It was a beautiful day to be walking around in the park. Himiko was busy holding a warm cup of coffee as she strolled through the beaten path.

She was so ignorant of the incoming projective that was currently bounding straight for her. It was only a crook of her head that gave her a sight of the blurred shape of an Arcanine. Her body did a single flip and hit the ground with an audible thud. Her drink splashed on the ground beside her with a groan.

After regaining her balance, Himiko looked up to see a person with their pokemon looking down at them. Internally, she was furious. Wanting to shout and lash out at the two. But that civilian appearance took priority.

"I see you two are enjoying the weather as well~" she smiled at the Arcanine, reaching to shower the canine with affection. Sure, the hit did piss her off, but the pokemon was pretty cute. The woman managed to get back onto her feet and began to fix her long hair and comb it free of any bits and pieces.

"I might need another coffee though."

NIKOLA SAMSA

☉

A perfect chance to test this little poison! Himiko gently applied the poison through a vein near the crook of the inner elbow. With a slight prick and slowly pressing the plunger in, the poison was injected into their little test subject here.

The wait began as the seconds passed. Himiko could only wait so long, but her impatience was pushed aside on account of the special new toy shown to her by Zev. Once the minutes had passed and she was able to really see the effects in action, the questioning began.

"Let's start small. Tell us who you interacted with while working with the council."

Once she got her answer, Himiko went onto the next. Small questions before increasing in severity. They could have been talking about the most interesting pile of garbage outside, all that she wanted to do was to push and push this poison to its limits.

Zev Harcourt

☉

Shadows had a funny way of following people. Himiko had an inkling of a feeling that her past mistakes in Kanto were still going to follow her all the way over here and likely for the rest of her life. It was just the Rocket way. That didn't make them any less bothersome to her, though.

Her hands continued to show affection for her Salandit while it napped in her arms. Its tongue flicked out while readusting itself to fit more comfortably while Elisabeth waxed poetically about Kalos. From the sound of it, a lot of what her home was 100% for rich people. Compared to Kanto, anyway.

When it came time to talk about her home, Himiko was a bit more reserved than Elisabeth had been. Her head tilted away with an audible "Tch." while trying not to show that she was still deeply hurt by ending up here for something not under her control. She huffed after gathering her thoughts.

"It had its charm. I grew up with my grandparents near the countryside, and they showed me all the boring old stuff. Learning about shrines, helping out, that useless stuff. But I don't miss it at all." she answered rather quickly. "Nothing's there but countryside politics and fields and...ah-awful food, cooking over a hot oven after a long day. Having friends to run back home to. I don't need that. I didn't belong there and-"

Something hit her forearm. She looked down to see the remnants of a small droplet there. Confusion settled in as she stared at it then felt the corners of her eyes getting moist while feeling a small trail down her cheek. It sickened her it remember it all, hating every moment of being away.

Himiko grit her teeth and sneered, sitting back down.

"I don't belong here."

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

Himiko made a quick note of where to find these cute little poison stricken things, grinning wide at another thing to check off on her to-do list. Hoenn had quite the long list of sights to see and experiences to take with both hands. Imagine what fun she could have with a nice poison maker~

"Noted. I may have to find a willing party~"

Zev took out two syringes and grabbed them alongside the poison and antidote. She then followed behind him as he took her to someplace further inside of the Rocket laboratories around here. Her gait kept up with his with a perkiness to her excessive smirking at Zev.

"You certainly know where to take me where to have some fun~" she giggled, taking a turn alongside him before the two ended up in what appeared to be some sort of operating room. Himiko was privy to see some older gentleman strapped to a table in what was likely a room that had seen its fair share of bodies. A plant turned doubt agent, always a fun tale to be had.

But Zev's proposition was what made her day.

"I'd love to~" Himiko said as she quickly went to fill up the needle with the Nihilego poison. "Are there any good places to inject this poison at? We wouldn't want our most esteemed guest here to get hurt any, now would we?~"

Zev Harcourt

☉

"Maybe." Himiko said as she continued to fix the flowers and wreathes here. It was a pretty expected thought to have. Humans had that bit of self-preservation to keep them to totally giving into despair. But she looked back at Cian. "Life is cruel, isn't it? Our time here is finite and some go before their time. I'm not trying to offend, but it's what we were taught as children."

Himiko's eyes traveled alongside the memorial into the sky with a slight smirk as she continued.

"One summer, a violent typhoon came and devastated our home near the coat. Homes destroyed, people displaced, and some even lost their lives. But the following day, when the clouds parted ways, people stopped what they were doing to watch. We marveled about it being the most breathtaking sunset we had ever seen in decades."

A hand leaned down to brush away from bust and excess dried petals from another plaque.

"It's only after something horrible that the things we take for granted seem all the more important."

His question did cause her to pause. She had asked the same thing to her grandmother long ago and never got an answer. Her attention focused back on him as they moved to the next spot.

"I believe they do. They're only truly dead if you stop remembering them. They may not reply, but that doesn't mean they aren't listening."

She stopped a short distance away before turning back to him as an idea popped into her head. He could definitely learn a little bit more about her spirituality this way.

"Can you tell me a little about your friend? Maybe show me where his name is around here?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

The Zoroark that was present alongside Zev had made itself known while Himiko cast her gaze over at it just in time to watch it use its ability. The purple furred form dissolved into what pokemon that the beast had been discussing with her. And just as it finished conforming itself was Himiko's mouth agape.

It reminded her of some crude sketches of what scientists had thought that some ancient fish had appeared like. The tentacles and overall jellyfish like form had caught her eye. It was beautiful!

She walked closer to observe the mockery of its form up close. A glimmer of desire apparent in her eyes as the grunt listened to Zev explain what this Nihilego creature was known for. Himiko had only some experience with actual science related topics, but it all sounded so fantastical that for a moment, she wished she could have studied it more.

All for a chance to discover this sooner.

"This is incredible." she stated as a matter of fact to Zev. He likely knew already but she brushed it off, enarmored with this new piece of information. "A poison that can mind control people to the pokemon's whims is beyond any other poison I've heard of. How would one go about obtaining one of these Nihilego?"

Her attention was only pulled away once Zev showed her the antidote to the Nihilego poison, promptly labeled with an ANTIDOTE tag. She turned around and made her way to Zev. The usual teasing and smug gait was now a hurried walk. A predator on its way to learn more about its prey. Her eyes painted their affection over the vials before making their way back up to Zev.

In this moment of ecstasy, she had forgotten a tried-and-true simple fact about her line of work.

"This is all amazing..." Himiko said as she looked back at the transformed Zoroark, "But I assume there's a reason for you showing me all of this, yes?"

Zev Harcourt

☉

Himiko opened her mouth to answer Elisabeth's grin but hesitated once it registered in her mind what she had just said. "I mean, yeah...I guess." A pause came before them while she stretched a little while seated. "I'd be surprised if you were like a barista or something."

Elisabeth talked about her life in Kalos, family matters and things that Himiko knew all too well. Maybe it wasn't a 100% perfect match, but she did emphasize with some of the stronger bits of what she had told her about her past. She wasn't going to dig deeper about what happened with her husband and all that. She knew better than anyone about a little strife in the past.

During the recollection, the grunt stood up and began to pace around her portion of the fire, just to keep the liveliness in her body but kept that perpetual frown of regret. Once Elisabeth finished, the Kanton spoke.

"I see." she began while closing her eyes. Her usual smugness had vanished for the time being while she chose her words carefully. It was much alike her civilian persona, a woman who spoke in a calm, stoic but friendly undertone.

"I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories or anything. I can't really say I know how it is going through what you did..."

Her irises locked onto the flames for a bit while carrying her Salandit in her arms. Black stained lips curled into a pout as she racked her brain for what to say. Was this what it was like to get to know a coworker? Just forcibly instead of being more natural.

"It's kind of weird. Once you start somewhere fresh that's not the life you had, I mean. It's scary but liberating in a way. It's like liquid courage times ten."

The little soft moment had gone once that emotional wall was back up, signaled by Himiko staring at the door and huffing again.

"To me, at least. Anyway, you said used to live in Kalos. What was it like? This is the only time I've left Kanto in my life. I don't really get to ask people what the other regions are like. Was it as nice as the postcards make it out to be?"

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

She followed his actions to one of the cabinets containing a myriad of vials. Each one had its chemical compounds and other various information printed for the world to see. Himiko waited patiently for Zev to select only two and close the door to this little cabinet of death while introducing her to a potential new toy.

Her eyes traced over the vial with the label reading "Nihilego", leaning in to inspect to more closely.

"You certainly know how to catch my eye." The florist laughed and walked closer to marvel at this little liquid toy in front of her. She had only really worked with products from wildlife of this dimension, but the name of this pokemon eluded her.

"Can't say I've ever heard of it. What is it? And what's an Ultra Beast?"

Zev Harcourt

☉

"What do I do?" Himiko asked, pausing as she pondered the question to herself for a moment. She scowled while gathering her thoughts together. How could she really even think of how to explain something that she had done so often it was almost natural?

"There's a lot you can do, it's not just limited to just one task. My family taught me how to arrange flowers and clean memorial sites." she said, motioning to the wreath in Cian's arms while helping straight out and "fluff" up some petals and leaves. "I had friends that came to their graves monthly or yearly and told them how their family were doing. Even if it's just a brief visit, it remains an important part for us in Kanto." she said before stopping at a memorial stone. "Here. Set it down and I'll show you."

Himiko guided Cian to the stone and stood beside him after he dropped the wreath.

"We're taught about death from a young age. It's not to scare you or punish you for being bad, but a remainder that life is short and that you should make the most of it. It's the natural cycle of life, just one that sometimes we...find ourselves struggling with."

CIAN MAHER

☉

The mention of a Gideon Graves hadn't escaped Himiko's ears. She hadn't met the exact person just yet, still being new to Hoenn and all. There was something to be said about new faces, although for the mission Howard in mind, she didn't really care. Whatever the fossil lusting admin wanted.

"Well, nothing kills an afternoon like taking from deities and selling it off to the highest bidder." Himiko mused to Howard as he gave a brief runover of what their intentions were for this little heist of theirs. SO far, it looked like things were a go. She had to admit it did interest her being in a temple to Rayquaza.

Maybe if he granted them an audience, it would be a painless death.

"Understood." she said as Howard locked in her in for playing Robin Hood with some ancient tablets. She even laughed a little at his comment while wandering away from the table. Though before she left, a thought came to her. Pale hands dipped into her uniform as she stole a pen off of one of the surfaces in this little lab.

"Here."

Himiko slid Howard a note with her number on it, alongside a little doody of one of her favorite flowers, the lycoris radiata.

"If you ever need to get in contact with me before the mission. If I don't pick up after the second ring, I'm with a customer." She waved Howard off, walking out and back onto wherever her duties would take her for the day.

howard slayte

☉

Himiko's footsteps echoed into the labs of Rocket, glancing around at how this place reminded her of a hospital. Just plain, ubiquitous, lacking any kind of style or flair. It was modern, sleek and meant to do what it did as efficiently as possible. Not exactly her style, but it was fitting for somebody like Zev Harcourt to be found at.

She came to him after a couple of weeks in Hoenn for official business and smirked at seeing his natural brooding self watching over her with the care and attention of a Bombirdier dropping its young out of a nest.

"I'm fairing well. It took some doing, but I've procured a nice little flower shop with all of my work inside. Even have an alias now." SHe said in that same ceonceited tone of voice she had taken when bragging about her accomplishments as she had when they had just met. Himiko said and flashing a nice little Hoenn ID at him, as if to prove her point. "What about you? Has my tall, dark and brooding supervisor been keeping busy lately?"

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

"Hm, small world." Himiko smirked at Elisabeth as she described her first real job with Rocket. By some little bit of divine irony, she too had found herself working with flora. The news of which had put the grunt in a far better mood than before.

"I didn't take you for the type to be into that sort of thing. I guess I don't need to get into depths about it with you." she mused and picked up the Salandit that had currently fallen asleep by the fire into her arms. With a quick huff, Himiko smirked back at Elisabeth.

"I would have figured you were a model or something similar. Some position that had influence, really."

Himiko was slowly becoming further intrigued about the underboss's rise to fame. The Kantonian pursed her lips in thought at her most recent words. What was she supposed to do? Nod blindly and agree? Be a little defiant and show some bits of wrongthink? At least the cold was a nice deterrent to getting blasted by a pokemon.

"You never know what things will connect with what. But it also helps if you're just curious about thing. Every little thing had its uses. You just need to learn what to look for."

She did stop and ponder about the woman's duties before standing near the zenith of ruling most of Team Rocket. A hand gently stroked the scales of the Salandit in the meantime.

"I'm still learning about what's happened in Hoenn for a while now. It's barely been two weeks since I came here from Kanto." she coughed, trying to fiend the perfect segway into her next question.

"What was it like when you were a grunt? Or at least, when you weren't an underboss?"

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

She looked surprised that Cian would offer to help her with what she wished to do to the memorial here. Usually people tended to keep to themselves.

"If you so wish." she said while rolling the wreath of flowers in both hands around. The sweet fragrance would make quite the little meal for some of the smaller pokemon flying about at this time. "I could use somebody to talk with to pass the time. The flowers aren't exactly talkative."

She mused, laughing softly again while sometimes going back to Junior as he roamed around chasing snowflakes.

"Some people tend to not see the point in honoring them this way. Perhaps Hoenn works a bit differently than Kanto in some ways..."

CIAN MAHER

☉