[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]even with his abrupt departure from their department, she still brightens at the sight of her former assistant. her work is placed on pause, her head rising immediately at the sound of the knock.

"long time no see!"

and in true james fashion... he brings food. god, what a guy.

she waves him in with a free hand, smile wide.

"trying to get back into our good graces, hm?"

it's teasing. he'll always be in the good category in her book. the food is merely a plus.

JAMES BAKER

"back in? i thought i never left."[break][break]

though he teases back, he knows his departure caused a small albeit temporary rift between them. or maybe it's just all in his head.[break][break]

from the tote bag on his shoulder, he pulls out a container and places it down next to her.[break][break]

"did you remember to eat today?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she hums in tones of false deliberation.

"mmmmm debateable."

the smile she wears manages to give her away.

he places a box beside her and she's reaching a moment later, curious what goodies he's brought for food today. whatever it is, it smells incredible.

"do i ever remember to eat?"

between research, experiments, and meetings... who has the time?

speaking of, she turns a curious eye to him.

"enough about me, though! what can i do for you today, james?"

JAMES BAKER

it's onigiri! which is also what his manectric is called, however this one contains salmon while his manectric has nothing but energy.[break][break]

"good point."[break][break]

he chuckles, then reaches into the bag to pull out a canister of tea.[break][break]

"i'm guessing you forgot to drink, too."[break][break]

down to business. the newly employed aeos scientist pulls out his notebook and opens it to the appropriate page. he glances down at his notes briefly before looking back at her.[break][break]

"i wanted to consult with you on two topics, really. to use for our research over at aeos."[break][break]

he pauses briefly as if to consider.[break][break]

"are you, um, comfortable talking about tapu lele?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]a laugh escapes.

"just coffee... the usual, i suppose."

neither her nor Eva Morales get much sleep these days. coffee seems like their only solace in crazy, world-ending times.

"two topics?"

her head tilts and for a moment, she expects something like genetics or dimensional work... or, well, something relating to her recent endeavors.

tapu lele, however, is an unexpected mention. it causes a look of surprise to rise quickly.

and after a soft silence, she nods.

"yes, i am."

it's no longer a sore topic, at least. for that... she supposes she's grateful.

"what would you like to know?"

JAMES BAKER

"um, quite a lot, actually."[break][break]

because despite all their work and study into avatars, there is still so much they don't know.[break][break]

james closes his notebook, then pulls out his phone before opening the voice recorder app.[break][break]

"i hope you don't mind, professor. just so i don't have to take notes and so we can have an actual conversation."[break][break]

he offers her a smile, warm and gentle as ever.[break][break]

"could you tell me what it felt like to be chosen? how did you know you were chosen?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she waves for him to proceed once the tape recorder comes out. and he does, diving right into the thick of it.

perhaps she's grateful, in a way, that he doesn't dance around the topic. most do.

"like being on top of the world."

it's honest, open, genuine.

and despite herself, she still longs to know that feeling again, to embrace it once more.

"being tapu lele's avatar had felt like... having something that will never leave because it's a part of you. part of the soul, perhaps."

she lets out an amused laugh at the thought because, in the end, she had been wrong. tapu lele had still left... as is tradition.

"it had been chance, really."

her eyes shift into a faraway state, as if recalling a memory and pulling it out of the skull for him to observe.

"there was this creature in a field of flowers. it looked like a husk, really, but something about it called for sympathy and action. i -- there was a decision to be made to heal it and i sacrificed what i could to ensure its survival. i think tapu lele enjoyed the lengths i wanted to go to save it and it didn't really speak to me but... i knew it selected me."

by now, she's picking at her cuticles until they begin to look a little raw.

"it was more a sensation than anything, i suppose... a shared understanding, maybe?"

JAMES BAKER

james is attentive when she speaks, listening to her story with genuine curiosity and interest. it's easy for him to sympathize with her as they're already familiar with each other. friends, even. but he imagines even a stranger would be able to.[break][break]

"right, a shared understanding."[break][break]

he continues.[break][break]

"do you think it was in the field of flowers on purpose? like it was a test to see who would try and save it?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"yes."

there's a sense of certainty in the single syllable.

tapu lele never did anything without purpose. unfortunately, the purpose always seemed to be... innocently vile.

"it wanted to see the lengths people would go."

her smile is fond, as if recalling a former friend still held dear despite the unstoppable force of time.

"i seemed to be the only one willing to sacrifice my pokemon for it. perhaps it had not been a terrible choice to make."

healing wish had been a last resort but it had been a choice she made willingly. perhaps... such is her fate: blind sacrifice no matter the cost.

she never has been able to shake such a habit.

JAMES BAKER

"interesting."[break][break]

a few thoughts come to mind. he does his best to string them together.[break][break]

"why do you think it did that? i mean, it sounds like anything tapu lele does has a purpose. it was at the field of flowers to choose someone. do you know why it decided to choose someone in the first place? why any of the tapus did?"

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she flashes a small, barely there smile.

"it does."

tapu lele, like most legendaries, is purposeful in what it does. that much she knows, understands, admires.

"i think when a legendary selects a person to bestow power onto, they're not picking just because they're bored or they're invested in humans."

not in the way one would hope, anyway. she continues with this thought regardless of if it doesn't make much sense.

"some legendaries, for example, select their avatar based on which side they represent in hoenn's current political atmosphere. the tapus in league custody are aligned with the beliefs our government displays. others, however, are not."

but... tapu lele defies this concept.

"tapu lele, however, is a bit of an odd piece on the board. it's not necessarily tied to one thing. in my opinion, tapu lele selects its avatars on a whim of who amuses it most at that point in time."

superficial, sure, but perhaps more fitting than the remaining tapus.

JAMES BAKER

"if that's true and legendaries do select their avatars based on the political side they are on, then why have the legendaries in league custody not selected new ones yet?"[break][break]

he asks a question not with the intention to argue but with the desire to learn more.[break][break]

"to my knowledge, the league has tapu koko, tapu bulu, diancie, heatran, and mew. i don't mean to sound abrupt, but what are they waiting for? with the possibility of the world ending in the very near future, should they not bestow their powers now?"[break][break]

an observation follows.[break][break]

"i believe legendaries may select based on their own agendas which i believe may not always align with our politics. tapu lele, for example, is proof of this."[break][break]

he would have to prod FERNANDO SILPH for his thoughts on this later as well.

[attr="class","ooc"]illeana reyes[break]

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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"the current legendary pokemon in league custody are a curious bunch, really. the tapus, in particular, have a strict criteria for their avatars. tapu koko and tapu bulu have shown to be heavily league aligned and favor the curious and the vigorous. from what i understand, they have not found someone who captures their eyes yet."

in the case of mew... well, she's not so certain it would ever select an avatar.

"while mew is a shared company between Eva Morales and myself, it has not shown any signs of wanting to bestow avatarship onto anyone. there are such legendaries where they never place their pieces on the board in the form of an avatar."

diancie is outside of her realm of expertise, truthfully, as she has had little interaction with it. she does, however, know from lucas lane's old personnel file that it had once been his. she keeps the information to herself, tucked away and not ever shown the light of day.

"while the state of hoenn would be cause for more legendary pokemon to bestow avatarship, sometimes it just doesn't happen. whether it's a matter of refusing to bond with a human or simply a lack of concern for the state of affairs, we're not certain. those who have previously had avatars are, i suppose, waiting for the right match. they would rather hold out than make the wrong decision."

JAMES BAKER