"She really said that?" Iris's voice said from the couch. Her words reached the nearby counter where Lauren was busy chopping vegetables, and a hot broth rippled as it began to boil in a pot beside her. Already the small abode was filled with the smell of the mirin and soy sauce that swirled around within the mixture.
The deal had been that Iris would have to buy drinks, which she did, but Lauren had expected that she'd invite her out somewhere. That is until she showed up at her door whilst Lauren was employed in the beginning stages of making dinner. No text. No call. She was just there and rather than feel awkward being the only person in the room eating while they hung out, she invited Iris to share.
By the giddy smile on the nurse's face, one might have thought she'd specifically planned it...
"Seems a little dramatic, doesn't it?" Iris continued. Already she'd made herself very much at home, nestled into the corner of the fancy couch, one leg dangling off the front while the other was slung across the length.
"I guess..." Lauren replied soundly. In truth, she was pretty awful at multi-tasking, and whatever she was doing-in this case, cooking-was what she focused on. Still, it wasn't as though she had much else to say about it. Yesterday's meeting with Professor Clover had been...illuminating, to say the least, and not just because of the bombshell she dropped about having an 'unnatural connection' to another living being.
Alongside the pot sat a small skillet, in which she'd been frying up the tofu she'd purchased that morning and had since been marinating in a plastic bag. This, along with the vegetables, she dumped into the broth, along with a square of noodles. The only thing that was missing was the egg, which she had of course forgotten to buy when shopping earlier that day. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.
With a moment now before she needed to do anything more, she looked up, her eyes settling on the form of the Vulpix curled up on the top rim of the couch. The fox had been watching Lauren cook the whole time, her little black nose wiggling now and then as she caught a whiff of a new smell wafting in from the kitchen. Now that Lauren was done, however, the Vulpix perked up a little, ears twitching expectantly.
Lauren didn't have the heart to tell the creature that she couldn't eat the noodles. Fortunately, however, she had come prepared. Pokémon food, it seemed, come in all sorts of varieties, from biscuits to gravy dishes, to liquid meals, and everything in between. And though most Pokémon had their own preferences just like people, Lauren's little companion was difficult to disappoint when it came to food.
In fact, the only stipulation that the creature seemed to have was that it preferred its food warmed up, which made some amount of sense to Lauren. It was a fire-type, after all.
"So what else did you find out?" Iris continued prodding. This woman, Lauren had learned, was the complete opposite of herself. Where Lauren was soft-spoken and generally didn't make a lot of excessive conversation, Iris couldn't seem to abide in a room full of silence.
"Well..." Lauren started, taking her fork and stirring the slowly softening noodles apart, "I'm supposed to do some sort of fieldwork, but the Professor was mum on the details."
"Ohh, mysterious!" Iris said, fluttering her fingers in the air sarcastically. "I'm sure it won't be anything crazy, though. You told her that you were about to start attending uni, didn't you?"
"In a few weeks, yeah," Lauren said, switching off the heat of the oven. "I gave her my schedule already, so she knows when I'll be available."
"Eh, I don't think I would've done that," Iris tutted, "If she knows your schedule, that means you'll have fewer excuses to duck out if you need a break."
Lauren rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to lie to someone who's trying to help me."
"Hey, I'm just saying!" Iris shrugged. "Sometimes you gotta make room for a little R and R, ya know?"
"I'm fine..."
Iris didn't seem too keen to push the topic further and instead switched to another, sitting up, "Anyway, so how are you two getting along? You and your Pokémon, I mean. You still haven't given her a name yet, have you?"
A pang of guilt shot through Lauren's mind and she shook her head. "I...just haven't found the right one, and I've been busy..."
Iris laughed, "Don't get all bent out of shape about it, I was just messing with you."
"Mm..." Lauren still felt bad regardless, but pushed the feeling away, "We're...doing well, I think. I'm not sure about this whole 'being connected' thing that the Professor was talking about but...I don't know, we just...understand each other, I guess, and I've gotten down the basics of taking care of her."
She eyed the Vulpix, who had risen from her spot and now lept down to the floor, footsteps hardly making a sound as she padded into the kitchen. This was all in response to Lauren taking the third pot from off the top of the stove and dumping its contents into a small dish, then depositing that dish onto the floor.
The creature yipped happily, a little bounce catching in its step as it pranced over to the dish and began to gorge upon the soup-looking substance within. Lauren had tried to use as much of the same ingredients that she could from her own meal to 'spice up' the Vulpix's, which seemed to delight her, and Lauren just smiled as she watched.
Amidst all of this, Iris had gotten up as well, coming to lean over the other side of the counter, "Smells good. Where'd you learn to cook?"
Lauren perked a brow, "You can't?" This elicited a frown from her friend, causing her to chuckle a little. "My parents own a restaurant back home in White Garden City, so I've been around food my whole life. I just...picked it up by proxy, I guess."
"You're just full of surprises. A regular Jill-of-All-Trades, eh?"
Lauren laughed a little through her nose, "Something like that..." She shrugged, going back to their food and preparing their separate dishes, "My mom used to say that I don't have hobbies. Instead, I 'collect skills'. Her words, not mine, but I guess it's...accurate."
"Huh," Iris said, picking up the chopsticks in front of her.
Lauren could tell right away that Iris had very little experience using utensils like these just from the way she was trying to hold them. Part of her wanted to watch the poor girl fumble with them for a bit, but her honesty won out and she paused to show her friend the proper method.
All things aside, ramen was hardly an elegant meal, but it was hearty and filling, and soon, the two leaned back against the couch
"So...what's next for you two?" Iris asked suddenly, breaking the quiet once more.
"What do you mean...?" Lauren queried in response. The Vulpix had since come to sit in the small space between her and Iris, though it favored her side, squishing up against Lauren's thigh. She stroked its soft fur as Iris nodded at the two of them.
"You just seem..." Iris said, pausing a moment to choose her words, "...restless?"
Lauren frowned a little. "I think you're just used to 'trainers' that come into the Pokémon Center. I told you, I'm not really into that stuff."
"Really? Not even a little bit?" Iris coaxed, "I mean, you did win your first ever battle, after all, and against the odds, I might add."
Lauren wrinkled her nose and shook her head, "Neh. That was different. We didn't really have a choice in the matter. And besides..." she shifted a little and looked away, closing her eyes, "...what's the point? I've got nothing to prove."
"Actually, you do." Iris smiled, "You're under sponsorship, remember? Competitive circuits are considered to be the fastest way towards achieving that goal."
Lauren snorted, "Do I look like I'm a ten-year-old or something?"
Iris laughed a little but didn't say anything. Lauren could tell she was waiting for a proper answer.
"Well..." Lauren eventually went on. "There's an early orientation class in a couple of days at the university that I was thinking of attending and then after that..." She pauses, smiling a little to herself, "I was thinking of taking a vacation before the semester starts."
"Yeah? Any particular place in mind?"
Lauren shook her head, "Haven't gotten that far yet. Not like I know much about this city or anywhere else, for that matter."
Iris paused uncharacteristically, prompting Lauren to open her eyes and shift her glance to meet the woman's figure.
"Well, in that case..." Iris eventually said, "How about Hilt?"
Lauren pursed her lips a little, trying to recall where she heard that word. "Isn't that...that little mountain town up north from Century City?"
Iris nodded, "I actually have a timeshare on a place up there, but nobody else uses it this time of year. It's a nice place, really. Lots to see and do, too."
"Sounds peaceful," Lauren said thoughtfully. Her eyes drifted over to beside the front door where her coat hung alongside a large and still relatively new-looking gray backpack. Once upon a time, she'd purchase it in anticipation of going on hikes with the hiking club at her school, but the club didn't have enough members and ended up fizzling out before she ever got the chance to use it.
"I don't know... You sure it'd be ok if I stayed there?"
Iris shrugged, "It's mine for the next few months, and I'm not getting unbusy any time soon, so why not?"
Lauren nodded, pondering. It did sound like a good opportunity. But...
"Well, you don't have to decide right away," Iris said, at that point getting up and stretching, "Just let me know if it sounds like something you'd be interested in."
"Thanks..." Lauren said, leaning up.
"Sure thing!" Iris said, winking, "Anything for a friend-especially ones that feed me! It was great, by the way. But, sadly for you, all good things come to an end, and I must depart."
Lauren smirked at Iris's dramatic flair as she swept her purse up amidst a twirl.
"Thanks for having me over," Iris said as Lauren stood up, "We should make this a habit."
"Uh-huh," Lauren rolled her eyes, "You just want free meals. But...yeah, this was fun. To be honest, I haven't really entertained in a long time."
"All the more reason then!" Iris smiled as the two went to the door, "From what you've told me of how things were before all this, I half expected you to live in a cave like a hermit or something."
"Ha, ha," came Lauren's sardonic reply. "Time to go now." The Vulpix, too, had come along with them and yipped lightly as the two conversed. Iris bent down to pat the little Pokémon on the tuft of hair on its head, then stood again.
"Text you later, then! And don't forget! Let me know about the vacay!"
Lauren just nodded, and when Iris had finally left, her eyes drifted over to the backpack again. She couldn't deny that she was tempted. She'd always felt a little disappointed that the club had collapsed and she'd never gotten the chance to try it out.
Feeling something tugging on her pant leg, Lauren turned and looked down, seeing the Vulpix with her front legs on her knee.
"You too, huh?" Lauren said, bending down and scooping the creature up into her arms. The Vulpix barked a response that Lauren suspected was her form of enthusiasm and chuckled.
Well...that's that, then. Again.