It could be guessed that when it came to embarking on this sort of expedition, Fern Delaney would also be grossly unprepared.[break][break]

He’d never had the opportunity to search for actual artifacts before after all. Not on this sort of scale—and therefore, his bag severely lacked a considerable amount of…well, everything, really. What he did have, though, was water. Given that he’d been told to meet his partner for the task at the Fiery Path, it seemed a bit intuitive.[break][break]

And dehydrating his skin? That was simply unacceptable![break][break]

Sunglasses perched on his nose, Fern strolled toward the caverns—casual despite the formality he likely should’ve shown. He was meant to be meeting with a beast within the organization, after all. He’d not had the chance to meet oscar clayton as of yet, but it simply wasn’t in his nature to behave or carry himself somberly.[break][break]

Regardless, though, he was still eager to prove himself. That fact didn’t diminish. He wasn’t all that accustomed to working as a part of a group unit—for as long as he had been in Hoenn, he’d been looking out for only himself. Now, however, he had the chance to elevate, someway somehow.[break][break]

At least he had the decency to be on time, but his partner seemed to be early. He flipped his hair back, then raised a hand in greeting before he stopped short. “Oscar, right?” He tipped his glasses down to peer over the tops, “You all good..? You look a little hot under the collar.”

[break][break]

+ oscar clayton | m: raiders of the lost archeops

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“That’s right, and you’re Oscar, yes? Mr. Clayton?” He didn’t really care to use the formality, given how flippant his initial approach was, but he supposed that he should at least make the suggestion of deference, because he was still just a lonely little mite at the bottom of the totem pole. No matter how larger than life his personality would have him behave. “Of course I’m prepared.” (lie.)[break][break]

Their head tilted, “How long is ‘long,’ exactly?” Hands lifted to accentuate with air quotes. It wasn’t a question borne out of distaste or reluctance, really. More curiosity than anything else. It’d been a while since they’d been needed for tasks that might be considered arduous, and certainly this was new within rocket, specifically.[break][break]

Not that Fern was incapable!! And as far as they were concerned, they could do just about anything (even in instances when they blatantly could not.) It was just interesting that they had been selected for this.[break][break]

Rolling his shoulders, Fern followed as indicated. Grateful that at least they’d been considerate enough of their feet to wear normal boots and not the heeled ones they preferred to wander about in. “Sure.” Were all the beasts and higher ups this formal?[break][break]

“So what’s so important about this artifact, anyway?” he asked as he pushed his sunglasses up, still watching Oscar with a degree of intrigued scrutiny. Was it rumored to hold creepy, curse imbuing power? Or was it just some dusty old trinket worth an exorbitant amount of cash? Both were fine, he supposed. But the former was rather exciting, wasn’t it?

[break][break]

+ oscar clayton | m: raiders of the lost archeops

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Fern blinked. Well that’s a rather blunt response, isn’t it?[break][break]

Then their lips twitched into a smile, obviously pleased with the lack of professional formality. They simply could not flourish under conditions where they must be so composed and stuffy for extended periods of time. “Well, that’s promising, hm?” Fern quipped back, unfazed by the apparent lack of direction on where exactly to find what they were looking for. [break][break]

With any luck, perhaps it would simply present itself?[break][break]

That was probably too much to hope for. He had fallen a few steps behind, and picked up his pace to catch up with Oscar. “So, act like we know what we’re doing right now, is what you mean.” Dark brows arched at the light-haired man, the crooked tilt of their smile sharpening a bit. They were a pro at that. Even when they didn’t have a lick of information to work with–it was always better to act aware.[break][break]

Which is why Fern moved forward confidently, without nary a map for guidance. If the artifact was even on the main path to begin with. Idly, they point at a large, dark stone and remark dryly, “Perhaps it’s under that boulder then.”

[break][break]

+ oscar clayton | m: raiders of the lost archeops

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“...are you okay..?” Fern’s brows furrowed as he looked over at the beast, head tilting. “You want some water? I only have the one bottle, but..” He looked like he could use it more than Fern at this rate. Though it wasn’t like they weren’t feeling the heat, either. They weren’t immune to the cloying feeling in their lungs that slowly crept in the further they wandered, or the slick of sweat creeping down the back of his neck. Gross.[break][break]

The point was – he wasn’t about to give Oscar a difficult time because of suffering in the heat. “Whoever this client is, they owe us big.” Though their hair wasn’t all that long, Fern gathered it up as best as they could and tied it back with a hair tie. It was no more than a spriggy little tail.[break][break]

“Oops, sorry–” they began when they realized they’d cut off his explanation. They’d only been making a joke, really. But when Oscar stopped, they followed their own pointing hand, and blinked rapidly when it turned out that there actually was an opening. Fern promptly dusted their shoulders. “Guess or not, I’ll take the win.” A pleased, lopsided smile was leveled at their counterpart before they followed his lead.[break][break]

Only to immediately find himself frowning.[break][break]

Fern was…decidedly not fond of tight spaces, but he wasn’t about to lead Oscar to believe he was some sort of ninny that couldn’t handle a little stress. No way, that was intolerable. A nervous laugh followed in the wake of the joke. “I won’t get stuck if you don’t get stuck, deal? Deal.” Hands pressed against the walls around them, Fern moved forward behind Oscar, nearly crashing into him when he froze in place.[break][break]

Their nerves jumped when Oscar abruptly collapsed in surprise. “Wha–? OH,” Fern squawked when their eyes landed on the skeletal figure across the room. Unlike his companion, the prior reaction prepared him, and a laugh tumbled loose. They fanned themselves with a hand and then procured their bottle to pour a capful on Oscar’s face– a paltry attempt to rouse him.[break][break]

“Don’t wanna end up like that fella, yeah?”


[break][break]

+ oscar clayton | m: raiders of the lost archeops

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Oh…hopefully he’d wake up. At that rate, Fern wasn’t sure what the state of the other man was. He looked paler than he’d already been. Maybe the fright had been too much? Had it done his heart in? Surely the beasts among Rocket weren’t that fragile… surely. But! He wasn’t going to have to explain Oscar’s untimely departure (which was honestly a relief,) as he began to come to with water splashing his face. “You are quite young, it would be awfully unfortunate to have to leave you in an unknown cavern.” He couldn’t help the tease that slipped out, and his hand lifted to shield the amused smile on his face. And also muffle the chuckle that followed.[break][break]

“Of course.” Fern left it there, though he probably could’ve found more ways to hold the startled moment over the beast’s head. From the whiting out, to the heavy wash of color in his face that followed. Still, he figured it might serve himself well to let it slide this time around. He did care to gain good standing among his superiors, after all. While Oscar preoccupied himself with the corpse propped against the wall, Fern wandered the space that the tunnel had opened up to. Inscriptions were carved into the walls, though he couldn’t make heads or tails of them. It was interesting, though. Cause enough to make him wonder where they led. Was there more beyond this entry room?[break][break]

His curiosity would be for naught, however. “Maybe he’ll haunt you,” he remarked, as a thumb jerked back toward the skeletal remains. A smirk hitched one corner of his mouth. A real haunting. How exciting would that be? All the same, he didn’t allow his disappointment show over not inspecting the space further. He shrugged, “Well, he probably ditched the guy here,” he said matter-of-factly, “very theatrical. Like something right out of a film.” Grand acts of betrayal. The realization that he’d slipped up and left the artifact behind in the end. Perhaps it was their client who was cursed, rather than this poor sod left behind.[break][break]

Now his imagination was just getting away from him. “Can do.” Spinning on his heels, he headed back the way they came–once again resisting the itch to tease the other with something like don’t pass out on me again. I’m out of water now.

[break][break]

+ oscar clayton | m: raiders of the lost archeops

[attr="class","pokeclass"]