@solaurous said: " --- There you are, my favorite nephew." Cue a sharp but nervous smile as he places a hand on roark's shoulder ; gaze intense & anxious at the same time. " --- i need your help." There it was, words suddenly were hard to come by. " --- you know uh gems very well. I need to know, ya know, uh... whatgemstonewouldbeniceforanengagementring?" He was speaking too fast, he knew that, cheeks AFLAME. " --- Let me try again. What gemstones would be nice for an Engagement ring? For .. you know. Asking N to marry me." / OH HO HO IT'S TIMEEEE. ft. @opstinatus
A surprise visit isn't uncommon, at least with Roark—Oreburgh sought him out frequently, enough for even Volkner to comment he has another dedicated job of just being the model citizen. But to find Riley seeking him out, to the point of not even waiting for him inside... oh boy. At first, Roark's surprise quickly goes to concern, but then... Riley stumbles over his words fantastically, mumbled and toppled over one another in an amalgamation that could be interpreted as a new language entirely.
Roark blinks, shears held partway open in his hands ( he'd been pruning browning leaves on the berry grove, the less hardy ones attempting to maximize as little energy use as possible with the constant cloud cover in the winter ), and a dying leaf in the other. "...Mande?" Yikes, not a single syllable made it, but his tio has sharply turned red instead.
Take two goes a little better, and Roark gets his message loud and clear. "Ohhhh, yeah! Yeah, I can help with that—wait, wait, wait—you're gonna bag N for real?! Oh, shit, you're down bad bad—Hey, Politoed—?" The little frog appears between stalks of cornn berries, perking up with a, "Toed?" He hands the 'mon his shears and settles the clipped leaf with a small haphazard piled of miscellaneous dead and drying pieces. "I got a small change of plans today, can you get the rest of the pruning done? I'm sure Aura or Zeraora could probably lend a hand for the stuff you can't reach. I'll rake up the rest after."
The conversation is easy and quick, and Politoed waddles back into the house to go get some reinforcements of the taller type—such was the relationship of mother's 'mon and her bereaved son. With that delegation out of the way, Roark finally brings his attention back to Riley, rather excited at the idea of helping him brainstorm.
"I do have a few specimens I can show you in the office to get a feel for colors that you think might be best. If you really need something really obscure, though, I do happen to have a certain champion of Hoenn on speed dial—he's more of an expert than I am, he's got this crazy gallery of stones to prove it—but I think I can help you out. The Underground's isn't world famous for nothin', after all!"
With a beckon, he requests Riley to follow him hoping that at the very least, being on the move will keep his nervousness in check. "So! What kinda ring were you thinking of? Find any inspirations or something? Ooohh, how long were you planning, by the way??" Oh Arceus, give the poor guy a moment to think!! Please!!