there is satisfaction in waiting. there is satisfaction in doing nothing and biding your time and in waiting for the right moment to do everything perfectly. to watch the pieces fall where they may. he sits while heather and tomás exchange snickers at rinc's behest, his gold eyes unaffected. he rifles through his cards. 

in his periphery, he watches lulu's shadow go by him. 

and internally, he is thinking a dozen and one ways of how simple it would be to slit the man's jugular. he is marveling at the blood bubbling over his lips and of that hateful pleading in his eyes, a look he's seen before. but then, it's never been personal.

he gaze flickers and after it goes around the table, he lazily tosses the ace of spades onto the pile. he folds the rest of his cards; if his math is right, the game's been decided, no matter what else rinc can fork up onto the table.

he opens up a palm, brows raised, and goes to take his winnings. 

"bad luck, rinc. had a fairly stacked hand."

Lulu Flint

☉

his lips twinge, but again, he dare not lift his gaze from his cards. too much can be found in the eyes and there are things he'd rather keep to himself than allow fiona to see swimming in liquid gold. it's not abnormal for him to play like so either. he's a focused individual. 

and like she said. he has eyes in the back of his head. 

the trick goes around. heather tosses some points into it and rinc snaps it up greedily. it circles back around to him. while he's sorely tempted to snap it up with the lovely little spade under his thumb, he instead sighs and drops the ten of hearts. 

he'd like to squeeze out a few more points before taking what he can from the man. especially now.

"mm, there's more to it than that. one just has to pay attention." he taps his cards again and fishes another bill, smiling pleasantly while he places it on top of rinc's worn money.

Lulu Flint

☉

truth be told, he hadn't expected much from the crass man. he certainly hadn't expected him to pull out a rather well-behaved and deadly drapion from his back pocket. the ariados gives a squelch as the larger beast wraps its mandibles around its head and nikkari's almost surprised to see the body still alive to get sucked into a pokeball. 

alecto watches with fascination and then very suddenly melts into the shadows. she emerges a good distance further away, sharp claws outstretched and hooked around the neck of another pokemon. 

"what have you got there, lec?" her response is to bite thoughtfully on the leaves of the strangled shiftry, even as it beats at her with a shriek. her eyes flash when it goes in for a sucker punch. she renders it useless with a disable and tosses it aside just as quickly, leaving nikkari to nudge the fallen thing with his foot.

his wallet is in the shiftry's mouth. "you little pickpocket," he mumbles, amused. he picks his wallet back up, tucks it back in his pocket, and drops a ball of his own. 

"oh, trust me, mitchel - keep me around long enough and i'll find a hundred and one ways to prove you wrong there."

mitchel kane

catching shiftry.

☉

the what the FUCK is not kind to his ears. the softspoken man actually winces. alecto, however, just chitters joyfully and scuttles off of his back to peer up at him with her odd, gemstone eyes. her head tilts nearly ninety degrees and nikkari turns his head too. 

alecto starts cackling. nikkari's gaze flickers upward and at mitch's question, he smiles. 

"i think so," he says coolly and then points up above mitch's head, where an ariados descends with fangs poised. 

mitchel kane

catching shiftry next post ty.

☉

"contrary to popular belief, i don't," he says smoothly. heather and tomás toss garbage onto the hand, much like rinc's, but that doesn't mean there isn't more to come. it had been a bold move to start with the king, knowing full well his first trick would end up only making one pass. 

he draws the winning hand to his side of the table, raps the edges of the cards neatly together, and lays them in a short pile to his right. then he turns his head and pretends to deliberate; his eyes never once stray from his cards.

rather than fish for more spades, he smiles and tosses a nine of hearts, more for his own personal amusement than anything else.

Lulu Flint

☉

a giant centiskorch? other than the rifts themselves, nikkari's yet to witness something truly terrible in hoenn. its struggles have paled in comparison to what he's witnessed in galar; granted, he's only been here less than a week. with the news outlets, he'd assumed the region was close to crumbling at every hour. 

nikkari stumbles at the elite four member's words. his supposed shock is for the effect of both sides; let remiel think this information a surprise, and let callan see him as he wishes: a frightened nobody caught in the middle of the wrong war. 

alecto chitters happily at the uncomfortable presence and reaches up to swat at a low-hanging branch. his hand nearly brushes the galarian prince's, but he draws back. if the falling in step had been coincidental, nikkari doesn't take the bait. 

with the venom in the elite four member's words, he opts not to take his chances out here against such a foe. better to bide his time. he does still look curiously at the ex-admin, patiently waiting for the answer. 

Callan Young Remiel Calcifet

notes
under the guise of ansel goodwin
actively putting himself in a position to stay under the radar & get information

☉

behind nikkari is the entrance to the bar. he'd placed himself in the seat he did so he wouldn't be tempted to do just what rinc is doing right now. his fingers tap against the backs of his playing cards, making a dull sound against the table, but it's lost to the raucous bar. 

his gaze is predatory and possessive. there is only one woman he looks at like that, and nikkari only sees it out of his periphery. he dare not turn his head, but leaves rinc to his less-than-private fantasies and listens intently to the conversation going on with his peers. but it's all for show, and he's not really listening, because as soon as rinc calls, nikkari taps a knuckle on the table to pass the bid. 

heather: pass

tomás: deliberates for a long while (he has a shit hand) and finally pass

to nikkari then. "dealer takes." he plucks his king of spades from his hand and tosses it to the table, glancing to the side casually as a shadow draws near. 

"ah, fiona. you're welcome to join the next hand if you'd like." an eyebrow quirks back at rinc. "this shouldn't take too long."

Lulu Flint

☉

it makes sense that this arm of rocket encourages its employees to travel in pairs, even when not on duty. with the region as volatile as it is, nikkari can appreciate the foresight. of course, at the end of the day, they are but bodies for the machine, for the glory of rocket. 

but so is everyone else. they just don't know what they're beholden to.

he is, unfortunately, privy to his partner's song about him. alecto has a nasty habit of tugging at shadows, teasing eyes away from him, so he doesn't often realize just how easy it is for him to sneak up on people with the gremlin constantly pulling her tricks. 

"i assure you, i have no intention of going anywhere near your genetalia, mitchel," he says as he steps in his field of view. 

mitchel kane

☉

nikkari turns minutely. it's not out of place for idle chatter among like minds in a place like this, but the discussion sets him a little on edge given his current situation. he picks at his sleeve collar and finds an easy smile, though still looks somewhat perturbed as he glances back at the painting. 

"savagery," he says. "i would be inclined to think the artist was rather angry when they painted this." the mottled reds, the raging claw-like strokes. 

"but it wouldn't surprise me. these people have been through a lot." the exhibition itself is a beacon of human triumph. bisecting dimensions, assassins from other realms, and yet humans still find joy in sharing their art with the world.

or perhaps it's less of a triumph and more of a desperate plea to feel significant.

Frank Caffey

☉

the ghostly chains on palamedes' arrows snap and dissipate as the zoroark's night daze intercepts him. the owl turns on his wing now that his cover has been blown, gaining altitude to put him out of range from the zoroark. he circles overhead, ever-watchful and now acting as a sentry to give warning if and when the authorities arrive.

on the ground is a bloodbath. nikkari ducks down behind one of the shipping crates right as bullets rip overhead. strangled screams are cut off with wet choking gurgles. he pokes a head around the corner, dismayed to find a hardened team of pokemon following the commands of the deranged shooter. 

nikkari's earpiece crackles with gunshots and his men dying. he drops another pokeball to the ground. the wide-brimmed hat of his crow tilts as she looks up at him, a tilt to her head when the sounds reach her ears. 

"harrow, give us some cover please," he murmurs. the murkrow flutters up into the air as thick fog rolls out from under her wings, blanketing the field in a haze. 

"all units find cover. protect yourselves; they're not after the cargo."

then, to his companion: "alecto, find that grunt. be their eyes." and so she slinks into the shadows, rematerializing impishly a foot away from leonicio and his rapidash. her eyes gleam and she chitters to the horse, lending her insight on enemy whereabouts with her detect. 

Leonicio Marceliño Thomas Benoit

decidueye backs off
murkrow is above using haze & providing cover
the grunts shift away from a hands-on approach
sableye lends her eyes to g!rapidash

☉

it had been easier said than done to secure his place on an expeditionary team. blood money goes a long way with keeping your name off of public records, but ever since the attack on his cargo ship and the consequent loss of his livelihood, nikkari has been nothing short of careful.

so it's under the guise of ansel goodwin that he travels with these companions. papers aren't usually so difficult to forge, but without his resources, it's been a pain.

he's here for several reasons. first: to see with his own eyes the existence of these other universes that so casually bisect their own. second: to find one Remiel Calcifet . 

following the news, he had been shocked to discover his once-ally had become a turncoat. of course, he knows nothing of this arm of rocket's recent orders to destroy the man on sight. so his eyes gleam at the man's back as they walk. 

alecto clings to his own back, sapphire eyes refracting the muted yellow light that dapples over them. their trek through the forest is burdensome; sweat sticks to the nape of his neck, beads at his lip. he gathers his hair up in a bun and frowns at the discomfort. 

"have you been here before, callan?" he calls to the elite four member.

Callan Young Remiel Calcifet

notes;

☉

with his boat out of commission and a spectacle made by some unruly tyrant (Thomas Benoit), nikkari no longer has an easy road home. bartering for passage has been proven difficult with trade restrictions on the rise and it's not exactly easy to get into contact with the branch of his organization here. 

but that's a puzzle he's shelved for later.

while he's here as an illegal, he might at least enjoy what hoenn has to offer. it's what crossed his mind when he saw an advertisement for the new art gallery. the cash in his pocket is negligible; one can always drum up resources if they have the proper assets (though he's lacking in most, he still has some at his disposal). 

so with a proper cup of tea in his hands, he wanders about. there's no force behind the act to enjoy himself; the art is pleasant, its brush strokes the work of a pained master. he nibbles on a biscuit before a rather peculiar painting and abruptly turns away.

the red was far too angry and dark in that one for his tastes.

Frank Caffey

☉

alecto chuckles again and dives to safety, forcing nikkari to turn. he shields himself right as the rocket grunt's swanna is struck by a shock of electricity. the air cracks and pops; nikkari whistles. the little gremlin emerges from her pocket of shadow and nikkari is about to follow up with a verbal command when the swanna's master gets testy.

above, in the skyline, an owl is responding to nikkari's whistle. avian eyes scan the docks for the vigilante. he isn't hard to spot, given the bursts of light coming from the other two pokemon he releases.

the decidueye circles and then draws his bow. shadows arc down from the air in an attempt to pin the man's shadow down with a spirit shackle. 

they still need to be covert, but the galarian rockets aren't going to roll over and take it. nikkari steps away, slinking into the shadows after alecto, and waits for the sounds of battle as his security teams make for the intruder.

Leonicio Marceliño Thomas Benoit

decidueye attempts to spirit shackle thomas' shadow
rocket grunts pour out of the ship towards thomas
nikkari yeets from the Loud One (ily)

☉