[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]she's on edge.

whether it's due to her company or the amount of skin she has to show in 80 degree heat, it makes no difference. her skin crawls with sweat and irritation, paranoia skittering beneath the surface. behind her, a discolored automaton guards her scarred back. its presence looms over them both, menacing and grounding all at once.

"i suppose," she murmurs. it's noncommittal at best and annoyed at worst. fitting, given the ruins of their dynamic.

the seeds look familiar. identical to her own, even. this location is different than where she had gone to plant the first. and with a quick scan, she's ushering a question into the air between them.

"why do you assume this to be the best location? is the soil different here?"

Remiel Calcifet

The energy between them is almost palpable.

What was once comfort has clearly soured into something more volatile over the months they'd been apart. His own bitterness has settled into a dull ache in the back of his mind (or the pits of his heart, who could say?). But Remiel isn't exactly surprised to see Illeana dealing with those emotions differently.

And yes, he's quite aware of it. It drips out of every word and glance. Even her Deus seems to be manifesting it into being, his ghostly energy brimming throughout.

Regardless, the prince manages a careful chuckle. "Believe it or not, I followed my Appletun's nose. He seems to have a good sense for this sort of thing..." Shifting his calm hues of cobalt back onto her, he pauses to reconsider saying anything more before asking: "How about you? I'm sure you received seeds of your own. Have you planted them yet?"

The last they'd seen of each other was at the SPEED DATING event, after all.

GRACEDIA ASSESSMENT + illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]there's little comfort to be found from him, herself, or their surroundings. the distance she keeps herself at has grown into a wider range. spreading and spreading until she's certain she could be a stranger now.

and eventually, a ghost.

her relationship, or lack thereof, with remiel makes no difference anymore. it's settled into cracks and crevices to hide beneath the surface, making way for something else entirely. and yet, her body bleeds mild pink mist anyway, as if he's a threat to her as much as herself is.

she ignores the crawling sensation and steps forward to crouch into the soil. a hand reaches out and gently lifts dirt out of place, letting it slowly drop back down beneath gravity's alluring fingers.

"i planted one so far." her head turns slightly to regard him over a marred shoulder. "in petalburg woods. the soil seemed similar to this from what i can tell but..."

she rises and the automaton shifts toward her as if expecting her to crumble.

"i'm not an expert." he knows this as well as she does. and as she calms the automaton with a soft hand laying on clay, her head tilts with curiosity. "which begs the question of why you don't have someone else out here."

Remiel Calcifet

Nearby, Marigold pollinates a small bed of flowers with great flourish, spinning into the air and leaving an ephemeral whirlwind of amber in her wake. Remiel watches the pollen slowly descend before, seemingly, fading into nothingness. Then Illeana's voice draws him back.

He was right to assume she'd acquired her own, and her admission bode well. Though the statement that followed shifted his attention away from their purpose here and back towards the proverbial Copperajah in the room. Even outdoors, addressing such a thing made him feel as such: enclosed; stifled.

And that was exactly why he'd called out to her.

"... We said we'd endeavor to rebuild an amicable relationship... didn't we? I figured we'd start with some business that we both share." He adds in a mutter, reaching towards his belt to unclip a water thermos. He takes a sip as he gazes out at the valley afar.

Arceus, it's getting hotter...

Or was it just him?

GRACEDIA ASSESSMENT + illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]is an amicable end within reason? is it possible?

she shifts her weight from foot to foot beneath the uncomfortable line of thinking. her automaton rumbles softly at her side. and for a moment, she wants things to be different: better, less tense, easy.

features settle into an indifference she learned from him, morphed into her own sort of armor and left to grow.

"we did," she echoes softly.

they're different people now. it'd do well for her to remember that...

"let's plant some seeds, then."

she doesn't bother to wait for an answer. the decision has been made on her half alone and she's turning to settle into dirt without a second thought. the distraction of digging into dirt, planting a seed, and covering it up is a fragile lifeline at best. pink mist bleeds a little harder as the sun beats down against her back. revealed pores work overtime to ease discomfort. and yet, there's still that lingering sense of unease at the edges of her mind.

she glances over her shoulder regardless of this being a different place. an inaudible sigh follows.

Remiel Calcifet

Though he notes the shift in her demeanor, Remiel refrains from mentioning it, instead stepping forward to crouch down and join her. Reaching behind him, he unhooks a small pack from his belt before setting it down beside them and zipping it open. A small assortment of neatly organized garden tools and testing equipment awaits their use.

Before proceeding any further, however, the royal offers Illeana his water thermos. "Thirsty?" He asks, his calm gaze briefly glancing at the pink mist that drops from her shoulders like waterfall fog. Ever so briefly, it takes him back to memories of another time. Experiences that bordered on the magical, existing now in memory like fairy tales. Crouched right beside it, however, his body shudders with the affirmation of something familiar.

An assurance that, once upon a time, the fairy tale had been real. Though not exactly as they'd wanted it.

GRACEDIA ASSESSMENT + illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]hands tense and still at his proximity. and for a moment, she pretends her body doesn't want to recoil, doesn't want to crawl into the hole she's about to dig.

and for a little while, it's enough.

she expects silence while they work. what could he possibly want from her, anyway? she's of no use to him now. her luster is all gone, chipped away to reveal coal beneath shimmering gold. whatever value she had is gone, replaced by another body, another soul.

and he cuts through her thoughts with an offer.

the thermos extends into her personal space. she stifles a slight gasp and exhales slowly, pink mist escaping from parted lips in tangible wisps. her golurk rumbles low. a warning, she realizes. the automaton is even more protective following the second aqua assembly, it would seem.

"uh, yeah," she manages to force out in choppy syllables. her hand rises and slowly reaches for the thermos. "thank you." skin crawls at the exchange, as if it's an opening for something. and for a brief time, she despises it.

a sip or two later, she's placing the thermos in front of him and allowing her eyes to drop back to soil.

"let's get started, then." as if the quicker they're finished, the easier it is to run and never look back. foolish.

Remiel Calcifet

The fact that she's willing to share water with him is something. Though, admittedly, it only does little to ease the tension hanging in the air. He takes it back when she's done, however, clipping it back onto his belt before reaching into the small pack he's disassembled.

"I suppose we start by preparing the flower bed?" He asks, handing her a pair of gloves and a cultivator tool. It doubles as a hoe on the other end of its head, and he grabs his own after pulling out and placing on a pair of gloves for himself. "I'll work this end..."

And they get to work. Though it hadn't rained the night before. So, as much as he wished the soil was ready and willing to allow itself to be tilled, it would give them some resistance despite their tools. 

GRACEDIA ASSESSMENT + illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

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

[attr="class","illie i"]she hums acknowledgement.

prep the flowerbed, dig some holes, and bury the seeds. it's simple enough of a concept for her to grasp. she has Greyson Connors to thank for that, she supposes. his teachings make her movements less awkward and more practiced, precise.

"i got this end."

and for a few moments, they work side by side in silence. the tension lingers like shadows creeping in corners but... this is almost nice.

the automaton looms over her half of the flowerbed. an unwavering pillar of protection against threats, imaginary or otherwise. remiel doesn't specifically classify as a threat but their history is still the ruins of affection snuffed out. the golurk doesn't guard against him, per se, but his movements are still watched with a closer eye than most.

"almost done, i think."

Remiel Calcifet

For a moment, their company seems to ease into something... familiar, again. Though they work in silence, it becomes a comfortable silence despite the tension that still lingered at the edges. And, before too long, they finish their task.

"Looks splendid," Remiel remarks, straightening in posture and clapping his hands free of dirt. A short smile teases the corner of his mouth. "Thanks again, Illeana..."

FIN

GRACEDIA ASSESSMENT + illeana reyes

☉