Sometimes he regretted his choices. For example, Alastair regretted one family dinner when he ate too many mashed potatoes and got sick. Or that time he went to a fair and didn't realize the carnie hadn't strapped him into the seat of the coaster. Now THAT was a fun experience, if not terrifying. In fact, Alastair had stared illness and Death in the face many, many times. At that exact moment in time, he was sure Death was working a crossword puzzle, just waiting for Alastair's arms to fill with lactic acid.

Funny how muscles form. Lactic acid breaks down the muscle fibers, which causes the burning sensation and the weakness in the arms shortly after exercise. Then, the body begins to build the muscles back up with even more tolerance to the lactic acid than before--which results in soreness. Wait a few more days--or keep breaking down your muscles--and BOOM! Stronger body. At the moment, Alastair wasn't quite sure he would end up having any new muscles, especially if he ended up dead. But, hey, he would be a good meal for a few wild Pokemon. Probably. Maybe.

Speaking of Pokemon, he wishes he brought Alfredo along. Or maybe Leap. Or... anyone really. But nope. They were back at the camp. "I'm just going for a walk," he said. "I'll be back soon," he said. "I'll be fine," he said.

He tried to pull himself up, but his hands were too slippery for that. Damn the heat. Damn sweat. And damn... whatever else was bothering him at that moment. Alastair let out a breath. Well, he rock climbed before. Given that was in a controlled environment with a safety belt and harness with a trained professional. But people do free climbing all the time! And he would rather die putting forth and effort to save himself than just hanging there.

With his last bit of effort, and a resolve to maybe not die, Alastair tried again to lift himself up. His hand slipped against the rock and--welp, he had a good run. A good life. Adrenaline rushed through Alastair's veins. He almost wanted to laugh past the terror. Yeah, what was he going to do, fight the rock wall? Run on thin air?

No, none of that, but he would have a sharp pain in his back. Instinctively, Alastair gripped whatever it was he landed on. Alastair opened his eyes, not realizing he had squeezed them shut during his fall. He slipped off the Absol's back, body shaking and his thoughts running a mile per minute, trying to make sense of what just happened. The first thing he noticed was that his hands were bloody from gripping rough rock for so long, and the tops of them had been mildly scorched by the sun. At least he remembered sun screen that morning.

He sat down and stared off into a daze. He almost didn't hear anything the guy said, but he did catch the word 'Absol'. Alastair blinked a few times before looking at the dog Pokemon. "Hey," he said. "Remind me to cook you a big dinner."

Alastair stood up, his legs still shaking from the rush of epinephrine and cortisol. Ah, yes, either Alastair would be fine, or immunosupression awaited him. He tried to fight past the initial daze, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought of what just happened. Alastair was used to close calls but... not that close.

"I'm alright," he said, but who was he trying to convince? "I should... get back to everyone." He couldn't move his legs. The fear of the whole situation had finally struck him. Talk about a delayed response. Curse him and his optimistic nature! Likewise, he couldn't quite remember what direction camp was in. This wasn't good. maybe if he waited, Potato or someone would start to look for him. He gripped his stomach. All right, he couldn't puke in front of someone, that wasn't attractive or proper.

"Have you seen a Ponyta... or an Espurr... by any chance?" he asked. He couldn't list off his whole team. As much as he loved to show off his Pokemon, now was not the time.

Sometimes you have to run away! You live to see another day!

Alastair accepted the cloth and wiped his hands, giving the scratches and scrapes a brief glance. Eh, they would heal. He would heat up some water in order to sterilize the wounds whenever he got back to camp. He would also have to replace this cloth. Alastair was sure he had some, after all, he had to have things to cover the various woulds he would get while out in the field.

He didn't argue when he was helped back down. Sitting was probably a good idea. "I have medicine back at camp," he said, squeezing his eyes shut. He tried to force the nausea down. Alastair opened his eyes when he heard the other man talk, and then heard a bottle being opened.

Oh? Well, wasn't that nice. Alastair took the water shyly, almost as if he wasn't supposed to be taking it. He wasn't going to deny it, but if this guy didn't have any more water then... well, Alastair knew where some barrel plants were that were filled with the stuff. "Thanks," he mumbled, taking a small sip. Arceus he wanted to gulp the whole bottle down, but he had to control himself.

"Oh... I'm sure they'll start looking for me soon." He looked at his watch. "I was supposed to be back... about twenty minutes ago." Well, he hoped they would come look for him. At least Alfredo might. She wanted to come but she had already stayed up really late keeping watch. The poor thing needed her rest. Alastair was not about making his Pokemon work too hard. They already had to deal with him.

When the Absol approached, Alastair held out his hand. "Hey, thanks again for saving my tail," he said softly. What a beautiful Pokemon. Maybe not as good as his Potato, but beautiful none-the-less. He lowered his hand, not having enough strength to keep it up for too long. "Nice to meet you, Archer," he said, "I'm Alastair." He didn't think it was necessary to explain anything at that moment. Not what he was doing on the rock face or what he was even doing out in the desert. Besides, all Alastair wanted was to get back to camp. And he had to worry about dinner.

A familiar bark reached his ears. Alastair sat up a little straighter and arched his head in the direction of the barking. He smiled when he saw the golden dog come into view. The little Poochyena was running as fast as his legs would carry him. The puppy came to a halt when he finally realized Alastair wasn't alone. Potato carefully made his way over to Alastair, trying to move around the Absol while keeping his eyes on the stranger.

"This is Potato," Alastair said, rubbing the dog's ears. "Where are the others? Safe?" Alastair asked the puppy. Potato gave a bark. He smiled. "I'll take that as a yes." He looked up at Archer. "Hey, could you help me back to camp? I have to get started making dinner. You don't need to help, of course, but I do owe your Absol a hot meal. And you too, if you want." He really just wanted to get back and assure Alfredo he was alright. He could only imagine the argument between her and Potato. The dog probably figured he could track Alastair better than her.

Sometimes you have to run away! You live to see another day!