(ELITE) The SNOWPOINT Team

Ciara watched in morbid fascination as Strix started resetting Alice's tail. The poor cat woke up not long after it started and looked to be in great pain. She tried to keep her weight down, like Hera said, but it was hard. It felt like forever before he was done, and each new bone snapping into place was making Ciara more and more sick. When she heard one actually crunch she leapt off and ran back to her corner and began to wretch, losing most of what Dante fed her earlier. She couldn't go back over there until she was sure Strix was done.

When she heard Alice speak, she figured that nothing else was going to happen, but now she was suffering from major embarrassment. She just got sick and ran from pain. Someone else's pain. Great way to make an impression on these Pokemon. She was surprised they hadn't tossed her out by now as bait for that thing outside and taken off while she was being eaten. Of course, with a display like that, they probably weren't far from the idea. She whimpered in shame and curled herself into a ball, trying like all hell to not cry and make everything worse.

Dante watched Strix's performance carefully, the young cat's tail hanging precariously in the balance of whether or not Strix could so something so delicate with his giant meat-man hands. He was surprised that he made it so far without blubbing when he heard a sickening crunch sound from the tail. He didn't even notice Alice was awake until then, since she yelped a little.

The pup ran from her spot to puke while Strix finished up and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. He knew that most pokemon didn't go through the life he had, nor did they have his sort of tolerance for the gross, but really... In this day and age, you have to have SOME sort of tolerance... He got off of Alice when Strix had finished and chuckled. "Good work, Strix. I didn't know you had it in you, but I'm glad you do."

"Okay... What happened while I was unconscious?" Alice asked, and Dante sighed.

"We're snowed in, and the pretty little thing that was hunting us in the cave is still out there, after us." He frowned and looked to the pup, who was curled in a corner, trying not to sob. "And since we're snowed in, there's really not a viable escape. So we're stuck here."

He went and plopped down near the berry bushel, plucking off the still-good berries and put some spare rocks and lumber around it. When he was satisfied, he set the now barren bushel aflame, warming and lighting the cabin. "How you feeling, kids?" It was addressing both Alice and the pup.

(Ooc-please skip me, Strix is just tired, the poor lug)

(skip too Catherine is just arguing with herself.)

((Please skip my turn.))

"How you feeling, kids?" Ciara stared at Dante like he had grown a second head. He was looking her way when he said kid, and she realized that wasn't the first time he called her that...did he really think she was a pup? She looked down at her body, then circled around like she was trying to see some invisible thing that only Dante could notice. Kid? Sure she was a little on the short side but..kid? Really...? Well maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell him...

"Um. I...I'm not...Well...I'm well past childhood, Mr. Dante. For several years now, actually..."

She didn't know how else to tell him. She wasn't exactly sure how old she was but she remembered that five years ago she was caught by the magma grunt, and she had been a Mightyena for over a year now...so she certainly wasn't a kid. But she knew she was really inexperienced when it came to social interaction. In that aspect, she certainly was equivalent to a child. But if you ordered her to fight, then she was as experienced as they come. All she knew was battle, even if she preferred not to fight.

Oh crap, she hadn't answered the maybe-alpha! She hurriedly corrected that. "But to answer your question, IthinkI'mmuchbetternow!" The last part of the sentence was said in a rush, Ciara hoping Dante wouldn't be angry at her for not answering sooner, or for correcting him. Oh how could she be so stupid?! She felt like banging her head on the floor in exasperation.

A bloodcurdling screech rang through the trail leading into Snowpoint. The bloodied undead trudged through the west of the city, leaving clumps of blood-dirtied snow in his wake. He stumbled as his legs chose to fail on him at that particular moment. He growled as his nose twitched, holding back an involuntary scream.

"Meat.... Food...."

He growled menacingly as he tried to sniff out where this carcass was. He ran out of the boundaries of the city, and tripped. He picked himself up, leaving a huge imprint covered in head to toe with blood. He continued until he suddenly spied a dead Sneasel. Wolfe panted in victory and ran over to the body and assumed his ritual....
He spied the bloodied eyes in the eye socket of the carcass with glowing red eyes. In a flash, he dug both of his sharped claws, both scythe and barbed into the creatures rotting eyes. He ruthlessly pulled out his talons with a noise equivalent to a saw cutting wood, and began to rip open the top of the Sneasel's skull with his scythe claw. As soon as he had cut deep enough, he smashed his barbed claw into its head, piercing through the weakened bone his own had sliced. He managed to tear off the top of it's skull, exposing its bloodied, mangled brain. He growled in satisfaction, and quickly dug his face in, devouring the brain matter in what seemed seconds. He quickly jumped back to his job, almost effortlessly digging his barbed claw into the Sneasel's chest and ripped out is diaphragm, not able to access the valuable piece he had wanted to reach. His eyes burned as he picked it up with both claws and examined it. It was bruised and blackened.... Wolfe hated this organ with a desire because it's something he had, and had lost it, and grieved for it dearly.... He took the heart and literally smashed it from the force of throwing it into the Sneasel's skull. He took his claw, and dug the heart cells into the marrow of the bone, it seemed. He ground and ground the heart until it was a bloody smear. It was only then he started to eat the flesh of this mangled pokemon. He calmly ate, but his only his eyes were visible. They glowed as he almost laughed at the Sneasel as he watched its empty sockets as he ate it.

(OoC: Ello y'all. :3 My floater Wolfe is gonna be in here with ya guys for a little~)

((OOC: lol, Ciana, he already made a fire))

"Um. I...I'm not...Well...I'm well past childhood, Mr. Dante. For several years now, actually..."

Dante was quiet for a moment as he registered this. The small meek little pup in front of him was... an adult? The one who retched at the sound of a bone cracking, the one who jumped at her own shadow? Now HE was the one about to crack up in hysterical laughter. He did manage to stifle it down to a "Pbfft," as he reclined a little more, enjoying the warmth from the fire he created. "Fooled me," he muttered with a slight grin.

He stretched as he listened for movement outside. There was only the sound of the howling wind and the snow had built up past the window. It was raging still and was not showing any signs of letting up. "So..." he began as he yawned a little, "I guess we've known each other long enough to get some histories. Any of you had a trainer, or anything?" He looked at Strix. "Pretty sure you have."

While he didn't like the idea of having to reveal his own history, he wanted to keep morale high. With them trapped and the only air seeping in accompanied with snow, he knew that their camaraderie could break in an instant. Paranoia, stress and fear of what waited for them outside of the walls would take the younger ones and may turn them against each other. It was crucial spirits were kept above the abyss, and he felt that this rag-tag pack was his responsibility... so with it came all of the needs.

"Don't be shy," he said with a smug grin. "We're all stuck here till the snow melts."

"Any of you had a trainer, or anything?" Dante asked, turning to Strix. "Pretty sure you have." The Nidoking paused for a moment before nodding, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, her name's Toluca," he muttered, glancing at the others. "Been with her and her team for years- since I was a kit." A small grin flashed across his face as he recalled happier memories. It faded quickly however, as he continued. "I had to leave her on an island near Azalea...to deliver a message to one of the professors for her. There was a rumor going around that all the regions' professors were meeting at Mt. Silver to figure out how to fix all of this. Nothing was at Mt. Silver, so I figured Elm might have gotten tied up on the way, so I tried getting through the Ice Caves." Strix clenched his jaws together as he stared into the small fire. "And here I am. On a mountain, in a blizzard, who the hell knows where."

He paused, anger expanding in his chest.
I shouldn't have left her alone. Why didn't I just say no. I was team lead. I shouldn't have left.
But she'll be okay. She has Poe, Dawkins, Poph... They'll take care of her.
...Right?
She'll be okay. He thought, falling silent.

They where speaking, it just irritated Disaster knowing that they where alive and well while she was just lying out here waiting for the time to go by Disaster's claws dug into the ice as she waited. The voice had been right so far, it had led her to the prey where she wouldn't have been able to alone. She'd listen to the voice, what could go wrong?

Catherine rested her head against the cabin's wall, able to hear them as they spoke of masters, pasts, a life before the infection.
at least they have a chance to continue, I'm stuck... with myself... She could never speak to any other sane being the way she was now. Catherine was only one part of herself, and the other side Disaster, would rather kill then have a conversation.

"Yeah, her name's Toluca," he muttered. "Been with her and her team for years- since I was a kit.

The big one, the one who had failed to kill her and release her. Strix was his name, he was speaking of a trainer of a mission to visit some doctor... doctor... doctor.. hadn't she seen a man in a white coat? She couldn't remember it had been when she had been a fleeting thought. But she'd seen something.

At that very moment she wanted nothing more then to speak, tell Strix about the man in the white coat talk to the ones who where planning to kill her have some sort of interaction other then Disaster.
"I had a trainer too..." she said, they'd have to have great hearing to hear her as she ranted. "His name was Lucas, he captured me when I was a year old. Right after some hard times...hard times..dah. What a joke a recent hurricane I'd 'caused' had me on everyone's hit list... even the pokemon where chasing me away. But he wanted me and captured me, after that he treated me so kindly... not like an outsider, and not with disdain. He'd loved me, his own pokemon where kind too... I was happy with them..." Catherine closed her eyes, wondering when she'd lost the water for tears, there was only blood now.
Disaster had blinked but the words the other was saying had nothing to do with catching the prey so she stopped listening. Not caring about the other who spoke of a trainer, the prey was tiring. Then they'd attack.

((OOC: Gonna revert to some profile personality stuff a bit, so if the personality is a little off... Sorry. >.<))

Alice shuddered slightly. She didn't like the thought of being stuck in the cabin with the Whitehound out there. It felt too much like delaying the inevitable. Her tail brought her out of her thoughts, as she tried to stretch ever so slightly. A new wave of pain came over her, though no where near what she had experienced before. She truly was delaying the inevitable. Dante asked her how she was feeling, but she didn't quite know how to answer. "I've been better," she replied softly.

Looking around, she took in her surroundings once more. She didn't move, but she listened to what Strix was saying about his trainer. She sympathized with his pain. He was trying to help the one he loves most, and got shut up with us instead. Alice sighed.

"I never had a trainer." She began, when the Nidoking had finished. Her voice was slowly come back, along with the feeling in most of her body. Even with a fire in the cabin, it was still very cold. She wished she had a bigger mane... "I took an injury from a Lopunny before we all met up." Had she had the energy, she would have shuddered. "I wandered alone until I came to the Ice Path, and, well, we all know the rest. They did indeed. She had a feeling there were more danger-filled stories than hers to be telled, perhaps even more saddening than Strix's. She was almost afraid of what Dante would have to tell.

Ciara listened to everyone's tales of their lives prior to the epidemic, everyone but Dante's of course. She guessed he was waiting for everyone else to go first. When she realized everyone had gone but her she ducked her head. Did she really want to tell them? Would they hate her for the terrible things she had done? But...she couldn't deny one of the alphas..."I had a Master..."

She cleared her throat and looked around nervously. Her time with the Master was awful, and she didn't like remembering it much. He was a cruel man. "I guess you could call him a trainer. He captured me when I was just a pup, I don't really remember how old. He worked for some group, dressed all in red, and called themselves a funny name. Magma. He wasn't very high up the pack ranks so he took it out on us, his Pokemon." She shivered a little, remembering nightly beatings and having to fight for scraps.

"He made us do such awful things, I had to...to...hurt people. We stole their things and their Pokemon, and the ones who resisted we had to hurt physically. Everyone was always so sad...I hated it. But I couldn't defy Master, he was strong." Ciara was almost crying by this point, as she came upon the most painful memory of her life. "One night, he had been drinking, and wanted me to fight against one of his friends. I lost, and Master was FURIOUS. He started kicking...and hitting... until I blacked out. When I woke he was holding me, and when he realized I was awake he threw me to the ground and tied this rope on my neck. He left me there."

Curling into a ball she whimpered, almost as though she could feel every blow once again, the pain of his kicks, the cold of the night air as she was abandoned. "It...it wasn't until much later that I found out the rope had an Everstone on it. He wanted me to never evolve so that I would die out there. I wandered for a while, and no one wanted me. Other Pokemon would attack me and humans would chase me away. When the Scyther came... I couldn't get away. His blade cut the rope and I panicked. I killed it with a Fire Fang and this weird light happened. I evolved. It was the first time I ever used an attack without an order...I wandered for a year, hitching a ride to a new region, before finally running into you guys."

Finally done Ciara let out a heavy sigh and lay her head on her paws. She had never had the chance to share so much of her past with anyone else before, and it frightened her to think what the others would do now that they knew. She was a monster, she hurt people, killed, she didn't deserve to be with such nice Pokemon. They hadn't done anything as awful as her. Why would they want her? Why should they? Ciara began to cry as her self-loathing settled in.

The disgusting noises of feeding faded as Wolfe finished off his eat of the carcass. Wolfe shook his head, swinging some blood and flesh into the snow around him. He still wasn't satisfied, though.... He continued to trudge in the snow; leaving bloodied trails behind him as he refused to lift his feet. He gave an involuntary scream like a puppet would dance for it's master. All his life was was one big puppet show; even before he was infected and died.... He continued to mowsie along through the snow on the beaten path when he suddenly was hit with the edge of the blizzard. He hissed, not wanting to go any further, so he made his way into the trees. He walked through the pines; covering up most of the wind and snow as he proceeded through. He didn't know what to do next and unleashed another scream. A dreadful scream.... He was sure no other pokemon could hear him though because of the roaring wind. He sat on a rock and picked the flesh out of his teeth, waiting for something to happen.

Dante listened to everyone's tales intently, quietly. He never interrupted; it seemed wrong to do so when most of them recollected their pasts with solemnity. While he had never really cared about much in his life, the few that seemed to radiated emotion as they told their stories, even Strix. It looked like none of them had a particularly easy walk of life, especially now.

He wasn't surprised at all when Strix spoke of his own trainer. The houndoom thought it stupid that the trainer would let their most powerful go out on his own, but the dog figured it really didn't matter anymore. He was not surprised that Alice had no trainer; since she had never evolved, it made sense. Most pokemon in the wild never obtained evolution; at least, not when they were so young. Nor was he shocked that Hera had been brutally beaten in a battle, but was when her trainer had simply been shot. 'Sounds like one of the bastards I worked for...' he thought grimly.

The story that seemed to root was Ciara's. She spoke of an abusive trainer, illegal and awful crimes she had to commit, and abandonment. It dawned on him then why she was so meek and timid, so desperate to be in line. He sighed. That sucked.

The silence settled and all eyes went to him expectantly. Oh yeah. He HAD started this little train of thought, and since everyone else had told their story... it was time for his. He made a small face and cleared his throat quietly. "Guess it's my turn, huh?

"I was born in a pokemon mill; a breeding station to breed the best and strongest to make an even stronger generation of fighters. I never really knew my parents, just the humans that trained me from my earliest memories. We were pitted against each other and the humans would watch for sport, betting on which one would win.

"Needless to say, I was one of the best in the new brood, and the owner of the mill adopted me as his own. I was taken out of the ring, out of the battles and... was really free to do or eat whatever I wanted. Warm bed, warm food... It was a nice change." His expression darkened a little as the memories flooded back.

"...There was a broodmate of mine, a zorua by the name of Delia. She was the runt of the litter, a bait dog for the others to gain experience off of. We were like real siblings, and I tried to protect her when I could. But when the owner took me in, I couldn't anymore, and... I guess she got a worse time of it.

"One day, I had been out hunting. It was a nasty storm out, but I was really hungry and the food stores were low. When I finished, and I headed back to the mill, but... there was blood everywhere. The other top fighter was dead, the humans outside were dead, and I feared the worst. I ran to the owner's room, and there Delia was..." He shut his eyes against the sight, her crazed aqua eyes piercing into him, that manic grin stained with blood wide on her face.


Dante took a deep breath as the memory faded, her crazed eyes still burned into his mental vision. "Delia had killed him," he continued with the story, looking away for a moment. "...and everyone else. She was nuts, and wanted to kill me too. I fired an attack at her but she ran off, and I've been after her ever since." He looked around, his expression back to normal. "So now you know."

((OOC: long post is LONG. |D))

Strix swallowed hard as he listened to Hera speak of how she lost her trainer, and how she was pitted against such a powerful pokemon and still fought. His face lost all of its anger momentarily as he watched her as she spoke. His eyes fell across her body, his heart aching as they fell on each terrible scar.
I don't know what I'd do if I lost Tullie...she's everything to me...but...Hera...she's made it through...probably one of the toughest things a trained Pokemon can endure...
A sudden warmth swelled in his chest, which was completely new and unfamiliar to him. He just wanted to hold her close and try to make her feel better.
The Nidoking did nothing, but after she was done, he offered a warm smile to try to comfort her.

But as Ciara and Dante spoke of their pasts, Strix could feel his anger return. The terrible and unspeakable things that humans did to Pokemon- forcing them to fight, even if they couldn't or didn't want to...it was something he was fortunate enough to never have experienced.
After everything fell silent, he gazed forlornly at all of them. They all had fallen into memories and the darkness of their situation.
Well this is no good.
Familiar with giving pep talks to his team before, Strix clenched his jaws and cleared his throat.
"Thank you, everyone, for sharing. Now that we all know more about each other, we can work better as a team...a pack." He paused, glancing at each of them. He knew they'd appreciate the meaning of 'pack', as all of them were group creatures by nature. "As long as we stick together and cover each others' backs, we'll make it through this." He said, hunching over, closer to the fire.

(Skip, Cathy is just lying there listening like a creeper)

Despite the fire, Alice felt a shiver run down her spine as she listened to the Hera and Ciara's stories. It didn't take her long to realize it had nothing to do with the temperature. Alice had fought trained pokemon before, in the wild, and seen how they were treated. Few were ever misused too badly, but from their stories, it was just... disgusting. She was unprepared for the horror of what Dante had to tell, however. Worse than the words themselves, the sight of this strong leader well under the grips of emotional strain, was shocking. She didn't blame him, not one bit, she was just surprised. She kept her distance, however. Alice didn't think he would react too well to being comforted in this situation.

Strix cut the tension, with a quick statement on teamwork. Now that the stories were over, Alice realized her tail no longer hurt very much at all. If she moved it, she could still feel the sharp pain, but it was dulled, and much less. She let out a sigh of relief at that. It was healing, at least. She still hated the thought of being locked up in the cabin however, even if it was among friends. "Is there nothing else we can do?" She muttered softly. "Any way out, or at least prepare for when we do?"

((OOC: Sorry for short post... Still getting used to this team. XD))

Ciara flattened her ears and curled up in a ball. Dante's story was horrific, it made her own look pathetic in comparison. The awful things he had to do, all the fighting and horror he had to go through just to earn the right to be taken in by the sadists who bred him that way. It was no wonder he came off as a powerful alpha make. He said it himself, he was the best. That meant he never lost. He WAS the alpha male.

With her mind made up on who was calling the shots around here, she kept her eyes on Dante, peeking over her paws to make sure he didn't need anything. At the mention of the word pack her ears pricked up just a tad, on reflex. Pack? Them? She didn't dare hope. It seemed everyone completely forgot she was there in the wake of Dante's horrid past, so when Alice asked what they were going to do Ciara knew there was only one option. Ignoring Hera's attempts to soothe the lion she stood up, head bowed, and muttered, "I'll do it."

While facing the floor she couldn't gauge their reactions, but she was pretty sure they would be excited to see her go. She was just a burden to them, a weak pup, as far as they saw. Alpha or no alpha, she wasn't one of them. Ciara knew she was lucky they even let her stay this long. She had been useless to help them. She had even gotten sick and lost the food they had so generously shared. The only thing she could do for them was this. She let out a sad sigh and padded towards the barricaded window. "I'll distract your demon so you all can get away. It's all I'm good for anyway...bait."

Wolfe continued to sit for a long time as he felt the trees creak from the heavy snowfall and wind. He let out more involuntary sounds as he brain continued to disintegrate. He slowly stood up, leaving the rock he was sitting on all bloody. He groaned loudly, then screamed as he continued to walk on, leaving bloody foot marks in his wake. He became silhouetted in the white of the fallen snow as he trudged out of site from the other small creatures of the forest.

(Okey guys; since Wolfe doesn't really have a purpose here, imma leave Snowpoint since I posted three timesss. 8U Been fun wiff y'all~)

Though Dante's mind was a bit preoccupied with nightmarish visions of Delia, Strix's voice cut through it, her cackle interrupted by his gruff, firm voice.

"Thank you, everyone, for sharing. Now that we all know more about each other, we can work better as a team...a pack. As long as we stick together and cover each others' backs, we'll make it through this." Dante took in a deep breath and nodded, when Alice timidly spoke up.

"Is there nothing else we can do? Any way out, or at least prepare for when we do?" Her voice was quiet, even in the silence of the cabin.

"I don't know, Alice. Survive. That is all that we can do," Hera answered her in a mere mutter. Dante couldn't help but silently agree. That's all they had been doing, even before meeting in the caves or the mountainside. Surviving. What else was there to do? Living... that was out of the question.

"I'll do it," the pup -or not-so-pup- muttered as she stood with her face toward the ground, her eyes not wanting to meet any of theirs. "I'll distract your demon so you all can get away. It's all I'm good for anyway...bait."

Dante snarled and stood himself. "There'll be none of that," he growled, his tail high, his body language daring anyone to object. "I've seen enough bloodshed from martyrs and 'baits' to last me two lifetimes. I'm tired of watching innocents die. You will not just go out and do the same, especially in vain. It wants all of us, and I think Strix and I in particular. It will not stop with your death."

His form relaxed a little as he sat back down. "Now, we have a little more food here, if we scrounge and ration. That should give us a decent time frame to come up with something." He looked around, seeing the white snow packed against the windows. "And looks like that if we do make a break for it, we're digging..."

Suddenly, a light popped into his head. Digging... They were just about as useless as a legless Stantler on the snow, most of their party hindered by the stuff. But... if they dug... there would be no crazy absol chasing them...

They could pop out like a diglett right into the city...

"...What if we dug...?" Dante asked, looking around to the others to guage their reactions. "We take turns digging the tunnel, of course, but... we could dig all the way to the city... hypothetically."

Strix' ears perked as he watched Hera pad over to him and sit next to him. "Thank you...Strix. That...that will mean a lot to everyone." She whispered, her tail touching his flank. He smiled faintly, his rough demeanor softened momentarily. Breaking the silence, Alice spoke.
"Is there nothing else we can do?" she asked timidly, making the Espeon next to him jump. He gently put his claw on her shoulder as he listened, hoping to ease her nerves a bit.
He understood now why she was so jumpy.
As the Mightyena volunteered for bait duty, Strix was about protest when Dante said so for him, his tail high in the air, touting the alpha posture.
Hnrgh, canines. He thought, leaning back again. His species was quite different in the way they showed dominance, but he was familiar enough with the canid species to recognize it.

As Strix sat back and listened to Dante reason their options out, he looked about slowly at the others, taking in their pasts and reanalyzing their positions in a team.
"...What if we dug...?" Dante said, bringing the Nidoking out of his thoughts.
"Dig?" He repeated, leaning forward with a grin on his face.
"Now THAT is genius." He said, stretching his claws.
Tullie had taught him the Dig TM awhile back, but he was sure he could remember how to do it again.
"If I can remember how...heh, it's been a long time- but I can probably dig the tunnel myself, and you all can follow behind."
He paused. "There was a technique for digging a tunnel without it collapsing...but it only lasts for maybe an hour before the soil starts loosening again...now, we may have longer than that, considering this soil may be frozen...If we take turns, there's a chance of it burying one of us down there. But if we do it the other way, we can all get out of here before we starve...we all just have to get through damned quick." He concluded, the last bit falling into a growl.

"None of you are afraid of tight spaces I hope."

When they heard the plans for escape both of them where furious and neither disagreed when Disaster powered up a shadow ball at shot at the cheap wood, then she sliced at the weakened part furiously until it splintered giving her enough room to put a claw through. Her ruined red eye glared at them, but it was the pretty side that showed the true rage.

"HOW DARE YOU!!!!!!!!!" They screamed together and then Disaster continued with her assualt of attacks to the side wall. She was trying to wriggle through and both of them where putting their effort into it.