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"then we share a common goal."[break][break]

if navy is steel, then dahlia is the hearth. she endeavors to control heat by fair words. to cradle flame by stone palms. shaping the region requires a gentle yet charred hand.[break][break]

"you were born and raised in hoenn, yes?" the commissioner says. "you have lived through so much in just a few years... what is next for you then, navidson? what do you need so that you can help preserve hoenn's soul?"

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"it's nice, isn't it?" the commissioner says. "for the public to be able to access normalcy once in awhile..."[break][break]

she waves her hand. a gentle feather in the air dismissing gloom. rather, dahlia seems to acknowledge its shape, feeling how it clings to her palm.[break][break]

"oh well. same ol, same ol. there is always something to do." dahlia sighs though the breath is not heavy. "but how are you? where do you see yourself in the grand purview of hoenn right now?"

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"oh, i don't mind." the commissioner returns the smile as she takes her seat. "gyms can either be reflective or transformative. yours reflects the reality of our world."[break][break]

from tall walls, portraits of past and current champions, elite four, and past commissioners grant them further audience. there is legacy here. preserved, maintained, continued.[break][break]

but for how long? how much longer?[break][break]

the commissioner fights the urge to cross one leg over the other.[break][break]

"my time in office has granted me with the wisdom that the loudest voices do not represent the majority of opinion."

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even dross could not control the sea. after all, nautica has fled to calmer waters. [break][break]

she remembers the personal contract the captain and her husband had signed. how the competitory pen tip etched name and oath on the page. how those signatures now look to her as an abandoned bramble of thorns.[break][break]

"i'm all for a restructuring of the division," the commissioner says, "and the utilization of resources we already have. for fiorelli. for kyogre."[break][break]

she frowns.[break][break]

"we do not have reshiram's powers of truth sense anymore." she says. "if the unown avatar is able to be swayed to work with us, there is no definitive procedure to determine her trustworthiness."

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"a monthly check-up then. provided nothing interrupts it." [break][break]

this upcoming december may mark the first month in awhile where she is able to take some time off for herself. nevertheless, she is swift to change thoughts lest she jinx herself.[break][break]

"we'll schedule one when you return." she says. "until then, good luck with your journey."[break][break]

the commissioner prays sullivan's wanderings bear fruit.

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the commissioner allows the silence again. in case laurence had more to say, more to clarify.[break][break]

for the first time, she believes, laurence exercises the composure his legendary patron represents.[break][break]

"i don't want trying." dahlia says. "i want doing. and you can do it, lars. you can." [break][break]

she stands from her seat. [break][break]

"you've always been able to. be careful and do report back."

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"you can not use the poison of your past to ruin your fruitful future." the commissioner says. "at some point in our lives, we need to learn how to use our struggles, not as excuses, but as ways to grow."[break][break]

he's close. like shoal cave, perhaps the tide must recede for him to advance for him to progress.[break][break]

"communication comes in many different ways, laurence," she knows this and speaks in a tailored channel even now, "for each individual pokemon and each individual human."[break][break]

the commissioner allows the purposeful pauses; she hopes they provide reflective spaces as clear as ice.[break][break]

"your trust issues are the league's issues. your colleague's issues. if you do not exercise trust and camaraderie, how can you expect your peers to do the same for you?"

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"the issue is that you are approaching this with a scientific lens." [break][break]

the commissioner shakes her head, a golden curl falling to grace her cheek.[break][break]

"but this is a dilemma of relationships. the relationships between you and your colleagues and the relationship between you and articuno."[break][break]

she leans forward and presses her elbows against her knees. blue eyes stare straight at the former head ranger, locking him in so that her message flies true.[break][break]

"to be frank, you are difficult to work with. you are grumpy. you have a temper. you are secretive and keep things to yourself." the commissioner says. "you have not learned from your colleagues and you have not learned from articuno."[break][break]

dahlia straightens herself. folds her hands on her lap as if to anchor herself too.[break][break]

"if you do not work on your relationships with your colleagues, how can you possibly work on your relationship with articuno?"

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"to hear that the unown have allied themselves with someone is concerning. i am assuming... though, i hope i am wrong, that the visionary is affiliated with rocket?"[break][break]

the commissioner cradles worry within the tightly knit bow of her brow. the drk triad utilize the unown uniquely for avatar assassination—but such pokemon, theorized to be stitches of reality, can unravel horrifying possibilities in the hands of a mere mortal.[break][break]

"correct." the commissioner confirms the list of severed bonds. "but we do an unassigned branch of allies: tapu bulu, tapu koko, diancie, mew." [break][break]

the commissioner wonders what knowledge has been gleamed by Eva Morales and illeana reyes from the pink link to the past.[break][break]

"if fiorelli is in possession of both," a bitterness grows coldly within her bones. she wishes she had burned the poinsettias received one year ago. "then would we say that her neutralization is one of our priorities?"

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"we have offered a plethora of resources to use, laurence anderson. wisdom, knowledge, people, facilities and resources." [break][break]

the commissioner crosses her arms as if to hold herself together lest the disbelief burst from her breast.[break][break]

"if you only made the effort to contact a single figure, then have you really thought about your options?"

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"you can speak with zekrom prior to your temporary division."[break][break]

temporary if the royal's defection reveals no blemish, no tether. [break][break]

"we aren't cruel, remiel." the commissioner says. "but we are careful. you and zekrom will be supervised."[break][break]

she fights a frown. instead, she swallows sympathies down. feels it crawl down her throat.[break][break]

"i hope to have faith in you too." the commissioner says.

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dahlia's pen is busy. its sharp nib scratches league-watermarked paper. though she may not realize, the commissioner tattoos history and glyph onto modest notepads.[break][break]

"the appearance of all these avatars beg the question," dahlia says, tapping her pen, "do they bestow their patronage in preparation for conflicts such as dewford? and when?"[break][break]

and where are new acquisitions for the league? she hides her concern over their bleeding of avatars. her pen bleeds too, ink wasting away on a letter's finial.[break][break]

"why would it be costly?" she frowns. "how dangerous is fiorelli... and the rest we've mentioned?"