[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/rKEOjO3.png[/img][/centre] [h2]chaos[/h2] cha·​os | \ ˈkā-ˌäs \ noun : the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system [hr] Valerie was no stranger to the concept of chaos. One might even say that, on a base level, it was the very nature of chaos that so fascinated the young inquisitive mind. She sought to understand that unpredictability that moved every creature at its core. There was no ulterior motive, she was just simply...curious. So it was that when the amphitheatre erupted into a cacophony of laughter, sneers, and jeers all pointed in her little group’s direction, Valerie fell into observation mode. Humans, despite how superior they as a species like to believe they are, are not above the laws that govern nature’s creatures. They behave in predictable ways in response to chaos. Take the larger group for example: when confronted with an oddity within itself, a weakness of sorts, they choose to attack. A bygone relic of humanity’s past as predators within the wild? It made sense - eliminating the weak only served to strengthen the overall group, did it not? When confronted with an attack, it’s natural for a creature to try to fend off its attacker. Just look at Zaria or Antoinetta : backed into a corner with the predator looming above, the prey will often try to appear threatening. Bristling its fur, barking, baring teeth. But fear was hard to hide. The girl shaking in her boots, the other - Valerie watched as the girl tagged “Antoinetta” got caught in the labcoat and...her heel snapped. She fell to the ground, causing another round of laughter to rise from the peanut gallery. Valerie moved to apologize, but the obviously embarrassed girl stumbled once more trying to get up. As heartless as it may be, Valerie couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see how the girl would react now that she had humiliated herself before the “herd.” But another of the group demonstrated a rather interesting response. It’s not unusual for prey to flee rather than fight. The boy “Tim” fled in his own way - by sitting down, by shutting off. An emotional flight rather than physical. Interesting. There was some merit to this - crying, at least in human society, tends to elicit a sympathetic response from some with others simply feeling uncomfortable around it. Either way, Tim’s use of it to push away his attackers and draw support was not lost on Valerie. It was fascinating. There was, among the group, an apparent opportunist. The quiet one, who also demonstrated a more social form of flight by choosing to ignore the attack and appear above it, had seemed to fixate on Munchlax. Valerie had noticed the suspicious pokefood on the chair beside her when she woke up, and judging by the boy’s attempts at slyly sneaking glances at the fluffy pokepillow, she had suspected that he was the one who supplied it. This was, of course, confirmed when the boy marked “Troy” took advantage of Zaria’s outburst to flick a snack right towards Munchlax. Well, Valerie hadn’t overtly spotted it mind you, she was just as drawn to the sudden shout as anybody, but going by the pokesnack’s sudden disappearance, Munchlax munching down despite being pinned, and that oh-so-subtle look at satisfaction that Troy boy was obviously trying to hide, one could draw a reasonable hypothesis. She’d let the boy have his victory - their little group could probably use one right about now - but she was curious about what he had said. He wasn’t wrong necessarily, there really wasn’t anything that any of them could do to stop the larger group now aside from blatant violence, but she would argue that no response was, in itself, another form of response. Pretending something wasn’t happening didn’t magically make it go away. Of course, Valerie understood the thinking behind it: don’t add fuel to fire. But creatures communicate in more ways than just verbal, and it was a helluva a lot harder to control one’s subtle body language than their words. By choosing to ignore the peanut gallery, Troy only invited them to amp up their attempts at getting a response. Perhaps he had the discipline to resist reacting, but...it was a curious response by itself. As for herself? … It was difficult for Valerie to really gage her own reaction to this particular moment. She was, to put it bluntly, a freak. At least to her peers anyway. This sort of negative attention was something rather common for the girl. Well, perhaps not quite to this level. She was used to the judgemental stares, rude comments, and all that jazz, but typically people just avoided her. Well, except for some of the more...desperate guys. In any case, it was hard to be objective in her observations of herself. Any response she made would be made with full knowledge that she was analyzing herself. It made having an authentic reaction difficult. Normally, she’d probably go with Troy’s thinking: ignore it, it’s not worth the energy. Buuuut… That wouldn’t be fun. As the misfits began to talk amongst themselves, comforting each other and rallying together against the larger crowd, an idea began to form in Valerie’s mind. Only when Antoinetta’s issued her grand challenge to the student body did Val’s play solidify. A mischievous grin contorted the girl’s face. She was just about to put it in motion when an authoritative voice cut through the crowd. It seemed like a member of the faculty had finally decided to get involved. That...complicated the plan. But it wasn’t dead. Not fully. Not yet. The aroma of a thousand flowery fields hit Val seemingly out of nowhere. It was as if she were adrift in a sea of petals, all her worries being carried away by beautiful waves of dazzling colors. Val spotted the source, a Meganium that was currently nuzzling her crying classmates. Was it really ethical to use Pokemon to manipulate the emotions of your students, even towards a more calming, relaxed mood? At that moment, Val didn’t care. It was all smooth sailing as long as that Meganium stuck around. And besides, ethics were for nerds. The Meganium’s trainer, a member of the faculty by Val’s guess, proceeded to scold the now semi-sedated student body. He gave Val a double-take, so she flashed the guy a peace sign. When he finished and finally decided to walk away, Valerie saw her opportunity. The calming scent killed off any bad vibes Val might have had, but her impish impulsives were rooted deep in the girl’s heart. She rose to her feet and stretched her arms above her head before looking around at her group. The grin returning, she addressed them all, fixating on Antoinetta in particular. [b][color=a52a36]“If they’re gonna talk about you, give ‘em somethin’ to talk about. She gets it.”[/color][/b] the girl said with a nod towards the green-haired one. And with that, a fully smiling Valerie looked out at the sea of bright faces before her...and rose both arms up, middle fingers fully extended. She pumped the double Pidgey at anybody who was still gawking before giving an exaggerated bow and plopping back into her seat. The thought of the student body now having to grapple with the rather odd and complex mixture of the calming emotions brought upon by the Meganium’s scent and the indignity of having a tiny freak flipping them off gave Valerie just an incredible sense of satisfaction. Sure, she might have been spotted by a member of the faculty doing it and might get in trouble later but...worth it. That was Future Valerie’s problem. Right now, she was riding high. [b][color=a52a36]“You guys are fun. We should do this again sometime.”[/color][/b] she earnestly announced as she got comfortable in her chair. It was going to be a good year. Munchlax, finally free, set his gaze firmly on the Food Giver, Troy. He required more and Troy had made the mistake of identifying himself as somebody with access to food. He was just about to harass the Food Giver for more when Valerie killed the plan by returning him to his Pokeball. Thwarted for now, Munchlax would plot. This boy was sitting on a stockpile, Munchlax could feel it in his bones. He had a target, now he just needed a plan and a crew. Soon… [hr] After quite possibly the most boring individual the human species had ever created droned on about expectations and future and prestige and some other junk, the assembly came to an end. Valerie was, quite predictably, pulled aside for a little chat with Mr. Bellamy Herb. He didn’t like her wardrobe, or her little flourish to his lecture. She didn’t like his stupid haircut, or his audacity to actually take a position as orchard keeper while having the surname of Herb. Obviously, they were going to get along just fine. Valerie didn’t get a chance to stick around and go to class with the other transfer misfits as apparently her outfit was “inappropriate for a young lady in this sort of professional environment” or however Bellboy put it. It was no fault of his own, but since he was playing the part of the authoritative adult, Val felt obligated to drop into her own rebellious teen persona, which meant completely clocking out whenever he began to speak. Still, it was a fine line to walk, that between “difficult” and “completely insubordinate”, and if Val wanted to test this guy but not be dismissed from the school altogether, it’d be one she'd need to walk very carefully. Which meant that she had to go out of her way to return to her dorm room, change, and get back to class. Which meant that she had to [i]book it.[/i] She arrived at Class 2-A a new woman altogether. Alright...perhaps that was a bit much. She had changed her shirt to a baby blue tee with significantly less holes, her shorts to ones that had a little more length to them (still above the knee though, it WAS summer after all and she’d be damned before she wore pants), and threw on a stain-free lab coat. The bears and goggles stayed though. The school’s handbook didn’t specifically ban either of them and in Val’s eyes, the best kind of correct was being technically correct. She was also completely out of breath. She [i]sprinted[/i] both to and from her dorm to get to the classroom on time. She was an absolute blue white and gray blur. And kudos to her for being able to run so well in...bear slippers. While she thoroughly enjoyed her agent of chaos persona, she really did value getting a good education. So being late to her first class was just absolutely out of the equation. So out of the equation, in fact, that she somehow - despite the pit stop - managed to be the first of her classmates to arrive. She had to double check that it was the right classroom, but when it absolutely without a doubt was, she had no choice but to head in and wander about. Everyone else was too slow. Way too slow. It was a crime to be that slow. She’d have to fine them. A million bucks. Have fun funding her research nerds. …despite her urge to be nosy, Val found herself drawn to the window. She looked out and couldn’t help but admire the breathtaking campus. She watched as groups of students went every which way, walking and running over paths and grass. There was no rhyme or reason to each person’s movements. Just pure, majestic chaos. It was beautiful. [hr] [hider=Notes] [color=a52a36][b]PP:[/b][/color] 3 [color=a52a36][b]Pokemon Team:[/b][/color] [list][*] Munchlax | Lv10 - Tackle - Lick - Defence Curl - Recycle [/list] [color=a52a36][b]Pokemon in PC:[/b][/color] [color=a52a36][b]Items:[/b][/color] [/hider]