There would likely never be a good moment to point out that both of them looked close to double her age, and Annie realised as much a split-second before sound left her open mouth. A good impression was crucial, and she doubted it would come from reminding them that the clock was ticking. Her mouth hanging open made for as good an opportunity as any to stuff it with pizza while the grown-ups talked.

She kept quiet until Orion’s compliment made her choke on a slice. She recovered, mostly because there was no food cool enough to murder her. He’d eased some of her nerves with kind words – words she didn’t hear enough.

“He’s exaggerating. But only a little. I’m pretty good at what I do.” Her smirk showed itself, settling into a more wholesome smile shortly after. It was time for her to put her yapper to good use.

“I wasn’t born in Hoenn, but I know her pretty well. You learn fast when you get everywhere on foot, and don’t always have a map, and don’t have much time to spare getting lost. I’ve got two badges that say I’m a good trainer, and I’m planning to get four. Well, eight, but four’s what I need for now. Job-wise, there’s a bunch of people around the region that I hope would vouch for me doing good work for them.” A few that definitely shouldn’t be called, and a few more that were almost certainly in prison, but he didn’t need to know that part.

“More importantly, I think… It’d be really nice to do good things, you know?” Annie leaned forward in her seat, her smile half-fading. Honesty came naturally to her, arguably to a fault, but it meant that speaking her heart was rarely a problem, so long as somebody was willing to listen. Good thing, too, since the more she spoke, the less she was chained by her nerves. “Hoenn’s as close to a home as anything I’ve ever had, and I’d like it to stay that way. I’ve seen what happens to a region when bad people start taking hold of it. We’re starting to see what happens when bad creatures try to do it. I don’t want to lose this place.” ‘Too’, she thought, but Annie thought it too early in the conversation to drop the Kanto bomb.

“I know these kinda of jobs are usually left for the adults, but I’m already here, I’m ready, and I don’t have much else to be doing right now. So… How about it?” Her usual bravado failed her, unable to hide that her tone was more hopeful than confident. She’d left out the real reason the meeting had happened – she was painfully short on legal ways to support herself, and even a ranger’s pittance was a step above nothing. She knew that starting with the financial issue could only detract from words that were just as important to her, so she they’d have to wait a few moments more. Or maybe a bit longer. She had something to prove to herself, after all.

❤ wizz