(ACE) The AMBRETTE Team

((Skip Peregrine, I'll post the finished reply for Zuri and Eir tomorrow morning once I wake up!))

While Eirlys was far too excited about the prospect of a new story to listen to, Zuri was focused on Yahto, his ears perked high and one eye cracked open to watch him as the leafeon thought. He watched the different emotions flash across the leafeon's face, and the way his eyes misted a little. Thinking of old memories, perhaps? Zuri hummed softly, before letting his eye close again, heaving out a long sigh as he relaxed to sleep.

Eirlys looked at him briefly, before settling in against her brother's side, snuggling up against his matching white fur, her eyes up on Yahto as he started his story. “Well, let me tell you— Stunky make great friends but you NEVER nap with them. I knew one during a summer trip through Sinnoh. Bailey slept in a tent because bugs are sooooo icky,” the little houndrunt giggled at his mocking words, laying her head down on Zuri's paw to use as a pillow, “but I wanted to watch the stars with my friend. So we ended up falling asleep and they never told me about their little sleep-time inconveniences. Do you know what stunky are known for?”

Having never met a stunky before, Eirlys yawned widely and shook her head. Her ears were perked high as she listened along to Yahto's story, though her eyes were already starting to droop - meeting so many people in one day was tiring for the little pup! “As their name implies, they are STINKY. So I’m sound asleep and I started smelling something soooo gross I literally started to dream I was swimming in a giant human toilet. So then I woke up and found out my friend had farted.” Eirlys gasped mockingly and giggled at Yahto's unfortunate story, her tail wagging and thumping lightly against the floor.

"Oh no--! Zuri would be so mad if I got sprayed like that." Eirlys giggled, looking over at the older canine as he huffed out a short growl in agreement. Seems he was too tired to really add into the conversation much. “Bailey bathed me, sprayed me with air freshener, even put a tiny tree shaped freshie on me. Nothing, and I repeat, nothing helped!! It eventually wore off but people avoided me like the PLAGUE until then. Me and that Stunky stayed friends the rest of summer but there was a strict no napping rule.” Eirlys giggled again as Yahto complained about his unfortunate story, her eyes blinking slowly as she fought (and failed) to strive off the sleep. She wanted to hear more stories!

Unfortunately, try as she might the call of sleep was too powerful and she yawned widely, smacking her lips a little and blinking sleepily up at Yahto. “All this nap talk has me tired!!” She nodded slowly, fighting off another yawn. "Yeah, me too. You'll be here when we wake up right, Yahto?" She asked softly, already half asleep and mumbling a little. "I miss my friends at the old home... it's nice to have other friends now..." She mumbled in her half-asleep state, before quickly drifting off to sleep, curled against Zuri's side.

The direyena cracked his eye open briefly once he heard Eir's peaceful soft snoring, glancing over at Yahto. "Rest well, Yahto. Don't worry about keeping watch; I'm a light sleeper. I'll wake up if anything comes in here." He assured the leafeon, before shifting to curl himself tighter around Eirlys, closing his eyes and letting himself drift off into a light doze. If he was lucky, they'd get a good sleep through the night.

The first rays of light streaming through the windows hit Zuri's nose and the direyena groaned softly in his sleep, one eye slowly cracking open. He blinked a few times to clear his eyes and let them adjust to the brighter light around them, yawning widely. He'd have to find food for Eirlys soon-- his ear twitched at the sound of added breathing to Eirlys's own, and the direyena's head snapped over to where Yahto lay. He blinked a few times, before sighing softly. So, it wasn't just a late night fever dream then.

On one hand, he was glad to finally find someone else in this wasteland... but on the other hand, that was another mouth to feed. He didn't even know what Yahto would and wouldn't eat. Well... he supposed it would depend on what he could find anyway. He looked out the window from where he lay, squinting in disapporoval at the rain that still pelted the windows. Ugh. Tracking anything in this weather was a no-go, so he'd have to ransack the inside of this hotel instead for something. That was fine... hopefully there was still something here that was in date and not absolutely rotten.

Zuri carefully uncurled from around Eirlys, who was sound asleep still, crawling out from where he'd been wrapped around her. Knowing just how deeply the little puppy slept, Zuri carefully picked her up by her scruff, trotting over to Yahto where he could deposit the little puppy against the leafeon's side. She shifted and mumbled in her sleep, before rolling over to snuggle in against Yahto's side with a pleased hum. With that taken care of, Zuri took quick strides to explore around the area again, quickly patrolling the hallway they were currently sleeping in.

He wandered up to the window to take a seat, looking out over the dreary scenery outside with a frown. How long would this rain last? It had been like this for days. Would flooding be a risk? What would thay do if things started to flood here? Where would they get food? Zuri's frown grew and he stood up to start pacing back and forth. They needed to figure out a food source, and fast. There was only so much food the kitchens here would have that was still edible, and once that ran out... they'd have nothing here. And with the rain, tracking anything would be near impossible...

Zuri growled softly, looking out the window again. If this rain didn't let up, he'd be forced to go out and hunt anyway. Hopefully Yahto could at least keep Eirlys safe while he was gone... he supposed that was a bonus to having an extra in the group at least. Look on the bright side, as Eirlys always tried to tell him.

"Yeah, me too. You'll be here when we wake up right, Yahto?"
The darling pup was already being pulled into the realms of sleep and Yahto couldn’t help feeling something like a lottery winner as her final thoughts before drifting were of his presence.
"I miss my friends at the old home... it's nice to have other friends now..."

He smiled softly, perhaps a bit sadly. A sentiment he agreed with unfortunately, as the literal end of the world does tend to cause some lonesomeness.
“Yes, dear,” he assured the sleepy pup on his own drowsy breath. “I will be here.”
"Rest well, Yahto. Don't worry about keeping watch; I'm a light sleeper. I'll wake up if anything comes in here." Zuri attested.
“Thank you, sir, and goodnight.”


The morning light, or maybe his internal clock, roused the snoozing Leafeon from his blissful trip to dreamland. His sleep, for the first time in months or maybe years, was undisrupted and left the male feeling as though he’d reclaimed lost time from many nights he could only drift for a few minutes at a time.
He lifted his head from the floor and felt a slight resistance, something maybe akin to a spiderweb which shot chills down Yahto’s spine until he noticed the slight wetness of his cheek.

Oh dear. I haven’t drooled in ages… How embarrassing—

It was then that Yahto noticed a small bundle of pressure at his side. The feline moved blurry eyes to the bump of white fur he’d seemingly grown overnight and smiled softly. He then scanned for Zuri and in the absence of the male, grew slightly anxious— he appreciated the guardian’s trust with the youth, but what if he didn’t deserve it? What if something overwhelmed him and was able to hurt her— he hadn’t half the fighting prowess Zuri possessed!
You are overthinking again, Yahto.
“Of course I am!” He bit back at his ever present friend. “… I am sorry. Perhaps I’m just a bit groggy and not thinking clearly.”
It is alright. I know you mean well.

The Leafeon lay his head back down upon his paws softly as to not disturb the child at his side.

OoC)) Skip again, Dirk is still asleep.

The early bird always got the worm.

Peregrine's eyes cracked open as the sun started to crest over the cliffside town, though the light was mostly obscured by the dark clouds that blotted out the sky above. Peregrine squinted out the window with a frown, before slowly lifting herself to her feet with a wide yawn. Reaching to grab her mask and deposit it firmly over her face, she shook her head to test the fit, before stretching out much like a cat would. Carefully slinking her way off the platform she had decided to call her bed, the noivern looked around the pokecenter she called her base of operations, noting with a low hum that most of her subordinates were still sleeping.

She snorted, before turning to head out the doors, giving a nod to the machoke that was on guard duty. They quickly nodded back, avoiding eye contact with the larger dragon as she wandered out into the rain, squinting up at the sky. Rations... a group like this needed food, and what they had stocked wouldn't last forever. Sometime today, she'd get some of them to go scavenge, to restock on what they needed. Meanwhile, she would fly to the beach below and try to grab some scraggler living pokemon trying to escape the weather. This place was such a bottleneck for those escaping the weather, there was usually something to get down there at least.

Turning to head back into the pokecenter, she shook herself off and then made her way to the counter of the medicinal building, climbing her way on top of it and tapping her claws a few times before she raised her tail, bringing it down hard on the countertop with a resounding thus to wake the pokemon within the building. They'd gotten enough of their beauty rest, it was time to kick their asses into gear now.

"A'right ye munter reprobates, it's time fer ye tae git yer arses up and intae gear. I dinnae expect ye tae freeload here. Git out there one yer functional and go looking for supplies for our little group aye? If ye spot tha' goodfernothin' druddigon ou' there, rough thae numpter up, maul 'im, do wha'ever ye feel. Lettim know thae this's my domain." She snarled out, looking at the bleary faces of the other pokemon in the center.

"Now git yer arses up, wake yer sorry arses up and git out there!" She barked, beofre slinking off the counter to make her way outside again, this time taking to the skies to make her way down the clifface to find food for her posse.

The dreary dullness of the skies was quickly becoming a bore to the canine. Zuri squinted at it with a heavy sigh and turned to stand, trotting back along the hallway, towards where the kitchen was. He may as well take stock of what was still edible. He'd had a cursory look over the place when he'd first arrived with Eirlys, but if there were extra bodies to feed, he'd have to look it over again. The former police dog nosed his way through the doors and trotted into the kitchen, his ears held high in case anything else had entered during the night aside from the druddigon and leafeon.

Quickly striding into the room, Zuri started to nose open cupboards, rearing up to get higher to look in more shelves and see what was there. Canned food would be nice to find, though hard to open with their current group. Zuri snorted out some dust, sniffing his way through shelves to see what there was. He came across a few sealed cans, and bags of something that at least smelled edible, and he pawed at them to drag them out into view. It may not be the most nutrient rich thing out there... but he would have to take what he could get.

Zuri moved to check out a few more shelves, managing to nose out a few more cans of food and more bags that still smelled in date - or at least weren't absolutely ruined. Good, he could take a closer look at these later, he had to get back to Eirlys before she woke up. Yahto was there, but that didn't mean that Zuri was completely comfortable leaving the puppy without proper backup. He gave another look over the kitchen before he left, before turning to head out, carefully nosing the door closed when he left to minimise the chance of more things getting in there while he was gone.

The direyena quickly strolled back to where he'd left Yahto and Eirlys, the decaying carpet on the floor muffling his steps as he drew nearer. “Of course I am!” He paused, ears perked high as he heard the leafeon's voice, head cocked. Who was he talking to? There was no one else here... He sniffed at the air briefly as he started to move closer, not picking up anything else in the air as he approached. Was he... talking to himself?

As he drew closer, Zuri spotted no one new around the area, glancing briefly at Yahto as he started to draw closer. “… I am sorry. Perhaps I’m just a bit groggy and not thinking clearly.” He was talking to himself, then... strange, but everyone had their own quirks he supposed. So long as it wasn't directly a threat, he wouldn't care too much about Yahto's... quirky nature. He trotted back to Yahto, giving the leafeon a curt nod in greeting. He came over to the two, nosing Eirlys's side with a huff to wake the puppy up.

She groaned in protest, swiping lazily at the air and rolling over to further snuggle into Yahto's side, complaining with a soft snort. Zuri huffed and reached to careully pick the puppy up by he scruff, depositing her back on the floor on her paws to wake her up. She stumbled about blearily for a moment, her eyes squinting at the light and then looking up at Zuri with a questioning squint. The direyena huffed in amusement, sitting down after a moment and nosing her side.

To her credit, she didn't fall over immediately, though she did stumble and thump into Yahto as she tried to wake up a little more. "Ssss m'rnin' alr'dy?" She mumbled out, looking up at Yahto when she realized that the body she was leaning on for support was not her guardian brother's. It took her a few moments of staring at Yahto before she realized that this was a new person from last night and she blinked herself more awake, tail starting to wag happily. She looked between Yahto and Zuri, yawnig widely and stumbling her way over to Zuri to headbutt his leg in greeting.

"G'morning big bro. 'S it safe?" She asked him, shuffling to sit at his side, leaning sleepily against his leg and looking up at him. Zuri chuckled, leaning down to boop his nose to hers in return. "Yes, Eir', it's safe. Good morning, Yahto. Did you sleep well?" He asked, cocking his head slightly at the leafeon as he addressed him. The upside to having someone else look out for his charge meant that at least she could get some more shut-eye than she used to. Something she'd need since she was still growing.

Yahto’s eyes were open just a crack. He could only imagine the days and days of fatigue had stacked on his exhausted body and worn him down immensely, since despite having slept soundly the entire night, he found himself lulling back into his dreams.

The rain still drummed on the exterior of their haven like rhythmic fingertaps featuring the dull roar of thunder.

It was a lovely sound. It did him few favors to ward away his grogginess however.

His heavy eyes shot back open, instantly alert and present at the sound of paw steps approaching. Yahto’s fur bristled in alarm until the familiar form of Zuri appeared, giving a nod as a hello to the spooked Leafeon. The former trotted his way to Yahto and Eirlys and nudged the pup into dismayed consciousness. She responded by snuggling closer to Yahto as if the Leafeon was willing to protest against Zuri to earn her thirty more minutes of sleep.

His pelt crawled at the very idea of the older canine’s wrath.

The Direyena finally picked the puppy up and sat her on her feet, once again to her dismay. He nudged the tiny form mischievously and sent Eirlys stumbling a little which included lightly smacking into Yahto on her trip.
He chuckled lightly at the sibling-like shenanigans. How wholesome.
Do you think we’ll play around like that when I find you?
Silence. That was okay though. Maybe she was distracted by something.

"Ssss m'rnin' alr'dy?" Eir asked groggily. She stared up at the Leafeon as she leaned against him, with a tiny spark of recognition in her eyes but the confusion on her face was all-too hilariously obvious. It seemed to click in her mind and suddenly she was overjoyed at the sight of Yahto and very much more awake than only seconds prior.

She wobbled her way over to Zuri for good mornings as Yahto finally got to his feet and stretched his back out like a lazy Persian after a long nap.
"Yes, Eir', it's safe. Good morning, Yahto. Did you sleep well?"

He dipped his head in a respectful affirmative to the canine. “Yes, sir. Quite well actually, I feel like I’ve made up for lost time,” Yahto chuckled. “You were up early this morning. Is there anything I can assist you with?”

It was an unpleasant night to say the least.

It was cold, damp, and the wind whistled through the rattling building that the electric types were huddled in. Their shared warmth was the only godsend, their pelts still feeling moist as the dark morning finally dawned. Riley was first to wake, the droning of the rain outside talking over the deep, rhythmic breathes of her beloved. She listened for a while, eased by the sound, but no matter how groggy she was the cold and noise prevented her from returning to her slumber. With a massive yawn and puff of her pelt the Raichu blinked open blurry eyes. B'doke's face greeted her, the stress etched lines soft and relaxed with sleep. You were really exhausted.. She realized, having never known the canine to sleep well. Either that or he was sick, though his calm breaths and visage said otherwise.

Though every fiber of her being said to remain by his side the Raichu was quickly reminded of her guilt. It was her fault they were here, that he was so tired from trying to save her, that they had to sleep in his miserable shack. Carefully peeling herself away from him Riley looked on in dismay, desperate to mend what she had caused and beg forgiveness he wouldn't ask for. As the cold started breech her fur and steal the warmth away restlessness worked at her paws. She wanted to sleep and snuggle up so bad but the jittery feeling told her to do something for him. They had already done a quick sweep of this place, it offered them nothing, and with a longing glance she knew the only thing she could really do was.. go find something. Let it be food, warmth, somewhere drier, a way back up the cliff, there had to be something she could find that would lift his spirits. Was it a good plan, a solid plan? No, absolutely not, but the desperation to please was unbearable, so much so the Raichu steeled her nerves and charged out into the rain.

The instant cold and wet feeling was bracing, driving any remaining warmth and sleepiness from her pelt as she skirted about the flooded town. It looked so different in the dull morning light, even more foreign looking than she had assumed it would. Already her vague task was overwhelming her; where in the world would she start? Hell, what was she even looking for? Where we fell? It was a thought, and aside from food the only thing she really clung to. With splashing steps she ran off in the direction they had come from, or at least what she thought they had. Mud and water a constant here, and smothered all else as her fur quickly took on the same look it had the night before. Nothing looked right or smelled familiar, and just as soon as she started her mini quest the mouse wished she had not.

Making it to a random tree the Raichu shook out her pelt, regret quick to set in, her actions stupid, and disappointment heavy. "What the hell am I doing?" She mumbled to herself, clamping her paws on to her temples. This was not the weather to be messing around in, and if B'doke woke up and she was gone he would freak out. Legends she would cause him more stress.. Thrusting her paws over her maw she wailed into muffled fur; this is why she needed him, why he was the lead of everything. Good gods she would get herself lost before she found the spot she wanted.
But as the Raichu took three steps out from under the tree she froze, fear darting along her spine as she back stepped and pressed up against the trunk. She only saw it for a second, but something was flying up above. Big or small, closer or far, healthy or not, she did not catch that, but her instinctual reaction to a predator could not be ignored; she was in danger here.

Waiting as long as her nerves would allow, staring up at the portions of the sky she could see, Riley waited until it seemed safe. Whatever it was hadn't stopped, and hopefully hadn't spotted her. With trembling paws the Raichu bolted, her Agility making her race like the lightning bolt of her tail. Sticking close to structures she ran with all her fury, not daring to veer or look for anything else until she tumbled back into their shelter in an awkward heap.

"BB! BB!!" A wailing cry pierced B'doke's ears, immediately ripping the Delectroke from his sleep as his emerald eyes flashed open to her panicked cries. The bumbling steps had stirred him but her shrill voice sent alarm throughout his body. His head perked, "What's wrong love? What's happening?" he asks, voice a groggy mumble though he was genuinely concerned as he tried to come to. She slammed against his side, the icy chill from her wet pelt as good as being splashed in the face with water. Her muzzle was already buried in his side, her body trembling as she whined, "There's stuff outside! Not good stuff!" Though vague her fear was very real, and he bent his neck over to nuzzle her soaked pelt. "Calm down," he soothes, the calm to his voice betraying his riled emotions. She had gone out again, alone at that? "You're safe. Nothing can get through the two of us."

It was official, rain was the worst weather to be flying in. Aside from maybe snow, but that was just frozen rain anyway. It all came back to rain just sucking ass in general as a weather pattern. Peregrine flew high above the town below, her eyes down on the ground to watch for anything below her. Not much around the actual town... she doubted that there was anything useful there anyway. If there was, the rest of her fool henchcrew could get the dumb things. Right now, she had other things to focus on. With a flare and hard flap of her wings she soared towards the cliffside to find anything that she could actually eat.

There was a brief flash of color on the ground, and Peregrin banked hard, turning mid-air to look again. Her eyes locked onto where she saw it... but on her third pass over there was nothing else there. Damn, a missed chance. She grit her teeth behind her mask, diving to gain more speed and shoot out towards the beach far below. Forget whatever that was up on the town; it'd all be found in due time if it was in the town. There was no way out unless they wanted to track mud onto wherever they were going, so eventually they'd fall into her claws.

Diving down to grip onto the edge of the cliff, Peregrine looked below to find anything hiding against the wall. Slowly climbing across the rocks, her golden eyes locked onto the form of something slowly making its way up the beach. A pokemon, tired and dragging its feet in exhaustion but most importantly, alive. Peregrine locked her gaze onto it, a cruel grin spreading under her mask as she shot off the cliff to make a beeline for the other pokemon. Folding her wings in tight to make her descent streamlined and fast, she shot down at high speed, only flaring her wings out and slinging her claws down at the last second to collide into the side of the unfortunate zangoose. It was far too exhausted to fight back much, the impact of Peregrine colliding with it knocking the wind from the poor normal type with a pitiful whimper.

Peregrine slammed her tail down on the ground as she dug her claws into the body below her, sinking her teeth down into white fur and flesh to dye it a gruesome red. Thrashing her head side to side to rip off a chunk of the zangoose's shoulder, the original whimper from the first impact morphed into pained screams, trying to summon up the strength to fight back against the noivern that was savaging them. Without even waiting for her chosen prey to be dead, Peregrine swallowed the chunk she ripped free, a savage cackle pulling from her throat as her winged forearm slammed down onto the zangoose's throat to muffle it's cries of pain to choked gurgles and hisses.

Once more her teeth sunk into flesh and she ripped free another chunk from the fighting pokemon's arm, feeling claws scrape over her iron mask in an attempt to feebly fight back. The sand below them kicked and stirred into a macabre sand angel, stained red as blood seeped down into the ground and into the white fur of the zangoose that had fallen prey to Peregrine's clutches. After swallowing down her next bite, Peregrine's next target was right into the chest of the pokemon below her, savaging into the skin and ripping up chunks that were gulped down until ribs and other internals came into view.

By now the pokemon below her had started to seize and twitch in the thoes of death brought on by bloodloss and trauma, clawed hands spasming and slamming into the ground as blood gurgled and spilled from between their teeth. slamming her face into the ribs to snap at them and dig past the lungs, Peregrine snapped her jaws around her true prize and jerked her head back with a disgusting spray of blood and viscera, the zangoose's stuttering heart in her jaws. Claiming her prize with a snap shut of her jaws, Peregrine's tongue swiped over her bloodied face and mask, gripping onto the bloodied body with a wild cackle.

Lifting herself into the skies with a few powerful beats of her wings, Peregrine made her way back along the coast to head back to the pokecenter to drop off this meal to her group. She'd need to hunt more later, but at least it would tie them all over for the morning. A few stray organs from the dead pokemon dropped from the body as she flew over the town, though she didn't stop to grab them; something else would come get it, she was sure. One of her posse would grab it, or it would make for good bait to lure more undead to the aquarium later.

Either way, it was not in her interest to grab scraps when she had a full body in her clutches to deliver. She could worry about it later.

It was nice to have someone else other than himself to be able to keep an eye on Eirlys, Zuri decided. While he didn't like to leave the pup to the eye of someone else, having her stay with someone else while he was out meant that Zuri himself could focus on things that he normally couldn't do with a child in tow. Things like hunting, and chasing away attackers, were the first things that came to mind, naturally. As innocent as she was, of course he knew that Eirlys was no fool; she knew that often the meat that Zuri brought her was from another pokemon. But long ago Zuri had the talk with her about how sometimes you needed to kill in order to feed yourself.

She hadn't agreed with him, but understood at least. So he'd arranged to at least not hunt in front of her. She didn't care if it was something he brought back later. The only hard part was putting the pup in a safe place while he went out to hunt. With Yahto here, that meant that his chances to leave and hunt increased tenfold. She'll need to learn eventually. But... that can wait until she's grown a little more. He thought, finally bringing his attention back to Yahto.

“Yes, sir. Quite well actually, I feel like I’ve made up for lost time,” his ears twitched as he confirmed that his sleep was restful, red eyes flicking up to look at Yahto's own with a hum. That was good, at least. Getting good rest these days was often hard to come by, so taking it when you could was always a bonus. Despite the initial rocky introduction from yesterday, and having to chase that druddigon out, Zuri was pleased that Yahto had decided to stick around. Eirlys seemed to enjoy his presence too, having no hesitation to plod her way back over to the leafeon to headbutt her forehead lightly into the grass type's leg to greet him the same way she would to her brother.

Zuri huffed out a soft, amused chuckle as he watched, sitting down and placing his paws neatly in front of him, tail dusting the ground in a lazy, comfortable wag. “You were up early this morning. Is there anything I can assist you with?” Ah, his early morning stint in the kitchens? Zuri hummed, thinking about what he'd seen in the room, and what could be edible for the three of them. Perhaps he would have to hunt later in the day... but he didn't know what Yahto would eat either.

"Nothing that I would desperately need assistance with, no. I was looking through the kitchens here in this building to see what was still able to be used as food. This place used to be a hotel in its heyday, so I was checking to see what was still readily available as food." He said, giving a concommital shrug of his shoulders. "I can usually hunt for myself and Eirlys while she sleeps, but there isn't much here in this town, and the rain washes away scents quickly, so I'd have to spend more time out and away from here to catch anything."

He thought for a moment, mouth opening to add something else, before he sighed and closed it, shaking his head. "There's enough in the kitchen for a few days of food for the three of us, but I don't know if there'll be any more showing up here or not. Dirk's already outside somewhere, and I can't say for sure if he's the only one out there. So I'm thinking of other ways to fix the food issue. The next place I could think of that would have something of use is the pokecenter, but I don't want to risk running into hostiles with Eirlys in tow." He said, looking down at the puppy as she cocked her head at him, plopping her rump down in font of him and splaying her legs out lazily, tail thumping against the ground.

"Mm! Zuri says I'm too small to help him go beat up baddies, so he says I need to stay where it's safe when he's kicking the bad guys' butts." She supplied helpfully, giving an eager nod as she recited the rules that Zuri so often reinforced in her mind whenever they were out somewhere that could be dangerous. She had to make sure that she listened after all! Or else her beloved big brother would get hurt, and she didn't want that. He was all she had left, and she didn't want to be left alone in this place!

“And a good morning to you, Eirlys!” Yahto sang softly as the pup bumped her little head against his leg in an adorably puppyish greeting. He’d never used that as a means to say hello— was it specific to the Houndour line, he wondered.

His attention turned back to Zuri as he spoke. "Nothing that I would desperately need assistance with, no. I was looking through the kitchens here in this building to see what was still able to be used as food. This place used to be a hotel in its heyday, so I was checking to see what was still readily available as food."
Huh. A hotel, eh? He and Bailey used to stay in those during their travels— he often found their quiet, empty halls to be quite spooky at night. Nowadays he got that feeling from almost everywhere unfortunately. But his thoughts digressed and soon enough he was back in the moment with Zuri’s next dialogue. "I can usually hunt for myself and Eirlys while she sleeps, but there isn't much here in this town, and the rain washes away scents quickly, so I'd have to spend more time out and away from here to catch anything."

Yahto cringed inwardly at the thought— hunting… blood… ugh. He’d be lying if he said there wasn’t the smallest pit of anxiety in his belly that he might be asked to hunt. Even if it were for little Eir, he didn’t know if he could actually… euthanize something…

"There's enough in the kitchen for a few days of food for the three of us, but I don't know if there'll be any more showing up here or not. Dirk's already outside somewhere, and I can't say for sure if he's the only one out there. So I'm thinking of other ways to fix the food issue. The next place I could think of that would have something of use is the pokecenter, but I don't want to risk running into hostiles with Eirlys in tow."

“I certainly understand that,” Yahto lamented. “They love to infest PokéCenters it seems… I don’t know why. But I’ve seen many a good friend make their way to a Center to just… not come back.” He went silent for a moment before the horribly inappropriate circumstances of his statement dawned on him. “A-ah, but don’t you worry, Eirlys! They just got spooked and ran away of course. None of them were brave like Zuri and I!!” The day was… possibly saved? Yahto wasn’t sure, but he was definitely making a mental note to be more cautious in his discussions. No need to frighten the poor lass.
"Mm! Zuri says I'm too small to help him go beat up baddies, so he says I need to stay where it's safe when he's kicking the bad guys' butts."

He chuckled at the peppy puppy’s shenanigans, adding, “I dunno, I think maybe Zuri just doesn’t want you to beat up those guys toooooo badly!!”

((Skip; I have not been feeling the best + holidays. If I dont have the energy to finish what I have, Ill get my pair moving toward the others in the next one.))

((OOC: Skip Peregrine, christmas day and things are hectic. Will edit reply in the morning after I've gotten some sleep))

While getting the hotel properly boarded up was one of Zuri's main hopes, it was hard to alos ignore the blaring food problem. He had to find a proper food source for them, and soon. Maybe somewhere in the rooms, soeone had a plant that had grown wild? Zuri shook his head. The rain meant that anything outside was probably over saturated; it would kill any berries in direct rain soon, and any that werent would rot from too much water and no sun. So... hunting and scavenging was their best bet. He sighed though his nose, eyes squinting at the ground.

“I certainly understand that,” Zuri's ear twitched and he looked back up at Yahto, red eyes meeting his purple ones firmly. “They love to infest PokéCenters it seems… I don’t know why. But I’ve seen many a good friend make their way to a Center to just… not come back.” Nodding grimly, the retired police dog looked over at Eirlys. She'd see her own fair share of people not coming back. For all her innocence, she was cruelly aware of how the world was now. People left, and never came back. And if they weren't lucky, they'd come across the corpse of them along the road ahead.

And if fate wanted to play a cruel trick on them, Zuri would have to protect Eirlys from their previous friend coming back as a mindless undead and trying to kill them. The nightmares that followed those days were horrific, something that Zuri wished he didn't have to put the poor child through. It was all he could do to keep her safe most days, but he couldn't fight her dreams the same way he could in the waking world.

“A-ah, but don’t you worry, Eirlys! They just got spooked and ran away of course. None of them were brave like Zuri and I!!” Zuri offered a sad, knowing smile as Yahto tried to cover his tracks. Eirlys blinked up at him, her tail wagging though her head tilt and pinched brows showed that she wasn't buying what Yahto was selling.

"Is okay, Yahto. Big brother already tells me about how sometimes out friends can disappear, and that they're not coming back." She said, offering him a slow nod, ears drooping. "Sometimes, they come back! But... they're not well, big brother says. They aren't themselves anymore and then Zuri has to fight them. It's scary," she paused, looking up at Zuri, her tail stilling on the floor, "If Zuri gets bit by the sick ones, then he'll get sick too. So he's gotta be extra careful when he fights them. I... I get scared sometimes when Zuri fights the sick ones, I don't want him to get sick too."

Zuri sighed, trotting over to nudge Eirlys's side, nosing her cheek gently after she was done. He playfully nipped at her floppy ear, nosing her off towards the ball she was playing with. "Don't worry, Eirlys. I'm not going anywhere. You know I'm smart when I fight them, I won't get sick." he promised her with a soft voice, watching as she bapped the ball over to him. Zuri rolled the ball off down the path and she chased after it, quickly cheering up from the previous sour mood. It was hard to be upset when you had a ball to chase after all!

“I dunno, I think maybe Zuri just doesn’t want you to beat up those guys toooooo badly!!” Eirlys giggled softly, her playful nature already coming back thanks to Zuri's playing and Yahto's comments. "No, no! I know I'm not as strong as big brother is, hes super strong. I can't beat people up like he can, not yet he says anyway. But you'll see! I'm gonna grow big and strong like him, so then I can beat people up to keep him safe too!" She announced proudly, puffing out her chest with a grin.

If you had told Yahto that when the world finally ended and the dead began to roam, his biggest crisis would be traversing the delicate landscape of discussing death with a child, he would’ve called you a liar. Or maybe just suggest how unlikely it was, as the former seemed a bit harsh… the point was, Yahto found himself in something of a pickle, sort of like a Growlithe pup in deep snow— the more he wiggled to get free, the deeper he sunk in.

Eirlys stared up at the struggling Leafeon with obvious dismissal on her little face. "Is okay, Yahto. Big brother already tells me about how sometimes out friends can disappear, and that they're not coming back." She explained with an assuring nod. "Sometimes, they come back! But... they're not well, big brother says. They aren't themselves anymore and then Zuri has to fight them. It's scary," She looked to Zuri before continuing, "If Zuri gets bit by the sick ones, then he'll get sick too. So he's gotta be extra careful when he fights them. I... I get scared sometimes when Zuri fights the sick ones, I don't want him to get sick too."

"Don't worry, Eirlys. I'm not going anywhere. You know I'm smart when I fight them, I won't get sick." Zuri lovingly promised the pup, swatting her ball and nudging her back into playtime.

Yahto made a sigh of relief as the puppy’s mood soared, placing a paw on his chest to calm his heart. He looked to Zuri timidly and mouthed the word ’Sorry,’ for the fault of his judgment.

OoC)) Skip, Dark just continues pacing back and forth.

As B'doke pulled himself from his stupor his initial panic began to fade. With a tender paw wrapped around his Raichu he let out a deep breath and blinked his stinging eyes shut. "What did you see?" The words are soft, his voice heavier than normal as his sleep-laden voice was yet to adjust. Regardless of what she had seen it had truly frightened her. Even if the Raichu jumped at her own shadow he knew her alarm to be genuine and comforted her all the same. "I-I don't know. Somethin' was flyin' and it just felt.. unsafe." The trembles reverberated through his pads, her sobbing sounds muffled as she nuzzled closer to his chest. "There there," he soothes with a lap across her forehead, "it didn't get you, and even if it tried you know how to send something with wings packin." Nudging her back with a cuffed wrist to look into her tearful eyes the Raichu nods with a quivering lip. "Bite 'em hard, shock 'em harder." Letting his lips curl with a pleased smile the Delectroke nuzzles her once more. "That's right. You would have been just fine~"

Wiping the tears from her burning eyes the Raichu looks away, flustered and hot beneath her freezing pelt. She should have known, should have remembered the self-defense he had taught her, but everything had blanked out of her mind. Prevent the wings from moving if sparks don't work... It was so much easier to recall here, safe with him by her side, than out in the field alone. Could she have done anything other than scream? Another tremble runs along her spine, though it is unclear if its from fear or cold; it was best if she didn't put herself in that situation. Shuffling awkwardly the Raichu lets out a heavy sigh, her safety net working wonders as he rises to his paws. "Fliers would be foolish to bother us together." The words were encouraging, comforting, but a chuckle takes away from the moment as she catches sight of just how much bedhead his fur has. The hound cocks his head curiously but the rodent does not explain, instead taking to her perch between his shoulders. "They're already fools to be out in this rain."

The constant sound of the storm had not been on the forefront of his mind during the debacle but B'doke had realized it had not let up nonetheless. A pity really, as it would make for an unpleasant climb across this cliff side. "Guess we're fools too then." With a small buck of his shoulders the massive hounds heads out, ducking to make it through the doorway and out in to the world. It was dreary, cold, windy- a spectacular day for travel. Making no verbal comment on it he glances up at the grey sky but sees nothing of note before heading out into the rain. Immediately Riley ducks down, making herself small and only allowing her head to peak out from the sides of his head. "Not a great place to look for food." She sighs, long tail snaking its way around him. A fair point, and though his stomach felt empty the idea of eating was enough to drive any hunger away. "You hungry?" He asks anyway, silence being all the answer he needed. "Anything still palatable would inside where its dry. Might be worth lookin' around this town some."

He bounced with each step, splashes of water and grit coming up with each lift of his huge paws. Aside from the dripping and splash of ceaseless rain this town seems eerily quiet, almost lonely as any beings sought shelter away from the storm. Its really not the best time to be wandering. They would be more than fools to take a leisurely stroll in this; a soaked pelt was tolerable but their sorry excuse of a shelter would not be acceptable for another night. "We could start with that big one." Riley suggests, her voice still timid but with a rising curiosity as her head pops up a little bit, big eyes looking off toward the hotel. "Itd have a lot of dry ground to explore." Nodding with agreement the Delectroke breaks into a trot as they make their way toward the unknown structure.

((Skip Peregrine, I'll edit in the morning))

It was exhausting sometimes, to dance around some topics with Eirlys. Zuri watched as the puppy chased the ball he'd kicked around with reckless abandon. The direyena sighed as he watched, sitting onto his haunches and turned his eyes to Yahto once he was sure Eirlys wasn't about to to crashing into something. Yahto's quiet apology got a snort and he shook his head, ltilting his head out towards the windows, watching the rain hit the glass with a long sigh. "Don't apologize. She's innocent in several ways still... but she's more than aware of the state of the world at the moment. She's seen far more death than a puppy of her age should have." He explained, standing to stretch out, his tail curling up over his back with a wide yawn.

"Come on. We'll go to the kitchen, and see what we can scrap together for food. That way we can eat something beofre the day starts." He said, giving a gruff chuff to get Eirlys's attention. The puppy jolted before hurrying over to Zuri, skidding to a stop next to him. The houndrunt stuck fast to her brother's side as he turned to start walking along to where he'd mapped out the kitchen earlier. Zuri paused only a moment to make sure his charge and Yahto were following, before quickening his pace along the way.

His paws were deafened by the carpet below him, only the soft thud of their pawsteps to accompany the three in the dark halls of the hotel. Zuri nosed his way along to the kitchen, lowering his nose to push the door open. Eirlys immediately took to investigating everything, pressing her nose to every surface she could reach only to sneeze once she got too much dust in there. She snorted before hurrying back around the counters, scurrying up a pile of broken carts to get ontop of the long unused cooktops, investigating everything up there as well now she had a higher vantage point.

Zuri let her explore, only going back to nosing out some cans from the cupboards, and sniffing through to see where those bags of kibble had gone. They would be stale, but it was better than nothing. Especially since he wouldn't be able to hunt.

Or would he?

Zuri paused, looking back at Yahto. Eirlys liked the leafeon, she'd listen to him. He was worried about her protection though. Yahto didn't seem like much of a fighter... but maybe they could run if anything dangerous come into the hotel? Zuri paused, before turning to grab a bag to drag out into view. "If I leave you and Eirlys here," he started, his voice slightly muffled by the bag in his mouth, "will you watch her while I go hunt some proper food for us? In here should be safe, I patrolled it just this morning and I found no new scents inside." He asked the leafeon, looking up at Yahto with his head cocked.

"If I only have myself to worry about, I can go out into the rain to gather berries and meat that isn't rotten or stale." He said, ears perking up with a cocked head. "I feel it would be safe enough to leave the two of you here in the kitchen, it's easily guarded, especially with only one entrance into the room." He said, looking up when he heard the clatter of old dishes, spotting Eirlys leaning over a counter above him.

"Whassat, Zuri?" She asked him, head cocked cutely to the side. Her brother snorted up at her, rearing onto his hind legs to lightly swat playfully at her. "Nothing serious, Eir. Just asking Yahto to keep an eye on you while I go hunting." He said, getting a wide oh look from Eirlys, before she nodded vicorously, toppling herself off the counter with a yelp.

Zuri snatched the pup once she was within his reach, easily picking her up by the scruff to place safely paws down on the floor. She at least had the ability to giggle sheepishly at the direyena, swiping playfully at his leg as a thanks for the save.

"Don't apologize. She's innocent in several ways still... but she's more than aware of the state of the world at the moment. She's seen far more death than a puppy of her age should have."

Yahto’s expression wore a deep sadness, a silent mourning for the lives of the previous world that no child of the epidemic would experience. Remembering the pre-epidemic days always brought on a weird sense of alien and a twinge of loss.
“To be a child, living in this… nightmare. I can’t—“

"Come on. We'll go to the kitchen, and see what we can scrap together for food. That way we can eat something before the day starts." Zuri instructed, also gathering Eirlys’ attention with a chuff.
Yahto nodded, giving his coat a good shake before striding to join Zuri and Eirlys.

The hotel, despite its state of abandonment, still gave fading vibes of luxe to the Leafeon who knew little more than hollows and badly damaged ruins for sleeping quarters in recent years. His preference had always been the road less traveled in order to avoid problems whenever possible, but something about this place just twisted his stomach in a sense of nostalgia— not to mention a proper roof definitely kept the elements out better than his usual alternatives.

Zuri led the way into the kitchen. The room was heavy with dust but despite damages and general uncleanliness, still seemed nice. “Fancy,” Yahto commented, then chuckled softly as the clattering sounds of Eir’s antics passed his ears.
He took a few laps through the kitchen, collecting silverware along with other odds and ends to what he deemed appropriate locations— the idea of stepping on a fork and then having an open wound on the paws sounded like a recipe - pardon the pun - for indirect infection.

"If I leave you and Eirlys here," Zuri began, "will you watch her while I go hunt some proper food for us? In here should be safe, I patrolled it just this morning and I found no new scents inside. If I only have myself to worry about, I can go out into the rain to gather berries and meat that isn't rotten or stale." That storm was something otherworldly… Yahto couldn’t help a twinge of guilt for even considering such a proposal.
"I feel it would be safe enough to leave the two of you here in the kitchen, it's easily guarded, especially with only one entrance into the room."

Yahto was focused solely focused on Zuri’s dialogue, setting him up for a nearly comical jumpscare at Eirlys’ paws as she made her presence known with a loud crash and sudden appearance from above. "Whassat, Zuri?"

Yahto stared up with something of a terrified expression for a brief moment before giving a sigh of relief. A few more scares like that… he didn’t even wanna think about it.

"Nothing serious, Eir. Just asking Yahto to keep an eye on you while I go hunting." Zuri reared up to swipe at the puppy playfully.

She acknowledged him just before slipping off the countertop she resided on. Yahto rushed to his paws to help but Zuri had saved the day before the Leafeon could even reach her. Gods. What an incredible creature, he awed to himself.

“Yes sir, I’ll guard her with my life.” Yahto assured. “Would it be okay if we played a game maybe? What do you like to play, Eirlys?”

Keeping his pace even B'doke trotted with high knees toward the looming hotel. The chatter between the two of them was minimal, letting the surrounding quiet really sink in as he listened for any unwlecome sounds. Whatever had spooked her notwithstanding, the town felt bitterly empty, and any sign of life would be welcome at this point as an energizer. "Did you want to make our way down to the water later?" He asks the Raichu in an effort to pull her thoughts in a different direction. Her tiny paws flexed, ruffling his fur with an anxious touch as she mulled over the idea. "Maybe later," she eventually mumbled after much delay, "its all just wet anyway." The neutral frown deepened on the Delectroke's muzzle, and he slowed his pace as they got closer to the hotel.

With deep but fast huffs the Raichu sighed again and again, her mind still reeling as she failed to reign it in. Her wide eyes kept flicking up to the sky, looking for the same creature she had spotted before, but anything she managed to spot through the rain and clouds did not look the same. Hunkering down lower into B'doke's shoulders she twined her tail around his collar of spikes. We can handle anything. She repeated his words as a mantra, forcing herself to hold the next inhale as she peaked over his shoulder at their rapidly approaching destination. A splotch of color against the dull town instantly caught her eye, and in a painfully squeaky yelp she squeals, "BB theres something in front of it!"

The canine's steps had already slowed to a crawl. He had spotted the Pokemon well before, its brilliant scales a stark contrast to the wet stones, and was already weighing their options. As it paced and walked about he felt no hostility from it; it was not hunting or stalking anything, but certainly seemed tense. It could be waiting, for others or something to happen, but the location seemed a bit odd and exposed. "I dont see anything else." Keeping his voice low the massive Pokemon drinks in the scents of the area, but other than the Pokemon before them anything meaningful had already been smothered by rain. Nothing recent. As they got closer B'doke could see a rough looking nest heaped against the wall of the hotel. Outside? Surely a Pokemon with claws its size could make a way into any of these buildings with ease.

Riley shuffled on his back, pulling her head back and peaking over the opposite shoulder. "It doesn't seem sick.." Healthy scales, not a wound in sight, a strange... was that a tinfoil hat? "I don't like this." Gripping his pelt harder the Raichu silently pleaded for him to change directions but B'doke paws stayed the course. "I'm here, Im with you." He reassured her, but as they came into earshot of the other Pokemon she couldn't help but press herself low and hide.
With confident but calm steps the Delectroke kept walking, a gentle smile painted on his face as he called out to the other Pokemon. "Greetings friend." The large hound announces himself, stopping short to give both of them respectful space. "Nice to see another soul in this town." Standing loosely the Delectroke does his best to remain nonthreatening. He was an intimidating creature, and often caused undo stress, though this dragon could easily say the same. "Is everything alright?" He asks, trying to read if this location was viable or not for them.