She'd been invited. More or less.

It'd been more than a year since her Steelix had perished beneath the weight of sun-baked rocks. Skyler had already been through a war then, had seen enough death that the moment hadn't haunted her. But she still remembers the cold clarity of realization, creeping up to hold her hostage for that horrible half a second.

Her Pokemon. Her Pokemon. Dead.

The captain had become increasingly curious of Angelo's frustration the previous week, watching from the corner of her eyes as he buried himself in maps and charts. Off-handed comments had sprouted into Skyler doing her own research. You can't see everything when you're up in the clouds, after all. Sometimes you needed a more hands on approach.

They'd still ended up empty handed. But, Skyler thinks as the boat touches shore and Angelo hops onto the docks to meet a faint Melody, perhaps it is less about the location and more about not being alone. Not for something like this.

Skyler isn't aware of what happened, exactly. But the obviously shaken visage of the usually cheerful idol brings about a wave of protectiveness. 

"We're ready," she says, voice pitched low and kind, "whenever you are." She means the boat, of course, and the diving equipment they'd need to dive down into the depths. She also means the collection of liquor bottles in the cabin under their feet - just in case.

Melody Miro angelo vestri

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"Between the two of us," Skyler says while motioning to herself and Angelo, "we have enough knowledge of the area to leave no stone unturned." They probably did, what with Angelo's aerial view and Skyler's familiarity with the Hoennian ocean. 

"You're in good hands, Mel. Promise."

Watching angelo vestri interact with Melody is like getting a peek into his life in Alto Mare, back when he lived with his collection of siblings. Of course, Skyler knows nothing of him getting clocked with an alarm - unfortunately - but she would get the story one day. Eventually.

A moment of tension passes when Cobalion sees upon itself to try and protect Melody. While Skyler can empathize with its actions, the gesture makes her feel equally on edge. The legendary isn't the only oveprotective one here. 

"It's fin- Shit!" Reassuring words die a swift death before she can utter them, interrupted by the legendary's bold entrance into The Mariner 2. 

Skyler scrambles to hold onto the steering wheel as the boat tips slightly, sinking further into the ocean where Cobalion has seen fit to curl up. It leaves barely any space for other passengers - and was that a crack?

It better, Skyler thinks as she squints at the legendary, not have broken anything in her boat. Or else.

"It'll be cosy with Cobalion here, but we'll make it work." The engine purrs under their feet as she maneuvers it away from the docks and into the ocean proper, coasting over surface waves with the ease of a tested sailor.

Melody Miro angelo vestri

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When push comes to shove, Angelo is far better equipped and generally more skilled at dealing with emotion-fraught situations (and people) than Skyler ever will be. There's a subtlety to navigating past emotion and trauma that would probably always elude the ship captain.

They've navigated far past the sight of shore, and away from any crashable objects, when Melody seems to crumple into a smaller version of herself, like a Drifloon that has lost all air.

And then she speaks.

"Matias did what?" The words explode out of Skyler's mouth before her brain has time to catch up. Silver cuts past ocean, boat and her husband to focus on the idol and her grief-stricken expression - perhaps in an attempt to glean the truth behind the obvious hesitation.

While Angelo soothes, Skyler grits her teeth against a sleught of questions that bubble forth, demanding to be answered. There's a story to be told here, but the captain wouldn't pry it from Melody. 

She tightens her grip on the steering wheel, exchanging a look with Angelo that betrays her own concern. While Skyler wouldn't usually touch League business with a ten-foot pole, nothing about this situation read as - normal. 

And with Hoenn going to hell as of late, Skyler refuses to be kept in the dark.

"... Do I need to kill him, Mel? Or hurt him badly?" 

It's impossible to judge whether she's being utterly serious or if this is simply her own unique way to show her support.

Melody Miro angelo vestri

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'Maybe MATIAS SILPH finally stands a chance at beating me in an arm-wrestling contest', is the first thought that pops up, though she does remain doubtful of the fact. Since their first meeting the Elite Four has apparently lost all qualms about playing dirty.

Perhaps falling from that high horse hadn't hurt that badly? 

"Have you told this to anyone else, anyone in the League?" Has there been an official complaint? That the League has proven itself inefficient and clogged by bureacracy and disorganization doesn't come as a surprise to Skyler - but abetting cold-blooded murderers in their ranks? Worse still, to support someone who turned on their own? 

It isn't the Relicanth's death in itself as much as it is the premeditated thought and planning that came beforehand that bothers her. Tricking Melody into becoming an unwilling participant in her own pokemon's death?

For a moment she wonders if Melody has told any of this to someone like, say, Katherine Fairburne . Wasn't she her protegé or something? Despite her temperament, she at least trusted the Malevolent to do her best by the region. Including chopping off rotten apples.

Melody's concerns about her are casually waved aside. "I doubt he's going to want to fight me. And if he does," she shrugs, looking out into the vast expanse of ocean. Imagining its lightless depths, "I'll just take his overgrown lizard for a nice summer swim. That ought to cool him off." 

Skyler has no desire to be entangled in this mess, and a quick look angelo vestri 's way reinforces this opinion. But it isn't in their nature either to stand idly by while the region goes to shit.

Melody Miro angelo vestri

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