after the scuffle with the absol, parker turns her attention back to her present company. she raises a brow incredulously at evelyn and then harks out a laugh. "shit, what guy did you dirty so bad you wanna kill 'im slow and painful?"

the arbok bursts free and remus' lips curl. he looks to parker for direction and she just shrugs, allowing the lucario to leap towards it and deliver a couple of blows of its own to the snake. it takes some damage in return, but comes back neatly, looking towards evelyn with his jaw parted, chest rising as he catches his breath. 

Evelyn Vespera
skipping but beating the shit out of arbok for evelyn

☉

shit. she's throwing them back like it's fuckin' apple juice. parker's already fighting the bile trying to claw its way up her throat. she fancies sugar rims and egg white drinks, slow sips and slow burns, and the world not tottering on its axis. she likes to know which way is up. and hates how fucking vulnerable she is, peeled apart, layers burned away with chemical reactions.

"must be in some fucked up shit," she comments, turning in her bar seat and leaning her back against the bar, if only to steady herself. her eyes narrow and she reaches for the glass of water that has accompanied their next round. 

"nah," she says. "you's a catch, sweetheart, but a no's a no." she licks her lips, tilts her head. "but i better be the first ya come to when ya filin' divorce."

she deigns to risk another shot and grimaces. "but i'll beat the shit outta yas any time ya want." she holds another shot in her hands and looks down at it with a frown, raises it up to skyler as if to toast. 

"never h've i ever kissed a guy an' liked it."

skyler dross

☉

SPOILER: Click to show

hope's gathered and then dashed all at once, but parker doesn't glower like some of the men still around them. she bottoms up instead, grimacing at the taste as it goes down. it's rotgut shit, to boot, 'cause she doesn't know shit about tequila to order anything else. (and maybe, down the road, if someone showed her the nuances of it, she might get a deeper appreciation.)

but she doesn't have to, 'cause skyler goes and orders the one thing she does enjoy. what? she likes things a little sweet. 

"always the bridesmaid, never the bride," parker says sarcastically. she matches the captain with her own sort of fervor, though she's fairly certain this is the one fight she's going to lose against her. parker has a tolerance, but not one hardened by the sea. 

"keep the rum coming," she says and props her elbow on the bar. 

"so, a taken woman, out here lookin' to kick the shit out of some low-lives. i'n't that what your partner's for? professin' your love and 'talking' 'bout shit so you don't gotta do -" she waves one hand to the surrounding area, "this?"

skyler dross

☉

skyler takes her hand, like she knew she would, and parker settles her heels in, leans her weight away from the woman to help drag her upright. the girl's built and muscle's fuckin' heavy. parker's imagination does a couple of complimentary things to skyler's figure, but she looks away from her. respects her too much now. 

gaze finds her way back to her regardless, but then she looks past her, slips her arm under her waist, and gives her ass a good smack in front of the booing men. "enjoy your fuckin' blue balls, boys. this one's mine." 

show officially over and with the excitement thoroughly disinterested in any man's advances, they leave the pair alone to the bar. 

parker lets up when skyler proves she can walk. and as soon as her liquor of choice comes out of her mouth, parker waggles two fingers at the barkeep. 

he brings them four instead. 

"bottoms up, sweetheart." she takes both of hers quickly and grimaces at the aftertaste. tequila is, in fact, not her liquor of choice. 

"so, you taken or do i actually have a fuckin' shot?"

skyler dross

☉

"sure as shit doesn't make me sad," she says, mouth twisting. she turns her head away, even though he's not looking at her anyway. her mouth goes sour and words rise in her throat. the kid beside her has the posture of someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth. 

he's never known the under-city. he's never seen the festering underbelly, never had to build a life from muck and discarded nothings. she's street trash, making use of the opportunities presented to her. 

but he won't understand that. and she doesn't need him to anyway. 

remus stiffens beside her and parker turns from the window. the pup's eyes burn a soft blue and he yips just as thunder booms too close for comfort. 

"yo, cabbie - we almost there?"

Xander Belmont

☉

whatever poor bastard she goes home to when the sun comes up ain't gonna know what hit her. she'd worry about a target on her back for leaving the marks she has on her, but there's something unspoken between the two of them. a mutual respect, communicated in growls and snarls and petal blossoms of pain on each other's skin. 

she sits up with a grimace and spits her own glob of blood. her pants are ripped and a fuckin' chunk of her is missing. fucking christ. 

with a groan, one arm wrapped around her stomach, she pushes herself up, weight balanced on her good leg. vertigo almost has her toppling over. but she blinks hard and finds her center. 

she harks a laugh. 

and the crowd around her is crowing at them to finish it, to stop their pussy-footing around and go for the throat. they want the climax that parker and skyler have been dangling in front of them this entire fight. but parker's a feminist, if nothing else, and flips them off as she shuffles towards skyler. 

she extends a hand, brow cocked. 

"i would," she says, "but i oughta buy ya a drink first."

skyler dross

☉

he's never been the smartest, this one. anyone with sense would've checked the peephole on the door and barred it shut. but the bulky man, a little heavy on his mid-section, blinks owlishly at the two people on his doorstep. atlas does the talking, as per parker's request, but he looks past them and at her instead. 

and he looks...tired. that sarcastic scowl is nowhere to be found and parker's stomach clenches. because that's the tell-tale sign of some fucked up shit, but her job won't change. her job can't change. 

she tries not to get to know the people she roughs around, but it's hard to blot out all the little things she sees when her fists are flying - half-scrawled get well soon cards and receipts for flowers and meditative books. bax's mom's been sick for a long time. 

there's a reason he's on the other end of a loan shark's teeth. 

"yeah. yeah, i figured you'd a come knockin'. thing is i ain't payin' up." he shrugs his broad shoulders and turns around, walking down the hallway and leaving the door wide open. 

parker frowns. "might need to get our hands dirty after all," she says as she shoves the sleeves of her jacket up to her forearms and steps into the house.

atlas able

☉

haven't run into much trouble. he's either a fucking idiot or he's lying. maybe both. there are plenty of civilians in slateport under league affiliation and jurisdiction, yes, but much of what goes on in the undercity splashes into the light. most of them simply ignore it. as they say, ignorance is bliss. 

she flexes her fingers and then snorts. "it's always a little bit o' both," she says truthfully, but not without a smug grin. honestly, since getting in the cab herself, she's thought of exactly three different ways she could beat the redhead's ass. 

it's some sort of comfort, really. 

Xander Belmont

☉

and then the waterfall parts again and the roaring in her ears is replaced by the jeers and the crude catcalls and every other vile thing she can think of. images of amulius leaving charred and broken bodies in his wake brings her a sort of inner peace. her blood goes back to pounding in her ears and her vision tightens, tunnel vision bringing skyler's face front and center. 

skyler's knees are digging into her hips and her thigh's still fucking bleeding (christ almighty), but she's still got her head on her shoulders and adrenaline coursing through her veins. and just enough tension to keep her interested. 

she's pinned and skyler is strong, but the woman makes a mistake. she brings those beautiful blood-stained lips a little closer, smile leering, eyes glowering, and parker thinks, fuck me and says, "you must be real damn wild in bed, sweetheart," and jerks her head up to smash her skull into skyler's face. 

skyler dross

☉

what parker doesn't say about bax is that the dumbass actually looks forward to when parker shows up. she's half a mind to believe the guy's consistently late on his payments just 'cause she's the one who comes to settle his debt. everyone has their quirks, she supposes, and even sorry cases like bax deserve a little care and attention. 

which is why she's looking forward to sicking her new partner on 'im. because she's had enough of his lip and she's a little not in the mood for him right now. 

"hah, just wait 'til they assign you to deal with an alien or some shit," she says with a shake of her head. it's like a roulette at this point. she's just lucky enough to have stayed under the radar this long. 

"more or less? most of us 're nomads by trade, i s'pose. i don't really see the point sinking a whole lotta money into rent either. not when i'm outta the house ninety percent a the time." 

she stops just outside baxter's house and knocks one, two, three times. 

"i'll let ya do all the talkin'," she says as footsteps approach. 

atlas able

☉

satisfaction settles over her as skyler's lip splits. blood splatters out over the floor from the force of the blow. ah, and the snarling is music to her ears. she's not pulling her punches, really, but she'd have pummeled a little bit more if it were a man under her. most of 'em like to go with bitch or cunt instead. and that really makes her angry. 

but naw, she's looking down at this goddess in all her fury beneath her and she's thinking maybe she can sneak a quick kiss, get some of that blood on her own lips. and then, sequentially, she thinks damn, i really need to get laid. 

and that's about when skyler sinks her teeth into parker's thigh. 

"you a fuckin' granbull?" she sputters, almost incoherently, as pain lances up her side. fucking hell. hands go down to skyler's own and she attempts to pry the woman off of her. her legs go slack in the process. she twists, aiming to knock her kneecap into skyler's jaw to get her to let go, but her balance is off and she falls heavily to her side with a grunt. 

skyler dross

☉