the desert is a cruel mistress... from wild pokemon roaming, to megalopolans fleeing, to even mysterious ruins within the area, the surrounding dry sand seems all the more perilous.

the red-headed ex-officer quietly rests his hand against one of the stone structures as he curiously examines all around him. even now, hoenn's history is lacking as the desert is relatively unexplored with no groundbreaking discoveries from archaeologists. even the strange ruins have no proper explanation.

a low growl rumbles behind him as aran the charizard seems to have caught scent of someone's approach. spotting a young man descend and approach from his pidgeot, hendrix passes the pair a smile. "yeah, that'd be me." he says somewhat curtly.

"well, since you're here, let's head in." hendrix turns, heading deeper into the ruins with the charizard in tow.

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angelo vestri
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Turns out someone was eager to get exploring, too. Angelo smiles through the curt words but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Hendrix had a point though despite the delivery, there was no point dawdling at the entrance, not when there were ruins to explore and potential treasure to stake a claim on. His empty pockets would thank him if they stumbled upon something good in there. “Right, not going to find anything at the entrance. Let’s go,” he responds as the redhead and his Charizard suggest they get moving, letting them take up the front as they pass through the entrance.

As soon as they walk into the darkness, illuminated by the Charizard’s tail, the tomb descends into a steep set of crumbling stairs – plunging straight into the abyss.

“So, what’s got you interested in exploring the ruins?” He asks conversationally as they walk into the gloom, gaze peering at the walls and noting faded, ancient writing etched with steady hands. Angelo wonders if this is where the dimensional invaders had fled to. If they would understand or care about the historic landmark they had trampled through. Probably not, he figures… Although he does note how there are holes lining the stone wall around head height, like they were once (or still were) filled with traps waiting to be sprung.

hendrix emmerson

Hendrix’s gaze shifts back towards Angelo. ”No particular reason. Rumor has it there’re treasure here. Isn’t that enough of a reason for anyone?” he answers somewhat ambiguously, though treasure is far from his interest.

He scans the ground carefully as they move in hopes of finding potential foot prints and to find some sign of any Megalopolans, but he’s unable to find any.

Frowning, he looks around at the strange wall, looking back at the holes. ”How about you? Are you some sort of archaeologist or something?” he asks, catching the man’s interest at the ancient writing.

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angelo vestri
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Treasure is part of the reason for Angelo coming down here. Tied with a thirst to experience, adventure, through all of these new and exciting places. “That’s what the rumours say... and that's good enough for me,” he admits with a shrug, although it is a little up in the air whether he’s referencing Hendrix’s reason or agreeing with it.

“Nah. Not quite. I'm just your next regular, curious civilian,” he chuckles, lips curling into a light smirk. It was interesting, looking at the inscriptions of an ancient civilisation but Angelo would be much keener on them if they made obvious gestures towards a potential treasure. Not like he can read it even if there were, that was more Remiel's thing. “Just thought I'd check to see if there’s some kind of instruction manual to not get poked full of holes. Don’t know about you but I’d prefer to avoid looking like cheese when I've only taken five steps in here.”

Thinking – more like hoping – that the traps had been long disengaged, Angelo walks further down into the ruins under the guiding light of a Charizard tail. He wants to see what lies beyond the plunging staircase.

They reach the bottom and although it's muffled, there's a distinct clicking noise coming from within the gloom. Angelo's eyes narrow as he shoots Hendrix a look, blue eyes hardening. Something had opened or activated somewhere...

hendrix emmerson

Hendrix’s left brow arches upwards as he stares at Angelo, his curiosity slightly peaking. He chuckles at the man’s self-description and slides his hand into his pocket to wrestle out a slightly scrunched pack of cigarettes.

Tapping his palm against the bottom, he shakes a cigarette out and casually places it between his lips. ”Uh huh. Have you tried poking a finger into one of those holes?” he jokingly retorts.

Seeing the cigarette in her trainer’s mouth, the Charizard hovers its fiery tail in front of him, letting him lean his head slightly towards the flame to ignite the cigarette. He lets out a small puff of smoke as he follows Angelo downwards.

The clicking sound is loud enough for the pair to hear and he darts his gaze back towards the other man… He lets out a whistle as the Charizard darts its wings forward, grabbing onto both him and Angelo as it swiftly flies forward.

Spears begin flinging out from the left wall behind them whizzing past the Charizard’s tail. As they descend at the end of the hallway, Hendrix lets out a sigh of relief, staring down briefly at half-cut cigarette hanging from his mouth. Disappointed, he lifts it away from his finger and flicks it back into the hallway behind them.

”Well, shit.”

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angelo vestri
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A laugh rolls off smirked lips. “I was going to do that next,” Angelo muses, joking. It seems that Hendrix does have a funny bone underneath all of the seriousness, after all. Some might have gotten a bit iffy about the idea of potential litter and ash in a stagnant ruin but he doesn’t pay any mind to the man popping a cigarette in his mouth. “But now you’ve said that, I don’t really feel like it anymore.” That kind of joke was something that he may have told his siblings back home, that or they should take a closer look into the hole; only to then resort to pulling them back by the collar when they attempted to do it, no doubt.

Ominous clicking fills the narrow corridor and before Angelo can reach into his pocket for a pokeball, he suddenly feels claws digging into the back of his jacket, Charizard hauling him off his feet. Thankfully, he’s grown used to the sensation of being lifted above the ground and as a spear rushes past, he pulls his knees up – rusted booby trap skimming close to the soles of his dusty trainers.

“Fuck.” Well, that was a close one.

They land at the other end of the corridor, unscathed, save for Hendrix’s barely used cigarette. “At least it wasn’t your finger,” he retorts, raising a brow as he references back to earlier. “Thanks, by the way.” Angelo probably could have flown out of the way with his own pokemon but he wasn’t about to thumb his nose at the assistance, especially when it saved precious seconds when he could have potentially been skewered. He gives the Charizard a grateful smile.

They push on around the next corner, ruin structure surprisingly linear – suspiciously so – until they close in on what looked like a dead end… Angelo’s brow pinches into a frown. That wasn’t going to be it? Really?

No statues. No inscriptions on the wall. Just a smooth slab of stone. “Well. This isn’t suspicious...” Angelo steps up to the wall for a closer look but, save from blasting the whole thing down and having the League on his ass, he's unsure if there's much really there to be done. His stomach twists in dissatisfaction. “If this is it, it's one hell of a cocktease...”

hendrix emmerson

Fortunately, he’s not the only one with a sense of humor as the other man easily claps back at him. Hendrix’s smile widens to a grin as he glances back at the dark-skinned brunette.

”Don’t mention it.”

Saving people happens to be his specialty, after all; though his identity as the Pokken Rider is still undisclosed and the name hasn’t garnered as much widespread recognition like the Pokkenger.

His eyes slightly narrow as the turn the corner into a new corridor that leads directly into an almost empty room with a single slab of stone. Angelo’s disappointment is made apparent and frankly, Hendrix feels the same.

Staring at the slab he suddenly wiggles his arms upwards. ”Ooooohh… Return the slab.” he muses, quoting a childish cartoon show he might’ve seen as a young lad. Yet, seeing as there isn't much left to do, he simply looks back at the man. "So uh, jokes aside, should we just head back?"

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angelo vestri
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Damn, he’d really been hoping for more… Treasure, money, adventure. Anything. But all he got was a fucking slab that didn’t look like it pointed to anything let alone threaten him with a curse or visitation from three plagues. At least Hendrix’s comment makes him chuckle, getting that it’s a pop culture reference, even if he’s not entirely sure where it’s from. Sorry, buddy.

He sighs and although he’d be more than happy to try and bust his way through the wall, Angelo figures if there really isn’t anything here, then he should try and pick up some odd jobs. At least that way he can guarantee some money at the end of the day. “Unless you want to take the slab to its rightful owner – probably.” There’s a slight hint of disappointment in his smile but he throws a casual shrug none the less. “Guess we picked the wrong one this time. Though, want to bet the secret entrance really was in one of those holes?” Probably not but Angelo’s eyes sparkle just the slightest in trying to make a joke out of their failed choice in ruins, turning on his heel with Hendrix to get back out into the desert heat.

Maybe he’d have better luck in the future.

hendrix emmerson

The red-haired man shakes his head at the thought of taking the slab. ”I think it’s best if we just left it here.”

Taking a step away, he begins heading back towards the entrance with dark-skinned brunette following along side him. ”Can’t help but feel a little disappointed, but that’s just life, I guess.”

Returning is much easier and less perilous than them coming in. Seeing the endless sea of sand again, he climbs onto the Charizard’s back, looking back at Angelo. ”Best of luck with your treasure hunting. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

Saying his goodbye, he taps the Charizard on the neck, causing it to flap its wings, taking him to the skies.

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angelo vestri
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