“trent,” the shiny whimsicott is addressed first and glared at second, ”don’t you dare. People live there. You can’t do that!”
[break][break]
The great pretender does not care. Having been exposed to the antics of its ghost-type brethrens, the prankster fairy-type simply presumes that it too can phase through walls and invade any room it wants without causing a storm.
[break][break]
But it’s wrong.
[break][break]
Instead of merely phasing through a window, it shatters the glass completely - announcing its arrival. For all of her glory and fame, Katherine Fairburne still had issues with some of her pokemon. The ones she treated much more like pets rather than soldiers.
[break][break]
Trent, overwhelmed both by the loud shattering of the window and the appearance of Bo and his Kabuto, spreads fairy dust everywhere as it quickly flies inside the room. Katherine herself is late to the party, phasing through a wall just in time to witness the mess her pokemon was responsible for.
[break][break]
“Oh my god,” she didn’t deserve this. She could already feel a headache approaching. “I am so sorry. It— it didn’t mean to do this, i swear. It’s just…” how do you even excuse any of this?
[break][break]
“I promise I'll pay for everything.”
[break][break]
Or rather, dahlia goode and the AQUA Initiative will. She’ll fabricate something believable in a report.

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

kabuto was held firmly towards the fluffy intrudor, beaming red eyes finally fully open and glowing through the dark.

adrenaline spiked bo's awareness like four shots of espresso, and it showed in his own wild stare in what moonlight made it through the window. it was unwavering—until a ghost phased through the wall.

what in the world?

“katherine fairburne?”

he gawked for a moment, mouth hanging open an inch in disbelief. the kabuto finally lowered as he stared at her.

“uhh... okay.” she'd pay for everything. good. he was broke on a ranger's salary.

what did she mean he 'didn't mean to'? he blinked at her, still fresh out of a dream but trying his best. 

“so your whimsicott just breaks into people's houses?”

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“that’s me.”
[break][break]
this feeling was mostly foreign for her. Embarrassment rarely struck her— which made this all the more harder to navigate. Put in a tough position by her whimsicott, her lips curve into a subtle frown before she attempts to shake the feeling off.
[break][break]
It’s fine. [break]
She’ll pay for this and he’ll forget about it. It’s just a window. A blink of her eyes reminded her of the fairy dust her pokemon spread everywhere when it invaded bo’s home.
[break][break]
“I can help you clean up if you’d like,” how gracious of her.
[break][break]
despite searching for a broom first, kat is prepared to use a kitchen towel. she'd prefer to avoid having to look for things in a house she wasn’t invited into. Yeah. this really was awkward.
[break][break]
“yes, but it’s not like that. he has never done this before. he evolved a couple of weeks ago and now he’s finding it hard to adjust. I think he thinks that he’s a ghost. he’s too used to hanging around them,” trent was truly an odd pokemon. Somehow, she found most fairy-types similar in that regard.
[break][break]
“Again, i really am sorry we woke you up.”

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

bo didn’t need the confirmation. her face was everywhere. she was unmistakable, which made this so much weirder.

it wasn’t just that, though. he remembered, now. they’d met before, or maybe he’d just seen her in passing—but he decided that definitely wasn’t something to mention.

she offered to help clean up, and his heightened state began to subside a little.

“hey, uh, it’s fine. it’s just—” glass. oh wait. no it wasn’t.

he looked down at the scattering of fairy dust everywhere.

“oh. that’s a lot.” a moment, and then, “but you don’t need to be cleaning my kitchen. it feels weird.” like any of this didn't.

at her story, he found the tension in his shoulders loosening. it was believable, and getting broken into by a mischievous whimsicott was much preferable to getting robbed. it was like some triangulation of the universe, in which shit happened, and then when it wasn’t as bad as he expected it to be, he felt better than before anything happened at all just from the pure sensation of relief.

despite being woken up by his window shattering, he smiled, and gave a small laugh.

“i mean, i’m pretty shocked, not gonna lie, but this is a lot better than what i thought was happening.”

he finally set his kabuto down and scratched his head.

“i work with pokémon a lot. shit happens. don’t worry about it.”

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“Ah... yeah.”
[break][break]
Thinking about it now, yes, she could see the sort of impression this ordeal could’ve raised. They looked like two burglars, and she also happened to invade his property thanks to her… odd abilities.
[break][break]
Yeah.
[break][break]
Not good.
[break][break]
“I am sorry we scared you like that,” trent must have been sorry too. It couldn’t apologize with his words, but it seemed to realize the mess that he had created. Much like his trainer, he also began to dust the pink sand he’d created. His cotton mane absorbed the fairy dust as if it were magnetic, ignoring the glass shards completely.
[break][break]
“Are you sure you don’t want any help? It’s already pretty late and we just woke you up. You’d probably cut yourself if you cleaned this mess by yourself.”
[break][break]
This wasn’t her home, sure, but she doesn’t stop herself from cleaning despite bo’s protests. Her eyes are fixed on the glass as she carefully collects some of the shards from the floor, “so…”
[break][break]
“What’s your name?”
[break][break]
After all, he seemed to recognize her. It was only fair she’d find out who he was in turn.

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

he watched her continue to make an effort of cleaning with a kitchen towel, and then the ghost’s hands were reaching for shards of glass.

“guess i can’t turn down a celebrity’s help if they insist.”

shaking his head after one more moment of hesitation, he went to grab a bucket from a closet and set it down close to the mess, kneeling to help. 

“boruta.” he picked up a large piece and placed it in the bucket carefully. “everybody calls me bo, though.”

then, he realized, “oh. let me turn on a light. might make this easier.”

he raised to do just that.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

"bo."
[break][break]
his name tasted familiar on her tongue, as though she'd said it before. it sounded familiar, too, but why? katherine couldn't find the source for this deja vu, but since she was already preoccupied with the tedious task of separating between shimmering dust and reflective glass, she more or less decided to ignore it.
[break][break]
for now.
[break][break]
"oh, it does help."
[break][break]
she seems to pick up the pace until a small piece of broken glass pierces her finger's skin, drawing blood. a grimace briefly covers her features as she hisses, "fuck." she clambers up without the use of her injured hand, rushing towards the sink.
[break][break]
"sorry."
[break][break]
not only did they break a window and wake him up, but she was also bleeding now. what a great first impression. she wasn't even the clumsy type. "there's no blood on the floor, is there?"

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

his gold eyes looked up briefly when she tried out his name, scanning as subtly as possible for any sign of familiarity in her face. he wasn’t sure if he saw any or not.

then, he went, and the light came on, illuminating the full glory of trent’s mess. bo gave a nearly silent whistle and then went over, just in time to watch katherine cut her finger. he was reacting in an instant. a fixer of things.

“oh shit, uh—here—” turning towards cabinets. “i know i have bandages somewhere…”

“the floor?” he laughed. “the floor’s fine. i’m not worried about that.”

from the back of one cabinet, he triumphantly pulled a flimsy little box. bo didn’t use bandages, because he was rugged, but he kept them around in case Roman Maher came over. it never happened, but at least some one had come to use them.

his nature took over.

“here. rinse it off and i’ll help you.”

he turned the water on and readied a paper towel, and then went to prepping a bandage.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

somehow, bo made it sound as though he cared much less than Katherine did about this strange home invasion. she, however, felt both uncomfortable and responsible. she couldn’t help it. It’s not every day that your pokemon breaks into someone’s house, after all.
[break][break]
“you really don’t have to, the bleeding will stop any moment now.”
[break][break]
despite the water pouring on her wound, a scarlet trail continues to trickle in a tiny rivulet. ”...actually maybe a bandage would be nice.”
[break][break]
she turns off the sink, turns slightly, and holds her finger for bo to take care of. the last time she got a proper cut was... months ago. Katherine prided herself in being immortal, but she was still susceptible to shallow injuries of this nature.
[break][break]
ironic.
[break][break]
”i know this might be hard to believe, but these things never happen to me.”
[break][break]
”i still feel bad, but.” her eyes slowly lift from her finger, meeting bo's now. ”..thanks.” she doesn't apologize this time. their eye contact breaks when kat's gaze slides back down, gauging the man's bandaging technique.
[break][break]
not bad for someone who woke up mere minutes ago.

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

as she had persisted in her cleaning despite his protests, he continued to prepare the bandage, holding it out expectantly for her once the backing was peeled off.

he grinned at her defensiveness lightly as he applied it, tired eyes focused.

“i believe you.”

once it was on, he found himself linger a moment, perhaps her gravitational force pulling his eyes up for a close glance. they were red. bright red, like kabuto’s, but pretty.

“yeah..”

clearing his throat, he pulled away and shelved the box again, shaking his head briefly at the unbelievability of the scenario.

he attempted a joke as he crouched down again.

“y’know, you’re probably one of the last people on the planet i would’ve guessed i’d get broken into by.” another of the largest chunks of glass went into the bucket. “can’t believe i get to tell my family i saw katherine fairburne float into my kitchen.” a joke; he wasn't going to do that.

“i got the glass, by the way.”

Katherine Fairburne

☉

a chuckle escapes her.
[break][break]
she isn’t entirely sure if she laughed at his joke because she felt at fault, still, but it seemed to help all the same. Accidentally injuring herself and having her finger bandaged by bo made katherine feel a bit more relaxed, if only because there was no way this could turn out worse.
[break][break]
“i don’t know if they’ll find it that funny,” probably not, she figured. they did break into his house at the dead of the night. “but i guess it’s not the worst story. just promise me you won’t tell them about this?”
[break][break]
her hand raised, the bandaged finger motioning from side to side.
[break][break]
by now, most of the fairy dust is gone. Trent made sure to absorb it into its cotton mane, now shining with dusty sparkle. it’s almost as if it dove into a pool of pink glitter. “are you sure you don’t want any help with something else?” she left the glass for him to collect, mostly because she didn’t want to risk injuring herself a second time in front of bo so soon.
[break][break]
“i can like... read you a bedtime story. so you and your kabuto fall asleep again.”
[break][break]
“..or i can treat you to some coffee?”
[break][break]
a moment of pause.
[break][break]
“i mean— not right now! obviously. some other time. preferably not at night, and probably not after you had to deal with unexpected visitors.”

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

they surely wouldn’t have found it very funny, considering they were all rocket, which was why bo wasn’t going to say anything.

the glass was nearly cleaned up, and he went back to the closet to grab the broom he’d forgotten and swept up the remainder. looking up again as she held up her hand, he grinned like someone who had not just gotten his window busted in.

“okay, but the rest is fair game? breakin' in and all that?”

a chuckle, as he dumped the smallest pieces of glass into the bucket.

his eyebrows raised at bedtime story, but he didn’t actually respond, only it was so unexpected that he could scarcely find enough wit to say anything at all. coffee sounded great, though.

his grin never faltered. maybe it was just the shock of the situation; the utter ludicrousness of it. maybe his sanity was finally giving in.

“coffee, huh?”

was this just a weird dream?

either way, he didn’t have to take much time considering.

“yeah. okay. i’ll take you up on that.” he paused a moment, processing. “like in public?” with him?

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“the rest is fair game.” she confirms, a smile resurfacing. somehow, being known as an accidental burglar sounded like the better alternative.
[break][break]
the absurdness of it all - this whole ordeal - is not missed upon katherine either. she’s less shocked, however, but still treading a line of ‘this is extremely embarrassing’ and ‘this could’ve been a lot worse’. even when put in an uncomfortable situation, luck did seem to stay on her side.
[break][break]
”cool.”
[break][break]
her smile persists, even when his question is heard. ”unless you’d rather avoid the gossip,” which likely would follow them, mind, but she had gotten used to it. besides, this wasn’t a date.
[break][break]
or at least she didn’t seem to think it was one.
[break][break]
“then yeah, in public. you know, i am not that famous.”
[break][break]
she is. but now probably wasn’t the best time to dwell on that.

[attr="class","ooc"] boruta maher [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]