francie had beside her lyonel, her midnight lycanroc. the canine bit at his fur and stretched his jawn in a yawn, a light whine leaving his gullet as he did so. he liked to watch the birds... maybe catch the birds?

oh, but there went tilly, francie's aerodactyl. she flew overhead and snapped her jaws at anything that came close to the bugs which francie had told her needed guarding. it seemed like lyonel wouldn't be having much fun... but he kept his eyes peeled either way.

"hm?" francie's small squeak was an acknowledgement that she'd been spoken too and heard him but needed time to think of her answer. "oh, um, mostly the sparkling dust. it's a pretty rare commodity these days. they say if you gather enough, you can change your pokémon's coat with it... supposed. like turn a lycanroc blue."

which would be absolutely hilarious, but she wouldn't hate the idea either. louie would, her dusk lycanroc, but perhaps lincoln her midday would be up for it...

Athanasios Valentine

"oh good!" pulling them from her bag, she put a few of them back and held out two for arkose to chow down on, sure to watch her fingers and carefully place the berries so she didn't get eaten as well.

"i know what you mean. i have one of each form. my midday's the one that usually gets drug into the shenanigans that my midnight gets him into. and my dusk just watches it all happen while barking at them to stop."

she laughed at the idea of louie, lincoln, and lyonel, and then gave mattis a soft smile as she stood up from feeding arkose.

"i've got them with me, if you want to do a meet and greet before we head out officially."

@mattis

"it's a pleasure to meet you mattis."

when the lycanroc was introduced, francie felt herself smiling brightly. even more brightly than when she met the man she'd be doing the mission with. why?

because she had three lycanroc of her own, one of each type, and she absolutely adored the species as a whole. midnight form was her favorite but typically he was such a troublemaker she always had her dusk out.

not today, too cold. and she assumed ice type pokémon would be affoot, so she'd brought an arsonal with her to help try and combat that.

"hello there arkose. if your trainer doesn't mind, i think i have yache berry in here someplace." known to weaken the effects of ice and snow.

@mattis

main party

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secondary party

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inventory

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mega / z-move / sygna

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pokeballs

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evo items

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tm/tr items

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misc. items

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berry storage

"that's me!! francie myrtle, pleased to mee-- oh geez!!"

tumble, fumble, plop. face first into the snow.

"pleh!" she spit the snow from her mouth and shook her face. then, she was up in a flash and brushing off her clothes, fixing her beanie back onto her head to keep her ears warm. "i'm fine! yes, i'm okay! a lil bit embarrassed but y'know, what's life without warm cheeks?"

with a sigh, like she was breathing out her embarrassment, she held out her hand with a bright smile and determination to the man who was nine inches taller than her.

"pleased to meet you!!"

@mattis

"that's... in your hands, mr. silph."

it was a bold statement for her. perhaps others often favored offering themselves to fernando on a whim. maybe he didn't expect it, maybe he did. she was already surprising him with being there so why not up her own anne, so to speak.

"while i was in sinnoh, sitting at the top of mt. coronet in the midst of the ruins thinking over my life, i got to thinking about something that's been ever constant. no matter how much i try and change it.... and..."

she moved over to him, closing that distance, and very softly and gently took his jaw in her hands. cold, as she imagined. she really loved it, because her hands could be just too warm sometimes.

"i came back to help you, fernando. that... is quite literally it, why i came back. because i've spent years trying to tell myself i deserve better and i've decided i don't want better. i want to help you."

she removed her hands from his jaw but kept close to him, a smile on her face. while her notions seem romantic, she'd do the same to a stranger if they looked hurt or in pain.

"i know very well this could lead to my death, or worse... and i know you might not believe me, but i'm ready for that. i'm prepared for that... whatever it takes to stay right here. with you."

while it wasn't the common three word confession of, 'i love you' she felt, for now, it was close enough.

FERNANDO SILPH

"well, i concluded my tour of mt. coronet, for one."

it wasn't like she hadn't thought about sending him emails. she'd written him whole journals full of her adventures, and, truth be told, that's what the wrapped present on his desk was. her cowardice, written down, and for his eyes only.

"those are my findings, you can browse through and take from it what you want... my personal records of what i found, y'know. that kinda stuff."

with a shrug, she smiled, because that's just her default expression. his is nothing- a void, hers is sunshine.

"i took a tour of the ruins in celestic town while i was there, and i visited their three lakes. lake acuity, lake verity, and lake valor. i wasn't visited by anything special, mind you, but i found a few things. might be of importance to you."

that's half the truth, but she dare not unload all of herself at once.

FERNANDO SILPH

as he comes closer she's rigid, still as the very mountains she loves. he closes the distance between them and wraps her up in a hug. a hug that she really, honestly, didn't expect.

but she should have. he expected her to reach out and hug him so he did it instead. he's a chameleon, she knows this. he acts as he is expected to act, she knows this as well. it's brilliant and it helps him get what he wants.

perhaps she doesn't care anymore, perhaps she loves that about him.

so she returns the hug almost as quickly as it's given and smiles into his shoulder, face buried by his frame. it's much larger than her, being she's barely five foot tall.

"i'd be flattered, but i know good and well i'm not the only person alive who's ever surprised you."

she releases him then, knowing that the physical contact isn't his favorite. she instead creates a distance of sorts, looking at the wine bottle and then back to him.

"... i didn't like, interrupt anything with anybody, did i? i just assumed you'd be alone, cause it's christmas."

. . .

panic.

"i-i mean! uh," oh dear, she's put her foot in her mouth. old habits die hard after all! "w-what i mean is, uh, um, that, i erm, i just, y'know, you're always working and there's no better day to get the upper hand on people than a day where barely anybody else works, right? exactly! yes! yep that is exactly what i uh, what i meant mmhm."

FERNANDO SILPH

the indication that he was there was in hearing the door open. she had held her breath and counted the seconds to occupy her mind and stop it from being distracted.

but the second her name fell from his lips her heart stopped beating. a smile blossomed over her features and she stood up from the chair, smiled at him that warm and fond smile, before clasping her hands together in an effort to contain the joy that wanted to rush out of her like a flood.

she wasn't going to just bolt forward and hug him like she wanted to. maybe because he looked tired, maybe because she'd learned to ask for consent before touching people.

"mr. silph." felt silly to be so formal, but time leaves little room for familiarity. "surprise! merry christmas."

FERNANDO SILPH

how long had it been again?

she'd known him for a total of what... seven years? she was twenty when she first met him, out at slateport beach. he had a glalie by his side. she was astounded, bewildered.

infatuated.

she recognized her emotions now... and even still, she finds herself this way with him. nervous. butterfree and beautiflies in her stomach tearing it apart; or so it felt like.

"i wish you'd just get outta there already and let me die in peace..." softly, she pokes her belly, talking to her nerves as if asking for a swift death. "but... then again... it is christmas. what a terrible day to go."

her mind travels to her parents, who had told her if she didn't go and get this thing with 'mr. silph' settled then they'd stick their feet, collectively, up her ass. it wasn't like she kept her emotions a secret. she'd even told fernando how she felt in a hot spring once.

not that she super clearly remembered that because it was like half a decade ago and wow if she hadn't been nervous as fneiwauogfbd.

so here she sat. in his office. on christmas day, waiting for him to get out of a meeting so that she could be with him the whole rest of his day. why?

nobody should be alone on christmas.

FERNANDO SILPH