[attr="class","illieicon"]

[attr="class","illie b"]her gaze shifts between nova's face and the soothing pets on the serpent's head, mind tossing around the explanation in her mind. understandable, she muses. better to take in the pokemon than have something terrible happen, right? besides, from what she can tell, the seviper is more than content to be with the redhead. "good thinking!" her smile brightens slightly, gaze finally planting itself firmly on nova. "who knows what they would have done if you hadn't found her first." the thought dampens her mood slightly as her thoughts supply scenarios, each one worse than the last. best to not think about it... the shuffling of thoughts is quick and smooth despite the nature of them, all of them fading into the next deck of cards.

illeana responds in kind to the flicker of a tongue, her features taking on a softer edge. and then, the seviper drifts toward deus, much to the automaton's delight. it coos as the serpent draws near, hand still until the nudge is all it takes for the golurk to reach out for a tentative pat. another noise of fondness escapes the clay golem before it all but plops onto the floor, large arms extending out in invitation. it's funny, really, that her automaton can try to get cuddles out of any situation.

while deus busies itself with hydra, illeana turns her attention back to the proposed theory. a hum escapes, one of contemplation. if such a difference in coloring is revealing itself across a wider pool of species than just one, it's certainly possible that the genes have either mutated or been arranged in such a way to reveal the odd color. before, she had been leaning toward the display of a recessive gene coming to the surface in a particular series of genetic sequences. now? a mutation might seem more plausible... "that's a good theory," she murmurs, a finger rising to her lips to tap at the skin in thought. "all pokemon must have specific structures in their genetic makeup that produce their coloring, right? a mutation within those genes would explain why such a coloring would show in one individual than a whole species." the more she thinks about it, the more footing it finds in her mind. and then, without hesitation, she's flashing a grin in nova's direction and pushing away from her desk. "should we find out?"

the scientist drifts toward some of the equipment placed around the room, humming as she goes. supplies begin to gather in her arms and while she collects the materials needed, deus glances up from hydra to notice the approach of nova's dragonite. the automaton is slow to understand the motion, head tilting curiously to the side. it rumbles, almost questioning, before a hand falls away from hydra to be offered to drayco. deus flexes its fingers, wiggling the appendages in a way that seems welcoming. the dragonite simply wants in on the cuddle puddle, right?