[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she enters quietly, awkwardly, almost without a sound.

he's as impressive as always, buried in mountains of work and ushering everything into completion with an otherworldly quickness.

she observes him for a moment. tracing the lines of his face, the shadows that computer light paint across structure... as if she can find an essence of exhaustion where there is none.

"hi."

nice, good job.

she lingers halfway between the door and his station, fingers fiddling in front of her hips because she wouldn't know what to do with them otherwise.

"is this a bad time?"

not since he answered her text, surely, but she asks anyway to break silence. she can't quite say what she wants, let alone do whatever she pleases.

it results in an awkward presence and a hesitation she hasn't shown in months.

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]only a mere 24 hours after meeting her doppelganger once more, she wastes no time in seeking answers to questions she never wanted.

he cuts to the point and she sighs.

"at rustboro..."

she stares a little too long as if she can pinpoint where the change occurs on his face. she can't but she likes to think she knows him anyway to have a ghost of an idea.

"why couldn't you take that chance?"

why not cut the rot out at the beginning before it festers and spreads? why leave a monster unchecked?

and... why heal her afterward?

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]he continues typing and normally, it would go in one ear and out the other. today, however? the sound claws at her skin.

she takes quick steps over to him, a hand reaching to still his against a keyboard. it stills a moment later, hoverkng in his personal bubble but unwilling to touch him.

”allowing my doppelganger and i to fight.”

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she (mostly) ignores the scorn splashing across his face. her hand travels back to her side as if unbothered by the swatting motion.

and in a way, she's not surprised. it's to be expected, she supposes, given the apparent demise of their relationship.

"yes, we are."

she blinks, then, and confusion rises.

"assisting who?"

she doesn't believe the elite four could ever need her assistance but it's half of a nice thought, perhaps.

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"why stay in the safety of a bunker if i can help?"

she's not entirely useless. at least, in her eyes. the same cannot be said of the man in front of her.

besides, it's not like it's the warfronts all over again...

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"or you don't want me on the field for some reason."

it's the only logical answer for her, truthfully. she's a bright mind, an adept healer, and had been useful by his side in the war. did he simply forget or does he... not care?

"no, that wasn't it."

but what exactly does she want to say, anyway? what does she want out of this?

"you're still mad, aren't you?"

FERNANDO SILPH