[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

'a complication?'

[break][break] the second that he received the text, jayden had rushed over. shadows still wrapped around his shoulders by the time that he appeared at fern delaney's house, the door blasting wide open the second his feet touch the pavement in front of that familiar cobblestone path. fern knows he's there, the same way he can tell that they're here.

[break][break] "fern? what's the matter? is everything alright?"

[break][break] the way he can tell, from the frantic, wide-panic in their eyes; the uneven pacing; the static clinging to their hair.

[break][break] things are not alright.

[break][break] and it is then - at that moment - that his gaze snaps towards the bookshelf. towards the thing that is hovering by piles of books. the thing that is not — not quite a part of this world's reality. a peculiar and chilling presence that defies explanation.

[break][break] "is that - ?"

[break][break] he turns to fern delaney, shock evident on his face. but before he can say more, that thing is tearing away at fern's precious den, throwing books and papers and things in an uneven disarray. and the urgency in jayden's nature kicks in. he steps in front of fern, his hand flicking to his belt, releasing marinka.

[break][break] "seize it!"

[break][break] phantoms leap immediately out from the mimikyu, aiming to ensnare the legendary with MIMIC YOU.

[break]

mimikyu casts its true form over an area, trapping anyone within range. victims will be ROOTED in place for THREE POSTS.

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

jayden has never considered himself a rash person. he is methodical and direct, taking special care to make each individual choice. however, for some reason, whenever fern delaney is involved, he finds himself acting in the most foolhardy of ways.

[break][break] dark energy collects around his mimikyu at the admin's command, lighting up the room, even against the other admin's refusal.

[break][break] however, the tapu is faster.

[break][break] jayden's eyes widen.

[break][break] electricity sparks from the other's palm, lacing through the air like shooting stars across a sky. it lands in the center of jayden's chest, throwing the man back against shelves of books.

[break][break] storybooks and novels fall in a flutter around him, knocking down around his head and shoulders. but it is not the pain of novels bumping against his bones that alarm him. it is the sight of fern before him, palms outstretched, electricity sparking around their fingertips.

[break][break] had fern attacked him?

[break][break] heat laces through him, a combination of shock and something else, and he's rendered mute. if only for a moment.

[break][break] then suddenly, time starts again.

[break][break] "i'm fine," he says hastily, pushing himself to his feet. he glances towards his mimikyu who seems just as stunned at him. jayden grunts as he pushes himself up, gratefully accepting the light of a PAIN SPLIT as the pokemon attempts to take the pain away from her trainer. it works, if only sparingly.

[break][break] "what -" jayden pauses, glancing between the legendary beast still making a mess of his partner's study. "what was that?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

"i'm fine."

[break][break] bemused as he looks at them, his lips curve into a slight smile.

[break][break] "i'm made of tougher stuff than you think, you know."

[break][break] even so, there was an unknowing, mythical buzz beneath his skin. it confused jayden. it wasn't as if the admin hadn't hit by pokemon attacks before — both father and declan walsh had made sure of it. his life in rocket had made sure of it. but it was the first time that he'd been hit directly by —

[break][break] wait. was that it? was fern delaney avatar?

[break][break] before he can make a comment, his eyes shift towards the defunct primal shard in their grip. the tapu koko is quick to slurp it up like a bowl of soup, light greedily surging around the source.

[break][break] "i've heard of it before," he says, blinking. he walks slowly towards fern, electricity still sparking off his own skin. his mind, however, is running a mile a minute. he thinks of all the books in the sub's executive section that he'd read over various legendary pokemon. he knew the reports of rockets who'd faced them in battle during the three day war.

[break][break] but those were the league's. those were —

[break][break] it chose me.

[break][break] surprise flicks in his gaze.

[break][break] "how? when?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

electricity still crackles where it touched his skin, but he can't tell if it's more because of the shock of fern being avatar or the fact that fern attacked him.

[break][break] "yesterday?"

[break][break] from someone else, the words may come off as accusatory. after all, why hadn't fern delaney notified the rocket admin immediately of the change? but jayden knew better — especially after their last conversation — and trusted that there was a good enough reason that fern hadn't come to him first. more than likely, he'd been busy.

[break][break] no - when he asks, his words are more of a confirmation than anything. as if his mind is still trying to wrap around the timeframe.

[break][break] calpurnia. the reminder of his father's associate, Calpurnia Kubrick, brings a distasteful expression to his face, which is quickly washed away at the mention of Cillian Quinn.

[break][break] "do you know where it's from?" he asks, stepping towards them. he reaches for their hands, curious to see if sparks will fly from them again. "or does it? does it... speak to you?"

[break][break] he glances towards the unusual creatures, currently inhabiting their space. his mouth worries itself into a frown.

[break][break] "does it belong to the megalopolans?"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

his eyes flicker at the sparks that fly from their fingertips, churning his heart in an unexpected way.

[break][break] he does not surprise him in the slightest that fern ended up at Marza Volchitsa's, especially he himself had been busy, but jayden cannot help the guilt that trickles knowing that he hadn't been there for fern when they needed him to be. well, at least they were together now.

[break][break] "travel fast?" he blinks. "like, teleportation?"

[break][break] jayden was aware that avatarship could change a person, in ways that were more drastic than the amount of infinity energy flowing through them. but to imagine it for fern, to think that his person would have been altered in such unexpected ways. his heart skips a beat.

[break][break] but as hesitant he may feel about this all, there is one thing that he doesn't.

[break][break] there is no hesitation when he reaches for them, hands ghosting over theirs, ignoring the sparks of electricity that fly along his skin. they crackle, but no different than his own pokemon's whenever they attempt to injure him.

[break][break] but fern could never hurt him.

[break][break] "i won't," he vows, after a moment. it is no small thing that jayden makes this vow either — knowing him, and his loyalty to rocket. but this is fern. plus, he was sure that Cillian Quinn would take care of whatever needed to be taken care of. "not unless it becomes dangerous. or until you tell me to."

[break][break] this - whatever it was - was fern's secret. their truth. jayden trusted them enough to let them handle it.

[break][break] the admin glances towards the unlikely elephant in the room. the sparking tapu fini. he turns to it, still holding himself in front of fern, as if protecting him from the diety.

[break][break] "what do you want from us?" he said, expression tightened into concentration.

[break][break] "are you..." he paused, half-in-thought. "running away from them?"

[break][break] from something?

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

jayden stares.

[break][break] he knows the powers of avatarship cross the rules of reality, had seen his own brother be able to command shadow pokemon at a flick of his hand, and yet &mash; when they vanish from his side in a mere heartbeat, he is still stunned into silence.

[break][break] they come back to him, and yet he knows - they are still different. different than before.

[break][break] it makes something anxious yet excited thrum in his chest.

[break][break] "i understand," he murmurs, reaching for their face and pressing a gentle kiss to their lips. jayden is not typically one to make exceptions, but fern has always been his.

[break][break] when he pulls away and speaks a question to the diety that has claimed fern, he is startled when the diety suddenly zooms close. he stares into nothing but bright sparks as he finds them - suddenly - very close.

[break][break] he only lets out a breath when fern delaney dismisses it, bonking it lightly on the head.

[break][break] jayden cannot help the way his lips curve slightly at the sight of it.

[break][break] in some ways, fern delaney - their fern - is still the same as ever.

[break][break] "i... see." but jayden doesn't, not really, but he knows he doesn't need to. this is fern's story, not his. the admin turns to his partner then, reaching for his hand again, feeling that same burst of exhilaration as sparks run up his fingertips again. something hot coils in the pit of his stomach.

[break][break] "so should i worry about it?" he says, bemused. "will you run away from me now that i can't catch you?"

[break]

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉

[attr="class","jaytop"]

[attr="class","littlejay"]

he cannot explain what it is.

[break][break] whether it's surprise at the fact that events have unraveled like this, if it is admiration that his fern delaney has been chosen as special among the gods. or whether it has anything to do with the faint sparks that singe his skin, making his heart aflutter perhaps a second faster than they normally are.

[break][break] when they fold into him, jayden's chest sings with relief too — knowing that they are different, yet still the same fern that he has come to know and love.

[break][break] entangling their fingers together, those sparks run up and down his skin. his gaze darkens, if so briefly.

[break][break] "i'm fine," he says, turning to gently cradle their face with his free hand and provides them a gentle kiss — first to their mouth, then their jaw. then, slowly, angling downwards as he burrows his face against their neck, mouthing gently at the skin that is there. he inhales, his heart thudding at the familiar smell of lavender and earl-grey. "i'm just glad you're safe, lyubeemiy."

[attr="class","ooc"] fern delaney

☉