There was a strange comfort in taking missions with this alongside Zev Harcourt. As much as he unsettled her at times, he could be relied upon in matters of violence and aggression; in many ways, he was the Beast she found herself most comfortable fighting alongside for this reason.[break][break]

And perhaps, subconsciously, she found the sight of a blue-eyed and dark-haired companion to be a relieving one on missions of this nature. He was not BARNABY FINCH, not in the slightest, but the mind could make allowances with what one had in the moment.[break][break]

Not that she would ever dare to voice such a thing aloud. Zev was abhorrent, after all.[break][break]

"Ah," she said then, decidedly unhappy when she saw the targets of choice. Though it was not a sense of fondness for them that made her reticent; rather, a subtle note of annoyance laced itself in her words as she sighed. "This will be unpleasant."[break][break]

It wasn't kyle lopez who concerned her, although he did partially. Admittedly, their encounter on Mirage Island had been fairly harrowing. The BERSERK FOG had unlocked a side of his personality she didn't relish seeing again, now or ever.[break][break]

It was the presence of the Volatile that left her uneasy. He was certainly aptly titled in his Avatarship.[break][break]

"You could use me as bait, I suppose," she offered, tilting her head at the Beast. "If I step out, they'll lower their guard, and you might get a strike in."[break][break]

She was reasonably confident their efforts at stealth would keep them hidden before then.[break][break]

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[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt kyle lopez MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Understood," was all Elisabeth said to Zev Harcourt before she moved to take action.[break][break]

The underboss could approach them both naturally, seeing if either would be open to conversation. Part of her suspected they would, knowing the two men present as she did.[break][break]

But Elisabeth Fiorelli was not in the mood to play florist today.[break][break]

Wo-chien slithered by its Avatar's side, hulking and hideous as the name of MATIAS SILPH burned on the Tablets of Ruin upon its back. The grudge etched there had become more complicated and twisted since its first incarnation, making for a more potent source of power than it had been prior.[break][break]

This is his fault, not yours, she reminded herself, and it felt like a second voice echoed that premonition in her mind like an unholy prayer. This is what he wanted.[break][break]

A BARREN TERRAIN took hold of their surroundings, stripping whatever life and vegetation existed here for an unfeeling void of rust and stone.[break][break]

when wo-chien is on the field, elisabeth can summon a BARREN TERRAIN that clears any existing terrain, while preventing any other from taking form for a period of time. anyone within the terrain will be continually STRENGTH SAPPED, weakening them while also healing elisabeth and wo-chien.

[break]

Although she didn't know the conversation the two men had up ahead, a familiar scent would nonetheless sweep through the vicinity as a SPRINGTIME STORM heralded a familiar flurry of petals.[break][break]

The initially pink flowers hurled towards them in a relentless barrage, blackening and sharpening like knives as they rained down from above to strike.[break][break]

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[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt kyle lopez MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Zev's GENESECT crushed down on MATIAS SILPH's pillar of earth, causing a distraction. It was enough time to move.[break][break]

She darted through the POISON GAS, untouched and unharmed by the blessing of her patron. With each step, she summoned a tangle of vines to attempt to hinder any attacks in her general direction, though it did not hide her from view.[break][break]

Once the noxious fog cleared, there would be no hiding herself from the two men across from her. So there was no reason to hide Wo-chien, either.[break][break]

BURNING JEALOUSY cut through the haze, lashing out towards the two men and their Pokemon as Elisabeth's silhouette darted through the cloud of poison and smoke.[break][break]

With any luck, the Genesect would distract the two men enough for them not to look her way. But if they did, she was now in striking distance -- and, as the POISON GAS thinned, entirely visible.[break][break]

bMXSRTcY

[attr="class","ooc"] Zev Harcourt kyle lopez MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]