to him, it was essentially the destruction of a food processing plant at very much the wrong time. an attempt to steer people away from food sources already grown, preceding expected shortages even with all present options consumed. as well-meaning and righteous as it was on one hand, it seemed utterly blind to the region’s immediate circumstances.

being that pokémon were involved, the captain had been called to help deal with the situation. however, he was still flying in atop his aerodactyl when he saw a man running below. judging by his trajectory and the league authorities yelling after him, he was obviously fleeing the scene of the crime.

fueled by frustration at the act, bo redirected, so he was now practically diving down, ahead of the runner. from a pokéball, another aerodactyl was released. with a whistle and a gesture, it was flying in the other direction.

herding him in.

”stop! you're surrounded!” the captain called, soon landing several meters away.

faelan foxgrove

☉

Phage bubbled a warning, the Duosion clinging to Fox’s wrist like a gooey gauntlet. He glimmered with light, future sight alerting him to their pursuer’s immediate future moves.

A foreboding shadow passed beneath the moon.

Fox expected something aerial would be nearing, so he cut left, leaping a half wall and knocking over a cascade of garbage cans, on the run again. He didn’t know the city well, which would be to his detriment; but with Phage’s view of the soon-to-pass and his own instincts and reflexes, he felt confident he could get to safety.

boruta maher
narrator voice: he should not have felt confident

☉

the chase was on. one of the aerodactyl gave a scream, echoing metallic in the back of scattered trash cans as they passed above. they were close, they were fast, and no marbles-on-the-floor trick—intentional or otherwise—would slow them down.

AGILITY carried the reptilian predator around the corner sharply. from the scaled back of the other, bo carved down a well-known path. they pulled back just as they shot out of an alleyway, wings splayed like sails to slow there ahead of them. its SCARY FACE glared, eyes aglow and black wisps curling menacingly.

faelan foxgrove

☉

The Aerodactyl cry was going to be in his nightmares until the end of time.

It was like a scene from a bad Jurassic World film-- all it was missing was a Jimmy Buffett cameo. Fox sprinted down an alley to a side street and cut right, then left. The Aerodactyl was hot on his tail, slicing vertically through the air like a blade.

This would actually be a great lesson on nomenclature he thought unhelpfully as his chest began to burn.

He didn’t want to look over his shoulder because he was afraid of what he’d see. Few sights could drive more fear into a man than that of an angry, rampaging dinosaur. He was, in fact, so focused on the one behind him he forgot about the other one--

“FUCK!”

The scary face was right in front of his face. He startled back, windmilling his arms, skidding on the wet asphalt as his feet went forward and his upper body went backwards. He landed flat on his ass, wind rushing out of him with an audible whoosh. His knees pulled up and he went half-fetal as stars crossed his vision.

As the stars began to clear, the Aerodactyl faces took up most of his vision.

Fox began to laugh.

boruta maher
narrator voice: he should not have felt confident

☉

the aerodactyl’s scary face faded as they lowered to the ground. the other joined them on the other side again, prepared to make quick work of the chase should it pick back up.

what was this guy laughing about?

bo stared, plenty of words on his mind about the actions taken, but with all that was going on in hoenn, barking politics at people felt like the wrong thing to spend his energy on. instead, he swung off the aerodactyl, landing on the ground and started over.

”please don’t run. i don’t wanna do this all night, and you’ll run out of energy before they will.”

his aerodactyl eyed faelan from over the captain’s shoulder, as handcuffs came off his belt.

faelan foxgrove

☉

Fox laughed so hard tears began to prick at his eyelids. Or maybe those were just stars, remnants from hitting his head so hard.

“Aye,” he wheezes, “that I will.”

He peels his upper body off the stone, stiff and sore and liable to bruise purple all up his backside.

“What’s next, cappy,” he asked, a question that wasn’t really a question, a loll of his tight neck, “the jailhouse, or do y’ just skip straight to throwing me off y’r dragon into the sea?”

How deep does your corruption lie, is what he’s asking. Kanto, born and raised.

boruta maher
narrator voice: he should not have felt confident

☉

weird.

“um, that’s not a dragon. but i might throw you off of it, yeah.” if only. it was really too late for this kind of nonsense. why was this guy laughing so hard? probably a question for the real cops.

he rounded the suspect, hands going out to pull his arms back and lock his wrists behind him. bo moved with a casualness that spoke of his faith in the aerodactyl nearby.

”what’s your name?”

faelan foxgrove

☉

His arrestor looks vaguely confused. Fox imagines he chances a scant glance towards his Aerodactyl as though to confirm it is not, in fact, a dragon-- though that may just be a trick of the light and his own preening.

“Dragon, flying dinosaur,” he supplies, hoisted up and arms bent, “‘stoo late t’care about semantics.”

Despite the Ranger’s willingness to admit he might toss Fox into the open air, he doesn’t seem the type. Not really. By force of habit, he tests his cuffs. Not that he’s going anywhere, really.

“What would you like my name t' be?” he asks, grin sharp in the dark.

boruta maher

☉

”oh, so we agree on something.”

it was indeed too late—for anything. for introductions, for humor, for chasing someone down who did not sympathize with the plight of the hungry in a struggling region.

”don’t really care, to be honest. if you told me your name was lord nincompoop, king of the boneheads, you’d still be under arrest.”

the sharp grin wasn’t returned, slapped down by the disenchanted, tired look on the captain’s face as he rounded to the back of nameless suspect number one. once cuffed, he put a hand on his shoulder to lead him to the flying dinosaur that awaited.

"let's go."

faelan foxgrove

☉

“Ah, so I’m a lord, now, am I?”

Fox had never made anything easier on anyone involved in the government in his life, and he certainly wasn’t about to start now.

“How exalted.”

He went when led, not keen to be chased down by a living fossil again. But he was also after information. If you’d had asked him if getting arrested was part of his plan, he’d have said yes.

Because, after all, plans change.

“What’s wi' th' giant bubble dome?” he asked, turning so he could heft his backside up on the Aerodactyl, like a princess riding side saddle. “Is that tae protect against th' big fuck off rock?”

boruta maher

☉

bo sighed deeply, hand firm on his shoulder until they had boarded the aerodactyl.

”big fuck off rock...”

he shook his head, pointing up to the sky above.

”pretty sure it’s gonna come straight through that hole up there. it’s just big enough to fit the meteor.” a glance was thrown back over his shoulder. ”so basically, we’re all dead if the primal points fail, and we can probably bet that barrier’s to make sure it stays that way.”

a whistle, and they were going a few paces before taking off into the air.

”you must’ve not been here very long. welcome to the apocalypse, nincompoop. maybe the concrete walls of jail will keep you safe.”

faelan foxgrove

☉

Ah. So Hoenn’s powers that were-- powers that signed this man’s paycheck, most definitely-- didn’t know what to do about the dome, either.

“How disappointing,” Fox sighed, leaning forward to peer over the Aerodactyl’s pale lavender shoulder.

Nincompoop. Fox laughs-- a dry, giggle-like sound.

“I am not known,” he said, measured despite the dire knowledge his captor had just laid at his feet, “for my timing, all the time.” There’s a lilt of humor in it.

And his smile was easy, in the way of those thrown into an unavoidable fate they no longer wish to fight against.

boruta maher

☉