[FIN] Winter Wonderland

[Blood_Goddess]

Thought the first attempt to find food ended poorly for the small ragtag pack of growlithe the night, they proved to have better luck later on in the evening.
Full, and in playful moods, the fire types pounced around, terrorizing the morning mountain snow in their tumbling play, chasing one another around the trees, and seeing who could dig the biggest hole in the snow.

Their breath steaming up the silent air, and filling the quiet with their barks.
A couple of times throughout the day, their playful curiosity would bring them back to the spot where the young man and the pokemon that stayed with him were. The Teal eyed pokemon especially would be the first to pounce over the snow mounds, peering down from a distance to see if they were still there.
And without any disappointment they were, thought hey rarely got close enough give the pokemon reason to see them as a threat.  

[Suudonym]

Tenebrae kept an eye on the rambunctious young pokemon, though not nearly as severely as Mieu did. Fortunately, the Flareon was perfectly dedicated to the task of keeping their trainer warm - not that there seemed to be any need to chase them off anyway.

Luke put in the effort to remain aware despite his fogginess, and his attention wandered towards the roving Growlithe when they came close enough to see. He knew they were wild, but he raised a waving hand nonetheless.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie knew that she said she wouldn't cry, and of course she had every intention of following through with that, knowing that she had other things to focus on once the call was abruptly ended.
But as she called the police and explain to them what just happened and that her fiance was missing, possibly being held hostage her worry got the better of her on several occasions and she would end up explaining everything to them through a mess of tears.

Next to called Sera, where more of the panic started to kick in while her best friend was filled in.
Especially as just how unknown the whole situation was becoming as she explained it to Sera.

Rosie returned out to the patio where Leste was, reaching her hands out for the Pidgeot and telling her that she was going to be able to help when they went down to the police station. WIth their help or not, Rosie was going to find as many people as she could to help look.
It was about this time, an hour after she had spoken to Luke that her phone went off and announced a text message.
Her heart leaped when she saw it was Luke, though the message inside made it clear that it wasn't from him.

"We're leaving him here. He's got his pokemon but you might wanna get a move on."

Rosie was impressed with how quickly a rescue team was assembled, With Leste's help they had a starting location and they could go from there.

The day wore on though, with little success, easing on to a bitter cold night, the search being called off until morning in fear of losing any of injury and getting lost in the dark.

It had to take firm convincing to keep Rosie from a search at night, it would be impractical to search, she should get some rest, she should try and sleep, so that tomorrow she could have more energy to continue on.
Needless to say, she didn't sleep, and after an hour of sitting around the camp site and feeling sick of just sitting there, she took a radio, and carried on with Pastin through the night. Still to no luck.

____________________________________

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry.
She had to repeat this over and over in her mind as she made her way back into the base point where the searches would be continuing the grid from. It was with the most empty feeling she could remember that she came back without even finding a hint as to where Luke was.
Maybe he was back at the camp? Somehow stumbled on them in the dark.
Again, she would be disappointed.

Do not cry, Do Not Cry!  

[Blood_Goddess]

At first when Luke would acknowledge the pack they would scatter back to where they came from, thrilled with the adrenaline the encounter had caused.
Over the hours they would make several more trips, chancing closer each time, though none as bold as the teal eyed Growlithe.
Eventually, as the human would wave the Growlithe would perk up, bound around the snow for a couple of seconds wagging his big bushy tail before tearing off again back through the forest after his long retreated pack.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera had been shocked to find that Luke had somehow gotten himself abducted while on the way to work. How the hell did he even manage that one? The woods where they were sent to begin searching weren't even close to where Luke worked. What had he been doing all the way out here?

Rather than get all weepy and teary-eyed at the situation, the brunette had instead become angered and vindictive. Who did these people think they were, abducting one of her two best friends and verbally harassing and worrying the other best friend? Both of these transgressions may as well have been personal slights, except for the fact her friends and their well-being mattered more to her than insults to herself.

Though she would've much preferred staying somewhere warm all night, she'd loosed Luna and followed Rosie to help look for the lost redhead, and was severely disappointed - and worried - when their efforts were all for naught. It was dreadfully cold and snowy out there, and they could only hope that Luke had found somewhere out of the wind and snow to spend the night.

The next morning, Sera again released Luna to serve as a mount and a source of warmth, while Isabella, Jacques and Agatha were loosed into the woods to search on their own. The Sneasel was the most pleased with this and felt most comfortable in their current environment, the cold not bothering her in the least, and the trees surrounding them provided excellent ways to maneuver around the area, as well as providing valuable vantage points to see further.

"He's fine," Sera abruptly offered her blonde friend with as encouraging a tone as she could muster, determined to try and keep Rosie's spirit up despite the circumstances. It was so cold, and how long could a person survive out in the middle of the snow? But Luke was stubborn and resourceful, plus if he had his pokemon, he had at least one fire-type. He was okay. He had to be okay. "We'll find him, don't worry."  

[Suudonym]

Luke laughed lightly at the Growlithe's brazen playfulness, watching it run and flee with a faint smile in his features. "Awfully lively, huh?" He wondered if his condition was keeping his pokemon from having similar fun; he thought that at least Rem would like to run about in the snow a bit, but then she was also small and light, so maybe the cold was getting to her...  

[Blood_Goddess]

Pastin was tired, probably more so than Rosie was as he had been the one to do most of the walking through the snow, but as the next day drew in, and a quick break to get something warm to drink at the camp while the rest of the professionals got ready to set out at first light.

The blond, her gloved hands closed tightly within the warm fiery main of her steed. her face half burred in a scarf and thick winter jacket as they set off again into the winter. eyes glassy with worry and tired. As Sera spoke, Rosie looked to her, pulling her face up out of the scarf and giving her a tired smile.
"If anyone can do it its him." She agreed.
She was amazed by Sera, she knew the girl must be tired too, but still, she kept searching too.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The Growlithe would only show up a couple more times during the early afternoon, the teal eyed one alone on occasion, before he seemed to stop coming all together, the packing having probably moved on to a different part of the forest for better hunting.  

[Suudonym]

Luke was hoping the Growlithe would become regular visitors, something to keep him somewhat aware and thinking, but before long it became quite clear that they wouldn't return anymore. Though he wasn't surprised, he was mildly disappointed. He fell back on talking to his pokemon to keep his mind active, singing occasionally when he was unable to come up with anything to say, though the words and melodies would gradually trail off as the day wore on.

He felt nauseated and lethargic, eventually turning down the snow that was his main source of hydration - he was already trembling from the cold, and putting ice into his mouth the last thing he wanted to do. There was a nagging guilt in the back of his head that just knew he was making all the wrong choices, but by this point he wasn't sure what he could do to rectify the situation. He already couldn't move; it felt like he had written his own epitaph.

Feverish, he faded in and out of dreams of pillows and warmth and Rosie, awoken harshly by his pokemon before he had been asleep too long at any given time. As the afternoon light faded, he stopped responding to the insistent prods and sounds. He was tired. He had been tired since the morning of the previous day, and he just wanted to sleep.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The sun continued its slow crawl over the sky, mere hours away in a thread to dip back behind the trees and allowing the deathly cold to take over the night once again.

The sounds of wild life in the forest was rare at best, there were not many animals that would brave the winters cold.
especially not with the approaching dark.

As Luke would slip in an out of consciousness, something warm and dry pressed against the side of his neck, and held there for a few seconds.

"... Still alive it looks like." A voice spoke and the warmth was pulled away.  

[Suudonym]

The sound of another voice was a godsend, though by this point he wasn't entirely sure how to distinguish dream from reality. He curled his reddened fingers lightly on the mass of fur in his lap, trusting in the sensation, as he failed to focus enough to say anything in return.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The warmth again returned to his skin, this time on either side of his jaws as his face was moved more upright.
"Luke, Hey, Luke, can you hear me Red?"

A tall form knelt down next to the younger trainer, a pack strapped high onto her back, and a pare of snow shoes strapped to each boot.
Gray hair pulled back out of her face and tucked up under a furred snow hat.

Mossy eyes looked toward the pokemon "Has he been like this for a while?"  

[Suudonym]

Tenebrae and Rem had cleared aside to create room for the newcomer to interact with their trainer, thankful that this time it was a friend rather than an enemy, while Lorelei and Tartarus continued to perform their assigned functions as warmth and shelter. It was Mieu who responded to the question - he didn't really like this woman, but he was grateful that someone had finally come - nodding curtly as he stood nearby, antsy. He didn't want to bite his trainer again, but he sure as hell would if that was what it would take to wake him properly.

Luke recognized that he had to answer; he nodded faintly and shakily as he tried to will himself away from unconsciousness. Someone had come. Someone had come.  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Ahaa, that's the spirit," Ray encouraged. "Alright, I need you to stand up, can you try and stand up? Just for a second."
In a means to help him, the women put a hand under each of his arms, to try and get him up.
"Come of, if you do this for me I'll have something warm for you to drink in no time."  

[Suudonym]

I don't know if...

The words were mouthed, but he abandoned the sentence nonetheless. It was a waste of energy that could be better put to use exerting the effort needed to stand. He shifted his posture, reflexively relying on any support he could muster from the hands he felt on his person. His body was stiff and frozen, but he eventually felt that he was probably standing, biting his lip harshly to withstand the complaints the movement invited.