Sorry again for the terrible waiting times, hope this chapter makes up for it! I'm going back to the original dialogue format so as to make it just a bit clearer. Also, I don't own Pokemon, obviously. Just wanted to say that at some point.

Chapter 7 - Lost in Dangerous Territory

Not even an hour after Es "escaped" the lucario, she slowed to a halt next to a tree, for she had been running almost nonstop since. All she could think about was finding a way back home; she didn't want to be caught up in this strange new area anymore.

As she rested, a low growl came from above her, among the branches of the very tree she had chosen to stop by. She froze and slowly turned her head upwards to see the intimidating face of a mankey glaring directly at her. Her first instinct was to run, but she couldn't force herself to move, no matter how desperate her brain was screaming at her to get away.

It was the mankey that made the first move, a Cross Chop aimed at Es's head as it dropped from its branch. Only then did she snap back to reality and throw herself to the side to narrowly avoid the attack. After that, it turned into a game of who was faster as she darted off in a random direction, changing course often to avoid the continuous attacks of the enraged 'mon. She was too distracted to notice that she was headed straight for the dense forest she had arrived there from just recently.

The mankey noticed, however, and abandoned its pursuit to travel back to the tree that was trespassed upon. This didn't stop Es from running though, as she continued onwards in her still exhausted state. What did stop her from running was the houndoom that saw her approaching and retaliated with a devastating Flamethrower that knocked her off her path and into a nearby tree. Her head pounding, she winced and shuddered at the pain in her side before looking over at the houndoom, who was walking away with a small houndour close by its side.

She had reached her limit, so she didn't bother to get up. Instead, she chose to lie there and rest off the exhaustion of running and damage from the recent Flamethrower attack. After a couple of hours, with dusk approaching, she forced herself to sit up and observed her surroundings. She took a few minutes to gather enough dry branches for a decent sized fire, but struggled greatly in starting the fire. She eventually just gave up and ventured deeper into the forest. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of nonstop walking, she found a well-kept den and decided to check it out.

She slowly poked her head in and looked around, but it didn't look like anyone was in there, so she walked in and got comfortable close to one of the back corners. She had just started to fall asleep when a gentle poke on her shoulder made her jump up and almost smack the back of her head against the den wall. She turned to face who she assumed was an attacker, but instead looked into the face of an umbreon, its face a mix of fear and awkwardness. The rings on the umbreon were glowing a dim blue, his voice very quiet but at the same time comforting as he tried his best to not sound so terrified.

Umbreon: "Um... this is my den, so if you could... leave...?"

She let out a sigh and trotted to the opposite corner in the back of the den.

Es: "I've been running around all day. Just give me a break, please?"

He slowly raised a paw as he prepared to respond, but hesitated and went quiet. The silence was extremely uncomfortable for him, made obvious by his occasional whimper as he kept thinking of something to say. She groaned and broke the silence for him.

Es: "Just sleep if you can, I'll be on my way in the morning. Don't make this more awkward than it has to be."

At that, he nodded and laid down in the corner she had left him in and they both fell asleep within minutes.