It’s funny how they lean on Rayquaza like a crutch more so than even she does with the memories and the absence of the persistent hum of their presence. They claw and tear at wounds that are already open and numb. It’s hard to break a soul that’s already broken. She persists, like she always does, like she’s expected to. And not out of guilt or grief or even duty. She serves without the expectation of getting anything in return; not power, nor money, nor fame. She fails over and over again only to throw herself back in the fray despite the pain for one thing, and one thing only: Love.

She loves Hoenn, she loves its people. She loves those standing beside her and if given the chance, she may even learn to love those opposite of her. Perhaps everything that frightens her, the monsters in the dark - the men behind the masks - are, in their deepest essence, helpless beings that just need love. She doubts that’s something declan walsh or Monroe has ever offered them.

That’s why they spew hatred, regurgitating bile in the hopes it provokes something they can use to bolster their poisonous agenda. Eva could easily bite back, bare her teeth, continue the perpetual cycle of useless quip after quip while their ethereal spectators laugh at this pathetic war torn region, biding their time.

Hate can not drive out hate, only love can do that.

freya morningstar’s kind words remind her of that, of her purpose. A purpose she had forgotten and neglected. She gently returns the squeeze in thanks.

“We fail over and over again but we never seem to learn, do we?”

It sounds more like a musing than a real question that follows howard slayte’s words.

“We didn’t start this war and,” she shrugs her petite shoulders before taking a few steps forward, “And neither did you,” someone did, but it wasn’t Eva Morales or mint frost or howard slayte or freya morningstar. She refrains from pointing fingers for the sake of her short monologue.

“We’re all just pawns in the same little game and the spectators are probably laughing and calling us fools,” she shakes her head. A few steps closer.

“Failure is not fatal, but the failure to change can be,” to surprise the DRK Triad, to stun everyone in this room. Even now, as she picks up two champagne flukes from the table and takes a few steps closer to cross the rift in the room, she risks failure. She risks this gesture being made a mockery. She risks the scorn and judgment of those that still don’t see the bigger picture. But at least she would have tried. What’s the point if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable? “We all lost people to Kyogre’s rampage so let’s do something different then, Admin Fox. Let’s heal Sootopolis . . . together,” Isn’t that what this party is about? Healing Sootopolis. Blame can be thrown back and forth but it doesn’t change the fact that people from both sides are suffering. She extends the fluke to howard slayte to solidify the gesture. She doubts he can drink through that ridiculous mask but that’s not the point.
It’s a small step to a vision she once discussed with Naomi Sato. Mountains could be moved one stone at a time.

---

mint frost freya morningstar howard slayte
Dress

SPOILER: Click to show

Round 1 Prompts

• Enjoy food or drink
• Reference the dragonology text
• Lament over war and/or the state of the region
• Reflect on current loyalties and faiths
• Discuss plans for the future (spreading unity and hope as referenced here)

Round 2 Prompts

• Enjoy food and drink from the buffet
• Mention partner pokemon

Round 3 Prompts

• Observe the speech
• Engage with a member of the opposite faction
• Express a frustration
• Experience envy, fear, hatred, resentment
• Describe your attire

Of course she recognized the unforgettable, and rather obnoxious, Neon. She had hoped they would have forgotten about their little spat in the woods. That was wishful thinking, though. Rockets liked to hold grudges and dangle whatever meager morsel they could over their opponent’s head in an effort to entice a favorable reaction out of them. Eva Morales isn't perfect, inside she stews and nearly drowns in vat of hatred when she thinks about Rocket and all they've stolen from her. There are dark places inside her that even her seemingly endless light can’t illuminate. It comes from a lifetime of failure, loss, and regret. Over the years she’s simply worked to develop a rather stalwart mask. Logic supersedes her emotions, at times, but it’s not a perfect system. mint frost, as usual, has a lot to say. It may have been enlightening, if she wasn’t already convinced of it herself.

Eva’s shoulders roll into a straighter posture as a phantom pain stings beneath the strap of her dress. Just under the emerald fabric, when you look closely enough, you could see the edges of a white bandage still covering the stitches there from the sample he took. Of course, she didn’t know at the time that was the motive behind the stabbing. She simply thought he was trying to slowly kill her. Rocket’s been trying to kill her for years, it just never seems to stick.

If she searched deep enough, she could feel the energy slowly dissipating. It’s a result she expected, but didn’t want to know concretely. As a beacon of hope, she’s no different with her own dreams. She hoped that maybe, maybe, they would want her back. That she could be enough.

Confirmation hurts. A sorrowful song echoes in the hollow part of her soul where they once resided. The only indication of that is the slow blink that turns her gaze downward at the fluke of bubbling champagne then up and back to mint frost.

“It changes nothing,” she responds to him when directly addressed, “It’s ordinary people that do the most extraordinary things. You don’t need a god to do what’s right and you don’t need incredible power to make a difference,” and that’s what she strives to do at this hour.

It’s a small step in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps even negligible considering Admin Fox's position in the opposing organization. It’s a small pebble dropped in a large pond. The ripples would gently expand across rather stagnant water. They will, eventually, die out but not before moving almost every molecule on the water’s surface. Everything begins with a small step.

A step stolen away when Melody Miro mutes the room. Her intentions are pure, but it only agitates the calming sea. And just like that, they’re back to bickering. A closed mind and a sharp temper is really the most dangerous foe they face.

Eva’s shoulders drop in a sigh, her fingers pinch the bridge of her nose and she breathes through her frustration.

Don’t retaliate. Nothing gives one person more advantage than to remain collected and calm under any circumstance.

When she breathes in deeply she raises her head with a smile, lifting her fluke to mint frost, “Then enjoy the party, I think it’s almost over,” she tips it towards howard slayte in appreciation of their efforts before taking a sip and excusing herself from the spotlight. She snakes back through the crowd to the buffet table to nibble on more cheese.

---

mint frost freya morningstar howard slayte
Dress

SPOILER: Click to show

Round 1 Prompts

• Enjoy food or drink
• Reference the dragonology text
• Lament over war and/or the state of the region
• Reflect on current loyalties and faiths
• Discuss plans for the future (spreading unity and hope as referenced here)

Round 2 Prompts

• Enjoy food and drink from the buffet
• Mention partner pokemon

Round 3 Prompts

• Observe the speech
• Engage with a member of the opposite faction
• Express a frustration
• Experience envy, fear, hatred, resentment
• Describe your attire

"they chose their side. the bells of war have long rung and over and over again, they've chosen their side. your compassions do not appeal to me when it comes to those who have stayed to fight against us."

there will be time to mourn the blood on her hands when this is over.

fox poses the question with weary resignation, and he does not wait for her to answer. the walls press around her and even as she is forced to kneel, she begs for understanding with brute honesty. and still they erode her and the people that are slowly filtering out of the banquet are dumbstruck and disillusioned. 

sick of the posturing, she's more than happy to shut up and let eva take over. but her eyes narrow when she raises her glass to howard. 

together. 

the blood in the water, the culling by sea, came at the hands of their leader. an untouchable wraith playing god with the lives of her people. IT IS YOUR SIN, she wants to scream, but she turns her back instead. she meant it - she is not, and will not, ever be their peacemaker.

roy's murmur reaches her ear, eva leaves her side, and her teeth dimple her lower lip. 

"most of our civs are leaving," she mutters back. "we'll hold out for another thirty. we can't end it on their account."

melody nears them and freya nods gratefully. those that remain will surely be at peace knowing the likes of their champion and prestigious professors are handling things. past her, she's pleased to see that the platter of shelgon rolls is completely empty with only a few crumbs left scattered across the silver.

☉