[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]her eyes dart to the sphere he makes, to the way it clouds… and despite herself, her eyes narrow slightly in scrutiny.

”a while? do you know exactly how long to be precise?”

stepping closer, she gently prods at the ice sphere. it’s still solid, from what she can tell, but the color is off. beneath her fingertips, she can faintly feel the spatial composition of it — the way it takes up space against his palm.

”has articuno been injured or make moves to retract the bond that you know of?”

if not injury or corruption, she suspects the bond might be tangled up in this somehow… whatever it is, they’ll surely find out today.

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]"i had been at mt pyre, but i read the reports from the meteor team."

each one delved into and etched into memory until she understood the intricacies of each event... but she does not seem to understand this quite yet, not until he provides more information.

and she is quiet as he recounts the tale, absorbing the recalling of memory like a sponge.

only when he's done does she place questions gently before him, as if she's guiding him through a dream in hopes of finding additional clues that had been missed prior.

"do you believe articuno might have been shaken up by kyurem?"

a beat passes.

"whether that's due to a lack of immunity to kyurem's ice or to the challenge it issued, it's possible articuno could be suffering from doubt and unease from that encounter."

it would explain the murky, dark hue, at least...

"have you noticed if your power has been getting weaker since the meteor?"

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]"yes, i'd like to see the wings if you're comfortable showing them."

more data, aside from the wings, is jotted down as he speaks. she draws small arrows in side columns to connect thoughts and theories together, adding little stars by items of particular importance.

and once she's done, the pen stills. her eyes rise to refocus.

"with what you've disclosed, i can check on your infinity energy levels to see if they're fading. it'll provide some insight into what's going on with the powers, but i wouldn't be able to give a concrete reason why without studying articuno as well."

it could be mental or physical, she reasons, but without the legendary bird, it's difficult to say where the problem stems from entirely. she can only make educated guesses, small shots in the dark until something lodges into concrete evidence.

"have you tried going back to shoal cave since the initial shut out?"

Laurence Anderson

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she hums, considering her words for a moment, before opening her mouth with a tentative option.

"what if talking is not what will help? do you believe a silent, understanding approach might be worth a try?"

unfortunately, it seems he does not have the luxury of many other options. she believes, at the very least, it's worth a shot.

he moves, then, to conjure up his wings and as they spread, her eyes drift across their full width. they're tattered, wounded or torn in multiple spots, and falling apart as a small icicle thunks softly to the floor.

she bends to pluck it up into her hands, turning it this way and that to get a better look at the structure of it.

"to me, it almost seems like your powers are beginning to slowly wither away without a strong bond with your patron. if that were not the case, these instances would not continue to occur..."

which brings her to her next question:

"has this progressively gotten worse, or has it been this way suddenly ever since the meteno event?"

Laurence Anderson