| History | - Clover:
From her first day of life the little stray Meowth had it rough. Born to aggressive parents in a litter of seven, and born amidst Saffron City's bustling streets there was hardly enough food for them all. Her parents tried to feed them, but more often then not they would just end up fighting with each other. The lover's quarrels were savage, drawing blood and running their children away from their home, possibly for days at a time. The streets were their only salvation.
The kittens quickly learned that the easiest food could be gotten from humans, especially children. As young, scrawny kits people would pity them, tossing food their way. While at first this was a blessing, allowing them to eat and grow, it soon became a curse. Their parents realized it was much easier to feed the children when they did it themselves. They came to expect food when the kits came home, and would punish those that came back empty-pawed.
The beatings were brutal, but the treatment brought the littermates together. Not everyone could bring home food everyday, so the others would pick up the slack when needed. As long as it looked like each of them had snatched something they could try to stave off a beating. They had to look out for each other, since no one else would. For Clover, this bond was a godsend. She wasn't quite as skilled as her siblings, such as Kolven or Arsi, in nabbing food from humans. The older she got, the more often she was chased away instead of fed. It was downright infuriating to the point the Meowth taught herself to how to hunt, finding its spoils more reliable than handouts.
This skill would come in handy, for as they aged it seemed the humans became more and more stingy. They were no longer adorable kittens but street-rats looking for handouts. Most of the siblings turned to stealing and trickery, finding human food to be preferable, but Clover still did her best to teach them all to hunt. Most picked it up, or at least got the basics of the skill, though humans were still their main choice of prey.
Perhaps it was a good thing that most stuck to humans, as Clover and her brother Nero started to notice something strange happening with the locale Spearow. They were acting, looking, and smelling strange, off putting the cats despite them being an easy catch. Around the same time all the people of the city seemed to be vanishing, another worrying sign. Nero warned their littermates about the birds, saying to avoid the flock just in case even though food was growing scarce, but their parents were not so keen. Their father caught several Spearow, the powerful Persain making quick work of a disorientated flock, and ate them ravenously without a second thought.
It didn't take long for him to feel ill, and for similar purple splotches to appear on his pale fur. The sickness came with a burning rage, and the naturally violent Persain's mind was quick to warp facts around. Blaming it on the children seemed logical, and when they refused his claims the male was quick to lash out against his family in a blind rampage. He was ruthless and untamable, killing two of his kits and maiming a third before his mate returned home and did what was probably the first good act of her life. Fighting tooth and claw against the tom she fought valiantly until he ran off with injuries so severe she doubted he would survive.
While the female Persain, Gidea, won the fight it was not without loss. She sustained heavy injuries, and soon noticed similar purple marks around her wounds. She may of been dense and cold, and unsure of what this thing was, but she knew it was not good. In an out of character act the Persian rounded up her maimed son and vanished to parts unknown, leaving her remaining four kits to fend for themselves.
Clover, her brother, and two sisters were all that were left of the family. They tried to deny what had happened, that the blood that stained their alley wasn't their kin's, but it was all too real. Her siblings were died, her brother's fate unknown.. Heartbreak spread through the group and the air was solemn for days. Everyone was a bit kinder to one another and tired their hardest, but things could only get worse. Clover awoke one night to an earsplitting caterwaul, her eyes opening to see her sisters body torn limb from limb, the pieces strewn about her alleyway home. Panic-stricken, she leaped to her paws only to see a dark-furred canine nearby, shaking the life from her brother until he was ripped in two. Petrified, she would of made for an easy victim if not for her remaining sister screaming, "Run Clover!" With her trance broken the pair fled their blood covered home.
Clover may not of gotten a good look at the scene but she knew it was bad. What she did see would stay with her forever, a scar on her heart, but for her sister Arsi it was much worse. She was already badly shaken from their father's attack but now the poor feline's eyes were wide like moons. The normally cheerful cat was quiet, constantly whimpering and shaking, a nervous wreck to the slightest sound. Even the tiniest creaks and pops made her jump out of her fur and often run away in fits of panic. After everything that had happened Clover vowed to take care of her. She was family, she was all she had left, and she desperately needed her.
Together, they wandered the streets of Saffron, looking for shelter, for food, for someplace away from the violent, brutal Pokemon that seemed to come from nowhere. Clover hunted what seemed safe, scavenged what she could, and left Arsi as little as possible. For weeks or months things seemed to settle, the pair existing quietly in the suddenly abandoned city. Poor Arsi only seemed to deteriorate mentally though, and while Clover stayed with her as much as possible the other Meowth still managed to vanish due to her delusional state.
As her only family and companion Clover searched desperately for her sister. Saffron was a big city, and any clues were far and few between. Banking on Arsi not leaving their birthplace Clover searched every inch she could, but Clover grew scared, alone for the first time in her life. She didn’t know what to do, where to go, where to search. She had to find Arsi, they had to stick together and she couldn't leave her out there.. The cat pressed on, continuing her search, but she quickly lost count of the days. She had to be here.. right?
On her never-ending search a whimpering sound caught her attention, making Clover's heart flutter as she ran toward it. "Arsi!" She cried, hopeful, but the sight was not her sister in the slightest. Rounding through a park she came to a sudden halt before a human child crying alone in the middle of the trees. It looked injured, scrawny, and unwell. As the first human she had seen in perhaps months Clover slowly approached in confusion. What was it doing out here? But the child screamed at the sight of her, and threw a pokeball which released an Arcanine. Its long fur was streaked with purple, its eyes a brilliant scarlet that scared the Meowth down to her bones.
There was no time to react. Clover turned to run, getting one bound in before fangs clamped around her hind-leg. Pain shot through her body, a massive paw placed on her head pressing her to the ground. The canine tore the limb off with ease as its claws tore into her face. Clover writhed beneath its wait, blood pouring into her eyes. As it munched on her leg she managed to let out a weak, desperate Screech. The sound was just enough to daze the Arcanine, its paw pulling away just enough for her to wriggle free. Staggering, Clover ran away as fast and stably as possible, all the while in a blur of adrenaline, pain, and panic.
She didn't make it far though. With only three legs and blood gushing from her body the little Meowth collapsed in agony under a shrub. Overcome by pain her conscious faded in and out, her body overcome by fever. Unable to move, she laid there feeling her life ebb away, only stirred by the rise and fall of the sun. Time blurred until her weak body could not take it anymore and her heart finally stopped.
Clover awoke in a fog, feeling numb, ill, and malaised. Her head buzzed, heart aching as through an arrow had been shot through it. Struggling to her paws the cat staggered, unbalanced and muscles stiff. Her thoughts were a haze but her sister still pressed through them. 'Have to find here..' She limped forward, body loosening. 'Arsi is out there.' Clover wandered Saffron until the fog finally cleared her mind, and she finally realized her sister was not here. For the first time in her life Clover left the city, still wanting to find Arsi while a growing rage worked its way into her thoughts.
- kolven:
Kolven however, always seemed to have it easier than his siblings. With a mixture of good looks, charm, and luck on his side he got plenty of handouts to stuff himself on. Instead of spending his days looking for more food he would simply relax, take a stroll around the city, or socialize with humans for fun. Many young kids took a particular liking to the feline, going as far as to claim ownership of him despite being too young to be official trainers. They would bicker with one another for who truly owned him, so no Pokeball was ever cast, but the luxury was all the same.
The humans spoiled him to pieces, teaching him new moves, giving him treats, grooming his luscious fur, and even going as far as attempting to battle with the wild cat. Kolven was a good sport about all the attention, accepting pretty much everything they threw at him. While he wasn't keen on listening to the kids in battle he tried his best to pick up some strategies from their instructions, though they were always hit or miss with their own lack of experience. Often he'd opt out of the battle, deciding to nap in a tree instead, but at least he had something he could take away from the exercise. At the end of the day he was well fed, had self defense, and was happy.
Yet he did have responsibilities. His siblings were not nearly as lucky, and as the largest and strongest of the litter he took it upon himself to take care of them. He would bring home whatever food, toys, and treats he could, and always checked on his littermates to ensure they were well. It brought the loving big brother joy to do good for his family, even if that meant giving up something of his own. But one day he would have to give much more.
Suddenly the humans vanished from the city, his familiar faces missing for an unknown reason. His siblings had also warned them of prey Pokemon acting strange, so Kolven did his part in helping them all find other sources of food. While the kittens seemed vaguely aware of the strange things happening their parents did not. Kolven's father had eaten the sick Spearow he had seen around, and after a short, one sided argument with his kits the Persain went on a bloody rampage. He targeted his son Nero first, blaming one of the main prey providers for not feeding him. He struck, wounding him heavily as another of his sons, Pike, stepped in in his defense. The second male wasn't nearly as lucky. His father grabbed him and gave a death bite, killing the child before going back for Nero. Mortified, Kolven launched himself at his father. At first the Persain paid him no mind, he was too busy finishing off Nero, but when Kolven let off a shocking Thunderbolt he turned his attention to the large male.
Panic surged though the Meowth's pelt and he fought as hard as he could, scoring a few good hits on his father while dodging as much as possible. He gave a silent prayer of thanks to his humans, grateful for the battles he fought and cursing those he had skimped out on. Blood stained the ground, and it almost seemed like he was winning when the Classy Cat batted him hard with one paw, sending the tom flying toward a dumpster. Colliding with its sharp corner Kolven only felt agony. His vision blurred and started to fade. Heat and pain buzzed through him, but before he could black out he saw the enraged figure of his mother rushing in with all the force of a mothers distress (even if she wasn't the best of mothers). Both his parents were bloody messes, and it was impossible to tell who was winning as he finally lost consciousness.
She was able to defeat him, though just barely. The wounds she received were serve and painful, and Gidea rested for a few days, but as the faintest of purple hues started to appear around her wounds she knew something was wrong. She felt ill on top of wounded, and it was the same condition her mate had had. She watched Kolven, examining his wounds and questioning if he would even survive. They were bad as well, the male barely being able to stay awake, but they just looked like wounds. Wounds that would surely get infected and kill him. With limited options the Persain considered her kits, dead kits, and dying son. If whatever happened to her mate was going to happen to her, then she knew she could not stay. Thinking of her childrens' well being for once Gidea up and left the survivors but took the barely conscious Kolven with her. If they didn't have to care him and she wasn't there to kill them later, they might survive.
So she traveled, winding up in the next town over. Something led her to the Pokemon Center, let it be instinct or luck, but she found what she needed- several Chansey who had been abandoned by their nurses. The Chansey's didn't understand why they had been left behind, but did know a wounded Pokemon when they saw one. They set to work quickly on the felines, patching them up and disinfecting their wounds as best they could. Before long they were doing better, for the most part. Kolven fully regained consciousness, and sincerely thanked the Chansey's for their hospitality as he took in the gravity of things.
As the days ticked by he was doing better and better, and even asked them a thing or two about healing to keep himself entertained during their recovery. However, he couldn't stave off the stir-crazy feelings and grew more and more agitated. His mother was no better. For some reason her wounds were recovering much slower, the stains not leaving her fur, and she was acting more jittery than normal. Sure, she was never the nicest cat ever, but she was not one to be snappy. Eventually, she even lashed out at her caregivers over something minor. They outnumbered her, luckily, and were able to restrain the Persian, but the action could not be dismissed. When Gidea recovered herself she told the Meowth she was leaving, and to go find his siblings as she could not. He didn't understand, what was she talking about? He tried to follow but physically couldn't due to his wounds. The Chansey's were hesitant after the outburst, knowing both the state of her wounds and what she could do, but they did not stop her.
Kolven continued his recovery alone and somber. He watched, wondering what the Chansey were doing whenever they left the room, or closed a door. They always seemed on edge, like something was happening outside that he wasn't aware of. Eventually, he was fed up with it. As soon as he felt strong enough on his feet he snuck out of the Pokemon Center and off into the unknown city. However, it did little for him. He had no sense or direction, or location, and not a single lead on where his mother had gone. He rested in random houses, and scavenged what he could, but it seemed the place was devoid of life. Wherever the humans had gone, they sure did leave a lot of stuff behind.. Within days he had wandered his way back to the Pokemon Center on a feeling of dread, but when he found it it was ransacked and abandoned. Spooked, he ran off in one direction until finally he made it out of the strange city.
Though he was unsure of where he was going the cat continued onward, waiting for his homing instinct to kick in and lead him home. Well, it never did. Months passed by and he somehow ended up in Fuchsia City. At first he thought it was just another town he'd have to pass through until he heard voices. Other Pokemon were always a possible source of directions so he approached them and was shocked to find a Meowth within the group. Despite her dirty, purpled, and tattered pelt Kolven could recognize those markings anywhere as his sister Clover. Love instantly rushed to him, her undead status just a factor and not a decider. No matter what had happened to her she was still his sister. Clover told him of the attack on their home, and that only Arsi had made it out with her for what she could tell. The news was hard to swallow but Kolven put on a brave face. "Let's find her." He said simply, and headed off with his sister knowing all too well their time was limited.
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| Personality | - clover:
Before the infection took a hold of her Clover was a sassy, devious trickster. She enjoyed messing with others, watching them squirm and panic by her paws or likewise. Many of her siblings dubbed her nature sadistic and made sure to watch themselves around her. Aside from her mischief Clover was not much of a people person. Her social skills were weak, interests in others low, and desire to do anything with them lacking. When spoken to she would be sassy, gloomy, irritated, and plain uninterested if not rude.
The infected extenuated most parts of her personality. Messing with others was even more enjoyable, watching them suffer was riveting, and killing them was the climax of joy. Her anger blossomed, often becoming a blinding fury. Certain parts of her memory faded and others became more prominent. Between the canine who killed her siblings, the Arcanine who killed her, and the Arcanine who tortured them in Fuchsia Clover grew a massive vendetta against canine Pokemon. Her lack of connection with others and confusion about what was going on made her seek them more, and the rejection she faced only fueled her anger.
Now, Clover's undead status has ran her absolutely ragged. With her body failing from rot, and Kolven getting in the way, she can not feed properly. She has grown scrawny and weak, her mind collapsing just as much as her body. Fuzziness surrounds any thoughts that she has, her mind in some distant land most the time. She's prone to laughing and giggling at seemingly nothing, and slowly licking her paws while tearing fur from herself and staring wildly. Her ability to recognize things is vague at best, and everything seems to be shrouded in mist. Without the energy to back it up Clover's undead rage can not be fully expressed and often just translate to wheezy hisses and swiping.
Kolven's presence is, along with hunger, her only driving force. During the moments she can recognize his and her actions he keeps her pacified, an ever soothing presence to the torrent of rage in her head. As such he can keep her under control to an extent, and usually just keeps her away from others. It is becoming harder and harder for her to speak, and that that she does is usually a garbled mess. Instead, Kolven usually speaks for her but the undead can not suppress replying in hisses and groans.
Though she hasn't the strength to sate it her bloodlust and hunger is ever present and stronger than ever. Other Pokemon egg her on and on, with Kolven slowly turning into just another face. Once the last fragments of her conscious fade she will snap to point of no return, where even her brother can not drag her back from.
- kolven:
Kolven has always been a pretty nice guy. He's calm, collected, and genuine, thus he's fairly easy to get along with. As a carefree individual he loves to relax and take things slow, though these days opportunities for this are far and few between. Regardless, even with the events and state of the world, he still believes no one should stress themselves out and that good things will come with time. He's always been good at not letting things get to him but this may make him come off as apathetic or ignorant.
A free spirit, Kolven is a natural wanderer not be bound to one place. He's constantly on the move, searching for his sister and bumping into new people when he can. On the off chance he stays with a group for a bit Kolven is always smiling, making light of situations, trying to raise spirits. It may be the time between interactions but he has a bit of an odd 'stream of consciousness, no filter' way of speaking. His thoughts are also a lot like himself and tend to wander. He's easily distracted.
Life isn't always fun and games though, a fact that has been driven into him even if its ignored. Caring for his siblings has translated over to those he meets, especially so for Clover. He cares earnestly for those that have been shaken by this plague, to the point he may forget to tend to himself. Kolven is very protective, and as a big male for his species he will fight whatever he must to protect what he feels is right. While he picked up some basic tactics in his youth he's been forced to learn and fight much more often since the Epidemic began.
However, this doesn't make him an expert battler. He's still not the strongest Pokemon ever, and relies heavily on his one physical move. His owners would constantly recycle his moveset, so he never got a chance to learn how to use them to his advantage. What he has now was simply the last things they had stuck on him and he has since learned that Icy Wind is pretty much useless, and Thunderbolt can not be used too many times. As if this wasn't already a disadvantage he is rather careless in battle, and takes more hits then he needs to. He gives it his all, but usually ends up pretty rough. Regardless, with more and more violent Pokemon around the tom finds himself fighting more and more often.
Some things die hard, and this beauty king can't help but be a bit of a flirt. Any pretty guy or gal could be subject to undesired attention, though his comments and behavior are never meant to be demeaning or make people uncomfortable. Between being a nice sight, pretty suave, and charismatic, he's pretty good at getting away with it. The treatment his humans gave him only aided his confidence as their tasty blue Pokeblock made his coat truly shine. Even now he spends a great deal of time cleaning his high-beauty pelt if given the chance.
After caring for Clover for so long Kolven can see past the disease's hold on a Pokemon. They were someone once, a child, a sibling, a mate, and don't deserve to be dehumanized. If he can help it he'll refuse to kill them, and always offers a silent prayer and possible burial to any put down undead.
However, despite his beliefs and nature, even Kolven is feeling the stress of this Epidemic. His sister's condition ways heavily on his shoulders and he dreads the day that he will lose her. He's had to smother his own emotions and take full responsibility of her, even if that means hunting for her and staying away from other living Pokemon if he can help it. She's becoming more and more unstable, and the times where she lashes out at him have become frequent.
Kolven refuses to think of her as a monster, and will do everything in his power to keep her safe. He can see her body starting to give out, her undead rage fading into biological struggles, and knows she will end up lashing out at him without hesitance or end. When that day comes he has resigned himself to ending her suffering, but when Clover finally comes to pass he does not know if he will be relieved or distraught. The thought plagues him constantly.
With Clover's situation in mind Kolven knows its crucial they find Arsi as fast as possible. He knows Clover wishes to apologize to her, and confirm their sister is well, but to put the weight of Clover's condition on Arsi is nearly too much to bare. What would hurt less for each sister? If only he knew..
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