rarely do people offer help without demanding something in return, especially men. allrianne raises her head, wipes sweat from her brow, and contemplates allowing this fool to do her dirty work for her. but then she looks his skinny self up and down, and nods to the fact that he hasn't yet touched the pickaxe beside him. 

lexis slams into the wall and the ground shakes. debris flies and a vein pokes through. 

allrianne shoulders her pickaxe and side-eyes her companion. it's not uncommon for others to come down here. from what she'd gathered, it was a bit of a tourist trap to begin with. 

"my team is quite capable, thank you." she nods towards the grip he holds. "you'd get a better workout with that pick, y'know."

Casey Fincher

☉

suit yourself. a fine remark. her hackles lower and she nods to lexis. the lycanroc's tail swishes and her muscles bunch. her white mane, spackled with debris, shivers, rocks grating. she launches herself at the side of the cavern wall. chipped rocks fly and allrianne raises a hand to protect her eyes. 

the salandit that had taken to snoozing some distance away gets to her feet and pads over to gather some of the evolutionary stones that had shaken loose. 

allrianne digs her pick into a vein. she spies a fire stone wedged deeper and eyes it hungrily. she'll sell the rest off, but this one she needs. 

"fallabor? no. i'm fresh off the boat from sinnoh. wanted to be where the action is." the lie comes easy from her lips. her kantonian accent is something she has to work to cover up, especially being from vermilion, where city slicker meets sailor's speech. 

"i'm hoping the extra cash from excavation can get me a luxury suite at the illustrious motel 8." 

Casey Fincher

☉

at her command, cassandra splays her legs, ears flattened in concentration. her muscles tense and nothing really happens. but after a couple of moments, chips and debris start spraying from the exposed hole. lexis scrabbles at the crack, dislodging flint and rock. 

and then the fire stone, pristine and glittering, wiggles free and into allrianne's waiting hands. she surveys it, feels its warm glow in her palm, and then pockets it. cassandra relaxes and shakes out her fur. 

"whole world's gone to shit," she affirms. "might as well be where the action is." 

she sets her pick down and shakes out her arms. fingers flex. some of the callouses on her fingers have split open. she sighs, reaches into the bag she'd brought with her, and goes about wrapping some gauze around her palms so she can get back into it. 

but for now she takes a break with a swig of water and watches the man and his pokemon work. 

"not a roommate kinda gal. i'm very bad at sharing." she simpers.

Casey Fincher

☉

perhaps this chance meeting won't have been for naught. the guy's kept his distance thus far and allrianne hasn't been kept from her work. truth be told, she doesn't know much about this region. he's helping her in more ways than he knows. 

she rolls her shoulders and fishes a couple bottles of water from her bag. the first, she waits until he's looking her way, and she tosses it to him. then she cracks open the other for herself and takes a swig. dust settles and the cavern goes quiet as her pokemon still themselves. 

wisteria gathers their treasures and croaks lowly. "and where would you propose i go, hm?"

Casey Fincher

☉

while she sets to examining the stones wisteria brings her, she listens idly to what her companion has to say. odds are she won't end up settling down, especially anytime soon. not until she finds someone to sign herself to. because she's a weapon, a tool, a dog that will only strike when given a command. 

it's all she's ever known. a small-town life with a white picket fence? not in the cards for her. and if it were, she'd throw herself off a cliff first. why, she doesn't know.

"well, you've given me a lot to think about. thanks. can't say it was half bad meeting ya. maybe i'll see y'around. fallarbor or otherwise."

Casey Fincher

☉