It ha been a long few days, and recovery was coming slower than she expected. In some way, she thought her bond with Rayuqaza would make her physically stronger and more resilient but in reality she had simply pushed herself too far. The lack of rest since ULTRA DEEP SEA hadn’t been helping. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, adjusting the way her weight fell on her left side. The cracked ribs were healing but it would be weeks until the ache disappeared.

Laurence Anderson would indeed find the professor settled into her desk this late in the evening. The restless nights had kept her up, so she elected to at least be efficient with her time. If she couldn’t sleep, she may as well get work done.

The pale light of her tablet casted sharp shadows over her tired features. The light would extinguish upon Lars’s entry into her office. It’s too late in the night to find a secretary to challenge his advance deeper into her office. Her wide emerald eyes would greet him with a look of surprise, “Lars?” pushed the tablet back, adjusting in her seat to sit up a bit straighter, “What are you doing here so late?” And at her office. She can't’ recall a time he’d ever visited her within the League Headquarters.

---

Laurence Anderson

By nature, and training, Eva was an observant person. She could see Lars’ tension and feel the anxiety rise in the air. Her emerald eyes squinted past him when prompted. She noted the subtle wisps of white fog rising from the frosted footprints. It was only a moment later that she could feel the shill in the air - as if someone has suddenly turned on the air conditioning.

“Ah,” was all she managed to choke out at the moment. A broken avatar.

She could fix that.

The doctor’s gaze sharply turned back up to Lars, “That serpent is Rayquaza,” her own deity. The term may not have been meant to be offensive but it struck a chord. Arbok are serpents, Rayquaza is god.

Eva listened to the rest of his story carefully. Perhaps it was more than just a broken avatar - a broken god? Or a broken bond?

“Hmph, maybe we should step outside,” she stood, snatching her jacket off the back of her chair just in case, “Tell me about your god,” Eva was familiar with the stories (she was from Kanto, after all). Other than them being talkative, she didn’t know much about Articuno. Lars' description would also give her subtle clues to their relationship and dynamic. She’d listen as they walked through her lab and out the door to her private training field where she conducted observational research with pokemon far too dangerous to be confined inside.

---

Laurence Anderson