"Lars! Wonderful to see you again." Barnaby's first instinct is to stand and offer a friendly kiss to the Ranger's cheek, as was culturally accepted in Kalos, but he stopped himself short. Instead, a soft hand was given to Lars in greeting.

"Thank you for agreeing to come. Our last meeting together was cut far too short." In the same movement Barnaby used to take his hand back, the teacup was grasped and brought to his lips. One warm sip was taken before setting it back down on its saucer.

"I was hoping to spend a little bit more time together today. Get to know more about one another, hm?" He asked with a pleasant, easy smile.

Laurence Anderson
mission: SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

☉

It was with an amused, and slightly surprised smile, that Barnaby accepted the brush of lips across his knuckles. In the same breath, Lars ever so nonchalantly joined him on his side of the booth, requiring the journalist to shift in his seat to face the man now sitting beside him.

Forward, but not unattractively so. Perhaps he was always this friendly with near-strangers.

"I am, yes." Fond memories of his and Martín del Mar's drunken shenanigans came to mind at the thought of playing that particular game.

"I have to warn you, Lars, I'm very good at this game." The subtext spoke for itself. Barnaby was an adept liar, something that benefited him in both the criminal and public realms of his life.

Briefly, he pulled a pen and small notepad from his satchel, scrawling a T-chart on one page with their names written above either column.

Glancing up, his cobalt eyes met Lars' gaze, a spark of competitive mischief there. "First to five points loses?"

Laurence Anderson
mission: SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

☉

“That remains to be seen.”

"Oh? I'll give you my first truth on the house, then." Barnaby smiled devilishly, leaning in a little closer towards his date.

"I'm extremely competitive. You're going down, Lars." A whispered threat, meant to come off as lighthearted and fun. Pulling back and straightening up in his seat, he nodded his head in response to Lars' question.

"I'll do the honors." Barnaby proclaimed airily, bringing the ceramic teacup to his lips and taking another light sip before beginning their first round.

"I grew up with a Mr. Rime as a butler. I work for the Hoenn Broadcasting Station. I prefer dark liquors over light ones."

Laurence Anderson
mission: SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

☉

Barnaby thought himself a good judge of character. He was an observer, always watchful and attentive to his environment and those within it. So when Lars began to speak, he surveyed the other man intently, picking up on the inflection in his words and any associated facial tics (or lack thereof, considering his chronic RBF). However, Barnaby’s studious composure was soon broken by the Ranger’s comment about his aura.

A bright laugh escaped from his lips, pleasant and good-humored. “Do I? Well, I’ll admit I like to enjoy a drink socially every now and again. I can certainly hold my liquor.” Now that was a lie that Barnaby even routinely told himself. He was a lightweight with the confidence of a heavy drinker.

“That’s a point for you, Lars. I did indeed have a Mr. Rime as a butler. Reginald was his name, if I remember correctly.” Before continuing, he etched a tally mark on his date’s side of the paper.

“I’m a broadcast journalist for HNN, by the way. You should look me up sometime, see if you like my work.” He was curious to know what Lars thought of his show, of his publications, or his social media presence.

“As for your lie… an aversion to Bug-types is fairly common, so that seems believable to me. I have a harder time believing that you need to supplement your income with a part-time job, given your rank, but perhaps you enjoy the work? That leaves the fish market as the lie.” Barnaby announced this confidently, but inwardly he wasn’t 100% sure of his choice.

“I’m an avid swimmer, an only child, and I like to go horseback riding in my free time.”

Laurence Anderson
mission: SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

☉

"On your face? I can't quite blame you then!" The thought of being in the other man's shoes sent a shiver down Barnaby's spine. He had quite a thick skin, but a surprise spider to the face would unnerve anyone, especially one that weighed almost 20 pounds.

"I'm glad it only scared you, though. It'd be a shame for such a handsome face to be hurt." RBF or not, Barnaby could appreciate Lars' conventionally attractive looks. Plus he wasn't one to withhold compliments when such an easy opportunity was given. A small smile was directed Lars' way before the journalist took another sip of his tea.

"As far as work goes, I like to dabble in popular media. I host a morning talk show where I interview local celebrities, comment on viral trends or important happenings, current events, and the like. I also write columns about things I find interesting at the time, so there's no strict genre. Really, the network gives me a lot of creative freedom to do what I like to do." His work had been wildly popular back in Kalos and he'd received a similar reception upon transferring to Hoenn. His employers recognized that he got results doing things his way, allowing for limited oversight.

Speaking of work commitments, travel was one of them. "Alto Mare?" Barnaby's tone noticeably perked; he enjoyed talk of foreign lands. "You'll have to tell me more about your stay there. I've always wanted to visit." Even the mention of fish markets piqued his interest. He was fond of well-cooked seafood.

"Fair point about the tan lines, by the way. I actually swam competitively in secondary school and at university, though! So, not a lie." Considering his fairly conservative attire, it was probably difficult for Lars to make out the toned swimmer's body beneath Barnaby's clothing. Another tally was added to the Ranger's side of the page.

"Lately I'm more of an indoor swimmer. Work in Mauville keeps me busy and I'm lucky if I can get a few laps in at my apartment pool during the week. Same goes for horseback riding, unfortunately." When he was swimming on his school's team most of his meets had been indoors as well. That didn't stop Barnaby from enjoying scuba diving and other aquatic hobbies, however. He truly did love the water.

Now, it was time to suss out Lars' next lie and, this time around, it seemed like a fairly obvious choice. "A Ranger that can't swim? Now that would certainly be an occupational hazard." Surely it was a requirement in case they were called to assist during floods or the like? "That has to be the lie." This time he was more confident in his answer. However, the obvious choice wasn't always the correct one. Perhaps Lars had managed to fool him!

With his decision proclaimed, it was his turn yet again. If Lars was perceptive he might have noticed that Barnaby didn't comment on his sibling situation and instead went straight into his next three statements.

"Tea is my favorite drink. English is my first language. I did my graduate studies in Galar."

Laurence Anderson
mission: SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

☉

"Looks like you're catching up," He conceded with a smile as Lars leaned over and drew a tally mark on the paper. The game wasn't over just yet, though!

Playing it cool, Barnaby refilled his cup of tea from the kettle on the table and then took another sip, listening as his date talked of Alto Mare and other hobbies. When he spoke of his work, though, Barnaby reacted with a sympathetic look and furrow of his brow.

"You're right, Hoenn has been particularly crazy as of late." What with the space-time distortions popping up and everything else. "What made you want to go from delivery rider to Ranger? It's a much more dangerous occupation."

As the conversation shifted back to their competition, Barnaby regarded Laurence Anderson with an equally mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Yes, I do love tea. I enjoy trying out new types and flavors when I can."

And then came his answer, which was correct, of course. That round had been too easy, Barnaby supposed, his accent having given it away.

"Alright, you bested me there. A bonus point to you for remembering I'm Kalosian." It was something that had been revealed during their first meeting at the Speed Dating event.

Two more tallies were added to Barnaby's side of the page (he wasn't kidding about the bonus point!), leaving their scores tied. Their game would likely be decided in the next round.

The pressure was on!

"A choice between beer or liquor?" Barnaby paused, hand on his chin, and narrowed his eyes in mock-appraisal as he observed Lars. "You look like a beer man... so, I'll say tequila is the lie. That shit burns going down. Rum is smoother, in my experience."

Laurence Anderson
mission: SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

☉