[reserved] externalities

Come again? I don't recall ever being a fortune teller. At least it's better than being a metal leg.

Hissing back at Steven's retort, Thorpe moved out of the dawn stone's trajectory. Metal leg, its foot - wait, no. That was just playing right into the insult hurled its way. It was above that sort of thing; rolling its sole eye, Thorpe nudged the stone back to the former champion (who picked it up) before holding its silence. Now really wasn't the time to be fighting over matters like this. Verbal fights were best left to moments where Steven had his tea and friends for company. That is, if it was even let out of its pokéball when guests were around - Steven had eventually learned.

"Hmm," Thorpe turned to see Steven humming amusedly to himself, "The soil is surprisingly good for crops and cultivating crystals." Thorpe rolled its eyes again. This was getting a tad old; it wondered how Cross and the rest put up with his eccentricities. "If I place this dawn stone - ouch." Thorpe snickered; Steven shot him a glare. The retired man might have been stepping around in the small earthen area but he was still someone bearing an injury.

He hadn't bothered to take time off to recuperate after getting his bullet removed. He still wore his formal wear, albeit in a more casual manner - shirt half-tucked in, no blazer, missing ascot. He looked like a man coming home beat from work. Rest and recovery, in his opinion, was best done when doing something he enjoyed. Time passed faster that way - That's why you have no sense of time. - and despite the clear wryness in Thorpe's words, Steven had to agree. Time moved far too quickly for him to ever think of keeping up with it. And then there was the not-so-newcomer that seemed to be following him or something.

His head snapped towards Alyssa. The last person she expected to see. How many people did she know anyway? It probably wasn't a big deal to see him. He went wherever there were interesting things to see, and it happened that he found ash interesting. There he had his explanation at the ready, but he found it wiser to hold his tongue. Daigo was slipping through; Steven forced himself to keep his composure - a hand moved to tug at his non-existent ascot before he moved it to adjust his collar instead.

"Did you expect the lux president, then?"

Interesting confrontation indeed. Steven didn't doubt the fact that the lux president was someone with a lot of informants and data at his fingertips. In fact, he knew the other man by extension - his father's company was partially funded and supported by him. His company, too, Steven thought grimly, the wound in his back sending a sharp jolt of pain to remind him of the reality he lived in - the company he would have owned if he hadn't got into trouble with daddy dearest.

"And you are not my mother," Steven replied good-naturedly, not letting emotions get the better of him. A wound wasn't going to heal if he aggravated it both mentally and physically. The former champion extended a finger, once again catching soot on the tip of it that he studied almost too keenly. He enjoyed this kind of relaxation more than anything else, yes. Alyssa was right on the money. Planting small crops and watching them grow was something he knew he would enjoy as well, but it took a lot of time - too much time eating into his greater research of rocks.

If he had more time - just one more hour - he would have indulged in bonsai-cultivating as well. There was something inexplicably interesting about those plants that never grew. In a way, he never did, too. Daigo had stopped somewhere and replaced by mature, cool, collected Steven Stone. Tsuwabuki Daigo was nowhere to be seen, though that mask he had on slipped once or twice already.

concerned for his recovery? he could handle himself just fine. he'd been surviving this long without his father's aid, hadn't he? steven had thought those thoughts, but kept them to himself. he didn't need to add more statements to a conversation where alyssa seemed hellbent on one-upping him no matter what he said. deciding to leave her to her own devices, the former champion settled in a seating position on the earthen patch, with thorpe hovering around his shoulders.

she's going into the house. she's already inside! have you no sense of urgency?

time passed quicker than steven and alyssa both had imagined, and when the former champion looked up from his seated position, the skies had already started to melt into a darker blue - it was late afternoon, almost evening already. he glanced at his watch; it seemed that he had mistaken the colour of the skies for a different time. the flow of time in fallabor seemed to be drastically different, with the ashes and soot altering the sun's rays to an extent not found anywhere else in hoenn. figuring that alyssa had at long last, left him to his own devices - even thorpe had disappeared to whereabouts unknown - he trooped back to his cottage, where he -

"- and have you been sitting here all this while?" he said, almost curiously, but mainly with annoyance. "i should be a good host and welcome you in," steven added, teeth grit. this female was an intruder, yet his leader. even though he had no particular respect for hierarchy in nox (or lux for that matter), he wasn't about to haul and throw her out of the house. the prospect, however, was sorely tempting. he eyed godric, swearing that if the aron toppled something, he would have it thrown into the depths of meteor falls, never to be seen again. he went into the kitchen, and busied himself with tea.

emotions calmer, he emerged from the kitchen with two cups of tea in hand. one he placed next to alyssa, the other, he sipped gingerly while staring down at her. steven hadn't bothered to take a seat. he watched her, silent.