Smoke purred in satisfaction, flipping upside down, relishing the praise. He was a simple pokemon, true to the mischievous nature of his species. His ideal positive reinforcement was simply praise. He wanted to be acknowledged for his crafty deeds. Smoke spotted the man slide next to Lex before she noticed him. He flipped right side up, hissing defiantly with narrowed eyes. How dare this man interrupt the connection with his trainer. He eyed the skewered meat, fighting the urge to rip it out of the man’s hand and shove it where the sun don’t shine.

It was Smoke’s reaction that cued Lex into the man’s sudden appearance. She leaned away in surprised, a little beer sloshing over the top of one of the cup onto her hand, ”Fuck,” she quietly grumbled to herself.

He seemed to have witnessed her little maneuver earlier with Smoke. The comment caused her to stiffen, cautiously narrowing her eyes, obviously displeased. 7 out of 10? Really?

There was a moment of silence while he held the meat stick out towards Lex. Her amber eyes glanced from the food to him before she shook her head, “Yea, no, I don’t just eat food from strangers,” This guy must be off his rocker, “That tactic usually work?” she lightened up a bit, throwing a curious smirk in his direction.

Noelani Kekoa
TL;DR: Lex says NOPE

Well, he did have a point. The piece did work well as a conversation starter. At least, it worked with Lex. Considering she was in a good mood this evening, she wasn’t as dismissive as some other people may be. In addition, Noelani Kekoa had peaked her interest with the bold move and calling her out on her shenanigans. Smoke was vibrating with frustration but with a wave of Lex’s hand, the phantom disappeared, slipping into his invisible form to hover over Lex protectively.

Lex turned to continue walking, expecting the man to follow. She sipped out of the beer in the right hand as he continued to speak. Her lips pulled into an amused smile when he began talking about her attention and the Emolga riffling through her pockets. Another thief of all people should now how easily one’s attention can be split. And Lex’s always was. Especially given her current circumstances. There were always eyes watching her back. But she chose not to comment on this, she wasn’t here to prove something. Only to drink, and “shop” the night market with Smoke. Company was a welcome bonus.

Lex laughed at the well-placed adage. Her eyes slightly rolled and met his, giving him a look that screamed ‘really?’ But she moved on quickly from this, “I’m curious, what is your typical mark, then?” now that Noelani Kekoa had secured her interest, she extended the beer in her left hand towards him as an acceptance of him joining her for the time being, “Next round’s on you, though,” she teased before he took the beverage.

Noelani Kekoa

Wow. Talk about laying it on thick. This guy was a Grade A flirt. It subtly strummed at the tight string that was her annoyance. Luckily, Lex was in a good mood and she was normally a quite easy going person. A rarity for someone involved in an organization like Team Rocket. In many ways, Lex was certainly an outlier.

Lex laughed at his description of a typical mark. She could certainly relate to wanting to swipe something from anyone who really annoyed her. Though pick-pocketing wasn’t really her favorite thing to do. It was something she was forced into at the moment. The larger, more intricate heists are what she preferred. When the thief had a steady influx of jobs, you would never find her pick-pocketing or stealing beer from other patrons like she was tonight. A larger job did plenty to satisfy her pockets and her taste for the adrenaline that naturally came with the job.

Lex followed the man’s nod towards the other. Noelani had a fair point . . . again, which was quite annoying, but she could live with it, “Yea, I see what you mean,” she responded, after a moment of taking in the arrogant and privileged aire the man gave off.

“Well . . . I mean . . . if he’s asking for it . . .” Lex threw Noelani Kekoa a mischievous grin, letting him fill in the rest of the sentence for himself, “I’ll hold your beer and meat sticks,” she offered sliding through the crowd to a nearby tall table that just became available. It was a bit messy with the crumbs of a just finished Phanpy Ear. Her eyes wandered form Noel to the man who was very carefully examining the wears of one of the Night Market’s vendors. He looked particularly critical of the hand-made ceramic bowl.

Noelani Kekoa

Lex had a great view from the table she strategically chose. She was able to watch it all unfold. Obviously, he had trained his pokemon well like she has. Smoke had reappeared by her side to watch the spectacle as well, a critical frown pulling at his lips. The thief couldn’t help but laugh lightly as the man came tumbling down from the paralyzing jolt of the electric-type which sped away soon after. Numb legs would be fun to recover from.

She suggested this game for two reasons 1) she was curious, and 2) to see if she had found a possible partner in crime, so to speak. Normally Lex worked alone but surely there would be a job someday that required assistance. One small pickpocket wasn’t too telling of his talents but it was a start.

@noelani was back quickly, a quality she appreciated. Get in, get out, don’t get caught; a mantra she lived by. He didn’t get fancy trying to take a watch or pokeball from the belt, only the small, easily accessible wallet. Another point for Noelani.

“And I’m sure it will be missed,” Lex smiled, giving the wallet a once over before setting his prize back down on the table. She took another sip of beer and listened, intrigued by the prospect, “What did you have in mind?” she asked curiously, raising a brow gently.

Noelani Kekoa

Noelani had piqued her interest, wondering what sort of shenanigans he had up his sleeve. After all, what could he possibly offer her? Lex sipped her beer while listening to his explanation. A pick-pocketing contest of sorts? It was a risky move . . . especially since this wasn’t the kind of “fun” Lex normally had. In truth, it was unnecessary and could possibly expose her. Although she was confidence in her abilities, the small voice in her head discouraged her from participating.

But the prize . . . Lex’s amber eyes moved towards the ticket Noelani pulled from his pocket. The shiny piece of paper made her reconsider the proposition, “I see,” she purred, silently pondering the pros and cons. She had heard of this particular artist, her old boss was a fan. He had quite a name for himself across the different regions. There was no doubt the Red Gyarados would be worth a pretty penny. And if she lost, all she had to do was treat him to some more beers. It seemed like a fair trade in her favor if she won . . . that was, assuming he was telling the truth about this exhibit at the spa.

“The prize is . . . intriguing,” she admitted, eyeing the ticket he still held in his hand. After taking another sip of beer she shrugged her shoulders, “Alright, I’m sold, 10 minutes,” Lex threw the rest of the beer back, polishing it off and tossing the cup towards the nearby trash cans. Lex looked back, sparing Noelani Kekoa a mischievous smirk before stepping off into the crowd.

The countdown had begun.

Noelani Kekoa
NwnDVQYx

10 minutes would fly by in a snap, especially when you were concentrated on something. Lex’s Gastly floated closely by her side, a mischievous grin of his own, he loved this shit. But Lex waved a hand in front of the ghost-type, “Not this one, bud,” her eyes settled on a target near the rifle shooting game. A tall, well-dressed man with a dirty grin. He was leaning against the tent, hovering over two women that were obviously not interested in his advances. He turned to play the game, and the two drifted away into the crowd to escape the unwanted interest.

There were no rules about working with what you have. And this seemed like the type of guy who would easily fall victim to the womanly prowess. Lex slipped in beside the man as he finished up a few semi-accurate shots with the air rifle. With a satisfied he turned to brag to the women but was confused when they weren’t there to fawn over his abilities. Instead, Lex was there, a coy grin on her face. The man gave her the quick once over. She had boobs, she seemed interested, that worked for him.

“That was impressive,” she purred motioning towards the game, “One more round like that and you could win me that big Charizard,” her hand slipped down his left arm to his wrist while she moved in closer and pointed towards the big plushie. The man beamed with satisfaction. Finally! Someone appreciated his manly skills, “The Charizard, huh?” he dare not move the arm she was touching, the soft touch sent shivers up his spine. Looked towards the plushie and as he moved to give the man a few extra dollars to try again, the class on his watch unbuckled, falling gently from his wrist and into her hand. He was too distracted to notice. Lex back up, giving him a smile and room to turn and resume the game.

He did better this time, good enough to win the Charizard plushie. But when he turned around with his prize, Lex was nowhere to be found.

Lex leaned against the table, twirling the expensive looking watch on the opposite hand’s index finger. The heavy piece of jewelry clanked against the table as Noelani Kekoa returned, “I got this fancy…. Roton watch…. Wait” she peered at the lettering closely to be sure it said Roton and not Rotom… it said Roton. She growled in frustration, it was a fake and probably worth like . . . $10pd if she as lucky, “Fucking waste,” she threw the useless item towards the trash can, eyes narrowing as she peered over at Noelani Kekoa. If anything she was frustrated for losing, not grabbing something worthless, she knew she didn’t have an eye for this stuff and she was ok with that.

Noelani Kekoa