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POSTED ON Feb 10, 2020 11:41:24 GMT

[attr="class","orion"]

Adrenaline fades in the aftermath of the battle, and with it goes Orion's steely resolve: the only thing that's been keeping him stable. It's the first real tragedy he's ever been a part of. He's heard of them — Mossdeep, Slateport, tragedies that dominated the news — but to experience it...

It's almost too much.

He'd slipped away from the crowd gathered around the portal and now walked the battlefield, rubble crunching underfoot. He checked his phone for the first time post-battle to see alerts pouring in from the rangers: all available were to report to Slateport. He could see a few of them now, those with the fastest methods of transport already combing the wreckage for survivors. Orion goes through similar motions mechanically, feels his mind closing off from the overwhelming emotions that threaten to suffocate.

He could break down later. For now...

His ear's definitely busted. He needs to see a doctor. He needs to go to a Pokemon Center, for Schism. He needs to figure out what the deal was with the argument back at the portal.

He spots Fernando, winces at the reminder of Olivia and Balder's fallout. Nevertheless, he approaches.

"Media's swarming like flies." Not much of a greeting, but it's hardly time for small talk. "Arceus, what a mess."

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POSTED ON Feb 10, 2020 11:55:34 GMT

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[attr="class","spiral"] "Indeed."

Fernando's annoyance is palpable. It exudes from tone and fills every embodiment of his being, down to his posture and the very air around him. "And silencing them will only make things worse. Leave them in the dark and they'll spin up a wild tangent of stories to fill in the gap. A gag order only works when the media works for you."

There's a reason Fernando hadn't addressed Balder Schwartz's concerns about the gag order. Even if Olivia Abbiati ordered a cease and desist, private businesses have no reason to abide by a League request of that magnitude. What would they do, force them to? In a digital age where anyone can post up a video or blog about obstruction, doing so will only cause both backlash and accusation of an unjust dictatorship.

If simply telling the new media not to report on negative press then Fernando would have done so long ago. The report about dahlia goode would have never surfaced and Stormy Silph's little mishap during her operation to rescue the commissioner would have never went public.

Alas, the world is not that simple. Neither are the people that make it up. Fernando sighs and turns to Orion, frowning, bitter.

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POSTED ON Feb 11, 2020 12:12:47 GMT

[attr="class","orion"]

Fernando, too, is less composed than when Orion saw him last. The annoyance that sharpens his tone might have intimidated Orion under other circumstances, but forcibly dulled emotions lend well to reasoning: it's not directed at him.

"Which they don't," Orion finishes, rubbing at his temple. "I'm willing to bet it'll be all over the morning news no matter what Olivia said to them."

Though they've never had a formal introduction, Orion's quick to form opinions about the councilwoman based on the events during and after the attack. Schwartz, as well. His opinions of Kyle are, at least, tempered by the fact that he'd actually spent time with the man prior to tonight.

"You have an idea of what to tell them?" he asks, curious. "Silence'll no doubt just point them to conspiracy and cover-ups."

People loved to think that the government was up to something nefarious. Giving them fuel for that fire would only do more harm.

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POSTED ON Feb 12, 2020 3:38:54 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"] "Indeed." Fernando finds himself agreeing with Orion on more occasion and his own regards toward his fellow Councilman grows with each interaction. None of it stems from Orion himself. As far as Fernando knows, Orion is nothing special. He's plain, unexciting, and green as can be. But there's value in this. The farther away he is from being another kim cole-essam, or worst, Olivia Abbiati, the better. Hoenn has enough zany character. He needs someone grounded in reality.

"The truth." Fernando feigns honest as one of his focal traits in the same vein as he had done with @iris. There's no point to lie an obvious lie. A well crafted one relies on baiting the victim into a sense of trust and what better to build a bond over than the very subject he's trying to deceive him about.

"There is no point in hiding anything they can find out, both easily or incidentally. It's not a matter of if they find out but when and the moment they realize we're lying, it becomes a big spiral of what else is a lie. There are very few things we can omit and we need to be very upfront about our excuse on it should it happen. We can claim we don't want to state certain things as facts without a confirmation."

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POSTED ON Feb 12, 2020 4:44:05 GMT

[attr="class","orion"]

Orion wants to believe that those on the Council have integrity; perhaps this is why he accepts Fernando's response without question.

"Well, I'm glad you seem to have an understanding of public perception." His words are edged with a dry humour. "I'm with you on that, for what it counts. I imagine we'll need to convince Olivia."

After all, it was Olivia Abbiati that had issued the initial gag order on the media. Clearly she wanted their silence, that secrecy that Fernando was speaking against.

"I've still not met Kim... or Dahlia, really." He doesn't think today really counts as having 'met' the commissioner, considering she'd spent most of the night trying to kill everyone. Arceus, the media was surely going to have a field day with that. Orion can feel a headache forming already. "Any idea which way they'll swing?"

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POSTED ON Feb 12, 2020 8:28:36 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"] "I've been doing this longer than most. Did it for Silph Co. too before I dived into politics." There is a lack of patience in his voice that makes it come out with more resentment than it should. Fernando's mood is misplaced but he cares little for trivialities. He assumes that Orion can carry on the assumption that his sour attitude isn't direct at him but an end result of it bleeding through their previous altercation.

"Don't waste your time. Abbiati grows exponentially stupider every time she tries to make things right." Fernando polishes one of his Pokeballs with his sleeve. His clothes are already dusty and matted with debris. "It's almost mathematical. Like every time she mentions something about wisdom or knowledge, she loses a part of her brain to retain that superficial information."

They're clean enough and Fernando re-holsters them. He came out without any causalities this time but that doesn't guarantee anything. He considers himself lucky more than prepared and makes a silent vow to improve.

"Kim is a different type of stupid— like he's fucking with you— on purpose. He's trust worthy as long as you don't rely on him. Everyone says it's good for morale but I don't get it." Still beats the alternatives they've gone through. "And Dahlia is a kind, grounded person. Much too busy these days for anything important but it's hard to make time when you have to babysit everyone because you don't know how to say no— pre-murder, of course."

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POSTED ON Feb 12, 2020 9:53:27 GMT

[attr="class","orion"]

Perhaps it's the strain the situation's placed on him, or perhaps it's simply because the comment on Abiatti is unexpected, but Orion barks out a sharp laugh.

"Sorry," he says, recovering his composure. "Just — didn't expect the brutal honesty. Appreciate it, though. The world needs more of it."

Opinions he's made about Olivia begin to solidify into something more concrete, for better or for worse. She struck him as someone eager to take charge, but not necessarily as someone who should be in charge. Too quick to act, not enough tempering of her words before she spoke. The display with Balder Schwartz had given him such impressions.

"Then I endeavor to be more like Dahlia than the others," he decides, quietly hoping she's made it out of this whole ordeal alive. Last he'd seen her had been with kyle lopez, and she'd disappeared after that. "Minus the relenting. Give people an inch and they'll take several miles, gotta be real careful with that."

He shakes his head. He doesn't have the patience to be a yes-man all the time. People were going to have demands, lots of them, and it was unreasonable to think one could cater to them all.

"Speaking of Dahlia... any updates on her condition?"

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POSTED ON Feb 18, 2020 8:21:13 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"] "It's just my opinion on them. You should form your own as well. Don't let me shape your viewpoints and skewer your perception of them." Solid advice but something Fernando expects Orion to know. The purpose to mention it is to play into the character of someone who cares, someone who wants better and to notice his own shortcomings. All of these are a lie, at least at face value, but trust is built on faux concern and compassion.

"Don't be like Dahlia. Don't be like any of them. Each of us have our own specific personality and what we need is something new to contribute and keep the others in check. You're fine as you are, Lykos." With his own possessions acquired, Fernando longer has a purpose in staying around the broken rubble and disaster. He finds the nearest ambulance and starts for it, like a moth to the mismatching colors of a vibrant siren.

"No clue. Didn't see her after everything went down. Sounds like the other had something to do with it."

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POSTED ON Feb 18, 2020 10:25:54 GMT

[attr="class","orion"]

Orion nods. He's already been forming opinions about Fernando, after all: knowledgeable, professional, far less terrifying than he'd expected. Such opinions are not set in stone, but his impressions have been positive.

His impressions on Abiatti have been anything but, though Orion is willing to forgive certain things he'd seen tonight due to the large amount of strain that everyone had been under. It's entirely possible that he'll think differently of her if they're to meet away from all the chaos.

Quiet and green as he is, Orion grew up in a den of prowling lions.

"That's good advice," he says of both points, nodding. His smile is as brief as it is strained. His head is throbbing, his ear hurts, and exhaustion is creeping in like the tide. Yet as he looks around, there's still so much that needs to be done. "I'll keep it in mind."

The sirens hurt to look at, each flash pulsing in his brain. Images flash back through his mind in time with the lights: the monstrosity that had contained the commissioner choking the life out of the councilwoman chief among them.

"Last I saw was when she had Olivia. Don't know what happened after that."

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POSTED ON Feb 18, 2020 10:33:38 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"] "She'll turn up when she turns up. It's not the first time Dahlia's been embellished into the thick of things and knowing her luck, it won't be the last." Fernando waits among the first aid personnel, looking for his chance to be examined and cleared. Eventually someone turns to address them but he dismisses the worker in lieu of having them look at someone else brought over, someone in need.

"Your first priority should be yourself and then those in need. Can't save much of anyone if we double over."

He pauses.

"How're you feeling?"

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POSTED ON Feb 18, 2020 15:10:47 GMT

[attr="class","orion"]

Orion is similarly dismissive of attempts to look him over: he'd gotten off light in comparison to many others, and he knew that the emergency services would be stretched thin long into the night.

So when Fernando tells him to put himself first, Orion blinks in surprise.

"I'm fine," is an automatic response, said almost without thinking. It's how he's coded himself to react to any sort of concern for his well-being: everything's fine, don't worry about me.

But he should worry. His hearing hasn't recovered from the blast, and any sudden movement of his head sets the world spinning. He'd already thrown up the contents of his stomach several times over thanks to the jarring vertigo.

"Mostly fine," he corrects, begrudgingly. "Think the explosion busted my eardrum, and I got scraped up a bit, but I'm fine... comparitively. Not gonna drop on you, or anything."

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POSTED ON Feb 19, 2020 0:42:11 GMT

[attr="class","spiral"] "Mind and body work together." Fernando feels his nose wrinkle as he tries to clench the left side of his jaw to get his ears to pop. Naturally, it doesn't work.

"That sounds survivable but definitely not fine." His own injuries pale in comparison. His hearing is distorted but not impaired, not to that extent. He clicks his tongue as he scours over the many medics, none of which seem available. There are too people in need.

"Get yourself checked out when you can. I'm going to head on back."

There's no answer of where back is but the implication is there. Very few realize Fernando's greatest strength and even fewer realize his greatest weakness.

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