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Desolate Land Diaries: The Life & Times of the Dangerous Dune Rats

Vern

Why not both?
Luna
Meteor Falls

Luna, hearing the commotion near where the fireplace would be, quickly roused herself from her brief slumber and made her way towards the centre of the campsite. Valencia floated along behind her, her eyes glowing a devilish yellow in the shadows. As she neared, it became apparent that there was an intruder - a lone man, with a Gengar besides him. Judging by the conversation going around, he seemed to want to join their little group.

Luna sensed danger. Suspicious, she began edging closer to the man, using the shadows to obscure her presence as she flitted from point to point, almost like a ghost. As she came near enough to hear voices, she stopped moving and crouched down, using the shadow cast by a nearby tent as cover. It fell a bit short, but it was long enough for her to stretch it a little bit to enshroud her foot and left ear - the only parts that would have been visible - without arousing any suspicion.

She found Vern lying on the ground, his eyes half closed, using Ruffles as a cushion. Apparently, he had already placed his trust in that man, but that counted for little. If he had shown up out of nowhere and asked to join their group, that was certainly quite suspicious, and Vern was the type to trust everyone. She would wait and see.

“-understand your scepticism, but if I wanted you dead, I’d… Well... Likely lie face down in the dirt over there." the man was saying, his voice surprisingly calm considering he had just ventured alone into a camp full of armed and slightly eccentric men and women. "My name is Whisper, and I have.. my own reasons for wanting in on this little heist of yours." This statement allowed Luna to lower her guard slightly. It was so obviously suspicious that the man was either an idiot, or simply had some complicated reason he did not wish to divulge. No spy would even consider using that type of excuse, unless it was some sort of double fake. “Look, I’m not even gonna charge you. You let me in and you got yourself an extra gun.”

Well, that certainly was tempting. They could use an extra gun, no matter what their leader might say. Especially now that the New Rustboro army was so close on their tails. Unfortunately, knowing Elara, she could already hear her leader’s response before it even left her mouth. “I have too many people to water already,” Elara said, her tone vaguely dismissive. “We have plenty of guns as it is. If you leave us now, we will let you keep yours.”

Luna let her eyes stray to Bags and Vern. Bags very clearly was itching for a fight, and his toothy grin was almost equivalent to daring the man to do something, anything, that would give him an excuse to bash his head it. His Cacnea seemed to share this itch. Vern was still lying on the ground, but his seemingly restful face was tensed up ever-so-slightly, not enough for someone who did not know his sleeping face well to notice. Apparently, he sensed something was wrong. Luna noticed that in the time the talk had taken place, his left hand had crept along the ground and was now grasping his bow. Suddenly, a Mandibuzz’s loud caw broke the uncomfortable silence.

Crap! was Luna’s first thought, and she dove behind the tent just as an arrow whistled past her ear, tearing a hole in the right side of her hood. She heard Elara yell “Raiders!”, and decided to throw caution to the wind. She was unarmed, having left her sword and shield back at where she was sleeping. And while she could fight hand to hand, she definitely did not like it, and would do much better against armed opponents like these with a weapon, any weapon. She found her sleeping spot without any disruption, and grabbed her weapons, before rushing back to help out in the upcoming battle.

As she once again neared the centre of the camp, she could tell that it was falling into chaos. Bags and Ander were both already injured, but they seemed to be all right. The raiders were skinny, but still quite tough-looking, and their faces were decorated with what seemed like war paint, in a pattern she did not recognise. They wore tattered cloaks with hid their faces, and seemed to be quite vicious. They also had Pokemon with them, but they didn’t seem particularly strong.

Vern had managed to fall back to the edge of the camp in time, and had a gash on his cheek as well as several tears and small cuts on his trousers and legs, but otherwise seemed okay. Ruffles was already in the air, dodging the arrows shot at him and raining hell on the raiders underneath him, diving down with lightning speed and ripping at their flesh before regaining altitude just as fast. By the looks of it, Vern had failed to mount him in time, and they were separated, unable to get back to each other with all the projectiles flying around them.

Luna jumped backwards as a spear buried itself near her feet, sinking into a fighting stance. The raider leapt out of the shadows, each hand holding a short hunting knife. Luna raised her shield and blocked his first attack, then slashed at his right arm. It drew blood, but the cut wasn’t deep. Her assailant grabbed his spear and pulled it out from the ground before jumping backwards, putting space between them. He was evidently quite skilled, and also quite confident, if that grin on his face said anything.

His grin faded into a contorted grimace of pain as the tip of an arrow appeared out of his forehead like a surfacing submarine, only bloodier and more painful. He fell to the ground screaming, and Luna thrust her sword through his chest to end his misery. When she looked back up, Vern was standing over the dead body, trying to salvage his arrow. Supplies were scarce, so anything that could be reused would be reused.

“Where’s my thank you?” he said, with a grin on his face. Had one not seen the surrounding carnage, they could easily have assumed that he was just in the middle of a picnic or something along those lines. It was strange how he managed to smile like he had not a care in the world amidst a battle, but Luna wasn’t going to question how he was capable of doing so. It was one of his better traits, one she personally thought was needed in this type of environment.
 

Samayouru

Rabid Dusclops Fan
Agatha "Bootstrap" Pridmore
Meteor Falls

Agatha passed a very brief, but approving smile towards her Dusclops, then she reverted back into her typical, emotionless gaze towards the newcomer. She didn't want to say anything - but at the same time she did, because she did understand why the newcomer would need to have a few tricks up his sleeves. "… Look, I'm not even gonna charge you. You let me in and you got yourselves an extra gun." The guy made a good point – guns were a valuable asset in the new world, Agatha knew this more than anybody else. She reached into the pocket where she’d placed her hand gun and touched it, mulling over the newcomer’s words.

She didn’t get a very long time to think. Elara’s Mandibuzz suddenly cawed and from the corner of her eyes Agatha caught a glimpse of movement coming from the shadows. It had been a warning call, and there were only a few kinds of people who would be out at this time of night. None of them looked friendly, and a lot of them appeared to be wielding primitive weapons. Grimsby looked down upon his mistress, asking her what to do, and she gave him a permissive nod. His hands ignited with purple, glowing energy and as the Raiders started their attack. She wasn’t too concerned about her Dusclops’s safety – he was a ghost, and wasn’t affected by human weapons, but the Trapinch might be a little difficult to deal with.

She unsheathed her monkey wrench and decided that the best course of action would be to give the newcomer a chance to make it out alive. So she slowly bashed her way through raiders attempting to attack until she could get within his ear shot. “Are you just going to stand there?” she said as she clonked a raider on the head, ignoring the sickening crack coming from the raider’s now bashed in skull. “Or are you going to move your legs and actually give us a reason for letting you join us?”

At that moment an arrow, possibly shot by a raider at the back, flew past Agatha’s neck. It grazed the right side of her flesh, and soon after that came the stinging sensation of pain and the warm trickle of thick, fresh blood. She gritted her teeth together and put a hand to the wound for a brief moment, cussing under her breath before regaining her battle stance. The last thing she wanted was to be a sitting Ducklett on this camp-turned-battlefield.
 

aggiegwyn

Well-Known Member
Willow and Koo (Medicham)
There was more discussion concerning the white-haired man’s acceptance. But right after his official rejection, Willow noticed Elara’s eyes dart right before she shouted “Raiders!”

This was the first disadvantage Willow had encountered so far in being a group. Becoming too absorbed in group events caused her to lose her usual keen observance. Bags was hit, she noticed a grin on his face, and some others too. They enjoyed fighting? The busy people were very strange. Members of the group attacked and acted out their strengths against the raiders.

In her native language she asked Koo to cover her as she gripped her staff. Her usual routine for this sort of situation was hiding, since she was very good at hiding. She only attacked when necessary, and she thought of it as a nuisance, honestly. But with everyone else fighting, that obviously wasn’t going to be an option. Plus, she had just mad such a ridiculous outburst earlier, there was no way they wouldn’t notice her disappearance.

Fighting would have to be the case. It was a good decision, since from her eyes Bags and Ander already had moderate injuries, and Bootstrap had a minor cut on her neck. She could help them later with her materials, but for now she needed to prevent further injuries.

She stuck to the sides of the walls, preferring to pop out of the shadow of the entrance with an occasional “clonk” of her staff, or a sweeping kick from Koo. After each downfall she would look to see if they had anything of interest. Willow picked up a bow and a wrap holding only five arrows. It wasn’t a good time now, but she intended to practice after this battle, should she have the chance, to do better next time. And she continued to clonk at the raiders.
 

Schade

Metallic Wonder
=-------------------~*~-------------------=
Whisper
Partner: Gengar
Meteor Falls

“I have too many people to water already,”, the older woman said after a brief silence. “We have plenty of guns as it is. If you leave us now, we will let you keep yours.”, she said. Nothing in her tone suggested she was joking. this was bad. It is not that he had to join them, but it would certainly be a different story for him if he didn't. He didn't relly know how to put words on it, but he felt like he needed to be there. He took a modest step ahead and opened his mouth to say something in return, with a slight worried look breaking through his facade. He was cut short by the Mandibuzz that started quacking like hell, as if to alert something. right after that, something buzzed right past whispers ear, and apparently hit one of the people in front of him.

"Raiders!" The woman called out to the group, who immideatly got to their feet, ready to fight. What? Had he been followed after all? He had been careful not to draw any attetion to himself. Drats! Someone from Fallarbor must have called him out. A hundred thoughts went through his head at once. Luckily, Gengar couldn't be harmed by projectiles, so he at least would be safe.“Are you just going to stand there?”, the cute girl with the Dusclops said to him, shaking him by the shoulders. “Or are you going to move your legs and actually give us a reason for letting you join us?”. She had a point. No point in dwelling on what had happened. It was time to act. He shifted expression to a determined one. "Right." he said in response. With a swift movement, He turned around while equipping his rifle. He didn't bother taking aim, and fired a shot in an aproximate direction based on where the arrow must have come from. He wasn't sure if he hit anyone, but he quickly jumped behind a rock in the shadows while the assaulters dealt with the surprise shot.

From his shelter, he got a look at the assaulters. They were clad in similar-looking garments, and looked more structured than the raiders he was used to. Were they a more structured group, like the one he hailed from himself? No time for questions though, he took aim with his rifle at one of the people. some of them had small Pokemon like Bagon at their disposal. Were they some sort of a dragon-worshiping tribe? Well that would make sense, considering where they were. The Raider-looking guy from the group was already on the move. Impulsive acts of voilence. smooth.. He did manage to knock one of the raiders down with his bat though, which seemed to be an impressive feat in itself. It was difficult to get a good aim in the darkness though, but he could see the others taking care of the situation regardless. another member of the group took to action next, with a Krookodile. Whisper had seen Krookodiles in action before, and knew they were not easy tot ake down.

He was certain to be blamed for this attack; He knew it. Regardless of the differences between him and them. They must have followed him, and he cursed himself for having lowered his guard when he came to the place. He had been too excited to have found the real gang, and had hesitated in checking his surroundings. Hesitation led to death. He knew that all too well. He sighed for himself by the bad memories, and took aim at another of the assaulters who hadn't come into the battle yet. He fired a shot, which hit the raider in the face. He was a good aim, even in the dark, allthough not optimal. The raider went down, and another one besides him looked around suspiciously. In the oddly ironic mention of hesitation, Whisper soon laid the man in the ground with another bullet. While this was going on, Gengar was silently eyeing the battle from above. He didn't really want to get involved unless Whisper was in danger, which, from his position in the dark, he wasn't. However, he was on alert regardless. Another one, another one.. How many raiders were there anyway?
 
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