Training of Tooth and Claw

The bustle of Castelia City was a bore to Amber. She and busy, crowded places got along as well as water and oil, and the glaring lights of the buildings were only boosting the irritation she felt. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced down at her three companions with a big grin. She was finally setting off to make a name for herself, and though currently in Unova, she was in a major port city, and limitless opportunity awaited her. She hadn't decided quite where her life will lead, but here in pathway to all regions, she felt right at home waiting for the decision.

A small, warm bundle of fur rubbed against Amber's leg, getting her attention. Glancing down, she was met by the wide eyes of her Buzoke, as well as her other two packmates, glancing excitedly toward a small but nearby park area in the corner of the city block. Excitement radiated off of them, and their shining eyes showed that they wanted to train. Only Amethyst, her Tenebris, seemed hesitant, but bound toward the grassy clearing anyway. Laughing, Amber dashed to keep up.

One dash across the road brought her to a park bench unoccupied by anyone else. Taking a seat, she fished from her bag a strange, warm stone that seemed to hold a small blaze within it. "Azure," Amber called, and her Buzoke halted his wrestling match with Ash to see what she wanted. He cocked his head to the side and glanced at the stone curiously, then gave it a cautious sniff. "If you want to evolve," Amber calmly said, "just touch it. Then you'll be a sure match against Ash," she grinned at this notion, and so did Azure.

Taking the stone with a gentle grip from his mouth, Azure suddenly became surrounded with a surreal white light. His features extended, and he grew in size, all the while wagging his tail in excitement. Once the glow had finally subsided, instead of a puppy-like Buzoke, a strong and agile Kyansei stood on slightly scorched ground, as his sudden awakening of his fire time came to life. His fur glowed with a brilliant lava-like substance, and his head and tail were held high as a sign of pride. Then, quite suddenly, the majestic persona faded, and with a lolling of his tongue, he turned and tackled Ash with an excited yip, and their game continued: though this time Azure's superior size was enough to overpower the confident Poochyena.

Growling from his loss, Ash glanced up at Amber questioningly, as if asking if he too could evolve. Smiling, Amber's eyes blazed with a keen sort of fire. "If your up for some major work, there's no reason you couldn't evolve too. Azure's a grown puppy, he mine as well have someone to keep him in check!" Ash gave a rare shake of his tail in excitement, and bound toward the center of the park, ready to begin his training and outdo his newly evolved companion. Amethyst jumped from the bench onto Amber's shoulder, and closely followed by Azure, they pursued the determined Poochyena.

(I'll post my training below, so I won't need a Mod post until after it's done~)

Huffing from her rapidly forming tired breaths, Amber fought to keep up with Ash, who kept excitedly bounding forward, turning back toward his companions, and tipped at them to keep up. Azure had an easy job while Amethyst hitched a ride on Amber's shoulder. Laughing as she ran, Amber took in one large breath before finally collapsing to her knees as they reached their destination: a woodsy area of the park a little out of the way, so nothing could disturb them. "Okay Ash, since you want to evolve so badly, let's do this!" Amber said enthusiastically, "let's start with something simple... how about practicing some of your attacks?" Nodding, Ash went into a fighting stance and his training begun...

[Training Start]
"Let's start with the strategic moves first," Amber called, grinning widly as the thrill of of battle, even if it wasn't an actual one, surged through her. "Give it all you've got!" Nodding and baring his teeth in a mock snarl to an invisible enemy, Ash tensed before rearing back and letting out an ear piercing Howl. He shook his head as if disappointed, then thrust his head back again in another Howl, this one louder and more confident than the first. Then, his demeanor became even more threatening as he jumped back away from his invisible foe, gave a terrifying, yet masterful snarl and growl before rearing his head back one more time in another Howl greater than the prior that echoed across the trees in front of him and caused several nearby Pidove to take to the skies and scatter. Satisfied, Ash lowered his head once more and his eyes blazed with a firy confidence. Pouncing another faux foe, he landed in a torn up patch of sandy grass.

Without hesitation Ash turned and scraped his back legs against the sandy patch, causing the tiny particles to suddenly rise up in a cloud and blot out the area, providing camouflage and a hazard to the enemy's eyes. Grinning, Ash jumped up and kicked up another cloud with more power put into it. The cloud was larger, but several of the sandy grains found their way into his own eyes and nose, causing his eyes to forcibly shut and his head to shake as a sneeze wracked his body. Giggling, Amber called to him, "remember to keep your eyes closed until you're clear of the sand or its settled," she encouraged, "now try again." Ash's eyes still laced with pain, but he forced them open and retook his position on the sandy ground. The cloud he had created before had lightly settled below him, so with an eye of caution he shut his eyes and thrust his hind legs into the sand once more, causing the cloud to rise around him again. Lightly sniffing the air, his nose picked up the falling particles, and as less and less stuck to its moist surface, he knew he could gaze around himself once more without hazard. Barking with joy, he looked to Amber for what to do next.

"Well," she said with a hint of pride to her voice, "since you've done so well to learn from your mistakes, let's see how you do with attacking moves," her eyes scanned their surroundings before locking on a lone cut down and jagged stump. Pointing to it, she gave her next command. "Let's see what damage you can do, pretend that's your battle partner and take it out!" Nodding, Ash lowered himself and gave another fierce snarl, something the Poochyena was quite good at. The fur along the ridge of his back bristled and his crouching legs suddenly tensed as he got ready to spring. He flew forward with the momentum of the force he put onto the ground and he barreled shoulder first into the stump, yipping in surprise as it met him with equal resistance and sent him flying back. To add insult to injury, there wasn't a mark of damage on the hunk of wood. Growling in frustration, Ash lowered himself again and barreled forward into another Tackle, this time with more force put into it. Again, though, he was only met with more resistance and was sent spiraling back. His ears lowered as his confidence left him. He wouldn't let go of his pride, though. Determined to show the evil and dastardly stump its match, he sprung at it again with all of his heart and effort- again, the darkened and old wood was too strong to be affected by the Tackle.

His ears now as lowered as possible, Ash made a snarl that Amber had never heard before. It was full of anger, frustration, and determination, something she should have expected from the stubborn wolf. "It's all right Ash, we could-" Amber began, but Ash silenced her with one lone bark. His eyes were entirely concentrated on his woody foe, and suddenly his bared teeth crackled with a spark of energy until they were consumed by a ball of electricity. The Poochyena lunged forward again with a gaping jaw and struck the stump with his sparking bite, and the electricity surged through the stump, causing it to split into three shards. Wide eyed, both Amber and Ash exchanged stunned and shocked gazed. "I-I didn't know you could do that," Amber said, and Ash just grinned as if to say I'm just full of surprises.

A shifting in the trees caught Ash's attention and his curious ears lead to his triumph filled eyes to turn and notice a pair of curious and challenging eyes to meet his own. A sly gleam filled the eyes that observed Ash, and the Poochyena felt that he was being watched and analyzed by whatever was meeting his gaze. He let out a cautious bark, which was met by one of challenge. Taking a fighting stance, Ash met the bark of challenge with his own, and a flick of his tail signified that the battle was on- and with a real foe this time.

The cunning Espeon had been watching Ash since the beginning of his training ordeal, and after the successful use of his ThunderFang, she had deemed him a worthy challenger. Grinning now that her challenge had been answered she crouched down and the gem atop her head shone for but a simple moment. Then the battle began.

Like most canines, the two circled each other, waiting the other out, attempting to intimidate their challenger and awaiting the first move in the infinite game of chicken. The fur on Ash's neck stood on end and he deepened his snarl in an attempt to shake up the Espeon. Unfazed, the Espeon flicked an ear and gazed evenly and analytically at Ash, as if challenging him to strike first.

It was, in fact, Ash who lost his patience in their circling and attacked first. Turning from his circle pattern, he suddenly reared back and thrust his head forward in a Tackle, but Espeon lightly danced back, anticipating the attack from the crouch before Ash would halt, turn, and attack. The two stood there, frozen, staring into the other's challenging eyes.

Espeon was the next to make a move, and with a lithe grace, she expertly closed her eyes and allowed the gem atop her forehead to glow. Strange energy formed in the shape of stars around her before hurtling toward Ash in a hazardous Swift attack. Unfortunately for the Poochyena, he wasn't used to dodging long-range attacks and definitely hadn't expected one. The rapid mass of starry energy slammed into him, and he was sent rearing back before he could regain his composure and footing.

Shaking off his fatigue, Ash dug his claws into the ground and summoned up the crackling electricity that was all too new to him. Without his desperation, the attack wasn't as focused or powerful as it was before, and it sparked uselessly for a second before fading out, and leaving Ash without another attack to use.

Intrigued, Espeon took note of the fading power of Ash's attack and took advantage of the sudden handicap. She disappeared in a blur as she ran at Ash and connected with him head on with her Quick Attack. The Poochyena helped and was thrusted backwards once more, whimpering as the effects of the damage caused pain to lace through his body. "That's enough," Amber said with a rise of concern in her voice, but a gaze from Ash stopped her in her tracks. He wanted to finish the battle that he had accepted, even if it ended in his loss. His ears moved back, his teeth bared with a warning, and his eyes met Espeon's own with a fire of determination and will. The stubborn Poochyena wasn't giving up, and definitely wasn't going down without a fight.

Ash again focused on summoning the strange electricity for him to use, and Espeon only observed with a wry look, she didn't seem as if she thought the Poochyena could use the move, and that would be her mistake. The energy crackled and sparked and Ash lashed out at the Espeon and made a vicious bite of erratic and powerful electric energy. Crying out, the Espeon struggled to get out of the Poochyena's clamping jaws, and with a satisfied snuff, he opened his mouth and allowed her to wriggle free and jump away from close range of Ash.

Her gem glowing once more, Espeon launched another barrage of starry energy in the form of a Swift attack, but Ash was expecting it this time. He jumped back and ducked just in time, causing the attack to uselessly graze the tips of his fur. Gaining an idea, he glanced down to the sandy ground beneath his feet, he dug his claws steadily into the sand, closed his eyes, and thrust it toward Espeon in a sudden Sand Attack. The sudden cloud of sand had served its purpose and distracted Espeon for a moment, allowing Ash to jump in with another fierce ThunderFang. This time, however, he maintained his grip until Espeon sent him cantering forward as she used a Quick Attack to shake him off.

Both Pokemon were huffing with tired, weakened breaths. As if neither wanted to give up, but neither wanted to continue, they both simply gazed evenly at the other with a fierce look of respect. Espeon was the first to back down, and lowering her head, she made a respectful bow toward Ash before moving into a friendly and peaceful sitting position. Thankful, Ash did the same, and his tongue rolled out of his mouth as he lapsed into heavy, exhausted panting. They had both won in their own right, and with a mutual ending of respect, Ash's training and learning came to an end for now.
[End Training]

"Great job, both of you!" Amber said with admiration for both Ash and the wild Espeon. She knelt down to both of them and stroked their heads. She smiled at the Espeon and waited for her to take her leave, but the wise Pokemon stayed, gazing evenly at Amber. It seemed the Pokemon had formed a bond with Ash and didn't want to leave. Smiling, Amber took a spare Pokéball from her pocket and tapped it against the Espeon. After a few moments, she was caught. Amber let her out of her ball shortly after, and both observed Ash to see how much he had grown.

(The Espeon was obtained in an event, so that is why she was auto caught. Also, 1674 words of training all toward Ash. He'll receive 167 Exp and grow to level 21 with 2 Exp left over, though you can double check my math. Also, he'll evolve :3)

Your profile has been updated. You should double-check my work to see if there's anything wrong, but thanks for doing the math for me~ You did it correctly. :3

As Amber and her new companion watched Ash, he began to gain a surreal glow around him just as Azure had. Yipping excitedly, he stood on the end of his toes as if to look tall before he evolved. The white light surrounded the Poochyena, and his features distorted and grew as a new form overtook him. After just a few moments, the glow subsided, and the small Poochyena was now a powerful Mightyena, large enough to even keep the overgrown puppy Azure still was in check!

As if to congratulate their fellow pack member, both Lavender and Amethyst bounded toward Ash and all started licking the others in a show of affection. Their happy  barks were cut short when Azure suddenly jumped up and leapt into the mass of canines, tackling and rolling with Ash. Laughing, Amber left her companions to their game as the smaller Amethyst quickly joined in while Lavender watched from the sidelines.

"Okay," Amber said, after letting her pack get it out of their system for a good half an hour, "let's head out of this park and check out what Castelia has to offer." All the dogs barked in agreement, and Amethyst jumped into Amber's arms then onto her shoulder while Ash and Azure took their place at either side of Amber. Lavender, being unfamiliar with where her place would be, just looked questioningly at the group until Amber knelt down and held her arms out toward the Espeon. Hesitating, Lavender approached and yelped in surprise as Amber snatched her from the ground and held her easily in her arms. "I can carry you," the trainer said soothingly, "but the bigger pack members have to walk." Nodding, Lavender rested her tensed state, and looked toward Amethyst just above her with a grin.

The pack made their way out of the park and onto the streets of Castelia. Looking around, Amber noticed quite a few shops and marts around, and grumbled about her own financial situation. "I really could use more money," she murmured, "I blew it all on the FireStone for Azure." At the mention of his name, Azure glanced up at Amber with a lopsided grin and his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. Rolling her eyes, Amber looked around. There has to be some trainer that'd like to battle. I could really use the winnings, and training Amethyst and Azure wouldn't be a bad idea...

Amber wouldn't necessarily get her wish, though it would be a slight source of income... Whether it was training worthy or not was something she'd have to dig a bit for. "Someone help," a voice yelled amongst the bustling crowds. Someone seemed to be in a bit of trouble, and it was coming from the alleyway.

All of the canines in Amber's company perked their ears toward the yell and lowered their heads, eyeing it cautiously. Without time to stop him, Azure suddenly rushed forward toward the source of the yell, wanting to help. Shaking his head, Ash took off after him in case something hostile was awaiting him. With half of her pack gone into the alley, and Lavender and Amethyst both giving her concerned looks, Amber had no choice but to dash off after her canine Pokemon to confront whatever had yelled for help.

There was a complete and utter stranger in the alleyway, seeming injured whilst they were leaned against the building... Or rather, a young woman. The woman turned her eyes to Amber and the pack that seemed to be fast approaching, her holding her shoulder upset. "Y, Are you here to help me," she asked in a stagger, seeming to be injured. That would suggest the tears in her jacket. "T, That baboon! H, He, He attacked me with a knife and houndoom!" She looked down, her trying to move her arm slightly, though she shivered from pain. "Stole all my money and my pokemon!"

Amber narrowed her eyes at the mention of the attack, and even more so when the Houndoom was brought up. Misuse of a Pokemon's loyalty, she thought with disgust, knowing she couldn't turn the woman down now, when it comes to taking advantage of Pokemon, especially a canine, I just can't sit idly by. She held her hand out as an offer to help her up and out of her leaning state.

"Don't worry, I'll find whoever did this," Amber told her, "you just find yourself some medical attention," pausing, she decided that asking about the attack wouldn't scar the woman too much, "what did he look like and where did he head?" Glancing to Azure, whom was trying to help keep the woman steady and a bristling and threatening Ash, who seemed to want to bring justice to the stranger, Amber got an idea. "In fact," she said, looking into the woman's eyes, "do you have anything that might have his scent? With that, my Pokemon would be able to track him down."

The stranger looked to Amber after she had been helped up, her struggling and shaking to stay standing. "I, I think so," she told her, her reaching to her pocket. "H, I think his pokemon dropped something; i, it was carrying what my belongings were in..." She pointed over to a small object on the ground.

Amber, not wanting to contaminate the scent by picking the object up, genstured toward it, and Ash was the first to act. The newly evolved Mightyena had a nose more powerful than other, and the acutely distinct scent wafted through it, imprinting on his memory. Azure did the same and looked excitedly toward Amber while rapidly shaking his tail in an enthusiastic wag. Yipping excitedly, he dashed off toward where the scent trail was leading. The more collect Ash rolled his eyes, glanced toward the woman to make sure she was okay, then took off after Azure at a slower tempo, keeping both the Kyansei and his trainer within sight in case something happened to either.

Amber followed at a jog, a slow one compared to Azure's enthusiastic sprint. A lace of pain suddenly shot through her neck and she turned to see Amethyst's claws nervously digging into Amber's skin. Lavender simply observed the others, content from her spot now resting on the other shoulder. The growing pack pursued the thief and attacker, following the scent trail left by the Houndoom's dropped, well, thing.

The man that had attacked the woman had retracted his pokemon into its ball. He was sprinting himself, hoping to get as far away from the town as possible before she was found. He hoped that she had died and left no trace of him around for others to find, all the while hoping to just get away. When he heard something beginning to run behind him, he turned his head a bit, wondering exactly what it was.

Azure hesitated as the Houndoom's trail suddenly went dead, leaving a man out for a run as the only sign of another being. Skidding to a halt, he looked back to Amber and Ash with a sideways glance of confusion, as if he couldn't comprehend how a Pokemon would suddenly vanish. Ash was the fist to catch up, and he too frantically looked around for signs of where the Pokemon had gone. The man was now just a fading silhouette in the distance by the time Amber caught up to her bemused packmates. Only Lavender kept a steady eye on the man, as she seemed to be the only one to have seen the man running and found him suspicious and an obvious reason for the sudden cut off of the trail.

"Peon," she said flatly, communicating to Ash in a matter-of-fact tone. This caused Ash to snarl and glare ahead toward the man. "Yena," he replied with a furious baring of teeth before he locked his sight in the disappearing target and sped off at full speed toward the man with Azure quickly following at his flank. Even Lavender gracefully jumped from her perch in pursuit of her fellow packmates, causing Amethyst's nervous grip to tighten and Amber to flinch from the sudden and jarring slice of the Tenebris's claws. "Let's go," she said to Amethyst, hoping to calm her a slight bit. The little wolf pup nodded and the two took off toward where the others had ran off to, chasing the man.

The man listened as the sound of him being chased seemed to lower itself... He sighed in relief, but soon after he heard more noise coming up from behind him. he had hoped he had escaped from whatever was actually after him, but it seemed he hadn't gotten to relaxation yet. "Please just leave me alone," he sighed, slowing down a bit acting as if he were innocent. "I'm simply just a man that is exercising... The more you run, the more exercise you get... Haven't you heard that before?" He was a very good liar, there being no change in his posture or voice.

Ash was the first to catch up to the bargaining and deceptive man, but you couldn't fool a Mightyena's nose. Baring his teeth in a vicious snarl, he lowered his head and slowly circled the thief, making it difficult for him to be able to deem a route of escape. The woman's blood scent lingered on that man, and though his words sought to trick to Pokemon, Ash wasn't buying it for an instant. With an excited yip, Azure caught up, and joined in the circling while heavily panting with his tongue bouncing up and down as he trotted instead of using the fluent walk Ash was doing. Next to arrive was Lavender, who sat a couple feet away from her fellow canines and simply watched with content and interest, as if analyzing how all acted in the situation. With heavy breaths, Amber arrived last, with Amethyst still comfortably resting on her shoulder.

She bent down and gripped her knees before lowering her head to take a few deep and tired breaths. Then, glancing up at the man her two wolves had circled, she simply shook her head. "Cut the crap and turn yourself in," she said, "something you should know about me: I don't take anyone's word. Especially not your sorry excuses. I'm in a sour mood thanks to you making me run all this way, and I'm sure Ash here is itching to sink his teeth into something- trust me, he's quite good at it." The Mightyena's bared teeth turned up in a threatening grin as his crimson eyes didn't leave the man out of his anticipating sight. "Now, the easy way or the hard way?" Amber asked, "your choice."

Upon hearing Amber mention to him turning himself in, the man immediately had a thought. He told himself that he was, in fact, never going to turn himself in and be put behind bars. "You would think I'm lying because of someone's scent? Haven't you learned that even canine companions can be wrong," he asked, clearly tossing an insult towards Amber's own pokemon. "There are methods of fooling creatures; I should know; I've researched it before... It's really interesting to think about, especially when you think of how good a canine's senses are." He seemed to be a small enthusiast of hounds, him trying to discourage Amber from her chase as well as appeal to something that seemed to be a common interest between them.

"Well, since you seem to know canines so well," Amber said as she knelt down and ran her hand along Lavender's head and back, stroking the Espeon, "if you were in my shoes, who would you believe? The stranger who really rubs you the wrong way, or the Pokemon that have saved your life and stayed loyal to you many times over? It's not a hard choice if you ask me." Standing, Amber yawned and turned from the man. "Besides," she added with a hint of amusement to her voice, "why would you trick dogs into thinking you were the suspect. No innocent man would do that," she shrugged, knowing her point had been made, "so either you're the guy or an accomplice. I'm sure the authorities would be happy to figure out which for me. So, unless you want to be dog food, you're coming with us."

"Or perhaps I am simply an innocent, knowing of the person that you speak," the man told Amber. "Just simply an innocent who recently met the person you claim has been attacked... Perhaps that's why there's a scent on me." He turned and looked to her. "I'd believe my faithful friends too, but I wouldn't kill an innocent over it." He wrapped his arms and looked to her. "True?"

"Well," Amber countered, "then you wouldn't mind going down to the station to clear things up with police, maybe give a statement to them of the man who did it," a cool smirk crossed her face, and she started walking back toward the main city. "I'm sure there's a police officer somewhere around here. You can just go meet him and talk all about it. You surely want to catch the guy who did this." Even if the man was innocent, this is about how she treated most strangers anyway. Her trust could never be earned, and respect was a struggle. This man was just a potential criminal, no matter their shared interests. "Let's go," she called, and Ash and Azure both stopped their circling and stood on either side of the man. If he made a move, they'd be close enough to counter it. Just in case, Lavender rose and gracefully strode behind the man a small distance away, ready to stop him if he turned and fled. From her analyzing, she deemed this the most likely move of escape he would make, and thus, she moved to prevent it. Even Amethyst jumped down off of Amber's shoulder and chose to walk beside her trainer, just in case. If things got bad, the timid little Tenebris could defend her packmates and trainer.

Lavender wouldn't see what the stranger had planned. His houndoom released from its pokeball a little ways away in a bush, that the one place that it could get out in hiding. The man didn't exactly like Amber, and he would've rather kept running, though it seemed she would be dragging him back a bit further. The houndoom, slowly but surely, attempted to creep up on Lavender and tackle the pokemon away, hoping to make a gap for its trainer to escape.

Lavender was too focused and keen on studying the man for any sudden moves, that she had left herself vulnerable for attack. She just kept striding along, unaware of the imminent danger of the Houndoom. Her tail flicked, as the Espeon noted that her day had become much more interesting now that she had decided to tag along with Ash and his pack.

Amber herself just kept walking back toward town, believing her pack to have everything handled. Whistling a small tune, she smiled at Amethyst who grinned back, happy to get some exercise walking beside her trainer. She didn't dare glance back at the man, though, she was too scared to look at him. Still, she put on a brave face and kept stride with her trainer. Ash and Azure matched the man's own walking speed and kept to either side. If Lavender was stopped, they could be taken by surprise if he made a sudden move to run, but they seemed confident that it wouldn't happen. Sharing a glance toward each other, the two grown wolves kept walking.

[Based on your post I wrote this. If anythigns wrong I'll edit it o3o]

With the vulnerability came the man's recognition of the event. He just glanced his eyes, not feeling a pokemon breathing at his feet from behind. He made an attempt to run, turning faster than anyone who had ever lived whilst he scrambled towards the distance. He was going to try his hardest to get away, and if Amber had even suspected anything, she could've kept an eye on him. Criminals were sneaky and clever in multiple scenarios, and this one was no different. He didn't say a word, knowing that if he alerted Amber earlier she would have more time to react and do something about it.

What is he, an Elektrike? Amber thought as she whipped around upon hearing a warning bark from Ash. The Mightyena took off toward the man, quickly followed by Azure. He was already a great distance away, though surly a man couldn't outrun two determined dogs. Finding no reason to join the chase until he was caught, Amber's concern turned toward Lavender. If the man had turned and ran, something must have happened to her! It was then she saw the Espeon growling up at a much larger Houndoom.

"Grrar," Lavender growled, glaring up at the Houndoom who had attacked her so the man could escape. The gem atop her head glowed, and a barrage of starry energy, a Swift, hurtled at the other canine. She wasn't too thrilled with being attacked. After launching her attack, she quickly stood and put herself in-between the Houndoom and its owner. If it wanted to try and stop Ash and Azure from catching up to him, it would have to go through her.

The houndoom snarled at the opposing pokemon. However, it didn't launch an attack of its own, even after taking damage. It was clear the canine was loyal to its owner, despite the fact he was running away without it. The man, meanwhile, just kept running, him climbing into a tree to avoid the dogs getting him.

Being a Pokemon or honor, Espeon did not attack again, for the first was a rebuttal against being tackled the first time, and with no further hostility, it wasn't the right thing to do. "Es, Espeon?" she asked questioningly. (Why do you help the man that just abandoned you to save his own skin?) "Peon, Es." (He doesn't seem as if he cares enough to come back for you.)

Ash and Azure were halted by the man's ascent into the tree, though his run was halted by it was well. Whining, Azure jumped up and clawed at the trunk, as if that would allow him to somehow climb up after him. Ash, on the other hand, made a calling bark for Amber, who steadily reached where the man now climbed. Why did I never get myself a phone? she thought, In hindsight, it would be so easy to use one to call the police right now, he doesn't seem like he's goof anywhere. Shrugging, she just glanced up at him. "What's your brilliant move now?"

The houndoom just looked to the espeon. It ignored its question, knowing that its owner would come back for it. He always did, so it didn't seem right to assume that he wouldn't this time. Meanwhile, the man stared down to Amber, him looking around. There were clearly other trees, and with a deep breath, he jumped. He grasped to another treebranch, climbing up. There was a ledge nearby, and if he got to it from the trees, it was a sure chance he could get away. He wasn't going to tell this to Amber, seeing as how she would be able to foil what he wanted to do. "Rot girl," he told her in insult, him jumping to another tree with caution.