CC - Sunken Ships on a Grass Sea

The coastline was peaceful- far from the dramas and chaos of the human's claimed lands, the harshest foe the overgrown forest's inhabitants faced was no more than the savage storms that ravaged the area from the sea, and the irradiated Pokemon that wandered in from further inland. The deadly weather itself was enough of a deterrent for most- for the more daring adventurers who set sights on the stretch, it was the stories of the siren that kept them at bay- a monsterous creature with a voice of silk to lead the unwary astray, straight to their deaths.

The shrill chirp of warning that morning was unusual- where the trees thinned and died, too young to withstand winds, giving reign of the land to tall golden grasses that swayed in the breeze, lit bright red in the harsh light of the setting sun, smoke billowing into the rare clear sky.

Wildfires never broke out spontaneously- and lightening struck only during storms, when the rain put it to rest before it truly even began. The implications of it let a knot in Hypatia's stomach, despite her duty as protector to investigate- enough so that she buried her face into Ama's short mane as the Keldeo bound through the forest, moving with the speed and grace a lesser Pokemon might have on an open field, pausing her gallop only once the trio met the edge of the trees- Tia, Ama, and Jet, who hovered alongside, bi-colored eyes scanning for any new surprises.

A crowd had already arrived- Lelei perched atop a half-burned wagon, a great hulking thing that might as well have been a house on wheels, scanning the surroundings as Maru and Solo doused the fires that had been set. At the sight of the young woman and the Pokemon that arrived with her, Lelei let out an excited chirp, flitting over to nuzzle into the girl's shoulder as Tia giggled, stroking the little mixbreed's feathers.

The other two, however, were less enthusiastic, Solo continuing his work on the last of the flames as Ama approached cautiously, ears perked for the sound of renewed attack as Jetstream disappeared into the sea of grass- though the landscape had re-settled into peace and silence, there were many places for those with ill intent to hide- just as many as there were for Tia and her own.

Only once Ama approached the destroyed wagons- and it was apparent, both by smell and the uneventful search, that all of the attackers were either gone, or dead, the mettalic stench of blood and worse mingling with the smoke of the ruined meadow- was the true scope of the tragedy revealed.

There were corpses, yes. Swallowing fear- she had been in isolation for so long now, even when dead, simply the sight of another human creature was more than enough to set the young woman on edge. She clung to her Keldeo for reassurance and support as she lighted on the ground, charred earth still warm against her bare soles as she leaned into Ama's soft fur.

Two men- and a few Pokemon, unfortunately- the sight tugged at her heartstrings, "We'll bring others out to move the bodies," Tia replied as Ama huffed at her dark hair, concerned as her mistress' silent stillness dragged on in the wake of what had transpired on the very edges of her isolated land. "Let's see if there's anything salvagable before we return."

Deep breath- Hypatia did not allow herself the luxury of glancing back at Amathia, or reaching for Lelei as the young avian took flight again, hissing at the duty before them- if she clung again, she knew she would not have the willpower to let go until they returned to the ship, and that would not do. Not in the face of such a simplistic task, no matter how anxious it made her.

The blackened and burnt grazz crunched under her feet, footfalls in the soft ashen mud the only sound in the world aside from Lelei's eager chirps as she approached the first wagon, until her ears, grown sensitive from her solitude, caught the faintest rasp.

The sudden sound, gargled and shallow as it was left Tia clutching the broken form of the wagon, splintered wood the closest thing for her to grab in her sudden panic, even as Amathia nuzzled her nose into the woman's back- comfort for the wholly unneccesarily extreme reaction.

To her credit, it was not bad as it could have been- clinging to a half-burnt wagon, calming the frenzied heartbeat at the sudden realization that no, in fact at least one of these men were not, in fact, dead. Her first reaction was flight, even with Ama's soft nose snuffling her hair in a manner meant to be comforting- running far and fast as possible. Truly, it was only the simple fact that Ama stood in her way that kept her from bolting in those few first blind moments of panic.

"I'm fine," She choked out, rewarded with a huff of disbelief before her Pokemon was nosing her to the half-dead creature. A man. A young man who looked very much like he had been put through a wood chipper, or met the foul end of a Sharpedo, like something she wanted to stay fifty feet away from.... The other part of her, however, the part that grew melancoly during dark nights and quiet moments....

That part was stupid. It tugged at her heartstrings with the knowledge that it was still alive, no matter how dreaded other human beings were. Very, very stupid, and very, very loud. She stood in debate for what felt like an enternity in that moment, before Lelei startled her, a soft chirp in her ear, and Tia jumped to find the young Pokemon perched atop Ama's head, eyes just as wide and innocent as Amathia's face was stern and expectant.

..... She sighed in her defeat. She'd be no better than the people she broke with, if she left the man here to die, refused her gods-given gifts, when.... Well, it certainly would be a long shot, but might just save his life. Ama knew- the hard look she gave her trainer was hard with expectation. "I know," the woman sighed, reaching out to softly stroke the equine's velvet nose, "I know. We won't leave him," As much as she wanted to leave- to abandon the spot, and let her Pokemon take care of what she selfishly left behind, she simply couldn't.

Despite everything, she knew she would not forgive herself that, standing by and allowing death without so much as easing the way.

Stepping tenatively forward, it was immediately apparent that this was going to be some undertaking. Hypatia had always been a small woman, petite by every sense of the word, and this man- even with chunks taken out- was very much the opposite. "Jet?" She called out, after a moment of staring at the half-dead man at a loss- Ama was large enough to make a proper mount for her, but hardly anyone else, and she was largest of those present by far.

The Charmander mix waddled from the grass, hissing already at the view- one of the few psychic typed Pokemon, though he had little care for spoken language, he was still very much in tune with his trainer's mind, including the nightmares.

There were not many Pokemon living in the cove less keen on strangers.

"You're the only one who can carry him, Jet," Tia said warily, tearing her eyes from the broken man to look at her little friend- who pinned her with a look no happier than Ama's, though for different reasons, "Please."

Words weren't necessarily needed- but it was nice to hear yourself talk sometimes. Poke-speech was understandable to all but her, and without the understanding of the language of her companions, it grew a myraid of strange and confusing emotions that she had no care for.

At the sudden, gentle sensation of foreign emotion- Jet's comfort, relayed directly to her as the not-quite-corpse rose in the air- Tia let out a sigh of breath she hadn't realized she was holding, leaning into Ama's soft pink form as she watched Jetstream maneuver the man gently as he could.

It was for the best- psychic could move the man far easier than Ama would have, and far gentler as well, but the seed of doubt that remained worried her. If she could save the man- which she believed she could- the cove would no longer be a secret. They would no longer be isolated, rather, they'd be throwing arms open wide, welcoming more to come probing. The thought utterly terrified her, even with the knowledge there was no other path she could possibly take.

"Come, Ama. Let's go home." The soft sigh hung in the air as she squng back onto the equines back, Ama prancing after Jet more triumphantly than she ought. For better or for worse, a choice was made...