she examines her fingertips. they are neatly manicured, unblemished by the dirt and blood of a hard day's work. that a manicure can do that - scrub away all of her imperfections, all her character - is a marvel. not really, but she'd rather think of how pretty her nails are than think of the island she can just barely see on the coastline. the rickety shack that once lingered there is gone, burn to ashes, and she can still feel the heat against her porcelain skin.

is she here to contemplate running away again? to go before he can catch her. before he can put her in sterile rooms and promise to make her whole again. she shivers.

and blinks, as someone speaks to her and asks if he might share her bench. she raises a brow. ah, he's fresh off the boat. not from around here. he wouldn't know to avoid the twisted once-was that is freya morningstar. it's refreshing, that realization, and for curiosity's sake, she nods and says, "of course."

"moxie, we must share." the ekans she refers to blearily opens her single eye. she slithers from her sunbathing spot beside freya and into her lap, tail rattling softly. "don't mind her," freya says. "she's always a bit greedy when the sun's out like this."

Viola Chase

☉

she watches the way he moves. so eager, so bright. it's refreshing, and it brings her back, back to a time when she used to marvel at such things - when she used to fight for such things. "my pleasure," she says in response, and then averts her gaze, finding herself staring. 

gods, the only human contact she really does have these days is with FERNANDO SILPH, and he's barely what one could call company.

"i'm here on business, actually," she says. "but i still live by the sea. sootopolis. we get less...tourists." she smiles apologetically. 

she strokes moxie's scales. "are you stationed here with the league or is this your first checkpoint into hoenn?"

Viola Chase

☉

sootopolis will be a grand site. it's one of the few in the region not ravaged by the recent attacks. there is still evidence of the onslaught, yes. the den has been bustling with activity since freya's return. and despite the constant patrol of dragons in the sky, her the people seem...hopeful.

as he talks, she finds herself envying him. she almost goes so far as to offer him transport to lavaridge, but she doesn't for two reasons: her business hasn't been tended to here in lilycove and he seems genuinely excited to explore hoenn. 

let him savor this time before he's thrown into the thick of it. 

"well, when you do make your way to sootopolis, you ought to call for me. i would love to give you a tour." 

remnants of her past self resurface. her words are said by someone else, someone gentler (was she ever gentle?) and yet she is content to live in this bubble, if only for a moment. before she is warped and shaped and improved by FERNANDO SILPH's doctors. she shivers.

"still, lilycove has much to offer. there's a lot of good food to be had here. you should stay awhile."

Viola Chase

☉

she knows that look. she hasn't felt that in a while, hasn't felt the slight tension among strangers, the attraction. this, she shunts away, tilting her chin, fingers pressing just a tad harder on her ekans' scales. and then the moment is gone and the man before her is smiling and chatting amicably. 

i'm imagining things. that, however, is more troublesome. in the beginning, her thoughts used to flee and wander as they do now. but ever since she has found her new purpose, her new resolve, her duty has come first. everything else is...dust.

"freya," she says and returns his handshake. she stands. moxie slithers up her side and loops around her neck. 

she ought to be going, checking in with silph some time before her appointment. she checks her phone. i have time. 

"come," she says. "on behalf of the league, let me welcome you to hoenn and take you out to lunch." let her, for a few moments more, be someone else.

Viola Chase

☉

moxie could do with a few more hours lazing about in the sun so she doesn't object to freya's chatter about continuing their time. the minutes, however, tick by in freya's head. she's not meant to eat before her surgery. it doesn't matter. she'll treat him to a lunch, excuse herself properly, and hopefully he'll remember this later on the battlefield, savoring these moments while everything around him burns.

she smiles. ah, to be anonymous again. her name isn't large enough where she would reach outside of hoenn - she's but a mere blip on personnel changes within hoenn's council, but her influence earns her some looks as she reaches a hand up to readjust the languid snake around her neck.

"like i said, you can thank the league." it's not the truth, not really. her funds are her own. her status has changed within the organization, but she certainly doesn't have access to anything remotely resembling power or money. how easy it is to lie. 

these small cracks, these small realizations that she is walking a false line, through the life of a ghost, a what-could-have-been, are little pinpricks in the back of her mind. she silences them.

"lilycove obviously has a wonderful selection of fresh seafood. there's elijah's a few blocks down. there's also a more vegetarian-oriented place, gardenia's, the other way. do you have a preference?"

Viola Chase

☉

gardenia's it is. she appreciates his kindness. there is a lack of it nowadays. people are so focused on surviving, they forget to live. to an outsider, lilycove may not seem any different, but there is a cloud over the city. its people aren't as vibrant. their paces are quickened, heads down. nonchalant chatter is cut short, or doesn't begin at all. 

she smiles. "i never quite found my sea legs either." how could she ever accept being grounded by seafaring? to be at the whims of the tide and the rumbling of the ocean. no, she is at home in the sky, with the steady thrum of her dragons' wingbeats in her ears. 

so she leads them seaside and asks for a table for two, "by the waterfront, please," and receives a, "yes, miss morningstar," in return. 

when they are seated, she orders some appetizers, and a platter of kelp cakes to herself. the ekans slithers down her arm and onto the back of an empty seat outside of their table umbrella's shade. 

"i'd probably recommend the rice and lettuce wraps. it'll help settle your stomach. the plantain cups i ordered will help as well and they're delicious." 

Viola Chase

☉

"they're a lot of work, but a transport pokemon is worth it," she says. her stomach grumbles as the food arrives, but she sets her attention on the kelp cakes instead. moxie turns her head at them, tongue flicking in and out only twice before realizing what they are. freya taps the base of her tail, however, and she lets out a strange rattle.

there is a beat. freya takes this time to gather up some of the kelp cakes, wink at chase, and toss them over the guard rails. the water sinks in and then balloons; seawater sprays in light spackles over them as two massive dragalge emerge from below, a kingdra breaching soon after. 

they snap the cakes out of the air hungrily and then toss their heads, eyeing freya's companion. 

"league stipends will only get you so far and you'll only curse yourself for spending your money on getting to your missions before the pay's even given." 

she eyes the plantain cups. "avocado, a mix of pureed black and pinto beans, and some fresh veggies. the veg mix changes based on the season." their server pauses by the table, waiting for their orders, and freya holds up a hand. "i'm okay myself. whatever he wants."

Viola Chase

☉