"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

☉

"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

☉

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

☉

"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

☉

"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

☉