[attr="class","beck"]knocks sound from the other end of the dark hallway. tensing, he closes the door behind him, then crosses the distance before reaching for the handle.

"cillian."

lingering by the door, his eyes glance past cillian, shifting left and right at the empty streets.

"were you followed?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

He thinks he'll never tire of hearing his name.

Warmth quickly transitions to worry as Theo glances behind him, shifting his gaze as if expecting the League to burst around corners and out from dark alleys.

The streets of Slateport are quiet.

Gavin's brow furrows.

"Not that I'm aware of, no."

He'd been careful, he always was, but...

"Is everything all right? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

[attr="class","beck"]cillian's concerns are ignored in favor of what's to come. he steps to the side, gesturing for him to enter before closing the door behind him. he bolts it shut, locks clicking.

"come on."

he leads them down the dark hallway, crosses to the other end, before extending a hand out to push open a door that leads down.

"watch your step."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

Gavin doesn't hesitate to step inside; strange though Beckett was behaving, Gavin trusted him completely.

He follows him down a dark hall, eyes adjusting to the gloom.

Carefully, he descends the steps.

[attr="class","beck"]it leads into more darkness that threatens to swallow them. his hand reaches for a switch on the wall, but he doesn't flick it just yet, perhaps hesitating.

his lips part but no words escape. he swallows, then flicks the lights on.

"it's not much yet."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

Here, the darkness does not frighten him.

Perhaps it's because they're away from the submarine, or perhaps it's Theo's presence alone that steels his nerves against the thought of Darkrai.

Light blooms and Gavin blinks, readjusting.

Curiosity cedes to a quiet fascination at the setup. He'd figured that Theo's interest in marine life was fairly substantial after the other had imparted some of his knowledge, but he hadn't expected this.

A smile tugs at his lips as he approaches one of the tanks.

[attr="class","beck"]cillian's smile does little to drown whatever he's feeling — he still isn't sure, nor does he want to entertain them right now. he simply watches with caution as cillian approaches one of the tanks.

"she was a gift from choi."

she, not it. a tell of how he feels.

inside the tank is a pyukumuku suctioned to the side of the glass. his voice is low, soft, almost bordering a whisper.

"she's asleep right now. she's usually quite active in the morning."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

She?

Gavin catches on, smile widening briefly.

"Explains why you thought they'd told me. Saoirse knows as well?"

Once more, there's a flicker of jealousy; he swallows it quicker this time. That Theo was trusting him with this at all was special enough.

Gavin observes the Pyukumuku in its slumber, noting the softness of Theo's voice. His own drops low to match, subconscious.

"What can you tell me about her?"

[attr="class","beck"]"she does."

absentmindedly, he points to one of the tanks deeper into the room. it's dark but there's no mistaking that it's empty.

"she's helping me take care of my finneon."

he shifts a little, leaning down to peer into the tank in admiration. he lifts a finger, pointing to a trail of dried up slime.

"her slime is really interesting. she's constantly covered in it which allows her to stay on land for days. you can also use it to soothe sunburned skin."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

Jealousy coils like a slumbering beast in the hollow behind his ribs. Later, when he is alone, it will feast upon his unchecked thoughts and infiltrate his dreams. Now, he forces himself to focus on Theo's voice.

"You can?" He sounds surprised, intrigued. "I've got to keep that in mind; been in Hoenn for years and I still cook in the bloody heat. Pyukumuku wash up on the beach outside my house, a lot."

Just as beach-goers did in Galar, he'd toss them back into the surf. Nostalgia.

"How big is your collection?"

He eyes another tank, fascinated.

[attr="class","beck"]he catches himself leaning closer as if drawn to cillian's voice, his accent, his scen—

he steps away, approaching the side of the room to flick the lights on. it illuminates the rest of the room, displaying a few different tanks, some stacked atop each other.

as of right now, there's bruxish, malamar, toxicroak, tirtouga, shellos, mareanie, wishiwashi, alomomola, feebas, and of course, the pyukumuku.

"i have a bigger one in kanto."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

Though he focuses on Theo's voice to ground himself, his gaze lingers on the trail of Pyukumuku slime along the glass. It's in the reflective quality of that glass that he notes how close the other has gotten and feels his heart flutter in his chest.

Fuck sakes.

It's fortunate that Theo steps away as heat flushes Gavin's skin.

He's a little dizzy as the light illuminates the rest of the tanks; grateful for something else to focus on, his lip quirks as he spots the Pokemon he'd gifted Theo. He'd even done a little bit of research into them, bought a few new books for his library.

Gavin's drawn to the Tirtouga, fond.

His expression shifts surprised at Theo's admission, and he looks away from the sea turtle to regard the admin.

"You do?" For how long, he wonders? "Who tends it now you're here?"

[attr="class","beck"]"a close friend."

the possible danger that comes with vagueness is lost on him as he takes a step towards the tank. the tirtouga's sleeping, but it soon blinks its eyes open, sliding out of its shell to regard the admin with something akin to a smile.

he smiles back, equally as fond.

"good morning."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn