"Oh, I uh..." Derek is already there, taste-testing some of the first batch he whipped up shortly before the pink-haired stranger arrived. Well, they'd told him the name of the stranger he'd be working with, but did that really constitute her as something more than a stranger? He didn't think so, at least not yet anyway.

Her words find him off guard, awkwardly caught between trying to enjoy the fruits of his labor while also conflicted on whether he should've dropped it to look like he wasn't eating any in the first place. So much for that...

"I mean, how do we know it's good if we don't try it?" Flashing a half-hearted smile, his Sobble nods in agreement as it nabs itself a small morsel of the cookie dough. "Not helping, Jonesy." Strained whispering comes from the corner of his mouth, letting the pokemon know it's time to straighten up their act.

Jessica Manner

☉

Jessie didn't realize that she'd walk in on her partner feasting on his cooked goods. She blinked at him, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked between him and his Sobble to the goodies he had been snacking on.

Well... he had a point.

"I mostly meant that Finn shouldn't snatch something and run off to eat it. He'll do it if he's really tempted by something," she said.

Definitely trying to give him a way out of trouble.

"But also, maybe we shouldn't eat what we're trying to give to other people... right?"

Jessie couldn't help but laugh, approaching Derek and the Sobble. She extended a hand to him.

"I'm Jessie, by the way."

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

"Yeah...I'd be tempted to snatch them too. If you think about it, most pokemon have never even tasted a cookie, let alone in raw dough form. And that's the best part!" Thinking about all the wild pokemon that didn't get to enjoy such things because 'iT wAsNt NaTuRaLlY oCcUrRiNg' was actually pretty depressing. It was no wonder why he let his Sobble, Jonesy, eat so much of it.

And the Sobble agreed. Raw cookie dough was the best!

"But I'll keep an eye out for any thieves." The look he cast down towards Jonesy very much indicated that he wasn't allowed to have anymore. "Also, I'm Derek, and if you didn't hear it a second ago, this Sobble here is called Jonesy." A gentle hand is given to the one Jessie offered, briefly shaking it as a gesture of good faith.

Hopefully she didn't mind the flour.

Once these typical greetings and pleasantries were exchanged, Derek moved to placing the cookie dough onto an oven tray covered in parchment paper. His oven had already been pre-heated to the appropriate temperature, making it time for the first batch.

While waiting for them to finish after putting them in, he decided to strike up more conversation with Jessie. "Sorry if this is a little forthright, but what do you do? Y'know, besides baking for charity."

Jessica Manner

☉

"I get your point. I'm not sure what Finn did for food before I got him... but I can tell you that he's really spoiled now," Jessie said as she shot her DELPHOX a look from the corner of her eye.

Of course, Finn ignored her, his arms crossed as he looked off to the side. He was rather upset that he wasn't able to snatch any treats. Well, at least for now.

It was absolutely certain she'd cave and give him something later.

DEREK HOFFMAN shook her outstretched hand, and Jessie smiled, looking down at the SOBBLE.

"What a cutie and a cute name! So adorable. As I said a second ago, this is my DELPHOX, Finn. He's my trusty best man."

She reached behind her head to pull her hair up into a ponytail. No one wanted to find pink hair in their cookies. At least, she was pretty sure no one wanted that. Scooting to the counter beside Derek, Jessie started sifting through the ingredients.

"Hm? Oh, I do a lot of entertainment. Y'know, night life stuff. Mostly dancing and chatting with customers. That's what I get paid for, at least. As far as what I do at home? Knit, watch movies, cuddle with my babies."

All of her Pokemon were considered her babies. And they were cute in their own ways.

"What about you?"

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

Letting her speak uninterrupted, Derek only chimes in when Jessie finally mentions what she does for work. And also during her time off. "Sounds like you meet a lot of people." One thing about his current occupation was that it revolved mostly around pokemon. There wasn't anything bad about it, but, you know...

"I'm a ranger. For now, anyway. I've started to consider a different field, or maybe one I'd be familiar with." Allowing her to have free reign over the ingredients for the next batch, Derek leans back and decides to indulge in more conversation. At least until she asks for help with something. "I was a gym leader a couple years back, and part of me wants to go back to it." And another part of him was curious if she knew anything about that sort of thing. "Do you battle with your pokemon? Y'know, like, competitively. For badges, or sport."

Or maybe for some other reason she might've had.

Jessica Manner

☉

"I do, for better or for worse. I've met good people and bad people in the clubs. Some of the nicest people will frequent there just for company. But the sleaziest will show up there too."

But she could handle her own with a disgusting person. It wasn't like she hadn't kicked a man in the balls for trying to harass her or one of the other girls.

Jessie worked with the eggs, the oil, the milk, all of the ingredients as Derek engaged in conversation, measuring them to precision and stirring them diligently with the woodenly spoon. While she didn't make eye contact, she listened intently while swatting at Finn's reaching paw.

"A gym leader? That seems like consuming work. I'd imagine you had a lot of people trying to come and challenge you. That's at least the image I gathered, from what I saw on TV," she said with a small giggle.

She spread a piece of baking paper out on the pan, beginning to form small circles of dough out.

"You know, when I was younger, I would have done that. Fought competitively for gym badges. I wanted to be a strong trainer, like my dad. But since I've come to Hoenn, and gotten older..."

Jessie trailed off, pausing for a moment in her actions as she thought.

"I don't know. It doesn't really appeal to me, you know? I've considered maybe doing it in case I need to protect myself... but not really anything else..."

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

"Oh, I hear you." Being a gym leader was definitely annoying in some ways. Though if you were generally loved by the public, it wasn't all that bad. You just had to get used to being busy all the time with matches, or whatever the League bid you do.

Derek then looks thoughtfully into the ceiling, wondering what it would be like if his dad was a trainer. He'd worked with a pokemon or two in his youth, but nothing competitive. Both his parents worked seated at a desk, or attending some kind of meetings.

"I'm kind of the same. I enjoyed being a gym leader, but going to battle others for a badge? I don't know why people care about them so much. There's so many talented people out there who don't have nearly as many badges as those affiliated with the league."

The more true test of individual power in this region was whether one was an avatar or not. If you could garner the favor of a legendary pokemon, you basically became nothing short of a superhero, or demigod.

The sudden beeping sound from the oven alerted Derek and Jonesy that their cookies were done. "Oh! Lemme get those out of your way..." Transferring the several trays of baked goods to a cooling rack elsewhere in the kitchen, Jessica would be able to finish cooking her own so that the two of them could be well on their way to getting paid.

Jessica Manner

☉

"I feel like you would have almost no time for yourself as well, right? You'd battle all day and then would come home to rest. And when you weren't doing gym stuff, I imagine the League had you busy doing things for them too, huh?"

It wasn't accusatory. It was curiosity that tinted her words as Jessie slid her cookies into the oven. They were set to cook for several minutes, while they chatted.

Meanwhile, she allowed Finn to like the spoon she had worked with, since he hadn't caused too much trouble.

"Maybe people also just like the feeling of collecting things. Or feeling worthy. It just doesn't do it for me."

Jessie chuckled, shrugging. Her cookies cooked, and they came out perfectly. Cute little Pokemon shaped cookies, cooling off on a rack. She hummed happily, looking over at Derek.

"Do you want some for yourself? There should be plenty for the sale."

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

"Yeah. If the League doesn't call you in, they're still expecting you to show up when an incident does occur." If you didn't show, well, that was probably a mark against your name. Too many of those and you'd be likely to lose your station, stripped of the cozy gym life and thrust back into whatever you could manage.

Her guess of why people get satisfaction out of it makes sense. "I'd like the badges, but the same goes for me in that chasing them isn't much of a thrill." Well, maybe some of the gym leaders would make for an exciting match. But Derek would more-so be looking to help the community in whatever capacity he could. Particularly when legendary pokemon, aliens or whatever decided it was about time to invade the region.

Taking her up on the offer, Derek and Jonesy reach for one each, enjoying the soft, chewy gooey texture of the chocolate chip cookies. He's still finishing his first one while the Sobble goes for a second, and a third.

What? He has two hands...

"Well, it's probably time we get going." There were some ranger matters he wanted to discuss with someone. "Thanks for having us. Hope we get to meet again like this sometime!" Waving as he gathered his pack and Jonesy over his shoulder, Derek makes his way for the exit and takes his leave.

Jessica Manner

☉