Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aila's day had started on the prospect of visiting the outpost for reconnaissance. Since then, she had crashed in a helicopter, miraculously survived three different cave-ins, been forced to cooperate with Team Rocket's foremost enemy, been harassed by ghost-types, been locked in a room and made to solve a puzzle, and had her pokedex explode on her hip. As if that weren't enough, she returned to the knowledge that the man she had gone out of her way to recruit on the faith that he would be a valuable asset to her team had endangered and harassed their teammates, blatantly insulted her favorite superior, and earned himself a demotion to trainee rank - a humiliation that, to the best of her knowledge, none had suffered before him.

To say that Aila was displeased would be similar to calling the ocean a fairly big puddle.

She had changed into a more casual outfit since returning to the base, a loose t-shirt and brown skirt deceptively alluding to the possibility that the dark-haired girl had wandered somewhere she didn't belong. The aging scar visible on her chest and the gauze wrapped gingerly around the burns on her leg that resulted from the Pokedex's combustion, however, suggested that she was indeed in just the right place.

A purposeful stride carried the small agent through the door to the detention facilities, a cold glare betraying her otherwise dainty appearance. She halted before one of the cells, turning to face its occupant with arms folded.

"Izaya." Her tone was neither the friendly nonchalance with which she had greeted him in the cafe nor the fluid professionalism with which she had given her warnings and made her offer. Aila Christelle de Valois was angry.

((I'm working off of the assumption of bars; they can definitely see and hear each other, at the very least. O: ))

"I would love to be resting, but it seems there are things I have to deal with first." Despite her anger, she spoke levelly, patiently. There was no need to lose her temper. "I was hoping you would tell me why you're here."

Aila folded her arms and listened patiently as he walked through his explanation, picking out the parts she understood to be inaccurate or otherwise exaggerated from her conversations with witnesses in the first and second hand. It took great restraint not to address his continued insults against Seth's character, though Izaya might have noticed a distinct irritation arising in her expression. When he concluded, naming himself the victim, her hands fell to her sides and she leveled a disapproving gaze on him.

"You misunderstood the point of my question," she said. "I would not have come were I not aware of the details of your incarceration. What I want to know is why you're here, in Team Rocket. Why did you accept my offer if only to turn insubordinate at the first opportunity?"

"Executive Agent Seth is renowned among all ranks for his short temper and rash responses. By and large, however, he responds to respect with respect, especially in incidences where a prior opinion of the party in company does not exist." She inclined her head slightly to a side, staring critically. "Loyalty expectations are among the most intensely drilled instructions given in basic training. You were informed of the proper conduct towards those of a higher rank than yourself, and you were told which styles of uniforms indicated what rank. You should also have been taught the names of every elite and executive agent, if not heard them from your roommates in the barracks or elsewhere on base. There was no reason for your misconduct, and Seth responded accordingly." She shifted her weight slightly. "Also, a word of advice. You're likely aware that this area is under high surveillance. Trainees are expendable, and your superiors will not tolerate continued slander toward and executive agent.


"Now allow me to rephrase my question. Why did you accept my offer if only to proceed to antagonize my allies and affront one of the most respectable agents these facilities house?"

"This organization is called Team Rocket," she reiterated. "I can understand being unaccustomed to cooperating with others. You should have perceived this problem would arise and taken measures against it. I spent much of my time as a trainee studying subordination and teamwork because I was aware that it would not be easy to adjust." She paused momentarily, coming to her point, "You are not the most important member of this team. You are not an isolated identity here, and your actions can and will affect those around you. If you can remember this and behave accordingly, you should not find yourself confined here again in the future."

Aila stared unflinchingly as he reached; she wouldn't gratify the action with a response. His words, however, inspired a frigid quality in her damask gaze. "You claim to have my interest in mind, yes? Then why did you - the individual whom I recommended, recruited, and brought here - mortify me with your blatant disregard for respect and courtesy?" Perhaps that was making things a bit too personal, but she had never been so embarrassed as to return from a mission and hear that her recruit had been thrown in the brig for insulting Seth. A slight tensing of her shoulders and furrowing of her brow betrayed this embarrassment, manifesting itself as disappointment.

Well, she certainly hoped so. Aila had questions about his longevity already, and an expectation to be a repeat offender certainly wouldn't bode well for his future.

She drew a quiet sigh. "I plan to speak with Seth tonight," though a part of her was dreading having to explain why she had recruited Izaya without having a firm understanding of how he would react to teamwork and authority. "I'll see what kind of case I can make, though I'm not sure he respects my opinion any more than he does yours." She shifted slightly in the direction of the exit. "If you have nothing else to say, I'll take my leave," a quieting of her tone, "and I'll trust, for better or for worse, that you won't betray my faith a second time."

She winced slightly at his suggestion of avoided buzz words, hoping against hope that they hadn't been among the things he had said to the executive. Hopefully this wouldn't be too difficult an apology to make, but she had a nagging fear that this hope was in vain. Hope is cool, guys.

Aila regarded the farewell and encouragement with a brief nod over her shoulder. It was probably unwise to believe his words too earnestly, but she took solace in knowing that she wouldn't be so quick to help if she was crossed again.

She breathed another sigh as she departed the brig, her course set in the direction of the elite quarters. Though part of her did indeed dread the forthcoming conversation, another part was looking forward to speaking with Seth again for the first time in what seemed like ages. The question was whether or not it would go as she wished...