Set in the original region of Arciel, Legends Rising is a route-inspired, but not strictly route-based, Pokemon roleplay. Pick a faction, pick a class, and strike out into the wild to take on the League, master Contest coordination, research the mysteries of Pokemon and Arciel, and much, much more. Will you be a classic trainer? A criminal? A farmer? Choose your destiny on Legends Rising.
Having just barely been able to give Faolan the name of the restaurant before she'd taken for the hills (or, the streets, as it were,) Lionel was a little worried she wouldn't make it. He was a little worried she'd get lost - and so, he rather quickly gave her directions via text, in regards to his knowledge of the city. Which, this area? He knew pretty well, to his credit. So, hopefully she'd show up in due time.
At the moment, it's just Lionel and Samson sat at a table outside the restaurant, simply named 'Joe's,' with the man's hands ruffling his furry face. He was nervous, admittedly... that maybe it wouldn't just be her getting lost that'd keep her from showing up. Maybe he'd over done it, maybe he'd scared her away. It was a tricky thing, and the more time goes on, the more he wonders if he ought to simply back off. Oh, but he'd liked the way she leaned into him, warm as she was, and how she kept meeting his eyes, like pouring water of a flame, in the best of ways.
Staring down into the Growlithe's eyes, Lionel wonders aloud, "Think I messed up, buddy?" Samson, to his credit, seems to understand what is being asked, and shakes his head a few times in the Trainer's hands - though it could just be because he needed to give himself a good shake. "Yeah, I hope not."
Leaning back in his chair then, Samson lays himself down in a half-circle around his Trainer's seat, watching the same street the man did, albeit with quite a bit less nervousness.
Faolan, for the most part, had been able to find the place with little trouble shortly after splitting up from Lionel. In the time they'd been apart she'd managed to change into something a little more casual, something that hugged her body in a way that was both warm and maybe a little showy. She'd let Reddy out just enough to check on him, and the bird had been so sleep-cranky that he'd gone back into the ball without fuss to finish off the rest of his nap, leaving Fembra and Faolan to their own devices. Fembra, of course, was more than happy to stay out of the ball and tag along, and as they walked the cold streets her tail seemed to burn in a brighter blaze than usual.
As she approaches the shop Faolan thinks over what to say to him to excuse her dipping out as fast as she did. By the time she reaches Lionel she can't really think of anything, but she plays it off nonchalantly and lets her fingers brush over his arm as she passes by to take a seat across from him, Fembra immediately skipping over to Samson to say her hellos as the two trainers conversed.
Faolan looks much the same as she did on the boat, but maybe her hair's a little more styled, pulled over her shoulder to fall in waves over her chest, framing her face - and is she wearing something on her lips? Possibly. She looks a bit more ... put-together, maybe.
"So... how did you know this place sold sandwiches?" She starts, her eyes darting up to the sign overhead.
Samson, of course, notices the approach of Faolan and Fembra before Lionel does, picking his head up off the ground to the sight of them weaving through the street. Though they'd only seen each other just a while ago, the Growlithe is nevertheless pleased to see their approach, wagging his big, furry tail as they come ever closer. Lowering his head slightly as Fembra scampers over, he's all too happy to welcome her with a bump of his cold nose to her little lizard hands.
Lionel, himself, was a little preoccupied with his phone, playing Picross, as Faolan might note walking by, but the sensation of her fingertips on his arm draws him up in time to watch her round the table and take the seat adjacent to him. Immediately, he brightens up, looking for the world relieved and pleased that he hadn't fucked it up. "Hey!" He starts, though he stops as she looks up at the sign, and laughs. "Oh, it's... I got a menu of theirs in the mail one day. Just, sort of a form of advertisement, I guess? It worked. I come here pretty often now."
His eyes haven't left her though, and while men (and he, especially,) could be a little dense, there was no denying she looked different. Not quite prettier, but different. In a good way. Was it weird to say she looked nice, again? He'd already complimented her once that day, and she'd seemed so shy... it was cute, and really, he wouldn't mind seeing her blush like that again.
Leaning forward, he starts to speak, that sort of warm, perhaps almost intrigued look in his eye - but he's cut off by a woman in a sweater and apron holding a few little pamphlets in her hand. "Heeey, welcome to Joe's. Here's our menus! I'll be back in a few minutes, so just take your time, okay?"
Fembra makes a delighted sound and gives Samson all the rubs he could ever want, boofing and squishing his little dog face happily in the time before the waitress approaches the table. Faolan has taken it upon herself to familiarize herself with the layout of the shop, the look on her face thoughtful, but not in the deep pensive way she got lately. It was more like... trying to remember where this place was, in the event she wanted to come here again sometime. Especially if the sandwiches were as good as Lionel was saying.
Her gaze eventually drops to the phone in his hands, and yeah, she had gotten a glimpse - very brief - of a bunch of filled and unfilled boxes with numbers along the side, so she had a good idea of what he'd been doing prior to her arrival. She almost comments on it - almost - but Lionel actually looks rather happy, and seeing it makes her happy in some stupid, weird way, so she just turns her own phone over and over in her hands and smiles faintly back at him.
And then the woman in a little apron and sweater approaches, handing off two flimsy menu for her to peruse over. Faolan immediately scans the list of what's on offer, searching for what Lionel had mentioned earlier on the ferry for her to try. What had he said... a BLT? She wasn't really sure what that stood for, but if Lionel liked it it couldn't be all that bad. And she'd never been much of a picky eater back home, but then again she tended not to be given foods that she didn't like.
"How long have you been living in Plum? Is your apartment very far from here?" She asks, flipping the menu over to see what was on the back. Maybe it would also tell her who 'Joe' was.
Though Samson, arguably, isn't exactly a fan of having his face all squished, he's pleasant in demeanor enough to let Femba do as she liked, even as her little lizard fingers accidentally poke him in the gums. After a little bit, though, he does draw his face away, to nudge her hand with his nose again and give it a lick; he couldn't exactly return the pets, considering he had no hands, and only paws. This was the best he could do.
"Uh, round about six months? Took me a while to get started because Samson and Missy were both real young, and I know Pokemon can, like, battle right out of the egg? But I just... I'unno, wanted to wait a little while. I'm glad I did, though. Really gave me the chance to connect to them." Scratching at his stubbled chin, Lionel looks over the menu as though he didn't already know what he was getting, while Faolan looks over it earnestly. Its contents included sandwiches of various types, though most of them appeared 'artisan' in nature, the BLT that Lionel had talked of (bacon, lettuce, tomato, served on a toasted bun,) along with the more common burgers. It was, true to form, a sandwich shop.
As for Joe? There's nothing that says who he is. Only that this is his shop, and he runs it, and by Arceus, he'll make sure you have a great sandwich.
"My apartment, though, uh..." Leaning back in his chair, he points past himself in a general sort of direction, toward a few taller buildings and what can only be assumed to be a more residential, less shoppe-like district. "A ways down the road, like, ten minutes? Not that far. I like living near things, with my leg like this and all."
Looking back to her, he flashes a grin - and he can't help himself but to tease, "Why, wanna see it? It's not that special."
Only six months... had she been there about the same time? She couldn't quite remember, it seemed like so much and so little time had passed since then. She'd learned a lot, both about being on her own and what kind of person she was away from the people she'd surrounded herself with in Galar, so it understandably felt like a lifetime rather than less than a year. She can't even remember how long she's known Lionel, but she expects it's probably a less than a month? Maybe?
And here she is, cutting eyes to Fembra and Samson doing their thing on the side - Fembra looks happy at the wet bump, probably the happiest she's seen her yet if the way her tail flares up even brighter is anything to go by - and sitting across from a man that's well older than her, but doesn't really act like it. Nor does he look it, she thinks, her gaze drifting over the stubble on his chin, the way his eyes skim the menu in front of him despite his previous statement that he comes here all the time.
It's cozy, and comfy, and despite the... weird situation on the boat, there's no place else she's rather be than here.
"I didn't know that they could until I experience it firsthand," She muses, setting the menu down and gazing wistfully up the street. "Reddy hatched when I was on the routes coming out of Birch, and we ran into a few trainers and even wild pokemon a few times, and he was always running ahead raring to do this thing. Always ready to go, hence why I ended up naming him Reddy." That's it that's the secret.
As Lionel mentions where his apartment is located she leans over a bit to follow the direction he's pointing, her eyes looking over the shops and taller buildings a ways off. There were less signs there, so it was probably safe to assume that's where most of the apartment and housing areas were. It's not too far off, which must be nice not having to go into the more densely-crowded city to get a bite to eat.
"Well..." She begins, looking back to him - then around him, up and down as though looking for something. "How else am I supposed to finish a jigsaw with you? You didn't bring any." The smile she gives him is teasing, showing how much more comfortable she is this time around.
As Faolan shares with him the reason for Reddy's name being, well, Reddy, he can't help the way he laughs, earnestly. "That's really cute. And, fitting, actually. I don't think I've ever met a bird with as much spunk as that one." Setting his menu down, so he can focus on his... his date? Yes, his date. Lionel smiles. "I like it, though. A little too much energy for someone like me, maybe, but that's not his fault."
Trailing off, he tries to think of the reasons he used to pick the names for his Pokemon, though he thinks they were rather of the moment - split decisions, made while looking at them. But, most of them seemed to fit, he thought. Leaning over, he pats Samson on the head a couple times, but the Growlithe is preoccupied with Fembra; serious a dog as he could be, he seemed to be quite enjoying the Charmander's presence, and Lionel would be lying if he wasn't relieved by the fact.
It made it easier, right? That their Pokemon liked each other.
Another chuckle leaves him as he admits, "You got me there." Maybe he should've brought a puzzle? He hadn't actually thought about it, especially considering how close to home he was. Turning slightly in his seat, he stares down the road toward his home, before looking back to her. "Well, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to come by, it's pretty clean since I haven't been home to mess it up. But, uh... no real pressure, huh? You said you've got a gym to fight anyway; I'd hate to keep the woman from her destiny."
He finishes just in time for the waitress to come back over, as she questions, "Alright, what can I get for you?" Lionel, for his part, orders the BLT, some fries, and a vanilla milkshake.
Faolan takes a moment to consider the proposition, the way he words what is basically an invitation for her to come over - but only if she wants. Not wanting to give an answer straightaway - because she's not sure what she wants, yet - she chooses instead to respond to his first observation on Reddy, the smile curving her lips not faltering in the least.
"He does have a good bit of quirkiness, but I expect he'll mellow out as he gets older. He's still just a baby, after all." It was hard to forget, especially with how much he napped and wanted to be held. "He's got a lot of energy, but he usually tires himself out and sleeps for hours on end. Being a baby is hard work," She comments, laughing a bit.
The woman arrives and Lionel places his order, and after considering Faolan gets the same thing. A BLT - which even now still sounds weird to say - fries, and a vanilla milkshake. She can't remember the last time she's had one, and just ordering it feels a little like she'll be scolded for it later. When the woman has headed off to deliver their orders to the chefs, Faolan laces her fingers together and mulls over the answer to Lionel's comment about coming over. She was only going to visit, maybe for a few hours, and then she would be back out and on her way. Easy enough, right?
And yet still she felt her nerves stir at the thought, fluttering in her chest like a bunch of excited, scared Butterfree. Eventually, she rests both her arms on the table, trying to affect an air of nonchalance and just general... comfortableness.
"I wouldn't mind swinging by," She says, and then adds, "If it's all right with you. The gym's not going to go anywhere, and I don't think anyone's actually beaten it yet, so I'm not in any real rush." If her research was right, no one's actually beaten any of the gyms yet, the leaders there were that powerful. A bit of training beforehand wouldn't be too out of the question.
"But that's only if you're all right with it." She continues, giving him an out despite the way she looks at him; a little uncertain, a little hopeful.
"It's cute. I don't think even Samson was that full of energy when he'd first hatched, but everyone's different. I was surprised he just fell asleep when I was holding him, considering the way he'd reacted back at the coffee shop." Leaning back in his chair, he waits for Faolan to make her order once the waitress had made her way back around, and he's amused to find that she'd ordered the same thing as him.
She had said she'd get whatever he got back on the boat, hadn't she? Letting his hand drop down, to pat the top of Samson's head again, the Growlithe ignores him in favor of his time spent with Fembra. That's fine. His hand lingers only a while, before he sits back upright and smiles at the girl. In truth, he hadn't expected her to say she'd come by - he figured she'd play it off, and choose to do something else.
But, there she was, saying she did, in fact, want to visit. Briefly, he tries to wonder if his apartment was actually clean, or if he'd just been lying for sake of a good impression, and he can't actually remember. Oh, jeez. "Yeah, that's totally fine. I don't mind."
"Nobody's beaten it yet, huh? And I thought I was dragging my feet." Thinking about it, and the fact that, really, he probably could be doing more in that realm - he's quick to dismiss it in favor of encouraging the woman across from him. "You should get in there and show 'em whose boss, yeah? Soon as you're ready, anyway."
"Really? That seems to be the pattern with a few of my hatchlings so far," She comments, remembering the little Aron she's yet to name who'd gently headbutted her hand when he first emerged from his egg. Maybe she was hatching them wrong? Was there even a wrong way to hatch pokemon eggs? Who knew. Her gaze drops to Fembra, too preoccupied with her chatter with the Growlithe in front of her to really notice Faolan's attention, then back up to Lionel who's also got a hand on Samson's head to give him idle pets.
The encouragement that comes after has her blinking, first in surprise and then a little wariness, though she doesn't let it show on her face straightaway. Did he really not care all that much if she beat the gym challenge before he did? Wasn't he at all concerned about the prize they were offering? She never thought Lionel capable of lying to her before, and now.... she still couldn't. He seems genuine, like he really is after her to succeed, and the feeling she couldn't place before she can suddenly place now, and the thought that pops into her head makes the back of her neck warm with embarrassment.
She realizes she actually wants to kiss him.
Faolan has never really been one to shy away from what she wants, when she realizes what it is. More often than not she'd gotten what she wanted, whether through her own hard work or by simply asking for it. Looking at Lionel beaming across the table at her, she's... not really sure how to go about actually doing it. Or when. Or was it even appropriate??? They didn't even really know each other. But that doesn't stop the feelings from being there, so obvious now to her it's wild that she hadn't realized it before.
She means to say something, but she doesn't know what, and her lips part to do so - but then the waitress chooses now to come back with the two milkshakes on a tray, and she's grateful for the distraction.
As silence trails on between them, Lionel can't help but wonder, again, if he'd done something wrong. Keenly does he watch the way her expression shifts, though he doesn't speak - perhaps out of fear he'd somehow make it worse. Instead, he just offers her a smile and lets his attention turn toward the Growlithe once more, perhaps a bit jealous he was showing Fembra all the attention; his hand draws under Samson's chin, before moving it over to Fembra, giving her a faint rub atop her head, too.
Just as it looks like Faolan's about to speak, that waitress arrives with their milkshakes, and Lionel's taken away from the moment. "Here you guys go! Your food should be out pretty soon. Let me know if you need anything."
Lionel gives the waitress a thank you and scoots his chair forward a little, divvying up the two drinks, one to her, and the other in front of him, and putting the straws in. They're in those big glasses, topped with whipped cream and a cherry on top - probably too much for a girl like Faolan, but just right for someone Lionel's size. "I like to dip my fries in these," he admits, "But they're good on their own."
As he sips from his milkshake, he thinks a moment, and then decides to ask, "What's your favorite food? Like, out of all of 'em. And you can't say bread."
The glass the waitress presents and that Lionel moves in front of her is huge, a sugary-sweet monster of a drink with a mound of shipped cream and a cherry, to boot. In her hands they look gigantic, but in Lionel's big ol' bear paws they're fiting. She has to sit up a bit in order to take a proper sip, angling the straw some in the mountain of whipped cream to get a big gulp of vanilla and ice cream. It's good, she decides, looking over at Lionel across the table when he speaks about dipping his fries in them.
"You dip your.... really?" She can't say she's ever tried it before, never even thought to try it. Was that a New Tork thing? It didn't seem like it would be very appetizing, honestly... "And it tastes good?" Somehow, she believes him. She might have to try it herself once their food arrives, though she's still a little hesitant about it.
"Mm... We didn't have it often, but I did like curry when I got to try it. Without all the fancy ingredients, I feel like the more basic sort of stew is a lot better." She says, thoughtful. "But I suppose that's what one would expect from a Galarian girl."
There were other dishes too, of course, and after a moment's thought she starts listing them off. "Shepherd's pie, fish and chips, bread pudding... I wasn't really allowed to have many desserts, but I was able to try something from another region that they called flan? It's like custard, but also like pudding, but a bit like jell-o. It's hard to describe, but I wouldn't mind trying some again."
There's a dollop of whipped cream that looks rather appetizing and, besides that, is starting to droop a little, so she swipes it up into her mouth with a finger before looking across the table at him. "What's it like in New Tork?"
"Yeah! Yeah. I mean, it's like... warm and cold at the same time, sweet and salty... good stuff." Watching her for a moment, as she approached the milkshake like it was a mystery to her entirely, he thinks the better of himself and doesn't stare overlong. It was hard, though, and eventually, his gaze just settles on her again, because she's pretty, and they were talking anyway, right?
Sipping from his own drink, he takes it slow - for fear of drinking too much and not being able to fit his mitts into the cup to dip his fries, and for the fact that he didn't really want a brain freeze - before setting the drink down so he could listen to Faolan. As if drinking would somehow make it any more difficult, but whatever.
"Curry, huh? I don't think I've ever tried that. Stew's good, too." All the foods she lists are, indeed, awfully stereotypical for someone from Galar, but he doesn't mention that, wearing a wide, pleased smile that she was sharing anything about herself at all; she had been so withdrawn at first. Even now, she still almost was, but... well, progress is progress, right?
"Flan... sounds weird. But I think I'd like to try it too. It's good to be adventurous sometimes, try new things." Stirring his straw inside his cup, he thinks a little on what it is she asks of him. How to explain New Tork?
"It's big. Just, an absolutely huge city. Sometimes, feels like it goes on forever." Chuckling, he withdraws his phone from where he'd stowed inside pocket of his vest, unlocking it to pull up a photograph from his phone, turning it towards her. "That's Times Square. It gives you a pretty good idea of what most of the city looks like, I think. It's always busy, always bustling. There's always someone awake, even when you're asleep. When I was younger, I thought it was pretty fantastic - that you could go anywhere in the city and find someone, something."
After a moment, the waitress arrives with their plates. With a smile and a bow of her head, she sets the sandwiches (which, are indeed, huge,) down before the two of them. "Don't hesitate to call me back if you need anything!" She chirps, while Lionel waves a hand. "Sure thing, ma'am."
Immediately, he swipes up a fry to dip it into his drink.
"Go to Galar, and you'll find curry almost everywhere. It's almost like a national pasttime," She comments, cracking one of her rare, but genuine smiles. If he can't tell that she's enjoying the conversation, he'd probably be able to now. "It was a little weird at first, but very tasty. Sort of like... syrup on eggs, I suppose?" Which was a weird way to explain it, but the only way she could think of that would make sense. "I'm not sure what region it's from, but I'm sure they'd be able to import it."
It's when Lionel pulls up his phone that she leans forward, genuinely interested in what he's got showing on the screen. It looks... bright, full of lights, and crowded on top of that, and it has her gaze lighting up in wonder. "What are all those ... billboards? TVs?" She asks, making a gesture to the tall skyscrapers around the square with their screens on display. "That's really pretty. Is it like that all the time?"
Coming from Galar, there were plenty of industrial cities but nothing quite what Lionel was showing her now. They were crowded too, at times, but not to the extent that it looked like in New Tork City.
The waitress appears not long after that and sets both their plates down, and she's not at all surprised to see that they were, in fact, as big as her head. Lionel wasn't joking. She's trying to figure out just how to eat it when Lionel picks up his fry and, sure enough, he's dipping it into his drink. The gesture is so strange she just kind of... stares for a moment, waiting to see if he'll actually put it in his mouth or if he was just pulling her leg earlier.
"Syrup on eggs." Admittedly, that didn't sound terribly appetizing, and Lionel tries to imagine, briefly, the concept of scrambled eggs mixing with his pancake syrup and the way he wrinkles his nose is enough to speak for him. Still, after a moment he at least says, "Well, I'd still maybe try it. That just sounds a little weird."
Says the guy dipping his fries in his ice cream.
"Yeah. They're all TVs. I mean, I think some of them are billboards, but... most of them are TVs, and they chance ads all the time. It's pretty cool." A pause, and he pulls the phone closer to himself, admiring the sight for a moment, before tucking it back into his pocket with a smile. "It does, yeah. It's a really gorgeous place, and sometimes I miss it. But, I really don't regret coming out here. It's a beautiful place, full of some awfully beautiful people."
The way he looks at her then is warm and tender, even as she balks at his fry sinking into his milkshake. Which, yes, he does pop into his mouth and enjoy. The look is gone as he busies himself with eating, with using a napkin to wipe away a bit of whipped cream from the corner of his mouth, and with appeasing her concern. "Mmhm. It is! I swear." Picking up another one of his fries, he dips it in again, but rather than eat it himself, he holds it out to her.
Ostensibly so she can take it from him, though who can really be too sure?
She's about to respond to his syrup on eggs jab with one of her own, her mouth twisting into a wry smile - but then he comments on coming to Arciel, with its beautiful people in a beautiful place and the way that he looks at her is so tender it robs her of words for a moment. Fighting down the warmth that suddenly floods her face and ears, she focuses on trying to get a good angle on the sandwich to actually pick it up and take a bite of it. It's large enough she has to take it up with both hands, which she does, and she's ready to take a bit of it when Lionel answers her about the fry and holds it out to her.
She blinks, looking from him to the sandwich and - well, he's asking her to try it. So she lowers her hands only some, leaning in over the table to try the french fry for herself directly from Lionel's outstretched hand. Her lips brush his fingers just barely, and the taste is sweet and a little salty but it's not a bad combination, now that she's had it for herself.
Pulling back, Faolan affects a nonchalant air and comments, "That's actually not half bad," before moving to try and take a bite of her sandwich.
He thought she'd take it from him, with her own hand, to eat it. Lionel did not expect her to lean over, across the table, to bite it right from his very hand, or for her lips, however briefly, to ghost upon his fingertips. They felt soft, he thinks, as he tries to pull his hand back just as nonchalantly as she had sat back up. His thumb rubs against his finger, and he can feel an awkward warmth radiating off of his ears.
Quickly, however, he tries to recover, laughing breathlessly as she compliments the taste of the fry. "I told you." He says, picking up his own sandwich then. It looked much more at home in his hands than in hers, and he doesn't have quite as hard of a time biting into it. But when he does, he's pretty happy with the way it tasted, leaning back against his chair and peering up toward the sky as the evening went on - blues giving ways to oranges and purples, albeit slowly.
"So, what made you wanna be a trainer? Everyone's got their reasons, right?" He asks, as his attention turns back toward Faolan, curious, but with a smile even to his eyes. "What's yours?"
The first bite she manages to take of the sandwich also manages to push everything that's inside of it outside, and there's a brief moment of panic as she does her best not to let the lettuce and tomato slide onto the plate. Fembra looks up from where she's sat tucked into Samson's side all cozy-like, but when she sees that Faolan's just trying not to make a mess of things she goes back to chattering excitedly about this and that. Stuff like what it's like being a lizard, what kind of foods she likes, etc. Despite her timidness, once she got comfortable around people it was apparent she had a lot to say.
Regardless, the sandwich is good, and it shows on her face once she's got everything sorted out, her expression pleased as she chews thoughtfully. At least until Lionel asks his question, and then she hesitates - grateful for the mouthful of food - before answering.
How does she respond to that? Why did she want to be a trainer? She tries to think of what she'd said in her interview, but it seems like so long ago now.
There's a moment where she looks at Lionel like she's unsure if she should trust him or not, but she lowers her gaze and considers her sandwich before speaking - and she does speak, which is probably as telling as the words coming out of her.
"I don't have many skills," She says, picking at a piece of lettuce and stuffing it back into her sandwich. "No... training, I guess? Being a trainer seemed the most self-sufficient way in a new region like Arciel. And I've seen enough programs to sort of know the type difference and read enough books and magazines to be able to identify pokemon well enough." She looks up at him, wondering what he'd think of her now. She didn't have a background in a 'real job' like he did, after all.
At what she says, Lionel doesn't look terribly surprised. As he chews through another bite of his sandwich, he ruminates on her words, his thoughtful expression perhaps silly considering he was in the midst of eating. But thoughtful he is, until he swallows down and swipes a few bread crumbs from the corner of his lip with a thumb. "I mean, that's as valid an option as any. Being a Trainer isn't always lucrative, but it can be rewarding all the same. I met a lot of people who couldn't cut it in the fields they wanted that fell back on Training, and did pretty well for themselves."
"And I mean, I'd reckon that's the point - to feel rewarded and happy, right? Even if it's not what you thought you wanted to do in the first place." Humming, he eats a few fries, and says, "It suits you, though. Determined lady like yourself, I'm sure you'll be mowing people down in no time."
Trailing off then, he bites into his sandwich again, and finishes the chomp before he thinks to speak again. "I probably would've done training if I hadn't passed by Officers programs. I almost didn't, too. Though, I guess it's better late than never."
Shrugging, he finishes up with, "Sorry for the prying question. I just want to learn more about you." His smile is earnest as he looks down to his Pokemon again, who's big head is laid upon his paws as he watches Fembra talk, and occasionally he responds in kind; he, specifically, wants to lament that Lionel won't let him chew on shoes anymore, and that not too long ago, he moved the furniture around and blocked his favorite sun spot in the living room. He's bitter about it.
He's actually doing a good enough job at reassuring her, and what concern that had showed on her face earlier was disappearing in increments. She looks more at peace when he speaks than she had before, and by the end of his advice is even smiling a little, though she's still nursing the sandwich in her hands. There's well over half of it left, and she's already starting to feel a little full. She consumes it a little slower, if only to pace herself, and pops a few fries into her mouth - after swiping them through the vanilla milkshake, of course.
She tries to imagine him in his police uniform - a younger Lionel, perhaps, who's just as earnest looking at the one in front of her - and finds that she quite likes what she imagines. Idly, she wonders if maybe he still has his old uniform somewhere...
"It's all right, but I hope you don't mind that I'm terribly boring." She says, and much of her initial hesitation is gone, probably more so since she's got a few questions of her own she wants to ask. It's hard to be distrusting in the face of Lionel's genuine earnestness and his honesty; it was like he was taking a sledgehammer to all the walls she'd built up and tearing them down with little effort. It's at times both terrifying and a little relieving, and she still has a hard time figuring out which is which. "If you couldn't have become a trainer, what was your second option?" She inquires, now genuinely curious. He'd mentioned applying to the rangers on their first date together, so maybe that..? "I know they opened up a lot of jobs to newcomers here, so really anyone could have been anything they wanted."
Last Edit: Mar 4, 2020 11:06:09 GMT by Faolan Byrne