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POSTED ON Dec 1, 2023 22:11:34 GMT

Clack. Clack. Clack. Howard's boots tapped against the floor of the Team Rocket submarine as he stood in Cillian Quinn's office. Being here made Howard feel like he was minutes away from execution.

Howard had formally met Cillian only once, and that had been a disaster that involved a Roto-TV, screaming, and shadow rabies. Not a good first impression for the Underboss to get of Howard Slayte. Now that Howard was an Admin, he was expected to hold himself at a higher level than the average grunt.

What a shame it was. First impressions were difficult to scrub out. Especially if they reeked of ineptitude.

"Hm..." Howard held a clipboard of papers regarding information of Team Rocket's financials, and the state of their supplies. They'd impact what the organization bought, stole, and sold moving forward. He wished there was a more efficient way to sort through this information.

His eye flicked to Cillian's secretary, who had been staring at him for the past several seconds.

Howard needed a secretary. Man.

"Sorry." Howard said after several seconds. "I have an appointment with Underboss Quinn?"

He had almost said 'execution' instead of 'appointment'. This was already going well.

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 19:39:56 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","twtgm"]

[attr="class","main"]

In contrast to the imposing door it guards, the small office of Cillian's secretary is almost warm. He's decorated for the holidays, a tiny spruce tree strung up with multi-coloured lights adorning a desk scattered with papers. His nameplate identifies him as 'Ellis', and he does indeed stare at Howard when the man pauses silently before his desk.[break][break]

His attention shifts to a laptop screen when Howard mentions an appointment.[break][break]

"Admin Slayte?" He adopts a slightly apologetic tone, perhaps realizing that his earlier staring might've been a bit rude. "Go ahead, sir."[break][break]

The thick steel door opens like the jaws of a trap, shimmering with the remnants of a disengaged FAIRY LOCK. As soon as Howard enters, those jaws clamp shut behind him, sealing him inside. Cold metal walls close in, the space bare of personal affects. The chair bolted to the floor above a suspicious drain would hardly reassure a man certain of his impending doom... yet the room itself isn't as frigid as rumours might've led Howard to believe, and it smells of peppermint and cigarette smoke rather than blood. That, it would seem, was owed to the pot of tea laid out on the desk.[break][break]

The PRESSURE others might've spoken of is absent, too. Though Howard's anxiety might labour his breath, no outside force assists in that struggle. No red eyes glow in the window behind the underboss. Lugia isn't here.[break][break]

"Admin Slayte." Though not what could be considered warm, Cillian's tone is neither frigid nor frustrated. "Have a seat."[break][break]

He gestures not to the bolted-down chair but to a far more comfortable seat across from the desk.[break][break]

"Congratulations on your recent promotion."[break][break]

His lip twitches very slightly.

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Dec 4, 2023 7:27:54 GMT

Man, Howard thought to himself. That's such a nice spruce tree.

Maybe Howard should get one for his own office. He was still moving in, after all. There was still time to move everything around. Nothing was set in stone, after all. Maybe he'd take some insight from Cillan. The Underboss had a large amount of authority, and his choice in housing was impeccable.

"Thank you, Ellis." Howard nodded to the secretary as he walked into Cillian's office.

Correction: he walked into Cillian's prison cell masquerading as an office. Cillian must've done something heinous to offend Declan Walsh, otherwise he wouldn't have been confined to such a blank, empty room. Howard's eye wandered the office, lips tight, before finally ending on Underboss Quinn.

"Underboss Quinn." Howard bowed his head slightly. He was a recent hire, and still wasn't used to having to order people around. He was glad that some things didn't change, even if that meant that Howard only had to directly follow the orders of four people within Team Rocket.

Sometimes, it was simply best to be led. Tucking his papers under his arm, Howard walked forward and took a seat. The peppermint smell grew slightly stronger.

"Thank you." Howard sat. "Comfortable seat. You choose your furniture well."

Excellent conversation starter. This must've been why Howard had been promoted. Declan Walsh needed someone to be publicly flogged for disrespecting Cillian Quinn. Howard's eye flicked to Cillian's twitching lip.

"Does my promotion amuse you?" Howard cocked his head. "I suppose it must, given I ran away from your house. Thanks for not killing me for that, by the way."

Cillian Quinn

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POSTED ON Dec 8, 2023 2:49:53 GMT

Tempest Quinn likes this

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Christmas lights wink merrily at Howard, disarming him before he steps into the frigid prison of Underboss Quinn.[break][break]

Perhaps surprisingly, Cillian laughs when Howard compliments his decor. It's a warm sound, with the gravel of decades of smoking giving it a roughened edge.[break][break]

"I do my best."[break][break]

A subtle confirmation that the choice was his, and his alone. Every aspect chosen for a reason, from the bolted-down chair to the lack of personal effects, and even to the chill that ordinarily pervaded the space. It's warmer, today, and that too is for a reason.[break][break]

"Not your promotion, no." But Cillian doesn't elaborate. "Mm. It was far more amusing to watch you scramble down the steps in terror. Besides, I wouldn't want to deprive my husband of his friends."[break][break]

Tempest Quinn had no shortage of them, but it was rare they were invited to their home. That made Howard special enough, even if Cillian couldn't yet fathom why.[break][break]

"Tea?" he offers, and smirks. "Not poisoned, I promise."[break][break]

He takes a sip of his own, feels its warmth scald his throat.

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Dec 9, 2023 9:59:57 GMT

Cillian Quinn laughing made Howard cock his head and frown. The Admin wasn't even sure that the Underboss could make that noise. He always imagined Cillian as maniacally laughing as Howard was publicly flogged in the middle of Sootopolis.

"Sure, I'll take some tea." Howard's eye flicked towards the cup, as if expecting it to explode. "If you have sugar, I'll take some as well. I'm used to drinking coffee."

University had killed Howard's taste buds. The only way that he could survive scarfing down so much coffee was by sweetening it to the point of tasteless sweetness. Howard tapped his hand against his seat thoughtfully as he stared at the Underboss. What did this mean, then? Why had Cillian summoned him here? At least his friendship with Temp was saving him.

He'd have to buy the Rocket Beast a new Relicanth plushie sometime.

"Since I'm not being congratulated by the illustrious Cillian Quinn, how can I help you? Am I in trouble?"

Cillian Quinn

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POSTED ON Dec 11, 2023 6:50:33 GMT

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The teacup, thankfully, does not explode if and when Howard reaches for it. Cillian leans forward to turn the vessel for sugar so that it properly faced Howard, instead of the underboss himself.[break][break]

"Help yourself. I'd offer coffee, but I grew up in Galar. Old habits."[break][break]

Indeed, this tea was imported from the region of his birth. It was one of the rare things about Galar that brought comfort. The food, the tea, and the chill of winter. Nothing from the people who'd surrounded him, then.[break][break]

Cillian tilts his head. "I did congratulate you."[break][break]

It had been genuine, even if his amusement had led to some confusion. Really, he'd just been picturing Howard's panic as he Looney-Tunes'd his way out of Cillian's house. That had been their last interaction prior.[break][break]

He shakes his head, as if to dismiss the thought.[break][break]

"You've noticed the unusual snow, I take it." It was hard to miss. Hoenn was scrambling to deal with weather their infrastructure wasn't designed to deal with. Thankfully, previous alien snowfall had prepared them somewhat. "Have you also heard of what it's unearthed?"

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Dec 11, 2023 10:10:13 GMT

"You did congratulate me. Please ignore my rambling, Underboss Quinn. I'm simply nervous and you're, you know... authorative."

Man, he was really fucking this up, wasn't he? Howard was not winning the most points in the Underboss Quinn Reward Program. Howard didn't know much about Cillian Quinn. The man was an enigma. Yet he was Tempest Quinn's enigma. Howard had to accept that, if he didn't want to get fed to Lugia.

"You're Galarian? What city?" Howard asked, amused as he held his teacup. Sugar was mixed into the drink, and the tea changed color slightly. Howard's expression was distorted in the reflection of the beverage, a solemn mockery of Howard Slayte. "I spent some time in Turffield, studying the strange patterns there."

Galar. Unova. Sinnoh. Howard had trekked the world on his journey to study archaeology. There was hardly a region that he hadn't visited.

"I have seen the strange snow, but I don't know what it means. Humor me." Clink. Howard set the cup down. "What has it unearthed?"

Hopefully not a shallow grave with Howard's name on it.

Cillian Quinn

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Dec 14, 2023 13:04:22 GMT

[nospaces]

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A rich laugh once more warms the frigid space.[break][break]

"No offense taken."[break][break]

He takes another sip of his tea, and allows himself to reminisce.[break][break]

"Circhester." A pause. "I've never been to Turrfield, but we relied on them for deliveries of food. With Circhester being miserable, and all." His lip twitches. His expression seems almost fond.[break][break]

He sets his cup down when Howard does. Now, he seems almost excited.
[break][break]
"Fossils." Though not the most common of knowledge, those rare few who'd been to Cillian's home couldn't escape his love of paleontology. There were displays in the living room, pictures in the halls. "And you know what that means, I'm sure."[break][break]

Wherever there were fossils, there was a potential for all kinds of archaeological wonder.[break][break]

"The Rangers are cordoning off the sites," he says with dismissive derision, "but that's hardly going to stop me."

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Dec 14, 2023 21:09:30 GMT

"Ah." That made sense. If Howard wasn't stressed by being in Cillian's presence, he would've likely made the connection himself. If fossils were being uncovered, Howard would have to send out smugglers and thieves to excavate them and spirit them away to Team Rocket's safe houses to be sold at auction.

Alternatively, they could be sold to the museums in Slateport for a pretty penny. It was always best to support honest institutions, from time to time.

Maybe he could even lead a few excavations himself? Now that he was promoted, it'd be difficult to find time to go out and excavate fossils. That was his passion. He had jointed Team Rocket to keep doing that, had he not? After all, he-

"Underboss Quinn?" Howard stopped and stared at him. The guise of fear was dropped, and a coat of intrigue was donned in its place. It was like the archaeologist was seeing Cillian for the first time. "You hunt fossils?"

There were a lot of interesting items in Cillian's house. Howard had noticed them, but they had quickly slipped his mind in the chaos that was the Brycen-Man marathon. It didn't help that his bank account had gotten mauled by a RotoTV, and Howard had gotten mauled by Cillian and Temp's menagerie.

"I suppose, then..." Howard said casually, leaning forward. "That breaking into these sites would require an... extra archaeologist. It's only traditional for excavation teams to have multiple. We wouldn't want to break protocol, no? That would be..."

Howard's eye gleamed.

"Wrong."

Cillian Quinn

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POSTED ON Dec 17, 2023 13:01:06 GMT

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Cillian tilts his head.[break][break]

"Did you not know?" He sighs, wistful. "I suppose that information has fallen to the wayside in lieu of my other duties." He speaks of torture and murder as if it were a simple office job. "But, yes, I do. I studied paleontology in university."[break][break]

With this, a glimpse of what Cillian Quinn might've been without Rocket. A scientist, perhaps even a respected one.[break][break]

Howard's next insinuation actually sees him smile, for once not a gesture meant to unsettle. It widens briefly to a grin, exposing sharp white canines before he shifts back to his natural stoicism.[break][break]

"Why do you think you're here?" It was not, as Howard had feared, for anything negative. "I know precious few others in our line of work that practice the trade."[break][break]

He'd ask if Howard was interested, but that answer was clear enough.[break][break]

"How are you in a fight? The Rangers may catch wind."

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POSTED ON Dec 20, 2023 10:30:24 GMT

"It never came up. We don't often work together, outside me breaking out of your house."

The self-deprecating jab is shrugged off with a chuckle and a wave. If Cillian hunted fossils, then this changed everything. There was someone in Rocket that Howard could actively discuss fossils and archaeologist with. If that was the case, Howard would break through the hundreds of locks on Cillian's door any day of the week.

They might've even been colleagues outside of Rocket. Another world, another time. Rocket had little care for the stories that passions told, only for the results that they could yield.

That was heartless, true, yet that too was for the Glory of Rocket.

"I'm mediocre in a fight. My Pokémon are capable, though I am not." Howard admitted with minimal guilt. "Your husband did most of the fighting for me while we were out on the field."

If by 'out in the field', Howard meant 'storming a department store for jewels', that is.

"Where did you study?" Howard asked politely with a smile. His was a genial grin. Howard smiled openly and freely around grunts, Admins, and Underbosses alike. He gave the gift of grinning freely.

Cillian Quinn

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the Harbinger

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Dec 20, 2023 11:56:34 GMT

Tempest Quinn likes this

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"Indeed. At least you weren't breaking in. We'd be having a far different conversation, then."[break][break]

Amusement kindles deep in his golden stare. In truth, there wouldn't have been a conversation at all. If Howard had somehow managed to survive the horde of canines that would set upon him the moment he tripped the alarm, he'd have met his end with a bullet to the brain.[break][break]

But that wasn't very funny, so Cillian leans into the humour of it all. To lighten the mood, in his own way.[break][break]

Clearly, this was not a man who often lightened moods.[break][break]

A nod, unbothered, follows Howard's admission of mediocrity. Not all operatives were trained in hand-to-hand. Rocket had been smaller back in Kanto, and they'd been in the middle of a war. The skills that had been forced upon him were practically luxuries, now.[break][break]

Thoughts of Kanto melt away with the warmth of a smile when Tempest Quinn is mentioned.[break][break]

"He's good like that." The lines around Cillian's eyes crinkle. Temp was a stalwart defender for anyone he cared about, regardless of their capability. He'd defend Cillian just as fierce as Howard, and Cil loved him for it.[break][break]

"Got my degree in Hammerlocke." Circhester had a university of its own, but Cillian had studied in the capital mostly to get some distance from his family. Yet, "Came back home to Circhester for post-grad, but I wasn't there long."[break][break]

His tone hardens with a bitterness against his own volition, old scars showing through. As quick as it surfaces, it's gone, and he's pressing on as if it hadn't happened at all.[break][break]

"Finished my PhD in Kanto. What about you?"

[break][break]

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POSTED ON Dec 20, 2023 21:36:27 GMT

"Rustboro. Go Rockruffs."

Howard had visited Hammerlocke's campus during his travels. Like most places in Galar, it was larger than life. From his experience, it was a cultural quirk that had blended together with the region's natural ability to support the Dynamax phenomenon. Cultures often blended with the tools given to them, akin to how Alola revered z-moves.

It was an interesting discussion to have, but Howard silently shelved it for later times. He could only stumble so many times in front of Cillian before his shame outweighed his will to live.

"On to Castelia for a spell, I studied at Nimbasa as well to explore Unova's Desert Resort. Ran to Sinnoh for an expedition, up near Snowpoint. Came back to Rustboro to get my for my doctorates. Been everywhere, mostly, before you all scooped me up."

Instead of traveling the world, he was here in Rocket, pushing paperwork and embezzling funding. It wasn't the career he had expected to get, but as long as he could follow his passion, it didn't really matter. He'd just silently grumble as he did his job, dancing around Cillian in the hope that the Underboss didn't sharply question him.

A silent note was made to avoid making Cillian mad. "Temp's a good man." Howard agreed.

"Kanto? I always wanted to study at Pewter. Could never afford the out-of-region tuition. Kanto got sticky after the war, and their fees were fucked."

Ah, the cost of war.

"Since you have a passion for fossils, I'm honor-bound to join you. Your position and rank notwithstanding." Howard put down his cup, empty. "I'll join you at your own convenience. You're far more busy than I."

Cillian Quinn

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the Harbinger

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Dec 24, 2023 16:26:05 GMT

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"Been to Unova a few times myself. It's all right, but not really my speed."[break][break]

He'd used Unova as his cover story, when he'd joined Rocket in his youth. It was a region he knew a fair amount from accompanying his family on business trips to the populous region, and he'd used that knowledge to scrape by undercover.[break][break]

Now that it wasn't needed, he expresses his disdain for the region without much thought.[break][break]

"Sinnoh, though, Sinnoh's lovely. Great snowboarding scene there."[break][break]

He laughs, humourless, at the mention of war.[break][break]

"Ah, this was before the war. While we were still gearing up." We. Rocket. Gearing up to bring a knife to the region's throat. "Costs weren't so bad, then, but I didn't have to pay 'em either way."[break][break]

He leaves the reasons unsaid, trusting Howard is smart enough to realise.[break][break]

He tilts his chin toward the door.[break][break]

"I'll be in touch soon. I've already talked more than I was planning to." His smile is quick, but genuine, an assurance that this was neither criticism nor regret. "Gonna make Ellis anxious if he's gotta hold up my schedule any longer."

[break][break]

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