Seras beamed gleefully at Kirlia’s exuberant joy. [i]Easily the sweetest thing in the world, bar none.[/i] [color=f6989d][i]“Thank you very much,” she projected fondly. “I’m Seras and this is my close friend Charity - it’s a pleasure to meet you.”[/i][/color] Charity bobbed in a small curtsey, her face softened by a nostalgic smile as she watched Kirlia glow with pride. She’d been adorable at that age as well.

[color=f6989d][i]“And you’re more than welcome for the help, Kirlia. It wasn’t entirely his fault, although I hope that you’ll remind him about what happened if he tries something foolish again.”[/i][/color] As Kirlia glanced solemnly towards Germaines, Seras added a gentle tone of comfort to her voice. [color=f6989d][i]“Germaine’s lucky to have someone like you looking after him.” [/i][/color]

She heard Germaine cough politely before he spoke.

“Was the remainder of your day… erm… less eventful than the morning?”

With an embarrassed flush, Seras realised that her conversation with Kirlia had been entirely non-verbal. [i]Jeez, I must look like an pantomime clown.[/i] Chatting with another person’s Pokemon would take some getting used to. She turned her attention towards Germaine, offering him an apologetic smile for her rudeness. “Just as eventful, I’m afraid, but far more relaxing all the same. I’ve been selling statuettes in the main plaza - there’s no end to the tourists who love them, and once you’ve already said yes to one person, it’s hard to say no to the second.” She chuckled ruefully. “Or the twentieth. Charity here dragged me away so that we’d have time to get ready before our dinner tonight.”

[i]There’s a thought.[/i] Seras glanced down at Kirlia sympathetically - she’d recognised that sober expression. Charity gave her that look on more occasions than she was entirely comfortable with. [i]And someone so young, as well.[/i] Allowing the gemstones in their outfits to dim for a moment, Seras conjured a fist-sized diamond from the air. Truth be told, she had no idea how to reflect Germaine in a sculpture - would he prefer to be shown as content or dour? - but the gift was for Kirlia as much as Germaine regardless. 

Rather than sculpting the pair of them together, she produced a statuette of Kirlia as she’d been only moments before, radiating with boundless pride and elation with those adorable bows wrapped around her horns. Expressions like those were how she’d found her current occupation in the first place - sculpting on its own could pay the bills, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near as rewarding without people like Kirlia to appreciate them. That sort of happiness was infectious.

“Consider this a homecoming gift to share with Kirlia. I wouldn’t dream of charging another avatar - our gifts are to share freely amongst each other.” She crouched down and handed the sculpture to Kirlia. [color=f6989d][i]“You keep smiling, okay? Germaines has good company for tonight, yourself included.”[/i][/color]

Returning to her feet, Seras linked arms with Charity again and turned her attention to the avatar clad in black - the one [i]without[/i] a matching tie. She recognised him from the escapade during registration, and while his outward appearance was somewhat intimidating, the mild manners which he’d displayed during the confrontation set her mind at ease. He reminded her of the Ursarings that she'd seen once in the Safari Zone - confident enough to lack any real need to prove himself. She offered a hand towards him courteously, lest the stone-faced Justine take any issue with her manners. [i]Now there’s a woman I feel less than comfortable around.[/i]

“I don’t believe that we’ve had the pleasure,” she said politely. “My name’s Seras - I’m a travelling artist and avatar of Diancie. Normally in that order, but today seems to be a day for exceptions.” She offered him a warm smile, hoping to break the man’s humourless expression. “I trust that you’ve had a pleasant day as well?”