[PRP] Broken Halls

[Venti Mico]

Figuring out the base was tricky for a boy who'd grown up in a single story, two room house. He was jittery being in the new setting and on top of it, his uniform didn't fit as well as he'd like; so was the pain of being his size. Even if Lu was anxious in the base and would rather stick to the dorms, he knew his Absol, Tea, would get restless being cooped up. Today Lu decided to walk about the base with Tea, letting her sniff and explore. Luckily she wasn't a mischievous Pokemon and he didn't have to worry about her getting into trouble.

Tea was currently on the first floor, sniffing the door to the Clinic. Lu followed behind her as she went about her way, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone that happened by. All he wanted was to let Tea explore; he'd had it easy and not run into anyone just yet.  

[Blood_Goddess]

This base... was a disaster. Not simply due to the uncleanliness, that was being slowly taken care of thanks to the lower ranking rockets, Faleen couldn't be too concerned about that, but the state of the building's mechanical components, and her inability to work with the conditions that were in.

On the bright side of all of this, it certainly gave her enough to do throughout the day, With what equipment they had brought from the robotics division already stored and logged, the Agent had turned her sights onto getting the base up and running in a more efficient way.

She was never happier then what she was half buried in mechanics, and thus the lower half of the Agent could be seen in the hall floor, blocking most access past, her upper-half busy inside one of the wall panels. The stare of the wiring was terrible, probably chewed by pokemon, a common problem in these kinds of outposts. Half of the labs were not getting power, she could only assume that would be the reason.

By her legs, a few pokemon hovered by, watching her though the hole in the wall before their attention moved up as they heard footsteps heading their way.
"Ab-" And Absol with dark eyes cooed softly, drawing what looked like a man sized Robot up from a couch, looking toward the man and his absol. while a Banette simply glanced over and returned his attention to Faleen
"Ban Banette"

"If someone is out there please hold on for just a second, and I can get out of your way." Faleen's voice came from within the wall, once her pokemon warned her about someone trying to get past.
"Please take care not to step on anything." She added to point out the tools, screws and mechanical parts laying around her hips and legs.  

[Venti Mico]

After a while of Tea going where she wanted, they came across a person who seemed half embedded in the wall and surrounded by... if Lu thought of a robot, and then thought of the robot being slaughtered and torn apart, this is what he imagined it would look like. There were mechanical bits and pieces all about.

"Ah- alright, I won't move-" Lu replied, bending over and picking up his Absol. She had been on her way to sniff the other Absol, but Lu didn't want her to step on any of the woman's supplies. Tea didn't seem to mind and just watched the woman and her Pokemon instead. Lu stared down as his feet; he was almost sure she was a higher rank than him(would a trainee be messing with the wall panels? Maybe, but Lu knew he didn't have any experience...), and he didn't know if it was rude of him to be... in her presence? His school had been so casual most students called teachers by their first name, and in the office where his mother worked she was on a first name basis with all her clients. Here it seemed different, so he tried to be respectful to everyone. Tried. "You can take your time, I'm, er, I'm not in a hurry..."

The brunet stood stiffly; Tea wriggled a little, still wanting to meet the other Absol, but Lu shushed her quietly.  

[Blood_Goddess]

The reply that followed was a patient one, one that Faleen appreciated quiet a bit as she tried to wrap up what she was doing so she could get out of the way.
As she worked further Absol settled his eyes on the other of his breed, now being picked up by her large trainer. his nostrils flaring a bit as if he was smelling the air, but otherwise not moving.

Eventually the Agent pulled herself back out of the wall, the dark blond hair tied back out of her face, hazel eyes first turning to where she knew the Rocket would be waiting to pass.
She took a pause when she saw the man, her hands on either side of her, waiting to push herself up to her feet.
She had never seen this individual before, though considering that he was in a Trainee uniform that made sense to her.
Though two things crossed her mind as she looked over this Trainee, He either had a small Absol, or this man was very large.

"I appreciate your patience Trainee" she said, pushing herself up to her feet.
ah, yes, he was indeed very large.
"I don't believe I've seen you around here before." the Agent noted, bending over to start gathering some of her tools from the ground "You must have joined recently."  

[Venti Mico]

The woman who popped out of the wall wasn't very tall and she didn't look angry, Lu noted. He was relieved she didn't look angry, he had just disturbed her... whatever she was doing, so she had the right to be mad at him. He stroked along Tea's back anxiously, gluing his eyes to the floor at his feet.

He supposed calling her not very tall might have been unfair, but most people were 'not very tall' compared to him, honestly. He couldn't tell her rank, he wasn't sure what the different uniforms meant yet, but she did seem a little older than him.

"I-I, er... yes, I joined new, newly- recently, I did," he said with a brisk nod. Was there some way he was supposed to greet higher ranked people? Was he supposed to do a salute, or bow? Or... offer a handshake? Lu felt sweat starting to bead on his forehead. "I haven't seen you either. I- I haven't been paying attention, though, but... I mean, there- you aren't in my room, I think... so... y-yes." He ended gruffly, shoulders hunched. He surely felt an impending doom lingered before him, he was going to make a mistake and get himself in trouble. Tea looked down at the other Absol for a moment, cocking her head to the side, then looked up at Lu and pressed her nose against his cheek.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Faleen hummed lightly in understanding arching her eyebrows as she patted down her skirt as she straightened up after moving a path in the hall way.
"It must be an exciting time to join Team Rocket, right as our base is exposed and demolished."
She explained, one corner of her mouth lifting up in a not so amused smile. eying the Trainee as he continued to stammer around his words.
"My name is Agent Faleen, I usually keep busy around the base so you'll probably see me around while repairs go on, you tend to get to know your fellow Rockets pretty quickly, especially now that we're in a much smaller location."

Her hazel eyes fell onto the Absol once again "Did you bring this Absol when you joined? or was she assigned to you when you got your uniform?"
There was a glint of interest in her eye, asking in a very matter of fact, and curious tone.  

[Venti Mico]

Lu reached up with one hand and trailed his fingers through his ponytail nervously, letting his other arm fall to his side as Tea hopped down from him and settled at his feet. She looked over Faleen and her Pokemon curiously but stayed in front of Lu almost protectively.

"It, it's... a little different than what I'm used to..." Lu said; he wondered if had he joined at a more opportune time if things would be easier. ...Likely not, he noted, considering the day after he joined Team Rocket he had regretted his decision and he hadn't yet even started to adjust to his new life. "A-Agent Faleen, I'm... Trainee, I'm a Trainee. Lu is my name," he mumbled to her in a low voice, tugging at a bit of hair before moving to rub the back of his neck then hide his hands in his pockets. "I've met some people already..."

"That's Tea, she's mine... I mean, I brought her with me," he continued, nodding down at Tea and keeping his eyes on her. "She's been with me for a long time."  

[Blood_Goddess]

"I see." Faleen noted, glancing over the Absol again as well, then looking back up to the Rocket.
The Absol behind Faleen moved to stand, his thick clawed paws carrying him to stand beside the agent, his eyes fixed on the other dark type.
Her pokemon remained where they were for the most part, either continuing on organizing her tools behind her like that robot seemed to be doing, or just watching the two other Rockets in obedient silence.

The women took a few moments to observe the younger man as he spoke, her eyebrows arching slightly as she noticed how timid he seemed, that certainly wasn't the attitude she expected from a young man with the stature he held.
humming lightly, the women moved her hands behind her back, holding them into place as she streightned her posture.
"Lu, welcome to Team Rocket. Though if I have to be honest I would say you're pretty nervous about something." Her observations were politely pointed out.  

[Venti Mico]

Tea met the gaze of the other Absol and sat straight up, unblinking. She watched him almost owlishly; she hadn't seen another Absol in quite a while, Lu never took her into the mines where she'd been found so it was a rare occasion for her.

"Nervous?" Lu asked, furrowing his brow. He turned his left to the side, starting to shake his head no, but then he hesitated and stopped, then after a moment finished shaking his head. "I...er, I... suppose, i-it's different here than where I grew up...never had a job before, really..." he trailed off as he spoke, voice as low as he could make it while still being heard if only barely. "Oh- but, um- thank you. For welcoming me- not for, I mean, I just... thank you," he repeated, biting his lip and holding his breath before he spoke again. He counted to five in his head before trying to look up without looking away instantly.

Managing to make eye contact for a moment, Lu did his best to give her a grateful smile but his attempt was in vain. He didn't manage to unfurl his brow and his lips barely twitched up into what almost could have been a smile.