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 Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:17 am
It really was a wonder he managed to stay vaguely chubby given how often he managed to forget meals. Usually he shrugged it off and just waited for the next meal (a little hunger never killed anybody), but today he had forgotten lunch and dinner. He would have thought that the people working around him in the garage might have reminded him about one meal at least, but they hadn't. Maybe they thought it would do him good to skip a few meals, or maybe they just didn't care about him one way or another.
In any event, after having spent all day underneath and poking at the inner workings of a rather decrepit jeep without a break or food, or even a drink for that matter he was prepared to give in to his body and feed it something. At this hour, of course, he would have to prepare something himself but there had to be something easy to hand, or perhaps even leftovers if he was lucky... If finding the remains of food that other people had probably pawed at felt 'lucky' he really must be hungry.
Stomach growling like an enraged charizard, Frost stepped into the darkened cafeteria and flicked on the lights. So then. Kitchen. Crossing his fingers for a quick fix (not really though, because such things were illogical and didn't really work) he headed over to one massive fridge and opened it. First glance, however, did not look promising. Lovely.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 11:29 am
"Please tell me that there happens to be something in the ice box that can be prepared..." A rather tired female voice said from behind him. Vironica, to say the least, looked a bit exhausted with her glasses perched on top of her head and long strands of hair escaping from the massive clump of moss-green hair tied up in a bun behind her head. Despite the disheveled appearance, the woman still had a rather professional air to her even if her button up blouse did have bits of burn evidence on their sleeves and the face that she was barefoot from having broken a heel on the way up.
To say the least, it certainly hadn't been a fantastic day. In fact, it'd been a down right awful day, and if it hadn't been for the fact that she'd skipped all meals since last night's dinner and had holed herself up in the labs doing work and sprung an all nighter on herself, Vironica more than likely would have just gone to bed and hoped for something better to come. Unfortunately, she was too hungry to eat, and her malnourished state was causing a rather annoying headache.
So here she was, looking probably the worst she'd ever been since College, stomach grumbling and head aching, hoping that there would be something decent in the cafeteria's refrigerator.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:05 pm
The sudden voice all but made Frost leap out of his skin, but he managed to repress the urge to actually leap into the air and scream like a little girl: the only external sign of the sudden jolt of adrenaline it gave him was a slight tensing of his hand on the fridge door. Heart rate beginning to settle again, Frost turned to regard the source of that surprising voice. A very dishevelled woman with no shoes on. Well that was unexpected.
"Ice box?" he echoed, regarding the woman with chilly ice-blue eyes. "Do you mean the freezer? If so, I couldn't tell you because this is a fridge. If not, which part of the fridge is the ice box? Mmh. Most of what is in the fridges seems at first glance to be labelled as personal food in any case, but I feel it unwise to leave it in there like that; I learned that people ignore labels when I left a box of tea in one of the recc. rooms... Who are you?... Were you savaged by something?" She looked as though she would have been very well turned out before whatever had happened to her had happened. By comparison he felt scruffy; his uniform was rumpled from being under overalls all day, and while he had washed his hands he suspected that he might still have smears of grease or engine oil on his face or in his hair. Blast. He knew he ought to have gone for a shower right away rather than letting the base instinct to feed rule him. Disgusting.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:08 pm
"An ice box is what the first refrigerators were called because they literally had a block of ice in them in order to keep the inside of the box cold." Vironica rubbed her eyes with a hand, then reached up and pulled her glasses down in order to see the other man in the room. Her own steal-blue eyes met his and a very gentle smile came across her tired features. "The fact that I just called it that must mean I've really become out of sorts.
It was obvious, just by the look of him, that this man had been in some rather dirty work. Despite that, Vironica held out a hand to shake his. "Vironica Danes. I don't believe I caught your name." She didn't bother to answer the question about her looks, since she wasn't really prepared to have to go into detail on what she was doing in the labs; it was more than likely supposed to be classified information anyways.
A dish clattered behind them and a vine sneaked out around Vironica's ankles as a shiny bulbasaur attempted to raid something from the fridge. A pair of heels, one of which was broken, was wrapped up in the other vine.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:49 am
"Oh?" Frost raised his eyebrows very slightly. "I see, that makes sense. Ice box. Mmh." He hadn't known that, a new thing learned today; it might not be a big thing, but it still pleased him... Ah, handshake. "You may call me Frost, and you did not catch my name because I did not give it," the pale-eyed man pointed out helpfully as he clasped Vironica's hand firmly. As he released his grasp and stepped back a pace to be at a more comfortable distance, the clatter of a dish made him freeze in place again for a moment until the surprise was resolved by the sight of a shiny bulbasaur.
Relaxing again (as much as he was ever relaxed) Frost raised an eyebrow at the small grass type. "If you break anything," he informed it, "you shall be cleaning it up... Mmh. Food. Well... There are some sausages. Perhaps there are frozen vegetables, or oven chips in the freezer? Acceptable?..." Humm. She hadn't responded to his comment that she looked as though she had been attacked by something, he'd only just noticed that. Well he supposed he could press her further once they had some food cooking if it still seemed important.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 10:19 am
"Dianthus...." Vironica shot the pokemon a warning look; normally the bulbasaur didn't cause much trouble, but he was just as hungry as she was and therefor seemed to be a bit more unruly. Turning back to Frost, she withdrew her hand and nodded. "Frost... creative. I suppose eventually I should think to making an alias, but I'm more of a lab rat."
A small frown came to her lips as she thought about what she could make with such spars pickings. "Pass me the sausages, please... I think there was rice in one of the storage cupboards. Dianthus, go set out a frying pan and a stew pot. Frost, I assume since you're in here you'll be wanting to eat as well, correct?" The moss-haired scientist pushed her glasses up her nose as the bulbasaur went off to set up the dishes needed.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 10:38 am
"I didn't think it was all that creative myself," Frost replied with a slight frown, "it was supposed to be apt. Obvious... Oh, unless that was sarcasm? If so, yes, as I said, it was not supposed to be creative... Sausages." Giving a slight nod he fetched out the package and passed it over. "I was indeed intending to eat," Frost went on, "I have been underneath a decrepit jeep since around seven thirty this morning, and as such am rather hungry."
Was she planning to cook for him? He wasn't entirely sure he liked the sound of that, he didn't know where she'd been... But then he ate the cafeteria food and he didn't know where the people who did the cooking there had been either. Out of sight out of mind he supposed; when he came to eat things were served up with ladles and tongs and such, so he never actually saw them handling the food. Still, he was hungry, and she would probably wash her hands. If she didn't go to do so of her own accord, of course, he could always remind her.
Shrugging internally, Frost moved over to the pantry and began scanning for rice. He managed to locate a large bagful before too long, and picking it up he returned to Vironica. "Here," he put the bag down on the worktop beside her, "rice. What are you planning to do?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 10:59 am
Vironica took the sausages carefully into her hands, giving Frost a slight grin. "I'll let you decide what my comment meant." She turned from him and brought the meat to the sink, ran the water to wash first her own hands then the food. By the way she meticulously cleaned, it was obvious she was used to sanitizing things.
"Dianthus, prepare the rice in the stew pot please." Dianthus, used to being his trainer's extra hands, automatically set to work with pouring rice into the empty pot before taking it over to the woman to fill it with water to cook with. Once Vironica had put a decent amount of water into the pot, he brought it back and used his vines to turn the stove knobs to start the cooking.
Shaking water from her hands, Vironica turned from the sink to her companion. "Honestly, I'm not quite sure; it'll depend on what type of seasonings and vegetables I can find. Would you mind hunting down a cutting board for me while I see what I can work with?" Giving Frost another warm smile, she glided past him to see what she could scavenge out.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:20 am
Right. Washed hands. Good. Feeling somewhat more relaxed about the situation (although there was no change in his deadpan expression or his upright stance) Frost nodded acknowledgement and went in search of a chopping board. Conveniently there was one drying on a draining rack; Frost paused by the sink to roll up his sleeves and give his hands another good wash before picking up the board and taking it over to Vironica.
"I am not certain what your comment meant," he said belatedly, "and any conclusion I drew might be incorrect. Still, it isn't important, so if you don't want to tell me I am happy to let the matter be." She was smiling at him, so she probably didn't totally despise him... Unless it was a fake smile, which was quite possible, but for the time being Frost decided that he was far too hungry to bother himself about it. It wasn't as if she could get away with harming him, and so in the end her opinion didn't matter all that much anyway.
"Dianthus," Frost said after a moment of silence, "that is a genus of flowering plants, it is not? I confess I can't remember any of the species within the genus, but I'm fairly sure I'm correct."
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:38 am
Glancing over her shoulder at Frost, Vironica nodded her head, surprised that he'd recognize the name. "Correct... do you take fascination in plants by chance?" Oh how she loved being around people she could talk to about plants and their care.
Stepping back over to the counter, she plunked down a rather frozen block of spinach as well as a frozen back of assorted sprouts and veggies. "I apologize for the lack of fresh greens, but what I have growing in my room isn't ready for use yet." If it had been, there could have just been enough for two people to use for a meal.
It didn't take her long to finish the preparation, and before long she was manning the frying pan with chopped sausage, a few dried herbs for seasoning, and simmering vegetation as she kept a watchful eye on the pot of cooking rice. "So are you a mechanic here, or do you just work on machines in your spare time?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 11:51 am
"I am fascinated by a lot of things," Frost responded with a very slight shrug. "Botany is not a field I know much about, but I would be glad to learn more... Mmh, and don't worry about the vegetables: I am rather too hungry to be picky. At least there are some vegetables even if they are frozen." Nevertheless, he would have to try to get something fresh to eat tomorrow. Maybe some fruit with breakfast for a start...
Mmh, well, he might as well do something useful. Locating a wooden spoon, Frost gave the rice a stir to ensure it wasn't sticking to the bottom of the pot. "I am a mechanic, yes," he affirmed as he stirred. "At the moment I am only trusted to work on the cars, jeeps, and suchlike; understandable given I am only a 'grunt'. Mmh, but yes, engineering pertaining to vehicles is my field of expertise: I have studied and practised it since university. I am particularly interested in designing more powerful, more efficient, or alternative engines. I find repair work... satisfying I suppose, but once I become an agent I hope to be able to do more than just fix cracked suspensions and so on and so forth."
Being trusted to work on some of the more expensive vehicles such as the helicopters would be a good start, but he would have to be patient, have to prove himself before he was allowed to do that. Fortunately patience was something he had in spades: he could wait as long as necessary, although of course he hoped it wouldn't be too much longer.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:00 pm
"I have a similar sort of history; I graduated with a high degree in Microbiology with a specifics in genetics as well as a minor in Botany. Again, similar to your own situation, my status typically lands me with less desirable jobs, but at least it's work and it's in my field." She didn't mention at all the real reason she was at Team Rocket, but then again she didn't feel as if that part of her past was important at all.
"Dianthus, plates and utensils please." She cast a glance as the bulbasaur waddled off to get the plates, turning the flames on the stove off. Once the plates were on the table, she began sliding food out of the pan and onto the dishes. "There we go... You can add however much rice you'd like with it."
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 12:20 pm
"Ah, genetics," Frost nodded, accepting his plate from the bulbasaur, "another field I would like to know a lot more about than I do... Rice." Nodding to himself again the small man scooped a reasonable portion onto his plate: more than he would usually eat, but less than his stomach was currently convinced it required, because he knew that it was overestimating. It must have been useful once, that kind of greed, but in the modern world it merely encouraged you to eat too much, to put so much on your plate that you wasted some, or even both.
"I am hoping to get a place on a major mission soon," Frost commented as he located a couple of glasses and filled his with orange juice from the fridge before handing the second to Vironica. "If I can prove myself reliable in the field, hopefully promotion will not be too far behind. Hopefully being operative, of course." As with anything in life there would be an element of bias and favouritism in promotions; if he had accidentally made somebody higher up the 'food chain' angry he might find himself stuck as a grunt for quite some time. Still, he'd been polite to most everyone around him, so he couldn't imagine what anybody could have taken offence at.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:03 am
Vironica took the glass from him and brought it to the sink, filling it with water. She hadn't had the change to go back to her room to get any of her tea, unfortunately. "I'm not too keen for missions, unfortunately. I don't exactly have the build for it, I'm afraid... that and I'd probably forget to go because I'd be wrapped up in some sort of scientific journal or something of the nature."
Taking the plate from Dianthus, who had been more than helpful in serving out food for her while she'd been getting water, the scientist balanced her plate and glass in one hand while using her other hand to open a drawer to take out some cutlery to eat with.
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:10 pm
Frost raised his eyebrows at that, carefully checking that the table and seat his had selected were clean before sitting down. "I am hardly built 'for' missions myself," he observed, "but physical might is hardly everything. Every mission needs at least one person on it whose head is not entirely taken up by muscle, ego, or raging hormones of one variety or another... Your second point is more valid," he nodded slightly, "but surely you could set an alarm to remind you of such an important event. Promotion to agent hinges on showing your prowess in the field you know, and so unless you overcome your difficulties you will never get to do anything really interesting in your field."
He couldn't imagine spending his entire life at this rank; he had too much potential, too many ideas to work away at menial tasks and simple repairs until he died. He was prepared to be patient about reaching the higher ranks, but being patient didn't mean he wasn't spending every waking moment working towards that goal in one way or another.
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