"great question.." [break][break]

even she's stumped, after being given the briefing. she was an officer, not.. a breeder. "usually they have people specifically for this job.." she grumbles softly, under her breath as they walk. it's obvious that they've become desperate, to the point of outsourcing and enlisting the help of unqualified strangers. she sighs. [break][break]

he stops at the door, and she reaches out to take the knob. "i guess.. we take a look at how things are now, and work from there?" her tone raises in slight confusion, and she grimaces, trying to figure out how exactly they would be doing this. "it should be easier to matchmake if they're just angry."

Dal-yong Nam [break]

☉

the sun doesn't beat down harshly; a relief. [break][break]

frankly, the woman doesn't mind a hike now and then. in fact, she quite enjoys being active, so she was surprised when she heard that she was being taken out on a hike. and she accepted a lot more easily. maybe she's starting to get used to these sudden invitations from someone she shouldn't be seeing. [break][break]

whereas he might be having a bit of trouble, she seemed to be taking the hike in stride. after taking her hair out of its braid, she opted to keep the band between her teeth as she bunched up her hair, walking side by side. [break][break]

".. you okay, there?" she asks between her teeth, quirking her brow.

Dal-yong Nam [break]

☉

perhaps she's become accustomed to this. [break][break]

this referring to the man who so casually strolls into her home. usually fiora would be more.. alert about this. she wouldn't let just anyone come into her home, but this little rat in particular had his ways to weaken her defences, and so easily bypass her god damn door. by now, she knows only to accept his shenanigans (and somewhere deep within, she's come to enjoy the company). [break][break]

for the time being, however, she had work to do, and so opted to hide herself in the only other room in this single bedroom apartment. in the meantime, she had her pokemon keeping an eye on the (un)welcome visitor, and no news from the batch of pokemon is good news. until she hears him calling her from the kitchen, and she sighs as she pushes herself from her desk to walk out. [break][break]

"i told you that i have a name--" she starts, only to pause as the smell of fresh pastries waft through the air. it piques her curiosity enough to wander closer to the kitchen. "... what were you doing?"

Dal-yong Nam [break]

☉

how did she end up here?[break][break]

she should have declined, should have turned him down when he said that he wanted to go out with her, somewhere. should have insisted that she had work, should have insisted to her coworkers that he wasn't her boyfriend for the nth time, for goodness sake. turning him away was needlessly difficult, and she finds the hue of red meeting her cheeks much more easily, even when he was sitting far enough from her in the smaller room. [break][break]

uneasy as she is, it doesn't change how he's sitting right there, casually scrolling through the song list with his ever-changing smile. it's always.. unsettling. [break][break]

fiora narrows her eyes averting them from him in favour of the plush couch. "i-i.. don't know what you're talking about." she blesses the dimmed lights in the room, if only so he couldn't see the red haze upon her cheeks "you.. know how i feel about singing in front of others" her shoulders raise ".. it's embarrassing."

Dal-yong Nam [break]

☉

she hates him. [break][break]

she hates that coy tone, the his playful nature, and the fact that he knows he can get away with taunting her and teasing her so. she hates herself more for letting him do it to her, and hates how it brings the red to her cheeks whenever he succeeds. upon realizing what exactly she was fiddling at, she realizes it's too late to let go and fiddle at her hair instead. she opts to keep moving the pendant around her fingers. [break][break]

"... i-it would be a waste to not wear it." she attempts an excuse, red gradually creeping to her ears as she immediately glances to the ground to the side. "i.. don't particularly hate it." her face gets redder by the moment, and she tries to hide the fluster with her other hand, resting a knuckle against her nose. [break][break]

"my eyes are perfectly fine."

Dal-yong Nam [break]
attempt on alakazam

☉

"there is nothing funny about this.." [break][break]

she needs to stop herself from raising her voice, but it's so difficult when there's someone next to her who's so eager to push buttons. though he may be a criminal, and one that evaded her while standing so close, she can't help but to feel a twang of guilt when she's stepped out of line. when she's been a bit too harsh. stubborn as a bull she is, which is why it's so difficult to admit defeat to begin with. [break][break]

she pulls herself away from his arm, a hue of pink kissing the tips of her ears and her cheeks alike. there has to be something around she can distract herself with as she calms down - anything. that anything happened to be an alakazam walking about, searching for the kadabra she just caught moments ago. [break][break]

but she doesn't know that. [break][break]

so she throws a pokeball at the wandering pokemon, before giving the man another, slight glare "don't give me that look.." she furrows her brows, attempting to move away "i happen to do poorly around ghost pokemon" excuses are made, and she finds herself gently fiddling with the pendant of a necklace, how ever instinctively "many people do."

Dal-yong Nam [break]
attempt on alakazam

☉

though not a rookie by the books, she's new to hoenn - and unfamiliar territory definitely makes her one of the.. less experienced ones. she's grateful to find someone here to help her out. [break][break]

she smiles and takes his hand, primarina at her side whistling in response. "fiora. thank you for having me." she smiles, exchanging formalities. pulling her hand back, however, she pulls out a little notebook of scribbled details. "we should be looking for a middle aged man, who went missing around three days ago. he was last seen going into the mountain." [break][break]

she understands why the time to report a missing person is three days, but she can't help but grimace slightly.

Greyson Connors [break]

☉

.. why this cocky, sly, coy little--[break][break]

she used harsh words, and made a harsher accusation. se knows this, and the guilt plagues her as the scene replays in her head. unfortunately, she knows that this man would sooner revel in what apology she would have to give him, so she's pit between her irritation and her morals. unfortunately for her, she picks the latter. [break][break]

".. i apologize for the accusation." her voice is lowered, and the apology is quiet and quick. pray that he doesn't latch onto it as a means to irritate her. "but you'd do well to know that i--" a gasp suddenly escapes her, just as a passing litwick had eavesdropped into the conversation, opting to scare the woman with a harmless ASTONISH. it was so sudden, she finds herself instinctively moving, inches from latching onto a man's coat. [break][break]

she pauses. she catches herself. then she pulls her hand away and clears her throat. [break][break]

"... a-anyways, it isn't funny."

Dal-yong Nam [break]
skipping

☉

she remembers coming to the graves as a child, walking with her father to visit those who'd fallen in battle. [break][break]

it's nostalgic, really. she smiles, since she's sure that's she's finally alone. it will be okay, and she was sure hat a certain somebody wasn't going to be here to bother her. it'll be okay, so she decided to let a little pichu out of its pokeball to wander the yard with her.

GIMME THAT PSYCHIC POKEMON

☉