Can't Smile Without You [Training Thread/Open]

[Alexander Vox Knight]

(I know, a weird song to be inspired by but it definitely helped me write this post for some weird reason. Now, this is technically a fun training thread for Alexander and some of his pokemon, with another purpose of character development. But I'm leaving the thread open for other people to join if they want to. ^^ So feel free to jump in whenever you want, but even if nobody joins, I'll be adding to this and posting again, blah blah blah. The usual. xD Whoo. If you read it and don't post, hope ya like it anyway. xD )

Of the hundreds of bike paths stretching throughout the miles of Nada’s one and only park, quite a few bikers were keen to stay away from one path when an old tree, thin and frail because of age, toppled over and sent one biker flying forward through the air with a yelp. The bike remained caught in the branches, one wheel bent up and dented in, the other spinning slowly through the air. Thankfully, the rider somehow managed an odd flip and landed more on his back, and not face forward like Alexander expected. He might not have cared about the dazed stranger that struggled to get back to his feet, but making a scene and calling in an ambulance would not have been something he preferred happen.

“Well,” a deep, humming voice said, scuttling forward on six, thick legs. “She is…good at breaking things.” Alpha’s wings beat against her back as she pulled in to a stop and cocked her head a little to watch the stranger pick himself up, cursing and yelling at them as he tried to fetch his bike entangled in the dead tree. Leaves and twigs snapped and crackled as he moved around, and Alpha’s sigh almost sounded like a fierce buzz of disapproval when he turned to glare at her.

“She killed a dead tree,” Alexander said, his blue eyes losing some of their usual determination and shine. He did not utter an apology to the man that yanked his bicycle free, nor did he bother to tell Alpha to move the remnants of what remained. It was a sign of his own agitation and perhaps disappointment that he didn’t. Alpha might have been fully capable of rectifying the problem because she was a six foot long Yanmega Pokemon with more than enough strength in her to get rid of one scrawny tree, but without his command, she did nothing. In fact, she cocked her head curiously, her large red eyes taking in the scene with silence.

“She has strength,” the Yanmega said tacitly, noticing her master’s frustration. Of course there was a reason to be concerned. But they had little opportunity to contemplate how to go about fixing their little problem. In an instant, a small voice cropped up behind them, and both Alexander and Alpha half turned to see as a smaller Pokemon shuffled up next to them.

She used the claws at the top of her wings as leverage to move her longer body on the ground. She was slow because of her size and her young age meant that her wings were not yet as powerful as they could be in later years. So she struggled and slipped once near the top of the hill, saved only by Alexander as he placed one foot behind her long body and offered up a small resting spot for her. After a minute, she dug her claws in again and joined them at the top of the small hill, catching her breath.

“Did I do it? Did I break it? Alex look!”

The small Eruga, a gargoyle type Pokemon, kept lifting her beautiful black eyes up to Alexander (quite a feat for a three foot, eight inch long Pokemon), amusement and excitement shining in them. “I broke it, I did it, Alex! See?”

Alpha cocked her head again and made a strange buzzing noise as her wings rose and fell, but never moved as she looked away. It was her own way of laughing subtly, and Alexander’s eyes slowly turned upon her for it, but he said nothing. It was so strange, having such a youngster on their team, and Angela, the small, curious Eruga was quite good at mucking up some of her training and not understanding that what she did was more of a hindrance than a help.

It was also a strange relationship. Alexander Vox Knight, an infamous Pravus officer and loyal soldier – paired with such an innocent, inexperienced young Pokemon that had only limited abilities, and often struggled to keep up or pay attention to his commands. In all retrospect, it was adorable and unimaginable for somebody of his standards. And from Alpha’s point of view, it was something that her long time friend needed to keep him distracted. Out of all of his Pokemon, she was the most trusted and the most useful to him. He would sacrifice anything for her, and she for him because of the childhood they shared. Not even Beta, who had also come around in Alexander’s childhood, was as close to the man as she was.

It was strange and somewhat comedic to find that her longtime master and stoic friend harbored feelings for such a small, defenseless, baby Pokemon. But it was no secret to her that her owner had a soft spot for helpless Pokemon, and he cared very deeply for their newest member, even if he was a tad worried about her unpredictable abilities and obvious weaknesses. It was the fist time in a long time that she had noticed his real concern about another Pokemon- which he usually reserved only for herself and Beta. She was actually quite pleased that he had taken a liking to the young Angela.

And she was even more relieved to see that the youngster admired him greatly. In the future, that would turn into a powerful loyalty, and perhaps give Angela an equal footing with herself and Beta in his priorities.

“I did it, Alex, I did it!” She sounded so delighted, so happy to see the results of a single, powerful tackle that the silence that followed was a little awkward. “You saw right?” She was still catching her breath, craning her neck around to stare up at him while he pondered over the right thing to say.

“Yes,” a deep voice growled from beneath the shade of a nearby pine. “You did. You knocked over a dead, thin tree that probably weighed only a little bit more than you did. Congratulations.” Beta snorted at the end of his statement, his crimson eyes narrowing a bit on the smaller dragon as he curled his tail around his body and lay against the grass. His brow furrowed, but his gaze lifted and he caught the small glare from Alexander, causing him to glance away, tail curling through the air in agitation.

“Oh,” Angela said, the excitement gone. She glanced away from him and stared at the cycling road in silence.

Alexander also remained silent, while Alpha stalked away, tossing a side glance at Beta as she left to rest in open, where the sunlight could warm her body. Beta’s reaction to their newest member was typical. He mistrusted her completely, he hated her for taking all of Alexander’s attention, and he was jealous of her strange closeness with him- a privilege once only entitled to himself and Alpha. Hell, Alexander did not even keep her in a pokeball, as was typical for a Pokemon that was slow and lagged behind. She claimed she didn’t like it, and he allowed her to stay out, which only increased his disappointment in his master and his anger at the new team member.

Even now, he watched with guarded jealousy as he saw Alex reach up and rub the back of his neck in thought, his blue eyes softening from their normal, machine-like stare until he looked back down at the Eruga. “Actually, at your age that is pretty impressive,” he said quietly. Beta jerked his head away and glared off into the distance, his chest rising and falling in silent fuming while Alexander tried to cheer her up and raise her spirits.

Oh, Beta had heard it quite a few times now. He hated it when Alex turned on him and snapped at him for saying something too harsh. Was that not the way that he had been trained once they joined Pravus? More than once now, Alexander had stopped to tell him, “Encourage her, don’t constantly insult her. She’s young, Beta. Now pull yourself together and act like a god damned adult, you understand?”

The giant Salamence let loose a small growl as the coddling continued. “Maybe I can try this tree then,” Angela said, turning her head to stare at a large oak tree that was in its prime. There was no way a creature as small as her could do such a thing, and the attempt as she lunged towards it was adorable, but the man still bent down and grabbed her at the last second.

“Ah…no. You’re not ready yet,” he said more firmly, grasping her out of the air in a mid-lunge. But his voice was still much more gentle than it usually was, and Beta snorted in disgust. “Perhaps another time.” Of course, he would likely never allow such a thing at her age and size. But he set her back on the ground gently and sighed. “We actually need to work on your wings more than your attacks,” he said softly, rising to his feet again and stepping away.

(Lol at jealous Beta.)

[Conner and The Brat]

Sometimes it was nice to relax. Especially after the hustle and bustle surrounding the aftermath of that who Destinae fiasco. Man, so much work, so many reports to write, one for his Squad Leader, a whole other one for Enigma. Sometimes it was more trouble than it’s worth, being a spy for Enigma…

But Enigma was his Alpha, so there was no questioning his orders.

Conner sighed a thin stream of smoke and rolled over onto his back, relishing in the feel of the grass against his fur. Yep, this form was so much better than the two legged. A Houndoom was so much stronger and faster than a human. His inner fire was so much stronger, pesky human emotions seemed to not matter at all when he was four-footed and furry.

Boobies…boobies looked bigger upside down…Conner watched avidly as two young, very well developed girls jogged by on the near by path, his tongue lolling out at the jiggly sight. Yep, those were two very fine examples of exactly why the park was Con’s favorite place to relax.

At his side the Brat grunted. “Boss, we done looking at broads yet?” The Poochyena couldn’t see what was so interesting about human females. They only had 2 nipples after all. Everyone knew that a girl needed at least a half dozen.

Heh, Coin should really set about his regular challenge, especially since Alpha-man was so distracted by the bouncing boob babes. But the sun felt so nice and warm and the grass was soft and the hotdog vendor was just around the corner and smelled so good…

CRACK!

Conner leapt to his feet, followed shortly by The Brat, both growling with teeth bared. The Houndoom morph surveyed the area with narrowed eyes, searching for what had disturbed his slumber.

Hm. It appeared as if a tree had fallen down and a rider go stuck in it. Hmph, served the biker right, riding around in Conner’s territory with their bells and wheels that looked so chewable-Frisbee…

Conner and The Brat’s eyes tracked the flying disk as it arced across the field, but both resisted the impulse to chase.

When Conner looked back to the downed tree the biker was gone. Grrr…and so to were the jogging babes!

Sigh…could the day get any worse? Conner glanced at his feet, only just becoming aware of a smoky smell. Gah! Conner stepped off of the charred patch of ground. Must have done that when the loud crack had startled him.

Now he had to find a new place to sleep. Conner’s jaws party slightly in a doggy pout.

Eh, whatever, might as well investigate the Mysterious Falling Tree With Good Timing.

Con jogged easily towards the fallen tree, barking an order at The Brat to follow. He sniffed the air as he went.

Wait…Con thought he recognized that scent…yep, definitely someone from Pravus.

Someone he didn’t know too well…otherwise Conner was sure he’d have remembered that metallic tinge. The other Pravus member was with several Pokemon, including the sharp smell of a Salamence-made even sharper by a hint of sour jealousy. Heh, now Conner was curious.

He picked up the pace and shifted, flowing from four to two legs smoothly between strides as he passed behind a large tree. Houndoom went in, tall man in black emerging with a pop and crackle of dozens of bones breaking and healing at once. Strangely it sounded like bubble wrap. The man was dressing in baggy black pants, chains jingling slightly as they settled, and a skin tight black tank. The man cracked his neck and tugged his fingerless gloves straight as he continued walking towards his destination. The only thing linking the man and the Houndoom was two long sweeping silver horns and a lashing black tail on the man. Oh, and the little Poochyena trotting behind. Said Poochyena was currently remembering his role as The Brat to End All Brats and snapped at the Pokemorph’s tail. Conner growled a retort and lifted his tail free of the Poochyena’s reach. It hurt to get one of those piercings ripped out, and The Brat had managed to before.

Conner sauntered up to the man in the big red coat. Yep, he knew it! There was only one Pravus member who was that f***ing tall. Something Night, or Knife or something like that, leader of the Air Squadron.

F***ing flyer.

Conner parsed through the scents, nostrils flaring slightly with each breath, mouth parted slightly to taste the air. Now that he was closer, the scent of jealousy wasn’t as overpowering. He could smell the bright, muddy scent of a very happy Eruga and the exotic aroma of a Yanmega. Bugs were weird. Conner wasn’t sure how he felt about Bugs. On one hand, they burned well. On the other, they all hard weird eyes…creepy. That was almost enough to make Con turn around and leave. The other Pravus wasn’t even a Pokemorph, or Pack. He was just trespassing on Conner’s turf.

But best be polite now that he was this close. “Yo, how’s it going?” Conner raised a clawed hand in greeting, the other one making sure the ‘P’ pendant wasn’t hidden by the Pokeball also hanging around his neck.

The Brat, of course, took a much more direct approach. The Poochyena waddled right up to the tall man’s booted feet and growled. Conner sighed and gave the pup a none to gentle nudge with his foot, shoving The Brat behind Con.

OOC: Ending was a little rushed, because I have to go. Reply only ONCE YOU HAVE KE'S HISTORY FINISHED!

[Alexander Vox Knight]

(This took forever because Alex is just being stubborn for some reason. x-x I'm sorry about that. And I STILL don't like it. ...
It's way too short in my opinion too. -sigh- )

When Alexander moved, he turned to the tree under which Beta lay and knelt down to handle the satchel bag he brought with him. He un-strapped one of the dozen belt buckles around the back and fished inside a rather large pocket until he pulled out what appeared to be, a dozen or so, finger-thin leather belts. He sighed again as he moved out of the shade, Beta’s crimson eyes following him as he went.

“You get the harness. Fun,” the Salamence growled. His eyes flashed and he let loose a yawn when Alexander paused to stare at him again. Finally, the dragon lay his head down on the grass and said nothing else.

But Angela’s interest grew in spite of Beta’s attitude, as the man returned to stand in front of her. She leaned back and stretched up in an effort to see better. “Oh, what is it? Is it mine? Can I have it?” From her position, she could see only the thin straps, and knew nothing about their purpose as the man knelt once more to fasten the material around her small body. When he first received the small Pokemon, Alexander knew it would take a long time to bring her up to the level of skill that Beta, as a fellow dragon-like Pokemon, was at. Hell, it would be a long time before she had the level of skill that Ravage had – and she was the weakest, most hot headed member of his team.

He recognized the signs that would cause trouble in the future: sloppy flying, questionable focus and reckless power. While Eruga were not classified as direct dragon Pokemon, their physical capabilities were similar. They evolved from small, fragile creatures into powerful forces, but the change could often be less than desirable. Beta, upon gaining his first wings, became unpredictable, and entirely unreliable to maintain his former concentration in battle. It took a few years to get him back into the habit of focusing on the fight and the fight only. Using his wings, keeping his balance in the air, trying to the find the perfect altitudes and positions for attacks. For years, those things were his focus. Flying was not second nature to him. He flew with reckless abandonment, not caring that his weight and power were twice, perhaps triple what it used to be.

It was unfortunately the same for Angela, who was much too young to have very much experience with her wings. The only difference was that Beta was older, and more willing to go through training because of his years of prior experience. And that had been a long time ago. He was now at his peak condition, and flew like a regular natural. It had taken years to make it so, but Alexander wasn’t the type to accept anything less- hard work often yielded the best results.

Halfway into putting on the harness, however, someone interrupted, proceeded by Beta’s resonating growl and a jerk of his head.

“Oh, hello!” Angela said instantly as Alexander stood again, still holding the harness in his hands. His eyes instantly moved up to those horns while the man addressed him, but Angela stared quietly at the small poochyena that trotted up and growled at Alexander’s boot. She almost laughed until the small dog Pokemon was shoved behind his master.

“Training, that’s what,” Alexander’s voice caught her attention again and she glanced up, intrigued. He paused and muttered something under his breath, blue eyes lost for an instant in thought. Who was this? Obviously Pravus, or at least, he was fairly certain. But he had never met the man before, and it was a little frustrating to be suddenly addressed. It was just an unexpected surprise, however small. Just slightly…irritating.

“You smell of dog,” Beta spat, his agitation growing. His animosity for the little Eruga Pokemon was maybe being channeled towards Conner for just showing up. But he whipped his tail through the air and glared at the small dog that was tossed behind the man for growling. “Don’t you have a job to do?”

“Beta, show some respect and watch your mouth.” Alexander paused as the dragon only glared and kept his mouth shut. But it did nothing to silence the small, tell tale growls that sensitive ears would pick up if they would listen. Instead, Alexander sighed. “Apologies. I’m afraid my Pokemon are in need of more discipline. Forgive me…but I very rarely know anyone outside of my own squadron. I didn’t expect anyone here today either…what is your name?” Obviously, the man was some sort of Pravus experiment. It was hard to miss, actually. But still, it was a little interesting, the approach the stranger was taking.

Alexander was a Lieutenant General after all. The familiar greeting was unexpected, but a little interesting, which made his agitation fade. “Are you here on official business for the company? Or did they send you to find me?” If not, he had an idea of what he could do to help his newest Pokemon gain a little experience…

[Conner and The Brat]

Conner peered surreptitiously at the leathery thing the other man had in his hands. What was that, a bondage device? Man, that was just…wrong. Sex with an Eruga…sounded kind of kinky but Conner bet it hurt like hell. And the Eruga was obviously really young. Very wrong. Conner bared his teeth in disgust. Urgh, it had better not be some kind of bondage thing. According to the man it was for training, but training could have lots of different meanings…

Any further guesses on what the harness was for were interrupted by Beta’s most rude greeting. Conner immediately felt a growl rise in his throat, and just barely managed to catch The Brat before the pup threw himself at the much larger Salamence.

“Stuff is you scaly piece of shit” The Brat barked out, squirming and writhing, trying to get free.

Conner barked a rebuttal at his Pokemon’s rather rude behavior. It was the Alpha’s place to defend his Pack’s pride; to respond to insults. “Of course I smell like dog Spos” Conner did use a rather modified version of The Brat’s nickname for Beta. Scaly Piece of Shit. Spos. Yep, didn’t really take a genius to get the nickname, but Conner wasn’t feeling very generous. “Thought you were Pravus. Should know a Morph when you see one. Or does the big guy never let you out because he knows you’re brain damaged from flying too high.”

Conner was far from mollified by Alex’s apology. Apologies shouldn’t be needed if the discipline was dealt swiftly. He did stuff down his anger, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He didn’t really need a fight right now. He was still relaxed from watching the joggers. “You need to growl louder, show your teeth once in a while” Conner offered some advice to his fellow Pravus member “You’re the leader, they should follow.”

The Houndoommorph glanced down at The Brat. Well, the pup did obey him after a little urging…Anyways, back to introductions “Conner Martinez, Leader of Ground Squad One, at your service” He didn’t bow or anything. Showing his neck to someone was not something Conner did, especially to someone who already had such a large height advantage, and what looked like an enormous Pokemon team advantage.

He did give a bit of a chuckle at the other man’s question. Official business? “Nope, I’m here for relaxation and some view of the sights. Its perfect jogging weather” insert lecherous grin here. Maybe Alex was here for the same reason. He was a man after all. Even if he did seem like he had a stick stuck up his ass the sized of a Squaladin’s sword.

“They don’t let me off my leash nearly enough” Conner complained “So I make do with whatever free time I’m given.” Sometimes his job seriously cut into his sex life. But Conner didn’t complain too much. Pravus had made him more than human after all. He’d never go back on that. “What are you doing out here? Enjoying the sights as well?” Conner asked, just to be polite. Humans placed so much weight on social niceties. Conner preferred a good sniff. So much faster and without the layers beneath layers.

Which reminded him…Conner gave a subtle sniff now that he was closer. The other man was only human, decay, sweat, and a lot of leather. Quite a bit of metal for a Pravus member, especially since Conner couldn’t see anything metallic besides the multitude of buttons and snaps. That was something to be wary of. Metal wasn’t always a good thing. All that metal and leather made it difficult to distinguish Alex’s emotions. Either that or the other man was very good at hiding his emotions. It was very hard to affect one’s scent. Lots of practice to stuff your emotions down so far your scent didn’t even change.

[Alexander Vox Knight]

Beta hardly noticed the remark towards him. His tail flipped and curled through the air as he lifted his head, eyes glowing with remnants of agitation. He was a testy creature at the moment, and smoke spewed out of his nostrils as he snorted, jaws opening in a wide yawn. He stretched his crimson wings, sliding his forelegs out across the grass and digging his claws into the ground. In one small gesture his white talons carved long gashes into the grass and uprooted quite a few plants as his eyes flickered over to the small poochyena. Amusement danced in his eyes. He was particularly happy because-

Well, Alexander had not said anything else.

Just by glancing over to his trainer, Beta knew that Conner might have stepped on a few toes already, even by just subtly suggesting how to care for his own team. That freed the Salamence to continue being an ass, his throat glowing with an orange light as he felt fire flare up in his chest. The yawn he made quickly turned into something else, he twisted his head and spat, as if he were any stranger hocking up something at the ground. A ball of fire, interlaced with mucus as the hoarse sound moved up his throat splattered onto the ground nearby, a few feet from him. It was a gravely rude motion, but all he did after it was turn his head to eye the smaller pokemon and his precious trainer again.

“No,” he said, laughing lowly, his jaw spreading in a vicious grin to reveal a few dangerous teeth. He lowered his head down to the ground. “Let him go. Let him speak. His insults are meaningless to me- but let him come close and whisper his poison to my face. I haven’t eaten yet today.”

Again, the dragon’s tail curled through the air. His eyes jumped to Angela, who snaked her way around to Alexander’s other side, spirits fallen. She seemed paler than before, and ill. Beta’s spit up made her stomach churn and instinctively she knew it was very, very, rude and disgusting gesture. The fireball close by slowly dimished, hissing as it ate into the grass. Alpha’s wings thrummed against her body in disapproval, her sunset colored eyes turning upon the dragon which she wished he could interpret as disapproval. But nothing was ever said.

Alexander after all, did not stop Beta from making the gesture. His mood almost switched, completely indifferent. He stood there for a moment, closed his eyes and slowly smirked. Quietly, as his eyes opened again, they flashed with some familiar attitude to Beta’s. Some kind of amusement that made him grin, his voice lowering. “No one can ever agree on how to raise a pokemon. If there is a problem with my team, I address it.”

It was the nicest way to warn someone that they were treading on thin ice. His grin fell away quickly enough, his eyes hardening after the words were said, fingers clenching over the leather harness. Conner and Alexander were not on equal grounds, insofar as rank, and addressing him, even slightly on how to deal with his own team was almost heresy. There was a small amount of embarrassment, perhaps, that caused all the agitation. He would never accept advice on how to handle his own pokemon from a subordinate, especially one that was not of his own Squad. That, was ridiculous, and shameful. But instead of turning red faced and exploding at the man, at least he accepted it quietly, and gave him a warning.

He almost laughed under his breath, shaking his head as he contemplated their situation now. It was not good to start things off on a bad not. Conner was still Pravus after all, no matter his position. And though not in his own Squad, Alexander was not the type of person to make bad impressions or give off an unprofessional air around others. He calmed whatever he felt in regards to the situation and pushed it out of his mind.

“So you’re free for the day,” he said, finally regarding all the other information. “Personally I’m out for training. Desk jobs are only so tolerable these days. My team on the whole is fine, but a new arrival is in need of serious training.” He nodded down to Angela, who glanced up quietly, still silent and pale. Her eyes lost some of their sheen, her mind still obviously lingering on the casual rudeness of everything. She could not bring herself to look at Beta.

“I want to try,” she said quietly, confirming it. “I try.” Only a few moments ago did she feel pepped and raring to go, but now she hesitated, as if suddenly weary and exhausted.

“Actually, Martinez,” Alexander said, continuing. “If you’re not really busy, a battle might be a good way to earn some of the experience that I need her to have. But if you’re pressed for time.” He paused then, his voice deliberately flat. It was a very subtle way of beating around the bush in regards to an order. Technically, as an Air Squad leader he had no real power over what Conner could do. His eyes flashed, the iridescent blue showing a spark of agitation again. But refusing and walking away after an officer like Knight asked you for a round to better his team…well that just wouldn’t look good on record, now would it?

God, it seemed everybody was just downright pissy today.