with a friendly bark, it's skoll who comes to greet Greyson Connors first. callie follows soon after.

[break][break] "same to you, sir." she grins at the other, arm lifting to bump her elbow with his. the first time they'd met seemed like ages ago. burying her feelings about her current situation with Soleil Frye , it was nice to see a friendly face.

[break][break] "you don't have to ask me twice. skoll!" the lycanroc had been sniffing around Greyson Connors 's shoes — as he found something particularly interesting in the boy's sneakers - and looked up at his trainer's command. nodding, the pokemon's demeanor shifted to professionalism and set to work, nose to the ground, as they headed towards the woods.

[break][break] her head tilts towards the other. "i hear a congratulations are in order. you're a gym leader now?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

he greets the canine with a quick brush of his hand against his head, quickly scratching him behind the ears before turning his gaze upwards. "tch, no need to pretend to stand on formalities here." she'd teased him last they met too, back when a batch of new recruits had come through.
[break][break]
he begins to walk towards the woods, following after the canine but keeping pace with her trainer. a burst of white light is the only advance warning he gets before two small ruffians are using his body as a jungle gym. the two pokemon, a natural pairing, reveal themselves with one peeking over his head, while the other clings happily to his shoulder.
[break][break]
he gives a small sigh.
[break][break]
"no one said becoming a gym leader would be so much work," he says, reaching up with a curled index finger to scratch the blue one on his shoulder, "would not recommend." a joke, mostly.
[break][break]
he tosses a curious glance to the side, barely catching callie in his peripheal.
[break][break]
"what've you been up too?"

[attr="class","notes"]CALLISTA MOON

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

she knows his answer before it comes, but she needs her permission before she's allowed to drop formalities completely. "don't need to say any more," she says with a smirk.

[break][break] she wondered if greyson and paxton concordas had met before — they might have had a thing or two in common.

[break][break] a burst of light makes her blink and go to a startled stop, if only temporarily, before she's walking alongside again. the sight of the two adorable rodents elicit a small laugh. "you sound like you're greying at your roots already," she said, with a wink.

[break][break] his words make her shrug.

[break][break] "oh you know — same old. paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork." no one had ever told her that being a cop would be so suffering. "oh, and bashing the occasional rocket heads in."

[break][break] "so," she said, gesturing towards the woods. "there been problems here?"

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

greyson scowls and turns it on her, eyes narrowing. "one more pun like that and i'll have you cleaning the heads of the recruitment facilities." he holds it for a second longer, before sighing and breaking it with an amused grin.
[break][break]
"sounds like you've been busy at least," he says with a shrug, turning eyes onto the dog ahead. "problems? eh, kind-of. just a roaming pack of mightyena making things difficult. normally they'd up and leave, but something has them sticking around."
[break][break]
one of the two pokemon on his back, the minun, leaps from his shoulder and onto callie's. greyson winces at the imapct.
[break][break]
"he's kind of a handful."

[attr="class","notes"]CALLISTA MOON

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

a laugh bubbles to her lips.

[break][break] "sir, yes sir."

[break][break] though things are casual between them now, because they're friends, callie's more than well-aware of the rank that he holds over her. much like paxton concordas, she was sure that lieutenant greyson would not fail to execute a reprimand should the situation allow for it.

[break][break] "hmm. what do you think it is?" she hums in thought. it wasn't unusual for a pack of mightyena to stay together, but certainly it probably caused some unrest among the civilians. especially hoyeons who may not have been used to such things — it made her wonder what simple concerns were on hoenn, if a pack of pups was the least of their worries.

[break][break] then again, there was that meteor.

[break][break] "what do you —" her words are cut off as the electric mouse leaps to her shoulder, and she blinks with surprise for a moment before laughing. "no worries. you should've seen skoll when he was a pup — now he was a handful."

[break][break] up ahead, the lycanroc pauses in his search as if hearing his trainer speak ill of him. he gives a small whine, as if to complain, and she waves him off.

[break][break] "but he's good now."

[break][break] the fondness in her voice is unparalleled.

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

"not sure," he admits, rolling his jaw in thought, "maybe a new alpha? or they've lost their territory." that was the purpose of this investigation, after all.
[Break][break]
"ill give you my delphox for the day - you'll see pain there." he laughs, giving the dog an amuses grin that settles as it ends.
[Break][break]
"does he have a scent?"

[attr="class","notes"]CALLISTA MOON

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

"an alpha?" she'd only heard about them from the repots that paxton concordas made her comb through, but she hadn't come across the beasts herself. "oh yeah — the pokemon in the distortions, right?"

[break][break] her brow furrows. callie glances around them, wondering if there is a distortion coming in the distance — she wondered if there was something that would signify a change.

[break][break] glad to ease back into a more easygoing topic, callie grins. "deal. you can have skoll. you'll regret it once he gets into your dirty hamper."

[break][break] speaking of, callie whistles to call back the lycanroc back over to them. from her pocket, she pulls a hankerchief. "yep. apparently this was found by one of the civilians on the scene — here, boy, take another whiff."

[break][break]

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

in truth he hadn't placed the connection between that alpha and the ones that typically led packs.
[Break][break]
it actually made sense...
[Break][break]
"no one is worse than Riley, my bolting. no one." he plays at a deadpan expression, eyes locked and completely serious. then he let's out an air of a chuckle.
[Break][break]
"shall we speed things up then?" he releases an arcanine, letting the presence of the massive canine speak better to his intention.

[attr="class","notes"]CALLISTA MOON

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

"no one, huh? that sounds like a challenge."

[break][break] she smirks, meeting his gaze. normally, callie would not dare to stare at a superior so boldly, but thanks to their friendship and banter, she has no problem doing so. the only other person she would dare to do it was with her old captain paxton concordas, but that was an entirely different matter.

[break][break] still, she's the one to break gaze first. "you know," she says with a short laugh. "people say you're stiff but you're pretty funny, you know."

[break][break] when his arcanine appears before them, callie tries not to be too excited. she does really like dogs.

[break][break] "are you going to take me for a ride, lieutenant greyson?"

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

with his arcanine in the background, greyson stands straighter, squaring his shoulders and narrows his eyes.
[Break][break]
"who says i'm too stiff?" he holds the gaze steady for a few moments, before it breaks into a grin. "i am pretty funny huh?"
[Break][break]
he moves to the fire-type and it bends in forethought to allow the mounting. once on, smirk still lacing lips, he holds his hand out.
[Break][break]
"it's gonna be a hell of a ride, so, make sure not to fall off."
[Break][break]
once she's on they set off, and a few more moments down the road, he speaks up again. his voice was nearly drowned out by the passing trees.[break][break]
"really though - who called me stiff?"

[attr="class","notes"]CALLISTA MOON

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

she laughs at their casual back-and-forth, but giving neither here or there about who tattled on the liutenant. at least not yet.

[break][break] he offers his hand out, and she ignores it with a huff. she's a soldier, just like him, and can take perfectly good care of herself. "don't underestimate me, lieutenant." plus, there was always the fact that it just seemed funnier to ignore.

[break][break] callie climbs atop the steed with ease, her hands wrapping around his waist with ease.

[break][break] as they race through the forest, it's almost enough of a dictraction to get the lieutenant off her back. almost.

[break][break] she snickers.

[break][break] "MATIAS SILPH."

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

greyson puts the thought of callie holding onto his waist far, far behind him — there was work to be done. his nose turns up, however, at the mention of one MATIAS SILPH.
[break][break]
"tch," he says, harmlessly mocking the elite four members signature catch phrase. "he's just saying that because he never has to stay back and clean up the mess he makes."
[break][break]
greyson wasn't done, but his words drop into a low grumble that's swallowed by the torrent of wind.
[break][break]
beneath him the arcanine tenses noticeably and greyson can't help but feel like trouble has come to them. arcanine slows, and greyson's voice is a calm, but pointed one.
[break][break]
"something's here."

[attr="class","notes"]CALLISTA MOON

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

callie only knows little of the relationship between the sergeant in front of her and
MATIAS SILPH. in many ways, she should be closer to the latter — especially considering all the time they spent in kanto.

[break][break] although — what was it that they said again? boys will be boys? perhaps there was a broship bond that she'd never understand between the two.

[break][break] it was still fun to poke at the wound.

[break][break] "someone sounds sour," she teases. her words fall on the whisper of the wind, swallowed by the rustling that sounds not too far off. she can feel Greyson Connors tense between her grip around his waist, but her shoulders do too. her gaze narrows.

[break][break] "c'mon," she says, sliding off the arcanine's back with ease. "skoll, double team. deliver." the command, though soft, is stern — the lycanroc raises his ears in alert, as his body separates into several copies and he darts forward on silent paws into the brush. callie follows a little bit slower, hand on her belt, just in case they come into contact with the enemy a little bit too soon.

[attr="class","notes"]
Greyson Connors [break]
the hounds of war [break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉