She still couldn't say she was surprised. His reactions and responses had been the same no matter how many times she'd tried this attempt at conversation, though by contrast he was at least talking to her. Honestly she wasn't sure which was better: him being a silent, untalkative prick or him actually bothering to speak to her for once. Truth be told, she did rather appreciate that she was finally managing to learn just a tad bit about him. She could only nod as he mentioned the corruption that seemed rampant in society- she'd seen it herself, after all. She saw it in the eyes of business executives, of select members of the Association. It saddened her to no end, but there wasn't a whole lot she could do about it. She sighed, allowing the full gravity of his words to sink in before nodding slightly. Of course he'd taken an issue with her initial flirting. She should've anticipated as much anyway, though it wasn't like she had complete control over absolutely everything that came out of her mouth.

"I guess I should apologize for my initial behavior then," she spoke softly, closing her eyes slightly. If anything she couldn't keep herself from pitying Jae. A life without any sort of meaningful companionship wasn't a very good life to live. If anything it was an immensely lonely one. "Solemn discussion has never been my forte. Even when I was a kid I had a tendency to make jokes and keep things as happy as possible."

Perhaps that's why their memory still weighs so heavily upon you... You've never taken the time to let this happy facade drop long enough to properly grieve for them. The thoughts came unbidden, and she flinched ever-so-slightly as they surfaced, memories dragging themselves up with them. She opened her eyes just slightly, enough that she wouldn't have to stare at the recollections of the Imum War playing back against the inside of her eyelids. Everyone had lost so much during that... not even she'd been spared, and try as she might she still bore the scars.

"Regardless, I do hope that you'll be able to look past my... initial transgressions eventually, even though I'm not going to be taking any of what I said back," she said, opening her eyes and looking up at him as she spoke. A faint ember burned within her eyes, evidence not only of her heritage as a Gijinka but also her constant determination. She'd break through to him- even if it killed her in the process.

After all. Nobody deserved to live alone, and even in the company of Pokemon it never hurt to have another companion alongside you.

Jae Hyun Jang ||| Notes

Rebecca nodded, absently reaching a hand up to give Omni more surface to crawl on as he got to her wrist. She had her right arm held parallel to the ground as a result, the small Pokemon crawling over onto her left hand before she turned the appendage to give a smirk and a knowing gaze to the shelled creature before turning Omni back towards Jae. "I probably couldn't keep this little guy away from here for too long even if I wanted to. I daresay you have a fan," she make the statement with the same trademark smirk, her eyes glinting slightly as she gazed at Jae. She smiled at Jae's Axew for a moment before turning her attention back to the Gijinka himself.

"So are you still set on the whole 'all business' shtick or am I eventually going to get you to be a little less thorny?" Her words weren't exactly sweet, but there was a bit of an affectionate overtone to them nonetheless. She'd tried talking to Jae on multiple occasions already, though they mostly ended in her stopping midway through a sentence due to a casted glare or some other negative reaction. In fact, she vaguely remembered almost leaving this place in tears one afternoon. Gods that day had just been awful, a complete opposite to the day she'd had today. Truth be told, she still expected a thorny look or disinterested insult. Every once in a while she could've sworn she was coming here out of enjoyment of the abuse, but deep down she knew that was little more than a bullshit excuse to help her deal with it.

"Cause I'm honestly starting to get a bit too used to this routine. I come in, you glare, I hand Omni to you, you glare, then give Omni a look that isn't] a glare. I mention it, and you glare. I'd like to see just a little bit of friendly emotion from you one of these times." Once again, she expected the routine to continue. She says or does something: glare. Same response, though usually with the variance of a half-hidden insult here or there depending on what it was she'd said. In fact, she wouldn't be particularly surprised if he shot at her with thorns and nails this time too, though while she was anticipating it she couldn't exactly say that meant it would hurt any less when it actually happened. And that was when, not if.

She'd dropped Omni off enough times to know that Jae was essentially salt incarnate.

Jae Hyun Jang ||| Best not threaten her with a good time

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Truth be told, Rebecca had very little idea as to what exactly she was doing in New Veherna anyway. Nostalgia, maybe? She didn't truly know, all she remembered was that she had started walking, picked a direction out of boredom- because it wasn't like anyone was going to be getting to Erayo City anytime soon- and just started moving. Amara had, of course, relayed Dex's always wise words of wisdom as to the dangers of wandering off into unknown territory, but Rebecca had survived long enough without heeding those words that she didn't particularly see why she needed to start heeding them now. Besides, Omni was at the daycare, and she really doubted anyone would mind letting her adorable little Omanyte spend more time over there than usual. If anything, a specific someone may have even been able to enjoy themselves a little more.

Rebecca couldn't help but smile at the memory of catching that male showing her Omanyte a bit of affection. She'd always thought him to be so thorny and off-putting. Maybe she'd go about trying to give him a chance after all when she next had to drop Omni off. Regardless of her reverie, however, she was on constant alert within the city of New Veherna. Ever since the Republic had taken if from the Association, she'd heard rumors that the crime rate had only skyrocketed- hence why she was sporting an entirely new outfit as she wandered around in town. For her own safety, she'd opted to wear a black Sinn Unto Stone t-shirt alongside a simple pair of jeans and her old boots. It was Veherna, so she wasn't too concerned with her Gijinka traits being left open so long as she kept herself out of the known seedier parts of town, and she always had her party clipped to her belt anyway- though they were all currently hidden under the hem of her shirt.

She didn't know why, but she had always rather enjoyed being in Veherna. Besides the overabundance of violence, of course. It had an atmosphere that reminded her of only few other places in the world, though that wasn't to say Irisia didn't remind her of a few pleasant places too, and truth be told while she liked being in Eirenhyre, it reminded her just a bit too much of Jubilife for her to really stick around too terribly long. Be that as it may, she was currently taking a bit of a leisurely stroll through one of Veherna's parks, taking in the scenery and allowing herself just a smidge of time to properly relax. Her tail swayed behind her with each step, something that had a tendency to draw as many eyes as it did would-be courters into her midst. Unfortunately, she'd developed a bit of a cold heart when it came to turning people down. Too many lovers and too many broken hearts probably did that to her, not that she was one to particularly let it bother her. Honestly speaking, she didn't really let anything bother her. That was probably why she was always so happy even in the face of all the soul-crushing angst she had every logical right to feel most of the time.

Unfortunately, she didn't even have the time to further ponder that before she was assailed by a woman who was quite obviously also a Gijinka, and if a guess could be wagered she was a Fennekin. Another Fire-type, Rebecca noted, a bit of joy in her mental tone. It wasn't too often she was able to meet another Gijinka, let alone one who shared her type. Granted, the request the girl made was rather... strange, and Rebecca knew instinctively that Dex would probably warn her off of the path she was probably going to choose.

Granted, she didn't seem to have a choice anyway, and simply shrugged.

"Alright, cool. Fuck it, let's go." Her words were rather passive now that she heard them, the air of 'fuck it' actually tangible around her. If anything, what this girl had in mind probably counted as vandalism. That may be worth something at the very least.

@tagged ||| Notes

Another day, another chance to show off. As arrogant as the statement itself was, Rebecca herself took it in a direction that was far from narcissistic, especially when one noted that her way of doing that was grabbing a guitar, and amp, and setting up shop right in the middle of town before beginning quite possibly the longest guitar solo of her life. Granted Rehlgar wasn't half bad using Dex as a drum, and the light show created by combining Sam and Amara's abilities may as well have made the Gym Leader a coordinator as she rocked line after line, improvising an entire song right then and there, and even making nods once in a while before actually playing a few songs from her solo albums. This square in particular filled with music, and onlookers, so quickly the Wildcard almost swore that Red himself had been announced in her spot.

As it was it wouldn't have surprised her, though as she launched into her fifth solo of the entire performance she was way more swept up in her music to give much thought to it. The crowd was more than happy to provide, and she spotted a few somewhat familiar faces intertwined within the mix. No doubt individuals that had been to many of her gigs in Lyeant before the war, and Rebecca shifted her footing again as she played, changing notes so quickly she almost couldn't keep track of her fingers. The solo picked up alongside the song, and as Rebecca's notes climbed, so too did the din of the cheers that erupted as a result, the final note of the solo ringing out triumphantly as Rebecca immediately set up to the mic an onlooker had been kind enough to bring out, belting out the last remaining lines of the song before ending it all with a single chord, her arm swinging in an exaggerated motion as ice and small embers rained down from overhead onto her. She held the pose for a few moments before visibly relaxing, waving at a few bystanders before walking over near Amara and grabbing the bottle of water set there. Wonderful thing about an Ice-type Pokemon was they kept your drinks cold.

As the crowd dispersed, Rebecca returned the mic and stand to its owner before moving back to her own party, Amara, Rehlgar and Sam returning to their Pokeballs as Rebecca moved over to rest up against Dex, the Bastiodon making a small noise of appreciation that rumbled through his entire being. Rebi reached up and patted him as thanks for letting Rehlgar use him as an instrument alongside the pavement. It was surprising how well Dex sounded, and were it not for the fact that Rebecca was by and large a purist with actual production she'd have contemplated making the pair official band members rather than just her party members.

Granted they'd been through enough that they were family as well. Rebecca let her gaze sweep over the people passing by for a few moments before standing slowly, putting her guitar back in its case before slinging the strap over her shoulder and across her back, grabbing the amp and looking over at Dex. She sighed, walking over to him before bending down to speak to him. "Alright big guy, we've gotta get moving." She said with a smile, the large Pokemon making another deep sound before slowly bringing itself to its feet.

Rebecca turned, catching sight of a boy not too far off from her current position. Having been to the region, and judging by the male's overall appearance, she wagered a guess he was Alolan, though she hadn't any idea how long he'd been there. She gazed at him for a few moments before motioning for Dex to follow and beginning to walk. Dex followed slowly, but stopped when they got close to the boy. Dex stared at him for a moment before Rebecca glanced back, moving over to the pair with a slightly exasperated sigh and a smile.

"Well, looks like someone wants to meet you," she said politely as she approached.

Hau Tilo ||| Suppression of Shipper Instincts

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"I don't know why, but I already love your face. Though certain allegiances may throw a wrench into my plans."