DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokémon or any of its characters, place names, etc. The only characters I own here are the lovely Samara Kantaris (or rather, she owns me...hehehe) and her 'rival' Ivan. I guess Stella's mine as well, you could say. None of the other characters are mine (although I heartily wish I owned Lance and Giovanni, but unfortunately I don't...)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Omigosh, I'm so sorry this took so long! Actually I was supposed to put it online about a week ago, but I've been messing around with it so much and putting off posting it...anyway. If it sucks, it sucks. LOL.
Just for the record, the Rocket called Tyson in the next few chapters may or may not be the same one who was in a couple of the anime episodes. Whatever works for you. lol. I just couldn't be bothered coming up with a different name (oops). But I'll just say I don't own him anyway, just to be safe.
Lunar Sphinx, I'm so sorry I didn't reply to your review! That was just me being thick and not seeing it lol. Anyway thanks so much for your review, and I'll try my best with the battles. I'm sure it'll just take practice P if you have any other suggestions about battle commentary, please let me know
Thanks for another sweet review, Kazeto Tamashii! Yes, Ivan does get rather annoying...hehehe.
Kantaris woke up bright and early the next day. She was in a small bedroom at a Pokémon Centre somewhere between Viridian City and Pewter City. Sunlight streamed through the window above the bed, showing up the dust in the air. Kantaris stretched and got up, eager to be on her feet again. She felt bursting with energy, and that was a good thing too. Today she had to tackle Viridian Forest. It wasn't going to be easy, but at least she'd have the chance to catch a couple of Pokémon.
After breakfast, Kantaris got her stuff together and carried on the path towards the forest that stood between her and Pewter City. It didn't look as big or as dark as she'd been expecting, and she was relieved. She couldn't wait to get to Pewter City and battle for her first badge. But at the same time, she was nervous. She knew that if she rushed off to Pewter, crashed into the Gym and challenged the Leader...she would lose, as it stood. Like everyone else, Kantaris had heard about Brock and his high-defense Rock Pokémon. Cyndaquil would be useless. And Stella would be good defensively – she wasn't on the ground, so Ground attacks like Earthquake wouldn't work against her – but Kantaris couldn't imagine many of her attacks doing much damage. And surely a Gym Leader would have more than two Pokémon? If Kantaris was going to get anywhere, she had to catch something.
For someone who hadn't done it before, it was a daunting thought. Kantaris walked through the forest clutching a Pokéball in her hand, as she had done before, and gazing up into trees, occasionally tapping them, although she really had no idea what she'd do if a Beedrill flew out at her...except maybe panic and get Stella to knock it out. As she was walking, she passed small groups of trainers. Some were battling, others taking a rest in the tranquility of the forest. In any other situation, Kantaris would have thought about swiping some of their Pokémon. But at this point, she couldn't even consider it. She did, however, make off with a couple of Potions and empty Pokéballs from bags that people had left unattended. She figured it was their loss and their own fault for leaving their stuff around.
Kantaris was near the edge of the forest (and she had been walking as slowly as possible) when suddenly she heard something hit the ground behind her. She jumped. Then she turned around quickly to find herself staring down at a small Pineco that had fallen from a tree. Kantaris' mind jumped a few steps ahead: Pineco evolves into Forretress, Forretress is a Steel hybrid Pokémon, Steel Pokémon are apparently really tough...and rare...
Kantaris was in two minds about what to do. Should she attack and risk knocking it out? Or should she just throw a ball at it and hope for the best? She didn't have much time to think: the Pineco was rapidly hopping away. She cursed and threw the Pokéball that was in her hand. It hovered in the air, transforming the Pineco into a red stream of energy and capturing it before falling to the ground. Kantaris dived on it and it wobbled about like crazy in her hands for a few seconds. Then it stopped.
Kantaris waved the Pokéball above her head madly, disturbing the peace with:
"Hell, yeah! I did it! I caught a Pineco!"
She fixed the Pokéball to her belt proudly and carried on. But she still wasn't happy, of course, because a Pineco would do little (if any) good against Rock Pokémon. She wished she could make it evolve, right there and then. Levelling up was going to be a drag. Now I remember why I didn't take the Gym Challenge before, she thought.
The forest grew rapidly thinner as she went on, until eventually Kantaris found herself in open countryside. Not far away, she could see the grey walls of Pewter City, and further beyond that, the mountains that stood above Cerulean City. Thinking about Cerulean made Kantaris think that she really fancied a Water Pokémon right now. But round here, there was no water in sight so, no Water Pokémon.
What she did see next was an adorable group of Oddish, vaguely hidden in the grass. She decided to give her new Pokémon a go, so she let it out. All of the Oddish ran away except for one. Kantaris singled it out and thought quickly about Pineco's attacks. She had no idea where to start.
"Uh...Tackle?"
Pineco obeyed and carried out something that looked vaguely like a Tackle. Kantaris breathed a sigh of a relief. It was a start. Oddish responded with what was either an Absorb or a Leech Life attack. Whatever it was, it seemed to leave little damage on Pineco, but to Kantaris' shock, Pineco suddenly Self-Destructed, automatically returning to its Pokéball (Kantaris felt the sudden hit on her belt). She was shocked, to say the least, but still deep in concentration she took out a Pokéball and hurled it at the tired and battered-looking Oddish. It captured it with not much of a struggle.
Kantaris picked up the ball thoughtfully and put it on her waist. She was thinking that she wouldn't be getting anywhere if her Pineco decided to blow itself up every time it took a hit. No Pokémon seemed to want to listen to her much, except for Stella. She needed that Boulderbadge, and she needed it fast.
Kantaris' first stop in Pewter City was the Pokémon Centre. While she was there, waiting for her four Pokémon to be returned to her (Four already? Not bad), she noticed a shady guy sitting in the corner, staring at the floor. He was wearing all black, including black boots and a cap which was pulled down over his face. He even had a pair of shades in his hands. He couldn't really have made it more obvious – he was a Rocket, surely. Kantaris sidled over and sat next to him. He looked at her as if to say, 'What do you want?' but Kantaris ignored his glare and pulled back the sleeve of her coat on her right arm. On the back of her right wrist she had a letter 'R' branded into the skin.
It was a painful enough memory: not so long ago, she'd been caught raiding a Daycare Centre one night by about five agents from the Pokémon Defense League. They hadn't the right to formally arrest her, but after checking that she hadn't succeeded in taking anything, they'd taken her off to some secret base and interrogated her. Kantaris' first concern had been that they would try to make her talk about Team Rocket. So she'd insisted that she worked alone. But they hadn't believed her. And so they'd branded her, as they did to all suspected Rockets who fell into their clutches. At first, Kantaris had thought that this was even worse than being arrested, because now everyone would know that she was from Team Rocket. But the mark was reasonably easy to hide, and it had become something of a 'battle scar' now. And it didn't prove anything. She could easily convince most people it was a 'miscarriage of justice'. The Pokémon Defense League were all bullies and hypocrites, anyway...
Anyway, Kantaris deftly flicked her wrist over. This movement caught the attention of the guy sitting next to her, and he looked up. Kantaris wondered what she would do if it turned out he wasn't a Rocket after all (I really should think first, before doing these things). But luckily, he was. She caught sight of the 'R' in the corner of his shirt. He leaned over subtly as if looking at a watch on her wrist and whispered,
"Respect."
Kantaris smiled, but she didn't look at him. She looked straight ahead so that it wouldn't look like they were talking.
"Where you from?" she whispered.
"Viridian," he whispered back.
"Really? Never seen you there."
"I might have seen you," he said. "Do you work at the Gym or something?"
"You've probably seen me. I'm part-time there."
Kantaris took a cigarette out of her bag and lit it. She turned away from everyone else and held it down by her side – Pokémon Centres were strictly No Smoking, and she wasn't in the mood for any hassle. She asked,
"So what you doing out here?"
"I'm on my way to Cerulean City," he replied. "Apparently some of our scientists are working on something there. I've been sent to get feedback from them."
"Really?" Kantaris said, raising her eyebrows. "What sort of 'something'?"
"Only the Boss knows that!" the Rocket said. "I'm just going to pick up some notes, or something like that."
Kantaris sighed and thought for a second. Whatever it was, it had to be super-secret if Giovanni hadn't even told her about it. Could the guy next to her be lying? Then again, she'd heard Giovanni on the phone an awful lot recently, talking about some project...but he was always mentioning Cinnabar Island, not Cerulean City. It wasn't as if she listened in on his phone calls, of course. Kantaris shuddered. He would have killed her if he'd ever caught her doing that. However, she was still curious about what could be going on. But the solution, of course, was obvious.
"I'm on the way to Cerulean myself," she said. "I'd be glad of the company."
Just then, Nurse Joy called her name. Kantaris quickly dropped the cigarette, stamped on it and pushed it under the chair with her foot. Then she stood up and collected her Pokéballs.
"So it's Samara?" the Rocket guy asked, having overheard the Nurse calling her name. "I'm Tyson."
"Tyson, huh? You can call me Kantaris. Everyone else does. So...how's about it? I just gotta go to the Gym here and earn my badge, and then we can be off."
"Badge?" Tyson laughed. He raised his voice a little now that their conversation was innocent enough. "Are you on the Gym Challenge or something?"
"I am," Kantaris replied confidently, putting her Pokéballs on her belt. "So Cerulean City will be my next stop after here."
Tyson was silent for a while. Then finally he agreed.
"Makes sense, seen as we're going the same way," he said. "Will you be off to the Gym now, then?"
"Yeah..." Kantaris answered eventually. She wasn't all too sure that she would win, though.
"Eight o'clock tonight, then? Back here? And then we'll set off?" Tyson looked at Kantaris' dubious expression. "I'm kind of in a rush. Sooner I'm there, sooner I'm back."
"I didn't really wanna travel at night," Kantaris admitted staunchly.
Tyson lowered his voice to a whisper again.
"Aww, come on, I hear Mount Moon is nice at night..." He paused and winked. Then he turned serious. "Besides, who's gonna mess with two Rockets? I bet you're armed to the teeth. Not that you need to be, seen as your Pokémon are probably strong enough."
"Okay, okay, you're on." The tirade of flattery had vanquished any doubt she'd had. "Eight. Right here?"
"Right here."
Kantaris turned heel and made for the door. Tyson called her name and she glanced round to see him holding up two fingers, crossed. She shook her head, her blue eyes sparkling enthusiastically.
"It ain't luck, mate!" she said. "It's skill!"
When she got to the Gym nearby, Kantaris pushed open the doors gingerly, not knowing quite what to expect. She'd only been in one Gym during the course of her whole life, and that was the big, dark Viridian City Gym with its bare stone floor and walls, where the only light came from the balcony upstairs and where it seemed to be permanently cold on the battlefield. She found Pewter City Gym to be quite different.
As soon as Kantaris entered the building, she found herself in what looked like a passageway of rocks – she couldn't tell whether they were artificial or not but they felt real to the touch. There was a tall bronze plaque on the left wall with the names of winning trainers engraved on it. There were too many names to count and they had been written in tiny, illegible writing. The plaque was entirely full now, so Kantaris guessed that they didn't bother using it anymore. She looked ahead – the tunnel was well lit by torches set into the walls, and at the end it opened out onto a large, sandy space. Kantaris could vaguely see the Pokéball chalked onto the floor in the centre of the space, so she presumed it was the battlefield.
Kantaris did a mental check, trying to decide which Pokémon she should start with and which attacks she should lead with. Already, she was beginning to see why it was common for a lot of trainers to quit partway through the Gym Challenge. But she wasn't at all discouraged. After all, que sera, sera (What will be will be) – it was worth a try, and if she lost she would just try harder next time. And she wouldn't tell Giovanni or any of her teammates.
Kantaris wandered out onto the battlefield and she first gazed up at the amazingly high, domed ceiling. Then she sneezed involuntarily as clouds of dust rose from the ground every time she took a step.
"Welcome to Pewter City Gym," a male voice said from the other end of the battlefield.
Slowly and warily, Kantaris looked up to face the Gym Leader. She was hesitant to look straight at him – after all, locking eyes with a trainer counted as a challenge and she wanted a little time to prepare. The Gym Leader seemed to notice this and he explained (a little patronizingly, but probably not in an unfriendly way),
"In a Pokémon Gym, the battle doesn't start until you make a verbal challenge. That's why you're called 'the challenger'."
Kantaris automatically smiled as the Gym Leader stated the obvious in his last sentence. He seemed okay, and with renewed confidence, Kantaris looked up properly. She was surprised to find that he didn't look much older than her. He was tall and of medium build. He had black spiky hair and dark skin, but Kantaris could tell from his features that he was probably not much older than she was. He also had only three Pokéballs at his waist, one less than Kantaris. All of this gave her even more confidence.
"Maybe you should introduce yourself first," the Gym Leader suggested after she had been silent for a few seconds. "That's the usual custom."
"Oh, sure!" Despite her apparent confidence, Kantaris still sounded a little nervous when she spoke. She cleared her throat. "I'm Samara Joanna Kantaris...from Saffron City."
So you're a new trainer, Ms. Kantaris?" the Gym Leader asked.
"No," Kantaris replied (more haughtily than she had intended). "Just new to the Gym Challenge."
"I see. In that case, I'm obliged to explain the rules. In a League Gym, you may battle with all the Pokémon you have with you and you may use any items on your Pokémon whenever you wish. And the same goes for me. There's a League official in the next room, so if there are any problems or you have any complaints, you can go and see him if you like. Now all that remains is for me to introduce myself. I'm Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader. I'm relatively new to the Gym scene as well: I took over this Gym from my father not so long ago."
Kantaris nodded slowly. She'd never been any good at talking to other people about their lives and experiences. So instead, she said,
"Okay, Brock. I'd like to challenge you for..." She struggled to recall the name of the badge she was battling for; she blushed. Then she remembered. "A Boulderbadge. That's it."
"I accept your challenge."
Brock took his place at the opposite edge of the battlefield. Kantaris let her bag slip down off her back onto the floor behind her. She stood poised, one leg behind the other, with her left hand clenched in a fist at her waist and her right hand hovering over her belt. She contemplating letting Brock know which Pokémon she was going to use first – this is common courtesy when a trainer has more Pokémon than his or her opponent – but to her surprise, Brock didn't wait for her to do so. He threw in his first Pokéball. Kantaris shrugged it off – that was obviously the way it went in Pokémon Gyms. She'd seen it happening in Viridian Gym all the time, but she'd always put it down to Giovanni's selfishness.
The Pokéball on the battlefield fell open on its own and its Pokémon appeared next to it. A Geodude. Kantaris ran her hand over the Pokéballs on her waist and went for the last one, Oddish. Brock's Geodude looked like it was more honed than Oddish, but Kantaris always tried to concentrate on type match-ups. It was the simplest strategy. Can't go wrong if you know your type match-ups.
For a moment, Kantaris wondered if Brock was going to attack first. But then she remembered she was the one battling for a badge, therefore she had to take every opportunity presented to her. She had to be as ruthless a challenger as she was a Rocket. That's what Giovanni had told her, anyway.
"Absorb attack, Oddish!" she commanded.
"Defense Curl!" Brock called out a second later.
A green orb of light began to surround Geodude, but the Absorb attack was weakened as Geodude went into its Defense Curl.
"Tackle!" Brock said next.
"Dodge it, Oddish!" Kantaris said quickly, trying hard to think of another attack that Oddish might have.
Oddish clumsily leapt out of the way just in time. Geodude rolled over on the battlefield having missed its target, and then set itself up for the next attack.
"Try another Absorb!" Kantaris said desperately. She wished she had a handbook or something: her knowledge of attacks wasn't very good.
"Defense Curl, followed by Tackle!" Brock ordered.
This seemed highly unconventional to Kantaris. She was used to taking it in turns, one attack at a time, mainly leaving it up to the Pokémon to dodge attacks without being told when or how. But in this battle so far (even though it had only been going for a few minutes), she had learnt several things: attacks can be combined, attacks can counteract others, and timing is essential.
Kantaris' mind was racing, and she didn't notice the rapid Tackle coming until it hit Oddish. Oddish flew backwards a reasonable distance and lay still for a moment. Kantaris bit her lip. Luckily, Oddish got up.
"Poison Powder!" Kantaris said. Anything was worth a try.
Oddish leant forward and shook the small leaves on its head, and a purple cloud of dust shot forward and clung to Geodude, who started rolling around trying to shake it off. But it stuck fast. Kantaris held her hands behind her back and clapped silently: she'd managed to do something right, at least.
"Mud Slap, Geodude!"
Geodude threw forward a clump of earth and sand from the floor. It went all over Oddish, who fell backwards again. It got up, shaking the sand from its eyes.
"Razor Leaf!" Kantaris cried, her confidence and adrenaline building.
Still dizzy from the Mud Slap, Oddish launched forth a shower of poorly aimed leaves. Most of them flew up into the air harmlessly and floated to the ground. Only a few actually hit the opponent, but it seemed to have worked a little anyway. Geodude was looking dangerously weak, still covered in the toxic purple powder.
"Tackle!" Brock ordered.
"Jump, Oddish!" Kantaris felt like she was controlling a character in a games arcade. "Now, Absorb!"
This time, the green light around Geodude was stronger. It transferred itself to Oddish, who landed just as Geodude fainted. Brock called his fainted Pokémon back to its Pokéball, and Oddish began doing a 'victory dance'. Kantaris couldn't help but think that it looked kind of cute, dancing on its tiny legs and shaking its leaves.
"Zubat, go!" Brock yelled, throwing in his second Pokéball.
Kantaris took Oddish's Pokéball in her hand, automatically thinking about swapping Oddish for a different Pokémon. Oddish was weak by now, and at a disadvantage in terms of type. Kantaris didn't have much time to think, because Zubat dived down and flew forwards in a deadly looking Tackle attack. It was impossible for Oddish to avoid the attack, and shortly after being hit, it collapsed.
Kantaris called Oddish back and took a moment to calm down a little. She'd never realized battles could be this intense. She tapped Stella's Pokéball with the nail of her right index finger. Before Stella had even emerged properly, her haunting screech could be heard echoing throughout the battlefield. Zubat, hovering in the air, seemed to flinch. Kantaris was used to Stella's piercing shrieks by now, but most other people and Pokémon weren't. After all, Misdreavuses weren't all that common...
"Thunder!" Kantaris said, seizing her chance.
With another screech, Stella's eyes glowed; a field of electricity swelled around her and erupted, sending sparks in all directions. Most of them hit Zubat and Kantaris was pleased to see that Stella's accuracy was certainly in form. Zubat's height above the battlefield decreased considerably, but it still managed to stay in the air. Kantaris shrugged minutely. Having a Misdreavus that knew Thunder was impressive, but the attack could never be as powerful as it would be coming from a pure Electric Pokémon. Kantaris just liked to surprise her opponents with that attack.
"Bite!" Brock ordered.
His command took Kantaris by surprise. She had presumed that a Zubat wouldn't have any attacks that could do any damage to a Ghost Pokémon. On the contrary, Bite was a Dark attack. Kantaris couldn't be sure, but weren't Dark attacks supposed to be very effective against Ghosts...? Oops.
Stella had obviously been complacent herself, so much so that she didn't bother to dodge Zubat's attack. She disappeared for a second, as she often did after being hit by a powerful attack. Kantaris held her breath until Stella reappeared in the air again, looking especially mean.
"Supersonic!" Brock called out.
"Hypnosis!" Kantaris yelled, almost at the same time.
Both trainers squinted and covered their ears as the Pokémon generated their attacks simultaneously. There was a thud as Zubat hit the battlefield, and Kantaris silently praised Stella for her accuracy and probable level advantage, it seemed. Brock shook his head and returned Zubat to its Pokéball.
"My final Pokémon..." he said, taking his last Pokéball. "Onix!"
Kantaris paled as a huge Onix appeared on the battlefield. She had never cared for massive Pokémon. She had always avoided them, and she was sure that she had a medical phobia of Steelix. And now she was faced with an Onix. She shuddered.
"Shadow Ball!" Kantaris commanded smartly. Her confidence was shrinking, but she refused to show it.
Stella threw forth a black and purple orb of energy that hit Onix full on. The gigantic rock snake groaned as it fell backwards, shaking the whole room as it hit the field. Then it rose to its full height again and roared at Stella furiously. Kantaris' face was a picture, but Stella simply snarled at her opponent.
"Rock Throw, Onix!"
Onix raised rocks out of nowhere and projected them at Stella with its tail. Kantaris ordered Stella to dodge and Stella skillfully disappeared and reappeared, evading most of the rocks. But the last rock came down on her. Kantaris didn't see how this would do much damage to a Ghost, but Stella plunged to the ground. Kantaris sighed in disgust and was about to call her back. But to her relief, Stella floated back up again. She was fading slightly, becoming transparent.
"Finish it off with another Rock Throw," Brock ordered.
Timing, Kantaris remembered. It was time to live what she'd just learned.
"Destiny Bond..." she whispered as Onix lined up its attack.
Wavering in the air, Stella closed her eyes and a pale blue aura formed around both her and Onix. Brock drew in a sharp breath, but it was too late. Onix had already launched its Rock Throw, and Stella had resigned to her fate. Kantaris averted her eyes as Stella was hit once, twice...and then dissipated into nothingness. Kantaris felt the hit and then the brief warmth of the Pokéball on her belt, just as she had done when her Pineco had blown itself up earlier on.
Onix obviously hadn't realised it was under a Destiny Bond, but now its strength slowly faded along with the blue aura surrounding it. It uttered a single cry of surprise and collapsed. Kantaris hated Destiny Bond, but she had to admit that it was impressive watching an opponent faint, just like that.
"Okay," Brock said calmly, taking back his Onix into its Pokéball. "You win."
Kantars blinked in surprise. Didn't Brock realise that his Zubat wasn't fainted yet? Part of her said that she should take the badge and run, but this didn't seem fair. And maybe this was a test of her observance.
"Your Zubat..." she began.
"...is unable to battle." Brock casually finished her sentence for her. "I declare you the winner."
"You're forfeiting?" Kantaris asked gleefully. She'd never had anyone surrender to her in a battle before.
"I've seen enough of your battling skills, Ms. Kantaris," Brock replied, dusting off his hands and walking to a metal safe that was set into a niche in the wall, "to decide that you're worthy of a Boulderbadge."
He opened the safe and Kantaris stood on tiptoes, squinting to try and see what he was doing. She saw what looked like a black roll of fabric with shiny things on it. Brock took one of the shiny things. He crossed the battlefield and immediately noticed Kantaris' expression, still dubious.
"Of course," Brock said, "if you don't think you're ready for this badge yet...?"
Kantaris glanced at the badge that he was offering. It wasn't very fancy. It was brown and gray, roughly hexagonal in shape, and it shone in the light from the torches. Kantaris reached out and took it gingerly. She'd never seen a real League badge before, only a few cheap laminated cardboard fakes that Team Rocket members had made for themselves. At that moment in time, that little pin badge meant everything to her. She fastened it onto the right breast pocket of her coat proudly.
Brock smiled at her and she smiled back, thinking that he was very approachable, considering the fact that he was a Gym Leader. He congratulated Kantaris on her win then reached out to shake her hand. Kantaris took it and shook hands, feeling a little confused and out of place. She had never seen Giovanni congratulate a challenger (not that he lost often) or shake a challenger's hand. In fact, he even sent her down to give them the badge, usually. Brock was something quite different, and Kantaris began to think that this whole Gym Challenge thing wouldn't be so scary after all. And she had certainly learnt a lot, even from that one battle.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"No problem. Oh, I almost forgot..."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bundle of money in a little plastic bag. This time, Kantaris had to question it.
"Is it common practice to give prize money as well as a badge?"
"Sure. Well, I always do it." Brock shrugged. "And if it isn't common practice, it should be! How's a trainer supposed to get anywhere without a little cash behind them?"
"I won't disagree," Kantaris said smoothly, wiping her brow with the back of her hand.
"Would you like a TM as well?" Brock asked. "I don't suppose I need to explain what a TM is...?"
Kantaris stared incredulously. Jeez, the guy was giving out gifts now? She blushed.
"No, thanks..." she replied. "But thanks for the offer. You're…very generous."
She smiled awkwardly and Brock returned her smile, looking more than a little amused. He waved her off and Kantaris picked up her stuff and left the Gym in a hurry.
Tyson was standing outside the Gym, both hands in his pockets. He was wearing a waistcoat to hide the Team Rocket emblem on his shirt, and he was carrying his cap underneath his right arm. Kantaris barely recognized him, but he recognized her and smiled brightly. He looked at the badge on her coat and whistled in admiration.
"Respect!" he said again. "It went well, I presume?"
Kantaris laughed. "It was...surreal."
"Surreal, huh?" Tyson asked, putting his cap back on. "Wait until you see Mount Moon. Now that's surreal for you!"
Kantaris wasn't sure what he meant, but she nodded anyway.
