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 Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:38 pm
 It was a lovely day in Camphoreon City; the sun was shining brilliantly and, besides being a tad cool from a few stray sea breezes, the temperature was pleasant and mild. It was because of all this that Isadora decided it was high time she got a little time for herself. She hadn't gotten out much recently, to put it bluntly, and she needed the relaxation time along with the vitamin D. Her outfit consisted of little more than an ankle-length, light dress of pale blue, sandals, and a small coat. She had considered wearing something a bit heavier in case of any sudden cold fronts or storms, but so far, the day had proved to be quite enjoyable, and she was glad that she had counseled against a sweater. As the day wore on, the wind did begin to take on a chill to it, and so Isadora sought refuge in a small restaurant in the heart of the city to both warm up and satiate her hunger pangs. Thus was the reason she was sitting at a small table to herself near the corner of the restaurant, waiting patiently for her order to arrive. It wasn't terribly much - just a seafood pasta plate - but it seemed to be taking quite a while. Isadora didn't mind too much, though. It gave her time to think by herself and reflect on recent events. Truthfully, nothing was particularly noteworthy as of late. There was that small run-in with Elite Agent Seth and his behemoth of a Shadow Lugia... The sheer awful power of that beast kept hanging in the back of the doctor's mind. She couldn't help thinking that, somehow, that monster was going to cause some trouble in the near future. It certainly wasn't out of the question... Boy, that pasta was taking a while, wasn't it?
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:02 pm
Lucas found himself in a relatively good mood, both thanks to and in spite of recent events. He also found himself with a day off, and while he was a bit reluctant to go into the city on his own, he was aware of just how long it had been since he had last left the base for anything other than missions and assignments. That kind of reclusiveness wasn't generally healthy, so while he had absolutely nothing to accomplish in Camphoreon, he found himself wandering the streets nonetheless. The last he had been in the city had been a brief trip to take Claire to breakfast, and the time before that had been a mission to the outpost, so he was less than familiar with the infrastructure. The majority of the day had been spent aimlessly wandering, a dark, long-sleeved shirt and a simple hooded jacket fending off any colder breezes. What the jacket failed to fend off, however, was hunger, and Lucas decided it was probably more time-efficient to grab a meal within the city rather than to return to the base. He stopped in front of the first place he found, studied the specials board outside the door, and entered with a shrug. Self-seating, apparently, so he moved to find a--
"Oh." Well, that was a surprise. Lucas's pace slowed when he noticed the unmistakable form of Isadora seated to a side. Deciding it would be rude to just ignore her, he proceeded in the psychologist's direction, offering a wave when he was within a polite proximity to do so, "Hey. Day off?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:21 pm
The sudden appearance of someone beside her startled Isadora out of her state of thought and subconsciousness and made her glance around quickly. Her eyes soon set on a thankfully familiar face, and her panic instantly became relief and a need to make a warm reception. "Why, Lucas! What a pleasure it is to see you." Isadora beamed as she greeted her patient and friend. It had been a long time since she had last seen him, and she was beginning to worry over his condition and state of mind. Seeing him here in the flesh, though, put most of her worries instantly to rest. "Yep; I got some time away from the office, and I had no appointments today, so I thought it was high time for some r-and-r. Day off for you, too?" Isadora quickly remembered her manners and gestured to the chair opposite her. "Oh, please, feel free to sit.""Excuse me, miss," said a young waitress behind the two. In her hands was Isadora's long awaited pasta. The woman handed Isadora her food. "Here's your dish. I apologize about the wait... There was a slight incident in the kitchen, but it is of no concern." As she spoke, the waitress noticed Lucas nearby and turned towards him. "Um, are you waiting to be served, sir?" Isadora gratefully accepted her food and was about to start eating when she heard the waitress ask Lucas if he wanted something. Isa smiled at her friend. "Do you want something to eat, Lucas? I can buy it, if you don't have any money on you."
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:45 pm
"Yeah, finally got a bit of a break," he said with a slight laugh. "It's fun work, but damn. Seems like I'm always doing three different things at once." There was something to be said for that, though. He liked being productive, and he liked being able to refocus at a moment's notice when one project became too tedious. With a nod, he seated himself, turning his attention to the waitress as she suddenly appeared, and blinking with a mild unpreparedness when she suddenly addressed him. "Oh, uh, yeah, I guess..." He glanced in Isadora's direction - or, more specifically, at the plate she had been served. A hesitant finger gestured to the pasta. "I guess I'll have that?" he requested with a grin that acknowledged his own awkwardness. Pasta was always good, and he certainly didn't dislike shrimp. Besides, it smelled awesome.
"Wha?" He raised his hands, palms out, to indicate that that wasn't necessary. "No no no, it's totally fine. If anything, I'll pay your half." Not squandering his paycheck on frequent trips to the city meant that he could treat his teammates to the occasional meal, especially if it was a teammate who had provided a vast amount of assistance and guidance in the past.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:58 pm
The waitress quickly jotted down Lucas' order in her notebook and nodded. "All righty, one shrimp-penne for you, too. I'll get that right to you." She gave a polite smile and walked back towards the kitchen. Isadora blinked in surprise at Lucas' eagerness to pay for her own meal. It was surprising, but... somehow, it just seemed like the thing he would do. She chuckled. "Well, if you insist, then! Thank you." The smell of shrimp and pasta made Isadora recall her meal, and she readily began eating. "Mm... This is quite good," she commented between bites. "Yes, the work certainly tends to keep you busy, that's for sure. I'm still struggling to stay afloat." She paused, ceasing her devouring of her food. "I wish... I had some more help with it all. Not just with the patients and whatnot, but... with my Pokemon, as well. They're working fine, but, I... well..." Here, Isadora chuckled again, feeling silly for what she was about to say. "I want others! I realize now that having only three won't do me much good in the long run, especially after what happened recently..."Isadora trailed off, instead deciding to eat some more of her food. It really was quite delicious. Silently, she was grateful that Lucas offered to pay for her meal. She really didn't have too much money on her, and she wanted to do some shopping while she was in town.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:21 pm
He offered a thanks to the departing waitress, folding his arms on the table. "Of course, it's no problem," he assured, a slight lift of a hand waving off the matter. He watched quietly as she enjoyed the pasta; it seemed that he had made a good choice in opting for the same.
He grinned as she admitted her wish, "Nah, I can understand that. It was just me and Merry for the longest time, and then it was me and Merry and Snow, then Fetch came along, then Lissy, then Droid, then Hamsteak and Nitelite..." He laughed. "Suddenly I've got more than a full team, and I never even really liked pokemon. Anyway," he shifted his posture idly, "I'm rambling. I think you can request new pokemon if you feel you need them, and there're always places like Ambergris or the forest if you wanna try and catch something."
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:32 pm
Isadora laughed. "That was how it was with me and Basil, too! I've had that little goof for as long as I can remember... Ever since..." Her voice got quiet as she recalled that time herself. It was many years ago when she first met Basil... It was the first day she met her parents, the first day of her new life. What a turbulent time that was. Suddenly being brought back to the present, Isadora rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry about that. Got kind of... lost in memories. Well, anyway..." She took another bite of her pasta to shut herself up for a moment while she pondered her words. After determining what to say, she swallowed and began speaking again. "I've only caught one of my Pokemon myself, to tell the truth: Iditarod. She's definitely a... a piece of work, that's for sure. And Layleeta was from one of the Executives. I don't recall his name... Something that started with an 'l,' but whatever." She waved her hand dismissively as she took a sip of her water. "All I know is that Layleeta isn't very happy with me for some reason. It's like he's perpetually angry." She propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand, a slightly tired look in her eyes. "I may be a psychologist, but I can't tell what that little Deerling is thinking at all."
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:45 pm
He watched with a growing curiosity as she trailed off and suddenly snapped back after a quiet moment, apologizing. He shook his head slowly with a muttered 'don't worry about it.' He had his own thoughts that could pull him back to times passed at the drop of a hat, so he couldn't very well judge or press Isadora for having a similar experience.
"Oh, you mean Loreven?" he said, recognizing the mention of an L name in the same context as an executive. "Hamsteak and Nitelite came from him too. I'd say we could let them talk with Layleeta but... well, they're both fire-types. Dunno if your grass-type would take too kindly to them or not. Lissy might be a better choice..." In addition to the type issue, Lucas had painfully little experience in dealing with the Tepig or the Litwick, and he wanted to familiarize himself more with their personalities before suddenly throwing them into interaction with other pokemon.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:59 pm
Isadora snapped her fingers in realization as Lucas mentioned the name that was on the tip of her tongue. "Right, him! Loreven! Kind of a... strange one, but he gave me Layleeta, so he's all right in my book!" She chuckled to herself over her own little joke. "A little more interaction with other Pokemon might be just the thing that Layleeta needs. He might not like me that much now... but he could at least get along with some of his teammates, right?" Truthfully, the Deerling's coldness towards her stung a bit, but she chided herself for thinking that he'd take to her right away. All good relationships took time. Behind her, Isadora could hear the approach of the waitress yet again with Lucas' meal. The young woman seemed almost rushed, and she had to step carefully so as to not spill the food. She nearly tripped before she got to the table, and she was out of breath when she finally got the food onto the table. "H-here you go. Sorry about t-that..."
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:14 pm
"Mm, Lissy might be just right or entirely wrong, then," he said, a slight pity emerging in his smile as he thought about the Vaporeon. "She's a little sweetheart and right hard to be mad at for any length of time. But she's also really timid, so she might be sort of afraid..." He drifted into a semi-nostalgic state. "Reliable when it counts, though, and hard-working too. Gentle and careful, maybe a little clingy..." He cleared his throat sharply as he realized that his description had faded from the Vaporeon towards her human namesake somewhere along the line. "Anyway." Play it off, play it off. "Uh... So yeah. Just lemme know if you wanna give it a shot."
Lucas raised his brow at the approach of the flustered waitress, raising his hands to take the dish from her, even if it would only save her the tiniest bit of effort. "Nothing to apologize for," he said, grinning. "Thanks." Arceus did the stuff smell good, though. He took his fork into hand and enjoyed a bite of the stuff. "Man, that really is good..." Not as though he had doubted it would be, but he was consistently surprised by how much better food tasted outside of the base.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:25 pm
At the thanks and the grin from Lucas, the waitress turned a faint shade of pink and quickly backed away, attempting and failing to hide her smile behind her hand. "Uh, u-um... Y-you're welcome..." Without another word, she backed away and rushed back to the kitchen. Isadora watched these happenings with a mixture of curiosity, bemusement, and slight annoyance. The fact that the woman blushed and acted such a way obviously meant she thought Lucas attractive, but the fact that she brought his dish so much faster than hers was aggravating. Her attention was taken from the waitress back to Lucas when he commented on the food. She grinned and took another bite of her own. "It really is good, isn't it? I was rather surprised." She fell into silence for a moment, then brought their derailed conversation back on track. "Well, it's worth a try, and if it fails, then... I guess I can figure some alternative. Who knows? They might become friends!" She smiled at the prospect of her little Deerling actually making friends and being happy for once instead of a grumpy-Gus. She did catch the sudden change of voice Lucas went through as he described the Vaporeon's personality, but she decided not to press it. If he wished to elaborate, he could feel free.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:49 pm
The waitress's reaction was overt enough that even Lucas, who usually overlooked such signals out of habit, swiftly turned his attention to the pasta in front of him in a vague sense of embarrassment. He nodded in agreement at mention of the food's quality, raising his gaze when the topic came back to the pokemon. "It's always worth a try," he said. "Worst-case scenario, they don't get along and we figure something else out." He took a moment to enjoy another bite from the pasta. "Could be your Deerling's an active type, the sort that isn't happy unless he's got something productive to do. My Porygon2's a bit like that." Mentally he exhaled a silent sigh that his earlier distraction was disregarded. Liselle was not a subject he liked to approach so casually, least of all in public.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:59 pm
Isadora nodded absently at Lucas' suggestion. "Yeah, that's alway true... I might just not be giving him enough to do. It's so difficult to find things for him to be busy on, though, when I'm so busy! If only he could take my job for a little while." She laughed, a trace of bitterness in her voice. The now familiar sound of someone approaching behind them alerted Isadora to the waitress' presence, which was quickly becoming irksome to the doctor. She pursed her lips as the flustered young woman placed a small plate of friend onion rings on the table between hers and Lucas' plates. Isadora regarded the woman with a questioning look. "Um... I'm sorry, but I don't believe we ordered these."The waitress looked briefly glanced in Isadora's direction, then turned her gaze back to Lucas. The blush was still clearly visible on her face. "Oh, uh, um... I-it's on the house! Yeah, on the house. So... um..." She grew quiet, staring down at the floor and covering her mouth with her hand again.
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:23 pm
"Oh, yeah, I guess that would be difficult to work out, huh..." He hummed in quiet thought. "Don't guess you could trust him to stick to a task unsupervised, huh? Probably better to get to know him better before giving him that kind of responsibility..." He breathed a sound akin to a laugh. "Sorry I'm not more helpful. Pokemon aren't really my forte. If I can think of anything, though, I'll let you know."
Lucas subtly raised a brow as the waitress returned and placed the small dish on the table, though the expression became more prominent at her explanation. "Stop me if I'm wrong, but 'on the house' generally means 'out of your paycheck,' right? I don't mind paying for it, so you don't need to do something like that."
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:35 pm
Isadora smiled a bit at Lucas, but her good humor was slightly soured by the constant interruption of this annoying young woman. She was likely no more than twenty-five years old... Could she not tell that Lucas was near his forties, or what? Whatever it was, the woman's presence was slowly but steadily becoming a thorn in Isadora's side. The waitress quickly put her hands up and shook her head vigorously. "Oh, no, no, no! It's no trouble at all! It's perfectly all right, I promise! So..." Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she reached her hand out to retrieve the plate of rings. "U-unless you don't want these! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have disturbed you!" She pulled the rings away, looked down at them for a moment, then held them back out to Lucas. "Or... Do you still want them?"
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