cubone slid across the ice, enjoying itself without need for skates and without fear of running into anyone else.

roach watched from a small distance on the bank, sitting bundled up on an exposed patch of grass and sipping from a flask of quality unovan whiskey. he enjoyed the cool air. hoenn was always so hot. this was the best idea the league had had in a while.

he noticed a woman skating. attractive, familiar…

realizing too late that cubone was on a collision course, he called, ”shit, look out!”

Remi Cassel

☉

With liquid confidence warming her hollow little heart, Remi decides that skating around the edge of the rink isn't cutting it. She wants more, and so she'll have it.

Unfortunately, the moment she pushes away from the side to venture out of her comfort zone, a little patch of brown and white comes barreling into her peripheral. The woman opens her mouth in shock, but is unable to stop herself nor the small Pokemon before it crashes into her.

Someone shouts 'shit, look out!' but its far too late for either of them. The Cubone takes her out at the ankles, because stubbornly she tries to lift one foot and then the other. But by doing so, she encounters another problem: lack of balance and lack of speed. The Pokemon crashes into her other leg and she is suddenly out of breath and on her knees.

"Oof--ouch."

Pain lances up her knees and she sucks in a breath, gloved hands bracing part of her fall. Rather than get to her feet, however, she chooses to roll onto her back and take a minute, perhaps more than a little bit influenced by her blood-alcohol level.

"Well, then."

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

’booone!’ boomer cried out, but there was no use. the trajectory of his clumsiness had been decided by fate. careening into ankles, the little cubone found himself dodging a falling body as best he could.

roach watched, too far away to do much else. he didn’t have skates of his own, so he couldn’t just… go across the ice. could he? not safely, he figured. not very fast, either.

she was down, and he winced and hissed when she threw her hands out. that’d hurt later, no doubt. the knees too.

what was she doing, now?

he watched a moment longer before sighing. he didn’t have much of an option, did he?

”man… shit.” he took a heavy swig, and screwed the top back on his flask. “‘bout to bust my ass…”

with that, he shrugged off a wooloo blanket, made his way down the bank, and then began to step onto the ice in his boots. he took a few steps before—having called it—slipping and crashing down onto his tailbone with a howl.

he looked across the ice, and at that angle, he suddenly realized who the woman was.

”remi?”

Remi Cassel

☉

She is disoriented and sort of giggly, lying out there on her back on the ice. The coolness seeps through the back of her coat, dampening the fabric the longer she stays. But rather than seem at all upset, the woman seems to be laughing.

In fact, she is so absorbed in herself and having fallen and replaying it in her head that she forgets someone might have shouted at her, forgets that the Cubone may have belonged to someone, and forgotten that people still existed all around her. Fortunately, or maybe not so much, no one except for Roach chooses to check on the woman lying on her back.

At the sound of her name, Remi blinks and tilts her cheek to face him quite promptly. Her eyes widen and she props herself up on one arm, rubbing her eyes to get a better look as if that might help. She bursts into more laughter, apparently amused by this whole situation.

"Roach? What are you doin' all the way out here?"

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

cubone grumbled and pulled himself away, whacking remi on the leg with his bone. ’bone!’ before slipping off torwards roach.

”yeah, i—hey! that ain’t right, boomer. apologize.”

the cubone looked at him, defiant for a moment before encouraged again with a deeper tone. ”boom-boom…” roach’s eyes got a little wider, his chin rising a hair, as though to say or else.

boomer turned back towards remi, dipping his head.

’cubone, bone. bone bone.’

”thank you. that’s very nice.”

he looked back up at remi.

”i’m bustin’ my ass tryin’ to help you, hell’s it look like i’m doin’?”

”you drunk?”

Remi Cassel

☉

"Ouch!" she gasps, fingers pulling her leg away quickly to avoid the continued abuse. She frowns, unsure what to make of the creature that had just left a goose-egg sized bruise against her knee. Roach interjects, chastising and doing his best to correct behaviour. What she witnesses, however, only adds to her amusement.

It was the way he lifted his chin and stared him down, begging him to try something else and warning him against trying it, too. It made her snort, but she nods sincerely as she can when the Cubone apologizes. Her straight face is only held briefly, however, broken by his line of questioning.

"Help me? Help me what? What-- no! I don't get drunk, I just have fun."

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

roach shook his head, because it was clear she was getting a kick out of him. ”mm.”

he shifted on the ice, not yet gathering the boldness to try to stand up. while running into remy was definitely a nice surprise, the pain in his ass made him feel like he would have been better off staying home.

he gave a bark of laughter at her. ”right, sure.” he chuckled, drawling sarcasm, ”i ain’ heard that one b’fore.”

pulling a leg up with a grunt finally, he tested weight with a hand on his knee, voice strained. old man. ”look’tchyou. this is a bad idea if i ever seen one. neither us got any bizness bein’ out here on this sheit.”

Remi Cassel

☉

Remi continues to laugh, tilting her head back. Though in doing so, she loses some of her balance and slips again, sprawling back onto her backside. She exhales, exhausted, but the extension of her leg prompts a bit of a wince. It seems even the warm alcohol running through her blood doesn't prevent the twinge of pain from her new bruise, courtesy of Cubone.

The woman tilts her cheek again to look at him, amusement twinkling behind dark eyes. "What the hell are you doin'? You can't stand, old man--" He interrupts her to make a similar sort of comment. She chuckles again, pats the ice beside her, and leans back.

"Maybe not, but it's fun, right?"

But she exhales finally and starts to try to pull herself to her feet. It starts with her sitting up and holding her head-- not because she's bumped it, but because she is absolutely blasted. More chuckling ensures and she twists to sit upon her knees. Then she reaches for Roach with a twisted sort of smile.

"We should get you off the ice, old man, before you start gettin' bed sores."

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

”can’t?!”

a pause.

”old man?!”

he shook his head with a heavy sigh. he just wanted to get to the side of the pond so he could get his flask. why hadn’t he brought it with him? how the hell had he not predicted this might happen? that he would have to sleep here?

”it hurts,” he answered.

and there it was again. old man. bed sores. he clicked his tongue, ”that’s mean, remi.”

when she reached for him he looked up with a bark of laughter. ”you think that’s a good idea? i’ll just crawl. it’s fine.”

Remi Cassel

☉

There is a distinctly playful twinkle in her eye with each jab she takes. She chuckles, clumsy and warm as she begins to clamber toward him. In doing so she loses her balance and is forced to catch herself, and she sucks in a breath and winces at the twinge in her back. All it does is make her laugh harder.

"I'm an old woman, too."

The click of his tongue prompts an amused smirk, and she lifts her hand again to pull him and herself to her feet. He suggests crawling and she shrugs. "Alright. Let's crawl then."

And crawl they do, and they look ridiculous while they do it. It is terrible on Remi's knees, however, and she hisses in pain at the cold that seeps in and makes her stiff and sore. She exhales breathless laughter, shaking her head when they reach the snowbank and path.

"Shit-- I don't think I can get up. Leave me, save yourself." She drawls out dramatically, flopping onto her back with one arm draped over her forehead. She's smiling.

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

it was pitiful, and definitely hard on the knees, but at least he wouldn’t be leaving with any more injuries than necessary. plus, she was doing it too.

when they’d reached the other side of the bank, he laughed at her theatrics, not yet getting up. ”yeah, yeah.” while her arm hung over her face, he looked down at her for a moment.

”you got a nice smile, drunkass.”

with that, he pushed himself up with a grumble and went to get his flask, whistling at his cubone still out on the ice.

”c’mon, boomer! fuck this.”

he looked down at the woman on the grass again, taking a swig. ”whatchya gettin’ into tonight, remi? or was this it?”

Remi Cassel

☉

Remi chuckles, but her smile widens. Behind her arm, her drink-warmed cheeks warm even further. Fortunately, it was be impossible to tell. When she moves her arm from her face, her head tilts to watch him while he gets to his feet. From down here, he seems larger than life and she feels a thousand times more inebriated. While he walks away to come back with a flask in hand, she chuckles again.

Slowly, Remi rises to her feet and brushes loose snow from her pants. Though with all of her messing around, she's considerably damper than she used to be and the cool breeze chills her.

At his question, however, the woman glances back up and seems to weigh her options behind a lazy smile. She approaches him, mostly casual, and looks up at him calmly with pursed lips indicating thought.

"I could think of an activity or two."

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

her smile was infectious. it felt tart in his cheek, and spread crooked in a smirk. there was the light metallic jangle of the lid screwed back onto his flask. it would’ve been his next move to offer her a hand, but she was already up on her own.

he watched, and after she’d dusted herself off and came closer, his eyes only twinkled with more amusement.

“could ye’now.”

roach figured drunk remi could be going in any direction. he had a hunch. he’d make a bet. he’d find out.

”like what?”

Remi Cassel

☉