Scaling a Mountain (Open!)

Dixie seemed to size up the mountain she was about to scale. There could be who knows how many injured Pokemon up there. And if there weren't, well, she could always fulfill the dream of making it to the top. The husky Pokemon firmly planted a paw on the snowy pile and began to dig her way until she touched stone.

As she went upwards continuously, the Stoutland sighed lightly. All she had to do was look up and climb, but the permafrost and ice seemed to be prohibiting much movement. Growling her annoyed utterances, the female's teeth seemed to glower with fire. Opening her mouth, the small embers flickered out to assist in the melting of the ice and basically helping her climb.

Going up parallel, she made it onto what seemed to be a platform which she could calmly walk, save for that it was potentially a death trap due to her not being able to tell whether what was under the snow was solid or simply a fragile sheet of ice.

Growling once more, the Stoutland looked around, as if pondering her next move.

He didn't... really know why he was here.

Gabe had been flying for awhile, letting the air currents take him aimlessly around the area. There had been nothing much to do that day, so some mindless exploring didn't seem like a bad idea -- the weather was fair, the wind not too strong, and the sun was warm against his back. Grassveil had started to seem a bit claustrophobic to him as well, so it was nice to get away from the bustling town for a little.

He had always checked to see where Grassveil was, since he did have almost everything he owned stored in his temporary lodgings there. The trouble was, he didn't look where he was going, and had unwittingly stumbled upon the icy mountain of Frostmeer. It was a fearsome sight to behold, Gabe decided, and he should have turned tail and headed back to Grassveil that instant... but, since he was there now, it didn't hurt to scale the place for a short distance. He'd never been on a mountain before, and he trusted his aerial skills to keep him alive lest some wild Pokemon decided to jump him.

Gabe circled the base of Frostmeer, looking for a place that didn't seem too intimidating to start his climb. It was then that he saw a Stoutland, scaling up the mountain's side and cleverly using Fire Fang to create footholds in the icy surface. She didn't look like a hostile Pokemon, but it never hurt to be on the side of caution. Flying at a respectable distance, Gabe followed the Stoutland, intrigued.

When the Stoutland stopped, looking around the area as if trapped on an island, Gabe couldn't resist the temptation and swooped in beside her. Hovering a few feet from the stranger, he said, "Hey, man, you alright? Couldn't help noticing you a little while back."

The Stoutland cast a glance at the Swoobat fluttering nearby. She grunted slightly, then brought a powerful paw up and smashed it into the platform nearby. Needless to say, it plummeted far to the ground and shattered. With that, she turned and looked at the bat Pokemon fluttering nearby her. He didn't seem hostile, but one could never be too careful.

"When I was younger, I used to scale this mountain, looking for stranded Pokemon all the time. I thought I'd do it again for old time's sake and to perhaps even make it to the top. However, further inspection reveals that my old pathways have been covered with know and ice. I can't seem to locate them, so I have to be cautious,"

Raising her shackles, the elderly dog-like Pokemon charged energy in her legs and leaped a good few yards, onto the nearby ledge and then continued walking, expecting the flying Pokemon to follow her.

"You wouldn't happen to want to climb with me, would you? I find it physically exhausting, but being able to climb something where few have made it to the top pleases me. Care to bask in the cold sunshine after we make it to the top?"

"Covered? You mean, by an avalanche?" The thought of an avalanche made Gabe less than easy, but he followed the stranger as she scaled the mountain nevertheless. He supposed it would be alright for him if one of those occurred -- he wasn't grounded, and he could flit away from the worst of the fall before it hit him. The Stoutland, however... he doubted there would be anything he could do for her.

Noticing that the other Pokemon had started talking again, he brushed aside his disturbing thoughts and proceeded to listen, though he couldn't help but check above them every few seconds. After the Stoutland voiced her suggestion, Gabe nodded, smiling somewhat nervously. "I've never scaled a mountain before," he said, "but I'd be happy to accompany you, miss. And if you do get tired, I think I have a few berries in my pouch to help you perk right up." He was silent for a moment more, then suddenly remembered his manners. "The name's Gabe," he said. "I'll try to help as best I can, but... I don't think I could do anything much about this snow." He frowned a little, displeased with his relative wimpiness.

"But," he continued, "I could provide you with a little company, if you'd like."

"It's fine, Deary. It's rather easy once you get past the annoyance. Just scale up this part, then cut through a rather easy forested area, then you get back on track. Never made it to the top, though," Dixie barked.

All of the sudden, the large dog veered into a large snow pile, causing it to fall through as she made her way into a cranny. The old dog's wisdom seemed to be keeping up; even though the pass was covered with new snow, she remembered having made it up this way before.

"Come on, then. Cut through this cavern, take a left, come out on the other side, traverse up a gentler slope, then back onto the steepness!"

Continuing to walk, all the sudden she heard a quick shuffle of feet.

"Weavile! Get back!" she rasped, switching into an offensive stance. A loud cry noise could be heard as the weasel Pokemon attacked her. Landing a metal claw on her shoulder, the Stoutland used a fire fang on grasp onto his hand. The large Pokemon launched him behind her, towards the Swoobat. She quickly followed the thrown Pokemon, ready to attack again.

"Errr, yeah, easy." Gabe's face fell lower and lower as Dixie spoke -- it seemed simple to her, no doubt, but to the Swoobat she could have been speaking gibberish, for all that he'd understood. Well, I'll just follow her, then.

He was wholly startled when the Stoutland plowed through the snow, and for a moment forgot to flap his wings. It was when he realized that he was falling did he break out of his short trance, and landed on the ground, peering into the tunnel that his new companion had just made. "Are... you sure it's safe, man?" he said, projecting his voice into the cavern. When the only thing that came back was Dixie rambling off even more directions, Gabe sighed, steeled himself, and hopped into the tunnel after her.

It took a few moments to catch up to Dixie, and by then she'd barked out something that he couldn't really comprehend, what with the echoes that bounced off the walls as a result. Twitching his ears, he said, "What?" -- then cried out in utter surprise as some figure flew straight into him.

He tumbled down with the Weavile on top of him, stunned beyond cognitive thought. Without thinking, he started flailing his wings and feet about, crying out some incoherent sounds as he struggled to get out from under what he perceived to be his captor.