though she wouldn't admit it out loud, the very idea of having a slumber party tickles the inner child in her — the same one that had been kicked and compartmentalized away by her recruitment into team rocket. following at the heels of a monotonous day at work, the muffled chirp of her phone inside her jacket brings something warm rising in her chest. seldom-felt. excitement, she supposes, as she checks the text.
[break][break]
a few small detours, then she's off to the address dropped in her messages. the rows of modest houses peter off as she walks, slowly replaced by large, ornate gates and long driveways that disappear through the trees and out of view. after a few more minutes, the gps declares that she has arrived at her destination. she sizes up the mansion, then double-checks the text. she lives here?
[break][break]
katja feels out of place as she approaches the door, backpack hanging off one shoulder, cradling a modestly-priced brand of wine in the crook of her arm. she knocks and, moments later, feels relief wash over her when the face that greets her is summer and not some rich lout wondering why she's on their front steps.
[break][break]
"hey!" katja's eyes crinkle with a smile, holding the wine up by the neck of the bottle. she doesn't wave it proudly like she might have if summer slummed it with four roommates  — just a humbled flash of her thanks-for-inviting-me-over gift. "figured i should bring a little something for tonight."
[break][break]

+ slumber party 4 Summer Atreides [break] get them drunk PRAYGE

katja gives the smallest dip of her chin at his first question, still looking down her nose at her shoes like a plaintive child being lectured by her parents. that is what this is — something to make her feel bad on top of the feeling of unease that has her stomach twisting up in knots.
[break][break]
she looks up, eyes settling somewhere around the bridge of his nose rather than meet his gaze directly. "i don't know."
[break][break]
she squeezes her arm again. even with the loan covering her sister's hospital stays, she still finds herself chasing loose ends. house bills. medications. 
[break][break]
"my family needed help." the confession comes out weakly. she's sure he can infer the rest — the dip into her nest egg, the teenaged confidence that she could figure something out before the deadline, the now-realization that the deadline is here and the money is far too little. 
[break][break]

+ THEO BECKETT         

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"he gets off work soon." the he in question is a rocket pretender, mucking up their work with egregious robberies and pokemon-human attacks under, as far as he claims, team rocket's banner. idly, katja wonders if her superiors put a bounty on him because he's started to form his own little gang or if the sloppy way he goes about his illicit activities has become too offensive to rocket's standards for them to bear any longer.
[break][break]
her boot raps against the side of the crate she's sitting on as she shifts and uncrosses her legs. beside her, her dratini watches with rapt attention as she starts digging around in the pocket of her coat. a pokétreat is procured, held between thumb and forefinger. she turns her hand over and lets it drop into her palm.
[break][break]
"a bit of a scare should be enough." katja looks out towards the docks, towards the dark waters swirling beyond the pier's dimly-lit edge. "from what i've heard around here, he's a bit of a—"
[break][break]
a particular word rises in her throat, she pivots to something softer.
[break][break]
"—a coward when confronted."
[break][break]

+ the purge 4 greyson

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"i'll be fine." the stubbornness is usually reserved for @zayn 's harrying, but she wraps it up with a reassuring smile to her partner as she lays the coat across her garchomp's fin. the warmth still clings to her body, giving her the (perhaps foolhardy) confidence that she can go without it.
[break][break]
"i'll be fine." she repeats, firmer in her resolution. her fingers find the woven fabric over her stomach, and, for a moment, she thinks about lifting her sweater above the waistband of her pants to reveal the thermal shirt beneath. an ever-gnawing desire to prove something, misplaced.
[break][break]
instead, she ends up placing the hand on her garchomp in passing. "she might be sensitive to the cold, but she can withstand a few snowflakes while we're gone — unless you want one of your pokemon to guard the entrance?" 
[break][break]
it feels silly to debate her garchomp's welfare when she's just posing as an obstacle to delay treasure hunters from following them down to whatever artifact lies in wait below. she leaves the conversation behind, stepping out of the snow and into the mouth of the cave. behind her, the grittiness of a throat being cleared, a name. 
[break][break]
"remi," she tries it on her tongue. "nice name."
[break][break]
her fingertips graze the wall as she carefully picks her way down the sloping tunnel shaft. cold. "if i freeze down here, you have my blessing to say, 'i told you so' as many times as you please."
[break][break]

+ a brumal bounty 4 Remi Cassel          

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

she risks a look. up from her shoes, past the open palm and waiting fingers, settling on his face, however briefly.
[break][break]
katja drops her eyes and relinquishes her money. weeks of work handed over, but it does as much for her debt as a bucket of water thrown overboard a capsizing ship. 
[break][break]
"a month." she tries, her hand finding her opposite arm for comfort. she digs her fingers into her bicep.
[break][break]
"maybe — or maybe two." she pounces on the silence, afraid of what he might say if she leaves it on that disappointing note: "b-but i just started a new job so i'll be making twice as much soon!"
[break][break]

+ THEO BECKETT         

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

it's not enough.
[break][break]
the thought comes like a wave breaking against the shore, a surge of helplessness as she steps out of work with flour powdering the ends of her sleeves and a small paycheck burning a hole in her pocket.
[break][break]
and there he is.
[break][break]
katja approaches, cash in hand, eyes lowered. 
[break][break]
"i need more time."
[break][break]

+ THEO BECKETT         

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

as she's pinching a stray thread between thumb and forefinger, a voice carries through the strange quietness that always accompanies a snowstorm. katja glances up towards the source of the sound, then down for a half-second, then snaps her gaze up again. the other woman is staring at her intensely. so much so that katja straightens up and buckles down for the mission ahead.
[break][break]
"i will be." she pulls the zipper down and shrugs the jacket off, revealing a turtleneck beneath. is it spelunking attire? she's not really sure, but it conforms to her body and won't snag if they end up in a tight spot. she drapes her coat over garchomp's fin and gives her partner her full attention. 
[break][break]
"i don't think we've ever been properly introduced." during times like these, her voice slips into something careful, distant, formal — like remi is an important bank client and not a colleague. "i'm katja."
[break][break]
for a heartbeat, she thinks about extending her hand, then remembers how hard remi had been staring at her. instead, she slips into the mouth of the cave, into the cold dark. "garchomp will keep an eye out there for us." 
[break][break]
the landshark would fair far better playing bouncer to treasure hunters than getting hit by a rogue ice beam in the tunnels down below. 
[break][break]

+ a brumal bounty 4 Remi Cassel          

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

katja arrives on the shore of shoal cave on her garchomp's back, snowflakes clinging to the faux fur on her hood and leaving cold kisses against her cheeks. the snow is an unusual sight, but a welcome excuse to bring out the jacket she'd brought with her from johto. her garchomp rumbles her dissatisfaction with the weather, holding a finned arm up to watch the snow accumulate on the edge of her talon. 
[break][break]
she dismounts with a wince, the sound of her coat scraping against her pokemon's rough skin enough to make her feel like cringing. idly, she examines it for rips and runs while she waits for Remi Cassel to arrive.
[break][break]

+ a brumal bounty           

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

oddly, the safari zone is closed until sundown. it becomes less odd once she enters the zone itself and finds herself walking into what appears to be a haunted mansion. chandeliers swing in still air, lantern light flickers and casts moving silhouettes across the walls, the whole mansion groans and creaks like it threatens to buckle down on top of her.
[break][break]
she looks up at the high ceiling above, wondering how much faith she should have in the laborers that threw this set (this — actual house? if the warden enacted imminent domain for this property) together. she approaches the main staircase, brushes off a thick layer of dust with a grimace, and sits on the third step. let the mischief and frights come to her.   
[break][break]

+ pog

katja blinks at his greeting, taken aback by the cheerful lilt in his voice. whether it's the drinks or the heavy weight of the check in his pocket, she isn't sure, but it isn't unwelcome. she smiles in return, a small, slightly bashful curve of her lips. "thank you." it's hard not to press the point that he did most of the work in there, she just dealt the cards. she isn't here to argue flattery with her boss, of all people. 
[break][break]
his urgency to leave is well met by her. she wants nothing more than to toss her casino outfit into her dragon's flames and delete her search history of card tricks like a tired college student closing all their tabs after completing a research paper. [break][break]"right," she pats her pockets, assures herself she has everything accounted for. "let's go, then."
[break][break]

+ POG katja gets her first infamy after ur post rigged gacha rolls 4 Martín del Mar