[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]"lose?" her head tilts slightly to one side, almost weighed down by the thought. it takes a moment before a smile spreads. and maybe he'll be the winner but she'll be damned if she doesn't try to give him a run for his money.

once his turn has ended, she steps up to try her luck at scooping up fish.

"are you sure i'll be the loser here?" probably but that's neither here nor there.

this is, realistically, the most fun she's had in a little while. derek's surprisingly good company despite their... awkward first encounter. boob grabs aside, he's a nice guy and she's almost glowing a little in his presence.

and when their magikarp scoop turns are up, she's glancing toward him with a warm smile.

"which game's next?"

the competitive streak isn't ending here, not by a long shot.

PGhjIOPn
DEREK HOFFMAN
mission

"Wait, no way!" Derek moves to observe the measurements between their two Magikarp, finding that Illie's fish actually did best his own. Albeit only by the slightest margin. But, a loss was a loss, which made him the loser.

"Well, what game do you think?" Winner having choosing rights felt fitting, at least to him. As they moved away from that stand, a vendor selling tasty treats caught his eye. Holding up two fingers, they quickly provided two sticks of, well, Derek had no idea what the name was. Some kind of circular buns on a stick. Whether it was a deep-fried sweet or more like actual food, he had no idea. Regardless, he offered one to Illeana, though wouldn't be hurt in the slightest if she refused. It just meant more for him.

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she's quick to giggle, flashing a bright smile and even offering a peace sign as her magikarp is declared the winner. derek did his best but her fish was slightly chonkier... oh well, he'll more than likely best her by the end of the night.

"i dunno," she murmurs, shoulders rolling into a shrug. "let's take a look around and see what looks fun!"

and as they began to move away from the magikarp stand, he drifts toward a food stand. she follows and a curious look rises. the food smells amazing, even more so when he comes closer and offers one to her. her smile widens as her hand reaches out to take the skewer from him, fingers brushing against skin before pulling away.

"thank you," she coos. and without hesitation, she's descending on the stick of food and pulling a sweet rice ball off with her mouth. cute? a hum follows, muffled by a mouth full of food. "this is so good. what is it?"

DEREK HOFFMAN
mission

"Dunno, it just had a good smell coming off the stand." Not much of a home chef or food connoisseur, Derek could only really name simple dishes cooked in the average household. Like many his age, he mostly ordered out.

"Why, do you like to cook?" It didn't seem like a difficult treat to replicate, if she desired. Though more likely than not, she was just curious.

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]a grin rises. "definitely tastes as good as it smells."

festival food always has a certain allure to it. sweet or savory, it doesn't matter. it's all incredible, perhaps better than festivals themselves.

and when she goes to take another bite, he ushers a question out that makes her pause. she blinks, processing, and a flush quickly follows.

"oh, um," she mumbles. her smile turns sheepish. "i can't really cook." and in an attempt to shift the spotlight away from her embarrassing admittance, she asks the same of him.

"can you cook?"

DEREK HOFFMAN
mission

I guess there were some things a genius couldn't do.

"Uh, well...sort of?" Derek had to provide for himself since coming to Hoenn. He'd also helped his mother make dinner and breakfast a couple times in his youth. According to her, he had the tendency to over-salt things.

"I can make stir fry, pot roasts and that kind of stuff." He preferred cooking things from scratch, as it often yielded more flavor. Also, it was fun to chop things on the cutting board. It just kinda made him feel fancy, as opposed to ordering out all the time.

"Though I wish I knew how to make a good stock. Homemade soup is probably what I miss the most from back home." And the old-fashioned bread baked daily in Blackthorn.

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]sort of still counts as cooking, doesn't it? it's more than she can do, anyway.

"oooh," she coos. a curious look rises as it always does when presented with something she hasn't experienced yet. his cooking sounds good... maybe she'll have to try it soon. sate the curiosity and the hunger with one dinner.

hm, perhaps.

"never too late to learn," she offers with a grin. hell, maybe they can do a soup cooking class together. it'd help her bank account to stop ordering out...

her eyes soften at the mention of home. she doesn't share the sentiment of missing anything about homecooked meals, truthfully, but there's still some things she could miss: the snow, incredible hot chocolate, and warmth seeping back into the body after a long day outside in the cold.

"where's home? is it close?"

DEREK HOFFMAN
mission

"Yeah, you're not wrong." But there were some more pressing matters on the horizon than soup stock. Such was life in Hoenn.

"Close? Ehh...not really." Home was a whole different continent. "My family's in Blackthorn City, Johto. Not exactly an easy journey to make, but...not impossible, I suppose." He'd made the voyage on the back of his Garchomp once before, and if he had to, he could do it again.

The warm thoughts of home were in contrast to the breeze of the cool night's air. How he wished he had the flame body of a Rapidash to keep his bones warm.

"It's getting a little cold...and late. Do you think I could stop by your workplace sometime? I've got some projects in mind that might be able to use your expertise." Though he also just wanted to see her again.

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she hums, working over a soft calculation of the distance. no matter which way she tries, the answer is still the same: far enough to be missed.

and sometimes, she could almost feel the same. the line of thinking comes with the budding notion of home being a feeling, however, and not always a place.

"perhaps when you get some time off, you can take the trip." she flashes a warm smile. "maybe even bring back some recipes to show me?" the soup he misses would taste delicious, she has no doubt about that.

the chill creeps in with exploratory fingers, tracing the skin until goosebumps rise. and she shivers, drawing a little closer. even with all the people, all the lights... the cold still comes. it used to not bother her but the daughter of snowpoint has grown a little too accustomed to hoenn's warm climate.

"right," she murmurs, head dipping slightly in acknowledgement. it has gotten later than anticipated. where has the time gone? it flutters by, ushered on by good food and better company. "yes, of course. i'd be happy to help!" she flushes slightly, half from the cold and mostly at the thought of being someone he'd seek out again. even if it's just for her work, the concept and the light flutter it provides in her stomach remains the same.

"text me when you'd like to stop by?"

DEREK HOFFMAN
mission

"Really? Thanks so much!" For whatever reason, Derek harbored some small amount of doubt that she wouldn't have the time to deal with his project. Or maybe it was fear of rejection he instinctually felt.

"And yeah, sure thing. I was actually thinking of planning a small trip back home, so I'll keep that in mind." Even if Derek forgot, he could always text his mom for the recipes after the fact. Hell, even dad knew how to make one of the recipes (his favorite) by heart.

Though the two of them were barely familiar with one another, Derek couldn't help but force a quick hug on Illeana for being so good to him. Especially when taking what happened into consideration...

"Expect to hear from me soon, alright? And take care!" Reaching for a pokeball, Derek moves to put some distance between him and everyone before letting out his Charizard. After a brief wave they make their ascent to begin heading home, allowing her to do the same.

END OF THREAD

illeana reyes

☉