a horrible, fearsome idea, really. [break][break]

daphne didn't give the panda to him to protect them from apatite. from how eager the panda was and how it was rearing to go, the dragon (though should have felt fear and hidden into his nub arms) tucked his head in and huffed, with all the confidence in the world that he would win in a fight. though, if past experience has ever taught her anything..[break][break]

well, she isn't one to crush a dragon's dreams. [break][break]

at those words, the bagon tucks his head in and he's already rearing to go. clearly, the stars aligned at the perfect time, and there's nothing she can do about it. and so, she carries the bagon to the ring, though not without a small smile to her lips.[break][break]

"so long as ares doesn't try to bully him too much~.."

Calix Nikolau

☉

as opposed to what the other trainers were doing with their dragons, he was approaching this.. quite differently. she can't help but to eye him, curiously. what did he have in mind? only arceus would know. and so, puzzled, she follows his lead onto the stage to watch him stack one container over the other. this was.. certainly new. [break][break]

at his words, she perks up slightly. "ah, of course" she responds with her usual flat tone, stepping forwards towards the table to find the power strip he spoke of. lo and behold, it was there. did he want her to turn it on, yet? best that she wait for him to untangle the wires, first. [break][break]

"mmn.. i'm curious to see what this training entails~"

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission: how to train your dragon

☉

for once, she hopes that it isn't training through brute force. [break][break]

she's had about enough of her bagon resorting to blunt force to fix his problems. though she sighs, he's piqued her interest. what does he have in mind? [break][break]

curiosity is further piqued seeing the apricorns, carefully being held in some containers. after a pause to digest it all, she nods her head and pulls out the pokeball of the very, very familiar, petite dragon pokemon who stands on the stage. she immediately steps in front of it, acting as the barrier between it and the little dino. [break][break]

"mmn, i brought apatite" unfortunately. "what do you have in mind?"

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission: how to train your dragon

☉

poor ghost never stood a chance. [break][break]

what did stand a chance was a ghost that had decided to float over to her bagon, and scare the living crap out of him from one of the leaf piles. that time, the crunch was justified. this time however, it winds up a nightmare for the poor bagon, and daphne is already throwing a pokeball at the ghost to stop it from possibly hurting the poor bagon. [break][break]

with the haunter stuffed into the ball, the woman lets out a soft sigh of relief. onto the other source of her anxiety. [break][break]

.. he gave her his number? when? she can't seem to remember it, but a quick search through her memory has her recall that he pressed a piece of paper into her hand. which.. mean he put a paper. in her hand. it means he held her hand. oh my--[break][break]

her cheeks go pinkish as she recalls, and her gaze is averted as she clears her throat. yes. that happened. "i--.. yes, my name is daphne" she tucks into herself "i apologize for the trouble i caused that night.."

Calix Nikolau [break]
catch attempt @ haunter

☉

a familiar black and white pokemon, which looks all too happy to see his previous trainer again. [break]
sadly, the same can't be said by the bagon. [break][break]

bless his soul for catching the panda, because the bagon would have screamed first and fell over from daphne's shoulder had he not saved him. daphne only gives the bagon and sparing glance, and the smile cracks a little bit more. "it seems like we're both stuck here" she muses. [break][break]

"there are quite a few things in mauville" she hums. she's been here enough times, and she wants to offer her help (but the butterflies in her stomach stop her before the words can leave her lips. there's a quiet sigh). it didn't matter, either, because before she could try to say more, the current fight in the ring ends, and two names are called over the speaker. two familiar names. [break][break]

she pauses, and holds the bagon in her arms. she'll say her silent prayers. "... what are the chances?~"

Calix Nikolau

☉

five more minutes.[break][break]

great, just what she said five minutes ago. and the minutes before that. and the minutes before that. she swears that she just needs maybe another five minutes, ten, or fifteen more. it's just that she's been so indulged in her work recently that she can't seem to stop. [break][break]

she doesn't notice how late it's gotten, and how the sun has started to set. it's probably still quite early, anyways. the sun tends to go down earlier in the winter.

Calix Nikolau

☉

she smiles. [break][break]

it seems to be happening more often. was it because of him? even if it were, she doesn't know what he's done to her for her to react like this. maybe it's because she's starting to get used to the warm smile he wears on his lips with he greets her. maybe she's starting to soften up, even if it hasn't been that long. smiling isn't something she's used to, and still feels foreign despite it coming so naturally today. who knows how difficult it will be tomorrow. [break][break]

with bagon in her arms, she approaches the man and is careful to ensure that apatite does not see his potential opponent in the ring. the same smile shrinks after a brief amount of time, as it is indeed foreign, and started to make her cheeks sore. the added weight to the corners of her lips made it feel like she was holding something in a cheek pouch. she shudders at the thought, and doesn't realize how the smile may look to others (because to her it was horrible, always looking stiff and forced, when the reality couldn't have been further from the truth). [break][break]

one arm hooks beneath the dragon pokemon's arms, while the other rests her hand against the white of the baby's round head. "i wanted to get some coffee and take a walk around." she doesn't need to tell him the specifics; not that she was coming out to escape the stale an stuffy air of her apartment while searching for inspiration "apatite heard what was happening, and so i came to take a look" she gives a quick, slightly narrowed and unamused glare at the bagon. [break][break]

it doesn't last for long. [break][break]

"as for you?" she asks. "what brings you out here?"

Calix Nikolau

☉

no pokemon have the mercy of the tyrunt apparently. [break][break]

hadn't she known any better, she'd think that the pokemon was out on a hunt, specifically for anything that dared to move in the peripheral of its gaze. worrying, and slightly concerning, but sadly understandable and expected from a small and young fledgling. its spontaneous nature reminds her of someone. a certain someone who is currently struggling in her arms, especially after watching the display of strength. [break][break]

in a moment of weakness (and in hindsight, a mistake), her grip is weakened around the bagon and she finds it running off with short legs towards another, brightly coloured pokemon. there's little time for her to recall the bagon before it lands a heavy crunch on the poor kadabra, an "apatite! get back here!" following the cry of the poor psychic pokemon. as such, she pulls out an empty pokeball and throws it at the psychic pokemon. she hopes that the red glow calling it into the ball was enough to force the bagon to let go, and fall face first into the ground. [break][break]

we avert our gaze from the sand castle that was brutally run over by the tiny rock dinosaur. [break][break]

after all, there are more pressing matters to attend to. like the fact that his familiar face was starting to clear up the foggy memories of the other night. a hue of red begins to form over her face, and rosy skin becomes more prominent than she'd like them to be. she's embarrassed herself. [break][break]

"i-i see.." she wish she hadn't brought it up, and she'll wish she hadn't asked [break][break]

"did we.. happen to meet at a bar?"

Calix Nikolau

☉

she's late, and arceus knows that she's apologetic for it (being tardy is unbecoming of her, of all people. a leader who isn't present is no leader at all) hence her uneasiness. there's little she can say and less she can do when she knows how she's kept him waiting. another thorn at her side as it stings against her heart, and how the muscle throbs knowing she might have disappointed yet another person (at the thought of making someone else upset at her incompetence). [break][break]

the kindness is misplaced, but she doesn't dare to say it. instead, she parts her lips after emerald eyes scan their surroundings. there were quite a few trainers and pokemon out to practice and learn. what else was there to do otherwise? [break][break]

she expects to see dragon types, so she's surprised to see the occasional rock or ground type. they seem to be frequenting the overworld nowadays. [break][break]

with the nod of her head she takes a few steps towards the stage, and tilts her head back, slightly "do you know what our task is?" she asks so curtly. daphne isn't one for small talk. she never has been (not when speaking to men, lest she loses her composure and struggles to force the words from her lips altogether).

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission: how to train your dragon

☉

you're doing it again, daphne. [break][break]

you're putting yourself on full display; you're putting your sadness out for all to see, and you're sad, because things aren't going according to plan (it seems like nothing did go according to plan, but her approach never quite aligned with her eventual goal anyways). look at yourself, daphne, and wallow once again in what could have been and what has been (then suffocate on all your mistakes as you drown yourself further in alcohol; perhaps one day you won't be able to tell the red wine from a pool of blood with the excess you've started to drink. since the war. since he died. since they died). if she drinks a little more, then the memories will fade into obscurity. and she's alright with that. [break][break]

despite her pleas, she's used to it; the people come and go back and fro, and there's no reason nor obligation to stay and entertain a drunken woman who was too far gone into her mind, yet seemingly lucid enough to maintain a conversation (though it's this fact that proves how hazy her mind has become). viridian eyes however, stay fixated on the man as she pleads not to leave. sh wants him to stay, and to talk to her for just a little while longer. keep herself from the thoughts - that threaten to swallow her whole - just a little longer. there's something sad about this display of desperation. there's something pitiful about how she gazes up at him. [break][break]

pathetic. [break][break]

she won't blame him if he left, or if he called her clingy, or looked down upon her with a disappointed gaze (she's used to it, despite running far as she could to avoid them). she's prepar--[break][break]

... does she hear right? [break][break]

there's a smile on his lips the next time she gazes up at him, and his words are soft. they're warm. suddenly there's a slight tinge of comfort that's freckled over her cheeks, and there's a little tingle from the corners of her lips, and a smile comes so naturally once again hearing his voice. he says he'll stay for a little bit longer - not too long, daphne, - but he'll stay. ".. really?" she has to ask again, because she can't believe her ears. somewhere with her foggy brain, she can conjure enough sensibility to smile. smiling was always easier when drunk. being honest was, too. [break][break]

"i'd be really happy if you could stay" she chimes, and her shoulders raise slightly as her cheeks flush rose "i'd love it if you could~."

Calix Nikolau

☉

hoenn.[break][break]

how long has it been, since she's walked on these soils and returned to this land? how long has she been gone for, to even hear about the antics and happenings from outside the region, and since the end of the ultra beast war? not too long she imagines, and hoenn has been doing such a good job for itself, trying to build the region back up under the leadership of the champion (and that bastard of the business man, though only in name nowadays, silph). how long has it been since she's told herself that she would be fine, that everything was going to be okay and that she would be able to start a new life?[break][break]

how long will it be for it to crumble because of obligation again, and how long will she have to repeat this cycle? [break][break]

daphne has hopes that she never has to return to the political scene again, especially not after her own sorry display shortly after her brother passes away. she's tired, and wants nothing more than to hole herself in her office with a paper on desk and pencil in hand, trying to think of the next big design. to live in the present is a luxury, however (it's a harsh reality that even she's had trouble coming to terms with), when the past is so eager to catch up and dig its nails into her shoulder (beckons her to come back, forces her to come back). a few rangers from her past came up to her and asked if she could assist - or if she would like to assist - in the training of other pokemon, considering her effort from the war. usually, she'd say no. usually, she'd hole herself back up into the room, but her greatest fear is realized when her bagon overhears, and scurries to tug at the woman's pants and beg her for the alternative. another sigh. [break][break]

there are familiar faces and foreign ones, all blending in with one another as faces in the crowd, though something about this training feels so nostalgic. in a sorry attempt to divert her attention, she glances down to the cuff of her office shirt (attire that she never grew out of loving no matter the day) and tugs it down, slightly, to look at the ticking watch. she was late, but not by much. if she hurries, she'll make it soon. [break][break]

she approaches soon, specifically at the spot she's told to meet her partner at. "... ah, it's you again." lo and behold, it's the same, familiar face from an event not too different from this one. maybe it's because she's been seeing him often, and she's gotten used to his company, but she can speak without any fear or jitter in her heart. for now. "i apologize for my tardiness" she raises her voice, walking to the man who stands idly alone.

Calix Nikolau [break]
mission: how to train your dragon

☉

daphne was plenty calm about this. sadly, apatite was not. though he succeeded in scaring off the sinistea (we don't talk about what that tyrunt had done to brutally rob the spoink), there was still the possibility of him directing his attention back to the little dinosaur with the urge to fight it. but of course, he's always had the desire to fight. sometimes it'll give her a migraine, specifically at how it looks at other pokemon like eyeing a full feast for one. [break][break]

at least the other trainer was understanding. "i hope we hadn't interrupted you" she narrows her eyes at the bagon that's swiftly swept into her arms, thenher finger raises to lightly flick upon the numbskull's head "i told you to settle down while we visited the grave.." she voices in a soft, scolding whisper at the dragon. it groans, and she moves away from the innocently wandering pokemon to spare them the strife. [break][break]

another glance up at the man, and something in her head clicks again. where has she seen him before? [break][break]

"excuse me--" she starts, arms instinctively tighten around the bagon "but have we met?"

Calix Nikolau

☉