Single file, quickly and mostly efficiently, the left canoe gets filled- mostly. After a quick double-take, it appears the right canoe is over-filled, and Kazimir remains outside of either, fully prepared to brave the choppy waters without the aid of a wooden lifeguard.

There isn't time for her to worry about that now, however. Fernando's hand slips from her own and she pulls herself back, forces herself to focus. Although she wishes to seek him out a second time, the notion is foolish. He's busy, busy trying to save his life - and everyone else's, to some extent.

If they didn't do something, they'd all drown.

Although she is not really, by any means, dazed, as she has avoided bashing her head or being jostled or falling victim to paralyzing fear, Stormy is at a loss for words. Unexpected, but realistic in some capacity. Absently, the woman wipes water and fish guts from her face, pulling her hand away and then to the line of sight ahead where FERNANDO SILPH and kyle lopez's Pokemon light the way.

Quillfish lie in wait, agitated and fully prepared to explode.

She sees Kim bicker with his small impish being, watches the Gothitelle appear - ah, so he hadn't lost her in the mountains, good - and then watches his lips move as he shouts for people to help.

Razz Kingsman is the first she recognizes to react. His Poliwrath's DAMP hopefully adds a buffer to their defences. Others set up barriers, safeguards, shields, perhaps.. but not for their canoe. All at once, the world seems to crash back into full volume and focus, and the woman reaches for her pokeballs to retrieve a solution.

It comes in the form of her Aegislash. The first Pokemon she can think of. Out here, in the water, she is at a disadvantage even without her fire-type affinity being at full capacity. Her arsenal consists mainly of fire-types who's light would easily be snuffed in conditions like this.

But with Razz's help, and Gothitelle's PSYCHIC, as well as the four others on board alongside her-- they would survive. They had to.

"Defensive stance, protect the canoe!"

If even half of the Quilfish were effectively removed, and the DAMP in effect could lessen the blow, all they really needed to do was hunker down and brace themselves. She could assist in that regard by forming a protective barrier with Aegislash's WIDE GUARD. The ghost Pokemon hovers and positions itself at the front of the canoe as best he can before throwing up a barrier that might just cut through the damage they'd likely endure.

Hopefully, the rest of their canoe had something to assist Kim in lifting or pushing the Quilfish out of the way.

"Hunker down and brace yourselves!"

NK8GeLmF

notes:
- being observant
- out-of-body experience almost in which she absorbs the situation
- follows kim's suggestion in some manner
- releases aegislash to use WIDE GUARD to prevent wide-ranging damage in some capacity
- suggests they hunker down and brace themselves and hopes someone else can help out more

illeana reyes FERNANDO SILPH kim cole-essam

☉

In response to the text message, Stormy begins typing.. and typing.. and typing. In reality, she's formed one sentence that she ultimately scraps. It seems to be filled with confusion and some degree of heartache. But the storm clears, and she sends one measly 'thumbs-up' emoji.

She really had no intention of showing up to the hot-pot. The woman had other obligations coming up, likely, with people who she knew, admittedly, far better than many of the rangers here. Three years.. and yet her attention had always been diverted almost entirely to the big leagues.

But for him... she would try.

Stormy comes bearing a small gift-bag with holiday-themed treats. It's something simple, easily overlooked, but with the right amount of effort to put into a brief and impersonal white elephant. She sets it down and walks away, gaze searching the crowd for familiar faces.

Even now, it still shocks her to her core to see Lance alive and well. Relieved, yes, but shocked.

He stands surrounded by people who look up to him, and she, no longer as confident or bold as she had been a few short weeks ago, remains on the sidelines looking in.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

He glosses over her heated concern. She shakes her head subtly, but doesn't comment. In fact, she is about to walk away altogether when he continues the conversation regarding the weather. To be polite, and because he is her friend, she stays.

"Maybe the weather changing is a good change."

Probably not, but maybe.

And then she squints and watches him closely as he ushers her to draw close. She hesitates for a moment, glancing over her shoulder and then back at him.

"Is something wrong?"

Alexei Ivanov

☉

Stormy's brows come together, concern reflected in the weak tremble they display. She swallows, unsure what to make of the hollow, hopeful pit in her chest. What did he mean when he said that? It couldn't mean what she hoped it might, that she meant something to him, that he genuinely meant it when he told her to come with him.

But she has always been a fool.

"Do you mean that?"

He could lie and she'd believe him, even if deep down she didn't.

"Please don't lie to me."

FERNANDO SILPH

☉

"I don't know, man, but it was big."

Or at least, that's how she remembered it. The Groudon was burned into her memory, into her nightmares, as this giant, hulking titan.

She swallows, shaking her discomfort and moving on from the subject.

Exhaustion already begins to wear on her features at his vow. While he meant well, and while she knew he meant it, the thought tires her immediately. She so desperately wished to crawl back into bed and never come out.

But that was impossible. She had a job to do, obligations to meet, people to impress.

And she had a mission now, more than ever before. Although she knew she couldn't wilt to the suggestion she was nothing without Moltres- it felt like it. It was wrong, and it was dangerous, but it was true.

"You going to kiss me again?"

Briefly, the woman side-eyes him before moving forward. When she does, she spots a Riolu practicing its FORCE PALM. The focus in its stance draws her in, and Stormy directs Arcanine to intercept. Flames devour a path forward, consuming both the Arcanine and the Riolu. On the other side of the FLAMETHROWER, only Arcanine remains standing.

Stormy approaches the fainted Riolu and kneels to capture it.

capture attempt on riolu

Greyson Connors

☉

He would see, if he were watching, her fingers tighten around the menu. It's faux-leather binding squeezes within her grip, protesting.

"There's nothing to talk about that you probably haven't already heard."

News travels quickly, and her sudden absence from society had been abrupt and painful. She'd cut herself off quickly - though she can't fathom a reason why Cian of all people would have noticed. Still, he would have known what happened.

Everyone did.

"What are you ordering?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

Too caught up in her own self-doubt and grief, she doesn't catch onto the distance he puts between them. It's hard to say if she ever would have, had her life not fallen off the perfect path she'd set for herself. Selfish, is what one might call her, and that would be the most accurate word of all.

Instead, she walks in silence behind him as he leads them to their destination. She doesn't even respond to his slight jest, or perhaps she hasn't heard it, too caught up in her own thoughts to consider being.. considerate.

"I never said I didn't want fish."

Hostile again, even if only for a brief flare-up, she clears her throat and glances away. Her gaze softens just slightly at the bustle and buzz all around them. In some way, it comforts her. Perhaps it is the feeling of not being alone, of not being singled out. Stupid, really, because she hadn't been alone in the Soiree. Not really.

Stormy clears her throat a second time, suddenly aware of her rudeness.

"I-I do want fish. I'm sorry."

angelo vestri

☉

The door catches, pinching his foot. Did it hurt? She doesn't seem to care, only turns her head when she doesn't hear the door click behind her. There should have been a slam -- and instead? Perhaps a grunt of pain.

"Oh, you can leave. I can dismiss you, and you are free to go and do whatever you please."

The woman continues to frown, irritation crawling across her features.

"I'm not a child, as much as the League might often treat me as such."

And the fact he referrs to her as babysitting him frankly doesn't make it any better. To suggest that he be the incompetent one instead of her, that he be the one she watch and coddle and protect? Somehow, that felt worse.

"Tch."

Stormy glances away, only to look back with renewed confusion at his offer. Briefly, the woman blushes before answering.

"No, that's.. no. I don't want you to paint me. That's weird."

Xander Belmont

☉

That was what had happened? Two different points in time had.. collided with one another? She had seen the portal, or whatever it had been. Like a window looking into another world. But she hadn't fully understood what it was she had seen, and she had only assumed no one else had, either.

But here was Illeana, explaining it to her, giving her something to think about.

"What reason could there have been? Why do Pokemon do.. anything?"

Frustration weighs in on her expression, shown through the tremble of her brow as she grinds her teeth and glances away. The woman's trust had fallen astray, evidently. Her faith in Pokemon, in people, in herself, shaken to the core.

"No--" once again, she is sharp, unintentionally, "No.. I'm good to go whenever you are. The sooner we leave, the better, right?"

illeana reyes

☉

Her brother's silence comes as a relief. Not that she despises him in any way, because she doesn't. She never had, even if she'd wanted to.

In that silence, she finds comfort.

And it is what draws her to the quiet pop of an Abra manifesting into existence. Before it has a chance to do so again and to flee, Stormy throws a pokeball at it. Hopefully, her agility and attention to detail secures the catch, as a teleporting Pokemon could be quite useful.

capture attempt on abra

MATIAS SILPH

☉

She breathes in, relishing the smell of the trees and the way the breeze comes in to rustle them. She can hear nothing else but leaves brushing up against one another. So far, no sign of any guards.

However, despite not seeing anything suspicious or concerning, she doesn't let her guard down. Perhaps her apprehension could be a reflection of her trauma. She has always worn her heart on her sleeve, and really, this is no different. This is just more intense, more persistent, more.. all-consuming. She hates how weak she feels. And it was why she had agreed to still go through with this challenge.

She would pesist.

With a quiet exhale, Stormy takes the first few, quiet steps, mindful of where she places her feet. The running shoes she's picked out are.. perfect- like they were moulded to fit her ankles. Though she doesn't use them yet, she is sure that she can count on them.

If there is any opening for to peek around a corner without being seen, she would take it.

John Sullivan

☉

'Brave'. What a joke.

Stormy was quite literally about to shit herself. But for the sake of appearances, and her own bruised peach ego, she was here.

"What?"

His greeting catches her off-guard and she doesn't hear it at first. But once the words come back around and she recognizes the smile on his face, if he even was smiling, she blinks, frowns, and sighs. What a peach she was.

"Yeah, nothing else to do."

And then she yawns, because what better way to look like a bored asshole than to yawn?

It also helps mask her anxiety, which is ideal, because showing any amount of fear or worry is not in Stormy's usual vocabulary. She struggles to not maintain her frown, to let her eyebrows relax than tremble like itchy caterpillars. It wasn't like this job was particularly hard or out of her usual comfort level. Dealing with a wild Pokemon was easy, simple, a straightforward, basic task assigned to any ranger.

Mega evolution on top of that? Piece of cake. On numerous occasions she had been tasked with helping in situations like that -- cait alfric, for one, comes to mind. Not only that, but she had three Heatran wallowing in the depths of Mt. Chimney - hers, legendary Pokemon capable of total destruction. And yet here she was, weak in the knees because she felt fear.

Of what?

"Any idea what Pokemon it is?"

kyle lopez

☉

Stormy glances at their watress with some degree of aversion, but takes the menu and pulls it up to hide her face from the man across from her. At first, it isn't intentional, merely an instinctual attempt to shut the world out.

But when his attention lingers, when his voice carries over the lip and causes her to let the menu hang loose, she stiffens her fingers and pulls it up tighter. What brief glance upon her blank, shocked expression he might have seen is quickly hidden.

Behind her closed door, Stormy swallows and dips her head.

"... No. I hadn't. I have just had a lot on my mind."

And admittedly, seeing Cian brought uncomfortable feelings of grief. He was a reminder, a painful one, and she was a coward.

CIAN MAHER

☉