[FIN] When Paths Cross

[BlackFireKitsune]

((Otherwise known as DAMNIT TIM))

Early evening found Sera with her short arm curled around Anastasia, the pair sitting atop Luna as the Rapidash galloped across the fields to the southwest of Camphoreon. Isabella and Jacques loped on either side of the fire-type, while Agatha sprinted along behind and brought up the rear. Once they neared the edge of the woods Luna slowed to a halt; the three predatory pokemon didn't, and soon vanished amongst the trees. Sera dismounted, taking Anya with her, and set the Umbreon down before she stroked Luna's neck affectionately. Unlike the three dark-types, Seraphine was in no hurry to go running off into the woods. She didn't mind them like she once did, but she wasn't the one who had to hunt down dinner.  

[TawnyAngel]

Up above the grassy plains Taavi was enjoying the feel of the wind in his hair and the peace of being so far from the ground. The last couple of weeks had been a roller-coaster of highs and lows, he hadn't really had a moment to himself, so after leaving Abel with Zev he'd been glad to climb up onto Valour's back and fly out of the city with no purpose other than flight.

Lost as he had been in his own world it came as a bit of a surprise to Taavi when Valour squawked and started to spiral down, down towards a figure climbing off a uniquely coloured Rapidash. As they drew closer to the ground Valour called again and Taavi realised that he knew the figure; Sera! He hadn't expected to run into her but now that he thought of it he was glad she was here, recent events had driven Diancie from his mind but seeing her again reminded him. He really ought to make sure it was doing okay after what it had been through.

_______________

Quite some distance away, under the shadow of the trees, Aulus inspected his troops for the day. "And one last thing before you set out; we've had reports of a natural shiny Skiddo in the area so keep your eyes open. If you manage to bring it back to me there's a bonus in it but remember your primary objective is to steal at least one pokemon from a trainer, the forest lousy with them this time of year for the berry harvest so you shouldn't have any trouble finding a mark. If you have any issues call or message me and if in doubt retreat rather than engage, this is a training mission not Big Damn Heroes time and I don't want to explain to my superiors why somebody got arrested on my watch. Understood?"

The collection of plain-clothes grunts and trainees nodded and saluted in a somewhat haphazard fashion; they were a raw bunch and frankly Aulus was half expecting a cockup within the first half hour but perhaps they would surprise him. "Alright, move out then and watch your backs."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The second squawk drew Sera's attention - and that of both visible pokemon - and all three squinted up at the flying pokemon. The brunette couldn't exactly tell whose it was, but thankfully Giselle, who could float and thus could get higher to see better, supplied helpfully,

Anya said, ears perking a bit as she watched the bird descend with her large, bright blue eyes.

Sera shielded her eyes from the slowly setting sun with her hand, and attempted to squint to better see the pair. Shielding her eyes didn't help much - maybe turning her back would, but she wasn't about to do something that took that much effort - so she used that same hand to wave instead. Once Taavi and Valour drew close enough that they might hear her, she called out a simple greeting of, "Hey." She'd expend more effort once she was sure they could hear her, otherwise she might begin talking and have to repeat herself for their benefit if they weren't close enough to hear the first time.  

[TawnyAngel]

Valour glided in to a graceful landing and Taavi hopped down, offering Sera a slightly hesitant smile as he pushed his goggles up onto the top of his head. "Hey! Fancy running into you here, nice evening right? How're you doing?" He was never sure how things were going to go with Sera, if she was going to show her true decent self or if he was going to say something that brought out her bitchy side. Hopefully the first one!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah it's pretty nice," the brunette agreed as she cast a glance around them. It wasn't raining or anything, and it wasn't snowing yet - hopefully snow would be a long way off - and it was definitely still light outside, even though the sun started to set earlier and earlier these days. As she pondered the weather, Anya barked a soft "eon!" of greeting, Giselle waved an ethereal tendril and made a soft, airy cooing noise, while Luna offered a quiet nicker. Of the three she was the least familiar with them, but she had no intentions of being impolite.

"We're fine," Sera answered in short order, slipping her hand into her white hoodie's pocket while her short arm remained hanging at her side, and she shifted her weight onto her other leg. "How about you?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Hi you guys!" Taavi added to the pokemon with a little wave, quite obviously more comfortable addressing them than he was Sera but when he turned back to the brunette he was still smiling. "Um, well, busy!" No need to go into all of the bad s**t that had happened! "I finished my training at the start of the month so I'm a proper KSO officer now, it's been great so far! I've really missed work like this, you know, being outdoors all the time and about doing err... you know, real things? If that makes sense. Not being shouted at by customers. Um, and how's Diancie getting on?" He was still a bit stunned by their encounter with the legendary, the pokemon of wealth, radiant light, and protection from bad fortune and illness. The idea of putting it in a pokeball had seemed like sacrilege at first but after considering it for a while he'd come to the conclusion that anything that protected it from those who would harm it had to be a good thing. Anyway it had seemed very happy to go with Sera and he wasn't going to question its will.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Wow he talked a lot, didn't he? It wasn't that annoying though, and he seemed happy about all of it so she wasn't going to interrupt or anything; instead she offered a nod and a slightly awkward "um, yeah" because when had she ever had a job before? Never, that's when. She couldn't exactly empathize.

Diancie was a subject she had a much better grasp on, and she quickly seized on the topic. "It's doing okay so far," she said with a small nod of her head. "After the pokemon center couldn't tell us much, I took it to the League office the next day to see what they'd say. After talking with them for a while, they were pretty sure that it's actually from Team Rocket, and isn't - you know, natural I guess," she ended lamely with a half-shrug when she couldn't think of a better word. "Not that that really changes anything, but that at least explains where it came from and why it's in Kodo."  

[TawnyAngel]

That... made sense. Disturbing sense. Did Team Rocket not hold anything sacred?... That was a dumb question, of course they didn't. From what he understood though that meant that Diancie's powers were much weakened compared to a natural member of its kind but it still was what it was even if it couldn't do everything you might expect.

Taavi nodded seriously, frowning a bit before finding another smile for Sera. "Well I'm glad you're there for it then, and its safe from whoever was chasing it. Rockets I guess? It must have escaped, maybe before a planned sale or something."

They must both have been sent there at that particular time to meet Diancie. Now that he thought of it there were other times recently when 'luck' just didn't cover it, like when Abel had just happened to be in the right place at the right time and looking the right way to spot Zev. Kodo really was Arceus' island wasn't it? It felt as though the Deity was watching over them, maybe not always - because why should it spare so much attention for mortals? - but the more he thought the more little touches of fate he could see woven into his life and the lives of people around him. It was comforting, and exciting, and it felt like a great responsibility too; Arceus did as It did for a reason and he felt as though he had to live up to its purpose.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera frowned, her brows knitting together as she chewed her lower lip thoughtfully for a moment or two. "That's the thing, I don't think Rockets were chasing it. From what it said - or what Giselle said it said, anyway - it sounds like it was already sold, if it was sold, and it was trying to get away from some other people. I think they wanted to profit off of the pink diamonds it can make? Or try to, anyway. But anyway," her demeanor brightened just a bit, "it isn't as skittish as it was before, and it's staying with me for now, so if you want we can meet up sometime and you can see it again."  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh, right," Taavi nodded again, "well whoever they were I'm glad it's safe with you now and less afraid, and I'd like that a lot! Um, but, what brings you out here today anyway? Just getting away from it all? City life can get pretty hectic hu?" He didn't know if Sera felt the same about it as he did, maybe not, but she obviously didn't totally hate the countryside if she was here right?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, me too," she agreed with a nod.

The question reminded her of her purpose there, and her eyes widened just a tad at that. "Oh yeah." She pulled a pokeball from her belt, hidden beneath her white hoodie, and recalled Luna into it. "My other pokemon are out hunting for their dinner. Normally they go closer to the city and I wait around there for them, but once in a while I'll go wander around or sit in the woods for a while until they're done. I love living in the city, of course, but sometimes it's nice to go somewhere more peaceful," she finished with a shrug. 'Hectic' might've been a strong word, at least for her; she was used to living in the city and its busy atmosphere was the norm. Maybe it bothered him a bit more, since it sounded like he spent a lot more of his time in nature than she did. "What about you?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Oh, well, same actually!" Taavi replied with a brief laugh, reaching up to fiddle distractedly with a braid of hair. "I'm here just to get away from things a bit too but my carnivore friends need to hunt, there's a good place a little ways from here we often go." If Sera was staying near here though he guessed that was about it for this meeting, he didn't want to keep Valour and the others waiting and lose the light. "So, we should probably head there soon," he added a little awkwardly.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Seemingly oblivious to Taavi's awkwardness about their sudden parting, Sera lifted her hand in a small wave. "Yeah, probably. All right, see you around." With that said, she turned and headed off into the woods with Giselle and Anya in tow, the former vanishing once more.  

[TawnyAngel]

Okay? Okay! Phew. "Yeah, see you!" Taavi agreed and offered Sera a wave before climbing back onto Valour's back and holding tight as the powerful bird launched into the air.

___________________

A little way under the shady canopy Grunt Tim was moving quietly among the trees close to one of the forest paths. Really he wasn't that impressed with this mission, it seemed pretty mediocre to him but it was a chance to get hold of new pokemon so he'd signed up all the same. If he saw that Skiddo it was totally going in the empty dark ball he had in his pocket, and see what the Agent thought of that!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

A few minutes after Sera left Taavi, the brunette found a decent-looking fallen log to sit on. She did so, and as Anya sat down and leaned against her leg, the young woman pulled out her phone to check it and see if she had any texts or not. She did not. Pity.