[Deleted]

His entire day had been spent inside HQ, but at least it had been productive. He’d run a quick errand for the higher-ups – transporting a box of supplies from a store room to somewhere easier to access – and spent the rest of his time getting his Pokemon used to him and each other. They were a team, after all, and currently the closest thing he had to a family, at least until he got to know some of his teammates better. If they wanted to be a proper family, they all had to have perfect love and trust for each other, and that was going to take time and interaction. The sooner he got started, the better.

To be fair, his Pokemon were all recent acquisitions. A little while ago, he’d stolen his first two to make his life easier. Before everything had turned south, he’d been content to remain a recruit and keep out of the truly exciting aspects of life in the team. Now, with his family and friends who-knew-where, he needed a purpose – something to focus on until things improved or he learned to live without the people that had meant everything to him. Having something to work for – pushing himself up in the ranks as far as he could go and becoming indispensable to the team – seemed to dull all the pain, or at least mask it. Besides, he owed Team Origin. What better way was there to repay them than to work as hard as he could manage? So far, his efforts had gotten him to the oh-so-lofty rank of Grunt, but that was still farther than he’d ever gone before. If anyone from his old group ever returned – if they’d even be allowed back into the organization – he’d outrank them, and that fact gave him more joy than he was comfortable admitting.

For now, the newly-promoted Team Origin grunt was wandering aimlessly through the hideout, each of his Pokemon safety stored in their pokeballs for the time being. Productive or not, it felt weird to spend a day indoors. Maybe he should go out into the town and see what there was to do? Or maybe he should report to one of his superiors for another job? Even if it was…well…grunt work, it would still look good on him to take as many tasks as he could manage.

Santos "Shadow" Almaz

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

Santos was coming down the hall of Origin HQ at a moderately fast pace carrying with him a collection of samples in packets and bottles, like thorn vines, Venomoth powder, and Quallidin shell scraps he had collected in his most recent trip to the Thorn Citadel. It wasn't exactly the poison he was looking for but it was something to show the researchers along with the other samples he gathered. However as he was running down the hall which was a bad idea and turned a corner He came across an older member of Team Origin and let out a yelp as they were about to collide "Wha!" Santos yelled

[Deleted]

There was a sudden yell, and he turned in time to see someone barreling right toward him. Luke tried to back up and press his back against the wall to give hi teammate room to pass safely, but the suddenness of it all had caught him off-guard and he was just a bit too slow. He did manage to brace himself for the impact, at least. He stumbled, and it took him a moment to catch his breath, but he had avoided falling head-first onto the floor…or into the wall. It was always a good thing to come out of a collision concussion-free.

Then he remembered his teammate, and stepped forward him, prepared to help if necessary. He dipped his head to the other male. “My apologies. Are you all right?”

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

Upon impact Santos kinda deflected off of the older member and he fell to the ground but landed with a skidding and spiraling roll and came to a stop. The samples he had been carrying had been sent flying from him and landed on the ground luckily Santos was smart enough to put them in non fragile containers like plastic bottle and paper envelopes and sealed them so that the contents wouldn't spill out.

Santos grunted as he kissed his teeth and picked himself up "now I know why they say no running in the halls." He grumbled "uh... I'm cool, just help me recollect my samples I got." He stated

[Deleted]

It seemed the other man was fine. That was a relief, at least. It had been worrying seeing him knocked to the ground. He did wonder what was going, though. Why the rush? Was there something important going on? As a grunt, he was pretty sure it wasn’t his place to ask. If it was anything he could help with, he was sure he’d be told, anyway.

“Of course.” He bent down and started collecting whatever containers he could reach. He would have done that even without asking, especially since it had been partly his fault. He just hoped they hadn’t broken anything. That would have been a disaster. He wasn’t sure what this stuff was, but he imagined it was important.

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

"thanks." Santos muttered as he started picking up the various samples himself and got a good look at the guy that he ran into. He was surprised a little bit. This guy older then him had a meek almost kind face. It kinda reminded Santos of his own father and Candle wasn't reacting in a negative burn which was a first for the entire team "I'm Shadow," He stated still not giving his real name to fellow Origin Members. "What's your name?"

[Deleted]

The other man thanked him, and he nodded. They were teammates, after all. He gathered up what he could until together he and the other man had collected everything he could see. Was that it, then? He looked around a little more just to make sure, stopping as the other man introduced himself. Shadow? That couldn’t be his real name, could it? He could certainly understand using a different name in a team like this, though. He didn’t use the name his parents had given him, either.

“Luke,” he responded when Shadow asked his name, not bothering with his surname since his companion hadn’t. He looked down at all the containers of…something he was holding. “Where are these headed?” If he’d been in enough of a hurry to run, it must be somewhat urgent, right? In that case, the least Luke could do was help Shadow transport the things.

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

Santos hummed as the guy gave a decent sounding name then asked where the samples were going

"Research." Santos stated "I got a science guy who liked that I've been able to get into various restricted places. So he requested I get some more samples from that area." He hummed "hopefully it's worth a bonus..."

[Deleted]

Shadow hummed in response, and then stated he was going to research. Luke moved against the wall to give the other man the opportunity to go on and lead the way. It seemed proper – this guy had to be a higher rank than him. He wasn’t sure how anyone could get promoted so young, unless he’d done spy work in his early teens or something, but that wasn’t his business so he wouldn’t say anything. Besides, he was on his way to earning his own high rank…someday.

When Shadow hoped that the samples were worth a bonus, Luke smiled, barely managing to avoid a chuckle. He wasn’t sure why the statement amused him…maybe he was just in a weird mood today. “I hope you get it.”

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

Santos chuckled "eh we'll see how the doc feels about these samples." He stated then started heading towards research.

He would soon arrive at Research and enter in what appeared to be a empty laboratory. "Doc, Hey Doc I got more sample from the Citadel." He called out. When there was no answer, Santos sighed. "figures, he's not around to judge or praise. Oh well. I'll just leave him a note and He'll most likely contact me later if he's got another request." He placed the samples in the input tray, grabbed a sheet of printer paper and started writing down what he had acquired and then put it in the basket next to the samples. "Well that's that." He stated "time to call it a work day and head on home."

[Deleted]

Shadow chuckled and responded. Luke nodded, unsure of what to say. There were far too many Team Origin members that he had yet to meet. He really should have started being more productive sooner, but his priorities until recently had been sorely misplaced.

But he wasn’t going to think about that. Not now.

The other man started off again. Luke followed, glancing back after a couple steps just to make sure they’d gotten everything. It wouldn’t do to get there and found out they’d missed something. It seemed they got it all, though, and before too long Luke found himself inside a lab. He looked around as Shadow called out – he hadn’t been to this part of HQ before. Interesting…

Shadow sighed and commented on Doc not being around. Researchers were busy, he imagined, so it wasn’t too surprising that their teammate was away. He followed his companion’s lead and placed the samples he’d been carrying next to the others while Shadow wrote his note. That was it, then, wasn’t it? Mission accomplished. Still didn’t feel like he’d been productive enough today…

Shadow stated that it was time to call it a day and head home, and he nodded. “Be careful on your way back.” It felt weird to hear the other man talk about heading home when this was home to Luke. He knew not everyone lived at HQ, though.

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

Santos hummed as he nodded "right no more running in the halls." He hummed as a thought came to his mind. Normally he didn't really want anything to do with his Origin Teammates but for some reason Luke was peeking his interest "hey uh Luke, I hate to pry but I got a question, you seem like a decent guy why are you here working for Team Origin when the authorities state our group is the bad guys and the reason the crime rate is going up. Shouldn't you have been able to get a decent paying job without crossing the law line?"

[Deleted]

He gave the other man a small smile at his comment. No running would be wise, yes. But then Shadow asked him something, and his heart felt like it had suddenly been turned to lead. It was an innocent question, and he did his best not to let his pain show on his face, but there were so many memories attached to the answer – ones that should be pleasant but now only reminded him of what he’d lost. Still, Shadow deserved an answer. There were several honest ways to respond, with varying degrees of detail. What would be best?

“Yes, well, the world isn’t quite as black and white as some people would have the rest of us believe.” He responded as he worked out his answer in his head. “Team Origin helped me out of a bad situation once. I owe them everything.” His head tilted slightly to the left as he regarded his companion. “I assume your story is somewhat similar, as you also seem to defy the image the authorities paint of us?”

[Santos "Shadow" Almaz]

Santos hummed as he received the answer and gave a slight nod. "You got that mostly right, however it's more like Team Origin gave me something that no one else would. They gave me a chance to better myself on my own terms when everyone else wanted someone who had been conditioned or being conditioned by the academy even though I'm a born and raised Harmonian, aka someone who was born here and knows this island better then the back of my hand. I got hooked in by the opportunity and have had no reason to leave. Do I believe what the authorities say about Team Origin, eh... the only thing I seen that suggest anything linked to criminal activity is that Team Origin doesn't care about the rules of society meaning anything and everything you can do, do it just as long as it benefits Team Origin. With a rule set like that you are bound to find those who don't play by the normal rules and will do anything to get higher ranks. My only rule is that if you mess with me or my team, beware of every shadow you see for it may be your last.

[Deleted]

His companion hummed, nodded, and responded. Luke nodded along, more than a little surprised by the length of the answer. It seemed Shadow was passionate about the team…it was good to know there was someone else here that was completely loyal to their group for a noble reason, even if their reasons were a little different. As for the academy…he didn’t know as much about that as he probably should, being born and raised in another region. Perhaps he should do some research when he had a spare moment? He could do that as soon as he and Shadow parted ways, but…meh, he was in the mood to do something more immediately useful.

“Society’s rules are rather flawed, in places,” he responded once the other man was done speaking. “It is important to keep things legal when you can – to keep the authorities at bay, if for no other reason – but I can’t muster up any real loyalty for rules that would uplift part of the community and trample the rest.” He shook his head. His thoughts were turning dark again, and that helped nobody.