he's been nearly a week clean, though not of his own volition. traipsing through the countryside because he had no money for a flying taxi had been taxing on him (ha). he'd had to stow away on a stinking pokemon cargo ship to get to slateport in the first place. and here was summer, ungrateful as ever, refusing to see the hard work and sweat he'd put into seeing his big sis. 

he sports wide-rimmed golden sunglasses (gaudy, and ten pokedollars from slateport's bustling market), a trim suit, and a too-big tank top on his bony torso. bruises, albeit light, smatter the side of his arm. 

the yacht's just out by the shoreline. far enough to get away from the raucousness of the trade city, close enough to get to shore if the waters get too rocky. 

unlike summer, his own pokemon are enjoying the day. all of them either lounge on deck with him, or circle the yacht and rock it gently with their play. 

knox sips at a pina colada and looks above his shades at summer, one brow raised. he stares at her a moment and then gives her the finger. and then he pushes his glasses back up and goes back to his lounging. 

"nothing to complain about, sister mine. i'm just glad you had the sense not to dismiss the staff. now, am i to drink alone?"

Summer Atreides

☉

surtur, quite frankly, is a force to be reckoned with. and perhaps that's what influenced knox to take up the mantel of becoming a water-type trainer in the first place. his body may burn with heat waves that could startle most, but his water pokemon pay him no mind at the far reaches of the boat. 

mirror, to add insult to injury, even places a protective safeguard around the playing pokemon so if he did think about attempting to scorch some of the smaller ones, he couldn't.

meanwhile, summer hands him the segue on a silver platter. he doesn't even bother getting indignant - that this is all he could possibly be here for (after all, he is). 

"now why would i need to see the old man when i have you, my loving sister?"

Summer Atreides

☉

the one thing that has always puzzled knox is captain's incessant love for his sister, and her toleration for her. the pikachu drops down from the foot of his own lounge chair and moseys up to summer, ears drooping as she looks for affection. knox rolls his eyes. 

"it's not obvious, red?" he takes a languid sip from his drink. she just wants you to say it. she wants you to ask. so she can say no and laugh and order him swim back to shore. he shudders at the memory of last time, before mirror had evolved, when she'd thrown him overboard in that storm. 

she might relent. might. but only if he can give her something in return. and considering she doesn't think much of him, it's not easy to offer something she wants.

"but for now, let's just relax, enjoy each other's company." he snaps his fingers. "another, please," he crows while giving his empty cocktail a shake.

Summer Atreides

☉

"ah, if only i could," he says wistfully as he takes the drink from his attendant's hands. gods, even the attendants don't even want to wait on me, he thinks with chagrin after the exchange. on the flip side, it is quite funny to see just how much of a fuck-up his family seems to think he is.

he readjusts the glasses on his face (they keep sliding down his nose) and he goes back to reading. he takes intermittent sips, wishing for powder instead, while captain betrays him and schmoozes with the devil.

he doesn't bat an eye when she brings up his using. they've been down this road before. a circuit that loops infinitely, round and round itself, because she's not asking because she cares (right?).

he stretches in response and gives her the side-eye. "we don't talk for nearly a year after pops kicks me out of our oh-so-functional, happy family and now you're worried about me?" he laughs. and because he wants to be mean, he nonchalantly adds, "i see the stress has been getting to you these days. might want a skinny margarita instead - these pina coladas have quite the calories."

Summer Atreides

☉

if he were a better person, he may have felt bad about it. but instead he looks at the glass littered on the ground and the way her muscles are tensed like she may jump him at any moment. knowing summer, she probably has some sort of knife hidden somewhere in that skimpy bikini of hers. 

"you did that yourself, red," he says with a laugh. 

captain shakes out her fur and scampers back up to knox's chair. she licks her fingers and goes to groom her fur, tail twitching with annoyance. knox looks down at her and nudges her with his toes affectionately. she turns away from him. he sighs.

"i thought we were having a rather nice time. you're the one who told me to shut the fuck up, remember?" he tosses aside the magazine he'd been attempting to read. the attendants leave summer alone, but they do scrub the glass and blood off of the deck.

knox sheds his outerwear, leaving his swim briefs on, and dives into the pool. she won't call their father. he'd be disappointed in her that she even entertained him for this long. 

so he lets her cool off by removing himself from the situation. 

Summer Atreides

☉

his arms itch and it's not because of a sunburn (spf 70, baby), but he resists every impulse to scratch them. he dips his arms in the water instead, letting that soothe his pain. and he lets his thoughts wander. 

the rest of his pokemon are in the ocean itself, enjoying the waves that break against the yacht. knox's greninja, however, floats on an inner tube in the pool, chin tucked into his oversized tongue, eyes half-closed. he kicks his feet a bit until he bumps into knox, pulling the boy from his thoughts and towards the edge of the pool.

now, knox doesn't hate summer's pokemon as much as she his. after all, they can't help that their trainer is a witch. but he's not about to jump through hoops as her nickit attempts to repair a bond that's been tattered more years than it's been alive. 

caspian chuckles at the look on his face.

he doesn't dare splash the thing with water, regardless of his annoyance, or his ass wound end up over the boat before he could say fuck. 

he sighs. "so much for easy breezy, no strings attached. should've known she'd put me through the ringer." caspian blinks an amphibious eye and shrugs.

Summer Atreides

☉

all it takes is a little bit of patience. summer may be the master manipulator, but knox is the queen of pity. she'd be a terrible mother, yes, but some type of motherly instinct drives his sister to take care of him (and it drives her insane, surely). so when she comes crawling back to him, he has to resist the urge to grin. 

he swims up to her, almost lazily, and then floats on his back, starfishing to keep himself above the water. "deal. but when we get back on land, you bet your ass i'm getting a head start." 

they're quiet for a few moments and it's actually sort of...nice. 

but now that he has her in the position he wants her in, he opens the conversation. "how about another drink, sister dear? and then we can discuss a small loan."

Summer Atreides

☉