"beats me! i'm not used to this anymore."[break][break]

spoken like a rich kid who spent a bit of time studying abroad only to return a "changed person". the slight galarian accent danny speaks with? manufactured. a product of his parent's wealth.[break][break]

"what sunscreen are you using?" without waiting for an answer, danny steps back into the shade and leans down to peer at the bottle. "ah, the shitty kind. here, try mine."[break][break]

danny reaches into his backpack for his very expensive bottle of sunscreen. spf 50 pa++++ with anti-pollution and anti-aging ingredients.

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

if danny were a stranger, his flippancy might have trod right into the minefield of nagi’s inferiority complex. but any kneejerk irritation is easily forestalled by him being one of nagi’s oldest friends: all danny gets is a quirked eyebrow, a quiet, dubious hum — followed by an honest “thanks”. [break][break]

nagi drops his shitty sunscreen by his side in the sand. long wear, the label blares at him from its place on the beach towel, accusing, beneath a peeling sticker that writes CLEARANCE: only $10.[break][break]

he wipes the grit off his fingers, takes the very expensive-looking bottle in his hands and decants the tiniest drop — what percentage of his hbs salary is this worth? does he really want to know? — of danny’s sunscreen into his palm. with ginger fingers, he dabs it across his burn. every poke hurts, so, of course, nagi pokes it more than he should. [break][break]

“is it always this bad?”


[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"what, the heat? hmm..."[break][break]

he thinks, doing his best to recall how it was when he was last in hoenn a few years ago.[break][break]

"i don't think it was ever this bad. but global warming is a thing, now, isn't it?"[break][break]

a shoulder shrugs. he did not take the science elective in uni.[break][break]

"you can use more, you know. i think you need it considering how red you already are."[break][break]

he is, of course, referring to how little sunscreen nagi squeezed out.

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

“at this point, i’m not sure how much it’ll help.” [break][break]

he’s probably evolved past homo sapien, into human burn. it feels a bit like tossing an ice cube to douse a house fire, but he smears another layer over the welt anyway. [break][break]

sun protection dutifully and post-emptively applied, he raises his arm in an overhand throw — and thinks better of it at the last moment. with his track record at the ball toss, he’d probably end up skipping the too-many dollars of it across the sea. he settles for the bottle handing it back to danny like the poorly-coordinated nerd that he is. [break][break]

the jut of his chin digs into his kneecap as he curls forward. the sea stretches out into the horizon. the barrier he visited with PENELOPE LIVY is somewhere beyond the shore, unseen. [break][break]

global warming, localised entirely within hoenn?[break][break]

“... maybe it’s — ” he mimes the shape of a dome with his hands. it looks like he’s trying to pet an invisible, floating squirtle “ — greenhouse effect?”
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"oh good point. maybe, maybe."[break][break]

he nods his head repeatedly as though he actually knows what he's talking about. if he sells it enough maybe his friend will believe him.[break][break]

tossing the bottle back into his bag, danny falls to the sand with a groan, quick to stretch out and attempt to relax.[break][break]

"how's your job, by the way? i feel like it's been forever since we hung out."

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

has it?[break][break]

nagi counts up the days since he had last spoken to danny in his head. numerically speaking, it hasn't been any longer of a gap than when nagi had been an ocean away; but now that they're on the same continent, time has seemed to stretch in antiphase.[break][break]

that, and time-space did actually bend. it's been a long few weeks.  [break][break]

“it’s… going.”[break][break]

he tries to inject some mirth into his voice, and gets halfway to a grimace. he drops his hand into the dirt, feeling the sand part as he digs his fingers into it. grit gets between his nails. [break][break]

“i forgot to mention, but, uh. i’m not with hbs anymore.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"huh?"[break][break]

the news is a revelation to danny made more so by the fact that this is his first time hearing about it. which means this is not real-time news.[break][break]

he rolls onto his side, facing nagi.[break][break]

"what do you mean? when did you leave? what the hell, why didn't you tell me!"

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

the barrage of questions, aimed point-blank at the general vicinity of nagi’s calf, has him leaning backwards, as if the few inches of distance can stem the oncoming deluge. he scrawls a mental note to himself: career changes are the kind of thing you tell people. [break][break]

he’s learning something new everyday![break][break]

“it's recent. just happened,” he answers, tone apologetic. “my boss left. i followed.”[break][break]

he clasps a fistful of sand upwards. grains dribble back down through the gaps in his fingers, a deconstructed hourglass ticking time down as he falls quiet, hums in thought, and then sets the non-sequitur loose like a misfired arrow: “do you know anything about the council?”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"oh it's recent? guess i can forgive you in that case."[break][break]

he's joking either way. he could never stay mad at nagi for too long; in fact, it would be hypocritical of him to considering how he's kept his affiliation with team rocket a secret for over a year now.[break][break]

it's why he lets the topic carry on without much more of a comment.[break][break]

"the council? not really. i know their names but that's about it. why do you ask?"

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

"well..."[break][break]

he trails off, wondering: how much hush-hush secrecy is tied into league politics; if this is kind of thing he's supposed to get clearance to discuss.[break][break]

but, then again, news about this will come out on the hnn soon enough.[break][break]

and he trusts danny.[break][break]

his voice drops, even quieter than its usual monotone mumble.[break][break]

"that's where my boss is going."[break][break]

and, by proxy, nagi too.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"no way."[break][break]

for a few moments danny's convinced nagi's tugging his arm, that this is a joke of some kind even if it's not a very funny one. but the realization soon dawns on him that his friend is in fact being serious.[break][break]

"your boss, one of the harshest critics of the league...is joining the league?"[break][break]

he laughs.[break][break]

"holy shit."

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]

danny's disbelief is met with quiet confirmation, a monosyllabic "n" hummed between teeth.[break][break]

he'd been surprised, too. but also — not.[break][break]

like a stone hitting the bedrock of a trench after a long time falling. it had felt like culmination.[break][break]

he spreads his hand wide, catching sunlight on the flat of his sand-crusted palm.[break][break]

"how else to change it, than from within?"[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] DANNY HALL [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]

"good point."[break][break]

no better place to change things than from within.[break][break]

"does that mean you're going to be working for the government? holy."[b/][break][break]

he laughs.[break][break]

"i'd contribute to your salary..."

[attr="class","ooc"]nagi miwa[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dedenne"]