The colours swirled together, browns and greys and yellows. Paint shone as it was dabbed across the canvas, blended into the shapes of the cliff and walkways that stretched out behind his workspace. Green eyes flicked back and forth; observing details, constructing ideas, watching the brushstrokes with a startling mix of care and abandon. Painting is precise yet messy, constricting yet uninhibited, plain yet elaborate.
Burgh had never ventured this far north before. He had no reason to, except for leisure, so that’s exactly what he was doing-- he’d taken some time off from the Gym and travelled past Opelucid City, setting up his canvas at the base of Victory Road. There were constantly the rumblings and such from within the wall-like cave system, evidence of the trainers that toughened their teams there in order to successfully take on the Elite Four and Champion ahead.
A familiar face exiting one of the lower tunnels caught his eye as he looked away from his work-- a muscled man with a dark brown complexion who Burgh immediately recognised as Marshal, the fighting-type master of Unova’s very own Elite Four. Catching Marshal’s eye, even from this distance, the Elite nodded in acknowledgement, and the Gym Leader smiled and waved in return. Burgh had never met the man before but it felt as if there was an unspoken camaraderie between them, as there was with most members of the Unova League.
He returned his attentions to painting for a while, Marshal still in the corner of his vision every time he looked up, and for several minutes Victory Road was unusually silent until a loud explosion rang out from somewhere within the caves. Startled by the noise the brush in his hand to streak across the length of the canvas, but the painting mishap was the least of his worries now; rocks and dirt were crumbling down the steep cliffside, heading straight towards the man below.
His hand gripped Phillip’s Pokéball at his waist, ready to jump in and help. But it was already apparent that Marshal had seen the danger-- and was more than capable of handling the matter himself.
