usually, when grunts like him are underground organizing eggs based on type, the bell hanging above the door is enough to draw their attention. the censor on it echoes a ding! in their collection room, making it easy to bring someone back to the front. it also gives a sense of normality to their not-criminal-affiliated daycare![break][break]

fortunately, they also had cameras (for security's sake, of course) that made it even easier to send someone to man the front, and shigure just so happened to be the one on duty for the day. however, with how slow it had been for the day, they all deemed it unnecessary to have the kantonian stand there twiddling their thumbs, so here he was assisting in the organization. that is, of course, someone decided to be oddly polite in their entrance.[break][break]

"uruha." shigure looks up, brow raised at the way his fellow grunt gestures to the stairs with their chin. "someone's knockin'." they laugh slightly. "literally." instinctively, shigure checks his watch, brows furrowing at the time it reads. it's six. two hours before close. they wonder momentarily if someone flipped their sign to 'closed,' but he doesn't bother to ask any questions. they wipe the sweat from their brow and deposit the eggs from his hold to his coworker's and begin the trek up the stairs and into the elevator. they lean against the metal walls with their eyes closed, mentally preparing themselves for the duty of polite! customer! service! (it's not something he's good at, by the way. shigure doesn't have the best social skills). [break][break]

leaving the "supply closet" and walking down the hall, shigure looks over at the entrance, deadpanning at the way the word 'closed' faced him. so it wasn't the sign but just a shy stranger? adjusting his mask, he calls out his trio of troublemakers in an effort to make himself look more approachable. "... don't make a mess," is the simple command, his pichu saluting him while sprigatito paws at her face and pancham pats his chest in reassurance. shigure rolls his eyes fondly, knowing full well they're just empty promises, but he appreciates the lie nonetheless. [break][break]

finally, they approach the door, opening it in response to the muffled question. normally, when one thinks of a daycare worker, it's cheerful smiles and equally cheerful pokemon. unfortunately for this particular patron, what he gets is shigure clad in nearly all black (face mask included), save for the yellow accents on his jacket and hair. their sharp golden stare, eye bags of exhaustion and several ear piercings don't do much to save their image, though perhaps the curious trio of pokemon at his legs lighten it? [break][break]

"... most people do," they reply bluntly in response, a not-so-subtle glance offered to the signage before holding it open for the stranger to enter. luckily, where their trainer fails to create a friendly atmosphere, pichu, sprigatito and pancham chirp in greeting. shigure didn't absorb the lessons of interactions, but at least his pokemon did. to some extent, anyway. [break][break]

"are you here for pick up, drop off or...?" [break][break]

+ riley maddox

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

It took a few moments, but soon, Riley could hear footsteps approaching the other side of the door. Standing up straighter, he blinked as the door swung open, revealing... a young person, dressed almost entirely in black. They were about half a foot shorter than him, yet Riley couldn't help but feel thrown by their piercing golden stare. On top of all of that, they wore a rather intimidating mask. Truthfully, it... wasn't exactly who he was expecting to be working at a place like this. But maybe that was just the sort of vibe around here?

[break]Not feeling particularly embarrassed, even with the stranger's sarcastic response, Riley followed him through the entryway, adjusting his camera bag on his back as he took in the interior of the location. At the very least, everything in here seemed to be closer to what he expected out of a pokémon daycare. A subconscious smile twitched onto his face as he caught glimpse of the three baby pokémon: a sprigatito, a pichu, and a pancham. He'd never seen a sprigatito in real life, and pancham were quite rare where he was from.

[break]"No, neither," said Riley, when the worker questioned his reason for being there. "I actually came to ask about a potential business opportunity." Riley crouched down, extending a hand out to the sprigatito in order for her to sniff.

[break]"I'm a photographer, and I've been looking to get some good pokémon photos. I was wondering if you'd let me take some photos of your location and your pokémon, and answer a few questions." Riley looked up, meeting the employee's eyes. "In exchange, I have a friend who works with the news. I could get them to write a nice little fluff piece, using the photos as an advertisement. Thoughts?"

[break][break]

+ SHIGURE URUHA

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

before the photographer had even begun to talk, shigure began flipping through pages on their clipboard, ready to search for his name if necessary. he pauses momentarily to watch the interaction between his sprigatito and the stranger, shrugging their shoulders when she looks up at him for confirmation. do you think he'd be okay? she seems to ask with her wide stare, shigure only gesturing for her to indulge herself in her curiosity. no bad guy would be patient enough to let a pokemon get used to them, and that alone has them allowing for his pokemon to do as she pleases. [break][break]

with shigure's allowance, sprigatito meows in greeting, nuzzling her face against the stranger's palm. after she's had her fill, she simply sets her chin there, staring at him in expectancy. she wants scritches and head pats! the sight has shigure rolling his eyes in amusement. [break][break]

at the other's statement though, the clipboard is set down and his arms wordlessly cross. they appear lost in thought soon enough, body leaning back upon the counter as he looks up at the ceiling. on one hand, exposure was good. he and the rest of the grunts were aware of that. more customers meant more sorry folks to steal from. on the other hand... too much wasn't. ugh. [break][break]

"... i can't make that call," he replies earnestly, head shaking. and then they pause, glancing over at the phone on the wall and sigh. he'll probably get scolded for this. he can already hear the higher up's voice on the other line. you're callin' for a stupid reason like that, uruha? can't make decisions on your own? [break][break]

contrary to their dreary appearance, shigure is quite helpful. the photographer came here for a reason, after all. it'd suck if this was his, like, tenth turn down (a hypothetical, but shigure doesn't know. what he does know is that if @idris found out that he helped some rando again, he'd hear no end to the teasing). [break][break]

"gimme a sec..." they mumble, wandering over to the corded phone. "i... uh. you can take pictures of my pokemon. for now. while you wait. i guess," they add on awkwardly, turning their back on him as he inputs a number. at his words, pichu and pancham look up at the stranger, each raising a paw to say hello.

[break][break]

+ riley maddox

[attr="class","pokeclass"]