Welcome to Gaia! ::

The grin dissolved from Lucas' face, replaced by something much more somber. "Killing's a scary thing," he said, putting the gun down as though it suddenly offended him. "Someone's killed and they just... disappear. Forever. No one should ever like being responsible for that sort of thing."

It was a welcome shift in topic when Panther returned the conversation to pokemon. "Ghost type, eh? They're a dependable sort, I think." Merry and Newton, as well as a number of ghost pokemon he had seen in the past, supported that conclusion. Of course, he had encountered many that had used their properties to support their trickster tendencies, as well...

"Yeah, that's very true," he agreed, sipping once more at his coffee. Even though Chimecho were assumed to be friendly and soothing, his Merry was a little orb of awkward silence that hung onto his shoulder. And, while many ghosts seemed dependable, there was the case of that Misdreavus that wandered around in the middle of the night frightening people at random, Lucas included. That one was an absolute menace.

"I think a big part of trust is in one's willingness to trust," Lucas thought aloud. "Pokemon are smart, you know? Or intuitive, at the very least. If we don't trust them, they can tell. You can't set an expectation and then not, you know... expect it." Like those trust-based team-building exercises where one would fall backwards and another would catch. The other would have no opportunity to catch his partner until he was actually falling.

"Mmm," Lucas nodded. It was a sage comment. He perked up slightly at mention of Merry. "Yessir. I'd introduce you to her, but she's so wary of strangers. I'd been hoping to break her of that, but she's so clingy..."

"With her shyness? Hmm." He'd never thought about actually doing something about it. Lucas thought it was something that would wear off in time. It had been a long time, though, and it had yet to wear off, so maybe, he thought, it would be best to pursue assistance in the matter. "Yeah, sure, I'd appreciate it. Pokemon, people, it doesn't seem to matter. I don't know what the problem is..." He glanced down to the pokeball clipped to his belt contemplatively. Merry had been that way since he first received her, and it had taken ages before she had warmed up to him.

"That's very possible..." Most of the pokemon that belonged to criminal organizations were, after all, stolen. Perhaps her previous trainer had been cruel towards her, or perhaps her personality was a result of the actual process of being stolen. Contemplative, Lucas drew Merry's pokeball out of his pocket. "What do you think, Mer? Wanna try meeting some folks?" The sphere wiggled in protest, but the man refused its resident the sanctuary, depressing the release switch with a nonchalant thumb. A brief flash beckoned the Chimecho out of her hiding place, and she immediately latched onto her human's back, peering out at the stranger from over his shoulder.

Lucas chuckled apologetically. "Yeah, well..." He reached up a hand to coax her forward, "Come on, Merry, does this guy look like he's gonna hurt you?" He turned to gesture to their company and noticed the man's gaze drift absently away, his posture pensive in appearance. The sudden shift in countenance triggered his instincts as a former elite, and he voiced his emerging concerns, "Everything all right?"

"Ah, that's true." He'd seen something about that on television once, now that he thought about it. Pokemon Whisperer or something.

Merry recognized Panther's efforts, at the very least, and came forward, perching on the table in front of her trainer and still very close to his body. What neither of the humans seemed to understand, she fretted, was that she was more concerned about protecting Lucas than she was with protecting herself. Still, in a show of good will, she offered a simple jingling greeting, "Chiiime..."