It's then very startling when, several hours after night falls properly, a loud crash echoes through the forest near them - and another few smaller crashes.

Quite possibly getting closer to their camp.

Ellie sits bolt upright.

"Intrepid?"

She yelps, falling off Ellie and landing on her feet, the fur along the base of her spine raised.

"...We should move."

Still, she positions herself in between Ellie and the approaching crashes, tendrils waving.

There's a guttural roar.

"-That was a venusaur and he sounds angry. Moving is a good idea." She gets up and stuffs the strictly necessary items into her bag.

She protects her Ellie until her Ellie's ready to move aside, trying to figure out exactly where the venusaur is heading...

And then flinches when the shadows at the edge of their small clearing move.

 - An Umbreon emerges, barely visible in the sliver of moonlight making its way through the trees. She glances at Intrepid and Ellie as she sprints out of cover -

Then skids to a stop, flipping around, ears back in uncertainty, tail flicking an alarm, trying to tamp down on the glow from her yellow markings.

She mrrs, softly, lowly, red eyes wide and bright - a glance to Intrepid, and a shiver runs up her body, a barely parse-able run!!!

"Okay, let's go." Look to the umbreon. "You too, come on!"

She trills her own soft alarm to the umbreon, flicking her tendrils toward Ellie.

...Suspicious mrr.

Then she inches a bit closer to the two - and then darts past, stops, and looks over her shoulder. (She's moving very quietly.)

"Run now, talk later." Ellie starts moving.

Run!!!

The umbreon seems to know where she's going, at least, leading the two toward a fallen tree with what seems to be the start of a tunnel under it (though she's faster than them in the dark undergrowth). She pauses at the entrance, ears flicking, tail rigid, staring back into the darkness behind them.

(The tunnel's a good side for an eeveelution, and a normal venusaur definitely won't fit - which means Ellie will have to crouch.)

Small price to pay for staying out of the way of an upset venusaur. She wriggles inside.

Intrepid wiggles in after her - the tunnel's decently deep, at least, they shouldn't be visible from the entrance.

The umbreon follows last, keeping her distance from Intrepid, successfully tamping down the glow of her markings enough she vanishes in the gloom.

And, outside, slowly, the crashing approaches - then continues, receding away from them until it's barely audible.

Umbreon doesn't seem inclined to move until a little bit after it's vanished entirely from even her sensitive hearing.

"...Think it's gone."

She trills at the umbreon.

And the umbreon squints back at them, before - almost reluctantly - emerging from the tunnel and going to stand at the top of the down tree's wide trunk.

Intrepid wiggles out of the tunnel, standing near the entrance but continuing to wave her tendrils at the umbreon.

Ellie squeezes out.

"...Mr. Brown asked us to check on you. If you had any message."

Uncertain mrrrrrrrrr. Her ears are back a bit.

Intrepid tilts her head, then goes to nudge their bag. "We should give her some of my poffins," she says. "And also normal food. I think she's hungry."

"All right." Ellie gets those out, setting them down on the ground and then backing away.

She sits between Ellie and the food, rumbling contentedly and waving her tendrils invitingly.

...She sniffs the air very suspiciously, before creeping closer, hesitantly grabbing a spicy poffin then backing off with it to scarf it down while watching the two warily.

She makes a surprised, pleased noise, darting forward again to grab more food. The pattern - dart in, grab food, back off, eat - repeats until she's finished everything there. She's a lot more relaxed by the end, though. 

"Feeling better?"