Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Hey! Don't be late, Rookie! We're not waiting up for ya!"

Alba rolled his eyes as he walked away from the inconspicuous van, but didn't offer any response other than a halfhearted wave over his shoulder. Having caught a ride into town with the same batch of young Rocket trainees in the past, he knew it was likely they'd wait around at least an extra hour than planned, and it was never because of him.

The weather itself was rather pleasant, but the van ride through the desert with a gang of rowdy youths had been stifling. As such, he carried his usual green, pullover sweater over one arm, right hand in pocket, just in case he started feeling at all chilled. Other than that, loose jeans and a button up, light blue dress shirt and sneakers made up his casual attire for the day. He'd mostly just grabbed whatever he saw first when he'd heard a group was going into town for their day off. His ponytail was low and slipping, and he almost considered whether or not he should get it cut that day.

"CHING!"

"What is it, Spook?" The Chingling had been faithfully levitating by his shoulder as he walked, but suddenly perched on his right shoulder and pointed excitedly ahead. It wasn't hard to follow the bell's line of sight and spot what she was so happy about. Claire, a.k.a. The Cookie Lady, as Spook thought of her, was walking along towards them, with Zeus in tow. "Heh, what do you know? Small world all around this week," he said to himself with a small smile. He waved to catch her attention as they neared.

Alba shrugged the shoulder that was free of beaming Chinglings. "Hey. Had the day off, and so did some of the other trainees, so I figured I'd take the chance and tag along." He glanced back the way he had come. A few of the others were still horseplaying around the vehicle, while another honked the horn to get them to move so the driver could find a proper parking spot. He just shook his head and turned back to Claire. "What about you, if you don't mind me asking? There was quite the buzz at... work... yesterday over you guys." The stiff gait had not gone unnoticed, but for the time being, he was politely ignoring it.

"I-Interesting?" Lucas and Aulus looked ready to start a brawl over you in front of four agents and almost gave Twitch a panic attack, nothing much. Technically, that was after the group had returned, so he technically wouldn't be lying if he failed to mention it for now. Technically. "Um, no, not really." He bit his lip without thinking. "Lots of rumors going around about what may or may not have happened, both with your group and at the uh, other office." That sounded innocent enough, right?

Alba nodded as he listened, oblivious that his tells had given him away. "TV sounds like a good plan. I spotted an electronics store that way when I was here last," he pointed to a road on his left, then frowned and turned around, "or was it... that..." Yeah, this wasn't embarrassing at all. Like a merciful sign from above, literally, he spotted a familiar sign hanging from a building to the right. "Ah, there it is." He waved a hand toward it like it was the most ordinary thing ever, and started to turn in that direction. "Just a TV, or did you want to be able to watch movies as well? Although you could probably just use a computer for that part, these days."

Alba chuckled as Claire seemed to get a little worked up over the movie issue. "Scratch movies off the list for today, then," he suggested. "Unless we find a place that's selling a bunch for dirt cheap, you should probably just stick to the ones in lounge areas. More variety, and less movement needed than returning any you check out." It was the first comment he had made towards her stiff movements, and unless she brought up the topic for discussion herself, it was going to be the only comment he made... for now. He still made a mental note to keep an eye on her pace, and to find reasons for her sit down from time to time if possible.

The sign over the store read "Buzz-Tronics," with a cartoony looking Electabuzz striking a pose next to the lettering. Alba rolled his eyes at the name and logo as they reached their destination, but stepped ahead to reach the door first. With a smile and mock wave of presentation that looked like a bow, he opened and held the door for Claire. "After you." Spook mimicked the gesture from his shoulder.

"Welcome, miss," Alba said, continuing the act but dropping it as he followed Claire inside. "And compared to your normal pace? Eh, maybe a bit." He held up a hand to show the tips of his thumb and index finger spaced only slightly apart. "And I might've already known to watch for it beforehand, so technically I was cheating."

He was still glancing around at what all the store had to offer, but kept pace beside her easily enough as they went. "To think I used to live down the street from one of these places, and never bothered to go in," he mused to no one in particular. "Kind of funny to find another one now, and actually be inside it."

Darn, he shouldn't have mentioned where he used to live. Letting it slide for now, he pulled a face that was a mix between a grimace and a grin. "Yeah, guilty." Cue another mental kick at the wording, but he covered that grimace with the play one and a half shrug. "That is lucky, though. You'll keep a good eye on her, won't you, Zeus?" he addressed the chubby Pikachu.

When they walked up to the TV's, Alba had to step back to take in all of the screen selections. "Woah..." All he could seem to do for half a minute was stare, dumbfounded, at the variety. His mouth moved a few times as though he was going to comment further, but each time it just uselessly snapped shut again. "Woah."