Scar - male pokegryph (altaria/ninetales)
"No, maybe it's not the best time, but it's the most common one," Slayer answered. "I've met many of my best friends just before a battle, and when people fight is when you can see what they're really like. Patience, hot-headedness, determination, reluctance to kill - it's all there, when you're locked in battle. I hope that, at least, we will get to know each other."
She then waited with them for the other two pokegryphs to arrive, and didn't speak again until Twila asked another question.
Scar, personally, had to approve of Twila's interest in an ice-type evolution; it would certainly kill the dragons faster. He watched quietly, letting them interact; it would be interesting to see how Twila dealt with their potential problems.
"Heh, yes, I am," Nich answered admiringly. "She's really strong, and confident, and she's so good at fighting! It's amazing, just hearing the stories, and you can see how strong she is even when she's not fighting. I wish I was that good, and I'm trying to be."
"Don't ignore me," Jeon growled at Slayer, only glancing at Twila.
Slayer did anyway, sitting down in the swamp as she answered Twila's question. "Supposedly, there are mystical icy rocks somewhere in the world. When you spend some time battling and living near them, you'll soon evolve. But there aren't any of those crystals near the Great Plains, and they only exist in cold climates where we would likely evolve into part-glaceon anyway.
"Because, after all, all part-eevee pokegryphs evolve due to extreme environments. There is really not much wintry environment for us to absorb the energy from that causes us to evolve, but the winters in the plains are cold and harsh. It's really not suggested that you go out on your own, because it would be almost-certain death if you did. I was young and stupid then, somewhere around your age, and I just flew out on my own during calm weather. There was nothing to eat out there, though, and I got lost, and almost died. Then there was a snowstorm while I was stuck in the middle of the Plains.
"Maybe that would've been enough for me to evolve, if I had the energy. You know that evolution takes a lot of energy, right? And energy comes from food. I didn't have any, and I hadn't eaten in what, two days?" Slayer shrugged. "I was saved, though. Raefi was a delibird/vaporeon pokegryph who had no reason to be scared of the cold, so she came out and found me. Dragged me into some hole she dug so I'd at least be sheltered from the wind, and fed me a bunch of meat stored in her tail. Finally I had the energy to evolve, and I did, partially, to a spearow/glaceon." She chuckled. "I wouldn't suggest it, though. I couldn't fly through the storm until I had enough energy to evolve again and my wings were stronger, but that still wasn't enough. I had to walk back with Raefi, and we didn't even know if we were going the right way at times. I was thoroughly reprimanded, and..." There was a hint of sadness in both her voice and eyes now. "I'm not sure what happened, exactly, but Raefi died because we were out there, even though she made it back. Nobody could save her."
Scar knew the story. Raefi had been one of those who scoffed at him back when he was a swablu/vulpix, and offered him a "present" when he knew they would explode in his face quite literally. He'd felt nothing when he learned of her death. He hadn't made the connection, before, that it was Slayer, but he supposed it was just something to thank her for.
It was time to intervene, though; while Twila certainly couldn't be foolish enough to try that, other part-eevee would likely be interested in a glaceon evolution and try it out.
He spoke: "Generally, however, you only require heavy exposure to cold and ice. You don't need imminent death, so it's possible to evolve in a much safer environment. If you practise battle with ice-type pokegryphs and are exposed to the cold they can bring, you will eventually evolve. I acknowledge that this method is slower, but you will be Alpha. You need not throw yourself into unneeded peril for an evolution that there are other ways to get. If you wish to join the hunt in the winter, you would not have an extremely high chance of death."
Of course, that meant that if she waited that long and was exposed to a lot of fire instead, or electric attacks, she'd evolve into something very different from what she intended. But she'd have enough authority so she could order others to expose her to ice, while simultaneously training the rest of herself.
(( Dx I keep wanting to call you Ming. ))
