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POSTED ON Aug 20, 2024 23:29:22 GMT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]If Howard had asked that hypothetical question aloud about why she was being nice to him, Aurelie would probably start blurting out her thoughts from the beginning of dinner: notably, the absolutely shocking—to her—realization that she thought of the admin of logistics and finance like a friend. She might even have let slip how much she felt they had in common—and not just the eyepatches.

If she was wise enough to listen to herself as she impulsively blabbered back, she might even realize she was kinder at heart than she thought she was. But that would likely require more self-awareness than she'd ever had. Then, she would've fled in utter mortification and tried to fake her own death, maybe.

But Howard didn't ask, and thus Aurelie didn't have to reveal anything or flee. Instead, she caught her breath as the admin took her hands. So much for worrying that her touch bothered or upset him.

"You're clever, Howard," the redhead observed wryly, forgetting to use his Rocket leadership title. "Or I'm very dumb, to give you an opening to turn this conversation on me instead of focusing on you. Probably both."

Though a flush of pleasure spread over her face at his praise, Aurelie couldn't help snorting too. "On one hand, thank you. You understand. Not just about my being a craftsman. But about being a craftsman of things other than weapons of war.

"But on the other hand..." She exhaled sharply, her breath warm with the scent of beef stew and garlic. "Those things matter in the future. But they don't help you right now.

"I mean, gods don't need weapons to be made for them, right? They're gods! They already have all the weapons they need!" The redhead chuckled grimly. "The only reason Calyrex needed my help is because...well, like you said yourself, it's only a king. Not a god."

Aurelie resisted the urge to lean back and cross her arms smugly, though, not wanting to ruin this rare moment of closeness more than she already was. But she did tilt her head and raise an eyebrow "And you can dock my pay for that if you want to."

Then, she smiled, faintly but genuinely, and her tone softened. "But...all right. I can certainly...be myself and do the things I always do. And if you think that's enough to change the world, then I'll take it."

As she sought a change of topic, her fingers unconsciously curled around his for a moment when the first thoughts that occurred to her were laced with concern. "Okay, so... After you woke up, how long were you in the infirmary? Did they only just let you out?"

For the Tower exercises, no less? To practice how to fight and sneak around and torture people into giving away information? Her mouth twisted at the distasteful thought.

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

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

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POSTED ON Aug 21, 2024 9:44:34 GMT

Another flicker of a smile graced his face.

"A king. Not a god." A protector born from human will and fables, a story that had not yet concluded dictated Calyrex's purpose. A shield and sword were just weapons for such a king to have, and the fact that they were forged by a human's hand and a human's will gladdened his heart. "And what a king he shall be."

Even if Eternatus was too strong. Even if the individual human was too weak, they would triumph. The king had bore witness to their stories. Aurelie had sung of foes uniting to face a greater threat, and Howard had selfishly muttered about becoming a hero.

That had brought them here to this moment. Without Calyrex, Aurelie would have never asked for his advice. They would be associates, but not... whatever this was.

"Since late May. They only released me a few days ago. The first day on my feet was miserable. Morale of the story? Don't touch Wishing Stars." He flexed his scarred hand, marked red by Eternatus's poisonous influence. "Even if it's to fix your own mistake. It might kill you."

Hopefully Aurelie never made a mistake like that. It was an error nobody deserved to make.

Even if she was a member of Team Rocket. Even if he hated almost everyone in this organization by virtue of association, he did not want her to err.

"I was needed for the Tower." A silent curse to Jayden and Barnaby for dragging him out of bed to partake in their wartime prep work. It wasn't enough that Howard had to pay for the ridiculous exercise, but he had to participate in it too. "They need to see their leaders working alongside them. It builds morale."

He had the shame to look embarrassed. He hung his head slightly. This closeness had lasted for a remarkably long time. A moment of interlocking fingers had stretched into infinity. How long was this proximity acceptable for?

Was he weird? Probably. He soldiered on, silently hoping that the smith wasn't judging him.

"War is coming. Be safe."

Aurelie Lefevre

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dreamflower

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December 12

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POSTED ON Aug 22, 2024 0:04:33 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]A look of horrified comprehension spread across Aurelie's face at the moral of Howard's story. While she remembered increasingly less of her twenty years living in memory-Galar every day, she did remember studying and experimenting with the Wishing Stars that crashed down from the sky.

More specifically, she remembered they were poisonous. She and Cygne had figured out ways to process and use them safely, but more than a few Galarian peasants had died because they weren't as careful or paranoid. And Howard had touched one...?

"Arceus, Howard, you're a madman," the redhead sputtered out. "I...I can't decide if you were very, very brave or just out of your mind. You didn't touch the Wishing Star with your bare hands, at least, right? You used tongs or hooks or something?"

Even if he had, she could still understand all too well now why he looked so sickly. And why he had been in the infirmary so long. She couldn't imagine the dedication—or the desperation—that must've driven him to these ends.

In a small voice, Aurelie ventured, "I hope it was worth it. The Wishing Star, I mean. Was it for a Dynamax band? Or Eternatus research? Did it fix whatever mistake you made?"

The vision of what would happen if you touched a Wishing Star with your bare hands consumed her for a moment, enough that she had to shake herself fiercely when Howard spoke of why he finally left the infirmary—as she suspected, for Project Tower. The sudden, fitful gesture disentangled their hands from each other, which came as both a relief and a regret.

"I...guess my morale did improve from seeing you out there," she said dryly. "Though not because I expect my leaders to be hands-on or anything. It was just good to see you were alive after what I heard of the aftermath in Dewford, and not buried in an ice tomb or something."

Strangely, his warning of war made her smile a little, albeit more in bleak amusement than in genuine happiness or humor. "You're right, though. And thanks. Would it be stupid of me to tell you to be safe, too?

"You seem to make a habit of running headlong into the worst, scariest, most dangerous situations you can find. You and that other Rocket Beast both, the one with the weird name. Dirigible guy." She knew that wasn't quite right but barrelled on anyway.

"At least...take a good knife with you this time, will you? And some kind of PPE or something?"

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

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POSTED ON Aug 22, 2024 7:36:08 GMT

His words were soft.

"I spent three months thinking that I had ended the world. I loved Galar, but it would have driven me mad. Waking up every day, knowing that I might've just killed you and everyone in Rocket and Dewford and this entire region. Three months, hoping that time had stopped so that I could solve the crisis that I created."

There was a world where the weapons forged for Calyrex were used for annihilation. In that scenario, he wondered if Aurelie would've cracked under the strain.

"The question on how was I going to pull that Wishing Star from Regice's core rung in my head. It has given Regice great power, and it controls that power with great authority, but in the moment? Who knew what it would do." He rolled up his sleeve to his shoulder, where red scars formed a latticework that reached his shoulder and beyond. "In exchange for erasing three months of doubt, to save innocent lives? I'll touch it again."

He held up a finger.

"And again."

Another.

"And again."

Another.

"And again. Even if my body breaks down, I'll keep doing it. Because otherwise, someone else will have to. Safety... is not a necessity. Still, though." It was hypocritical to demand Aurelie's safety while denying his own, but in the eleventh hour, Howard suspected that he would break and flee. "I really don't want to die."

"I actually want to keep on living."

Even if it put him at odds with the League, with his colleagues, with everyone around him. The words were spoken casually, as if they were an expensive bottle of wine that the admin could not afford while shopping. It felt guilty to ask for even that.

Nomi had demanded he live. For her dream. For his. Yet if the time came, he would throw his life away to fulfill his dream, if it needed to be done.

"A knife would be nice, though." A pessimistic laugh followed. "Especially if you forged it."

Aurelie Lefevre

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dreamflower

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December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

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POSTED ON Aug 25, 2024 6:17:02 GMT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]From the way Howard had never confirmed whether he used tongs, hooks, pliers, or frankly, tools of any kind to touch the Wishing Star, the redhead was dismayingly, face-palmingly sure he'd grabbed it with his bare hands. She buried her face in her hands and slowly shook her head. He looked so sane from the outside, too...

Against her better judgement, Aurelie burst out, "Howard, you are an idiot. And very, very brave. So brave. Too brave. How are you still alive? How did it not kill you instantly? Are you secretly a Steel type and I had no idea?"

So much for trying not to crack stupid jokes during a serious conversation. She could have kicked herself after hearing her own words.

But in a way, she wished she could lighten the mood somehow, because if they didn't laugh, they would both be crying even more than they already were. Tears trickled unheeded down her face as she stared at his ravaged arm, still marked by livid scars. Unwillingly, it reminded Aurelie of the first time she saw her own fire- and metal-scarred face in the hospital after losing her eye.

The redhead reached out impulsively to clasp his unhurt hand in both of hers. She tried to think what it would be like to suffer so grievous an injury. I'd be useless, she thought. A smith with only one hand? Impossible. At least, Howard still has his brains and knowledge to help him.

"Oh, Howard. You hero." She gave a shuddering, humorless laugh, the last word uttered reproachfully rather than admiringly. "Does it have to be you who suffers every time? Let us help you. You don't have to fight and die alone."

Anticipating his responses, Aurelie shrugged her shoulders impatiently. "Yes, yes, we all die alone. All pain stands alone. And sometimes fulfilling our dreams takes sacrifice. And paradise is worth a few sacrifices. But still..."

She fell silent then, embarrassed by her own diatribe and suddenly feeling very tired. Pulling her hands away again, she shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know, Howard...

"Maybe we aren't quite as alike as I've been thinking. Maybe you're just better as the hero and me as the nobody."

They always leave you. They always abandon you. There's always something more important to them, something that matters more than you. Fresh tears blurred her vision. And I guess sometimes they die to do it. But they always leave you. They always hurt you...

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

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

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Aug 25, 2024 21:45:20 GMT

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, an echo of boldness that she had once displayed in an office a million miles from this hall.

"Don't say that. As your admin, I forbid it. You are just as important as me. No matter what happens, so matter how much we struggle against greater threats, we're just us. I'm me. You're you." Any embarrassment curled up and died as tears flooded her eye. "Our struggles are equal."

She had been so carefree in her forge. So uncertain in his office. Yet no matter what happened, no matter what occurred, she had always been lighthearted.

Was that an illusion? Another dream and misdirection, like the dozens that Howard had seen in the garden?

No. That was her. This moment of vulnerability was also her. She could be both, just as Howard could cower in fear at the notion of the organization that hung over his back while also shouldering the weight of the world with nothing but ancient machines at his back. There were five, but he only had one.

There was only one Aurelie.

"I told Calyrex that I wanted to be a hero when I sat under his tree. It was a rambling. I did not understand the intriacies of it. Galar... Galar needed it. There was no hope there. They needed a hero, and I wasn't one." He said softly. "I was just a squire to a greater man. But I spoke to him. I was there for him. In the end, he said I was just as heroic as him."

He wrung his hands together nervously, fingers clenched tight. One hand failed to function. Its muscles did not function. They merely trembled weakly.

"You're here for me now." His eye bore into hers. "You're a hero, whether you pick up a sword or forge one. You are a wonderful creator." He held up a finger. "Do not deny it."

Her callused fingers, forged from years of labor.

"It's for that reason that I'm not alone, and it's for that reason that you are not a nobody." A deep breath followed. A distant dream of Galar that they had both experienced rang in his mind. "So say it right now."

"Say you're someone. Tell me you're a hero."

Aurelie Lefevre

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dreamflower

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December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

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POSTED ON Aug 28, 2024 17:38:14 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]When he unexpectedly kissed her cheek, she was as flabbergasted as he'd probably felt when she did the same to him a few months back. Though for her part, she was less astonished by his boldness than by the simple gesture of reassurance—and that he thought she needed comfort when he was the one covered in wounds and scars.

Then, the full impact of his words hit her, and Aurelie didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, she made a horrid choking sound that was half-chuckle and half-sob. One hand rose to hesitantly touch the cheek he'd kissed.

"Howard... No, Admin Slayte." He kept reminding her, teasingly or not, that he was her boss and her superior as well as her comrade, willingly or not, happily or not, after all.

But saying his title at a time like this felt cold and cruel. Worse, it felt false somehow. Aurelie shook her head vigorously.

"Howard. I'll...I'll grant you that, okay, in the end, you're just you and I'm just me. I don't know about our struggles being equal, maybe, but...we both have them. Clearly." One corner of her mouth curled up.

"And I'm here for you, I promise. In whatever capacity you need. Even just as some sort of background morale boost where I just...exist." Aurelie still thought it was the strangest way ever to support someone, yet Howard seemed oddly intent about it.

Even as she said it, especially "in whatever capacity you need," she knew it was reckless. She had no idea what shenanigans the admin would get up to in the future. Arceus, she didn't even know just how many he'd already gotten himself into in the past.

But am I really myself if I don't make stupid, impulsive, thoughtless promises that I later regret keeping? Who'd really want to live life intelligently and responsibly all the time, anyway?

"And I'll take the compliment for being a good creator. You know I can't resist that." Both corners of her mouth curved upward into a brief but heartfelt smile. "But Howard...the hero part. I don't want to say it. Please don't make me."

Her gaze turned misty for a moment, as if she were looking inward into some distant memories. "You play video games, Howard? I love them, especially action RPG-type games. And you know, in those, you play as the hero and go fulfill quests and fight monsters, right?

"And as the hero, you get hurt. And you die. A lot. You suffer, you get sick, you get wounded, and you even have to start over sometimes." She chuckled softly. "But you know who doesn't have to go through all that?"

Aurelie spread her hands wide and shrugged, not without a healthy dose of amused self-deprecation. "The shopkeeper! They're absolutely vital to all the heroes because they sell you all the important stuff you need to go heroing, but they stay back and don't have to fight scary monsters. But if you ever attack them, they're invincible! They don't even take damage, let alone die."

She waved her hand playfully in the air. "I know, I know! Life isn't a video game. But still, I think about that, you know? And I'm okay not being a hero. You can be if you want, Howard, though..."

I'd rather you not, if you didn't have to, Aurelie thought. "...Anyway. Right. I think I'm okay being a nobody. A nameless but safe shopkeeper. I just wish you could stay safe too, even if you have to be a hero."

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

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

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Aug 29, 2024 2:14:52 GMT

"Huh?"

For the first time since they met, Howard looked genuinely confused. No, moreso awestruck at the transition into video games. He hardly even played. The occasional Varoom Kart or Shaymin Adventure II or even the old school Celebi Trigger, during one of his doomed forays into role playing games.

It seemed strange to call a game from a few decades ago old school when the conversation was abuzz with the topics of giants and kings.

"Snrrk." The faintest laugh escaped before Howard could tamp it down. He covered his mouth with a trembling hand. "Pffffft..."

Even as she doused herself in self-deprecation, the admin couldn't help but laugh. A genuine peal of amusement that rang through the empty dining hall for several moments before Howard finally stopped. When was the last time he had heard something like that? When was the last time he had laughed?

It felt like months.

Years.

"I'll never figure you out, Aurelie. Who would've thought that you enjoyed games so much?" He put a hand on his chin, as if trying to stop himself from smiling at her. "You're right, of course. Heroism is hard. Dangerous, even. It's unfair to force that onto you."

What about games that Howard had never played, where the protagonist was never hurt? Farming games, party games, and games meant for casual, prolonged play? Those that raised up cities and cultivated long lasting connections?

Were they not heroes? What even was a hero?

"But okay, I understand." His eye sparkled slightly in a small sky of red stars. "Then promise me that you'll be the best shopkeeper that you can be. Any time I need something, I'll buy it from you. If anyone asks, I'll tell them where I got it."

A historian would never let someone be nameless, when the battle was won and the war was done.

"From Kalos's Aurelie Lefevre. He paused for a moment, as if thinking. "Of the Iron Lady Forge."

Aurelie Lefevre

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dreamflower

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December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

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POSTED ON Aug 30, 2024 22:33:34 GMT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]When Howard started laughing, Aurelie was pleased at first. It made her happy to see him not only smile but actually show enjoyment and amusement. It felt good to coax forth this brightness from him, this unexpected moment of levity from a man haunted by too many shadows.

But then his laugh went on...and on...and Aurelie started to stare at him in growing confusion. Come on, what I said wasn't that funny, was it? she wondered. As the laughter continued, she even started feeling a little indignant. Grumbling at Howard, she began playfully swatting at his unhurt hand, not even realizing how crazy it was that she was doing this to an admin.

"Hey! Stop laughing! Video games are fun!" she protested, smiling even as she mock-swiped at him. "Howard!"

It did remind Aurelie a little of when people back in middle school or high school had made fun of both her and her brother for being video game-loving nerds who came to school stinking of hot metal. She usually went after them with her fists, which landed her in trouble but eventually got them to stop.

But Howard's laughter didn't have that mocking edge she remembered hating. So, she slapped lightly at his hand one final time and then waited as his mirth subsided. A smile played at her own lips as she let him regain his calm.

"Of course, I play video games," she protested lightheartedly. "Is it that surprising? Where else do you get to wear armor, fight with a sword, and go on adventures, but in a video game?

"But I'm glad you understand." She sighed, pushing her empty plate and bowl aside. "And I'm happy to keep that promise. But Howard, I don't need your help advertising for me. You don't need to promise to spread my name around."

The redhead's smile faded slightly as she leaned forward, and her face grew both intent and intense. "But in return, I want you to promise me that you'll do your absolute best to keep on living. No matter what. No throwing your life away for anything that's less than absolutely, earth-shatteringly important."

Perhaps it was rather gauche of her to transition from chatting about video games back to this. Yet, Aurelie couldn't resist the opportunity. She tried to lighten the mood with a gentle chuckle.

"Promise me, or I won't let you have the dessert I made," she said, her eye glinting with what she fondly imagined was a hint of menace. "Classic fluffy chocolate mousse, made in the traditional Kalosian way, using the best dark chocolate I could find at the store here. If you don't promise, I'll eat it all myself and never share a bite."

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

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

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Admin Fox

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Rustboro City

Bisexual

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The future will tempt you, the present will indulge you, but the past will shackle you.

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POSTED ON Sept 1, 2024 23:17:14 GMT

Desert did sound pretty good. Especially if Aurelie made it, although Howard didn't envy Aurelie for having the Herculean task of finding halfway decent ingredients in this submarine's forsaken pantry. Maybe she had rummaged through the breakroom for supplies? There were occasionally nifty little things left in the fridge, such as unmarked sandwiches from a Paldean place that Howard insisted on eating.

Aurelie didn't need to know that last bit, though.

"Tsk. You're so cruel." They had returned to lighthearted banter with the threat of her taking his desert privileges. It was a bold threat, especially when compared to threats of execution or punishment. Somehow, the desert revocation hurt more. "But..."

He thought of her words of heroism. He resisted the urge to mention Galar when asked of knights and swords and armor and adventures. It was an entire escapade that they had both clawed from at different points in their lives. There was no need to mention it again.

This person who played video games and cooked and worked in a forge asked for an impossibility.

But...

It was strange. There was a paradox at work here.

But...

Even though she had no stake in this oncoming war, even if he had no reason to keep her heartfelt promise other than friendship and camaraderie.

But...

He wanted to keep that promise for her, because she had been heartfelt enough to ask it of him. She had been the only person to do so. Not Zacian nor Navy nor anyone in a fictional dream born of fantasy, nor anyone when he had risen from Granite Cave with fanatical purpose.

There was only one thing to do, then.

"Okay, you win." He met her gaze with his own and nodded, a small jerk that almost betrayed the war going on in his mind. "I promise."

He paused.

"So I'd really like to share that chocolate mousse with you."

Aurelie Lefevre

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dreamflower

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December 12

Anistar City, Kalos

Bisexual

Blacksmith, bladesmith

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A keen mind cuts deeper than even the sharpest sword.

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POSTED ON Sept 3, 2024 22:04:45 GMT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]At first, Aurelie flushed with delight when Howard made his promise and showed interest in dessert, quite as if his appetite had mostly been restored.

"Yes, yes," she all but purred in response, rising from her chair with enthusiastic alacrity. "Thank you, Howard. I feel so much better hearing that. And you'll love the mousse. I'll go get it right now!"

The redhead whirled around and rushed over to the fridge. Right in the back corner of the top shelf were the two ramekins she'd left, which brimmed with chilled mousse. She grabbed them, rummaged in the drawers for a pair of spoons, and hurried back to the table.

Now, just as Howard felt she didn't need to know about the unmarked sandwiches left in the fridge that he appropriated and ate, she felt it unnecessary to mention just how little went into a pot of chocolate mousse. The first time she ever made it, she could hardly believe that such a rich, fluffy dessert could consist of nothing more than sugar, butter, cream, eggs, and bittersweet dark chocolate.

To be fair, she had needed to duck out of Rocket's sub and into a Sootopolis grocery store for the chocolate itself. The rest was easy to find in the pantry, though. Some mixing, some whipping, some gentle stirring, and chilling in the fridge for a couple hours—and voila, chocolate mousse!

It was one of the few desserts Aurelie felt like she'd mastered, unlike cake, creme brulee, or, Arceus forbid, macarons. But it was good. She plopped down in her chair again and flashed him a warm, prideful smile as she started to slide a ramekin toward him.

But then, the redhead hesitated in the middle of offering the mousse. Wasn't that too easy? she found herself suddenly wondering. Is he a fool, to make an insane promise like that? And so easily too? Or am I a fool, to have asked him to make it?

She didn't think he'd had his fingers crossed when he promised. But she knew how dangerous his work, his plans—Arceus, his life—was. And she had some inkling of what a burden all of them were.

"You're not just saying that to get some sweets, are you?" Aurelie asked slowly, pressing her lips together. "Or saying what you think I'll want to hear? You'll really try your best to stay alive, Howard?"

After a moment of hesitation, she chuckled weakly and added with genuine sincerity, "Not that I would deny you chocolate mousse even if you said no now. I thought I could back up my threat, but...I just can't. It turns out bribing with food is much more my style than threatening with no food."

Reinforcing her words, the redhead finished sliding the mousse over to him and handed him a spoon.

Then, Aurelie sucked in her breath thoughtfully. "I guess...I guess I just thought that you'd laugh at me. Or say I was crazy. Or at least hesitate. But you just said yes. I didn't even have to argue! I didn't...I didn't expect that."

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]

An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

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

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played by

Magnetic

Admin Fox

He/Him

May 9th

Rustboro City

Bisexual

Archaeologist

Rocket Admin

5'9 (with hat) height

The future will tempt you, the present will indulge you, but the past will shackle you.

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3,137 posts

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TAG WITH @magnetic

POSTED ON Sept 5, 2024 7:31:01 GMT

He put the spoon down, the metal clinking softly against the table.

"I want to live. There is an entire world out there that I haven't seen. There are tombs to be uncovered, mountains to trek over, and old books to translate. This world is one worth fighting for, and if I could create a golden age where nobody ever got hurt, I would. It's just..."

In the spoon's curved surface, his reflection was distorted in a silver-forged mirror. Even as he picked it up again, he saw Aurelie's expression. Maybe he was trying to get desert.

Maybe he just didn't want to see the redhead cry after such a heartfelt conversation. Nobody should have to argue for someone to preserve their life. In that sense, Aurelie was similar to Naomi. Did they both think he was throwing his life away?

Was he throwing his life away?

"...that it's a lot. I don't want to die, Aurelie, so perk up. Regardless of my promise to you, I want to see what people will build when this is over. And," he held up a finger, "I want to see what new deserts come into existence."

His eye sparkled at the mousse. How did she do this? How did Aurelie consistently produce such works of art? It always shocked him that she could bake at such a high level. It was fortunate that the admin never bore witness to the smith's failures. He was beginning to suspect that Aurelie couldn't fail in her pursuits.

It was a dangerously high opinion to have.

Howard tasted a spoonful and sighed. His eye practically sparkled at the taste and the texture. He knew for a fact that this was not pantry chocolate, but something far more premium. He ate another spoonful, before peering at Aurelie.

”Have some. You made it after all."

Aurelie Lefevre

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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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POSTED ON Sept 7, 2024 23:10:56 GMT

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_lyrics"]A song of ice and fire

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie's intent expression softened when the admin not only affirmed again that he'd do his best to stay alive but also shared his motivations for staying alive. He seemed sincere, although she doubted that she knew him well enough to be sure.

Still, Howard's reassurance lessened the ache in her soul and put her more at ease. It felt good to know his reasons for living, even if some of them mystified her in their abstractness, while others made her smile at his dedication to history. "That's so...deep. And so you."

She almost reached across the table to give him another hug but then hesitated. Maybe the moment of vulnerability earlier, when Howard almost timidly asked for a hug, had been an anomaly. Maybe it was best to wait until he asked again—whether it was immediate or never.

With a gulp, the redhead let her arms drop. Instead, she settled for patting the back of his hand again, before breaking into a grin when he mentioned new and exciting desserts. "Now, that's a reason for living that I can relate to!

"And hopefully some of them will even be easy enough for me to make," she chuckled, looking visibly relieved to shift to a safer topic to discuss. "My mother was always the champion baker in our family. Whereas me, well, I usually find a way to burn or ruin anything more complicated than mousse or crepes!"

Fondly remembering her uncles sniffling over her mother's soufflé, which had first worried and then delighted her mother, Aurelie obediently tried a spoonful of mousse. She beamed with satisfaction and quickly dipped her spoon in again.

"Ah, hits the spot," the redhead sighed, savoring the rich dark chocolate. Then, she pointed her mousse-smeared spoon playfully at the admin. "Howard, you best make sure your future golden age has chocolate in it!"

After all, what kind of perfect paradise didn't have chocolate? Aurelie's grin broadened as she tried to envision some futuristic Howard—still wearing his hat, of course—instructing a toque-wearing robot to stir a double boiler pot of liquid chocolate.

Feeling better than she had since the start of the conversation—Arceus, since the start of that ridiculous interrogation session, which at least she and the admin had dealt with adroitly and expertly—she raised her ramekin to him in a cheerful toast.

"À votre santé, of course! But also... To chocolate! To old history and a new and wonderful world! And of course, to living long enough to see that future world."

[attr="class","aurelie_tag"]