neverland [m/c]

It was a coincidence really. The blonde haired woman was passing through the city of Eterna on the way back from a mission. She'd take the opportunity to drop by the mall on the way back from headquarters on the off chance she didn't have this chance later down the line with all the other tasks lined up. All that was left for her current mission was to report the results and move on to the next task. With the new effort to take over the region and subjugate the pokemon here, all the team rocket members were growing ever so busy with tasks large and small. With that said when she saw a familiar face nearby, she was less than shocked. She did take pause however and watched as the familiar brunette man began walking through crowds of people in the mall of all places.

He did not appear to notice her presence as he walked about which wasn't concerning in the slightest. Elizabeth didn't care to use her charm on the man as she would most due to their familiarity with each other already. The man was usually with his sister Emma, with whom the blonde had taken a liking to with repeated exposure to the duo. While she viewed Emma as a sweet little sister, it made the idea of flirting with her brother that much more awkward and unnecessary. Thus their relationship remained purely friendly. Keeping this in mind the lack of Emma by Emmett's side was disconcerting. Was she back at headquarters?

Seeing no harm in asking, Elizabeth would make her way through the crowd as well to follow the fellow rocket member. Luckily he had stopped walking about to look up at the second floor for whatever reason. She didn't question it as it made things easier. Tapping him on the shoulder from behind, she waited for him to turn before speaking. "Fancy running into you here." She'd ask about Emma after but she wanted to say hi first at least. Taking a moment to read his expression afterwards she gave brief pause, her light tone now showing a hint of concern. "Is there something the matter?"

Emmett did not respond immediately to her question which had the blonde tilt her head to the side curiously, waiting for a response. When she had actually gotten one her eyes widened momentarily as the words processed. "What do you mean you lost Emma?" Her voice wasn't one of anger, though if it had been anyone else except for him and Emma herself, the likelihood her real thoughts to show was quite high. Rather they were cautious and measured as if to test to see if he was pulling her leg. Elizabeth couldn't imagine Emmett would lie about something like this yet the same could be said about him losing Emma. The brother was usually good at keeping track of his sister and when he was preoccupied, Emma would be otherwise secure. Being in a new region must have been the root of the issue this time.

He continued to elaborate on the fact that the girl could have been legitimately anywhere and the more she heard the more alarmed she came. Elizabeth had all the faith in Emma to be able to take care of herself... that is to say not really. I'm sorry if you actually believed that. The girl was still young and impressionable, prone to do childish and dangerous things. Worse, she could have said the wrong things to the wrong people and then both Emma and Emmett would be in trouble down the line. With a nod she spoke, "I'll help search for her. When was the last time you remember her with you?"

Thinking over where Emma would possibly be attracted to, she remembered the girl had close to fanaticism with the concept of marriage and weddings. There were also other classic stores like candy and toy stores but this seemed unlikely for one reason or another. Did Emmett even give Emma spending money? Did Emma even understand the concept of buying things to begin with? The usually ever present smile on the blonde shifted to a purse of the lips in thought.

As much as Elizabeth was tempted to blame Emmett for Emma's disappearance, what he said sounded likely. The girl was so quick to wander and be distracted. She wouldn't have been surprised if Emma had seen someone she was interested in and followed them in an attempt to ask for marriage. In fact, imagining it was a simple task and made the blonde feel embarrassed among other things. Either way that left little to work with in terms of finding the young girl. Who knows what type of trouble she'd possibly get into?

At the least there were some potential spots out of the picture for now. If Emma was not near the entrance then she must have run off quickly. Unfortunately with the heavy crowd that loitered about in malls, she doubted that anyone asked would be able to provide any information on a little girl. Actually there were probably several little girls that littered the mall. As Emmett brought up the idea of exploring the wedding shop, the blonde nodded. If there were several boutiques then they'd have to search them one by one, but it was their best bet on finding Emma without causing much of a scene. "Somehow I doubt any are made in her size, but it's a good lead to go on." Personally shopping for wedding dresses were not her thing. Sometimes she'd indulge looking at them when Emma brought it to her attention, but otherwise they implied too much commitment.

In any case she'd take the lead and walk towards the closest wedding store on that level, half expecting Emmett to follow. Lavish billowing dresses were on display and Elizabeth half expected Emma to peek out from under one of them. That would be too easy though. Standing outside, Elizabeth took a breath. "Emma!" the woman would call out sweetly, as if a mother seeking her child. The lack of response was disappointing. Turning towards the entryway of the store however she froze momentarily before glancing to the older man. "Mmmm maybe we shouldn't go in together."

To be fair she didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. She still had her cover to uphold... sort of.

Taking a step backwards, away from the store, she'd give a nervous chuckle. "You go and I'll make sure she doesn't run by out here."

Emmett appeared fairly adamant about not entering the store, giving reasons for her to go in instead. That didn't matter though because Elizabeth was the same way. Out of all the possible stores that she entered, she did not expect to enter a wedding boutique for another few years. Going so far as to make a snide remark, the blonde shook her head. Maybe the shot made would have stung if Emma had said that, however since it was Emmett she brushed it off rather easily. It was a fair jab, she had been known to flirt with married men on the job before. While what he said was a possibility it was a relatively low one at that. Wedding shops were never a great place to pick up men who were almost certain to be with their fiancees to begin with.

To be honest the blonde did not even think about how much time she would have to spend fighting off questions associated with her entering the place. On the other hand Emmett did eventually cave and Elizabeth smiled at him as he walked off into the store. Taking the small victory, she turned to have her back at the store entrance as she cast her eyes back outwards to see if she could spot the little girl. The turnaround time was faster than she had expected, the sound of the resounding farewells echoing from the exit as Emmett walked out. It didn't take long for her to read his expression when turning to face him. What he said afterwards was further more exasperating than the initial goal of finding Emma.

"That's funny," she would comment with a deceptive smile. Her tone would not betray her but the shift in her body language might have as her arms went to fold across her chest. Sensing the watchful eyes staring at the two of them, the woman shook her head in an attempt to shake off the feeling, going as far as to turn away from the store entirely. If they weren't in public then she would have gone full bitch mode on their asses, but unfortunately they had more important matters to attend to which required her facade to remain up. "Emma didn't run by here." Which was unfortunate but expected. It would have made their job too easy. Releasing a breath, Elizabeth turned her attention elsewhere. She did not expect her visit to the mall to result like this.

What were children attracted to? Toys? Sweets? Bright colors? Honestly Emma could have been anywhere. "Maybe we should check a candy store and hope she didn't get a hold of any?" The suggestion was more so to make sure they would not have to deal with finding a hyperactive Emma. It would have made their job that much harder as keeping up with Emma without sugar already took a toll on Elizabeth's energy reserves as is. Hopefully Emmett had already made sure of that first. "Or was that one of the places you had already checked."