Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Saffron City: Silph Co. Section.

A pack of Growlithe puppies play Tug-of-War with the database. Better save! (Saving)

Lark has arrived.

<OOC> Lark notes as a reminder that Sassafras was the professor along when Lark caught her Winneedee, so they'd know each other a bit. :)

It's evening, the end of a hot, pleasant summer's day, and trainers are beginning to crowd to the Pokemon Center rather than camp out in the hot, humid night. Among the many entering the white-walled building is a tiny woman that might look familiar to many who examine her closely. On her shoulder is a brightly-colored Plantakeet, and in her arms is a tiny sleeping female Nidoran, obviously one of the orphans from Northern Mountain. Once inside, Lark stops and peers around, craning to see around taller trainers and discern if one of the professors is in the room right now.

Despite the fact that the people are rapidly piling into the Pokemon Center for the night, it looks as though one individual is about to fall asleep. Way over near the other wall sits Professor Sassafras, her right hand typing something one key at a time very slowly, her left hand supporting her left cheek as her elbow is on the small table. It's getting late, she thinks to herself, but she knows that she can't leave for another hour or two. There's no sign that designates her as a professor or anything - in fact, given her posture and position, the entire scene appears perfectly unprofessional.

Despite there being no visible sign of Sassafras' professorhood, Lark knows the woman fairly well. After all, the professor was on the trip when the small woman caught her Winneedee, and was also quite involved in his subsequent healing. Once the crowd breaks a bit, Lark catches sight of the woman and begins weaving her way through the other people, agilely making it over to the other woman. "Excuse me, Professor," she says quietly, trying to catch the pokemon professor's attention.

Ho, hum. Maybe she can close an hour earl - eh? Sassafras blinks, and ever so slowly turns her head to the side so that her left hand now covers her mouth. She glances at Lark - and her eyes widen. "Oh, er, um..." As though a shock has ripped through her, the professor straightens herself, and pretty much in a flash her posture is perfect, her head held high and her chest slightly sticking out, a sharp, professional contrast to the slobbiness she had just shown. "Yes, how can I..." Her eyebrows twitch softly. This girl looks oddly familiar. "... Help you?"

Lark politely takes no notice of any unprofessionalism that might have just taken place. "Hello, Professor Sassafras. I was hoping I could take a bit of time and have an interview for the Winneedee. I know I really don't have a chance at her, but my conscience is forcing me to try for it anyway," she says with a smile. <Hi!> the Plantakeet chirps happily to the familiar face.

Professor Sassafras nods her head softly, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "Yes, of course, I knew you would. If you please, I just need..." Professor Sassafras blinks softly, before directing her attention down to her lap. Pretty much from out of nowhere she whips out a notepad, flips open to a page, takes a second and a half to review it, and makes it vanish once more. "Your name, your hometown, and your pokedex, please." The woman then turn her head to the Plantakeet, inclining her head softly and saying, "Good evening."

"Of course," Lark says as she reaches into her jacket pocket and retrieves the red machine, holding it out for Sassafras to take. "Lark Oglethorpe of Saffron," she says, not seeming to mind that the woman doesn't quite remember who she is. Of course, Lark is pretty easy going-not much seems to disturb her.

"Lark," Sassafras repeats, looking thoughtful for a moment before nodding her head. "Lark, yes, that's it. Well, Lark..." The professor takes the pokedex, and even as she speaks she begins to insert it into the Pokemon Center's computer for it to process. "Before we begin, are there any..." The woman's eyes flash with joy here for a moment, and a slight little grin covers her face. "... Questions you'd like to ask me?" She says questions as though it's a holy word.

Lark shakes her head and begins to open her mouth, only to be interrupted by the 'Keet. <Yes! Are you really going to let her have the Winneedee? And let Balder have some company? He likes us but he's lonely!> "Hush, Aya," Lark says quietly, both chiding the bird for the her rudeness and assumptions and warning her to be quiet as the baby Nidoran stirs. "/I/," the woman begins, emphasizing the word, "don't have any questions, except for needing to know what you want to know about me," she says with a smile.

Professor Sassafras replies to the Plantakeet before she replies to the girl, and her voice is considerably sweet - although it has a kind of depth to it, a lower tone to the voice that blends with the sweetness but gives it a slightly more dark sound to it. "She may," Sassafras nods to the Plantakeet. "I presume this other pokemon your Plantakeet is talking about is a Wineedee stallion, now?" Sassafras's voice doesn't suggest whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. "Professor Dogwood and I just recently conducted a thorough experiment on Plantakeets, so I'm quite fresh in translating your Plantakeet," the woman adds as a quick explanation.

Lark looks mildly surprised at the woman's ready understanding of her Plantakeet, but absorbs that surprise easily. "I see. Yes, I was with the expedition you led to Northern Mountain a few months ago to make sure the Winneedee had left, and I captured the injured one who had been left behind. What sort of experiment was it?" she asks curiously, obviously interested in what a professor could learn about pokemon like her feathered, noisy friend.

"Of course," Sassafras nods genuinely, as though she completely remembers the incident. "I... I..." The woman blinks, suddenly extremely interested in the conversation matter, her love propelled solely and totally by Lark's question. "Oh, why, it was very simple! We were merely testing to see if a male Plantakeet could accurately mimic the voice of a -female- pokemon, and vice versa! Very interesting, we... we... Ahh, but would you prefer I start on the Winneedee now, instead?"

Lark smiles quickly. "Oh, no, that sounds very interesting. What did you discover? I have to admit that I haven't noticed any flaws in Aya's voice when she mimic pokemon that I presume are male, but then, I'm not an expert." Aya also looks quite interested in this, cocking her head to one side as she listens to the professor. <I can mimic anything!> she says proudly, not caring if the statement is true or not.

A pack of Growlithe puppies play Tug-of-War with the database. Better save! (Saving)

Oof. Another question - Sassafras can't resist answering the inquiry. "Well... A lot depends on the pokemon," the woman explains, softening considerably. Her hands stay on her lap, however, and any excitement or passion from talking of the experiment comes from her eyes and her mouth. "A male and female... mm, Clefairy, they sound very different. But what's the sound difference between a male and female Magnemite? Further testing needs to be done, which Professor Dogwood and I will be conducting later on." The woman glances at the clock on the computer, showing little emotion, before turning back to Lark. "We really should get started on the Winneedee. Are you ready?"

Lark's face immediately becomes contrite. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to take up so much of your time. Yes, I'm ready. Ask away," she says with a small smile. Aya looks disappointed at the change of subject, her crest drooping, but that lasts only briefly. After all, now they're going to be talking about a Winneedee, another pokemon she likes, right? <Yay! Winneedees are cool!> she chirps, not realizing the pun she just made.

Sassafras gives Aya a sweet little smile before nodding to Lark. As she speaks, she begins typing on the keyboard, probably analyzing the data in Lark's pokedex. Why couldn't she do this while she was talking about her experiments? "I'd just like to know why you think you'd be the best trainer for this Winneedee," she says, typing away while looking at the screen - almost purposely not glancing at the girl.

Lark nods, then considers for a moment. "Well, there are a number of reasons while I'd make the best trainer for the Winneedee," she says quietly, her voice and faced composed into a pleasant tone and expression. "First of all, I have owned a Winneedee stallion for nearly four months. This gives me quite a bit of experience with them, especially as I had to help care for his injuries at first. Secondly, since like all equines, Winneedees are herd animals, I would be able to provide a home for it that would give it one of the things it needs most-companionship of its own kind. Not only would this help the Winneedee you're trying to find a home for, but mine as well." She pauses for a moment to take a breath, then continues. "Furthermore, I'm older than many trainers, and have had a chance to learn responsibility. I realize, where some of my younger compatriots might not, that a pokemon's needs can't be put off just because it's inconvenient for me or I don't want to take care of them right now. Finally, I don't see my pokemon as just 'fuzzy guns,' to be sent out into battle and nothing else. I love them as my friends and companions, and would do anything I can to help them, as I would any of my human friends."

Sassafras only takes the occasional glance at Lark as she speaks and merely nods on occasion, and it might even seem to somebody only watching the scene that Sassafras is practically ignoring the girl. In truth, she's listening to every single word, analyzing it in her mind, all the while processing Lark's information. Right as Ms. Oglethorphe says "friends", the woman hits the enter key - and out pops the pokedex, which the orange-haired professor hands to Lark. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" she asks, though there's a definite interest involved in the question.

Lark considers that question as she reaches out to take her pokedex back. "Just that I appreciate your time. I realize you probably want to give the Winneedee to someone who hasn't had the opportunity to catch one, and I understand that completely, I just felt like I had to give it a shot, for both of them. Balder certainly seems happy with me now that he's gotten used to his new surroundings, but I'm sure he'd be more happy with another of his kind around. Again, thank you for your time," she says, giving the professor a grateful nod.

Professor Sassafras also inclines her head, but doesn't say a word quite yet. Instead, she whips out a notebook, this time along with a pen, and begins to scribble some very quick information, most likely summarizing Lark's entire interview. The entire ordeal takes all of a few seconds (perhaps she's going to add some more details later?), and the professor nods to Lark yet again. "You're quite welcome, Lark. If you see my report on Plantakeets, be sure to read it. A small section of Pokemon Today was dedicated to it."

"Thank you, professor. I'll definitely look that up-it sounds like it was very interesting research," Lark says smoothly. "Thanks again." With that, she gives Sassafras a bit of a wave, trying not to disturb the Nidoran in her arms, then turns and makes her way back to the entrance of the building, then disappears outside into the night.