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A typical summer afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary: the usual people out and about, the same old weather. Lumious City, two months after the catastrophe at the tower and the threat of hyperspace dimensions, was at peace again.
And Team MZ were the saviors. That, too, was typical.
Corbeau drew a little smirk at the thought of yet another catastrophe coming and going perhaps. It seemed absurdly funny to him that a gaggle of late teens and a young adult could hold off so much danger. But having seen how gallantly they fought, especially Paxton, he isn't surprised either.
He was lying low, obviously, since people would become uncomfortable with his presence, but even he needed to go out once in a while. Always sitting around behind a desk wasn't exactly healthy.
One of his hands was in his coat pocket, idly thumbing over the Pokéball of his Scolipede. A habit he often caught himself in when he was lost in thought. Which is the reason it took him so long to notice the large Meganium by the edge of Wildzone 5, because actually managing to overlook a huge plant-dinosaur with a vibrant pink flower around the neck would have been concerning.
The Pokémon looked strangely familiar to him, which is why he approached it. It seemed too busy to notice him, scanning the area ahead. Was it looking for a Pokémon in there? On its own? How strange...
It was only after Corbeau was just a couple steps ahead of the Meganium that it raised its head to him. Catching a better glimpse, Corbeau could pinpoint where he saw it before.
"Oh, you're Paxton's partner. No wonder I recognized you." He casually said in greeting. The Meganium wiggled around, apparently happy to see him. "Hmph, don't look so excited, you'll ruin my image." He remarked while adjusting his glasses.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed something odd: "Where's you're Trainer?" The Meganium, Paxton called it Sprout he recalled, lowered its head with a sad expression, the antennas on top lowering with it to the side of its neck, making it look as pathically sad as a kicked Houndour. Corbeau sighed: "So I assume you're lost, hm? Well, where'd you last see him?"
Sprout slowly strutted closer leaning its head from side to side.
Briefly disgruntled over not knowing what Sprout wanted to tell him, he pulled out his Rotom-phone. "Alright, different approach." He opened a map of Lumious and showed it to Sprout. "Where'd you last see him?" He repeated.
After looking over the map, Sprout tapped on an area with one of its antenna. Corbeau zoomed in: "Hotel Z? That's so far away from here. Do you really mean to tell me you ran all the way out here all on your own?" Sprout wiggled from side to side again, languidly this time.
Thinking smarter, not harder, Corbeau decided to call Paxton. The phone rang.
It rang.
It rang.
"if it's something urgent, please leave a message."
Corbeau scowled: "The one time he doesn't pick up, I swear..." after the peep he still decided to leave a message. Just in case.
"Paxton, this is Corbeau. I would've assumed you took better care of your Pokémon, since I just surprisingly ran into your Meganium. Its worried and looks pretty lost to me. If you receive this message, call me back promptly. I'm not kidding."
Corbeau pocketed his phone again and combed a hand through his hair. "Regardless of that, I probably shouldn't leave you out here. With how important you are to Paxton, he's probably worried sick, even if he doesn't pick up his damn phone."
He adjusted his glasses again. "You said you saw him at the Hotel, so that's where we're going to next. C'mon." Joyful again, Sprout galloped after him.
It was just a few blocks ahead now. Corbeau idly thumbed over the Pokéball in his pocket.
Seriously, why was his Meganium all the way out there?
Paxton wouldn't just abandon his closest partner in the middle of the street, right?
But then again, what else could've happened?
"I don't believe he left you behind on purpose," he murmered, "that's just not the Paxton I know." The Pokémon chirped.
Sprout made an excited grumbling noise when they reached the entrance. Just before they— or rather Corbeau, since Sprout was too big to fit through the door— could enter, Corbeau received a phone call. Relieved, he picked up.
"Finally, what took you so long? Seriously, how irresponsible are you to leave your Pokémon on the street. Unbelievable."
A full two seconds of silence from the other end. "...I mean I appreciate you anticipating a call, but accusing me of something like that is low, boss."
Oh.
Oh shit, Philippe.
Corbeau groaned: "sorry, I was expecting someone else. Just forget I said anything. What's the matter?"
"Just wanted to ask when you'll be back. You've been gone for longer than usual and works piling up, you know how it is."
Corbeau sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, listen Philippe, something came up. I won't be back for a while. Could I ask you to fill in for me while I'm gone?"
"Well sure, I can do that. And I'm guessing that something is an abandoned Pokémon?"
"Hmph, I told you to ignore what I just said." He heard Philippe chuckling from the other end, "alright, sorry boss. Good luck on your fetch-quest." He hung up.
Corbeau shook his head, irritated. He glanced over to Sprout, who had quietly listened in over his shoulder. "Eavesdropping is rude." He commented and took a big step away. "Look at what a fool I make of myself because of you. What do you have to say in your defense?" He asked sarcastically.
Sprout opened its mouth wide to let out a high pitched roar, then gently nudged Corbeau's arm. With a smile, Corbeau reached up to pet its forehead: "Good argument. You know, you're a great Pokémon, in battles too, just a bit too cuddly and trusting for my liking."
He stopped and approached the entrance. By the door, he turned around: "you wait here. Don't run off, got it?" Sprout obediently lied down on the ground.
With a confident stride, Corbeau entered. Without missing a beat, he called out: "Hello, hello, Team MZ! I hope someone's here." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement on the far right of the room, in the seating area.
Lida and Naveen were there, both had stood up at the sudden disturbance. "O-oh, Mr. Corbeau! What are you doing here?" Lida asked. "Hm, Am I still not welcome here? You guys sure are picky with your acquaintances."
"Not really. You're just not around all that often." Naveen chimed in. "Hm, with my reputation, that's probably for the best. Otherwise I might scare away potential guests." He cleared his throat, "well, regardless, I'm here for something important. Or rather someone: is Paxton here?"
Lida and Naveen turned to each other: "Huh? Didn't he go out earlier?" Lida asked Naveen. "Yeah. You didn't see him come back did you?" Naveen asked Lida. Corbeau cut the discussion short: "Okay, that's all I needed to know. How long has he been gone now?"
"Uh... what time is it?" Naveen pondered. "Almost 3 p.m." Lida answered. "Then he left about two hours ago, right after lunch." Corbeau nodded, "did he tell you where he was going?" Lida thought about it. "Hmm... not really. I assumed he was just going out to train a bit. Why are you even looking for him? Ah!— if it's okay to ask."
Corbeau drew a long exasperated sigh: "you see—" and promptly stopped talking when a long green necked head peeked into the window by the seating area. He kind of froze mid talking, which is why the two MZ-Members turned to see what was going on.
Upon making eye contact with all three, Sprout happily wiggled around again. "Awwh! Sprout is happy to see us." Lida exclaimed. "Yeah, Lida, we have eyes. Why's it outside?" Naveen asked. "Because it's too big for the door, dummy!" She jokingly nudged Naveen's arm. "Yes, but alone?" "Exactly, which is why I am in my current predicament." Corbeau finally spoke up again.
The duo faced Corbeau again. He crossed his arms, "I found the Meganium wandering the streets all alone. I tried reaching out to Paxton but he's not picking up the phone. From what I understood," he pointed to Sprout by the window, "this was the last place it saw its Trainer, so that's why I'm here." "Hm. Looks like you care a lot huh?" Naveen asked, unbothered and unfiltered as ever.
Corbeau scowled, "psch! Me, caring. Right. I just imagine it to be a great pity, if Paxton never found his trusty partner again. A waste of potential, if you will." "Sure... no need to get defensive." Naveen answered. A vein on Corbeau's forehead popped into view. For once, he swallowed his pride and didn't entertain this conversation any further.
"Anyway, I better look around someplace else. Have a good afternoon." With that he turned to the door.
After it clicked shut behind him, Naveen and Lida faced each other again. "Oh yeah, he cares." Lida agreed. "Mhm. He could've just left Sprout with us or waited here for Paxton to come back."
"Alright, so that was a waste of time..." he said to no one in particular, casually strolling down the steps. Sprout approached him with a wagging tail. Corbeau chuckled. "What are you, a dog-pokémon?" He pet its forehead again.
He was beginning to understand why Paxton loved it so much. It was his first Pokémon in the city, back when it was still a tiny Chikorita. Paxton told him this once after a battle. Their bond just seems so out of this world. If Corbeau was starting to get attached after not even an hour, he can only imagine how close the Trainer and Pokémon truly are. And why it was so important to reunite them.
He fished out his phone again. No acknowledgement of his message but whatever. He opened the map again, "So, your Trainer's buddies said he left two hours ago. Any idea where he could be?" Sprout pointed to another location.
He jolted when he saw where it pointed to, "Quarzatico inc.?" He pocketed his phone and accusingly stared at Sprout, "do you really want to drag me allll the way to the other side of the city?" Sprout smiled. Corbeau stared at it with a dead pan expression. Then he sighed, "fine, let's go."
"Tch! And I can't even call a cab since you wouldn't fit in the car. I sincerely hope Paxton is there... so I can give him my opinion on this stunt." He argued while striding alongside Sprout, who answered with enthusiastic noises. "You don't like this either, do you? Surely not." As if on queue, Sprout ran ahead. And at a speedy pace no less. "Hey, where do you think you're going?!" He had no choice but to catch up to the Pokémon.
They came to a stop by the entrance of Wildzone 1. "You two run around a lot, hm? Guess it really is just me who is bothered." He said when he finally caught up, briefly stroking over Sprout's neck. "The quickest way is around the outer ring. That means through here." He explained. "You probably know that already. You and Paxton are always on the move."
Given that it was only Wildzone 1, going straight through turned out to be a piece of cake. At least it did until Sprout decided the dozing Mareep by the exit were too cute to ignore and accidentally nuzzled them awake, which they didn't like.
"Okay, so we barely avoided some electrical burns. No problem." Corbeau remarked sarcastically, dusting of his coat. Sprout gave him a sad look. Begrudgingly, he caved in, "I know, I know, you didn't do it on purpose. Just... don't do stuff like that anymore." He pet its forehead again. This is seriously starting to become a new habit of his. "Honestly, you're such a baby. How come you're so powerful, hm? Tell me all your secrets." He jested. Sprout merely enjoyed the free pets.
They walked for quite a bit until they reached their next disruption. This time in the form of a huge scaffolding reaching all across the street. Apparently a Pokémon had rampaged here and destroyed the street and the walls of the opposing houses. "Lovely." Corbeau said through gritted teeth.
He scanned the area. "Over there." He said, "we can go through that alleyway. Quite the bother of a reroute but what can you do." They weren't yet noticing someone watching them walk by...
The alley was... incredibly narrow. Which was a given in Lumious City, but it becomes a lot harder to navigate when there's a huge plant beast right behind you getting stuck between the walls all the time, which you then have to rescue. "This would be a lot easier if you had your Pokéball with you. Transport would be so much better for both of us." Corbeau grumbled as he made Sprout loose for what felt like the millionth time.
After that, they reached a small plaza with a grassy field, a tree in the middle and some large rocks seemingly tossed to the side. This plaza rooted into more alleyways. "Great." Corbeau said. He was starting to rethink his decision of accompanying the Pokémon.
"Hey."
Someone from behind them was addressing him. Both he and Sprout turned to where the voice came from. Specifically the alleyway they just came from. Two Trainers emerged. "The damn Rust‐Syndicate is in on it? Bummer." One said. Corbeau lowered his head, analyzing. He doesn't recognize these people.
"What do you want?" He asked with a threatening edge. "That Meganium's coming with us." The other ordered. Corbeau kept his cool. "Why?" He demanded to know. The first one chuckled, "C'mon, we're not stupid. We know who this one belongs to. Ultra powerful, quite the reputation together with its Trainer. It's worth a ton."
Corbeau tilted his head, expecting them to continue. "You lot from the Rust-Syndicate like deals don't ya? And you probably stole it anyways, so whattaya say: any price you want for the Meganium."
Corbeau scoffed and tapped his foot impatiently, "you've got a lot of nerve, I'll give you that. And if I don't comply?" Both pulled out their Pokéballs, "then we'll settle this the old fashioned way with a battle. We win, you give it to us willingly. You win, we're gone."
They seriously think they can win? Corbeau reached for his own Pokémon when suddenly Sprout stepped in front of him, making him pause. It looked back at him, determined. "You wanna do this? I can at least offer you a teammate." Sprout wildly shook its head.
Corbeau lowered his hand, "fine then. But don't be too disappointed with my Trainership. I don't know how Paxton does it all the time but I guarantee you, my style's different."
"That so? Then we might have it easy, even if we have to battle the Meganium. You done having a chit chat?" One of those thugs yelled out. "Hmph, certainly."
They each threw an Aggron and an Ampharos out on the field. Okay, now he needed to think. And quickly. What moves was Sprout capable of... Giga Drain came to mind immediately. Paxton used it a whole lot whenever they battled each other. During their first battle, he thought it quite bold of Paxton to use his Meganium, given the type disadvantage. It's why he respects him so much as a Trainer. Oh right, Dazzling Gleam too as well as Leaf Blade. Hm... what was the last one? It slipped his mind. No matter for now.
"You gonna attack or what?" One opponent asked. Corbeau smirked, "Sure thing. Leaf Blade on Aggron!" Without hesitating, Sprout leapt across the battle field, ready to strike.
"Nice try. Aggron, Iron Tail!" It attacked, putting distance in between itself and Sprout. "Ampharos, Ice Punch!" The other trainer chimed in. Sprout dodged it in the last second without Corbeau having to say anything. "Okay, let's try this again."
The battle commenced. He could get some good hits in on Aggron, but with how tanky it is, this wasn't an easy feat. Corbeau switched strategies a bunch of times, mostly focusing on Ampharos, since both Ice and Fire Punch were a big threat. But then Aggron would just get in the way and connect a hit instead. Same thing could be said the other way around. And as if that wasn't enough...
Both Mega-evolved their Pokémon.
Corbeau couldn't since Sprout didn't belong to him. This looked rough. What was he doing wrong? Paxton would've swept the floor with these hooligans a long time ago, so why was this so hard? "C'mon, what would Paxton do?" He mumbled to himself.
Then he had an idea. "Dazzling Gleam! As strong as you can." Sprout attacked. It went much better then earlier attempts, at least on Ampharos with the new Typing. While the bright flashes of the attack shone, Corbeau yelled out the next command: "hide!" Sprout sprang behind the rocks to the side.
The Trainers, blindsided as well, scanned the place after the effects of the attack subsided. They only saw Corbeau, the tree and rocks left and right. "Tss, definitely not behind the tree."
"Aggron, Head Smash on those rocks over there!" Aggron attacked and the rocks were destroyed. The space behind was empty.
"Ampharos, Ice Punch!" The other Trainer ordered on a different rock patch. It too broke and came up empty. "Again on that one, Ampharos!"
Corbeau grinned, "Now, Dazzling Gleam!" Sprout sprang forth from behind the rocks, catching Ampharos by surprise. Aggron, too far away from the attack, can't defend this time.
Dazzling Gleam hit and Ampharos fainted. The Trainer withdrew their fainted partner and gave the other one a look, "It's up to you two. Don't mess up now."
Sprout galloped back to Corbeau's side, anticipated his next order. He was both parts surprised and not surprised by how well Sprout could listen and adapt. No wonder Paxton always made fighting look so easy.
With the Mega-evolution, Aggron was now a pure Steel Type. Not much to do against with Grass and Fairy-moves. If he could just remember what Sprout's fourth move was. It was neither of those Types, he knew that. For now, he had to make distractions and prolong the battle.
"Alright then. Sprout, use Dazzling Gleam again!" "Sorry, same trick won't work twice. Aggron, use Dig!"
Aggron vanished beneath the ground right before it was hit. There was no way of dodging it like this when it emerged. Corbeau gritted his teeth. Aggron was almost finished if he could just remember this goddamn move.
He watched the ground carefully, bracing for the next attack. Sprout did the same.
The Trainer chuckled, "almost done." Corbeau spared a glanced towards them and saw the rocks strewn about, most of them destroyed. Destroyed rocks... but that's it! "Sprout, brace yourself!"
Aggron dug itself up, an easy hit on Sprout. It toppled over and for a moment, Corbeau held his breath. Luckily, it stood up again. And Aggron was still so close. This is their chance, "Sprout, Rock Smash!" A rather weak move, but super effective and that's all that counted. With no time to react, Aggron was hit. It stood still for a moment longer. Then it too fainted.
"A deal's a deal, isn't it? Now get moving." Corbeau ordered. The Trainer withdrew their Aggron, "Tss, this isn't the end." Then they dipped.
Rather exhausted from the adrenaline, Corbeau sat down beneath the tree and closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them, Sprout already made the effort of lying down next to him. It looked at him triumphantly and carefully lowered its head into his lap. He stiffened. Then softened when he saw Sprout resting. "Y'know... I'm really not a good guy. You shouldn't be so cuddly with me." Sprout snorted, as if to say 'yeah right.'.
Corbeau took off his glasses to clean them. "I'm really not, though. Anyhow, that was a great battle. You're not the kind of Pokémon I would personally train, but this was fun." He put his glasses back on and leaned back against the tree trunk. "We'll rest here for a few minutes and then we should be on our way."
They left the alley behind (thank goodness) and continued on their merry way. It wasn't too far anymore, they were already halfway there. Corbeau took a glance at his phone. "He still hasn't reacted to my message." He commented, "I'll try calling him again." So that's what he did.
Once again, it rang into infinity. "What a joke..." he put it away again. He turned to Sprout, "I never knew him to be the unreliable sort. Is he usually like this?" Sprout shook its head, "yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. I wonder what's going on."
Sprout grumbled sadly, "yes, you don't know either, I'm aware. He's the kind of Trainer to always look out for his partners no matter what, right?" Sprout wiggled again. "You just always do that, don't you. The kids at the hotel think it's adorable. Paxton included, I'm sure." Corbeau couldn't help but smile. And then he averted his eyes with furrowed brows to come back to his senses. Don't go soft!
"Anyway, how'd you two start out? I mean, surely you aren't so insanely in sync since day one." Sprout slowly tilted its head from side to side, "so more or less you are? Damn, that's a good friendship."
It took another half hour, but they made it. Quarzatico inc. Headquarters. Corbeau took a glance at the time: 5 p.m. he was skeptical Paxton was even around anymore, even if he was here prior.
Corbeau pet Sprout's forehead again, "let's go inside. At last, a door you finally fit through."
In the lobby, nothing seemed out of the ordinary: same old receptionists, same old waiting lounge, same old bright lighting that kinda hurt Corbeau's eyes a little bit.
Vinnie stood at the end of the hallway, arms crossed, emitting pure bouncer-energy. When he spotted the odd duo, he lazily waved at them.
They haven't really had a chat again since the mystery of the hyperspace dimensions was solved. "Good evening Vinnie. Allow me to cut to the chase. I have a question: is Paxton here? Or was he here at least?" "Paxton, hm?" Even through his thick sunglasses, Corbeau could tell he was glancing between himself and Sprout, analyzing the situation.
Then he nodded, "yes, I saw him in. He came to visit Taunie. But if you're trying to meet up with him, he already left hours ago, I'm afraid." Disgruntled, Corbeau scowled, "of course."
Vinnie looked him over, then shrugged, "I can ask Taunie to come here. Maybe she knows where he went." "Good idea. Thanks."
Vinnie left and it was just him, Sprout and the two receptionists. "Well, seems this journey's gonna take even longer now." Sprout chirped. He couldn't help but feel like it was trying to cheer him up. It received some more pets for this.
"Um... hey, Mr. Corbeau." Taunie greeted, obviously bewildered by his visit. Then she saw Sprout.
"Yes, nice to—"
"Oh my Arceus, Sprout!" She ran right over, "was it with you this whole time?" She asked Corbeau.
"Yes, it—"
"Sprout you have no idea, how worried Paxton is! He came all the way here just to ask me if I'd seen you. You can't just suddenly go missing!"
"Well, I happ—"
"Seems like you had a huge adventure huh? I'm just glad you're unharmed."
"Would you stop interrupting me?!" Corbeau seethed.
Taunie stepped back with wide eyes. Corbeau cleared his throat, "Apologies. Anyway, what I tried to say: I found Sprout near Wildzone 5. It didn't know where Paxton was so I offered to help find him. So we've just been on a wild ducklett hunt for hours now. Do you know where he is right now?"
"Uhh no, but I can try calling him." She pulled out her Rotom-phone. "This won't work, he doesn't pick up the phone."
"Taunie, what's up?"
Are you joking?
"Paxton? hi, where are you right now?" "Back at the hotel. Lida and Naveen weren't there so it's just me and Ansha right now. Please tell me you know where Sprout is."
Wow, he definitely sounds worried. Taunie smirked. "As a matter of fact, I do. Why don't you come over? I'm sure they'll wait here." "Huh? Who's they?" "Doesn't matter right now, just swing by, okay?" Then she hung up.
"Okay, I don't know if I should be relieved you got a hold of him or hurt he never picked up when I called him." "Eh, probably has his reasons. Anyway, why don't you have a seat? It'll take a while for him to get here."
"Sprout!" Paxton yelled across the lobby, immediately locking eyes with his Pokémon. Both ran to each other, although Sprout almost knocked Paxton over when he hugged its neck. "I'm so glad you're okay! I almost had a heart attack because of you!" "Truly? Then you should be resting." Corbeau slowly stood from his seat and walked over.
Paxton breathed a sigh of relief, "thanks for looking out for it. Seriously, I don't want to imagine what would've happened otherwise." "No need to thank me. I saw a Pokémon in need so I provided aid. Nothing to be proud of. Although you're now indebted to me."
Paxton's expression froze, "ah."
Corbeau smirked, "nah, just kidding. Believe it or not, today was a good day. Wouldn't have expected my afternoon stroll to become such a chase." He paused for a moment. Right, didn't he forget something?
"Oh shit, Philippe!"
Paxton chuckled.
Corbeau paid him no mind and instead immediately called up his right hand man.
"Found the perp?" Philippe asked. "Psch, perp. What do you mean perp?" "You said you thought it irresponsible and unbelievable for someone to abandon their Pokémon on the street." For once, Corbeau was speechless. Paxton raised an eyebrow, rather amused by this conversation.
"I told you to forget about that..." Corbeau said quietly. "Mhm, sorry boss. Won't happen again. Why did you call?"
"Hm, right, just wanted to ask how everything's going."
"Perfectly well, no worries. I take it you're returning?"
"Not yet. But I'll be back soon. I didn't expect it to take this long."
"I did, so it's fine."
"You... huh?"
"Yeah, I've been observing you running around with Paxton's Meganium. I think it was very sweet how you held conversations with it and—"
"Ok, bye!" Corbeau quickly said and hung up. It was extremely rare for Corbeau to blush. Matter of fact, it never really affected his face, but much rather his ears and those were bright red.
Paxton couldn't help but laugh. "Hmph, shut up. You have nothing to laugh about. Why was your Pokémon all alone?"
"Ha, sorry." Paxton wiped a tiny tear from his eye and looked over to Sprout. "I hadn't noticed it getting out of its Pokéball. I was just heading out to go through some Wildzones. When I noticed Sprout's Pokéball was empty, I panicked. I went back to the hotel, Sprout wasn't there. Lida hadn't seen it and Naveen had gone home by then. Then I came here and asked Taunie for help. And after that I was just running around everywhere. When I couldn't find it, I returned to Hotel Z, since I thought it would at least know the way back."
"And then Taunie called you." Corbeau concluded.
"And then Taunie called me, yeah." He repeated.
"So then how come you picked up your phone when she called but ignored my calls?" "Uhhh... okay that's a little embarrassing but... I had to charge it so I left it in my room. After I went back, obviously I heard Taunie call me. And after that I noticed you had tried to reach out to me. Oh, and on my way here I listened to your message, so... not too big of a surprise that I saw you here with Sprout."
"Speaking of, if you're looking for her, Taunie said she was currently rather busy, so she left a while ago." "Haha, understandable. I also took a bit longer because I brought Ansha back to Hotel Richissime. I couldn't have left her alone in the hotel."
Together, they exited the headquarters building. Paxton had withdrawn Sprout back into its Pokéball, so there was considerably more space between and around them. Corbeau sighed, "you have no idea how hard it was to traverse the city while being mindful of where or where not Sprout can fit through."
"True. I usually keep it by my side so it's used to running around, but it underestimates its size quite much. I guess sometimes it still feels like a Chikorita." "Heh, it certainly acts the part."
"Anyway, it was really nice of you to keep an eye out. I'm just relieved its unharmed."
"Definitely. But I do want some compensation for this. So... how about a battle tomorrow? Stop by our building whenever you can."
"Sounds great, I'll be there."
"Lovely, but I believe you should battle with a different partner that time. After all, I seem to know your Meganium really well now."
"Well, since Sprout apparently loves you so much, swapping it out would probably make it sad."
"Also true. Surprise me then. Good night, kid." He walked away.
"G'night. And stop calling me kid already, I'm twenty!"
He turned to shoot him a wry smile, then Corbeau left without another word.