i'll chase the light of that distant star

Patrolling Slateport Beach at night was easier now that Splashfest had concluded.

Carracosta mating season had resulted in roped-off nests on the beach, meant to ward any tourists away from bothering the sand-buried eggs as much as to keep any curious Pokémon away. However, it did very little to keep away the smaller Pokémon like Krabby and Wingull, and Talia kept her eyes peeled in the night for any such predators.

Precious little light offered visibility; fears of distracting the turtles when they hatched had resulted in Talia bringing her Noibat, which relied on sound to guide it in the dark. Its large, velvety ears took in every sound on the night air, while the blue-haired woman took a moment to look around at the quiet, secluded beach.

"I've never seen Carracosta eggs hatch before," she said to her companion, turning to him with a curious glint in her topaz eyes. "Have you?"

Tam Fawley ● Heroes on a Half-Shell ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

Rain covered the city of Mossdeep in a perpetual mist, lingering in a haunting shroud as Talia joined in one of the numerous Ranger and Officer patrols that had been demanded here since the Darkest Day.

Strategically, Mossdeep's proximity to Sootopolis alone put it at risk of stockpile raids. Desperation and aggression were an unfortunate combination, and both had intensified in the local population to an alarming degree.

This warehouse was one of many that had been classified as a high-risk target. This late at night, in weather like this, Talia secretly hoped that no one would bother.

Yet precisely because of those reasons, she suspected there was a higher chance that someone might.

Dressed in her white Ranger's uniform, Talia's allegiance was clear, and her resolute expression was one of professionalism; this was not her first stakeout, and though she was by no means an especially seasoned member of the Rangers, she had lost the nerves that characterised her early missions.

Her Dragonair curled behind her, luminous eyes staring ahead as winged ears stilled with intensity of focus. Overhead, Talia's Noibat flitted about; its own large, velvety ears swiveled to and fro, attuned to the slightest sound.

When the name Silph was invoked in the line-up for this mission, she had naturally assumed it to be the one that she had already met: MATIAS SILPH.

She assumed incorrectly.

FERNANDO SILPH ● Defend ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

A tiny spark of pride burned in Talia's chest at the other woman's approval, and it burned brighter still at being asked to lead.

"As you wish," she said with a brisk nod, then whistled to her Dragonair to slither close, wrapping her arms around her neck as she mounted the draconic Pokémon. "Come, Lyra!"

Where the Flygon's wings prepared to lift into the skies and dive, the serpentine Dragonair's ascent to sky was fluid, as if swimming through air like a current of water. The wings on either side of the dragon's head fluttered softly in the breeze, swiveling towards the much quieter sound that had attracted their attention mere minutes ago.

Talia narrowed her gaze as she attempted to glimpse through sight what sound had taught her, until finally something stood out in the cliff-face.

"Is that...?"

A scrap of clothing waved like a flag in the wind, its colour that of a Ranger's uniform. Talia's eyes widened, and she dove closer to this ominous clue, calling, "I think I found something!"

If someone's clothing had snagged up here, then her heart sank to imagine what had fallen below.

freya morningstar ● Search and Rescue ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

She hated that Caleb Harcourt was right.

Rocket's greed was insatiable, and would always be. Kanto. Johto. Hoenn. Until they were ultimately stopped, each and every region was in peril.

"All right. I'll handle the outside operations, then," she said, nodding firmly. Her Starmie spun faster, its jewelled centre flashing brightly with determination as the water continued in its perpetual downpour. Her heart caught in her throat as she watched Caleb depart inside once the flames had dampened enough, hoping that his decision to enter alone was not too risky of one.

Trust him. He knows what he's doing, just as you do.

This time, Talia's Noibat was summoned onto the field, its large ears swiveling as it listened amidst the chaos to detect for anyone who might be caught outside in the rubble. "Do you sense anyone?" she asked, and a chirp of assent led her to the western side of the building that Caleb had chosen, this one being a small farmhouse.

"Hello?" she called, her Starmie blasting the door open with a well-aimed WATER GUN. Gingerly she stepped inside, the white sleeves of her uniform held up to her nose to prevent herself from inhaling what remnants of smoke still remained.

Caleb Harcourt ● Fire Fighter ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

Talia closed her eyes as she knelt in kind, listening to the reverberating echoes from the aptly-named Flygon ripple throughout the rocky terrain.

In another life, music had been Talia's first love. Hers was an ear trained to know the difference between each pitch and syllable, and in this moment, that skill found itself a new use in the way that sound carried through stone.

Lyra's winged ear twitched first, the Dragonair crooning softly as her face tilted towards the east knowingly. "I hear it, too," Talia said, eyes fluttering open. "There's something... someone, I think... Over near that waterfall."

She pointed, turning to Freya as if to seek confirmation.

freya morningstar ● Search and Rescue ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

It had happened, as Talia always feared it would: Hoenn approached the brink that Johto once did, all those years ago.

She clung to Lyra's neck as the Dragonair slithered through the fissures of Meteor Falls, her topaz eyes searching for her promised companion: freya morningstar, a woman known for her skill in taming that most untamable of Pokémon, dragons.

The Ranger inhaled deeply, steadying herself, before alighting to where the white-haired woman and her Flygon had paused for a drink. Her Dragonair coiled behind her with a practised grace, the draconic creature's luminous eyes transfixed by the beauty of the stranger before her.

"I hope you have not been waiting long," Talia managed, her own ears attuned to the potential chaos surrounding them. Her heart sat in her throat, anxious; this was a place where missteps were not only common, but fatal.

It seemed trite to introduce herself, given the gravity of their situation, but the silence between them invited speech.

"I'm Talia. I'll be here to assist however you need."

freya morningstar ● Search and Rescue ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

The desert seemed a strange place to be stationed as a Ranger. Talia was used to her work focusing on the plights of people -- protecting them, assisting them, and being at the center of the lifeblood of Hoenn itself. The plight of Pokémon, however, was just as essential to her duties.

So it shouldn't have surprised her, she reprimanded herself, that she was here for a matter like this one.

"I heard sometimes Rocket poaches here for snakeskins," Talia said to her companion as her topaz eyes scanned the horizon. The arid heat drew droplets of sweat on her brow, and she wiped them away, determined to focus. "It's no wonder the Pokémon here are getting aggressive, if so."

One more sin in an ever-growing list of Rocket's wrongdoings, she thought silently.

Julia Davis ● Charm the Skin Off a Snake ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

"Hello, Razz Kingsman," she hummed, a teensy bit amused at the formality of the full name of his greeting. "I'm Talia, Talia Celes."

Social awkwardness might be off-putting to some, but for Talia, it awakened an inherent desire in her to set others at ease. With this new purpose in mind, her own uncertainty left her, and she took the seat the Meowstic gave with a second smile that was far brighter than her first.

In return, she handed the feline Pokémon the Johto dessert she'd brought with her in a peace offering; her Swablu settled on her shoulder, tickling her cheek with a cloud-white wing.

"About half a year, I think, now?" Talia tilted her head back in thought, considering the question. "You wouldn't have heard of me."

It was a bit of a sheepish answer, a faint blush suffusing her cheeks as she laughed.

"How about you? How long have you been here?" Her eyes shifted to the others nearby, before she added, "Do they, um, do things like this often?"

---

• Has decided to adopt introvert Raziel Beckett.
• Gave Meowstic her dessert to make friends!

Raziel Beckett ● Rangers Rising ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

Whatever hesitancy used to take hold of Talia before running into danger had long been trained out of her. "Nova!" she called, throwing her Pokeball into the air. "Help Lyra."

Soot dirtied the white of her uniform as she ran forward towards Caleb Harcourt, her Starmie spinning in mid-air as it joined forces with his Lapras. A second HYDRO PUMP joined the first, this one surging forth from the heart of the stellar Water-type.

"It's unfathomable," Talia spit out, her topaz eyes glaring at the inferno of flames. "These are civilians. Are there no depths they won't sink to?"

A small hand curled into a fist with frustration. The buildings in Johto had fared a similar fate; she could still imagine her old dance studio, its fragile walls battered in the wake of war.

"How many regions will they try to topple, before we stop them?"

Caleb Harcourt ● Fire Fighter ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

Being on this side of refugee work felt different.

Talia smiled at the displaced as she ladled out soup, but there was something strained in the gesture; her cheer was performative, despite her empathy being genuine in its entirety. The way the women and children looked at her was haunted, having fled Sootopolis before the worst took hold.

She'd seen that numb look on her own face, too many times, too many mornings after fleeing to Hoenn.

"Of course," Talia replied to her companion belatedly, blinking as she handed the spoon over. She glanced up at him for a moment, hesitating.

She didn't know Greyson Connors, except by reputation. Gym leaders that had lasted as long as him were few and far between in the region; she'd not met many, really.

The expression on his face was polite, but the distance in his gaze felt familiar. And without thinking, she spoke up and gave name to it.

"Were you in Sootopolis?" Talia had only dared to ask it in a hushed whisper, and only once their queue had thinned to the point that private conversation could be possible. "I'm sorry to ask, I just... It's horrible, looking at this now. I can't imagine how awful it was to witness, in the moment."

She regretted the words almost the instant she spoke them aloud, but couldn't seem to stop herself from voicing her thoughts. The sheer tragedy of the situation was overwhelming.

Greyson Connors ● Helping Hand ●

i'll chase the light of that distant star

Despite herself, Talia felt shy arriving to a gathering like this one. A hand tucked a strand of her turquoise hair behind her ear as she inhaled then exhaled, convincing herself there was nothing strange in blending in with, well, perfect strangers. Coworkers, she corrected herself.

Talia belonged here. She reminded herself of that again, repeating the mantra in her mind: You belong here.

She'd so rarely interacted with other Rangers out of work. It was difficult not to feel like an imposter, given how many of them had worked longer in the role than she had.

In her hands was a basket of a hometown favorite, one that her mother had taught her a long time ago in Ecruteak City: Yatsuhashi. The spiced scent of cinnamon wafted from the confection as she wandered in, looking hopefully for a place to share her addition to the pile of food.

Behind her, a Swablu glided about curiously, her puffy white wings aflutter with excitement that mirrored the fluttering of her trainer's heart.

"Aha," she murmured to herself, pleased, as she placed the basket on the serving table. Having done her duty, she glanced over at the countless faces, debating on where to begin socializing. Being a wallflower seemed incorrect, somehow.

So finding another, more shy wallflower, seemed ideal.

When her eyes settled on Raziel Beckett, she quietly made her way near him and his Meowstic, offering a slight smile. "A lot of people, isn't it?" she said warmly, turning her gaze around the room before returning to him. "Do you mind if I sit with you here? I'm a little overwhelmed, truth be told. If there are two of us, perhaps we won't look antisocial."

She extended one of the yatsuhashi in trade, saying with a grin, "I'd be happy to compensate you with homemade goods, if you do."

---

• Brought homemade yatsuhashi!
• Feeling shy, so decided to hide with Raziel Beckett.
• Offered some sweets to earn the right to sit at the wallflower's table.

Raziel Beckett ● Rangers Rising ●