A delighted series of squeaks and chirps issued from Poppy at the suggestion of riding along in the backpack, something of which she had been curious about and dying to try out. She held still just long enough for Rai to hold the flap up and slip her inside before she began to squirm once again however, Experimenting with ducking in and out of the opening and looking over each shoulder, Just as she had seen the Quilava doing on previous occasions. The entire charade had Alice giggling and she happily hooked an arm with Rai, Enjoying the opportunity for it to be just the girls for a few minutes. "she's quite adorable! Scott's lucky to have gotten such a cutie." She said affectionately, reaching around and giving the downy feathers she could reach a quick rub. Dusk huffed in her ear once, but otherwise seemed contented to sit quietly on her shoulder throughout the search.

Skimming their surroundings as they put some distance between themselves and the boys, Alice found herself absently chewing on her lower lip as she considered in different locations. There was a hill nearby that have been pointed out that was relatively clear of debris and would make an excellent camping location, But she didn't like that one side of the formation suddenly cut off in a sheer dropoff, A feature that made her skin crawl at the idea. The flat clearing that was pointed out not too long after that was more appealing to her taste, grin brightening her features to show her approval.

"I think it will be perfect! I loved looking at the stars together last night." She said sincerely, steering their footsteps in its direction. But just as they reached the halfway point, she felt a wave of vertigo overcome her body A moment before the world seemed to lurch beneath her feet. Everything began to tremble and groan, Knocking everything off balance and sending rocks dancing across the dirt.

"Not again!" Alice cried, stumbling forward as the shaking intensified in strength and landing hard on her hands and knees, Pebbles biting harshly into the tender skin of her palms. She barely had time to register the sting and the flair of heat in one of her knees before the ground unexpectedly tilted forward beneath her, sending her toppling forward and rolling head over heels into the waiting hole that had been freshly ripped open, plunging her into the darkness with a screen bubbling out of her throat.

Gritting his teeth together and rubbing The palms of his hands against his pant legs, Scott nodded once in affirmation. "Ready." He hadn't had all that much experience in climbing trees as he was growing up, living in a mining town such as Oreburg. It had to be at least a little similar to climbing rocks though... Right? Reaching out, he grabbed one of the lower branches, bracing his foot against the sturdy trunk as he levered himself up into the tree, trying his best to ignore the bite of the bark against his skin.

"I hope that the girls are having an easier time." He huffed as he paused to take a break, twisting his arms around a nearby branch to keep himself in place. Squinting his eyes against the glare of the sun, he looked back the way they had come, hunting for any sign of his friends. But they had been hidden by the role of hills and the distance between them. "Climbing trees is tough work!"

Laughing softly and giving his head a shake, the young man turned back towards the tree, reaching up for the next branch. But just as his fingers touched the bark, he heard an unsettling rumble beneath him that made his stomach twist in apprehension, His eyes widening a moment before things began to shake apart. Time became infinite as he desperately clung to the trunk of the tree, Teeth vibrating in his skull as the world shook angrily in the aftershock. He didn't know how long it had been since the shaking started, but it abruptly came to an end as he heard something in the trees groan with the sound of creaking would followed by a sharp crack that made his muscles jumped and something heavy hit him hard in the back of the head, sending him into abrupt and silent darkness.