It was just another day on the Ranch. Most of his Pokemon were doing some sort of work in manning the place, really leaving little for Thomas to do today. All he really could do was just settle down, take a moment to drink, and just enjoy his first slow day in a while. Between his work on the Ranch, and his duties as Verdanturf's Gym Leader, he had been very busy as of late. If anything, it made him appreciate the slower days more.

But before he could take a sip of his drink, an Audino rushed up to him, letting him know there was a guest. With a sigh, Thomas put down the bottle, and quickly capped it before going to greet the guest. He would pet the Audino, smiling to the little one. "Thank you.", he told the Audino. The Audino let out an affectionate cry in response, trailing the trainer as he went to greet their guest.

Thomas' good eye would be wide with shock as he saw just who was here to visit. His twin sister, after their encounter in Lilycove over a year ago. After their encounter, he had so many questions. Why was she with Team Rocket? Did they capture and brainwash her in Kanto? Did something cause her to turn to Rocket on her own volition?

"Sis?", Thomas finally blurted out.

The Audino looked up at her master, clearly worried about him, then looked back to the stranger, wondering if she should read her heartbeat, or anything.

---

tags: Andrea Benoit
notes: You!

Given that she was in Rocket under a different name, he was surprised that she didn't hear about what happened. Considering that he broke a Gym Leader out of captivity that day, and injured several Rocket grunts in many brutal ways, he figured word would get around. Especially since it did reach the high ups, who attempted to have one of their Beasts whack him in an ambush.

"I'll explain it to you, come inside.", he told her, inviting his twin sister into the ranch. Unlike most places, Thomas didn't care about the rule of removing one's shoes at the door. Despite his time spent in Kanto and Hoenn, perhaps it was his time in Unova, or Kalosian upbringing that had an influence on that. He would offer his sister a seat at the table across from him. "Would you like something to drink?", he'd inquire, while mixing himself some lemonade mixed with vodka.

Once she answered, and had the drinks prepared, Thomas would situate everything at the table, before taking a seat across from her. The Audino had left the two of them alone, going off to play with the others outside. Once the Audino was out, Thomas removed his eye patch, showing that it was indeed covering up a damaged eye, one that had long since been treated. "I lost this eye saving a Gym Leader from Rocket's clutches. Ever heard of a Jayde Cross? He was the man responsible for this. Wish I could've paid him in kind, but I did give him a good beating for his troubles.", Thomas told her, a dark smirk crossing his face briefly as he reminisced on the encounter.

"Now, what happened, sis? Why did you join Team Rocket?", Thomas asked.

Though he dreaded to hear her answer, he wanted to get over it. Despite their encounter in Lilycove ending with him being thrown off a building, he still covered for her, the reasons being obvious.

---

tags: Andrea Benoit
notes: Let the awkward begin!

Thomas would retrieve a lemon cola from the fridge he set aside for such things. He would place it in front of Andrea, before sitting across from her, and beginning to drink his vodka and lemonade mixture. If Andie were to notice the type of vodka used in it, she'd recognize that it had a rather strong alcohol content. And given Thomas' reaction, or lack thereof, it was clear that he was already a seasoned drinker, despite only being a few years above the drinking age.

After giving her a moment to take in the missing eye, he would cover it back up. As he listened to her explain what she knew about Jayde, he would continue to drink his vodka mixture, polishing it off with a quickness that some would consider alarming. And immediately, he began to fix himself more. "Even before he turned up on Rocket's side of the fence, the man was on the International Police's radar for fucking with museums, and historical sites. He was also something of a terrorist.", he'd tell her.

Thomas would take notice to a familiar looking badge, as he returned to the table. He would study the thing for any discrepancies. Everything looked right so far. But the final confirmation came when he texted one of his contacts in the International Police, sending them the redhead's badge number to verify. It only confirmed what he was telling her.

"I wish I knew. But on the other hand, I know that was by design.", he'd utter. A wave of relief washed over him. The fact that she disappeared, only to emerge as she did made sense. Even the fact that she pushed him off of the Lilycove Department Store's rooftop wasn't being held against her. If anything, he was glad that she was able to maintain cover, despite being confronted by him. Though he did have to internally question whether she knew where she was pushing him off, or she banked on his dragon catching him in his fall.

"I don't know what else to say, other than welcome back.", he'd tell her. "We were all worried about you, to tell you the truth."

---

tags: Andrea Benoit
notes: tl;dr