Sorin frowned thoughtfully, gazing after the departing Pokemon for a few moments before turning his focus back towards Kaito.

"Am I missing something?" he wondered of the Togetic. He nodded back in the direction of the door, his frown deepening. "What's up with her?" he asked, pausing for a moment before clarifying, "Lin, I mean."

"She's restless, I imagine," Kaito replied with an indifferent shrug of sorts. "We've been staying here for a few days, looking through my research data."

"Not exactly a Weavile's cup of tea, huh?" Sorin mused. Kaito chuckled softly, and shook his head.

"Not in the slightest. Lin is clever and observant, but she is much more suited to more...proactive pastimes. I invited her to join me for this, if only because I knew no one else would. Iris was less than thrilled by our last field trip, and Cecilia just wanted to revisit her home region. If I brought Force, Iris would tag along, and that'd defeat the whole purpose."

Sorin nodded slowly. Really, it came as little surprise that Kaito's associates didn't share the Togetic's enthusiasm for certain subjects. Of them, the only one he had never met previously was Lin, and due to the brevity of the encounter, he didn't really know much about her. She hadn't spoke very much during the earlier discussion, except to occasionally ask a question. As much as the Altaria enjoyed an opportunity to study a new face and pick up on some of their behaviors, he had not been given much time to work with.

"Have you known her long?" Sorin wondered.

Kaito considered for a moment. "Uh, roughly a year, give or take a month or two," he stated with a shrug. "Met her in Mt. Coronet, she stumbled upon me, really."

"Uh huh...you know, I've sometimes wondered how you even recruit your group members," Sorin mused, flashing a smirk in the Togetic's direction. "I mean, we've been friends for many years, but you're not the social type, so how do you even get a group together?"

"How does ANYONE get so many contacts?" Celes interjected with tangible irritation. Both of the hovering Pokemon blinked at her, as if they had abruptly remembered that she was there, but the Flareon didn't seem to be annoyed by the lack of attention, and instead her outburst seemed centered around a question that had been gnawing at her brain for a while now.

"Kaito gravitates towards people with kind hearts," Sorin answered seriously, prompting the Flareon to raise her eyebrow.

"It's a natural quality of my species," Kaito elaborated. "Kind, caring, unselfish individuals are the type to befriend others more easily, and look past the faults and flaws of those they come to know and trust. It's the only reason I tolerate your tone."

"Excuse me?" Celes narrowed her eyes at the fairy Pokemon, and Sorin winced.

Unfazed, Kaito nodded and gestured towards the fire Eeveelution. "Your rude tone and mannerisms. You're going to turn off a lot of the people you meet, and that's probably what you're going for, but you're not going to find people who'll do you favors and have your back, because quite frankly, who would want to be around that?"

"She knows, Kaito, she's...working on it...kind of," Sorin interjected, growing a little anxious. Kaito was unlikely to take any bait to pick a fight of some sort, but Celes was a different story. She did seem to be making conscious efforts to adjust her tone and mannerisms, but progress so far had been slow, and she was quick to become frustrated when something was annoying her, and then she'd slip right back into her curt tone. Of course, it'd be unfair to expect her to break a bad habit in the course of a single day or two.

Celes averted her gaze, and seemed to pull her fluffy tail tighter around herself, but Sorin still caught a glimpse of the hurt in her eyes, although the expression was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared.

Even Kaito seemed to realize his words had been more hurtful than intended, because he fidgeted awkwardly for a moment before sighing. "Despite your tone, I can sense the overall kindness in your heart. Though having Sorin vouch for you helps a lot."

"Can we like...move on, like...right now?" Sorin asked, all but cringing at Kaito's words. He could already tell that nothing that nothing being said on the subject was making the situation any less uncomfortable.

"Fine with me," Kaito said, crossing his arms and fixing the Altaria with an expectant look. "So I'm guessing I'm not the only one you've asked about whether they've seen her brother. Blaze, right?" he asked, casting a look at Celes and receiving a mute nod in response. "So who else have you asked?"

"We talked to Matthias back in Goldenrod," Sorin supplied promptly. "He said he'd get someone to check Pokemon registration files, although it's a long shot, because the odds of an Eevee being captured and named Blaze is pretty slim, and most trainers either give names of their own choice, or leave it generic."

Kaito actually laughed at this remark, prompting Sorin to look at him in bewilderment. The Togetic rarely laughed, usually preferring a light chuckle to express amusement. Celes seemed less bewildered, but she clearly wasn't following Kaito's line of thought.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's funny?" Sorin asked, when the fairy Pokemon made no attempt to explain his amusement.

"Sorin, you of all people should know better," Kaito answered, still shaking with residual amusement. "A fair number of trainers will run a name idea past the Pokemon in question, although I can't deny the generic option being a thing. Pokemon Center staff tend to ask for a name or identifier on a Pokemon's first visit, don't they? Or is the fact that Adrian knows Ember's name a bizarre coincidence?"

"Oh...that's true," Sorin conceded, frowning. That didn't really adjust the odds of locating Blaze in this method to anything more favorable. The Eevee line was very adaptable, which is why they were so popular among Pokemon trainers. To have a single Pokemon capable of attaining an evolution that would let them fit into almost any team lineup, on top of the species' legendary cuteness, was very desirable. Furthermore, Blaze's name leaned towards a Fire-type theme, so unless the trainer wanted the Eevee to be a Flareon or something, they probably wouldn't stick with that name.

"Matthias is a good choice to consult, because he's got a whole host of resources, what with working in the City," Kaito continued thoughtfully.

"You know Matthias, too?" Celes wondered aloud, her dark brown eyes widening in surprise.

"I know of him through Cecilia, and not even that well," Kaito admitted. "He's a useful resource, since he works with the pawn shop, and he sometimes picks up some interesting items with ties to something historical. He's a great resource for information and gossip, but you've got to handle him just right to get anywhere."

"I noticed," the Flareon muttered, and Sorin fought to hide a smirk.

"Anyone else you've already talked to? I'd hate to retread steps," Kaito pressed, refocusing his attention on the Altaria.

"Er...technically, I asked Inferna," Sorin said, wincing a little.

Kaito looked confused, but his expression relaxed a few moments later. "I assume that by 'technically', you mean that she is not going to be a resource, so you may as well not have bothered?"

"Okay, to be fair, it was either me asking, or Celes asking, and...let's just say the situation was already tense. Neither of us made it better."

Kaito frowned, and for a short time, he seemed genuinely worried. After a pause, he turned to Celes, the frown still shadowed upon his expression.

"Could you clarify your brother's situation?" he asked seriously. "You're looking for him, but what's his angle? Is he aware you're looking?"

"I doubt it," Celes sighed, her voice heavy and her gaze becoming fixed on an arbitrary point on the wooden floor.

Kaito appeared slightly frustrated by the Flareon's vague response, and he cast Sorin a meaningful look. It took Sorin a moment, but he figured out what the issue seemed to be.

"Er, Celes? I think Kaito was more asking the circumstances behind Blaze leaving the clan. Like, whether he was separated from you somehow, or if he moved out, or-"

"He just left!" Celes snapped, and Sorin blinked. Admittedly, that was the sort of impression that Celes had given him in their previous discussions, but she hadn't outright confirmed this, so he wouldn't have felt comfortable giving Kaito his assumption as an answer. Despite Celes' outburst, Sorin privately noted that there was much more bark than bite behind it, so to speak. She wasn't so upset as to be aggressive, but she was unquestionably agitated.

"Ran away, then," Kaito mused.

"Snuck away," Celes corrected with a growl, but her glare was directed at the floor, rather than at either of them. "He just left, without telling anyone."

Sorin and Kaito exchanged uncomfortable looks. It was clear from Kaito's expression that he already regretted pursuing this line of questioning.

"I suppose I wouldn't be able to use that information to help find him," Kaito sighed. "If he disliked the clan enough to run away, I doubt he'd reveal that about himself, even if asked."

"What? Why?" Celes asked, sounding legitimately confused by the remark.

"Think about it," Sorin said, hastily stifling a chuckle when he noticed the Flareon's unamused expression. "If you were in his shoes, uh, so to speak, and hated the clan as much as you say Blaze did, would you ever tell anyone you're from that clan?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Celes replied, but the fierceness in her eyes wavered, a sure indication that she was lacking confidence in her response.

"Take it back to yourself, now," Sorin said earnestly. "From your own experiences and feelings, are you willing to share all your secrets and history with people and Pokemon you barely know? Of course not. No one wants to relive their worst experiences like that, with people they don't trust completely. How many people before you and Cecilia do you think I told my history with Inferna to?"

"Wait, you told her and Cecilia about that?" Kaito interrupted, staring at the Altaria with stunned disbelief.

"It...came up," Sorin said blandly. "I was part of what I wanted to have a word with you about. Celes and I ran into Inferna two days ago...and Ember ran into Inferna yesterday. Neither encounter ended well."

"Is that how you know Kuro's working with Inferna?" Kaito demanded.

"Er...can we touch upon this later?" Sorin asked, casting an awkward glance towards Celes. "We're getting off-topic, and we were focusing on her-"

"No, it's fine," Celes insisted quietly. "I need a minute to think about you said, anyway."

"If...you're sure," Sorin said, his tone consumed with uncertainty, but Celes' intent seemed sincere enough, so he managed to relax a little to focus more on Kaito, leaving the Flareon to her private thoughts.

"What happened?" Kaito asked, the concern evident in his words, and he fluttered nearer to the cloud dragon.

"Ugh...I don't really even know how it happened," Sorin sighed. "Inferna was camping out on the route to Goldenrod, and Celes and I ran into her on the way to see Matthias. We had a scuffle, but overall got out okay. Inferna said we could get by unscathed for our way back, on the condition I notify Ember that she's there."

The Altaria heaved a sigh and shook his head. Even back when Inferna had made the 'offer', Sorin had promised himself that he wouldn't let Inferna string him along in such a twisted manner. Ember hadn't been ready, physically or emotionally, to face her mother in battle again. The hurt from their first encounter still clung to the Charmander's psyche.

"I wasn't exactly planning on following through with that, but when we were on our way back, it turned out that by sheer twist of fate, Ember had already come by the same area, and we came in on their battle," Sorin continued, doing his best to keep his voice even, so as not to betray the raging storm of emotions within his chest.

"By herself?" Kaito asked, perplexed.

"No, she was with Avis and Adrian. I think Adrian was heading to Ecruteak, but they must have taken the wrong junction or something to end up there."

Kaito scowled. "I doubt it's as simple as that, if Kuro's involved. Manipulating the scenery is an infamous trick of his. I'm assuming he was there, right?"

"Yeah, he did something to restrict Adrian or something," Sorin said. He hadn't been close enough to identify exactly what had happened, but there was no other explanation for why Adrian had been a bystander with no active attempts to break up the fight, and the departure of the two opposing Pokemon had been met with obvious relief from Adrian. Other comments made during the aftermath had implied that Adrian had been somehow restricted from interfering.

Kaito cursed under his breath. "Of course, he did," he muttered bitterly. "He probably knew Ember's history, and would just delight in such a dramatic conflict, devoid of any interference. So what happened?"

Sorin didn't answer, but his silence and facial expression communicated the message more clearly than words ever could. Kaito nodded grimly, and focused on his left paw, like one might inspect their claws for dirt.

"Is she okay?"

"Physically, she'll be fine," Sorin said dully. "And maybe my consoling her afterwards will keep her from descending too far into depression or rage, but I really can't be sure yet. So that's my other reason for wanting to talk to you about it. Do you have any advice at all? I'm worried about her, but I don't want her to become more dependent on me, or even on Adrian."

The Altaria fidgeted, his voice rising in pitch, even as he allowed himself to settle on the wooden floor, no longer using his wings to stay afloat. Desperation leaked into his voice as he continued speaking, as if he were unwilling to let silence hang in the air for longer than a moment.

"This is the second time she got her tail kicked by Inferna, but I don't think losing like that will drive her to be even stronger, or otherwise learn from the experience. I'm sure that's what Inferna wants to happen, but Ember's self-loathing is-"

"I know, Sorin," Kaito interrupted quietly, and the cloud dragon fell silent. Kaito rubbed his chin absently with one paw, fluttering to one side of the room, only to do an about-face and float back, doing a mid-air version of pacing back and forth.

Seconds ticked by, yet no one spoke. Celes seemed to grow a little antsy with each passing moment, and she turned her attention towards the window instead, peering up at the sky warily. This morning had showed signs of rain approaching, and Sorin definitely wanted to avoid that ordeal if possible. At least the worst case scenario was taking shelter in this house, rather than a tree again.

"Lin," Kaito stated abruptly, and Celes flinched slightly, turning her attention back from the window and fixing the fairy Pokemon with a mild glare that went completely unacknowledged.

"Lin?" Sorin repeated blankly.

Kaito nodded seriously. "She's the only resource I can think of that might be able to make progress with Ember, and it shouldn't even be difficult to coax Ember into seeing Lin, because she expressed interest in facing Lin back at the Ruins."

"Maybe...but you outright told Ember that she'd have no chance against Lin in battle. I'm trying to build up Ember's confidence, not tear her down again," Sorin insisted.

Kaito gave a small shrug. "I told Ember I'd mention it to Lin in a week or so, once her hormones settled down-"

"Oh, so THAT'S why she gave you a death glare," Sorin grumbled, fixing Kaito with an unamused glare. "And you called me an idiot for saying something dumb to her. You know she's sensitive about her heat."

An embarrassed sputtering sound from the nearby Flareon put an end to the conversation, as both of the male Pokemon turned towards the Fire-type, wearing identical expressions of confusion.

"Uh...you okay?" Sorin asked uncertainly.

"I'm fine," Celes replied curtly.

"You sure?" Kaito pressed, although he was looking slightly more amused now. "Need some water or something?"

"I'm fine," Celes insisted, but then muttered under her breath. "Just didn't think it was normal to openly reference heat seasons."

"You grew up in a clan," Kaito retorted incredulously.

"That doesn't mean anything," Celes sniffed, as if she was embarrassed to even be having this conversation, but indignant enough to keep responding.

"I dunno, Kuro mentioned that most Eevee clans are really knowledgeable about their season, as are any packs and small groups in the immediate area of said clan. This really shouldn't be that weird for wild Pokemon to mention," Kaito said, looking more and more perplexed by Celes' reaction.

"Never mind!" Celes snapped, turning to stare defiantly out the window. Sorin and Kaito exchanged uncertain glances, and the Altaria shrugged his wings.

"So how can Lin help Ember?" he wondered, eager to get the subject back on track. He had gotten somewhat used to Celes' peculiar sense of modesty, but he wouldn't have guessed that it extended as far as conversation that wasn't even being discussed in a crude or inappropriate manner. Part of him wanted to know whether the Flareon had actually been educated on the subject, but less for personal interest and more just because he distinctly remembered how awkward it had been to explain things of that nature to Ember, considering they were completely different species. Heck, even something as basic as battle training had been a huge pain due to their difference in species.

"I just think that part of her problem stems from the fact she doesn't have many opponents that share a battle style," Kaito explained, likewise leaping at the chance to change the subject back to something more relevant. "My understanding is also that Lin has previous experience mentoring others, so while in actual battle, Lin is unlikely to lose to Ember, she can probably address any flaws in Ember's style and drive."

"Hmm...maybe," Sorin conceded after a few moments of weighing the options over. "But there's no guarantee that it can be arranged for a while, yet."

Kaito shrugged. "That's the best advice I've got for now, so do with it whatever you wish. Unless you catch Lin on the way out, I'll bring it up to her, and see what she thinks. She'd probably prefer it to my research project."

"Fair enough," Sorin noted with a shrug of his wings. He glanced back at Celes, wordlessly judging her current mood. She had been surprisingly patient thus far, considering Kaito hadn't been much help directly, but he was sure that her patience would wear out soon, and didn't relish the thought of being stuck in the house for an undetermined length of time in case it began raining before he finished up with Kaito.

"Is there anyone else in Ecruteak you're going to talk to?" Kaito wondered, already catching on to what Sorin seemed to be thinking about.

"Yeah, was going to stop by the Dance Theater. Noblesse tends to be pretty reliable, since he moves around the region a lot," Sorin answered with a smile. Celes glanced over, her ears perking up at the first hint that they would be departing shortly. "And we kind of want to avoid the rain."

"Sure, go ahead. Feel free to stop in later if you want," Kaito replied, his tone already shifting to one of idle disinterest. "It was nice to meet you, Celes."

"Same," the Flareon replied bluntly, and she all but led Sorin back towards the door. With a bit of effort, she managed to undo the latch securing the door shut, and made her way outside, with Sorin right behind. Kaito followed them to the door, and closed it behind them with a gentle clicking sound.

"Thank you for being so patient, Celes," Sorin said quietly. She cast a sideways glance at him, but didn't say anything. "And I'm disappointed that Kaito wasn't as much a help as I'd have liked, but it's not like we're going to give up looking. The more people keeping an eye open, the better."

"I know. Thank you," Celes stated, her tone stiff, but Sorin could still hear the sincerity in her words. Sorin flashed the fire Eeveelution a brief smile before making his way towards the large building a few street lengths away from them. The sky was darkening as more and more gray clouds blanketed the atmosphere overhead, and several times, Sorin could have sworn he felt a rain droplet, so he picked up his pace a bit.

"Sorry about dragging you inside buildings, too," Sorin chuckled, making a half-hearted attempt to lighten the mood further. "I know you don't like the cities, but this is one of the ones where Pokemon going in and out of buildings is fairly common, so you really don't have to worry much."

"It's fine. It's for Blaze's sake," Celes retorted, blinking as a rain droplet splattered on her muzzle. The rest of her body seemed immaculately dry, reminding Sorin of the fact he had first encountered her during a drizzling rain, and how the Flareon's body had seemed to evaporate the droplets on contact. Not wanting to risk the rain soaking into his wings, Sorin hastened towards the main entrance of the large building, which was labeled with a sign designating it as the "Ecruteak Theater".

"Here we are," the Altaria announced, almost unnecessarily. "Now let's just hope that Noblesse is in today, because boy would that be awkward otherwise."

"...what do you mean, 'in today'?" Celes asked, struggling more than the previous endeavor to pull the door open.

"Well...it's a possibility that his coordinator has the day off, or is doing a performance in a different city, or does her rehearsals on a different schedule," Sorin admitted. "That's the risk when it comes to dealing with Pokemon attached to a human trainer or coordinator - they're more linked to the human's schedule than simply going to a territory or building."

"You're not filling me with confidence here," Celes deadpanned, and she hissed in surprise and pain as the door suddenly sprung open, sending her tumbling backwards in the most undignified manner possible, although Sorin couldn't help but notice that she managed to tuck her body to roll and tumble in a manner that would prevent what human entertainers might refer to as a 'wardrobe malfunction'. Even when knocked around unexpectedly, the Flareon still did everything possible to preserve her modesty, entirely by instinct. It was the weirdest thing Sorin had ever seen from a wild Pokemon.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!" a human female cried from the doorway, as soon as she spotted the indignant Flareon. Celes fixed the offending human with a glare and got back to her feet, wasting no time in slipping past the human's leg and into the main building. Sorin shrugged his wings in a vaguely apologetic manner, for the young woman seemed completely horrified by her unintentional door collision with the Fire-type. She even went as far as to hold the door open so that Sorin could follow after Celes, before finally leaving the building and heading down one of the streets, presumably in the direction of either the Pokemon Center or the nearest store.

The interior of the Theater was surprisingly dim, with the bulbs overhead providing very low lighting, but the floors were nicely carpeted with a lovely red carpet that seemed almost luxurious as it led towards the performance hall.

Sorin vaguely recalled that the Ecruteak Theater had undergone some remodeling over the past few years, switching from a small single room with a dozen or so chairs and a small stage to a far more elaborate set-up with a small-scale auditorium and a larger stage, fit for several actors and Pokemon to put on a pageant, musical numbers of varying size, or other such forms of stage entertainment that simply had not been possible with the previous set-up. Despite the evolution of scale, the building was still commonly referred to as the 'Dance Theater' although dance was no longer the dominant production.

The Altaria found Celes just inside the main auditorium area, visibly intimidated by the size of the place, but still looking rather peeved by the earlier tumble she had taken. Furthermore, Sorin noticed that they were not the only living beings in the building, as a number of the chairs dotted around the audience area were presently occupied, although no one seemed particularly engrossed in anything, so that at least shot down the concern that there was an ongoing performance.

"So...how do you like the place?" Sorin asked teasingly, earning an annoyed glare in response. "Yeah, I figured. But we're going to have to go closer to try to find my guy, or at least ask if he's in."

"Whatever. Just get on with it," Celes muttered.