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"You're joking." he said, automatically as Gunner clocked the woman. But he noted, Gunner didn't actually answer his question yet. He glances back at the area they're watching, still as ever. Not even pokemon running around in the distance. The only sign of life him and his partner. [break][break]

As far as people go, Paxton was rather partial to Gunner. They seemed to have thee same philosophy when it came to work and PENELOPE LIVY . They'd bonded a greatly during the GOODBYE GALAR incident, even if he didn't recall all the details. But he knew what he felt was good. And with comfort came a lowering of one's guard. So the range of emotions that show on Paxton's face as he looks down to pick up his coffee are on display for his friend to see. Confusion. Shock. Disgust. Anger. Frustration. More confusion. "There's no way. I would've seen a report on this." he said simply, racking his brains as he went pale. [break][break]

He knew there were plenty of recent Rocket defections, mainly more high profile ones. "She's assigned to you? Since when?" he asked, pushing for more details. He couldn't have missed something like this. Then again, him and mila alexopoulos didn't really talk about stuff like this. She liked to lead, and he had been more than happy to follow.

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He let her process, keeping watch and occasionally feeding Hopper another treat every so often. He chirped softly, hovering near their trainer as they kept watch on the young ranger. She finally looks up at bit, and he mirrors her smile. "Don't mention it." he said shaking his head. "It's what I do." he added, a bit softer as he took another good sip of his warm tea. Less scalding and now a bit easier to swallow. [break][break]

He lets her cry, looks down at his mug in respect. "Wanna come work with me?" he offered. "For the week I mean. We can spar in the morning, you can grab the office lunch and then head home after." he said, voice low and lips pulling into an unfamiliar grin as he offered Genny an easy week. [break][break]

"I want-..." there's a pause. He clears his throat and reminds himself that Genny is barely his subordinate. She's a ranger looking for advice from a man that'd promoted out of the corps. "I highly recommend you take some time off and get your head straight." he said. [break][break]

"Don't obsess, ok? Remember quitting or carrying on won't reflect poorly on you either. You're not a failure if you leave, and there's loads of other things you could do for the League that isn't killing." he said wit ha small shrug. [break][break]

"Anyway, that's just my advice. I would've jumped at the chance of taking a week off in Kanto." he said with a huff. An attempt at a laugh. He sipped from his mug once more and Hopper floated out the tissue box again as they let Gennny vent.

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"Uhh, she's probably my height. Bob black hair and pink-red eyes." he said as he finished his donut and plucked a stray napkin under the box to wipe his fingers away. "She's kind of funny. Why do you ask?" he said as he stowed away the crumpled napkins into his jacket pocket. [break][break]

He could just pull out his phone and check her contact information. He hummed trying to get an idea for something more significant than her appearance to help differentiate her. After all, there were probably dozens of Mila's around. "Oh, she offered to make me an outfit once. Said she designed for Primarina Designs." He looks back at his partner, wondering if he was trying to chase a lead.

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"'M sure we'll find something" he said as they cut through underbrush and rougher terrain off the beaten path. A couple of trees had fallen, evidence of the earthquakes that had cracked the earth open. [break][break]

"Not so bad." he said back evenly. "Escorting is how I met dahlia goode ." he said, nodding over at Matias and pointing to keep the E4 from walking into a tree branch. But Matias seemed amiable enough, and Paxton wasn't one to beat around the bush. Especially when he was asked a question. [break][break]

"I read your report from the Council." he said as he shoved aside. "Thought you hated Rocket as much as the DRK Triad." this sours him a little. Paxton is human, and Rocket always cuts close to home. Couldn't even kill him properly and put him out of his misery at this point. His fists tighten as he climbs over a fallen log, eyeing the dirt as it seems to drop down and forwards. Too bad he hadn't brought his skiis. A little snow and it would've been a decent run.

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He sips at his tea, the heat swirling off of it in little clouds. Hopper has moved back to his trainers side, munching on a tea cookie he holds out for them. He doesn't like these conversations. He's not aa professional. Grief counseling isn't his thing. He's told his therapist as much, but if not him then who? People could implode carrying this much bottled up. He knew better than anyone. [break][break]

"You can, or you can keep going." Paxton assured her. "Nobody, not even your pokemon, would blame you for it." he watches her drink, albeit slowly and nods to himself. Hopefully, she liked it sweet. "You might, or you might not." He sipped again, before blowing on the top of the cup. [break][break]

"I don't think it's bad to have a dream or goal to work towards, but you accept risk if you pursue this." he said, not wanting to unintentionally dissuade her from the corps. "You should be cautious. But if you're so cautious it leads to inaction, then you'll just paralyze yourself overthinking. And if- when, the worst should happen, it'll break you." Obsessing over a perfect outcome would hurt her. [break][break]

"I'm not saying don't grief either- it's ok to cry. But I think you now have an opportunity to really think about what you want to do, and what risks you're willing to take with your life."

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The conversation had been simple. The weather was getting colder, and he had wanted to do something Luci that perhaps his creative mind could shine through on. So when the topic of the Christmas tree set up came up, he'd been hoping for a bit more enthusiasm. All he was met with was confusion. [break][break]

'Concord, we have people for that.' he had said. Not condescendingly, but simply confused. [break][break]

And Paxton let it go, staring back just as confused at this man before smiling and nodding along. [break][break]

'Of course, Luci.' and he'd let it go. [break][break]

It was only a few hours later when Luci had brought it up again and Paxton had made a plan for it. A date. The word no sooner had it come out of his mouth had Paxton flushed a bright red. [break][break]

They'd been out together multiple times already. But those multiple times had been tense, unspoken. They'd both pushed boundaries as close as they could before stepping back from fully crossing over. There'd always been that unknown hanging in the air. [break][break]

It ramped up his nerves. How little had they really done together, as a couple before? Most of their time short and- well, they'd focused their efforts on things. But now? A date? Paxton tried to dress his best, something clean and sharp looking while still allowing him the movement he needed to help move their tree. [break][break]

He steps towards Luci in a dark green puffer jacket, and tall boots tied tightly with little cleats at the bottom for better support on the snow and ice. "Luci, have you been waiting long?" he asked, eyes on the painter before he reached up to clap his own gloves hands around Luci's. He rubs gently, offering his own worth to the man. "I've heard they have a hot cocoa bar here included in the tree price." he added, the question hanging in the air as he looked back up at his date.

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There's something more serious going on than a busy day or broken ORNAMENT. He listened intently, Hopper quieting their own beeping as she spoke. He lets the ranger let it out, venting her grief as she ran over the events in such quick succession. She looks up at him, and he starts to understand this is probably the first time she's come to face something like this. And while he wasn't incredibly knowledgeable in Ranger things, he was an expert in disaster having lived through so much of it in Kanto. Now here. [break][break]

"I'm not going to say 'it's never like this' because I don't want to give you a guarantee." he said, choosing his words carefully. "No matter the day, the mission, or the conditions you face, no results is guaranteed. You can only plan for it, and plan for that plan to fail." he said, gaze darkening as he tried to hold back the memories of himself and CALLISTA MOON , trying desperately to hold their group together for so, so long. It'd almost broken them both, permanently. A hand grazes up his neck onto skin that thanks to Palkia's fuckery, no longer exists. But he can feel the phantom pains all the same. He can still see Joules, broken and battered. [break][break]

"Even the best of us are one mishap away from biting it. That's why we train, so we can minimize the loss." he said. [break][break]

"Your pokemon made a conscious choice to protect you based on a...wonderful relationship you built with it." he continued. "That's not your fault." [break][break]

"The joint hallucination in Galar was unprecedented, but at the end of the day it wasn't real Genny. Everything after being sucked into those relics was at best a warning. There were casualties, yes. Things were blown up, mythical pokemon rampaged. But I wouldn't let a lucid dream take up your worries." Not when there was so much to deal with in the waking world. GOODBYE GALAR was a distant memory with its quirks but ultimately not real. And not something he would pursue aside from having added his own report when the time came about what he did and what he saw. As far as he was aware, their pokemon died from the ruin corruption and the battle between the dogs and the beasts. [break][break]

He gets up at this point, turning to a table in the corner and clicking on an electric kettle. Tea. He wanted some tea. Hopper jumps in, TELEPORTing to the ranger's side with some tissues for her to wipe with as Paxton busied his hands, no longer able to stay still as he tried to comfort, advise, and work through his own pushy memories. [break][break]

"It doesn't get any better." he said after a few minutes, when he turns to look at Genny, silently making her a cup. They were meowth themed. He'd gotten them for the Olly mug, a cute Galarian breed that he was using for himself now. "It hurts every time." he pours into his own mug, before pulling out a couple of tea bags and beginning to steep them. "But I didn't have a choice, Genny. I was drafted. I was happy to go, but I didn't make that choice. The League will not offer absolutes, only best possible results. We don't guarantee people's safety when they go into rifts or join on the front lines, because we can't." He mixes some sugar into his cup. [break][break]

"You chose to do this. You chose to take the risk. And I think...you need to think about if this is what you really want for yourself, and your loved ones. And it's ok if you don't." He finally moves back setting a mug in front of the redhead and he sits back down at his chair with his own. "I can only listen, and try to help you work through it." He never had good advice, only his own experience and a knack for listening. Sometimes that's all people needed.

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The party fades away as he and Remiel talk. From a distance they probably seemed cordial. "You are delusional to think that a year of inaction warrants wiping your slate clean, Your Highness." he said back, tone short and eyes locked on Remiel even if he did have to look up. [break][break]

At his attempt to belittle Paxton suppresses the urge to grin and bare his teeth. He tamps it down to a smile, mirroring Remiel's own. "You're just a spineless turncoat with the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair. You could look at a Lillipup's shadow and think it a BEAST. " he said back flippantly. That's when Remiel tries to sympathize but it doesn't land. "Take your faux sympathies and shove it." Despite the rising levels of emotion, he somehow keeps it to his normal speaking level. Then Paxton felt a spark ( unromantic ) and let go after Remiel had kept him close longer. [break][break]

He tensed as he felt a hand on his shoulder. His glare finally moved, landing on DEREK HOFFMAN. "Hoffman." he said tightly. "This is light." he countered before following the man's gaze upwards at the mistletoe and sparkling light. He scoffs at the Beldum. As if this were distraction enough. [break][break]

Before Derek can plant one, Paxton reverses it. In one fluid motion, he raises a hand to Derek's lower back, yanking his hips to Paxton's own. He doesn't wait for Derek, leading the man into the a dip. He holds him well enough with one arm the other going to the back of Derek's head, fingers intertwining into his hair as their lips met. He yanks just a smidge, enough to get Derek to open up for him before he tongued him, deepening whatever pathetic 'embarrassing' peck on the lips Derek had planned. He licks into him, hot and breathless before slowing down. After a moment he straightens up and pulls away once the taller ranger is on his feet, wiping his mouth of Derek. "Next time, stay out of it." was all he said after a couple of pants before turning to glare right back at Remiel. [break][break]

He doesn't apologize to Remiel, noting the spilled drink on him. Simply tosses a napkin at the ex ambassador's chest. "I was going to, until you had to brown nose." he replied without missing a beat before Isaac joined the conversation. He had half a mind to throw his drink into the bartender's face before realizing he didn't have one. [break][break]

"You don't have shit Isaac Merlo, except an expiration date." he said his head snapping to look at the Suicune Avatar. His tone is low and angry despite not making a move towards the smaller blonde. "Being chosen as a proxy doesn't mean you're automatically immune of your crimes either." He said, echoing a sentiment he's heard rumblings of in the office lately. Having a mythical being select you did not dictate you were good. They worked for other, more private purposes. It's something that had cropped up unfortunately, with MATIAS SILPH surveillance for those in the know. As sentiment he's sure is what's leading to the tension beyond him. [break][break]

Paxton opened his mouth to say something else before echoing Isaac unintentionally, "Why're there kids up at a bar?" His eyes cut to to Eris Halla. And that confusion solidifies in a storm of emotion reflected in his tight lipped expression and dark eyes. He rears back tense and uncomfortable and irritable beyond belief. Then, somehow, he looks away. He could already hear the headlines. League Holiday Party distributes alcohol to children! Another problem, another headache to deal with. It's hadn't even been 20 minutes, but maybe that was enough to slip out. He weighs his options, a hand hovering over his pokeball as he looked to Dereck then past him at the crowd scanning for PENELOPE LIVY, the only other person he really gave a fuck about at this party. He found himself searching for Gunner Graves as well before realizing he was mad at him.

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"Mmm, well that's true. Lilycove is an idyllic city. The police department there is good, and it's well connected with the Ranger Corps." he said, off handedly explaining how he got sucked into the bigger machine of League bureaucracy. [break][break]

Paxton nodded long. "I concur. That's why I keep mine short. Usually." he said. Currently, strawberry blonde locks were fading into a more permanent pale yellow as the last of the pink dye grew out and he'd chopped off his ends. But it wasn't unmanageable yet, so he left it alone. [break][break]

He takes pause in her next question. It's worded strangely. And come to think of it, the perkiness he'd found annoying from before was gone. The enthusiasm is all but nonexistent. He lets her question hang in the air, letting the silence stretch before taking deep breath through his nose. The mood was off, and he was familiar with this kind of thing. He'd done it enough times in Kanto. [break][break]

"Genevieve, can you be more specific?" he asked, direct but tone gentle. "Is there something on your mind?"

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"Oh?" he tilted his head to show he's listening but continued to eat his donut. It felt more like a day at the park than a real guard duty. But luckily, the shrine lay undisturbed. He goes through half of his donut before looking over at Gunner, slow and seemingly unworried. [break][break]

He's quiet, but its less hesitancy and more he's peering at his partner's expression. "I know a Mila." He corrected. Her last name he hadn't bothered to remember. Mila had probably done the same. [break][break]

"I met up with someone named Mila in the summer during the carnival going around the region." he said, unconcerned.

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Unlike Gunner Graves , Paxton doesn't leave mila alexopoulos hanging. He gives her a thumbs up from the bar top before waiting for service. He nodded along, more tired than anything as held up two fingers and begin to ask for a pour. It's enough distraction to allow another one to sneak up on him. Gods, there's a reason he didn't want to come tonight. He straightens up, staring at the ex-ambassador steely eyed and humorless. For a moment, he considered putting Remiel Calcifet on his knees. It'd be easy. He wouldn't see a knee to the balls coming in this setting. [break][break]

But common sense and a desire to not embarrass PENELOPE LIVY took over. "Officer Concordas, Councilwoman Penelope's department deputy." he informed, subtle in his correction. He considers again not touching the man, not even talking to him. It takes everything in him not to bust the galarian's nose, quick and easy. Just a swift jab up and a crack- [break][break]

He takes Remiel's hand, intentionally grabbing Remiel by the knuckles and snapping a vice grip on them. He wants to hear something crack, wants to feel something buckle and watch Remiel try to pretend he's perfectly fine. [break][break]

"Making yourself at home in the hen house, Mr. Fox?" he asked, not shying away from the encounter. He squeezes hard, wondering if he could actually break something. "Or do you just think throwing around bags of COINS is enough to make people forget the type of scum you are?" [break][break]

Thank the Gods, for MATIAS SILPH and Navy having it out next to them. He doesn't have the headspace to register the beef, nor remember why it even existed. At least Matias wasn't a fucking Rocket. His tryst with Elisabeth Fiorelli didn't make him one, he hoped. Paxton readies to let go, glaring up at Remiel. "dahlia goode may have loosened your leash but I'm under orders from her to put a bullet straight through your eyes the second you fuck any of us over." he said attempting to drop the aggressive handshake and shove back the taller man. [break][break]

"That goes for any other Rocket that thinks they can fake turning a new leaf."

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