[attr="class","RANGER3"]

RAISE

he holds down two jobs to hold up his little girls. avery's the apple of his eye, taking care of her kid sister where her mother can't. she doesn't complain. the days are long, but they're filled with laughter, smiles, late night movies with dad because by the time he gets home, they're too wired to go to sleep. she grows up getting by, with stitching together patchwork clothes and hiding slightly greasy hair under baseball caps. bullies flock to her, but she has plenty of friends. she's a gentle soul with an unfathomable and untouchable innocence behind the grey in her eyes. [break][break]
her sister is just shy of two years younger. astrid is sweetly timid, clings too tightly to avery's hand when they cross the street each morning on their way to school. but avery doesn't mind. she shows her sister the flowers, the combee, tells her about faraway lands and all the things she's learning from the books she reads outside of school. and things are easy. things are simple. one day her father shows up on the curb where avery waits for astrid. it's a sweet reunion and each daughter takes one hand of their father's and they walk home the long way. and it's nice. it's nice until avery and her father tuck astrid into bed and her dad says, 'sweetheart, daddy lost his job today.' his fists tighten at his sides and he asks her if she understands, and she doesn't, but she nods anyway. [break][break]
two months later, they move. fuschia's not exactly small town, but she figured she'd been everywhere. they move to a crumbling house with mildew in the ceilings. astrid sleeps beside her in a too-small bed. sometimes avery goes to sleep hungry, but still she doesn't complain. they make the best of it because at the end of the day, even when her dad takes on two more jobs that don't pay nearly as much as his former, somehow, someway, he still finds time to sit and watch a movie with them before he tucks them in at night.[break][break]
and then one day that stops. because one day her father walks in through the door and he says, 'avery, we're going to get you some new clothes. and some new books. and--and anything you want.' so they go shopping, and avery gets a pretty dress and astrid gets a sparkling purple clip for her hair. she asks her father once why they're doing this, how they're doing this, but he smiles and ruffles her hair and tells her not to worry. so she doesn't. they eat like kings for a few weeks. and by the time of her thirteenth birthday, she announces that mrs. barker down the road said she'd give her a job at the farmer's market every weekend. [break][break]
they come up with a plan. they're gonna take over the world. it's a silly plan, avery knows that, but she likes the spark her dad gets in his eyes when he tells her someday they'll get out of fuschia, someday they'll see what the world is really like. they'll see all there is to see and all the bad stuff won't matter. they'll get through the rough patches and they'll do it together.[break][break]
it's all a fairy tale of course. because one day she walked home from school with astrid and they waited for their father until well after midnight. the tv screen stayed blue, only flicked to black after the man in the ranger uniform told them their father wouldn't be coming back.[break][break]

AMBITION

she knows what happens to kids without any parents. and she's not thinking anything really, just thinking about how she can't lose astrid. she won't lose astrid. so she packs their things and leaves the house behind when the rangers' backs are turned. she keeps her father's pokemon at her side and somehow she makes it. they live on the streets. they eat out of dumpsters, patch together clothes from the garments they steal off of clotheslines. and then one day when they're huddled in an abandoned warehouse outside of viridian, someone finds them.[break][break]
and he says, "do you want to finish what your father was doing?" and while she may be innocent, she's not naive. she throws a hand in front of her sister and tells her to get out, go, hide.[break][break]
and he says, "avery thompson, you're a resourceful little girl, aren't you? we can use that, in my organization." and she's quiet, so he says, "we want to do something, avery. and we want you to help us."[break][break]
she says, what?[break][break]
he mumbles something, but she doesn't hear his voice. her father's there beside her whispering to her, telling her what they're going to do. this is how they'll stay a family. this is how they'll stay alive. "baby girl, we're gonna take over the world."[break][break]
astrid comes with her. even though she begs no, no, no. avery promises her that everything will be alright. she'll never let anything hurt her. these people are going to help them. these people are going to save them. it's what dad would have wanted. so they enlist. avery is a survivor, not a vulture like the other entrants around her, waiting to pick off the weak and frail. she shutters away better judgment, makes excuses up in her head as she goes. her father's pokemon grow stronger under her command and before long, she's on the back of a charizard, the youngest in her class to have a fully evolved pokemon. she distances in rank from her sister, but that's okay. it's alright because the more power she has, the better she can protect her. that's how it works, right?[break][break]

HEAT

but there's someone else now. because she can take care of herself just fine, no questions asked. she keeps herself at a distance, keeps herself untouchable. the other recruits steer clear of her and she of them. her demeanor of demanded respect is taken note of and before long, she's being promoted. her sister lags behind and she only has a problem with it until astrid is placed within a different squad. she demands proximity, the same missions, always orbits close to make sure her sister isn't harmed. but orders differ and eventually things go wrong. and when astrid falls, opal isn't fast enough to reach her.[break][break]
and then he steps in, risks his life to save the only thing left that matters to her in this world. so she lets him in. it's a tentative thing, really, but he doesn't push. slowly secrets unwind from her lips in the forms of the stories her father used to tell her, questions asked when he wanted to connect the dots. and that happened before or after? what was it like when you--? where were you when--? it wouldn't take long for avery to realize what sharing pieces of her meant. years fly by and missions become more intense, but this time she is stronger. this time she has someone right beside her. together, they climb. up, up, up, until they are the ones leading missions. they are the ones promoting recruits.[break][break]
they hold a team of high esteem. obedient and loyal, cunning and quick to action, they are honed weapons, expert spies. team rocket's influence spreads like a shadow over kanto with their help. safety falls like a hazy cloud around avery's mind. after months and months of astrid begging her to get out in the field, telling avery she needed to do work, make herself productive, she finally breaks down. they are safe. her family is built of dragon and fire and nothing can ever hurt them again. [break][break]
but she gets careless. she's sent to collect information and she skirts around the edges, doesn't look over her shoulder for the demons that are always lurking two steps behind. so she misses communication, vital information. she celebrates that night with her sister. they settle in and watch one of father's favorite movies. and then the next day, they leave. on the backs of dragons, serpents, silent wings, they fly towards the waiting maw of the enemy. he warns her something's not right, but she doesn't listen.[break][break]
and when they go in, she's the only one to come out.[break][break]

ASHES

she doesn't last long. something inside of her breaks and she's found in her quarters with gashes in her wrists. so rocket saves the girl who yearns for ghosts and death and demands she fulfill her duties. but she doesn't last another night before she packs up her things and vanishes from the grid. she has the offspring of her father's pokemon, yet she only releases them to feed them and let them stretch their legs. they're remnants, mementos, leftovers. eventually she seeks refuge and solace in lavender town, spends months talking to ghosts and listening to the stories of the passersby come to pay their respects. [break][break]
she is a hollowed out husk and she drives herself mad trying to figure out what she did wrong. why, why is this world so cruel? a little boy comes to the second floor with a bundle of lilies and tells her that team rocket killed his pokemon.[break][break]
she is shaken, but not shackled. she leaves the place that smells of death and decay. she turns herself in and gets shipped off to ranger headquarters in sinnoh. and when they ask her for information, she tells them almost everything. but she holds back pieces, dangles them like strings and bargains her worth. they ask her why she wants it. she says she doesn't want it.[break][break]
she needs it. she needs to see rocket destroyed.[break][break]

PHOENIX

she brandishes her flames. one step forward becomes two and when she isn't knocked back, she holds her head high. the bruises under her eyes don't fade, but grey eyes spark with purpose for the first time in over a year. vengeance bolsters her will, her very soul. she is still an enemy. fellow rangers leer at her, spit at her feet, rough up her pokemon until they're too exhausted to defend themselves. they still spit her name though she tells them that isn't her anymore. avery thompson died in that fire with her sister, but they pay no mind. so she takes beatings from the men and women who've been affected by rocket's actions, but she never raises a hand. this is redemption, she tells herself. this is reconciliation. this is reincarnation. [break][break]

[break][break]

MISC.

- can play the piano, but hasn't in years[break]
- has two silver scars on her wrists from attempted suicide[break]
- suffers from ptsd[break]
- has mild discoloration on her legs from burn scars[break]