58th moon [video]

[paladinlost]

[Ladies and gentlemen, you are now getting visual proof that clothes spread between a big rock and a tree do not make a very good shelter. You are also getting proof that route 8's Meowth population is not picky, because they've apparently all found themselves there.]

...I am forced to admit that I'll not be able to travel any further. Considering I managed to withstand that blizzard a year and a half ago, this is rather frustrating.

[He does look frustrated. He also looks drenched, unkempt, tired and covered in cats. He points at a few of them.]

These all came looking for shelter, but they seem upset still. Could any cat-lover offer advice on how to calm them down?

[He'd rather not be accidentally clawed to death, if at all possible.]

Comments

[Video]

[machinamonkey]

Pets?

[Rikku's (finally) in a warm, dry place. She feels so bad for Cecil]

[Video]

[paladinlost]

Far from it. They accept my food, pillows and usefulness as a bed, but start hissing if I try to pet them.

[Video]

[machinamonkey]

String? Fish?

[Video]

[paladinlost]

...There might soon be enough water for fish to reach this road, if the rain keeps falling. It'd be worth a try.

[Video]

[machinamonkey]

If all else fails, shiny toys work, too.

[Video]

[paladinlost]

I could try improvising them. ...A few of them, at least. I think this road has more Meowths than all of our fellow trainers and breeders together.

[Video]

[machinamonkey]

Coin on a string? But that is a lot of cats...

video;

[skirtchases]

[Well then.]

Cecil! Are you okay?

[That doesn't look good.]

video;

[paladinlost]

I'm wet and tired, but not breathing garbage anymore. I believe that averages out at neutral.

video;

[skirtchases]

Maybe. But that still isn't good. Is there anything I can do to help?

[Even though he wasn't...exactly there.]

video;

[paladinlost]

To help me? Not at the moment, I fear. But there might be others who were surprised by the weather near Goldenrod. Try to keep an eye out for the children.

video;

[skirtchases]

Definitely doing that. I'm keeping an eye out for everyone...but you don't need to get into any trouble, either.

...Or more than you're in right now, anyway.

video;

[paladinlost]

As long as I do not try to travel further, I should be fine. This is far from the first storm I've seen here.

[legendarybeasts]

[There is little warning; merely, in the moment before, there was nothing, and in the moment following the rain had stopped, letting a shaft of sunlight rain down.

Entei peers down at Cecil, expression somber, his massive bulk and Sunny Day protecting the paladin. A kindness for a kindness, as it were.]

[paladinlost]

[Cecil's first thought is something along the lines of Here I was, thinking that all the Fire-types who know Sunny Day had hidden themselves when the rain started.

His second thought is that the Pokémon responsible is both unknown and very large, and that manners cannot hurt in this situation.]

Thank you. Are you in need of any food or drink? I have plenty to share.

[legendarybeasts]

[Entei whuffs, then pauses as if in consideration. Its sustenance is the molten core of its volcano home, the sunlight on its back, the caress of firelight against its hide. It has no need for human food. And yet--

--it had had a leg of ham once. Perhaps a hundred years ago. A sharp, delicious memory. Perhaps it could spare a moment.

Entei bends its great head down, letting one of the Meowths shyly press against its nose. Most of them shuffle back against Cecil, feeling the heaviness of Entei's Pressure field as it thickens the air.]

[paladinlost]

[Sadly, he doesn't have a leg of ham on him, but he does have the lovely high-grade steak he's now taking out, petting a few Meowths calmingly as he goes.]

It's not the freshest, I apologize. But it should still be good to eat.

[He offers it with a smile. It's not as if this'll make him go hungry; he has plenty of jerky and biscuits left.]

[legendarybeasts]

[It sniffs experimentally at the steak, before taking it delicately between its teeth--and down the gullet it goes, in one clean swallow.

Delicious.

And with that, Entei feels refreshed, ready once again to begin its chase. But first--it rears up on its hind legs, smashing into a tree to bring it down against the rock, creating a firmer shelter against the rain. That should keep Cecil and the meowths dry.

Entei nods in thanks, before leaping away, swallowing more and more ground with each stride until it has vanished over the horizon, taking the sun with it.]

[paladinlost]

[No more sun, but actual shelter. That's an acceptable trade. Cecil watches Entei leave, and keeps watching long after it's gone.]

...I suppose this means offering condiments would not have been necessary.

[But that matters little now, with so many Pokémon to keep an eye on.]

[video]

[will_to_burn]

You don't look so good. Are you alright?

[ The man and the cats are who she means by 'you'. Lifting a finger to her mouth, she pauses a minute and cants her head just slightly at the group at large, looking between the respective parties. ]

Have you tried talking to one another?

[video]

[paladinlost]

We've tried, but whatever is happening has left them too uneasy to be sociable. I doubt being drenched helps.

[video]

[will_to_burn]

It doesn't.

[ And she takes a minute to really look at the group of cats. Poor things. Poor stranger for being stranded, too, and with all those cats... she straightens after a minute and looks back to the camera. ]

Animals are really smart. They can sense what you're feeling. If you make yourself comfortable and you're kind to them, they'll warm up to you. They seem really uneasy, though. Is there anything around besides the rain that might be upsetting them?

[video]

[paladinlost]

...The smell of garbage could still be too strong for them, even outside the city. I know it's certainly unpleasant to me, and with their noses... Yet that would not cause the same sort of upset, I think.

[video]

[will_to_burn]

Animals are really sensitive to changes in their environment. The garbage in the cities, the poor weather conditions, being as wet as they are... maybe all of it together is what's upsetting them. It's probably more stressful for them than it is for us.

[video]

[paladinlost]

Undoubtedly. We've learned how to deal with stress the moment we were taken to another world. They have no such experience.