[FIN] What was lost...

[TawnyAngel]

Aulus lounged back on his bed (neatly made thanks to Char), half watching a live broadcast of a small battle tournament in Camphoreon and half writing up mission notes for a report. The report wasn’t due for another week but he wanted to get it in a couple of days early if he could; if you wanted to get promoted to elite you couldn’t exactly do the bare minimum. Reaching over to his bedside table absently the scarred Agent took hold of a cup of tea and brought it to his lips.

“Blegh,” he pulled a face, “gone cold.” Still looking thoroughly unimpressed he set it down on the floor next to his bed, and Tortie roused herself from her doze to start lapping at it; she happened to prefer tea when it was warm or cool as opposed to hot. Leaving her to it Aulus tapped the end of his pen thoughtfully against his notepad wearing his best Thoughtful Frown that looked really quite murderous to the uninitiated. After a few moments he muttered something under his breath and scribbled down another good sentence before he forgot it.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

There was a knock on Aulus's door.

On the other side of said door stood Claire, looking fresh after a shower after a long day of work after morning training after an early breakfast after an early morning swim. After an even earlier morning shower. After Azdeif woke her up by jumping onto her face.

Now, though, her busy day was complete (although she did debate going to train some more) and she wanted to see if Aulus was free to spend the rest of it with. Preferably with a movie and popcorn. Mmm, popcorn.

Zeus, who was perched on her shoulder, was having similar food-related thoughts.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Char, get it."

Char looked up from the card game he was playing (the rules weren't clear to Aulus but he seemed to enjoy whatever he was up to) and rumbled deep in his chest as he got to his feet. Head ducked down to approximately average human level he stumped over to the door and pulled it open enough to snake his head out. When he took in the identity of the visitors he said; "Charrrr!" in pleased tones and pulled the door all the way open, stepping out of the way to let the lady inside.

From the cheerful greeting and the fact that the door had been opened right away Aulus knew that his visitor was one of two people; either of them was worthy of the smile that spread across his face. "Claire!" he called as he spotted her. "Come in, I was just working on this report... but I can do it later, it's not due for a week yet." He could carry on with his head start tomorrw.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Thank you Char," the agent said with a smile and reached up to rub at one of his head knobs as she stepped inside. "Hello Tortie," she offered to the Absol, but refrained from petting her while she was drinking. That would be bad.

Zeus jumped off her shoulder and onto the floor, and Claire flopped down on Aulus's bed and leaned over to bump his shoulder with a bright grin. "Look at you, getting a head start on things. Did you work today?"

The Pikachu made a face at his trainer's behavior and settled down near the bed so he wouldn't be able to turn and accidentally have to look at them.  

[TawnyAngel]

Rumbling again Char pushed the door carefully closed again, bowed his head to Claire and then headed back to his game. Tortie spared the black-haired women only a glance, but her change in attitude towards her was clear in that it wasn't a glare. She was getting used to having to share Aulus, more or less.

"Hehe, well I can't let Hayes outrank me forever now can I?" Aulus grinned, setting his work aside and reach his arm around Claire to give her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Yes though, I had an early shift; I was helping out with some Trainees, so help me. I swear, between the ten of them they had an IQ of eighty or so. How's your day been though? Any idiots to deal with?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Claire stuck her tongue out at him. "Hope you're not trying to get promoted before me," she said playfully. His words made her laugh though. "Really? That is pretty bad. And I didn't, thankfully. But then, I'm not training anybody," the agent finished with a shrug. She was very glad she didn't have to train anybody.

"So what're you watching? Or just using it for background noise?" She asked after a few moments, indicating the TV with a brief gesture.  

[TawnyAngel]

“Heh, true enough,” Aulus replied with a rueful grin; it was easier to think about the idiots with good humor when Claire was around. She made life in general better actually, just by being around.

s**t that was sappy.

“Background noise really,” Aulus shrugged, “it’s just some tournament going on in Camphoreon.” As he spoke the scarred Agent looked back at the screen, just in time to see the camera pan past one of the competing trainers. The good humored set of Aulus’ face vanished with the abruptness of a gunshot to be replaced first with shock and then rage. “Him!”  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The agent focused on the TV as Aulus spoke, and his sudden and unexpected reactions startled her. She glanced from him to the TV and back again, brows raised and thoroughly confused, then back to the show once more to try and figure out who this 'him' was. "Who? What's wrong?"

Zeus completely ignored the both of them in favor of a nap.  

[TawnyAngel]

"Him!" Aulus repeated unhelpfully. White faced with fury he scrambled off the bed and moved closer to the TV, as if it could bring him within striking distance of the object of his loathing.

"He did this to me," he snarled, spinning to look at Claire again and gesturing sharply to the livid scar across his face. "This, and my leg, and my chest, and he stole Phaethon!" And there he stood, bold as brass on live television like he had a right to the crowd's cheers, like had had a right to be alive!

[And it looks like 'Insectum' is calling Yanmega back in the face of Glaceon! What will he field instead?] exclaimed the commentator. Then there was whoosh of a pokeball activating, followed by a furious bellow. A brown Rapidash with golden flames stood in the center of the pitch, snorting stamping with eyes wild and embers flying from its blazing mane and tail.

Aulus turned slowly back to the screen, if anything looking paler than before. "...Phaeth?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Claire's brows rose even higher, if such a thing were even possible, and she focused on the screen again. She noted the focus of Aulus's fury, some unnamed man (because ******** if she would call 'Insectum' a name; ridiculous), and the pretty Rapidash he let out. Phaethon.

The agent pursed her lips. "Is this live?"  

[TawnyAngel]

"Yes it's bloody live, and he is dead!" Aulus snarled, grabbing his pokeballs to return his pokemon and clipping them to his belt before moving to grab his bike jacket, which worked equally well for staying warm when flying. "I am going to go over there, and I am going to kill him and I am taking Phaeth back!"

There was no real thought behind his words or movements, no logic, just passion and long carried pain and hatred. He tried to do up the zipper on his coat but his hands were shaking and he couldn't look at them because his eyes were fixed on the screen as his beloved friend, his first friend, screamed in rage and frustration and charged at the Glaceon with a Flare Blitz.

"I hatched him," he mumbled as he struggled with the zip, tears starting to well up in his blood red eyed. "I was the first thing he ever saw. He was my friend. He was everything, and that b*****d took him away and what has he done to him?" He blinked and his vision blurred. He swiped away the tears and fought harder against the stupid zip. Everything about the way the fire type moved was wrong, and the expression on his face when the camera zoomed in on him broke his heart. Rage and pain, and nothing else.

"I have to get him back!" Aulus gave up on that zip and finally tore his gaze away from the screen to look at Claire again. White hot rage sang through his veins and contorted his face, even as fresh tears spilled over and started to trek down his cheeks. "I'm going to kill that b*****d, live on television if I have to!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Claire stood and moved over to him as he raged and spoke and tried in vain to zip up his jacket, so she gently moved his hands away to do it for him quite easily. Despite how angry and enraged he was, she was still perfectly calm. "No, you're not going to kill him on live TV," she corrected him as she returned Zeus to his ball and clipped it to her belt, "we're both going to fly there and wait for him to be done, if he isn't already by the time we get there, and then you can kill him when no one else is around to see and call the cops or the League. Alright?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Aulus made a vague choked noise and pulled Claire into a tight hug, though even distressed as he was he remained aware of his strength and was careful not to make it too tight. "You're brilliant," he muttered, "brilliant and sensible and... thank you." Wiping his eyes again he grabbed Red's pokeball and nodded sharply. "Let's go, there's only a few matches left and who knows where he might go afterwards. I can't lose him."

It all almost felt unreal. He had resigned himself to never seeing Phaeth again but there he was on the screen, fighting brilliantly but full of bitterness and hate. He had to save him and bring him home.... Yes, he supposed based was home now mainly because of the people it contained.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The hug was unexpected, but certainly not unwanted, and she returned it with a smile and a peck on his cheek. "Thank me after we get Phaeth back." That was it, wasn't it? Phaeth, or Phaethon. "Let me get the rest of my team first. Meet me outside?" That said, she removed herself from his hug and his room to run down to her own and grab a jacket as well as the rest of her pokeballs for who she thought she'd need.

It was a very few minutes before Claire found herself outside, and she loosed Odette immediately and got on her right after, ready to go find this jerk and beat him up. Well, she figured Aulus would do most of the beating, she could just watch. And laugh.  

[TawnyAngel]

It didn't take him long to get ready. Boots on: light weight and flexible, much easier to run about in than his heavy buckled pair. Pokeballs: all in order. New staff: clipped onto his belt with the pokeballs. Taking Red's ball back off his belt he strode outside, as tense, intense and predatory as a stalking feline.

Spotting Odette he released Red; the look he gave his Pidgeot stilled her in the motion of flaunting herself for the other flying type. He didn't have time for that today. "Thank you," Aulus said again as he came up beside Claire. "Let's go." There was no time to waste; climbing up onto Red's back and taking a firm grip he urged the Pidgeot into the sky.