Tea is Best Served Hot

Marcus sat at his table again, but this time sitting perpendicular to both tables. "I find it hard to believe that you can't have Mentus there take you in the blink of an eye, but alright. If you say so. So Maya; is there anything else that you can go on to find your aunt? I'm actually pretty interested, and if we can help you find her once we're there, I'd like to be of assistance."

Marcus took another sip of his tea as he closed his eyes, letting him hear what he wanted him to. So is it that you can't teleport there, or just that you don't want to? And if it's that you don't want to, why choose a guide? Does he think you can't make it through Eirlys with your help? And not letting him hear what he didn't want him to. I wonder just what their relationship is: Partner or willing underling? or maybe obedient slave?

Taking another sip of his tea, Marcus sat with a puzzled face, "Hmmm...that does seem difficult to go off of. I can see why you've been having trouble. Well, have you checked this town yet? It does snow down here in the winter and like I said, nobody knows about Silvertree. The only reason the two of us know about it is the same person told us. It'd be a shame if you went all the way up there through all that danger and she was here the whole time."

Right then, the tea lady came back with the food. Sofa was so happy, his mouth was nearly dripping, but when the lady put down their plates, there was a much smaller portion than what Sofa was expecting. Whimpering, Sofa turned to the lady begging for more. "Hey, don't look at me, it's up to your Trainer. He's the one paying the bill."

Sofa whipped his head down to Marcus, his face staying in the same whimpering position, "Feed him 'til he's full." Marcus pulled out a large stack of Poke and placed it on the table. Eyes wide, the tea lady rushed back to get more food. Reaching over and petting Lex's head, "And that goes for this little guy too. You must be starving, having just hatched." Sofa looked surprised at his friend, with a face that practically said, "Really?"

"Well, we weren't going to be doing anything with the prize money anyway, were we? We've been living off of berries and campfires for the past 5 days. And dad wouldn't let me put it into the farm; he said it had to be for our adventure, remember? So I figure, why not use it when we can? If we're going to get a nice, cooked meal, we might as well enjoy it."
"Vig...-sniffle sniffle- Vigoroth..." "You're welcome, buddy." Marcus said as he cracked his hard boiled egg open.

"I checked very briefly. Very. However this town is very small and the one fisherman I asked said he had never heard of a Reed nor had anyone moved in the last year or two." She said and sighed and plucked at Bo's wool some more. Dororo merely dozed on her shoulder, making little noises as he napped. 

Maya frowned at their banter. These two like to talk she thought. She wasn't in the mood to order another cup of tea or talk so she merely occupied herself with things such as checking her bag. Scarf, gloves, heavy parka, hand warmers, jacket, map, a few changes of clothes, a few empty assorted pokeballs, a few cleanse tags and a spell tag... She stuffed those a little bit further down in her bag. How did she manage to fit all this in here again?


She pulled out the map and studied it carefully, looking at the northern area. The map was mostly detailed on Celosia but everywhere else was almost nonexistent, very little else known about other places... 

"You said you kind of have an idea on where it is?" Maya asked, referring to both of them. She placed the map on the table, avoiding the food. "Any guesses as to the general area?" If they could get close then maybe...

Zandrophin studied this map that Maya had presented.

Primitive...to say the least.

It's these small villages, Sir...they don't have the best cartographers.

He had to admit, Marcus' quick assessment of the map slightly impressed him. The boy wasn't too great at reading people, but he locked that map away almost instantly.

"Alright," Zandrophin said, "we have the map...and our landmark: that large lake. So we head towards the lake, then head north of it, all while attempting to find this forest, correct? Doesn't sound too horrible."

Slightly agitated by Marcus' comment, Zandrophin took a second to regain total control of his emotions.

Come now, lad. If you run into one of those monsters you mentioned earlier...you'll need my help. Monsters can be subdued if we work together. If nothing else, we can use Calm Mind to provide a barrier to prevent any wild Pokemon from attacking us.

I AM going to Silvertree. Wheter or not I get you there or you freeze to death matters not to me...I'll be outside, awaiting your decision.

"Well," Zandrophin said, standing, after laying a few Poke on the table for payment, "this has been fun...but we really should get a move on. Miss Maya, I'll be waiting outside, if you're ready to go."

He turned to Marcus and continued,

"If you would like to accompany me, you may come along as well."

As he left, Zandrophin slipped on his coat, securing Mentus inside. As he walked through the door, he looked back over his shoulder at Marcus.

I know you still want closure for past events...you won't get it if you die out there.

...Remember that.

"No...probably not. But I don't really have a choice. I suggest you go asking around more for your aunt. She may have moved here earlier than a few years ago and asking one guy isn't enough to be sure. Don't worry, I won't leave without you." Marcus stood up and pulled out a Pokeball.

"Hey little guy. This is a Pokeball. It's where you'll be staying a lot of the time. Think of it like a nice resting room. You're gonna need to stay in here for a while okay?" Lex nodded happily, his perpetual grin shining as always as he was pulled into the ball. Marcus glanced over to Sofa, his claws on his stomach, his plate empty. "Had your fill?" Nodding happily, Sofa gave Marcus a satisfied grin. "Good, go walking around with Maya as she asks around for information on her aunt." "VIG-" Sofa started to point outside at zan, "No buts, get to know the people you're going to be traveling with." He turned towards Maya, "If that's okay with you..."