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 Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:02 pm
A black-haired grunt stood in line to get his lunch, pondering whether or not he wanted to eat in the cafeteria today. Usually he enjoyed sitting and observing people while he ate, but it was a nice day out with the weather not too hot in the desert and he considered eating outdoors. He rather missed the open air and strolling around the city as often as he used to before he had joined Team Rocket. Now, though, he seemed to spend most of his time doing work inside.
Worst of all, his three pokemon were getting restless. Celty was quickly tiring of watching the twin purrloin and it was clear even the usually good-natured Spiritomb was getting somewhat grumpy. Mairu and Kururi were thus currently in Izaya's care. He told Celty to take some time off outside and enjoy the fresh air. Since he had thought of it, though, he started to believe that maybe he and the twins could use some air themselves. It wasn't as if they would run off in a desert with no where else to go. Besides, they were pretty loyal to Team Rocket, even if not so much to him, directly. Maybe he would eat outside after all.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:37 am
Ah, lunch time. The hearding of the cattle. People moving though a line, getting food, forming groups, smacking loudly as they chew, yaking about anything and everything... Well, all the people except one. The grunt was slowly adjusting to life as a Rocket, which was actually a lot better than than life before. Being a Rocket was like being in highschool, only here everyone was on the same team. Sure, there were ranks, but everyone ranked together seemed to band together.
Well, again, all except one.
Luxury was still having a hard time fitting in, mostly because she tried not to. She trained alone when possible, worked alone when possible, ate alone when possible. However, today looked like one of those impossible days. Chora had snuck away again, and Luxury had a bad feeling about what that little cat was up to.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 11:19 am
Izaya, who was always on the lookout for strange, new, and intersting people to observe, stepped a little out of line to glance about. Some of the trainees and grunts he recognized from before his promotion to grunt. Others he recognized after getting demoted before he was finally re-promoted once more. Due to this, he liked to think he was pretty familiar with the majority of the lower-ranking Rockets that hung around the main base.
One in particular, however, stuck out to him. He could tell by the way she stood that she didn't seem particularly comfortable with being in crowds. She had short-cut black hair with a single purple lock that was slightly longer in the length than the rest. This minute detail of personal appearance preference aroused his curiosity. Did she like being different?
If her hair was anything to go by, that was a yes, but then again, Izumi's appearance had said almost nothing about her ture personality. Also, Izaya's own sisters purposefully acted the opposite of the stereotypes they dressed as. If there was one thing Grunt Nakura knew better than most, it was not to be decieved by appearances. Still, they could provide some pretty good leads.
While Nakura had understood by now that most Rockets usually liked to keep to themselves whenever possible, introverted as they naturally seemed to be, that didn't necessarily mean they all had the same reasons. Frost didn't like to be touched, nor did he seem confident in his social skills. Faleen preferred the company of her robots and working with machines rather than her fellow human beings. And some, like Aila, were merely too immersed in their extensive duties as a member of Team Rocket to bother being social. What, then, was this unfamiliar grunt girl's excuse?
"Would you like to go ahead of me?" Izaya asked the couple of people behind him. "I just saw a friend of mine I've been needing to chat with." As he stepped aside to allow the two other Rockets to go ahead of him, he lingered until he was directly in front of the purple-hair-streaked grunt. Offering her his usual, enigmatic smile, he inclined his head slightly to the left, reaching behind for his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and hold it up for her to see.
"May I buy you lunch on the condition that you stay to chat with me?" he asked politely. "I get kind of lonesome, you know? I was thinking of eating outside today, since it seems kind of chilly indoors." As if for emphasis, he pulled his fur-trimmed parka tighter about his shoulders. "Not to mention loud. I almost can't hear myself think."
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:16 pm
What. The. Hell.
Luxury tried not to scowl as she watched this slick looking guy maneuver himself to stand in line next to her, then failed when he opened his mouth. What was with the guys on this base? First Panther, now this dude. Seriously. And lunch? How... Cheesy. And this guy was awful chatty, which was ironic since he was complaining of the noise level in this stuffy cafeteria. Also ironic was that he was wanting to chat more - with her. In exchange for free food. Pfft, as if Luxury was about to turn down free food, food she didn't have to buy or steal or kill before eating.
And besides, it looked like Mr. Fur Coat could easily afford to buy a poor girl lunch. She tried to turn her scowl into more of a 'I don't know you' look as she scanned him head to toe and back. He was thin, not scrawny, and taller than her but not tall-tall. She couldn't tell how muscular he was under his pretty boy coat, but she figured she'd rather not tick him off to find out. What captured her attention most was the ring on his index finger... Oh s**t.
"Put that away." Luxury indicated his wallet, currently in his hand and easy pickings for a certain critter of hers. "Chora is loose, and if you don't put that away I'll be buying you lunch." And pay for it with a purple and silver pelt.
The purple and silver pelt that suddenly flashed between them, leaving the guys hand empty and Luxury seeing red.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:37 pm
Izaya, who was used to earning scowls from less emotionally-controlled people, took this as a good sign. Wonderful! He was getting through to her. Sure, he liked to hear himself speak, but when he couldn't hear his own voice over the din of other people (whose conversations he liked to listen in on when he wasn't trying to talk himself) he preferred to get away from them all. It was easier to focus on one person in particular when there weren't so many other humans around to distract him.
Grinning broader as she took the time to scrutinize him, he cocked his head to the side slightly in an inquiring manner as she ordered him to put his wallet away. "Eh?" Chora? "Loose? Is this a pokemon of yours?" he asked, curious and amused. He didn't quite understand what she meant by her buying him lunch...it sounded as though she expected a bully like Seth to come into the lunch room and slam him against the wall again, but this time with the intention of stealing his lunch money.
"Ah...if it's a pokemon, shouldn't you know better than to let it loose in a facility like this?" he asked with a slow smirk. "Especially if it's as untrained as you're making it out to be?" And suddenly his fingers closed on nothing. Laughing aloud, he stuck his hands back in his parka pockets.
"Hahahaha! Wow, that was fast. I'll give your Chora that; she's certainly got speed. Mairu, Kururi," he called, his voice taking on a sharper edge as he brought out two pokeballs from one of his pockets. "Go fetch my wallet. That is, if you think you can beat Chora-chan at her own game," he added, perhaps as though to goad the twins. He couldn't get them to do much without some emotional provocation, whether it was a threat or a comment about his doubt in their abilities.
The twin purrloin, not as brightly-colored as most, emerged from their balls in tandem. They looked up at their trainer - Kururi with a blank stare and Mairu with a determined smirk - before dashing off to find the culprit. As far as they were concerned, no one stole things from their trainer except them.
With this taken care of, Izaya turned back to his fellow grunt and offered a hand. "Grunt Nakura," he introduced himself. "Looks like we both have some purrloin trouble. They're an awful pain to train, wouldn't you agree...? Miss...?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:50 am
Oh no. Luxury smacked herself in the forehead, ignoring the offered hand and inquiry of her name in favor of grabbing Chora's ball and chasing all three Purrloin. The last thing she needed was a fight on her hands, especially one caused by that disobedient little thief.
Chora was zipping around legs and tables, humans and pokemon, and amazingly Nakura's Purrloin were keeping up nicely. Oh crap oh crap oh crap! Luxury started praying to whatever kind of god there might be out there that Chora wouldn't be attacked. She'd deserve it, sure, but it would be Luxury's fault. She was such a horrible trainer, letting her pokemon escape her like this... It was going to get her kicked out if she wasn't careful, but what could she do? She rescued Chora as a kit, and she raised her while she taught her the skills that later brought her to Team Rocket. Unfortunately, they became more of survival pals than Trainer and Pokemon, and Chora did what she pleased no matter what, which often ended up as quite the embarrassment for Luxury.
Chora aimed for the outside world. In seconds nothing stood between the pokemon and the wide open space except for a door that had a flow of people going through. Lucky for everyone, Chora looked back at the last second, wallet dangling from her jaws, and smacked into the door just as it closed. Chora was knocked back, stunned, and Luxury took that split second to aim her ball and return the little devil with a sigh of relief. This damn critter was going to be the death of her, she just knew it.
Well, that and men. One of which she now had to deal with.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 7:32 pm
"...?" Instead of using her hand to shake his, the grunt girl used it to smack herself in the forehead instead, drawing a confused smile from Izaya. He watched her run after his own purrloin as they chased after hers, chuckling at the sight. Ah, well. The least he could do was hold her place in line.
Supposedly, the female Rocket really didn't have any control over her pokemon or she might have had more faith in Chora to eventually return to her. And here Nakura thought he had trouble getting his purrloin to obey. One thing, at least, he could gather from the girl was that she was more action than talk - something he found rare in females, and intriguing.
Mairu and Kururi did not view Chora as a threat or a thief more so than a playmate. For them, all this was was a game of tag or 'steal the flag', even if neither Luxury nor Izaya realized this. The 'flag', in this case, just happened to be their trainer's wallet. While they were, indeed, Rocket pokemon and more loyal to Team Rocket's efforts than Izaya himself, they sensed that this particular occurrence was nothing more than a bit of fun within the Rocket base between fellow Rocket pokemon. There was no need to make enemies out of other members' pokemon; not when they ultimately all had the same goal through the organization.
At least, they thought they did. Kururi ran behind a table and Mairu made to cut Chora off as the pair hoped to playfully ambush her. However, neither young purrloin had realized that the blue-eyed feline had planned to make a break for it and leave the base, so both girls were caught by surprise. They froze, watching Chora head toward her final exit, before cringing and shutting their eyes in unison as she slammed into the door. Ouch.
The twins padded over quickly, going to investigate the status of their fellow purrloin, but Luxury got their first. They looked up at her curiously before Mairu picked up Izaya's wallet in her mouth and pawed at Luxury's boot. Meanwhile, Izaya observed from afar, watching with some concern as he continued to stand in line, waiting for all of them to return. He was almost up, but still holding Luxury's place.
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 9:45 pm
Luxury sighed. All she wanted was one peaceful lunch. Oh well.
"Hey cutie~" The grunt smiled at the coffee-colored Purrloin pawing her boot and bent down to pet her. "Would you like to play with Chora now that that little mess is over?" She hid Nakura's wallet and let Chora back out, with a stern look that meant business. Chora pouted for a second, then pounced on the other Purrloin, nibbling her ear playfully.
Oi.
Luxury returned to Nakura, who apparently had been holding their place in line. "Sorry about that. I'm Luxury. Chora is..." She sighed again, handing back his wallet. "A mess, at best. She plays games, disobedient but means no harm. If I hadn't chased her down she'd have hidden that wallet and it would never have been found."
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:56 pm
Mairu purred and brushed affectionately against Luxury as she bent to pet her, allowing the grunt to take her trainer's wallet. Nodding in reply to the nice young lady's question, Mairu flicked her tail and glanced at Kururi who also nodded, albeit a bit more timidly. Yes, the wanted to play with Chora. They were hardly let out to play with any other pokemon, let alone one of their own species.
Kururi cocked her head at Luxury, curious as to why the female grunt seemed so much more stern with her own Purrloin than she was with the twins. She wondered what sort of personality Chora had and leapt back a bit, startled, as the purple and silver feline pounced her sister.
The coffee-colored Purrloin yipped in surprise and delight as Chora pounced her and nibbled her ear. Mairu squirmed and twisted to bat at Chora's tail, trying to catch it in her paws so she could nibble that in playful retaliation. Finally, a pokemon who knew how to have fun!
Grunt Nakura blinked as he was apologized to. He had fully expected to be yelled at for letting his wallet get stolen and then letting out his pokemon to chase after Luxury's. Instead, he was astonished at how Luxury's demeanor toward him seemed to change so drastically from when he had first approached her. Sure, it may have been her pokemon, but he was just as much at fault, wasn't he?
"Ah, arigato," he answered with a small, uncertain smile, accepting his wallet back from her with an almost wary look. "A game, was it? Looked to me like she actually intended to get away with her prize." He beamed at her, expressing that he meant no hard feelings towards either her or her Purrloin. "Oh...I see. Well, in that case, it wouldn't have been the first time." His smile was replaced with a scowl in the space of an instant as he glared at his own pokemon. "Mine do the same thing. Takes a thief to know a thief, I suppose. No wonder they seem to get along so well."
Opening his wallet to retrieve the money for the food on the lunch trays he had moved along, Grunt Nakura paid the cashier. He then handed one of the trays to Luxury. "I added a drink for each of us, so feel free to take your pick from the selection over there."
He looked back at the felines. "They never listen to me unless I threaten them or something. And it's just me! They'll listen to any other Rocket without any problem at all. I suspect it has something to do with the training from their prior owners," he grumbled. "At least your Chora seems to like you. Can you really trust her to be out of her ball after what she just did?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 9:27 pm
Chora squeaked, spun in circles to avoid having her tail nommed on, and pounced on Mairu's tail. Naturally, though, she was dizzy and promptly fell over, rolling until she bumped into the other Purrloin. Grinning broadly, Chora squeaked out a greeting and waved her paws at the pokemon's nose. These two were fun! It wasn't every day she got to have fun. Well, hunting for treasure was fun, but this was social fun, and Chora was having a blast!
"Arigato?" That was a word Luxury was unfamiliar with. "And yes, she loves... collecting things. I'm lucky, most of what I own she stole for me and so there is never anything to steal from me. Others... Well, you saw for yourself. And... I think she's ok now. She's found some friends~" The grunt frowned. She didn't usually talk this much, especially to a guy. Well, this guy was buying her lunch even after her Purrloin stole his wallet.
Luxury grabbed her a Coke and made her way outside, where Nakura had wanted to eat. She had agreed to chat, after all. Luxury was not one to go back on her word. She prided herself is as much honesty as she could, since honesty wasn't something she usually lived by.
Chora watched her Luxury and the male grunt out of the corner of her eye, but decided not to worry. The girl needed friends, too, after all!
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:45 pm
Mairu and Kururi were just as pleased to have a playmate as Chora was. They loved to play with each other when they could, but Izaya didn't often let them out of their pokeballs at the same time, aware that they were likely to cause more mischief when they were together rather than when they were apart. To have each other to play with as well as a new purrloin was wonderful!
Mairu yelped as her tail was attacked, giggling as Chora fell over and chasing after her as she rolled away. she called happily.
When Chora rolled up to Kururi, however, the darker purrloin just blinked and stared until the purple one pawed at her nose. she wriggled it and sneezed. (it tickles)...> she spoke in a disappearing voice, but smiled. Raising her own paw, she reached out to bat at Chora's ear.
"'Arigato' roughly translates to 'thanks' in Japanese," Izaya explained. "It's a short I have a habit of slipping in and out of my native language from time to time, hehe. Sometimes it's just fun to mimic those silly otaku girls who use Japanese words in their daily speech, even if they don't actually know the language."
He pushed open a door with his elbow as he held his food tray and leaned on it to hold it open for Luxury. Izaya shut his eyes against the bright sunshine before slowly opening them, giving them time to adjust to the light. "Collecting things, mm? Must be a trait of all Purrloin, along with stealing things for their collections," he commented.
"Interesting you should mention that, though," he added, grinning as he turned to her. "Does that mean you're admitting that most of your possessions are stolen property? Don't you wonder where it all comes from?" he chuckled. "Has anyone come to you looking for their property? What if one of these days it turns out to be something stolen from one of the higher-ups?"
True, Team Rocket was a criminal organization, but from personal experience, Izaya didn't believe crime from within was either allowed or tolerated. It was a wonder Chora hadn't been caught yet by the number of things Luxury seemed to imply she had stolen. He wondered just how bad off the girl had been prior to joining the Rockets but chose not to ask. It would have been rude upon a first meeting, after all. Besides, the last thing he wanted her to do was to clam up when he had finally gotten her to talk some more to him.
"It's the fact that she's found some friends that concerns me," Nakura added in grave tones, glancing once more indoors at the purrloin. "If you seem to think they'll be alright, though, I suppose I'll take your word for it." Sticking a juice box in his pocket to free up one hand, he steadied his food tray with the other and allowed the heavy door to slowly swing shut behind him.
The younger of the purrloin twins noticed, looking up to watch their trainers exit. Mairu asked her companions, turning to them eagerly.
Kururi watched the door. (let's not)... better (more fun without them).>
Mairu laughed and looked to Chora.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 2:13 pm
"I wish I knew Japanese..." Luxury thought out loud, somewhat wistfully. She had always wanted to learn, but she hardly got a basic education at school and that was quite a luxury in itself. "All I know is koni...konichi...wa? Heh..." The grunt could feel her cheeks turn pink.
Jeebus! Who knew socialization could bring out so many emotions? Maybe she'd feel more normal if school had been like this, but... At least she belonged here. Sort of. Kind of. Well, 'belonged' was such a strong word.
Luxury was a bit surprised at Nakura's chivalry, it was something she'd only read about in romance novels, and caused her cheeks to pinken more as she mumbled 'thanks' and scurried quickly out. Once outside, she took a deep breath and relaxed. "Most of it comes from back ... uh... 'home'. Some from the ship ride over here, none from the base or occupants of. She's tried, quite a few times I've found shiny desk trinkets or keys or other various things under my pillow or in my shoe, but I've learned to make a twice-daily sweep of the room to quickly find and return things before they're noticed missing. Keeps me on my toes, that brat." Luxury looked back towards the Purrloin trio. "No, I don't really think they'll keep their noses clean, but if they get caught just remember two out of three belong to you~" With a devilish grin Luxury found them a table and took a big bite of her chicken burger.
Hm. Guess not all cafeteria food is road kill.
Chora tilted her head at Kururi. She grinned at her, then turned to consider the idea of being good verses a prank-times-three with her new partners in crime. The silvery Purrloin raised her paw.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:58 pm
"Is that so?" Izaya asked, regarding Luxury with a smile. "Why Japanese, of all languages? Do you know someone you wanted to speak to with it?" He laughed as the girl struggled with the greeting word, though he was more amused by her blushing cheeks rather than her hesitant attempt to speak his language. Funny...and his initial impression of her had actually made him believe she was a no-nonsense, tough, down-to-business kind of girl, like Aila or Faleen. It was turning out that she seemed more like Tambrey, though, if less shy, and that made her, in Izaya's opinion, a lot more cute than he'd ever thought of Aila or Faleen.
"Ah, 'konnichiwa'?" he repeated, chuckling. "That's a very good word to know. Usually the first words people learn in another language are all the swear words," the man snickered. "They get used the most often, you see. But 'hello' is a very good start." Was it his imagination, or was her blush getting darker? Oh, it must have been the gesture of holding the door. He hadn't thought much of it, really; just that he figured both their hands were full and he was closer to the door, so he might as well have been the one to keep it open. He needed to wait for her anyway. "Here's another word for you," he told her as she passed him. "Kawaii. Try it."
Maybe she really just didn't interact much with others rather than intentionally trying to keep away from them. She didn't seem to mind talking once she knew what to talk about and she realized Izaya was interested in what she had to say. Perhaps she had just not talked to many people prior to him due to her own insecurities. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time the informant had come across a teenage girl like that.
Nodding at her simplified explanation of the source of her property, the male grunt understood enough. "Haha, definitely sounds like a handful. On the other hand, maybe it's a good thing she keeps you alert and on your toes. Some would argue that's the best way to be in this organization. Mmm?" After settling himself at the new table, Izaya looked over in time to see Luxury glance from the purrloins back to him, sporting a devious grin. "Fair enough," he answered, grinning back. "I suppose we'd better eat quickly, then, Lux-chan." Poking at a piece of salad with his fork, he popped a cherry tomato into his mouth and retrieved his juice box from his pocket.
Mairu giggled at Chora's comment to Kururi, stepping up. the lighter purrloin explained.
Kururi nodded shyly in agreement, looking away bashfully.
the talkative purrloin asked excitedly. She leaned over and tugged on Kururi's ear gently while prodding at Chora's paw with her tail. Mairu dashed off, eager to not miss their chance. Slowly the heavy door had begun to swing close on them.
Following her sister's lead, Kururi hopped under tables and over chair-legs, dexterously dodging the human feet that threatened to stomp on them all around. She paused a minute to look back, checking to see if Chora was still following.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:59 pm
((Oops! Double post. Pardon me~))
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Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:10 pm
Luxury had to think about it. "Hm... I guess just a fasination with the beauty of the language." She nodded, satisfied with her answer.
Looking over at Nakura, she realized she liked to hear the words from him. It was so... Well, natural of course, but... Charming. Wow. She read too much. "Kawaii?" It was easy to repeat, when the word and sounding was fresh in her head. "What does it mean?" Oh, she would love to know the curse words. Would come in handy someday, she knew. Luxury also knew she liked hanging out with this ... Ew, guy, already. He wasnt flirty like Panther had been, but friendly. He seemed to really hear what she said, instead of just talking about guy stuff like football and nerd beatings. Ok, totally high school, but the girl really didnt have much to go on!
Warily, as if she just actually remembered she was talking to a guy, Luxury snuck another once-over out of the corner of her eye, also eyeing the three little cats that were bee lining for the door. Nakura didnt look dangerous... With a satisfied smirk she decided she could take him if need be. Hopefully it would never need be. They were on the same team after all, right? Right.
So that means she could snatch a boiled egg slice from his salad, and she did so grinning.
Chora grinned, then nodded and dashed off after her new pals.
Just as the two in front of her slipped out, and Chora was right on thier paws, a big clunky boot landed in the middle of her tail. With a vicious howl Chora when claws out and set to shredding the leg the boot was attatched to. By the time she was free, though it only took a split second, the door had shut with a -thunk-. Oh no.
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