she wasn’t spared these crashing waves. rather, she felt immobile like the figurehead of a ship through a storm, very nearly drowning time and time again in what she’d gotten herself into. it was taxing in all sorts of ways.

her meticulous glamour hid the lack of sleep under her eyes, which peered down at the screen he held out. the nerves were real. an admin? that morning, when she’d been summoned, she'd felt sick until she had to arrive, and she felt sick still. for some reason, she’d never expected to meet any of them at the top.

she looked up at him, lashes like bushy black butterflies framing carefully veiled fear and suspicion. she was a specialist when it came to tricks and lies.  he had something else up his sleeve.

mouth dry, she cleared her throat lightly.

”sure. no problem.”

the corners of her mouth rose, doing her best to look confident. she was top-notch, but to be in the presence of this level of authority was beyond nerve-wracking.

she looked towards the shooting range and then back.

”are you coming too?”

Martín del Mar

nina watched her, eyes attentive. getting-to-know-you games. cute. she’d played this before.

”okay. let’s do it.”

her elbow rested on the edge of the table casually, waiting for the extra spice the woman had in store for their game. at the idea, she smirked, brow wrinkling a little. ”double?” that didn’t seem quite fair—but she’d go with it. ”fine.”

without missing a beat, she rattled off a string of three lies.

“i’m twenty-eight, recently divorced, and vacationing from unova.”

Amber Lenoir

as long as she had worked for GABRIEL BLACK , she hadn’t met the kids. for now, she was clueless to the relation.

”that’s cute.” she looked up. ”saffron’s my only fire-type.”

the regret and mystery surrounding her family flared in her diaphragm, but she breathed the sensation away to the cold air in a puff of steam.

which of her pokémon were her favorite?

”hmm…” she considered, ”i usually have togepi with me. it’s good luck.”

@jessica

nina’s brow scrunched a little, because at least to her, that didn’t make any sense. she set her drink aside again, momentarily aware of the warmth that glowed from her hands and her chest.

”hm.”

his offer caught her off-guard, but the booze was starting to hit, so a grin slipped anyways.

”mm… that’s okay.”

her head shook.

NIKO MANNER

sure he would.

she made a face at him, scrunching like she’d sucked up lemon pulp.

”i’m not short.” she was a little bit short. ”you’re just freakishly tall.”

sip.

”how’s the weather up there?”

NIKO MANNER

the food arrived, and it smelled delicious, but she was finding her appetite waning.

it stung, to be told she didn’t belong. that doom was likely. it wasn’t what she’d been expecting over a meal with him, but she supposed, to be fair, she hadn’t done king any good to begin with. actually, there had been a fair amount of damage. why wouldn’t he be critical?

her eyes settled away from him, and she took a bite from her burger despite the knot in her stomach.

KING WAYLAND

the slurpuff sputtered, lolling tongue flinging spittle as it turned to retreat towards another stretch of dryer sand. mudkip puffed its chest triumphantly before spotting another victim—this one further ahead nina, who had also seen it.

as an earbud came out, and she paused the audiobook on her phone, her small watery friend was already on its way in bounds.

”no!”

nina knew well how important it was to tip-toe around a togepi one intended to catch. if it didn’t like you, that was bad luck for like… forever.

she lunged, tackling her mudkip in the sand to keep it from attacking. it writhed defiantly, and she growled at it, ”leave it…”

’kip!’

once she was able to reach for its pokéball, the little amphibian was returned. nina took a deep breath, and then crawled over towards the new friend, smiling brightly.

”hi there, togepi!”

attempting to catch togepi

twenty-seven isn’t that old.

she seemed young? she blinked, sipping her drink again.

”june twelfth.” no, it definitely wasn’t—but to be fair, she didn’t know that. not yet, at least, although she was starting to put things together.

”why’d you think i was a baby?”

NIKO MANNER

the wink was received with an appreciative smile. the way her body turned gave amber the spotlight of her attention, drawn away from the table even as she leaned against it.

her head dipped to the other side as she replied, ”well, i don’t see what’s wrong with winning…”

she inclined towards her an inch. not close enough to invade her space, but certainly enough to show interest.

”is there something you’d like to know?”

nina wondered what the woman’s name was, but she waited. this was a slow game that she was playing. when they were a spontaneous target, it was often better to play it cool.

Amber Lenoir

”yeah,” she confirmed, the alcohol beginning to warm her face.

she waited, her brow scrunching a little at him until he answered, and she laughed.

”why’d you seem like you had to think about it?”

this time, she reached for the drink more readily as it was set to her side, having turned more towards him. the straw immediately came to her lips.

”mhm-mm—“ after a large sip, she corrected, ”no. twenty-six.”

NIKO MANNER

he wasn’t looking at her now, and she shrank back into her seat, eyes falling as well. when he looked for hers, they would be lingering on a salt shaker. after taking a sigh and another moment, she looked up and caught his stare, almost startled by it. it was so vague. hers took on a similar look. a defensive maneuver.

she thought of the work that she had done for gabe. it had not been until after rocket that work outside her usual realm had finally surfaced with him. by now, she at least had a means to distance herself from the possibility that he’d ask again. rocket had provided new opportunities, however dangerous. at least they were not so lonely.

but was it really better on this side of things? when she was risking death?

she hadn’t often felt trapped in her life.

”i can’t just leave.” her eyes left again. ”i can’t get a real job. i’ve never been to school, and i don’t have any real identification. i don’t… really exist.” and she didn’t know why that was. she blinked, and shrugged. ”this is the only thing i know how to do.”

KING WAYLAND