[Sophia Schuster]

Things had been going pretty well lately, Sophia figured. Her Pokemon had been breeding up a storm. She acquired her first breeding emblem thing. Two and three, going by what the stipulations were, were soon to drop into her hands, as well. She had yet to tackle a Warden yet, but, considering her brief connection with Seth Silvester, she at least had one in mind to attack first. Asking her roommate about him might be a good idea. Who knew? Maybe she did some footwork and asked about already.

Or even got into a fight with him already. Nah, even for her, that was a bit too eager. Probably. Actually, no, it was probably a much more relevant case than she cared to admit. Well, there was nothing wrong with such a headstrong approach. Probably.

Sophia was at home in their room, really. Though her notebook didn't have too many pages filled, it had a number of notes and observations she had made over the course of the days and weeks since her arrival. She even had the notes from the classes written down, but that was a given. A tablet displaying research on the Field, Fairy, and Grass egg groups sat over on the side. She planned to formally add others to her list soon, but she didn't need to get ahead of herself.

Honestly speaking, the young maiden was dressed in something not entirely removed from a nightgown. However, the design was “trendy” enough that she could head outside in it without attracting too many glances. It was lightweight, thin, and fairly shimmery, if someone stared while she was in movement. Naturally, the color was in the red spectrum, around the maroon shades. She was pretty lightly dressed overall- nothing else, since she didn't plan on leaving the room. About the only other thing was her blue contacts, and that was just because she still didn't care to share her red eyes with her roomie yet.

Speaking of Miss Seraphina King, where did that girl hop off to? Sophia took a glance around the room. In one corner, Silk was huddled together with a small mound of eggs. Any attempt to free him from it was usually met with subdued bug-growling. It seemed he enjoyed being surrounded by eggs. Or by unborn children? One or the other. Other than him, Cotton and Cloud were sleeping next to each other. The rest of her Pokemon were all still in their balls. No need to bloat the room with presences, after all. She stretched her arms up before slipping from her chair. A short break was probably in order. She didn't want to stop looking over things, but it didn't make it any more of a bad idea to just keep staring at things.

”But what to do?” Perhaps if someone could just appear and save her from herself?

+1 to hatch count on Mareep, Dunsparce, Growlithe, Beldum, Bellsprout, Torkoal, Durant, and Feebas eggs

[Seraphina King]

Walking through the girl's side of the Bolt Dorm, Seraphina was still catching her breathe after her jog back. She was slightly sweaty, and not exactly short of breathe, but she had done a serious work out just now. Ten kilometers don't run themselves, after all. But all of it would be worth it once she returned to her room and got to lay down. Maybe her roommate would be there to keep her company too? Sure enough, with a hint of curiosity, Seraphina opened the door to find her roommate right there on her side of the room. Like always, she seemed to be wearing something cute. She was a little jealous, but it wasn't like she couldn't afford that sort of stuff anymore. With a grin, she greeted her roommate. Honey, I'm home. Following that, she flopped onto her bed.

She was facing Sophia's side of the room as she was spread out onto her bed, with her feet touching her pillows. Propping her head up with her elbows, she scanned over the various Pokemon on that side. You're really serious about breeding, aren't you? Every time I come in, I swear that pile of eggs gets bigger. And that says something, since they've all been hatching fairly fast. Of course, Seraphina was helping in the process of some of them. She had used a few of her Pokemon to help make some eggs and even got a few Pokemon out of it herself. Perhaps Seraphina was just being dumb, but wouldn't there be some sort of law against over-breeding Pokemon? Surely there would be a point where there was simply too many of something.

Seraphina had been considering doing that whole 'breeding' thing seriously. It might turn out to be fun and useful for her anyways. As for the gym challenge, Seraphina had been thoroughly convinced to beat it. She wanted to assert her strength onto the school in the best way possible. And if she beat all the wardens? She could move onto teachers. Too bad there wasn't some sort of evil group that she could beat down. The important thing was that it was clear she intended to focus on battling. At least for now. The amount of Pokemon she had was steadily increasing, and soon they would be evolving. Tyson had already turned into something impressive not too long ago. It made her wonder how the other students were doing in that regard.

[Sophia Schuster]

Oh, speak of the devil, and she would appear. Miss Seraphina King popped right on in, lightly damp with sweat, and was right into her playful mindset before flopping onto her bed. Sophia couldn't really condone the sweaty body-clean bed action, but what her roommate did to her own bed was none of her business. That “honey” comment really reminded her of that comment in Breeding. She might have to check in about that later. At the comment on breeding itself, though, Sophia let out a playful giggle, covering her mouth with one hand.

”If I set my mind to it, I can do a lot of things. This is just one thing I wanted to try seriously.” Her lips were curled into a pleasant smile as she sent a glance at Silk. ”Besides, oddly enough, Silk seems to enjoy having all those eggs near him. I don't quite understand why he'd like it, but I like seeing them all happy, so it's fine.” She turned her gaze back to Seraphina, lightly stepping forward as she rocked on her heels.

”And you; all that running, punching, and other stuff. It's almost like you're planning on seriously becoming a boxer, or something along those lines.” An index finger lightly pressed against her cheek as she tilted her head. Was there anything else that Seraphina's habits would fit into? Her limited knowledge on anti-personnel fighting only covered so much. She mostly knew how to disable a brute's frontal assault. She mainly learned just enough that she'd be able to prevent another “accident” from occurring. With that thought, a hand absently traced along her side. She had overcome all that nonsense, sure, but it was still not a pleasant memory.

”I was actually hoping you'd pop back in, though. I had some things I wanted to ask. But, before that, I trust your exercising went well?” There was a certain degree of sensibility to be had here, politeness and nicety and all of that, before going straight to the heart of the matter. After that, though, or when prompted, she had a plethora of matters she wanted to get input on from Seraphina. At the very least, she wanted to cover whether or not she knew anything about Silvester.

+1 to hatch count on Mareep, Dunsparce, Growlithe, Beldum, Bellsprout, Torkoal, Durant, and Feebas eggs

[Seraphina King]

Well, at least she was passionate about what she was doing. It did make Seraphina curious about something though. If in several months' time, she managed to obtain all of the Dorm Badges, where would Sophia be in relation? Just how many eggs and Pokemon would she be breeding by that point? Come to think of it, she was also planning on doing battles and such. She would likely be planning to challenge the wardens as well. For whatever reason, Seraphina wondered if this girl was also going to be a formidable opponent later down the line.

At this point in time, she felt like she couldn't lose in battle. It was almost like her days as a fighter. Regardless of experience or achievements, she never feared her opponents. Almost as if she knew she could win no matter what. Call it dumb or extreme pride, but she didn't think any students could actually beat her at this point in time. The wardens and staff, perhaps, if they used their fully evolved Pokemon could win. But if that was the case, she would just get fully evolved Pokemon of her own. She was someone who did not know defeat, nor did she really care to feel it. Her Pokemon would grow with time like anyone else's. But wouldn't it be interesting if her roommate managed to be the one to stand up against her?

B-Boxer? The comments about her wanting to be a boxer got a big laugh out of her. She laughed so much that she even began to tear up a bit. Rubbing her eyes, she caught her breathe. Hurt stomach hurt a bit. I haven't heard the word 'boxer' in years from my old man. Since she was formally trained as a boxer, it was the original goal her uncle had set for her. But one thing led to another and she ended up going into MMA. You're close! An MMA Fighter. Mixed Martial Arts. And I'm not exactly training to be one. Rather, I just got done being one. I'm already retired. . . at least for now I am. It was hard to believe but it had only been a few months since she was still considered a professional fighter. I suppose it's a bit strange to be retired at such a young age, but apparently professional fighters don't have very long careers in the first place. I only lasted about two years before my old man pulled me out. On the bright side, I managed to grab a championship belt on my way out. She smirked, not giving too much thought to the circumstances of her retirement, nor the results of that championship fight. It wasn't like it was something she wanted to hide. But who the hell would want to hear something depressing like that?

But yeah, my workout was fine as always. It's just some loops around the track. She didn't mention just how many loops that would have been though. She honestly didn't count them. She could estimate the distance in her mind while running. It was a peculiar thing to be able to do, but was nice enough. Such a thing seemed possible when you jogged that much nearly every day of your life for the past four or so years.

[Sophia Schuster]

Well, that would explain her lack of awareness with it. She'd never heard of “Mixed Martial Arts”. She wasn't even entirely sure what discipline the moves she knew were. It was just called “self-defense”. Either way, the girl tilted her head once more, though to the other side, as the story was launched. The fact that her roommate was a professional fighter, or was, was. . . reassuring? It let her know she could at least count on the girl if, for any reason, their Pokemon weren't an option. She was curious as to why, but she was sure that the girl had her reasons for pulling out. Or for being pulled out. Either way.

”I see. That'd explain it, then. I was only given the most basic of training for self-defense, so I wouldn't know anything about that. A professional, though? To think that my roommate was someone so dependable.” Her tone was a little teasing at that point. In all honesty, it was reassuring, but she didn't want to depend on her- or anyone, for that matter. The young lady shifted back to her bed, plopping her butt down on it, before fixing her roommate with a stare. For a moment, she just watched, then, she simply smiled.

”You're always out and about, so I wanted to ask you something.” It was better to skirt around the issue first. No need to say too much on the matter. ”Have you battled with anybody yet? You know, a Pokemon battle?” She tilted her body to the left, then the right, gradually getting a rocking motion down as she awaited an answer. ”Anybody, it doesn't necessarily have to be just students. I wanted to know if you had battled another trainer, specifically.”

The chances that she fought someone like a Warden was low. Or so Sophia'd like to think. Honestly speaking, if Seraphina were that forward, it'd be a little worrisome, if only because the girl would have to worry that her roommate would get herself into some kind of danger. Then again, if she were a professional fighter. . .

. . . maybe she'd be fine?

+1 to hatch count on Mareep, Dunsparce, Growlithe, Beldum, Bellsprout, Torkoal, Durant, and Feebas eggs

[Seraphina King]

Something about Sophia's reactions to things was quite entertaining to Seraphina. In a way, it made her want to elicit more interesting reactions out of her. There were plenty of ways to do that, of course. Only some of which she would be willing to attempt at this point in time. She seemed rather interested in the fast that she used to be a fighter. Dependable, though? That was the first time she had been called that. Though, Seraphina could see what she meant by that. Especially considering even this girl learned self-defense, which interested Seraphina all the same. Self-defense, huh? Could I see some of your moves? Just some basic stuff, I wouldn't throw any punches or anything serious. What kind of self-defense did she know? There were a lot of combat forms that she dabbled in herself. While it was nice to master a specific combat style, having many styles known can greatly increase your performance in combat.

As for the question Sophia asked, Seraphina did have an answer. Hmm. Laying back on her bed, she considered that battle not that long ago. Yeah, but it wasn't really a big deal. It was like. . . a few days after getting here I think. Some warden dude challenged me while I was doing my morning jog. I beat him though. I think he was a Wave Warden? Seth, that was his name. He seemed to be pretty confident up until the second half of the fight. Why do you ask? She didn't mind telling Sophia about the fight if she was interested, but she did want to know what was on her mind. Idle curiosity. She knew that this girl would likely challenge the gyms herself as well and was more than able to supply her with info. If I tell you though, you gotta let me do a little sparring with you. She smiled with a happy humming noise.

There wasn't really much to note about the fight itself, other than the fact that it was between Pokemon they lacked a good deal of training. It was the first fight for Sugar, and Tyson had only fought some wild Pokemon. If there was anything else to say, it was that she didn't actually get a badge out of it like she would have liked. But that was only a minor setback. She knew in her mind that she could get all the badges no problem.

[Sophia Schuster]

A sheepish laugh escaped Sophia's lips as her mind managed to process the question delivered to her. Show Seraphina moves? That was silly. Even with the assurance of nothing being launched offensively, there was a clear difference between “professional fighter” and “someone that learned just enough to get by”. Heavens, she didn't even know what hers was called. She was going to dismiss the idea entirely up until Seraphina went on to mention Seth. Good grief. She really did battle someone already! Then again, was it right to expect any different?

She was going to inquire further, especially since it sounded like a legitimate, lengthy battle, but that mentioning of an exchange came up. In a way, this was preferable. It removed any dependence or debts, and it was, instead, an exchange, as opposed to simple assistance. Her mind whirled, though. She wasn't offensive in nature when it came to her fighting. It was, as the name suggested, defensive. She was probably going to be hurt slightly- her being Sophia. Still, she doubted Seraphina would purposefully harm her to an extreme. Sophia's expression was stiff. It wasn't that she was in a bad mood, but that she was considering a little too much too quickly.

”I'll accept your terms.” She calmly declared after a moment. ”You said a. . . spar. It'll be easier for me to act, in that case. I'm reactive.” In a real fight, saying that was akin to declaring the lack of a forward strategy. ”So long as you don't mind taking the lead, I'll dance with you.” There was no other way for her to phrase it. Likening a fight to a dance was the easiest way to say something witty. Fighting language was. . . usually very crude, or so novels suggested.

”Had you wanted to get that out of the way now? Or would you prefer to wait?” With that question, she stood. She seemed to have no intentions of changing, though. Whether that meant the gown was actually easy to move in or not, though, was up for debate. In truth, though, she didn't mind getting a little sweaty in it. She could always change- always wash- and the gown itself was fairly flowy. It didn't impede her movements in the least. If anything, it helped to hide her tensing legs.

Unfortunately, it didn't offer any cover for her footwork, but that was an acceptable sacrifice. After all, ideally, she didn't have to move too much.

[Seraphina King]

Sophia seemed a bit conflicted in answering whether or not she would do a little sparring session. She supposed that was a fair enough, considering the circumstance. But Seraphina was quite pleased when she accepted the terms to do so. A counter puncher. That's a more unorthodox style of fighting that you see. Someone who waits for their opponent to make a mistake before going in and beating their opponent down. Well, I won't ramble on about fighting techniques. Don't worry. She chuckled. More importantly, she was going to hold up her end of the bargain and talk about the battle.

Scratching her head as she sat back up, she considered where to start things off. Well, I'm taking a shot in the dark and assuming you want to know stuff about fighting him for a badge. This'll be your first badge, right? Just asking since at the rate you're going you might have gotten one already. It was unlikely, but good to bring up. He had some sort of light blue fish; kinda thin, almost tube-like. Oh, and a Bellsprout. It was only a 2v2 so I don't actually know the other Pokemon he would have. Offensively, both of them were lacking. He managed to do in one of my Pokemon after like 6 turns of being poisoned though. So, I suppose if you have strong moves that end the fight quick, you'll be fine? The fight seemed to last as long as it did because Sugar didn't really have the offensive capability to end it fast. He had gotten to the point where he was launching one of the strongest moves out there, with little effect. Luckily he had learned a few new moves since then. A second fight would result in a quicker ending. I guess the other concern is Mud Slap, which lowers accuracy. That was on his fish. It wasn't strong, but the mud really added up given how long the battle was. She pondered a bit more, wondering if there was anything else that she could tell Sophia. But nothing really came to mind.

Come to think of it, how strong were her Pokemon, anyway? That's all I can think of currently. Just don't show me up and beat him in half the time or I'll have to get you for that. She laughed as she spoke, since she didn't mean it. If Sophia managed to do something like that, the only thing she would feel is respect towards her. But if she wanted to? A mock battle would be nice at some point.

[Sophia Schuster]

Sophia hadn't really expected an observational analysis. Though she did feel that Seraphina was a tad bit off, since she really didn't punch, it was nothing for her to worry too much on, she figured. Though the maiden had figured the spar would come first, information came quickly instead. Plopping her butt right back onto her bed, she listened to the report, nodding when the intents of getting a badge came up. She nodded a second time with the question of it being her first, then simply gazed at her roommate, considering everything.

”I see.” Her words trailed off slightly after the conclusion of the report. She didn't seem too bothered or concerned with the threat, though. Instead, she seemed to be lost in thought. ”Bellsprout isn't just Grass, but Grass-Poison. The fish you fought was likely Water-Ground, as it could use a Ground-type move. I'll search online later, though. If that's the case, though, then Seth Silvester has a Grass-Poison, and a very likely Water-Ground, setup in his basic team. If he's adhering to Water and Poison, then it's extremely likely that his final Pokemon of the bunch has Ice-typing, in some way, as the three types of the Wave dorm are Water, Ice, and Poison.” She flopped back on her bed, but rather than laying back properly, she actually squirmed and wriggled until she shifted, like a fish in water, to the edge, scooping her tablet from the desk and tapping the screen as she filtered information.

”Thank you, Seraphina.” She stated it clearly, at an unmistakable level. Even if it was an exchange, showing gratitude was polite and, she felt, professional. ”This knowledge is invaluable. I had thought to attack with a focus on Electric and perhaps Ground, but it seems as though Grass and Fire may be a better path.” She was like a gamer that discovered the weakness to the boss ahead of time, wearing a giddy grin on her face as she wriggled back and around until she could eventually sit up properly in the same place she had been. For the record, she never put the tablet down.

”Had you planned to take my end of the exchange already? You'll likely beat me in no time, either way. Well, I suppose it would be fair.” Her eyes flickered up from the screen of the tablet to gaze at her roommate, a playful expression twisting her face for a moment. ”After all, I'll have to use this information to beat him in half the time, was it?” A quiet giggle escaped her. It was just honest teasing and competitiveness.

After all, what were the chances everything would go as planned?

[Seraphina King]

Luckily, it seemed that her description of the fight was more than enough to have Sophia prepare smartly for her upcoming bout. She was even able to infer a few things that Seraphina wouldn't have bothered considering. A few of them seemed to be jumps in logic, but the idea that his third Pokemon would be ice did make a bit of sense. But it seemed that she was more than confident in her strategy now. Well, that's good. You should be fine anyways. I didn't exactly have super effective moves at my disposal for the most part. In fact, her Togepi had an even worse worse time staying in the fight.

But now was the time to get her side of the bargain. And after that last comment, she wasn't going to just let her go. With a smirk, she stood up and got ready. Get up. Since you'll be beating him in half the time, I'll just have to beat you in no time at all. As she waited, Seraphina took up a pose where her hands formed fists and covered her body and head. Be prepared for anything. And on that word, she waited. Just for a few seconds. But after that, she charged, keeping her hands up against her body and head. And just as it seemed like she was going to run straight into the girl, or possibly throw a punch, Seraphina didn't even bother moving her hands. She used one of her legs to sweep Sophia off her feet where she would land on the bed. It was an easy enough strategy if someone was only expecting something from the hands. Especially since the back of the knee is a really easy way to make someone lose their balance.

From there, Sophia would fall onto the bed where Seraphina would have ample time to grab each of her arms and pin them down. From there, she essentially sat over her stomach, which was her center of gravity. This would make it almost impossible for her to get out. Of course, by the time she managed to do all of this, Seraphina's face was an inch or two from Sophia's. She would swear it was just a coincidence and though. With a smirk, she looked down at her prey. I think that counts as my win. Good thing I'm a a wonderful angel and not some awful person, because you would be at my mercy now. She laughed, satisfied with the result. She wasn't exactly sure what she had expected from this girl in terms of defense, but it was a fun little diversion nonetheless.

[Sophia Schuster]

Well, it seemed like the time to “pay up”, so to speak, was just about there. Shifting to put her tablet away, the young lady stood up, not really having much of a stance, but having her arms partially raised. It was a relaxed posture, but one watching closely could tell her arms were at least partially tense. She really worked best with reactions. As a result, it was important to keep her arms from moving too far up- never knew when a gun or a knife might have come up. That was why, despite being “ready”, or so she thought, she was completely taken by surprise when the leg sweep came.

”Bwa~?!” An inelegant, surprised, and altogether startled cry escaped Sophia's lips. It happened in a flash, really. She fell onto her bed, and Seraphina had her pinned in heartbeat. She found herself blushing, but it wasn't because of Seraphina's proximity. No, it was because of that sound she made. Disgusting and shameful. For a moment, she just stared up at her roommate, not bothering to struggle very much, as her complexion reverted. Her expression didn't seem annoyed, or even angry. Only curious, if anything.

”Pray tell, is there something you're not telling me, Seraphina?” Her tone was perfectly normal, but there was a small, obvious point to it. ”First you call me your wife, then honey, and now you're on top of me. Angel or not, the combination of evidence is very. . . suspect.” Of course, even if her roommate did, on the off chance, have some sort of attraction to her, she wasn't going to be bothered by it- her expression wasn't even harsh, just scrutinizing. She'd just have to make her lack of interest, of that nature, known.

Not that she was against finding herself in a relationship with a lady, but it was much too soon to even worry about such things. Even if breeding wasn't a concern.

[Seraphina King]

It was also important to note that Sophia made a very uncharacteristic but cute noise as she got taken down. The general consensus? Worth it. But more importantly, there seemed to be a questioning of character from underneath her buttocks. Damn. Had she been reading into her comments that heavily? Perhaps her way of speaking was a bit more loose compared to others in more than one way. Seraphina hadn't even given romance a single thought in all her years. That went the same for other types of indecent relations. Her world revolved around the square box of steel. A world of vicious intent and staggering consequences. Where would love fit into all of that?

There was a number of ways to answer this. But Seraphina naturally saw the best way as the sarcastic one. I see you've seen through my plans to steal your heart. I simply couldn't help myself. She gave her prey a mischievous look and a little laugh. I steal men's souls and take them as tribute! An obviously fake laugh followed up after that. She was just being playful, of course. She had no serious intentions like that after all. Not about anyone. Perhaps there were incidents where someone was interested in her, but she didn't have the time to bother, nor care. She had turned her mind to steel and became a superhero. Or something like that.

Come to think of it, Sophia wasn't exactly complaining or anything. Not about being taken down or being called such embarrassing things. Seraphina didn't give much thought to it, but it was possible that she wanted to hear her being interested. Relationships seemed to be like that on TV anyway. It was hard to tell how someone swung without subtly or indirectly asking. So it wouldn't be too far-fetched if Sophia was baiting this response. Either way, on the off chance that Sophia was attracted to her, she wasn't going to be bothered by it. She'd just have to make her lack of interest, of that nature, known.

[Sophia Schuster]

Any ability to take Seraphina seriously went straight out the window after the overly grandiose response Sophia received. Honestly? She didn't know why she was worried- well, not worried, but mildly concerned- over the whole deal. Seraphina was just. . . like that. Whatever “that” was. Sophia wasn't entirely sure she had a word for it. Letting out a faint snort, she regained her composure entirely by that point, staring up at her “captor” with a faint smile.

”You know, admitting you're some sort of unholy being while you're in the same room as a creature that breathes fire isn't exactly the smartest of ideas. It's a good way to be purified.” She lightly hummed before tilting her head- though it was more of a shift, considering she was on her bed. ”Though, I suppose I'm safe, either way. I'm about as far from a man as one could get.” She smirked very slightly. She knew it was a general “race of man” statement, but she could play, as well, if she wanted to.

”Or had you mistaken that?” That smile became extraordinarily impish at that point. ”Is this what you do? Pin down your prey and steal their souls with this kind of posture?” Having regained her composure, it was fairly easy for her to go off on her own playful tirade. Of course, it was obvious she meant nothing mean by it. Sophia was one of the nicest people there was, so long as nobody did something asinine.

”Or were you looking to branch out and claim other pastures? I suppose there is that saying about the grass being greener, huh?” Her words trailed off at that, a smug expression lingering on her face as she just watched Seraphina. Her roommate might have been on top, but Sophia felt fairly comfortable, all considered.

Minus that whole weight on her, you know.