Hop jumps upon hearing the creaking and subconsciously scoots closer to his brother. He nods in acknowledgement, shoving down the urge to pap his cheeks as well; nobody likes a copycat. He’s a bit irritated that Lee would motion for him to be quiet - he knows he should be quiet, he’s not an idiot - but keeps his mouth shut and follows (always following, even now he can’t seem to do anything on his own) across the room and through what looks like a staff hallway.
The door is closed and blocked courtesy of Lee, and the two are now doing an odd half-jog down the hall. Hop doesn’t answer the thanks, instead looking down to avoid stepping on the supplies that Lee so carelessly crushes underneath him.
At least he wasn’t crushing Hop.
He moves a hand to rub uncomfortably against the front of his neck, trying to clear his throat as quietly as possible. Let’s get off that topic, thanks brain. He and Lee are working together, this is a different Lee, they’re not in the Weald. Felt Jr. bleats softly, and Hop pets it distractedly. He opens his mouth to respond to Lee - yes he was there, he didn’t remember all the details, of course Lee got lost - but promptly shuts it again once Lee changes topics. What’s the point of asking if he was just going to change subjects?
‘I saw somethin’ today that made me think of ya’ great, ‘and how rubbish of a brother I’ve—’ Lee cuts himself off; whether he changed his mind or because of the reason they’ve stopped, Hop doesn’t know, but his stomach churns nonetheless. It’s not Lee’s fault; none of this is. Whatever Lee thinks he’s done, it has to be a misunderstanding. The problem was never Lee, just… Hop. It’s always been Hop.
It’s not until his brother emerges from a door Hop hadn’t noticed (once again he comes up short. He can’t help himself, can he?) that he realizes he’s been stuck in his thoughts. He nods again, slinking into… into…
He feels ill. “Wait, Lee— Lee wait a sec—” a quivering hand pulls at his brother’s arm. Not here, why’d it have to be here? “Can we— why— I—” Can’t we go somewhere else? It’s stupid and selfish and could just land them into more trouble, he knows, but this place, this situation… it’s too close to his challenge, too close to what happened in the Weald. Maybe if they’re quick, they can…
No, no matter how scared he is, he can’t bother Lee like this; he has enough things to worry about without Hop whining like a child.
“What’s after us?” He asks instead, setting his sewn Wooloo down onto his collar. “If y’know what it is, we can— we might be able to counter it?” Hop cringes internally; does he sound mad? He’s talking like he would a Pokemon battle. “Like, uh, I saw— I saw one get put back into its frame. They’re notta hundred percent invincible, so maybe if we find somethin’ that counters it ‘round here, it’ll,” he gestures vaguely a few times before making an x with his hands, “yanno…”
He slips past his brother in embarrassment and into the foliage, already doing a great job of hiding himself thanks to his height and choice of clothing and his wanting to disappear from whatever that explanation was supposed to be. “A-Anyways, what’s all that’s after us?”
The panic in Hop’s voice when Leon motions for him to join him in the overgrowth is obvious enough for even someone as oblivious as Leon is to notice. He peers over Hop’s head to see if there’s another way they can go, somewhere else that they can hide from... himself, but this is the only way they can go, it seems. He bites his cheek as Hop pushes past him; whatever has got him worried seems serious enough that he doesn’t seem to want to burden Leon with the knowledge of it, and Leon finds himself wishing that he’d had been there for Hop when he had little problems so he could feel like he could trust him with the big problems.
“We might be able to counter it.”
Finally, some good news. Leon follows Hop into the brush, paying no mind to how awkwardly he tries to explain how they could possibly fight back against this thing. He crouches low under some ferns as Hop asks what it is that’s after them, and he winces. He looks over his shoulder from whence they came. He’s not counting on the barricaded door to the staff hall to hold for long, so this moment of respite the two of them have may be shorter than he’d like. If he was going to say anything to Hop before they had to be quiet and hide from the statue of himself, now would be the time.
“Uh... about that. It... it looks like me?” he manages after a moment, turning back to Hop. “’Cept it’s made o’ marble.” Though you wouldn’t know from how it moved, surprisingly fluid in motion for a hunk of stone. He doesn’t mention the lifelessness in it’s eyes. “It seemed like it was... seekin’ me out, yanno? Like it was lookin’ fer me fer... some reason.” A sudden realization hits him and he has to stop himself from conking himself on the forehead; he lead the stupid thing right to Hop! Hop was fine, hiding in that gallery, until Leon had to drag him into yet another one of his messes!
Arceus, if there’s a way to kill this thing like Hop says there is, he’s gotta find it. And fast.
“Ya said someone stuck a painting back in it’s frame?” he says, once again looking over his shoulder. He could’ve sworn he heard the telltale sound of those marble footsteps, but... “So then... what about a chisel?” Leon sits up enough to peer over the plants around them, eyes scanning the more open areas where tools might still be laying around. What were the chances of finding a chisel in a greenhouse though? “Hm, maybe a hammer instead? Ya gotta use both t’ make a statue, right?”
It’s then he spots a small shed, tucked neatly amongst a row of shrubs. It’s some distance away, and he’d have to cross an open area to get to it, but if he’s quick...
Leon turns to Hop and puts his hands on his shoulders. “Hop, I’m gonna try ‘n get to th’ shed over there.” He gestures to the shed with a nod of his head. “I need you t’ stay here, alright? Don’t move ‘til I get back. I won’t be long.” Before Hop can say anything, Leon is on the move, slinking towards the shed, his cape rustling the plants behind him with quiet swishing noises.
Arceus, he hopes that sound he heard earlier was just his imagination.
