April Catch-all

[firealone]

Who: Firepaw and all his various friends (including an open prompt!)
What: Quests, training, feelings jams, etc etc etc
Where: All over the place!
When: April
Warnings: References to cat injury/death in the Exhaustion prompt

(This is a fake cut, there's prompts below!)

Comments

[colorsflyinghigh]

"Alright. Follow me!"

Ren sets off northward, further into the forest, tail held high- though with both Akechi and Firepaw farther away from him, the pain has returned something fierce. He glances upwards to watch the two, and then behind himself to make sure Junpei is following. He's... definitely not going as fast as he could be, but Junpei not being very fast himself is a decent enough excuse as any.

Then again, the slower going is also, in part, because of caution. Ren's ears swivel with the noises of the forest, keeping track of what's around them, and once again, the forest feels... far too alive to just be a forest. The sensation of being watched is quick to dawn on him, and he whispers to Junpei, his voice low;

"Do you have your Grumpearl handy? Something's watching us," he murmurs, "can you ask those two if they see anything? I don't want to alert whatever it is."

Those two being Akechi and Firepaw, of course.

[firealone]

Firepaw has spent plenty of time in the forest - exploring, questing, hunting, rescuing newcomers, napping away from the noise of the city. He's starting to get accustomed to how vibrant and alive it feels, even compared to the forest back home, but he's still keenly aware of how many things could harm them. Hostile Pokemon, the fog, the spores, and maybe even new things that no one else has discovered yet. It makes him grateful that Ren is picking a relatively slow pace, so he can pick his jumps while still keeping his eyes, ears and nose open for any signs of trouble.

"I smell Bug-type Pokemon." He murmurs, just loud enough for Akechi to hear him. "Seems like they're everywhere around here... but I can't tell them apart yet."

[truthdecided]

Akechi's eyes scan their surroundings. A rustle in the leaves, somewhere in the distance... Yes, there are most certainly bugs of a sort.

He gazes down at the torch in his talons. "At the very least, we've the type advantage."

Briefly, Akechi dips down, so he can inform the others. He trusts their sense of hearing enough that he doesn't fly too low to lose sight of Firepaw. "There are bug-type Pokémon nearby. Get ready."

Then up he goes again. It's for the best, so he can strike first as needed and keep Ren safe.

[moondregs]

Before Junpei can take out his Grumpearl, Akechi flies down with his warning.

"Got it."

Bug-types. A grimace behind his mask. He's still not quite used to the whole concept of insects as big as he he is, and while he'd never speak it aloud they make him uneasy. All those legs. Mandibles. They'd be amazing to see in a horror movie, but not so much in the flesh.

Still, he braces himself, ready to throw paws if necessary. He gets the impression 'Baby Doll Eyes' won't be as useful on a bug.

[colorsflyinghigh]

Gah, Bug types. He's learned the hard way that he's rather weak to them- he's glad he's used to freaky sights thanks to the Metaverse already, otherwise bugs the size of himself would've certainly freaked him out more. Doesn't mean he has to like them... but it also doesn't mean he's not ready to defend himself and his allies.

His ears swivel around, and his nose twitches underneath his mask, trying to get a better sense for where they're at, but it's hard to say. The entire forest feels like it's watching, and it feels like they're surrounded. Maybe they are- Ren hopes not. Even without his achy debuff, as Futaba would say, that'd be troublesome.

He continues on, staying a little closer to Junpei, until he thinks he sees something in the corner of his eye, moving near the undergrowth. He freezes, his head snapping towards it... but it's already gone. Only a pair of small, red mushrooms are visible.

...?

"... There's something about those mushrooms, right?" he whispers to Junpei, "I can't put my finger on it..."

[firealone]

Good news for Ren - the ache is about to start fading again.

Firepaw has noticed in the past that Bug-type Pokemon don't smell like much, unless you're close enough to smell their pheromones. He's so focused in on trying to pick apart the scent notes, that he completely misses his next jump and is sent crashing down into the brush. His mask lands nearby, whipped off during the fall.

The Pokemon he lands on is a large Paras, which hisses loudly and lets out a burst of purple Poison Spores as a knee-jerk reaction. Which, unfortunately, hits Firepaw at point-blank range and might also hit Ren or Junpei.

[truthdecided]

Damn it!

Well, only one thing to do, then. Akechi dives at the Paras, torch still aflame. He knows they're rather weak to fire, and that combined with his flying typing should at least act as a deterrent.

But, just to be safe, he'll whip up some Tailwind to help the other outspeed the pest.

[moondregs]

"Yeah, they -- Firepaw!"

Thankfully the mask keeps Junpei from inhaling any of the spores, even though a few dot his pink fur with purple spots as he launches himself forward to shield the cat from any further onslaughts. In his panic he's forgotten that, being a fire-type, Firepaw is going to be far more useful against the Paras than his 'chopping paws' attacks. Akechi's quick thinking sorts that issue out, which allows Junpei to focus on how to help his friend.

"Water ... how far away are we from a stream or a pond or something?"

Again, in his panic, forgetting that's a bad idea when you're talking about a fire-type.