Gavin isn't in his office. He's not even on the sub. But after receiving a series of pictures featuring a strange Pokemon the likes of which he's never seen... well, he reluctantly bids farewell to his fiancé and makes the walk down to the Cave of Origin.

It's nice, having the sub parked here occasionally. It means he can simply walk aboard, instead of contacting the agents responsible for the queue of people teleporting in and out, and waiting for the sub to be at the correct depth that his insides won't become outsides on account of all the pressure, and immediately being hounded by all those who now knew the underboss was on board and available for whatever problems had sprung up in his absence.

Instead of all that, he makes his way to the training grounds and sits down on a bench.

"Where did you find that?"

His first question for one Eris Halla.

Eris Halla

He's content to watch the exchange between Eris and her strange new companion for a moment before speaking up, arching a brow at the child's response. It's evident by the flicker of amusement that he doesn't believe her.

"Ah, I see. Were there any other fantastical Pokémon up there?"

Her, Eris had said. He wondered if she knew for sure.

"Do you know what she is?"

Because he certainly doesn't.

Eris Halla

There's a brief flicker of annoyance at the mention of Reshiram, but Gavin doesn't comment.

"The flowers led you? How? No matter how he tries to puzzle it out, it doesn't make sense in his mind. Then again, he wouldn't have believed the schisms in Sootopolis if he hadn't seen them with his own two eyes. Or the mess beneath the Church of Arceus. Eris had been there for that, too. "There's more than one of these things?"

He laughs aloud at the explanation of what she calls it. Shaymin.

His expression at the mention of Silph is noticeably darker.

"Told by whom?"

Eris Halla

The wind. Now he's heard everything.

Deciding better than to question her further, as he wasn't getting any answers of which he could make sense, Gavin focuses instead on the question posed.

"With difficult Pokemon?" His brow furrows, and then she mentions her Zeraora. "Ah, those of a legendary class?"

He glances over at the Shaymin. That thing? Really? It was so small, and... cute. Then again, his Zeraora had been quite adorable as a kitten, when it had been able to perch on his shoulder and hang on with its little claws. There's a brief flicker of sadness as he thinks of the crippled white cat, christened 'Chu-e' in honor of the man it had nearly died trying to protect.

"Ordinarily I rely on strength. Command. But you could try asking it."

Pokemon couldn't respond with words, but sometimes through a careful game of charades you could communicate well enough.

Eris Halla

Reiner curls around Eris' left, and Gavin cants his head. Yes, he sees what dorian westcliff had been saying. The loss of her eye was not a noticeable, physical thing but if you knew to look, there were signs. Her shoddy depth perception when she'd tried to tackle the Shaymin. Her delayed reactions to things on her right side.

What happened to you?

He doesn't ask right away, instead observing her interactions with 'Azalea' with a curious press of his lips.

"Did you take her from her home against her will?" he wonders. "Or did she choose to accompany you? If she chose this, there must be some reason."

Eris Halla

"You fought her?"

That would lend credence to the idea that this angry little creature valued strength, to some capacity. She's quite the sight as she growls and hops about, quite like an upset child herself with her tantrum.

Gavin sits down, crossing his legs, to be closer to the agitated Shaymin and on level with Eris.

"Perhaps she wants you to prove your strength again?" He shrugs. He doesn't know, can't say for sure. But, "Eris, what happened to your eye?"

He asks suddenly, hoping to catch her off-guard and see the truth spill out.

Eris Halla

She cuts herself off, but Gavin's heard enough.

"Matias." He spits the name, pure vitriol. "Did he do this to you?"

Gavin gets up, his earlier nonchalance swept beneath a blazing fury. He grips Eris' chin, turning her head that he might get a better look at her injuries. His grip is too tight on account of his fury, though the rage isn't directed at her. That scar was new, that was for certain.

"You're favouring your left; I'm not an idiot."

He lets go, shaking his head.

"When were you planning to mention this?"

She wasn't, he assumes.

Eris Halla