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 Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:30 am
"Flora, you know I don't have anything to give as condolence to the owners of whatever you burn, right?"
He was answered with a snarl and a glare.
"Mm-hmm, so sensitive you are."
Before Lorenzo could think of some other way to move her, the Ninetales Flora had spotted earlier padded her way over and sat between Flora and the Pokemon she was five seconds away from incinerating or at least badly burning. He bit his lip. Flora didn't know how to back down from a confrontation, mostly because she wasn't aware of there being such a thing as "stronger." He quickly scooped Flora into his arms, cradling her with her legs in the air as he apologized to Gloria.
"So sorry. Flora here can have a bit of a temper when anyone besides me is around... um, me. She's really quite sweet once you get to know her. Likes chocolate, action movies, Lassie -- Tch!"
Flora had suddenly bent her head forward and bitten his ear. Lorenzo quickly transferred her to one arm as he bopped her lightly on her forehead with a palm.
"Nooooo. No bitey. Bitey cause bleedey Lorenzo, but there's no hospital or bandy-aid to take care of Lorenzo, capische?"
He set her down cautiously, hoping that she wouldn't make for the poor Pokemon she had tried to barbecue earlier. But Flora sat back on her rump, looked at the Ninetales, and "humph"ed, looking away with a defeated indignance, as if to say, "...whatever." Lorenzo let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm almost never able to get her this calm around others."
He took a look at Rex, who had been behind Gloria the entire time to his knowledge. He looked almost... distraught(?) at failing to make a connection with Flora. He smirked.
Aw, Flora's got an admirer.
He walked over to Rex, scrunching down and looking at him. He gave his hand limply, turned over to offer his scent and familiarity.
"Hey, you okay?"
As he did this, Lorenzo looked to see what his owner, the girl who had waved at him earlier, was doing. She seemed to be focussed on some computer type thing he didn't recognize. He shrugged.
Probably shouldn't bug her. Seems busy and stuff. And I always have that knack of messing up people's work.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:30 am
Good. Juno understood and agreed. She heated up and cooled down very, very fast, which was both negative and positive. Better than heating up fast and cooling down slow. She wasn't too bad of a kid.
Paul nodded and moved back toward his bike, indicating to the others that he was now done with his meeting with Juno. "Willam, if you have no further objections, you'll hand over any weapons you don't want used against you. You'll get them back when we get to Riverdale and we've set our guest where he's going." Straight to the Minutemen, obviously. That was the way it went for outsiders. He'd expedite the pokémon healing process, but the Minutemen would do with him what they would do with him.
Paul mounted his bike, ready to go whenever Juno and the rest were. He had a decision to make. Riverdale meant Minutemen. Minutemen meant someone Paul could hand his first catch for Beatitude over to. But... if Terrian could recruit Paul, then he could recruit others to free the girl. Some competent others. The Minutemen didn't need this problem on their hands - it would be a mighty shame if Terrian dragged someone in, someone who would kill Minutemen or be killed.
No, this was Paul's affair, and he wasn't even sure he wanted to stop her. It might be more productive... to follow the tracks of whatever happened. He could explain to Beatitude that he wanted to ensure he had every single one in one place before he acted. That would fly. It would have to. Paul did not want to abandon both alliances just yet, although Beatitude might assume he already had.
So no, no arrest here. Instead... instead he would contact Beati, indirectly. Spread rumors that she had been arrested. Once Beati heard about that, he would come to have a look. The Minutemen would tell him that Paul had moved on to Glenville with the girl, hoping to 'bag a few more'. Beati would contact him, possibly intercept them. Perfect. Terrian didn't seem to care about Paul right now, so long as Paul wasn't actively stopping Juno. That worked. Terrian's absence made accomplishing the task easier. Apparently Paul was doing it right. That was fine.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:42 pm
Gerard felt somehow fulfilled, having been apparently accepted by the ninetales. Justice evidently felt the same way, looking up at Gerard with an excited light in his eyes. The trainer smiled down at his larvitar companion, amused by its elation.
Physical needs satisfied, Gerard decided that it was time to deal with the deeper needs of his psyche. He stood and neatly arranged his dirty plate and utensils, pushed his chair in evenly, and whistled to Justice - the larvitar had become interested in the scuffle between Flora and Rex, and was on the verge of waddling over to stand by his new friend Gloria in heading off the fight. Justice instead followed after Gerard, looking regretfully over his shoulder.
On his way to the door, however, Gerard's eye caught on Lexi, looking rather dejected and alone with her computer as all the bustle and activity that went along with a crowded home - strange, how Gerard regarded this place and these people as home - went on around her. Stopping, he laid a hand softly on her shoulder. "Hey," he murmured, glancing at the computer. "Feel like getting out of here? I'm going to walk around and see if there's anything out there that I can help with, if you'd like to come along." He was also going to see his parents and their shop, but he really doubted that would much motivate the girl.
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:53 pm
Rex tilted his head with an amused look as he watched the interaction between the vulpix…Flora… and her trainer. At least she was snappy to everyone. Then the trainer walked over and crouched down. At first he was wary, wondering if the trainer was anything like his vulpix, but this time around it seemed he had picked better, as the young man just offered him a hand to sniff. The fire dog bumped the man’s hand with his wet nose before pushing his whole head under it.
The computer’s boot period meant Lexi wasn’t completely lost on her surroundings yet, and the girl smiled as she watched Rex playing with the vulpix trainer. It looked like the dog’s attempt number two was more successful. “Sorry Rex set off your vulpix…we’re kind of a long ways from home, so he’s trying to make some friends.”
When Lexi felt a hand on her sholder, she turned and saw Gerard standing there, saying he was going to look around town and see if he could help with anything, and asking if she wanted to head out with him. She perked up immediately. “Um, sure!” she smiled as she shut off her computer again. Thank you, thank you, you awesome mindreader! It was strange: she was at the Oaks’ labs, something that could probably be considered one of her life dreams, but now that she was here all she wanted to do was leave… She still wanted to meet the Oaks and find out why the heck she of all people had been asked to cross the wastes, but trying to start a conversation with people who looked like they rarely extended a hand not containing a gun was never relaxing, and she had had enough stress for one day
Then a thought made the girl’s shoulders drop again. “Wait…what about Alex?” She looked back and forth between the woman and Gerard. She didn’t want to leave her here with a bunch of strangers, but if what she had been hearing was right, the woman was bearing the mark of a group that had just tried to level the city…not someone who would likely be looked kindly upon on the outsde.
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 8:55 am
Lorenzo grinned. It was nice to have a break from his fiery counterpart for a warmer companion, strange as it sounded. He put his palms on both sides of Rex's face, letting his fingers fall over the back of his head to scratch behind his ears. He purposely enjoyed his time with Rex in front of Flora.
"See, Flor? Why can't you be more like this every once in a while? I don't think you've ever taken the time to be amiable..."
Flora simply sat in place on her haunches, face still set in a "Like he** I'm gonna listen to a thing you say" fixture. He kept smiling though, enjoying his small moment of schadenfreude.
But even as he sat there playing with the pup, he could see that the trainer and the man speaking with her were in some kind of predicament.
Hmm. That trainer and the man speaking with her seem to be in some kind of predicament.
He looked at Flora.
"Think they'd mind?"
She sneezed another green mist.
"Nah, me neither."
Lorenzo got up to his feet, slapping some dust off his knees as he walked over to talk to them.
"Um, excuse me. You seemed a bit distraught over something. Do you need help with anything? Flora and I are a bit starved for company, and we're always free if you need us. Ah yeah, I'm Lorenzo. Lorenzo Guiser."
He swept a scraggle of black hair out of his left eye. He needed to make his way forward, and traveling buddies didn't sound like it would hurt.
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 1:16 pm
Gerard paused at the mention of Alex. "Good point," he mused softly. He glanced down at Justice, who looked back up at him, and flicked his head towards Alex, sending the larvitar over to her side. As she was finishing eating, Justice grabbed one of her fingers and tugged gently, pulling her towards Lexi and Gerard.
Then the vulpix's trainer came over and introduced himself. "Gerard Waverley," he said smoothly, extending a hand to shake. "We were just about to go out into town and see if anyone needed our help with anything, if you wanted to come. I was also going to swing by my parent's shop and make sure my family is okay, but you don't have to come with." The latter part was directed at Lexi as well.
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:33 pm
Rex panted, thoroughly enjoying the head rub….All those places that were so hard to get to with one’s own paws…oh yeah…He could care less about being used as an example, and he followed the trainer when he walked over to Lexi and Gerard.
Lexi nodded as Justice grabbed Alex. Hopefully no one would notice and take offense to the Ex-terminant member walking with a local. Their conversation had drawn the vulpix trainer over. She chuckled when the other teen said he was starved for company…how many mind-readers were there in this room? “You too huh? Name’s Lexi Hale.” She nodded as Gerard invited Lorenzo along. “Yeah, I wasn’t really distraught…” Distraught was her earlier when people had been killing each other. “…more just trying to work through a problem, but we figured it out.” She stood up, put her computer away and threw her backpack onto her shoulders. “But hey, some company would be great, and Rex already seems to like you quite a bit.” She scratched at the fire-dog’s back.
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:01 pm
Alex had been disturbingly quiet since entering the town. Every so often she'd run her fingers through her bangs so that she could better hide the X on her forehead. It doesn't really help though. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself. They didn't seem too interested in her anyway (which was perfectly fine in her opinion).
Then came the food.
Oh God the food. There was so much of it and it was being offered freely! FREELY. She released Giddy from its pokeball and then dug into the food like a savage. She did not care how terrible she looked while eating. She did not care if it brought attention to her. She really didn't care about anything other than the meal in front of her. After all, she had no idea when the next one would come. This is so good! Alex would have to thank the cook.
As much as she paid attention to the glorious food in front of her, she kept her ears focused on the people around her. Flowers that are revitalizing? Sounds useful. Maybe I could get my hands on one...NO. We're not going down the drug path again. Let's see...kids seem interested in leaving all this wonderful food. Gerard wants to visit family. Newcomer with a vulpix. And hey, they seemed to want to bring her along. Oh hell. This was not gonna end well. Justice came by as she continued (in a rather disgusting way) eating and tried to get her over to the others. She sighed. "Okay. I'm in no position to deny any of you in any case."
She got up and returned Giddy to his ball before scuffling over to the others. "Um...hi there." She scratched her arms. "I overheard your conversation. If you want to leave, I'd suggest telling someone first. And possibly see if I am allowed to go." The authoritative figures had yet to say whether they needed/wanted her around. Okay. Stay calm. Stay calm. It's okay. You're with friends. And you still have a bike to get out of here if need be.
She gave a weak smile to Lorenzo. "I'm Alex." She stuck out her hand in a handshake - there was a slight tremor going through her arm. Crap I forgot. He's gonna notice my arms. So much for hiding the drug problem.
As much as she didn't want to talk to anyone for fear of being taken, she felt that she didn't need to worry about this guy. What she needed to worry about was the vulpix. She didn't really like them - they were cruel pyromaniacs that had a tendency to burn first and show curiosity later (at least in her experience). To be fair, no vulpix she'd ever met (meaning fought) had liked her. Last time I saw a vulpix I had to break its neck. Maybe this time she would be able to get to know one before condemning the whole vulpix line. Then again, this one was rather aggressive; Alex was pretty sure this one was going to bite her the moment it noticed Alex was sticking around.
-----------
Juno hated what they were doing to Willam. It wasn't fair! Before everyone got on the bikes, she walked up to Willam and gave him a hug. "Sorry you gotta ride with the stranger. Paul's making me ride with him." Which wasn't necessarily the true reason, but not false either.
Willam felt something sink into one of his jacket pockets. "I hope we get a chance to talk after all this." Juno let go of her brief hug before going back to Paul. She didn't dare look back to see his expression. Paul's as paranoid as I am, but he couldn't have seen me give him back a knife. Juno used the hug as an excuse to give the teenage boy a weapon; he'd done nothing to her and she didn't want to leave him totally defenseless. He didn't deserve that kind of treatment. I'm sorry for all of this...but after hearing what Paul said, I don't know where we stand.
She plopped herself on Paul's bike and the group took off straight to Riverdale. Hopefully nothing else would happen. Maybe I can find out where Dr. Bogdan went once we get there. He'll have told someone where he went off to, right?
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:21 pm
Gerard smiled down at Rex before he nodded at Alex. "That's a good point. Nayana?" The large black woman turned and looked at him inquisitively and with a hint of attitude. "We're going to see my family. Please inform the Professors of where we'll be, and don't hesitate to call us if they - or you, my dear woman - need anything from us."
That done, he turned and looked at each in turn, nodded at Alex, and headed for the door.
As calm as he seemed, Gerard was running a long train of thoughts through his brain, not the least of which was Alex herself. The X on her forehead would likely be a problem, as would the scars and the tremors that he had had the tact to avoid mentioning. Still, he didn't want to worry his family...ah, he had it.
Once they were outside, he slowed his pace so that he was walking alongside her. "Here," he murmured, passing her a bandanna that he had brought with him upon leaving, figuring it was a good multi-purpose item - and he had been right. "If you want it, that is."
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:43 pm
Alex wanted to smile and snicker when Gerard said "my dear woman," but she didn't want attention. And it seemed that the elder lady did not mind. Alex still had a feeling that Nayana didn't enjoy being treated in that manner; it seemed that the older woman was used to having children listen to HER and not the other way around.
Alex looked around the town and was amazed by how nice it looked. It was clean and well kept. I wonder what its like living here. She started to scratch her arms. It doesn't matter. What will matter is the fact that everyone will be staring at my mutilated arms and forehead! While it was unlikely that people would understand the meaning of the branded X, it would still cause suspicion and worry.
She didn't have to worry about it for too long. "Oh. Thank you." She lightly took the bandanna and stared at it. It was a nice dark blue color. "That is very kind of you." She smiled and lightly gripped his shoulder in thanks. Alex tied it so that it covered her forehead and left the back of it lose in its triangular shape. Kinda wish I had a brush. Her hair may have been a bird's nest, but the bandanna did a lot to make her look relatively normal (meaning better).
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:47 pm
Gerard smiled slightly as she put it on. "Looks better on you than it does on me. Glad I could help." With a final smile, he made his way back to the front to lead them to his parents shop.
As he walked beside Lexi, Gerard asked, "Are you feeling any better? It seemed like the atmosphere in there was getting to you."
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 1:32 am
Gerard’s bandanna gave Lexi an idea, and she dug her sweatshirt out of her bag and handed it to Alex. For once her preference for baggy clothes came in handy. The woman would still look like a mess, but they all did, and if Gerard’s description of the pack was accurate, she doubted that anyone else in the town could look much better. She too saw the woman shake, and she grimaced, figuring Alex was finally coming the rest of the way off the drugs the Exterminant had pushed on her. Uh oh…is this going to turn into a big issue? Lexi wondered how long Alex had been on the drugs, knowing she definitely wasn’t trained in handling withdrawal at its worst.
Phoenix was glad to be outside again, as she wheeled through the darkening sky, and Lexi couldn’t agree more. She was interested to find that Gerard had actually been really worried about her. “Yeah, It was just kind of awkward in there…I’m not a fan of social situations, or crowds, especially involving strangers. Never been my forte…” Her recent experiences with social situations didn’t exactly encourage her either…Her mom’s job meant that they sometimes had to host some of Woodmount’s leaders…talk about oil and water: she usually hid behind her computer or camped out in her tree until they left… tired and so far from home, she didn’t really want to deal with people like that.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2010 9:55 pm
Alex stared at the sweatshirt offered to her. "Th-thank you..." She quickly slipped on the sweatshirt and gave a twitchy smile. "I appreciate this." Now she didn't look like an anorexic drug user who belonged to the Exterminant. Now she looked like a messy teenager who bordered on hunger. Unknown and easily overlooked. Much much better.
"You might not like it, but you will have to get used to it. Survival means adaptation. Adapt to survive and survive to live," she stated. s**t. I need to find a doctor and soon. Tremors are bad. And sometimes there's seizures. And the mood swinging is a bad sign. What if I go crazy mode again? That could hurt Gerard and Lexi. She crossed her arms and looked at the ground. I'm glad the sweater hides the shaking. I just have to watch out for my emotions. With the amount of time she spent inside her head, that wouldn't be hard (she hoped).
She then looked back at Lexi. "At least you have friends with you, right?" She lightly poked Lexi's shoulder. "You're not alone in this you know." She hid her hands in the long sleeves of the sweatshirt. I can't hide behind this sweatshirt forever. Okay. After seeing Gerard's family, I'll go find a doctor. A nice place like this has to have a doctor that could help me with coming off drugs.
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 2:01 am
((Eesh, sorry guys. I just moved to the Philippines.))
Lorenzo was relieved to find that Gerard was much more amiable than he expected him to be as he replied to the girl he now knew to be Lexi Hale. He chuckled a bit at her comment on Rex.
"It's actually pretty strange that he likes me. He must be really friendly or really lonely, since I usually have really bad interaction with Pokemon that don't know me. No matter how nice I am they get this weird vibe from me that I'm some kind of monster. Then again it might just be because of the other little monster I've got in tow -- erk."
As he was speaking, Flora had come over and bit him between his right calf and ankle.
"Floraaaaaaaa. NoooooOOOO. Bad. No have bandages to fix puncture wounds. Shoot, I'm bleeding now. Thanks, precious."
As he talked over his injuries, Gerard introduced himself, offering a hand that Lorenzo shook.
"Your parent's shop? Heck yeah, I'd like to pop by. I could really use some bandages or wraps or SOMETHING for these mysterious bite marks I keep getting."
Yet another girl came in, helping herself to a plate of food. She seemed hungry by her portions, and the scarfing down was a pretty tell-tale sign of it as well. She seemed to know Gerard and Lexi also, and offered a hand.
"Hello, nice to meet... meet you."
As he felt her hand in his, Lorenzo sensed the tremors that ran up her arm, making him stutter one of his words. Even as he tried to look at her, her eyes shifted from place to place, struggling to keep them hidden. A puzzle piece fell into place in is head and linked them together. She had drug problems. He sighed in his head.
Wish I could do something for her.
As she and Gerard went out, he turned to call to Flora.
"Flora we're going now... Flora?"
She had been sitting on the floor in the same position she had been since her seat of indignation, but she now wore a different expression. It was mixture of pity and empathy that showed in a slight scrunch of her eyebrows and the lifting of her chin as she looked at the door Alex had exited through. Lorenzo simply stared. He had never seen her like this, as if she had suddenly been wearing a huge diamond around her neck. She was suddenly... nice,,, ?
He walked over to her, giving a small tut with his teeth.
"You're growing feelings, huh?"
Flora didn't answer, simply dipping her head slightly and walking to his side. He whistled.
"Man. I gotta hang around Alex more often."
As he spoke, he made his way outside to where Gerard and the others were. Alex was now wearing a sweater. Lorenzo nodded.
"Has nice choice in color, too. Your favorite color, right?"
He spoke to Flora this time, but she was still focussed on Alex.
"...Flora?"
Flora ignored him completely, going to Alex's side and walking beside her, looking up to see if she could glimpse Alex's face. Lorenzo grimaced, grumbling to himself.
"Since when do you have better social skills than me..."
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2010 9:23 am
Willam McFadden, despite his lust, had actually never in his life received any sort of attention from a woman other than his mother, whom he'd lost track of after the Calamity. For six years, the boy had lived alternately in abandoned towns that were occasionally subjected to raiding parties he'd have to fight off, suck up to, or become a refugee from (primarily the latter two options), and with the Haven, which he mistrusted from the start. He had almost had a romance with a girl, but it was forcefully broken off when Jñan noticed it beginning.
In short, when he felt the supple warmth of Juno's embrace and the weight of her gift to him, he had no choice but to stare at her, mouth slightly open, and watch her wander to Paul's motorcycle. He licked his chapped lips and divested himself slowly of Marcus' gun and the random odds and ends he'd hidden on his person. A crowbar clattered to the dirt with a set of brass knuckles, a revolver, a gas torch, and a five-foot length of heavy chain. Marcus' eyes went wide as he watched the assortment seem to just blink into existence from the folds of Willam's jacket and pants. "I'm-" Willam's dry throat coughed on the word. He cleared it. "I'm taking these back later."
Once Paul had retrieved the weapons and tools, the group made their way over the bridge, with its rose-granite, floral decorations, and into Riverdale. The Minutemen, though suspicious of the two non-Paul males, allowed them through. One offered the information that Dr. Bogdan had left on his way to Glenville with Thomas Rikes, in his car, a decent twenty minutes ago. In fact, it was strange Paul hadn't heard or seen them. One of them laughed. "Where were you, man, under a rock?"
---
Nayana indeed raised an eyebrow at Gerard and gave a bemused smile. "Honey, you a sweet child, but I ain't nobody's dear woman no more. I'll tell the doctors. Don't you get yo'se'ves killed." Had she not recently felt the faint, healing pulse from the flowers, the reaction may have been more extended, but there was still a light blush on her dark cheeks from Ulysses' gift, and she was holding them gingerly.
She turned her attention to the older man, smiling warmly. "Thank you so much; ain't hardly a gentleman to be found anymore. I don't know what that batty old woman did, but maybe one a my chillen can figure it out. Now who is this other gentleman? Do you know him?" She gestured over at Andrej, who was sitting and eating complacently with Rikes by his side.
---
Outside, there were few people wandering around. Many were citizens, carrying goods from the various stockpiles around the city to their homes. A few were Protectors, who now and then gave Alex suspicious glances when they caught sight of her, some having already marked her for trouble after her entrance to the city, but for the most part turned away, seeing she was with other kids close to her age. The bandana helped immensely to avoid trouble.
There was one woman who watched them for a short time. In the dusky lighting, her short, fiery red hair was still noticeable, as was the large bandage that covered her forehead and her right eye. She turned and walked away after purposefully meeting Alex's eyes.
---
Blackbird: +2 AP "You don't give me flowers... anymore."
Isa, Jokerman, Shaula: +2 AP Socializing 101
((Vivian Ross and the accompanying 10 AP have been awarded to Jokerman-EXE.))
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