(ACE) The LAVERRE Team

The Sceptile's sharp eyes pick up the orange lump of fur before he notices them. A small grin stretches the corners of his mouth as he sees the oddly colored pup, alone in the rain with his fur sodden and smelling distinctly of wet dog. He'd never seen quite those colors on a Riolu before. Rarely a mutation turned the fur a light golden color but this shade was darker than he had ever seen on even a mutant such as that. He has to restrain himself from running his tongue over the edge of his beak and giving the game away.
"Hey! 'Scuse me!" The diminutive fighting type call out, making towards them before suddenly pausing to scrutinize them closely then covering the rest of the distance.
Inwardly the Sceptile chuckles, entirely confident in the illusion abilities of his vulpine companion. No outward sign of the infection should be apparent, despite the fact his rib cage was crushed in enough to have nearly pulped his heart.
“Hello there!" He calls out cheerfully and raises one claw to wave.
Lucky, they didn't have to search for long before they found a suitable subject. Already Sade is happily planning the tests he would carry out to see whether the difference in coat color was purely cosmetic or had lead to more physical changes under the skin...
"Hey there! Um, I'm looking for a good friend of mine, and I'm not quite sure where he went."

The Gourmet usually despised other undead. It wasn't squeamishness over eating habits like his former companion had, it was their crudity. Even the more lucid ones were often irritating in denial and trying to pretend they were normal or had the most vulgar dining habits and ways of hunting. For his undeveloped palate the sceptile understood subtlety, he understood art and attention to detail. He didn't try to make things merciful or delay the inevitably by starving himself and he certainly wasn't so crass as to simply gorge himself on all he encountered like some sort of animal. The zoroark exchanges a pointed look with his grass type companion that carries far more information than would be possible if they had not spent so long enjoying each other's company on their little hunts.
We lead him away, the look said, Somewhere alone and dark where no-one can hear him scream then we knock him out and take him back to the restaurant.
"A missing friend?" The illusion fox dramatically clutches his hands to his breast. "Oh, tragedy!"
In his youth he had wanted to be an actor. The humans he saw on stage when his humans were watching the T.v had wondrous costumes and powerful lines and he mimicked the pose of a heartbroken young man on learning his lover had died.
"Have you seen a black and white four legged fox, canine thing with two red tails made of gas? About yay high? He and I got split up in the storm, and I'm really worried about the trouble he could get himself into." The Riolu indicates his height with a paw.
The Gourmet and Sade exchange looks. Sade hasn't heard of that kind of Pokemon either. If they found it they would have to flip on whether they experimented on it first or ate it. Sade would want the scientific data but by the time this unknown pokemon died it's meat would be permeated by the smell of fear and he did love to try new things.
The zoroark's handsome face splits into a smile.

“I'm afraid we have not." The sceptile replies to the small dog's inquiry.
Inwardly he muses on what kind of pokemon resembled a fox with gaseous tails. The colors he discards, there is a higher proportion of color mutations due to the effect of increased predation on breeding rate and it's non-indicative of the species natural coloring. There were higher proportions of mutations as well but nothing to suggest gaseous tails and beyond that there were many species that could be said to have fox-like characteristics. Still the chance of a new species to test made a shiver run up his spine.
“Would you like our help in searching?"
"We're looking for a place to take shelter, perhaps your friend has the same idea." The Zoroark shivers. "We should get out of the rain as soon as we can."

While it seemed he wasn't being much help Rush really couldn't care less. These sniveling children needed to learn how to play nice and legends knew he wasn't going to be the one to instigate that. At least not right now. "Give me just one moment." The Phanteon attacks the bird and Rush waits for his confirmation before moving around closer to the Leafeon, his visage as callous as ever. "Now I'm finished." How quaint, using over dramatic flashy violence to subdue a lady who had only used a status move. Idiot. Shifting his red stare to the brightly colored Umbreon he watches her shift with the twitchy stiffness of paralysis. She 'attacked' first but that does not make it okay. His fan-like tail gives a twitch, splattering raindrops across the soaked ground. One drop has the nerve to fly straight into the Leafeon's face and she gives a much too noticeable startled twitch.

"I'm taking her to a Pokemon Center, or some place where she can get medicine. If you're wanting to stay, be my guest..." "A Center would be a good place to look." Healing berries were also an option but a poor one with the conditions they were under. "But ghost boy here calls the shots while I'm gone; If he's wanting to hang around, anyways." If its possible for his eyes to look even more serious they do as they burrow into the Furfrou. She wanted him to take orders from that thing? Fat chance in hell of that happening. He was a punk; no one told him what to do and that was not about to change here because some shiny told him to. But Rush was also civil did not plan on starting any quarrels from his own accord. No, 'ghost boy' was not in charge of him. At best they could be equals but that was a low chance scenario. Well. He thought to himself. I've stood in the rain long enough. Waltzing into the Boutique he waits for no one. If 'Knightly' had given them the go ahead to use her shelter that was all the permission he needed.

Once inside he is less then impressed. Sure it looked like things in here had been used in the last few days but the place was less then homey and smelled thickly of must. Its still better then the rain. And that was all that mattered. Giving his long body one hard jerk Rush rids himself of the excess water and looks for a chair that is still upright to sit upon.

Xana took in a deep breath then let it go half expecting to see an icy cloud puff out of her mouth. She loved the rain and had a good affinity for water in general but it was cold out here. The puddles and mud below were growing deeper, her brown paws quickly submerging in them and growing numb from the chill. "You'll catch a cold out here, kid. Go inside." She flinches, not expecting to be addressed by the Furfrou. "I.. alright." She mumbles, padding inside with her gaze low. The hound spoke to her specifically.. did that mean something? Shaking her short fur out at the entrance Xana's brown eyes are wide with admiration as she looks at the shelter. This is way better then that shack.

With the rain no longer chilling her bones the Leafeon stands much more proudly, head tall and submission removed from her stance. However, she was still wary of the others and kept her distance by moving to a far corner. Hopefully all that aggression was over now that they could all warm up by she wasn't going to take any chances. With her ears tall and eyes locked firmly on the other Pokemon she slowly starts to wash and dry out her fur.

"Fiddle sticks, it is freezing!" The small Leafeon felt a shiver run through him, the sogginess of the landscape tugging on his feet with every step, the ugly mud drenching his already brown paws. Fuel trotted quickly, darting from one small shelter to the next in desperate bids to avoid too much rain. Normally his leafy ears and tail loves the moisture, but the pleasantry of it had ran out quickly. Flattening his ears against the back of his skull, the browning edges were a constant flow of water as it fell on his head, moving through the groves in his fur, to fall promptly off of his body, taking what little body heat the Leafeon was holding onto with each drip. He gave a soft whine, deep brown eyes as dark as the sky looking up desperately for a place to find shelter. Surely Claus and Lucas aren't here, the small cat thought to himself with an external sigh. His eyes fell to the ground as he came to a stop beside a building, flinching at the far off sound of thunder.

Fuel shivered in his half shelter for a good thirty seconds, bringing his partially wilted tail as close to his body as he could. I have to find him. His thoughts were interrupted by-- "Voices?" The Leafeon wondered aloud, perking his head up and consequently his ears as well. With the rapid movement, all of the water accumulating in the grooves of the leaflike appendages splashed down into his face, resulting in a rapid coughing fit. The Leafeon shook his head to and fro rapidly, slamming his ears back as his breathing was ragged while he attempted to breathe despite the liquid rolling down his nose. Sullen, Fuel instead turned his ears while holding them carefully back, able to just make out voices despite the downpour.

"Would you like our help in searching?" The voice sounded friendly enough, making a smile grace Fuel's features for the first time in weeks, maybe. Eyes brightening, he jumped back to his paws before dashing in the direction of the voices. They were even offering help, too! Searching! Would they help him find the brothers, too??

Darting around the building, he was met with a fair sized tree, two tall, bipedal Pokemon he did not know were perched inside, while a third, much smaller, two legged Pokemon conversed with them. "We're looking for a place to take shelter, perhaps your friend has the same idea." The foxy looking one was offering with a smile. "We should get out of the rain as soon as we can."

They were offering aid!! Naive as always to a fault, Fuel rushed forward, his mouth open in a glorious smile as he half skipped to the group. "Would you be able to help me find my friend, too?" He gushed out, lost in the moment of joy with the prospect of seeing his friend again. "My name is Fuel, I am looking for a pair of flying Eeveelutions, with wings and feathers. Their names are Claus and Lucas, have you seen them?" His optimism shown in his eyes, as he looked from the taller pair, down to the canine.

Kaneki watched silently as the scene unfolded, with the Umbreon taking the hit for Knightly. Suppressing a sigh, the Phanteon's bi-colored eyes began to look over the group. Where was Hide? He should of been here by now. The fox's muzzle twitched in a frown. Did he get himself into trouble? Hide can handle himself. You worry about yourself. Clicking his tongue, Kaneki silently agreed. He needed to worry about how he was going to interact here. Kuro, this is your field. You go ahead. He thought, blinking once or twice, sheathing his claws and dropping his Detect. This was fine, he was fine.

"Here, get on my back. I have to get you help." Looking towards the Furfrou - Knightly the Umbreon had called her - he watched as the black poodle shifted the paralysed Umbreon onto her back. Silver and red eyes narrowed slightly, sliding back over to the others in their group. While he was fine with the Furfrou and the Umbreon, the Phanteon didn't know what the others had in mind. "I'm taking her to a Pokemon Center, or some place where she can get  medicine. If you're wanting to stay, be my guest..." Kaneki watched as the black poodle looked over their group, much like he has just done. "A Center would be a good place to look." Glancing at the Servine, Kaneki took a mental note to as for names.

"But ghost boy here calls the shots while I'm gone; If he's wanting to hang around, anyways." Wait, what? Kaneki blinked, both tails freezing from their lazy back and forth swishing as he stared at Knightly like the dog had grown two heads. They had only just met him and they were putting him in charge? Didn't even know his name or anything. Maybe it's because of how Shiro defended them... He thought, smiling. Allies were always good to have in places like this.

"This place better be  intact this time when I come back, because I'm not about to play games with someone again." Finally, Kaneki stood tall, his tails arcing up in a sickle shape. The Phanteon's gaseous mane billowed out like smoke from a fire, white wisps flaking off and dissipating in the air. A white spectral ear flicked to the side, turning towards the bird and poodle. "You just earned yourself a death sentence... And I hope you know that every second that I'm gone, I'll be thinking of you, and hoping you're still here when I get back..." Finally, the Furfrou and Umbreon went to leave, and the tension in their air dropped. If only a little bit. Sucking in a breath, Kaneki let it out slowly to calm himself. Introductions would be in order. "Bye bye, birdy."

Once the duo left, Kaneki looked around, silence awkwardly settling between them before he finally cleared his throat. Shiro give me courage, "Er... Well, now that the conflict is over, maybe we should, I dunno, introduce ourselves? I'm Kaneki, um..." Shiro you are not helping, I'm stuttering. C'mon bu-
Oh my god Kuro you are helpless. Fine, give me a second.

"I'm a Phanteon - A type of Eeveelution. Before you ask, no I'm not supposed to look like this. I'm not sure what the normal is for my species, I just know that I'm different. I'm sure a few of you are very hesitant taking orders, or even listening to me, right? This isn't my territory, and I don't know any of you, nor you I, so there's bound to be hesitation, right?" He took a breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "I am here to help. I will not ask anything of you unless is is crucial to our survival, okay? I think the best thing for now is to just stay dry and try not to catch cold."

There you go Kuro.

With that, Kaneki moved off to the side, sitting down and grooming the white striped fur on his back, trying to rid himself of the water that drenched his coat.

---

The Sceptile waved back to Hide, calling out to the shiny. "Hello there!" Well, they seemed nice enough. The Riolu's chocolate eyes travelled up and down the sceptile's frame. The reptile's chest was caved inwards, the white lab coat hanging loosely over the injury. Hide's eyes narrowed at the caved in ribs, and he went to open his mouth to say something when the Zoroark spoke up. "A missing friend?" They clutched at their chest dramatically, and Hide raised an eyebrow. "Oh, tragedy!"The shiny biped grinned, showing of his sharp teeth. Drama queen. He thought, crossing his arms.

"I'm afraid we have not." Hide's smile dropped and his ears drooped slightly. Oh. So they haven't seen him. Still, that's also a good thing. He thought, ginger ears perking back up again as the Sceptile offered to help look. "Would you like our help in searching?" He stopped to think for a moment, weighing his options. If he drew them to Kaneki, then the Phanteon would be able to kick their asses, but he wasn't sure who Kaneki had with him. The Riolu bit his lip, sharp canines poking out from his jaw. He would have to draw them out, to see how much of a threat these two were first.

"We're looking for a place to take shelter, perhaps your friend has the same idea." Humming in agreement, Hide nodded. "Yeah, that is probably best." He said, bringing his paws up to his face as he sneezed, rubbing his muzzle to try and get rid of the itch there. "We should get out of the rain as soon as we can." His chocolate brown eyes flickered back up to the Zoroark, and his muzzle twitched with a smile. Impressions had to be met, after all.

"Would you be able to help me find my friend, too?" Hide yelped, the orange biped jumping at the sudden new voice, ears snapping back as he spun, paws shimmering as he sprung up a Protect to surround himself, the orange barrier shimmering as it surrounded him. The move was not needed however, as the newcomer was only a Leafeon that came bounding up to them. Hide sighed and dropped the Protect, the orange barrier dissipating into the air. "My name is Fuel, I am looking for a pair of flying Eeveelutions, with wings and feathers. Their names are Claus and Lucas, have you seen them?" Flying... Eeveelutions? Well, it wasn't odd considering what Kaneki evolved into. The Riolu stepped away from the Zoroark and Sceptile, and a bit closer to the Leafeon, trusting the optimistic Eeveelution more than the two bipeds in front of him. "The name's Hide, nice to meet you Fuel. No, sorry, I haven't seen your friend." He replied, looking up to the other two, Hide's eyes narrowed slightly, but his smile didn't falter. "Maybe we can all look together. My friend doesn't like people saying their name when they are not there, but they told me to call them 'Eyepatch' if they aren't present."

"Here, get on my back. I have to get you help." Knightly lowered her frame to just below Alirah’s height, serving to not only make her feel tiny and helpless, but a burden as well. Alirah shook her head despite the heaviness in her body nearly crippling her to the floor. ”Knightly, I‘m fine, I just-- Ugh.” A tremor shot through her body and she nearly fell over. ”O.. okay.” She knew better than to argue with Knightly.

Ali lifted a single front leg over Knightly’s shoulder, and then her other leg and grasped around her neck while her hind legs hung around the Furfrou’s ribcage. "I'm taking her to a Pokemon Center, or some place where she can get  medicine. If you're wanting to stay, be my guest..." Knightly said, "But ghost boy here calls the shots while I'm gone; If he's wanting to hang around, anyways." Alirah couldn’t wait to tell her about the Phanteon, how he just appeared like a ninja in the night, defending the tiny pastel Umbreon from that psychopathic bird. I really hope he‘s still here when we come back!

Knightly rose back to her full height, her legs rattling a bit from Alirah‘s weight. The Normal-type gave a look to the Murkrow that Ali couldn’t see, but she imagined it was about terrifying; "This place better be  intact this time when I come back, because I'm not about to play games with someone again."
Ali’s fluffy tail dragged the ground as her fluffy friend carried her, albeit slowly, towards the exit of the Boutique. Alirah’s ears flattened against her head; monsters were out there. And with her last escapade, the Umbreon was not looking forward to going back out into the storm. A quick pause had Knightly giving a warning to the Murkrow before their leave; "You just earned yourself a death sentence... And I hope you know that every second that I'm gone, I'll be thinking of you, and hoping you're still here when I get back..." Knightly hadn’t been looking at the Murkrow with that, but Ali saw the reflection of her best friend in a cracked mirror across the room, a dark, nearly maniacal smile on her face as she delivered a final message to the Flying-type: "Bye bye, birdy."

The doorway into Hell crawled closer, pawstep after pawstep, every click! of Knightly’s claws against the floor having Alirah panicking that anything could’ve heard it. The doorframe was behind them now, Knightly stopping for a moment to, although expressionless and flat, offer the Leafeon shelter in the Boutique from the storm.

The pounding rain made a loud popping noise against the ground, an occasional crackle of lightning brightening up the otherwise ominously dark city.

Each time the taller canine would give a worrisome glance to Alirah, the Umbreon’s heart sank a little. Her soft blue eyes watched the ground as it moved below her, finally finding her voice and speaking: ”I‘m sorry, Knightly…” She held Knightly’s neck a little closer to her chest in guilt, ”I didn‘t mean for you to have to go through all this… I just… I just wanted you to be safe. I guess I made it worse in the end.”

The little streams of water below Knightly’s paws looked like murky gray blood veins, trailing all around as they splashed down the stone road towards the Pokémon Center. The red-roofed building came into sight soon enough, not much further, thank God.

The once functioning glass doors of the Center were shattered in places, Knightly having to lower her body beneath the shards so that Ali wouldn’t get cut. It was dark and quite honestly, creepy as heck in the building as Alirah looked around cautiously. The Umbreon slid down off Knightly’s back onto the stained floor, water dripping from her pink pelt. Noticing for the first time that she could see Knightly without a homicidal bird threatening her, Knightly had a ribbon tied around her tail that she hadn’t noticed before.

She adjusted herself on the floor, the bow piquing her curiosity. ”Where did you get the ribbon on your tail?” Ali asked, smiling just a bit. ”It‘s really pretty.”

((OoC - I have permission from Kitty to write this bit about Knightly~ ^^))

”I‘m sorry, Knightly…”

Ali pulled herself closer to Knightly's neck, tugging her fur even tighter as she did so. The Furfrou bit down on her lip to silence the sounds of her straining as she shrugged her shoulders in a weak attempt to reposition her friend, who seemed as if she were becoming heavier and heavier with every step Knightly took.

”I didn‘t mean for you to have to go through all this… I just… I just wanted you to be safe. I guess I made it worse in the end.”

"No, Ali... don't be stupid." She said with a sigh, trudging along through the murky gray waters in the street with her head down low. How could this be anyone but Knightly's fault? None of this would have even happened if she hadn't left the small Umbreon alone in the Boutique, defenseless and afraid. Knightly thought about the cold, dark gym she'd gone to... the murders she had agreed to commit... If anyone had made things worse in the end, Knightly was sure it was herself. "You have no idea the things that I would do to keep you safe..."

Knightly couldn't have been more relieved to see the Pokemon Center, and the sight of the shelter gave her the boost of energy she needed to pick up the pace and reach her destination in seconds. But where relief once was, a deep unease now set in; The Pokemon Center, as Knightly worried, had been hit hard by the outbreak.

The once-white building was now smeared with paint-like splotches of red as deeply-colored as the roof that once signified a place of safety, and the glass was shattered into elaborate web-like designs with gleaming jagged edges covered in blood like rows of dragon fangs, making the entrance doors look more like the mouth of a monster than the path to Ali's healing.

Knightly swallowed hard and took a deep, shaky breath to keep herself calm. "We're going to have to be very quiet now, Ali..." She said in a quiet, firm tone, "That doesn't mean there's anything in there, though, so don't worry... We're just... going to be a little cautious, that's all."

The Furfrou got down flat on her front paws and slithered low under the jagged glass doors, like some twisted game of reverse-limbo. Dry pools of blood were thick and sticky as Knightly's stomach rubbed them apart like clay and they ripped out her fur with every small crawling movement. She clenched her teeth together and kept pulling herself forward with her paws, hoping as hard as she could that the glass above her wouldn't cut against Ali.

The two made it into the building and Ali slid off of Knightly's back, the Furfrou cringing in disgust as her friend left the safety of her back and was now on the cold floor smeared with blood. Though Knightly was relieved to have the weight of Ali off her shoulders, and panted heavily as every muscle in her body shook.

Knightly immediately took an alert stance, her pointed nose sniffing the air for threats as she looked over the wreckage of the Pokemon Center with glaring red eyes. Rainwater from Knightly's dripping pelt pooled onto the floor's dried blood, causing a putrid stench of death to rise up and fill the stale hospital air as she stared unblinkingly at broken Potion bottles littering the floor and the gore-covered gurneys in random places within the room and tipped over onto their sides.

Knightly was frozen in place, her slender red eyes wide as an Espurr's. How many humans had tried to save their Pokemon here? How many humans had stayed here and died at the hands of their own guardians, as others fled and left their Pokemon behind to be torn apart? What... What would her and Ali's Trainer had done? What would her Trainer had done if it hadn't been too late...?

”Where did you get the ribbon on your tail?”

"What?"

Knightly shook the thoughts from her mind and turned back to Ali, who was focused on her scarf. Her scarf... the question Ali asked finally registered in Knightly's mind, like a hard Wake-Up Slap to her face as the reality of that question set in deeper and deeper.

”It‘s really pretty.”

Knightly flinched back. "It's--...I--..." The weight of Ali seemed to be on her chest now, as the Furfrou's throat clenched shut and she struggled to breathe, let alone speak.

What... What am I supposed to tell her? Knightly was so caught up in protecting her friend that she hadn't thought about her friend. How was she supposed to tell her about Chalice, about the deal she made? Ali could barely handle Knightly making threats back at the Boutique... how was she supposed to handle Knightly hunting down and killing two absolute strangers? I can't tell her... She can't know... But I can't lie... How do I lie to her...?

Knightly swallowed hard and tried to compose herself. She cracked an awkward smile, looking embarrassed though in reality she was panicked. "I guess I forgot to tell you, with everything going on at the Boutique. I'd left to go on a supply run while you were sleeping; I thought it'd be safest during the rain, without... you know, those things roaming the streets." Somehow, the more she spoke, the more Knightly found the lies pouring from her lips without her mind even giving them thought. "I came across another survivor, and she said she needed help finding her friends... A Dusknoir and an Umbreon. She said if I helped her look for her friends, she would help me and you too... she gave me this scarf as a thank-you; it's supposed to make Normal-types like me stronger, so I can protect you better... So we can be safe, and won't have to worry anymore." Knightly let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "We're going to look for the Umbreon and Dusknoir once you're healed and okay. And then... And then after that's done and over with, we're going to go back to the Boutique, and... And nothing is going to hurt us or chase us again."

[[OOC; Skip me, please. I can't muster up to write a leaving post right at this moment...sorry.]]

Sade smiles, a bit too friendly for liking and extends a claw towards the Riolu.
A streak of light colored fur bounds towards them. The Sceptile withdraws his offered claw just in time as the small fighting type erects a shield of orange colored energy around himself. The grass type's eyes sparkle with anticipation. Protect, a sturdy move that created a nigh impenetrable shield but as he had tested sooner or later there would be chinks in the armor...It had been a while since he had last shattered a protect...
"Would you be able to help me find my friend, too?" Their new guest gushes with enthusiasm. Fresh, small, tedner...
Sade exchanges a glance with the Zoroark, another look that carries a lot of information and subtly flexes his claws. He enjoyed the challenge of breaking a pokemon with protect. The look in their eyes when their invincible shield at last fails and he wears them down strike by strike...it sent a shiver down his spine.
The tip of this tongue flickers over his lips.
Leafeon was a species he had studied enough but the taste of a creature half animal and half plant was something the Gourmet would no doubt find part of an intriguing meal. Inwardly he thanks the small Eeveelution as he smiles. Now they wouldn't have to debate on who kept the Riolu.
"My name is Fuel, I am looking for a pair of flying Eeveelutions, with wings and feathers. Their names are Claus and Lucas, have you seen them?"
“Flying eeveelutions?" The Sceptile asks.
Interesting...Very interesting. Eevee had a delightfully unstable genetic code that would make a snap adaptation to whatever climate was close. Perhaps, under unusual conditions he had yet to recreate, an Eevee could become a flying type...or a pokemon with gaseous tails.
He'd have to get the details of how it had happened before he started any research.

The flare of protective light fades from around the Riolu and the Gourmet responds to the Sceptile with a simple nod. In his head he can translate the small gesture as a part mocking, mostly polite comment on the availability of fresh salad.
Sade was so considerate. Having to break through a Protect shield would take time and lower the emotional state of the meat, affecting the taste whereas the Leafeon looked as tender as he sounded. The leaves curled inwards at the very edges, threatening to wilt if the grass type was startled. Ah, such a rare and delicate ingredient. It would have to be prepared quickly to keep the taste in its leaves.
"The name's Hide, nice to meet you Fuel. No, sorry, I haven't seen your friend."
"We are going to the Pokemon Center for shelter, perhaps your friends may have also taken shelter there, young Côtelette." The Zoroark says with a soft voice, his tone lilting on the french word he uses like a term of endearment. "It is a large building with medical supplies, it looks like a safe place to stay until the storm is over. If nothing else we will be out of the rain." He smiles at the Leafeon, assured his illusion abilities are holding up to the downpour.
"Maybe we can all look together." The Riolu suggests and the Zoroark claps his claws together in mock applause.
"Magnifique monsieur. We can have our own little adventure while we search."
"My friend doesn't like people saying their name when they are not there, but they told me to call them 'Eyepatch' if they aren't present."
The Zoroark rests a claw across his chin, smiling happily as he taps his foot in a dramatic gesture of contemplation.
"Eyepatch...Que charming~" He hums and claps his paws together. "In that case you may call me Gourmet."
“And you may call me the Scientist." Sade chips in with an elegant bow. “Can you tell me anything more about your friends? How they came to evolve perhaps? A flying Eevee seems a rare occurrence."

His seat was less then pristine but the Servine cared little. The fabric smelled musty and dank but it was better then most the places he had rested in many months. When the weather clears I may continue on. These Pokemon mattered not but if they were going to be stuck together at least for the night they might as well make nice. "Er... Well, now that the conflict is over, maybe we should, I dunno, introduce ourselves? I'm Kaneki, um..." Rush's red eyes slide sideways in their sockets, his head remaining still as he looked to the stranger still making his way in. "Rush. Bull Rush." He says bluntly. Names.. Nothing but trivial sentiment now. something to attach to past memories. "Xana." The quietest of the group finishes.

"I'm a Phanteon - A type of Eeveelution. Before you ask, no I'm not supposed to look like this. I'm not sure what the normal is for my species, I just know that I'm different." His breaths were getting deeper, exhaling faster. We didn't ask to know your lifes story, bud. A name to stick on the species was enough. Knowing he was a special snowflake meant nothing. "Im orange. Being different isn't all that unsual." He replies while past Pokemon drift through his thoughts. How many looked different from the standard for their species? How crazy would the humans be to see such a vast number of variants about? Useless thoughts. Such idealistic thinking would get him nowhere but the fact he ran into so many remained firm.

Xana had one ear on both parties, a playful but dark grin spreading cautiously across her face. Her fur was slowly fluffing up once more as she pauses her grooming to speak. "I dont know, you both look fine to me." She chuckles only somewhat sarcastically. In truth the ghost was rather terrifying with his weird eye and twin tails but so far he didn't seem to be a bad guy. The other dude was a bit of a creep but neither had attacked one another so that was a good thing, right? Her voice falls flat, "So what if your different. Appearance means little as long as you can survive." She was a stick with an attitude. While she didn't look special even she was surviving. That had to mean something.

"I'm sure a few of you are very hesitant taking orders, or even listening to me, right? This isn't my territory, and I don't know any of you, nor you I, so there's bound to be hesitation, right?" The Leafeon stiffens. 'A few of you?' There was only two of them. Who was this few!? Her tall ears quiver slightly. Nothing but the rain outside returns to them. They were alone. Learn to count. She hisses to herself while gritting her teeth to calm her spooked nerves. You want be to follow some blundering fool!? Forcing herself to keep her fur flat she speaks again with her voice quiet, "I just wanted out of the rain." The scream lead her here and it was settled. She had no business to make her stay other then a better shelter for the night. Why should she have to listen to anyone?

Rush shrugged. He wasn't one to cause problems but he also did not follow orders from anyone except those he viewed to be above him. Muttering, "Sound about right," on the inhale the Grass Type leans back in chair. "Im not here to cause trouble though." If they picked a fight he would do no more then finish it. "I am here to help. I will not ask anything of you unless is is crucial to our survival, okay? I think the best thing for now is to just stay dry and try not to catch cold." His orange vines slide free and wad behind him like a makeshift neck support. Chairs like this weren't made for snakes. "Way ahead of you." Offering the Phanteon his first grin of the entire evening he finishes, "Though I think I lucked out the most out of all of us. Scales don't hold water like fur does."

Pausing from his grooming on a particularly annoying piece of damp fur, Kaneki's bi-colored eyes locked on the door for a moment, one white spectral ear flicking towards it. His eyes narrowed, but after a few seconds, he looked away, where the other two - Where'd the Murkrow go? He thought suddenly, getting to his paws and shaking off his coat, pacing around the room, trying to catch the birds scent as he phase through anything that was in his way. Finally he looked up, eyes narrowed as his red eye glowed with a Detect. "Where's the Murkrow?" He asked, pacing back over to the group, phasing through the mirror as he came back into sight. "They just, disappeared."

Despite Kaneki's unsettled mind, he kept a calm exterior, moving the subject to the back of his mind. The Phanteon could only smirk as he thought of the Furfrou's reaction of the Murkrow disappearing. "Rush. Bull Rush." Dropping his Detect, Kaneki looked to the Servine - Rush. It was an interesting name, though the orange wasn't exactly a sore sight - his own orange companion was close to that shade. "Xana." The quiet Leafeon's voice was almost missed by the ghost, but he looked to the Grass type, smiling slightly.

"I'm orange. Being different isn't all that unsual." Chuckling quietly in amusement, Kaneki grinned at the Servine. "Very true. I have a companion that's around that same shade of orange." He said, swiping a paw over his chest, trying to smooth down the dark fur there. "I don't know, you both look fine to me." Grinning, Kaneki looked over at Xana, moving back over to his previous spot by the doorway. "So what if your different. Appearance means little as long as you can survive." Glancing out the doorway, Kaneki's smile fell as he watched the rain fall.

"I just wanted out of the rain." Without looking back at the Leafeon, Kaneki purred quietly in agreement. "I wonder how Hide is doing... His fur is thinner than mine. This rain won't be doing any favours for him..." Kaneki mused to himself, searching the rain for any sign of Alirah, Knightly or Hide. "Sound about right," One spectral ear flicked towards Rush to indicate that he had heard, but the Phanteon stayed rooted to his spot, staring out into the dark, cold rain. "I'm not here to cause trouble though." Well, at least they weren't going to start fighting again. Yawning, Kaneki moved down so that he was laying on his stomach, twin tails swishing back and forth behind him like snakes as he propped his head don his paws. The Phanteon sighed, sending the red wisps of gas at his wrists writhing live a live flame.

"Way ahead of you." Lifting his head to look back at Rush, Kaneki smiled at the shiny, returning their grin. "Though I think I lucked out the most out of all of us. Scales don't hold water like fur does." Chuckling quietly, Kaneki gave the feline equivalent to a shrug. "I don't know, being a ghost does have its advantages." He mused, turning back to look at the rain.

---

The longer Hider stayed there, the more he wanted to get back to Kaneki, and sooner seemed to be the safer option now anyway, since they were now a larger group. "Flying eeveelutions?" Bringing himself back to the conversation, Hide tried to think of any known eeveelutions that could fly. Any thoughts that could've been a probable idea either didn't make sense - or it was something that Hide was too cold to think about. "We are going to the Pokemon Center for shelter, perhaps your friends may have also taken shelter there, young Côtelette."

Clearing his throat, Hide tried to get the Zoroark and Sceptile's attention. "It is a large building with medical supplies, it looks like a safe place to stay until the storm is over. If nothing else we will be out of the rain." Pokemon Center - medical supplies, yeah, those seemed like a good place to go, but Hide knew that Kaneki wouldn't be there. They had to get to the Boutique, and fast. "Magnifique monsieur. We can have our own little adventure while we search." Shaking his head, Hide sent stray droplets of water everywhere as he went to voice his opinion. "Ah, wouldn't it be better to go over to the Boutique? I mean, it's closer and it seems like it would make more sense to stop off there in the rain if they approached the city by the forest."

"Eyepatch...Que charming~" Narrowing his chocolate brown eyes, Hide glowered at the Zoroark, his eyes searching their azure ones. "In that case you may call me Gourmet." Gourmet?! What kind of freaky name was Gourmet?! Oh god Kaneki, what have I gotten myself into..? He thought, looking back at the Boutique.

"And you may call me the Scientist." Just the mention of the Sceptile's "name" made Hide shudder, and the Riolu had to cover it up as a shiver from the rain. He needed to get inside soon. "Can you tell me anything more about your friends? How they came to evolve perhaps? A flying Eevee seems a rare occurrence." Hide rolled his eyes. So is an Eevee that evolves by dying. He thought, his mind going back to when Kaneki told him how he evolved. To think, if Kaneki had not of made that promise... No, do not go there. Don't you dare, Hide. He scolded himself, before looking up at the two larger bipeds.

"A-anyway, as I was saying, we should check out the Boutique first, it's closer, right? If not, we can at least wait for the storm to pass, since it's probable that everyone took cover from the rain." Hide said, rubbing his nose with his paws in an effort to try and warm himself up.

Maybe she should’ve been as quiet as the stars hiding away from the storm behind the clouds… Alirah’s question about the scarf on Knightly’s tail seemed to take the Furfrou aback, and she didn’t mean for that. "It's--...I--..." Knightly couldn’t find words apparently, which seemed odd for her. “Sorry…” Ali whispered, eyes falling to the floor as though she couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact with Knightly.
The silence in the moment seemed drawn out, leaving Ali’s form so tense, if so much a raindrop hit her, she might’ve jumped ten feet, paralysis or not. She rested her chin on her front paws, ignoring the sticky feeling on her pads that reeked of metal. Ali’s eyes diverted away, looking around the broken Center with a chill down her spine not induced by the rain, although that was cold too.

Her ear perked and soft blue attention went back to Knightly who had broken into a smile and a tone that eased Ali’s muscles. "I guess I forgot to tell you, with everything going on at the Boutique. I'd left to go on a supply run while you were sleeping; I thought it'd be safest during the rain, without... you know, those things roaming the streets." Maybe storms weren’t so bad? Anything that could rid the streets of those monsters was a good thing. Although, tell that to Alirah’s Astraphobia…
"I came across another survivor, and she said she needed help finding her friends... A Dusknoir and an Umbreon. She said if I helped her look for her friends, she would help me and you too... she gave me this scarf as a thank-you; it's supposed to make Normal-types like me stronger, so I can protect you better... So we can be safe, and won't have to worry anymore." Knightly… did all this… for her? Alirah felt like the dams of tears would explode at any moment. I don‘t deserve her… I don‘t… deserve her.

"We're going to look for the Umbreon and Dusknoir once you're healed and okay. And then... And then after that's done and over with, we're going to go back to the Boutique, and... And nothing is going to hurt us or chase us again." Knightly’s words were all she wanted to hear; the world might’ve been at its worst, but Ali was at her best whenever Knightly was around and she wanted nothing more than the Boutique and to be safe curled into Knightly’s side. That was happiness.
“We‘re gonna… have to fix the door.” Alirah’s lips parted into a smile, “That crazy bird completely ahn… ahnni… annihilated it.” Her tail swished behind her. The reminder of that bird… what did she say? Ali… ‘tethered’ Knightly back? Was that what she said?

“… Knightly?” Alirah murmured, stopping her tail’s movement and looking at the Furfrou with absolute seriousness, “Do… you ever wonder if you‘d be better off without me? Do I… ‘tether’ you… back?” Maybe the bird was right and Alirah was a burden. That sure as heck would make sense after this whole fiasco. And if a random homicidal Murkrow could see it, how did it take Alirah so long to finally begin to understand? She awaited the Normal-type’s answer, lowering her muzzle and biting her collar in a nervous habit.

The night painted the back of the Center darker than Knightly’s midnight fur, not seeable but hearable as a loud crash! echoed through the building. It was in an instant Alirah’s nose was scenting for the scent of undead, but the rain kicked up so much dried blood and dirt that she couldn’t figure out whether the noise was caused by something alive… or worse. Her head whipped around to Knightly, panic widening her eyes, “Knightly! Get out of here! I… can’t move and I‘m not gonna hold you back and get us both killed!”

((OoC [this whole message basically]- Uhh so please don't kill me guys, but I had nearly an entire post written and lost it all completely. And unfortunately I have no time to rewrite the post. So I'm going to skip this round, but for NightDaze's sake I'll give a brief description of what I'd planned to post so that we can keep the plot moving and she won't have to skip her turn as well:

NightDaze wrote:“… Knightly?” Alirah murmured, stopping her tail’s movement and looking at the Furfrou with absolute seriousness, “Do… you ever wonder if you‘d be better off without me? Do I… ‘tether’ you… back?”

Knightly is concerned about Ali, and knows that Winter did more damage to her than just paralysis, having hurt her badly with her words as well obviously and Knightly knows that this will take time to heal just like the Umbreon's paralysis. Knightly looks to Ali with a straight-faced serious expression of her own, though her eyes are full of love as she speaks and tells Ali that she needs Ali to tether her back because she makes stupid decisions and that's why the two of them make such a great team.[because they need each other and balance each other out.]

Knightly then gets low to the ground and searches around the Pokemon Center with her nose like a literal blood-scenting hound, trying desperately to pick up the scent of medicine but after searching for quite some time she finds nothing useful for Ali's paralysis.

NightDaze wrote:The night painted the back of the Center darker than Knightly’s midnight fur, not seeable but hearable as a loud crash! echoed through the building. It was in an instant Alirah’s nose was scenting for the scent of undead, but the rain kicked up so much dried blood and dirt that she couldn’t figure out whether the noise was caused by something alive… or worse. Her head whipped around to Knightly, panic widening her eyes, “Knightly! Get out of here! I… can’t move and I‘m not gonna hold you back and get us both killed!”

Knightly hears the crash, which comes from the Pokemart area of the Pokemon Center which is nearly unnoticeable in the dark because it is blocked off by debris, chairs, tables, and just lots of stuff that kind of gates the area off basically. She shushes Ali with a stern look that is intended to reassure the Umbreon of her earlier comforting words, and Knightly goes to investigate the Pokemart area. She starts by removing some of the debris quietly, and hears nothing else but is extremely on alert and hesitates whether or not to go into the Pokemart area, but she decides to despite the dangers because she knows that if anywhere in the Pokemon Center has the medicine Ali needs then it's probably in the Pokemart area.

Now I'm giving NightDaze full permission to write the rest of what happens, and also if needed she has full permission to write any of Knightly's actions that she sees as fit and necessary - I have full trust and confidence in her and she knows the plot obviously so she knows exactly what is best to have happen.

Sorry for the lack of a proper post, guys, I hate that I had to do this but I had no choice ^_^;; ))

"A-anyway, as I was saying, we should check out the Boutique first, it's closer, right? If not, we can at least wait for the storm to pass, since it's probable that everyone took cover from the rain." The Riolu stammers.
The zoroark claps his paws over his eyes in an over-dramatic gesture.
"Of course, of course my petite Bifteck. I was so wrapped up in my own head I almost forgot why we had left in the first place. Oh, you mustn't think badly of me." He bemoans in the manner of an amateur actor purveying their craft.
The Sceptile pats him on the shoulder to calm him down as the Dark Type fakes sobbing into his bright red claws. A flicker of sky blue eye opens and rolls upwards, judging the reaction to his melodramatic performance.
The Gourmet straightens up with a bow, the entire thing giving the impression that there should be rose petals flying around instead of the gradual beat of water against wet, grey fur.
"Then let us continue with all alacrity to our destination." The dark type whirls around in a shower of droplets to face the looming shape of the building silhouetted in the grey fog of the falling rain.
With his face away from his potential meals he allows his displeasure to show fully, twisting the handsome features of the illusioned fox pokemon into something entirely more sinister.
Ah, how he hated waiting for his food. Still, eating indoors had a nice ring to it after spending all this time out in the cold. He'd just have to deal with getting the nice floors of the boutique dirty with blood. Oh well, hopefully the Riolu would have the courtesy not to bleed on the clothes. He resettles his facial features into a mask of amiability.
"Step lightly Côtelette. We'll be out of the rain soon." He says to soothe the Leafeon, keeping his steps small so he can walk at the Grass Type's side, bringing up the rear to subtly make sure his tasty morsel can't make a run for it when Sade gets started.

The Sceptile has to hide a smile as he watches the Dark Type work. Krookodile tears, not even well disguised, and the subjects could still not tell anything was wrong. What a pleasure it was to see that, despite some nervousness in their prey, they were getting away with this.
Sade takes up a position at the lead of the group, close to the orange furred Riolu. The young fighting type seemed to be the most nervous, perhaps picking up on some of their auras through the illusion or simply just not naive enough to trust in the kindness of strangers. Either way he keeps his now illusioned yellow eyes on the movements of the small shiny. Oh how much fun he had breaking Protect shields. That barrier of energy was strong enough to negate the wrath of a legend but to use it often drained it of all its power. Just his luck, the subject had already used it once so his next few strikes were sure to trigger it again and again until the shield broke and his claws tore in. Just picturing the look of angry defiance becoming despair as his claws dug in made the undead Sceptile feel shivery all over. He does not need a direct signal from Shuu to know what to do now. The two had often gone hunting before they wandered into this town to satisfy the Zoroark's desire to see the restaurant. They would go to the boutique and, when they were close enough to the building, he would box them in and attack.
"So then..." He addresses the Riolu. "Is there anything you can tell me about your friend that might help me find them?"

"I don't know, being a ghost does have its advantages." Rush's smile fades back into his usual hardened stare. Letting his red eyes slide across the ghastly figure he fails to understand what the Phanteon means. You still have fur. He had been watching the other male groom to dry off, as did the female on the other side of the room. If anything it seemed that being a ghost had zero effect on the water resistance of his coat and that that comment was full of foreboding. What are you playing at.. The Furfrou, Knightly?, seemed to trust this guy but the serpent could not. Ghost boy would have to work damn hard before he would relay on him for anything.

He had only been sitting in that position for a few minutes but Rush was already getting a crink in his neck. Why were chairs never made for snakes? Retracting his vines his tries lying back in the chair properly but his scales creep at the positioning. Have it your way. Standing on the cushion Rush spins around one time, coiling into a small ball that left his tail rest upon his back. If he was bigger he could coil around more times, he could be a proper serpent, but that was a thought for another time.


She may of been instantly soaked to the bone due to her thin pelt and weak to cold from her typing but Xana was not about to let a little chill weaken her. The corner she sat in had a wadded up rug or clothes or something in it, making things drastically more comfortable then that shack on so many levels. Even if she had to put up with creeper and stalker this would be a much better nights rest, especially once Knightly and the pink Umbreon came back. Might as well rest while I have the chance. Taking in a breath and letting it go the Leafeon settles down in the plush wad, tucking her limbs underneath herself so she was no more then a creamy blob with a head on top of her.

Already she can feel that her grooming was paying off. Her soft brown fur was either puffing up nicely or in drying clumps that allowed the warmth to slowly come back to her body. Yes, this place was much better. An involuntary shudder tickles down Xana's spine as she thinks of those damn drafts blowing against her damp fur. I'd probably be sick by morning. The last thing she needed right now was the flu.

Kaneki could see the serpent's red eyes sweeping over him, and the Phanteon almost looked away under the stare. He never had liked being stared at, both at his colors, and later on, his eye. Blinking, the black sclera of his left eye had a few faint red lines showing against the black for a moment, as the light hit the veins inside it and brought the red out against the stark black. Stop staring... He thought, but he didn't want to seem outwardly uncomfortable, so he sat there, staring out into the rain for any sign of Knightly and Alirah returning. The feline's fur was starting to curl from the water drying off it, creating wave-like patterns on his dark grey fur. The white stripes stayed as clear as ever, banding across his wrists and back in straight, unbroken lines.

Standing up, the ghost poked his head out of the shelter, looking back and forth, his bi-colored eyes narrowing as he peered through the rain. Over the roaring noise of the rain hitting the roof and ground, Kaneki picked up traces of other noise. One white spectral ear flickered behind him to listen if Rush or Xana went to move, and the other was trying to pinpoint he sound of the noises. Something was coming, but he didn't know what. Stepping back so that his head was back inside the Boutique, Kaneki looked to see Rush and Xana curled up on the chair and in a basket of what looked like clothes, respectively.

"Rush, Xana. There's something approaching. I can't quite pick it up over the rain, but I'm sure. I don't know if it's Knightly and Alirah returning yet. If it's not... We'll have to keep our guard up. I'll wait outside and keep a look out." He said, turning and moving to wait just outside the door, under the overhang of the roof. Always moving his gaze, Kaneki's ears twitched to listen in to the parts where his eyes were not, making sure nothing snuck up on them.

---

Hide did not like this one bit. These two were not a good duo to be around, especially that creepy Zoroa- The Dark type in question clapped their paws over their eyes in a gesture of what Hide thought was meant to be a crying pose. The Riolu's chocolate brown eyes narrowed. This was not a good time to be around these two. "Of course, of course my petite Bifteck. I was so wrapped up in my own head I almost forgot why we had left in the first place. Oh, you mustn't think badly of me." The Zoroark sobbed into their own paws, and Hide felt a pang of pity run through him. Hardening his gaze, the shiny pushed that thought away. No, these guys are serial killers or something! Whatever it is, I cannot trust them! He thought, scolding himself for pitying the Zoroark.

"Then let us continue with all alacrity to our destination." The Gourmet straightened up with a bow, and Hide narrowed his eyes. An act. He swore this whole thing was an act. Kaneki where are you.. Looking behind him, Hide tried finding the Phanteon's dark silhouette anywhere around the boutique, but he couldn't find him. Must be inside or something... He guessed, shivering as the cold started to seep though his thin orange coat. "Step lightly Côtelette. We'll be out of the rain soon." Looking over at the Zoroark, Hide took note of the closeness in which the duo were standing to both him and Fuel. Geez, personal space buddy.

"So then..." Looking up at the Sceptile, Hide's eyes narrowed a hair. What now..?"Is there anything you can tell me about your friend that might help me find them?" Oh, well. Looking away, Hide tensed his muscles, trying to warm himself up with the minuscule heat that provided. He also took the moment to set up an Endure, in case things went sour. "Well... He's mostly a dark grey-black color with these three white stripes on his back, and two white bands on each of his wrists..." Hide said, trying not to give away too much about his best friend. "He also has these two tails that are really cool, because they're both red and made from this weird spectral gas stuff - oh, he's also a ghost, of sorts." Hide hoped he hadn't given too much away.

It was everything she could do not to scream at Knightly. Alirah wasn’t the type to anger easily and that being said, she was not mad; no, she was upset. The difference between the two is that an angry Ali was little more than a moody pup; an upset Ali became a mess of emotions she couldn’t control. That was starting to occur right…about…
Her Furfrou friend did not flee as instructed by Alirah, as if she expected anything else. Knightly gave a look that Ali could read, even in the dark, that said she wasn’t leaving her behind. She never would. If something happened, it was Ali’s fault. She would be the reason for Knightly’s death and she didn’t know if she could handle that. No, she knew she couldn’t.
The Furfrou’s tail disappeared into the shadows of the PokéMart section of the Center.
“Knight--” Ali bit her lip, exhaling from her nose as she remembered to lower her tone. “Knightly, no!” she called cautiously, “Let‘s just forget the medicine and go back to the Boutique!”

Alirah’s form could feel slight shudders in the floor as though Knightly were moving things about. What if something else felt that? Did whatever was in the Center… know they were there? Oh my God… What if… it‘s watching us? Alirah’s head spun with the thought, her stomach threatening to throw up anything inside.

Alirah tried clenching her teeth together tightly, but regardless she still made a pitiful little clicking sound as a chill set into her pastel form, cold rain soaking her skin. There were no other sounds to be heard. Either the culprit was being bashful or sneaky. “Knightly?” Ali whispered, “Please hurry, Knightly. I don‘t want to be here anymore…”
Lightning illuminated the Center if only for a moment, just long enough for a small-ish, bipedal dark form to be seen by Ali just outside the broken Center doors. Alirah fought back a screech of fear, watching the form lower itself into all fours and skitter away from the door into the night.

Ali had a feeling that wasn’t the cause of the sound in the Center. It was something else entirely.

“Something was just standing there…” Alirah’s voice rattled as though it strained to even whisper, “It was watching us, Knightly…”

  Despite sternly shushing the talkative Umbreon, Ali continued to noisily panic behind Knightly and beg to go back to the Boutique. Knightly sighed inwardly, her muscles stiffening and teeth clenching for a split-second. Like hell we’re turning back… Healing Ali was the top priority; The sooner Knightly did that, the sooner she could get Ali to safety, and then she could comfort her once they truly were safe. But as for now, the Furfrou was all business.

  Brushing aside the guilt of ignoring her friend, Knightly turned her attention back to the buildup of debris in front of the Pokemart section. The metal skeleton of a bare gurney was the first obstacle, lying in front of a tipped bookshelf resting perfectly slanted against the wall of the mart’s entrance. Knightly couldn’t see over the bookshelf, nor from under the gurney could she see anything but darkness through the small triangular space between the wall and the shelf, but it seemed obvious to her that the debris had been purposely built up. Judging by the latter fact and the previously-heard crashing, Knightly quickly deducted that either someone or something was hiding or had been trapped behind the debris… but with the Pokemart being the last place she knew of to search for a cure to Ali’s condition, going back behind the bookshelf seemed to be the only option she had. Desperate times called for desperate measures… Knightly had promised Ali to protect her with her own life, and she wasn’t about to be made a liar.

  Knightly crawled silently underneath the gurney and stared up at the tall, intimidating bookshelf. A flash of lightning lit up the dusty, raggedy old books smeared with bloody fingerprints on their sleeves, and there went Knightly’s courage for a moment. Her limbs stiffened and her heart smacked against her chest as if with a mind of its own her body was trying to stop her, but she certainly couldn’t turn back now. How ridiculous would it be for her to have dragged Ali this far and braved the entire Pokemon Center only to be stopped by a fallen bookshelf? She picked herself up taller and swallowed hard, regaining control of herself. I don’t think so. She could just barely hear the strained whispers of Ali far back behind her, the words inaudible, but Knightly had made up her mind to ignore her friend’s pleas and do what had to be done.

“Stay back, Ali.” she warned, before calling quietly-but-firmly past the bookshelf, “Anyone alive back there?”

A heavy moment of silence passed.

“Well, alright then…”

After a quick exhaling breath, Knightly squeezed herself within the space between the wall and the bookshelf. With a swift shove she knocked the slanted shelf away from the wall with all her might, sending it smacking back against the opposite wall with a loud bang. Heavy books tumbled onto the floor and Knightly jumped back to dodge them, instead bumping backwards into the gurney and flipping it onto its side. She awkwardly stepped over the wreckage of books and pushed herself through the slightly-larger space, but was met with a dead end; boards upon boards were stuck together with rusty, bent nails to form a flimsy makeshift wall separating the Pokemart from the rest of the Center. Knightly sighed with a flick of her tail, but perked back up when she felt the ribbon on her tail, the Silk Scarf.

“Ali… Get ready to run, and don’t question anything I tell you to do…” Her breathing quickened, her pulse racing, as she flicked her tail and lowered herself into a fighting stance. “I’m about to make a really, really stupid decision, but it’s the only one we have if we want to get you healed…”

Knightly prepared to use Take Down against the boards, hoping against all odds that her ribbon would make her strong enough to get past any Infected and grab the medicine her friend so desperately needed. She leaned back, about to propel herself forward like some sort of raging Tauros, when a hoarse, rumbling whine sounded against the boards from the other side.

Knightly’s narrowed eyes shot open wide.

“...Hello?”

Paying much closer attention to the boards themselves now, Knightly noticed the rusty nails… bent, just barely holding everything together.

The boards exploded apart suddenly as something crashed through them, the wooden debris slamming Knightly in the nose and smacking her back against the bookshelf, causing it to fall backwards as Knightly hit the tile floor in front of it. The tinging of shattering glass rang in Knightly’s ears. Her eyes shot upwards where she saw the snapping jaws of a Mawile, crunching up corpses and glass bottles of assorted medicines. Flesh oozed out of the gigantic mouth, then from between two massive unaligned fangs came a medicine bottle that hit the floor without cracking and rolled to a stop between Knightly and the Mawile… the medicine Ali needed to be healed.

She barely choked out the words. “Ali, run!”

Warm blood gushing from her nose and face, Knightly lunged forward towards the medicine. The fur on her head rustled as the Mawile’s jaw swept overhead, the Pokemon just barely missing Knightly as it awkwardly tried to turn around to see her. Knightly grabbed the medicine bottle with her teeth. She jumped back just in time as the Mawile snapped towards her, the jaws instead crunching the bookshelf into two as splinters of wood shot through the air. Knightly turned and jumped over the massive jaws just as they were lifting up, smacking into the Furfrou’s stomach and sending her rolling through the air. The medicine slipped from her own jaws and landed just a few feet from Ali, the glass bottle shattering but the medicine pooling onto the floor. Knightly herself slammed into the floor near the exit door, leaving Ali and her medicine nearest to the Infected Mawile.

“Drink it!” She cried out before even getting to her feet. “Drink it so we can run!”

((OoC - Is everyone alright with us switching to Night now? We've been on Evening for a little while now, so it's probably good if we switch to Night soon. ^_^ ))

The Zoroark makes his sodden way towards the shape of the Boutique. They'd have to make preparations inside, oh well. He would hardly wait. Sade seemed to take a perverse pleasure in eating other Grass Type's and the crisp taste of young grass type was something soft and sweet to be savoured, the younger and fresher the better. He might even slaughter one of his special treats to celebrate the occasion.
"Come along now my petite Bifteck, little Côtelette. We're nearly there." He flicks his tail to signal his companion.
Down by the side of the Boutique building is a small alleyway that marks the gap between buildings. With the rain still hissing down, deadening sound and smell, the scent of his unusual condition would be quite deadened as well as the inevitable screams.
Such a shame to cut things short but beggars can't be choosers and he'd rather have the fresh kill now, under the dramatically grey sky, then have to fool around convincing them to go back to the restaurant like most of his meals.
Strike while the iron was hot and so on and so forth.
He walks into the alleyway, making sure the Leafeon is near at his side. The Riolu he is less sure about, something about the fighting type spoke of being sharper than he was letting on. He could remember some vague information about the small fighting type (aside from the obvious type advantage the runt had) being able to detect some sort of spirit energy. There was a chance that with his active life style he lacked some sort of spirit energy or it was transformed in some way that his orange furred Steak could detect. Sade, as the faster of the two, has a good position to head him off if he tries to flee but so far the Gourmet knows his disguise is perfect and he won't be able to run without drawing attention to himself.
"There should be a door somewhere around here..." He says out loud for the benefit of the Riolu.

"Well... He's mostly a dark grey-black color with these three white stripes on his back, and two white bands on each of his wrists...He also has these two tails that are really cool, because they're both red and made from this weird spectral gas stuff - oh, he's also a ghost, of sorts." The Riolu replies to his inquiry.
Interesting...
Dark colored body, red tails and possibly a ghost type even though those colors would likely indicate a Dark type. In a worse case scenario it could be both. That was an irritation. His False Swipe wouldn't work on Ghost types and half the fun was cutting them and cutting them until their minds died and their bodies remained. Oh well, he had other ways of having fun with ghosts, especially if the Gourmet was willing to lend a claw...
"A Ghost? Oh dear, those tend not to lead happy lives." He trills in mimicry of the Zoroark's pleasant manner.
"Here we are." The Dark Type walks forwards. There is nothing at the end of the alleyway but a high concrete wall and a few wet dustbins. Sade, looming in his white coat, stands at the end of the alleyway, blocking it off with his body. Without as a much as a word to each other or their now trapped prey the two turn on the two living pokemon between them as smoothly as the jaws of a steel trap snapping shut.

The serpent let his eyes fall to slits as he lay coiled in the chair. Being so stationary was disconcerting. It was late, yes, but normally he would still be traveling right now, gaining more distance from his last location. It was hard to tell due to the rain and mist but there was still plenty of travel time, he could feel it. I guess I could check this town.. He doubted she would be here; she was too sweet and gentle to be in such a soggy and sad area. Still.. if he had to make the most of it, he would.
Filling his lungs with a deep breath the Servine blinks and looks toward the Leafeon as ghost boy starts to leave. These other Pokemon still did not seem trustworthy, or at least trusting, not that that was their fault. Everyone was extra skittish these days with their lives in much greater danger from those that weren't even normal predators. Yet as he looked at the Leafeon he can see nothing but utter contentness in her visage. Her eyes were closed, and while her ears twitched cautiously it was plain to see her body was completely at ease while two strangers were not far off.  

With each tiny creak, whip of the wind, and pitter patter of the rain the Leafeon's ears quiver and twitch. While her mind formed a picture of what caused the sounds she was too tired to bother fretting. Both Rush and Kaneki seemed sure of their abilities and while she didn't know if they would protect her Xana was positive they wouldn't miss the opportunity to fight. A distraction is a great asset. Hopefully things wouldn't come to that, but it was on the table.
One of her brown eye slides open as the Phanteon walks past, the noise too close for comfort as the ghost looks outside. Weirdo. Her aching neck longs to relax and let her head lay down but the grass type refuses. Her minimum for sleep was when the others got back and not before.

The Phanteon speaks and her body stiffens for a moment, surprised by the sound, "Rush, Xana. There's something approaching. I can't quite pick it up over the rain, but I'm sure. I don't know if it's Knightly and Alirah returning yet. If it's not... We'll have to keep our guard up. I'll wait outside and keep a look out." He was going outside? When he just said something was approaching and they needed to keep gaurd?? Idiot! Making himself the target was one thing but showing off their location to 'gaurd' was not fucking okay. If nothing else why was he going outside, in the rain, with a threat, right next to their damn shelter, when there was fucking windows?? "Why dont you just close the damn door." She hisses soft but urgently, her loaf formation breaking as her forepaws slam against the ground. Hopping swiftly to her paws the Leafeon scuttles up to the nearest window. Keeping just the tip of her snout above its lip she can see and still feels hidden. You big idiot. She always attracted idiots..

The empty streets are eerily silent, the once beautiful city looking like something out of a fantasy novel gone awry. Beautiful, old-timey homes lay in ruins, the rain and the voices from a small group of travelers the only sounds that can be heard.

"Eenie... meenie... miny... this one?" The girl points at one of many houses lining the street.  Her Altaria, Dragonair, and Salamance squint at it as she steps closer to her Salamance, the huge red wing stretched over the girl's head to protect her from the rain.  

"... Well, it does look more structurally sound than the last one."

"I don't know; I don't like the look of that roof." The Altaria snorts, giving the mostly shingle-less roof a dirty look.

"It's the best looking one we've seen so far, though!  Ali please; we're tired," Lisia can't keep the whine out of her voice and she doesn't even try. "It's raining.  We want out of the rain.  C'mon, you can't be enjoying thiiiiis!"

"Lisia stop whining. We'll get out of the rain as soon as we find a house that doesn't look like a disaster waiting to happen."

"UGH you're so FUSSY." She crosses her arms, turning her head away so fast that her braid whips around. "Fine, if you wanna keep searching, then go right ahead.  But you'll have to explain to the others later why you're sick."

"I'm not going to get sick. None of us are."

"Quaza, Mystique, and I won't, because we're going inside."  

On the other side of the Salamance, the Dragonair finally speaks up. "I don't know... I'm closer to agreeing with Ali. Maybe if we search just the rest of this block, we can return here if we find nothing better?"  Lisia huffs. "I know, I know. Rain sucks. But Ali has a point. The roof looks beat up and wet is better than crushed."

"It doesn't look that bad." Okay, so maybe there are a few holes, but... at least there even is a roof to speak of.

Quaza glances down the street. "Mystique's compromise makes the most sense. It'll only take five more minutes, tops. Probably closer to two."

"It doesn't look that bad," she repeats, but doubt takes root in her expression.

"Wait, I think that one over there looks okay." The cloud dragon spreads his wings, taking to the sky to check a shop just a few buildings down, the others looking after him. It takes only a minute for him to return, and he shakes his head as he lands.

"No good?" Mystique blinks in surprise. "But it looks fine from here."

"Nah," he mutters as he folds his wings. "The structure is okay, but I smell Pokemon in there."

Their girl's eyes begin to widen, her grip on her baseball bat tightening. "Undead...?"

"Well... I... no... but-"

"Wait, living!? Here!?" Her youthful face lights up with joy.

"Yes but we don't know who they are or what they- LISSA!" The girl is ignoring him, running out from beneath the shelter of her Salamance and bolting towards the store. "Lissa WAIT!" He takes off after her, the other dragons right behind him, overtaking her easily as she arrives at the back door to the shop.  

"They could be hungry!" he hisses as she returns her bat to her bag. "And you're small and crunchy and I don't intend to lose you now! Now can we please go search elsewhere?"

"Only a fool would attack us. Quaza can't fit through the doorway but we can," the Dragonair says she peeks inside a window. The girl recalls the Salamance. "And you and I are more than capable of keeping us safe."

"But-"

"We could all use some fresh company. Besides, maybe they have food." Ali pauses to consider this, Mystique nudging Lisia with her head. "Go ahead, dear.  We're right behind you."

With a smile, Lisia turns the knob and steps inside the Boutique, Mystique and Ali following after. The snake dragon loosely wraps her tail around Lisia's feet with her upper body erect beside her; Ali leaves his wings half open, two sets of wary, dragon eyes watching the store's inhabitants.

Oblivious to the protective, near threatening stance of her dragons, Lisia waves cheerfully.  "Hi!"

Hide was getting more and more tense the longer he was with these two creeps. "Come along now my petite Bifteck, little Côtelette. We're nearly there." Nearly there for what?! He thought, a quiet growl forming in the back of his throat. Kaneki would be able to hear him from here... They got to an alleyway, and Hide felt his blood run cold. This was not going to go well for them if Kaneki wasn't able to get there in time... Shaking his head, Hide pushed the thought away. There was no way Kaneki would leave him to die.

"There should be a door somewhere around here..." Snorting, Hide raised an eyebrow. They weren't near the door, and he didn't believe that was where the back door was either. What game was this trickster pulling..? "A Ghost? Oh dear, those tend not to lead happy lives." Blinking, Hide looked over at the Scientist, his eyes narrowing. "No, not really. He and I get along well, and he's very nice, too." He said sharply, not wanting to give them any more information. "Here we are." Here? Where was here?

Looking around, Hide's jaws opened slightly and he realized that they had walked right into the trap. Idiot! Kaneki was so going to scold him for that. backing right up to the concrete wall, Hide took a deep breath, steeling himself as he threw up an orange Protect barrier. That wouldn't keep them for long, but it would be long enough, he hoped.

---

The wind whistled past Kaneki's ears, the rain battering the ground just in front of him. Someone was going to be here soon, he just didn't know who. "Why don't you just close the damn door." Entering back into the boutique, Kaneki gave the Leafeon a quick glare. "One, the door is broken, courtesy of that Murkrow, two, I'm waiting for Knightly and Ali to get back, and three, I have a friend who is still out there in the rain, and I'm getting worried because he should of been here by now." He said in a quiet but forceful tone, his bi-colored eyes narrowing slightly.

"...Could... Company.  ...Maybe... Have food." One white spectral ear flicked to the side, pinpointing the noise. Standing bolt upright, Kaneki looked around, trying to find the source. "Go... Dear... Behind you." Teh sound of a turning doorknob catches Kaneki's attention and he vaults over Xana, jumping to the side of the room where the sound was coming from. Not a moment later, three figures walk in. A Dragonair, an Alteria and a human. With a flash, Kaneki's red eye glowed with a Detect. His tails lashed slightly as he observed the dragons. Defensive stance, weary-eyed, wait, what was the human doing? Trailing the human's hand, Kaneki watched as they waved at them, oblivious to the defensive stances of what Kaneki assumed were her pokemon. "Hi!"

Narrowing his eyes, Kaneki hesitantly stepped forwards, answering in a slow, cautious tone, "Hello... What do you want here?" Keeping his gaze locked on the two dragon types, Kaneki tensed, checking their movements. If they attacked, he didn't know how long he'd be able to stand up to them, if at all. He just hoped his Detect catches any attacks in time for him to dodge.

“Stay back, Ali.” What... Just what was she doing? Alirah had a feeling all hell was gonna break loose, freakin' things at the door, noises and looming shadows, but Knightly was still on a suicide mission for medicine. "Knightly!" Alirah dragged her front paws forward despite Knightly more than clearly instructing her not to. A tiny yelp escaped her involuntarily as she jerked her paws back around to see them; shards of glass stood in her pads, blood oozing around the edges.

“Anyone alive back there?” Knightly called cautiously, her voice bouncing off the walls in a whispery echo. It was like waiting for a painful death as... You know, that's almost exactly what it was. Except the fact nothing called back, so apparently there is a difference. “Well, alright then…”
"Knightly, what in the world are you doing?!" Alirah ignored the throb in her paws, more concerned at her best friend's recklessness. She was answered with a loud crash coming from Knightly's way, followed by something that sounded more or less like pages of books and hardcovers scattering from a higher point. "Knightly!" As many times as the Umbreon called out, she was met with no vocal reply. That Furfrou... Another crash resounded, but then silence. It echoed in her ears, leaving the undersized Dark wondering... Was that a good thing? Had Knightly found medicine and was coming back and--

“Ali… Get ready to run, and don’t question anything I tell you to do…” That sounded bad. Really, really bad. “I’m about to make a really, really stupid decision, but it’s the only one we have if we want to get you healed…” Nononono, Knightly was not about to go kamikaze in a mission to get a freakin' container of medicine that Ali needed because of her own stupidity, no, no, no-- "Knightly, whatever you're about to do, please, please don't... I'm... I can't lose you because of myself..."

The area, maybe the wall, something, nearest the Furfrou creaked and let out a groan as though the makeshift wood was taking a bit of pressure. Was that Knightly, or was something... worse over there, hiding just beyond their sight? Ali gripped the first shard of glass and slowly pulled it out, ripping her skin further as the clear object now dyed red released her paw. “...Hello?”Knightly asked whomever, the fact that the Furfrou heard it too urging Ali to remove the last two shards of glass quicker.

Alirah came extremely close to emptying her bladder accidentally at the crash following. It sounded like a bomb had exploded right in the Center, so loud she almost didn't hear the sounds of chomping; the unmistakable sound of bone and flesh being crunched upon, but then she heard Knightly choke and gasp: “Ali, run!” When the Umbreon's eyes rose upon the scene playing, she couldn't hold in a shrill scream. No words were made, but the sound was as heart wrenching as she felt. Tears rolled down her cheeks like a storm pounding a window;

It was a Mawile. And it was after Knightly.

She was bleeding, and it was relentlessly trying to harm her further. But through it all, the Furfrou still was trying to retrieve Ali's medicine. With a swift dodge, Knightly had the bottle but the Mawile swung it's massive jaws upwards and threw Knightly through the air. "KNIGHTLY!" Ali screamed as she watched Knightly crash down onto the floor. "Are you--" Ali managed, but was cut off quickly; “Drink it!” Alirah's eyes darted around, landing on the shattered bottle...
...
In front of the Mawile.

“Drink it so we can run!” the Poodle Pokémon was down, but not out, and if Ali could just get to the medicine, they'd be okay...
The Mawile was wobbling closer to the medicine and Ali's time was running out. She picked her back legs up and kicked forward, bringing her front paws forward and landing just near the pool of medicine. Alirah lapped at the medicine, as she had gotten nearly half of the spilled fluid into her throat, it was above her.

She rolled to her right but her fluffy tail yanked her back. Ali was strung upside down by the Mawile and she gave another screech of horror. Panic set in and she charged a Shadow Ball - it was tiny, but the ghost orb shot at the Mawile's head was enough to stun it for a moment. Ali dropped to the floor and laid there for a brief moment as the pain of hitting the cold floor raced through her bones.

The jaws swung back and then forward, slamming straight into Ali's chest and sending her flying into the fallen bookshelf; she hit the side and then rolled to the floor, unmoving.

((OoC - We'll be changing to day in a few turns - once everyone is ready - so we'll stick to Evening for now. Sorry for the friggin' novel, guys, Ali has such crap luck lol.))

Knightly forced herself to her feet, the joints of her legs popping with loud cracks and muscles feeling as if they were being torn apart. Ali was licking up the medicine the best she could, but as she was nearing finished, a bigger problem arose: the Mawile was right above the Umbreon, and before Knightly could react, the Infected Pokemon was holding Ali upside down by the tail.

“Ali!” Knightly charged towards her best friend, straining her body in agony as she dodged and lept over the debris in her path. Ali gave a screech of terror as she tried to fight the Mawile, flinging a small Shadow Ball that hit the Infected Pokemon in the head and caused it to drop Ali onto the hard floor.

Shattered shards of glass sliced through the pads of Knightly’s paws as she trampled across the horrific Pokemon Center. Her mind raced with panic and memories of the Epidemic’s beginning, of when she had to drag Ali away from the Mawile that murdered their Trainer… Shaking from ear to tail in pain, Knightly feared she was too weak to rescue Ali again.

The Mawile slammed its bloodied jaws into the Umbreon’s chest, knocking her into the fallen bookshelf that Knightly regretted ever moving before. Ali smacked into its side and rolled to the floor, where her small body went limp.

“Ali, no!”

Knightly slid across the messy floor, finally reaching her friend.

“Ali? Ali, are you alright?” Knightly nudged the Umbreon, first softly and then more firmly. “Ali, sweetie, we’ve gotta go. C’mon. You have to get up!”

The loud wheezing from the Mawile’s massive jaws grew closer and closer, seeming to echo now. Knightly whipped around and saw the Infected Pokemon inching closer, dizzy from Ali’s attack to the head but slowly wobbling towards the two friends. Knightly shook with pain, her limbs feeling like they were wrapped in Slugmas, as she mustered up all her energy and threw a Dark Pulse attack at the Mawile’s giant jaws. The attack was weak, but struck one of the Infected’s massive teeth and knocked the creature off-balance onto its side.

The wheezing continued growing louder and louder, the echoes now seeming like separate sounds.

What…?

Knightly turned back around, looking over the bookshelf where she saw an undead Braixen standing in the doorway of where the Mawile had come out from. Its nearly-severed head rested sideways on a shoulder as the Pokemon twitched about eerily, staring at Knightly with interest and wheezing through its skinless mouth.

“A-Ali…” she whispered quietly, not taking her eyes off the undead Braixen, “We have to go now...there’s... there’s more of them…”

And indeed there was. A Clefairy, its whole body and face streaked in blood, wobbled into view behind the Braixen, followed by a small Charmander and several other undead.

“We’ll go back to the Boutique... where there’s more of us…and try to block off the door…” Knightly spoke quietly under heavy breaths, her heart about to jump right out of her chest, “I don’t have the strength to carry you… but I’m going to lift you up to your feet… and then we’re going to run the best we can…” Knightly swallowed hard, “And if you’re faster than me… I’ll meet you there… No arguing about it… Got it?”

The Zoroark's face remains just as amiable as when they had first started talking to them. He smiles cheerfully as if he had suggested they play a friendly game while his curved claws, already the red of blood, arched forwards to bite into flesh.
They miss the grass type and nearly raise sparks as they bite into the ground. The dark type vulpine grins, showing his sharp teeth as his hair curls around him. He runs his tongue over sharp white teeth.
"Come now petite Bifteck, little Côtelette." He croons, naming the two after cuts of meat. "Surrender to my tender jaws."
Were they confused, seeing the clean red of his fur and knowing there is no sign of disease?
Either way the joke would be on them. He was a cannibal long before he was infected. The taste of Pokemon meat was just so much better when he hunted it fresh. As his ice blue eyes slid over the Leafeon's body he mentally divided it into cuts. As fresh and juicy tender meat.
He straightens up and runs his claws through his hair with slow steps he advances forwards, making sure there is no place for his prey to run to. He hums a tune that had popped into his head, the cheerful tune about Skitty's turned malevolent by the situation.

The Sceptile's claws scrape against the barrier of orange energy, raising trails but failing to penetrate.
His golden eyes gleam with sadism as he turns and leaps forwards.
The powerful curved claws of his hands and feet impact with the Protect, preventing him from getting a grip but giving him plenty of points to try and drive through the barrier.
One weakness of this technique is that one couldn't raise it and attack without lowering the barrier first. The more attacks the barrier endured the closer it would come to breaking unless it was lowered from a time. That was the time he would strike.
With a small tok he adds his beak to the myriad of points pressing against the barrier.
"Very good." He hums in approval.
"Please keep it up for as long as possible...""
A wide grin of unnatural glee passes over the grass type's face.
"Then I'll break both your legs.""
Still continuing in quite a conversational manner he braces himself against the barrier and slams his beak against the barrier.
"Maybe I'll tear off your tail as well. It might make a nice scarf." He raises his voice. "What do you think Shuu?"
"How thoughtful of you but do you really think orange is my color? I've been told it makes my thighs look fat."
"Nonsense, fur always looks good on you."
"Flatterer."

Xana's large brown eyes blink slowly as they travel across the sodden terrain of the town. Idiot! She continues to scold her kin in the privacy her own mind. There is nothing out there but rain and wind! Well, somewhere out there were Alirah and Knightly, but she could safely assume that was not who the creeper was referring to. The Leafeon's large ears give the tiniest twitches at each minuet sound before rapidly falling back at a pressing voice. "One, the door is broken, courtesy of that Murkrow," Oh joy, she was about to get a bullshit lecture about obvious facts. "Two, I'm waiting for Knightly and Ali to get back, and three, I have a friend who is still out there in the rain, and I'm getting worried because he should of been here by now." Oh, here they go.

The back of the grass types throat itches as she surpasses a growl along with her words. You're even more of an idiot then I thought. What did he know! Even if the door was broken they could still put it back in place and make it look like this building was like any other. And there was still no reason to wait outside for the others who lived here prior and knew the area. If anything being outside in the rain like some freak would put them on edge. AND the same applied to whatever his other thing was unless he went out searching instead of sitting around. Being outside is making you a damn liability with those white patches! If you think something unknown is approaching why would you make yourself visible to them!? Just announce yourself to the damn world that 'we are here come eat us!' for fucks sake. Maybe she should of stayed in that damn shack after all. As soon as the ghost moved aside Xana padded closer to the door, propping herself up onto her hindlegs to get strength enough to force it shut. Even if it was broken and didn't shut completely they didn't have to let the cold in.

Silently as the serpent he was Rush moved from his seat toward the Leafeon that was making daft faces toward Kaneki. Childish. While he didn't agree with the Phanteon's choice either- if he could tell something was approaching from inside there was no reason to expose himself even for a moment- he was too distracted by the splash of color he spotted through the windowpane. "Look." He hushed to her, apparently surprising the youth as she jump to face him. Keeping his bright colors behind the solid walls he points, holding the motion until Xana's face eventually follows along to the blue blurt in the distance. "Shit!" Is all she can say before the door shutters, forced open by the last thing Rush expected to see- a human.

"Hi!" The female chirps, excited in ways the Servine could not understand. In an instant Xana was flat against the ground, her fur dry and fluffed full-pinecone while her ears fell back and eyes narrowed. Drawing her lips back her tiny fangs gleamed with aggression. Rush took to defense as well, his sturdy orange vines slipping free to wait by his side, but his rigid form showed no other signs of hostility. But as her Pokemon followed suit Rush's tail twitched anxiously, and he took a step back, one vine passing protectively in front of the Leafeon. A human, here? Of all things.. The canine pair hadn't mentioned any humans, a fact well worth noting, were they new arrivals seeking shelter? Dragons.. His dull red eyes do not blink. She could be trouble; a trainer needing new Pokemon, a human needing fresh meat for their carnivores, or just an ass wanting to take their shelter. The last he saw a human was... further back then he can recall. Rush's body remains stiff.

"Hello... What do you want here?" Kaneki questions them while entertaining her greeting. While his red gaze never leaves the intruders forms Rush takes in what he needs to. They seemed to be in good shape, the trainer was the one that entered and greeted (in a friendly way), and they had not launched any attacks or surrounded them yet. Good signs in a way. The Leafeon at his side was still growling, seeming ready to strike at the first move. "Thank you for breaking an entry." He states, less then amused but with no extra hostility to his naturally serious tone. Even if they were not seeking trouble that was pretty damn rude.