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POSTED ON Feb 4, 2024 22:49:35 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Scarcely a week had passed since Aurelie returned home from the resurfaced island in Route 105 when she received a new commission from jayden cross for a new set of knives, daggers, and even a sword. The message startled her at first, because she'd heard some conflicting reports about Admin Cross' mental and physical health during autumn. Especially after the Rocket leadership meeting.

Was he alive? Had he died? How had he fought on the resurfaced island, as reports claimed, if he wasn't alive? Was he still the same man? Like most of Rocket—or so she imagined—Aurelie had wondered.

Now, it seemed, she had her answer: He was alive, and he wanted more weapons.

Lest she doubt the admin's seriousness, the next day a shipment arrived containing a remarkable alloy she'd only read about, as well as new Pokemon materials to incorporate into the weapons and infuse them with special properties. Aurelie smiled as she read his request. Admin Cross' commissions were always fascinating and lucrative, and this one looked no different.

After everything that befell her on the resurfaced island, Aurelie was even happier for a commission like this—something to occupy her mind and hands with something new. She threw herself into crafting the stiletto with Venomoth scales, the combat knife with Voltorb wire, the dagger with Duskull bone, and the long, slender sword with Cryogonal crystal. She was sure Admin Cross would be pleased.

On the appointed day, she arrived outside the admin's office and knocked politely on the door, carrying a large case with all her creations. The door was slightly ajar, so Aurelie poked her head inside without invitation and smiled.

"Hello, Admin!" she said brightly. "I hope I'm not barging in on you or anything. have your order here ready. I must say, I was very happy to receive your commission and hear from you, so that I knew you were o..."

Her words trailed off to a stop as Aurelie blinked and then took a second, closer look at the man inside the office. He looked very different from the man who had first arrived in her shop many months ago. The red-haired smith swallowed hard, visibly startled and trying to recover.

"...okay," she managed to finish. I hope he is okay, she found herself thinking, a look of uncertainty crossing the pleased and prideful expression she'd been wearing. Dare I ask him? Or would that be presumptuous of me? Maybe even dangerously so?

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milky

jayden

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december 25

ballonlea, galar

bisexual

wyndon ceo

admin

5'10" height

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POSTED ON Feb 12, 2024 20:12:51 GMT

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When Rocket's most esteemed blacksmith entered the chamber that was jayden cross's office, she would find that the office look quite different than it had prior. First - and perhaps the most noticible of the changes - was that the room was of a frigid, nearly ice-cold temperature. Ever since the admin had recovered from the medbay and graduated into his office, it seemed that the cold had followed him there too, even if his icy-cold patron had not. These days, Chien Pao was a fickle beast at best, appearing where it wanted to and disappearing when it didn't, only materializing at moments when it believed that it could slake it's ever-growing hunger for the spite and HATRED that was undoubtedly sprouting like a black flower in the avatar's chest.

[break][break] The second was the fact that Jayden himself seemed substantially weaker. A man who had almost always been at his prime health previously was now visibly fatigued and pale, the scars that lined his body unmistakable to note. Rumors floated around the Rocket Sub that the admin had died during the events of the Cave of Origin, and that the version of himself that was now was merely a ghost in his presence. Ironic, considering that he seemed to emulate the ghosts that he loved so dearly.

[break][break] And third was the stacks of papers that seemed to line his desk. It was paperwork that had piled up since his hospitalization in the medbay, comprised of various paperwork that howard slayte and fern delaney had not been able to complete, with one of their admins getting lost in the shadows of his own mind and the other chasing after a series of galarian dreambirds.

[break][break] And of course, fourth and final, was the admin himself. He was found asleep on his couch in the back-corner of his room, curled up in a fetal position with a breath that seemed labored. At the bright voice of Aurelie Lefevre, which rang like a beautiful chime in the frigid space, Jayden flinched. His face contorted into wakefulness and he blinked his eyes open, gaze shifting from ice-blue to violet, as he tried to shake the sight of feverish clouds from his vision.

[break][break] Hallucinations shifted in his mind's eye - the sight of a blurry illeana reyes shifting into the familiar visage of his favorite blacksmith. His face smoothed as he propped himself into a sitting position.

[break][break] "Ah... sorry," he amended, running a hand over his face. Crystals fell from his cheek. "I was taking a nap."

[break][break] He squinted.

[break][break] "Are those the... materials I ordered?"

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— note to myself: [break] jayden currently has black hair + violet eyes

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MILKY

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dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

Associate

5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Feb 15, 2024 0:45:59 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie couldn't suppress a shocked gasp when she looked back and forth across the office, startled to see the admin huddled on his couch instead of sitting at his desk as she'd expected. She felt a chill of apprehension when she saw how changed he was. The familiar violet eyes looked huge and out of place on his pale, haggard face, and his lithe, athletic frame now looked gaunt and withered.

Then, when she sneezed, Aurelie realized the chill wasn't just emotional, but physical. The office felt as bone-chillingly cold as if she'd just stepped into a walk-in freezer. Wrapping her arms around herself, the redhead forced herself to walk further inside.

Watching the expressions chase each other like moths across Jayden's face, she gave a weak smile and a light, dismissive wave of her hand. "Oh, no worries. I imagine you admins need a rest just like everyone else. With how cold it was in here, I'm just relieved to not find you..."

Dead, was the word echoing in her head. Dead, like the rumors were saying. Dead and embalmed for burial. Her voice petered out, her breath hanging in the air as a plume of white vapor.

"...passed out," Aurelie finished, hugging herself even tighter. "Or ill, maybe." Though she wouldn't swear to that latter one, with his eyes still faintly glowing with an agitated, uneasy light.

Her expression only smoothed when he asked about the case she was carrying. Pride in her work won out over anxiety, and Aurelie nodded and beamed broadly at him. "Yes! These are the new weapons you commissioned from me. Here, let me show you."

Walking over toward the couch, the red-haired smith laid the case upon the near armrest and popped it open, letting the mirror-polished blades within shimmer softly in the available light. She pulled out the combat knife, holding it in a simple fist grip with all five fingers around the handle. Holding it high, she tilted the knife to show off the glint of red-and-white wire embedded along the cutting edge and tip.

"Voltorb wire, like I said!" she added proudly. "On a clean stab or cut, like this..."

She swung the knife slowly with a practiced swoop, the blade whistling softly as it sliced through empty air. Her circling movements were smooth and competent, as though she'd fought with knives often.

"Anything that comes into contact with the wire will feel a sharp sting or shock—not enough to paralyze them, with so little wire, but enough to cause a bit of pain and maybe slow their reaction time down," Aurelie explained. "And sometimes, a second is all you need, right?"

Then she offered the knife to him, handle first. "Would you like to test the balance and weight, Admin Cross?"

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milky

jayden

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december 25

ballonlea, galar

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5'10" height

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POSTED ON Mar 2, 2024 19:29:06 GMT

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"...?"

[break][break] Jayden stared back at his favorite blacksmith with unblinking eyes, looking more like a Noctowl in that moment then the supposed admin that he was. Her implication did not seem to register in his mind, neither did the fact that he appeared to be like a ghost in the flesh — ironic, considering the pokemon he held so dear.

[break][break] What was it that they said? At one point, trainers began to look like their pokemon? Was this applicable here?

[break][break] Fond curiosity leaked back into his expression, bringing pinkish life into his pale skin at the thought of her weapons, however. He pushed himself upwards, weakly, as she put the case on the nearby armrest.

[break][break] "..."

[break][break] Jayden had never been the talkative sort, but it was clear - at least - from his expression that he was pleased.

[break][break] "Yes, of course," he replied.

[break][break] He reached for the knife in her hand without pause — and should their fingertips touch, she might feel that his hands were much more frigid than she could've remembered them being - and held it into his hand. His grip was firm and he copied her motion, swinging it through the air, blinking at the slight spark of electricity that was caused.

[break][break] Still holding the knife - nearly possessively - in his grip, he peered at her curiously.

[break][break] "Have you tested this?"

[break][break] On pokemon? On humans?

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Aurelie Lefevre [break]
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— note to myself: [break] jayden currently has black hair + violet eyes

[attr="class","milkycred"]
MILKY

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dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

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5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Mar 4, 2024 17:15:17 GMT

jayden cross likes this

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie stared with unabashed curiosity and fascination at the admin's pale face and almost feverishly bright eyes as he slowly levered himself off the couch. Though his reticence to her chatter and guesses was unsurprising, she still had no idea why Jayden looked so uncharacteristically frail. Maybe he's haunted by whatever happened to him on the resurfaced island? she thought curiously.

An image of a rocky promontory in the middle of the sea flashed through her mind, followed by a pang of hurt and the fleeting memory of a sharp impact against her knuckles. Yeah, who among us isn't haunted by what happened on the resurfaced island? Aurelie thought bitterly.

But when Jayden beheld her wares, color and animation slowly brightened his face, and the red-haired smith instantly felt better for it. So, that much is unchanged, she thought with relief. She did feel an instant of disquiet, though, when he reached for her knife and his skin felt like ice against hers.

She'd thought it was just the powerful air-conditioning making the office so cold. But was it possible the cold was emanating straight from Jayden himself?

Aurelie didn't have much time to ponder this startling thought, though, before Jayden began testing the knife himself and then asked his equally surprising question. Taken off guard, she blurted out, "Yes, of course! That's how I know what effect the wire has when it comes into contact on a strike.

"I tested it on myself," she went on to explain, showing him the handful of faint red marks on her right forearm. "Very briefly, and only during the initial crafting stages. And I always kept some PARALYZE HEAL ready so I didn't accidentally maim myself."

It had never occurred to her to test any of her knives on Pokemon, so Aurelie kept diplomatically quiet on that front. Though, now that she thought about it some more, it wasn't as though a Pokemon could tell her how it felt to be struck. Perhaps she could observe its reaction—but the softhearted part of her shrank back from the idea of inflicting that sort of damage to her own tools.

To keep the silence from becoming awkward, Aurelie cleared her throat. From her handbag, she pulled out a small spray bottle of PARALYZE HEAL from where it'd been lying next to similar bottles of ICE HEAL and ANTIDOTE. She offered it to the admin.

"I brought some more, in case you want to try it on yourself too. It's always best to gather your own empirical data, right?" The red-haired smith flashed a playful grin at Jayden.

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milky

jayden

he/him

december 25

ballonlea, galar

bisexual

wyndon ceo

admin

5'10" height

we'll never get free, lamb to the slaughter

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POSTED ON Mar 4, 2024 17:46:21 GMT

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"Hm."

[break][break] Her words brought some relief to his chest, not that he had ever doubted Aurelie Lefevre before. She was a well-equipped Blacksmith, and would have known to test her materials before providing them to her clientele. Still, he was curious how it worked — after all, this was not something he had been acquainted with before.

[break][break] So he was understandably pleased when she offered him the chance to test it himself.

[break][break] She understood him, then.

[break][break] Splaying a palm outwards, he offered for her to take the knife back.

[break][break] "Very well. Testing is a good idea," he said with a nod, before straightening himself as he handed the weapon back.

[break][break] "Cut me."

[break][break] After all, he did not wish to hurt her.

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Aurelie Lefevre [break]
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— note to myself: [break] jayden currently has black hair + violet eyes

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MILKY

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dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

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5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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POSTED ON Mar 11, 2024 22:54:14 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Contrary to what Jayden was thinking, Aurelie didn't understand him nearly as well as he guessed. Her reaction to his brief, simple instruction betrayed her surprise and confusion.

"Wait, what?" she blurted out, her eye widening and her voice rising slightly in pitch. The red-haired smith looked doubtfully back and forth from the knife he'd just handed back to her to his face, which looked solemn and deadly serious, and then to his proffered palm.

A flush of embarrassment suffusing her cheeks, Aurelie hastily added by way of explanation, "When I said trying it on yourself, I meant touching the side of the blade to your skin so that you can feel the zap from the Voltorb wire. That's how I tested it myself."

She nodded toward the red lines on her forearm. Those marks hadn't come from cuts or even scratches but small electrical burns. Her other arm boasted a few remaining itchy bumps left from the rash caused by the touch of the stiletto imbued with Venomoth scales.

"I don't want to cut you," Aurelie went on, with perfect honesty.

The flush deepened across her face as she finally recognized the emotion now swelling in her heart as she looked at Jayden. For once, she wasn't regarding him with fear, wariness, respect, admiration, or gratitude. Instead, she was concerned for him. Worried, even.

It was probably madness, and certainly intensely presumptuous—especially given that he was an admin and she a mere grunt. Even though he had been nothing but patient and generous with her so far, she knew full well that he could turn dangerous in the blink of an eye. And yet...

"I don't want to cut you…" she repeated, growing a little bolder. A ghost of a smile hovered at the corners of her lips. "…because you hardly look as though you have any blood left to give, Admin Cross. And I wouldn't want to be held responsible for accidentally bleeding you to death, especially in your own office."

You look like you've already been cut into far too much recently was the unspoken thought that was uppermost in her mind that Aurelie dared not voice aloud. Whether on the surgery table, on the battlefield, or by a vampire, for all I know. Surely, you don't need another cut on top of that.

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[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

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milky

jayden

he/him

december 25

ballonlea, galar

bisexual

wyndon ceo

admin

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POSTED ON Apr 17, 2024 14:39:55 GMT

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He blinked.

[break][break] Then his gaze intensified, becoming sharp as the knives that she had forged for him. They glimmered a fierce crystal-blue, like the vastness of an ocean who's waves he could easily drown her under, if he so wished.

[break][break] "Lefevre," he said, voice slicing through the cold air. "It was not a request."

[break][break] But there was a certain softness in his eyes, a tenderness if you will, for how he still viewed her even as he wielded his status like a blade. His head tipped behind him, revealing the shiny Sylveon that had woken from it's nap to watch over them both.

[break][break] "Plus, I am not as unbreakable as you think."

[break][break] He nodded towards her.

[break][break] "Go on."

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Aurelie Lefevre [break]
POST-RT [break]
— note to myself: [break] jayden currently has black hair + violet eyes

[attr="class","milkycred"]
MILKY

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played by

dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

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5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON Apr 21, 2024 18:31:35 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]If I'd known it'd be like this, I would've brought a sweater, Aurelie found herself thinking suddenly, irrelevantly, as Jayden's emphatic declaration reverberated around the office. Except I don't just need a sweater for my body. I need one for my soul too! Arceus, these chills!

She didn't even know what qualified as a sweater for the soul. Therapy, maybe? Well, certainly both she and Jayden could probably use some.

At the moment, though, all Aurelie had was a knife and his instructions. For a moment, she was sorely tempted to simply give Jayden a light scratch, just deep enough to make him bleed. With the way his eyes just flashed a startling, spectacular crystalline-blue, though, she suddenly doubted he'd be satisfied with such a halfhearted gesture.

"If you say so, sir," she answered aloud respectfully, seeking to keep her teeth from chattering in the deepening chill. A laugh escaped her as she added in a lighter tone, "Then, I guess...try your best to take it easy on me, instead."

The red-haired smith lifted the knife, which she held in a simple grip with her fingers wrapped around its hilt, like she would hold a hammer, and narrowed her eye. Automatically, she scanned Jayden briefly for weak points, even though she hardly knew what she was looking for. Even in his fragile-looking state, the admin still exuded menace.

Taking a deep breath, Aurelie went with a basic knife fighting maneuver. Sweeping the knife in a quick, curving slash in a feint to hopefully raise his guard and buy her space to close in, she stepped toward Jayden at the same time. Then, on the backstroke, she lowered the knife and aimed a short, sharp stab at his unprotected left arm.

Aurelie knew it wasn't a real fight, and Jayden hadn't asked for anything but a cut. But if he wanted to see how it'd feel to cut and be cut by these knives in combat, then she would do her best to simulate one.

If it wasn't what he wanted...well. Then, she'd regret not just inflicting a small scratch on his palm.

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milky

jayden

he/him

december 25

ballonlea, galar

bisexual

wyndon ceo

admin

5'10" height

we'll never get free, lamb to the slaughter

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TAG WITH @jayden

POSTED ON May 22, 2024 14:55:13 GMT

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He is unflinching.

[break][break] Most people when they are stabbed exhibit some element of resistance. They will attempt to dodge from the blow, whether they believe it to be devastating or not. It is an element of the human condition, to avoid pain.

[break][break] Yet Jayden is neither man nor monster these days. He is both.

[break][break] Agony split across his arm as the sword cuts through, electricity sparking across his skin. The Voltorb wire gleams and almost as if it had hit a trip switch, the hateful ice crystallizes his arm. It does not protect, as Zev Harcourt's do, but rather siphons the energy from the resulting pain and agony, eagerly rippling across would-be human flesh.

[break][break] Jayden grimaces with pain, and Astr is quick to jump to his trainer's attention. A pink-laced ribbon curves around his arm, swelling with the power of a WISH.

[break][break] As he accepts the healing, the admin's expression smooths over and he opens his eyes again to look at Aurelie.

[break][break] "... Good job. Both for the stab and the weapon. You do not disappoint, Aurelie Lefevre."

[break][break] Despite the clear injury, there is a bit of a spark in Jayden's eye. For some reason, he seems livelier.

[break]

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Aurelie Lefevre [break]
POST-RT [break]
— note to myself: [break] jayden currently has black hair + violet eyes

[attr="class","milkycred"]
MILKY

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played by

dreamflower

she/her

December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

Associate

5'7"/170 cm height

A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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1,212 posts

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part of

TAG WITH @aurelie

POSTED ON May 27, 2024 5:12:49 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]"I'm glad you approve," Aurelie exclaimed, her words emerging in a rush of relief. She was confident in the workmanship of her knives, of course, but she felt much less confident about trying to predict Jayden's thoughts or reactions.

She hated to think what would've happened if he had been dissatisfied. Let's not find that out anytime soon, she told herself. Of all the people in Hoenn to disappoint, a Rocket admin who could kill her without any effort ranked near the bottom of her list.

Placing the Voltorb wire-augmented knife on the table, Aurelie opened up the case to bring out another weapon to show off. This time, she selected the dagger inlaid with Duskull bone, which she'd learned had the curious property of turning almost transparent near living flesh. The dagger point and edges blended out of sight just before a strike, making it ideal for deception and concealment.

The red-haired smith hesitated, though, as she eyed Jayden. The way he'd responded to the attack, not with a flinch or a dodge, but with utter calm and acceptance... And even stranger, the way he seemed more alive after getting stabbed than he did before it...

"I must say, I've never seen anyone so happy to get knifed before," she ventured aloud. "I would've thought...with the way you were sleeping when I first came in, and the ice all over you, and your face so pale..."

Aurelie shook her head. He makes no sense. What is going on with him?

"What happened to you?" she burst out finally, impulsively. The query had been on the tip of her tongue all meeting, yet only now, after stabbing him, did she find the courage to ask. "I heard you were in the hospital until very recently. Long before the clash on the resurfaced island.

"But honestly—and I promise I'm saying this sincerely; I'm not trying to flatter you or win some kind of favor with you—I...really can't imagine what could harm you so badly, sir. Not with your powers, not with your strength."

Aurelie took a deep breath. "So, what caused it? What was it that put you in the infirmary and kept you there for so long?"

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jayden

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december 25

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POSTED ON Jul 18, 2024 5:41:53 GMT

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If the interest that had sparked from the Voltorb knife could be described as lively, then the curiosity that shimmered in his violet-blue gaze from the Duskull dagger could be described as very well enthusiastic.

[break][break] Well, as much as one could be in a state such as his, and as much as Jayden in particular had ever been known to show.

[break][break] Which was, of course, to say, not much.

[break][break] But it was something all the same, as the admin leaned closer to observe the ghostly hue emanating from the metal's edge, unable to help the way his heart swelled in his heart, like a child witnessing a toy for the first time.

[break][break] "That's the Duskull dagger, isn't it? I can tell. It glows a bit like - "

[break][break] Her words rooted him back to the present, and at least, he seemed a bit admonished when he leaned back, expression smoothing into cool nonchalance once more.

[break][break] "I don't know about happy," he ventured, looking sheepish. "But I am just pleased to see your work, as I always am, Aurelie. You are a skilled blacksmith, after all."

[break][break] His expression was proud, nearly that of watching one of his Eevee walk for the first time.

[break][break] "What happened to you?"

[break][break] His embarrassment, his enthusiasm, whatever emotion that had glimmered on his face like that of dewdrops across a frozen pool of water immediately evaporated at her words. The room grew colder, the memories nearly suffocating him, as his icy fingers gripped the edge of the couch cushion that he was sitting on.

[break][break] Several moments passed in which Jayden's expression grew tense, almost as if he was about to dismiss her from the room entirely. But he did no such thing.

[break][break] When he did speak, his voice was rough. Pained.

[break][break] "I was attacked during our last meeting in the Cave of Origin, Aurelie."

[break][break] "Do you remember the beast that attacked us before we were kidnapped into old Galar? Or the RVL with dahlia goode?"

[break][break] It was then that the room grew positively frigid, and it was then that a pair of frosty blue eyes appeared from the corner of the room, a frosted smog that filled the room with nearly suffocating HATE.

[break][break] "I am now Chien Pao's chosen."

[break][break] Chien Pao's CURSED.

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MILKY

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dreamflower

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December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

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POSTED ON Jul 23, 2024 22:51:51 GMT

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[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]At Jayden's excitement over the Duskull dagger, which he clearly recognized from its ghostly aura, and the gentle, unexpected praise for her skills—unexpected in part perhaps because of that gentleness—Aurelie flushed with pleasure. It was strange how Jayden, for all his fearsomeness, had moments where he felt like he could be an older brother to her: kind, patient, encouraging, and even funny.

Maybe even...fatherly. She didn't want to think about that, though. Even after leaving Kalos, Aurelie's memories of her father were fond enough to hurt.

And then, that moment dissipated instantaneously when she blurted out her question and Jayden grew even colder than he'd already been. The warmth and humanity left his face, along with any semblance of older-brotherhood-slash-fatherhood he'd displayed. Suddenly, he seemingly aged a thousand years.

As Jayden tensed, so did she. Would he punish her for her insolence? Tell her to leave his office? Refuse to pay her?

Instead, though, the admin answered her, hoarsely but honestly. She gasped just to hear he had been attacked. "Ohhh, that makes sense you were in pain from that..." she started to say, but he wasn't done sharing shocking revelations.

"Wait! What! You're…you're what now?" the redhead stammered when he shared what he'd become. Then, she saw the eyes in the corner of the room, shining from the icy mist. "Holy Arceus! Oh my gods! It's...it…you...Arceus..."

Words failed her, as did her legs, which trembled unsteadily from the force of her astonishment. Having no couch to fall back on, Aurelie toppled backward clumsily into the low coffee table in front. She drew a hissing breath at the jarring impact but couldn't pull her gaze away from the eyes of Chien-Pao.

She did manage to breathe out, "But then, who attacked you? How did it happen, in a meeting like that? How...how did your becoming an avatar mean you got attacked first? That isn't how becoming an avatar works, is it? Did Chien-Pao...rescue you from something that attacked you?"

At least, Aurelie couldn't imagine that Isaac Merlo would've had to battle anyone—well, aside from a murderous, vengeful underboss—before allying with Suicune. And surely, Chien-Pao wouldn't attack the very person it wished to choose as its mortal partner. No, that wouldn't make any sense at all, she thought, righting herself and climbing back to her feet.

"That attack must have been terrible, if it hurt you so severely and landed you in the infirmary for so long," she murmured. "Though I suppose I wouldn't think that Chien-Pao's abilities extend to healing or medical support..."

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jayden

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POSTED ON Jul 24, 2024 19:07:15 GMT

MATIAS SILPH and Naomi Sato like this

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As though it were the desolate hollows of ancient tree trunks, the frost-bitten pools of the Ruinous legendary locked onto Aurelie Lefevre with unsettling intensity. Chien Pao stared. It stared and stared and stared, peering into the very depths of Aurelie Lefevre's soul, as if such an act could chip away the very thing that made her human.

[break][break] "Chien Pao's chosen," Jayden repeated, his voice but a murmur. "Chien Pao's Cursed."

[break][break] He wasn't sure exactly what made him say those words, what had given those words meaning. Yet the moment that he had breathed the word CURSED into the air, it was there. It settled into his bones like frostbite, gnawing at the very center of who he was.

[break][break] Both fitting and not.

[break][break] Both fated and ill-fated.

[break][break] "Chien Pao chose me in the Cave of Origin, and cast me in a trial to make sure that I was worthy."

[break][break] And then, he shared the story of how those fangs had bitten into the self-same wounds that freya morningstar had caused, explained how he had supposedly gone into a flurry of pain and suffering and hate, how his world had gone black and then he'd woken up, with no memory of what had occurred. How he had been told by the likes of Cillian Quinn and Elisabeth Fiorelli what he was and what he wasn't, and how he'd felt, with all his mind and memory and understanding, that he and Chien Pao were now the same.

[break][break] Bitter ice-cold stretched across his arms then, like thin, icy veins of promise.

[break][break] "Rocket rescued me. Rocket had my back."

[break][break] He clenched his palms.

[break][break] Then he released them with a cold, icy breath.

[break][break] Chien Pao stretched forward then, breaking Aurelie Lefevre's gaze, looking no more like a peaceful housecat as it strolled forward and then pressed itself against Jayden's side. The frosted tips of it's coat brought forth a wave of coldness that was perhaps more bitter than anything Aurelie might have experienced. But even then, Jayden's fingers found themselves tangling in that soft exterior, thoughtful in his reprisal of the events.

[break][break] "It is pain, but it is promise. Of power. Of strength."

[break][break] His head throbbed, panged violently inside of his skull.

[break][break] WITHOUT ME, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING.

[break][break] Once again, those icy blue eyes fixated themselves on Aurelie Lefevre. Twin silent chambers of frosted glass.

[break][break] jayden cross had never once thought of himself as fortunate, or willing — but the HATE he felt for those in the League, of people like Isaac Merlo or MATIAS SILPH or PENELOPE LIVY was worth mentioning.

[break][break] "When I fought Isaac Merlo, when he stabbed me, I had just escaped from the infirmary upon hearing of Caleb Harcourt's break-out attempt. Then, I was only at half-strength."

[break][break] He bares his teeth, his eyes as cold and desolate as a frozen tundra.

[break][break] His violet hair becomes tinged with frost.

[break][break] "Next time I face him, he will be dead."

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December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

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POSTED ON Aug 2, 2024 19:03:34 GMT

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[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]Scars are memory. Like sutures. They stitch the past to me.

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Under the onslaught of information from Jayden, the red-haired smith's knees buckled again. This time, she purposefully let herself fall right back onto the coffee table, knowing that she wouldn't make it to a chair or the couch. There was just too much coming at her, and much of it was terrifying, confusing, or both.

Hearing just how Chien-Pao chose him as an avatar, Aurelie didn't know whether to congratulate him or commiserate with him. So, Legendaries really do choose differently from each other, she thought, dazed. I guess it...stands to reason that Chien-Pao wouldn't work the same as Suicune, though.

She managed to stammer, unsteadily, "I'm glad you survived being chosen, at least. I'm glad you made it out of that trial. And I'm glad Rocket...had your ba..."

Then Chien-Pao rose to its feet and walked forward, and Aurelie broke off in sudden, heart-pounding alarm. "Oh, holy Arceus!" she gasped. Clumsily, she tried to scramble backward over the table, remembering its ferocious attacks on Zamazenta before the Ancient Tomb.

Thankfully, it didn't approach her. Instead, it nuzzled almost gently against Jayden, with an affection she wouldn't have thought possible from a creature that did its best to kill him. I guess this is the reward of being worthy, Aurelie thought, unable to take her eye off how frost grew in a crackling, blue-white layer over Jayden's arm from the contact with Chien-Pao.

"You're so much stronger than me," she sighed, her words more like a ragged exhalation of breath than a declaration. True though it was. "I don't think I could withstand so much pain and anger for the sake of power. I just...I just hope you, or your beloved, or your friends are really, really good doctors or healers."

Then, even as Chien-Pao fixed its gaze on her, it was the bombshell Jayden dropped next that froze her in her tracks. Aurelie couldn't grow any colder now, but she did learn how it felt to almost suffocate in breathless disbelief.

"Isaac? Isaac stabbed you? I...I can't..." She pressed her hands over her face as if to blot out the world. How she wished she could say I can't believe it.

But Aurelie had seen Isaac talk about rescuing Caleb. She'd heard from Caleb how difficult the escape had been. No, she could believe Isaac had grown desperate enough to make it out alive with his...with his so-beloved brother of sorts that he'd stab someone to survive.

If it had been me in there, would he have stabbed anyone? Aurelie couldn't help thinking bitterly. That thought was enough to pull her hands away from her face and look back at Jayden.

With perfect sincerity and honesty, she managed to say aloud, "I hope you two never face each other, then. I hope it never happens. And..." She raised her face toward his.

"I'm sorry I asked. I shouldn't have. I should have left well enough alone. I'm...I'm sorry if it hurts you to talk about it all. Chien-Pao and your stabbing." She sighed, casting about for something else to say, a change of topic to something less fraught and painful.

"Is your hair going to change colors too now?" was the best she could come up with, along with a weak chuckle. "Like Underboss Fiorelli...or, well, like Isaac..."

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