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Drat that Dratini.
Topic Started: Oct 24 2010, 06:14 PM (383 Views)
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“Settle down, Bonnie! How am I supposed to learn to ride you if you keep tumbling this way and that,” The words quivered from the young woman’s partially benumb and cold ripened lips, her firm hands patting the fire-covered Ponyta in question. Despite the fact her neck was covered in flames, they weren’t hot. The breath from both the trainer and horse swirled overhead briefly in a mare’s tail of silver brume before dissipating into the bitter atmosphere. Damn, it really was cold here beside the lake. Perhaps it was the cold weather that turned the usually stalwart Ponyta unruly, or the fact they were in such close proximity to the lake.

Either way, Bonnie should have been able to handle a situation she wasn’t comfortable in. How was she ever going to battle if she kept panicking every chance she had? The fiery horse pounded the frozen dirt in indignation, before a soft squeeze on the side by her rider coaxed her to continue without further hesitation alongside the lake. Hannah wobbled uncomfortably as the horse plodded forward, not used to each movement of the muscles on her backside. After all, she didn’t have the saddle the man with the Rapidash had had. As intriguing and elegant it looked to have it, she wasn’t sure she would be riding Bonnie that much.

Besides, where would she put it? So, for now, there was a simple blue padded mat lied across the Ponyta’s back, one that kept sliding with each miniscule movement. Suddenly, Bonnie paused, snorting at something in the dirt. Hannah blinked, leaning forward to see what she was looking at - a clump of mud, sand and grass constructed into a ball at the very edge of the water. Bonnie seemed intrigued, leaning her soft nose in favor of sniffing the mound of debris. With an excited nicker, the fire horse tapped the ground once, insisting that they remain in that spot.

Heaving a sigh, exaggerated by the plume of her breath, Hannah swung her leg over the Ponyta’s back, hitting the frozen ground with one black slipper, followed by another. Trailing her hand softly along Bonnie’s cream-colored fur, she knelt down beside the clump of grass and mud, tilting her head curiously. Slowly, the dark-haired girl moved some grass aside, and suddenly cringed. The grass beneath the top layer was saturated in a gluey, sticky and yellow substance and several shall fragments.

Pursing her lips, Hannah pushed the rest of the grass aside with a nearby stick, cautious of the foul substance. Then, she realized what it was with one depressing sight - a crushed egg. This egg, unlike the other which was completely obliterated, was simply crushed inward, as if something had stepped on it, or perhaps raided the nest for the eggs. Sifting through the wreckage, Hannah counted three eggs that were crushed. Then, something caught her eye, a light blue that contrasted the brown and white of the other crushed eggs.

Blinking, Hannah gingerly pulled the one intact egg from the debris, turning it over in her palm to see if if it were damaged. The exterior of the blue egg had a minuscule crack, but the creature inside still seemed to be alive; the egg was emitting warmth. The trainer huddled the egg in her abdomen, protecting it from the sheer cold the best she could. Despite the heat the creature alive was emitting, the temperature outside was still biting, causing her to worry about the otherwise unprotected egg. The clump of dirt and grass didn't seem to be protecting them. What would happen to this one?

“Poor things,” Hannah whispered, sitting the egg down in front of her. “I wonder what it is? Where’s the mother?”

Bonnie suddenly squealed and reared, nearly knocking Hannah over into the lake in the process. The girl caught herself, watching as the egg rolled off her lap and a few feet away. Before she had the opportunity to crawl towards it, a massive, blue tail struck her across her abdomen and flung her backwards into the freezing lake. The blow itself was so sudden and so brutal it had knocked the wind out of her, leaving her winded and unable to even scream. The girl landed in the shallow muck just off the water's edge, the cold water shocking her. On the bank, a rather large Dragonair was curled around the destroyed nest, making a deep and aggressive vibrating noise.

The Dragonair itself looked scarred and bruised, as if it had been in several battles. Rather than it's usual dark blue color, her scales were an ultramarine color with a white sheen, as if she were sickly. She moved forward, and accidentally fell onto her weight, nearly crushing the egg she was attempting to protect. Hannah winced, suddenly realizing how the nest had gotten how it was - the mother was too sick to realize what she was doing to her eggs, or that the majority of them were crushed. Squeezing the nest to her, the female Dragonair made a sharp hissing noise, hitting it's beaded tail on the ground in an aggressive manner.

Shivering from the cold and soaked, Hannah lifted her hands in an 'I surrender' fashion and slowly trudged from the freezing water, backing away from the hissing mother Dragonair and her one egg. When she was far enough away from the serpent, it seemed to calm down, and even nudged one of the broken eggs with the tip of her nose as if cuddling it, not realizing it was dead. Hannah watched, helplessly, as the mother almost crushed her one living egg whilst tending to the dead one, unwittingly.

Defeated, the trainer returned her panicky Ponyta, and retired to a corner opposite of the lake where she could set up a camp. The Dragonair's nest, however, was still viewable with the use of her telephoto lens. So, throughout the evening while she still had the light, she watched the nest, biting her lip each time the ailing Dragonair mother tried to tend to her eggs, unintentionally putting it in danger. She had to do something, but what? There was something wrong with the Dragonair and there was no way she could approach the nest, much less check on or warm the egg.


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“There’s something wrong with this place, Honey. Why can’t we find any food here? Sorry, guys, we’ll just have to tough it for tonight.”

The morning brought little comfort from the glaciate night, even with the miniscule warmth of the sun peeking over the dead looking spruce trees. The trainer and her three Pokemon had spent the entirety of the evening curled into each other; Autumn was held close into Hannah’s abdomen (she was the most susceptible to the cold, being a grass type), Bonnie’s head and warm mane was rested across Hannah’s legs, while Honey was hovering over them all, her massive and furry arms offering more than enough warmth. The combination made the night bearable - but what about that egg? Was it already frozen solid or had the mother unwittingly crushed it during the night?

Hannah lie awake way before the sun peaked over the trees, watching the far off corner of the lake where the Dragonair’s nest was located, her eyes stinging from the cold. Slowly, she crawled out from under her bundle of Pokemon, placing Hannah's paw over Autumn rather than herself. Quietly, she moved across the campsite, pulling her telephoto lens from her backpack and focused it across the lake - the mother wasn't at the nest. Raising a brow, Hannah released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, scanning the area with her lens. The mother Dragonair was no where to be seen.

With little due thought or consideration, the dark haired girl took off towards the nest. When she reached the crushed mound of dirt and debris, she held her breath, but smiled when she realized that the egg was still intact. Clasping it gingerly in her hands, she placed it to her ear, hearing a small scratching noise from within - it was still alive. Ecstatic, she curled up around the blue egg, holding it close to her chest for warmth, intent on only staying for a few minutes to check on the egg. After an hour had passed, and Hannah lay unconscious with the egg held close to her, overcome by her lack of sleep.

The first languid sensation of consciousness washed over her when she felt a hulking mass block the sun that had previously been warming her face. Hannah frowned in her sleep, suddenly aware of an abnormally cold sensation wash over her. When she finally opened her eyes, she panicked, the mother Dragonair focusing into her view. The girl shot up, the egg still huddled in her arms. She lowered her head towards the Dragonair, showing her her egg and spoke softly, "I was just warming it. I wouldn't hurt your baby-"

She was cut off by a blatant wail from the Dragonair, an unseen energy striking her and easily knocking her to the side.

Wincing, Hannah cupped the egg to her stomach, even as the mother Dragonair grasped her cardigan in her mouth and started to jerk her around to get the egg. The icy water in the lake started to churn and white cap with the mother's rampage, frigid waves starting to wash over the shore. As the waves intensified, icy water started to crash onto the shoreline, over Hannah and the egg, and over the crumpled nest. The water easily washed away the crushed nest and was started to disorientate Hannah, along with the mother Dragonair pulling at her clothes and hair.

"Stop!" She screamed. "I have your egg! Stop, you're hurting your egg!"

The Dragonair wailed once more, an orb of energy forming at the end of her horn- but it suddenly stopped, and it wailed once more. Hannah blinked, relaxing when she realized she hadn't been blasted away; instead, Honey had grabbed the Dragonair's beaded tail and slammed it her on the ground. Bonnie and Autumn were also involved in the fray, distracting the mother Dragonair to the best of their abilities. Hannah grinned, realizing that the Ursaring must have sought her out after she disappeared from the camp. Taking her opportunity to place the egg back on the ground, the girl started to run, her Pokemon in tow.

The mother Dragonair let out a strident bay, slamming her tail on the ground in indignation. Her scales were torn from where Honey had scratched her and it was obviously bothering her more than it should have. Slowly, the Dragonair curled back around her (now wet and destroyed) nest, completely unaware that her egg was lying a few feet away, entirely unprotected. Conscious of her injuries, the Dragonair pale skin glowed a bright white for a second, her eyes closing. Her skin seemed to loosen and wrinkle - even the skin on her eyes seemed to turn a milky white and fold as she started to shed.

Back at the campsite, settled beside Bonnie's fiery mane, Hannah wrapped her otherwise bare body in a blanket she had in her bag, letting her soaked dress dry on a nearby tree branch. Insisting that she continue to watch the Dragonair's nest (much to Honey's dismay), the girl took her lens, watching the Dragonair sleep. The trainer frowned, hugging the blanket tighter. "She's going to be asleep for days! That egg is completely unprotected... Bonnie, help me dry my clothes. We're going back to the nest tonight to watch that egg."
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Noiselessly, Hannah crawled across the still saturated ground on her hands and knees, cautiously approaching the egg. The mother Dragonair lie curled in a ball a few feet away, her anemic, milky white scales were started to fold and tear as she continued to shed, leaving her vulnerable, weak, and nearly blind. Granted, she had been spindly and sickly before, but now there was no way she could tend to her child. Hannah outstretched her hand, placing it airily on the mother Dragonair’s beaded tail; she was cold. Much to her surprise, she didn’t so much as move a muscle, even as Autumn started to sniff her nose. The Dragonair lie dormant and torpid, the process of shedding her skin putting her into a state of hibernation.

Relaxing, Hannah called Autumn back, “She won’t hurt us.”

In the hours that followed, Hannah had secured the egg in a blanket, wrapping it delicately and placing it in her purse to warm. She and Autumn had collected a decent pile of kindle and firewood, hoping to make the process of warming the egg (and themselves) easier. Once the pile of wood had been sorted, Hannah called out Bonnie, the fire horse materializing beside the pile of kindle in a red beam. Without hesitation, the fire on her mane intensified and a torrent of flames from her mouth bathed the pile of kindle, but to no avail.

Hannah frowned, watching as the sticks crackled and smoked some, but didn’t ignite.

Bonnie tried a second time, bathing the firewood in a constant Flamethrower, making sure it would light this time. The wood crackled once more, but still didn’t burn. Hannah coughed, waving away the plume of resulting smoke, realizing with discontent that the wood was too wet too catch fire and burn safely. Spirits dampened, the trainer called back her Ponyta and Leafeon, choosing to let them stay warm in their Pokeballs rather than freeze with her and the egg. Huddling the purse in her arms, she placed her back against a small boulder, closing her eyes to try and suppress the cold.

Stuck in that bizarre realm of consciousness and sleep, Hannah quickly opened her eyes when she felt something brush her side. Turning her head slowly sideways, she suddenly froze, her hazel eyes meeting a pair of slitted, yellow ones. Holding her breath, she watched noiselessly and motionless as the Arbok flickered it’s forked tongue out at her face. Uninterested in the human, it dipped it’s head, sniffing the purse with it’s sensitive tongue. The Arbok’s eyes narrowed, and it sniffed the purse a second time, suddenly interested in the smell inside. Hannah swallowed, finally moving her shaking hands to grasp her purse tighter, the other hand reaching for a Pokeball on her belt.

Arbokak,” The cobra-like Pokemon hissed, extending it’s hood wide to intimidate the girl, it’s exposed fangs dripping with venom.

The Arbok reared it's head backwards, tail vibrating as it eyed the purse lustily - it was poised to strike. As soon as the Arbok’s head started to move forward to snatch the purse, Hannah suddenly threw her Pokeball, hitting the snake square in the nose. From the ball materialized a fall-colored Leafeon, her fur bristled. Irritated, the snake eyed the purse, then the Leafeon, realizing that it was going to have to battle for possession of whatever was inside the purse. With a blood curling hiss, the cobra Pokemon opened it’s gaping mouth and lunged towards Autumn. The leaf on the Leafeon’s head started to glow a greenish hue. She leapt forward, intercepting the Arbok with a tackle, combined with the impact of it’s razor sharp leaf.

Hannah pushed herself up off the ground, brows furrowed. “Autumn, confuse it with Sand Attack and then use Razor Leaf!”

Feee,” Autumn mewed, slinking past the reeling Arbok. Kicking the ground with her back legs and using the leaf on her head to manipulate the debris, a spiraling torrent of sand and dust engulfing the two. In the midst of the tornado of sand, Autumn rushed to the Arbok’s side, swinging it’s head and sending multiple razor sharp leaves towards it’s face. The Arbok hissed, doubling over as the leaves glazed it’s hood. Blindly, it lunged, fangs digging into the dirt when it missed the Leafeon. Undaunted, the Arbok struck once more, biting anything it made contact with in a violent rampage.

Arbokok!” The end of the snake Pokemon’s tail started to glow a bright purple, swatting blindly in the air. Much to Hannah’s dismay, as Autumn tried to dodge the snake’s fangs, the Arbok’s tail struck her across the middle, sending her crashing into the ground. The dust settled, revealing that the irritated Arbok was now wrapping Autumn with her long body, intent on killing her. The Leafeon cried out in pain, stuggling uselessly against the Arbok’s vice-like grip, only making the constriction worse with each movement.

“Autumn, bite and drain it!” Hannah shouted.

Opening her mouth as much as she could, Autumn clamped her jaws around the Arbok’s thick body, prompting a pained hiss from the snake. Despite the pain, the Arbok was more than capable of withstanding the pain. If anything, it had irritated it. Autumn bit down harder, the leaf on her head glowing green as she started to drain the energy from the surprised Arbok, who squeezed the Leafeon tighter. But, the more energy Autumn drained from the snake, the less tense her muscles became, loosening to the point of Autumn being able to squirm her way out. The Arbok cried out and uncurled, clearly exhausted.

Autumn jumped up and away from the snake, landing a few feet away, growling.

“Quick Attack and then Razor Leaf!” Hannah commanded. Taking on a white aura, Autumn rushed forward, becoming a blur of motion. Head bowed, Autumn leapt up, tackling the Arbok’s hood and knocking it backwards. Before the snake had a chance to recover itself and strike, Autumn tackled it once more from the side, then again from behind, easily dodging the barrage of Poison Stings the Arbok started to fire. Skidding to a halt behind the snake, Autumn leapt upward, striking the back of the Arbok’s head with the leaf on her head, using it as a blade.

Arrbakok!” The cobra fell forward, it’s face impacting the ground. Both Hannah and Autumn watched as it cried out, attempting to lift it’s head, clearly tired. It forced itself up and eyed the two, flickering it’s tongue out in an irritated fashion. It hissed, but rather than strike, it slithered off, defeated, it's hood bleeding from the gash caused by the Razor Leaf. Autumn turned back to look at Hannah, a proud look on her face. Hannah readjusted the purse on her arm, kneeling to hug her Leafeon, while casting a sideways glance towards the mother Dragonair; it hadn't even budged.

"It's going to rain, you better get back in your ball." Hannah sighed, returning the Leafeon. The girl looked up, watching as the silvery clouds rolled in from overhead, the air becoming even more chilled than before, a hint of rain in the air. The girl tuckered down, propping her small umbrella up and huddling beneath it on the ground, holding the purse close. A cold wind blew the umbrella over, and the first few, freezing rain drops hit the ground.
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Each and every breath was like a needle, a glacial fire that burned and cauterized her throat to the point where the faint, metallic taste of blood laden her tongue. The impregnated silver clouds were steadily easing their burden, the driving sheet of cold rain pounding the thin umbrella that Hannah had propped against a nearby rock. The girl huddled her slender body the best she could underneath the relatively small Umbrella, huddling the purse and egg in her middle to keep it as dry and warm as possible. Even with the minuscule protection the umbrella offered, the damp ground was starting to saturate her clothes, chilling her to the bone.

Within the hour, Hannah was huddled against the rock and umbrella, her entire body quivering. Hell, if she hadn’t been suffering from hypothermia at that moment, she probably would’ve been ashamed of herself, leaving her Pokemon open to the freezing weather in their balls. Hazel eyes opened, blurred and incompetent as she gazed across to the mother Dragonair. The massive, serpentine beast lie motionless beneath the driving rain, the subtle rise and fall of her body reassuring Hannah that she was still alive.

The trainer buried her head into the nook of her arm, nose burning from the cold.

Just as the girl slipped into an uncomfortable coma, two red beams shot out from her belt. Honey and Autumn materialized from their balls (Bonnie would have to wait, considering if her mane and tail were to become drenched, she would die). Immediately, the blonde Ursaring lumbered to a nearby tree, wrapping her massive arms around the trunk. In a single motion, the trunk snapped in two and Honey slung the top half over her shoulders, bringing the small tree and propping it over the boulder Hannah was propped against; the canopy of leaves and branches offered immediately protection from the rain.

Both the Ursaring and Leafeon crawled under the makeshift lean-to, curling up beside the shivering girl and her purse. Hannah jolted awake when she felt something brush her face, nearly panicking at being engulfed in a small cave of branches and leaves. A soft mew from her Leafeon reassured her and she realized what had happened, the corners of her chapped lips tilting into a smile. Hands quivering, she hugged the two, emitting a breathy and quivering statement before she fell back asleep, "I promise this won't be for nothing. I know it seems silly, but I know it's right."

As the first hint of sunlight peaked over the trees, the rain clouds were starting to disperse. The lake, which had previously been squally and white-capping from the storm the night before had given way to a crystalline calm, the fog rolling carelessly and pooling over the glassy surface. Hannah and her two Pokemon were curled noiselessly in the makeshift lean-to, the girl’s hand clasped attentively over the purse. The aforementioned purse shook some, and then toppled over, the latch coming undone as something inside stretched the satchel. The purse rolled once more before opening up, the contents of which (the blanket and egg), spilled out onto the ground. In a comical struggle, the blanket seemed to unravel itself out onto the ground, several egg fragments lining the inside.

The creature still fighting it’s way out of the blanket whined and struggled, flipping this and that to free itself. Finally, the creature slithered it’s way out of the blanket, it’s eyes wide as it took in it’s first glimpse of the world. The Dratini’s fresh, clean and roseate colored scales stretched themselves as it took it’s first awkward ‘steps’ forward, tumbling over onto it’s side. The newly hatched Dratini was small, only about a foot in length. Curiously, the pink serpent slithered forward towards the trainer lying asleep on the ground, sniffing her face. Contentedly, the baby Dratini slithered onto Hannah’s torso, curling itself around her hair before sniffing the Ursaring and Leafeon.

Hannah groaned in her slip, lifting a hand to brush away whatever was on her face.

The pink Dratini tilted it’s head curiously, and started to whine, examining it’s ‘mother’s’ face. Hannah opened her eyes some, and suddenly shouted upon seeing the creature so close to her face, attempting to scoot backwards. Honey shot up as well and tumbled backwards, easily knocking over the makeshift shelter she had made the night before. It took Hannah a moment to realize what the baby Dratini was, and that it was the creature from the egg she had been guarding. Blinking, she extended her hand forward, to which the Dratini happily cried out and wrapped itself around her forearm. Hannah smiled, cradling the newborn Dratini.

“Isn’t it cute?” She cooed, scratching underneath the Dratini’s chin. “And so... pink!”

The baby Dratini only wrapped itself around Hannah’s arm tighter, and slithered onto her shoulders, where it started to bury itself in her hair playfully. Laughing, the trainer reached behind her, attempting to pull the pink snake from her hair, when a deep vibrating noise caught her attention. Hannah looked up and realized with a sudden sense of anxiety that the mother Dragonair had woken up. The dead skin along her long body had splayed back, revealing new scales underneath. But even the new growth seemed to be pale, chalky, and sickly. Her eyes were molted over, but she still seemed to be able to see the trainer and her Pokemon.

Attempting to move forward, the Dragonair lost balance and fell over, wailing as it did so. From the way it was acting, Hannah could only assume that it had become even sicker. The Dragonair rose up, a ball of energy forming at the tip of her horn. Hannah immediately outstretched her hands, trying to calm the infuriated mother. "It's alright! Your baby is fine! I was only trying to help you!" But, to no avail. The Dragonair screamed and lunged forward, ramming Hannah weakly in the chest. The blow wasn't even enough to knock her down.

Regaining her balance, Hannah yelled, trying to make the Dragonair understand.

Then, a small whine from behind Hannah's head caused the mother Dragonair to freeze. The baby Dratini slithered onto the girl's shoulders, whining. Hannah picked the small Dratini up, and extended her hands forward, offering it to the Dragonair. For the first time, the serpentine Pokemon acted calmly, allowing the little baby to slither into her horn. The baby seemed to understand that she was somehow connected to the Dragonair, but seemed to insist that it be returned to Hannah instead. The mother Dragonair looked at Hannah, her tear-stained and sick eyes full of subtle understanding.

To Hannah's surprise, the Dragonair outstretched it's neck, prodding Hannah gently on the shoulder. The baby Dratini slithered happily off the Dragonair's beak and back onto Hannah's shoulders, cuddling her cheek. Hannah watched, and realized with a frown that the life seemed to be fading from the Dragonair's eyes. The trainer lifted her hand, placing it on the creature's huge beak. "I promise I'll take good care of her for you." With that said, Hannah took out a Pokeball and tapped the Dratini once, allowing it to cheerfully materialize inside. The mother Dragonair let out a mournful wail, but seemed to understand what it was doing, or that it could no longer raise the child.

As the serpentine creature lowered her head to the ground and shuddered, Hannah knelt beside her, stroking the dead and pasty skin on her neck. Honey and Leafeon looked at one another, then to the Dragonair, and joined Hannah at her side. Witihin a few minutes, the light in the Dragonair's beaded tail seemed to fade, and her body became cold. As she sat back and looked at the massive creature lying lifelessly on her destroyed nest, she couldn't help but expel a single tear. The Dratini never did, and probably never would, understand.

Pushing herself up, she placed a hand on Honey's furry shoulder, and motioned for Autumn.

"I told you there was a reason for this... Come on. There's no use in staying here."



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