The teammate named Cecelia approached, looking rather cheery, and Mai returned the smile with her own shy one until a rather confusing string of events took place. A camera was suddenly held up and an arm was draped over her shoulder. The lens stared down blankly, and the electronic itself moved too and fro as Cecelia seemed to be making adjustments around the sun's glare, and then the sound of a picture being taken rang out once. Mai blushed furiously as the blonde detached herself, not very fond of having her picture taken, and the jumped a bit as introductions were made again.

 “I’m Cecelia. Feel free to just call me Cece though!” 

Mai stared at the bubbly girl once, then nodded, fumbling with the hem of her dress. They eventually broke eye contact as Cecelia went to take a picture with the other boy on their team, Reiner, and Mai took the time to glance around at the other groups. Many of them were already laughing and chit chatting, preparing themselves for long days of working together, and Mai couldn't help but appreciate all the smiling faces in the crowds. She was only distracted from all the cheeriness once, when there was a fain rustling behind her, and just before she could glance back to find the source, the black-haired girl called back everyone's attention. She let out a soft yell, as everyone else did, and then watched quietly as instructions were given on how to part take in the pledge. Mai took a moment to dig into her bag and pull out the styler, lifted it as high as everyone else, then repeated the words that Viva had said moments before,

"I solemnly swear from this point onward to be courageous and fight the forces of evil, to not let any emotions or personal interests get in the way of my duty, and to protect the innocent; people or Pokemon." 

Lights flashed, and suddenly, Mai felt a jolt where her finger tips met the styler. She cringed, but did not drop the item, and instead brought it down and stared at with intense interest. The pain had been brief, nothing like how her chest felt after ten minutes of heavy running, and was basically gone now. The styler itself seem to be, well, on now. Explanations eventually were given, and finally, Mai let out a sigh of relief and began to relax, and the soft murmur of conversations picked back up as they were dismissed. She was finally a Ranger. She had ran away from home, discovered her hatred for boats, walked a mile through a jungle, and finally began to converse with children her age. And she was a Ranger. Mai felt her lips widen into a grin as she returned to her own group, beginning to idly stammer out a conversation as everyone else did.

And then she heard it again, the rustling. Purple eyes narrowed tightly as she glanced away from her teammates and into the woods behind.

 [i]Nothing... No, wait...[/i]

There was a brisk feeling in the air, the feeling one would used to get Pokemon Tower back home, and Mai traced the area once more until she saw it. A figure, invisible, which quickly formed into a Dusknoir, The Gripper Pokemon. It was massive, frightening, and standing just over one of the other newly initiated rangers. After a few moments of inspecting it's face and body movements and the strange noises it produced she stepped forward, mouth parted in a wide, frightened 'O'.

[i]Oi, it's going to...[/i]

"It's going to attack! Mov-" her cry of warning ended with a loud gasp as the boy in the hood was whacked back, and then drained of his life force. Two attacks were then barreled at the ghost-type and it finally vanished, leaving behind a stunned silence within the clearing. Mai stood there, stunned, and then quickly broke her trance and walked over to the body of Hao, her face as calm and as grave as ever. The rational side of her brain was keeping her sane, asking serious questions like: 'Perhaps he is still living, the spirit had been released' and 'Its best to keep calm, right? One person being calm can spur others.' She knelt down beside the boy, her hands reaching up to feel around his neck and his wrists. No pulse. He was already cold as well, like the air had been beofre. Mai then tried CPR, which she learned after reading a few books on first aid, and when nothing else seemed to work she sat back, panting. After catching her breath she gently placed a hand on his forehead, then drifted down to his eyes, closing them. 

"He's dead." is all she said, the slight quiver in her voice giving away how much fear she felt at that very moment. The air was warm once again, the sun blaring. An ironically beautiful day for such a frightening event.

Mai wanted to cry.