it takes him a moment, but eventually, he remembers.

"it has."

he smiles gentler than he was that night.

"it's good to see you again, illeana."

a SUPERSONIC zubat floats overhead only to be quickly taken down by heatran's IRON HEAD. for a pokemon that big and tanky, she's surprisingly agile.

"out for a nice walk?"

illeana reyes // catching zubat

☉

"it is."

even if they hadn't left on the best of terms — more awkward terms than anything, really — the night they shared remains fond in his mind. what he remembers of it, anyway.

he watches her golurk shoo away the wild gloom, noticing how gentle it seems to be. it's cute, he decides.

nodding, he turns back to look at her.

"do you mind if we join you?"

illeana reyes // catching zubat

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]"how good?" the tease escapes before she can really stop it. not that she necessarily minds, though.

illeana pretends to consider the options, tossing around the allure of his company like a cat would a mouse. and eventually, she flashes an almost saucy smile when time has ticked by enough for her satisfaction.

a few steps closer and she's in his orbit.

"sure," she's all teeth now, almost touching upon their first meeting but not quite in the same ballpark. "just don't crush my hand this time."

the automaton welcomes their new company with a little wave and a soft coo. ever the good host, really... what a cutie.

and almost like an afterthought, she turns to throw words over her shoulder as she begins to set the pace for their walk.

"there's better things to crush, anyway."

MATIAS SILPH

her tease is met with a chuckle. for whatever reason, it catches him off guard.

"pretty good."

he doesn't miss how she enters his orbit. not that he particularly minds.

his gaze shifts to watch their pokemon interact. heatran returns the wave with a nod of her own and steps up next to the golurk.

steps carry him forward, keeping up with her.

"yeah? like what?"

illeana reyes // catching zubat

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]pokemon enter their path as they move. she pays them little mind, shuffling around their figures to continue along the route. her automaton, however, lets out a soft coo in greeting to each of the pokemon they pass. cutie.

"use your imagination," she quips. her head turns slightly to steal a glance at him. "i'm sure you can come up with something."

a gentle breeze picks up. fallen leaves swirl in a small gust, flying for a moment before settling back down to earth. the heels of her boots crunch slightly when she steps into them.

"how have you been?"

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

heatran isn't used to such gentleness, especially not from a pokemon as large as golurk. so she stares at the interaction with a confused expression, and though her instincts tell her to burn the swirlix, she opts to give it a boop on its head instead.

it's enough to entice it to join them, apparently.

"well and busy. yourself? i don't think i've seen you in any more bars recently."

his imagination works fine; he just chooses not to voice them.

"maybe i'm just going to the wrong ones."

illeana reyes // catching swirlix

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]the automaton watches his heatran’s exchange with swirlix. the boop elicits an excited rumble from clay as if the act of a boop is brand new territory for deus. it’ll have to test out the art of boops on its next encounter…

”busy,” she confirms with a soft sigh. silph co works her like a dog, well beyond anything the league demanded of her. ”you could be.” not necessarily, however.

she rarely goes to the bar anymore, if only because there’s no time. research has taken priority over any social life she might have had.

a thought rises and she’s plucking it from the corner of her mind with agile fingers.

”i have to admit,” her head fully turns by now, crimson scanning his face slowly. she’s looking for something. whether that’s a reaction or confirmation is left undecided. ”i didn’t expect you to search for me after. why is that, hm?”

she has an inkling, regardless of his answer.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

"as long as we're admitting things..."

her suspicions are confirmed; maybe not when he breaks into a chuckle, but definitely when he shrugs and says:

"i guess i wanted more."

playful, friendly, and nothing else.

illeana reyes // catching swirlix

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]oh?

the admittance catches her off guard. the coy smile falters slightly, as if she didn’t actually expect someone to want more than what she’s given. one did and he’s dead now.

”why?” it’s prying and she knows it but stopping isn’t in the forecast. there’s a greediness to her that she can’t seem to sate.

”you didn’t say anything.” and neither did she…

MATIAS SILPH
passing!