Her office was claustrophobic and cramped, far too similar to the prison she'd escaped from to her liking. The closed door and shuttered sub windows all contributed to an unpleasant sense of unease, one that denied her the ability to lose herself in regular routine.[break][break]

A scheduled session with marcus kotov later went unacknowledged. A document had landed on her desk demanding--rather than requesting--her acceptance of the good doctor's services. It had been satisfying to shove it off in a flurry of papers, initially. Until she'd had to pick the damn thing up again and resign herself to her fate.[break][break]

Nothing here seemed to matter. Nameless grunts, pointless missions, war plans against cities that ultimately remained worthless to her...[break][break]

She'd forgotten she'd been expecting a guest, until the Unown gently reminded her.[break][break]

Naomi Sato appeared in all her mystical splendor, and Elisabeth once again found herself struggling to piece together the appearance of her visitor. This somber blue-haired woman didn't seem to match the irritably cheerful creature with the pink curls. That one had insisted on chattering on shamelessly at Elisabeth's expense, proving to be a nosy thorn in her side.[break][break]

This one seemed more like a ghost haunting the threshold of her office. She didn't appear like a living woman at all.[break][break]

"I am right about a good deal many things," she opened, perplexed by the manner in which Naomi Sato approached her now--like a supplicant, perhaps, before a greater power. It unnerved her. "Which are you referring to?"[break][break]

An airy gesture alluded to the chair opposite her, inviting her to sit.

[attr="class","ooc"] Naomi Sato

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Ah." Hazy recollections of the counsel she'd given reentered her mind, explaining the presence of the apologetic woman before her. Awkwardly, Elisabeth nodded, steepling her hands on her desk. "Well, you seem aware of the foolishness of your actions, at least."[break][break]

A click of her tongue bought her some moments to think.[break][break]

Truthfully, she'd held little interest in Naomi Sato's agenda. The scientist had always been a touch too naive for her liking, and her gloved hands had appeared tidier than that of Rocket's other most tenured members. Of course, this was but Elisabeth's perception; for all she knew, the woman had killed her own share of late husbands and buried them beneath the floorboards.[break][break]

Although one memory disputed that notion.[break][break]

"The battle where we fought the traitor, Isaac Merlo, and the Gym Leader, Navy." Her emerald eyes narrowed in on her quarry, judging her. "You hesitated. There was relief on your face when the DRK Triad intervened in our hunt."[break][break]

Pleased that she had stumbled on the crux of the matter, she leaned back in her chair, contented at this explanation that satisfied her worldview.[break][break]

"I take it this hesitation was not shared by your enemies?"

[attr="class","ooc"] Naomi Sato

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"And what use is all your prophecy," Elisabeth interrupted, "if it kills you before it comes true?"[break][break]

This seemed so breathtakingly obvious to her, she couldn't fathom why a woman as intelligent as Naomi Sato didn't realize it. What she was describing was, for all intents and purposes, indirect treason. Rocket would not endorse such a message, especially not one that left one of their most valuable members vulnerable.[break][break]

For every Navidson, there would be a Livy ready to capitalize on that vulnerability.[break][break]

"You are so focused on the salvation of the world, you have given little thought to your own self-preservation," she scolded her, like a mother might to a disobedient child. "And if you die, you are of no use to anyone, are you?"[break][break]

A grim thought flashed across her features, and she frowned.[break][break]

"Has it occurred to you that you might be playing into the DRK Triad's own hands? That this suicide mission might erase you from this world better than any assassination attempt might?"

[attr="class","ooc"] Naomi Sato

[attr="class","pkmn"]

She exhaled, slowly and deeply. This patience she'd cultivated in herself as a poisoner was an artificial one.[break][break]

Elisabeth's nature ran reckless and impulsive -- vices that her Avatarship to Wo-chien indulged her, even if her office as underboss did not. Yet you could silence that beast within yourself, she'd learned.[break][break]

Naomi Sato would have to learn how to do the same.[break][break]

Gingerly, Elisabeth massaged her temples and let the words marinate in her mind before she spoke. "You have more enemies than the DRK Triad. This you now understand, I presume?"[break][break]

More than even the League, for that matter. How easy it would be to turn declan walsh into a foe by dancing too close to the edge of loyalty. How reckless it would be to garner mistrust in Rocket, while attempting to quash what already existed of it on the other side.[break][break]

"The DRK Triad is an active organization, but it is not a predictable one. In the absence of any intelligence, all your efforts are reactive. You can no more strike the DRK Triad now than you could a week ago. Or a week before. Not unless they show themselves."[break][break]

Surely Rocket would have done so by now, if it could. The DRK Triad had declared war on their Avatars -- Avatars which included many of the most powerful forces that Rocket possessed. It would be foolish not to strike such an enemy, if the opportunity presented itself.[break][break]

"You think this is a war that requires allies, but you are wrong," she continued. "The League will defend their Avatars, just as Rocket will our own. This is a war that requires intelligence. Intelligence that we are sorely lacking."[break][break]

Maldacena. Dialga. The Unown assassins. There were too many factors that remained unknowable.[break][break]

"Has your little errand given you any such insights into our enemy?" she asked, cool and calm.

[attr="class","ooc"] Naomi Sato

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"There we are," she crooned, a condescending smile plastered to her lips. "Something we can work with."[break][break]

Much preferred to all this nonsense of befriending their enemies. It was foolish enough to trust Rockets, let alone those who opposed them.[break][break]

"This is heartening though, is it not? For they have evidently failed many times over." A hand gestured to herself, then to Naomi Sato. "We stand here as Avatars in defiance of their ordinance."[break][break]

As did many others. Her heart tightened at the thought of BARNABY FINCH and his Galarian patron, but she pushed down that thought the moment his face dared to surface in her memory.[break][break]

Better to focus elsewhere. Better to let the GRUDGE she held for others, such as that wicked Celebi, flourish and blossom in his place.[break][break]

"Are they hunting her," she inquired of Yuina Higashi, an eyebrow arched, "or is she affiliated with them? They involve themselves in matters of time, as I recall."[break][break]

Father Winter had taught them both that.

[attr="class","ooc"] Naomi Sato

[attr="class","pkmn"]