without a trace [open]

[Gabriel Bachmeier]

it is quite alright,

i shall take the darkness that you hold

Why was he here again? Oh, right, mission... He didn't really care to pay attention to any of the details when the grunts were being briefed. Then again, he never paid attention to the details. All he had to do was to follow them around and make sure they escaped without being seen. Despite this, he allowed his train of thought to wander along with his eyes. With wide and rounded eyes, he observed his surroundings. He had never been in a city before, and the tall buildings and large crowd of people in the streets made him feel small and uncomfortable. He missed the trees that blocked out the sun and covered the sky, providing sanctuary in a world so large. The city buildings only blocked out the sun at certain angles, and he could still see the sky. This did not provide the same feeling of comfort the forest trees did. He wanted to go home, to return to his mother and brother, but he knew that would never happen.

Blue eyes focused ahead, only to realize that the grunts he was following, cloaked in the clothes of everyday civilians, were... gone... Where did they go? He ceased his steps, closing his eyes and trying to trace their aura signatures. No, no, no! There were too many people around him. He needed to find someplace... Someplace he could think! A shiver ran down his spine, and the boy disappeared mere milliseconds before someone could bump into him. Slowly opening his eyes, he found that he was in a... a... What did they call this place? He searched around for a sign or something that would answer his questions. His eyes landed on a large, bright sign that had various pictures of foods and drinks on it along with large text that read... uh... Cleffa Cafe. Charming.

Wait, what's a cafe?

Shaking his head to dismiss the question, he realized that he was standing in the doorway. Oh, let's not forget that the people behind the counter were looking at him strangely. Did they see him materialize out of thin air? Ugh, what a day. Bowing his head so that his bangs covered his eyes, he scurried off to an empty table in the corner, one where he could easily look out the window. He might as well wait here until he can pinpoint the signatures of the grunts. Slumping into a wooden chair, he rested his elbows on the table top, placing his face down, and threading his fingers into his hair. He gave a soft groan.

"Great... The mission'll be ruined now..."

if you don't have a goal or a prey

then it's fine for with me you can stay.

[Deleted]

It was another day, and since he wasn't running through some backbreaking training exercise or otherwise stuffed inside his cell, that meant he was on a mission. Of course as always, said mission was set in the middle of the city. It couldn't ever be some where nice like a forest or plains, or maybe a beach. It was always some crowded in human settlement, and cities weren't ever his favorite place to be. Raykeep City in particular, was probably the worst of the cities he had ever known. It wasn't just a collection of boxed in dens, it was a collection of boxed in dens covered in a thick visible haze of pollution.

What exactly were they doing? Adrian hadn't bothered too much with paying attention to the details. Apparently this was some sort of data retrieval op or something. He didn't have to worry about the specifics, he was just in charge of getting everyone inside without being detected. As for who he was with, it was just a pile of new faces to him. Maybe he had worked with a few of them before, but it wasn't like he really paid attention to who was who. They were all cruel, cold-hearted black order goons, and he cared little about which one was which.

There was one face though that he knew was unfamiliar, and in fact he was more interested in him than the rest. His sensitive nose could detect and distinguish between a lot of things, including telling the difference between a human and a gijinka, and the little blond kid was definitely the latter. As they walked down the streets, he pondered on how to approach the kid. So far the boy hadn't said a word out loud. Perhaps the order had already beaten him into submission? That was sad a possibility, and it was probable too. Still, he thought it would be worth it to see if he could actually make a friend here.

When Adrian turned his head to speak to the kid however, the boy was no longer there. The grunts on the other hand, just kept walking, apparently oblivious. Great Arceus, these idiots are unobservant. Adrian thought wearily. Granted, he could just throw up an illusion, and the grunts need never find out the kid was gone, but that would not work forever, and could easily result in a badly failed mission with the blame pinned on him, so he had no option other than to bring it to their attention. "Guys, isn't there supposed to be five of us here?" Adrian said.

The grunts stopped dead, only now coming to the realization that one of their gijinka companions was indeed, gone. "Damn it all, they said he'd warn us before he took off." The lead grunt swore under his breath. Adrian could only smile in amusement as he watched the grunt struggle to determine their next course of action.

"We probably should find the kid. Is the boss going to be angrier that we failed our mission, or that we let a prisoner escape right under our noses?" Adrian suggested cheerily, making no attempt to disguise how much he was enjoying the fact that they had screwed up. Immediately after he could practically feel the force of the trio glaring him down, though it quickly died down, as the grunts reached the end of their nerve.

"Fine. We split up, meet back here in a half hour!" The grunt told them. For a second Adrian thought he was actually being allowed to wander off on his own, only for the leader to turn on him. "And you are coming with me!"

"Of course, oh mighty one." Adrian said sarcastically, before following him back down the path they had come from. After giving them some time to create some distance from the rest of the group, Adrian stopped dead, and stared down the grunt. "I really think it would be more pertinent to our chances of success, if we split up." He said as he leaned over the grunt.

The grunt jumped a bit as the towering gijinka loomed over him, flinching under his icy,inhuman gaze. "Y-you think I'm stupid enough to let you escape?" He snapped back, unable the fear in his voice.

"You think you could stop me if I tried?" He growled, glaring down at the grunt with his canine teeth bared, now being more intimidating than amused. "Just go already, I will meet up with you guys in a half hour as promised. You know command would have never assigned me to you three idiots if they thought there was any chance I would try to escape." He snarled, and with that the grunt lost the last of his wits and bolted down the nearest alleyway.

That was fun. Adrian thought to himself cheerily. He didn't have a lot of opportunities to really dominate over black order members, and it was very amusing watching the guy run looking like he might wet himself if he didn't get away fast enough. On the other hand though, it was also kind of depressing, because he was exactly right. It seemed the higher ups were getting a bit comfortable in the knowledge that he would not escape, or perhaps he was still being watched, though if he was, it wasn't by anyone he could see himself, and they clearly didn't care that he just sent their mission leader running scared.

Shaking his head to clear away the depressing thoughts, he instead turned his attention to the store fronts. Even with the four of them split up, he wasn't really sure on the chances of finding the kid. He had no clue whatsoever what kind of range he had, or if the kid could just keep teleporting and teleporting for any amount of distance. He of course, under any other circumstances could just track him by smell, but unfortunately, teleports didn't leave behind any kind of scent trail, and he probably wouldn't be able to find one anyway over the stench of pollution that hung over the entire city. He could only keep looking his eyes, and hoping to come across a stray scent.

Somehow though, it seemed Adrian had gotten very lucky, because not after too much time, he turned to glance into the window of a café, and locked eyes with the very kid he was looking for. He froze for a second, almost expecting the boy to bolt or vanish or whatever he did to initially get away. He then headed right inside, and plopped himself down in the seat across from him. "Hey there. Nice disappearing act you got. The others are losing their minds trying to find you!" He chuckled softly.

[Gabriel Bachmeier]

it is quite alright,

i shall take the darkness that you hold

The seconds ticked by slowly. Twenty minutes. How did he know this? Well, when you had nothing else to do, mentally counting out each tick of the second's hand and dividing it by sixty in the end was his only source of entertainment. He did not bother to lift his head, not even as one of the cafe workers--a woman in her early twenties, judging by her signature--tapped him on the shoulder. She tried to stir him, tried to ask him if she could get him anything, but the gijinka did not say a word. She left after half a minute of trying, easily giving up on him. He tried focusing once more. Where did the grunts go? There was also another gijinka with them, right? Maybe he could lock onto that signature. Gijinkas were easier to track than humans, surprisingly.

His eyelids clamped tightly together as he tried to focus. Human, human, human, Rattata, human, human--ugh! There were too many people in this Arceus forsaken city. He wanted to go home. If not there, then he wanted to go back to his holding cell that prevented him from teleporting away in the dead of night! Wait, he could just teleport away right now... No, no. They would find him no matter how far away he went. They would drag him back and beat him back into submission. Why was the life of his kind so complicated? Why did it have to be them? Why did--oh! A Zoroark is nearby. Friend? Foe? He could never be too sure. Dark types made him antsy, and... Wait, this signature... It's the one from the group!

He waited, fearful of what might happen if he removed his head from his arms and looked up, fearful of what the Zoroark might do to him. He did involuntarily flee, after all. It wasn't his fault it was in his nature to flee at the first sign of danger, and being in the big city put him on edge enough already. They should start putting a leash on him. Seriously, it would make these mission a lot easier. Oh, Buneary trails. He looked up when the sound of a chair scraping across the floor reached his ears, causing his muscles to tense at the unpleasant sound. He slowly opened his eyes, fixing his curious (if not cautious) gaze on the gijinka.

Folding his arms on the table, he rested his chin on his arms. He focused on the ticking of the clock somewhere in the room, allowing the sound to work its hypnotic and metaphorical magic on him. He released the tension from his muscles, relaxing only a bit. "I got lost," came the childish response, though his mouth did not even twitch with the words. Instead, he projected his thoughts into the mind of the Zoroark. Telepathy was great, and nobody could tell him otherwise. "Are they mad?" He was going to be beaten after this was all over. He just knew it.

if you don't have a goal or a prey

then it's fine for with me you can stay.

[Deleted]

Adrian looked down on the kid, and his expression softened a bit. He supposed he should tone it down, as the kid looked incredibly nervous. It would be a downright shame if he found the kid only to scare him into teleporting away from him again. His gaze shifted over to the clock hanging over the counter. It had been about twenty minutes since they started looking, and they had ten minutes to get back to the meeting point. He certainly would not have time to find the kid a second time.

Still though, they could probably get away with chilling for another five minutes before they headed out. Turning back to the kid, he had finally responded, though the lack of mouth movement told him the kid was using telepathy to speak. Adrian wasn't sure if he should or even could respond by thinking since telepathy wasn't something he could ever do himself. "I wouldn't worry too much about them" He assured the boy. "I may have scared our team leader off in order to get some alone time out here." He said proudly.

"My name is Adrian by the way." He went on as he folded his own arms onto the table in front of him comfortably. "What do I call you?". He kind of hoped the kid would open up, though he wasn't entirely sure what to do with people who were so down in the dumps. No one in his pack ever had much reason to get to this level of depression, and since his capture, he didn't really have too many opportunities for any sort of friendly interaction.

[Gabriel Bachmeier]

it is quite alright,

i shall take the darkness that you hold

Of course they were mad. It was a stupid question to begin with, and he almost felt embarrassed after asking it. Almost. Embarrassment would turn into fear had he been asking such a question to one of the grunts. He may hate them, but they could be just as cruel as the higher ups, sometimes even worse if left to their own devices for far too long. The blond suppressed a shudder at the memory of all the past punishments he had been given, whether there was a valid reason or not. Grunts were heartless sometimes, especially when it was towards someone deemed inhuman by society. He and his kind were nothing more than tools, after all. It was what they had originally been created for, and the organizations will treat them as such when the public wasn't viewing them... Okay, sometimes even then.

Being told not to worry about them, however, did not ease his nerves.

Blinking, his head tilted slightly to the side. His name? Oh, yes, they... They didn't actually know each other, huh? In fact, he never really held any sort of conversation with any of the other gijinka or pokemorphs in the Black Order. It probably did not help that he slept most of the day. "I'm... Gabriel." He almost sounded unsure of his own name, though that was most likely from being called a variety of other names by the Order, most of which were... Unpleasant, to say the least. Often times, though, they just referred to him by his Pokemon name. It was easier, and it was only four letters. Not much of a change from the seven letters of his actual name, but.... oh well. He shouldn't think too much on the matter. It would just end up confusing him.

A yawn forced apart his jaws, and he had to bury his face in his arms to conceal the motion. Was it already that time of the day? Great Arceus, he was going to end up falling asleep halfway through the mission. Gabriel peeked over his arms, glancing at the clock and then back to Adrian. "So... Where ya from?" Small talk. Smooth.

if you don't have a goal or a prey

then it's fine for with me you can stay.

[Deleted]

Though he told the kid not to worry, Adrian could tell that the boy hadn't really stopped worrying at all. True enough, the grunts would probably have an earful waiting for them. Maybe even a smack or too, though Adrian could only see that resulting in the kid teleporting again. Too bad those grunts didn't have a few more brain cells between them. If they had any sense, then there would really be nothing to worry about, but alas, the black order's hiring standards for grunts were rather pathetic these days.

"Gabriel. Nice name." Adrian commented, offering the boy a friendly smile. He seemed a bit nervous, was the kid unsure about speaking is own name? Adrian was always confident about his own name. Sure, most of the order didn't bother going by it, but it was always an easy push off point to make fun of them for 'forgetting'. They'd get annoyed, he might get smacked, but it was still very much worth it. Adrian probably liked getting on their nerves a little too much, but who could blame him?

Then Gabriel yawned, and second later Adrian could only think oh crap before he ended up yawning as well. Adrian however, made no attempt to cover his mouth, stretching it wide. Fortunately the illusion making him appear human also covered his teeth, otherwise Gabriel and everyone else within eye-shot would have gotten a clear view of his intimidatingly inhuman teeth. Though he had quite forgotten about it up until then, he had as usual, very little sleep to work on, and now he was feeling it thanks to that yawn. Aside from his head lulling slightly though, he paid no mind to it. Hopefully once this mission was over he'd get thrown back in his cell for another attempt at sleep.

Adrian had kind of expected to be carrying the brunt of the conversation. Gabriel hadn't seemed like much of a talker, what with how quiet he had been up to the point he had disappeared. He was pleasantly surprised though, to be asked about his home. "My pack lived in Lostlorn Forest, in Unova." Adrian answered wistfully, his tone becoming a bit more solemn. Thinking of home was a little tough. He was never really sure if it even was home anymore. His memories of those last moments before he was dragged off were very much a blur. He knew most of his pack had fled, but he had no idea if the order had left it in any condition for them to return to, or even if his pack would return to it after the attack.

"How about you? Anywhere interesting?" He asked, as his more usual optimism returned to his voice. The world was pretty huge after all, and aside from whatever locations the order had sent him to in the Leurrun Region, he never really had much chance to travel too much. It'd be pretty cool to hear about where an Abra would make it's home.

[Gabriel Bachmeier]

it is quite alright,

i shall take the darkness that you hold

Lostlorn forest... Unova? He had never heard of the places, and his confusion was evident on his face. Really, his world had only been a single forest before the Black Order ruined his life, so the other forest was completely foreign to him. Lostlorn... It was such a sad name, though the forest must be a wonderful place to have homed gijinka of any kind, excluding the ghost types who probably liked the drearier places in the world. He could already feel the curiosity picking at him, wanting him to see the forest for himself. He wanted to know more. It was just a teleport away, but he knew that would cost him his life. Perhaps, in the far future, he would be allowed access for the forest and this "Unova." Perhaps he would be able to see the different wonders of the world and learn things he had never known. The Black Order would never allow it, though. More knowledge means that one of his kind is more likely to rebel. Knowledge is power, after all, and it would only strengthen his psychic powers. If only...

Gabriel found his thoughts swimming as his curiosity of a foreign forest turned to thoughts of rebellion and, eventually, into that of his own home. Was his mother well? Did his brother amount to anything? Are they safe? He wanted to know. He did not want to be here, where humans breathed down his neck and the smog clouded his senses. He wanted to be there, in the bug-infested forest with his mother and brother. He would even settle for his father over the Black Order, had the man been alive. He wanted to play with the young Caterpie and Weedle once more, to watch as the Kakuna and Metapod shed their cocoons and flew off as Beedrill and Butterfree. He wanted all the things he could no longer have, and it was enough to tighten his chest.

The Abra blinked away the glossy look in his eyes, realizing that he had allowed his train of thought to derail. He stared at Adrian for a few moments before he remembered to answer the question given to him. "Viridian Forest, Kanto." He would have continued on with a bit of how the forest was and whatnot, but he had a better idea. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his telepathic ability. He tried to connect his mind with Adrian's for a few short minutes in order to share one of the fonder memories of the forest, particularly that of the evolving cocoons. It was a sight to behold as glowing shells broke open, revealing the evolved forms inside. Wings unfolded, quickly drying off and beating with life. Their wings lifted them into the air and off towards the horizon where the sun was just beginning to show itself. He had always loved that time of the year, yet it always made him sad to know that his friends were leaving him, only to return to the place of their birth when it was time to start the cycle all over again.

Gabriel opened his eyes, locking them on the other gijinka.

if you don't have a goal or a prey

then it's fine for with me you can stay.

[Deleted]

Adrian could tell from the confusion on Gabriel's face that he didn't really know anything about the region. Adrian scratched his head a bit. "It's... Actually I don't even know where Unova is in relation to Leurrun." He admitted. Surprisingly enough even for him, he hadn't even really thought about how he'd get home if he ever escaped the order. Early on, it was just about getting away, and then the order began punishing his sister for his resistances, and he lost all will to try. He never got far enough to really realize just how lost he was in this region.

Realizing he had been staring off into space, his gaze focused back on to the Abra gijinka, who turned out to be doing the same. He tilted his head at the boy, and wondered if all these thoughts of home were upsetting him. Well, he was the one who brought it up... He thought to himself. Finally though, Gabriel finally spoke up, giving him nothing more than the name of his forest, and region. Just as Gabe apparently knew nothing about Unova, Adrian had no clue about Kanto either, or it's Viridian Forest. Adrian knew 'forest' though, and it seemed that was something they had in common.

Adrian had been about to continue the conversation, only to be caught off guard by the sudden vision Gabriel was giving him. "What are you... Whoa." He gaped, as images of forest and evolving Kakuna and Metapod played across his vision. The Viridian Forest wasn't really too unlike his own, and he had to keep reminding himself that this couldn't have been real so he didn't go doing something stupid like howling out in the middle of the café.

Soon the vision ceased, perhaps a bit too quickly for Adrian's taste, but as his vision returned to Gabriel, a smile spread across his face. "Your forest must have been a great place to live. Reminds me a lot of my own forest really, though we only had Sewaddle and Venipede." He commented. He kind of wanted to show his own home to Gabriel, now that he had seen his. Unfortunately though, suddenly turning this coffee shop into a forest probably would not go unnoticed by the patrons.

Adrian's gaze slipped over to the clock, discovering that their time was beginning to run out. "We better get a move on. Promised those idiots I'd be back in a half hour, and we only have about five minutes to make it." He said as he got up from his seat. "Come on, we'll probably have to make a run for it."

[Gabriel Bachmeier]

it is quite alright,

i shall take the darkness that you hold

The names of the two Pokemon Adrian said were lost to him. Well, no, he knew what a Venipede was. There were a few in the Black Order, but he did not have the slightest clue what a Sewaddle was. If only they would allow him access to a Pokemon database or something. It would help him in the long run. His species was known for their intelligence, after all. Some education would do him good, but that would never happen. For now, he could only infer that a Sewaddle was some sort of bugs. Forests were filled with them, after all. He probably shouldn't be so interested in bug types, though. They were one of his weaknesses, type-wise, but they were so cute back in the forest! They were also great companions, filling the void his father left him. He wanted another bug-type companion, but that would never pass with the Black Order. They would squish it the moment he brought it into the base.

A frown formed on his face when the other gijinka spoke once more. "Do we have to?" Even if it was just telepathy, the whining tone could still be heard. He didn't want to go back, at least not yet. The sooner they finished the mission, the sooner they would be tossed back in their cells. Then again, the longer they take, the worse their punishment might be. Reluctantly, the Abra slipped out of his chair, pushing himself up with one hand on the table and the other on the back of his chair. "Running and I do not mix." Gabriel started for the door, only to stop as another yawn forced his jaws apart. Teleporting a short distance was enough to drain him, and continuing with his telepathy was starting to make him run on empty. He was going to fall asleep half way through this mission, he just knew it. On the upside, he could easily "sleepwalk" if somebody guided him. On the downside, grunts usually hated to do that, and he couldn't give any warning before teleporting everyone away.

"Where are we meeting them?" The boy turned his head to face Adrian, reluctance to leave the cafe written all over his face in large, bold letters.

ooc: bluh, short. blame the allergies. >A<

if you don't have a goal or a prey

then it's fine for with me you can stay.

[Deleted]

Adrian shifted his weight to the side, and looked up to the ceiling absent-mindedly as the Abra gijinka's voice whined inside his head. "Unfortunately..." He trailed off for a moment, as he dropped his gaze back on Gabriel and a mischievous grin suddenly spread across his face. "That is, unless you want to make a break for it?" He suggested daringly, excitement glinting in his eyes.

That excitement quickly faded though, and he soon shook his head. "No, I can't." He sighed, the disappointment not being hard to see as he suddenly began staring off into space. It was probably what frustrated him most about this sudden taste of 'freedom'. Even without anyone hovering over him, he was still incapable of escape. Even if he did get away, what would they do to his sister, Rosalie? Nothing that came to mind was any good. Him being gone would mean they had no way to control her without flat out capturing her. If that happened as a result of him escaping, Adrian couldn't imagine living with himself.

Adrian blinked himself back into reality and his gaze once again fixed on Gabe. Curiosity poked at his mind as to why this kid was hanging around. The abra clearly enjoyed this gig just about as much as he himself did. The kid was an Abra, she should have been able to, especially now, just teleport away, to anywhere he wanted to be. "Though, you probably still could on your own. I doubt I'd be able to stop you if you did. Why don't you just... teleport away?" He questioned, tilting his head at Gabriel in confusion.

Upon hearing Gabe's feelings on running, he could only be a little more confused. Who didn't like running? The speed, the wind flying though your hair... Running was one of his favorite things! Plus... they were kind of running late. Then again, there probably was little reason to be concerned. Even if the grunts got mad at him over his tardiness, they could hardly argue with him when he, of all of them, was the one to actually bring the kid back. "Run, walk, however, we probably should get moving." He prompted again. "The spot is about three blocks down from here, beside the den... the shop with all the clothes and the black Furfrou on the sign." He scratched his head trying to remember just what the sign had said. Remembering a certain concern, he leaned in closer to Gabe to whisper to him. "Oh... Do me a favor though, don't try to teleport me. Psychic moves don't usually work to well on me." He said, smiling uneasily. He couldn't really stop imagining the possibility that attempting to teleport him might only partially work. Perhaps he was being a bit paranoid, but hey, it could happen?

[Gabriel Bachmeier]

it is quite alright,

i shall take the darkness that you hold

"There's no point in running." Another yawn broke through the barriers of his mouth, and he moved his hand to cover it. The blond looked completely uninterested in the idea of making a break for it. He had tried so man times before that the will to do so was gone. He didn't care for his freedom anymore, no matter how nice it would be. He would probably be lost without the Black Order, anyway. It was, after all, the only world he had. The Black Order and the forest were all he had ever known, and the forest had already been taken away from him. Stripped of his home, he would not survive on his own in this region. Besides, he was just an Abra. All he could do was teleport. Getting food would take a miracle.

Rolling his shoulders to relieve some tension, he leaned up against the door frame, not bothering to check and see if he was going to block anyone. "They would just find me again. They always find me. It's not like there's much for me in this world, anyway." Blue eyes glazed over slightly as he remembered the last time he tried to run all those years ago. The moment he was found, he was beaten and left battered, bruised, and bloodied. He did not want a repeat of last time. Shaking his head, Gabriel focused once more on the Zoroark. "We should walk. If we're late, then just blame me. After all, my kind are known for weak legs." This much was fact. His legs were not the strongest, due to teleporting rather than running away. It would have been worse if he was born a later evolution of Abra as they tended to use only their psychic powers to levitate them around. If he even tried that, then he would pass out from exhaustion.

Three blocks? That wasn't... Too far... Erm, maybe it was. He didn't know. Units of measurement were not his forte. Then again, nothing was his forte, other than sleeping. Gabriel shrunk back as the Zoroark neared, bringing in his chin. He didn't mean to make it seem like he was afraid of the other gijinka (okay, maybe he was, but that's only due to typing). It was just an instinctual reaction. "N-no teleportation, got it." He glanced towards the door, biting down on his lower lip. "Shall we?"

ooc: i'm so, so, so sorry this is late. rehearsals and doctor visits have been killing me.

if you don't have a goal or a prey

then it's fine for with me you can stay.