Stalking? I Wouldn't Call It That... [Ashie]

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor snorted quietly, crossing his arms tightly about his chest, "We'll see." He responded, turning back to look at the battle. It wasn't just her choice whether or not Growlithe got hurt, it was how well the two battled as a team. So far things seemed good, as the pokemon dodged the Makuhita's Arm Thrust attack rather swiftly, and set off on a counter attack immediately afterward. For not having done much, if any, battling, Ash and Growlithe were doing fairly well, which was good to see. It meant he wouldn't have to spend too long explaining everything to them.

The Makuhita came to a hard stop, immediately flipping around to face Growlithe. His hands tightened into fists, and he dove to the side, avoiding the stream of flames. He was back up on his feet in a second, and dodging another stream, and another. The next one struck him on the same side, burning him further. Wincing, he regathered himself and charged after Growlithe, aiming to Tackle him.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ash and Growlithe had a strong bond, which she supposed helped a bit. Growlithe had been with her since he was a pup and they did everything together, including eating, sleeping and playing in the garden. Or they had done, before everything happened. They had barely battled, and had only done so when her father wanted to test out some new moves (which was sometimes a little cruel, really). Ash had never really thought about levelling the pokemon up, or having him evolve with a Fire Stone - she loved him the way he was. As her companion.

As the Makuhita turned and charged, Ash froze for a moment, the look on her face clearly suggesting that she was thinking about running in the mkiddle of the battle and saving Growlithe, before she finally tried to calm herself and gave another order. "Quick! Counter with a bite!" She told her loyal pokemon, who barked in response, and charged right back at the Makuhita, before leaping and twisting in the air in an attempt to get close enough to sink his teeth into the top of the wild pokemon's head and avoid the oncoming attack.

Ash had always hated fighting, and this was just a little scary for her. She was scared that her beloved Growlithe was going to get hurt.

to next level;; 600 --
exp gained;; 222
total exp;; 774
leftover;; 174
levels gained;; 1 ------

to next level;; 650 --
exp gained;; 174
total exp;; 174
levels gained;; none

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

At the last moment, the Makuhita threw his body forward, aiming to barrel straight into Growlithe. However, the dog-like pokemon responded quickly to his trainer's command, and was up and in the air the next moment, far out of the fighting-type's reach. Thankfully, his move to lower his head and take Growlithe out saved him from being bitten there. Instead, he felt the fire-type's teeth sink into its shoulder.

The pokemon came to an abrupt halt, and aimed to throw his arm backward, using his Arm Thrust again, but this time in the opposite direction, attempting to slam it into the side of the Growlithe, and knock him off.

Akhor watched, his eyes scrutinizing every move and every decision. Ash had done a good job getting Growlithe to safety, and counterattacking, but moving in close on a fighting-type was always dangerous, as it made it easier for the opponent to strike with close-range attacks, as it seemed Makuhita was trying to do now.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ash didn't like this at all. Battling had never been her thing, but especially not with Growlithe. He was her family and she hated seeing him get hurt, as she was afraid he might be now. Perhaps she was just paranoid and over protective, but he was the only thing she had left in her life, and seeing him hurt upset her. She always did her best to make sure that he was always safe, and so far she had done a good job, but Akhor was making her battle (Ash was going to hold a grudge against him for this for a long time to come) so she had no choice. She was just going to have to do her best.

Her eyes widened slightly as Growlithe sunk his teeth into the wild pokemon's shoulder, but a moment later was struck in the side and thrown off of the fighting type. Growlithe whimpered as he landed on his feet, feeling pain in his side, and Ash took a few steps forward, still feeling the urge to get in close and save him from fighting any more, but just as she was getting nearer Growlithe turned, shook his head and barked, immediately crouching down low and growling at the Makuhita - he wanted to continue battling.

Ash bit her lip and sighed, clearly worried. "Okay Growlithe ... No more getting in too close. Jump over him and use ember." She ordered, not sure if that would work. As long as Growlithe didn't get in range of his arm attacks though, he should be fine. The Growlithe immiedate charged forward again, and then jumped over the Makuhita, gaining as much speed and height as he could and a jet of fire stremed from his mouth at the wild pokemon.

to next level;; 650 --
exp gained;; 301
total exp;; 475
levels gained;; none

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

As he'd assumed he would be, Growlithe was knocked to the ground as the Makuhita swung his arm about. Akhor watched as Ash stepped forward. He was ready to interfere and hold her back if she attempted to get into the middle of the battle, but Growlithe took care of it for him, clearly telling her that he wanted to finish off the battle. Well, at least one of them had some guts.

The Makuhita was breathing rather hard at this point. Its side ached with pain and burned from the earlier flames, and one of his arms hung somewhat limp at its side, still useable, but in quite a bit of pain up by the shoulder. As the Growlithe charged, and leapt, it aimed an arm upward, trying to knock the pokemon down again, but the fire-type had jumped too high, and was out of reach. As a result, the Makuhita received a full force blow from the flames, and was knocked to the ground.

It pushed itself up with its arms, breathing heavily, its body shaking as it tried to rise again, though it was clearly having difficulty.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ash wouldn't have appreciated it if Akhor had held her back - Growlithe meant the world to her afterall. Maybe Akhor didn't mind his pokemon being in a tight spot, but Ash did. She was not a trainer, but a breeder, and she took care of pokemon, not battled them. The reason she was so against battling was because she had already lost a pokemon before - her beloved Ninetails. She didn't want to lose another. Sure Makuhita wasn't that strong at the moment, but neither was Growlithe and it was a pretty fair fight by all accounts.

She bit her lip nervously as Growlithe leapt, and as the flames came down on Makuhita. The wild pokemon fell and a sense of relief washed over her as Growlithe landed safetly a few feet away and then stepped forward curiously, coming to rest a paw on the Makuhita's belly to stop him rising back up again. But Ash was already moving forward towards the two pokemon.

When she got there she ushered Growlithe to get off and then knelt beside the Makuhita. She wanted to make sure the poor thing was okay, and planned on taking it back with her in order to heal it. "I'm sorry Makuhita .... Are you okay?" Sometimes Ash was a little dim - it never occured to her that a wild pokemon might just try to attack her as well.

to next level;; 650 --
exp gained;; 239
total exp;; 714
left over;; 64
levels gained;; one

to next level;; 700 --
exp gained;; 64
total exp;; 64
levels gained;; none

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor watched as the Makuhita fell, clearly incapable of continuing the battle. He had to admit that he was somewhat impressed with Ash and Growlithe's battling abilities. He unfurled his arms from across his chest as Ash stepped forward, approaching the fallen pokemon. His eyes narrowed, not quite sure what she thought that she was doing, "Ash..."

The Makuhita clearly didn't know nor care that it was Akhor who had force Ash to do this, not the female who had decided to. All he knew was that she'd used her pokemon to attack him, and now he was hurt. As she approached and knelt beside him, he threw out an arm as powerfully as he could manage, aiming to use his Arm Thrust on Ash, and strike her on the side of the arm, and her ribs.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ash was not arrogant or anything, although she did have confidence that pokemon liked her. She seemed to have a knack for attracting them to her, and making friends with them, so going up to some wild one and trying to help it to feel better didn't seem to dangerous for her. Then again she could be a little deluded sometimes, and she certainly wasn't capable of hurting something and then just leaving it there. As a breeder she felt it was her duty to help in any way that she could, and that included getting close to an angry, hurt fighting type ...

She just about managed to set Eevee down at her side before the Makuhita used it's arm thrust and caught her on the side of her arm, and on her ribs. She could have sworn she heard something carck, but she was more surprised than anything, and this became rather clear in her look of shock, and pain as she moved her other hand to hold her throbbing ribs.

Growlithe didn't get there in time to help her, but he did step forward a moment later and aimed to bite into Makuhita's arm, and then throw him as far away as he possibly could. It was clear that the pokemon was not happy that his owner had been attacked.

to next level;; 700 --
exp gained;; 227
total exp;; 291
levels gained;; none

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

The Makuhita felt its attack connect, and immediately went to move closer for another. However, Growlithe quickly got ahold of his arm, and he felt his body being lifted and thrown. It hit the ground hard, grunting in pain, and falling motionless, unconscious.

Akhor stepped forward, his expression a clear show of annoyance, "What the hell is wrong with you?" He demanded of her, a slight growl to his voice, "Are you stupid or something? What in the hell made you think you could walk up to a hurt pokemon like that and just ask if it was okay, when you're the one who hurt it!" Or in the very least, ordered her pokemon to hurt it.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Growlithe made a satisfactory sound of victory before he turned to Eevee, let the smaller pokemon climb onto his back and then came to stand in front of Ash, tilting his head and whimpering at her. He wanted to know that she was alright, but she didn't look it. Obviously she was upset by what had happened, and also that she'd had to hurt the Makuhita. There was really nothing that he could do though - other than bark and growl at Akhor who began yelling at Ash, and insulting her.

Ash didn't like being yelled at, and immediately flinched, gripping her side. "I didn't want to hurt it!" She reminded him, forcing herself to her feet. She had tears in her eyes, from being hurt, and now from being chastised like that. Akhor was always telling her she was stupid, or something along those lines, and she was really tired of it. Ever since Cid killed her family she'd had nothing but stress. "You didn't give me a choice!" She turned and started walking away. She didn't want to be shouted at any more.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor ignored Growlithe, although Jolteon was steadily growing more annoyed by the barking and growling, and was more than prepared to shut the other pokemon up if he didn't do it himself, which he indicated with a low throated snarl.

"That's because you don't have one!" Akhor snapped. Didn't she realize that? If she didn't get strong, there was no way she'd ever be able to protect herself against Cid. And if she couldn't do that, then she couldn't leave The Order base anytime soon because her uncle would just kill her!

The male scowled as Ash began to walk away, and he instantly picked up a pace after her, Jolteon following.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Growlithe ceased his growling although he didn't stop his glaring. Eevee just sat a top of him, tilting her head before she decided that Jolteon was a little scary, and buried her head in the puppy's fur, hiding from the yellow pokemon.

Ash found herself suddenly feeling rather emotional. She really wished that Akhor would just shut up instead of reminding her that she had no choice all the time. She was aware of it afterall, and didn't appreciate being reminded of it. "Well if you hadn't brought me here I wouldn't have to worry about it!" She informed him, "You knew Cid was my uncle and you don't like him, so for some reason you thought that you could annoy him by bringing back his neice who he tried to kill! You weren't trying to help me at all, and you still aren't - you're probably doing all this just so that you don't have to keep looking out for me." She really though Akhor didn't care at all, and that he didn't like her. She thought he was selfish.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor scowled as Ash spoke. He wanted to snap back, saying that she was right, she wouldn't need to worry about it, because she'd be dead! But he knew that he didn't have to bring her back to the base. He could have taken her anywhere, or even left there after assuring that she wouldn't die, but he'd done no such thing. Instead, as she assumed, he'd purposefully brought her back here just to toy with her Uncle. Her words hit the nail on the head regarding why he had her out here training as well, and as such, for once, the male was at a loss for words.

His narrowed blue eyes were set in a glare, and his hands were tightened into fists. As last, he responded, "Whatever my reasons, the point is you're still here, and your uncle knows your alive. I don't give a damn what you do to deal with that now." And with that, he quickened his pace, passing her and starting down the path. He didn't care what she did now, or if her uncle came after her.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

(( haha great time for Cid to show up ))

Ash had known Akhor wasn't a nice guy, but it never really occured to her that he was evil or anything. He was certainly niothing like her Uncle Cid, but she had still hoped that he might care a little bit about what might happen to her. Still ... It didn't seem like Akhor did care. He was just doing all of this for his own benefit, there was nothing else to it really. He didn't care about her or Growlithe.

She watched the male as he passed by, and then came to a pause, leaning back against a tree. Akhor was the only person she wanted to be around, and that she trusted, so falling out with him like this was major and she felt like she had no where else to go. She didn't want to go back to base now ... She seriously considered just leaving and seeing if she could get away from The Order without being caught or anything. She didn't have any where to go, really, but any where was better than being stuck here in her opinion.

She was still out there and hour later, when Cid, out training his pokemon, lost sight of Mightyena, and when following the dog pokemon came to set his eyes on Ash who was sitting against that same tree. Mightyena approached her first, and came to sit beside her as Growlithe backed away. Strangely enough the feral looking pokemon didn't hate Ash like his master did. He was actually rather fond of her, although he didn't like her Growlithe. Cid followed in afterwards, and immediately began cackling in laughter.

It didn't take very lomg for Cid to have the girl in tears, and breaking down by mentioning her family over and over. He left after a little while and retreated back to base. Mightyens stayed behind, knowing his master had a plan. On the other hand Growlithe had set Eevee down, and ran as fast as his little legs would carry him in search of Akhor. He came to the base and barked and howled, trying to get at least Jolteon's attention. He didn't even like the ywllow pokemon, but it was better than nothing.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor had returned tot he base, uncaring as to what Ash did afterward. She could try and leave for all he cared. If Cid went after her, that was her fault. She'd put herself in this position as far as he was concerned, and as such would have to deal with whatever the results were. The male made his way back to his room, where he sat at his desk, immediately setting to work on various paperwork, whilst Jolteon curled up on the bed.

He was still at it an hour later, when the sounds of Growlithe's barking became audible. Jolteon heard them first, and his peak in interest caught Akhor's attention. The male pushed open a window to his room, the sound becoming louder, and he noted the barking Growlithe a ways off. Sighing in frustration, both he and Jolteon exited the room, made their way down the hall, and outside toward the Growlithe, "What do you want?" He snapped.