[attr="class","rigidw"]

Setsuna listens to her friend - the duly elected sheriff of Dewford - talk, even as he works on the bumper car. She stands by - only intervening to hand him a tool or two when asked. Besides that, she keeps well away from the contraption. She's never been the kind of girl who could handle advanced mechanics. Anything more complex than refitting the chain to a bicycle was beyond Setsuna. But soon enough the smoke stops billowing from the bumper car and Navy seems to have everything well in hand. Soon the two are off again - and Setsuna, who has taken time to chew over his words, only gives a solemn nod at first and allows the small pause to permeate the silence.[break][break]

Less people and less structures are visible as the fairgrounds recede into the distance.[break][break]

"Mmhm. And Team Rocket has got to go. Never thought they were much more than a bunch of thugs - but they burned my home, Navy. They've cost me things too. So I'll do whatever I can to fight them - to protect people and especially Pokémon from them."[break][break]

She seems resolute as she says so. Not a stone's throw from the last house before the wilds begin. Even to live out this far is considered dangerous by some. But the house seems well kept and maintained. A woman kneels next to a crying boy - and Setsuna frowns. It might not be her business - but that's never stopped her before! She doesn't simply walk away from Navy this time - but she does reach out and touch him on the arm enough to grab his sleeve and offer resistance to his next step. She smiles - and then walks over to kneel down on level with the child. Navy could listen if he so chose - or he could stay vigilant and ignore the distraction.[break][break]

But the nearby, overturned bicycle and the set of detached training wheels tell the whole story.[break][break]

"Hey, kid. I know it hurts when ya fall, but that's alright~ It'll always hurt. But ya gotta pick yourself up and just keep at it!" She says, before tying the string of her balloon around the kid's wrist.[break][break]

"Here. We've gotta go on a nice walk through the woods. I don't think Mr. Hooter here would like it - lotsa sharp branches and bushes."[break][break]

With that, Setsuna places a hand on the kid's head and ruffles his hair - turning the last of his choked sobs into laughter. Setsuna walks away as the child thanks her (encouraged in his manners by his mother), and Setsuna walks back to join Navy - even jogging to keep up if he left her behind.[break][break]

"'Kay. So, Team Rocket is a later problem. Let's figure out what to do about this squabble. They're forcing other Pokémon out of their habitats. The first people to feel it will be those like that mom and her kid, who live outside of town, Navy. We've gotta help."[break][break]

[attr="class","rigidw"]



As Navy reacts to the tropical flavor of pineapple - a favorite of Setsuna's - the pink-haired girl looks around with an eager grin on her face. It is not hard for her to see that there is a new, frenetic energy in the very air. It permeates the atmosphere in a way that only the most tone-deaf people could miss. The youthful Elite Ranger kept stride with Navy - seeming to think nothing about sharing her treat with him whether he wanted it or not. But as he washes the taste of the devil's fruit out of his mouth Setsuna turns her attention back towards the sheriff. She contemplates his words of warning, but she pouts with a slight quirk of her lips until one cheek puffs out defiantly.[break][break]

"Well, they weren't kids. They were thugs! And I'd never just go dropping Beedrill nests on random people - no matter how much they might have deserved it!"[break][break]

Whether Setsuna is actually offended about the idea she might have acted so recklessly without observation, or if she is just defending her harebrained scheme - well, that's for the sheriff to decide. Setsuna only breaks off to take a quick, precise bite of cotton candy before waving her yellow, sugar-spun treat to wave at some of the passerby. She enjoyed the tension in the atmosphere - things like this carnival were important in Setsuna's mind. They gave people hope to combat the despair spread by Team Rocket and the League's increasingly regular conflicts with that foul organization. She waited until anyone else was out of earshot and continued - though she was again cheerful rather than petulant. [break][break]

"Oh! Right. I've got that report I told you about - I knew there had to be some reason for all the recent Pokémon attacks on passerby. Seems like there's a territorial squabble a few miles from town. A group of Primeapes who've been there forever are being challenged by Passimian. And, y'know, they're both pretty violent species at the best of times."[break][break]

Setsuna hands Navy a piece of paper that had been folded and tucked inside of her kimono. It has neat, girlish handwriting done in cursive and small flourishes here and there make certain characters more ornate than others - similar to the first letter in old storybooks. While Navy peruses the report Setsuna answers his question - though she has to think about it first. One finger touches against her lips thoughtfully as she tilts her head. It wasn't like she didn't know about celebrations like this, but...[break][break]

"Nothing as big as the carnival here. Though, Johto is fond of tradition. We had multiple, smaller festivals to celebrate this and that. Seasonal changes, special holidays... But I've never seem so many things like this in one place, and---!!"[break][break]

A girlish yelp of alarm might pull Navy from Setsuna's report - if the instincts of the sheriff are sharp. But Setsuna disappeared from his side in the literal blink of an eye - one moment she was there and suddenly she's gone like the wind. All that's left is a faint sense of her presence, a sweet and floral smell that might have been shampoo or bodywash. But Navy won't need to look far to find her - Setsuna is at a stall, forking over some money for something - practically shoving the currency into the hands of the woman who manages the stall. And with an embarrassed smile the woman hands Setsuna a string. But it is what is attached to the string that caught Setsuna's eye.[break][break]

She comes hurrying back over to Navy - and seems to have traded her cotton candy for a strange, inflatable Hoothoot.[break][break]

She grins up at Navy - looking less than her twenty-four years between her stature, the cheerful grin on her face, and the balloon in her hand.[break][break]

"O~kay! Back to patrolling! Couldn't pass this up!"

[attr="class","rigidw"]

Setsuna scoffed at Thomas' joke - the idea that he'd have any trouble fitting into whatever he wanted a source of amusement for the Ranger. She wasn't exactly into Thomas - that notion had gone out the window the last time she had seen him covered in blood. But she had to admit he looked good. And he was a capable partner - someone who could defend himself and a guy who seemed to hate Team Rocket every bit as much as she did. It was a bit ironic when she remembered that he had been wearing a Rocket uniform when they first met. But that was years ago now - and felt like even longer than it had been, at least to the young ranger of Dewford. [break][break]

"Yeah, right! Focus. Angry bees. Right after this." Setsuna murmured, before she stepped between the teenagers who had all but given up with three rings left.[break][break]

She tapped one girl on the shoulder, exchanged some words Thomas wouldn't quite be able to hear, and held out a hand expectantly. The girl hesitated for just a moment and then nodded. Setsuna accepted the remaining rings and turned to face the Dugtrio. The mole-type Pokémon were accompanied by Diglett as well but they were worth a lot less point wise. Setsuna ignored the Diglett and her sharp eyes began to track the Dugtrio. She gave a seemingly lazy toss of a ring - and missed as a Dugtrio retreated into the ground. The teenagers around her groaned - and one of them made a comment about Setsuna being worse than they had been.[break][break]

But Setsuna didn't listen - she was focused on her objective. The first throw had been a test, and it yielded good results. She watched the pattern the Dugtrio took as it went under and resurfaced several times in different places. She knew there wasn't really a way to get the hoops around a Dugtrio by throwing where the Pokémon was. But she also knew that Pokémon - like people - were animals. They had habit and muscle memory and instinct all working against them. And when Setsuna next moved it was to pantomime a toss of the ring when the Dugtrio was in its original spot.[break][break]

But she paused for half a heartbeat and tossed both rings off to an empty side of the area. And just before those twin rings could hit the ground - even as the kids were ready to sigh in disappointment and give up - the Dugtrio popped up under the rings and they hooked around the Pokémon who seemed as surprised as the stall owner. The teens cheered - and the manager of the event picked his jaw up off the floor long enough to collect himself. Setsuna looked proud - her chest puffed out just a little - and she turned to flash Thomas a grin to signal that she was done.

[attr="class","rigidw"]

"Okay, Sheriff." Setsuna said, her tone conciliatory.[break][break]

"I'll grant you that it was a bold move. But it went exactly as planned! Who cares if those Rocket punks ended up in the hospital? They lived."[break][break]

Setsuna rolled her eyes even as she avoided looking at Navy directly - a skill of hers, especially when she was defending her position on her often strange and unusual plans.[break][break]

"C'mon Navy."[break][break]

There was tired appeal in her voice.[break][break]

"It worked. The Beedrill nest is gone, the Rocket thugs who were camped out in the caves are in the hospital, and it allll~ worked out! And all it took was a single rock. One of my better ideas if I do say so myself! And the Beedrill were fine. They'll go nest somewhere else - somewhere with less people and less flying rocks!"[break][break]

As the pair patrolled - the festivities of the nearby festival a juxtaposition with the quiet tension in the air. The pair were supposed to be on patrol watching for any aggressive or territorial Pokémon, or at least preventing any territory squabbles from spilling over into the edges of the populated carnival grounds. Setsuna was all but pouting as she defended herself in regards to her last mission - wherein she had killed two Pidgey with one stone. A group of Rocket ruffians had moved in to the exact same area that some kids had been stung by some angry Beedrill. Setsuna had simply insisted on solving both problems at once - and she didn't seem bothered by the fact five Rockets were in a hospital, all seriously messed up now.[break][break]

Of course, perhaps Navy would agree that it had all worked out - or maybe he had a problem with Setsuna's methods.[break][break]

But when he next opened his mouth to speak one way or the other, he would find it quickly filled by the fluffy, pink cloud of cotton candy that Setsuna had previously been enjoying.[break][break]

"Here, have some!" She insisted, only after shoving it into his face. "It's pinap-flavored!"

[attr="class","rigidw"]

Setsuna grinned as Elise did pick another game - one that looked a bit familiar to someone from Johto. Scooping for Magikarp in flimsy, paper nets was a common enough game at festivals in that region. Although this game seemed a bit different. Setsuna kept ahold of her friend's hand and walked the pair of them over to the Magikarp booth. She whistled at the sight of the Magikarp and then spoke up to the elderly man who tended this booth. Setsuna's tone was friendly even if her words were irreverent and casual.[break][break]

"Ay, pops! What's the deal with this game? Where's the nets? How're we supposed to scoop 'em up without a net?"[break][break]

There was an old man with a white bandana around his bald pate - and he grinned at the pair of young ladies despite missing a few teeth. He didn't seem to take offense to being called 'pops'. But he did gesture to a pair of fishing rods that were baited with brown clumps of pokéfood of some kind. His game was simple - just like the old man himself. He instructed the girls that all they needed to do was take a rod and see which of them could catch a fish first. [break][break]

Setsuna took hold of a rod and grinned at Elise - the fishing pole slung over her shoulder like a sword of some kind.[break][break]

"You don't stand a chance, Eli~ I'm a master angler these days! C'mon! Gimme your best shot!"[break][break]

And when Elise was ready, Setsuna would cast her line into the large kiddie pool full of gaping, vacant-eyed fish. [break][break]

[attr="class","rigidw"]

There was a cheerful grin on the pink-haired girl as she regarded her escort.[break][break]

"So~ Long time, no see! You know... I think you looked better in Rocket uniform!"[break][break]

There was a devilish gleam in her eye before it faded into a series of giggles. She couldn't really remember what he looked like in the uniform. Only that she had been this close to making her escape and possibly killing him when he had found her as a prisoner of Team Rocket. That had all been years ago now. And since then they had even had a few run-ins in the field - though Setsuna tried not to think about how the last one had gone. She had seen a side to him so few probably had - but she pushed that from her mind and tried to remind herself this was Thomas.[break][break]

"Ok, so... I know we're here for the whole 'pissed off Combee' thing. Buuut~ I figured if we're going to do some guard duty around the carnival anyway~"[break][break]

She trailed off - but her mischievous smile would speak volumes to her intentions.[break][break]

"I mean, they've been attacking people having picnics and stuff. And what is a carnival like this but a huge picnic!"[break][break]

Her logic, while self-serving, was not exactly wrong.[break][break]

But she still did her best to not make eye contact with Thomas until she heard what he thought about her plan.[break][break]

Her eyes instead focused on where a group of kids were throwing strange, plastic rings into a booth. As Thomas and her drew closer it would become evident that there were actual, live Dugtrio in the booth. They moved every so often - making it difficult for the teenagers to get a ring about the oblong Pokémon. If Thomas didn't stop her, his easily distracted partner would take a sudden step in that general direction. Setsuna was very competitive and especially loved games where she could show off her acumen in the martial arts.