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Once again, Alba was quiet while Inigo put the picture away. He waited in silence to see if the kid was going to say anything else, before speaking himself. "Can't say I'd have much knowledge in that area. There wasn't much in the way of bodies of water back in Saffron. Worst incidents were maybe where someone slipped in a tub. Or... wet roads, whenever it rained." He blinked away a distance look that had started to creep over him. "We just didn't have much need to know about water safety."

Was it his imagination, or was the kid suddenly looking a little green? Leilani's response was something of an indicator for him, as well. Mother drowned, and discussing water sources makes the boy ill looking. Conclusion: get the hell away from the topic of water. But what should he change the topic to? Hmm... Ah.

"Leilani has some pretty neat markings for a Meganium," he commented offhandedly. Thank Arceus he had thought to look up what a normal Meganium looked like when he was roomed with Inigo. "And I'm going to take a wild guess that she's not from our labs, right?"

Alba quirked a lopsided grin. "Nothing as grand as the classic Pokemon Journey." From his belt, he unclasped a Pokeball he knew well. He didn't enlarge it yet, just looked at it. "Bit of a story for you: I didn't have Pokemon growing up. My parents didn't keep any, and I didn't show any interest. A friend of mine had a Mudkip, and there was some interaction with Growlithe and a few others through work, but," he shook his head, trying to think of any he may have forgotten. "My second wife had a Skitty that I'm pretty sure was possessed..." Evil, evil little creature. He chuckled at the memory of his last encounter with it.

"Then a year ago--or a little more, really--I came to Kodo." Here he enlarged the Pokeball in his hand, and Spook appeared cheerfully in midair before them.

"Ching!"

"Heh. How many people can say they never had Pokemon before they were 38?"

"Ling~" Spook happily chimed and moved within easier reach for more attention. But then the mood around the dark human turned gloomy, and her contentment shifted to sad curiosity. "Ling?"

Alba wasn't grinning anymore, either. He'd had plenty of losses himself, sure, but... there had never been a time where Alba had done the consoling. Little girls with scraped knees who cried to their Uncle Alba didn't count compared to this. He let out a soft sigh. Dodging the underlying problem obviously wasn't doing the kid any good. "Inigo... It's fine to talk about her. If not with me, then at least with someone you are comfortable talking about it with. It... really does help." He wasn't lecturing, just sharing advice. "Arceus knows I've poured my heart out to a friend more than once." And Arceus bless Mari all the more for it.

Alba patted Inigo on the shoulder again. Good, that was all he asked. He stood and retrieved his card key from the opposite bed. "I'm going to go pick something up from the cafeteria. Anything in particular you want me to bring back?"

Spook chimed at the mention of food. She looked sadly at Inigo, then expectantly up at her human. Food was great, but... the sad human... "Spook, you're staying here." Ah. "Ching!" The oversized bell turned and saluted her human. Leave it to her!

"Alright. Back in a few."

When Alba returned, he carried a cardboard cup holder with two large cups of black coffee, a smaller cup for cream, and a third large cup filled with hot chocolate. In his other hand, a takeout bag held a mix of individually wrapped ham and cheese sandwiches, a few PB&Js, and a couple fruit cups. There were also a few saltine cracker packets. Nothing that could be considered too fragrant or heavy on a stomach.

"Here we go," he announced softly, setting everything on his desk and nudging Spook away, like it had become a habit he no longer needed to think on. "Couldn't remember if you drank coffee or not, so I got you a hot chocolate if you want it. Or there's an extra coffee if you do drink it, but I wouldn't recommend it if you can avoid it." Alba was a bona fide caffeine addict. If withdrawals were to start setting in, there wasn't much that could keep him from seeking it out. He wouldn't recommend it for uneasy stomachs, though. "Also brought some other things that should stay okay for a while, for if you do get hungry." Peanut butter would be heavy, but he figured the kid should be able to stomach it if he took it slow.

"That's fine. I don't expect you to." He got out a sandwich for himself, and opened another for Spook to scarf down. "But if you do later... help yourself." Personally, long spells of crying had always left Alba tired and hungry. All he could think of to do was to keep the resources handy, in case the kid was the same way.

Taking a bite from the sandwich, he went over to his dresser and shuffled through some things. In the end, he would fuss around for a while with his Rocket Dex (kids and their technology gadgets these days, how is anyone supposed to know how to work these things...), scribble some things in the green journal, and eventually he would settle down for the night. All the while, he would keep an eye on the kid. And all the while, he would wish to Arceus that he could've done more.