[ti]private[/ti]Of a wild lake, with black rock bound

One cat ear twitches, right, and it's in this same direction that the Alchemist turns — an eye the colour of rubies fixing on Silvermoon before one the colour of sapphires does as well. She smiles, flashing a perfect string of pearly whites. Of course they're perfect. Who would give such imperfections to their avatar?

"Hey there! Fishing. You've heard of the event currently going on, right?"

OL' BLARNEY'S VALENTINE'S HOOKUP! or whatever it's called. Frankly, Tuesday couldn't care less about the "Valentine's" tag the event is labelled as, clearly intended to give an non-traditional spin on the theme (just like when they did speed dating for Halloween). What she cares for is the potential rewards, and of course, she intends to get the best ones.

"Oh. I'm Tuesday, by the way, and the little terror in the water is Legion... if they decide to come say 'Hi'. Care to join?"

The little terror in question peeks through the surface of the pond, a pair of small dorsal fins appearing before shimmering scales and dark eyes do. Those dark eyes stare at the stranger for a total of five seconds before the miniature Kyogre dives down once more.

As a perfectly curated Instagram profile would indicate to those who are interested enough to look, fishing is an activity that has been a part of Martín Marzán's life since he was a child ('always catch and release', a caption indicates to prevent any furious comments from conservationists). When it comes to UNOVR, though? Well, Tuesday may just know a thing or two...

"Ha, really? No worries, fishing mechanics are pretty simple here. You cast your line and when it tenses up it means that you got a bite, then you just reel it in."

Her own line remains slack, but that's really no surprise, with Legion lurking nearby. They're probably scaring away the fish. Hell, Tuesday wouldn't be surprised if they have tried to eat one or two...

"You got any thoughts on the clues that were in the event announcement? This whole fishing up brides for an NPC is pretty damn weird, right?" Tuesday laughs. She herself had looked at the three lines more than a few times, but what the hell is a Splashmother? What do the Spice Girls have to do with all of this? Or, is it KFC eleven herbs and spices reference?

Just as she's about to ask Silvermoon these questions, the line tenses up.

"Oh! Let's see what we got!"

Smirking, Tuesday reels in a [Bigness]DQQlD3rt1d100 [Description]1d90 [Blarney]1d100

<'PATHETIC.'> Legion declares in a whale song from deep beneath the surface.

"Uhmm... Yeah, Legion, I think you might be right. It is kind of pathetic. What is this, anyway? Some sort of piraña or something? ...There's no way they're actually this small, right?" There's a subtle yet distinctively Spanish lilt in the way Tuesday pronounces certain words, and in the case of the Carvanha that seems too preoccupied with biting her line over and over and over, it becomes more pronounced for a second. The catgirl doesn't seem to mind this at all, though (or even notice). Just like she doesn't mind making Silvermoon aware of the fact that she's not one of those weirdos who knows every single Pokémon species out there.

The truth of the matter is that Mars only ever played Pokémon Red before diving into UNOVR, meaning that Tuesday's Pokémon knowledge is mostly limited to most of Generation I, the ones Mars learned about during his brief moments playing Pokémon Scarlet upon release, and whatever he encounters when playing UNOVR. Thus, Carvanha is now added to the growing list.

"UI prompt says it's pedigree, though. So, like, maybe it's a good option? Posh Spice and what not, right?" She laughs, mismatched gaze falling on her new companion. The decision to keep the teensy Carvanha is made for this reason, and after a moment of struggling with the cantankerous fish to release it from the hook, she offers the golden fishing rod to Silvermoon.

"Wanna give it a try now? You might get better luck."

Why not, right?

@silvermooon must be really young.

Why else wouldn't they know about the Spice Girls, right? Considering the group broke up in like 2000, kids these days probably only know them as an old pop culture reference. Suddenly, Tuesday feels really old as well.

"Yeah, Posh Spice. Like the Spice Girls? You know... If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends, and all that?" She sings two lines of the chorus of Wannabe in a melodious soprano, her own laughter following this sound. Admittedly, Tuesday doesn't remember most of the lyrics to the song, but even Mars himself had been really young when the Spice Girls had been popular.

"Makes sense, since the event calls Blarney ol'. Hmm... No clue what Spice Girl would fit as 'committed', though. Ginger Spice? Sporty Spice?"

Tuesday muses on this matter while looking at the UI pop up about Silvermoon's catch, then shrugging.

"Hey, Legion, mind luring something better our way?"

The Kyogre responds merely with a deep and haunting note that causes ripples on the dark pond's surface.

Maybe Silvermoon is onto something there, but then again, Tuesday is no expert in what personality archetypes each Spice Girl represents, and it's clear that neither is this new acquittance of hers. "Should've given Alexa access to the WorldScreen, she could look this shit up." The thought comes in passing, vanishing from Mars' mind the moment Silvermoon's second question brings thoughts of a Pokémon he's also consistently reminded of...

'Is he your starter?'

"Nah, my starter is a Fennekin. Pretty sure Ash doesn't give Legendary Pokémon as starters. Would be wild if she did, right?" The Alchemist chuckles, although by this point she's starting to get the idea that Silvermoon is probably even less familiar with the Pokémon franchise and its terminology than her. If so, might as well explain. "Legion's just a baby, hatched recently. I've heard Kyogre get huge but the game has this whole thing about legendary pokémon going through stages of development."

There's a shrug, and while she would go on to comparing it to how eggs from the Rookery don't have to go through all that trouble, the way the line tenses up interrupts the conversation easily enough. Another catch.

"Ha. Here we go! Let's see..."

Tuesday reels in and...

There's a [Bigness]|Vd_aTWV1d100 [Description]1d90 [Blarney]1d100 on the line!

"Good fucking lord... Pokémon are so weird."

Where Silvermoon sounds surprised, concerned, and perhaps even a bit scared, Tuesday laughs, blasphemy rolling off the tongue of someone who had fought against religion and renounced it long ago. Sure, Mars may benefit from the fact that he's no stranger to fishing and also quite fond of fish themselves, but even if that's true, this jellyfish Pokémon's appearance is surprising even to Tuesday.

Maybe it's the fact that it's — in the game's words — humungo.

Maybe it's the fact that it looks so damn bossy.

"UI pop up says it's a HUMUNGO BOSSY FRILLISH. Guess I'm keeping that one, huh?" She makes light of it, perhaps mostly for the sake of her new companion, who understandably looks a bit shaken. "Wanna try again? Maybe this time we'll fish up something that actually looks nice."

The fishing rod is offered to them with a radiant smile.