the library was nice. [break][break]

there aren't a lot of people, not a lot of distractions. it's usually so quiet and so empty, if only because students were in classes and the normal person was at work. thankfully for marisol, today was a rare day off, so she spent it filling her head with her own hobbies and knowledge. even when she isn't working, or studying, she was trying to figure something else out. [break][break]

today's topic is the lake trio, or rather, what could be found about them. since the events at the mirage island, and catching the sight of a little yellow pokemon, she's been intrigued, and the pokemon UXIE has since been sitting in her mind. what she's gathered from mythos was how it was the embodiment, or the start of, knowledge itself. and marisol, always researching and always looking, will reach for a pokemon. [break][break]

she's in a book which compiled sinnoh's mythos, although she could never find any scholarly articles; only thicker books with tid bits of pieces of information. it's starting to get frustrating, going through so many books with only a page's worth of scribbled notes. [break][break]

her focus is broken hearing the softer voice of a familiar man, making his way to her table as she slowly lowers the book. her thumbs are held between the pages to mark, an her head turns, slightly, to see a man smiling towards her. ah, it's him. [break][break]

"yes." her tone lowers to match the atmosphere "what brings you here?"

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉

He already knew who she was, of course, but hearing the confirmation in itself prompted a faintly broadening smile upon his lips. Hues of azure shifted towards the books upon the table she found herself out before he pulled a chair for himself, sitting down.[break][break]

Not that he intended to stay terribly long, of course; he simply figured that him standing for however long may or may not distract the people who likely came along for focus and privacy.[break][break]

”Not much,” he hummed lowly and softly amidst a gentle chuckle, shrugging all the while. ”Just needed to drop a couple books off for my kid, is all~.”[break][break]

He nodded her way, gesturing towards the texts.[break][break]

”And you? Really hope you’re not cramming more studying in…”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

studying? [break][break]

maybe she is, depending on how you look at it. although, marisol isn't someone who's often invested in mythology (she's under the assumption that if there really was a god, there was no way it would let things play out towards destruction - although she knows now that this region is godforsaken, but for what reason she doesn't understand). marisol narrows her eyes, fingertips brushing over the older pages of scripture repeated over, and over, for the sake of educating the general populace through mythos. [break][break]

"not studying." she confirms, although turns her gaze back tot he book "... i'm looking into the myths surrounding the sinnoh region." her eyes remain narrowed as her eyes focus on the text that's been translated countless times. three figures are seen around a triangle on this page, with her eyes first fixated on the one with a circular mane. [break][break]

"don't you also find it odd?" she asks, nail running over the page with a gentleness as to not leave a mark "that beasts from other regions' myths are appearing in hoenn? that they're coming in contact with humans? that they're only showing themselves now?" of course he has, he's part of the region's defence. there's no way he hasn't watched this region deteriorate with his own eyes. [break][break]

it'd be hopeless if he hasn't.

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉

”Uh huh. So…still studying~.”[break][break]

A soft, chuckling sigh of faux (maybe it hadn’t actually been faux) exasperation left his lips as the words accompanied them, all while hues of a gentle, curious azure lingered upon both her and the texts laid before her. In light of the response he’d received, however, his attention only seemed to further stay upon the aforementioned books within the other’s focus, and after an idling, absentminded hum, he strode forward a few steps before pulling a chair for himself.[break][break]

Better to do so, rather than looking like a solicitor, after all.[break][break]

”...I do find it odd, though,” he sighed, quirking a lip as he sat himself down. A faint crease of the brow surfaced as both furrowed gently, all while he leaned back and crossed his arms within a thoughtful manner. ”Moreso concerning, though. That kinda stuff just seems…weird. Dangerous. If you ask me, it shouldn’t be stuff we engage with…”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

He pulls a seat down next to her, which she doesn’t mind, but it’s a little difficult to ignore the looming shadow he casts with such a large body. Marisol tells herself that she isn’t tiny, in any sense, but when put besides this man? She feels like a rat next to a bear. He looks out of place, someone this brooding seating himself next to a student in the library, having a conversation about books… [break][break]

“And yet,” she starts, turning the page with more unown runes scripted desperately, in an attempt to recreate them, over and over “they’re finding their ways to humanity now, and are actively interacting with the world.” which is odd, when there’s been nearly no mention of them in the past. The events of cyberchase aren’t lost in her, and as she stares solemnly at the pages, her fingers lightly tap against the cover.[break][break]

“I heard something while in cyberspace.” she murmurs, with a colder bite to her gaze “That to save our Hoenn, another must be sacrificed.” that the confirmation of other dimensions do exist, and she wonders how well those other worlds fare. But still, listening to the league speak and preach to be saviors, “and now I’m wondering if it would be better if the meteor landed here.” [break][break]

A dark thought, for sure, but a flimsy resolve doesn’t take a lot to be shaken.

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉

Open mindedness had always been something he considered to be a strong suit of his.[break]
In reality, it was nothing short of the truth.[break][break]

Yet, in those moments, he couldn’t help but listen with an attentive—but more pressingly, almost grave—ear; a foil as far shotted away from his common demeanor as could be. As the winds and seas of erosion carved their ways through the very earth they called home, the former traces of lighthearted nature that so commonly graced his own visage had trickled away as he gave her words some acknowledgment.[break][break]

His brows hardened in tandem to a hardened gaze that eyed her, pensively.[break]
He hummed, inhaling deeply and slowly.[break][break]

”So,” he started off, ”you’re basically thinking they have more of a right to life than we do?”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

Does she? [break][break]

“No, I don’t.” there’s such confidence in her voice, so quick to deny it. When she thinks about it, her lips curl into a grimace, and her cold glare gets all the chillier. He may be on alert, and she’s in a position where she should be watching her words, and should be careful - but her words are fueled by her thoughts, the sapling of doubts, and the slightly twisted curiosity of a man’s shifted approach and air. [break][break]

So what does she think, when she looks at humanity with a frosted over lens devoid of what fondness she (rarely) has? Her fingers tapped along the cover of the book as it tilted up towards her, just slightly at an angle from the table. “I think our lives are all equal,” she speaks, though with a slightly flat tone, glazed over with thoughts from a time when she wasn’t herself.[break][break]

“So who dies makes no difference.”

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉

Her words met his ears, loud and clear.[break]
A silence followed within their midst.[break][break]

Before terribly long, however, he found himself inhaling deeply in thought whilst leaning back within the very seat he’d taken for himself, all while crossing his arms with a faint (and some would say uncharacteristic) furrow of the brows. The nature of his profession called for a sort of keen perception on the norm; one that, despite outward tendencies, had always remained intact while both on and off duty, alike.[break][break]

As such, he’d only needed a moment to gather the look upon her face, and even less to note the tone—the difference between normalcy and otherwise—within her tone.[break][break]

”...Sounds to me like you just don’t have anything worthwhile, then,” had been the first words, bluntly, to leave his lips. His eyes dwindled upon the surface before him within an idle manner; a simple, absentminded gesture that could have very well suggested little thought amidst his remarks.[break][break]

Yet, despite however long one would even try to read between the lines, they’d always be met with the same thing.[break]
Pure, blatant honesty— the type that carried confidence and utmost awareness.[break][break]

”It’s the first thought I have, at least,” he added not long after, raising a brow faintly while casting a subtle glance from the corner of his eye. ”Most people at least have some sort of bias if they got something important enough to them.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

Ah, he hits the nail on the head. [break][break]

Is she offended? No. If anything, she feels more relieved that he's figured it out (it makes it less of a hassle to explain herself, and takes away less time she has to spend trying to justify things). To say that she isn't attached, or doesn't have anything, isn't wrong. There's only one main difference between someone pensive due to their past, and someone pensive because of the present. [break][break]

"You can say that." she tilts her head from the book and papers, though only after briefly writing down another note in her binder. "You learn to detach yourself when you do medicine." and so isn't it ironic, when she blatantly admits her indifference? [break][break]

"But you have a family, don't you?" she asks, when she already knows the answer. Of course, he'll do anything for his family, even if it meant sacrificing himself for them - that's just the kind of person he is. "And you just.." she hums, formulating the words ".. have a tendency to care about everyone." [break][break]

And she doesn't understand, even when she's the same.

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉

”You learn to detach yourself in a lot of professions,” he corrected, a small smile of equal parts wryness and amusement, alike, tugging upon his lips in contrast to the expression he’d worn prior. His eyes remained upon her as hers only remained upon the papers before her. ”Just part of the world today, kid. …It’s fine if y’know how to rein yourself back in when it’s needed.”[break][break]

His gaze lingered upon her for a little while longer.[break]
He leaned back against his seat before long, sighing while slipping his hands into his pockets.[break][break]

”And I may have a family, yeah— but that’s only one of the major reasons what you’re saying is right~.”[break][break]

He tapped his fingers against his legs in thought, his lips relaxing from their prior tug once more.[break][break]

”...On that note, I wanna ask you something, kid.”

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

Ah, yes, you learn a lot of things from other professions. [break][break]

He's not wrong, and she can only imagine the shit he's seen during his time working. The scars she finds on him aren't for show - and she can swear that she'll see a new one each time he takes a trip down to the medical ward. He's willing to get hurt for others, even for people he won't know, or ever will know. That's just the kind of person he is, so selfless to a fault. It's worrying, if she has to admit. [break][break]

Her ears perk up, slightly, as her weight leans against the back rest of her seat. Her head tilts, and one arm crosses to gently rest her fingers against the crease of her elbow. [break][break]

"Yes? Go on?"

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉

”What exactly’s the point of living if you’ve got nothing to live for— no biases, no driving motivations, nothing?”[break][break]

A question so loaded, of course, yet so nonchalantly posed without missing a beat.[break][break]

While she, herself, seemed to shift and adjust in light and acknowledgment of an inquiry-to-be, he simply remained as he was: relaxed. Watchful. Waiting. Though hidden from the eyesight of any and all, the tapping of his fingers gradually trailed into a stop as he watched her eyes; watched her expression; watched her.

MARISOL SIMONE [break]
notes

☉

It is a loaded question, and she doesn't appreciate it. [break][break]

Her brows furrow, only slightly, as her weight shifts behind her. He's asking her about the meaning, or the reason to live, when there is no meaning nor any reason. If she's going to boil down to it, the answer's obvious, isn't it? "There is none." she's nonchalant, straight to the point, abrupt, maybe a little cold when her eyes glance to the side. [break][break]

Don't think too deeply on it, Marisol. If you do, you'll start to crumble, and crack, and the bit of you that screams for compassion will break through the cracks while you're trying to look for something to bury it for good. [break][break]

"But.." she continues, and the fissures begin to crack as the ordinarily cold gaze softens "People still struggle to survive, despite all that." and it's stupid, and ridiculous, when people like to think so big of themselves when they'll certainly, never, do anything that can impact the universe itself. Yet still, when she thinks about it, her gaze softens, and something flinches as the reality dawns. [break][break]

".. You live to find that meaning, and strive for it, then die." but when she thinks about it, there's a bit of exhaustion, and tiredness in her smile. "And people find happiness and meaning in their lives from the smallest things."

Calix Nikolau [break]

☉