TO DUST [ADRIAN/mission]

Having recently visit the wastelands, Adrian could not say she was too excited about having another visit so soon. Alas it was for a mission and thus the amber haired woman complied with orders from above. Ever since her promotion to the Elites the woman was getting more used to missions rather than normal patrol duty. That said the woman did not expect to be specifically paired up for this mission. After being briefed she was told that her partner was going to be one Isabelle Night, an interesting name to say the least, who was another Elite to make sure this mission went smoothly. To be honest the amber haired woman was not too fond of having to go out and save someone else due to their sheer idiocy yet a job was a job. The only thing left was to hope that her partner was not as incompetent as that Rory person.

Thus she was back here again approaching the rendezvous point, already dressed in her ranger gear and linked up with the appropriate tech. Since they were going into the wastelands and her partner was a female she felt no need to wear the hat that she usually wore to hide her hair when on patrol. The silhouette of the woman in question became visible soon enough which is when Adrian mentally prepared herself for whatever was to come. It seemed the other knew she was coming too and spoke first as Adrian walked up. Nodding to affirm her identity when Isabelle said her name, she silently listened as the other elite continued quickly. So far it sounded like she was competent. Good.

Her emerald eyes followed Isabelle's gaze towards the distance where the sandstorm kicked up. That made sense to why the signal went blurry. Taking note of what was being said the ginger finally spoke, "That makes sense. I can confirm that." Notably her tone was less formal and more laid back despite the situation. Adrian followed Isabelle who was assuming the lead, being sure to keep a few steps behind and occasionally looking behind them to make sure nothing snuck up there.

She caught on to the fact that Isabelle did not believe it to be natural but since she had a pokemon that could confirm or deny, there was no harm in doing so. Taking out a pokeball, she casually tossed the device out for her partner pokemon to appear by her side. The disaster pokemon shook his fur out upon being called out and turned to follow Adrian. "Is that sandstorm natural?" It wasn't even a matter of discerning if Absol could or could not tell, Adrian was asking the facts and in return Absol gave her an answer in the form of shaking his head. Oh this was going to be fun.

"You were right. Looks like we'll have to tame some wild pokemon," she commented with a shrug. Judging from the size the pokemon causing the sandstorm was likely a strong one. Hopefully her partner thought the same and as such Adrian felt no need to say that aloud.

Honestly the ginger did not notice the looks the other ranger gave to her, nor would she make much of a comment about her Absol being useful. That type of thing didn't matter to her. What she had noticed was the lack of verbal reaction in the form of shock or awe, merely the single comment. Of course Adrian did not mind and as the black haired woman moved forward without another word, so did she with her Absol trailing along as well.

The silence between them was mutual. While Isabelle would not start idle conversation Adrian was not the type to do so in her place either. In fact the ginger appreciated it for the most part as it meant she would not be irritated by the most minuscule of things that might have come up. Adrian herself was not known for being a conversationalist. Her attitude towards others usually were not too popular due to her not particularly liking most people in general. The situation gave her some oversight as to Isabelle's preferences and they so far did not appear too far off from her own. Though maybe this was too soon to tell.

As they approached the outskirts of the sandstorm it became time to begin preparing for the actual difficult part of the mission. Mimicking the other ranger, she secured a face mask that protected the lower half of her face. For her eyes she wore some protective goggles due to preference. Noticing Isabelle nodding to her, Adrian nodded back in confirmation as she followed. She was not too worried about losing sight of the other ranger since they seemed competent as a person. Adrian did not have to babysit for one and even if they did get separated there was no need to be concerned.

Hearing the brief sound of dissatisfaction for a moment, Adrian did glance to the side towards where Isabelle had gone towards. She said nothing but wanted to make sure nothing was particularly wrong at a glance. If there was an issue, there was no doubt that it would have been announced. Sandstorms were not her favorite weather either, and actually it would be weird in general if it was for anyone, but since she had made a visit to the wastelands before and got a feel for them; it was not so terrible. Unpleasant, yes. Not terrible.

Since Adrian was maintaining some distance behind Isabelle, she did not spot the silhouettes as swiftly as the other ranger. It was only when the white jubilee pokemon was sent out that she was close enough to discern the situation. Her Absol was swifter to the scene, bothered by the sandstorm but still navigating through it well as he bolted towards the boy. His body enveloped with a sheen of light with the use of Detect to protect the boy from the incoming attack, however it was not necessary due to Togekiss’ actions.

Looks like it was time to get to work. Having made her way to the location of the male in question, she heard Isabelle’s orders coming from somewhere. Normally she would have qualms with someone giving her orders but they were not dumb ones. On top of that, it was no time to get angry at something like that. She’d say some affirmative words to signal she got the message before she dropped to her knees next to the boy to examine him. “Hey kid,” she’d say casually as she looked him over. While the Togekiss and Isabelle herself was engaged in battle and distracting the Tyranitar, Absol still kept watch in case a few stray attacks flew at them. They knew better than to attack.

Her eyes immediately flew to the object that prevented the boy from moving far. His foot look like it was lodged between a few boulders, likely thrown by the Tyranitar from before. Still he was not dead thanks to their timely arrival and Adrian did make note of that. Whistling for her Absol’s attention, the dark type looked over his shoulder towards the redhead. Adrian would point to the boulders and Absol understood the direction. “Looks like you got a lucky break considering,” she would continue apathetically like the situation lighter than it actually was to the rescuee as her Absol gathered psychic energy in his horn. Within moments the boulders were sliced cleanly enough that it was no longer an issue for Adrian to pull him out of the rubble.

Not bothering to pull out more equipment, Adrian moved her hand down to feel the bones of the boy’s foot to make sure nothing was off. Occasionally she would glance up at the Tyranitar to make sure that its status had not changed but would return to her duty not long after. “Yep, that’s broken.” She was referring about something in his ankle which would inhibit him from walking out of this situation alone. Now this wouldn't be as much of a problem if the guy was not being so loud about his pain. Honestly she thought that the threat of having his mouth filled with sand was enough to dissuade the screaming. Apparently not.

Perhaps she should have cared more. Perhaps she should have at least looked like she cared more. Those thoughts were lost to the amber haired ranger as she continued to administer the first aide onsite. Reaching back into her supply bag, she would try to pull out the first aide kit. As she had she began to notice the Tyranitar's tail was getting swept closer to their location and would overrun them soon. "Oh Fuck," her impulse would blurt out as her body moved on their own accordingly. The victim looked terrified as he remained screaming, the attacks instilling the fear of Arceus in him, the likes of which Adrian had not heard before. Scooping up the boy into her arms, she promptly bolted out of the way of the sweeping tail and dove forward to get more distance at the last second. The effort put in managed getting through the incident and then move to another point nearby safely.

As the battle continued, Absol ensured the safety of the woman as he remained vigilant in watching the fight and their surroundings. With the sounds of explosions and the intermediate feeling of rumbling under her feet, Adrian was growing uneasy the longer this took. Focusing on the task at hand, she placed the injured male down and once again reached back to pull out the first aide kit . Despite her attitude the woman was surprisingly efficient at accomplishing the task, being gentle about wrapping the absorbent dressing around the ankle. Due to their conditions it was difficult to accomplish a wrapping job that the ranger could be proud of. The lack of splint and the sand making the bandages not as adhesive were especially problematic. "Alright kid, that's as good as its going to get. Now we'll get you out of here." She'd pat him on his back as she help him sit up. He seemed to have stopped screaming for now.

The amber haired ranger would first look to her Absol to take on the burden of carrying someone on his back. She knew the dark type could do it but it would be hard for him to move around and act in case something happened. With that in mind she pulled out another pokeball called upon another pokemon for the job. The mighty lion that appeared roared loudly to compete with the rumbling wind and sand. "Nemelios, need you to carry." The lion snarled a bit at the request as he turned to the injured man. Upon seeing him and the look on Adrian's face, the fire type complied with the command and lowered his body to the ground. The boy was able to climb onto the lion's back with some help and clutched at its mane for dear life.

Adrian got to her feet, "Getting him out is top priority. Stay close but if something happens then take the first opening out." As the lion was about to respond, Absol interrupted with several barks of his name. Attention turned, the issue was made readily apparent. "Oh What the Fuck," she would curse again as her emerald eyes shifted to the swarm of rock types headed their way. Looking at them, something wasn't right and Adrian was tempted to turn to the target and ask what he did. Instead she saved her breath and snapped her fingers as she pointed to the area in front of them. "Block them off." This time her Absol would fly into action, moving away to a decent distance before slamming his paws to the ground. Tall pillars of rocks from Stone Edge would raise to form a wall that blocked the Golems temporarily. The dark type would then scale the wall and act as a scout watching the army of Golem approach and start attacking the structure.

Adrian turned her attention towards the Tyranitar now who looked more or less tipsy. The instability of its feet concerned her as she could not spot Isabelle anywhere and her Togekiss was no longer flying around. So far the other woman had given Adrian no reason to doubt her ability but this was concerning. There was no point to this mission if they could not all be successfully extracted. "We need to rendezvous with Isabelle and get the hell out. Stay a safe distance away from that Tyranitar." The lion huffed at the order but was compliant enough not to endanger the person sitting on his back, watching the ginger ranger run into danger towards the battle perimeter where the other ranger was last seen. Her eyes scanned for the female and eventually the woman would yell out. "ISABELLE WE GOT HIM. WE NEED TO LEAVE OR WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER ISSUE" hopefully her voice was enough to reach the woman but she was still scanning for a sign of the brunette.

As the titan falls there was a sudden tug of concern at the conscious of the redhead. Her steps halted abruptly as she noticed the direction she was running towards was exactly the direction the Tyranitar was leaning towards. Watching helplessly, Adrian mentally ran though the possibility of the Elite being in the midst of that. Her mind sought whatever alternative there could have been and desperately for ideas something that could be done. Unfortunately nothing came to mind and that feeling of helplessness sent a surge of anger through her veins. Several curse words would run through her head aimed at herself.

Taking a step backwards as if to get a larger picture of the scene tentatively, suddenly the Tyranitar would be moving again. Her eyes would widen at the sight as her body shifted to a defensive stance. This would prove unnecessary as two large streams of water rose up from under the giant and topple him in the other direction. While this was an impressive show of force, her eyes following the momentum of the Tyranitar, her peripheral vision spotted the sillouette of the other female at the other side with a large Blastoise. A breath of relief filled her mask but her adrenaline levels would not allow her the reprieve she wanted.

Isabelle's figure would come into better view and her words heard fairly well by the redhead. She was running and Adrian nodded at her words. Of course rather than dashing off right then and there, Adrian would wait for a moment for Isabelle to catch up, at least until she could see her face, before sprinting towards where her Pyroar was watching. Snapping her fingers once more, Absol turned from his perch and hopped off to rejoin the rangers. Sooner rather than later they would be in a group running back from where they had come from. While Adrian was focused on escaping with everyone in tact, Isabelle appeared to have an idea for the culprit behind the rampaging pokemon. When she said it, Adrian turned to look at the boy. The guilt was apparent in his eyes.

"Oh Son of a." She stopped herself from cursing at the boy despite wanting to, her brows furrowing to display her anger. It made sense and Adrian was disappointed for not thinking about it before. Usually when it came to scents her Absol was good at spotting them but the dark type couldn't really pinpoint incenses for not his own typing. Thus Adrian didn't think about it and was irritated she had not. "Take it out right now," Adrian's demanding tone boomed in the boy's ear like a mother about to hit their child. He fearfully did as he was told albeit slowly. He hesitated as the rock incense was pulled out of the pocket on the side of his injured leg, however Adrian was not having it and snatched the item from his grasp.

"Good Call," she called over to Isabelle as she chucked the incense as hard as she could to their right. The full intention was to allow the item to keep doing what it was meant to do, just away from them as they escape. Her consciousness pinged against her chest and the ginger knew why. Turning her head to the brunette woman she spoke, "Are you holding up alright? That was a close call." It was a rarity that Adrian would bring up small talk, much less inquire about someone else if she did not need to. That said it was also a rarity to encounter something as capable as Isabelle proved to be.

As Isabelle replied to her question, the answer was able to lift the lingering feeling of guilt and stress off Adrian's shoulders. So far so good. At this moment the woman would even entertain a small chuckle at the comment, the slight curvature at the corners of her lips to indicate a smile hidden beneath the mask. "It's a good thing you didn't." Based on her tone that was a honest statement... was this compassion? Nevertheless Adrian nodded to the Blastoise as Isabelle patted it, almost as if she was commending the water type as well before turning back to her own pokemon. Scanning the two, Pyroar was definitely in better health as his exposure to the sandstorm was minimum. He looked rather peeved at the human tugging at his mane but handled it without incident. Absol on the other hand was putting on a strong face but the ranger could tell the dark type needed some long rest after this mission concluded.

Afterwards Adrian had expected the rest of the trip to be similarly silent as when they first began. To her surprise, the fellow ranger granted her praise as well. She'd accept it without much retort though was somewhat baffled to receive it in the first place. It was a rarity to hear from a fellow ranger. The following question would break this and the amber haired woman reactively answered by shaking her head, mentally noting what sounded like concern. "Unless you count my ears, not really." This was in reference to minutes prior when the boy was screaming for dear life. Truthfully the experience was a frightening one but in no way the woman could complain when Isabelle had almost been flattened by the entire Tyranitar instead of only the tail.

Strangely enough the woman felt as if she was growing fond of her temporary partner. Usually when working such missions, Adrian always left feeling annoyed and drained. This time around it was only draining from the amount of energy that had to be used between running and carrying, not the idiocy. It was refreshing. "Thanks. You aren't bad Isabelle.". That would be the second time the ranger said the other woman's name, this time being used in a more sociable tone. In a small increment of it at least. The sandstorm would soon dip off in intensity and subside, giving them reason to stop running and take their time if they so chose to.

At this stage the ginger felt out of place the longer friendly banter was being initiated. The shift of tone made it all the more noticeable and Adrian tried to muster a chuckle. She ended up nodded to the woman instead to show agreement to the statement. It was as much as could be expected from someone that tended to be cynical with an equal amount of lacking of social skills. With luck it seemed, Isabelle shared some of this so it felt less awkward than it should have... for the most part. That said the ginger knew she was thinking too much on this matter and she blamed the adrenaline rattling too many thoughts.

In moments the sandstorm waned to the point there was no longer a need to be rushing. As Isabelle began to slow her pace, Adrian followed suit as well as her pokemon. The boy looked less fearful as he had minutes prior but he would not interfere with the conversation between the rangers. Within moments Isabelle would conclude the state of the mission with the communication device attached to her collar. Adrian rarely used hers so she'd let the brunette handle the communication aspect... yet somehow it was doubtful that it was going to be different from what she would had said. Before long the ranger vehicle came into view. Her two pokemon had slowed significantly and would walk up behind the two rangers as they approached.

While the brunette gives a rather proper salute to the sergeant that greeted them, Adrian was more indifferent to the gesture. Out of the sense of duty the woman would give a unenthusiastic salute behind Isabelle's, watching the other ranger enter the vehicle. Before taking care of herself Adrian looked to her pokemon, the Pyroar taking the opportunity to approach the vehicle to unload the person off his back. "He's sustained injuries so he will need to be taken to the hospital once we arrive back in town," she'd instruct to the sergeant who was assisting the boy off Pyroar's back and safely into a seat in the ranger vehicle. After a few words of praise to her pokemon they would be recalled and Adrian herself would sit down as well.

Once everything was settled Adrian ripped off the mask and goggles on her face all at once, shuffling her fingers through the strands of amber locks to loosen some sand that hid within them. Here she heard Isabelle's question and paused for a moment. It was a question she did not expect and normally any questions involving herself she'd reject immediately as unnecessary. Somehow this time was understandably different and thus she complied with an answer. "I was originally from Kalos before I came here and joined the force. I was too late by the time I got here." She did not disclose the exact time she joined the rangers because she didn't know, not being the type to keep up with the days. While her knowledge of what happened in Floaroma is minimal, she knew it was a tragedy. A sign of failure for the rangers. Adrian visited the remnants of the town occasionally to keep herself grounded but someone like Isabelle clearly knew of the details. And as we all know, Adrian did not understand tact. "Why do you say that? I saw the ashes of the town... what happened?"

The question presented showed a noticeable shift in the tension that lingered in the air. Nevertheless Isabelle had indulged in her curiosity. Adrian would share glances with the brunette, listening intently as she focused between her and the open road. Truthfully the words lunar festival meant little to her and she assumed it as a small event being held at the town. It came as no surprise when it was up to the rangers running security for the event. They were usually tasked with those types of things frequently. The part where this 'they' infiltrated this however concerned the woman.

She would squint her eyes hearing this, raising a brow almost to question it. Of course the woman wouldn't interrupt the story but there were many questions that entered her mind. This they must have been Galactic but if what Isabelle said was true, why go through the trouble on a small event? If they had infiltrated once then were they sure that it was not going to happen again? These were all pessimistic views to be sure and even as the story continued the questions kept piling on. Adrian would not blame the story-teller for this as they were the messenger not the overseer. Still it was disconcerting to learn.

There were too many information gaps missing. Regardless Adrian would nod as the story began to conclude. The fire and the destruction she knew. The ashes that were left told all that was left. By the end Isabelle looked exhausted and she could not be blamed for that either. She did however begin to visibly relax. "I'm not sure I would have been of much help," Adrian said that first and foremost. It was generous to be given so much credit but Adrian did not feel as if her participation would have changed the fate of the town. Actually, she was certain of it.

She wouldn't notice Isabelle's waning energy levels until she'd mention it coffee. "I'll treat you to some once we're back," she said this hesitantly but it the offer was there. It was rare that Adrian would offer to do something of the sort. Adrian herself was not even a coffee drinking type of person, yet the day was far from over and there was still much to be done. That said she did feel like she owed the woman for her efforts and the information. "Least I could do after all pulling so much weight and telling me about the Floaroma incident."