Passive but alert, Shannon watched the Sableye scurry back into the depths. Well... Hostile Pokemon. Of course. At least this one seemed more a scavenger than an assailant. Cautious to enter, waiting for the Hex's lead, he stepped carefully along the edge of the wide crack to the far side, taking a closer look at the end of the chasm. A beautiful place, really... Albeit eerie. The Sableye proved that. Wonder how dee- Scrambling sounds in the quartz gravel, and Shannon swiveled to see which Scarab had lost their footing and tumbled.
One, Hex, two, Anthony, four, Josh plus Matt, six; Strife. Cantering precariously back towards the team, irony's cruel hand lashed out at Shannon. His flank and side pushed down onto the rugged quartz fragments by his weight, the Amaura expended costly seconds to regain balance, propping himself right with his muscular neck. There was yelling, crashing, bruising in his field of hearing. The species went unrecognised by Shannon, but their form was disorientating, hard to track if one didn't know what was looked at. Each seemed to have two bodies, one a compact humanoid, the other thrashing, black, burly... Terrifying. Shannon's heart paused, and his legs followed. In fright, he took in as much as he could, steadying himself. One was running, hunched over to balance the massive alternate head. Eyes locked. The body glanced towards the ungainly newcomer.
Shannon had seen Josh, if briefly, out of the bucket. It was easy to judge the attacker's direction. Reacting immediately, his crests flared a sanguine glow, and his lungs emptied in a harsh bellow. The running Pokemon visibly jumped, spun towards the sound completely, its eyes widening to match the Amaura. It hissed something in a dialect Shannon didn't know. Both fighters were wary, but Shannon's opponent was wily. Twisting its bodies, the black mass opened into a maw, and a glittering mist now curled around its teeth. Shannon was momentarily enveloped by a gust of fog. It dizzied him, blurring his vision, inducing a throb in his head. Your breath's not alone, windbag, came an angry thought, and Shannon's lungs contracted again. Snow crystals from his frozen interior swarmed around his face, dispelling the stinging mist, then pulsed outwards.
The opponent tensed and shivered violently in the gust, but recovered, albeit even more cautious now, and with one arm on the ground for support. It barked something wary to its companion, who was less imposing in stature. More determined, however, and wearing more wicked fangs. The second Pokemon turned from Anthony towards Shannon, vigorously wiping frost from its body. Neither snow nor yell had changed its disposition. I have never been this scared in my life until now, thought Shannon mildly, unmoving but unaware of his crests discolouring to a pale yellow. Backing off now would be a poor decision.
Vec
Timemaster