The Poochyena Pokémorph sat on the outcropping of rock, the deep rumble within his broad chest sending the airwaves reverberating with their strength. His trainer was on the ledge below him, and he watched her the way one may watch an enemy. In one hand, she held a long, thick black whip. It had proved useful against Mars so far, a quick snap on the muzzle here and there, despite the fact he was stronger and faster than she. However, the whip was being used for a different purpose this time. It's black sheen struck against the pale outcropping of sky for a moment, and then lashed itself around a rock. The barbed end dug itself in, and the woman tested it with her weight. Her slim, but strong arms hauled herself upward, one hand wrapped tightly. The edges were steep, and a light misty rain had started, but Kana had gotten this far. She was not one to give up.

Mars watched her progress with interest, wondering idly if she fell and died if he would be free. From the last flash of pain that he had experienced, he wondered if he would die as well. His growl deepened, the thick echoing walls of the open mountains around them passing it on with strengthening ferociousness. Her gloved hands reached the top of the peak, and Kana hauled herself up and over the edge with surprising ease, despite having been climbing most of the day. They had broke camp at around 5:34 AM, and had made it halfway up the mountain by lunch. Now the sky overhead was pouring out a misty rain, making visibility get harder. She was moving to the more traveled paths up the mountain, although in all honesty they were very few. Her hand gripped the side, her dark gold eyes sweeping what she could see from their perch on, quite literally in her mind, what was the top of the world.

"We'll stop for awhile." Her voice reverberated and echoed against the walls as much as Mars' deep growl, which silenced when she talked. He looked at her, not quite responding, but after spending a little time with the violent Poochyena, she was almost certain he understood most of her commands. She began to slip into a nearby cave hollow, it's cold insides unwelcoming, but the tinder box in her bag held promise, especially once she got it going. A few brave trainers passed this way though, and she knew that if anyone else happened to be around, they'd probably be attracted by the thought of fire and shelter in this cold rain. She slipped the tinderbox out of her bag as she let her thoughts unraveled, and Mars had to stoop to enter the cave. He sat like a human, one leg propped up, the other hand draped lazily along the back wall as his wary eyes watched as his trainer busied herself. He did not help.

At last, the few sparks of warmth came to light in the dampness. It had taken an awful lot of air, and Kana's cheeks flushed with the exertion, except the already bright-red mark where the healing scar still was. She sometimes debated putting a bandage on it, but it never seemed to help. "So, can you talk?" Her voice drifted to Mars, who neither spoke, nor acknowledged her. She didn't really care, but she was lonely lately. They had been traveling for a little bit with no compansionship, and she missed the days her and Isaac would travel and challange trainers, almost on the same mental wavelength. The old Charizard flooded her memory, and she shook her head in a bit of an annoyed way, before settling down with the heavy fur-lined cloak around her shoulders, basking in the warmth. For the moment they were alone, and silent, but peace didn't last long with a Pokémon like Mars and a human like Kana.

The weight crashed down on her a second before Mars' warning Howl broke the surface of the cave with blistering, ear-shrieking velocity, the cave walls almost rumbling with the battle cry. Kana couldn't feel her breath for a moment, her arms pinned. A bone had snapped in the upper right part of her body, and the pain had coursed through Mars' body a split second later. He charged forward recklessly at the Zubat, pulling himself upward in a leap, aiming to crash descisively into the Zubat's side to knock the creature off Kana. He had no particular like for the trainer, but the pain she was in was communicated to him unwillingly. He hated the strong mental bond thanks to that odd ball she had used to catch him, but there was simply nothing Mars could do about that.

Kana's voice had been silenced, the pain creating a hot sweat down her forehead. However, her eyes turned to face the Zubat with startled, but not unfrightened eyes. Her good arm snaked downward toward her belt, jerking up the side of her cloak for some sort of protection. Though, you could doubt it would do any good, that flimsy material against fangs. Mars' reverberating, blood-thirsty howl had turned into a growl mid-leap. His dark, crimson-colored eyes flashed with an almost sense of disdain. He didn't like these bloodsuckers, not even when he had been free. They were strange, and rather ugly, in his opinion. Mars enjoyed fine, beautiful things, like a female Vulpix. Needless to say, the Zubat wasn't very...pretty, to him.

Mars grasped his ears with another long howl, this time louder. Kana's senses ringing from the combined sounds made her gasp for air, her ears feeling like they were being pressed together harshly. She felt something trickle next to her face. Blood? She reached up, looking to see the familiar red stuff. When had she been bleeding? She grabbed the side of the wall, lurching forward unsteadily and grabbing her ears, which, luckily, were not the cause of the blood just yet. However, her head was foggy and unsure. Mars' sound combined with the Pokémorph's screech made the cave rumble unsteadily almost. Mars tried to keep steady feet, planting them firmly, but he swayed slightly as he tried to marshal his thoughts. It was hard to do, to say the least, with that ghastly sound digging like knives into his brain.

However, he knew the Zubat had recoiled from the high howl, and he also knew it had no eyes. He was rather smart when it depended on his own survival, as just about anyone was. His own sound waves would probably be echoing just as well, and while he was confused, he kept up that high, ferocious howl. It paused for a moment, in which he drew a deep drag of a breath, and then it's plaintiveness started again. The sounds would spill down the mountain from the cavern, no doubt, causing the ear-piercing echos that the mountains were so known for. His unsteady vision caused him to wobble for a second, but he tried to shake his head to clear it, pausing for a second again in his howl.

Kana, on the other hand, was completely and utterly useless in this situation. Not only had the pain from her broken arm caused an almost heat-wave reaction, she was pretty sure when her head had slammed against the back of the hard floor, she'd gotten an injury. From the blood on her left hand, it was probably so, and it came around the back of her head, maybe a little lower. It wasn't so bad, luckily, but with head wounds you always had to be careful. The sounds ringing sent her dizzy, and she wasn't even aware what was going on now. She'd been this helpless just recently, with the whole Isaac case, and now it was coming back to haunt her in a way.

Mars yelped loudly when the Zubat slammed into him, and even moreso when he suddenly felt his energy being sucked right from him. He grappled unsurely, but the sudden silence had given Kana time to move. She staggered upward, her vision foggy, but they fixed on the scene. There was something odd though. It was darker than it had been before. She fumbled for the whip, pulling it out, and struck at the Zubat's exposed back. The barbed end of the whip would, if it hit, sink into the flesh and let Kana jerk back the probably unexpecting Pokémorph. After all, humans rarely got involved in the fights, but Kana wasn't going to let Mars faint. If he did, they'd die up here. She knew that much. No one came up this way, except for a few hardy trainers, and with the way her eyesight was suddenly darkened, she'd never make it down the slope herself.

However, how she was going to convince Mars to carry her, she had no clue. Mars, on the other hand, was just trying to focus enough to throw the Zubat off. After a moment, he pushed his arms forward, against the slim body of the Zubat. His growl tightened, a high pitch in his throat. Hopefully, Kana's whip would at least pull the Zubat's attention away from him for a long enough time for him to regain most of his senses.

Of course, Kana knew that better than anyone, but right now her head wasn't clear enough to map out anything. As she was pinned down, the world went dark, although she was aware of the sounds and sudden rush. Mars' howl broke through again, although he sounded tired, and he tackled the Zubat once more. Not sure if it would work a second time, Kana tried to grapple upwards with the momentary distraction. She felt the ledge that led outside of the cave with her fingertips. She'd apparently been moving toward it throughout this whole time. Mars moved to dig his claws into the Zubat's back, particularly into the small scratches that the barbed whip had made, to make them much more painful and larger.

Mars' growl was deep and territorial at the moment. Well, at least Kana had learned her lesson. Don't go into caves, period. Now, if only she survived to make it out of the dark cave. Then again, there was something alarming about not being able to see anything suddenly. It was too dark, but her senses were muffled. She knew if she was close to the exit, a little bit of moonlight should have spilled out. She fumbled for the small tinderbox, striking a match, and when she didn't see the light, blindly threw it towards the general direction of the Zubat.

The pain nearly knocked Kana out. She was spent, basically, but when the weight suddenly vanished, she grabbed the ledge of the exit and jerked herself toward it. She basically went head over heels down, and a few sharp rocks grabbed at her shoulders. A wince passed her face, her nose catching a wiff of smoke. She'd tumbled out just out of the mouth of the cave, luckily. Now it was just Mars' job to get out of there. Then again, her thoughts raced. Isaac would have carried her back no problem, but Mars probably wouldn't care. Tears rushed to her temporary blinded vision, and she felt them mix on her cheeks with a bit of dust. It poured, and she shuddered in the cold night air, feeling the warmth of sticky blood.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. The thought came again and again as a breeze flew past her, and she felt heat off her cheek. She didn't want to die. She didn't have anything, not even a family anymore, but who truly wants to die? Her hands grasped pathetically at the nearly ripped cloak. Memories were only a reach away, but she shook her head. She couldn't die up here. Not here, where they'd find her skeleton all alone. No. She wasn't going to be...who knows... Devoured? By Pokémorphs? Just rot in the sun. She tried to get up, almost forgetting she was on a ledge.

Mars' roar rumbled, but he managed to keep his balance when he was flung back, although he hit the floor on his knees. He turned, his nose stinging from the smell of smoke. He slapped one paw across the stone, and flashed his gaze to the Zubat, giving an echoing howl, before he moved to the right, to the open mouth of he cave. A swift kick was given to the burning pile of leaves, flinging them toward the Zubat, but with a cost to Mars. He slapped a paw to quell the flame that had caught his fur, and he then moved to leave the cave.

Outside, Kana's foot slipped on the rickety ledge.