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 Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:23 pm
The Calamus plains were a good place to drive. Tortie, much to her disgust, was shut away in her pokeball. Sometimes he just wanted some time by himself, with nothing to think about but the road. This particular road was small, narrow, winding, deserted, in need of repair. It led towards (or maybe away from) Ambergris, so this was hardly a shock. It was perfect for his purposes though; nobody else around, and a rough enough road that he had to concentrate on it. He didn't want to stop to think today.
He didn't want to do the maths in his head which told him that he wouldn't be able to fuel up the bike he rode anymore soon.
He didn't want to agonize over what he should do next.
He didn't want to get a job that would trap him for life and pay barely enough to live on.
He didn't want to go home.
Mostly though he just didn't want to think. He'd have to reach a decision in the end, but for now the road was long and empty before him. He could put off thought for a while longer.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:15 pm
Aulus would eventually notice a vaguely bird-shaped shadow traveling along the road behind him, slowly catching up before it encompassed at least the front half of his bike and possibly a foot in front of it. It stayed there, apart from the occasional flap of wings, floating across the ground at the same speed as his bike.
Suddenly it grew larger and sharper all at once for several moments before a white and gold Pidgeot swooped down mere feet above his head, flying faster to pull ahead of him with ease. Once she was a comfortable distance in front of him she glided closer to the ground, and as she did so Aulus would see a familiar head of long black hair streaked with purple turn to look at him with a mischievous smile. Oh, yes, she'd found him. She waved a hand at him in a gesture to indicate he should stop (whether he wanted to or not - his mood would be quite foul, she was sure, not only because he probably wouldn't like being surprised in this manner) before urging the bird forward. Odette complied with a "geoo!" before flapping her wings again and leaned to one side. The road curved to that side and Claire had every intention of cutting him off with plenty of space between his bike and her bird. It was mere moments before the gold Pidgeot came to a graceful stop in the middle of the narrow road, body parallel to the ground and awaited her next command. Claire, on the other hand, remained on the bird for now, waiting for Aulus to come to a stop. Preferably before he could hit her Pidgeot.
They had a great deal to talk about.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:49 am
What?
What?
What?
It was her again.
How had she found him?
Why was she looking for him anyway?
One way or another he intended to find out, and to give her a piece of his mind.
As the great bird and its passenger skimmed towards the ground, a snarl contorted Aulus' face under his helmet. He was going to have words with this girl. She'd landed in the middle of the road, and for some moments he kept driving towards her at full tilt. Eventually, however, he slammed on the brakes and slid into a sideways skid that brought him to a halt a few feet away from her. That move had probably put a few thousand miles of standard driving wear on his tires, but right now he didn't give a damn.
Killing the engine and flicking down the kickstand Aulus dismounted, pulling off his helmet as he did so. When his expression was revealed it was not happy. Not happy in the least. Dumping his headgear on the seat of his bike, he stalked towards the woman and her bird. "You," he snarled, "I've got a bone to pick with you, Claire."
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:00 am
Oh good, he stopped. A bit too close for comfort, but neither she nor the Pidgeot made any motions towards moving in the slightest. At least, not until he'd stopped and dismounted, so she did as well and stepped in front of her bird, slender hands on her hips. "Good, because I've got plenty to talk with you about," she said, adopting a nonchalant and civil expression. It was hard not to smirk, because this would be fun. "So what did you think of Lucas?"
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:25 am
"Lucas? Your scarred pet nutjob with the gun fetish?" Aulus growled, anger and disdain blazing in every syllable. "I thought he was an arsehole, and as I may have hinted just now I also thought he was a paranoid psycho in the making; he threatened to kill me for just going near you! At least he managed to tell me your real name though, if Claire is your real name? I suppose you won't tell me one way or the other, will you; you enjoy playing games like this with me."
If it wasn't for the looming pidgeot and his knowledge of her other pokemon, he might have made a lunge for her... Might. He honestly wasn't sure whether he would have or not at the moment, and he was far too angry to stop and consider the issue.
"Why did you tell me your name was Lucy?" he demanded, not leaving enough of a pause for Claire to speak again. "What did you stand to gain? What do you want from me?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:33 am
"Of course he did," she said, her tone indicating that Lucas's course of action was an expected and obvious reaction. "You told him you knew me, after all. He's protective." As if that wasn't obvious to both parties at this point.
If Aulus even looked like he might possibly be thinking about lunging at her, he would immediately have a face full of talons whether Claire gave Odette the command or not.
"Actually," she said, putting her weight on one foot and crossing her arms idly, "I don't believe you told me your real name either, so I can't see why you're so upset over this. Anyway, right again - Claire isn't my real name. Lucy is actually a great deal closer. A childhood nickname, actually, from my parents. And correct once again, I won't tell you my real name. I've only told one person what that is and I'm quite sure you can guess who that is." If he couldn't, he was an idiot and she should just turn and leave now.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:40 am
"Lucas," Aulus spat the name like it was a particularly foul cuss. Who else would she tell, other than a man perfectly happy to break the spines of men who talked to his girl. That had to be it, right? She was Lucas' girlfriend. Young enough to be his daughter, but the creepy over-protectiveness made sense in a relationship as unbalanced as that. Just call me daddy, baby. Egh.
"And seen as you ask, no, Aulus isn't my given name," he went on, a sneer pulling at his lips, "but it's the name I give to everyone I meet. I don't pick and choose what to call myself based on a whim, or what day of the week it is or whatever else you go by. You didn't answer my question, and in case all the names you keep in that pretty head of yours pushed it out I'll ask again; what do you want from me? There must be a good reason you hunted me down today, unless you just came to gloat?"
He'd shared pictures with her, and details about himself that he would never have given away if he knew that Lucy was really Claire and closely associated with Lucas the Loony. The pair of them probably laughed about him during pillow talk, and plotted together about... about... about whatever it was they were plotting to do to him, or to get from him. It made him sick to think he'd almost been nice to her at some moments. Never trust anyone, especially women; how quickly he'd forgotten that lesson.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:05 am
"You don't either? Oh, good," she replied, with every ounce of her expression, tone, and posture indicating she was neither perturbed nor intimidated by this man. No, this was still fun. "Because I don't either. I have reasons - secrets too, like everyone else - and it's part of my job. Anyway, that's why I found you." Enough fun, time to get down to business.
"I found you today to extend an invitation of sorts from the organization I work for," she explained, her voice gaining a more business-like tone. This was, after all, serious business. Extremely serious. "Consider this an offer you can't refuse, though I need to ensure you're interested before I can divulge any specific details. After that, well, it will hardly be a matter you can simply say 'no' to." At that point, after all, he would obviously know too much and would need to be taken care of if he refused to join. "Also consider that this organization demands a certain amount of loyalty from its members, so I hardly need to tell you how serious the commitment is." In other words - once you're in, there's only one way out. Not a very pleasant way, either.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:24 am
...Hu? Aulus blinked, a frown of confusion replacing his dark scowl. Organization? Something that, from the way she was acting and speaking about it, was a good long way from being totally above-board and legal. She, or they, wanted him to join. He couldn't decide whether to be worried or flattered at being head-hunted like this... An offer he couldn't refuse. Even now refusing would probably be dangerous for him. He was being backed into a corner here, which he hated, but it did explain a lot about Lucy. Of course she'd be secretive about her real name if she was involved with some kind of illegal activity. Maybe it explained every action she'd ever taken towards him. He still couldn't imagine that she'd set up the situation with Zeus and the chocolate fountain but after that...
Why should it matter? So at some point she'd decided he was worth having, maybe from the start, maybe very recently. Why should it matter if that had coloured her behaviour or not? He didn't care what she thought of him personally, and this offer showed that she was at least aware that he could be a useful asset to her totally legal and very friendly club... No backing out; by the sounds of it the only way you went out was in a box, possibly in pieces. It would solve his money issues, but the rest of his life?
"How can I make a decision like that based on so little information?" Aulus asked rhetorically after a long silence. "Do I even have a choice now, or is Lucas hiding in the grass somewhere ready to blow my head off if I refuse your offer?... What should I be calling you anyway: Claire or Lucy?"
The rest of his life... The rest of his life as a part of something. Something big by the sounds of it. Criminal, sure, but that didn't bother him; society's nice little rules could sod right off so far as he was concerned. It would give him a place to belong, and long-term prospects. He hated thinking about sensible things like that, but he couldn't ignore the fact that his future in the long and short-term was highly uncertain at the moment. Was that reason enough to take up her offer, to walk blindly into whatever her organization might be? Too many questions, and too big a decision dumped in his lap when all he'd wanted from the encounter was to let off his anger at this deceptive wench. What the heck was he supposed to make of all this?
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:33 am
From how long it took him to respond, that at least showed he was thinking it over, which showed he had a brain somewhere in that scarred head of his. She hadn't doubted it, of course, but it was nice to know she was right. She liked being right. "No, there's only the two of us here. And Odette, of course. Lucas has today off." And the next couple of weeks, thanks to that concussion. Ugh, way to try and be a hero, Lucas. "And despite what he'd have you think, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, as well as my assignments." Which also meant she could and would kill him if need be.
"I'm glad you're thinking about it - some people blindly agree and then find later they can't back out. Not without very unpleasant consequences, of course," she added on with a dismissive wave of her hand. "And you can call me either but since my coworkers all know me as Claire, that would probably be the better choice. I go by Lucy in public usually." Her other nicknames each had their uses. "And you have a choice now to turn and leave if you're not interested." Or too scared, but she wouldn't say that. "But it's difficult to explain further without giving away sensitive information. I will add that you will be paid for your work, and that housing and food is provided. Additional food outside our workplace as well as any other items you want you'll have to pay for yourself."
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:45 am
"Right. I suppose I'll decide what to call you when I decide what to do then." Aulus gave a heavy sigh and unzipped his bike jacket. Standing around in the thick leather was beginning to get uncomfortable, and while that was the least of his worries at the moment he supposed he might as well be a comfortable temperature while he pondered this monumental decision...
"I could head off and give your description to the police," he said after a moment, "you must know that very well. I won't, but I don't expect you to trust me on that; I'm just pointing it out to let you know I'm still not sure if I really have a choice at all here."
He'd be paid, but how much? What would the food an accommodation be like? He could essentially be signing himself up for slave labour; this whole thing could just be a scam to grab malcontents who probably wouldn't be missed and press them into service somewhere... Yet what if it wasn't? What if it was the kind of life he was looking for? Adrenaline. Action. Real challenges. Camaraderie: even that was possible he supposed. Sign over the rest of his life essentially blind. All he knew was that it was illegal, and that he'd be paid, fed, and killed if he tried to leave.
"I've been honest with you," Aulus said after another very long pause, his tones heavy and serious, "I can't think of a single lie I've told you, unless you count giving you my nickname rather than birth name. I want you to be honest with me now. From what you know about me, though it isn't a lot, do you think I'd be happy? Obviously you think I'll be useful or we wouldn't be standing here having this conversation, but happiness is another matter." Maybe she wouldn't know. Maybe she'd just lie anyway. At this stage he didn't know what to think, and any extra at all he could get out of her might help him decide.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:06 pm
"Fair enough," was the even response as he started removing the protective layers. It was warm, after all, just standing around. But he was putting a great deal of thought into this, and while she appreciated the fact he wasn't dumb enough to agree immediately, she didn't like standing around doing absolutely nothing. It reminded her of the raid just a few days prior, how helpless she was with all her pokemon fainted... It wasn't a pleasant experience. Whatever - it was a total success even if Lucas did come back with a severe concussion.
"I can't think of any lie I've told you, either," she said after a pause. Her brow furrowed as she went over their previous meetings with a fine-toothed comb in her mind. Finally she shook her head, expression clearing. "No, I can't think of anything I've lied about. Besides giving you a nickname, as well." She had broken her arm, she hadn't lied about Lucas - obviously - and a bunch of other things. She knew for certain she hadn't given any potentially sensitive information away. "And you could certainly give them as much information about me as you like, but it won't get you anywhere," she said with a shrug. If she started walking around looking like she had before she'd joined Galactic, he'd probably never recognize her and 'Claire' would disappear.
At his question of happiness, her eyebrows rose slightly to indicate her surprise. That certainly wasn't a question she expected, but to be fair she did attempt to give it some thought, and her knitted brows and distracted expression indicated this. "Well," she finally said, focusing on him again, "to be fair, that's a difficult question to answer since I've only spoken to you twice and know so little about you, but... I think you would. You seem to love pokemon from what I've seen, and there's plenty of opportunities to obtain more - not always through illegal means, mind you --" yay for science! "And there's plenty of places for you to practice karate. As long as you're not working, of course. It's not a horrible occupation, by any means. I thoroughly enjoy it, despite the obvious risks, as well as the amount of people," even if she didn't always like all of them, like Leonard, "and the amount of recreation or training equipment. Pools, weight rooms, gyms, and of course training rooms for pokemon as well. It's definitely not a small organization," she finished not without some small amount of pride.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:21 pm
She made it sound attractive. She would; she wanted him to join after all. Giving another heavy sigh, Aulus reached up to rub the scar on his face distractedly. His whole life. He'd weighed up which university to attend for several months, although admittedly that was mostly on his parents' insistence. Go to University. Get a good job. Get married. Get a house with a white picket fence and a neat garden. Have a child. Get promoted. Get a bigger house, a bigger garden. Have another child. Get promoted again, get an even better house, and a holiday home abroad. Employ maids, gardeners, nannies. Retire. Pick up some stupid hobby or other. Get old. Die. That was the life they'd wanted for him. They'd thought they were just pushing him to do what was best for him. They'd only wanted him to be happy. He felt guilty for storming off in a way, but he knew that the kind of life he wanted to live would disgrace them in the upper middle-class circles they moved in. They'd be worried about him too. Damn. Why did he have to feel guilty?
"Risks," Aulus said eventually, "there's action then? Is that why you decided to make me this offer, because I can fight?... What about contacting people outside the organization? I don't pretend to have the best relationship with my family, I bloody hate them a lot of the time, but... Well, I owe them the knowledge that I'm alive somewhere. I'm not stupid, I know I'd have to lie about my occupation, but... I'd like to be able to tell them I'm doing alright once in a while." He looked like a real sap now, and probably a cowardly pansy for not just jumping on her offer. Whatever. Let her think that of him; this was the rest of his life, he could put up with her snickering at him if it meant he ended up making the right choice.
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:30 pm
"Asking if there's action is like asking if water is wet," she replied with a chuckle. Seriously? Action? They'd kicked Lance's a** and captured Kyogre. The Kyogre, a freaking legendary."You have no idea. None. I could tell you a few details after you make a decision though."
Her expression turned into a slight frown at his next question, and a chilly guilt churned in the pit of her stomach. "I haven't contacted my parents since I joined," she admitted, the tone of her voice reflecting some amount of regret, "but that's entirely different. It's... hard to explain." She wouldn't even admit to her coworkers that she was an ex-Galactic, there was absolutely no way she would tell him when he wasn't even sure if he would join or not. But he would, she knew - he had to. Even if he had a choice right now, in all actuality he really didn't. He would join. "So, that said, I can't answer your question from personal experience - believe me I wish I could - but I don't think it's hard at all. If they live on Kodo then you can visit as long as you don't divulge any information. If not, then I believe letters and e-mail are perfectly acceptable. As long as they can't be traced, that is, which is quite easy to accomplish, I think." A P.O. box and have return letters addressed there, and public computers in coffee shops for e-mail seemed like logical alternatives, in her mind.
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BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 12:37 pm
"I..." Aulus cursed under his breath and pushed his fingers through his hair. Why here? Why now?... But what time and place would be fitting? A road in the middle of nowhere was as suitable as any place. He still wasn't sure that he really had a choice here and...
And maybe that was okay. Excitement, good facilities, pay, just about everything he could want. There were restrictions, of course there were, nothing was ever perfect but...
"Alright then, Claire," Aulus stepped forward and extended his hand to the purple-haired woman, "an offer I can't refuse, officially not refused. I'm assuming there's no six page contract to fill out in triplicate?"
The rest of his life.
For better or worse, he was about to find out what it would involve.
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