emsiecat
April 6th, 2008, 06:48 pm
It was a little past dawn when they set out again. Everyone looked tired and grumpy with the exception of Lucinda who was chipper after a full nights sleep and couldn't understand why everyone else was acting like 'an Ursaring with a sore head'.
After a short while Liana noticed that the Rapidash were acting strange. They kept sniffing the clean morning air and rolling their eyes so that the whites showed. They would fuss at every turn and fidget uncontrollably. Several times Liana had to coax Mewtwo's Rapidash forward using bribes from her pockets.
Liana felt her patience waning. She quickly shape shifted her ears and nose to that of a dog's and sniffed at the air, twitching her ears to listen as she did so.
"I know what's got them so worked up."
"What is it?"
"It's Bloodclaw and his pack. They must have moved their pack territory recently. Last I heard they were further north than this."
"Who's Bloodclaw?" Pikachu looked wary.
"He's a wolf. I've known the pack for years, they won't harm us."
Artemis, Apollo and Blaze calmed a little at the familiar name. Mewtwo's Rapidash only seemed to panic more at the idea of wolves. Something in his instincts told him they were bad news for horses.
Liana turned to Mewtwo, too glad at the thought of seeing some old friends to care if he was still in a bad mood. "I'm gonna call them over here. You might want to keep a hold of Rapidash. He might bolt when he sees them."
Liana cupped her hands round her mouth and impersonated a wolf howl. Rhys and Lucinda laughed and copied her teasingly.
"Humans are so weird." Pikachu muttered to Mewtwo as he scrambled up onto his shoulder.
There was an answering call to the humans' howling that certainly wasn't fake, and in a matter of minutes a large grey form surged out of the trees. Bloodclaw, Mewtwo guessed, flung himself at Liana knocking her backwards, his tail waving like a pup as he sniffed her face and licked her hair.
There was barking and whining as more wolves erupted from the previously quiet forest all varying in size and colour. They ran up to the human woman pinned beneath their alpha before circling Rhys and Lucinda nudging and licking them too.
Mewtwo only just managed to keep Rapidash from bolting when the rest of the pack had emerged. The other Rapidash seemed content to let the wolves sniff at them from a respectful distance, only showing fear or anger if any wolf showed too much interest and got too close.
Liana managed to get to her feet laughing and wiping dog-lick out of her eyes, briefly forgetting her inhibitions introduced Mewtwo to Bloodclaw and the pack. The names went over his head as she introduced the spirited canines.
Meowth and Pikachu seemed more relaxed now they saw the wolves meant no harm and were being sniffed at by Bloodclaw's new pups. The pups wouldn't approach Mewtwo however, they found him scary.
Lucinda cooed over the pups as Liana congratulated Bloodclaw on another successful litter. The alpha looked proud and nuzzled the female at his side. She then gave condolences on the winter's loss of some of the elder pack members too. Bloodclaw told her three elders had been lost during the winter including his own mother. One youngster had been lost too after he had tried to take down a Torus alone and had been gouged for his efforts.
As the pack calmed after the celebration of greeting Liana turned to Bloodclaw and questioned him. "What is the pack doing so far south? Were there problems in the old territory?"
"There was indeed, just after my mother passed on things started to go wrong. We had noticed a decline in the prey. I thought at first it was just due to the winter cold, after all pickings have been slim for all the predators this year. However when I sent out two of the trackers to scout for some prey, they came back with more interesting news."
"What was it?"
Bloodclaw looked toward his two best trackers and bid them to continue. One of the trackers, a female by the name of Softcall spoke up.
"There are new predators in the countryside. We searched for days and found little prey before we picked up a scent. It was foreign to us so naturally we were curious but cautious too. We thought perhaps it was a pack of humans that had driven away our game, but it just didn't smell right. When we found these things, by the Wolf Lord they were terrifying! They looked like nothing on this Earth. We wondered if they were a new species of Pokémon but that didn't seem right either. It was easy to see where the game had gone though. These things were ravenous eaters, there was bones littering where they'd made their territory, predator and prey bones alike. There were even Pokémon and human bones. We didn't hang around of course. We went straight back to Bloodclaw, after he heard what we had to say we decided to move south."
Liana translated for her companions frantically, her eyes widening at what she heard. So Thanatos had been calling creatures through for a while then. Since last winter at least!
"Bloodclaw, we're traveling to the temple not too far from here. We wish to make a bargain with one of the Gods. Hopefully they can sort out this mess and send those creatures back to the Gods Realm."
Bloodclaw looked thoughtful for a moment. His long snout wrinkled in concentration.
"We will come with you. There is strength in a pack and the temple borders our new territory. Perhaps we can aid you with your quest."
Liana looked at Bloodclaw's new family cautiously. "Will the pups be safe to travel? I don't want to put them in danger."
"They were born while we were still traveling south. They're possibly the strongest runts I've ever sired. It's about time they worked for their food anyway."
Despite his callous words there was a genuine affection in his voice and eyes as he lowered his head to butt at a male pup that was chewing audaciously on his paw.
"Looks like we'll have company to the temple. Bloodclaw and his pack wish to join us."
Liana stood up from where she'd been sat with Bloodclaw and climbed back onto Artemis.
Mewtwo looked like he wished to argue on behalf of his Rapidash's sanity. However he was surprised to see his Rapidash step cautiously forward and let himself be sniffed at by Whisper, Bloodclaw's mate. He was still showing the whites of his eyes but he assured Mewtwo that he'd be alright. Having no other objection Mewtwo patted Rapidash and followed the procession of humans, Pokémon and animals that had formed.
The wolves proved to be quite helpful. Their mere presence kept away certain Pokémon and animals that may have caused them hindrance, and they were more than willing to share any kill with the humans, Meowth and Mewtwo. The younger pack members, Bloodclaw's litter from last year, flushed out rabbits and other small prey animals for the humans and their companions to use at dinner. They were sensitive enough not to attack any rodent Pokémon incase Pikachu found it offensive.
Mewtwo actually demonstrated that he was a formidable hunter. Lucinda and Liana observed him make a kill once or twice on their journey. Although he had an aloof nature he was obviously not above hunting for his meals. He was respectful to his prey and made the kill swift and clean, with either a sharp bite to the neck or a brief wave of his paw to expel a killing psychic blow.
"Kinda scary when he does that wouldn't you agree?" Lucinda queried Liana quietly after witnessing one such hunt. "I mean sometimes I wonder if he eats humans. He's like one of those big cats, a tiger or something."
Liana quirked an eyebrow at Lucinda and considered making a comeback about how technically if Mewtwo ate a human it would practically be cannibalism. However she caught herself just in time before she revealed part of the clone's background.
After a short while Liana noticed that the Rapidash were acting strange. They kept sniffing the clean morning air and rolling their eyes so that the whites showed. They would fuss at every turn and fidget uncontrollably. Several times Liana had to coax Mewtwo's Rapidash forward using bribes from her pockets.
Liana felt her patience waning. She quickly shape shifted her ears and nose to that of a dog's and sniffed at the air, twitching her ears to listen as she did so.
"I know what's got them so worked up."
"What is it?"
"It's Bloodclaw and his pack. They must have moved their pack territory recently. Last I heard they were further north than this."
"Who's Bloodclaw?" Pikachu looked wary.
"He's a wolf. I've known the pack for years, they won't harm us."
Artemis, Apollo and Blaze calmed a little at the familiar name. Mewtwo's Rapidash only seemed to panic more at the idea of wolves. Something in his instincts told him they were bad news for horses.
Liana turned to Mewtwo, too glad at the thought of seeing some old friends to care if he was still in a bad mood. "I'm gonna call them over here. You might want to keep a hold of Rapidash. He might bolt when he sees them."
Liana cupped her hands round her mouth and impersonated a wolf howl. Rhys and Lucinda laughed and copied her teasingly.
"Humans are so weird." Pikachu muttered to Mewtwo as he scrambled up onto his shoulder.
There was an answering call to the humans' howling that certainly wasn't fake, and in a matter of minutes a large grey form surged out of the trees. Bloodclaw, Mewtwo guessed, flung himself at Liana knocking her backwards, his tail waving like a pup as he sniffed her face and licked her hair.
There was barking and whining as more wolves erupted from the previously quiet forest all varying in size and colour. They ran up to the human woman pinned beneath their alpha before circling Rhys and Lucinda nudging and licking them too.
Mewtwo only just managed to keep Rapidash from bolting when the rest of the pack had emerged. The other Rapidash seemed content to let the wolves sniff at them from a respectful distance, only showing fear or anger if any wolf showed too much interest and got too close.
Liana managed to get to her feet laughing and wiping dog-lick out of her eyes, briefly forgetting her inhibitions introduced Mewtwo to Bloodclaw and the pack. The names went over his head as she introduced the spirited canines.
Meowth and Pikachu seemed more relaxed now they saw the wolves meant no harm and were being sniffed at by Bloodclaw's new pups. The pups wouldn't approach Mewtwo however, they found him scary.
Lucinda cooed over the pups as Liana congratulated Bloodclaw on another successful litter. The alpha looked proud and nuzzled the female at his side. She then gave condolences on the winter's loss of some of the elder pack members too. Bloodclaw told her three elders had been lost during the winter including his own mother. One youngster had been lost too after he had tried to take down a Torus alone and had been gouged for his efforts.
As the pack calmed after the celebration of greeting Liana turned to Bloodclaw and questioned him. "What is the pack doing so far south? Were there problems in the old territory?"
"There was indeed, just after my mother passed on things started to go wrong. We had noticed a decline in the prey. I thought at first it was just due to the winter cold, after all pickings have been slim for all the predators this year. However when I sent out two of the trackers to scout for some prey, they came back with more interesting news."
"What was it?"
Bloodclaw looked toward his two best trackers and bid them to continue. One of the trackers, a female by the name of Softcall spoke up.
"There are new predators in the countryside. We searched for days and found little prey before we picked up a scent. It was foreign to us so naturally we were curious but cautious too. We thought perhaps it was a pack of humans that had driven away our game, but it just didn't smell right. When we found these things, by the Wolf Lord they were terrifying! They looked like nothing on this Earth. We wondered if they were a new species of Pokémon but that didn't seem right either. It was easy to see where the game had gone though. These things were ravenous eaters, there was bones littering where they'd made their territory, predator and prey bones alike. There were even Pokémon and human bones. We didn't hang around of course. We went straight back to Bloodclaw, after he heard what we had to say we decided to move south."
Liana translated for her companions frantically, her eyes widening at what she heard. So Thanatos had been calling creatures through for a while then. Since last winter at least!
"Bloodclaw, we're traveling to the temple not too far from here. We wish to make a bargain with one of the Gods. Hopefully they can sort out this mess and send those creatures back to the Gods Realm."
Bloodclaw looked thoughtful for a moment. His long snout wrinkled in concentration.
"We will come with you. There is strength in a pack and the temple borders our new territory. Perhaps we can aid you with your quest."
Liana looked at Bloodclaw's new family cautiously. "Will the pups be safe to travel? I don't want to put them in danger."
"They were born while we were still traveling south. They're possibly the strongest runts I've ever sired. It's about time they worked for their food anyway."
Despite his callous words there was a genuine affection in his voice and eyes as he lowered his head to butt at a male pup that was chewing audaciously on his paw.
"Looks like we'll have company to the temple. Bloodclaw and his pack wish to join us."
Liana stood up from where she'd been sat with Bloodclaw and climbed back onto Artemis.
Mewtwo looked like he wished to argue on behalf of his Rapidash's sanity. However he was surprised to see his Rapidash step cautiously forward and let himself be sniffed at by Whisper, Bloodclaw's mate. He was still showing the whites of his eyes but he assured Mewtwo that he'd be alright. Having no other objection Mewtwo patted Rapidash and followed the procession of humans, Pokémon and animals that had formed.
The wolves proved to be quite helpful. Their mere presence kept away certain Pokémon and animals that may have caused them hindrance, and they were more than willing to share any kill with the humans, Meowth and Mewtwo. The younger pack members, Bloodclaw's litter from last year, flushed out rabbits and other small prey animals for the humans and their companions to use at dinner. They were sensitive enough not to attack any rodent Pokémon incase Pikachu found it offensive.
Mewtwo actually demonstrated that he was a formidable hunter. Lucinda and Liana observed him make a kill once or twice on their journey. Although he had an aloof nature he was obviously not above hunting for his meals. He was respectful to his prey and made the kill swift and clean, with either a sharp bite to the neck or a brief wave of his paw to expel a killing psychic blow.
"Kinda scary when he does that wouldn't you agree?" Lucinda queried Liana quietly after witnessing one such hunt. "I mean sometimes I wonder if he eats humans. He's like one of those big cats, a tiger or something."
Liana quirked an eyebrow at Lucinda and considered making a comeback about how technically if Mewtwo ate a human it would practically be cannibalism. However she caught herself just in time before she revealed part of the clone's background.