Stuck Between a Rock and ...

When he decided to take on this job, Ingrimm did not expect to find himself fighting for his life. Yet, there he was; flattened against a moss-covered wall with tense legs and a scowl upon his face. Below, there was a steep fall that was sure not to kill him, but it would certainly hurt more than he was willing to endure if he were to tumble off the narrow ridge at any point. All that he could think to himself amidst his constant, droning groans was a singular phrase: ”This sucks.”

If nothing else, he found it comforting that his irritation would supersede any nerves he had accumulated over the course of their journey thus far.

Astride the Wooper however, were his remaining party members. Among them were Solstice — the winged Shedinja from his own team — and two rather unfamiliar Charcadets; leaders from another team within the Global Communications Setup Foundation who were acquainted with some of his acquaintances. Though one of the two ‘mons resembled a Charcadet as he would have expected, the other appeared wholly strange and foreign. The young man bore silver plating rather than the typical red-grey that his partner donned. Much more obviously, he had spectral wings which he manifested with ease when it came time for him to take flight.

The sight of it made Ingrimm jealous, he had to admit. As he would occasionally pause along the cliff to fix his eye upon his teammate and new acquaintances, he would be forced to take in the reality that he was the only one who did not possess the means to fly comfortably among the misty clouds. At the very least, the flight-challenged Adrasteos was being graciously upon his partner Iknaeia’s back with the latter’s ethereal wings hardly getting in the way due to their incorporeal nature. The reminder only served to strengthen his disdain for the entire situation. How did becoming interim leader of his own GCSF team come to this?

“Grimm?”

The voice came calling over the howling of the wind that pushed passed them all, high above the rivers raging beneath them. Ingrimm opened his eye, unaware that he had closed it after his last long sigh. Glancing over, he recognized that it was Solstice who attempted to speak with him. The Shedinja hovered down to his height and was hanging there in the air without the need to even beat their wings.

Solstice was a very expressive man if you caught him outside of his diminutive form. Ingrimm was sure that he would have cocked a brow had he not been confined to a husk “You good? Offer’s still open.”

“I’m fine,” the Wooper snapped back. When the question had been posed to him a few hours ago, he had refused then as well. Not that he had divulged it with any of his allies at the time, but he simply could not take it upon himself to come into contact with another person — let alone another person in a ‘mon form. It was a habit he could not break, and he had no intention to any time soon. Still, his expression did soften somewhat as he soon realized that Solstice tipped their head curiously at the zealous response. “But thank you. I’ll be fine.”

“Ehh…” It was Adrasteos who spoke next, calling over to the pair, his eyes narrow as though he were wincing or cringing. He gestured ahead of Ingrimm, towards the wall. “Not with that in your way, you won’t be.”

Ingrimm was, if nothing else, grateful that he did not have to turn bodily to look at the obstacle in his way. Had they been traveling in the direction of his blindspot, he would not have been able to move at all. Sure enough, just a few yards before them, a splintered tree lay hanging precariously from its deep-grown roots along the rocks. It would have been an awe-inspiring sight had it not brought to mind so much agitation in the Wooper. It was right in his path and he was far too little in his current state to clamber over it.

Ingrimm, for the umpteenth time, groaned. “You gotta be fucking kidding me…”