They head in the direction of the bar she expects them to visit. It’s a frequent haunt of the off duty officers that work in the camp for all the obvious reasons. There are plenty of faces she recognizes when they enter. She nods to a few, finding it hard and rude to ignore their acknowledgment, “Whiskey, neat,” she answer easily. She’s a simple girl, nothing fancy, fruity, or out of the ordinary would catch her eye. She settles beside him, “You?”

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]a simple wave of his hand gestures the barkeep over who had overheard eva's choice. he adds on with his:

"vodka on the rocks."

once the barkeep leaves, he tilts his head to look at her, offering a shrug.

"but whiskey's good, too."

he saw a few familiar faces, too; most of them he had just met earlier in the day.

"i take it you've been here before."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

Hm, not what she was expecting but, then again, she wasn’t quite sure what to expect from him, “Vodka’s alright,” she admits. She’d much rather have a dark liquor. She’s partial to strong, smokey whiskeys full of robust flavors. Vodka could be so . . . plain. She sighs, taking a quick glance around before their simple drinks are set before them, “Yeah, it’s really the only place to come,” she gives the familiar bartender a nod of thanks and takes her drink in her hand, lifting it towards Matias in a gesture to cheers, “Here’s to . . .” she thinks for a moment, mind coming up blank, “I don’t know, what should we cheers to?”

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]vodka's simple. it lacks substance, flavor, and all the nuance that sets a darker liquor like whiskey apart. but its simplicity is what he finds charming.

he takes his drink, raising it to meet hers with a chuckle.

"to surviving."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

“To surviving,” she agrees, smiling as she taps her glass gently against his before taking a sip. She smacks her lips together, savoring the flavors that wash over her tongue before the burn. She shifts her body slightly to face him, “So, Matias, where are you from?” simple questions to start out. Although, that is a loaded question in times like these.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]the clear liquor slides down his throat easy, familiar in the taste and burn it brings. it feels good, it feels warm, and it isn't until he places the glass back down and gestures for another round that he realizes she hadn't downed hers.

"bad habit."

he chuckles.

"saffron, for the most part. you?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

She watches him down the drink with ease. There’s amusement in her laugh. He’s not the first officer she’s had drinks with. It seemed to be a bad habit spread across the company. She isn’t too different. She responds by letting the last of her dark liquor slide down her throat. The glass waits for the bartender, “For the most part?” she questions, tilting her head, “That sounds like a story,” but she doesn’t pry for more information, “Just outside Pallet Town. Grew up on a little pokemon ranch,” she elaborates a bit, reminiscing with a smile, “Family?” the next sensitive topic she prods at.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]for the most part — his head dips, acknowledging but no other words escape him. maybe later once alcohol starts to loosen his lips.

at the mention of a little ranch on pallet, he smiles.

"that sounds cute."

peaceful, more like. something he's never had.

the barkeep returns with their refills, sliding two new glasses over to them. he reaches for his, humming in thought.

"the silphs adopted me when i was about ten. they're alive and well."

unbeknownst to him, rocket's eyes have long set on silph hq in saffron. he raises the glass, sips this time.

"don't know what happened to my birth parents."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

She laughs with a shrug, “I don’t know about cute,” She consider how it may seem that way, though, “Working on the ranch all day and fighting off 5 obnoxious brothers was never really that cute,” more like rough, but fun. She enjoyed having a big family. They were all very close.

The name catches her attention as she brings her refreshed drink to her lips, “Silphs? Like . . . the Silph, Silphs?” she should have made the connection earlier. The answer is obvious, he doesn’t need to confirm it. She sips, nodding, “That must have been quite the upbringing,” she clarifies, “I couldn’t imagine living in such a big city,” Nature was her playground, she didn’t imagine there was much nature in Saffron.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"that's them."

the silph silphs makes him laugh. he tenses, too, but it's more involuntary than anything. family has always been difficult to talk about — he loves them, he appreciates the life he's able to live because of them, but it ends there.

"i think you'll find it quite suffocating compared to a ranch."

another sip.

"it was suffocating for me, too, but in a different way."

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

“Hm,” she nods, agreeing with his assessment, but also shrugs, “Suffocating yes, but maybe exciting. I imagine there was always something to do,” Eva’s childhood was built on having to be creative. Fallen trees as castles, rocks as the motts surrounding them, sticks as swords. That sort of thing, “Wanted to get out of there, huh?” despite how much she loved Pallet Town, she always had an itch to get out and adventure. She regrets leaving so soon now after, well . . . everything. Home would never be the same.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"it's overrated."

his words are blunt but honest. he sees no reason to lie, at least not to the person who saved his life. but there's more to it than that; he just hasn't realized.

"could never live up to expectations, so why try?"

depending on how familiar she is with the silphs, he leaves enough for her to pick up on. after a momentary pause, he asks:

"what happened to the ranch?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Eva Morales

She believes him, it probably is overrated living in the city. To Eva it’s just a new adventure, which sounds exciting. Although she doesn’t keep up on all the drama of Kanto’s important people, she knows enough to have an idea of what it might have been like to be a Silph. All business. She wasn’t normally one to assume but prying seemed inappropriate. Living up to expectations is something she can’t relate to. Her father had zero expectations. He is proud of what she’s accomplished. Well, at least she hopes he is.

She leans against the bar top with one hand while keeping the other firmly grounded around the whiskey. Her face turns thoughtful, “It’s pretty far off the beaten path, I’m sure it’s fine,” that’s what she told herself, “I honestly haven’t been home since all this started. Too dangerous, you know?” She missed it terribly, but is still hopeful she’d get back soon when all this is over. She never would.

MATIAS SILPH