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

Streetwind arrives from Commerce Road - Route 7: Caravan Pass.
Streetwind has arrived.

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty. In the forest, fiery red, gold, and orange leaves rustle and blow past you, swirling in the wind. While at the coast, the sea is a warm blue, reflecting the saved warmth from the summer, and the waves are gentle.

The weather is considerably nice. There's plenty of sunlight; it allows for the trees to burst forth with all the diverse colors of fall. It's not uncomfortably hot, nor is it humid. Sure, it's a little windy, but wind actually feels refreshing when it's not carrying little waterdrops. Marching up the route (a good twenty feet from the human's path) is Peppy the Growlithe, pushing against the force of the weather. His entire body is crouched to offer more resistance to the gust, and his muzzle is almost touching the ground. His nose is furiously at work, sniffing rapidly and trying to pick up *any* scent of food. He is absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent *determined* to bring Aurora home a Rattata or Pidgey today! And he's not going home until he gets that food! ... Or until he gets too hungry to go on, whichever comes first.

Fall is a good season, fall is Streetwind's favourite season. It doesn't rain more than it does in summer (actually, this year, it rains a lot /less/ than in summer), there's this special kind of wind which she absolutely loves, and all the colors! The world that saw little change over the passed three seasons suddenly developes a totally unique, magic look.

Peppy is basically preoccupied with the ground. The wind is a little fierce - it's hard for him to pick up scents, and because the breezes are pushing along the smells so quickly, it's difficult for the poor pup to pinpoint an exact (heck, even a general) location. He thinks he catches a wisp of a Mankey here, but then it's gone. Is that a Meowth? ... Not anymore. Needless to say, even when Streetwind hops out into his path (maybe Growlithes are something a little too *un*focused on what lies ahead), he still continues walking, sniff, sniff, sniff, sni- *stop*. Peppy blinks down at the ground, very slowly raising his head... until his eyes settle upon Streetwind's head. In a half-moving position, his right foreleg hovering in the air as though he's frozen in mid-step, Peppy just kind of peers at the Ninetales. He's motionless and silent.

The firefox is slightly amused by that stance, and some voice in her head whispers to put a paw on Peppy's nose and push him over just to see if he'll still stay frozen in that position while lying on his back - but she shoves that thought away. That's not the way to thank someone for saving your life. So, instead, she simply greets him with a <Hi there>.

>> Ack! Streetwind just peered at your fluffy self! <<

Peppy continues glancing at Streetwind for a moment or two longer, before... letting the paw drop to the ground. The wind is pushing the white fur on his cheeks back - it makes his otherwise still and hardly blinking face a few hints of life. His tail twitches twice. Oh, right - he has to return the greeting. "Grrrowlithe," Peppy barks with a little enthusiasm, giving the Ninetales a tiny doggy grin out of the corners of his mouth, showing just a hint or two of his teeth. He turns his head to the side, stretching it as far as it will go to glance behind him without moving his limbs, and after a couple seconds, he turns back to Streetwind. <Aurora said you left.>

<Yeah, I did.> Streetwind answers lightly. <And I'm somewhat suprised you got here before me even though you left after me. Must've stared into the land for too long, I guess.> In contrast to Peppy, the stray Ninetales seems to like the sharp wind that ruffles her fur, since she doesn't make an attempts to shield herself. <So, what made you come here in the first place? It's a little far from your mate's den...>

Peppy just gives Streetwind a very light little nod - she might not even see it. Raising his head a little higher in the air while the Ninetales speaks, Peppy sort of enjoys the wind pushing into his face and tickling his neck; it feels almost like a really, really light scritching. Ahh. If it was a little more warm, this would be the best weather. The Growlithe either ignores or doesn't reply to Streetwind's first couple of statements, for the first thing that escapes from his mouth is, <I'm going to catch a Rattata!> His tail bursts into a frenzy of enthusiastic and excited wags, and his face scrunches up slightly, a tiny grin poking its way onto the pup's face. <Aurora needs some really good food, but I can't find a burger tree, so I'm going to catch her some meat! And I won't go home until I get some!> Awww!

A... burger tree? Streetwind blinks a little. Oh right, the Growlithe must have made a joke. Maybe he's just not good at telling jokes. It almost sounded as if he meant it... speaking of Peppy's abilities, the Ninetales suddenly wonders how the clumsy Growlithe is planning to catch a Rattata. She got to watch him often enough during the last two weeks, and never he returned with something different than berries, fruits or edible plants. Of course, she might be wrong there. After all, she didn't watch him 24/7. <Do you know how to hunt Rattatas?>, she asks, breaking with her useless ponderings.

Peppy pauses for a second, glancing at Streetwind the whole time. He's completely unaware of the thoughts going on in her mind, of course - in his mind, he's almost positive that she's thinking wonderful thoughts about how brave, how strong, how loving this pup is, so loyal to his mate! <Well,> the canine woofs, peering thoughtfully up at the sky for just a moment. <No... um, I've never really hunted one before.> A pause. <Once I came across a Pidgey and tried to Flamethrower it but then it flew away, so I couldn't use it.> And now Peppy comes to this logic that works -so well- in his mind, despite its obvious flaws: <But I've seen trained Rattata before, and I know that they can't fly! So I'll bet it'll be easy to catch one if I can find one!>

A Retwa flares its wings and protects the database. (Saving)

Slight disbelief creeps onto Streetwind's face. <You've never hunted before? Oh. Then, you have a problem. If you don't learn how to hunt as a child, then it's very difficult to learn it later on. I myself didn't learn it properly, and although I practiced for one and a half years now, the whole time I've been wild, I'm still not as good as I want myself to be.> Her orange eyes wander over the frame of the eager, hopeful Growlithe in front of her. Poor thing. <There are quite a lot Rattatas around. If you didn't find one so far... then I don't think you can catch one.>

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty.

As Streetwind speaks, Peppy's eyebrows furrow a little, and by the time she's finished with her little advice the pup is actually growling very, very softly. He looks... not enraged, but a little angry. <Just because I used to b...> He pauses for a split second. Saying that you're a trained pokemon is not the way to go about it. <Just because I wasn't brought up to hunt when I was a puppy doesn't mean I can't hunt.> That doesn't seem to be what's bothering him, however. <But I said I'm going to get a Rattata for Aurora,> he continues, now crouching down a little bit, his fuzzy face taking on as intimidating a look as possible. <And just because I haven't found one yet doesn't mean I'm not going to, because I will.> Boy. Peppy taking offense. This is a first.

Aurora arrives from Commerce Road - Route 7: Caravan Pass.
Aurora has arrived.

The Ninetales is not very impressed. It's quite difficult to impress her. Instead she lifts what passes as eyebrows in her species, and offers, <Why don't you show me? You go on with your hunt, I watch. That way, you can prove me wrong. I'll make sure I won't disturb you.> She motions a little to the right with her head. <But I suggest you try it over there, in the undergrowth.>

Peppy continues growling at Streetwind for a moment or two longer, though he eventually shuts up when she offers a suggestion. Any rage that he might have sort of dissipates into the air as she offers to watch him hunt, and the pup is silent for a few moments, pondering his options over in his mind. Without verbally replying, Peppy just sort of takes two uneasy steps towards the undergrowth - not close enough to see what's inside. <I, uh.> His eyes head to the side, away from Streetwind. <I do better alone.> As is suggested by his amazing gatherings from past hunts? <But I will bring her home a Rattata or Pidgey and not berries this time,> Peppy adds very quickly, now whipping his head over to Streetwind to give her a look straight in the eyes. He takes another glance at the undergrowth. ... ... He is so going to make a fool of himself.

Suprise, suprise. Seeing that pup successfully hunt something is part of the most improbable events that Streetwind can imagine. Strangely, she feels sorry for Peppy. Maybe it's because he's so cute and fluffy. Instincts are difficult to control. <Okay, suit yourself. I... I wanted to travel on anyway, coincidentally. Good luck with your hunt, then.> That said, the Ninetales disappears in the foliage. Of course, she does /not/ leave. When she said that she knows how to stay hidden, that was fully true. She keeps watching Peppy from a distance of roughly 50 feet, and his chances of spotting her are slim. Considering that it's Peppy, they're probably even more slim. 'Well then, show me', she thinks.

From the southwest end of the roadside path, another cute, fluffy (and rather plump) Growlithe can be seen, heading towards the other fire types. She's walking rather slowly, and murmurs to herself, <I wonder what he's found so far...> Peppy catches her eye while she's still quite a distance away from him, and she glances from Growlithe to bushes, and then gives a little nod and a grin to herself. <Maybe he's found something... maybe I'd better not disturb him,> she murmurs again, and moves over towards the cover of the nearest bushes, trying not to divert Peppy's attention from his hunting.

Peppy, as we've established time and time and -time- again, is not very bright. An intelligent pokemon (you know, one with an IQ that exceeds that of a coconut) would understand that the Ninetales probably is still watching. Even an unintelligent pokemon would at least follow the pokemon for a moment, just to make sure she doesn't hide and watch. But not Peppy. The Growlithe glances as Streetwind disappears into the environment, then glances at the ground and sighs into the wind. <That,> the pup woofs gently, lifting his head up a little to feel the gust on his face. It feels nice. <... Was a close one.> Completely believing that Streetwind is gone, Peppy takes one look at the undergrowth. If only he knew he's not being watched by only the Ninetales, but his mate, too. He glances towards the shrubs with a little interest in his eyes, and he decides that's as good a place as any to continue hunting. Peppy plods his way over to the bushes, making absolutely no attempt to be stealthy, and continues to sort of thrust himself into the bushes, rustling them and making plenty of noise. Needless to say, if there *was* a pokemon anywhere in the undergrowth, it's likely already scampered off due to all the noise the pup is making. Sneaky, thy name is not Peppy.

Streetwind's sharp ears pick up movement, and after a moment of looking around, she spots and recognizes Aurora. Glancing back to Peppy, she judges his progress... well, this is gonna take it's time, obviously. That means she can take a quick break. Moving quickly and silently through the foliage, she appears rather closely to Aurora, and immediately motions her to stay silent and follow her. If the Growlithe does follow, Streetwind will lead her back to the spot she was hiding in before, a spot that offers quite a good view of what Peppy is doing. Oi vey. What /didn't/ he do wrong in that little bit of time? Still assuming that Aurora followed, Streetwind will direct her to a spot about ten feet to her right. She's still keeping her silence, though, and doesn't speak about why she's doing this.

Aurora is crouched beside the bushes, trying to peer round at Peppy, and is definitely not expecting a Ninetales to appear near her - her yelp of surprise is cut short, though, at Streetwind's signal. Perhaps Peppy'll think it was a Rattata, or something... a Rattata that yells "Grrow!", of course. Blushing a little at the noise, she nods back to Streetwind and follows her, though she looks rather confused right until she reaches the spot she's shown. With a little grin, she settles down to watch, her tail wagging a bit in sympathy with the poor, noisy puppy who's out there hunting for his mate.

A Retwa flares its wings and protects the database. (Saving)

There are no Rattatas in the undergrowth! Imagine that. Peppy actually does look a little bit surprised at this, and he lowers his head down to the ground, trying to perhaps catch a trace of a scent. There has to be a Rattata around here somewhere, right? It's about now that Streetwind surprises Aurora, but the female Growlithe's little growl fails to catch Peppy's attention - the wind is blowing too fiercely, and her voice just simply wasn't loud enough to register in the pup's ears. Peppy takes a few more sniffs. Nothing. A gust carries along a little leaf, which dances, twirls - and crashes right between Peppy's eyes. "Growlithe!" the pup barks suddenly, his head whiplashing (ow) up in surprise as the wind shakes the leaf free and sends it flying into the air again. Peppy sort of blinks, before his chest sort of drops a little bit as his tail goes limp. He looks sad. This hunting stuff is a lot more difficult than it looks.

Another series of paw movements: No, don't sit down. Get up again. Walk, forward. Slow. Keep your position towards me. Watch the ground.

The female Growlithe looks a little mystified at the Ninetales' signals, but does as she's instructed, keeping out of sight as Streetwind is doing. After all, emerging from the bushes would surprise Peppy and maybe scare away his prey. That is, if he'd managed to find some by that time. As Aurora moves, she casts a questioning glance at Streetwind, silently asking, 'What exactly are we doing?'

Peppy sort of stays in that all-too-disappointed position for a few moments longer, before reminding himself exactly *why* he's out in the cold instead of sleeping or talking with Aurora or doing something fun. When you can't hear a thing, your nose is failing you, and you're at a loss, there's only one place to turn - sight. Peppy's never been well known for his vision; the fact that he's totally colorblind really doesn't help much. As a result, he sees nothing at all as he glances around, his eyes passing right over the two females without even a slight pause. With a little sigh, Peppy plops down onto his rump, resting on his haunches and glancing longingly back at the den. The thought of bringing back berries *again* really doesn't appeal to the pup, especially since Aurora's been eating more lately - but does he have much more of a choice?

Soon, Streetwind spots what she tried to find. It's a pokemon carefully retreating from Peppy's position. And it actually /is/ a Rattata. Wow, she's lucky today. She only wanted to drive /something/ into Peppy's general direction, but the critter's appearance makes it easier. Much easier. Ignoring Aurora, she leaps forward and starts snapping at the startled rat, all while keeping her iron silence. The only thing that can be heard are the Rattata's panicked squeaks as it is chased back where it came from. Streetwind stops after a few steps, but the Rattata is probably so scared out of it's mind that it forgot about Peppy - it will dash right past him. He won't get a better chance today, so he better catches this one! Streetwind actually does believe that Peppy will be able to catch it - what worries her is something else: will Peppy be able to finish it?

Meanwhile, Aurora waits and watches - and when she notices the Rattata (a few seconds after Streetwind does), she grins and stays silent, letting the Ninetales scare the smaller pokemon out of the bushes. That done, she turns her attention to Peppy, and the frown of concentration on her face shows just how hard she's willing him to catch - and take down - the prey that Streetwind's just provided for him.

Peppy continues glancing towards the den for a little while longer, his tail only barely flickering softly as he tries to figure out what he should do next. Um. See, if Peppy could just find that burger tree, things would be a heck of a lot easier. Or maybe if Rattatas slept as much as he did, then he could stumble upon a nice one snoozing away. So caught up in his thought is Peppy that he almost - almost! - misses hearing the frenzied shrieks of the little normal type. He turns his head in the Rattata's direction, and his eyes widen. Look up, the clouds have likely parted and begun shining holy light down onto the pup. This is like some kind of miracle. Peppy simply peers at the rat for a couple seconds longer, blinkg twice, before realizing - oh, right. The pokemon won't just fall down and die, it needs to be burnt/bitten/whatevered first. Wasting no more time, the pup springs off of the ground, almost tripping over himself as he sprints across the mud, across the grass, and towards the Rattata. Plod, plod. Pant, pant. "Grrrrrrrr... owl!" And with that, he squats down slightly on his hind legs (it's all one quick motion - he hardly slows down), and thrusts himself into the sky with his intention to Take Down attack the Rattata! By no means is the pup graceful, nor is he overly quick or accurate, but unless the Rattata does something pretty slick, Peppy just might be able to tackle it to the ground! Hey, lookit that, he *can* do something right once in a while.

Fair weather clouds drift through the blue sky from the west. The wind is gusty.

*Crunch*. The Rattata is driven into the ground as Peppy lands on top of it. Streetwind winces. Owwie, that's gotta hurt. But the Rattata is probably only stunned and still alive. That's what she meant - killing is not easy. Peppy probably doesn't realize it, but he's not doing the Rattata any favor when he takes it slow. It'll just suffer unecessarily.

<Come on, you can do it...> Aurora mutters to herself as quietly as she can, still intently watching Peppy and his Rattata. She glances at Streetwind, and if the Ninetales is looking over at her, she'll add a quiet but heartfelt, <Thank you,> to her smile of thanks. Her attention is only diverted for a few seconds, however, and then she turns her head back to watch Peppy.

Pamph! Peppy's body rocks a bit as both he and the Rattata smash into the floor, and the first thought (thoughts, actually - it's repeating in his head over and over) is, 'Is it dead?' Memories of trainer battles stream back to the pup, however, and he remembers that in all the times he's used Take Down, he's never -killed- anybody. And so, with that, Peppy... really doesn't know what to do next. The thought to try a Flamethrower or other fire attack doesn't hit the pup's mind... so Peppy uses the strongest part of his body. No, not his legs or anything - his teeth. Waddling forward over the Rattata, towering over the stunned rodent, Peppy proceeds to Bite the back of the Rattata's neck, and he can Bite *hard*. His chest is heaving in and out, in and out, oh please just let him do this, maybe just this once even if it never happens again just let him kill this one Rattata! Digging his teeth further into the Rattata's flesh, Peppy squeezes his eyes shut, hoping that the pokemon can't find a way to escape.

It's not pretty, oh no, it's not pretty at all. Peppy's teeth soon hit something hard below the flesh, while the critter keeps struggling futilely. They're more spasm that actual movements, though. But it's not dead yet. It gurgles and gargles, and warm red blood fills Peppy's mouth before it runs outside onto the ground. Streetwind sighs and rolls her eyes. </Full/ force, Peppy. Don't play around.> She says this more to herself, and Peppy won't hear it even if his ears where the sharpest in the world.

A Retwa flares its wings and protects the database. (Saving)

Even though she's been in the wild for the last two years, Aurora's been an owned pokemon for most of her life, and she's not used to blood... The Growlithe winces a little as Peppy's jaws close on the Rattata's throat, but it's suppressed as she then nods towards her mate, muttering, <You can do it, Peppy!> With this wind, it's unlikely he can hear her, quiet as her voice is.

Okay. Peppy's now starting to get just a little bit annoyed by the Rattata's inability to *die* here. Ignoring the red liquid oozing down his chin, Peppy growls, narrows his eyes, and... and, well, he takes his teeth out of the Rattata. More logic falls into place. Peppy likes ear scritches, cheek scritches, but not neck scritches. Like almost any pokemon, he doesn't like pokemon near his jugular - and that's exactly why Peppy gets his idea. His first motion is to step off of the Rattata and attempt to lift its head up using his muzzle. Should that be successful, he'll proceed to bite into the -front- of the rodent pokemon's neck. Will it finally die? Or will the Rattata somehow find a way to escape the clumsy, unskilled canine's dripping jaws?

Oh my. It really doesn't occur to him to break the rat's neck. By this time, the prey won't escape anymore, That's for sure. It'll likely bleed to death or suffocate even if Peppy somehow gives up. But Streetwind has enough of watching the clumsy Growlithe trying to finish it. <That was the worst performance I've seen until now.> she mutters, not caring if Aurora picks it up. <Hopeless case.> But anyway. Peppy has caught something and will want to proudly present it to Aurora. She better isn't there by then. With a last side glance to Peppy, she disappears into the foliage, making her way further north-east.

Aurora glances at Streetwind as the Ninetales makes her exit, then looks over at Peppy. The Rattata doesn't appear to be dead yet, but it's definitely heading that way, and so Aurora starts to make her way out of the bushes as Streetwind has done. She doesn't, however, follow the Ninetales, but heads back towards the south-east, and the den she shares with Peppy. It's going to take a little bit of pretending on her part when Peppy returns with his prize, but it'll be worth it.

No matter what Streetwind might think, Peppy is more proud of himself than he has ever been before. He did it! He actually killed a pokemon! A Rattata! He's actually going to bring a Rattata which he killed *all by himself* (sort of) back to his mate and she's going to be so proud of him and she's going to be so happy! Glancing down at the Rattata (the sloppily killed, blood soaked, not-dead-but-getting-there Rattata), the pup, taking in a couple small pants and letting a little blood drip from his jaws, bends down, snatches up the pokemon in his jaws, and proceeds to carry it back to the den, his chest swelling with excitement and pride the whole way.