[attr="class","spiral"]“Ugh.”

The councilman barely rouses from his slumber at the sound of someone’s voice. He doesn’t recognize it in his daze but his innate alertness is enough to perk up when called upon. “Mmm. Fuck,” he mutters to himself, reaching for his phone and checking his notifications before absentmindedly tossing it off the bed and resuming his sleep.

It takes a moment for the sound of his phone hitting the floor to really wake him up. The fact that his sleep was already interrupted is good enough to prevent him from dozing back to sleep, no matter how badly he wants it. “Fuck,” he grumbles once more, running his hand through his hair and sitting upright.

Although only seconds have passed, his recollection takes longer for it to piece together. He blinks several times, swallowing his surroundings before sighing. “I’m up,” he announces, stretching his arms before standing up. He’s only donned in his boxers but the Silph has never had any reservations with nudity, especially in private.

“How long have I been out,” is the first real question to leave his mouth as he makes eye contact with the door. He moves over to the other end of the bed, picking up his phone, before stopping short of his bedroom door. “And anything important happen while I was out?”

Even in the comfort of his own home, his devotion to work never ends.

[attr="class","spiral"]“Yeah, yeah.”

Fernando bemoans any praise toward Dahlia for the same reason he does ALEXANDER STONE. Regardless of how well warranted it may be, having someone go on and on about either person seems more droning once they stop saying anything of substance. In any other scenario, maybe he would’ve spared Evelyn a fake but concerning reaffirmation in her admiration but not after the headache of the Megalopolan war.

“At this point, I can’t be worried about her. She’s lived through more attempts at her life than I have. She’s unkillable.”

He states that with a laugh but not without his own prejudices. How someone of her stature can be so carefree and appeal to emotions instead of cold logic proves mind boggling. It almost puts his entire ideology and behavior to shame but Fernando behind his way of life. Otherwise, he’d have no justification for being such a meticulous asshole.

“I’m fine. I can rest when I die,” he laughs again as he tucks his phone between his waistband. “You haven’t been waiting on me all this time, have you?”

He passes her to the door, dead set on continuing on with his day. The fact he can joke and smile, as condescending as it is, show his relative ease in front of one of the more trustworthy Silph siblings.

[attr="class","spiral"]“…?”

Really? Now? He’s awake and conscious but not enough so to deal with any sort of reprimand. But his temper is cool enough to allow her to get her piece in. Her nagging goes uncontested but Fernando already diverts his attention to his own thoughts. He hears her but never truly reflects, already stubbornly committing to his own mindset.

“Yeah, I know.” His voice drops and he takes a more serious tone. Anything to get her to believe him and stop with the inevitable follow ups. “That’s why I didn’t take the front lines this time around. I’ve realize I can’t handle everything alone.”

He opens the door, unrelenting as he walks into the kitchen to check out what she’s prepared for breakfast. “I have a team now. They’re not the best or the brightest but they get the job done. They’re also pretty good at protecting me.”

Without remorse, he picks at the first sight of meat, swallowing it whole to hide it from her should she follow him.

“You should see their wounds,” he answers while openly chewing, “I’m considered unscratched.”

[attr="class","spiral"]Fernando stares back at her while being chastised. Even so, he maintains eye contact to craft the careful image of actively listening. In actuality, his peripheral vision is spent trying to hone in on his next bite and picking something off the table. “Because the last time I tried, someone gave me a concussion with an axe kick to the back of my head,” he bites back with a don’t-try-me tone, snatching up a plump sausage and swallowing it whole.

When she diverts to Stone his own eyes narrow, nodding an obvious ‘no’ and grunting with a dismissive ‘nuh uh’. “Don’t you dare.” This time he keeps his mouth closed while chewing, muffled while eating as he tries to swallow it down fast enough to retort.

“We are not tweedle-dead and tweedle-dumbshit.”

He looks for a laid out glass and reaches for it, working his way to the fridge to pour himself something to drink. Orange juice crosses his mind but he opts for milk instead. “Stone’s death was planned. I told him not to commit suicide and he disregarded me.” He rips ribbon off the top and fills his glass. “I had a team to protect me. He decided to protect what should have been his team.”

The fridge closes and Fernando places his glass in the microwave.

Morning wood is best offset with burning embers, in their absence, warm milk will have to suffice.

[attr="class","spiral"]“If you see an attack coming and jump into it, it’s planned.” Doubling down shows his persistence on the issue but ultimately he gives in when the microwave goes off. He ignores the rest of Evelyn’s praise in lieu of enjoying his beverage. It’s hotter than he anticipated and he grimaces at the touch.

“When you think about it, he was stupid. Unfortunately, he was also the smartest of the Stone children.”

Her suggestion falls on deaf ears and Fernando seats himself at the table. “You can go and see her if you’d like. As for me, I’m going to enjoy the taste of surviving another day until duty calls. DAPHNE STONE can wait until I have to serve her Alexander’s papers.”

[attr="class","spiral"]“You don’t know him as well as I do. No one does.”

Fernando takes his time to enjoy the scenery laid out before him. Like clockwork, he works out his breakfast systematically. He starts with the meat, slicing into another sausage, placing it into his mouth to chew, before scooping up some country potatoes into his bowl. Work your way down the list on merit of what becomes the least tasty as it gets colder. Potatoes tend to be the prime offender and he works his way into a well sized portion.

“Which is exactly why I get to speak about him that way.”

Another gulp of milk to wash it down and Fernando sticks his spoon through his bowl.

“Stone’s sister is as competent at business as her brother is at being alive.”

He doesn’t so much as skip a beat.

“I’ll be returning Stone’s property and filing the proper paper work regard Devon’s contracts, agreements, and properties within the League. I also intend to assist where needed to ensure a proper transition of power. Considering Devon’s hold on the region and their economic footprint, we may have just a good portion of Hoenn under the thumbs of another idiot.”

[attr="class","spiral"]“I know that. I understand that, Evelyn. And I’ve calculated that as well."

Resistance is not what Fernando expects from the ‘good’ Silph sibling. Nor does he appreciate it at the family table. But, in the name of orderliness, he knows what line to toe and he does so with a sharp inhale. Time may have drifted them apart but Eve will undoubtedly recognize the warning signs that come before her brother’s lengthy lectures.

They had been much kinder back then — when knowledge was power and Fernando wanted nothing more than to take her to the top with him.

“I have tried that. Repeatedly. This is not the first time Stone has left the company in weaker hands.” He picks at a napkin on his end of the table to wipe some of the potato grease off his lips. “I can teach her economics. I can teach her business. I can even teach her to wipe her own ass.”

Despite Fernando’s odd and asinine style of humor, he finds no reprieve in besmirching Daphne. Not when the outlook seems so bleak.

“But I cannot teach those that do not want to be taught. And I do not have the time, will power, or the skills to teach someone critical thinking from the ground up.”

Fernando’s fully entranced in his explanation to the point that he’s even moving his hands into gestures to help accentuate his point. He sweeps them in front of him as if to demonstrate everything he’s put onto the table.

“What can I do when I’ve already done this for her before? I’ve went to Daphne. I’ve explained to her the standards and protocols the League employs. I’ve went over the legalities of our transactions as well as how and why our contracts are structured the way they are. I have offered to help foot the bill so she can get the appropriate people to help her audit and comply with these notions. And you know what she says to me?”

He pauses for the theatrics.

“She said no. That’s not what she’s going to do. She doesn’t care what the League says or what I say. She expects the world to accommodate how things have been going with no regard to the rules or regulations.”

He’s frowning now. Whether it’s because he has to relive the moment or because he has to actually explain why to his own sister, no one can really tell. All that’s clear is that Fernando is having none of it.

“I cannot and will not work with non-compliance. And, unfortunately, the rest of the world will not either. Devon is big but against the world economy? It is just another cog in the machine.”