she had been out of commission - quite literally - for the attack on her hometown. when the news broke her, she'd been put back under, forced to rest (and quell her fury). it was days later, when rocket had already infected her home, that she had soared above the cloud-line, watching the rest of her city fall. 

the draconic people fled for shelter. to where, she does not know, but the morningstar family has delivered its dragons into the hands of those who will use them for good. supposedly. 

with their mission come to an abrupt end, she has but one mission: fulfill her promise to FERNANDO SILPH. 

it is with a sort of irony that alexei dismounts his braviary. she returns the smile, though hers is not as warm. "i see we've both returned from medical leave. though perhaps you've come back sooner than you should." she raises a brow. 

and then she goes on. "glad to see you're still alive. too many of us are gone." 

Alexei Ivanov

☉

she shakes her head. "i was sedated for most of my recovery." she keeps the reasonings to herself, but it's not hard to put the pieces together. sootopolis' fall weighs heavy on her, even now (even with her allegiances shifted, duties undone). 

"we're with our backs against the wall. all we can do is...this." she gestures to the people moving in and out of the bank, hunkering down a bit as they pass under the watchful eyes of her kommo-o. 

we can help them feel safe. but this isn't safety that they feel. her dragons are a symbol of the looming threat around them, a reminder of the tension waiting to snap. that they need protecting from something. 

"just don't do anything crazy while we're here. leave the skirmishes to me. we don't need to be out a gym leader because he was too proud to heal properly." her tone is kind.

Alexei Ivanov

☉

"i can't imagine anyone within their right mind would attempt a robbery now." she emphasizes her point as one of her kommo-o dip its head, nostrils twitching. its scales clang together as a sort of warning, though she's merely 'ruffling her feathers,' so to speak.

it is then that her other kommo-o turns. his tail nearly sweeps a passerby off her feet. freya steps to the side to peer around the dragon's massive body, and sees a stoutly teller approaching with haste. 

"wh-what are you doing?" he blubbers. 

freya tenses, indignant. "our jobs? the very thing you hired the league to do?"

he cuts her off with a harumph and looks at alexei. "you dolts, no one's going to try to - someone's here. they're breaking in! they're hacking us."

Alexei Ivanov

☉

she laughs. honest to gods, she laughs. leave it to the league to send an exorbitance of muscle to deal with a situation that should be handled behind screens. it's all so black & white. 

the teller winces at her laughter. a muscle in his cheek flicks and his cheeks redden. she can tell he's checking himself. but her amusement dies down when her partner reflexively tries to sort the problem. 

she feels so detached from it. at the end of the day, she doesn't care whether the criminals get away with their theft. but she has to save face, at least.

"we have IT on it, but they're saying none of the alarms went off. it's like they completely bypassed the systems we had in place."

she puts a hand on alexei's shoulder. "then someone must be inside. my guess is someone slipped by with a porygon or rotom." she reaches for a whistle in her pocket and blows twice. the high-pitched sound can't be heard by her companions, but her dragons shake their heads. 

"aeris and sypha will start searching now. let's go."

Alexei Ivanov

☉

"if you were this worried about an attack like this, you should have reached out to silph co." but she can put together rather quickly why the bank wouldn't have. silph's technology is expensive and why fork over thousands of dollars in security when their friendly neighborhood league can lend a hand out of the goodness of their hearts? 

she nods to alexei and follows him into the building. business continues as usual. most likely they want the target dealt with discreetly.

aeris and sypha slither from opposite corridors to join them. they catch a few glances and it's enough for people to recognize the celebrity beside her. 

"gym leader, alexei!" freya sighs and her dragonair hiss when people get too close.

"we're a bit busy right now, folks. excuse us." she stalks away from the handsome leader's admirers and points to the stairwell.

"the twins didn't find anything on the first floor. we'll have to go down. prioritize anything that looks like it might have some hardwiring to the bank's database."

Alexei Ivanov

☉

there is a usefulness in smaller creatures that freya often forgets. her twins are the ones that she takes on infiltration missions, not that she would consider this one of those times, but it must be nice to call upon strong partners like alexei can in a time of need. 

the rest of her muscle is too big for the cramped, plush hallways. so she follows the dragonair down, alexei and his team behind her. 

it's not long before they come upon a door marked employees only. the handle is busted from force. freya tries the door and it doesn't budge, but upon her pressing, scuffling can be heard from inside. 

she steps to the side. "after you, ivanov."

Alexei Ivanov

☉