they walk into the lion's den, so to speak. that silver vine - the one she'd worn to intimidate the abbiati woman upon her comeback - wraps around her bodice. minimized pokeballs twine among its leaves, with several more hidden under the collar of her throat. fernando had summoned her, debriefed her, and ordered her to choose carefully. 

he doesn't want the tree going up in flames, after all. 

lyune's mega stone is still braided in her hair. emergency use only. collateral damage will ensue if fernando's safety is compromised. and if she is part of that damage, stricken down for insubordination, then at least let it be after the heat of battle, when adrenaline is still pumping through her veins and he can still fulfill her wishes.

there is a thrumming in the air. a not-rightness about all of it, but she doesn't need the taste upon her tongue to tell her that. aeris slithers beside her uneasily, eyes peeled for any sign of movement.

she eyes the woman in question when fernando addresses her. she wasn't in lavaridge when i met the others.

"neither," she says. "i need not remind you i was in surgery when sootopolis fell." her face twists. anger writhes in her belly. they walk upon once-hallowed ground, the spire's replacement. it's yet another reminder that humankind is already a remnant, that their history and their culture mean nothing in the face of whatever god can do this. 

FERNANDO SILPH illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]faint memories cling to the branches of this new tree. the poison, the destruction, the taste of blood and sticky blue sap clinging to teeth. it's different than the one laced into the past, sure, but a similar concept ties them together with bloody strings.

her bones ache with trauma wounds long since healed.

fernando summons them beneath a winding trunk and they come when called. a trio that she isn't quite sure she belongs in but joins anyway for her own curious agenda. and when he addresses littleroot, her head turns.

"similar but i'd need a sample to know for sure."

what would be the consequences of making bark bleed? and even if it did, would the sap still be the same? she chews each question once, twice, thrice, before swallowing them down.

the last name causes her to pause, to shift her gaze from tree bark toward white hair and impressive features. familiarity from a decorated grave clings to her shoulders. it's heavy with the stench of grief. morningstar. the estate ALEXANDER STONE would mention frequently, the dear friend he held in such high esteem. a face finally put to a name.

she flashes a small smile, the corners twisting into apologetic territory.

"i'm sorry," she murmurs. there's a gentleness to her tone, seeping between syllables. sootopolis is a sore subject for many reasons. the damage to the city, the culture, the league. it all lays in ruins at their feet, overgrown with branching roots. the aftermath hangs over the city with purple undertones. and with it, a question: what's to come?

FERNANDO SILPH freya morningstar

freya doesn't anticipate an apology from the woman. she doesn't anticipate the gentle demeanor or the critical way she turns when fernando mentions freya by name. she tilts her head, searching for any remnant of her, and scrutinizes her face. memories twinge, muddled with grief. 

freya hadn't attended the funeral for very long, but this one's face had been there. in the inner circle, a close confidant. ah. 

so i'm not the only one you stole after he'd gone. 

"what's done is done," freya says with a shrug, though she glances away. 

fernando turns his attention to reyes and freya understands then why she's here. samples? but they'd walked right through the front door on dragonback for the world to see. no, this is more than that. fernando painted targets on their back for a - 

aeris hisses, tail rattling in warning. freya grabs the blade-bow at her hip, snapping it out to bow form with a thwack as the undergrowth rustles with skittering feet. "how many?" she murmurs to the dragoness. 

she shakes her tail in quick succession. freya grabs two balls off her bodice with a grin, gaze sliding back to fernando for permission as the first of the small army rears its ugly rat head. 

"may lyune and killian have a snack?" she asks, s's drawn, teeth glinting with her gums drawn back. she'll taste their bones, their lifeblood dribbling from them, with every snap of lyune's jaw. she shudders at the cold in her belly.

FERNANDO SILPH illeana reyes  Killian Decker

☉

at the news, there was surely no one more enthusiastic to deliver a warm welcome.

‘heavily armed’ would’ve been an understatement. the bag on her back was packed tightly. steel was just beginning to warm against her skin.

from the darkest part of the shadow cast by the tree, lulu appeared, a black shape turning human again. she had caught Alexandra Briarwood 's warning, and agreed, but what fun would this be if she couldn’t harass them first?

“fernando!” she called over from a safe distance, voice round and deceptively happy to see him before it abruptly soured. “the fuck are you doing here? what are you doing to our tree?”

she hardly paid attention to the women accompanying him, except for one note: white hair. white hair. the weird space people had white hair. was fernando in cahoots? probably.

FERNANDO SILPH illeana reyes freya morningstar Killian Decker Alexandra Briarwood

☉

"hm."

he would've been content with letting few of rocket's finest handle the situation if not for the councilman that oppose them. he rises from his spot by the water, moving away to lean against the massive trunk of the tree.

it's there that he peers around, observing, watching, though not yet acting.

subtly, his malamar wraps around his frame.

for now, he waits.

FERNANDO SILPH illeana reyes freya morningstar Killian Decker Alexandra Briarwood Lulu Flint

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]weight shifts from foot to foot beneath scrutiny. it passes in a moment and whatever freya finds is kept under wraps. perhaps for the better... this, unfortunately, isn't the time or place for memories. freya's statement tables the conversation for later, slid away from the spotlight in favor of work.

fernando's question comes next. it leaves the gears churning in her mind.

she thinks of littleroot. of the cellar, of exposed roots, of blue sap pooling against bark. her memories of the event as a whole are hazy. they're covered in toxins and blood, cut short by what she assumes to be her passing out when the building had begun collapsing. one of the newer scars on her thighs almost burns from memory alone.

"the roots," she'll turn to him with a stare of mild intensity. "that's where we found the sap in littleroot." this time, she'll remember to not use her mouth for sap collection...

it seems collection will have to wait, however.

they stare right into the faces of multiple adversaries. nothing is ever easy when it comes to this sap, huh? a horde of rats and three bodies she doesn't recognize. they come like horsemen, bringing with them an apocalypse spelling disaster for their plans. features twist into an irritated scowl, unbecoming of a creature once kind.

she doesn't offer much as far as words go. no, not when actions take precedent in the heat of the moment. it takes two taps, a flash of light, and two more join their ranks. a ninetales shakes out silky silver tails and curls them at her feet. the automaton looms at her back, a faithful guardian. she doesn't need to glance down to know the fox in particular is out for blood. each snapping of teeth vibrates in her bones regardless.

"huh," she murmurs. much like her ninetales and freya, she flashes teeth. it's aggressive, taunting. "must've missed the memo about owning a piece of nature." shoulders roll the thought off with a simple shrug. as the seconds tick by, pink mist slowly begins to coil around her body as if expecting pain.

FERNANDO SILPH freya morningstar
Killian Decker Alexandra Briarwood
Lulu Flint THEO BECKETT

don't escalate. her fingers twitch against her bow. she still makes a move to her quiver, hand hovering over its side. tension rolls from her shoulders as she bristles. anticipation surges through her, adrenaline following suit. 

fernando had dosed her before entrance. she hadn't even needed to beg this time. 

but with the taste of his mist still in her nose, still swirling in her lungs, she fights like a rabid dog against invisible shackles. pressure mounts in the back of her head as more enemies make themselves known. she thinks, i'm hungry, and reaches for the pokeballs that house her most ravenous. 

fernando's demeanor changes suddenly and freya snarls. the floral mist curls at her feet and she springs into action.

"cover your eyes," she hisses while fingertips glide over her quiver, flash-tipped arrow snicking into her waiting hand. she draws and aims upward. the arrow arcs and then explodes in a blinding flash of light. 

eyes closed and under the brief moment of disorienting cover, she releases her beasts. lyune's body manifests before her and she springs up his side, mounting his war saddle with ease. her tyrantrum bellows with rage as both dragon tamer and salamence hiss orders. 

crush them slaughter them devour them. 

the tyrantrum snaps thick roots under her paws as she rampages forward, spittle flying from her teeth as she lowers her head to crunch some of the rat hoard with her powerful jaws.

FERNANDO SILPH illeana reyes  Killian Decker Alexandra Briarwood Lulu Flint
NOTES
uses a flash arrow (1/15 arrows used)
tyrantrum uses crunch and tries to eat some of he rat pack

☉