The visit surprises him. Not by way of the person or purpose— but of its timing. Appointments made abruptly in the middle of the night. Work outside work hours. Perhaps, his reluctant willingness to engage in overtime made him avoid birthday parties both fradulent and true.

But Bryan may have come for other reasons.

Elijah opens the door, but he's a stubborn boulder. He blocks the frame with his broad frame. No one shall pass.

"There's a lull. What do you need?" Elijah says, tone flat like an eroded stone.

bryan delarosa

"you think just because i have green hair and work with plants that i smoke this shit?" elijah barks. eyes judge and lock on like heavy gavels. a beat. "then you'd be right. come in."

he doesn't bother holding the door open long enough for bryan to slip in. inside, in his private space, the exam table sits in the center. counters are sterile with little else but popsicle sticks in glass domes and cupboards with the promise of disinfectant and bandaids.

however, elijah can not help but sneak in a few chinese evergreens around the room. the potted plants become more frequent and apparent toward the back of the room, where the door to his small office awaits.

he comes in and out of his office, a small container of leaves in his hand. "bayleef leaves. just mix it in." elijah extends it to bryan as he asks, "why are you so interested in the floette anyway?"

bryan delarosa

"i'm the least popular medic, that's why."

for that reason, others come into his quarters to grab extra supplies should they run low. then again, his shifts in the med bay are few and far between— for he mostly works within his dorm and in the gardens as a glorified gardener rather than esteemed herbalist.

"oh right, you got the opportunity at the meeting or whatever." elijah whisks his hand around in the air. "i skipped that." he eyes the mixed leaves. "flower first. we can do that after. follow me."

he sighs. opening the backdoor to his darker, private office, bryan would be exposed to a jungle. whatever skills of organization delarosa believed he had could be tossed out the porthole at this point, for plants sprawl out like unkempt tapestries. wooden drawers tower in this dimly lit space. some drawer slides fail to close like crooked wooden teeth.

a dramatic light bathes a floette in resting within a cage set in the center of the room. beside it, a screen blips with digitized lime-green waves. elijah at least, has afforded the cage with some natural greenery.

"and here i thought you were here for me."

bryan delarosa

"i was being sarcastic don't worry about it."

elijah lumbers over to the floette. he falls to a squat and levels his face with it. in response, the floette leans upon its flower, pale hands gently wrapped around its stalk— or perhaps, it's cradling it, like a mother clinging to the memory of a child.

"not dumb. it eats like normal. wanna feed it a bean?" elijah pulls out a blue bean and pops it into his mouth. his chewing is loud, coarse. briskly, he fishes out another bean from his pocket.

pinched between his fingers, the alolan edible is smooth enough to almost slide out and onto the floor. his hand waves toward bryan's face.

"it won't bite. i named it larry. does it respond to it? no."

bryan delarosa

the floette accepts the bean. lily lips latch onto the bean, but the movement is lethargic. little energy resides in its little body and the rest of the bean, too heavy and cumbersome to chew falls to the bottom of the cage.

"i just change its name every other day." elijah says. "but today, she's lazy larry. just sounds good, dunno. don't be a critic."

he scratches his chest, nails crisp against relaxed muscle. elijah dismisses the pout that had formed on his lips at the notion that the floette was afraid of him specifically. there is more to be afraid of down here. things abstract and unholy.

"she's tired." elijah barks, seeing's bryan prodding finger. "barely has energy. i just keep her in the cage so she doesn't fall into the compost by accident."

bryan delarosa

"it gets tired after being sucked dry." elijah's falls lazily to his gut for more scratching.

he cares little for the courting bryan attempts. the audino finds herself in a small office jungle with no audience. just a patient, her owner, and some predator that looks vegetarian.

"unova smells." elijah scoffs. "they only know how to make bridges. what do they know?"

the floette seems to brighten up some. in a thankful twist, the pokemon receives the thin slice with ease. after the briefest blossom of contentment, the floette tires again and releases a violet sigh.

"larry likes you."

bryan delarosa