The small Taillow dove through the air, contemplating his new companions. The woman had called him Sarin, which was odd but not problematic as she had also been feeding him at the time. Food made lots of things better.[break][break]

Landing on the highest branch of a tree, Sarin looked down at the town. His eye immediately caught sight of small flutters; he hopped eagerly a few times, tilting his head so he could see the movements a bit better. Prey? [break][break]

As the small bird dove down towards the nearest flutter, he narrowly dodged a very focused Noivern. Sarin landed about a foot away from the object, glaring up into the skies. There were quite a few fliers out right now, which wasn't particularly odd - but why was a Noivern out in the middle of the day? He let out a frustrated huff, turning his attention back to what he'd come down here for.[break][break]

He hopped closer, quickly realizing it was a piece of paper. Comfy nest. He grabbed the paper with his beak and did a couple happy hops before remembering he'd seen other flutters nearby. Sarin looks around and realizes that the other fliers are also interested in the small fluttering scraps, gathering them in a variety of different ways. The little bird narrows his eyes competitively and carefully tucks the scrap into his feathers. Taking off, Sarin begins diving for every scrap of paper he can, stowing them all safely amongst his feathers. He was excited to see the look on his teammate's faces when he brought all the papers back to them. Soft nest - companions will like, he thought to himself proudly.

[break][break]

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

"Oh thank goodness!" Matilda exhales as she sees the eyepatched woman approach. "Hi, hi I'm Matilda!" Relief flooding her body, she extends her hand for a handshake and flashes a smile at her fellow guard. "I'm so glad someone experienced is here - I brought my Pokemon that can handle ground types pretty easily, but I have never worked a bodyguard gig before." [break][break]

Vega stands and stretches, then pads over to the large Pangoro to introduce herself to her partner guard. The humans liked to pretend they were the ones working, but the two of them knew who the actual bodyguards were on this job.



[break][break]

Remi Cassel

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

Vega sat at Matilda's feet, far less visibly anxious than her Trainer. The Bulbasaur looked back and forth between Matilda and the archaeologist; the scientist was tapping her foot and she was either looking at her watch or at their surroundings, clearly impatient.[break][break]

Mattie nervously followed the archaeologist's gaze when she scanned the area. After a few short minutes of this, the archaeologist turned to Matilda. "Look, I know you're early and there's more hired guards on the way, but would you mind if I got started?" The woman pats the tools around her belt and smiles sheepishly at Matilda. "The stuff I'm gonna unearth could change everything we currently know about geology and Hoenn's past..." She trails off, staring dreamily at the dig site she's roped off. Shaking her head, she snaps back to the present. "Or maybe it's just some stones, who's to say?" Her eyes still bear that twinkle of excitement though; she clearly didn't do this for the fame. "I know it's your first gig, but I haven't seen any wild Pokemon near here all morning, and besides-" the scientist reaches down and pats Vega's head, much to Vega's delight, "this little lady looks like she could take on anything!"[break][break]

Matilda looks around one more time, wringing her hands. "Uhm...well, I suppose if you really need to get started..."[break][break]

The archaeologist is gone before Mattie can finish her sentence. "Just yell if you see anything!" she calls to the woman acting as guard, but she's already buried in her work. Matilda continues scanning their surroundings, praying some backup would arrive before an aggressive Pokemon did. Hopefully someone shows up soon...




[break][break]

Open!![break]
Mission: Digging Yourself Into A Hole

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

Since Dom was off doing Ranger things, Matilda had decided to do a bit of exploring. Her team needed more life experiences and they needed to bond. One of the downsides to having a team of specifically bred Pokemon was that while they were pretty powerful for being so young, she now had a bunch of *babies* who could, you know, cause lightning storms or blizzards or shoot fire from their mouths. She now had the onerous task of trying to get them all to get along with each other while also helping to teach them emotional control.[break][break]

Stepping over rocks and grass stiff from last night's freeze, Matilda exhaled into the chilly winter air and watched her breath. She smiled to herself - her aunt Fawna used to take her for winter walks and they would pretend to be dragons, running around in the cold and watching the steam from their breath rise into the sky.[break][break]

About thirty minutes into her trek, Matilda stumbled upon a decently cleared area. It wasn't perfect, but it was a pretty nice spot to work with a few of the babs. She contemplates who to work with first, but quickly comes to the conclusion that Rigel and Mizar would be fairly safe to work with together here. Mattie releases the two of them simultaneously. They'd been around each other before, so that wasn't an issue thankfully.[break][break]

Matilda takes a seat on a nearby boulder, watching the two small Pokemon explore and play together.


[break][break]

[SW]

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

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Asher!" Matilda says with a smile as the boy turns back around, having given her a proper Alolan greeting. "I'm Matilda, but a lot of my friends call me Mattie. Bones and Fletcher are both wonderful Pokemon and they seem to love you very much," she states as a compliment to Asher more than a revelation; if she had to guess, he was probably closer with these Pokemon than any person in his life, he knew they cared for him. Matilda had seen a lot of Trainers refer to themselves as the Owner or Master of their Pokemon, and she couldn't put it into words but that had always made her a little uncomfortable. This kid didn't strike her as that kind of person - she liked that about him.[break][break]

"I'm actually from Kanto, that's why I'm so lost!" she tells him as they walk. "I just got into Hoenn and this is the first town I've come across so far. Unfortunately my team isn't as experienced as yours - I've just got a big ol' bunch of babies," she teases, but her voice takes on a playful tone as she tickles Taika and plants a kiss right on Dziban's forehead. "I'd love to meet your Silky sometime!"


[break][break]

Asher Baran

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

At his exaggerated use of 'professional', Matilda snorts. "Yeah sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, Dominic," she calls back to him, Vega already at her feet. She made sure to make her presence known to the Mudbray and Scyther, then gets out of their way as they clear out a camping spot for the group.[break][break]

Vega immediately heads for a clump of nearby berry bushes, settling comfortably in the soil. Very shortly thereafter, the berry bushes begin to rapidly grow, fruiting before their eyes despite it being the middle of winter. Matilda praises her Bulbasaur before pulling her attention away from the happy little flower to listen to Dom's instructions. [break][break]

Releasing Haedus and Mizar, she instructs them to do the first step of Dom's orders. Find the right wood, burn it or cut it down with ice shards, and bring it to the campsite. The two of them make a face at one another, but they'd been around each other long enough to know that working as a team would benefit them both far more than a petty squabble would.[break][break]

Matilda looks over at Vega for the second and third steps of Dom's process, and the small Bulbasaur sighs but she lays down in the soil and begins stretching and growing the usable nearby vines and leaves. Matilda shoots Dom a thumbs up, but as he adds the bit about grabbing dry wood, she mutters under her breath. "Yeah alright," she replies despondently, beginning to tramp through the chilly foliage around the cleared campsite to search for any wood that wasn't frozen over or waterlogged.[break][break]

A small pile of usable log pillars quickly begins and grows, Haedus and Mizar having a pretty easy time in the environment. Vega had it a little harder, but she took a few breaks and slowly the number of vines and leaves necessary began appearing in the flora surrounding the campsite. By far the slowest pile to grow was the dried wood; Tilly was out of breath in fairly short order. A decent pile had been amassed, but not nearly as much as Dom could've acquired. The small woman was scrappy and strong for her size but she couldn't hold a candle to the Ranger's abilities. In short order she was flushed and breathing heavily, but she didn't ask for help. If everyone else could pull their weight then dammit so could she.


[break][break]

Dominic Grey

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

Matilda nods enthusiastically when he says he needs to grab a few things. His small hops of excitement cause her to bite back a smile; he seemed like a really great kid. Why in the world was he on his own!?[break][break]

The odd Marowak he releases piques Matilda's interest, but she keeps a comfortable distance for the Pokemon's sake. She knows the more protective ones prefer to not be touched until they've gotten a good feel for someone, and she certainly didn't want to make this kid or his companions uncomfortable. The green fire it held was fascinating though...[break][break]

Matilda makes sure to focus on the boy's comments as they walk. She isn't exactly ecstatic about his situation, but she is impressed with how scrappy and determined the kid was. She isn't terribly happy for the two of them to split up, but she trusts his advice and intuition and stays where he tells her to, watching him jump the fence and disappear out of sight.[break][break]

She turns her full attention to the Marowak once he's gone. She takes a seat, crossing her legs and lacing her hands in her lap so he knows she isn't a threat, and she talks to the Marowak as they wait for the redhead to return. "That fire is beautiful," she compliments the Pokemon. "I bet the two of you have been through a lot together, huh?" She asks the masked Pokemon, a sad tinge to her tone knowing full well how they acquire their armor. She looks around, Dziban nestling comfortably at her shoulder and Taika sitting contentedly in her lap. "You're both very brave, and very strong," she informs the boy's two Pokemon, perhaps using them to talk about what she knew she could never tell the boy himself. He was very brave, and very strong, but also very strong-willed - he knew how badass he was, and if he didn't, some random words from a stranger he'd known for less than an hour wasn't gonna influence him. It made her feel better being able to say it out loud though, even if it was to a couple Pokemon who may or may not understand her.[break][break]

She pulls out a notebook and draws some rough sketches of the Fletchinder and the Marowak, adding a few notes on their behavior for good measure. The group is only bothered twice, but as soon as the would-be thugs take a look at that Marowak, they turn on their heels and walk away quickly. Mattie is sure to make note of that as well.[break][break]

After some time the boy reappears. She quickly finishes her writings and puts away her notebook and pen, ready to follow him. She nods in response to his question. She was ready for the next step of their journey, to a comfortable hotel; but she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to part ways with the young boy. Matilda didn't feel responsible for him, but rather she found herself caring for him and his safety. Anyone who could get close to a Marowak of that power and garner a gift from a Togepi was not someone to easily write off.[break][break]

Contemplating her options, Matilda gestures for the boy to lead the way.

[break][break]

Asher Baran

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

Matilda took a moment after waking up to orient herself. Opening her eyes she processed the tent walls in the early morning rays of sun, Cass sleeping curled up near her stomach just inside her sleeping bag, and...someone next to her?![break][break]

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and took another look. Ah, right, just Dominic Grey. After a good stretch, she crawls out of her sleeping bag and gets dressed, being sure to wear clothes comfortable enough to go cave diving in; some tight black jeans and a long-sleeve shirt that's a couple sizes too big. The straps of her sports bra are visible as the shirt *almost* goes off her shoulders, but it's warm and it's comfortable. She grabs a protein bar and an energy drink from her bag, unzipping and stepping out of the tent with Cass as quietly as she can.[break][break]

People were just beginning to stir. A few yawning folks wandered about here and there, but for the most part it seemed the rest of the people around the campsite were sleeping as peacefully as they could. Being the morning person she was, she enjoyed walking around, quietly observing and gauging who all it was she'd be spelunking with. Cass followed, but at a distance - she was busy running up to people and sniffing them, engaging briefly with other Pokemon, and then running back over to Mattie to 'check in' before running off to greet someone new.[break][break]

Paying more attention to the people around her than where she was going, Matilda stops herself just in time to avoid crashing into Bazza. He gives her his spiel, and she bites into her protein bar to hold it in her mouth as she shakes his hand. He's already gone by the time she's removed the bar to introduce herself, so instead she turns to the Feraligatr and Kangaskhan to help relieve them of a few supplies.[break][break]

After she's got all her gear as ready and organized as it's going to be she finishes her food and moves on to her drink, being sure to throw away her garbage in the appropriate containers. Living with a bunch of Rangers for the majority of her life really hammered home the 'Don't Litter' rhetoric. She catches sight very briefly of Martín del Mar and her eyes light up in amusement as she calls out to him, "Hey Mars - deep-dive buddies?" She points between herself and him with a wink, but leaves him alone to finish his morning routine as she heads to the pink-haired girl near the cave opening.[break][break]

As they prepare to descend, Matilda triple-checks her harness and anchors. Cass even does a quick check, tugging at ropes and nodding in approval. The Pokemon wraps herself around her Trainer's neck like the scarf of fur she wears herself. Matilda lowers the two of them into the crack in the earth, and though there's a moment of hesitation and adrenaline, the glimmers they find themselves immersed in seem to calm any anxieties the two may have had. As entrancing as they were however, Matilda was very sure to focus on everything Cat told them. Cave diving was not her area of expertise, and she'd be damned if she was gonna let Dom annoy her endlessly over missing a step.[break][break]

Once they're on the ground, Matilda unclips herself from her line so she can explore the cave a bit. Cass runs around searching for anything that seems remotely interesting or useful, scrabbling briefly at a spot she wants Matilda to dig at before moving on to the next hotspot of her search. The woman follows her Pokemon's suggestions to a T, double-checking with the small scarved chinchilla when necessary before digging. When not focusing on her treasure hunt, she keeps her eyes peeled for both Mars and Dom for simultaneously similar and yet very, very different reasons.[break][break]

0PnBb6KA

[break][break]

TL;DR:[break]
- Eats breakfast ('good' is questionable, but it's food ^.^)[break]
- Acquires all necessary equipment from Stevey and Mama Joey [break]
- Looks around for Martín del Mar because her ability to annoy knows no bounds[break]
- Listens very carefully to Cat as she spelunks in search of crystalline treasures with Cass!

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

From the moment she stepped off the ferry, she couldn't help but notice how much easier this would be with Dom; not just in terms of resources and materials, but also emotionally. She'd spent months doing this while also stressed and on the run, so now that the man she'd been hunting for was by her side, she felt so much more at ease. [break][break]

It didn't hurt that he was the size of a Tyranitar and built like a Rhydon.[break][break]

They'd been traveling through the jungle for a few hours, chatting as old friends do while looking for a place to set up camp. Matilda kept her team in their capsules unless they encountered a wild Pokemon, but Haedus' loud roar meant they hadn't needed to fight anything, at least for the morning.[break][break]

When they finally came across a decently sized river, one they could wash not only their clothes but also themselves in, Tilly poked Dom in the shoulder. "Alright, I found the water - let me know when you find a half-decent campsite," she teases, then goes quiet for a minute. The thought of how they'd gained these skills weighed on her a bit. She wasn't necessarily happy that she was in Hoenn given the circumstances, but she was glad she had Dom and honestly, probably wouldn't go back to Kanto even if it was safe. She was interested in what this new life had in store for her.




[break][break]

Dominic Grey

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

Watching the small tiff over luka chêne, a few things click into place for Matilda. She glances over at Martín del Mar to gauge his reaction to Remiel Calcifet 'marking his territory', so to speak. [break][break]

Expecting a small shoulder-dwelling creature, Mattie's a bit taken aback as a dragon nearly the size of her emerges from the Pokeball. She recovers quickly though and is soon looking at the Drakloak in awe; Dziban even emerges from her hair and floats around the Drakloak, inspecting it. The word "draciary" pulls her from her trance and she smiles up at Remiel. "Matilda!" She answers excitedly, offering her hand to Remiel for a shake. "Oh I would just adore that!"


[break][break]

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

"Oh that would be wonderful!" Matilda exclaims. This kid clearly knew how to handle himself and she had absolutely no idea where she was, let alone how to get to where she needed to be. Adjusting Taika into one arm she slings her bag over her shoulder with the other. "I just got here, so I'm very lost. Maybe you could lead me to a hotel?" Taking in his outfit, she adds, "I'm pretty sure I have enough money to get each of us a room for the night. Warm showers, clean beds, and free breakfast in the morning," she lists, excited by the prospect of all that herself - after traveling and camping for weeks on end, it seemed like heaven to her. "Does that sound alright as payment for saving both Dziban and me?" Mattie asks with a questioning smile.


[break][break]

Asher Baran

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

Matilda shoots a look at Dom when he 'whispers' to her, but as Mars pulls her into him she forgets Dom's existence entirely.[break][break]

When Martín del Mar releases her with a wink, she can't help but flash an amused smile up at him. He turns to the party and continues on his charismatic way, and Mattie's attention is pulled to Dom briefly when he claps a hand on her shoulder. Her grin of amusement only grows as she helps her wildly inebriated friend back to his seat. She stays quietly out of the way of the group's proceedings, pouring herself another glass of mulled wine as she contemplates the interactions of the group she's found herself in.[break][break]

The sight of a Dreepy sticker on a Pokeball pulls her out of her thoughts, and her face lights up as she excitedly bounces over to Remiel Calcifet. "A Dreepy?!" she asks rhetorically, releasing Dziban. The small dragon flicks over to Matilda's shoulder, hiding in her hair so just his snoot and eyes are visible as he looks around at the group. "In all my travels I haven't been able to find anyone else with one of the Dreepy line!" Matilda's joyous gaze is locked on Remiel, ecstatic at the prospect of finding a friend she could talk Dragons with.




[break][break]

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

Matilda looks up at him just as he turns to walk away, and she opens her mouth to stop him but doesn't know what exactly to say. Taika tugs at her pant leg, and her attention shifts to the small Togepi. "Toge-togepi, toge!" she urges Matilda, tapping her shell while pointing to the boy. "Oh - oh!" Mattie realizes, lifting Taika and closing the distance between her and the young boy quickly. "Hey, Taika has something for you!"[break][break]

The Togepi closes her eyes and takes a slow, deep breath. Moments later she reaches into her shell and pulls out a sand-dollar sized piece of broken shell; but unlike what surrounds the small creature, this piece of shell almost seemed to glow, and what looked like thin swirls of transparent pink mist seemed to emanate from it. Matilda smiles, holding out Taika so the Pokemon could hand over the gift herself as she liked to see people's faces when they received their gifts.



[break][break]

Asher Baran

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