Working as a team... right?

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It was cold. Kale didn't like the cold.

But he wasn't about to let his partner know that. He was still furious with her for making him look like a fool back in the town market, and he wasn't about to go and let her know about his discomfort. She would probably laugh at him, and Arceus knew that was the last thing he wanted. It was bad enough that she had made a fool out of him one time; two times, even in the face of wild, violent Pokemon, was unthinkable.

The Sandshrew tossed a glare behind him, where Ditrysia was fluttering. He had stated very clearly that they would keep at a distance of at least five yards away from each other, so that he didn't have to talk to her. The Butterfree, however, seemed to notice his attention and drew up her head.

"Kale," she said quietly, much to Kale's annoyance, "are you sure we should be exploring this place? We don't even have any experience fighting or anything, and I --"

"Oh, shut up." Kale sniffed audibly and turned back around. He crossed his arms and continued walking, ignoring his partner's quiet insistences that they turn around now. It can't be that dangerous. What a baby.

(( Lol no, Kale got left behind and DarkShock's leading him back to town. xD ))

"O-oh, it is?" Kale's cheeks became hot with embarrassment. "I... I knew that." He scuffed the ground with a foot while he walked, trying to find a way to recover his lost dignity. When he couldn't come up with anything, he asked instead, "So... you keep saying that you're an explorer, and that you're ranked highly, and everything. What team are you in? 'Cause I've never heard of you before."

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Ditri halted in midair and hovered in place, waiting for Ciriya. "Oh, really? I guess it didn't work, huh..." She glanced backwards and -- to her astonishment -- she found that Kale wasn't there anymore. They'd left him behind, and she hadn't even noticed. "Aaaah," she said, suddenly uneasy. She looked to the Swellow imploringly before hearing what she had to say, and uttering a sigh of relief. "Yes, let's," she said, turning to backtrack.

DarkShock stopped and sighed deeply, it wasn't so long ago that he had completed his last mission with Ciriya and Roman. "I was part of Team Discharge, we were a Master*** rank exploration team," he said quietly.

Ciriya nodded and hovered by the side of Ditrysia, "I'll go ahead, and scout from higher up." she chirruped, before angleing upwards and zooming off. She gracefully headed back to where she had last seen Kale, but from higher up.
As she flew, she caught a glimpse of the Sandshrew, as well as Darkshock. The Swellow grinned, at least Kale wasnt attacking the Luxray.
Ciriya dived downwards, folding her wings in to gain more speed. Just ahead of the two non-flying pokemon, she spread them again and daintily landed. It looked as though she had done it without much effort.
"Hello again, you two. Ditri will be back here in a minute. Sorry for rushing off like that, Kale..."

"Alright," Ditri called to the swiftly receding Swellow, and angled her wings so that she flew lower to the ground. Making wide sweeps, she looked out for Kale, hoping that she could remember exactly where they had gone so that she could backtrack later.

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"Wow, that's a really high rank." Of course, Kale had already heard DarkShock talking about his team's rank before, but back then he had been forgetful with fear. Now he registered the information with barely suppressed awe. "Must've taken you guys a long time to achieve that rank... wait." He tilted his head, confused. "Was? You're not part of that team anymore?"

He would have gone on babbling out questions, but the sudden appearance of Ciriya startled him and -- though he was farther away from her than DarkShock was -- fell backwards with a cry. He managed to gather himself back up before long, though, and after a few breaths asked, "Why did you do that?! You know I can't follow that fast!"

"What took you so long?" Darkshock said teasingly as he walked past the Swellow. He kept going in the same direction and called back to Kale, "C'mon kid! unless you want to be flying."

The Swellow laughed and followed on foot behind Darkshock for a few seconds before spreading her wings, and hovering in the sky, but near to the group. She called down to Kale, finally answering his question, "That was the point!"

At DarkShock's call, Kale uttered a cry and started trotting behind the Luxray again. If anything, he didn't want to be left behind -- and, much as he hated to admit it, he felt measurably safer in the Luxray's company. The addition of the Swellow didn't hurt, either.

When he heard Ciriya calling down upon him, he looked up, his expression full of frustration. "What was the point?" he called up, yelling in case the Flying Pokemon couldn't hear. "Did you guys want me to get lost and die in there?!"

Just then, a shadow passed over him, and before he could react, he slammed bodily into... something. "Oooomph!" Whoever he'd bumped into caught him before he could fall into the snow, though, and he turned his attention to the Pokemon.

"...Ditri!"

"Sorry, Kale," Ditri said, looking sheepish. "I didn't think you'd... erm. React that slowly."

Kale pushed away from her grip, a frown creasing his features. "Well geez, you should have at least gone back a few feet!"

"Sorry."

Ciriya decided not to answer, and just enjoyed the flight. At least now, Kale seemed to trust them. She glanced down and saw Ditri collide with the Sandshrew. Ciriya stifled a giggled but stopped in mid-air, hovering and looking back down at them. "You two okay?"

DarkShock looked back and chuckled loudly when Ditri and Kale collided. He kept walking chuckling to himself.

Kale grumbled darkly to himself, rubbing the part of his face that had rammed into Ditri. He looked up at the hovering Swellow, and yelled, "I'm fine!" Without another word, he proceeded to follow DarkShock. Behind him, he heard Ditrysia call out her status: "I'm alright, too." There was a fluttering of wings, then she was right beside him, seemingly not nervous about being too close to him anymore.

Kale sniffed, and turned his head away from the Butterfree.

DarkShock whistled as he walked through the woods. He was enjoying himself now that he had finished his last mission.

The Swellow nodded then flew back to Ditri, deciding to fly with her and leave Kale and darkshock alone XD

(( Actually, Ditri's flying right beside Kale, just a few feet away from him. x'3 ))

There was a long stretch of silence, in which the only sounds Kale could hear were the crunching of feet on the snow. He attempted to look nonchalant for a time, despite the impatience that was growing inside of him; finally, though, he sighed with exasperation and said in a whiny voice, "When are we gonna be there? How long is it 'til we get back?"

Darkshock looked back at kale and chuckled, "A few more minutes," is all he said as he kept walking.

"I hope you're telling the truth, DarkShock," Kale grumbled, crossing his arms, "and not lying to make me shut up or something. This place is too freaking cold for me."

"If you hate the cold so much, then why did you want to explore in a place called the Icicle Woods?" Ditri asked, glancing at her partner from the corner of her eye.

"Sh-shut up, Ditri," Kale said, flustered. "I can go anywhere I want! A-and it's not too cold. I just like heat better, that's all."

Ditri giggled, but conceded. "If you say so."

Darkshock stopped and sat down. He looked back and smiled, "We're here," he said.

"What? Really?" Kale shuffled to the side so that he could look beyond the Luxray, and gasped in delight. "Awesome! We are!" Without uttering so much as another syllable, he whooped and ran down the path, towards Grassveil.

Ditri, on the other hand, sighed and shook her head. She muttered something about rude shrews, then raised her voice so that the other Pokemon could hear. "Thank you both very much," she said, gratitude evident in her tone of voice. "I really appreciate it... and I'm sure Kale does, too. He just doesn't, um... express it." She giggled nervously, embarrassed on behalf of her partner.

DarkShock smiled and shook his head. He padded down to the town flicking his tail back and forth.

(Lol fail)

The Swellow decided to follow the trio into Grassveil, since she needed to meet Roman here anyway. Since there weren't as many trees around, blocking her veiw of the sky, she zoomed upwards. Ciriya grinned as she twirled around in the sky, relishing the feeling of the cool breeze through her feathers.

Ditri followed the two into town, taking on a leisurely pace now that the worst of the journey was behind them. For a little bit she was silent, but before long curiosity got the better of her and she blurted out: "So, where are you two staying? I've never met you before; do you live in Grassveil?"

Ciriya looked down at Ditri and shouted her answer as she continued to zoom around in the sky. "I live everywhere and yet nowhere."

"Everywhere yet nowhere... whaaa?" Ditri was, admittedly, confused beyond reasoning. "Ciriya... what does that mean? I don't think I understand."

"I travel. I live wherever I can, but I have no set home."
She dived downwards and soared over the other three pokemon.

"I used to live in Icicle woods, though I did say I was moving to a town, and this is it," DarkShock said scanning the town.

Ciriya grinned, "Nice! Where are you going to stay?"