Far From Friendly (Closed)

So moody.

As fun and stupid being a teenager was, he sure as hell was glad he had outgrown this ridiculous melodramatic phase of life. Stiffening with the sudden physical touch, index finger stabbing right between his ribs, Elliot flinched back, biting down on his bottom lip to swallow some unsavory words. A single bead of sweat trickled from his forehead with the pain where she touched lancing through every fiber of his body, figure quivering in annoyance. It didn't take her long to go back to barraging him with question after question, and... What. The. Fuck?

Knuckles white from gripping the arm rest of the chair too hard, a vein popped on his forehead. He had been keeping back any crass retorts and allowed her inside, just taking it as he went and moving on. But that had only made it worse. This was his house, his roof, his rules, and here she was, parading around as if she owned the place and she had the damn audacity to demand answers from him.

Elliot gritted his teeth in silence, acid threatening to spill like lava, making a mental reminder to himself to never open the door again unless Claire or Magnolia made sure to signal that it was them. Or maybe he'll invest in a peep hole. Whatever. He'll think about that later. His hand twitched, tempting him to scratch the itch it had in doing that.

But instead, he just replied as if his jaw were wired shut.

"And why would you want to be a ranger?" Elliot waved his hand below the table towards Rayler, searching for a comforting presence, and his partner obliged, bumping his head up to the empty palm and filling it with warmth. "Don't give me that 'I want to be unique' crap you spilled earlier. Give me a real reason."

It all started out normal enough - as normal as it could be when it came to talking to people like her -, but there was a growing sense of... what was the word? Passion? Intensity? Desperation? Vocabulary was never his strong suit, but it was something that burgeoned in Kari's voice as she kept speaking, and before Elliot could get some sort of word in, she was already spilling out some of her life story to him as if they had known each other for several years and that they could casually bring this kind of topic up. He wasn't going to ask about her pitiful background, honestly, he just wanted a reason, not a dump of exposition. Was her reputation that big that it preceded her?

Hell if he knew. He had never heard of her or her father in any sense, and he was positive that he was up-to-date on major criminals around the area. Must be one of those petty ones that stole from the bank or something. An unreadable expression flickered across his face as he remained silent, absorbing the information thrown onto him and processing it as he picked out the bits and pieces needed. His tense hand stilled on Rayler's head, the Luxray having looked up towards his trainer, tail swishing as round blue ears perked up slightly.

Those were memories he didn't need to dig up, but his stupid train of thought just had to do that. Emotions sure are cruel sometimes, Elliot sourly mused to himself.

Letting out an almost-tired breath, he lulled his head back, staring up at the blank ceiling. "That still doesn't answer the damn question." The words slipped out as a mutter, half to himself, half to the redhead. "If you want to be a ranger just to prove that you're on justice's side, then tough luck. Tell me why a ranger out of all the things you could pick if you want to make your life worthwhile." She needed to get over herself. For someone who wanted to prove that she wasn't some sort of bastard, she sure wasn't doing a very good job at being a decent person.

"..."

Sure, maybe he thought the same at one point, but appealing to his own emotions and feelings weren't going to cut it. Something about that look on her face was familiar, and he didn't like it one bit, almost as if this was someone's idea of a practical joke designed to slam him right in the face. So she was desperate, as desperate as any starving child scrambling for the little scraps of meat tossed to them from the windows of the mansions above, like they were feral untamed pieces of trash.

His lips curled, suddenly defensive as he lowered his head, tone flat. "I'm not" - can't - "helping you." Several reasons stuck out in his head, the number of things he could list off and mark off with a mental check, but only a dull ache filled in the void. "Now get the fuck out of my house or I'll make you."

Seriously? Even a five year-old knew when 'no' meant 'no.' This stubborn ego-selfishness of hers laced the poison deeper and deeper into his veins, screeching a demanding release and explosion. Sliding a pure look of disdain towards the redhead, Elliot opened his mouth to speak, jaws clenching shut when an erratic beeping emitted from his wrist. Maybe this was a blessing, maybe it was a curse - he didn't know, but the computerized 16-bit voice announced its presence firmly, a projection of a screen penetrating through the fabric of his sleeves.

「 ALERT 」 Ranger presence requested in the outskirts of the forest.

Impeccable timing.

Tapping the styler to lower the volume, his eyes skimmed over the remaining information in silence on the glassy screen as he shot out of his seat. One glance at the clock. 9:30 PM, sharp. Frantically shuffling through his drawers, he thrust a flashlight and some potions into his pockets, a small bead of sweat trickling down to the nape of his neck as he did. Rayler had already padded over to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open. Elliot stepped into his shoes, ready to run into the dense forest.

Luxray immediately jumped into his path with a low growl, tossing his head in Kari's direction. Right. She was still here. "Get out and never come back. And don't follow me," he spat out, never once sparing a glance towards her as he marched out. Sure, he shouldn't trust her to actually leave or obey him, but there were more pressing matters to handle.

It sure didn't take long for there to be trouble between people and Pokemon again once the Pokemon were freely allowed to roam the Oasis.

Old habits really did die hard.

"Let's go, Rayler. Seems like we have a play date tonight."

Just had to be around this time of the night, huh? No matter how used to the presence of Pokemon living in the vicinity that he was, the denizens of the Oasis were still, well, working on that little minor detail. He supposed that it was asking too much to have peace and quiet before he departed for Johto once more, but the kinds of trouble that stupid ignorant kids had to get into. Flashlight in one hand, shining the path through the labyrinth of trees, Elliot darted and weaved his way through the forest with relative ease. Fearless jumps down high ledges and ricocheting off boulders, he and Rayler were nothing less of lightning bolts, not a single misstep to slow down their wake.

As he neared the location, he heard panicked screams and scrambles, the rustling of leaves and bushes as small bodies tried to duck out of the way. A barrage of leaves whisked by, and the darkhaired ranger side-stepped to avoid it, scanning the vicinity. Three kids, all around the age of eight or nine, covered in bruises and scrapes, clothes tattered and amiss.

In the center of the clearing was an ancient-like creature, with a tanned brown body not unlike the bark of the trees around and broad vestiges of green for wings, brimming from heaven and earth with unmarked fury. Some of the yellow fruits that should have been underneath its chin had been squashed or humiliating peeled bare. With a knowing look towards his partner, the Luxray broke its way through as Tropius flung razor sharp leaves towards two of the bunched up children, using his own body as a shield.

Elliot swung his arm, the spinning top ejecting from its place on his wrist on the command of "Capture on!" With practiced and rehearsed movements, the circle of light stood out like neon lights in the bleak darkness, and what had been a rampaging Pokemon had quietly calmed down.

Slowly approaching the sauropod, he held his hand out in offering, to which the Tropius obliged, allowing him to pet it with the familiar texture of foliage and skin all too nostalgic. "Good boy." Turning towards the children, to whom Rayler had been protecting, his eyes narrowed. "What the hell were you guys thinking, trying to steal fruit while it was sleeping and ruining them?"

He had expected a chorus of apologies, but instead, it was the blame game.

"Well, it was her idea!"
"Nu-uh, you wanted to come out in the forest and got hungry!"
"I told you we shouldn't have come out! Mommy and daddy are gonna be really really mad!"

Why were all kids like this? Elliot stormed over to them, raising his hand. Eyes lit with terror, he didn't hesitate to swing his palm...

Smack!

... Into his other palm.

Of course they were already in tears, but hey, a good scare would teach them a lesson. With an exasperated sigh, Elliot knelt down to be at eye level with the children. "Make sure to ask when you want something. You might not be so lucky to have someone save you next time, got it?" Harsher than intended, his voice colder than he'd like, and he had to wince from the sound of it. Man... he really wasn't good at this sort of thing. Why did it have to be kids and not troublesome teenagers?

Speaking of troublesome teenagers, cue Kari, who had obviously not listened to him.