I BEAT YOU COLD

The member 'The Science Freak' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 61, 42, 18, 94

After his third attempt, Key finally captured the Metosune, which was immediately followed up by a Reacat. Ashlee still seemed to be having more luck, but was trying to counter that by using her Sparwire to search. He was going to go talk to her, to try to offer some kind of help, but the Reacat now demanded his attention. He did admire the way she commanded the Sparwire. He hoped that he could speak in the same kind of tone to his companions.

With Metosune's key safely tucked away, the next issue was the Reacat. It was semi-pointless to try and weaken it, since it really couldn't get much weaker. Key just immediately pulled out his relic and attempted to capture the creature. So far, his luck was decent. He had found two decent Natrelmon that would either help his team or be ones that could sell. He was considering keeping the Reacat if he couldn't find a better trainer for it, but he had a friend in mind that might be a perfect companion to it.

The new key he pulled out would hopefully be the home of his new Reacat...

"Not having much luck?" Key called to Ashlee, trying to be friendly with his tone. He took extra care not to sound like he was making fun of her. Since he had gotten two Natrelmon in quick succession, he would go see if he could give some of his luck to her. And, they weren't even that bad of Natrelmon.

(( First two are potential dice rolls ))

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

#1 'Percentile' : 25

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#2 'Percentile' : 42

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#3 'Percentile' : 8, 94, 74, 83

Trying F-rank to Panzer.

58 or lower succeeds.

The member 'The Science Freak' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 1

Although Sparwire was flying above looking for Natrelmon, Ashlee didn't stop paying attention to what was around her. Maybe Sparwire would miss something that she wouldn't. Looking at the ground, she noticed some small depressed areas in the cherry petals and got excited. They had to be Natrelmon tracks. Clearly there were Natrelmon here, since both Key and Valerie had caught some. Ashlee followed the tracks to a tree, calling Sparwire back to her outstretched arm. She looked in the tree, and at first she couldn't make out anything, but eventually she realized that there was a squirrel sitting in the branches, well camouflaged.

I know that Natrelmon... thought Ashlee, but its name escaped her. It was clear by looking at it that it was a Grass type, and she was pretty sure that it was Poison too. She wasn't really fond of either of those types, and she would have to make it come out of its tree. She felt like she shouldn't be picky if she was barely able to find Natrelmon at all, but if she was going to take a creature from the wild and raise it, she figured it better be one she wanted.

So, she left the Xiao alone, sending Sparwire into the air again. Clearly her original theory wasn't correct, and there weren't many Natrelmon on the edge of the forest. Even with Valerie and Key there, she was probably better off in the center. Maybe they could talk, too. Searching for Natrelmon would be a lot less boring and stressful if there were others there to talk. Maybe they could help her find some Natrelmon, too. After all, Key and Valerie had each caught at least one Natrelmon, and Ashlee had only found one which she didn't even want to catch.

As Ashlee hoped, she noticed Key was approaching her as she headed more towards the center of the forest. "No," said Ashlee in response to his question, "I guess not. This is my first time too... but I'm sure I'll find something." She didn't want to sound too melodramatic (after all, it wasn't that big of a deal), but a bit of disappointment seeped into her voice. "I'm Ashlee, by the way. Nice to meet you."

Well, maybe tonight wouldn't be a complete failure. Ashlee wasn't ready to give up quite yet, but at this point it didn't seem like she was going to get very lucky. Still, even if she found some Natrelmon, she would at least make a friend. By the looks of his Natrelmon, Ashlee guessed that Key was a beginner too, here for the tournament much like herself. Maybe the two would fight some time. It would probably be better if her first Natrelmon battle was with a friend, rather than a stranger. She would feel less pressure that way. Already Key seemed like a nice person.

Ashlee looked a Key every now and then, but she didn't want to get distracted from looking for a Natrelmon. It was still her primary reason for being out here. Sparwire's flying would help, too, hopefully. There had to be at least one Natrelmon here that she liked. Maybe this wasn't the best time of day to look for Natrelmon or something like that, though. Next time she might try to go in the morning or afternoon. Eventually she would probably find a time that would work, but until then it was just trial and error. Right now, though, she was falling more on the side of error.

Sparwire was getting a little anxious, too. It seemed eerily quiet. There should have been more Natrelmon out. Still, she flied around looking for some. Maybe they were there, but just hiding, in which case her flying strategy might not be the best.

New post messed up my roll.

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

'Percentile' : 60, 14, 35, 3

Rolling to capture Frosear...

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

'Percentile' : 11, 76, 36

Valerie wasn't surprised that she had found a Panzer in the immediate area of what she expected; it was similar in size to the forest sprites, especially in the infancy this grass panther was. She caught it anyway, knowing that this Natrelmon had a popularity with certain people. This added a third, jade ring to her collection, adding to the sapphire and golden quartz, all referring to the gems in the skull's eyes, glowing with a faint glint.

Taking a small mental break, Valerie looked over and saw that the other two trainers were having a small conversation. This was only in passing glance, as she moved further into the brush. Human interaction confounded her, which meant that she was invariably going to be overly distracted by people talking in the background. As this was the case, she moved deeper into the forest, perhaps a little haphazardly through the brush, Sparwire giving a chirp as if telling her to be careful.

Valerie reached the other end of the clearing, now entering into deeper forest much more. She let Sparwire off into the air, copying Ashlee's tactic of using a set of airborne eyes, as Valerie kept low, looking in burrows, knotholes, nooks, and crannies, trying to find the Natrelmon she needed for her team. The sun, however, was beginning to set, and time was going to run out; this was perhaps the last few minutes she had to reliably search before she would have to call it a night.

Regardless, she forged on, finding a further path that would lead back to Sakura. She walked back towards the city, keeping a keen search for Natrelmon as she went on, careful not to go too far off the path or turn any unnecessary rocks over, not wanting to disturb anything nocturnal or violent. Sparwire stayed above, following behind Valerie, having to flap its wings slightly more often than before as the thermal below began to die out, as the night rolled in.

The sky turned from orange to a faint, dark purple, the blue never truly fading from the sky that night. The slight navy distracted Valerie, intrigued by nature; only the peck of a Sparwire briefly landing on her head snapped her out of this. Shaking her head, she kept going onward. It was dangerous in the night... Sparwire was looking out for her, it seemed. Well, it was the thing that knew her best...

Once more, there was a shuffle in the foliage which attracted Valerie's attention, and once more, Sparwire took to Valerie's shoulder, looking over at the disturbance, ready to fight or protect his trainer as necessary. She stepped forward, noticing the source to be in brush between two trees... holding her breath, all fell silent once more as she peered inward. Either there was something, or it was just the wind...

If all else failed, of course, she was well on the way on getting back to Sakura. She was tired, after all, needing to get back at some point soon.

The member 'The Science Freak' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 75, 77, 79, 10

Key nodded at Ashlee, listening politely to her as she searched for a Natrelmon.

"With all of these trainers out here, it might be difficult to find anything really good," Key commented, knowing that he hadn't gotten anything that he really wanted. "There just might be too much commotion around here so most of the Natrlemon have left the area. It might clear up once the tournament gets over..."

Subconsciously, Key was looking her over as a potential opponent in the tournament. She was clearly a beginning trainer too and would probably be facing him at some point. While no one knew what the grand prize was, everyone was going to be vying for the championship title. It did have a bit of prestige with it. He had heard rumors of another trainer that was going to be ranked as tier 1, like him. He wondered if this was the trainer he had heard about....

She definitely had a skilled air about her. The way she had commanded her Sparwire earlier was someone that was very thoughtful and considerate. That was a sign of a good trainer. If Ashlee was the trainer, staying near her might give him some insight on her, not to beat her, but just on how she was rumored to be so skilled. Key hadn't interacted a whole lot with his Kohitsuji since he left Relin, which was starting to make him feel a bit guilty. But, right now, having it out wouldn't do a whole lot.

He noticed Ashlee had found a wild Natrelmon - a Xiao. She didn't seem that excited about it though, which Key could understand. Xiao wasn't an exciting Natrelmon and while at the low levels it could be powerful in the hands of a good trainer, as things got more advanced, its power with poison was something Key felt diminished rapidly. He much preferred Natrelmon like Kohitsuji, or even Sparwire.

"I see you chose a Sparwire," he commented, making idle conversation, "I chose a Kohitsuji." He didn't know if Ashlee would care, but he didn't really have much else to say about that. He was just trying to be polite, although he did feel a bit foolish making such idle chatter. He hoped Ashlee would be able to think up something more interesting to say. Key wasn't much of a conversationalist.

Despite his conversation with Ashlee, Key was still alert for wild Natrelmon. He could hear some rustling around, but he hoped it wouldn't seem like he was encroaching on Ashlee's territory, especially if he got a good Natrelmon. Of course, the Natrelmon could also forge a powerful alliance between the two. He just had to hope a bit of luck struck him now....

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

'Percentile' : 44, 90, 100, 58

Just as Key began to talk, Ashlee spotted a small white bear in front of them and a little to the right. Ashlee couldn't remember exactly what type it was, but it was a goddamn bear. It had to be useful in some capacity. It was very small and somehow hadn't noticed the pair yet, so Ashlee figured she might take this chance to use a relic. Motioning for Key to stay quiet for a moment, she withdrew a Relic E and captured the surprised bear on the first try.

"Well, I guess not," laughed Ashlee in reply to his question. "Maybe we're here earlier than the others or something. I don't don't plan to stay here long after the tournament, though. The Arena here is way out of my league."

Ashlee had almost forgotten about the tier system that was being used for the tournament. She wondered how they ranked te trainers; after all, a lot of them hadn't even had battles before. Ashlee was ranked Tier 1, the best of them all, with very few members, but she didn't feel like she had done anything to earn it. She hadn't even battled before... though if she didn't do well, her tier would drop to fit her skill level. Still, she didn't like the fact that she felt like the only reason she had been ranked so high was her relation to Aiex.

"Yeah, I like birds... and electricity seems kind of cool, I guess." Ashlee blushed a little.

Once again, Key listened politely to Ashlee. She seemed friendly enough, if not a bit shy. Although, Key was very much similar in that regard. It also was kind of comical to Key to hear her rationale for why she picked the Natrelmon she did - it was very similar to Key. He basically picked Kohitsuji because he liked sheep and psychics were cool (except for Key's case, replace cool with powerful). He did smile a bit at this, but it was more of an inward smile.

Key also noticed the bear type Natrelmon, a creature he hadn't seen before, despite living in an area that they were semi-common. It was just the way things worked. He knew of people that hadn't seen a Kohitsuji until these beginning tournaments! And, in his mind, that was even sillier, but it was all luck of the draw when trying to come across Natrelmon.

When Ashlee attempted to capture the creature, Key's hands tightened in a subconscious reaction to her capture attempt. It was as if he held his hand tighter, the better chance she would have to capture it. Since she had such horrible luck so far, he really was cheering for her to catch it - albeit it quietly, as not to scare the Natrelmon away. Finding new Natrelmon was key to a trainer's journey.