ah, hopefully she wasn't disturbing anything.

it didn't help that the man she came to was, very clearly, shirtless. the sight itself was enough to put a hue of red across the woman's cheeks, then prompts her to quickly turn her gaze away to give him the privacy. "i-i apologize for barging over, out of the blue--" she stammers over her words, a hand over her eyes as quickly as she tried to turn.

"y-yes," she starts, almost choked up as still recovering from what she'd seen "there have been reports of thieves and.. i was a bit concerned." something about them taking advantage of tired individuals that travelled up the mountain, unable to fight back to their full extent due to fatigue.

deep breaths, daphne. it wasn't easy talking to people, even less so when they weren't.. fully clothed. given a few moments after his words, she slowly lowers her hand back to her side, paired with a soft sigh, hoping that it can help with regaining her composure.

"i was hoping to reach somewhere close to the top, to pay my respects. i-.. erm.. i hope you don't mind."

@matthew
mission

little does he know, she was looking away for a different reason.

well, two reasons. one was because he was shirtless. second, because arceus smite her were she not a holy woman and tried to keep her eyes off a snack right there and then- not that she'd admit it, of course.

she'd even go as far as to vehemently deny it if the question were ever brought up. god forbid the day where alex decided to ask her about her love life, what with him already having a girlfriend and, probably, being eager to learn about hers.

god forbid.

and bless that he'd put a shirt back on, too. at least now, she could look at him properly without things getting too awkward, and recover from that.. accidental walk-in. her own nervous tick leaked through the seems, in the form of her fingers gently twirling a lock of blue hair between her fingers. she needs a moment to compose herself.

"that's.. good to hear." at least her words came out as.. less shaken, now. it was rude to keep her anxiety on her sleeve, especially seeing that he was more than willing to escort her up the mountain.

the pinkish hue doesn't leave her face, but she powers through it by offering a small, but warm smile, in addition to extending her hand out to shake his.

"my name is daphne. it's a pleasure."

@matthew

the mood has lifted, and thank arceus for that.

lest she feel suffocated and choked up by her own awkwardness. her response was a smile after pulling her hand back, eyes gleaming between the mix of blue and yellow. "mmn. lets~" she chimes, and starts by taking a few steps forwards, ahead of him and up the path that only sloped that much more with each trudge up the mountain.

it doesn't take too long for her climbing, before she instinctively glances over her shoulder to glance at the man accompanying her. on one hand, she was very much grateful that he was willing to help her out. on the other hand..

her cheeks flush the tiniest bit red. she couldn't help but to recall the prior events, but she hadn't the heart to bring it up, or make it obvious. it was already hellish enough trying to deal with people, - nevermind men apart from her brother - so she was at.. a bit of a crossroads.

daphne catches herself eyeing him, for just a bit longer than usual. "a-ah.." the words stutter from her lips, as she raises her hands to gently fumble with a lock of her hair in the midst of her anxiety. "s-so.." she starts, twirling a lock "what brings you out here? it's not often i run into someone on my way up.."

@matthew

his response brought a hum to her lips, as she continued to instinctively twirl at a lock of her hair. a nervous tick of hers, that she liked to do to calm nerves. unfortunately she was so indulged in that, that she was off guard when he returned the question. she raises her eyes, only for their gazes to meet and for daphne to maintain eye contact, just for a moment. then she turns the slightest bit pink a second time, while turning her head back to her hands fiddling.

"both to take a hike, and visit an old friend." she says, eyes growing softer as her fingers slow and relax. "i've actually been gone from hoenn for a short amount of time, so i thought she would enjoy my company." unfortunately, the way there had a sight that was less than.. welcoming.

it was a shame.

especially seeing that this was the path towards something of a memorial. she could see the scowl on her garchomp's expression as they continued to walk, with the claws on his feet digging and breaking whatever debris was underneath the dragon's weight. it was disrespectful to have a party and litter on the path towards a graveyard, especially when she can imagine the amount of elders taking their time to travel up to visit their beloved, passed pokemon.

even more dangerous is that there was word of bandits, and she.. well, frankly, part of her hoped that she could capture them and interrogate them. to get them to stop trying to rob the people coming through, and to get them to face their rightful charges. with the general demographic that walked up, though? the targets were more than easy to deal with.

"i do hope that other people making their ways up are safe. if not from bandits, then from the.. debris."

@matthew