it doesn't actually take much to startle allrianne. when she's on the job, she's posted up with psychic-types alerting her to everyone and everything's moves. how funny that she'd returned most of her borrowed team before boarding. her lent alakazam could have warned her to this. and the rest of them, the ones she'd - 

no use thinking about the dead now. 

back to being startled - allrianne turns, one hand on her espeon, the other to the. . . spot where her knife used to be. but her fingers grasp nothing. 

vesper hale. why does that ring a bell? 

she's good with faces. has to be. but names? anyone less than top priority gets dunked in the trash. except for those she's had altercations with. and ah. the freak maid services. rocket's go-to for all their lovely messes. 

"i know who you are," she says curtly and snatches the water. she downs half the bottle, caps it, and tosses it into the sand in front of vesper. 

"boat's gone, i'm assuming. you got more water anywhere?" she stands and shrugs out of her jacket and her pants. her espeon still doesn't wake so she drops one of her dusk balls and a salandit emerges. the lizard turns its head at the woman before her and only moves to slink beside the espeon upon allrianne's distracted command.

she wrings out her clothes, goosebumps on her flesh. her first priority is finding a water source. and then when that's settled, her pokemon can find them something to eat. and then they'll go about taming a sea or air mount. 

fuck. my spare balls were in the pouch too.

vesper hale

☉

with most of her clothes wrung out, she traipses up the shore and tosses the clothes on the neck of some low-hanging palms. when she's sure they're secure, she goes back to her espeon. and, when she's sure vesper isn't looking, she squeezes both of her tits to get the excess water to dribble out of her bra. 

inoxia looks up as she approaches and then scoots away. "cassie," allrianne coos. the espeon's ears flick and then she opens her eyes. allrianne breathes a sigh of relief and then scoops the cat up in her arms. inoxia goes back into her ball and with her arms full, allrianne joins vesper by the cargo crate.

"just water. great. well, at least that solves one of our problems. you got any empty capsules on you?"

vesper hale

☉

lovely lady adler. she makes a face. the woman's dead-eyed stare raking over her body like some type of fucking animal. with blood on her cheek, still dripping from her palm, a nick on her collarbone (she still has the scar) and a man's breath still curling, like a poison, on the side of her neck. 

it hadn't been a rocket favor that night. paid for in full with her own salary. they say not to judge based on first impressions, but those are all allrianne's ever known. first impressions are only impressions and they're her job. 

"no," she says, coming to, "i don't." they'll have to do this the old-fashioned way then. perhaps her toxicroak can convince some of the island's amphibious inhabitants to give them a ride somewhere. she can't imagine they're far off from any major port city. 

the island's woodland towers above them. untamed. she drops the balls containing all but her salandit and spinarak. the oversized bodyguards form a tight circle around her and she makes a face at vesper. 

"we'll be able to handle whatever's in there. we find whatever passes as a mount and we get the fuck out of here."

she side-eyes the woman. "why were you there anyway?"

vesper hale

☉

allrianne's tried her hand at extraction. she doesn't have the knack for it. torture is something she can't stomach (i know, right?) and she's not a flirt by any means. she exudes an intimidating aura, yes, but that only gets one so far. even with toxins at her fingertips, loosening lips has never been her forte. 

so she doesn't have any sort of gimmick up her sleeve when vesper frustratingly eludes the question. so much for small talk. because at the end of the day, she doesn't give a shit why the chick's here.

"a transfer," she says. the words taste acrid in her mouth. 

she would have been more than happy to stay on top, where her name meant something, in kanto. now she's less than a fucking nobody. she's stranded and no one and their mother is gonna come looking for her. 

vesper hale

☉

irritation flashes over allrianne's face. her pokemon bristle in response, namely the lycanroc. what would she understand? she's a bottom feeder. the only reason she's in business is because of competent fucking people like allrianne who are too busy to clean up after themselves. 

just focus on the task at hand. get off this damn island. so she ignores vesper, for the most part. her pokemon don't have strict orders not to protect the woman as well, but allrianne knows they won't raise a finger unless she says so. 

lexis pauses, raising her snout. a low growl thrums in her chest. 

vesper hale

☉

cassandra might be a little thing, but her future sight comes in handy for moments such as these. allrianne looks down at the espeon in her arms and frowns. the cat may have recovered, but she's still too weak to offer any assistance. they'll be going into this blind. 

she ignores vesper. allrianne's a one-woman team. that's how it's always been. others are variables. so she nods down to wisteria and the toxicroak's legs bunch. its sticky pads and swift feet help it hop up into the treeline. 

lexis' growls grow more fervent. the ground shakes and allrianne jerks her head up; wisteria comes swinging back, pouch ballooning as she sends warning croaks. 

ahead of them, trees topple. allrianne reaches, grabs vesper's arm, and takes off at a tripping sprint to their right. hemlock stays; lava pours from her mouth, gathering into one of her palms. it solidifies, embers sparking, and she cracks the whip back, lashing out at the horde of enraged rampardos. 

there's a crack. sparks fly. surprised, the formation breaks and the dinosaurs veer to their right, away from the two women. but half the pack comes skidding to a halt, talons digging into the ground, heads lowered and ready to charge.

vesper hale

☉