[attr="class","sampost"]

the moment the man spoke sam wondered if this was going to be one of those 'aliens' stories. you know, those stories where the old guy goes on and on about something and claims it's aliens and that he has proof. come to find out the 'proof' is just a photograph with a broken camera that caused a lens flare.[break][break]

regardless, the grunt kept his mouth shut and listened. why? because he wanted to get paid. it was easy for him to even go so far as to put on a listening face; one of slight interest and no judgemental gazes whatsoever- even if his brain was being extra judgemental...[break][break]

oh and look, it was better than aliens. magical plant healing people! sam's face remained pretty stoic, very expressionless, though his mind probably would be best represented by a gif of somebody raising only one eyebrow and skeptically wrinkling their features. the idea that somebody simply laid their hands on the planet and brought it back to life, separate from the earth it grew upon, was bizarre. what was more bizarre was the aroma that surrounded the plant. it smelled... well, the only way he could describe it was good. which was strange, and a bit terrifying, admittedly.[break][break]

"they just, laid hands on it, and gave it life shaymin style?"[break][break]

[attr="class","samtri2"]

[attr="class","sampost"]

'shit just hit the fan... spectacular.' sam's thoughts were as pessimistic as always and kept to himself. he didn't bother even making a face or flinching away when the zombie-flower-carrier mentioned that the league was involved. they were typically always involved. the war between the rockets and the league had gone on since the dawn of rocket, or possibly the dawn of the league. it wasn't nearly as important in sam's mind as it should have been. not because he was a wishy-washy-rocket, though that was the truth. it was more because sam had bigger things to worry and fret over. like if his mother would survive her next treatment or surgery. the petty war between political officials just didn't matter[break][break]

which brought to light the fact that he was curious enough about this person in the league and their ability to seemingly raise the dead, even something as minuscule as a flower. that sort of thing couldn't be ignored by rocket. unfortunately.[break][break]

maybe he would be assigned to research it, instead of just having to do little odd jobs. a steady 'job' of sorts within rocket--[break][break]

a shoulder brushing his jarred his thoughts and he focused on the words goro spoke as he ignored the tingle in his elbow from the macho-green-haired-man's touch. the fear in goro's tone was evident, and the change in tone when he'd slipped. what had he slipped up about? ah, gender identity. so it was a female? a league female? he'd be keeping his eyes out for a league girl with glowing eyes.[break][break]

"the only thing in recorded history that can bring anything back to life is celebi, and even then it's mostly myth. since xerneas, known as the life pokémon, namely just deals in giving eternal life and there's no record of revivals happening." sam gave a small dialog, his thoughts out loud, before leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest in thought. "...i haven't ever heard of a person being able to do such a thing... but pokémon have inhabited people before, namely psychic pokémon, which celebi happens to be."[break][break]

in short? it was possible and sam's tone suggested it wasn't his problem.[break][break]

[attr="class","samtri2"]

[attr="class","ssampost"]

Elijah’s joke had Sam letting out a snort of sorts as he took a sip of his drink. With the way Goro was going off, that was definitely a reaction that was to be expected.[break][break]

It was interesting to Sam that people would have thought this was a ‘scary’ topic. He supposed if he saw somebody bring a Pokémon back to life he might be a bit weirded out… but scared? That wasn’t at all likely. If only because he didn’t much care about the ‘power’ behind such an act, but the science instead. It was intriguing, not frightening. Or perhaps he was just an oddball.[break][break]

The glance thrown back by Elijah wasn’t met with anything but a side eye and a brow raise. The sort of motions that said Sam was listening but had no intention of speaking just yet. ’My guess is mission… that would make sense. Otherwise, most Rockets tend to want to Hulk Smash league members, not play nice.’ [break][break]

Oh and there it was, the cock fight. It was why Sam simply sided with believing people and keeping his skeptical thoughts to himself. Sam would have been lying if he hadn’t felt a small ego boost in the fact that he was treated better than Elijah, most people would have, but instead of letting the two argue he leaned forward enough in the chair to show he was engaging the conversation. A soft hand was placed on Elijah’s forearm, then his hand quickly retreated. It was Sam’s way of saying ‘down Bessie’ without being commanding or ugly.[break][break]

”Okay, so, you set a trap and you were a good Rocket boy. Props.” Sam’s tone was showing no harsh tones, just neutral interest. ”The league might have somebody who can revive flowers. But what if it goes beyond flowers? I understand the concern, but why bring it to… well, us? Why wouldn’t taking it to the Boss be your first instinct?”[break][break]

Then, Sam showed a smirk. The first real emotion other than neutral or sassy since he’d sat down. ”Or is it perhaps, that we’re Guniea pigs? To see how the Boss would react to the craziness?” [break][break]

[attr="class","ssamtri2"]

The more time Sam spent with the Froakie line, the more they made him want to never have one. Why? Because they were always sneaking and shifting. Or perhaps Sam was more of the ‘honest and moral’ kind of guy. The sort that didn’t randomly do shady things to get his way… oh and this was why he was only a grunt in Rocket, because he didn’t much care to do underhanded things to change his status and elect himself a higher rank.

Oh, morals, those weighted things.

The dick contest was becoming irritating. Elijah was simply skeptical, which Sam could understand. People reacted differently to skepticism. Some manipulated a situation to become more comfortable, some were more brash or harsh to try and create comfort, some didn’t give a fuck, and other - like Sam - tended to dissect what he could from a situation by using either flattery or giving an ego boost.

Not everything Sam said was bullshit though, which made Sam all the more unique in his approach to his skepticism.

”Let’s not get hostile.” Sam shifted uncomfortably as the door slammed shut. ”Taking away our escape route isn’t going to make us anymore comfortable. Elijah has every right to be uncomfortable in the situation. As much right as you do. We were called here because of our knowledge, you’re demanding from us mind you, even going so far as to ‘shut us in.’”

A small shrug of his shoulders was all he could manage as he feigned comfort and ‘relaxed’ into the chair again. ”My advice in this particular situation would be trust. Firstly, opening the door. Secondly, maybe acting a slight less childish and paranoid toward our intentions. Which, by the way, are simply to observe for our own curiosity.”

+ Goro Shimizu
+ elijah gardner
+ why do i feel like sam is the mediator oh boy