This sort of job wasn't exactly beneath her, especially given her infamy and reputation, but the fact that she was doing it at all was pretty surprising.

Okay, maybe not.

Rocket tipped her off to a surprise artifact or unknown treasure in the depths of Shoal cave. And, like the wannabe pirate she is, she couldn't pass up an opportunity for a get-rich-quick scheme.

What she really wasn't prepared for was for her to not be alone in her task. Rocket advocated teamwork far more than she anticipated. And, because she refused to divulge her fear of dragons, naturally, Rocket partners her up with a woman who rides one.

Naturally.

It makes her even more aware of the Dratini wrapped around her neck like a scarf. Discomfort prickles at the back of her mind as she approaches her partner and her Garchomp. She purposely avoids making eye contact with the beast, staring hard as fuck at the woman instead.

"You sure you're dressed for cave spelunking?"

She gestures to the fancy faux-fur jacket and the way she looks it over after dismounting her Garchomp. The woman looked like she had just crawled out of a refrigerator or freezer, and yet still wasn't warm.

katja weiss

☉

as she's pinching a stray thread between thumb and forefinger, a voice carries through the strange quietness that always accompanies a snowstorm. katja glances up towards the source of the sound, then down for a half-second, then snaps her gaze up again. the other woman is staring at her intensely. so much so that katja straightens up and buckles down for the mission ahead.
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"i will be." she pulls the zipper down and shrugs the jacket off, revealing a turtleneck beneath. is it spelunking attire? she's not really sure, but it conforms to her body and won't snag if they end up in a tight spot. she drapes her coat over garchomp's fin and gives her partner her full attention. 
[break][break]
"i don't think we've ever been properly introduced." during times like these, her voice slips into something careful, distant, formal — like remi is an important bank client and not a colleague. "i'm katja."
[break][break]
for a heartbeat, she thinks about extending her hand, then remembers how hard remi had been staring at her. instead, she slips into the mouth of the cave, into the cold dark. "garchomp will keep an eye out there for us." 
[break][break]
the landshark would fair far better playing bouncer to treasure hunters than getting hit by a rogue ice beam in the tunnels down below. 
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+ a brumal bounty 4 Remi Cassel          

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Zip up your coat, woman, you'll freeze to death."

Her expression is a total 'what the fuck?' as she pulls her gaze abruptly away from the woman's chest and turtle-neck covered collar. Some people's kids, man, so fully prepared to strip in front of strangers.

But instead of putting it back on, she drapes it over her Garchomp's arm and steps away. Double what the fuck.

"Yo, Katja, just wondering but, has the cold fogged up your brain? Put your damn coat on. Also, need I remind you that dragons aren't suited for the cold. Especially one like him."

The poor bastard might just freeze out here. Honestly, maybe he needed the coat more than either one of them did. Not that she's willing to part with her own.

After a pause, since Katja has already ducked into the cave, Remi abandons the Garchomp with the faux-fur coat to follow the woman. With an awkward clear of her throat, she finally introduces herself:

"Name's Remi."

katja weiss

☉

"i'll be fine." the stubbornness is usually reserved for @zayn 's harrying, but she wraps it up with a reassuring smile to her partner as she lays the coat across her garchomp's fin. the warmth still clings to her body, giving her the (perhaps foolhardy) confidence that she can go without it.
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"i'll be fine." she repeats, firmer in her resolution. her fingers find the woven fabric over her stomach, and, for a moment, she thinks about lifting her sweater above the waistband of her pants to reveal the thermal shirt beneath. an ever-gnawing desire to prove something, misplaced.
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instead, she ends up placing the hand on her garchomp in passing. "she might be sensitive to the cold, but she can withstand a few snowflakes while we're gone — unless you want one of your pokemon to guard the entrance?" 
[break][break]
it feels silly to debate her garchomp's welfare when she's just posing as an obstacle to delay treasure hunters from following them down to whatever artifact lies in wait below. she leaves the conversation behind, stepping out of the snow and into the mouth of the cave. behind her, the grittiness of a throat being cleared, a name. 
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"remi," she tries it on her tongue. "nice name."
[break][break]
her fingertips graze the wall as she carefully picks her way down the sloping tunnel shaft. cold. "if i freeze down here, you have my blessing to say, 'i told you so' as many times as you please."
[break][break]

+ a brumal bounty 4 Remi Cassel          

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Remi quirks a brow, unconvinced, but unwilling to push her. If the woman said she would be fine, far be it for her to say otherwise. She didn't really care, honestly, she was more concerned about what might happen if her only partner for this evening froze to death.

What confuses her more, but what Remi quickly overlooks and avoids staring directly at, is the way the woman's fingers move to her stomach as if to lift it. What, was she just going to strip down to her skinny's altogether?

Please don't.

"I will, yeah, because I don't trust a lizard to do a bear's job."

She releases a Beartic, and the Pokemon side-eyes the Garchomp and huffs. And then it crosses its arms over its chest and stares straight ahead, confident.

The woman taste-tests her name, and, admittedly, the sound of it on her tongue is quite a delight. Remi glances back briefly to take a second look at the woman when she turns to walk away. She trails her fingers against the wall, and she prompts a laugh out of her with her final statement.

"Oh, trust me, I will."

But she shoulders her backpack and follows, leaving behind the Beartic and Garchomp to watch the entrance.

katja weiss

☉