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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 5, 2018 11:37:16 GMT
"Right. See you later, Instructor!"
With the job of making sure his Branch is apprised of events more or less done - without privacy or mind reading Clay can't really inquire more directly, but it sure sounds like they know what's up - Clay slips out and goes in search of the Poison Branch. He's hoping that if the branch heads communicate she'll already know what happened to Sano, but someone should check up anyway and let her know something's being done about it.
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May 31, 2023 21:25:23 GMT
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Post by Raven on Jun 5, 2018 17:27:27 GMT
Clay finds Poison Branch tucked well away from most of the others, on the opposite side of the building from Dark and Steel. There are two people in weird outfits standing outside the door. They warn Clay about noxious, face-melting fumes that are coming from stuff branch members are working on within, and strongly advise him to put on the provided protective suit and recall any non-poison type pokemon.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 5, 2018 21:04:13 GMT
Clay only even has one Poison-type Pokémon, and Mowgli's not on his team today. He's a little reluctant to lose his extra set of eyes, but he recalls Sandy anyway - poison fumes are probably even worse for somebody who breathes through his skin - and pulls on the suit. He doesn't look like he enjoys it, but it's better than his face getting melted.
At least the fumes explain why it's way over here. "Okay, I think I'm ready," he says, muffled by the face protection.
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Post by Raven on Jun 5, 2018 22:14:16 GMT
Clay heads on inside, purple gas washing over him as the door opens. Thankfully, the suit prevents his face (or other things) from melting. He finds a large room with a bunch of workstations in it, and everyone within is wearing the same sort of protective suit as himself and the 'door people'. Since he still can't read, he eventually pesters someone to tell him where to find the Branch Leader, whose name is Nalkeya. He is directed to follow the signs, even if he can't read them.
Following the signs as instructed eventually leads Clay to a door with some faint, but strange sounds coming from within. The door is slightly ajar.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 6, 2018 2:40:09 GMT
Clay pauses at the door. He has no idea what those noises are, at least not from here. Hopefully those signs led him to the right place and there aren't multiple sets of signs around or something.
He reaches out to knock on the door. "Uh, 'scuse me? Leader Nalkeya?"
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Post by Raven on Jun 6, 2018 4:09:49 GMT
Clay finds two women lying naked on a bed doing some very noisy wrestling. One is a platinum blonde and the other is a dark-skinned brunette.
"Oh hey there! *grunt, giggle.* Well you gonna join in or just stand there like a mook?" The blonde queries. Both of them giggle coquettishly.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 6, 2018 5:03:19 GMT
It takes a long moment for Clay to register just what's going on. Clay knows, in theory, how mating works, but one of the things Master Nob was very clear on was that he was too young to be doing it, and in any case that doesn't mean he knows what it looks like when two human women are doing it.
When the penny finally does drop Clay turns an impressive shade of red even under his tan, and very obviously spins around on the ball of his foot to look the other way. "I, uh, sorry. Didn't know the door would come open like that. I can... come back later, if you're busy." And he'd thought it was embarrassing when Kalani was flirting with him...
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Post by Raven on Jun 6, 2018 5:26:37 GMT
The brunette mostly just rolls her eyes as the blonde bursts out laughing. It probably hasn't even occurred to Clay that despite the wisps of purple gas drifting about the room and the hallways, neither of their faces are melting. Thankfully, it gets pointed out to him.
"Nice get-up, kid. Didn't take you for one of the usual schmucks that actually work with poisons deadly enough to actually warrant that sort of protection." The blonde comments, eliciting another roll of the eyes from her partner.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 6, 2018 5:43:56 GMT
Clay crosses his arms irritably. That much is obvious even from behind in the protective gear. "The guys at the door said I needed it." He pulls the face protection off with a sigh. "I did actually have something kind of important I wanted to talk about, but if you're just gonna make fun of me for not wanting my face melted, I'm gonna go."
Normally Clay would be a little more respectful around a branch leader, but she's either making fun of him or letting her girlfriend do it without saying much (Clay isn't actually certain which of the women is Nalkeya) and neither one is really inspiring respect.
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Post by Raven on Jun 6, 2018 7:55:48 GMT
Blonde: "Yeah, it's a joke obviously. Sheesh, what is it with kids these days and being so damn serious? Though I imagine the look on your face when the door opened was pretty priceless."
Brunette: "Y'know, Nalk, if you want to enjoy the 'priceless' look on people's faces when they 'walk in' on us having sex, maybe drop the 'face-melting gas' joke? The protective clothing hides their faces."
'Nalk'(eya?): "Hmm. Never thought of that."
Brunette sighs. "Of course not. You're too busy trying to annoy/embarrass people. Not everyone likes that sort of thing, y'know."
'Nalk': "Well then 'not everyone' needs to lighten up a little. Anyway, what's the important thing you wanted to say, kiddo? Say it if you're gonna say it already. Don't let me stop you."
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 6, 2018 11:37:05 GMT
Clay sighs, though his ears are still red - his hair is shaggy, but his ears stick out, so it sort of evens out. "My name's Clay. I'm a friend of Sano's. Or, well... was, I guess."
His shoulders slump a little when he finally says it, but he can't imagine that Sano's branch leader doesn't know he's dead. "I wanted to talk about what happened to him."
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Post by Raven on Jun 6, 2018 19:37:48 GMT
The expression on the women's faces changes at the word 'was', and when Clay says 'what happened to him'.
Nalk: "Something happened to Plant Food? I liked that guy. He had the best reaction to walking in here like you did."
Seeing Clay's obvious confusion, the Brunette explains that 'Plant Food' was Nalkeya's nickname for Sano after he accidentally got himself beat up by her Meganium. The brunette is also starting to get dressed now, while Nalkeya (the blonde) merely sits up and watches Clay's face.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 6, 2018 21:04:40 GMT
Clay's expression tightens when he realizes Nalkeya doesn't know what happened to Sano. "Have you gotten any messages from the Psychic Branch recently? Or Fighting Branch?" He's starting to wonder if the communication between branch leaders is working so great after all.
He glances at the brunette warily - he doesn't recognize her and isn't sure if she's trustworthy. Granted, she's in the Poison Branch leader's bedroom, but so far Nalkeya has not exactly impressed him and he doesn't know if her judgment in girlfriends is any better than her sense of humor. "I dunno how much you've heard already, but there's... something important going on. Sano was involved in it before he went off on whatever it is he was doing. I was assuming it was something for you. He didn't tell us, but I figured that just meant it was secret Poison Branch stuff." He really hopes Nalkeya isn't going to turn out to be a problem, because he knows from experience that Poison-types are really hard to punch.
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Post by Raven on Jun 6, 2018 21:16:08 GMT
Nalkeya taps a manicured finger against her chin for a moment. "Oh, was this message something to do with a BBEG and some sort of big, world-ending event? Yeah, I heard about that. Lemme guess: Got him killed? Such a shame, really." She shakes her head, and while Clay may not like Nalkeya much, it seems that she's truly not surprised/disappointed that he's dead. "I bet it was that D'Mara woman too. Never liked her. Reminds me way too much of my aunt. All evil and manipulative." It's hard to tell if Nalkeya is joking about her aunt or if she truly thinks her aunt is 'evil and manipulative'.
"I did warn him, y'know. To stay away from her. When he showed up with that fancy money note after the Swamp Incident..." The brunette covers Nalkeya's mouth to hush her.
"I'm truly sorry for the loss of your friend, Clay. Despite how she acts, Nalkeya is trustworthy, I can assure you. My name is Aubrianna, and I head the Bug Branch." There is a muffled 'hey!' from Nalkeya when referring to her behavior. Aubri smirks briefly. "Though many people tend to forget that Bug Branch is a thing." There is a shudder from Nalkeya at the mention of bugs.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 6, 2018 21:41:09 GMT
"Yeah..." Clay shakes his head. "We got... news that he'd died, I think a long time after it happened. I'm not sure how long, it wasn't me they told." His hands clench up reflexively for a moment into fists, and if his feet weren't still in the covers from the protective clothing his toes curling might be visible, too. "If you ever meet somebody who speaks for a legendary Pokémon, they're jerks. Just so you know."
He lowers his head for a moment, the fringe of his hair casting a shadow over his eyes. "I dunno for sure if it's her, but one of my friends who was attacked says it sounded like her voice. Whether it was her or not, it was using one of her people. Like, mind-controlling her or possessing her or something. And tried to kill her when she failed." His hands relax slowly, drumming against his thigh. Despite this fidgeting, though, he's standing very still by his standards. "My friend left. Didn't feel safe at the guild after that. I can't say I blame her, but I'm sticking around, at least for a while. And I figured somebody ought to let you know."
He cracks his knuckles intently. "And even if it's D'mara, she's gonna pay for it. She puts off enough killing intent to make me sick, and that's when she's being polite. I guess that should've been a hint, huh?" He heaves another sigh. "I have two friends to avenge, and I'm not gonna let the rest get hurt no matter who this Usurper is. But there, now you know."
Clay turns to leave... then after a moment's thought, he calls out Sandy again. If there's no face-melting poison he'd rather have the extra pair of eyes. "C'mon, buddy, we're outta here," he croaks. If the two leaders don't stop him, his next destination is the Water Branch. At least he knows where that one is.
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Post by Raven on Jun 6, 2018 22:29:35 GMT
Neither of the women attempt to stop Clay leaving, and after dropping off the protective gear he didn't end up needing with the door guys again, he quickly makes his way to Water Branch. There are a lot more people here this time. All of them seem to be doing a lot of swimming in the giant pool while someone Clay doesn't quite recognize seems to be issuing instructions on what to do. The 'commander' looks a lot like Callidora. Maybe this is her mysterious 'mom' that she mentioned wayyy back when? |
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 7, 2018 1:01:14 GMT
Okay, that is a pretty impressive water lady. Granted, Callidora did a pretty impressive job of soaking him and Tiki, if he recalls correctly, but this lady really looks like a branch leader.
He looks around for a moment, trying to see if there's anyone here who isn't busy before he bugs the swimmers or the leader.
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Post by Raven on Jun 7, 2018 1:57:07 GMT
Oh look, there's Callidora again. She doesn't seem super busy. In fact, she seems kinda bored. She's just fiddling with a lock of her pink-streaked hair.
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Post by carnackiArdent on Jun 8, 2018 20:59:51 GMT
"Oh, hey, Callidora!" Clay waves to her and heads over her way, trying to push down his depression after his meeting with the Poison Branch. "Can I bug you for a minute?"
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Post by Raven on Jun 9, 2018 2:36:40 GMT
She perks up as soon as she sees a friendly face. "Hi hi! Clay, right? Sure! I'm not busy. What's going on?"
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