[ORP] Not-So-Silent Night [Rockets]

[BlackFireKitsune]

[Seth]

She settled the tray more comfortably on one hand when he'd taken what he wanted from it, and didn't comment on his first statement. She'd said she didn't expect him more to have something polite to say, not that she had expected any sort of announcement that he would be attending. It wasn't like he was the boss or anything - but then if the boss did attend, would he announce it? She wasn't sure.

"Agent Claire," she supplied readily when he asked, offering a short, respectful salute with it. "I'm a field agent." Which would explain why he probably didn't remember her - she wasn't in his department when he worked on base, so he had no need to. He wasn't her direct superior anyway.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Claire]

Seth hummed lowly and nodded when she told him her position. Ah yes, field agents. Typically the kind that didn't excel in any one department, but he was still a bit curious. This girl was bold enough to approach him, even after apparently known who he was. Even after being gone for so long. He wasn't wearing his uniform after all, but instead a suit. It was for those simple facts that she interested him.

"I see. Do you have any particular skills?"

The Luxray at his side was looking a little bored, but the Pokémon dutifully sat next to Seth's legs as it appeared they wouldn't be moving anywhere right away. A soft jingle filling the air as he did so.  

[Shawn Darrow]

[Asch]

When Shadow returned, he set down the plates and drinks at a small table and went to go retrieve Lindsay as well as to fetch Asch. His Jolteon greeted him with a happy bark as he picked her up once more. "Um, Agent," he called to the red-haired musician, not daring to address him by name in case it was the wrong one.

"I got you some dinner over there. I know you're busy, but you should probably take a longer break than just a few minutes in order to eat, right?" About that time, Lindsay began to squirm a little in Shadow's arms and a growl emerged from deep within her throat, but he was too occupied with getting Asch to eat to notice.

--------------------

[Jerome, Bro]

A familiar, red-eyed Haunter appeared beside Bro and Jerome, giving the former a scolding look for what he'd done to his trainer's tie. Shaking his large head, the ghost moved to fix Jerome's tie himself, glad to make use of his dismembered, clawed hands for once. No offense to Bro, but with as stubby as his were, Haunter wasn't too surprised at his lack of success with the tie. he asked Bro in even tones.

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[Kratos, Asch, Seth, Rory, Tambrey, Jerome, Anyone Giving Off Bad Emotions]

Bro and Haunter weren't the only ghostly presences around. Lindsay was unhappy enough with Haunter stalking her precious trainer and with Bro freaking him out, but if there was one kind of being she hated more, it was other females. A strange new Shuppet had turned up in the training room and was floating about unseen. For the most part, at least. A small Polaroid camera hung by a strap around the little ghost's neck.

While she was invisible, the camera simply appeared to float about on its own, but from time to time it would be set down on a surface - a book case, a table, a chair, a speaker - and a tell-tale 'click' would be accompanied by flash. Most of these flashes seemed to be aimed at the less-than-pleased-to-be-present people, though as there were quite a few of those scattered about the place, it was difficult to track down the source before a flash went off elsewhere.

The Polaroid pictures themselves simply fell to the floor as candid camera shots of unhappy faces. There was the anti-social Kratos, the grumpy-looking Asch, the stern-faced Seth, the annoyed Jerome with Bro, and even the nervous couple of Tambrey and Rory. Someone seemed like they were enjoying themselves.  

[Blood_Goddess]

(Haunter)

Jerome wasn't having any luck getting his tie straightened out, he was to the point of just taking it off, and seeing if he got kicked out for just not having a tie on, when another large purple form drifted over, and with two large disembodied hands took over the tie struggle for him.

surprised at first, until he looked up to see the familiar Haunter.
"... sup'" He nodded, lowering his hands away from his neck.

Bro' crossed his arms, watching with intrigue at the Haunter's hands.
 

[Shawn Darrow]

[Jerome, Bro]

The Haunter nodded respectfully to the ex-gang member, glancing a little at the man's arm as he did so. He still remembered when they'd broken into the Galactic base to rescue the Rockets kept prisoner there and how Jerome's arm had been in very bad shape at the time. Vaguely, he wondered how the traceur was healing, but could not ask. Thus he moved back once he was finished with the tie in order to give the man some room.

Turning to the Gengar, Shadow's ghost smirked. His smirk was replaced by a frown as a flash of light caught his attention out the corner of his vision.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

[Seth, Eris]

Claire's eyebrows rose very slightly at his question. Either he was making small talk, or he was being a little tactless in asking about qualifications in the middle of a party. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the former, so she complied as best she could with a question like that on short notice. "Associated to working in the field? Pokemon training, stealth and reconnaissance." Playing the piano was a skill she was sure wasn't applicable, nor what he'd meant when he asked.

A sudden flash of light made her blink several times, and she turned her head quickly in time to see... what she thought was-- no, it couldn't have been, but it.... It looked like a floating camera. There was no other explanation for a flash of light than being associated with a camera.

Claire pursed her lips. Cameras were not allowed. Especially not in a party she was helping to run. She switched the tray to her other hand and reached into the folds of her dress to pull out a pokeball. The bright flash of white light morphed into a Pikachu, who looked up at her with a rather displeased expression. "Zeus, there's a camera floating about somewhere."

The Pikachu's ears twitched up at his trainer's words, but he looked in the direction she'd indicated and though he saw nothing, he scampered off in that direction anyway. He'd have to avoid jumping on tables too; he knew she'd been busy with this fancy shindig, and the last thing he wanted to do was anger her by messing something up.  

[Shawn Darrow]

[Zeus, Anyone Paying Attention]

A high-pitched giggle seemed to come from thin air as the camera finally alighted upon the top of a shelf at the bar. There it nestled itself amid a few glass bottles that clinked faintly against each other in response. The camera strap then lifted off the ghost as the Shuppet made itself visible once more. She was clearly very pleased with herself.

This triumph was short-lived, however, for the ghost's attention was quickly drawn to a nearby Rocket. She was calling out a pokemon to tell it about a camera. That seemed a little odd out of context, but Eris knew how to read between the lines. The woman was telling the Pikachu to hunt the mysterious photographer down.

Well, Eris wasn't about to go down that easily. Leaving the camera where it was, she flew straight toward Zeus, a amicable smile on her mischievous face. She greeted enthusiastically. Though the Shuppet had been meaning to go back and pick up the polaroid pictures where she'd dropped them, she figured that could wait a while. And if someone else happened to pick them up first, all the better - their reaction would be priceless.  

[LexThetaSigma]

[Tambrey]

"Well either way, you look great," Rory complimented her once again with a bit of a bow and a small smile before mentally shaking himself for the action. His smiled turned shy and he smoothed down his tie when she returned the compliments. He wouldn't say it, but he was very glad she liked the new suit. It made him feel better than showing up in the hand-me-down suit he had worn during the last formal party he had attended.

"Thanks," he had thought he had been seeing flashes of light, almost like camera flashes, but ignored it in favor of trying to come up with something else to say.

"Did you want to get some food or dance or something?" He nervously scratched the back of his neck, "Or were you meeting someone here?"  

[Gwennythe]

(Rory)

Well, that certainly didn't help with any blushing at all, but she certainly enjoyed the sustained compliment.
She watched him smooth down his tie before flashes made her blink. Cameras were allowed right now? Hm, well. She supposed the thing had said that no one was to be in uniform; perhaps someone was taking photos just for the base or something.
Tambrey looked around for the flash for a second or two before Rory was suddenly asking her something.
She smiled and shook her head. "Not meeting anyone. Um," well, she really did kind of want to dance, even if the idea was... frightening and she'd probably end up doing horribly.
"Um. I... wouldn't mind dancing." She admitted after just a moment.  

[LexThetaSigma]

(Tambrey)

When she answered that she wasn't meeting anyone else there, Rory let out a small breath that he wasn't aware that he had been holding.

When she mentioned that she wouldn't mind dancing, Rory stood up a bit straighter and held out his hand. "Would you care to dance with me then, m'lady?" he asked in a slightly bad attempt at mimicking her accent.  

[Gwennythe]

(Rory)

Tambrey found her shy grin growing across her face, cheeks flushed a little, as Rory asked her to dance... and in an awkward, kind-of-adorable, attempt at her own accent.
She thought about trying to reciprocate in her response, but, as the thought itself made her feel like giggling, she thought it probably wasn't the best idea.
She, did, however, try to answer in a fairly 'posh' accent- though 'posh' only seemed to mean enunciate everything more clearly instead, as best as she could without messing it up.
"I rather do believe I would, sah." Oh. And adding 'sah' instead of 'sir'. Yes. That had sounded 'very posh' in her head. She wasn't so sure now it was 'out loud'.
There wasn't enough time for all the thoughts, she found, as they raced by, while her hand reached (was it moving slowly? No, she was just thinking too fast) for Rory's.  

[BlackPidgeot]

[Shadow/Everyone]

By the time the grunt had set down the food, returned, and started speaking to him, Asch had already started playing another song. It was slower and more sappy, and yet the red haired violinist seemed especially stone faced as he played it. His green eyes sliding over towards Shadow almost eerily. That was about the time that a flash of light nearly blinded him, and there there was a momentary shriek from Asch's instrument as the bow slid oddly due to him being startled.

With an irritated eye twitch, the agent almost flawlessly managed to get back on track. Though his scowl was even deeper now as he hissed towards Shadow. "I didn't ask you to bring me anything." ... However, he sighed a bit, perhaps realizing he shouldn't be so short with someone who actually brought him something to eat. "Fine, I'll be there after I'm done here." This said as he continued to play.  

[Shawn Darrow]

[Asch]

At the eerie eye-sliding, Shadow cringed inwardly. What was the matter? Had he done something stupid? But before he had time to wonder about it for too long, a flash of light went off, disrupting the musician for a second. It wasn't enough to stop him, though, as Asch continued playing like nothing had happened.

"I don't remember you asking me to bring you anything," he countered, albeit with a cautiously serious tone. He didn't want the red-head to think he was being cheeky; he just didn't know why the guy seemed disconcerted by the favor. It wasn't even that big a deal. "It's the holidays, man. Cheer up." He smiled a little and pointed to his mouth for emphasis.

Meanwhile, Lindsay was by then squirming so much that the moment he freed up one hand to point, she jumped out of his grasp. "Lindsay!" He blinked and looked down, but his Jolteon was already a yellow streak shoving her way past others. She didn't even look back.

Shadow sighed before spotting a polaroid photograph on the ground in the direction that Lindsay had run off. He walked forward and picked it up, raising a brow. It was a photo of Asch's scowling face. "Uhh...Agent...?" Well that wasn't creepy at all. "I think you should see this..." Someone appeared to have a stalker.  

[LexThetaSigma]

Tambrey

When she didn't mock him for his attempt on the fake accent and instead returned with one of her own, Rory grinned.

"Well very then, mi'lady," he continued with the fake accent and bowed to her when she placed her hand in his. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw another flash of light as he led Tambrey towards the dance floor. As soon as they were on the dance floor, the band switched to a slower ballad.

Feeling his heart start to race in his chest, Rory placed his left hand on the small of her back to pull her a bit closer as he took the lead. He hummed softly, mostly to himself, as he tried to fight the nerves that were building.  

[Gwennythe]

(Rory)

She found herself grinning all the way as she let herself be led to the dance floor.
She was sure her cheeks were still showing off a blush and her heart was beating rather quickly, but there wasn't an urge to run away or hide; Tambrey really did want to dance with Rory, there and then.
The flash was missed, even, as for a few moments there were just colours and blurs around mingling with her own thoughts before they were suddenly right there on the dance floor.
... And the music had changed.
It surely couldn't have been planned, and the music was... sentimental- a song that was sure to be... quite effective on most of the Rockets.
In fact, Tambrey found herself reacting favourably to Rory pulling her closely, without even thinking about it at first.
The song threatened to be saddening, but she and Rory were going to dance and Rory felt... as much as it all felt so strange and slightly scary in a different way... Rory felt 'safe'.