"Ah, yes. Diplomatic immunity. A neat little trick, that, isn't it?" she said, and a sardonic smile stretched across her lips. As he raised his glass of wine, she did likewise, lifting it in toast. "Santé. To escaping unwanted attention."[break][break]

To most, this flavor of wine would be exquisite. To her, it tasted like a pale imitation of what it ought to be; equal parts nostalgia and the immunity her own patron granted her contributed to that disappointment.[break][break]

Still, an echo of pleasure was better than none at all.[break][break]

"It's been a few years, has it?" she repeated, letting the drink swirl within her glass as she contemplated this information. She'd met so very many dull, boring, Kalosian noblemen over the past decade, it was unsurprising to realize this man might have been one of them. The extent of their relationship she sincerely could not recall, but at this moment, it hardly seemed to matter.[break][break]

She held the power between them, now.[break][break]

"Much has changed since then. I'll admit, I'm curious to learn how Kalos has changed since then, too."

[attr="class","ooc"] Julien Demassieux[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Most of the night progressed as anticipated.[break][break]

The exchange of information was a tidy trade, and of the underbosses in Rocket, she was more uniquely positioned than the others to discuss matters that required a degree of social finesse. It was the warfare she excelled in, if not the warfare that Kanto had bred into Cillian Quinn and THEO BECKETT.[break][break]

Hers was a lack that proved more dangerous than the one those men possessed, if she were to be honest with herself. Even so, a strength was a strength. She would acknowledge hers when it suited her.[break][break]

That being said, she hadn't anticipated for Julien Demassieux to acknowledge her tonight beyond her own basic competencies. When he opened the door to other information regarding Kalos, she blinked at him with a moment that revealed her own naked surprise, before her previous nonchalance returned.[break][break]

As much as she tried not to care about matters of Kalos, it was difficult to shake the ghosts of one's past entirely.[break][break]

She lowered her fork and knife to the table, then brought her napkin to dab at her lips as she considered the opportunity laid before her.[break][break]

"I would be remiss if I didn't inquire about the present state of your family, the Demassieux," she began, laying the groundwork for her following query. "In truth, I am curious about the state of the remaining blue bloods of Kalos. Such as the L'oiseau."[break][break]

Though it was positioned as a general pulse check of the status of Kalos's greatest houses, Elisabeth found herself privately intrigued by the state of BARNABY FINCH's family back in Kalos.[break][break]

He never spoke of them in part due to the secrecy of his lineage, although she knew of his brother, Agustin L'oiseau. That man was married, she knew, and if she remembered correctly had children of his own. He was the heir apparent of Barnaby's family, while Barnaby...[break][break]

She didn't know what his family expected of Barnaby, in truth. Though she recalled how he had confessed to her he, too, would ascend in Rocket if given the chance. More than that, she recalled what he had told her a year ago: "I was born a wolf. I didn't have a choice."[break][break]

A smile smoothed any tension the question might have invited.[break][break]

"I'm sure it's all the same tawdry gossip as always, of course."

[attr="class","ooc"] Julien Demassieux[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Elisabeth's mother-in-law had taught her one lesson, against her will, many times over: to show emotion is weakness.[break][break]

The late Dowager Countess Bortiforte and her son had wielded any such weakness that Elisabeth had dared to reveal to them -- whether it be hate, pain, confusion, or some traitorous, fleeting happiness -- in so many cruel, unthinkable ways. Necessity had taught her to furl up like one of her rosebuds, refusing to allow the truth of her emotions to peek through.[break][break]

Yet despite this, so much of who she was flourished in the depths of emotion that she'd sought to bury beneath the surface. Her Avatarship to Wo-chien was proof of that.[break][break]

"That sounds like him," she said of BARNABY FINCH's father idly, leaning back. Fingers restlessly drummed against the armrest of her seat, before her carmine eyes flickered up to meet Julien's. "You recall my relationship to the media and the press during my time in Kalos," she said in simple explanation. "Call it a morbid reciprocal interest."[break][break]

She'd learned how to hide behind half-truths, giving enough of what was true to hide what she sought to keep buried in the darkness.[break][break]

"The conversation goes both ways, you know," she added, tilting her head towards him. "Is there anything you wish to know of Hoenn? You'd be surprised how well-connected some of us in Rocket have become."[break][break]

Herself included.

[attr="class","ooc"] Julien Demassieux[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

A smirk dimpled her smile. Well. He was certainly forthright.[break][break]

Nothing he said particularly surprised her; not until he got to the topic of Greater Mauville Holdings, at least. She pursed her lips, considering the former Head Scientist oscar clayton, before a laugh fluttered out of her.[break][break]

"GMH has passed hands in Clayton's absence, though to whom, I'm uncertain. As to his whereabouts, that's a mystery that I wonder if even declan walsh himself knows. The two always seemed close." She flashed a daring smile his way, winking. "You could always ask him, if you really wanted to know."[break][break]

Another dark laugh bubbled out of her, before her hand rested once more on the stem of her wine glass.[break][break]

"But I can tell you that there is a power plant in Mauville City that you are able to access through his connections, if you like." She let that information settle, before she nonchalantly shared the more interesting piece of intel across the table: "There is a Zapdos that haunts there, you know."

[attr="class","ooc"] Julien Demassieux[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Elisabeth took a final sip of her drink, watching as Julien pocketed this small piece of information she'd slid over to him. Greed, predictably, intrigued powerful men. Legendaries provided an incentive greater than any gold could offer.[break][break]

"You're quite welcome. I hope my companionship proved more enjoyable than that of the League's council."[break][break]

The faintest hint of a jest whispered in her smile. What was, in essence, a business dinner began to wind down, and the pleasantries moved into the falling action of departure.[break][break]

Only then, as he prepared himself to depart, did she seize on intel he'd handed her moments ago.[break][break]

"By the by, Demassieux. Lisa isn't my name."

[attr="class","ooc"] Julien Demassieux[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]