thrills. one after another, it seemed like she just couldn’t get enough of them these days. after a couple of near-death experiences, she’d started to get a little bold. maybe she had nine lives. maybe she was just running from fear itself.

she’d answered the call, and she’d wound up at this garage. soon, she would be sliding into the seat of some fancy racecar, zooming around the track at breakneck speed. breakallthebonesinyourbody speed, even. anxiety built. it was the climb to the rush.

when she stepped into the garage, she was not expecting to see the hunk of metal before her. she blinked at it, before her eyes drifted downward to the greasy woman on the floor. the alolan vulpix accompanying her was already at eye level, tilting its head to the side curiously.

”sup,” nina echoed, the word not flowing quite right off her tongue. ”yeah, that’s me. you’re parker?”

a considerable part of her hoped she was in the wrong place. there was something sleek and shiny somewhere down the road—she’d just taken a bad turn.

parker jones

well, this was definitely just her luck. she suppressed a sigh at the confirmation: this was indeed the parker she was looking for.

and, the seconds longer she spent in the garage, the more she realized this woman probably knew what she was doing. she probably lived with grease on her hands. yet again, nina was out of place, thrown into the deep end to learn how to swim.

she didn’t belong. KING WAYLAND ’s words echoed in her head. GABRIEL BLACK ’s question. even her reflection in the mirror haunted her. this would only serve as further proof, surely.

”no,” she admitted, crossing her arms and still lingering away from the dirt vehicle. she’d never even been to a race before—of any kind.

”but i’m sure it’ll be fine. you seem like you know what you’re doing. i’m a quick learner.” and she was, but in her head, it was a glaring lie.

parker jones

upon first glance, nina had been disgusted; however, she became quickly, increasingly intrigued by parker. dirty, unafraid to get on the ground and covered in shit, tossing scrap metal to a smoking fighting-type… it looked tough. it was something nina desired and constantly failed to attain a feeling of for herself.

the look in her eye shifted subtly with the weight in her hips. she stopped judging, and started watching. when parker looked up from the cash in her hand, her gaze averted, as though caught. it was then immediately pulled back with a pinch in her brow.

”reputation?” there was no force behind the echo, and the thought was thrown aside with the reflexes to catch the bag she was being tossed, and to keep up.

”right. uh… i don’t know what that is.” this was more than she’d signed up for. oh, well. that seemed to be life now. ”let’s do this, i guess.”

parker jones

nina blinked slowly, pursing her lips a little. cupcake? surprisingly, it was a new one. while pet names didn’t normally bother her, this was a little chafing, considering the situation. yet again, she was being patronized.

at least it was followed up with something validating. she remained quiet, watching, waiting.

then, at parker’s over-simplifying, her brow furrowed indignantly.

”ok. thanks for the explanation.”

rolling her eyes to the ceiling, she huffed. her vulpix watched up at her, and then cast looks between the two in confusion.

”so what now, greaseball?”

parker jones

the noise of sellers and hagglers buzzed. the flea market was bustling as usual. as they arrived, nina pinched the filter of a minty smoke between glittering nails, flicked it away, and followed into the crowd.

she was not expecting to be left there.

”seriously?”

the parts jostled metallically as her arm slackened straight, bag resting against her thigh as she stared after the back of parker’s head until it disappeared. her vulpix touched its nose curiously to the leather in her hand, sniffing, and startled when nina hoisted it back up to dig for an item.

with a heavy sigh, she held it up. it sparkled in a glint of passing sunlight, well-buffed by parker’s skilled hand.

”CAR PARTS. I HAVE CAR PARTS FOR SALE. VERY SHINY, GOOD AS NEW. THREE HUNDRED FOR THE LOT...”

was this what she was here for? if so, she figured, they’d gotten the wrong girl. a salesman, sure, but typically she’d had the opportunity to learn her product. it was especially easy when she was the product. now, this?

”think we need some help.” ’vul.’

she reached for a pokéball, and from a flash of light appeared an egg.

”hello togepi! how are you today?”

grinning down at it as it chirped, nina then scooped the small pokémon up to place it on top of her head. she tickled one of its feet, to be sure to activate its good luck.

and, perhaps luckily, eyes were soon caught.

a dance ensued.

’200.’ ”275.” ’225.’ ”275.” ’250.’ ”deal.”

with several minutes to spare, they’d appear around the corner of the candy stand. togepi was cradled in her arms, the empty leather bag slung over her shoulder, vulpix at her heel, and a wad of cash fatter than requested in her pocket.

parker jones

she didn’t catch the scowl on parker’s face as the woman turned around to spot her. it vanished too soon under a passing shadow or a glare of light, replaced with a wide grin. nina furrowed her brow at it a little, but—as much as she tried—was unable to keep the smallest curl from her own lips. was parker impressed? good.

while nina was looking less than friendly, the togepi cradled in her arm easily warmed up to a smiling face. it beamed back at parker, giving it a shrill, joyal shriek like a baby.

”man, yay tall,” she recalled, gesturing. ”dark hair, green eyes, tattoo on his shoulder….” was it ringing a bell? ”greasy, like you…”

her free arm reached for the wad of cash in her back pocket before holding it up towards her roguish accomplice.

parker jones

her brow furrowed. parker had started the cupcake thing first, but she didn’t bother bringing it up. maybe it was better than greaseball, but still.

”silver spoon? that’s what you think?”

a frown twisted, and she stared daggers.

”obviously, i want to do this, or i wouldn't be here.”

as she moved past parker, she pushed the wad of cash into her hand with a huff. vulpix still followed at her feet, casting a meek glance up towards parker, but its attention was soon stolen by the delicious smells of the sweet shop.

nina pondered to herself. why were they here? was this where criminal racecar drivers hung out? seemed kind of odd, but she wouldn’t question it out loud.

parker jones