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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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 Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:40 pm
The horizon was painted a myriad of warm colors, pink and orange mostly, though the rest of the sky remained mostly bright blue. Even though the sun was setting, it wouldn't be dark for quite a while yet. But this time of day, Claire had found, usually shooed out most of the people from less crowded areas; people wanted to go home and make dinner, or get small children ready for bed, or get ready for a night out, or what have you. And it was for this reason that she enjoyed being in the park at such an hour - there weren't a great deal of people milling about, but she also wasn't the only person there.
Not that she was afraid of being the only person there, of course. That would be ridiculous. Childish, even.
All excuses and concerns aside, she was enjoying herself, as were two of her pokemon. Zeus was napping on the grass near the bench she was sitting on, and Blue was rolling around in the grass with a rubbery plastic toy Claire had purchased earlier. She'd purchased several toys, actually, with the hope that they would curb the little Eevee's insatiable desire and need to chew anything and everything. So far, it seemed to have worked, so she leaned back against the bench as her violet eyes scanned the path that curved through the park. Yes, she enjoyed coming here at such an hour.
A sleepy, confused "chu" drew her attention back to her pokemon, as Zeus sat up and rubbed his tired green eyes. Blue was... was...
Nowhere to be found.
"Blue?" She was just there! Where could she have run off to so quickly? With an exasperated sigh Claire rose, picked up the toy, and shoved it into a bag before slinging it over her shoulder. "Come on, Zeus..." The Pikachu obliged and rolled over onto all fours before following his trainer. Where had the little fluffy blue menace run off to now?
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:54 pm
The day was looking up.
He had spent most of it skulking aimlessly about the city feeling at a loose end, but lacking the inspiration to take himself off and actually do something. People everywhere, all in such a rush to while away their pointless little lives with their pointless little jobs, or fancy lunches with their fancy friends. He had felt bored and low watching them all race about, perhaps lonely too. He hadn't wanted to dwell on that, however, and so with the afternoon wearing on he'd driven towards the park.
A good decision.
The sky seemed near glowing with vibrant orange and pink, and nobody much was around. After finding a place to park and digging out his camera, Aulus headed into the tranquil patch of green in this bustling city. It was a little too perfect and manicured for his tastes really, but he got a few pictures he was happy with; one of a water feature, and a skyline shot showing off the colours this time of day had to offer.
He had been pondering taking some shots of Tortie, not that he didn't have a million anyway, when a new subject appeared in his line of sight. An eevee... a blue eevee. That was a bit different. It said something about Aulus' priorities that instead of reaching hopefully for a pokeball to capture the rarity for himself, he quickly put down his staff, lay on his belly in the grass, and started snapping shots of the bouncy little creature.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:05 pm
It was a good thing he hadn't thrown a ball at it, because the device would've just bounced off the little fluffball (quite possibly knocked her over in the process) and would have failed. Aulus' current subject had yet to notice neither the man nor his camera, and continued bounding along in the grass, some of which was taller than she was.
Suddenly she stopped and dropped her front half low to the ground, her furry behind wriggling as gold eyes locked onto a stick poking up from some blades of grass not too far in front of her. With a little more butt-wiggling, she pounced, and several snaps could be heard as she wrestled with her prey, making little 'vrrfffrrr' noises.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:14 pm
As the evolution pokemon pounced, a wide grin spread across Aulus' face and he captured a few shots at a distance before zooming in to get detail. The little blue eevee was a wonderful subject; it wasn't often he managed to catch pokemon being playful. Wild pokemon were usually too flighty save for the very young, and those were usually guarded by wary parents. Tortie was beautiful of course, but playful and her couldn't really be put in a sentence together without a negative. As for other trainers' pokemon, well, he was hardly going to look like a weird creep by taking pictures of them.
So busy was he taking pictures that it didn't occur to Aulus that either a parent pokemon (the eevee looked young) or a trainer was bound to happen along soon. It had, however, occurred to Tortie; she stood a few yards back from her trainer, scanning the area carefully for any sign of a threat.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:21 pm
Claire wasn't too far off, though not within the line of trees Aulus or his blue model were in. A slender hand reached up to run her fingers through her hair with a frown, then she looked down at Zeus and nodded her head in the direction of the trees. "Look for her too, will you?" Lazy little...
With a huff the Pikachu obeyed, ears flicking back in mild annoyance that he was required to help look for the toothy menace. Why couldn't they just leave her here? Oh well, whatever. A small sigh escaped him as he wandered into the bushes, vaguely attempting to follow the scent of the 'vee. Not that his sense of smell was very good compared to other pokemon, but when it came to finding chocolate his nose was second to none. Anything else and he couldn't care less. He did have a sort of duty to his owner, however, so he was obligated to do as she wished. That, and he knew if he did, his rewards always consisted of delicious chocolaty treats. Mmm, chocolate...
Oh, yes, find Blue.
He probably would eventually find her if he wandered around long enough, but he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. So, with that decision in mind, he somehow managed to climb up a tree and sit on a branch, bright eyes scanning the area... Ah, there. And near.. that guy! The one who had chocolate on him from before! Zeus turned to wave at his trainer before jumping down and darting over. He suddenly appeared from behind a bush, glaring down - if that could even be said for a Pikachu two inches taller than the 'vee - at Blue. "Chu.." Why had she run off like that?
The Eevee in question paused mid-bite on her stick-prey, studying Zeus carefully. After deciding no punishment would come from the Pikachu, she suddenly pounced on him instead with an excited "vui!" The Pikachu flailed, clearly not as thrilled by this turn of events as the little blue fluffball was. Claire stepped over after a moment, arms folding over her chest as she leaned against a tree, watching the two pokemon before looking at Aulus and the Absol nearby. "I didn't know you liked taking pictures." Her tone expressed a mild curiosity with possibly even a little admiration. She may or may not have always been secretly envious of photographers for being able to take beautiful pictures.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:33 pm
Everything happened in pretty quick succession. First Tortie started growing, then there was a pikachu in frame, then the pikachu was being bounced, on, then he recognised the pikachu, and then he heard a familiar voice. Oh sod, it was that Lucy chick, and her chocolate crazed pikachu... And a blue eevee. Was this a new addition to her collection? He'd only seen the pikachu and the pidgeot before... Still, that didn't matter right now, what mattered was that he was in a pretty compromising position and needed to recover himself as soon as possible.
"Well," Aulus turned off the camera and capped the lens before sitting up and treating Lucy to a scowl, "I'm sorry I didn't share my life's history and a full list of my interests with you while I was dripping with chocolate. Your pokemon seem to have a real talent for getting away from you by the way; had you considered leashes for all of them?" Great. Caught unawares, and unawares taking pictures at that; couldn't Tortie have given him a bit more warning? Speaking of his absol she was still growling, but when he turned to look at her at least she wasn't poised to spring; last thing he wanted was for her to savage Zeus, or the little blue eevee for that matter. Even though she didn't look like she was going to pounce, he quelled her with a hand gesture; better to be safe than sorry.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:42 pm
Still trying to pass himself off as Mr. Tough Guy, was he? Well that was fine, he could keep it up as long as he wanted, it wasn't fooling her anymore. Still, the Absol was treated to a wary glance, but it didn't look too tough.. Odette would probably have no problem handling it, especially if Zeus helped. That wasn't fair, of course, but she never claimed to play by the rules all the time. "I didn't expect you to, that's why I never shared mine with you," she replied with a shrug to lower the bag to her arm so she could dig through it more easily.
Blue had immediately jumped off Zeus and froze behind some long patches of grass in the hopes her owner wouldn't notice her. Unfortunately she did, and the petite 'vee was also given a look that clearly showed her displeasure. Blue shrank several sizes in the grass. It didn't last long, however, and Claire pulled one of the toys from her bag and tossed it on the grass. After the first bounce it changed direction due to its abnormal shape, and the little pokemon immediately brightened and pounced on it. She held it tightly between her front paws and gnawed on it, making more 'vrrffff' noises while kicking it with her hind paws. "I don't want a leash for Blue because she'd chew right through it. Thing's a menace," she said with a sigh and a small, thoughtful pause. "An adorable menace, but a menace all the same." Zeus growled lightly in agreement. The young woman spared a moment to study the Absol and its unique coat, tilting her head a bit. "Beautiful Absol, by the way. I've never seen a pattern like that before." Several other gorgeous coats, of course, but not one so patchy and yet so pretty.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 1:56 pm
Still with the amiable. Did she think he was a joke? Did she find him funny? Did she still want something from him?... If she had in fact wanted anything in the first place. He still had no idea about that, no idea about her, about her motives. She could be anyone from anywhere up to anything, and she was good at poker, that or she had lied about the poker, or maybe she'd cheated at the poker. Perhaps that was where she'd got this new eevee from... Now she was complimenting him, or Tortie rather. He knew that she knew a good pokemon when she saw one from her pidgeot, but that didn't mean her compliment was genuine... Still.
"Mmfh. Got her from a breeder," Aulus said gruffly, though not snappishly, after some moments of silence, "it took a lot of work to get her coat colours and pattern, I'm told. Ought to have for what I paid for her. Maybe I should just learn to play cards better if I want nice pokemon though; is that where you got the blue eevee too?... Looks young so I'm not surprised she's a menace, suppose you must be glad to have her chewing on sticks and toys rather than your stuff." Tortie hadn't bee quite so bouncy when she first hatched, but she had been full of energy and the desire to explore; mostly she had explored by chewing things, and running off places without him.
Aware that the strange woman had complimented her Tortie huffed and sat back on her haunches, trying not to look pleased. Too right she was beautiful, but she wasn't going to let nice words put her off her guard; her trainer didn't seem to feel physically threatened (if he did he would have made a grab for his staff), but that didn't mean there was no threat. Compliments or no she was keeping an eye on the human and her two pokemon until she had the measure of them.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:03 pm
Still with the I'm A Jerk attitude. Oh well, he could keep it up for as long as he wanted, but eventually she'd find out why. She had plenty of patience, she could wait. "No, a coworker from the tech department gave her to me after she hatched," she explained, hooking the bag over her shoulder again. So far she hadn't spent a penny on obtaining her pokemon, just on toys and treats. That had to say something about her character, so she refrained from mentioning it. "He named her Bluetooth, so either that or Blue is all she'll answer to." Her tone made it clear she did not know what to think of such a name, and that she'd probably have picked a different one if she could, but oh well. "I am glad, but I know later she'll go right back to chewing my stuff unless I shove those toys in her face. She'll chew on me too, if I'm not paying attention," she said with an exasperated sigh as she watched the subject of their conversation roll around in the grass, still making adorable 'vffrrfff' noises while attacking her 'prey'. "She'll chew on you too, if you get too close, so don't say I didn't warn you."
Zeus huffed and crossed his arms, muttering a "chu" in agreement. That little menace would chew on anything and everything. Everything.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:13 pm
Tech department eh? He wondered where she worked, maybe one of the big offices around here, but didn't seem like much of an office girl. He didn't know what she did seem like, but he couldn't imagine her tapping away at a keyboard all day, or answering phones and being polite to stupid strangers. All big companies had tech departments though, almost all, so he supposed she could work nearly anywhere doing anything. Wasn't any of his concern though; perhaps he was a little curious, but he wasn't curious enough to ask her about it.
"Your tech friend named her then?" Aulus asked, mostly rhetorically given her tone of voice. "Imaginative person; I'm sure if I worked in tech it would never occur to me to call a blue eevee Bluetooth. Hu, and she can chew on me if she wants; given what happened last time I met you I feel like I ought to get an injury over and done with early on... She'd better not chew my staff though," he added, scowl returning, "the last thing I want is toothmarks in that." It wouldn't take much to ruin the perfect balance of the weapon, and he didn't want to have to either try to repair it himself or to have to find a new one out here in this unfamiliar land.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:21 pm
Even if he had asked her, she wouldn't have answered. She enjoyed avoiding questions; she did it to Lucas a lot, actually, while asking him personal questions. Huh. Maybe she shouldn't do that anymore... Nah.
"Oh, of course not," was her retort, rolling her eyes. It certainly was an unimaginative name, but then again Lucas had named his Porygon Droid, so maybe she shouldn't comment. Her violet eyes were drawn to the staff at his side as he mentioned it, and immediately frowned. "Better keep an eye on her as well, wood seems to be one of her favorite things to chew. ...she chews on everything though, so I guess the point is moot." Sort of. But right now, it was quite obvious that the blue 'vee was more than content assaulting her rubber bouncy toy. It suddenly escaped her and she immediately attempted to pounce on it, but it bounced right then and changed directions, so she landed on her belly in the grass. Gold eyes blinked rapidly as she processed this, then whipped her head around to see where her target had escaped to. It would not elude her this time! With a playful growl and more butt-wiggling, she pounced on the rubber toy with enough force for it to squeak. In an instant she had disappeared, but a blue head peered out from behind Aulus, staring wide-eyed at the toy. Clearly she did not know it made such noises and was at a total loss for what to do about it. She glanced up at the scarred man, ears pinned against her head. "Vui?" How did it make that noise? It was sort of scary, and she didn't know what to make of it.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:36 pm
He was hard pressed not to laugh as the eevee leapt away from her toy as if it had bitten her. A smile crept slowly over his face, the change in expression improving his looks dramatically in an instant, and he reached out to scoop up the toy. "Look," he squeezed it very slowly, causing it to let out a very slow squeak, "you jump on it, it squeaks. You bite it too hard, it squeaks. Probably a lot like your trainer, except it can't pet you or feed you..." And of course Blue's trainer was still there, looking at him.
The pleasant smile fled from Aulus' face, but he didn't quite return to his usual scowl. Whatever else she was, Lucy was good to her pokemon; not always complimentary, but good. She'd been worried about Zeus in the fountain, her pride in her pidgeot (whose name had slipped his mind) was obvious, and Blue had what looked to him like a new toy. If she was really so fond of chewing it pretty much had to be new, and the fact that the squeak had surprised her indicated that she wasn't familiar with it... that or it indicated that she was kind of stupid; one or the other.
"She's going to be squeaking this forever now," Aulus predicted, tossing the odd-shaped thing away for Blue to chase after again, "and you'll really regret that at around three in the morning. Suppose it's a step up from her chewing your shoes though, so long as you can get some earmuffs."
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:51 pm
It was funny how much better he looked when he smiled, but he.. oh, there it went.
Lucy tried to look indignant at his insinuation that she squeaked, though it was very obviously faked. She didn't squeak. Squealed perhaps, but then again, so did he. "Excuse me? I don't squeak," she huffed, then knelt down as a chuckle escaped her and she ruffled the fur on Zeus' head. He simply snorted, though secretly appreciated the attention.
Blue watched with rapt attention as he picked up the toy, but when he squeaked it she hid behind his leg, only her eyes and nose visible. But it didn't bite him when he squeaked it, so it couldn't be too bad... Thus assured, the playful fluffball bounded out from behind Aulus with an excited "vui!" and pounced on the toy, purposefully making it squeak. As a round of incessant squeaking ensued, Claire rolled her eyes and chuckled again. "Now you've done it. And I would, but I could hide it before bed. I bought her some other toys too, ones that don't make noise, so I hope that'll help me keep my sanity." 'Hope' being the keyword.
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:04 pm
"Oh, of course not," Aulus cracked a lopsided grin for just a moment, "I bet you keep your composure perfectly when you're pounced on unexpectedly, and that Steelix can fly." Her indignant look wasn't very convincing at all; either that meant she was a bad actress after all, or doing it on purpose. He wasn't sure which he would prefer, wasn't sure if either possibility either pleased or worried him.
Perhaps he shouldn't worry about it. Perhaps he shouldn't worry about her, about people in general come to that. Not everyone alive was a treacherous snake out to stab him in the back, that couldn't be the case, but was it worth risking those snakes that did exist in order to make some real friends?... Maybe, but even if it was, he'd never been able to make many friends, even before he'd started to worry about things like this. He couldn't take a tease. He had no tact. He had a temper that had, in the past, frightened people; though he had never actually lashed out at a friend he had snarled and smashed things and, on occasion, punched walls. He knew these things, and knew he couldn't change them; there was no point dwelling on that fact. People could like him or hate him, he didn't care. Not a bit.
"Better hide it well," he said after a moment, turning away from Lucy to watch Blue play, "she seems pretty fond of the thing... Maybe the novelty will wear off before your sanity runs out; miracles do occasionally happen."
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:24 pm
"Of course Steelix can fly," she said with a wave of her hand, as if it was common knowledge. "But being pounced on, that would depend." If he pounced on her, well, he might very well find a knife stuck somewhere unpleasant, if she could even function after having a strange male unexpectedly pounce on her. Failing that, he'd find a bullet through the head courtesy of Lucas. Actually he'd probably find a bullet through his head courtesy of Lucas regardless if he also found a knife stuck in him or not. These were all unpleasant thoughts, especially after seeing Lucas nearly attempt to shoot himself, so she dismissed them quickly.
"Oh, I have plenty of hiding places. The top shelf of my closet, for example." A barely-one-foot-tall pokemon would not be able to reach the top shelf of her closet. ...but then again, said barely-one-foot-tall pokemon had somehow managed to get into the air vents in the ceiling at the base. Maybe she shouldn't underestimate the little 'vee... "It might, but I never wait for miracles." They never happened, anyway. She hummed lightly as she shrugged her bag onto the ground, starting to dig through it again. After a moment of ferreting around in it, she pulled out another toy, this one a thick rubber ring with half-circles protruding every inch or so around it. Teething rings for babies seemed like a perfect toy for the Eevee who absolutely adored chewing everything in sight. "Here you go Blue," she said as she tossed the ring to her, and the named pokemon perked up as the new toy bounced before halting nearby. Another excited "vuii!" escaped her as she pounced this new toy, attacking it in much the same way as she did the abnormally shaped one, except this one kept catching her hind leg when she tried to kick at it. Clearly this one put up much more of a fight than the other, so the 'vffrrr!' noises renewed with vigor.
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