Dom watched the Houndour slip off into the undergrowth and gave a contented little sigh. This was why he loved the job. Nature had an amazing way of bouncing back from any perceived slight, whether human-made or of its own design. He was happy to give it a helping hand when all seemed lost, though. After a wistful moment, he turned back toward the trail, collected Magnolia, and continued on his way.[break][break]

As they walked, Dom became aware of a strange sound echoing from deep in the woods. It wasn't one that was familiar to him and, with the obvious presence of poachers in the area, he was compelled to check it out. Weaving quietly through the tangle of branches, he did his best to follow the rhythmic scraping. He walked further off the path than he really wanted to, but the way the sound bounced with so few leaves deceived him. Finally, as he rounded a copse of trees, he caught a glimpse of gold. There, in a small clearing, not having noticed him, was a Seviper sharpening its tail on a rock. Giddy, he carefully pulled out his phone to film. He knew this behavior existed, but had never had the chance to actually witness it. Seviper were generally so secretive and aggressive that it was hard to catch them in such a vulnerable moment.[break][break]

After filming for a while (he was definitely going to send that to Matilda Greenlaw), Dom quietly turned and headed back for the trail.

[break][break]

+ skip.

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[attr="class","credit"]milky

Barren trees and threadbare bushes passed like frozen soldiers as Dom walked. Without thick foliage to dampen the noise, the woods sounded strangely hollow. The creaks of branches and sounds of scuffling echoed and bounced, never quite coming from their true source. A frantic scrabbling caught Dom's attention. He stopped so quickly that Mags nearly ran into him. After taking a moment to orient himself, he pushed off the path and into the wilderness proper. It wasn't a few feet from the route itself that he found the source of the noise: a young Houndour had its leg caught in a wire trap. The ground around the Pokemon was scorched and singed from its attempts to incinerate the trap. Smart poachers used metal wire when placing traps like this in areas that had abundant Fire types, and for good reason.[break][break]

"Stay here, Mags," Dom said as he slowly approached the struggling Pokemon. The Houndour fixed him with a stare immediately, its ire shifted from the restraint to the human. A gout of flame flew at him, and Dom scrambled backward to avoid it. "It's okay," he said in his calmest tone. The Houndour was having none of it. Dom frowned, hesitating just out of reach of its fire. He released Nova, who cocked her head at the trapped Pokemon. "I need a distraction. Confuse it." He hated using his own team's moves against wild Pokemon, but sometimes they were too afraid or aggressive for him to get close.[break][break]

Nova turned and locked eyes with the Houndour. Her tails wagged enchantingly and her eyes seemed to glow. The Houndour cocked its head, then faltered a bit. Dom took his chance, darting in and slipping the wire from around the Pokemon's leg. He could see the Houndour's attention follow him, but always just a bit too late. He was in and out before the confused Pokemon knew quite what had happened. Recalling Nova, Dom backed off into the brush and watched the Houndour wander safely into the wilderness.

[break][break]

+ skip.

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[attr="class","credit"]milky

Kindling would be the hardest thing for them to find. Luckily, with two Fire types between them, they could use green wood and just deal with the smokier, cooler fire it would cause. Dom thanked his lucky stars that the winters here—unseasonably cold though they were—were nothing like the biting, bone-deep chill you could find in Kanto.[break][break]

With the help of their Pokemon, it didn't take long before the sleeping platform was built. It was only lifted a couple of feet off the ground, and the "mattress" was made simply of layered green foliage, but it would serve its purpose. It didn't take much longer to dig out a fire pit and, with help from Nova and Haedus, get a decent fire going. Just in time for the sun to go down.[break][break]

The quiet of their first night descended like a blanket. For a couple of blissful hours, there was only the distant sound of crashing waves and the crackle of the too-green logs on the fire. Soon the night began to wake, and sounds of nocturnal Pokemon filled the air. North, with his keen hearing and sharp temperament, was sent out as their nighttime security. Night one was in the bag.

[break][break]

+ Matilda Greenlaw[break]mission: deserted island

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[attr="class","credit"]milky

These were the kinds of patrols he loved: out in the deep wilderness, waking up to the sounds of the natural world stirring, not another soul around for miles. As he packed up his tent and cleaned the campsite, North milled around, occasionally staring into the woods around them. He'd always been a bit... twitchy. They were often known to be aggressive, however, and socialization was an ongoing process. Dom hoped that having him out for patrols would calm the Noivern down. He loaded up his equipment on Magnolia's back—the Mudbray never seemed to even realize she was carrying extra weight—and started down the backwoods path.

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

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[attr="class","credit"]milky

The sound of the tent unzipping finally stirred him. Dom grumbled and shifted, squinting through the soft orange glow afforded by the sun striking the tent walls. He just caught sight of Matilda Greenlaw leaving. A moment passed before he remembered whey they were here. Excitment rushed him and he was up in a second, tugging on reinforced hiking pants and a snug shirt.[break][break]

Exiting the tent, he spotted Tilly downing her so-called breakfast. Dom frowned. It could hardly be considered a breakfast and he was very sure he was going to have to shove some snacks into her face in a few hours. He lit up his camp stove, heated some water, and added it to a fancy dehydrated breakfast pouch. In a few minutes of soaking, he had what more or less passed for a breakfast scramble. This was why he was a professional.[break][break]

It was Bazza who interrupted his breakfast with an excited spout of information. Dom just nodded along, wide-eyed, mouth half-full of rehydrated egg. The man sped off without another word and Dom was left staring at Stevey and Mama Joey. He took the necessary supplies from them and mumbled a thank you through his mouthful.[break][break]

Breakfast done, Dom began to suit up as he listened to @cat's explanation. It all seemed in good order, and he had to hand it to her for putting together such a well-equipped outfit. He'd never been on an excavation quite like this, but he'd done his share of spelunking—and had his share of ill-prepared guides.[break][break]

That experience proved itself when it was his turn to rappell down into the abyss. He inspected Tilly's setup as she went, staring with a critical eye (and oh-so prepared to tease her if she used the wrong knots). Her rappelling was decent though, and he gave an approving nod. Minutes later, it was his turn. He double-checked his equipment before leaning out over the lip of the opening.[break][break]

The cave system itself was beaufitul. He couldn't help but look around, even as Cat gave them instruction about their duties here. Safely on the ground, he let out Magnolia in a flash of red light. He gave the little Mudbray a quick pat between the ears.[break][break]

"Alright, Mags, give me a hand." The little donkey brayed happily and pawed at the earth with her hooves. It was like a game![break][break]

scQ8baae

[break][break]

+ tl;dr[break]
- had some (proper) breakfast[break]
- got his equipment & suited up[break]
- rappelled down like a champ[break]
- had magnolia help him find some goodies[break]

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[attr="class","credit"]milky

Dom couldn't help but chuckle. Cute wasn't exactly what he was going for, but now that he took a second look at the Dragapult, he had to admit it wasn't wrong.

"Good to meet you, Vic." Dom smiled and rubbed between Mags' ears, much to her delight. "Thanks! This is Magnolia. I actually owned her mother years ago. Great Mudsdale; she was the one that really turned me on to the line. When it was time to retire her from Ranger work, I picked one of her foals to train." It had hurt to leave May behind.

"Kanto, originally," he said, gesturing that the two might start walking. Mags trotted along ahead of them, one tall ear occasionally flickering back to make sure they were following. "I was a ranger out there for years but... needed a change of scenery." He waved a hand noncommittally as if to say there definitely wasn't any more to that story.

As they walked, a chattering sound greeted them from up ahead. A troop of Passimian, hooting to each other, stood in the path. Between them, they were passing a strange object. On closer inspection, it looked to be someone's hat.

Victor Wexler[break]mission: commitment: act i

☉

Dom had, frankly, been surprised that there was a company offering money to those who completed this kind of thing. This was just how he lived most of the time. Granted, the opportunity to go into town for supplies or shelter—or in an emergency—meant that his wild excursions were far safer than what they were doing here. Either way, they both had the experience to make this less a survival challenge and more an island vacation. The only thing that would have made it better would've been the typical balmy Hoenn winters.[break][break]

They located their source of fresh water and Dom suddenly found a finger in his shoulder. He gave a dramatic sigh, grinning despite himself.[break][break]

"Oh, I see, make the professional do all the work," he called over his shoulder, already wandering up and down the river's bank. Most of it was bordered by thick vegetation and steep slopes. Eventually, though, he found a spot that would work well enough. It was a decent distance from the river itself so they didn't get flooded out and was far less choked with plants. He called to Tilly to make sure she found him as he released Magnolia and Shark.[break][break]

The Scyther got to work clearing away as much of the plant life as was needed for them to bed down comfortably. When she was done, Magnolia made use of her well-controlled Earthquakes to flatten the area. With a broad gesture, he showed their campsite to Tilly.[break][break]

"Now we just need a platform." A sleeping platform would keep them up off the ground and away from (some) encroaching wild Pokemon. He set about instructing Magnolia to start the holes for the posts by pawing at the ground. "We'll need some solid logs about this long, some vines to lash it with, and some green leaves for the bed itself," he told Tilly as he began to fan out into the jungle with Shark. The Pokemon's scythes were incredibly useful for gathering the materials they'd need, and Dom knew that Vega would be able to help, too. "Grab any dry wood you see, too!" he called through the brush.

[break][break]

+ Matilda Greenlaw[break]mission: deserted island

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[attr="class","credit"]milky

Dom was still very sure that his whispering had gone off without a hitch, even when luka chêne muttered something about beds. He turned to her with a quizzical stare, squinting his eyes far more than was probably necessary. It was only a moment later that someone else (Remiel Calcifet, who Dom absolutely did not recognize as the owner of the estate and purveyor of this very fancy party) confirmed the existence of crash space. Dom pursed his lips, nodding thoughtfully. He patted Martín del Mar and Matilda Greenlaw on their shoulders and said, "Mmm, carry on, then." And with that he turned and toddled back to his chair, slumping into it with a contented sigh. He was unconscious in a moment.[break][break]

He would have indeed wished for a kiss from Mars. Instead, he snored quietly in his chair, blissfully unaware.

[break][break]

+ prompt: exit the event in festive style (by... passing tf out).

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[attr="class","credit"]milky