”can’t?!”

a pause.

”old man?!”

he shook his head with a heavy sigh. he just wanted to get to the side of the pond so he could get his flask. why hadn’t he brought it with him? how the hell had he not predicted this might happen? that he would have to sleep here?

”it hurts,” he answered.

and there it was again. old man. bed sores. he clicked his tongue, ”that’s mean, remi.”

when she reached for him he looked up with a bark of laughter. ”you think that’s a good idea? i’ll just crawl. it’s fine.”

Remi Cassel

☉

roach grinned a grin that was both crooked and amicable; rough around the edges, but cut by something inexplicably good-natured—perhaps just by as little as one effective hair or wrinkle.

”hi, there! virgil roach.” 

his hand reached across the table to take hers, giving it a light shake before withdrawing into his seat again, teeth still bared in a row under the brim of his hat. he gave the togepi a wink.

a cubone sat beside him in a chair, pulled up to the table and staring up from dark sockets.

”yes, ma’am, i am. i own a bar downtown called ritual, ‘n i’ve got my eye on somethin’ in upper slateport, right now.” his grin settled into a resting curl. ”what is it thatchya do, miss chêne?”

luka chêne

☉

roach shook his head, because it was clear she was getting a kick out of him. ”mm.”

he shifted on the ice, not yet gathering the boldness to try to stand up. while running into remy was definitely a nice surprise, the pain in his ass made him feel like he would have been better off staying home.

he gave a bark of laughter at her. ”right, sure.” he chuckled, drawling sarcasm, ”i ain’ heard that one b’fore.”

pulling a leg up with a grunt finally, he tested weight with a hand on his knee, voice strained. old man. ”look’tchyou. this is a bad idea if i ever seen one. neither us got any bizness bein’ out here on this sheit.”

Remi Cassel

☉

maybe disturbed by the azurill that had previously disappeared, a drampa rounded the corner shortly after—looking disgruntled. it gave a snort, and eyed them. this time, his eyes were on a much greater prize. dragons were always valuable. he wasn’t letting this one get away.

”alright. let’s take ‘er down.”

the audino nodded, and the battle was on. a misty terrain sparkled across the gritty ground, turning it pink. from its mouth came a disarming voice, sweet sound waves ripping into the dragon, who thrashed its head in response and returned a hyper voice, echoing loudly down the alleyway. audino braced and shook it off, closing the distance for a double-slap.

the drampa slumped. roach grinned. ”atta girl,” he praised the audino.

a pokéball was tossed.

catching drampa

☉

roach had been to a rave or two in his youth. the criminal enterprise he had grown to take over had seen a long history of many various revenues, some of which had once thrived in slateport’s party scene.

he chuckled at the body paint request. ”yeah, why not.”

they made their way to the building. her waving did little to speed him up. roach was a leisurely walker.

when they got inside, he took it all in. it gave him memories, both fond, and most certainly otherwise. there were reasons he’d cut out certain areas of the old business. he had a heart, for instance.

the paint glowed, and he grinned at her, teeth just as bright in the black lights as he picked up a brush and some pink and got close, leaning down in to start his work.

”i ain’t much of an artist, but i’ll try.”

he liked art, truth be told, and he was meticulous in his application, soon switching for yellow.

@jessica

☉

no offense taken Martín del Mar —although the selection was stellar downstairs, and senior bartender slate milhaus kept a particularly fantastic bottle of gin behind the bar for himself. maybe he’d share.

”i played a time er two,” roach drawled at Raphael Pryde with a smirk. the corners of his mouth curled more at Cillian Quinn and Martín del Mar as he puffed his cigar. it lingered near his lips. ”sheit.”

his smile was easy-going. a practiced poker-face already. fuck, he hated these guys. few had previously had the power or brass to bring down or manipulate his operations in slateport. rocket had managed to twist his arm into compliance and hospitality. though he seemed, on the surface, to be over it—his more nefarious profits had skyrocketed, no pun intended—he still couldn’t help but wonder whose call it had been overtake him.

had it been someone at this table?

he puffed his cigar. he didn’t like being forced to do shit.

Raphael Pryde Cillian Quinn Rowan Wrynn ryuuzaki amemiya Martín del Mar

☉

out from around a corner, an azurill popped and bounced on its tail. ’rill!’

roach jumped a little. ”woah. well, hi there.” he looked over at his audino. ”kinda cute—“ but before he could get any further, a cold splash out of nowhere hit him in the face.

he gasped for air. ”what the—“

and then, the pesky rodent was off in the other direction, before either roach or his audino had any time to react.

”goddammit.”

he wiped his face.

passing

☉

roach was definitely packing.

“gotta come prepared, kid.”

finding his bag heavy, he stopped and let it off his shoulder onto the ground as well, its many contents clanging together noisily. then, he went back to swinging. rock scattered onto the floor, sending dainty but sharp echoes that scattered something with wings further down.

meanwhile, mandibuzz stayed put, staring. unblinking, even.

”i think she likes you.”

DANNY HALL

☉

floodlight?

”kinda a bitch to haul around, y’know, but it gets the job done.” hard to find a battery for, though.

the mandibuzz which had been perched at the mouth of the cave had flown in, a gust of cool air sent towards them as she swooped past to settle onto another stone raised from the floor. after some shuffling around in place, she settled, and her eyes, again, found danny.

meanwhile, cubone followed after the heracross, and roach was nodding, paying no mind to the odd behavior of his bird.

”solid approach.” he didn’t know any other strategy. ”wherever’s fine, then, i s’pose.”

and the light was set down, a pick-axe soon swinging into sediment.

DANNY HALL

☉

cubone grumbled and pulled himself away, whacking remi on the leg with his bone. ’bone!’ before slipping off torwards roach.

”yeah, i—hey! that ain’t right, boomer. apologize.”

the cubone looked at him, defiant for a moment before encouraged again with a deeper tone. ”boom-boom…” roach’s eyes got a little wider, his chin rising a hair, as though to say or else.

boomer turned back towards remi, dipping his head.

’cubone, bone. bone bone.’

”thank you. that’s very nice.”

he looked back up at remi.

”i’m bustin’ my ass tryin’ to help you, hell’s it look like i’m doin’?”

”you drunk?”

Remi Cassel

☉

roach wasn’t disappointed, he just didn’t like things going to waste.

the corners of his lips curled at the edges of his last few bites as he listened. he’d meant places in the world of nightlife, but when she began to talk about her daytime visits, he felt endeared.

what was more, was that the brief mental note of eevees close by even washed away at the thought of his business impacting one of her favorite places.

actually seeing the effects of his actions? nah.

his warm eyes gazed at her as she continued. soon enough, she was giving him an answer he could do something with that evening. what he’d been looking for.

”alright. let’s go there next.”

@jessica

☉

’booone!’ boomer cried out, but there was no use. the trajectory of his clumsiness had been decided by fate. careening into ankles, the little cubone found himself dodging a falling body as best he could.

roach watched, too far away to do much else. he didn’t have skates of his own, so he couldn’t just… go across the ice. could he? not safely, he figured. not very fast, either.

she was down, and he winced and hissed when she threw her hands out. that’d hurt later, no doubt. the knees too.

what was she doing, now?

he watched a moment longer before sighing. he didn’t have much of an option, did he?

”man… shit.” he took a heavy swig, and screwed the top back on his flask. “‘bout to bust my ass…”

with that, he shrugged off a wooloo blanket, made his way down the bank, and then began to step onto the ice in his boots. he took a few steps before—having called it—slipping and crashing down onto his tailbone with a howl.

he looked across the ice, and at that angle, he suddenly realized who the woman was.

”remi?”

Remi Cassel

☉