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Passingly Luke noted that between the two luxury balls, Mieu had a type advantage. He had neither want nor expectation of a battle, but it was always worth noting when something of his was better than something of someone else's. He scowled at the suggestion that the Flareon was a pet, shaking his head in dissent. "Hell no, who would keep such an annoying pet?" Well, that did leave the question of what Mieu was for. He grumbled to himself, awkwardly shifting his hands into his pockets.

"It's really kind of lame..." Ugh, whatever. He didn't really have any reason to dislike the guy, and he could always deny having said it if it came up later, "I left home, and I didn't want to be by myself, so I brought the stupid thing with me." He made a point of fixing his gaze firmly to the side, folding his arms in a stance that attempted to suggest he had done so for the Flareon's benefit rather than for his own. As if he was scared of being left alone on that huge island... Yeah right.

"Huh... Well... I guess so." He regarded his company with a sidelong glance. Was he being pitied? Comforted? Argued against? There was certainly some truth to what the man said - Luke was of the belief that he would have lost his mind were there not others in that house to indulge him in his frequent fits of boredom. He also couldn't deny that certain feelings of vulnerability had joined him since arriving at the Camphoreon docks, increased by events to a point that he had gone in search of a weapon for a greater sense of security.

Conversely there was the discomfort of unexpected company, such as under his current circumstances. Though admittedly he was a fair bit more relaxed than he might have been if the man in the gray suit were instead the black-haired girl from the sandwich shop or the red-eyed man from the park, he was unaccustomed to strangers and largely unreceptive to their companionship. In short, he would have preferred to be alone.

The sudden question drew him out of his confusing introspection, and Luke hummed thoughtfully before replying, "Yeah. Got here a few days ago. Well, 'here' being Kodo." A shrug accompanied his words, as if the feat were altogether insignificant.

"Not really," he said with another shrug and something of a sour expression. "Can't say I've had the best time since I got here. I'm not used to it, and everyone expects me to know everything." His brow furrowed at the thought. "But then no one wants to explain anything either. Talking to me like I'm stupid because I don't understand and then acting like I should know even when it's clear that I don't..." He breathed a deep sigh. "I guess it's not awful, though... It's definitely diverse." Especially when looking at the extremes of the mild-mannered Rosie versus the cold, violent girl who said she was with Team Rocket. "Guess I've just had bad luck..."

"I didn't mean you," Luke said with a lift of a brow, as if it were perfectly obvious that the man had been excluded from his complaints. "No one else has bothered to explain anything... Not without going out of their way to make me feel stupid, anyway." A decrease in his volume perhaps alluded to a degree of gratitude that he was reluctant to admit. He would have to admit to at least a little appreciation for the gesture.

At the man's offer, his disposition became more mild, almost hesitant. He raised a hand to the back of his neck, steadfastly locking his gaze elsewhere. "Well, I mean... This is... the first time I left the house since I was really little," his tone was near mumbling, "so there's kind of a lot I don't know... I mean, I don't even really know where to begin..." By the time he finished speaking, he was definitely mumbling. Admitting a lack of knowledge or any inadequacy was not something he was quick to do under any circumstances.

"Um, since getting here..." What was the first trouble he encountered? Trying to buy food. He had given up and had only managed to get something to eat when Rosie ordered. The chick at the sandwich shop had given him a hard time too. "Buying stuff, I guess," he muttered, unmoving from his withdrawn stance. "Ordering food or... shopping in general?" That was probably rather important to figure out, considering he was on his way to make a purchase before the whole elevator ordeal began. "And stores and stuff on the street. I mean, how are you supposed to tell if it's okay to just... walk in?" He had managed to pick up a number of nuances relating to street travel through observation and experience - such as the fact that the sidewalk was where people who didn't want to get mowed down by cars walked - but anything that required him to pass through a door made him nervous wary.

Luke listened quietly to the whole of the explanation, attempting to internalize the mentioned visual cues. It was a lot to take in and even more to remember for future reference, but it was presented in an organized enough manner that he felt distinctly confident in his ability to recall the information when it was necessary to do so.

"Uh, yeah," he affirmed with a nod. "I think so." It answered a fair bit more than he was expecting, actually, and he took a few moments to mentally file the information. That complete, he thought it fit to move on to another question, "So... this building. What is it exactly?" It seemed to be some sort of amalgam of stores and eateries. 'Everything one could want,' as the sign boasted. He couldn't manage to understand the innate infrastructure or purpose, though, and it was somehow overwhelming.

Well that made sense; it certainly looked like a collection of shops, but the word 'mall' itself was sort of... weird. Passingly Luke wondered why it was called that, but he decided that was less than an important matter. "So you can find anything here?" Both the sign by the entrance and this stranger had suggested as much, and two for two seemed like good enough odds. A thoughtful expression spread on his face, and he crossed his arms dubiously. "But if every sign is trying to get you to buy something you don't need, how do you find what you're looking for?" Was it a futile effort? Was this 'mall' a place people went when they were bored and wanted something new no matter what it was they got? Curiouser and curiouser, as the saying went. More often than not, Luke was struck with the suspicion that the outside world was nothing but unfamiliarity...