Eva rarely made it out to the more rural towns of Hoenn. Since enlisting and helping establish a sound medical corps within The League’s ranks, it didn’t leave her much time for exploration anymore. Still, when she had the time, she enjoyed making her way out to places like Littleroot. There was something about the quaint, quiet life of the people that intrigued the doctor. It was a life she knew she’d never have, but a part deep down longed for it. Someday she’d be able to settle down and the only emergencies she’d see were everyday accidents rather than those from attacks of malicious intent like in wars.

“Yes, two tablets twice a day. I’ll check back in two weeks. Call me though if you have any concerns,” she assured the couple while walking out the door. They waved her and the Gallade off enthusiastically before going back inside with their bandaged Rockruff.

“Ugh, I’m beat!” she sighed to Blade. These days were fun for her, the people were always so grateful for the help, but there was a lot of talking and catching up and holding the same enthusiasm which each new client all day was tough.

The duo walked the main path of the town. Eva had only been to Littlleroot a time or two before but they had always been working on this alter. She heard today from some of the villagers that the alter had been victim to vandals which infuriated the doctor. The last thing these quiet, humble people needed were bad guy terrorizing their town, “Looks like they’re starting to make some good progress. Hope they can keep it up,” Eva stopped to admire it on the opposite side that Gwyar sat leaning against it.

Gwyar Wledig

Just when it seemed like the end was near, and boredom would claim yet another victim, sending him hurtling down towards the abyss of sleep...

He was startled into alertnesss by a voice that came. A familiar one. Directly behind him, too.

God truly must have loved him.

"Ms. Small town girl?" He said from where he sat, leaning his head back against the pillar.

He rolled onto one knee to lean over the side of the Pillar, looking over his shoulder towards her and grinning up at her.

"Eva!"

---

TAG: Eva Morales

The Gallade beside her nodded in agreement, shrugging his shoulder to readjust the medical pack he was carrying. Eva had another one throw over her shoulder along with a small cooler that held the various blood samples she acquired today. There weren’t too many.

A familiar, deep, masculine voice seemed to bellow from out of nowhere. She looked around a moment before Gwyar peeked around the pillar he sat against, “Gwyar!” she smiled, delighted to see the Galarian Knight, “What a pleasant surprise,” she smiled, walking closer to him with Blade close behind, “What the heck are you doin’ here?” small town Hoenn was the last place she expected to see the knight in shining armor. She gave him an obvious once over with her emerald eyes. He actually looked like a knight in his armor and with his sword. It was quite dashing. The corner of her lips pulled into a small girn.

Gwyar Wledig

The man leapt to his feet as Eva came closer, the world gifting him with a strong breeze that made the trench coat he had drapped over his shoulder flap in the wind like a cape.

He truly was feeling God's love today.

"The pleasure's all mine, Eva." The man said with a smile, offering his hand to hers; it wasn't difficult to guess what would come next should she grab it.

His eyes flitted over Eva's shoulder the Gallade behind her, his smile gaining a curious edge to it, blinking at the sight before nodding at the pokemon and gesturing with his arm, hailing him as a fellow knight, before turning his full attention back at Eva.

"You find me in the middle of a job once more." He said, before winking teasingly. "Though I haven't finished everything this time... yet."

He bent down to pick up his sword, slinging its flat atop his shoulder as he half turned towards the Shrine.

"Some ruffians vandalized a local shrine; the city needed someone to stand guard, and well... I happened to be there at the time."

His eye twinkled as he glanced away from the structure towards her, a teasing smile appearing over his lips.

"I thought boredom would be the death of me for a moment there. I begged the lord for mere mercy in my time of need, and he gave me a boon instead." He said as he laughed. "So! That's my story! What brings you and your companion to this far off corner of Hoenn?"

---

TAG: Eva Morales

Eva followed his gaze behind her to Blade. She had forgotten the knight hadn’t really met any of her pokemon yet, “Oh, this is Blade,” she introduced, the Gallade gave Gwyar a polite nod. Her choice in pokemon companion proved she liked knights. The Gallade had been with her since he was a small Ralts and she was a young veterinary student. Although a loyal and brave warrior, his training was focused on healing and protection and he was her best pokemon assistant (don’t tell Syah).

“Well, when I’m not busy with League stuff, I like to come out here. They don’t get that much access to pokemon advanced healthcare in comparison to the big cities,” Sure there were the Pokecenters, but sometimes they needed more than a Nurse to check the pokemon out, especially when surgery was involved, “Yea, some of the townfolk were telling me about that,” her face pinched in annoyance, obviously upset about the idea of people tormenting these poor country folk.

“They’re lucky to have you on guard,” Eva shrugged the med pack off her shoulder and handed it to Blade, “Well, I owe you some help and I’d love to drive off these goons,” she gave a certain nod, “You’re stuck with me, Gwyar,” she gave the knight a wink, “Blade, please take the samples back to the lab and get started,” Blade nodded and took the small cooler from Eva before disappearing in a flash of light to TELEPORT back to their lab.

Gwyar Wledig

"Out and about doing God's work, eh? That's Dr. Eva for you." He said.

Gwyar had a curious smile on his lips as the Gallade disappeared in a flash with 'the samples', his arms folded behind his back as he stared at her.

"And then there were two... Stuck with you, eh?" He said casually, his tone as light as could be as he teased her. "Afraid not, Dr. Morales. I actually wanted to spend some time alone with you. You are stuck with me!"

He gestured towards his pleasant spot at the pillar, where the grass was soft, the breeze was nice, and the sun couldn't get them.

It looked about the same as everything around them but sitting in this one would mean sitting next to him. How devious.

"So what shall we do until those vandals come here, I wonder?" He said with a hum, looking up at the sky after dropping on his butt on the grass.

"Well... They probably will not be coming again." He admitted. "I examined the damage, and frankly, I would say it was an accident."

He chuckled, wondering if their vandals would turn out to be Billy Bob and Johnny Dee, the kids from down the lane.

"I grew up in a community much like this." He suddenly said, rubbing his chin nostalgically. "Just with snow. A lot more snow."

---

tag: Eva Morales

Her brows rose as he turned the tables on her yet again. Alone time with her? “Oh really?” she responded, with a small smile, “Guess we’re stuck with each other then,” she laughed as she followed him to the pillar he was sitting at earlier.

Eva sat down beside him, pondering the same question, “Hm, I don’t know, guess you’ll just have to talk to me,” there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice that implied the task was near impossible along with a playful sparkle in her emerald eyes when she looked over at him, “Hm, well, let’s hope that’s the case. I hate to think anyone would be targeting a nice little town like this,” of course, she wouldn’t put it past Team Rocket. They stooped pretty low.

“Oh, so you’re small town Galar and I’m small town Kanto,” she concluded, turning her eyes from him out to the grassy space in front of them, “I’ve never actually been around snow,” the realization came as somewhat of a surprise to her. Kanto didn’t have a lot of snow and she hadn’t sought it out in Hoenn yet, ”Pallet Town was like this too: small, close knit, kinda hidden from the rest of world. It was a nice place to grow up,” she thought fondly, “Do you miss the snow?”

Gwyar Wledig

"Couldn't have asked for a better terrible fate." He said, leaning over and bumping her shoulder gently with his arm, grinning.

Small talk could be pleasant, and this certainly fit the bill. Nostalgia was a hell of a drug, and discussing such things with someone who understood was a treat.

"The best heroes and heroines have humble beginnings, no?" He said, winking at her. He then chuckled. "Though I'm 36 and my call to adventure has yet to come... Hope it hurries up, I can feel my back preparing to betray me any day now."

He tilted his head in surprise when she mentioned never seeing snow. He had met several people like that, and it always surprised him.

"Pallet Town, eh? Sounds wonderful. I would love to see it one day." He said, leaning back his head against the stone, turning his gaze towards the sky.

His turn now, he supposed.

"I was born in a town called Freezington." He said with emphasis, almost managing to keep a straight face. "As you can probably guess... it was a dry summer all year around."

He managed to maintain his face blank for all of 5 seconds, before cracking up, shoulders quaking.

"To answer your question, yes! And no! Mostly sometimes." He said, chuckling. "Winter was ever present in Freezington- and quiet deadly. Beautiful as well, but deadly nonetheless. It was a very small, close knit community with extremely old values. Traditional does not even begin to describe it. Heck!"

He banged his gauntlets together, grinning.

"The descendants of Knights still train their children to follow in their ancestors footsteps." He said, chuckling.

---

tag: Eva Morales

Eva couldn’t disagree with humble beginnings. Countless stories started as such. So she gave a small shrug in agreement, “Call to adventure?” she echoed with a frown, turning her gaze back to the Knight, “Gwyar, you’re already on an adventure,” she stated, her voice didn’t waiver, it was a hard fact in her mind, “Life is an adventure,” she waved her hand vaguely at their surroundings, “You traveled from Galar to Hoenn, some barely make it out of their towns. The adventure is what you make of it,” Eva was a woman to lived a life of no regret. She had seen too many young companions be stripped of the opportunity of adventure. Hell, she as lucky to make it to 30, and you best believe she didn’t waste a single moment of her adventure waiting for something grand or extravagant to come around.

“Sounds like you need some yoga in your life!” Eva grinned with enthusiasm. She threw her hands up, “I swear by it! Helps keep my back in tip-top shape for those long surgery days,” really, she wasn’t lying.

Eva shivered at the thought of a town called Freezington. The name itself gave away the standard climate, “I’ve always imagined a snow covered place being extraordinarily beautiful,” Eva mused with a smile, “Like in the pictures, just everything covered in white,” she splayed her hands out in front of her as if looking at the picture itself, “Well that explains a lot,” she laughed at the mention of tradition, “How do you become a Knight, anyway?” it was a very foreign concept to her. The knights she knew about were those in storybooks, not in real life.

Gwyar Wledig

"Is that so?" He said, not combative but not looking particularly convinced. He leaned his head against the pillar, eyes fluttering closed. "I would not read my story twice."

Eva might have lived her life to the limit, but him? He had wasted over a over 20 years of his.

His was not a story worth telling as anything but a warning.

But that was a depressing line of thinking; yoga sounded delightful.

"I'll have you know, I have, in fact, tried yoga." He said, eye twinkling with amusement as he leaned forward, reaching behind himself to rub at his back. "Gogoat Yoga, as a matter of fact."

He had done so with his good friend AUTUMN ANDERSON.

"The skiddo almost severed my spine." He said with a laugh, only mildly exaggerating. "Haven't tried since! Maybe regular yoga will prove less dangerous?"

Though he didn't know, he had seen some pretty terrifying positions on TV...

As for Freezington-

"It can be beautiful, but you grow used to it quickly." He said. "After a while the cold just begins to grate on the few visitors and tourists we do get. It's simply was not a place meant to be inhabited. But we Galarians are stubborn folk!"

Far too much, perhaps.

"Becoming a knight is simple. Not easy, but simple." He said, "It's much like being trained as a soldier from a young age. Discipline and courtesy are drilled into you. Physical training starts as soon as modern medicine claims is safe. Didn't use to be that way."

He looked down at the gauntlets in his hand.

"Training in the eternal winter makes us hardy warriors. Knights of Freezington were prized in the warring era. Now, we are simply a novelty."

---

tag: Eva Morales

Eva’s story was far from a fairytale as well. She wasn’t a beautiful damsel in distress that found love in the arms of a savior or even a valiant hero, herself, that crushed evil. She may have been considered a hero in this tale, but she was ultimately a failure. When it mattered, she couldn’t stop Rocket from stealing her home. The lives she couldn’t save haunted her. The fact she couldn’t go home to see her family, or even talk to them really, crushed her. It didn’t sound like a story she would read either, but it was a powerful story, nonetheless.

The thought weighed heavy on her, manifesting as a slight slouch in her posture as she stared off into the emerald grass that lined the stony shrine. It was Gwyar’s joking about Gogoat yoga that brought a smile back to her face as she looked back towards him, “Well, yeah! You should probably try the regular stuff before jumping into Gogoat yoga!” she laughed, although that was something she would absolutely do.

“Hmmm, a beautiful, snowy place with stubborn, handsome knights . . . I think I’d like to visit there someday,” she decided with a nod. Subtle flirting aside, an uninhabitable, challenging place sounded right up her alley.

Eva looked down at the gauntlets as he did. It still sounded strange to her – the thought of a land filled with knights and princesses, “A novelty?!” Eva shook her head, “You seem like much more than just something nice to look at,” her lips twitched into a smirk.

Gwyar Wledig

His words had brought down the mood, so it was only right that they brought it right back up.

Lovely a person as Eva was, he needed to remember they were only recently acquainted. He couldn't just randomly drop personal baggage on her, however vaguely.

"It was a flight of fancy." He said with a chuckle, remembering the outing that had led to that chiropractic mess. "Not too sure I'm ever stepping into one of those studios on my own."

It was somewhat embarrassing to be the only man, and the only middle aged person at that, in those studios. He always seemed to draw stares.

But that aside...

"Let me know in advance when you do." He said, a light flush coloring his cheeks. Flirting noticed. "I'm sure my daughters would be delighted to have you."

She would need a place to stay, right? The few Inns in Freezington were not particularly cheap for visitors... and the weather did not lend itself to camping.

It was good to know some still appreciated knights in shining armour.

"Truly now?" The man said with a flirtatious smile, leaning back against the rock and lightly tilting his head. "And what else would you do with me?"

---

tag: Eva Morales

Eva was venturing into unknown territory. Honestly, she didn’t know what had gotten into her. Even at their first meeting she was more flirtatious than she had been in a long time, and here she was, doing it again. Maybe it was the kind blue eyes or simply just the intrinsic charm of being a knight. Whatever it was had the doctor speaking before actually thinking, and for some reason she couldn’t help it.

Apparently, Gwyar Wledig could dish it back better than she could. The flirtatious smile and piercing blue gaze nearly knocked her out cold. It was the question though that turned her smirk into a coy smile. There were several things she could think of, but none were appropriate to say out loud. He would see the redness of a nervous blush creep into her cheeks.

Eva’s pink lips slightly parted as if to say something, but she was at a loss for words. Her mind screamed at her to say literally anything. Oh my god this was so embarrassing.

A light, nervous laugh escaped while she shook her head and sighed. She leaned against her knees and buried her face in her hands, “Ugghh, I’m sorry,” she laughed, peeking back over to him, “ . . . I’m not very good at this,” she admitted with a small shrug.

Gwyar Wledig