His nonchalance goes unnoticed because the woman is far too invested in her food to bother being ruffled the wrong way by a man's indifference. She continues to smile, trapped in an endless cycle of inhaling because it is still a bit too hot even for her to eat just yet.

However, her mouth is full when Fernando speaks up to prompt their next adventure. She hesitates, eye twitching, hand over mouth to take a second to finish swallowing, and she smiles at him briefly before looking around.

"We could play one of those mini games, you could win me a stupid prize."

She chuckles, takes another bite, and reaches for his hand.

FERNANDO SILPH

☉

She doesn't comment either. It is just another day in the life of Miss Stormy Silph.

Instead, her focus remains entirely on him and the soft expression he bears. It's sweet, and she finds herself embarrassed and blushing at the affectionate ruffle he gives her.

"You're messing up my hair--"

She shies away, smoothing down her brunette waves and looking away. Stormy twitches her nose and considers his question seriously. She crosses her arms and leans on one leg, tapping her chin for good measure.

"Volcano unicorns."

Yes, she was sure of it. Like Rapidash and Ponyta, but with fins like a Vaporeon so they could swim in the lava.

Houndoom takes after the Grimmsnarl, but instead of attacking the Hypno it goes after a wandering Duskull. The Pokemon's bone mask is appetizing, and it takes Stormy a moment to realize that that is what the dog is chewing on, not some more naturally occurring bone that didn't belong to anyone specific.

"Drop that! We don't eat Pokemon-- at least not that one!"

But just as the Duskull moves to SHADOW SNEAK away, the Houndoom pounces on it again while Stormy moves to capture it.

capture attempt on duskull

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

Another familiar face resurfaces from the waters edge. This time, it is one dopey mug belonging to a Slowbro. She hesitates, drawn in by his wide-open grin and unblinking gaze. Unsettling, really, but somehow quite charming.

She unbuckles a pokeball from her belt, releasing her shiny Galvantula. The Pokemon twitches and clicks, making creepy buggy noises before advancing. It proceeds by trapping the Slowbro (not that it had made any intent in evading) in a SPIDER WEB that the Galvantula flavor-texts to be electrified.

The wild Pokemon goes down after a series of BUG BITES drain it of energy. It even YAWNS, putting the Galvantula to sleep right there at the end. Stormy sighs, tossing an empty capsule to capture the Slowbro.

capture attempt on slowbro

Stormy Silph

☉

Stormy breathes in deeply, letting out a long, satisfied sigh indicative of her pleasure.

"God, they smell incredible."

She leans forward to get a better look, cheeks rosy with anticipation. When offered, she takes them both in either hand, taking a moment to inhale the warm, sweet smell of her own before offering Fernando his.

"You're spoiling me."

Stormy winks.

FERNANDO SILPH

☉

"Ah. A Wobbuffet."

For some reason, just seeing the Pokemon somehow reminded her of home. She wasn't sure why, honestly, because that Pokemon is definitely not native to Kanto. Right? Right.

Regardless, it is not what she is looking for and it's grumpy squinty expression does not bring her joy. So she passes by it.

psychic incense

Stormy Silph

☉

Stormy groans as he helps her back up, and she takes a moment to dust off the dirt and grass from her rear. The woman takes a minute to grimace and arch her back for a stretch. She exhales, rolls her head on her shoulders, and glances back at the ground she'd landed on.

"Just a bit."

But to add even more insult to injury, she gets a handful of apple sauce. Something small and hard comes flying into her face. She gasps and spits, wiping a Flapple off of her cheek. The imprint the Pokemon leaves behind is red and splotchy, likely to give her a bruise. She winces, pinching the Flapple's wings with two fingers and holding it out to look at.

"Ouch."

It proceeds to harden itself with an IRON DEFENSE, forcing her to drop it to the ground. But in its feeble kirby-like state, Stormy drops a Pokeball on it before it could unharden and fly away.

capture attempt on flapple

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"No--" she answers sharply, indignant. But he is quiet and soon breaks into laughter. The heat in her face flares before receding, and she scowls as she looks away.

"The sorest."

She stubbornly stares at her menu, coming back again and again to something in the bottom corner. It might very well be the stain beneath the plastic. Or maybe it's what she wants to order. Whatever the case, she abruptly brings her attention back up to Cian to really look at him.

"U-uhh--"

CIAN MAHER

☉

Frankly, New Years was a tradition she could probably do without. The reminders of home were reflected in every window, every stall, every kimono worn by beautiful men and women as they made their way through the pop-up festival. It's beautiful, really, but all it does is bring Stormy a pang of regret and grief.

She's also always been quite dramatic.

The woman's attention is drawn away by the exquisite decorations nearby that she almost doesn't hear what Fernando is asking. Granted, he speaks in one word syllables and grunts, so those noises are easily lost to the excitement of their surroundings. But the rumble of her stomach and the tantalizing waft of something delicious brings her back to full focus.

"Hm? I'm starving and that smells amazing."

FERNANDO SILPH

☉

That was all she thought about lately. Not fun, not dates, nothing frivolous or easy-- just the pain and the fear and the trauma that she and the rest of the region was dealing with.

"You're Derek Hoffman, one of my closest friends and one of Hoenn's most capable trainers. You're helping just by being here."

She looks up at him pointedly, as if daring him to argue further. She can only hope that he can feel her pride in him. He had been a gym leader, a role model, a hero in the eyes of his city's people. That hadn't changed even if he no longer held the position. He was still exactly who he was meant to be, and he was here. That meant something.

"But you were one of those dozen trainers. You, out of all of the people in Hoenn. You were with me and everyone else on that volcano, and you were incredible."

His gaze lowers as does his voice, but hers only follows. She steps closer to him, though she is inevitably awkward. It doesn't help that nearby, her Houndoom is being ceaselessly harassed by a wild Xatu. It's howling and barking is awful and annoying, but surprisingly, Stormy's full attention is on Derek.

"But you don't need me to tell you any of that."

With an unceremonious thud, the Houndoom takes down the Xatu and begins dragging its unconscious body back to Stormy.

capture attempt on xatu

DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

Stormy turns over and over the pokeball in her hand while Derek talks idly about the Rapidash he had been given. It takes her admittedly too long to realize the heaviness in his voice isn't a result of tiredness or distraction. She glances up at him, only to do a visible double-take at the emotional state of his face.

".. Derek?"

But he interrupts unintentionally to instead inquire about her own. Stormy opens her mouth, hesitates and then clears her throat and avoids addressing it further. The capsule pops open and out comes a tiny, adorable Cutiefly. The Pokemon is nearly microscopic, hovering just in front of Stormy's nose.

"A.. Cutiefly! I think. It is so small, look at it!"

Stormy glances back at Derek and slowly, she moves to fit her hand into his to comfort him subtly.

LANCE VOLLANS boruta maher DEREK HOFFMAN

☉

Just what the fuck is going on?

Since when did Doug have a Tapu Koko?

Just as Stormy opens her mouth to object and to shoot eyeball daggers at both Kazimir for his stupidity, Kim for his rude name-calling descriptive speech giving, and this 'fake Doug' that she hasn't quite believed to be fake-- it hits her.

Or rather, Fernando's interjection with absolute garbage nonsense spilling from his mouth stops her. Gabriel mentions something about them not being who they say they are, gesturing to Katherine and Eva both. It only furthers her confused state. Nearby, Razz tosses a fireball at Katherine's hands, and only then does she notice the woman is holding a watery pokeball. That definitely didn't seem right.

"I think we should all take a deep breath and not blow this way out of proportion."

Ironic, given she is the queen of overdramatizing situations and running bull-headed into dangerous scenarios. This time, however, especially in completely foreign territory and dealing with the unknown, she's far more hesitant. Even still, she reaches out a hand for her Aegislash to come settle down in front of her. Although she didn't particularly want a fight, she'd rather be behind her Pokemon should one break out.

"Kaz, you okay?"

She glances down at the vomit he's spat up, nose crinkling in disgust and an empathetic grimace.

yOpStYB6

notes:
- sort of slowly figuring out the situation
- concerned with the arguing and posturing everyone is doing
- standing behind her aegislash
- asking kazimir if he's okay given he just threw up
- being the voice of reason or trying to be

illeana reyes FERNANDO SILPH kim cole-essam

☉

He doesn't push her away or grow tense, which she is thankful for. Instead, he whispers down to her and stays still to let her breathe and take a moment to slow the rapid beating of her anxious heart. Buried against his chest, however, the outside world grows muffled as she focuses on the rhythmic sound of his breathing versus her own.

Only when he shifts does she come back to her senses, and only when his hand brushes the back of her head to gently peel her back does she glance up at him and remember that she's in public. She's at a ranger event. There could be dozens of eyes on her watching her crumble beneath some unseen pressure. All because Derek had asked her to forgive him and to stop being so cold.

Stormy sucks in a breath and removes her hand from his jacket. She appears suddenly awkward, though she takes the Pokeball from his hands and glances back up to meet his face. She seems sheepish now instead of guarded, like she's a bit embarrassed that he had been witness to her emotional state.

"Sure, yeah. Let's open it."

But she waits for him to open his first before clicking the button on her own.

LANCE VOLLANS boruta maher DEREK HOFFMAN

☉