seems her companion here's not interested in chatter. that suits parker just fine. gives her some time to size her up. there's a certain presence that comes off her - authority in that she could just look at someone and get them to piss their pants before doing exactly what she tells them to do. but, and here's the key thing - she sure as fuck doesn't seem authoritative. 

which is kinda relaxing, to be honest. 

parker can also certainly appreciate the set of her jaw, the busty waist, the absolute certainty that this woman would be one hell of a match if they started exchanging blows. 

"eh, maybe our luck'll hold," parker says in response to the lead in her tone. "y'ever messed with one of these things? can't say i'm a fan of the psychic types." amulius grumbles his displeasure as well. 

Marza Volchitsa

☉

and damn if she doesn't look wild as all get out. parker can't help the giddy laughter that bubbles up and out of her. fortune smiles upon her, truly, with someone like nina picking up her job. not only are they ahead of the game, parker's actually having fun. 

almost to the point of not thinking about the blonde who's been giving her the runaround these past couple weeks. 

"well, our pals caught up to me, thanks to your super-soaker." she goes around the back of the candy shop so she can pop open the door and see the engine for herself. it sits real pretty and parker shakes her head with amusement, shutting the door again to look at nina. 

"did a fine job convincing 'em i had nothing to do with it. it'll be smooth fuckin' sailin' til race day thanks to you. tipped 'em off you were headed towards the other side of town."

she cracks her neck and tosses the bag of peas in the garbage. shakes out cold, wet fingers. 

"i don't really need ya 'til the engine's in, but...wanna stay? help me get our ride ready to roll?"

nina larson

☉

somehow, with nothing but a carracosta pushing them, nina almost manages to lose parker. they're halfway across town when parker swears she hears shouting from a ways behind them. damn it, she thinks, but she needn't worry about them catching up to nina because nina decides to go batshit and order the carracosta forward with a water-type move. 

well, that water has to go somewhere and parker gets a mouthful of it; it snipes her and she loses her footing, stumbles, and hits the ground hard. remus and amulius are on her at once, but she waves them off angrily. 

and then the fighting-types are turning, hackles raised and feathers plumed. parker sits up with a groan and rubs her skinned jaw. 

"oh, motherfucker," she says with a grimace as their pursuers make themselves known. 

//

it's about forty-five minutes later that parker wrenches open the front door to the candy shop. she's nursing a black eye with some frozen peas she'd picked up from the corner mart on the way back. but despite the bruiser, she's grinning from ear to ear. her hair is still damp, mussed from the tussle, and her shirt's just about try. 

"you are fuckin' insane," parker crows as she steps down into the garage. 

nina larson

☉

for all parker knew, her partner's already here and halfway up the mountain by now. while she's sure rocket's more organized than the league, some contact information about her cohort would have been nice. but she doesn't have much time to think about it because amulius is reaching an arm down towards her and hauling her up a steep side. 

she's fit as all hell, but she can't scale a mountain like a pokemon. so she's breathing hard when he pulls her up and she's wiping the sweat from her brow when someone calls her name below her. at the same time, amulius looks up and cocks his head at the corviknight. 

"motherf - " she starts and then crouches down, landing with a thud and a grunt back down where she'd just come from.

"swine catchin' for the glory of rocket," parker says with a sigh. "'m assumin' that's ya bird?" raising her voice, "mul, c'mon back down." then: "think it can find the bastards for us?"

Marza Volchitsa

☉

parker ducks with a string of curses as the shots ring out. wood splinters, spraying over her. damn, what a shame. the banister was actually the nicest thing in the dingy place. she pokes her head back up in time to see lex ordering the haunter to go behind the attacker. 

parker braces for carnage. the haunter looks damn hungry. but rather than go in for its tasty meal, it shoves the attacker forward. remus steps back, giving amulius the room he needs to roundhouse kick the grunt. momentum carries him up and over the railing, where he lands with a sickening crunch on the floor below. 

parker makes a face at the noise, but says nothing. and then there's silence. 

remus rolls one of his shoulders and amulius heads off down the hallway to do the usual. he gathers any valuables he can find so they can pawn off the goods and send rocket back its due. 

"not half bad then, eh? only died once or twice. really gets the blood pumpin'."

Alexandra Briarwood

☉

she's not one to complain, but she sure as hell would rather keep things close to home. parker's not too big a fan of travel. unlike avery, who can't sit still for one gods-damned second, but her sister had declined her invitation to fulfill the job. so the spot went up to hq to be filled. it's dangerous enough work that she's not about to let her ego get the best of her.

amulius, however, is not impressed by the stagnancy and parker's stalwart resolution to sit and wait for their partner dwindles. eventually, the blaziken coerces her into trekking a ways up the mountainside path, if only so that they might at least begin tracking the damned things while they wait.

Marza Volchitsa

☉

parker isn't sure what she's expecting from the woman at this point, but fairy-tale magic shit isn't it. she almost backpedals, but the loose sand under her only makes her trip over herself. she stumbles with a grunt, rightening straight into illeana's outstretched hand.

the mist spreads over her nose and the pain dulls. blinking, she raises a hand and finds smooth flesh.

"uhhh."

and then she just carries on the conversation. so parker just decides to shrug off the weird and think about it later.

"'kay. still. ocean probably ain't the best place t' start. gotta getcha in a pool or something." she grins. "maybe put some lil' floaties on?"

illeana reyes

☉

parker wonders how much of nina's aggressive throes are an act, but whichever way it is, she certainly doesn't mind. it takes all the willpower in the world to keep the rowdy laughter deep in her belly when nina slaps her with a bitch. dirty talk? definitely, definitely not a kink.

the pendulum swings and oh, boy is it a sight for sore eyes. with the arbok thoroughly focused on the task at hand, the ensnared grunt starts to recover his senses. parker tackles him to the ground and gives him a good bash on the head. 

amulius looks toward remus and the lucario shakes its head. there's no more audience for them to act in front of. so parker flees. with her pokemon flanking her, she jogs around the building, using remus to keep an eye on nina's whereabouts.

and if trouble starts to head their way, parker'll step out of the shadows to protect their prize, but she prays they won't have to.

"we didn't make too much of a racket, did we, mul?" she says breathily. the blaziken gives her a so-so wave of his hand.

nina larson

☉

"heh, sick." her attention shifts from the machoke's shoulder to the edge of the dock. greninja even perks up, moving from a languid lounge against the rails to peer down as the rangers take turns diving off the pier. and then, shortly after, the sounds of wave runners echo up from the water. the group of rangers move out. 

parker stretches her arms over her head, loosening up her own muscles. she nods towards greninja and the frog vaults off the pier too, landing beside their own rides some ten feet below. 

"alright, partner. let's go get some teeth." and with that, she too dives off the pier. her descent is a little less graceful than her greninja's; the frog helps haul her up into the seat of the bobbing jet ski. their water crafts are going to be faster than their adversaries', but they'll be a bit more difficult to handle. 

she peers up, waiting for tania and dan to join them. 

@tania

☉

she looks sideways at the woman. her skin is still pale as all get out, but the sun should do a pretty decent job of warming her up. hell, if parker takes her back to her set-up, amulius could make quick work of putting some color back into her cheeks. 

"nah," she says with a shake of her head and points at her split lip and still-fucked nose. "they say salt's good for shit like this, but damn if it doesn't hurt like hell."

she runs her fingers through her hair, shaking out some of the wet strands. "facin' your fears then, eh? if ya can't swim, prob'ly not the smartest thing to do alone."

illeana reyes

☉

color parker real damn impressed. and not by the terrifying golden-scaled snake that slithers alongside nina. no, it takes a lot for her to keep her curled smile off her face - her brows pull instead, anger settling in the square of her shoulders. 

she stumbles at the wrench nina throws at her, cursing when it smacks right into her calf. she slouches to the side and looks between her two pokemon and the slack-jawed stare of the grunt nina's snake had managed to immobilize. 

perfect. 

amulius and remus prepare to attack, but parker raises a hand. 

"hey there, babes, but uh, what the fuck? this is my steal." the grunt makes a disgruntled (ha) noise in the back of his throat, fingers twitching. the weight of the arbok's stare keeps him down. 

nina larson

☉

her grin is immeasurable when she manages to get under the rocket beast's skin. with a swagger in her step, she follows behind remus and amulius; the pokemon take the stairs two at a time. footsteps thunder towards them, but when they're about to clash, suddenly there is screaming. 

lex's haunter must be putting in some work. 

at the top of the landing, amulius suddenly throws his arms up. remus twists, going to cover parker with his body, but lex's wide guard sweeps in front of them, guarding them from the inferno expelled by the charmeleon at the top of the stairs. 

amulius wastes no time in dispatching it. the close combat swings in the blaziken's favor. at the bottom of the steps, faustus circles, providing eyes on their backs. 

and then the screams stop. amulius tilts his head, looks toward remus. the lucario's eyes burn softly and then his brows furrow in confusion. parker looks back at lex. 

Alexandra Briarwood

☉