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 Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 9:37 am
 Jean-ClaudeClosing his eyes and reaching up to his arm, Jean-Claude yanked the IV out of his arm.
Hot damn, needles suck.
"Well, mostly the fact that my tribe was full of s**t and inevitably banished me," was his reply.
"I brought shame to my entire family, so with a snap of the fingers, I was out. I came here for a new beginning."
It was a sad story, but J.C. could tell it rather nonchalantly.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:02 am
 KeiranKeiran blinked in surprise. So the Lopunny was tribal; just like him. He never would have expected that; he seemed so much... different, than his own tribe. It just didn't seem to come to mind. The world was a strange place, it seemed.
"Let me guess; you didn't like their rules?" He guessed, shooting the larger male a sideways glance. "I had a friend who evolved during battle. It was a total accident, or course, but suddenly her friends weren't backing her up anymore. They chased her off, and she never looked back."
The Riolu crossed his arms in frustration. "I'm as old as you are, Lopunny, but I sure as hell don't look like it. Not being able to evolve; we're practically a tribe of children."
The Riolu slipped off the edge of the bed, stretching to his full height, and shaking his paws a little to loosen the stiff muscles. He'd long since taken the IVs from his own arm; not that the nurses had bothered to notice."Mind if I join you over there?" He asked, dusting off the black fur on his arm. He was completely clean, despite his motions, but force of habit made him do it anyway.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 10:11 am
Jean-ClaudeThe Lopunny shook his head when asked if he minded.
He never really did mind when asked those sort of questions.
"Not allowed to evolve?" He asked.
"Well that's just stupid, and highly discriminatory."
He shrugged a little, wiping an ear out of his face again.
"Although I can say the same for my tribe."
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:23 am
KeiranKeiran grimaced. "We have to be small and dark. As thieves, our tribe has stuck very closely to tradition. Being anything different is apparently the death of our traditions. Our leader is convinced of it."
The Riolu moved across the room, limping a little as he did so. A long scar ran up from ankle to thigh, bound tightly with a bandage at the narrowest part of his leg. The bandage was only temporary, but it seemed to irritated the Riolu all the more.
"Because of their stupid rules, we're not strong enough to defend ourselves alone. We fight only as a team, because we don't have the firepower or training to make it otherwise. Only our leader can handle a one on one, but I'd bet you anything he's training his little girl the same way." He added, gesturing to his leg as he settled down on the edge of the Lopunny's bed.
It took a slight jump and pulling himself up with his torso to even get up on top of it, and the thought of just how small he was made his face flush dark with embarrassment, turning his head away awkwardly. He hated being tiny. He was like a child compared to the Normal-type next to him.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 3:30 pm
Jean-Claude"... Then leave," Jean-Claude responded rather coldly.
"This tribe of yours does not appreciate you, and you're in the presence of the Guilds now. They can't do anything to you if you leave, the Guild would track them down. Small and dark or not, you can't elude us for long."
Crossing his arms, he sighed.
"Tradition frustrates me."
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:01 pm
KeiranKeiran blinked in alarm at the idea. "Leave?! Wh-wha.... I can't. That idea..." The Riolu nearly fell off the edge of the bed, stammering stupidly. He hadn't expected that reaction. Sure, he'd figured that the Lopunny would be sour toward his troubles, but he'd never heard anyone so direct and blunt about things like that.
"I just can't." He managed lamely, hanging his head shamefully. He could think back, to when he was small; he was always a bit of an outcast, but not everyone really cared as children. He hadn't been the only one. He'd had friends now and again. Sure, they'd moved on, but they'd backed him up a good many times since then.
"My tribe is my home, not your guild. Despite my misgivings at the moment, they are my family. I can't abandon them because a stranger urges me to do otherwise. I don't even know your name..."
He swallowed, shooting the Lopunny a cautious glance. "I apologize; I should not have spoken. We are here for healing, not arguing over our pasts." He muttered formally, knowing that he'd slipped too easily into the usual pattern he took around his guild. Submissive and pessimistic, but loyal. He would have to break that habit while he was here, or he was in for a world of trouble.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:12 pm
Jean-Claude"The way I see things, a family who doesn't care about you just isn't worth having."
The Lopunny was rather cynical about these kinds of things.
"You wouldn't be abandoning them, since it seems they've already abandoned you. I was half-awake when that Chimchar came in, I know what she said to you."
He had no tolerance for sociopaths like that.
"And I agree with the Typhlosion. She needs a kick in the a**."
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:39 pm
KeiranKeiran winced. No one was supposed to have heard that. No one. "Celeste doesn't matter." He lied bluntly, frowning to himself. "She's just one woman; I can handle it." He was lying, and doing a horrible job of it to boot, but he'd at least managed to keep his tone even.
He let his eyes slide shut, leaning back and lying sideways across the foot of the Lopunny's bed. "They didn't abandon me... I'm just here for a mission; whenever it's done, I can go home. That's it." he again protested, more to reassure himself than the Lopunny. He loved Celeste, but he wasn't blind. He knew that she was using his affections to her advantage... He just; he could let go. Not yet.
He opened his teal eyes, tilting his head as he glanced back at his somewhat angry companion.
"...Let's just backtrack. Start at square one. What's your name?" Keiran asked, his half-lidded eyes gazing back at the Normal-type.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:51 pm
Jean-ClaudeThe Lopunny bowed his head rather regally, as was his custom.
"Jean-Claude Acier of Team Schadenfreude," He introduced himself gruffly.
"Yes, it's French, and no, I do not look this way because I chose to."
J.C. had also become accustomed to saying that last part all the time.
By now, it was habit.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:02 pm
KeiranKeiran's ears twitched at the elegant bow. He'd never seen a male be so... graceful. Whoever the Lopunny was, he couldn't help but admire him, at least a little bit. As he introduced himself, his questions were answered, and he relaxed a little bit.
"It's good to meet you... as for the fur and such... I wasn't really going to ask. I assumed it was a tribe thing; forcibly dying their children strange colours." His words held a sort of dry humor, soured by the past that both had been through, but it was clear that he wasn't in the mood to talk about it.
He remained lying across the Lopunny's bed, feeling a little too tired to move. He hadn't been able to rest for a while. Stress got to him so easily. He could sense that Jean-Claude was tired, too, though his own weariness made that difficult to decipher how much.
"Thank you, by the way. It's not as simple as how you make it sound... but I appreciate the thought." He told the Normal-type sincerely.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 7:13 pm
Jean-Claude"Spot on," J.C. replied with a chuckle.
"My tribe forces all males to act like a female in order to better relate to the females and find a mate. I refused it, so I was forced into all... this, and I was cursed so it can't be removed."
Glancing at Keiran, he cocked a poofy eyebrow.
"Sometimes it's not that simple... But sometimes it is."
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:56 pm
KeiranKeiran couldn't help but smile a little. "I don't think I'd last long as a girl. All the women of my tribe seem so... complicated. It don't really get them anymore. They were nice when we were kids, but I guess things changed." He admitted. "You've got guts, still holding your head as high as you do. Not many guys are as strong as that."
Himself included.
He hurriedly brushed the thought away, ignoring his own weakness. If it weren't for Celeste, he wouldn't be there at all. He knew very well why he, of all Pokemon in their tribe, had been chosen to go. It wasn't about redemption, skill, or anything of the sort.
He'd been chosen because he'd do anything for Celeste... and because he was expendable. Disposable. If he died, if something happened to him, they could afford to lose him, and he knew it very well. But at this point... he wouldn't accept it. If he succeeded in his mission they would welcome him back. They wouldn't abandon him; he'd make sure of it.
"The problems I'm facing are difficult, but not impassable. I will overcome them one way or another. It's just a matter of time for me to understand how I should do so." He added firmly, hoping that Jean-Claude would not continue to persuade him to leave his people. He'd been there nearly his entire life; to leave them now would feel so wrong to him. He could not just abandon them, no matter how difficult it was at times.
The soft, clean fabric of the bed he lay on was a strikingly bright white. He felt like a dark shadow, lying on so pale a surface. It just felt strange, to him. For a thief, normally so concerned about going unnoticed, he certainly was difficult to miss. That is, until one of the nurses passed by in the hallway, dimming the lights in each of the rooms as she passed. Presumeably, this was so that the patients could rest properly at night, but for Keiran and Jean-Claude, who were weary, but not prepared to sleep, it was just awkward.
"They don't even bother to use their intelligence here, do they?" He questioned with a slight smirk.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:03 pm
Jean-ClaudeClearing his throat, the Loppuny smoothed out his pillow.
He didn't feel like sleeping at all.
He almost expected the nurse to shove another tube down his throat if he did.
"The fact that I'm gay didn't help my chance of staying with the tribe, either," Jean-Claude muttered.
If only he had been a Sneasel, whose clans usually accepted and even supported such a thing.
"Eh, from what I've heard, the higher-ups here at least know what they're doing. It's the lower nurses that have trouble."
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:54 pm
KeiranKeiran blinked in surprise, frowning. He'd heard of the term before, but it still confused him a little bit. He'd thought that outsiders had been lying, when they had said such things. He'd heard whispers and jokes about that sort of idea, too, from the other members of his tribe... Surely no one had done things like that? It seemed he was wrong, in some form, because Jean-Claude certainly sounded serious when he'd said it.
"I've only ever heard rumors of things like that. Some of the other males in my tribe like to poke fun at the idea of it, but... I guess I don't really understand it, myself." He replied quietly, his vivid, teal eyes fixed steadily on the Lopunny. He was being truthful when he said that, entirely so. "There are probably a lot of things, like that, that I don't understand. The tribe can be very... closed-minded." He added, feeling embarrassed to admit it. He really didn't want to offend the Lopunny; he was more curious than anything.
He nodded quietly at the mention of higher-ranking nursing staff. It made sense, for the more important ones to be smarter, though he had a few misgivings at just how strange the average nurses seemed to be.
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Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 4:58 pm
Jean-ClaudeJean-Claude shrugged a bit, again brushing an ear away.
"Well, hang around here long enough, and you're bound to see it," He explained.
"Both of the highest ranking Pokemon working at this hospital are in love with someone of the same sex."
Vito was the owner, and Lucy was the Chief.
Not to mention there was also Tommy and Lloyd.
Homosexuality was merged into this kingdom, it wasn't something new or strange.
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