[attr="class","evantalk"]

The chuckle is soft, light on his lips and somehow so very unfitting for a man who looks like he does. Few expect him to sound so thoroughly happy and yet it seems to be the only thing he ever is.

Evan is distracted as he follows her, the small god that follows in the air above them being something that has not quite sunk in yet. He's heard the stories, seen the news, but had yet to see one in the flesh. Let alone one he recognized and without thinking a hand settles on his right hip. It's habit that compels the movement because no amount of doubt can truly convince him it's not real.

His eyes turn away when she speaks, and it is a good thing she pulls him away from his thoughts because the idea of the gods is comfortable while their presence is unsettling. Answering her questions is easiest of it all.

"I hate to disappoint" he begins, smile solemn at the sad state the Stray had been in for much of his youth. "but not nearly as many as there used to be. Maybe one of two of us, the old man before me used to say I was the only one that came back anymore."

It wasn't a bad thing per say, because many had made the place a building block of their lives. He just wasn't one of them, not in that way.

"The old man used to tell me stories though, and I've found newspapers and journals from the past and the amount of people that have passed through it" it's evident in his voice how it fascinates him, his tone shifting to show it. "those walls used to be brimming with them. Society just doesn't need it the same way anymore I guess."

It's a sad fact that he hates, even most trainers nowadays are used to using things like the pokecenters or hotels, the idea of staying at a Tavern never crosses their minds. It wasn't just that though, the old man was ready to let it go, he was ready to let the legacy die. It's story was so very old. "I like to think that could be brought back though, at least a little bit."

He pauses at her pokemon, as green as she is and somehow he is not surprised. They seem well trained and eager to complete the tasks she gives them and he wonders if he shouldn't make a contribution. He taps the balls on his wrist two at a time, releasing the whisicott and lilligant. A tap at his lips tells them all they need to know and they wonder off much the same as her own. They have always been the better of his foragers, tracking down roots and berries with ease.

"they should be able to help a little, would be a shame not to pull my weight."



cait alfric

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"And your trio looked well cared for and well trained. It's admirable." he returns the compliment, feeling it unbecoming to do any less when she's made such a comment on his own. Especially for that pair, as they are some of his pokemon that have been with him the longest.

Their conversation does not detour for long and Evan has not complaints about the matter, content to talk as much as she likes. Especially when she turns to a topic he cares as much for as the Stray.

"I imagine your presence would put it back on the map to many, I hope you wouldn't come just for that though." he doesn't care much for publicity, the nonsense of society is beyond him in many ways but he understands how to many it can be the greatest draw and reason to go somewhere. Simply having someone stand on the wood steps of his back porch could double his traffic. Keeping them coming is a different story.

Evan stares upwards, looking past the trees to the sky as he talks. "I usually books locals, wondering travelers with a talent or traveling performers. I offer room and board to those that need it in exchange for the service and locals like the idea of showcasing their own somewhere in a world that usually won't look twice at them." And he likes it too, feeling there could be no better performers to have on his stage. Even the gym leader in front of him, should she take the stage it won't be because of who she is in the public eye.

"I imagine they would take well to you being from the area too, another side of one their dear leaders." it will be because she is a part of this region, and she belongs there as much as the rest of it does.

cait alfric

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"Of course, nothing less." at least he imagines so. He can't recall anything bad in the new about the young woman, at least not recently. Then again his following the news is hap hazard at best and if it's not something that seems important to watch he doesn't really make note of it. It's more out of habit than anything anyway.

"But I look forward to your visit nonetheless." this was the last thing he expected to develop from their outing but he can't say he's against it in the slightest. The Stray has needed the little bit of extra attention, while it survives it does not thrive, too easily over looked by the new blood for the other fancier bars and clubs. The old blood is content to stay in the only watering hole they have ever known but rarely does he get new faces at his tables.

one could say, given the grin on his face, that Evan is actually a little bit excited.

His eyes shift to her pokemon when they reappear with their loot. His eyes drift out towards the brush, wondering if his own will be returning in time or not. It's not terribly uncommon for them to get a little distracted as they wander. His pokemon very much take after him. A finger taps his cheek as he thinks about whether or not he's going to have to go after them.

Evan watches as she exams the fruit and they divvy it up by what is a is not edible at that moment, an action they seem to do with ease. "Not too bad, and besides there are a lot of berries to comb through in this area nowadays."

He pauses for a moment before commenting. "Mine should return eventually, bumble- the whimsicott- probably got distracted and Suzy Q is will have to drag him back." he knows his pokemon well enough to know to expect it.

cait alfric

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"My, how darling." He smiles at the pokemon, offering a hand for pats of attention should the pokemon be willing to accept. There's no denying how well cared for her pokemon seem to be and Evan admires the effort she must have put into them.

Evan straightens, eyes wondering as he looks out over the foliage in hopes of seeing signs of his own pokemon. It comes as no surprise that he doesn't see them just yet. "Bumble and Suzy Q" his voice trails off into a hum thinking over the only other pokemon he'd be willing to release in the forest out of combat. "Meg's a bit picky but she might." he taps the pokeball she belongs in, the mimikyu emerging with her back turned to the crowd. She yawns, looking up at Evan before realizing they have company she did not expect. The small pokemon is quickly startled, jumping at so many being present and scurrying behind his legs. Her small body quakes, rattling the disguise she wears.

"Now now, they don't bite. At least they haven't yet." he steps aside, forcing the pokemon into the spotlight. "Meg, Cait and her pokemon, Cait, Meg. She's easily startled but she warms up to people fast." the shaking stops rather suddenly, his mentioning of a name showing familiarity and she accepts that the woman has already been vetted as not an immediate threat. Still, the pokemon seems to only watch her from under her disguise, keeping her distance.

"Are you a breeder by the way? You've mentioned a few of them being children." He's curious and just as he turns to her and away from the foliage his lilligant and whimsicott emerge, the former dragging the other by his fluff. Her other appendage carrying a fair share of berries, the rest stored in the cotton sheeps fluff while they tried to find the group.

cait alfric

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan looks at his pokemon as they walk right into his legs and laughs. The Liligant is eager to drop her prizes but stares at the sheep pokemon for a moment before looking up at him and gesturing at her counterpart. He's long since learned to interpret it as her way of asking for help dealing with the creature that seems to be just as much of a living disaster as his trainer was and Evan chuckles at them. He lowers himself to the ground with a surprising ease and gets to work removing the berries from the pokemon's cotton.

"An artificial environment?" he raises a brow, eyes shifting to her and his mimikyu who is watching her with a tilt in her disguise, like the little body beneath it is contorted in curiosity. A habit she has picked up from watching him talk. "That sounds like quite the sight, especially if it fills a gym. That must be gorgeous."

The mimikyu inches closer as her hand reveals the berry, purring from beneath her disguise. Her shadow sneaks from bellow her, stretching and reaching in the clunky shape of a hand. Her shadow wraps around the berry to pull it back under her disguise without ever lifting it. A courtesy the pokemon has mastered after years of travel amonsgt humans. There's a slight clenching in Evan's jaw but he lets it go. He's quite certain the berry was rotten before and while his memory often fails him it's rarely that bad.

His focus shifts back to her inquiry, thinking back to the Stray and the many feet that now prowl its wood floors. "Many more than I am accustomed to frankly. I leave most of them to roam around the property of the Stray while I am gone." his brows furrow for a moment while he thinks. "I try not to count, I've never had more than I can carry on me in the past to be honest. I imagine your own dwarf mine if they're allowed to live as freely as you imply."

The pile of berries growing beside his whimsicott generally ripe, the pokemon having much practice in their gathering though a few seem to stray from the path of ripeness. He can't help but comment. "That's quite the trick you just did."

cait alfric

[attr="class","evantalk"]

"God-touched then."

It is spoken like a statement more than a response and he makes no move to comment further on the matter. It is a touchy subject he rarely treads upon. It is a term he does not hate but has no love for.

Evan nudges his liligant, a gesture at the berries encouraging her and the whimsicott to enjoy their share of the prizes. Meg certainly hasn't hesitated in indulging, evident by the munching that can be heard from bellow her disguise. He grins a little at her as she mentions her psychic type. He thinks of his own, namely the Musharna who has been with him most of his life.

"It's good that you can rely on them then, psychic types are fantastic to have around. They're some of the most versatile pokemon and their capabilities are fascinating. I'd like to meet your Hypno one day." especially if they help her in the capacity she is saying. He believes it, whole heartedly, but that doesn't make it any less interesting.

Evan has to think on her next inquiry a bit. It's a hard question to answer. It treads into places he does not like to go.

"It's." he starts, stops, thinks again. "Complicated."

There is a shift in the tenseness of his shoulders as he plucks a berry from his whimsicott's fluff and checks it over, taking a bite before he answers further, almost as if he is buying himself time. "My people are traditionally what you might call religious but my personal relationship with the gods is a bit of a" he mulls over his choice.

"You could call it a love-hate relationship of sorts. And that is why I do not consider myself devout."

cait alfric