[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]her nickname serves as a catalyst, the question piercing through any wall she tries to construct.

what does she want him to say?

does she even want to answer that herself?

"i -- i don't know."

she's torn between withdrawing and opening. vulnerability comes with a steep price, however, and her arms cross in the face of that knowledge.

and despite the defensive stance, there's a gentleness to her tone. and maybe that's on his list. she only pauses to think about it for a moment before the thought is gone.

"do you let them understand you?" her head tilts curiously but her expression is soft. understanding, even. another reason. "or do you close yourself off from the possibility that someone could?"

damn, don't go for his throat like that sis.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

a pause, as though it'd help him recover from her questions.

it doesn't do much.

"probably the latter."

his gaze holds.

"but some manage to slip through."

illeana reyes // catching venonat!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]her smile is small, as if proud to hit the nail on the head. and maybe she only hit it because she knows it too well.

how many walls stand between them? how many are her own?

"it's okay if they do," she murmurs.

his gaze holds and hers trembles slightly beneath the pressure. and yet, it never strays. she's a little too aware of the closeness now.

"and," she pauses, painfully ignoring the way her voice wobbles on easy syllables. "it's okay to want them to."

if only she took the words to heart herself.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

it might've been okay once, but now? perhaps their moment has passed.

her voice wobbles, and his stays level.

"and what do you want?"

illeana reyes // catching venonat!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]her lips settle into a line, falling flat.

there’s a coldness she embraces. it keeps her safe, keeps her whole. another man will not break her. not again.

”what you wanted,” she breathes. she lets it simmer and then die, snuffing it out with her heel. ”but what i wanted doesn’t matter.”

she’ll take what she wants, take what she is owed, and it won’t involve him.

and if she can’t have love, she wants power.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

what you wanted.

in another life, perhaps.

"it matters."

still, curiosity gets the better of him.

"but why don't you think it does?"

illeana reyes // catching venonat!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]she refuses to look at him now.

her eyes dart around under the pretense of scanning their surroundings.

"how?"

a scowl slowly bleeds into her features.

"because," she tries to keep her voice even as her arms tighten over her chest. "it's not happening."

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

his gaze remains on her, observing her reactions as she refuses to look at him.

"it's okay to hope, illie."

a step takes him closer, and he reaches a hand out to her shoulder, attempting to comfort her.

"you deserve to be happy."

illeana reyes // catching venonat!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]no. nonononono.

hope makes her weak, fragile, about to break. and she swore she'd never be that girl again.

"i don't want to," comes out flat. there's more to the story and she refuses to write it. instead, she closes the book and shoves it in a corner to collect dust.

his touch startles her. she tries to hide it but it bleeds through anyway. and despite herself, she puffs out a little more pink mist. exhaled only to be inhaled again, a feeble attempt to combat whatever the fuck this is.

and when he mentions being happy, she stills. it brings memories rushing back, all painful reminders of the outcome of war.

her body is turning away on autopilot. faintly, she registers his hand dropping from her shoulder.

"not anymore," is all she offers on the subject before she's trying to put distance between them by resuming walking.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

even during the darkest days of kanto, he hoped, because a life without hope is not one worth living. so it pains him to hear her words, to see her walk away.

but it isn't in his place to tell her otherwise.

after a sigh, he peers up to notice his flabebe from earlier sliding off his head. the commotion woke it, apparently, as it blinks at matias.

"do you have another flower for her?"

with an excited nod, flabebe floats off, catching up to illie only to hold up a purple flower, offering it to her. it points back at matias as if to say it's from him.

it's an iris flower, meaning hope.

illeana reyes // catching venonat!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]with distance, she can close herself off. it's easier without him staring at her, without him banging at the walls she builds up.

she'd rather be surrounded by skyscrapers than ruins, anyway.

and yet, he still somehow manages to apply pressure.

it comes in the form of a simple flower. purple, pretty, and all for her. she flushes when his flabebe points back to him, her cheeks betraying her. and she's gentle when she takes the outstretched flower, fingers slightly shaking.

purple joins red in her hair and she's flashing a small smile to the flabebe.

"thank you," she whispers.

her golurk settles into stride with her, a large clay hand slowly moving to take one of her own. and when it squeezes comfort into her fingers, she's tucking her chin in as if she can magically hide her entire face.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!

flabebe gives a thumbs (paw?) up before floating back over to matias, nestling into the thick of his hair.

deciding it might be best to give her a bit of space, he hovers back, choosing to walk next to his heatran instead.

"hungry?"

he reaches into his pocket for a berry, tossing it up and into heatran's mouth. it sizzles, melting as she chomps down.

illeana reyes // catching venonat!

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]the movement draws her attention. his flabebe gives a thumbs up and floats back to nestle back into his hair. and her gaze lingers too long, that much she knows.

heat radiates in her skin when she turns back to the path.

her golurk lets out a little whine, as if the automaton is also hungry and wants matias to feed it a berry.

and without considering otherwise, it’s tugging her toward matias’s direction, food proving to be a very strong motivator.

MATIAS SILPH
passing!