[Earlier:]

Milo walked unsteadily along the shore in the greyness of the predawn.  Head
throbbing and eyes still half-glazed over from the Nidoking poison he'd gotten
the day before, the young Riolu couldn't remember when he'd woken up or how long
he'd been wandering, stumbling sometimes, leaning over to vomit once in a while,
resting, then getting to his feet again.  His muscles ached; he was running a
fever; he had to put his hand out on rocks and driftwood to keep his balance. 
The sea breeze was refreshing, and that helped to clear his head a little; his
impressive ability to focus was now applied to the task of putting one foot in
front of the other.  Even so, he had to stop every fifty yards or so and rest
before he could continue.  It had taken a long time to get him even the meager
distance downshore that he'd come.

Then again, his first surprise of the day had been that he'd woken up at all. 
He had his very strong constitution to thank for that.  But he had little else;
home, food, and friends were all too far away for him to reach in his weakened
condition.  Much too far, in the case of home; he'd travelled for months to get
here.  Food? --The closest was in his net-bag that he'd given to..who? he asked
himself as his mind began to return.  He'd given it to somebody...why?  --Umm,
they must've needed it worse than he did...  Yes, that must be why; his giving
nature flew in the face of his survival instinct sometimes, but he was only a
child and had not yet become hard about such things.  But who was the Someone,
and where were they now, and if he found them would they share?

He stopped again, and rested his back against a dune held together by the roots
of the sea-grass growing from it.  The grass and the dune, they helped each
other, he mused; the dune gave the grass a place to grow, and the grass kept the
dune from blowing away.  See? he told himself; sometimes helping each other was
the way to survival.  It was okay that he'd shared his food.  And it was okay
now to wish he'd saved himself some.  He rolled onto one side and drifted off
again, picturing himself as windblown grass growing on dunes.

  == == ==

> [Miralu] sent the small pebble flying through the air...

*Paf!*

Milo was startled awake by the landing of a small stone very near his ear.  He
opened his eyes, then squinched them shut again, unprepared for the brightness
of the daylight.  "Oww!", he said, reacting to the sun, not the stone.  He'd
slept longer than he'd intended to this time, and now some rotten bird was
dropping rocks on him!  He sat up, surprised that he was feeling much better,
and looked around.  He didn't see any birds within pebble-dropping distance;
then again, with Flying-types you never knew...  He flung the pebble at a
Pelipper and, of course, missed badly.  But the movement drew his attention to
the sea, where something seemed to be going on...

Ah! --There; a silver-white creature was playing in the surf.  He couldn't make
out what it was; his eyes were still a little blurry, and in any case it was
something he'd never seen the likes of before.  It rose above the waves,
dancing; it leapt, spinning, arching and diving again.  The longer he watched
it, the more entranced he became.  All of a sudden his long journey from his
jungle home became worth it, if only to see this creature at play.  Were there
any more like it?  If he swam out there, would it want to be friends?  He was
far too spent to try any such thing; but watching it, and in that sense becoming
it, was enough.  The little Riolu smiled.  The sea-creature was graceful,
achingly beautiful, and evidently happy...

  = = =
Marius.  (Did this post already?)

Katara siwftly got out from underneath Shanti as Luxray pinned Shanti. Luxray
leened down for the bite only to be hit by flames and a fast tackle. The Luxray
stumbled in surprise, but quikly laughed when he saw the whimp of Katara
scrabbling at him. He batted her off and growled. "YOur first then!" Katara
shooted fire at his face, but he showed no sighn of hurt. Katara struggled under
him, but he was to strong.

--- In Realm_light@yahoogroups.com, "legionsix" <marius_peregrine@...> wrote:
>
> > Luxray was using Charge Beam. Katara gasped. "We have to move
> > now Shanti! That Charge Beam is going to be powerful!"
>
> Shanti had no idea what a Charge Beam was, but it sounded like something she
ought to put a stop to before it actually started.  "You notice how he's staying
with distance attacks?" she muttered to the Vulpix, dropping the ferocious
demeanor for just long enough to assure Katara that it was still her "sweet
Absol" under all the posturing.  "So far he hasn't even spit at me...  I bet
there's something wrong with him.  Maybe if we close to claws-and-fangs distance
before he can throw something else at us, we can treat him to a nasty surprise."
>
> But it was a bad time for chatter; while she was telling Katara of her
suspicions, the Luxray finished powering up and Discharged.  An electric
shock-wave cracked the atmosphere, scrambling Shanti's senses; the light only
added to her confusion, and the howling of the superheated, displaced air was
the worst possible torture to a lover of wind and sky.  Shanti was flattened and
all but helpless as the lion leapt off the rocks and finally tangled with her
directly.  ~ Be careful what you wish for, ~ came a fleeting thought; ~ because
you just might get it... ~
>
>  = = =
> Marius.
>

The rays of morning light shone down on the beach, illuminating the tides of
sand and sparkling blue water in radiant warmth. A sea of sand littered with
tide-ridden debris extending for miles down the northern and southern horizons,
a relatively thin column of sand between a sea of green grass on the west and
crystalline waters to the east. An undisturbed oceanic paradise for as far as
the eye could see, a young silvery white and pink trimmed eevee yawning sleepily
as she awoke from the evening spent in a small driftwood log that had drifted to
share ages ago. The small oddly coloured eevee rubbed the back of her left paw
over her eyes as she yawned and crept out from the log, squinting in the bright
morning sunlight. Miralu had arrived at the beach early yesterday after hearing
about it from a couple of Pokémon whom she had encountered on her journeys in
the region.

Deciding to rest and partake in the lovely scenery for a few days, the young
eevee smiled softly while she wagged her tail happily at the sight of the
beautiful sparkling ocean. The sea of sand blending with her fur, camouflaging
her with the background not that she had noticed or cared. As far as she knew,
the beach was deserted aside from a few water Pokémon who had left with the tide
late last night as she began to retire to sleep. None of that mattered. Miralu
barked happily, in a quiet soft voice, only to herself, as she ran to the shore
of the water, lightly testing the temperature of the water with her left front
paw before pulling it back instinctively expecting the water to be rather cold.

"Wow! That is warm!" she giggled happily while she took a few steps backward and
then took a running leap into the water. Ripples dispersing in every possible
direction as her body radiated light intensively, her body elongating and fur
transforming into streamlined skin suited for the water. The tip of her long
tail divided slightly into a lovely fin while her facial features assumed a
mermaid-aquatic typology as she dove beneath the water. Vaporeon adaptations
permitted her to dive deeper than she could have ever dreamed as an eevee, the
sensation of the warm water against her streamlined skin exhilarating. Her keen
eyes spotting a Horsea swimming between an underwater formation to which she
gave chase.

Swimming around the opposite side of the formation with a playful smile on her
face, hoping to surprise the other water Pokémon, Miralu frowned when her
efforts were disappointed. Poking her head around the corner she blinked unable
to see the sea Pokémon any longer. ~Awe, where did it go….?~ she thought quietly
to herself as she swam back around the other side wondering if it had gone back
out the direction it had come. A small fissure in the floor of the formation far
too small for her to fit into, even with transforming to a smaller size, the
silvery Vaporeon groaned and swam back up to the surface. The speed of her
ascent allowing her to dive out of the water like a fish on wings, rotating
once, then twice, before she immersed herself in the water again head first. A
thin piece of driftwood caught her eye.

Rising up to the surface, she gracefully spun underwater to cause her long
finned tail to rise up out of the water and knock the small piece of wood into
the air. Flicking her fin underwater again to force her head up to the surface,
she giggled proudly as she caught the piece of wood on the tip of her head and
began to whimsically juggle it around with her swaying motions. A faint blue and
black spec against the sea of yellow sand caught her eye for a moment, causing
her to drop the log off the side of her head by accident with a defeated giggle
as she lunged forward in the water with a new object of curiosity.

Emerging to the surface once more, several dozen meters off shore, Miralu
squinted her keen eyes slightly in an effort to perceive the identity of the
object. Failing to remember any blue objects on the beach when she had been
exploring yesterday, she grinned coyly as she spotted the object move. It was
alive! And, perhaps best of all, she was fairly certain it had not spotted her
against the sparkling silver movements of the ocean. Diving down beneath the
surface once more, the young Vaporeon, a virtual child in appearance despite a
mentality of a young adult, began curiously searching for something new and
perfect for her innocent games. Spotting a few streamlined pebbles, carried in
from the ocean by the tide long long ago, she swam down and retrieved six with
the fin of her tail which she transferred to her front paws in a graceful motion
and jetted off back towards the surface this time closer to shore.

Giggling inwardly to herself as she peers up from beneath the silvery touched
waters to observe the strange blue, yellow, and black Pokémon a few feet away
from the shore. Careful to remain beneath the surface of the water for stealth,
she lightly placed one of the pebbles on the top of her fin and then did a
powerful forward summersault, sending her tail just up through the water. The
momentum and the freedom from aquatic gravity sent the small pebble flying
through the air, its landing point only three or four inches from where the
oddly coloured Riolu was standing. An expression of alarm crossed her face as
she lowered her tail beneath the water, spotting the pebble straying a bit off
course from where she had intended and nearly right on top of the poor other
Pokémon not that it was large enough to hurt.

ooc: Checked the history for the last post with Milo under the thread "cc-751,
k1> Message on the Winds (cont'd)" so I checked the maps and moved it a bit
down. I believe you posted him last when he was moving downstream so I thought
it was appropriate. That, and I thought the specific square had a range of
environments that the two of them, and/or three with Macro, would find
interesting. Finally, as always, you get to decide how close the pebble will
come, should defiantly let him know something is up though, and cannot blame
Miralu for having bad aim. You try doing any better with a fin!

> Luxray was using Charge Beam. Katara gasped. "We have to move
> now Shanti! That Charge Beam is going to be powerful!"

Shanti had no idea what a Charge Beam was, but it sounded like something she
ought to put a stop to before it actually started.  "You notice how he's staying
with distance attacks?" she muttered to the Vulpix, dropping the ferocious
demeanor for just long enough to assure Katara that it was still her "sweet
Absol" under all the posturing.  "So far he hasn't even spit at me...  I bet
there's something wrong with him.  Maybe if we close to claws-and-fangs distance
before he can throw something else at us, we can treat him to a nasty surprise."

But it was a bad time for chatter; while she was telling Katara of her
suspicions, the Luxray finished powering up and Discharged.  An electric
shock-wave cracked the atmosphere, scrambling Shanti's senses; the light only
added to her confusion, and the howling of the superheated, displaced air was
the worst possible torture to a lover of wind and sky.  Shanti was flattened and
all but helpless as the lion leapt off the rocks and finally tangled with her
directly.  ~ Be careful what you wish for, ~ came a fleeting thought; ~ because
you just might get it... ~

  = = =
Marius.

Katara looked up from where her friend had protected her. This Shanti scared
her. No, this wasn't her friend that was kind, she had changed. The Luxray
stared at the Absol. He noticed the missing trigus and that gave away Shanti's
weakness. "You may be as tall as I am, but I know your true weakness!" The
Luxray roared and leapt at Shanti, Only to be throne back by a quick attack.
Katara stood gasping for breath. "You won't....harm Shanti!" Katara felt the
flames of ember kick up in her mouth. SHe released them in a quick burst. A
thick smoke whipped up. Suddenly there was a blinding flash.

Luxray was using charge beam. Katara gasped. "We have to move now Shanti! That
charge beam is going to be powerful!"

--- In Realm_light@yahoogroups.com, "legionsix" <marius_peregrine@...> wrote:
>
> > Katara's head whipped around to face the Luxray...
>
> Shanti could have sworn there'd been nobody in the cavelet when she checked
last night; it was too small to have held any two creatures her size.  The
Luxray must have come over the rock-formation, then, perhaps on its way home
from the night's hunting, and been surprised to find them at its den.  Shanti
thought the whole thing could have been settled by an explanation and an
apology; it was an honest mistake...and she was just about to say so when Katara
rushed to the attack and got Thundershocked for her trouble.
>
> The sight of her little friend being flung backwards several feet
did...*something*...to Shanti.  She looked at the Vulpix in dismay; then her
rage came upon her, and she was transformed.  She crouched low, a rolling
thunder rising in her throat.  Muscles tensed, mane bristling like the Luxray's,
and eyes flashing as if she were summoning lightning of her own; all of a sudden
she looked nine inches taller and thirty pounds heavier than she really was. 
She sprang sideways towards Katara; her four legs came down surrounding the
Fire-fox protectively.  The movement was quick, calculated, sure-footed; in the
Absol's battle-fury there was no trace of the awkward young adult--only the
display of elemental rage just barely tempered by self-discipline.  But,
actually, the whole time she was thinking, thinking...
>
> The Luxray was a little taller than she; but, Shanti being a smallish Absol,
they were about the same weight.  Perhaps she could take him, or convince him
that she could?  Most wild creatures didn't go out of their way to get
themselves hurt--least of all the solitary ones, who would have no one to tend
their wounds but themselves.  So she gave the cowardly Lion-Pokemon her most
contemptuous look; then she roared, "How about you pick on someone your own
size!!!"  Hopefully that would either impress him or shame him into desisting...
>
> [OOC: Dunno what she just did in game-terms, but we'll see if it worked!] 
>({|;-]
>
>  = = =
> Marius.
>

> Katara's head whipped around to face the Luxray...

Shanti could have sworn there'd been nobody in the cavelet when she checked last
night; it was too small to have held any two creatures her size.  The Luxray
must have come over the rock-formation, then, perhaps on its way home from the
night's hunting, and been surprised to find them at its den.  Shanti thought the
whole thing could have been settled by an explanation and an apology; it was an
honest mistake...and she was just about to say so when Katara rushed to the
attack and got Thundershocked for her trouble.

The sight of her little friend being flung backwards several feet
did...*something*...to Shanti.  She looked at the Vulpix in dismay; then her
rage came upon her, and she was transformed.  She crouched low, a rolling
thunder rising in her throat.  Muscles tensed, mane bristling like the Luxray's,
and eyes flashing as if she were summoning lightning of her own; all of a sudden
she looked nine inches taller and thirty pounds heavier than she really was. 
She sprang sideways towards Katara; her four legs came down surrounding the
Fire-fox protectively.  The movement was quick, calculated, sure-footed; in the
Absol's battle-fury there was no trace of the awkward young adult--only the
display of elemental rage just barely tempered by self-discipline.  But,
actually, the whole time she was thinking, thinking...

The Luxray was a little taller than she; but, Shanti being a smallish Absol,
they were about the same weight.  Perhaps she could take him, or convince him
that she could?  Most wild creatures didn't go out of their way to get
themselves hurt--least of all the solitary ones, who would have no one to tend
their wounds but themselves.  So she gave the cowardly Lion-Pokemon her most
contemptuous look; then she roared, "How about you pick on someone your own
size!!!"  Hopefully that would either impress him or shame him into desisting...

[OOC: Dunno what she just did in game-terms, but we'll see if it worked!] 
>({|;-]

  = = =
Marius.

Katara's head whipped around to face the Luxray as it strolled from the den.
Katara felt the heat rise to her mouth as if she was read to let go of an ember
attack. She could see it. THis Luxray was a ttough opponet. Probily level 40.
But the small fox rose to the challenge. She jumped in the air and let out a
quick dose of ember. Then used quick attack at the Luxray, only to be thunder
shocked back to Shanti's side. "Careful! This guy is powerful!"
[OOC: It's a Luxray as you plainly see.]

--- In Realm_light@yahoogroups.com, "legionsix" <marius_peregrine@...> wrote:
>
> > Katara listened intently to what Shanti was saying. When Shanti
> > finished Katara said softly, "I see a survivor too. Look at
> > yourself, you're homeless without a tragus yet, you find a reason
> > to get up every morning and smile. You havn't throne your life
> > away. That alone makes you a survivor."
>
> Shanti chuckled.  "I suppose I am, Katara; I suppose I am.  So that makes two
of us.  And somebody once told me that surviving is easier if there's someone
else to do it with.  More fun, too; shall we find out if it's true?"  The
Absol's eyes twinkled.
>
> Just then, however, the morning's calm was broken by an ear-splitting screech
that descended into a throaty roar, then a growl, then a rumble.  Shanti jumped
in surprise, turned in midair to face the sound, landed, and braced herself, all
in one unexpectedly graceful movement.  "Bloody hell," she muttered to the
Vulpix.  "I guess this den has an owner after all..."
>
> [OOC:  Marius uses Mega-Tag! --OK, im2, you tell *me* what we're facing!] <bg>
>
>  = = =
> Marius the Wanderer.
>

> Katara listened intently to what Shanti was saying. When Shanti
> finished Katara said softly, "I see a survivor too. Look at
> yourself, you're homeless without a tragus yet, you find a reason
> to get up every morning and smile. You havn't throne your life
> away. That alone makes you a survivor."

Shanti chuckled.  "I suppose I am, Katara; I suppose I am.  So that makes two of
us.  And somebody once told me that surviving is easier if there's someone else
to do it with.  More fun, too; shall we find out if it's true?"  The Absol's
eyes twinkled.

Just then, however, the morning's calm was broken by an ear-splitting screech
that descended into a throaty roar, then a growl, then a rumble.  Shanti jumped
in surprise, turned in midair to face the sound, landed, and braced herself, all
in one unexpectedly graceful movement.  "Bloody hell," she muttered to the
Vulpix.  "I guess this den has an owner after all..."

[OOC:  Marius uses Mega-Tag! --OK, im2, you tell *me* what we're facing!] <bg>

  = = =
Marius the Wanderer.

Katara listened intently to what Shanti was saying. When Shanti finished Katara
said softly, "I see a surviver too. Look at yourself, your homeless without a
trigus yet, you find a reason to get up every morning and smile. You havn't
throne your life away. That alone makes you a survivor."

--- In Realm_light@yahoogroups.com, "legionsix" <marius_peregrine@...> wrote:
>
> [repost, minus the grief therapy!]
>
> > "Our family was careful not to eat meat because we didn't believe in eating
other Pokemon..."
>
> Shanti looked puzzled.  "Then you don't hunt...?  Hmm...that might be a
problem.  I do hunt.  Vigorously.  If we travel together, is that going to
bother you?"
>
> > "So now you know my lifetime. Sorry I bored you with that story." Katara
yawned and lapped more water.
>
> "No," the Absol mused, "no, you haven't bored me at all.  If anything, you've
given me a lot to think about.  This Mightyena: He kidnapped you, but you didn't
want Siran to kill him?  Was he good to you while he had you, perhaps?  But it's
Siran you miss.  After just a day...  A black Vulpix, huh?  He must have been
something; I'd have liked to see that.
>
> "But, curiosity aside...I'm not surprised, now, that you get suddenly, deeply
sad sometimes.  I felt pretty overwhelmed, too, when Mother sent me away.  We
were so close; I was her last cub, and she fought for my right to live even with
my handicap.  I stayed a long time after my brothers and sisters went their own
ways, partly because it took me so much longer to learn how to manage myself;
but also, I think, because Mother was fond of me.  She really liked my stories. 
As she grew old, I thought I would be the one to care for her when she couldn't
hunt for herself anymore.  But she sent me away; a thing I didn't understand at
the time, and don't understand now, and it *still* hurts.  I worry about her a
lot; maybe she just didn't want me to be around when she died.  And I can't go
home because I am *lost.*  Really lost!  In the mountains where I was raised,
you can see who's coming and where you're going.  In thick forest, I can't see
much farther than the next clump of trees.  It has taken me a long time to learn
how to live down here, and in that time I've wandered all over the place--I have
no idea where home is from here!  And even if I found my way back, if Mother
wasn't there I'd probably be killed.  I guess that means I'm looking for a home
of my own now...
>
> "...Aww, listen to me babble.  What I *meant* to say was...you've had a lot
happen to you in such a very short time.  This might or might not be a good time
to leave home; it's hard, when you're hurting, to make a big decision.  We can
stay here while you think about it, if you like; I'm in no rush...  And I
believe in you.  Most Pokémon can survive a lot more than anyone would guess by
looking at them.  You're at least as strong as they are, I feel it.  I might not
know to come in out of the rain, but I think I know a survivor when I see
one...""
>
>  = = =
> Marius.
>

[repost, minus the grief therapy!]

> "Our family was careful not to eat meat because we didn't believe in eating
other Pokemon..."

Shanti looked puzzled.  "Then you don't hunt...?  Hmm...that might be a problem.
I do hunt.  Vigorously.  If we travel together, is that going to bother you?"

> "So now you know my lifetime. Sorry I bored you with that story." Katara
yawned and lapped more water.

"No," the Absol mused, "no, you haven't bored me at all.  If anything, you've
given me a lot to think about.  This Mightyena: He kidnapped you, but you didn't
want Siran to kill him?  Was he good to you while he had you, perhaps?  But it's
Siran you miss.  After just a day...  A black Vulpix, huh?  He must have been
something; I'd have liked to see that.

"But, curiosity aside...I'm not surprised, now, that you get suddenly, deeply
sad sometimes.  I felt pretty overwhelmed, too, when Mother sent me away.  We
were so close; I was her last cub, and she fought for my right to live even with
my handicap.  I stayed a long time after my brothers and sisters went their own
ways, partly because it took me so much longer to learn how to manage myself;
but also, I think, because Mother was fond of me.  She really liked my stories. 
As she grew old, I thought I would be the one to care for her when she couldn't
hunt for herself anymore.  But she sent me away; a thing I didn't understand at
the time, and don't understand now, and it *still* hurts.  I worry about her a
lot; maybe she just didn't want me to be around when she died.  And I can't go
home because I am *lost.*  Really lost!  In the mountains where I was raised,
you can see who's coming and where you're going.  In thick forest, I can't see
much farther than the next clump of trees.  It has taken me a long time to learn
how to live down here, and in that time I've wandered all over the place--I have
no idea where home is from here!  And even if I found my way back, if Mother
wasn't there I'd probably be killed.  I guess that means I'm looking for a home
of my own now...

"...Aww, listen to me babble.  What I *meant* to say was...you've had a lot
happen to you in such a very short time.  This might or might not be a good time
to leave home; it's hard, when you're hurting, to make a big decision.  We can
stay here while you think about it, if you like; I'm in no rush...  And I
believe in you.  Most Pokémon can survive a lot more than anyone would guess by
looking at them.  You're at least as strong as they are, I feel it.  I might not
know to come in out of the rain, but I think I know a survivor when I see
one...""

  = = =
Marius.