Even if Vic did harbor his suspicions about this customer, it didn't mean he was about to provide shoddy customer service. Vic spared the stranger one last glance, as though assessing something in his head, before he began to pull together a bouquet of lavenders and gardenias. Stoic, guarded... The stranger reminded him of himself in a way and he had just the arrangement in mind. Once he had enough flowers, he shut the cooler and motioned the customer over to a table where he began to arrange the flowers.
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Just as he kept an eye on the customer, Vic also kept an eye on Lily, who still seemed content in her little corner of flowers. She still didn't sense any hostility off of the customer and for that, Vic was relieved. "I gotcha. Flowers don't always have to be for someone else." He was otherwise silent as he pulled the bouquet together, complete with a light purple wrapping paper to accentuate the lavenders while also making the white gardenias pop visually. "This what you had in mind? Or do you want me to fill it with other flowers as well?" Vic offered the bouquet to the stranger for him to inspect personally.

Vic's expression softened at the sight of both human and pokemon enjoying his flowers as though forgetting the hard exterior he set up for himself. "Glad you both like 'em." Even the edge of his tone had rounded out. "A telepathic link isn't something you come across every day. If you don't mind me asking, is that something that you were born with as well?" This young woman was a rather curious one -- in his time in Team Rocket, he had heard plans to exploit telepathic connections with pokemon through technological and artificial means but this...? The bond these two shared was unquestionably organic.

Vic very well knew he deserved Elijah's admonishments, but damn if it didn't sting a bit. "I know, I know. You'd think I'd know better by now." Like all Lilligants, Lily's care demanded the utmost care and the highest quality serums and fertilizers, balanced alongside attentiveness to all sorts of factors such as sunlight, air quality, and even humidity. "There was a weird turn of weather that messed with some of her fertilizer and I just had to make do..." There was a pain in Vic's voice that he just couldn't hide, even if he averted his gaze. "Bad call on my part, really."
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Normally Lily would be out and about helping with the flowers but considering the delicate state she was in, Vic wouldn't dare let her suffer more than she needed. But now that Elijah was here... He reached for his belt and tossed out Lily's pokeball. What emerged was a wilted and slumped over Lilligant, whose normally vibrant hues were turned dull and the edges of her leaves shriveled. "You gotta save her, Elijah. Please..." As much as Vic hated to sound weak in front of another, this was Lily's life on the line and he would do anything to save her.

Well.
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That was exciting. Almost too much excitement for one day, if Vic had anything to say about it, and yet they had barely even stepped foot into the Granite Cave. While the dust was still clearing, Oyabun stooped down and picked up the two pokeballs and handed them to their respective trainers. "Are you alright...?" Vic asked Shalin with a few coughs, waving away some of the residual dust that still remained in the air. He then took the pokeball from Oyabun and smoothed it over before shrinking it down to size to clip onto his belt. "Don't tell me all ranger outings are like this?" he couldn't help but crack a smile as he reached out and smoothed out Starr's fur to free it from dust.

Lily's dewdrop eyes widened at the chaotic, and rather dramatic, entrance of the new customer. She was frozen in place, holding the flowerpot in her leaves above her head to keep it from falling to the ground, though her entire being shook with terror. "There, there, Lily. It's okay," a tranquil voice called from the counter. Soon at the Lilligant's side was the storeowner himself, who plucked the pot from his dear pokemon before she accidentally let it drop to the ground. As soon as Vic arrived to her rescue, Lily quickly hid behind him, her soft cries trembling like leaves in a harsh wind. "And uh... Are... You okay?" Vic wasn't sure what to make of this clumsy man, unaware that klutzes like him really did exist in real life.

The gentle greeting that chimed in his head calmed Vic down after the somewhat aggressive showing from Treble. "I think I'd really appreciate that. It sounds like you're pretty experienced with this sort of thing." Even if Shalin was a ranger, she didn't seem to be aware of his history nor did she seem to be inclined to give him any sort of trouble. He slowly reached out to pet Starr atop her head, a small smile forming at the warmth of her fur.
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Oyabun lifted his head, woefully ignorant of the Espeon's greeting, and quickly moved in front of Shalin and Vic to bring his arm down on top of a suddenly charging figure. All Vic could catch in the spray of sand was vivid blue feathers, almost as blue as the sea and sky itself. Instinctively, he reached for his belt and threw an empty pokeball at the wild pokemon.

Shalin, huh? And he certainly hadn't expected the adventurer to be a rookie ranger. As though sensing his rising anxiety, Oyabun huffed and gave Vic a solid thump on the middle of his back as though to push him back to present reality. "You can call me Vic," he introduced himself awkwardly. With another huff as though to announce his presence, Vic looked up to his companion. "And this is my boss, Oyabun." There was a light hint of levity in his voice and the ghost of a smile which quickly faded away as he returned his attention to Shalin and her Kommo-o. He had rarely interacted with a dragon-type pokemon, and certainly not one as ferocious looking as this one... But Shalin seemed to be having the time of her life on the back of her pokemon so it couldn't be all that bad... right?
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He saw something moving in the shadows of the cave, no doubt the denizens of the pokemon who roamed the dark cave. "Me? I'm looking to see if I can find a new helper for the flower shop I run," he explained. It seemed that the movement caught Oyabun's eye as well, but the figures within the cave retreated as suddenly as they appeared. "I'm not a brave adventurer like you, but I trust that if something goes south in there, you have my back?" Oyabun seemed to like Shalin, regarding both her and Treble with a nod of approval as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Shall we head on in? I think I'd prefer it in there than out here on the hot beach," Vic asked as he nodded towards the entrance of the cave.

Really? Lily thought nothing wrong of this customer? He glanced momentarily at his flower pokemon, who sang to herself and the flowers quietly in her own corner, before Vic returned his gaze to the customer. Even if the stranger was just mirroring him, it didn't mean Vic had to like it. He hated this feeling of paranoia, as though just by standing there the customer was holding his criminal past over his head. Despite that though, the request was somewhat simplistic in of itself and nothing Vic couldn't fill.
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"Those are two pretty fragrant flowers," Vic commented, meaning nothing by it... though his heavy, flat tone said otherwise. He was lost in thought, already thinking about how to arrange the flowers together. "I do, as a matter of fact, have both of those flowers. Fresh cut from this morning," he told the customer as he went over to a floral display cooler. "You looking to impress someone? Or is this for yourself?" As much as he was suspicious of the customer, at least these sorts of questions could help him get a feel for the other man while also providing customer service.

The customer's warm tone made him smile a bit but he ignored the tug of nostalgia that lurked just beneath the notes in the stranger's voice. He also noted Lily's interest in the Kirlia seated atop her lap and figured that perhaps lowering his guard just a touch wouldn't leave him regretting his assessment of the two of them. "Blind, huh?" Vic repeated after her, already lost in thought. He lost the advantage of vibrancy but that didn't mean his flowers also didn't excel in fragrance. There were a good number of flowers in his shop that he could present to her and already he moved to grab a bouquet. In the meantime, Lily noted the distant air of the Kirlia and yet despite this, she kept her eyes on it, passing between the Kirlia and the young lady before her.
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When Vic returned, he knelt before the young woman and gingerly took one of her hands so she could grasp the bouquet; it was a small, simple bushel of bloomed flowers whose light pink outer petals slowly gradated into a pure white in the center of the blossoms. Even as he picked it up, the strong scent had reached his nose without much effort. "These are peonies. Strong, yet sweet, scented. They'll last quite a long time as well," Vic explained patiently as he stood up and let the customer have her space. "Do you like the smell of them? I have other flowers too if those aren't to your liking."

Well. Were it anyone but Elijah holding that locked box, it would have looked shady as hell. Thankfully Elijah confirmed the contents of the container and Vic let out a soft sigh of relief. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Vic didn't know what was harder -- running Zinnia, or ensuring that Lily's flower stayed nice and healthy. Even the slightest miscalculation on his part could cause her to start withering, and the gamble he took with a new growth serum had backfired spectacularly. The pokemon center was useless when it came to this sort of thing. The only thing he could trust was formulas from an apothecary and thankfully, Vic knew just the man for the job.
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He came out from around the counter to approach Elijah. "Good, good. Can't complain. But I've been so worried about Lily that I haven't been taking care of the rest of the flowers as well as I should," Vic divulged as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "What about you? How's business?" He had to appreciate Elijah's dedication to his craft, and the fact that he could whip something up so quickly. Vic had been so tense until Elijah barged through the door that he didn't even realize he had released the tension in his shoulders when the other man came in.

Vic had managed to catch a quick glimpse of the massive Corviknight before its owner entered his shop. Route 110 was a popular place for trainers to roam around with their pokemon and all he could think of was that he was glad that the customer withdrew his Corviknight before he came inside. "Hey, welcome," Vic greeted huskily, eyes locked on the newcomer's appearance. Why was he so tense? Was he yet another one of those Rocket bastards here to bother him? Or even worse, a rookie police officer here to disturb him and the peace he was just settling into in his shop.
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Lily chimed melodically at the customer to greet them in her normal manner before she returned her attention to the flowers. Well, at least she didn't seem to think anything was wrong with the customer... Still, the camera around the customer's neck made Vic a little nervous. Perhaps he was casing the joint? But would he really be that stupid to have his camera out in plain view? Or maybe that cocky? Vic crossed his arms over his chest as his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "So... What kind of flowers you looking for?" The question came out more tersely than Vic would have liked, but in his experience, it was always better to be overly cautious than to lower one's guard.

It was Lily who noticed the customer and chimed in with a cry of greeting to both the young woman and her Kirlia. "Mmm? Welcome," Vic greeted them both, raising his head from the pot of flowers he was watering. "Can I help you with anything? You looking for a particular sort of flower?" He set the watering can down on a counter and brushed his hands off on his pants as he approached the pair.
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He had to admit it was quite sweet to see the two of them together, the young woman in her wheelchair and her Kirlia daintily seated in her lap. Even Lily was curious in the pair as well, waddling over and hid behind Vic so that she could observe the Kirlia in particular.

"Flowers for a pissed off lady?" Vic repeated after the newcomer. Lily slowly released his hand as he turned to the customer with an amused look. Well, that certainly wasn't the most unusual request he ever heard and this certainly wasn't the most unusual customer he had the pleasure of receiving... But his look wilted ever so slightly when he caught sight of the insignia on the customer's jacket. Orthus. Here? For what purpose?
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As though sensing the rise in heat under Vic's collar, Lily drew close to him once again. Vic's mind raced as he ran through every possible reason a member of Orthus deigned to grace his shop with their presence; the last possible reason that Vic landed on was that, true to form, the customer was, in fact, here for flowers. Was it impossible? No. Was it improbable?
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Well. He would just have to see. "Tell me about this beautiful lady of yours then," Vic said, the cogs in his mind already starting to turn. "Does she have a favorite color? Is she your partner, or just a friend? And most importantly, how much are you willing to shell out?" Vic simply had to hope that the customer didn't notice just how high his chest was rising with every inhale and that he was able to play it cool until the Orthus member walked out the door, satisfied or not.