HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

HER NAME RINGS A BELL. It should, considering their history. But the fact nothing substantial ever came out of the two of them makes it an easy miss. At least until Fernando has someone remind him of her importance.

Lorekeeper. Historian. Councilwoman.

Suitable titles that hold weight. But without accolades, they mean little to him. Not that it matters. He entertains the invite independent of her status. The fact it aligns with his vacation should arouse suspicion but he chalks it up to coincidence.



He enters the sauna with a single tower draped around his waist. It hangs snugly, tied using the very method the hotel staff recommend. That alone keeps it abridge as Fernando takes his seat.

“Monroe.”

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HEAT POINTS: 980
PETRA MONROE

Witnessing his arrival in only a towel, Petra fidgets with her own to make sure nothing peaks through. His greeting seems curt, causing her to make a look of disappointment.

"Fernando."

Rolling her eyes before looking back to him, she already feels like she needs a smoke. Of course he doesn't have any pleasantries to offer her. Strictly a man of business, or so one was lead to believe.

"Things really seem to be heating up here in Hoenn. And I don't mean that as a pun." Glancing back over, she thinks about asking for a job but ultimately does not. Maybe later.

"Your face is even more scary compared to when we last met." Perhaps all the drama and cataclysmic events wearing on him were beginning to show. "But I suppose it suits you. A company with a strong face would seem to have a strong future." Though it was amusing to be almost picking on him, Petra wasn't suited to idle chat. Crossing a leg over the other, she almost seemed agitated as she continued.

"I watched the news. Doesn't sound like me, does it? Anyway...I read into what took place, and heard about a certain tree in Sootoplis that suddenly showed up." Flashing a jaded smile, her hands wander down to a small purse at her side. Reaching inside and pulling out a cigar, she lights it before Fernando could protest. If he even would. "Are you interested in that tree, by chance? Perhaps you've already collected data on it?"

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FERNANDO SILPH | HEAT POINTS: 926

HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

THE STREISAND EFFECT WORKS AGAINST HER. Her request to disregard the unintentional pun only brings more attention to it. He wrinkles his nose at the phrasing, biting back the need to cringe as embarrassment crawls up his spine with the formication of a wild Joltik.

“Thank you?”

He’s not sure whether that’s supposed to be a convoluted compliment or a long winded insult. Not that he cares. Remarks about his physical appearance means little despite his own opinions on the matter.

“Somewhat.” He takes his seat opposite her. Close quarters mean they’re never more than an arm’s length away but he prefer to stare into the eyes of his conversation partner. Lets him read them better.

“But the situation in Sootopolis is far from ideal. I haven’t had the time nor gall to send resources there. Personally, at least.”

Which begs the question.

“Why do you ask?”

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HEAT POINTS: 886
PETRA MONROE

The look on Fernando's face perpetuates her reluctance to ask anything of him, though this thought simmers in the recess of Petra's mind. Instead she does her best to suppress a giggle, failing more than she succeeded. He sounded so unsure if that was a compliment, and though it was, even she felt it was a little back-handed. "I didn't mean anything by it, forgive me."

Taking another drag, Petra looks up to exhale while mulling over what Fernando mentioned about the situation in Sootopolis. "I suppose it is." Though waiting on ideal could mean waiting for quite some time. "But I wouldn't be keen of giving them too much time with it."

Gripping the smoke between her teeth, Petra folds her hands over her chest in discontent towards Rocket. "I decided to fly overhead and snap some pictures to cross-reference. Didn't like what I saw. They even seem to know enough to be guarding it."

The thought of such a piece under their authority was undeniably dire. At least for Petra, who placed stock in the power of the pokemon whose history had deep ties to a similar tree. "Do you happen to know what legendary pokemon were at Sootopolis during the attack?"

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FERNANDO SILPH | HEAT POINTS: 877

HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

“WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH OF AN OPTION.”

Fernando is sharp with his correction. The faculties of war, no matter how frigid, is met with the precision of Hoenn’s unrecognized general.

The Tree of Life is an advent from their despair. A loss for the League is augmented by its sudden reprisal. It reminds him of Littleroot in some ways but the connection is far from definite.

“Giratina, Yveltal, Kyogre. There were undoubtedly more but those make up the main stays.”

There are a few details he omits but they are not of consequence. Legendary Pokemon littered across the region are far from Legendary at all. Only the singulars are considered, and therefore mentioned.

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HEAT POINTS: 786
PETRA MONROE

His tone cuts towards her, revealing the severity. Though Petra still wondered about that, knowing some of their forces were preoccupied with the eruption of Mt. Chimney. Perhaps things would be different if the league could've arrived en masse. But, they didn't, and this is what playing protectors of the region got them. Another threat greater than the last.

"Yveltal, huh?" Giratina strikes a chord as well, but not as particular as this one. Kyogre is overlooked for the time being. It taking action is most likely provoked by Groudon, or vice versa. Though it was possible, even if unlikely, that they noticed something wasn't 'right' with the region. They held dominion over Hoenn after all, in one way or another.

"Sounds like we really are screwed. At least for the time being." Not that it would be any news to the Silph. Perhaps, even now, he was readying whatever contingencies his wealth and power afforded him. "Pity. I would've liked to get a closer look at this tree."

Puffing on smoke while staring back at the Silph, she begins to entertain her antics wearing a wide grin. "Would you say that you're a betting man, Fernando?" Wrapping the Silph around her finger wasn't possible, of that much she was certain. But maybe getting him to take a chance wouldn't prove to be so daunting. "I have a proposition, but speaking life into it without your genuine consideration is a waste of our time."

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@ | HEAT POINTS: 782

HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

HER INQUIRY IS MET WITH A LOOK OF PERPLEXION. Even so, he answers her honestly, a rare occurrence for the Silph.

“I only make bets that I will win.”

Hardly a bet at all but one that aligns with Silph’s interest. After all, his expertise is in the numbers. If they slant against him, why entertain it? Likewise, if they curry his favor, he can’t help but give them a second glance.

“But go ahead. I’m listening, Monroe.”

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HEAT POINTS: 746
PETRA MONROE

Hating how he always used her last name, Petra reaches for a lever that causes the steam to increase exponentially for the time being. So much, in fact, that it causes her cigar to go out.

"Well, I wouldn't know what the head of Silph considers a win." Chewing on the cigar with a blunt look, her arms cross over her chest again in discontent. This wasn't how she expected, or wanted to go about the current venture. But that couldn't be helped now.

"My proposition, desperate as it is, was that if I could get you a sample of the tree, I get a job. Working for your company, I mean." A hand rummaged around for a lighter, aspiring to relight the smoke to keep herself fixated on something other than the immediate denial she presumed would take place. At the very least, she got her foot in the door, even if it meant having the door closed on it.

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FERNANDO SILPH | STEAM INCREASE | HEAT POINTS: 680

HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

THAT MAKES TWO OF THEM. Until he knows the terms of her engagement, even Fernando is clueless as to what constitutes a win. Whichever scenario benefits him the most is apt definition of victory. But that proves too abstract to condense into a single clause.

“At Silph Co.?”

Mild laughter follows the question. It dissipates at the sudden release of steam. Fernando leans forward, chin held in his hand as his arm stands erect from where elbow meets just short of his knee.

“Why?”

And probably the more important question.

“And as what?”

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HEAT POINTS: 675
PETRA MONROE

"Where else?" Even if Silph were the parent of other, smaller companies—they didn't pay the same. Nor was it likely they conducted the same line of work. Their glass slipper didn't fit.

"And because I need a job." Life isn't free, or cheap. She'd downsized just about everything she had, moving into a smaller house and selling off much of her personal belongings. Scrolls, tablets and other such records of the legendary pokemon of their world. It wasn't a wise choice, but after Dahlia had been accused, drinking was the only thing that helped. And even after proven innocent, the drinking didn't stop. The only thing that did was the money she had working as a lorekeeper, and then as a council member.

"Lore wasn't the only thing I have studied. It was just my obsession, at the time." Though it all revolved around pokemon, Petra still had other avenues she could have, and now even wished to pursue. Still involving the legends, just not in the same manner. "If I had my way? Something along the lines of a scientist. Though I'd settle for less. Even being a secretary at Silph Co. would improve my current standing." More than he could know. Jobless, desperate and growing more poor by the day.

Choosing to out the cigar and disposing of it, Petra leaned back and looked in a direction Fernando wasn't. He always seemed so cold, so calculated. She'd have to become a piece on the board to be considered, that much was obvious. How to go about it, though, was not. Especially when she didn't want to be a disposable pawn.

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FERNANDO SILPH | HEAT POINTS: 607

HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

“THERE ARE PLENTY OF JOBS OUT THERE, MONROE.”

Fernando resumes a mild neutral as he continues to probe. The way she looks away makes him consider her stance in all of this. Despite her words, there has to be a reason. To simplify it to such a degree—he doesn’t buy it.

“Working for Silph Co. isn’t a job. It’s a life style change undertaken in the pursuit of something greater.”

A flush of steam cuts him off and he sighs, taken back.

“The work is demanding and the hours long. Most employees will average seventy hours a week—that’s the expectation and the norm.”

Fernando has it relatively lax in comparison but even he boasts the occasional eighty hour work week. His schedule is a bit more flexible considering what his role entails but that’s natural. He lives and breaths Silph Co.

“If you’re just looking for a job, you should look to Devon Corp.”

He smiles.

“I know a guy there.”

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HEAT POINTS: 632
PETRA MONROE

"I'm sure you know lots of guys." Petra remarks with subtle disdain. Did he think working long hours would scare her away? She'd spent innumerable hours researching the many facets of her studies, applying or seeking them in the field, and eventually even teaching where she could. Too much of the time without compensation.

"Whether or not you mean to fend me off on this— I think you're misjudging my intentions." Letting out an agitated huff, it would be hard to tell whether it was the conversation or the billowing steam that provoked it. "Silph Co. has the means to conduct any research imaginable. I can't even begin to contemplate the fucked up shit your people could do if you pushed them to do so. Assuming you came to disregard the rules, or any sense of morality you may have."

Wealth with such vastness always raised suspicion for her. For her there was no doubt that they did, or had conducted questionable research at some point. Maybe before Fernando's time. Or maybe not. "But progress achieved through unsavory means is still progress."

A hand raised to wipe it's back against her forehead, creating a pause from the rant. All she could think of was how she hadn't been making anything of her studies— herself. "I don't pretend to know what your company may need or want. But I don't intend to work for Devon Corp. But if you insist, let's here about this guy you mentioned."

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FERNANDO SILPH | HEAT POINTS: 531

HEGEMONIZE

TEETERING BETWEEN PUSH AND PULL

THE SMILE NEVER FALTERS. Fernando maintains his poise throughout her explanation, neither scornful or judgmental. Not because he necessarily agrees or approves of her words—he just wants her to be heard.

And when she comes to a close he remains there, still smiling, unnervingly.

“Well, he has the authority to expand their R&D division. I doubt he’d approve of research that’s classified in the ‘fucked up shit’ category, as you’ve so eloquently put it, so I’m afraid you’ll have to make due.”

He pauses, as if intentionally.

“And, unfortunately, to get you in, you’ll have to abide by the rules that have been set. His moral compass is a bit stronger than what you might find at Silph Co.”

Fernando blinks.

“Big proponent of progress too.”

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HEAT POINTS: 591
PETRA MONROE