"Huh. I definitely don't remember giving out my number."

But apparently she had, and now she had an obligation to follow-up with the pretty lady from the bar. Red hair and red eyes, a wicked smile and good taste in alcohol.

It's the alcohol, is what she tells herself.

"What's the angle? If you're trying to get my attention there are easier ways, my dear."

She's teasing, mostly. The text had mentioned a quest, alcohol, and maybe even the promise of pay. She liked lining her pockets with money that isn't dirty. Remi pulls a cigarette from her lips and exhales a plume of smoke out of the corner of her mouth. She winks.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“Are there?”
[break][break]
She appears half-confused for a moment, as though having not expected Remi to admit that so easily. “Well, in that case… Don’t be shy. Tell me what excites you, Remi.” A short pause follows her words, “..I mean, other than alcohol. You did come here for the alcohol, right..?”
[break][break]
She couldn’t possibly imagine that her partner for today came here because they needed the money or let alone because they had a true desire to aid helpless farm pokemon.
[break][break]
A herd of Wooloos baas in the near distance, the choir of them providing the soundtrack for what was likely the rest of their day. It’d take them some time before they’ll manage to scout out the supposed wolves that troubled the farmer and his pokemon.
[break][break]
The scent of Apricorn trees soothes Katherine to a degree, just enough for her to open the bottle of champagne she brought along. For whatever reason, it was passho-flavored. Hoenn’s universal favorite fruit.
[break][break]
“Do you want some?”

[attr="class","ooc"] Remi Cassel [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"Sure."

She smirks, teasing.

"Sure I did. But maybe I'm a huge fan of wrestling disgusting farm Pokemon. It's quite thrilling."

One eyebrow raises and she is not the least bit subtle about the way her eyes devour everything she can see. Remi exhales through her nose to expel her laughter. Of course, her attention eventually settles on the bottle of champagne in her hands.

"Quite fancy for a boring task."

But she takes what she's offered.

"So, my dear, what exactly is the plan, then?"

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“What’s there not to love about champagne? It’s bubbly and sweet. Like you.”
[break][break]
Kat retains a serious expression for only a moment, making it seem as though she means it, but her laughter betrays her. Remi was anything but bubbly or sweet, which, in all fairness, was what got Katherine interested in her to begin with.
[break][break]
“Okay... To be completely honest, I had this bottle laying around at home...”
[break][break]
But it wasn’t bad champagne by any means. The bits of edible gold swirling inside made it look fancy, and the fruit-flavor made it taste unique. What more could you possibly ask for?
[break][break]
"The plan?"
[break][break]
"Pfft. I never plan things ahead," and it shows, doesn't it? "I improvise. When things get predictable, they also get boring, and in this line of job... If you're bored, you're probably doing it wrong."

[attr="class","ooc"] Remi Cassel [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

Remi blinks, watching her with muted surprise that quickly turns into a snort of laughter. It appears Katherine joins in it as well, neither one of them believing a word of Remi being 'bubbly and sweet'.

"Oh, so you're handing off the cheap shit someone pawned off on you, first. That makes a lot more sense."

Even for bottom of the barrel in terms of favorability though, the drink went down smooth. And it looked pretty - she liked pretty. She gives the bottle another swirl to watch the golden flakes catch the sun and bounce off the inside of the glass.

"She ain't half bad."

Dark eyes flick back up to meet Katherine's, amusement turning the corner of her lip up in a signature smirk.

"Is that right? And what sort of boring, predictable job are you involved with?"

Was she insinuating that she was doing it wrong? Perhaps, or perhaps she just wasn't listening as well as she should have.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“i never said it was cheap.”
[break][break]
but the flavor didn’t lie. it wasn’t stellar alcohol either. Remi deserved better, but kat was never very good at appreciating people, let alone potential friends. But if bringing alcohol along doesn’t prove that she cared, then nothing would.
[break][break]
‘And what sort of boring, predictable job are you involved with?’
[break][break]
Oh. Right.
[break][break]
Remi wasn’t from here.
[break][break]
”I work for the government,” she admits. ”it keeps me busy. i do some modeling sometimes too, but that’s more recent.” and it was more of a request turned into an obligation on behalf of the aqua initiative.
[break][break]
The bottle is pried off from remi’s hands abruptly, distorted gravity nudging it towards kat who seamlessly catches it.
[break][break]
“Don’t hoard it all for yourself,” she says before taste-testing it. Hm, she ain’t half bad after all.

[attr="class","ooc"] Remi Cassel [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"Apologies. You spoil me then."

Wine, even subpar blends, is always a sweeter taste than anything she's used to. If it doesn't burn going down, it isn't to her liking. That isn't really true, either. If it gets her hammered, it's to her liking. She'll choke down anything.

"That is incredibly vague and definitely code for something else."

Remi laughs, taking another sip. It is interrupted half-way down as she lowers the bottle, and her eyes widen in surprise as it is pulled abruptly from her hands.

"Did that just--"

She watches the woman for a long moment, but chalks the bizarreness up to her mind playing tricks on her.

"My bad, didn't know you wanted a taste so bad."

Remi winks.

Katherine Fairburne

☉

”it’s only vague because you’re not from here,” katherine half-heartedly defends herself from the accusation, mostly in jest. she wasn’t very prone to vagueness, but teasing remi this way came natural to her– likely because she was all too used to getting under people’s skin. Intentionally or not.
[break][break]
”you’re familiar with the league and all, right? Champion, gyms… and so on. Well, i’m one of the elite four.” it’s better to rip it off like a band-aid. Spending time with Remi Cassel reminded kat of her past, the anonymity and how easier things were… but she had no reason to turn to some method of escapism, even if it came in the form of a beautiful, clueless woman.
[break][break]
The present is what it is. She worked hard to reach this place.
[break][break]
“But enough about me, I still want to find out what brought you to Hoenn. It’s kind of a shithole, don’t you think?”

[attr="class","ooc"] Remi Cassel [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"Hm." Remi purses her lips and smirks, amused by her answer. Her brows raise immediately after and she stares at the woman with renewed interest. She even lets slide a laugh, followed by a comment.

"Is that right? My, I must be a lucky lady then, spending time with one of the league's best."

Not only that, but this was now the second elite four she had met in person. Katherine was certainly far more enjoyable company to MATIAS SILPH. There is something particularly mysterious and different about her, a sense that she's almost holding back. It intrigues her, and it helps too that she is a beautiful woman.

"Oh-- an absolute shit hole." The woman shakes her head and wishes she still had that bottle in her hand to take a long drink. "I was looking for my brother."

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“You are.”
[break][break]
There’s a wink that’s followed by a brief chuckle, and then, a final sip of champagne before offering the bottle back to her date, willing to part with it for now. After all, she wouldn’t want to hog it.
[break][break]
“Your brother?”
[break][break]
So there was a pretty snowy-haired man roaming the streets of Hoenn that she hasn’t met yet? Where was he even hiding? Sootopolis?
[break][break]
”Did he run away from home or something..?” Katherine had some experience with that herself, so maybe she could help. ”Hrm, have you found him yet?”

[attr="class","ooc"] Remi Cassel [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

With the bottle back in her hands, she takes a swig far more generous than perhaps would be considered polite. But given the faraway look in her eye and the tone she carries when bringing up her brother, perhaps its warranted. All of a sudden, the winking and flirting and general good vibes between them fade and she exhales.

"Oh, I found him alright. He's dead."

She glances at Katherine, though the way she looks at her doesn't suggest anything outside of veiled grief. For once, her date tonight with the woman wasn't hiding an ulterior motive-- she was just beyond keeping secrets that meant nothing when kept.

"He ran off to Hoenn chasing a dream that ended up getting him killed. Legendary Pokemon and avatars and the mysterious bond between them and people-- stupid."

Katherine Fairburne

☉

“Oh.”
[break][break]
She always felt a bit… Crazier when it came to these subjects. Experiencing loss was… Difficult. When it came to losing things, she could easily relate to others. When it involved losing her pokemon… That too was also familiar. Sad, even, but far from grief.
[break][break]
But Katherine’s never lost someone. Not truly.
[break][break]
It wasn’t something she could relate to, which made feeling empathetic all the more difficult, and she wasn’t all that empathetic to begin with, mind.
[break][break]
“I am sorry for your loss. I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Empty words are all she can muster.
[break][break]
“They… Aren’t all that way.” He wasn’t, at least. ”But I am sure they can be. I am sure some are.” The majority of them.
[break][break]
“... Can I ask what happened?”
[break][break]
She shouldn’t, she feels as though it’d be too rude to ask— but curiosity gets the best of her.

[attr="class","ooc"] Remi Cassel [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

People were predictable, and Katherine's response was typical and reasonable for someone hearing news like this. She gives an empty apology, but even in spite of that, it means something. It's an attempt.

Remi waves away her empathetic notes, lets it wash over her along with her grief. All she can really muster anyway is bitterness and anger. Anger at her brother, who had thrown his life away on a fool's errand, and anger at the world for letting him do it.

And herself, for not seeing the danger he was chasing sooner.

"Y'know, I keep hearing people say that. Not all of them are dangerous, not every person would use them poorly, not everyone is stupid. Are you sure? Or is that just something a stupid person would say?"

She understands she's getting heated, making it personal when she probably shouldn't. She has no ground to stand on, no idea what it's like. She wasn't one of the gods chosen, she didn't have that sort of bond. She was an outsider looking in, peering through fogged glass and attempting to make sense of the impossible.

"No one seems to know a goddamned thing. Said he went missing on a ranger assignment. His mates found him pierced through by someone's Drillbur. Whoever attacked him was burnt to a crisp by the legendary Pokemon standing over my brother's body. No one knows why, or what happened, or where to start looking. All I know is it's got to be related to the Pokemon supposedly protecting him. That thing is what got him killed."

Katherine Fairburne

☉