Far From Friendly (Closed)

Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine...

Hand grasped tightly around the bar, a face with hair stickily framing it like a second skin through the sheen of glistening sweat lifted his chin right above. Each empty pull upward contoured and betrayed an already well-built body, imbued with ebony etchings from his back to an arm, exposed and bare for all to see. Beads as salty as tears ran into his lips, feet dangling useless above the ground, only bending into angles as the figure they were attached to continued to go back up; they were quick to straighten with the next fall.

One hundred...

The final one was completed with a laze, immediately letting go once completed and getting back to the earth. A head of black and blue bowed its head, giving way to the towel on top as Elliot reached for it, smiling to his partner who had flicked his tail in response. Nudging his head onto Elliot's palm, he gave a small laugh, humoring the Luxray with a "Thanks buddy" and a gentle pat of the head, ruffling darkened tufts of fur into a slight mess. Not that Rayler would care; they were both used to being messy.

Someone was knocking on the door. Loud and rhythmic as it was, in the brink of the evening, Elliot paused for a moment. Rayler's ears twitched, head slightly moving in response to scrutinize the figure behind with vision that saw more than any other. Okay, that was new. None of the three had told him that they were going to be visiting so late in the day or gave him any prior notification that they were coming. He wasn't planning to stay on the Oasis for any longer, and they knew that, so what the hell, who was bothering him (or who found the cabin so far out in the middle of nowhere)?

He ignored it for awhile, thinking it'd be in his best interests to not answer. If it were Claire or Magnolia, they would've spoken by now to clarify that it was them and not some random freak who happened to stumble upon him. Patting the towel against his face to get rid of the sweat, the Luxray jabbed him a little in the legs, and he grimaced. Really? Why exactly would Rayler tell him to answer the door?

... Maybe it was one of the three after all, and they were pulling some sort of surprise visit on him. Wouldn't be the first time. Wouldn't be the last. Or maybe it would be rude for him to treat this as some girls going around selling cookies that he had no interest in. Whatever, hell, he might as well. Pulling a shirt and jacket on, he took a few steps and swung the door open.

He froze in place when the recognition lit up his eyes. Are you fucking kidding me.

As quickly as it opened, he slammed it shut in her face without a word or sound.

Did Arceus think it was funny to orchestrate these events to be exactly like this? What kind of accursed luck did he have to have for yet another thing to just go poorly for him? With one look towards his partner, he only found himself even more baffled by the fact that Rayler had an amused glint in his eyes, licking his paws with what was undoubtedly a purr. Smacking his palm over his face, Elliot shook his head, trying to block out that overly energetic and upbeat voice and banishing it to the Shadow Realm for all of eternity. Why the hell was that, no matter where in the world he went, people thought turning him into a practical joke was the best source of entertainment?

Rayler didn't even like being around other people, but given the chance... He internally groaned. "No dessert for you," Elliot chided, spinning on his heel to turn back and face the door in the right direction. With the way that the Luxray just wagged his tail like an excited Skitty, his threat had fallen on deaf ears. Deep breaths in. Deep breaths out. Gripping the door handle, knuckles white, he squeezed his eyes shut, opening them just as the door opened. Damn it.

Flatly and unamused, he stared down at the shorter girl with golden knives for eyes. Thin lips pressed even thinner against each other, he placed one hand on his rotating shoulder. "Can you get out of my sight and never come back here again?" That was as nicely as he was putting it. Not that she was going to listen. People like her, once they found a target, they latched onto them like a mushroom would on a Parasect, and they never let go.

Was it common around younger kids these days to ask as many questions and say as many things as humanely possible without letting the other person get a chance to respond to the previous thing? What a fucking headache this redhead and her blabbermouth had to be. Pensively, Elliot frowned, brows furrowing, "Yeah, sure, it doesn't suit me." All bark, no bite - that was just the usual. Wary as can be, guards pulled up in a way to never allow any openings, he didn't bother with trying to fight back against whatever she said. Who the hell did she think she was to criticize his routines and living space when they've spoken to each other for less than a dozen sentences?

No wait, she just had to speak a dime a dozen. He shot a look towards Rayler, who had already gone back to grooming his own fur in disinterest now that the initial entertainment had passed, and only then just realized that a small bundle of orange and yellow had shot past him and darted faster than a bullet toward the quadruped. Leaving his post at the door, his hands scooped up the Torchic with an audible sigh before Rayler had any bright ideas of playfully intimidating the far lower-leveled Pokemon for his own amusement. "Keep your Torchic in its ball if you plan on staying here. I don't want it screwing up my things."

Not that he owned that much in the first place. The cabin, as homely and comfortable as it was, was simple and clean as can be. Just the usual that one would expect - a kitchen, some shelves, chairs, and tables, and an additional room accessible to the door on the right that wasn't the bathroom. Some exercising equipment was easily visible (and a TV and telephone not too far away), but none of his personal belongings could be seen. If he even had any.

All that stuck out was a single picture frame depicting Elliot and the other three members of the Reservation team, but if he had a a choice in the matter, he wouldn't have hung it up so visibly either.

That was because everything personal of his was in the other room, locked and tucked away for nobody else but him and Rayler to enter. She didn't need to know that, and 'guests' should know better than to snoop around their host's place without permission. Silently letting out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding, Elliot slipped his left hand into his pockets, closing the door behind the girl and locking it from any other visitors coming in. He highly doubted that anymore would come by, but better safe than sorry. This redhead was the same as talking to ten people at once, no doubt about it.

Good thing she wasn't making any other rude remarks now. Not that his attitude was any better, but... Well... It wasn't like he was expecting anyone to find his house out in the nick of the woods so soon after getting their Pokemon. They'd all be battling each other or training just to get stronger, so excited and ecstatic about being able to have the real deal. Who'd have figured someone would go exploring of all the things they could be doing?

Adventuring was part of the package, so maybe he shouldn't jump to conclusions already. With a halfhearted shrug, the ranger mumbled, "I guess." They did have it built out in the forest for a reason, and not simply because it was easier to patrol around the peaceful perimeters usually. Wringing his hands, Rayler immediately closed the distance between the two of them, serving as a comforting presence as Elliot took a seat at one of the chairs.

Though the Luxray rested at his feet, it was enough. "And... Elliot. Stop calling me 'hon,' damn it. I'm older, and that's disgusting." Blunt and straightforward as can be with a piercing edge of a blade. "Do you have any actual business or are you just here to mess with me, Kari?" His fingers stroked at the capture styler around his wrist, debating whether to take it off and put it away.

... Never mind. If she saw it, he wouldn't see the end of it. So he pulled his sleeve over to cover it up even more.

She never even told him her name, but hey, if she didn't notice that, bonus points for him. Getting away with being accidentally rude and possibly avoiding the opportunity of being called out as some sort of creep or stalker was fine by him. Seeing as Kari didn't plan to shut up anyway, they were not bringing up that subject again. On the downside, here he was, listening to some rowdy teenager ramble on and on and on without an end in sight when he was supposed to be doing anything other than this. "Still older..." Elliot muttered under his breath, barely keeping up with everything she brought up. Most people didn't speak at such a fleet-footed pace, he was sure... Or maybe he got used to those three talking more languidly just for him.

From head to toe, he bristled, face burning to the tips of his ears, and he nearly stood up to slam his hand on the table in protest, only for his knee to hit underneath the surface. The hell? Who was she, to so crudely make those kinds of judgement on him right off the bat? And why the fuck did she have to get it right? If it were possible, smoke would be coming out of his ears, but thank Arceus it weren't or else he wouldn't be able to keep his composure any better. Rayler had raised his head briefly at his trainer's near-outburst though quickly went back to resting with a gruff whine in protest.

Torture him... Elliot's eyebrow raised slightly in questioning but he made no comments on it. Her story was believable, and he had no doubts that it was the truth. Damn. All of that build-up and unnecessary chatter just to say that she wanted more information? "You should've just said so from the start instead of wasting my time." Coldly and harshly, amber gold from a viscous lantern leaked into the flames of red, facing head-on.

Eyes focused at her nose, Elliot cut to the chase. "I don't take students, so find yourself a different goal." Preferably as far away from him as possible.