[FIN] I'd feel a lot better if my mom weren't dead.

[Tori Honoo]

"Grand Ile...Wait. Do you know Yuri Lowell?" she asked, the name of the place striking her immediately. "He was the first person I met when I came over, and he says he's from there."

Realizing she had most likely spoken out of place, she quieted another moment, then made her way over to sit at the opposite side of the couch with him while the stew simmered and cooked. After taking a sip of her own tea, she looked to Luke again. "Sorry, that was...random. So you've lived here since then?" she asked curiously. She still hadn't decided right out if she would make Kodo her new home or not; there were still plenty of times throughout the day that she considered returning to Hearthome, though a good portion of her--most of her, now-- was seriously contemplating never going back.  

[Suudonym]

He blinked in slight surprise and nodded in affirmation, "Yeah, but we met here, not in Grande Ile." He watched the shifting color of the tea in his cup idly. "Grande Ile and Kodo opened port to each other a while back, so there are actually quite a few people from there wandering around." Presumably pursuing business ventures or something; supposedly that had been the point of the arrangement in the first place.

He dismissed her apology; he didn't really mind talking about random things. It was better than talking about recent things, that was for sure. "Yeah," he nodded, hesitating a moment as he tried to decide whether or not elaborating would be too much unrequested information, but the words came easily and so he voiced them, "at home I was kind of confined, so coming here was like this huge breath of fresh air and I started really dreading ever going back. So I guess this sort of just naturally became home as a result of that."  

[Tori Honoo]

"Oh, well. At least you know him," she laughed bashfully, cheeks flushing lightly as she looked off and tucked her hair back. So far, Yuri was really one of the only people she had met that she felt comfortable admitting she could call 'friend'. Most others she had just met once or twice.

She listened carefully as he talked about his move to the region, head tilting thoughtfully as he spoke. "Really... 'suffocating,' huh?" she repeated, letting her eyes fall to the couch. "I can definitely relate to the feeling...Things are a little...weird, back home for me, so... I might be doing the same."

Odd, finding something she could relate to so easily.  

[Suudonym]

"Yuri's a good person," he said, recalling events that now seemed distant. "He's helped out a lot with things that didn't even really have anything to do with him." It was probably good for her to have met him so soon after arriving in the region, he thought. Or at least, there were definitely much worse people she could have established as contacts.

An agreeing nod. 'Suffocating' somehow seemed like an understatement, but it was difficult to conceive a word with stronger connotations. "It's worked out okay for me," he said, shrugging lightly. "I've learned a lot of things since coming here. Some things I probably could have lived without knowing, but…" It had never stopped bothering him that his name wasn't his own, but the name that was his sounded alien and unfitting. "There are a lot of great people here too. Like, if you ever have the chance to meet Rosie, she's amazing." Rosie had been immensely helpful from the very beginning, always offering warmth and kindness no matter how coldly he had acted.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Yeah, he is..." she repeated, gazing down into the contents of her mug as she spoke. "Kind of just seems like the type to just...be there for the welfare of other people, you know? That was the impression I got, at least..." Who was she to know, though? She had only been around him a short while, though she had certainly spent more time with him than she had anyone else.

As he talked about the things he had learned that he could have lived without, she nodded back, again able to relate to his words. She offered a smile, however, as Luke continued, noting the way he talked about the girl he mentioned. "'Rosie,' huh?" she prompted, urging him gently to go into detail. "I guess I'll have to be on the lookout for her." Though she still hurt from her previous lost relationship, she couldn't help but be bit interested; she was, afterall, a hopeless romantic.  

[Suudonym]

A nod in agreement, though he didn't really feel inclined to elaborate on his reasons for agreement. 'He let me stay at his apartment for a few days after I killed man' didn't seem like the kind of conversation she would want to hear, and it wasn't really the kind of conversation he wanted to offer anyway.

"Short blonde hair, usually wearing white and pink, has a Vaporeon with her a lot of the time," he said, assuming the prompt was for physical details so that Dove would know the girl if she ever did come across her. "She showed me around the city when I first got here," he elaborated, "and she helped me to think straight when I was upset over some stuff." That story was no longer especially painful, but it was long and kind of confusing, so he avoided telling it without being asked.  

[Tori Honoo]

She nodded at his description, pushing herself from the couch and making her way back to the kitchen to check their food. "I'll keep an eye out for her, then! She sounds great," she told him, stirring the soup. Though his mention of 'some stuff' made her curious, she wouldn't allow herself to voice this; there was no need to dig into the past, especially when the boy was already suffering.

Sparky again lifted his head and turned to look at the boy. Lovey stayed still, having fallen asleep at Luke's side as he and her trainer had talked.

"So, what do you do around here, Luke? Anything fun?" she asked, almost at a loss for a new conversation piece.  

[Suudonym]

"Go to the hospital a lot," he said with a light laugh. "I wouldn't really call it fun, though." He paused to consider the question in greater depth, then, "I used to practice using a sword for exercise and self-defense, but I haven't been able to do it in a while." He hummed quietly in thought, suddenly unsure of what any of his hobbies were. Training his pokemon involved standing for long periods of time, shouting commands, and often walking to distant locations to practice in peace. Even singing required more breath than he could usually sustain for very long. "I guess I don't really do a whole lot anymore…"  

[Tori Honoo]

She laughed weakly as he did, shaking her head a bit; at least it didn't completely embarrass him to talk about it. Suddenly, her curiosity got to the best of her, especially as he talked about his given up hobbies. "So what's that all about, the whole...hospital thing? If that's okay to ask," she added, hoping she hadn't crossed a line.  

[Suudonym]

He shook his head in small motions, dismissing her worries over the subject. "There was a surgery," he explained, his words quiet despite his assurance that the topic wasn't any kind of taboo, "in January. During the summer I had a heart attack because of a congenital defect, so I go back a lot for post-op examinations."  

[Tori Honoo]

"Wow."

The word escaped her before she could stop herself. Brows furrowed, she tilted her head at him a little, alarm and curiosity urging her onward. "You had heart surgery in January and still jumped into the ocean to rescue a stranger?"  

[Suudonym]

The expression that answered the words was sheepish, "That's… what I mean when I say I just made things worse."  

[Tori Honoo]

She stayed quiet, more concentrated on the food than ever. What had he been thinking? Sera hadn't been there... Still, his attempt had been honorable; at least he had cared enough to take action.

"Well... It might have been reckless, but it was brave."

She returned to the couch, then, steaming bowls of stew in her hands. Offering him one, she again sat at a comfortable distance next to him. "You're feeling better, though, right? At least... Physically..."

...shoot.  

[Suudonym]

The smile he wore in response to her evaluation was wistful, "I dunno about brave… More like desperate." Brave had connotations of valiance and fearlessness; his reasons for action were more aligned with a childish stubbornness than anything else.

He placed the mug aside to receive the bowl that was offered, accepting it with a word of thanks. His expression gently dismissed the backpedaling clarification attached to the end of her question - he knew she wasn't specifically trying to return his thoughts to a painful subject, after all. "I guess so," he replied. "I mean, I'm definitely better now than I've been before. I just kind of thought the whole constant fatigue thing would be wearing off by now." That was probably his fault, re: jumping into the icy ocean shortly after a major surgical procedure.  

[Tori Honoo]

"Either way, we both came out of it alright, so we've clearly got someone or something watching out for us," she said determinedly, starting into her soup.

After a few bites while listening, she nodded. "That is odd...When do you see your doctor again?" she asked, hoping she was still in a safe zone of conversation.

Lovey, at the smell of the trainers' food, blinked, slowly waking up.

Sparky, after hearing the humans' conversation, finally gave in, turning away and curling in front of the fire. From what he took from their talk, the boy would have no chance to harm his charge; and even if he tried, he could be easily overpowered with little effort.