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Celeste had to admit, she was going to enjoy working with Gavin more directly. The respect he treated her with alone was more than enough for her. She'd never stand as an equal, she was sure of that, but she didn't need to. He was, after all, chosen by a god to lead, and she was their humble servant. [break][break]

Perhaps, someday... But dreaming of a day when a god blessed her was time wasted and better spent elsewhere. [break][break]

"Understood," Celeste began, her eyes drifting as she watched the miasma swirl around him. Such terrifying power. It was hard not to just melt in awe of it all, even still. "I'll keep an eye out, as commanded." [break][break]

Celeste paused for a few moments, quite unsure what to say. Her eyes drifted over towards the great goddess once more as she let out a soft sigh. What she wouldn't give to spend more time in its presence. It would be wrong to prolong the moment longer than it needed to be. Their relationship was purely business, and that was all it ever had been.[break][break]

"I'll return to the base tomorrow morning. I have a few matters to take care of. Unrelated to the matters at hand. I'll take up jobs at the base, listen in. See what I can discover." And with that, Celeste would bow her head respectively. [break][break]

"By your leave, of course."

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notes Private Meeting. Hush, do not see.

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[attr="class","rolling-thread"][attr="class,"faction"]The sunset was simply beautiful. There were so many metaphors to be made about the setting sun and the rising moon, but she had no desire to wax poetically over her situation right now. Instead, she simply enjoyed the view as she waited. Tonight would be the night. A full moon. The Tirtouga eggs would hatch and follow the bright light of the moon to their ocean home. A beautiful reminder that even at night, life still began and thrived. Perhaps, she could be at least a little bit poetic.[break][break]

For once, she wasn't dressed up to the nines. Considering she expected to be helping the poor turtle pokemon that either got lost or were thought of as easy food, she was currently wearing her swimsuit while she rested beneath the large beach umbrella sitting out on the beach proper. Even still, she had a large wide-brimmed hat on her head. Her skin so easily burned, even as the sun began to set and she was completely in the shade she began to apply another layer of sunscreen. It was almost time. [break][break]

Interestingly, as she prepared herself both mentally and physically for this endeavor, a stranger arrived on the beach. Dipping the round sunglasses she was wearing to get a better look at him, Celeste's curiosity was peaked. A blue-haired lad walked right onto the beach, seeming like he was about to enjoy himself in the waters. Perhaps it was his presence, or simply fate, but Celeste sat and watched as slowly but surely Tirtouga began to pull themselves up out of the sand right around him as their eggs hatched. [break][break]

Standing up, Celeste was quick to speak. "Don't move." Carefully, she'd move over towards the edge of the breeding grounds as a soft smile spread across her face. "You're going to need to be careful where you step, Sir. Eggs are hatching."
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notes ...

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Celeste paused as she listened to the conversation with deepening interest. Containing the power of a Legendary Pokemon within an object. It didn't seem impossible, considering what she had seen, but such a feat probably required the assistance of the Pokemon themselves. She had no idea if one could involuntarily steal a deity's power, nor did she have any intention of finding out herself. There were some things man dare not dabble, and it was of her opinion that was one of them. [break][break]

The conversation then drifted in multiple directions, but the only thing she cared about was the Silver Spire. Her eyes drifted up to the tree, replacing the Silver Spire. Whatever being placed this tree here clearly did so with purpose and intent, a replacement symbol. Perhaps with the Spire gone, another deemed it worth their time to stake a claim to this city and its people. Perhaps, that could be worked with in the future. [break][break]

And yet, as soon as she noticed oscar clayton looking at her, she let out a soft sigh. There went keeping her presence quiet, a Beast not only had noticed her but simply called for her to speak. Pursing her lips, the young woman slowly began to walk forwards to the group that had formed. Her heels clicking against the ground with every step, walking with her cane in tow. Her gaze would glance at Cillian Quinn , loyally bowing her head in front of the underboss.[break][break]

As soon as there was a silent moment and there was a position to speak, Celeste slowly tilted her head back so her face was visible from beneath the wide hat and began. "The Silver Spire, according to legend, was built eons ago, when the first humans of Hoenn came to praise and sacrifice to the gods of sea, earth, and air. It was a collection of knowledge from far and wide, as well as a place of worship for many, that is true."[break][break]

"There is no single location in Hoenn with a greater connection to such a wide amount of Legendary Pokemon. All held worth and were revered there, although within recent years the oceanic deities worshipped by the Abbiati family have overshadowed everything else. A multitude of purposes, and yet the rumors of the appearance of ruins during the combat beneath the Spire betray even more secrets that have been kept. These ruins are, unfortunately, unknown to me, unless said legend of the Spire being built by the ancients is true."[break][break]

If it wasn't for the black gloves on her hands, everyone could have seen her knuckles turning white as she squeezed her cane in silent fury. "It is my belief the former councilwoman and gym leader, Olivia Abbiati ," Also known as the Phione Killer, however she didn't say that out loud. "Or perhaps the previous gym leader, Balder Schwartz who both attempted to utilize the tower for their gyms, left enough information behind for the League to make their choice. They were well aware that they could not take the city from us. And thus, they take the only thing they care about. Ensuring we do not have access to what knowledge and power potentially resided within the Spire."[break][break]

Despite her best attempts to keep a passive expression, her brows began to furrow as her anger slowly began to seek through. She probably wasn't supposed to speak this much, but fury pushed her to continue. "The removal of the Spire and the appearance of the Tree speaks plenty of mythical interference, but what speaks more is the League's complete lack of hesitation to destroy one of Sootopolis' most cherished sites of history for their gain. A fact that every other city in Hoenn must begin to fear, less the League decide they suddenly don't deserve to own their own landmarks and remove them too." [break][break]

She'd take a deep breath, extremely aware of how much she had spoken by now and how much attention she would have gained. Her nerves would have begun to show themselves if they weren't completely pushed aside compared to the raw anger within. "Rubble does not exist, and judging by space being quite literally splintered just earlier, there is more than meets the eye, of that I am sure. It should be pitifully simple to encourage the people to demand their spire back, and for other cities to question the League's true intentions. Destruction does not suit their public goals. It does not belong to them. The Silver Spire belongs-" To Her. Her birthright, her- "To Team Rocket."[break][break]

She would take a long deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm in front of her peers and her superiors before speaking again. "Traditional Abbiati doctrine is long, obtuse, and makes many foolish assumptions over how the Earth is supposed to be governed, such as women being superior to man. Regardless, I have collected many papers and studies on it over time, resting within my personal belongings aboard the submarine. You are free to take it if any of you believe it might assist with Rocket's efforts. For my part, presuming permission granted, I shall seek information on how, and where, the Spire and its contents have ended up."[break][break]

As she finished speaking, her mouth quickly twisted into a deep frown on her face. Passionate anger just waiting to bubble to the surface, barely caged behind the will of a confident woman set on her goal.
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notes Whoops. My fingers slipped.

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Celeste is quiet, as present as a ghost would be. She is just barely there enough to be tangible, yet her mind is elsewhere even as she listens into the conversation happening. Groudon and Kyogre, the Silver Spire, vanished, and in it's place a powerful symbol. None of this was by accident, it was all by design. Whether it was by fate's design, or someone behind the scenes knew everything, that was to be determined. But there was no pretending anymore. Everything happened for a reason.[break][break]

For now, Celeste stood still. In between seething with hatred for the destruction of her family's most powerful symbol and a place of knowledge and worship, to awe in the presence of Lugia just a short distance away. Every time she was in their presence, it was hard to be unsure of her purpose. With a deep breath, she examined the other members in the area. Her gaze starting at Cillian Quinn and the crew surrounding him, all the way to Eris Halla who was quite the unique sight amongst everyone else.[break][break]

For a second, she debated on joining the conversation in the middle. Expressing her opinion, perhaps. And yet, the spotlight was counterproductive to her goals. Her black, wide brimmed hat even obscured her face from a distance. The League would pay for their removal of the tower, and she would ensure Sootopolis would make that sentiment known no matter how long it took.[break][break]

For now, she would simply look over at the divine beast Lugia and bow her head in reverence. She would complete the task placed upon her, no matter the cost to personal gain or promotion. Loyalty and faith were worth more than power in her world.
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notes ...

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[attr="class","rolling-thread"][attr="class,"faction"]There was no shame in doing a few good deeds for a fee. It was the same as any job, really. All that changed was the societal acceptance of the end goal and the methods. Perhaps this was thinking too deep in just trying to find a dog, but if there was anything worth doing, it was worth overthinking about.[break][break]

Her heels dug into the earth as she walked calmly up the base of the mountain. She was certainly an obvious figure, wearing a full suit in the middle of the day, with a large wide-brim hat covering up her face. There wasn't a single inch of skin exposed below her neck, gloved hands holding onto a fairly fanciful cane as she walked.[break][break]

Eventually, her partner for this case came into view. She took a quick look at his face and attempted to put it to memory before speaking up. "What you are missing, is the simple fact that you do not have the mind of a petty thief." She'd eventually stop, allowing him to gather his thoughts.[break][break]

"The woman was held hostage until she gave up her Yamper, instead of simply being taken with force. This tells us a few things. The thief is either new, inexperienced with such a task, unable to or unwilling to resort to violence, or they wanted to gather the Yamper unharmed. All of which tells us the Yamper is likely safe, we have time to gather our wits." Even as she spoke, a small Espurr would appear at her feet, wide eyes staring at everything.[break][break]

It took a few seconds before Celeste realized she didn't even introduce herself. She so dreaded it, but perhaps it would be important to learn his own name later on. "Celeste. Apologies, it's been a while. And you?"

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notes ...

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Information. Of course, there was nothing more powerful than knowledge. It was something she was well familiar with at this point in life. Great power was nothing without the knowledge to use it and the knowledge to ensure that you remained in power. She slowly nodded her head, pausing in thought as she listened to him continue. [break][break]

They were afraid. An understandable emotion, but actions made out of fear was a difficult situation. There were only ever two outcomes, they acted in an attempt to appease their fear, or to remove the source of their fear. Luckily, Celeste had nothing but respect for the man standing before her. [break][break]

"I can do that, sir. Nobody pays attention to me anyway unless they require something from me." She would pause for a second, before slowly speaking up. "I presume, that I will be focused on quite a bit more if we are witnessed meeting consistently. After all, lips will be looser if they are not aware we converse. Would it be presumptuous of me to state us meeting in private would be for the better?"[break][break]

Her eyes, despite her best efforts, slowly drifted over towards the Lugia as it began to preen itself. It was... oddly normal. It wasn't something she imagined witnessing a literal deity doing, but she supposed it was illogical to think it never happened. Still, the Shadow Lugia appeared comfortable, and that alone set her heart at ease.

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notes Private Meeting. Hush, do not see.

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