“The offer of assistance is greatly appreciated, but it will have to wait until the lunch break is over,” Grigori explained. The current hustle and bustle was to escape the sun and rest in peace, rather than to proper fix things. but it was hard to see it any other way. “There is no work to be done right now.”

“As for a timeline…” Grigori glanced back at the worksite. He absently rubbed his chin and carefully assessed the progress. “I’ve only a wildcard guess, but if we’re lucky and things go smoothly, this row might be done within a month, perhaps two. Three if the architects change the blueprints. Again.”

It had caused a great deal of stress the first time. A second time would end in mutiny, and riots. They might tear the whole thing down again.

“For a more accurate assessment, I recommend a proper foreman,” he motioned to the side, where they also sat and watched. However, unlike Ameena, they wore the standard safety helmets and boots.

“How about your efforts, Dr. Ameena?” He turned his attention back to the researcher, hands held behind his back. “After all, these are but physical matters. Cities will be destroyed and rebuilt, but your work will make permanent progress in our understanding of the world.”

He had attempted to read some of her work, but Howard and his own lack of scientific knowledge made the endeavor a hard one.

---

ameena abadi

That… was the first person he attempted to decipher the research of. After several long sessions in a Moped’s coffee lobby and two packs of highlighters, he’d given up. In his defense, it came off the back of the blood moon incident– hard times for the man. “Naturally, of course.”

And that no matter what happened, it’d be abused and manipulated to become a weapon against the League. That’d killed his interest as well.

“The world is progressing fast, but it is a ritual we’ve engaged in for our entire existence,” Grigori offered. “At first, it was about how to grow crops better, how to construct structures for safety, then how to tame Pokémon. We are fools, but we are intelligent, capable fools.”

At the question of his own interest, Grigori crossed his arms and stroked his chin. What a simple yet impossibly difficult question to answer. Not only had he never been a proper member of the scientific community, but he did not even hold a high school diploma under his belt. What did he know about the field?

“If I had the chance, I’d do something with Pokémon– maybe their ecosystems, perhaps? I know not the proper term for the field,” he admitted. “Stay on my feet, active, get to be around the wildlife.”

He looked more like a fool with every second spent on his interests. “But I do not. Such is the way my life has progressed. What of you, then? Surely there must be some defining event that lead you to choose the field of dreams as your sole focus. Enough to block other avenues of interest.”

Yet hopefully her interest did not develop as Lulu Flint ’s had. His own experience with her had been unnerving and recounts from Howard only further exemplified the visage.

---

ameena abadi

Human interaction was a whole can of Orthworms on its own, as well as urban developments. How the wildlife reacted to the actions of humans could lead to an entire world of discovery. One that would not be spearheaded by Grigori, though. Perhaps, in another life. Or in a dream.

Funny how the world worked.

“None to you, I’m afraid,” he sighed and closed his eyes. If he tried hard enough, he could bring himself back to those moments. That untainted second life. One where he could look himself in the mirror. “The entirety of my life’s trajectory changed. I was an entirely different person. I became a researcher, even. A professor.”

Unshackled from my greatest mistake.

“But that’s all it was, for better or worse,” he reopened his eyes, older and more tired. Since when did those worry lines get there? “A dream. There are much younger, higher-spirited minds with even greater potential than this old man. Explore their minds instead.”

She did not need help in that department from him. It sounded like she’d explored plenty of mindscapes as was. Best not add another to the pile of ‘things to make right’.

“Speaking of, and if you’re willing to share… what sort of dreams piques your interest? Surely there are some recurring patterns that you enjoy seeing. Perhaps even your own?”

It was likely Ameena started her work from a personal interest. Even a glimmer of that own dream would be good enough for him. The spark of a flicker of flame.

---

ameena abadi