Juniper's place

Roger just so happened to be in the right place at the right time… or maybe the wrong place at the wrong time. Carrying on with his daily grunt-like duties, he just so happened to be available when the power went out. Of course, it was an easy fix; one quick trip to the generators down in the basement would solve everything, but no one wanted to be ‘that guy.’ Why do manual labor when you can just assign it onto an innocent bystander, right?

And that’s where Roger comes in.

"Ughhhh," he sighed, always finding a reason to complain. "Why me? Can’t a guy get a job done around here without getting stopped for something else? Jeez. You’d think we were low on help or something.” 

Dragging his way down the hallway, he stopped in sight of the open door to the basement. 'Is someone already down there fixing it?' It was tempting to just walk and assume they had the problem solved, but he knew better than that. And so, with a heavy sigh, he made his way down the stairs, not realizing how quickly it had grown dark around him. The open door behind him provided the only source of light for him and it took some squinting to finally make out a human-like figure in front of him.

Without giving it much thought, Roger lightly tapped Juniper on the arm, hoping he could ask her for help. But before he could even get the words out of his mouth, she screamed at the top of her lungs and spooked the living shit out of Roger.

"AHHH!!!" Startled, Roger gave a light shriek as he freaked out in response to Juniper. He had no idea who she was; all he knew was that he wasn’t alone and that there was a mad woman wandering around down here screaming like a banshee. But that wasn’t the scariest part. 

SLAM!

Inevitably, a wall came up and Juniper ran right into it. The loud noise and pain were enough to break her panic and she sat on the floor, panting. Sense caught up with her after a few moments and she rummaged in her lab coat. Surely she had night vision goggles in here somewhere... the gentle tinkle of broken glass informed Juniper that she'd found them.The lenses had probably shattered in her brief fight with the wall. Noises echoed somewhere nearby and the scientist froze. What else could be lurking down here? She backed away from the source, occasionally bumping into more walls. A skittering noise behind her and she was moving forward again. Between the two noises, at least the first one was closer to the door.

General Appearance.  -  Fill out.

Name: Aurea Juniper Age: 28 Date of Birth: July 25th Zodiac: Leo Gender:  Female Eye color: Green Hair color: Brown Height: 5’3" Scars: Some from burns, she keeps them covered. Overweight?: No Underweight?: Slightly

Favourite…

Color: ”Green.” Hair color: "Vibrant colours. Not that I would try any.” Eye color: ”All seem beautiful when you appreciate the complexity of the human eye. Interestingly, despite being such a complex organ, it show almost universal convergent evolution among highly developed organisms... (Rambling continues on for some time.)” Song:  “Tesla, They Might be Giants.” Movie: "Marley and Me. I did not cry at the end."  T.V Show: "I don’t have the time to devote myself to a series."  Food: ”Cheesecake.” Drink: ”Rum and coke, in excess at times.” Video Game: ”Video games don't particularly interest me.” Place: "A small lake near HQ. It's very quiet." Animal: ”If they're fluffy and cuddly, they're my favourite.”  Ice cream flavor: "Vanilla. Yes, I'm boring." 

Have you…

Had sex: ”On occasion.”    Had sex in public: ”Certainly not. It would be freezing.”  Gotten pregnant: "No. Arceus no." Kissed a boy: ”Yes.” Kissed a girl: ”Also yes.” Gotten tattoos: "No, but that may change." Gotten piercings: "Just the ears, I'm still boring." Smoke or drank: "Smoking destroys the lungs. Ethanol is not overly harmful in moderation." Had a broken heart: "Hmm... no. But the thought is terrifying." Been in love: ”It's a wonderful feeling.”  Needed surgery: "There was this one time with a Zoroark..." Stayed up for more than 24 hours: ”I believe my record is six days."”

Are you…

A virgin: "Nope." A cuddler: "Necessary for survival. It's... science." A Kisser: ”When the occasion fits.”  Scared easily: ”It depends on the situation. Generally, no.”  Jealous easily: "Extremely." Trustworthy: ”Unless you give me a reason not to be, yes.” Dominate: ”Erm.” Submissive: "Uh." In love: ”Quite deeply, yes” Single: "No." Taken: "Could it be any more obvious?" Considered mean: ”Depends on who you are talking to.”

Random questions.

Have you harmed yourself: ”Not intentionally.”  Thought of suicide: ”Occasionally, but is there any point?” Attempted suicide: "No."  Killed someone: *Intense staring into the distance* Wanted to kill someone: “Naturally.” Who did you kiss last: ”Kiko. Who would you expect?” Last text: "Phones irritate me."  Drove a car: ”Yes, though Clifford's much faster.”  Have/had a job: ”My degree didn't fund itself, you know.”  Favourite soda/pop: "Ginger ale."  Do drugs: "From time to time, but it's not to my taste.." 

————————————————————

                SELFIE.

He let out an impressed whistle when Assface gained another new injury, getting to his feet and casually making his way over. “Now now.” The Executive began, absentmindedly toying with a weapon of his own. “That any sort of way to treat a lady? Better learn some manners.” He wasn’t sure whether Juniper would be willing to kill the man, but if she wasn’t, then Proton had no problem in doing so. Overhead, Crobat let out a delighted screech in response to the fresh blood that was being spilled, and fluttered down a little bit closer to their victim. The Poison type could tell it was almost time for it to eat, and the only thing that was stopping it from launching itself at Assface’s throat was the fact that the Executive hadn’t given it the cue to do so. As much as the Pokemon happened to hate it’s trainer, it still listened rather closely to orders; obedience was what got it another meal, after all.

The scientist moved a little closer to Assface, but not too close. She found that while his heart rate was understandably elevated, it jumped as her proximity to him increased, and vice versa. Was Assface... scared of her? She swung the device suddenly as though it were a weapon and he visibly flinched. Yes, he was. This knowledge should have at least unsettled Juniper, but instead she felt indifferent. She thought for a moment on whether there was anything else left to do.

One thing she knew and enjoyed was the ease with which she could get Kiko to blush. She always looked for an opportunity, and saw one now. "Well I think the room's special. After all, you're in it." Juniper's smile was mischievous as Kiko sat next to her.

"There is paperwork you can fill out," she drawled, leafing halfheartedly through a stack of folders. A few sheets in she realized she was looking through personal files, and that she could barely even read them. Another wave of nausea hit her and she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and abandoning her search.

"I’ll be honest, honey," she wheezed, aware that she could no longer keep up pretenses. "I’ve had a bad night, I’m really drunk and I have no idea what I’m even looking for. My guess is that the forms are with Archer, in which case you’d be lucky to get your funds sometime next year.”

Resting her elbows on her desk, she shifted again and looked the Scientist in the eyes. “If you want my… not very proses… perfesh… Ugh.”

Naturally, she wasn't in the least surprised to learn that the Executive was still drunk. Juniper was more impressed that she could work. She was also unsurprised about the funding. If it had been easy to attain, her equipment wouldn't have gone missing in the first place.

The list of broken and missing items looked back at her. Most of the missing items were disposable, including micropipette tips, petri dishes, and microscope slides. There wasn't much she could do about those. But the more permanent items...several microscopes, Buchner flasks, even a small spectrometer... those could be more easily tracked down.

There’s actually a hint of sadness to his voice. “Really, all I want is to be alone. I don’t want friends, but I don’t want enemies, either. But it looks like I’m making them anyway, and enemies have to be… dealt with.”

Grinning darkly, he stops in the middle of the path. The night is quiet, too quiet. Ever smirking, he brushes his hand against his pocket, listening for any disturbance. As a miner who worked in darkness, he had long learned to rely on his hearing over sight.

His cue comes in the form of a slight puff of wind.

Roark suddenly wheels around, whipping a pistol out of his pocket and pointing it in the face of Aurea Juniper, still looking amused as ever. 

"What, you thought that’d work?" he asks flatly, eyes coming to rest on the needle she’s gripping. "Aurea, I never go anywhere without a gun. Heed that. And I’m also fairly certain my bullet would travel farther and quicker than your arm. I wouldn’t want to exterminate you in front of your pet, but if push comes to shove I’ll do it."

He licks his lips.

Her arm steadied itself after a moment. Emotions like these wouldn't help Glaceon in the slightest. Dying would be pointless if her Pokémon was still at Roark's mercy. She had very little doubt that he would shoot if pressed - he seemed very unstable as it was.

Ugh... she had no choice. How could she help Glaceon if she died? The Pokémon's eyes were wide with fear. Juniper had to acknowledge that there wasn't a lot she could do to control this situation. She ignored the sweating and trembling that were trying to emerge. "Fine. I'll hear you out. Explain your actions."

It was only Touko that had managed to garner so much hatred, and in his mind- the majority, anyways- it was rightfully earned.

"If you’re lookin’ for a nicer place to go, I think I might have a good idea of somewhere that might be worth your while. Just follow me, and stay close, okay? The woods ‘round here can get real confusin’ to pick your way through if you don’t know where you’re goin, or don’t have a flyin’ Pokemon around to help you out." He gestured for her to follow, before taking off in the direction of the woods. The area in particular that the brunette was heading for was one of his- and Watson’s, for that matter- favorites. Presumably on account of the rather nice lake in the center of it. While it wasn’t large enough to house many Pokemon, or to even really go swimming in, it made for a pleasant enough sight- not to mention a quiet one. The majority of the people around headquarters seemed completely in the dark about it’s very existence, but with the amount of exploring Blair did, he had found it relatively quickly.

Her thoughts continued to chase this direction as she followed Blair. The woods were a very unfamiliar place to her, so she stuck close, especially after his warning about how confusing they were. How the Trainer navigated so easily, Juniper didn't know. The landscape looked exactly the same in every direction. Glaceon and Growlithe followed some distance behind, getting distracted every now and then.

And there they were.

Juniper was stunned. The area was so tranquil. Because of the surrounding woods, any noise from HQ was silenced. Civilisation was far away. Indeed, the most noise came from the little group of people and Pokémon that had just crashed in. Sunlight lightly touched the water, leaving tiny sparkles behind. Water Pokémon drifted languidly, highly visible in the unpolluted lake. The gentle aroma of untampered plant life tickled her nose.