[attr="class","evantalk"]

He laughs, something quiet and gentle and happy. It almost doesn't fit, the small shaking of his shoulders and the sound like a cotton candy cloud shouldn't be coming from a man who looks so much like trouble walking.

"Nice to see you too Lars." the laughter trails off and settles in his tone, making something so sarcastic sound anything but. It seeps into the smile on his lips as he turns to the familiar face, a man that has become a regular at The Stray. Evan gestures at the seat across from him, an invitation for the other to sit. "I don't think it's that bad. Really it's more me that's the problem."

It was no small secret that Evan was often forgetful of the technicalities that came with his ownership of an establishment. Nearly everyone had long ago caught caught on to the truth- he was, himself, a stray. This part of the world was beyond him and trying to fit into it so late in his life was a trial in and of itself. If it weren't for the employees that stayed with him, the long time dwellers of the old home, Evan doubted he could keep the place together.

His eyes are back on the papers. Scanning words he knows and phrases he's seen too many times.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","rndBG"]

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Lars says assistant. Evan hears another person to keep track of and another person to get on his ass about doing stuff and he decides right then and there he will not be getting an assistant. He will be mastering the art of paperwork himself. Hopefully. Maybe. There's really no promises it will ever be more than a perpetual disaster but he's going to give it his all which is the best he can really offer.

As such, Evan makes the executive decision to ignore Lars' attempt to help and pretends he did not hear it at all. "I got distracted during one of my adventures so the pile's gotten to be a bit much." he looks up at the other man for a moment before looking back down at his papers. "And some of it is for the repairs on the building out back. The old man was using it as a storage shed but I want to bring it back up to par so it can be used for something. Haven't decided yet." it was a good sized building even if it was a mess.

He fills in some blanks on a form, finally certain of what he's supposed to be putting in them and double checks the info against a different sheet. The notes of his on look like gibberish to most, a rare academic recognizes the patterns in the scrawling but most simply write it off as some sort awkward short hand. He doesn't keep the fact that he learned reading and writing later in life than most a secret and it makes it easier to explain the nonsense of his note taking.

"I'd have an easier time with it if it didn't take so long to understand some of the language anyway. Legal documents are kind of convoluted don't you think?" it's not that he can't navigate the words and phrasing it's just that some times it takes him a little extra time to understand what exactly they mean or to be sure he's thinking of the right definition. Not to mention the effort he puts in to trying to get it right. He's not about to make the wrong move and have everything he's done here go down the drain.

Despite the conversation the idea of having an assistant still lingers in the back of his mind and makes him nervous. The glass finds itself in his hands again, the liquor smooth against his tongue but only a little. He's almost had enough to leave the rest of the papers for tomorrow night.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Evan nods along to what he says, a soft "thank you" in response to the return of his paper being all he says while he listens and chuckles when he makes a comment about his handwriting. His notes are a mess and he's fine with that because it lets him keep them to himself. A small wave of his hand brushes off th comment completely as the man walks away to acquire another drink.

A sip of his goes down before he signs another paper. The words start to make more sense when they're not the only think he is focused on. Some things you need to think hard about but Evan finds getting to stressed out about this part makes it take longer, he frets about it too much and gets far too caught up in whether or not he's made the right choice in words or if he's doing it the way he should be. It's not like when he's writing for a book. The notes don't help the way that does, he's not in constant contact with another individual to help him make sure it's just right.

The pen taps against the desk while Lars mentions getting help again, a small part of his knows it to be a worthwhile option but it's not as simple as that. "Maybe later." He leans forwards into the table ever so slightly, elbows settling at the edge of the tabletop, arms t stretched in front of him. He fidgets with the pen while he talks over the papers in front him. "The problem with that is then I have someone else doing the work for me. That free's up my time sure but if I don't understand the work they're doing for me first." he cuts himself off, making sure he says this the way he wants to get it across to the other man. "If I don't understand what they're doing for me first how can I be sure they're doing it right? A wrong move when laws are involved can be a problem. Even though this place could easily be labeled a historic building- it was going to be before I took it over- there are plenty who would take a mistake made to take over the place and destroy it to make way for their own plans. The old man was already dealing with that as he aged- people trying to take advantage of his years to get him to hand over the spot."

His brows furrow at the thought, there was little drama associated with the Stray but that did't change the fact that it's age was exactly that, old. Old enough that while the locals who called the place home wouldn't dare think of losing it the new blood had no such attachments and as the world continued to progress forward more and more places like this easily fell to the way side. "I'm really not ready to have another person I have to look out for, and I have to understand this part of my job so that I can take care of it properly. If I don't understand it then I'm at the mercy of someone else's mind if something comes up."

He retreats back into his seat, posture relaxing away from the seriousness of his own statements as he looks over the next paper in the stack that he's dealing with. It feels less overbearing now than it did before, the reason he is so determined fresh in his mind does not deter him like it might most. If anything his determination is renewed and will not be squandered or wasted. "Thank you for the suggestion though, I may look into it in the future."

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

Somehow the distraction makes it not just easier to focus but to worry a little less about the overly technical nature of his papers. He still reads well enough to be sure of what he's going over but he feels much more at ease talking at the same time. It takes him a moment more when he spots something he's unsure about- splitting his attention like this but not being allowed to hyper focus on what he's doing keeps him from getting stressed.

It's for that reason he keeps going while the two talk, occasionally pausing to be sure he heard lars right before responding."I don't think i have it in me to go to that much effort at this point at all, I'm have enough of a time with having help for the building to begin with, though that's going well enough." it probably helped that Evan was young enough to really capitalize on what the Stray came about from to begin with- what it had been for him many years ago and many after. Every time he came to Hoenn when he was young he dropped by the place. He felt like he owed it to the building, to the soil, to the old man and the wood and stone walls. The history seeped from the place and it settles in his bones in a way that made him more comfortable than any other place ever has.

More comfortable than his own history, that was for sure.

"I like to think he would be, thank you for the sentiment." He smiles up at the other, genuinely pleased by the comment. "It can be rough, most just want to fill the area with more buildings they can place their branding on or make store fronts out of, some wanted to put apartments here because of the size of the plot I believe?" he doesn't remember for sure but he didn't really care what they wanted while the old man was alive and really doesn't care now that he's the one in charge. He's ripped up many an offer in front of a business man's face while on the clock and it has been a large part of what gained him traction with the old regulars.

Evan doesn't really look up at him until he says something about taking a break. Eyes squarely on him in a manner almost unsettling come from him, an eyebrow quirk accentuated further by the piercing that moves with the muscle and the slow grin that grows over his face, "What, getting jealous of the paperwork now?" an innocent jest laced with a chuckle as his pen taps the edge of a paper, waiting for a response. It is obvious even before Lars can answer that he is looking forward to the response.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

There is a flash of something across his face as Evan contemplates the question, to answer honestly or brush it aside? He determines it is rhetorical or otherwise not truly meant for him and his opinion is best kept in his head. Most do not expect his opinions about such things to be much more than a shrug of his shoulders- the exact answer he gives his dear patron from across the table. And besides, such opinions are things he left far behind him a long time ago, to think too greatly about things that are not truly of his concern is to eat away at what is left of his soul by his own choice.

His pen moves from the papers to his lip, tapping away lightly beside the piercing and for a moment he thinks that perhaps it is time for another one. How long has it been? Not since new years last year and it's almost near years again. Right on time he supposes. He's lost in the thoughts and the soft click of the pen against the metal, a mixture of things to entertain his brain while Lars speaks to him. He presses it against hi lip before he answers, tone laced in mild disappoint because the comment has flown over Lars' head. "Formality and record keeping." it's a technical answer that brings his pen back to the papers in front of him with a gentle shrug, different from the last one. Before he was brushing the topic off, now he's answering it.

"Humans know a lot of things but they forget a lot of things too, they forget what they agreed to, what they accepted as the full story what they didn't- all kinds of things that they want to keep a record of to make sure everything is straight and proper." Evan sets the papers down on the table again, he's gotten through more of them than he expected to. His elbow makes its way to the wood and his chin settles on the heel of his hand, fingers curling in front of his chin.

"Of course we all know that's why. But as much as we like order we thrive in chaos and our own little bubbles just as well. Humanity is nothing if not a giant contradiction wrapped in nonsense." he chuckles, but there's something serious in his grin, as if it is a token of wisdom learned from too many things seen and too many things done. [or done to him, around him, in front of him, because of him]

"Why are we on such a serious topic anyway? You're not supposed to talk like this in a bar you're supposed to be laughing so hard you fall out of your chair!" His face brightens up like an exploding firework against the night, shifting from topic to topic like a leaf blown by in the wind. The man is nothing if not contagious in his whimsies. "You should have seen old man Thompson last night, the one from the metal work family from way back when in rustboro?" the other man is likely to know the old burly bastard without much more description, after all he's a regular that won't let anyone forget how once upon a time his family was the best metal workers the region had ever seen. "We had a comedian performing and he laughed so hard he had to sit on the floor the rest of the night so he wouldn't fall out of his chair!"

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","evantalk"]

That was a little more like it. Not that he wasn't up for a serious conversation now and again because lengthy and true discussion was just as compelling. There were a few hitches on the route they were on. Mostly because while Evan didn't really believe in keeping up appearances he accepted he had to avoid certain topics at work for the sake of civility. Not that he wouldn't stand up for larger breeches of human decency (he had, more than once) but talks about personal opinions on human nature got dicey real fast.

Lars didn't really need to know how much of a pessimist and skeptic he was deep down. Not just yet at least. Most never really realized but the man was only about 90% smiles, laughter and go with the flow- the other 10% was like a hissing snake waiting in the bushes.

"Trust me, I've almost taken his chair away a couple of times to keep him from hurting himself. Would really rather not write that incident report for the records." he chuckles at the idea of it because he really doesn't want to have to deal with the technicalities of someone laughing out of their chair and hitting their head- not to mention the old man might just crack his head open at his age and that'd be a totally different ball game.

Evan shakes his head. "I swear, one of these days one of these old men is going to hurt themselves with these antics and cause me far too much trouble." he's not actually upset about it, and it's evident in his smile at the end of the comment. He reaches for his drink which has long since lost its chill. If Evan drank for enjoyment he might have cared but since he didn't the warmer taste didn't bother him enough to deter him. Technically he shouldn't be drinking it at all but he made certain exceptions to the rules now and again. (Evan never really followed the rules anyway- he was just good at pretending he did)

His eyes snapped to lars' glass and he almost smirks (almost) and wonders if he'll need to cut him off early too. It makes him chuckle against the glass before he sets his drink back down. "I believe there's one planned next week, they come and go. The comedy routines are popular enough but only do many comedians it seems." then again he hasn't gotten the place out there nearly as much as he would like to, he's been focusing more heavily on sprucing the place up first. Many of the base projects were out of the way and one of the biggest ones would be finished by the end of the year. By new years he's hoping to shift focus.

"I know I started listing them on one of the chalk boards but people keep moving it around, haven't got a clue where it went."

and by people we mean him, he keeps moving it around. And then forgetting where he put it. And then tripping on it later when he's not expecting it to be there.

But you don't need to know that part.

Laurence Anderson