The woman that had approached carried with her a large assortment of flowers and WREATHS that obscured most of her body. The scent of freshly plucked flowers followed her like some sickly sweet scent. Upon noticing Cian look at her, she gave a smile.

"Hello."

Her speech was short and refined. Elegant, in a strange sort of way. Himiko's eyes went to the Castform resting beside the man. She had always thought of them as cute little weather pokemon when she was younger.

A pang of interest built inside of her. She wanted to know everything about this little one. But first things first, pleasantries before work.

"Wasn't expecting anybody here today. Are you paying your respects too?" Himiko knelt down and gently brushed off a withered bouquet of flowers to replace it with a new one. The brilliant myriad of colors blended well with the stone monument. Her hands picked up the next one and continued to move around the man while speaking.

"Back in Kanto, we used to take care of those of us who passed on and memorials like this. I figured I could help them rest a little easier this way."

Another bundle of flowers lay on the site, with Himiko turning to face Cian.

"And what about your little friend?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

Himiko's eyes widened at seeing the Castform hover closer to her head. She said nothing, raising a hand for the small pokemon to rest itself if it so wanted. Regardless, a smile grew from her stoic and stern face.

"It's nice to meet you both."

She offered a bow to Cian as she had to other people many times. Her curtain of black haired followed the movement of her head and took a break from refreshing the flowers around the monument and the dedication to the people buried here.

"I'm Himiko," she set another bouquet of flowers aside before turning her attention fully to the two people, "A florist from Kanto. I just moved here a week ago, so I'm still learning my way across the region."

She didn't mention what had caused her to move here. Rocket always had a tendency to get rid of those troublesome agents instead of moving them across the seas to another region. Somebody like him didn't need to know her history. She was a face in the crowd, a position where she best flourished.

Regardless, Himiko continued to smile and work that polite and affable persona.

"You said you were paying respects to somebody here. May I ask who?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

The Castform's gelatinous body elicited another soft laugh from Himiko. A free hand gently reached to show praise to the pokemon while its owner introduced himself.

"Hello, Cian. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."

Cian told her about the people he knew that had been buried here, more than she had guessed. Her lips pursed themselves in thought while she thought about what to say. There wasn't really a whole she could think of to say. Nothing would take the pain away or bring his friends back. Still, she felt an odd beat of her heart that felt for his loss.

The free hand praising the Castform slowly placed itself onto Cian's shoulder.

"Try not to focus on the pain. Focus on the memories you shared, the good times that you had with everyone. Our family in Kanto taught us that those we lost would want us to cherish the time we spent together rather than the time spent in their absence."

CIAN MAHER

☉

"Perfect."

Himiko said as she recalled her memories of Kanto, the whimsical days of her youth that she so dearly missed. A wave of nostalgia washed over her, the florist letting out a sigh of content.

"I grew up in the countryside with my pokemon. Imagine rolling hills of fields and more. The sakura blossoms blooming in the spring as their petals were blown adrift in the afternoon wind."

Himiko began with a faint smile. Her eyes went to the skies in recollection as some small part of her wanted to take a step forward and find herself back inside of her home region.

"Flowery prose aside, it was idyllic. I remember running around with the other kids until sundown, hurrying home for dinner and doing the same thing again in the morning. It's hard to really put into words...It's something that you can only experience once."

Sure, she had left out a lot of details, but this man didn't need to know!

Himiko removed her hand and then brought it before her once more, returning to play with his pokemon present.

"What about you, Cian? Are you native to Hoenn?"

CIAN MAHER

☉

And so it would seem that he spent most of his life in Hoenn. Himiko didn't realy have the best experience with getting around the region as of late, but from his description, it sounded like an alright enough place. It couldn't hold a candle to anywhere in Kanto, as biased as she may be.

"I'll take your word for it. Rustboro sounds like a wonderful place." she said and allowed Junior to go free. Her adoration for the little guy wasn't suffocating levels of obsession. She enjoyed the cute members of her team, though Stuffy was the only one to keep her at bay.

Himiko slowly moved back to her cart to continue to lay flowers across the memorial area. She cleaned some areas in need of it while continuing to hold a conversation with Cian. He didn't seem like anybody who would mean her harm, but she just came to this region not less than a week ago. He could be a large and renown jewel thief and she wouldn't have a clue.

"Well, if fates ever change..." Himiko doubted Kanto would leave Rocket control anytime soon. Although something about his smile had only prolonged her own, making her laugh softly and face him again. "I would enjoy showing you around. I may not be as fast as you, but I'm sure I can keep up~"

CIAN MAHER

☉

She looked surprised that Cian would offer to help her with what she wished to do to the memorial here. Usually people tended to keep to themselves.

"If you so wish." she said while rolling the wreath of flowers in both hands around. The sweet fragrance would make quite the little meal for some of the smaller pokemon flying about at this time. "I could use somebody to talk with to pass the time. The flowers aren't exactly talkative."

She mused, laughing softly again while sometimes going back to Junior as he roamed around chasing snowflakes.

"Some people tend to not see the point in honoring them this way. Perhaps Hoenn works a bit differently than Kanto in some ways..."

CIAN MAHER

☉

"What do I do?" Himiko asked, pausing as she pondered the question to herself for a moment. She scowled while gathering her thoughts together. How could she really even think of how to explain something that she had done so often it was almost natural?

"There's a lot you can do, it's not just limited to just one task. My family taught me how to arrange flowers and clean memorial sites." she said, motioning to the wreath in Cian's arms while helping straight out and "fluff" up some petals and leaves. "I had friends that came to their graves monthly or yearly and told them how their family were doing. Even if it's just a brief visit, it remains an important part for us in Kanto." she said before stopping at a memorial stone. "Here. Set it down and I'll show you."

Himiko guided Cian to the stone and stood beside him after he dropped the wreath.

"We're taught about death from a young age. It's not to scare you or punish you for being bad, but a remainder that life is short and that you should make the most of it. It's the natural cycle of life, just one that sometimes we...find ourselves struggling with."

CIAN MAHER

☉