- Soul of Steel -

Chapter 13: Una Sabbatorum

- - - - - The Evening Of One Week To The Pokemon League Tournament - - - - -

- - - - - Oleana's Home - - - - -

The clock had gone past midnight, and Oleana tried to pay little mind to the slowly growing anxiety that threatened her evening. Several things had been taking up her mental space for a bit, but if there was anything she could count on to come home and relax with it would be the notion Sam would be coming in the door any second. Since he wasn't home even as half of the hour went by, a thought came: whether or not he got held up due to this being only his third time being in Galar, or 'held up' by some troublemakers in the streets. To her own dismay, the novel she was working on reading was losing its ability to contain her focus.

/If he only had a more advanced phone then I could at least ping his location...but he insists on keeping that PokeGear from Johto./

Oleana openly sighs to herself. Being unable to stay in one spot, her trustworthy partner and best friend Garbodor sees her pace about for a bit after putting the book down. "It's only because he still has yet to drop that personality quirk of his of overworking, so I wonder if he's simply done more overextend-" the Chairman halts her speech upon hearing the front door of her home having its keyhole twisting. The sound of her home being entered and the door swaying opened showed the disheveled figure of Sam slowly making his way in, fumbling forward with great fatigue.

"Oleana..? Hey, I'm back...sorry I'm late." he calls out.

Her anxiety had finally exited her body and came over to him immediately. When it was discovered he came over to the region, she asked him to cancel his stay-over from the hotel he chose and to just room at her home instead; any reason to save money and an excuse to see him before she would begin her long days was good enough. He sees the large Garbodor make its usual cry to greet him, with the noticeable noise of heels clacking on the floor in his direction. The figure of the tall woman that was his lover, the chairman of the Galar league herself, Oleana, showed up and gave him a big hug.

"A-ah...sorry. Did I do something wrong?" Sam initially asks, with the hat of his being lifted off his head by one of her hands before caressing slowly with her fingers. Her olive green eyes vacantly look at him before narrowing from visible slight exhaustion.

"Your phone better be dead. You're home much later than I had thought you'd be." She spoke in a usual 'matter of fact' tone, but was also patting him down from some noticeable dust and not minding the smell of sweat. She grew used to being around Trubbish as a little girl, so being near him like this didn't bother her at all. Digging out his PokeGear, Sam tries to press a button on it to check...only to see the screen not light up at all.

He sighs and looks up to the pensive female that eyed the device and him. "Huh must have died when I was in the Wild Area all day." Sam gives an innocent smile, trying to play it off.

Oleana didn't think too much on that and would bring him alongside her into the living room. Being the former vice president of Macro Cosmos turned Chairman of the Pokemon League afforded her the ability to have a rather roomy home, so not only would he have space to relax but some Pokemon as well. Popping his Feraligatar out of the ball, Sam exhales, finally able to sit in something more comfortable than the cab of an Air Taxi he took to get to her place. "Did anyone tell you that you need to upgrade that thing? Tell me you ate at least, please. All I know from earlier is you wrapped up a new case today which will be going to lawyers...due to you helping our very champion himself."

The man from Johto, ex-Champion Sam, took a moment to stretch and feel fresh air on his feet: he was walking for probably far too long, and his body had yet to adjust to the Galarian timezone and weather.