mar perked up at the voice of the man beside her, pleased he agreed and even more pleased that someone else seemed to be spectating with an emotional distance like her. not from mauville, she assumed, given he did not fall over himself for racing like all of the natives here.

"aye, azurill will give 'em a run fer their money. small feet, but toxel's got nothing. i'm sure everyone's thinkin bonsly will bring things home, but i'm pretty sure those things are heavy an clunky." a sliver of movement caught her eye and she turned from her conversation partner to look past him, catching the unmistakable visual of hands exchanging money.

"ah," she said as she wised up, "it appears there's more of a gamblin scene than i thought." she hoped the bets were in bonsly's favor so there'd be a greater payout for azurill. turning back to the stranger, she asked: "are ye a gamblin man?"

Julien Demassieux

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mar offered a sharkish grin. "marguerite. and ye, mister?" she looked back over the the babies on the starting line, getting ready to go. "i used to be a pro at this kinda stuff in me teens, though i manipulated the odds to be in me favor most of the time." it was past delinquency, so she had no issue bringing it up now. more cheekily, she added: "'course, now i'm a very by-the-books woman. learned me lesson and all that." the glint in her eye suggested anything but.

she waved the man taking bets over, sizing him up as he approached. "what're the odds?" she asked without preamble. he answered, with azurill having a decent return but the toxel being the most favored and least rewarding. she schooled her expression to prevent expressing doubt in the toxel's success. he had arms and legs to propel him unlike the other two, but he looked like he'd been coddled his whole infancy.

she pulled a 100 pd from her pocket, handing it to the man. "bettin on azurill."

Julien Demassieux

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they were two of a pair, betting on azurill. she felt more confident with his vote likened to hers, though she would have been willing to rig the game if she thought things would go sideways. it was the principle of winning far more than the money involved. she was happy to have piqued his interest enough he asked for her work.

"i run my boat just bout anywhere. been everywhere." she leaned in close, and in a low, humored voice, she added: "don't recommend galar." then she straightened up, a big grin on her face. she hadn't offered kanto. but galar was fun to take shots at. "came to hoenn more seriously last year, though. i haven't left it since. i like long trips, but it's good to ship things round these parts. i feel like there's always something going on here."

she would've been fine shipping legal things, too. plenty of money in that, and she wasn't negatively impacted by the poor work-life balance of long trips since she lived for the ocean. but. there was far more glory in crime. far more chances to find the hidden. and she wanted a shot at the secrets embedded in hoenn's dirt and sea and sky. she wasn't going anywhere til she had its treasure in hand.

she turned to look at him more fully. he looked pretty serious, more regular joe schmoe than she did. "and what is it that ye get up to? ye strike me as a comedian."

Julien Demassieux

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mar was pleased with his response. a man that was quick to anger was untrustworthy. one that rolled with the punches was patient and considering. that kind of man could cause far more trouble than an angry one, but it was also the kind that mar could work with. she followed his gaze to the pokemon as the race started.

toxel had nothing going for him, but as she'd hoped, azurill tore ahead. bonsly only matched her pace for a few steps before she bounding away, leaving both baby pokemon in the dust. the crowd grew loud and of mixed opinion, and mar brought her attention back solely to him. "i ain't been to the embassy, but i hope they get ye some authentic pastries. these hoennites can't make a savory cheese danish to save their lives." her voice was heavy with bitterness. indeed, she'd had to trouble herself with baking to have any worth a damn.

"well, i hope it ain't too borin. the seas can get a little quiet. been tryin to trouble myself with that kyogre sightin, but it's hard to get close." her grin was sharkish. "i can forgive the bad pastries for all the excitement this place has." speaking of: azurill pulled right ahead, crossing the finish line first.

"i might just have to make time for ever grande and bring ye some real food. maybe smuggle ye a real kalosian red wine, too." smuggle being used in a fun and provocative way, of course. no other meaning. she pulled out her phone and airdropped her number, unconcerned with what anyone else might do with it if they were interested.

28RQoNDx

Julien Demassieux

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