It was uncomfortable, the sense of dread and unease that came with the letter. For one, it had been redirected from her home in Lavaridge to her current, temporary, unusual residency with FERNANDO SILPH.

For second, she hadn't spoken to Illie in.. months. Before the soiree, even, and not since. Her rudeness even before the mind-altering mist had given her a lapse in judgement had been disgusting. Twice in a row she'd intercepted Illie because of jealousy and desperation.

Oh, how far she's fallen.

And yet-- Illeana Reyes had summoned for her. She was requesting her assistance in something clearly important.

So she comes bearing hot coffee and a small smile. There are two for each of them, as the last time she'd buckled down for sciency-related investigations they'd been up all night and into the next hunting for clues. The letter hadn't said anything specific, but Illeana was a scientist and the details of the letter had seemed urgent.

They were in for a long night, almost certainly.

But as she enters, the room is in disarray- not that it even really looks like it. There are piles of paperwork everywhere, but nothing is a mess, per se. She sets down the tray of coffees and kneels to pick up something off the floor. She purses her lips, closes the door behind her, and waves it for Illie to see.

"Is this what you're looking for, maybe?"

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]the scent of fresh coffee hits her nose mere moments before stormy's voice chimes up admist her frantic searching. it snaps her out of her mumbling, out of her search. her head whips up so fast she's certain she'll get whiplash. and then, a soft squeak echoes gently in her ears as an invisible mew is startled out of relaxation mode. the pink baby's tail tickles her ear as it readjusts itself on her head before she shifts into movement.

she's closing the distance between them with quick strides and an excited smile.

"stormy!" moving in for a tight hug is second nature by now, as is the turning of her head to press a light kiss to stormy's cheek. "you made it!"

illeana releases her grip a moment later to stare at the paper in stormy's hand as if it's a brand new document. it isn't, not really, but it's exactly what the search was for. her smile widens, an embarrassed giggle escaping in the process.

"yes, that's it," her cheeks are mildly flushed by now. apparently running around your office in a frenzy is tiring... "thank you. where was it?" probably abandoned on the floor in a pile that she had already searched in the beginning.

and then, she's reaching for stormy's hand with gentle fingers to usher her further into the room. the silver ninetales follows closely at their heels. naturally, illeana makes a beeline right for the coffee. it smells too good to ignore, even if they have work to do.

"have i ever told you you're absolutely the best?" she's laying it on thick but she's overworked, overtired, and stormy llewellyn is the best thing she's seen in days. softly, genuinely, she adds, "thank you for coming. i'm sorry to summon you like this."

Stormy Silph

Stormy's eyes widen in surprise and she hurriedly sets the tray of coffees down before Illie crashes into her. The hug is warm, is jarring, but it is so familiar that she struggles to push her away. She can't, and the emotions behind it make her uncomfortable and unstable-- but eventually, slowly, she returns the embrace.

"Yeah, heh, it was.. just on the edge of the counter, here."

She smiles softly, tilting her head as the woman becomes absorbed in the paperwork offered. But then warm fingers wrap around her cold ones and she sucks in a breath and the urge to violently pull away. Trust had been difficult to hold onto lately, always with the itch to glance over her shoulder and see..

"You're sweet, and I don't mind. I'm happy to help."

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]warmth settles between their bodies. shared heat, even if it's missing something. she heard of what happened during the soiree, knows of the aftermath... and maybe that's why her grip becomes a little tighter.

"i'm not surprised," she puffs out, cheek pouches blowing up in mild annoyance over her lack of awareness. "i went into such a panic over this little piece of paper for it to be right in front of me all along." it's a common enough occurrence for her to pay it no mind in the end. there's bigger fish to fry than her foresight.

she's releasing stormy's hand after a moment, shifting to pluck two cups of coffee from the tray. and then, she's replacing the warmth of a hand with an outstretched cup, her smile fuzzy and bright.

"there's no one else i'd rather ask for help." it's genuine, trusting, fond.

ah, but she hasn't exactly explained why she summoned the elite four member to her lab. right, that's important information.

settling her hips on the corner of her desk, she switches into work mode after that first sip of coffee.

"speaking of help," she pauses, smile growing almost sheepish over the brim of her cup. "i should probably tell you why i called you here now, huh?"

with a gentle gesture to the piece of paperwork stormy found, she begins.

"after the commissioner summoned us for the aqua assembly, i took the liberty of taking a trip back to sinnoh. there was a theory i wanted to look into and sinnoh held the information i needed. now, because of what happened during our encounter with groudon as well as the odd distortions around the primal crystals, i have reason to believe that the gods of time and space could be somewhere in hoenn." she has to stop, has to pause to take a breath.

and before she continues, she looks to stormy for a reaction.

Stormy Silph

The touch is foreign, it feels like a trap. But she holds on because she knows she has to, because she knows it's the right thing to do. Even if it steals her breath away, even if it leaves her skin prickly with dread.

Relief is instantaneous when she finally pulls away as if she had been drowning but finally had a chance to come up for air.

Stormy's attention lingers on the woman's puffed out cheeks. Absently, she thinks of how they remind her of a Pikachu's cheek pouches. She chuckles breathlessly to brush past Illeana's anxious over-explaining. She means well, but Stormy is out of her mind with stress and anxiety that she can't focus on the words.

None of it matters, anyway, and she's selfish.

When she blinks, Illeana is offering her one of the warm coffees. Its heat radiates off the cup and she hesitates before taking it.

'There's no one else I'd rather ask for help,' she says, and for some reason it surprises her. It shouldn't, but it does. Once upon a time, the two had been nigh inseparable, like sisters- maybe more. But that time had come and gone and faint pangs of jealousy and disgust for herself linger.

Illie's voice is background noise until she takes that first sip of coffee. Her fingers tighten around the cup, clinging to it for consult. But mention of the AQUA assembly brings her attention back in full force, and she lifts her lips from the brim of her cup.

"The Gods of space and time?"

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]for all the intelligence illeana might possess, it's a little sad how oblivious to tension she is.

it lingers in every inch of the lab, settling in the space between them. and no matter how much she talks or how she tries to pick up where they left off, it's wrong. it's off kilter, a broken globe spinning awkwardly on a fragile axis.

and how long is it before it breaks?

she takes another sip of coffee, nodding at stormy's question.

"yes," the cup's rim falls away and there's a bright smile in it's place, as if this is her favorite thing to talk about and she can't contain her excitement any longer. "they're not necessarily gods here, per say. more like myths or legends, i would assume, but back home i had all sorts of books about them when i was a kid. i guess they'd be similar to the myths here?"

regional differences aside, she continues along with whatever tangent has taken over her mind.

"palkia, the ruler of space, and dialga, the ruler of time." there's a paper photocopied from one of her old tomes and she shifts to grab it for reference. her hand outstretches a moment later, offering it to stormy to browse.

"i had some suspicion after seeing the crystal shard during the aqua assembly but i believe the events of groudon's return fully put the pieces together," she's practically vibrating with energy by now. the telltale sparkle to her eyes has already long since overtaken anything else. "and now, i would like to ask for your help."

she allows it to hang in the air between them, spreading until the echo fades. and then, she's replacing it with a question, praying the feeling in her gut is right.

"stormy, can you help me find them?" cue the puppy dog eyes.

and faintly, she remembers another reason, as if plucking it from thin air and presenting it to her friend as a reason to assist.

"there's a sound possibility of a multiverse existing, based on what we've seen from both these legends as well as the dimensional rifts," she pauses, catching her breath as words threaten to jumble together and derail her. "it could provide some clues for your search as well."

news, unfortunately, travels fast around hoenn. and it goes without saying, illeana would go to the end of the earth to ensure stormy's quest is successful.

together, they could do it. together, they could do anything. if the tension doesn't eat them alive first, that is.

Stormy Silph

It should be so easy to fall into old rhythms, to accept the comfort and the ease that Illie brings her. But it isn't, because Stormy has changed. She is no longer the same woman that had fallen down in the grass, blood sweet with wine and fingers brushing the length of skin.

No, somehow, overnight, she had become a monster.

"Huh."

She muses along with what Illie has to say, taking the page that is offered to her. The images do not appear familiar in any way, though perhaps they tug at some corner of her heart. It goes unaddressed and unrealized, however.

The passion in her friend's words keep her focus trained on her, and she seems to rise to the occasion at Illeana's command. She asks for her help and her fingers twitch, clenching the paper tighter for a moment before relaxing.

"Me?"

She blinks.

"A multiverse?"

And there it is, the note in Illie's voice that brings great, unimaginable pain.

Clues for my search as well.

Stormy sets the paper aside and reaches for her coffee. The warmth that spreads over her fingertips keeps her calm.

"Are you sure that I can help? I'm sure there is someone else, someone with a background in research like you--"

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]realistically, it's a lot to process.

she jumped from topic to topic with perhaps too much speed for it to make much sense. and while she'd love to recount every step and detail that brought her here, it feels like there's no time. things are getting stranger. from the aqua assembly to the star soiree... dimensional distortions have become an odd norm for hoenn as they know it.

and she simply wants to know who is behind it.

there's the notion that she'll feel more connected to her home, to sinnoh by exploring these myths. and maybe she will... or maybe she'll end up empty handed. either way, the thrill of research is more than enough to keep her moving. it keeps her hungry, always searching for more information.

"yes, you," she murmurs. there had never been a doubt in her mind, really. not when it came down to choosing. she'd always pick stormy.

the concept of a multiverse actually existing feels like something out of a sci-fi novel, never mind the fact that sinnoh legends could very likely be involved. it brings with it a sense of nostalgia, as if her time spent in sinnoh wasn't all bad. nightmarish childhood memories aside, this is a goal of the younger illeana reyes: tracking down the myths and legends of her home region. it hadn't necessarily been why she ventured into genetics, truthfully, but she had always known that once she made a name for herself, she'd pursue this goal.

and despite her gut-wrenching losses, she's finally made it.

stormy launches into doubt, the choice of summons being laid out and picked apart. and while she could have brought in another scientist, it didn't even cross her mind. no, there is no doubt in her when she cuts the statement short.

"stormy." her tone is gentle yet firm.

"i am absolutely positive that you are the best person to help," her smile is bright, confident. "this isn't about research. this is about a journey and we're going to do this together. besides, we're both hunting for something. between the two of us, we can figure this out."

she's certain, right down to the marrow in her bones and the dna in her nuclei. and that is a hill she is more than willing to die on.

Stormy Silph

Illeana's excitement is not well reciprocated. Fear, paranoia, self-doubt, they crowd around her in a tightening vice. She can't breathe, can't think, can't find the escape route. There is nowhere to go, no way out. She's drowning.

And then Illie's voice beckons to her, reassures her, calls her name. There is a firmness in her tone, and she clings to it with desperation. A firm hand, a warm touch.

"... Okay. Then what would you like me to do?"

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]she is practically radiating warmth and happiness and affection when stormy relents.

of course, it won't be an easy task but... acceptance was the first hurdle to overcome.

"thank you," she murmurs, genuine and dripping with gratitude like honey from a spoon. "i promise i'll repay you for your help." hopefully, if all goes smoothly, they'll be a step closer to finding moltres for the elite four member, anyway. perhaps that is more payment than illeana could provide.

she doesn't dwell on it right now.

no, instead she shifts into work mode, setting her hips onto the edge of her desk.

"i would like to start on mt. chimney, where we last experienced a massive shift in time and space, if you'd be willing to come along. i heard a cry that day and every bone in my body was sure of what it was."

her facial features give way to concern, then, head tilting slightly.

"first, i must warn you, however."

she tries to keep her tone gentle for the next part. "i know with everything that happened during the soiree, you are not going to like this... but i believe using an unown might help in tracking palkia and dialga." of course, it's a given after everything stormy has been through but she remembers how unown helped escape that place... that odd pocket of nightmares and dreams. her own had guided her before she became lost.

a pause follows, paired with a consideration and then the slight quirk of lips. "i will keep the unown in its pokeball until absolutely necessary and will recall it immediately if you are uncomfortable at any point. is that alright?"

Stormy Silph

No need, she wants to say in response, but the words never come to the surface. They die in her throat as a result of her own self-consciousness and tension. All of this, she realizes, is manifested by her own fears, and yet.. it is a feeling she cannot shake.

It is deep and dark, and stained green with envy.

Mt. Chimney.

The mention shakes her to her core, and she sucks in a quiet breath. Illeana continues on, unbothered by her muted response, which is all well and good because Stormy recovers quickly. In fact, it seems she finds some piece of her nerve or her drive. Some semblance of excitement manifests beneath the surface of her ice-cold skin.

"You mean with what happened with Groudon?"

Had that been Mt. Chimney? All of a sudden, the recent events all blur together and she can't remember where she's been or what has happened.

But she falls silent again at Illie's warning. It forces her to swallow the bile in the back of her throat and the fear creeping up the base of her neck.

"It's fine."

Her response is curt and sharp, thrown with more force and aggression than she expects. But agitation lingers in the edges of her now stiffening composure. Unown's. God, she hated them. With no real cause other than the fear they had instilled in her.

"Just do what you have to do, Illie. If you think the Pokemon will help us with your task, so be it."

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]her head bobs in affirmation.

"yes," she murmurs. the next part is recited as if standing in front of a mirror, practicing a speech.

"two different parts of time should not have collided in such a manner. it defies the laws that we currently understand but i believe one had a hand in mashing the past and present together. whether it was dialga or palkia, i'm not completely positive, but there had to be a reason behind it." and she'll find it. whatever it is... she'll chase after it until lungs burn and legs ache.

another nod. if aggression and shortness bother her, she doesn't acknowledge it.

and as promised, she'll only commit to using an unown when required, when necessary.

her ninetales waits by the door. tails swish patiently and illeana takes another sip of her coffee. it's warm, slowly unfreezing whatever hesitation has molded into bones. and when it falls, she pushes off the desk.

"do you need any time to prepare or shall we head out?"

her body floats toward another table in the corner. pokeballs linger in perfect rows, five by five. she plucks a few from holders and pulls the lab coat off. snapping each capsule into place takes a mere moment. fastening the belt around hips takes another.

when she turns back toward stormy, a different tone has bled into facial features. it's serious, almost cold against the warmth that had been.

Stormy Silph

That was what had happened? Two different points in time had.. collided with one another? She had seen the portal, or whatever it had been. Like a window looking into another world. But she hadn't fully understood what it was she had seen, and she had only assumed no one else had, either.

But here was Illeana, explaining it to her, giving her something to think about.

"What reason could there have been? Why do Pokemon do.. anything?"

Frustration weighs in on her expression, shown through the tremble of her brow as she grinds her teeth and glances away. The woman's trust had fallen astray, evidently. Her faith in Pokemon, in people, in herself, shaken to the core.

"No--" once again, she is sharp, unintentionally, "No.. I'm good to go whenever you are. The sooner we leave, the better, right?"

illeana reyes

☉