Katherine's had all the closure she needed concerning the titan's tomb. A night spent drinking with Laurence Anderson gave the experience a proper finale: it was a shitshow.
[break][break]
So naturally, this wasn't needed. It was pointless. Agreeing to a meeting to rehash a story that Katherine had relived in her mind countless times would have been meaningless.
[break][break]
And yet, here she was, likely the first arrival out of many.
[break][break]
Lured by the stories of others, the potential missing pieces for her puzzle, she arrives with an intent to discover what it is that she'd been fostering in the distortion world.
[break][break]
"Oh."
[break][break]
imagine her disappointment when she sees that DEREK HOFFMAN was the only person in the room other than her. "Am I early or is no one else coming?"

[attr="class","ooc"] @registeelintheroom [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

"...Good evening." But of course, out of all those who could arrive first, it was her. Though not enough was known about the individual, her attitude towards others suggested a 'doesn't play nice' demeanor. Something that both was and wasn't beneficial to the meeting, or the league in general. It sort of depended on the subject matter, didn't it?

"And yes, you're the first to arrive. I may be the one here to head the meeting as it was my initiative, but it's the league who requested your presence. So please, don't blow it off just because you seem to be the only one whose punctual, Fairburne."

For all he thought of her at the dinner with FERNANDO SILPH, when he thought about it, this was actually rather curious she would be the first to show. "There's new material for you to consider, if you'd be so polite as to take a seat and take a gander at one of the ranger dockets."

Inside she would be able to see what transpired at League Barracks 2B. Events that had yet to be known to the public, for they happened far out of sight of anyone.

---

ooc: nobody has actually suggested the presence of registeel, it is derek alone who understands that the beeping sounds were those of a pokemon he'd seen long ago while partnered with Noelle Lane for a routine mission underground. she has not been seen since. the timeline of this thread is roughly one week after the events at league barracks 2b.

THE REGISTEEL IN THE ROOM

☉

"please," with an eye-roll, Katherine settles into a seat despite Derek's eagerness to chastise her already. "I'm the first to make it, am I not? Spare me the lecture, love. I am not blowing anything off."
[break][break]
It's hard not to be the villain in everyone's story when she's already treated as such, but besides, Katherine never shied away from the role. She certainly seemed to enjoy the attention at the very least.
[break][break]
"And to think I actually thought that Laurence Anderson would get you people under control. What is it with you rangers and your inability to treat your superiors with respect, hrm?"
[break][break]
She opens the docket just before angelo vestri arrives to steal her attention.
[break][break]
"Ah, I never thought I'd say this but... It's good to see you, Angelo," surprisingly, she's not being sarcastic. "I was scared I'd have to deal with all these rangers by myself." Her eyes flutter several times before she realizes that the pilot attended the meeting all by himself, "Wait."
[break][break]
"Skyler's also coming, right?"

[attr="class","ooc"] DEREK HOFFMAN angelo vestri [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

”deal with us, huh?”

bo arrived, looking a touch more mischievous than usual as he caught the tail-end of Katherine Fairburne ’s reprimanding. their lunch hadn’t happened yet, unfortunately. in person, he hadn’t seen her since the night her whimsicott trent had broken into his house. 

his smirk leveled out quickly enough, replaced with something more respectful as he greeted the room, ”how’s it goin’.”

casually, he went for pizza, appetite clearly not impeded by the emotional memories of what had brought them all here. maybe it was how he coped.

as he passed by, a hand went out to pat DEREK HOFFMAN on the shoulder.

”hoffman.”

he didn't stop to expand on his acknowledgement, focused on fixing himself a plate, but the tone was there. they'd shared a tragedy.

@registeelintheroom

☉

She makes sure to arrive after the agreed upon hour. Well, agreed would be too strong a word for the summons she'd received. It'd been more akin to having her arm twisted behind her back. Politely, of course.

Truthfully, the captain had nearly send the invitation to the depths, and good riddance. She wouldn't have thought about it twice either, except for the fact that apparently some of her good friends were to attend.

Angelo too, for some Arceus damned reason.

So when she arrives, it's with storm-tossed eyes and a knife-sharp smile whetted on a low simmering fury, which seems far too easy to stir as of late. Unwilling to pretend and play nice for the sake of it when she'd been all but coerced into attending.

At least, she thinks, there's booze. And food.

She finds angelo vestri first, doing a small detour to procure herself an approppriately strong drink before lightly sliding her fingers across the pilot's biceps in lieu of greeting. Affection spills past the cracks in her mercurial mood, there one moment and gone the next as she acknowledges the other people in the room.

Catching the tail end of Katherine Fairburne 's question, Skyler's mouth twists into a sardonic grin. "Unfortunately."

DEREK HOFFMAN and the other ranger - huh, she's pretty sure she's seen him before (boruta maher ) - are given a short salute and a 'cheers' before the captain downs the drink.

If this is anything like any other League meetings she's had the misfortune of attending, she won't make till the end of it sober.

☉

A meeting with the Rangers. [break][break]

Sounded interesting as this didn't seem to happen often. Last big meet up they had it was a party thanks to Laurence Anderson but this seemed much more official. He was a few minutes late but seeing as he does always have to report into Rose in the morning who decided to go on and on about some eggant berry juice he had or something it wasn't too surprising. [break][break]

As he arrives he takes in the people of the room and glad that he is on good terms with most of them. Though Salem perks up at the food in the room as the Meowstic moves to pick a seat for them near angelo vestri because of course the cat wants to sit near his Dragon Rider rival. After Salem grabs himself a piece as Razz moves to the seat.[break][break]

"Afternoon," he simply greets to everyone there, his tone professional as there is a captain in the room. Noting the report he takes hold of it, "This is why we're brought here right?" he questions as he opens the folder to skim it over.



[break][break]

Katherine Fairburne + boruta maher + Pace Mahmoud + Laurence Anderson + angelo vestri + skyler dross + DEREK HOFFMAN

[break][break]
+ Mentioned eggant berry juice

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"I am." Derek gives a nod to Angelo as they make their awaited entrance, offering the ranger some words of good fortune. "...Thanks."

In contrast to his trainer, Jonesy seems to shy away after all the things 'the mean girl' had to say. She had a commanding presence, attitude, and much more that encourages the meek Sobble to give into his cowardice. It's place atop the table was now vacated, instead choosing to hide on the headrest of Derek's seat, ducking behind him whenever she looked their way.

Likewise, Derek couldn't help but give an expression that asked 'are you done yet?' towards Katherine. Her desire for respect was apparently great, but always seemed to lack reciprocation whether offended first or otherwise. His words may have been viewed as a slight, but it was the fact he valued her presence here that he spoke in such a manner. Perhaps she'd be more agreeable if he sounded desperate, doubtful as it was.

Fairburne's mentions of Lars also go without verbal retort. Whatever she thought the head ranger should've been doing, it wasn't something for Derek to entertain. If they ever tried to put a leash around his neck, he'd sooner choke and drag than obey. He joined the rangers as a service to Hoenn, not for rank.

These thoughts are interrupted when four more members of this meeting make their way in through the door, hardly separate from one another in their timing. The ranger captain gets an affirming nod as they acknowledge one another, while the others are greeted directly when they arrive. "Dross. Kingsman. Anderson."

The fourth, and last in such a short interval happens to be his boss. An unbecoming gripe escapes their open maw, which downs a shot before offering one to Skyler. "It's not ideal, but I think you'll understand why I wanted you all to be here."

Adjusting himself to sit upright, Derek opens his docket while answering the question posed to him. "For the most part, yes. The first two pages cover what we saw during the planned investigation at the barracks, which contained some of Bailey Cooper's pokemon." Past tense because now they were on the loose. "As far as we know, they're still at large." The brevity of this portion denoted everything of significance, though wasted little time on minute details.

"If you flip to the next side, you'll see what we encountered deep in the woods of Fortree's route 120 after receiving a distress call. Well, there were many at the time, but this call in particular brought us here." Pointing to the paper, an area that none had laid eyes on could be seen in the photo, as well as some kind of barrier surrounding the temple in the center.

Those in the room were likely privy to the knowledge of what that barrier was, or what it did. Not that Derek and them had no clue, but a better understanding of it's nuances would be of use. "Do you all recall something similar, or does this example differ in some way?"

---

ooc:
- derek acknowledges everyone
- begins presenting the ranger team's findings (ultra beasts, etc)
- elaborates on the dynergy phenomenon some don't fully understand

THE REGISTEEL IN THE ROOM

☉

"It's the rangers specifically. They tend to think they know everything—" Katherine answers angelo vestri just as boruta maher enters the room, her eyes fluttering rapidly. She didn't think he'd be here, but then again, she shouldn't be so surprised. He was a ranger, and Derek provided them with a file with the names of those involved.
[break][break]
"..Hey. Erm, yeah. I guess I should've mentioned that I am not a big fan of your coworkers, huh?" however, it's hard to lead with that after breaking into someone's house.
[break][break]
At the offer of a drink, she merely nods and adds, "sure, whatever you're having is fine." It's delivered just in time for Derek to begin questioning them, drawing out a sigh from the woman.
[break][break]
It's going to be a long meeting, isn't it?
[break][break]
"There was something similar in the tomb, yeah," she confirms reluctantly, "but i doubt any of us know what it was." she didn't. And knowing her company? Neither did they. "I'm more concerned about the ultra beasts. Why were they there?" intrigued might be a better way to phrase it.

[attr="class","ooc"] @people [break]

[attr="class","pkmnparty"]

bo chuckled at Katherine Fairburne ’s explanation sending her a grin. ”that’s alright. some of them are an acquired taste, i’ll give you that.”

he didn’t recognize angelo vestri until he sat down. when the realization hit him, it was only when an equally familiar blonde, skyler dross , brushed against the pilot. she was the one from the bonfire, with leaves in her hair. the angry one.

of course she was with the guy that had nearly killed him on accident. with an aerodactyl. of course he remembered the face.

and oh, bo’s poor aerodactyl... none of these were great memories.

averting his stare, he took a bite of pizza, sitting drinkless, not much for alcohol—especially after @hei had stopped by that one day recently and pressured him into too much scotch.

Razz Kingsman entered, and bo acknowledged him with a nod, still finishing his food. then Laurence Anderson arrived, bottles clinking in a paper bag. he had not yet drunk with lars, or seen him drunk for that matter, but he’d heard of the man’s affinity for tequila. he looked stressed. bo couldn’t blame him. same as to razz, he nodded in his direction.

wiping off his hands very thoroughly, he opened the report, and listened to DEREK HOFFMAN begin his recounting of that terrible day.

at Katherine Fairburne ’s question, he answered from across the table, ”maybe they were attracted to that barrier for some reason, or that temple.” had that temple been there before? he didn’t want to ask. the last thing he wanted was to look unfamiliar with the scene. ”my aerodactyl got sucked right into it. maybe it has some kind of pull on the pokémon. like gravity, or something like that.”

@registeelintheroom

☉

It seems Angelo's concerns regarding their lack of sufficient alcohol are unfounded, especially when Laurence Anderson slides a tequila shot her way from across the table. "Nice to see you too, spiky," she drawls, raising her glass briefly with a quicksilver smirk before downing it in one go.

Razz Kingsman is treated to a grin and a small wave that is meant more for the mischievous feline that follows after him and stations himself next to angelo vestri .

People gather around the table, and chatter dies down as DEREK HOFFMAN presents the information. Whatever festering storm had been brewing beneath sun-kissed skin is (mostly) put aside to make way for sharp scrutiny. Silver eyes quickly skim through the report. 

Without really meaning to, she finds her gaze drawn to the picture of a forest-bound temple. Greed rears its ugly head as she wonders at what could possibly be hidden inside...

Leaning back against the chair, Skyler's boots hit the table with a silent 'thump', allowing the conversation to flow around her. The mention of Ultra Beasts creates a crease between her brows, however.  "These Ultra Beasts - were they normal-sized? Or bigger than usual?" 

She has to make an effort not to look at angelo vestri . Subterfuge had never one of her best qualities, but maybe she'd learn yet.

During the war, the captain had seen bloated, building-sized Nihilego. Fought against them. And she'd witnessed the same phenomenon again, within the Regirock Temple. It could be a coincidence, but it wasn't very likely.

angelo vestri Laurence Anderson Razz Kingsman DEREK HOFFMAN boruta maher Katherine Fairburne

☉