[attr="class","matias"]this isn't exactly what he had in mind when he said they should spend more time together, but he appreciates it all the same. he just wishes it was a bit cooler.

matias quickly loses his shirt; the sun proving too strong to bear. he tosses it off to the side, then reaches his arms up to stretch out as he peers across the empty space.

"this is weird."

turning to her, he nods.

"sounds like our best bet. think we can hitch a ride on knox?"

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

Eva works . . . a lot. She has a hard time saying no. So, if Matias wants to spend more time with her, part of that is definitely going to involve some aspect of her job.

By the time she turns around, he’s already lost his shirt. An unsurprising, welcome view. Eva had the foresight to know to just show up in a bikini and shorts. It’s the beach, after all! She grins, nodding, and agreeing with his assessment, “Yeah, very weird. I’m stumped,” she admits with a sigh.

A hand plucks a pokeball off the belt strapped over her shorts. A bright light morphs into a large Aerodactyl who snaps its jaw excitedly while moving across the hot sand, “I’m sure he’s be more than happy to give us a ride . . . just won’t be as smooth as Ash or Mehira,” he’s young, sporadic, kinda of stupid. Matias knows this though; he saw him battle Tapu Koko.

Eva climbs on top the fossil’s rough scales and waits for Matias to join.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"i'm sure that's fine. we've been through worse."

like falling a thousand feet or so through a thunderstorm, for example, so he imagines this ride would pale in comparison. or at least it should...

mounting, matias settles comfortably onto knox's back, feeling the fossil's rough scales graze at his legs.

"just...maybe don't drop me."

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

“Drop you?” Eva laughs, shaking her head, “Don’t worry, I’d catch you.”

Knox growls, shifting uncomfortably against the added weight of Matias. The Aerodactyl is a but lazy. Eva weighed practically nothing but the man is nearly twice her size which required twice the effort, “Quit it, Knox,” Eva frowns when the Aerodactyl cranes his head to peek back at the blonde and her familiar companion.

”Let’s go,” she encourages, pressing forward. Knox eventually concedes, spreading his wings and leaping off the ground with vigor. Perhaps too much vigor. The initial take off is jarring, forcing her to lean forward and grip the prehistoric pokemon’s scales firmly. Eventually it smooths out as they gain height. She doesn’t let him get too high, they still needed to be able to clearly see the beach stretched out below them.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]there's not much to hold on to; his legs buckle, tightening against knox's body as they take off into the sky. the jarring force sees him leaning forward as well, tensing under the pressure before they eventually level out.

there, he breathes, taking a moment to appreciate the view.

the beach looks bare, as though it was stripped naked. tall palm trees that once covered it have gone missing; his eyes trail the distance, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

"see anything?"

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

Eva takes a moment to peer out at the horizon, slowly turning before answering, “No, do you?” If she can’t see anything, she doubts Matias can. He lives here, he would know the land better than she does. Perhaps there’s somewhere they could have migrated to . . . like a canyon or perhaps even a forest to blend into.

Her eyes trail over towards the sea. A few small islands aren’t too far away. Perhaps they should look over there too.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]matias can barely hear her voice over the sound of the resisting winds. he leans in close, brushing against her ear.

"no, but try over there."

a finger points to the few small islands off to the side. they look green from this far away, so maybe the exeggutors could have migrated over there?

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

The way she shivers when he leans in and brushes against her ear is involuntary. It’s distracting enough for her to almost forget why they're up here in the first place. Her gaze follows his finger towards the small islands. It seems he had the same idea as her.

“Alright,” gentle pressure urges Knox to veer towards the ocean. He’s more graceful this time, not leaning too much in of losing control with the added weight on his back.

As they get closer, it’s easy to see that the islands are, in fact, more green in comparison to the desolate beach. Tall, palm tree-like creatures sway and move steadily along the islands’ beaches. The majority of them seem paired off, a few singles ones still roam alone, “Huh, we might have found ‘em,” she smiles, steering Knox to land a safe distance away from some of the dragons.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]they veer off to the side. he finds her waist to help stabilize himself; it lingers even after they tilt back, leveling once more.

"that's one mystery solved."

matias ponders on the other mystery while they land: why did they even leave in the first place?

he swings off knox, landing with a thud against the sand.

"thanks for the ride, knox."

narrowing his eyes, he peers up at tall shapes that tower near them; they cast long shadows that stretch across the beach.

he hums a thought.

"i don't have much experience with them. any idea why they might have moved? another predator in the area, maybe?"

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

Knox immediately shakes when they’re both dismounted. It elicits an exaggerated eye roll from the blonde, “You’re so dramatic,” she complains, giving Knox a firm slap on the side. A series of clicks and chirps are his response as he stalks off towards the shade.

Eva stands beside Matias, shading her eyes to look up at the tall dual-types near them before letting her gaze fall and survey the beach in general. She spares another look around, leaving Matias’s question to linger for a moment as her eyes settle back on the mainland which looks like a sliver against the deep blue of the sea, “Maybe,” she comments without much commitment. She has an idea of what’s going on, she could spot it from up in the air, “I think it’s mating season,” she turns back towards the pokemon. Most of them being in pairs gives it away, “They probably just wanna fuck in peace,” she couldn’t blame them. The Hoenn Star Tournament has brought a ton of tourists to the beaches of Hoenn. All those that normally go to Slateport are forced to frequent other beaches like Lilycove. In this case, the influx of trainers may actually be the “predator” in question, “But how the heck did they get all the way over here?!” That might be the biggest mystery.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"oh. well that's another mystery solved."

not really a mystery to begin with if he had been more perceptive. to be fair to him, he has no idea what fucking exeggutors look like. but the fact that most of them seem to be in pairs should have been enough of a tell.

"can they swim? or do they just sink?"

either way, he shrugs.

"i can send Laurence Anderson a message. seems like a problem for the rangers."

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

Eva takes a moment to think about it, “Hm, I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of one swimming,” so they must sink? But that wouldn’t make sense. This has her extremely intrigued. She makes a mental note to look into it later or else it would surely drive her crazy.

“Good idea,” there really wasn’t much else they could do here anyway except leave them in peace, “Back to your place then?” she grins, looking back over to Matias.

MATIAS SILPH