The open ocean was a merciful distraction, one Caleb had been in desperate need of lately. The Rangers had been running him into the ground, and though dealing with the continued aftermath of the Mt. Chimney and Kyurem incidents was necessary work, he was utterly and thoroughly exhausted.[break][break]
Lyra glided through the waves with unmatched expertise, and Caleb sighed softly in contentment as the sea breeze blew back his hair and caressed his cheeks. He breathed in deep, savoring the temporary escape from the grind. Out here, the most he had to worry about was avoiding sunburn.[break][break]
Shutting his eyes, he began to drift off...[break][break]
Lyra trilled a warning and Caleb's eyes snapped back open. Well, he'd never had much luck - why would it start now?[break][break]
Sitting up, he shifted to look in the direction the Lapras was gazing, noticing several massive shapes struggling against the tide, bodies washed up on the nearby Dewford Beach. "Wailord?" He guessed.[break][break]
He thought about ignoring them but...[break][break]
"Take us over," he sighed, resigned. A past version of Caleb might not have cared, but he was a different man now...no matter how tired. "They look like they need some help."

TAGS – ELMIRA ISOM[break]
NOTES – Mission

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Rage ripples outwards from Greyson Connors and Caleb finally, reluctantly, takes a step backwards. Psychic power cuts through granite like butter, and the kitchen island is reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds. Caleb gapes at it, thinking what the actual fuck, while at the same time, anger begins to rise within his own gut - hot enough to burn away the remnants of his patience.[break][break]
"You'd let him abuse your power like this?" He turns on the Delphox, immediately recognizing that the emotion etched across her canine features is one of surprise. "He needs help!"[break][break]
The air shimmers, and Caleb's skin prickles, goosebumps rising. Greyson's eyes have an otherworldly amethyst cast to them now, unnerving and inhuman. Were Sygna Suits really capable of this?[break][break]
There's a sizable amount of space between the two men, but Caleb does not retreat further. Not yet.[break][break]
"I'm not afraid of you," he snaps at Greyson. He'd fought Zev Harcourt, after all, and there were few people who would ever come close to that degree of unhinged violence.[break][break]
Stubbornly, he clings to his belief in Greyson. Stubbornly, he pushes harder against the unseen barrier erected between them.[break][break]
"You wanna kill someone? Kill me, then. You hate me enough, right?"[break][break]
Willing to suffer to call a bluff? Willing to die to prove a point? It would make him a hell of a martyr, but he doesn't care. He's tired of Greyson's self-destructive bullshit, and he isn't going to leave without putting up a fight.

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He hadn't thought much of it, when freya morningstar wasn't there one morning. She was a busy woman with a hectic schedule. One missed training session with Caleb didn't mean much. The fact that her assistant, Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki, also wasn't around meant it was probably some sort of League emergency.[break][break]
There was one of those every week these days, it seemed.[break][break]
But then she wasn't there a second time. And a third. And Caleb started to get nervous.[break][break]
Isaac Merlo wasn't answering his phone. jack wainwright had ghosted him for happy hour. Something wasn't right, and several of the usual folks he would expect to see around Slateport Ranger Headquarters were just...missing.[break][break]
Even BARNABY FINCH seemed notably absent.[break][break]
"Ollie?"[break][break]
Caleb could have messaged him, but he was too...on edge. The prospect of waiting around for a returned text or phone call unsettled him. He needed to see the other man in person, as soon as possible. So he'd marched over to the Head Ranger's office in Ever Grande, stomach churning, expecting another empty hole where Ollie should have been.[break][break]
The office door opened. Blue eyes met emerald, and Caleb let out a sigh of relief. When had his hands started shaking?[break][break]
"Ollie, something's wrong. Where is everyone?"

TAGS – ollie morales[break]
NOTES – Mission

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He couldn't blame Isaac for talking to Aurelie. Isaac was a talker, after all. He was constantly bouncing ideas off his inner and outer circles, navigating all of the various ways he might be able to make some kind of difference healing their war-torn world. The Liberator, they called him now. It was a fitting title; he'd always been the better king.[break][break]
"It's all true," Caleb murmured, knowing the truth would sting, but also wanting Aurelie to understand the reality of his situation. She deserved to know, not only because he trusted her, but because Rocket was dangerous...and she ought to steer clear of them as much as possible. Not that he expected her to ever get involved with a criminal organization, but as a maker of weapons, it was always possible they might try and coerce her to their side.[break][break]
He wouldn't put it past them, in any case.[break][break]
"He saved my life. Isaac, I mean," he continued. The memories were a swirling whirlwind now: the ice-tipped claws of jayden cross's ruinous beast, their narrow escape onto the streets of Sootopolis, angelo vestri and Latios appearing like an oceanic deus ex machina, his brother's arrival and his subsequent separation from Isaac, who would have died if not for Suicune's eventual intervention...[break][break]
They'd made it out alive. That's what mattered.[break][break]
"It's not so hard to believe," he sighed softly. How much did Aurelie know about him? It felt like such a jumbled mess: a pendulum swinging back and forth between newly acquainted and twenty-years-of-friendship.[break][break]
"Rocket isn't especially kind to defectors. I escaped Kanto a few years ago, but it was only a matter of time before the sins of my past caught up to me. And besides...my brother and I aren't exactly on good terms." He paused. "He's in Rocket still."

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Caleb's hands began to wander as his mind let go - later, Ollie would break his heart a thousand different ways by refusing to acknowledge the very real way he had kissed Caleb back, touched Caleb back, wanted Caleb back - but in that moment, Caleb couldn't think of a single reason why he shouldn't jump head-first into the deep end.[break][break]
So it was, with eager hands, that he slipped a few fingers below the waistband of Ollie's pajama pants - tugging. So it was, with a primal hunger he hadn't realized had been festering inside of him for so long, that his kisses grew more passionate. Soon, he was pulling Ollie half-onto his lap, all sense of propriety melting away as he enjoyed the way it felt to finally live out this daydream.[break][break]
Perhaps he ought to have heard the footsteps down the hallway: the shuffling of tired feet as someone else emerged from bed, woken by the sounds in the kitchen. Perhaps he ought to have realized that making out in a dormitory kitchen wasn't exactly the wisest (and most sanitary) idea. None of these things crossed his mind: all he could focus on was Ollie.[break][break]
"I - " he murmured against the other boy's lips, at a loss for words, but wanting so badly to convey his feelings more clearly. I want you and I need you and I wish we could date for real were all half-formed sentiments, trying desperately to claw forth from his tortured, teenaged heart.

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benji sawyer had a kindly smile and a jovial spring to his step, the sort of warm-looking fellow that almost certainly had excellent bedside manner. There was something undeniably genuine about his friendly greeting, eyes soft like freshly laundered linens, and any apprehension Caleb might have been feeling about this particular social interaction evaporated as the good doctor's expression turned even more gooey at the sight of Honey.[break][break]
"Caleb Harcourt," he introduced himself, suppressing a chuckle as the dragon turned eagerly towards her newest fan. Shameless, she was. "And yeah, I'm with the Slateport Rangers." He paused, amused by the doctor's fawning. "And this is Honey, my Appletun."[break][break]
As Honey sniffed Benji (apparently deciding instantly that he was worth a kiss in the form of a big sloppy lick), Caleb stretched to begin hauling the crates off her back. Unlatching the restraints, he grunted as he set the first of them on the ground by Benji's feet.[break][break]
"I've got about two dozen recovered eggs here, give or take, and my superiors said you'd know what to do with them. So what's next, doc? I'm at your service for today."[break][break]

TAGS – benji sawyer[break]
NOTES – Mission

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Holowhat?[break][break]
Caleb tried not to let the confusion show on his face. If he had been at that Ranger meeting, he had most certainly been zoning out. Need to pay closer attention, he chastised himself, feeling suddenly embarrassed for his lack of knowledge.[break][break]
Well, it wasn't his fault he'd been captured by Rocket and all that. Life had been...difficult, lately.[break][break]
"A disabling Pokemon..." He considered his options. Lyra lumbered along after Shalin and her Type: Null, craning her neck in both directions to try and spot any suspicious Pokemon activity.[break][break]
"I've got some electric types that can paralyze," he noted. "If you think that would be helpful..."[break][break]
A rustling ahead caught his attention, and he motioned for Lyra to slow down and approach with a measure of caution.

TAGS – Shalin Nariya[break]
NOTES – Mission

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TAGS – coal doe[break]
NOTES – Mission[break][break]

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TAGS – coal doe[break]
NOTES – Mission[break][break]

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TAGS – Victor Haas[break]
NOTES – Mission[break][break]

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Her enthusiasm was admirable, considering she had just recovered from a nasty punch to the head. It was the sort of grit the League needed right now, he realized. She might be young, but they were living in an "all hands on deck" sort of timeline these days.[break][break]
"Elite Ranger out of Slateport," he confirmed. "We're recruiting right now, if that sort of work interests you. No pressure, though."[break][break]
He wasn't going to force anyone to join their ranks, didn't sit well with him after being coerced into Team Rocket in his youth - even if becoming a Ranger was a far more altruistic path to take. Caleb felt strongly about personal choice.[break][break]
"Anyway, if you're all good to get going..." He eyed her, just to make sure she could actually keep up. "Follow me."[break][break]
He motioned for Nox and Comet, whistling softly. The two scurried off to scout ahead, and Caleb began walking in the direction he had originally been heading before he'd run into Thea. His nose itched, an acidic scent to the air as he continued deeper into the forest, confirming that he was getting close to the epicenter of the poison outbreak.[break][break]
After a few footfalls, he glanced back to see if she and her Pokemon were actually trailing after him.

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Which each stammered rebuttal, Greyson reduces himself, makes himself small in the face of his own helpless uncertainty. It is a pathetic display of bravado. Caleb is familiar with the tactic, though he'd spent less time at this stage - moving more swiftly than Greyson into dejected self-hate.[break][break]
"You did your job?"[break][break]
He shakes his head, scoffing at the absurdity of the claim.[break][break]
"Your job is to be a role model for the citizens of Hoenn. Your job is to provide an educational and challenging training opportunity by allowing the most qualified Pokemon battlers to enter your arena. Your job is to advise the League council, and help guide our government towards a safer future."[break][break]
Caleb steps into Greyson's outstretched hand, lets his accusatory finger poke him in the chest.[break][break]
"You're right. You are better than me. But not because you would have killed a Rocket."[break][break]
His eyes are compassionate, even as he shoulders yet another would-be ally's misplaced anger.[break][break]
"You're better because you didn't."

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