|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:49 pm
"Well, that's a little more peaceful at least," Aulus said with a grimace, "I can't stand repetitive noise like that; one of the many, many reasons I despise children, and the kind of woman who feels the need to shriek every time she sees her bffs..."
He was beginning to get tired of this. Lucy's pokemon were engaging, but he wished more and more by the moment that she'd just go away. "I was having a really peaceful afternoon until you came along you know," Aulus went on after a moment, the scowl creeping back a little. "You seem to have a talent for running into me, as well as losing your pokemon."
Why couldn't she just vanish and let him take some more pictures? He supposed he could get up and go himself, but where to? He didn't want to head back into the city, the maze of buildings and the mass of depressing people. He was going to have to at some point though; he needed to work out where he was going to sleep tonight for one thing.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:04 pm
Claire grimaced as well at the mention of small children and excited, shrieking women. "You and me both," she agreed as she reached over to pick up the squeaking toy before Blue would notice it was missing, and dropped it back into her bag. There, now it would definitely be more peaceful. Until Blue found the toy again, that is, but hopefully Claire could keep it from her until later.
"A peaceful afternoon taking pictures?" She asked, leaning back comfortably against a tree as she glanced around for Zeus. The Pikachu was passed out near the other side of the trunk, so she left him alone for the time being. After a small pause, her eyes found Aulus again. "What kinds of pictures did you take?" Not that she was interested or envious at all, of course not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 5:20 am
"Oh..." Aulus scowled at the question out of reflex more than true annoyance. "Nothing much, or nothing much decent anyway. Picture of the fountain and a skyline came out alright; no idea what the shots of Blue are like though... I suppose you can see those if you really want, she is your pokemon." That woman up in the mountains had got him thinking about trying to sell some of his pictures, but he could hardly sell shots of Blue without asking Lucy, and he had no intention of doing that. He supposed he'd just keep them for his own enjoyment, as he had done with all of his pictures up until now.
Ducking out of his camera strap - he wanted to be able to hold it away from himself to keep Lucy at a comfortable distance if she was going to come and look - Aulus turned it on and pulled up the first picture of Blue gamboling about in the grass. It wasn't an especially good one; it wasn't blurred or anything but Blue was almost out of shot, and not artistically so. Still, some of the others might be better. He hoped so; now that he was giving somebody the chance to take a look at his sissy passtime, he wanted to at least be good at being a nancy arty boy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:54 am
Why didn't he.. Oh. She'd snuck up on him too fast for him to barely have time to put the cap back on, let alone review all the pictures he'd taken. She was excited - inwardly, of course - at the chance to see the pictures, especially because Blue was so much more adorable without the imminent threat of being bitten or chewed on. "Oh yes, please," she said, moving over to kneel down near him. Not too close, of course, so if he expected her to sit right up next to him all snug and cozy, he had another thing coming. Possibly two or three.
She watched him scroll through until he got to the first picture of the little blue fluffball, but wasn't quite sure if she was supposed to hold the camera to see, or if he wouldn't trust her and would hold it himself, or.. "Blue!"
The 'vee in question immediately froze beneath the camera, her mouth wide open around the strap and her teeth bared, clearly about to bite it to investigate what it was. She shrank a size or two but didn't move away - she wanted to chew it! It was a thing and she didn't know what it was, and it looked sort of tasty so she wanted to chew it and find out what it was because it was a thing and it was new! It-- "Chew your toys, Blue, that's what I bought them for," she said with an exasperated sigh, reaching over to grab the ring with one hand, picking the petite 'vee up in the other. She put Blue down away from the expensive camera she did not want to have to replace (or any part of it for that matter) and practically shoved the toy at her. The little furry menace took this as a sign that the rubber-thing was attacking her, so she immediately pounced it and started gnawing on it. "Vffrrrvvfff!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 1:29 pm
At Lucy's exclamation, Aulus whisked the camera up in the air and glowered at the little chewing monster. "Trust me," he said firmly to Blue, "you do not want your trainer to have to replace this thing; I think she's had her fill of needing to buy new things for me already... Anyway." With the eevee removed to a safe distance and distracted (for now) Aulus flicked on through a few reasonable not not especially notable shots, displaying the progression of Blue's escapades in a mini sideshow.
"This one's not bad," he said as he arrived at the first shot of her leaping on and savaging the stick, "I mean it's nothing that special but I suppose it's... dynamic, or whatever. Light's come out okay here too, I'd moved from where I was taking the previous ones."
The one he really wanted to get to was the shot of Blue pouncing of Zeus' head; it had the potential to be one of those lovely pictures that you couldn't have set up if you tried. It also had the potential to be a blurred mess of fail and suck that needed to be killed with fire, but in any case, he wasn't going to flick on through just yet. There was only one real reason for this, only one reason to be doing more than a cursory flick through in the first place; if Lucy liked any of the pictures she might decide she wanted to buy a copy. It would be really useful if she did decide that, but he had no intention of dropping a hint, subtle or otherwise. He had enough money for the next couple of weeks, more if he was careful, but beyond that... Well, he'd either have to call his parents or find a menial job somewhere, and neither of those options sounded appealing.
Behind the photograph-studying humans, Tortie studied Blue wrestle with her toy intently; having seen her go for the camera, which she knew was very important to her trainer, she wasn't taking any risks. If the blue fluffball went for it again, it was going to her her turn to get chewed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 8:01 pm
"Agreed, I've already reached my limit for replacing things this week," she said ruefully as she eyed the little blue 'vee for a bit longer. She seemed content to attack her ring toy for the time being though, so Claire turned to look at the pictures Aulus had taken.
Unfortunately for him (and his wallet) however, the idea to buy a copy of any of them - even if such an idea had crossed her mind - would be ridiculous, in her opinion. She had the blue menace with her at all times, had to deal with her all the time, could see or play with her all the time, why would she need pictures of her? She wouldn't.
However the pictures, as he scrolled through them, made her smile - especially a select few that elicited a light chuckle. Even though the little fluffball was a menace, she was still adorable. When she wasn't destroying valuables, that is.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:12 pm
Having flicked through a few pictures that were much the same, Aulus reached the first one with Zeus in the shot. The first couple were nothing amazing in themselves, but they did show the progression of the situation. After a couple of these snapshots he paused on the image of Blue in mid leap. "You can see where this is going," Aulus commented, trying to sound mostly neutral but failing to hide a brief grin as he moved onto the next shot... And yes, a pretty well arranged piece; both pokemon more or less in center frame, with the expressions on both of their faces priceless.
"Never know," the red-eyed man went on with a snort that nearly manged to sound derisive rather than amused, "maybe all the energy Zeus spends on being annoyed with Blue will help him shift some of that fat."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:48 pm
During the impromptu slide show she glanced over at Blue to make sure she was still there, playing with her toys, before focusing more fully on the pictures. The ones of Blue heading for Zeus were amusing, of course, and the last two, the one of her mid-leap and the one where she was happily chewing Zeus' ear with the Pikachu looking horribly unamused, made her chuckle. "Oh, those are perfect," she said, still chuckling. "He makes that face all the time. So does she, actually." Whenever she could successfully pounce the chubby Pikachu, that is.
"I doubt it," she replied with a light snort, glancing over at Zeus as well as making sure Blue was staying put. "I'm starting to think nothing will, after everything I've tried doing. Maybe he's just naturally a ball of chub." A grumbly, growly "chuu..." floated up from where Zeus was curled up in the grass, signaling that he was, in fact, still awake, and could hear their conversation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:21 pm
"Mmh... Anyway, that's all of them." All of the pictures of her pokemon anyway, and he wasn't in a rush to show her anything beyond that given she didn't seem to interested in buying things from him. Turning the camera off once more, Aulus lent over to pick up his staff. He set it down again quickly, but right beside him this time so that he could rescue it quickly if Blue decided it looked like a good chew toy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:27 pm
During the slide show Blue had snuck over behind Claire, watching the thing with the dangly thing with rapt attention. She hunkered down as Aulus set it down, gold eyes widening in preparation for her attack with her long ears pinned back against her head. Her behind raised, wiggled as she readied herself, then leapt for it--
--only to be caught mid-leap one-handed by her trainer. Claire realized her toothy little monstrosity was no longer occupied by her toy and saw her out of the corner of her eye, and thankfully managed to prevent her from assaulting the camera. "Alright," she said to him, though focused on her 'vee as she gave the little chewing fluffball a rueful look. Reaching over, she grabbed the ring and wiggled it in front of Blue, holding the pokemon in one hand, and batted at her paws with it gently. The thing was attacking again! She pawed at it and grabbed it in her small teeth, resuming her 'vfffrrvvff' noises. Violet eyes couldn't help but notice the staff again as he reached for it, and it was... rather long. "What's the staff for?" It made her curious. Surely if he needed help walking - which he might, as she remembered their last encounter, which she still needed to find out more information about - he didn't need something so long. It actually looked like it could be taller than he was if stood up fully.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:51 pm
Hu. Did he want to tell her about that? He supposed it couldn't do much harm; he didn't have to give away the full extent of his skill with the stave. Even if he did it probably wouldn't matter; he could see that Lucy was a fit woman, but her body wasn't that of a pro martial artist. Perhaps she could use any information he gave her against him. Perhaps telling her would put her off trying anything... Well, he'd play it by ear.
"It's a bo staff," Aulus said after a very brief pause, "mostly it's for smacking people who mess with me into the middle of the next millennium, and for recreation; I find martial arts relaxing." It was the focus that really appealed, that and the simple pleasure of exercise and of itself. Whether he was calm or seething practicing kicks, staff techniques, and other assorted methods of beating the snot out of anyone who attacked him improved his mood no end, and drove aside all other concerns once he really got into it. It had been days now since he'd been able to do anything at all in the way of training, and now he thought about it, it was beginning to grate on him. He needed to get out of the city and find somewhere isolated to put himself through his paces.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 5:46 pm
A bo staff? She wasn't exactly sure what that was, besides the dyed black stick he had next to him, so that must be it. It did look really long, so it made sense the instrument would be used for martial arts. "Interesting," she commented, studying the staff curiously. "I expect it's quite useful for knocking people around. Use it for that purpose often?" Considering he seemed to be such a Mr. Tough Guy and everything and looked like the type (and seemed) to get into arguments quite frequently.
"How long have you been doing martial arts? What kind?" This was.. quite interesting. At the very least he seemed like he had the potential to be a formidable opponent. Perhaps...? An idea formed in her mind and flitted around. He could possibly be a good recruit for Team Rocket. Hmm...
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:11 am
"Mmfh. Not as often as you probably expect," Aulus replied sourly, picking the weapon up and balancing it effortlessly at its midpoint on one finger. "Not because I'm a sweet and lovely person you understand," he went on, flicking it up into the air a few inches and then catching it with practiced ease, "I just don't usually need to after a little demonstration." He supposed he might as well give her one, just in case she was still thinking of messing with him; it was always better to avoid a fight if you could. He might not always want to avoid a fight, but that didn't mean he didn't know it was a good idea.
"I started karate when I was seven," Aulus said after a moment, climbing to his feet and starting to spin the staff in front of himself. "At green belt we started with basic weapon techniques; I always got on very well with the bo-staff so that became my specialty. I'm good with a katana, but I've not focused on it much since I earned my black belt, and I don't think I could really get away with carrying one like I can this. I can beat the crap out of people empty-handed too of course, which is useful given there are some places - like malls - where I can't even get away with my staff but... Well, there's just something satisfying about the bo-staff."
As Aulus spoke he spun the staff faster and faster, and when he finished his explanation he launched into a few figure of eights and wrist spins until the length of black wood blurred with speed. After a few moments more, he casually spun the weapon above his head on the flat of his palm, tossed it into the air, and then caught it in the opposite hand without so much as glancing at it.
"I suppose you could say I'm pretty good a swinging a big stick around," he concluded offhandly, swinging the staff up to rest it over his shoulder and shooting Lucy a smirk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:20 am
"Really?" She replied, eyebrows raising slightly. "But think of the benefits of people being knocked into the next millennium." Like less stupid people in this millennium.
As he continued with his demonstration and explanation, she couldn't help but consider his words. Of course, anyone could say they've been practicing karate or whatever form of martial arts since they were a kid, they could claim to have any color belt and use any kind of weapon, so he could be lying about that - except the way he handled the staff affirmed the idea he'd spent years practicing with the weapon. It would be hard not to believe he'd have similar skills with the - what was it again? - a katana. "Very impressive," she said at length after he'd finished, violet eyes tracing the length of the bo-staff again before focusing on his scarred face once again. Yes, very impressive indeed. They could use more people like that on the base... "I suppose I could say that. I also suppose," she hazarded, "your workplace doesn't allow staves either?" It wasn't so much curiosity over his employer's policies as it was an innocent question to figure out if he was already employed or not. If he wasn't, that would make things so much simpler. If he was, however, well... Certain things would have to be arranged.
|
|
|
|
|
|
BlackFireKitsune Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:31 am
"Workplace?" Aulus gave a short sharp laugh at that; as if. "Never had one," he went on, "for one I've never seen a proper job that I could stand to do, and for another I expect most employers would consider me an offensive weapon in my own right and refuse to give me a job after just a glance at me. Closest I have to a 'workplace' is any place worth taking photographs of. I prefer to spend my life happily earning uncertain amounts of money through pokemon battles and freelance photography to withering my mind and body away in some menial little stable office job or whatever."
He did like the freedom to come and go whenever and wherever he liked. It was also true that he probably wouldn't be able to stand most jobs and would end up punching some slimy git within the first week. It wasn't quite so true that he was happy about uncertainty with money. Not knowing where he'd sleep or whether or not he'd be able to feed himself in a few weeks time wasn't a prospect he'd ever faced before. It was frightening. He couldn't stand to ask his family for help though, not after how he'd stormed out. He'd been a fool. They'd take him back if he asked them to, he knew that, all he had to do was crawl home and apologise and... And there was no way he was going to do that. No. This was his life and he wasn't going to let them stifle it any more. He'd figure something out, one way or another.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
