[Deirdre Brennan]

    It was a pleasant day outside, although for the first part of it Deirdre was stuck inside. While it was a bit stifling, the Pokémon Breeder couldn’t say the staff meeting wasn’t enlightening. After all, the island was a much different setting than the little wooded area of her hometown, and teaching a class was expected to be far different than just training her employees. Despite all of that, Deirdre was confident. A little lost, sure, but confident nonetheless.

    Not long after leaving the meeting, another one of the members had approached her. Apparently the fact that she was completely green was more obvious than she had hoped, as the Warden─Seth, he introduced himself as─offered to give her a hand with getting to know the grounds. It was an offer Deirdre gladly accepted, since beyond studying the map and walking around briefly she was far from acclimated. Well, she knew the Breeding center well enough already, but that was a given.

    After the meeting, De agreed to meet Seth in the Teacher’s Lounge. It seemed the most logical place to start to her, even though he wasn’t technically a teacher per se, it wasn’t as though he was restricted like the students were either. Deirdre didn’t take long to change and arrive early. She was dressed in a red and white blouse tucked into a pair of jean shorts, and her usual boots, as she sat on one of the couches with her laptop open. Melon was sprawled out on the floor by her feet, resting his huge head on his paws. Even though his eyes were closed, his twitching ears gave away the fact that he was actually very much awake.

    It was a good thing that Melon was paying some attention to their surroundings, since De sure wasn’t. Her brow was furrowed with concentration as she quickly typed away an e-mail for back home. She paused for a brief moment, chewing on her bottom lip, before resuming the flurry of typing keys. Whatever the cause for her furious e-mail, it certainly seemed to close her out to the world around her. A fact that her Luxray was very much used to by this point. At the sound of someone approaching from down the hall, Melon quickly lifted his head and opened his eyes, ears flicking forward as he gently pawed at his person to get her attention.

    She jumped at first, looking around the room when she was drawn out of her little world. Rubbing the back of her neck, she hurried to finish up the last few lines of the e-mail before sending it out, putting her laptop back into her bag. Melon stood up and stretched, yawning before shaking out his mane. De pulled out a book instead of her laptop, just in case the footsteps she now heard as well didn’t actually belong to the person they were waiting for. If they were, she also didn’t want to look like one of those weirdos who weren’t doing anything as they waited for someone. Instead, she looked like one of those weirdos who were intentionally doing something so they didn’t look weird. Not awkward one bit, no siree.

Seth Silvester

[Seth Silvester]

He wasn’t one to offer tutoring lessons for students, especially those not of Wave dorm, precisely because he was not a very patient person. This was different from being precise and thinking before acting—that was a different kind of patience. The latter kind happened because Seth willed it to happen while the former? He didn’t like to be kept waiting. At the same time, however, he recognized when someone needed help. And in the Wave Warden’s heart he truly wanted to help. That’s why, after the first handful of staff meetings, when he noticed one of the newer additions to the faculty struggling around campus, he knew he needed to help.

Introducing himself, Seth discovered the newcomer was one Deirdre Brennan, one of the Breeding teachings of the Academy. As politely and warmly as he could, Seth offered to show the woman around and perhaps have lunch to casually answer any questions she might have had about the school. After all, Seth had never left the Academy since he joined while others had come and gone and returned, clueless of the minute power changes that happen in their absence. He considered himself a better candidate to help De around.

Was it De? Did she mention she went by that or did she prefer the full name? Seth frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he walked over to the Teacher’s Lounge. It embarrassed him that this detail slipped his mind. It meant he would have to ask and he could only hope that Deirdre didn’t think him an airhead or careless or, worse of all, a bad listener because of it. He could feel his cheeks flush, though whether that was from his thoughts or the brisk pace he was keeping, Seth was unsure.

He hadn’t changed from what he was wearing earlier in the day: a white button up with black slacks. The only difference was now his tie was missing and the sleeves of his shirt were partially rolled up. Semi-casual, he liked to think. Still keeping for the professional work day in case he saw one of his wards, but open enough that it wouldn’t make Deirdre think he was trying to keep it all business. He may have overthought this.

It didn’t take him long to finally reach the door to the Teacher’s Lounge. Running a hand through his hair he tried to straighten the stubborn cowlick. It was a futile attempt. Seth abandoned the effort as he opened the door and stepped into the room. At first he only saw De, a book in her hands, and he smiled politely at her. It was then that he noticed the pokemon with her. Seth stiffened as he took in the gorgous, albeit very large Luxray by its owner’s side.

He swallowed nervously, vowing to hide any fear away from Deirdre. He didn’t want their first real time together to be sullied by his own fears. “Deirdre,” he started, not moving from the doorway, “Or did you prefer De? I’m sorry to say it’s slipped me which one you like to go by. I promise I was listening.”

Seth turned his eyes away from the Luxray and towards the woman. “I was hoping we could grab lunch from campus and eat together to talk. If you’d be interested in that?”

The Warden paused for a second, recomposing himself as he finally took a step into the room, closer to De and her Luxray. “Your Luxray has a beautiful pelt. What is their name?” he asked. And Seth meant what he said. It really was a wonderful pokemon…and probably well trained, he reminded himself. De’s pokemon would not be the same as some undergrad student’s newly evolved pokemon. She'd have control. 

Deirdre Brennan

[Deirdre Brennan]

    Considering it was common for Deirdre to quickly lose herself in whatever she was focusing on, be it writing an e-mail or reading a book, she was lucky the steps Melon heard was in fact the gentleman they were waiting for. Chances are if it wasn’t, she would have become lost in her book and jumped a foot in the air when she heard the door open. Instead, thankfully, her awkward forced-casual look hopefully didn’t look as embarrassing as it could have.

    Looking up at the sound of Seth opening the door, she stood as she put her book back away into her bag. Melon blinked slowly, sitting back on his haunches as his eyes gave that squinty-look that cats were in the habit of doing when they didn’t have a reason to be anxious. De gave her guide a warm smile, but raised an eyebrow briefly when she saw him stiffen. It was so brief she decided she must have imagined it, and just scratched behind Melon’s ear as Seth spoke. Shrugging, she chuckled slightly, “No need to apologize at all! Honestly, I can’t remember either if I had said one way or another. Either works, though, I know my full name can be a mouthful sometimes.”

    While De hadn’t really noticed the warden’s reaction to her Luxray, Melon had seen enough opponents on the opposing side of his intimidation to know that reaction when he saw it. Of course the Pokémon could only assume it was that, since despite not intentionally utilizing his ability he was aware sometimes that it just… happened. Melon had no way of knowing what else could cause the human to be afraid of him like that, so in an attempt to make himself less threatening he tilted his head and blinked slowly again, waiting a moment before opening his eyes. His tail curled around his feet as he trilled quietly, leaning into his trainer.

    Figuring her Pokémon was just being affectionate, De didn’t think anything of it as she continued to speak. “That sounds like a good idea to me. I hadn’t eaten yet after all, and I’m sure Melon would like some lunch too. I know they don’t serve Pokémon food in the cafeteria, but I’m strict on my Pokémon’s diets anyway so I keep their food with me.” There wasn’t a day that passed that she wasn’t grateful for the technology they had for storing things. She knew it hadn’t been that long ago that the idea of carrying a plenty of personal effects and enough Pokémon food to feed a small army on top of other odds and ends in a small side bag would have been nearly unheard of. And that wasn’t even beginning to talk about Pokéballs.

    At the mention of Melon’s pelt, both the Pokémon and his trainer began to beam in almost perfect synchronization. De ran a hand through Melon’s mane, grinning, “Thank you so much! His name is Melon. He was the first off-colored Pokémon I bred back home, and the predecessor to my specialty at the facility. Despite being a fully grown Pokémon, he’s still my baby.” Melon huffed slightly, looking up at his trainer with slight exasperation in his eyes. Still, it was obvious the Luxray wasn’t actually offended, just most likely embarrassed a little bit.

    “Alrighty, then,” she said, clearing her throat as she realized she had just gone off on an excited mini-tangent and managing to catch herself, “Lead the way! I’m sure I know how to get to the Cafeteria, but I’m also sure you know how to get there faster.” Melon stood, knowing that they’d be leaving soon. His tail was drooped behind him, still trying to make himself look slightly less intimidating. His ability was both a gift and a curse, he thought to himself.

[Seth Silvester]

The fourth pokeball on his belt jiggled slightly as his Milotic felt Seth’s unease. No, Seth thought to himself, Not now, Sonnet, it will be okay. There is no reason to fear a Luxray that has been properly raised. It’s safe. Even though he thought these words he still felt tense and the pokeball continued to move. Seth swallowed, mouth suddenly dry as he tried to move closer to the teacher and her pokemon. “De it is then,” he nodded, stiff but smiling. Not that Seth was one who would back away from pronouncing a full name, especially one as memorable as Deirdre. However, ‘De’ seemed like the more personable option.

When De brought up the Luxray, Seth tried his hardest to listen to her words and not the imaginative fears in his mind. “The cafeteria does human food well,” he admitted, “but pokemon food? It’s probably better you have your own food. I wouldn’t even let my team eat there when I was a student here.” That much was true. The people food offered to faculty and students was edible, if a little unhealthy if that’s someone’s only source of nutrition. Truthfully, Seth rarely frequented the cafeteria, but it would do for today as a tour. If he and De became colleagues later down the line then he would see if she’d like to go somewhere in the city.

At least De and her Luxray seemed to perk up at Seth’s compliment. This made Seth feel better about his stiffness around the larger feline pokemon. “Melon,” Seth repeated as much as to memorize the name as it was to serve as a form of greeting. To the Warden’s credit he did try and make eye contact with the Luxray, but failed halfway through the attempt. He couldn’t. Not yet. But Seth smiled at the fond memories breeder and pokemon shared together. That was the kind of bond he had with his own pokemon and something respected by all staff despite their profession.

“It’s a wonderful thing to raise a pokemon from a newborn,” the man agreed. “I may not be a breeder, but that I do know of.” Even the endearing, if harmlessly annoyed, look that passed on Melon’s face reminded Seth of his own pokemon. So far he was impressed with De and happy she was the kind of person who treated her pokemon with respect. Too often darker individuals slipped through the cracks and were employed or attended the Academy—normally the same kind who joined Team Origin.

Moving back to the door, Seth held it open for De and her pokemon, though the thought of Melon being that close to him made the man’s palms sweat. He would not notice the pokemon’s attempt to make itself smaller. Once she was ready Seth would lead them to the cafeteria. He had a few questions he wanted to ask the breeder, though he hoped she wouldn’t see them as small talk. Seth was academically interested in De’s works and interests.

“So what got you into breeding, De?” he asked as they walked, “And how did you end up at the Academy?” 

((I hope you don't mind I started walking them to the cafeteria this way. If it's too much godmod with De and Melon then I can change it =) I just didn't want us to be stuck in the teacher lounge when De indicated Seth to lead haha))

[Deirdre Brennan]

    Deirdre smiled, jokingly holding out her hand in a mock introduction. “Well then, it’s nice to formally meet you, Seth.” The fact that he seemed anxious wasn’t a detail lost on De. The only problem was how oblivious she had a tendency to be. She didn’t even notice the glances he cast her Pokémon, only thinking that perhaps there was something else on his mind. Whatever it was, she hoped she could at least distract him with bad humor. Unless he was upset about showing her around the grounds, she thought nervously, but quickly pushed that thought away. That couldn’t be it, after all, he offered to show her around. Still, she was a little worried.

    Her paranoia faded away slightly as laughter bubbled out of her throat towards his comment about the cafeteria. “Yea, I figured it was something like that. It’s kind of funny when you’re willing to feed yourself something worse than you’d feed your Pokémon, but, you know. What would it make us if we didn’t give them the best?” Honestly in normal circumstances she fed herself as carefully as she did her Pokémon, but every now and again there wasn’t any harm in eating something less than healthy.

    With the mention of his name, Melon’s ears perked up. He looked at the other trainer, but tilted his head curiously when the human didn’t meet his eyes. Still, he bowed his head in a return greeting. He was beginning to wonder if his Intimidation was beginning to get to be too much and thought perhaps he should return to his Pokéball, but really hated being in that dang thing. Deirdre had spoiled him rotten in it his whole life by only keeping him in it if he absolutely needed to be. Right now, as far as Melon was concerned, he didn’t absolutely need to be. Even if he did feel a little guilty for it.

    Lifting an eyebrow, she grinned, “Oh? Which of your Pokémon have you raised? May I see them?” Her eyes were sparkling, almost giddy as she started interrogating her companion for the afternoon. Hearing that others were interested in raising their own Pokémon was something that made her more than excited, which was part of the main deciding factor to coming here to teach in the first place.

    Following after him, she kept a gentle hand on top of Melon’s head as he walked by her side. He strategically kept himself on the opposite from Seth, because even though he had no plans on asking his Trainer to recall him he was at least going to try and keep his distance to help in any way he could. Glancing to Seth as he asked her his questions, Deirdre gave an offhanded shrug. “Well, I’d been involved in it my whole life. My parents have their own breeding institution, and as I grew older I started working with it as well. I still run most of it from here, thanks to the wonders of modern technology and communication. Thankfully the people I still have back there are good at listening. As for how I ended up here…”

    She thought for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. It felt like such a frivolous reason she felt silly admitting it, but, “well, honestly? I… was getting bored. I love working at my Center, don’t get me wrong. It’s my passion. But it’s become a passion I wanted to share, too, and you can only do that so much when all you’re doing is selling everything you create. So when I was browsing around online and saw that this Academy was hiring, it felt like a sign. What about you? Why did you decide to stay on as staff, if you don’t mind me asking?”

((You're perfectly fine!! I don't think that's much of godmodding, especially since I gave you the lead to c: Thank you so much for checking, though!))

[Seth Silvester]

A chuckle accompanied Seth’s hand shake as he returned the mock gesture. “What would that make us, indeed,” he parroted, lips smiling at the food comment. “Too true,” the Warden agreed, realizing that it was true- he put his pokemon’s health before his own. The same, perhaps, could be said for his team. They would do anything to keep Seth safe, though often their protection of him came at more risk to their beings than Seth’s protection of them. Nevertheless, he appreciated what De had said. “Next time we can skip the school cafeteria and go somewhere in the city,” he paused, realizing the woman may not want to extend their friendship beyond this kindness. Seth decided not to comment on it any more.

Instead he focused on answering De’s question. “Wardens raise all their challenge pokemon from young up and, in a few cases, from eggs up. Usually we keep our first partners as our top team, though I certainly can’t speak for all of the Wardens at the Academy, only myself. There’s one in particular that was given to me as an egg.” Seth was smiling now, memories of happiness and mistakes and the joys of parenting flashing in his mind. “Actually,” his own eager eyes met De’s. “I can introduce you now, if you'd like.”

They were walking a deserted enough path to the cafeteria, Seth observed, looking around them for a few moments. And while pokemon were allowed in the cafeteria, Sonnet was a large creature even if she often coiled in on herself to appear smaller. This was partially to fit into enclosed locations and partially out of habit when she had first evolved from a Feebas. Being the size she was had startled Seth when it first happened, but between their bonds of trust, time, and her soothing abilities, Seth was no longer fearful around Sonnet.

Yes, the Warden thought, he could definitely do this. That and Sonnet had been itching to be released from her pokeball the moment she sensed Seth’s uncertainty around Melon.

Without looking, Seth’s hand slipped to his belt as he allowed Sonnet out into the world. The Milotic made a low cooing sound as she coiled next to him, her scales gleaming in the afternoon sun. Her tail swayed slowly behind her as she looked at De and Melon with an even, welcoming gaze. Seth rested a hand on Sonnet’s side as they paused in their walk, her height heads over his own. “This is Sonnet. A gift from a friend when I was,” his hand fluttered to his stomach briefly before falling away, “in my Academy years. She’s the only one I’ve raised from an egg. Though, if you’d like, after lunch we could go somewhere and meet the rest of our pokemon. If your team is half as beautiful and well taken care of as Melon then it will be a real honor.”

With Sonnet’s presence and listening to De’s story, Seth found himself relaxing. Enjoying the conversation even. “That’s impressive you work for the center and the Academy both, De. And to have a family business so lucrative with your passions, that’s fortunate. As for your reason for joining staff here, well, I think that’s a wonderful reason. In fact, I think we may share the same belief.”

Motioning forward, Seth started to walk as he gave his own minute history. “My family wanted me to stay in Celadon and work business, profits, economics,” he waved his hand, “and that was not my forte. It took some persuading, but when I came to the Academy and discovered my abilities in battling and tactics, I took the Warden position after graduating. It’s not open to many.” There was no apology in Seth’s statement- he wouldn’t shrink from his abilities- but it wasn’t gloating either. Simply stating the fact. “Though they do have an age limit placed on the job in order to keep the top of the graduating class and I am not getting any younger.”

He laughed as Sonnet flanked his free side, radiating a calming aura around her trainer. Occasionally she would give Melon an apologetic look as if to tell him it was not his fault Seth was so on edge. “My plans are to apply to a battle tactics teaching position if it is still available at the Academy. I have no desire to return to Celadon. After working with my wards in the Wave dorm, I wouldn’t mind teaching.”

Seth looked over at De, realizing they could change their plans now or continue with what was agreed earlier. "Would you still like to eat first?"

[Deirdre Brennan]

It made her laugh to hear that she wasn’t the only one who cheated when it came to her own diet more than she did for her Pokémon. She had enough food in her bag to keep her team fed well for days, but usually just played it by ear for her own dietary habits. All of this talk about food was starting to make her hungry, though, that was for sure. When he mentioned going into the city rather than the bleak cafeteria, her head bobbed in an excited agreement. “That sounds like a great idea! I hadn’t had time to take more than a couple brief trips over there, so I definitely haven’t gotten to try any resteraunts yet.” She hadn’t noticed his hesitation at mentioning getting something to eat later, too. Which was probably a good thing, goodness knows how embarrassed she would get at the implications of him pausing.

While he spoke, her eyes lit up. She knew most trainers raised their Pokémon from the time they were young, but it made her happy to hear that the Wardens raised their own challenge Pokémon. It gave her that much more respect for the Academy she now worked at. That, and the fact that he not only was one of the one to raise one of his from an egg. A Pokémon that still obviously meant a lot to him. He barely had to finish his sentence offering to show her before she enthusiastically blurted out, “Absolutely! I’d love to meet them!”

Thankfully in return for her excitement, she didn’t have to wait long. As the large hallway filled with the huge Pokémon, Deirdre walked around the Milotic as best she could to inspect her. Melon chirped out a happy greeting at the other Pokémon, blinking slowly. Deidre was practically grinning from ear to ear at the wonderfully raised Pokémon, nodding as she apparently inspected her carefully. She almost didn’t hear him as he spoke, and her smile faltered when she heard him hesitate, and she glanced over. Her eyebrows creased together for a moment, but ultimately decided it wasn’t her place to ask. She didn’t know him well enough yet, after all.

Looking back to Sonnet she nodded, bowing her head slightly, “It’s very nice to meet you, Sonnet. And I’d love that, I’m sure the rest of your team is just as lovely. Not to mention I love the chance to show off my motley crew.” She chuckled, sticking her tongue out a bit. While he continued, she flushed at his compliments. While she was proud of her accomplishments, she didn’t do it for the praise of others. On the contrary, she almost didn’t know how to handle it. “Ah, thank you. It’s been a long road, but I’m content with where we’ve gotten to today.

“As for you, that’s wonderful that you worked to where you are. I don’t blame you one bit for not wanting to follow in their footsteps.” Following behind him, she continued, “It takes guts to put your foot down and say no to them, too. That’s something to be proud of. And wanting to move up to a Teacher afterwards? That’s a fantastic idea. I haven’t known you long, but from what I’ve seen I’m sure you’d make a great teacher. Most of what it takes is the desire to teach, to help others learn. At least that’s how I feel about it, for what it’s worth.”

Melon glanced up at the Milotic and tilted his head in a sort of a shrug. He looked a bit disappointed, but otherwise understanding. At the topic of lunch, his ears perked up again and he glanced over to his trainer. “I’m definitely up for eating at some point, but after all this talk about the campus cafeteria, maybe there wouldn’t be the best bet. Perhaps after the tour we head into town for something?”

((If you want to time jump until after the tour or anything, you're more than welcome to~))

[Seth Silvester]

The breeder’s reaction to his offer for a city lunch relaxed the Warden by tenfold. Here he was concerned with crossing imaginary boundaries when De seemed pleased with the notion. He smiled. “Very well, next time we can go there instead,” he offered. “There’s one café in particular that lets smaller pokemon run around so it might be a nice treat for any younger pokemon you have. Granted they can handle a lot of stimulation.” Personally, Seth wouldn’t mind having any of his small challenge pokemon at the café, but the ones he recently caught? They were still too rambunctious for such a populous setting. 

Now it was Seth’s turn to beam with pride as Deirdre looked over his Milotic. He had raised Sonnet from an egg, one of the few eggs he’d taken care of, and she was a close part of Seth’s life. In fact, without her soothing abilities he would have been long out of a career given how many upper students captured monstrous pokemon. Sonnet soothed Seth during these challenges, allowing the man to battle. As much as he was looking at Sonnet, he was watching De appraise her too. He saw the grin she wore and the looked was mirrored on Seth. For her part, Sonnet returned the bow, a low echoing sound bellowing from inside of her. She seemed to enjoy that De treated her as an individual and not just a specimen as some students tended to do.

Resting a hand against Sonnet’s side, Seth noticed the reddening cheeks of his companion. Her humbleness showed in her skin. “Where you are today is a great place,” the Warden replied, referring to the woman’s growth in her own path and the Academy itself. “Many staff working here wouldn’t if we didn’t believe in the Academy’s values.”

“And thank you, De. Saying no to my parents certainly didn’t put a rift between us, but we have our differences. It’s one of the reasons why I never went back and never plan to at that. I still visit, though, family is important.” That Seth believed in and was part of the reasons why he was a Warden currently. With no family on the island and no personal relationships, he took his wards as children and his pokemon as companionship. It suited him, for now. “Speaking of teaching, how was your first class? I haven’t met all of the newer Wave students that have just arrived, but I know most.”

Seth chuckled at De’s statement. “I’ll show you a few key places and a few shortcuts across campus and then, yes, I think the city would be better instead.” Nodding towards Sonnet, Seth began the tour.

~~~

“And that’s that, really. The dorms are spread out across the island, but there really isn’t a reason to stop by them for you at least,” Seth spoke, ending his guided tour of the facilities. By now the man was starving and even Sonnet had worked up an appetite as the Milotic nudged at Seth’s arm. “We can hit the town now, if you’d like.” The Warden laughed slightly at his own words. “I’m definitely ready to eat.” He smiled warmly at De. With Sonnet's presence and the companionship of De, it seemed Seth was finally easing up around Melon.    

Sounded good to me! If you want to have Seth lead them to the city to eat then that works for me.

[Deirdre Brennan]

Deirdre nodded, “That would be wonderful! I usually get my hatchlings to expend some of their spare energy on the grounds, but it would be nice to get one or two of them a chance to socialize with more Pokémon than just one another. If they’re going to end up going to a new home, they have to be prepared for just about everything, and I don’t have the same resources here that I do back home.” She wasn’t overly concerned regardless, since it wasn’t as though she planned on selling what she bred here. Still, she wanted to give them what they deserved, resources or not.

While she hadn’t been at the school for very long, she definitely could see the truth in his words. It was a wonderful place, and she was glad she took the leap to start working here. Not to mention how it spoke wonders to say that those who went to school here was pleased enough with it to stay on years afterwords. She still had plenty to discover about the school, but so far she liked what she saw.

“That’s good to hear,” she said smiling, “too many times I hear tales of parents that just about disown their children for deciding to go their own route. I’m glad that your parents are still close to you and didn’t try to hold it against you.” Deirdre certainly wasn’t lying. A few years back she had a friend back home that was pressured into doing what her parents wanted from her. It changed her, and rather than bringing her closer to her parents just tore them apart more. It broke Deirdre’s heart to think about that, so she focused instead on his next question.

“It was… a little overwhelming, but I think it went well. I think the only challenge will be how it seems each of the students are at different levels already, but I’ll do my best to treat them all on equal footing. At the very least for the students further ahead, it will hopefully be a good refresher. What about you? How has your warden...ing… been going?” All in all, Deirdre was just glad that her first class wasn’t a complete and utter disaster. All she could do was think of all the ways it could have gone worse, and she was glad that none of those happened. Nodding, she smiled at his promise to show her all of the good shortcuts and followed his lead.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////

It was still a bit much, but having someone who knew the ins and outs of the campus show her the ropes definitely made it a load more bearable. Graciously nodding, Deirdre looked over to her guide. “That was a huge help, thank you so much. It’s less overwhelming to see it from the perspective of a way that makes a little more sense. And yes, I think I speak for both of us over here when I say we’re more than ready for lunch, now.” Melon yawned and bobbed his head slightly, leaning into Deirdre and rubbing his head into her hand to get her attention. He knew very well when it was about time to lunch, and always tried to act his cutest to get a little bit extra. Mainly because he knew it worked.

Scratching the top of her Luxrays head absently as he was overly obnoxious, she lifted an eyebrow. “So, any good ideas for lunch? Perhaps somewhere with outside seating so Sonnet and Melon can stay out?” Sticking behind her guide, she continued some light smalltalk as they continued into the city, following his knowledgeable lead to their lunch spot.

[Seth Silvester]

“Having that many young pokemon must be handful,” Seth commented, thinking about his own lot of young students he had to chaperone. At least the students were pre-teens by the time Seth met them and therefore (assumedly) a little easier to watch over than if they were kids. Then again, he really shouldn’t be comparing students to pokemon in the first place. Even if it was only in his head. “If I’m being truthful then I’ll admit that I was only mediocre in my breeding classes. I knew how to take care of the egg and the pokemon afterwards, but having peers who had hoards of eggs all hatching at once?” The Warden shook his head in admiration. “I don’t know how they or you manage it. It’s incredible, really.”

As their conversation continued Seth found himself gravitating towards De’s discussion of her last class. “That can be challenging,” he agreed. “Even when students come to challenge us for a badge it’s tricky to balance out what level they and their pokemon are at compared to what pokemon we should use as Wardens. At least, though, the battles are singular events. I couldn’t imagine trying to balance the needs of two different level students if they teamed up. Well, I could, it’s possible, but still challenging.” Seth was trying his best to empathize with the breeding instructor’s concerns despite being in a different field than teaching. Perhaps if he did switch to teaching in a few years he would better understand.

Chuckling at the way Deirdre worded it, Seth gave a slight shrug. “I’ve not had any formal badge challenges yet from new students so in the meantime I’ve been working on my team and exploring the island. I’ve, ah, I’ve been told to ‘relax’ and ‘take it easy’ though that’s easier said than practiced.” He left off that it was his nurse and doctors that had given the pill-addicted man these instructions. “Most of my time has been spent keeping the Wave Dorms up and running smoothly.”

“It’s not a glamorous task at times, but someone has to do it.”

~~~

Seth rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for De’s response, wiping away beads of sweat that had pooled there. It wasn’t as if the weather was hot outside, in fact it was a lovely day, but they still had done a lot of walking and his earlier nerves, though calmed now, had warmed the man’s body. “It’ll take some time, but I’m sure it’ll become a second home,” he offered, speaking a notion he now believed in. “And that sounds like a great idea. I know just a place.”

Leading the way, Seth took his companion into the city, pointing out a few note-worthy places as they walked by them. Occasionally he would sprinkle in an anecdote or two of his time as a student at these specific places to enrich their conversation. Of course Seth was mindful to not monopolize the walk about him and he would always give De a chance to share her own stories if she’d like.

Their destination was a restaurant on the smaller side located on the outskirts of the shopping area. It had outside seating that overlooked a man-made lake, a fountain spraying artfully in the middle. Perhaps it had been a shallow natural retention area on the island, but the city’s beautification programs changed into something more pleasing to the eye.

“Would you like to sit outside as we eat?” Seth questioned, motioning to one of the patio tables. “There’s enough room out here that Melon and Sonnet can join us as well.” The Warden’s eyes flickered over at his Milotic as he watched her watch the water fountain. “How about we eat first, okay?” Seth directed at Sonnet, running his thumb across one of her scales. It wouldn’t surprise Seth if Sonnet found her way to that fountain after she’d had her fill. Perhaps it would give her more time to interact with Melon as well. 

((I'm so sorry for the delay! I didn't realize you had replied. ><))

[Deirdre Brennan]

“Oh, it definitely is,” Deirdre nodded quickly. She shrugged however, smiling, “Thankfully, I have my team to help me out. And I don’t just mean my team back home, although they are what keep my business running. My Pokémon team, however, is what makes it manageable here. They all play their own little part in running our family. I’d say the biggest helper when they’re exceptionally young is Olive, my Nidoqueen. I think it’s partly because she can’t have children of her own, but she always helps raise the young ones tremendously.” If it wasn’t for her remarkable team, Deirdre doubted she would ever be able to keep up with all of the young Pokémon she cared for on a daily basis.

Bobbing her head understandingly, Deirdre glanced at her associate. “That has to be rough, too. I’ve never been exceptional at battles, myself. I’m grateful to have my team, and that you can manage a lot through good genes.” The teacher was thankful for the wardens that were on staff. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to trying to care and watch over the students every day in addition to teaching them would be a strain, even on someone as practiced in multitasking as she was would have struggled with it.

Chuckling at his slight joke, Deirdre twitched an eyebrow, “Well, nothing wrong with that, especially since I’m sure you’ll be getting enough of a workout once the students got enough wind in their sails. Besides, ‘glamourous’ or not, I’m sure that’s difficult enough for now.”

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Glancing at the sweat beading on Seth’s head, Deirdre turned to her bag and rifled through it for a moment before pulling out a small folded purple bandana and handing it to him. “I keep that handy to tie my hair out of the eyes in a pinch, since it’s a little too short to tie back in a ponytail,” she said with a wink and a chuckle. She had been able to change into something cooler after the earlier staff meeting, so she didn’t fault him for getting warm after that huge trek around campus. “I’m sure I’ll begin to feel right at home before long, too. Everything is very accepting here, after all.”

Excited to not only see more of the city but get to have lunch at somewhere he vouched for (she always had a horrible habit of picking the worse local place by accident, since she refused to touch chain restaurants unless she absolutely had to), she followed her guide. Everytime he let her know about one fact or another, Deirdre would smile and watch carefully, wanting to soak everything in without getting too overwhelmed, but still asking about things curiously or imputing with her own similar tales.

When she saw the restaurant, she grinned widely. “Definitely a significant improvement to the campus cafeteria. Great call.” Looking to the outside balcony, Deirdre nodded. “I think that would be great, since it’s sunny out the temperature is pretty nice. I’ll probably take Plum from her Pokéball as well, I think she’d get along really well with you too, Sonnet.” Laughing at Seth’s banter with his Pokémon, Deirdre glanced at her own. “Maybe you and Plum can join her too, Melon.” Melon’s tail waved behind him excitedly as Deirdre stroked his fur. Even though he was a ‘cat’, in a way, he loved how the static in his fur felt when it got wet.

Smiling at the host, Deirdre followed as he lead them to a table outdoors and thanked him as he departed. Sitting down, she dug back into her bag to pull out a pink and blue Pokéball. “Do you mind if I release Plum? She doesn’t take up quite as much room, don’t worry.”

_{{{Haha, no worries!! I'd done that before ;b Seth Silvester }}}