Decent, polite men were hard to come by. It surprises her where it shouldn't that he holds out his hand and offers a friendly smile. It actually makes her laugh, a loud exhale from her chest with flared nostrils and a smirk. But she takes his hand and shakes, once, for good measure.

"Sure, weirdo, but it's a fire-type. They probably don't even feel the cold. It literally has molten magma on it, unless I'm seein' shi--"

His hand grips hers tighter, but it is the aggressive pull that steals her thought process and leaves her immediately defensive. She tenses, even goes so far as to resist and pull back-- but he's stronger and he's caught her off-guard, so she stumbles into him.

"What the fuck?"

He ducks closer to her and she tucks her chin to avoid, only now seeing the Gliscor that swoops at him. Once the threat is neutralized, a Dewgong makes an awkward entrance and then exit, splashing water somewhere nearby. It disappears and Remi removes her hand from his, stepping away from him.

"Uh-huh.. so, who're you supposed to be? Kind of bold to be hanging out with a legendary like that."

There is a note of suspicion in her tone.

pass

MATIAS SILPH

☉

Now, normally she doesn't pay too much mind to the specific people who show up with money in their pocket. But, when she sees the same shock of minty green hair, a nervous tick in his step, and regular street clothes instead of something dark and easily forgotten-- well..

The woman's business partners continue to hum and haw about whether or not the Pokemon in the cage are what they asked for. They are, they're just cheap fucking bastards.

And so, with a tight-lipped smile and a wave of her hand, she steps aside to let them 'talk things out' and come up with a 'better deal'. Which leads her to pursue the minty hair and the nervous steps of a young man who runs up to her, specifically, to ask for...

"Bathrooms? What are you on about?"

Suspicious is written across her face and she doesn't bother to hide her scowl. The woman crosses her arms over her chest, glances back at her bickering buyers, and back to him.

"You don't look like one of my usuals. Who're you?"

mission: future sight

mint frost

☉

"What the fuck? What the actual fuck? You're joking, right? What kind of sick person--"

He wanted her to attack him? For information?

"Did you do something to him? Is that what all of this is about?"

Remi's face contorts into various expressions of disgust, outrage and disbelief. She shakes her head, stands there, staring, waiting for any of what he's just said to make sense.

"Do you or don't you know where my brother is? This isn't a joke, you asshole."

Killian Decker

☉

No, yes, maybe. Remi just had a chip on her shoulder. She wore trauma like it was her god-given right, and she reacted unreasonably whenever the wrong button was pushed. And that button was pushed a lot, or often enough that she should expect it.

She never does.

"Whatever."

But it isn't whatever, not really.

He drives the knife deeper, albeit unintentionally. The soup, once appetizing and delicious - and dare she have asked for seconds - is pushed aside. The bowl grates against the table and she swallows.

"Not this."

It was my mother's recipe.

She was a grown ass woman, and the mention of a mother better than her own deadbeat one still leaves her bitter and angry. It wasn't his fault she got the shit stick in life, and it wasn't his fault that he had a nice home-made recipe to go back to whenever he wished. Jealousy is an ugly colour.

"I gotta go. Don't choke."

mission: feast or famine

Julien Demassieux

☉

The plan is fool-proof, simple, straight-forward.

Or it was, until silence overcomes the field and her own Pokemon stop their playing. The leaves rustle, their quiet noise deafening, stirring the rolling bluster of anxiety that washes over the herd of Wooloo nearby. When Remi looks up, she notes two other volunteers in the field- but more than that, she notes how tightly-packed the Wooloo have become.

Herd animals relying on one another for security. Their eyes were wide, showing the whites, their hooves stamp and shuffle and they move in unison.

Something is wrong.

And then she hears it: the howl of Lycanroc, far-off in the distance. Or it would be, if she didn't know how fast they could run.

"Shit."

The plan had been fool-proof, until it wasn't. Turns out her poaching plan to sneak one of the Wooloo or Miltank away for her own benefit would have to be put on hold and far more thought-out. That's alright.

But the Wooloo wouldn't be, in a minute.

"We've got company."

Locke Jamison Martín del Mar

☉

"Shit."

This must be why no one kept stock in Beedrill on the black market. They were wildly out of control and incredibly dangerous- not even the stupidest people messed with Pokemon like that.

"I'm counting.. half a dozen on the ground already. Let's hope there's only another half coming."

There were more Kakuna than Beedrill, it seemed. And it didn't seem that any of them were anywhere near evolution. Which saved their hides, for certain. Three more Beedrill charge, but not even a hive-mind and blind rage can protect them from themselves. Quick-thinking and powerful wings buffet them as they descend.

All three of them collide and are knocked to the ground in an unconscious pile. Remi, breathing heavily, tenses as if expecting to be jumped.

@winifred

☉

What was she talking about?

'I wouldn't know', my ass, the fuck's that supposed to mean?

Was this girl not born from a pair of human legs or something? That was literally impossible. Remi gives the girl a quick once-over and determines her to be as human as anyone else. Frankly, one couldn't be too careful what with the rumors and stories and news articles of aliens these days.

"Sounds like you just met tougher Pokemon."

'Monsters' felt like an exaggeration. What she was mentioning was definitely interesting, though. Imagine if she could get her hands on Pokemon like that. The thought leaves her so energized she isn't sure if she's appropriately hiding her smirk.

"Protect me?" she definitely does not mask her scoff, the funny click of her teeth. "That's funny."

But, on the assumption of a lull in conversation that would be considered 'awkward' she realizes that Kaida is not making a joke. She's serious. Remi raises her eyebrows and her lips contort into a funny frown-smile of pitiful amusement.

"Oh, shit, you're serious. Alright. Well, I really don't think they're too dangerous. Get your Krokorok to growl a bit and I'm sure they'll tuck their tails and run home."

Kaida Adachi

☉

His snorting laugh nearly prompts her own bark-- but she refrains, because she has self-control, and he wasn't quite that funny. It's her, she's the funny one, and he's laughing at her.

She lazily swirls the contents of her bowl, spoon tapping and dragging against the edge of the ceramic. It's noisy, but she likes that.

"Hm. Nothing."

The spoon rises to her lips again to hide her coy smirk. She's fucking with him. There's nothing wrong with his name, and no reason for there to be one. He's reactive to her tormenting, but in a way that's slow and careful, because he, like her, doesn't really give a shit.

It's fun.

"Congratulations, asshole."

Admittedly, bitterness slips out where there had once been playful sarcasm. It makes her click her tongue against the top of her mouth and second-guess her choice to sit with him, to eat with him, to be here at all. He is yet another painful- no, frustrating, reminder that her life sucks and everyone else has it better.

"The soup is good."

mission: feast or famine

Julien Demassieux

☉

With pursed lips, Remi brings the bowl to her nose to inhale, deeply. Despite how completely out of character it was for her to be indulging in actual good-for-the-soul healthy food instead of nursing the bottom of a bottle of hard liquor, she seems.. willing.

She must be sick. How long has it been since her last fix?

"I'm insulted."

But she sits down across from him anyway. And she indulges him by plugging a spoon into the soup, stirring, and glancing back up at him. What she sees is a bizarre, charismatic man whose handsomeness is smudged by the unbecoming cheek bulge full of food. Talking before chewing and swallowing- no one was perfect.

"Julien..."

She plays with the syllables, letting it roll over her tongue slowly, deliberately. There is something intentionally feral about it, but played up subtly. She's toying with him, really, pushing to see if he'd break. So far, it seems he hasn't even noticed.

So she takes a bite, teeth clicking against the metal spoon to avoid the sting of too much heat all at once. She hums thoughtfully, licking her lips.

"Have you ever had a hot pocket?"

mission: feast or famine

Julien Demassieux

☉

It smelled far, far better than cheap hot pockets thrown in a microwave for a few seconds. And she reckoned the center of the bowl was just as piping hot as the outside was, which was a far cry better for the soul than soulless evil pizza-filled still-frozen-in the centre--

"Alright then."

A bowl is handed to her, its contents nearly too hot. She shuffles it from side to side as she takes it from him, careful not to let her fingers linger in one place for too long.

"Someone's a bit touchy about their food tasting good. I see you, I hear you, I'll try it, relax."

Remi smiles slightly, a sarcastic tone in her voice. He grabs utensils and she reaches for her own. She takes her time, however, allowing space to open up between them. Couldn't have him interpreting the wrong signals, after all.

"Remi."

mission: feast or famine

Julien Demassieux

☉

"Suppose I am."

She parrots him, amused, tilting her head to pursue his gaze even after he pulls away to continue tossing more and more vegetables and meat and God knows what else in that damn boiling pot of his.

"Forgiven, I guess."

She rolls her eyes, staring up at the ceiling for a moment and then away to the shitty backsplash and the tables in the dining hall. There is no one, nothing, not a peep or a shadow on the other side of the room. The dining hall is empty.

"Hm."

With his back turned, she takes another glance, because why not? He's good-looking, with an attention to detail and good with his hands.

He makes eye contact before she has a proper chance to look away. Fortunately, she's been side-eyeing with her eyepatch turned to face him, so it easily looks dismissed as her not having been looking at him at all.

Hold on, is he blushing?

Remi exhales loudly through her nose, a non-verbal laugh.

"Is it better than hot pockets?"

mission: feast or famine

Julien Demassieux

☉

It was fucked up, how quickly information could spread.

She should be thankful, probably, that he already knows about her brother. But it doesn't, because it just means that she's drowning on dry land, fumbling for answers and asking too many questions and drawing attention to herself.

Maybe her brother wasn't as clen as she'd thought, if someone like Gabriel had even heard about him.

Or maybe that was a character flaw of her own doing, not Roman's. Probably that.

"Yeah, well, I'll find him."

Her laid-back, open personality has shut closed. Gone is the lazy smirk and the lingering attention. Alcohol warms her chest but it burns in her belly, sparked by her rage, by her protectiveness.

"I don't see how you can help me, then."

GABRIEL BLACK

☉