the two of them have been in the same circle for a long time now. but that doesn't mean parker knows jayden's favorite color. or his favorite food. she knows all she needs to know about him - and it ain't much. 

but that's the case with most people she knows. it's not personal. 

"yeah," she says. she hasn't seen him in a while, but that's not abnormal either. lots of rockets have been going missing these days. or have been put six feet under. she suppresses a shudder. 

"remus has," she says and nods toward the lucario. "but we don't gotta worry. their ragtag group leader's a dumbass. 've kicked 'im around a few times."

jayden cross

☉

she picks up on the sarcasm, but doesn't comment on it. to be quite honest, parker is stressed. she doesn't want a promotion and she sure as fuck doesn't want to do a piss-poor job and get her ass handed to her. but it's not in her blood to half-ass anything. she shifts her weight, shakes herself loose. 

eyes remus. the lucario nods, palms pressing together. red eyes burn blue and parker leaves him to his analyzing. amulius is readying up much like his trainer. 

'a'right. see ya on th'other side, beast." 

by the time lex has moved around to position, remus is done analyzing. both dual-types flank her. parker drops another pokeball behind her and whistles for faustus to come in after them. 

inside, a few low level lackeys crowd a fold-out card table. a couple more shoot pool off a solid piece of craftsmanship - stolen, no doubt. their outfits match. some off-brand gang that happened to step a toe out of line. you don't get on rocket's bad side and walk away without a few broken bones. 

metal crunches. one lackey, card pinched in his fingers, pauses. another crunch. three more pointed dents. the hinges creak and then the door is blown inward. 

they're all up in a flash, drawing pokeballs from their belts. but faustus is faster. claws wrap around two of the pokeballs in midair before they can click open. they crunch and then crumble in his talons. 

remus and amulius dive against the pokemon that manage to get released. parker launches herself over a snapping mightyena. she tucks into a roll, grunting as her shoulder goes over some broken glass on the ground. but she pops up nonetheless, fists swinging in the surprised face of the poor ol' joe who's still holding his cards. 

Alexandra Briarwood

☉

consider it a hobby. or a wanting, moreover. she's been too damn busy to do anything more than watch on the sidelines - dirt and rubble (and sometimes dried blood) flying sideways from squealing tires. the races move. happen in an instant. but people like her always know where they're going to be. 

they're here to see the carnage. and above it all, the king. the newest champion's been un-fucking-stoppable. all anyone's ever seen is a curling lock of blonde hair from under their sleek black helmet. 

it's not the sea witch. she knows it. skyler dross ain't been around since their tussle and their drinks thereafter - she tries not to let it get to her. 

fuck me.

riders need a second hand. she's put out some feelers, but no one's really bitten. so it's in her garage - machine oil smeared over her nose, tank stuck to her frame with sweat - when someone answers her call. 

she slides out from under a car that's definitely been marked as salvage at some point in its dreary life. 

"'sup. you nina?"

nina larson

☉

doesn't really matter the job. doesn't matter the target. doesn't matter the partner. all that matters, at the end of the day, is that she gets a wad of cash in her pocket. the stinging reminder of her strength on her fists is just a bonus (is what she tells herself). 

she doesn't consider herself lucky to get plucked for an assignment by one of rocket's beasts. she's tried her damn best to stay under the radar. 

but hey, she gets results. 

she eyes the warehouse they stand outside of. her hood's up, covering pink hair. she thumbs the pokeballs at her side. it's a big enough job they'll need to go in with a posse. 

she shrugs. "figure 'tween the two of us, they'll crumple like a house a cards." cracks her knuckles. "i'll get the shit from our target myself."

Alexandra Briarwood

☉

"i shower," she says, feigning insult. she grimaces as she takes a swig. this ain't king's place so she has to be quick about slipping the bottle back into the well. nearly gets caught red-handed too, but some gal at the end of the bar calls his attention right as he's turning around. 

she huffs and clambers into the seat beside him. her gaze slides to the fights that are going on. the sounds of pokemon snarling vie over the crowing of the audience. bets switch hands quickly, as the matches don't last very long here. 

"lookin' for a blonde a my own," she admits. she hasn't seen the sea witch around king's place for quite some time. can't help but think it's her fault. 

seems she's not ghosting this haunt either. 

"but 'sides from that, i'm actually here on business." she nods in the direction of one of the rings. this battle's actually been going for a few minutes now. the machamp and the primeape in the cage are sporting several wounds though. 

"tryna let my man win a few bucks 'fore i take it from 'im. doubt he'll win back all he owes though." she leans back, flags the bartender now and orders a neat pour of rum and another round for king.

"and you?" she asks. "business or pleasure?"

KING WAYLAND

☉

she could've gone elsewhere, could've gotten out of the city for a bit. she could've seen sootopolis in all its glory (for rocket, sings its underlings), but there are plenty of whispers of defection here. she doesn't need to concern herself with the whims of the otherworldly. 

it's cleaning up shit in her hometown ('cause that's what slateport's come to be). it's keeping the cowards in line, quivering in their boots and restrained by fear. 

be fodder for the league and put up the fight against alien assailants? or keep trafficking drugs and pokemon and skirting under the fantastical, stick to the banal and stay safe. under the radar. what fucking moron wants to risk that? 

remus and amulius flank her. she doesn't need them to get the don't fuck with me presence across, but their companionship is a comfort. amulius practices his katas while remus stands guard. he lifts his head as their partner-in-crime (quite literally) rounds the corner. 

parker stands, dusts off her ass, and says, "ready to knock some heads?"

jayden cross

☉

sweat gives her skin a dewy look. it'd be sexy, if it weren't for the pink in her cheeks and the stink from her pits. she wipes at them with the towel and snorts, reaching around king to snatch the bottle from him. she makes a face. rotgut whiskey. she's more a rum gal. 

likes the sweeter things in life. hah. 

"nah, i'd rather take a crack at 'er myself," she says with a wolfish grin. "they say blondes are more fun."

KING WAYLAND

☉

ever-split lip. knuckles ripped up, callouses thick to deaden the pain. and the bag comes swinging back for more. she's blinking through sweat as music pounds in her skull. one, two, fuck. and she's not running from anything, really. nothing at all, save for a dumb blonde's tresses glinting in the corner of her vision. a wayward siren who'll never be hers, haunting her dreams in that primal way most known to hungry men. 

she makes a face and throws one last punch, muscles coiled like an adder. and she holds it, breathing hard, feeling tense all over. and with a sigh, she releases it, draws one of her earbuds out when a friend approaches. 

"done kicking the shit outta your new princess?" she asks as she tosses a towel around her neck, uses the corner to dab up some sweat. she licks her lips. 

KING WAYLAND

☉

now that they're up close and personal and the world is spinning and skyler's really the only damn beacon of light in front of her - blonde and muscular and beautiful and glowing like a lighthouse (still ain't gonna stop parker from crashing against rock and crag and tipping overboard, falling headfirst down the side and drowning - )

she pitches to the side, wooziness coming over her, bile backing up in her throat. it takes everything and i mean everything in her, god and heaven above, not to spew everything onto the dame's lap. she gives a colossal sigh instead, scrunches her face up real tight, and counts down the seconds until the waves stop battering her. 

"nnnnyous boat?" her tongue swells in her mouth and her brain says i wanna fuck her right now and her body says just close your eyes and slide right onto that welcoming floor, slick with beer and blood and who knows what else. 

"m'place," she starts and then gasps again. "place 's afew'uck.....doors down. c'mon, bl-hicc-blondie."

skyler dross

☉

parker hits her with the fuck me eyes, though she doesn't mean to. hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and parker's done testing those waters. 'cept maybe she's not, with the way skyler's looking at her. and it's all through a drunken haze now as she trips into the pit, as the rushed shots come catching up to her. 

she finds herself mimicking skyler's movements - grabbing the bar like a lifeline, for all that's worth. she puffs out her cheeks, feels like she's run five fucking miles, and then swallows the bile that threatens to rise in her throat. 

and then skyler hits her with an obvious duh and she's forced to drink another shot. but all she can do is blame herself for starting the damn game in the first place. 

"at this rate, 'e'll be keeeeeeled over 'n upsideown. fuhuck. mmmm. ne'er i e'er fucked a sea witch."

skyler dross

☉

marriage doesn't suit the blonde, parker decides. she's cold as the sea, wild and untamable. but there's that thing about it, a quote from fuck - the sea, once it casts its spell, holds on in its net of wonder forever. some naval explorer. it's a thing of beauty, but most beautiful things are untouchable. 

is she quieted, made mute, away from places like this? or do they call to her, a siren's song, even when she's away. 

parker snubs her nose and makes a face. "nah 's us'ally the tongue gets 'em weak in the knees," she says, swiping said tongue out to lick her lips. she winks. 

"hrmm, is your turn. ain'ya play ne'e'r h've e'ver?" she narrows her eyes to try to focus on skyler's wavering visage. never have i ever is a game for those looking to get wasted, not for two gals already two fucking sheets to the wind.

she laughs at skyler's face after her latest shot. parker holds up another round, raises her glass, and then looks at her expectantly. 

skyler dross

☉