|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:05 pm
To say it had been a long day would've been a serious understatement. Claire's morning had started with a quick swim, a shower, a croissant, and work, followed by training, training, dinner, and more training. It had started out as just training her pokemon (or trying to, in Blue's and Luc's cases), though her drifting thoughts suddenly flitted to the fact she'd let her own self-training slip. She hadn't gone on a proper mission in months - the botched outpost mission that ended in a nightmarish run-in with Galactic hardly counted - and her physical training had declined lately. This was unacceptable, of course, so to fix this egregious oversight she had immediately went to the weight rooms for a nice long work-out.
A very long one.
It was dark by the time she returned to her room to shower. She'd known she shouldn't have over-exerted herself so much, and normally wouldn't have, but thoughts of Galactic were like little parasites - once they infested her mind, they were hard as all hell to get rid of. It wasn't just that they were annoying (which they were) but she was surprised - actually, after she'd thought about it, it wasn't surprising in the least - that the thoughts made her nervous. Nervous and frightened. How she hated, absolutely loathed those feelings. If they hadn't plagued her all afternoon she wouldn't have trained nearly so much, but she had no desire to be caught unprepared by Galactic. Well... she never wanted to be unprepared for anything, but in the case of Galactic, it was a little more.. important. A life and death situation, quite literally. And s**t, that scared her too.
As she emerged from the shower she violently pushed the thoughts from her head - or tried to, at any rate - before changing and drying her hair a bit. She'd straighten it in the morning when it was completely dry, she was too exhausted to care about it tonight. With a sigh she turned off the lights and crawled into bed, shortly after accompanied by a Cyndaquil curled up next to her chest, a Glaceon settled into the curve behind her knees, and a chubby Pikachu hoarding the end of the bed. Unable to see anymore to preen, Odette huffed and tucked her head under a wing in a corner of the room, and Artemis buried herself beneath Claire's bed. How she could fit there, the agent had no idea - her thoughts were distracted. The details of her traitorous departure from that particular Team kept floating back the inside of her eyelids, feelings of such acute, intense fear that twisted and knotted her stomach that inevitably accompanied the memories of Tethys in the cave during the failed mission. It seemed so long ago now, and yet she could've sworn it was just yesterday with how vivid it seemed. With a deep breath she rolled over, eliciting three separate types of noises from three different pokemon - a grunt from Zeus before he rolled over as well, a displeased 'myurr' from Alexina as she delicately stepped over Claire's knees, and a panicked squeak from Luc as he tried to scramble over her side to huddle in front of her again. Tonight would certainly be a long night, she was sure. It had been so long since she'd had a nightmare, she'd thought they were over. She really, truly hoped she wouldn't have any tonight...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 5:56 am
Aulus had had a long day too. He had also had a fantastic one. When the elite had called him in for a word in their office after lunch he'd expected a dressing down for some transgression or other, or perhaps to be asked to take on an inconvenient extra shift. He certainly hadn't been expecting to be handed a new card key and informed of where he could pick up his new white uniform.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of finding nicely fitting clothes, and of packing and shifting boxes. His new room was the same size as a grunt room of course, but he had it all to himself and could do just about whatever he fancied with it and that made it seem like a luxurious mansion. Late afternoon and early evening therefore were spent getting the place to his liking, aiming to give it a bit more character than the sterile box it was at the moment. Some extra nails went on the walls for hanging photographs - he already knew which ones he wanted to put up – and he repeatedly shifted his furniture around until he finally settled on a layout. Upon realising that he had a comfortable new abode and a nice new rank, but that he had not eaten since lunchtime he dashed down to catch the dininghall before it closed down for the night and devoured a large amount of lukewarm pizza and slightly limp salad.
Now full – and not at all put out by the low quality of the food because nothing could spoil his day right now - Aulus wandered up the stairs and turned down the corridor that led to Claire's room. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face. Dusting off his pristine white trousers and swinging the (ridiculous, campy, never going to wear without coercion) jacket over one shoulder he knocked on her door and awaited an answer with a smirk on his face. This was going to be fun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 2:09 pm
Claire had fallen asleep not too long after rolling over - but how much time had passed between then and Aulus knocking on her door was indeterminable. Like the pokemon that surrounded her, she was fast asleep. The only thing she was conscious of was running through a dimly lit cave, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest as she desperately tried to flee from some obvious horror that pursued her. She stumbled suddenly and slid across the cavern floor, scraping her arm in the process but ignored it as she hurriedly pushed herself back up, stumbling a bit more as a low wall of fire slowly rolled its way across the floor. It came forward in waves, like a twisted, hellish ocean of fire, surrounding rocks before swallowing them whole. Panic wrenched her insides as her heart leapt into her throat when she halted in front of a wall. Her hands quickly groped around its smooth surface, looking for a foothold or a hole or anything to get her away, but there was nothing.
She was trapped.
The agent whipped around and pressed herself back against the wall, watching with wide, frightened eyes as the fire spread over the whole floor and surrounded her, stopping just a couple feet away from her on all sides. The Volcarona that commanded it was terrifying in and of itself, but there was nothing Claire dreaded more than who would appear next. She knew who it was even before she saw her step out from behind the fire-type, and she could feel a scream well up and die in her throat - why wasn't the fire burning her? - smile at her despite her prey's obvious distress, a smile that said it'll all be over soon - why wasn't it hurting her?! - a small flash at her side --
BANG.
Claire bolted upright in bed with a gasp, displacing all three pokemon that had previously been snuggled up and content next to her, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. She stared down through the dark at her hands, clutching her sheets so tightly her fingers were sore. But.. but she was just freaking shot. Hazel eyes quickly darted to Zeus at the end of the bed, who was looking at her with a look that clearly said 'what are you doing, stupid?' as he pointed to the door. Claire stared at it numbly for a moment before she finally realized - it was just a nightmare. Tethys hadn't just shot her. ...and there was someone at the door. Was that the gunshot she'd heard? It sounded so real...
Oh, right. Door.
Aulus would only wait about 15 seconds from the time he knocked to the time the door was swiftly pulled open approximately 30 degrees, a pair of wide hazel eyes peering out at him as if he very well could be someone about to murder her. "Oh, Aulus," she breathed, tucking a few strands of tousled hair behind her ear. It looked like it might still have been a bit damp from her shower earlier - or maybe from the cold sweat she'd woken up in. "Oh, you can, um, come in if you want." With a click the light flicked on, revealing Claire standing there in her pajamas and her assortment of pokemon staring blearily at the pair, while she rubbed at one hazel eye with the heel of her hand. While it was obvious she'd just woken up, she sure as hell had never been more awake.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:01 am
"...You look awful." And now he felt awful. He stepped inside, and quickly pushed the door to behind him. She looked hunted, frightened. He had no idea what to do, this really wasn't his strong suit....
Aulus swung his jacket off his shoulder and put it around Claire's, and what a sodding useless gesture it was. Should he hug her or something? Should he ask if she wanted a hug? That seemed like a really awkward thing to do but he didn't want to just grab her, especially given she looked so spooked.
After a pause of a moment or two Aulus rested his hands lightly on Claire’s shoulders and looked down at her with concern in his dark red eyes. "You need anything?" Should he have asked her what was wrong?... Probably not, this was Claire after all and she was always so full of secrecy and half truths. She'd probably tell him about it if she wanted to talk, he'd just make things awkward - more awkward - by pushing for information.... Probably. Maybe he should ask after all. Maybe he would in a bit, but certainly not just now....
Damn, he wanted to know because he wanted to fix it. It probably wasn't something he could easily fix but if he knew what it was he could at least try.... He wanted to fix it. He hated to see her like this. She was always so cool and unruffled, well almost always anyway; she hadn’t been quite so calm during the botched raid. He still didn’t really know why she had been so afraid then, and he certainly had no idea now. She looked as though she’d just woken up, had she had a bad dream? That seemed likely but in the end it told him just about sweet fanny adams, if he was going to fix it he needed to know what it was about.... And he couldn’t imagine her telling him. Maybe she trusted him a bit, but not that much. He was willing to bet she’d tell Lucas if he were here. Bloody Lucas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 7:36 am
A jacket was suddenly put around her shoulders, coupled with a vaguely confused look on her face - what the hell was that for? - before two strong hands joined the jacket on her shoulders. At his words she took in a deep breath and held it. He was right - not only did she look awful, but she felt awful. Awfully ridiculous. She felt like a little kid again or something, and it was embarrassing.
Did she need anything? Of course she did - she needed to stop reacting like this, needed to suck it up and get over it... She needed a hug. Needed Lucas, and she'd be lying if she said she hadn't already thought about going to see him, but the possibility he was already sleeping - and because Aulus was there - kept her rooted to the spot still.
Exhaling the breath in a heavy sigh, she rubbed both eyes before sliding her hands up to run her fingers through her hair. "..no, I'm fine," she assured him, but whether or not she really was fine was debatable. Quickly she cast around for a change of subject - something, anything - to distract them from the topic at hand, a topic she didn't like: Herself. "Oh, why'd you come up here?" He wouldn't have come if he didn't have something to tell her, right? She had yet to notice his new white uniform - even with half of it draped over her shoulders.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:28 am
"No you're not," Aulus replied with a scowl that didn't reach his still worried eyes. "You can hide where you come from from me," he went on, "you can hide your real name, what you used to do before you came here, all that and more probably but I'm not blind Claire.... And why I came isn't important at the moment." She was important right now and to hell with it if he wasn't seeming too tough, right now to hell with it even if she guessed he had feelings for her.
"C'mon," he muttered, searching her wide hazel eyes for some hint of what was wrong, "you don't have to tell me about it but don't tell me it's not there...." She was never going to make the move herself, was she? Oh well, here went then. Hoping that he wasn't about to get hit and or have Lucas set on him, Aulus stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around Claire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:08 am
While he was scowling, she was strategically studying the floor. He was right, of course - she hid so many things. Not just from him, but from everyone, even Lucas. It was usually always the same things, but sometimes she had to keep secrets she really wished she didn't have to. Still others she'd much rather take to her grave.
As he spoke, one hand slowly fell to her side, then the other as she felt herself slowly shrinking. She could say she was fine and nothing was wrong until she was blue in the face, but after a nightmare like that - or rather, after any nightmare that involved one or more of the handful she was terrified of - it didn't matter one bit what she said, she just couldn't hide how much it frightened her. She could hide anger, amusement, sadness, and a wide range of other emotions when she had to, but she'd always had trouble quelling her fear. If she was in any other state of mind, she'd make a mental note to work on it, but right now her mind was still scrambled and she could barely process the fact she hadn't just been shot. She was still at the base, safe in her room, safe in Aulus' arm-- wait what?
The hug was completely unexpected, startling her out of her thoughts - but her response was immediate. Thankfully for Aulus it wasn't either of what he'd been thinking, as she slipped her arms around his neck and hid her face in the crook of his neck. It was still so embarrassing for him to catch her in such a state, and the pink tinge on her cheeks was evidence to this. ...or maybe it was because Aulus had hugged her.
Odette's response was also immediate, because one moment she was preening in the corner but she was suddenly towering over the pair, crest raised to make herself seem taller than she already was - which was pretty freaking tall. Taller than Aulus, anyway. The look in her steely eyes clearly said if he made one wrong move he would not only lose his hands, but also his eyes, most of his face, and probably quite a few of his internal organs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 8:04 am
Why was it that everything around Claire seemed hell bent on keeping him at least arms length away from her? Holding her close Aulus eyed the posturing Pidgeot warily; he didn't want to let Claire go right now but neither did he want to get shredded. Still, for now at least it looked as if the bird was going to let him be....
Claire hadn't pushed him away. Underneath his worry for her - and a growing anger at whatever had done this to her - that was incredibly uplifting. She must trust him fairly well if she was willing to cling onto him, right? She must even like him somewhat; not necessarily like that, but pathetic creature that he was he was willing to settle for any kind of affection she had to offer. She was warm, and her hair smelled nice. Must be her shampoo. He couldn't quite place what the scent was - and dwelling on it was probably a bad idea anyway - but it was nice. On balance he still wished she wasn't frightened of course, but every cloud had a silver lining, right? Arceus he was an arsehole for even pondering that.
Aulus gave Claire a gentle squeeze, and resisted the urge to kiss her hair. "It'll be alright," he muttered, "whatever it is. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you." Nor would Odette or Lucas, but just now he wasn't about to bring up people and pokemon she felt a lot more affection for than she did for him. Was it really so bad of him to want to keep her attention on him? Probably. For some reason he couldn't seem to feel too guilty about it just now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 1:00 pm
Luckily for Aulus - or unluckily, if he didn't enjoy being stared at by a large bird that towered over him - Odette stayed rooted to the spot, continuing to glare at him threateningly. He wasn't doing anything yet, but he might. And if he did, well, she would rip him to shreds. And then rip those shreds to even smaller shreds.
His words and embrace - along with time passing and the mantra she kept inwardly repeating to herself - were slowly returning her pulse to a more normal rate. She inhaled deeply to further soothe her frazzled nerves, and sighed them onto his neck. The feeling of such acute fear was ebbing away as more contented and relaxed feelings pushed it out, and she was suddenly aware that her fingers were laced together and thinking that he smelled rather nice.
Clearly it was time to move.
"Thank you," she murmured to his neck as she gave him a quick squeeze before letting go and half-turning towards Odette, who immediately shrunk down two feet to meet Claire's hands as she stroked her head and crest, eliciting happy coos from the Pidgeot. It was hard to believe she was the same bird who, two seconds prior, was ready and willing to rip a person to shreds. The jacket was sitting awkwardly on her shoulders at that point, so she shrugged it off and handed it back to him with a small smile. "Thanks, and congratulations on the promotion. Moved into your new room yet?" She asked as she walked over to sit on her bed, Luc immediately jumping into her lap and clinging to her shirt. Odette moved back to her corner to resume preening for the time being, and the rest of her pokemon were - or seemed to be - sleeping again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:19 am
So, they weren't going to talk about it then. He supposed he shouldn't have expected it really... Ah, right, promotion. He'd actually forgotten all about it for a minute there. "Oh, yea, thanks," Aulus smiled in return, "spent most of the afternoon moving my stuff in and then shoving my furniture around. Pretty happy with how I've got it set up now, other than stuff to hang on the walls. Anyway, I was thinking of doing something to celebrate sometime soon and seen as you're as close as I've got to a fr...." Aulus trained off there and sighed, shaking his head at himself and rubbing the livid line of the scar across his face. "Start again," he went on, "seen as you are the only friend I've got around here I thought I'd ask you if you want to join in... with whatever it is, haven't decided yet."
There was nothing wrong with calling her a friend, right? She was, wasn't she? Ugh, why did he have to analyse all of this so much? Oh yea: because he was a defensive paranoid arsehole with an enormous crush on her, silly him for forgetting. As if he could forget. He wished he could sometimes. Damn he was being self-pitying tonight. He was supposed to be happy damnit, and he was going to be! It was fine to call her his friend aloud, and she wouldn't laugh at him....
Arceus, don't let her laugh.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:56 pm
If Claire had any intention of talking about her nightmare, it obviously wasn't going to happen anytime soon. In all actuality, while she did want to at least tell him a little about it - not too much, of course - she didn't trust herself to not be bothered by it just yet. Maybe a little later, when the memories and feelings they dredged up with them weren't still so fresh in her mind. "That's good," she said with a smile - a smile that turned a bit rueful as she glanced quickly around the room and noted, not for the first time, that her walls were pointedly empty from anything besides the standard fare all agent rooms came with. And just how long had she been in here? Months? Maybe it was time to decorate...
The smile twitched back onto her face when he corrected himself. Friend. Of course she'd considered him a friend for a while now, and was surprised it'd taken him so long to acknowledge it himself. It'd been obvious ages ago when he'd started coming to see her in her quarters. "I'm sure I'm not the only one," she encouraged, scooting over to the side a bit and patting the spot next to her. "And I'd love to. Wait," the agent added after a short pause, and fixed Aulus with a skeptical yet lighthearted look. "I want to know what you're planning on doing first." While her tone was playful, it was a serious question. The only "celebrations" she'd attended involved alcohol, which she was still extremely wary of, and-- other things. But Aulus wouldn't do any of that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:47 pm
He felt as if a gargantuan hand squeezing his chest had just released its grip. She hadn't laughed. Why had he been half convinced she would? He hated introspection, especially uncomfortable introspection like this. Why should he be so paranoid? What was wrong with him?... Forget it. Just forget it, put it away, move on.
Trying to do just that Aulus moved across the room to sit down beside Claire and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Dunno," he said eloquently, "maybe... I dunno, get off base and do something. Catch a movie, go to the beach to muck around and have a barbecue, something easy like that? Hadn't really thought that much about what yet, just that I wanted to do something. Been working my arse off for this for months, I feel I've earned a really good day off but not one I have to spend even longer planning, y'know?" He was beginning to feel burned out, he had to admit; forcing himself to be dedicated to menial work, and to go above and beyond his actual duties in it, had certainly been a rough ride. That was over with now though, he'd have more interesting things to do and, at long last, a bit more respect.
"Oh... And you are," Aulus went on after a moment, giving a shrug that he hoped looked casual and glancing over at Odette. "Unless you count pokemon of course, and if you do I've got a few more. Anyway, doesn't matter to me," he said firmly. After a moment however he contradicted himself by adding quickly; "I've just been too busy being a shining star that totally needs promoting, you know? I could've made some more if I'd been trying."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:01 pm
"That all sounds like fun," she commented, feeling relieved at his answer. But why? It wasn't as if she was worried about it in the first place, of course not.. "Movies are good, the beach would be fun.. If you had a barbecue, who would cook?" Because she certainly wouldn't. "Um... Oh, bowling maybe? Can't think of much else..." She finished, her brows furrowed for a few seconds until she shrugged, then flopped backwards onto the bed. Luc squeaked and huddled up on her stomach, nuzzling his head into her hands.
She offered a smile at his affirming his previous statement, but it turned into a laugh at the last part. "Oh, yes, of course." Clearly he didn't care one bit whether he had more friends or not. Obviously. "You'll be just as busy now, I can assure you," she said with a smile after the laugh died down, "but it isn't too hard to find or make more friends." At least, it really wasn't that hard for her. "Though I don't think people normally take to.. I dunno, prickly people. Like.. a cactus," she said while attempting to hide a grin as she reached out to poke him in the side gently. "That's it, you can be like a cactus sometimes."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:39 am
Oh, people didn't like prickly people? No s**t Sherl-
Cactus? "What?" Aulus gave a short incredulous laugh. "Cactus? Seriously?" The silly comparison took the sting out of her comment, and allowed him to relax enough to grin. "Well fine, if I'm a cactus don't be surprised -" he poked her in the ribs "- if you get spiked by me sometimes!" Oh. Hu. She wasn't wearing a bra, he'd just noticed that...
Don'tlookattheboobs!
Right. Good. Anyway. Managing to transfer his gaze back to Claire's eyes - no contacts of course, which was nice - he shrugged. "Anyway, if we went to the beach Char can cook. He's no master chef but he can do basic things like shoving something in the oven, or cooking stuff on a barbecue. Oh. I don't know if you'd like the stuff I usually have though...." Barbecue's were, traditionally, one massive meat-fest with maybe a hint of buns and the occasional sad bit of salad. "Still," Aulus shrugged, "if you're not into quorn and bean burgers and that we can get you something you will like, no problem. Char might even appreciate the chance to cook something he identifies as food rather than misc inedible plant matter."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:07 pm
"Seriously," she said with a light chuckle that quickly turned into a squeak as she squirmed away from his poke to her ribs, then added in a giggle, "but that's not nice!" Any potential innuendos were lost on her - she'd also forgotten for the moment what she wasn't wearing - as she teased him back. It was a pitiful attempt at teasing anyway.
"He can cook on a barbecue?" She asked when her giggles had died down, peering up at him curiously. ..wait. Quorn? Bean burgers..? "I didn't know you were a vegetarian," she said in vaguely surprised tones, the corner of her mouth upturned in a small smile. Of all the people she'd met, Aulus seemed the least likely candidate for that - manly men ate copious amounts of meat, afterall - but once she thought about it.. He did seem to really care about pokemon. Maybe that was why he was a vegetarian..?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
