bravenewworld | (no subject)

Who: Robin, Cordelia, Ami, Rei, Kuzuryuu and Souda
When: Week of 1/26
What: After reports of strange happenings in the mountains, the Rangers have assembled a small group of members and volunteers to investigate what might be causing the disturbances.
Warnings: Stuff like this.

The team had assembled, and a time was set for their departure. It would take a few days to reach the mountains and, depending upon the conditions, at least a day more to get to the higher elevations, even with the aid of Pokémon; likely a few, if visibility really was as bad as reports made them believe. Cordelia made sure to more than outfit and prepare herself, as well as the rest of the party--it was hard to say how experienced the volunteers were, as she did not have the luxury to handpick them herself.

The first few days would be an easy go, the route specifically avoiding the general vicinity of the forest shrine and any other possibly affected areas. Those with mounts were advised to use them, and those without were expected to ride with those with.

They reached the mountains by the fourth day, taking a slightly more leisurely pace than the Ranger would have liked--again, a precaution for those inexperienced with expedient travel. The mountain would prove to be a challenge by that point, with little visibility even in the foothills. Lava drifts cut through the rock like a trail of fiery tears, and mounds of needle-like ice flows shambled across the surface, threatening them at every pass. It would be a slow go, if they could even get up the mountain at all at this point; camping would be difficult, nigh impossible.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After a short scent trail off to the side had turned up precisely nothing, the Mightyena dropped back into the group, small beside Rei's Arcanine. Whether he'd caught it from the group or the Shifter was just as sensitive to the environmental changes as a real Pokemon, Fuyuhiko felt uneasy, and, as such, wasn't saying much.

"Hey," he finally offered, lifting his head to look up at Rei. "The Shrine gonna be okay without you there?"

Rei looked down, her hands holding the long, red oak bow tightly as she did. Not out of nervousness, but it was the first time she'd really felt right carrying her family's heirloom weapon out into the wilderness and she didn't want to lose it.

"It'll be fine. Grandpapa can manage it just fine. He's...just too old to go out like us."

She's not worried about her grandfather, not one bit. The old geezer was pretty spry, and his psychic abilities weren't to be sneezed at either.

"How about your family?"

"Tch. Yeah, they don't really need me in the city right now. If the old man or my mom runs into anything they can't take care of on their own, they've always got my sister." Canines didn't really shrug, but he did tilt his head to the side for a moment as if to express the depths of his indifference. "She's better at that shit, anyway."

She'd do way better as head of the clan and everyone knew it. Everyone but their parents, it seemed. Fuyuhiko let his head drop a bit, then shook himself.

"Well, they won't even miss me. Not like I've spent the night at home since..." He trailed off for a moment, then sounded actually surprised. "Damn, it's been months."

"They'll miss you," Rei replies with a little shrug, not really sure what he's talking about. She knows very, very little about gangsters and crime families, but she just assumes they're like any other decent family. That is to say: Not hers.

"Where did Maya go? I thought she'd stay near you."

This new topic seemed to catch Fuyuhiko off guard, the way his ears and tail suddenly twitched upright. "I-it's not like we're joined at the hip or anything," he protested. "I'm just helping out there for a while. She's got her business and I got mine.

"But I think," he continued, recovering his composure, "she was going to check out the ocean with Nozomi. Her cousin," he clarified, in case Rei didn't know.

"I said nothing," Rei says with a knowing smile, "I just know you're good friends. And alright, good. Nozomi will take care of her." She does know the other fortune teller pretty well.

"Are your Pokemon ready for this, Fuyuhiko-san? It could very well be a real struggle."

The question made him raise his head and straighten his spine. He glanced over at his Pangoro briefly and then nodded to himself. "Aah. We're no strangers to tough situations. We wouldn't be here if we couldn't handle it."

He looked up to Rei, ears pricked forward. "What about you? You nervous or something?"

Her hands run along Casius's back and the big dog snorts, tossing his head happily. "Mine are fine...we've been in bad situations before. But it's the first time I've been to investigate something like this. And my senses are telling me that this is something important. This is a big thread, and...that always makes me rather nervous."

"Mm." He knew entirely too many Psychic-type ladies to dismiss Rei's concern, vague though it might have been. He glanced aside again, this time to check on his friend the anxious, pink-haired bike shop guy.

"I get that it's big, but you sure that it's gonna be bad?" he finally asked.

"I've been having nightmares of fire for weeks, Fuyuhiko-san. I should be the last person to be having bad dreams of burning." Rei answered back with a weak smile. "It's possible it could be something good...but I don't know. I certainly am not going to count on the sunny side being the most likely outcome."

"Yeah, I guess that'd be the stupid thing to do. Fire and disaster, huh."

He retreated into thoughtful silence once more, then sighed.

"Damn it. Maybe I shoulda made him stay home."

"Who?" Rei asked, looking at him. "Your friend...um...I...don't know his name."

"Kazuichi Souda. We don't go as far back as me and Maya, but it's been long enough, I guess." He checked to see if Kazuichi was listening in, but kept talking anyway. "He just took over his old man's bike shop in the Business District, if you're into that kind of stuff."

"Bikes? You mean, bicycles?"

That...is not something she expected, looking at the rather weird guy that'd come along with them. "And you brought him? Has he been training Pokemon long?"

He snorted. "I didn't bring him. He just heard I was going and decided to come along, too, for some reason. Anyway, he's tougher than he looks."

Of course, Souda kind of looked like a whimpering ~~chihuahua~~ baby Lillipup, so.

"Well, I mean...I guess that just means we'll have to keep an eye on him all the same."

Rei smiles vaguely, not at all bothered by it. She'd just take Fuyuhiko at his word, and if worse came to worse, she had ways to get him home safe.