Forrest nodded at the outline of his plan. He tapped a pokeball on his hip and Antligon materialized. He was about to roar a yawn but Forrest shushed him loudly which surprised him. His eyes wide in embarrassment under his crimson membranes, he managed to eke out a quiet yawn as he stretched his wings.
	"Scout the skies for any suspicious activity and guard - Oracle?" he said with a pause. "No Draco Meteors today, got it?" His tone was firm - harsh even.
	Antligon nodded with a growl and pushed his wings hard to force him into the air to follow Oracle.
	"Damselraed, come," he said as if she was nothing more than a pet. She turned and hovered quickly over to him. Her demeanor looked sad, disappointed. "You need to be quiet and out of sight. Don't attract any attention or I have to put you in your Pokeball. Can you do that?"
	Damselraed thought for a moment and then chirped an affirmation.
	"Good, 'cause I want you to keep a wide perimeter around us and keep in touch with Shaq'ti," he added and turned to look at the Medicham. "Just keep doing what you're doing," he said to her matter-of-factly. 
	A moment of silence passed before he leaned himself off the tree and threw the cigarette onto the ground in front of his foot as he stepped forward to bend down and pick up his rucksack and throw it onto his back. It pulled significantly against his shirt and body which suggested it was quite heavy. But he seemed relatively unaffected, which would be for the best.
	He finally turned toward Tristan to address him. "Sounds good to me. You have the coordinates so we'll just be following you. Tell me what you need to do and I'll do it."
	His face was flat, emotionless. His tone was flat, almost monotone. He pulled at the straps to adjust the rucksack once more and turned to follow Tristan into the woods.

	Oracle was quick to find the small clearing in the trees that marked the cabin. Only twenty minutes after she reached her peak altitude, they could reach their destination without issue. She couldn't see much in the way of activity this far away, but that would have to be up to Ether and/or Shaq'ti to do.
	Antligon sped past Oracle until he nearly reached the clouds and was barely a dot in the sky. He scoured the larger area and didn't notice much out of the ordinary. Granted, it wasn't common to find bird Pokemon this high in the sky and other dragon Pokemon were rare in general. He took his time to descend while not going too far away from Oracle. She eventually relayed to him that she found their location, so he descended even closer to her but purposefully flew right above her so that his presence would be more difficult to pick out if something were to try to go after her.
	Shaq'ti continued to scan 150 feet around them for any movement or activity while hovering close to Forrest. She notified Ether of everything she felt even when she knew it was nothing. Ether was also aware of whenever Shaq'ti released a mild soothing energy onto Forrest, which Ether would know was not a regular thing for her to do.
	Damselraed was familiar with Shaq'ti's mental range and so she remained just inside the 150 feet so Shaq'ti could keep track of her. She sped around, seemingly erratic, but it was purposeful. She knew erratic movements confused predators. She would be difficult to track. And given that she hovered and didn't properly "fly," she was free to move in any direction at any moment. Still, she made sure to circle them and not stay in one area for too long.

	Forrest kept close to Tristan. He figured his Espeon was acting as a kind of hub of communication between himself and all the other Pokemon and to relay information to Tristan so they could all act accordingly and in tandem. This idea impressed Forrest. Shaq'ti's abilities were much less specific, if one would gauge her capabilities in such a way. It was likely due to how she was trained. She could send emotions and simple thoughts over large distances to dozens of people and Pokemon. Her capabilities for radaring were helpful since she could scan far away from herself, but it was never sophisticated enough to identify anything unless she already knew about it. It was helpful in keeping track of her Trainer and teammates as they ventured into forests for various reasons. And her telepathy was strong out to the same distance, but she was never capable of precise or complicated communication to more than one target. Neither she nor Forrest knew if this was typical of Medicham or if she honed specific skills to be much greater than average and neglected others entirely. It crossed Forrest's mind to inquire Tristan about it later.
	"You still don't dress for the occasion," Forrest said unprovoked. He said it as a statement - not a question or a judgement.
	Forrest remembered a news piece that featured some challengers fighting the Elite Four to qualify for the Championship. He remembered how formal Tristan dressed while in a dank and dark cave. He thought back to how he was dressed at the Wharf and wondered if he managed to run in what he was wearing. He wasn't surprised to see it caped over his shoulders soon after.
	Perhaps he wanted to break the silence. Perhaps it was a well-meaning criticism - something Forrest could even help with considering how full the rucksack appeared. Perhaps he thought out loud as he was known to lack some filtering capabilities. Perhaps it was his attempt at lightening the mood, to lighten himself, which clearly didn't work.