(ACE) The UNDER Team

"Think spray bottle. That's... That's what a potion looks like. A small... Spray bottle, often colored pink or... Blue. Usually they smell... Sickly sweet."

Ryth paused for a moment, tilting his head in thought. "What is a spray bottle?"

He flicked the tip of his tail slowly as the others spoke among themselves. His eyes kept wandering back to the newer Pokemon that had appeared. The black feline was equally mortified yet curious as to what had happened to the ferret's body to cause such damage. In this moment he felt grateful that he hadn't had to go through whatever their new acquaintance had.

"I'm Glass, by the way. As I'm sure you know by now, the sleeping Umbreon over there is Cosmic, the charizard is Mathias and the adorable Jolteon is Ciana. The others can introduce themselves."

Ryth's ear twitch at the mention of names, making sure to the memorize the ones he hadn't gotten before. When it came his turn he looked towards the ferret.

"My name's Ryth."

Frowning, Soris finds his focus being drawn to the heavily scarred Pokemon, who was beginning to speak as he limps towards the rest of them. He gives directions, but in such an unfamiliar place, Soris isn't sure if he could find the proper path. "The buildings" was awfully vague...what if there were a lot of buildings? From what he can tell, not a lot of Pokemon are going to be heading out on this little quest; there might not be enough manpower to get healing items in time for the injured Cosmic.
"I'm Glass, by the way. As I'm sure you know by now, the sleeping Umbreon over there is Cosmic, the charizard is Mathias and the adorable Jolteon is Ciana. The others can introduce themselves." Wha-no! The Absol's grin at the Jolteon is a stark contrast to his own deepening frown; Soris didn't want to speak up to this stranger already. They don't need to know his name, right? Right...? Ciana knew it, maybe he could ask her to pass it on for him. But she's shy too. By some uncommon stroke of good fortune, the Charizard is ready to leave at this point, after speaking to the Jolteon; as the dragon lumbers off, Soris slips away to follow.

The place the Fire-type goes too is downright creepy, with its barely-glowing lights and downright filthy, ramshackle appearance. Their search was going to be difficult in this poor lighting, if there even was any potions left...and of course, their path is blocked by a locked, tightly-shut door. Soris looks helplessly at both the door and then up at the Charizard, but even he's not able to open it. Couldn't they somehow force their way through? Charizards are extremely powerful, and his own Double-Edge is at least a little useful. They couldn't just be stopped by a closed door; going elsewhere to search would eat up a lot of valuable time that they can't afford to waste. A  painful lump begins to form in his throat as Soris realises this would involve drawing attention to himself.
"Do you think we can bust it down, somehow?" the Delcatty asks, nervously shifting his paws over and over again. "I've got Double-Edge, at least..."

The furret sat neatly, glancing gingerly between all the Pokemon. The Absol decided to pipe up as he met looks with him again.

"Someone's gotta keep Cos' company, eh? Might as well be us. I'm Glass, by the way. As I'm sure you know by now, the sleeping Umbreon over there is Cosmic, the charizard is Mathias and the adorable Jolteon is Ciana. The others can introduce themselves."

Israfael glanced between all of them as they were called off, and couldn't help but think of what a ragtag group of Pokemon they were. They were all uniquely diverse and seemed to be somewhat out of place in this wasteland underground cityscape. You'd expect to see Garbodors or Radicate scrawling around in the trashbags and filth of the already ruined city, but not these colorful types. The Liepard suddenly addresses him and breaks him of his thoughts about bloodied cities full of zombies.

"My name's Ryth."

"Nice to meet all of you," he offers back, "I'm Israfael. You can call me Rafa for short if you want." It seemed as if the major point they were waiting for was his name, because a moment after, the Charizard and Delcatty shifted around to begin wandering in the place they pointed him towards.

"Take good care of them Ciana, I'll be back as soon as I can. Glass, I'll be back, hopefully the potions are where the furret said they was."

"Good luck. I wish you well." he respectfully nods, and offers them a meek smile of encouragement. Though, he did earnestly wish them well. "Just keep going down this path here, and then go right. It'll be in those really ramshackle buildings there."

They took off after, leaving the group alone to socialize. Israfael said nothing, feeling like a house guest would - looking around about as awkwardly as he would if there were a fighting pair of parents. But he decided to try to keep a relaxed face on... even though his scar pain was flaring just a little bit from sitting.

[OoC: Sorry for a barebones post, having a hard time trying to cope with my real life. Basically homeless and house-hopping between my friend's houses. lol]

Ryth nodded his head towards Israfael as the other pokemon introduced himself, remaining silent. The black feline wasn't one for small talk and decided since it seemed like nothing was going to happen anytime soon, lying down would be best. Shifting himself into a comfortable position, rested his chin on his paws as he watched the others quietly. Part of him wondered for a moment about Israfael's scars but then thought better at asking him the story behind the injuries. Ryth didn't want to pry into someone else's life, especially when it seemed like it might be a sensitive subject. With a sigh he closed his eyes and let his body relax some, allowing himself to fall into a light sleep; ears perked in case the sound of danger came.

"That will work hopefully there's something worth using in there." "That will work?" He-Soris, he'd actually made a decent suggestion? That couldn't be right, and he had expected the Charizard to swiftly reject him. "Uh-yeah, hopefully," Soris stammered; what if his idea did work? No, no, that wasn't right either, but he still could at least try, for the others' sakes. He stepped back slowly to get a running start, and breathed deeply; last time, in a panic, Soris had mistakenly tensed up his muscles for the attack. That couldn't happen this time, unless he wanted to really hurt his entire body-Double Edge was serious business. With a gulp, Soris turned to the Charizard to ask when to start-and saw an unknown Espeon approaching him. Warning bells immediately began to ring out in his head, and red flags waved with them-Is it infected? How strong is it? Psychic types don't need to be up close to kill, what if-

"Hey Bastet its been a while since we seen each other. Good to see you still alive." ...Oh. They knew each other, then. His brain was still racing through around the anxious track though, and Soris eyed the Psychic-type warily, watching for her to make a move. All that happened, though, was a sweet embrace between the Charizard and his friend, one that made his chest tighten painfully. "Mathias, I'm so glad your here. I missed you so much and I was so worried." Was she crying? Wow...the two really did care for each other. Soris could only imagine what it was like to reunite with a friend again, especially after a long time had passed. He probably would have ended up crying too. Halloween, Easter... What he would give to see them even one more time, even if it was only for a little while.

"Oh I didn't get your name Delcatty and this is Bastet by the way, she's my best friend, but more like a little sister to me." Wait, this was their reunion, he didn't have a part in it. His name didn't actually matter, right? Right? It was really endearing that she was like his kid sister-Soris had always wondered what it was like to have one-and it was wrong of him to be a distraction when they'd just found each other again. "You can call me Bast if you like and Mathias is like a big brother to me so he's pretty nice despite his size." Both of their attention being directed at him-no, he'd rather have crawled into a hole and curled up until the world finally ended. But there was no way he could try to leave, that would be rude and unhelpful and he had to help. Soris had offered to help, and even with his entire body feeling like somebody had thrown the tiniest ants possible on it, he was't leaving. "I'm, my name, it's Soris. Good to-it's nice to meet you, Bast," he stuttered the words out quickly, and hoped they'd be at least a little bit intelligible. God, Soris had to sound like a complete idiot. Can't even speak right. What a joke. You're a joke, Soris. Nobody wants you around, you sorry excuse for a Pokemon, nobody. You're an embarrassment and a burden to all of them.

His one saving grace from both attention and his own nasty thoughts was that Mathias had turned to the door instead of him; he must have found some sort of weak point, and even pointed at it for Soris' sake. That was pretty nice of him, and Soris stared right at that spot, not wanting to lose track of it. "Right there by the handle, it should break the lock off as well." Okay. Okay. Soris breathes deeply again, gathering every little scrap of strength he had as the other two backed away from the door. He can do this. He can do this. Breaking into a run upon Mathias' nod, Soris slammed full force at the weak spot of the door blocking their way-and took the entire brunt of the opposite force. He wasn't strong enough to simply break down the entire door, but Soris could hear a harsh snap as he was thrown backwards onto the hard floor. Oh god, had he broken one of his legs, or even his back?! Neck, spine, anything could've been damaged by the blow. Double Edge did not mess around, not at all, it could kill Pokemon if they weren't careful, and he'd gone and used it on a tough-as-nails door. Calm down. Calm down. You're in pain, it's a good sign. Test your forelegs first.

Soris felt relief flood him as his forelegs responded, despite the agonizing throbs going through them. His hindlegs were okay too, somehow...ouch. They were by some struck of luck not broken, but there was no way he was going to be moving around a lot until the pain died down. Right now, he couldn't even stand up properly. "Owww," Soris groaned, and flopped onto his stomach. Really, though, ow didn't even begin to cover it. "D...did I do it? Can you open it...?"

[OoC: Gotta skip. I have no posts to reply to.]

Glass watched as Cosmic twitched and growled in his unconscious state, the Umbreon's lip curled slightly and Glass found herself wondering what he was dreaming about - it wasn't good, she could tell that night. "My name's Ryth." Looking over at the black Liepard, the Absol cached his name away for memory's sake. "Nice to meet all of you," The Furret said softly, and Glass found her eyes wandering over their scars. "I'm Israfael. You can call me Rafa for short if you want." She grinned toothily and gave the Furret a wink.

"Aright, Rafa. Welcome to the team, I suppose." She said cheerfully, but her thoughts were cut off when she looked back at Cosmic, who had let out a quiet, but high pitched whine in his sleep.

The Umbreon was not having a good time, as his claws unsheathed and scraped along the ground in his slumber. His teeth were clenched and his breathing had picked up rapidly as Cosmic was lost within his nightmare.

The Umbreon ran through endless dark corridors, trying to escape from the grotesque creature that was chasing him. As Cosmic rounded another corner, he came face to face with a double-barreled shotgun. His silver and blue eyes widened as the vulpine skidded to a stop, panting heavily.

"Get out of here you diseased mongrel"

Gritting his teeth, Cosmic turned and ran the other way, away from the gun - and straight into the bloated fish of a Poliwrath. Screaming in pain, Cosmic's ribcage cracked and buckled, and he was left at the mercy of the Poliwrath as it picked his limp form up, tossing it down a pit where the Umbreon screamed for help, his claws raking the air as he struggled to right himself. Just as he tured around however, he hit the ground and -

"GAH!"

Cosmic woke up with a gasp, followed by a sharp cry of pain. He sat there for a moment, his breathing ragged and irregular as his eyes glazed over slightly, and he stared straight ahead, his jaws open as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Cosmic?"

Whipping his head around, Cosmic stared at Glass for a moment, unsure, before he blinked, flinching back as his mind brought him crashing back down to reality. Slowly getting up, Cosmic limped over to Glass, leaning up against her side. His entire body felt numb, and soon Cosmic had curled up, his flank pressed against Glass's as the Umbreon shook with an emotion he couldn't pinpoint - fear? Pain? Shock? He wasn't sure. It didn't take long before the Umbreon was starting to become droopy again, and he stared numbly up at Glass, who stared back, and after a moment, Cosmic allowed a small smiled to cross his muzzle. Placing his head on top of his paws once more, Cosmic closed his eyes and with the warmth of the Absol beside him, Cosmic fell asleep again, except this time it was a more peaceful slumber.

((ooc: Skip please, studying for a big exam so can't really think right now. In response to everything, Ryth wakes up startled by Cosmo's cry and ask's Glass if he'll be alright after he settles down.))

"Are you okay, Soris?"

The Charizard's concern was, as far as Soris could tell, genuine; at that moment, however, he could barely react to the words through the pain that hadn't yet left his body. Ow ow ow...OW. Ow. "Okay" was a million miles away from him, a distant oasis in an endless ocean of sand. No, Soris was certainly not okay...but the foreign nature of Mathias' worry for him was enough to keep the Delcatty from saying so outright. Why an interloper would care enough to inquire about his health, Soris couldn't comprehend. He would probably never understand, truth be told.

"I'll...get back to you on that," Soris responded, biting back a groan as one of his forelegs suddenly spasmed; luckily, it only lasted for a few seconds. God, I hope nothing's damaged. It's just pain, pain, that's it. I hope... Where exactly had he gotten such a sudden burst of chattiness from, though? It wasn't like him to speak, let alone to Pokemon he hadn't even known for a single day. Right then, he was completely at the mercy of the other two; Soris could barely move, let alone defend himself. All it would take was the Fire-type putting all of his weight onto Soris' back and breaking his spine, not difficult at all. So why didn't he feel his chest tightening, a shiver running down his back, the all-consuming desire to curl himself into a ball and look as tiny and insignificant as possible? It must have been the slowly-lessening pain that was blocking those sensations; nothing else made even a remote amount of sense. Soris closed his eyes as his vision blurred and his stomach flipped, and he inwardly begging his body to let go of what felt like claws tearing into his limbs. Agonizing minutes dragged along slower than years and decades before Soris once again heard Mathias talking to him.

"Soris, you did good on getting the door to open. Hopefully one of these boxes should have potions in it." 'Did good?' That obviously meant the door was open, that'd he actually done it...Whoa. What was this weird warm feeling blooming in his chest? All Soris had done was bash down a door in a really dumb move, but...but it felt like he'd torn down an entire metal wall with his bare paws. Wow. If only Soris knew the name for this emotion, as it threatened to overwhelm him completely. He'd done something good, and it had been applied to a real, tangible achievement, not to everything he ever did in life. Everyone back home had been so kind, and Soris didn't fault them for that, but the way they'd praised his every movement had been so constantly uncomfortable. This simple praise was so much better. Yet...

Relief spread throughout his entire body as something sprayed onto his fur; the pulsing pain faded to only a dull ache, barely even worth mentioning. This was human-made medicine? It worked wonders! "There we go Soris, it should be enough to take care of the pain." Soris immediately attempted to jump back up onto his paws, but perhaps too quickly-he nearly fell over onto his side just as quickly, barely able to keep balance. The pain might've been handled, but that didn't mean he was completely up to both health and speed. Sheesh, he had to be more careful...that'd been a really stupid thing to do. What if he'd fallen over and hurt himself even more? You'd be an even bigger burden...hell, they might leave you behind here. And when you walk back, the others will chase you away. His perked ears drooped once again at the thought; once again dejected, Soris trudged after Mathias and Bastet. Hopefully they had enough potions for the injured Umbreon...and hopefully, they wouldn't need that water yet, either.

[OoC: Don't have much substance for a post. Israfael relaxes for a bit and then looks over in concern when Cosmic wakes from his dream.]

Rough pavement busted Knightly between her eyes, her ears ringing and the world blurring around her as her body rolled across the dusty ground. Teleport dropped her like a bag of bricks. Her head felt too heavy to even lift as the dizziness overtook her, but she quickly tried to stand regardless. C'mon, c'mon, I have to move, I have to... move...She dug her overgrown claws down onto the pavement and forced herself onto her feet as her whole body swayed and nearly collapsed, groaning and stumbling back as pain shot through her shaking legs. Biting down on her own teeth and digging her nails into nothing, Knightly refused to give in to the agony.

Time was moving faster than it seemed and within just seconds the Gardevoir dropped down from above, splattering onto the pavement beside Knightly like a juicy tomato. The Undead gasped weakly through a broken jaw and stretched its very fingertips towards Knightly as she regained her senses and strength, the Teleporter nothing but a pathetic pulp now. A low growl vibrated in Knightly's throat.

There you are, you bastard...

Knightly threw herself forward with the little strength she had, finishing off the Undead with a furious Dark Pulse to the face. The move zapped her energy level like a tranquilizer and she collapsed onto the cold concrete just a few feet from the Gardevoir's remains, unable to stop herself from falling but content with knowing the beast was now dead.

But with the one victory came a thousand defeats. With her heart still pounding and her chest heaving just as rapidly, a flood of questions rushed through Knightly's mind. Where had she been Teleported? How could she get back to Laverre? What was going on in Laverre without her, and had Alirah safely gotten away from the horde? What about Kaneki and his friend? What about the little Leafeon she had saved? A thick burning seared through Knightly's chest, her exhaustion and overwhelming variety of emotions making her physically sick. A quiet whine escaped her, pathetic but unable to be contained. She couldn't bear to think of any of her friends being harmed, but especially not her Alirah. She would have to find her way back, fight her way back to Laverre, wherever that was now... But even if it meant traveling the world on foot, she would find her way back to the people that mattered.

(OoC - Post count carried from Laverre. :3 The Teleport dropped Knightly a bit far off from the group of Cosmic, Glass, Ryth, and Israfael. She is close enough for them to be able to look and see her, but far off enough that Knightly herself did not see/hear/notice anyone while she was so focused on the Undead. I just wanted to hold off on introductions for just this post so Knightly wasn't too overwhelmed, but I'm totally ready for her to meet the group now! <3)

It was no surprise to Glass that everyone was concerned with how Cosmic reacted - it even surprised her. Cosmic was usually very calm and cool, yet here he was waking from a nightmare and the first thing he does is curl up to her? The Absol scoffed lightly. Who knew he had a soft side at all? Moving her broad paws, Glass lowered herself so that she could lay down next the the Umbreon who was curently curled up against her side.

Glass lay like that for a moment, her dark crimson eyes watching the shiny Umbreon as his paws twitched a few times but made no indication of waking up. Glass moved her head to sit more comfortably on her paws, watching the group. Her eyes stopped on Rafa for a moment, tracing over each scar that ringed the furret. They must have had a pretty rough life to get all those scars - either that or a really rough run-in with a predator.

Glass jumped as she felt Cosmic stir beside her, and so the Absol scrambled up to her paws, shuffling away from the shiny. Cosmic cracked one silver and blue eye open, staring at Glass with a semi-accusing glare. Glass just grinned at him and prodded his back with a claw. She was rewared with a low growl of protest from the Umbreon as he rolled back onto his stomach and stood up.

Cosmic's legs wobbled and bent as he tried to stand, but eventually the Umbreon got to his feet, shaking his fur out - well, trying to at least. He got to his chest area before he stopped with a grunt of pain. His chest still hurt like a bitch and he knew it would for a while still. His ear twitched when he heard something like paper being shuffled about, or a plastic back being crinkled. Moving his hed towards the sound, Cosmic picked up movement, and his rings glowed brightly in an act of intimidation as he lowered himself into a defensive  pose.

Glass caught onto this and glared at the area where Cosmic was staring. She also caught ot to the movement and so the Absol summoned a Razor Wind onto her scythe, the white light glowing slightly as her fur moved from the slight breeze it created. The stench of rot hit her nose and made the Absol reel back for a moment, before she saw it - an undead Gardevoir. Preparing to attack, Glass was just about to throw her Razor Wind at it when Cosmic moved in front of her, glaring at her. "Wait. There's something else." He rasped, his rings glowing brighter so that Glass could just see the other dark shape as it attacked the undead. The familiar sound of a Dark Pulse rang out and the undead dropped, unmoving.

Glass whistled in appreciation. That was a good fight, and both dark types were rather gald neither of them had to help with the undead - the two had their fun, and both were not in the mood to fight again. Cosmic stood still, staring at the black-furred canine. Something about them seemed familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Cosmic limped forwards, flicking his tail at Glass to silently tell Glass that he had this under control.

Making his rings glow brighter, Cosmic approached the canine, making his limp more prominent in an attempt to seem less threatening. "You look a bit lost. Need..." Cosmic needed to stop for a breath, wheezing lightly as he drew it in. "Need some help?"

Ryth looked away as Glass laid with her friend for a short time. The large orange fire lizard and Soris had been gone for awhile now. It wasn't like the Liepard knew them well, but unease began to make his paws twitch.  He was still uncertain about the li- wait no he had said his name before...'Mathies' yes!  That pokemon would take some time to get use too.

When the rotting stench of death and carrion hit the feline's nose, Ryth curled his lip in disgust.

"Wait. There's something else."

Blue eyes glanced over at the injured Pokemon, taken aback that he was standing.  But his surprise was soon forgotten as he snapped his head in the direction the other two were looking in.  The last remnant of a Dark Pulse were waning out as the undead laid on the ground unanimated. From the shadows Ryth could see the faint form of another pokemon. As Cosmic limped forward, his light washing over the figure's now visible canine features.  The Liepard could only stare and the stranger's black fur.

'First Alice and now this stranger...'  He thought to himself with a bit of excitement. Though it was short lived when he heard the familiar voice of Mathies.  The feline didn't even noticed their return having been caught up with the new pokemon that had appeared.


"Where did Ciana run off to Liepard? I thought she was with you guys still."

Ryth's ear twitched for a moment in thought as he tried to place the name before remembering the yellow spikey pokemon that had been so timid. He had forgotten all about her. "I do not know. I wasn't watching her."  As he looked around he noticed a pokemon with Mathies that hadn't been there when they had headed off. There were so many pokemon coming and going since he had arrived and it was a bit overwhelming. Another name and face to remember.

"Mathias who are these pokemon?" The new pokemon asked as the other moved in the direction of Cosmic. "The Absol is Glass, the Umbreon is Cosmic, the Furret I can't remember the name. The Liepard I don't know who he is or the newcomer that's ahead of us."

"Ryth,"  He said introducing himself while he remembered the species of Glass and Cosmic.  After a few moments the Liepard stood up and walked over towards Mathies to investigate what these 'Potion Restores' were. As he drew closer he glanced over at the lilac pokemon that had returned with the fire lizard, staring for a few moments before finally speaking up.

"I don't think I've seen a pokemon like you before. What species are you...and him.... and well everyone really. Besides Cosmic and Glass, I know what they are know."  He flicked his tail towards Mathies before sweeping it to gestere to Israfael and Soris

Soris weakly followed after Mathias and Bastet; while the potion worked wonders for the pain, his body had not fully recovered from the awful recoil. His surroundings blurred around him, and even the conversation of the other Pokemon morphed into white noise buzzing in his ears. Something about wild Pokemon, or...Did someone say my name? No, he must have imagined it. They wouldn't be talking about him. Soris continued to drag himself along, his mind barely present in physical reality as it focused purely on making sure he didn't trip and stumble over his own paws. Mom, Dad...Halloween, Easter...me...Soris. The weight on his chest hurt like a thousand thorns snagged into his fur; all of these Pokemon were so kind. They'd taken him, a lowly little wretch, and accepted his presence. In return, he'd given them nothing but fear, paranoia, and self-pity. Mom, Dad, Halloween, Easter. What would they think of me now?

It'd be better if they never had to think of him at all. His existence was a burden.

When they finally made it back to the rest of their group, Soris wanted nothing more than to selfishly curl up and sleep enough to last him a lifetime. His body was made of stone, and liable to crack apart at any second. No pain meant that he might not realise if he was putting his body through too much strain, and that wasn't a good thing. Cosmic and his friend have it worse. They hurt a lot more. Probably because unlike you, they had the guts to fight undead to protect cowards. Cowards just like you. Cowards like him...why was he still here? Soris had helped find the healing supplies needed, even though he caused one to be wasted on himself in the process; wouldn't it be better not to inflict his presence on these Pokemon any longer? Look. Even Ciana's gone... She was the first one who had reached out to him, even if it hadn't been entirely on purpose. Seeing her gone, it...it left a little crack in Soris' heart, one that hurt a lot more than he'd ever expected for someone who barely knew him. Maybe it was because, like Soris, she'd been so afraid. Afraid, but still somehow brave at the same time, something he could not yet describe himself as being. What was that old saying, about how you couldn't be courageous without first being scared? Well, wherever you are, Ciana, I hope you're safe.

Thinking of the Jolteon had cleared up his mind a little bit, and Soris caught pieces of what the Liepard was saying. "What species are you...and him.... and well everyone really. Besides Cosmic and Glass, I know what they are know." The cat gestured right at him and the other newcomer, Is...Isfael? No, that couldn't be right, but Soris has truly forgotten his real name. There was no way he could ask right then either, not without embarrassing the poor guy and making himself look like a complete jerk. But that tail...just looking at it makes Soris want to run back from where he and Mathias had come from. His mouth goes dry, and getting the words to be spoke was like ripping out teeth.
"Oh...um, I'm a Delcatty," Soris said hastily, his eyes darting to and from the tail that was pointed at him. Please don't make them look at me, please don't. It's not important, I'm not.

(Forgive my rushed post.)

After the Umbreon settled into his dirt patch next to Glass... the Absol, Israfael returned to his loosened state. Considering, everything hurt if he tried moving too fast. The past few hours he had been snaking and crawling around all the buildings - skittering around fast enough to avoid undead but at the limit his body would allow. His muscles cried in exhaustion. He could barely hear through the white-noise of his nerves and hardly noticed when Glass and Cosmic stirred. But he immediately caught the stench. Israfael could only sink to the ground slowly as he looked in the direction of the awful scent.

A Gardevoir, dripping streams of dark, coagulating blood from its mouth. The Furret's back rose with mountains of hackling fur, staring at the thing and threatening it with flame-encircled teeth. It lurched forward just a bit, enough to send panic flaming through the Furret's scarred body. Israfael dashed as fast as he could away from the others, scrawling under and over boxes of discarded trash and dumpsters until he was completely out of sight.

-----
[OoC: Leaving post. It's been fun guys, but unfortunately I'm realizing that I have almost completely lost muse for Israfael and can't continue on with him. Hope you guys continue to have a good time. :) It's just unfortunate I can't find inspiration for this little one anymore.]

Knightly was just getting to her feet when a set of glowing lights broke through the darkness, the unmistakeable rings of an Umbreon floating towards her. Silver rings. Knightly narrowed her gaze; Why did she meet so many Eeveelutions? Though skeptical of the stranger, Knightly held off on any unnecessary signs of aggression. If she were lucky, perhaps this Umbreon could help her get back to the one she really wanted to see.

The silver rings brightened and illuminated the Umbreon’s limp as they carefully approached Knightly, but then she noticed something else - this was no stranger. With deep blue fur and countless speckles of multicolored spots shining like a galaxy, Knightly remembered the unique Umbreon from her days in Lumiose City. While they had only met once at a snobbish party their Trainers had attended, Knightly had found a kindred spirit in the Umbreon as they both wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of there.
But more importantly, if this was the same Umbreon from Lumiose… then maybe Knightly was still in Kalos. Maybe she wasn’t that far from Alirah, after all.

"You look a bit lost. Need..." The Umbreon paused to take a wheezing, ragged breath, "Need some help?"

Knightly eyed the Umbreon for a silent moment, debating how best to handle the situation. She trusted no one but Alirah in the harsh new world, but Knightly knew if she ever wanted to get back to her, that might just have to change. Holding herself cautiously and never taking her eyes off the mysterious Pokemon, Knightly skeptically kept her voice even and firm.  “I have a group in Laverre City. I was Teleported from them during a horde... If you can help me get back to them,” she glanced at the Umbreon’s limp as she finished her sentence, “we'll help you out in whatever way you need.”

As Knightly gazed into the shadows behind the Umbreon, she noticed several other Pokemon forming a group behind him. But before she could think much about it, a Furret from the group suddenly panicked at the sight of the Undead Knightly had just put down and fled the scene in fear. Knightly could only stare, confused by the small Pokemon and unsure how to react; If these Pokemon got skittish at the very sight of a fallen Undead, then perhaps this group was not a threat at all… and perhaps they needed her far more than she needed them.

Mathias arrived soon after with Soris and another pokemon on tow. The Absol groaned inwardly at having to introduce everyone again. When the subject of Ciana was brought up, Glass looked around. She knew the Jolteon was probably long gone, but that didn't stop the Absol from worrying. I hope they stay safe. She thought, sighing deeply as she tirected her attention to the new Eeveelution, an Espeon. "Mathias who are these pokemon?" Ah, they knew Mathias then? Glass rolled her eyes. She didn't need this. All she wanted to do was sleep, but nooo, shit just kept happening that stopped that from happening.

Clawing at the ground in agitation, Glass almost snapped at Mathias when the Charizard began to speak to his companion, "The Absol is Glass, the Umbreon is Cosmic, the Furret I can't remember the name. The Liepard I don't know who he is or the newcomer that's ahead of us." Sighing, Glass turned away and walked over to a wall, flopping down next to it with a loud huff. Letting her dark crimson eyes rest on the Espeon, Glass narrowed her eyes at them, but it wasn't a harsh glare, it was more questioning.

"Now that we've been introduced, care to enlighten us on your name, Psychic?" She asked, her voice sharp, although she didn't mean for it to be. She lifted a paw and waved it lazily at the Espeon. "Ignore my tone. I'm tired. I am trying to be nice here." She explained, before letting her paw to fall down to cross over the other, before resting her head on the top of the broad foot. "We're a bit tired. Well, no. That's a fuckin' understatement. Cos' over there is dead on his feet, I'm asleep on my paws and I bet Mathias is about to pass out." She snickered at the end of her sentence, giving the Espeon a lopsided grin that showed off her pointed teeth.

"Glass, Cosmic I got them. Thankfully there is enough to go around and to each carry one." Glass grinned at the Charizard, lifting up her head and giving the Charizard the Absol's equivalent to a thumbs up with one of her paws. "That's great. We'll see if we can heal Cos' up. Just wait till he's asleep." She said quietly, looking over to the Umbreon, who seemed to be staring at the Furfrou with a tilted head, trying to figure out something.

"I don't think I've seen a pokemon like you before. What species are you...and him.... and well everyone really. Besides Cosmic and Glass, I know what they are now." Ryth was speaking again, so the Absol lazily shifted her gaze over to the Liepard. Soris was the one who spoke first, and Glass gave the shiny a sidelong glance as he spoke. "Oh...um, I'm a Delcatty," Glass grinned lightly, cluing in that the cat didn't want to have too many eyes on them. Rolling her eyes, Glass perked her head up when the shiny hound started speaking to Cosmic.

“I have a group in Laverre City. I was Teleported from them during a horde... If you can help me get back to them, we'll help you out in whatever way you need.” Cosmic blinked. Laverre? He smirked lightly. It seems they didn't stray far from home then. Wracking his brain for the Furfrou's name, Cosmic almost snorted when he remembered how he knew them. "Holy shit! You're that Furfrou from the Lumiose banquet!" He wheezed, his breath cutting off as he laughed, the sound cutting off with a harsh cough. "Ugh. Note to self, laughing still hurts." He then looked up at the Furfrou and sighed. "Look, I'd love to say we're still in Kalos, but we're not." He took a moment to breath, hacking up a wad of blood that he promptly spat out to the side.

"Point is, we're in Orre. Underground. We are so far from Kalos we might as well be on the other side of the pla-" Cosmic's eyes widened as he felt another cough come up, only this one was a lot harsher as he ended up coughing six times, with the last three spitting up blood. "-Planet... I... I need to go sit down. You can come join us. Glass won't bite if I know you. Go introduce yourself, or I can give them a stupid nickname I make up on the spot, which I'm pretty sure you'd hate." He said with a grin, limping back to the group and settling himself down beside Glass. At least things might be interesting now that he had someone he actually knew from the past here.

"I'm an espeon and Mathias is a Charizard. He's my big brother and I wouldn't have it any other way."

He found this slightly odd that she would refer to the reptilian as her big brother, seeing how they looked nothing alike. But he wondered it if was one of those instances where they claim they are siblings but are just fond of them in a family way.  The Dark type didn't understand the concept much, having no emotional attachment to his former pride or any other Pokemon. Or at least being around someone long enough to form such an attachment.

"Now that you know what we are Ryth, I should find out who this new pokemon is." He blinked, wondering why the Charizard had felt the need to tell him such a thing, but wasn't bothered enough to ask. "We found some water bottles along with the potions down a bit further. It wouldn't hurt to take them with us as well if we decide to leave this hotel. Any idea who this stranger is Glass?"

'Delcatty, Espeon, Charizard, Furret, hmmm. So different from the few pokemon we had in the White Forest.' Ryth thought to himself as he glanced at Mathias who seemed less menacing and more like he was ready to pass out on his feet.  It would have been a nightmare having a fire-type like that around which risked setting the  trees and vegetation on fire with the odd flame on his tail.

When Israfael  suddenly shot off in a mass of panic, the feline jumped in alarm. His own fur around his neck and spine rising a little.  After a few moments he relaxed somewhat, now uncomfortable once again.  Ryth was left alone as Bastet got up to sit by Mathias who in turn was near Glass.  The Liepard flicked his tail ideally, unsure of what to do. He had a lot of questions brimming at the edge of his tongue however everyone's worn and tired state kept him quiet. Soris didn't seem keen on talking and the others seemed focused on the newcomer.  Ryth focused on the canine pokemon and felt another wave of questions surge up. He wanted to ask about the white lights. If he had seen Alice. If he had seen other black-furred pokemon. If the epidemic was their fault or something else out of their control.

He quickly shook his head to stop the questions, but it didn't help. Before he realized it, he was speaking.

"What are you going to do now? Rest? Look through this den more? Where are you going? Do you know why the dead are like this? What is Orre and why is it underground? Is it near the White Forest? Is there even still a White Forest?"  He glanced at Cosmic. "Why does your fur shimmer like that," Then at the strange canine. "and why is your fur black like mine?"


[[OOC: He lived in a very secluded part of the White Forest and the pride didn't understand the concept of shinies,so he doesn't know he's a shiny himself]]

(I cannot seem to form paragraphs for this team. ._. I'm sorry but skip. Soris mostly stood off to the side and looked really freaked out when Israfael ran off, but it didn't make him flee himself. I'm sorry-I couldn't stretch that out into a post. D| I'll be back next round, I promise.)

"Holy shit! You're that Furfrou from the Lumiose banquet!" The Umbreon said, breaking into a wheezing fit of laughter and harsh coughing. "Ugh. Note to self, laughing still hurts." Knightly only blinked, still regarding him suspiciously. He looked up at her and sighed. "Look, I'd love to say we're still in Kalos, but we're not."

Knightly's expression fell flat. "What?"

"Point is, we're in Orre. Underground. We are so far from Kalos we might as well be on the other side of the pla-" Once again he was interrupted by violent coughing, blood flying from his mouth with the last few heaves of his chest. Knightly's eyes widened in horror, but only at her own situation; She leaned forward expectantly, anxiously waiting for the Umbreon to finish his sentence.

"-Planet... I... I need to go sit down. You can come join us. Glass won't bite if I know you. Go introduce yourself, or I can give them a stupid nickname I make up on the spot, which I'm pretty sure you'd hate."

"But that can't be true!" she snapped, scoffing lightly at the absurdity. "I was in Kalos not even an hour ago, there is no fuckin' way I'm on the other side of the planet! I just--... I--..."

...But that's how Teleport works.

Her shoulders slumped, defeated.

...Alirah... Ali...

Images of the Undead flashed through her mind. Their slimy, decaying teeth snapping shut with a snarl. Their bloodshot eyes twitching with anticipation. The way their shriveled bodies fell apart but never stopped them, how they slowly but surely dragged their loose flesh along the ground towards the living... How could Alirah survive without her...?

Knightly dug her claws into the ground, shaking with anger as she squint her eyes against the images. A growl formed deep within her throat. Remembering the Umbreon's words, her blood boiled with rage and she found herself straining every muscle within her to keep from lashing out at something, anything.

"You want me to join you? Introduce myself? You expect me to just make new friends while my real friends get torn apart on the other side of the planet!? My people need me!" Shaking and panting with a wheeze, Knightly stepped back from the Umbreon, not intending to have directed her anger at him. She frantically glanced around her new surroundings. Dark surroundings. Unfamiliar surroundings. Focusing back on the Umbreon, the desperation in her weak voice was clear as she begged. "I-- I have to get back to them! They can't defend themselves, they need me, she--... I have to get back to them! Please, you-- You have to help me!"

((OoC - This conversation was pretty intense for Knightly, so I'm going to assume that she didn't hear Ryth's question to her or thought he had been speaking to Cosmic. I hope that's alright! But if that's a problem for anyone then just let me know and I'll be happy to edit the question into my post.))