Mission: Don't Get Lost

[Okamoto Kaida]

Kaida felt herself growing ansy. She hated just standing around, but she knew that she was at a disadvantage with this axe-laden idiot standing in front of her. She couldn't just turn and walk away for fear that he'd follow her, but Dialga-dammit he was just so stupid. As his eyes glazed over, she felt hers lowering annoyedly down to her egg. She couldn't help but wonder what was inside of it... She hoped it was a dragon pokemon, but she didn't think she would be that lucky. More than likely that was the only way she'd keep it, though. As much as she liked pokemon, she couldn't get the memory of Haku out of her head, and she couldn't bare the thought of raising a pokemon weaker than the weakest of baby dragons.

Finally he spoke. She jerked her head up and glanced his direction, spotting for the first time the buckets that he had behind him. That was it? That was all that he was doing? Well, she supposed that he hadn't been lying after all, to her knowledge at least... Although possibly not to his. Maybe he didn't know any better and he did think that this operation was illegal. She didn't care enough to ask.

The paris quickly distracted her. Raising her eyebrows, she watched the small bug crawl up the tree and begin eating the sap. It was then that an idea sprung to mind - If she caught this paris, she wouldn't have to go any deeper into the woods, and it would be much easier to find her way out. She had said she was in a hurry, but would he be able to remember that?

"Say," she began, carefully taken a few steps forward. "You don't want that paris eating all of that sap, do you?" she asked, pointing accusingly at the bug-type. "If you want, I could take care of it for you. I'd do it for free too," she added in quickly, giving the man a smile.

axew egg 1/15

[SOPHI]

The man regards you warily with those blue eyes of his. He thoughtfully scrapes a few flecks of mud out of his beard. "You with... with Plasma then, miss?" It takes him a few moments to recall the name of the group currently in charge. He lives so far out of their way, he only sees a few of them come by each year to check out the forest. He knows well enough to stay out of their way. Every so often, others come by, and he stays even further out of their way. To everyone, he makes sure to desperately explain that what he's doing isn't illegal. Yet.

Even if he might accidentally be selling the sap to aspiring illegal trainers who want to attract Pokemon so they can catch them.

"I don't want no trouble," he says, shaking his head. "If you got the badge, you do what you wanna do with the Pokemon. I can't stop you." He raises his rough, calloused hands in defeat. He seems... sad. Like he'd rather the Pokemon of the forest be left alone, if it meant they'd suck away at his precious sap. There were plenty of trees to go around, after all. "You, uh... you don't hurt it, y'hear? Battle's fair an' all but I seen some nasty people 'round these parts." His shoulders slump. "I can't stop you if you do, though," he repeated. Like he was reminding himself of something that happened long ago.

He turns and heads toward the Paras, which barely even seems to notice him. The man picks up both of his buckets and backs away.

PARAS LEVEL 23
SCRATCH | STUN SPORE | POISON POWDER
LEECH LIFE | FURY CUTTER | SPORE
DRY SKIN | EFFECT SPORE
Is still eating away at the sap.

[Okamoto Kaida]

Kaida listened to the man's first question with a smile, but as soon as she hears it her smile drops. Her expression is not sad or angry, but a trained neutral she's been working on for situations such as these. She reached down to her belt where she typically kept her badge, but it wasn't there - she had left straight from Coryn's and didn't have it with her. Now that she thought about it, she should have picked it up on her way out. Sometimes a badge is more protection than pokemon. She opened her mouth to answer, but he continued.

This time she couldn't hide it. As he spoke and gestured, ultimately coming to the conclusion that as much as he didn't want this pokemon to be hurt, that he couldn't stop her, she could feel her heart sinking into her stomach. She gave a glance to the paras on the tree, watching how it sipped at the sap so quietly and peacefully, and she couldn't help but feel the same sadness that this man was feeling in front of her. When she had first seen him, she had been afraid that he was going to hurt her, but now that he had gotten a chance to interact with him, it seemed like he was just a forest dweller who was just looking out for himself in the only way he knew how. The way that he seemed to care even about this random wild paras touched her heart. They had that in common.

She sighed deeply and stared down at her egg, rubbing it over with the hand that had just searched for the badge that represented the death of everything that the pokemon inside would stand for. She sighed, taking a few steps closer so that she made a triangle with the man and the paras on the tree.

He couldn't possibly be a part of either of those groups... could he?

"The truth is, I can't guarantee what will happen to this paras if I take it," she began, looking at the small bug-type. "You see I..." She lifted her hand up to scratch behind her head, for once in her life hesitating. If she could just tell this one person, this one man in the woods with no connections to the outside world... "Technically I am a member of Team Plasma." She bowed her eyes, not wanting to look at either of them. "But I..." Where could she begin? Did he know about the Resistance in the first place? "But I'm not. I just have the badge. I'm trying to join the Resistance, if you've heard of that," she said, giving him a glance, "And the only way I can do that is to prove to them that I'm loyal. My test is to bring them a pokemon for new recruits."

She glanced away, taking another step towards the paras and really looking at it. Sure, it could become a partner to one of the sweetest trainers in the world, but that wouldn't shield it from the rest of the world that she'd be bringing it into.

"But I can't guarantee that it won't get hurt. I can't guarantee that about any pokemon that I 'save,'" she finished, putting air quotes around the last word. Almost desperately, she looked back towards the man, her eyes large and unsure. "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I don't know if I'm actually helping by doing this or if I'm just going to ruin more pokemons' lives."

axew egg 2/15

[SOPHI]

More of the mud is scratched away from his face. The Paras, enjoying its tree sap snack, repositions itself so it can get at more of the good stuff. The man is silent. Then he heaves a large sigh. "I dunno if I like that, miss..." he starts to say, but he is soon interrupted by a woman's voice calling him from afar.

"Borus! Borus, where-- oh!" The woman gets closer and then stops, her wide blue eyes fixating on you. She's a little dirty too, but not nearly as much as the man. Her dark brown hair is pulled back away from her shoulders, and she's holding a basket full of berries. "He... he hasn't been giving you trouble, has he?" she asks, the country lilt obvious in her voice. She doesn't seem quite as slow as Borus does, at least, so she might be easier to talk to.

The woman's sudden appearance gives Borus an idea. His eyes light up. "Come back to the cabin with me an' Marie," he urges.

"Wha?" is all Marie can say.

"We can talk. You don't seem sure what to do, so we can figger it out! What's right and what's not." The rusty wheels in his head are spinning. Despite everything else holding him back, he doesn't want to make an uninformed decision.

Will you take Borus's offer, or will you fight and capture this Paras?

((This thread is now featured in thread notes. NO PEEKING))

[Okamoto Kaida]

OoC Note: taking 2 levels for starting a thread. sending them to her deino who technically was in the thread as an egg for awhile.

---

When he spoke, Kaida nodded. It didn't seem like a threatening comment, but instead more that the man was just confirming what she was already feeling. She didn't like it either. Before he could continue though, Kaida's attention was stolen by a woman's voice. Looking up and around, she pulled her egg closer to her until she spied a woman approaching them through the forest.

By the looks of it, this Borus character wasn't the only one living in the forest. Kaida's eyes quickly took in the sight of this woman. She was dirty, but not as much as the man. She seemed a little more put together, and instead of sap she was toting around berries. Kaida wondered if she had gotten them to use for her pokemon, or if they had some sort of farm. When the woman spoke directly to her, Kaida shook her head quickly before saying, "No, not at all."

Borus' words seemed to surprise the woman just as much as they surprised Kaida. Raising her eyebrows and widening her eyes, she looked back and forth between Borus and Marie a few times. Come to their house? She had always been told not to talk to strangers, and now one was inviting her to his house with his wife. For a few seconds, Kaida stared at the paras, debating if she could just grab it and run. But... That wouldn't really solve her problems...

She gave one last look at Borus before nodding. "Um, alright. Sure, I guess I can stop by." After all, he didn't seem too bright, and he wasn't that scary for a jungle man. Plus she had Chihiro with her, who at the very least would defend herself and give Kaida a chance to escape if things got a little dicey.

axew egg 3/15

[SOPHI]

The man beams back at you, and the woman (His wife? Somebody else?) sighs and shakes her head. She doesn't object to it, though, and before long they're leading you back to their cabin. The woman carries the shovel and the axe in her strong arms, while Borus takes his buckets with him. The Paras is forgotten for now, left to suck down its sap on its own. It's a little confusing as to what this man's intentions are, but he certainly doesn't seem to have bad intentions.

"My name's Marie," the woman helpfully tells you. "You mighta picked up on that. I'm Borus's sister." Now that she's mentioned it, you might notice that their eyes are the same color. Their noses are pretty similar, too. "He's... a little slow sometimes, but he's harmless. He hasn't been the same since that Plasma woman hit him over the head." She shakes her head again, this time mournfully. "I was livin' in the city when it happened. I came back here because he needed someone to watch out for him."

What you've seen only confirms that. Even now Borus mumbles quietly to himself as he walks, not unlike how he was before he saw you. If you listen carefully, it sounds like he's reciting... berries... to himself? Is this so he doesn't forget them? Or is this just something that he does? Whatever it is, you don't get an answer before the three of you come to a small cabin on the edge of the forest. It's quaint but well-maintained, suggesting that Marie must do a lot of the work. She looks at you and smiles. "There's a pond out back, too. We sometimes get Pokemon from the forest there lookin' for a drink."

[Okamoto Kaida]

Kaida smiled back at the man. She still knew that she couldn't trust either of these people completely, but she at least felt better about him than she did when she originally found him in the forest. She looked at the other woman as they began walking, trying to get a read on her too, but eventually she had to look more where she was going. Walking through this forest, even when there was some semblance of a trail, was difficult at best, especially when you were holding something as precious as an egg in your arms. No wonder it seemed like not a lot of people left Hyo City. Regardless, she maked sure to keep them both in her eyesight at all times. She even walked a step or so behind the woman, just in case she decided to try anything funny with those shovels and axe.

The lady began talking and Kaida smiled in response. Now that she thought about it, they did sort of look similar, although she wasn't very good at placing how. Plus, it was hard with all of the dirt and sweat and mud that covered Borus.

She wanted to ask why someone had hit him over the head. He didn't seem like the type to stir up trouble - why even when Kaida told him the truth about what she was doing out here, he still didn't do anything to warrant being hit over the head. She opened her mouth to ask, but the sound of him reciting berries to himself stopped her. Maybe she'd wait until she wasn't walking right behind him, or maybe it would just come out in conversation if she was lucky.

Eventually they arrived at their destination. It seemed like they had mostly been walking in the opposite direction that Kaida had originally been walking when she entered the forest. She wondered if they were right on the edge, and if she kept walking just a little more she'd reach the road back to Hyo City. Marie mentioned a pond, and Kaida blinked, looking at the little cabin. Maybe Chihiro would like to be let out into the pond... Although then maybe she'd never come back. A sinking feeling filled her stomach, and she turned back to Marie, shifting the egg in her arms.

"I've heard that the pokemon in this forest aren't very nice to humans. Does that cause any issues for you? With the pond? Although, now that I think about it, that paras did seem pretty nice to Borus..."

4/15

[SOPHI]

Marie sets the basket, the axe, and the shovel down, stretching her cramping arms afterwards. Borus begins to head into the cabin, not seeming to mind that the two of you are still outside. "We get some trouble, sometimes," she admits. "We've been here so long that most of the forest Pokemon know we're not going to bother them. But the more aggressive types give us trouble still." She scratches the back of her head, looking at you. "Lately there's been a Seviper that comes around to the pond and harasses the little critters that gather there. Nothin' much we can do about it."

Borus mentioned a snake before, so that's likely what he was talking about. The poor man couldn't remember the thing's name even though it was a common visitor. Marie is lost in thought for a moment, but then she realizes the both of you are still standing out in the open. "Where are my manners? You go head on in with these berries, I'm gonna put Borus's tools away in the shed out back." She nods at you, offering the basket of berries before disappearing behind the cabin.

Should you head inside now, you'll see Borus putting his jacket on a hook and starting a fire in the fireplace. Or you could disregard Marie's request and follow her around back to check out the pond. She likely won't mind too much either way.

[Okamoto Kaida]

Kaida began to follow Borus to the house, but stopped when Marie began talking. Turning, Kaida looked back at her, and then towards the direction of the lake outback. A seviper? The wheels in her head began turning, and she started to wonder if perhaps she could kill two birds with one stone. She was squinting in that direction when Marie mentioned going inside with the berries.

Lost in her own thoughts, Kaida wrapped one arm around her egg and with the other she grabbed the berries, but ignored the woman's request to bring them inside. Instead, she continued doing what she had been doing the past 10 minutes and followed Marie, her feet doing what felt right while her mind continued to think.

How strong would the seviper be if its strong enough to terrorize other pokemon of the forest? Could Chihiro handle a pokemon like that? Would Chihiro handle a pokemon like that, or would she just jump in the lake and stay there? And would a seviper even make a good companion for a Resistance member? Now that she was thinking about, based on how weak the pokemon of Hyo City were, this mission did seem sort of easy. Maybe she was supposed to catch a certain type of pokemon to test whether or not she was really Resistance material? For a moment she closed her eyes, wishing her brain could just slow down.

axew egg 5/15

[SOPHI]

The pond is pretty small, about 20 square feet. It's peaceful and quiet, and when you turn the corner there's actually a Spinarak and a Seedot drinking from it. They don't react to Marie, but when they see you they bolt away as fast as their legs can carry them. This proves what Marie said earlier, that the forest Pokemon have learned to recognize that the two siblings do not pose a threat. It's a shame you accidentally interrupted them, but if they really need the water they'll be back later.

There's a small wooden shed closer to the cabin than the pond. You can see Marie's back as she puts away the tools. She rummages around for a moment and then comes out again. Seeing you standing there, she nods towards the pond. "Nice lil' place to relax, isn't it?" she says. "Borus dug it out before his accident. We used to get more visitors out back here, before that Plasma woman came by." That Plasma woman again. Marie scowls briefly, but quickly wipes the look off her face. "You have Pokemon, right?" She looks pointedly at the egg you're carrying. "If you wanna let them out for a bit, go ahead. They might appreciate the fresh air."