Through Rain and Trees::(OPEN)

[Kell]

Crossing his arms and looking towards the sky, he nodded preoccupied. “I think he deserves some flying time, after being a perfect house for the past whatever minutes,” he answered, looking back at her. Watery sunlight appeared to lighten the horizon, and the same forest that had seemed like a labyrinth only a few hours ago was entirely different when it was dry and sunny. He turned back to the part of the clearing where he first came out and saw River and her Salamence. That was definitely not the right way.

“I remember distinctly chasing her from the point where I was dropped off,” he recalled. His Xatu had flown him there, and took off sometime during the fight. “That was near the center of the forest, so I guess anywhere away from that point would be a good start. But I’m sure Shayne can let me know if I’m wrong about that,” he said, picking up his damp sweatshirt and stretching.

[Thym]

"Alright. I think so too." She said, her hand grabbing the ball and the red light shooting out before she took it off of her belt. Shayne appeared, mysteriously dry, though looking tense. She shot him a look, and he visibly relaxed. "You worry too much, love." She said, smirking at him. She looked up at the sky, and as though he knew what she was thinking, he shot into the sky with a roar and one good flap of his large wings.

Once in the air, he gazed through the remnants of the rain, seeing a few places that could be considered out of the forest. But the closest was a little town, one he vaguely remembered. But she hadn't specified in her body language, so he shot back down to the ground, stopping about thirty feet above them and pointing in the direction of the town with his head and roaring again. "I guess it's this way..." She said, taking the first few steps slowly.

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[Kell]

As he watched the woman and her Pokemon work together fluidly, he couldn’t help but smile at Shayne’s seeming overprotected-ness. It reminded him a bit of his childhood Abomasnow, who, though she wasn’t as spry, it never stopped her from fussing about whenever they were around people.

Holding his sweatshirt over his shoulder, he followed River across the mulch and mush a step behind her and to her side. His head was feeling remarkably well now that the bleeding basically stopped, and while he was starting to feel the effects of staying up all night, it was nothing a walk through the brisk morning air wouldn’t fix.

His mind went back to something she had said earlier that morning, about not catching up to...whoever she was looking for. “So that person you were chasing…friend of yours?” he piped up, eyes fixed on the side of her face.

[Avidi]

"Shit."

A woman in her thirties peered through her tree-top fortress down at the forest floor, spotting something she really didn't want to come across again. She hardly breathed, shifting her line of vision to the sky. It was a Salamnce... Damned dragon. It seemed like her pursuer had joined with another trainer; a female at that. Her canine tooth protruded from her upper lip, quartering the pink skin.

"What is it... Now?"

A giant vespiquen rested on another branch, a long, black cigarette holder poking from the corner of its mouth. With its two claws it pinched the narrower end of the holder, breathing in tediously and pulling the black shaft away from the face when she was done. After a few seconds, she parted her mouth and let the smoke drift into the air.

"Well, Bree, if you would stop plugging your nasal passage with nicotine I think you would notice other pokemon about. Tame pokemon... Which means trainers."

"Your...point?"

"... Carson is back, complete with girly luggage."

The Vespiquen drifted onto the branch beside her trainer, studying the procession. She took another drag, stiffening as she eyed the girl.

"That's... River. In... Team Darkness garb."

Fran narrowed her dark brown eyes, the make up that covered them running from the moisture. She took one of her hands away from the branch, pulling back a shaggy mess of auburn hair. Bree was right on both accounts, which only meant that the Salamance above them was Shayne.

What's worse, the Rain Dance was losing effect and the sun light would soon uncover their tracks. She eyed her pokemon, sneering as it inhaled more of its cigarette. It took a whole pack of Persian Paw cancer sticks to make her perform the rain making move in the first place... And she didn't have any more left in her bag.

"They'll... Eventually find us. No need to worry, dahling."

[Thym]

Shayne roared again, giving her the signal for potential danger. She had them trainer, each individual one of her Pokemon, to respond to certain body language on her part, and to warn or report her in their own ways. Shayne's, for example, were in the length of the roar. 2 seconds, all clear. 4, potential danger. 6, danger.

She tried to remain calm, looking over her shoulder with a smile, awnsering his question while she got a better grasp of the surroundings."Not even close." She said, frowning slightly as Shayne roared again. What was he seeing, that he was staying up in the air and warning her?

[Kell]

He felt inclined to ask her more about her intentions in chasing this person who was not her friend, but his thoughts were interrupted by Shayne’s haunting roar filling the silence. He looked behind them. It was not a joyful sound, and he found himself worried about the dragon that he had grown to like in the past few hours. “Is he alright?” Carson asked, though he was already heading towards the sound of the Pokemon’s bays, stomach dropping in the worst of ways.

[Avidi]

Shayne roared. Loudly, as a matter of fact and right over the pine tree that Fran and Bree had taken as their make-shift shelter. There wasn't a lush amount of trees near the Stygian Fields, for it was way too cold. Firs and pines littered the area in small clumps in between mounds of rock. Fran stared below herself once more trying to find a possible route through a quartz when she heard the voices as well as saw the faces.

"...he alright?"

"Bree, did you hear that?" Her voice was a harsh whisper as she stared at the two intently.

"Very good, dear. I was wondering when you were going to comment on Shayne."

"No you hag." Fran snorted. "Them..! River and Carson."

"Between you and me, I'm more worried about the pokemon. He's got more ambition than I have addiction."

Bree gurgled at her own comment, folding her right arm around her thorax and bringing the left up for another drag. Her eye lids drooped over the red rubies that were her eyes, long lashes shading the gleam that was hidden in their depths. That was more of a half true statement... The Vespiquen had great ambitions for herself and seldomly her master, but she did have an addiction.

Fran sighed, they really were going to be found. It was best for everyone if she turned herself in and escaped later, if that was possible. She started to climb down the tree, Bree hovering around her. The trainer didn't want to make contact with the satisfied, smug looking bee pokemon.

[Thym]

"No. He's not." She said, eyes scanning the trees. Nothing on the ground, that she could see. Perhaps it was an air threat? Keeping it in her mind that she was supposed to be a 'frightened little girl', she gazed up with level eyes, gaze moving to the tree Shayne was hovering above.

As she watched, a person started climbing down from the tree, and the figure came to the front of her mind as someone she knew. A past theft, perhaps? But as she stared, the name came to her. Fran. And that same cigarette smoking Vespiquen. What was the name? Bree, that was it. She watched Carson out of the corner of her eye, keeping her gaze on the duo near the base of the tree.

[Kell]

He froze. He thought he’d seen his fair share of weirdness in the short time since he got promoted, but he’d never come across anything like the bizarre wooden citadel in the pines above them. “I’ll be damned,” he said under his breath. How is it that the department didn’t know about something like this? Or park rangers, for that matter? Well crafted as it looked, the thing was probably temporary No wonder she was able to go on that little killing spree without capture.

“Nice to see you again, Franny,” he said acidly. “I guess I’m gonna have to take you in for zoning violations, on top of those murders you never did time for,” he projected. Watching the woman make her way down the tree, he tensed up, not knowing what she was up to. Recalling their violent tussle earlier, he didn’t want to take any chances and reached to his belt. “Ok Houndour,” he said, releasing his dog Pokemon while keeping an eye on Fran. The fire dog sniffed around a bit, but at the familiar sight of the criminal and the bug, his teeth bared.

He pulled cuffs out of his pocket, making his way to the tree as she reached the bottom. “Let’s try this again,” he muttered, immediately grasping her wrists behind her back.

[Avidi]

"Oh sweet, sweet Carson-"

"How we've...missed you."

Bree's face contorted into one of digust as the houndoor bared it's teeth. She had never liked canines... Especially the ones that could breathe fire. It just wasn't sanitary. She strayed from her owner, watching Carson tromp over with his doggedly detective charm. It occured to her to hover just a bit higher, perhaps to avoid any sudden fireworks from the doo-goody dog. A sigh escaped her lips; she realized that her cigarette was no more than an ashy butt.

Fran turned, feeling the rough, leathery palms of the man grasp her wrists. The last time he "cuffed" her, he ended up with a nice gash from a well struck X-scissor. Pokemon were never intended to battle humans, but they can see so much better in the dark... Fran just couldn't resist. She peered over her shoulder while Carson worked on the cuffs, looking River up and down. Wait, a felon traveling unbounded with a cop? The girl either had to have her eye on his wallet, or she was just doing it for shits and giggles. The older woman grunted, her mind figuring that whatever the kid was up to, she wanted in on the matter.

"Look, chief, I never killed those people... They just happened to die when I got near them, is all."

She returned her eyes to Bree, who seemed unconcerned with anything but finding a Persian that wasn't damp from the rain.

"I never knew you had a sweet, either. I thought I was the only girl you had eyes for."

Fran heard her Vespiquen's gurgling laugh over the last bit of rain.

[Thym]

Well, at least the older woman hadn't blown her cover. She debated for a moment, thinking hard. If she was to free Fran at the moment, she might have to either fight for or share her spoils. She frowned at the thought.

Shayne landed on the ground with a powerful thud, walking up beside River with watchful eyes directed at the Vespiquen. He could only take so much stress... And that Pokemon had always been one to stress him. She blinked at Fran, giving her the 'I'm not gonna bust you out' look. "We're not sweet." She said, shaking her head and temporarily forgetting she was supposed to be afraid.

[Kell]

“Oh, of course,” he said genially at her alibi. “But I’m still going to bring you down for assault and resisting arrest.” He sighed, a little more assured now that the cuffs were successfully clipped on.

When he heard Fran speak again, he looked at River, then turned his head towards the unnatural wheezing coming from the bee. “Laugh it up you two,” he said, snapping the cuffs a bit tighter. “This might be the last time you get to see each other.”

The arrest had gone much easier than he anticipated of Fran, and it didn't sit right with him. Well, what was supposed to be the worst part was over, and he'd just have to play it by ear. With his pup watching his counterpart captive, and the felon subdued, right now, the only way he could fail was if he screwed up the walk back to civilization.

He glanced up at River when she addressed his target. “Don’t pay any attention to Fran, it encourages her,” he said with a small grin. Motioning to Houndoom to move the Vespiquen forward, he started marching his captive in front of him, a firm grip on the cuff chain. “Didn’t I tell you we’d get out of here safe?”