[Center][color=ed1c24][h2]Fujiwara no Mokou
(Featuring Ace, Roxas, and Rammatra)[/h2]
Level 7 (holding 1 level up)
68/70

Location: The Midnight Walk - Ruined Village
Wordcount: 2659 (+4 EXP)[/color][/Center]

As per usual, Mokou had taken to the sky to offer an aerial point of view for the other Seekers, keeping an eye out for any notable sightings. The cold air did not bother her at all, and because of that she felt confident to be alone like this. Though, with her immortality, it wasn’t difficult to be confident in any situation. For now, she was simply scouting ahead, keeping an eye out for anything that caught her attention.

And eventually, she did find something that caught her eye… And her stomach.

Far below, a black, bipedal creature walked through the snow near the ruined village, seemingly pleased with itself as it adjusted its acquired cargo in its claws: A large, green spotted egg taken from one of the nests nearby. The creature, a Sneasel, happily hopped down from a small ledge, pushing through the fallen snow… Just before a comet of flame slammed into the ground before them, spooking them enough that they dropped the egg into the soft snow and stepped back, immediately dropping into a defensive stance with their claws raised.

The comet quickly burnt away, revealing the white haired phoenix, who simply rolled her shoulders as she rose to her full height, [color=ed1c24]“Yo. Sorry for the robbery, but I’m in the mood for something actually filling. So-”[/color] Mokou began raising a hand from her pocket and aiming it at the Sneasel before a flame erupted from her fingertips, not jumping towards Sneasel but to inform the Pokemon what it was dealing with. 

A few tense moments pass as the two stared at each other, both seemingly ready to throw down for the right to eat this egg. But after a few moments, the Sneasel took a step back… And then leapt backwards, spinning around before sprinting away and letting out an annoyed “Sneas!”. It was a hunter, but it knew it could find another meal. Facing something that could summon fire was a fool’s errand.

Moku held her pose for a few moments, watching the Sneasel flee the scene, before the flames vanished. With a confident walk, Mokou moved over to the fallen egg and lifting it up with one hand, taking a moment to position it between her arm and torso for ease of transport. It was a bit odd to do it this way, but she hadn’t had a good meal in a while, and while she technically didn’t need to eat anymore, it still felt good to have some nice food. And a well cooked egg was just what she could plan on enjoying.

Of course, all plans had a tendency to fall apart, a fact that Mokou was reminded of when the egg shook on its own in her arm. The phoenix had a few moments to blink in a rare moment of surprise before a flash of light erupted from the egg… And revealing the respectably sized blue sphere of a Spheal, letting out a small “Sphee?” as its black eyes looked up at Mokou.

[color=ed1c24]“... Oh, fantastic. Just what I need to be saddled with”[/color] Mokou says with a heavy sigh of annoyance at the blue ball staring up at her without a shred of shame in its eyes. She knew animals well enough to know what happened when a newborn saw an individual for the first time, as it was a concept she had dealt with several times in her long lifespan: Imprinting. This creature effectively saw her as their mother now. And fortunately for it, and unfortunately for her, she wasn’t heartless enough just to drop it in the snow and go on her way. Instead she simply took to the skies, shifting the Spheal in her arms so it fit snugly as she flew back to the Seekers.

It took several minutes, especially with Mokou flying slowly to not jostle the creature now in her arms, but eventually she returned to the stagecoach, floating down to the side of the vehicle to figure out just what she was going to do with the creature that was currently trying to shift around to look up at her properly.

Ramattra, not particularly keen on traveling inside the ruins of the mining village filled to the teeth with Aurora knows what, stayed at the defense of the Stagecoach during the travel. His curiosity was plenty satisfied after the occurrings atop the space station. His new appearance after fusing with the Democrawler was one that the other seekers would need to adjust to, himself included.

As he saw Mokou return to the comfort of the coach with a small blue creature in clutch, suddenly the curiosity he was convinced was gone came back tenfold, standing straight up in observation as she brought it closer. [color=bc8dbf]“Now, what kind of beast is that?”[/color] He asked the Phoenix, gently extending a metallic digit pointed at the small creature.

Whatever it was, appeared somewhat imprinted on Mokou, raising more questions in the Omnic’s mind. He had seen creatures similar to these among his short travels with White Team; the Reindrix, Roxas’ Scamp, and Edward’s minions. There certainly was something peculiar about these magical creatures.

[color=ed1c24]“Hard to say, seems like a cross between a ball and a seal from what I can gather. Saw another thing trying to carry an egg away and thought it would be a good time to get something nice to eat, and as soon as I got the egg it hatched, and here we are. So, guess I’m a surprise mother now”[/color] Mokou answers with a shrug, taking hold of the Spheal and holding it out in front of her, turning it around so that it could face her as well, [color=ed1c24]“D’you got a name you want to give yourself?”[/color]

“Sphea!”

[color=ed1c24]“Yeah, I thought as much,”[/color] the white haired girl says, tone completely impassive, tilting her head to look at the Omnic past the Spheal,[color=ed1c24] “I’m not heartless enough to just ditch a newborn in the snow. So figuring out exactly [i]what[/i] I can do with this.”[/color]

The Omnic harumphed in mild amusement towards the small animal. There was no way he was able to care for it either, given that he had started serving more of a defensive role for the stagecoach. Though, a small stoic companion that wouldn’t require much of his attention did also sound appealing. 

With a dismissive wave, the Omnic reeked himself back into conversation. [color=bc8dbf]“Well, I suppose your options are pretty limited, but luckily they’re cut and dry. You could delegate the creature to another ally, figure out what it is and care for it… or…”[/color] The last thing was too harsh for even the cold Omnic to enunciate out loud. It was definitely an option, though?

[color=bc8dbf]“I’m not entirely certain, but a lot of the beasts in this world are docile to a fault. Perhaps this… thing, could make a valuable resource.”[/color] Ramattra scratched the spheal atop its round head, displaying slight affection towards it, his amazement of the world only grew the more oddities he got to see.

[color=gold]”It’s called a Pokemon.”[/color] Roxas’ voice cut in as he approached. He heard the small cry of the Pokemon and came over out of curiosity. His silvery Rotom Phone floated out of his backpack and immediately started scanning the little blubbery ball. [color=gold]”Let’s see, you’re… a Spheal!”[/color]

He turned his Phone for Mokou to look at the screen, [color=gold]”Take a look. My Pokedex App will tell you everything you need to know about Spheal, here.”[/color] He wasn’t exaggerating either. The Pokedex App could tell Mokou the gender of the Spheal she was looking at, the kind of flavors it enjoyed eating, and even what moves it currently knew how to use. Though, since it was a newborn from an Egg it probably didn’t know many moves right now.

[color=ed1c24]“Hm. Interesting. When you live as long as I do, even seeing a new species is a fascinating prospect”[/color] Mokou states, slowly placing the spherical Pokemon down on the ground to let them wander around on their own before she takes the Pokedex, [color=ed1c24]“Female, spicy foods… ‘Rollout’ and ‘Defense Curl’. Well, lucky for them I happen to make good spiced foods”[/color] the Phoenix says with a nod, handing the phone back, [color=ed1c24]“So, a ‘Pokemon’. Similar to the ones that you carry around, yeah? If so, one of those balls might be good to carry them around. I’d offer them to you, but…”[/color] she trails off for a moment before shrugging, [color=ed1c24]“Imprinting means that it’ll want to stick with me.”[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]“I suppose it is rather ‘cute’.”[/color] The word almost came out of the Omnic’s metaphorical mouth like poison, drawing space between its enunciation. Even the normally stoic Ramattra found himself drawn by the creature's spherical charm, but the obvious questions needed to be asked as well. [color=bc8dbf]“But would you be able to care for it? It would make another mouth to feed, and we’re calling it close on food as is.”[/color] The Omnic tapped his staff gently on the terrain, ever the stickler about everyone in the group pulling their own weight. 

[color=gold]”Here, take one of mine for now.”[/color] Roxas said, having fished a Poke Ball from his backpack and was now offering it to Mokou. It was his last standard Poke Ball, but he still had a couple of Great Balls left, and a single Feather Ball and Heavy Ball. So he wasn’t completely out yet. [color=gold]”Just tap the button to make the ball shrink and expand. While it’s expanded, you let the ball tap the Pokemon and it’ll catch it. Most of the time you have to battle and weaken them first, but I’m guessing this baby Spheal isn’t going to resist letting you capture it.”[/color] Roxas explained.

[color=gold]”Poke Balls aren’t super hard to come by.”[/color] He added, [color=gold]”If you find any Pokemon Centers, they’ll have them available for sale. We also have someone back on our ship who can make Poke Balls as long as you bring her the materials for it: Apricorns, Tumblestones, and Iron. Those make Poke Balls and higher quality Great Balls.”[/color] Of course there was also Ramattra’s question which the Nobody was addressing now. [color=gold]”Feeding them isn’t too hard either. Pokemon in the wild munch on various berries that grow in trees and bushes. Like these.”[/color] He had his Rotom Phone display a picture of some Oran Berries and Rawst Berries. [color=gold]”They grow all over the place if you know where to look for them. You can come with me next time I go berry hunting and see for yourself if you want to.”[/color]

As the Seekers walked alongside the stagecoach chatting about the surprise addition to the group, their conversation piqued the interest of another member who poked their head out from around the front of the carriage. There was a cold breeze that tousled the Ace Cadet's fiery colored hair, but otherwise he didn't look anything but curious as he looked over Ramattra, Roxas, Mokou, and finally the little blue ball of blubber in the latter's arms. Immediately upon seeing it, his eyes brightened.

[color=salmon]"So you guys really were saying 'Spheal!'"[/color] he called down to them. 

Since departing the ghost town and its cold furnace, Ace had climbed up onto the coach again to enjoy the so far peaceful path. Peaceful as in they had still yet to be attacked by anything. And once again the myriad of creatures and minions that spread out in the stagecoach's wake were more than enough to trample on anything small that happened to cross their paths. So, carriage defense it was - though the ramps of the raceway they'd wandered onto were the only thing that looked somewhat dangerous at the moment. And even those had gone much smoother than the Cadet had expected, whether due to Edward's practiced driving or their own design.

Either way, snippets of conversation reached his ears whether he intended to eavesdrop or not. After the window was installed on the coach's front wall he thought he heard Tora's voice, and outside on the coach's right he'd heard the unlikely trio discussing 'Spheal' and, more curious to him, 'newborn.' If there were people being born in this world it stood to reason that creatures were reproducing too of course, but he didn't recall seeing anything like that before, save for this hatchling.

Ace hopped down from atop the coach, sinking into the snow as soon as he landed then keeping pace with the others as they walked at about the time Roxas was explaining how to capture a Pokémon, which was pretty much exactly the same as the Pals down to even making the devices themselves. The concept was less interesting to him than the actual Pokémon Mokou was carrying, though. And, yeah, there was no doubt that it was a Spheal. [color=salmon]"It's like a little new Lost Number, huh?"[/color]

He gently pet it behind one of its ears while Roxas went over care, though he glanced up and added his own experience too.

[color=salmon]"These guys also eat fish,"[/color] he told them. [color=salmon]"When some of us got stuck in Edinburgh Magicapolis, we ended up working at a Spheal show for an afternoon. They don't [i]look[/i] that smart, but they can be trained pretty well! And they're snow cute, right?"[/color]

Ace smiled at the gathered group. [color=salmon]"Now that we're through those jumps, some of us could double back a bit and grab some fish for it,"[/color] the hunter suggested. After a moment he seemed to realize something and then spoke up again quickly, a little touch of embarrassment in his voice. [color=salmon]"...and for us too!"[/color]

Ramattra nodded along with Ace’s suggestion. The Omnic’s concern for the Seekers was that they would be in peak condition for the journey. With how long they had already been out on the road, minus the times they rested of course, it was obvious if they didn’t make progress with food, the organic members of White Team would go hungry by the end of the day. “I have no objections. So long as there ends up being enough for everyone. The last thing we need is dead weight.”

[color=bc8dbf]“Do we have any actual equipment for fishing?”[/color] The Omnic asked. It was a fair question, gathering fish for the rest of the crew would prove a lot easier if all four of them had rods, nets, or the like. [color=bc8dbf]“Or… I suppose we could try lobbing grenades into fishing holes. Barbaric, but it could work.”[/color]

[color=salmon]"Someone must, there were those fish hung up on the coach yesterday,"[/color] Ace replied. Of course they hadn't dried so much as frozen, and he hadn't seen who the angler was. Must have been when they were passing through that canyon. Regardless, he also held up his arm that had his Slinger attached. [color=salmon]"I've got a sturdy capture net though, so no explosives needed."[/color]

[color=ed1c24]“Even without that, I know how to fish without a rod. Just a matter of knowing when to dive”[/color] Mokou states with a shrug, taking the Pokeball from Roxas and examining it in her hand, [color=ed1c24]“Could always go and try. Frozen fish should be good enough though, depends on who is still around this place. Either way-” Mokou suddenly activates the pokeball, enlarging the sphere before tapping it on Spheal’s forehead, a questioning “Sphea?” coming out before it was engulfed in a blue light and taken into the pokeball, “It’s something I’ll handle. Falls to me I suppose.”[/color]