[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she glances up at the sound of access, of the door groaning open to reveal a familiar face.

and despite pulling an all-nighter to finish the report in her hands, she flashes a small smile.

"good morning."

her eyes scan over him for a moment. she analyzes, scrutinizes. searching for signs of something despite having just studied his corpse mere hours before. it's odd, she realizes, to be in this position.

she knows, deep down, it's worse for him to live through it all.

"the reports have just been finalized! i'll grab them... please, have a seat. it should only take a minute."

they should still be sitting on the printer, warm and freshly made.

paxton concordas

He stands there and holds her gaze, though she's not quite looking him in the eyes. She's looking for something else. He wonders if she'll ask him for more samples or do more tests. He has a bit of free time set aside just in case. [break][break]

"Sure." he said, taking a seat. He put the folder he'd brought in front of him, waiting politely. She seemed...well. Not quite falling over but definitely a little tired. "How are you?" he asked, filling the silence after a bit with small talk tinged with concern. He watched a stray Eevee perk up , having been hiding under the table. The brown creature is quick to paw at his legs before moving around and hoping into his lap. It squeezed forward until he was forced to push his chair back a bit and make space. It coos softly and Paxton offered a tiny smile as he scratched it behind the ears, relaxing a bit.

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]he settles into one of the comfy chairs as she turns to shift for the printer. the sound of rustling papers resonates for a moment before it dies out.

and then, she returns to occupy the chair beside him. her smile is warm, albeit a little exhausted.

"busy."

a soft laugh escapes. the tinkering sound is quick to fade out.

"i can't complain too much, though. it's better than being back on bed rest."

not that she really did much bed rest after mt pyre. no... she was too restless to stay still for long.

"and you? i hope you've been doing well."

given all that happened atop that mountain, it's difficult to say how each of them has been changed.

after a moment, she remembers the papers in her hand and offers them over for him to read.

paxton concordas

He nodded, gesturing at her chest. "I assume the rib situation came out alright?" he prodded, remembering her carrying her injury with sheer willpower and adrenaline. He smiles, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Sure." the answer hangs in the air for a moment before he continued. "I've had the best sleep in my life, for once." he said, snorting at himself. Dreams of that day- the border had graced him but nothing that kept him from his healthy 8 hours. [break][break]

He murmured a quick 'thanks' before taking over her report. "Huh." It's a blurted out, soft realization. His corpse, identical to his own body in every way, showed nothing abnormal. Blood work, bone marrow all identical. "I wonder if you can ice whatever organs are left working for me for an emergency." he said, though the sharp grin on his face betrayed his feelings. It's so weird. Terrifying even. He dreamt of himself often. A shiver ran down his spine and he flexed his hands feeling weird again. "What do you think?" [break][break]

He's alive. But that body is him- was him. It's an uncomfortable thought. Perhaps this was why people often thought of Legendaries as Gods. Worshipped them and their power. "It's hard to call Palkia just a rare pokemon when you see shit like this." he said, speaking his thoughts. But eventually he puts the report down, gives her a nod. He'd deliver this to PENELOPE LIVY post haste. [break][break]

But he doesn't leave. His own folder is passed to Illie. "If you have time...I've been having some thoughts to help take my mind of things." he said. "Professor, you have an affinity for Golurks correct?" he asked, his smile calmer, more genuine now as he put the thoughts of his own body to the wayside.

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]"something like that..."

which is the roundabout way of saying she's ignoring her rib injury. it's still cracked, still slowly mending itself back together. and when it does, it'll form in a lesser version. such is the life of broken things being forced back together.

"have you been sleeping since?"

it's, perhaps, a personal question... but she needs the information for her reports regardless. a physical study of his new body will be the last piece of the puzzle.

her head is quick to shake itself into a declining sort of motion.

"the organs have already begun to show signs of necrosis. they would not last longer than a few more days, even on ice."

once the process of dying tissue begins, it's difficult to halt. sure, they could cut out the already dead tissue but most organs do not regenerate.

the mention of palkia lures her teeth out from behind the cage of her lips. they shine a little too bright beneath fluorescent lights. hungry, greedy things that they are.

"it seemed like a forced divine reckoning but i'm afraid that was only a small fraction of palkia's power."

there's more to be seen, more to be found. she wonders what will happen then... if worlds will die out in a supernova light and start anew in the astral ashes or if the entirety of the universe will decay into lifeless silence.

when paxton is done, he doesn't leave as she expects. instead, he lingers, even going so far as to hand her a file. her head tilts beneath the weight of curiosity.

"i do."

a pause follows. her eyes drift to the file laying in her hands. what could it hold? she has to stop itchy fingers from cracking open the spine and gorging herself on its contents.

"why? does my affinity relate to this file?"

paxton concordas

He eyes the Professor, eyes dropping down to her chest then back at her. Though he doesn't press, he simply shrugs. "As long as you keep it from puncturing a lung." he said, hoping the gruesome possibility at least convinces Illie to be a bit more careful. But she's grown. He can't force her. "Not as well as when I woke up on Pyre." he explained, though he had no issue falling asleep now. The issue was staying down, nightmares racking his brain as he tried to rest. "They don't call it the Deep Sleep for nothing, I suppose." he added with a laugh. Its another bitter bark of a laugh. [break][break]

"Well, it was worth a shot. It was pretty brutal." He shouldn't have survived. He hadn't. He had. It's fucking weird. [break][break]

"I heard Palkia might've done something similar in the Sootopolis takeover." he said, looking at her for confirmation. "I read the reports, saw some photos." he shrugged again. [break][break]

He sees a glint of curiosity, and managed a grin as he put his focus on his humble little proposal for her. "A bit." In it, Illeana would find simple write ups of ancient civilizations dotting here and there with their art and their statues. Some detailing pokemon, others possibly similar to giants. "Have you ever considered the possibility of Goletts and golurks as a creation of man? A really fucked up one, but one all the same?" he asked, eyes on her, the corners of his lips upturned in a grin. "There's so many of them- those ghosts. I theorize that it may be some sort of civilizations attempt at mimicing another's technology." As she flipped through there were photos of carvings and old wall paintings of something liek a robot, but doll looking. Round, rounder than Goletts. [break][break]

"I've been thinking- if there's actually a link between them and a thing in legend called Magearna. Like- humanity's attempt to recreate life liek Magearna...but not quite right."

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]a nod is quick to follow.

"yes, palkia was involved in sootopolis as well. i think it might have also been present in other disasters that happened after, but i'm not positive."

either way...

"at the very least, i hope it is on our side moving forward."

it would not do them any good to make an enemy of the god. besides, her goals are still centered around the spatial deity... for hoenn, for herself, she prays.

and as she continues to look over the documents he has presented to her, a hum escapes here and there as she quickly scans over each page. it's thorough, no stone left unturned. she's impressed, really, by the dedication.

"i have believed golurks and goletts to be of a man-made origin, though i'm not sure what ancient civilization we have to thank for their creation."

whoever it was, she would kiss them for giving her the automatons she faithfully and readily surrounds herself with. the clay gargoyles are a blessing she did not know she needed until stumbling upon her first one years ago.

"what kind of technology do you think they were trying to mimic?"

were they... trying to imitate humans or something else?

the mention of magearna causes her eyes to snap up to find his, wide and curious and seeking more.

"have you found anything to suggest such a theory as of yet?"

the way it comes out... it almost sounds like she's asking as a roundabout way of involving herself in proving this concept true.

paxton concordas