[attr="class","icon"]

The woman’s grip is firm and muscular. It seems completely at odds with the build of her frame. Her posture is stiff and perfect—a trait instilled in childhood and only driven home by the service. Lydia did not shirk. She did not have the inches to spare. At his simple greeting, she bobs her head in acknowledgment. Bright blue eyes dipped briefly to her feet. “This is Minerva.” The dog’s elegant ears give a single twitch. “She's my second in command.” [break][break]



Which was a useful thing to have, considering the menagerie she had somehow collected. Included among the troops was an irritatingly stubborn Druddigon, a ghoulish hitchhiker, and an interdimensional traveler. Fortunately, Minerva was as blue-blooded as the young woman at her side. As the pair would move to converse, her bright blue eyes would watch the proceedings—unimpressed.[break][break]



Except for the occasional twitch of an ear, the hound could be mistaken for a statue.[break][break]



The talk of injury draws Lydia’s eyes to her shoulder. “Hm.” She rolled it experimentally, the shadow of pain rising its head. “I was at Dewford.” A sigh pushed past her lips. “A Rocket operative attempted to turn me into a sieve.” A glimmer appeared in her eyes—vicious and determined. “He did not succeed.” Though the victory had been a pyrrhic one. The costs had been heavy.[break][break]



She nodded to the menus in front of them. Lydia was not one to waste time with pleasantries. “I believe you said something about a PMC.”

[attr="class","icon"]

It seems he is eager to get to the point. The blonde’s eyes darted immediately to the glossy paper of the brochure. Baby blues quickly scan its texts and photographs. It appears much of the work has already been done. But fancy marketing would not give a company a soul. As a former recruit, she knew better than to believe everything on the tin. Jobs such as hers required not only sacrificing one’s body but one’s soul as well. [break][break]


The woman's lips would purse as he mentions his partner’s name. At her feet, Minerva’s tail gave a singular wag. She knew that name. Somehow, the sip from her smoothie felt almost jaded. As if the mentioning of that Kalosian noble was an insult. “I see.” The explanation was met with a single nod. “I take it this interview is Thomas’s doing?” In Kalosian fashion, the ‘s’ vanished from his name. A hint of bitterness coated her words.[break][break]


Still, even if her cousin’s interference felt chiding, the woman possessed some interest in the position. It would be better than cobbling together an existence through a dozen different odd jobs. It would allow her to put her military skills to use—something so rarely warranted in the civilian world.[break][break]


“I joined the military immediately following high school graduation—” It was what her father had done before her and his father before him. While her father’s time ended in disgrace, she did not think hers would be the same. Though her siblings were the definition of a silver spoon—believing themselves above service—Lydia had been proud to carry on her family’s reputation. “I quickly attained officer status.” A task many blamed on her sex and size. “--I was then transferred to Kanto.” For a moment, her gaze darkened. A thousand memories surged to the forefront, the horrors of each more poignant to the last. “My service period ended shortly after the conflict.”
[break][break]

Then, she had been lured here. What Arceus intended for her in this broken land was still unknown. Perhaps this conversation would be her first step toward a more purposeful existence.
[break][break]

“I am curious about your experience, however.” Hers was a matter of public record. The man before her, meanwhile, had led a strange life. He had gone from idol to star trainer to military company owner. “This career change seems rather…abrupt.”

[attr="class","icon"]

It seems he is eager to get to the point. The blonde’s eyes darted immediately to the glossy paper of the brochure. Baby blues quickly scan its texts and photographs. It appears much of the work has already been done. But fancy marketing would not give a company a soul. As a former recruit, she knew better than to believe everything on the tin. Jobs such as hers required not only sacrificing one’s body but one’s soul as well. [break][break]


The woman's lips would purse as he mentions his partner’s name. At her feet, Minerva’s tail gave a singular wag. She knew that name. Somehow, the sip from her smoothie felt almost jaded. As if the mentioning of that Kalosian noble was an insult. “I see.” The explanation was met with a single nod. “I take it this interview is Thomas’s doing?” In Kalosian fashion, the ‘s’ vanished from his name. A hint of bitterness coated her words.[break][break]


Still, even if her cousin’s interference felt chiding, the woman possessed some interest in the position. It would be better than cobbling together an existence through a dozen different odd jobs. It would allow her to put her military skills to use—something so rarely warranted in the civilian world.[break][break]


“I joined the military immediately following high school graduation—” It was what her father had done before her and his father before him. While her father’s time ended in disgrace, she did not think hers would be the same. Though her siblings were the definition of a silver spoon—believing themselves above service—Lydia had been proud to carry on her family’s reputation. “I quickly attained officer status.” A task many blamed on her sex and size. “--I was then transferred to Kanto.” For a moment, her gaze darkened. A thousand memories surged to the forefront, the horrors of each more poignant to the last. “My service period ended shortly after the conflict.”
[break][break]

Then, she had been lured here. What Arceus intended for her in this broken land was still unknown. Perhaps this conversation would be her first step toward a more purposeful existence.
[break][break]

“I am curious about your experience, however.” Hers was a matter of public record. The man before her, meanwhile, had led a strange life. He had gone from idol to star trainer to military company owner. “This career change seems rather…abrupt.”

[attr="class","icon"]

When she finished, Lydia folded her arms in front of her on the table. Her fingers—pockmarked with fencing and powder scars—interlaced in front of her. Waiting a moment after he finished, the blonde took a moment to collect her thoughts. At least he does not shy from conflict. Good. Knowing it was the feature that’d lost her jobs in the past, Lydia waded in with her typical brusque manner. [break][break]


“I do.” Two words typically uttered with elation reduced to a cool neutrality. "Two, in fact."[break][break]

First, the one that had stained the air with bitterness. “Thomas Benoit is my cousin. His mother and my (adoptive) mother are sisters.” She could not stop a smile from creeping onto her lips for a brief moment. The elder man had never been unkind to her, unlike the cousins. He did not erroneously slur her with terms like bastard and peasant. “I did not want my consideration to be simple nepotism—a bone thrown to a pitiable dog.” She did not need pity and bristled at any attempts to give it. For those to come from a man she admired would be an even bitterer pill to swallow. “Fortunately, that issue has been remedied.”[break][break]

After all—now that she tjought about it—Thomas was not the type to suggest reaching out over a dating app.[break][break]


“The other source of my reluctance is your motivation.” Typically, companies like this were ran by soldiers for soldiers. While wealthy people were involved, they were not typically dealing with the day-to-day. From her research, this man was a showman—a champion battler and a musician. Though he’d faced combat, it did not seem to have been his goal. “Why do you want to open this company, Mister Young? What is in it for you?” She had her chain jerked around enough by people who claimed to care to just toss her hat in the ring with an anomaly.[break][break]


And, if it was about money, she would walk. There were more moral, less dangerous ways to fill one’s bank account.[break][break]


Her own motivation was something primal. An urge to feed a beast that’d awakened in Kanto and had not quieted since.

[attr="class","icon"]

The blonde stared across the table at the musician. Blue eyes were slightly irritated—tired of being ignored. A hint of an accent crept into her words. “I would not be here if I was not interested, Mister Young.” She did not believe in wasting the time of others. In her church, doing so purposely was seen as a sin. It was merely another form of theft.[break][break]

And, Lydia Magnusson did not steal.[break][break]

She adjusted her position, so she was seated more firmly against the back of her chair. She channeled her aunt’s noble demeanor. “But I will not accept a position where I am denied basic answers.” Her time in the military showed her the importance of properly exploring the opportunities It meant presented to her. It meant digging beyond the surface to find whatever secrets festered and slithered beneath. “A job opportunity must be a fit on both sides.” Which, for her, meant it must be moral.
[break][break]
Interviews were a two-way street, and she currently felt like she was stuck in front of a suspiciously shaped stop sign.