For a moment there seems hope that they might actually make it through the snow; Jaci makes a stand as its Psychic stops the Avalanche--- and then, after what seems like an endless moment, the psyonic energy breaks and gives way. The wave of ice and snow overtakes both within moments, but the assassin clings unto her Lunatone with almost herculian strength, making sure they don't get separated in the aftermath.

Captured by the make-shift snowy prison, Kyrenai does not realise they've all been moved elsewhere until she surfaces anew, the sudden brightness of its snowy landscape a vast contrast against the Ancient Tomb they were at moments prior... except, even this 'brightness' seems dulled, decay apparent in the nearby flora. She frowns, wiggling herself free from the snow, and feels her Lunatone doing the same.

In the moments she takes to recollect herself she starts noticing more people around her; how many are making their way towards the curious building, and the apparant fighting beyond its gates? Deciding not to mingle, she remains put and checks her Lunatone for any injuries they should be worried about, but all by all she finds nothing too serious to switch it out. Yet. They'd dealt with worse, but she'd be careful for the time being.

"Good job holding up against that Avalanche, Jaci," she praises the Lunatone, patting its side. Whatever she wishes to say next is deafened by Rayquaza's earth-shattering roar, and before long the distant silhouette of a Shadow Lugia renders the sky. Had she not been certain before, she now knew what monsters walked alongside the people present... and for once she hoped she did not have to face them head-on.

But what would the future hold, then?

"Jaci, Future Sight if you'd please."

As her Lunatone gets to scrying the future for any plausible hints, its master focuses on their surroundings once more. Closest to them, yet still a decent bit away from them, another lonely pair has surfaced from the snow; the dot of cyan hair seems less lucky with cold-resistent clothing and seems to be huddling close to his pokémon. For a moment she entertains the thought to see if she can find an ally in them, but she hesitates.

Mayhaps better to wait until Jaci has finished scrying, just in case they end up being less friendly than anticipated.



8Ty8a3Wh


tldr;
- Resurfaces from her snowy prison; what is this place?
- Thanks her armored suit for deflecting hypothermia
- Is cautious, keeps her distance from any groups
- Hears Rayquaza's roar, sees the Shadow Lugia in the sky
- Lunatone uses Future Sight
- Contemplates joining KING WAYLAND , but watches for now

@

☉

The assassin had been briefed before their arrival of what was expected from her. As PENELOPE LIVY 's entourage expanded, so did the safety measures regarding her person, even if a faint nagging feeling told her that the woman she saw now was no longer the helpless councilwoman who'd first employed her. She couldn't tell what it was exactly, just that her instincts warned her. But of what?

Something that made her less worried about leaving her behind on the field of battle, and to stalk forth on her own. Kyrenai had moved in from another side of the Ancient Tomb, finding herself far closer to the shield-bearing canine and the sword-fanged snowbeast than her charge. Her eyes were on the Zamazenta, large, proud, and battered, its shield chipped and shards of black littering the floor.

When her gaze falls upon the black fragments, she knows.

She knows she could fight and defend, or attack.

Or she could try and retrieve one of those fragments. At her own risk, most-likely.

Yet when she tries to advance, Chien-Pao's impending Avalanche threatens to blast her away entirely. Her options are limited but valid; she can use her pokémon and go over it, underneath it, stand her ground and seek cover...

Or go straight through it.

Jaci braces itself before its trainer, brimming to life as psychic energy starts building. It teeters on the edge of release until the Avalanche is moments away from the two, and then releases it, intent on breaking through the crushing snow.



0l9UCV6k


tldr;
- Kyrenai notices the Black Fragments, tries to make her way towards one.
- Lunatone uses Psychic to force-push through the Avalanche.

@

☉

The faint smile shifts into a genuine grin at the councilwoman's crude wording, the hint of a chuckle touching the assassin's shoulders. "Honestly, I might actually take you up on that for another asshole entirely, too." she says, casting her eyes to the lush flora shielding the sky.

Her silence lingers, and then she just sighs. "I'm really not sure what to do with him, either," she mutters underneath her breath, moreso rhethorically than to actually expect a reply to it. Newly-resurrected, Kyrenai knew little about Yuki's life in the Beyond, nor what to think about her at all. At first she'd been happy, emotional at seeing her again, but now she remembered the words that had caused the woman's death in the first place, it had soured her initial reaction.

She hadn't mentioned it to anyone. Yet. Not even her family was aware of her ties with the Hanakata Clan.

"How are you dealing with things ever since..." Ever since everything. Kyrenai just gestures with her hand, a swirling motion, but it gets the point across.

PENELOPE LIVY

☉

"Honestly, I feel like I've already squandered many such opportunities." Kyrenai notes, watching from the corner of her eye how a Magcargo is making its way down the side of the mountain. She pays it no heed, sending her Hydreigon off to the skies once again after giving it a thankful headpat. Her eyes follow the beast as it soars.

"I'll make the most of those I still have." Eventually; she thinks. Luck's involved in the making of these moments, and she's long since realised luck has it out for her.

"What about you?"

Skipping~

PENELOPE LIVY

☉

She nods, lessening her pace until she's fallen back in step with Penelope. Or close to, at least; she's only a few paces ahead rather than a several feet, silently thanking the jungle's momentary reprieve as the thicket opens up for a path of sorts, most-likely one its original inhabitants follow on the daily.

"It's... going. Barely," she admits. "I've scheduled an impromptu visit after this, actually. Planned on doing so sooner, but I got," her voice trails off as she thinks about the many reasons her original plans on said family reunion got thwarted. It takes her a moment too long to gather her thoughts, the momentary hesitation out in the open when she continues. "sidetracked."

The smile she gives the councilwoman is all but convincing.

PENELOPE LIVY

☉

Of all things, the decadence tied around Slateport's Upper District had been something she'd never truly missed.

But oh, how easy it had been to fall back into it now she had returned.

It was the best way to drag her mind into blissful ignorance, if only for a few hours, where she only had to wonder about her next drink and the right conversational partner rather than the everything that played with her doubts. How she doubted about her purpose; how she failed as the shield she'd set out to be, and had fallen to be a sword without meaning more often than not.

She could not protect, no matter how hard she tried.

But hurt? That she inflicted like a second nature.

"Miss Black? Is everything okay?"

Kyrenai blinked and focused her eyes back unto the man before her; greying hair and a receding hairline mere moments away from impending baldness, Joseph Magnus had all the makings of senior citizen in the make-- if it were not for the keen eyes that never wavered. They showed strength where his body showed age; a hidden wisdom. It had been the reason she'd hired him for a potential venture in Hoenn. She smiled softly and shook her head. "Merely wondering about our host, Magnus, nothing more." Her eyes followed @evette as she descended the stage and mingled with the crowd before putting her attention back on Magnus, whom she noticed had been following her gaze as well.

He sighed, gently patting her arm. "Hmmm, I think I know what you mean." The older man said conspiratorially, inclining his head. "In that case, don't let me keep you. I'm sure we both have our respective threads to pull tonight, don't we?"

"That we do. Take care, Magnus, and I'll see you next week. Don't hesitate to call me if anything comes up." Kyrenai nodded, watching as Magnus took off to speak with other executives that had been gathering near the buffet table. She didn't care much for the food at this point; her red wine would keep her company for now.

And for a moment that's all she does as she watches the sea of people, her glass ever so slightly tipped against her lips. She ignores the gazes resting upon her in passing; she knows they linger on the left side of her black dress, where the cloth of her top half has been replaced by an exorbant amount of crystals, scantily covering her shoulders all the way down her side and across her hip. A purposeful decision. Kyrenai had meant to shock with a generous amount of tasteful naked skin, and the knowing smile she carried as she pretended not to see told everything.


Outfit

@evette

☉

Slateport City's Upper District held many things; fine dining establishments, malls, museums, businesses galore. Yet the only particular one that held her interest had been Akura Inc; a business she'd once aspired to lead, but had fallen short of when her brother was put in charge. She'd been salty about it once. Now she only blessed the decision, for GABRIEL BLACK had done a far better job in helming it than she ever would've.

She'd found her freedom -mismaked as it had been- elsewhere. Clan Black knew little of what had befallen her, safe for the information she did let on. Architecture. The occassional letter home; a video call on even rarer occassions. Kyrenai knew she'd only returned home once or twice during the holidays in all those years, and even then she'd barely stayed longer than a handful of days.

But now, with recent relevations, she yearned to find them again. To reignite the fires of kinship she'd almost snuffed out. Gabriel Black was not aware of her plans to visit Akura Inc. His staff severely unprepared for the verbal onslaught; her tongue just as sharp as the blade she often wielded.

How dared they make her wait? Did they even know who she was?

Oh, the shocked look on the woman's face when she realised who exactly she was talking to. Priceless.

It'd only taken her a moment of confusion to slip past the pristine entrance and into the building, swapping elegance and professionalism for monotone walls of even more monotone halls. Once she'd ventured down to the lower levels, they'd stretched far and beyond. And now she was just wandering about.

Flicking her phone out of her jacket, she quickly composes a message and presses [send] before pocketing the device again.

"Hey Gabe, you should honestly do something about the staff manning the front desk. Poor girl scares far too easily."

Wonder how long it would take for them to pinpoint her location... but knowing her brother, he'd probably already be aware of her presence. Well, not that she was actually bothering with sneaking around now she was in. She wanted him to know. If only to get under his skin for a little bit; for old time's sake.

Now... where was her older brother hiding?

GABRIEL BLACK

☉

How long had she been wandering about the endless sepias of floating mountains and isles?


If one told her time flowed differently within the Border, she would've been inclined to believe them, for the concept of time had faded from her mind a long time ago.


A long time, she thinks. But she's not sure. 


The only certainty is the pull dragging her heart and her feet onward; she's long since passed all the notable landmarks she'd come across during her exploration and ventured into territories yet to be mapped. 


"I'll find you." she whispers to the winds, and for a moment her hand finds itself back on the blade's hilt. 


A memento, of arguably better days.


His blade.


She'd never been able to part with it. And after the investigations had been concluded, she'd done everything in her power to retrieve it. A token meant to remind her whenever her mind dared waver. 


Something unspoken calls the assassin to attention, and when she lifts her gaze from the voids occupying her thoughts she sees the fields before her; hundreds, if not thousands of flowers dance upon the breeze. Among them a single lily; Spider. Blazing red. It stands proud among the sea of white, like a drop of blood on porcelain skin. 


She crosses the floral sea towards it, and for a second time she lingers before it, and kneels. Her fingers tenderly graze its tendrils, yet she does not question why it was a flower of all things that called for her; its loneliness a silent reminder. 


It only reminds her of him.


Of Kagetora Shinada.


"I missed you, Kage," she whispers to the flower, fingers lowering to its stem. "I still miss you."


And then she pulls.

Kagetora Shinada

☉