K_S
Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
- Partners
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She sells seashells by the seashore:
A ROOST prequel.
An intro: AKA attempting to tab on an intro to ROOST that will be friendly to those utterly unfamiliar with MANGA canon. As long as it has the RD title the chapters within will be under construction. So expect the occasional update. I will update on a chapter-by-chapter basis and once it'd done I'll drop the RD tag.
Summery: pending
TW: gaslighting, anxiety, abduction, unsupportive environment.
Introducing Green, Test Day
It'd been a day. One filled with tours and posing pretty at her mother’s side. Walking the familiar tightrope of cute but competent she’d passed the meet and greets with flying colors. Or, well no one had pulled Mum aside and said anything about Green being damaged, so win.
Having hopped the familiar hurdle of handling adults who’d never get it, Green was rewarded with the odious task of paperwork and a promise to be picked up soon.
Ushered into a room that was little more than shuttered windows, and desks, with a few other kids her own age hunched over said desks. Suffice to say the blah room was a downgrade from before. Because she'd been outside and the weather was fine. She'd planned to walk Nido to the park after breakfast, but Mum had been quick to remind her that today was Test Day.
And Green had promised to give it a go so she was here rather than where she wanted to be.
Still Green was a big girl, she knew how to toe the line, and so hadn't fussed when coming here. Once checked in she was guided to a desk away from everyone else. Not quite the corner of the room, but close enough that she could feel safe. Settling into her seat, her world shrunk down again, its center was her desk and the pages and pages of oval filling left atop. Twiddling with a number two pencil left for her between her fingers, she got to work with minimal dinking around.
Two hours in she was done with the pile, and papers were replaced with food. A “staff provided meal” that was more snack than anything else. She ate under strict supervision, noticing a few others were eating under the watchful eyes of an assigned adult. Shed' been told to not talk to anyone, heard others similarly warned, and so she just ate, amused that cheating was such a thing they went this far to stop everyone from doing it.
At the meal's start, she'd tried to chat up her... captor... for lack of a better word. She indulged a bit of justified whining because the room was chilly and short sleeves were the rule for some reason. Green huffed in utter disgust at the response. Shorts sleeves were mandated because answers had been written on arms, and distance was set just so to prevent notes from being passed.
And it wasn't professional pride that stung at the sheer stupidity of other, lesser cons being foiled, she wasn't a Rocket after all, but Mew almighty if she was stupid enough to do something so obvious she’d deserved to be caught.
Still Green just didn't get it. These people were paranoid about standard-sized tests and the why behind it made no sense. She figured it was something she missed out on during her unconventional trainer period. Where she'd started her journey far too soon and stayed out far too late, but comparing that life to this...
Her previous life made the expected and normal seem crazy.
But whatever.
Green went along with the school’s stupidity because they made the rules, and their rules involved a timer over on her desk ticking down, and when that clock ticked down to zero that meant they’d take her food away.
Which meant she had to eat fast.
A minute after the last bite the napkins and crumbs were whisked away. She and her trash were combed over for “contraband and notes” and found “clean” she was free to do what they said next. Which was wait while her lackluster captor wandered to the front to book her a side office. Had she thought she'd of gotten anything for it Green would have protested being declared clean. There were splatters and she hadn’t even brushed her shirt front much less her teeth, but meh. School was these people's place, this place ran by their rules, and while she was here she would too.
For now.
It was more curiosity than anything else that made her play along. Curiosity mixed with apathetic outpouring she’d named meh that kept her playing by rules she didn’t get. Green allowed these school adults to usher her into a side office with no decorations, no doo-dads to flitch, and a computer newer than the ones she’d dinked around with at the public library set up and ready to go.
It wasn’t for anything fun, like internet surfing or even a typing game, no, she wasn’t so lucky. This was a gifted school, after all, nothing but the best for Mum and Da’ shining star after being on her journey for so long, so she had more work to do. Some poking got the first page up which was list of books written in link blue, she clicked on one familiar title and was ushered to the next page that would lead her to the most wishy-washy types of questions imaginable.
Seriously, these were essay questions. And essays were part of school, and school was kid’s work. She knew how work worked… People above you gave you orders that you followed. This test was insulting because there was no place for “please” in orders.
How these adults could not know something so simple boggled her brain.
Aware there might be cameras because these school people were paranoid, Green flashed a falsely enthused smile, cracked her knuckles, and settled into the chair that was plastic, painfully pastel, and didn’t swerve like a real computer chair should.
Two hours later and she was stiff, her hands ached, she had a headache, and more than anything else she wanted out.
Right now.
So she clicked done because she had the requisite five pages squared away and that was enough. In-depth editing was for chumps.
Tapping on the door leading out, to let the adult beyond it know she was done, Green rocked back and forth on her heels. Hating but recognizing the pinching, itchy, anxiety building under her skin. Experience had taught her not to indulge her “itch” in any way because she wouldn’t be able to stop. There was no Silver here to pin her arms, no Sneasel to sit on her and pin her arms with snow and sleet to make her stop if she got really bad.
So she wouldn't start.
And she wouldn't tell, because this feeling wasn't about normal things like tests or anything that school people would have got. And in a school it was only about school things. So Green pressed her lips into a thin line and tried to swallow down all the bad feelings as the door was opened and there was an adult, not her previous busy body attachment, but another one had stepped up to let her out.
“All done then?” So greeted the adult drone, speaking the obvious. Irritated Green breezed past adult number one, weaving around the desks to get to the front door's desk. With its stationary adult where she'd started this mess.
Green was wired enough not to care about all the little details that’d been her bread and butter once upon a time. Still, she wasn’t so tired as to appear as out of it as she felt. Green twitched her lips, and nodded, coloring the motions with just the right emphasis so that the oblivious would have mistaken her for being shy. And the lady behind the desk fell for it, hook line, and sinker.
“Congrats sweetie, I'm sure you did fine. I’ll call your folks right now. If you can take a seat by the front door and wait there, please? You can stay here if you promise not to talk to anyone?”
“Alright.” It was easy to promise. Talking was near impossible around a suddenly tight throat and the ache of missing Silver so suddenly it felt like a blow. Add that to the prickle of... feelings she wasn't going to think about. And her orders, to "not talk" were easy as breathing. Still, she dared not be too quiet. Her folks would be calling her Silver the Second if she didn’t pull herself together at some point. Or, well if Mum and Da’ didn’t she’d be doing it to herself. Regardless it'd be a pain, either way, so she managed something like chipper and attentive as she waited.
And she wasn’t called out as a fraud by anyone.
So win-win.
Shoving her hands into her pockets, clenching her hands into fists, she plopped into a chair closest to a window. Green loved the heat and tortured herself with the view of out that she couldn't go out into. Ignoring the phone call, the soft conversation between two adults that came and went, and what sounded like some poor schmuck having a temper tantrum, Green waited for forever. Foot jangling despite being crossed at the ankle like a proper lady.
This wasn’t posttest jitters. Since this wasn’t her first report she’d written she couldn’t even claim beginner’s nerves. Rather her feelings of sick miserable trapped were old friends. The reports she’d been ordered to write before had been about incriminating things. Not the silly topics these adults wanted. About wars so far back they’d used bronze and storybook tales where 'mon were monsters meant to be slain.
The method and structure between then and now was close enough that she quivered in place.
And wasn't it a beautiful contradiction? All she had to do was wait to go.
Deep breathing helped take the edge off of the itch. Breathing and cycling through the obvious. For a girl, Green’s age school was expected. Tests were part of school, nicer schools required longer tests, everything here was expected and nothing should hurt her.
Simple stupid that it was, it helped, but what helped most was knowing that all the tests were done.
When forever passed, thirty minutes she'd be told, it didn't change how it felt though, Da came to pick her up. He wasn't familiar, just another plain man with curly black hair until he smiled at her. Then she remembered. His smile was legitimately shy, she'd mirrored hers after seeing how good his worked. It took a moment but when the recognition set in she was up and wrapped him up in her tightest hug. Smushing her face into his button-down shirt, probably creasing his pants, and not caring a lick. He didn't. Hugging her, smoothing her hair, offering her affection even though they were in public even though it went against the rules that ran her life from before she'd come home.
He was unspeakably brave like that.
"Win lots?"
"Always." And Green didn't sniffle, not really, and her smile was real when she tipped one up at him. Not the fake nonsense she'd offered at mom's side, and in the meetings and over the tests.
Right then he was her shining knight, made all the more bright because he was slipping out early from his tech job. Dabbling in falsehoods, claiming a “family emergency” just to pick her up.
He really was the best.
"We're on our way out" And ignoring the firm "hush people are testing" from the lady behind the counter, he led Green out. Threading his arm with hers, miming old motions of gentlemen ages past and smirking all the while.
She hung tight, glad for the familiar warmth of him at her side, and politely ignoring the smells of office and sweet.
Because Da’d likely had a donut in the break room again, and if Mum found out she’d have a fit.
Being on an anti-calorie and sugar kick right now, the matriarch of the Azule household insisted the rest of the family join in with her suffering, “for their health”. Green had no intent on ratting Da' out to Mum, ever.
Minding his shiny shoed feet and the cracks, not wanting to risk breaking anyone's back, Green was led to Da' old car. It was, utterly unironic since he bought it well before she'd been born, green, and long. Da called the thing a classic. She suspected the orange around the edges and underneath might be rust, maybe, and that “classic” meant “bad and old all at once”. But Green never called him out on it. Or asked anything even vaguely rude, even when it didn’t start upright in the morning.
Her tact was well rewarded. Laid out on the passenger seat, bright pink box open just so, a half dozen donuts. Well, it had started as a half dozen. But sampling had occurred, for half of the box.
And while she could have been snippy, because it was half gone, a long look confirmed that what remained were her favorites.
So all was forgiven.
“Don’t tell your mother.” Was expected, as he ushered her in, and she cheerfully piled in. Stress was lost under the wash of sugar. It was lame, and a bit sad, but sugar could jolly her out of her head. And jitters were traded out for sugar rush, or would be in time.
Green smiled, working her way through her first treat. A chocolate cake chocolate frosted monstrosity as big as her hand. Da’, in his small way, got it without asking a thing. After a turn or two Green realized they were taking the long way to the park, and the rattle from the glove box promised that maybe, just maybe…
Not one to wait for promises Green flipped open the glove box, and what was within made her smile, bright and wide.
“You brought my whole team?” Green squeaked. Because Mum had been trying to hide her pokeballs, not liking how much time Green was spending with her team and none of the other girls on the block. Green’d let her get away, meant to tear the house from top to bottom after her tests… But now she wouldn’t have to.
Da’ hummed, pointedly locked on the traffic. His lips were quirked into a smile and his eyes were scrunched just so. “Did I? Well whoops, I only meant to take Nido for a walk this afternoon since you’re busy but… ah well, accidents, am I right?”
Green barely managed to wait until they got a red light but only just barely before she hugged him. He might have crabbed at her, but having faced down Krabby and Kingler she knew he didn’t really mean it. And Green was a smart girl, she was off of him well before the light turned back again and they were meant to go.
“You’re the best!”
Da laughed, “’ Course I am,” and they were on their way.
A ROOST prequel.
An intro: AKA attempting to tab on an intro to ROOST that will be friendly to those utterly unfamiliar with MANGA canon. As long as it has the RD title the chapters within will be under construction. So expect the occasional update. I will update on a chapter-by-chapter basis and once it'd done I'll drop the RD tag.
Summery: pending
TW: gaslighting, anxiety, abduction, unsupportive environment.
Introducing Green, Test Day
It'd been a day. One filled with tours and posing pretty at her mother’s side. Walking the familiar tightrope of cute but competent she’d passed the meet and greets with flying colors. Or, well no one had pulled Mum aside and said anything about Green being damaged, so win.
Having hopped the familiar hurdle of handling adults who’d never get it, Green was rewarded with the odious task of paperwork and a promise to be picked up soon.
Ushered into a room that was little more than shuttered windows, and desks, with a few other kids her own age hunched over said desks. Suffice to say the blah room was a downgrade from before. Because she'd been outside and the weather was fine. She'd planned to walk Nido to the park after breakfast, but Mum had been quick to remind her that today was Test Day.
And Green had promised to give it a go so she was here rather than where she wanted to be.
Still Green was a big girl, she knew how to toe the line, and so hadn't fussed when coming here. Once checked in she was guided to a desk away from everyone else. Not quite the corner of the room, but close enough that she could feel safe. Settling into her seat, her world shrunk down again, its center was her desk and the pages and pages of oval filling left atop. Twiddling with a number two pencil left for her between her fingers, she got to work with minimal dinking around.
Two hours in she was done with the pile, and papers were replaced with food. A “staff provided meal” that was more snack than anything else. She ate under strict supervision, noticing a few others were eating under the watchful eyes of an assigned adult. Shed' been told to not talk to anyone, heard others similarly warned, and so she just ate, amused that cheating was such a thing they went this far to stop everyone from doing it.
At the meal's start, she'd tried to chat up her... captor... for lack of a better word. She indulged a bit of justified whining because the room was chilly and short sleeves were the rule for some reason. Green huffed in utter disgust at the response. Shorts sleeves were mandated because answers had been written on arms, and distance was set just so to prevent notes from being passed.
And it wasn't professional pride that stung at the sheer stupidity of other, lesser cons being foiled, she wasn't a Rocket after all, but Mew almighty if she was stupid enough to do something so obvious she’d deserved to be caught.
Still Green just didn't get it. These people were paranoid about standard-sized tests and the why behind it made no sense. She figured it was something she missed out on during her unconventional trainer period. Where she'd started her journey far too soon and stayed out far too late, but comparing that life to this...
Her previous life made the expected and normal seem crazy.
But whatever.
Green went along with the school’s stupidity because they made the rules, and their rules involved a timer over on her desk ticking down, and when that clock ticked down to zero that meant they’d take her food away.
Which meant she had to eat fast.
A minute after the last bite the napkins and crumbs were whisked away. She and her trash were combed over for “contraband and notes” and found “clean” she was free to do what they said next. Which was wait while her lackluster captor wandered to the front to book her a side office. Had she thought she'd of gotten anything for it Green would have protested being declared clean. There were splatters and she hadn’t even brushed her shirt front much less her teeth, but meh. School was these people's place, this place ran by their rules, and while she was here she would too.
For now.
It was more curiosity than anything else that made her play along. Curiosity mixed with apathetic outpouring she’d named meh that kept her playing by rules she didn’t get. Green allowed these school adults to usher her into a side office with no decorations, no doo-dads to flitch, and a computer newer than the ones she’d dinked around with at the public library set up and ready to go.
It wasn’t for anything fun, like internet surfing or even a typing game, no, she wasn’t so lucky. This was a gifted school, after all, nothing but the best for Mum and Da’ shining star after being on her journey for so long, so she had more work to do. Some poking got the first page up which was list of books written in link blue, she clicked on one familiar title and was ushered to the next page that would lead her to the most wishy-washy types of questions imaginable.
Seriously, these were essay questions. And essays were part of school, and school was kid’s work. She knew how work worked… People above you gave you orders that you followed. This test was insulting because there was no place for “please” in orders.
How these adults could not know something so simple boggled her brain.
Aware there might be cameras because these school people were paranoid, Green flashed a falsely enthused smile, cracked her knuckles, and settled into the chair that was plastic, painfully pastel, and didn’t swerve like a real computer chair should.
Two hours later and she was stiff, her hands ached, she had a headache, and more than anything else she wanted out.
Right now.
So she clicked done because she had the requisite five pages squared away and that was enough. In-depth editing was for chumps.
Tapping on the door leading out, to let the adult beyond it know she was done, Green rocked back and forth on her heels. Hating but recognizing the pinching, itchy, anxiety building under her skin. Experience had taught her not to indulge her “itch” in any way because she wouldn’t be able to stop. There was no Silver here to pin her arms, no Sneasel to sit on her and pin her arms with snow and sleet to make her stop if she got really bad.
So she wouldn't start.
And she wouldn't tell, because this feeling wasn't about normal things like tests or anything that school people would have got. And in a school it was only about school things. So Green pressed her lips into a thin line and tried to swallow down all the bad feelings as the door was opened and there was an adult, not her previous busy body attachment, but another one had stepped up to let her out.
“All done then?” So greeted the adult drone, speaking the obvious. Irritated Green breezed past adult number one, weaving around the desks to get to the front door's desk. With its stationary adult where she'd started this mess.
Green was wired enough not to care about all the little details that’d been her bread and butter once upon a time. Still, she wasn’t so tired as to appear as out of it as she felt. Green twitched her lips, and nodded, coloring the motions with just the right emphasis so that the oblivious would have mistaken her for being shy. And the lady behind the desk fell for it, hook line, and sinker.
“Congrats sweetie, I'm sure you did fine. I’ll call your folks right now. If you can take a seat by the front door and wait there, please? You can stay here if you promise not to talk to anyone?”
“Alright.” It was easy to promise. Talking was near impossible around a suddenly tight throat and the ache of missing Silver so suddenly it felt like a blow. Add that to the prickle of... feelings she wasn't going to think about. And her orders, to "not talk" were easy as breathing. Still, she dared not be too quiet. Her folks would be calling her Silver the Second if she didn’t pull herself together at some point. Or, well if Mum and Da’ didn’t she’d be doing it to herself. Regardless it'd be a pain, either way, so she managed something like chipper and attentive as she waited.
And she wasn’t called out as a fraud by anyone.
So win-win.
Shoving her hands into her pockets, clenching her hands into fists, she plopped into a chair closest to a window. Green loved the heat and tortured herself with the view of out that she couldn't go out into. Ignoring the phone call, the soft conversation between two adults that came and went, and what sounded like some poor schmuck having a temper tantrum, Green waited for forever. Foot jangling despite being crossed at the ankle like a proper lady.
This wasn’t posttest jitters. Since this wasn’t her first report she’d written she couldn’t even claim beginner’s nerves. Rather her feelings of sick miserable trapped were old friends. The reports she’d been ordered to write before had been about incriminating things. Not the silly topics these adults wanted. About wars so far back they’d used bronze and storybook tales where 'mon were monsters meant to be slain.
The method and structure between then and now was close enough that she quivered in place.
And wasn't it a beautiful contradiction? All she had to do was wait to go.
Deep breathing helped take the edge off of the itch. Breathing and cycling through the obvious. For a girl, Green’s age school was expected. Tests were part of school, nicer schools required longer tests, everything here was expected and nothing should hurt her.
Simple stupid that it was, it helped, but what helped most was knowing that all the tests were done.
When forever passed, thirty minutes she'd be told, it didn't change how it felt though, Da came to pick her up. He wasn't familiar, just another plain man with curly black hair until he smiled at her. Then she remembered. His smile was legitimately shy, she'd mirrored hers after seeing how good his worked. It took a moment but when the recognition set in she was up and wrapped him up in her tightest hug. Smushing her face into his button-down shirt, probably creasing his pants, and not caring a lick. He didn't. Hugging her, smoothing her hair, offering her affection even though they were in public even though it went against the rules that ran her life from before she'd come home.
He was unspeakably brave like that.
"Win lots?"
"Always." And Green didn't sniffle, not really, and her smile was real when she tipped one up at him. Not the fake nonsense she'd offered at mom's side, and in the meetings and over the tests.
Right then he was her shining knight, made all the more bright because he was slipping out early from his tech job. Dabbling in falsehoods, claiming a “family emergency” just to pick her up.
He really was the best.
"We're on our way out" And ignoring the firm "hush people are testing" from the lady behind the counter, he led Green out. Threading his arm with hers, miming old motions of gentlemen ages past and smirking all the while.
She hung tight, glad for the familiar warmth of him at her side, and politely ignoring the smells of office and sweet.
Because Da’d likely had a donut in the break room again, and if Mum found out she’d have a fit.
Being on an anti-calorie and sugar kick right now, the matriarch of the Azule household insisted the rest of the family join in with her suffering, “for their health”. Green had no intent on ratting Da' out to Mum, ever.
Minding his shiny shoed feet and the cracks, not wanting to risk breaking anyone's back, Green was led to Da' old car. It was, utterly unironic since he bought it well before she'd been born, green, and long. Da called the thing a classic. She suspected the orange around the edges and underneath might be rust, maybe, and that “classic” meant “bad and old all at once”. But Green never called him out on it. Or asked anything even vaguely rude, even when it didn’t start upright in the morning.
Her tact was well rewarded. Laid out on the passenger seat, bright pink box open just so, a half dozen donuts. Well, it had started as a half dozen. But sampling had occurred, for half of the box.
And while she could have been snippy, because it was half gone, a long look confirmed that what remained were her favorites.
So all was forgiven.
“Don’t tell your mother.” Was expected, as he ushered her in, and she cheerfully piled in. Stress was lost under the wash of sugar. It was lame, and a bit sad, but sugar could jolly her out of her head. And jitters were traded out for sugar rush, or would be in time.
Green smiled, working her way through her first treat. A chocolate cake chocolate frosted monstrosity as big as her hand. Da’, in his small way, got it without asking a thing. After a turn or two Green realized they were taking the long way to the park, and the rattle from the glove box promised that maybe, just maybe…
Not one to wait for promises Green flipped open the glove box, and what was within made her smile, bright and wide.
“You brought my whole team?” Green squeaked. Because Mum had been trying to hide her pokeballs, not liking how much time Green was spending with her team and none of the other girls on the block. Green’d let her get away, meant to tear the house from top to bottom after her tests… But now she wouldn’t have to.
Da’ hummed, pointedly locked on the traffic. His lips were quirked into a smile and his eyes were scrunched just so. “Did I? Well whoops, I only meant to take Nido for a walk this afternoon since you’re busy but… ah well, accidents, am I right?”
Green barely managed to wait until they got a red light but only just barely before she hugged him. He might have crabbed at her, but having faced down Krabby and Kingler she knew he didn’t really mean it. And Green was a smart girl, she was off of him well before the light turned back again and they were meant to go.
“You’re the best!”
Da laughed, “’ Course I am,” and they were on their way.
