they're back to work. the grind continues. they strive, as always, towards a future that becomes bleaker and bleaker by the day. freya forgets entirely about the meeting, having written it off when Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki reminded her that paxton had never accepted. she'd thought to go back to the dragon sanctuary and work with her hands, but her thoughts had drifted. 

over the meaning of her identity. the fire that stirs in her belly. the worry over fernando silph's well-being. the run-in with king. missing delta. missing eva. missing her life. missing everything and all that this had been for.

she startles at the knock on her door and blinks, dropping her gaze down to her tablet. paxton concordas has accepted your meeting invite, reads the most recent notification. she shakes her head, readjusts a stray braid in her hair, and rises to stand, but he comes in anyway. 

he looks like the rest of the league's workers - exhausted beyond measure. she sympathizes. 

"deputy director," she says by way of greeting and gestures to the leather chair facing her desk. "please sit."

paxton concordas
office vibes

☉

"you're fine," she says, dismissing it with a wave of her hand. "we've all had a lot on our plate." matias is a walking pr disaster; no doubt paxton has one of the toughest jobs in the league. same with matias' assistant. at least the worst Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki has to deal with is freya's ineptitude with the computer and keeping up with her own schedule.

"i appreciate it and it will; i'll make sure of that." her last had been at the beginning, before the world went to shit. back when the least of their worries were oversized tentacruels wandering the beach. 

"just that i look forward to working alongside our esteemed council members, but i don't see the need to draw attention to the league's rotating doors of power."

here, before her though, is the bookkeeper. a person whose job entails analysis and cataloguing of every report that comes across his desk. 

"but speaking of the past, i wanted to meet with you about my shortcomings. i cared little for paperwork then. the structures that make our little organization work. i know penny is your direct supervisor and that you have a rapport enough to go to her with any suggestions you might have, but i pick your brain with this - of the programs we're running right now, which do you think is most...lacking? anything that could put us ahead if we have the right manpower behind it?"

paxton concordas

☉

she's quite taken by him. their meeting had little by way of preparation, though it wouldn't take much to put together potential topics she'd want to approach with him. nevertheless, his aptitude far exceeds her expectations. in her looping scrawl, she writes her own notes, but mostly she maintains an attentive stare, nodding and agreeing with the occasional hm. 

"silph can be dissuaded from dissolution," she says with a wave of her hand. she opens a folder from her desk and takes out a one sheet to pass to paxton. 

"i'm glad you agree with me. outlined is a new mission statement for sapphire. we're in an arms race with rocket and right now, we're losing, and i'd like to know why." there are details surrounding illeana and eva's research he mentioned, with recommendations for mental health check-ins with their allied avatars. disciplinary actions for any malfeasances. new research into legendary origins and their place in the multiverse. questions upon questions upon questions - maybe all this time, they'd been asking the wrong ones.

instead of focusing on what else is out there, what can they learn about the ones they do have access to?

her brow arches and then furrows at his next statement. "i don't disagree." she clears her throat. "i told dahlia as much when she asked about my preferred area of expertise." a pause. "there's a gym leader summit coming up, headed by our own michael navidson." 

she pinches her brow. "the gym circuit is a means of finding promising adepts for the league. for furthering the knowledge and combat potential of our denizens. not to prepare them for war or invasions from other worlds. no, mr concordas, that's my job."

paxton concordas

☉

shrewd and calculating, leaving little time for bullshit. oh, she can see why someone like PENELOPE LIVY has him as her right-hand man. 

"situational," she says decisively. "the people should know that avatars, especially our own, are not above the law." they make public infractions. they're dealt with publicly. 

her expression is kept plain, for the most part, while he talks - brows are knit in concentration as she parses his words into more digestible keywords for later, scribbling this way and that. but her tablet pen pauses when he says one word - execute.

she ruminates while he finishes, allowing a silence to lapse between them. 

"we've been working through multiple channels to discourage civilians from entering active warzones. like you said, we can't account for every person." she drums her fingers against the table. "some years ago, when abbiati had my seat, i pitched the idea of a black ops. a pertinent strike team - small, well-coordinated, and obedient.

"would you see that a fitting arm attached to sapphire?" 

paxton concordas

☉

it's astoundingly impressive the way he's so quick to snatch up the idea and dissect it, following strings to all possible futures. looking at it through all possible angles. she feels, very suddenly, inadequate. an imposter at her desk, all qualifications drained away over the course of several lifetimes. 

and wasn't it several lifetimes ago where she studied the very possibilities they're discussing?

"you've been doing this a lot longer than i have," she says, rather meticulously. "if you feel it redundant, consider the suggestion in the proverbial trash. i only emphasize the fact that the previous intentions of the project have resulted in its impending cut from funding entirely. 

"we don't have the luxury of time. aqua can't limit its scope to just research, like you've alluded to."

some of the tension leaves her shoulders while she talks, confidence leaking its way back in, especially given his suggestion. 

"we do this one step at a time. revitalize the project. discuss with councilwoman livy its trajectory and new goals. and if we have room for it, after the shift in research focus, start training our volunteers to assist with avatar-related threats."

she hmms. "we could always reach out to those who have manufactured sygna suits. they're at the best odds when going up against enemy avatars."

paxton concordas

☉

they rearrange the pieces and it comes together on the page, a small feat in itself. but she knows that it will still be an arduous journey. people aren't puzzle pieces and fitting them together into these boxes is going to be almost impossible.

it's not going to stop them from trying.

"we're very much on the same page, i think," she agrees. "this will be very helpful for the upcoming gym leader summit. i'll let you know how that goes." (crow looks at the camera like she's in the office.)

and with business closed, she cordially says, "i think that about does it. i'll share my notes before the end of day and we can continue to collaborate. one small step at a time, mr concordas, and we'll revitalize sapphire."

paxton concordas

☉