Octavia took a sip of her hot coffee. It was black, with a bit of cream and sugar, just how she liked it. She was sitting outside of Joltin' Joe's at one of the tables and an umbrella stemming from the table's center gave her shade from the sun.

The sleep had done her well. So well, in fact, that her body's internal clock had completely ceased to function and resulted in her waking up at ten in the morning. She wanted to feel anxious that she had missed something vital in her near comatose state, but her tiredness was overpowering and instead sent her on a quest for caffeine.

She despised getting coffee to wake herself up, though she couldn't deny it was helping. And Joe had been so sweet and caring when he had seen her no doubt disheveled appearance. Her hair was a mess, that was a certainty. She was pretty sure that her shirt was on backwards. And she didn't know if she had forgotten to put shoes or socks on and, at the moment, she didn't care much to check.

But with the tiredness subsiding, the anxiety came crawling back to take its rightful place at her mind's vanguard. She must have missed something. No one sleeps for over twelve hours and misses nothing important. There had to have been a meeting, or an announcement, or a conversation, or something that she needed to be there for.

Thinking back, she hadn't noticed any of the others walking around the building. She was in a daze, yes, but she wasn't oblivious. If 80 had been around, she would have probably poked a little fun at her about it and Octavia knew Lemon wouldn't be opposed to doing something similar. She figured there would at least be a 'hi' from Miyu, Miles or Rusty and yet there had been nothing.

She took a sip of her coffee and leaned back. Please let there be nothing I missed. After what happened yesterday, I just want to be–

"Hey there," a voice said.

Octavia nearly spit out her coffee in surprise. Her eyes darted towards the source of the voice and found Rusty standing beside her. His face was calm but slightly serious.

He pointed to the seat across from her, "May I sit down?"

She nodded and he sat down in his chair. He's going to yell at me because I missed something. I was supposed to be with 80 or something today and instead I slept through it-

Rusty looked at her. "About the mission–"

"I'm sorry!" Her reaction was on instinct, and something she regretted immediately.

He raised an eyebrow, "Sorry? There's nothing to be sorry about. A mission, especially one as nerve-wracking as yesterday's, isn't one to be taken lightly. You handled yourself well, as far as I'm concerned."

She blinked and tried to gather her speech back. "B-But I wasn't helpful… I didn't even do anything."

"Which comes to why I'm here." He paused, "Is something the matter? You seem on edge."

"I'm sorry, I… I slept in and I only just woke up." She held her breath, waiting for him to yell.

Instead, there was a small laugh. "Is that it? Octavia, I knew you were sleeping away, and I allowed it."

"Y-You did?"

He nodded and cracked a smile, "I didn't sleep well on my first mission either. I won't say that our experiences were comparable, but I understand needing to get a good sleep." He leaned down and looked under the table. "Though judging by the fact you're wearing a sock on one foot and only a shoe on the other, I would say fatigue hasn't left you yet."

She looked down and was able to confirm his statement. I'm not in trouble, she thought. She let her breath go and found herself giggling at her unorthodox choice of footwear. "Well… the coffee is helping a little bit."

"Seems like it. Joe's been a lifesaver for some of us here. You wouldn't believe the amount of work that'd never get done if it weren't for his blend."

"I understand," she said, taking another sip and trying to decipher the flavors. Though, she quickly lost interest in it as a question came to her. "Where are the others?"

"They've gone out. Miles and Miyu are working on a case together, 80 is doing some field work on her own and uh…" he shook his head, "our newest recruit seems to be sleeping in even more than you. I reckon he's still in his tent, actually."

"Lemon?"

"Yes. He seems to be rather adamant about not being a part of the SDA. I would call him sleeping in a protest, but I doubt he'd call anything other than what it is. Still, I hope we can get him more involved, even if we started off on the wrong foot."

"He's… not bad. I mean, it wasn't a great choice he was given." The thought drove her back to yesterday and how Rusty had told of what the alternative to the SDA was. She tensed and grimaced, "That choice… you were being serious?"

He dropped his smile, returning to seriousness. "Yes. I'd like to say I was lying, but it is the truth. I'm sorry for deceiving you."

"It's… fine. I… I guess I should have figured something like that out earlier." She felt like she should have had more anger at his statement, even if he did deliver it with sincerity, but couldn't find any. She supposed it was the question pressing on her mind. "Miles said that the SDA would help me find my parents if I joined… Was that just to get me on board?"

"Not at all. He mentioned it to me on your first day when you and 80 left. While it's not standard protocol, I see no reason why we wouldn't be able to help."

She perked up, "So when does it start?"

"Soon, I'd hope. I've still got a lot of paperwork to do regarding Miles's bargain to get information on Gene Collins. After that's been taken care of, we should be able to start strong."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." He cleared his throat, "Sorry, I've gone off track. To get back to why I'm here, we need to discuss your aura ability."

She looked down, "I-I know… I'm sorry I couldn't use it yesterday." "And that's what we're looking to change. I want to cultivate this ability of yours into a league of its own. Otherwise, it'll be harder to survive those missions." Rusty ended it with a serious tone.

"So… how do I do that?" She felt a bit bad for having to ask.

"Well, someone who's a part of the SDA outside our group of detectives has a similar ability to you. She's a rather experienced fighter and would be a great asset for your growth in combat, as well as being a detective."

Octavia could feel the 'but' coming and decided to beat Rusty to it. "But?"

"But due to some experiences, she's resigned herself to not use her ability anymore. It is unfortunate, her combat prowess is quite the thing to behold." Rusty's face seemed to lighten as he talked about this person.

"So she'll help me?"

"I imagine she will if you ask. She's got a soft spot for new hires."

Octavia got stuck when she heard 'if you ask'. It would be awkward enough if Rusty was there with her and he asked, but herself? That wouldn't be fun. She took a large sip and swallowed hard. "What's her name?"

"Roxanne O'Hara. She's got teal-dyed hair and a giant scar on her right cheek. Just head into the office and you'll find her there. Trust me, you'll know her when you see her."

She tried to take another sip and found there was nothing left. She sighed, realizing there weren't any excuses to avoid interacting left. "Is that all?"

"It is." Rusty stood up, clapping his hands together, "Well! I'll leave you to it then. I'd recommend adjusting your footwear situation beforehand." He walked back inside the coffee shop, giving her a wave before the door shut behind him.

Octavia walked into the office of the SDA, her socks and shoes now more proper, and looked around for the woman Rusty had described. It didn't take long.

In the corner of the room, almost as far away from Rusty's spot as possible, was a woman slouching in her chair. She had wavy teal hair that was shaved down on the left side, and left to grow down to her shoulder on the right. She was so punk rock that Octavia was scared to approach her. But the overwhelming curiosity drove her to begin walking.

As she got closer, she noticed the teal lipstick Roxanne wore that paired well with her hair. She also had black industrial piercings in both her ears, as well as two diamond studs. Her face gave a 'fuck off' kind of feel. No wonder Rusty didn't accompany her, he obviously didn't want to do it himself.

Just a few desks away, Roxanne shot Octavia a look, freezing her in her tracks.

"What do you want?" she spat.

"R-Rusty told m-m-me to t-talk w-with you," Octavia stammered out. Roxanne rolled her eyes, "What is it this time? And could he really not come himself?"

"N-No, it-it's about me, actually..." She took a deep breath and placed a finger on Ace's pokeball. Even if Ace was still sleeping and it was empty, there was still a level of comfort to it. "H-He says we have similar aura abilities and that you can help train me."

Roxanne went silent and looked at the wall. Her brow furrowed and her hand began clenching on and off, like she was squeezing an imaginary stress ball. The silence went on long enough for Octavia's anxiety to start mounting.

Roxanne turned back to Octavia. "You."

Octavia tensed. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. What's your name?"

"O-Octavia Aldark, ma'am."

"Octavia, huh?" She looked down for a moment before her eyes lit up, "Oh shit, you're the newbie, right?"

"I guess I am…"

"Fuck around, I heard you just got done a mission yesterday. Considering you didn't die, you must be at least somewhat capable. You sure you need training?"

Octavia nodded, "My ability is… I can't control it. I don't even know how to activate it." She bowed her head. "The only reason I didn't die is because I got lucky…"

Roxanne sighed and stretched her back on her chair. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised he'd send someone new my way but coaching? That fucker better hope he doesn't see me for the rest of the day." She stretched her arms around the back of her chair and stood up. "Call me Roxy."

She walked past Octavia and started making her way out of the office, leaving Octavia where she stood.

"Uh… Roxy? What are you doing?"

Roxy turned around. "What are you doing? Get a move on. Let's get this coaching bullshit done with."

"O-Oh yeah! Alright!" Octavia jogged to catch up with Roxy as they both headed for the training room.

"This is where you're sleeping?" Roxy said incredulously, almost disgusted. Octavia and her were in the training room, in front of Octavia's tent.

"Rusty said there weren't any rooms so… I'm staying here for now."

Roxy shook her head. "Well, it's at least functional. Come on, let's get to the main area. Don't wanna fuck it up."

Octavia felt a pit of concern forming in her. Fuck it up? Was the training really going to be that intense? She shuddered and walked with Roxy to the main area, just a small distance away from the tents.

The main area was nothing special. It was as though someone took a simple high school gym, removed the special lines for all the sports, and doubled the length and width of it. The floors were wood, but incredibly sleek. Had Octavia's morning misadventure led her to wear only two socks, she likely would have slipped on the floor when going to leave the room.

It certainly would've woken me up, she thought.

"Hey, Octavia! What's up?"

Octavia turned around to find the source of the voice just coming out of his tent. Lemon's foot briefly caught on the lip of the tent flap before he started walking towards the pair.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, then turned to Roxy. "And who's the goth?"

Roxy stepped towards him. "Using the training room for its actual purpose instead of being a motel." She smirked, "And I'm the goth who's gonna kick your ass if you mouth off again. So who are you ?"

"Just call me Lemon."

"Weird name. How about you make yourself useful and join us for training? I'm sure you'd make the perfect dummy for this one to get her shit together on." She placed a hand on Octavia's shoulder.

Octavia started, "Oh, that's not really–"

"Pfff, no way," Lemon said, waving Roxy off. "I'm gonna go back to bed, thank you very much."

Roxy gave him a death stare and in an instant, Lemon was petrified. Even in the face of Gene Collins with the Aegislash, Lemon's expression never wavered. Octavia looked at Roxy and felt a chill run through her just at the sight of her side-eye. She couldn't imagine how it must have looked to Lemon.

Lemon took a quick breath. "Uh… you know what? I-I changed my mind. I'll help you guys out."

Roxy dropped the stare and grinned. "Great! Now let's begin."

Octavia couldn't help but be horrified at what training Roxy had planned for her.

"I have another task for you, Jack," a deep, raspy voice said. The owner of the voice held his hands together with a sick smile strewn across his face. His white gloves were made from Altaria's cloud cotton, a sign of wealth in the Nivalheimian aristocracy.

Jack knelt before the man, a small smile present on his face. "Of course. How can I be of service?"

"A heist. The Heyline Mafia have a large gemstone that they are keeping safe. I need you to steal it. Are you capable?"

"My, my. Having doubts about my skills now? What is a heist but just another drop in the bucket?" Jack's mind went into a flurry, thinking about what show he would perform for those unfortunate to cross his path.

The man laughed. "I expected nothing less. Your target is the Grand Feltorn Casino. They have the belief that hiding something in plain sight demonstrates their power over us. Go prove them wrong."

Jack's smile grew.

"Yes sir."

Thanks to voetterlra for the follow!