[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she's quiet for a moment, as if weighing options.

"perhaps technology would be my first option."

but that requires figuring out the fundamentals behind closing dimensional rifts. could they, in theory, utilize damaged megalopolan technology to try?

"or perhaps primal points if we can modify them."

she knows, on some level, that he expects a different answer: palkia.

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

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

it's simple, regardless of how loaded the question is.

"it would require multiple rounds of testing after studying the fundamental groundwork of a rift."

they cannot simply guess with this. it's too big of a problem to just take a shot in the dark.

"if it were to be a dead end, there would have to be a different first option."

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]in hindsight, it’s the option with the least amount to lose.

”would you prefer a different first option?”

she expects he wants to hear what he heard before the meteor: her hunting down a god and saying fuck all else.

”this one leaves no room for me further break trust.”

or, truthfully, fuck things up even more than she already has.

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]is she being dishonest? if she had to think about it, she supposes she’d say both yes and no.

”i’m trying to right my wrongs.”

her stare softens slightly with the implication. it’s growth, barely but somehow there.

”before this gets any worse.”

and maybe, in the end, he will be right. she wouldn’t just give up on finding palkia, not by a longshot, but she understands more about the priorities she should have.

her self-serving agenda has existed for long enough that the line must be drawn. who knew it’d be drawn at the sight of war caused by her own recklessness?

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"how?"

she doesn't quite get it. and so, she lays out a thought process in terms he'll agree with.

"my actions have threatened the safety of this region."

fact.

"we are facing more threats than we know how to handle."

also fact.

and yet, she ends with a question. it almost sounds like defeat.

"what do you believe is the right course of action to fix this?"

FERNANDO SILPH

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]selfishly, it's not the answer she wants.

and harshly, it's the answer she needs.

conceding is never easy, especially when it means another victory padding fernando silph's pocket. the white flag she waves is reluctant, existing in a realm of hesitation before it finally, painstakingly, rises to full mast.

"understood."

a beat of silence follows and for a moment, she expects to hear another piece of porcelain crack off onto the floor.

"i'll give it some thought. thank you for your time."

and she doesn't wait for a full response before making her exit, head knocked out of the clouds and back to earth. flying too close to the sun means melted wings and death by sea. her actions had been no different and now, she's barely holding herself above water.

FERNANDO SILPH