Lex let her guard down. Rookie mistake. Next thing Lex knew she was pulled out of the bliss that was her corn dog by the soft shudder of the picnic table as a strange man sat down across from her after setting a full 6 pack and what looked like saki bottles between them. Lex was cautious. Her amber eyes quickly scanned what she could make out from his appearance and demeanor, studying him like the cover of an old book. She swallowed the bite of corn dog she had in her mouth and sat up straight. He seemed calm, a tad exhausted maybe. Not physically exhausted, but mentally. He didn’t seem like a threat but that’s what they wanted you think. It would be ludicrous to run now, not to mention suspicious if this wasn’t some sort of hitman.

“Need a little liquid boost to make it through all… this, huh?” she vaguely motioned to the excitement around them. Lex was pretty good at reading people, it was part of her job but still a skill she was not close to mastering. It wasn’t a hard deduction to make, though. A man by himself off in the corner of a festival with more than just a casual drinks worth of booze. You could also assume he wasn’t here by himself or else he wouldn’t be here in the first place . . . unless he worked here maybe. That was probably it.

See, she wasn’t that good at reading people. Perhaps if she had been in Hoenn longer than a few days and was less focused on her own imploding world she would have recognized the CEO of Silph Co. sitting with her. Instead, she thought he was a carnival worker looking for a little fun after his shift, “Well, we better drink that before it gets cold then,” she motioned to the steaming saki bottles with her half eaten corn dog before smiling, “It’s pretty damn cold out here,” Lex took another bite and waited for him to pour.

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He seemed to pep up a bit when she agreed to help him with his impulsive purchase. Maybe all he was after was a little company. Lex set down her corn dog and pushed it aside. Fernando had her full attention now.

Lex tensed when he pulled out the pocketknife. She involuntarily leaned back a bit, wary of the object he had now set down beside the sake. Why wouldn’t he just put it away? Why leave it out? Was she looking too much into this simple and meaningless gesture…

You drink them straight or together? Her eyes moved from the pocketknife back to his and she grinned playfully, “I love where your head’s at. If you didn’t bring up sake bombs, I was going to,” and she certainly wasn’t a stranger to them.

The redhead leaned forward again, reaching a slender hand for one of the drinks but the next phrase caught her off guard, “Azalea Town,” she repeated quickly, cautiously moving the drink towards her, a small tremble in her voice. Shit, maybe he was from Johto. Was this some sort of discrete sign? She had a job once in Azalea stealing Charcoal from the kiln. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it though, “Do you, uh, travel to Johto much?” she pried. Lex held the drink up to toast her new drinking buddy, as was proper drinking etiquette, before doing the sake bomb.

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Lex’s tapped her cup against his, “Yes, to the Lunar New Year. May it be better than the last,” she tacked on to the end. The thief finished her drink in one go too, smiling as she set the cup down, “Woo! Haven’t had one of those in a while,” she admitted as the subtle bitterness of the sake hit the back of her throat.

So he didn’t visit Johto much, that was a relief. Still, Lex was wary. But she was beginning to like this stranger more as he started to pour himself another round. Lex nodded when he silently asked if she wanted another, pushing her cup forward for easier access. You never just did one Sake Bomb.

”Nice to meet you, Eli,” she repeated, testing the name on her lips, “I’m Penelope, but you can call me Penny,” she lied, “So if you’re from Kanto, what brings you to Hoenn? Do you live here now?”

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Lex drew her cup back towards her once it was full again and returned the cheers before downing it slower than the first as he told her a bit about himself. Yeesh, sounded like a dramatic and rough life, "Yea, I hear Kanto went to shit," she stated matter-of-factly, "I've never been over there tho so I wouldn't have much to compare it too," The redhead fidgeted with the cup in her hand, thinking of the consequences of a Team Rocket takeover. It brought back a thought she had brewing in the back of her mind since she met Flynn. An organization like Rocket was bad news, but it brought a certain air of respect in her world; A world where bad guys were after her life and you needed even worse people on your side to scare off the other ones. Flynn offered to introduce her to someone, she may have to take him up on that.

She brought her attention back to the conversation, "I just moved here, only been here a few days. Seems alright so far but I haven't made it past Slateport so..." she shrugged with a small chuckle. Lex really didn't have much to judge. She ways almost mugged in an alley but things could be worse, "Since you've been here a while, gimme some advice. What's the best hidden gem around here? Where should I go next?" She didn't have a plan. Her next stop may be a secret Rocket HQ the way things were going but maybe she could check out one more place before dipping back into the world of underground crime.

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She seemed to have peaked his interest. Lex had a vague idea of what had been going on around Hoenn lately, “Honestly wasn’t my first choice, but anywhere is better than Goldenrod City” she laughed lightly with him at his jest. Her lips were becoming a bit looser as the buzz of the two Sake Bombs started to lighten up her mood. Geez, she was turning into a light weight, how embarrassing.

“Rowdy bar, huh?” There was a dry distaste in the words. Normally that might be something Lex was into if put in the right mood but at the moment she much preferred the peace and quiet, “I’m more of a dive bar kinda girl, myself,” she admitted, using it as an opening for a new suggestion.

It was Lex’s turn to pour. Her eyes met his and her lips twitched into a smile. They drifted towards his cup and the Sake, asking permission to pour them both another Sake Bomb.

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Nowhere in Slateport for a quiet, peaceful drink? That was disappointing. However, it was the New Year and with festivals and celebrations happening nearly every day she shouldn’t expect there to be a quiet corner of town. As far as she could tell, Slateport wasn’t really known for being quiet anyway. Perhaps it was time to move on and try to find a more suitable place to settle. And much as she wanted to though, Slateport was ripe for the picking with for a thief like herself.

“Lillycove, huh?” she made a mental note of the name of the bar. It was an interesting name and she wondered where it came from.

Eli silently agreed to another. Lex casually reached across the table to acquire the necessary ingredients. There wasn’t quite enough beer for two more, so she popped open another using a key she pulled out of her pocket.

Once she was finished she slide his cup back over to him, “Cheers” she raised her cup and finished the contents with ease, “So, Eli, what do you do? You work here?” the hand with the now empty cup motioned to the festival around them. It suddenly became quite apparent to her that she was asking a lot of questions perhaps he didn’t want to answer. Did he just want to sit in quiet and share a few drinks? It seemed unlikely. If he didn’t want company, he would have just sat by himself.

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