"It's beautiful here," she caught herself saying, looking over at the distant cityscape before taking in the sight of the natural environs around them. The rolling hillsides made her think of her childhood, and Elisabeth paused mid-step as a pleasant breeze whisked its way around them, whispering with portents of thunderstorms yet to come.[break][break]

She'd never stood this far on the outskirts of Lilycove before, and yet, it was the closest she'd stood to the city for some time now. A pang of longing struck her suddenly for simpler times, when even walking among strangers was something that came easily and without consequence.[break][break]

"I'm sorry, though," she said, uncharacteristically side-stepping the obvious invitation for arguing he'd handed her. "The delay couldn't be helped. Were you waiting long?"[break][break]

The false Red Shard that declan walsh had handed her sat heavy with guilt in her pocket, taunting her. Knowing the right time for betraying him had yet to come.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

She blinked large green eyes at him, startled by the intensity of his reaction. "Do I apologize that infrequently?" she asked, genuinely taken aback, as a hand tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I didn't realize."[break][break]

Upon becoming aware of her own fidgeting, she folded her hands together in front of herself, letting the sparkling silhouette of Lilycove distract her. She pretended not to notice the way he observed her, wondering at her change in demeanor.[break][break]

"I inconvenience you fairly often is all. Isn't there a tournament going on in Lilycove right now?" She glanced over her shoulder back at him, tilting her head curiously. "I'm surprised you're here, instead of there."

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Oh," was all Elisabeth could think to say to that. She had no grounds to argue against this judgment of her character, and so she didn't, instead accepting the condemnation in silence. "That must be burdensome for you," she added finally.[break][break]

The underboss fiddled with the Pokeball at her waist, letting it roll between her fingers back and forth.[break][break]

"Why are you here, then?" she asked again, before gesturing to the lights and the spectacle of the distant Vital City Tournament. "Instead of there."

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

He could be so casually dismissive. If it weren't for her pensive mood, this would be enough to start lashing out at him; she could threaten to leave, given how his time could clearly be better spent elsewhere.[break][break]

"Are you afraid I'm going to get killed, then?" she asked lightly, brushing past the insults as she released her Pokeball. A Centiskorch slithered out onto the grass, mandibles clicking as it regarded the Elite Four.[break][break]

She crossed her arms, shrugging off his concern.[break][break]

"I didn't have the opportunity to study battling in any real capacity until Rocket. Before then, it was nothing but a game to pass the time."[break][break]

It hadn't been life-or-death, until it was.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

If he was poking fun at her, the attempt landed flat and with tone-deaf humor.[break][break]

"I wouldn't call it a luxury. I didn't have much say in how I lived my life," Elisabeth retorted, a minor trace of irritation lacing through her words, "or in what Pokemon I had access to, for that matter."[break][break]

His additional pontificating pushed her over, however. The agitation built to something that overtook her demeanor, darkening with a glower.[break][break]

"And either you're in the mood to explain the basics of typing to me, or you're still blaming me for the fact you threw yourself at Kyogre without thinking."[break][break]

He only had his own hubris to blame for that. If he lost his leg, that wouldn't have been her doing.[break][break]

She could feel the angry heat of the unseen Red Shard pulsing in her pocket, tempting her to unveil it too soon.[break][break]

"I can leave, you realize?"

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

The sudden shift from criticism to kindness wrongfooted her, and she found herself struggling to maintain her composure as he drew near. She didn't know what to do with him when he acted like this. Finally she let out a soft sigh, a hand running idly through her long blonde hair.[break][break]

"...That won't be necessary. Thank you, though."[break][break]

Rocket provided her with enough resources on its own, but her refusal went deeper than that. Accepting a Pokemon from Matias meant relying on him further, when she'd already relied on him far too much.[break][break]

"So." A clearing of her throat preceded the change in topic. "What does training with an Elite Four look like?"

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"That makes sense, I suppose," she said distantly, thinking of similar sentiments shared by Rocket Beasts like Zev Harcourt and bryan delarosa. All training surely existed for a specific purpose.[break][break]

The Centiskorch curled up on the hillside, eyes glittering up at his trainer patiently as she gathered her thoughts.[break][break]

"I don't want to rely on Avatarship to defend myself," she said at length, staring up at him. Only then did she register that her arms hadn't uncrossed, and she attempted to relax her posture, which had locked up defensively without her realizing it. "I don't want to be at the whims of something more powerful than me if I can help it."[break][break]

A small, simple honesty hid itself in that admission, whispering at an unspoken fear: without them you are nothing.

[attr="class","ooc"] MATIAS SILPH

[attr="class","pkmn"]