"Well then... I'll be damned." He said, appearing from the mass of tents. His loose tie flapped and fluttered about along with the suit jacket draped over his shoulders as Andy' Yanmega descended, powerful winds left in her wing flaps' wake.

"Good thing I gave it my all." He said, following the boy with his eyes as he was brought to ground level, coming to a stop only once he was directly in front of Andy.

The boy could think whatever he wanted of the outfit he had picked- Because in the end, its purpose had been accomplished regardless.

"Lookin' mighty dapper there, shortstuff." He said as he grinned, a red flush appearing over his cheeks. "Cute, too."

Andy couldn't even begin to guess how many boxes he was ticking in Doug's checklist. Hell, he couldn't guess how many items on that list had been added right then when he first saw him.

The youth lazily rolled his neck to peer over his shoulder, holding up his to wave it at the crowd.

"Back to yer own business awready, peanut gallery. Yer spooking my date." He said, shooing away the crowd of onlookers.

Thankfully, they listened, for the most part, going back to their own business and not looking at them... too much. His rank in the league was occasionally useful for something.

"Don't mind 'em. They just LIKE. TO. GOSSIP." He said, finishing by raising his voice in the people's general direction, snickering as many of them looked away sharply in response.

"Anyway... Yer just in time, Andy! The cauldron's already been filled and fired up! So how 'bout you and I catch up in the meanwhile?" He said, holding out his hand towards Andy.

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder

"Never thought I would see the day." Said Doug with a grin as Andy's surely sassy reply died off in his lips, their faces now matching in color.

Still, it was an opportunity he couldn't just let pass. He bent down, one hand on his knee, the other still held towards the boy.

"Got yer tongue?" He said cheekily, face awfully close to the other's. Needless to say, his present smile only got cheekier when the other youth's usual spirit came back in force.

"Just a lil'further in." He said, squeezing Andy's hand gently before leading him through the crowd. "Ya probably saw it while up there with Rav!"

Something so eye catching as to distinguish itself from the sea of tents, even from the ground floor... Naturally, he meant the large bonfire that seemed to illuminate the night and make the tent city look so lively.

Andy had already gotten a bird's eye view of how large the city of tents was, but seeing it up close probably gave him a better grasp of how the people lived.

It was not... completely miserable, at least.

Kids aplenty ran through the paths created by parallel tents, and adults could be found sitting in front of their homes, accompained by one another.

Not everyone was all smiles, but not a single one of them appeared to be suffering of crippling poverty. Happy faces, somber faces- all could be found in the group.

Adults and Children alike would occasionally stare, some subtly, most openly. But at least they seemed mostly friendly.

Whenever he noticed, Doug would slow down to be closer to Andy, and shoot peace signs at the group, snickering as some kids scampered away, some adults's snapped their gaze elsewhere, and a large portion of either group waved back.

Gossip truly was the favored local pass time.

"So what'cha been up, shortstuff?" Some time had passed since they last saw each other. Quite a few things had changed in Doug's life. "Me? I became a dog of the state."

He almost managed to keep a straight face as he said this, showing his Sergeant Insignia to the boy.

"Who knew all ya needed to do to get the league to notice ya was sign off yer right to run away from war." He said, "But hey. I got healthcare now."

He laughed. It would come in real handy when his legs got blown off in Poke'nam!

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder

Doug tilted his head, ignorant to Andy's disdain for his workplace- but rather receptive to the youth's disdain.

Uh oh.

"Uh. Yeah." He said, scratching the back of his head.

He almost didn't know how to respond. He didn't really care much for 'getting real', for even a moment. But Andy was much smarter than him, as well as pissed. Deflection wouldn't work.

"...My grandpa ain't really making any money right now." He said, uncomfortable. He didn't often speak of these subjects on any serious level. "Part time jobs ain't enough for two people to live from, and I ain't either old enough nor qualified enough for a real job."

But even that was a problem. He hadn't known much of Andy's involvement with the recent war, nor anything of his clash of tempers with the richest man in Hoenn.

The youth paused, still holding onto Andy's hand. His teeth were nibbling on the inside of his cheek, unsure of how to respond.

Honesty was the best policy, when this kinda thing happened.

"Well. Originally, it was for a friend." He said, laughing weakly at the memory. "Rather spur o' the moment. Kid needed a mentor who wouldn't coddle 'im just cause he was blind. And well... I bit the bullet!"

His laughter became stronger at that, the memory of all the stuff he had gotten up to with Hideo Kino since then rising to mind. It quickly died down though.

After all, that was merely the reason he joined the league- not the reason he had been busting his ass since then.

"But- that aside... I said earlier that I wasn't old enough for a real job." He said, his hand dragging down from his hairs to his neck as he looked aside. "But I am just old enough to enlist."

The League's generally came with a not too impressive salary at entry level- but due to the current circumstances, there were several tempting features attached to signing off on one's life. Healthcare for the entire family being a prominent one.

"The higher you go, the better it gets. Guess this is why adults work so hard." He had never really understood his parents' source for stress- until now anyway.

"That's really just it, I think. I'm old enough. And... Just look at me and at this place." He said, trying to laugh it off. "No one's gonna make a ruckus when I bite it."

He shook his head, forcing a grin. Nobody but them had noticed when his parents got killed.

He turned back to the path, his forced grin smoothing back into an actual smile as he looked at the other boy. He hadn't ever wanted such a serious topic to pop up. He would need to think twice before he spoke in the future.

"Anyway, we are almost there." He said as he began leading them once more, "You mentioned Mt. Pyre earlier? I've been there a few times. Wanna go together? I've been lookin' for a present for a lil' someone I know."

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder

Andy had remained silent through Doug's entire excuse-fest, and that alone made the youth feel more self-conscious than the thousand judgmental stares coming from the conservative low middle class adults around them.

In the end, the boy chose to simply let the subject go, and the bugcatcher was both thankful for it and ashamed at how relieved that made him feel.

"Gotcha, makes sense. I'll be lookin' forward to the invitation." He said with a grin, seemingly shrugging off the rejection. Though his smile was not quite was easy as usual.

Andy had hesitated before saying no, so he couldn't help but wonder if it was due to earlier. Ah, he had screwed up badly hadn't he? He really needed to think through what came out of his yapping maw.

He breathed in deeply, before shaking his head from side to side, doing what he knew how to do best and vanishing the bad thoughts to the very back of his mind.

Enough already.

No point in thinking about such stuff. Enjoy your date and forget about the troubles. If Andy had been that bothered, he would have left by now, probably after kicking him in the shin, if not somewhere worse.

And pay attention to him, he's talking about Hideo.

Wait, what?

"Yeah! Wait, you know Hideo?" He says after a moment, blinking in surprise at the other youth.

"Huh. Small world." He said, scratching at his chin, wondering the two could have met. Hideo was not often allowed to wander alone... "Guessin' you also met'im at the park?"

Oh, if only he knew.

Still, the bug catcher chuckled, winking.

"Sorry. I shouldn't be talking about another boy in our date, should I?" He teased.

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder

Andy couldn't see it, but Doug was internally screaming when he heard that Hideo Kino had almost been 'pancaked', as he so lightly put it.

Only the fact that he had seen the kid earlier that day kept him from breaking out the phone.

"Good, cause that rivalry I wasn't ready for." He said, sighing in exaggerated relief before pulling the youth into a tent 'alleyway' to avoid a crowded 'road', spinning around to walk backwards at Andy's question.

"More of a stew! Ya've probably had curry 'fore?" He said. "It's prepared sorta like that! Don't really use a lotta berries, though. Mostly just meats, veggies and spices."

He hadn't finished describing the meal when the scent reached them both. A succulent fragrance that had wafted up to them without their notice, until it had them completely surrounded. A wide grin split Doug's lips as he sniffed the air, before he quickened his pace, pulling the youth along around many 'alleyways' of tents before they finally popped out into a large 'plaza'.

Compared to other places, this one was easily the largest space in the tent city without a single tent occupying it, leaving enough room for the massive bonfire upon which the huge cauldron had been positioned. Several half cut tree trunks had been lain about as seats, and public seating areas such as benches that had likely lost their place had also been positioned around the bonfire.

Children played around while several mothers and grannies talked and laughed while working on the meal, the sweat of their hard work carefully kept from the soup with practiced ease.

With the fire casting an orange light over him, Doug grinned at Andy, winking.

"You wanna taste my cooking that bad? Sorry cutie, next time." He said, snickering. "I can't well just leave ya alone, right? That would make me both a terrible date and host."

"Don't overthink it, Andy! 'S just dinner!"

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder

Doug snorted at Andy's words, bending down until their faces were level with one another.

"I'm havin' fun with ya, Andy, not despite ya. Don't matter where it is." He said, reaching over and poking the youth in the nose.

"Quite, secluded places have'eir benefits too anyway- Don'tcha think?" He winked as he finished speaking, before spinning about and casually leaning back, until his butt dropped down onto one of the log-benches, the bugcatcher almost managing to keep in the flinch. Almost.

"Take a seat." He said, before sliding forward just enough for his butt to land on the grass, using the log as a backrest as he crossed his legs.

"Say, what'cha have planned for christmas?" He asked after a moment, glancing at the youth. "I'm gonna be swingin' by Fortree around those dates. Hear there's gonna be a big event over there'."

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder

Doug blinked at Andy, eyes wide.

"What?" He said, curious at that. Surely he didn't mean literally. "What'cha mean by that?"

At the end of the day, a date was also were one traded their interesting stories- and if Andy was willing to share, Doug was rather curious to hear an account of the struggle between League and Aliens that didn't do either side any favours.

"I'm sure it'll be fine- events are handled in groups, and events like these just use famous figures to draw attention anyway." He said, waving his hand casually, no longer too interested in the subject, specially given how Andy didn't seem enthralled by it.

Also because it inconsequential when compared to almost being killed by the event organizer.

Doug spun on his ass to face Andy, leaning forward.

"So what happened?"

---

TAG: Andy Blackadder