MARCH UPDATE

POSTED ON Oct 28, 2020 20:00:53 GMT

"It's not the waking,
it's the rising."

The dirt roads of Route 117 soon give way to the charming cobbled streets of Verdanturf as Alecto leads Gavin deeper into the town. At this time of the night Verdanturf looks like a skeleton of itself: all moonlit edges and dark crevices where the moonlight doesn't reach. Light pools in the streets from the countless streetlamps that line either side of the wide roads.

Alecto supposes she should have been afraid, but there are worse things than death - and Alecto refuses to be blind to this particular mystery.

'Better to deal with devils than to be blinded by angels.'

Nestled into a side street is a small bookstore. The sign at the top reads Hoothoot's Reading Nook, but the letters look a bit faded and some are peeling at the edges. When Alecto pushes the front door open, the nearby streetlamp illuminates the words 'The Cryptic Cove' that have been painted onto the glass.

The bookstore itself is strangely cosy, its shelves filled to the brim with all sorts of books, some of them quite old. Despite the darkness within the room, Alecto makes her way easily between the corridors. She passes a couple of plush, if old, reading armchairs and heads to a door at the back of store, which leads to a set of stairs.

The upper level is clearly a living space. With the ease of familiarity, Alecto hangs her keys at the entrance and turns on the lights. "Welcome to my humble abode," she says, making her way to the kitchen. "If you want you can sit while I make the coffee." A table and four chairs are shoved against the wall.

She seizes the chance to gather her thoughts then, trying not to feel the weight of the man's presence at her back. Soon enough, the divine scent of coffee fills the small kitchen and Alecto brings two cups to the table, sitting in one of the chairs across from Gavin and sliding a mug his way.

Moss-green eyes look at the brown liquid in her cup for a couple of seconds before she lifts them to meet Gavin's amber ones. "I do not know what is going on," she confesses, her voice laced with steel, "but I want in."

notes: ...
TAG: Cillian Quinn

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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thorn

the Harbinger

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

underboss

the harbinger

6'3" height

I want corruption, I think I'm the devil in disguise.

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TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Oct 29, 2020 3:08:19 GMT

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Gavin follows Alecto as silent as her shadow. His Pokemon have been put away, leaving only the Rotom who'd returned to its sanctuary in Gavin's phone as soon as they'd stepped clear of the charged air. Without Castform to sustain it, the storm fades to a drizzle before dissipating, and the warm night sees the cobblestone streets all but dry by the time they set foot upon them.[break][break]

The Cryptic Cove. Gavin's lip quirks at the name.[break][break]

Upon crossing the threshold, he's hit by the familiar and comforting scent of books new and old. His eyes adjust to the dim as he trails the girl through narrow corridors of books. It occurs to him that he hadn't so much as asked for her name, but he isn't worried. If she led him into some kind of trap, she now knew the forces she'd be reckoning with. He doubts she'll try it.[break][break]

He sits, relaxed, but his eyes never leave her.[break][break]

"Who says there's anything going on at all?" The ghost of a smile betrays him; he will not feign pure ignorance with this one. "What do you think is going on?"[break][break]

He'd watched her carefully as she'd made the coffee, and sips at it without hesitation. It burns down his throat, the taste far better than he imagined. His eyebrows lift, but he does not comment, leaving her room to speak.

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played by

owli

leto

she, her

twenty-nine

january 13

demisexual

bookstore owner?

13 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @alecto

POSTED ON Oct 29, 2020 16:30:36 GMT

"It's not the waking,
it's the rising."

At Gavin's first question, both of Alecto's eyebrows go up and she gives him an incredulous look, wondering for a moment if he's trying to pull her leg (which his faint smile implies). She might've been foolish to challenge him directly not knowing who he was, but how in Arceus' name would she be able to guess that he'd have a corrupted Lugia with him?

His second question is more interesting and it changes Alecto's previous expression into a thoughtful one. She isn't quick to answer, and takes a few sips of her coffee before speaking. "I think that the wheels of power turn behind closed doors." She looks up at him, her stare almost challenging. "And that those who are part of the change seldom step into the light."

Her finger absently draws symbols on the table as she continues. "To be in the possession of a corrupted legendary implies a deep well of resources, both financial and otherwise." She'd noticed that strange pokéball he'd used; she'd never seen the like before. "The type of resources that a single individual cannot ever hope to achieve."

She wants to ask him about who he is, but she knows to let him lead the conversation. He's just testing the waters, testing her - and she's doing the same. They're both circling around each other, although Alecto is perfectly aware of where the power rests in this strange dance.

notes: ...
TAG: Cillian Quinn

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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played by

thorn

the Harbinger

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

underboss

the harbinger

6'3" height

I want corruption, I think I'm the devil in disguise.

awards

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TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Oct 30, 2020 1:41:32 GMT

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There's intelligence in the way she dances around the topic, revealing just enough to stir the conversation whilst not laying her full assessment on the table. Gavin laces his fingers beneath his chin as he observes her. His fingernails are neatly trimmed.[break][break]

"I'd imagine someone like you," and he nods to indicate her hand, before looking up to meet her eyes, "spends plenty of time in the dark."[break][break]

Gavin leans back in his chair, hands coming to rest comfortably in his lap.[break][break]

"So you know, then, that it is no ordinary Pokemon. Do you know of its origins?" He cants his head, curious. Blonde hair falls across his forehead, and he sweeps it back with an idle hand. "I am a man of wealth and plenty resources by my own merit. Such an organization, one that would use its resources to corrupt a legendary, would no doubt be illegal."[break][break]

He lifts the mug and takes a long sip.

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alecto rowe

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punki

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played by

owli

leto

she, her

twenty-nine

january 13

demisexual

bookstore owner?

13 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @alecto

POSTED ON Oct 30, 2020 11:22:35 GMT

"It's not the waking,
it's the rising."

Her hand stops its motion when Gavin nods to it, having barely noticed what it'd been doing until now. At his observation, however, the shadow of a wry smile lifts the corners of her mouth. "I have worked plenty in the light, but I found that society does not look well upon those that try to reach beyond the neat structures of what it deems appropriate." There is an undercurrent of scorn in her voice, much as she tries to hide it.

A frisson of excitement runs up Alecto's spine when he mentions the legendary, and it shows in the way her eyes gleam. "Most written accounts link Lugia to the Johto region." Her home. "Though different cultural subsects within the region have different interpretations of the legendary." The Guardian of the Seas. The Silvered Serpent. The Peacekeeper. Alecto's fingers twitch and she does her best to quell the urge to reach for her books and point out interesting cross-references.

Knowledge can be exhilarating.

It does not surprise her that this is a man of means, nor does it surprise her that this supposed organization operates outside the law. It is not difficult to work out these details given the secrecy that has been... requested of her. "Extraordinary ends demand extraordinary means," is all she says, taking another gulp of her coffee and feeling it burn a path down her throat.

notes: ...
TAG: Cillian Quinn

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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played by

thorn

the Harbinger

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

underboss

the harbinger

6'3" height

I want corruption, I think I'm the devil in disguise.

awards

8,661 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Nov 1, 2020 11:11:33 GMT

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"No," Gavin agrees softly, "they do not."[break][break]

He could have worked among the top minds of Galar, had they not cast him out in his youth for measures deemed too extreme even in the interest of science. Barbaric, they'd called him, unethtical, and the same family who'd instilled such ethics into him had turned their backs at his disgrace. The memory tastes bitter on his tongue, and he washes it away with a long sip of coffee.[break][break]

"Not this interpretation, I assume. I've searched." He'd found no information on its corrupted state. "Humour me. Which interpretation do you prefer?"

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alecto rowe

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played by

owli

leto

she, her

twenty-nine

january 13

demisexual

bookstore owner?

13 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @alecto

POSTED ON Nov 1, 2020 19:49:43 GMT

"It's not the waking,
it's the rising."

Gavin's words might have been softly uttered, but there is a depth of meaning hidden behind their cadence. It immediately catches the woman's attention, that strange familiarity that trickles up the back of her brain, but try as she might there is little to be gleaned from the man's expression.

The next question Alecto is quick to answer. "The one I know nothing about. Yet." The image of the corrupted Lugia flashes in her mind, and though her countenance remains mostly stoic, there is something hungry in her eyes as she leans a little bit forward. "I have not found a single source detailing the sort of corruption that seems to have twisted your Lugia. It is..." She leans back again, although her next words sound a little breathless, betraying her feelings. "Perplexing."

There is care in how Alecto chooses her words, but a deep-seated curiosity sneaks past her shields and makes its way to her tongue. "Is it just a weapon? Or does it serve a more interesting purpose?" Uninspired minds bore her; if she is to give herself to whatever this might be, she will do so with the expectation of dissecting all aspects of this current mystery.

notes: ...
TAG: Cillian Quinn

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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played by

thorn

the Harbinger

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

underboss

the harbinger

6'3" height

I want corruption, I think I'm the devil in disguise.

awards

8,661 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @gavin

POSTED ON Nov 6, 2020 7:28:02 GMT

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"No Pokemon of mine is 'just a weapon'." There's a sharpness to his tone, more conviction than irritation. "Lugia may be a special case, one-of-a-kind, but I would not reduce its worth to such."[break][break]

To Rocket, perhaps, it was a weapon to be used in silencing their enemies. To Gavin, it was a scientific marvel. It was a suffering creature whose gentle nature had been twisted into something fierce. It was a legend.[break][break]

"How much do you know of... Pokemon like this?" He's careful not to use their term, shadow Pokemon. His lips curl into a sinister smile. "It is not the only one, though it is likely the strongest."

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played by

owli

leto

she, her

twenty-nine

january 13

demisexual

bookstore owner?

13 height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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TAG WITH @alecto

POSTED ON Nov 14, 2020 17:57:53 GMT

"It's not the waking,
it's the rising."

The vehemence in Gavin's words catches Alecto off guard and she pauses as she's taking the mug of coffee to her lips. Here it is, she thinks, the first real pearl of information about this man's convictions. She files the knowledge away for later study. "I had to make sure," is what she says, setting the mug of coffee softly on the table. "Power and small-mindedness, I have found, do not go well together." She has gone through that experience once, and she is not eager to do so again.

Alecto loathes to admit to her lack of knowledge. Her brow furrows slightly when she thinks back on the articles that she has read, but this type of information in and of itself is extremely sparse, even in academic circles. "Frustratingly little. There are theories about corruption in Pokémon, but..." Most of them do not have scientific value.

Despite this, a secretive smile blooms on her face at the hint that there are other corrupted Pokémon besides the legendary. There is no disguising the spark of interest that ignites in her eyes.

notes: sorry for the wait!
TAG: Cillian Quinn

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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played by

thorn

the Harbinger

he/him

october 28th

circhester, galar

demisexual

underboss

the harbinger

6'3" height

I want corruption, I think I'm the devil in disguise.

awards

8,661 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @gavin