[attr="class","gavin"]

Gavin is in a foul mood when he gets the briefing: clean up after another's mess, make sure the witnesses were silenced one way or another. That's the word that gets under his skin. Witnesses. What kind of half-brained fooled left witnesses?

He'd been in the middle of his work when he'd been interrupted. He's relieved, at least, to find he's been placed with a competent partner.

His brows arch at the given name.

Thing is, he respects her intelligence enough to assume that she hasn't forgotten. She's messing with him. Was it for her own amusement? Was she trying to be funny? Perhaps annoying? He isn't sure.

He shrugs it off. "Isra."

The flames are reflected in his glasses as he turns his head to the start of the destruction, spotting a Chandelure already hard at work. Nodding, the flash of red light from a pokeball is mostly swallowed by the flames. His Emboar emerges, hitting the ground with a distinct thud. It appeared the experiments he'd performed in order to rapidly progress her evolution had no immediate ill effect; she is healthy and eager, smacking her large fists together as she looks at him expectantly.

"When the two of you are done," he says, gesturing vaguely toward the ghostly chandelier, "I want nothing left of this building."

As his Pokemon turns to do his bidding, a flamethrower erupting from her open maw, he tilts his head and glances at Isra.

"I was mid-experiment when I got the call," he says, by way of explaining his late arrival. "Have you found any sign of the witnesses?"

---

notes:

~

[attr="class","isratalk"]

She catches the arch of his brows and can't help but chuckle at it, covering her mouth so as not to let herself indulge too much. She has to keep that prim and proper image at least a little bit after all.

"Oh come now, have a little fun." it's a playful grin, because perhaps she thinks he should loosen up a bit. She's never been much for those that keep themselves too tightly restrained and she liked the looks on his face last time around much better anyway. It's so rare to see people so willing to indulge themselves like that outside of her sect. Too often people are more talk than action.

She doesn't linger on the subject however, shifting to the fact that business is business and this time around it's rather important to be timely. 'No, not yet, snooped around the warehouse a little bit. Looks like someone fucked up a deal." not even one with anything major either, just small time street crime. Pathetic.

"My psychics are sweeping the area and my noivern will let me know if she sees anything from the rooftops." or might take care of the problem and drag them back to the warehouse eventually. The pokemon proves a ruthless predator that suites her fancy just fine.

For a moment she's quiet, recounting the information she'd already been fed on the matter and determining what else may be pertinent. "I believe the individual responsible for this mess said they live in the nearby residential, may be worthwhile to pay them a visit there if we can't find them here." it'd be quite the treat actually.

And while they speak Vivienne seems to be having a field day, finding old and rotting wood to set ablaze as she scurries about the abandoned building, ensuring there will be little to nothing left of it when they are done. The pokemon seems overzealous even, perhaps because she knows what comes next.

Isra is eager to leave their witnesses in a room alone with the pokemon.

Cillian Quinn

[attr="class","gavin"]

Hazel eyes go to the building, watch as flames lick up the sides and fill the air with the scent of smoke and the sound of crackling wood.

"Perhaps they'll let us have a little fun with the idiot who caused this."

There's derision in his tone, and he's only half-joking. He thinks it would bring him some pleasure to wring that wretch's neck.

He sighs, irate. A botched deal and he was dragged from the comfort of his laboratory to the middle of nowhere to solve someone else's problem.

He sends his Crobat into the skies, the four-winged bat flying in complete silence. Another pokeball finds itself in the palm of Gavin's hand, and his scowl turns into a sly smirk.

"Ah, I brought a friend."

Alcremie cowers when she's released from her ball. Though clearly uncomfortable in her new position on Gavin's team, she dares not show any form of defiance. Perhaps it's the shadow of the Crobat that keeps her in check, the memory of its poisonous fangs and the pain of its bite.

---

notes:
had to give alcremie her cameo >)

[attr="class","isratalk"]

"I have a feeling they have a plan for them." after all the organization had been rewriting itself these past months, at least that's what she could gather form the others she had spoken with while trying to get a feel for the state the group was in.

Isra is quickly derailed from the topic the moment he releases the alcremie that they had stolen from the shopkeep. "They let you keep it?" how cute and entirely ridiculous it was up close! Isra moved closer to get a better look at it, the pokemon made for quite the contrast to their fiery backdrop. The other pokemon having a field day finding every last splinter to burn to the ground and it wouldn't take much to make the authorities think it was a hoodlum doing something stupid that caused it either.

The woman crouches, perching precariously on her heels as she looks at the pokemon. The flow of her dress makes it settle around her and as usual, paired with the pallor of her skin it makes her look like a dolled up spectre against the night sky.

"Don't worry you'll get used to it!." Isra reaches into the bag always hanging from her shoulder and produces a generic pokemon treat, one of the many she carries on her. It's easy to see the woman is much different about pokemon than she is about people. At least genuinely.

She looks up at gavin and for a moment there are stars in her eyes because she needs to ask him the real question here. "Have you gotten any treats out of her yet?"

Look, sweets are 100% more important than setting things on fire and leaving someone a soulless husk via your pokemon for the hell of it and you know it and so does Isra.

Cillian Quinn
>>cameo well received

[attr="class","gavin"]

"I can be persuasive."

Truth be told, it hadn't taken that much convincing. They'd done the job and cowed the shopkeeper, retrieved the money as requested... the Alcremie had been extra, and he'd claimed it as collateral for agreeing to do field work.

Jobs like this, for example.

Alcremie shies away from Isra as she crouches next to it; though Isra had little to do with what she'd gone through, the Pokemon clearly recalled what part the woman had played in attacking her trainer. Gavin watches the two as Isra offered a treat and the Alcremie's expression wars between curiosity and distrust.

"Not yet," Gavin replies, as Alcremie examines the treat. She handles it as if it might explode. "I expect it will take a while before she feels safe enough for that."

There's nothing malicious in his tone, a shrug lifting his shoulders as he talks. Alcremie keeps shooting sideways glances at him or up at the sky as if fearful of senseless retribution, but neither Gavin nor Crobat react. The four-winged bat has vanished into the night.

"It won't hurt you," he informs the fairy-type, who flinches and nearly drops her treat. "Neither will I. It's because of the old man that Crobat poisoned you. But I'm protecting you, now."

---

notes:
alcremie is too fun, i love this

[attr="class","isratalk"]

Isra's reflexes are faster than they should be for someone who puts so much effort into being perfect, prim and proper. Had the alcremie dropped her treat Isra would have caught it without a second thought, ensuring she didn't lose it quite so fast. She makes a sideways glance at Gavin, not certain if she approves or disapproves.

"And if they're ever mean to you you can just come find me, I'll give him a good beating for you girl." she winks at the pokemon, it's a half jest if only because she would give him a good beating if he earned it. She doesn't see that as likely to occur though, or perhaps she hopes it doesn't in her own distorted way of seeing things. Unless he actually asked her for a fight or something but that's a different story.

There's a look on her face as if she remembers something, or perhaps realizes she allowed herself to get distracted. Still not moving away from the Alcremie yet, Isra rummages through her bag for the baggy of left behind evidence that she had collected from the warehouse before letting the pokemon set it ablaze and tosses it in Gavin's direction.

"Go ahead and take a look, I haven't inspected any of it too hard yet. Figured I would wait for you." she's skimmed over the contents but hasn't put that much thought into it. "They wanted their story confirmed but their story was vague to begin with." and to her, that's always a red flag.

"Nothing else in the warehouse was unusual, but feel free to ask any questions I should be able to answer them." her memory was impeccable, and she'd made a point to take a handful of pictures just in case she missed something too.

Cillian Quinn
>>poor alcreamie ;w;

[attr="class","gavin"]

Gavin blinks, uncertain if Isra's comment is said in jest. Would she really fight him? It's hard to imagine someone as composed as Isra throwing down like that but then again, he'd seen what she could do with that parasol.

He admires that, in a way.

Alcremie seems to be considering Isra's words with as much trust as the treat grasped between her creamy paws. Perhaps she wants to believe that the nefarious duo won't hurt her, but can't. Gavin will need to work on that. He's no stranger to building trust between himself and his Pokemon, though admittedly his Crobat and Lucario had far different introductions to him than this one.

Isra tosses him a bag, and Gavin's quick reflexes kick in to snatch it from the air. He examines the evidence with an air of disgust for the individual that was responsible for them being all the way out here.

"Do you have another?" He looks up, not to the bag of evidence but to the treat. "If we give one of them to our own, maybe she'll believe you're not trying to poison her."

Alcremie lets out a little whine, and Gavin's not entirely sure what the sound might mean, yet.

"As for this..." He makes a noise of disgust as he pulls a phone out of the bag. "I swear, this better be a burner. What kind of idiot—"

He cuts himself off with a disgruntled huff. The same sort of idiot that would cause this sort of problem to begin with, of course. His attempt to get into the phone proves fruitless due to a pin-code. "You seem to have a thing for ghosts. I don't suppose you've got a Rotom that could hack this?"

---

notes:
alcremie is too fun, i love this

[attr="class","isratalk"]

He has a point, though Isra has never bothered with such things with her own pokemon. They either trust and take or they do not and she tries again later. It's a far more lengthier route to gaining their trust but it has yet to fail her. That's not her decision however so she looks up at the sky, waiting for the circling noivern to make her rounds back to them.

"I'm afraid not." there's a hint of agitation in her tone when she answers him. "It is one of the two I most want that have eluded me." no matter how far and wide she looks, they seem to always be everywhere except where she is.

A sharp and low whistles sounds when the noivern is in range, the pokemon shifts her directions with a well practiced fluidity. With a hefty flap of its wings the pokemon descends, landing beside her trainer with a controlled thud. It pays no mind to the other pokemon, eyes squarely on Isra as she rummages through her bag. The treat is offered and initially scoffed at, huffed at, the pokemon looks at her perplexed, head tilting to the side.

Isra sighs. "I know, consider it your lucky day Sophia." it snorts again as if unsure it should but it is not because it wont\'t. Treats do not come unearned in the field, they are spoiled at home after the fact. The bat leans forward and snatches the treat from her hand delicately, devouring it with earnest before Isra changes her mind. The pokemon does not wait for further command before taking to the sky again.

"That better?" she looks to the Alcremie, though after she talks to gavin. "I assume you don't have a rotom either? I imagine it doesn't matter too much right now, one of our pokemon are bound to come across something. Sohpia may try to attack them before we get there though."

Better that than sicking her Hydreigon after them though.

Cillian Quinn
>>she's a cutie
>>And yes gavin, she would indeed throw down, she'd think it was fun

[attr="class","gavin"]

Alcremie half-melts in fright as the Noivern lands nearby, the dessert Pokemon's creamy composition liquefying under the effects of acid armour. Such cautions aren't needed, but Gavin doesn't reprimand her as if she were one of his bolder Pokemon. This one required a gentle touch and he was going to work with that, however begrudgingly.

So when the Noivern accepts the treat and flies off, Gavin gestures to his reluctant captive.

"See? Nothing wrong with it."

As Alcremie continues to ponder the sweet, albeit with more curiosity than mistrust, Gavin looks to Isra and shakes his head. "Haven't got any ghosts."

More out of disinterest than any kind of superstition or fear... though, now that he thinks about it, perhaps he should look into getting a Rotom. They were full of utility, especially with their form-changing capabilities.

"As long as she leaves them alive." He sneers, devoid of compassion for the idiots that had gotten them into this mess. Heat radiates from the warehouse as the fire grows in size, greedily devouring wood and warping metal. His Emboar throws herself at a weak point with a heated crash, and a section of wall gives way. She looks pleased with herself, slamming meaty fists together, and his cold smile turns more genuine. "Shall we go have a look for them, then?"

---

notes:
love it

[attr="class","isratalk"]

Isra tilts her head, watching the pokemon with a renewed interest again. She enjoys the concept of the acid armor that glosses over her creamy surface. It has a variety of applications she thinks and the alcremie seems a bit more interesting a pokemon now than it was before. She keeps her thoughts to herself though, better to save them for later. "Go on now."

"You should work on that, you never know when you'll need one." she grins, her own are perpetually lurking around and waiting and most never even realize it, a well deserved perk of such pokemon.

The crash of the wood and metal of the warehouse pulls her away for a moment, eyes searching for her own pokemon who seems to be dancing amongst the flames with earnest. The chandelure reluctantly leaves the warmth of the burning building as she realizes the talking humans may have bigger plans than just this, her sway is hypnotic when she stands still. Isra makes a point not to look directly at the pokemon, turning back to gavin.

"Imp will keep her from doing too much before we get there. Until then we might as well follow." When isra straightens herself she makes a point to dust off the front of her dress, smoothing the crinkles out before they can get moving.

Fingers snap and her heels click against the ground as she walks, pokemon in tow without question. She moves in the direction her noivern had gone, quite certain she has circled the area more than once and believing it to be where they'll find their marks.

Cillian Quinn
>>gavin asked her for a rotom in this thread and then evan got spawned one in his solo
>>pretty sure the rng gods are taunting me :|

[attr="class","gavin"]

With Isra's prompting, and the reassurance from watching the Noivern that the treat wasn't going to poison her, Alcremie shoots one last nervous look at Gavin before nibbling at the edge of the sweet.

There's a brief pause — Alcremie chews, Gavin stares, the wood of the burning warehouse crackles menacingly — before the fairy-type relaxes and downs the rest of the sweet with a certain shyness. She keeps looking at Gavin, who simply nods, unsure of how else to handle the situation. This was progress, he supposed?

"They certainly have their uses."

He might not be scared of ghosts, but the feeling he gets upon glancing toward the Chandelure makes him nothing less than uneasy. It's almost like he wants to keep looking at it, regardless of his own disinterest in the species... yes, there was definitely something off there.

He looks away, forcibly maintaining composure.

Emboar and Alcremie are returned to their pokeballs, Gavin's Crobat circling the trainers in a wide loop as they walk. Gavin takes the opportunity to smoke a cigarette, breaking a comfortable silence only with a hacking cough midway through.

Clearing his throat, he spits and gestures up the path.

"You hear that? Either your Pokemon's found our 'problem', or something else is going on."

He rests his hand on Lucario's pokeball upon their approach, just in case.

---

notes:
omg the WORST luck

[attr="class","isratalk"]

The moment between Gavin and the relenting Alcremie is almost cute. Where Isra's adoration for humans falter's her understanding o pokemon assures her they've made a small progress tonight even if Gavin is not as reassuring as she believes he should have been. It's not her place to dictate how he handles his pokemon after all, only to criticize it quietly in the confines of her own head.

None of that really matters anyway, thy have more pressing matters to attend to after all.

Isra does her best to ignore Gavin's bad habit, but she can't help but find it a little unsightly. Evident in the grimace she tries not to let be too obvious before he speaks and she finds herself looking up at the sky again. Her Noivern no longer circles, swooping in and out of the sky as if she has found something to play with.

"Maybe both. She's playing." Isra knows the pokemon too well and as they approach they find exactly what she suspected. A man that could certainly fit their vague description they had to go off of trying to get away from the brutal toying of her noivern. Each time he thought he might make headway out of the area she had him stuck in she swoops in, screeching and scaring him in a different direction. Her banette who has been tailing the bat pokemon appears beside her, brandishing what she imagines is the mans pokeballs, easily lost to the ghost type.

Isra has to cover her mouth to keep the laughter from being too much, other wise she might make a fool of herself watching this. "Sohpia." she manages to whistle through the laughter, the bat pokemon herds the man towards them, leaving him scrambling in the dirt in front of them, her perching behind him.

"Your turn." she says, obviously needing a moment to contain her laughter. She's never taught her bat to do this and she most certainly was not prepared for it.

Cillian Quinn
>>sophia is an ass lol

[attr="class","gavin"]

Gavin watches the spectacle between man and Noivern with a cruel smirk, laughing as the poor fool scrambles toward them in an effort to escape the winged beast. It wasn't his first mistake, but it could well be his last. Gavin supposes it depends on the generosity of the higher-ups.

He can barely make out what the man is trying to say through his panicked groveling, and to be honest, Gavin doesn't care.

"I'm afraid you've seen too much, friend."

Gavin reaches for a pokeball and the man's frightened whimper lets on that he might've thought it was something worse; his relief upon seeing the red-and-white capsule is certainly diminished when a behemoth of steel emerges from her confinement.

Following a hand gesture from Gavin, the Steelix curls her body around them, forming a metallic prison. Her breathing is the rumble of a rockslide, and their witness cowers at their feet.

"Should've run the other way."

---

notes:
i love her