"oh, alexander."

a frown graces her face. she remembers his return to hoenn among red spider lillies. stories suggest that when you see someone you may never meet again, these flowers bloom and gather like a murder of murkrow.

little did she know that that ever grande reunion would be one of the last times they'd meet.

"we've lost so many."

she says of the unmoored. the detached and untethered; freedom from the mercurial region. a thought grows and curls through the soft resin of a pause.

"ever thought of settling down with someone, fernando?"

T72VJi4q (494/1000)
FERNANDO SILPH

R&R

TO RADICALIZE AND RATIONALIZE

“NO,“ he repeats with a certainty that makes the most tenured councilman the most despised. wherein kim and dahlia worked around their peers, fernando remain rigid. being correct should not require being flexible. and if that means being the pariah among them, then so be it.

which is why he can never settle down. that requires another. someone who can tolerate him for who he is.

“to do so would hinge on someone liking me.”

an impish tone looks to puncture the tension like an inflated balloon.

“and coming to accept both the type or person and type of partner i am.”

yWQe5raT

HEAT POINTS: 514
dahlia goode

dahlia laughs, casting a flapping hand at the notion that no one would like him. still, she understands that the man's countenance is not for everyone. like a hard liquor. like an acquired taste.

"oh, i'm sure there are people who like you." the commissioner hums. "but of course, they might like you for the wrong reasons. such is the life for a person with money. power. or both."

her lips purse in the faintest frown before fading like wetted petal.

"is the silph name hard to carry?"

KKM4hCiS (411/1000)
FERNANDO SILPH

R&R

TO RADICALIZE AND RATIONALIZE

“PERHAPS.”

he’s not convinced but he plays his part. laughs in accompaniment with a sitcom pause to make the next punchline just as jovial.

“but that just comes with the silph name, i suppose.”

sweat beads across his eyebrows until they become too heavy to ignore. when he wipes them away, so to does he sweep away his legacy’s importance.

“not anymore. now, i dictate what that name means.”

he peeks the smallest of smiles. one that answers her earlier question even if he won’t.

“so maybe not passing that on is a good thing. who knows?”

that same smile seems to mimic her concern. the same one she always brandishes. the one that looks out for a league that doesn’t deserve her.

“couldn’t be any heavier than having to head the most difficult administration known to man. right, commissioner?”

lr8AXTcc

HEAT POINTS: 446
dahlia goode

"most difficult administration known to man is right!" dahlia laughs, clapping her hand crisply against her thigh. "i had no idea the world to turn to such shit the moment i assumed office."

she breathes in steam. briefly, it smells like exhaust or the bitter smoke from a skidding region spinning out on its axis.

"but my family name bears little weight compares to yours. my family is relatively young in the world of politics," the commissioner says, "or in the public conscious. not that it matters when we're call caught up in this shitstorm."

she laughs again.

10UEwAAW (406/1000)
FERNANDO SILPH

R&R

TO RADICALIZE AND RATIONALIZE

THERE IS SOMETHING DISARMING about dahlia using such crude language. he cares little for the dictions of others and the intricacies of individual dialect, but even this catches him off guard. it gives her a more personable feel. something more human and imperfect—it’s endearing.

“and yet, the expectations on you are heavier than the wealthiest conglomerate.”

like the periodic bouts of fizzled out steam, fernando cuts a break into their laughter with a clean expression of solemnity.

“we will get through this. i have no doubt.”

his eyes narrow in on her. the same way he purviews those who cross him or disparage his trust.

“thank you for all that you have done.”

HEeeSWCO

HEAT POINTS: 416
dahlia goode

"ugh, i hope so."

dahlia grimaces and like a trapeze artist unfurling down their sash, she sprawls herself out. her head falls limp against the wood headrest.

"and thank you for supporting me." the commissioner says with one eye cracked open.

she corrects her posture. corrects the folds of her towel.

"i think it's time to leave. getting much too hot in here."

ToNxDQe6 (348/1000)
FERNANDO SILPH