I Follow Orders Well [complete]

[Seas]

Laqueta was out of her house for the first time in years, and it showed. She had pulled her hood so far over her head that her face could barely be seen and she walked with a stiffness of someone who expects to be attacked at any moment. Her fingers tugged nervously at the ends of her coats sleeves as her thoughts swirled around in her mind.

What if they won't give me a pokemon? But I have to have pokemon, everyone does, to protect them. Of course, no pokemon would want to protect someone as useless as me.....

Her steps slowed to a stop, but then continued. Laqueta knew no pokemon would want to battle for her; her mother had told her so years ago when she had wanted a pokemon. But she couldn't disobey the Ranger Guild since they were the ones who kept everyone safe.

It only took her a few more moments to reach the lab, and though the day was bright and sunny she shivered. The lab looked like a nice house in a nice neighbourhood, but Laqueta knew there would be other people inside, maybe even the famous Professor Hawthorne. People so important wouldn't welcome her, she was sure. But she couldn't leave, she had to at least request a pokemon, even if she knew she would be refused.

Laqueta tugged off her hood slowly, revealing a very worried face, and clasped her hands together. After taking a deep breath, she unclasped her hands and knocked gently on the door.

[OOC: I'd like a Buneary, please.]

[KITTYWHISKERS]

NEXIVUS LABORATORIES

Lilac hovered by the door in the second Kitchen, watching sternly as a nervous lab aide prepared the food for the fire types. His hands were shaking, obviously worried by the gaze of the Gardevoir. She had her arms crossed, gaze unfaltering but her mind elsewhere.

Hawthorne had reached panic mode with this report. Ever the queen of Procrastination, she had now reached the point where she had to do it or she wouldn't complete it in time. Although most of the Laboratories' funding came from the Ranger Union's sponsorship, Hawthorne had many obligations regarding her research. And she always left it to the last minute.

This meant that, although Hawthorne was in the front room, typing away manically on her computer, Lilac and the Lab Aides had to cover most of the Starter giveaways while she was working. Ted, or Teddy as the Professor liked to call him, was a nervous young man, wracked with anxieties and social phobia. He had such a talent with Pokemon though, and a scientific mind, so he made a very good aide.

Except when people knocked on the door.

"Get the door!" came Hawthorne's cry from another room. Teddy let out a yelp, placing the bag of Pokékibble on the ground next to the food bowls and jumping to his feet. He was tall and awkward, blonde-brown hair and blue eyes obscured by thick glasses. Almost a walking stereotype.

He reached the door within moments, pulling it open. "H-Hello!" He squeaked, looking at the girl in front of him. "I, um --" His brain went numb.

"Come in, dear!" called Professor Hawthorne, peering out between her computer and a towering pile of books, "This is Teddy, he'll help you today. Teddy, offer her some tea!" She hissed the last words. Teddy nodded and turned to the guest,

"M-miss, would you like some tea?"

"That would be lovely, Teddy, I'm dying." replied Hawthorne, disappearing behind her computer again. Teddy blinked at her - it had been barely twenty minutes since her last cup. But, Daffodil had already leapt into action, disappearing into the other kitchen.

"H-how can I help you today?" squeaked Teddy, his hands clenched together as he tried and failed not to look terrified.

[Seas]

It seemed to Laqueta that it took a while for the door to open after she knocked. She thought of the people inside quietly talking about how she really shouldn't get a pokemon, it was a complete waste, and then scolded herself for it. She wasn't important enough that anyone would bother talking about her.

When the door did open, she looked quickly at the ground. She didn't want to see the cold look on the face of whoever had come to tell her to go away because they didn't give out pokemon to people who weren't worth one. The greeting was surprising, but Laqueta still didn't look up, knowing that someone greeting her didn't mean they weren't about to tell her to leave. The person who had informed her of her mother's death had greeted her. It didn't mean anything. She waited in silence, studying the stone step below her. It was very clean and obviously the entrance to a respectable establishment.

She looked up involuntarily when a kind voice invited her inside and told someone named Teddy to make her tea. The tall boy with glasses in front of her didn't look in the least threatening, but she didn't let her guard down. They had invited her in and appeared to be making her tea, but she suspected that was only because the woman wanted tea. It took Laqueta only a moment to connect the way the woman ordered Teddy around, her liking of tea, and who the lab belonged to. Professor Hawthorne had called her 'dear'.

Maybe...maybe because she isn't going to give me a pokemon, she's trying to be nice. That's kind of her, Laqueta thought, trying desperately not to hope. She knew better than to believe anyone would call her 'dear' without an ulterior motive.

Then Teddy asked how he could help her, and for a moment Laqueta disliked him. Then she felt ashamed of herself for it. He looked frightened, and she guessed that he had to ask everyone how he could help them, even if all he was going to do after that was tell them that he couldn't help them.

"I'm here for a pokemon......" Laqueta said softly, her voice trailing off at the end. She tugged at her left middle finger with one hand.

[KITTYWHISKERS]

NEXIVUS LABORATORIES

"I'm here for a pokemon......" Murmured the stranger quietly. Hawthorne peeped out from her computer again, raising a eyebrow slightly. Daffodil appeared with her familiar flowery tray filled with cups of tea. She hurried over to Hawthorne first, allowing her to take the first cup, before scurrying over to the guest and waving the tray at her.

Teddy smiled nervously, "Oh, yes, w-well you've definitely come to the right place, ahahaha!"

[/i] He laughed and it sounded slightly out of place and unnatural. He was looking flat out terrified by now, his fingers tapping away at his hands. Hawthorne leant back a moment, looking at Teddy with a smile.

"Don't be so scared, dear." She said, although it wasn't entirely obvious who she was talking to. "Teddy, the booklets are on the side there." She pointed at the bookcase opposite, where a pile of booklets had been placed. Next to them, there was a pile of pages that showed the current Special Pokemon.

Teddy nodded and trotted over to the bookcase, his stroll gangly and awkward, but he snatched up both bits of paper. He walked back quickly, handing them to the girl. "Um, miss, you can choose any of those pokemon." He said, glancing up at the Professor as if hoping she'd say he was doing all right. She simply nodded, smiling at the girl.

"Anything there take your fancy, sweetheart?"

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[Seas]

Laqueta wasn't sure what to do when the Raichu appeared with the tea tray, but eventually offered the pokemon a small smile and took a cup of tea. She hoped that was what she was supposed to do, and since the Raichu didn't make any gestures at her about it, Laqueta assumed she had done what was expected of her. She looked down at the small, delicate tea cup and thought that the Professor had to be a wonderful person if she gave tea to someone she wasn't giving a pokemon to. Suddenly worried that she was being rude by not drinking the tea, Laqueta took a sip. It was rich and warm on her tongue. She felt a little guilty; it was obviously high quality tea, and the Professor had wasted it on her.

It was easy to tell the Teddy was nervous as he started to speak to her, and Laqueta became far more fond of him. She wanted to say something kind and gentle to him to calm him down, to tell him it was fine, but she couldn't think of the right words. She almost opened her mouth to try regardless, but stopped at the last moment.

Laqueta met the Professor's eyes for just a moment as she reassured Teddy and ducked her head immediately. She wished she was as brave and as smart as the woman who had casually said what she had wanted to say as though it meant nothing. As a result of studying the polished hardwood floor, Laqueta didn't notice the Professor's smile, or where Teddy had gone, until he came back and spoke to her.

She blinked once and then stared at the papers almost in shock, certain this was all some sort of joke and unwilling to believe it. The Professor was so kind, Laqueta couldn't think of her doing something so cruel, and she began to hope that maybe she could have a pokemon, that maybe they didn't know how pathetic she was.

Laqueta knew it wasn't good to lie to people; she knew she should inform them that she was useless and would probably get a pokemon killed, since they didn't seem to know. I'll try harder, she thought fiercely, I'll be better, I'll be good enough for this pokemon. I will. And if I can't, I'll bring the pokemon back.

Laqueta swallowed, refused to let herself think about how many things could go wrong, and reached out an elegant hand with well looked after fingernails to point at the picture of a Buneary.

[NumchucksIsBAMF]

NEXIVUS LABORATORIES

Teddy leaned forward to look at what the girl had chosen. A Buneary, one of their current specials. It didn't take too long for Teddy to realise that by leaning in he was getting in this girls personal space and he promptly and abruptly jumped backwards, muttering an apology. He gulped, suddenly not quite sure what to do. Within a few moments, he looked up at Professor Hawthorne for guidance. She was absorbed in her work by this point, however, so it seemed like it was up to him to work out what to do. He clenched his hands together again and stared at the floor, trying to remember what he was supposed to do. Just as he was about to start really freaking out he heard a telepathic voice enter his head.

< Go and get the pokeballs with the Buneary in them. > Teddy could of cried because of his own stupidity at that point. It was so obvious that he was supposed to get them! Clenching his hands together tighter, he glanced over at Lilac, forcing a small smile to show how thankful he was. Without a word, he scurried off to find the pokeballs, most likely feeding Laqueta's fears.

It took him far to long to find the pokeballs. Not only was he scared witless - something that always made it so much harder to concentrate - but the lab was a complete mess. Eventually he found them under a pile of paper and dashed back out, hoping he wasn't going to get fired for the delay. "Uh-um, I'm sorry it took so long!" he squeaked, not quite meeting her eye, "I couldn't find the pokeballs. But I've found them now, so...!" He released all three Pokemon, forgetting to give a speech about each one of them until the Gardevior reminded him.

"Oh! Uh, right. This is one of our female Buneary. She, uh..." Teddy glanced down at the Pokemon. From the way she was hiding behind her own ears he quickly remembered which one she was. "She's very shy, but once she's your friend she'll do anything for you." He leaned down and scratched her head, causing the Pokemon sigh in content. "She loves Petcha berries; they're basically all she eats."

"This one is our other female. She's a bit more... independent. She never wants to hang around anyone unless it's because they're battling her. It's very hard to win her trust, so it's possible that she'll rarely even look even look at you at first." Proving his point, the Buneary had her head down, glaring at the ground.

"This is out boy. He likes to think he's a bit of a ladies man, though so far he hasn't been doing quite so well. Um, considering that you're female he'll probably take an instant liking to you. Don't worry, though; he'll only try and flirt, and if he gets a little girlfriend he'll probably leave you alone." The Buneary stared up at the human, giving her his most dashing grin.

Teddy glanced over at professor Hawthorne again, expecting her to speak. After a few moments he looked back at the soon-to-be-trainer. "So, um, would you like one?"

[Seas]

Fear trickled down Laqueta's body as she watched Teddy seem to think about what he should be doing, and then quickly leave. He knows I'm lying, she thought, shrinking down into her coat, They know I'm lying, and now I'll never have a pokemon.

Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had known she wasn't going to get a pokemon from the moment she had entered the lab, and she wasn't about to be so weak as to cry about something she had known would happen. Laqueta made a small motion to walk back out of the lab, thinking to save the time it would take to inform her to leave, when Teddy came back with the pokeballs. He stuttered through a sentence about not being able to find the pokeballs, but Laqueta barely heard him. Her heart was beating faster as she stared at the pokeballs, wondering if she was really going to be allowed to have a pokemon, or if this was punishment for her deception.

Then the pokeballs opened and she forgot everything. There were three little Buneary in front of her, beautiful in caramel brown and soft white. She desperately wanted one, and her fingers twitched with the desire to touch one. She only half heard Teddy's descriptions of their personalities, too busy staring. After a few moments he startled her out of her gazing, asking if she wanted one of them.

Laqueta felt as though she was standing on the edge of a cliff, her heart pounding so hard her fingers were shaking, though it didn't show as they were inside her jacket. She glanced over the Buneary again, deciding against the one that Teddy had patted, since she seemed happy where she was, and Laqueta didn't want to change that. She had a harder time choosing between the other girl and boy, but eventually decided on the girl because she appeared unhappy, and the boy's grin made her feel like a liar.

"That one, please," Laqueta replied, so quietly it could barely be heard, pointing at the girl Buneary with her head down. She felt strangely calm after making her choice; whatever happened after this was out of her control.

[KITTYWHISKERS]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; padding: 6 6 6 6px; background-image: url(http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g163/spazzy-lil-fishie/Lolsites/salempurple.gif); -moz-border-radius: 40px 0px 40px 0px; -webkit-border-radius: 40px 0px 40px 0px; border: 1px #F2EFEB dashed;] welcome to nexivus laboratories professor maria hawthorne CHARACTER; professor hawthorne MODERATOR; kitty WORDS; 462 NOTES; roflrofl hawthorne likes twilight! Hawthorne looked up again, watching as Teddy and the almost equally nervous girl sorted out her first pokemon. It was always a pleasure to give them away to people who would benefit from the companionship, and Hawthorne had a feeling that it would definitely help the girl. "That one, please," decided the girl. Hawthorne raised her eyebrows. She rather expected her to choose the pecha-berry loving rabbit. But that was something so delightful about her job; it was so unpredictable. Teddy nodded nervously, returning the buneary's to their pokeballs. His hands shaking slightly, he passed the pokeball containing the chosen starter. "I-I think that's it!" He smiled nervously, looking to Hawthorne for validation. "No, Teddy dear. You need to give her the starter items." She smiled, pulling open her desk and bring out a clipboard. Teddy ran off into the otheer room, woefully embarrassed about forgetting such an important aspect of the process. "All you need to do, dear," said Professor Hawthorne clearly, "Is fill in this short form. It's very simple, no need to worry. It's just for administration purposes." She pulled a face, "And after that you're free to go." Teddy reappeared with the starter items, almost tripping over his own legs in his eagerness to give them to Laqueta. He passed them over and edged back, hovering nervously next to Lilac and bowing slightly at the girl as he looked between Hawthorne and the girl. Congratulations! You have received a BUNEARY! Gender: Female Attacks: Splash, Pound, Defense Curl, Foresight, +1 EGG MOVE. Personality: Fiercely independent. Unfriendly. Untrusting. You may now leave Nexivus Laboratories and go to Featherwing City! "would you like some tea?" art & template by kitty for pkmn nexivus

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[Seas]

Laqueta waited, her breath trapped inside her, for Teddy to decide what to do with the pokeball after returning the pokemon to it. His hands seemed to be shaking a little as he passed the pokeball over to Laqueta, but she barely noticed that, her eyes riveted to the gleaming red, white and black pokeball in her hand. She liked the solid weight of it; it convinced her she wasn't dreaming. Laqueta had her very own pokemon.

I'll take care of you, Laqueta promised to the pokemon inside the ball, I won't let anything happen to you because of me.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the Professor until the clipboard was right in front of her face. Horribly embarrassed at being so rude as to ignore the Professor, even unintentionally, Laqueta took the pen dangling on the clipboard and quickly filled in the blanks. The graceful loops of her writing that had been drilled into her by many tutors looked strange in the common blue ink instead of the lavender ink she normally used, but Laqueta only thought about that for a moment, distracted by Teddy's arrival.

She finished filling in the form and took the items from Teddy, almost wanting to tell them to keep them; she had enough money to buy her own. But she had been instructed as to how to act when receiving a gift, so instead she just murmured a 'thank you'.

Laqueta wondered why Teddy had bowed to her, before remembering that mostly forgotten or not, her family name was one that spoke of wealth and aristocracy. She blushed heavily at this realization, though it only showed as a light dusting of pink on her skin, and bowed deeply to both Teddy and the Professor. She had never felt like a Solaris, and it was always strange to her to be treated as one.

After that, she turned and fled.