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They've stopped to rest on their way back toward the entrance when the fourth Eevee makes its appearance. When Florian sits down on a fallen log to rest his aching feet, the normal-type sticks its head out of one end and lets out a curious cry.[break][break]

"Oh, hello!" Florian laughs as he turns to it. "You look sleepy, little one. I'm sorry if we woke you!"[break][break]

The Eevee blinks sleepily at him before apparently deciding to join him on the log, hopping up and nudging him with its nose. As with the others, he feeds it berries and strokes its fur, letting it relax and settle in before he offers his final safari ball.

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They pass another Snom, and Florian absently wonders where his own had come from. He'd found it in the garden, but had it been a Galarian import? Had it escaped the black market? Had it been born in Hoenn?[break][break]

They pass the little ice bug by, unhindered by it.

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"Ah, Belle is such a pretty name!"[break][break]

His attention is directed to the dessert in the center of their table, and he recognizes it as something from home.[break][break]

"This is Kalosian, no?" he asks, in case he is mistaken. "I would love to share — but only if you are sure, of course!"[break][break]

He ducks his head a little shyly, chuckling. "What do you do, Kosuke? I am a Pokemon professor; field researcher, mostly."

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Florian's still reeling from the results of his last date, cheeks flushed and stomach aflutter, when he's given a new table and sent on his way.[break][break]

It doesn't help that his new partner is very handsome; he looked like the sort of dark-haired, brooding type that Florian had been into before a certain gym leader had unintentionally swept him off his feet and the market in one.[break][break]

"Allo!" he greets Marcel, Kalosian accent as strong and warm as his smile. "I am Florian, and this is Joli. It's lovely to meet you!"[break][break]

He indicates the Sylveon at his feet, the delicate fairy-type jumping into Florian's lap the moment the professor sits down.

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His heart rate calms after the excitement of finding yet another Eevee, and he gives his Sylveon an appreciative hug. They spy another Woobat during their moment of affection, but Florian merely watches the simple creature float blindly by as he sits in the grass with his oldest friend.

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Bleeding heart that he is, Florian can't help but feel a little bad for the ghosts as they're slowly driven back by the trio of Pokemon. Pierce seems far less concerned for them than the professor, but he's used to that. As someone who almost never battled the Pokemon he chooses to partner with, Florian knew he was too soft for his own good.[break][break]

Joli's moonblast draws energy from the very celestial body that gives it the name, striking down yet another one of the ghosts. Florian's not sure whether it's disappeared due to fainting — Do ghosts disappear when they faint? He makes a mental note to look into that — or whether it's simply run off, but it doesn't matter to him.[break][break]

The air starts to warm up just as quick as it had frozen.[break][break]

"I-I think they've realised we're too tough for them. Ha!" He's quietly glad. "So now I guess we've just gotta sit here until the sun comes up. Easy!"

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It gets cold suddenly, reminiscent of the harsh winter that had taken Hoenn by storm. Florian flounders just as Hoenn did, pulling his too-thin jacket tighter and wishing for a fire Pokemon. Joli could create a mystical fire, but they're in the middle of a forest and something tells Florian that might be a bad idea.[break][break]

Instead, he exhales frost and sucks it up.[break][break]

"T-That's OK!" he insists, tripping on the words thanks to his shivers. "I b-brought a full team with me, so!"[break][break]

His Rapidash rears back with a defiant whinny, slamming her hooves into the earth and leveling a psycho cut toward the group of ghosts. Some of them disappear to avoid the attack, only to reappear elsewhere and hurl balls of shadow towards the group.

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Florian smiles at the Drakloak, delighted by its manners. He wiggles his fingers in a friendly wave. "Allo, Farasma! Lovely to meet you."[break][break]

The mood is quick to change after that, the eerie mist and echoing laughter quickly erasing the professor's jovial expression. He backs up against the flank of his Rapidash, nervous, and struggles to peer through the fog.[break][break]

"U-Um, no," Florian whispers back. "Definitely not me."[break][break]

Another girlish cackle precedes the appearance of a group of Banette, the doll-like figures holding hands and spinning in circles like some scene from a cheesy horror film. Only this isn't a movie, and it's way more terrifying when it's happening for real.[break][break]

"Laverre! Joli!"[break][break]

The professor's fairy companions move into action — though the Rapidash is bigger, stronger, it's the Sylveon who takes point and counters the ghostly mist with a mist of his own — a misty terrain that swallows up the fog.

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There's a certain hesitation in Alexei's voice when he makes a comment on Florian's 'dates', and the young professor doesn't want to jump the gun in making any assumptions for what it might mean.[break][break]

Instead, he simply presses on until his point is made, burning cheeks and all, and reaches for his bottle of water like a lifeline — it's empty, of course, from earlier, and it crinkles in his grip. He wants to look away, lest the second-hand embarrassment from Alexei's flushed cheeks eat him alive, but he forces himself to maintain eye contact and his gentle smile does not falter.[break][break]

Florian laughs softly, part relief and part release of tension when Alexei finally stammers out a response.[break][break]

"Good!" he gushes, excited. He laughs again, ducks his head. "That's — great, yes, I-I'd love to—"[break][break]

Ding![break][break]

His giddy expression quickly gives way to surprised annoyance: how were you supposed to get anything done on these stupid dates if they didn't give you enough time to offer much beyond a name and an expression of interest?[break][break]

Brushing it off, he smiles at Alexei and reaches across the table to squeeze his hand. His heart flutters like a trapped bird. "I will meet you outside, once this is over, no? Then we can talk. About everything."

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"Another one!"[break][break]

Florian's excited exclamation startles the poor Eevee, and he covers his mouth with his hands as it jumps in fright and takes off.[break][break]

"Oh, no! Joli, we've got to catch it! Eevee! Come back, I am so sorry!"[break][break]

Though Florian gives chase with the intent to apologise profusely and attempt to befriend the little guy, Joli sees the hunt as more of a game. His delicate canines flash in a grin as he takes off running, leaping and bowling its smaller kin over. Pinning it down, the Sylveon chirps his victory and then licks between the Eevee's ears in an attempt to befriend and soothe the wild creature.[break][break]

It squirms in protest before realising the Sylveon means it no harm, submitting to the affection.[break][break]

"I am sorry about him, little one," Florian laughs, crouching down next to the pair. "He means well, he just gets excited. I am Florian, and this is Joli. We are making friends with as many Eevee as we can!" He holds out a hand for the skittish creature to sniff, to judge his intentions. "Will you join us?"

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"The Safari seems to house many strange-coloured Pokemon!" He's visited a couple times now, and each time had come across at least one in particular. "I found my Borealis there as well."[break][break]

Perhaps Alexei would remember the graceful ice fox from the Winter Ball, where Florian had sent her out to aid in the excavation efforts.[break][break]

Was it bad to find relief in the other's dates not going to well? With the exception of the second, during the explanation of which Florian feels his jealousy rear up again, it seemed like he'd swooped in at an opportune time.[break][break]

When he's asked of his own experiences, his cheeks turn pink.[break][break]

"Oh, um." Arceus, how to make this sound less like he was fangirling? "W-Well, I met Dawn Grandier. He's really famous in the coordination scene and he was super nice. Then I had a lovely conversation with... Kazimir, was his name. He asked my advice about fairy-types, mostly."[break][break]

The back of his neck feels as if it's on fire. He is a forward, direct individual, and if he doesn't spit it out in the next couple minutes, someone else is going to have their chance to sweep the young gym leader off his feet.[break][break]

"I signed up to this to make friends, but that was when I did not know you would be here." He's blushing like mad, but he's sure to meet Alexei's gaze. Forward, direct. He's done this before. Ignore the fact that his previous relationships have not ended well. "We are already friends. But that is not the only reason people come here, no?"[break][break]

He'll be more direct if he has to, but he hopes that his words in combination with his anxious smile convey the hint while still leaving Alexei plenty of room to derail the conversation if he's not interested.

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There are so many butterflies filling up his stomach that there won't be any room for his dessert! He ducks his head, uncharacteristically shy when he catches the reddened ears and blushing cheeks of his friend date.[break][break]

He'd signed up for 'platonic only', but the reason for such hesitations was now sitting across from him.[break][break]

"Allo, William," Florian says fondly of the Wooloo, leaning down to give it a pat. Joli offers his own friendly chirp from his position in Florian's lap. "Ah, who's the little black sheep?"[break][break]

He chuckles nervously at the comment, rubbing the back of his neck.[break][break]

"H-Haha, yeah, who'd have thought?" Certainly not Florian. He'd kind of hoped Alexei was... well, it was a naive hope, wasn't it, to hope he wasn't looking? Florian was known for being forward when he decided he liked someone, but the other man seemed so shy that he didn't want to scare him off! Doing his best to test the waters without being completely obvious, he asks, "Have you been having fun so far? Met many people? I-I came in late, so I'm a bit behind."

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Another white-furred cat, another flurry of leaves. Florian thinks he must've just not paid the poor things enough attention before! They were native to Kalos; he should be ashamed![break][break]

He waves to it as they pass, but the feline seems too preoccupied by its own practice to notice them.

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