Mamma had provided, and when the deep voice and happy voice joined she cooed. She was so happy to see everyone getting along, even though mean voice still scared her she knew Momma wasn't going to let him get her. She burrowed herself into the pouch, only the tops of her leaves sticking out, and promptly went to sleep. Finally she felt safe and loved, and all of the activity since hatching had more than worn her out.

Virgil sighed as Carmen growled out her frustrations, trying to focus on walking without casuing too much pain to his side. He seemed as relieved as Rhea when Martha happily strode up to them, announcing that she would be coming too. The liepard would rather the group just be the three of them, as Carmen proved to be as combative as his own brother, the frillish seemed all right, he just didn't know her and the bug just cowered and talked to himself. Glad to be getting away from most of the noise, he silently walked with the two ladies, ears and nose out for danger.

Seth, though he'd rather just kill Virgil and be done with it, figured he'd have to wait still for his opportunity. He followed them, walking past the irritable charmander, ghost and bug with an irritated eye. Loud morons. Scoffing his discontent, he decided it'd just be best to follow Virgil rather than stay with these crazies. "Have fun," he growled, not particularly happy with the turn of events.

"Thank you...both of you." Martha felt herself beam with joy at Mum's gratitude. She was glad that all the conflict and uncertainty appeared to be over. She noticed Seth start to reluctantly drag himself along with them and felt her comfort falter a little, but as long as he didn't make any more nasty remarks or tried to hurt Virgil again, she would tolerate his presence.

"Mum ... where exactly will we go when we get out of here?" she asked after a few minutes of silence. "I noticed some buildings over the trees when I first arrived here. Is there a city out there or something?" She had been wondering what was beyond those tall trees for a while, and hoped that they weren't just about to walk from one dangerous area to another.

Sadie looked down at the scared Skorupi, still curled up in fear. She was still holding it in her arms protectively. She wanted to hurt Carmen and Seth right now. They've been nothing but jerks ever since she first met them. Sadie had mixed feeling for Rhea, leaving her unsure of whether or not she wanted to go with her. She didn't know Virgil well enough to have an opinion. Sadie sighed at how the only kind-hearted soul seemed to be Martha. She liked how she could be both kind and fiesty at the same time.

Sadie cautiously floated over to where the others were, the Skorupi still in her arms. "Umm..." Sadie muttered. "I'm honestly not sure if I want to go with you. If you don't want me to come with you, then I guess I could stay here..." Sadie took a quick look down at the bug in her arms. "But if you do want me to stay, I'll be more than happy to help you with your child." The Frillish smiled at the group. She wanted to get to know them a bit more, but if they didn't want to have her with them, then she would get pretty lonely in the marsh by herself.

His insecitle heart beating so rapidly the Skorupi can almost taste it he nervously moves aside a curved pointed claw, expecting any second the horrible pain of a slow death and getting in return...nothing.
They weren't crushing him or burning him or driving metal spikes full of poison under his shell. They barely noticed him at all...
From behind the black lenses of his dark glasses his expression is unreadable.
Fear was all he was now, it consumed him utterly until there was nothing left but the blank terror of going back to the cages.
From the tiny glimpse he took between claw and shell his compound eyes reflected back the tiniest snippet of world. He could see a flash of bown skin in front of him and wrapped around his was a soft pink.
"Everything's alright?" He asks almost timidly, half afraid he will get an answer.

"Mum ... where exactly will we go when we get out of here? I noticed some buildings over the trees when I first arrived here. Is there a city out there or something?" Rhea looked down at the lamb by her side and offered her a small nod. "Yes, there is a city. I remember passing through it when they shipped us here. Bunch of savages." The brief memory of her poachers stealing her from home and her mother caused the Kangaskhan more than a little ire. She had barely even been old enough to breed when she had been shipped here with several others of her kind and forced into a mating with a random male. At least the one they chose for her respected the fact that he had to defeat her before she'd let him touch her. He worked hard for it, too.

A smirk played across her face, the harsh memory of her childhood fading into the semi-pleasant one of her mate's 'courtship'. She had whipped his ass more than a dozen times before he even came close to beating her, but he kept coming back. But she was drawn from her memories by the Frillish floating up and addressing the group as they traveled. She made a question about whether or not she was allowed to come and Rhea snorted indignantly. "I said anyone who wanted to come could. But if you bring that psychotic bug with you he is your responsibility." She wasn't opposed to Sadie, but the Skorupi had already proven as big a nuisance as Carmen.

Eliana shifted and bounced in her Momma's pouch, giggling at the way Virgil's tail swished back and forth when he walked. She wanted to try and grab on to it but it never passed close enough. Meanie Seth was coming up to follow them and Eliana stuck her tongue out at him when he wasn't looking, quickly tucking it back in and looking away whenever his gaze passed her way. She could see the bright light in the sky going away and all of a sudden the small Oddish started to get hyper. Her tiny feet wiggled vigorously in Rhea's pouch, making it ripple oddly until Rhea finally put a hand down and shushed her. Pouting, Eliana burrowed down into the pouch deeper and left only her leaves sticking out.

It took forever but they finally reached the broken down gates to the Great Marsh and Rhea sighed. It was already starting to get dark and they had only just gotten there. "Damn..." she cursed lightly, feeling Eliana shift uncomfortably due to the curse. It seemed she had begun to associate it with Rhea being angry, despite not even knowing what the word meant. She reached down and gently ran a claw across the top of the little Oddish's head and Eliana giggled happily. "Momma!" she chirped, looking up to smile widely at Rhea. Though she wasn't a Kanga, Rhea had to admit that Eliana could be pretty damn cute.

"We should take shelter soon, it's getting dark. If we book it through the woods we could probably make it into the city before the sun vanishes. Otherwise we will have to wait until morning here in the gate hall." She wanted to hear what anyone else wanted to do, not comfortable dragging the children into the dangers of the dark if they didn't want to go. She looked to Virgil and Martha first, trusting them the most out of the entire group, before looking to the rest of their odd little troupe. "Anyone got an opinion?"

Virgil was lost in his own fuzzy mind as he walked, the day's events having taken a toll on him. While he fancied himself a fighter, a survivor, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep traveling on his own feet. Rhea was the only one suitable for carrying him, and Legends knew he wanted to avoid that for multiple reasons... Mostly because she was already carrying someone. He glanced to her passenger, guilt washing over him for his earlier stance with Seth. He knew life was precious, he knew a babe wasn't something to be thrown away... Unfortunately, his self-preservation had reared itself, and he wasn't sure if it would happen again. Still, though, he was fairly certain that he wouldn't simply abandon the kid, and it made him feel a little better knowing his own mind. Smiling softly at the babe as they paused, he flicked his long tail above her head, dangling it delicately to and fro, tickling her with it. He was so engrossed with the little game, he jumped a little when Rhea addressed Martha's question, which he'd completely spaced.

"We should take shelter soon, it's getting dark. If we book it through the woods we could probably make it into the city before the sun vanishes. Otherwise we will have to wait until morning here in the gate hall. Anyone got an opinion?"

Virgil grimaced at the thought of moving quicker, his side already throbbing in protest. There was no way... "...I don't think I can make it, going quicker. I'm having enough trouble as it is..." He frowned, glancing up to Rhea apologetically. "...Sorry..."

Seth, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet, stepped forward, glaring at the setting sun. "...We'd probably attract more attention by booking it to the gate. We should find somewhere safe here and dig in until sunrise, then make it into town. That way, we'll have all day to scout out the city."

((Sorry guys, skip me for now. Just say that Martha welcomed Sadie and Akria to go with them and agreed with Seth about settling down somewhere in the Marsh. She is walking close to Virgil with her hand on his side reassuringly.))

"I said anyone who wanted to come could. But if you bring that psychotic bug with you he is your responsibility." Sadie nodded in understanding. She looked down at the bug in her arms. He didn't seem like that much trouble. As far as she knew, he was just scared of them.

As she followed them out of the marsh, she got an idea. Sadie floated closer to Rhea. "Rhea, let's make a deal, shall we," she asked the Kangaskhan. "If the Skorupi hurts anyone in the group, I'll have him go away. If he hurts anyone you don't want to see get hurt, however, like Eliana, Virgil, Martha, or yourself for that matter, then I'll leave with him. Does that sound fair?" Sadie thought it was a fair deal. 'Don't hurt anyone, little one.' She thought to herself.

The tiny Bug trembles. He had been afraid for so long he knew no other state of mind.
Behind his eyes are always the images of darkness, ready to traumatize him afresh. Red, red, so much red! Dripping down the walls, drowning him in pain.
His thoughts were always only of the blood he had seen.
Nervously the Skorupi twitches in Frillish's grip and tentatively opens an eyelid. The pink was still there. Pink was soothing, it was calm and most importantly it was not red.
Still believing the worst was soon to come the Skorupi nevertheless lets his defences fall a fraction.
Caraparced shell moves on caraparced shell as his body uncurls from its tight chitinous ball and his dark glasses peek over the edge of his rounded pincers with their single white claw. His tail he keeps lowered in a desperate attempt to appear harmless.
The Bug Type's entire body is pre-flinched, expecting at any moment to have to curl back up, and behind his glasses his eyes are wide with their pupils tiny pinprick dots of panic.
Nervously he looks around; at the large normal type with the hardness in her eyes, at the pink flaafy with an aminable look, at the Smeargle and Liepard with toughness in everything they do and at the dreaded fire lizard that still wanted to hurt him.
He whimpers and scuttles back closer into the pink Frillish's arms, jumping with fear as he realizes they are talking about him.
"Y-yes Angel." He stutters out as he looks up at the Water/Ghost Type, his subconscious mind believing someone being so nice to him could only be some form of divine messenger and addressing her as such.
Her face looked so kind, just like that of his mothers.
Unbidden the image flashes into his mind of his mother's face; her smooth brown fur torn away and matted into clumps, her eyes hollow and empty with deep gashes all the way through the flesh to show the glimmer of while bone and mouth disgorging a steady stream of the hated red.
Akira yelps and covers his eyes with his claws as if it will prevent the image from laminating itself to his eye balls.