Welcome to Gaia! ::

One of the doors on the hallway inched open slowly, so slowly that perhaps it hadn't been closed properly and was now just drifting open. While that wasn't far from the truth, it wasn't exactly accurate either.

As was proved momentarily by the appearance of a sharp, golden eye in the crack between the door and frame. Scanning the hallway carefully, the eye alighted on Demetri with something like curiosity. Behind the door, the Pidgeot blinked and watched in silence. She knew she'd heard someone out there, but she hadn't expected it to be a youngling. What was wrong with these two-leggers? Letting little ones wander around alone like that!

Now, normally, Pokemon like Celeste wouldn't have had the opportunity to be peering out in the hall like this on a whim. But it seems that behaving around CRONUS, especially in the rare case of being a Pokemon and behaving....the guards tended to get a little lax in their security. After being brought back from the exercise yard, or escorted as the case may be, seeing as it was discovered that Celeste behaved better when allowed to walk as opposed to being transported via the black Pokeballs (she went into a panic at the mere sight of one now and they were afraid she'd do permanent damage to herself), the door hadn't completely shut behind the guard as he left her cell. The Pidgeot was quick to catch onto this, of course, and had quickly assured that not only was the door able to be opened, but she blocked it from closing on her again with one of those fluffy fabric things from the smaller room within a room. The little room with all the cold, smooth surfaces. Celeste had no idea what the room was called or its purpose.

She'd bidded her time with her new discovery and now seemed like a good time to make her move. The hallway had been mostly quiet today and while she wasn't sure exactly what she was planning, if nothing else, she could get out and get a little more information about where she was and what was going on outside. And if she was caught? Play dumb and don't resist recapture. Pretend that someone left the door open and she wandered out with no other plan in mind. If they didn't think you were a threat, you could get away with so much.

But now, this threw a slight wrinkle into her plans. She couldn't just ignore the young one now that she'd seen him there. He seemed...lost. But, she couldn't go out on her own with him out there either.

It would have seemed almost comical to the casual onlooker as a Pidgeot head emerged from the doorway, cocked sideways in confusion as she continued pondering what to do next.

Looked more like an apartment resident, peering out to see what in the world her neighbor was doing in the hallway.

Blinking repeatedly at the odd child, Celeste was honestly lost for a response for a moment. She didn't get the feeling from this human that she did from the others she'd met thus far; that feeling of dread and fear that most exuded. Most. Except for that one young man...

Either way, this was only a youngling as well, so he couldn't possibly mean her any harm. Her instincts spoke loudly against it. And so, she didn't withdraw, but instead slowly nudged the door open and made her way into the hall, still careful of her bandaged wing.

Human or not, she couldn't leave a child to wander about alone. He needed someone to watch over him.

As she made her way closer, the Pidgeot's attention turned towards the device that the child had been so previously distracted by. It was...some sort of small, black device on his wrist. What was it? Every once in a while, a tiny red light blinked, though Celeste judged from his own reactions that this wasn't a threatening gesture and that the box-thing was supposed to do this. But why?

Head tilted curiously, she let out a soft, inquisitory trill. "Prriiiii?"

The boy was certainly an odd one, that was for sure. Work here? Her? Did she look like one of those humans in the white coats? Why would she be working with them anyway? They were up to something. She wasn't sure exactly what that something was yet, but it was plain to see that they were keeping secrets of a sort. Why else would they be keeping so many other humans and Pokemon in this building, most of which seemingly against their will?

Of course, just because she could understand the boy's speech didn't mean he would be able to understand hers. She'd discovered that through many frustrating but futile trials with the other humans in this place. Silly creatures couldn't even understand simple Pokemon dialect. It was sad really. She couldn't imagine not being able to understand others' speech patterns, even if some of the other Poke-dialects could get tricky at times. Then again, that could sometimes be attributed to the horrid accents some possessed in other regions...

Either way, in response the question, she merely shook her head in a very human-like gesture. Her indication should be clear enough without words; no, she did not work here.

Her attention turned back towards the small black box on the boy's wrist. Supposed to help him when he got lost? What was it then? Either way, judging by what the boy said, it wasn't working anyway. So, what to do now? They couldn't just stand here. Sooner or later someone would come along and find them and they'd be shuffled off back to their rooms again. This was too rare an opportunity to be wasted like that.

Giving the box a gentle, curious tap with her beak, Celeste glanced back up at the boy. They should get moving. Move and see what they could find before they were inevitably caught again. Maybe together they could find something useful or informative about their situation. And so, moving carefully in the cramped hallway, especially mindful of her bandaged wing, Celeste tilted her head indicating the other end of the hall before shuffling that direction and trusting that the youngling would stay close.

Celeste continued on her way, shuffling quietly down the hallway...

...well, as quietly as a Pidgeot can shuffle in a human-made hallway at least.

She had no idea what she might be looking for. Not exactly. Information, yes...but that could take any form and she wasn't sure where to start, even if she knew anything about this human structure. All she ever saw was the hallway connecting the room where they kept her and the exercise yard outside.

The doors along the hallway presented another problem. Not only was there no way for Celeste to tell what might be behind them...but she didn't exactly have any way to OPEN the doors herself! Although...

She glanced back at the human child thoughtfully. Perhaps they could work together...if she could make herself understood at least.

The smell of food was wafting their way from a side hallway. However, the Pidgeot also heard a number of others that way, likely humans who worked here from the voices. Probably not a good option, though the location might be noted for future reference. She eyed a nearby door, but the writing on the sign meant little to her. Should they take a chance and open this one? What if more humans were on the other side? Then again, what if something useful was there? She couldn't pass it up.

She gestured towards the door with a bob of her head, looking back at the youngster. Would he understand that she wanted him to open the door? She couldn't well work the door knob with her wings, even if one wasn't injured. "Priiiiii!" She trilled at the boy, turning and nodding towards the door again. If only she could have read the odd sign on the door...