Like many of Hoenn's inhabitants, Skyler wasn't particularly skilled in the culinary arts. She'd become rather infamous for them in fact, though that had never been reason to stop her whenever she decided to try her hand at her gulpin green egg sandwiches.

(Much to Angelo's and Sammy's chagrin, having to deal with the inevitable warzone she'd leave in her wake. At least the Sotally Tober kitchen had never exploded. Yet.)

She'd come to the woods prepared this time, having taken enough allergy medication to subdue most of the symptoms. And knowing her ridiculous propensity for getting lost in the woods, she'd latched onto the single thing that she could tell apart from the remaining landscape (all trees looked alike, in her opinion). 

Smoke.

In hindsight, following smoke in a forest wasn't perhaps the brightest of ideas. Then again, Skyler had never been accused of being the brightest of individuals. 

"Watcha cookin' there?" Skyler makes no attempt at stealth, braches snapping under her feet as she emerges from the forest, soon followed by a grumpy-looking Urshifu.

She doesn't recognize Eris. Not yet.

Eris Halla

☉

"You! Pesky brat!" An accusing finger punctuates the abrupt exclamation as recognition hits Skyler like a bag of bricks to the face. Despite having mostly made peace with Dhelmise, her experience in Razz's former house had clearly left its mark.

But if she's bothered by their previous interactions, nothing shows in the grin that slowly tugs at her lips. The thought of causing trouble is one that's she's entirely too familiar with. And one which she enjoys far too much to let this opportunity pass her by.

Untangling herself from the foliage - and muffling a curse as leaves snag in her mass of curls - Skyler approaches the timid flames. "Fish? I think I saw a brook nearby. We could try and fish something." Whether she'd be able to find it again was a whole other story. 

The Urshifu seems to perk up at the words, poking at her trainer with a none too gentle claw. "Ye- I know." Skyler huffs, amused, and turns to Eris. "Johnny here is great at it."

There's only a smidge of wry sarcasm in her voice.

Eris Halla

☉

Turns out, Johnny's concept of fishing is slightly different from the standard 'plop your butt down and wait for fish to bite'. For one, they're short a fishing rod and any kind of bait. Not that the Urshifu allows that to deter her, excitedly wading into the frigid springtime waters.

A minute or so later, a knocked out Magikarp is punched out of the brook and directly into Skyler's face (probably on purpose, knowing Johnny). After some graceless flailing on the sailor's part, the fish falls down at her feet.

Acting as if nothing had happened, Skyler turns to Eris. "Throwing hands with Gyarados? Never done it." But if the thoughtful look on her face is any indication, she seems to be seriously considering it. It doesn't occur to her that Pesky Brat™ Eris is pulling her leg. "And three, you say? Bet I can do four."

Yeah, she's definitely considering it. Her fingers hover over a specific pokeball distractedly.

Eris Halla

☉

"Nice technique." Amusement glints off Skyler's crinkled eyes as the Pesky Brat :tm: is hit by a splash of water, courtesy of her (apparently) no-nonsense Luxray. The captain makes no secret of it, a peal of laughter escaping her throat unbidden, wild and free and it echoes between tree branches.

Before long, she too is haphazardly tossing her footwear somewhere behind her, eyes fixed on the shallow currents as she wades in. Johnny is quick to station herself by Skyler's side with a gruff huff. A clawed paw points towards several unfortunate meal-shaped fishes, slowly reaching back before punching the surprised Goldeen into dry land. 

"You wanna fight Volans?" angelo vestri's Gyarados is an old companion - she remembers feeding him her infamous eggs before they'd gained any sort of reputation. Poor thing had felt sick for days, supposedly. "Huh. Well, don't let me stop you. Tell you what," Skyler leans in, spotting another Goldeen swimming nearby, "you win your fight against Volans, you can fight mine."

Skyler stops, waits for Johnny to do her thing. When nothing happens, it dawns on the captain that her Urshifu is staring her down, gazing flicking between the captain and the fish. Expectant.

"For fuck's sake..." Like any proper sailor, curses are like a second language to her, bubbling to the surface despite a half-hearted attempt to tone it down for the kid. "Fine."

"Be right back, brat." Taking a long breath, Skyler slowly takes a step towards the Goldeen and, between one blink and the next, skillfully dives into the waters - leaving behind a rippling surface.

Eris Halla

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Unfortunately for the kid, Salem wasn't here to curb Skyler's excessive use of foul language and though the captain might've attempted to tone it down a little, she soon forgets about it.

Unlike the ocean, the water here is clear and bright, shallow enough that she can see past Eris' legs and further upstream. While diving isn't a problem for the ship captain, it soon becomes clear that being a sailor does not equal being a good fisherman. Case in point when several attempts at grabbing a fish end up with Skyler being slapped in the face by a stray tail fin. 

Several times. 

Bubbles drift upwards to the surface, soon followed by the captain herself when she "comes up for air". A look of frustration shadows her expression, creasing the skin between her eyebrows as she glares down at the water. "Fucking fish..." 

But she dives again, stubborn to the core. This time, when a shadow draws near, Skyler lunges at it with all the strength in her toned body. 

She realizes her mistake a second too late, when a Carvanha's sharp little teeth enclose around her arm.

"Nffghnnff!" 

Revenge comes in the shape of a swift punch, dazing the little menace long enough for Skyler to release her arm and kick it out of the stream. 

Eris Halla

☉