[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Well, the snoring stopping and then Ventus coming over to converse combined manage to break Nathan's already shaky attempt at concentration.

He doesn't break down or anything, just puts his head in his hands and simply says, "My mom is going to lose it.  There's no cell reception this far out, I forgot to tell her we were headed out this way, and I don't know how long we're going to be out here for...for all she knows, I'm still in Stair City right now, because I told her I would call when I left the area..."

He just sits there with Kirlia, head in his hands.  Kirlia pops one eye open to keep tabs on Ventus...

That distressed statement/reaction briefly caused Ventus to blink his eyes in surprise, as he wasn't expecting the thought of their mother to be the source of their woes, but it was soon replaced with what looked to be.....sympathy? With a surprising amount of gentleness, the empath place a hand on the young trainer's shoulder to draw his gaze to themselves, before they calmly and kindly said: "......Don't burden yourself with distress about this, please. I doubt that Dagney or one of her acolytes would not have informed your mother the mission you are on by this point in time, and if they haven't then she could always get in touch the Ponyta Handler and learn via that source. From what little I know about her, your mother is a strong, resilient woman, so while its without question she's very concerned for your wellbeing now, I'm sure its not to the point where its adversely affecting her own. Have faith she's doing relatively well, Nathan....."

Afterwards, in a further attempt to get Nathan's mind off his mother's probable distress, the researcher pulled out the Ancient Gitar and displayed it to them with a bemused expression. "How about we focus instead on this tribal relic that Raphael helped me retrieve from the swamp? Its in dire need of new strings and some light restoration work, but beyond that this gitar like instrument is in fabulous shape, and that not even the most intriguing part about it! Look *Points to the Pokémon carvings on it, particularly at the one displaying the Quetzoral* ! Fascinating to think that Lilith's kind has been endemic to this area for centuries, isn't it?"