marowak joined her today, walking along faithfully at her side as she kept her eyes peeled. her mind was hardly on the mission, face having contained something vaguely bitter almost the entire time.

had he really not heard? did he pay that little attention?

hoenn knew KING WAYLAND was here, now. a kantonian war criminal, and she’d been the one to phone it in, after which even more tragedy had nearly occurred. the damage to the aquarium alone had been enough to make at least the evening news.

maybe it should have been on her to reach out, but she'd been so mad at him still.

part of her had wondered if he’d seen, and simply not said anything again. a second time.

surely not.

“explore…”

though she’d been able to keep up small talk, when he asked her about her own experience, she realized she couldn't do it anymore. she’d been known for her stability, and collectedness, but...

she shoved his shoulder, emotional, and pointed.

“what the hell, matias? are you so busy with photoshoots now that you don’t even keep up with the news?”

she’d not yet even congratulated him, really.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

for whatever reason, news of KING WAYLAND resurfacing had not reached him yet. it should've, it really should've, but perhaps he's been too busy.

or perhaps they've not told him for a reason.

he's shoved by the shoulder, caught off guard enough to make him stumble. he catches himself, looking back at her with a puzzled look.

"ouch, what the hell yourself?"

photoshoots? luka chêne had arranged for some but the majority weren't even out yet. besides, what did that have to do with anything?

"what are you talking about, sage?"

but he knows her well enough to know that she wouldn't just snap at him for no reason. so, he steps back towards her.

"what happened?"

sagira mosse
mission

☉

sage felt sour in her soul. she was overdue for a trip into the woods, and good meditation. she missed kanto, and her usual places, but she could find peace anywhere. it was time and privacy that had eluded her. and sleep.

she couldn’t get his face out of her head.

“king.”

it was nearly spat at him, and for a moment, she couldn’t say anything else. her jaw set, eyes unblinking because she didn’t cry.

“i ran into king. while i was with delta at the slateport aquarium. he was just walking around.”

and that was certainly not the end of the story.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"..."

king.

"what about him?"

he's dead.

or at least he should be.

"what?"

they never found his body, they only assumed, and now, it's come to bite them in the ass.

he should've known better.

"is...is delta okay?"

sagira mosse
mission

☉

her bottom lip stuck out the smallest bit before she tore off from him a few steps, sniffing, and looking off to the left through the trees—definitely for the missing athlete.

“yeah. she actually said her first words.” it was hard to even push out of her chest. “to him.” and then she’d fallen silent again, not a word since.

it was an empty feeling. and, though she’d never admit it, a little creepy; that delta was fully capable of talking, but simply chose not to from such a young age. people died without achieving such resolve.

everything had been turned upside down, even inside her apartment of two.

“she’s fine.” she shrugged, shaking her head, face still mostly turned and unreadable. “the aquarium’s not. king and i faced off, and the main tank got broken and flooded everything.”

there was a pause, and sigh. “no deaths. king apparently saved all of them.” which was great. “he saved us too.”

she chewed on her tongue and kicked a rock. 

“and then he got away.”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"she did?"

to him.

oh.

unsure of all the feelings that arise, he isolates the one he understands the most: contempt. not for del, but for king and everything he's done. it disgusts him, leaves a bad taste in his mouth that he doesn't try to hide.

"he didn't save anyone but himself."

matias practically sneers.

"fuck him. i'll find him."

but his contempt fades for a moment, replaced by concern as he takes a step towards her, reaching a hand out for her arm.

"i'm sorry, sage."

sagira mosse
mission

☉

he didn’t save anyone but himself. the words she hadn’t spoken.

she turned to look at him again, the point of her toe shifting in favor of him and not the mountain ahead. the part of her that loved him should have told him not to let his anger overtake his better judgment, but the rest? the part with lives to avenge?

not to mention, the part that knew the other side of the story now…

at his touch, she pulled away, and shook her head, eyes falling towards the ground. marowak looked up at her, stoic as always, and she found nothing helpful in his stare.

should she say it?

…

“he said that everyone blamed my death on him, and that you just… let it happen.” once upon a time, she thought she’d known matias silph. what was that kid’s real name, again? “wasn’t he your friend?”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

and just like that, sides are formed. he sees them clearly now, understands that his own is no longer the only one that exists.

"i knew something was off with him, sage. he was chaotic, violent, an extremist. turns out, he's also a fucking murderer."

betrayed their squad, practically murdered them in their sleep. they put up a fight — gods, did they put up a fight — but they were fighting a lost battle.

"i let it happen because i thought it'd show who he really was, and i was right."

sagira mosse
mission

☉

nope. there were three now.

her head spun at the truth, taken aback by where it lined up on both sides. matias had maybe never been a genius, per se, but this was a level of stupidity that she might very well never forgive him for.

she stared, mortified, but her face never gave away everything. this time, it glowed in her eyes, and in the particularly low tone of her voice. it scratched out of her throat as she drew up close to him, looking into his eyes like a stranger.

“you’re a goddamn idiot.”

with that, she turned on him to head down the path, marowak still at her side. they had a job to do.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

it's a look that hurts.

"sage—"

heavy steps take him after her but he never makes it to her side. his attention's pulled away to the skies when his altaria chirps.

"what is it, floofy butt?"

altaria circles in the air for a brief moment before diving down in a particular direction. it's found something, apparently. wasting no time, matias heads in the direction.

"come on."

sagira mosse
mission

☉

she closed her eyes a moment, letting his voice roll off the back of her shoulders. a deep breath filtered out matias’ toxicity, while she focused on an imaginary tree. strong, silent, still.

embody it.

just internally, though. she was still taking long strides away from him.

until he was calling with a different tone.

“hm?” both trainer and pokemon turned, and then wasted no time following after. her voice projected across the distance, ”what is it?!”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"the athlete, maybe!"

he has no idea. for now, he simply chooses to trust in his altaria, and it soon pays off when he steps into a clearing.

ahead lays a crater in the ground; remnants of a battle, perhaps. his gaze shifts all around them, searching only to find nothing. but it's his altaria that lands up ahead, cooing towards them as it gestures over the ledge.

sagira mosse
mission

☉

she ran. she’d never had any problem keeping up with him.

the clearing bared the aftermath of an EXPLOSION, maybe. dirt and roots scattered outwards, blanketing the outer grass where the ground wasn’t mangled. when the altaria gestured ahead, her heart sunk.

“shit.”

still with marowak at her side, she went to look over the ledge the altaria had called them to.

her bets were on the worst. such a blast would have certainly had the power to send someone over the edge if they were close enough.

MATIAS SILPH

☉