it had been their mistake for being careless. for not being more prepared when roaming into rifts unknown. but only one person paid the price for it, and much to his relief, the councilwoman made her way back home alive. resurrected.[break][break]

of course, this is information that would've been shared in the report. Eva Morales would know as much as he had caught her up to speed the moment they returned.[break][break]

it's with a smile that he greets PENELOPE LIVY.[break][break]

"no worries. we were just chit-chatting."[break][break]

nothing in specific. just about their upcoming trip and also past holidays like how they didn't celebrate the winter solstice.[break][break]

"how are you feeling?"[break][break]

since dying?

[attr="class","ooc"]PENELOPE LIVY Eva Morales[break]

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

Eva never thought of Penelope as the most upbeat person, but she did seem . . . off. Of course, dying and coming back to life could do that to you. Eva doesn’t have personal experience, so she could only imagine the lasting consequences of such an event.

Penelope does find her beside her fiancé, leaning against her desk with her hand casually placed in the pockets of her lab coat, “It’s fine,” she echoes Matias’s sentiment with a smile, pushing off the desk the stand straight.

She doesn’t mean to, but the doctor in her studies Penelope from afar. An exam at a distant. She watches her movements, her facial expressions, trained eyes looking for a subtle tick that may lead her to the conclusion that Penelope was, in fact, not alright. Eva did it from a place of love, not caution. She worried for her friend.

---

PENELOPE LIVY & MATIAS SILPH

"Good, good."
[break][break]
It served no use outing her emotional state to the elite four member. If anything, it'd only offer more ammo for her criticism against her, as she was more than sure his opinions were along the lines of 'live on and move past it.'
[break][break]
So, instead, she submerged her feelings with a placid smile.
[break][break]
"So, Matias tells me you can help us look into these jade beads we found."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Eva Morales MATIAS SILPH[break]


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

unlike his other half, matias does not scrutinize PENELOPE LIVY with the same level of detail simply because he does not deem her a threat. not in the same way he had with Melody Miro all those months ago.[break][break]

at the mention of jade beads, he pulls out the one he had found in mount pyre's rift. the border, as some might call it.[break][break]

"it's more of a pebble, really. but we have two so far."

[attr="class","ooc"]PENELOPE LIVY Eva Morales[break]

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

Eva doesn’t necessarily believe Penelope when she brushes off the question with a good, good. Of course, Eva didn’t expect her to spill her feelings to them both here in her office. Perhaps over drinks later. It has been a while since they hung out.

“Jade beads,” Eva echoes, peering at the small stone in Matias’s hand. He said they found something interesting at The Border and the seemed they found multiple, “Did you just find them lying about or were they protected in some way?” In other words, what made them special enough to warrant their prolonged interest as more than just pretty keepsakes. Eva reaches out to take the bead from Matias’s hand, drawing it up to the light to closely inspect.

“Perhaps a closer look under the dissecting microscope,” she walks past them both, leading them into her lab.

---

PENELOPE LIVY & MATIAS SILPH

"Groudon found the first one in Mt Chimney."
[break][break]
Her gaze flicked over to Matias, expecting him to fill out more of what was discovered. All she held were the details of their objective, but frankly, speaking of Moltres was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.
[break][break]
Revival, rebirth, that phoenix pokemon did nothing but evoke the deepest shudder from her.
[break][break]
"The second one was found behind a waterfall, within one of those broken seals inside The Borders."
[break][break]
She spoke as if they were all aware of the realms and what hid inside. Report and report had been flooding through these past few days either way, so catching up wouldn't be difficult.
[break][break]
"To my knowledge, no other expedition team has documented a similar discovery."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH Eva Morales [break]


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

"mount chimney was interesting."[break][break]

he does not mention their hunt for moltres either, perhaps not wanting to recount their failure.[break][break]

"groudon detected three presences. nothing tangible but they all felt powerful. it's possible they aren't even in our world."[break][break]

with the opening of the rifts, that much may be true.[break][break]

everything else penny recounts is true so he does not bother filling in the gaps. there's nothing much to fill, anyways.

[attr="class","ooc"]PENELOPE LIVY Eva Morales[break]

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

Mt. Chimeny and The Border. Her mind gently rolls the ideas around until their soft and malleable, like a mold. She tries to make sense of the two locations and their significance to each other. Why would one be found in this world, and the other within a rift?

The only obvious explanation was that the location on Mt. Chimney was unstable, perhaps the next location of an anomaly. Of course, she assumes Matias and Penelope had already thought of that. The fact that Groudon could sense the other presences that weren’t entirely in their world was . . . disturbing.

Eva had yet to travel to The Border, and when mentioned she feels an uncharacteristic pang of JEALOUSY. Unbeknownst to her, it’s likely the influence of the jade bead that makes her feel this way. Normally, she’s not a jealous woman but Matias’s preference in taking Penny over herself on such an adventure festered in her palm and vibrated in her chest as she glances between them.

“Hm, sounds like Mt. Chimney needs further investigation,” she places the bead beneath the microscope and the jealousy begins to fade, but it’s too subtle for her to register between all the other thoughts simultaneously drifting through her mind, “And the other . . . seals? If that what you called them? How do you know they were seals? ” And more importantly, why were they broken? What did they used to hide?

Eva leans in to peer through the microscope at the artifact, adjusting the focus to see if there are any inscriptions or unique markings difficult to see with the naked eye.

---

PENELOPE LIVY & MATIAS SILPH

Why did they call it a seal? It was a good question -- one so obvious that Penelope hadn't even considered.
[break][break]

"Why? Hm. It just sort of looked like one."
[break][break]

Like wax seals forcing a rolled up piece of paper closed. Maybe if Eva was with them, she would understand what she meant. It was a difficult thing to explain otherwise.
[break][break]

As the scientist examined the shred of jade, Penelope shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot, lips pressed into a terse frown. Since her revival, anxiety crawled down her back at the worse of times. The jade only emphasized those feelings.
[break][break]

"Do you see anything?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Eva Morales MATIAS SILPH [break]


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

oblivious to how eva is feeling or how she might feel in response to their repeated trips to the border without her, matias continues, adding fuel to the fire with his words.[break][break]

"we'll investigate further. no worries."[break][break]

not once does he think eva would feel JEALOUS.[break][break]

"seal implies that there's something being trapped which was the spirit that attacked us, most likely."[break][break]

as penny asks her question, he waits for a response as well.

[attr="class","ooc"]PENELOPE LIVY Eva Morales[break]

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

Her back rises into a rigid stance, slightly tilted forward as she peers through the bright eye pieces of the microscope. She speaks as her fingers work to fine tune the placement and focus of what she is looking at.

“Hm. For fragments they are quite well-kept,” she observes, focusing in and out on the edges of the pieces, “Yes, fragments of a whole, I think,” they edges appears to be broken but not randomly. They are like the odd pieces of a puzzle. Another piece was clearly meant to fit, “Really quite . . . immaculate,” she couldn’t find another word to describe the graceful curves, the intricate design, the lack of wear despite being found amongst rubble.

The professor shifts in her seat as something slowly creeps up towards her. It’s not something she can see, only feel. Discomfort buries itself in her gut, causing her to shift even more. She suddenly appears restless. A glisten of sweat begins to shine across her forehead as a heat rises from her stomach. Adrenaline. That’s what it is. Fight or flight suddenly takes over her instinct, clouding her mind, blurring her vision within the scope. Her heart pounds against her chest like the beating of a drum of war. She feels helpless, angry, frightened, and -

Suddenly she jumps clear out of her chair, startled by the sudden ignition of the beads. She jumps back, eyes wide in fright, a clumsy tumble to the tiled floor that ends with a painful grunt as she lands funny on the wrist. There’s no questioning the paleness that suddenly took over her features, the rapid breathing, and wide, stunned look: she was petrified of something.

---

PENELOPE LIVY & MATIAS SILPH