Supplies to the woods![anima]

[reijiro]

*jump* *jump* *jump* - sounds of somebody leaping from one stone to another were heard at a particular part of the woods. It was strange, considering it was pretty deep into it, and it was going pretty late too - the sun was setting down. However, there was logic behind it. A logic only few would understand...

It has been 3 days since Reijiro encountered this ... weird deranged girl... thing in a chess piece suit in the forest, when, during on of his hikes, he tripped and almost fell down the edge of a cliff, only a helping hand grabbing him at the last moment. Ever since he was puzzling himself with a question - who ... what was that? The explanation the chess piece offered sounded much too much like nonsense to be believed, but from what he figured out, she was stuck here. And nowhere else to go...

So the weird chess piece decided to stay in the forest, but the boy couldn't leave her just like this, could he? No, he was a good, nice person, who would not ever leave those who are lost... And now he was going towards the place, with a few blankets and a basket with food and provisions for the strange person. He knew not that it was a digimon, and did not yet find the strange devise called "d-arc" or whatever. It was too ... weird to be true.

- Joan! You here? I ... ugh ... I brought you some stuff! - he called out when he reached the place he left the strange person... digimon last time. He figured she would show up upon hearing his call...

[ambermon]

Not much had changed for Dorumon as he continued his search through the forest. Perhaps he should have figured it wouldn't be that easy to find Renee. After all, though she seemed like a digimon who had been in the forest a long time, though in the months he had been living there, he'd only seen her that one time a couple days before everything went to shit. "I'm probably looking in the wrong side of the forest." The purple wolf raptor creature grumbled miserably.

Despite Amber ruthlessly abandoning him, Dorumon couldn't stop thinking about her. He had outright failed his tamer. Had done his best to try and get things to work, but in attempting to do so while clinging to her friendship, had failed miserably. With all the time he had alone to think about it, he had been going about it the wrong way. He had no idea what he was doing, and she needed help that he was just incapable of giving her. But what could he do now?

I'd seek advice of someone who knows how to deal with such things though, were I you. Tis only a matter of finding such person.

He recalled the last bit of advice Renee had given him before departing. He couldn't help Amber, but there was likely someone out there that could. Unfortunately that help was most likely to come from a human, and it was the reason he hadn't been inclined to look for others to help. It was no secret he wasn't fond of humans and saw most as nothing but power hungry creatures out to make digimon their slaves or pets, and there were precious few who he took exception with. It was probably why he himself failed to help Amber. He let his own prejudices prevent him from getting his partner the help she truly needed.

"Oh just wonderful, wonderful." He muttered to himself as he walked along. He couldn't give up on Amber. He wouldn't allow himself to lose his pack twice. Even if he couldn't go back to her, he had to find someone who could help her! He could only hope that finding that help would be easier than finding that portal he had been searching for.

Dorumon instinctively dived into the bushes when he heard someone call out. Joan? The Dorumon thought as he at amongst the undergrowth. He gazed through the otherside of the bush and spotted a human male. What was he doing here? He simply remained in his hiding spot. Was this the help that Amber needed? He wasn't just going to dive in there. He knew what most humans were like and he wasn't going to just send the first human he saw to Amber. That would just be disastrous. He had to see what this human was up to.

[reijiro]

Ever since her unexpected arrival to this world, Joan stayed in the forest, not quite willing to move too far away from the place she emerged from. Maybe she was hoping that the portal would be opened again, at the same place, maybe she was just confused. And she did not know where she was. It looked like digital world, and at the same time it did not. Who were these strange, tall, bipedal creatures, one of whom she saved from fall a few days ago? She did not know.

Suddenly, the pawnchessmon heard somebody calling her name, and went towards the sound of the voice. She recognized the voice alright, it was that guy again, what his name was? Rei... something. She did not quite catch that. The guy who called her a "weird little girl". She wasn't weird! Or little! Well, in comparison, maybe she was...

- There you are! - Joan didn't notice that she, unwillingly, stepped away from the cover of the tree, and made herself visible to the tall human, who now approached her. He said he brought some stuff... for her? Just for her? Well this was very nice of him. Sure, she was a hardy soldier, but she would not say no to a couple of blankets and some food - last night was very cold, and her attempts of hunting something failed miserably.

- The Black Chess Army thanks you for your support, citize... I mean sir. - she saluted the tall human in a military-like fashion, which, from Rei's perspective, was pretty cute, since the tiny chess soldier girl barely reached his waist it height. Rei put the blankets and the basket down on the ground near the chess piece, whom he still considered a weird little girl, and sat on a fallen trunk nearby.

- Right... For how long are you planning to stay here, little girl? I mean... the forest is huge and all... How your parents even allow you to be around here for so long? - Reijiro asked curiously. He still considered this ... well, he considered Joan to be a little girl in a suit despite she obviously wasn't one. How was it said in one book? "Bless them, they'll go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it's staring them in the face..." Well, in this case, it was digimon.

- Hey, I'm not little! Well, maybe compared to you but still! - the pawnchessmon let out a bit of a tantrum but soon stopped, the boy's smile was disarming - he obviously didn't mean any harm by calling her like that. - And I won't go anywhere until I am sure the portal isn't here. I patrolled a small area yesterday, but found none... - she said sadly, sitting on the same trunk, looking down a bit sadly. Her comrades was away somewhere, while she was stuck ... here...

[ambermon]

Dorumon sat quietly in his hiding spot as he observed this human searching for 'Joan', whoever that was. Who it was though, quickly became apparent as a black Pawnchessmon exposed her position. The human then offered the PawnChessmon some supplies and food. The rest of the exchange didn't appear at all questionable either, though the PawnChessmon seemed to take offense at the human referring to her short stature, though she quickly simmered down after catching the human's smile.

That smile of his did have an odd quality to it. Indeed, even he would have trouble attacking this human if he ever wanted to. This guy had to be the one he was looking for. Now why couldn't that portal walk right into me when I was searching for it? Dorumon thought, shaking his head. Oh well. This is more important right now.

Now he had his prospect, the second thing to do was approach. How to go about that though? The way the human referred to Joan as little girl, and talked about parents, it was clear he thought the pawnchessmon was some sort of human. Unfortunately, it was unlikely he would make the same error with him, as he was a beast digimon and looked nothing like a human.

Now, if he just walked up to them, he might scare the human off, or alternatively the Pawnchessmon would take him as a threat and attack him. He had all the confidence that he was strong enough to defeat the chess piece digimon, however, if his mere appearance didn't freak the human out, him fighting off his PawnChessmon friend likely would do that trick, and all chances of him helping Amber were out the window.

"Er..." The Dorumon began, choosing to remain in his hiding spot. It seemed his best bet of getting their attention and denouncing any ill intention they might assume before they take action on it. "Um, excuse me?" Well, this wasn't awkward in the slightest. Maybe he should have worked out what exactly to say before he spoke up? Asking for help wasn't exactly a strong point of his. "I n- uh, I'm Dorumon." He said finally, deciding at the last second not to flat out ask him for help just yet.

[reijiro]

- The who? - the boy's discussion with the strange little girl suddenly ended in a halt as the new voice came in from ... where exactly? The boy was not able to see who said that and whatnot, it was weird. If there was a voice, there had to be a person, right? Right. That was only logical. Reijiro stood up, looking in the nearby bushes, maybe the person was there? Alas, he did not find anybody, and ... what was his name again? He didn't quite catch that.

- Friend of your Joan? Why is he being so shy to come out? - Reijiro asked the pawnchessmon, who got all serious all of a sudden, walking around the human who was being nice to her and helped out, her spear and buckler ready to fight the digimon that announced itself present. She was suspicious - she knew no dorumons, so this one certainly was a stranger. Which could be a thread.

- I know no dorumon. Come out now! - the pawnchessmon replied angrily and slammed her spear across her shield, an eerie sound coming from it, calling to battle. She demanded the creature to appear from the hideout. All this sneaking around was not her style. As for the guy, he simply assumed whoever was hiding was just too shy. Well, Rei was one weird human too, looking at a digimon and not recognizing it as one... Blessed are the non-believers...

- Tsss, Joan, you'll scare him away... And what is with all the children so deep in the forest? Is there some sort of a camp around? - he inquired curiously - the dorumon's voice sounded childish enough to him. As he passed by his miniature protector, the pawnchessmon quickly ran after him, on her two tiny legs, trying hard to go in front, with little success. Rei laughed upon seeing these efforts - how could it not be a little girl if she acted so much like one?

[ambermon]

As he had predicted, the PawnChessmon was quick to get defensive, to the Dorumon's annoyance. He could only be more annoyed when the human suggested that he would be scared away, and that he was some sort of child, and had to bite back an indignant response. He's probably never encountered a digimon before this... Joan. He thought to himself, willing patience to come forth. He had to get help for Amber, and it would do her no good to chew out that potential help.

"Chill out, I am not looking for trouble." Dorumon grumbled at the PawnChessmon as he cautiously left his hiding spot. "I'm also am also a digimon. Not human by any definition." Fully exposed, he simply stood there and awaited the human's reaction. It may be easy for a stubborn human to think a PawnChessmon human, but surely the sight of a talking wolf-esque raptor would set him straight? He didn't really want to spend the afternoon trying to set this kid straight.

[reijiro]

- Err... digi-what? - a reply came from the boy after a really long and awkward moment of silence, as the boy rubbed his eyes again and again a couple of times, pinched himself and even put his glasses on to see better. No, this was no hallucination, or if it was, it was very persistent. Talking dino-wolf thing? What did he smoke? Nothing, he was not trying pot or anything... And yet the image of the furry raptor thing did not disappear... The boy fell on his ass, looking at the creature with wide eyes.

- See! Tis what I told you! I am a digimon, not a weird girl in cardboard suit! It is metal dammit! - the pawnchessmon slammed her hand against her chest and a metallic sound, similar to a bell was heard. The boy felt weird. They were ... digi-guys... girls, whatever! He felt like he was being dragged into some weirdness shtick. Still, they were nice and looked pretty harmless, weren't they?

- Um... then you're ... aliens or something. Live long and prosper nanu-nanu? - the boy laughed a bit weirdly and put his arm in a weird symbol he saw in some film which name he did not remember. What else was he supposed to say? It's not like everyday this happens to you, and he took it better than most, he did not freak out or anything... - ... So ... how can I help you? - he laughed sheepishly. The pawnchessmon facepalmed.

- The tall benefactor is being weird >.>

[ambermon]

As was expected, the human appeared to be in shock and disbelief at the sight of him. He could only wonder how exactly this human could be so ignorant about the existence of digimon in the human world. For pete sake, a lot of them tended to go on a destructive rampage if they weren't stopped right away. How blind could he be? Now he was indeed acting quite... Odd. "Aliens?" Dorumon echoed questioningly. He wasn't quite sure what he meant by that.

My thoughts exactly. Dorumon thought when Joan stated the human was being weird. What was this live long and prosper nanu-nanu holla balloo? Made absolutely no sense to him. Furthermore, it didn't seem that even Joan knew his name. Tall benefactor? He could also think that she didn't know he was a human. Well, he could care less about correcting the pawnchessmon. "So, what's your name?" He asked. He might as well know what to refer to this guy as.

The question about help though, was a big opportunity to explain his problem to the human and make his request, and he took it. "Actually, there is something..." He began, though trailed off as he tried to figure out what exactly to say. "It's... well.." He continued on, awkward as ever. "My partner. Human female. She needs help. I don't know much of why beyond her parents abusing her as a child, but she has become extremely hateful of humans and has been living in the forest. When I first met her I hadn't recognized what I was getting into, but I tried to help her myself, and... failed miserably." The Dorumon explained, ears and tail drooping quite shamefully. His paw gripped the D-arc which he had tied around his neck with a vine. "I wanted to help her get beyond her hatred, but I just... nothing I did helped her and in the end only served to sever our ties altogether. I know its a lot to ask, but, would you be able to help her?"

[reijiro]

- Rei... Reijiro. - the boy replied unsurely if he should just keep talking in this situation, or simply run away like hell, because a part of him strongly wished to do just that. I mean, he was just sitting there, talking with two (!!!) weird creatures he had never seen or heard of before. It was explainable - the boy simply had other things to do with his life than finidning interest in a little card game or watching fake clips of "monster attack" on the city of Tokyo. Plus those who were in charge of keeping the general public blind-folded did a remarcably good job.

Then someting weird happened. The dinosaur digimon ... actually asked him to help someone? Human partner... good grief that sounded weird. What kind of partner it were? At this point the boy could assume just about anything. And he was expecting a flying sourser coming out of the sky to abduct him or something... Because these digimon still looked like aliens much. And why did the raptor thing all of a sudden chose him? Well this was just getting weirder by the minute.

- Err... Where exactly is that person you mentioned? I have a phone, can call an ambulance or the psychiatry... They're institutes to deal with such kind of problems... - despite the fact that nobody in decent mind would have believed anyone jumping in with a story like that, Reijiro took it at face value - he was just that gullible, and people often used that quality of his to achieve their ends. Just like the Dorumon unintentionally did.

- I mean... my stepsister had something similar, and it took great amount of medications, treatment, and patience to make her even remotely tolerable...Maybe better leave it to people who are professionals? - the boy asked. He was indeed, a very unique person in a way. Despite some of his flaws, he was able to buy a s tory and actually care about somebody he didn't even know...

Meanwhile Joan listened to the conversation without hiding her amazement. What if the raptor thing was trying to lure him into a trap of some sort? What if the crazy human he mentioned would attack? There were too many doubts left and too little proof the dorumon offered to make it sound credible. As far as she was concerned, he could have made all that up, and from her point of view this was just ... out of the blue.

- What if he's lying?

[ambermon]

When Reijiro asked where she was, Dorumon opened his mouth to answer, but shut it again, lashing his tail nervously the second the human suggested he call... ambulance? The Psychiatry? Dorumon wasn't too familiar with either of these terms, but it definitely sounded like another set of humans he was suggesting they shove her off to. He was not okay with this. "No!" The Dorumon barked, a bit loud in his panic. "I mean... No. She... She just needs someone. A friend. She just needs to see not all humans are bad... She..."

Dorumon swallowed. He didn't want these... 'professionals' involved. He had no idea who they were. However, he was caught between wanting to help her, and his own prejudices that had already prevented him from helping his partner. "Please, if you help, try to do it on your own first. If you can't... do what ever you can to get her help. " Dorumon conceded finally.

When Joan voiced her suspicions that he wasn't being truthful, he bit back the urge to snap at her. Thinking on it, this did sound a little... off. He couldn't help being bad at this kind of thing. It really did a number on his pride, pleading for help like this. "I'm not lying to you. Yes, she'd likely attack you if you got too close to her and she's not going to be too friendly back. She's not going to be fixed overnight, but if you can get her to see you aren't a threat to her, she'll hopefully get to a point where she at least won't be so hostile toward you." Dorumon pleaded.

He then began to step away, his confidence that Rei would be of any help ebbing away. This was just stupid. "Get help from someone who knows how to deal with such things." Hmph. How was he supposed to get help when there was no one out there would help him? "If you don't want help, I won't drag you into it. I'll just stop bothering you and maybe I'll find someone else to help..."