GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

“HONESTY IS BETTER THAN DENIAL.”

Is that a compliment? Hard to tell. But Fernando settles for that before accepting the pass back.

A swirl of what little remains sloshes around the cups rim. Barely more than swallows but that’s enough to be intimidating. Especially when the taste is so pungent.

“Tch,” he hesitates before subjecting himself to a second. “It’s strong.”

One more is enough to sour his appetite and leave the rest for her.

Instead, he retreats to the fridge, looking at the sparse contents before calling out to her.

“Want a beer?”

Stormy Silph

"Hey, you picked it out."

Already she can feel the warmth in her chest radiating, numbing the surface of her skin and leaving her tongue bitter and heavy.

She winces again, the bite of the drink still lingering even after. He retreats, the suction sound of his fridge opening encourages her to follow.

"Sure."

Asking him if he had any food crossed her mind, but the brief glance past his shoulder suggested he might not. But on an empty stomach, the heaviness of the tequila would hit harder and faster.

FERNANDO SILPH

GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

THE SOUND OF GLASS CLINKS AGAINST EACH OTHER. Two bottles are withdrawn from an already open six pack. A local brand of Pinap beer rests between his fingers, nozzles cold and wet, as he closes it with a step back.

He sets one on the counter and presents her the other, still in his hand.

“What will you do now?”

Stormy Silph

The clink of glass, the subtle smell of his cologne, the way he stares at her- it's different.

But it all comes crashing back to the beginning. To the moment she'd come barrelling through his office door, burning hotter then than she ever has now. Rage, guilt, grief, fear-- it had come to an ugly head as she'd stormed into his life. She'd laid herself bare then, she knew, and he'd accepted it. Even if it hadn't seemed like it, he had stood strong through all of her punches in order to remain realistic.

For as long as she can remember, he has been the strongest, most consistent person in her life.

Her hand reaches for his, the feeling is numb and tingly all at once. The cold of glass brushes her fingertips but she still seeks out the warmth of his hand. Upon finding it, however, the woman falters, repositioning her hand to fasten on the bottle.

They are connected, and he speaks, and she draws her attention to meet his gaze.

"Something stupid, I'm sure."

And she thinks back to her confession, to his lips pressed against her own. She thinks back to her exasperation, her pain, the feeling of his hand in hers while they spun on a beach somewhere, dancing.

She settles on the present, with her fingers close enough to touch his, her warm palm a stark contrast to the cool glass.

FERNANDO SILPH

GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

HER TURMOIL IS HER OWN. Fernando remains oblivious. What he knows about her is laden in her straightforwardness. He paints her with a clear stroke: one-dimensional. That fault is his own, casting her away in a bucket of an already instilled impression.

“You say so, know so,” he clicks his tongue with distaste. “But what will you do to overcome it. To be better.”

Her touch lingers. He thinks little of it. Which is why he breaks away, slowly acclimating to the casualness of their exchange. Instead, he reaches for his own bottle, twisting off the cap.

Stormy Silph

Her turmoil is laden with indecision, with a lust that intimidates her in the same way that it excites her. He is impossible to read because she is too stupid, too naive, too selfish to see it. She takes his company for granted, expects more out of him that he isn't capable of - despite how much he's given already.

The fact she stands here now, being offered a beer, being offered his clicking tongue and his stilted stare; it is more than she is worth.

"What I've always done; listen and learn."

The listening part has always been difficult, but over the years it has been easier and easier to fall back on her heels and do just that: listen first and act second. Of course, the highlights of the League dinner were not altogether beneficial for her 'listening' ability. But some things couldn't be helped.

She wrestles the cap off of her own bottle, rolling it between her fingers. The sharp metal teases at her skin, but she doesn't give it the ability to harm. With her free hand, she raises the bottle to her lips.

FERNANDO SILPH

GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

HEARING HER, of all people, make such a claim is met with more mocking laughter. As if to challenge her claim and thrust it back into her face. But it dies when Fernando matches her gesture, drowning out the signs with a prolonged sip.

“Progress is a slow climb but it is a climb.”

A lick of his lips dry them of his spillage.

“But that’s not what I meant Bronwen. What are you plans now that Sootopolis is occupied?”

Stormy Silph

More laughter. It makes her eyebrow twitch with annoyance.

But she holds her tongue and stifles her frustration with a slow sip of her beer. Its bitterness keeps her humble.

Of course, her response isn't what he's looking for. She's not seeing what it is he's asking of her, and is instead offering random answers in an attempt to appease him. As usual, it falls flat.

"Watch and wait. If I went in guns blazing like I normally might, you'd be upset, I'd be upset, everyone would be upset. I don't know what to do about it. I wasn't there to stop it - and I don't know if my being there would have even made the difference."

She bites the inside of her cheek, hard.

"What should I be doing?"

FERNANDO SILPH

GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

“EXACTLY AS YOU SAID.”

He leaves for the living room, both leading and leaving her to make her own decision. The sound of the television comes alive and to no surprise it’s defaulted onto local news. Several headlines scroll across the screen as the news anchor repeats old news about Sootopolis.

“But it should be because that’s the right thing to do and not because of everyone else’s approval.”

Stormy Silph

"But that isn't what you actually want me to do."

She second-guesses herself as soon as she says it though, naturally, and is left alone in his kitchen to overthink it. Fern retreats while casting another conversation piece over his shoulder. Eventually, after a moment of conflicted thought, Stormy follows him.

"When have I ever sought out anyone else's approval?"

The drink lowers from her lips as her attention becomes divided, shifting from the back of his head or the side of his cheek and instead to the flashing television screen. She scans the headlines, and many of them refer back to Groudon and to Sootopolis, naturally.

FERNANDO SILPH

GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

“ARE YOU SAYING YOU DON’T?”

The mainstream media repeats the key points of what happened. While the Mount Chimney incident is painted in a pro-League light, Sootopolis is riddled in grey. Fernando gets lost somewhere in the middle, eyes heavy on any new developments they may try to perpetuate.

Stormy Silph

Stormy is studying Fernando while he is watching the television. His distraction leaves him wide open to her idle thought, to her curiosity, to her slow-crawling realization.

She sets her glass down and she steps toward him, fingers reaching to lace through his. Her other hand reaches for his own glass if he still had it, with the intent to set it aside.

"No, I don't."

FERNANDO SILPH

GROUDON DEBRIEF

UNEARTHED TEMPTATIONS GROUNDED WITH HEAT

HER HAND IS INVASIVE. But like weeds, they find their way past the foundation of his house, crawling between the seem as they lace with his own. Her audacity to prey on him leaves him paralyzed in the moment, speechless as he clears the trials in front of her.

Their glasses clink on the nightstand, resounding in pairs. That’s what it takes to make the noise echo.

“Bronwen.”

His voice is accusatory, questioning.

Stormy Silph