.. why did she invite him, again? [break][break]

no, she knows why, but why? this was a job she could do on her own, or with her own pokemon. she doesn't need another person's help, especially since she can imagine that he can't tell the difference between two kinds of herbs. maybe it's because she's been spending more time with him, lately. maybe she's finally giving herself the chance to get used to it. who can say? [break][break]

it was hard asking. a part of her felt like she was going to implode when she did. [break][break]

but she didn't. what improvement. [break][break]

ever since the dome was erected over hoenn, supply chains have gone to shit. a shame because there's medicine that could only be imported from other regions, but they've been cut off. though hoenn had plenty of flora, it's.. difficult when your options are limited. [break][break]

marisol lowers herself by a patch of grass, a few ways ahead, fingers moving through the shrubbery carefully as she carefully inspects leaves. she doesn't turn her head when he speaks. "the more, the better." she squints, then pulling out a small hand shovel to unroot the herb properly. "supply has been getting worse. between supplies being cut off, and the sudden reports of distortion, and the injured that seem to be coming in more often.." her eyes narrow, and her lips quirk into a grimace. [break][break]

"it's troublesome." it's worrisome.

Leonidas Stone

☉

’Troublesome,’ she said.[break]
It felt like an understatement.[break][break]

True, but still an understatement— and one he couldn’t help but sigh at prior to shifting his gaze upon the various sources of brush before him once more. With a lip quirked in faint, pensive confliction, he scanned the numerous leaves before crouching down to pick another bundle of newly located herbs.[break][break]

”...You’re telling me,” he murmured, clicking his tongue softly. ”Normally, I wouldn’t be too stressed about it, but it’s just…so obscure. The situation, I mean.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: stockpile

☉

would you look at that, something they agreed on. [break][break]

if she had a garden, she'd try to grow these herbs for herself, but the climate in hoenn changes drastically, sometimes, and it surprises her when she realizes that herbs are able to survive in this environment altogether. with a huff, she gently shakes the somewhat dry soil from the uprooted herb, and throws it into a bag with the rest of what they've gathered. [break][break]

"indeed." she voices, that time around. her eyes gaze up towards the dome-like structure that covers the sky, and she grimaces. "as though we don't already have to worry about the meteorite, and the panic that's brought up.." she groans, taking another gander "then something like this happens.." this never happened during her time outside of hoenn. [break][break]

no more herbs where she kneels, so she straightens out and walks over. one glance over his shoulder, however, and the woman quirks a brow whilst leaning down. she gently taps his shoulder with the back of her wrist, holding the small shovel out. "try to collect the roots, too. they can be useful." she says, holding the bag out and open.

Leonidas Stone

☉

He glanced over his shoulder at the tap, immediately finding himself face to shovel.[break][break]

As if needing another moment to process the object so close to him, he eyed the tool for a little while longer before finally turning just enough to be able to pluck it from her hand. He eyed it for a couple of moments before spinning it betwixt deft fingers, touching it down into the dirt.[break][break]

”Noted,” he hummed, already beginning to loosen the roots gripping within the soil beneath him. With a handful of them within his grasp sometime after, he shook as much of the excess dirt off as possible before reaching over to place it into the sack.[break][break]

”...You think we’re actually in for the worst?” he hummed idly, turning back to search for the next bunch of plants.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: stockpile

☉

it's hot. [break][break]

the sun's beating down on them. shade and trees help to alleviate the rays, but the dry air makes her feel worse. there's concern when she glares towards the sole of her sneakers, grinding the dusted, dry cracks in the dirt. the soil is starting to get too dry. the flora are able to survive now, but how long will that last? [break][break]

a question she doesn't want to face is brought up, and the response is pensive humming. her brows furrow as she raises an arm, pushing the bangs that cover the eyepatch over her head. "i hope not." a sigh pushes against her chest as a hand begins to wave and fan herself. "but if the meteor doesn't kill us" she watches as the roots are thrown in with the rest, then she closes the bag back up to turn an walk "then the barrier will, at some point."[break][break]

she hums, only walking a few paces. she lifts the eyepatch over an odd coloured eye to let the air in. ".. what do you think?"

Leonidas Stone

☉

He inhaled deeply, allowing the question to settle and fester for a while longer than his answer had taken to form.[break][break]

”...My optimism says we’ll be fine,” he hummed lowly, furrowing his brows with an instinctively reactive bout of disdain as he fought with a mightier bunch of roots. ”Or, like…I guess less of says, and more of hopes.”[break][break]

With a sigh and what felt to be a long awaited tug, he tore the roots from their earthen confinements, shaking them free of some of the remaining bits of dirt that clung to them before tossing them into the bag.[break][break]

”...My gut instinct says it may not be that simple, though,” he added, lowly, before beginning to tussle with the next set of roots.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: stockpile

☉

hope. [break][break]

right, he has the right to hope. she's not bright or optimistic about the barrier or the meteor, and there's a part of her that's indifferent to the meteor that's tumbling towards them (but it's the better part of her that's worried about the people living in the region, and the people who might get caught in the cross-fire) - she thinks that there isn't much to hope for the future. [break][break]

not everyone thinks that, and there's living proof crouched right there, trying to throw down with the weeds of the roots. the dry soil doesn't make it any better, and the lack of rain they've been experiencing, on top of the recent climate changes and disasters have been an nightmare for the local agriculture. [break][break]

"mhm, and there's never a shortage of destruction and odd events happening.." she's careful carving out the land holding another herb, then brushing and breaking apart the dirt that comes up. the surface crumbles to dust, and her lips curl into a small frown. [break][break]

".. the soil is too dry." it's no surprise considering recent events, but "it'll be hard to harvest and forage in this state, and the herbs around here might die." she thinks about it a little bit, and ultimately puts the shovel down. this time to reach into her own bag she's brought along, and pulls out both a pokeball and a small, compact umbrella. [break][break]

out comes a castform as she casually kicks the small umbrella her companion's way. "open that up. i'm going to have stem use rain dance."

Leonidas Stone

☉

”So I’ve heard, yes~.”[break][break]

He’d heard the mass amounts of rumors from chance conversations between both family and acquaintances, alike, but to witness and experience the sheer degree of chaos that so commonly occurred within Hoenn firsthand had been somewhat of a culture shock, to say the least. By no means had he remembered it being so when he was younger, but perhaps that had been the rose tinted glass speaking on his behalf.[break][break]

Youth was often so romanticized and viewed differently, after all.[break][break]

And yet, it was something that he found fleeing his mind as he continued to struggle against the foliage before him. Although the roots hadn’t been too difficult to pry and extract beforehand, his brows furrowed faintly as he began to tap the shovel against what seemed to be some softer sort of rock, if not just very tightly packed soil. He clicked his tongue before long, about to begin digging with a tad more vigor before hearing the woman’s next words.[break][break]

He blinked, staring at the umbrella for a few moments longer before picking it up. Narrowing his eyes for just a moment as he examined it, he soon found the button that popped it from its lock, tapping against it.[break][break]

”...It’s probably a smart idea, but if I get mud on you, it’s not my fault~,” he mused, extending the fabric out before raising his arm up, holding the umbrella above the both of them as he remained crouched.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: stockpile

☉

"mud is the least of my problems." [break][break]

she's used to getting down and dirty when collecting herbs, or samples, or working on bodies. all sorts of grime start to blend together, until she can't tell them apart from the layers.[break][break]

she's slightly surprised when she sees the shadow of the umbrella over her, but doesn't say anything. instead, she glances to the castform, who lets out a bright, sunny cry. her hand reaches to gently pat the top of the weather pokemon's head. "rain dance, stem." she gives the command, and the castform goes a little twirl in the air, floating and dancing around until the sky starts to turn dark. [break][break]

it doesn't take long for rain to start pouring, and for a white light to surround the little white pokemon. when the light fades, a droplet-like membrane encases its head. [break][break]

the umbrella isn't huge, but she doesn't move closer to fully shield herself from the rain. instead, she uses the back of her hand to push against the metal rod of it, urging it closer to leonidas. "you use it, i'll be fine."

Leonidas Stone

☉

He chuckled with a quip of a smile, sighing as his eyes drifted towards the skies.[break][break]

”Suit yourself, then,” he mused, eying the rapidly darkening and converging clouds above.[break][break]

It was an interesting sight to see, to say the least. By no means had he been a stranger to a Rain Dance or two—his very own Pisces had been more than familiar with it, after all—but the sheer process to follow the command had never ceased to instill a sense of awe within him. To commandeer nature so easily had always been interesting to him; so awesome.[break][break]

…Maybe even frightening to some degree, but the reservation would be one of few kept to himself.[break][break]

He continued to gaze afar as the heavens closed before them, and before long, the familiar sounds of trickling raindrops met his ears as they began to fall. His head tilted down towards the lush greens beneath and around them as they began to patter against their leaves, and for a moment, he eyed them in thought.[break][break]

Before long, he simply lowered the umbrella and closed it before getting back to work.[break][break]

”...If you don’t mind mud, then I’m sure rain’s the least of your worries, too~,” he hummed, resting her belonging aside before beginning to dig once more. ”I’m a fan of it myself, honestly~.”[break][break]

It wasn’t like he’d been digging in one of his more glamorous suits, either, after all.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: stockpile

☉

she's already getting to work with the shovel in hand, carefully moving the dirt around the roots of herbs as she tries to unroot them. it thankfully doesn't take long for the soil to absorb the raindrops, clinging to them and gradually turning from the dusty cracks into a smoother, darker earth. it's a little relieving to see, although she won't say it, nor will she admit it. [break][break]

rustling comes from the forest, past the trees and shrubbery and foliage, grass pokemon emerge. marisol raises her gaze only to take a glance and gander as they move from the shade of the trees, now to move to sit out in the open, soaking in the cooler rain water. now it's slight, past the damp bangs of her hair, but she's smiling when a lilligent sits herself down to enjoy the much needed hydration. [break][break]

but of course, good things don't last. this time in the form of a man who closed the umbrella, in addition to his response when he pushes the umbrella back to her. now her expression is shifting from content to disbelief, staring at him before putting the shovel back down to open up the umbrella once again, holding it out so the metal rod extends, and the fabric pop open and out. then she tries to hold it over her companion here. mostly. [break][break]

"i'm not the one who can't risk getting sick." her other hand rests on her knees in her crouch, brows furrowing at how the rain's already gotten him a bit wet. "just take the umbrella."

Leonidas Stone

☉

”No~.”[break][break]

Such a simple, uninhibited response spoken with naught a pause or hesitation, whatsoever. His head turned faintly upon noting her lower her own tool before long, and as a faint grin found itself upon his expression, he simply spared her a look from over his shoulder for little more than a moment as he took it into his other hand, beginning to loosen the gradually dampening soil in tandem to the one he’d been given prior.[break][break]

”Like I said, I’m a fan of the rain,” he chuckled, brows tenting faintly within the effort allocated into the roots before him. Before long, a soft breath of victorious intent escaped his lips as the plant freed itself, and after shaking it off faintly, he set it aside before beginning to work on the next one. ”Best case, I don’t get sick— and worst case, I do get sick and have an excuse not be a busybody like always~.”[break][break]

He peered over towards her again, shrugging.[break][break]

”I only see it as a win~.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
mission: stockpile

☉

'no.'[break][break]

he says it so easily that it's almost irritating - she hopes that he knows that he's lucky to be in her good graces. or her tolerable graces. she can only look at him in sheer disbelief; does he hear himself? wouldn't it be better for him not to be sick? especially while the region wasn't exactly in the best place to begin with. hell, they were collecting herbs so that medicine can be concocted due to an impending shortage. [break][break]

they're getting sick to collect medicine, and the irony isn't lost in her. [break][break]

"you're an idiot." and can only say, taking the hand shovel to dig easier into the soil, loosening up the roots and gently shaking the remaining dirt that clings on. her eyepatch is slowly getting wet beneath the bangs over half her face, but she'll let it happen. for the time being. [break][break]

"i--" she starts, then pauses, and she's grateful that the overcast shadow of clouds from the rain is enough to cover the exposed half of her face. her lips turn inwards, and she gently bites for a moment before letting out another sigh. "... i'd still feel guilty." her brows furrow, and she digs another small hole "i called you out to help me. if you get sick, i'll feel responsible."

Leonidas Stone

☉