dahlia wants schwartz back too. however, his extraction is a sensitive surgery. highly specialized. dire prognosis.

"anything involving sootopolis is risky." she says, now rubbing her own hands. "we'd be placing poor melody in dire straits considering her station."

the commissioner's eyebrow raises at the mention of the captain, but she says nothing of her. eventually, they will meet.

"if you three believe you can rescue balder with your training and resources," dahlia says, "then i can give you three permission. however, it must be clandestine... and we must first make sure where balder is contained. is that clear?"

kyle lopez MATIAS SILPH Melody Miro

"redemption is a noble pursuit." dahlia curls a finger over her chin, gaze shifting between pink, strawberry blonde and poochy. "but if i were to give permission for a trip, i would need to know more."

above the doorway, a large map of hoenn is framed in an ornate bronze. an inherited piece. one from monroe— if not, many commissioners before him. the region is enveloped in brilliant pigments of blue. a stylistic kyogre is drawn in the corner, breaking the waves.

"rocket wants to control the seas?" dahlia looks to the map. "the seas are too vast. too unpredictable. even for us! so i worry. what does operation seas of justice entail?" she frowns, hands clasped as if to hold the deteriorating world through the knotting of finger and thumb.

kyle lopez MATIAS SILPH Melody Miro

• player/ooc name: SHIV
• character tags: elijah gardner noah faber dahlia goode
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): N/A
• ic posts for non-canon characters: elijah
• 4 ic posts for canon characters: noah 1, noah 2, noah 3, noah 4 | dahlia 1, dahlia 2, dahlia 3, dahlia 4
• plots you've pushed in the past month w/ other non-canon characters:[break]
  🏷️ noah faber continues his gym challenges (almost done wrapping up his current batch) and is scouting for new talent. In particular, he sees Greyson Connors as a dependable talent for the League and wants to push him forward. He also sees the Toral family (Keenan Toral / Aaron Toral) as part of a promising new generation— and wants to cultivate their battling talents to prepare them for what dangers Hoenn may possess.[break]
  
  🏷️ dahlia goode has been holding meetings with Gwyar Wledig, @quincy, CIAN MAHER, MATIAS SILPH, Melody Miro, MATIAS SILPH, kyle lopez, etc. She's also a character that I use to help reveal information about the setting in both explicit and subtle ways. Currently, she's involved in AN AQUA ASSEMBLY PT. 2 and helped Eva Morales investigate the DEATH OF PIGGIE SMALLS.
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: I hope this is a helpful exemplar for activity check posts! Feel free to make your notes silly as always.

"oh, don't exclude yourself from the talent pool," dahlia waves the air before her, pulverizing a head of steam into swirls, "i'm sure if you weren't there, part of the operation might have been headless."

briefly, the thought of fernando's remedied contract returns. the phantom cold of her mr. rime graces her fingertips as they remember chilled documents returned by her pokemon's frigid hand.

despite his amendments, he had ventured onto the mountain regardless.

"fernando. do you have any hobbies or do you just work?"

44dEPDUm (722/1000)
FERNANDO SILPH

to dahlia, cian's smile is innocent. an unbroken nest of a spring's first fletchling. there's hope, promise— and dahlia wonders how he has been able to safekeep that light within the shadows of the rocket syndicate.

and yet, dahlia is curious. she wants to pluck twig and twine from that crowning feature of maher. in cian's words, the diction is basic. vague.

there must be more.

"turning your back on them may be one way to start, yes," dahlia says, "but i need to know how far you've gone the other way first."

what has he done to make him feel so guilty?

"what is the worst thing you've done under rocket's command?"

CIAN MAHER

dahlia shakes her head in slight arcs. like a crystal chandelier: catching light in the fragile blue prisms of her eyes.

"why? has anyone told you you're unreliable recently?" dahlia says. "this is a fight against an ideology. regardless of one’s skillset, progress against team rocket will take time." and yet, she wonders how much patience she will need to exercise until the rocket scourge is gone.

she has her doubts that it will ever disappear.

Gwyar Wledig

"your persistence was hard to ignore, to be quite frank!" dahlia laughs.

and the promise of free food certainly made it easier to accept. despite her station, the commissioner's diet occasionally dips into convnience rather than quality. stress frees the fingers for takeout orders rather than mise en place.

as they near the restaurant, the commissioner tucks her blonde curl behind her ear. "we should be the ones to spoil you, mr. cobalt. you're a guest to our region after all." she says, peering at the realgam president with bright blue eyes.

@quincy

dahlia pauses, allowing the idea to settle like a pidove-cloud of morning tea. a blink clarifies the vision.

"not a bad idea." she admits. the rain taps against the cafe windows, clinging onto their panes as if straining for a view. "then, it's settled. we'll station you with councilman Bill Anderson then. further details will be sent to you."

within ever grande's streets, the rain thickens against the wilderness of conversation both inside and out.

"mr. wledig, however, there is one thing i must impress upon you. remove any delusions of grandeur you may have. for your sake. for your safety." dahlia says, voice firming into a warm stone. "i have seen countless trainers play the role of hero, only to realize that the world works differently. indifferently, even. i worry that your spirit might be at risk of being broken."

Gwyar Wledig

the stark contrast in their greetings proves to be a comedic and charming vignette of their backgrounds. in their unique avenues, she finds sincerity. original colours of professionalism sprouting out from white pages— much like the forest of stoutland-shaped post-it notes peeking out from her paperwork.

"i'm well! busy- but i'd do anything for my champion, elite four, gym leader." dahlia's smile grows with the categorization: a slice of the league's finest presented in a parade before her. "i never knew you three were friends."

her mr. rime taps his way toward the trio. an icy cane is extended for any jackets or gear that may need a temporary home on the rack.

"what is it that you want to share?" dahlia asks, eyes flickering across them. she pulls her reading glasses off the delicate bridge of her nose.

kyle lopez MATIAS SILPH Melody Miro

dahlia mirrors the other's frown. crumbs and all. as her stoutland's eyes close against mid-day rays, the commisioner leans forth into their warm beams that stream from the nearby window.

"guilt is a powerful thing," dahlia says after a dry beat, "trust me, i know it well."

it clings to her like alien ichor.

"and how will you absolve yourself of it? do you believe it to be possible?"

CIAN MAHER

"mm, some imperfection is to be expected. the suits are still in their prototype stage after all." dahlia parts the curtains enough for one blue eye to sneak past. "thankfully, we'll be able to improve these suits with the data collected from today."

she pulls back the curtain, the golden rings holding the fabric screeching as they grind across the rod.

"however, do not worry. the suits should be entirely safe."

across the partition, she hears the familiar voice of her head professor.

"eva! i'm so glad you're able to join us. the analysis you conducted on our unfortunate spoink was a meaningful study. your data has allowed this expedition to happen in fact! we really have you to thank." dahlia remains cryptic: words filtered by shadow and shyest silhouette.

kyle lopez Eva Morales / aqua assembly

PATHOLOGY

RESEARCH THREAD WITH DR. MORALES

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/591796723928662048/840814376981889054/SCIENCE.mp3[/player]

DR. EVA MORALES does not disappoint, for her investigation allows her to land on the truth. Or at least, has moved toward the closest version of the truth. What has happened to Piggie Smalls, the Spoink, and its trainer, Bailey Cooper, is no doubt a tragedy.

However, from these losses comes knowledge. A terrifying expansion of possibility. From this sudden swell of opportunity and truth come the chasms of questioning made by the abrupt revelations stemming from this autopsy. Although Eva offers other possibilities, she will eventually realize the following:

CORRECT DEDUCTIONS

• A beam of PRIMAL ENERGY had torn through the Spoink.
• The beam had vanished most tissue, bodily contents in its way.
• Primal energy does not just vanish objects. It can introduce objects too; however, the exact minutiae of this mechanic is unknown.

When prompted, the UNOWN-D attempts to conjure something. An orb of HIDDEN POWER emerges from its sclera, the energy sparkling as it attempts to psychically manifest an answer; however, all it can create is transient sparkle of a question mark.

But Eva raises a good question. Where do things that vanish go? Is there a single space in which they disappear to, or is the answer to that much more multiplicitous? Dahlia is deep in thought, chin nestled against the curve of her fingers.

"mm, they came in this morning." dahlia can still feel the smallest diamonds of shalour rolling across her fingerprints.

she takes her seat. slope track arms. upholstered neatly in white and fitted with bright wood. as soon as her back fits into the furniture's natural curve, her stoutland joins her from behind the desk. its heavy paws thud against the carpet before its heavier belly pushes against the floor with a fwoomph of fur.

"so, tell me, mr. maher, what pushed you to make this choice?"

CIAN MAHER