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Gushing over cute Pokemon and pink things will have to wait. But Candy Floss bleats happily and Luka puts a pin in their conversation, intent on revisiting it later. The thought that she might be able to make a new friend is always a cheering one.[break][break]

"Kind of," she answers with a little shrug. "I'm, erm...testing the waters, I guess? I've always been more of a pencil pusher," Luka explains, glancing out at the expanse of grass before them and the two canines ahead, which are steadily growing smaller and smaller. She picks up her pace to a brisk almost-jog. An advanced mall walk, if you will.[break][break]

"But with the way things are now, I just feel like I should be helping out more. Even the Rangers need good PR, right? And I kind of have some experience with this sort of thing. Sometimes it feels like just living in Hoenn gets you involved somehow!"[break][break]

It's more akin to getting dragged into increasingly catastrophic events by a chaotic god, or a writer with too much time on their hands. Either way, it's inevitable.[break][break]

"I mean...you're not a Ranger, right? And you're still kind enough to help out! I think that's so wonderful. We really need more people like you...mmn, but it's a big commitment, of course."[break][break]

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"Um. Kind of?"[break][break] Luka blinks, slightly taken aback by the other woman's blunt tone. She tries not to take it personally, so just smiles blithely back.[break][break]

Wait. No. She's doing a horrible job! Although her work with the Rangers mostly involves publicity, she's still representing them here, right? It'd be antithetical to create a bad impression. She needs to try harder![break][break]

"A newbie, though," she admits with a soft laugh. Lowering expectations, albeit unconsciously.[break][break]

"Cute ball, by the way! I love that pattern!" A love ball is produced from her own belt, and Luka releases the cotton-candy Mareep within (thank you Martín del Mar!). "It might help them feel safer," she suggests with a shrug. Or perhaps the pink baby's bleats will attract the other sheep to her? Either way, it can't hurt.[break][break]

"Okay. Um. The flock is...should be about twenty, I think. Hopefully they've all stuck together! I mean, m-most sheep do, right?" She grins in what she hopes is a decent impression of a Ranger's confidence. "Let's go!"[break][break]

A soft whistle is all it takes to get the Herdier started. For a moment he sits perfectly still, carefully sniffing the air. And then he bolts, tawny fur zipping through the grass as he nearly bowls over another scarecrow. The two women are left to chase after him before he becomes a mere speck on the horizon.[break][break]

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Okay! This is it— her first mission as a Ranger (kind of). Though not official by any means, Luka's work with annalise henderson had lit a fire under her. And if she's going to be any good at recruitment, she needs to have a better idea of what the job entails.[break][break]

The job as listed is a fairly simple one. Team Rocket had raided a farm outside Fallarbor and the owners need assistance in the aftermath. And Luka, along with another civilian she's never met (but who looks vaguely familiar) have stepped up to help.[break][break]

It makes sense that Rocket had targeted the little homestead. Fresh produce has been in high demand ever since the dome sprouted around Hoenn, and desperate times call for desperate measures. Luka finds herself pitying those that have to resort to such measures, but that doesn't mean she can condone their actions.[break][break]

She steps carefully over broken fence posts, surveying the damage with a frown. Farm buildings have been damaged and vandalized, and there's a char to the earth that suggests a fire. Stealing some dairy and vegetables shouldn't have caused this much destruction! The vast pastures are almost utterly devoid of life besides an errant scarecrow, all livestock having fled in the wake of the attack.[break][break]

The farm's Herdier bounds at her side, his tongue lolling out the left side of his mouth as he yips and runs in circles. Luka smiles a little, happy to see that a bit of hardship hasn't dampened the puppy's spirits.[break][break]

"Okay, um..." Luka fidgets with her cardigan and peers over the open fields, but still sees nothing. "I...to be honest, I have no idea where to start looking." She glances down at the Herdier. "Maybe we should let this guy take point?"[break][break]

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"Oh gosh. It's no trouble at all! In fact, I should be the one thanking you. It feels really good to help out like this, you know?"[break][break]

Luka had been delighted when a long time mutual reached out to her a few weeks ago. They'd never really spoken, but liked posts and a few sweet comments had brought their orbits closer and closer together. Collaboration, it seemed, was inevitable. It only makes sense for two social media giants to work together![break][break]

Just as Annalise had said, every bit counts. And even if Luka feels a bit silly with her face plastered on flyers, and she doesn't think she really counts as a contest star with her barely burgeoning fame, she's just happy that she can help the rangers in any way she can.[break][break]

Sure, their tactics are slightly underhanded. But, like...cute girls and swimsuits are powerful, and the donations keep piling up! So it's all worth it, in the end. Luka grins as they start scrubbing down their next Pokemon, their combined efforts earning a happy coo from the giant bird.[break][break]

"Eh?" Annalise's compliments catch her off guard. A flattered blush spreads across her nose and Luka ducks her head, scrubbing one of the Corviknight's feathers with exaggerated gusto. "I-I don't see how that can help much. I mean, you're way prettier! I-I'm sure you've already got them flocking to the rangers in droves. Droves!"[break][break]

Luka waves her hands emphatically, and a spray of sudsy bubbles goes flying. She stares at them for a minute before her giggles join Annalise's chorus, just as light and breezy on the summer air.[break][break]

"Seriously though. What you guys do...it's really amazing! Even if it's a little silly, I'm soooo happy you asked me to do this with you!"

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Forgive her, Matias. She's not very bright.[break][break]

Luka's eyes narrow in on the shards and she reaches out to poke one without asking. It's impolite, and she snatches her hand back a moment later with an apologetic smile.[break][break]

"Sorry. Um...does it hurt?" She regards the shards with a tilted head as sweat drips down her neck. "Does mean you're like, um. One of those...t-those avatar people? With superpowers?"

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The creature goes down.[break][break]

For a moment Luka merely gapes, astounded that her plan had worked. But it's a short-lived victory as the cultists surge forwards and attempt to take advantage of the opening she created. And for a moment, her head is simply filled with television static. She doesn't know what to do next, hasn't honed her reflexes into a sharp enough point.[break][break]

A moment too late, she summons her Hatterene to try and mitigate some of the damage.

"Parfait! Use Pro-"[break][break]

But another barrier is erected before she has time to finish the command. Luka glances around wildly but doesn't notice Penny directly through the chaos. Counting it as a blessing, she focuses back on the cultists instead, eyes narrowed as she regards them.[break][break]

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she shouts in a trembling falsetto. "Ganging up like this isn't fair! You could get people hurt, flooding a cave like this!"[break][break]

It becomes obvious very quickly that the group doesn't care, and her shouting goes ignored. But actions speak far louder. Still hidden amongst the waves, Luka's Vaporeon manipulates the waters in the flooded cave to her advantage, creating a large tidal wave that crashes into the cultist group, scattering them like bowling pins.[break][break]
In the meantime, Plum hovers over the prone purple body. Unable to resist, the Musharna's dream mist spools out and encases them, swirling spirals reaching out to envelop, caress. She attempts to delve into the creature's dreams, curious if they'll hold any clues about this mysterious being's origins, their motives...anything.[break][break]

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sorry i wrote too much so tldr![break]
- luka tries to use protect on mewtwo[break]
- vaporeon uses surf against the cultists[break]
- musharna tries to eat mewtwo's dreams to see wth is up with them

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On a surface level, Luka appears to be having fun.[break][break]

She smiles, laughs when appropriate, and accepts whatever drinks are handed her way. It's nice to be around people like this; flitting around, basking in attention that doesn't go any more than skin deep. It's easy, and even if it doesn't mean anything, at least she isn't spending her days alone anymore.[break][break]

But even she needs a break every now and then. Quiet interludes are few and far between, but Luka makes an excuse to slip away from a few fellow partiers to find a spot of quiet. The beachside bar is far from empty, but it's a little less hectic here and she doesn't need to talk to anybody for a while. Instead she just hovers near the bar, sipping on a strawberry daquiri as the summer sun beats down overhead.[break][break]

"I'll take a margarita."[break][break]

A voice filters through the crowd and Luka's ears prick. Once heard, always remembered is the way with voices and her. She knows this voice from somewhere, but the face attached to it doesn't quite register with her.[break][break]

Lost in thought as she tries to remember just where she'd heard that voice before, Luka doesn't realize that she's been staring at the man for over a minute now.

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As the door locks behind her, Luka wonders why on earth she thought this was a good idea.[break][break]

It makes for good practice, she supposes. Steady your heart, screw your courage to the sticking place. Leave your fears at the door. If she's going to make it in Hoenn while the meteor looms, she should at least be able to handle a haunted house.[break][break]

Except this is more than just a creepy house with halloween store props and volunteer actors in bad stage makeup jumping out at you. The hallway smells like old fear, like rot and decay, as though she'd stepped into another world entirely.[break][break]

The corridor feels very old, and very slow. Vegetation scratches at her ankles and vines tangle in her hair— she has to duck to escape the ensnaring thorns. Unease bubbles up in the pit of her stomach— not yet terror, but something close to it. It's a kind of creeping dread that crawls up her spine like a spider and has the hairs at the back of her neck standing on end.[break][break]

To combat the feeling, a campy, musical tune hums in the back of her throat. She sings under her breath as she walks down the hall, her voice echoing off the walls in a way that doesn't seem quite right.[break][break]

"But whatever they offer you...don't feed the plants..."[break][break]

It does cheer her up a little. Luka continues to fill the eerie silence with her own twittering voice, singing a little louder whenever there's the sound of creaking or groaning, or a rustle in the rotting flowers alongside her. She forces herself to stare straight ahead and tries to ignore the shapes in the flowers, the vines that look like elongated fingers reaching out to grab her.[break][break]

But when she reaches the glass wall, she stops. The broken, jagged pieces glint menacingly, and she can see something red around the edges. In one corner, there appears to be a clump of human hair.[break][break]

Choking back a retch, Luka staggers backwards just as she hears another voice, human this time, calling out from somewhere along the wall.

"Hello?" she calls back, peering through the broken glass to see if there's another face on the other side, or farther along the corridor. "Yes, there's...I'm here!"[break][break]

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The lines are a little blurry. At least, more than they should be.[break][break]

But the way she pinches him is more like a grandma than a lover...so that's good, right? Maybe under the dim lights of the bar, with alcohol buzzing warmly through her veins, she's reminiscing a little about the past, and how he'd never felt so real and alive under her palms when they were actually together. She wants to savor this moment in honor of the girl she once was; the person that Danny used to know.[break][break]

That's really all it is for now, because that's all it can be. Past relationships still haunt her in the present, like ghosts do. Luka really is just bad at letting go.[break][break]

But she offers an easy smile and takes his hands, offering a friendly squeeze and nothing more. "Sure! A drink sounds great! Let me buy you a round, okay?"

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The roar of the crowd is deafening. It swallows up Luka's enthusiastic cheers, but Matias can probably see her from the wings, beaming at him and clapping along with everyone else.[break][break]

"You were amazing!" she gushes as soon as he steps offstage, and sweeps him into a crushing hug. At least, as crushing as her noodle arms can manage. "Oh my gosh, they loved it! You were great...really, really great!"[break][break]

She continues to babble on even when she releases him. Something about another festival next week, about getting a recording to put on his socials, all that. "It's like...kind of a thirst trap, but you don't think Eva Morales will mind, do you?" she's saying as the next group of performers come onstage. "I think a lot of your fans will really like it!"[break][break]

With another grin, she starts to tug him towards the stage door. "Okay. I promised to treat you, right? There's just oneeee thing I want to do first!"

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"Okay," Luka says again.[break][break]

She takes him at his word, because why wouldn't she? He's never given her a reason to distrust him. Luka still holds her friend in an almost childlike reverence; like an older brother, truly. So even if she isn't pleased by his actions, she wants to believe that his intentions were nothing but good.[break][break]

Her heart still bleeds compassion, but for some reason, she envies the Relincanth. It's a noble thing, to have your death mean something. She chases that thought away with a dry swallow.[break][break]

"Still...poor Melody Miro. A-and that poor Pokemon. I hope you apologized to her properly," she says, grabbing the front of her blouse and fanning herself with it. "And, um...w-what happened with Groudon, then? And why is it so hot?"

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"You think so?"[break][break]

Illeana has a point. Bizarre occurrences have become the norm in Hoenn as of late; or perhaps it's simply been this way for years. Either way, there's probably little she could say that would surprise the scientist at this rate.[break][break]

"Okay. It's, um...a long story though, sorry." Luka shifts the books in her arms and sets them down on a nearby table. And then, after thinking about it a moment, she sits down and gestures for Illeana to join her, should she wish.[break][break]

She carefully summarizes meeting Father Winter, making her wish, and stepping through the portal. It's hard to recall everything with perfect clarity, but she does her best to relay the doomed world she had entered, the unown assassins encountered, how she had transformed with Cresselia and helped to put the moon back in the sky. She can't bring herself to reminisce on seeing her own corpse, however. And though she mentions Martín del Mar, she doesn't do so by name. She knows how much her friend values his privacy.[break][break]

"And after all that," she concludes breathlessly, "She gave me this."[break][break]

Having already made the decision to trust Illeana, Luka pulls out the necklace chain that had been hidden under her blouse. From it dangles two feathers: one, a dip-dyed Swanna feather, the other a genuine artifact. A lunar wing.[break][break]

"But I haven't seen her or Father Winter since, a-and I'm running out of ideas. And we're running out of time. I don't know if there's anything she can actually do to help stop this meteor...but it can't hurt to try, can it?"

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