The entrance to this cave looks like a Charizard's open mouth. Two large rocks at the top of the cave resemble carnivorous fangs, and lava trickles down them, acting like drool, for a scary, not so desirable effect. Inside it's almost unbearably hot, despite the fact that it's getting uncomfortably cold outside now that autumn is slowly being replaced by winter. Steam hisses and squeals like a shrieking tea kettle from a few cracks in the cave's wall, making this foreboding place all the creepier. Other noises fill the heated air still. Loud rumbles shudder through the cave, causing the rock ground to quiver, and the walls to shake. An earthquake? Someone's oven explode? No. Spine tingling snores rake through the steam filled air, and seem to be coming from the back of the cave. What on earth could be making such a ruckus?
Kitty and her group have traveled down here, into the depths of Cinnibar, the only warm place left in the fall for Sligh, her Ekans. The long snake crawls on the gorund, rather than riding on Kitty, absorbing as much warmth as possible. Kitty has to walk slowly, though, because of a little toddler Squirtle, who is insisting on trotting along in front of her, giving little pleased 'squirt's every so often. A young Vulpix watches the Squirtle carefully, almost like a big sister.
Hopelessly lost, Maia had no real intention of coming down here, other than the fact that it was the warmth that attracted her. After being out in the rain for two days, the insane warmth of the cave is a blessing. Now that she's here, she might as well stay. As Maia walks in, her broken tail swings from side to side stiffly, ungracefully. Her claws kick up a few stones as she walks, pinging on the ground. "Mrr..." <Mm, warm.> She says under her breath.
While the entrance of the 'visitors' might seem quiet and innocent enough, in reality, it's annoyingly loud to a certain cave dweller. The tiny steps of the Squirtle and Vulpix sound like cracks of thunder, and the footsteps of the larger Meowth and the bigger trainer are all the nosier. Slowly, a pair of dark eyes open, the reptile's eyelids fluttering upwards as she awakens. With a groan that closely resembles a growl, or perhaps a Growlithe's roar, the Charizard lets out a lazy yawn, pink tongue curling out of her mouth like a cat's. Attentive eyes dart this way and that, trying to locate the source of the ruckus that woke her up. It must be those blasted Pidgeotto come to bother her! Well, she'll be ready. Getting onto all fours, the huge dragon of a pokemon starts waddling for the entrance of the cave, determined to deep fry and Pidgeotto she finds.
Dead stop. Even little Brucie figures out that that roar is something big and bad. So, he does the only thing a toddler would do in this situation. "Squiiiiiiiiiiirt!" He starts crying. Instinctively, Fira tries to shush Brucie, Kitty rushes over and picks him up, and Sligh looks aorund for the threat. For an instant, his eyes lock on to the young Meowth's, but he dismisses her for the thing that roared down in the cave. <All this for a little warmth,> Fira quips, quietly, while Sligh ventures down the cave a little, tasting the air for a scent.
When the roar reaches Maia's ears, she stiffens immediately. Her fur puffs out and she looks as though she'd go well on a Halloween picture. Still puffed out, she gets bold, and takes a few steps forward towards the source of the noise. Walking quitely, she utters a "ffft" and stops after taking a few steps and hearing large footsteps deeper into the cave, deciding its not worth getting chomped on or squished by something to try to find out what it is. She spots a large form making it's way slowing towards them, and "ffft"s again.
Dakshi's long sharp claws scrape along the cave's floor as she plods steadily along, her gait closely resembling that of a Komodo dragon's, or an unusually big iguana's. The muscles in her scaly legs tighten and relax as she shuffles closer and closer to the group that had disturbed her. Spotting the Meowth first, Dakshi stops suddenly, her attention held by the glittering charm on top of the feline's furry head. The reflection of the shiny object has her momentarily mesmerized, and she appears to be dumbfounded. Is this some kind of booby trap set by her life long enemy the Pidgeotto? Getting onto her hind legs briefly, Dakshi stands like a prairie dog, peering at the feline pokemon intently. Her attention leaves the small pokemon when Kitty and her trio of pokemon come into view as well. Large eyes waver in the dim light of the cave, the reflection of her tail flame flickering on their surface. Getting onto all fours again, she ruffs her warning, waiting to see what these intruders will do now that she's in their sight.
Kitty's eyes widen, and she quickly scoops up Fira, the Vulpix, along with Brucie, and runs back up the cave, and towards the wall. Get out of the way. Sligh, on the other hand, hisses gleefully, staring at the challenge before him. <Charizard!> he cries, <Turn and face your true opponent!> Kitty's scream of, "No, Sligh," echoes in the cave even as Sligh shoots a Poison Sting attack at the large Charizard as his opening attack.
Startled by the sudden move of the Ekans and overwhelmed by everything that happened, all Maia can do is stand there, gaping. Well, her legs move her instinctively backwards a few steps, more like near the wall of the cave. Her fur, still poofed, bristles. She's heard of these Charizards before, seen a picture of one. This one looks exactly like the picture, only bigger and more...lazy? She gapes even more as the Ekans attacks the Charizard. <Stupid Ekans,> she mutters under her breath.
It's a good thing for Sligh that Dakshi is a relatively mellow Charizard. She stares at the Ekans, a bit surprised by the smaller pokemon's amazing show of bravery. So, the Ekans wants to mess then does it? The array of stingers head for the Charizard, but the fire-type simply sucks, letting the glimmering arrows, glide over her head. A chuckle. <Pitiful. And you call yourself a reptile? Ha.> she says mockingly, taking a step closer. Sucking in a breath of air, the Charizard shoves that same air out her nose, blowing a cloud of thick black smoke in the Ekan's direction. <You can at least learn to breather fire or something.> she says with a shake of her head, approaching the Meowth. A bit confident of herself eh? Leaning towards the cat-like pokemon, the Charizard puts her nose an inch from Maia's belly, and takes a long sniff, pulling a few of the Meowth's hairs in her direction. Sniff. <What are you?> she asks curiously, taking another sniff, and trying to poke the cat's tummy with a questioning claw.
Sligh does /not/ like being ignored. With a hiss of indignation, he ignores everything else and charges the Charizard. <Stand and fight!> he yells as he moves in closer to the Charizard, only pausing to let out a Sludge attack, more centered on the Charizard's bulk, hoping the larger reptile can't duck this. Kitty can only crouch down, hoping the dragon doesn't turn on her, but still keeping her jacket protectively around Fira and the now-quiet Brucie.
Maia eeps as the Charizard moves closer and steals some of her precious fur. She has the sudden urge to swipe it's nose, but that would just be an idiotic thing to do. When Dakshi tries to poke her tummy, she sucks it in as far away from the imposing claw as she can, "fft"ing again. <I'm a Meowth.> She spurts, <and _you_ are invading my personal space.> Getting mighty uncomfortable with the near-battle going on next to her, she attempts to push the Charizard's nose away with her paws, her claws being retracted.
The Sludge does hit. Luckily, for the Charizard, the gooey substance hits her in the back, and not in the face. Still, the slimy glob sizzles and burns her scaly skin, and she howls in pain, gritting her teeth in anger. Maia's paws connect with her nose, and the Charizard tilts her head back, her nostrils squeezing together, and her eyes shutting tightly. Her clawed paws go to her nose, and Dakshi holds her breath, and she appears very awkward. Despite her efforts, the Meowth's furry paws prove too itchy on her sensitive nostrils, and she lets out a thunderous sneeze, spraying a cloud of salvia, and other bodily fluids and mucus towards the Meowth. When the sneeze is through, the Charizard grunts apologetically, and turns to attend to the bothersome snake pokemon. With one swoop of an agile paw, she wraps her paws around the Ekan's middle, turning the pokemon's head away from her, so she won't get spit at. Lumbering on three paws, she approaches Kitty, and grumbles irritably. <This yours?> she inquires, thrusting the Ekans towards the trainer.
Unfortunately, Sligh is a very writhy snake, and a stubborn one at that. He bends his body, moving his head to bite into Dakshi's fingers, the only part of the Charizard that he can really reach. He attacks wordlessly, as Kitty looks on in horror, not understanding a word the Charizard just said. The trainer cannot exactly move to get Sligh's pokeball, since she is a bit more focused on putting her body between the Charizard and Fira and Brucie. The trainer's face goes paler than normal as she watches her stubborn Ekans attack once more.
Quite rude indeed to sneeze on your guests! Maia gasps and tries to wipe it all off, not daring to actually _lick_ herself. She shakes and turns, trying to get every last bit of the phlegm off of herself. <Argh!> As she assumes she has got it all off, her attention turns to the Ekans writhing in the Charizard's paw. Has he actually got enough guts to bite her? All Maia can do is stand and gape, hoping the Ekans doesn't get too hurt.
Well! The nerve! Dakshi growls in pain, and is torn between breaking the Ekan's slender spine, or throwing the painful pest on the ground and stomping on it. Nevertheless, oddly enough, Dakshi isn't bloodthirsty, and all she wants the Ekans to do is leave her alone. Approaching the girl further, she almost pleads, "<Here! Just take him! Put him one of those things!> she begs, pointing to a red and white sphere with an ebony claw, and putting the Ekans and inch from the trainer's face. Hopefully, even if the trainer doesn't understand the winged pokemon's speech, perhaps she'll understand her jerky gestures. As for the Meowth, the Charizard pays the charm-decorated pokemon no mind, just trying to get the Ekans away from her, before she looses her temper.
It finally clicks. "Sligh, down," Kitty orders. "She doesn't want to play. Maybe some other time." Sligh releases his grip on the Charizard, then grumbles loudly, emitting one of Vertebra's more colorful curses, as Kitty puts him in a pokeball. She then immediately turns to Brucie and Fira. "It's okay. She won't hurt us. Sshhh, Brucie," she coos, making sure the Squirtle stays calm.
Watching the Charizard growl painfully, and the Ekans get put back in his pokeball, Maia decides that she's getting ignored. Ignoring the fact that the Charizard is not in a good mood, she prances up to the group, looking around. She looks at the Squirtle, poor thing, it's only young. Well, she is too, but that's not the point. Sitting on her haunches, she waits to see if things will get nicer.
Dakshi sighs in relief as the Ekans leaves her grip and slithers away from her. She releases one more audible breath of air, and the relieved Charizard falls into a sitting position, her massive weight shaking the ground. The evolved pokemon's form slumps, and Dakshi arches her back, hangs her neck, and lets her wings sag hanging partially spread. Her eyes shut a moment, and her chest rises and falls as she catches her breath. This is way too much excitement for one day. Opening her eyes, she looks at Kitty her pokemon, and finally her eyes go back to the fluffy Meowth. Her fiery tail swishes back and forth as she ponders something, her tail flame flickering like a boy scout's campfire. A few insects flutter and hover by the light of her scaly appendage, but the Charizard pays the minuscule bugs no mind. Instead, she crosses her arms in front of her chest, a hint of annoyance still on her crinkled features. <So, what brings you here?> she asks the trainer, a bit of accusation in her grumble of a voice.
The trainer finally finishes calming down Brucie, then pulls the Squirtle into her lap, amazed that the Charizard is not attacking. After a quick translation from Fira, Kitty slowly explains, "Well, we wanted a warm place to go. Brucie can't really stand the cold," the Squirtle gives a 'Squirt' to acknowledge his presence. "And he sort of wanted to explore down here. And, I apologize for Sligh. He just always wants a challenge, especially a battle."
Maia hrms. She swishes her bent tail, and her whiskers twitch. The cold weather outside makes her want to stay here forever, but obviously that is not going to happen. She turns her head towards Kitty, her charm reflecting the light. <Hi.> She says plaintively, thinking about how she never actually said hi to Kitty or her pokemon.
This one never finished, either. O_O;