The continuing adventures of Nekou and Kali...
A little background on this...
First of all, let's NEVER have prompts again that require most of us to run to a dictionary. Anyway, since I insist on doing these in numerical order for some reason, I was looking at my list, and I was all "Lithe?" What the heck is THAT?" So I went to my dictionary and was like "Oh, graceful and elegant. Okay." The initial plan was to do something involving Domino, but I decided "Hey, Sneasel fit that description too. Especially in battle." So I decided to try my hand at a REAL battle scene. The whole scene is kinda inspired by Special, where the Pokemon can actually die from an attack. I basically just let the scene write itself, and it ended up being a kinda touching story of Nekou and Kali's closeness to each other. So, enjoy.
28. Lithe
Nekou was frozen with terror, not sure how she was going to get out alive.
In retrospect, she should have read the guidebook earlier. Then she would have known of the risk of hibernating Ursaring BEFORE she had a need to look them up. Yeah, you're real brilliant, she thought to herself, going into a cave like this without knowing you're getting into. No wonder you're stuck here in this nowhere Covert Ops job. Nekou knew she was in a sad situation when she acknowledged her own weakness. You moron, what are you doing feeling sorry for yourself? You're about to be mauled by a bunch of angry Ursaring, and all you can do is finally agree with what you've been told this whole time anyway? Nekou watched apprehensively as the bears drew closer to her, their eyes glowing in the darkness of the cave, their growls echoing off the walls... She could try to hold them off with her weapon, but no... it was a wood sword, and given the enemy in this case, would basically be a chew toy. But Kali... she was so... small. A tiny Sneasel. Even more of a chew toy, really. But if I die, then Kali's pretty much on her own... and if Kali goes down, I'm screwed. It was a clear lose-lose. Nekou shrank away from the den's leader, who was just feet away from her, squeezing her eyes shut...
"Kali! Do something, anything, NOW!"
"Snee!"
Nekou shut her eyes even tighter, not wanting to see her most trusted companion and friend die a gruesome death... then heard anguished growls. Opening her eyes cautiously, Nekou was surprised to see the Sneasel making quick business of the bunch of Ursaring, practically shredding them with her claws. It was brutal... yet so graceful. The thing would slash one, then jump to the next one before the last victim even had time to fall. It was all too much for Nekou... the yowls of Kali, combined with the sounds of the Ursaring, and Nekou wasn't sure how she'd sleep after this. Through all the companionship Kali gave her, it was easy to forget Sneasel were well-tuned killing machines. What if Kali turned on her sometime? She treated Kali pretty well- she was practically spoiled, by Team Rocket standards- but Sneasel had short tempers, and Nekou knew for sure she didn't want to cross hers anytime soon
Nekou watched, tense, as Kali took on the leader. "Sneee..."
The Ursaring bared its claws, as though trying to outdo her. "Rrring..."
Nekou snickered. Kali's claws were three times the size of the enemy's. Nice try, buddy, but I think my girl's got you beat. There was practically no contest here. Yet where Ursaring lacked claws, they compensated for with teeth... Kali had tiny, pointy ones, ones that hurt for sure- Nekou had been bitten by Kali several times before- but hardly anything worth going up against Ursaring with. This would be a close battle. Nekou hoped it would turn out in her favor.
Kali made the opening move, lunging at Ursaring, landing just feet away. At first, Nekou thought the Sneasel's attack had failed to connect, but then noticed a small trickle of blood oozing through Ursaring's fur near its snout. It seemed Ursaring was also caught off guard- it pawed at the wound, then roared, charging after Kali.
"Kali! It's coming! Get away!" Nekou yelled, hoping she'd escape in time. Kali leapt over the impending bear, then slashed it from behind. The Ursaring spun around and growled, though the growl this time was one of mixed pain and anger. Kali clearly had the upper hand now. Nekou realized Kali's speed made up for her short stature, and it gave her a definite advantage over the larger, slower Ursaring. "He's almost down, Kali! Come on, girl! You can finish it!"
But Kali didn't move. "Kali? Girl?" To Nekou's surprise, Ursaring was no longer attacking, but rather lumbering back in retreat, blood seeping from its wound on its back. "Kali? You didn't...?" Kali pointed a claw in the distance. A tiny, shivering, Teddiursa was nuzzling the Ursaring, licking the blood off its back. That explained why the Ursaring was so defensive. "Wait... no way." Ursaring was, apparently, a female. "So you didn't want to hurt it... because it was a mother? Kali..." How did it know? It was a Sneasel's nature not to back down until its foe was completely defeated. Kali could just as easily have taken down the Ursaring, but it was clear she was... different.
Like me, Nekou thought. All her life that she could remember, she'd heard Pokemon eventually picked things up from their trainers. She'd never really thought anything of it until now- she and Kali never seemed to have anything in common. Yet it seemed Kali did share something with Nekou- her unusual sense of compassion. Did Nekou really affect Kali that much, as to completely change her very instincts?
Nekou never doubted her abilites after that.