"nothing important." [break][break]

it's not a lie; the person she used to be is irrelevant. hell, she wasn't even supposed to speak her mind. maybe it's the soothing waves getting to her. she chuckles, though it's in disbelief with herself. a moment passes with her silence and she tilts her head, slightly, though careful as to not let her eye be touched by the salt of the sea. [break][break]

she can't see the corsola, but she imagines that she's being anxious, and withdrawn, from the other pink creatures. exhaustion manifests as a sigh. ".. i guess envious of the fact that you're so close to your pokemon?"[break][break]

she was like that, once.

Leonidas Stone

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and as she lays there, listening to his words, she lets out a soft sigh, paired with a hum of pensiveness. [break][break]

"ah, that would explain it~.." she says, though with time, the disingenuous smile shrinks as her eyes scan the clouds that so slowly move. just as calmly as the waves. "i guess i'll take your word for it. a sweetheart gyrados~" not something that she hasn't seen before, anyways. they're like.. giant dogs. giant, serpentine, dangerous dogs. [break][break]

memories of a day past fill her head; memories that she thought she's trampled over, and locked away into the abyss. memories that she would rather not swell on, and yet-- [break][break]

".. i'm a little envious." her voice is soft, and she hopes that the calm waves can cover up what she says (it doesn't).

Leonidas Stone

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"i. was not. scared~." she cracks an eye open, and she'd say it again, because she wasn't. startled, maybe, but she wasn't scared. certainly, she wouldn't be terrified of.. the depths below. "laughing at my misery, some acquaintance i have~.." she sighs, and closes her eyes again. what a person to know, someone who has zero faith in her courage (although it's valid and expected, considering who she once was. though bravadoes and shows and fronts can be put up, it was also so difficult trying to beat and kill off the woman she once was). [break][break]

though she isn't looking at the gyrados who cranes his head over the boat, hearing the low growl is enough to put a small, and brief, smile to her lips. she's blind to their exchange, although listening to it can give her a good idea of the attitude. enough to make her smile to herself, let it be in amusement or at the sentiment. when the serpent returns under the water, marisol hums softly. she lets her body float across the water, once again. "... i don't doubt that." the salty air from the sea fills her lungs "although it could be bias~" a small smirk cracks her lips "he sounds taken to you."

Leonidas Stone

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marisol's seen a lot of things. [break][break]

she's heard a lot of things, too. screams of pain are no different, and at some point they blend together to make an amalgamation of white noise. at some point, pain all sound the same; let it be expressed in the form of screams, soft sobbing, restrained crying, slurs or otherwise. between a child scraping their leg and an adult breaking a bone - she's heard and seen it all. it's because of that maybe she's become a bit desensitized to it all, but also why she still, in the back of her mind, knows the degree (when you hear things enough time, you learn to put it on a scale of one to ten). [break][break]

shock is common, too, shortly after the pain. what she's heard wasn't the sound of a man hurting his arm, or breaking an arm; it was the complete, bloody mutilation of one (she would know, would know the sound of that all too well). and if she's going to be honest: the concern is slightly feigned. call it desensitization to an extreme. "phantom pain, then." a mental thing, one that she's very familiar with. she's familiar with phantom pains and limbs, and it always takes a moment. [break][break]

her response is to move over and help guide a man to be seated, seeing as though the phantom pain has yet to cease. she's the mind to lower herself onto a knee in front of where he sits, more so to examine the arm experiencing the.. excruciating pain. then she quirks a brow, when he's finally able to get the words out from his lips. and that's what piqued her interest. ".. the absol?" she narrows her eyes, from him, down to the arm he held. she narrows her eyes, then reaches up to gently take his arm into her hands. her right hand rests further up to his elbow, whereas her left rests closer to his wrist. then the nurse lowers her gaze and begins to gently circle and massage along his arm. at least, after she's sure the pain has tapered off. [break][break]

indeed, there were no physical injuries, but knowing absol.. "deep breaths. just take deep breaths and focus on recovering from the shock." she continues to move her hand around his forearm, hoping to loosen and ease his muscles.

Leonidas Stone

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alright, it'll be okay. you won't fall, marisol. [break][break]

telling herself doesn't really calm her nerves, but at least she's reaffirming to herself the truth. so her eyes open, slightly, as she tries to recover from the momentary fear. she's supposed to be helping people from what's happening. she's supposed to be aiding them. loathe is she to be on the field (it's been far too long since she's been able to be), but there's little to do when she's tasked to help people. if anything, it'd be best for her to come along, in the event they would need to treat wounds and such on the spot. [break][break]

hence, a backpack strapped on while she's been clinging on the staraptor. when she opens her eyes, she watches as a man jumps into the air with the serpent, and that just reminds her; ah, that's right. he's more of a hero. or at least, that title would suit him more. it's how he was. [break][break]

.. there's something about that makes her narrow her eyes, and maybe she scorns him a little bit for that. [break][break]

the scorn is short lived, as she catches his words in the wind. "alright.." she glances down at the staraptor, who's still steady, and she pulls out a pokeball to call out for a little, white corsola to sit in her arms. then she leans forwards to the staraptor, pointing down to where his trainer rushes to. "don't worry about me and just grab them." she speaks to the bird. focus, focus. [break][break]

deep breath marisol, and focus. [break][break]

you're long past the days where you were too scared (if they saw you now, they'd feel mocked).[break][break]

and a deep breath. [break][break]

"whenever you're ready!" she hangs onto the staraptor, who dives and glides through the air. it's fast enough for marisol to hold her breath in anticipation.

Leonidas Stone

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ah, we'll pretend that he didn't say that. safety for herself was never something high up on her priorities, anyways. what was higher up in them, though, was the view of the clouds aimlessly drifting ahead, all as her body rocks and raises with the waves that so carefully carry her. a deep breath, and the scent of the sea fills her nose, then she exhales and gradually falls deeper into her lull. [break][break]

"mhm... how do i put this?" she mulls it over, closing her eyes slightly. her chest raises and falls as her fingers gently graze along the surface of the water ".. this feels familiar." and she wears a smile, leaned back against the water and the life vest. curious, isn't it? how something she's never experienced could be comforting or familiar. she chuckles at her own words "a shame that i can't really say how something i've experienced for the first time feels nostalgic~." or rather, maybe she does, to some degree. it's the comfort that feels familiar, and the chill of the water is an afterthought. [break][break]

she would have kept floating idly there, until she hears the sudden burst of water from a gyrados breaking the surface. whereas her friend here was unfazed, her reaction was to suddenly flail and gasp from the shock, legs back under water, and the sudden struggle makes her all the more damper. she has to raise a hand to hold over where her heart was as she lets the.. harmless gyrados process. [break][break]

when it's calm, she narrows her eyes, then slowly tries once again to lean back into a resting position. "me? scared?" she nearly scoffs at the notion. like sh wasn't startled just a moment ago.[break][break]

"perish the thought."

Leonidas Stone

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one hand on the edge of the boat, the other holding onto the top collar of the life vest to keep herself afloat. even though the waves are pushing her, she should be okay - so long as the boat stays where it is. and nothing tries to come up at her. that would be pleasant, too. [break][break]

"here, let me correct myself, then" she clears her throat, feigning the matter-of-fact tone that he's probably very much familiar with "a nurse in training~" another chuckle from her lips, slowly starting to lean and lounge back into the water, as well. just so she can take a little break - and she doesn't have to worry about sinking with the life vest on. [break][break]

".. on another note" she sighs, head leaned back into the water to stare up at the clouds, that time around "the water's still cold but.. this isn't too bad."

Leonidas Stone

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there's no sense of urgency to pick up the pace - until she hears a loud scream that echoes even a few ways down the mountain. it's the nurse impulse to perk up and furrow her brow, enough for her to immediately recall her riolu and milcery to swap for her gengar. the large pokemon phases halfway through the ground, and she immediately mounts the top of the ghost pokemon's head body. "necrosis, pick up the pace." she doesn't bother to use the ear piece. [break][break]

thankfully, travelling via shadow is more convenient than by foot, so she makes it within moments of the scream. the gengar moves at a speed until the trainer jumps off her ride, staggering a little, but maintaining her balance well enough. there's a hint of concern as she rushes over to a man. "what happened?" she asks, dulled eye finally processing the scene of.. a man and an absol. [break][break]

a man with no visible injuries, it looked like, and it leaves her a little confused.

Leonidas Stone

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it'll just take a bit, she thinks. just long enough for her to adjust and try to hang onto the staraptor who's considerate enough to keep himself stable in the air. takes after the trainer, probably, considering how said trainer sent out two other birds to fly up towards her. [break][break]

"i'll be fine..!" she calls out that time, taking a deep breath as she slowly cracks her eye open whilst in the air. she'll be fine, she'll be okay. the bird won't let her fall, and there were two other birds who were up there to make sure everything would be okay. she'll be okay. [break][break]

what better way to recover than to throw herself to the sharpedos, anyways.. [break][break]

so she gently taps the staraptor's back, though clings on still, like her life depends on it. "i'm okay, so try to keep up with leonidas." and its uncertain, but picks up the pace in its glide anyways, with its two other companions int he air as extra insurance. though she still shuts her eyes, and clings on like her life depends on it. "no.. worries..!" she cracks one eye open, watching as the water passes below "just lead the way!"

Leonidas Stone

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a shame that she doesn't want to look a man dead in the eye, but his gaze bore through her, anyways. [break][break]

and her response is a soft chuckle at his disbelief. she wasn't in any danger, at the moment, so the urgency and swift movements to grab the life vest were amusing to her. other people's worry and concern was amusing to her. damn, she was a horrible person. [break][break]

so she watches, intently, with the same smile on her lips as he reaches out with life vest in hand. one hand maintains its hold on the boat, while the other reaches over to carefully take the bright, orange vest off his hands. ".. oops?~" she chimes, slightly, the playful tone is a contrast to her earlier moodiness and grumpiness. [break][break]

she moves closer to the boat, just so she can.. maybe get a better hold as she tries to put the vest on. one arm in, then carefully put on the other while in the water. it's harder than it looks. "mhm.. well~" she's able to get both arms through the holes, and she's floating better, but she's still keeping a hold onto the edge of the boat "i'm a nurse, not a lifeguard?~"

Leonidas Stone

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bluntly put, she wasn't interested. [break][break]

not interested in saving the civilians, more than she was interested in this cult that was formed as a result of the darkest day - or maybe they always existed, and just started becoming more bold. during her time in rocket, she's met many figured, spoken to many people who were both sound in the head, and had a screw loose. something that they all shared in common, however, was their leader's ability to speak and sympathize with the people. [break][break]

she's no doubt that it's the same with these cults. [break][break]

and she doesn't care for the beliefs nor the safety of others, which arguably makes her the more dangerous one here. the only thing foiling any chance of furthering her own sociology research on the side, is the staraptor she sits upon and clings onto for dear life. she's never flown before. this was a horrible idea. [break][break]

but she tries, really. she tries her best to cling onto the bird pokemon with attempts to not fall off. her body is pressed against the back of the bird pokemon, and she tries to cling as much as she can without hurting the poor thing. "i--" she starts, the sound of a sudden gasp and cut off (or equalized), brief scream can be heard in the microphone of the earpiece from the turbulence.

Leonidas Stone

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ah, graveyards. truly, the one place she can find some kind of refuge in (and though many would beg to differ, she know there's at least one more person who can sympathize with the sentiment. whether it be due to personal connection and ties, or appreciation for the somber atmosphere). [break][break]

is it a surprise when marisol can put her nursing proficiency to work? no, not at all. especially when she's specifically brought four (plus one) pokemon to act as her little.. therapy team. while he was using aromatherapy to calm the majority of absols, she was already at work with her milcery's sweet scent and aromatherapy to do her own work. to her leg is a small riolu with it's ears raised in the air. [break][break]

at least, this makes things targeted. [break][break]

in her arms was the milcery who lets out a cheerful little cry, and marisol periodically rests her hand on top of the little.. cream drop's head. "mhm.. you're doing a good job. just a little longer, okay?" she give a smile to the little fairy pokemon, who all the more enthusiastically releases a little more. [break][break]

she only pauses when a familiar voice rings in her head (or her ear). her steps come to a slow stop, and she gazes back - though at nothing in particular. "not too far" she responds, gently rubbing the top of the milcery's head "we should be able to meet half way."

Leonidas Stone

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her response to his amusement is spite, although that feeling doesn't exactly take her anywhere.[break][break]

eyes narrow beneath messy, damp bangs. at his words, she only grips the side of the boat a little more tightly, with her legs calmly.. flailing a little, underneath. she can tread, at least. slowly, she moves to raise her other hand, clasping on the side of the boat (like her life depends on it, because it most likely does). [break][break]

"see, that's the funny part.." she tilts her head, though this time purposely to avoid making eye contact with a man's gaze "... no, i can't. i don't know how to swim." hence why she lets go to very gently knock on the wood of their boat "like i said before," she starts, lips curling into a small smile "it should be okay so long as i hold onto the edge of the boat?~"

Leonidas Stone

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