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Though a childhood spent in Galar had left Gavin more than accustomed to rain, the choking humidity of Hoenn's climate would never be something he acclimated to. The air itself feels damp despite the grey clouds overhead holding in their tears.[break][break]

In spite of his disdain for the weather, Emma's good spirits raise up his own. There's something uncertain as she quickly looks away, but this too is becoming a natural occurrence between them. Theirs is a delicate dance between two people re-learning the concepts of trust and companionship. Missteps were common and expected.[break][break]

"Good," he drawls. His Crobat swoops overhead, searching. "I'll take anything over this heat."

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD AMBIPOM APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD STANTLER APPEARED!

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The mugginess does not seem to weigh her down as much as it does Gavin, it's evident in the way she steps light and appears to be almost.. brighter.[break][break]

Gavin drawls behind her, clearly annoyed or displeased with the humidity. But Emma is glancing up at the Crobat as it scouts ahead for them. Beside her, ever quiet, a Stantler stands still. It patiently waits for the pair to move along before it ultimately turns tail and disappears.[break][break]

She doesn't pursue it, because it isn't what she's looking for.[break][break]

"Are you uncomfortable?"[break][break]

Part of her wonders then, why he bothered to come out with her.

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Sharp eyes pick out an Ambipom watching them from the trees. It doesn't think it has been noticed, and Gavin allows it to live in the comfort of this illusion. It's not anything he's interested in.[break][break]

He turns his head at Emma's question, sees a Stantler's tail disappear into the wood.[break][break]

"I grew up in Galar." He's never told her this. Honestly, he's never explicitly told anyone. Yet it slips out easy and without hesitation. "We don't get this sort of choking heat over there."[break][break]

He could have stayed home, but that would have meant missing out on an opportunity to spend time with one of his only friends.

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD WEAVILE APPEARED!

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[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD ABSOL APPEARED!

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She isn't expecting his response, isn't expecting it to be so fluid and easy. Emma looks at him, eyes quietly studying his face but darting away should he look her way. She had never told anyone where she was from - didn't care to. Her accent, of course, made it obvious, but to openly admit something personal about herself wasn't something she'd ever done.[break][break]

For a while she's quiet, unsure how to respond. She's never been to Galar and has nothing interesting to add to the conversation, after all. To ask if it's nice there, or if he misses it, seems inappropriate - too personal.[break][break]

"I see."[break][break]

A distraction presents itself in the form of a Weavile. Her hand reaches for her belt, eager to find an appropriate Pokemon to handle the situation. Pokemon were never really a staple part of her, as it were, but she had kept her eyes open for a second Weavile for a while. Two miniature assassins seemed better than one.[break][break]

With a flick of her wrist she releases one of her spiders. The Ariados springs forward on stilted legs, disappearing into a tree above - hidden. When the time comes, it sprays the wild Weavile with webbing, trapping its claws where it can't use them. Emma watches as her Pokemon strings the Pokemon up, rendering it useless and vulnerable. [break][break]

And then she captures it.[break][break]

capture attempt on WEAVILE

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Emma's Ariados, like her, is a skillful hunter. Gavin watches as it all but disappears into the trees, lying in wait to disable its foes. He feels the same stirring of admiration for it that the woman herself inspires in him.[break][break]

As he turns his gaze away, it lands on an Absol that lurks on the edge of the wood. He suppresses a shudder, knows it would look out of place in this uncomfortable heat. Though they were not found in Galar, Gavin is familiar with the dark-type and the rumours of its ability to foretell distaster. The creature's red eyes seem to burn into his own, and he wonders if they are being warned, somehow.[break][break]

Would Emma think his superstitions silly?[break][break]

He glances to her as the thought presents itself... and when he glances back, the Absol is gone.[break][break]

Discomfort nestles deep in his gut, unvoiced.

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[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]EMMA CAUGHT WEAVILE!

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Emma is no longer a stranger to the deep-seated thoughts that linger behind Gavin's gaze. Although she can't rightly assume what it is he's thinking or feeling, her attention quickly shifts to the now disappearing Absol. [break][break]

"You seem.. disturbed, Gavin."[break][break]

She chooses her words carefully as the man glances at her. The Absol disappears as quickly as it had appeared, leaving without a trace. Emma retrieves the Weavile's Pokeball and gives her spider no further instruction. The Pokemon proceeds to do as it will, disappearing into the trees silently and without hesitation.[break][break]

"You can talk to me, you know. I don't bite."

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Gavin gazes through the copse of trees into which the Absol had vanished, pensive. In spite of Emma's prompting, he's uncertain of whether or not he should share his misgivings; much to his chagrin, he actually cared how she perceived him. It was a foreign, discomfiting feeling for the prideful scientist.[break][break]

Eventually, he turns his gaze to her.[break][break]

"I've heard they're harbingers of disaster." Realising that she might have been too preoccupied with her own Pokemon to have spotted the creature, he elaborates, "Absol. There was one there, just now."[break][break]

He gestures vaguely to the treeline. His Crobat has found a home beneath a heavy bough, resting.[break][break]

Gavin's gaze turns skyward, drops of rain spattering his glasses.[break][break]

"Perhaps it just means this storm will get worse."

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Surprisingly, it seems that she genuinely did want to hear what was on his mind. In most cases her invitations for idle chatter were for show - she didn't actually care what was on people's minds, she was merely being polite. By not listening, at all.[break][break]

In this case, however, Emma is attentive. While she might not be giving the man her withering gaze, she glances at him from time to time and seems otherwise interested. It's hard to tell with her, but it comes from a lifetime of not speaking to or getting close to people.[break][break]

"Hmm... sounds like superstition. Are you a superstitious person?"[break][break]

Admittedly, Emma is. She had never been fond of ghosts. Sometimes the mere thought of them caused her skin to rise in a swathe of gooseflesh. Trapped spirits inhabiting the forms of Pokemon had never sat right with her - and neither did the concept of an Absol being the harbinger of doom.[break][break]

Of course, she doesn't admit as much. To do so would be a sign of weakness and openness in the presence of someone she hadn't decided whether or not to put her absolute trust in.

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Regardless of the tone behind it, Emma's question causes Gavin to close off. It's reflexive, a result of an upbringing that had punished any hint of fear or hesitation.[break][break]

"No," is a lie, but a well-crafted one. He follows it up with justification he only half-believes: "Pokemon are more intelligent than most give them credit for, is all."[break][break]

Whatever hint of doubt had been present in his expression has vanished, replaced by a still-water calm.

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She may not have bitten him literally, but she did bite him verbally. She picks up on his shortened response, the tightness in his throat. While he sounds normal, she detects the way he tenses. He responds similar to her in that manner, and she finds it curious.[break][break]

And, because of that, she doesn't give much thought to his lie. Emma takes it at face value because she's stopped caring about what he does or doesn't believe regarding superstitions. She knows what she believes, and that's all she's concerned with.[break][break]

Her eyes search the nearby brush for Pokemon lurking in the shadow - but they've both since given up on the hunt, it seems.

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