This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
That took the wind out of Dan's sails a bit. Even the constant fluffiness of his hair seemed to die down a bit. He turned away as well, muttering "You're right. I'll cool down a bit. Sorry."
He turned to the counter, asking for another drink.
Ambrose cheered as Rhea joined in on his song. Unfortunately, two bad singers together sounded downright awful. They weren't even in sync with each other, let alone the song. Hopefully it wasn't bad enough to attract any unwanted attention. . .
rhea glanced at him mid-song, slightly frustrated with his lack of feeling. he just..shrugged it off. her words slipped right off dan, what was this? did he only hear the things he wanted to hear? she kept singing, but her mind was far off-- thinking back to the moment when they had met in di manes.
back then, he'd been a ranger for three days then, and he had caught up to her and already killed two scourge pokemon. just looking at him...she cracked her kunckles and continued singing. she was in nerio. she had been a ranger for a month. he was in nerio. he had been a ranger for a fucking week.
she screeched out a high note, which was apparently a little too rowdy for the bartender. he ignored dan, instead giving him a mad stare before calling out to security. they arrived in moments; trying to pull rhea off the table. she refused, thrashing like a magikarp out of water. Crash
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A lack of feeling? Maybe, but the lack stung as much as any feeling could. His co-worker, his teammate . . . no, his friend, being so angry at him . . . certainly nothing to be happy about. But how could he be angry at her, either? After all, hadn't she been the one to offer him the vaccine for his Sigilyph assist? It was an an awfully useful Pokemon, but one that the Scourge that the two fought would have easily been able to beat down and infect.
Had she just walked away, he probably wouldn't even be here now. How could Dan ever be angry at someone who did something so helpful for him, even if he wanted to be?
Maybe sadness was the right word. Maybe disappointment. In how she reacted to his help, or to how he tried to give it? Who knows? Dan certainly didn't: Rhea was probably the person he had encountered more than anyone on this journey. Hell, he probably saw her more than anyone but his parents and the people who bought eggs from them: not like he had much time for formal schooling with so much to do around home.
He didn't know how to feel. But when an angry bartender's calling security, not like you need to know.
"Hey! Let her go. She's not hurting anyone," he protested, slowly standing up from his seat and putting his mug down. The spark in his eyes hadn't relit yet, but there was certainly a determined stare spreading across his face. He started to walk forward, knowing that if the situation didn't break itself up he'd have to.
Ambrose, meanwhile, saw nothing more than a legion of adoring, identically-uniformed fans. Here they were! It was time for his big break! He excitedly waved farewell to Rhea before stage diving right into the pile of security guards. Let's hope he didn't end up bowling any over.
rhea screamed and hollered some.. almost unhuman sounds. the security guards grabbed at her and tried to restrain her.
"she's a nuisance and a danger to everyone here, kid. back off or we'll have to throw you out too." one of the guards lowered his glasses and stared at dan.
meanwhile, hapinasu was still chatting up that same breloom. but when she heard the commotion, she let out a large sigh and turned to the creature. "sorry. that's my trainer." the breloom frowned. "the..blond haired one?" he asked, hope. hapinasu shook her head, exhausted. she waddled towards the guards and babbled something in pokemon language. but she didn't have to do anything crazy, because there was a krabby on the security guards heads.
speaking of the guards, they quickly tripped over their own feet and fell to the ground, releasing rhea. she stumbled over to dan's side, trying to recover. but it was only a moment before the security guards came charging at the two. rhea swung a fist at them, dizzy.
n5QH63tl <50 punch hits a security guard, 51-80 hits no one, 80-100 hits dan <10 rhea is some awesome kung fu master, much to her own surprise (edit) because of the above roll, if >50 rhea is a pretty good kung fu master Crash
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Aww, they didn't catch him? That just about broke poor Ambrose's heart. He would've given them a piece of his mind if Rhea wasn't already set to give him a piece of her fist.
Instead it was Dan who got clocked, taking a hard knuckle right to the side of the head.
ROD0YEXJ <25, Dan stays on his feet. >75, Dan falls flat on his ass. Between, Dan stumbled and is pretty dazed.
Ambrose couldn't help but laugh as his trainer stumbled back, clutching his head. At least the puzzled stares of the security guards gave him a bit of time recover. When they came charging once more he hunkered down into a fighting stance, Ambrose matching his pose almost exactly. Seems like they didn't have any option but to fight at this point.
<50, Dan manages to deck a security guard, 51-80 Dan hits nobody, 81-100 FLYING AMBROSE SLAM
Dan winced. He was damn glad that Rhea didn't end up missing this time!
Dan turned to the approaching guard and Sucker Punched him before he could try and attack him and Rhea. He dropped to one knee, but was still able to call for backup before Ambrose just Whacked Him Upside The Head!
Security Guards 3 and 4 tried to surround Dan and Rhea. They both rushed at the same time from opposite directions, grabbing to try and separate the duo. One target was way easier to stop than two watching each other's backs, after all.
rhea was constricted by one of the men, but this time she didn't bother to struggle free. she looked at dan with a glint in her eye, a small grin growing on her face. her hand went to her styler. "want to get arrested?"
but she didn't wait for an answer-- instead she broke free ad drew the HO OH SIGN-sacred fire. and a column of flames erupted through the bar, as rhea grabbed dan by the shoulder and sprinted out.
ZH7jttep <50 they make it out, no problem <50 rhea suffers a slight burn, >50 hapinasu suffers a slight burn Crash
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HO2f8gEv <50, Dan suffers a slight burn. >50, Ambrose suffers a slight burn. Exactly 50, D-D-D-DOUBLE BURN!
Dan's eyes widened with shock. She wasn't. She couldn't be.
"Uh, Rhea, I don't think this is a great idea-"
FWOOSH! SACRED FIRE TIME! The security guards were equipped to deal with a lot, but not with this shit. They scrambled away from the raging fire, buying Dan and Rhea the time they needed to get the hell out. Ambrose followed, hopping onto Dan's head and blowing a raspberry at the bartender. Some steam rose from him: seemed like he was a bit too close to the fire. If not for him being a Water-type, that could've been bad.
Dan turned to look at Rhea once the two were at a safe distance from the bar. Of course, before he could ask her what the hell she was thinking he noticed a burn spreading up her arm. Nothing major, but it sure as fuck looked unpleasant.
"Holy crap, your arm. Are you okay?" he asked, stepping forward to try and get a better look at the wound.
it hurt. it hurt like a bitch, but rhea kept running anyway. she cackled a bit, stowing her styler away. they wouldn't want to get caught would they? but this sort of thing probably happens all the time in nerio. after all...a town full of trainers, rangers, researchers and wild pokemon would certainly have it's bad moments.
she ran her fingers over her burned wrist, wincing. "it's fine!" she growled, pulling herself away from dan. she turned her back to him and inspected it, pinching the flesh as water started to appear in her eyes. hapinasu looked at her with worry. Crash
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That wasn't the wince of somebody whose arm was fine. "At least put some water on it or something," he requested. He looked up at Ambrose, wondering if the crab was capable of helping out here.
He cupped his claws together, firing a Bubblebeam into them in a cacophony of pops. By the time he moved his claws apart, small pools of water were cupped between them. He hopped off of his trainer's head and scuttled up to Rhea, holding the claws up to show off his little trick. It wasn't any professional burn treatment, but it'd be better than nothing.
rhea bent and let the krabby pour the water on her burn, but it was even more painful than it was before. she gritted her teeth and let out a tense groan as the last bit of water slipped off her arm. she stared at the burn quietly.
in a swift movement she fell to the ground and sat cross legged, her back turned to dan. e6HWkqvs <50 gets emotional, >50 gets angry, =50 both Crash
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Dan cringed at the groan. That was always the worst part of burn care . . . he knew that from experience, getting a little close to a Chimecho one time on his parents' breeding ranch. After the initial sting would come a relief, much more than just letting the burn keep heating up would.
Dan wondered if the same thing applied to emotional pain. Seeing Rhea turning away from him, looking so utterly furious . . . that definitely stung.
Bandages. Did he have any of those? He could always use the Grass sign to kick up some plant life, try his hand at making his own, but there was no chance of him being able to sterilize them right out of the ground.
Didn't seem likely that this could be patched up anytime soon, anyway.
He didn't know what to say. He didn't need to, did he? A bad feeling twisted in his gut as he struggled for the right words, trying to wonder just what he could do to try and cheer his friend up.
Although . . . when you're the problem here, what could you even say?
"I-"
Just one word, one attempt. That's probably all it takes, isn't it?
burn all of it down, a fiery rage. burn the flowers burn the trees burn the birds burn the bees
there's something inside of her-- a gasoline, of sorts. it causes sparks, wildfires, explosions, and she's been very good about keeping it concealed. keeping it away from sight, sheltering it, making sure nothing and no one can try to ignite it. but that can only work for so long. she is a volcano waiting to erupt, a bomb waiting to explode, and the timer has just run off.
her fingers gently caress the burn, feeling the fleshy tendrils. the contact runs shivers up her spine and soon her body is shaking rapidly, her neck twitching with this sheer force inside of her body. and she's going to burst, going to scream; release, when dan speaks. just a word, a hesitation, and she jumps to her feet and turns to him, body clenched.
"stop!" it's a yell, echoing off every building in the city, making the rattata in the trash cans flee from the scene. "stop pretending you fucking care so much about everything, it's fucking bullshit!" her bright eyes are even brighter now, the color is almost blinding. "you've been a ranger for a week, and you act like you don't know any other life! you're so, you're so invested in this, it's just- wrong!"
"why are you like that?" she roars, body still shaking with the booming voice inside. "i don't need you and i don't need your help because it's fucking humiliating having you-- you of all people, doting over me like i'm your little sister!" hapinasu's eyes are locked on the ground, ashamed. "i'm an adult, i can drink what i want! i don't need your little happy nods of approval or your weak, usless head shakes, i can do what i want!"
"things never turn out good!" she screams, looking at the sky. "and you don't understand that, you have this hope that the odds will be in your favor, but the 'odds' don't exist!" she tightens her fist and--sighs, shaking her head.
"the universe is going to fuck you over. it just...is." Crash
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Dan had to admit, he was rattled. Hearing the scream, so angry, so ferocious, so hateful, coming from somebody he had considered a friend caught him almost completely off guard. Not that he hadn't expected it; the cold shoulder she gave him was certainly fair enough warning, but that he hadn't expected just how severe it would be. It shook him pretty badly and he briefly looked down, closing his eyes as if wondering what to say.
But this time, Dan wasn't going to just back down. Instead he simply looked back up at Rhea, staring her right into her eyes. As he spoke his usual optimism was almost impossible to detect, choked out by a foreign bitterness.
"Is it, now? It'll have to wait in line until I'm finished, then."
A strange smile spread across his face, and then silence.
