there was an interested smile on lulu’s face as nenet entered the room. this was a much less
violent approach to taking mossdeep – in all the ways that mattered to her, at least.[break][break]

”pleasure’s mine,” she assured, observing the woman’s enthusiasm as she approached the minior’s container. craterous eyes peered back at her from the shadows of its otherworldly veil.[break][break]

”i haven’t seen it, actually. the shell is still there, if you look very closely.” it was well obscured, but its clay-red tint could be seen peeking through, the minior kept otherwise alive and safe from the world by the very things that plagued it.[break][break]

“the moss is from the giant tree that used to grow over sootopolis. interesting reports to look into if you haven’t yet, by the way.” she didn’t mention necrozma’s killing of the tree, though she wondered how much nenet already knew.[break][break]

”there's also this.” taking a few steps closer, she pointed through the glass at well-lit areas where the shell had been discolored, explaining, ”another black material, which we believe was pulled from the unown dimension through a portal that had been opening up nearby at the same time.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Neffatari Nzingha [break]

she would send word to Naomi Sato and Amor Rose, requesting access for Neffatari Nzingha to the video recording taken by mint frost in the tree. though it would only cover parts of what had happened, it would offer her a valuable look into the alien world they had explored — another world perhaps consumed by her husband’s patron.[break][break]

and speak of the devil.[break][break]

she watched the look on nenet’s face change, and there was a flash of clear interest in her own eyes at the name. well, that had taken no time at all.[break][break]

”hm.” she hadn’t considered an infection by necrozma.[break][break]

there was an impressed twitch at the corners of her lips.[break][break]

”we assumed, only because of the portal’s proximity,” she admitted. ”but a porygon-z did confirm that the two materials are from separate dimensions.”[break][break]

there was a short pause as she looked at her, before continuing, ”we didn’t know as much about necrozma as we do now.” not nearly as much as you, surely. ”at that time, we were unaware of its effects on the tree… but you’re right. that is an intriguing possibility.”[break][break]

her head cocked a little to the other side curiously. ”what did you mean by ‘at odds?’”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Neffatari Nzingha [break]

sending the minior to the unown dimension would have been interesting idea if she’d heard her. perhaps Naomi Sato would think so too. the visionary would see if it wasn’t run by her first, surely.[break][break]

”hm. still, another interesting idea we hadn’t thought of.”[break][break]

she was looking forward to seeing more. after all that had happened – particularly recently – the glitching reawakened her need to know why. were they all just corruptible data?[break][break]

”no,” she answered about the shell. ”i never touched it myself. i was careful not to when i first transported it to my lab, and it’s been either in a pokeball or behind glass since.”[break][break]

she paused, before telling her, ”i’ll leave that part to you, if you’re interested. it’s definitely time we figured out what’s going on with this.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Neffatari Nzingha [break]

”i don’t blame you.” she smiled back, teeth hidden behind curling lips. pain was a necessary sacrifice for their progress – but that didn’t mean they had to be the ones to feel it.[break][break]

at nenet’s request for permission, she gave a small, sweeping gesture to the minior, as though offering it for whatever research nenet hoped to do on it.[break][break]

”sure. you’ll have full access to it, here in the labs. do with it what you will – as long as you record it, of course.”[break][break]

her shoulders jumped slightly at the burst of a pokeball. she eyed the noivern cautiously, but her smile returned when she realized it wasn’t attacking.[break][break]

”it’s no problem. i’m quite fond of bats, actually. i have a whole flock.” there was a tower in her yard that housed between thirty and forty. theirs were souls of the night, something that had once resonated with her very much – and still did, in ways. darkrai had left her, but her love for the dark, and all the moon’s creatures had not.[break][break]

”i’ve also a recent new addition myself, from a swarm that appeared in rusturf tunnel a few days ago. it’s still adjusting, too.”[break][break]

its pokeball burst open, as if on cue. the shiny noivern unfurled its wings and chittered a familiar sound, nearing its old flockmate.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Neffatari Nzingha [break]