[FIN] In Over Your Head

[Suudonym]

As big as Sawsbuck were and as easily as this one in particular maneuvered, Sorey still worried about the possibility that the two humans and three pokemon added up to too heavy a load to comfortably carry. He didn't seem to mind, but nonetheless, Sorey was relieved when they broke out of their rapid pace and slowed to a degree that suggested they might be stopping soon.

Mikleo commented quietly.

Sorey responded with a small shrug; they could make do without a water source, since they had the convenience of Mikleo being a living, breathing water source. It was nice to have naturally-occurring water every now and then, though, so the Vaporeon could have a break from water duty and enjoy a decent swim.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Eventually the Sawsbuck slow enough and stopped, shifting his head just enough to be able to glance back behind him toward the two trainers.

For the first time since they got on the Sawsbuck, Rosie looked up and spoke. She managed to put on an apologetic smile on her face. "I... I'm sorry we left your camping spot behind... uh if if you want to we can find another lake close by if that helps? Or uh... I mean, I'm kind of hesitant to let you go alone with Team Rocket in the forest."  

[Suudonym]

Sorey gave a full smile to dismiss her apologetic one. "It's all right," he said. "It seemed pretty important to just get out of there. I'm sure I could find a pond or spring or something nearby, but... Well, honestly, I'm kind of hesitant to let you go alone." He ducked his head. "Er, sorry, that probably sounded pretty rude... What I mean is, I don't mind accompanying you until you meet up with your friend, if you're still feeling shaken up. It'd be no trouble for me at all."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Pop retorted, turning where she stood on Greal's horns, putting one hand on her hip and frowning at Sorey. could have handled that you know. We are trained for that kind of thing!>

Greal said in a steady panting voice, coming down from his sprint through the forest.

The blond swallowed a lump in her threat, not just at Sorey's words, but the words from Greal that followed. But she could only find the truth in what everyone said. The shame was crippling, but having no real reason to be upset over it she just continued to smile gently.
"Please don't worry about me, Thank you though that is kind. I uh... I'm sure Ray would know of some good places for you to set up if you wanted. just to be more safe for the day anyway..."  

[Suudonym]

Doubt, or possibly indignation? A mix of both? Something else entirely? Regardless, Sorey felt that he could give an answer, "I know I'm not particularly impressive, but strength in numbers, right?" Different kinds of strength, each as important as any other.

Well, even if she said that, he would worry nonetheless, but as things were, he had an excuse to accompany her anyway. "I know of any particularly decent places off the top of my head, so if Graelhorn doesn't mind me tagging along..."

Mikleo frowned from Sorey's lap, but he gave no voice to his disgruntled thoughts.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Pop frowned lightly more confused then anything at Sorey's reply, though figured he didn't actually hear what she had said.

"Sorry," Rosie apologized gently "Pop can get heated sometimes, Ever since she was little, Don't take her demeanor personally." Rosie replied, no at all blind to the way Pop had spoken to Sorey.

Greal replied to Sorey's request, looking to Rosie to relay that.

"He can handle it. You're welcome to come with." Rosie told Sorey further. "I'm going to give him a second to catch his breath before we finish up the trip. In the meantime I have to report the Rocket sighting to the KSO."
She told him, shifting so that she could slide off of Greal's back.

Northern however, remained on Grealhorn, sitting down on his shoulder blade and watching as Rosie moved to get her jacket out and make her call.
The Legendary herself had fallen again into a spell of silence, just shifting through everything she was feeling from the others.

It wouldn't be long till they were back on the trip. now that Team Rocket was no where to be found Rosie returned Pop into her pokeball to help cut down on the weight Greal would have to carry.

By the time they had closed in on their coordinates Grealhorn slowed down in case they would miss something. that however seemed unlikely as a voice from the trees yelled to Rosie in a youthful glee and a boy dressed in green shorts and boots suddenly popped out from the leaves. dropping himself quickly from one branch to the other until he dropped himself onto the leafy earth in a squat.
"You made it!" he announced, then blinked, looking behind her "Oh, Who's that?"  

[Suudonym]

Sorey climbed down as well, if only because it seemed a little rude to stay there when the pokemon's own trainer had dismounted. And besides, it was a good opportunity to get his bearings. He looked back the way they had come and glanced around the area before removing his map and compass to get an idea of where exactly they were.

Mikleo watched as he did, studying his partner carefully. After a few moments, he spoke,

"Huh?" The addressed looked to the Vaporeon with an expression of surprise that quickly shifted to a knowing smile. "Thanks."

Before long, they all gathered up again and carried on, thankfully uneventfully - until something suddenly plummeted from the canopy. The something in question seemed to be a human, and apparently one who was acquainted with Rosie (probably the friend she was meeting, he surmised), so Sorey relaxed and nodded in greeting, "I'm Sorey, and this is Mikleo. Nice to meet you."  

[Blood_Goddess]

No sooner had the boy gotten his words out then another smaller creature fell from the tree where he had come from, a Treecko plopping down to land right on top of his head, causing him to shift only slightly to compensate. While a large dark beetle crawled down the tree trunk instead.

Rosie herself seemed to brighten up a little at the appearance of the boy. Leaning forward a little "Hi Gon!"

The boy grinned up at her "The Pokemon told us you were coming, so I came out here to meet you." Again he stepped to the side to look back at the boy and his Vaporeon, shifting out of the Sawsbuck's making his way to the side so that he could talk to the humans easier.

Treecko sprung from Gon's head once they got close enough, and right onto Rosie's shoulder chattering away at her. The girl giggled and reached up to pat the grass type on the head. "I've been good, You look like you've gotten stronger."
The Treecko pulled himself up proudly.

"Sorey and Mikleo" Gon repeated glancing over at the Heracross that moved up next to him to join him "Nice to meet you! Ray didn't say that Rosie was going to bring a friend." he said with a grin to show that he didn't seem to mind at all.  

[Suudonym]

Oh, so then this wasn't the person Rosie had been talking about after all. Nonetheless, Sorey nodded, committing the name to memory. "We weren't exactly planning to come along," he explained. "We met up coincidentally, and I was hoping that Ray might be able to point out some places nearby that would be good for setting up a camp."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Gon's eyes widened a little "Ohh. Yeah there are lots of places." Gon nodded, glancing over to his Heracross before he mad a waving motion with his arm "Come on I'll lead you back!"

Treecko leaped from Rosie's shoulder, landing on Gon's back just in time as he ran off ahead of them. Heracross opening his wings to buzz on after him.

"Gon's one of the boy's that Ray's been training. He lives out here with her." Rosie explained as Grealhorn continued on with a more leisurely canter after the boy and his Pokemon.

The woods had become much thinner the longer they traveled South East from Sandelwood. and eventually, with the small spiky haired boy in the lead they would step out into a large clearing with a few large trees scattered around it.
Many different types of pokemon all looked over when the group entered the clearing. creatures of many different species, some that wouldn't live together naturally in the wild, such as Poochiena and Deerling. though the population was dominantly grass and bug types.
Toward the center of the clearing where the largest tree sat was clearly where the humans had set up their resadense.
Rosie let out a slight gasp at the sight, below the trees was a makeshift living aria, a fire pit in the middle of a sitting aria, where logs and rocks were set up for as seats. But it was what sat above the fire pit that took her more by surprise.
A tree house, made from wood the roofs slanting clear out over a balcony in the front of the home. On either side were rope bridges leading out to two other smaller wooden homes on adjacent trees.

"Ray! Rosie's here!" Gon called out as he continued to run toward the fire pit, where the women in question was sitting and tending to a hanging cooking pot. "She brought a friend."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Mossy eyes lifted from the pot as she heard Gon's calls, though there was a slight pause when he said that she had bought a friend.
Pushing herself up, and turning toward them, shifting the fabric of her jacket as she did.
fully expecting to see Seraphine or even Luke, the Gray haired women was surprised to see a different familiar face, one she honestly didn't expect to see again.
"I knew Kodo was small." she said with a wide smirk, stepping up to the Sawsbuck as the pokemon stopped allowing the humans to dismount. "I didn't think it was THAT small though."

She looked to Rosie as the trainer dismounted "Hi Rosie, thanks for coming out."  

[Suudonym]

"Oh, that's great!" The response was reflexive, and if he thought about it, Sorey supposed that it was actually pretty strange for someone to live in the middle of the forest, but since he knew firsthand how enjoyable and rewarding it could be, he could only feel glad to know that someone was experiencing it.

Thinking about the lay of the land, it seemed that Sorey was getting further and further from the direction he ultimately wanted to be headed, but he didn't mind so much; he wasn't in any great hurry to get to Jinko. At the moment, he was more interested in the present environment. It was keenly nostalgic with a setup similar to the way he and his Gramps lived back in Pokemon Village - except for the treehouse, but that was excusable on account of how cool it was. The whole place had the feeling of a secret base, and that made the whole thing even cooler.

"Oh!" Sorey couldn't help but laugh at the sight of yet another familiar face. Coincidences abound indeed. "What a weird day. Sorry, I don't think I introduced myself last time we met. I'm Sorey."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie slid off of Grealhorn's back as Ray walked over to greet then, smiling gently at the older women who observed her for a few seconds somewhat critically. "You look pale, Must have been a pretty intense trip for you to be able to make it in a day." Ray noted,

"Mmm, No, the trip was fine." she said shaking her head "I would have been here sooner, but we ran into Team Rocket on the way." Rosie explained.

Ray's expression didn't change much, though her head lifted up a little higher, It was Gon's explanation that followed as the boy suddenly seemed to appear by the adults. "Team Rocket!? Really? What were they like?" He asked with intense interest.

"They uh... well." Rosie started, unsure of what to say.

"Did you and your Pokemon teach them a lesson?" Came his follow up question. "I bet you did! you always beat everyone!"

Rosie blushed and looked quickly down, away from the eager and excited face of the young boy.
Ray however eyed Rosie for a few seconds, putting a hand on Gon's shoulder and continued.
"Were you two hurt?" She asked more seriously, looking between Rosie and Sorey "Are the Pokemon okay?"

"Oh yes yes, no, everyone's okay, thankfully no one was hurt this time." Rosie explained very quickly as she looked up, holding her hands up. "There isn't any reason to worry."

Ray, though silently seemed to let a breath out, looking between the two before she reached a hand out to Sorey "What did I say huh? This place is wild. The names Rayan, Call me Ray. This is Gon." She said with a nudge to the smaller boy who strengthened up, his large bright eyes and lively expression turned to Sorey, before a look of sudden dawning crossed his face
"Wait... What you're name isn't Ray?" He asked.

Ray arched a brow at him "It is Ray."

"But what was that 'Rayan' just now." He asked

"...That's my name. Ray's short for it."

"Whaaaaat!" Gon balked in surprise "Ray's just been short for Rayan this whole time! And I didn't know!"

Ray let out a laugh at the boy's apparent surprise and then disappointment "If it means anything, I am rarely called Rayan!" She boomed a laugh again. "Kid, greet our guests."

Gon straightened up again and bowed to Sorey "Its nice to meet you!"  

[Suudonym]

Sorey wondered if perhaps Gon was 'new to the area' as well. The Rocket made it sound as though it was common sense to be deeply cautious and afraid, but he perceived no trace of that in Gon's behavior. Sorey didn't have much experience with this type of situation, but-- Well, it wasn't really the time to be thinking too much about all that. He'd sort out his feelings when everything had settled down a bit more.

"Ray. It's good to meet you. Properly, that is," Sorey replied, then gestured to the Vaporeon beside him, "I may have already given his name last time, but this is Mikleo."

the named said, nodding to each in turn not only in greeting but also to familiarize Sorey with the way he pronounced the sounds.

"Did you two put this campsite together?" Sorey asked as he took another look around the area. "It's so cool!"  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray winked at Mikleo in greeting. "My crew is somewhere around, once they get wind there are new people they'll come investigating." Ray said with a gesture of her hand.

"Yeah! isn't it!" Ray boasted, putting her hands on her hips and turning to look around at the well laid out camping site. "Lin and I build it over the summer. Not sure where that kid went off to" She mused looking around "Probably getting supplies with Drayce. I don't know."

"Ray started training me after it was all pretty much done." Gon explained, crouching down to Mikleo and holding out a hand to the pokemon in greeting.

"You're a forest kid too huh?" Ray asked nudging out an elbow to Sorey "I figured you would be into stuff like this."