Searching the Skies (Catch 2)

The Mankey now behind her, Honoka would walk the mountain path, entering a grove of trees. She was just walking, hoping to spot something, when something ran into her from behind. She stumbled forward a little bit, feeling almost like she'd been pushed, and a little grey blur would dart past her. It would stop several feet in front of her, crouched low, a bag in hand. Her bag. Wait, her bag? She reached down to her side and found her leg pouch missing, the little Sneasel in front of her now going through it.

"Hey! You little thief, give that back!" She'd growl at it. The Sneasel just kind of ignored her, still rummaging through her bag. She marched up to it, having not fallen from being pushed, and snatched the bag right out of its hands. It had been so caught up in seeing what she had that was worthwhile that it hadn't noticed her walk the few feet up to it. "Seriously, was that necessary? If you're hungry, you could have just asked, you know. Stealing isn't a good way to go about things, effective or not. In this case, not." She glowered at the Pokemon, reattaching her leg pouch. It watched her idly, kind of almost with disdain or disinterest, but there was a certain glint in its eye that said otherwise.

"What? You thinking of trying again? Cause I wouldn't if I were you." Honoka reached into the bag and pulled out a pokepuff, tossing it casually to the Sneasel, who easily caught it. "See? Stealing won't do much for you except get you into trouble. I don't carry many valuable things on me while I'm out anyway." She patted the belt under the waist of her jacket. "My Pokemon being the one exception. Those are very valuable to me."

Those words made the Sneasel stop and look up from munching on the puff. It stopped chewing and stared at her, mouth still full. She met its gaze steadily, making a point with her gaze after what she just said. The Sneasel looked back at the puff, still not chewing, and then back at her, and back at the puff again. It swallowed then, seeming to be considering something. Some Pokemon were just looking for a home, and this Pokemon seemed like maybe it had had one before. Sure, sometimes Sneasel were notorious for being sticky fingered, but those that weren't raised with trainers still knew how to forage for themselves. This one seemed to be resorting to stealing from travelers and trainers, making Honoka think that maybe it had had somewhere to call home before. Maybe it just needed a new one, but didn't know how to go about it. Anyone that would abandon a Pokemon that didn't want to leave was trash to her anyway.

"I'm no psychic, but I'm willing to get you're not used to living out here. Or maybe you are, but you didn't get used to it by choice." She crouched down, bracing her folded arms on the tops of her knees. "Whether someone left you out here, or you ran away from a crappy trainer, or whatever, if you have to resort to stealing to find food, this wasn't where you grew up. Though you seem to be pretty good at it all the same." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a Pokeball. The Sneasel had stuffed its face with the rest of the puff by snow, and was finishing chewing as it stared at the little orb in her hand. "How do you feel about a fresh start? I'm willing to look past the fact you tried to steal from me. You were only trying to survive, right?"

The Sneasel regarded her with guarded curiosity. Could it? Could it go back to a trainer to risk being abandoned again? Part of it wanted nothing more than a shot at a second chance. It still hurt that its last trainer had abandoned it, and frankly, it didn't know how it felt about this one seeing right through it. The past was a painful thing for it, but still. There was that one golden chance it had stopped thinking about, sitting right in front of it, ready for the taking. The Pokemon would creep forward, obviously still considering, and would tentatively reach out a hand to the Pokeball. Did it dare take the chance?