Split Thread PG14

[KaraC]

Potions? Jo eyed the two unfamiliar spray bottles resting beside the wrapped bars on the upturned hands. 'Potion' was the name of the endurance enhancers for pit pokemon, some of them were good but a lot of them had nasty stuff in them. Good for the short term, bad for the long. Her right hand darted out and scooped up one of the offered bottles.

Bringing the nozzle up to her nose she took a sniff. It wasn't an endurance enhancer, it smelled more like the anti-infection topical creams. But there was no way to know for sure.
The heavy breathing of the brothers said she was losing more time than she'd like jawing with these three. The sun indicated it was already high noon, she should be at the oasis by now. Instead she was stuck bargaining with three Summoners. Now she'd have to set up the shade and take shelter until nightfall.
"Those 'Potions' are worthless and these bars aren't even close to matching fare. Try again." She turned to the last one. "What about you Chunky? Got enough to make it worth having my tauros exert the effort to haul you to Culler City?"

 

[Groc]

Vince thinks for a moment, wondering what he has of value. He mutters under his breath, wondering what could be of use to the woman in this land. She held all the cards, and he had-

"What about you Chunky? Got enough to make it worth having my tauros exert the effort to haul you to Culler City?"

Vince sends out Pelipper, scowling at the woman. "Pelipper, Spit Up!" Pelipper opens his mouth spitting out Vince's backpack, winter clothes, emergency pack, and Torchic. He grabs the emergency pack as Pelipper swallows everything else.

"Here. Emergency supplies. Bandages, medications to numb pain, bitter herbs to help recover health, a bottle of whisk' for Sir, and anesthetics for ma'am. I'm sure you need it in this hellhole."

 

[KaraC]

Jo grabbed the pack and upended its contents to the ground, ignoring anything the three might say and trusting Pidgeot to watch her back. After giving the bag a couple more shakes to ensure it was empty she dropped it on the ground as well and crouched down to inspect the items. She had to admit these Summoners were the strangest bunch she'd ever dealt with but the stuff they were trading was Lord quality.

The bandages were fully sealed in plastic and looked sterile. There were pain-killers in abundance for pokemon and human. She opened the herb bag a crack and took a deep, careful sniff. Her brow furrowed. It ... seemed familiar, like she should know this.

Jo licked the tip of her index and thumb clean of the dust and dirt covering it. Once shining wetly with spit in the sun she broke off a small bit of the herb and stuck it in her mouth. Fighting the urge to spit it out was difficult, but she managed and was rewarded with the knowledge of the herb's use. Shame there was only the single dose, she'd heard some Lords paid through the nose to have this shipped to them.

Brushing aside the 'anesthetics' as it wasn't chloroform or ether, the only good knockout items she knew of, she popped open the whiskey and tossed back a mouthful. Not bad. Not as good as her personal supply but good in a pinch.

"Alright. That's two. You," she pointed to the gun-toter, "have until I get the spare wagon ready to get enough for fare or you'll be left behind." Sharply she turned and deftly released Big and Little from their harnesses. "Pidgeot, Big, Little; watch them." When the three of them were ready she crawled under the wagon and flipped on her back to start unbuckling the many straps holding the cargo wagon in place.

Big Tauros, like his master, remembered the two big fire Demons from then and hated them on sight. Little Tauros and Pidgeot were much younger than he was, hatched seven years ago to his thirty. He pawed the packed dirt with a single flinty hoof and tossed his head warningly with a snort; horns flashing in the sun. Little Tauros huffed inquisitively to his elder with a head tilt. Big Tauros stomped his hoof authoritively.

Little Tauros lowered his head in submission. He didn't understand but he didn't question Big Tauros any further. They didn't smell bad to him. The Demons looked scary, sure. But he was more curious than scared and certainly didn't hate them.

Pidgeot saw Little Tauros glance at him and gave an avian shrug. He only knew what Little knew about Demons and Summoners. Had heard the stories from Jo, the radio reports from other regions. He didn't quite understand Big Tauros' hatred either, but like Little didn't question it.

 

[Rabbit]

Sam watched the driver inspect Sam's items with hard curiosity. She gave each item a careful go-over, treating each like she'd never seen it before and understood its use only on her own terms. He felt like the three of them were Europeans trading with natives. Except they weren't trading beads for furs. The lady knew what their gear was worth.

"Alright. That's two. You," she pointed at him, "have until I get the spare wagon ready to get enough for fare or you'll be left behind." Sam shrugged. He had already zipped up Beck's pack and turned to Jackie, who was standing patiently as a pony on his left. She was carrying his own emergency pack - they were standard issue. He took it out, noting a crushed cigarette pack underneath it and slipping it in his jeans beside the radio. No way was he giving away his smokes if he didn't have to.

Unharnessed, the Tauroses became more restless. Sam noticed the big one pawing the dirt, his dark brown eyes glaring at the Arcanine with something very much like hatred. Sam had never seen a Pokemon with a similar expression. He made a mental note to keep the two pairs apart. In the meantime, he could make the dogs look less intimidating. "Beck, Jackie, at ease," he commanded, pushing down on their ruffs. The dogs lay down, panting hard.

With the driver in a very compromising position under her wagon, Sam thought the three of them were more free to talk. He addressed them both with a look that said, "We're in for it now." "Culler City...sounds like something out of a horror movie," he said softly.