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Making his egress from the Borderlands, Adrian would invariably find himself emerging atop the summit of Mt. Pyre. When he does, he is alone, and would've expected—however vainly—for the summit to be vacant.[break][break]

It shouldn't have surprised him to see he wasn't alone; and yet he was. Recognition gives him a light jolt, and he finds himself uneasy, despite the once agreeable nature of this former supplicant. Eyes squint, not to make out their silhouette against the sunlit backdrop, but with a hint of annoyance.[break][break]

"...This is one hell of a welcome wagon."[break][break]

Maybe it was unrelated to him. Yeah, right...

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Their shared apathy did nothing to quell the tension. Refuge seemed a faraway thing while Thomas skulked about, though Adrian knew he could not well try and deter him. And it seemed, perhaps, he should not want to leave Thomas to his current... business. Their question begs his attention as much as its subject's, which roils beneath the mountain—exerting a looming presence...[break][break]

A connection once severed remains a conduit for the creature to make its thoughts known. These are not musings that would reach Adrian Malcolm, but meant solely for the Judge to take counsel with:[break][break]

My influence must be consolidated—as a man clenches his fingers into a fist, so must I invest my strength proportionate to my needs. But on the matter of whom...[break][break]

There is a moment's pause before Yveltal digresses, revealing the finer details of how Yveltal came to reject Thomas Benoit.[break][break]

I named you Judge—and for that purpose, perhaps you are still suited—however...[break][break]

There's a rush of wind across the summit.[break][break]

Death. Death was always the final arbiter...[break][break]

It merely required a catalyst to enact its great design—challenging death's dogma did little to aid its necessary function. In Adrian, it had stumbled upon a vessel perhaps more malleable, and less unwieldy, than the one it had found in Thomas. It wasn't worthiness...[break][break]

Yveltal saw in Adrian... one who could be influenced by its worldly purpose. Someone who did not see the world in political lines, good and bad—but took it for what it was.

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Adrian does not fail to recognize the signs—but remains ignorant to the dialogue. Though he once distrusted and ruminated over the creature known to them as Yveltal, he is surprisingly candid in his response, unfazed by the unadulterated interaction.[break][break]

"Did you like your answer?"

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Yveltal's presence at the summit recedes, like shadows slinking into their corners as it defers to Adrian. To him, it seems as though Thomas' outburst was only natural. He might admit that he felt similarly, in some respects...[break][break]

"Because that's not who I am," he mustered, though perhaps the words felt false slipping past his teeth, as he did not feel the sincerity in them himself.[break][break]

"Horrible things will be asked of me, and I will be expected to facilitate them." They both knew of the creature's fixation with its work. When the time came, whether it was commissioner or underboss, stranger or close companion—[break][break]

It would need to be done all the same.[break][break]

"But that doesn't mean I enjoy it."[break][break]

He would take things as they came, involve himself only as needed or served his interests personally.[break][break]

But there is part of him that does enjoy it, he neglects to realize. Not the tasks he must carry out, but the privilege of power associated with it, and the possibilities that follow for paying the toll...

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Adrian understands their exasperation, recognizing the duplicitous nature of his words. He deserves the winding speech then, though he can only manage to sit through so much before interjecting with his personal brand of crass.[break][break]

"You say that like the League would be any different!" His contempt for bias is plain. Anyone who knew of its dark purpose would, in allying with it, expect themselves to be exempt in some manner.[break][break]

Sadly even Adrian, who might've unconsciously believed such exceptions might be made for him, would eventually find himself next up to the block.[break][break]

Or worse, someone he cared for deeply. And that is precisely the sort of reason Yveltal had chosen more than one to serve. Its purpose required a flexibility that few, if any, could hope to facilitate.[break][break]

"IF. They haven't had a hand in it for some time," he muttered, though it was something he should have kept to himself. If the League had been unaware, they had just as well been tipped off.[break][break]

"I honestly can't even remember..." Had there been a conversation between him and Gavin, concerning any lack of full disclosure? It remained out of memory, but he was certain there must've been something—they weren't the sort to overlook this sort of... discretion. But what could they do?[break][break]

Adrian couldn't just be 'disciplined' like most of their contemporaries, and unless they took this act of witholding as some transgression, then all they could do was wait until something else forced the issue further. Until then, he could still be an asset.

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It's surprising to hear Thomas speak of his withdrawal as anything other than the smokescreen Adrian would've seen it as. But he's right enough that the League had ostracized him, even if the slight had been unintentional.[break][break]

"They've learned, perhaps better than most, the risks involved." When Sootopolis was attacked by N̸͈͓̦̒̀̎͠E̷͓̹̠͗̒C̵̟͙͍͒͑R̵̰̥͒̐Ó̶͎̏Z̵̛̝̩̱M̴̨̒̈̈́͠Á̸̢̳͙ͅ, it turned their pokemon against them. This alone would've surely made many reluctant to rely on such power as could be swayed.[break][break]

Adrian had certainly been made to reconsider.[break][break]

"You're paranoid, Thomas. It's in the nature of your work," Adrian begins with a dismissive tone, making his disinterest plain. Clearly Adrian did not consider the apparent danger in trusting them, exhibiting a growing disregard for his own well being. Perhaps the threat of Rocket felt diminished by dint of his patron's boon. "You need to let it go."[break][break]

"If they even knew anything remotely useful, it still wouldn't matter." Yveltal, for all its resignations, did not deal in half measures—at least not where such aberrations were concerned. If Rocket made their move, there would be precursors—signs for them to interpret. "Besides, Thomas..."[break][break]

Adrian turns and takes an extensive, wistful stare towards the ongoing distortion where the Borderlands and Mt. Pyre have been bridged, drawing attention to what resided within—or more precisely, what was now markedly absent. "I have bigger problems than some radicals. We all do..."[break][break]

Turning his attention back to Benoit, there's a subtle curiosity therein—a part of him that wonders what the League knows. But what could they know?

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"..." He was done entertaining the previous discussion—time would tell if he'd later come to regret it, or have his trust in himself proven. They would find out eventually.[break][break]

It seems that any implicit questions fell on deaf ears, or that Thomas himself had nothing to share, though whether that communicated the League's ignorance was unclear—as the other had previously stated, their separation was more than just for show. Too bad.[break][break]

"Hm?" Adrian doesn't see why positives should be questioned—but again, he's dealing with someone who operates a little differently—perhaps these sorts of fixations were what kept Thomas going. Either way, it certainly wouldn't hurt to offer his own thoughts on the matter, though it mightn't help either.[break][break]

"Because it's not yet your time." Adrian can confirm it; his aura remains vibrant, if muddled by Yveltal's vestigial presence within. It's something his eyes can discern easily, though in so doing it betrays his own mark, his sclera saturated with color. Only when his eyes return to normal does he continue.[break][break]

"As for your eye... Perhaps some gifts are not so easily revoked." Nor did he think Yveltal overly concerned itself with every particular maiming or traumatic event that had been preordained either—it was bad enough with just the mortal coil to worry itself over. Besides, it wasn't about the suffering...[break][break]

It was just the natural progression of things.

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Should he be fazed? There were many among the League who would've already made this sort of pledge to themselves, placing duty above all else. Maybe it was commendable—but rarely was he convinced, or even made to be concerned; that was his hubris.[break][break]

"Until then. Take care."[break][break]

Neither of them are comfortable allowing the other to leave their sight—any trust between them had been broken. But at least for Adrian, he could honestly breathe easier knowing Thomas had made his position plain. He'd been walking on eggshells, unsure whom to trust among former acquaintances.[break][break]

At least now, he knew what to expect.