destiny of a lie [Steven]

[drake]

It had been easier than he expected to tell his guards to stand down for the day. Upon questioning of why, he'd simply responded that he was expecting someone, and a name was given as well. Drake had been able to see the protest upon their faces, once they heard the name, but the fear of the old man's wrath was greater than their compulsion to do something they knew they should have.

There would be no killing Steven under Drake's watch, especially not when he'd been courteous enough to drop the Ever Grande admin a note suggesting his arrival. At least, not yet. Drake hoped the young man wouldn't try anything that paralleled what the newspapers suggested. If he did, then Drake would be forced to take a more aggressive stance.

With a sigh, he flipped the note that had been presented over onto the table, the writing down. Steven had never come off as someone to be anal-retentive about the time, and now this was proving Drake's observation right. Unpunctual. Oh well. Not that he had anything else planned. Now, all he could do was wait.

[daigo]

ever grande city was, as always, a city that was quaint only on the outside. he had no doubt that lux took measures to fortify the insides; while victory road proved to be a daunting challenge for trainers since his time, the availability of nox forces in hoenn wasn't something to sneeze at either.

he slung his backpack over his shoulder and stole a glance at his watch. half an hour more. absorbed in his work, steven could not tear his eyes away from the insides of the caves. it had been some time since he had trodden this path. he inhaled the musty air.

not many people passed here now, except for the guards - which were surprisingly non-existent today. he figured drake had done what he had told him to. guards not appreciated, he wrote on his note to the old man. good to see he kept his end of the bargain floating.

he snatched a last rock off the ground - the contours on it fascinated him - and walked towards the exit. he knew this place like the back of his hand; he had a few charts of the area as well.

---

above him, the city loomed. it had been through much development since his last visit - but the architectural design screamed technical, precise, dull. just like any other skyscraper, just like any other house in a housing development project.

he walked along the road, glancing at the greenery. if there was something they preserved ...

... it was drake. he looked exactly the same as he had been when he left the champion's seat. the more he stared at him, the more he swore this man's appearance had stayed the same.

"what's eating you?" he said, calling out to drake, grinning.

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

[drake]

The tromping of guards back and forth around the main entrance of the League Hall rang in his ears as though they were actually sitting within it, rather than just outside of it. He could practically feel the nerves pulsing off of them. It made him want to wave his hand exasperatedly at bark at them that if his ‘crossing lines’ to allow Steven here without killing him was found out by Xander, he’d deal with the brat himself.

For all Drake knew, the boy was probably going in circles through Victory Road. Not because he was lost, like the young trainers travelling through it used to get so easily, but because he allowed himself to be pulled in by the enticing mystery surrounding the dark cave and all of the potentially unexplored areas. The old man sighed. He didn’t mind waiting. He had all day, literally.

The familiar voice of the ex-Champion rang in his ears, jolting the Elite Four member out of any musings he was having that morning. He turned his gaze in the direction of the sound, only for a half-grin to reveal itself beneath the white, bushy moustache on his face. ”Nothin’ ye need botherin’ t’ concern yerself with, lad.” he answered promptly, his voice gruff but kind. ”Trivial stuff, really.” He waved his hand slightly beside his head before pushing himself to stand in proper welcoming of his guest, holding an arm out in an offered handshake, which was up to Steven to take if desired.

Proper chivalry had never left Drake’s veins in sixty years. Not once.

[daigo]

"trivial? nothing's too trivial these days, drake," said steven, reaching out to take the old man's hand. a good, firm handshake to show there were no secrets in his visit; just a trip to the centre for some reminiscing and a thick whiff of nostalgia. "how have you been?"

he waved over a nearby officer, requesting that tea be made and served. the officer seemed more than baffled at his request. steven's face made it quite plainly clear that he wanted tea, but at the same time, he could not help but give the former champion the once-over.

there was no reservations in seeing if a visitor had explosives on him. after all, this person was the infamous steven stone, destroyer of small towns - did he just request tea? the officer had no idea how to react.

"tea?" steven's voice roused the man. "you know ... the hot beverage?"

hastily, the officer retreated. the only thing stopping him from giving the former champion a cavity check was explicit orders from drake himself to not get in the way.

steven turned back to drake. "huh," he said, "that was ... interesting, to say the least. what rumours have you been spreading around these parts? ... or should i say, how far down the gutter has my reputation been?"

a child could figure out that after the explosion of verdanturf that he had been on the receiving end of dirty glances and heavy suspicion. once again, it was his reputation as a former champion that kept the cavity checks and metal detectors at bay.

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

[drake]

A gruff laugh escaped him at Steven’s words. Something trivial in a time of war...how foolish could Drake’s words have been? It seemed to Drake that the more paranoid fighters, Lux and Nox alike, didn’t waste time concerning themselves with the significance of a thought – they simply said it. ”Touché for that one, Steven.” The strong handshake between them left the old man with a relatively positive feeling about the rest of the day. ”I’ve been as good as I could be, given the circumstances of things.” His smile faded slightly, but he brushed off the dying expression with an easy shrug.

Drakes hard eyes watched the soldier Steven had caught the attention of. A request for tea. The soldier should have moved that instant, but instead his paranoia kept him rooted to the spot, appearing dumbfounded before instantly jumping into action and checking to see if Steven had any explosives on his person. Drake pinched the bridge of his nose, but instead he watched unblinkingly with a stern gaze until the soldier finally moved.

With a sigh, he shook his head slightly and looked back at Steven. ”I suppose ‘Interestin’’ would be one word fer it.” Drake cast a hand to the side to gesture to the seat opposite the one he had previously taken at the small table. ”Please,” he said, inviting Steven to make himself comfortable. Drake took his seat again. ”No rumors comin’ from me, lad...I suppose y’could say yer reputation ‘s around what the paper says it be...my soldiers read it and take it fer what it says. Personally, I don’t even bother readin’ the paper anymore...too far from what the truth must be.”

Drake shrugged. It was no secret that the Ever Grande City Admin was about as lax a Lux officer that you could get, not to mention he didn’t even read Lux’s well-printed paper.

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

[daigo]

"ah, french," steven said, pulling a face playfully at the old man, "never liked that language. it reminds me of uncle juan." the juan in question, of course, was juan de leon, leader of sootopolis's gym after wallace ascended to the title of hoenn champion. he had been an acquaintance of the tsuwabuki family, after all. shoutarou and juan were rivals back in their youth, too.

"that i agree," came the calm reply from the former champion as the officer returned. the steaming tea invited both of them to the table; he gestured to drake, giving a nod as he allowed the older man to sit before he took his own seat. he had been cultured to be well-mannered; there was no better time than now to show that he knew proper etiquette. to his elders, and only to his elders.

"everyone takes things at face value nowadays. all you need is a pretty face - i heard the president endorses a certain brand of shampoo. smiling face, luscious locks," he said, a quiet tone taking over his voice before he lifted his teacup to his mouth and took a sip. "i hope they don't think i'm here to blackmail you." a quiet, snide look at the hovering officer.

"it is an open secret, anyway. tsuwabuki daigo and myself have a rather unusual relationship ... but i'd rather not talk about that. but why not read the papers? i heard the legendary champion, red, enjoys the crossword. we could all take a leaf out of his book - or, ah, papers."

notes lol convenient self-referencing

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

[drake]

A short, gruff laugh escaped him at the younger man’s face when he commented on the French. ”Ah come now.” he murmured, mostly to himself to hide his amusement at the reaction Steven gave him ”Can’t be that bad.” The quiet musings Drake was muttering were quickly drowned out by Steven’s words, accompanied by the soft clicking of bowls, plates, teacups, teapots and spoons on their table. After Lux had taken control of Ever Grande, the old Dragon Tamer had found it suitable to have a tea set on hand in case he was graced with a friend’s presence.

Like now.

”Really?” Drake asked, dropping a small cube of sugar into his tea and stirring it around quietly. ”I haven’t heard something like that.” Frankly, he couldn’t imagine the Lux President endorsing shampoo, but he wouldn’t know how to separate truth from a lie in this instance. He quietly listened to the rest of what Steven had to say. His black gaze traveled in the direction of the officer hanging around, which his guest had noticed as well.

Get outta ‘ere he thought impatiently, jerking his head in the direction of the League Hall. His expression alone was enough to send the officer indoors, albeit staring at the pair through the glass windows.

”If they have any formulated assumptions of their own I’ll set ‘em straight.” He raised his tea to his lips and sipped it. He respected the young man’s request not to speak of Tsuwabuki Daigo and he let the subject go entirely, not even mentioning the preference was fine. ”’m sure we could all find summat ‘r other to take outta Red’s papers.” Drake said with a quiet chuckle. ”But for me…if ye witness the break out of a war at my age having spent yer whole life seein’ the world one way, ye don’t want t’see it any other if ye can help it. Y’know as well as I do how much Lux ‘proofreads’ the paper before it’s publicized, lad. I choose t’ remember the world as I saw it when I was yer age – not changed with biased writer’s views, seein’ people play ‘pin the blame’ on others.”

He ended his explanation easily with a simple sip of his tea.

[daigo]

only when the officer retreated did the former champion relax fully. despite the prying eyes, the man was well out of earshot, and he highly doubted the men were trained to lip-read. they were not spies - just mere officers with a defined skill set.

"set 'em straight, huh," said steven, picking up a sugar cube before flicking it around his side of the table. he watched the cube tumble around before he steadied it again. "well, they're your men." he didn't bother looking at drake. "not my jurisdiction." and when he glanced up again, steven wore a smile.

"personally, i don't give a damn about the war. i just don't like seeing people i know get into situations over their head, or worse.

"... at the same time i can't say for sure since when people have been biased. people pick favourites all the time. it's easy to accuse, but hard to admit.

"still, i can't be bothered to find out what lux has been doing to the papers either; it seems rather trivial to find out such things when there could be greater, bigger things to do - but i'm retired. i'd like to enjoy my retirement."

[drake]

A small smile pulled at his lips with Steven’s words. There were many reactions that ran through Drake’s mind, and he needed to take a moment to think them through so he wouldn’t give some unorganized jumble of verbal vomit to his guest to shift through. ”I think a better question’d be when people weren’t biased.” he mused, absently stirring the tea in his cup to cool it off. ”I’m the sort o’ person that likes the truth…when authority hides truth from published news the citizens read, the truth becomes harder to find, so what ye see becomes more questionable.” A smirk tempted to pull at the sides of his mouth before Drake shook it off with a flick of his wrist to the side.

”Bah,” he grumped. ”That er it’s jus’ me goin’ senile.”” A gruff laugh escaped him, but quickly turned into a covered cough. ”I’ll guess the latter.” Drake grinned slightly before sipping the tea again. ”Hate t’ tell ye that you’d probably enjoy retirement more somewhere with no war.” His shoulders rose and fell slightly. He admittedly wished Steven could make the most of his retirement but Drake found it hard to see how he could given the state of things.

He glanced to his right, looking at the open expanse of ocean not too far from them, before turning back to Steven. ”Y’ever thought about gettin’ away, lad?”

[daigo]

"people have always been biased. when a child defeats an international crime organization, he is heralded as a hero; when a man gathers the necessary information to unmask the leader of a similar organization, he is merely performing his duty of keeping the peace.

"tell a lie enough times, however, and it becomes the truth."

he glanced aside. a part of him was still tense for being in enemy territory. he might have been able to put aside differences, but as a cast a steel blue eye across the room, it was apparent that neither of the officers present were happy about his presence. the quicker he was gone, the more relaxed they would be. he had no doubt about this.

"war's everywhere. a close friend in isshu got involved recently," said the man, sighing. it was rather unfortunate. several months ago, they had been enjoying tea and fighting a thief that had broke into his seaside cottage. "i heard they were trying to keep peace and hopefully drive lux away without violence."

he shook his head. "getting away? this is my home. i'll stay here; not to mention most of the people i know are from around these parts, anyway," he said, laughing. "like you, old man. you think i was going to leave you here to rot alone in some cave?

"caves are my place, let me tell you, drake."

[drake]

Sound logic and an answer to his semi-rhetorical question had left Drake with nothing more than a slight smile on his face. Quite the answers for one as young as Steven. He had nothing to say to those answers that he felt would be necessary to bother Steven with. His nods of agreement, Drake felt, were enough to convey how he would respond. With a tilt of his head, light reflecting off the window he’d been staring out was enough to send his coal-colored eyes looking back at Stevens. ”Shame to hear about your friend.” he said with a sympathetic frown. Personally, Drake had been clinging to the faint hope that war would stay out of Unova, but he knew that was about as likely as a child dreaming to become a superhero, given the state of the world.

”I wish ‘em the best o’ luck in keepin’ Unova the Region it was, “ he paused before finishing the rest of the tea in his cup. ”...and fer th’ most part still is. I’d hate t’see another place be torn apart by Lux an’ Nox both feuding for territr’y.” he chuffed slightly. ”Hoenn’s a mess, and I thought it actually stood a chance of staying together.” The old man shook his head, taking the sailors cap off for the first time that day, and ran a hand through his short white hair.

Despite the more downcast note that he felt he’d dropped on himself settling rather easily, the feeling cleared almost instantly with Steven’s words before Drake, too, laughed with the younger man. ”O’course not, Steven. My suggestion is fer concern of a friend’s well-bein’.” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. ”If y’ever need a cave, there’s always Vict’ry Road. I know y’ve seen it a million times, as have I. But each time I go in, there’s always somethin’ different.”

[daigo]

He allowed the both of them to sit in silence as he sipped his tea contemplatively. His friend had somehow gotten involved the war, far deeper than they had expected to. He remembered hearing of their presence in Lilycove; a part of him wondered why they came all the way from their region, but he never pressed the question.

In fact, they hadn't really been in touch recently. It was as if the war was driving everyone he knew further away from him, the man who refused to change and wanted to see everything the same.

"At least the last time they were trying to create more land as opposed to wrecking it," Steven said dryly, setting the tea back onto its saucer, then pouring himself more tea. He glanced at Drake, nodding slightly before filling the china cup for his old friend.

"If only it had more secrets than what I already knew. I believe Hoenn has neither a merciful champion nor a safe haven away from prying eyes."

[drake]

Drake quirked an eyebrow slightly and half-nodded his head. So long as there was no pointless violence or wreckage of the land he called home, he found it easier to be at peace with the war raging on the mainland away from the island he holed himself up on. Raising the cup of tea the younger man had filled in acknowledgement and thanks, he sipped from this cup without the additives. He found the lack of sweetener in a second cup more enjoyable.

”True.” he murmured over the cup before setting it down. ”Though at th’ time, we had nothin’ t’compare those actions to, so we found ‘em jus’ as atrocious as we find th’ war now.” The old man leaned forward, setting his forearms against the edge of the table lightly rather than his elbow. He crossed his fingers. ”People’d prob’ly frown on me for sayin’ this, but let ‘em do what they want. I agree with yer statement there...Cromwell is hardly a proper Champion.” Drake wrinkled his nose in thought of the ambitious young man. ”Simply put, he’s a brat.” He rolled his eyes. ”An’ he doesn’t care what people think o’ him...though tha’s both a blessin’ and a curse.”

[daigo]

"i don't give a damn anymore. i'm retired, drake. to discuss these matters in an intellectual and comprehensive manner is beyond me," steven readily admitted, having no proper opinion of cromwell as a champion. perhaps he would one day scale greater heights and achieve more than he had at the moment, but the former champion held no interest in his intentions or other matters he might have chosen to dabble in.

a hand lifted the cup to his mouth, and he set his lips to the rim before setting it down in a contemplative mood. "that's unbecoming of you to speak ill of your leaders," he said, smirking. needless to say, he held no malice in saying such words - it was a comment at someone who, as far as he remembered, still served under that very person he called a 'brat'. even if drake didn't want to admit it - or worked under his own personal agenda, he was still effectively under cromwell's administration.

"but like i said - i don't give a damn, and neither do i take offense to someone who chooses to view me as a rebel."

[drake]

A smirk was all that came from the old man in response to Steven’s words. The younger man’s responses to just about anything had never failed to amuse him in some way. Drake glanced down at his tea and tilted his cup to the right and left, gently swirling the tea within, though still being careful not to send any spilling over the rim.

”Jus’ as I don’ take offense to whoever sees m’as a coward.” he shrugged and crossed his arms with a relaxed expression, nearly smiling one, on his face. ”I freely admit it so,” a half-chuckle made him cough briefly, covering his mouth and turning his head away from Steven. ”...so I don’ see a problem with anyone thinkin’ of me as such behind m’back.”

Drake glanced at the sky, narrowing his eyes as dark clouds threatened to cover the sun. They could very well be a storm rolling in. ”I don’ think anyone should be stopped from thinkin’ one way or another about people. ‘s only a natural thing t’do.”