Chapter 1: The Tower on the Cliff

As the group are talking in the cantina, there's the sound of heavy footsteps down the hallway. Vess enters with a huff, looking even more pissed than she did the previous day, which is saying something. She sits down on a couch and closes her eyes, fists clenched, and she just focuses on breathing in a stiff, controlled manner. Seems whatever happened in her morning, she isn't too pleased about it.

"I understand where you're coming from, wanting to see everyone else's abilities... But what I am and am not capable of isn't going to stop our traveling together, and I have no desire to change my routine with Sapphire. She doesn't need practice battling, the wilds taught her all of that. What she needs is discipline and consistency."

The cat seemed to know it was being talked about. It rubbed against her leg before circling at the door and meowing loudly. Obviously, she was ready to get the day started.

Ori grabbed her pack and a stick. It looked like a stick anyway. She headed outside, down toward the beach. The ocean was the perfect place to stretch. It also provided enough distraction to challenge Sapphire's focus.

After they were done with training, Orianne used her dowsing rod to search for crystal shards before returning back to the Center.

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Orianne uses Focused Training on Sapphire.
Orianne binds 1 AP to Dowsing for Dummies.
Orianne uses Dowsing Rod. NBNGic2J1-61-61-61-61-61-6·1-6·1-6·1-6·1-6

Robin's eyes widen as the plate comes at him, not having been in a mindset prepared to dodge much of anything. Still, he manages to keep her feet - just, as the pancakes slide off his face.

When they do, though, he looks unusually abashed and subdued. Not that Robin normally has a problem with annoying people, or even getting them truly pissed off, but only if he does it intentionally. This, though? This had been intended as a lighthearted joke.

Clearly, what he'd said had touched a nerve with Vess, to put it incredibly mildly, and while a tiny part of her was glad to both have that information and to ahve gotten a reaction out of the stoic girl, that didn't diminish the sting of the inintended rage or the worry over poisoning Robin's relationship with someone he'd be working and fighting alongside.

As such, he speaks up, abashed but still loud enough for Vess to hear him as she walks away. "Yeah, I got it. And I'm..." he pauses for a split second, a little unfamiliar with this word but not enough to have difficulty with it, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that was off-limits... heck, still not sure exactly what's off-limits, but I'll try to keep off it. And if there's anything I can do to make it up to you... please tell me. Though," he gives a slightly helpless chuckle as he runs a finger along his cheek to get some of the syrup off, "hopefully once I've had a chance to wash my face." He gives a sigh as he licks the finger clean.

Benji was getting ready to answer Robin when Vess came in. His smile lasts only a few moments, though, as Robin makes a joke that really did not go very well with the other girl. As the plate flies to Robin's face, Benji loudly gasps in surprise. He stays quiet as Robin apologizes and, as soon as Vess leaves the room followed by Jean-Marie, he approaches Robin.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks, ducking to gather the plate and the pancakes from the floor. "Go wash yourself, I'll clean this up," he offers, unsure of what exactly to say since he isn't completely sure about what just happened. He dutifully picks everything from the floor and starts cleaning the mess.

"I'll be fine," Robin replies with a smile, "If I had a yen for everyone who's tried to slug me, I could afford the reconstructive surgery I'd need if they'd managed it."

She hops to her feet, seeming none the worse for wear, and heads the showers, giving a thankful nod to Benji for offering to clean up.

As she washes her face, she thinks about what just happened. As much as she revels in her ability to annoy, she generally knows what things will or won't get that sort of reaction and, to most people, the joke she'd made would get, at most, a snide response. Clearly, whatever Vess's issues were, they were triggered something fierce by what she'd said and the only thing she could think of that could have got that reaction was the reference to parents. Of course, that could mean one of many things, but absolutely none of them were good.

A look of determination in her eyes as she towels off, Robin resolves to go easy on Vess for a little while and see what she can figure out.

Robin raises an eyebrow, but says nothing as she thinks Is there anything this guy does know about?

Still, she soon smiles as she takes him to the training area. "Sure thing. It's just a question of getting in tune with your 'mon and doing some exercise and practice, I'll show ya!"

Orianne has little issue training with Sapphire, the Meowth only getting distracted chasing Wingulls three times! It seems like your training and disciplining is slowly paying off.

---

Robin and Benji head into the training area attached to the cafeteria, a small arena like room, just about large enough to hold a battle between a pair of smaller Pokémon, but giving plenty of space for the two of you to train Rowan and Yungoos. After some basic explanations and examples, Robin manages to convey the basics of training to Benji, who catches on quickly enough, and, with some copycatting from the young Samsara's side, the two of you get through your (now) daily training routine easily enough.

---

Jean-Marie catches up to Vess easily enough, both being waved out by the young man currently manning the Center's reception. The walk through town is quiet and uneventful, neither of the girls talking much. If Jean-Marie hadn't noticed she was still wearing her pajamas when she left, she quickly becomes aware of it as they leave the town proper, as the chilly morning wind cuts through the thin fabric. Nothing she can't handle, but still, unpleasant.

You two find your way to the cliffs easily enough, not going out all the way to the south cliffs where the professor lives, but stopping a fair bit sooner. The sky is still mostly grey, though enough blue is starting to come through to suggest that the coming day will have some pleasant weather at least. The sea, a good distance below the pair, is beating a steady rhythm against the cliff wall, the rushing of water a familiar sound to one, and a new one to the other. A couple of Wingull and Pelipper can be seen in the water and flying around, though the area on the cliffs where you are is, at the moment, clear of any Pokémon.

The training session was more fun than Benji was expecting. Robin was a good teacher, she gave good examples and fun activities, so it wasn't really hard for Benji to get into it. His yungoos also helped a lot, performing better than expected from a pokémon with no training experience. He had been a wild pokémon before, after all.

By the end of it, Benji was mostly encouraging his pokémon with a few words and cheers, while he watched as Robin and the cherubi practiced. They didn't seem to be a bad person, after all, and they would be companions for a while, so it was good to know more about Robin. The only thing bothering Benji at the end was the fact Robin had named their pokémon, while his yungoos was still nameless. He knew it was a tradition for trainers, but he had no idea on how to pick a name.

"Thanks a lot for this, Robin," he says, bowing his head to Robin. "It was a lot of fun. Wasn't it?" he asks his own pokémon, who cheerily nods. "Now, there's only one thing I don't know if you can help me..." he says, a little ashamed to ask for help again, before getting a bit closer to whisper to the other boy (boy?). "How do we name our pokémon?"

Benji listens attentively, nodding as Robin explains. "Thanks, Robin. It helps a lot. Not naming him Mr. Nibbles, then, " he says with a smile, then laughs a little. He takes a second to consider the possibilities, but he can't decide whether or not to follow a theme or anything. Other than...

Having come to a decision, he kneels next to his pokémon and talks to it honestly. "So, we need to get you a name, but I don't think it's fair for me to do it alone. So you're gonna be the one deciding, ok?" he explains, relaxing a bit as his yungoos nods. "Ok, I want you to have a Samsaran name, since we both come from there, so I'll give you some options, and you can pick the one."

Benji then starts saying words in his family language, explaining what they represent. After the yungoos refuses the first batch, Benji comes up with a few ideas and they eventually got to one they both like. "Yash it is, then," he says with a smile, allowing his yungoos to joyfully climb onto his shoulder. "Victory. Ok, let's hope we live up to that name," he concludes, caressing Yash' muzzle.

"So, what comes next?" he asks, turning to Robin.