candles and clockwork ● elena

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/fhhLa84.png] He was cool. Cool as ice. So cool, he made Snow Point City look like the stinking Desert of Dismay. No person had a better facade because his own "facade" wasn't a complete act and he was literally every ounce as amazing, awesome, and chill and he led others to believe. He was the epitome ever everything great in the world. It was him. Young trainers strove to be like him, successful, handsome, someone totally not fake. Women were practically swooning at his feet. He was like a god among - oh, who was he kidding? Not even himself anymore. While on any other day, the mysterious "he" would fall right into that trap he set up for himself, certain circumstances were causing so "cool kid"... "cool man"? to feel a let less cool than he was supposed to me. How many times could he say "cool" in one train of thought before he get sick of it and had to move along? Evidently, that right there was the breaking point. Nothing about the situation at hand could even remotely be described as anything resembling low temperatures. Not with an impatient man in a rumpled suit holding a certain creature as far away from his own lithe frame as he could without letting it go and running for the hills. Not that said creature, silver furred and big-eyed and all was helping much, letting out small little trills that could melt any weak person's heart and nuzzling up against the hands that gripped it so tightly. And it wasn't like anything was wrong. Okay, scratch that. Wrong out of the ordinary. What was wrong was that this was ordinary; the affection, the snuggling, the cavity inducing adorableness of the entire thing. And there was only so many rocks to be thrown at a person's mask before it slip in two right off the front of their face. There were already cracks running down that metaphorical mask. If he didn't get rid of the rock thrower soon, he'd never forgive himself. So down the winding paths and rodes raced Mr. Zachary Hazel, red eyes staring the Eevee in his hands - a shiny of all things, no less - as he half ran, half walked toward his destination. And he knew that the desert was hot and that the surrounding areas weren't going to be much better, but gosh dang, it was like stinking global warming inside his red plush suit and his feet were killing him and - ... Well, at least he had his shades to protect against the practically blinding light. He knew that nights of fumbling around his duel laboratory and home in the dark, sunglasses still perched on top of the bridge of his nose would pay off somehow. Obviously, they were paying off now. By now, he'd walked across about a third of the region, only taking a bus or hitch-hiking along with someone else when it was absolutely necessary. Maybe he would have gotten there faster had he not used his own two legs as transportation, but he was too flustered to think about that right at the moment. Also, the heat was making him dizzy so anything that went in and out of his head would be like reading something through a bad translator. But it would all be worth it in the end. All be worth it once Flaum was off of his hands and he could rest in peace for seemingly the first time in his life. It wasn't as though the professor didn't care for the creature. If anything, the problem was he cared too much. It was a little hard to explain for him, but to highly simplified version was this: he was addicted to cute things. Mr. Cool as Ice, Mr. All the Ladies - Yeah, no. All of those pointless little titles couldn't cover up the fact that he had to hold in "d'aw"s or stupid, girlish squeals of excitement at even the most minuscule of things. Babies he saw while walking through the street, short and chubby Pokemon raised by trainers he was meant to guide, even those stinking chibis practically straight of of the animes. Or... some other obscure reference to emphasize this disaster. And Flaum was just that. Cute. Adorable. The epitome of all things cuddly and plush. In other words, the exact opposite of what he strove to be. And with the overly affectionate creature always jumping up into his lap while he played video games or fiddle farted around at a computer, or falling asleep on all of his things because they smelled especially like him, or just some other random crud things like it would do, it was all a little too much to handle. An overload, you could say. Which was why he had to let it go. His Altaria was bad enough, but at least he could remember it slaughtering wild Pokemon to keep him from "fanboying". Of course, he'd never let the precious thing go without a secure place for it to stay instead. He loved the little sucker more than he really cared to admit and no way in heck was he just going to leave it out in the wild. This was why, when he caught word of a certain Eevee-specialist's achievements, the idea to dump it off with her struck him and hadn't left his mind since. He'd heard of Ms. Dahlberg's work even before she became famous - being an even more famous researcher kinda let him do stuff like that - but her recent discoveries left him with a feeling his Pokemon would be left in good hands. It was all a matter of not having a breakdown before he got to her door to drop the thing off. The blond also doubted she'd turn him down; it'd be an Eevee to help with her research and it was a shiny Pokemon, a rare thing indeed. IT would only open the door to even more discoveries. Maybe he'd got something totally sweet in return for helping out, too. Man, why hadn't he thought of this sooner? Before he knew it, Zach was standing before the brunette's door, trying to find a suitable position to keep the normal-type still as he went to knock and gift his present once and for all. However, it was while he as struggling that he caught sight of its eyes and had to freeze. ... It couldn't possibly know what he was planning to do, right? I mean, for all it knew, they were going on a magical tea party in space. ... Okay, well, maybe that was a little far fetched, but you could never know those days. But there was a sense of dread that had crept into those silver hues of its and, for such a soft heart as his own, it basically sort of kind of killed him. If he could fall dramatically to the ground without making a complete and utter fool out of himself right then and there, he would. Not like it would make much difference, though. Not when his facade had already slipped enough to see emotion even with his shades on. But with the face his Pokemon was making, no one could blame that same facade to slip some more... and a little more... and just a tad... "Don't look at me like that!" he wailed hysterically, not sure whether to keep it far away or to hold it close and crush it to death with love and kisses and why did this thing have to be so stinking adorable, it wasn't right. "How can you expect me to be cool Mr. Hazel if you're just a bundle of... of... fluff and... and... I don't even know...! You're going to ruin this entire thing for me!" He froze when he realized that these thoughts were not merely thoughts of his own, but rather words that had been spoken aloud. Loudly. Very loudly. Thankfully, in this part of town, the streets were pretty much empty - even when he was just a youngin' they were empty; some things just never changed, did they? - but he had to have been screaming loud enough for a particular researcher to hear him, even from within the building. Well, unless she was off in La-La-Land, but the universe just couldn't spare him these days, could it? Abscond? Or face the consequences? One look from his Eevee was all it took to get him to make up his mind. Zach had to get rid of it before it kind of ruined his life. He could always pass that screaming off as some kind of random hobo, weird passer... byer or something, anyway. 1500 words.

Face buried in her arms, Elena let out a sigh of defeat. No one was coming. No one would help her in her quest to discover the Eeveelutions. Her hopes... her dreams... dashed. She had been stupid to place all her hopes and dreams in the hands of strangers. She didn't have much to give volunteers. Just another Eevee for their efforts. How many people would go out of their way to help in her research just out of the goodness of their heart or for an Eevee? She had been stupid to believe that people she had never met would show up on her doorstep and agree to aid her in her research. “Might as well take down the sign...” she sighed. “I really thought that the discovery of Breezeon would make finding volunteers a breeze, but... I guess not... C'mon, Eden...”

The researcher dragged herself into the kitchen in search of tools to uproot the large “Eeveelution Research Center” sign outside. But just as she reached for the drawer said tools would be in, she heard yelling outside. Was there a fight going on? Aria Village was so peaceful and quiet, it was strange to have a fight break out, especially in the streets. Eden buzzed out the door to find the source of the noise, Elena following closely behind.

What she found confused her. She recognized the man. Zachary Hazel, researcher and nephew of the late Professor Pine, holding an Eevee. And not just any Eevee, but a shiny Eevee. The young woman couldn't contain herself. “So... so cute~!” she cried, grabbing the creature from the professor's hands. “I've never seen a shiny Eevee before! Oh, I could cuddle with you all day long!”

Finally realizing how rude she had been to Zach, she turned her attention to him and let the Eevee leap out of her arms. “Oh, I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I'm Elena Dahlberg. It's very nice to meet you in person, Professor Hazel! May I ask what brings you to my humble home?”

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[atrb=background,http://i.imgur.com/fhhLa84.png] Even in spite of the ruckus he'd just created, there was a moment of absolute silence that followed the small catastrophe, saved for the sound of the breeze running through the trees and the flap of birds' wings overhead. Maybe if he weren't so focused on his screw up he would have taken the time to reminisce of times when those birds were a comfort. Now, they were more of an annoyance, being the only witnesses to his little outbursts. Actually, his idea of ignoring them in favor of waiting for Elena was cast away easily and, angered by the condescending look he swore one of them was giving him, he picked up the nearest rock he could find and prepared to chuck it at the airborne creature. Not like anyone would see, right? And his act had already been messed up enough, what the Eevee - now rubbing against his dark red pants as if an apology of some sorts for making him upset - completely ruining it for him. However, the sound of footsteps coming from inside the home made him freeze and drop the stone, terrified she'd see his blatant abuse to the wild creatures and actually have a witness to his uncool act. As the front door swung open, a duel blue and white-colored Pokemon appeared. Honestly, it looked like the mutated love child of an Eevee and an Altaria. The thought alone made him cast an uneasy glance toward Flaum, but he realized that his own Pokemon of said breeds were the same gender and therefor couldn't have a child, much less one that popped up into a near-stranger's hands. However, in between the time that the strange Eeveelution - this must have been the Breezeon everyone was getting excited about; dangit, that thing was adorable, too - appeared and it's trainer showed up behind it, Zach managed to steel his expression once more. It was as thought nothing had ever happened. Well, aside from his conscious having a spazz attack, but he was pretty use to it by now. A spark of confusion lit the brunette's face before something completely different took its place and, within seconds, the normal-type had disappeared from its spot by his feet, scooped into the researcher's arms. ... Why hadn't he thought of this sooner? He was a stinking genius. "So... So cute~! Elena all but squealed and it took him a great amount of effort to not smile at the scene before him. Thankfully, he succeeded. "I've never seen a shiny Eevee before! Oh, I could cuddle you all day long!" Casting a glance toward the Pokemon practically being crushed in her grip, afraid to find annoyance or something equally negative splayed across its face, he was happy to find it still looking rather pleased. Not as much as when he'd been holding it, but the theft was sudden and carried out by a complete stranger; he couldn't blame it for maybe being a little weary all the same. However, the female's attention was taken away from the Pocket Monster as she let it fall out of her arms and land gracefully on the ground, focusing on him instead. Meeting her gaze and ignoring the small little mewl his partner let out, he prepared himself for some sort of interrogation over the sounds he'd made earlier. Thankfully, that was not what he received. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Where are my manners?" she began. "I'm Elena Dahlberg. It's very nice to meet you in person, Professor Hazel! May I ask what brings you to my humble home?" Dangit. She was cute, too. It was like he was drowning in a river filled with sugar and gumdrops and why did the universe hate him so? Of course, his expression was giving away none of that nonsense. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged casually as if he did this kind of stuff every day. "No problem. And none of that "Professor Hazel" stuff. Just call me Zach." The blond opened his mouth as if to continue and explain why he was there - it was only polite to answer questions, after all - when he realized that he didn't know exactly how to answer. "Hur, hur, I'mma big huge jerk and am gonna leave this Pokemon who didn't do nothin' wrong with you because I'm too cool and blah, blah, blah"? Ha, ha. No. Suddenly panicking... again, he bit his lip and tried not to reveal how nervous that single question really made him. ... Gosh, he had problem. Talking to girls was harder when it was about serious business. "Well, uh - ... No, I didn't just say "uh", um... Gosh darnit." Looking around a bit too hastily to relocate Flaum, Zach lifted it into the air and sort of shoved it her way. Not into her arms or anything, of course; that would be rude. But a gesture to basically say, "I'm giving this to you, take it from me and spare my sanity". "Eevee. Here. Take it. Uh... I-I heard about your research and, - Gosh darnit, now he was stuttering again. "- and I thought that maybe I could help out?" ... Oh, no. He did not just offer to assist. All he wanted to do was drop off the Pokemon and forget it had ever existed and now he was stupid enough to be offering his services to her? Biting his lip again, hard enough he thought he broke the skin a little on the inside he tried - and failed - to correct, "I mean - I just wanted to - ... Um." 982 words.

“You sure it's all right to call you just Zach?” Elena asked, tilting her head to the side in a dog-like manner. “I just figured that all professors liked being addressed as such. I suppose it could get annoying after a while...” She continued to muse as she watched Eden investigate the shiny Eevee happily. She smiled a bit at the scene. What she wouldn't give to have a shiny Pokemon of her own. Also, the shiny Eevee opened up a new door to her research, that is if the professor was interested in assisting her. Not only the discovery of a new Eeveelution could occur, but also the discovery of a shiny new Eeveelution! She tried to look Zach in the eyes through his sunglasses, willing him to bring up her research.

Suddenly, the professor's cool demeanor seemed to crack a bit as Zach struggled to find his words. Elena wondered if it had been a bad question to ask. Perhaps he was in Aria Village for a sad appointment. For what, she did not know. But obviously he was upset about his reason for arriving in the village. Although she felt bad for him, Elena couldn't help but find his fumbling for his words kind of cute. She giggled a little, hoping he wouldn't hear her and feel offended.

Just then, the Eevee she had just held in her arms was thrust into her face. Their eyes met in an awkward 'I have no idea what the hell he's doing' kind of look as Zach attempted to explain his reason for being there. It was as if he had read her thoughts about her research and her musing on the breakthroughs in her research the little Eevee would cause.

She stared at him in awe. There was sincerity in his offer to give her the Eevee. But the rest of his words almost seemed to fall out of his mouth as if they were the best group of words he could come up with. “That's very sweet of you to offer, but I'm afraid I couldn't possibly separate you from your Eevee. This one is incredibly rare, you see. I just can't believe a professor would be willing to give up a shiny Eevee like that, even if to aid in someone's research,” she stated.

She stared at Breezeon, proof that her dream was reachable. She had to take a chance. “Are you sure you would like to help me in my research? I mean, I'm not opposed to your help, I just thought you'd be far too busy with your own work to aid someone such as myself. My research couldn't possibly be as important as any project you are working on...” Elena felt a bit inferior. All this time and effort dedicated to the pursuit of her dreams, and all she had to show for it was one Breezeon, a mostly empty list of volunteers, and a house that made her look like a crazy cat lady (Eevee lady?). Why would a professor, someone so very important, want to aid her in her research? Surely she wasn't important enough for Zach to drop all of his duties in order to help her.

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Zach used to revel in his title of Lyeant's Professor in some sick twist of irony. He hadn't even wanted the position in the first place, after all, only fully accepting the title after realizing he was really the only fit person for the job that could be found during the time. Of course, he probably had looked at it as though the job itself was undesirable, but the title and fame that came with it made it almost worth his time. Arrogant as all get out as it was, part of him liked people – new trainers, other researchers that had been in the business longer, people older than himself who would have otherwise been his superiors – treating him with the utmost respect assuming he'd actually earned the title. This had only lasted so long, though, the name Professor Hazel loosing its original spark as he felt like more and more of a failure at doing what he did. His habit of never answering to his first name unless they were someone close enough to actually care to know it – so basically no one – had started to give way to completely abandoning the prefix of professor and just sticking with the four letter title he'd been gifted as an infant.

This was especially true in the case of miss Dahlberg. If anyone should have been addressing the other in a formal manner, it would be more fitting that it would be he respecting her. It was painfully apparent that she had accomplished more than he had even in her short amount of time. Maybe this whole endeavor was like a wake up call, telling him to get off his butt and start doing some actual research. Not that anyone had to know he wasn't doing that in the first place. It was for this reason that he nodded softly as she questioned, “You sure it's alright to call you just Zach? I figured that all professors liked being addressed as such. I suppose it could get annoying after a while...” That was pretty much exactly what it was. However, instead of confirming her final statement, the blond said, “Nah, Zach's fine. We're all on the same level, right? Do you want me calling you Professor Dahlberg all day?” Realizing a bit too late that she might have actually wanted to be addressed as such after all, he added a little too quickly, “… I mean, if you do, I can.” He wasn't entirely sure, however, if he attention was on his words or on the two Pokemon who were examining one another in a rather friendly manner. If he didn't know any better, he'd think the two would get along swimmingly if they weren't alright. Again, he couldn't help but think how this was one of the best ideas he'd ever had.

Of course, the bout of self pride only lasted so long, giving way to embarrassment and foolish actions as he stumbled over his own demeanor. He hardly noticed in his mad dash for the correct words when she giggled – actually giggled – at him. Of course, once his mind registered it, it was a little hard to ignore. Wow, he really was making an idiot out of himself, wasn't he? Whatever respect she might have had for him before might as well have been flushed down the drain. Good-bye to that; there was probably little he could do to get it back, either. This only became more apparent when he shoved the silver creature in her direction, she staring at it as it stared at her in confusion and slight awe. Sadly, her response was not exactly the one he was looking for.

“That's very sweet of you to offer, but I'm afraid I couldn't possibly separate you from your Eevee.” Oh, here it came. What hope did he have of giving Flaum away if he couldn't explain himself and his reasons without sounding like a complete and utter jerk? Sure, he could be mean sometimes, but that was mostly toward Logan and was always jokingly. … Well, almost jokingly, anyway. However, her next words provided a little more comfort. “This one is incredibly rare, you see. I just can't believe a professor would be willing to give up a shiny Eevee like that, even if the aid in someone's research.” Shaking his head and managing to catch some of his relaxed facade before it all escaped him and run into the clutches of oblivion, the professor replied, “No, no, see, I know that. That's why I've kept it so long. But you're an Eevee expert. By the way you were looking at him before, I doubt you own one yourself. That's why he'd be so much better in your care. I don't specialize in Eevee. My research would work just as well with a Zubat as him. Your's, though – this is a once in a life time opportunity.” Shaking him just the slightest bit as if to redirect her attention to the cute little thing's face, he slapped onto the end, “Come on. With him, you could find out what a shiny Breezeon looks like. All you gotta do is take him.”

As Elena cast her duel-colored partner a glance he took a short moment to breath in and out, hoping his mask of overall indifference was back in place after his short little freak out. Well, Zach was still freaking out – big time – but at least he had managed to contain it. He really needed the shiny Eevee off his hands or his brain would explode and – Oh, gosh. The way she was speaking stabbed him through the chest with a strong dose of guilt. “Are you sure you would like to help me in my research? I mean, I'm not opposed to your help, I just thought you'd be far too busy with your own work to aid someone such as myself. My research couldn't possibly be as important as any project you are working on...” The guilt was so strong, in fact, that it overpowered his strong and sudden urge to snort at her thinking whatever he was working on was more important that what she was. As far as he was concerned, discovering Eeveelutions would get her farther in life than finishing A Link to the Past. But that wasn't the point. He had messed up in offering his aid, but that had obviously only proved to upset her in some way or another, enough so that it rubbed off on him enough to cause a slight frown to tug at the corners of his mouth.

“Don't say that,” Mr. Hazel practically snapped, tucking Flaum under his arm and letting his free hand fall into the safety of his left pocket. “You're making history, Elena. You're all the talk of the region right now. You've done what even the professor in charge of evolution as a whole couldn't do: found an Eeveelution where no one else thought it possible. Think about it; if people hear that I'm working with you – the big bad professor of the region in whole – new trainers and old trainers and everyone in between are going to start flocking at your doorstep. Not to be conceited or anything, that just seems to come with the job. Besides, two heads working together? We'll find, like, five more. In one day.” That was a joke of course, slight frown shifting into a slight smile. Smirk? He didn't even care anymore. “Don't you want to find five Eeveelutions in one day?”

Flicking his head a bit in the direction of her house, he made his offer once again – this time with more confidence and meaning to it – in the form of what could have been seen as a command. “So let's go evolve some Eevee.”

1358 words.

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Elena stared at the professor in awe. He sincerely wanted to help her in her research. And everything he said was true. If they both worked together, more trainers than she could ever imagine would be flocking to her door, even if only to catch a glimpse of the Eeveelutions they had discovered. But she was the “talk of the town”? Her face flushed. People actually talked about her all around the region? She was almost like a celebrity then, right? It was almost too much for the researcher. Still awestruck, she motioned silently for him to follow her further into her home. As she took a seat on her couch, Elena realized that her mouth had been wide open for a while. Embarrassed, she immediately closed it and turned to Professor Hazel. “Please, take a seat,” she insisted, trying to be as professional as she could possibly be.

Her Eeveelutions, all curious as to what was going on, entered the room. The researcher looked at them, silently asking them what they thought she should do. A silly thing to think, of course. She had no telepathic powers to speak of, and would her Pokemon really know what the best choice for her really was? Finally, she made her decision, nodding at the creatures. She stood, a very serious look on her face, and took the professor's hand. “I accept,” Elena said very matter-of-factly. “Zach... we'll work together and discover all the Eeveelutions!” She smiled. It felt good to shake an equal's hand.