February catch-all!

[offtracks]

Who: Ingo & OPEN
What: Helping with avalanche rescue efforts, probably some other stuff
When: Throughout February
Where: Icefall Lake, elsewhere
Warnings: Some speculations on Pokemon death, though I don't plan to actually like, find any victims in-thread

Comments

rime falls

[offtracks]

[ Ingo may not much like traveling away from the Bay lately, but he's a Hisuian Typhlosion and an experienced guild member. Of course he was called for something like this - and, of course, he answered.

A Warden would have done this same thing, back in Hisui. But Ingo's never actually overseen any such effort himself. There hasn't been such a large disaster in all that time; the Pearl Clan is experienced in avoiding such conditions, and the merchant caravans do not travel so far north in winter. Seeing the breadth of the devastation chills him in a way that has nothing to do with the cold. How many might be buried underneath there? How many are they likely to find?

Suffice it to say, he's leaving matters of method and strategy to the local Pokemon. He...could make such decisions. He’s been responsible for lives before. It’s a responsibility he doesn't mind abdicating to those better suited. There’s still plenty to do! He still knows how to organize, and understands this kind of terrain well enough. He won't hesitate to flag down any guild members who arrive on the scene and don't seem to know what to do with themselves. ]

I could use another digger here!

[loopsiedaisy]

[The sight is overwhelming. They know it's bad to just be standing there, but even so Siffrin is initially paralyzed when they show up, with no idea where they should even start -]

[(Clearly there's a reason why you weren't sent out in the first group, Siffrin, you useless - come on, do something -)]

[It's possible that with another moment or two they'd have snapped out of it and found a place to help anyway - but it's a relief to hear a voice calling them over and giving directions. Siffrin fords over the snow and starts digging furiously opposite Ingo.]

[offtracks]

I smell a...a fire-type, I think. They may be using their own heat to stay warm - watch for slush, and be careful with your paws!

[ Ingo himself isn't really worrying about the latter, being a fire-tyep himself! But burning beneath the snow is just likely to destabilize everything. It's risky; he might not do it himself, in their position, but he also knows how panic can drown out logic. ]

ice rift

[offtracks]

[ One moment, Ingo is trudging along through the snow, sniffing around for traces of buried Pokemon and occasionally digging suddenly into the icy crust. It's the same as he's been doing for the past several days, nearly all day, with few breaks. So maybe it isn't so unexpected, to see him stumble; he's been pressing himself hard.

More unusual is his startled shout, or the fact that he's suddenly trembling. He looks about with wide, wild eyes. ]

What - where - ?!

[ Is he wet. Why is he suddenly soaking wet. ]

[notyourbloodymessiah]

[ eleanor's been spat out nearby, shaking herself off much like a dog. and while she doesn't recognise the nearby voice, she knows it's a voice in distress. she bounds over, stopping a few paces away. ]

Are you all right? What happened?

[offtracks]

Ah - I...

[ Ingo looks around wildly. It's...not still happening now. There's no sign of it? ]

I am not...sure?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

If you need a moment, take it. It'll be bad for both of us if you don't reorient yourself.

[ said like she isn't wildly disoriented herself. she doesn't know this area well, let alone well enough to tell where they are. ]

[offtracks]

[ Ingo nods and takes a moment to look around. He's familiar enough with the area, after several missions to this vicinity. More than that, he can see his own pawprints in the snow around him. ]

...I...am not sure I actually went anywhere at all.

[notyourbloodymessiah]

Bloody hell. I probably haven't either, then. [ who's to say when she can't tell the bloody difference in all this snow. ]

Does stuff like that normally happen out here?

[offtracks]

Did you see that as well? The - the ice?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

I certainly felt it.

[ she's wringing her ear out. ] I'm assuming this isn't a typical thing, then.

[offtracks]

Not at all...

[ Aaaaaaa, he hated that! Normally he'd just suggest they both head back to camp, but...they're out here for a reason, one too important to just walk away. Ingo slowly lowers his head to sniff at the snow again. ]

Perhaps there's something wrong with the pearls again?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

Are the pearls capable of doing that?

[ she looks up at him with a disbelieving expression. ]

Like, transferring moves over the network? [ her gaze then looks out into the snow. ] I guess we're lucky it didn't bury us as well.

[offtracks]

Moves? What do you mean?

[ He hadn't used any, he thinks? He hadn't been able to move, and before he could finish panicking about that and consider burning his way out, it was all over. ]

[notyourbloodymessiah]

Is that not what... whatever that was, was?

[ she's going in circles, isn't she. ] Never mind. We need to focus on the task at hand.

[ maybe somebody else out there also experienced that, too. and they need help. ]

[offtracks]

...yes, yes.

[ It was disturbing, but...she's right, they should focus for now. ]

But we should see if anyone else saw it later. Or...felt it?

[notyourbloodymessiah]

Yes, of course. [ she begins to make her way ahead, before turning around. ] I'm Eleanor, by the way. I don't think we've properly met?

[ she recognises his voice from the network, she thinks? she's still a bit frazzled so it's not a certain guess. ] You're my senior, right?

[offtracks]

I am Ingo! And yes, I think so.

[ He's not sure if she means he's older, or simply that he's been here longer, but so far as he can tell both seem true! ]