[Mari]

"

Pokemon Cove, as it's called, is one of the more difficult regions of the life sphere to reach. There are two reasons for this: it's proximity to the essence extraction point, and the mountain range cutting it off from most ground travel.

"

The crunch of loose dirt and rock under treads was heard as Ciel's personal chaser carried the two girls across Li. She didn't have the funds to spare to buy or build a second one, which meant they'd had to share a ride. Thankfully, the bulky snowmobile esque vehicle was plenty big enough to comfortably accommodate two people. The helmet Ringo had been provided was, naturally, the same shade of pink that made up the chaser's coloring which was, in turn, the same shade of pink that made up Ciel's outfit. She certainly seemed to love that color for one reason or another. The chaser's treads were quite stable, minimizing the risk of Ringo falling off. However, they were still moving quite quickly on this even terrain. One could see approaching mountains in the distance. They still had a little ways to go before they reached the uneven terrain, however.

"

Speaking of which, we should be able to traverse most of the hills on this, but make sure to hold on tight. Alright~?

"

[Rina]

Ringo held on firmly as she was being transported via the carrier. Even if the ride was pretty smooth, momentum is likely going to fling her off, and they're going to be approaching mountainous terrain. It's quite the dangerous trek, but she'll do her best to catch this Porygon.

"Understood. The mountain range does seem quite intense, effectively closing off most travel on foot. I'll keep a firm grip."

[Mari]

Ciel stayed at a steady and ... somewhat modest speed, all things considered, but the reason for her caution became very clear as the two girls went over miniature hill and dropped three feet with a thud. Thankfully, their seats were thickly padded and the bike had surprisingly good shock absorbers so their discomfort was mostly limited to disorientation and moderate jolting. Ciel slowed down a bit after landing, mostly because she wanted to take a moment to make sure Ringo wasn't panicking or anything. She knew she couldn't go any faster without both hands, lest she hit a rock and the handlebars get jerked. Ciel would place one of her hands on Ringo's and look over her shoulder.

"

I'll try to avoid those as much as I can. Just let me know if you need me to stop or slow down, alright?

"

Ciel offered Ringo a bright smile. She seemed rather protective of Ringo. Perhaps that was in her nature? Ciel would quickly turn her head back to where they were going, only able to feel safe averting her eyes for so long for obvious reasons. She could memorize a dozen feet in front of her pretty well, but any further than that...

(Ringo. The bumpy ride will continue for some time. If you decide to take Ciel up on her offer, state so in your next post as we will be skipping to arrival after that.)

[Rina]

With a bump from the terrain, Ringo felt herself bound off the seat briefly. It does shake her up a bit, but she's alright. The seat nicely cushioned her too, so it was no big deal. With Ciel turning to her for reassurance, she responded her kindly.

"I'll be quite alright. Thank you for the concern."

To be honest, Ringo's had even rougher rides. She once rode a cosmic roller coaster that derailed up into the starry sky and almost crashed down to the ground. It sounds ridiculous, but considering Ecolo was the one operating it, it's best to take her word for it. Looks like the duo's getting close to the cove too.

[Mari]

Ciel would probably have had many questions... if she could read Ringo's mind, anyway. She simply nodded in acknowledgement at Ringo's concern. Well if she was alright, she could certainly handle the speed. They'd get there in no time..!

...

And not long later, after a bumpy ride, Ciel would pull over near the edge of a sheer cliff face hanging over the pokemon cove. She would lock the ride chaser up and glance back to Ringo. "Alright! We're here. I'm going to leave the rider chaser here, because it will be safer than if we bring it with us. There's a rope ladder in the back compartment..." Ciel would exaplin, waiting for Ringo to let go of her before dismounting the vehicle and moving to open the small compartment in the back. The rope ladder inside was very simple, being nothing more than a thick, very long rope with a bunch of large knots tied in it for easy climbing. It appeared to be attached to the rider chaser itself at one end. Ciel would bring the rope over to the edge before tossing it off, only to realize an unforeseen dilemna involving two people in skirts descending a ladder... She didn't think either of them would act like creeps, but there was still a psychological aspect to be considered. It was a simple concern with a simple solution.

"

Would you rather go first? Once we're down at the bottom we can begin our search. Porygon looks a lot like a simple low polygon computer graphic composed of solid blue and pink colors, so it shouldn't be very difficult to identify when we see it. The monsters here usually travel in groups, so if you see one others are probably nearby.

"

[Rina]

Taking off the helmet and dismounting, Ringo proceeded to grab hold of the rope. While the rider chaser would be liable to theft in some fashion, it would be rather cumbersome to traverse a cove on it. And don't worry, Ciel; Ringo wears shorts under her skirt to prevent and unwanted peek-a-boos.

"Blue and pink, and shaped like something out of an old computer graphic. Certainly something that stands out, but I assume it's rather elusive either way. I'll gladly take a look first, too."

With Ringo taking the initiative, she began her careful descent down the cove. Ringo was unsure that the rope would hold on the vehicle, but to her surprise, it did.

[Mari]

Thankfully, the vehicle was of course far heavier than both girls combined and would provide a stable anchor for their descent. One would think it would use some space age polymer to reduce its weight or something science fictiony like that, but the unfortunate reality was that it needed that weight to give it the excellent traction and balance it needed for safely traversing the mountains like that. That thought aside, Ciel actually did not wear anything special to protect her modesty under her skirt should Ringo look up as they descended. She did, however, constantly wear what appeared to be a dark purple bodysuit. It didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination, but if it's good enough for Samus Aran... right? One had to wonder why she wore it at all times though. What function did it serve..?

It wouldn't take long for them to reach the floor, as it was only perhaps a 30 foot cliff face. Stepping off the end of the rope ladder, Ciel moved to take a few steps onto the shore of the cover. It was a mixture of half-dead forest and beach as you got closer to the actual water of the cove.

"

Alright... From here, we're on our own. I guess we should pick a direction and begin searching. We shouldn't split up, since although this part of Li is actually fairly safe from the starvia the monsters here could become hostile.

"

[Rina]

A little bit more, and Ringo managed to get her footing on the ground. Ringo looked up once Ciel followed suit, noting their 30 ft. descent from where they started. As this is unseen territory to her, Ringo would still be sticking by Ciel's side nonetheless. Where to start though?

"Hmm...As I have no knowledge of this, I propose we start with...this direction?"

Ringo pointed in one direction, although in fairness, she somewhat picked randomly. Where would this pokemon even wander around?

[Mari]

"Alright!" Ciel would casually reply, jogging a little to catch up with Ringo and joining her side. After they got started moving through the wilderness, Ciel would chime in to explain the area a bit more to her companion. "Apparently the monsters here are somewhat sapient. For some reason they've chosen to live here, instead of in the life sphere. It raises the question of how long the cove's natural defenses will protect it from the starvia." Ciel explained. "I'm not sure how effective communicating with them would be, given their physiology, but I'm told that they have an unusual grasp of our language. It might be worth the attempt." Ciel went on to muse aloud.

((Ringo! Roll wisdom to pick up on the sensation of being watched. The threshold is 12+))

[Rina]

"Fascinating. I wonder how long has this cove been standing to provide shelter from this plague? It's quite the wonder if it managed to withstand it for such a prolonged period."

Ringo nodded, digesting the biodata of the area they're exploring. The fact they can mildly understand human speech is quite the interesting point too. Maybe it's the inotation used is what they understand? Ringo continued to digest the information given to her...

Cs6RBLU|p_1d20+3 (Suspicions confirmed!)

"...Hold on. I have the feeling we're being watched."

Ringo stopped in place, realizing that they're not alone. Who goes there and what do they want with the duo?1d20+3

[Mari]

"

It's been at keast five years since the onset of the starvia, which would have marked the time at which Li became uninhabitable. That is, of course, assuminng that Li as we know it even existed prior to the war. Reports of spacial and chronological displacement around this time were very common, and continue to this day. It does raise some questions...

"

Ciel began to ponder the seemingly impossible and contradictory 'safety' afforded by the cove. It simply wasn't possible for such a big area to simply be protected from the starvia short of some large forcefield like the life sphere had, but ... the pokemon here weren't infected, right? So they had to be managing, somehow... Ringo's assertion that they were being watched alarmed the scientist however. She attempted to follow Ringo's gaze, but as they couldn't actually see what was watching them found this unfortunately unhelpful. Stopping to look around, she scanned the forest...

YSzsrmVyp_1d20+4 (Ciel's Stalker Spotting)

...Ciel gestured for Ringo's attention before pointing at something off in the distance. Following her lead, Ringo would see what she saw. There was a series of cacti among the trees. They appeared innocent enough, but ... well... What were cacti doing in the cove? They might as well be in the middle of a highway, for how inconspicuous they were. "...I don't remember those being there." Ciel whispered to Ringo.1d20+4

[Rina]

Ringo took notice of what Ciel caught and turned to where she's looking. They're...cacti? That's rather normal...if it were a desert. What's cacti doing here? Wouldn't they be unsuited to a biome like this? Ringo mused about why they're here, putting a hand to her chin. The longer the considered it, the more suspicious she grew about them.

"I don't either. This isn't a desert region, so they shouldn't even grow here. Unless..."

...unless they're not ordinary cacti. They could be a Pokemon masquerading as said plant, or actually be cactus-shaped. Whichever it is, they're most definitely not just plants. She's encountered sentient onions that whack things with spiked clubs, so the idea of sentient plant life isn't unfamiliar to her. How do these "cacti" behave though? Approaching blindly would be a bad idea.

[Mari]

The cacti ... are not doing anything interesting. Just being out of place cacti. Ciel watched them for a long moment in thought, just sort of debating what to make of them, before offering to share her thoughts with Ringo.

"

...Very strange. Their positioning seems to suggest that they've been planted there artificially. Could this be the doing of one of those monsters that lives here? I've heard some of them are very in tune with nature...

"

Following this, the scientist promptly turned to ignore the cacti. It really didn't seem like they were relevant to the mission, nor were they a threat by the looks of it. And really--as much as she wanted to do some research--they were cacti. ...Right? She began meandering off, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't leaving Ringo behind. You know, on the off chance she wanted to take a break.

[Rina]

"Artificially by another person, or by the cacti themselves?"

There's a thought provoking question. If they were sentient, then they could have planted themselves there to the unsuspecting passer-by. Ciel nor Ringo fit under that circle, and perhaps their wariness is preventing them from taking action. With that said, Ringo followed Ciel down further, still feeling wary about the cacti. If they turned their backs to those, then they could attack when their guard is down. For now, let's just leave them be, unprovoked.

[Mari]

"

If they planted themselves you'd expect their distribution to be a little less methodical. While I was reading the books you and Seriri helped me collect I read about hills with eyes and trees that guard the forests here on Li. It seemed like rather colorful language, but maybe it was more literal...

"

As the group proceeded, movement would catch their eyes. Something was inching through the brush! Ciel stopped, but decided not to draw the blaster secured firmly to her hip. She had to remind herself that this was not, strictly speaking, hostile territory. They wouldn't have to wait long before the moving figure revealed itself. It was rushing right for them! The goat pokemon would skit to a stop a good couple of dozen feet away, kicking up a little cloud of dirt and turning partially around as if preparing to flee the moment it saw them. However, it did not flee.

A wild gogoat is watching you carefully.