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.
"Nobody's boring. Everyone's got something that makes them interesting, I learned that a long time ago." Like a heathen, Lionel folds over the last bite of one half of his sandwich and stuffs the whole thing in his mouth, chewing through it before he even thinks about saying anything else. At least he's got manners. "I find you plenty interesting, for one." He says at last, dusting the crumbs from his hands and leaning back, his answer coming rather quickly once she posed her question.
"What, here? I don't know. I don't know. Training was my second option..." Sighing out, he shrugs. "An Explorer, maybe. I mean, I do love puzzles and mystery, but, uh... I dunno. Maybe if I'd gotten denied I'd have just gone back home." After all, when your plan for a new life doesn't quite go the way you wanted, isn't that the logical choice? To him, it was. But, he didn't get denied, and there he was, across the table from a pretty girl that he was quite taken with.
So, there was that.
Quickly running out of fries, Lionel secretly laments the fact that he didn't order a large helping of them (but he didn't want to look like a glutton in front of her,) but decides to just start drinking his milkshake like a proper human as a result. "How's the food? Good?"
Yeah, she's not finishing this. She's not even trying to be some coquettish, sly thing, she actually can't finish it. On the plus side, at least she had some leftovers for later. And also watching Lionel finish off the sandwich was actually quite amazing - where did it all go? Probably into his biceps - and she has to stop herself from staring at him eating and focusing instead on the words he's saying.
"So if they'd denied you for a trainer and an explorer, you would have just gone back home?" And given up, just like that? "Mmm.... I don't know, I feel like you'd also do fairly well as a farmer. You do have the... build." If he wasn't aware of the fact she was looking at him, he probably was now. She drops her gaze to her sandwich and the bit of tomato and lettuce sticking to her plate, then around as though expecting the waitress to pop out of thin air and offer her a box in these trying times.
"But then I think an Explorer would be good for you, too. Get yourself a length of rope, maybe the explorer hat and go crawling around in caves deciphering glyphs or something." She smiles, lifting her gaze back to his and rubbing her fingers on a napkin. At his question she nods, though looks admittedly a little sheepish at the fact she's got about half the sandwich left sitting on her plate, and half a glass of milkshake. She's picking at the fries slowly, and she's made decent progress.
"It's really good. I didn't think something so simple could be so tasty."
"A farmer," he notes, laughing faintly, "Yeah, I guess. I wouldn't mind that, but... big city guy like myself? I don't know if I'm cut out for it." Lionel would be a fool not to notice the way that Faolan was looking at him, letting her eyes wander his frame, and as he does, it makes him grin. A grin that only grows as she looks down at her plate, in that shy way he'd realized she kept doing. At least it gave him a good reminder that she liked him, for one reason or another.
When she looks back up at him, he's already looking at her, with those warm, orange eyes and he's still smiling, interested in every word she says. "Yeah, like solving the ultimate puzzles. I'm a bit too held back by my leg to really make anything out of that particular avenue, but it's interesting to think about."
Then the topic changes to the food, and he's looking at all she has left, in comparison to what he'd already eaten (re: most of it.) Lionel was, of course, a far bigger person than she was, so it made sense she couldn't eat as much. "Sometimes simple is best. Not everything needs an intense flavor profile or the finest of ingredients. Sometimes, just a little's all you need. We had a lot of easy, simple street food in New Tork, so maybe I've just got a good appreciation for it. But I'm glad you like it. Do you need a box?"
As if summoned, the waitress arrives with one, waving the little Styrofoam thing in the air idly along with a ticket she hands to Lionel. "Here's your check. I'll be back in a few!" Before she's off to handle a large group that's suddenly decided they ALL want sandwiches.
"You'd be surprised, I think." She wipes her fingers on the napkins provided and takes another sip of her milkshake before speaking. "The city is nice.... but it's quite peaceful in the countryside. Getting away from everything is an experience and... quiet." She looks back up at him, sees the way he's grinning at her and can feel a warm flush fall over her cheeks. The smile he's giving her is... she really likes it. She's quick to look away, again, down to her plate, tracing the way the lettuce sticks out from under the bread.
But then he comments on solving the ultimate puzzles, and she can't help the laugh that escapes her. Of course he would focus on that. Of course. She has to admit it is endearing, and she makes a mental note of Lionel's profound love for puzzles to utilize at a later time. Maybe.
The waitress is coming around with a box and she accepts it gratefully, beginning the process of moving her food into the box in such a way that the structure of the sandwich isn't disturbed. "What is 'street food'? Back in Circhester we didn't have a lot of stalls set up along the streets - just around the tourist season. But none that really specialized in food, I don't think, since there were plenty restaurants for that." Her task done, she wipes her hands - again - and tucks the box closed carefully, before bringing the milkshake closer to herself and taking a few more pulls off the straw.
"Yeah? We didn't have much farmland in Unova. Or, at least, the parts of it I grew up in. I imagine it would be, though." Imagining himself standing amidst a field, it almost makes him laugh; wouldn't that be funny? Still, he couldn't deny the concept in and of itself was enticing. Spending time in the quiet, away from it all. Sometimes, the bustling world around him could be too much, he had to admit.
Her question prompts a moment of thought; how did one explain street food? Such an intrinsic part of his world, his life, it had been, that he hadn't considered that it might be a foreign concept to anyone. But then, Galar always seemed such a strangely relaxed place, far from the crowded bustling city streets of New Tork, and so... perhaps it made sense. "Well... think of the greasiest, cheapest thing you can think of, put it in a little paper wrap, and there's street food. French fries, corn dogs," he starts listing them off on his hands, "hot dogs, falafel, bagels, anything you can think of, you can probably find it on the streets."
Laughing a little, he pulls his wallet out and counts out the cost of their meal in his cash before he sets it, and a trip, inside the little booklet their check came in, setting it to the side. "I haven't seen much of it in Plum, but if I come across any, I'll check it out and see if it's good enough for you."
"There's a lot of plains areas in Galar, and I think one of the towns had some farmland. I didn't really leave the city all that much." Except on business trips and the like when she was younger, but she remembered disliking it so much that the memories are a little hard to recall. The routes around Circhester were as country as she'd expected, and it was nice enough just venturing beyond the city boundaries to the tall grass beyond.
His description makes a strange look cross her features - probably the grease - and she looks a little conflicted before ultimately deciding that that was probably the appeal. If she enjoyed a sandwich at Lionel's insistence, she could probably trust in him enough to know that she would enjoy his current recommendation.
As Lionel counts out the money to pay for their food she feels a small bit of appreciation and a little guilt that he's actually paying for both their meals. She would have to repay him back in some way. "Thank you. So it's... just regular food, but sold on the streets? Does it taste better than from a restaurant?"