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 Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 7:47 am
He was glad to hear it, too. A little pride never hurt anyone, but when it evolved into a full-fledged arrogance that prevented one from working well with others, there was much more to be concerned about. Lucas was relieved he had the fortune of running into so many mild Rockets.
"Yeah, I've got the one that was assigned to me when I joined in. A Chimecho." He tapped his pocket indicatively, where the pokeball was stashed. "She's more like a friend than anything, though. Or a..." he stumbled over the word, hesitant in its use, "a partner." He couldn't keep the slight grimace from his expression, despite the appropriateness of the term.
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 9:58 am
Chimecho were Psychic types, that much Faleen did know, and it was his only pokemon?
When he paused to try and think of an appropriate word for his pokemon, what popped into Faleen's head was 'pet' She wasn't expecting him to say 'partner'
The look on his face when he said it did cause her to chuckle a little.
"In a manor of speaking"
The grunt looked down at her bleeding arm, reaching her fingers down to wipe up some of the blood that was threatening to drop off of her elbow.
It was starting to hut more now, she was grateful it wouldn't be that much longer to the clinic office.
"How well does that compete with a real partner? well... a Human partner really,."
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Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:54 am
Lucas couldn't help but feel a sense of pity, or perhaps regret that the clinic weren't close or that he didn't have basic medical supplies on his person. Even a couple of band-aids would be better than having to walk around with an exposed and bleeding wound...
At mention of a human partner, however, all other trains of thought came to a stop and he halted mid-step. His mind was flooded with memories of his previous partner, memories that had been threatening to arise since he joined Rocket and had grown even more persistent as the conversation had progressed. His casualness with which he brushed off his partner's strange behavior, his confusion when he returned without the man at his side, his vast and all-consuming sorrow when he was informed that he had died, his sheer terror when he first caught wind of the rumor that he himself was the one responsible for killing him...
He stopped himself, realizing how frighteningly grim his expression had become, and, swallowing hard through the dryness of his throat, moved to catch up with Faleen. "I can't take a partner," he said. He removed his glasses briefly, pinching the bridge of his nose to regain his composure. "I couldn't if I wanted to. I couldn't handle being responsible for... something happening. Not again."
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 10:48 pm
It was clear she had unknowingly hit onto a very troubling topic for the older Rocket, This caused her to glance over at him, blinking her hazel eyes a couple of times, reaching up with her hand to push the strands of hair out of her line of vision to see him better.
She didn't know what happened, since he didn't go into details, but she could take a few guesses that might explain his words.
"I get the feelings thats going to be all of our fate, either die young, or survive to suffer the early loss of those close to us."
Not a pleasant prospect in the least, but she didn't know how it was going to be avoided, seeing how many of them narrowly escape missions. How she herself nearly died.
She was, however, not blind to the expression he now wore, one she had not seen on him yet, and this drastic change spoke very clearly to her that this was perhaps to bold of a topic for her to bring up.
"I do apologize for bringing up something I should not have, it is none of my business after all"
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:07 pm
Lucas hummed slightly, a sound that agreed with the dark prophecy Faleen foretold. He had been in the business long enough to know just how painfully true those words were. How many eager grunts never returned from their first missions? How many trainees were so critically wounded in their exercises that they never even had the chance to prove themselves? How many agents grew so comfortable in their routine that they made a dire mistake? Galactic had been a place where Grief, though uninvited, visited frequently and lingered far longer than any wished it.
His company's sudden apology, however, returned the smile to his face, though it was laced with traces of his former gloom. "Ah, don't worry about it," he dismissed. "I'm not too particular about it. It was almost ten years ago, after all." It was something of a lie, of course. While it truly had been nearly a decade, it did not make Lucas any less sensitive to the topic. He wasn't one to dodge a question asked out of a genuine and sincere want to know, though.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 1:55 pm
Large eyes studied his feature quietly from behind the frame of messy blond hair, while not the best at reading people's emotions, she was observant enough to notice the shadow in his smile.
Turning her head forward again, looking instead at her bleeding arm.
Seeing this man's reaction, and what she gathered from his story, Faleen couldn't help but weigh the pros and cons of having a partner.
She didn't know what it was like of course, she was yet to be assigned a partner, and when ordered she would certainly obey.
Having someone to work with rose the chances of success; that much she knew was proven from the other teams out there, but how much more responsibility does that lay on you, and how crippling it must be to lose that said partner if things went wrong.
She put her faith in Team Rocket however; if they assigned partners then it was ultimately better for the organization, despite the cons it might present.
In the end partnering was like everything else in Team Rocket, do it well, or fail, and there was already a large margin for failure alone.
The younger Grunt lifted her chin up, smiling softly followed by a soft noise of what could be amusement, chasing away her doubtful thoughts and worrying feelings.
“Anything for Team Rocket” Her smile widened,
“In the end, it’s all that’s really important.” This was true to her, to her very core. Not just for the Boss, Mr. Lucere, but for the success of the community they were a part of. She didn’t want to just do well for herself; she wanted others in Team Rocket to do their best to make Team Rocket the best. She might not trust a lot of them, but she did care.
“Maybe someday, when you are ready, I hope you find a new partner. With as much experience as you’ve seemed to have, you’re likely a great asset to the team. And that’s something we all need”
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:05 pm
"That's some admirable dedication," Lucas said approvingly, slightly surprised by the vibrant display of loyalty. That sort of attitude put to shame his own reasons for joining the organization. He couldn't remember ever having felt such passion towards... well, anything, let alone his workplace.
"Thanks." He could only hope the whole of his gratitude could be conveyed in that single word. Lucas wished for nothing more sincerely than he wished for things to return to normal. The world would never spin any way but forward, but that didn't mean he had to live without hope. "I hope so too."
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:29 pm
"Heh" She brushed her fingertips over her elbow again, wiping away some more blood that gathered at the joint.
appreciative of his words, if the soft expression was any indication.
She nodded at his last statement, it would be interesting to see how things turned out.
"I hope I don't sound rude. this is the first time I've seen you and your not in uniform, what is your rank?"
She would honestly guess Agent, but he was in the aria with the Grunt quarters.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:38 pm
"Hm?" Instinctively he inspected himself. Yep, that was his cozy sweater. Great for the chillier temperatures that were beginning to settle in, especially in the evenings, but not so great for identifying himself to others. Passingly Lucas wondered if he wasn't breaching some code of conduct or another. "I'm a grunt, as of, uhh... not too long ago, really." Some might have been embarrassed to admit that they were in their forties but had only just recently been promoted from trainee. Fortunately for Lucas, he was largely unfamiliar with the concept of shame in such matters.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:45 pm
Her eyebrows arched up in a look of surprise when he answered, she wouldn't have guessed he was still a grunt, let alone just becoming a grunt from Trainee.
"oh, uh, really? but..."
this did not make any sense to her, been in Rocket for way longer then she has, and he had a partner as a Trainee?
... Unless he has been demoted for some reason.
"I didn't expect that" she admitted. "I think I would have believed you an Elite over a new grunt"
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 9:59 pm
Ahh, and now he felt like he was lying. He fidgeted with his glasses a bit, struggling to come to terms with the decision he just knew he was about to make.
"Right, so..." - there was no way to phrase this that it wouldn't be awkward - "...can you keep a secret?" - but he felt compelled to explain. Perhaps he had been waiting for such an opportunity to arise. The more he thought about it, the more Lucas felt he had been feeling some innate need to speak of his strange situation since he had joined into Rocket. And this Faleen seemed kind, trustworthy, so what was there to lose?
He thoroughly convinced himself with such thoughts. It was scary how persuasive he could be towards himself sometimes.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:12 pm
And another surprise, one that worried her a little at first, unsure of what it could be that he was asking her to keep secret.
Her gaze snapped up to him, eyes blinking in bewilderment at the question seeming to search his face for a clue.
"I can" She answered after a moment, that much was true of coerce, she had secrets of her own after all.
For all she knew it could be something that was just embarrassing to him, considering there topic.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:20 pm
Faleen's surprise and worry were conveyed to Lucas through her expression, and he stopped himself for the sake of clarification. "I mean, it's not a big deal or anything, I just... don't want people questioning where my loyalties lie, you know?" His voice quieted slightly, "I'm not really sure how the higher-ups here would react if it got out that I was a Galactic elite before."
Oh, that was surprisingly nonchalant. Not nearly as awkward as he had been anticipating. Lucas made a mental note to give himself a pat on the back later on. Perhaps in the form of some kind of alcoholic beverage. He felt that he could use one of those right about now.
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Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:11 pm
And it was THAT response she was really, really not expecting, and that would show her for making assumptions.
Her head jerked back a little, pausing in her step.
"Oh, I thought you were always-" well that certainly explained why he was just barely a grunt in Team Rocket. But that would mean that he just barely joined Team Rocket, she's probably been here longer then he has.
And ex-member of team Galactic was standing next to her, sharing what appeared to be a secret with her that the Elites didn't even know. Speaking of elites, HE had been one, just for the wrong team.
mouth opening and closing a couple of times, her head buzzing with questions and realizations, causing her cheeks to flush a little pink.
“that’s… interesting… you speak of loyally, I’m guessing you mean to be loyal to Team Rocket, since your sharing information like this with me openly.” She tilted her head “But why did you decide to join Rocket?”
Her First dealing with Galactic had left a very bad taste in her mouth, the first time she had even heard of them was when one had attacked there HQ. other than providing a rather impressive work of machinery to look at, that he had been piloting, everything from the uniform, to the threatening words he had spouted were enough to instill a very powerful rivalry instinct into Faleen.
After the group had taken him down, sadly completely destroying the mecha he had, they all reveled the idea that he was going to be locked away to rot, proving Rocket’s power.
After that event, Faleen had taken some time to look into this group calling themselves Team Galactic, rumors of where they were from and that they did.
This only served to grow her confirmation that they were complete fools, Fools with shiny robots, but still fools! There goals could not be more different from Team Rockets, and that fact made her proud, if the Galactic they had captured was right, and more were going to come, she would gladly take them down with the rest of the team, hopefully with their own shiny robots!
So hearing that Lucas, had not only been a part of team galactic, but stayed long enough with them in order to become Elite… it was very surreal for her.
Blinking at him, trying not to imagine what he looked like in a galactic uniform.
She waited to hear his answer, for as much as she was uncertain about his new development, she had absolutely no reason to not give him the benefit of the doubt.
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Posted: Thu Nov 25, 2010 8:24 am
Her initial body language had implied an instinctive want to go and tell an elite, and Lucas could not have been more relieved when she stayed. "Loyalty," he said, uttering the word slowly as if it were somehow suddenly foreign, "is a strange thing. I'm not sure you could call me loyal. Not to Rocket, and definitely not to Galactic. What it comes down to is that I'm not stupid, and I'm not afraid to do what I have to do."
He couldn't help but continue to fidget around, worried that his words might leave the wrong impression, "I joined Rocket for sanctuary. I don't know how much you know about Galactic, but they're not lenient, not in the slightest. There's no way they didn't notice when I disappeared, and there's no way they won't kill me when they find me. I thought if I were with Rocket, I could afford myself a little extra protection, if only for just a little longer..."
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