Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was either kind of funny or kind of annoying that the kid would apologize in response to being told that he apologized too much, and since Luke wasn't usually the exceptionally friendly sort, he settled on the latter with a slight roll of his eyes. He refrained from commenting on the matter further, though. At this point it would just be redundant.

[You should be careful too,] Mieu commented offhandedly. [We've run into bad guys and weird guys a few times in this city.] His ears, which had flattened backwards against his head, suddenly sprang upright, [Oh, but it's nice most of the time! Does your Master live around here, or are you visiting?]

The response drew another raised brow. "Couldn't you just go back and get one then?" he suggested, assuming the other boy lived nearby and had merely forgotten a jacket at home. "You're gonna get sick if you keep wandering around like that."

Luke remembered the name of Makko and even had vague memories of visiting the town once, clear enough for him to remember the distance. "What, and you didn't bring a coat or a jacket or something? Camphoreon's between the mountains and the oceans - of course it's gonna be cold!" Spoken as if he'd been anything but lucky to arrive at the city in clothes that suited the season at the time. "If you can't go back for one, then at least buy one!" He looked to Tenebrae briefly as the Umbreon let out a short chuckle in response to the conversation. The boy frowned momentarily. Were all dark-types so weird?

Mieu blinked in surprise at the Igglybuff's explanation, [Ohh, that's weird! My master ran away from home too!] Though the Flareon wasn't exactly sure he would call it a good thing. [Master's been much happier since we got here. I hope your master will be happy too! He seems sort of scared right now.] He tilted his head, directing inquisitively dark eyes at the human in question.

Luke stared for a moment, then crossed his arms and stared, then began tapping his foot impatiently. The source of his impatience, however, was with his own indecision, and it wasn't without a slightly exasperated growl that he finally spoke, "Fine! Stay there a second!" With a meaningful gaze directed at his pokemon that indicated that the order applied to them as well, he turned around and walked a ways down the sidewalk, his stride even and quick and a frown firmly on his features. If he was going to do something so ridiculous, he damn well wasn't going to look like he was enjoying it.

The second Luke had predicted came and went many times over before he returned, though it was only a long wait in comparison to the time he projected he would be. Instead of returning to his place by Mieu and Tenebrae, he continued forward, passing the Igglybuff and Pidgeot and pushing the recently purchased hot dog at the frightened-looking boy as though it had done something to offend him. Apparently the uncomfortable growling of the blonde kid's hungry stomach had not only gone unnoticed but had also reminded the swordsman of a similar bind of his own. His charity was not without expectation, though, and a series of flashes recalled all but Mieu into their pokeballs before he turned and started moving again, "Follow me."

He felt like an idiot, but he wasn't such a demon that he would stand around and let some kid freeze in the street.

It was sort of nice to see something other than abject fear or panic on the kid's face. Luke wasn't the sort prone to habitual acts of kindness, and he was uncomfortable enough with it that he wore a sourer frown than usual to compensate, but it would just be cruel to leave him standing out there without any money or even any proper clothes knowing the fix he was in.

Mieu followed between the stranger-friend and his master happily, and it showed in his expression. Master was being so nice! They'd spent so much time training by themselves that the Flareon had forgotten how kind his human was to others.

One who could read Mieu's thoughts might have questioned whether or not the poor fire-type could see properly.

Grander and fancier store fronts began appearing along the sidewalk, eventually giving way to the large entrance of the department store. It was one of few shops Luke was more familiar with - an almost impressive feat given how large the building was - and he knew roughly where they were headed. Or at least where he was headed, and where he assumed his company would follow unless he told him to scram all of a sudden. It was tempting. This was sort of embarrassing, after all. He abstained, though.

Within the department store, Luke pointed vaguely at a display of outwear, likely positioned near the entrance for the convenience of shoppers who found themselves in weather chillier than they had expected. "Get a coat or a jacket or whatever. I'll buy it as long as it's not like hundreds of dollars or something." He pointedly avoided looking at the other boy as he sent him away, standing there with his arms crossed, as aloof as ever. It wasn't like he cared if the guy got sick. It was just annoying how cold he felt looking at him.

"What are you gonna do, then?" He drummed his fingers against his arm idly. "You don't have a coat, and you don't have the money to get one - isn't that what you said?" He took an oddly incriminating tone considering the words themselves were intended to convince a stranger to accept a random act of charity. "If you 'can't accept it,' then tell me what you'll do instead. And if you don't have a plan, then just take the damn coat!" It was frustrating enough to offer generosity in the first place, and it was downright exasperating to have to try and coax someone into accepting it. It would be fine if the kid had friends or family he was staying with, but if that was the case then what was he doing wandering around Camphoreon like a lost puppy, and it wouldn't be a problem that he didn't have a jacket.

Luke gave a light huff of a sigh as the boy gave in and sought a coat. He remained where he was, his arms still crossed, and stared out unmovingly like some kind of statue. Walking around Camphoreon in winter, hungry, cold, and without the money to satisfy either need... It was a weird set of circumstances that vaguely reminded the young noble of his first footsteps into the region less than a year before. Vaguely he wondered if this kid was here to run away from something too - though at this point Luke was no longer running and had chosen to stay in Kodo for the sake of a completely different cause. He didn't know how he felt about the idea, exactly. He'd had his regrets about running away, and there were still aspects of his situation that he would prefer not to exist, but he certainly couldn't regret taking up the banner against Team Rocket or becoming a stronger trainer or meeting everyone he'd met in the region. Passingly he wondered what sort of experiences the stranger would attach to his time in Camphoreon. Passingly he realized he had no idea what that stranger's name was. Huh.

Said stranger soon returned a coat and a question, the latter of which was answered the same threefold, "Does it fit? Is it comfortable? Do you like it?" The price of the item didn't go unnoticed either. "You don't have to get something cheap just because you're not the one paying. If you like that one, then it's fine. But if there's another you like more, don't leave it just because it costs more."

In accordance with Danish's expectations, Luke nodded approvingly, both at the at the make and appearance of the different coat and the kid's willingness to actually act on what he wanted. "Good," he said, giving voice to that approval with an expression too rough to call a smile but too gentle to call a smirk. "It looks good too. We'll get that one, then." Without missing a beat, he started in the direction of the line of registers, silently expecting his company to follow.