[attr="class","matias"]"brother!"

there's nothing ill in his greeting. it's friendly, radiant, and surprisingly loving.

"i didn't hear you ring."

because he didn't — matias knows this.

regardless, he approaches with a friendly smile.

"you look great."

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]his form visibly lurches in startle.

despite the nerves which rattled him — alex faces his brother with a smile.

"matias..." his voice is gentle. the reticent company in their equally quiet surroundings. "y—yeah." alex adds — not sure whether to cast a lie or confess his hesitant desire for this now present reunion. "you too." the slight anxiety drawn onto his features lessens with a more genuine quirk of the lips. "you're taller than the last time i saw you." a harmless jest, his hand makes a gesture to reference the difference.

"i hope i didn't come by at a bad time." concern wavers in the chambers of the mind.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"yeah i've definitely grown a little bit."

chuckling, there's little hesitance in the way matias extends his arms out to pull his brother into an embrace. he's not usually a hugger but for family, he'll make an exception.

"not a bad time at all. come, come. what have you been up to?"

the invitation brings them inside matias' beach house. it's big, modern, and it has a surprising amount of personality and life ever since Eva Morales started staying over more often.

"can i get you anything to drink?"

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]the owlish expression goes about unseen in the embrace.

his form is engulfed by the larger mass of his brother. the shroud that practically veils over his own evidence of existence. alex had always been the somewhat smallest of the family — much to his discontent.

eventual laughter trails behind the withdrawal.

"well," he pauses, "a lot to be honest." 

his eyes wander over the house. taking in the odd pieces loitering about. 

"oh. anything is fine." pale digits feel tempted to pick up a particular object but he keeps his hands to himself. there's much to take in but it keeps his mind preoccupied. unlike some of his siblings, they'd lived a majority of their life in houses that wielded no such character. the lacking of persona.

"how have things been?"

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]water it is. matias steps into the kitchen, opens the fridge, and pulls out two bottles of water. a chuckle escapes him at the question; he responds, looking over his shoulder at his brother:

"things are better than kanto, that's for sure."

the fridge closes.

"hoenn's been nice to me so far. i like it; think i'll stay for a while."

walking back over, he extends one of the bottles over to alex.

"most of the family's here as well, so."

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]he wishes he could remember.

because he cannot begin to fathom the impact it took — he remains quiet.

"thanks." he says, taking the bottle.

alex looks up with hopeful eyes.

"i hope you do," he pauses, "i like it when we're all together." even if not all of them wielded a relationship that could've been deemed pleasant.

but... that was just how siblings were — right?

he takes a sip of the water.

"have you seen any of them lately?" the hope dwindled away into the feeling of something else. out of everyone — perhaps just one writhing in disappointment gnawed away at him. it was just as fickle a doubt as the one he'd had moments before.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"yeah, me too."

how long has it been since they've all been together? he can't seem to remember. most likely just before he left home to join the league, which would've been close to eleven years ago.

fuck, that's a long time.

"just stormy and fernie. i hear cece's doing well in sinnoh, though."

he should really pay Yui Fujin Silph a visit soon.

"heard you were a gym leader at one point. not going to do that anymore?"

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]alex is transparent. especially in this moment.

the smile that greets his lips is gentle and warm.
he imagines what it would be like for them to all be together.

— and although the clarity was nonexistent. in this case it was the very fact that family had always been so important.

"well." mention of past dreams lessens this tone.

"to be honest. that was the reason i left." he sighs.

"it was going well for awhile but then the rumours started to hit." the hand lowers, "to be honest — i can handle mean comments but i started to worry about how it would've affected fern and storm." he pauses again, "i don't think i was really cut out for it to begin with." a breathy half—hearted laugh withdraws. "besides i think i wanted to well... prove myself."

the drawn out silence is broken by realization.

"w—what about you? you say hoenn's been nice but i find it hard to believe." it certainly wasn't close to kanto and nowhere near the severity of a rocket force hefty enough to overthrow the region.

no — alex imagined a travesty not caused by human—kind.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]"rumors?"

matias almost scoffs, suddenly protective as he shakes his head.

"alex, you're one of the strongest trainers i know. if anyone's fit to be a gym leader, a teacher, it's you."

well, that's at least the alex he remembers; who knows if that same person exists? or if they even existed in the first place.

he shakes the thought away, ignoring the question for now.

"fuck what people think. what is there to prove?"

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]a small laugh retreats.

the brief and gentle hilarity for the remark.

"that means a lot to me. especially coming from you."

alex could recall with certainty that matias was the strongest trainer he'd met. perhaps even a part of him even looked up to his brother. he wish he could've been more like him. the careless free—spirited nature that made up one so bright.

"there's always something to prove. especially to society." he smiles — barely.

for a moment he feels silly. as though his worries are easily washed away by the opposition. it's a reassuring feeling. 

"everyone seemed to be at a pivotal point in their careers. i just didn't want to ruin it." he pauses, "besides... when i finish what it is i'm looking into — i want to aim for higher grounds." he wanted to settle with the elites.

or perhaps destiny would have different plans.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]matias wasn't around to understand the true extent to what alex is talking about, but he's heard enough to know of the changes his siblings went through, the challenges they faced.

he knows Stormy Silph fought tooth and nail to go from gym leader to elite four. he knows FERNANDO SILPH, as much as he despises the man, played his cards right to achieve a seat in the council.

and he knows the struggles alexander silph went through as well, though not nearly enough as he should.

"i'm sure you wouldn't have."

he shakes his head, confident of his words.

"what are you looking into now?"

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph

[attr="class","alex"]alex appreciates the sentiment. 

however — the past is the past and the future is ever—present.

"well... uh."

his gaze lingers elsewhere. hesitation perhaps. 

"to be honest — i've been researching spacetime." alex doesn't know how to phrase it in such a way that might leave matias overwhelmed by the influx of information. more specifically — his excitement for discovery.

"while i was traveling... i came across a couple interesting legends. most of which don't really correspond with hoenn." he faces his brother, his expression drawn into its usual calm, "so i came here to figure out why it's all happening here and i guess... to make sure nothing bad happens too." his gaze lowered but it was still visible of an elation that wielded this new—found dream.

MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","matias"]spacetime?

matias has no idea but he nods regardless.

"i've been wondering about that, too. why are they showing up here?"

a pause.

"take the kanto legends for example: moltres, articuno. why here? why not in kanto when we needed them?"

when the region needed them?

[attr="class","noodles"]alexander silph