[ti]complete[/ti]TREE OF WORMS

Tuesday had taken her sweet time, but finally, five floors in, here she is: arms crossed over her chest and crimson cape billowing behind her. A Dragonair elegantly slithers behind her up the steps, and when they finally reach their destination, it takes to the air, floating amongst the verdant canopy.

"You know, Orm. I think you may be the only worm I like."

Hence why our dear feline Alchemist had taken her sweet time to come here up after the Tower of Cats had been cleared and replaced by this Tree of Worms. However, despite her claims, there are some rumours of enough allure to lure this cat up a tree. What could those be?

<'Ha. Rude. I'm not a worm.'> The Dragonair counters while moving around in the most worm-y fashion.

"Really? Why do you think your name is Orm?"

<'...'> Silence. Tuesday's mismatched gaze fixes on the canopy, noticing the Pidgey that also seem to notice and be very interested in her worm-y dragon. <'...Where's the 'W', though?'>

"Duh, we always earn those." She winks, because of course. "Now cool it, will you?"

And yes... that's the cue.

For what?

Well, for the BLIZZARD that picks up the moment Tuesday speaks those words, summoned by the Dragonair that circles overhead and sure to cause the aggressive Pidgey to shill out for a moment. The catgirl grins, triumphant and unbothered by the cold.

"Eeeeek! A snake!" Bergamot screamed girlishly, clutching her cheeks with both hands in a brilliant imitation of the classic painting The Scream (or that's what she thought it was called, anyway).

When nobody came running to her rescue, Bergamot gave up pretending to be afraid of the hanging vines and looked around herself instead, actually taking stock of her surroundings. They'd reached the upper canopy of the Tree of Worms already, and the fresh air felt fresh and airy on her face.

Morgana reached up and tugged on one of the vines. It held.

"O...ho...ho..."

Her delightful laughter warned that she was about to do something genius, and with a flash of blue skirts, Bergamot was halfway up the vine. "Now, swing me, Senga!"

She released a female Meowstic, a psychic-type from Kalos, and the cat waved a handful of anchovies at her agreeably before using its psychic powers to send the vine swinging.

"This tree is mine!" Bergamot laughed victoriously before running face-first into a flying Pidgey.

Zac tested the vine. "The secret is to make sure it can hold your weight," he told Petal.

"That's not a secret. That's just good sense!" replied the Chikorita. "Otherwise you'd fall!"

"Fall?" Buzzster asked leadingly, "why, it's barely even Spring!" He pulled a clenched fist up into view with a flourish. "And do you know what my favorite Spring flower is?"

"The Magnolia?" Chikorita asked excitedly. That was her favorite flower, and she felt it deserved more representation.

"No. The goldenrod!" he announced, opening his fist to reveal an oversized gold coin. "Now check this out!" He waggled his fingers magically and the coin raised itself up onto one edge and started to spin slowly in place.

"Wow! That's so cool! How are you doing that?" Petal asked.

Zac chuckled. "A magician never reveals his secrets for free." He winked at the Gimmighoul that was hidden behind the coin.

"Let me try! I can make stuff appear too!" Petal said. She clenched her eyes and a fountain of multicolored Magical Leaves shot from her head. They sprayed into the canopy, cutting vines and swatting at least one Pidgey out of the branches above them.

"Hey that's pretty good! I bet I could put that in my act somewhere." Buzzster nodded to himself, and was deep in thought when a brilliant magenta leaf floated stem-first right into his eye. "Stevie Wonder's ghost!" Zac swore, stepping back and clutching at his injured eye.

Unfortunately, the tree branch was far thinner than required for such a natural reaction. Buzzster grasped at the open air, his fist closing around a vine just in the nick of time.

His downward momentum levelled out as he swung at high velocity through the branches, and in a fantastic display of temporal synchronicity he shot straight past Aero, missing the youth by just a few pixels. He gripped the vine with white knuckles, teeth grinding like a box of dice as foliage whipped past him at high speed.

Pidgeys bomb-dived Sarah, hooting in furious indignation as they pecked at her head. "Get off! Get back! You're not even doing any damage!" At least the rats in the last tower had the decency to stay on the ground.

Her health bar, and that of her Braixen, was still full of green. What level were these pests?

Annoyance kindled within her like an autumn pyre. How many more of these birds could there possibly be?

Sarah's felt the burn of Z Energy course through her body. One good move would be enough to scorch a patch forward.

"Focus!" she called, and her noble Braixen snapped to her side like a magnetized suit of armor.

The pair dropped into a wide-legged stance. "Just as we practiced."

Sarah spun her arms in a circle, igniting a flaming circle around her like a burning halo in the air. Beside her Braixen did the same.

A roar filled her ears, like she was riding a train that was fast approaching a tunnel.

"Inferno Overdrive!"

The canopy kindled around her as the was engulfed by the fireball. It burst from her like an escaping soul and scorched a path up through the branches above and high into the sky where it burned like a second sun.

PROMPT 48: [Tower]TItj1JzK1d50

The Tree of Worms was comfortable and familiar, lush and teeming with life. Tiernan moved almost sedately though the chaos and fighting, mindful of but paying little direct attention to the attacks and shrieks. He simply took his time, taking in the air and feel of the tree, the sunlight starting to filter through the boughs. Flames cut through the tree ahead of him, the crashing of stone and rock hitting wood to the other side.

A pidgey shrieked, coming to hover before him, wings beating furiously. "Don't you think this is a bit excessive?" Tiernan asked, gesturing at the devastation around him. "You have a right to hunt- but the pokemon here have a right to live, too." The pidgey gave no counterargument, just chattering angrily instead.

Tiernan shook his head. "Fal'inrush," Tiernan requested, the rowlet fluttering free, wings spread eagerly. With a soft coo, he swooped towards the pidgey, delivering a sharp Peck to knock them out of the air.

Prompt 50. [Tower]Fle96OBz1d50

How could she not investigate an even called “tree of worms”? The curiosity of what on earth this was, was driving Taylor crazy! Finally she loaded into the area to find… literally a tree, full of worms, being swarmed by ravenous Pidgey! A brief overlay explained just what was going on, and Taylor laughed, delighted by the concept.

Current prompt: Use a Binding or Trapping move.

Grinning, she released Mumble from his ball and crooked a finger to ask him to follow her. As quietly as she could, the young woman crawled through the cracked, gaping bark and carefully navigated the space inside, getting both herself and Mumble settled on the steps. There were even birds in here, and as one of the Pidgey flapped its shrieking way towards them, furious over the intrusion, Taylor nodded to the little Piplup.

“What d’you say we try out that new Whirlpool move of yours?” she prompted with a grin. Mumble was more than happy to oblige, and if the attempt was a little clumsy and soaked them as well as the target? Well, she’d certainly never tell!

[Tower]tvaaFinS1d50

Alright, so, full disclosure... Domino had made a mistake. Well, not really, but kinda? See... She had kept true to her promise of only having ten Pokémon at a time, and for the sake of doing so, two had had to be sacrificed, but she had forgotten one very important detail. What is that detail, you may wonder? That she really really really wants one of those Dunsparce sold by Beta Bethany.

So, to hunt for five easy fodder Pokémon she goes, and few places are better for hunting for fodder than the challenge tower. Tree, in this case, but what are trees if not nature's towers?!

" 'Kay, Balvino, you know what to do." She tells the Quaxly that seems more interested in styling his hair than in anything going on around him.

Thankfully for Domino (and not so much for the duckling), it all becomes quite personal for him when a Pidgeotto steals his precious comb. Said Pidgeotto quickly learns that an AQUA JET is no joke.

"Nice. Now... Let's get that worm!"

Off she goes, a trail of aesthetic multicoloured flames being left behind by her every step... a few missing thanks to her clipping right through everything in her way.