mika giggles quietly, pleased by the way alia and her marshtomp play with one another. it puts her at ease that the other is finding some joy in this learning process. most of the time, mika finds that learning something new can be entirely stressful. they're the kind of person to try things out before asking for help, themself, so this is an entirely new foray for both rangers. alia is learning how to swim, and mika is learning how to swim in a different way — how to approach others, how to ask for help and give help in turn, how to be a part of the world instead of simply observing it from afar. [break][break]

yes, it's quite easy to lose one's self among their own thoughts. a gentle prod from chiyo the prinplup reminds mika of what she's set out to do here. as alia adjusts herself and prepares for actual swimming, mika nods slowly, eyes downcast as she looks from the depths of the water, to the depths of determination in the other's eyes. [break][break]

exhaling softly like she's finally learned to breathe. "with your arms, just do as prinplup is doing." the penguin starts showing the correct motions. "this, together with the leg movements, will get you moving in the water in no time. it might be difficult right now because i'm holding your hands, but if you can just position your arms correctly, it should be fine." which really means, mika will eventually have to let go, but she won't do it until alia is certainly ready. [break][break]

mika breaks into a soft smile. "i'm here, don't worry." [break][break]

[break][break]

+ @saturn | NO SORRYS SURE BUT ALSO NO WORRIES... YOU'RE SO GOOD!!!

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there are curls of warmth at mika's back — julie's touch the gravity that pulls her in, julie's presence the fire that burns in mika's mind. for so many years, mika had tried to hide the complexities of a ranger's life (and the emotions that run through them as a result) from julie, so it feels inevitable that those walls would come down the moment a true threat presents itself. hoenn certainly has its own reputation, but that aside, there are plenty of inexplicable phenomena and incidents that warrant caution against danger. warmth against fleeting cold, care against indifference. [break][break]

even when the threat presents itself to be within the scope of their reality (a tentacruel, emerging from a floating ring, the pokemon looking just as confused as it does hostile), mika doesn't let up. san the hydreigon makes the closest thing it has to a smile, and that's the jagged rows of teeth shining behind barely curved mouths, three times the expressionless faces (but three bodies that more than make up for the lack of emotion in the face, wings spreading and scales undulating like waves). [break][break]

the second that the wild tentacruel selects a target and lunges out, san the hydreigon attacks in return: its three mouths open to form three orbs of energy, the tri-attack bursting open and neutralizing the force of the tentacruel's tentacles, the aquatic pokemon reeling back in pain. [break][break]

julie may escape its physical clutches for now, but mika glances over her shoulder to see the other woman cowering out of fear, small like a shadow and twice as quiet. bracing for impact, waiting for the killing shot. there's something about this moment of vulnerability, about this fear, that affects mika. sparks a fire in their core, puts a chink in the machine. [break][break]

her eyes narrow. the tentacruel is not entirely at fault, for it seems to have been put here against its will. a pokemon with rings...mika vaguely remembers hearing something like that before. loopa? hoopie? hoopa? something like that. the thought is far from her mind, though. her plans are very simple and straightforward. she'll knock the tentacruel out cold, and catch it. it's one thing to catch-and-release pokemon that have been displaced, but something tells mika that people will be safer if something like this tentacruel is put under a rein. might as well be theirs, for all the trouble it's caused. [break][break]

as the hydreigon and tentacruel duke it out, mika gently backs up, prompting julie to do the same. "it's okay," she mutters to her, in a quiet and gentle voice that hadn't been used in a long time. "it'll be over soon...oh, um, in the most peaceful way, of course." they hadn't done anything to control their emotions or their face just now, and the realization sits on them heavily, the potential gravity of the moment holding them so tightly, they didn't think to rein in their truth as they often did in moments like these. "don't worry, jules. i've got you." [break][break]

[break][break]

+ Julie Solette [break]
+ distorted dreams: red or blue? [break]
+ mika is going to catch the tentacruel (after beating it within an inch of its life)! [break]
+ HAHA YEAH NOTHING WEIRD OR STRANGE HERE... NOTHING AT ALL... [break][break]

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