And so it would seem that he spent most of his life in Hoenn. Himiko didn't realy have the best experience with getting around the region as of late, but from his description, it sounded like an alright enough place. It couldn't hold a candle to anywhere in Kanto, as biased as she may be.

"I'll take your word for it. Rustboro sounds like a wonderful place." she said and allowed Junior to go free. Her adoration for the little guy wasn't suffocating levels of obsession. She enjoyed the cute members of her team, though Stuffy was the only one to keep her at bay.

Himiko slowly moved back to her cart to continue to lay flowers across the memorial area. She cleaned some areas in need of it while continuing to hold a conversation with Cian. He didn't seem like anybody who would mean her harm, but she just came to this region not less than a week ago. He could be a large and renown jewel thief and she wouldn't have a clue.

"Well, if fates ever change..." Himiko doubted Kanto would leave Rocket control anytime soon. Although something about his smile had only prolonged her own, making her laugh softly and face him again. "I would enjoy showing you around. I may not be as fast as you, but I'm sure I can keep up~"

CIAN MAHER

☉

Drat, he caught onto her little ploy. She scoffed at his dig about his "business" and not really wanting anybody else to really help him with killing people. Just your average top brass's day in Rocket. Still, there was some part of her that was a bit put off by how...nonchalantly he said it. As if he had been asked his favorite food.

Himiko leaned back in her seat with a casting gaze.

"You and every other boss on this Team." she murmured to herself. Her eyes briefly cast away at the crowds around them. People walked by as the entire town almost was alight with the holidays. Such scorned eyes peered at the families walking about. Children busy enjoying the most wonderful time of the year. Some thoughts bubbled up as she grit her teeth and waited for Zev to finish.

"I think I can manage to make something. Shouldn't be too hard for somebody of my caliber to find work here." Himi said, her hand placed before her bosom as a smirk grew across her face. "Anyway I can help, I'll do such. But onto more pressing matters..."

She moved to the menu of the restaurant, shuffling her menu around. "Are you interested in having a meal? I'm dying to see how palatable the seafood is here."

Zev Harcourt

☉

The warmth of the fire they had going was a fairly welcome respite from the cold of the warehouse that was making itself more apparent by the hour. The Salandit had finished its brief run around of the warehouse and took refuge next to Himiko. She splayed herself out next to the fire while her tail would sometimes waiver at the sound of the foundation settling.

"It had its ups and downs. Just another job in Rocket, I guess..." She brought both hands to the fire again, as the reflection of light sources had bounced off of her blackened nails visible to her. Her shoulders became slumped as the grunt leaned forward to regain more heat for the fire.

Her eyes remained locked onto the floor for a lot of her recollection as something felt lodged in her throat. Yet no amount of swallowing ever made it get any better. Despite her emotional turmoil, it was rather pained to admit the chance for small talk like this was nice. Like a weight slowly being taken off her shoulders.

"There were some good people though. Ones who made it a bit more bearable. I don't mind this place, but it's not home."

Her eye contact reengaged with Elisabeth once she had answered her question in full. One that Himiko had heard was quite common in a lot of the upper echelons of any society. Rocket Admins were one thing, but an Underboss just devoting herself to her work sounded like a few people she knew in her family.

Her hand raised to rest itself on Himiko's hand. The Kantonian's brow furrowed in thought. There was an idea that she could maybe offer some assistance, but would she even care? Elisabeth seemed set in her ways and there was that chance she'd lose her only converation partner for the next twelve hours.

And why did she care about this woman's health? It was like a Durant giving advice to a Heatmor. The grunt's expression remained conflicted before she decided to take a gamble.

"Have you ever considered aromatherapy? Or any type of herbal remedy?" Himiko offered. Her postured went back to normal as she sat up and offered Elisabeth some kind of sympathy. "Usually if I'm too restless, I can get by with some type of lavender or chamomile burning. But when you know your body is going to crash, you can stave it off with some other oils. Just a thought."

The woman shrugged, going back to her pokemon as it was still resting by her foot. "Not exactly the most exciting thing my clan back home taught me, but it works wonders. I'm more of a poison girl, myself."

Next question time! Elisabeth prodded more about her operations duties and what she enjoyed most. It was a question she really took her time to consider her answers for. There was a lot on her mind she could include, but she didn't want to prattle on for an hour about mundane details.

Elisabeth's stare met her own as her gaze went back to the fire, alongside an exhale. "Prep work, mostly. I was always kind of a messy kid until my dad whipped me into being a neat freak. Something about refilling empty pokeball containers, prepping expedition kits, even refilling net guns and my little sleeping agents was nice. I loved plotting out courses through missions, devising strategy and all that. It made me feel valued."

She remained silent and then added, "At least, more than what most people took for granted."

Elisabeth Fiorelli

☉

She rolled her eyes quietly after her initial outburst. Starting over from the very beginning. A meat shield to be used as some higher up to cover their asses.

How very honorable indeed.

Zev did have a point though. She was going to have to find a way and climb her way back up the rankings if she wanted to get back to how it was beforehand. She could care less about playing errand girl for a bunch of people she didn't care for. All that mattered was finding the one responsible for her getting into this mess.

Himiko accepted the slip of paper given to her and unfolded it to take a glimpse at the address. Simple enough, really. She put it into her coat pocket and had a chance to ask him some questions. Which she quickly had a few.

"Zev, was it? I lost a lot of my team back home. What's the quickest way to find more?" she asked with a veiled interested. Her arms sat on the countertop once more as Himiko peered at the stoic and apathetic man. "And do you have any business of yours I can help with? You're the first person since my demotion that's not a hassle to interact with, so why not repay the favor?"

By that, she wanted brownie points. Any extra edge she could get over anybody else.

Zev Harcourt

☉

The Sky Pillar. The name had eluded her, as had most of its enigmatic stories surrounding it. In all honesty, Himiko saw it as nothing more than the remnants of an ancient civilizations that had been long gone. Just another place for wild pokemon to burrow into its hallowed halls to call home.

Well, besides the vast amount of riches there were to be found there.

"I can't say I have." she answered, leaning back against the edge of the table with a muted interest. "But I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't on my radar. Why do you ask?"

The offer made was a little bit more than what she had been expecting. Slayte was a Rocket Admin, and here he was, asking her of all people, a grunt, for assistance. Some little bit of her remained irked at this offer. It could be a trap, or just some little hazing ritual like some of the Hoenn Rockets did enjoy a little bit too well. It seemed suspicious and frankly, a waste of time to share the valuables that he would inevitably get from this.

But with an Admin out and about, she could snatch a few things for herself under his nose.

"Sounds appealing." Himiko grinned and leaned closer in with a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. A hand raised to move some locks of hair from her vision before the smuggler's fingers tapped on the table. "I'm in."

howard slayte

☉

"Perfect."

Himiko said as she recalled her memories of Kanto, the whimsical days of her youth that she so dearly missed. A wave of nostalgia washed over her, the florist letting out a sigh of content.

"I grew up in the countryside with my pokemon. Imagine rolling hills of fields and more. The sakura blossoms blooming in the spring as their petals were blown adrift in the afternoon wind."

Himiko began with a faint smile. Her eyes went to the skies in recollection as some small part of her wanted to take a step forward and find herself back inside of her home region.

"Flowery prose aside, it was idyllic. I remember running around with the other kids until sundown, hurrying home for dinner and doing the same thing again in the morning. It's hard to really put into words...It's something that you can only experience once."

Sure, she had left out a lot of details, but this man didn't need to know!

Himiko removed her hand and then brought it before her once more, returning to play with his pokemon present.

"What about you, Cian? Are you native to Hoenn?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

Her answer came almost immediately. Himiko had obviously been egged on by the mention of the very thing that landed her in this position in the first place.

"I was set up, of course!" she said with a sneer. "I've made that sleeping injection a thousand times over. I kept it ready to go at a moment's notice. Everything was perfect!"

She took a moment to collect herself with a groan of frustration and then continued.

"There was a Druddigon that was seen flying nearby Kanto while on migration. An alpha sized one, the largest of any seen before. So my team was sent to capture him, a simple a little mission, yes? We managed to get him captured in nets and I went to give him that injection. So imagine my surprise when it only causes him to go berserk instead." Himiko crossed her arms and rested them on the table with a scoff.

"I know for a fact that I only brought my sleeping agent with me. I've administered it to countless Pokemon, large, small, you name it. Somebody tampered with my concoction and it resulted in this mess. So I'm going to find out who made me come to this backwater region, and I'm going to pump them SO GOD DAMN FULL OF CHEMICALS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GLOW IN THE DARK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA WHEN I-"

A bunch of eyes had come to look at the both of them. Himiko's voice had risen to shouting levels as she looked at them and paused to consider her wordage before continuing in the silence.

"...When I go diving for Clampearls next time. It's a fun and lucrative hobby."

Zev Harcourt

☉

The Castform's gelatinous body elicited another soft laugh from Himiko. A free hand gently reached to show praise to the pokemon while its owner introduced himself.

"Hello, Cian. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."

Cian told her about the people he knew that had been buried here, more than she had guessed. Her lips pursed themselves in thought while she thought about what to say. There wasn't really a whole she could think of to say. Nothing would take the pain away or bring his friends back. Still, she felt an odd beat of her heart that felt for his loss.

The free hand praising the Castform slowly placed itself onto Cian's shoulder.

"Try not to focus on the pain. Focus on the memories you shared, the good times that you had with everyone. Our family in Kanto taught us that those we lost would want us to cherish the time we spent together rather than the time spent in their absence."

CIAN MAHER

☉

Himiko's eyes widened at seeing the Castform hover closer to her head. She said nothing, raising a hand for the small pokemon to rest itself if it so wanted. Regardless, a smile grew from her stoic and stern face.

"It's nice to meet you both."

She offered a bow to Cian as she had to other people many times. Her curtain of black haired followed the movement of her head and took a break from refreshing the flowers around the monument and the dedication to the people buried here.

"I'm Himiko," she set another bouquet of flowers aside before turning her attention fully to the two people, "A florist from Kanto. I just moved here a week ago, so I'm still learning my way across the region."

She didn't mention what had caused her to move here. Rocket always had a tendency to get rid of those troublesome agents instead of moving them across the seas to another region. Somebody like him didn't need to know her history. She was a face in the crowd, a position where she best flourished.

Regardless, Himiko continued to smile and work that polite and affable persona.

"You said you were paying respects to somebody here. May I ask who?"

CIAN MAHER

☉