A dissonance of flowers- some picked with a well intentioned background to their meaning, and some picked simply on wonton by tiny hands clasping for whatever looked the prettiest- were carried in a recently dated newspaper by Kim, as he walks into the hospital room.

Closing the door behind him, Kim offers a smile, holding back the urge to burst out laughing at the first thing this mother fucker saying to him being “good to see you.”

Like how can he not comment on that? How can Kim Cole-Essam, the king of comedic timing, not comment on that? It’s near impossible. But, with as much willpower as he can conjure up, he holds back.

With a cool head, he lets out a sigh, setting the bouquet down on the nearest uninhibited surface.

“Nice to see you too, Ferny.”

After taking a moment to look around the little room, Kim begins to manifest his bit.

“Alright so here's the thing, I was gonna hire an exorcist to try and get your demons out of you so that you can heal faster, but I did some research into them and it turns out that they just say they’re exorcising but the shit they do is actually mad fucked up, like borderline torture methods, and so I figure maybe that’s not the best thing for you right now. So…”

As he pauses, Hoopa hoops in with a briefcase in hand, offering it over as a knight would his sword. After the brief intermission, the Hoopa proceeds to rummage through the fridge, stealing any snacks or unwanted food it can as Kim did his thing.

Upon opening the case Kim presented a variety of tools to the man: holy water in a spray bottle, a wooden stake, a flask of wine, a flat stone with the word “mew” carved into it, and a bluk berry.

“...I figured that I would just do it myself in a more humane way.”

Setting the briefcase down nearby the flowers, Kim pulls out the spray bottle and the flask of wine.

“Which do you think will work better, holy water or a little bit of Arceus’ blood?”

He asks, with a smile.

FERNANDO SILPH

REINSTATE

DAY 3 // VOLUNTARY OR FORCED

THE FACT FERNANDO SOMEHOW resists frowning by the time kim mentions exorcists tells a good measure about their friendship. or, it shows how desperate he is about spinning a narrative that doing anything more than breathing is impossible for him. the truth lies somewhere in the middle, muddled in the dull manila walls that bind their conversation together.

“the fact that you’re married still astounds me,” he slips in while kim undoes his briefcase.

he looks to the flask and narrows his eyes. he can’t risk drinking. that’s what he tells himself every time he hears the machine beep behind them.

“but i suppose if anyone can appreciate your creativity, it would be essam.”

not quite but sometimes lip service does a companion well.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
kim cole-essam

Twisting the lid off the flask, Kim takes a swig from it before setting it onto Fernando’s bedside table.

“It’s because I’m so slick and clean. If I was some old fuddy duddy with no sauce or rizz, I bet I would be-”

He cuts himself off before gesturing to Fernando as a whole, waving a hand over him.

“-Yea.” A smile lingers on his lips, playfully prodding at Fernando in his current state.

Crossing the room, he made his way over to the seating, splaying out onto the futon with one leg crossing over the other.

“So… how’re you feelin’ about your new… situation?”

Try as he might to keep things on the lighter side, Kim can’t help but feel a twinge of- let's call it empathy- at the Silph’s current state. It was disheartened to see someone who once would hold himself up as high as a tower now crumpled and deflated- chewed up and spit out by the uncaring forces against him.

FERNANDO SILPH

REINSTATE

DAY 3 // VOLUNTARY OR FORCED

“HMPH.”

an uncharacteristic smile lies at the end of kim’s punchline. it’s razor thin, a smidge so small that even Eva Morales’s microscope would have a hard time telling that it exists, if at all. but no matter how abash it may be, the fact remains: kim cole-essam can charm anyone.

even if fernando has to serve as both audience and victim.

“nnghh.”

a groan croaks when kim touches him. a mindful reminder that his body remain frail after recent events.

“everything hurts,” is his simplified observation. “but it probably extended my natural life span by ten years, give or take.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
kim cole-essam

his face contorts into a confused smile, a non-verbal “huh?” given with his expression alone.

“huh?” he echoes after the muscles in his face relax.

“oh my god, you and stormy really are related. both of you are so masochistic it literally charges your battery when you go through assault and battery.”

an open palm awaits as hoopa brings kim an overripe banana, the mythic popping the top on a fruit gelatin cup before holding the snack over its open mouth, waiting for the solid to fall onto its tongue.

meanwhile, kim slowly peels the banana, speaking to fernando as he does.

“but on the real, what do you mean by that?”

FERNANDO SILPH

REINSTATE

DAY 3 // VOLUNTARY OR FORCED

WELL, kim creates a new discovery every day. apparently some jokes can go a bit too far. the bit about stormy stings just as hard and fernando reclines under the impression that it’s his body that forces him to wheeze.

“it means i won’t die from PRIMAL INTOXICATION,” he spits out a bit too quickly.

“i am no longer an avatar. team rocket has a way of nullifying it.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
kim cole-essam

the revelations forces him silent, kim’s mouth drawing a thin line as amber eyes lock onto fernando’s own before drawing in on the hoopa at his side. the mystic gave him a glace back before the pudding safely landed on its tongue.

“so does this mean that tapu fini is in rockets hands?”

he leans forward arms resting on his knees.

FERNANDO SILPH

REINSTATE

DAY 3 // VOLUNTARY OR FORCED

“PERHAPS.”

fernando allows a beat to pass before relaying the uncomfortable truth.

“but i have been unable to sense it. nor has it surfaced since then.”

he seems unfazed despite their bond. but, then again, tapu fini is not the first he’s lost. many have left them since they entered hoenn. friends. colleagues. allies. lovers.

champions.

“as far as i know, it was killed in the line of duty.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
kim cole-essam

as silence once again sets within the room, a telepathic message is shared between himself and the hoopa, sending it away before kim bit into the nanab and leaned back, contemplating; his free hand clipping the bridge of his nose with his index and thumb.

“i only hope it’s dead.” he admits in a nasally tone before looking back down to the silph.

“knowing the dubious shit you can do with that thing without even trying boggles the mind with possibilities when it’s in the hands of someone who’s more destructive and uncomposed as you.”

fingers soon idle to his temple, elbow leaning into the armrest.

“two questions: do you have a contingency plan in case it does pop up in the wrong hands? and in between the torture and eye gouging did you overhear anything that could be used to our advantage?”

while it might be a step too far into the realm of possibilities, kim assumes the best of fernando; knowing that even when straits may seem dire his eyes always look forward.

FERNANDO SILPH

REINSTATE

DAY 3 // VOLUNTARY OR FORCED

“IT’S A TENACIOUS ONE,” is the only glimmer of confidence he still has.

the bed squishes underneath his movements. he’d wrinkle his nose if he could, contemplating the situation.

“unfortunately, all of its abilities stem from itself. the most i can—could do on my own is summon MISTY TERRAIN. well, for whatever it’s worth.”

fernando doesn’t have a quick reply for kim’s more thought provoking question. he sits on it for a good moment before revealing the best course of action.

“tapu fini’s weakness is its personality. it isn’t sneaky or agile. nor is it impenetrable. brute force will be enough to defeat it.”

he pauses.

“should it come to that.”

an exhale demures his failure.

“unfortunately, i don’t have many details. a pokemon helped me escape and destroyed some of their machines but i have no idea what they were.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
kim cole-essam

nodding, he takes a final bite of his nanab, holding it by the stem.

“my knowledge on its nature and personally is lacking when it comes to the bond you two had, so i’m forced to assume what you stated is fact.”

he huffs lightly.

“i’ll keep an eye out for any remnants of it. if it isn’t dead i hope it’s hiding itself away and that no one stumbles on it.” before he does at the very least.

“how’d you even end up in their hands in the first place?”

a slew of guesses rise to the front of his mind, once pushed away as if inquiring in the going ons of the council was now an afterthought to his own self appointed duties. but when kim sees a friend in the sort of state that fernando is in, those afterthoughts are tossed aside; as if previous rulings were no longer present.

FERNANDO SILPH

REINSTATE

DAY 3 // VOLUNTARY OR FORCED

“THEY CAUGHT ME IN SLATEPORT,” he reveals. it’s a retelling he’s told before and will have to many times over once he’s released. the fact he doesn’t have to lie about it makes keeping his story consistent easy. he’s already committed to what needs to be revealed and what secrets must remain under wraps.

“team rocket has a strike team. avatars too.”

the battle is vivid in his memories but his perception is skewered from what little he saw. what may be obvious to the attackers is a slanted view of what he could surmise from behind the store shelves. a head ducked under cover sees little as he musters his pokemon to attack whatever comes into sight.

“four of them, presumably. they came hard and fast, so i couldn’t derive much. but i’m sure there’s a shapeshifter, one with super strength, and a projectile based user.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
kim cole-essam

one leg crosses over the other shin, kim reclining in his seat as he listened to fernando’s retelling, taking what he says as fact and refusing to push any further into what information he had given, it was enough as is. what is presented is what he will muse upon, and as soon as slateport is mentioned, he has his marker.

“gotcha.” he states as his eyes wander for a moment, lost in though for seconds before returning to his target. “i’ll set up eyes around slateport and see if i can draw out any information. with the upturn of crime lately weeding out the wheat from the barley is gonna be difficult so expect little on the rebound. that being said, i don’t plan to set myself in the spotlight if they have pumped up avatars that can stomp us out like dewinged cutiefly. putting it simply i’ll continue to do what i can.” he gives as a final statement.

a hand dismissively waves before him, a smile forming on his face as the haze of the previous conversation diminished in the turbulence of his gesture.

“when’s the last time you had a proper break fern?”

FERNANDO SILPH