Welcome to Gaia! ::

Beta lowered herself from the ground, her telepathy dialing back in intensity around her body until she could safely hop to the floor. She was standing on the border between grassy field and forest, a foot seemingly in each world. The city was in the distance ahead but not quite visible yet, causing the girl to sigh with a mixture of emotion that was difficult to pin down. The lighthouse, the place she was charged to protect, was at her back... and she had never been so far from it before.

Despite the target it placed on her, she had yet to take the lab coat off from about her shoulders, the article still slightly large even for her own tall stature. White was not the most easily-concealed of colors in the sun, but it seemed to be overcast enough to dull.

Fumbling for a pocket on the side, she pulled out the remote receiver she had built, double-checking that there had been no activated defense systems in the lighthouse while she had been moving. It didn't register anything different, but she nervously hit the side of the makeshift console just to be extra careful. It appeared to be working, at least...

The mewtwo pocketed the device again, gathering her bearings and her next course of action. Every time she was outside the barriers of the lab, she was intent to see something new, discover something she had been unaware of... something that would justify the fact she was out here and practically breaking protocol. Maybe if she caught a glimpse of the city this time, that would solve her current dilemma. She was nervous about being spotted, though, especially by a scientist or relative of those that worked within the confines of the lighthouse she grew up in. Beta didn't know their faces, but she was sure her body still screamed of lab rat, even after the change.

The girl shook her head, focusing on releasing her tension. -Beta just needs to calm down. She will only get distressed about things that are unlikely to occur. There is never a use for worrying, it does no good,- she told herself, telepathy turned inward as she took a few steps toward the ocean. Even so far from it, the air still smelled as salty.

Beta hovered over indecisiveness for a few moments longer, teetering at a crossroads of what to productively do with her time. All roads seemed dangerous, in some form or another, but some seemed to be more so. The city, as full of information as it could be, was not something she thought she could venture towards with so little experience. Working with something slightly more familiar first and building up the resources, the confidence, seemed to be much more structurally sound a course of action. That left scouring the beaches, trying her hand at how far she could float over the ocean... or the forest. She had already seen much of the beach, and she wasn't entirely convinced her levitation was back up to par from before her change. The forest, though... that was intimidating.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she studied the outcropping of trees, nervous and curious both. While Beta was sure she would not run into anybody that she was most concerned of running in to, the unknown variables of the area were numerous. Of course she had read much of what forests could offer -- she had plenty of spare time to do that as a watchdog -- experience was often much different; imagination and photographs could only tell a person so much.

Just then, she caught sight of a figure moving through the fields nearby, a flash of color under the sun. Something seemed... off about her, though, and Beta couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was. The teen seemed to be walking with a few, smaller individuals, but upon first glance, they could have been small pokémon themselves. Of course, in a way, they still were. Beta stayed rooted in place, turning herself to observe more easily. The swaying of her lime tail betrayed her curiosity as she watched, noting the fact that the girl's eyes were wrapped and what appeared to be a small human on her shoulder.

She wandered a few steps slowly, then picked up her pace in the opposite direction, to meet with the girl along a parallel trail. It would have been easier to levitate over, but she supposed her introduction would be strange enough without the addition. When she was close enough, a number of yards away still, her stride halted and she stood once more, monitoring. Beta had never spoken aloud before, and today would be no different -- she communicated by way of cautious telepathy, -Are you a pokémon?- She suspected that was what was throwing her off, but couldn't be certain. There was more than one thing that seemed a little... different, that was for sure.

Beta's attention was tacked onto the group of individuals as they walked, attempting to come to a conclusion about them before any response was given. Of course, any such understanding would be but a theory, but theories were quite interesting to test the extents of. Taking a couple steps backward, the girl mused with the idea that they may have some mental block as well, something she had run into in the past with a dark-type. Would her voice be lost in the transition?

But no, it seemed they all had managed to hear it, despite it being targeted at but one of them. How peculiar! Instead of being daunted by it, she was more fascinated than anything else -- that is, until she noticed the two smaller ones at ground level jumping to the defensive. Oh, did she do something controversial..? Spotting the young girl with them, Beta flattened her skirt and crouched down to be more at eye-level with the three. Ahh, so that was it... These human customs were difficult to get a grasp on after so long of lacking the need! -Apologies, Beta did not mean to be rude. Hello,- she offered in repentance. After a brief pause to think about the correlation with her words, she tapped at her own chest twice with the flat of her palm, indicating that she was the 'Beta' person she had been referring to. If memory served, most people didn't talk in third person.

It felt like her insides flinched at the mention of being a pokémon. She almost retorted something fierce at that -- how could someone consider this man-made abomination a pokémon when they knew what a mewtwo was? -- but she released her metaphorical grip on such reaction. Debate was not the best way to give a first impression. Her tail coiled around her before she urged a response, -You are correct. Your own appearance baffles, however; could Beta ask what pokémon species your group belongs to? You seem very different.- It wasn't the only thing that baffled, of course, but it was a start! Her head tilted to get a better look at the members of the group, but she remained rooted in her crouch, lest they thought she might try to do something dangerous. No, she didn't want to pose a threat, she was genuinely curious!

She gave no hint of moving from her current position, balancing on tip toes with her elbows on her thighs to prop herself upright. While Beta's tail was still circled around her body, settled against the grass in a mildly defensive manner, the girl didn't have to work hard to redirect attention not to her own insecurities, but back to the curiosity that helped to initiate the conversation in the first place. Her vine-like, lime tail was attuned with the alteration of mental driver, the tip twitching like a cat's when focused.

Her nod was decisive at Ura's query to her name, and upon readjusting the lab coat at her shoulders she responded in kind, -There is no need to apologize. The pursuit of answers to that which cannot be explained by mere observation is rather enjoyable. Beta also finds your acquaintance pleasurable.- A long-winded way of saying that she just liked to learn, but over-explanation seemed to come more naturally to the child.

Upon a second glance to the members of the traveling group, the mewtwo could definitely see the resemblances to the average exeggcute, or at least from what she had read about them in the databases. While that piled more questions into her mind, Beta thought it better to back down on the interrogation -- some of them looked more nervous than the others, and that had not been Beta's intention to cause. This was especially evident after the explanation offered by the spectacled boy, and while Beta's mind may have told her to tread this path carefully, she couldn't help but to inquire further, -Beta has not heard of such an occurrence happening before. It would make sense, but... but a group of exeggcute are considered a single entity in documentation, are they not? Most peculiar... Most peculiar that the jirachi had not planned for this.- How inconvenient was it that they had to readjust so fully to this lifestyle? It seemed even more difficult than the average pokémon that was suddenly turned human!

There was some hesitation when the mewtwo-child's name was brought to light, but it only surfaced as a brief wavering in the dilation of her eyes and a minute amount of staggering in her balanced crouch. -'Beta' is... more of a title than a true name,- she returned quietly. True, it was the only thing the scientists ever referred to her as, years ago, but there was no fondness, no attachment, to the word. It only illustrated the fact that she had been a failure. Turning attention to her choice in clothing, however, struck surprise into her tone instead, -Does the clothing indicate something Beta is not aware of? It had been salvaged.- While it may have only been because it was the only thing that fit her from the back room, it also had quickly grown on the young girl. -Yes,- she replied, -Beta lives a few miles from here. And yourselves?- She didn't want to say where she lived, precisely, but it could have easily been mistaken as the opposing direction to the lighthouse she truly dwelled in.

While the congenial smiles on the faces of some of the members of the exeggcute team may have been reassuring, there was still a sense of tension in the air, even if it may have been declining with time. She could feel it without the need to pry. Despite the small amount of nervousness felt over her encompassing curiosity, Beta made sure to keep at least a bit of a smile on at all times. She didn't want to come off as threatening, in any manner, but she was also very much aware of how little she knew of interacting properly with others. The only other times she ended up talking with those in the past was when it was a scientist giving her an order, or a pokémon wandering into the lighthouse she guarded... both cases were procedural; this was most certainly different.

It still felt as though the band of exeggcute didn't quite feel comfortable around her, and while she was sure they weren't the type to attack or do anything similarly drastic on the spur of the moment, her defenses still had not dropped off completely; she was fairly certain she was going to have to cut things short before it felt too much like an interrogation. Such was the problems with curiosity. It was fairly possible she was merely reading too much into posture, though. The raven-haired girl shook her head slightly in response, but her words failed to back her up without sounding too harsh, and were thusly chopped, -The event itself is not so strange, but um... how it occurred...- affecting five individuals at once, she hadn't thought of the consequences of such a feat! After all, unlike other pokémon, they worked as a single unit, and were classified as such. In fact, she was paying much more direct attention when Zeki explained how their species worked, for it was not something that Beta had thought to investigate before -- it was quite fascinating stuff! As far as she knew, there was no other lifeform, pokémon or not, that lived in such a peculiar fashion, linked through their psychic bonds that she...

Oh...

The girl flinched slightly, the tip of her tail stiffening. -I-If you would prefer, Beta can let you be on your way. She did not mean to make things uncomfortable,- the child quickly interjected. It was the only way she allowed herself to speak with another, the only way she ever had, but she was unsure of the way it had affected the exeggcute. Sure, she was curious in what way it affected them, in what way they were linked, everything... but that was not a diplomatic way of going about things! -Beta does not find the subject matter to be dull at all!- the mewtwo insisted, -To broaden one's horizons with knowledge is to gain a better understanding of the world around them. Beta finds you all to be very fascinating!- Which, of course, only enforced what Ajax was explaining about her name in correlation with her clothing style. Glancing down, she tugged at the lab coat's collar to pull it further into view, a blink of realization crossing her eyes and a brighter smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, -Ah. You make a good argument, Beta supposes it does.- How amusing it was that she hadn't even thought to take the jacket into consideration! With the mention of once living in the wilds, no sound of a trainer in the picture at all, the girl perked, interested in the clarification, -Was it difficult to learn to live around the humans when you had grown in such different worlds? Or did it become easier to adapt after the change? What is a club?- Oh she was so full of questions, her mind was whirling with possibilities.

Beta visibly agreed with Zeki's sentiments on the matter of transformation being different for each individual. She would have happily pursued further inquiry, but even she was not out of the loop when it came to how uncomfortable it was making other members of the group. While Beta had not dug too deeply into the connection, Caileen's tuning out of the link was still felt, if very loosely, as if someone had risen from a seat at a discussion table and stepped away from the conference room. Well that didn't bode too well... oops.

At least it was a weight off that Beta was not seen as being intrusive to the band's psychic link, as per Zeki's assurance. Her tail waved slightly, content with the knowledge as shown through feline tendency, -Alright, if you are sure. Please alert Beta if she gets to be too overbearing; curiosity can sometimes leave her forgetting etiquette.- It was something that had become strikingly obvious, even to the society-shy girl herself, in the few encounters she had endured since left on her own in the abandoned building.

The two exeggcute members' explanations of their early lives as transformed pokémon made Beta realize that she was likely quite fortunate, at least in instances of sudden change like that. Being fully wild, as they sounded like they were, must carry with it its fair share of greater consequences in that respect. After the consideration, her smile returned, -Even through the hardships you and your kin had to endure, your values are quite charming. Beta is sure that, whoever you took the articles of clothing from, had enough to spare temporarily for your use.-

As the description of what a club was came to light, Beta unconsciously pulled at the hems of the upper portion of her lab coat closer towards one another, wrapping her up a little further. Ahh, that would be why she hadn't known what one was... it didn't sound like it was the best place to stay hidden, but likely a good place to work, she was sure. Maybe she could try a place like that out once... once she made better preparations, and took into account further security measures, and... Beta could see the benefits, but committing to changing her lifestyle so drastically to pursue intrigue was a little too far out of her grasp.

She blinked as the conversation wrapped back around, ending on a note that inferred Beta's own involvement in similar outcomes. -Perhaps you are right. If that were the case, it is not so bad, is it? Only the more observant would be privy to such knowledge. Although...- her expression tarnished with a considerate frown, -...the more persistent types are not always those that one may want to draw attention from.- Beta had experienced plenty of break-ins as of late, though such curiosity was not of the same focus as the current conversation. The speculations were parallel, however. Besides, what was a friend in this day and age anyway?

Beta was not quite sure if Ura was merely being polite in her reassurance that the mewtwo was not being a bother, but whether or not it was truthful didn't really matter. In the end, her words succeeded in allowing the girl to relax; they were aware of one anothers' predicament now, and no hostility was likely to come of it, burrowing curiosity aside. She could handle that, and accepted the lines with an assured smile and nod of her head. -It is not every day that Beta encounters another that can communicate psychically, either. It is quite refreshing,- the tarnished silver poké-girl agreed. Truthfully, though, she had never run into a psychic-type before, so it was more relief than normal.

There was no doubt that the group of exeggcute had thought about the consequences their actions may have caused when they pilfered their clothing to survive after the mishap with Jirachi's star. For the most part, they seemed driven by the more logically-inclined members of their group, and those emotionally-driven were bound to direct their actions toward the least harmful of repercussions. That must have been the benefit of group decision-making, for it had to be subjected to the scrutiny of a range of preferences. -Beta can imagine that everyone's well-being was in the forefront of your decisions, including the original owners of the garments,- she stated with an astute nod, releasing the grip she had on the edges of her coat and slowly lowering them to either side, -She also thinks that if she ever did enter one of these 'clubs,' there would be no other group that she would prefer going with. Thank you kindly. Perhaps when Beta has... better bearings on everything.- Even if it was at a slow hour, she was still unsure about how easily she could keep a grip on her abilities. Who knew how loudly people thought in there!

She jumped slightly as Ajax seemed to take her comments more personally than she had expected. In fact, Beta was a bit surprised as to how sweet the sentiment ended up being. -Ah, n-no no, Beta was just referring to others in a general sense,- her words stumbled out, ironing out as she paused briefly to snicker, -Not everyone can be quite as supportive and honest as all of you are!- Truth be told, there wasn't anybody whom she had met that she wasn't capable of finding some redeeming quality in, but it wasn't until her transformation did she actually try looking for that redeeming quality. Some shone brightly with it, while others took some digging... With a curious tilt, she prodded a bit at the subject, -There has not been anyone like that, that harasses any of you, is there?-