[PRP] Welcome to the Team

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

A Rocket grunt lingered outside of the trainee lockers curiously, having just gotten word that a new wave of recruits had signed up as members of the criminal organization. As a lover of humans and an information broker, Grunt Nakura could not pass up the ideal opportunity to meet and get to know as many as he could. It was a large part of the reason he himself had joined over a year ago, now - to find out what made these human criminals tick.

With the hoodie of his fur-trimmed parka up, the 5'9" man leaned against a pillar of the hall, patiently awaiting when the trainees would be let out for the day. He had already had his phone out, passing the time by looking up profiles of various new additions to the Team Rocket Database, making mental notes of names and faces. A gleeful grin drew back his thin lips. They hadn't had new recruits in a while and he hadn't recently had much time off on his own to enjoy his favorite hobby of observing humans. This was going to be so much fun~  

[AyoraPandora]

Triste had been waiting for all the others to leave. It was anxiety. She knew, but she still was doing nothing about it. People were just... there. They really didn't mean anything. She shivered as she finished gathering her things and walked slowly toward the door, the empty locker room echoing her lonely footsteps.

Her tired eyes spied the door handle and she pushed it, walking through the portal without looking. That's when she bumped into the tall parka wearing somebody as she turned sharply into the hallway. Her eyes widened as she looked up and up and then into his shadowed face. She swallowed and looked down ready to head off in the opposite direction. This was too much for her... should she apologize or just run off?

Much like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming tractor trailer she froze, indicisiveness stopping her in her tracks. What to do... what to do...  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Though he had pretended to be too busy on his phone to notice, the informant watched the majority of the trainees leave the locker rooms in small crowds, regarding them out the corner of his eye. There wasn't anyone of any particular interest who stood out to him...at least until someone walked straight into him.

His crimson eyes abruptly looked up from his phone screen, genuinely startled. He had been expecting to find someone interesting, not for someone interesting to find him. The young man's usual smile returned to his face; the sort that concealed emotions rather than expressed them. The shadow of his fur-trimmed hood seemed only to add to the suspicious air that seemed a part of his demeanor.

Seeming to realize this, the grunt pulled back the sinister hood when the girl caught sight of his face. He didn't want to scare her off so soon, after all, and she certainly appeared to be the skittish short. "Well, well!" He cried jovially. "So you've completed another day of training, have you? Congratulations!" The male Rocket beamed.

"That workout is tough - take it from someone who knows; I had to go through it twice - but the fun you have later is worth it." He winked and held out a hand. "Grunt Nakura. It's a pleasure to meet a new face around here. The same old boring Rockets get dull after a time...they become so predictable. New recruits are just what we need to liven things up."  

[AyoraPandora]

She smiled, or what to her was the closest she could bring her face to doing, and a small pained grimace seemed to paint itself across her lips. She looked down as she began to speak, "I'm Triste... I mean Trainee Triste?" she ended the sentence slowly and with an unsure tone.

That sounded stupid even to her. She knew she wasn't giving a good first impression, and after getting here late she knew she was obviously off to a bad start. His hand shot out and she immediately tugged her hands behind her back and started to wring them furiously, twisting the fingers so tightly that she felt them turning slightly cooler. "it's a pleasure to meet you Nakura," Was she studdering? She couldn't tell, "The work was tough, but I'm sure I'll get through it. There are worse things, right?"

She didn't feel as confident as her words she recited. The same words she had said many times before since... that time, but They had been forced down her throat and regurgitated many many times before. So many times that it seemed as if they were habit now. She wondered if she could break it as she began to drift off into her own head.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Triste-chan," Nakura said, as if trying out the name. "How cute~! No need to worry about titles around me, haha. I'm not one of those stiff higher-ups who concerns themselves with such trivialities."

He didn't seem phased by what Triste seemed to believe was not a good impression. On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying himself. This girl was, he felt, quite a contrast to the tight-lipped, bad-tempered, down-to-business Rockets he was usually surrounded by.

Triste's reaction to his offered hand caused him to raise a brow with a mix of confusion and amusement. Was she like Frost and just didn't want to touch him, or was she just so mistrustful as to not want to return the handshake? Perhaps it was something else altogether, but whatever it was, it intrigued Nakura. "Is it?" he asked with a giggle, referring to her claim that it was a pleasure meeting him. "You seem awfully nervous...was it something I said?"

He toyed with the idea of responding to her question about worse things, but given the state she seemed to be in, he decided against it. She didn't need more stress than she already had worrying about things like some of the higher ups' tempers and the threat of demotions or the brig.

"Triste-chan, there's no need to be so uptight with me," the grunt assured her, his friendly expression now punctuated by a certain amount of pity. "How about I buy you lunch, eh? What do you like to eat?"

What had they done to this poor girl? Hopefully it wasn't a result of the training she'd been going through. The last time Nakura had seen a fellow Rocket this paranoid was when that kid with pokephobia had first joined.  

[AyoraPandora]

Triste untangled her hands only to find one twisting its way into her long dark hair. She swallowed. No one had ever invited her to eat before... or used the suffix "chan" for her name. Well, the latter had been used when she was little. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary though. She brought her finger, hair still twisted around it, up to her mouth and nibbled on it for a moment as she thought. It wouldn't be a bad thing? But it could be horrible at the same time. What if she said something and he used it against her later? This was a criminal organization after all... She swallowed again, then sighed as she looked up into his eyes, "I'm not good with people." she said simply.

This interaction was getting out of her comfort zone. Food and talking?! Who did that other than older people that seemed to have a good grip on reality! She looked away, unable to hold the gaze for more than a few moments. "I'm sorry... I'm just not good at talking."

She turned to walk away. Inside she really wanted to have him stop her, but it was just not something that wouldn't ever happen. She wasn't someone to be liked or talked too. She didn't deserve it.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

While taking careful note of her body language and nervous mannerisms, Nakura's smile did not falter. When she finally uttered a reason for her behavior, he sneered and his smile only broadened.

"Ah, is that all? Then you'll be happy to know the majority of us Rockets aren't, present company included. I really love people, but I seem to have the consistent tendency to get on peoples' nerves for some reason," he merrily explained.

"Honest, though, I don't bite~ My partner doesn't like people or talking either; she much prefers the company of her robots, but I'm sociable and talkative enough for the both of us." When she looked away, however, he realized he was starting to lose her. This one sure seemed slippery; even more so than Frost had been.

"Eh...? Where are you going?" he asked as she turned to leave. "Neh, Triste-chan, answer me this - is it really 'people' you're not comfortable with, or is it just me?" His tone became more serious, his mirthless smile disappearing from his face when her back was to him. "Why did you join Team Rocket if you're not ready to trust your own teammates? We may be criminals, but if there's anyone we should be able to put our faith in, it's each other."

Arceus, he never thought he'd be spouting this sort of thing. Perhaps Faleen's sense of team was getting to him or something. "Doesn't that make sense? It's a lonely and harsh enough world out there already."  

[AyoraPandora]

The words hid a chord somewhere inside of her and she stopped mid-step. She slowly lowered her foot as she took a deep breath. This was her chance at working towards getting social again. She exhaled the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Triste quickly turned around and looked at him, "Please excuse my brash impoliteness," she said as she bowed apologetically, "It's an honor that you are taking the time dealing with someone like me."

Her tired blue-grey orbs staring strait and her face returning to it's default expression. She nervously twisted her fingers into her hair as she considered what exactly to do. The offer for food was still there, but she figured accepting that now would be awkward. She didn't know if she could sit though that right now, if ever. She tucked her hair behind one of her ears; then, as she put her arm back down, she carefully brushed her pokeball. Her Jigglypuff wouldn't be this bad in the situation she was in...  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

He blinked at the girl's response. Then, going back over in his mind what he'd said to her, he realized how she might have taken his words.

"Hehehe...Ah, I hope you understand I wasn't attempting to scold you or anything like that. I'm hardly a higher rank than you and I've known Rocket agents younger than either of us. The system of respect and authority doesn't work the same way here as it might elsewhere, so please just regard me like you would any other person. No need for the excessive use of politeness and formality; it actually makes me somewhat uneasy." He pat her bowed head playfully.

Sensing her inner conflict, the smile returned to Nakura's face, more amused this time. "Just so you know, I was asking a legitimate question because I'm genuinely curious. It's perfectly understandable if you're not comfortable with me. I just wanted to know if it was just me or if it's everyone. I'm not comfortable with placing blind trust in complete strangers either, especially not just because we both wear a big red 'R'."

Gaze flickering to the minute motion of brushing her pokeball, the grunt inwardly grimaced. He disliked pokemon immensely and he hoped he could avoid her calling one out if he could help it. Aside from that, that very fact that she would even consider releasing one suggested that he was harassing her to the point that she was more comfortable setting a pokemon on him than calmly communicating with him in order to get him to go away. Not good signs.

"Tell you what...how about we forget lunch and go take a walk outside?"  

[AyoraPandora]

Triste nodded and did her best to escape the confines of the self imposed politeness that was apparently haunting her. How had she changed so much in the years since he died? Her mind started to wonder, thoughts of playing tag and swinging invading her mind. When he started talking again she realized she'd drifted off and tried to pay attention. Comfort levels... "It is difficult." she said quietly, "It's also difficult to stray from... forced habits when one is uncomfortable."

She hoped that was a good enough explanation. It probably wasn't. She never explained things correctly.

Sighing the new recruit considered a walk outside as opposed to food. It was a better idea, she figured as she weight pro's and con's in her head. She could at least run away easier if they were outside. "That sounds," she paused trying to think of the right word, "alright?" it sounded so hesitant and confused to her.

"I mean," she started again trying to sound more confident, "I think I would like that. I am still kind of new here and want to make sure that I know where everything is... I guess."

He was nice. It wasn't fair that she was so skiddish. Even she knew she would burn more connections than make them if she kept to her old ways... and besides, this was so she could be more better with everything. She had to try.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"That's why I wanted to know what was making you uncomfortable," the crimson-eyed man laughed. "But it's perfectly fine~ I've been told I have that effect on people a lot." He supposed he could figure out eventually if she was like this around everyone or just him. Maybe just specific people. Or maybe because she was new, still. If he observed her long enough, he knew he'd get his answer in time.

Grinning at her first and second responses, the informant giggled and headed toward the nearest exit. "Perfect. I've been itching to practice a little more parkour lately. Haven't had much time, though." Swinging open the door, he skipped out merrily into the sunshine of day, his fur-trimmed parka flailing in his wake.  

[AyoraPandora]

She started walking after him, "I don't believe I know what that is...," she mumbled as she blinked in the bright sunlight, "Is it something you do in a park? Park-core?" she mused out loud.

She swung her legs in a steady rhythm as she rubbed her eyes for a moment, "As for discomfort, a lot of things make me uncomfortable. Mostly interaction socially... changes... this is even making me uncomfortable, but... I think I can trust you?" she let the end of her voice trail up with a questioning inflection at the end.

This was very confusing. 'What am I doing with my life?' she thought to herself as she twisted an end of her hair around her fingers.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Nakura laughed aloud. "You are so cute, Triste-chan!" Nakura cried. "Actually, parkour is a French term and is more a sort of...art. An urban art, if you like. Practiced parkour-users, or traceurs, can move through the everyday obstacles of an urban environment by thinking on their feet and negotiating a little here and there. It's also known as Freerunning."

He looked up at the tall structure of the base, sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of the desert. "Not like there're too many obstacles to overcome out here, but something it better than nothing." The skinny man nimbly leapt onto the ledge of a window and, from there, onto the top ledge of the closed door they had just come through. Had someone decided to open it at that moment, he would probably have fallen to the ground and hurt himself, but that didn't seem to occur to or bother him.

With arms out to balance himself and steady his body against the wall, he carefully walked the narrow ledge like a tightrope. "Ahh...and why would this right now in particular be a problem? Because it's social interaction between you and I?" he asked, keeping his eyes on his feet. "I imagine the change to transfer into Team Rocket must have been difficult in itself."

He spared a moment to glance her way. "May I ask why you joined and put yourself through such changes? Was it voluntary, or necessary?"  

[AyoraPandora]

Her mouth was gaping open. She could feel it. She'd never have the courage to do something like that! Quickly she remedied the fly catching expression she had by pulling her bottom lip into her mouth and chewing on it. It was obvious he was more than what he seemed to be. She couldn't be anything other than amazed.. and slightly worried for his safety, "That's... that's just... dangerous," she felt kind of sick, "You should come down."

Triste took a deep breath to steady herself and stop from freaking out. He had to be used to this if he were doing it, right? She tried to focus on what he was actually saying, "Yes, the interaction. Social is not what I am."

She looked away unable to keep her eyes on him and, to her, his death defying stunts. "I don't know if I want to talk about it right now. I can't think well with all of this going on. You're going to hurt yourself," it all came out in a jumbled rush of sentences.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Grinning, the informant crouched on his perch. "Dangerous? Triste-chan, if you think this is dangerous, you should try insulting one of the higher-ups. That's real danger. One of them even threw a pokemon at me not ten minutes after I met him." Leaping onto a nearby drainpipe, he slid down. "But if it makes you uncomfortable...I'll be nice this once. We just have to be sure to toughen you up a bit before your first raid."

With his feet firmly back on the ground, he dusted off his hands before clasping them together and holding them up against his cheek like a love-sick fangirl. "So you do care about me! Enough to worry about my well-being. Aw, Triste-chan, I'm so touched." He playfully blew her a kiss.

"Okay, so you don't like social interaction. I'm assuming you're referring to verbal exchange." Still beaming at her with a grin that threatened to split his face, the black-haired man put an arm about her shoulders. "What about...physical contact?" he asked slyly, turning his head to whisper directly into her ear.