Learning More (INVITE)

This part of the city was always busy and noisy this time of day. People got ready for work, pushed past each other and were always in a noisy rush. Towering above most people at the moment was a Morph in a black shirt, grey hoodie, and plain jeans. Most people kept their distance from him, which was quite the sight to see in the middle of the crowd. The man's hands were in the pockets of his hoodie and his expression looked tired and disinterested in everything going on around him. He scratched behind one of his triangular ears and pondered the direction he should take to get to the cafe he was supposed to meet this girl who contacted him. He looked to an alleyway nearby and sighed. Anything to get away from the noise. Toki hated crowded, loud places. It might have had to do with his heightened sense of hearing.

The alleyway was quiet and no Pokemon seemed to make their home in this particular one, thankfully. He took out his phone and double checked the route and nodded to himself with a slight, affirmative grunt when he realized he was still on track. Hopefully he wouldn't be late. He had heard rumors about this researcher before. Whoever they were, Toki was actually curious about them. Why would someone like this work for Crux? He pushed those thoughts aside as he effortlessly scaled a locked fence to the other side without even thinking about it. Upon exiting the alley, he looked side to side before spotting the building that he assumed to be the cafe.

He looked around for a moment and seemed lost. When he looked at one of the employees, they pointed him towards the corner booths. He stepped past them and took his wallet out. He fished out a couple of bills and placed them on the counter "....thanks..." he said in an almost shy murmur. He didn't care about the money he got and barely even made use of his apartment. More often than not he would explore outside the city during his free time. He did not like the looks he got from most people, especially when his Absol, Lota, was out of his Pokeball. He hated the stigma Absols got and wanted as much time with his Pokemon as possible without people being scared of the two of them.

He saw a girl in the corner booth, assuming it was who he was meeting with. Without a word he sat down across from her and leaned back. His bright red eyes scanned the room nervously. Paranoia typically followed him when it came to Crux business. If he could help it, he avoided eye contact with her. "...you wanted to talk..." was all he said. His voice was quiet and shaky, not at all intimidating like his stature would imply. He took his hands out of his pockets and rest them on the table top as he tapped his fingers. The blue ears, the dark rings around his eyes, the red irises, the blue fur around his hands and the metal growth on the back of his hands were sure signs of Riolu traits. The metal parts weren't pointed and his ears weren't long enough to belong to a Lucario.

Toki was rather hesitant to trust this girl based on words alone. Once more he scanned the room in quick, paranoid glances before he eventually brought himself to reach forward and shake the girl's hand. "...my name is Toki..." he said. He leaned back after he shook her hand and kept more eye contact with her. It was better than the other looks he was getting. The atmosphere in this small cafe was unbearably tense for him. More than he would have tolerated if he could help it, though he stayed since Evangeline's curiosity and motives seemed genuine. She treated him on equal footing, and that handshake was more or less all the proof he was going to get.

"Riolu....yes..." he nodded in affirmation, almost as if he tried to remember it himself. He wanted to explain in more detail about what he went through, but with so many others here possibly listening in, he couldn't risk saying anything that could come back to bite him. To that end, in response to her mentioning his amazing work in training, all he said was "...Thanks..." before looking around again. Any suspicious looks? No? Then he relaxed a little. "...When I'm not...working...I travel. I don't stay home much." he said, struggling to keep his words as ambiguous as possible when it comes to his work in public. He was certain others in the organization wouldn't be happy if he said anything specific about the tasks he was sent to do.

He wasn't sure what to say or do right now. Why did she choose him, anyway? It was confusing. Either way, an cordial conversation was welcome for it was the first one he has had in a long time despite that fact he didn't do much talking. The only comfort he had recently was the company of his only Pokemon, Lota. The companionship they had gave Toki the smallest amount of hope, but it was there nonetheless. Lota was one of the only positive things to have come out of his time with Team Crux thus far.

"...Why study us..?" he asked, curious to her motivation for doing this. Understanding artificial morphs seemed risky considering who had the monopoly on the tech required to do so. He also didn't really understand the point. As far as he knew, the creation of artificial morphs was entirely to create super soldiers for the team and only the team. It wasn't like Crux was the type of organization to share their trade secrets with a world that likely didn't even know about their existence. Either way, it seemed harmless enough. After all, she was part of the team as well.