[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

"I patrol Mauville quite a bit to see if anyone needs help or is causing any trouble. Sometimes I may help out in another city or town if they need the extra help. I'll help with training as well. I'm pretty adept at hand-to-hand combat as well as using a sword and knives, so it's not unusual for me to be asked to help with training," he told the older male.
[break][break]
At the comment, he shrugged. "You would be surprised. I actually haven't seen much conflict since coming to Hoenn. Lucky perhaps to not have had to deal with Team Rocket yet."
[break][break]
Part of him was happy that he hadn't had to deal with Team Rocket yet. However, another part of him was on edge about the whole thing. Wondering just when he would have to deal with Team Rocket.
[break][break]
It was that second part that often played into his fear of letting people down. Of not being strong enough when he did have to deal with Team Rocket. Of seeing people around him fall once more.
[break][break]
He wouldn't stand for it. He would give it his all to keep those around him safe. To keep people like this civilian safe.
[break][break]
Speaking of which, he was just realizing that neither had introduced themselves. But wouldn't it seem kind of weird if he just blurted his name out?[break] Victor Haas

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

As the older male commented that being an officer sounded interesting, a small smile touched his lips. "It is," he agreed, the passion for his career clear in his voice. "Rewarding as well," he added.
[break][break]
There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't enjoy what he did. He didn't enjoy being able to help those in need and keep them safe. He lived to keep those around him safe.
[break][break]
When he mentioned being an author, he couldn't help but be impressed. He had always loved reading a good book on a rainy or cold day, and he respected those who were creative enough with the written word to write a book. It wasn't something he himself could do; he wasn't creative enough.
[break][break]
"I must admit I've always been a bit jealous of those who could string words together and turn it into a thrilling story. I'm a bit too serious in nature to be good at something like that," he told him with a small chuckle.
[break][break]
"I read the news in the morning over a cup of coffee, so I'm sure I've read some of your stuff."[break] Victor Haas

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

He was a bit taken aback by his response. Sure, he liked to people-watch himself, more because he liked to keep an eye on people to make sure they were doing alright. But he had never come right out and said he enjoyed people-watching. Some might take it the wrong way. Though that wasn't the only reason he didn't usually mention it. He was also a fairly private person.
[break][break]
It seemed he realized the awkwardness of his statement, and silence lapsed between them. Of course, he could always tell him he enjoyed people-watching but was worried about making things more awkward. And trying to explain that he enjoyed watching those around him out of concern would probably make him seem paranoid. Neither option was what he would call fun, so he decided to just not say anything.
[break][break]
The older male was the one who broke the silence once more, and he couldn't help but be relieved when the awkwardness dissipated. "Oh no, I don't mind," he reassured him before speaking once more. "I'm an officer, I've been one for about a year," he told the older male.
[break][break]
"What about you? What do you do for a living?" he inquired curiously. "If you don't mind me asking, that is," he added.[break] Victor Haas

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

"That's not a bad thing; sometimes in a fight, people can overthink things and freeze up. Though, of course, listening to your instincts has its drawbacks as well. Instincts don't always lead to doing the right thing, but it often has fewer drawbacks than thinking through things. I guess my suggestion is just to train to be able to keep your calm in any given situation; overthinking becomes less of a problem that way," he said with a small shrug.
[break][break]
As she mentioned learning from him, his smile became a bit awkward. "I'll try, though I'm not sure how good I'll be. I've never really taught anyone before. But I'd be more than happy to pass down the knowledge I've learned if I can," he offered before deciding to respond to the rest of her comment.
[break][break]
"My home region is much the same. Before leaving, I had always thought my region's reliance on the old ways was due to how far removed we were from the other regions," he admitted, briefly thinking of his own region. His region had been filled with small villages where everyone knew everyone, leading to mostly a tight-knit community. Anyone having a problem with someone else was a rarity. A one-off. It was probably why things had ended the way they had.
[break][break]
Mentally shaking himself, he tuned back into the conversation. Luckily, he tuned in in time to at least hear her inquiries. "Hmmm... yes, that's correct. Though it would probably be better for you to see it with your own eyes instead of me trying to explain it," he admitted, looking around as he spoke. Spotting what he was looking for, a discarded practice shield and stick, he walked over to them.
[break][break]
Once acquired, he went back over to the rookie ranger. "To show you what I mean, I want you to attack me," he said, passing over the practice stick. "Don't worry, I know how to handle myself," he told her as he got in the correct position with his sword in front of him.[break] Adelaide Whiteley

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

If only it were that easy. Things wouldn't be so bad if he could just move on. He was well aware people moved on at their own pace. But he felt it said a lot about the kind of person he was if he still had yet to move on. It made him feel weak. Not that he would admit to something like that out loud. He had a feeling that such an admission wouldn't go over so well.
[break][break]
To not give her any more reason to worry about him, he decided to focus on the last half of her conversation. "That's something we have in common. It's why I've always had trouble putting my own needs first. I grew up used to putting others' needs before my own," he admitted, his thoughts straying briefly to his five brothers.
[break][break]
As she mentioned Aurora, he couldn't quite hide the grimace. He knew she was right, but it didn't make him feel any less guilty. He had always been a fairly protective person, so when bad things happened out of his control, he often felt he had failed with said protection. It wasn't exactly healthy, but he had learned trying to change the way his brain worked wasn't going to happen.
[break][break]
She had a point there. Even those few years he had been on his own before coming to Hoenn, his feelings hadn't gotten resolved. He had just been numb. Going through the motions of day-to-day life. Which, let's be honest, was just as bad as how he's dealing with it now.
[break][break]
"I admit after they died I was just numb. I didn't let myself feel. I didn't think I could. I think I did that because I was worried what I would do if I did allow myself to feel," he admitted, frowning slightly. He's still unsure what he might've done back then. Would he have cast aside his morals to go after the people who had taken everything from him? Would he have just decided that life wasn't worth living? Or maybe he would've been fine after all. He knew any of those things could've very well happened. And he was sure Adelaide probably considered those things as well, well perhaps not the first one.
[break][break]
Adelaide's voice roused him from his thoughts. Though he had half expected such a request, he still needed to think on it. To be honest, today was the first time in a long while that he had spoken about his family. Perhaps it was time he talked about it. Use this chance to start healing, even if just a little.
[break][break]
Decision made, he nodded before starting to tell her his story. He told her about growing up with his parents and five brothers and how, due to living in poverty, his parents didn't often have enough money to put food on the table, and when they did, he would often give his siblings his share so they wouldn't go hungry. He told her about how he would get his own food by digging in the trash of neighbors, which was gross but he couldn't ask his siblings to live that way.
[break][break]
He told her about setting out on a Pokémon journey when he was ten and sending most of his earnings back to his parents in the hopes it would help them take better care of themselves and his siblings. Then about how his parents died when he was fifteen from what he believes was financial stress. And how he found new homes for the current Pokémon he had before returning home to care for his siblings. How this led to him taking up odd jobs just to be able to take care of him and his siblings and how their luck seemed to change after he caught the attention of the king after he had saved his daughter from some wild Pokémon.
[break][break]
This was where he would pause, making it clear that the story ahead was where he would face the most trauma. That talking about his siblings before his knighthood had been easy and he needed to collect himself before getting to the hard part of the story.
[break][break]
It was also possible that she wanted to give Adelaide a chance to ask any questions she had before they could get to the harder part of the story. Since dealing with the death of his parents still hadn't been easy, but easier than dealing with the death of his siblings and Alyss.[break] Adelaide Whiteley

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

As he patrolled, his gaze continuously scanned his surroundings. Though it was still dark out, he remained vigilant. Letting down one's guard was a good way to get oneself in a sticky situation, one that might not be able to be resolved.
[break][break]
About fifteen minutes into his patrol, he noticed odd movement from his peripheral vision. Perplexed, he turned his head in the direction of the movement and saw a guy, or at least he assumed it was a guy based on their build, but with their hood up, he couldn't be sure. This also made it impossible to guess their age.
[break][break]
His attention was fully captured as he observed the other person. He watched their movements before noticing the bottle in their hand. 'Drunk, then,' he thought with a sigh. Well, that settled it. He couldn't leave the person in that state, not in good conscience.
[break][break]
With a warm smile on his lips, he approached the person. However, he stopped a few feet away before announcing his presence. One could never predict how a drunk person might react, after all.
[break][break]
"Hello, I couldn't help but notice..." he trailed off, clearly choosing his words carefully before continuing, "your condition, and I was wondering if you had anywhere nearby where you could get better."
[break][break]
Now that he thought about it, the person didn't seem familiar. He was quite familiar with the people who called Mauville their home, considering all the patrolling he did.[break] zata nefertum

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

He could tell from his expression that he felt bad for him. But as far as he was concerned, it wasn't a problem. Having grown up the way he had, it was probably best he hadn't had access to his taste buds back then. Then, by the time his life had improved, he was used to it and it didn't bother him.
[break][break]
The older male's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he allowed him to take one of the meat skewers. After the older male had taken one, he started to eat his own. Since he had food in his mouth, he didn't answer the older male's question right away. Instead, he waited until he had chewed and swallowed his bite of food before answering.
[break][break]
"I am. I never thought I could have so much fun at a marketplace, but I must say it's an interesting experience. Usually, I'm pretty focused on work, so I don't usually take the time to do this kind of stuff," he admitted.[break] Victor Haas

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

That was good. There was just something about knowing that someone was doing well that made him feel better. When the older male mentioned that the food was fresh, he nodded in agreement. It was true, he had seen them cooking it with his own eyes. Unfortunately, he couldn't really comment on the taste.
[break][break]
As if the older male was reading his mind, he asked if he wanted to try what he had. Upon hearing the question, he shook his head and said, "Thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid that me trying it won't do any good. I have an inability to taste," he explained, wondering if he had phrased that correctly. It had sounded a bit weird in his head, but maybe that was just him. Remembering that the older male had offered to let him try his food, he decided to return the favor. He had kind of forgotten about the meat skewers he had gotten.
[break][break]
"Do you want to try a bite of what I have?" he asked, indicating the meat skewers he had.[break] Victor Haas

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

The night market was somewhere he had never been before. He had heard of it, of course, from other people, but had never visited. After another sleepless night, he had decided to check it out. It would be better than training himself into the ground, after all.
[break][break]
As he wandered through the night market, his gaze scanned the people around him. Even when not on duty, he couldn't relax his guard. It was like he was always ready to jump in if trouble arose. That was just his nature. It didn't help that he was a knight who had decided to pursue being an officer.
[break][break]
Passing by one of the stalls, his stomach growled, calling attention to the fact that he was hungry. Frowning, he glanced briefly at the stall, taking in the meat skewers before deciding it wouldn't hurt anything for him to try them. Kindly thanking the person in charge of the booth, he paid for his two meat skewers before walking off.
[break][break]
As he walked, he scanned the people around him. He noticed an older man from his peripheral vision. Nothing about him really stood out, except that he was sitting off by himself. Effortlessly stepping out of the flow of traffic, he made his way over to the older man. "Are you enjoying yourself this evening?" he asked, giving the older man a warm smile to show him he meant no harm.[break] Victor Haas

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

The younger male's response wasn't very confident. However, he didn't have any reason to think that the green-haired man wasn't his partner. He decided to just write off his lack of confidence as nerves. Maybe he was just nervous about completing a mission with someone he had never met before.
[break][break]
"Nice to meet you as well, Scott. My name is Mikael, but Mika works as well," he told the younger man, giving him a warm smile, hoping to put him more at ease. He didn't want the younger man to be nervous around him. Being a pretty amiable person, having someone be nervous around him wasn't something he had ever had to deal with.
[break][break]
Aurora, the Espeon, eyed the Growlithe with interest but otherwise didn't react. Like her counterpart, she kind of worked like an emotional support Pokémon to her trainer. Though unlike the Umbreon, who impassively stood at his side, she was more likely to show her emotions.
[break][break]
He watched the two for a few minutes before turning his attention to his partner for the mission. "Your Growlithe shouldn't take it personally. Both of my Pokémon are pretty attached to me and really protective. It's rare for either to leave my side for anything," he explained, his gaze flickering briefly back to the two Pokémon again before going back to his partner.
[break][break]
As he mentioned the name of his Alolan Ninetales, he raised a brow. "Funnily enough, my Espeon is named Aurora," he said, nodding to the Espeon before gesturing towards the Umbreon. "And this is Selene."
[break][break]
"Anyway, don't apologize about your Growlithe. He's still young. I've had Aurora and Selene since I was sixteen, so I've had them for a while," he explained, smiling slightly. He didn't like to think too much about those days. It made him think too much about how he had lost everything.
[break][break]
Aurora brushing up against him brought him out of his thoughts, and he smiled down at the Espeon. Seeing the hand enter his field of vision, he sheathed his sword before shaking the younger male's hand. Once that was done, he would turn his attention to Aurora.
[break][break]
"Why don't you scout a bit ahead?" he suggested to the Espeon. "I'll be fine. I have Selene and Scott with me. You're good at sensing the movements of those around you, though, so it would be good for you to scout a bit ahead," he pointed out.
[break][break]
The lilac Pokémon seemed hesitant to do that but eventually relented. As she went on ahead, she would let out a small cry as she moved past the Growlithe. It was pretty clear she was trying to calm the younger Pokémon down, hoping to get him to stop trying to pick fights with her.
[break][break]
Once the Espeon had moved a bit ahead of them, he turned back to Scott. "I know Growlithe are known for their sense of smell, but Aurora is good at sensing the movement and thoughts of those around her. Think of it as an extra level of protection."[break] Scott Baker

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","header"]YOU WERE GONE TOO SOON

[attr="class","setting"]

Today was his day off, and one would assume that he would spend it relaxing. However, that was not the kind of person he was. Just because he had the day off did not mean there were not people who still needed help. He refused to sit idly by when there were people out there in need.
[break][break]
And so, he found himself working on a mission to protect someone's livestock on his day off. Considering the parameters of the mission, he felt confident in his abilities. As an officer, this kind of task should be relatively easy for him. He was well-prepared for whatever might pose a threat to the Wooloo, whether it be another Pokémon or a person.
[break][break]
After going over the briefing once more with the ranch owner, all that was left to do was wait for his partner. However, he felt that simply sitting there was not productive. Perhaps he should engage in some training to ensure he was adequately prepared for whatever challenges the mission presented.
[break][break]
Instructing his Espeon, Aurora, and his Umbreon, Selene, to stand guard, he unsheathed his sword and began practicing sword drills. Despite the assurance that Aurora and Selene would alert him if anyone approached, he remained vigilant. One could never be too cautious, as unexpected threats could arise.
[break][break]
Just as he was about to begin a new set of sword drills, Aurora and Selene alerted him to the presence of someone approaching. Lowering the tip of his sword to the ground, he turned towards the individual. "Are you my partner for this mission?"[break] Scott Baker

[attr="class","oocnotes"] + ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]