Elaria stretched her arms above her head, smiling as she did so. There was a soft 'pop' and she let a relieved sigh escape her. They'd finally reached Petalburg City, and as much as she wanted to rest, she had a book to deliver. A slight shiver went down her back. She'd been avoiding Lucian's calls for the last few days, and she wasn't exactly ready to talk to him. Unlike her other brothers, Lucian always wanted to know everything. He was a nosy person, but he had good intentions.
"If you guys want to rest for a bit, we can head to the Center," she suggested. At least then, it would buy her a couple of hours before she had to meet Lucian. Plus, she really didn't want to introduce him as Petalburg's Gym Leader. There was a reason she left that out.
"That sounds like a good idea. I think I'm getting a blister on my foot," Nasir spoke first, still frowning. Apparently he hadn't stopped sulking about his bag being stolen by the mysterious pink sneasel. "And I could use a quick rinse off," he stated, pulling the front of his shirt and giving it a sniff. Lia snorted softly.
Dominik shrugged. "I won't say no to being clean," he agreed. Not that they were particularly unsanitary—for teenage guys, both of them stayed quite far away from the stereotypes about bad hygiene, but there was only so much anyone could do on the road, after all.
He double-checked the map she'd given him to be sure they were headed in broadly the right direction; Petalburg was a big enough city to have multiple PokéCenters, and also big enough that a lot of the more important directions for trainers were labeled, so it wasn't too hard to find the nearest one. Well, that and Elaria had been here plenty of times before.
They were just about there when a decent-sized crowd appeared ahead, apparently gathered around some sort of display or advertisement or something like that. Dominik, now in the lead, went to give it a wide berth.
Lia pursed her lips as she tried to get a clearer view. Being as tall as she was, it wasn't too difficult, but there were a few people who were taller than her. Nasir didn't seem to have any trouble, though, and he had a quirked brow. "Looks like they're advertising something. Let's go see what it is," he spoke, walking a bit into the crowd. He didn't seem to have any trouble navigating it. It almost seemed like people parted just for him.
"I know them," Lia spoke suddenly. She knew the logo that was being displayed behind the table the people were at. It looked like a pokéball, however; where the red was supposed to be, it was a gunmetal grey hue. There was a large E printed in the middle of it as well in a burnt orange color. "They're a rival company to Devon, and it looks like they're promoting some new gear," she continued. That much was pretty obvious to anyone who could see.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen," the man spoke first, grinning broadly as he stared out into the crowd. The woman to his left was smiling just as wide, and Lia frowned. "My name is Edward, and this is my lovely assistant, Dinah. We have special treat for you all today," he continued, turning towards the woman. Lia frowned slightly, but she would not deny she wasn't curious. They were rivals to her family's company for a good reason, after all.
Next to her, Dominik looked slightly uncomfortable; one of the people on his other side shifted closer in an attempt to see around what was in front of them, and he shied away, twisting slightly so he wouldn't be touching either the unaware woman in the crowd or Elaria herself. He grimaced.
Dinah took up Edward's conversational threat, beaming out at the crowd and speaking into her microphone. "As part of the launch event for our new Pokégear Series Five, we'll be having a raffle and giving away a ten sets of three brand new S5 Premieres, the top-of-the-line models of our brand-new, not-yet-released Pokégears!"
This close, it was easier to see now that they did indeed have a table on the temporary stage where they'd set up, with still-boxed Pokégears included. If Elaria squinted, she could see that they were the kind designed to look like wristwatches, but a lot sleeker than the normal ones, which had always suffered from being a bit bulky. There were also a few security people around the stage, wearing dark suits and sunglasses, but considering the value of the merchandise, that wasn't too surprising.
"These new models are element-proof, and include loads of features, both familiar and brand-new, including radio reception, video and voice call capability, weather forecasting applications, and a whole lot of other fantastic functionality for the trainer on the go," Edward added.
Dominik snorted. "Selling it a bit hard, aren't they?" he muttered.
"They have to," Elaria replied. "They're competitors of my family's company," she continued, frowning just slightly. "Enigma Corp has been trailing behind Devon for a while, now. Their technology is rivaling Devon's," she knew that much, after all. Nasir quirked a brow in her direction, though.
"How is that? I thought Devon was at the top when it came to technology," Nasir spoke, clearly interested. Elaria pushed a sigh through her nose, and shook her head.
"We were, but Enigma has managed to get a foothold. Their new PokéGear rivals our PokéNavs. Of course, Devon just released an updated version of the Nav, but it's not what Enigma's offering. People are moving more towards Enigma, now," she spoke. Before she could explain any further, Edward spoke.
"The first ninety people will be able to participate in our raffle!" He sounded a little too enthused by the prospect of giving out S5's, however; Elaria didn't have much of a choice on whether or not she wanted to participate. The crowd had shifted suddenly, and she was pushed a bit aways from Nasir and Dominik. She sighed heavily.
"I'd like a chance at getting one. Dad was a big fan of Devon Corp and Steven Stone for a long time. I want to see what all the hype is about with this Enigma place," Nasir spoke, startling Lia for a second. She wasn't expecting him to be behind her. Maybe he'd been able to move ahead in the line because of his height? He did have a bit of an intimidating stature about him, too.
"Once you have your tickets, please move to our holding area. We will announce winners shortly!" Edward spoke, the large grin on his face never moving. It was almost inhuman, how widely he was smiling. Lia had to agree with Dominik's earlier statement: they were trying to sell it... hard. Ninety people was a lot, but the crowd didn't look that large. Perhaps he was trying to draw more people in? It seemed to work as the line grew a little longer.
She reached Dinah, and was handed a ticket. She moved out of Nasir's way, afterward, so that he could get his. "So, my number's 240025, huh," Nas spoke, reading his number out loud. Lia blinked and glanced at the ticket she received.
"I have 240024," she replied, glancing around. "The chances of us getting one are probably not that high, though," she continued. Considering there were ten S5 bundles, and about ninety participants, she highly doubted she would be lucky enough to get one. But since they were in sets, and it looked like the numbers were set up that way as well, perhaps they would be lucky enough to get a set. She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't interested in seeing the technology that rivaled Devon.
Dominik seemed to have disappeared entirely; it wasn't until they'd been given their tickets and moved their way out of the crowd that she managed to spot him again, hands in his pockets and standing well away from the press of people. He nodded slightly as they both approached, apparently having elected not to enter the raffle himself.
"You think they're going to do the drawing immediately?" he inquired, his tone slightly stilted compared to how it had been even earlier this morning. He was oddly formal in his mannerisms sometimes, but not always; as of yet the reason for that wasn't totally clear.
"I would guess so," Nasir spoke, nodding his head in the direction of the line. There were only a few people left. "And of course you didn't get a ticket," he added, glancing at Dominik's hands. Nasir only shook his head, though it looked to be in good nature. "I suppose we'll see if Lia and I were lucky enough to get the winning number," he spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder and tapping it lightly.
"If you, um, say so," she stuttered. She pursed her lips together at the realization, but she was able to shake the embarrassment from her face. Or at least she hoped she did. "I've never really had much luck at drawings," she decided to say, smiling as she shook her head. It was true. Every drawing her school used to do, she'd never have the winning numbers, or something of that nature.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We will begin the drawings here, shortly. Good luck!" Dinah announced it this time, causing Elaria to turn her attention away from Nasir and Dominik. I really hope I get one, she thought. It would be an experience. The first three winning numbers were announced, but none of them matched the ones she or Nasir had. The next three followed in the same sequence, and Elaria could feel her heart drop just a little bit. She should have known better than to have been excited about something like this.
"The final drawing shall commence. Please listen carefully as I list off the numbers," Dinah stated out loud, snapping Lia from her thoughts. "The first three numbers are 2, 4, and 0," she began, causing Lia to look at her own ticket. Those were the same three numbers she had, and shared with Nasir. She could hear a few people sigh in defeat, and spotted a few throwing their tickets away. Her breath hitched in her throat as they read the next two numbers, "0, 2, and the final number is..." Dinah was drawing it out on purpose; Lia could tell by the smile on her face.
"Number five! Will the contestant with the ticket number 240025 please come up," Lia felt her heart sink, but she was also excited. That was Nasir's number. He was already grinning from ear to ear, and it looked like it was going to split his face.
"Oh, yeah, that's right," he stated, running, quite literally, up to Dinah and Edward. They seemed to congratulate him as they handed him the gear, and he made his way back to Elaria and Dominik.
"Congratulations, Nasir," she stated, congratulating him on his win. Nasir just continued to beam at the two of them.
Dominik rolled his eyes slightly, but he was smiling a bit, too. "This guy has all the luck," he informed Elaria. "He always has. Pretty much any time he enters a drawing or some kind of blind contest... probably better if he's kept away from casinos for the rest of his life."
"Hey, that's just mean," Nasir spoke, though he said it with a large grin. "But you're not lying. I do have good luck. I blame my dad," he muttered the last part. Elaria just shook her head.
"Regardless, you won, luck or not," she spoke, watching as Nasir cradled the bundles in his hands. He was fumbling with them, moving them all to one hand. Once his left hand was free, he tapped his chin with it.
"Well there are three of them," he started, a sort of sly grin crossing his face. "I wonder who I should give the other two, to," he continued, the grin growing just slightly. Lia blinked slowly, realizing just as slow, his implication.
"Oh, um. They're yours to do whatever you want with, Nasir. Whom you decide to give them to, should be up to you," she was stating the obvious. It's not like she was going to try and wager something for one of them. They belonged to Nasir, and if he wanted to give them one of his prizes, she wasn't going to tell him to whom he should.
"You sound like my mom," he snorted, giving one a soft toss in Dominik's direction. "But you're right, I can give them to whomever I want, and right now, I'm giving one to Dom and you. Gotta share the luck, after all," he stated, flashing a toothy grin. Lia merely blinked in mild surpise at his proffered hand.
"Oh, but I can't really take this from you, Nasir. It's yours. What if you find someone else you want to give it to?" she really shouldn't accept it.
"Well, then I'll just enter another lottery if they have one," he spoke. That didn't sound like good logic, but Lia sighed in defeat. He didn't look like he was going to back down from it, and she wasn't going to challenge him about it.
"If you insist," she stated, a strange feeling passing through her chest. Was it excitement? Probably. "Mahalo, Nasir," she thanked him, and took the offered S5.
"You're welcome, too, Dom."
"Hey, I was going to say thank you," Dominik replied, entirely without actual reproach. He accepted one of the packages as well; it looked like he'd chosen the red-and-black one. Each of them had a slightly different color scheme, probably on purpose. At least they wouldn't get confused with each others' this way. "Huh. Looks like they have the numbers, too. We should probably all enter ours, right?" With care, he extracted the device from its packaging; it looked like they came with batteries already in, since the screen lit up briefly when he turned his on.
"That's a good idea," Nasir spoke, doing the same. Unlike Dominik's, Nasir's device was green and silver. Lia glanced down at the one she had, and smiled. Hers was a pink-and-purple one. "Oh, it looks like it can sync up with a nearby device," Nasir spoke, holding out his device. Lia glanced over, and noticed that he was right. It was blinking with at least three other devices in range.
"I guess it's supposed to make registering numbers, easier," it was the only thing she could think of. Not that it was a chore typing in numbers, but if the gear was able to just sync up with another one, it'd be easier to register numbers. "It looks like," she paused, glancing at her own device. She found the number she wanted, and pointed it out on Nasir's device. "This one is mine," she continued. He hummed before clicking on the number. The device made a ping sound, and Nasir's face lit up.
"That was easier than I thought it was going to be. Your turn, Dom," he stated, turning towards Dominik. Lia had registered Nasir's number at the same time. Once all three of them exchanged numbers, Lia smiled.
"Mahalo, again, Nasir. I think we should go find that center, now," because she wanted to play with her device a bit longer. She felt just a little bad for having an Enigma item, but she just had to remind herself it was for research.
"Looks like we have charge cables, too," Dominik added, holding up what looked to be his own. "Even if they last a long time, we'll want to make sure they're fully charged before we leave, so we can probably use the Center's outlets for that." They'd been close to begin with; he nodded in the direction they'd been headed. The obvious red roof was just barely visible from where they were standing, and it didn't take more than another couple of minutes before they were heading in through the sliding glass doors.
As soon as they walked through the doors, Lia felt a shiver go down her spine.
Oh, no.
"Lia?" a voice called out to her. An all too familiar voice that she was trying to avoid. "Lia! You said you weren't going to be in town for another day!" Lia grimaced slightly, but did her best not to let it show on her face. "And why haven't you answered any of my calls?" he asked, sounding just the slightest bit upset. Lia didn't even bat an eyelash at that.
"Nasir, Dominik, this is Lucian, my oldest brother," she was going to ignore his earlier statements. It didn't seem to faze Lucian, though, since he made his way to where they were standing. He didn't even hesitate to wrap her in a hug that could have rivaled a Bewear's. She coughed slightly, before manuevering herself out of his hug.
"I've seen your face somewhere," Nasir spoke, glancing at Lucian with a hint of familiarity. He probably recognized Lucian from the Gym Leader's magazine, though he probably knew him as Sterling.
"Somehow I'm not surprised that your brother and the Gym Leader are the same person." Dominik had probably paid more attention to that kind of thing, given the deadpan certainty with which he said it. "You could have mentioned that, you know." He didn't sound accusatory or anything; his tone was rather flat, which wasn't uncommon with him. If anything, there was a bit of sympathy to his expression, or pity, maybe, for the force of the hug she was enduring.
He had a point. Lia shook her head, though. "It's complicated," was the only thing she could say. "Lulu is Sterling, Petalburg's Gym Leader. Now you know," she continued. Nasir mouthed an 'oh', and shrugged.
"I'm Nasir Rheinallt. I guess it's nice to meet you, Lucian," he stated, though he didn't make any effort to shake hands or anything like that. He just had a slack way of standing, as if he weren't too interested in what was going on.
"It's always nice to meet Elaria's friends. I'm Lucian Stone, also known as—"
"They already know who you are, Lulu. I just told them," she stated, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be at home, or at the gym?" she asked, directing the attention away from Nasir and Dominik. She knew Lucian would, sooner or later, get into his questioning mode. She wanted to save Nasir and Dominik from that.
"Oh, the Gym's currently closed. It's being remodeled, and I'm here because Mumu needed her check up," he stated, pointing to his head. Lia followed his hands and spotted the pyukumuku. She just gave Lucian a flat look.
"Why are you remodeling it?" it wasn't due for an upgrade, after all. Lucian just grinned.
"Enigma offered, at a discount, to install a new security system and battle-recording system. It's top-notch." Now she knew why her dad wasn't on good terms with Lucian.
"You're an idiot," she spoke before realizing she wasn't alone. It was true, though. Nasir snorted, but he didn't say anything.
Dominik blinked. "I'd have thought you had it top-of-the-line already with Devon tech," he observed, blinking with what seemed to be surprise. Oddly enough, the pokémon on her brother's head seemed to register as completely normal to him by comparison. "When do you think it'll be back up and running?"
Lucian pursed his lips together, and Lia could tell he was a little unnerved by the first statement. "Dad didn't tell you?" he directed the question to Lia. She just continued to give him a flat look. "Lia's probably told you this, but Enigma and Devon have been rivals for a few years, now. Enigma has actually caught up to Devon, and with this new technology, they are on the verge of passing them. It's only a matter of time," he explained, causing Lia to purse her lips into a fine line.
"But that still doesn't mean anything, Lucian. Dad's really upset with you, right now," she stated. Lucian heaved a heavy sigh, and ran his hand through his hair. He was careful enough not to hit Mumu, though.
"I know, kika, but just because we're Stones doesn't mean we have to be Stones. Look at Sebastian," he stated, shaking his head. Lia just sighed heavily. "And to answer your question, the Gym will be ready in about a month or two," he stated, turning his attention towards Dominik. "Are you both trainers?" he asked. Nasir shook his head.
"I'm training to be a ranger," he answered, giving the same lop-sided grin he'd given them earlier.
"I'm a trainer, though," Dom said, tilting his head slightly to the side. He looked momentarily uncertain of something, then extended a hand towards Lucian. "Dominik Nero. It's an honor to meet you." His expression didn't change much, but there was something sincere about it—he wasn't just being polite, anyway.
"Nice to meet you, too, Dominik," Lucian replied, stretching out his hand as well. Lia could tell the shake was a little awkward, but Lucian didn't seem to mind either way. "I'll be looking forward to your challenge when you get enough badges," he continued, giving Dominik a knowing smile. Lia didn't bother hiding the fact that she rolled her eyes. Lucian was a bit much, sometimes.
"If you all are planning to stay the night, you all are welcome to use my house. I have a spare room at the gym that's not in the way of the remodel," he stated.
"You'd let us use your house? What kind of family are you?" Nasir spoke, causing Lia to blink in slight confusion. "First, she wants to travel with us. Us, and now you are offering your house as a place to stay. Us. You don't even know who we are, so why would you do that?" he stated, and for once, Lia knew what his logic was. Nasir had a point.
"Well, you and Dominik are Lia's friends, right? I don't see the harm in it, and my house is only a block away from the gym. It's not like you are putting me out of a home, or anything," he replied.
"I don't know," Nasir spoke, turning to Dominik as if he were seeking advice.
"Uh..." Dominik looked rather like he wished Nasir wasn't asking for his advice on the topic, but in the end, he shrugged. "I mean... bathroom's probably nicer than the one here, right?" He cleared his throat, glancing back at Lucian. "Er... not that we're ungrateful for the hospitality and so on. If you're really all right with it, we'd appreciate the chance to rest a little better."
Nasir shook his head, but his shoulders seemed to slump. "You've a point, I guess. And it would be nice to sleep on an actual bed, and not these cots they offer," he spoke, causing Lucian to smile.
"Since that's settled, Lia, here are the keys," he stated, searching his pockets, it seemed, for the said item.
"There's no need for that, Lulu. You still keep the spare in that fake rock by your Mime Jr. statue. Those are going to get stolen, one of these days, just so you know," she replied, placing a hand on his arm so that he would stop digging for his keys. "Mahalo, Lucian. You really should call dad, though," she stated, leaning on her toes to give him a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Eventually. Oh, also, don't let Mikil near Igloo's room," he stated, causing Lia to snort softly.
"Yeah, I'll make sure Mikil doesn't try to burn it down... again," she stated, shaking her head.
"It was nice meeting the both of you. Say goodbye before you all leave, alright? And Lia, make sure you answer your phone when I call," he stated, pulling her into a slightly easier hug, and placing a kiss on the top of her head. She rolled her eyes, but gave him a quick hug in return. Once Lucian was out of sight, Lia gave Nasir and Dominik an apologetic glance.
"And I thought my older siblings were weird."
"If you guys want to rest for a bit, we can head to the Center," she suggested. At least then, it would buy her a couple of hours before she had to meet Lucian. Plus, she really didn't want to introduce him as Petalburg's Gym Leader. There was a reason she left that out.
"That sounds like a good idea. I think I'm getting a blister on my foot," Nasir spoke first, still frowning. Apparently he hadn't stopped sulking about his bag being stolen by the mysterious pink sneasel. "And I could use a quick rinse off," he stated, pulling the front of his shirt and giving it a sniff. Lia snorted softly.
Dominik shrugged. "I won't say no to being clean," he agreed. Not that they were particularly unsanitary—for teenage guys, both of them stayed quite far away from the stereotypes about bad hygiene, but there was only so much anyone could do on the road, after all.
He double-checked the map she'd given him to be sure they were headed in broadly the right direction; Petalburg was a big enough city to have multiple PokéCenters, and also big enough that a lot of the more important directions for trainers were labeled, so it wasn't too hard to find the nearest one. Well, that and Elaria had been here plenty of times before.
They were just about there when a decent-sized crowd appeared ahead, apparently gathered around some sort of display or advertisement or something like that. Dominik, now in the lead, went to give it a wide berth.
Lia pursed her lips as she tried to get a clearer view. Being as tall as she was, it wasn't too difficult, but there were a few people who were taller than her. Nasir didn't seem to have any trouble, though, and he had a quirked brow. "Looks like they're advertising something. Let's go see what it is," he spoke, walking a bit into the crowd. He didn't seem to have any trouble navigating it. It almost seemed like people parted just for him.
"I know them," Lia spoke suddenly. She knew the logo that was being displayed behind the table the people were at. It looked like a pokéball, however; where the red was supposed to be, it was a gunmetal grey hue. There was a large E printed in the middle of it as well in a burnt orange color. "They're a rival company to Devon, and it looks like they're promoting some new gear," she continued. That much was pretty obvious to anyone who could see.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen," the man spoke first, grinning broadly as he stared out into the crowd. The woman to his left was smiling just as wide, and Lia frowned. "My name is Edward, and this is my lovely assistant, Dinah. We have special treat for you all today," he continued, turning towards the woman. Lia frowned slightly, but she would not deny she wasn't curious. They were rivals to her family's company for a good reason, after all.
Next to her, Dominik looked slightly uncomfortable; one of the people on his other side shifted closer in an attempt to see around what was in front of them, and he shied away, twisting slightly so he wouldn't be touching either the unaware woman in the crowd or Elaria herself. He grimaced.
Dinah took up Edward's conversational threat, beaming out at the crowd and speaking into her microphone. "As part of the launch event for our new Pokégear Series Five, we'll be having a raffle and giving away a ten sets of three brand new S5 Premieres, the top-of-the-line models of our brand-new, not-yet-released Pokégears!"
This close, it was easier to see now that they did indeed have a table on the temporary stage where they'd set up, with still-boxed Pokégears included. If Elaria squinted, she could see that they were the kind designed to look like wristwatches, but a lot sleeker than the normal ones, which had always suffered from being a bit bulky. There were also a few security people around the stage, wearing dark suits and sunglasses, but considering the value of the merchandise, that wasn't too surprising.
"These new models are element-proof, and include loads of features, both familiar and brand-new, including radio reception, video and voice call capability, weather forecasting applications, and a whole lot of other fantastic functionality for the trainer on the go," Edward added.
Dominik snorted. "Selling it a bit hard, aren't they?" he muttered.
"They have to," Elaria replied. "They're competitors of my family's company," she continued, frowning just slightly. "Enigma Corp has been trailing behind Devon for a while, now. Their technology is rivaling Devon's," she knew that much, after all. Nasir quirked a brow in her direction, though.
"How is that? I thought Devon was at the top when it came to technology," Nasir spoke, clearly interested. Elaria pushed a sigh through her nose, and shook her head.
"We were, but Enigma has managed to get a foothold. Their new PokéGear rivals our PokéNavs. Of course, Devon just released an updated version of the Nav, but it's not what Enigma's offering. People are moving more towards Enigma, now," she spoke. Before she could explain any further, Edward spoke.
"The first ninety people will be able to participate in our raffle!" He sounded a little too enthused by the prospect of giving out S5's, however; Elaria didn't have much of a choice on whether or not she wanted to participate. The crowd had shifted suddenly, and she was pushed a bit aways from Nasir and Dominik. She sighed heavily.
"I'd like a chance at getting one. Dad was a big fan of Devon Corp and Steven Stone for a long time. I want to see what all the hype is about with this Enigma place," Nasir spoke, startling Lia for a second. She wasn't expecting him to be behind her. Maybe he'd been able to move ahead in the line because of his height? He did have a bit of an intimidating stature about him, too.
"Once you have your tickets, please move to our holding area. We will announce winners shortly!" Edward spoke, the large grin on his face never moving. It was almost inhuman, how widely he was smiling. Lia had to agree with Dominik's earlier statement: they were trying to sell it... hard. Ninety people was a lot, but the crowd didn't look that large. Perhaps he was trying to draw more people in? It seemed to work as the line grew a little longer.
She reached Dinah, and was handed a ticket. She moved out of Nasir's way, afterward, so that he could get his. "So, my number's 240025, huh," Nas spoke, reading his number out loud. Lia blinked and glanced at the ticket she received.
"I have 240024," she replied, glancing around. "The chances of us getting one are probably not that high, though," she continued. Considering there were ten S5 bundles, and about ninety participants, she highly doubted she would be lucky enough to get one. But since they were in sets, and it looked like the numbers were set up that way as well, perhaps they would be lucky enough to get a set. She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't interested in seeing the technology that rivaled Devon.
Dominik seemed to have disappeared entirely; it wasn't until they'd been given their tickets and moved their way out of the crowd that she managed to spot him again, hands in his pockets and standing well away from the press of people. He nodded slightly as they both approached, apparently having elected not to enter the raffle himself.
"You think they're going to do the drawing immediately?" he inquired, his tone slightly stilted compared to how it had been even earlier this morning. He was oddly formal in his mannerisms sometimes, but not always; as of yet the reason for that wasn't totally clear.
"I would guess so," Nasir spoke, nodding his head in the direction of the line. There were only a few people left. "And of course you didn't get a ticket," he added, glancing at Dominik's hands. Nasir only shook his head, though it looked to be in good nature. "I suppose we'll see if Lia and I were lucky enough to get the winning number," he spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder and tapping it lightly.
"If you, um, say so," she stuttered. She pursed her lips together at the realization, but she was able to shake the embarrassment from her face. Or at least she hoped she did. "I've never really had much luck at drawings," she decided to say, smiling as she shook her head. It was true. Every drawing her school used to do, she'd never have the winning numbers, or something of that nature.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We will begin the drawings here, shortly. Good luck!" Dinah announced it this time, causing Elaria to turn her attention away from Nasir and Dominik. I really hope I get one, she thought. It would be an experience. The first three winning numbers were announced, but none of them matched the ones she or Nasir had. The next three followed in the same sequence, and Elaria could feel her heart drop just a little bit. She should have known better than to have been excited about something like this.
"The final drawing shall commence. Please listen carefully as I list off the numbers," Dinah stated out loud, snapping Lia from her thoughts. "The first three numbers are 2, 4, and 0," she began, causing Lia to look at her own ticket. Those were the same three numbers she had, and shared with Nasir. She could hear a few people sigh in defeat, and spotted a few throwing their tickets away. Her breath hitched in her throat as they read the next two numbers, "0, 2, and the final number is..." Dinah was drawing it out on purpose; Lia could tell by the smile on her face.
"Number five! Will the contestant with the ticket number 240025 please come up," Lia felt her heart sink, but she was also excited. That was Nasir's number. He was already grinning from ear to ear, and it looked like it was going to split his face.
"Oh, yeah, that's right," he stated, running, quite literally, up to Dinah and Edward. They seemed to congratulate him as they handed him the gear, and he made his way back to Elaria and Dominik.
"Congratulations, Nasir," she stated, congratulating him on his win. Nasir just continued to beam at the two of them.
Dominik rolled his eyes slightly, but he was smiling a bit, too. "This guy has all the luck," he informed Elaria. "He always has. Pretty much any time he enters a drawing or some kind of blind contest... probably better if he's kept away from casinos for the rest of his life."
"Hey, that's just mean," Nasir spoke, though he said it with a large grin. "But you're not lying. I do have good luck. I blame my dad," he muttered the last part. Elaria just shook her head.
"Regardless, you won, luck or not," she spoke, watching as Nasir cradled the bundles in his hands. He was fumbling with them, moving them all to one hand. Once his left hand was free, he tapped his chin with it.
"Well there are three of them," he started, a sort of sly grin crossing his face. "I wonder who I should give the other two, to," he continued, the grin growing just slightly. Lia blinked slowly, realizing just as slow, his implication.
"Oh, um. They're yours to do whatever you want with, Nasir. Whom you decide to give them to, should be up to you," she was stating the obvious. It's not like she was going to try and wager something for one of them. They belonged to Nasir, and if he wanted to give them one of his prizes, she wasn't going to tell him to whom he should.
"You sound like my mom," he snorted, giving one a soft toss in Dominik's direction. "But you're right, I can give them to whomever I want, and right now, I'm giving one to Dom and you. Gotta share the luck, after all," he stated, flashing a toothy grin. Lia merely blinked in mild surpise at his proffered hand.
"Oh, but I can't really take this from you, Nasir. It's yours. What if you find someone else you want to give it to?" she really shouldn't accept it.
"Well, then I'll just enter another lottery if they have one," he spoke. That didn't sound like good logic, but Lia sighed in defeat. He didn't look like he was going to back down from it, and she wasn't going to challenge him about it.
"If you insist," she stated, a strange feeling passing through her chest. Was it excitement? Probably. "Mahalo, Nasir," she thanked him, and took the offered S5.
"You're welcome, too, Dom."
"Hey, I was going to say thank you," Dominik replied, entirely without actual reproach. He accepted one of the packages as well; it looked like he'd chosen the red-and-black one. Each of them had a slightly different color scheme, probably on purpose. At least they wouldn't get confused with each others' this way. "Huh. Looks like they have the numbers, too. We should probably all enter ours, right?" With care, he extracted the device from its packaging; it looked like they came with batteries already in, since the screen lit up briefly when he turned his on.
"That's a good idea," Nasir spoke, doing the same. Unlike Dominik's, Nasir's device was green and silver. Lia glanced down at the one she had, and smiled. Hers was a pink-and-purple one. "Oh, it looks like it can sync up with a nearby device," Nasir spoke, holding out his device. Lia glanced over, and noticed that he was right. It was blinking with at least three other devices in range.
"I guess it's supposed to make registering numbers, easier," it was the only thing she could think of. Not that it was a chore typing in numbers, but if the gear was able to just sync up with another one, it'd be easier to register numbers. "It looks like," she paused, glancing at her own device. She found the number she wanted, and pointed it out on Nasir's device. "This one is mine," she continued. He hummed before clicking on the number. The device made a ping sound, and Nasir's face lit up.
"That was easier than I thought it was going to be. Your turn, Dom," he stated, turning towards Dominik. Lia had registered Nasir's number at the same time. Once all three of them exchanged numbers, Lia smiled.
"Mahalo, again, Nasir. I think we should go find that center, now," because she wanted to play with her device a bit longer. She felt just a little bad for having an Enigma item, but she just had to remind herself it was for research.
"Looks like we have charge cables, too," Dominik added, holding up what looked to be his own. "Even if they last a long time, we'll want to make sure they're fully charged before we leave, so we can probably use the Center's outlets for that." They'd been close to begin with; he nodded in the direction they'd been headed. The obvious red roof was just barely visible from where they were standing, and it didn't take more than another couple of minutes before they were heading in through the sliding glass doors.
As soon as they walked through the doors, Lia felt a shiver go down her spine.
Oh, no.
"Lia?" a voice called out to her. An all too familiar voice that she was trying to avoid. "Lia! You said you weren't going to be in town for another day!" Lia grimaced slightly, but did her best not to let it show on her face. "And why haven't you answered any of my calls?" he asked, sounding just the slightest bit upset. Lia didn't even bat an eyelash at that.
"Nasir, Dominik, this is Lucian, my oldest brother," she was going to ignore his earlier statements. It didn't seem to faze Lucian, though, since he made his way to where they were standing. He didn't even hesitate to wrap her in a hug that could have rivaled a Bewear's. She coughed slightly, before manuevering herself out of his hug.
"I've seen your face somewhere," Nasir spoke, glancing at Lucian with a hint of familiarity. He probably recognized Lucian from the Gym Leader's magazine, though he probably knew him as Sterling.
"Somehow I'm not surprised that your brother and the Gym Leader are the same person." Dominik had probably paid more attention to that kind of thing, given the deadpan certainty with which he said it. "You could have mentioned that, you know." He didn't sound accusatory or anything; his tone was rather flat, which wasn't uncommon with him. If anything, there was a bit of sympathy to his expression, or pity, maybe, for the force of the hug she was enduring.
He had a point. Lia shook her head, though. "It's complicated," was the only thing she could say. "Lulu is Sterling, Petalburg's Gym Leader. Now you know," she continued. Nasir mouthed an 'oh', and shrugged.
"I'm Nasir Rheinallt. I guess it's nice to meet you, Lucian," he stated, though he didn't make any effort to shake hands or anything like that. He just had a slack way of standing, as if he weren't too interested in what was going on.
"It's always nice to meet Elaria's friends. I'm Lucian Stone, also known as—"
"They already know who you are, Lulu. I just told them," she stated, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be at home, or at the gym?" she asked, directing the attention away from Nasir and Dominik. She knew Lucian would, sooner or later, get into his questioning mode. She wanted to save Nasir and Dominik from that.
"Oh, the Gym's currently closed. It's being remodeled, and I'm here because Mumu needed her check up," he stated, pointing to his head. Lia followed his hands and spotted the pyukumuku. She just gave Lucian a flat look.
"Why are you remodeling it?" it wasn't due for an upgrade, after all. Lucian just grinned.
"Enigma offered, at a discount, to install a new security system and battle-recording system. It's top-notch." Now she knew why her dad wasn't on good terms with Lucian.
"You're an idiot," she spoke before realizing she wasn't alone. It was true, though. Nasir snorted, but he didn't say anything.
Dominik blinked. "I'd have thought you had it top-of-the-line already with Devon tech," he observed, blinking with what seemed to be surprise. Oddly enough, the pokémon on her brother's head seemed to register as completely normal to him by comparison. "When do you think it'll be back up and running?"
Lucian pursed his lips together, and Lia could tell he was a little unnerved by the first statement. "Dad didn't tell you?" he directed the question to Lia. She just continued to give him a flat look. "Lia's probably told you this, but Enigma and Devon have been rivals for a few years, now. Enigma has actually caught up to Devon, and with this new technology, they are on the verge of passing them. It's only a matter of time," he explained, causing Lia to purse her lips into a fine line.
"But that still doesn't mean anything, Lucian. Dad's really upset with you, right now," she stated. Lucian heaved a heavy sigh, and ran his hand through his hair. He was careful enough not to hit Mumu, though.
"I know, kika, but just because we're Stones doesn't mean we have to be Stones. Look at Sebastian," he stated, shaking his head. Lia just sighed heavily. "And to answer your question, the Gym will be ready in about a month or two," he stated, turning his attention towards Dominik. "Are you both trainers?" he asked. Nasir shook his head.
"I'm training to be a ranger," he answered, giving the same lop-sided grin he'd given them earlier.
"I'm a trainer, though," Dom said, tilting his head slightly to the side. He looked momentarily uncertain of something, then extended a hand towards Lucian. "Dominik Nero. It's an honor to meet you." His expression didn't change much, but there was something sincere about it—he wasn't just being polite, anyway.
"Nice to meet you, too, Dominik," Lucian replied, stretching out his hand as well. Lia could tell the shake was a little awkward, but Lucian didn't seem to mind either way. "I'll be looking forward to your challenge when you get enough badges," he continued, giving Dominik a knowing smile. Lia didn't bother hiding the fact that she rolled her eyes. Lucian was a bit much, sometimes.
"If you all are planning to stay the night, you all are welcome to use my house. I have a spare room at the gym that's not in the way of the remodel," he stated.
"You'd let us use your house? What kind of family are you?" Nasir spoke, causing Lia to blink in slight confusion. "First, she wants to travel with us. Us, and now you are offering your house as a place to stay. Us. You don't even know who we are, so why would you do that?" he stated, and for once, Lia knew what his logic was. Nasir had a point.
"Well, you and Dominik are Lia's friends, right? I don't see the harm in it, and my house is only a block away from the gym. It's not like you are putting me out of a home, or anything," he replied.
"I don't know," Nasir spoke, turning to Dominik as if he were seeking advice.
"Uh..." Dominik looked rather like he wished Nasir wasn't asking for his advice on the topic, but in the end, he shrugged. "I mean... bathroom's probably nicer than the one here, right?" He cleared his throat, glancing back at Lucian. "Er... not that we're ungrateful for the hospitality and so on. If you're really all right with it, we'd appreciate the chance to rest a little better."
Nasir shook his head, but his shoulders seemed to slump. "You've a point, I guess. And it would be nice to sleep on an actual bed, and not these cots they offer," he spoke, causing Lucian to smile.
"Since that's settled, Lia, here are the keys," he stated, searching his pockets, it seemed, for the said item.
"There's no need for that, Lulu. You still keep the spare in that fake rock by your Mime Jr. statue. Those are going to get stolen, one of these days, just so you know," she replied, placing a hand on his arm so that he would stop digging for his keys. "Mahalo, Lucian. You really should call dad, though," she stated, leaning on her toes to give him a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Eventually. Oh, also, don't let Mikil near Igloo's room," he stated, causing Lia to snort softly.
"Yeah, I'll make sure Mikil doesn't try to burn it down... again," she stated, shaking her head.
"It was nice meeting the both of you. Say goodbye before you all leave, alright? And Lia, make sure you answer your phone when I call," he stated, pulling her into a slightly easier hug, and placing a kiss on the top of her head. She rolled her eyes, but gave him a quick hug in return. Once Lucian was out of sight, Lia gave Nasir and Dominik an apologetic glance.
"And I thought my older siblings were weird."