eventually, elijah arrives quietly. without so much as a glance, the apothecary hoists himself in to his seat with a hard clunk. as a scuttling parade of claws, a parasect follows close behind him. the parasect raises its pincers. elijah grumbles and lifts the pokemon up.

while the parasect cuddles up to his stony side, elijah leans onto the table with his arms. his forearms are black-sleeved walls. his nose is a stern compass toward the smoky bar's countertops.

sliding one eye toward bryan, elijah speaks, "so who's treating who?" the hollow clink of frothy empty beer mugs can be heard from deep within the kitchen.

bryan delarosa

"i don't like being in any debts." elijah walls himself off, cutting conversation in clear pieces with his periods. "i'll take a water. thanks."

still, he bridges the table. grabs bryan for a quick handshake. stony, cold and altogether too brief, elijah's arm retreats back into its socket.

"elijah and this is delina." elijah says. he does not look at his parasect. then again, the bug does not gaze at him. instead, it examines bryan with curious, milky intent.

"so you want a new you. is this a temporary stint or something more permanent?"

bryan delarosa

"plants are sensitive. plant pokemon, more so."

elijah catches on quick. the liligant's flower crowns its head with an impressive bloom: a feat even first-rate gardeners struggle with. a light scuttling of legs graces their conversation as the parasect explores their sectioned off table booth.

"ideally, you'd have both." elijah says. "if covert ops are your specialty, then why do you need my help putting on a face?" he raises his brow, skepticism filling in the shadowed pools on his face.

bryan delarosa

"so you're a brain." elijah says. "let's use our brains then."

he silences himself. lips thin to a firm line. above that stern horizon, his eyes glide toward the incoming waiter.

"two waters." he's quick to speak. "and nach'r average nachos. thanks. that'll be all."

as the waiter is dismissed, elijah focuses on bryan once again. he leans forth as his parasect sets its body down to rest.

"basics first. where are you from originally?"

bryan delarosa

"littleroot?" it is less of a question, more an echo. "consider yourself a country bumpkin?"

while his parasect leaps on to the bare table, elijah's tongue slides over his teeth. he craves salt. delina's orange pincers tap against the condiments before resting against the napkin dispenser.

"go the complete opposite. you're from slateport. lilycove. a city boy." elijah practically spits. "been there all your life. the tricky thing is, you'll have to make up how you met lily too."

bryan delarosa

"alright, alright. sure."

elijah seems more preoccupied with the returning waiter. the serving tray he balances on his fingertips is heavy with nachos and rings of jalapeno. hefty dips balance precariously against the hot plate's edges before settling once the waiter sets their dish on the table.

as the waiter leaves, elijah resumes talking with nachos in his mouth. "you look like a milton to me." as a shard of corn tortilla falls from his fingertips. "sound good? milton macquoid."

his parasect retrieves the fallen nacho litterings for itself.

bryan delarosa

"yeah, i'm kidding. it's an ugly name." elijah exacavates another nacho from the mountain. lazily, he shakes the peppers off of their airy plains.

the nacho crunches in his mouth. he takes a little while to answer, but elijah's eyes never leave bryan.

"sometimes i go by liam. elias." his adam's apple bobs. "depends. i usually keep to myself anyway. rarely go out on the field."

he leans forth, taking a napkin to rub between his salted fingers.

"you don't seem the type to be with 'us'. you're too nice."

quietly, his parasect collects the fallen chip shards, and rather than eating them, sorts them into various piles.

bryan delarosa