The scent of certain herbs winds in Gavin's nostrils as he passes through the dining hall. It's instinct to seek out elijah gardner before the richer aroma of chocolate blends with other scents. Then, he thinks of Killian Decker and the time the Rocket brass had shared an interesting afternoon together. The memory is fond, though tinged with the melancholy of loss.

He pokes his head into the kitchen, only half surprised to see Lex.

"Ahh, I'd heard you were our infamous chef."

His smile is distant, mind elsewhere until he blinks and seems to return to clarity.

"Smells good. What's the occasion?"

He leans against the wall, glad for an excuse to take a pause in his hectic day. Since Chu-e's passing, it felt like his workload was never at an end.

Alexandra Briarwood

As tedious as baking can be, its methodical actions bring a sense of comfort to a life that seems to be constantly spinning out of control. Perhaps that’s what drive Lex to the Rocket Kitchen rather than her own at home. Home didn’t quite feel like home anymore. There’s an intruder, an unwanted pest crawling under the skin of one person she loved most in this world. What she needed was a distraction while she came to terms with it. Hence, the baking.

So lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t notice Gavin enter the kitchen. The small Eevee curled up on a small bed in the corner did though. Endless stirred, lifting her head slowly from her nap. One by one her ears flicked forward, dark eyes fixating on the entrance way before he had the chance to speak.

His voice broke her concentration on the batter in the mixing bowl. She was carrying it, cradling it in one arm and stirring with the other. She turned entirely towards Gavin, blinking before glancing down at the concoction. A grin tugged at the corner of her lips, “Ahhh, yes, I thought he took credit for that,” She knew she was doing it to distract herself but she wasn’t quite willing to admit it. She shrugged her shoulders, “Thought it would be a nice treat.”

Cillian Quinn

"Hm. Perhaps he did." Gavin's smile is brief but edged with mischief. "I think my mind was elsewhere, at the time."

Several of them had scarfed down two of the damn things at once, after all, so it had become the duty of those less intoxicated to make sure they came out the other end all right. He vaguely recalls a field trip to the dining hall, a bunch of Rocket brass harassing their poor cook into whipping up some last-minute munchies.

"A treat for who?" Honestly, he wouldn't say no to one himself. "Might want to label these ones. Admin Beckett had more than his fill, last time."

He scoffs a laugh, shakes his head, and smiles at the Eevee blinking up from its bed.

Alexandra Briarwood

Lex laughs, nodding in agreement. She glances at Gavin with an edge of mischief in her small smile as well, “I’m sure it was – I don’t use weak shit,” she steps towards the greased pan and begins pouring the smooth batter into an even layer, “I heard it was . . . Quite the time,” rumors spread fast and she got a firsthand report from Killian after the fact.

With one swift motion she slides the pan into the oven and shuts the door tightly before fiddling with the timer beside the stove. The device beeps as she shrugs her shoulders, “For whoever wants some, I guess,” first come first serve. It wouldn’t be difficult to get rid of them at headquarters. Rocket likes to party.

The mischief returns to her smile as she sets down the timer, “Probably a good idea but . . where’s the fun in that?”

Lex turns her back to lean against the counter. The mischief is replaced with curiosity, “How you doin’, Gavin?” It wasn’t a secret that Chu-e passed. Lex barely knew him, but the time she spent with him was pleasant. She can imagine Gavin and him worked closely and it must not be easy to have lost him.

Cillian Quinn

"No, you certainly don't," he agrees, remembering.

From a fridge in the room, Gavin retrieves a chilled bottle of some fresh water loaded with vitamins and drains half of it in one. Sometimes, when he gets too busy with his work, he forgets to drink at all. It leaves him parched, lips dry.

He laughs, sharp and loud, at the mischief in her tone.

"Devil," he accuses, delighted. "All right, so long as they're none of mine meant for important missions I won't say a word."

He mimes crossing his heart, smirking all the while.

That smirk fades with her question, his countenance turning grim. Chu-e's death has been hard on him, the increase in his workload a heavy burden to bear on top of his grief. He refused to ask for leave. He must prove as ever that he's strong, capable, irreplaceable.

"Better, with the Tree behind us," he says, after taking a long drink of his water, "though in Hoenn I'm probably not going to be able to relax for long." At all, in fact. He was already stressing about the next project. "How about you?"

Alexandra Briarwood

Devil? Yes. It makes her smirk, pushing away from the counter to cross the small kitchen area towards the Eevee settled in the bed. The pokemon lifts its head, large eyes peering expectantly at her trainer.

“Well, it would be their fault for being so trusting,” she’s referring to the Gavin’s agents assigned to missions. Rocket is a cutthroat beast, you had to watch your back around here.

Kneeling down, she scratches the Eevee’s chin. She mews happily, leaning into it.

Lex’s head tilts, amber eyes glancing back towards Gavin. She nods in agreement, “Yeah that was . . .” it’s hard to describe what happened in the tree. Shape shifting, gaining pokemon powers, smashing giant Seviper heads . . . In a way, she missed being part ghost. It was a small taste of what it must feel like to be an avatar. Except, there was no deity looming over you, controlling you. She was beginning to see the appeal, but far from seeing it as acceptable.

Standing, she scoffs, brushing long red hair out of her face, “Yeah, this place is a shit show,” now there were weird space-time distortions flaring up throughout the region. It made her worry about their future.

Her response to Gavin is very lack luster, “I’m fine,” the stiffness in her posture, the sharpness of her tone, and reluctance to meet his gaze says otherwise. She’s not great at lying.

Cillian Quinn

"Their fault, my headache."

The failures of those beneath him reflected poorly on the underboss. It's why he tries to only tuck those deemed trustworthy beneath his wing, but it wouldn't be the first mistake he'd made. Walsh wasn't likely to torture him the way Silas had tortured Theo for his failings, but the imagery of shadows creeping along the submarine wall still sent a shiver down his spine.

His own concerns are shifted to the backburner as he catches her in a lie. No, she wasn't fine, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"Killian?" he guesses. "He told me what happened."

Vague, that he might cover for Killian Decker if Lex were unaware of his... situation. But with how close the two of them were, Gavin doubts her ignorance.

Alexandra Briarwood

Immediately, she knew she shouldn’t have lied. It was a gut response, an attempt to hide a weakness. Everyone on the planet and their mother knows he weakness. It’s always him.

Her head tilts slightly when Gavin admits to knowing. Of course, he did. Many know now, especially since the events inside the Tree of Life. Lex has no doubt Gavin was told personally prior to their trip through the tree. Lex doesn’t blame him. She’d probably go to someone like Gavin too. Hell, her first instinct was Lulu and she hated that bitch.

“Did he tell you it tried to kill me?”

Cillian Quinn

It shows immediately on his face: no, Killian Decker had not told him that.

He shakes his head to confirm it. "No. Are you...?"

It obviously hadn't succeeded in killing her, but something like that could put someone through a lot of trauma without snuffing a life. He had only to think of thin crystal claws snaking around his throat to know that.

"... all right?"

He rubs a hand idly at the base of his throat.

Alexandra Briarwood

It had grabbed her head – the entirety of it. It felt like nothing’s she’s ever experienced before. The pressure surrounding her was terrifying. Not to mention, it came from him, Killian. An alien thing snaking its way out of his own flesh. It’s the same skin that held her for years, the same man that asked her to spend the rest of their lives together. All of that was gone in an instant. He was no longer just Killian, he’s no longer hers.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” physically. Mentally, not so much. He’s gone, and that’s not fine.

Her left thumb rubs idly at where there use to be a ring. Instead, it lies hidden on a chain around her neck.

“What do you think it wants from him?”

Cillian Quinn

Had this been what Emma had feared, when Gavin's partnership with Lugia had ascended to that of avatar and vessel? Had she thought he might lose himself to the legend, as Killian was?

Gavin pushes the intrusive thought aside.

He doesn't miss the way she touches the empty space on her finger; he'd done the same, after breaking things off with Emma. A subconscious habit, and one he doesn't call out. Silently, he empathizes.

He shakes his head.

"I don't know. I don't think Killian does, either." At least, he hadn't seem to know when last they'd spoke. "Do you know why it attacked? Was there some sort of... I don't know, trigger?"

Alexandra Briarwood

A part of her hopes for an answer, anything Gavin can give her. Instead, the question still remains unanswered. Worst of all, Killian Decker doesn’t even seem to know what it wants. It’s disturbing, and rattles her to the core.

In response, her shoulders shrug, “I don’t know, it just . . . lunged,” after another moment of consideration, she continues, “It was right after it . . . happened,” Deoxys was likely terrified, but that doesn’t cross the thief’s mind. All she sees is a monster infecting Killian.

With a curious look, she hesitates before asking her next question. Is she getting too personal?

“How did Lugia change you? Did you ever understand it wants?”

Cillian Quinn

Lex hesitates on the question, and Gavin offers a similar pause before he decides to answer. It's easier to be honest with her than it had been with Killian Decker, because she'd been the victim of an avatar's dangers.

"She can tell me what she wants," he admits. "But she has changed me, yes."

In so many ways, and not all of them negative. Had there really been a time when he'd considered even legendary Pokémon to be tools for Rocket's whims?

"I have more empathy toward Pokémon than I did before." Funny, how having one talk back to you and tell you its whims and desires could change your perspective. "But more anger, as well. I suspect that has to do with her... condition." Shadow Pokémon were beings of pure rage and power, after all. The absorber had nullified some of the worst effects, but the anger remained. "It's harder to control my emotions if they're shared by Lugia. If something upsets her, it'll affect me as well. But Deoxys is alien. I can't imagine what it might want, with Killian or Hoenn or anything else."

Alexandra Briarwood