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Isobel had been watching.

Well, no, mostly she'd been playing Pokémon Go, but she'd also taken the time to look up from her phone every so often and appreciate how many other people were walking around with their nose in their phone, playing the game.

People she could, feasibly, strike up a conversation with. Because they shared a hobby, right? Okay, so maybe she still didn't know a ton about pokémon and she was still horribly lowlevel in Go, but she was playing the game and having fun and that was what mattered. Right?

Right. So when she'd found the seel, she'd looked around to see if she could spot anyone else playing - so they could share the spoils and she could, maybe, try to strike up a conversation.

Thankfully there was a redheaded teenager nearby who fit all the signs of being in the middle of playing. Around her own age, which was a good thing - she didn't think she could approach an older guy. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Tibbie mustered all her courage and edged up to him - hoping that he would see her approach and somehow take the responsibility of saying something first out of her hands.

No such luck. She stopped about a meter away from him and wrung her hands, indecisive if she should actually go through with this. What if he thought she was a bother? What if he got mad?

No, she had to be brave! Another deep breath and then she moved slightly to reach forward and tap him lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me... if you, um, want, there's a seel just over there." She pointed helpfully, putting on the best smile she could through the nerves, knowing that it looked horridly awkward.

Okay, that seemed to have worked a lot better than she'd anticipated it would. Not only was he talking to her, he actually seemed excited!

"Yes!" Some of the nervous butterflies in her stomach were easing up and her smile was becoming more natural by the minute. "Um, to all of those things. It's right there, over by the corner-" again she pointed, before realising she'd been asked to show it and holy carps this was her chance to have a longer conversation! "No, I'll show you! That's better. Definitely better."

Snailishly slowly, she started to walk to in the direction of the seel, checking to see if he was following her. "So..." Somehow, her head seemed suddenly vacant of all possible conversation topics. "Er... Åh!" A bright idea courtesy of her original plan; "Pokemon Go is really fun, right? I'm only level 6 but it's very, um, entrancing."

"Of course not," she said, shaking her head as her smile took on a bit more warmth. "I- I mean, I wouldn't have told you about the seel if I didn't want you to know where it was, right?" And also possibly make friends, but saying that at this point would probably come off as a bit too forward and borderline desperate. Still, in the quiet of her mind, she plotted. Rather innocent plotting, but she was making an effort!

"It is?" Her voice was bright with curiousity; "I'm sorry, I only know this one - I've never, um, played any of the others. I've seen some of the other pokemons though! Poplio is so cute," she ended with a dreamy sigh. "But I don't know which game has him, just that's it not Go. What's your favourite pokemon like?"

"Yes!" She giggled lightly at his wit, genuine and happy that this conversation was going as well as it was. It was a minor miracle in her book. "I guess seals are the theme of the conversation!"

She nodded to the information; "that makes sense! I'll remember that for later - if they're anywhere as good as Go, m-maybe I should look into getting them." Turning inexplicably shy at admitting that, she fiddled with her skirt, stretching little bits of the fabric and then letting it go. "Do you know when they're coming out? And they're for the phone like Go, right?"

At his talk of his favourite pokemon Isobel brightened up again, "åh! That sounds so pretty! Is it like a koi or a normal goldfish? Does it have healing powers like unicorns? Åh sorry, I'm asking a lot of questions, aren't I?" And there was another one to add to the list. "Um.."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. "I'd been hoping I wouldn't have to buy anything else for them. I might have to reconsider then. Or - is that thing expensive?" Maybe if it was something really cheap, she could swing it. That was the hope, anyway.

"Okay! That sounds good," she gave him a thumbs up and a smile, watching as he caught the seel with ease. "You're a lot better at catching things than I am," there was a fair amount of admiration in her voice.

Hearing that he didn't mind the questions made a smile bloom on her face. "You're very kind!"

"Experience is cool! I, I think anyone who can stick with a hobby for a long time is very admirable; and you get to become really good at something if you do it for a long time, too! I bet you're really good at games - I'm not very good, but I haven't played a lot either so that's probably why." She nodded vigorously to support her own words, still smiling at him, even if it was shy.

Taking in his words, she hummed thoughtfully; "yeah, that's probably- probably a tad too expensive for just one or two games. I don't really know what kind of other games there are on a 3DS - are they all like, fight-y games? Because I, um, don't think that's too fun, or at least not when it's intensely fighting or-" she sighed, frustrated with her ability to express her opinion properly- "stuff like that. I like Pokemon though! Because it's not mean fighting? But yes, something non-fighting would probably be best." Gods, how many times did she just say 'fight' in one monologue? Tibbie wanted to hide her face in her hands out of embarrassment, but bravely soldiered on; "Do you, um, know of any games like that?"

Happily she was quickly distracted from her woes by the pretty picture on his screen. "Åh, that's so lovely! I love the, um, pattern on it? Is that what it's called? It's very pretty!"

An answering blush broke out on her cheeks at his, and she nervously fiddled with her hands. "Åh, you're very welcome! I mean it," she ended with a determined nod.

His excitement was catching, and she nodded eagerly as he described the game. "That sounds eminently fun!" And it did; "I love plants so um, that sounds perfect? And I like people too! I'm not very good at talking to them though - but that wouldn't matter in a game, right? Because they're not going to hold a grudge or anything. And it wouldn't matter if they did, because they're game-people, not people-people!" Maybe she could even practice talking to people? Or perhaps that was a bit too advanced for a game; either way, it sounded very interesting and she was really starting to warm up to the idea of trying it.

And then he pulled the coup de grâce; inviting her to see him again?! Isobel faltered, one foot lightly giving out before she quickly managed to right herself. "Y-you mean it? Like really? That would be- that would be amazing! I'd love that!" Wait, was she being too enthusiastic? "Um, if it's no bother to you, of course..."

"Yes! I mean, yes please!" Quickly she tapped in for a new contact, only to realise the same thing he had; joining his laugh with a giggle, she shrugged one shoulder and smiled. "I forgot all about that too! Not that I'm not, um, interested, but just-" she waved a hand in a gesture meant to be descriptive of her meaning- "yeah."

"Jamie's a nice name though! I-I think it's very cute," she nodded decisively. "I'm Isobel, or you can call me Tibbie if you want - it's my nickname, which you probably guessed," cue small awkward laugh and a blush, "so either is fine, really!"

"Anyway, this is my number-" making a new contact named 'Jamie' as she dictated her number, she ended her monologue with a shy; "and you can call or text anytime if you, um, feel like it!"