cora's laugh echoes in the room, nearly keeling over from the force. avery smiles in response. not a kind smile, but a crooked, playful one. if avery had said that when they first met, she'd have said it with a lot more venom laced in her words. and cora would probably be at her throat. but instead, they just enjoyed their their game of teasing and insulting...for now. it was a welcome change to the toil of daily rocket life.

cora leans in for a kiss, ever so gentle, as a sign for what's to come later. avery doesn't move, letting her lips linger for just a moment. her cheek tingles from the touch, and she licks her lips. she was getting hungry, and she wasn't going to wait much longer.

she momentarily pushes that thought to the back of her head at the sight of the nails. cora waves hers in front of avery's face, just as manicured and pretty as the other ones. ''oh, i thought you just woke up at ass crack in the morning everyday." avery says. cora's next comment, unfortunately, passes right over her head. she leans forward onto her palms, humming thoughtfully.

"yeah, like lockpicking and stuff? also i feel like if you broke them while fighting or something, it'd kind of hurt."

avery perks up at the prospect of having little tiny claws, though she tries hard to mask her excitement. cora could probably see right through it. "oh fine. you're cute when you're begging." avery snickers, with no small amount of affection in her voice.

she splays out her fingers. and wiggles.

Cora Valentine

"ehh? that's cool. do you know karate or somethin'?" avery asks. at the gym no less. this guy must be some big shot if he's casually doing seminars or something. "i'm just travelin' around, ya know? wanna see the sights." she starts swinging the garbador's arms back and forth, like a little girl.

when they start attacking though, she neatly moves herself away, not wanting to be caught in the cross fire. the garbodor first casts a mean look, and then a gunk shot. she gets a whiff of the garbodor's stink, and while it's not pleasant, she has smelled worst. this was like city garbage, a smell she was already accustomed to. she probably wouldn't get a pokemon like that on her own, but avery didn't mind making friends with one, either.

"i agree with you there. have you ever smelled rotten fish? that shit's nasty."

she ignores the fraxure before her, letting it peacefully eat the grass underneath its feet.

skip
MATIAS SILPH

the next mission comes to her in the afternoon. the sun, still not quite set, brought harsh rays down into hoenn. she scans it briefly with her eyes, taking in the location, objective, and partner. a swarm of pikachu were overrunning hoenn, and they need to be captured. ugh. she was looking forward to a relaxing day, but a job is a job.

she makes her way to the area in due time, and waits for her partner. avery vaguely recognized the name violet, but she hasn't interacted with such person. maybe they'd be fun or something, but considering her coworkers, she leveled low expectations.

she nudges a rock towards her galarian meowth. the type advantage should prove useful when they do encounter those pikachu.

Violet Fairbanks mission

taking w/ Violet Fairbanks

tesorina and amore mio. cora had a penchant for nicknames, and avery couldn't deny that she'd grown attached to such affections, even though she didn't really know what they meant. she didn't want to ask either, for risk of looking...stupid. cora could be insulting her and avery wouldn't have known. but she knows cora wouldn't do that. she'd tell it to her face.

cora's compliments sound patronizing, and avery wasn't afraid to hit the ball back where it came from. "not sure if i wanna look grown up. i'm not an old lady like you." avery says, sticking out her tongue. she nearly ruins the lipstick, but manages to barely evade smudging, for now. it's only a matter of time, though. she'll need some time to adjust. or maybe she should just use a really nice lipstick.

"what the fuck is that?" avery looks at the nails cautiously. they would definitely get in the way of her jobs. she'd probably poke her eye out of she weren't careful. her lips twist in disgust before her eyes widen, suddenly lighting up with a new idea.

"can you sharpen those? like claws?"

Cora Valentine

the next pokemon appears to her like a gift. horns on the back of its head, and covered in light blue markings, avery instantly writes it as cool, in her theoretical ranking of pokemon.

"heya, you're a cutie aren't you." avery fawns, holding out some leftover food. the cranidos sniffs slightly before taking it, cautious as ever. avery mirrors it, eyeing the hard part on its head. surely, it could bash her ribs in if it wanted.

"how about this?" she says, presenting a pokeball. the cranidos eyes it curiously before she gently taps it on the head, its form disappearing into the ball. it only takes a couple shakes before the telltale click, and she pumps a fist in excitement. they're only a couple minutes from rustboro too, which is a win in her book. it was time to rest with her new fabled pokemon.

"woo! let's go."

capture

"oh! what are you planning on doing in rustboro?" avery asks. she is not usually one for conversation, but matias makes it easy to chat. she sees the two pokemon at the same time he does. she finds herself gravitating towards the houndoom, not super hostile. she motions for her sanlandit to ambush it, using its small body to hide underneath the foliage, and slathers it in a poisonous VENOSHOCK and POISON GAS.

the houndoom's EMBER is weak and doesn't phase her salandit much. golem's already rolled away in mild shock, and before the houndoom rolls away, avery throws a pokeball at it. twitch. twitch. click. capture. she picks it up and stuffs it in her pocket before continuing their conversation.

"that's true. were you afraid of its stench at first?" she reaches for the garbador's hand again, wanting to idle in its cuteness. this was pleasant.

MATIAS SILPH

the rendezvous point was in the upper district of slateport. avery was not happy about the location, but she was willing to compromise for the sake of the mission. as a relatively new recruit to rocket, she was not privy to many of the more interesting missions, not that she really wanted to be. despite her peers excelling and growing around her, she tended to stay a stagnant, constant force among the hustle and bustle of team rocket's new leadership.

she catches sight of her partner, beanie on his head. way to look sus, she thinks. she's not much better - avery sports blue lipstick and blue hair. most would describe her as edgy. not the most law abiding look out there, but what does she care?

"you here for silph prime shipping?" she says, her words carefully hiding crooked intentions. she follows his gaze to the pokemon center. it's the middle of the night, and the influx of patrons checking in have slowed to a stop. it's the ideal time, but they should still make preparations in case something goes south.

"we should probably enter and exit through the back, i haven't seen many people go through there. name's avery by the way."

 DEREK HOFFMAN

"well, let's see it then." avery says, slightly pouting. cora was always true to her word, but avery was starting to get impatient. their flirting sometimes dragged too long, a game of push and pull until one of them finally broke. often, it was avery. she just didn't have the patience to tease.

cora pulls up another chair, and they sit across from each other, knees touching. she licks her lips in anticipation, feeling her breath hitch when cora wraps her fingers around avery's chin. in response, she reaches to lay her hands on cora's knees.

"ffinne." avery says through pursed lips, keeping very still as cora gently draws on her face. it's a foreign sensation, and she resists the urge to lick her lips again. avery's heart pounds, and she feels it rush in her ears. her grip on cora's knees tighten.

when cora's finishes, avery straightens, looking at herself in the mirror. cora drew the lipstick on perfectly, lining her lips as if they really were that color naturally. and this shade of blue does fit her aesthetic. deep, electrifying. avery can't help but grin a little bit. she's giddy. "it's...nice." she says, unsure of what to say or how to really react. "what d'you think...?"

maybe this was growth, but perhaps this makeup thing wasn't so bad after all.

Cora Valentine

she does a short run through the route, stopping short of a rolycoly. her chest heaves with each breath, lungs burning slightly. maybe i need to lighten up on the combusken nuggets, she thinks.

the rolycoly stays still and stares up at her. avery knows it can roll, but it doesn't. perhaps it's curious about her? she nudges it with her foot. a large INCINERATE nearly torches off her eyebrows, and she barely dodges in time to get out unscathed.

her curiousity does not override her sense of self-preservation, and she quickly darts around the rolycoly as she moves further down the route.

skip

avery blinks once again, to confirm that yes, this is indeed not her galarian meowth. she looks around for the culprit, but her own pokemon is already gone. fine. she'll have to find it again another time.

avery moves to put the meowth down, but before she can, she hears another person's voice in a thick french accent.

"unhand your what now?" she sputters, blushing slightly before she realizes what his words actually mean. she squints. who speaks like that? and avery's not ever been called a 'meescreation', but it sounds like an insult if she ever heard one!

"well you can have your pussy back then!" she says, and (not so) gracefully chucks the galarian meowth over to the man next to her.

she's gotta look for her own pussy anyways.


@rene

bushes rustle next to her, and she sees the pokemon walk into the clearing. avery stays very very still, waiting for it to make itself known. dedenne. an electric mouse, part fairy. it's actually pretty cute...but she doesn't want it.

she quickly dives for it, hands grabbing on its sides. the dedenne yelps in surprise, and sends little shocks down her arms. she takes another moment to stand and yeet it into a nearby bush. a flash of lightning singes the foliage, and she runs away before it can come back for revenge.

hehe. harmless prank.

skip

avery was good at a lot of things. she was good at running (away), stealing, and all that typical criminal stuff. she didn't really care for politics, like most of the rockets around her. that was above her pay grade. cora was someone who excelled and might be up in the ranks one day, and avery begrudgingly applauded her for that. better her than me, avery thinks.

"...shut up." avery says, pursing said lips, though it had no sting behind her words. her face burned, and she's sure that cora could see the bloom of red on her cheekbones from the compliment. cora is teasing, but flirting is still flirting.

"just wait until you see them up close."

avery glances away and offers the lipstick to cora. to her perfectly manicured hands and pretty eyeshadow and mascara. she's still new to this 'friends with benefits' thing. to avery, it's both weirdly enjoyable and also torture...feelings are weird.

"since you're so good at it, i'll have you do it."

Cora Valentine