what would have alex done?

she finds herself asking herself that, quite often. whenever she feels humiliated, at a loss, confused - she was the older sister, and yet she grasped at the straws and the fragments that were now a dead man.what would her father done? what would her little brother have done?

one thing's for certain, neither of them would have let devon be demoted into a mere faction for silph. humiliating.

she knows the smile is fake. she knows well that he acts with the courtesy of a business (the masks worn around is enough to bring a scowl to her face, but she has to suppress it with a smile of her own). she puts on a small smile. not because she was pleased, but because she has to.

"good afternoon, indeed. i apologize for calling you in spite of your busy schedule." honestly, she'd hope that his busy schedule kept him from stepping into her office altogether. she gets to the point, she doesn't want to deal with this man longer than she has to.

"i'll be blunt: what are you plans" schemes "now that you've devon?"

FERNANDO SILPH

right, he'd punch this man right in the noggin.

but she couldn't do that, no matter how much she willed it. she could only hope that alex was able to read her thoughts in the afterlife, and was more than willing to do exactly that to such a smug and shameless man. he claims that he has no plans and avoids her question, and she doesn't know how to feel about it.

discontent.

but she can't show it on her face, now could she? even as this sly man's face lights up, like a giddy child who's come up with an amazing idea. he leads with the mention at her brother, a sore spot and wound that only pricks at her heart. arceus, she wanted to deck him.

"i assure you, we're working tirelessly on it." in conjunction with their own research into hoenn, and the energy within it (strange beasts didn't appear for no reason, but she doesn't know what they're after). even if it's been slowed. her expression stays pleasant, for the sake of courtesy and mannerisms, but it can't hide the slight, icy glare of contempt for the man before her.

there's no point in questioning him further about devon, even if she thinks that the man lies between his teeth "you look eager."

FERNANDO SILPH

she doesn't believe him when he says that he's no plans, but she keeps that to herself. she doesn't have to say how she's noticed - it's hard to miss. it's hard to miss just how content he was with this, just how smug he was with this result. she shakes her head, and maintains her smile, nevertheless.

"like you've something up your sleeve." it's concerning.

FERNANDO SILPH

ah yes, this coy man here literally glanced to see if there was something up his sleeve. it felt insulting, like he wasn't taking her words seriously. even more insulting was the fact that she couldn't say anything, and the fact that she dared not to speak back - that is, not directly.

"i hope you know that i don't like being kept in the dark, silph."

FERNANDO SILPH