Oh Look, it's Time for Tea [OPEN]

Mariko sighed to herself as she entered the Tea House once again.  This was the place she had decided was her place to go whenever she had any breaks from her work at the Clinic.  She was still surprised that many of the people who visited her were as grateful as they were, and she still was in shock over how those who were unable to keep a certain Pokemon seemed to think she was the one to give them to.  Looking at her bracelet, she traced her fingers over the two new Net balls that rested there.

One of them was a Scyther that a young trainer, who didn't know how to handle more than two Pokemon, had given her after she had treated the poor thing for an electric burn claiming he didn't want to harm it due to his inexperience with Pokemon.  The other was a Vivillion that an elderly man had given her after she had told him she could not help him with an illness that was slowly taking his life.  She had tried her hardest to come up with something, anything to help the man, but was unable to, even with her vast amounts of knowledge.  The man had been kind though, smiling and thanking her for her efforts before asking her to take care of his most precious companion so it would not get lonely when he passed.  That had ripped Mariko's heart to shreds, but she accepted the Pokemon and promised to care for it.  She had only heard recently that the man had passed away in his sleep that night.

Giving another sigh, she moved to sit at a table that was somewhere near the back so she could be away from the crowds of people near the front.  It was then, however, that she noticed a very vivid shade of red hair, that almost looked like that of the queen, even though Mariko had only seen the woman once at a contest, then at the festival afterwards.

"Odd...  I wonder if even queens need breaks every once in a while.  But I would have to wonder why she would be here of all places."  She thought, before continuing to where she had planned to sit.  This was an interesting sight indeed, but if it was the queen, she didn't want to disturb her....

Mariko jolted slightly at the call out from the girl she had noticed before and looked over unsure of who she was calling to.  That's when she noticed the girl was looking at her, waving with a smile on her face.  With an uneasy look around she moved over to the table the girl was at, trying to lessen the amount of attention that had been drawn to her.

Once she had reached the table, Mariko gave the girl a small nodding bow and took a seat.  "Um...  Thank you for inviting me over, but did you really have to shout like that?"  She asked calmly, glancing around once more, noting that the eyes seemed to have left their table once more.  For that she couldn't help but be grateful.  Looking back at the other, she realized just how wrong she was about this being the Queen.  The two looked the same, but different at the same time.  Another thing that caught her eye was the Eevee the girl had, with it's blank stare.  Giving a small, internal, sigh she waited to see what it was that the other had called her over for.

Royalty?  This little girl was royalty?  Of which kingdom?  One from the mainland?  Mariko was sure that the continent only had two kingdoms.  Giving an internal sigh of confusion, she decided to just go with what was being said.  "My apologies then."  She said lightly, shifting her eyes once more to the Eevee the girl had.  "Your Eevee seems to be in good health.  You must care for it greatly."  She said trying to make small conversation, but failing and going straight to what she normally did, her work.  She guessed, at that moment, she really was a workaholic.  Not that she found anything wrong with that.

"So, you are royalty?  Of where, might I ask?"  Maybe this topic would get her out of work mode for a short amount of time?  She really did hope so.  Especially since she really hadn't had a moment of distraction since her clinic's opening, and the short break where she had met that very strange boy....

Mariko shook her head at the comment of her being a breeder.  "Oh no, I am not a Breeder, I'm a doctor."  She corrected the girl.  "And you're saying that the queen of Celosia is your sister?"  She asked slightly confused by what the girl was saying.  That is until the girl ask her last question.  Slowly Mariko felt herself start to fluster and her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.  "What on earth are you talking about?  There aren't any cute boys here.  Even if there were I am way too busy to even think about go to dinner with one...  Or have any sort of relation!  I am in charge of the lives or People and Pokemon and I can't waste my time with dating.  And even if there were any cute boys here I wouldn't know.  My life revolves around my clinic."  She rambled before clearing her throat and sitting up a little straighter.  Politely she took the cup of tea in front of her and took a small sip.  "Anyways...  Do you  mind if I let one of my Pokemon out?  It's around the time she would be waking up from her nap at the moment."  She asked not sure whether or not letting Snowdrop out would be a good idea.

Mariko nodded at the explanation the girl gave about trying to find her sisters, but didn’t seem to fully grasp what the girl meant by suddenly bringing up her personality traits as though they confirmed everything. She did, however, blush when the girl asked about how her and her supposed interest had met. “I did not say that we were dating. So how does it matter how we met? I mean… I haven’t seen him since the last festival I went to. And besides… His Pokemon was a patient of mine, so there is a bit of a conflict of interest there….”

When did she start this rambling…?  And making excuses...?

“Anyways… You asked about Snowdrop?” Mariko looked down at the half-awake Smoochum she had just released from her Pokeball and gave a small smile. "I was entrusted her by a trainer who was grateful for me taking care of his Jynx. He didn’t know how to take care of a baby Pokemon, and suggested I might be better at it. I did try to tell him that I didn’t know if he was right or not, but he just smiled and told me to keep her, and to give her a stable place to grow.” Mariko pulled the baby Pokemon closer to her as she began to wake up more.

Mariko didn't know how to answer the barrage of questions that had headed her way, nor did she know if she should answer them.  After all, it had finally clicked that she didn't even have a name for the girl in front of her.  Deciding that it was probably better to change that before anything else was said, she cleared her throat and tried to change the current subject from what it was to what it should have been at the very beginning.  "Before all of that...  My name is Yamada Mariko."  She knew what she was doing was not subtle at all, but if it derailed everything, and gave her time to think, then it was going to be a lot better for the conversation...  Or at least she hoped it would be.  Especially since she didn't really know if bringing up someone she hadn't heard anything from in a while was a good idea....

Mariko had to hold back the giggle that started to form in the back of her throat.  "Yamada is actually my last name.  Where I grew up it was traditional to introduce yourself with your last name first."  She corrected, a small hint of the held back laughter coming through her words as she did so.  "And it is nice to meet you Miss Orelia."  She concluded the introductions.  She then looked down at Snowdrop, who had been pulling on her clothing trying to get her attention.  Seeing that the little Pokemon was looking at her cup of Rose tea, she gently reached for the cup and gave the Pokemon a sip, seeing as Snowdrop had not had this type of tea before.  The little Pokemon seemed pleased with it though, so she gave her another sip.  Mariko smiled at this before looking back up at the girl in front of her.

When Mariko heard Alruna ask her last question though, she couldn't help but be confused.  And the way the girl's eyes seemed to stare into hers was a little disconcerting.  "Whatever do you mean?  Nothing is wrong.  I'm not plauged by anything."  She tried, trying to get off the topic of relationships and love and all that fell in those categories.