Her laughter had subsided into softer giggles by the time Maeve’s attention was drawn away from the tussle of feathers and fur by another movement, another man waving in greeting in her direction. The last of the laughter immediately faded, though she did her best to keep a friendly smile in its place. At least she had managed to get herself off the ground by this point.

Her eyes swept over the approaching figure, instinctively assessing everything she saw. He was shorter than she was by several inches, with delicate features that could have been mistaken for a woman’s if she’d only caught a brief glance. He wore finely tailored clothing in various shades of pink, accented by similarly colored accessories. What stood out most, however, was the ease with which he carried himself. There was no hesitation or self-consciousness in his posture, only quiet confidence. Maeve found herself respecting that almost immediately. Confidence born from knowing exactly who you were tended to be far rarer a find in people  than any particular fashion choice.

The immediate side effect, however, was a sudden awareness of her own appearance. She felt underdressed, under-groomed, and wholly unprepared to meet someone who looked so much more elegant and put together than she had ever been in her life. Surreptitiously, she brushed at a smear of dirt on her pants before quickly abandoning the effort. Her clothes needed a proper wash, and there was simply no getting around that.

When the man called out to her, she found herself mildly surprised by his tone. He spoke as though he were greeting an old friend rather than a complete stranger. It was disarming in a way she hadn’t expected, and she felt some of the usual tension that accompanied meeting new people ease from her shoulders. It was still there, but not as dominant as it usually was.

Maeve’s eyes quickly flickered back to the flowerbed and then returned to the approaching stranger. The contrast between the chaos that had  unfolded behind her and the ease with which he approached was difficult to miss. She almost laughed. Tempest had only just managed to recover his dignity after being knocked out of the air, ruffling his feathers and giving the Zoroark a look of exasperated annoyance. Whisper looked entirely too pleased with herself, indifferent to the glare.

Maeve exhaled softly. "I'd like to say that this sort of behavior is unusual," she answered honestly, "but this is pretty normal for Whisper." She indicated the Zoroark, who grinned.

Her gaze automatically dropped to the Pokémon peeking from behind Liam’s leg as he was introduced. Boo’s hesitation contrasted sharply with his trainer’s confidence, and she found herself wondering how the pair had ended up together. She had thought that it was a Pikachu hiding behind him initially, but as she looked, she quickly realized that that assumption had been wrong. It was Pikachu like, but there were enough indicators to tell her that this was a Pokémon [i]trying[/i] to appear like it was a Pikachu. It tickled at her recollection, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it just then.

"My Bridget is like that as well," she said, rubbing gently at the Amphiros's head.

Bridget, for her part, was showing a remarkable amount of self-control. Instead of running over and enthusiastically introducing herself or tackling the unsuspecting trainer in a hug, she was beaming at them and waving her arms quite enthusiastically.

“Nice to meet you, Liam. I’m Maeve Brennan.”
As he mentioned the invitation, she glanced down at the envelope still resting in her hand before looking back up at him, her gaze sharpening. So he had one as well.
"I did." The statement was simple and matter-of-fact, more confirmation than conversation.

As if realizing this, she shuffled slightly, and for a moment, she studied Liam, not suspicious so much as curious. He didn’t seem particularly bothered by introducing himself to a complete stranger in the middle of a minor disaster.

"Have you been traveling long," she asked. “Most people I’ve met on the road don’t stop to admire the scenery before reaching their destination. Not trainers strong enough to be invited to a high tier competition in any case."

It wasn’t quite friendly conversation yet, but it was closer than most of her interactions with strangers tended to be. An invitation to continue the conversation, if nothing else.