He is just getting off a long shift. Benedict stifles a yawn with his hand, walking along the path that leads to Avery's daycare. Lilycove is far from Littleroot, but he was stationed at the ranger station near the center. Littleroot is where he will go to sleep; his house is there. But there is still a slight buzz from work, a wakefulness that doesn't leave.

Shoving both hands into his jacket, he roams subconsciously closer. It didn't help that Avery was perhaps his only friend in Hoenn so far so he gravitated to the young woman. Before he knew it, his mind had taken him to her door. He stood there almost stupidly before his Talonflame's head reached over and sharply rapped on the wooden door. One. Two. Three. A voice from within snapped him out of his thoughts.

She was coming.

Wait... what? When did he get here? Maybe Ben was more tired than he thought. A bag existed under his singular eye, he was almost dead on his feet. A fifteen hour shift would do that to him. He was bound to burn out eventually. He was about to turn away from the door when she opened it. He stared, grinning like an idiot and rubbing the back of his head. "Uh" a pause "hello?"

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He doesn't know why he comes to her door. Maybe it was just close, or maybe he saved himself the embarrassment of knocking on a stranger's door? He tries to justify it, staring awkwardly and feeling awkward. Ben thinks its about time to briefly say hello and goodbye, but before he could form the words 'goodbye' she was ushering him inside. Maybe Avery notices he's exhausted?

He certainly feels dead on his feet.

"Thank ye" instead, politeness instilled upon traditional means takes over. He moves as she steps back, feeling silly and too tall and awkward for his body. "I - sorry, I didn't call ahead" Ben thinks this must look rude. Talonflame flaps from his shoulder and goes to greet Avery's other Pokemon like he owns the daycare. "ey, behave..." he calls after it. A subtle warning not to burn anything and anyone.

The Talonflame is too happy since evolution and doesn't know its own strength. But Avery asks him a question. Is he hungry? Ben hadn't eaten since lunch and that was over five hours ago. Though he wasn't very fond of sweet things to quell his stomach, he knew he had to push himself to eat the pie. Else he'd be walking back to Littleroot on an empty stomach. "If it ain't too much trouble" he says to the woman, turning back to face her.

Good, she seems back to her usual self. Okay, maybe he was worried. Just a little. That he offended her.

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Ben blinks his good eye, wondering if she was just being nice. He figures Avery says that to anyone she comes across - and hopes nobody imposes on her company. If they did, and he found out, he may have to have words with a few people... Though that's probably because of his lingering protectiveness over his friends. He hasn't yet admitted to himself he may actually like her more than one.

That aside, her remark about the Talonflame brightens his face subtly. He is not a man to widely smile or beam or grin big. His is a slow start, soft and small. However, it does light up his face. "All thanks t' yer efforts more than mine" he says modestly, giving a nod. It wasn't long that Talonflame was a Fletchinder, and a resident of the daycare for a day. "and ye can just call me 'Ben'."

Avery was his friend; he didn't mind her shortening it. He felt that his full name was a title more than something common. In a way it was. "Shepherds' pie is one of m' favorite dishes" he would reply to Avery's fussing "though t' cheap ones at diners don't do justice t' home baked" the amount of times he forced himself to eat fast food shepherd's pie... It was truly disturbing.

He stood near the kitchen so she didn't have to yell, being too polite to really poke around the house. He wasn't a nosy man anyway. A flash of pink hair and she busied herself bringing out plates and such. He awkwardly opened his mouth, wondering if he should help her. "Here" he lifts his scarred hands and opens them "I'll help set t' table." Goodness knows it was always done for him until he started to live alone.

He didn't miss the butlers and nannies and maids, that's for sure.

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For someone who lived mainly on vending machine items at the stations, a home cooked meal was rare. It didn't mean Ben didn't like to cook - he found it enjoyable - but he just had so little time to do it. He chose to ignore Avery's stammers out of politeness, giving a nod of confirmation. Yes, he'd continue to call her Avery. Until she felt prudent to change her name... which was probably not happening. So Avery it was.

"That'd be nice" Ben states warmly, already looking forward to break time at work "thank ye" he adds with another nod, twisting his body to take the plates to the table. But before he turns fully, he notices she has that stain on her cheek. It was... rather endearing, to be honest. Did he be polite and mention it - thus making her embarrassed? Or does he say nothing, making it no big deal to him? He opts to smile, moving away without a word.

"Coffee would be fine" the man says now, beginning to place set. If he was going to walk all the way back to Littleroot, he needed to stay awake. Coffee was not very nice with a homecooked meal - it made the plate bitter to him - but he needed to keep his wits. He usually tried not to drink so much for it was bad for your stomach. "yer prepared fer anything, ain't'cha?" he states with a chuckle. House guests, Pokemon visitors... his face pulls into a frown as he recalls.

Lilycove had been the center of a war not too long ago. Was Avery helping the cityfolk with rebuilding? He pushes such thoughts aside, turning back to wait for her.

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As a guest in her house, it is common for the host to give the first slice away. He is brought up in a traditional setting where this is common, else he would have told her to 'dig in' before him. Setting down on the chair opposite of Avery's, he would scoop a decent amount of good smelling pie onto his plate. During this process, he had noticed the items around her daycare.

It seemed Avery Collins had been pulled into the war - whether she liked it or not. Or rather, whether he liked it or not. He frowned into his food somewhat, his face cracking with worry. She was a soft, kind woman... it didn't seem right to pull her into this sort of thing. But he also knew she was strong. That's just the vibe he got from her. "Ye, t' war..." he says absently.

Too late to arrive, too late to participate. He had been stuck in Kalos until they moved him. "I'm glad the Daycare wasn't hit" he says now, looking up at her. From what he recalled, it had been a hellhole on the lower grounds of Lilycove. The station was up in arms with relief efforts, but it was good to know normal civilians tried too. A community helping each other... it warmed his heart.

Waiting for Avery to scoop her own meal out, he didn't touch his food until she did. Again, forced tradition and politeness. It was nothing against her. "T' station needs more people here" Ben says conversationally "dun't think they realize that non-rangers can help too. Was relocated here with relief efforts. But we... lack number fer everything."

As an able and new body, Ben was put to work immediately. He was happy for downtime like this, between good friends and better food.

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He supposed he was grieving in his own way. Benedict never did handle conflict well, even as an experienced ranger. He much preferred everyone get along - but also knew it was a pipe dream. Different ideals would make different interactions that led to bad thoughts and hurt feelings. Even hate. "I hope so" he states this clearly, touched by her words but not enough to remove the cloud from his mind.

He would do everything in his limited power to be a defender of these poor people. They lost homes, possessions... even lives. Pokemon and people alike. He smiles down at his meal, slowly shoving a piece of the pie into his mouth. Warmth filled his body at the homecooked food's taste. It was heavenly, like his... well, not his mother made. The old Ignatius kitchen staff, perhaps. "Did ye avoid t' blunt of it?" he asks Avery.

Ben tries to keep the concern from his voice, but fails. Eye averting from her features, he glances around as if expecting the daycare to crumble and enemies to invade. To his knowledge, she hadn't taken part in the war. He was glad for that. He couldn't stand to see her covered in bandages, wincing as she moved... Not like the people at the hospital. Not his Avery. Anyone but her.

"It must've been terrifyin' fer the people" he says slowly, trying to keep his thoughts from spilling out and shoveled more food into his mouth. Ben doesn't know why he is sharing. He typically keeps his thoughts to himself. But something about the woman before him makes him drop his guard.

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He places his fork down, to the side of the plate, and listens politely. There is a subtle frown and a furrow but he remains quiet. Ben does not doubt the woman would help anyone in need. She is just the type of person to do that. He is also that type, though a bit wary sometimes, and rushes into danger head on to assist. He wants to say be careful without being patronizing. For people take advantage of kindness.

He doesn't want to see Avery hurt.

"It must've been a shock" the man states instead, giving a nod. Aliens, people from a different world... on top of that, there was Rocket still around. Who was the true enemy? Who was just misunderstood? Was everything upside down now? "haf' ya ever fought?" Ben asks Avery now, unbias in his question. She must work with the League in some way, in the past or the present... he didn't think she belonged with Rocket.

But it wouldn't have mattered if she was Rocket. At least not to him. He can't see Avery raising her fists let alone her Pokemon to another being. But people can surprise you, and when they were backed into a corner they truly shone. "Ah" but he remembers he is a guest in her home, and he is giving deep yet prodding questions. "sorry" Ben raises a hand to grip the back of his neck. "I don't know an'one else here..."

His explanation trails off as does his gaze. "Yer capable" he says slowly "I can see that" the last thing he wanted was to make her feel lesser or coddle her "I just worry. A lot." Especially concerning his friends.

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