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Such opposites were said to attract when both were open-minded and though Aloe was certainly more on the suddenness side of indulgence, the wine and infatuation prompted him to take on easing into such things head first. The wine didn't help with his determination, either; some people were those that needed to be worked with, worked on, he knew. Leaning on the side of Kazimir once more, he soaked up every word with his wine, finding bliss in the thought of such peace.[break][break]

The tattoo artist hadn't had a proper meal with another in some time, so that was quite appealing, as was the aspiring champion's enjoyment in such settings. "We could do one after another, hell, we could make it our thing," he smiled, looking up into his eyes, ".. I have an estate in Lavaridge, tucked right up against the mountain. I could grill for us, we could watch the stars time and time again." Intoxication of wine led him to sound a bit pompous, even if he was anything but a skilled cook- but he certainly put effort into those dogshit creations when he tried, which was a solemn twice in the miserable story he called his life. His steaks were always charred, but with love, of course.[break][break]

"Chose to live by the mountains for that exact reason. The city gets old after a while." Aloe said softly, continuing to look into Kazimir's ceruleans with a grin. It was as if the alcohol made them appear an endless blue, an endless pull. A wild Torkoal walked by huffing and puffing, but the mental pull he had on the man beside him disallowed him to wander from such a brilliant gaze of blush and aqua; he threw a pokeball without looking, which his Smeargle was quick to volley off of his tail toward the wandering lava turtle. Accompanied by a MOONBLAST, of course.

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Continuing on the path to the final sector, it was almost instantaneous that he saw the ball of mud rolling across the dirt path, allowing him to curiously sulk down onto his knees. Behind the ball of earth was none other than a strange-looking bug held upside down from its legs, with what appeared to be a maze design on its back; it was quite cute, accruing more fragments of the antique debris in its big ball. The Larvesta beside Aloe trilled at the sight but still maintained the distance between the two, unwilling to provoke.[break][break]

But the Rellor was just a cute lil' guy, hanging out and working on its ball. "Like that ball, man. I've got a ball that looks kinda like it," he smiled, pulling his final safari ball out from his pocket, ".. is your ball gonna go inside of the ball when I catch you? Like, ball inception?" Clicking the ball against the ball, his theory was proven to be true, having retained both the pokemon and its mud. Soon, his mind began to spiral into the depths of an oddity; just what if the mud ball was filled with smaller balls of mud, having already created the inception of ball? That would be so many balls, rolling forever like heads in ancient times. But that was all so trivial, he just hoped the wild bug had no qualms with being put inside of a ball with its ball of mud.

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Aloe released the Larvesta from the pokeball as soon as it was a successful catch, picking it up and placing it in between his arms for the remainder of the safari trip. He'd got enough linework done to take a well-deserved break, and bonding with the ice cream bug was certainly on his to-do list; but it seemed to not be fond of being picked up, wiggling around and coughing up little clouds of smoke in an attempt to let it down. Doing so quickly, it soon began to trot with the other two pokemon that walked beside him, infatuated with the chaotic blue flames.[break][break]

An ancient-looking fish was swimming in a pond, one that he'd never had the chance to see before. Though it did look quite fascinating with its rugged jaw of what appeared to be stones, all he had was one safari ball left, ready to catch another bug friend for the Larvesta. And he'd certainly remember its looks and the strange red dot on its side, absolutely making a design based around it for his flash sale.

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The deal had been made, officiated by the retaining of the wanted poster and the gun in the man's pocket. Though he had not had the chance to get the name of the member of Rocket, names were trivial in these matters- and he was sure that eventually, he'd have a title to put to such a still, emotionless face. "I can clean the rest of the shop later, I'm sure I won't be able to sleep," he chuckled, reaching down to grab the keys from their designated hanger and his bag, ".. let's hope the winds will be our friend tonight."[break][break]

Sootopolis, the city etched into the fragments of an ancient impact within the sea, was a marvel that he had wished to visit since his arrival in the war-torn region. Though perhaps it was due to its occupied nature; he was excited to see what the city had in store for him, and with that, his resurgence of crime. But he hoped what he had agreed upon would not be a mistake, as even though masters of whispers often had their way to weasel out of situations, he felt deep down that this would be upon an entirely different scale.[break][break]

Team Rocket was Team Rocket, after all. His Noivern, Morrigan, awaited for him outside.

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It was as if all the things the man had told Aloe were things he'd heard before, done before, lived out effervescently in the streets of Castelia in the name of Lycoris. "Indeed," he said softly, his thumb gracing the metallic cheeks of the wind chime pokemon, ".. time and time again, governments wish to bring peace to their people, though always hold it in front of their heads by a string of incompetence. It's a story that's bound to repeat until the end of time, at the rate the world is going. A story that led me to join Lycoris."[break][break]

Having soaked in everything the man had said, most of his answers were things that he was already well aware of, all but the true motives of Team Rocket's. But they aligned almost flawlessly with the ideology of his previous gang, as well as his own; he was never one fond of traditional executive force such as the league, for they never had been capable of genuine transparency. The flames of the volcano in his heart felt as if they were sputtering out, ready to consume him with his old ways. He wished for them to take him and run with him, craving and anticipating the sense of community he'd left behind.[break][break]

"My role in Rocket will be identical to the one I played overseas, then. The only difference I see between the two is manpower, power in numbers, something we never could achieve, unfortunately." He said, taking a deep breath in his pause. "Shall we take to Sootopolis, then? Is there paperwork I need to sign?"

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The painting of the Smeargle could perhaps be a marker for any curious safari attendee, allowing them to know that this was the place to go for that monstrosity of a pokemon. It wasn't harmful to be unintentionally helpful in the mundane, off-the-clock facets of life, even if he was the one to benefit the most from the situation. Life was just like that, though with his recent joining of Team Rocket, more and more was becoming interwoven in his occupational relations.[break][break]

Looking through the bushes after spotting a plume of fire emerge momentarily, he was able to spot an occupied Larvesta, munching on some forest greens. "I see the ice cream vibes, hella." He said softly to himself, throwing a safari ball in an attempt to catch it before it could recognize his presence. If anything, he was expecting a pokemon with the characteristics of an Ariados. Oh well, the moth larva was certainly cute with its quirks.

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Across a bridge and onto another sector of the safari zone, Aloe continued to work on the sketches of his ancient-inspired tattoos. But he wanted to see how his artist companion would be able to put a spin on things; releasing his Smeargle from the orb previously containing it, the painter pokemon looked around at all the relics of time with awe. It was not easy for it to tell that they were simply hyper-realistic renditions of what truly existed, but it was inspired nevertheless.[break][break]

Looking at a dilapidated castle structure, almost like a buried tower, Smeargle began to paint on the stone projecting outward into the forest clearing. Out there it spotted a wild Sigilyph floating around, fluffing its.. feathers? Regardless, it tried to encapsulate the brilliant feat of its ROOST, committing the technique to memory. And in turn, Aloe sketched the sketch on his tablet, willing to turn it into a tattoo with much more detail.

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Slipping the orb of his new companion into his tote bag, Aloe wondered just how lucky he was that he was not snapped into a billion little pieces by a step of a Stonjourner in the wrong direction. The creature could serve as a brute force of sorts, despite its docile and kind demeanor; and the Marowak twirled its bones of fire at the thought, nefarious. If only the tattoo artist were able to look at the magnificent wisps flashing in his peripheral, already aware of the anguish it was said to bestow on the mind.[break][break]

There were a few baby versions of his familiar bodyguard- Relic, his Claydol. Though he was quite tempted to bring home a friend for the one with many eyes, the balls he had been given were limited in amount. It was said there was a bug that looked like an ice cream cone, and another that created balls of mud, so he resisted the temptation. Sending it off with a wave, the one nearest to him floated to join the rest of its flock.

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Alcohol wisping through his veins as if he were a human kegerator, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit more with Kazimir's talk of reading romance novels, as the irony was just as vibrant as all of the ones he'd sunk hours into. He didn't want to confirm or deny it out loud, but it was just so amusing that he was able to pin something so spot on, one of his many secrets tucked up his sleeve. Slamming down the rest of what was inside his chalice, he filled up yet again, wavering back and forth.[break][break]

"Suddenness is the way of life in war-torn regions, sort of like in those romance novels," Aloe smiled, eyes met on the aspiring champion's reddened cheeks, ".. they've got lovers with rough spots in their pasts, too. I've been there with that sour history bad, it was like a lemon. But then I squeezed it, got over it. Threw away that whole fucking citrus. Then I felt better, moved on, knowing just what I wanted."[break][break]

Out of his peripherals was a wild Coalossal, endowed with a graceful demeanor. As it polished its rocks, Smeargle detailed the lustrous stones in a sketch on the grass and pointed to it, bringing the wild pokemon's attention to its masterpiece. Aloe threw a pokeball at it while it was distracted, as it looked to be a nice grill to cook on. "You're mad sweet too, I see you. Nothing has to be sudden, Kazimir. We could to go the nicest restaurant in Slateport, one of the ones on the top of the skyscrapers," he said softly, taking a brief sip of his wine, ".. get to know one another, not having to ask each other's fathers of course. I'd treat." Shameless in his rambling, for he knew just how he got when he was drunk, he pulled himself back onto the rock and crossed his legs, allowing the golden chime pokemon to land in his palm.

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There was a certain seriousness about the man who stood in front of him, one that he had not experienced in his experiences with both Castelia's most lethal criminals and the law enforcement that resided on the other side of the coin. Glancing out the windows it was clear that what he was telling was the truth, as it was reasonable; perhaps this was the difference between the Team Rocket and the street gang he once deemed to be his life, cutthroat and vindictive. Devoid of lightheartedness.. or maybe it was just their representative at his core.[break][break]

But he was now in his late twenties, and if he were to make a resurgence in his past ways, Aloe had a feeling it would cut deeper than ever before. "Convincing enough," he said, peering down at the image of himself sprawled across the paper, ".. I saw your organization took Sootopolis, was surprised to hear that when I moved here." Tapping his fingers on the table to carefully weave what he wished to convey, feeling the weight residing in his shoulders, Aloe considered everything. He wanted to be inquisitive before diving into the volcano, even if he already felt its flames.[break][break]

"Feels like I'm about to sell my soul to Giratina, just like I had before. But this one's vicious." His words were met by a chuckle, raising a hand out to allow one of the Chimecho to rest within. "What will you do with the whispers I get from my clients? Better yet- what is the end goal for Team Rocket as a whole, in every facet?" Aloe asked, taking a long drag of his cigarette. Perhaps it was more obvious than he thought, or perhaps it was deeper.

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