Her words do little to put him at ease. They’re both chasing after something. The way she talks about living in the aftermath of that power being stripped reminds him of the days just after Gabe’s death. Grief, raw anguish, bargaining, trying to make sense of your life when the sun at the center of its solar system has gone dim…[break][break]
It’s terrible.[break][break]
“I feel like a broken record, I said this to Thomas the other day…maybe you got off lucky? Sounds to me like there’s plenty of bad that can come from that sort of relationship.” He sips on his coffee, enjoying its bitter flavor. It sharpens the mind, gives it focus.[break][break]
“Sorry. I don’t know you very well, not my place to say stuff like that.” He offers that weak apology, worried, as men so often do, that he has overstepped. “Guess I just worry a lot about people. I’ve been meeting lots of avatars and former avatars lately.”

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]was she lucky?

did it end this way as a blessing? or a curse?

a hum escapes at the thought. and the look in her eyes... it's so faraway, as if she's rewatching the castles crumbling down all around her.

she had been chosen. she had been worthy. how is it lucky to no longer be worth more?

"not necessarily."

a soft sigh heaves its way out of her lungs, her chest rising and falling.

"there was a lot of good that came from my former avatarship. i helped many people with my powers. they are -- er, were -- very healing oriented."

without them, how many would have died in the ultra beast war?

her smile is faint, but it returns nonetheless.

"it's okay, avatars can be a bit of a tricky subject for most."

a lofty dream, a death sentence, a blessing, a punishment.

"besides, it's not a bad thing to worry about others. i'd call that a great trait to have."

Michael Navidson

“Mmm.” There’s a little faux pass somewhere in there. Her powers are very healing oriented? The detective quirks his eyebrows, but makes no point to voice his observation just yet. Not until she’s finished saying what she has to say. For his grace, he is awarded with kind words. Well, he’s sure the intention is kind.[break][break]
“Well…it’d be great if everyone I know didn’t love to run headfirst into trouble. Lopez calls himself a slacker but the guy’s right in the middle of every major case. It’s enough to make a guy’s hair go white. Er-” A momentary flush of pink on his cheeks as he notices the snow cascading in an avalanche behind Illeana.[break][break]
“Well…not that there’s anything wrong with white hair. It sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us. I don’t know you from Mew, Dr. Reyes, but if these healing powers of yours are that good, I look forward to seeing ‘em in action.”

[break][break]

+ illeana reyes

[attr="class","illeana"]

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

[attr="class","illeana i"]she lets out a soft laugh, tinkering in sound. it dies as quickly as it comes.

"duty causes us to constantly be in the thick of it all. it's definitely stressful compared to the lulls of normalcy."

yet, somehow, she prefers the chaos. it's better than clinging to the sense of normal that doesn't exist anymore.

the comment about white hair is waved off with an idle hand and a smile. no harm done in her eyes.

his mention of mew, whether intentional or simply a passing remark, causes her smile to brighten a tad. the pink mythical, while usually around the lab, is not present at this time. perhaps later, when she knows him more than just another colleague, she'll introduce the mythical to him. for now, it's a secret sort of amusement she keeps to herself.

"well, i hope we won't need them during our experiments, but perhaps you will see them soon enough."

for now, their meeting begins to draw into a close and she looks to him expectantly.

"did you have any other questions? if not, i'll let you know when and where to meet me for the first expedition."

Michael Navidson