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Hitsu glanced in the direction that Yasha had wandered off in, sighing softly. Finding Rockets in the forest undoubtedly brought back memories that the Umbreon wasn't fond of, Hitsu was certain of it. "Yasha, we're going back to the cave!" She shouted into the darkness, hoping to be heard. Of course, Yasha would probably assume such to begin with. Though, she wanted to be safe.

"There now, we're only here to help..." Hitsuzen reassured the Espeon, despite her unconscious state. Very gently, Hitsu went about lifting the Pokemon from the ground. Holding her as one might be expected to cradle a child, she was a bit surprised to discover just how light the Espeon was. One couldn't be sure if it was the creature's small frame, or malnourishment. The creature certainly wouldn't be too thrilled to awaken in the arms of a human, from the way she seemed to be acting towards them several minutes before.

"Back off!" Sphinx had barked at Ran, looking rather annoyed that the Vaporeon had found it a good idea to try and gather his attention in such a way. He peered around them again for a long moment, appearing uneasy, before approaching his Mistress. "Need me to carry it?" He questioned, in a much friendlier tone.

"I'm fine, she's actually really light." Hitsu replied, frowning a bit. "Makes me worry a bit more, though." With that, she began to head toward the direction that they had come from, back toward the cave. "We've got to get out of this storm, before she gets sick." Who knew if she was speaking too late.

It seemed ages before they finally reached the cave again, and Hitsu took little time to produce another bright orb of light to illuminate the large entrance of the cavern. The light originally created for their battle had faded away without her nearby to keep it going. Gently, she placed the Espeon on the ground next to the remains of the small fire. "This certainly won't do..." She muttered to herself, looking about for dry leaves and sticks to bring the dying flames back to life.

Sphinx appeared more eager to stand a bit close to the mouth of the cave, perhaps waiting for Yasha to return. Or, perhaps he was trying to guard the lot of them from any intruders that they might have overlooked. Leaning quietly against the cave wall, he gave a slight shudder. The cave was quite a bit colder when one was completely soaked, let alone bare skinned in several places.

"What am I thinking?" Hitsu finally stated, reaching to her waist to press the release button on Gouka's PokeBall. She motioned to the dying fire, giving the Flareon her simple instructions. "Please, help us warm her up." For a moment, Hitsuzen considered releasing all of her Pokemon. Though, some might be a bit too hyperactive for such a situation.

[Early... Late... I hadn't went to sleep yet. XD I've got my sleeping pattern all out of whack, and I've been staying up until 4am. x_x;]

Quickly giving a nod, Gouka stepped up to the remains of the fire. Taking in a deep breath into his chest, the Flareon exhaled several small Embers of flame onto what was left of the leaves and sticks that had already been lying there. Once Hitsu had brought him more, the process was repeated in order to get a stronger fire going.

"Thank you, Gouka." Hitsu stated quietly, biting her lower lip gently in thought. She stepped off toward an opening near the far wall of the cavern, vanishing for a few moments before returning with a somewhat large leather bag. It was placed on the ground a few feet from the fire, and from within it Hitsu pulled out two thick blankets. The first was carefully draped over the Espeon, covering all but her eyes and muzzle in an attempt to get her warmed up quickly. The second she held over one arm, walking over to Poke a moment later and holding it out to her. "This one might benefit you, we wouldn't want you getting sick either. You can come closer to the fire if you want, of course." She stated with a light smile, mentally knowing well enough that Sphinx would refuse a blanket even if she offered. As usual, he wouldn't want to appear weak in any manner.

Hitsu shook her head, waving a hand absently as she turned to walk back toward the fire. "Don't worry about me, I'm supposed to be used to the cold anyhow." Aside from the fact that if she somehow managed to get any sort of human illness, she'd probably not have it past a couple of days or so. One of the advantages of regeneration, that was. The fire looked like it was doing fine, so Hitsu returned Gouka to his Pokeball for the time being. Right now, she was certain that the smallest crowd possible would be best for the Espeon when she awakened. To Ran, Hitsu sighed. She peered at the Espeon for a moment, and gave a small shrug. "Hard telling just yet, I'd say..." She hoped that warmth and shelter would aid somewhat, perhaps at least help bring her around again. "I wonder why they were chasing her? Do you think she was actually wild?" Hitsu questioned aloud, pondering.

Shivering had slowly eased up after the blanket had been draped over her, but even now and again her body or a various limb attached to it would give a twitch. Sometimes violently, as though she were having a nightmare. After her ordeal, one could easily understand. Her breathing would become frantic every now and again, slow up, and she'd pant again. Light whimpers escaped her, though if it could be from her dreams or her injuries was uncertain.

[*chuckles* Almost a full six months that I've needed to reply to this one. XD; Here's to being fully caught up for the time being!]

Suddenly, the Espeon gave a jolt. Apparently, she had awakened with quite a start. Bolting out from underneath her blanket as though afraid something was attempting to engulf her, she stumbled and soon met with the ground again as she failed to keep her footing in her weakened state. She still remained conscious, however, and quickly scrambled awkwardly to the cave entrance.

Sphinx, most likely not processing just how terrified this Pokemon was, leapt into her path and gave a deep growl to urge her back inside.

Giving a yelp, the Espeon skidded to a halt and ended up crashing to the floor again in the process, turning tail and running for the tunnel leading underground. However, when she was about to rush inside she suddenly halted again. The chill from the opening scared her, and she quickly decided against going there. Instead, she quickly limped behind the nearest stalagmite and huddled herself up in a vain attempt to remain unseen.

Going tense, yet not moving toward the Espeon, Hitsu stared on as she scrambled about. "Good Lord!" She cried, eyes widening toward the cave opening as she thought the injured Pokemon was about to escape. However, Sphinx too it upon himself to take care of that in one of the worst means he could have chosen. As Poke gave him a whack to the head, Hitsu was shouting at him. "Sphinx! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"Hey!" Sphinx barked, growling lightly as he shot a glare at Poke. The hit certainly didn't hurt him, but there was a good chance that Poke would have made herself sore by striking that golden headdress of his. "It worked, didn't it!? Don't complain!" With the last, he sneered at Hitsu. Man, he was defensive.

~But they are humans!~ The Espeon replied in an exhausted, yet panicked tone. She, of course, was not aware of how wrong she was. Giving a shudder, she scooted toward the Vaporeon slightly. He had helped her in the forest, so perhaps he was trustworthy. ~Do you trust them?~ She asked shakily, peering around her hiding place and toward the shouting trio. ~All of them?~

Sphinx only gave a snort, "Try it. You'll find out what happens when an animal wakes up feeling threatened." From the tone of his voice, it was suggested that it would not be an experience that Poke was likely to try a second time, if she survived through the first.

Apparently ignoring the comment on Sphinx's part, as she was distracted trying to lure out the Espeon. "There now, we're not going to hurt you. I promise." She said softly, holding her hand out at arm's length with a few small Pokemon treats resting on her open palm. "Come on now, we need to have those wounds looked at."

Ears lowered a bit, in fear rather than anger. She only stared at the food, but resisted going out after it. She was indeed very hungry, and couldn't rightly remember when she'd last eaten. Running for so long, just to try and stay one step ahead of those who hunted her. Still, they had nearly caught her. And now she felt trapped in this cave, unsure of what to expect.

Ran received no answer to his question, and the Espeon only fidgeted a moment. Acting as though she were moving from her hiding spot, only to decide against it a second later. Tongue flicking over her lips quickly as she struggled over just what she should do. This one was a human in her eyes, and she spoke kindly, but she'd experienced her share of the same in that laboratory only to suffer later.