When he yielded to her will, it set a fire within her. She made a million decisions every day, but her penchant for taking control never rewarded her so kindly as when she took it with Montgomery. It made it easier to hand the reigns over to him as the situation called for it. His faith in her, his trust, it was something she would often criticize in a Leaguer, but she couldn't find herself to warn him against it. If she was bad for him, she was too selfish to scare him off. [break][break]

With him beneath her, she had the opportunity to assess some of his physical strength and overall recovery. Or at least, that's what she told herself for being unable to resist him in her presence. He had her under his spell, and she had to work hard to avoid looking at that truth directly. [break][break]

After, side by side, she traced some of his scars and thought about his history with Howard. She had no doubts he really intended to kill the Rocket admin, but she was unsure how far along he already was in the process. Being bedbound gave one a lot of opportunity to consider revenge and several contingency plans. She had to ask, "What is your next step?"

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break]

Her eyes softened as he asked of Moira. "It could be," she said thoughtfully, "but she is not in the habit of impacting my dreams. I dream every night, so there is nothing to induce." But perhaps she had made an exception. Perhaps she had opted to use her mist to ensure their dream was connected tonight. The thought warmed her. [break][break]

She stifled a surprised laugh. "Do you really play, or is this a part of the dream fantasy?" She lacked musical talent, though she had a soft spot for string instruments and would have loved to pick up the violin.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – get in sygna[break][break]

Her eyes narrow at the question. It's an unexpected shift. She's a CEO. She's a scientist. The question of danger makes her wonder if she's had him pegged wrong the entire time. She couldn't assess his capacity for manipulation. This meeting was too brief to make any kind of determination. [break][break]

"No," she answers slowly. "I've never seen any lasting negative effects from my research. Psychic pokemon leave my studies unhindered. I think the worst I've seen is someone feeling scatterbrained, like a brain fog, for a few hours after a dive into their mind." It's true, barring the Gemini study itself. She can't assess the damage of it, however, without re-entering every single mind. But for the most part, the worst has been amnesia, which she'll take as a worthwhile expense.

TAGS – MATIAS SILPH [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

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The reports of Draconid spirit sightings are exaggerated. However, there is clearly some sort of paranormal energy within the caves because my team (Montgomery James) witnessed visuals of human-appearing ghosts. I saw no evidence of Draconid activity beyond the old, untouched runic language on the walls. hgt c

He acts beyond her expectations, always, but she's pleased to be in his arms all the same. She holds his face, thumbs his jaw. Openly, assesses him again. Is this a distraction or his desire? He was a man of action, so what he did was louder than what he said. [break][break]

"We are investing in your rest and recovery, Mr. Montgomery." She jabbed a playful finger to his chest. "You will be lying down and taking it." The good humor turned immediately to heat, and while she, too, waited for the implicit question to be answered, hers felt much more insistent than his own. Her only concession came after pulling him in for a kiss: "After, I will let you plead your case." Judge, jury, and executioner that she was.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break]

The scent of Galarian pansies filled the air. She resigned herself to the fate of watching her mum die again, the most recurring dream of hers, but she only found herself surrounded by flowers and Montgomery. [break][break]

It was a good change of pace. These were the dreams she couldn't stop hoping to have. [break][break]

"Montgomery," she greets with humor, "long time, no see."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – get in sygna[break][break]

This anger was new. It was a different breed than that she had witnessed when they'd argued over the hospital after the noble beast attack. It was different than the anger about the gift giving. It was different than the frustrated authority he'd wielded when they first met and she was poaching. [break][break]

Cautiously, she observed him like a specimen and not her boyfriend. [break][break]

The realization that that was precisely what he was left her head spinning, but she pulled herself together long enough to accept his concession. She wanted him safe. She wanted him protected. But she had to respect his autonomy. She could not lock him in her lab or in a safehouse or in a bedroom, as beneficial as it could be. She had to let him be his own man and make his own choices. If she could simply snap her fingers and force him into her corner, away from the League's, he wouldn't be the man she knew. The one she -[break][break]

"Thank you."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break]

"You are special." He always pulled the most stupid, sappy sentiments from her. But forget it. She could afford to indulge him, and she would tell him whatever he needed to hear to believe it. She would shower him in gifts until the Lilycove Mall was bought out if that's what it took. [break][break]

She readily fell into his arms, resting her head on him and feeling his pulse. Yes, the trust and devotion was new to her. Yes, she didn't feel it was earned, not yet. But she would savor everything in this reality up until the point she left it. Tracing symbols into his skin, she relaxed fully. "I could get used to this." And as Moira slept on without concern, Ameena found herself drifting to the same fate.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – get in sygna[break][break]

She couldn't keep the surprise from her expression as he painted a picture of pointing his gun to Howard's head. She had intended to be very neutral, but this caught her off guard completely. Montgomery had shared that his past was dark and violent. This didn't fit what she had pictured for him. That kind of power-trip didn't suit him. At least, it didn't suit the man he was now. [break][break]

Of course, after Howard's recent transgression, she can't help but wish to see Montgomery hold that gun to Howard's head now. [break][break]

Admin Fox deserved a bullet. He was too valuable to receive one. "He is protected. If not by the brass, then by his own prowess. I cannot touch him." She sounded as apologetic for it as she could manage. "But I can reason with him." She didn't think Montgomery was weak. She thought herself weak. The idea of losing Montgomery drove her crazy. She would end up hospitalized if she had to stress about his safety in every moment because of the looming threat of Howard. [break][break]

"I think you should keep a psychic pokemon with you at all times. One that teleports." He wasn't her employee. She couldn't order it. And, with only a small hesitation, she revealed her hand: how scared she really was. It weighed the tone of her soft voice as she added, "Please."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break]

She assessed Moira's sleeping form. She imagined a few scenarios. "Yes," she finally conceded, "I think she would prefer to stay by my side even in the face of danger." Loyalty she didn't think she'd earned, but maybe she had. She had undersold herself before in her ability to be valuable. She was tired of having to rely on her skills to hold valuable relationships, though. She wanted someone in her corner for her and not her research. This was the motivation for grooming Gwendolyn Conway to be a future lab assistant. It was her initial motivation for engaging Montgomery in a... recreational sense. [break][break]

His words warmed her more than she could share. [break][break]

"That kind of devotion is new to me." She looked to him with more vulnerability than she preferred to offer. "You have really changed a lot for me." She reached out to squeeze his hand. Her life could be neatly organized in a before-Montgomery and after-Montgomery dichotomy.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – get in sygna[break][break]

It's not the firm agreement she had hoped to come to, but she would accept him letting it go so long as it did not interfere with him. It was beneath her to wish he would fail in battle, but she could operate on her end to support Montgomery's growth where possible. [break][break]

His warning rings true. Love was a curse and a weakness and a blight. Still. "The alternative," she says slowly, "is intolerable, is it not?" [break][break]

She feels the weight of eyes. She turns to find Makoto. Ah. This must be an open dream. Ameena wouldn't see this many visitors in a dream. "Something is wrong." Her gaze falls to his drink and its new companion. "Naomi Sato must have been on the right track earlier. There is some kind of dream mist interference. Cresselia's prowess reaches far if she can strike us from our current distance." [break][break]

She rises to her feet, but there's nothing she can do. She's never been able to force herself awake. She's trapped inside.

TAGS – howard slayte Shred Makoto Kurumi [break]

NOTES – eyepatch on left eye [break]

Ameena's not often stunned into silence, but this is a rare case. [break][break]

She sits with his argument until some semblance of English gathers on her tongue. Softer than he deserves, she insists, "I would be a hypocrite to share what I know." She had no interest in burning a bridge with Howard, though she hated him in this moment. Hated the ease in which he talked about hurting what was hers. "I care little for the political value of anyone I can turn. I want him for me. Not for Rocket. But his allegiance turning from the League would protect him." A confession for no one else's ears. [break][break]

"I would not compromise his resolve. I want to show him that his principles are not best served by working with the League. You have witnessed people cross the aisle before." Admin Fox, for the most obvious example. [break][break]

The image of Montgomery bleeding on the ground embitters her. Vile threatens to rise, but it's beneath her to give him the satisfaction. He doesn't deserve any consolation after such a hostile reaction to her approach to diplomacy, but she can't resist the urge to make allies and colleagues over enemies. "Navy's judgement is demonstrably sound." His faith in Montgomery proved enough to her, but his combat alongside Zacian showed a power in resolve that she hadn't expected from the infamous E4 member. His threat to Rocket was understated if anything, but she knew she would not be the one to put him in the ground. [break][break]

"I want a shared understanding, no more and no less. I have nothing to hold over your head."

TAGS – howard slayte [break]

NOTES – eyepatch on left eye [break]

She's unimpressed with the phone-in-the-couch excuse (though, somehow, she fully believes him) and further unimpressed with the correspondence commentary. "Is the deputy more damning than the sheriff?" Navy was a stronger League asset, and she knew Howard's entanglement with him ran deep, though she couldn't speak to the nature of it with any confidence.[break][break]

"The only way to forge double agents or traitors is to gain their trust," she says easily. She fully intended to pull Montgomery into her personal team, but it would take more time. Gwendolyn Conway was a similar case. The Ranger held too much promise to let her rot behind enemy lines. [break][break]

She sighs and takes a seat. "The problem is the risk you pose to a valuable asset. I have poked holes in his loyalty to the League, and your assault risked my hard work." She says it easily, like the sight of Montgomery wilting in a hospital bed hadn't followed her like her shadow. "I would like us to come to an understanding. I think we are both guilty of... indulgences that appear unwise on the surface." She had never threatened June, and she wouldn't, but she expected more sympathy from Howard than he demonstrated because of his relationship with her.

TAGS – howard slayte [break]

NOTES – eyepatch on left eye [break]