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on magical cue, a sharpened pencil graces the periphery of silas' vision. it is held by the softest pressure. for silas, dahlia's featherlight fingers cradle the graphite wand as its tip wags in the air.[break][break]

"dahlia coming to the rescue again." the future commissioner says. "keep the pencil. i've got plenty."[break][break]

she notices the bobbing knee. the emanating waves of anxiety as if silas were lost at slateport sea. [break][break]

dahlia did not mind being the beacon. the lifeline. but one day, she will, for the future fate of a failing saviour fosters white hairs.

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The Commissioner laughs and flutters her fingers. They remember the Staunton wood. The soft felt she'd tickle beneath each sturdy piece. [break][break]

Back when she had time. Time for games. When metaphor did not manifest as flesh, blood and bone.[break][break]

"of course." Dahlia says. "welcome to the elite four, michael navidson."

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"ah, do you hear yourself?" dahlia lifts her finger like a footnote. "we have no control over our herodom."[break][break]

in stacks of resumes and reports, the commissioner finds that heroics can not be quantified. no number of successful operations. no number of townships saved could truly capture the public's perception of what a hoennian hero is and could be.[break][break]

"you call genevieve a hero. others call you a hero. whether you and her like it or not." the commissioner says. "it is up to you to decide whether that is a blessing or a curse."

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"as much as i can!" dahlia laughs.[break][break]

she teeters close to that cold chasm of reality. past the sentimentality of the season, its ribbons, ornaments and fireplaces.[break][break]

but she dare not ruin the moment. though peacetime has not yet come, peace still manifests in a hush between every footstep. every dimple and smile.[break][break]

as her bayleef mews back at ollie's pikachu, the commissioner continues to walk alongside him.[break][break]

"you've filled the seat very well."[break][break]

her hand rests on her heart, as if to keep it from spilling.[break][break]

"and i'm so very thankful for that. you could very well be the best head ranger hoenn's ever seen, if i am to be honest."[break][break]

she wonders if ollie will ever crack.

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"oh, i'm afraid you've already graduated from footnote to an illustrious chapter, navidson."[break][break]

and while healers like John Sullivan may be the backbone for this mulish war, soldiers flesh out the body with muscle and blood.[break][break]

in secret, she wishes she could battle too. she never did well with pokemon battles—and perhaps, if she was, her reuniclus would have survived the sacking of slateport so many years ago.[break][break]

"warriors are important in peacetime too." she says. "their stories are written in battle, but only after the war is won can we truly admire them as heroes."

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"hm?"[break][break]

dahlia lifts her head from her propped hand, heavy with academic fatigue. though silas may scowl, little deters the smile that blossoms on dahlia's face.[break][break]

"i don't believe slateport academy has assigned seating, silas." her featherlight hand graces the empty chair seat beside her. "but you're welcome to sit with me."[break][break]

even if he was a sweaty mess.

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"the fact of the matter is that the race is already being run." [break][break]

the commissioner scries dust in the light fabric of the curtain. she pats it away the best she can, though it is an exercise in futility. the dust always returns.[break][break]

"rocket will run this world to the ground for us all." dahlia says. "you may be worried about poisoning the land, but i say that the land had already been poisoned."[break][break]

after all, where did mega evolution ultimately come from? [break][break]

with a petite smile, she holds her hands gently by her lap.[break][break]

"but you and i, in our service, are heritors of this arcadia." she says. "you play a role just as important as everyone else."

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impossible would be the word to describe it. the jobs at the top. the summit of the league, where the view is simultaneously sublime and inconcievable. though one may believe the peak to offer the most elucidatory purview, such expectations are folly.[break][break]

hoenn and everything within it is an unfathomable, ever-changing paradox. to attempt to comprehend every moving part of this region is to attempt to comprehend the impossible.[break][break]

and to be in a high seat such as this, whether it be the elite four's or the comissioner's, to grant the absurd audience.[break][break]

"it's an arms race, navidson." dahlia leaves her seat to look out tall windows. "the league has the region's brightest minds, but i am not so naive as to say that rocket isn't already at work to seize any advantage they can get."[break][break]

she peers back at the man.[break][break]

"what do you think will bring about the world's end?" hoennian waves beat and pulse against the island. "eternatus?"

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"then we'll process your ascension into the elite four seat as soon as we conclude our meeting." dahlia says. "you'll do the league proud."[break][break]

ever so fleetingly, the commissioner wonders if Melody Miro would be a distraction. it is the softest thought. the thinnest petal of swirlix fur dissolving into the busiest puddle.[break][break]

"do go on." the commissioner says of eternatus.

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"both Remiel Calcifet and Isaac Merlo will be subject to rigorous protocol to process their defections." the commissioner says, her sapphire eyes shifting between each of her council. "the former will require a more extensive and lengthy probation to ensure that those bridges remain burned."[break][break]

paxton concordas's name is raised.[break][break]

"concordas is a reliable officer for the league." she says. "he has personally experienced the havoc wreaked by dross' loss of control." briefly, she attempts to match fernando's heavy gaze.[break][break]

"he knows firsthand why we can not have a repeat of november's kyogre incident."

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"too cold!" the commissioner says.[break][break]

dahlia fumbles with putting on her gloves, their leather too thick and the cold too biting for her fingers to work.[break][break]

beside her, her bayleef trods. like ollie's pikachu its neck is warmed by a scarf.[break][break]

"how has it been, ollie? being head ranger." she walks in casual lockstep with him. "i must thank you, actually. you've brought about so much positive change."

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dahlia laughs, each soft flutter of air contains her understanding. her wishes and all of their impossibilities. even should the war end, the commissioner knows no sleep awaits her.[break][break]

perhaps, the most important road is the one traveled after resolution.[break][break]

"you have been helping. very much in fact." she says. "i would love for you to take a seat within the elite four, but... two jobs?"[break][break]

she worries about how far navy's self-sacrifice will go.

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"then we share a common goal."[break][break]

if navy is steel, then dahlia is the hearth. she endeavors to control heat by fair words. to cradle flame by stone palms. shaping the region requires a gentle yet charred hand.[break][break]

"you were born and raised in hoenn, yes?" the commissioner says. "you have lived through so much in just a few years... what is next for you then, navidson? what do you need so that you can help preserve hoenn's soul?"