“I have a hard time believing that someone like you would have trouble finding a dance partner. Or maybe they’re just intimidated by your stature?” With his usual practiced air, Samuel chuckled – he didn’t want to charm her too much, though, given that she was already attached to another man. “And yes, I am here to enjoy the night.”[break][break]

Samuel stopped to think momentarily, then looked back to Princess Elise with some mischief in his eye. “Perhaps we can both help each other out, then. Care for a dance?” he said. “Of course, you should feel free to decline for any reason; I’ll understand.”[break][break]

Elise Calcifet

Oh, Samuel gave Phoebe’s features an eyeful, alright – and without an ounce of shame on his end. Fortunately, she seemed to appreciate it rather than get mad. “It’s water, I swear! I’m not drooling!” he said, badly feigning surprise. Even a little kid could tell he wasn’t being serious.

Her figure was certainly quite enviable – Samuel could see a few men eyeing them from out the corner of his eye. Too bad; he’d gotten there first. “Although on the topic of sight, I’ve never seen you around before. Name’s Samuel Boothe.” He wondered if she’d heard of his family, but he didn’t much care.

Phoebe Myst

Samuel scratched the back of his head, flexing his arms slightly as he did so. “Oh, me? Well, I’ve been offered acting gigs before, but I’ve never took them. You probably know me from my work as…hey, wait, how do you know what I look like?”

Then it dawned upon him that the lady had been peeping on him. “Hey, are you checking me out from that hole?” he said, as he swerved his head towards the hole. “What the hell? Can’t a guy have a little privacy here?”

He stormed towards the hole. “How about a taste of your own medicine, lady?” he said, as he aimed his gaze squarely inside. But when he saw the girl’s own rather impressive form, he blushed a deep red and turned away. “Uh, um, I mean, uh…wow. I wasn’t ready for – um, all that. Sorry.”

Yujin Ha

As he basked in the beautiful host’s round of laughter, Samuel smiled and took a sip from his champagne. He’d just made a smart remark about a rather unscrupulous fellow that fortunately hadn’t been invited here, and it had clearly gone over well with the heiress – ever the charmer, he prided himself on saying the right thing at the right time. Then he spotted someone very interesting all by her lonesome.

Samuel excused himself, then slipped away from the host to approach Princess Elise. He’d seen her on TV and had fuzzy memories of her being attached to someone, but she appeared to be alone for the night. Which meant that it was a perfect opportunity to speak to her. He did have a soft spot for the ladies, after all, whether they were highborn or not.

“Your Highness,” he said, as he put on his practiced charming smile. “What on Earth are you doing alone here?” It was a shame that such a beautiful woman was all by her lonesome – not that Samuel had any ulterior motives. It would never work out between them, anyway, even if she weren’t attached to another man.

Elise Calcifet

Samuel had just been glancing around when he saw an unfamiliar young woman come out of the dressing room – and what a woman, at that! Well, wasn’t that a sight for his poor little eyes. He bit his lip, then continued to observe as the woman submerged herself in the pool.

Already, he could tell that a few other men were making passes at her. But he intended to beat them all to the punch. So, standing up and placing his sunglasses on a nearby table, Samuel walked towards the pool and slipped in.

He did his best to swim around to look inconspicuous before “coincidentally” ending up next to the lady. “Oh, sorry, miss,” he said, not sounding sorry at all, “didn’t see you there.”

Phoebe Myst

Still maintaining his gaze pointedly away from the hole in the divider, Samuel cleared his throat – then, despite the heat rising to his face, spoke out again. “Yeah, my job’s been killing me,” he said, as he rubbed his temples with a free hand. “I needed the break more than I thought I did, really.”

It was probably best for him to not mention what he worked as – he didn’t want to come off as a braggart. So instead, he decided to introduce himself by his first name. “The name’s Samuel. Yours?”

Yujin Ha

“Oh!”

Samuel stepped back, still waist-deep in the water – he couldn’t see much through the fog, but he had heard a woman’s voice. “Apologies, miss. I could’ve sworn there was a divider between men and women.” Then the steam cleared to reveal that there was, in fact, such a divider – albeit one with a hole in it. Ever the gentleman, he chose not to focus on said hole.

“Anyway, your Metagross wasn’t harassing me. If anything, my Golduck here’s at fault.” Samuel scratched his head of wet hair. “Although that does beg the question of what your Metagross is doing here?”

Yujin Ha

Nude and submerged waist-deep in the hot spring, Samuel put his hands behind his head and lay against a rock. Work had been something of a hassle lately, so he’d taken a somewhat abrupt two days off at Lavaridge Town. Rudolph swam in the warm water some ways away, and was presently poking at –

…was that a Beldum lying down? What was a Beldum doing all the way here by its lonesome? The hot spring was wide, but Samuel had thought only he and Rudolph were bathing in it at this hour. In any case…

“Rudolph, leave that Beldum alone,” said Samuel, as he closed his eyes. Despite Samuel’s warning, though, Rudolph persisted; with a sigh, Samuel grabbed his nearby towel and waded towards the two Pokémon. The Trainer had to be somewhere here, right?

Yujin Ha

As he gazed up at the full moon out that night, Samuel reclined on the white lounge chair, clad in only a white bathrobe and some blue swim trunks. He had a pair of sunglasses on, and had just come back from a dip with his college friends – they’d enjoyed kicking their way through some water while catching up.

Further inward, in the veranda, was a massive cake with a Walrein ice sculpture on it. His college friend Chris’s Walrein had just evolved, and the wealthy Chris was keen on celebrating the event in the most ostentatious way possible. Samuel couldn’t blame his friend for it; back when they’d first met, Chris had been a struggling Trainer. It was good to see a friend get better.

Samuel wiped his face with a nearby towel. So far, so good.

Phoebe Myst