Remi sucks in a breath, tensing immediately as an arm snakes around to tie her to him. Her shoulders press against his chest, and her heart races, thunders, roars in her ears.

But she is powerless to stop him, because the words he whispers in her ear come too quickly and strike too hard. It is as if the world falls out beneath her feet and she is numb. Her fingers bite into his arm but there is no strength behind her grip.

"... No."

She had already known, deep down, but she hadn't dared to give such evil thoughts a voice. But here he was, the devil over her shoulder, his breath wet and disgusting and warm, telling her exactly what she didn't want to hear.

Remi goes limp only for a moment before finding her fight, her drive, her desperation flood her fingertips. With a violent jerk, she smashes her head back to strike his face.

Killian Decker

☉

Her hands fly to her throat, his arm tightening around her neck to drag her back with him. She nearly falls, tripping over his feet as he stumbles back, recoiling from her headbutt.

But it hadn't been enough to break free. She was trapped still, and her next option was to bite down, hard.

Unfortunately for her and for him, she makes the attempt to sink her teeth into his arm just as his knee rises to hit her in the back. She cries out, but bites even harder instinctively.

Killian Decker

☉

He screams, howls, and his grip around her shoulders loosens. She doesn't hesitate, squirming down and out of his grasp immediately, similar to that of a snake. In fact, her jacket squirms - and normally it would have made her breathless and tense - but her rage and adrenaline boil over her subtle fear.

Out pops a small Dratini, dazed from being crushed for so long.

Blood drips from her mouth and she spits, wipes the corner of her lip with the back of her hand. Her expression is seething, dancing with determination.

Given that she had pulled away the moment he'd relaxed his grip, his free arm swinging down does not collide with her. She does side-step, however, in case his swing reaches out. And then, with him wide open and in pain, she strikes out with small fists to deliver the same sort of kidney punch he'd given her.

And, in addition to that, her upset Dratini chooses to lash out as well. The little baby dragon's mouth fills up with blue flame, sharp, tiny little teeth aiming to burrow into exposed skin. Her OUTRAGE might be small, but it is mighty.

Killian Decker

☉

The only thing Remi had forgotten was the audacity of men who thought themselves bigger, stronger, and more intimidating than women. She had sought him out for answers, looked to him for aid, and he had wrapped his arm around her neck and whispered painful truths into her ear.

What had he expected to happen?

The protective barrier his Espeon puts up explodes on contact against her Dratini's outrage. It forces her to stumble back, the blast temporarily blinding. When she catches her footing and her breath, she glares at him in response to his threatening.

"Never knew criminals to fight fair, and you're the one who's mad? Fuck off."

Her fist throbs where it had made contact with the Espeon's shield and she flexes each finger with a hiss. The Dratini slowly returns back to her favourite spot of warmth in Remi's shirt.

"It's funny, how pissy men get when things don't go their way."

Killian Decker

☉

"You think choking me out, unprovoked, when we were just having a one on one conversation, in the dark, is training? Rocket really is as fucked up as people say."

Not that she really minded. Some people had to get their hands dirty in order to take what they needed. She could get behind that- she just wasn't a fan of being jumped and left unprepared. She rubs at her neck even now, fingers massaging where she could feel bruises preparing to form.

"I'm just saying, I've taken a beating from men more than I ever have women."

The back of her head throbs where his teeth and nose had probably connected with her scalp. But even through the dizziness, she holds fast, fully prepared to lash out if he stepped up again. What he thrusts toward her, however, is not a fist or a foot, but a manilla folder full of paperwork. She blinks, suspicious, before relaxing her posture just slightly to reach forward and take it.

"Why would Rocket have information on him?"

Killian Decker

☉

"Okay.. but that doesn't explain why you have it. Why does a League matter involve Rocket?"

Remi stares at him, nose crinkled in disgust and irritation. She hesitates a moment before flipping open the folder. The first thing she sees are the photos. It makes an invisible knife twist in her gut to see her brother like that. Bloody, lifeless, alone.

"Do you know why he was so popular?"

Killian Decker

☉

"So you stole it."

And chances are, this wouldn't be just a simple, easily overlooked clerical error. The contents of the paperwork in her hands stated nothing out of the ordinary, really, outside of one single line. The word 'Reshiram' jumps up off of the page, and although there is no further information, it was enough for her.

Her brother had been murdered, found with a pierced torso and had died from bleeding out and suffering a punctured lung. Various other details were written down, including the fact that his body had been found nearby a Reshiram.

But within the file, there was no mention of 'avatars'. It's what prompts Remi's confusion and her tilted chin as she looks back up at him.

"How do you know for certain he was an avatar?"

Killian Decker

☉