Welcome to Gaia! ::

The rain continued to pour in that particular area, but looking at the sky through the heavy drops as best she could, MA could see thatthe storm wasn't too vast. Another mile or so and they should be out in the clear. . . She hadn't thought of the clouds moving with her, though, since the wind was certainly 'following' her in the same direction.

Houndour hated the rain, apparently, enough that he even consented to enter his Pokeball for a while. Although he was fine with being in the device, he was known to prefer the open spaces and fresh air much better. So, for a while, MA ran through the rain alone, that endurance that she gained through the years of helping her mother farm their surprisingly time-consuming fields keeping her going. But even she could feel the wet and cold beginning to n** into her limbs; she couldn't keep going too much further, and the storm clouds above didn't seem to want to clear up at all.

From within the Pokeball, Houndour could feel vaguely that they were slowing down; without being called for, he let himself out again. "Arf," he barked, his voice a warm relief to the girl who had heard nothing but the splattering of rain and mud for the last half an hour. The little dark-type Pokemon glanced around, shaking off the wet in vain, only to find himself drenched again. He did manage to spot a cavern nearby, though, half-hidden by vines -- Houndour's eyes were sharp, after all, even with the darkness that made the day feel like night.

Nudging MA along, he headed her towards shelter, impatient barking when she slid and fell. How much could this girl fall down, anyways?

"Phew. I'm glad we found this place."

Houndour nudged MA haughtily, as if to remind her that it was /he/ who found this cavern to begin with.

"Right, right," she laughed, leaning back against the cavern's wall; the fatigue could be seen in that girlish smile, though, even if it was dark. She needed this rest for a little while; maybe the rain would even stop for them in an hour or so.

Suddenly, though, Houndour emitted a deep growl from his throat, rumbling threateningly. "No, I know, you get the credit --" He suddenly pushed her aside, having them both narrowly avoid a darting black object that whooshed by, and spun upwards again.

A dark feather fell on M.A.'s head, and she held it up curiously, not before giving an appreciative look at Houndour -- a look he totally ignored, now totally focused on that flapping sound from that previous object somewhere in the pitch-black cavern. It's so dark, I can't see a thing yet. . . MA thought. In another moment, though, her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

The Pokedex apparently picked up on the mysterious Pokemon as well. "Murkrow, the. . ." it droned on, but Mary-Anne didn't listen beyond that. Didn't these birds have a bad reputation for being pretty sinister? And they stayed in groups, didn't they? Uh-oh. We must've stumbled into their hide-out! Houndour growled darkly once more, ears twitching at the flapping sound, which was growing louder and louder as the first Murkrow's companions began to come forth from the heart of the cave.

The rustle of feathers and flapping itself began to echo in the cave, and with flashes of ember from Houndour, Mary-Anne felt rather like she was in some twilight zone. Dark, light, sound, silence, and that eerie "laughter" of those Murkrow. . . She began to inch herself to the cave's entrance, hoping Houndour would do the same, but was cut off short by one of the more malicious birds. Mischieviously taking advantage of MA's ignorance, it suddenly appeared with an Astonish attack, not inflicting a terrible amount of damage, but causing her to flinch long enough for it to peck at her chest, stealing away the precious necklace Michael had given her in secret before she left. "Hey, wait, give that back!" The Murkrow, attracted to the shininess of the metal, however, had little intention to do so, and flapped away to the darkness in the cave.

The other Murkrow didn't seem to want to leave, however. Rather, they seemed offended that MA and Houndour had intruded in their home; from the look in their sinister eyes, they weren't about to go in peace. Houndour, however, ignored them; instead, getting kinda pissed that some Pokemon would dare attack MA -- not so much because that he cared for her yet, but rather because it seemed to him that it totally ignored him -- began to chase after that particular Murkrow. . . The others swooped after him, slamming into him; as he was indeed retreating, the Persuit attack was uber effective.

So this is why Ms. Norwen figured it'd be best to travel with people, other than some company. . . I don't even have any other Pokemon to help Houndour with! Mary-Anne thought desperately, running to Houndour's side. The little puppy was off his feet and breathing heavily; five attacks from stronger Pokemon certainly didn't go with him well. Oh, no. . . oh no oh noohno! Somewhere in the girl, the worry flashed through that he might never trust her at all now; she couldn't even keep him safe, and that haunted her so. . . But first and foremost, she had to get them out of there somehow. Houndour didn't look so good.

The Murkrow began to peck at her immediately, though, the moment she got close. Putting her arms up to protect her head, she continued anyways. It was her fault Houndour got so hurt, she convinced herself, and her concern for the poor pup overrode the situation.