you want me to move it?

to her question, he says nothing and simply looks over at her as though there's not even a need for an answer. thankfully, she takes the hint, and he watches her prod and investigate as she attempts to come up with a solution.

a solution that should've been straightforward.

but as he's about to open his mouth to criticize her, the sight of her comfey floating down to rest atop her head is too adorable and distracting. he bites his tongue, exhaling after as he steels himself.

"take your time."

despite his words, she's on a timer. the sandaconda isn't going to stay soothed forever.

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉

It is adorable and who could blame Lance for being distracted?

When he tells her to take her time, she looks at him, eyes as if of gold meeting his. She smiles, oh so softly, and as she tucks a strand of hair behind an ear, the Comfy remains atop of her head with its colourful flowers.

”You okay, captain?”

Captain.

Her attention turns back to the Sandaconda then, taking a step back and reaching for a third pokéball in order to call out her Decidueye. The large bird extends his wings the moment he appears, taking a look at his surroundings before his gaze sets on Lia.

”Junie, do you mind taking this Sandaconda over there?”

Despite the strange request, the Decidueye doesn’t question her, but it does seem to give Lance a quick judgemental look before reaching over to gently grab onto the Sandaconda’s tail with its strong talons, pulling it up.

”Oh. Sweet, can you go with them and keep an eye on your new friend?”

She smiles at the Bounsweet, and it smiles right back at her, happily skipping along after the Decidueye.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

captain.

lance isn't caught off guard often, and yet, here he is: being caught off guard twice in the span of a single morning. his cheek even flushes a little as he chuckles, holding his gaze and standing his ground.

"just peachy."

his attention falls back to the decidueye as he watches it relocate his sandaconda all the way to the other side of the field. sandaconda's going to have a hell of a time slithering on back, that's for sure.

shrugging, he turns to face lia.

"took you a while. don't you have a physically strong pokemon like a machamp?"

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉

’Just peachy.’

What kind of answer is that?

She chuckles too, and it could be her imagination, but she could almost swear he’s blushing – if only just a little. Why is that so cute? Why is he so cute? It’s not fair, honestly.

But that moment is gone as quickly as it happens, and her attention all too quickly returns to the pokémon. The Decidueye does its job just fine, but apparently Lance doesn’t seem too satisfied. So, she looks up at him one more time just as her pokémon come back to her side.

”No, I don’t. Are you saying I should?”

Machamp don’t really suit the way she does things, and she could never imagine herself training one of those…

”Hmm… I do have a Larvitar I should probably train and evolve at some point, but he’s really cute as he is.”

She shrugs, as if this is a valid and obvious argument to make.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

"you should. it's important to have a diverse team."

the reasons should be clear enough so he doesn't bother explaining why. he's sure she could figure it out on her own.

but he's really cute as is.

lance blinks.

seriously?

she doesn't want to evolve her larvitar because he's really cute? one: cute. two: not a valid argument. he sighs.

"tyranitar are strong but they have really short arms and are generally quite immobile."

he stops himself from doing tyranitar arms.

"again, you need something strong that's still able to freely move around. like a machamp."

not sure why he's advocating so much for a machamp when he doesn't even have one. maybe it's just the first and only pokemon that comes to his mind.

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉

”Hmm...I guess that’s true, I don’t really have a lot of pokémon right now.”

She never really had a need to have a lot of pokémon until now, but it doesn’t take much thinking about it for Lance’s words to make sense. It’s something she’s heard a few times before, after all. Lia is not completely clueless when it comes to things like those.

Still, why is he so obsessed with Machamp?

Looking at him, she meets his gaze, narrowing bright gold eyes for a moment. Then, she smiles, an eyebrow being raised.

”Do you have a Machamp, captain?”

If he doesn’t have one, it’s a bit hypocritical to tell her to get one, isn't it?

Atop of her head, the Comfey yawns, gently shuffling its flowers before going back to resting.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

one of the main reasons as to why lance catches as many pokemon as he can is to diversify, which allows him to be better prepared for situations. imagine specializing in grass-types only to have to respond to a wildfire.

captain.

make that three.

"i don't."

he shrugs.

"but i have other pokemon that fit the role a machamp would play."

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉

So, he doesn’t have a Machamp.

Lia does nothing more than look at him, the smile remaining and the eyebrow still raised. Her gaze never leaves his, allowing silence to rest between them for a few seconds as if letting dust settle on the fact that he’s definitely being a bit of a hypocrite.

”So… You don’t have a Machamp but you insist that I should capture one, huh?”

And at that moment, she can’t help herself, laughing as soon as these words are spoken. It’s a light and melodic sound, and it comes with the ever so slight reddening of her cheeks because she knows she probably shouldn’t be laughing at her captain. And, honestly, she wouldn’t have if it weren’t for those moments shared before this.

”Sorry, it just seems a bit hypocritical. I’ll try to catch some stronger pokémon, promise.”

The sound of laughter lingers over these words, the smile that follows being bright and honest even if she’s definitely calling him out here...

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

"...yes."

no, she shouldn't be laughing at her captain, but she's not entirely at fault here. he shares some of the blame, even more so when he doesn't bother with correcting her.

with a sigh, he recalls his sandaconda back into their pokeball.

"you better."

too playful, really, and he really does try his best to ask the next question with a straight face.

"how's your fitness?"

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉

Can Lia really be blamed for reacting the way that she did? Lance definitely has most of the blame here, and the same thing could be said about his next question…

‘How’s your fitness?’

She has barely even stopped laughing by the time it comes; a pokéball in her hands after having just called back her Decidueye, but pausing when in the middle of putting it away. She looks at him, the obvious answer resting at the tip of her tongue, but even Lia isn’t shameless enough to just casually say embarrassing things like those – especially to a man she barely knows and who is now her boss.

Those pink hues on her cheeks deepen, and even though she doesn’t look away from him, there is a slight pout as the question lingers between them. Lia has never been good at pretending, nor at hiding her feelings.

”...Lance…”

Not ‘captain’. Not at that very second, at least.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

is she blushing? as cute as it is, surely it wasn't because of his innocent question. all he wanted to know was if she'd be able to keep up with the other rangers, but it's clear to him that she interpreted it differently.

so, he takes a step closer; perhaps too close for comfort given their situation.

his smirk only grows as his voice drops to a whisper.

"lia."

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉

Of course it was because of his question.

Would anyone really believe it if told that Lance didn’t know what he was doing when he said it? Lia wouldn’t, at least. The way she sees it, it definitely looks like he’s doing it all on purpose.

Especially when he’s suddenly so close…

Especially when his voice drops to a whisper…

’Lia.’

Can she blush more than what she already is? It’s only after he whispers her name that she looks away from him, a hand gently slapping his chest but not pushing him away.

”Laaance. Stop it.”

The pout remains.

So much for keeping it professional.

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

it's almost too easy, really, but he's not complaining.

for the briefest of moments, he mirrors her pout as his voice stays level in a whisper; nothing more, nothing less.

"we have about thirty minutes until the others get here."

once again, he smirks.

"plenty time to warm up, don't you think?"

Amelia Livy // [x]

☉