"Is that right?" she commented lightly, the life or death of Navy a topic that admittedly wouldn't interest her. "A shame." Unfortunately she'd pieced together the name and face of the man who'd found her half-dead on the beach and returned her to Naomi Sato, making her a direct beneficiary of that failure.[break][break]

Not that she owed him anything, necessarily. He knew better than to trust a stranger, and Cillian Quinn's sentiments echoed her own: you didn't cripple a region with kindness.[break][break]

Which was why the slight dig about her own abilities went ignored as well. She knew better than to take that bait.[break][break]

"As it happens," she continued, splaying out a series of documents on the table, "I have some reports of my own to share."[break][break]

Uncharacteristic aggression from Champion kyle lopez, making the usually stable behavior to be expected from the Champion erratic and unpredictable -- for both foes and allies.[break][break]

The strange absence of MATIAS SILPH for most of the island's events, followed by reports of finding him in a similar frenzied state after being the mysterious sole League survivor of a skirmish against a Rocket outpost.[break][break]

The final document detailed the near-death of FERNANDO SILPH at her hands, prevented only by freya morningstar -- whose attacks against the underboss were ultimately deflected by the councilman himself, allowing for Elisabeth's escape.[break][break]

"These are all for your eyes only at the moment, gentlemen, for a specific reason. One that Declan Walsh remains well-aware of."[break][break]

She brought a finger to her lips, pulling away to draw out a wispy tendril of roseate mist that curled like a pink flower in the center of her palm.[break][break]

"I am Tapu Fini's second Avatar. And in the most recent raid, I experimented with using that deity's mind-altering mist against our enemies to great effect."

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT Cillian Quinn[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

This time, jayden cross and Chien-Pao couldn't be blamed for the way the room turned chill with palpable distrust. She'd expected this frosty reception. She recognized the bloodlust, even, that burned in Cillian Quinn's eyes now.[break][break]

It was the very same rage she'd beheld in him when he first spoke to her of FERNANDO SILPH over a year ago.[break][break]

"Rest assured, I have already met and spoken with declan walsh on this matter," she said calmly. "My Avatarships with Wo-chien and Tapu Fini likewise do not negate one another. I am both the Scorned and the Vindictive, and I share those Avatarships with no one else."[break][break]

Her face reflected back a disturbing lack of emotion compared to their own heightened states. This was a porcelain mask she'd perfected after too many years facing a man who wielded that vulnerability against her; it was a wall, protecting the truth of her thoughts and intentions from view.[break][break]

"You are both asking the wrong questions," she continued, leaning back as she steepled her hands together. "Reframe this, and take both of your egos out of the equation. Did I, or did I not, wield this Avatarship on Rocket's behalf in the recent battle? And was the element of surprise not integral to the success of ambushing my targets?"[break][break]

When she regarded them both now, she did so with a clinical severity. She did not seem to view them as people, but chess pieces on a board, capable of blocking or enabling her next move.[break][break]

"Rank aside, you are both liabilities when it comes to Tapu Fini. You are emotionally compromised on that topic, and I will not insult you both by explaining why." She clicked her tongue, avoiding Lulu Flint by name but allowing the momentary silence to invoke her nonetheless. "Leaking this intelligence was a risk we were not willing to take before the ambush could be completed. The room for that error has now passed."[break][break]

Her emerald eyes narrowed to thin slits, viperous in their gleam.[break][break]

"If you take offense to that, take it up with declan walsh yourself."

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT Cillian Quinn[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Nothing changed her expression, not the snide derision from THEO BECKETT and not the barely restrained fury radiating from Cillian Quinn. She let every insult wash over her like rain, each but a single drop to be found in a lifetime of relentless judgment.[break][break]

Kindness, she'd found, unmoored her more than cruelty.[break][break]

"We cannot undo the past," she said simply, seeing no point in arguing over matters that had already been set in stone. "If the timing offends you, so be it. Regardless, you are being informed now."[break][break]

Beneath the surface of her cool demeanor, however, silent indignation simmered. Their balking offended her. She had seen how they'd both looked at her the day that jayden cross transformed into the instrument of Ruination she already was.[break][break]

How nice it must be, to presume that trust was a given in this organization. She never did.[break][break]

This time, she didn't bother to sheathe her mockery.[break][break]

"But as you are both more concerned with matters of authority than the implications of this Avatarship, by all means. Depart and storm off to declan walsh's office to complain about due process. I am certain he has no better use for his time."[break][break]

She held them both with her impassive gaze, not bothering to let the bluff settle before moving along.[break][break]

"You presume my mission failed, THEO BECKETT. But I would argue that it did not."

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT Cillian Quinn[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Resisting provocation didn't come so easily to her, but she bit her tongue lest that spiteful impulse cause her more trouble than she'd already brought down upon herself.[break][break]

You have no friends here, she reminded herself as she let her gaze linger on both men, but you can potentially still have allies.[break][break]

"Tapu Fini holds no loyalty to its former Avatar. I tested that hypothesis myself in the recent battle, and he proved surprisingly susceptible to the influence of its mist. To the point he almost killed his ally to protect me."[break][break]

A pause allowed that revelation space to breathe before she continued.[break][break]

"This is to say that Tapu Fini's loyalties are not tied to the League. It is a self-interested deity, and thus willing to use its gifts on those who might have once been its allies. At present, my mission is to unseat one in particular."[break][break]

She pushed one of the reports forward, the name on it clear: MATIAS SILPH.[break][break]

"Surely you have heard reports of Kyogre's behavior at present? How quickly the League's power over such a great titan fell, due to one correctly placed move on the chessboard."[break][break]

Elisabeth let her hands fall into her lap. She smiled without warmth.[break][break]

"Our next move is to unseat Groudon the same way."

[attr="class","ooc"] THEO BECKETT Cillian Quinn[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]