gabriel waits inside, seated at his desk. even seated as he was he was a mountain of a man, his outline framed by the backdrop of a massive city beyond. he looked every bit the king of these people, one-armed or otherwise. his gaze lifts slowly as PENELOPE LIVY enters the room.
[break][break]
"ms. livy. a pleasure. please, sit." he doesn't move to stand or offer any other pleasantries, but heels tap the polished grey hardwood behind the reporter, leading towards a far off bar before wandering back out the door and closing it behind them.
[break][break]
"you have good news, i suspect."
[break][break]
it wasn't a question.

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

Good thing she had an answer.
[break][break]
"I finished the article."
[break][break]
The bare minimum for this meeting, she had assumed, but it was a victory nonetheless. Something to sweeten the blow. Taking her seat in front of his desk, the woman instantly fell into her habitual posture; crossed legs, elbow propped on the right armrest, body weight unevenly proportioned to the right.
[break][break]
"Let me know what you think."
[break][break]
Leaning forward, she placed the laminated stack of paper on the desk, sliding it forward with the light push of her index finger. There, printed in times 12 new roman ink, was the article describing the events that had unfolded when Eva Morales was originally attacked by the masked rocket (bryan delarosa), as well as something new. Something the councilman wouldn't have expected to see -- not unless he was psychic.
[break][break]
It mentioned the reporter's conversation with Xerneas.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] GABRIEL BLACK[break]


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

it didn't take decades of experience in business and people reading to know penelope had something up her sleeve. but, it certainly helps.
[break][break]
this was something that could've easily been dropped off on the desk outside, or better yet emailed. the game was clear, the motives were not. so, as fitting for a councilman, he lets her stew for a minute or two as he finishes his work. finally, setting down the pen, he reaches for the paper.
[break][break]
silence stretches as gabriel engulfs himself in the reporter's work. PENELOPE LIVY can, if she's perceptive enough (and likely she's waiting for the moment itself), notice his eyes narrow and nostrils flare. no doubt he'd come upon the extra information. finally he speaks, releasing a deep breath.
[break][break]
"i see you've been busy."

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

The councilman's intuition was right; there was a game to be played.
[break][break]
"It's hard not to be," She chuckled, lips quirking into a satisfied smile, "With things the way they are, there's always something worth investing some time into."
[break][break]
A pawn moved forward, a secondary action to his own. Now it was his turn again, and she wondered: what would his next move be?
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] GABRIEL BLACK [break]


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

the chair groans beneath his shifting weight, gabriel pushing himself to a fully upright position. fingers thrum an even tune against the leather of his armrest, gaze pointed but placid. the space between them widens into a chasm beneath his silence.
[break][break]
contemplation makes way for action. he speaks, voice low and gravely, a trace of exhaustion bleeding in from a full days work.
[break][break]
"you've left things out of your report." an accusation. a statement. there's no hostility, no anger. his voice is an even tempo.
[break][break]

"explain."

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

So that's how it is.
[break][break]

The squeal of leather slipped from under her weight as she straightened herself up against the chair's back, hands folding together at her lap. Tension thickened the air between them, cold and heavy, that even a single match could set things awry. But the reporter was used to this -- used to the pressure that came from dancing toe-to-toe against a politician, a councilman.
[break][break]

"I can't publish a dissertation, councilman. Some things had to be cut." Another smile, laced with sickly sweetness and political fortitude. "Anyways, I had to make room for some recent development."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] GABRIEL BLACK [break]


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

gabriel's gaze is wilting as it presses upon the reporter, but, it does not last long. pointed, and heavy as it normally was, he settles into something more casual.[break][break]

"let's dispense with these games," gabriel says evenly, leaning to rest his head into the flat of his fist.
[Break][break]
motion stirs, followed my a small whistling yawn, as a massive pyroar steps out from being gabriel's desk. the flames of its mane licked lazily at the air around it, and was a mix of colors unlike what its species usually displayed.
[Break][break]
listless, it stares lazily at penelope.
[Break][break]
"speak."

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

How boring.
[break][break]
Penelope's gaze hovered over the impassive pyroar. Its maw - widened by a yawn - earned a moment of her attention.
[break][break]
"Alright then." Her eyes flicked back over to the councilman, dulled by the course of their conversation. "As you can see," She gestured towards the laminated stack of papers with the wave of her hand, "there's been a development in the case."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] GABRIEL BLACK [break]


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

her words do her no credit. when he tasked her with finding this masked figure (bryan delarosa), it was simply an information gathering exercise. to know that she had not only spoken to him, but the creature to which he is bound?
[break][break]
it was certainly interesting.
[break][break]
"quite a development. it's not everyday someone speaks to a God and they speak right back."

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

"I was surprised, too," She laughed. The end of it held a tinge of bitterness, though. "And disheartened."
[break][break]

Penelope was never religious. How could she be with Gods willingly bonding with known criminals for, what she would consider, hypocritical reasons? They didn't deserve her time, much less her faith.
[break][break]

Sighing, she pulled back a strain of hair behind her ear. "What do you make of his reasoning?"
[break][break]

It would've been clearly stated within the document.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] GABRIEL BLACK[break]


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

gabriel didn't feel the same as she did. perhaps it was the wisdom of experience, or the fact he looked at every situation from the worst outcome possible. regardless, this was along the lines of expectations, even if it had come sooner than he anticipated.
[break][break]
"it lacks substance, but, when you hold the power over life — it doesn't need to." he reads the section again, then once more, committing it to memory. "it's allegiances are already accounted for, regardless." his heavy gaze look up from the draft and back towards penelope.
[break][break]
"what of this 'wolf' figure?"

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

A sigh wrestled out her lips. Penelope wasn't as satisfied with this grim reality they found themselves settled in. Striving for a better future, hope, the good of both humanity and Pokémon -- those were what kept her running forward. To witness such a blatant defiance against this outlook on life, it hurt more than she would've liked to admit.
[break][break]
"I don't have much more information than before," the sentence burned the back of her throat. For someone praised for her ability of retrieving intel, this was a sore topic to discuss. "Though, something tells me he wouldn't be hard to lock down, especially given his reckless tendencies."
[break][break]
She took a brief pause before moving to amend her assessment. "With another avatar, I mean. I suspect his newfound powers will have him feeling invincible. But, with another avatar adding to the mix, it wouldn't take long to lure him out and apprehend him."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] GABRIEL BLACK[break]


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

he's silent, soaking the information in like a sponge. he'd at first been ready to suggest throwing MATIAS SILPH at the masked figure (bryan delarosa), but his allegiance to the titan of earth was still a mystery.
[break][break]
perhaps he'd speak to him on the side.
[break][break]
"we need to find out what it is he's looking for," gabriel adds finally, eyes narrowing slightly in both irritation, and concentration. mindlessly he rolls the pad of his thumb across the length of all four of his other fingers.
[break][break]
"i do not want to put an avatar's attention to this just yet. this mutt does not deserve one of the league's best."

[attr="class","notes"]PENELOPE LIVY[break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉