Burning down the house;; Akhor

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Now that she was lying down again, Ashah realised just how tired she really was. She ached every where, and the loss of blood didn't help matters. She happened to be rather hungry and thirsty, and overall felt terrible. All the girl wanted was to sleep, but she didn't think that she could with her mind on all the things that had just happened. Last night she would never have expected to wake up and find her family dead, and barely able to see anything. She was lucky she supposed, that somebody had found her. She just wished that somebody was a little friendlier.

She continued to play with Arcanine's fur as they began to move, forcing herself to stay awake and distracted with her thoughts. She turned to look back at the burnt down house and felt her stomach drop, and as if she were about to throw up, so she quickly focused in on the pokemon's fur instead and tried to forget about everything that had happened. That was easier said than dome though.

Especially when Akhor spoke.

The female turned forward to look at him, and then away again as she began to speak quietly, but loud enough for him to hear. "He wasn't inside." She explained. "He was outside ... Watching. He did this." It was hard to say, and somewhat unimaginable. What kind of a man was he, really? He was cold, ruthless and cruel and didn't care who he hurt. He'd destroyed an entire family, with no thought to how anyone else would feel. Her mother, father and brother had friends ... They wouldn't take the news well.

Growlithe found himself nearly knocked off his feet, but was happy all the same and quickly bounded after Arcanine, running between his legs to get in front of him, and then off to the side as he tilted his head and barked, wagging his tail slightly.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

So that made things official. He hadn't misheard the girl. She was truly Cid's niece. Annoyance flickered across Akhor's face, and he immediately looked away. He despised that man, even more so now, for leaving him this mess to clean up. He wasn't the type of guy who took having to do chores and such things very well.

The male changed the subject, and rather abruptly at that, "What level is your Growlithe?" He was not a very good conversationalist. Someone normal might offer apologies and sympathy, or comment on what a bastard her uncle was. They might even casually lean into a new subject. Akhor on the other hand simply asked what he wanted to know, and expected to be answered without delay. This extended to people who weren't members of The Order and beneath him in rank.

Arcanine glanced down at his feet as Growlithe went bounding through them, a grin gracing his lips at the playful pokemon. Clearly he wanted to join in the fun, but he was aware of his rider and her condition, and knew his duty was to her before fulfilling his urges to run and bark.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

If Ash was aware of how Akhor felt, she might have told him that he could get lost. The last thing she needed now was someone helping her, not for her own benefit, but for their own. She'd already noticed how dark, and uninterested he seemed, but hearing his thoughts now, might just have her feeling a bit insulted. She would much rather be left to rot, then to be thought of as a chore, or some sort. Really though she just needed someone to comfort her. In the very least she had her Growlithe, and apparently Arcanine, who she already planned to pay a lot of attention to.

She didn't mean the change of subject, and actually quite welcomed it, though her mind was still in a far off place, and her voice was quiet and void of emotion. "Eleven." She answered. "He isn't used for any kind of battling." Which was the reason why he wasn't a high level. He'd been a family pokemon, there for just entertaining and keeping his owners happy and giving them company, really. He was all that Ashah had left now, so she was even more determined to keep him out of harm's way.

The female sighed, and closed her eyes, resting them as they still hurt. "He was going to be used for breeding, but I never had the time to do any thing with him ..." So they stayed at home a lot. There was a time she and Growlithe went travelling, but not for long, and the pokemon was only ever used in dangerous situations. Though the majority of the time he'd jumped right in to protect Ashah, without her telling him to do any thing.

Little Growlithe was fine just running around on his own, though he did hope that at some point Arcanine would be able to play with him, and maybe show him just hwo strong he was. Growlithe wanted to be just like him! For now he was content in attempting to calm himself down and walking beside the bigger canine's legs, and staring up at him happily.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

If spoken to that way, Akhor would happily take the pokeball from his belt and return Arcanine to it without even allowing Ash to get off. He would then proceed off down the path without another word, and have absolutely no regrets about the entirety of it. Well, perhaps. Or he might just deal with it because it was too good of an opportunity to pass up to mess with Cid.

The male turned his head to look at Ash as she responded, then dropped his gaze to the small furry pokemon that was the topic of discussion. Eleven? Ugh. He couldn't even remember when his pokemon were like that. They'd evolved so much up to this point that it was just odd to think about. He did have a few lower level pokemon in his PC, and then some very low level ones, but it was rare that he dealt with them except for training. His team was fairly set, unless of course he needed a specific pokemon for a certain battle.

"Well, you might want to consider training him now." Akhor responded, turning his attention back to the road ahead, "Seeing as someone wants you dead." She needed some form of protection. Perhaps he'd give her one of his own pokemon, one she could handle, that is. He didn't want Cid killing her after all, as that would mean that the man won, and Akhor hated it when that happened.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ashah was lucky that she wasn't aware of Akhor's feelings then, and also that she had no energy to speak much. Having any sort of arguement now would be a waste of energy, when all the female really needed was some well deserved rest. She was tired, and hurt, and not only physically either, but mentally and emotionally. Losing so many people all at once was hard to take in, as evidenced in her apparant lack of emotion. She still wasn't sure how to react to all of this, and so she kept it all bottled up within herself. No doubt this would backfire on her at some point.

The female was quick to respond to the male's words. "I don't battle." She said clearly, her voice displaying her tiredness and exhaustion. "It's the reason I'm not a trainer. I wouldn't be very good any way, and I don't want Growlithe getting hurt ... He's all I have left. I look after the Pokemon, breed them and generally take care of them." She was quite adamant about these facts. There was no way in hell that she was going to battle Growlithe, or put him in any sort of danger. She would not use him as protection.

The female sighed quietly as Growlithe went slightl up ahead of Arcanine and came to walk beside Akhor, looking up at him suspiciously as he walked. He'd decided that he was going to be watching this man, just in case he tried any thing funny.

"Besides ... I don't think they'd come after me." She added, rather sleepily. "It was my father, that Uncle was after ..." And with those last words, she completely passed out again, from lack of energy and the blood loss that was catching up with her.

(( I though it would be quicker/easier if we skipped the travelling part. She'll wake up when they get there though ))

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

((XD, agreed.))

Akhor raised an eyebrow in response to Ash's quick answer. She didn't battle? Lovely. She'd earned some points back earlier for not being anything like her Uncle personality-wise so far, but she'd just lost a ton with that answer. He didn't see the point in having a pokemon if you weren't going to battle. He really would have to get her another pokemon, hopefully one she wouldn't mind putting in harm's way.

As Growlithe came up beside Akhor, Jolteon immediately swung around to that side. He was only a few inches taller than the red pokemon - minus the spiky fur, which gave him even another couple of inches - but he was much more menacing, and as such was the glare that he gave it in response.

Akhor turned to look in the female's direction, only to find that she'd drifted off to sleep. He rolled his eyes, a quiet sigh escaping his lips, and turned his attention back to the road.

--------------

Akhor didn't bother to wake Ash up upon their arrival at the base. He simply took her upstairs and found a spare bedroom down the hall from his to stick her in. Once they reached it, he approached Arcanine, and the girl atop him, and shook her shoulder rather roughly, "Wake up." It wasn't an order, but it sure sounded like one.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ash had a pokemon for company, and actually thought that keeping them for battling, and only for that reason, was quite cruel. She didn't understand why things had to be that way, though she supposed she migh thave felt differently if her Ninetails had never died. Before the incident with him, she had dreamt about being a trainer, and going on an adventure with lots of different pokemon, preferably fire types as they were her favourite, but when Ninetails was killed she gave up on her dream and wanted to take care of them instead.

Growlithe whimpered as Jolteon came round to his side, and stared him down with a glare and immediately high tailed it back over to Arcanine to walk underneath the much large pokemon, between his legs. His tail was between his own legs, showing clearly just how intimidated he felt, but he felt a lot better around the Arcanine. He rather thought that this Akhor human, and hias Jolteon were far too much alike. It wasn't normal at all, in his opinion, and he didn't understand what he'd done wrong to be glared at like that. He'd decided then and there that he would be avoiding Jolteon, for as long as he could.

----------------------------------------------------

When they reached the complex, Growlithe followed every one up the stairs and to the room that Ash was going to be spending her time in. He watched curiously as Akohr approached Arcanine and his mistress, and despite still being afraid of Jolteon, and how he'd looked at him earlier, growled in protest as the human began to shake her awake. Could he not see that the girl needed her rest? Not to mention she'd lost a lot of blood, and still had an injury that wasn't taken care of, and one he knew had spilt blood on Akhor's large pokemon.

Ashah stirred when she was shooked, and then opened her eyes rather slowly. She still had next to no energy at all, and she felt drowsy, but none the less she was waking, and when she was fully aware of her surroundings, she rose a hand and rubbed behind Arcanine's ear, as a way of telling him thank you, for carrying her.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor ceased his shaking, not because Ash had awoken, but because he'd noticed something. The male's brow furrowed, and annoyance crept clearly into his expression, "Are you kidding me?" He asked. Without waiting for a response, or giving Ash time to realize what was happening, he reached up and grabbed her beneath her shoulders, dragging her somewhat roughly off the back of Arcanine, who half-lowered himself to make it easier.

The removal of the female revealed a huge red blood stain where her inner thigh had been, stretching through both white and orange of Arcanine's fur. Akhor released Ash, not bothering to check and see if she would remain on her feet, and turned to face her, "You told me you were fine." HIs voice was laced with a growl, the first change in tone he'd had since meeting her. He did not like being lied to, especially so directly. Ash would definitely be giving Arcanine a bath.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

The female was somewhat taken by surprise as Akhor grabbed her and pulled her so effortlessly off of Arcanine's back. She honestly didn't see what the big deal was really, and why on earth he was being so rough with her when he knew what she'd been through, she hjad no idea, but she wasn't in the mood to protest so she let him do what he wanted, even if it meant suffering for it. Thankfully she fely even more numb now than she had before, so this really wasn't much of a problem for her. She just felt somewhat awkward, and uncomfortable.

When the male released her, she felt unsteady on her legs, and ended up leaning against Arcanine for a sort of support as Growlithe came up and pushed against her legs in order to aid her. Her mismatched and hurtful eyes looked upon the male as he spoke, and she honestly felt a little bit guilty. "If you're worried about Arcanine's fur, I don't mind giving him a bath ..." She honestly thought that was all he was worried about, and not that he might care in the least that she was bleeding. She was actually a little afraid of Akhor.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Unfortunately for Ash, Akhor simply wasn't very aware of other people's needs. He didn't consider that it might cause Ash pain to pull her off like that, and that it would just be easier, and more polite, to ask her to get off. That was just how he was, rather abrasive and forceful, and he didn't care if it bothered people. Especially not people who lied to him, which Ash had done.

Akhor snorted quietly in response to her words, as if rejecting them, "Oh don't worry, you will be." Part of him wondered momentarily if she realized what that entailed. Arcanine wouldn't stay still, nor would he refrain from shaking his fur when it was wet, effectively drenching anybody in a mile radius with a tidal wave, "But my point is that you lied to me." His voice took on a growling edge again, "I don't like being lied to, and you at least owed me the truth, especially on something simple like that."

His scowl did not soften, "Besides, what kind of idiot hides a wound that's bleeding that bad? Are you trying to kill yourself?" He shook his head, starting to sound exasperated with her. Clearly the wound had been on her leg, as that was where the bloodspot corresponded with. The male drew a pokeball from his belt, and released Lucario once more, "Get some actual bandages this time." He said, before the pokemon departed.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Akhor's tone of voice wasn't at all comforting or amusing, which was something that might have been good for the female right now. The male was just making her feel worse with every word that left his mouth - she felt down, and stupid, and as if she should have just told the truth and forgot about the embaressing fact that he wound was in such a place. Really though she shouldn't have lied and she knew that - she never liked lying to begin with, but Akhor had helped her and he was right. He had deserved the truth.

The female let her painful eyes look in the other direction so that she didn't have to look at Akhor. He was making her feel terrible, and not just because she felt guilty, but because of how he was speaking to her. He certainly wasn't one of the most friendly of people, that was for sure. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, hoping that he would accept her apology and not keep going on. She had a headache, and he was not making her feel at all better. As if she could feel any worse though - this was the worst day of her life, and it was just getting harder to deal with.

When Akhor rhetorically asked if she was trying to kill herself, she pondered on it. There was a part of her that wanted to die and join her family, the other part didn't want to die, but it wanted to suffer. She wanted to suffer like her family had, so that she could feel atleast a little bit of thier pain. "Maybe I am ..." She repsonded quietly, still thinking hard on the subject herself.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor didn't care in the slightest that he was making a devastated girl's horrible day even more traumatic. She deserved it as far as he was concerned. He'd done nothing but help her - for his own personal gain of course, but she didn't know that - and she repaid him by lying to him, and getting blood on his pokemon. Of course he didn't entirely care, as long as she kept her word and gave him a bath.

The male's eyes narrowed when she apologized, and he relaxed slightly. Lying was a small version of betrayal, which was not something that Akhor would stand for. It was difficult to earn his trust, and impossible to regain it once it was lost. Ash still had a chance though, he supposed.

The boy rolled his eyes in response to Ash's words, "Well thanks for telling me that before I saved your sorry ass." He responded sarcastically, "And hauled it all the way back here." Well, technically Arcanine had done the heavy - or in her case really, light - lifting, but the point was still the same.

At that moment, Lucario returned with the bandages. Clearly the pokemon had heard what was said. He handed Akhor the bandages, as just as the male went to return him to the pokeball, he turned to him and said, "Careful, she might just." Lucuario was one of few pokemon that could speak human. It's unnatural abilities didn't stop there, however. It had the power to sense the auras of other pokemon and people, and if provided time to concentrate, their thoughts.

"Lovely, it'll save me a lot of effort." Akhor responded, his tone harsh. Lucario merely shook his head, and a moment later, Akhor returned him to the pokeball and clipped it back to his belt. He then offered Ash the bandages, "I assume you'd rather do this." He gestured to the place of the wound.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Ash hated not being trusted and usually spent a lot of her time trying to gain trust from others. It was hard for her to keep acting that way right now however - she was feeling rather depressed and shocked, and she was doing and thinking things that she wouldn't usually do otherwise. Perhaps when she got over her shock, and started to grieve properly, she'd start acting more like her usual self and perhaps Akhor would like her more, but until then she was going to keep acting this way, but only because she was doing rather than thinking. It was hard to explain.

The part of Ash that wanted to die was only holding back because of Growlithe. He was the one thing she had left in her life, and she didn't want to leave him all alone. At the same time she still felt so hopeless and as if she no longer had any thing to live for. She had no belongings, no home, no family and not money. Hell, she didn't even have any clothes! All she had left was that long shirt she was wearing and what was underneath it which would need to be thrown away because both items were covered in dust, dirt and blood.

Akhor's words made her feel rather down, and Growlithe sensed this, causing him to bark at the human male in a threatening manner before he was made to calm by a hand gesture from Ashah. She glanced at Lucario and then looked away, closing her eyes. "Sorry if I caused you any trouble." She said sincerely. "But its not like I asked for any of this ..." After all, who would want to have their family killed, and almost die themself? She was just feeling down, and she was saying things she didn't really mean. She didn't really want to die, she just thought that was what she wanted.

She took the bandages as they were offered, and glanced down at them with her blurry vision, but was not entirely sure she would be able to do anything with them with her sight the way it was, so she merely stood there staring. Great.

[AKHOR DRYZEIRAN]

Akhor glanced down at Growlithe, clearly not bothered by the bark nor the insinuation behind it either. He'd obviously purposefully been trying to make Ash feel like crap, not that she didn't already or anything. He paid no attention as Jolteon tilted its head to the side, watching Growlithe carefully now, instead turning back to look at Ash as she spoke.

"And I did." He responded, "Believe it or not, I actually was out there looking for people to save!" The sarcasm was still evident in his voice. The male sighed quietly, and shook his head gently, waving a hand as if dismissing the matter, "Forget it." He said, "It doesn't matter." He just wanted to get her presentable, and go find Cid. At least the man's reaction could cheer him up... Well, to the point of as cheerful as Akhor got.

The male raised an eyebrow as Ash simply stood there, wondering what in the world was wrong with her, "Is there a reason you're not moving?" He asked, his tone now sounding more exasperated than anything. This was more than he had bargained for, as he was not a patient person.

[ASHAH-RAINE WOLFE !]

Growlithe became quite still as he noticed Jolteon watching him, and he suddenly seemed rather tense. The pokemon was just a little afraid of the slightly bigger Jolteon, and ofcourse the rather intimidating stares it kept giving him. No matter how scary he was howev,er it was not going to stop Growlithe from protecting his master, at any cost. He didn't like her being sad, and he could just tell that the more Akhor spoke to her like she was crap, the worse she was feeling. Akhor wasn't helping her at all, so that was why the little orange pokemon was still there, and not cowering away again.

Ash wanted to should at Akhor and ask him why he was even bothering. It was obvious to her that he didn't give a damn what happened to her, and that he just didn't care. to Ashah it seemed like he didn't want to be helping her, so she just wondered why he was. It was like Akhor was wasting his time - if he didn't want to save her, he didn't have to do it, but it didn't mean he could be all grouchy about it. In Ash's opinion he had no right - she'd just lost her family, and she didn't need to get into a fight now.

She was glad to end the subject there, but the male's next words forced her into movement, though she still felt rather intimidated by him. Not liking the idea of him watching, she turned about anyway, and pulled up her shirt with one hand and began with much difficulty, wrapping the bandage around her stomach and back so that it woud go over her hip and her wound, and then around her thigh. It was taking her some time, as with her poor eyesight she could'nt quite see the ends of the vandage, or how to tie the know.