Battling was always something Noelle admired from afar. The talent was something that was, much to her dismay, lost on her. And, as future protector of the dragon den and priestess of the shrine, it was something she wanted to improve on, even if it wasn't a requirement of someone of her status. The might of a fully trained and bonded dragon was, usually, enough to thwart most threats, but, being able to battle alongside one was completely different. Having a skill for battling - to be able to blend moves together in beautifully deadly combinations or understand the limitations and strengths of your partner...It seemed almost magical. Perhaps a bit hard to attain for a scatterbrain like herself but...ah, who knew. She'd never know unless she tried, right?

And...as a bit of...internal motivation, maybe if she could beat Mateo in a battle, he'd finally make do on his promise? Maybe he was waiting for her to do so? Plenty of dragons only allowed themselves to be mated to only the strongest of their species; perhaps he was the same?

Dwelling on that for only a couple of minutes had roused the pinkette to her feet, and sent her trotting off to train. Usually, it ended in a disaster, but, she felt extra motivated today. Aimlessly wandering about to find somewhere nearby the compound - and that ended up being Meteor Falls. Emerald gaze briefly locked with the towering falls that always managed to mesmerizing her, the sound of fighting quickly earned her attention. Was a trainer caught in an intense battle? Being as curious, and nosy, as Noelle typically was, she quickly followed on after the noise and-

Oh.

Oh.

Heart doing a small jump within her chest, she watched in sheer awe at the training session before her, and of the man who had utterly, and completely, stolen her heart. Glistening in a thin trail of sweat with such a stern look...Arceus, he was perfect. What initially was supposed to be her discretely learning from his training session definitely ended up as her ogling at the man to the point where, abruptly, she fell forward. Well, onto her face to be exact.

Jumping slightly at the blue-haired trainer's sudden demand, Noelle quickly scrambled onto her knees, staring up at him with a, slightly flustered, but smiling expression. "Your's truly, darling!" She paused for a moment, gaze flickering over to his paused pokemon before back towards him. "That was amazing!"

She was quick to get back onto her feet. And even quicker to approach him with opening, beckoning arms for a hug. She would get her hug.

That reaction was expected - and it didn't exactly hurt nor dampen her mood or attempts any. In fact, she only crawled closer as he attempted to get away from her. "i missed you too much," noelle huffed softly, "stop being so over dramatic!" a bit of a hypocritical thing to say, given how she typically acted.

she frowned for a moment, only for her smile to return at what was supposed to be an insult. "A-are....you calling me as cute as a wigglytuff?!" she softly squealed, giggling and beaming. her darling was such a sweetheart when he wanted to be! although, before she could continue her ludicrous daydreaming and nonsense spouting, a finger was pointed towards her and a demand given.

sitting up on her knees for a moment with a tilted head, noelle blinked once. and then twice. "bryony's a lot stronger than she used to be, y'know?" she commented, crossing her arms, "besides, its fun in hoenn. and plus, you're here. i don't wanna leave." she childishly shook her head, straight out denying his request. "i'm sure you're secretly super happy that we're both here, huh, matty?" she began to poke at him several times with a wide grin on her lips.

Her arms crossed over her chest, a stubborn look settling onto her face. why was he so intent on them going home? ugh, why was he so....frustratingly dense? Wasn't it supposed to be super romantic when a girl traveled over hundreds of miles to be with them? thankfully, she was far more stubborn and thick-skinned than most. she wanted something...and dammit, she wasn't about to give up or get discouraged now. mateo had always been very...dull in the aspect of love, or at least it seemed that way to her. and so, she brushed off his shouts with a little huff. "nope! i'm here to stay! don't worry about my duty, i've got it handled!" that was a...sticky situation that she'd rather not talk about.


"sounds exciting!" she brushed off the notion of danger with a wave of her hand, as her teeth bared into a challenging grin. "maybe this region just needs a bit more 'dragon power' to whip it back into shape?" her suggestion was optimistic, perhaps almost annoyingly idealistic considering all the tragedies hoenn had faced. but, there wasn't a lick of fear on the pinkette's face at the idea of villains lurking at every corner. nothing could sway or scare her from being here, right now - and...well, with him.

....especially not when he said stuff like that.

her eyes widened a bit, a small reddish tint coming to her cheeks as the woman drew in a sharp breath. unable to stop a wide smile from spreading across her lips, she leaned closer, gently prodding his cheek with a finger. "so you actually want me here then? are you actually concerned about me, 'teo? about my safety? ...so...you do care!" she couldn't help but happily giggle as she shuffled closer towards him, trying to steal a hug from the man once more as her arms outstretched a bit. she would get her hug eventually, dammit.

a small whine came from the pinkette's lips as he, once again, stepped away from her attempts at affection. "well...you do remember that @mrtm87 is here, right? that's...pretty much half of the clan itself." a sheepish smile came to her lips as the thought of their...eccentric friend. she was ecstatic that he was here, of course. she held love for him like she did everyone else but...was hoenn 'ready' for him?

"of course," for once, a more serious tone entered the girl's voice as she gave a nod. bryony was her precious friend, and perhaps just a bit too soft for the world at times. while she'd been happy that the girl had opted to come with her to her journey to hoenn, it was a bit worrying, with her health and all. if something happened to her here...she shook her head. she'd make sure she was safe. it was a promise she'd make to both herself, and to mateo.

"when have i ever let you down? aside from the dumb stuff i- we did as kids. that doesn't count!" she giggled, waving a hand. she'd done many questionable things, to him especially, when they were younger. some of which she almost felt the need to apologize for because geez she was an unruly child. 

"i promise, i'll keep her safe! you won't even hear a single sneeze from her, not on my watch! on a dragon's honor!" she pledged to him with a cheeky grin. "although....speaking of promises..." her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as her stare flickered upwards to the dragon master with a surprisingly unreadable expression.

a small laugh flowed from her lips, filled with fondness at the brief thoughts of their childhood. sure, they'd grown up considerably and weren't those same, dumb kids anymore but, surely somethings had remained the same? regardless of how much he wanted to deny it. they were memories she held onto fondly - ones that she'd likely carry over his head for all eternity, in all honesty.

speaking of memories though...

had he really forgotten? no, no there wasn't anyway he could've forgotten. but, as the man rumbled on and on, trying to speculate what promise it was he had made her...it became more and more apparent that he had actually forgotten. maybe he was just playing stubborn and hard to get? he was dumb like that - he'd definitely pull her leg like that! her falling expression saved itself, a speck of hope doting her eyes as he finally stopped going on about training with her. maybe he -

nope.

"...mateo..." she spoke, letting out a soft breath. big, doe-like eyes stared up at him in near tears. she was pulling out all the stops now. "you...didn't actually forget, did you?" how could he forget about something she held so near and dear to her heart, even after all of these years?

she gave a little sniffle.

"Did you?"

for someone who was always chattering and as lively as she was, when she fell completely silent, it was almost...scary. really, as mateo scrambled to try and remember what he'd forgotten, noelle stared at him with a highly disappointed look. at the very least, he had enough guts to tell her he'd genuinely forgotten instead of trying to play it off. it honestly made her, internally, smile - she really was smitten with him. finally though, she let out a soft breath. "fine, i'll tell you - but, try to remember the stuff you promise in the future, dummy," she complained, finally sounding like her old self.

her heart pounded a bit in her chest as she leaned closer. like, really close. "a couple of years back, you promised me that when we got older and you 'did everything you needed to do', we'd get married." she...left out the details of how she'd sorta kinda forced him to make the promise. that wasn't important though! what was important was the end result; and that was, that a promise was a promise.

forehead nearly touching his own now in a daringly close manner, she smiled. vibrantly, full of hope and promise.

"so," she pipped up, batting her eyelashes as she leaned closer, "where's the ring?"

For a moment, the pinkette was hopeful. maybe she thought he'd pull out a ring from nowhere and propose to her then and there, like they did in the fairy tales she heard as a child. perhaps she thought he'd announce to both herself and the world that he was madly and truly and love with her. or, perhaps, like in those cheap romance films she loved, he'd just kiss her. then and there.

what a foolish girl she was.

the expression on noelle's face was unreadable as the man, instead of valiantly confessing his love for her, was on the ground, laughing to the point of tears. the look on her face could be described as...disappointment? perhaps mixed with a bit of anger and hopelessness? yeah, that definitely seemed about right.

face slightly flushed with that of anger and embarrassment, she was likely a minute away from opting to just beat the man into remembering his promise. she wasn't making this up! "don't you dare-" she began to almost shout at him in sheer flustered anger as he took out his cellphone. "i'm telling the truth! i wouldn't lie about something like that, you jerk!" her fist clenched, angry and flustered little tears beginning to well. why was he such...an idiot?!

listening to his excuses- ahm, explanations only caused her expression to grow deeper. "aside from the eevee thing - that's seriously messed up mateo, stop doing that - i don't...care," the pinkette stubbornly stated. how much clearer could she explain, and show, that she didn't want any of the dummies back at home. she wanted him - and just him. she...really did feel something for him, even if that promise was made years ago. and the older she got and more she thought about it, the truer those feelings became. why couldn't he get that?

"so if you would, that means you could, and you can." the pinkette affirmed, arms crossing as she frowned at him. "so let's get married." she wasn't taking no for an answer. "noelle martinez, sounds nice, doesn't it?" she gave a 'sweet' smile. oh no, she was still definitely seething, but, as long as he didn't say anything else dumb, she'd be fine.