It was a long walk down the path and back to the city but Gwyar Wledig was good company and the view was beautiful. The small quiet town was nestled in a nice crook at the base of the mountain and the soft glow of the setting sun made for a stunning background. Eva couldn’t look away! . . . except to playfully frown at Gwyar and roll her eyes lightly, “Oh stop,” she muttered, a red tint rising to her cheeks.

“Oh gosh, I grew up with six brothers, if I showed any interest in princesses I would have gotten my butt kicked,” she laughed, shaking her head. Eva certainly grew up a rough-and-tumble tomboy thanks to the influence of her siblings.

“Hmmm, I don’t know about princesses . . . but knights are pretty awesome,” her turn to tease.

Gwyar Wledig

"I hope you dished back as much as they gave!" The man said with a laugh, guessing from her words at more or less how her relationship with her siblings went.

Her last words silenced his laugh, however.

"A- ah... Well now." The knight said as her teasing words registered, blinking at her as a light dusting of red covered his cheeks. Still, he tried to smile, tilting his head slightly. "Aren't you terribly smooth. Are all 'small town Kanto girls' this bold?"

Despite trying to seemingly take it in stride, he failed at maintaining eye contact, losing the edge in the tease-off. His offense was much better than his defense.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

“Oh, I certainly did,” Eva grinned, knowing full well that despite her small size she could wrestle with the best of them. Of course, they always did take it a bit easy on her with her being the baby sister of the family and all that. She very much took after her mother in size. Her brothers and her dad were all your typical, burly, ranch hands.

The abrupt stop to his laugh startled Eva a bit. She noticed the tint of red in his cheeks. Oops, did she go too far? Did she break him? She was a little afraid she had until he cracked another joke, “Ummm I don’t know! Maybe,” she shrugged. She knew she was quite forward in general and was sometimes too much for some people. Gwyar seemed to be handling it well, though.

“What brought you all the way Hoenn, Gwyar?” Hoenn seemed like a strange place to go in contrast to Galar. Eva didn’t know much about the other region but she did know that it was much grander than Hoenn. She’d love to see it someday, but given the current circumstances of Hoenn, she knew she wouldn’t be able to afford a vacation any time soon.

Gwyar Wledig

"Oh, no need to be reserved!" The blonde said at her response, not wanting her to think for even a moment he was trying to dissuade her. "It's different from what I'm used to; But I quite like it!"

Her question gave him pause. He never really liked this 'part'. He disliked dishonesty on principle, but he was legally and contractually obligated to lie through his teeth on this question.

He hummed.

"I was something of a Professional Trainer in Galar, over a decade ago. I'm retired, of course." He said, looking away towards the lights of the city somewhat gloomily despite the ever present smile. "But... My passion for pokemon battling has since returned... I suppose."

He didn't sound too convincing.

"I came to take on the vaunted Hoenn Gym Challenge. But... Well. You've seen how things have been recently." He had been in Hoenn for over a year and hadn't gotten a badge yet.

He rather offer assistance at the warfronts against the Megalopolans than seek out meaningless little trophies just to keep up the charade.

The man shook his head.

"But never mind that. I'll get to it when I get to it." He said, pushing aside the gloomy mood. "For now, I'm just an odd jobber! Hoenn has many jobs up for grabs. Like washing tombstones, for one."

He then grinned at Eva, leaning a bit.

"My turn, right? I say it's my turn. What to ask..." He pondered, grasping his chin.

He didn't need to ask why she was there. He could guess why a small town Kanto girl wasn't in Kanto, and he wasn't about to bring down the mood.

"What do you do for a living, Eva? Not cleaning cemeteries, I hope! You don't seem very good at it!" He said, intending to forever hold this above her head for as long as they knew each other.

He then winked.

"Oh, and are you per chance single?"

He wasn't used to girls being as bold as her- but he wasn't certainly used to being bold as brass himself.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva listened contently, glancing between him and the view as they inched closer to town. He didn’t sound so certain about his vigor for battle. There was something else there, but Eva wouldn’t push. Everyone had their reasons and if it was important, it would come out in due time. They had just met, after all! Secrets could remain secrets.

”Ahhh the gym challenge,” she smiled with a nod. She was quite familiar with a number of the gym leaders since she was a part of The League’s Medical Corps. Hoenn’s leaders were beasts of their own. Eva hadn’t participated, but she was the one who bandaged up the wounded after battle. Taking on Hoenn leaders was no easy feat, “Yea, things have been . . . pretty bad,” she agreed with a uncharacteristically solemn note to her voice. The Rocket resurgence had brought a lot of her pent-up feelings to the surface, but she had come to cope with it the last few weeks by immersing herself in her work and preparations.

Now it was certainly his turn, “Yes, ask away!” she agreed, waving her free arm into the air for emphasis. She gave him a playful nudge at his joke, “Hey now! I didn’t even get the opportunity to give it a shot!” she clarified, reminding him he did all the work.

“I’m a veterinarian,” she explained, “So it’s actually, Doctor Eva Morales,” she said with a sly smile. She didn’t like the formalities as much, though but The League always officially addressed her as Doctor, “I specialize in emergency and critical care, specifically as a frontline medic. I was a soldier in Kanto,” she trailed off, the statement itself implying a lot about her history. Her tone was very nonchalant, surprising for someone who no doubt saw some horrible shit, “I recently re-enlisted here, in Hoenn. So I guess I technically work for The League . . . But I do what I can to help out, like trying to clean cemeteries,” she grinned up at him, obviously unphased by the tale she just told.

His last question caught her off guard. She looked at him with a hint of surprise, “Uhhh yeah,” she lied . . . she was married to her work; Unconditionally and completely immersed in her effort to stop Rocket from stealing a second home from her.

Gwyar Wledig

The man swayed as she nudged him, laughing before he leaned against her and shoved back gently with his shoulder- well, forearm. She was too short for the shoulder bump.

"Hey yourself! Punctuality is part of the job!" He said back, grinning teasingly.

She was a medical professional- one of the most honorable professions one could uphold. A frontline Medic and a veteran of Kanto, at that.

He would never have guessed looking at her, from her small size to her lovely, cheerful disposition.

"You are incredible. Precious few are those who can lead a normal life after living through such events." He said after a moment, staring at her in naked awe.

Fewer yet were those who would willingly step onto the battlefield once again after surviving the frontlines.

"That's... admirable. I do not know if I would have been able to do the same." He said, humbled as a knight and so called man of action. The raids and shootouts he had been involved in as an INTERPOL officer couldn't compare to raw, real war.

He stared at the floor as they continued to walk, his awe slowly giving way to a soft frown. He had only met her, but...

"Just please be careful." He said simply, reading into why she had 'recently joined the Hoenn military'. "A life lost cannot be recovered."

Places came and went; A home was where the heart was, as they said.

And speaking of which...

"Interesting." He said in a sing-song manner, humming as he playfully squeezed her arm with his, winking her way. 

Before long, they were at the town. A couple of dirty, tomb cleaning hobos, arm in arm against the world. Against the world indeed; the restaurant's waitress at the door seemed to be struggling for words at the sight of them, looking between the muddied soles of their shoes and the carpeted floor.

"Um..." Uttered the clearly far too young girl nervously, holding her pen and notepad to her chest. "Sorry, I'm not sure if I can... um..."

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva was easily an example of why you don’t judge a book by its cover. She exemplified the meaning of ‘small but mighty’ and ‘it’s not size, it’s attitude’. There was little Eva found she was unable to accomplish if she set her mind to it. Well, all but leading a normal life. But honestly, she hadn’t set her mind to that though.

The doctor wouldn’t consider her life anywhere near “normal” in the conventional sense. At 30, she ‘should’ have settled down, had a steady job at a hospital, and started thinking about a family. It wasn’t that those thoughts never crossed her mind, it was just never the ‘right’ time. Eva had come to accept it never would be, not for someone like her. That wasn’t something that bothered her, she loved what she did. And although tragic and traumatizing, she never regretted the path she chose, “My life is far from normal,” she laughed, shaking her head.

Gwyar seemed increasingly impressed by her resume. It was pretty . . . unique, “Well, I don’t really have a choice,” she explained, “They need me, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t answer the call,”

In a quite unhealthy way, Eva measured her legacy and, by proxy, her worth by the lives she saved and touched both on the battlefield and off of it. In Kanto Eva saved a lot of lives, but she also lost too many and, ultimately, the region – the worst failure of all. She believed that in the grand scheme of things her small life mattered little. If her sacrifice meant the end of suffering to the region and the preservation of good, she would happily pay the price, “I’m always careful,” another white lie. Eva was as reckless as they come. If Gwyar stuck around long enough, it would become apparent.

The way he reacted to the news of her being single sent a rosy blush to her cheeks followed by a coy smile. Eva returned the squeeze with one of her own. She didn’t recover until they found themselves in the restaurant, face to face with a nervous young lady.

“Oh dear,” Eva sighed, following the girl’s gaze to their clothing and the mess they were already leaving on the carpet, “Gwyar, we’re filthy we’re already making a mess,” she motioned down to their shoes caking the carpet with mud.

Gwyar Wledig

At her blushing smile, the man simply clutched his chest and lurched forward, muttering while wide eyed.

"T- t... Too precious." He said, a teasing grin stretching over his lips.

But flashing forward, Gwyar tapped his foot on the carpet with a soft frown, nodding at Eva's words.

"Indeed! I cannot apologize enough for the mess we've made, young miss!" He said as he bent forward, bowing apologetically to the young girl, much to her pani.

While the girl tried to reassure them she wasn't offended, Gwyar grasped at his chin, deep in thought. He leaned in closer to Eva, muttering.

"The Inn I'm staying at is just across the street. Perhaps we could clean up there first?" He said.

It seemed like an obvious solution, but then, Gwyar seemed to be forgetting something...

"Ladies first, of course!" ... Not that, but at least he had his manners in order.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva stood on her toes to lean closer to Gwyar when he leaned in to mutter something to her. She had forgotten he mentioned staying at an Inn, “Hm,” Eva thought, glancing at him curiously. A man she just met inviting her back to an Inn, that should be a red flag. Eva wasn’t that pessimistic when it came to people, she was too trusting sometimes. It was a bold move that seemed innocent enough coming from him, though. He was a knight after all. Weren’t they perfect gentlemen? If there was an underlying intention, she chose to ignore it and give him the benefit of the doubt.

That didn’t solve her underlying problem though, “Well, I’m afraid I don’t have anything to change into,” no matter how clean she made herself, her clothes would remain muddied and dirty.

Gwyar Wledig

Gwyar blinked at her blankly, registering and analyzing her words for a moment before cupping his chin.

"That does make such an effort pointless." He said, brows furrowing in deep thought.

Well crud. How was he supposed to make amends now?

He looked around, noting some benches as he continued to thoughtfully scratch his chin, before turning his gaze back to the Doctor.

"How about take-out, then?" He said, gesturing with his thumb to one of the nearby benches, before eyeing the girl in front of them. "Would that be fine?"

She blinked, before slowly nodding.

"Uh, yes... I mean, yes sir!" She said, before reaching into a pocket on the mantle she wore and producing a laminated menu, holding it out to them. "What would you like?"

---

TAG: Eva Morales

She sighed and shrugged at his realization. Yeah, it wouldn’t help much if she couldn’t actually clean her clothes too. Maybe it would be best to just go home . . .

It was after this thought that Gwyar came up with a brilliant idea, “I didn’t even think of that! Good idea,” Eva smiled, gently squeezing his arm for emphasis. The young woman also seemed to think it was acceptable. Eva took the menu from the girl and held it out for both of them to read, “Did the guy at the Inn happen to say what’s good here?” her brows pinched in concentration as she quickly read it over. There was so much to choose from she just couldn’t decide. It was a little cool up here in the mountains, maybe some soup?

Gwyar Wledig

He leaned against her as she squeezed his arm, a smile tugging at his lips while the young girl in front of them flushed, staring at the two.

"Well he did say the beer was a delight." Gwyar said dryly, almost keeping a straight face before a smile cracked through, his hand coming up to point at a particular item. "Buuut he also recommended this."

An exotic sounding name was scribbled where the man pointed; the description was comparatively mundane on the other hand, summarizing the item as essentially a noodle soup.

"He claimed this would 'warm up your very soul against the peak's deathly cold'." He said, paraphrasing dramatically.

All part of the area's touristic appeal, he assumed. Being born in Freezington though, he didn't really get much of an impression from the supposedly 'deathly cold'.

He tilted his head at Eva, looking her over.

"Are you cold?" He asked, dragging the backpack slung over his shoulder down his arm as he spoke.

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva quickly scanned the description of the item Gwyar pointed at but it was his dramatic explanation that sold her on it . . . and the fact that she loved noodles, ”Mmm, that sounds good. Is there any way to make it spicy?” she asked the girl. It took the girl a moment to think about it. The dish wasn’t traditionally served that way but they could add some things to accommodate for the request. Eventually she smiled and gave Eva a nod, ”Great! I’ll have that then. And a beer,” Eva gave a resolute nod, side eyeing Gwyar to see what he was going to order.

The blonde shrugged lightly, “Hmm maybe a little. It is cooler up here than I thought it was going to be. Not too bothered by it though,” she reassured Gwyar. She didn’t look cold but there was a subtle discomfort every now and then, but she was used to it. Besides, she was sure the noodle soup would do the trick to warm her right up if it was at all how Gwyar described it.

Gwyar Wledig