(ACE) The MARSH Team

"Angel!" The Skorupi screeches in a panic as his frantic scrambling run sends him straight into the middle of the fray.
His screeching is loud and irritating, a continuous scream of bottomless fear. Naked terror courses through his insect brain like electricity, sending him into jerky spasms as remembered horrors override his reason.
He is afraid, so desperately afraid.
He screams and screams again as a tearing red sensation drops over him.
His head hurts, aches like it is being hit repeatedly with something. The vulnerable skin beneath his shell segments itches with the pain of a thousand injections as the sheer horror and fear and panic overwhelm him.
"Angel!" He screams, thrashing his claws."Angel!"
The fear rises inside of him, making the tiny bug type want to strike out.
He uncurls, tears oozing from behind his dark glasses as he arches forwards his long stingered tail, the twin points gleaming with droplets of oozing poison.
Hissing angrily and showing his ivory white fangs the little bug/poison type arches over and prepares to sting the rotting corpse should it recover from the barrage of shining coins now lodged in its flesh.
"Angel!" He cries again in a panic.

When the cutting leaves slashed at the hound holding her arms Rhea wasted no time in wrenching herself free and moving backwards. Ignoring the blood running down her arm she curled her other fist as a bright light began to surround it. She watched as Virgil split into several copies of himself, launching multitudes of coins that embedded deeply into the Mightyena's flesh. It howled loudly, back legs giving out as the coins ripped into its flesh. The gashes on its face from the Razor Leaf started to peel away, dropping to the ground in putrid chunks to reveal withering muscle and skull.

As Rhea raised her arm to smash in the disgusting face before her a snarl caught her attention just before a second set of teeth tore into her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She should have known! Their kind hunt in packs! Furious she used her bloodied arm to grab its scruff and rip it off, a good part of her armored pad going with it. "Get Eliana out of here!" she called to the others, not willing to let her little one be eaten. "I'll hold them off!" Smashing a Sucker Punch into a charging hound she sent it flying before summoning her Outrage. These fuckers were not getting her baby.
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Eliana cried as she watched the doggies hurt her Momma, struggling as Seth held her. She didn't want Momma to be alone! "Oddish!" she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks as the battle continued. She flared her leaves in Seth's face, hoping for him to drop her, but his grip was steady. "I don't like you, and you don't like me. But one of us needs to get out there and help. You wanna hold her or do you wanna go and fight?" No...no! She wanted Momma! "Seffie no!"

((LAWL! Her first word was Seth! Sorry she can't hit her 't' sounds yet Sethy. XD))

Virgil was flung to the side by another mightyena after he'd managed to attack the first, knocking him down with a pained grunt. Sure, he'd been feeling better, but it didn't mean much when he'd previously felt like he had three feet in his grave. Still, with an angry cry and quick movements, he scrambled out from under the dog's hold after another Pay Day to the face, rendering much of that hound's skull rather useless. Blingy, but useless.

He saw another hound clamp onto Rhea, but before he could go to her aid, she ripped the infernal thing off and tossed it to the side. "Get Eliana out of here!" she called out to them, Virgil taking in a breath to steady himself. "I'll hold them off!" He was about to object, but she began to glow purple, and he knew what attack that meant.

Outrage.

Not wanting to get accidentally caught in her swinging, rage-filled claws, he darted away, back toward his brother and Martha and the others.

Seth, before he got an answer from Martha, was interrupted by Rhea's call to leave. Still holding the squirming infant, he'd passed her cries and wails of protest, obviously wanting down to go back to Crazy Bitch. Thankfully, he was used to such things, having to deal with angry, protesting little brats, but he nearly dropped her at the sound of his name coming out of her mouth. "Seffie, no!"

SEFFIE?! his mind cried, flabberghasted. He nearly lost his hold after a final struggle, but he clamped his arms around her, holding her feet and middle. Virgil soon came onto the scene, and Seth sincerely hoped that he hadn't heard her. Thank Legends now wasn't the time for jeers.

"We need to find cover," Virgil began, breathless. "She--" Rhea's furious battlecry interrupted him, and he gave a small sigh. "She's using Outrage."

((PM me if I need to edit :3))

Martha breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Rhea finally barreled her way through the wall and immediately engaged the Mightyena in combat, Mega Punching the drooling hound straight into a tree. Martha took the opportunity to try and move Eliana to safety, but the little Oddish was also trying her hand at winning the battle, shooting small but sharp leaves at the target. "G-Good girl, Eliana!" Martha praised the young Pokemon before attempting to pull her away again. "But ... let's go and see what's over here! Ooh, is that some berries I see?" She knew that she was being lame, and perhaps even Eliana would not fall for her desperate attempt to get the baby to safety, but at least she was trying. She couldn't see Sadie or Akira doing much to help them.

Suddenly, Seth appeared at her side and scooped Eliana up into his arms. "I don't like you, and you don't like me. But one of us needs to get out there and help. You wanna hold her or do you wanna go and fight?" "U-Um, well..." Martha didn't know whether to continue to ensure Eliana's safety or to make up for her mistake the previous day and to help Mum and Virgil with the battle. But before she could decide, the Liepard ran over to them just as a cry erupted from her lips.

"We need to find cover. She-- She's using Outrage." Martha could see the violent energy pulsating from Rhea's claws and she took a step back. "Y-You two take Eliana and go. I'll stay just in case Mum needs any help." Tottering forward without waiting for their answer, Martha shot a Thunder Wave at the remaining hound, immobilising it long enough for - hopefully - Mum's attack to hit successfully. She then stepped back a considerable distance to make sure she didn't get hit herself.

Sadie was already tired of this group. She was nothing more than a ghost to them and nobody really cared about her. So why was she still here? The exit was right there, isn't that what they've been looking for all this time? She simply sighed and shaked her head before turningto the exit and floated away from the group. She looked back at everyone, specifically the Skorupi, and gave a soft smile. As she floated away, she sang them one last song, and made sure it was short.

'Goodbye cruel world, I'm leaving you today.
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye...
Goodbye all you people, there's nothing you can say,
To make me change my mind,
Goodbye......

With her song complete, she continued out of the exit and went down to the beach where she had met Kurt. So many bittersweet memories laid here, and it brought tears to her eyes. She descended into the water and decided to let the current take her wherever.

Who knows, she may surprise another creature with her ability to float on land.

(OoC: Since I wasn't doing much to begin with, I'm moving Sadie to inactive. Maybe someday, I'll come back to this team. But until then, bye.)

"Angel!" Akira screams in desperation as he sees the Frillish leave. His angel! Where is this Angel going?!
The tiny Skorupi goes into spasms, his armored body twitching pathetically as he shrieks incoherently.
A throbbing pain fills his head and he clutches at it with his tiny claws, unaware of the danger he is in.
He gives a wracking sob of terror as he trembles.
He was alone, all alone and remembered fear crept into his mind. A pathetic ball of navy shell plates he whimpers and curls up tightly. The pain is growing inside him and dancing across the insides of his eyelids are horrific images of torn and distorted face leaking red, red, red.
Akira sobs and curls in further on himself as the pain builds.
He can feel the stabbing pain of needles driving themselves into the soft patches underneath his plates and the hot breath of an insane animal across his punctured back.
He was so afraid, so very afraid.

Nestled the hollow of a fallen tree trunk obscured by the overgrowing foliage of the marsh, Gavroche had been roused by shouting beyond. Of course, the young pup had grown accustomed to noises that went bump in the night, learning to restore his energy in a state of semi-consciousness in fear of undead ambush. Yet the noises that had invaded fleeting dreams were unlike the screeches and groans of the monsters stalking this strange land. They had been intelligible, almost welcoming in their nature. As the minutes droned on, they became quieter with distance, the kit reminding himself that such a thing as survivors was nought but a cruel trick of the mind. He knew he was alone and thus had attempted to resume his sleep.

Only moments later, the noise had exploded once more. This time, snarls and shouts intermingled with the softer voices of before. Gavroche shifted uneasily in the trunk, his small body shuffling towards the light source at the tube’s end as his curiosity piqued. The epidemic had taught him to be cautious, rational, and yet, some things were just too tempting to brush over. The irregular occasion was such as this, the child soon abandoning fatigue to peer at first hesitantly, than interestedly from his hideaway.

In the distance, a battle was raging. The large, dinosaur-like form was first to catch his attention, the great sandy-coloured beast ruthlessly batting away infected canines. Gavroche could smell the blood from here, his lapis eyes wide in awe of the spectacle. Yet the female wasn’t alone. A whole host of creatures stood aside her, fighting and defending what appeared to be an oversized berry. A small grin had spread across the youth’s face despite himself, his earlier fears forgotten at the sight of such heroism. The power behind the punches, the way the enemy fell with pitiful wails – it was the stuff of legends.
“Wow…” His expression the epitome of youthful awe, Gavroche inched further out of the trunk, tail subconsciously wagging behind him. So engrossed with the spectacle, the canine had hardly realized he’d fallen from his perch.

With a short grunt on contact, the Eevee was back on his lanky legs in an instant, eyes still fixated on the battle. But something seemed to be wrong. Trotting forward, head tilted as he sniffed the air, Gavroche kept his distance and yet strained to catch the shouted warning. Outrage? Concerned, the kit’s attention volleyed back to the Kangaskhan, the subtle rise in temperature spiking his dirtied fur. Looking back to his trunk, he saw an opportunity to help.
“Hey!” He called, voice surprisingly loud for one so young. “Over here!” The youngster raced between the trunk and his spot in the open, gesturing for them to take refuge. Totally innocent in his desire to assist, a smile wavered on the kit’s face, worry infecting his enthusiasm as he eyed the female. He’d never witnessed an Outrage before, yet something told him it would be a good deal worse were he to be in range of it.

(( Ecstatic to be on the team! :3 ))

As she felt her rage growing the energy of her outrage kept increasing in size until finally it was hard to see her behind the swirling vortex. She pounded into the Mightyena again and again, the hounds not getting the hint and still charging her, until the attack finally reached its peak. With a loud roar she unleashed the final stage of her Outrage and the energy exploded around her, crashing into the hounds and breaking nearly every bone left in their bodies. They didn't get up again.

Unfortunately reaching the last round of her attack had a nasty side effect, Rhea began stumbling around and had to use a tree just to keep herself upright. The world blurred and double around her sending the female into a distraught state of confusion. Groping around blindly she tried to make her way back to the group but she couldn't find them. The wounds on her tail and arms bled heavily and in her delirious state it was only a matter of time before she collapsed. Running smack into a tree Rhea grunted in pain before falling backwards, landing on her rear with a loud thunk even in the grass. She held her head and started to sob, worried for Eliana and the rest of her little group and terrified that she wouldn't find them.

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Eliana grew even more scared when she saw Momma glowing, her leaves curling around Seth's arms trying to gain some sort of comfort. Virgil came running up and his voice made it seem like they were going to start running away but she couldn't leave Momma. Momma needed them! Martha seemed to want to try to help but a small dot in the distance called to their attention. It was brown and fluffy and cute but Eliana had no idea what it was, but he had a nice smile. So he was friendly, right?

"Seffie..." Eliana whined, poking at him with one of her leaves before pointing towards the brown fluff. "Whassat?" It seemed to be waving to the group, maybe he wanted to play? He was awfully close to Momma and Eliana was worried he was going to get hurt. "Seffie lookit..."

((Welcome Snitch! I'm so happy to have Gavroche here! I didn't know if anyone was going to follow Gavroche or not so even if everyone is right behind her Rhea has no freaking clue, lol. Yay confusion!))

"Y-You two take Eliana and go. I'll stay just in case Mum needs any help."

Seth grit his teeth, the younger of the siblings clearly more against the idea than the other. While Virgil kept his discontent with Martha's suggestion mostly to himself, its only form conveyed by his eyes, the painter's fur bristled, his glare narrowed and his teeth bared. "Don't you get it?! Getting too close to her when she's going bonkers like that'll just get you killed!" He grabbed Martha's wrist, a firm yet gentle sort of hold, eyes firmly planted on her own. "You aren't staying behind." The only thing that broke his gaze was the little bean sprout calling him.

"Seffie..." she whined, poking and prodding him with her leaves as she motioned to something. "Whassat?"
"Good question, brat..." Seth squinted a little, his eyes finally catching the form ahead. "Seffie lookit..."


Virgil turned, keeping his eyes on Rhea, gently pushing Seth further away from the battle. If Rhea hit any of them with that attack, there was little chance they'd wake up. But as he watched her, movement beyond her and her fight drew his attention, his emerald eyes seeking past the battle and to a small eevee. "...It's an eevee," Virgil stated, a small feeling of disbelief beginning to form. An eevee? Their kind were rare, right? What was it doing here...?

“Hey!” it called, the youngster's voice penetrating through the fight. “Over here!” But as he called to them, Rhea collapsed, her grand form hitting the ground causing a slight tremor in the earth. Virgil looked to Seth, who automatically understood what the plan was. The painter darted toward the eevee, Martha's wrist still in his hand, as Virgil carefully approached Rhea. With all of the noise from the battle, and Rhea now confused and fatigued, there was no telling if anything heard her or not.

"...Rhea?" he asked tentatively. "It's me, Virgil. You can calm down, you killed them all."

Seth reached the eevee quickly, hard eyes looking over the kit's form quickly. Scruffy fur, lean build... looked like someone from his neck of the woods. He readjusted the sprout in his arms, getting a better grip on her. "What're you doin, kid, callin' out in the middle of a battle?"

((PM me if I need to edit anything :3))

Before she even got the chance to see whether her Thunder Wave had hit, Seth grabbed Martha's wrist firmly. "Don't you get it?! Getting too close to her when she's going bonkers like that'll just get you killed!" "N-No, I wasn't, I was just going to--" "You aren't staying behind." The Smeargle's gaze was firmly on her own, and Martha's will was frozen by it as he dragged her away from the scene just as Rhea's Outrage was unleashed.

But Eliana appeared to notice something and Martha followed her gaze and spotted an Eevee. She was dragged over to the Normal-type by Seth, but as soon as she spotted Rhea's condition she pulled her wrist free and quickly toddled over to her, stroking her gently on the leg. "Mum, Mum! It's OK, we're all OK! Seth has Eliana, she's safe!" She continued to comfort the sobbing Kangaskhan as Virgil joined her with his own words of comfort.

"Angel!" Akira whimpers softly in barely a whisper and falls still to the assailing images that press themselves against the inside of his eyelids. Torn red flesh and empty eye sockets gape, the nightmare images of tattered corpses pressing in closer and closer to him and filling his world view with red, red blood dripping around him. His pierced shell feels uncomfortably high around him as Akira's tiny insect heart hums with stress.
His body is frozen, completely paralyzed in his tightly curled ball.
A prickling feeling runs across the Bug Type's soft skin as he whimpers with the remembered pain of needles being forced into the vulnerable spaces between his plates. His short fangs clench tightly together as the remembered fear freezes him into a tight ball of deep blue shell.
His tail curls under him, held in place by his short segmented legs as he feels the aching pain of a headache starting to come on. Akira's breath comes in rasping gasps as he struggles to draw air into his lungs.
"Angel." He says so softly he is little more than mouthing the words before he once again falls under the slurry of blurring images of death and destruction.
A tear runs from underneath his black glasses as over and over again he sees the corpse of his Dugtrio mother turned near inside out with the empty sockets of her gouged out eyes staring accusingly into his.
Guilt made him breath out into a cold sweat and his pleas were now trapped inside his own head with the horrific images.
"[i]Mother....mother...I can't."
In complete silence, trapped by his own twisted body Akira starts to cry.

((OOC: Anyone feel free to pick him up, nudge him back into reality or even an accidental casual kick will do. He's not going to snap out of it otherwise.))

Gavroche watched in awe as the large female unleashed her attack, devastating the undead with a raw fury and physical power the youngster could only dream of. His eyes widened with each movement, fear for her companions dissipating at the gory spectacle before him. Most children of his age would cringe away at such violence, but the Eevee was used to it – in fact, admired those who could bring an opponent to their knees.

So wrapped up in his wonderment, the youth was barely aware of the creatures now stood before him. Jumping a little at their sudden proximity, his lanky form turning rigid on natural instinct, the young canine held his ground. Gradually, their actions registered – the child forced to remind himself that he had, in fact, urged them to join him. Although, it seemed, rescue wasn’t necessary. The female in the distance staggered about as the confused victor, but the rest of the group had been spared such aggression. Oh… Gavroche mused, having expected an attack of that power to spiral out of control. So that’s Outrage.

"What're you doin, kid, callin' out in the middle of a battle?"

The Eevee looked to the Smeargle stood before him, tipping his head in rushed greeting as his father had so often insisted. Manners, he’d explained, were the route to success – unsurprising really that the family had descended into a life of thievery. Still, a good beating had been enough to instil the motto in the fox’s mind.
“Sorry, Mister. I thought you might’a wanted some cover,” Gavroche replied honestly with a lax motion to the tree trunk. Standing proud and unflinching before the strangers, he offered the duo a crooked grin before continuing. “That attack looked like it was gonna hit you lot – but it was pretty cool, it was,”

Scruffy tail subconsciously beginning to wag, Gavroche’s attention soon returned to the creatures in the distance, two of which now fussing over the stumbling Kangaskhan. It took a moment for the youngster to realize a bout of confusion had overcome the fighter, but as he watched the scene from afar, a worry began to flourish in his chest.
“Will she be okay?” Gavroche’s voice was significantly softer than usual, his emotions keen to infect his entire being as he looked worriedly to the painter-creature for guidance. He didn’t know these people and yet after witnessing such an awe-inspiring battle, the youngster thought it unfair for everything to end in tragedy.

"...Rhea? It's me, Virgil. You can calm down, you killed them all."

The Kangaskhan could hear the voice but in the swirl of colors she couldn't make out where they were. Nor did it register that Virgil has used her real name rather than Mom, even though he was supposed to be with the others. "Mum, Mum! It's OK, we're all OK! Seth has Eliana, she's safe!" It was a relief to hear that but her head was pounding, the sound of her own pulse echoing in her mind. "Eliana..."

Rhea struggled to her feet but fell against a tree, the wood splintering and digging into her scales. Trying to see where Virgil was she made out the swirl of purple and stumbled towards it while trying her hardest not to fall. "Virg...Eli..." She was trying to ask him to lead her to her baby but even her words wouldn't cooperate. Her confusion had her mind practically scrambled and it wasn't showing any signs of letting up yet.

___________________

Eliana giggled in Seth's arms as he moved her around, his fuzzy paws tickling her as he tried to get a better grip on the squirming sprout. But when he went up to the Eevee her giggles only increased, straining with her leaves to reach out and touch the fluffy thing.
"Seffie!" Eliana wanted down so she could see the fluffy but the Smeargle wasn't cooperating with the tike. Pouting she wiggled her feet to try and get loose but to no avail. She was stuck. Stuck with no Momma and no fluffy.
"Seffie...Momma...kk?"

Virgil watched as Rhea tried in vain to right herself, keeping a safe enough distance as Martha tried to console the kangaskhan as well. "Mum, Mum! It's OK, we're all OK! Seth has Eliana, she's safe!" She seemed somewhat relieved by the news, the mention of her child bringing some peace of mind to the mother. "Eliana..." The liepard gave a sigh, hoping that the fatigue would wear off soon. Hopefully, that battle hadn't attracted anything else...

"Virg...Eli..." Rhea whimpered, still not yet coherent enough to forumlate a correct sentence. Virgil frowned, then shook his head, standing his ground firmly. "No, Rhea, you need to stay down. You're not well enough to move yet-- you might hurt Eliana. Regain your bearings. We'll be right here. She's safe." His voice was even and calm, used to having to soothe his siblings. Sitting and watching, he wasn't going to allow her to try anything stupid, especially now that he was feeling better.

“Sorry, Mister. I thought you might’a wanted some cover,” the eevee replied with a crooked smile, an expression Seth was very accustomed to. “That attack looked like it was gonna hit you lot – but it was pretty cool, it was.” The smeargle frowned slightly; so this kid thought imminent death was cool, huh? Maybe he was in the right place after all... “Will she be okay?” The small question of concern somewhat surprised Seth, but from the look of the kit, he didn't look to be all that bad of a kid. Just some scruffy rogue. Seth shrugged and looked to Rhea.

"Probably. Bitch is tougher than a bag of hammers-- and thicker than one, too." He frowned, then turned to look back, but found only space. Where had the little guy run off to?

((Skip me - Martha is just still comforting Rhea.))

((OOC: Skip me, Akira is still freaking out))

Eliana smiled as Seth said that Momma was okay, giggling happily as she finally slipped free of his grasp. She tottered over to her fallen Momma and hopped up into her lap cooing as she saw the others trying to make Momma stop crying. Rust colored eyes looked down at her before sparkling with recognition. "Eliana," Rhea whispered, reaching down and stroking her little red girl. The little Oddish smiled as the Kangaskhan picked her up gently and tucked her into her pouch once more.

Rhea struggled to her feet before looking down and smiling at Virgil and Martha, silently thanking them for their efforts to calm her down. Looking around she saw the bug freaking out and shook her head, not really sure what to do with him. "Can someone straighten out the spastic insect? He is going to attract even more of those things if he keeps it up." But the Skoropi wasn't what had Eliana worried, oh no, she saw that her new fluffy was gone. "Fluffy?" she called, shocking Rhea. "Wha-...when...When did she start talking?" Eliana just ignored her and kept asking for fluffy.

Seth frowned as the little bean sprout wriggled out of his grasp, toddering over to Rhea. Thankfully, it seemed she'd calmed down enough for the escape to not be a complete disaster, and Seth followed slowly. Virgil was still at the kangaskhan's side, and the smeargle found more than a little disappointment at the fact that Rhea hadn't gone batshit insane on him and flung him off somewhere. Frowning but making his way back over to them, he watched the "touching" reunion of mother and plant.

"Eliana," the mother whispered, solidifying the ideas that she was was completely nutso in Seth's mind. She stood and smiled down at the flaaffy and his brother, who in turn smiled gently back up at her, seemingly grateful to have her back to normal. Seth just found it nauseating. But the skorupi's screaming looked to catch her attention as well, and Rhea spoke against it, "Can someone straighten out the spastic insect? He is going to attract even more of those things if he keeps it up."

Seth waved it off dismissively. He needed to kick something, anyway. "I'll do it." He trotted over to the bug, glancing down at it a moment as it screamed and wailed. He punted it, sending it a few yards away back against the buiding they'd rested in. "Knock it off," he growled, tail in his hand, ready for attack. "You'll draw more of them."

Virgil watched, amused and sad with how his brother treated the bug, but... it looked to be a necessary evil. He turned his attention back to Rhea and her little infant, who seemed to be looking for something. "Fluffy?" Fluffy...? The eevee? But Rhea seemed startled for a completely different reason. "Wha-...when...When did she start talking?"

A small chuckle escaped the liepard, his emerald eyes going to his brother. "While you were fighting. She called Seth's name first," he mused, looking back to the kangaskhan, then to the oddish. He patted her gently with a soft paw, then dangled it slightly above her. "Little bean sprout catches on quick. Watch it-- you might have to start patrolling who she dates here soon," he joked.

((Skip me. Sorry, I'll come up with something for Martha next round, I promise. She's just fluttering around everyone offering general support, lol.))

The twitching insect, body paralyzed with fear, dribbles as he silently mouths illegible words, his blue armored body twitching in convulsive spasms as the blow strikes him and he briefly becomes airborne.
Like a human's rubber balls the curled up bug hits the wall and bounces back, his curled up body surprisingly aerodynamic.
The glasses wearing insect ends up rolling onto his back.
The shock of the impact snaps him from his strange state of bloody phobia and he blinks his now red shot eyes as he looks at the sky now a bright pale blue with light from the rising sun.
The sheer depth of it terrifies him and the Skorupi's small legs thrash wildly as he at last manages to tip himself over onto his belly and scuttle upright.
His mouth tastes like a disgusting mixture of blood and bile but whatever horrific image has sparked his bizarre breakdown has been forgotten as has the time that has past.
Instead he nervously look around in terror, finding the bloodied mush remaining of the Mightyenas a good reason to swiftly run closer to the group that doesn't seem to desire to kill him.
Faint tears ooze from beneath his glasses and he wipes them away with the back of his claw.
Swiftly he scuttles as close to the others as he dares, paranoia causing him to scanning the horizon constantly, sure some other violent attack is inevitable.
His claws twitch and his arched tail quivers.
He felt so exposed out here in the open and it terrified him.
"Angel..." He whimpered under his breath.
He was going to die, all alone out here with no protection. He was going to die, die, die.
The pounding waves of one of Akira's usual stress headaches sweeps over him.

((Skip please, I am having trouble getting into Rhea's head right now. Let's just say Rhea agreed with Virgil and started moving them towards the city.))

[[Skip... I can't think of anything... >>]]

Choking on his own tongue the little bug twitches in a strange spasm, his little claws twitching. In fear the little bug type's poison tipped tail twitches, pale drops of venom beading on its tips.
"No...Don't want to!" He babbles, twisted images of bloody red flesh imposing themselves on his eyelids as his red shot eyes roll beneath their dark glasses.
His short legs scramble for a grip on the marshy ground as the springy tussock grasses crush under foot.
The bright glare of the morning sun, that orb of light so much like a malevolent eye makes his nervous and as he catches a glimpse of the wide blue sky above him the Skorupi panics.
His tail waving behind him and still stuttering out strange burbled phrases of fear the tiny bug twitches and rocks in the mud.
His ivory fangs snap shut, clear fluid oozing from the gash on his back as he flees in terror past the five others into the uncertain marsh.
He does not stop to say goodbye as pathetic tears ooze down his navy blue shell.
Where was his Angel?!
He could not live without an angel?!
Screeching in fear Akira runs off alone.

((OOC: Leaving Post))

Martha quietly toddled alongside the group, keeping close to Rhea and occasionally giving her a gentle pat of reassurance. "I wonder what the city is like?" she mused more to herself than to anybody else. Living on the farm for most of her life she had never been in a city, although her father had once told her all about the time he had visited Goldenrod City. They had sounded like such exciting places, full of noise and new things to discover. But the little Flaaffy knew very well that Pastoria City would not be as fun and lively as it probably had been in the past, but she tried to tell herself that as long as she had Rhea and the others at her side, she would be absolutely fine.

"...Oh!" Martha gasped as Akira suddenly screeched and took off into the bushes. "Akira, come back!" She dashed to the patch of undergrowth where he had disappeared but found no trace of the little Skorupi. "I wonder what scared him ... I hope he'll be OK," she said quietly as she rejoined the others. She knew that they'd probably be glad to see the back of the noisy, paranoid little bug, but Martha's caring nature overtook her concerns for safety, and she cast a solemn look behind her shoulder as she caught up to Rhea. "So erm ... Mum? What will we do once we get to the city?"

Rhea was a little sad to hear that Eliana's first words had been the name of that irritating little bastard of a Smeargle but she didn't have time to dwell on it. They needed to get to the city this time and they didn't have the luxury of sitting on their asses. She was hurt, badly from the feel of it, and was worried about Eliana. Virgil tried cracking a joke to ease the tension but Rhea just kept pushing forward. "I wonder what the city is like?"

Glancing down to Martha the Motherly Pokemon let out a heavy sigh and tried to shake the bad thoughts clouding her mind. "Probably run down and abandoned. It will probably still be really dangerous but at least there we will have much more shelter and places to hide. In the marsh we were totally exposed." But then the little bug started to spaz out again, only this time no one could stop him. He panicked and fled, letting out all sorts of noise that was sure to attract more attention. "Shit."

Martha asked about what to do when they got to the city but right now she was more concerned with just getting them there in the first place. "We can discuss that on the way," she replied, putting her arms behind the few children left to try and push them to move ahead of her. "That guy running off like that may have drawn attention to us again so we have to move. Everyone make for the city and I will follow. Don't wait for me once you get there, just hide." Fishing Eliana out of her pouch once more she passed the squirming child to the one person she never thought she would allow near her baby.

"Don't let anything happen to her, you hear me? I'm trusting you...Seth."