Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

From one fancy restaurant with a Silph, to a swanky posh cafe with another, he couldn't help but be amused at the stark contrast between now and the day prior.

An entire day in the slums certainly put the beauty of the upper district and its businesses into perspective.

As he slipped into the cafe, giving a smile to the barista behind the counter before moving towards the doors leading into the terrace, the young man moved with a calm heart.

He didn't know what exactly brought on Delilah's interest, but given her job, status and looks, he was willing to wager it wasn't his winning smile.

She got it all the same as he emerged into the terrace, lips quirking up as his eyes found her.

"Good evening, Ms. Delilah!" He said cheerfully as he drew close to the table, drawing back his seat. "I know we spoke before, but all the same: I'm John Sullivan— it's nice to finally meet you in person!"

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

He shook her hand, nodding.

"Pleasure's all mine, Delilah. Call me John."

His friends called him Doug, but that felt... inappropriate, given the current setting.

"Oh?" He uttered at the question, his smile stretching ever so slightly as he lightly cocked his head. "Well... I must warn in advance— It's an odd story."

The sort that he doubted many would believe, without living in Hoenn for long enough.

"I'm a Kantonian too; we're all over the world, huh?" He said wryly. They truly were a blessed nation. "I moved to Hoenn after... well. You know."

Boom bam war and slammed; they got their government overthrown and ran for the hills.

He leaned his head onto the back of his palm, sighing.

"That... was some... 6, 7 years ago."

Which... gave him more than enough time to get acquainted with Hoenn.

"From my perspective though, it was... quite a bit longer ago."

The young man had a self-amused smile on his lips as he turned his gaze over to Delilah.

"Tell me, Delilah— have you looked into the most recent League and Rocket skirmish? The 'battle for the ancient ruins', as the news are calling it?" He said, before rolling his eye. "They get more creative with each passing season, huh?"

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

"Me too." He said, digits tapping at the scar beneath his eye as he leaned his head onto his palm.

She knew about as much as one would expect from a civilian— and a lot less than he would've from someone in FERNANDO SILPH's inner circle— if one assumed she was being forthcoming.

Perhaps they weren't as close as their shared last name would have one think? Well, that was none of his business.

He smiled, humming; if Delilah was not part of Fernando's inner circle, what made her interested in the details? Simple curiosity? Or personal agenda?

"Naturally." He said simply, flicking at the straw of his drink. "The league's best and brightest were all present— for better or worse."

He was sure there were people out there who would applaud politicians that actually put their money in their mouth and stepped into the front lines.

He wasn't one of them, though. Too many risks for an arguably marginal increase in effectivity.

"I take it your brothers have not been very forthcoming about what happened in there?" He said directly, despite his eyes being on his drink.

He didn't care if he was being used one way or another— even in the unlikely chance Delilah was a rocket agent, the group already knew exactly what had happened in the memory Galar.

The information was hardly military-grade confidential.

He never shied from making new friends— and who knew? If he let himself be played just right, he might just make more than a new friend— or at least get a Silph to owe him a favor. Not too bad in any case.

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

He didn't acknowledge her brief slip up, leaning closer while resting his chin atop his palm instead.

"Well, I would say I remember my time there better than most!" He said, smile pleasant as ever. "Though... I can't help but be embarrassed, thinking about it now!"

He laughed.

Unlike most folk, he had spent most of his free time hitting the books and carving wood instead of studying the blade.

Save for the inevitable moments of warfare, it could be a somewhat dull, if fulfilling existence... In his opinion

"That, and... I would rather not monopolize the conversation. He said with a hum, cupping his chin thoughtfully before cocking his head.

He would rather not bore his date, either.

"How 'bout... we exchange stories?" He said, eye glinting. "I'm a bit curious 'bout you myself."

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

Well, now they were getting into the spirit of things!

"Right then! Let's see..." He dropped his chin atop his fist, humming thoughtfully whilst looking the woman in the eye.

What to ask? He wasn't one to overstep bounds— on first meeting, at any rate.

"What brought ya to Hoenn?" He asked simply, before smiling. "I do mean... Where were ya when ya decided ya were coming 'ere? What was the straw that broke the camerupt's back?"

Given that she was here now, it seemed like the localized meteor alone hadn't been enough...

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

He laughed.

"That checks out!" He said, shoulders quaking.

He hadn't quite forgotten his first meeting with FERNANDO SILPH yet.

The laughter didn't last long, though— 'the wedding that never happened' wasn't exactly difficult to parse.

He sighed, scratching at the back of his head.

"I was caught way off guard when I heard of that mess." He said, crossing his arms.

He was always out of the loop on those fronts; drama seemed to just skirt around his notice, no matter how close he was (or perceived himself to be) to those afflicted.

Turning his gaze back to Delilah, he considered her for a moment. Now that they were talking about Matias, the children psychologist in him couldn't help but speak.

"Your brother— uh. Let's just say, he ain't the easiest guy to get along with, putting it gently." He said after a moment, thinking about MATIAS SILPH.

He wasn't entirely ignorant of the man's... transgressions, anymore.

Beat.

"I mean, neither of them are, but I mean Matias specifically here." He clarified wryly, hoping the humor wasn't missed on their sister.

Anyway, moving on—

"So... Spend some quality time with him, yeah?" He said somewhat hopefully... before fixing an annoyed look on his face. "He won't hang out with me much."

Maybe he should be more stubborn in sticking to the man at this point.

Shaking off his annoyance with an eyeroll, he turned a smile back to Delilah.

"Anyway... I guess it's my turn now?" He said, leaning his chin atop his palm and grinning. "Any prompts for the storyteller, or should I take a blind shot?"

Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

If only they knew.

"I try to be polite." He said in response, before snickering. "Hope you two have fun. Tell him I said hi."

Hopefully, MATIAS SILPH would be able to drop the crazy man act and just be himself again with his family.

FERNANDO SILPH aside.

Unfortunately, family matters eventually came around to him. Worse yet, he had little to report.

"No. When I arrived to Hoenn, it was just mom, dad, and grandpa. Never had any siblings." He said, turning his eyes to his drink briefly. Very briefly— his eyes were back on her before any silence settled. "But my family as a whole ended up being very unlucky after Rocket came into the picture— both in Kanto and Hoenn."

He was technically 27 years removed from his traumas by now. He had processed them, for the most part. Discussing them wasn't too much of an ask, even with a new acquaintance. Not as much as it used to be anyway.