one of the first things alia discovered about herself after her arrival in hoenn is the way the ocean had a magnetic pull on her. no matter which city she traveled to, she sought for the beach, heart seeking to envelope itself in the gentle lull of the tides. it didn't fully come as a surprise; she has always loved being by the water, having found solace at her local lake since she was a young child. visiting the sea was an impossible treat, however, and now it was one she allows herself to indulge in often. [break][break]

she's visiting slateport beach today. she must admit, her hopes weren't incredibly high for this location, being so close to the bustling city. and she was right for playing it safe. as alia maneuvers closer to the shoreline, she begins spending more time dodging the bits of trash that had made a home in the sandy pits than admiring the view in front of her. it was frustrating, to say the least, both from a personal and moral perspective.[break][break]

as alia daintily steps her way around the contaminated grounds, she bumps into the older volunteer as well. when he offers her a trash bag and tongs, she takes it without hesitation. might as well, now that she was here. she is pretty good at multi-tasking, if she does say so herself.[break][break]

the tides occasionally kiss her feet as she works her way across the shores, pausing every now and then to take in the sunset that was slowly filling the skies. the young woman had nearly a quarter of a bag full of trash when she cross paths with the other volunteer.[break][break]

alia makes eye contact, instinctively breaking into a polite smile and nod. the area around them was particularly littered, so instead of moving past the man immediately she stays. realizing it may be slightly awkward working in the same space without any form of other acknowledgment, she parts her mouth to speak. "spending your evening cleaning the beach too, huh? don't know about you, but i can't imagine a better way to spend the night." alia says cheekily as she leans down to pluck a plastic bottle and plop it in her bag.

[break][break]

+ ever blackwell

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

sending out the sharpedo to fetch the polluting junk was smart, and alia scolds herself for not thinking of it earlier. She reaches for a pokeball of her own, a flick of her wrist releasing a teal amphibian, who looked all too happy at the sight of the ocean. “ino, join the sharpedo in collecting some of that trash.” alia says softly, and the marshtomp nods adamantly before diving into work. [break][break]

the woman turns back to ever, indifferent to the man’s less enthusiastic demeanor. “that was a smart idea, sending out your sharpedo for all of that trash. wish i thought of that myself!” she says breezily as she leans down to resume her trash-picking. “i feel you on that. it’s especially heartbreaking as a ranger to see how little people seem to care for the environment that we are sworn to protect.” a frown creases in alia’s eyebrows, mood dampened by the thought. the earth's gifts had never failed to offer her solace during moments of crisis, and it physically rips at her heart that humans themselves were the very reason why mother nature was in a state of crisis itself. she lets the comment linger in the air for a few moments longer before shaking her head, moving on to a lighter topic. “so, what about you? What are you up to in hoenn?”

[break][break]


[break][break]

+ ever blackwell

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

alia glances at ever, surprised to hear that he was also a fellow ranger. "oh, no way. i'm in-training myself - got a couple months left to go." she says, smiling faintly. she had met many other cadets lately, but it was always nice to know more. it helped her feel less lonely as a trainee, being able to talk about their tough regimen with other people. [break][break]

at the mention of his photography side-hustle, however, alia perks up even further. brown honey orbs trail to the camera hanging across his body, and she silently scolds herself for failing to notice it earlier. what kind of ranger is she, to overlook such an obvious detail about her surroundings? [break][break]

"oh, that's so cool! i use to take photos when i was younger, but it's been a while since i've taken any." her eyes gleam as she spoke, clearly excited by the topic. her hands had stopped moving as a result, the task of beach-cleaning temporarily forgotten. "i would love to see some of your work, if you're comfortable sharing."[break][break]

+ ever blackwell [break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]