Punctuality was something he considered to be a strong suit of his. No matter the occasion in question, he often made it a point to arrive early enough to be one of the first people to arrive (if not the first person) if it could otherwise be helped— and that day, altogether, hadn’t been an exception. He’d had to settle a couple of things with his commanding officer beforehand, sure, but he’d still had more than enough time between transport and arrival to have enough breathing room.[break][break]

So, he pressed on, taking the sights in with his beloved feline in tow behind him. His gaze trailed across the distance before he spotted the woman afar, and upon noting her, he smiled while raising a hand and waving to her. ”Hey~” he called out, closing the distance all the while. ”Wouldn’t happen to be here for that call for help? Something about something comin’ around and plucking Magikarp and stuff outta the water?”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉

he's on time, of course. [break][break]

but ayame's had her own habit of arriving earlier, and she doesn't have to wait long. good. she smiles as the man approaches, her hand raising up as she wears the smile that never seems to reach her eyes. "yes, hello~" she chimes with her brighter grin, then she closes her fingers to point at the pond with her thumb. "they want us to be rid of the predator who is messing with the population of magikarp here," she starts, the butterfly at her side fluttering just over her shoulder "hopefully it shouldn't cause too much trouble." [break][break]

best case scenario, it's some unown trying to make a home of the water. she'd be confused as to why it would wander out here, it seems like there's been an abundance wandering around as of late, and she's been finding them in the oddest of places.

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission

☉

Upon noting her gesture towards the waterworks behind her, the man instinctively leaned over towards a side in order to catch a better glimpse of the specific area she’d pointed out, regardless of whether or not it had been meant to bring focused attention, or general attention. He eyed the scene around them for a little while longer before glancing towards her for a second time, nodding. ”Yeah~... That’s about what I heard from the briefing I was given,” he hummed, already beginning to walk briskly towards the waterside, all while the feline accompanying him gave a more controlled roar before beginning to walk off to survey the rest of the building. ”Seems simple enough, honestly. Hopefully it’ll be an easy enough job~.”[break][break]

He stopped no more than a foot or two from where water met land, glancing over his shoulder towards her upon doing so.[break][break]

”You were here for a little while already, yeah? Nothing out of the ordinary so far?”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉

she's grateful that this was an indoor lake. [break][break]

she can only imagine the farmer's tan she's be suffering from if she stood outdoors, considering that these days it was still quite warm as it shifted into the autumn. save the magikarp that occasionally found its way to shore, things were.. relatively quiet. its hard to believe that any invasive bugger made its way in here, but the world works in mysterious ways. [break][break]

and so ayame hums in response, beginning to walk towards the mud at the shore of the lake "nothing at all~" she casually chimes. well, no news means good news, but "it could be me speaking too soon, though~". she walks up to the edge of the lake, the lowers herself to sit on the back of her shoes, with knees bend as she crouches to get a better look at the water's surface. [break][break]

"ah, my name is homura, by the way~." a fake name she wears, because those have become quite common with her "and you are?~"

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission

☉

Homura?[break]
Ah, that’s right. He never actually introduced himself.[break][break]

From the start, he’d already turned his head and shifted his attention towards her, once more, upon hearing her begin to speak again. Initially, he’d nodded and hummed in agreement, but by the latter words that she had to offer, he’d blinked and risen a hand to press against the side of his neck. He laughed in something that could almost be chalked up to embarrassment, and soon afterwards, had offered it down to her for a quick shake. ”Right. Names~. Calix~. Nice to meet you.”[break][break]

And with that (and what he would hope would at least be a brief shake, lest he feel a bit more awkward), he turned his head to face the surroundings around them once more. His eyes focused upon a particular area in the distance, noting what seemed to be vague, barely noticeable traces of an almost wisp-like form before it fully faded. ”Might be speaking too soon,” he started off, ”but at the very least, i...think we may have a lead, now~?”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉

ah, he's kind. kind and polite, the easier kind of person to work with. much easier than someone who looked as though he was ready to deck them at any given moment, any ways (she'd almost laugh at the memory were it not so bittersweet). with a smile to her lips, she shakes his hand in return, before turning her gaze right back out to the distance. [break][break]

her ears perk up haring a man's words, and she hums softly as her gaze traces his towards a wisp that seemed to float above the water. the woman squints, slightly, and she smiles just a little bit more. it looks like it might be an easier job after all. "a ghost pokemon terrorizing the magikarp?" she'll guess. she could go either way. [break][break]

"do we happen to have anything that can handle something like that, then?~" she asks, tilting her head as she straightens herself back out. her hand is pre-emptively on a pokeball, sending out the beautifly to flutter at her side as well.

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission

☉

”Ehhhhh… Not exactly that~...”[break][break]

He gave her a smile and a leisurely shrug in tandem with the words, as well as a laugh to see the bug sent out in preparation. Azure hues turned back towards the sighted wisps and the like before he glanced towards her and gave a nod in the aforementioned direction. ”The ghost’s here to help, after all,” he added on, his smile broadening as he began to walk along the paths. ”Trust me on this one.”[break][break]

Making his way along, he pushed the necessary amounts of foliage out of the way before quickly happening upon a particular Gastly hovering around what seemed to be a couple of holes in a nearby dirt patch. With the same smile stretched upon his lips, the man gave a soft whistle to catch the creature’s attention, holding his hand out and chuckling softly as it floated over swiftly.[break][break]

”This is Fantasma,” he hummed, glancing over his shoulder towards his mission partner. ”One of mine, obviously~. I had him search the area when I first entered.”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉

"oh, so that's what that wisp was~" and here she thought it was their perpetrator. thankfully he said so, otherwise she.. probably would have sic'ed her pokemon on the poor thing. she smiles, waving to the little purple pokemon that floats in the air. "well, aren't you a cute one?" ayame coos, reaching up slightly, with the intention to poke her finger against what she thinks is the wisp's cheek (though her finger will just go through, there was an attempt). [break][break]

"in that case~" she starts, tilting her head "what has little fantasma found?~"

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission

☉

He couldn’t help but smile in amusement as the ghost seemed to quiver and make whatever sound of happiness (it was a sound he still hadn’t known how to describe, truthfully speaking) before looming down and beginning to hover circles around the holes by them.[break][break]

…Absolutely gaping holes, by the look of it.[break]
Concerning.[break][break]

”...Some burrows, by the look of it,” the man hummed, trailing his gaze after his Pokemon prior to focusing mainly upon the aforementioned burrows in question. After leaning a faint bit to the side to examine the area for any other holes nearby, he gave a soft sigh while lowering himself onto a knee for closer examination. ”Not quite sure what kind they are, but just off the top of my head, I’d assume maybe Ekans burrows?” He furrowed his brows, glancing between the few scattered around. [break][break] ”It’d have to be way bigger to be an Arbok— and if that were the case, we’d have way bigger problems, by that point…”[break][break]

He sighed, glancing over his shoulder.[break][break]

”...Kinda surprised none of the employees have found these yet, though…”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉

"homura" is smiling in amusement, watching as the gastly floats over the water. there are holes nearby, just close enough to the water that would let a snake or two burrow through and snag a few magikarp as their next meals. what a shame, and how violent. at least if they were going to do it, they should be more careful to not get caught. now look at where that'll get them. [break][break]

"well, we have two options here~" the woman chimes, and wears a smile to her lips as she pulls another pokeball out between her fingers. "we could report this to the employees, have them deal with this" a more pacifistic option, one where neither of them would have to get their hands dirty-- although not the preferred method considering her tone "or we could handle this ourselves." she's still wearing a smile as the vivillon on her arm lets out a happy cry. [break][break]

"we could coat the burrows in powder, and fire could possibly ignite it, and cause the holes or cave system to collapse?" [break][break]

it'll result in some hurt ekans, but they were the ones causing this problem first off. though maybe she was being a bit too cruel.

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission

☉

Even before it was voiced, his intention from the start had been to do some semblance of the thing she’d initially suggested. With the latter suggestion came a faint raise of a brow, however; his lips pursing faintly as a means of instinctive emphasis of surprise, however faint it may have been.[break][break]

A small smile of concerned amusement tugged upon his lips as he eyed her, hues of azure narrowing slightly all the while.[break][break]

”...With all due respect, ma’am,” he began musing, whistling swiftly to garner his Pokemon’s attention, ”the job we were given was basically a catch and escort deal. Grab the stragglers, take ‘em to the nearest center~.”[break][break]

He glanced down towards an array of vacant Pokeballs he’d brought with him, tapping them softly while them before nodding to himself and moving the same hand into his pocket.[break][break]

”As productive as your suggestion is, it’d also probably cause a fair amount of damage in the process, too,” he added, slipping the tips of his fingers around his wallet prior to pulling it into view. ”Not to mention might hurt the Pokemon, might hurt us...”[break][break]

With the same smile he wore then pressed thinly, he flicked the binds of leather open to reveal a badge engraved and adorned with none other than meticulously crafted and pressed sheets of brass, gold, and likely other metals.[break][break]

”...Not to mention that’s not exactly something I can do, let alone want to do~.”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉

ah, perhaps she did get too ahead of herself. [break][break]

ayame's blinking once, before giving a defeated smile, paired with a sigh as she shakes her head - thought moreso at herself. ".. my apologies." she tilts her head, raising her hand to softly chuckle into the sleeve of her shirt. "perhaps i did a go a bit too far~.." [break][break]

well, his suggestion was better. catch the stragglers, and bring them back to a pokemon centre. that's their job. right, it's their job. "well, in that case~" she raises her tone, the smile she wears broadening as she tilts her head to the beautifly fluttering. "we could create a net with stringshot?" it should be harmless enough.

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission

☉

”...Uh huh~.”[break][break]

A hum left his lips as an air of skepticism enveloped him, all while hues of azure lingered upon her within the aftermath of the words she’d spoken to him. Although a faint smile remained upon his lips, those selfsame eyes of his narrowed faintly as he began to fold his wallet closed once more.[break][break]

He tucked it away before long.[break][break]

”...String Shot nest sounds good, yeah~,” he went on, albeit with a lackluster sense of enthusiasm as an ongoing doubt maintained a hold upon him. He gazed throughout the area, attempting to scope out any other holes and burrows in the distance before adding, ”I can have Fantasma stick around to help if needed while I look for more burrows. That sound good?”

AYAME FUJIWARA [break]
mission: pesky pescetarian

☉