Mud is gross and so is humidity and so is your face if you disagree

[sharkberrypizza]

"What? What do you mean ew?"

Louis jaunted over as he took note of Rat's attitude; though the mere mention of anything that could be a potential lead grabbed at his attention, both of the pokémons' behaviours were worth considering. It wasn't really like either to act out at the other trainer - a bit playful sometimes sure, but angry? About a plant?

Definitely noted, and would make sense of it was a ...

"Tangela vines are great for pokémon," he mused, mulling over the vine he was handed. "they have great health benefits, but they're really delicious too. I've used them a few times ..."

He glanced up.

"This one's a bit different though, yeah. It's not quite like any I've seen before! I don't know what it means exactly, but it definitely seems like a tangela vine. The smell's kind of unique, right? Not something you really forget ... but I don't know why they'd be going that crazy for it. We should definitely take it to my parents. Maybe they can figure out more about it?"

He doubted it was poisonous or anything with their reactions, but as he stuffed the vine into the bag he'd brought along the trainer couldn't help feel a little guilty. The two pokémon that were sniffing around seemed entirely dejected at the obvious denial.

So much so that Louis relented, in fact. A soft sigh escaped the man as he fished out a small knife and sliced off a couple of small chunks, then handed a piece each to the utterly ravenous little creatures.

"Well, it must be delicious." he remarked casually as he then dutifully stuffed the discarded matter away. "That's something to go on, right?"

 

[astralprogenitor]

"Ugh. Well it looks gross, like some kinda, I dunno, weird fat noodle someone dropped on the ground. Guess you two like it though... if you get sick, it's his fault, not mine."

Daryn's words came with a crinkled nose and a shake of the head, but neither of the small pokémon were listening; in fact, each were rapidly chewing through the not-quite-fleshy chunks and quite happily ignoring him. He trusted his partner enough not to complain about feeding the creatures odd things from the forest floor, but it didn't stop him from finding the texture of it distasteful, even if he did have to admit the smell was okay. It just...

It was so -- springy. Eugh.

"If it reminds you of a tangela though, maybe it's something like one? Or, you know, maybe it is one," he mused, tilting his eyes up towards the trees, then down to the thick understory as he pursed his lips in thought. "Do tangela usually lose their vines like that? Y'know, do they fall off or something? Although with the way these two were--"

The younger trainer trailed off then, his eyes snapping down to the ground as Rat began to chatter, clacking his teeth together and growling at the underbrush. The little rattata's fur bristled up along his back, and Daryn followed his gaze towards a shadowed hollow under a nearby tree root.

"Rat, what'cha got th-- AAH!"

Daryn's question was cut off by an absolute howl as whatever had gotten his rattata's attention chose to launch itself directly at him. While he'd certainly been around ... many pokémon, he'd never had the pleasure of multiple spiny legs attempting to claw over his face, and as such he was sent reeling backwards, stumbling and falling flat on his rear as he instinctively tried to rip the thing off.

From an outside perspective, the thing - one of those weird scatterbugs, though he couldn't tell from where he was - wasn't even trying to assault him, clearly just trying to use him as a springboard to escape the rattata, but his pulling only made it grab onto him, digging its little claws directly into his cheeks and scalp as it did its best to cling on.

 

[sharkberrypizza]

Don't panic! Don't panic don't --

Base survival instincts flooded Louis' brain as the calm suddenly burst into a flurry of activity. It left the experienced trainer moving on instinct alone, methodical but shaky hands shoved into and rummaging through his bag by the time Daryn hit the ground. In a less trained state he'd be stunned, even cry out, making the wild thing react worse - but how many times had a wild pokémon nearly cost his life in the untamed areas?

How many times had he been drilled to survive in dangerous situations from his folks?

"Don't move." he uttered while slowly pulling his target, a research ball, from its place below the first aid sprays and assorted necessities. He tried his best for his voice to remain level despite the screaming and the chaos of his partner's pokémon, but chided himself all the same for the nervous quivering undertone.

Right, don't move with a big bug on your face ... idiot.

Even with the - was that a scatterbug? - whatever it was and his boyfriend flailing it wasn't doing much running away, giving the trainer a true and clear shot. He knocked the thing on the back of its head, he assumed, and the bit of technology quick about its business to follow with a series of clicks and soft whirrs.

To which Louis moved quickly, scooping up the ball as it still wriggled and rolling it gently aside; even if it didn't stay in there, it wouldn't be popping back out on top of an injured person!

"Are you okay!?" he barked as he snapped around and slid down next to the other trainer, finally allowing the concern to leak through as his head whipped from Daryn's face to his bag and back several times.

Where was that spray?

"Did it bite? Does it bite? Poison? Rat no I'm trying to help!"

 

[astralprogenitor]

"AUGH."

Daryn's answer to the whole affair was clear, concise, and uh... well, rather poignant on his feelings for the whole affair. His hands clamped at the scrapes at either side of his face, now painfully oozing a thankfully small amount of blood, and he grit his teeth at the sharp stinging. It wasn't like he'd never experienced an injury in the years he'd spent around pokémon, but his face was a different matter.

It didn't help that Rat was ... trying his best to help - and that meant bristling and biting at Louis's arms. The little rattata was at least a calm enough sort not to actually rip into the other man's arms, instead clamping on and simply holding tight, but that was more than enough to cause hindrance. Ran, on the other hand, simply stood with ears erect and spines bristling, spooked to the core.

"I hate this stupid fucking island!"

The scraped trainer dropped his hands, teeth bared in a frustrated snarl until he noticed the actions of his pokémon. Another frustrated outcry later and he grabbed at the valiant little beast, trying to pry him loose from his partner's arm.

"Rat, let go. Let go!"

--

A good amount of swearing, complaining, and grumbling while having his face nursed saw Daryn sitting cross legged on a dry patch of land, slumped dejectedly as he raised tired eyes to his companion's face. Both of his pokémon had been sent to their balls, and he'd even taken his hair down to give it a brush ... and to get some of the twigs and mud now caught in the strands loose.

"Hey," he murmured, pausing to blow a stray lock out of his eyes, "we're far enough out here to set up a camp for the night, right?"