Out On My Own [mod]

[Angelique Preston]

roses in december

Watching the scene unfold, the baby Nincada couldn't do much more than allow a loud squeak of dismay to filter through as its mother was summarily swallowed whole. What would've been a hiccuping cry if the insect was human left from between the clicking of its mandibles and it scuttled backwards, as if Angie's hair curtain could protect it from the cerise gaze of the Durant that had made it an orphan.

What, exactly, was it to do with itself now? It didn't know much about the world and only recently learned how to eat and survive underground alone. But everything else was guesswork, at best.

Just leave it Audino, Angie's quavering voice said, cutting over the din of noise that circled the Nincada's head. The pink blob summarily nodded and stepped back, giving the other pokemon a wide berth to pass and do as it would. Slowly, she came back over to her trainer, blue eyes blinking backwards toward the potholes.

Angie leaned over, careful of the passenger on her shoulder, and scooped up the pokeball. Surprise littered her features. She couldn't believe that it had worked, couldn't believe that she now had two (well, possibly three) creatures to study and document and progress with. A tiny kernel of nerves twitched in her stomach, but otherwise, she felt good enough to keep walking.

Slowly, she stood up, her right shoulder drooping a little with the added weight of her new passenger.

Ah, we're, well, we're heading to another human settlement, she explained. To the untrained eye, the girl looked crazy, staring ahead as she was and talking into the thin air. I, I dunno if you want to come with? Maybe we can find someone, er or, something, another insectoid, that could take care of you along the way?

She blinked down at the Audino and gave a sheepish smile.

Mind translating that to the... she pointed to her shoulder.

pokemon guess: durant

_{6/75 IC posts for eggie}

[Jenn]

Correct! A Wild Durant Appeared!

	DURANT
	Lv. 3	No Mutations Observed

The Durrant glared up at its new obstacle. It had never had to fight humans before, but it was interfering with its next snack. It flexed its pincers in a threatening manner at Angelique and Audino. Its new opponents looked squishy at best. If she didn’t surrender the baby she would have to face the wrath of this iron ant.

The babycada quivered in Angelique’s hair curtain. It attempted to pull strands in front of it, as if burrowing further into her silver locks. It was at the mercy of this human. Either go with her or be the snack for that Durrant. The young bug closed its eyes waiting to see if Angelique would keep him in her good grace.

---

Angelique gains 1 Finder SP

[Angelique Preston]

roses in december

This was a fight that Angie felt, without a doubt, she wouldn't be able to win. The Durant looked sturdy, more sturdy than the crow she just captured, the Audino she started with, and the baby on her shoulder. A wince contorted her features as the scared little wildmon moved around again, trying (and failing) to hide further inside Angie's hair. It was the little feet that made her wince, the way that dragged against her unprotected skin.

To her surprise, Audino stepped forward and widened her stance, as if she was ready to take on the Durant herself. Angie immediately let a hand flay out, as if she was going to stop the smaller pokemon with the palm.

Audino, no, she whispered, causing those blue eyes to leave their target and dart backwards over the pink shoulder. There was mild confusion there, a furrow of invisible brows. 'Why not' was the unasked question.

I don't want you to get hurt, Angie said quickly, her tongue slipping out and wetting her lips. Lets just...escape. Use the fog again to cover our escape route. We'll run by.

A tiny frown dotted the Audino's cheeks, but she nodded her head anyway. A power word was muttered to the wind, a finger brow to her lips before being pressed against the road they walked along. Almost immediately, another mist rolled in, coalescing around Angie's ankles.

Bug on shoulder, arms wrapped around her egg, Audino at her side: Angie darted forward, purposefully dodging where she remembered seeing the Durant standing.

Audino uses Misty Terrain!
The party attempts to escape battle!

_{7/75 IC posts for eggie}

[Rex]

Murder filled the eyes of the iron ant as it stepped forward, clanging its sharp mandibles together in a threatening gesture, sounding like a revving chainsaw. The message was clear, the Durant was hungry. It looked ready to pounce and finish the job when the weird mist rolled into the area. Blinking and clanging its mandibles, the insect Pokemon stared curiously at the new situation before it. Apparently, it never battled or tried to eat any fairy type Pokemon before, otherwise maybe it would have reacted a bit better. It was so preoccupied with this new mist that it didn't realize at first that Angelique had booked it in an attempt to get away.

Gnashing its mandibles angrily, by the time the Durant focused itself, Angelique and her Pokemon were gone from sight. Grumbling to itself, the Durant burrowed back into the ground, eager to wait for something new to come along for a snack.

-----------------------------------------------------

Baby-cada clung for dear life as his savior continued to run, the little insect not ready for the sudden shift in momentum from human standing still to human running for her life. After a few minutes of running, Angelique would feel safe enough from the offending insect to stop running and take stock of her current situation. Fortunately, her Audino was able to keep up and all individuals were perfectly fine as she stood there on the trail.

Shuddering still from the loss of its mother, the baby-cada let go of the girl's hair and slowly slid down the girl's shoulder, clinging to her forearm with all of its little legs.

If Angelique looked around, she would see a very crudely made sign attached to a tree, that said "New Pallet -->".

That was all well and good, but if she looked down the trail, she would see a massive fork in the route, heading only left or right. So much for a helpful road sign. Angelique now had another tough decision to make, and if she wanted to reach New Pallet before the onset of dark, she would have to make it quickly.