Welcome to Gaia! ::

When the pair of grunts greeted her back politely, Nikki just looked at them for a moment with a neutral expression. "... Sure." And that was it. Social graces weren't exactly her forte, as many of them had probably already gathered.

Giving a sigh, the agent glanced back at Shawn with annoyance. He was quite the chatterbox, that one. Didn't he know when to just shut up?

Her attention went back to Faleen though when asked about her Togepi. "Yeah, she's new. I stole her from some stupid trainer. Although I was aiming for her Vaporeon. Managed to catch the egg instead." The latter part was grumbled irritably, displeased with having not gotten the Vaporeon. Still, it wasn't all bad.

And now there was some lady with ridiculously pink hair and another one of those... Zorua. She must have missed something what with all these things popping up all the sudden. But dark types weren't her specialty, so it was all right.

Marle frowned at the Jolteon, saddened by her response. The poor thing...what had they done to her? Of course, it never entered the Pikachu's mind that Lindsay could be right and that something was wrong with her instead. Nope. Despite how much she knew she irritated her new human from time to time, Marle felt, deep down inside, that Sierra would never let someone just take her away from her. Sierra would fight for her.

'I do miss Maria sometimes,' she admitted softly, looking at her front paws. 'But really...she didn't have time for me anyway. She wasn't really interested in Pokemon training...I was a present from her parents, a Pichu...something cute to keep her company. But she didn't need me. She spent her free time with her friends, other Eevee Scouts, and they kept so busy that...well, there wasn't much time left for me.' She glanced up at Lindsay again. 'So yes, at first I fought, thinking how much she must miss me and how I needed to get home. Then I realized how much she'd miss me...not much at all. So while I miss Maria sometimes...now I have Sierra...and she actually cares that I'm around."

Sierra had also introduced Marle to battling, a way to release her frustration and her growing power in a less destructive manner. Marle had been exposed to a whole new world of possibilities, and while Sierra had taken it easy on her for a long time, being so young, it was inevitable once the electric mouse had latched onto the joy of battling, that she soon evolved.

When the Umbreon joined their group, Marle shuffled a bit to one side, creating a sort of conversation circle to open up the flow of communication. Best to make a new friend feel welcome, right? She grinned, friendly, but realizing that she had not been addressed directly, held her tongue for now and let Lindsay answer the question.

Sierra had been silently reading the Pokemon's body language...no, not exactly friendly...but they didn't seem to be able to break into a brawl either, so maybe that was positive. She knew Marle's enthusiasm could grate on some Pokemon's nerves, and honestly, she'd expected much worse. "Well enough, I'd say," she commented on their 'getting along'.

Sierra kept the cringe she felt inside off of her face, her expression neutral. "No...that was a long time ago, or at least it feels like it. I guess she...left me behind," she quipped, trying to keep her tone light, but she still felt thte bitterness slipping through. "No surprise really. Guess I don't have what it takes to make myself noticed. I'm just a lowly Grunt, likely to remain that way, unless something dramatic happens."

She raised an eyebrow, however, at Shawn's story of how he ended up joining Team Rocket. Of course, she'd heard of such things happening, at least of people discovering the HQ and being forced to join, but it was a rare occurrence and she'd never actually met anyone who fell into that category. Then again...maybe it was because they didn't last long. Made the 'choice' to join seem more like a choice to delay the inevitable. "Yeah, yeah I did," she answered simply, not exactly ready to spill her life story to a complete stranger, especially in a group like this. "It seemed like a tempting offer at the time. Better than other circumstances anyway."

She stepped back, letting Shawn speak with the others as she looked over the group. With the exception of Nikki, none of the other agents struck her as familiar except Frost, thinking she'd seen him at that odd party a while back. Then again, the resident Zorua seemed to be making things a bit more confusing, what with all the illusions popping in and out.

Overhearing a bit of Shawn's conversation with Frost, Sierra piped in, "Oh, they're not that hard to take care of, you know. You feed them, get them some exercise now and again, more if you plan to use them for battle...care for them, bond with them..." She crouched down, glancing at Shawn before taking action. "I've got a couple similar to your Jolteon myself. If you don't mind?" She didn't actually wait for a response, knowing the pair she was calling out was well-behaved for the most part, at least in a way that wouldn't startle Shawn as long as they stayed at a 'safe distance.' Poor boy seemed to have issues with Pokemon in general for some reason.

Layla, the Dark Eevee, materialized at Sierra's feet, grooming herself with a paw, and Khalon, the Shiny Umbreon, yawned and stretched languidly before settling down on his haunches close by. Sierra stroked Layla's back, then scratched under Khalon's chin. "You know, they can be great friends, given the chance, Shawn." She reached in her pocket, pulling out treats for both Eeveelutions, one for Marle (and handing her an extra for the Umbreon who had just joined the group), then holding out her hand in an open manner for Lindsay, a Poketreat for her as well. She'd let the Jolteon decide whether to take it or not, letting her come to Sierra rather than the human invading her 'personal space.'

Sierra had always identified better with Pokemon than people. People were distrustful, deceitful, wrathful animals. Pokemon made more sense.

"Not. Now." Frost replied firmly to Xander, treating the young man to a withering glare. "I have said 'maybe later' and I stick by that no matter how much to tap your foot. I will not discuss the matter further with you at this moment in time." Not in front of all of these people; some he barely knew, and the rest he only knew the names of...

This Shawn boy really was heading for trouble; his attitude would not be tolerated for long, nor would his presence outside the ranks. Everyone on base had a rank, and everyone began as a trainee. The way in which they had arrived was of no consequence, nor were their feelings on the matter. As the child spoke to him again Frost shrugged slightly, completely unaware that Shawn was suppressing laughter. "I am fine, and you are forgiven; in this case I shall count ignorance as an excuse, but in future I shall not be so lenient... Oh and I think you have latched onto the wrong meaning of expense; I meant that I had to pay out of my own pocket, not that wearing a variant gets one into trouble. If I am going to step out of line it will be for something extremely important, not for mere vanity."

Oh dear. It seemed that the youth was in over his head in more ways than one here, and the black-haired girl was not helping. "It is more than 'just' feeding," Frost observed in neutral tones. "Just as with humans, the correct balance of nutrients is important. You would not put diesel into a petrol car, and nor should you allow a pokemon to eat the wrong foods on a day to day basis. Fortunately, as we are a pokemon centric organization, access to the right foods is easy. In the wild, eevees and their evolutions are primarily carnivores; here at HQ you will want to feed poké-food designed to support that digestive system. Over there," he waved a hand to a serving hatch a little way down from the main one, "you may request food for your pokemon. The kitchen staff will know what is suitable, and once you enter the ranks properly as a Trainee you will be educated... I suggest you get that sorted as soon as you can," Frost added, his quiet tones becoming even softer as he regarded the black-haired boy steadily. "It is important to seem willing around here. Given you say you were brought in as a last resort, I suspect that you will be being... observed. Team Rocket does not have space for people who will not be useful and loyal to it. Do you understand what I am telling you, Shawn?"

He didn't really want to have to spell it out, but he would if he had to; much as the child seemed like a fool, there was a chance he could be an asset once properly trained. It would be a waste for him to end up on the bottom of the ocean just because he hadn't shown that he was willing to dedicate himself to his new life. Honestly he was shocked that the process hadn't been begun the moment the young man arrived on base; were he the commanding officer of whoever had failed to follow proper procedure with Shawn, he would have said individual bumped down a rank, or at least assigned some unpleasant punishment duties.

((Drat, Sorry I'm so slow, guys. XD

I'm going to answer the posts a little out of order due to certain events which will be clear in a bit. If Teigra, Reverie Rose, or anyone else minds for this one situation, please let me know. I'll try not to make a habit out of it.

In the meantime, would anyone after Frost/Tawny Blood_Goddess kindly try to refrain from posting until I finish this? I'm almost done; it's just that right before I post, I refresh and see new ones to reply to, so mine ends up needing to be added to. I'll try not to do this again. If it's not possible and you really want to get something in, feel free. This is an open rp, after all.

I'm going to edit this post in a little bit to put my real post so this isn't just a wasted post of OOC. Done! Thanks for waiting and understanding, everyone. Hope my post is up to par.))

The teenager frowned, apperantly more affected by Nikki's 'abandonment' of Sierra than Sierra herself was. Then again, he supposed there wasn't much to be expected of ties and relations among a criminal organization. They probably had few to no loyalties toward one another besides their dedication to their team. And even then, with default, forced members like Shawn, he doubted every single Rocket was for the good of the organization. "I'm sorry that happened," he replied sympathetically. "It's probably just because you've been traing alone, like you said. I'm sure you'll get to her level soon, and maybe even surpass her. Who knows?" He glanced around. "And between you and me, I really don't like the odds of dramatic happenings around here. With all these little monsters running around, they're way too high for my comfort."

Nodding simply at her simple reply to his question about her having joined, the kid seemed to understand both the idea that it might have been appealing to join at one time and that Sierra didn't want to elaborate on the story; at least not now. He himself had already whispered enough to wonder if the higher-ups at the table beside them were getting suspicious of their conversation.

Come to think of it, Sierra's comment struck him as pretty sensical. After all, what were his living conditions back home compared to this? Sure, he'd forfeited his freedom, but reluctant as he was to admit it, he was living better than ever. He'd never even had a proper bed before, let alone a room, so he couldn't exactly hate Team Rocket for making him join. It hadn't been all that bad, really, and he hadn't lost in exchange.

His shoulders slumped at Sierra's suggestions for pokemon care. "Uh...maybe it's not hard for a normal person, but back where I'm from, I wasn't exactly rich. Hardly got by myself, so I know next to nothing about taking care of another living creature. And there's no way I know anything about battling. I can't! My - er, Lindsay will end up blowing the place up or something! I don't even know why they put me in charge of one of these things in the first place." He sighed, grimacing as she mentioned the word 'bond'. Nope, no, that wasn't something he'd be able to do. He couldn't. There was just no way. It was like accepting a challenge to 'bond' with a grim reaper. If you failed to bond, they'd kill you.

As Sierra crouched down, he raised a brow, uncertain of what she was asking permission for. "Um, sure...be my guest." At least she seemed to know what she was doing, whatever it was. And then the pokemon appeared, causing him to yelp mildly. Don't panic. Don't panic. She has them under control. She doesn't seem to hate you, so she most probably won't make them attack you. Probably. "Yeah...hehe, friends..." He plasterd smile faded quickly as he looked away. I'm going to die. If not by these Rockets, then by their pokemon.

Turning almost thankfully to Frost, he nodded as he was forgiven. Again, he almost wanted to laugh as the older male pointed out the wrong meaning of expense. It was just as if Frost had made an inadvertant joke, speaking with such grave tones about nearly everything and then belittling some aspect of it to a mere notion of literal payment. But you would step out of line, Shawn thought to himself, glad to know that the man had a sense of his own moralities and did not confine himself solely to the limitations and conformations of Team Rocket.

"Nutrients...?" Yikes, as if he knew anything about that! Whenever he had looked for food in the past, it was to check whether or not it was edible or he could stomach it, not whether it had the right nutrients. Sounded like he would have to take better care of Lindsay than he ever had himself. Still, with Team Rocket providing all the necessary supplies, that might not have been as hard as it sounded. As Frost continued, he confirmed this notion. "Carnivores...'kay, so meat, then. But what's an Eevee? Is that what I have?"

Following Frost's indication, he saw a serving hatch he hadn't noticed before. Huh. So that's where to get it. And then another though struck him. Oh, damn it. So far all I've been feeding it is human food! It never seemed sick, though...hopefully it'll be okay. He continued to nod in acknowledgement, trying hard to process everything Frost was saying. Frost's choice of words and use of language was making it a little difficult for the street kid to keep up, though. He wasn't used to such formal terms. "Yeah, yeah, will do. Thanks again, Frost." He tensed as the platinum blond man continued to speak to him a quieter manner. He doubted it could be anthing good, but what he heard surprised him.

"...Yeah..." he said slowly, suddenly more aware of his paranoia than he had been before the other agents had come along. "Yes. Yes, sir. Thank you." He couldn't tell what was more startling - the idea that he could be eliminated despite all his efforts to fit in, or the concept that Frost might have actually concerned himself enough to warn Shawn about it. The kid wondered how he himself had managed to let his guard down in the first place, since he was pretty sure he had been the most paranoid human in the building since he had arrived. Now he was starting to wonder why he hadn't been briefed as a Trainee too. At first he'd thought they'd just wanted him to the side, or that they were too lazy to bother telling him things. From what he was hearing, though, it seemed most unusual for Team Rocket to have members they didn't brief upon arrival. Had they perhaps decided from the beginning that he was going to be a 'temporary member'? The kid swallowed hard.

A waving hand wearing a fingerless glove attracted his attention. Oh, right, the lady from earlier. Faleen, right? An...agent, if her uniform was anything to tell by, altered as it was. "Yeah...I'm thinking that would be a good idea right about now," he answered, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sleeve. At least if he had some knowledge of what people did around here, he had a better chance of being less 'disposable' and more useful. "Sounds good. Thanks. But...where would I find an Elite? There aren't any around here, are there?" No red stripes in sight. Thank goodness he was a quick learner. And that at least some of these people seemed to have some mercy for a newbie.

Lindsay settled down and the tension in her muscles relaxed as Marle explained her feelings about her previous owner. After all, she herself knew how it felt to be unwanted, cooped up for so long in the Rocket's storage facilities without happier times to think about. Noticing the treat Sierra had offered, she inspected it and Sierra closely before taking a bite and sitting back down. Pondering the Pikachu's story, at least some of Marle's reasoning behind her loyalties to Sierra were justified in her eyes. Sierra seemed nice enough - not as nice as her Shawn, of course, but maybe, just maybe, she was trustworthy. However, she didn't wish to continue the conversation lest her empathy or jealousy show and she were to be thought of as weak.

Besides, something else had already nabbed her attention - the pink, bold fox-thing had come up to her trainer. Jumping to her feet, the Jolteon's fur bristled. 'You! Pup! Stay away from my boy! She snarled, seemingly more motivated by jealousy of the Unova species and its intimate proximity with her trainer than concern for Shawn.

She might have taken further action but for an Umbreon who had come hers and Marle's way. 'My trainer is not the incompetent one,' she fiercely shot back. 'He loves me and pampers me and will do anything for me. He never gives me tasks, he speaks to me softly, he offers me first choice of all his meals, he allows me most of his room as my territory, and he only keeps to a small corner of his bed when I am about in order to respect my personal space. I'll bet none of you can honestly tell me your trainers go that far for you.' The Jolteon proudly raised her head, lifting her dainty black nose in the air. She seemed perfectly oblivious toward any sort of faults in Shawn, particularly to his fear of her and pokemon in general. As much as Shawn may not have seemed right in the head to Esther, Lindsay evidently wasn't much better off. She had even forgotten about the Zorua invading her trainer's space.

Shawn whimpered involuntarily as Ambrosia moved her face closed to his. His efforts to hide his fear beneath a mask of frustration and annoyance were rapidly dwindling. He wasn't sure how much more of this up-close-and-personal pokemon contact he could stand, and it was all he could do to keep from bolting out the door. The only thing that kept him planted firmly where he was were the various members nearby who would definately notice if he were to run. He had already vowed he wouldn't show such weakness in front of Agent Nikki again.

Grateful as he was to Saleen for attempting to call off her pokemon, it wasn't enough. The combined efforts of Shawn to keep his fear in check and to stay rooted in one place were too much. The instant the Zorua appeared to take on his form, he stopped breathing. The moment she brought up her hand - his hand - to tap his nose, he blacked out. Dropping to his knees, the fainted boy fell flat on his face as his unconcious body folded over and collapsed.

((D8 Esther is so mean! *huggles Lindsay* ilu DD8 I hope Esther isn't being too mean ;-; she just wants to snap her back to reality ><; wink )

Esther let out a laugh at the jolteon’s response and shook her head. “Oh my, this is priceless! You really know nothing about being a pokemon do you? How sad when reality hits you. And soon enough your trainer will treat you like the pokemon you are. This is Team Rocket hun. You will have to fight. Your trainer will be sent on missions unless he is too useless and incompetent to handle that. Then he will just be a janitor or something. And when he goes on these missions, you and he will have to encounter dangerous situations. You will have to fight, and risk death to protect him and other humans in your team. That is what a team is, and that is what Team Rocket does. You do not question it, and you do not get pet and told what a good ‘baby’ you are.” Yah…Esther wasn’t very nice sometimes… “And sounds like your trainer is incompetent. Keeping to a small corner? He must fear you with those jagged edges and that crackling you do. How sad, to have your own trainer fear and dislike you.” Esther grinned and held her head and tail high. “Well no need to worry. At this rate you might be assigned to someone more useful. Or not.” Eshter liked to push buttons, and after that she walked back over to Saleen and sat down next to her, grinning at the jolteon. Had Saleen realized what her pokemon was saying, Esther would have been in for a world of trouble. But alas, Saleen didn't speak pokemon...

When Shawn fainted that had….been unexpected. Why had he does that? Ambrosia looked at her man finger, then back at the fainted human…then back at her finger….then suddenly with her tail grabbed she reverted back to being a zorua as Saleen held her. “Rosie! What did you do!? …Wait…why did he faint…is something wrong with him?” said Saleen, quite confused at the present time. “What did you do to him Rosie!? That was very bad!” she said as she scolded her Zorua. “Zor! Zoooor! Uuuuua![I didn’t do anything! Honest! I just touched him!]” replied Ambrosia, quite confused as to why the jittery human fainted from a mere touch.

Needless to say, Saleen was too distracted to notice Callista. She was too busy trying to figure out why this boy simply fainted from the tough of a pokemon. Was it that shocking to have his nose touched by himself? Even if it was, why would he faint over that!?

"Yeah, I do prefer flying types. And a Togekiss would come in handy, but you should have seen this Vaporeon." Nikki muttered quietly as she picked at her food. In truth she did prefer flying types, but it still irked her that she hadn't been able to snag that Vaporeon. She kept telling herself that at least she had gotten something, and would just have to be better prepared the next time.

Nikki didn't react at all as Shawn passed out. She didn't really care, and would have no qualms with leaving him there on the floor. If he was that stupid to pass out because of a Pokemon... he deserved to lie there.

Frost's request did gain her attention though, brown eyes lifting to look at the grunt. "Sure, I don't mind. It'll probably be a while though." She didn't expect Kaira to evolve quickly. Since Togepi evolved via happiness... she had to wonder how that worked with a dark Pokemon. Dark Pokemon weren't exactly.. the most jovial, and Kaira especially being a little angry terror.

((Thanks for your efforts, Tawny!

@Saleen - Esther's not mean! XD She just sounds like she's trying to make sense of things. Lindsay's the mean one. She's...kinda psychotic, so please don't take anything she says or does personally. If you haven't noticed already, her sense of reasoning and logic is kind of...warped, but she won't let anyone tell her otherwise.))

At the dull thud of her trainer hitting the ground, Lindsay's eyes opened and her ears swerved. She hurried over to the boy's side, inspecting him for signs of injury. He seemed okay; if not for the suddenness of his actions and the awkward position of his body on the ground, she would have thought he had fallen asleep.

Wait a minute...there are others with sleep-inducing techniques, she recalled quickly. Turning to glare at her surrounding company, Lindsay stood over her fallen trainer, ears folding back flat against her skull and fur bristling. 'Who did this?! Who dares knock out my Shawn?' They all looked dumbfounded to her. 'Hmph! Worthless idiots...'

Her head turned sharply at a sign of movement and she noticed a young, male Rocket approaching her and her teenage human. Unaware of his intentions, she growled warningly, but made no move to attack him. At least not yet. Humans weren't much of a threat, as far as the Jolteon was concerned. His pokemon, on the other hand... She eyed them warily, ready to strike at any moment; her dark, amber eyes glinting.

Then the Umbreon from earlier chose to open her mouth and Lindsay was once again distracted. 'Nothing about being a pokemon?!' she shot back, rage seeping into her barks and making it difficult to understand, even by pokemon standards. 'And what would you know about being a pokemon, wretch? I was born and raised in this facility. I know what is expected of me. But do you know why they put me away in storage? Because I was too STRONG for them, that's why!' Her back arched and her eyes narrowed, static flying from her golden fur. 'I was so strong that I managed to break out of their stupid little storage. After that, they recognized my power and stop trying to suppress it. They gave me to Shawn, knowing only a trainer as kind-hearted and loving as he could be suitable as my partner. We don't need a team. We're fine on our own.'

She hissed at Esther furiously. 'You're just jealous of me, my position, and my power! Shawn LOVES me. If you think you have what it takes to beat me and prove me wrong, then fight me! I'LL show you what it means to be a pokemon.' Snarling, her lips curled to reveal her sharp, canine teeth. 'I haven't battled with Shawn up until now because I've been saving my energies for tougher pokemon than you.' At this point in time, Lindsay was in such a position that it appeared she was calculating the best way to get at Esther's throat. It was probably a good thing she was occupied with the Umbreon, however, because it was hard to say what she might have done to Ambrosia for taking her trainer's form. As it was, the Jolteon hadn't even seemed to notice so far. At least until Rosie started talking.

'You what?! How dare you touch him! He's MINE!' Lindsay retorted at the little fox. Recalling that she had been angry at the Zorua prior to her Shawn fainting, the electric-type turned the full focus of her anger on the young Unova pokemon. She darted forward with Agility. 'YOU knocked him out?!'