Lydia thrashed in the water as her feet finally felt the familiar grip of sand between her toes. Hurrying closer to land, she turned to see the almost gelatinous mass of the Tentacool behind them, its red spots glowing in the water. She was still more than knee deep in the cold water, shivering as the night air moved over her wet skin, but her fear was starting to be tempered by resolve and no small amount of rage. How dare that Tentacool cop a feel while she was looking at the Staryu!<br/><br/>Rufflet was squawking madly, wheeling around above her head, seemingly a diminutive feathered avatar of her growing fury. By exposing itself at the surface, the Tentacool had left itself open for a counterattack.<br/><br/><span style="color: gray">"Rufflet! Use Leer! Stare it down!"</span>She shouted. Lydia was a skiled and practiced trainer. usually she liked to combine verbal and physical commands into swift single gestures for maximum efficiency. Given her own light-headedness and Rufflet's relatively sparse training, she'd have to make this a crash course, pouring as much command as she could muster into her voice. Time to show the Tentacool she wasn't afraid, and she had her own protection.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>