[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]before her imprisonment at rocket hands, she feels more comfortable in the streets of sootopolis than she should.

it's that version of herself that meets the other side of their email chain in the dim, ambient lighting of a coffee shop. one of fake metal, plastic dressed up and painted to look as glinting as a sharp sword. she's porcelain, not ivory, not steel.

and in the soft glow of lights, lulu almost wears a halo.

the chime of a bell above the entry door signals her arrival. and she looks like a seedy person, cloaked in black and pale hair hidden away. only the discolored automaton at her back is familiar, a behemoth seen at the head scientist's side for years. even at the tree of life, months prior... it showed as a defender, a protector. currently, it's a guard against a possible trap.

"hello," she calls from the doorway before stepping over. lulu looks commanding in the center of the coffee shop, whether she wants to or not. it's impressive, really, how easily the woman controls the room. in a way, illeana is almost envious.

and finally, the hood falls to give way to a curtain of white.

"i believe you're expecting me?"

Lulu Flint

lulu did not return the greeting. the golurk alone was enough to confirm her suspicion. the hood fell back to reveal something she’d already mostly figured out.[break][break]

rocket’s head scientist not lived in hoenn long, really. prior to team rocket, she’d been in prison, and before that, her awareness of the world’s scientific community on a large scale had been practically nonexistent—not to mention, reyes probably hadn’t been out of school yet.[break][break]

for all of these reasons, lulu had not known what the league’s head professor looked like. until she’d looked up a picture the week before, and realized. [break][break]

and lo and fucking behold, there she was, from the tree. not an alien after all—or was she?[break][break]

as illeana approached, lulu’s elbow came to rest on the table, fingers coming up idly to her chin as she pondered how she’d proceed. did illeana recognize her? perhaps. a person wildly shooting two pistols into the air in a violent rage might have been memorable.[break][break]

when the white-haired tree thief arrived in front of the table, amber eyes passed between her automaton bodyguard and then back.[break][break]

”i don’t think i was expecting you, but now that i realize, at least i can be sure of your competence. and your gall.” did the league know she was here? were they outside? [break][break]

her expression was flat, and careful before she gestured to the chair in front of her. [break][break]

”please. sit.”

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she does, in a way, remember her.

the memory is off, skewed in the wrong light. there's pink swirls around it, hazy and off-putting. there's no mistaking the recognition, however. no... it dawns in dim light, echoes with gunshots.

the woman from the tree. nameless but powerful. and the pokemon with her in the memory is one from a distant nightmare, from her first weeks in this region. is it real? is she?

"is it gall or stupidity?" a wry grin worms its way onto her lips.

silence settles behind the gesture. and after a moment of lingering as a ghost, she shifts and settles. it creaks slightly beneath her as her legs cross and hands fold onto the table.

"truthfully, i didn't think someone of your caliber was on the other side of those emails." it's a compliment, perhaps. at least... she wants it to be. and in a silly attempt to diffuse tension, she tries to make a small joke. "i'm glad there's no guns this time."

it probably -- no, definitely -- falls a bit flat.

Lulu Flint

lulu stared, her brows a little pinched together. did head professor illeana reyes find herself stupid? was this insecurity? she sneered lightly, ”suppose it could be both, couldn’t it?”[break][break]

as the other scientist settled at the table, she watched with a sharp, analyzing gaze. her caliber? what did that mean? how much did this woman know?[break][break]

at ‘no guns’, lulu responded flatly, ”don’t get too comfortable.”[break][break]

she let a moment of silence pass, and then, settled on the first question of many.[break][break]

”so, tell me, professor: how much do you know about the tree?”[break][break]

it wasn’t necessarily related to the emails, but now that lulu knew who this reyes from genetics was, she would hardly waste the opportunity.

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]insecurity bleeds into each expression, action, syllable. she's small and fragile, still a young girl thrown into the deep end and left to learn how to swim.

it's a wonder she hasn't drowned yet. "it could."

for all her doubt, illeana reyes is certain the woman across from her is a force to be wary of. the caliber she references is one of a memory, of guns blazing and no holding back. it's as terrifying as it is inspiring.

she shifts awkwardly in her seat and stares.

"it doesn't belong here," she murmurs. a hand rises, waves through the air, and plucks an explanation seemingly from thin air. "i was here when the first one grew. i collected the sample of sap later used to create blue mulch."

it almost cost her everything. huh... a reoccurring theme, perhaps.

"of course, the tree was poisoned and it died as it collapsed." her arms cross over her chest and her chin rises slightly. "the new one feels similar to the previous tree but... different, maybe? it's hard to say." there's something off with the region as a whole, as if the first tree of life had been the beginning of something wrong.

Lulu Flint

the woman was some years younger, in a position of infinitely high pressure. she had power, but such a thing would do nothing without self-awareness. her soft spokenness was like the cottony down on her sheepish body.[break][break]this lamb was her rival, and lulu was a wolf. she would rip everything she could off the bones.[break][break]

blue mulch was familiar to rocket’s scientists, thanks to priam conrad ’s good work. there wasn’t a flinch of interest or surprise from her.[break][break]

”it feels different?” she gave the lightest snort. ”just… intuition, hm?”[break][break]

but illeana wasn’t wrong. there was a whole world inside, not that lulu was about to disclose that detail.[break][break]

”you may be on to something.”[break][break]

though there was still no effort of friendliness in her face, the resentment faded to a meager tinge.[break][break]

”what about your experience with the unown? you are the region’s top geneticist, and you seem to put faith in them. why?”

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]ah... how exactly does she describe it?

a look of consideration settles, eased into features by the churning of gears in a mind. being near the tree had felt similar to the first experience, sure, but getting closer is almost different in a way she doesn't understand.

she thinks of other dimensions, of wormholes and portals and distortions.

when she opens her mouth, certainty follows. she places faith in things she doesn't know, in the chaos of beginning, in the origin of it all.

"energetically, perhaps." her face is entirely serious despite the whimsical statement. "it's not the same tree, in my opinion. how it got here... well, i have a theory on that, as well, but i'm certain it's from a different place."

perhaps even sea hoenn...

the mention of unown isn't all that surprising considering their emails. she flashes a small smile at the mention of the blinking letters, of her reputation, and of placing faith in, quite literally, the unown.

"they hold power similar to what i'm looking for and i've seen success while using them." creation and pink cyclone-like energy comes to mind. she doesn't disclose the concept in the here and now, however. it's kept close, quiet, deadly. "on a smaller scale, they're curious little creatures with interesting power. they've become more prevalent in my personal research as of late. do you happen to use them as well?"

Lulu Flint

”hm.”[break][break]

lulu didn’t give any more on the topic of the tree, only nodding and taking a sip of her coffee. it was good to know the head professor shared her suspicions—whether she knew it, or not.[break][break]

”i’d be very interested to hear that theory.”[break][break]

and of the unown, what power was it that illeana reyes was looking for? was it to warp the meteor, or was it something else?[break][break]

”i have one, yes. do i use it? only rarely. they seem rather potentially dangerous.” and coming from rocket’s head scientist, it was saying something. ”how familiar are you with the unown report, professor?”

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]how confident is she in this theory lulu's interested about? well... perhaps very but there's little foundation to support it.

it's a feeling more than anything, something that's becoming too prevalent in her research. how scientific is she now?

"i could tell you if you'd like? i wouldn't be opposed to hearing your opinion on the matter."

two brains are better than one, after all.

her shoulders roll with a shrug, as if the dangerous aspect of unown is lost on her. she knows what they can do, what they've done... and yet, she continues to use them for her own selfish gains. does that make her dangerous, too? perhaps or maybe she's simply too far gone down the path to turn back now.

"i recently became aware of the unown report," she murmurs. her own entries, using FERNANDO SILPH's phone, are still fresh in the mind. nadir and cloud. how they connect? she has no idea. "do you happen to know how each word comes to be associated with the unown scanned? is it randomized?" the theory that somehow, some way... the unown carry each word in their dna remains close in her mind. she's prepared to offer it up if necessary, itching for another opinion, another clue.

Lulu Flint

”of course,” she nodded. however little she trusted the unown and the drk triad that seemed to be associated, she was eager to hear what the league’s top mind had to say about it.[break][break]

”i have no idea, to be honest. i’ve tried to keep my distance from the unown report. i don’t think it should be trusted.” and yet, the entries continued to stack up, sent by hoennians eager to add to the list with no promise of reward or safety from consequence. without any knowledge of its purpose.[break][break]

it was baffling.[break][break]

“please, go ahead with your theory, professor reyes.”

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]the floor is set for her to speak, to begin a theory founded in vague existence and brimming with hope.

it's a theory meant to understand, to unravel odd circumstances and piece them back together until it makes sense.

and it's this very theory that will lead her down a different path.

"i believe something transported the tree here," she murmurs. "i'm not quite sure what the tree has to do with everything happening in the region but i'm positive it's for a purpose."

but why would gods care about the lives of ants? why would they meddle in matters inconsequential to them?

"i only know of one thing capable of warping dimensions in such a grand way but... i can't ever seem to figure out the why."

and she hopes, deep down, lulu might.

"the unown are connected somehow." one leg crosses over the other and the look on her face is puzzling. "it's no coincidence unown show up in hoenn mere weeks after the tree is warped."

but why? how? where does it lead?

Lulu Flint

no coincidence? she recalled geomancy, and the portals created by the unown within the tree.[break][break]

”you’re right. it’s not.” but she wouldn’t share rocket’s story. at least, not yet, maybe.[break][break]

”the tree’s purpose is not a good one, i can assure you that.”[break][break]

and of the unown themselves, she had little hope for the benevolence of their appearance either.[break][break]

”they’re connected, or they’re being used by whoever is causing all of this region’s recent phenomena.”

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]hm. interesting...

she feels a little more comfortable in the theory, in the small string tether it creates between them. hostility doesn't quite linger anymore, as if two intelligent minds coming together repels the remaining tension.

"do you have an idea of the tree's purpose?" or, better yet, more experience with it?

she hums at the thought. are recent events truly just the work of the unown assassins? perhaps... but she's not convinced. there's something else going on, something otherworldly and more legendary than just one small group.

"what do you think is disrupting hoenn? causing dimensional travel or distortions to appear?" she's fishing. she knows this, understands it. and yet, she wants to find confirmation of her beliefs in the form of another's opinion.

softly, she adds, "is it a man or a god?"

Lulu Flint