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After Naia participated in a mission for Rocket, her parents threw her on forced vacation and delivery services. Neither of them expected for her to be involved in deaths so early in her career and to make sure any police investigations and reports didn't get out of hand, Naia was forced to step out. For once she was more than welcoming of her parents executive decision, with this vacation alone the amount of work she needed to do significantly dropped giving her the slimmer of hope that maybe she could relax enough to maybe get some real rest.

[break][break]But a vacation to her family wasn't completely work free. Instead Naia had to do some deliveries for her family, the first and most important was a supply package for Rocket. At least that's what Naia would assume it was from how heavy the suitcase felt in her hand, that or money and gold. The later was starting to feel more accurate when she found herself at her destination, having to double check she was at the right place from the hastily scribbled note from a local.

[break][break]Despite being told that it was a stationary shop Naia still was expecting to see something strange about it, anything to help remind her that this was in fact owned by someone who was apart of Rocket, but upon surface level inspection... it was normal. The built up tension finally relaxing some as her shoulders would drop and a light sigh escaped from her lips. she could only assume that the owner was in a backroom or something and even though she noticed a bell on the counter Naia thought maybe it would be rude to distract them from their work. If anything she absolutely hated it when people randomly called or texted her, so this must be the same; plus with all the extra time on her hand, maybe she could actually browse their wares while she waited.


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Ever since joining Rocket, Naia had found herself with far more issues and troubles rather than the solutions she sought for. Her primary concern was for them to question her loyalty, but as she slowly continued to expand her influence and reach Naia she realized she needed to have power on her side as well. Without it, it was a apparent she'd die. That much was certain.

[break][break]This brought her on this hunt for suitable Pokémon. Naia found herself crouched in the sand watching Colie, her small Zorua excitedly duck and dodge between the chomps of their newest addition, a yet to be named Zweilous. However unlike her two active pokemon, the warm weight of her Theivul in her lap, reminded Naia more of lazy lap cat then her hyper dogs. Quite simply, Naia could have just as easily bought the rest of her team just as she had done so already, but what she needed more was experience. She had never been taught the ropes on how to actually catch and properly fight with Pokémon, still she at least knew the bare minimum.

[break][break]She understood that a pokéball was needed, you had to throw it at the Pokémon and then what? Did you just pray it was captured? Were you supposed to rough it up before hand? But if you did that wouldn't it just hold a grudge, perhaps then it was better to coax it with food. Just as she was about to think herself into a corner the warm and wet nuzzle of her Theivul pulled her out of her thoughts, followed by a second and a third "Alright, alright Nat.. Breaktime is over."

[break][break]As Naia pulled herself to a stand and dusted the sand off from her clothes, she could hear a light commotion coming from the direction of her Pokémon and the panicked yapping of Colie scampering over to Naia. What was once her dark furred baby was now bright blue from all the paint over it, and just by merely following the trail of its crime she could easily see that probably through it's play fighting it knocked over this poor lady's paint. With a heavy sigh, Naia made her way over to the victim, taking out both her checkbook and another pokeball. Her plan was to summon Zoe to keep care of Colie and get her washed up while Naia compensated the damages.

[break][break]"I'm sorry for that. How much?" She wasn't in the mood to deal with angry people today.


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"Or a third, while you're at it."

[break][break]Naia wasn't completely oblivious to the scoff of the woman behind her, however they did pose a very real possibility for her. If she just stuck with two there was a chance that maybe her new acquaintance would get something they didn't want. What if they were more hungry than she thought they were. There was too many variables for Naia to just be okay with two muffins now, plus she hadn't paid yet so she can change her order. "Add a third one too.. M-Make sure they're all different."

[break][break]It didn't bother her none that the worker behind the counter threw a death glare to the woman behind her and rolled their eyes to at least grab her food before she'd make any more changes to her order. However it wouldn't be long before that irritated look would be one of shook when Naia finished punching in her tip and completed her order. The last she wanted to do was annoy someone who was handling her food, so she ensured both her and Alvara's safety by paying double. It wasn't the first she'd nonchalantly throw money at some random café and it definitely won't be the last.

[break][break]Now she just needed to wait for her drinks, by taking her spot over by the pick up Naia finally got to see her secret helper and the carnage she left behind. Just watching made her feel exhausted, she couldn't imagine having people constantly talk to and about her day in and out, and pity only grew when she noticed there were still some who seemed to be working up the courage to get more signatures. As a way to distract herself from the tragedy before her, Naia would take out her phone to start fiddling with a crossword app she had installed before a thought struck her.

[break][break]Wouldn't the coffee get cold? At least what she could do was leave them a message that she'd be showing up a bit early, then if they showed up on time it wouldn't be her fault anymore for it being cold. Worse case, Naia just drank cold coffee and bought more.

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Showing up early. No need to rush. Just a heads up.

[break][break]With a few quick taps Naia would send her quick text and then returned to her crosswords without missing so much of a beat, after all these puzzles won't solve themselves.


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While Naia was making it over to her reserved seats, she couldn't help but over look the other guests; mainly the different dishes that they had. It was merely something to keep herself preoccupied during the awkward trudge through the masses, but she found herself making some pretty well informed judgements on skipping out on today's seafood. It wasn't until the waiter addressed Naia with an formal gesture to the table in which her guest was seated did she give him a quick glance over, her eyes eventually landing on his drink. The slight furrow of her brows betrayed the fact she felt a tad guilty for making him wait long enough to get himself a drink, and she made a mental note to show up earlier at least for any possible meetings.

[break][break]"Ms. Kayode, thank you for picking such a lovely spot, I don't make my way to Slateport often, so I would've been at a loss trying to pick a spot on my own."

[break][break]While she hadn't responded yet to his first set of words, she still make sure to at least give him a light smile, and reciprocate his handshake with a firm grip, hoping he wouldn't mind her keeping her gloves on. "It's.. a pleasure to meet you Mr. Rose" It was a slow start to her words, but she managed to get her rhythm, doing her best to act much like her mother in her meetings. "I hope you didn't wait too long.." A go-to for Naia.

[break][break]After she let go of his hand, she'd make way to sitting down on the seat across from him, being sure to brush the skirt of her dress to avoid any wrinkles and hesitantly placed her phone down on the table beside him. She was doing her best to mask any uneasiness she may had when he spoke and instead found herself letting out meek chuckle, "Same here." Then a thought came to mind, a more genuine smile forming on her face as she was proud she wasn't struggling as hard today. "I figured we could enjoy ourselves a bit either way.. Speaking of which have you gotten a chance to check out the menu..?" She paused for a moment wondering if the transition was a bit awkward before continuing, "Since you haven't been to Slateport much, I'm curious to see if there are any firsts for you."


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[break][break]This wouldn't have been the first time her mother's tyrannical ruling would take up days out of Naia's life, but it was the first when it came to something as simple as a blind date. Under such short notice Naia wasn't expecting the whiplash of treatment she had to go, a day's worth of emergency beauty spas, hairdressers, make up artists and even fashion sprees-- if Naia didn't know better she thought she was maybe going to a movie shoot rather than just a date. Even now while she was bring driven to the venue she couldn't help but look herself the make up compact her mother forced into her purse, she felt--looked-- like an entirely different person, almost alien to not see the deep bags under her eyes from the years of stress and fatigue.

[break][break]By the time her ride slowed down at their venue, the knots in her stomach only worsen from here on out she was going alone to this battlefield and she didn't know what her mother would do if she messed this up. Due to her being on edge, Naia was hyperaware of everything, from the lick of Lilycove's sea breeze against her exposed back, the tug and pull of bobby pins desperately holding her updo and the lack of support from her Pokémon. If anything this would be the perfect moment to have Jude tightly in her arms, both to cover her deep cut and act as her stress ball, but she was under strict rules from her mother not to take any of them out.

[break][break]She was barely able to take in anything the hostess said, merely acting entirely on auto as Naia exchanged basic pleasantries and her reservation name. The worse was always walking by the different tables, not knowing which person out of the sea was your blind date and just awkwardly make eye contact with the wrong people. The only escape from that stress being the upturn of the worker's hand, directing her to the right table. Quietly as to not draw too much attention to herself, she'd make her way over to her date.

[break][break]If anything Naia was proud of her ability to keep most of her emotions hidden, at least in her expressions, under a discerning eye they may have noticed that when she was walking over her lips would have the slightest tension, before upturning to a light smile when she got close to her destination. "H-Hello." Embarrassingly so, even though she wanted to sound as confident as possible she couldn't help but stutter when the sound of her own voice startled her a sign that her nerves hadn't remotely calmed down.

[break][break]Now what?

[break][break]Dramas and TV shows never really prepare you what you're supposed to do when you just meet up with a stranger other than shaking hands and acting like businessmen, but that felt wrong here. "I.." she trailed off as to not fill the space with her usual 'um', "..hope you weren't waiting too long." With that she gave him a bit of a deeper smile, closing her eyes in the process as to not see his reaction to what she considered cringe. Still even though she only managed to get a glimpse of him a couple times she couldn't shake a feeling that she had seen him somewhere else before, from how much the idea had been nagging her must have meant that he was famous one way or another. She just only hopped that it doesn't bite her in the ass for not recognizing him, the last thing she wanted to do is hurt anyone's ego.


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The voices that echoed around her seemed hazy and muffled, almost like they were bleeding into white noise, even along the voice of a worker behind the counter. She was stuck in one of her dazes, a moment where the world seems to slow down and everything becomes far too foggy-- a sign she needed more coffee. The gentle and warm tug of her Pokemon's paw, Zoe, told her more than enough that she needed to hurry up and make a selection, but even if Naia wanted to her eyes were just incapable of focusing on a single word.

[break][break]"I'll.. just take this one..." A lazy finger just pointed randomly at the options before that very hand was brought to her face to rub any sleep out from them. She needed to focus, there was still so much to do today and she couldn't afford to crash here. "Coffee." She said sharply before she'd quickly adjusted herself, distressed by her sudden rudeness. "Sorry.. I'll take a coffee, please. Black, please. If you could also throw in an energy drink or something else with caffeine that would be great." As if her sudden tone was already her over-adjusting when she finally got to pay for her food she made sure to leave a healthy tip.

[break][break]A sight it might have been, seeing a grown woman such as herself, being lead by the paw, while another Indeedee was carrying around her food and drinks in a serious manner. As silly as it may have been to other people, this was fairly normal to Naia, especially for Seb, who at this point should be paid for how much he carter to her needs on a daily basis. Once she was seated the two worked together in tangent, like a well-oiled machine. All Naia needed to do was think about something she wanted, and within the moment she'd find herself with her coffee in her hands. The way she held her coffee for it's first few precious sips was as if she was holding a prized possession, no words could possibly explain how badly she needed this drink.

[break][break]After having to stay up all night with an emergency appointment and then getting pulled along with her Mother's meetings Naia really hadn't had a moment to herself. Even now she had just came back from dropping off someone prescriptions when she suddenly felt the exhaustion starting to settle in. Right now she just wanted to melt into her seat and just enjoy these invaluable hours before her Mother will pull her chains back.


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Naia could feel the cold fingers of her mother's fingers across her throat, slowly but surely tightening their hold on her. This was obviously not in a physical sense, however, she was, without a doubt, suffocating. With each and every step Naia took toward her freedom did her mother's claws dig deeper; every one of Naia's accomplishments was rewarded with more duties and chains. Just days prior Naia was reached out to for having a dinner with a potential business prospect, and as the days steadily approached she found herself dreading the meeting more and more.

[break][break]It wasn't that she disliked the man, with the very basic information she looked up to herself he seemed like a pretty average rich businessman. From what she could tell, he liked to invest in different people and grow his wealth that way a mutually beneficial relationship. But in knowing how people in this field work there will probably be a ball of strings attached which looped back to why she didn't look forward to this meeting --it's a hassle.

[break][break]However, even so, Naia was the type to do her best anyways. She made sure to carefully plan out their meeting together by taking into account of their schedules and even accounted for extra time in case the situation requires it. Then she carefully made a list of high-quality restaurants they could attend, seeing how both of them have more than enough money to throw around, all she had to worry about were their reviews which made things as painless as possible.

[break][break]This was all how Naia found herself just outside the restaurant doors, using the camera on her phone to check over her makeup, and attire. She wasn't used to dressing up like this and surely not throwing on so much makeup the entire process from beginning to end was incredibly inconvenient to Naia, especially since she knows she'll have to wash it off later tonight. The woman would let out a dissatisfied sigh before stepping into the restaurant, giving the host some time to collect themselves and addressing her with the same spiel as always.

[break][break]"I have a reservation at.. this time for Miss Kayode and Mr. Rose"


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