Meanwhile Amor was hoping for a day of peace, and quiet. After the conference of all Rocket higher ups he wanted some time to himself. This was one of the few places in Lilycove where they made a Kalosian dish that he favored, so he thought he'd enjoy it. Being alone didn't bother him, in most scenarios he preferred it, but that was not meant be. Amor as far as he knew didn't have any fans, the tabloids wrote articles about him occasionally, but that was all there was to it. A bachelor CEO of a tech company that the League had disavowed because he attacked one of their own. So when he was approached by a woman that he didn't immediately recognize, he furrowed his brow. When she invaded his personal space, it took his self restraint to not pull away.

Was she crazy? Did she not know what she was doing? Was this some one night stand from years ago that he had forgotten about? Very few people acted this familiar with him, and he was about to call over Walter to dispose of the invader, before she whispered in his ear.

"Just play along, Mr. Head Scientist."

At that he just sighed internally. A Rocket....Probably a grunt since he didn't recognize her face, and so he allowed himself to be dragged over to her table. There would be no peace for him this day, but he looked her over. There was vague recognition in his eyes now. She was fairly new if he remembered correctly, of course he didn't know who recruited her, but that would be solved.

"I'm so glad you caught me, I would have never known where to sit otherwise....Miss....?" An amused look on his face. If she wanted to interrupt his peace, then she would have to deal with the consequences.

VELVET ASCH

velvet cants her head to the side. there's no need to give a fake name here, and she supposes she should show some respect to her higher ups so she doesn't get the boot purely for insolence. "velvet," she says as she leads him over to her table. "velvet asch. don't forget the name, m'kay? you might just about break my heart." she releases her grip then, satisfied that he's not going to book it. the time to escape would have been much earlier, but for now, he was playing along. maybe she wasn't the only bored one here.

velvet takes her seat again and crosses one leg over the other. "sorry to drag you over," she says, not sounding sorry at all. "you have to understand... it is so humiliating to be eating by myself here." she waves her hand, and one of the waitresses comes by to refill her glass. oh, that's not what i wanted, but... oh well! she takes a sip. "i'll owe you one after this. dunno how useful i can be with the science shit, but i have my ways." her eyes sparkle as she leans in, cat-like smile on her painted lips. "and anyway, we're both a little... new to our positions, right? it can't hurt to get to know people a little better."

a little shmoozing never hurt anyone. probably. most of her connections are outside of rocket, so she's eager to get to know people on the inside a little better.

[ Amor Rose ]

The woman spoke, and he listened thoughtfully, or at least he hoped that it came off thoughtfully to her. Amor severely doubted that he would be capable of breaking her heart. She seemed like the type who had multiple men on leashes. Though amusement did flash on his eyes as he managed to order his lemonade before the waitress vanished.

"Oh is that so? Owing someone you know nothing about is dangerous Ms. Asch....You never know what sort of devil you could be signing a contract with." His drink came, and he enjoyed the sweet, and tart beverage that was one of his favorites. Though he wasn't going to not remember that. "I suppose you're not wrong, so tell me. What do you hope to get out of working with the organization?" Everyone wanted something that was an immutable fact of the universe. Very few people just joined Rocket without a reason.

Either they were born into it, they owed something to the syndicate, or they were blackmailed into it usually. There were very few cases of people willingly joining it without already having a disposition towards it. So he crossed his fingers over each other, and rested his chin on them, meeting her eyes easily.

VELVET ASCH

she sips at her drink, an unsweetened iced tea. she usually tries to stay away from any drinks that are too sugary, not wanting them to color her teeth over time. a smudge of lipstick remains on the glass after she puts it down, but the rest of her makeup doesn't budge. "i have to want something?" velvet jokes. "can't i just be doing it for the sense of community...?" she bats her eyelashes, and then laughs, shaking her head. yeah, there's no way he's going to buy that. you don't get in such an important position by believing everything you hear.

she crosses one leg over the other and leans back in her chair. "i just want to win," velvet explains. "that's all, really." and nobody wins by playing nice. she learned that lesson as a child, and she's been making sure other people learn it from her ever since. she considers it a gift, from her to them.

their waitress arrives at the table with a salad, placing it in front of velvet and leaving, assuring her that the rest would be out soon. velvet nods, and looks at amor with interest. "and you? what are you hoping to get out of it?"

[ Amor Rose ]

She wanted to win? Win what exactly, she didn't strike him as the type who wanted to to win the war for Hoenn. Attention, seemed more likely after all Rocket had arguably more resources to help someone like her out. Though he sipped at his lemonade through the straw boredly as he pondered her answer.

"And you? What are you hoping to get out of it?" Came her question to him, and he just smiled.

"That Ms. Asch is a very long story, and we've only just met. Perhaps if you impress me, or show that you've got potential, I'll give you an answer. But I'll give you a hint...." He just smirked at her. "I want to win as well." The bet he had made with Elinor Anderson so long ago. Though Velvet would have no idea about the bet, the stakes, or what he got for winning. Amor simply wasn't in the habit of losing.

Their waitress returned ready to take their orders.

"Yes I'll have this steak, as close to rare as legally possible." He explained to the waitress, he always got the same look when he ate at a new place. "Thank you darlin...." He gave the Waitress a charming smile before she took Velvet's order, and scurrying off. "So you're not useful to my department, and yet you owe me one now....How exactly do you plan on paying me back? Are you going to write a song about me....?" He asked amused.

VELVET ASCH

velvet pouts and puffs her cheeks out. "you assume i have no way of being useful to your department, just 'cuz i'm not an egghead like you?" she grumbles. well, he's probably right, but i'm full of surprises! she picks at her salad, chewing thoughtfully. "i'm not just a musician," she says once she's done. "i'm not half-bad when it comes to battling, and i know people. i could probably find some way to do wonders for your publicity, too." being such an extrovert who's relatively new to the gang means most of her connections are outside rocket, leaving them ripe for manipulation and abuse.

she taps her nails on the table. her food comes out; looks like she got a fish filet on a bed of rice. the waitress tells amor that his food will be out shortly as well, and then departs with a backwards glance toward the table. wonder if she knows us, velvet reflects. neither of them are exactly covert operatives.

she starts digging into her food, though she's careful to eat so she doesn't mess up her lipstick.

[ Amor Rose ]

He just chuckles at the childish way in which she tries to rebuke him.

"You think all I am is an egghead....? You may need to do a bit more research, Ms. Asch." He chuckles still clearly amused by this entire scenario, but he listened intently as she listened off ways that she could be useful. "I'll be the judge of your battle prowess....Perhaps later. Let's table all of your perceived skills for the moment. Humor me...." It was the least she could do since he was humoring her. "You told me earlier you wanted to win....That was why you joined. What exactly do you want to win....?" Amor had made a habit of this as of late.

Asking the grunts, and various others why the joined Rocket, and what they hoped to achieve during their time with them. She wanted to win, but what did that mean to her? Did she win when she achieved her personal goal, when Rocket took over Hoenn. Of course he could mull it over, but she was right here in front of him.

VELVET ASCH

she listens intently as she digs a fork into her meal. "hmmm... how do i put it...?" velvet wonders aloud. there is no one singular thing she wants to "win" more than anything else. there's no game in her head, no battle or challenge she's cooked up for herself. she doesn't see herself in competition with the league, or with any other humans at all. sure, sometimes things crop up where she has to fight somebody else, and she wants to win those skirmishes as well, but...

after a moment, she has something of an answer, though it's not a complete one. "it's about life in general, y'know? i don't want to be anyone's victim. so i'll do whatever it takes to win, because that means i'm strong enough to take care of myself. it's survival of the fittest out there, but i don't just want to survive, like those idiots just barely scraping by because they're more concerned with being nice than taking care of themselves. i want to win. you get it?"

in her eyes, what she's doing isn't wrong. in her eyes, if she didn't have such a strong will to "win" at life, then she'd be either miserable or dead by now.

velvet goes back to eating, fairly satisfied with her answer.

[ Amor Rose ]

To have power over others was her definition of winning, and he tapped his cheek at the thought. It was certainly a good conviction ot say the least.

"Then you should upgrade from being a Grunt....It'll take a time, but if that's what you sincerely want, there is a squad of people within Rocket that are considering the strongest when it comes to fighting." He explains to her, in fact it had been a position he once wanted back when his friend was Head Scientist. "Beasts is what they are called. If you want to be strong enough to not be a victim of anyone. That is a good place to start." He said to her sincerely, and looked her over for a moment. "Though you still seem very wet behind the ears....You are going to want to brush up on your battling, and hand to hand combat." How she would take that critique he had no idea.

"Just a thought from an 'egghead' as you so eloquently put it." He took another drink before relaxing in his chair. "I could help you train, but whether you actually get the position is entirely up to you, and your desires." He stated simply.

VELVET ASCH

at that, velvet sticks her tongue out. "wet behind the ears...? damn. though i guess you're right." she shrugs. she's young enough yet that most of her experience comes from school, which is nothing like how the real world functions. she's aware of that fact, thankfully. back in high school, she'd fought tooth and nail for the position of queen bee. despite how hard she worked then, how many people she manipulated and convinced to join her... that was child's play compared to being in rocket.

but velvet is nothing if not tenacious.

"hand to hand combat, huh? that didn't even occur to me. guess i should take some self defense classes, huh? do they teach stuff like that in HQ or something?" she takes a few more bites of her food. "i mean, battling's easy, but learning to fight yourself seems like a lot more work." and dangerous, she adds silently. she's never been the sporty type, and tended to hurt herself when she had to participate in gym class. whoops.

[ Amor Rose ]

More amusement flashed across his face at her question.

"They can teach you if you ask....I'm sure if you approached another person they would at least humor your request. But it all boils down to your own drive....How badly do you want to be the best?" Amor simply asked her. "If you have the drive, then it doesn't matter how much work is involved because you will do it...." There were no shortcuts to becoming the best, to becoming one of the strongest.

"I could teach you myself, but there are others who are probably more suited to it. Zev Harcourt comes to mind....There is also THEO BECKETT, but if you want someone more on your level to teach you....parker jones, or Hitoshi Inoue would be apt partners for you." Amor had made it a personal goal to read up, and research most of the grunts. At least on a basic level, and those two had the requisite skills to teach VELVET ASCH should she want to learn how to actually fight. "In the end you can pick your poison....I can request for them to at least meet with you. What happens afterward is up to you." That was the truth.

In Rocket you were only limited by your ambition, and ability to see things through.

VELVET ASCH