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The gentle lull of ocean waves are a soothing lullaby to Alina’s ears as she makes her way to Slateport beach. The sea-salt tinged air grows stronger on the edge of her tongue as she moves closer to shore, and it was a dearly missed sensation. The ranger takes in a deep breath, a soft smile blooming across her features. It smells like home.[break][break]

Where sea meets land has always been her comfort zone, but since arriving at Hoenn, she hasn’t had a chance to seek out a similar haven. Ranger life hasn’t been easy to adjust to, often pushing her to the extreme with the long training hours, and sometimes she just wished that she had the luxury to spend an entire evening watching the sun tenderly kiss the sky goodnight.[break][break]

Needless to say, it felt like the universe was finally aligning with her when she was asked to escort the recent clutch of baby tirtougas home safely. Not only was she killing two wingulls with one stone, but maybe for the first time in a while, she’d feel less like a failure. After all, this was what she did best - guiding others back to where they belonged. Not scaling cliffs that threatened to collapse from erosion, or riding pokemon that could break her neck if they so pleased.[break][break]

At least, she assumed it would be smooth-sailing. Just as she recognized the hints of home, the youngest member of her team recognized them as well. The young totodile had abruptly bolted towards the shore, leaving a flustered Alina behind. Despite getting acquainted with the pokemon over the last couple of months, he was still one of the many wild cards lately that Alina couldn’t quite grasp. She hoped this trip to the ocean would relieve some of his overabundant energy, but considering that everything was either food or foe to the adolescent, this was starting to seem like a poor idea.[break][break]

“Ronan!” She called out, picking up her pace to chase after him. So much for relaxing! A million scenarios buzzed in her head as she frantically searched for the blue reptile. When her feet finally reaches sand, she makes out two blurry figures, only one of them the one she was hunting for.[break][break]

Alina makes out an older man as she reaches the pair, and her heart drops as she swiftly puts two and two together. “Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry,” Alina said, clearly flustered. Although she hasn’t previously crossed paths with her assigned partner, she was given his basic description before she left. And of course, she (or her totodile) hit jackpot.[break][break]

“I hope he didn’t bother you - or the Tirtougas, for that matter.” She says as the Totodile started dive bombing into the sand, snout eagerly sniffing out his next meal as he sprays thick sand in his vicinity. Alina lightly nudges him away with her foot, scrambling to appear more collected in front of the older ranger. “I’m Alina - you must be Nicholas? I’m, um, the other ranger that was assigned to escort the Tirtougas back to sea.” [break][break]

Yup. There goes her first impression. [break][break]

Ronan, stumbling from his spot and landing on his bottom, glares at his trainer, venom burning in his gaze. What did she think she was doing?! He wouldn’t stop her from indulging in a seafood buffet![break]

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nick looks up from where he kneels in the sand to see the stranger - alina - jogging towards him, a worried expression painted across her features. beside her is a wild-eyed totodile, energetic and more than a little fierce. the baby tirtouga in nick's hand flinches at the sight of the predator, instinctive fear filling its tiny heart.[break][break]

"no, no, he didn't bother me or them. not really," nick says quietly, as reassuringly as he can manage. he's aware of how his voice tends to convey less warmth than he means it to, but he tries anyway.[break][break]

it's difficult, sometimes, to remember that he was once more like her. young, eager, and less certain than he wanted to be. now, when he looks at her, he doesn't see his own youth. he only feels the heavy weight of the years that separate them.[break][break]

nick stands, brushing sand from his knees. he watches her for a moment, noting the anxiety written in the tight lines of her shoulders, the uncertain set of her mouth. it's not an expression he recognizes from his own face, but he knows it well enough from others. he's seen it often enough on the faces of young doctors, fresh from university and thrust headfirst into a world they weren't prepared for. nick remembers, dimly, what it felt like to be so wholly out of his depth.[break][break]

"i'm nick," he says, after a beat.[break][break]

"if you want to help the baby tirtouga into the sea," he tells her, voice low, "they're there, by the dunes. it's hard to say why, but they seem to prefer climbing over sand."[break][break]

he begins to move, slow and careful, to keep his balance on the shifting sand.[break][break]

"i hope the sea is good to them," he says softly, wistfully. "they deserve it."

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