she could have dreamed it all. every moment of her bedrest is blurry, a push and pull of touches of pain until there's no more pain to be had, only the drip-drip-drop of clear ambrosia in her veins. though she's still apprehensive while she follows behind, thumbing down her sleeves to cover her wrists and the palms of her hands.

there's some amount of pride in his voice and he addresses her with an ease that makes her relax. had i made it up after all - oh. councilwoman. still, not entirely unusual.

"this is brilliant, alex," she says and she means it. her gaze sweeps curiously over the screens, picking up bits and pieces of information above the normal citizen's security access. it makes sense, given his standing, and sentimental pride swells in her chest as he chuckles. 

"it's nice to see you in your element." 

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

to business then. that warm, prideful glow doesn't leave her eyes, though she does give a bit of an embarrassed simper. when she'd gotten 'home,' she'd put it in the shower. hung it up right on the faucet and unfolded it so she could clean out the blood and the muck. 

it took her hours. not that she remembers most of it, drugged up as she was. 

it sparkles beautifully, almost lovingly, a garish contrast to the midsection being a gleaming rupture. the skirt cape is torn, the fireproof cape riddled with holes from ruination. her pauldrons and her greaves escaped damage, save for a few dings.

she doesn't think much of it when she lifts up her shirt to show the half-dissolved stitches on her side, her bruised ribs. 

"they pulled a lot of slate out of me. the armor kept me alive." alive long enough to get rescued by Isaac Merlo. alive long enough to get to a hospital.

she looks at him thoughtfully. "did you receive a summons? i never...saw you on the field."

i didn't even think to look for you, she realizes with a pang of guilt. 

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

his expression is readable, emotions surfacing through the carefully constructed layers of his mask. she allows her shirt to fall back down and nods, pleased, at the very least, that there are others who still value his life. even if it's self-serving, he's being watched out for. 

"i would have gone anyway, you know," she says. "and there's a chance i wouldn't have made it.

"but i wanted so badly to live, alex. i still do. that fight was for hoenn." it's true, but like all truths, there are nuances. white stains, petty little lies. "and myself."

she shakes her head. "i'm glad you stayed behind. you're too important to lose."

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

and stacked the odds he had, but there is a limit, even then to what she could have done. she has come to terms with the fact that her everything was simply not enough. if she hadn't scorned him all those years ago, then maybe fernando would have listened. maybe she could have broken through his hubris. 

her expression sours at alex's admission. their discussion by her hospital bed is hazy at best, lacking at worst, but she remembers his anger. she remembers him telling her that fernando should have died. 

that she had done the wrong thing and he cannot stand by her any longer. 

"you say that like you were betting against him," she says with a scoff, but that can't be true.

that can't be true.

because to oppose fernando silph is to oppose the well-being of hoenn. to oppose fernando silph is to oppose the league. and now, to oppose him is to oppose her. 

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

she stares at him a long while. to be on unfriendly terms is already difficult enough. to find him as her opposition is another thing entirely. something she won't accept. 

the hologram version of her suit rotates. he asks her a question, but she does not answer. she is racing through the battle, searching for signs of him and finding nothing. seconds tick by. her eyes narrow. she looks like she's about to say something, but then shifts. 

"i need the underlayers skin-tight. elisabeth's curse managed to get in. and a cowl - something i can pull over my nose and mouth on a dime if tapu fini's mist comes out again.

"and more paralysis and heal pulse arrows."

ALEXANDER STONE

☉

of course he already has the second build ready. she clutches the first almost possessively. it served her so well; to discard it feels sacrilege. but that doesn't matter now. she has to move forward. they all do.

she blinks.

"what?" she says dumbly because she can't think of anything better than that. then it comes with a furrowing of her brows, a thinning of her lips

"you really mean to stand against me because i stand by him?"

ALEXANDER STONE

☉