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Night and Day in Natura
Topic Started: Nov 9 2014, 12:14 PM (728 Views)
Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
The city was far bigger then any city Steely had ever seen before. She had no way of knowing for sure, but she could swear that both KBville and Brightopolis could fit into one quarter of this place. Not that she minded the vastness; she liked it, really. The great, sprawling metropolis was beautiful, with the glass panes and brightly painted buildings in some areas. There were also canals that ran through the city to transport water, and they reflected the city lights at night. Even the night was totally different; she could actually see the stars in the city. They were fainter then they were out in the middle of nowhere, but for how large the city was, there was way less light pollution then the big cities she was used to.

(If I didn't know any better, I'd think that I'd... iunno, moved onto somewhere better,) Steely thought, standing on the bridge and looking out over the canal.

Her full, real name was Katrina Cerberus, but through a series of events and unfortunate accidents, she eventually ended up with two separate people in one body; Kat and Steely. It's a long, long story. Everything about her seemed like a long story, from the sleeve tattoos of legendary pokemon covering her arms, to the feathered lightning tree scar on one arm visible under the ink, to the cane at her side and the way her legs made weird... mechanical noises when she walked. She ran her hand through her long blonde hair and sighed, (Not... completely better though, I guess.) It was hard not to think of what was missing, what she hadn't seen for months and months. Every time she saw someone absurdly tall in a crowd, she got excited for a second, but it was never him. It couldn't be; he was back in Opaddeka. Even then... she didn't know where he'd disappeared to in their own world.

She shook her head suddenly. (No, stop that. Don't get all weepy again, I'm tired of crying.) the second voice growled from the corner of her mind. Kat was far more aggressive and angry in general then Steely was, but seemed content for the most part to sit back and let Steely have control all of the time. Again... long story.

The both of them were glad the streets were pretty deserted right now... given how late it was, it wasn't surprising. At the moment, she just wanted to be left alone. Or at least more alone then she had been recently, since her two remaining friends were absolutely adamant about never letting her out of their sight.

(Hah, do you blame them, though?)

"I guess not," Steely murmured aloud, scratching the top of her head.
Edited by Steel Cerberus, Nov 23 2014, 08:57 PM.
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Curon Hifor

"Well, I suppose finding someone you do know is as good of a starting point as any," he said, nodding to Steely as she stood up. "I typically arrive here at eight in the morning, sharp. I can offer you some coffee in the morning if you come by at nine," he offered, though he winced a little when she mentioned Chadwick was her boyfriend--regardless of tense, past or present.

His expression recovered quickly enough all the same, not bothering to drop the invitation. "I'll make sure Rav is ready for you, regardless of when you come in, as soon as possible. I'm sure they'll be at it for awhile," he said a little bashfully, looking back over towards the nursery for a moment before looking over at Steely, his eyes bright!

"If you'd like, we can give you an egg from their endeavors--if you want one that is," he said, before realizing she was prepared to leave. "Ah, forgive me, we can talk about that tomorrow. I hope you sleep well, Steely--I know I will!" He said with a very, very tired laugh.
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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
The thought of coffee seemed to perk her up a little more, if nothing else, even if she was starting to look a little fatigued finally. The reason she had been out tonight was that she couldn't sleep; now finally she was starting to feel like she could.

"Don't let him bully you or anything. He can be something of a handful, but he'd never hurt anyone unless I told him to... I think anyway," she shrugged, hoping that wouldn't freak him out too much. Better to be safe then sorry, if it made him more cautious around the batty bat. She looked surprised at the mention of getting an egg, "Uh... let's see how many eggs show up, huh? To be honest, I don't see what I'd do with another bat."

Still, it made more sense to see what they ended up with in the morning, and it looked like Malcom realized the same thing. She laughed a little with him, and offered her right hand for a shake, "Yeah, yeah. You look like you could use the sleep more then I could. I'll be back tomorrow."

And with that, she showed herself out, or let the scientist show her out. It was a bit of a walk back to where she was staying.
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Curon Hifor

Malcom, of course, had a look of deep concern and incredulity on his face when she mentioned the bat could possibly hurt someone trying to handle him. He looked over at the nursery again, a bit more concerned than last time, but he shook his head and nodded to the woman before gesturing towards the door.

"There are still a few things I need to wrap up here before turning in for the night--but I will see you in the morning!" He declared before watching her leave the premises, still concerned about her limp and mechanical legs, but like he said before, there wasn't anything he could do about it--and he wasn't sure if anyone in Natura could. As technologically advanced as they were, he had never seen anything like it...

Her legs. Yes. He was talking about her mechanical legs. He shook the blush off of his face and went back to locking up the facility until the morning. Well... quite the eventful night!
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Steel Cerberus
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Steely lazily saluted him over her shoulder as she left, and turned to hobble down the road, heading back towards the area where all the apartments were. The subway would be an easier trip, but she didn't know where the nearest station was... she was debating asking someone or trying to pull up a city map on her phone when she heard a voice in her head.

(THERE you are.)

(Woop, there's the fun police.) Steely stopped and turned around, but there was nothing there. When she turned back the way she had been walking, she nearly bowled over the angry little psychic man in front of her.

"I am not the fun police," Raziel grumbled, looking more cross than usual. His chocolate brown hair looked like he had just woken up, and he was squinting like his head hur- ohhhh. "Yeah. Don't do that to me again."

"Hey, I didn't make you drink the whole bottle," Steely teased, grinning. That only made the psychic look more annoyed.

"Never thought that day would come back to bite me," Raziel rubbed his eye. "Don't... leave without taking someone with you, alright?"

Steely's initial impulse was to feel rankled, given the way he sounded accusing about it, but she decided to not let it get to her. She liked to think that he did have her best interests in mind.

So instead she shook her head, "And I've been told I have a protective streak."

"Yeah, well... where do you think I got it from?" Raziel held out his hand. "Come on, I know you don't want to walk all the way back."

"Eeehhh... you're right, I don't," Steely limped the last step forward and took his hand, "We need to come back here tomorrow, though. Oh! After going to the library first." Raziel tilted his head at her, and she shook her own head, "I'll explain when we get back."

The psychic quirked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it. "Right. Shall we?"

She gave his hand a little squeeze, "Ready."

And just like that, they disappeared.



Steely only slept a few hours, and was up and moving again so she could get to the library right when it opened. This time she wasn't alone, instead followed by the grumpy psychic and an extremely tall warrior-woman who nearly everyone seemed to do a double-take at.

"<Does it bother you that everyone stares?>" Steely asked the warrior as they walked, in a language that didn't exist on Natura.

The warrior, who they all called Windy, shrugged while looking like she didn't even notice, "<Not really. When you can break an average person's neck with your bare hands, others' opinions don't really matter anymore.>"

Steely noticed Raziel gulp out of the corner of her eye. "That's... one way of looking at it."

At the library, they wandered around for a bit before Steely found what she was looking for; a history of the houses of the western continent and islands, pre-Cataclysm. She borrowed it out, and was flipping through it when they came to the Lab again, just after nine.

"Do you want us to wait out here...?" Raziel prompted when they had been standing there for longer then was really needed.

Steely finally looked up, surprised at where they were, "What? Oh, no, I imagine my new friend will get a kick out of you two." Grinning, Steely lead them inside and looked around for Malcom.

Raziel and Windy were something of a sight for someone who had never met them before. Raziel was a bit shorter then Steely, and fairly thin, his chocolate brown hair messy and sticking out, though sagging a little as it seemed to be growing out where before it had been trimmed shorter. His eyes were also unusual, being bright orange-amber colored. Then there was Windy, who had to have been over six feet tall, with tan skin and muscled like a warrior. Her hair was dark brown-black, but her eyes bright and sky blue. Their clothing was average and plain, but it didn't exactly seem to sit right on Windy, though she didn't look like she cared.

At least the lab assistant would recognize Steely, if he ever got over staring at the other two.
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Curon Hifor

It was fairly easy to find the lab assistant, the poor soul having passed out on his desk accompanied by a half-drunk mug of coffee and easily a dozen or so files arrayed around him as if he had been working on something important. His glasses were half-way off his face, the left side of his face smushed between his skull and the desk beneath him, with a comical pool of dribble flowing from his mouth as he snored. He looked like more of a wreck than when she had last left him, his lab coat and hideous tie in disarray.

When the trio were close enough, he snapped awake, his bloodshot eyes blinking rapidly to get rid of the haze. A pen was apparently stuck to his cheek, the assistant unknowingly sleeping right on top of it for what could only be assumed was most of the night. "Oh--Visitors! Welcome," he said, nervously straightening his tie and adjusting his glasses, completely unaware of the pen that was still stuck on his face. At that point, he finally managed to see who it was that was visiting.

"Oh, welcome back, Steely! And who are your friends--?" He said, cutting himself off as he stared at her two companions. The shorter one wasn't really that much of a surprise--aside from his strange eyes--but the massively tall woman really threw him for a loop, feeling rather intimidated at the immediate moment. "A--ah! Perhaps more from your native world, maybe?" He asked sheepishly, trying to start up conversation in the most awkward manner possible--not intentionally, of course.

There was a crashing sound over near the nursery, which caused Malcom to immediately stand up from his seat with concern. "Ohnonononononononono!" He yelled, running over towards the nursery with speed he probably did not possess normally, his panic-induced sprint bringing him towards the enclosure that the two bats were held. Thankfully, they had not managed to burst through the enclosure, but rather, had somehow caused a glass jar that was on top of their 'home' to fall off and break upon the floor. The jar was empty, thank goodness.

"OhthankyouArceus," he said quickly before wincing in pain. Apparently, his immediate movement and sprint caused a cramp in his leg, more than enough distraction to keep his attention away from the two bats sleeping inside of the enclosure--as well as the half-dozen eggs within as well.
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Steel Cerberus
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Steely spotted Malcom passed out on his desk, and snickered a little at the sight. Right, so, 'turning in for the night' meant falling asleep on his desk, apparently. She crept closer, going to tap him on the head when he sprung up before she could get there. As he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, she grinned sheepishly, hand still half extended to poke him.

"When you said you were going to get some sleep, I assumed you'd meant at home, dude," Steely grinned, pulling her hand back.

If nothing else, the absurdly tall warrior took it well enough; she only rolled her eyes a little.

"Hello," Windy said simply, her accent thick and unlike anything on Natura. Raziel simply raised his hand and waved, and that was all he got a chance to do before something crashed in the other room and Malcom took off. Windy and Raz both looked at Steely, who was grinning almost proudly to herself.

"<Really?>"

"Well... at least you've finally befriended someone normal. Sort of."

"Har har, you guys are funny," Steely ruffled Raziel's hair as she followed after Malcom, to make sure her bat wasn't wrecking things.

Fortunately he wasn't, sleeping upside-down in the enclosure. Or, Steely noticed, pretending to sleep. She quirked an eyebrow at him all cocooned up in his own wings, then at Malcom having issues with his leg. "Dude, are you alright? Do you need to sit down?"

Her two friends were right behind her, though Raziel looked far more interested in something happening elsewhere, and Windy was counting the pile of eggs with the two bats, and then moving away to look at the other enclosures curiously.
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Curon Hifor

"A--ah, yes. I should--I should do that," he said, finding the nearest chair and sitting upon it, stretching his cramped leg as much as he could. "M--maybe I shouldn't move so quickly, huh?" He said, chuckling nervously and scratching the back of his head, embarrassed--still not realizing the pen from his desk was still somehow attached to his cheek.

Within the other enclosures, there were various different Pokemon, mostly for research and breeding breeding purposes. Most were still asleep, though the presence of people were starting to wake them up, one-by-one. Of particular note was a female Venusaur, who seemed more occupied with waking up her very small Bulbasaur children. They seemed to be barely older than hatchlings, really.

He looked over at the Zubat enclosure and Malcom's face lit up with surprise. "Oh wow, so many? They wasted no time at all!" He said, hobbling over to the enclosure to look at the eggs, as well as the Zubat, Kathleen. "She seems so peaceful now--probably because its daylight out, her normal sleep period. Your Crobat looks quite pleased as well," he said, fiddling with a set of keys in order to open the enclosure and give Steely her Pokemon back.

With swift hands--probably because he didn't want Kathleen to escape again--Malcom opened the enclosure and tried to retrieve the Crobat and deliver it back to Steely. Hopefully, without incident. "H--here, Steely," he said before he was distracted, again, by the massively tall woman.

"Wow, ah--you're not from around here either, huh? Your accent isn't anything I've heard before, if you don't mind my saying so, miss."
Edited by Curon Hifor, Nov 23 2014, 07:04 PM.
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Steel Cerberus
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Steely leaned on her cane, smiling at Malcom like she wasn't sure what to think of him or the pen stuck on his face. "No sudden movements would be beneficial, I think. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself," she looked to the enclosure as well, frowning. Malcom likely wouldn't notice, but she could see her bat's smug little smirk between his wings. "Yeah, he sure does look pleased alright," she grumbled, limping over behind Malcom to help retrieve her bat. Ravage allowed the lab tech to grab him and pull him out of the enclosure, but as soon as the boy went to hand him off to Steely, he snapped his wings open and took off, landing atop a cabinet of supplies nearby.

"This is what I meant by being a handful," she mumbled aside to Malcom. Before he could stutter something else, she waved her hand dismissively, "I got him, it's fine."

Which left Malcom to turn his attention to Windy. She had wandered away down the aisle, stopping and watching the venusaur and the tiny bulbasaurs with her, crouching down to their level to better see. When Malcom addressed her, she stood back up only to look down at him again, frowning just slightly. Her eyes flicked over to Raziel, who gave a helpless shrug, then back to the Natura native. "All three of us are from a different world, so I don't think you'll hear my accent again. Who are you?" her accent was pretty thick, and she had the cadence of speaking that made it sound like the common language wasn't her native tongue. She kind of spit the words out more then just letting them flow. Seeing that Malcom was likely intimidated by her, Raziel walked over, his hands behind his back.

"She's from a region of warriors that borders the region that Steely and I are native to. I'm Raziel, by the way."

Seeing that the psychic looked at her, the warrior shifted a little before introducing herself, "Windy."
Edited by Steel Cerberus, Nov 24 2014, 09:19 PM.
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Curon Hifor

"M--me?" Malcom asked, more in fearful response to Windy's inquiry. "O--Oh, right. I have a name, yes, it's, ah, well, it's, um, ah, yes! Malcom Tian, Miss Windy," he said nervously, as if he had forgotten his own name at that very moment, more intimidated by the woman's stature--and reputation, thanks to Raziel--than anything else. He managed to bow his head courteously to the both of them while Steely rounded up her Crobat. Once that was done, he made sure to seal the enclosure with Kathleen within, just to make sure the shiny Zubat did not fly off again.

"Well, this certainly is a surprise," he said, keeping his eyes focused on practically anything else other than Windy--the less he looked at her, the more relaxed he felt, anyway. "What can I do for you two?"
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Steel Cerberus
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Windy tilted her head a little at the way Malcom was reacting. It was different then she was used to. Even the Opaddekans didn't seem this afraid. When she thought about it, she realized she sort of preferred the fear to the outright hatred she sometimes got previously. Come to think of it... there shouldn't be anyone here who hated her for no reason.

Her normally stern expression brightened a few notches at the realization, and she bowed a little when he introduced himself finally. "I am honored to meet you, Malcom."

Steely paused where she was reaching for Ravage, frowning at what she could hear behind her. More specifically, Malcom sounding like a broken record. Being told that the giant woman was a warrior by nature likely hadn't helped his nerves at all.

(You did that on purpose.)

Fortunately, Malcom was dealing with securing the enclosure door, so he didn't see Raziel smiling to himself. (I have no idea what you're talking about.)

(Jackass,) she thought back to him, scowling over her shoulder. She didn't notice Ravage scoot sideways towards her, and hop to sit on her shoulder.

"Heeey boss, what's up?" the bat grinned at her, one wing half wrapped around her head to keep his balance.

"You're a jackass too, Ravage," she grumbled, but left him there and turned back to the other three.

"Oh, nothing. We just came along with Steely, since she said she had to come back over here. She's really not supposed to be wandering around alone for... various reasons," Raziel explained calmly, with a shrug and his hands still clasped behind his back.

"I'm fi-... well, whatever. I couldn't sleep, get over it," Steely grumbled, shifting her weight a little with her cane, keeping Rav on her shoulders and the library book still tucked under one arm.

"I recall you saying something about coffee, but given that you still have a pen stuck to your face, I'm willing to guess that you've been sleeping all morning," she grinned at Malcom now, trying to make it very clear that she wasn't bothered by it at all. And then, you know, he'd finally notice the pen still adhered to his face.

You seem to have grasped it immediately, but to anyone who may be confused: the stuff in parenthesis are thoughts, not spoken words.
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Curon Hifor

"Ah, yes--the honor is all mine, Miss Windy," Malcom said, looking back towards her and somehow finding enough of his nerves to respond to her rather polite greeting.

However, his expression seemed to change when Raziel mentioned something about Steely not supposed to be wandering around the city on her own, resulting in the Professor's Aide to tilt his head to the side curiously. "I wonder why that is..." He said, as if the one person that could tell him that wasn't right beside him. "Steely did not seem to require much in the way of assistance," he said quietly before said woman reminded him of why she visited in the first place.

"O--oh! Ack! How forgetful of me--my apologies!" He said, looking absolutely embarrassed, nervous, and apologetic all at the same time, his face giving way to a fair bit of panic again. Her comment about the pen seemed to go right over his head as he quickly stood up again, straightened that hideous tie of his, and took Steely by the hand. "Y--yes, please, right this way! There is a coffee shop just down the lane, and they have some of the best selections you could imagine! Please, all of you, come--come! My treat!" He said, still oblivious to the pen somehow stuck to his face as he tried to lead the group out of the lab and towards the coffee shop in question.

The building itself was rather modest--compared to the rest of the city, at least--but it could still support around four dozen customers. An Oddish was tending to one of the tables, its aromatic smell filling the room with a sweet scent. A few trainers and their Pokemon were here as well, but the place was nowhere near crowded.
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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
Raziel and Windy both looked at Steely when Malcom was musing on why Steely wasn't allowed to be out on her own. She seemed to shrink a little, but it didn't stop her from distracting the lab aide with promises of coffee. Which resulted in exactly the kind of response Steely had been hoping for, because it distracted the other two away from her again. It had the added bonus of distracting Steely completely; fortunately she didn't jump too badly when Malcom took her hand, but she didn't jerk away. Instead she followed after, looking a little more lost then usual.

The psychic and the warrior didn't follow immediately; Raziel gestured after them, arms out and palms forward, "How does she do that?"

"<That's a secret, my friend,>" Windy replied in her native language, with a laugh. She ruffled his hair and followed after Steely and Malcom, letting the psychic trail along in the rear, mentally grumbling to himself.

"Malcom. Hey! Dude..." Steely tried to get his attention a few times, but boy when he got something in his mind, he didn't shake it easily. When they finally stopped, she let go of his hand and reached to peel the pen off of his face and hand it to him.

"I know pens aren't exactly rare or anything, but I don't think you want to lose this."
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Curon Hifor

Malcom looked over towards Steely, a look of confusion on his face when she finally got his attention--she then pulled something off his face, revealing a pen that had been stuck there the entire time. Apparently, part of the pen had broke, spilling some of the ink which then acted as the adhesive to attach to his face. Some of the ink was still there, though the aide seemed blissfully unaware at the moment.

"D--don't tell me that was there the entire time..." he pleaded, taking the offered pen from her and putting it in his coat pocket. "Ah, well... wh--why don't we order some coffee?" He said, accompanied by a nervous chuckle as he looked around the place. Did he seriously run down the lane with a pen attached to his face...? How embarrassing...

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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
Steely was about to point out that he still had ink on his face, but she decided to spare him for now. She'd wait until she had a handfull of napkins, to point it out. Briefly, she fixed him with a look like she didn't know what to think of him, but laughed anyway. Windy and Raziel had easily caught up by now, and the warrior was now staring at Malcom because of the ink splotch on his face. Raziel was still grumbling quietly about nothing in the background.

"Ah, sure. I'm sorry though; when you said coffee, I had thought you meant a pot of coffee back at the lab. I wouldn't have brought these two if I had known this," as she was talking, Steely grabbed Windy's arm so she could lean back, thwacking Raziel in the side with her cane. It wasn't very hard, but it still made him jump.

"I would have come with you anyway," the psychic grumbled, which Steely quirked an eyebrow at.

"You're grumpy."

"I never got back to sleep last night."

"...ah," Steely looked back at Malcom and shrugged. "Well, if you're sure, then let's get some coffee."

Ravage had taken off to fly when they'd left the lab, and settled down on an outside table to wait, eyeing a nearby oddish. Steely got whatever the sweetest sounding thing on the menu was, Windy got a tea and Raziel a simple black coffee. Steely looked pretty pleased with her choice of a Mocha Monstrosity when they all finally sat down.

"So, what do you get up to besides lab things, eh?"
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Curon Hifor

That was actually exactly what Steely's drink was called--Mocha Monstrosity. It was jam packed with literally every type of sweet treat one could feasibly put into a type of coffee while still maintaining a liquid consistency and not be called 'fudge' at that point. The tea was from a Vileplume leaf, which had a rather rousing aroma to it. The black coffee was more traditional, and Malcom found himself ordering a black coffee as well. He made sure to pay for the whole assortment out of his own pocket, but he never complained at all about doing so--he seemed to like entertaining guests.

Finally, they all seemed to sit down outside, Malcom looking between Steely and Raziel, wondering if he was missing some kind of valuable component to their relationship or interaction. It was almost as if she were poking and prodding him for literally no reason.

"Hm? Oh, me? Well, I uh..." he said, scratching the side of his head in thought for a moment. "Well, I uh...uhm... huh. I guess I don't do much outside the lab. I mean, there's the occasional odd-job here and there, but much of my time is spent preparing brand new trainers for their journey into the wilderness of Natura, and believe it or not, that takes a lot of preparation work. Additionally, I do a lot of research on flying Pokemon--well, really, anything that's a bird or has wings, like this little guy," he said, gesturing towards Ravage, "and all that data is compiled for Professor Hawthorn's review on a daily basis. We've been concerned lately about a chance in migrational patterns with many types of bird pokemon, but so far, we haven't been able to find a source.

"As near as we can tell, the planet is recovering from the cataclysm at a faster rate than we predicted, weather patterns are changing back to their original paths and intensities, meaning that these Pokemon might actually be resuming their 'normal' migration habits instead of what we're used to. It is possible that new regions of wilderness have opened up as well, now that the dust clouds kicked up by the meteor are finally settling down, allowing more warm air into different regions," he said, going on with all the scientific mumbo-jumbo he seemed such a fan about.
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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
Steely and Raziel were content with what they had as is, but Windy had grabed a couple of packets of honey, and was squeezing them into her drink after tasting one. Raziel looked more thoughtfully at Malcom as the lab aid wondered at what he was missing, and smiled vaguely if he met the other male's eyes. It was a weirdly knowing smile, but it wasn't like Malcom said anything aloud about it.

Steely seemed to recognize the look, and subtly moved her chair away from Raziel until she was out of arm's reach. "Well, you seem to be passionate about it, so that's good. By the way," right as she started the sentence, Raziel snapped his head up from where he was watching his coffee to look at Steely with alarm, "Raziel can hear what you're thinking."

"Oh come on."

"Then don't make it obvious, dude. I can tell by that damn smirk of yours."

Windy ignored them, like she was used to this, and looked at their host curiously, "You like birds? You should meet Nighthawk, you would like him. He is my braviary. I have a mandibuzz as well."
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Curon Hifor

Malcom nodded vigorously, almost knocking his glasses off before he managed to adjust them. "Yes, of course--I absolutely love flying Pokemon in all shapes and sizes. It's been a passion of mine since I was a kid and--" Malcom said, stopping himself when Steely spoke up about Raziel reading thoughts. The Professor's aide almost looked horrified for a moment.

"A--ah, really!? You can read my thoughts!? I--I hope you didn't hear too much," he said, his face absolutely flushing with crimson in embarrassment. He really hoped he didn't catch a glimpse of everything that was in his head--that would be so inappropriate! How did one protect himself from that? Did they have to picture a blank in their heads all the time? Maybe something mundane, like a bath toy?

Great. Now the only thing he could think about was a Pidgey making an awful squeeking noise.

However, his train of thought was completely derailed when Miss Windy spoke up, causing Malcom to look over towards her. "A--A Braviary? Amazing! I've been wanting to study one of those for quite some time now--as well as a Mandibuzz! I'm impressed at how many exotic Pokemon you all seem to have--the three of you must be very well traveled!"
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Steel Cerberus
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"I do not smirk."

"Oh-ho-ho really? I beg to differ."

"I didn't want to alarm him, which is why I didn't say anything."

"Then don't make it obvious for someone who knows you!"

Windy ignored the pair snarking at each other in the background, frowning at the word 'exotic' being used to describe her Nighthawk. Rufflet were pretty common where she came from, and even wild braviary were sometimes seen in and around her village. However, if Malcom had never left this giant city... Windy's home village had been in the middle of a thick, huge forest. Definitely a far different environment.

"Birds like Nighthawk are common where I'm from; I've had him since I was a child. I've also done a lot of traveling. All three of us have," the tall warrior shrugged, taking a sip of her tea. She looked at Steely and Raziel before she continued, but they didn't seem to be paying attention. "I think all of us have had pokemon for quite a few years now, in some way or another. Have you ever left the city? You might be surprised what you find.'

Or hang around these people for a while. Crazy things are bound to happen at some point.
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Curon Hifor

"Oh--uh. Well, to be honest," the Professor's aide said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "I haven't ever really left the city. I've been out to the surrounding wilderness once or twice, but most of my time is taken up with helping the Pokemon Professor and assisting new trainers in their own adventures--when it comes to worldly experience, I'm afraid I don't know much," he admitted with a nervous chuckle.

"I mean, whatever research needs to be done out in the wild, we usually commission trainers to gather information for us, or the Professor herself usually goes out and does it herself. She seems to spend more time outside the city rather than in her own lab, if you can imagine it. We get used to her absence at times, until she decides to take a rest here," he explained, shaking his head a little bit. "But we're all committed to discovery and research. Which reminds me, I've re-keyed Steely's Pokedex to transmit information to our lab for when she goes off exploring--I could certainly do the same for yours and Raziel's!"
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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
Windy couldn't help but to smile a little bit at the 'lacking worldly experience' thing. She felt a little sorry for him, and decided that at some point she'd have to drag the little scientist on an adventure, or something.

"She sounds like a good professor," the warrior looked up at the sky at that. No way for Malcom to know... well, best to not get into it. "You should try it sometime. Going out in the world. Why not? Living though something is a lot better then reading about it."

By now Steely and Raziel had just settled on quietly glowering at each other, impossible to tell if they were continuing their yelling match mentally instead. Steely seemed to be paying some kind of attention, because she looked over finally when Windy finished, but Malcom continued talking before the blonde could say anything. Raziel continued staring at her even when she looked away, letting a few seconds pass before he turned his attention back to his boring coffee.

"I actually don't have a pokedex. They're... not really a thing in the part of the region I come from," Windy shrugged.

"I don't have one either," Raziel said simply, looking pointedly at his hands instead of at Malcom, fussing at the Mega Ring snugly around his wrist.
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Curon Hifor

"W--well, I suppose. I mean, going out and doing research could be fun, but I just have so much work to do here at the lab," he said, his voice trailing off a little bit as he scratched the back of his head, blushing a little bit. Windy and Steely were both rather attractive women, and he was abhorrently pathetic when it came to having a meaningful conversation with such individuals, but so far, he had managed to his best. Not to mention he was still a little bashful about leaving the city--he did have a lot to do, after all, and besides, that was what trainers were for...

At the mention of neither of them having a Pokedex, the researcher's eyes lit up. "W--what! Well, I can remedy that very quickly for the both of you. I supply Pokedex's to trainers, young and old, all the time. It would be a simple process of--" He stopped talking, looking over at what Raziel was fiddling with, and--

Like a lightning bolt, Malcom had somehow leaned over the table they were sitting at, his face inches away from Raziel's wrist, the researcher's feet dangling off the side of the table. "Ohmygoodness,isthatwhatIthinkitis!? YoupossessalegendaryMegaRing!?"
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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
Windy's eyes seemed to light up a little at the mention of getting a pokedex, which Steely frowned at a little. Not because she wanted one, but because the blonde had never considered asking the warrior if she wanted one. No doubt Professor Willow back in Opaddeka wouldn't have minded giving her one.

Both of the women had to grab their drinks when Malcom suddenly leaned over the table, and Raziel jerked back so suddenly that he nearly toppled over backwards. It must have been by some kind of magic that he didn't, because he pulled the wrist wearing the ring tight to his chest, his other hand covering it. He looked particularly alarmed, at least as far as the situation was concerned. Psychic or not, it took a few seconds for him to register what the lab tech said, and even then he only relaxed marginally. "Y-yes?"

"Woah woah, personal space, dude," Steely reached out and gently, but very firmly, grabbed Malcom's shoulder and pushed him back into his chair. "I have one too, if you'd like to look at it," she patted where a lapel would sit if she had been wearing her coat, but since it never really got cold in the city, she didn't have it on. Raziel finally relaxed while Steely dug around in her pockets with a frown, "Ah... fuck, I actually don't have it with me."

Raziel was fussing at the release of his bracelet out of sight, and handed it over to Malcom when the band finally expanded enough for him to slip his hand out. He crossed his arms once the other male took it, "They're not that rare here, are they?"
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Curon Hifor

"Er--m--my apologies!" Malcom said, awkwardly messing with that hideous tie of his and his glasses, making himself at least a little more presentable after the outburst of curiosity. He looked between Steely and Raziel for a moment before the ring was passed to him. The researcher seemed to hold it rather carefully, as if looking at a thousand-year relic rather than a device of overwhelming power.

"Actually, yes," he said, raising a hand with a single finger pointed towards the sky, as if he were a professor answering an obscure question. "Mega Rings are incredibly rare here on Natura. A few veteran trainers have them, but for the most part, they are extremely rare. They were a lot more common during the days of wars and calamities in our world's history--back when nations and warrior families did battle across our planet. Many of the rings were thought lost before the Calamity, and after that... well... let's just say they're considered lost to all who study them. To see one in the metaphorical flesh like this is a rather momentous occasion," he said before looking down upon the device and examining it quite closely.

"Back then, there were smiths of pure magic that could forge them, using arcane energies and sciences we cannot hope to understand, yet," he continued to the explain as he rotated the device in his hands, "such practices have long since thought lost. There are rumors that a few of the last remaining warrior families, like the warriors of House Maren, know how to forge such Mega Rings, but it has never been confirmed. The process, I'm told at least, is said to be a painstaking, lengthy, and dangerous process of attuning a gem or stone to a particular Pokemon in order to bring out it's ultimate evolution--the Mega Evolution. I've only seen such a phenomenon a couple of times, and each one never seems to dim in intensity or impressiveness. Its understandable why so many want to study them, and why many, many more fear the power that resides in these rings. Some believe--and this is just hearsay--that they're measures of the next apocalypse, that if more rings were to resurface and be used, powers above would rain punishment down upon Natura again."

He finally relinquished the ring back to its owner before pulling out a small pad of paper and a pen--the same one that had managed to stick itself to his face earlier--and furiously jotting down notes in a frenzied lexicon, his writing near illegible to everyone else around him, unless one were to carefully examine the way he wrote. "But that is all just mystical and religious nonsense--what studies we have done on the Mega Rings shows they are nothing so malicious--at least so far. Thank you for showing it to me, Raziel," he said with a wide and enthusiastic smile. "Tell me, though--what kind of Pokemon is the ring attuned to? I'm quite curious."
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Steel Cerberus
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The Dog in the Machine
Raziel's ring didn't look old, but it didn't look modern either. It was a gold-copper color and made of interlocking plates that could expand and contract so he could tighten and loosen it around his wrist, with the amber colored stone sitting dimly in four clawed prongs. Looked like he took good care of it, too. Raziel took it back when it was handed over, quickly slipping it over his hand and tightening it back down so it didn't move around.

"I... guess that makes sense enough." Steely looked particularly thoughtful at that. Malcom likely hadn't noticed Steely's last name attached to her pokedex (and her registered first name, which was definitely not Steely), because if he had he might have questioned it. Depended on how much history he read. House Cerberus had been the major western continent power before the Cataclysm, at which point the entire family had disappeared. The assumption had been that the meteor had wiped them all out. Now, some of the folks at Brightedge were starting to think that Steely was descended from one of them, who had either accidentally or on purpose left Natura when the meteor had happened. Steely wasn't sure if she wanted to believe it, but it sure made things a lot easier for her over on Direwolf Island. She wondered if anyone had noticed the Mega Pin on her coat.

"I'll have to show you my blastoise at some point, then. He's the only one I have a stone for," Steely shrugged a little, taking a drink of her monster chocolate drink.

Raziel seemed to be back to himself again, but quiet up until Malcom asked his question. "An alakazam. I've actually never used it, to be honest, but I've never needed to."
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Curon Hifor

Malcom couldn't help but perk up again at Steely's statement, the aide looking over towards her with great interest. "Oh, a Blastoise! I have never seen a Blastoise mega-evolution before--not even in the database in the lab. I don't think we've ever had a documented sighting of such a Pokemon, nor a ring associated with that breed of Pokemon. It would do much for our research to see it at some point, if you would allow, Steely," he said with this giant grin on his face, apparently his former fatigue dispelled by the introduction of such an interesting topic at the table.

However, Malcom was quick to look back over towards Raziel, the aide's enthusiasm apparently limitless. "And another I've never seen before--! What an opportunity! The Professor would be so glad to have such things entered into the database and research files, if you two would be willing--you two could potentially do a practice battle while we, at the lab, collect information on those two mega-evolutions," he said, quickly adding another statement to the offer, "we'd be more than happy to reimburse you both!"

The concept of seeing two new mega-evolutions, ones the professor's aide had never seen before seemed to make him giddy with excitement. He always seemed interested in making scientific discoveries, apparently!
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