Ashlee tries for a Natrelmon [Forest again]

"Sparwire, check it out!" shouted Ashlee, after again seeing some rustling in the grass, this time at the bottom of the hill towards the forest. Sparwire rose into the air until it was about five feet above Ashlee and then she pulled her wings back into a fairly shallow dive. She opened her wings just before she reached the area of grass, flapping them heavily to slow herself down and also using the Wind innate to blow the grass around, exposing anything that might be hiding there. But there was still nothing. Reluctantly, Sparwire landed, and shot up an Inner Storm to tell Ashlee to come down, since flying up the hill again would be much more difficult.

As Sparwire landed and shot the electricity into the air, Ashlee became excited. She mistook Sparwire's desire to not have to fly up the hill again with her finding a Natrelmon, and so Ashlee ran down the hill. Thus, she was surprised when she saw Sparwire standing on the ground with no other Natrelmon near by, but then she realized why Sparwire had called her. Ashlee sighed and reached out right arm for Sparwire to perch on again. She then turned and looked at Lifan in the distance and checked the time on her PDA. She had been out here for almost twenty minutes and still hadn't found even a sign of a Natrelmon. Maybe she should just go home for the day. Then Ashlee looked at the line of trees at her side. She had wanted to find a Natrelmon in the plains, but maybe there would just be better luck in the forest.

Well, it's better than giving up totally. Besides, I had pretty good luck yesterday. There should be plenty of Natrelmon in there. Ashlee then looked at her PDA again, so that she could remember where she had entered the forest from if she got lost on her way out, and headed into the forest. She was further away from Lifan than she had been before, so this area of the forest was new to her. There was also no path nearby, to her knowledge, so hopefully there would be more wild Natrelmon around. One thing that did worry her about the forest, however, was the Natrelmon getting out of her sight. Sparwire, as fast as she was, could probably follow most Natrelmon, but Ashlee still didn't like not knowing what was happening. She also didn't want to risk losing the Natrelmon; she was lucky that she had been able to find Sparwire and Ebe the day before. Unlike the plains, battles here had to be short...

Ashlee found that in this deeper part of the forest, with no path near, she had to take more care in navigating the trees and making sure that she didn't trip on any roots or other odds and ends that made be present on the forest floor. Again, the forest reminded Ashlee of the thick forests near Armkfish. She remembered begging her mom to explore them for quite a while when she was about ten years old, and then her mom finally conceding on the condition that Aiex, not yet a member of the Elite Triumvirate, go with her. Ashlee's mom was right. The forest was dangerous. Aiex had kept her Atrinox out the entire time and had to use it to repel wild Natrelmon a few times. After that day, Ashlee had little desire to return to the forest. Just thinking about it sent slight chills down Ashlee's spine. I have nothing to be afraid of. My Natrelmon will protect me and I will protect them, though Ashlee.

Ashlee continued to weave between the trees, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of a Natrelmon. At this point, she wouldn't be too picky. Even if she found a Natrelmon she didn't want to use, she could still probably find someone to whom to sell or trade it. After all, no Natrelmon, except possibly Armkfish, were totally useless, and even Armkfish evolved into the powerful Sea Tyrant. Such a huge change in evolution was surprising, but not unheard of. Speaking of Water type Natrelmon, at this point Ashlee came across a relatively small stream that ran through the forest.

Maybe I could find a Water Natrelmon in here, thought Ashlee. I've heard that the leader of the Toran Arena uses Fire types, so that would help a lot. She sat down next to the bank, again making sure that the descent wouldn't bother Sparwire too much. The stream's water was fairly clear, but Ashlee didn't see any Natrelmon in it immediately. Still, she might as well rest here for a while, and maybe a Natrelmon come by while she did, unlike the hilltop. Sparwire eyed the water with suspicion; as a bird, especially an Electric one, Sparwire disliked water quite a bit.

The water flowing through the stream brought to mind Ashlee's thirst, and so she withdrew her water bottle from her bag after letting Sparwire down to the ground and took a long drink. She then replaced the cap on her water bottle and returned it to her bag. Still, she could see no Natrelmon in the stream, nor in the forest around it.

Wow. What happened? Is there normally such a lack of Natrelmon here? thought Ashlee. Are they just staying away because they can tell a trainer is nearby? I hope not. That would complicate things... Ashlee then withdrew her PDA from her pocket and looked at the time display. She also noticed that her signal was quite weak now. I've been out here for almost forty minutes, and still nothing. Well, I guess I should keep looking, then. Ashlee then returned her PDA to her pocket, let Sparwire climb on her right arm again, and stood up. She decided that her best hope at the moment would be to cross the stream. While it looked shallow enough for her to wade through it, she did not really want to do so, especially dressed as she was and with her PDA in her pocket.

"Sparwire, fly downstream and upstream and see if there's anything I could use to get across." Sparwire took off from Ashlee's arm and headed downstream first. She took care to fly slowly so that she could observe her surroundings, both for something that would help Ashlee cross the stream and also for any Natrelmon that might be nearby. However, Sparwire didn't need special attention to notice a partially toppled over tree on her left. Excitedly, she turned around (with some difficulty, due to the trees) and flew back to Ashlee. Sparwire landed on Ashlee's outstretched arm, chirped excitedly, and fired a small bolt of electricity in the direction of the toppled tree. Ashlee began to walk in that direction, weaving her way through the thick trees.

A smile appeared on Ashlee's face when she saw the tree. Sure, it was toppled in the direction opposite the river, but it looked small enough for her to move with some effort while still large enough for her to crawl across. It was also broken in two pieces, which was noticeable upon closer inspection, with the trunk still in the ground and the majority of the tree toppled over with the two thinly connected. There were also several cracks in the trunk on the side of the toppled part of the tree that was facing up; it seemed like a Natrelmon had knocked the tree over. Ashlee kneeled down beside what had once been the top of the tree and lifted it off the ground with some effort. She then slowly began to move it to the opposte side, holding it low to the ground so the weak joint would not be bent too much. When she neared the edge of the stream, Ashlee adjusted her grip to a lower part of the tree, since the top would have to reach the other side of the river, though it was harder to lift this part due to leverage. She carefully let go of the tree when the top of it was on the other side of the stream.

Slowly, Ashlee raised herself onto the log. Once she was on it, she held onto it with both of her arms and legs. In this position, she carefully began to edge her way across. When she neared the middle, she could feel the thin tree bend underneath her. Her heart beat raced, but she knew it was best just to keep making her way to the other side, which she soon reached without any more problems. She also managed to dismount the tree without issue. Sparwire then flew to Ashlee's side of the stream, having stayed behind on a tree branch to monitor Ashlee's progress. On the other side, Ashlee realized that that amount of effort probably wasn't worth it, but at the very least she was dry and more or less unharmed.

Hopefully we can find some Natrelmon here. At this point, Ashlee had more or less given up vocalizing her thoughts to Sparwire, who now rested on Ashlee's left forearm to give her right some rest. Ashlee pulled her PDA out of her bag and again checked the time. She had been out here looking for about an hour. If she didn't find a Natrelmon soon, she would probably stop looking. Ashlee put her PDA back in her pocket and withdrew one of the Relics she had purchased, holding it loosely in her right hand. At this point, the time she had spent had sort of reduced the tension, since nothing had come at Ashlee yet. She began to walk along this side of the stream while looking mostly to her right, the side of the stream she was unfamiliar with.

Rolling...

The member 'LadySheeana' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 38, 31, 1, 19

Ashlee saw a Kaeru resting on a rock underwater, and she tried to catch it with a Relic E.

The member 'LadySheeana' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 28