Valentine's first response to the other player's greeting was a slow blink as she was brought back to reality (well, reality within UNOVR, anyway). In all her excitement and anxiety over caring for her very own egg, she had sort of... forgotten that other players were around, too, that she wasn't off in her own little world with just her and the egg.

"Hello!" Valentine hoped that her voice sounded more enthusiastic and less spaced-out than she felt, but she wasn't so sure.

Upon the other woman's mention of egg hatching, however, Valentine broke out into a genuine grin upon realizing that other players being around meant other players might be able to help her, other players might actually know what they were doing... she didn't have to go it alone and just take a stab in the dark after all!

Valentine's voice was definitely enthusiastic now, enthusiastic and energetic and perhaps still a hint of her anxiety creeping into her rapid speech. "Yeah, egg hatching! I just got this little one from the Rookery and I've never had an egg of my own before and I don't really know how to make them hatch, I was just kind of spitballing here, maybe you've got a better idea than I do how that all works? I'm not in any rush or anything, I just don't want to somehow damage my egg along the way by accident, you know?"

Valentine's trip to the Rookery was a success, and now she had an egg of her very own to care for!

...which made her realize how little she actually knew about Pokemon eggs.

How long did it take for them to hatch? What did she need to do to care for them in the meantime? Were there any big important steps that she had somehow missed along the way? Valentine wasn't sure, exactly, and that worried her a little. Sure, she knew the basics, knew not to go cracking them or throwing them in a freezer, but beyond that it was all new to her.

So Valentine just sat in the settlement, unwilling to bring her egg anywhere beyond the settlement's reach where it might be in danger from wild Pokemon... though Valentine knew from experience now that the settlement itself wasn't 100% free of wild Pokemon either... but sitting with her back against one of the houses there seemed like as good a spot as any. She had the egg in a makeshift nest of blankets and soft cloths on her lap, Nova and Puff were on the alert in case wild Pokemon (or any other potential danger) did indeed show their face, and Valentine was... singing to the egg.

It felt right, somehow, to sing to it, and it couldn't hurt, right?

"Soft eggie, warm eggie, little ball of fur..."

It was a silly choice of song, from a show his mom watched that he didn't even really like, but it was the first thing that had come to mind. The lyrics weren't really accurate either--warm, maybe, but the egg's surface was hard and smooth, without soft spots or any sign of fluff. But maybe all that would change after it hatched. Maybe the lyrics would end up fitting better after all. Only time would tell.

"Happy eggie, sleepy eggie, purr purr purr..."

Eggs didn't purr, obviously, but Valentine could swear she did feel a bit of soothing vibration coming from it from time to time. Hopefully the baby Pokemon in there was indeed happy and sleepy and just biding its time until it could grace the world with its presence.

The flowers really were gorgeous. And, yes, cute. It wasn't a dirty word, was it? Nothing wrong with being cute?

"Oh great, thank you!"

Valentine accepts the friend request (as well as the location pin) without really thinking about it, only realizing afterwards that it meant that she'd made her first official friend in the game... by almost getting her butt kicked by a Purrloin, of all things. Well, whatever worked, right?

"And that would be wonderful, thank you! I was actually going to ask--I'm not sure I trust my sense of direction out here in the dark, y'know? Even with these handy gadgets, it can be too easy to get lost, or get ambushed by more Pokemon, or who knows what... and besides, always nice to spend more time with a new friend, right?"

Valentine smiled at just the thought of it. A new friend! How exciting! It seemed that she really had been meant to go Pokemon-hunting in the dark tonight after all.

"Oh, that's neat!"

Logan wasn't a huge horror movie fan, though he didn't hate them, either. He wasn't one of those who'd shriek at every jumpscare or anything like that, but he didn't get much of a fun adrenaline rush from them, either. They were just... movies, and often movies that, when analyzed logically, weren't especially well-plotted, the handiwork going into planning the scares rather than into planning the actual story. That was the case for the handful he'd seen, anyway, but those were supposed to be the classics, so they should be the best of the bunch, right?

At least he knew who Stephen King was. His dad liked those books; Logan could picture the bookshelf back at home lined with them all. Though he couldn't as clearly picture his father actually reading any of them...

Anyway. There was some other stuff to bond over there, at least.

"Yeah, I wasn't sure about Gardener either, but it's fun seeing plants grow all around! And it makes everything smell nice, too, heh."

As for Scarlet and Violet... Logan hadn't actually touched a main-series Pokemon game in a couple years. He'd told himself he was too old for all that, that he'd grown beyond such childish games... and yet, here he was...

"I don't know if I'll have the time either. Unovr's so addicting, I don't really want to play much else just yet. Though that reminds me, I think I'll have to heal up soon if I don't want to white out... do you know which way the nearest shrine is?"

Valentine almost yells out an attack for Nova to use, but she seems to be taking guides well enough from what the other Rowlet's doing, whipping out a Razor Leaf of her own to send even more leaves flying everywhere.

...this place was gonna be a mess by the end of this battle, huh?

Valentine pushed that thought out of her head and focused on the stranger's words instead. "Oh yeah, definitely! Love 'em!"

When it came to him asking what kind of Pokemon she was after, though, Valentine had to think about it for a moment. Part of it was that she didn't have to trade what he was after, but part of it was also that she... wasn't really sure what she was looking for. Something new, at least, and new typing, but beyond that... did it matter exactly what she found? Did she even really want the Purrloin that Nova was so busy attacking, or was that just settling for whatever came her way?

"Well, I don't have any spare Grass-types for you. Just Nova here." That much, at least, was straightforward. "But... mostly I'm just kind of seeing what comes my way, y'know? I'm trying not to be too picky, especially since I know there's only so many different species in each area. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a better sense of my dream team, especially down the line, but... I don't think I'm there quite yet."

It was still a very dark night in the settlement, but a moment of rest had done Nova's injuries some good, and after encountering and catching a Noibat right here on the edge of town, Valentine was curious what else she might be able to find out there.

Maybe it would have been wiser to wait for the light of day to examine the surrounding area further... but then, Valentine had never claimed to be any font of wisdom, and she wanted to learn more now! Especially since any traces of fatigue from the long day she'd had were definitely gone after the adrenaline rush of that earlier battle...