Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Ah, I suppose that's right..." It was less homeschool and more manners and etiquette drills, though, with her mother placing greater importance on how to carry oneself as a lady than she did on real education. Recollections of her mother and her childhood brought less than pleasant memories to the forefront of her thoughts, and she chased them away when she realized the quiet conflict that was beginning to settle on her features.

"I pick up things fairly quickly," she said, appreciating the general lightheartedness of the subject. "Maybe I'll buy some study resources the next time I'm in town." At the very least, no one could accuse her of ever giving less than her best at anything.

She folded her arms behind her and leaned backwards against one of Pitre's legs. "I thought I'd like to see Elemi Lake. I was considering maybe camping there for the night, but I'm not very familiar with the area so I'm not sure if that'll work out..." A smile returned to her face in response to Leilani's antics. She definitely reminded her of Fleur, except maybe more affectionate - if that was even possible.

Leilani's dance brought a quiet laugh from Aila. "Sorry," she said, her smile apologetic, as she reached to lay a hand on the Meganium's head. She was a sweet thing, that grass-type, and Aila felt the subtle rise of guilt to have so quickly built up her hopes and then, almost simultaneously, dashed them. Passively she listened to the foreign words Inigo spoke, paying closer attention to their pronunciation than to their meaning. Meaning was something that could be learned from a book, but pronunciation required one to hear a voice.

"In Sandalwood? It must be nice to always be so close to the forest. I'll admit I'm a bit envious." She would need to properly visit Sandalwood at some point; the environment in which it existed was captivating. "I've done a bit of camping since I've started traveling, but never in the woods." She shifted her weight slightly, attempting to find a more comfortable position for her hip. Pitre, noting this, removed his leg from behind the human, dipping to catch her on the flat of his wide body when she stumbled backwards and lifting her onto the impromptu seat. Aila, quite flustered by her sudden repositioning, leaned forward to chide the Metagross, "A little warning next time, if you please."

"Oh, botany?" Aila couldn't confess to any similar interest in the area apart from investigating the plausibility of turning Fleur's Sleep Powder into sleep bombs, and even that was more pokemon research than plant research. She was no less envious of this, though - the chance to attend a university was one that she would likely never have. "Out of curiosity, what sort of research do you do?"

Mention of the lake, and the Meganium's reaction to that mention, reminded Aila that she had intended to research the destination in time for sunset. Ah, but what if Inigo had things to do and couldn't accompany her there? Hesitant to bring it up and possibly end their conversation mid-subject, she kept the thought quiet.

Aila was pleasantly surprised that Inigo made motions towards proceeding to the lake. Hopefully the suggestion was made in coincidence with her thoughts; more rude than suddenly excusing oneself from a conversation was blatantly hinting through expression and body language towards the same end. Nonetheless, she was grateful that he had taken the initiative, and she quietly urged Pitre to proceed after the Meganium. His lumbering footsteps started anew, slowly at first and increasing to match Leilani's pace.

His laughter and his wording caused her to incline her head slightly, curious as to his meaning. "Well... Both, I suppose, if they're different," as he was clearly implying the were.

Aila tilted her head in interest at mention of applying his studies to pokemon. "That does sound practical. You could probably make a lot of improvements in grass-types by applying that sort of research." She crossed her legs at the ankles, turning her gaze up into the bordering tree branches with a thoughtful hum. "I've been considering doing a bit of research in that area myself. Not anything fancy - I'd just like to be able to use my Venusaur's Sleep Powder without her necessarily being at my side. Something like a powder bomb...? I'm not really sure." She was at least mildly embarrassed by her own lack of knowledge on the subject, though she fought to keep that embarrassment from her features.

A thought came to her, though - one that, due to her place in society, had not been a part of her initial reaction, "I'm surprised the university sanctions that sort of research. Ethical restrictions seem to be fairly strict when it comes to pokemon." Not that she minded all that much herself. In addition to faithful comrades, pokemon were also excellent tools, and there was scarcely anything unethical in polishing ones tools.

Aila nodded as he explained his limitations in the research. She could name a place that would give him a grass-type pokemon for his research if he needed one, but she certainly wasn't about to divulge such information to a stranger, likely not even to a friend. One brush with endangering Team Rocket was more than enough.

Her features betrayed her surprise that Inigo had already found the solution to her curiosity, and she watched in rapt attention as he demonstrated. "Oh, apricorns?" And here she had been thinking she would need to make some kind of plastic container. "I've seen Liam working with apricorns... I wonder if he would lend me some," she said, her internal thoughts forming on her voice. She continued to watch as he raised the slingshot and identified its purpose, frowning slightly. "I'm not sure I know how to use a slingshot..." Maybe she could carve the hard surface of the apricorn to make it thinner and more responsive to impact? But then she would run the risk of the things exploding in storage, which would be highly counter-conducive to the completion of missions.

Her frown deepened slightly to hear that it was indeed not a sanctioned study. "But then what happens if you make a breakthrough? It sounds like they wouldn't accept your research even if you made progress with it." And all that work would go straight to waste.