Diving was slowly growing on her, really. It had taken a while, especially due to distractions and the weather getting colder, but she had tried again, now. Not just on that day. A few times, actually. She went a few times while on that one mission near the fishing village, mostly while waiting for someone to come and assist her. But she still did not do it very often. It was still something reasonably dangerous to do, after all. Especially on her own. Hence, she worked rather carefully in that regard, only going down for relatively short amounts of time, always accompanied by one of the many water Pokemon she had gathered by now and only using Cloister near the surface.

After all, that was the only one she could ride, properly. Hence, she had gone down with Frillish, for that and other reasons. After all, this was Sea Mauville. A place she’d always wanted to check out, given that she hailed from Land Mauville. And back during the summer, a certain someone was not going to take her.
But Violet was a grown woman, even if she was rather short. She could take herself, this time.

So, she had, explored a few wrecks from a safe distance, always sending out Frillish first before she followed in Scuba gear. Just as she sent him ahead first now, as they returned to the surface. Naturally, the boy overshot, though, not just going to the surface of the water, but rather floating up in the air a bit after breaking it.
Right next to a certain boat…

Skyler Dross might be a ship captain and a sailor at heart but despite all of her skills out at sea and her general handiness, she was not a mechanic. Sure, she could do the daily and weekly maintenance, knew enough to be able to identify most problems and solve the simplest ones - which... wasn't the case here. So when she looked down at the smoking machinery that lay at the heart of the speedboat, motor grease up to her elbows, she could say with full certainty that she had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

Of course, Captain Dross didn't let that deter her in any way, shape or form - regardless of the increased likelihood that something would explode on her face.

Blowing curls away from her face, she leaned back for a breath of much needed oceanic air - only to come face to face with a terrifyingly familiar floating jellyfish.

It didn't even surprise her, not really. Skyler was perfectly aware that Sea Mauville was home to all sorts of ghosts, especially those that had some sort of connection to the sea. That knowledge, however, wasn't nearly enough to stop the rising fear that settled around her throat, gripping tightly. 

Everything about the sailor froze, as if she'd somehow become stuck in time for that brief moment, strands of gold catching the sunlight just as shadows darkened her expression. 

The motion was nearly automatic, shaking fingers going for her belt and releasing a pokemon with a beam of red light. 

Pollux the Umbreon SNARLed at the sight of the ghost, fangs flashing as his fur stood on end, bright eyes gleaming with the promise of violence. 

Violet Fairbanks

She had not expected to find anyone on the surface, obviously. She’d even less expected someone hostile. In fact, she tended to go through life trying to not have much in terms of enemies to begin with. Sure, she cheated a lot of people. But Vio tended to be out of reach once they realized that. Now, one could say that doing so was more about not being around for your enemies to catch, rather than not making any – and one would be right in that – but the point still stood. She always tried to not start a fight she couldn’t win or get away from. Heck, that was one of the reasons as to why she had stayed away from all of this war stuff, preferring to not get involved in the first place. One of many.

But despite her efforts, she could barely see her Pokemon flinch at a loud, snarling sound coming from a boat as she reached the surface. Fortunately, everyone’s attention was on her Frillish, not on herself. Gave her a few moments to think. She didn’t exactly want to fight. But anyone attacking her Pokemon on sight was probably not too eager to just let her off the hook easily.
Though, while she did not exactly value her Pokemon over her own life, there was this immediate impulse to not just take this lying down.

Then Vio took a closer look at the ship, thinking it familiar. Especially when she did see a frightened young woman out of the corner of her eye.
Things clicked swiftly, made sense. Treading water, Vio reached for a Pokeball and recalled Frillish. “You know, this is not how I expected things to go once we meet again, dear~. Then again, this is the last place I’d ever expected to run into you to begin with.”

The familiar voice that rose up from somewhere nearby cut through the haze of fear-induced adrenaline that had overtaken Captain Dross. The red beam that called Frillish back into its pokeball probably also helped the situation, removing one of the sources of Skyler's frayed nerves. Usually she wouldn't be as quick to turn to violence, but she absolutely refused to fall prey to some ghost's mischievous machinations. 

Violet, however, was a whole other matter entirely. 

The smile that curled Skyler's lips chased away all the shadows from her expression, playful and inviting as genuine fondness brightened her silver eyes. She hadn't seen Vio since last summer, when they'd enjoyed a brief, yet entirely pleasurable string of dates. Like so many things in her life, Vio had become a pleasant memory of darkened dance clubs and sunshine soaked dives. 

Except that she wasn't just a memory anymore. "Vio?" Her current boat problems were swiftly forgotten in favor of grinning unashamedly at the pale haired woman. "It is you."  Grease stained fingers distractedly rubbed at her nose, leaving a dark streak behind. A silvery gaze studied the smaller woman, trouble gleaming from within its depths. "I see you've become a fan of diving. Want to come aboard? Unless you'd rather paddle in the water and sing me to the depths?" 

There were a couple of pokemon that could actually do that, Skyler knew. 

Cleaning her hand on her pants, Captain Dross extended it to Vio in what was a clear invitation to join her.

Violet Fairbanks

Vio took the hand. Then, with the same unabashed nature, she would pull all her weight into a pull. Granted, she had less leverage and mass, so it wasn’t exactly an assured success. But she figured that the sheer, unexpected nature of the action would suffice to achieve her current goal.

Well, whether it worked or not, she would laugh either way. “Not exactly singing, I guess, but with all that grease, you could use a little bath too, wouldn’t you agree?” It wasn’t really her making fun of the other as much as Vio taking the situation and trying to make the most of it. It was an answer as much as a prank, after all. She had gotten comfortable enough in the water to at least try and drag the other down, while also trusting Skyler to be able to hold her own. Plus, she knew that this woman wouldn’t keep anything on her at times like this that wouldn’t survive a splash. Kind of a thing captains did.

“Though, I guess coming on board would be nice, too. Been in the water for too long. Any more and my skin might get all weird.” She had forgotten what that was called. Not like she was too bothered by it. “My stuff is on the crow’s nest of a half-sunken ship not too far from here, so I guess we can get it there.” She would turn to face the other, whether Skyler was currently pulling her up, or currently in the water with her. “What brings you here, though? We both know you aren’t exactly the greatest friend of ghost types.”

Vio wouldn't have been able to pull her into the water, not easily, and certainly not with the clearly defined muscles Skyler had gained over the time since they'd last seen each other. Despite that, when Violet attempted to pull her into the waters there was barely any resistance, and blonde curls disappeared under the surface as Captain Dross toppled over to join the smaller woman in the ocean.

Resurfacing with a look of utmost satisfaction on her face, Skyler let out a bark of laughter at Violet's words. "I'm not sure I'd prefer this over the singing, to be perfectly honest." It was unclear whether the captain had let herself fall or had just been caught by surprise, and the teasing glint in her silver eyes told Vio that that was an answer Skyler would keep to herself. If only to keep Violet wondering.

"Already exploring shipwrecks, Vio? Should I be worried about competition?" Skyler hoisted herself into the boat with practised ease, water slipping from sun-kissed skin as she moved to stand up and offer Vio a hand - again. Mischief dancing behind her eyes as if daring the pale woman to try the same thing again. "Didn't know you were training to be a treasure hunter. Guess I did leave an impression." An eyebrow was quirked up even as Skyler gently and effortlessly pulled Vio in.

"Welcome to the Mariner 2 again. I'm afraid we're suffering a few technical issues. Namely, the engine is down. So that answers your question as to what I'm doing... Here." An expression of distaste stole over Skyler's face for a second or two, then she continued. "Comms are down, and my phone has no battery or else I'd call the nearest boat towing company." 

The captain let herself fall over the closest seat, breath all but escaping her lungs as she let her head fall backward in a show of frustration. "And there are ghosts!" 

Out of all things, that seemed - according to Skyler - the absolute worst. At least her arms were clean now. 

Violet Fairbanks

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Hah. Success.
Granted, Vio had not quite expected this to work – and she half suspected that her friend had allowed it to work to begin with – but that did not diminish her glee over the success of the operation one bit. After all, she had managed to attain what she wanted, a wet Skyler. Plus, it was not all selfish. That was also meant to serve to wash the girl’s head. Water had the kind of effect on people. Made them a bit less tense in the end. Hopefully, that would help a little bit.

Certainly seemed that way, since Skyler was soon joking with the best of them. “Hmm, if you want me to sing for you, that can be arranged. Wouldn’t be the first time,” she replied with a wink. Then, she allowed the other to help her up again, this time for real. This time though, the smaller woman did not try. Instead, she was a bit more receptive and reverent to the captain on her boat. Some pranking was fine. But disrespecting the other was a big no-no. “Though I was not really hunting for treasure. Just exploring a little. You know me, I have more desire to capture thrills and beautiful women than dingy old treasures. Besides, a place like this likely has already been picked clean.” The last part betrayed most of her true opinion on the matter. At the end of the day, Vio was quite the calculating woman. She could tell that a tourist spot like this would be a bad place to start with that.

Plus, she also knew that the sea was not truly her calling. If it was, she would have never left Skyler’s side. Well, that and their disagreement about ghosts. Vio allowed her eyes to sweep over the small ship, then she called forth her Piplup. Why? She didn’t quite make that obvious just yet. “I can see the problem. Well, problems. But it seems that they are connected,” she noted, before taking Skyler’s hand. It was casual. They had done it before. Not just to get up here, no. Back then. There was still some affection to it, but also a bit of surprising strength and drive. Since, well, she was pulling the other a bit towards the rear of the boat, whatever sailors called that.
Mostly because she could already foresee what was going to happen next, and she wanted to be there and keep the other steady, least she jumped. “Okay boy, Bubble Beam, but carefully,” she would call out. And her Piplup would concur releasing a stream of bubbles towards where Skyler’s rations were – trying to precisely aim at the random teacup that had been sitting there, innocuously, yet also kind of being out of place. Vio was quite certain that this one was the one responsible for the machine failure, after all. Probably had gone undetected till now due to looking like an household appliance. Still, she threw a ball at it anyway. On principle.

The laughter that bubbled out of her as she pulled Vio into the boat was as familiar to her as the amusing back and forth between herself and the pale haired woman she'd welcomed aboard. Skyler had almost forgotten how fun time spent with Vio could be. "No," Skyler agreed, "it wouldn't be the first time." Amusement curled her lips into something playful. "But maybe we'll leave singing for another time." Especially given that the captain's thoughts nowadays tended to gravitate towards a very specific blue eyed courier...

"Picked clean?" Skyler seized the chance to rid herself of her wet t-shirt, having a wetsuit underneath for diving purposes. When she twisted her curls, a veritable waterfall of ocean water fell onto the deck of the boat. "Of beautiful women or of dingy old treasures? You didn't specify." Mischief danced merrily behind the silvery surface of her eyes, only made the more apparent when she followed Vio's movement with quirked eyebrows. A Piplup, huh? "Unless you're in the business of overtaking and stealing ships, I'm not sure what that little guy could do to help with anything." Vio's next words didn't clear any doubts, and amusement trickled into her voice as she continued. "First a fellow treasure hunter and now a mechanic too? Vio, you're kept yourself really busy these last few months, haven't you?"

The captain was a bit surprised when the woman's hand caught her own in its grip - the gesture wasn't altogether unfamiliar as they'd done this before, yet there was a purpose to it that poked at Skyler's curiosity. She let herself be led by the smaller woman, mostly to see what she'd do. The stream of Bubbles that left the Piplup left her confused, especially when it seemed like they were heading for the- food?

"What the f-!"

Skyler didn't jump as much as skedaddle back, goosebumps erupting over the skin of her arms as the ghost made itself seen. An innocuous teacup that blended in with the rest of her own, kept in the boat for those long days spent at sea. She hadn't even realized this one wasn't one of her own.

Great. Now she'd be paranoid about her teacups.

Her pulse thundered in her ears, its rhythm frantic with the jolt of adrenaline that still flowed through her veins. "Shit, that thing has been in my ship the entire time?!" A string of curses followed in the wake of her statement, the captain's fear of ghosts present in the way she kept her distance. Thankfully, Vio thought to capture it.

"Think the engine will work now?"

Violet Fairbanks

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Ah, it was a wet suit today. That did make sense, of course, especially given her own diving attire. But to say that she wasn’t a little disappointed would be a lie. Sure, she had moved on, technically. Yet, that was something that Violet had not yet worked out in general. Or rather, she was the kind of hypocrite that was perfectly fine to take age-long breaks but always assumed others would be waiting for her – or rather, to be just as fidgety about these matters as she was. Hence, she was also quite oblivious to the more muted response here.

Especially because the other allowed herself to be led away so easily. There was a hint of surprised hesitation, but no rejection. That made her feel successful all the same. The fighting off and capturing of the ghost only added to that. “If I was only looking for beautiful women, I’d looked for this ship. On the surface, not on the bottom of the ocean,” she replied, just as playfully, while walking forwards, patting the Piplup on the head, which squealed in response, before taking a closer look at the engine.
And by closer look she meant just looking at it like a doofus because she honestly had absolutely no idea how any of this worked. Turning, she shook her head before putting both hands on Skyler’s who was still shaking. “Shh, it’s alright. The ghost is gone.” As long as the other did not turn, because Violet could see a Shuppet fighting a Slowbro in the water behind Skyler. Fortunately, Piplup saw that too and waddled over as well, discreetly shooting bubbles in that direction. Though it didn’t matter to ‘Mon or trainer who they hit, as long as the potential danger subsided. Given how her last boat ride with the captain had gone, Violet had specifically tasked this one to ‘run deterrence’ as father would have put it. Nothing interrupted a romantic ride like constant Pokemon attacks, after all.

“Better now?” she asked, gently. “I have no idea about engines and the like so I can’t tell. It’s better if you take a look. I will protect you as best as I can.” Ah, it felt so good to say that. She didn’t exactly get a lot of chances to protect others, after all.

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passes

At ease with physical contact, it did not come to Skyler's mind that her actions could be construed as an invitation instead of her inherently approachable nature bubbling forth. "If you were looking for beautiful women at the bottom of the sea and in shipwrecks, I'd be profoundly worried for you, Vio."

When Vio leaned in to take a closer look at the engine, Skyler followed suit, a frown upon her lips. "I'm not sure the Sinistea was the problem, though I'm glad it isn't on my ship anymore... Damned pests." Her hand reached out to swipe at the sweat on her forehead, but the gesture was interrupted by soft hands grasping her own.

Skyler blinked slowly, Vio's reassuring words falling flat against the rising incredulity taking over the captain's expression. It dulled the bright gleam that had met Violet's reappearance, turning the bright silver into a dull, dagger-like grey. Like storm clouds taking over the horizon.

And equally as furious. 

"I'll set up a patrol." The words came out strained, fighting against a dangerous swell of bruised pride.

The captain removed herself from Vio's vicinity, walking to the edge of the boat and calling forth one of her pokemon, its large, serpentine shape materializing as a menacing Gyarados. Maybe it had been chosen on purpose. "Guard the boat, make sure no pokemon approach." 

As it disappeared beneath the waves, Skyler turned back to Vio. The ocean breeze blew her wet curls away from her face, making it impossible to mistake that hardened expression and the downward pull of her lips. As much as Vio had the ability to read and use people, she'd taken a wrong step somewhere in this dance - perhaps thinking back on the person Skyler used to be instead of the one who now stood before her.

"... I don't think there's any threat that needs protecting from, Vio. But I thank you all the same." 

From somewhere to her right, Gyarados resurfaced, its jaws clamping around both Shuppet and Slowbro in a BITE. With a flick of her wrist, Skyler captured the Slowbro.

Violet Fairbanks
catching slowbro

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