Tormented Souls (Open/Mod)

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lanced narrowed his eyes a bit and pursed his lips as she began her rant, or lecture, or whatever it one wanted to call it. He sincerely wished he could reach out and back hand her but he kept that urge to himself. He did not say a word as went on and on reminding himself many times over that just because he had great distaste for one girl, the others in her laboratory may still be worth his time. Perhaps her usefulness was the way she could jabber on. That was at least a strong skill of hers. When she finally finished he sucked in a deep breath before speaking the last thing that had been on his mind, “Has anyone ever told you, you talk a lot?” He asked, stating it more like a fact than anything else. His deep blue eyes then drifted away from her as he actually thought her offer over. He wanted to kick himself for stooping low enough to even be considering agreeing to met the man after being pointlessly lectured by this woman. Pointlessly in his mind because he felt she was a fool. Pointlessly for her because what he thought clearly meant he had not taken her seriously enough to listen fully. Yet his pride seemed to be over run by his curiosity and greed. “I will meet with him.” Lance finally answered her last question, looking away from her briefly to fix the cuff on his sleeve, “But only because you’ve proven yourself brave enough to stand up to me. Most grown men would gladly wet their pants first.” It was true after all. As much as he greatly disliked her yattering and her questions he did admire her courage. She didn’t seem to care who she was speaking to. She spoke her mind freely and willingly. He still did not believe she had any other promising talents but at least it was a start. The man who put up with her must be either a complete fool or a very strong minded man. "But I will not lie Miss Kalista, if your research center does prove to be of interest to me and this Mister Alias accepts an offer of alliance, I am not a pleasurable man to work with. I am known as a rock of a man amongst my employees. I do my job quickly and efficiently and I expect those working along side or under me to do the same unless they have some admirable talent that so happens to set them aside from others. Will there be any issues with that?” He wasn’t asking for her sake but his own. He needed to know if he would have issues with some of the employees or not. Because if he did he would surely break them down into tiny pieces. He had a habit of doing that. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali wasn't sure whether to be offended or amused at his feedback, but convinced herself the latter sounded better. He still sounded pretty full of himself, trying to seem like he hadn't been the one to ask in the first place. But his rant on his work standards did make her grin. "Tell you what. As long as you don't let any of your Pokemon try to eat me, neither you nor they screw with our equipment, and you don't pull any weapons on our staff, I think we'd get along just fine." Mmmmmm, working without fear of being maimed...[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance once more found his brow raise as he spoke listing off a few things she didn’t want him doing. “They all sound very counterproductive.” He claimed digging into his pocket to find his small tin case, “I doubt I shall be doing any of the above.” Besides, if he wanted to point a weapon at one of her employees, he would have a skilled, assassin do it for him. There would never be a reason for him to get blood on his hands again. Yet did make him wonder why exactly she would choose to request he keep from doing those particular things. Surely it wasn’t a common things to worry about amongst employees. He knew he never had a need to ask them. It made him feel that those were the reasons she disliked her current supplier. Yet if that were true it made her questioning of him even less enjoyable. They would trust what sounded like a maniac over a man who could clearly stand his own ground? It made no sense to him at all. “I doubt I would be in the laboratory much anyway.” He claimed finally pulling the tin case out of his pocket and opening it only to find that he ran out of cigarettes. It caused him to let out a heavy sigh as he placed the case back into his pocket. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali's expression fell as she thought of a reply, but it was all but lost almost immediately. The raccoon in her perked up a bit as the glint of the tin case caught her eye, and when he opened and closed it only to look disappointed, the curious kid in her wanted to ask 'what's that?' But she held her tongue, blinking a few times as she mentally shook her head and tried to remember what she was going to say. "Oh hey, yeah.. That might actually not be such a good thing." Growing a bit restless, but knowing she needed to relax at least a bit if she didn't want to be even more sore in the morning, she began to look through her bag to find two PokeBalls, beginning to switch them around in her hand like those stress relievers. As she did, she went on, "Leon is pretty protective about our work, so he isn't going to like the idea of too many different people in and out. Like your various employees." She shrugged a bit. "Though I guess there could be a rendezvous point or something." Heh.. Now that she thought about it, she wondered if any of his employees would even be able to get in the lab. Hatter did seem to have some incredible skills. She'd actually be impressed if she wasn't so busy worrying about him killing them all in their sleep.[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] His hand fidgeted a little as the urge for the cigarette he could not have grew stronger. He needed to attempt to lose his trail of thought into the subject they had been talking over. “I do not see a need for me to enter the research laboratory even if I am personally delivering the supplies.” Though if they did research something he was interested in he may actually enjoy seeing the work up close. “Unless my curiosity gets the better of me I suppose.” He turned his head and looked away from her, smirking a bit after he said this. If they were researching something he knew he would enjoy he probably wouldn’t be able to help but check up on them and the research. Heck, he would help them he did not feel he would be more in the way than anything else. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]This.... actually caught her very off-guard, and after a few moments of sitting there in half-confused silence... Kali started laughing. "...Woooooww..." She tried to stifle it, but succeeded only enough to get a mild chuckle rather than more hyper giggle. "How sad is it that a simple drop-off and leave sounds soooo strange to me?" She'd stopped switching the Balls at the minor outburst, and now began again if rather slowly as she calmed down. "Sweet Arceus, I cannot tell you how nice it would be to have you replace Hatter." She didn't even realize she'd slipped his name, though she wouldn't have been too concerned if she had. As far as Kali was concerned, Hatter was a nobody to everyone save for Leon and apparently Vengeance. If she'd thought on it she may have remembered the wanted poster as well, but even that had said Black Jack Spade. Realizing a very important detail, she quickly jumped to, "Oh hey. How would one of us get ahold of you to arrange a meeting, or would it be easier to set something vague up now?" Like she'd been planning to set up when she met Kaito, but a certain adorable but nosy man had decided to just follow her home instead. Well, she wasn't about to let that happen again. The thought of Kaito made her feel even better about Lance though. She didn't know for certain if he'd be fond of their work, but she'd slip that test in later casually. Either way, it didn't change that the last guy she'd had a good feeling about as a potential co-worker did become one. (And, you know, a bit more than that for a short while, but Kali wasn't really worried about that part happening again. Because she was getting married now~~ Teeheeheehee~<3)[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance smirked slightly her comments. One, because given that he actually wasn’t working at the moment… kind of… it was kind of funny to see how relieved she sounded. Two, because she let slip the name of this supplier. Though he had never heard the name before amongst his company and allied companies. Normally he knew the names of all the suppliers in the world. It was, after all, a good idea to have a fine grasp on your competitor. This, Hatter, who ever he was, didn’t sound like he actually did a good job at all. Sure, the man may have gotten the supplies they needed to them quickly but any other problems he caused would also be reflected on his job. He believed she just simply needed to see what it was like to have a good supply working with her. It almost made him want to work with them for the pure fact of shutting down this other man. It be his luck that the research center would be researching something useless like what foods and treatments better help your pokemon grow. Or what the world could do to better help save the natural habitat of the pokemon. “I have a cell phone.” Lance replied, digging into his pocket, “If you believe that will be efficient enough.” He knew from talking to a few of the people in Era already that many of them didn’t use cell phones yet. It was sort of saddening how far behind in technology they were. Hopefully at least the scientist in Era would be advanced enough to have them. "Or a time and date will work." As he pulled out his phone from his inner pocket he also pulled out a small black book. It was what he used to mark down all of his meetings. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali's jaw actually dropped just a little for a few seconds before her face lit. Oh sweet, glorious, technology! "Yeah, a number is great." The Pokemon Centers in various towns had phones, after all. And there was usually at least one tiny one somewhere around each main city. She put down her PokeBalls as she spoke and started looking for a pen and something to write on from her bag. "Dear Lord, it feels like I haven't seen a cell phone in ages! I can't tell you how many times I've regretted leaving mine in the Orre." She rolled her eyes a bit, becoming rather drier and mumbling a bit, as much to herself as him. "Not that I think we'd get much reception as far out in nowhere as our facility is, or that that wouldn't have very much defeated the purpose of running away from home if my dad could've just called at any time, but anyway.." Finally, she retrieved a pen and a folded piece of paper with a few incomprehensible notes and perhaps a poorly drawn doodle or two already scribbled on it somewhere. A heart with the words 'Leon + Kali' may have also been partially visible on the face-up side. "Here we go. So what was that number?" As she asked, she was already scrawling 'Lance Rossi' across an empty spot.[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] So she did not have a cell phone either. At least she had once had one. It was better than nothing. “I find the further East I go the less reception I receive.” He claimed as he looked down at the phone momentarily. It currently had two bars out of six. He had a good feeling if he went much deeper into the forest it would lose all it’s bars. Luckily his factory was being built in the West which seemed to give him bars just fine. If he did run out of bars he could at least use the cell phone to retrieve his phone numbers. “Six, one, three” He began listing off the numbers of his cell phone. “three, nine, two. Six, seven, five, seven. ” When he finished the number he placed his phone back into his pocket before opening the black book and jotting something into quickly. He then closed it but kept it out just in case he would need it still. From the sounds of it she had no number to give him in return. “I tend to spend most of my time here in the east and a bit in the west. Will Mr. Alias be able to meet in these area’s or will I be expected to find him?” He would rather have Leon find him but he had told Nero he wouldn’t mind seeing more of Era. Perhaps find himself some more grass and dragon types. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali had finished jotting down the number and shrugged at his question. "Depends how interested he is in meeting you, I guess. I really want to replace Hatter if possible, so I can probably beg enough to get him to at least reluctantly agree to see you, even if it means that's all I can make him take off to do that week." Which was probably a good time to bring up- "On that note, it might be a few weeks or even a month before I can get him to take off. It's hard enough getting him to eat and sleep," she laughed, rolling her eyes. Actually, he had gotten notably better, just as long as she stayed on him so he didn't fall back. He'd been trying to take off a little more lately too, but that was a work in progress. Had this encounter occurred two months ago, who knew when she might have convinced him to take off a day. "But hopefully he's almost as fond of the idea as I am." Hell, maybe we could take a few days off then~ Head out to wherever Lance is staying and sight see a little on the trip back. Hmmmm~ Yes, that thought settled well with her indeed. "Either way, we can figure out who needs to be where later, neh?" [/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] This Leon guy, he sounded like a hard worker. Perhaps he would like the man after all. But he should never judge on just words. He had learned that long ago. No, one must meet and judge someone on their own. Judge but never trust. He learned that from himself. He knew no one should ever trust him because if the tables turned he would betray them in an instant. “As long as it’s in the next five months.” Lance claimed, his hand still fidgeting some as he wished for another cigarette. “My new factory should be standing and ready to open in the next six months. I will overly busy in that last month and time after.” After all, there was a lot of work involved in such a opening and it required a lot of attention to make sure it ran smoothly. He was already expecting it to be late. Slowly he put the book back into his pocket and looked up at the sky for a moment, his mind actually going relatively blank for a moment. It was rare but at least the busy thoughts of the past month were finally clearing form his mind, for now. Finally he brought his head back down and looked at Kali for a moment before he remembered the grass type pokemon she claimed had attacked her. “You’ll have excuse me but” He gave a slight grin, “I have an urge to search for that Meganium you missed out on.” Not that he would mind if she came with him. He just figured she may be too tired. Besides, it would get the want to smoke out of his mind. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali gave a small, somewhat questioning groan. Rather than complain on the need to move, though, she informed him, "It's not nice to steal other people's mobs." Honestly, the teen had no idea where that phrase could have possibly come from. Some girl sneaking around outside the lab one time referred to competing for Pokemon as such and somehow it stuck with her a bit. With a heavy sigh, she forced herself up, taking a moment to stretch. "Though I really do suggest finding a different one unless you want those dozen Sawsbuck following hi-.. Her? ... Which one has the longer antennae? I can't remember if it's showy like Unfezant plumes or feminine like Milotic whiskers... Eh whatever. Sawsbuck anyway." She shrugged. "Meganium are supposed to nest here in general, if only rarely."[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance smirked at her comment, “It’s not stealing my dear, simply cleaning up after.” He claimed before listening to the rest of what Kali had to say. If there was one type of pokemon he knew about it was the grass types. He simply adored them. He hated to admit that it was something which ran down his family line but he couldn’t help or deny his love for the grass types. “The females have the shorter antennae’s.” Lance claimed as he turned for a moment to look at her. “Besides, I’m certain a strong woman like yourself could weaken a mob of pokemon pretty well.” He was making it sound like a joke but deep down inside he doubted she could do any damage to a herd of pokemon even if she tried. “I’m certain they are long gone by now anyway. I’d like to see what else I might find. A Sawsbuck or Meganium would make perfect gifts.” [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali gave an indignant sound half-snorted and half-sniffed. "If my damned Weavile wasn't so impatient he couldn't brought them all down single-handed. But someone has to go charge right at the few types he knows he has trouble with with no second thought." Gathering her things before taking a moment to make sure she had it all, Kali sighed and shook her head, tone actually growing more affectionate. "I wouldn't trade him when he's at his peak though. I've got some other Sneasel and hybrids, but Siavush's special, and nothing you could do to that Weavile would make him fight harder.." This actually covered a few points, when she thought about it. If Lance here knew about- or especially supported- Shadows, she might be able to coax him into mentioning it with that. It also just gave her a chance to brag about what had become one of her favorite fighters. Really, Leon had suggested she Shadow Sia, but she saw no point. Disobedience- which was improving if oh so very painfully slowly- was a small price to pay for the passion he'd lose.[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lance grinned as she explained her issue with the Weavile. A dark/ice type pokemon. Dark types were rather interesting pokemon but not the type he favoured. He had no objections to collecting though. They were much like psychic’s and ghost, they had potential of being very strong. That smile on his lips turned to a smirk as she claimed there was nothing one could do to make it fight harder. “I can think of a few things you could do,” Lance claimed before turning his head from her to look out into the forest as his smirk disappeared “Long hours or hard work and patience with the pokemon or… some harsher ways. All pokemon have the ability to change. To become… perfect.” He turned his dark blue eyes back to Kali, the smirk returning. He did know about shadow pokemon and he cursed every waking moment that his father had run away before he could receive the families one and only shadowed pokemon. If he ever saw that man again he would take that shadow pokemon from him or else all hell would break loose. He was certain of that. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Oh fucking score, YESSSS! Inside, Kali leapt for joy at the implication. Outwardly, she blinked with intrigue- not quite feigning ignorance but not far from it. "Wha'd'you mean?" See how much he'd say.. If he came out and said it, that would just be glorious. If not, she'd see how much he'd describe. "I'm not my Weavile's original trainer, so training alone hasn't really been enough to overcome his natural ambition. ..Do you really think you know something that could?"[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lances smirk faded for a moment as he contemplated telling her more or not. He already knew she may have not been from Era as she had mentioned leaving a cell phone behind but then almost everyone from Era had heard about the shadowed pokemon at least once. They were becoming less and less heard of as the generations went on but he would never allow them to be completely forgotten about. Besides, what harm was there in mentioning such a thing to a woman. “Extreme harsh training,” Lance answered, “Or you could shadow it. Though the techniques have been… lost.” lack for a better word but hopefully she would get the point. “The shadow pokemon obey flawlessly without question. Better so than those near perfectly trained. Heh, but I doubt you would be interested in such thing.” Pokemon lovers, those who actually believed the creatures were their friends seemed to frown upon shadowing pokemon. Those people were weak. Foolish. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Just come out and say it indeed! Mentally the girl leapt for joy and squealed, and outside it was all she could do not to grin like a Cheshire cat. Instead, she feigned a look of mild shock and slight fear. "..What? I-.. Shadow Pokemon originated in the Orre you know." She simply assumed that her mentioning it before was enough to say she was from there. "Have you ever had real experience with them??" The implication was skepticism of such a method, particularly if Mr. Rossi here hadn't seen it up close. In fact, she was quite certain if he had any experience it was limited, but she wanted to find out just how much before correcting him... as well as just how much he cared for the issue.[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]

[Lady Leaf]

[scrolly:h(230),w(390),sy,as(padding:4px;margin-top:10px;margin-left:10px;)] Lances eyes narrows, his dark blue pulps looking down on her as he crossed his arms. “I’ve done my homework on the subject, and you miss Kalista, are toying with me again.” If she knew where they were originated then she clearly knew about the procedure long before asking for methods to help train her disobedient Weavile. “If you have questions, drop the act and ask them. I do not enjoy having my time wasted. As for my experience; my father was once the duke of south. He had his own shadowed pokemon in which I was to inherited when I became duke. I’ve battled it and nothing more. My father hasn’t been seen in over a year, his pokemon along with him.” Other than that, Lance had only been able to read up on them during his studies as he expected most son’s of a duke would be required to do. [/scrolly] [bg=black]

[Admiral Striker General]

[cs=3][atrb=style,height:87px;width:469px;border:0 black none;][atrb=style,border:0 black none,bTable][atrb=background,http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc64/Heart-of-Thorns/VC/kalitable2.png,bTable]
[atrb=style,width:215;border:0 black none;]	[atrb=style,height:265;width:221;border:0 black none;color:b7b7b7;][scrolly:h(265),w(221),sy,as(padding:4px;)]Kali did her best to ignore the twitch and keep up the innocence when he called her out. "I don't see how.." she mumbled. Whether or not he heard her, his following ramble served as reply anyway. Actually, when he was done, Kali almost couldn't think on her answer for sudden urge to ask why his brother was now the Duke instead, knowing she'd most likely either catch him in a lie or strike a very harsh nerve. Of course, there was a chance that when their father disappeared he just stopped caring, or that he'd never wanted it in the first place and was just giving into expectations that vanished with his father. Still, whatever the case, she was certain it was an interesting story, and she had a rather hard time keeping on the intended topic. Still playing the innocent and now mildly offended bystander, Kali countered, "Of course I've heard about Shadows given the incidents back home growing up, but I never even thought about doing something like that to him." And both of these statements were completely true. Or rather, she thought about it for about thirty seconds, decided against it, and hadn't thought since; in her mind, that hardly counted. It didn't occur to her at all that 'growing up' during Cipher's activity so implied her actual age, but it really didn't occur to her that it may affect anything in the slightest either. "They always said it was cruel and heartless." Skeptic but intrigued on the outside, she asked, "You really don't see it like that?"[/scrolly]	[atrb=style,border:0 black none;]
[atrb=style,height:22;border:0 black none;]