[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

... She also gladly listened to what had to say concerning the alteration of appearance. Even if she felt it was a bit too much for what she had in mind, but it was certainly useful to know that Ven was experienced in that field. Even if his skills weren't the same anymore, as he said. "Ehm... Whoah, neat to hear so many ideas and possibilities... Thanks for that! I don't want to dye my hair though, nor cut is drastically..."

The silence that followed was indeed a pleasant one. Shiva did a little people-watching while enjoying the remains of her orders, before at some point she faced Ven again. "Now, uhm... If you too finished, we can actually head back to the Center then... Shall we? Right after we paid, that is." (Probably no need to substract money from charasheet unless GM says otherwise, so we can get back to the GPC right away. )

Ventus gave two firm but confidant nods to each of Shiva intial response, his smile only growing kinder as Shiva accepted his offered aid in Elanor AND he saw that same surge of confidence that well up at the mention of Cottenee's evolutionary might. When his dear friend's mood threatened to plumment back into timid uncertainty, however, the empath gave her hand a quick squeeze, causing them to hopefully look into his gaze positively luminous with concern and untmost compassion.

"Everything will be fine, Shiva. My own dealings as a liaison to various groups/organizations and professional experience as a Researcher and Sociologist has gifted me with the ability to navigate almost any business deal or meeting with great competence, provided they are not dead set against me or my proposals to begin with. I already have plans and designs in place to release Kingdra and Gothitele into our care, so please don't fret about this, dear...." he said in a calming tone of voice, his eyes filled with Certainty as he locked stares with her. He'll obtain both Pokémon, no matter what hoops or deals he has to makes....

His blessed friends coy reassurances of her own, however, quickly caused his compossed expression to fracture a bit as he fought extremely hard not to blush at the implication of their statement and have a panic attack. Thanks to his Iron hard grip over his emotions/self, Ven managed to get himself under control before anything disasterous/embarrassing happened, and uncharacteristically  gave the (right now) very fae woman a meek nod as he busied himself with his own coffee beverages in an attempt to distract himself from such......sensitive thoughts.

Eventually, after a little more pleasant conversation between the two that didn't end up leaving one or the another more uncomfortable than not and finishing off their respective treats, it was time for them to depart. He left the appropreite amount of Poke to cover the cost of his drinks, let Shiva pay for hers, and they left the café and embarked on their return journey to the Pokémon Center. Upon arrival, he immediantly picked up Nathan's and Kirlia's presence in the lobby, and saw the later wave over his blessed friend to the table, and Ventus was very much tempted to politely excuse himself and turn in for the night. However, since he didn't want to cause Shiva any undue distress over his departure and link it back to the boy, he choose to stay by her side for the time being, internally sighing and gritting his teeth.

The researcher was keen to notice that Nathan was recording Unown calligraphy in his journal, and he recognized the modern versions of the enigmatic species (Whether or not he's able to read them is up to Iron; this is a case of his Pokémon Research blending into Lore/History Area that he's not so well read in), but the other set of blue, angular unknown came to a complete surprise/'Unknown' to him. He recalled seeing a trio of the species in the Shelter, and while he was far from kindly disposed towards the young, stubborn trainer, he was not the sort to deliberately keep pertinent knowledge from anybody he worked closely with. With a bit of weary resignation and discontent floating in his mind, he approached the table Nathan was sitting at, expression outwardly polite/pleasant, before he informed them:

"Greeting, Nathan. Shiva and I have returned from our excursions around the various attractions of Stair City, and seeing your notes reminded me of something that might pertain to your interest. During our trip, we paid a visit to the Disobedience Shelter, and I requested a tour of the facility for both myself and Shiva. During it we made our way to the Inmate Room, where they primarily keep all the adult Disobedient Pokémon, and we discovered a couple of curious Pokémon that I imagine you would find intriguing, in one manner or another. One was a Gothitele that had drawn a boundary between herself and the rest of the Pokémon their, who almost immediantly showed us visions about constellations and Vines. I didn't understand them all that well, as astrology is outside my field of expertise and the vision themselves were.....distracting, but perhaps Shiva has gleaned more from them, since she interacted with the fortune teller the most while we were in the room. The other Pokémon were a trio of Unown that were interspersed with the rest of the Pokémon, which were....(Ventus rattles off all the Pokémon that he saw in the Inmate Room [Ven might not know that Pinsir was transferred here, so this is the best solution I could think of to convey that he didn't see it/one while he was there]). Tomorrow both of us are planning to return to the Shelter to see if we can't arrange the release of Gothitele and Kingdra into our respective care, so if you wish to investigate the Unown and fortune teller yourself, then you are welcome to join us."

Ventus says all this in an even and pleasant tone of voice, though Kirlia could easily pick up on the fact that he was rather reluctant to share this information in the first place, and only did it out of a sense of obligation and not being a total jerk like them. The empath may be gravely offended and angry at Nathan for their (perceived or not) slights against him, but he refuses to stoop down to their level and return such animosity at all. He not only promised himself not to let them weigh him down with their stubborn insensitiveness, but he was (so he hoped) above such reproachful behavior, hmpt!

Order: Return to the Center with Shiva, and proceed to give Nathan an info dump of what happened in the Inmate Room in the Shelter. My character, despite his severe reservations, still has to interact and work with the boy, and keeping them updated on important/relevant information is part and parcel of that cooperation!