Through Rain and Trees::(OPEN)

[Thym]

Normally, had you walked through this foresty area at this time of night, you'd be under the guidance of the moon and stars, occasionally blocked out by leaves. But on this eve of storms, the constant yet irregular flashes of lightning light the overgrown paths, eliminating every shadow one moment and covering everything in shadow the next.

Sheets of rain came down in a lateral flood, soaking everything. River had long since recalled all of her Pokemon except Shayne, using the large Dragon-type's wing as a cover. She had stopped traveling when it had started raining. The recently joined member of Team Darkness was dressed in black and white, her firey red hair offsetting the entire outfit. A black pair of skin tight pants, black shoes, and a white one shouldered shirt, a pair of dog tags surrounding her neck. The dog tags had been a recent development, through her own sticky fingers and Paws' claws. The date of the day she had joined Team Darkness was scratched in the blank metal. The interesting part was, the current date was only the day after the date on the metal.

She sighed, another few flashes of lightning going off as she leaned against the tree, still sheltered by Shayne's wing. The large dragon type liked the rain, so he didn't complain about getting wet. His other wing was folded neatly into place, rivlets of water running off of his body. She was completley dry. She leaned over, peeking out into the rain at the trees and the sky. Black, mean, swollen. It would be raining for a while. She pressed her back against the tree again, stretching her arms up into the air and then lowering them.

[Kell]

He woke up to a particularly loud thunderclap.

Carson slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed being a blinding headache, and the second, being completely soaked to the bone. With a bit of effort, he sat up slowly as his heavy clothing was bogged down by water and mud. He ran a hand through his jet black hair, and it came away with blood; but it immediately washed away in the downpour. “Son of a…” he let out frustrated. That person was going to pay. He wasn’t easy to knock out in a fist fight, but once people started fighting dirty, anything was possible.

He checked the pokeballs on his belt. Three of them were full, which meant he successfully got Houndour back in before losing consciousness…his final pokeball was familiarly empty. “Xatu,” he muttered. She could be the greatest fighter on his team, but more often than not, his stoic bird Pokemon would fly off at the worst possible times. It didn’t normally bother him, since she had an uncanny sense of finding him again, but right about now, he could’ve used her to fly out of this place.

Now injured and stumbling around, while he had little sense of direction, his first priority was trying to get out of here. Picking any path, the young detective stumbled through rain and trees. At the moment he was direly missing his native precipitation of snow, as he found it uncomfortable to be so cold and wet while the air around him was so warm and humid.

He presently stumbled into what was probably a clearing. As a flash of lightning painfully illuminated the sky, he saw a shock of unnatural color in a severely out of place Dragon Pokemon and who he presumed to be its trainer. Anxious to leave and having nothing to lose if this was a threatening persona, he approached them for help.

[Thym]

Shayne had tensed up long before the stranger had appeared in the treeline. No one that would post any direct threat was in the area, though, or River's internal alarm would be going off. No bells in her head. She stayed calm, relaxed, though she watched the stranger out of her peripheral vision as he approached. Another loud clap of thunder roared through the sky, a flash of lightning hitting a tree withing a few yards of them.

"Relax, love..." River said softly to Shayne as the stranger approached. She turned her head, watching him with cold eyes. He was soaked and bleeding from the head. At least, it appeared to be blood. The dark liquid was lightened with rain water, making it seem as though it might be mud. He was a trainer, as obvious by the Pokeballs on his belt.

"Sir, who, may I ask, are you?" She asked, running her eyes up and down him critically, before turning so that her shoulder and arm were against the tree, looking directly at him.

[Kell]

He knew the trainer was a female form from a distance, not that it changed anything. Eyeing her Pokemon first, and then her, he was met with a steely gaze. “Detective Phil Carson,” he called in his deep voice, ringing out over the rain. “I—I’m injured over here. Do you by any chance know the way out of this place?” He left out the fact that he was injured in an all out brawl for one of two reasons: One, this chick would get alarmed that the criminal he was after could be running around in the area, or Two, she was a friend of the said criminal. Neither of them was something he wanted on his plate right now.

[Thym]

She listened to the man's voice, hearing every word he said. She glanced at Shayne with a silent scoff in her eyes. "Injured, you say? And how would that have happened? Were you attacked by a rouge Taillow?" She asked, not even trying to mask the sarcasm in her voice. Detective. If he was to find out that she only the day before had joined into the most notorious and overall evil organization in the region, it might be trouble.

But if he was injured, it might be a prime opportunity to steal his items and Pokemon. Surley that would get her some room in the Team Darkness base. Four Pokemon, by the count of the balls on his belt, and if he was a Detective, then he had to have some money for some decent items. "My name is River." She said, thinking too late that proper manners to get on someone's good side enough to steal their things meant not being sarcastic and actually being polite. "As for out of here, I suppose you mean the forest?" Now her voice was masked, trying not to show any emotions that could give her away.

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[Kell]

Blood and water slowly trickling into his pale eyes, he gave them a quick swipe. His gut told him something was off about her. Although, after he heard her tone, he decided that she probably was just some sarcastic civilian. He narrowed his eyes. “Actually, it was a Ponyta. Came right out of nowhere, went crazy when the rain started, and pelted me with a hoof,” he spat.

Something about the way she was looking at him made his skin prickle, and not in a good way. Then again, he just had a blow to the head and his senses could be going haywire. “Yes, it would be best if I got to a hospital as soon as possible…” he continued sighing. Always the man to give people the benefit of the doubt, he decided just to keep an eye on her. “River, huh?” he said, grinning at her stoicism. “I take it you’re enjoying this fine weather?”

[Thym]

His voice carried easily over the sound of the weather, so she could hear every word he said with ease. A Ponyta, in this area of Kyoto? Unless it had lost it's trainer, it was right next to the improbable. Strike one, Mister Carson. But she'd play along, for now. Fact was, their few miles of forest was close to the Stygian Fields and Glacier Lake, too close for any wild fire types to live.

She put on her good girl mask, pretending that she had just seen the blood on his head. "I don't quite know the way out as of yet, but I can say that I would allow you to join me under my shelter." She said, lifting her sleeved arm and touching Shayne's wing. "And I'd have to prove you wrong, by the way. I hate the rain."

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[Kell]

He lifted his eyebrows at her offer of joining her under the wings of her…impressive Pokemon. What, is she lost too? What he really needed was some stitches, preferably at a sterile Center. Shoot, he’d even settle for being in his own apartment with a band-aid to slap on. But most of all, he probably needed to not be standing in a virtual waterfall. He weighed his options, thinking of how much time he needed to make up against his target’s head start; but also the fact that the rain would have erased any trails she may have made. Carson was good, but he wouldn't delude himself into thinking he'd catch up in this weather; and his own section of dry earth sounded like a million dollars right about now…It was settled then.

“You and I both,” he agreed. “And what kind of idiot would I be to pass up shelter now?” he said with a small smile.

He patted the Dragon’s wing with a quick wink. “Thanks pal,” he said to the Salamence before getting underneath it. The forest immediately sounded different, as if he were in a tunnel, and the rain pattered on the leathery roof.

He closed his eyes for a second, focusing on clearing his dizzy head. He’d stay until daylight, or until the rain let up, which ever came first. River was certainly a mysterious character, the type of which he'd be intrigued to profile; caustic at one moment, then hospitable the next? But he had enough to deal with at the moment, and while he was grateful for the shelter, if she still didn’t know her way later, then he’d continue on his way and hope a straight line was the solution out.

[Thym]

Shayne stared at the stranger, wondering what exactly was going through his mistress's mind, to allow such a risk so near to her. He stared at the man, who said his name was Carson, with blank eyes, the blinked, returning his gaze out into the rain.

Now that she could clearly see Carson's face, she got slightly embarassed, though she quickly masked it. He was attractive, despite the blood running down the side of his face. Deciding that it would be best to befriend him, she reached into her bag, pulling out a towel. "Here." She said, handing it to him. She had several, a side effect of her not liking to be wet.

[Kell]

Now that he was sitting again, he felt a little more stable. Opening his eyes, he could more clearly see the surroundings. He looked at River when she spoke. “Thanks,” he said quietly, taking the towel gratefully.

The torrents coming down just a foot from them looked remotely interesting when he wasn’t sitting in it, and he was definitely more comfortable now, even when he was such close vicinity with the woman and her Pokemon. “Nice place you got here,” he said, only half-joking. Last he remembered of arriving in this forest, he was flying over the Stygian fields…What could she possibly be doing in this hostile area at this time of day?

Leaning back a little, he looked at her intently. “Can I ask what brings you out here?”

[Thym]

She watched him for a moment, studying his studying her. He obviously was a detective. She listened to him talk for a moment, turing her head towards Shayne, who started staring at him again. Looking for valuables, no doubt about it. But the large Dragon type gave no indication of that, just staring.

She looked back at him when she heard his question. "I was looking for someone, but she got away when it started raining." She said, thinking of the young trainer she had been following. Three Pokemon, and somehow the kid had gotten a hold of four rare candies. he had no idea what they were, though. She had lost her, refusing to get soaked over candy. Even though she could have used them. "What about you?" She asked, meeting his eyes with her pale grey ones.

[Kell]

“That’s too bad,” he said, flipping the towel over.

He grinned slightly as she stared back at him. Eye contact said a lot about a person’s confidence, and he didn’t mind, as she had lovely eyes at that.

Despite the precautions he had taken earlier, he now believed River to be trustworthy since she could’ve turned him away, but instead chose to help him. Maybe he could return the favor.

“You know, I could tell you some BS about all this being confidential,” he said, eyes darkening as he looked back outside. “But I really was out here because of a convict,” he said. “A murderer,” he finished looking at her. Why the convict did not finish him off then and there, Carson had no idea. For some reason, the vagrant did not take his wallet, or most importantly his Pokemon, but he would have time to fathom the workings of the delinquent’s twisted mind later.

“Since she’s obviously still at large, maybe I could escort you out of here, as soon as we get the chance.”

[Thym]

Her eyes narrowed, sliding over the trees and rain outside their shelter. Another member of Team Darkness, perhaps? Either way, it didn't worry her. Her life on the road had shown her plenty of ways to protect herself, if she needed to. But if it would allow her to get close enough to Mister Carson, perhaps her being a female could work to her advantage. She shivered, widening her eyes as she looked back at him.

She could tell by the way that he met her eyes, he somewhat trusted her. That was another thing that could be used to her advantage. She brought her sleeved arm up to rub her hang on her bare arm, moving just a few inches closer to him. "I like that idea." She said, her voice soft and sounding what could be either frightened or slightly angry, blinking back fake tears.

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[Kell]

His eyes sternly swept over her face. “Good,” he said, settling back. For a fleeting moment, he thought she might refuse. It was clear enough to him that she was a stronger trainer than she let on, and if that small streak of arrogance earlier was any indication, she may have been inclined to go off on her own.

But it was his civic duty to protect civilians from criminals, he reminded himself, as another thought occurred to him.

Her moving closer to him didn’t go unnoticed. He glanced at her, a bit surprised at the tears in her eyes. “Hey, I don’t want you worrying about this,” he said in a quiet, reassuring tone. “Chances are, the convict has already moved as far away from here as possible. We’ll get to town safely…”

--

A lot of things were going through Carson’s mind at the moment, but they were pushed aside at the sounds, or lack thereof, outside. “I think the rain’s letting up,” he stated the obvious, with one last pat on his head with the towel. “Come on,” he said standing up slowly, offering a hand.

[Thym]

Well, everything was working out rosy. The sky had lightened in color, and true enough, the rain had let up. She recalled Shayne to his Pokeball, after ignoring his glare at her. Obviously, though he didn't want to speak, he didn't want her to be alone with this stranger. But she was the mistress, so he did as he was commanded. She looked up at him with somewhat conflicted eyes, part of her wanting to drop the charade before it became a hassle, the other part wanting to keep going. She sided with the second part, taking a hold of his hand with a soft smile and an internal groan as the last remaining sprinkles of rain hit her. Arceus, she hated being wet.

"Should I have Shayne fly up and try to find the way out of here?" She asked, using his arm to pull herself up. Once on her feet, she quickly let go of his arm. She reached her hand over to her side, where the Pokeball was situated, hesitating for a moment, waiting for his awnser.

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