In the Beginning... [Done]

[Ava]

…There was an orphanage, the Grove Children’s Home. Or at least, that was the beginning for Ava Vimes. There may have even been a few years before the orphanage but she didn’t like to think about them. Point was, the Grove was the beginning of Ava’s story, and now that she’d left it behind The Middle of the story was eminent… And she was ready. It had only been a few days since leaving the Grove and Ava was already in Nexivus.

It had taken a layover-riddled airplane ride and one looong bus ride to reach Featherwing city, but it was already worth it. The place was beautiful! Ava’s orphanage had been on the outskirts of a rather small town, one which had focused more on practicality than aesthetics. Not to put Laguna down- it was a very kind village in general, in spite of its austere appearance. But the transition between places gave Ava somewhat of a culture shock. The mere fact that she didn’t recognize a single face was unnerving in itself, although the young woman kept a cool head about it. It was this experience that would define who she was, and she wanted that person to be strong and independent!

Chin jutted out, eyebrows drawn severely, and one hand holding the strap of a practical-looking green canvas backpack onto her shoulder, Ava walked purposefully through the town in search of a certain lab she’d been instructed to find. There wasn’t much in her green pack but a small amount of money her friends at the Grove managed to scrounge up for her and a pokeball containing a baby riolu that the matrons at the orphanage had bestowed on her as a parting gift. Ava already tried taking said riolu out of the ball to walk around with as company, but the little guy wasn’t exactly the warm or comforting sort. Ava wasn’t sure if the matrons had realized this before giving him to her.

While musing over this point, the new trainer nearly strolled right by the inconspicuous laboratory, but her keen sense of directions caused her to falter. Looking up from her thoughts, a spark lit her cool grey eyes.

”Finally! God, after this I might just take a nap. I’m so tired my eyes hurt…”

Mumbling, Ava rubbed under her eyes and attempted to smooth out her fiery hair before ringing the door bell to the pleasant looking building. Her heartbeat picked up a little as it seemed to be in the habit of doing right before meeting a new person. Ava took a deep breath in an attempt to slow it down. Hopefully, these “new world” jitters would pass soon, or it was going to start pissing her off…


//OOC hoping for a houndour ^^

[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; tamara finn MODERATOR; kitty WORDS; 272 NOTES; lab aides! :) Hawthorne was out for a few minutes, popping out to the shops in Featherwing to pick up some supplies for the Laboratory. She normally got one of the Aides to do it for her, but today she'd murmured something about getting a new dress and left to do it herself. She'd left Tamara in charge! At last! Well, technically, she'd left Lilac the Gardevoir in charge, but, powerful as she was, she was just a pokemon. She was sitting at Hawthorne's desk, a grin on her face and she flicked through random files on her computer. The Gardevoir floated into the room, peering at Tara in a suspicious way. She closed down the files, wondering if she wasn't supposed to be reading them and gave a nervous smile. She leant back on the chair, gently stroking the Vulpix that was sleeping gently on her lap. Tara blinked stupidly as the doorbell rang. When she made sense of the noise, she gasped. Yes! This was it! Her chance to show Hawthorne that she was more than just an aide! She was going to do it wonderfully! She carefully picked up the Vulpix, who stirred as she was placed on the chair and grumbled sleepily. She strode to the door, opening it wide and giving her best gleaming smile. "Hiya! Welcome to the Laboratory!" She grinned, with a thick southern American accent, "The Professor ain't in right nao, but I kin help you out 'til she gets back. Are ya here for a pokemon?" She looked excited at the thought. She was going to do this wonderfully and maybe she'd even get a promotion! "would you like some tea?" art & template by kitty for pkmn nexivus

[/table]
[/center]

[Ava]

When the door in front of her swung open, Ava started. However, she recovered quickly and returned Tara’s smile in kind. Whoever the girl was, as she apparently wasn’t the professor, she seemed very friendly. It put Ava at ease. Readjusting her backpack on her shoulders and brushing a few strands of red hair out of her eyes, Ava responded automatically, ”Yes I am! My name’s Ava Vimes, I just got here from Sinnoh. What did you say your name was…?” Politely smiling and holding out a hand in offer of a handshake, Ava awaited the girl’s reply. Her own voice had unfortunately sounded a bit mechanical, due to the fact that she’d gone through this process of introduction and explanation numerous times in the past couple days on her way over here. However, the light in her eyes was genuine. This was where her journey would begin.

”I was told this was the place to go if a trainer wants to explore Nexivus,” Ava continued, peeking inside the rather quaint and unassuming lab. To be honest she had expected something a bit more... official looking. Not that the place wasn’t nice, but it didn’t quite fit into the mold Ava had imagined a pokemon lab would look like. ”Um... What kind of pokemon do you offer here? I never did find out that part.”

Grey eyes flicked back to the lab aide; curiosity, exhaustion and eagerness jumped around for attention in the back of Ava’s mind and it made it difficult for Ava to focus. Oh well... Just a little bit longer and she could take her two new pokemon for a nap. Not a long one, of course! She wasn’t lazy. But... a little afternoon nap sounded nice. Not to mention doing a bit of laundry, although she didn't have a house so how that would happen was currently a mystery. But Ava had worn the same pair of black skinny jeans, yellow spaghetti strap shirt, and loose grey hoodie since she'd left the Grove, and taking the black hiking boots off for a while would also follow under the aforementioned "nice" list of things to do. Oh, the plans she had for her future! Simply grand.

[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; tamara finn MODERATOR; kitty WORDS; 305 NOTES; :) ”Yes I am! My name’s Ava Vimes, I just got here from Sinnoh. What did you say your name was…?” Tara grinned at the girl, admiring her fiery hair, "Oh, yep, ma name's Tamara, but most people call ma Tara for some reason." She welcomed the girl in, talking avidly to herself, "Oh, I went ta Sinnoh on holiday once, it's a pretty nice region. Not as pretteh as Nexivus o' course, but it's less dangerous." "I was told this was the place to go if a trainer wants to explore Nexivus,” Ava continued, looking around the laboratory, ”Um... What kind of pokemon do you offer here? I never did find out that part.” "Yes ma'am, you got told correct. Nexivus Labs is the best in tha whole region! We've got the biggest variety o' starter pok'mon here so there'd be summink for ev'ryone!" She nodded placing her hands on her hips. This was going fine, wasn't it? Nothing possibly could go wrong and she'd definitely be up there in the ranks of Lab Aides! Lilac rolled her eyes. This girl was always so excitable, she rather reminded her of Rose. "Now, lemme just grab this.." She grabbed a booklet from the bookcase, shoving it under the nose of the trainer-to-be, her eagerness making her awareness of personal space disappear. "Them's the pok'mon we 'ave 'ere. I 'speshly like the fire types but the Prof likes a variety." She leant over the desk, stroking the back of her Vulpix who let out a slight squeak as she yawned and stretched. "The Special pok'mon are pretteh limited, but we've still got all o' 'em if ya wanted." She crossed her as with a slight air of impatience. She was determined to do this so well, why was Ava taking so long to make a decision? "Any o' them you'd like ta see?" "would you like some tea?" art & template by kitty for pkmn nexivus

[/table]
[/center]

[Ava]

Ava didn’t mind Tara’s energy, instead finding it rather contagious. Her “new people” stiffness melted away, leaving a tired, smiling girl in its wake. Following Tara into the small, homey lab, Ava took the opportunity to look around a bit more; spotting the gardevoir watching her and Tara closely, Ava nodded her head in greeting. She wondered briefly if the pokemon could communicated telepathically, as she’d heard that it was possible but had never experienced it for herself.

There her mind was wandering again! Ava snapped back in focus, just as Tara shoved some booklet under her nose. Slowly taking it from the other girl’s hands, Ava blinked and zoned back into the conversation: ”Any o’ them you’d like ta see?” It took another moment for the words to sink in – the accent was getting a bit tough to listen to – but as soon as they did Ava began to leaf through the booklet. She already had an idea in mind of what kind of pokemon she wanted: tough and loyal. Hence, the first pokemon that stood out on the page was houndour.

”Would I be able to see your houndours?” Ava inquired, her mechanically polite voice coming back into play. She was still a bit thrown off from the exhaustion, wondering about the gardevoir, trying to understand Tara’s accent… At this point her mind grabbed hold of one idea and squeezed tight, just trying to make it through. She needed her starter pokemon. Her steely eyes watched Tara unblinking as they had a habit of doing, especially when Ava was concentrating.



// Seriously sucky post. Sorry for the rush-y-nes >< Wanted to get this in before work~

[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; tamara finn MODERATOR; kit WORDS; 562 NOTES; i can't decide if i prefer derpy!dour or lovesickpuppy. ”Would I be able to see your houndours?” asked the girl, and Tara beamed at the girl's decision, "Mighty fine tastes there, miss!" She exclaimed, "You're a fan o' fire types too I bet. Ain't they just amayzing? So pretty an' strong!" She jumped up, clapping her hands together as she did so. "You just stay 'ere, miss. I'll just go get 'em for ya!" She grinned, vanishing at a run into one of the back rooms. She looked up at the rows and rows of the pokeballs, a hunger expression in her eyes. Yep, this was it, her great chance to shine and show Hawthorne once and for all just how wonderful she was. Her grin flickered slightly as she realised she didn't really know where the houndour pokeballs were kept. A frown flashed on her lips as she felt her first strings of panic. She'd been so eager, so excited to prove herself, she hadn't even considered what would happen if it all went wrong. She started to chew her nails, as she always did when she was nervous as she walked along the rows. She knew the Professor had a specific system of organisation, decided upon by the little Audino who handled most of the Professor's organisation. Now, where was it. Her eyes flickered to a little sticker on the front of a pokeball which read 'budew' in neat handwriting. She gasped, looking to the left and reading 'oddish'. So that meant all the grass types were here. That meant the water must be, ah yes there they were, so the fire types... Aha! She grinned as she snatched up the first three houndour balls she could see and ran back to the girl waiting in the other room. "Sorry for takin' so long!" she exclaimed, although she'd probably been gone no longer than two minutes. "Uh, 'ere are our 'oundours!" She released all three pokemon and bit her nails again as she tried to remember the personalities of the different canines. One bounded up to Ava, sniffing as her ankles, then barking loudly at her, then drifting over to Tara who patted her back, then rolled on the floor. Tara giggled, "Oh yeah! This girl just can't stay still for a minute! She's always on tha move, the little hyperactive monster. She needs someone with high energy to keep 'er on 'er toes!" The second drifted over to the vulpix, sniffing at her gently and then barking loudly in her face. The fox yelped, jumping out from her slumber and hissing loudly at the houndour. "This pok'mon would make an awesome guard dog! He's so alert and powerful. A bit o' a joker though, but that just add ter 'is charm!" The third looked up at Ava with big eyes. He walked around, before flattening himself on the ground with a huff. Tara frowned a little. "Oh, yeah. He's been rather melancholy as o' late. We think he 'ad a bit o' a soft spot for one o' the vulpixes, but she got adopted about a week ago. He needs some love an' adventure to distract 'im. When he's not such a lovesick puppy, he's great fun, a bouncy lil' thing who get on wiv most other pok'mon. She bent down next to him and rubbed his back. He looked up and panted slightly. "What do ya think?" "would you like some tea?" art & template by kitty for pkmn nexivus

[/table]
[/center]

[Ava]

Ava nodded distractedly as Tara vanished to grab the houndour pokeballs. While the other girl was gone, Ava found a chair and fell back into it, sighing happily. Oh, her feet… this felt so good. By the time Tara returned, the new trainer had almost fallen asleep. Jolted back awake by the bright, heavily accented voice, Ava jumped to her feet in surprise. ”Oh! Yeah, not a problem, didn’t even notice…” Her voice faded as the three dog pokemon were let out of the pokeballs.

The first houndour bounded immediately over to her, and Ava grinned down at the energetic pup. She admired the fire type’s abundance of life. The pups energy would certainly be a benefit during their long travels and training; however, the second houndour especially caught Ava’s attention—specifically, the words ‘guard, alert, powerful’. He sounded perfect. And the extra bit about him being a joker only sealed the deal. She already had one pokemon that was cold and focused; one that could liven up the situation would be highly appreciated.

In her exhaustion Ava barely even heard the last bit about the mourning houndour. Her mind didn’t even entertain the possibility of adopting the last pup, although it was to the pup’s benefit. The trainer was awful enough with her Riolu—sure, she’d probably get along much better with this houndour, but she didn’t put up well with lovesickness.

With tired satisfaction, Ava answered Tara: ”The second one sounds perfect, thanks…” She looked over at the alert pokemon, who was watching her in kind. Yes, they’d get along just fine.

[| odysseus]

Tara could not help but give a large grin as Ava examined the laboratory’s array of Houndour. It was apparent that the girl was carefully considering the personality of each Pokémon and how it would coincide with her own…up until the third. To be stark honest that irritated Tamara: the third was her favorite! Although it may have not have been up to cuddling and play-fighting in its current state of mind, he could offer so many things the first two could not. But it was whatever, it could not be helped any further. It was not a laboratory assistance place to make such a life-changing decision for someone else. So instead she clasped her hands behind her back and looked on thoughtfully until Ava passed her final judgment. Tara smiled and nodded at her choice, it was her job! “Aw! I ain’t gon’ lie, I took’n a liken to ‘em. But he’s all yurs.” It took the poor woman longer than it should have to get the three Houndour’s in their appropriate Poké Ball, but she finally managed to get it right and handed over the chosen Houndour’s Poké Ball to Ava, a smile upon her lips. “Ere ya go, gud luck!”

You've received a Houndour.

Male/Female
Level: Five
Howl | Ember | Leer | (Egg Move of Your Choice)