[r] 原因

[daigo]

he hated cold tea. if there was something that he would stand up for without second thought, it had to be tea. (and some other things, but it didn't quite matter at the moment.) cynthia had threatened him with cold tea - she had the nerve to. he had planned on getting to celestic; just not that early. not when there was a fascinating rock bazaar in veilstone.

she just had to bring up the tea.

the first impression he had of celestic was that it was quaint, but the first thing that caught his eye was not the tradition that the town was apparently seeped in.

it was a mansion of great proportion. there were what looked suspiciously like vineyards, as well as large grounds belonging to it. he raised an eyebrow. that certainly wasn't the impression he had of the town. he thought of shrines and the like, but apparently he was wrong.

he tapped on the door lightly as he tore his gaze away from the large structure, rapping with his knuckles.

"hello? cynthia?"

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lunefeng]

it wasn't every day elena got someone knocking on her door for her granddaughter. she pushed herself out of her chair at the kitchen table, walking over to the door.

my my, who was this fine gentleman?

"why, hello there." elena said, eyebrow raised. she recognized his face immediately, who wouldn't? "steven stone, interesting to see you knocking. come in, come in!" she held the door open wider, gesturing to let the man enter.


-- elsewhere --

cynthia grunted as she was shoved into a room, the door slammed shut. a quick whirl around showed her no exit means. there was only a bed, and a couch. "damn it." she breathed out harshly, hands clenching into fists.

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

steven was apprehensive when the door swung open and he had to look down to see who the person was. it was ... an old woman. "good day," he murmured, looking at elena, "how did you know my name?"

it perplexed him. this old woman knew facts. he didn't think his fame had spread all the way to sinnoh; clearly, she might have looked him up or cynthia had simply mentioned him.

he hoped it was the latter.

---

the door clicked shut as it was locked from the outside. the man was fairly tall, muscular, and he had narrow eyes that seemed to be permanently smiling. "stay in there, monet," he barked, "make yourself comfortable. you're going to be here until you give us the information we want - we're all lux here at the end of the day."

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lunefeng]

elena chuckled as she ushered him towards the kitchen table, pouring a cup of tea for him. she made an excellent brew, if she said so herself. the finest in sinnoh, although people from celestic town tended to know how to do their tea.

"cynthia mentioned you quite a bit!" elena exclaimed, setting the glass down on the table in a seat across from her. "she had quite the impression of you, mister stone. be nice now all right?"

she winked.

it wasn't creepy at all.

-----

cynthia frowned. salvatore was one of her oldest friends. she wasn't just about to rat him out to these people. "don't hold your breath!" she shouted back, laying down on the couch with her feet up.

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

cynthia mentioned him quite a bit.

now, what was this mess he'd gotten himself into. he settled rather reluctantly at the table, watching elena busy herself making tea. he focused on the glass as it was placed before him. he preferred dainty porcelain or china for his teacups, but he was a guest and guests did not complain to old women about their choice of tableware.

"she did?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "i didn't think she would." he averted his gaze to the tea, taking a sip just as elena winked.

---

"guilt by association, death by asphyxiation. we'll see who's holding their breath at the end of the day."

he'd been nice by giving her both a bed and a couch to relax on. truth be told, the mansion was filled with many rooms that had similar furniture; this was one of the guest rooms, in fact. he, however, had taken care to seal the windows, but faint light filtered in from the top of the stained glass panels.

"i'm pretty sure you know where he is. you two aren't engaged for anything, hm? kind of an open secret, that."

[/size][/justify]

[lunefeng]

"oh, she did." elena sat down in her own chair, taking a sip of her tea. she waved her hand, dismissing the issue. "but anyway, enough about her!" elena's eyes twinkled with curiousity, just itching to know what the other was up to. "what brings you to tiny celestic town? i certainly wasn't expecting you."

cynthia didn't often get visitors in celestic town. and one so handsome showing up, why, that was quite the excitement.

----

... salvatore? they were after--

cynthia's eyes hardened, surpressing the wave of sorrow that washed over them. salvatore, salvatore. she gave a bitter laugh, crossing her arms over her chest. "if it's about him, then good luck." she said, relaxing a bit. she wouldn't say a word about the amnesiac, let alone where she was giving him residence.

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

steven didn't like the way elena was placing emphasis on her words. he approached the situation with an ounce of trepidation. if he wasn't mistaken, she just tried to snare him into answering 'cynthia' as the reason he appeared in celestic.

this woman was no simple woman, it seemed.

the dining table seemed to have turned into a battlefield. steven locked his fingers together, placing his hands on the table. "tea, i heard the tea here is good," he said, "and i wasn't disappointed." he kept his gaze level to elena's.

---

muffled laughter came from the other side of the door. cynthia's captor leaned against the heavy door, crossing his arms as he realized her foolishness. two could play at the waiting game. he had plenty of resources, while she probably had none.

what were the chances of someone coming after her in celestic? certainly not her grandmother; he'd charmed her twice by whisking her granddaughter off on a promise of a dinner date. he had also made sure to rid her of any pokémon. didn't need a champion to teach him a lesson on how to manage those little monsters.

"will i need it? the luck, i mean."

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lunefeng]

the tea? if steven wasn't disappointed, elena certainly was. she almost sagged in her seat a bit, but still smiled. "well it's good to see that you like our tea." she said, taking a sip from her glass. "we pride ourselves on our brew."

elena settled back in her chair, eyes moving around to random places, before settling on steven again. "feel free to look around the house if you want, dear." she offered. "i'm a slight tired, so sorry."

------

cynthia wasn't amused. "you bet you'll need it!" she shouted, wishing visk could just smash him to pieces. today was not the day that cynthia monet began to rat out her friends.

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

"tea's lovely," he complimented. "i ought to visit more often." he kept his posture even as the lady settled back into her chair.

"the town's quaint. i like the atmosphere here." almost like verdanturf, he thought grimly, fighting a sudden, unknown feeling that burst in his gut. perhaps it was guilt and regret. "i ... i hope i'm not intruding." he glanced away.

for all he knew, elena could read his eyes - eyes enraged by guilt.

---

"hm. we'll see."

dark laughter.

"are you hungry? maybe we could grab dinner like elena thought we would."

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lunefeng]

elena knew. she had read the papers and cynthia talked to her quite often. a knowing smile crossed her face, lifting her cup and taking a sip.

"it's all right there boy." elena murmured, setting down the small glass. "and celestic is an equally lovely town. we're not much, but it's home." elena noted that steven really didn't make eye contact too often, something that cynthia had complained about to her.

"is there anything else that you need?

------

cynthia snorted. "dinner? with you? no thank you." she snapped, closing her eyes as she laid down on the couch. who was this guy, and why did they want information on salvatore of all people?

"i'd rather burn in hell first."

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

he sipped his tea wordlessly. its taste was light on the tongue, but the heat of the drink did nothing to diminish its flavour. in fact, he swore it brought out the fainter hints of the leaves better. it was rather interesting to see how tea different from region to region.

"yes, yes," he agreed as he wrapped his fingers around the glass, feeling the heat radiate up his fingers, "it's home. speaking of which, where's cynthia?"

even then, his gaze failed to meet elena's as he glanced up the staircase, as if somehow the woman would emerge from the top and start walking down to greet him in her usual fashion.

---

"hm," the man hummed, and there was the sound of keys for a brief moment. it sounded suspiciously like the keys being tossed about in the air, as if the person was thinking whether to let cynthia out for some air, or to keep her in the room. "don't regret it. you might be in there for a bit, y'know. not even some tea?"

[/justify]

[lunefeng]

elena clapped her hands together, eyes lighting up. "I thought you would never ask!" she said joyfully, smiling. She took a quick sip of her tea, before looking at the young man across from her(to elena, everyone was young).

"a gentleman came by and whisked her off to the mansion up there!" elena's expression was quite cheerful. "for a dinner date, he said. "

Elena was glad her granddaughter was finally getting some suitors.

------

Tea. How many bad situations had she been in because of the drink lately?

"I'll take the tea, but I would prefer if you didn't drink it with me in here." Cynthia called, stubborn. This was the worst date she'd ever had.

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

well, elena certainly seemed to revel in the attention he was apparently giving her granddaughter. for someone who had been yelling at him via text for standing her up, she certainly wasn't - ah. she'd stood him up instead.

well played, a dry thought crossed his mind. leave me with your grandmother over tea. not that the tea's bad. steven lifted his cup, finished it, and moved to excuse himself, but stopped.

"well, i suppose i should look for cynthia, but may i have more tea first?"

he smiled.

---

the man seemed to take the news in stride. of course, she was stubborn as always. he'd heard from salvatore - or rather, sarasvati, of the champion's personality. he found it somewhat attractive, that hard-headedness.

"why not? you haven't even given me a chance at ... y'know, being a nice dinner date."

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[lunefeng]

why wasn't he rushing to her granddaughter? Elena frowned, but poured the other another glass of tea nonetheless. "there you go, Steven." she said, enjoying the pleasant scent.

"now come on, whippersnapper! Go get the girl!" Elena preferred Steven to the man that had taken Cynthia away.

-----

Cynthia sighed. He might not let this go, and she honestly was rather hungry. "I'll humour you." she said sarcastically, hoping to hear the door unlock. "food sounds good despite you keeping me here against my will."

[/size][/justify]

[daigo]

steven was being hurried along by a lady almost thrice his age. he gulped down the tea, cobalt eyes darting from elena to the teapot - could he grab it and make a run for it? - and when he was done, he set the cup down on the table.

"thanks for the tea," he said, getting up and extending a hand to shake elena's. "i'll be back soon."

---

"sounds good," said the man, jingling the keys in his grasp. he toyed with them for a while longer before inserting them into the keyhole, and opened the door. "hello there."

dark eyes stared at cynthia from behind slits. they were cold, harsh, like the wilderness of undeveloped lands. he walked over to the coffee table as the door shut behind him. "i don't recommend attacking me for the keys," he said rather plainly, balancing a tray on one hand while setting the table with his other. "but here's some tea and snacks."

he watched her quietly, sitting on the couch opposite hers.

[/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote]