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by now, alina's probably checked off more firsts in the last couple of weeks than she has in the last couple of years. while all of the new challenges has forced her in a constant state of fight or flight, she can't deny the tinkling feeling of accomplishment that came along with it. although she was proud of how well she ran the lighthouse, it was a different type of pride knowing that she was capable of succeeding in things outside of it. she supposed the scarcity of accomplishment was always the inevitable collateral damage of comfort and safety.[break][break]

while this may be her first night mission, alina was no stranger to night shifts. as a lightkeeper, she's had to pull the occasional night watch - nature didn't exactly accommodate to human time. in fact, tonight would probably breeze by more quickly than her previous shifts, if the task on hand indicated otherwise.[break][break]

mightyenas was not a species that the young ranger was familiar with. the closest canine Pokemon that alina had contact with back in johto was arcanine, and the scarlet hound was a much more relaxed species compared to it's grey counterpart. unfortunately, alina was not much of a fighter - she has always been taught to roll with the punches, rather than confronting conflict head-on. this tactic has worked sometimes in this new line of work, but other times like tonight, it's required her to lean into more aggressive approaches. [break][break]

alina slows down as the large oak trees begin to part, revealing a small town in its grasp. she could only imagine how easily the pokemon terrorized the townsfolk - the size of the pack could easily be half of the town's population, from the looks of it. as she closes her distance to the main clearing, a head of vibrant pink hair catches her attention. judging the way he swiftly responds to her footsteps, alina was nearly certain that this was her partner-to-be for the night. [break][break]

"hello, i'm alina." she says once she reaches talking distance, offering a soft smile. "i assume you're the other ranger that was sent to protect the townsfolk?"

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