[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she’s, truthfully, dreading this climb up. no matter how many times she’s made it up this damn mountain, it did not prepare her for climbing while nursing leftover injuries from mt pyre.

in hindsight, she should have said something sooner. and while it might be 20/20, it’s nothing against her stubbornness to pursue curious happenings. at least it’s just a slowly healing rib… the wound to her side hasn’t opened itself back up in a few days.

she moves with her usual golurk, its clay hand supporting her slow pace. the crawling movement does little to diminish her warm smile when she locks eyes with the councilwoman.

”it has.”

and yet, time continues to draw on despite mild periods of relief. now, they turn their sights to the next adventure, next discovery, next threat.

”most of them healed… just waiting for my rib to mend itself. how about you? are you holding up okay?”

PENELOPE LIVY

"I've seen better days," she grimaced. The pain in her legs still jolted out the occasional shock of remembrance, but it was much worse before. For a while, after Meteno struck, she even contemplated the idea of taking an extended medical leave from the League.
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"But, you know how it is. Can't really afford to rest. Especially now."
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More than anyone else, the head scientist of the region had to understand that much.
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"Thanks for coming out, by the way. I hope it isn't too rough on you."

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


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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she lets out a soft, barely there chuckle. it struggles for a moment before dying.

"yeah... rest is an elusive luxury at this point."

there's too much to be done, too much to pick back up in the aftermath. she still puts up a healing mist to ease comfort into the councilwoman's body. it isn't much but it's something, at least.

she flashes a small, reassuring smile in the face of concern.

"thank you for inviting me!"

after a moment, the smile grows and she waves a hand loftily in the air to dispel the concept.

"nothing i can't handle, really."

she's unfortunately been through too much to let it hold her back further. it had in the past and no longer will it be allowed to hold that much power over her.

"what're we gonna do today?"

knowing penelope, she usually had a plan in that bright mind of hers.

PENELOPE LIVY

Illeana's beaming response was reassuring, at least. After surviving what they've gone through, it's a surprise either had the energy to set forth on a hike as strenuous as this, but as she said, rest was an elusive luxury for them. One second wasted was another opportunity for their enemies to sharpen their blades and prepare their attacks.
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"We're going hunting," She winked, "maybe. Hopefully."
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The details were as murky as the smog-infested skies, but that was just the future nowadays. Opaque and hard to discern. Strong legs carried the woman forward up the mountainside as she continued, eyes set forward rather than to her partner.
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"Since that Meteor, there are so many Legendaries now roaming Hoenn. And it's a bit scary, isn't it?"
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Maybe for her, a natural-born scientist, it was thrilling though.
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"I can't imagine what'd happen if Rocket gets their hands on any of them. If even Xernas is willing to make a pact with one of them, then I don't have much hope for the others."
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She shook her head. It's better not to dwell on the possibilities for too long. That'd only end in negative thoughts, not action.
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"I just want to get a head start. See where they're going, so we can protect them from Rocket. Or, maybe, even get some more of our guys to bond with them instead."
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Better to have a gun in your hostler than theirs.
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"And, obviously, I thought Moltres would be the easiest to start with."

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


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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"hunting, hm?"

truthfully, it sounds better than the doctor ordered bed rest she's supposed to be doing. besides, her curiosity after the events of mt pyre has reawakened to new heights.

the mention of legendaries causes her to pause mid-step for a moment. how many, exactly, are out there now? palkia, dialga, moltres... she's heard reports of hoopa and kyurem in another dimension as well as other spirits not yet discovered.

"scary, perhaps, but the idea of discovering them first is kind of thrilling to think about."

and yet, how many of them are already in rocket's crosshairs?

"truthfully, there's two that should not fall into team rocket's hands. if they do... i fear what they could do."

palkia, dialga... beings of unfathomable power. in the wrong hands, the destruction they could bring would be universally ending.

she hums, however, and turns her head toward penelope with a confident smile.

"i think we can manage to bring some into league custody. hopefully, if we're lucky, they'll even choose some of our personnel to bond with."

the mention of moltres in particular brings with it fond memories of a girl long gone and the familiar, fiery bird she held so dear. it makes her nostalgic. and for a moment, she gives in to the sensation and lets out bits of information.

"moltres has been league aligned previously. before its untimely demise, it had been found in the depths of mt chimney."

her head turns, then, to stare up at the peak they're heading toward.

"from what i understood from its last avatar, the way it bestowed avatarship was a bit... unique. it involved the ritualistic endeavor of tossing oneself into the volcanic peak of mt chimney. she had mentioned the presence of someone familiar with the ritual but i'm afraid i do not remember the name right now."

PENELOPE LIVY

"Ah."
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The story brought out a certain sensation in the woman.
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Want. Desire. Greed.
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They were all emotions anyone would find themselves familiar with, but given the topic, Penelope knew better than to reveal them outright. They are just fleeting thoughts, she told herself before swallowing them down like a bitter pill. They'll come and they'll go.
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"Were you close with her?"
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The volcanic crust beneath their feet rumbled with every step, as activity bubbled below. They were still a ways away from its summit.

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


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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]it feels like a lifetime ago.

back then, they had been two girls taking on the world together. where the fuck did they go so wrong?

"i was, yes."

and in the end, they had drifted and she... died.

there's no pretty way to describe it, only pain.

she presses on and drags another topic out from the wings to bask in the spotlight.

"are you willing to do what it takes to bring moltres back to the league?"

beneath syllables, a more foreboding question lurks: will you sacrifice yourself for this?

PENELOPE LIVY

"I'm sorry for your lost, then."
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It was an awkward position to be in, but unfortuately Penelope wasn't stranger of talks of those who've passed. Time and time again, it was her interviewing the newly founded widows and orphans after every invasion or war. Not that her experience ever made things easier to manage.
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From there Illeana begged a question Penelope hadn't expected from the scientist.
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"I'll do what needs to be done."
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Short, vague, but to the point -- she answered her shadows with some of her own. Illeana wanted more from her, she'd have to ask, or let the smog end the conversation for them both.

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


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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"thank you."

and for the most part, she means it.

she adds nothing further, however, and allows the sentiment to perish beneath the heat surrounding them.

her expression tightens slightly with penelope's confirmation. she'll do what needs to be done... it's an ominous sort of statement. and in a way, it reminds her of herself a few months ago with nothing but the concept of power and an elusive legendary in her mind.

"be careful."

she speaks from experience, from doing whatever it takes and paying the consequences.

"hunting a legendary is a slippery slope, councilwoman."

faintly, she hopes for one thing: that penelope learned from her example and will succeed where she had failed.

PENELOPE LIVY

Ah.

It seemed as though she had mistaken her response.
[Break][break]
Eyes kept fixated on the rocky road ahead, the councilwoman clarified herself, offering a spark of light to her opaque words.
[Break][break]
"I'll maintain restraint when necessary. After all, as long as they remain out of rocket's reach, I'll be satisfied with the results." she began, referring to those beyond just Moltres. Dialga, Palkia, victini -- their presence on the battlefield was just as valuable as Moltres, if not more. Some silly connection wouldn't cloud that fact.
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A short pause broke her thoughts. Penelope didn't want to seperate herself too far from the scientist. That'd only work to isolate her further than she already felt.
[Break][break]
"Thank you, though. I'll keep your words in mind."
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[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]


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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]her expression holds firm.

there's an unwillingness to illeana reyes in this moment. as if she knows this path and knows how it ends.

"while they'd be great assets to the league, what is the cost one will pay for their help?"

for herself, it has been her position. her relationships. her sanity. and she has nothing to show for it but a pattern of reckless behavior and a single pink slash.

a shrug rolls off her shoulders anyway.

"as long as caution is there, that'll be fine."

in the end, she knows it isn't her place.

PENELOPE LIVY

Penelope willed her expression cool.
[BREAK][BREAK]

The scientist's words were flint hitting steel. Although unsuccessful at first, her trailing few words had struck a flame of unintentional frustration within the councilwoman.
[BREAK][BREAK]

Did she see her foolish? Naïve to the explicit dangers associated to the hunt?
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"It will be."
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[attr="class","ooc"] illeana reyes [break]


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

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she doesn't notice the tension.

it persists in a subtle sort of way, here yet not. and perhaps it's because she sounds self-righteous, as if her knowledge is more important than penny's hunt.

"i hope so."

the councilwoman will be better than her. she'll succeed, illeana thinks.

and she won't have to face the wrath of her peers or higher ups, not in the way the scientist had. she's smarter than illeana had been.

"where will you start?"

PENELOPE LIVY