River Bank Chase (Complete)

[Vanitas]

Van too knew that the female Emolga was trying to play mind games with him, which is why he calmed down in the first place. He needed a sharp mind and calm body to fight against such tricks, or else he would simply fall victim to them. He could not be certain if she had actually planned any traps for him, or if she just wanted him to believe she had to keep him in place. That was the power of mind games, it came from uncertainty.

The Sneasel was confident in the fact that the Emolga thief was hiding in the treetops, or else she would have made more noises, but where exactly he could not tell. He had a rough estimate, which was an about 300 feet wide circle around him, but that was way too much of an rough estimate to actually achieve anything. That little coward, if only she had the bravado to fight. As stated before, he would not even use his Ice Punch for his advantage. In a fight against non-feral pokemon, he had a sense of honor she likely did not have. But he was above her, so that was alright.

Still, he realized both of them had a do or die attitude towards their conflict, which was of course understandable. He fought for justice, she fought for herself. It only made sense they were taking this situation incredibly serious. 

Suddenly, there were many weak thunder bolts traversing through the air, putting Van off guard for a second. But he quickly spotted the place of origin, making him feel certain that this was where Emolga was. But... why? Why was she doing this? Was she toying with him, or was it her intention to get him out of cover? Gosh, the possibilities seemed endless; stupid mind games. He heard a faint rustling, indicating brief movement. No, he could not stay.

Rushihg out of cover, he sprinted towards the tree whence the thunderbolts came and pressed himself against it just like he did with the former tree. But this time, he did not feel safe about it, so he splayed his talons wide. Okay, to be fair, hew as also pretty annoyed and irate because of these taunts, hence his desire to slash something (or someone) was becoming dominant. And if this was supposed to be an ambush, at least he was ready. Still, he listened in to any noise. The Emolga had to be here somewhere, but... where? 

[Domino]

// Riverbank Chase//

One banana two banana three banana four.

Vanitas

After a few moments of a lack of a response, the Emolga had kept her stance stiff. However, as time grew, she allowed her muscles to relax as she soon realized her tactic didn’t work the way she had wanted it to. Straightening herself up, Domino allowed herself to lose the Iron Tail, puffing her cheeks in frustration, and giving out the quietest of groans. The Emolga’s eyes became half lidded as the same boredom she had earlier that day returned. Quietly sitting on the branch she was currently on, she slowly opened up the pouch again as she casually popped yet another poffin into her mouth.

Shaking digging her paw around the pouch, there were about three treats left. There was a real possibility, she felt, that he had given up, but something in her wasn’t about to let Domino think that seriously. The Emolga could sense that, somehow, he was still there, waiting for her to make a mistake. Well, she wouldn’t satisfy him with a mistake, not an iota. However, he was being wise by not underestimating her. Domino was definitely impressed, which was something that wasn’t easy for anyone to do.

Perhaps if she played it casual, like she didn’t think he was after her anymore, the Sneasel wouldn’t be so invisible to her. Then she would have the satisfaction of meeting his face with her tail. It made her giddy just thinking about it, and she probably wanted it a lot more than she had the opportunity of getting it. Domino poured another treat onto her paw, narrowing it down to two treats, purposely allowing the clinging of money to sound around the trees. She was relaxed, but she wasn’t about to let her guard down.

♥ Chou

[Vanitas]

There were more moments of silence as nothing, unlike the Sneasel had expected, had happened. Either he had gone directly into a trap, or of course Emolga's plan had failed due to him not doing what she wanted him to do. For his own pride's sake, he liked to believe the latter. Suddenly, his ears twitched, making Van narrow his ears. Had this been a quiet groan... or just the rustling of leaves. But even if it had been the noise he believed it was, it had been so quiet that he could not determine whence it came. 

But then, more and more noises started to give him direction, and the thought that this Emolga was rather impudent. It was chewing, certainly on the treats she had stolen, while likely even making sure that the stolen money was clinging. It took him a few seconds, but it allowed him to determine where exactly the Emolga was. Nodding and splaying his claws as far as possible, he suddenly came out of cover and Quick Attack'd him towards the tree he was confident she was sitting on.

And without much care, he used his Scratch move to slice and dice himself through the trunks of the tree, so it would fall down with the Emolga in its coat-tails.

[Domino]

// Riverbank Chase//

I will only be satisfied by the blood of my enemies!

Vanitas

Domino’s ears twitched as the Sneasel was on the move again, this next approach getting the results she wanted. However, it wasn’t quite the way she had planned. The Sneasel’s Quick Attack certainly did the job in grabbing her attention, so she was up on all fours again. The only problem was she still couldn’t see where the Dark-Type Pokemon was. Not so much as a shadow caught her eye as she thought it would. Odd…

Then she heard a furious slashing noise, and the tree she was on began trembling and tipping over. ”Wa-Oh!” Spreading out her gliding membranes, Domino was just barely able to glide herself off of the tree without getting smashed like a pancake. The little squirrel could feel beads of sweat fall down her face as her eyes seemed to shrink and glaze over. Was he really going to do that? Was he really going to smash her all over a few berries and money? This guy was a lunatic!

But then again, if it surprised anyone, it certainly shouldn’t have surprised her. Now, however, Domino’s carefree demeanor was clouded by something bitter. This was an all too clear reminder for her how other Pokemon truly were. Glancing at the Sneasel in a bitter glare, Domino aimed a rather angry ThunderShock at him in a full outrage. She would make him pay, and she didn’t care how.

♥ Chou

[Vanitas]

As the tree collapsed due to the Sneasel slashing at it, he could clearly see the silhouette of the Emolga glide away from it, especially after hearing her scream briefly. There was a loud apposition of sounds as the tree smashed into the ground. And all of this chaos had definetly fueled painc in her, since he could see the sweat dropping off her reflecting in the scarce sunlight. Good, it seemed she finally understood with whom she was dealing with. Justice, either through law, or his talons. He had always given her the option to surrender, but since she did not, she had left him with no other choice.

Continuing to give chase, he followed the gliding thief through the thicket, her flight likely as impaired as his running. After a few moments, he beheld how she turned her head towards him, starring at him with a bitter glare, which he returned. She was furious, likely from her desperation, making her waste energy in an attempt to attack him. Unlike before, there seemed to be real effort put into this, making Van's eyes widen as the bolt of lighting dashed towards him. 

Being forced to make a 90° jump, he deviated from direct pursuit. Less than a second later, the bolt of energy impacted where he was before, creating a small bang of electricity. She was taking this serious now, which was good. Perhabs she would eventually accept a fight, or admit defeat. Still, Van was forced to run in a wide arc to get back on tracks, losing critical meters that might eventually make a difference.

Once more, he felt his lungs starting to burn as the beating of his heart started to drown every other noise out. Gosh... this silly forest, and this silly chase, had to end eventually... right?

[Domino]

// Riverbank Chase//

Just around the RIVER-BEND!

Vanitas

The ThunderShock missed. Perfect! Just what she needed! This Sneasel was really starting to press her patience, and there was only so much more of this that she could take before she would fly off the handle and just start violently throwing moves at this little weasel. She kept her eyes in contact with him, making him see just how serious she was in taking him down to the ground. Logic told her that a close combative approach was a horrible idea, but she hardly had enough resilience to think as logically as she had, ironically, when she treated this as a game.

Domino was panicking. This weasel was willing to crush her under a tree, what else could he do if he got his claws on her? Her best chance was to keep this chase up, but oh did she want to put him in his place. Domino wanted to teach him a lesson in messing with her this way. In all her emotions, she sent three more ThunderShocks in secession not expecting any of them to meet their mark. After all, she was almost completely blinded by rage at this point. Perhaps it would distract him, but at this point she couldn’t give a crap about it.

Electricity danced all around her as her eyes burned with a mixture of anger and passion, a dangerous combination. Whether it was dangerous for Sneasel or for herself depended on her next action. Suddenly Domino made a 180 degree turn, and aimed a furious Quick Attack at her foe, and charged up an Iron Tail. Unfortunately, in her rage, she underestimated the heaviness of her own tail, and sent her spinning. She heard a shrill noise and felt as though it came from herself, but it was hard to tell if it really was from all of the spinning.

Domino was spinning faster and faster until she felt herself become engulfed in water. The Emolga kept her mouth shut despite the confusion from being dizzy. Once her vision refocused, Domino realized she had sunk to the bottom of the lake. Just as she thought, the river flowed faster than it looked, but not by much. The Emolga’s tail was touching the very bottom. The sheen disappeared, but that didn’t change a thing. She moved her limbs upward in an attempt to get herself to the surface, but she didn’t budge. Her tail was stuck between rocks, and so was she.

♥ Chou

[Vanitas]

The sensation of 'pressing your patience' was a mutual feeling. And to be fair, her trying to violently fight him would be preferrable over this paper chase. The continued to gaze at each, like 2 fierce warriors that did not admit the adversary's victory. But they both also wanted this to end sooner than later, creating a weird storm of paradoxical emotions in both of them. That and that the exhaustion ate away at both of them. 

Additionally, behind her facade, he could see more of her panic finally surfacing. It seemed she had not calculated the risks when she started this 'game', and now, she was likely regretting ever having started it. She should have known that some pokemons would not see it as just another game. And finally, her panic also showed itself in her actions, conjuring 3 poorly aimed ThunderShocks. 2 of them missed him by a mile, while one of them managed to hit just an inch before him, causing him to stumble briefly before regaining control over his movement again. A lucky one...

As the chase continued, unfortunately so, he beheld how electricity started sparking around her, like rage was consuming her entirely. Did this mean she would eventually attack him? This could be his fortune, though... a frenzied pokemon that had nothing to lose was a dangerous opponent. Van was surprised to see the Emolga suddenly make a 180° turn in an attempt to attack him.

It was a mixture of Quick Attack and Iron Tale. He tried to halt himself, but since he was running swiftly, he slid over the ground once again, holding his arms over his body as to protected himself from the upcoming impact. But instead of an attack, the Emolga lost balance and started spinning wildly. It was accompanied by an anxious scream. She was constantly changing directions, until she reached the other side of the forest, which also harbored one section of the lake. And she crashed right into it. 

With a steady pace, though breathing violently, he approached the shore of the river, expecting her to get to the surface eventually. But even after waiting for 15 seconds, there was no motion at all. Steadily but certainly, Van was starting to get worried. Was this another trick, or was the Emolga in real danger? "Darn it." He more or less coughed up to himself than actually spoke.

Forcing himself to take a painfully deep breath, he leapt into the water of a meters depth, opening his eyes again once the impact forced faded away. It took him a few more seconds to spot the Emolga, whose tail was stuck in rocks. She could not free herself and would likely drown soon if he would not help her. He wanted to sanction her, not witness her demise. 

Hastily, he swam over to her, his lungs burning like the tail-fire of his best friend. He halted next to her, looking her into the eyes with a serious gaze, before raising his talons and splaying them. A dark aura formed itself around them, while his eyes shimmered a dull purple. His look shifted to one of the two rocks, and with one mighty swing, even through the thick water, he crushed it enough to give her tail some space. The auras faded again.

Suddenly, he coughed up, bubbles of air beginning to flow out of his mouth while his vision started to blur. He needed to get out of here with the Emolga alive, even if she would immediately try to run away again. Neither a thief nor an explorer deserved such a dark fate. 

[Domino]

// Riverbank Chase//

Until we meet again, farewell.

Vanitas

Time went by so much more slowly under water than on land. Grabbing at her tail, Domino desperately tried to pull her tail out while trying to keep tabs on her rising nerves. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. There was so much more that she wanted to do with her life, she couldn’t die now! And yet she kept trying to push herself up, and was incapable of doing so. Iron Tail was looking more like a curse now that it had harmed her instead of someone else. Feeling her throat clench up, Domino placed both of her paws on her chest, visibly struggling to keep herself from opening her mouth.

It was either get out of this, or accept the inevitable, and Domino wasn’t ready for either of those options. The young Emolga waved her arms around as much as she could to no avail. Suddenly her eyes caught a gathering of bubbles, and in dived a Pokemon. Oh no, just what she needed! Someone must’ve noticed that she fell and decided to get her while she was vulnerable. Domino couldn’t see him, but she had a good feeling that it was that Sneasel that was chasing her earlier. This made her want to get out all the more! If he reached her, there was no telling what he would do.

Domino helplessly struggled underwater, allowing her cheeks to spark as she violently thrashed, until he managed to catch her gaze with a serious one of his own. He wasn’t… attacking her? But why not? This was the perfect opportunity, right? He had tried to crush her under a tree, and suddenly he used one of his Dark-Type attacks to get her out. He seemed to be struggling under the water but that couldn’t possibly compare to how she was suffering.

Blowing air bubbles out of her gapping mouth, the struggling squirrel scurried to the top of the waters the moment she was freed. Once she was out of the water, she was forced to keep her eyes shut from all of the water at first. Coughing up water, Domino felt for land, grabbed the edge and pulled herself up. The Emolga kept coughing out more and more water until she felt like she could breathe again.

Gathering herself, Domino stared at the ground for a few moments before slowly getting up on her feet. Her face showed a slight bit of softness, but other than that, her expression couldn’t be read. Looking at the Sneasel, she waited until she could get his gaze before showing him a hint of confusion. “Why-?” she paused before shaking the thought out of her head, ripping the pouch around her neck and chucking it at his face. Without another word the emotional Emolga ran and took off gliding.

Domino didn’t know how to feel. Her eyes glazed over once again, but it seemed more like she was about to cry than anything else. Most Pokemon would probably be grateful for what the Sneasel did. However, Domino was so confused she didn’t know what to think or feel except hate. The Sneasel’s actions only made her hate him all the more, strangely enough. No one was supposed to do that, not for Domino. That weasel better enjoy his victory, Domino thought. Because the next time we meet, you’re going to wish you let me drown. And she knew they’d meet again.

♥ Chou

[Vanitas]

It appeared that, after freeing her, the Emolga managed to swim up to the surface and get to the shore safely. He followed her immediately after, crawling next to her and turning his belly and head towards the sky. Just like her, he had his eyes closed, coughing up water while desperately gasping for air. Eventually, just like it was with the thief, all the water had left his system, allowing him to breath freely. His eyes were open again, weakly so though, making the Sneasel gaze at the Emolga.

He could not believe his eyes though, since he saw her slowly getting back up on her feet again. Van could barely budge his limbs, much less get up on his feet. But it appeared she had some decency in her after all, since she did not abuse the situation to attack him. She asked him why, making Van chuckle quietly. But before he could answer, she had already thrown the wet pouch at him. Then she ran off, and he did not follow. He neither could not wanted to anymore, since he accomplished what he intended. He had gotten the money back, and reached out to her. Perhabs... this would lead her to another path. He hoped so.

Too bad he could not save the sweets though. But he was certain the monkey pokemon would forgive him this small taint on his accomplishments. Eventually, he managed to get up on his feet again as well, strongly shaking himself to get the water out of his fur. And while returning to his client, Van thought about the Emolga. He did not hate her, just her thief-existence. They were likely to meet again, though he wondered how that encounter would end up. Would she come in peace, or seek retaliation?

He did not know, but hoped for the best. Besides, he was always for a fight. And of course another 'victory' over injustice.

[End Thread]