marowak joined her today, walking along faithfully at her side as she kept her eyes peeled. her mind was hardly on the mission, face having contained something vaguely bitter almost the entire time.

had he really not heard? did he pay that little attention?

hoenn knew KING WAYLAND was here, now. a kantonian war criminal, and she’d been the one to phone it in, after which even more tragedy had nearly occurred. the damage to the aquarium alone had been enough to make at least the evening news.

maybe it should have been on her to reach out, but she'd been so mad at him still.

part of her had wondered if he’d seen, and simply not said anything again. a second time.

surely not.

“explore…”

though she’d been able to keep up small talk, when he asked her about her own experience, she realized she couldn't do it anymore. she’d been known for her stability, and collectedness, but...

she shoved his shoulder, emotional, and pointed.

“what the hell, matias? are you so busy with photoshoots now that you don’t even keep up with the news?”

she’d not yet even congratulated him, really.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

soon, the cold, moist-feeling cardboard was in her hand, and it almost felt like she’d been caught in the act of something. it was so rare that she didn’t squeeze out energy she didn’t have just to cook a meal. it gave her some semblance of normality. the kitchen was a peaceful, rich world of its own.

sagira’s eyes followed the gestures given to depression and chaos. she knew both well enough. the judgment and shame she placed upon herself wasn’t lessened when it came to others. they were all meant to be resilient. trained. there were standards, retired or otherwise.

it had been a polite question to ask. though kind enough, and fair, sagira had never been pitying.

but the judgment never visibly crossed her face.

“you look like you’re breathing.”

she cleared her throat lightly, and then opened the door for her again.

“were you going to grab something?”

@winifred

☉

once upon a time, in a different army, she’d been the one giving the orders. now, she barely knew the people she was shoulder-to-shoulder with.

despite this, she still reached for someone when they were thrown off balance by a VINE WHIP—but they were slightly too far to catch. one of her own ivysaur’s vines were there to steady the soldier, before both went to work keeping their assaulter at bay. the two pairs whipped around in combat, in an unrelenting loop of reflections.

others clashed. the ferroseed’s explosion was caught in the corner of her eye, and she braced behind her shield as spikes pelted a section of the line. when she looked back up, her donphan had been obscured by the incoming HAZE from the koffing. she watched for it to reappear, and seconds passed, making her nervous, but she glimpsed it rolling further into a rhyhorn’s chaos across the street, where glass was shattering from windows.

they advanced, as told, and the rioters seemed to be giving up ground.

FERNANDO SILPH priam conrad

☉

“oh,” her voice swooned lightly over an octave, “detective.”

she grinned, feeling the warmth of a light turning on inside of her that she hadn’t in a while. happiness, in the memories. in the old jokes. in time passed, without pressure to uphold, or repeat.

an ex. the good kind.

catch up. they’d only brushed the surface, really, since she’d known he was alive. they worked. he had his life, and she didn’t want to impose. besides, how would his fiancé feel about an ex lingering around? it wasn’t stress she wanted to cause a woman childbearing.

it wasn’t just that, though. there was too much shame to allow them the time for her to go into too much detail.

“yeah, i thought so too,” she lied, turning her face to smile. “you’ll be a father soon. how’s that feel?”

xR71Y2I_
869 - 47 = 822
Sénon Game

☉

nonsense.

saggy. what a nickname. not one that she’d ever necessarily enjoyed, but she’d never been the type to say anything about it. to be fair, she’d been less attentive to anything sagging as a teenager. now, she’d had a child, and more warrants for such a name were surely on the horizon.

and she was still so very single.

she smiled back at him and tapped the sides of her feet together idly.

“you’re welcome, ranger rick. thanks for inviting me.”

JMJVZQDK
932 - 63 = 869
Sénon Game

☉

 

the sudden bright flash of sunlight when the door opened was almost blinding, but it gave an overwhelming sense of relief. they were set down safely, and sagira nearly tripped over xen on her way to grab for her daughter. “delta!” there were incoherent sounds of panic and relief as she pulled her into both arms.

delta was stoic. distant. still staring at the building, as league officers stormed into it. sage glanced to xen, before he disappeared, breathing with wide eyes, “thank you.”

after a few moments of recovery, sagira got to her feet and got down to the business of filing her report, willing herself to be less frantic as she did so. as even-keel as the former lieutenant was, nothing could have possibly prepared for the endangerment of delta.

in the end, someone asked her if she was alright.

“i’m fine.” it was sharp. dismissive, as her stare settled on the building as well.

he was here, in hoenn.

and they weren’t going to catch him.

KING WAYLAND

“we’ll be grateful when something opens up.”

what skin wasn’t concealed in a towel felt cool against the wall as she leaned back. she had always been patient, and full of mutterings of silver linings. it wasn’t in the good soldier’s nature to complain. If luck was theirs to have, then so be it. there would always be afternoons like this.

sweat glistened on her forehead, and she looked over at him, smile weak but present. “you could think of it like a sauna.”

OqUtYabp
Sénon Game

☉

 

today, she cursed herself for a) not having something speedier; b) not having something water-typed. she made a mental note to keep both on her at all times, and never step foot in an aquarium again—if they made it. this was some final destination shit.

sage gave a choked gasp as she was ripped from her stride and into a blur. she saw a flash of blue hair, and felt a wave of relief.

delta was quiet. no screams, no panic. her eyes looked back over xen’s shoulder, watching as the water chased after them.

three… two…

presumably, they could escape through the well-marked exits. heavy doors, lit neon and faintly calling with league sirens on the other side.

KING WAYLAND

☉

it felt strange to be the one responding. the freezer door shut again as her hand went up in a sharp line, and then back down. a flat and deeply shadowed stare caught every bit of hunt’s sloppiness.

“you heard wrong,” she responded simply, pale eyes taking the woman in with an even expression, too controlled, or maybe just too tired to show her shock.

it was ironic. most who had forwarded the news of her death were now dead themselves, and here she stood, alive, and with all her limbs attached.

she reached one of them back into the freezer again to retrieve the pizza that had eluded her that first go.

“it’s good to see you. small world. how are you?”

@winifred

☉

 

convenient? for her?

nothing about any of this had been convenient.

hatred screamed and thrashed in her heart, caged, controlled—barely. her sharp, pale eyes bore into him, saying all they needed to.

as for the blood on her hands, she already felt it. not just her unit, but other lives lost in kanto, after she’d run from the war. she wouldn’t further dishonor herself by sputtering over it, or apologizing to this man.

what was done was done.

lucario’s mega evolution came as a surprise to sagira, who hadn’t witnessed this yet in hoenn. of course, she’d certainly heard about it.

“donphan!”

before there was any time to react, an overpowered attack impacted the elephant, pushing it with great force into the air, tumbling, and into the glass of the aquarium that surrounded them. tusks hit, and propelled by such power, did damage.

there was the heart-sinking sound of glass crunching. water began to trickle.

sagira saw it happen: the first of a spiderweb, winding out haphazardly from the point of impact.

“oh, arceus…”

her eyes looked over at king, for one last millisecond, before bigger fish stole her attention.

she knew it was unlikely that they’d make it out in time.

beams of red returned her pokémon, and she turned to run as fast as she could in the direction she’d sent delta.

“EVACUATE THE BUILDING! THE TANK IS BREAKING!”

the big one.

she was frantic.

“DELTA!”

KING WAYLAND

now that she possessed the knowledge of KING WAYLAND ’s general whereabouts in the world, her trips out about with delta had dwindled almost to none at all. while the public school in rustboro had seemed an option before, sagira had taken to homeschooling her daughter into late hours of the night, only to wake at the break of dawn to more responsibility.

she was tired, and while the tone of her look remained even and graceful, her features sagged a bit with evidence of just how thinly she’d stretched herself lately.

it’d be pizza tonight. as well as cooking fed her soul, it seemed to be sleeping.

one hand reached out of the pocket of a gray hoodie to grab for the freezer door, but stopped short when a face caught her eye. the disheveled remnant of a soldier. however short a time it had been, the former lieutenant didn’t forget the face of one who had served under her command.

“hunt.”

her voice carried with a trained strength she hardly felt. the surprise on her pale face was clear.

@winifred

☉