The ice in his voice gives her pause. Pressure rolls through her bones. The door, now opened by courtesy of the Sylveon's psychic powers, doesn't hide her as she falters. Now she understood why some looked at her with pity. Why some had laughed.

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Her younger self would have cowered, long but forgotten the pain and instructions drilled into her being. Carved into her skin. But as she was now she would face it without fear, even if her subconscious screamed caution and retreat. Danger was afoot, seen -and she dreaded as much- unseen.

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When she looks at her superior to reply, she finds his menacing scowl soften into... confusion?

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A confusion reflected when he actually calls her by name. Not a dismissive last name, but her first name. Does he know her? How?

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She has to make do with quick glances left and right, but she does not recognise the man at first glance. There's no time to properly notice the scar on his hand or the tattoo on his arm yet, otherwise she might have known who now sat before her. Caution keeps her from staring and finding her answers.

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Thus she makes assumptions. Must be one of Dmitri's dogs.

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And away melts the confusion, making way for an icy mask. Ice-colored blues dare make eye-contact with Cillian.

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"Apologies for disturbing you, sir," Calliope nods to his invitation, stepping inside and closing the door in one fell swoop without turning her back at him. Back straight and posture unyielding, ready to face his ire. "I'll make it quick. The training officers told me to seek you out in regards to training shadow pokémon. I've recently come across one but have difficulties working it."




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The sentiments are conveyed; his eyes do not betray the need to harm her at the slightest inconvenience. She knows those type of eyes all too well. But hard lessons learnt make her pick up on the silent yet.

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Accentuated by the pressure of whatever roams the waters behind the glass. This is Rocket, after all.

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The mention of Shadows however seems to light a curious little fire in the underboss. If she didn’t have his attention before she had it in full now, his voice betraying intrigue. Dare she say excitement, even.

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The shadow miasma shifts and curls. What she thought a mere flair of the dramatic seemed… alive? She stares at it briefly as the barrage of questions and information continue, and for a moment she’s lost for words.

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Just a moment.

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Calliope snaps back to attention and focuses her gaze back upon her superior. ”A Serperior. And I’m not sure where exactly. I just had this strange dream…” The silverhead hesitates briefly, as if contemplating whether to indulge in the details of said dream or not, then sighs and makes up her mind.

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”When I woke up Damo had broken out and just sat there. Aside from the discoloration she just seemed a bit more annoyed, but soon after she just. Changed.” Calliope explains, worry pinching her brow. She nods and follows Cillian when he mentions them moving elsewhere. ”She did not seem to exhibit these traits when I caught her the day before, is all I can say.”



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"They... spawn from our dreams?"

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It seems an odd thing to say, almost ludicrous, but with the things she's seen happening in Hoenn, it is yet another impossible thing that could have very well been made possible. And from what she can tell, the admin has no reason to lie to her.

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The training rooms are empty at this time of day, or maybe that's just because Cillian Quinn was here. But she does not complain that there are no prying eyes to watch her when she too takes out her pokéball, stalling only momentarily to watch as the drooling Shadow Lycanroc actually behaves around the admin. It's a strange thing for her to see a shadow so... so quiet. A stark contrast to her Damo.

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"An outlet? How?"

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The pokéball in her hand drops to the floor, bouncing back while her Serperior is released in a beam of red. It coils violently, fangs bared and venom dripping from its edges. Fierce red eyes and a black skin; the only traces that remain from its former self are the golden on its body, ears and cuff. Seeing Cillian Quinn and his Lycanroc enrages the shadow viper further. Its body tenses, but when the Rocket Grunt notices it is too late.

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Without a moment left for Calliope to react, Damo lunges for the Lycanroc's throat.




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Eyes shift back and forth between the grass viper at the werewolf's throat and the underboss beside her. There's a sense of wariness in her posture, like she's expecting him to lash out at her as well, mayhaps for the guts her Serperior has to attack one of his.
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However odd it is as the man remains seemlessly unbothered by it, much like his Shadow mon. It suffers through Damo's raging fangs like they're mere pinpricks, and retaliates with such force that the Serperior lets go immediately, coiling angrily as it tries to put out the flaming remnants dancing on its skin.

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There's a sense of pride sparkling in the Rocket's eyes at its balsy attitude, quite contradicting to the tone in which she haphazardly apologises... only to change her mond midway.

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Madness perhaps. Or opportunity.

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"If there's no apparent enemy in sight... can we fight you?" she turns to face Cillian, tearing her eyes away from her hissing Shadow viper long enough to look the underboss straight in the eyes. "I'd like to- no, I want her to go all out. See where her limits lie... so maybe I can start to understand Damo too."

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The worst she could get was a no. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Things could get way worse. But there was a little idea smouldering in the back of her mind. She just needed a spark for it to light again.



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A howl of challenge. The Serperior hissed back, but remains put.

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A good fight. A vicious fight. Calliope can feel the nervousness shaking her core when she inhales, the soft shiver she expels the oxygen in her lungs anew. This went too smoothly. But who was she to pass on granted permissions if they could aid her?

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"Okay." We got this. She nods at the shadow viper and, for the first time since she'd had the beast, Calliope lets go of the reigns barely containing Damo. "You heard the man, Damo. Let hell break loose."

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It was all Damo needed to hear. She lunges at the bloodied canine, fangs bared in an attempt to Coil around its body once more, her tail prepped to follow up with a Leaf Blade in case she were to fail.




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+ Cillian Quinn || Keep Your Shadow on a Leash [break]

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