[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

It pleased Johanna to know that Megan had been worried about her. It sort of established the feeling of a connection between the two, a friendship one might even say. Something she had experienced precious little off among her human peers. Granted her family certainly tried to make her establish connections, but none of them had felt meaningful and fulfilling the way genuine ones did. And this could be naught else, since as far as Johanna knew Megan didn’t stand to gain anything from her.
[break][break]
Moving on from her ponderings about the genuineness of their friendship. She had to admit did feel nice to be confirmed that her fear while probably at the point of being irrational, wasn’t unfounded and that her efforts were placed on the right path. She nodded as a small sigh escaped her. “Yeah, you are completely right.” Though she said naught more as they neared the flowers.
[break][break]
The flowers stood tall, taller than they had any right to do after they supposedly had only suddenly popped up. Johanna’s attention moved away from their conversation, figuring on some level that there was no need to continue it. Instead, she gazed upon the surprisingly bright light which would bathe the young ladies if they entered their vicinity, which Johanna had no issues in doing.
[break][break]
“What sort of flowers do you think this is?” Johanna asked as she looked upon the crystal blooms. The only reason she hadn’t gone over and touched them yet, was that she hadn’t let go of Megan, or was it the other way around? Who knows.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Megan Whitmore

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

Johanna knew she had been seen through, there was no way she hadn’t been. And she was proven right by Dorian’s comment. Though at least it was somewhat reassuring to know that he would defend her if needed. She figured his threat of excessive violence was just that, and that he wouldn’t act on it to such a degree.
[break][break]
She would later be proven wrong. Everything happened surprisingly quickly. A few pleasantries were thrown around, and then all of a sudden Dorian punched a guy. Where it not for the fact her mouth was hidden by her mask, she’d look rather silly with her mouth wide open in disbelief. She was about to say something to calm Dorian down, but she stopped herself when Dorian began to talk once more.
[break][break]
She decided against trying to calm the man down, hoping Dorian wouldn’t take it further. Sure they had caused pain and suffering to one of Dorian’s men, but that didn’t make it right for him to do the same. But oh how wrong Johanna was. Her eyes went grew bigger as he saw him grip the pipe with both hands. Oh no, is he about to... Before she could even finish the thought he slammed the pipe down on the defenseless man.
[break][break]
She grimaced in empathic pain, as she felt fear and nervousness bubble up in her body. She tried to tighten the grip on her pipe. She became increasingly aware that it was a weapon she held and not just some tool for intimidation. She looked away from Dorian’s little ceremony, it made her sick to her stomach to hear the sounds of the pipe against the flesh, she certainly didn’t want to see the blood that would surely come from it.
[break][break]
Instead, she looked around, suddenly very much aware that they were only two against a whole gang. “Hey, Dorian, isn’t this taking it too far!” Her voice trembled as the words left her.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
dorian westcliff

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

Johanna nodded. Yeah, she had heard about those Pokémon too. She considered checking that out as well. But she figured flowers would probably be easier to find. And so here they were. Johanna was dragged along by Megan even though it was the latter who had suggested they came. She supposed that was just going to be their dynamic from now on.
[break][break]
Anyhow, as they walked Megan asked a rather heavy question, even if it was loaded with a joke about her appearance. She couldn’t decide if Megan was trying to compliment her or something. Though she did blush as she figured that was the likeliest scenario. “Yeah, I’ve been doing alright, I was afraid that I might get caught in another, but I am trying not to think too much about it.” And by alright she meant spending at least two days inside just shaking and trying to push away the fear of suddenly being caught in another temporal distortion. “And I haven’t run into any since, either. So I suppose my fears were unfounded.” She stated, even if some small parts of her mind said it wasn’t.
[break][break]
As they walked, the shimmering light in the distance grew brighter and brighter. They were nearing the flowers, and they would probably reach them soon enough.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Megan Whitmore

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

Johanna went quiet. Dorian didn’t seem too interested in what she said or maybe he didn’t buy it. Either way, he rubbed her the wrong way, and that was without having done any research on him. Maybe she ought to take that as a lesson next time she accepted a job from Rocket. She would mull it over as they got closer and closer to their destination.
[break][break]
Once there she was reminded to not mention Rocket at all. She nodded as she pulled her mask over her face and the hood of her hoodie over her head so that her blue hair was hidden as well. She didn’t want her identity to be too easy to discern, and even she knew blue hair wasn’t exactly common. She noticed that he brought a pipe along, now that seemed odd. They weren’t here to hurt these guys, right? They were just here to give a small reminder that they needed to pay. Ah right, the pipe is for intimidation. She figured, she took a quick look in the van and noticed a second, she grabbed it, figuring two pipes were better than one.
[break][break]
And as she closed the door to the Van, Dorian was off charging head-long into enemy territory. She hurried along trying to keep up, and barely doing so as he kicked the door in. The surprise quickly changed with recognition as the strangers realized it was Dorian. Their sudden fear didn’t go unnoticed, and a cold shiver ran down Johanna’s spine. But she ignored it.
[break][break]
She kept quiet, figuring letting Dorian run the show while she just looked intimidating was the best tactic. She tried to stand tall, the pipe she had taken resting gently against her right shoulder. It was clear she was trying to look tough, but the way her eyes moved from person to person nervously probably ticked anyone with a grain of experience in the industry off that she was new to this.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
dorian westcliff

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

A nervousness squeezed her stomach and threatened to move on to other parts of her body, as she sat in the passenger seat of a Van. Clad in a brandless nameless black hoodie and black tights, a cloth mask resting gently around her neck, ready for when she needed to conceal herself.
[break][break]
From time to time, her eyes moved to the driver. She didn’t know him. But was told that he was a higher-up and he had specifically requested her. But whether that was true, she didn’t know. She did wonder why. She had hoped she could just lay low, do the odd job and reap the benefits of friendship and a place to belong. But no, it seemed whoever this person was, didn’t want her life to be that easy.
[break][break]
“Well, the sales pitch did it for me,” Johanna said. Trying to play it off as a joke to test the waters with Dorian. Though her unsure smile probably didn’t hide how she was feeling about him. “But the actual reason is that I hope to be able to help with the status quo and removing the powers that be who perpetuates a system meant to oppress the common folk, is why I joined.” She didn’t want to admit to this stranger that she joined because of loneliness, instead, she’d rather try and sell the idea that she was some big revolutionary, which some small part of her might wish that she were, but she wasn’t. The latter would probably seem odd to Dorian if he did his background research before this because she was heir to the Joy family a no small part of the one percent of Hoenn.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
dorian westcliff

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

“They are supposed to glow all on their own,” Johanna explained, as she looked around. Becoming rightfully worried that she was being led astray by another PokéWeb rumor. But then she saw it. Not too far away a small shimmering light growing in strength just as the sun was going down enveloping the area in darkness. It had to be the flowers, no street lamp was that close to the ground.
[break][break]
It seemed that Megan was the first to notice the glow or maybe just the first to articulate it. “Yeah, that has to be them.” She figured there would be more than one flower, flowers did grow in clusters, right? Anyhow, Megan offered her a hand. Johanna couldn’t help but halt for a brief second. They weren’t in any danger, and yet she was offering the physical contact.
[break][break]
Don’t think too much about it, Johanna, we are just friends holding hands in public. She had to remind herself, before allowing her hand to gently find rest and some measure of comfort in the physical contact with Megan’s hand. And so they walked forward towards the shimmering light, holding hands in public as only two adults could.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Megan Whitmore

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

Is she nervous? Johanna nervously wondered. Johanna was all but confirmed in her suspicions when Megan’s Hi seemed a bit off. However, Johanna didn’t mind. She was just glad her friend was here. “Oh, that’s okay,” Johanna spoke apologetically. If she had startled her, which she was almost certain of, then she would take full responsibility for it.
[break][break]
“Oh, I am glad to hear that…” It took her all but one second to realize how that sounded. “I… I Uhm. I didn’t mean it like that.” She began to apologize profusely, thinking she might have said something incredibly rude given the context of what Megan said. “I am just glad you wanted to come. I was a bit afraid that you might not want to.” She finished off, trailing into embarrassed silence for all but a minute or two as she tried to regain her composure.
[break][break]
“Sooo… Uh Flowers, right!” She tried to lead the conversation away from the awkwardness of trying to make this not seem like such an obvious date and or trying not accidentally say something rude to Megan. “They are supposed to be around here somewhere.” She tried to look around, hoping to spot what would be the crystalized flowers in bloom. Though she couldn’t help but catch a few glances towards Megan. She do be lookin’ fine after all.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Megan Whitmore

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

Megan soon came into view. And as she did, Johanna couldn’t help but take in the full view, even as the woman paced back and forth. As her eyes took in the view, it became painfully obvious that Megan had picked the less worn clothes, the ones you usually only use on special occasions… 'F***' Johanna couldn’t help but be washed away in a wave of embarrassment.
[break][break]
But it was too late, since she could see Megan, it would be certain that Megan could see her as well. It was too late to back out now! 'Don’t be afraid. You don’t need a deviation in space and time to have a good time with a friend, right… We are friends, right?' Her inner monologue went on as she neared the woman.
[break][break]
“Hi, Megan!” Johanna finally announced her arrival, she didn’t even try to hide the excitement in her voice, she hoped that the excitement would hide just how nervous she was. “I am glad you could come!” A pang of her blue hair suddenly fell into her vision, but with a swift motion was it banished behind her ear once more.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Megan Whitmore

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

It felt like it had been ages since she had been in her home city. But now, she had finally made it home after spending what her mother probably thought off as far too long in Slateport. Now, there was many a thing she had to attend to and even do. But the first thing she did was to sign up for the Gym, just so she was certain she would have an available slot in the soon future. Though Megan had suggested that she take the Honour Gym Challenge first, doing so would mean a trip to Mauville, and well her home was calling, so the Sunset Gym Challenge would have to do.
[break][break]
Alas as she arrived and tried to plan an appointment whoever was so kind enough to help her do so said that there was an available spot right at that very moment. Taken by surprise Johanna was hit by sudden nervousness. Though she wanted to say no and place the appointment later, maybe a week from now. She was told that doing so wouldn’t be an option as the next week was entirely booked.
[break][break]
Sighing in defeat Johanna accepted that right now would have to do. So, she signed up. Once all the paperwork was done, she was led to a series of paintings. Here she was given a choice, since she had decided to not partake in a traditional challenge, instead going for something a little bit different. Now, she stood clad in casual attire mostly consisting of punk-style clothing, in front of what could only be described as high-class works of art.
[break][break]
She took a moment to consider. But only one of the paintings truly caught her attention. She quietly mumbled its name. “Praise the sun.” Yeah, that didn’t sound ominous, and so she gently pressed the button as instructed. Though she wondered why they felt the need to clarify that. Has someone jumped through a picture or something? She had thought, but not dared to ask. Either way, the picture slid to the side revealing stairs that she assumed would lead to the stage of the challenge
[break][break]
She stepped onto the stairs, ascending quickly, knowing full well that if she dallied around she might very well succumb to the nervous pit in her stomach. Once she reached the end of the stairs, she would announce her presence with a timid. “Hello, I am here for the challenge?”

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Xander Belmont

[attr="class","complanet-img-1"]

[attr="class","complanet-top"]

Blessed with suck, but I won't stop!

[attr="class","complanet-post"]

It was a nice, mild late evening. The sun was beginning to set upon the cloudless evening sky, but it was still bright enough to see clearly without the need for a flashlight. Johanna was walking toward the beach of Slateport. An odd rumor had reached her ears and she figured she would take a look. Crystalline flowers are in bloom all over Hoenn, even in the area between the city and the sea.
[break][break]
Clad in a casual outfit of a thick warm hoodie, some jogging pants, and comfortable shoes, she made her way towards where she had been told these flowers would be. Though crystalline flowers weren’t exactly the norm, the reason why she came this late into the evening was that she hoped to gaze upon their glow, as she had been told that they would do so.
[break][break]
Though she had to admit, being out this late was a bit scary. After what had happened about a week ago, give and take some time, she found herself needing the protective feeling that company gave her. Alas, she had few friends to call upon for such an occasion. But she did have, a certain Megan. She had sent the message not too long ago and she hoped Megan would feel inclined to come. Though a nagging suspicion in her head tried to convince her that the message had been too direct, more likely to push the woman away than make her want to come.
[break][break]
As she walked she pulled out her phone, opened the messaging app, and read the message again.
[break][break]
‘Hi, Megan. I have heard this rumor about some cool crystal flowers down at Slateport beach, do you want to come and check them out with me? I hear they glow in the dark!’
[break][break]
The more she read the message the more afraid she became that maybe Megan would get the wrong idea since it did read like she was asking her out on a date. Johanna took a quick breath, shook her head, and realized these thoughts weren’t doing her any good, so she pushed them away and packed the phone back into her pocket while reminding herself that they were nothing but friends looking at flowers on the beach together late in the evening.

[break][break]

OOC: Partaking in this mission.

[attr="class","complanet-bot"]

@pharaohleap
Megan Whitmore