Welcome to Gaia! ::

Captain Serpentine had met his energy quota once again. There had been little doubt of it--certainly he had no doubts, but it was still a wonderful feeling all the same. His muscles burning lightly from the exercise- running, croaching, grabbing, draining. All part of a hunt to which he had become accustomed. He let the late night jogger fall from his grip and into the autumn leaves with a crunch. No need to go for the kill at this moment... particularly not when he felt the tinge of Chaos energy nearby.

Too weak to be anything but a lieutenant, and a lieutenant should truly not be wandering alone. If he had taken anything from his own experiences in rising through the ranks to the position he occupied now... it was that lieutenants needed greater training. There was much to learn, and it all was necessary to advance within--and to support--their organization. Energy draining, star seed ripping, general combat... and that was only the physical matters. He had been forced to discover much on his own; while the florist had always been able to handle whatever challenge was thrown at him, that certainly would not be true of all new recruits.

As he drew near to the source of the energy, a frown crossed his face. A rather frail looking girl in a fashionable dress - that part was okay, if a bit unexpected. No, he frowned due to the teddy bear he saw her clenching. Had she been regulated to the same drudgery of using a toy as he had been? Hers did not even look as useful. Clearly, she needed his help desperately. The rainbow-haired man stepped through the bushes and briskly initiated introductions - as ever, he was a man with purpose. "Captain Serpentine. You are?"

"My territory? No." In truth, Serpentine did not have much of a "territory;" he went where he pleased, when he pleased. Although, it was true of late that he had been sticking close to Buddingtonite's apartment in case he recieved an emergency call from his partner. Still, her concern for infringing on his area was appreciated and earned her a small nod. If her tone was a bit on the cold side, it did not bother the Captain - who, indeed, was generally frosty himself.

He eyed her more critically now that he was close. He was only 5'9'' himself, but that was enough to physically as well as mentally tower over her. He saw no other sign of a weapon so it would seem the fluffy bear was, indeed, all with which she had to defend herself. Still, he had survived with his rubber snake; she would survive with her bear. "Do you hunt, Lieutenant?" He saw no indication that she had been doing so, but either way, he had already made up his mind that he would teach her. The question was really more to ascertain how many lessons he would need to cover.

The Captain nodded approvingly, his golden eyes narrowing as he took in all she had to say. Not afraid to hunt, despite her rookie status. Already in a partnership, the better for both parties. Willing and eager to learn. Yes, he would teach her so that she did not make the same mistakes he had made.

"Vagabonds, addicts, prostitutes are easy targets - children and the elderly, too, although draining them requires a defter hand." He spoke bluntly and precisely, offering suggestions that he knew would be least likely to get her killed. "With a partner, almost any are possible using ambush tactics."

"You are your best weapon, lieutenant." Serpentine pointed down to the top of her head as her first asset. "Small - greater maneuverability and access to ambush sites." He indicated her dress with a sweep of his hand. "Appearance is feminine, delicate - others will underestimate you, easy to fool them. The Dark Gift grants you added strength and speed." He finally crouched down to point directly at her bear. "Good for distractions and smothering until it grows into something more useful."

One benefit of his current position was that he could look her in her eyes. His gaze was intense, but not directly threatening, as he announced, "I will teach you, Teallite. Name your target."