"I can't say that I do. You'll have to impress me," he said in response, raising his eyebrows.

Of course, Elliott heard what he said, as they entered. And he had no time to answer, coming up to the receptionist to claim their reservations.

Of course, he had time to blush.

They were escorted upstairs, to a nice, secluded area. Now, he was wishing that it was more open and public, to avoid the teasing and whatever else Caden was trying to pull on him.

"I don't have an Only Fans. Are you that horny to think about me like that?"

caden maher

☉

"Yes, slowly."

But, of course Cian didn't listen to him. Instead, the moron pulled back and then hit his head straight back on the bark of the tree. He should be lucky he didn't get his hair stuck.

Eli would cut it off.

"Fucking... let me help you, since you won't listen."

Grabbing his hips from behind, Elliott began to pull back, but slower than Cian had. He was relying on the fact that Cian wouldn't tumble back and crush him if he snapped off.

CIAN MAHER

☉

Cian's incoherent struggle to speak was funny, but Eli knew he couldn't just let him sit there and suffer. He looked up a remedy for getting stuck in honey before grabbing a bottle of water.

"Here. I'm gonna pour this over your tongue, and I want you to slowly pull back. Don't hurt yourself."

He tipped it over, letting water fall down.

CIAN MAHER

☉

With his jaw clenched, he looked at Caden long and hard, trying to find some way to reply to him to sound confident and sure of himself. And then, he was hit with one.

"Only if the date goes well."

Though, he wasn't sure if that would put him in hot water or not. Elliott tried mustering a smirk, to boost his confidence. And yet, he felt like it was squashed back down when he put his elbow back on his shoulder.

"Leave me alone," he mumbled, taking away his arm rest and leading him inside.

caden maher

☉

Elliott waited. And then, it seemed that the realization set in for his friend, because the fucker was absolutely stuck.

"Awe. Now you want my help. That's so cute, Cian."

He took out his phone, snapping a picture and smirking at him before putting his hands on his hips.

"I told you so. So, what exactly do you want me to do to get that off? Maybe if I pull you..."

Of course he was teasing and joking, kneeling down at face level to look at the site.

CIAN MAHER

☉

There was no other team of Pokemon Elliott would trust with sniffing down traps and being stealthy than his own dogs. They had been trained since he acquired them for stealth and retrieval. Eli's second job was thieving, after all.

This was all in a night's work for him.

He observed Cygne as she prepared her own team, seeming to stutter over what was the correct term for "lockpicking" a door. He snorted in amusement, though it was quiet and muffled behind his mask.

Not shortly after they were sent out, his team arrived back. Enya, in particular, seemed enthused.

"Where was it?"

The HOUNDOOM dropped a destroyed part in her mouth onto the ground, having deactivated a trap. Sliding a pair of gloves onto his hands, Eli looked over it before throwing it down again.

"Good work. Let's move."

ana fell

☉

Elliott gave him a skeptical look, raising his eyebrow at him.

"I'm not sure, bro. I think that it-"

Before he could even get the sentence out of his mouth, Cian acted on his own, scooping out some honey and slathering it to the tree. And then he fucking.

Licked. It.

"Did you just... fucking lick a tree?"

He snorted, trying to hide his laugh before speaking.

"Okay, then. Try to move."

CIAN MAHER

☉

The two bros are on the case again.

This time, it was to slathering some honey on a tree. Elliott guessed it was to trap some bugs or some Pokemon that were wanted? He wasn't particularly sure, but it sounded easy enough.

With a container full of honey, he and bestie CIAN MAHER headed into the woods to slather a few trees.

"So, I guess this honey is supposed to be ultra sticky? Isn't normal honey easy to wash off?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

Elliott wanted to send a punch straight into Caden's face. Or wherever would hurt the most. Not because he was angry. It was a coping mechanism for himself, perhaps a way for Eli to try to run away or hide.

Because he had a feeling the longer this date went on, the more and more likely it was that he would want to implode on the spot.

"There's a dinner reservation. Kantoan food. This place is actually pretty good," he said, having dined in this particular restaurant as part of his creative work as a model.

Again, his face betrayed him. Therefore, he tried to turn away.

"Why do you think I'm so interested in Cian? He and I are just friends. Nothing more," Eli insisted.

caden maher

☉

Elliott wanted to rip his hair out from the roots, strangle Mint, and throw him over a bridge. But that was impossible. At least right now it was.

"That's none of your business," he pointed out.

However, as much as this man was aggravating and threatening to drive Elliott to insanity, something about the floating "X" made him curious. He hadn't seen another Pokemon like his before.

"Where do you get that? The Pokemon, I mean," Eli clarified, pointing at the UNOWN.

"I have one. But it's a different shape."

mint frost

☉

Elliott wasn't so sure. Illeana seemed so positive, indicating possibilities that he could start a career and take a dream that was stripped away.

But he was so far into this path. He got money that he needed, enough to sustain his family. Eli wasn't sure if he could set aside something like that to pursue a different life.

"Maybe. I'll think on it."

illeana reyes

☉

Elliott waited for her confirmation, looking down at the drop below. He pulled forth his LUNATONE, LEVITATING at his side.

"Help us down, alright?"

He put one foot on the bottom point of the rock-like Pokemon while resting his elbow on the top. It hovered down, lowering him until he could step off. He sent it back up should Cygne need its help.

Though, she did have Pokmeon of her own if she chose to use them.

Once he was settled on the floor, he motioned for his HOUNDOOM to join him, also pulling forth his NINETALES and ARCANINE. The dog-like crew awaited orders.

"See if you can find any traps. If you can, mark it and report back," Elliott ordered, watching as they took off in various directions.

"Will you send your ghosts too?"

ana fell

☉