That one gesture let the Zorua relax a little. For the moment, at least, this human meant her no harm; everything he had shown her so far was friendly.
Nor did she dislike the air about him. It felt warm, familiar.
"Grrrowl—"
The Zorua's stomach was growling. She was hungry. It had been a long time since she had eaten her fill — earlier it had at least been a full meal one day and none the next, and these last days there had been nothing like enough.
"Hungry? As it happens I have some good food with me. Here — it's yours."
Vance took a heap of food out of his storage space and set it down in front of her.
Not knowing what she liked, he put out one of everything, meat and vegetable both, all of it fine to look at and finer to smell.
It stood in neat rows in front of the Zorua, giving off a scent that was hard to refuse.
The Zorua's nose twitched, and that scent went straight down into her. Her hunger rose to its height and her mouth watered harder still.
And still she kept her guard up and did not dare eat. With an enormous effort of will she backed away a few steps, her eyes fixed on Vance.
"Not to your taste?"
Vance crouched down until his eyes were level with hers.
"Oo-oooo—"
When he had taken her meaning, Vance did not know whether to laugh or not.
"There's no price to pay. You can eat it just as it is, and don't worry — there's no poison in it, and I wouldn't stoop to poison. Do I look as though I'd need to? And as for a price, what price could you possibly pay?"
His meaning was plain enough. If he had meant her harm he would not have needed tricks like poison; and as for a price, what price could a Zorua offer?
There did not seem to be anything she could offer at all.
The Zorua's eyes moved. She looked at Vance, then turned her head to the heap of food on the ground, and wrestled with herself.
There did not seem to be anything wrong with what he said.
Whether she ate or not did not seem to change anything.
Her great worries were only two: poison, and the price.
Poison seemed unnecessary.
As for a price, she had nothing worth anyone's scheming for.
Did he mean to catch her?
That was possible.
Then she would see what this human who wanted to catch her was worth.
So far, well enough.
The human in front of her had presence to spare, and was gentle and kind with it. Everything he had done from the start had won her over a little, and that move of his just now had been no small thing either.
And now here he was setting out heap after heap of food on the ground and telling her to eat as much as she liked.
Add it all up and he seemed better than that other man — and it showed up just how shabby that other man had been.
With that, the Zorua let her guard down a little, came slowly forward, picked out some of the food, bit into it and began to eat.
Looking at it now, eating or not eating made little difference.
Better a good meal than an empty belly. Fill herself first.
Hunger is a miserable thing, and only a person or a Pokémon who has been through it truly knows how miserable.
And to be that hungry with a heap of good food in front of you is more tempting still.
So the Zorua held out no longer. Eat first; once she was full she would have the strength to think about the rest, and the room in her to think about what came next.
That was how the Zorua saw it, and she ate faster still.
Watching her go at it from where he stood, Vance smiled.
If she would eat, that was good. If she would eat, there was still a conversation to be had.
There is a saying among people, and a good one: eat at a man's table and your mouth is stopped; take from his hand and your own goes soft.
It holds for Pokémon too.
So Vance waited quietly and watched her eat, smiling.
The Zorua stood at the heap with her little rump in the air, huffing and puffing away, and the sight of her was somehow comic.
Vance liked watching Pokémon eat at their leisure, taking the food in a mouthful at a time — and most of all the look of contentment that came over them once it was in.
In that moment Vance felt deeply satisfied himself.
It meant that what he had made was good, and it was a verdict in favour of him as a "cook".
"Take your time, there's no hurry. Have this juice as well, so you don't choke."
Vance produced a cup of juice he had made and set it down beside her.
As he had expected, the Zorua showed no sign of refusing it. She glanced at him once and then went for the juice, not minding that he had come close.
Vance smiled faintly. Having delivered the juice he put no pressure on her, went back to where he had been standing, and watched her eat.
Catching a Pokémon called for sincerity, and for patience.
This Zorua looked promising. He wanted her.
A Zorua who could hold the power of three Legendary Pokémon was not going to be anything ordinary.
And to catch a Pokémon you deal honestly with it, then show what you have to offer; once it sees your quality, it will follow you and let itself be caught. That is the better way of going about it.
There were plenty of other ways, of course.
Coercion, force, raising one from infancy, and a great many more; a good Trainer picks whichever way of winning them over suits.
While the Zorua was eating at speed, the Gyarados and the rest came out of their Poké Balls and gathered round to watch.
Buried in the heap of food, the Zorua paid them no mind and kept shovelling it down. She had been hungry this long; eating came first.
"Rooaar. There's something about her that feels familiar."
The Gyarados studied the Zorua closely. There was a power about her that he knew: the Suicune's.
The Zweilous and the Kirlia and the others only watched in silence. The poor little thing — she could not even get enough to eat, she was all skin and bone, and she was hurt as well.
Lucky for her that she had run into their Trainer.
With all of them watching, the Zorua lay half down on the ground, holding up a round, tight belly. Full at last.
Being full felt wonderful.
"Slurrrp—"
Down went the juice as well. Bliss.
The things this human made really were good — a great deal better than those cold, raw nutrient rations.
The Zorua licked her fur, and only then noticed that a great many Pokémon had appeared and were standing round watching her.
Careless.
That was how she saw it. She had not noticed a thing; she had let her guard down while she was eating, and that would not do at all.
With so many Pokémon around her the Zorua went rigid, and without thinking looked for that human. He would be all right, surely.