Hesitantly she gave him a slow nod, watching him with the questioning look of someone who felt like she was about fail a terrible test after failing to study.[break][break]

"...Alright," she said cautiously, raising a hand to touch... the air? Was that what she was supposed to do? Hm. No, something was supposed to be here, first.[break][break]

She blinked, opening her eyes to see nothing new, then closed her eyes for longer, determined to this time succeed. Enough concentration provided the result she wanted, and when she glanced up, her expression of triumph seemed almost childlike.[break][break]

"Oh! Here it is. Let's see..."[break][break]

[attr="class","rbynote"]

DANDELION WHISPERS[break][break]
nickname: the_florist[break][break]
Ability to speak to flora and plantlife. However, given the nature of conversation, the plants will only comment on what they themselves find interesting. They also have their own personalities and moods, and might not be interested in talking.

[newclass=.rbynote]border-width: 9px 9px 9px 9px;border-style:solid;border-image: url('https://i.imgur.com/UUqNs3l.png') 9 9 9 9 repeat repeat;padding:6px 8px;color:#232323;text-align:justify;font:11px Calibri;letter-spacing:1px; margin-top:20px;background:#aaa;background-clip: padding-box;[/newclass]

[break][break]She read it aloud with a look of incredulity that became all the more confused and mortified with each word she spoke. When finished, she just stared at the screen blankly, unsure how to take this.[break][break]

"How... helpful."

[attr="class","ooc"] kyle lopez[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

It hadn't occurred to her she could freely ignore other players in this place. The distinctions of gaming etiquette, and lack thereof, were fully lost on her.[break][break]

"It's a very strange game," she mumbled with distaste, her jealousy at the ease other people seemed to have at achieving it made fully audible in the way she sulked. His questions did nothing to alleviate that insecurity, and she rubbed the back of her neck, realizing she was attempting to fiddle with a strand of hair that wasn't there.[break][break]

She cleared her throat and looked away.[break][break]

"My ability? Uh, that is..." Arceus, she hoped her face remained as nondescript as his. "...Um. What's a status screen?"[break][break]

This was utterly humiliating.

[attr="class","ooc"] kyle lopez[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

She could swear she'd passed the same exact tree about a dozen times now.[break][break]

Navigating this world was more difficult than it had any right to be, really. It was disconcerting seeing how everyone looked identical, running around and combating various creatures as they made their way through.[break][break]

All the more concerning was the way her own Avatar powers had failed her the instant she'd tried to summon them, rendering her utterly powerless.[break][break]

She was all about ready to give up when one of the faceless blobs approached her, talking to her as if offering aid. Suspiciously, she turned to them, unsure of how to take the offer.[break][break]

"I was planning to," she said a bit snippily, "but I can't find them. It's as if I keep walking the same path over and over. I'm not sure how anyone knows how to get anywhere in a place like this."[break][break]

She hadn't discovered how to configure a map view on. It hadn't occurred to her she'd have a map at all.

[attr="class","ooc"] kyle lopez[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

To be in Wo-chien's thrall had been like wandering through a swampy murk, wading through a chokehold of emotions that dictated her every action. Her survivor's mentality had manifested in thorns and vines that lashed out in a barrier that hurt anyone who might draw near, transforming her defensive instincts into offensive measures.[break][break]

With Tapu Fini, the PROTECT that shimmered into existence felt calming in its negation. It was a cancellation of aggression, rather than meeting pain with more pain.[break][break]

FERNANDO SILPH had gotten lost somewhere in the waters that washed over them all, but Elisabeth had stopped caring about that man who had so preoccupied her since the start of her mission. He felt small and insignificant, like an afterthought in a story that suddenly felt so much larger than any of them were.[break][break]

Gods like Wo-chien ruled in the small corners of the mind, torturing the psyche with demonic intent. Gods like Tapu Fini were a manifestation of the earth itself; they did not wield Nature, but were Nature.[break][break]

In this instant, as she achieved harmony with a deity that had been content to let her succumb to another influence for so long, Elisabeth felt her world expand beyond the petty mortal emotions that had drawn her here.[break][break]

She felt herself embrace the destiny of something larger than herself, blindly.[break][break]

And unlike the night in the Petalburg Woods that had taken advantage of her trust by blighting all that had ever given her joy, Tapu Fini returned her trust with gentle reassurance. Inexplicably, another Pokemon rose up from the waters to aid them both -- a Steelix, one that Elisabeth did not recognize, but that struck out towards their mutual visible foe with LIGHT OF RUIN.[break][break]

Her Tsareena and Nihilego joined their ally in its pursuit of the dragoness overhead, a POWER WHIP snaking out to hold Lyune in place to weather the full onslaught of the blow. A ROCK TOMB from the Ultra Beast sought to trap them for good measure, lest they escape the former's hold.[break][break]

They would purge this arrogant creature who would dare to defy Nature herself.

[attr="class","ooc"] FERNANDO SILPH freya morningstar[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission. (x20)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.

"I will," she promised him, and this was a promise she didn't intend to break. declan walsh already knew of her affairs with the man in front of her; delivering this news to him had always been a foregone conclusion.[break][break]

Only after he returned her kiss did she realize how much her heart had been pounding with fear. The tension in her shoulders relaxed as a wave of relief took hold of her with the realization she was able to better guide this dynamic between them once more.[break][break]

For all the power she now possessed, some things remained unequal between them. At least she'd spent the better part of a decade learning how to navigate such rough waters with men.[break][break]

It was a bizarre thing, to feel safer the closer you bound yourself to men like this. It seemed counterintuitive to willingly submit to that closeness, when every instinct screamed to run.[break][break]

But she'd already made this pact. Breaking it would be too dangerous; better to still make use of it, while she could.[break][break]

"Is this about the Red Shards, then?" she asked him, that distant thought returning to her now. "Or something else?"

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission.(x31)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.

Perhaps this was one of the fundamental differences between them: she'd learned to bend to her circumstances, like a flower contorting to make use of what little light it had, while Matias remained an unyielding, stubborn wall of earth and stone.[break][break]

His hand swallowed her own in its grip, as unrelenting and impatient as his unreasonable ask.[break][break]

"I will speak with him on your behalf," Elisabeth said, looking up at him intently, "but what you want will take time."[break][break]

She brought his hand to her cheek then, ignoring the caked blood that smeared his skin red as she leaned into his touch.[break][break]

"You asked what it would take for me to trust you," she said, her voice taking on a softer tenor. "Start with this, then. Trust me to know when the moment is right. Trust me with your patience."[break][break]

Carmine eyes met his, shining with a sincerity that couldn't be feigned at this small distance. He'd recognize it from a fateful day in Mt. Chimney, where he'd glimpsed the hell inside of her mind and all its demons, but embraced her all the same.[break][break]

"I'll return your trust with my own. Just as you asked."[break][break]

He'd feel her relinquish his hand, before she leaned forward to offer her good faith in the only way she felt he would believe her.[break][break]

She kissed him softly, eyes closed to the danger around her, as she waited for either his punishment or his acceptance.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission.(x30)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.

Was this what it was like reasoning with a small child who had the power to destroy the world with a mere flick of their hand? The inability to escape her enclosure shifted her thinking, pride taking a backseat to survival.[break][break]

His bitter question was spoken with a frank bluntness, blind as to why parading him before the most powerful man in all of Rocket might go poorly.[break][break]

She inhaled deeply, attempting once more to steady herself. She couldn't risk being swept up in emotion the way he was. Her powers didn't work so well in this environment, where the wrong step reduced everything to ash.[break][break]

"Declan Walsh sees you as a liability. There is no reason for him to believe that you will assist Rocket with full loyalty, or to even suspect that you harbor true animosity to the League." She gestured to the red sea of lava around them, melting away the corpses of men he'd betrayed. "All proof of such things has been erased. And for good reason."[break][break]

Slow, careful steps moved to bridge the intentional distance between them, deciding it was better to risk her own life on a gamble of her own making rather than one decided by the whims of an unpredictable man and his god. As she did so, she remained all too aware of the way Groudon loomed over them both.[break][break]

She hadn't forgotten the way Rayquaza had judged her: like a pestilence to be eradicated from this earth. Even so, her fear didn't fully rule her.[break][break]

"This alliance isn't between you and Rocket, Matias. It's between you and me."[break][break]

If he'd allow her, she'd take his hand in her own, squeezing it gently for reassurance.[break][break]

"We can help one another. But we can't be rash. Not if we want to succeed."

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission.(x29)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.

Strangely, the calmness of his demeanor unsettled her more than all the shouting had seconds ago. Some part of her -- the part of her he believed to be a coward -- wanted to take back her request, but before she could entertain that thought too long, a single pokeball appeared in his hand. He gripped it so tightly she half expected it to snap.[break][break]

Instead, the cavern embraced the arrival of his god.[break][break]

Groudon's presence magnified the tension between them, the sudden eruption drawing Wo-chien to slither over to his Avatar's side. There were many kinds of deities; Wo-chien's sphere of demonic influence resided in a far more personal domain, feeding on the negative lifeforce of others.[break][break]

But gods like Groudon focused on larger things. They looked to the world as a whole, sculpting and shaping the universe with their whims, instead of satisfying their own gluttonous desires.[break][break]

In moments, her world shrank in answer to the land titan's demands. A cage of molten lava trapped her in this false bubble with a man who seemed seconds away from killing her or embracing her.[break][break]

She wasn't sure which possibility concerned her more.[break][break]

"Walsh would meet with you just as soon as dahlia goode would meet with me," she said, crossing her arms as she attempted to ignore the warning bells ringing in her ears. "This isn't a reasonable ask. You know that."[break][break]

But admittedly he didn't seem inclined to listen to reason, at this moment in time.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission.(x28)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.

"Yes, that's the pesky man." Any concern she heard in Xiura Balfaltin's voice went unrecognized by Elisabeth as the possible admission of familiarity it was. Far too self-absorbed in her little games of spiteful swiping, she was wholly engrossed by her activity to notice the clamor until her medic was drawn away, courtesy of one ditzy Clefairy.[break][break]

Wonderful. An ambush, while her arm was in a sling. Fantastic.[break][break]

"Let's get this over with," Elisabeth said with an overwrought roll of her eyes, rising up to languidly roll her wrist as she left her wounded Butterfree behind. As she did so, a hideous and hulking snail emerged from the shadows, revealing the Ruinous Beast Wo-chien at her beck and call. "Strip the land," she said firmly, stepping outside the tent. "Leave a BARREN TERRAIN behind."[break][break]

All at once, the campsite's grounds blackened, feeding the Ruinous Beast with the lifeforce of all living things in the space. Meanwhile the MEGANIUM and its trainer appeared to turn sickly and pale, their own health visibly sapped to fulfill that of the Ruinous Beast.[break][break]

Elisabeth raised her good hand, and vines burst up from the ground, her eyes flashing the same ochre color as Wo-chien's for a brief moment. They formed a protective barrier of thorns and briars around her and Xiura Balfaltin, defending against any attacks that might come their way.[break][break]

"Is your Clefairy capable of offense?" Elisabeth asked, prepared for the answer to be 'no.'[break][break]

Still, asking seemed... polite.

[attr="class","ooc"] Xiura Balfaltin[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission. (x4)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.

If Elisabeth Fiorelli was half the seductress that Kalos or Hoenn claimed her to be, this conversation wouldn't have taken such a turn. She'd have lied and said she loved him; she'd have known to feign affection she didn't feel; she'd have kept her true thoughts quiet, and let delusions roam free.[break][break]

But the rumors of her seduction had always misunderstood her on a fundamental level.[break][break]

Spite had taught her to provoke men, not to bewitch them.[break][break]

"Didn't I tell you from the beginning?" she snapped back at him, her own impatience building with his temper tantrum. "Didn't I tell you complicating partnerships like ours ruined them? What did you think we were, Matias?"[break][break]

She'd always known what he was, selfish and proud and arrogant. Part of her had been willing to believe he'd been someone beneath that surface: someone who understood the torment she'd felt, from one long-suffering Avatar to another. She'd slept with him to achieve her own ends, true, but the vulnerability of that encounter had been born from that empathy.[break][break]

An empathy that was rapidly dwindling the more he screamed and fumed like a spoiled brat.[break][break]

"You want to know what you are to me?" she continued, the world shaking with his fury as she stood her ground. "You're my alliance, Matias. And you're not an especially reliable one at the moment."[break][break]

Her words took on an eerie calm, her anger becoming still as the eye of a storm.[break][break]

"Either compose yourself, or leave. Before we do something we both regret."

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

SPOILER: Click to show

- 10 MP per IC post in a RT Battle/Mission.(x27)[break]
- 50 MP for participation in a RT Battle/Mission.