Gaia Expedition - Skeleton Dance
Breanna panted slightly as she carefully picked between the various skeletons jutting from the savannah grass. She watched as Inkblot, transformed into the shape of a small rodent, scurried and hopped playfully between the bones and around her legs. She had agreed to keep an eye on the active little shapeshifter as well as her own little trickster, Midna, while Knive kept an eye on Hitchcock with Skeleton Jack's help. Honestly, she felt like she had gotten the better part of that deal. She still wasn't quite sure why he had been so insistent on bringing the chaotic skeleton along, Knive's only explanation was a grumbled reply about "burning off excess energy".
She was amazed to find so many plants sprouting up between the bones that littered the area. Despite the general air of death surrounding the area, it was incredibly still fairly full of life. There were a couple of times she had to collect Inkblot after the little critter had gotten distracted sniffing at some random flower he had found.
They had been walking for a few hours when they decided to rest under the shade of a giant rib cage. Breanna sighed as she plopped down onto a rock, jumping slightly when Hitchcock goofily rested his skull on top of her head, she was still getting used to his oddly cuddly behavior.
They rested for a short while, watching as Inkblot and Midna chased each other through the plants and around the protruding bones of the landscape while Jack and Hitchcock chose to rest near - or in Hitchcock's case, on - their trainers. "It's starting to get dark, we'd better head back," Knive spoke, looking up at the sky as a few stars started to peek through the fading sunset.
Breanna nodded as she stood and went to retrieve her pack. As she bent over, however, she became aware of a strange sound. The Pokemon seemed to notice it too. Midna and Jack both straightened up, their ears standing erect to try and pinpoint the source. "Do you hear that?" Breanna asked Knive.
Knive stood still for a moment and nodded, listening as the wind carried the faint sound of music past them. He turned slightly and became aware of a light, like the glow of a bonfire bouncing off the rocks and bones.
The two trainers and their Pokemon slowly approached the sound and light, and as they peeked over a small ridge, they were greeted with quite a spectacle. Several full skeletons were standing upright through unknown means and dancing to what sounded like xylophone music.
"What the-?" Knive could barely process what he was seeing and Breanna was unable to form words at all. This was, after all, a bit new. Ghosts, skeletal animals, zombified beasts, these were things that could be expected sometimes when you were dealing with Pokemon. But a group of humanoid skeletons that were just randomly having a party in the middle of nowhere with no recognizable cause or source? That was... something else entirely.
As Breanna watched the animated skeletons dancing she couldn't help but feel an odd sensation of nostalgia. "Well, I don't think they're a threat." She muttered as she returned her attention to the bony apparitions cutting a rug to the disembodied music. The figures seemed harmless enough - they were just bones after all - and besides, they looked to be enjoying themselves. Surprisingly, she found the mood to be somewhat infectious. She turned back to see that Midna and Inkblot were both bouncing to the beat and Hitchcock's feathers vibrated as the skeletal bird became excited.
Knive, on the other hand, had seen and was used to a lot of things, but dancing dead people was not on the list. He wanted out.
"Look, let's just get out of here before things get any weirder. Where are the others?" Knive turned quickly to gather the Pokemon to leave, but as he did he found that only Jack was still standing behind them. "Umm..." Breanna tapped his shoulder gently. "Let me guess... They're playing with the dead guys."
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure Hitchcock will have burned off plenty of energy by the time they're done..."