Contents:
Ember
Obvious exits:
Northeast <NE> leads to Commerce Road - Route 7: Gilded Path.
Southwest <SW> leads to Commerce Road - Route 7: Caravan Pass.

Andrew arrives from Commerce Road - Route 7: Gilded Path.
Andrew has arrived.

Ember is curled up under a bush, not far from the field where she and Kutsu first met but quite a distance from the humans' Route 7. It's not a perfect shelter from the rain, but it's better than nothing. The older fire pup doesn't sleep; the moist ground and wetness in the air prevent her from getting comfortable enough to drift off. She sighs as she watches drops drip off the leaves around her. <Need to find us a den,> she notes to herself.

A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's cool and there's a mild wind from the east. In the forest, raindrops patter against the fresh leaves, and glisten like silver beads on their bright green surfaces. The wet tree trunks have darkened from grey to brown. While at the coast, rain pitters lightly on the deep grey ocean, and the waves are small.

Yuck. Rain. What kind of Pokemon would be taking a walk in *this* rainy weather? Obviously, Patch's Growlithe, Peppy, would. "Growlithe..." he mutters to himself in disgust, not for the first time this afternoon. He should probably turn around, and go back home, and take a nice nap, maybe after some dinner... and yet, for whatever reason, he just keeps stumbling down the route, taking the rain. Well, okay, walk isn't exactly a good word - it's more like wait under a tree, dash to another, shake off the water, then dash to another tree. What fun is that? Not much. Anyway, he makes sure to stay reasonably close to the human's path, lest he wander off into who-knows-where and end up lost *again*.

Andrew walks down the path, also, quite liking the rain, though keeping Calo, his charmander, inside the pokeball for now. He doesn't even use an umbrella, finding this weather to be quite nice.

Ember has no where better to be, so stays under her bush. Her stomach rumbles as she waits for the rain to stop... some pup scared off all the prey pokemon yesterday, and it's been raining all day today so she hasn't eaten since two days ago. Rising to her paws, she hunches down so as not to disturb the branches and send extra water onto herself. Extending her head forward, the dog sniffs, trying to pick up any scents on the moist air.

Andrew very likely gives off enough of a scent to reach the growlithe's nose. Of course, he has no idea that he's giving off anything of the sort, or that there are growlithe anywhere nearby. He simply walks, looking around a bit, enjoying the scenery around him. Finding this weather to be... nice? How in the world could anyone find this dumb water plummeting from the sky nice? It's easy to think that way when you're a Growlithe. <One... two... three!> Peppy woofs, and starts a sprint for a tree about twenty feet away. "Grrrrowl!" he woofs as the stinging drops hit his fluffy back. Well, it could be worse - at least he didn't slip and stumble into the mud yet or anything. He's fast approaching Andrew, but doesn't notice the human - he's a little busy seeing if he can't avoid raindrops. Good luck.

Ember's ears prick forward as she catches the sound of a distant woofing. Tilting her head back, she sends a howl up towards the stormy sky. "GroooOOOolithe!" <Whoooooo's there?> she calls out. (No use worrying about scaring dinner away. It's been storming all day, and doesn't look like it's anywhere near stopping.)

Andrew turns around at the first woof, and sees the growlithe, of course, as the rain isn't very heavy and he's not even a pokemon, let alone a fire type. He's obviously a bit surprised to see it running straight for him, and takes the opportunity to attempt to move out of the way, if there's time.

Whoa. As Peppy runs, he *swears* he hears a Growlithe call from a distance away. His ears twitch at the noise. Hmm. Coming to halt underneath a rather large tree, the pup shakes himself off, sending dirty water splatting all over the place. Not like the area isn't wet enough as is. Once he's sure he's reasonably dry (considering the weather, that's still pretty soaked), he tilts his head up at the sky. Hmm. It's been a little while since he's made a loud howl... but what the heck. "Grrrooooooowlithe!" he replies, the howl being just a sign to let whoever the other Growlithe is know he's out here. The canine lets off a small exhale after he's finished. Ahh, it felt nice to do that again!

Ember's ears flick. Hm. With one last sigh and a wary eyeing of the rain, the she-Growlithe leaps out into the nasty weather. She runs in the direction of the howl, though far from in a straight line. Much like Peppy had been moving, she runs from tree to tree. Despite her efforts, she ends up getting wet. Mumble. She stops when the route is in sight, remaining within the cover of a bush herself.

Andrew shrugs, after a moment, and looks at the growlithe which was running toward him a few moments ago. He continues to be hit by the light rain, but doesn't pay it much notice, as he still quite likes rain.

Peppy seems a little bit dissapointed when he receives no return call. Must've just been the wind. Or perhaps his imagination. Ugh. Well, whatever it is, he *really* doesn't feel like going back out into that weather. Slowly, Peppy sits down on his rump - carefully, because even though it's under a tree, the ground is still pretty wet. His front paws in front of him, the dog considers his options. Hmmm. Continue on, and get wetter. Go back home, and get wetter. Stay here, and just kind of die of starvation if the rain doesn't stop. Not very appealing choices. With another little "Lithe!" of disgust, Peppy grumpily turns his head in Andrew's direction. His grouchy mood turns curious in a snap. Wha? A human? ... was he making those Growlithe noises? ... is that possible?

Ember approaches the human-route with more caution, knowing the dangers it can hold. She watches from her side as Peppy looks at the human. Her ears lay back. Ignoring the rain, she steps forward, placing herself into view of the human on the route. "Grrrrowl!" <Leave him alone!> she growls at Andrew, black lips wrinkling up to expose her white teeth at him. Her tail and head are lifted high, and she does her best to ignore the rain.

Andrew blinks, slightly, and has no idea what is being said, but makes a guess at what usually makes pokemon growl, having at the very least read a few books. After stopping moving, which he was about to do to get a better look at the growlithe, he speaks. "I'm not going to hurt it." All the same, his hand unconsciously moves toward his pokeball.

Gyaaugh! Peppy comes *this* close to a heart-attack as Ember leaps out of seemingly nowhere and threatens to attack Andrew. "Grrowl?!" He barks in surprise, popping to all four paws, and doing nothing else from that position. Um. Okay, now what? Help Ember beat up Andrew for seemingly no reason? Help protect Andrew from being injured? Stand there like an idiot? ... mm, that sounds like a nice choice. While he's watching this interesting little scenario, he nows gets to wonder... who is this 'him', anyway?

Ember sees where Andrew's hand is moving, and her eyes flash with anger. "Growl! Growl! Growl!" Though she's barking at the human, her message is intended for Peppy: <Run! Run! He has a Catcher!> She leaps out onto the route, snarling and snapping at the trainer. Her lunge won't carry her at the human though, it's at Peppy she's moving. <Run! Now!>

Andrew keeps his hand by the pokeball, which is actually quite full, and wonders what, exactly, he did wrong. He then realizes that pokemon may not appreciate being stuffed into small balls when they have no idea of what is going on, and probably have no idea that his is empty. An unconscious step moves him forward again, and actual thought stops him from pursuing the sharp-toothed pokemon.

Huh? What? Peppy clenches his teeth together, but still manages to make garbled woofs between them. <Run? Why? Catcher? What?> Eep! What to do?! Run? Stay? What's the problem, anyway? It's just a human. Not one to ignore so urgent an order, Peppy takes a few hasty steps backwards, but refrains from spinning into a frenzied dash compelled by fright just yet. <What's wrong?> The dog barks rather quickly and frantically. What, does he assume all Pokemon are already trained or something?

Ember passes Andrew, though turns her head to keep an eye on the human once he's behind her. <Go! Go! Go!> she barks at Peppy, coming straight at him. She makes a face as one of her paws lands in a puddle. <This is *not* the place to talk!> she growls, turning her head back to send the growl over her shoulder at Andrew, though the message is for Peppy. <Run, pup! *Now!*>

Andrew does not like that way Ember is looking at him at all. Deciding to avoid being attacked by a dog, he takes the pokeball out. "Sorry to send you out in the rain, Calo, but.." He allows the pokemon to come out, who does, rather quickly.

Andrew chooses a Charmander!
Calo has arrived.

Oh, heck. He didn't have anything better to do, did he? <A... all right!> Peppy woofs nervously, and, spinning around in the mud, starts a dash in the opposite direction, the one Ember is urging him to go to. Huff, puff! Huff, puff! He glances over his shoulder, to make sure Ember isn't being destroyed by the human's Pokemon or something. If he's got to run this hard, he's going to have to know a reason.

Ember's ears pin back as she sees the pokeball being thrown. She lunges for the underbrush on the other side of the road, slipping and sliding in the mud. As her paws regain traction she speeds up, then slows a bit to match the pace of the huffing and puffing Peppy. <Keep going! I know a place they can't reach!> Ember points out the direction with her nose.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze ... so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving)

Calo looks quizically at Andrew, a moment, as the Growlithe runs off, but lets out a loud "Charmander!" <What's wrong?> in the direction of the running canines. Andrew, of course, kneels slightly, to pat Calo on the head. "It's alright..I wasn't trying to catch them, or anything."

Pant, pant, groan. Running is not exactly a fun thing to do, especially when you eat as many burgers as Peppy does. Still, the pup's managing, and, upon noticing Ember's gesture, makes sure to set sights in that direction. His front right paw hits a patch of mud, causing him to almost slip, but he quickly regains his posture with only a small delay. Yay.

Ember remains at Peppy's side, using her shoulder to help him keep his balance when she can, struggling to keep her own when she has to. She ignores the Charmander's question; humans can and do use their captured pokemon to try to trick free ones into staying in range to be caught. Soon the route falls behind, and Ember slows their pace. She takes a quick look back to make sure they're not being followed.

Andrew shrugs, not following, but answering the Charmander's question. "I'm not sure. They saw me and ran off. Maybe they thought I was going to catch them, or something...I can see why a wild pokemon would rather stay wild, at times."

Oh, thank goodness. Ember's slowing down, and Peppy takes this opportunity to come to a stop even faster. <I think...> Pant. <We lost 'em.> Pant. Actually, that was kind of fun, running from the human! Reminds him of his younger pup days... well, actually, that wasn't too long ago. He makes no effort to hold back his gasping for breath, even though they didn't do an awful lot of running or anything.

Ember slows to a stop, turning so she can keep a watch behind them... even though her ears and nose tell her that the human is not after them. She touches Peppy with her muzzle, a doggy half-smile forming on her muzzle. <Going to be okay?> she asks. The scent of concern over the whole situation lifts from her, catchable even in the rain. <You have to be careful around the man-roads.>

Calo lets out an annoyed "Char" at the rain, and pokes Andrew's leg, who replies and picks up the pokeball. "Alright, Calo. You can head back in." He allows Calo to do so, but frowns, slightly, glancing around the road for any other little surprises.

Calo is recalled by Andrew.
Calo has left.

Peppy flinches a little bit as Ember's muzzle touches him - apparently, he wasn't expecting it. He lets in a small gasp, but that's about it. He apparently doesn't get to be around other Growlithes much. Go fig. <I'll be fine.> He gestures towards his paw, the one that slipped in the mud. <It didn't get hurt or anything.> His tail wags once, twice, and for the time being, he is unaware of the rain. <Careful? Why?> Does he think that Ember is a trained Pokemon? Whatever would cause him to make such an assumption? Weird.

Andrew heads for Commerce Road - Route 7: Caravan Pass.
Andrew has left.

Ember, concerned with watching the direction of the route, misses the flinch. <He's not following,> she decides, then brushes up against his side as she starts into motion again (this time at a walk, luckily for Peppy). <Come on, let's get out of the rain,> mumble, <as much as we can, anyway.> As she starts walking she gives him a side-long look. <Why be careful around them? Because they can snatch you up and make you vanish.>

A little "Grrowl." of dissapointment seeps from Peppy's mouth as he notices Ember start to move again, but it's just as well - the adrenaline rush is over, and he's starting to feel the rain stinging once more. Ech. <All right.> Peppy agrees, a little glance over his shoulder reassuring himself that, fortunately, that obviously cruel and mean (why else would he and Ember be running from him?) human is not following. Phew. A couple of steps behind Ember, and to her side, Peppy begins walking, trying to keep at her pace. He doesn't do a good job of matching it. <Vanish? Snatch me up?> He doesn't make the connection between 'dissapearing' and 'Pokeballs', even though he's in one half the day. <What do you mean?>

Though she hates the rain (like most sane fire pokemon do), Ember slows her pace further for the younger Growlithe. She licks her muzzle, cleaning the wetness of the rain off that, at least. She explains for him, <Humans can make pokemon appear and disappear whenever they like. They put them into 'catchers'... round things they carry around on their hips. If they see you they'll chase you and try to put you into one.> She shivers.

Peppy blinks, his pace faltering for a moment. As if it could go any slower. <Those aren't called 'catchers'.> Peppy woofs matter-of-factly, glancing at Ember at the beginning of the statement, then slowly turning his head forward near the end. <They're Pokeb...> And then it hits him. This Growlithe, Ember, is obviously not a caught one. Smacked across the head by the Steel Bat of Understanding, Peppy suddenly realizes why she tried to save him - she thinks he's wild, too. She thought Andrew was going to catch him. Ohh, shoot. Okay, this is a problem. She's probably going to take him to her pack or something, or lead him away from Celadon. Trouble. Unconciously coming to a stop, Peppy just kind of nervously glances left, right, and behind him - anywhere but into Ember's eyes. Okay. Okay, he can find a way out of this.

Ember stops a few steps after Peppy does. <They're called what?> she asks him, curiosity visible in her eyes and the cant of her ears. Since they're stopped she plants her paws and shakes... though it does little good since they're still out in the rain. <Shelter isn't fa...> her words trail off as she watches the pup's strange behavior. <What's wrong?> She steps closer to him again, sniffing along his side to see if she can pick up a clue that way. <Are you okay?>

Still not looking at Ember, Peppy still can't find a way out of this predicament. Say his mom's calling him? ... no, Ember's hearing is probably as good as - if not better than - his own, and if he didn't hear another Growlithe calling, Ember probably didn't, either. Other than that (weak) excuse, the pup can't think of another way out of this. <I...> Um. <I don't know what they're called.> Cringing a bit as a little of the water shaking from the other Growlithe's fur smacks into him, Peppy pretends to ignore it. <Nothing's wrong. I... just...> Shoot. Uh. <I'm... just... hungry.> That was a very poor excuse, but at least he can take comfort in the fact that he wasn't lying.

A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's cool and there's a mild wind from the east.

Ember studies the younger Growlithe, her ears flicking backwards in confusion. <You sounded like you knew what they were. 'Pokeb...'?> She lets out a deep sigh at his reply, then sets into motion again. <Getting wet won't help anything get answered. We're almost there.> She starts walking again, indicating a large growth of bushes ahead. <If I hadn't gotten caught on the other side of the man-road, I would have weathered the storm here. It's nearly dry inside.>

Peppy does something smart for once in his life - he ignores Ember's first statement, as if pretending he didn't hear it. Letting the topic change. Making absolutely *certain* to focus himself entirely upon this new subject so as to try and cause Ember to forget about 'Pokeb's, Peppy starts walking again - a jittery, nervous, uneven walk - and replies with a question. <This is where you stay?> He asks, glancing about. It is a rather nice area. <Does it do a good job keeping rain out?>

Ember drops to her belly once she reaches it, crawling into the low 'opening' leading deeper into the bush. <Only during storms... and luckily we haven't had many of those.> Once she's inside she moves to one side, waiting for Peppy to join her as well. <Enough room for a few in here, but I like dens in the earth better. Warm in the winter, cool in the summer,> she notes idly.

The Growlithe pauses for a moment, glancing back behind himself. He sure hopes he'll be able to find his way back to Celadon after this. He just got back - he doesn't want to be lost once again. Taking a small breath, as if plunging into water or something, Peppy gets down on his stomach, and tries to crawl into the bush. While nowhere near as gracefully or easily as Ember, he manages to get through. Why is he doing this? Why didn't he just run when Ember was inside the bush? Eff. After popping into the area next to Ember - none too delicately - Peppy shakes off a little of the dirt from his fur. Yuck. <Dens?> He mumbles, wondering how to get this dust off. <What are they?> The term sounds familiar, but he can't exactly place it. Hm.

Ember blinks at the other Growlithe. Though there is less light in here than outside (and none too much out there) she can still see him well enough. <You don't know what a den is?> she asks, not sounding like she totally believes that. <Where- where did you grow up?> The 'ceiling' of the bushes is just high enough for them to sit mostly straight, and unlike the ground outside, the dirt here is not muddy beneath their paws.

Glancing at the non-muddy ground, a welcome change beneath Peppy's paws, the Growlithe plops right down on his rear end, trying to scratch a little of the mud off of his tummy. He looks silly while doing so. After realizing that he's *supposed* to have remembered what a den is, Peppy blinks, trying to think up a quick excuse. He can't in time, so... <Well, I... uh...> There he goes again, avoiding looking at Ember's face. <I... just... haven't been in one for so long... that...> He's sunk. He's dead. She's going to find out he's caught, drive him out of this bush, and then he'll be lost out in the rain and die. Dang.

A Katerwaul slinks closer, bright eyes all ablaze ... so whisper a prayer and start that save! (Saving)

Ember rises to her paws and steps over to the other Growlithe. She sniffs along his back again, but this time she works slower, searching for... ah. She sits back, head cocked. <You stink of their man-places,> she notes, no malice in her tone. <Rain didn't wash all of it away.> Her ears shift forward and her expression remains curious. <So then you do know what they are.>

Closing his eyes, as if expecting Ember to suddenly turn into a Katerwaul and slice the Growlithe to pieces, Peppy cringes back. His eyelids are so shut, they could probably crack walnuts. <Yes! It's true! I... I...> And then one blinks open. He's not sliced to pieces yet. And, in fact, Ember looks almost... understanding? Unsurprised? Um. <I...> And then his other eye opens up. He still stays cringed back away from the female, but he's no longer threatening to go into cardiac arrest. "Grr...rowl..." He stutters to himself, and then, with a feat of supercanine power, mumbles, <... yes...> Hm.

Ember appears to be paying no attention to Peppy's internal struggles. She lowers herself down to her belly, then yawns. <It's good to be out of the rain. Maybe tomorrow the storm will move on,> she says in idle conversation. She drops her head down to rest on her forepaws, eyelids drooping.

Maybe Ember's just quiet because she's busy transforming into a Katerwaul. Or perhaps she's so angry at Peppy, she's trying her hardest not to howl cries of anger. Or maybe she's just an understanding dog - that's the one he's hoping for. <Yes,> He repeats quietly, as if really trying to keep the topic on something else that isn't the injury of Peppy. <Ma...maybe it will.> He glances at the exit cautiously, calculating how long it would take to dive for it if Ember suddenly turns vicious.

Ember catches the glance, and replies after yawning once more. <You can leave if you want,> she tells him, then rolls onto her side. <But you couldn't drive me back out into the rain even with a stick,> she half-grins at him, though doesn't lift up her head to do so. Finally her curiosity gets the better of her, <What makes you go into such a loud and smelly place? Seems like their places would be awful to be in...>

Okay, Peppy's pretty much convinced that he's not going to be little fuzzy shreds by the end of the night. A good thing. <I, um...> He glances at the exit, then slowly shakes his head, turning it back to Ember. <Maybe in a bit, but not yet.> He grins slightly, allowing a little tail wag. He's extremely relieved that Ember took it well. <You... well... you get used to it.> He cocks his head a bit, unconciously scratches his side with a hind paw to relieve an itch. <Humans aren't very smart, except for Patch, but they kind of grow on you.> Like this Growlithe should talk about other people being dumb.

Ember's tail beats against the ground at the news that he won't be fleeing headlong back out into the rain. <Get used to it?> she repeats, lifting her head to look at him. A couple of blinks, then understanding floods her face... followed quickly by confusion. <One of them...> She sits up, worry joining the lack of understanding on her furry features. <You were caught by one, weren't you?> she asks quietly.

Wait. Wait, wait, wait a moment. With a look of surprise, Peppy's eyes almost double in size. Ohh, shoot! He had pretty much assumed that that's what she assumed, and... er... okay, now Peppy's confused, too. Inhaling deeply again, the thoughts of Ember turning into a Katerwaul and slicing Peppy to fuzz return, as the pup quietly, nervously, and hesitantly admits, <... yes...> He cringes back a bit more, and glances to the ground at the side, as if too afraid to look at her face. Gulp.

Ember takes a hurried (one might almost call it frantic) look around. She rise to her paws, ears drawn back. <I- I need to get some air. You stay here, it's dry.> And with that she all but dives out of the opening, back out into the rain. So much for nothing getting her to leave.