Battle Tactics~ Evening Class

[Meredith Gonzales]

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Meredith enjoyed having that half hour between classes to simply go sit in her office and do busywork. She liked the students, but she loved her quiet time even more. Alas, that quiet time was almost over, so she headed back to the classroom to set up for her last class of the day. She was trailed by Racht, Alev, Lasair, Dusty and, at a further distance than the others, Wraith. Unlocking the door, she headed in and got her things together to meet another batch of students. While this was her first day on the job, she'd fallen into the routine quickly and could tell that she would enjoy teaching these kids.

Racht followed Meredith closely, keeping a keen eye on anything that could happen. He'd been reassured earlier that nothing would but old habits have a tendency to die hard. This particular habit was one that he didn't want to die anyways, so it wasn't like it mattered. When they settled in, he turned his head slightly, looking at his long-time friend Alev who'd laid a paw over his own. The luxray wasn't in the best of health these days and Racht worried for him. "You okay?" That was another bad habit of his. He knew that the feline didn't like it when he showed concern, but he couldn't help himself. He was worried. "Damnit Racht! I've told you a thousand times to stop that! I'm fine! Now stop your nagging and leave me alone." 

Meredith listened to her pokemon argue and, even though she didn't know what they were saying, she knew that Alev was in one of his "moods" and that it would be best to refrain from petting him for a while. She looked over her lesson plan as the mightyena placed herself right by the door, excited to greet the newcomers and as the crotchety old gengar huffed before setting herself on one of the desks in the front row. Lasair was curled up in the corner of the room, blowing smoke-rings out of his nose to amuse himself since he'd gotten in trouble earlier for using fire in the classroom. having purposely asked for a room with a view of the school's livestock, she could just barely make out the form of her oldest friend, steadfast and strong as ever. She only wished she could trust him around the students, but she knew better. He was easily angered and distrusting of those that he didn't know, so he'd have to stay out there for a while. 

She let out a sigh when Dusty barked once, signalling the students she could hear outside the door. She stood and, as each student came in, she shook their hand and introduced herself.

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Word Count: 456

[Silas Umbre]

    Silas walked calmly to the class that was written down on his schedule, the only thing bugging him was the sun that he couldn't get away from. It reflected off of all the shiny surfaces and no matter which way he looked, his sunglasses couldn't block out the blinding glare. He walked in a not-that-straight line and eventually walked straight into a column. "nSdffff AGH! Damn... that hurt.." Silas mumbled to his self in a thick, scottish accent. Rubbing his nose and shaking off the direct hit to the face, he began walking to the doors of the building. At least he found the building and could finally escape that blinding light. The walk from his dorm had been a long one and no matter how high his collar was, how much area his hat covered or how thick his jacket was, it didn't stop his face from burning and stop his shoulders from going into a re-blistering state.
    The air-conditioning blowing from the vents cooled his body and sent shivers down his spine when the albino pulled his jacket and hat off, exposing his reddened shoulders and even redder face. His eyes narrowed as they shifted back to a baby blue and relaxed, allowing him to read his schedule a lot easier than when he was outside. Mumbling, he finally found the class he was supposed to go to, by the looks of it, he was the first one there besides the teacher that stood at the door.
    "Ms. Gonzales..." Silas acknowledged her greeting and nodded to the ferret cat that followed him "I'm Silas Umbre and this is Zephyr." He didn't bother referring to Calder, as the Wartortle was in his ball, resting from a long day of exercise.
    With that, he walked into the room and chose a seat away from the sunlight and away from the glare, content with a front/corner seat in the classroom. He grunted as Zephyr placed his self between his feet and also at the fact that he would still have to use his glasses. "Damn it all." Silas cursed under his breath, while reaching into his pocket and pulling out his glasses and putting them on.

    Zephyr sat contentedly between his master's feet, grooming his paws and tucking his self more. The only problem the cat ferret had was the fact that his master had come in contact with another person. He couldn't stand the fact that his master had to come into contact with other people. Silas was his and his only, no one else could have him or touch him! Hissing some, the Zangoose directed the warning to anything that may be approaching his master.

    

[Zayne Maddox]

---

   Wasn't it just wonderful? Time for another class, and this time it was with some new instructor.  Zayne wasn't entirely sure what to think, but he did know he hated school and he heated instructors.  To that point, he hated students too (most of them) and he'd have to be stuck in a room with a bunch of them.  Making his way into the classroom, there was very little to note about Zayne for any that were accustomed to his presence.  As usual, Sterben had a hold of him in some manner, this time though, the Banette only had a grip on the bottom of his shirt. 
 
    Behind the pair, Creeper followed along, the psychic less present in the moment than he was considering things.  In this particular instance, he was thinking on the new student that had been hanging around Zayne lately. The Mr. Mime's gaze slipped over towards his ghost teammate, pondering the anger with which Sterben had been responding to the new situation. It was never a good thing when the other was angry with someone, and apparently, it was worse when there was nothing he could do about it... at least not to the perpetrator. 

     Cool eyes that showed even less expression than the red button one's his partner held, moved about the room, as Zayne tried to see who he had to deal with.  Two things he noticed, one the room was mostly empty, which offered him very little information on who he'd have to deal with.  The second part was more irritating. There, in the classroom was some idiot that he immediately was quite sure he didn't like.  In fairness though, he didn't look as fun to mess with as the boy in Drescher's class.  

     Moving out of the way of the door, Zayne took a moment to to try to consider where he would sit. It was harder, not knowing who all was going to be around.  What he didn't notice was Sterben's minute irritation at his hesitation. It was too subtle for the moment, the product of the Banette thinking that, perhaps some small part of -his- child's hesitation was the possibility that the stupid Asian would show up here too. Ok... maybe stupid wasn't accurate, but he really was irritating. 

     The presence of that boy, almost made him miss the fact that... the instructor was a woman.  Up until this point there had only been men teaching at the academy. Zayne, honestly, wasn't sure what to make of this, her being a woman hardly endeared her to him. If anything, it made him uneasy, and finally, he made a point to make his way to a corner where at least two sides were 'protected'  and, where he could keep an eye on the stupid student. 

---

Word Count: 387
Tags: N/A
Notes: Zayne, Sterben(Banette), Creeper(Mr. Mime)

[Athene Theïkos]

Had Athene not still been bitter about her family situation, she might have looked forward to her next class "Battle Tactics." A happier Athene might enjoy the familiarity in the course and the chance to hone her skills and train with Kerberos. But it was only weeks after the fiasco with her uncle, and she was still sorting through some rather frustrating questions. Why was she sent here? Did her father not trust her? Had she not done her duty when she discovered some of her family had turned criminal? Why was she sent away? With those questions pressing in her head, she couldn't help but ask herself why needed to even take this class. But such thoughts were shameful, and even Athene reproached herself for her egoism.

She felt Kerberos press slightly against her, his canine instincts sensing her trouble no doubt. she absently stroked the long fur on his shoulder. She smiled a bit without looking at him, but knowing that he was watching all the same. She was the commander in this partnership. If she was not on her game, then Kerberos could not act to his bast abilities, and they both wanted to make a good impression on this new teacher (whether they liked the situation or not).

She found the teacher, a woman, who shook her hand and introduced herself. She looked hardy, definitely someone who had performed highly in battle tactics herself. Athene maintained a highly professional and respectful demeanor as she nodded to Professor Gonzoles and introduced herself. "Athene Theïkos, Journeyman." She stated her class title as she would have stated "Apprentice Security guard" back at the company. "And my partner Kerberos." She nodded toward her houndoom. Who stood by her side in formal attention. 

When etiquette dictated it was polite to find her seat, she entered and surveyed the room. Kerberos stayed at her side, only pausing momentarily to give a nod to the Mightyena at the door. There were only two other students in class. One was a very pale boy with pale blonde--or was it white?--hair. A Zangoose curled up under his seat seeming a tad bit agitated. Another boy with pale hair was there. Next to him were a Bannette clinging to his shirt and Mr. Mime standing behind him. Athene's hair on the back of her neck stood a bit at the sight of the Mr. Mime. The pokemon did look quite disturbing (why did it's toes curl backward?), but she maintained her outward composure. When she was young, Hercules had always told her to look at particularly scary pokemon by their stats or logistics. She knew that if the Mr. Mime were to attack she could handle it well with Kerberos, since he was a dark-type immune to psychic. Mr. Mimes were also better with non physical attacks both with defending against them and using them to attack. If the pokemon became a thread Kerberos would just have to use beat-up...

Athene stopped playing through the hypothetical scene. This was a school and that was her peer. 

She decided to take up this course a full challenge and take one of the seats in the front row. She tried to refrain from her hubris and remind herself she still had much to learn. Ares had made that mistake, and look what happened to him. Her father took him down in less than a minute. While her stubborn flaws tempted her to think otherwise, Athene was determined not to make the same mistake as her traitorous cousin.

When she sat down she looked at all the pokemon. She noted the gengar, her mind immediately recalling her Uncle's gengar, Agamemnon. They did not look the same, but it made her thoughts turn sour at the recollection. Her eyebrows did go up at the massive Arcanine in the room. She noticed Kerberos seemed to be fascinated as well with the beast. Heph, would fanboy all over the floor if he saw this. She thought slightly amused. There were other pokemon: a Charizard and a Luxray, both seeming to avert themselves from socializing.

Kerberos stuck close to his trainer, doing his best to reassure with the limited amount of communication they had. Sometimes he wished that they could speak to one another like he had seen other trainers do with their pokemon. At the same time he was thankful that Athene at least managed to keep a level head in times of battle, which is where most of her experience was. Kerberos was happy to sacrifice speaking casually to his trainer so to be more confident when fighting another pokemon. He was hoping that she would get out of the funk she had been in these past few weeks, it was affecting both of them. She did try, he knew that in the attempt at a smile as they walked to the next class. "Battle Tactics" was what she called it. Perhaps it would get her mind off some of the more annoying matters.

He made sure to stay dutifully at his trainer's side, just as he would during drills so to make a good impression on this professor. He didn't want Athene to worry about passing this class or staying on the professor's good side. At the same time his demeanor melt a bit when he caught eye of the Mightyena standing there, and dipped his head a bit, allowing himself a friendly gentleman-like smile to the pokemon. 

He also looked around the room noting all the pokemon. Unlike his trainer, his battle ready mind deemed the most likely threat was the Professor's pokemon, who were stronger and could likely resist his attacks. He could understand why his trainer (seeing that most humans relied on they're eyes) was a bit unnerved by the Mr. Mime, but when gauging a threat Kerberos' dark type found no fear in the psychic or the ghost pokemon next to it. He did, however, make sure to nod a friendly greeting toward them as well as the Zangoose as he passed. While it was in Kerberos' training to look for threats, he didn't mean to be an enemy to any pokemon or trainer. When Athene finally sat down, he laid down on his belly next to the seat, keeping his head up and ears perked to remain attentive and gather all the information he could.

[Sascha Bryant]

Class time was usually nap time, at least that was how he tended to look at it until he actually got involved with things. Certainly Sascha had slept through enough classes back at any of the institutes he'd been made to call 'home' , but those were pretty boring. Math, science...english...just the same old same old crap that everyone already knew and no one would really need. Well, maybe that wasn't exactly true but Sascha couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed at the world in general today anyway. Then again, this wasn't an uncommon state for him and it would likely pass soon enough - so he hardly dwelled on it. 


He paused to glance down briefly at the growlithe by his side - Sal in his usual almost over-attentive state as he fought not to be distracted by whatever shiny thing might make him want to leap after it. Shiny things could come in all sorts of shapes and sizes - other pokemon who looked at him the wrong way, people who had the nerve to try to pet him when he wasn't in the mood...pretty much anything that struck him as something attention worthy. At this moment, though, Sal seemed to be particularly engrossed with trying to 'catch' the sparkly butterfree sticker Sascha's kid sister had stuck on the side of his black Chucks. Every now and then he'd lag behind and then leap ahead again to 'catch up' and try to catch the sticker by surprise - a paw lashing out only to miss and snag on laces or material instead.

Sascha's shoes were pretty beat up because of it, but he hardly cared. He did have other pairs, after all, mostly because his parents were kind enough to provide them for him. Probably such a thing was a testament to their guilt at pretty much just throwing him in whatever nuthouse that would take him to try and get him out of their hair. Oh, that likely wasn't really the case of course...but right now it suited Sascha to think it so he did.

Thankfully though, most other students seemed to leave him alone - likely sensing the twisting of his moods - so Sascha was left to walk pretty much in peace. His hoodie was pulled up - the thing's black material broken up by well-done screen-printed houndoom horns  coiling around towards the back of his head and flames decorating the sleeves - and it concealed the earbuds he had popped in that were currently blasting whatever aggressive song that his mp3 player chose to shuffle to. The sleeves were pulled down low too, thumbs stuck through holes in the wrists so he didn't have to deal with any questions about the stitches that were still there from the last cuts he'd made - the razor blade having 'accidentally' slipped in too deep. Nobody else seemed to believe that, but Sascha had told himself that enough times to 'know' it was the absolute truth.

Sal watched his trainer as they walked - the darkly clad small boy just keeping mostly to himself - and he found that he couldn't help but shake his head a little. It looked like today was what he liked to call a 'rainy' day for his Sascha, and that made him sad. ANd maybe just a bit angry as well. He leapt forward with new found aggression at the spike of temper, claws lashing out to try to get that butterfree that had the /nerve/ to just glitter at him. He missed, as usual, the tip of his claw lightly snagging one of the laces of his Sascha's shoe - untangling it from the neatly knotted boy that had been placed there. When Sascha stopped to re-tie it, Sal just grinned at him and nudged up against what parts of him that he could -and was rewarded with a bit of a grin and a few scritches behind his ear.

This was how things continued, until they came to the door of the classroom - Sascha pausing to peer down at the schedule he'd been given to make sure he was at the right place. He'd been at the school for a month, but he still got lost, and that was mostly because he just didn't care enough usually to pay attention. Once in class he had no problems being a student, at least not here, but it was the getting there that was trouble.

Briefly, they both peeked inside, trying to get the lay of the land...and then after a moment Sal headed in first - to do a more thorough examination of the place. Sascha found it amusing when the growlithe did this, looking this way and that and rewarding everyone he saw with the squinty eyes before finally looking back at him to let him know he could come in, so he let the growlithe do his thing and then headed in when he was allowed. All there was left to do at that point was find a seat - and honestly he didn't care where he sat either. Somewhere in the middle usually suited him, so he just plopped his bag wherever, and sat quietly - his eyes remaining on his desk while he pulled one earbud out so he could tell when he'd need to shut his music off. The class was still pretty much empty, so he still had some time.  

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Word Count: 899
Note: Sal (Growlithe)
Tags/Mentions: Class 
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[Meredith Gonzales]

Meredith introduced herself to each and every student that entered her classroom. "Hello. I'm Ms. Gonzales. It's a pleasure to have you in class today." The first was a tall boy named Silas. His brogue was almost too thick to understand, but she managed. His zangoose didn't seem like the most friendly of pokemon but it was no matter. As long as he was able to keep the beast under control, she didn't mind. She noted his reaction to the light in the room and decided that she would have to close the blinds to make sure he was comfortable.

Before she could however, Wraith had gotten up off of her desk and toddled over to the zangoose, ignoring it's hissing and spitting. ~Does your boy have issues with the light? I can close the windows.~ It was kind enough investigation on her part. She just knew that her trainer would wish to do everything possible to keep the students comfortable, so she waited for an answer from the weasel.

With a small chuckle, Meredith turned back to the door to greet the next child, a small blonde boy with pokemon that seemed a bit odd, but again, as long as they were courteous in her class she didn't mind them. She was a bit bothered by the fact that he didn't return the pleasantries. He was one of the ones that she'd just have to try with.

Lasair didn't like the way the pokemon looked so he decided to keep an eye on them. Making his way closer, he laid against the back wall and continued blowing his smoke rings for the possible entertainment of the students.

Dusty continued to wait for someone to come in that she could play with and maybe get some scratches from. The next child seemed interesting, all solderly, and her houndoom was nice. He bowed his head in a gentlemanly fashion. The sweet female couldn't help but giggle a little bit and give him a bow of her own. "Hello. My name is Dusty." She was quickly smitten with him and watched him go with his trainer to sit at the front of the class. Maybe he'd let her sit with him? The idea excited her a little bit and so she walked to them. "May I sit with you?" 

The student to enter the room next unsettled Meredith a bit. She didn't know what to do with the boy covered in tattoos and his spitfire little growlithe that charged in first to make sure it was safe. She chuckled and introduced herself to the boy, but he didn't seem to notice her. She realized why once he sat down and reached for his ear. His music must've been loud enough that he didn't notice her friendly introduction.

Racht noticed the pup and gave a chuckle of his own, remembering what it was like to be a growlithe, trying to prove himself by being extremely protective and wanting to make sure everything was okay before ever allowing Meredith into a room. Without a second thought, he decided to give the pup some advice with a loud bark across the room. "Pup! Your human will come to no harm here. It's best if you calm yourself."

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Word Count: 542
Tags: N/A
Notes: Racht(Arcanine),Dusty(Mightyena),Wraith(Gengar), Lasair(Charizard),Alev(Luxray)

[Silas Umbre]

    Silas kept a wary, sore eye on the approaching Gengar. He was amused by it, and fascinated. Ghost types were among something that always entertained him, and it gave him pleasure to watch them act out and scare people. "Yes, I dislike the light." He grumbled to his self though, looking at the interaction between Zephyr and the Gengar. He knew that his Zangoose wasn't stupid, he knew that Zephyr knew that he wouldn't be able to harm that Pokemon, no matter how hard he tried.

    Zephyr hissed and folded his ears at the Gengar, backing up further between his master's legs. Fur on end, he bared his teeth at the Pokemon, finally stopping just to answer. "Yes, my Silas can't be in the sun to long." Stopping with fierce, angry tones, he fluffed back up and started hissing again, stopping when a thick black boot knocked him in the side. Just enough to throw him off balance and making him spread his front paws.

    "Scoirfidh ag gníomhú di cosúil le leanbh damanta!" His words stung, he could tell. Silas watched Zephyr fold his ears and silence his self. Only to continue eying the Pokemon he couldn't even touch. The Cat Ferret acted invincible, and it annoyed Silas, but whatever made him think he was actually protecting him, fine.

    But it were the three students that came in after him that disturbed him. It didn't matter where they sat, it didn't matter at all. Words of nursery rhymes turned into sick burns echoed through his head and he found his self back in the old Scottish school house. Getting antsy, he tried to get up and run, stopping short though while still seated. His environment changed and it was back to the strange 3 students that had entered the class. His horrible history with schools had him on edge, and something told him that the ride through his Master's Academy life, was going to be very bumpy, and probably include alot of broken knuckles.

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Word Count: 344
Tags: Class
Notes: Zephyr, Silas (Antsy)
Translation: Cease acting like a damned baby

[Zayne Maddox]

---

    He was still feeling a bit uncomfortable from that attempt to get an introduction from him.  In fact, Zayne watched the instructor suspiciously as he situated himself at his seat.  Stupid instructor anyway, she was going to cause problems for him, he could tell. They usually did that, caused problems, or they were pointless. That was his experience, certainly he had never ad a reason to trust them. Admittedly, Carlisle wasn't as bad as most, but that was what, one person? Even still he was quite certain he hated Carlisle too, trying to be all nice all the time. Instructors aren't nice, clearly the man was up to something, and it seemed like he might end up with more of the same from this one. 

    The charizard coming closer didn't bother Zayne, he hardly noticed.  Sterben, on the other hand, noticed.  His red button eyes lit up with irritation and anger, even before he sat himself in the seat next to -his- child. Now, Sterben wasn't worried about some overgrown, dimwitted reptile taking his child away from him, but that didn't mean he wanted that fire type hanging around all close to them. Of course, attacking would be stupid, the Charizard was clearly more powerful, and besides, if the teachers got too huffy about the things he did, they might try to take him away from his child.  Another possibility was that they would try to send his child back to where they had come from. 

    Sterben frowned a bit at that idea, zipper mouth curving downward in thought. No, he didn't want his child sent back to that place, not if he could help it.  So, he endured the presence of that irritating winged lizard, doing no more than offering a pointed glare at Lasair, before grumbling a bit incoherently to himself. He certainly wasn't going to be returning any friendly gestures to the stupid dark type.  This school was overrun with them, and it really irritated Sterben to no end. He didn't like pokèmon that could cause problems for him being around. 

     Creeper sat on the floor near Sterben, knowing it was better he didn't make it seem like he was getting to close to Zayne, least of all while the other was disgruntled. He was far to easy a target for the ghosts redirected aggression, and preferred to keep himself off the other's radar.  Today was not a good day, and the Mr. Mime decided he would entertain himself by making little psychiclly projected 'screens' with the movement of is fingers, only little ones, since  being seated limited his room.  It was while he made a little cube, smaller enough to sit in his other hand, that he noticed Kerberos, and his nod. The Mr. Mime returned the gesture, because he knew it was right to do so, and he did like to be friendly, but he really wasn't feeling up to it right now.  Creeper knew well enough how most humans, reacted to him, he was psychic after all, and while he did keep out of their heads to be polite, that didn't change the fact that he was sensitive to their emotions.  Their pokèmon tended to follow suit, not necessarily out of dislike, mostly just responding to their trainer's energies.  At least Zayne didn't have a problem with him, not that it did him much good with their current situation... and then there was Eloise.  He brightened a bit at the thought, maybe they would see her tomorrow.     

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Word Count: 593
Tags: N/A
Notes: Zayne, Sterben(Banette), Creeper (Mr. Mime) 

[Erigor Dreyar]

Maybe he shouldn't have smoke that cigarette before going to class, but getting into an unpleasant situation without nicotine going through his veins... that was an even worse idea! So Erigor had decided to light up a cigarette just outside the school building. He enjoyed the silence and the fresh air, and after his last pull from his cigarette, he decided he would already be late for class, so why hurry? Erigor listened to sounds of bird pokémon outside, there was something comforting about it. For a moment his thoughts drifted away, why had he bothered to come here? Ohw yeah, I had nothing else to do, nowhere else to go... He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He wondered what the reactions would be, him coming in late. Well luckily for him, he was used to be stared upon.

He kicked a little rock that was lying in front of him and forced himself off the wall. He sighed again, but he knew he couldn't dawdle anymore. He looked at his two canines and petted them on their head. "Time to go guys.." his voice sounded a bit disappointed, why was that? He couldn't tell. He just felt... in the wrong place... again. As he walked past the academy wall, he found a door to get back inside. The refreshing coldness from the evening was evaporated by the warmth from the inside. Erigor was dressed in leather flat shoes, black suit pants to go with his shoes and a black business jacket. The only thing missing was a dress shirt, but Erigor didn't like them, they fit to close, it made him uncomfortable. Being struck by the heat, the only thing he could obviously do, was to take off his jacket, exposing his upper body that was fully covered with tattoos. 

He slowly shuffled past the corridor, passing several doors. What room was it again? Well, he would eventually find it. After passing several doors, he notice there were voice behind one of them. Probably his room. Before entering, he looked at his faithful companions, Hellgar, his Houndoom, and Guraena, his Mightyena. Guraena, who clearly had picked up a scent, put her nose at the bottom of the door, sniffing around. It smelled like another Mightyena was in there. Guraena let out a bark, letting the other Mightyena know she was behind the door. Hellgar calmly stood besides his master, he had no interest in the different Pokémon that were in the room, he was here to back up his master if needed.

Erigor knocked two times on the door, before slowly opening it. "Sorry I'm late" he said to the teacher, leaning against the door frame, one hand holding his jacket over his shoulder, the other still on the door knob. His two canines also entered the room and sat down a meter in front of their master, scanning the room. Guraena immediately spotted the other Mightyena, she looked at it and tilted her head a little bit, not knowing what she could expect from this fellow canine.

Word count: 513
Erigor Dreyar --
Hellgard (Houndoom)
Guraena (Mightyena)

[Meredith Gonzales]

(Luggy will not be back for a while. Feel free to ghost Athene leaving, but we'll say that she had to go because a call was placed by her father and a staff member came to get her.)