[EMOTE] Taemin vs Bryony - Night In Hearthome

Bryony frowned a little at him dismissing the idea of him being a battler. She rolled her eyes, knowing that it was really his choice and perhaps not the career path her wanted, but it never hurt to at least practice more.

"Hey, don't knock yourself like that," she said, crossing her arms and facing him. "You had the type advantage, sure, but you pummeled me in that battle. You've got a competitive spirit, I could see it."

"Plus, you've got language on your side. You caught me off-guard because I couldn't understand what you were calling, and it messed with my counters." Bryony smiled a bit, amused by the memory of the battle that had happened only a few minutes prior. 

"You should at least try to battle more. You've got strong Pokémon. And besides," she said, a slightly more serious expression crossing her face. "Who knows. That practice might help us down the line." 

She didn't allow the thoughts of Galactic and the growing signs of more trouble on the horizon to overwhelm her this time. As of now, she just accepted that this was the reality of the situation, and there was no use pondering on it any longer. What needed to happen now, was that they needed to safely make it to Pastoria City, stay there for a while, and make a game plan on where to go next as a group. Should anything happened, they needed to be ready, including for a battle.

And, deep down, she just couldn't stand the thought of anyone hurt. Anyone. 

Bryony's shoulders relaxed and her crossed arms loosened up a bit as Taemin began to explain himself. Her expression, once stone-hard with seriousness, softened and became more sympathetic as he went on, looking at the sky with him. It saddened her, his reasoning for coming to the Academy. He didn't come for the prestige. He came to prove a point. To prove others wrong.

And Galactic had taken that away. They had taken the satisfaction of graduating from all of them, but for Taemin, it was a tad more personal.

"I can teach you," she finally responded, meeting his look with a small, sympathetic smile when she saw the laxness didn't mask the sadness in his eyes. "I know I'm not a professional or anything, but I know a few things. As well as a couple tricks from the subways." 

"We're gonna figure this out. Us, and Jirou too, so he can get back home, too. And we'll all do it as a team."

She smiled a bit more, nudging his arm. "And we won't rub anything in your face, either. We do this together. Sound good?"

At the sound of him saying her name, Bryony's eyes widened a little in surprise. It caught her off guard, him saying it, but she couldn't help but feel a little more at ease. It relieved her further to see him soften a bit and loosen up, glad to see that he took what she said and really considerd it. With a smile, she nodded and stuffed her hands in her pockets again, chuckling a little as she responded.

"You're welcome. It's just the truth though," she said, before blowing some air at a stray strand of hair away from her face. "Sorry, that sounded a little cheesy before. I mean, it worked and all, but damn. That's like, movie material." She laughed a little at herself, before looking at the street, tiredness starting to make her senses little dulled.

"Wanna walk back together? We oughta get some rest if we're heading out for Pastoria tomorrow."