when the handle turns, she takes a step back, steeling herself for what comes next. and in front of her—red meets red; blood and blood, the pale white hair and sheer cold.

for a second, it was almost as if she looked in the mirror and saw a reflection of her future.

but then he suddenly turns his head and yells. the sudden noise makes her flinch, even though she knew it was not meant for her. but when they return their attention, his words are surprisingly warm. his hand, held and offered, seemed like a cautious gift.

even the thought of a bed, made and ready for her, seemed strange.

"how..." kind she thinks, though does not articulate. she shakes his hand, her touch light and delicate. she wanted to finish the thought, but it's then that her contact comes into view, an eevee at his heels.

this seemed more reminiscent of a friendly occasional rather a meeting of supposedly terrible people.

"—yes, i am cassidy." she says, switching her handshake to aris's. she has to remember though, that friendliness does not always insinuate kindness, and that she should stay cautious, in case their warmth was only a disguise for unsavory intentions. but chores were a small sacrifice to make in exchange for housing, and she could at least, do them well.

"thank you for housing me, aris and cato. i'll do my best to ease any burdens on you both." she says, ducking her head in formality.

everything was still new to her; mint had told her he saw potential. but she wonders if she truly had it in her to be a rocket after all. she used to be a model and student; what skillsets did she really possess other than being pretty?

but this wasn't about a job or a career. it was about survival. and so she looks at them with her red eyes, stubborn and persistent.

"give me your orders, and i will learn."

Aris van der Veld cato

the heat haze of summer was enough to drive up the demand for water pokemon that cassidy took heed. money was a cruel mistress; she needed to put food onto the table, and so she had made her way out to pacifidlog town, knowing that many water pokemon swarmed these waters.

only, she had no mount to speak of.

she'd consulted captain nariya through the grapevines, one of the few people available at the time. she was a contrast to cassidy's solemn demeanor, bursting with energy and with plenty of questions to ask. cassidy had regarded her with indifference, though not disinterest.

she did not know why the girl was apologizing to her, but she nods anyways, accepting it without a second thought. "i appreciate your assistance, captain nariya. my name is cassidy, and i am looking to capture water pokemon today. please, let me know how i much i need to pay you for your time." she says formally. she'd expected a fee for someone to come out here like this, and she was ready to pay.

she stands on the edge of the dock, with the sea salt winds blowing east and white foam gathering against the town's floating wood, and shivers against the slight chill on bare skin. she'd pulled on a simple black swimsuit, shrouded underneath a white cover-up, but the ocean's water had always been so cold to her despite growing up around its coasts.

she eyes the dragalge that the girl had begun to climb on, noting its poisonous spikes and fickle nature.

"is it not venomous, captain?"

Shalin Nariya

the interviewee sits down with her hands neatly folded in her lap. most questions are passed with a simple yes or no, or even a pass for more egregious questioning. but there are a few that she provides more detailed answers to.

"Do you have a role model? If so, who is it and why?"

"i used to. that is no longer the case, however."

"If you had to kill someone, could you?"

"i do not endeavor to kill, it would not be my first choice. but if i had to choose between my life and theirs, i would choose my own."

"What is the biggest lie you've told?"

there is a lingering smile on her lips, one that possesses no mirth, only a strange nostalgic bitterness for things that could have been. "i told myself that i would be happy."

What is your purpose?"

"i have no purpose but to survive. that is what we are all destined to do, that is what i will continue to do."

taking with Aris van der Veld and cato

it was a deal.

mint was his name; a devil with honeyed words. she had stood strong against his temptations for so long, but she was on the verge of losing everything—the measly apartment that she'd scrounged together, her belongings and her life. how much she'd fallen, from the great heights of wealth.

and so when the devil had knocked on her door a final time, she'd told him that she'd take the deal:

in return for her life, she'd survive. and in return for her loyalty, she'd live.

beggars can't be choosers, can they?

aris was the name of her contact, club owner and the person who would supposedly house her. living above of a club is no glorious prospect; cassidy was not one to party or to indulge in the sins of humankind. but it was better than nothing.

she'd gathered up the last of her belongings and stuffed them into a bag that hung off her shoulders. some clothes and personal belongings, her charger and phone.

the club was quiet during the day. icarus it read, in long golden letters, reminiscent of ancient societies. she sneaks to the back, dutifully following the directions she had been given. one quick glance around showed that nobody was watching, to her relief. she was nervous; her hands trembling as she held them to the door. would they be cruel, as cruel as women who had ruined her? or would they be apathetic, she only another cog in the machine?

regardless, there was no going back. and so she knocks in a series of codes. one that lets them know that she was one of them.

Aris van der Veld cato

long ago, when cassidy was just a young girl, she often had dreams. dreams of ghosts and spirits, the ones that wanted revenge and the ones that wanted you to die. they taunted her and told her she would join them if she wasn't careful. the child that she was became deeply afraid of the spirits; and she swore on her life that she was followed by them.

she had informed her parents of the dreams, but her mother and father had told her that ghosts cannot hurt you. we are safe. we live in a society that does not believe in the spirits. they'd said. but the dreams continued, and the spirits would not stop following her. for that, she was a tormented child, colicky and sensitive.

but now that she was older, having gotten used to the spirits, she finds herself now the ghost hunter.

it was a silly but necessary mission, one that kept recruits humble, especially if they feared ghosts. her partner seemed to embody that fear unfortunately; cassidy stepped on a twig behind them, making her presence known. they jump slightly at the sound, flighty and cautious. unapologetic, cassidy regards them with no warmth. in the least, her eevee bounds cheerily from where she stood, sniffing at the trainer and their audino. she wags her tail, mewing happily and ignorant to the looming cave entrance.

they had vaguely known each other, the rank of recruit leading them to parallel paths, taking on similar missions and places of interest. but tonight was finally the time that they'd met.

"good evening kasper." she greets, polite. there's a flashlight in her hands, and she flicks it on, lighting up the entrance.

"are you afraid of spirits?"

kasper thaler

taking with Violetta Fisk

it began with a storm.

it came on suddenly; lightning and thunder, the incessant rumbling of electricity not so far away. black skies and impending rain. she had been idling outside of lilycove city when it came, far too quickly for her to take shelter. she thought it was strange.

and then it happened all at once.

a booming crack that was not just thunder, but with power she had never seen before—the world began to change before her. slowly, rocks and trees began to lift out of the ground, and the skies turned into iridescent mirage of purples and blues, distorted beyond human recognition. she had heard of this phenomenon before, but she could not truly understand the horrors of its reality until now.

and when she finally had the courage to tear her eyes away from the skies, she saw that there was another person standing across from her; white hair and white eyes.

violetta fisk.

was she dreaming? cassidy blinks, her mouth dry and her heart beating in her chest. she had trusted this woman once. but because of her, she had given up all her dreams, her hopes. violetta had turned her into a monster. her lip curls, hands shaking despite her rage. because in rage, there was also fear.

"...what are you doing here?"

Violetta Fisk

mt. pyre, that was which was saturated with the spirits of dead pokemon and fog, a dangerous mountain that is not only filled with the corpses of pokemon, but of humans too. those who took the mountain's ferocity for granted—they would hike up the stiff peaks, their arrogance leading them off the path. and they think themselves a natural navigator; but when the fog overtakes, and you cannot discern with your eye the landmarks that led you astray, how will you survive?

the calls for rescue came often, and were taken up by various trainers across hoenn. cassidy was not one to heed these requests, and she thought that zev harcourt was not one either, considering his rank. a beast like mint, and just as committed to the cause, if not more. she'd heard stories about him through the grapevine, skilled in the art of assassination. she was admittedly curious. and one day, while in headquarters, she had asked him the merits of his work.

she wanted to learn. to be someone like him.

and so she told him, "if you let me prove that i am worthy, i shall return the favor twicefold."

so here they are, meeting the call came for a certain missing athlete. a rescue on paper, but a bounty hunt by mouth. for a recruit like her, this was a trial, and it was time to prove herself worthy.

they walked along the trail, her ninetails trots quietly beside her. the trees stood foreboding in the white haze, and it was easy to misconstrue their dark branches for something else; a figure or a ghost. it almost as if the spirits were watching them; there was no other life in sight. it did not take them long to stumble upon a trail marker, a dilapidated sign, worn rotten wood with faded writing.

summit ahead. dangerous area. please heed caution.

"the athelete supposedly disappeared around here." she said. she points to one of the tracks on the ground, a deep ridged line imprinted on mud.

"we should be able to follow the path of his bike."

Zev Harcourt

taking with Zev Harcourt

admittedly, she herself feared death; the inevitability of it, and how she might cope, if it came early. and as if something had heard her thoughts, she suddenly hears the whir of metal, the rustling of grass blades against wind.

she ducks behind a bush, and with fear in her eyes, she looks at the pokemon that had just appeared; a metagross. its large blue body floated above the grass. they were normally not hostile, their intelligence extremely high. they were also so heavy that it could easily crush her with one of its legs if she was not careful.

the pokeball on her belt wiggles, and she picks it up, her hands slowly moving to expand it, as not to attract too much attention. she needed to move quickly also—materializing the zweilous in a flash of red. at the sound, the metagross turns, too surprised to react before she commands her pokemon.

"assurance."

the move eats away at its health, its psychic facilities—and she entraps it in a pokeball, watching the ball shiver and struggle as it shakes before stilling.

for wild pokemon, is this death as well?

capture.

captured METAGROSS

the silent icelands was true to its name; a desolate wasteland. what was formerly a grassland had been converted to a tundra by a power higher than her, she only a witness to the aftermath. her ninetails stands by her side. it was suited for the chill, tails fluttering in the wind.

"vidya." she says. a command, to ready itself.

it's a wonder that any life exists here at all, being so desolate. but these creatures are nothing if not tenacious; the desire to live stronger than the aversion to suffering. because for all life, there exists nothing after death. at least, that is what she believes.

...what say you, dear reader?