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 Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:57 pm
With a final snip of the scissors it was done. She had a modest box, not too flashy, able to fit in the palm of her hand and it sat on her desk. The green ribbon accented the plain blue box. "Maybe it needs something more?" She looked over the box talking to Pistol as her looked over the desk. She knew that if she drew on it, it would look like a two year old had gotten their hands on the box. She fussed over the bow quite a bit, discarded attempts at her side. "Pistol, can you clean that up?" The Wartortle gave a curt nod and began throwing away ribbons in the waste basket, but not before he found a piece he really liked.
"War war!" He held up the green ribbon to Cal's face. The sheen amazed him; he just had to have it! "Tortle!!" He waved it in front of her, begging to keep it.
Cal snapped from her thoughts at the flailing of the water pokemon next to her. "Wha...?" She looked at him in a daze, "Oh you can keep it sweety." She smiled and patted him on the head. Pistol blushed and scooted over to Cal's bed to lay down with his ribbon. You'd think he'd be used to her sweet nothings that she would say to him.
"All right! I'll be back!" She gave the blue box a gentle shake, getting a groan of gears in return. She stood up slowly and put a gray shirt over her sore, bandaged sides. Her black sweats were all she had bothered to put on that day. She reached for the door with a slight groan, but turned the knob and waved to Pistol before closing the door firmly behind her and headed for the the room just a ways down the hall. Mau's room.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:27 am
Mau was laying back in his bed, a leather bound book in his hand. He turned the page before sitting up. Whoa, too fast. The stitches throbbed a little. Aki looked up at him. "Por?"
"I'm fine Aki." The vaporeon lowered it's head, resting his chin on Mau's foot. It hasn't been that long since a pokemon had rampaged through the labs. Mau had a couple days off to recover from the, what he felt was a minor, injury, while the labs were cleaned up and evaluated. Though he honestly couldn't wait to get back to the labs and start updating some of the equipment.
He started reading again, but paused as Aki lifted his head and looked over towards the door. Mau figured it was just one of the grunts walking down the hall.
Until he heard the knock on the door. With a sigh, he moved his feet from under Aki. But he stumbled standing up. Foot... asleep. GAH! After a moment, the tingling subsided, and he walked to the door and opened it. Mau's eyes narrowed slightly as the thin metal frames of his reading glasses slid down his nose slightly as he looked out the door at the caller.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:53 am
Cal listened to the commotion going on behind the door with a slight smirk. When the door was opened and she was greeted by a less than pleased face, she set her eyes on the floor and tightened her grip on the gift behind her back. "S-sorry to bother you..." She began to mumble as Mau's narrowed eyes seemed to choke her up.
She slowly moved her hands from behind her back with the small box caressed in her hands. I should've just left it and ran. One of the many plans she had considered... Running wasn't possible in her condition. But she wanted to tell him that she was sorry in person. She kept the gift within her eyesight and debated what she would say for a few seconds.
"This is for you..." She held the blue box up, the green ribbon fluttering in the movement. "I'm sorry I'm a pest and I got you in trouble and, and..." She was at a lost for words and a bit of breath, her sides were starting to throb. She was getting too worked up. How many times could she possibly say she was sorry? Not enough by her standards. "Here." Her voiced quivered slightly and she looked up, not making eye contact. Her expression had turned grim and she secretly regretted getting out of bed that day.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:24 am
Mau took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at Cal a moment and smiled faintly. "Feeling bett-" He stopped when she apologized. He leaned against the door frame and waited for her to finish.
"I'm glad to see you're able to get up and around." He said softly, and eyed the box. Aki had gotten up and wandered to the door.
"Va~" Aki gently bit the hem of Cal's shirt and tugged gently.
"Why don't you come in? I don't think Aki will let you go." He stepped aside for her. "... I don't let pests into my room after all." he waved her to come in with the book in his hand.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 10:50 pm
Cal clenched her teeth and looked back down to see Aki tugging at her shirt. She forced a smile on her face, and walked into his room without a word and stood awkwardly out of the way. She focused her thoughts on the gift she had made him. He says I'm not a pest, but is that what her really thinks? The box fumbled around in her fingers, I hope he likes it...
She had been silent and when she noticed that she had so rudely barged in Mau's room without a word, "Thank you for letting me in your room." She nodded, still not making eye contact, but still sneaking glances. Pathetic. She stated plainly at her behavior. She had came here to drop the gift and leave him be. Now she had been taken into his room- the second time no less- and was doing what she did the first time.
She didn't want to invade his space for too long so giving him the gift now would be best. And although that was her plan, she didn't want to leave the room. She really hadn't left her room (or her bed) for the last few days. She felt so guilty, but she still wanted to stay with Mau.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:30 pm
Mau closed the door behind her and set his book down on the top of the minifridge, in the back corner of his room, his glasses resting atop the leather book.
"You don't look well, Cal." He said, a little worried. "Not getting an infection or anything, are you?" He smiled at her faintly as Aki sat and looked up at her, dropping the hem of her shirt.
"Va? Va?" He sniffed at the package that Cal was holding.
"Aki." The vaporeon stopped and snorted, laying down at Cal's feet, looking dejected. Mau shook his head at Aki. "You said that ... was for me? Any particular reason?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:04 am
Cal felt like Aki, like she wasn't truly wanted right then. Or was that just her mind working against her as she thought about the worst. She hadn't known that Mau wore glasses until he sat them down with his book as he came in. Great.... He took them off already. She clicked her tongue to herself and held the box in her hands.
"Yes..." She whispered as Mau asked his question. Hadn't she rehearsed this? It was just a present to say she was sorry for getting him hurt and in trouble. "It's for you." She held it up again for him to take, "I-it's to tell you that I'm sorry for what I did." Her voice was a little choked up, but she persisted, "I'm really sorry and I didn't mean to get you hurt. That's what really hurt her the most. He only got hurt trying to protect her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 1:34 am
"You didn't need to get me anything." He assured her. "I've been in muuuuuuch worse trouble by people who frighten me 1000 times more then Seth or Nadja." He laughed a little. "Oh Cal. This is nothing. I mean, I think I got off rather easy in that fight. This little papercut is nothing. So come on now, don't look so sad." He gently pet her hair.
"It's a lovely gesture, Cal. But you don't need to apologize for anything. That thing was going to escape anyways. For all you know, your being there saved me from being hurt worse. Though I really wish you had not been there. You shouldn't have gotten hurt." He looked around. "You want to sit down? You look pale." He would have said white as a sheet, but... he had not seen white sheets in years. He gently reached for the box. "May I?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:01 am
The pat on her head perked her up. Cal smiled at his sweet gesture and proceeded to sit down on his bed. It was the nearest thing to sit on and her sides were starting to bother her. She was starting to feel ill... Maybe she would leave after Mau was done with his gift and crash on her own bed. Pistol was doing a great job of taking care of her and helping her out. He wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't up to do anything when she got back.
"If you say it's ok Mau." She knew that she wouldn't truly forgive herself, but maybe if Mau thought she had let it go, he would be happy. And that's all she really wanted right at that moment. She nodded to him as he held the gift in hand. "It's for you, I'd want you to open it." She smirked and crossed her arms, leaning back on his bed. This bed is very comfortable... She really didn't want to see his face when he opened the gift. She kept the thought in the back of her head that he might not like such a childish gift, but it was all she could give him until she was well enough to leave HQ.
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:25 am
"Thank you very much, Cal. But you really didn't have to give me anything." He knelt down on the floor in front of the bed and took the gift from her.
He had to admit, he was really curious what she would have thought he'd like. It's not like they ever talked about anything like that. And was this really a gift just for being sorry? Mau was careful as he untied the bow. It was kind of cute really. And his birthday wasn't that... He shook the thought away. No way Cal had found out when his birthday was.
Removing the paper carefully, as if it was all precious, he set the unwripped rapping aside and opened the box.
And froze. He didn't even blink as he looked at the contents of the box. He clamped his mouth shut, his jaw squared and he pulled out the plush tropius, staring at it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:46 am
"I already have it," Cal gave him a smile, "so you should open it." She waited anxiously as he took his time opening the present slowly. It's like he knew that she was on pins and needles, could he tell by the look on her face? She straightened up with a sigh of pain. It didn't hurt as bad as the pressure Mau was putting in her by taking his sweet time to open his gift.
When he sat the wrapping aside, not having ripped it but taken it apart gently, she held her breath. All he had to do was open the box and that would be the moment of truth. Would he like it? The time seemed to slow to a crawl as he opened the box. She closed her eyes. And then there was silence.
Silence? What does that mean?
She peeked to take a look at his face. What was with his expression? Cal was ready to take that as pure rage. Maybe he absolutely loath Tropius..... But he just stared at it. Oh, this was killing her! His face gave no hint of what was going through his mind. She inched forward, dreading the question that slipped her lips, "Do you like it?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:39 am
Mau gently set the box between his knees and lifted the tropius fully from the box. He let it sit on one leg while he looked at it, and finally blinked a few times. "Cal..." A toy? When did she have time to go and buy this? Where would you even find something like this. A high quality tropius plush was almost impossi- his brain stopped. What was this? It looked like a tiny wind up key. He gently turned it a few times then let go, listening to the musicbox lullaby that came from the plushie. His fingers tightened around the soft creature and he pulled it close till he held it to his chest, his arms crossed over it, and he smiled at Cal.
"I love it." He finally said. "When I transferred here, I had to leave Koa, my tropius, behind." At the mention of that pokemon, Aki got up and trot over to Mau and nudged his shoulder. Mau leaned over slightly and bumped his head against Aki's in an odd display of affection. Still resting his head against the vaporeon, Mau closed his eyes and listened to the soft song that came from the plush. Since he hadn't wound it up fully, it ended not to long after.
"Did you know that, aside from Aki, grass pokemon are my favorite?" he opened his eyes some, and looked at her with his hooded gaze. "Where did you find something like this?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 5:45 pm
Cal blinked and inhaled sharply. Had I heard him right? "You like it?" She couldn't believe her ears. "You really do?" A bright smile spread across her face as she watched him hug the plush toy close to his chest. I guess I have good ideas after all! She clasped her hands and gave a sigh of relief. She had really hoped he liked it, but she hadn't expected this reaction.
"I bet you miss Koa..." She watched as Mau and Aki bumped heads displaying their affection, how cute~ "Grass type is your favorite?" She giggle, "I made a luck guess then. You're always around your berry plants," an all familiar heat touched her cheeks, "Tropius seemed like a logical choice."
When he asked where she got the toy, it made her cheeks heat up even more. "I didn't buy it..." She turned away, scratching her head, "I-I made it." Cal was thoroughly embarrassed, she hadn't expected him to ask, "I couldn't go out and by anything professionally made." She shrugged, but was glad that he loved it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:59 pm
"You made this, huh? Pretty good with your hand. You should do more with your talents." Mau smiled a little more, then sat up. "I do. And it seems Aki does too." To the vaporeon he asked. "Do you miss Ten as well?"
"Por..." The vaporeon nodded.
Mau could only laugh, and sighed. He missed his team. Tropius, Chatot, Breloom. Ah well, they were in good hands. He'd send for them eventually. "It was because of Koa that I got into berries. I started growing them because she was such a picky eater. But then... research just sort of took off, and I've been doing it ever since."
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 7:12 pm
Cal rubbed the back of her head, "I wouldn't call it a talent," she turned back to him, "Maybe just a hobby." She listened intently as he reminisced about his past. She was glad that she gave him the Tropius toy since it made them a bit closer. She wanted to still now more, maybe she should make more. Or maybe that would take it a little to far.... She didn't want to over do it.
"Sounds like you had a wonderful team with you." She smiled, "The way you describe Koa, it reminds me of Skye in a way." Though she was pretty sure that Koa wasn't an annoying brat. "And I'm so happy that you liked your gift. You should name it Koa!" She laughed at her suggestion. "I never would have thought that a pokemon began your research on the berry plants."
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