[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]why are they here?

she glances around for a moment, as if she’s not quite sure herself. and in a way, she isn’t. post mt pyre has been a daze of barely there thoughts, lofty daydreams of a pink angel, and searing pain.

it’s still a wonder how she’s managed to get out of bed today.

a golurk helps her navigate through the cave at melody’s side, one clay arm firmly keeping her on her feet with each step.

”there’s a mural i wanted to look into.”

it’s said to depict the past — or possibly future — of hoenn. it’s an idle sort of investigation but perhaps there’s something in the mural that can give her answers, ideas, anything.

”how’re you holding up, by the way?”

Melody Miro

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she lets out a stuttering sort of laugh, as if it’s struggling out of the body. the sound irritates her slowly mending rib but most things do after mt pyre.

”yes, i am.”

it’s partly her job and mostly an incessant concern for those around her. she has been allowed to retain her healing power for a reason and perhaps it’s simply due to this.

”have your wounds mostly healed? i can use my mist again if not.”

melody catches her attention like a fish on a hook, however, and she’s turning her head to raise an eyebrow at the elite four member.

questions? curiosity? there’s nothing she enjoys more…

”anything i can help answer?”

some things are left unknown on purpose but she’s confident between the two of them, they could at least scrape together a better understanding.

Melody Miro

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she flashes a warm smile, shooing away the notion of saving her strength with a simple wave of the hand.

a moment later, faint pink mist begins to seep around their feet until it curls into the air all around. the limiting five foot radius strains but never gives way.

”you don’t have to pay me back, you know. i like to help my friends whenever i can.”

her smile warms like chocolate over a fire.

the question draws memories from the brain, pulling them out like little wisps and putting them on display. she hums softly before answering.

”yes when the rift opened, right?”

her head tilts with curiosity.

”were they all separate souls? didn’t they form a V before dispersing?”

or did she imagine that tidbit?

Melody Miro

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]they're absolutely friends at this point. she'd even go out on a limb and say she's protective of the elite four member following the admission of the cure for her neurotoxin.

it shows in the way she tries to stay close and keep her eyes focused on melody.

"what'd you feel?"

she's curious in a way that tries to not be too prying. truthfully, she didn't feel anything regarding the spirits coming from the rift. they hadn't been included in the narrowminded focus of the head scientist. no... she was too distracted by palkia's presence.

a genuine look of relief rises at the moment of her relicanth.

"really? is it in any more pain from the primal crystals? or... are they gone now?"

her smile becomes wider, brighter, as if the sun is fully rising over the horizon.

"you don't sound crazy to me."

truthfully, she understands the concept though. lord knows half of the league considers her unstable and crazy after her obsessive palkia hunt.

"are you going to look into the V wisps more?"

it's half hopeful, as if she wants to lend as much assistance toward the endeavor as she could. and really, she would like nothing more than to help melody.

Melody Miro

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]her expression exists somewhere between patient and attentive, eyes focused and kept within melody’s gravitational pull.

and while she hadn’t known about the reason behind the woman’s departure from music, there’s a sense of understanding bred from time spent running tests in a lab and the immediate discussion with one dahlia goode that had followed.

somehow, she feels slightly guilty despite it all.

”i see.”

finally, she breaks silence and murmurs out a quiet confirmation. it’s beginning to make more sense now, perhaps.

”it sounds like after everything you’re endured, your passion for music got lost along the way.”

she understands, in a way, how horrid it is to feel your passions slipping out from between your fingers. she wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy, let alone her friend.

her eyes soften, then, and there’s a gentleness to the way she approaches the subject of helping her reignite her passions. she is gentle even as she shifts into a crouch to inspect melody’s relicanth a little closer. from what she can tell, the rock fish is perfectly healthy with strong vital signs. it almost seems over the moon with the shiny stickers on its face too, which she flashes an affectionate smile at.

”i’d be more than happy to help however i can, melody.”

whatever she needed, illeana would do her best to provide.

”is there any place you’d like to start in particular? i can look into the lore tomes i have back home and see what i can dig up about wisps if you’d like!”

Melody Miro

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]her expression exists in a realm of thinking. as if gears are churning in the mind to produce some semblance of a theory.

"if that's the case..."

is it possible?

"it could mean legendary or mythical souls are also trapped in mt pyre."

there's no way to know... not without repeated trips to mt pyre in search of those lost.

and even then, the probability of proving such as fact is slim.

"i can look into any myths that might relate to mt pyre or deceased legendaries if you'd like?"

Melody Miro

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she grows quiet.

understanding rises first. the information learned in an aqua assembly and previously in lab results is not lost on illeana.

and yet, she feels a gentle sort of debt to the elite four member. it will not get back what time she has lost, but perhaps it's a start.

"it's okay, melody, there's no need to apologize."

her smile is patient, kind.

"you deserve to regain the spark you lost for yourself, no one else."

and if she's uncomfortable with receiving help, that's okay too.

"i would like to help, but this journey is something you have to want for yourself first."

Melody Miro