Losing her title as Sinnoh League Champion was one of the better things to happen to Cynthia. Her schedule had become significantly more free, allowing her time for richly deserved vacations and a more focused pursuit of knowledge. She did love battling, but history was her true passion.
On the suggestion of her colleague, Steven Stone, she'd come to Undella in the Unova region; the adjacent coastline supposedly housed ancient ruins deep beneath the water, a literal treasure trove for the archaeologically inclined. While exploring and acquainting herself with Unova, she'd found something almost as valuable as any relic of the past. She'd found friends.
"Okay! How is...this?" Shauntal looked up from her notebook, smiling brightly. "They should've called this place...Umbrella Town! Because, because...of all the...umbrellas." Her expression softened into a more disheartened one as her eyes moved over Caitlin's face. The young lady had fallen asleep, still sitting upright at the table. Her mouth had fallen open and the lightest hint of drool was dripping down the side of her lips. Shauntal took it as a sign that her attempts at comedy had bored the Psychic trainer into a coma.
Cynthia sighed light-heartedly and joined the two other women at her modest dining table. Gingerly, she pushed a fresh cup of tea across the table directly under Caitlin's nose; without fanfare, the small girl opened her eyes and picked the cup up, lightly sipping.
There was a loud slurp from directly behind Cynthia's head, followed by obnoxious gulps. Someone was massacring her carefully prepared tea with inconsiderate drinking habits. Cynthia could feel herself sweating, but continued with the conversation.
"S-So, miss Shauntal, how long have you been trying to pick out a new genre to work in?" Nervous fingers stirred a sugar of cube into her own teacup, carefully stirring a slender spoon.
Shauntal looked a little bewildered, but shook her head quickly, sending the expression away. "Oh, I'm always experimenting. Writing is my great passion. It's a lot like raising Pokemon. Specializing in just one kind will take you places, but to be really great, you have to be versatile!"
Cynthia resisted pointing out everything wrong with that, especially considering who was saying it. "Well I can always approve of trying to better oneself, especially through the arts. Actually, I have translated copies of literature I retrieved from an ancient-"
Cynthia's words were interrupted by a quiet bubbling sound. Caitlin had fallen asleep again, still holding her teacup to her lips. Her breathing out was making bubbles in the tea, and breathing in was dragging tea into her mouth. Ever the lady, she managed to swallow it with grace and without choking even in her sleep. Cynthia still felt obligated to carefully push the cup down with her fingertips.
"This is a nice place you have here. I like it a lot." Another voice behind her, making her freeze in place with her fingers still on Caitlin's cup. It was getting harder and harder to ignore. But, she was a strong woman, nothing would break her constitution!
Shauntal had been scribbling in her notebook in the meantime, and clapped it shut before looking up at Cynthia. "Okay, I've got one. What do you call a street tough from Castelia?" Cynthia was a little too shaken to put on an amused face. It didn't stop Shauntal from blurting the punchline. "Unova gun! See, it's like...son...of a..."
There was loud banging from a far wall, a monstrous cacophony of brutally murdered musical notes. "MAN DO I LOVE PLAYING THE PIANO. IT'S A GOOD THING SOMEBODY ELSE OWNS ONE. I CAN JUST SHOW UP AT THEIR HOUSE WHENEVER AND PLAY IT." Cynthia's patience shattered and she jumped to her feet, slamming her hands on the table. "LUCAS! I HAVE HAD QUITE ENOUGH!"
The new Sinnoh Champion turned around and glared at her on the piano stool. "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT. HOW DO YOU LIKE IT. IT'S NOT FUN, IS IT?"
Cynthia flung her teacup at the young boy in anger, only for the fluid to stop about halfway through the air, floating. In fact, everything was floating, including all the house's current occupants. Shauntal giggled to herself, using a hand to keep her skirt held down. "Caitlin gets like this when she hears music while sleeping. She just gets in her little head that she has to dance, and nothing can stop her!"
Cynthia was standing on the ceiling, her hands crossed over her chest, long hair pointing straight down on the floor. "As IF that was anything even REMOTELY RESEMBLING music..." Lucas seemed lost to the moment of zero gravity, giggling madly while frantically pounding on the keyboard.