Lulu's shouted demand is met with the squawking of Wingulls overhead and the hiss of waves lapping at the shore - and little else. The Sotally Tober creaks and groans in the awkward silence that follows the proclamation, unconcerned with the smattering of sailors that have stopped briefly to watch. Curious things always seem to happen around this particular ship, after all - and its captain.

No head of blonde curls pops up over the railing, but a flash of movement would reveal a humanoid shape. Ears rising high above a cute snout, the scarred Lopunny glares at the intruder with one sharp, stern pink eye - the other hidden behind an eyepatch.

"For fuck's sake, couldn't you have waited for me to get some pants?"

Ah, there she is.

The thump of bare feet stomping on wooden planks precedes Captain Dross's appearance over the railing. While her hair is an unruly mess on the best of days, the mane of rebellious curls that pops up now to glare down at the scientist seems its own creature, seemingly intent on waging war against gravity. Much like its owner seems intent on waging war against whoever had - woken her up?

If sleep still clung to the captain, however, it's instantly wiped away by shocked recognition.

"Lu?" Disbelief is a fleeting emotion quickly shoved away by a quirked eyebrow. Huh. A silver gaze quickly climbs up the other woman's visage, along with a creeping smirk. It's like the captain can't help herself.

"Well, then." Pause. "Come on." She doesn't wait for Lulu to follow, assuming she will. Stomping back down into the innards of the ship, the edges of a large, rumpled button-up fluttering against the scarred skin of her thighs, it quickly becomes obvious that this is Skyler's day off.

Or was.

Lulu Flint

☉

people were staring. lulu did not seem to care, only glaring up through the sunlight harder at the lopunny whose attention she’d managed to catch. ”you! bring me your captain!”

a familiar voice yelled about pants.

”dross!” it was a bark that went up an octave. she was running out of patience. for as much time as she had with no need for sleep, being made to wait on anything was still maddening. she was powerful. she demanded action. she had no time for a pirate’s afternoon nap, god of whales be damned.

”i’m here for my rocket!” she declared again.

come on? watching skyler disappear, she sighed and then went to board. after what had happened last time they’d seen one another, it almost felt like a poor decision. nevertheless, she soon had eyes on the captain in all her day-off glory, clearly fresh out of bed. her eyes drifted down to scarred, familiar thighs and then back up again.

did she not wear pants before the ship was up too high for people to see her legs?

”do you have it or not?”

skyler dross

☉

If Skyler's at all bothered about Lulu's aggression, she shows none of it. In fact, if the glint in her eyes in any indication, she's thriving on the annoyance that tinges the scientist's voice - and the threat of looming conflict between the two of them. Like a match to tinder.

For a moment the captain flirts with the idea of pushing buttons and damn the consequences, but decides to put it aside for the time being - if only to have five fucking minutes without a punch being thrown.

She doesn't imagine the frisson of disappointment that coats her tongue.

Halfway down the stairs that would taken them down to Skyler's apartment proper, the captain turns back around and crosses her arms, leaning against the wall. Changing winds catch strands of her hair, play with the edges of her shirt as she regards the scientist, careless and insolent. "I did say I would retrieve it, didn't I?"

An eyebrow is raised, as if to challenge the scientist to contradict her. 

"And I can't very well do that in my undies." A dangerous kind of amusement glints up at Lulu, disappearing from sight when the captain turns around to push past an open door. Peeking past unveils a sliver of a messy living room. "I assume you want this done today still?" 

She leaves the door wide open behind her, apparently unconcerned with Lulu's presence. 

Lulu Flint

☉

skyler had already pushed buttons—literally. this was the consequence. lulu, hollering from the dock for her shit back. honestly, skyler was lucky she hadn’t just welcomed herself aboard in the shadows. there was respect. and perhaps some hesitancy. where was kyogre?

she followed the captain down the stairs slowly, and when she turned, lulu crossed her arms. ”that you did,” she agreed, raising an eyebrow back.

the dangerous glint in skyler’s silver gaze was met with annoyance.

”i figured you’d already have it.”

when skyler disappeared into the room, her arms unfurled with a frustrated sigh. she glared after her, soon deciding it was enough of an invitation to enter. it was a mess, but it was a living room. cozy. it felt almost intrusive to be here.

”as soon as possible. now would be great,” she called.

skyler dross

☉

Skyler disappears behind an open door to the side, and her voice is somewhat muffled as it drifts up to Lulu, somewhat dismissive. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be right back." Her head pops up for a second, all unruly blonde curls and narrowed eyes. "I'll know if you try to steal anything." Her eyes narrow further, threatening. "Don't."

As soon as the captain disappears back into what must be the bedroom, the small living room unveils itself. This isn't Lulu's first time in Skyler's house; but it'd been a different house then, a different life. A lot had changed since then.

Among a chaotic arrangement of ocean-related knick-knacks, bits and pieces of Skyler's life peek through. Clothes hang from the back of a navy couch, haphazardly thrown and probably forgotten. A punching bag sits dejectedly against the wall. In a sunlit corner, Dorado's mean yellow eyes open to hone in on the intruder. A hiss soon follows.

Looking around, it becomes increasingly obvious that the captain does not live by herself: unfurled maps and charts, two forgotten mugs, a rumpled man's shirt left on the coffee table. 

Whether or not the scientist lingers or notices these details, Skyler soon emerges from the bedroom wearing her work wetsuit, teeth biting down on an elastic band as she gathers her hair.

"D'you know if the rocket's away from shore? If it's close I won't need to bring my ship."

Lulu Flint

☉

she scoffed, eyes narrowing back. ”not much of a thief, anymore. i’ve moved on to bigger things.” the corner of her lips hitched upward some with snark.

when skyler disappeared to prepare, her eyes cast around the room. while lulu’s home did not lack any amount of character, it was perhaps the wrong kind. a spooky, dank stone lighthouse and a steel bunker, stacked with machines and scientific notes? the knick-knacks were cute, at least. this mess looked more... sane. normal.

for some reason, it made her sad. and when her eyes settled on a shirt, she felt the oddest flare of jealousy. she wasn’t sure why, what of, or who, but the discomfort burned briefly in her stomach.

she turned at the sound of skyler’s voice. wetsuit. involuntarily, her eyes drifted and then back.

”hell if i know. if you don’t recall, i was underground fighting a lunatic when it launched. my guess is it’s somewhere around that island.”

skyler dross

☉

Delighted laughter spills unbidden from Skyler's lips, the kind that won't allow itself to be held back. Not that Skyler attempts to - she's surprisingly at ease, almost offensively so, in the scientist's company given their history.

It speaks volumes about how much Skyler's willing to step over the line and invite - danger? Violence? From the woman in front of her.

"Were you?" She finishes tying her hair back with quick, efficient movements. The snap of the elastic sounds loud in the tension-riddled space between them. "Sounds like a fun person to have around. Who knows, Lu." A quicksilver smile, sharp with amusement. "You might even learn a thing or two from her."

Quickly reaching a decision, Skyler gathers some lightweight equipment. "Close the door behind you on your way out." She doesn't bother looking back at Lu, heading instead for the deck up above.

The Sotally Tober would be too big for this, so Skyler does short work of prepping her cabin speedboat, The Mariner Two - the very same boat where they'd nearly drunk themselves to oblivion a lifetime ago. 

"Missed her?" Skyler looks back at Lu, running calloused fingers over the sun-soaked railing. "'Course, you never got to see her during the day." Everything else, it seems, is the exact same. 

Except that would be a lie, wouldn't it?

Lulu Flint

☉

”mhm.”

lu. lu. lu. fuck. she scowled deeply, nostrils flaring. 

”oh, you think so? you think i’ll learn a thing or two?” her eyebrows rose, and she gave a haughty snort of laughter. ”from you?”

”okay, fine. you know what you’ve taught me? to lock my fucking door.”

she gave a heavy sigh as she followed after the captain, closing the door as told—although maybe a little harder than necessary. surely nothing it couldn’t take. skyler, a primal beast who drank with her feet on the table, probably just kicked the door in when she went down to bed every night anyways.

the sight of the little boat was an unexpected flash from the past. she blinked, the irritation fading from her face momentarily. why did it feel like such a lifetime ago?

catching herself, her gaze sharpened again before she looked over.

”’missed her.’ yeah. even though you stole my coin.” her gaze narrowed. ”and it was probably your plan all along.” but she knew in her heart that it wasn't true. she remembered, and so did the hairs on the back of her neck.

skyler dross

☉

Prepping the Mariner Two for departure is like second nature for the ship captain - she takes to the slow lull of the tide under her feet like she's coming home.

Somehow, the vague recollections from that fateful drunken night had been enough to keep Skyler looking back every so often. They have the same effect now, silver flashing over a tanned shoulder at the scientist as the captain leans back - a casual-like grace at odds with the bite of an hair-raising awareness.

"Caught me red handed there, Lu. Definitely lured you to my boat just to get your pretty coin. Might want to rethink coming aboard now - who knows what I'll plunder next."

The engine purrs under Skyler's tender attentions. Ropes are untied and set aside. Leaning over the railing, Skyler extends a hand towards her - guest.

"You comin' with?" Her lips twitch before pulling into a wicked grin made for taunting. A playful belligerence lines her words, should the scientist choose to acknowledge it. "Wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable, Lu."

Her grin widens, falsely angelic.

"Promise I won't bite."

When is anything between the two of them not a call to arms? Teetering on the edge of too much and not enough, and still wanting more?

Last time they'd been in the ocean together, Skyler had all but held the woman's life in her hands. And at times, when she closes her eyes at night, she still feels Lu's pulse under the press of her calloused digits, sputtering out. Not a bang, but a whimper.

It is... deeply wrong.

Still, it doesn't blow the air out of Skyler's sails as much as it eggs her on. Lines had been drawn, limits had been set. It proves to be less of a safety net and more of an irresistible challenge.

"Well?"

Lulu Flint

☉

lulu rolled her eyes.

”who knows, indeed.”

she took the hand begrudgingly, stepping on and shrugging off the ‘bite’ comment. they both knew that was a lie.

”uncomfortable isn’t be the word.” at least, not in an ‘i’m intimidated’ kind of way. “exasperated, maybe. highly annoyed. ten out of ten would absolutely murder if not for…”

for what?

”whatever the fuck it is about you that makes me not want to murder you.”

and maybe it wasn’t just her. kyogre had seen it to, apparently. after eating skyler, and thus literally almost killing her for fucking around (and nearly finding out), the water god had blessed her with the remainder of her life—plus superpowers.

”it wears thinner every time you’re around.”

skyler dross

☉

Selective hearing comes in handy if only to mess around with Lulu - which had become one of the captain’s favorite hobbies as of late.

“Don’t want to kill me? Aww, Lu,” her grin widens with wicked mischief, and she looks mightily pleased with herself as she announces, “can’t believe you like me. I’m flattered.”

As it turns out, Skyler’s an expert at fucking around and finding out. She’s hardly ever cared for consequences, even after having suffered through them. This becomes explicit in the way she keeps toying with danger – namely, Lulu. Begging fire to burn long after she’s been consumed in the flames.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m a taken woman.”

The boat pushes forward, out of the docks and into the ocean proper.

There’s a dubious look on her face as she looks back, eyes flicking from the scorching hot sun to Lulu’s pale, ghost-like skin. “Just how long d’you spend down in your basement?” There was no shade in the Mariner 2 – recently renamed The Dorado – except for a narrow area at the helm, right where the steering wheel was.

Lulu Flint

☉

her eyes cut towards her poisonously before rolling.

”oh? by whom, the man who carried you away from the fight you started at the bar?” her brow quirked. lulu had grabbed her by the hair, but it was skyler who had tossed the bottle. as far as she was concerned, turning the other cheek would have been unthinkable. she’d been provoked.

she was ready to get this over with. as they left the docks, there was a modicum of relief from her tension knowing they were at least moving. now, however, the thought of kyogre somewhere beneath them was a very real concern.

at skyler’s question, she hesitated, considering whether to tell the sea guardian’s avatar more about her own powers.

what could it hurt?

”i spend a significant amount of my time there—which is a lot. i’m always working, and i don’t sleep. ever.”

it might’ve seemed like a facetious thing to say, but the look on her face was serious.

skyler dross

☉

"Mmmmmyep. That's my husband." It'd been nearly a year since her and angelo vestri had gotten blackout drunk in a beach in Alola and woken up the next morning to a crinkled, stained marriage certificate. Though the memories are hazy, she remembers a wild, fierce abandon and the waves crashing at their feet. "Pity that fight was cut short though."

She would be. Lulu had long since become the outlet for many of Skyler's less palatable emotions. And, lately, parker jones too. Mutual intrigue devolving into some ugly, jagged thing with claws and teeth. Something honest.

Sometimes Skyler wore the blood on her teeth like a prayer.

"You don't rest - ever?" Bewilderment splashes across her features as she looks over her shoulder at the scientist, eyebrow raised. Enough to hide a flash of concern. 

A ghost of a smirk touches her lips. "No wonder you're so cranky all the time, Lu."  

It definitely doesn't have anything to do with Skyler herself, or the way she - quite happily - digs her way under Lulu's skin. 

"I wonder though." They're far enough from shore now that Skyler leaves the helm by itself, approaching Lulu on slow, measured steps that speak of countless hours spent sailing. "What if you're knocked unconscious? Kinda different from sleep."

Lulu Flint

☉