NADIR

DAY 1 // THE FIRST VISITOR

“THEN YOU GO THROUGH PROPER PROCEDURE,” is what he seethes out instead of an elaborate response.

“you cannot risk the life of everyone in the region on a ‘chance’!”

whatever personal frustration they have, or had, becomes miniscule in comparison. this no longer becomes a game of manipulation and feelings. this is survival.

“what happens when you can’t find palkia? what happens when you run out of time? if you break our only hope then it’s over!”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
illeana reyes

NADIR

DAY 1 // THE FIRST VISITOR

“YOU. DON’T. GET. TO. MAKE. THAT. CALL.”

whatever points she brings up, no matter how valid, are only spun out of hindsight. it’s impossible for her to have made such an assumption and know how to back it up without having experienced it first. he can tell by the way she words it. in the order she reveals it.

“not alone. not on our behalf.”

which is why he doesn’t back down from his point. unless she actually has palkia in a pokeball on her hip, almost nothing can change that. and even then…

“and you know better! that type of selfishness is exactly started the ULTRA BEAST WAR!”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
illeana reyes

NADIR

DAY 1 // THE FIRST VISITOR

“THINK?”

he sounds absolutely astounded. as if she had just slapped him in the face right before playing victim.

“like how you thought about it before your ripped open a rift?! like how you thought it would lead you to a palkia just because?!”

the accusations come swift and coarse. like a river, he looks to erode her with the same faults she’s admitted to. for the more she reveals the greater the deluge.

“that type of recklessness is what started the fucking war!”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
illeana reyes

NADIR

DAY 1 // THE FIRST VISITOR

“BECAUSE YOU’RE FUCKING SLOPPY,” is his rebuttal.

there’s little fernando knows about the incident. too few details to parse together a full picture of what went down. all he knows is what illeana has told him. and from that, along with her own words, he points that against her.

“you don’t even know how they work! bah! palkia? we’re sending the meteor hoenn and you expect them to magically open up to somewhere else?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
illeana reyes

NADIR

DAY 1 // THE FIRST VISITOR

“WHAT WAS LEARNED FROM IT?!” his exasperation is exhausting. they’re going in circles. “all we have to go on is your word. words that have proven untrustworthy!”

“they were ready? by who’s account. because you said so? because you used the primal shard incorrectly?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
illeana reyes

NADIR

DAY 1 // THE FIRST VISITOR

“GOOD.”

the epitome of this whole interaction is that no one leaves satisfied. the division between them is palpable enough for it sourness to numb the inner linings of his mouth. such temper does not disperse so easily just because their conversation is done. but fernando puts a lid on it, allows it to simmer and boil within the ceramic textiles of his body and mind.

“do not let it happen again,” is his words of dismissal. when she leaves—he’s not quite aware when—the sound of her steps echo in the outside.

when he hears the hall grow quiet and faint, he slinks back into his bed. waits for a good while for her to be out of earshot. and even then, he waits, digesting the sudden turn of events.

there is anger, yes, but more unravels, strings coming undone in a great twine of words and accusations that can never be taken back. he feels frustration. desperate. disgust. not all aim at her—he too deserves some blame for this outcome—but she makes up the sponge that will absorb his resentments.

“tch.”

a tantrum wrings the bedsheets into clumps and knots. tight fists pound against loose bedding, pain shooting up ever fiber of his broken bones. he continues despite it all because the pain keeps him in line. allows him to vent in a privacy he seldom has.

fucking bitch, is the most prevalent thought that surfaces in a cloud of curses and insults.

but fernando’s rage never lasts too long. hoenn cannot depend on someone who allows their emotions to dictate their actions or disposition. he bottles it like fresh wine, intent on letting it age until it becomes vintage. a reclusive memory.

he sits there for a good while.

emotions drain from his place. his color fades until his ghastly paleness reflects the see-through gleam of the iv by his bedside.

“alexander was my best friend,” he recites with sudden gusto. almost a perfect mimicry of what he told illeana. the reprisal is surprising considering what many consider from fernando. world class actor hardly makes the top of the list but a life of being a ‘yes man’ to his parents and faking good graces with others has honed him well.

“because you don’t love me. not the way i love you.”

he pantomimes the actions as well. repeats it just to make sure he has it down.

“i love you illeana.”

“i love you illeana.”

“i love you illeana.”

his pitch and voice changes a little each time. he knows what he said. and he knows how to make it believable. doubt trickles in but fernando remains confident.

she’s not smart enough to know better. that’s the illeana reyes that he knows.

a few more moments pass. fernando spends it in silence. calm. compose. no different from usual.

eventually he struggles for his phone.

“glass. this is silph.”

the acting president of silph co. can be heard mumbling something from the speaker of his device.

“yes. reyes has been compromised.”

he listens for a moment.

“no. not removal. she fell for a phishing scam,” is the code word they use. “yes. retain access but lockdown permissions. just the essentials.”

it doesn’t take more than a moment for the call to come to a close.

“tch.”

and fernando is left to ponder how to make up for the unexpected removal of a long time game piece.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
illeana reyes