Chance felt his face flush with humiliation. Sure, it was rather undignified of him to be clinging to a stranger like this, but he would rather be undignified than dead.
“Uh…! N-no way!!” he squeaked, trying (And failing) to put some power behind his voice. “I-I don’t trust you. How do I know you won’t t-throw me of the edge if I let go of you, huh?? At least this way, you’d be coming with me!”
Chance was holding on tight, but his grasp was not restrictive. This guy couldn’t very well save him if he didn’t have full range of motion on his limbs now, could he?
He squeezed himself against the other’s solid frame, suddenly noticing just how built this guy was. Wow… he is pretty fit… Chance pondered. Surely someone as beefy as him would have no trouble lifting all 40 lbs of me… And then some…
He suddenly shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking of such things. “S-so you see, I can’t let go of you!” Chance continued. “It’s the only way I feel safe!”
That might have come out wrong.
Rips rolled his eyes, though his gaze tendered a bit through the hazy goggles. It was clear Chance was scared, and definitely more so of the height than of him. Plus, the tiny Scrafty was pretty adorable in the same way that a crying puppy pokemon would be- and Rips wouldn’t feel right just telling him to suck it up.
“Trust me, dude, if I wanted to throw you off, I could have way sooner.” Rips shifted his balance, managing to center long enough for the two to pause. “Look just. . . I would lift you, but I don’t think I can carry you and keep my balance at the same time- we’re gonna have to do it together if you want to actually get down from here.”
Rips took a listen again. . . still no sound of a train coming. They had time, and the top of the bridge was only a few feet above them. Rips had more than enough height in his jump to make it, but the problem came down to Chance- Would the little guy be able to make it? Granted, he’s still a pokemon, so he might be surprised by what he’s capable of; the two would have to cross that bridge when they came to it.