after realizing it hadn’t been KING WAYLAND at her door, she'd felt sleep call to her again—but a wave of sudden emotion at his body slouching against her had a similar effect to smelling salts.

it reminded her of her childhood. young young.

and then, the mention of kanto hit even harder.

she didn’t push him off, though she felt she should, for a number of reasons. composing herself silently, she eyed back down at the floor again. and eventually, she nodded.

”yeah.” the feeling in her voice was one of longing to go back in time. not to kanto now, but kanto then—two entirely different places.

their kanto was a place they could never hope to return to, because it no longer existed.

”a lot.”

MATIAS SILPH

there were a vast multitude of things sagira would have done differently, she told herself, in the deepest depths of her unspoken thoughts.

it was hardly something she was prepared to talk about.

she shook her head, glancing at her hands. they felt capable of more things than they had been before, and couldn't decide that was good or not.

”i don’t know. it doesn’t matter, anyways. all that matters is moving forward.”

MATIAS SILPH

she had been numb. there was an odd sense of vaguely uncomfortable weightlessness, and the empty shadow of a love unmet. the coldness of having been wrong, too many times over.

it was only hard work that could keep her out of the strange abyss that she slipped into between the walls here.

what life?

”fine.” still, she didn’t look at him. ”but it’ll be conditional.”

her hands held one another a little tighter.

”i want you let me know when you hear about things happening with team rocket. things the league might not tell me otherwise, in my position.” 

”help me make real use of myself.”

MATIAS SILPH

she gave a small nod, but said nothing at first.

then, ”i don’t want that. i want to stay an officer.” because she could only have one or the other. being low in the ranks kept her less known—a benefit, when it came to new plans.

but she stayed vague. it wasn’t something she was willing to share with him.

MATIAS SILPH

his closeness was both familiar and unfamiliar, comforting and uncomfortable. she stared back, eyes hard and full of will.

the juice box went ignored, save for something in the way she blinked at him.

”because. i don’t want king to hear me on my way to bring him down.”

MATIAS SILPH

through the dark radiated a sternness that she’d more often served delta, but it softened at memories of their platoon.

”i may be sacrificing some things”—like security—”but if i lose anyone to him this time, at least they will have never been under my command.”

her gaze shifted away from him. ”does he know you’re alive?”

MATIAS SILPH