"I'm... not sure." He admitted, squeezing his sibling's hand a little tighter.

"All I've been told is that you were brought to the hospital by ambulance. No one is telling me anything beyond that." Which was infuriating, but Gideon didn't allow that anger to taint his tone. He was doing his best to sound calm and reassuring.

Still, the uncertainty weighed on him. What happened? What could have caused such grievous wounds? Even that Gideon wasn't completely aware of; the doctors hadn't allowed him a detailed report on his brother's injuries, despite him being next of kin. Ridiculous.

"Are you thirsty? Can I get you anything?"

Gunner Graves
mission: POST PAAA

☉

Angelo's shit-eating grin wasn't lost on GIDEON GRAVES, but he didn't have the inclination to retort with anything other than a short nod. His interest was in the explanation that was to come.

The professor listened dutifully as angelo vestri spoke, his eyes closing as thoughts and suspicions and suppositions shot across his mind in rapid succession. How? Why?

"And the receptacle?" Gideon inquired as his eyes snapped open. His gaze swept back to the glowing sphere within the pilot's palm. Angelo had mentioned finding the flame, but not that it was already encased when he did so. Something that could contain pure, self-sustaining Infinity Energy was almost as intriguing as the energy itself. "Did you find the flame already within the orb?"

So many questions. Especially when Angelo relayed that the flame had followed him. Sentience. Their conversation on gods moments ago felt rather pertinent now.

"What happened when you touched it?"

angelo vestri

☉

He'd been forewarned.

Now that so many rifts had begun to open within Hoenn, reports of the myriad worlds within were making their rounds around the region. Still, to see it with his own eyes was an otherworldly experience all its own.

The Border between life and death. How could this be real? Better still, how did he manage to get funding for an expedition like this? It was ecstatically incomprehensible.

Seeing Caleb Harcourt and his younger brother conversing ahead, Gideon approached, his expression one of stoked enthusiasm. "You two have ventured here once before, right? Any thoughts on where we should travel first?"

As they responded, the two men and the nearby @rosie would notice something materializing behind GIDEON GRAVES.

Gunner Graves might recognize the stone-faced spirit and her unflinching, hollow eyes. She would have been around Gunner's age now, if she had lived that long. Her incorporeal form, however, would forever reflect that of a woman in her early twenties.

His ex-wife's little sister.

Lorelai.

Gunner Graves Caleb Harcourt @rosie

• 🗺️ GIDEON GRAVES's divorce experience must be explored in some way &/or he will be able to retrieve an artifact (be creative within reason) for his national museum of natural history.

☉

Drunk words are sober thoughts.

That was the saying, anyway, and it seemed to hold true in Gideon's case. Cherishing John's friendship was a sentiment that he honestly felt... but probably wouldn't have conveyed in quite such an overt way had he been sober. Still, to hear that the feeling was mutual warmed his inebriated heart.

"Ten years, huh?" Gideon repeated, although his words were a bit slurred. He took a little longer than what would be considered normal to process this piece of information. But when he did, he had this to say:

"You must have gotten SO many badges in that time!" GIDEON GRAVES was oblivious to the obvious difficulty John was having even talking about the subject. His dopey smile and enthusiastic countenance spoke of someone who was obviously supportive, though, and not malicious.

"I would love to see those battle skills of yours!"

john nelson

☉

Oooohhh yeeeeah. He was the chicken KING. The undefeated champion of toeing the line. The Picasso of taking things just a step too far in the name of sweet, sweet VICTORY.

Drunk Gideon, anyway. Sober Gideon was going to have to have a stern conversation with himself come morning. Now, though, he reveled in the visible affect his actions had on his dear friend john nelson.

Raising a hand, he affectionately tousled the other man's hair.

"Ha! That's what I thought." The sultry purr in his voice from just moments earlier was decidedly absent. Now there were heady tones of triumph there, laced with just the slightest hint of a teasing lilt.

"Now will you tell me your address, John?" Gideon shot his friend a look that said, 'or do I need to whisper sweet nothings into your ear again?'

If John decided to comply they could finally make their way to his apartment.

john nelson

☉

"I'm glad to hear your business was able to survive the fallout from the dome," Gideon responded once Summer Atreides finished her explanation. "Many weren't as lucky, unfortunately."

Even the museum had been affected. Government funding had been funneled to aid organizations and the like, leaving his team scrambling to get by on a shoestring budget. With the dome gone, however, Gideon was hopeful that some form of normalcy would return.

"The Natural History Museum has had to make similar cutbacks because of the dome." His umber gaze swept over their small group before landing on Elisabeth Fiorelli. "But with the Winter Masquerade having been such a huge success, I think we'll soon be back to how things were."

Perhaps better than they were, all things considered.

His eyes remained trained on Elisa as she explained her Kalosian anecdote; he smiled when she finished, dipped his head in acknowledgement when she asked their opinion on whether such things were fascinating or not.

"Indeed, they are." The professor agreed, a thrum of mischief creeping into his voice. "I've been curious - and perhaps you know given your profession - but how did the tradition of kissing under mistletoe come to be?"

Here he shifted in his seat, gaining a few millimeters of space closer to the florist beside him, before casually draping his arm behind Elisa's part of the booth.

"A hemiparasite somehow became a hallmark of holiday romance. I've always wondered why."

Gunner Graves
Elisabeth Fiorelli Summer Atreides
outfit check

☉

A lone rose blooming wild...

Gideon thought briefly of Charlotte as he read over Elisabeth Fiorelli's response.

Where there once was a heavy tan line outlining his ring finger, it had faded with time... now there were no traces of his past marriage to be found. No physical traces, anyway.

His first thought upon reading her question was, 'not anymore' but that was a little somber for a first meeting, wasn't it?

'Not currently. But I know who to call when I do.'

A light smirk tugged at the edge of his lips as he pushed the pad back to her side of the table. Between the pen and paper he'd tucked his own business card, which detailed Dr. Gideon Graves' various positions and contact information.

Elisabeth Fiorelli
mission: PUTTING ON A FRONT

☉

While Naomi Sato worked out his identity almost immediately - not surprising, he knew her to be a brilliant mind with a bright future in STEM - GIDEON GRAVES was none the wiser. Perhaps he was too enthralled in appreciating the expertly-curated exhibits all around him. Pride tended to be a blinding thing, after all.

"I do, actually. And you're not far off the mark, though the company has two founders. A husband and wife pair." Gideon paused, momentarily ruminating on how 'extremely interesting' skyler dross and angelo vestri were. They gave the impression that they'd been to hell and back on more than one occasion and tricked the devil each and every time.

Just then, a gonging sound echoed through the museum halls.

"That's the dinner bell. I should be off," Gideon prompted, turning to see guests already making their way to the wing containing the property's huge atrium. "They're serving tonight's meal in the Insectarium, if you're interested in partaking."

A wave from a familiar face caught Gideon's attention a little ways down the hall. Gunner Graves, obviously trying to get his attention. Before he departed, however, he made sure to add a final parting piece for Naomi Sato:

"It was a pleasure speaking with you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening."

With that said he made his way over to reunite with his brother, offering the younger man a pleased smile as they headed toward the doors of the Insectarium and out to an open dining table.

"I hope you've been having a fun time," Gideon remarked, settling into his seat. A waiter immediately came over to offer refreshments, to which the professor chose a red wine he knew would complement his meal choice. "And that you've been staying out of trouble?"

• suit check + mask
• bye bye Naomi Sato
• prompt #1 (sit with us) - dining with Gunner Graves

☉

The pleasure his question elicited was gratification enough. Yet the way her upturned lips pressed apart to reveal silent laughter, the sharp glint of green in her eyes as sunlight shone through the window beside them... it stirred a forgotten feeling in his chest that Gideon hadn't felt in a long, long time.

He ignored it for now.

Looking down at her response, Gideon's own pleasure continued to be outdone. Using the correctly formatted trinomen for the rose subspecies was a nice touch which he appreciated. The fact that she was the one who'd grown it, too, was an unhidden surprise - his eyebrows raised slightly at reading that part.

Still, she had the credentials to prove it: a business card slipped ever so stealthily into his hand as she offered her pen.

'Perhaps I will be in the near future.'

He wrote, but paused briefly to glance at her left hand.

'Fiorelli Floristry... is it a family business? A joint venture with your husband, perhaps?'

Elisabeth Fiorelli
mission: PUTTING ON A FRONT

☉

Something john nelson may not have known up until this point was that GIDEON GRAVES didn't tend to back down from a challenge. Despite his demeanor, he was quite tenacious in his everyday life. The professor's quiet intensity had seen him through years of grueling schoolwork, late night writing, incredibly complex research. And he'd been rewarded in many ways for his unwillingness to concede.

So why would he stop now?

The hand on John's waist tightened and pulled him upward - to the tips of his toes, if not completely off his feet - until their faces were intimately close.

Then, Gideon pressed his forehead against John's temple, his lips mere centimeters from the shell of his friend's ear. The two words that he whispered next held a gravelly timbre, influenced by the cold night air and the alcohol on his breath:

"Pretty please."

john nelson

☉

The scrawling of a pen pulled him from his idle thoughts. Even more so when a pad of paper was pushed toward him. Gideon's umber gaze refocused on the woman across from him, his expression one of pleasant surprise.

Her instigations were rather persistent... but not in an off-putting way. In fact, when he looked down to read the scribbled question, a slight grin pulled at the edges of his lips. A petal for his thoughts, hm?

Gideon's eyes flicked to hers for a moment, then returned to the page. He took in the rest of the paper, scanned through her notations, and then picked up her pen to respond.

'What cultivar of rose are you wearing?'

The flower was beautiful, whatever it was, and Gideon supposed that was the point. But his inquisitive mind was never quite quelled and he loved labels for things he hadn't yet had the pleasure of learning about. Plus, he was curious to see how much plant biology she already knew outside of the textbook in front of her.

Elisabeth Fiorelli
mission: PUTTING ON A FRONT

☉

A small smirk curled the edges of Gideon's lips as he watched john nelson shoot to his feet. The nerves were obvious - his friend was the opposite of cool as a cucumber - but he plowed through them without hesitation. It was admirable. The professor felt a swelling of pride blooming in his chest.

As john nelson took his place across from Gunner Graves, Gideon mused on their relationship in silence. John was evolving past those late night encounters in Slateport pubs; now they were meeting in the stark daytime, he was mingling with Gideon's family... it was nice. An evolution of an unlikely friendship.

Unbeknownst to the three men, while they focused on the battle ahead something lurked in the shadows of the nearby forest.

Gunner Graves john nelson
mission: A TERA TEST
outfit check

☉

It was a good thing that roles weren't reversed and they were trying to walk home right now, because john nelson probably wouldn't have been able to hold up a 6'4" GIDEON GRAVES. Their secluded booth was nice and stable, thankfully, yet the professor still leaned heavily onto his friend.

John, to his credit, seemed unbothered by it.

"Nooo, I'd never break your heart, John~" He insisted, his voice swinging from its earlier exuberance to something more subdued. "And how could I ever lose interest? Psh, I like you too much for that to ever happen."

A beaming smile bloomed onto his lips, so at odds with Gideon's usually reserved demeanor.

"I don't want to lose my best drinking buddy, after all!"

With those assurances given, Gideon could now focus on his friend's answer. Instead of explaining his goals outright, though, another question had been asked in its place.

Gideon sat in silence for a few seconds as he processed what John said. Then, sounding both shocked and overtly curious, he replied:

"...Really? No, I had no idea!"

john nelson

☉