Lucia sighed as she walked along with Mark. "You know, you will have to call her sometime. Just punch in the number and all. If anything, any news you get can't be that bad. It isn't like a medic will pick up and annouce she's dead or something." She pushed back her hair and looked up at the sky, seeing the snow falling, "Heh, snow and it's Christmas and yet everyone isn't in the holiday moment eh?"
Mark shrugged. He was in the holiday mood for a little while at the begining of the day. Guess all the stuff about Team Rocket was really getting to him. Well, calling again wouldn't hurt. Maybe Valorie was just busy lately? He quickly pulled out his Pokegear and started to dial the number that Valorie gave him. Texting wasn't working that was for sure. "Well let's see if she picks up I guess..." Mark said, feeling a bit worried as the phone dialed.
The phone rang, rang and rang... It almost seemed as if it were going to go to voice mail again when suddenly the phone picked up. "Hello?" the voice on the other end asked, but it was not Valorie's voice. It was the eerily out-of-place voice of an adult male. His tone wasn't pleasant either, as if he'd been inconvenienced.
Mark stayed silent when he heard the unfamiliar voice answer. It wasn't Valorie's dad, he remembered what he sounded like... Mark was a bit afraid to reply actually. All sorts of possible thoughts were going through his head and Mark looked terrified. He remained silent to see what he would say. He looked to Lucia and held a finger up to his mouth to tell her to shush.
Lucia nodded slowly and cocked her head, a bit confused as to why he was suddenly quiet. She shook her head and figured that Val was being yet again cross with him. Seriously that girl should be slapped upside the head or something for how horrendous her manners were!
After a long moment, the voice continued. "Hello?? ...Dang kids." it said irritably. In the background Mark would be able to hear faint voices. Actual words were inaudible, but whoever had Valorie's phone was far from alone.
Mark listned in for a little while and hung up the phone. They wouldn't be able to figure his identity hopefully... though crap! they'd probobly be able to track his number! Whoever had it. Mark was silent for awhile.
"...That wasn't Val..." He said simply. His heart was pounding quickly.
Lucia looked on and frowned, "Then who was it!?" She asked. "What? You're saying someone else was using her phone? I mean she does have other friends right?"
Mark rubbed his head. "I-I-I dunno... He said "Dang kids" or something. Like an adult voice. Didn't sound too nice and I heard some stuff in the background...y-you don't think.." He was frozen in his tracks by the thought that Team Rocket might have gotten their hands on Val...no way... if they were able to sneak up on her of all trainers...
Lucia frowned and pulled out her own phone. "Sheesh Mark. You need to learn how to plan. Send out Commodore please and give me her number." She said firmly. "I know what to do."
A notification, specifically a text message, was waiting on Lucia's phone. Who could that be??
Mark nodded and threw Commodore out of his ball. He didn't think about using Commodore to track the source through their phones. Guess thats what panic does to a kid. Mark heard Lucia's phone ring up though. "Huh? Lucia ya got a message..." Mark said
Lucia was silent then looked at Mark and Commodore, "Commodore, I need you to get into my phone. I'm going to call a number and you stay in my phone, but try to trace where the call is coming from. At the very least if you can hack into the other phone to see if there have been any recent text messages from there would help. Can he do that Mark?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah probobly. He should be able to do it in the safety of your phone. Using wireless waves might be a bit tricky for commdore but he should at least be able to get the messages if nothing else..." Mark said
I nodded and held up my phone and looked at Mark, "Okay. Number..." She said. She began to punch in a few numbers Mark told her and she held the phone up, biting her lower lip as she tapped her foot impatiently.
The phone rang. This time a woman picked it up. "Yeah? What'ya want?" she asked. The background was quiet this time. She was alone. The signal was bouncing off some place deep in the mountains...
Mark nodded to Commodore and sent him right into the phone to start gathering data from the other end. He wouldn't dare risk traveling through the wireless waves since it could be cut off at any moment so he attempted to hack into the other phone from a distance... Commodore could indeed track the signal coming from the mountains. How odd...
Lucia smiled weakly, "Hello, my name is Jackie. Is this Valorie Ryder? You don't sound like her." She said as she intimadated a... well, typical blonde voice. "Anyways I was wondering when she were coming for the holidays? I mean, Christmas just passed and I got her a gift, but she didn't come back. Can you pass over a message to let her know that she should come over for New Years? I mean, I did go all out for this gift and all." She said with a giggle and then rolled her eyes over at Mark.
"...Yeah, this is officially a used phone, 'Jackie'." the woman replied, seemingly constantly exasperated as if she simply did not have time for this nonsense. "Don't you know that girl's missing? Why're you calling her?" the voice pried, attempting to interrogate Lucia.
Lucia let out a startled typical blonde gasp, "What? She's missing?" She cried out. "Oh dear? Well... when did she start missing? I knew that if I stepped out for a week something would happen! I so told dad that I didn't want to go camping! Well, how long has she been gone for? Does she have any ransom notes? There should be! The television shows always say that there are ransom notes left!"
Mark never thought he would hear Lucia act in such a way. It was pretty silly hearing this kind of voice coming out of Lucia's mouth. He'd have to tease her about that some time. Heheh. Commodre continued to hack away, attempting to bring in messages from the other line.
A very long moment passed. It was beginning to seem like the rocket had caught on when suddenly she resumed speaking. "...Yeah. As a matter of fact, there is!" the woman responded, dropping almost all pretense of not being involved. "It said bring your pretty face and all the cash you have to the abandoned power plant, or you never see your friend again!" she said, rather sarcastic in tone. "Pass it on." she then added, dark and deadpan this time. The phone suddenly hung up.
Lucia sighed and lowered the phone, "So Commodore what did you get?" She asked as she looked at the message she got earlier. "Hm... not much help, but it's just a bit of sarcasm. Whoever it was they didn't want to talk to me personally."
Commodore sent whatever data he'd manage to get into Lucia's phone. That included text messages, contacts, whatever he could find with the short time he had, including the source of the call.
"Wow Lucia. I didn't recognize you for a second there." Mark teased. He shook his head quickly and went back to serious mode though. "So how'd it go down?"
She sighed, "Horribly! I hate acting dumb." She said with a mutter, "I am always surrounded by idiots Mark, after a while you learn how to speak like them."
Mark shook his head and peeked over to her phone. "Nonono, I mean, what'd they say? Lets see what Commodore fetched from the other end..." Mark said
The text was particularly forboding. It was a local emergency message stating quite simply that Team Rocket was about, and that students were advised not to go outside unsupervised by teachers. The call itself was linked deep in the mountains and several calls had been made including Mark's earlier call and Valorie's father. It seemed that the school had also tried to call Valorie. Neither her father or the school had been answered.
Lucia frowned, "S**t." She muttered, uttering her first profanity since Mark had met her. "Well, that's not good. Apparently Val has been kidnapped... and most likely in those mountains." She looked through the texts again, "Well she's been called but none of them answered. So... what now?" She asked Mark. "Does she usually go up into the mountains for days?" She asked.
Now Mark was just stressed out like crazy. Kidnapped?! How could he just let this slip by him! Who know's how long she might have been up there? The poor guy was pretty much pacing right now. "U-uh... um..." Mark muttered. He was going to say march up and get her back but that would be dumb! He went through two battles already and Mark was way too exsausted to survive a trip up there! Especially in the current weather! He didn't want to believe this was happening and was taking alot of time to process the information.
Lucia went over and grabbed Mark by the shoulders, "Easy Mark. Listen to me... do you know anyone around the campus that could help us with this?" She asked. "We need some professional help I think."
Mark rubbed his head, trying to keep some rational thought going through him. He tried to think of someone who might be able to help track her down. "Um... h-hm... well... I think I recall Valorie mentioning she's run into Lance before. She had a half cape from him or something... I dunno how to contact him but he's the champion of my region. If that dosn't scream professional help I don't know what does." Mark said, taking some deep breaths.
She grabbed Mark and began to move, "Then we'll find him! He has to be around here somewhere... " She muttered as she set a brisk wall for them. "Get Able out and have her help too. She can fly around and try and find him."
Mark nodded and returned Commodore, while letting Able out of her ball as well. It was a good thing his Pokemon had so many practical uses. If anyone made a good scout, it was Able! "Able, fly around the academy and look for Lance. He has spiky red hair and should be in a dark blue outfit on usually and wears a black cape. He should be able to stick out of the crowd. I mean, he's Kanto's Champion after all. And don't leave the academy grounds! I don't want Team Rocket grabbing you..." Mark said. Able nodded and quickly flew off to scout the academy.
...
Kale froze in place as he saw the face of the man now entering the infirmary. Spiky red hair, determined expression and signature cape. Kale would not have to be reminded of this mans identity, champion of Johto... Lance. Suddenly, the calm and collected young man that was Kale took on a tense and uncomfortable persona, he seemed instantly more uptight than he had been but a few moments ago. The organisation Kale had been a part of before... they knew of Lance, it was where Kale had first heard the dragon masters name. He remembered the description he had been given of this man, word for word. "Threat Level: High, though Lance exists outside of our major operations zone, his raw power alone warrants extreme caution. He can and will defeat us in our current state if he feels the need to. Confrontation must be avoided if an encounter occurs."
Lance appeared to be more interested with Valorie than Kale and as such he immediately began speaking to her, ignoring Kale entirely for the most part. Kale didn't care what they were talking about, something in regards to ghosts and the honedge that so desperately gripped Valorie's arm... it didn't matter to him. What mattered was Kale's own emotions at that moment in time, he had never known anything of Lance... other than the fact that he was a champion, that he was incredibly powerful and that he was to be avoided at all costs. Even though Kale had learned these things in a past life of sorts, he couldn't help the little signs of fear that he was now showing. As a result he said nothing, he remained sitting opposite Valorie and made a point of staying silent.
The Ninjask would continue flying around the academy for any signs of Lance. She didn't exactly know about Lance or anything like that but she could at least remember the description of him. No luck yet though. There were mostly trainers celebrating the holiday, battling, and other things like that. Able even took a peek into the windows of the offices and still nothing. This was going to be a pain without some kind of lead...
Able ended up buzzing through the halls of the academy. Some students probobly mistook her for a Wild Pokemon but since they were indoors there wasn't anything they could do about it unless Able attacked, which of course, she didn't plan on doing. The buzzing would be heard through the halls. Able peeked through every little door she could find in some hopes of finding some sort of hint about where this Lance fellow would be. She would check through various doors within the halls looking for any signs of teachers inside of them. Maybe she'd hear something...
A voice faded into hearing range. "...Found her limping outside the school. Can you imagine how she managed in this weather, without her Pokemon?" a woman's voice said. It was an adult, probably a teacher, in a nearby room. "No, but I'm sure she had a fair bit of luck on her side. Who was this again? That one girl that's been missing for a few weeks?" a man's voice replied calmly. He seemed to be trying to wrap his head around the situation. "Valorie Ryder" the woman stated very clearly so that she could be understood the first time. How convenient!
Able started buzzing a little louder for a moment. Did they just say Valorie? That girl that Mark liked? So she was in the infermary! But Able had to make sure... it seemed too good to be true! Mark would be so relieved! Able quickly flew over to the infermary to search for both Valorie and/or Lance. They still needed Lance either way. Able peeked inside of the infermary doors hoping she might see something inside or at the very least go inside. She was bumping into the door a bit to get a bit of attention. She had to bring something back to Mark so that he would know where to go!
Valorie of course was a tad busy, but it didn't stop her from noticing a gigantic bug chilling in the doorway. She looked up from her thoughts and furrowed her brows. Who's... pokemon was that? Lance, hearing Able, stood up and turned to face the doorway in expectation of company. For a long moment Valorie just sort of stared, wracking her brain for something on the tip of her tongue. "...Able, is that you?" she asked.
The Ninjask nodded and tried tapping on the door again. She clearly wanted to get inside! Just to maybe greet all of them and attempt to explain her case. She had to find a way to tell Mark that Valorie was alright! After a moment Lance realized that this pokemon was for some reason running around free of it's trainers presence and moved to open the door for it. He wasn't about to ask the girl in poor health or a kid in general ready to get up and do it.
Able finally flew in and checked out the room, looking for just about anything she could use but she wanted to make sure that these people were the right folks. Valorie no doubt. She was in a bit of a pickle though. From their perspective she was just being annoying and buzzing around. She muttered to herself, in pokespeak of course. "Gah... how am I supposed to tell them... I gotta tell Mark that they're all here..." Able said as she looked at all three of the trainers feeling a bit awkward now. Clearly she hadn't planned ahead.
Kale lifted his head up at the ninjask that was now buzzing irritably around the room. Kale had been doing his best to remain reticent and silent in Lance's presence. But the newly arrived buzzing pest of a pokémon would surely make things more difficult. If he was to be honest, Kale loved all pokémon... but if he had to pick just ONE type that got on his nerves? It would be bugs. He was mere seconds away from waking up Aria, whom had been sleeping on the bed beside him this entire time, when Valorie spoke... she seemed to recognize this pokémon. If that wasn't enough, this pokémon (seemingly named Able) apparently recognised her. Kale listened intently to hear exactly what the ninjask was saying as it muttered... his eyes widening slightly as he took in the information.
*Mark...?* He thought. *Could it be... a friend of Valorie's?* He paused his train of thought momentarily. *I should tell her... but how would I explain that to Lance? Don't worry sir... I can talk to pokémon? Not likely to go over well, plus having Valorie know that little secret was bad enough.* Kale ran his hands through his hair and frowned. He would have to improvise. He put on his best fake smile and began to talk in an overly friendly tone that Valorie would most certainly NOT recognise. "Valorie look! It's Able!" He stood up from the bed. "You mentioned her on the mountainside remember! She's your friend Mark's pokémon... Mark must be looking for you right?" Kale gave Valorie a deadly glare. This was a great excuse for him to get away from Lance and he wouldn't have her mess that up for him. His eyes seemed to convey the message that she either play along or bad events would occur shortly after.
A confused Valorie looked over at Kale and became a bit put off at the look he was giving her. She quickly averted her eyes, a tad uncomfortable. "Yeah..." she responded half-heartedly, sliding off of her bed and testing her weight against her exhausted legs.
Able tilted her head. Valorie mentioned Mark on the mountains...? Well that was convenient. The Ninjask simply nodded to that. She did in fact belong to Mark. She had no idea who this other guy was but at least he was being helpful. Able flew near Kale and observed him a moment. Her buzzing got a little quieter as the Ninjask had calmed down. Well, good for them. They knew who Able was. That still didn't solve her problem! "Gotta find a way to tell Mark... wish I could just tell them to write a letter or something like that. Any kind of message..." Able said as she continued to search around the room.
"A little help, Shu..?" Valorie asked to seemingly thin air. The ghost pokemon used his telekinesis to make her much lighter, taking off the strain on her body. She then proceeded over to the doorway and peaked outside, beginning to search for Mark.
Able flew out the doorway to peek around too. Mark wasn't nearby yet. She still had to tell Mark to get here but this was a good first step. Able could easily track Mark and lead him over but he had to find a way to let him know! Valorie looked up at Able and frowned. "...Where is he?" she asked, confused.
Kale listened to the pokémon as it spoke. A letter telling this "Mark" where they were? Perfect! He could go to them rather than the alternative of them searching the school tirelessly for him. "Valorie I have an idea!" Kale exclaimed gleefully. "Why don't you write a message to Mark? Then Able could carry it to him. Arceus knows she'd find him faster than we would." He continued doing his best to smile and appear friendly, though he wasn't exactly the best at it and the entire situation seemed kind of forced.
Able quickly flew back inside and toward Kale looking oh so happy! This boy was a genius! Almost like he understood every word she was saying! The Ninjask nodded happily to him. She could almost hug him if she were willing to degrade herself to such a level. With a nod of her chilled head Valorie moved over and attempted to write a letter... with one hand. It was a bit harder than it sounded in part because she was simultaneously sick, recovering from hypothermia and her hand would ocassionally shake. Her penmanship was lacking, but she managed. Picking up the letter she promptly handed it to Able.
"Maybe he can come to us. If you insist on walking around however, at least pick up another warm drink from Nurse Joy before you go. Your condition is no joking matter, and I have no intention of letting Team Rocket take any of our students from us." Lance remarked with a note of conviction in his voice.
Seeing Lance act noble, Kale smiled broadly at the champion to keep up his image. "Of course sir, I understand your concern. I'll wait here with Valorie and I'm sure Mark will be here soon. You must be very busy yourself... so if you have other matters to attend to it would be awfully rude for us to keep you any longer." Inside his mind however, Kale was having an entirely different experience. *In the name of Arceus...* He thought. *I should have realised that there was a very good reason as to why I don't act like this.*
Able held onto the letter carefully and chirped happily! "I'll be right back! You stay right here! I don't want Mark freaking out again." She said, obviously in Pokespeak and such. With that, Able quickly headed out the door to go and find Mark while holding onto the letter tightly. Mark stayed around the same general area from before so he'd be rather easy to spot.
After a bit of searching, Able would infact find Mark still walking around with Lucia. The Ninjask quickly flew down to him.
"Able! That was quick... as expected. What's that? A letter?" Mark wondered as he took the piece of paper. He thought it would be from Lance or something. He opened up the letter to see what it said...
Lucia blinked and looked on over as the Ninjask made her return. "Hm... a letter? Well, I guess someone has something to say. What does it say Mark? Is it from Valorie?"
Mark checked over the letter. From a glance, the handwriting was a bit off, but it did seem to be signed by Valorie... Val! "I-it is! That means that Team Rocket dosn't have her! Oh thank god... I'll give it a read. Let's see..." Mark would begin to look over the letter and read it from begining to end.
Lucia smiled a bit, but in truth she also had to sigh inwardly. It was like Mark was still in love with the... well, *insert not such a nice name here*. But still, he was friends with her... and she had to respect that, even if she wanted the punch that girl's face clean off of her shoulders.
"So... where is she at?" Lucia asked. "I have to guess that they are somewhere on campus no?"
Mark nodded. "She's at the infermary. Which means we gotta get moving. Lance is there too supposedly. Comon lets get going." Mark said as he'd start to head toward the direction of the infermary. He's been there quite a few times due to recent incidents and all. Heck alot of his friends have taken at least one trip there but never Mark. He hoped that wasn't foreshadowing anything.
After a bit of walking, Mark would knock on the door of the infermary, slightly peeking over the window of the door.
Lance peered at Kale searchingly. "...Very well. I will be organizing an assault on this Team Rocket presence soon enough. I'll come back a later time to get some necessary info on their location." he explained well within Mark and Lucia's earshot. He then bowed his head in acknowledgement to those present before taking his leave. Valorie beamed at Mark, offering him a weak smile. She had a nice red nose, and had generally seen better days. She looked pretty roughed up, and hadn't had any real time to do more than very basic primping.
When the door opened, Lance was immediately right in fron of him! Ohhh boy. Here he was. The Champion himself right in front of Mark's eyes! A-and Val! She was there too! Oh boy... two things to do at once. He looked between the two. "L-Lance! Hold on a second!" Mark called out. He looked over to Valorie and smiled. "Lucia, can you explain things to Lance? I need to check on her." Mark said as he entered the room. "Val... oh god, what happened to you? I tried calling but...well... I got a response but it wasn't from you..." Mark said as he walked up to her. Asking if she was alrighty would just be dumb. Clearly she wasn't, but Mark could at least rest easy knowing that she was ok.
Lucia nodded and made a short job up to the dragon master with Roberto following behind her, "Oh... um... Mr. Lance." She said with a small bow, "We overheard you talking about going to the rocket's headquarters. Uh... well. We sort of called them. We have a pretty good idea where they are. The mountains sir." She grabbed her phone, "And it was on Lucia's phone that they answered. At least I think it was the rockets. A boy picked up first and then a woman when we called later on."
As she talked to the older man Roberto quickly glanced around the room, his eyes landing on all of the humans and pokemon here. From a brief glance he could see that no one was really eyeing Lucia or looking to move toward her to harm her, but still he kept tense and made a note of the Mawile. If those jaws got too close then a punch or two would send a clear message.
Kale was so utterly confused... this boy whom had entered. It must have been the Mark that the ninjask had been talking about. But that wasn't what confused him. Valorie seemed happy to see him... as if that wasn't enough, Mark seemed to be expressing an overenthusiastic level of concern for her in return. These two humans clearly were very pleased to see one another and as a result they enjoyed a mutual happiness upon their reunion. This was... so confusing to Kale. He had never experienced anything like that, not with another human. The closest thing he could relate to it was the days when his parents would return from their business trips in Unova. He would always feel a certain joy when seeing them again... but... it was always an unrequited joy he felt. As a result after a while of such happening, the joy he felt upon reunion had faded like so many other things, now all it did was confuse him. This was... almost upsetting to him when he thought about it. His own... emotional inadequacy.
Kale approached the two reunited friends with a cautious pace. His face was devoid of it's previous forgery of a smile. Now it bore the same empty expression it had when he had first found Valorie on the mountainside. No emotion, no feeling, nothing. "Then this is Mark." He said blankly. "Sorry I couldn't bring you your ally back sooner. Hope your pleased now at least." Despite his words being devoid of emotion, they still carried a sting to them. A certain form of bitterness clung to them, like combee to a honey slathered tree.
Valorie's smile faded and her brow creased between having to relive being kidnapped and Kale's odd behavior. For a moment it almost seemed like she might comment on what he'd said, but... she didn't. "I--um... Team Rocket stole all of my stuff and kidnapped me. They--uh... took me by surprise." she lamented, half-lying about that last part. She really didn't want to admit that she'd had her butt kicked by said rockets and that an ambush hadn't really been much of a part of it. "They took me to a prison and somehow made my Pokemon brainwashed." she continued to explain, lackluster in tone. "I... escaped, but it took me a long time to find my way back." she said, hesitating a long moment before abruptly lifting a finger and pointing to Kale.
"He found me out in the mountains. He--um... saved my life." she admitted. She seemed embarassed, not thrilled to admit any form of weakness. This was a theme. Mark might notice that a honedge had wrapped it's clothe tightly around one of Valorie's upper arms. She was gripping it, possibly involuntarily.
Mark listened to Valorie explain everything. What really stuck out was the mention of her Pokemon being Brainwashed...that sounded familiar. Ever since he arrived in the academy, Pokemon have been acting all sorts of weird. Even ones that were out of their usual habitat. How odd... so was that what Team Rocket was doing? Brainwashing? That'd explain why immediate action hadn't been taken by the staff...
He looked over to the sword shaped Pokemon wrapped around Valorie's arm. He'd never seen anything like that before. Mark turned to Kale and grinned at him. "So you found her huh? Um, thanks. Val has actually been a friend of mine for awhile in the academy. Heh. I kind of consider her a bit of a rival really... thanks for being there at the right time." Mark simply said.
"They took your Pokemon... man you must have been through alot." Mark said as he kneeled down near the bed. "But hey, I'm happy your alive. We'll get your Pokemon back I swear it. Me and my friend actually got an upper edge on them." Mark said with a smile.
Kale's gaze shifted to Valorie slightly. He could see the hesitation in her eyes. She refused to speak out against him... how odd. In fact, as he thought about it... despite all he had done to her, Valorie had not once spoken out against what Kale had said directly... he wondered, was it because Valorie was strong enough to hold the burden of his crass nature? Or was she simply too afraid to go against his will? Though he would not directly admit it to himself, a small part of him hoped for the former, while the rest remained unbiased and uncaring as ever. He moved his gaze back to Mark, who was smirking. "Yes... the right time. That's hardly all there was to it, but you have a point." Kale looked Mark up and down momentarily. His tone as empty as ever, face devoid of emotion, he spoke again. "Still I suppose it is for the best that it was me that found her after all... considering your effort extended no further than calling a cellphone."
Lucia sighed as she walked back into the room and looked about, "Well, hey all. Eh... " She looked at Kale, "Not sure if I know you yet... uh Lance said some stuff. There's a raid of sorts and all. Apparently some students are getting together, though that's dangerious to go against the rockets and all." She pushed som of her long hair back behind an ear, "So... uh, is everything straightened out then?"
Mark raised a brow. "Hey... I had my own share of problems going on too. Team Rocket actually targeted me earlier. I didn' think Team Rocket would have gotten her..." To be honest, Mark did feel a bit bad. He really should have tried calling earlier. But then again, maybe it was for the best. Mark would have been in the same situation as Valorie if he had tried to march up those mountains and search for her!
"Well, the effort wasn't for nothing. We actually did track where the Rocket HQ is at when we called over there. Guess the grunts weren't thinking about the possibility of the other line having a Porygon. Haha." Mark said with a grin.
Valorie looked between the two boys, She found herself a tad puzzled by their actions. Were they... arguing? She couldn't tell. "...He -did- save my life." she remarked half-heartedly. "And... I'm really thankful." she admitted, turning her gaze on Kale. She seemed to be seeking approval, having just opened up a bit and given him a bit of praise even if it was lined with mild embarassment at having been reduced to the average role of a Princess.
Kale's eyes widened slightly at Marks response to him. Calm, collected... he even agreed with Kale's judgment. A tiny smirk of a smile broke on Kale's face for a split second before dissapearing, perhaps he and Mark would get along better than Kale had originally anticipated. Perhaps he could even become an asset to him as Valorie had. This fact was reinforced in his mind as Mark mentioned the fact that he owned a member of the prygon line. In fact, Kale could do nothing but give a mental nod of approval at this, it was an impressive feat for sure, Porygon was not a common pokémon.
Kale's face was about to fade back to its emotionless state when Valorie spoke up. She was... agreeing with him as well. She was, thankful? She had said thank you before hadn't she? Yet this was the first time Kale really noted her gratitude. He had saved her life hadn't he? Maybe that was worth something. Within a few moments, Kales began to notice something else, notably Valorie's embarassment. He had never understood embarassment... it seemed so pointless to him. Yet seeing Valorie in such a state due to her gratitude to him, it made a strange warmth rise in his cheeks and as he peered into the window on the far side of the room he could barely make out the redness in his cheeks.
Suddenly giving an abrupt cough and turning to the side, Kale cleared his face as best he could and returned to his emotionless mask. "Yes well... I know better than anybody what I did. It is done so... there is no further need to mention it."
Lucia blinked a bit at the news, "Oh... so... he saved you. Well, that's good to clear up." She said with a brisk nod, "Mark, it's getting late out. If anything we should all head to our dorms and just be preparing. Rockets and all sorts of other cretins usually come out at night don't they? Better to get inside if you don't want to be caught unawares." She gave a small smile but in truth she had to get Mark away from Valorie. She knew of what happened when people got hurt... others who had been angry by them suddenly became thoughtful and so wanting to please them. If Valorie took advantage of that, then who would be the one to pay the price? Mark. Of course. Wasn't like she cared anyways... that story seemed a bit fish to Lucia. anyways. How DID a girl with dragons get ambushed so easily anyways? She had seen them when she had first met Valorie. It was like being a self proclaimed master of stealth and you end up getting snuck up on instead.
She let out a light cough, "Anyways, we should get going Mark. If only so that we avoid any trouble. I do hope that you get better Valorie." She said with a soft smile.
And by getting better you better stay away from those you have hurt. "I suppose we'll see you with the raid going on? Oh.... right. You don't have any pokemon." She sighed, "I'm so sorry, I forgot." She said with a meek bow. Although it had acted like a slip of her tongue, she did hope that Val got the message... that well hidden message. "Don't worry, we're going to fight off the rockets no problem." She said cheerfully. "Teamwork always matters in the end. Shall we go Mark?"
Mark turned to Lucia and blinked. Seemed too soon to be leaving and all... but they did have to prepare. Mark was a bit paranoid that the rockets would get people in their sleep though. "Uh... yeah. I should probobly get ready too..." Mark said as he looked back at Val and smiled down at her. "Hey don't overwork yourself out there. Get better soon alright Val? I'll be sure to get your Pokemon back. Just relax for awhile." Mark simply said as he finally got up and walked over to Lucia.
Valorie seemed... disappointed to say the least. She hesitated to speak, but it came anyway. "Oh--Alright... I still need to stay here and rest, or whatever." she admitted, glancing down at the honedge. "...More like figure out how to get this thing off of me." she added only half-humorously. Her gaze flickered at Lucia briefly, but she had a difficult time picking up what Lucia was actually doing. There was something offputting and uncomfortable about the way Lucia was talking about her, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it!
Mark smiled again. "Heh, well stay safe Val. I'll drop by again later." Mark said as he headed on out the door, keeping his eyes focused on Val as he did. He gave a large sight of relief. "Phew... she's alright... that's a huge load off my back..." Mark said to Lucia. "So, what's next for you Lucia? You going to head back to your hotel to prepare?" Mark asked.
She nodded, "No.. staying here. My old room should still be here. Never moved my stuff out. I think my dad gave some half ass answer, so it should be fine enough. Anyways... you should set up someone to guard you at night. I know Roberto will be up to protect me."
She smiled back at the Scizor who nodded, but once her head turned away he gave a glare at the boy. "But still, just to be safe and all." She looked over at her dorms and smiled a bit at Mark, "Well... I'll be going off and all." She looked down, "Uh... just stay safe and all. ...Well good night." She turned away and quickly began to walk away with the Scizor following rihgt behind her.
Mark walked after Lucia and placed a hand on her shoulder. Yeah, Roberto being all protective and junk whatever but he had to get this out there. "Hey Lucia, promise me you'll be safe out there during this raid or whatever Lance has planned... I don't want to lose any of our friends in that fight." Mark said, smiling at her.
Lucia paused and turned to have him, giving a weak nod, "Yes, of course." With that she turned back once more and kept on walking, a small blush forming on her cheeks.
Kale suddenly found himself alone again in the infirmary room with Valorie. If he had been in that situation that same days morning he probably would have felt uneasy. But it was quite apparent by that point that he was getting used to the girl being around him. He peered out the window to see the pitch black sky outside, a dark shade over the island pierced with a glowing moon and the shards of light that were stars. Kale smiled warmly, if only for a moment. He loved the night sky. He suddenly realised then, that his bag had been on his back the entire time. With a grunt he swung it off of his back and tucked it underneath the bed where Aria was sleeping.
He glanced at Valorie for a moment. She didn't appear to be feeling much better than before at first glance, though he could hardly tell what was going on in her head. Figuring he would be driven mad by boredom otherwise, Kale decided to try and start a conversation. "Your friends seemed happy to see you... you must be quite close with them, no?"
Valorie turned her gaze on Kale as he spoke, her tired eyes searching him curiously. Moving nearby, she sat on a bed to try and relax. "Well... yeah! I suppose so. That's what friends are, right?" she replied, smiling pleasantly at him. "We've known each other for a pretty long time when I think about it." she mused out loud, taking a moment to consider what she'd just said. "But--um... Friends also do nice things for each other. Do you think we're 'friends'..?" she asked, a note of hopefulness in her voice. She seemed to be confronting Kale, albeit very gently.
Kale glanced idly at Valorie after her explanation and first question, it was probably a rhetorical one, but for some reason he still felt compelled to answer. "Right?..." He paused. "How would I know?" It might have seemed to be a rude response at first, but there was just enough emotion in Kale's voice to tell that he had asked in earnest. Was it not obvious to her by now? How would he know what it was like to have friends? However... her next question seemed to nullify that doubt in some way, albeit it did so by completely catching Kale off guard and leaving him with more questions than answers. "Do I... do I what?" He asked, his eyes widening. For the first time since they had met it appeared that she had truly surprised him. He scratched his head for a moment and thought before responding. "I... I wouldn't know... it's like I said... how would someone like me know that? I don't have friends, not human ones anyway." He spoke with an unnerving amount of calm. "What do you think? Are we friends, Valorie?"
Valorie took a deep breath, steadying herself. She then slid off the bed and deliberately moved to Kale's side. She was making a point to mimic his body language somewhat. "Well... Yeah!" she responded, her gaze shifting over to him. "Or at least, I'd rather be friends than... 'allies'." she added on quickly, seeming to express some frustration with that line of thinking. "You did kind of... earn it." she explained after a moment before finally falling silent to give Kale a chance to react.
Kale looked at Valorie for a moment, really looked at her. This time without an emotionless front to take any gaze she might give back. His eyes were filled with confusion, he looked baffled... lost. "Did I though? Did I really Valorie?" Kale gestured towards Aria, who still lay sleeping on the bed. "No... in reality, it was her right? She saved you. Not me. Without her, I would have left you for dead out there... right?" He doubted himself for a moment. Was he really that heartless. In the end would he have left Valorie alone to die? Or would he have helped her without Aria's interference? He didn't know. He could never know, not unless Valorie's life fell back into his hands again... and what were the odds of that happening?
Valorie opened her mouth to respond when the full implications of what Kale had said hit her. The look on her face was heartbreak and pain. Kale had taking her attempts at reaching out and strangled them with his response. For a moment she didn't seem to know what to say. She turned away from Kale, turning her back to him. She seemed to be hiding her face from him, body language tense. "...Why? Why would you do that..?!" she asked, audibly upset.
Kale's face... refused to return to an emotionless state. It just appeared frustrated. At what? Only he knew that. But it wouldn't take a genius to guess that it was himself. He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he told her the truth. "Have you forgotten?... You were there right? I would have refused to save you. But Aria... she told me that I should." He paused. "If you're asking why it's because I was lost too and so was Aria... I was thinking of only me and her... you were a liability..." He trailed off, more unsure of his words than he should have been. His mind was flushed with confusion, why was he so upset over her reaction? "To be honest I still thought that when Aria convinced me but... I... I still helped you. I don't know why... it doesn't make any sense to me but I did it." He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "You... you're such a complication!" His voice was angry then, full of bitter emotions. "You got in my way and now look at me, I've been... I've been weakened! Compromised!" He tossed his hands in the air with exasperation. He was clearly almost as upset as Valorie was, though he was expressing it differently. Any sort of emotionless mask he had worn was now shattered on the floor.
Valorie seemed to ball her fists. The normally invitingly dispositioned girl abruptly spun around to confront Kale personally. "You're supposed to -care- about people!" she protested, rather upset. Notably, tears dotted her almost angry expression. It seemed telling her he didn't care about her life was a bit much for her to handle. Nobody treated her -that- poorly!
Kale only grew more enraged at her words. He balled his fists and straightened his posture, he stood to face Valorie directly then, he would have no more of her words. "Why... should I?!" He shouted, hopefully not loud enough to attract unwanted attention, but enough to show all of the emotion he had bottled up inside of him. "Please Valorie..." His voice lowered, though his words were bitter and filled with spite. "Since you know SO much about what people are supposed to do... Can you tell me why I've gone through my entire life without anyone ever giving a damn about me?" He paused and gritted his teeth. "Then! Can you please inform me as to why, despite that, I should care about anybody, let alone YOU!" He took a step towards her. "Well?! What gives you and everyone else this... this right!? This right to be cared about?!" Kale stopped in his tracks and took a step back. His face began to flush red with embarassment. He had said too much... much too much. His gaze fell to the ground and he went silent. Tears began to well and his eyes were wet by them. Though he refused to let the tears fall. Exhasperated and clearly given up, he repeated his question. "Well?... Why should I care? I don't understand."
Valorie was quiet. It was hard for the tiny, weak girl to pretend she was strong and so she just stood there declining to answer as Kale hurt her feelings. The tears kept coming. For all she tried, she couldn't grasp that this boy whom had saved her life still thought so poorly of her. How could he say that? How could he talk about her like she was worthless? Pain and sadness gave way to rage and she found she was no longer crying. She'd never wanted to reach out and hit someone so hard in her life, but she didn't. "...I don't know." she responded. Her own voice was full of a similar bitterness, almost familiar even.
Kale sighed deeply. "You... you must think I'm a real piece of work huh?" He laughed slightly. "Yeah maybe I don't care about anybody Valorie... and maybe that's my fault..." He sat down on her bed, so as not to disturb Aria, (Whom had somehow remained asleep throughout the argument.) his head was bowed, almost as if he was ashamed of this defining trait, something that made him who he was. Kale was ashamed of himself. "But I tried... I tried caring about other people a long time ago." His voice was nostalgic, calm and sad. "But... nobody cared about me. Not my parents... Not my "friends"... Arceus, I thought I had a best friend who I cared about and he went and left me behind as soon as things went sour for him." He was passed the point of no return, so he started to open up completely to Valorie. "Then... when everybody else was gone..." He closed his eyes tight and clenched his fists. "I... stopped caring."
He looked up at her, his eyes open and filled with sadness. "Maybe it seems like you're worthless to me... But if it makes you feel any better I don't really think you are personally." He paused and moved a strand of hair out of his face. "It's difficult for me to care though... because nobody ever taught me how to do it properly, you know, give and receive." He sighed. "So when you show up for the day and by the evening you start wanting me to open up and you start wanting me to call you friend?..." He trailed off. "That's really difficult for me, do you understand?" Kale looked up, locking eyes with Valorie. "I'm sorry alright? I shouldn't have made you upset like I did. That was... wrong, I guess." He looked away from her again, trying to figure out if anything he had just said actually made any sense or if Valories strange effect on his emotions was completely influencing his words.
Valorie merely listened. She didn't know what to say. To say Kale had upset her was a bit of an understatement. At first she just didn't want to talk to him, but slowly as he went on something much grander wormed it's way into her head; it was the realization that none of this was about her. It was about Kale! Kale was describing to her -his- problems, not -her- problems. He didn't understand her problems! She was... safe. This allowed Valorie to calm down.
Kale finished and Valorie looked around to make sure they had some privacy. She then did something provocative; instead of using words she moved over and sat down directly beside Kale, leaning over a bit and embracing Kale in a rather affectionate hug to show him she cared. It was a full and firm embrace during which Valorie's expression was a bit somber. The hug wasn't for her and yet she showed no interest in letting go. She wanted him to be the one to break the hug this time.
Kale could only wince as Valorie walked towards him. He didn't really know what he was expecting... though he was almost certain it would be something negative. To say nobody had ever hit him before would be a serious lie and to say he had gotten in a few violent fights would be an understatement. Yet, after having poured his emotions out for what would have been the first time in over a year at least... he had a feeling that the hit he was anticipating would hurt more than most. But despite what he thought... that hit never came. He opened his eyes sceptically to find that Valorie was sitting down beside him. Uncomfortably close beside him at that. He murmured with confusion. "What are you-"
He felt a strange and unfamiliar warmth interupt him. Valorie was... holding him. He panicked at first, his eyes widening and jaw dropping slightly, he tried to gently shimmy away from her... but her grip was tight. She wasn't letting him go. His face began to flush a deep red colour. "V... Valorie..." He started But he couldn't really think of what to say, as he sat in silence, suddenly he felt a wet sensation streaking down his face. A single tear had leaked from his left eye... within a moment another fell from the right, followed suit by another and another. He didn't understand why he was crying... he hadn't cried since he was a small child and yet here he was. Perhaps his lack of understanding as to his own feelings only drove the tears to flow faster. His hand moved then, almost by itself to wrap around Valorie, embracing her in a half-hearted way... but for Kale it meant more than most anything he'd ever done for another person. Still at a loss for words, he remained silent.
