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!
isaac ruffled the fur on top of the riolu's head before standing up again to face his sister. "you're real lucky," he said, grinning, "to have gotten many pokémon."
he didn't once doubt his sister's ability to defeat anything that tried to mess her life up. like tricksters or thieves. "i bet you showed 'em, huh, delilah?"
she wrapped her arm around his shoulder, squeezing him and shrugging. "of course i did!" delilah imitated a proud bird, puffing out her chest. "who do you think i am?"
her expression sobered for a slight moment, however, when she thought about the scourge. (that was one thing that she couldn't take care of quite so easily.)
then delilah smiled once more and shot a pointed look at the axew. "what about you, issac? any other pokemon besides clavier?"
"my big sister?" isaac laughed, crossing his arms and grinning as he looked at delilah. "you take care of all of us, sometimes literally ..." his voice trailed off as he remembered mordecai, and how delilah wasn't ever the forgiving one towards his older brother. "me? i have just clavier, and we're the best partners ever, right?"
he turned to give the axew a high-five, but was, unfortunately, ignored.
she rolled her eyes. "who else would take care of you if i didn't, huh?" she lightly dug her fist into his skull. "it's because you're my precious little brother, duh." (and as much as she hated their oldest brother's guts, she supposed he was still family.)
delilah laughed. "ouch, issac. maybe you guys aren't quite there yet." she stared at the axew, then at her brother. "but i'm sure you two will get to that point eventually."
"i can take care of myself," protested isaac, but his voice had an playful lilt to it. "but sometimes i need help," he admitted, and nodded at delilah.
"clavier's like this sometimes. i don't get it; people can be so close to their pokémon but clavier's so ... shut-off i don't know sometimes."
the woman only shook her head at her brother's bravado. he was still a child, but she would humor him for the time being. "if you say so," she sighed.
"and it really just depends on the pokemon," she added. "some of them are super friendly --" like her budew -- "or, with some, you have no idea what they're thinking."
she nudged him with her elbow. "you're going to grow closer with clavier, don't worry." delilah smiled. "it'll just take some time."
"okay," isaac reluctantly agreed, looking at clavier almost sadly. he bent over and picked the axew up; to his surprise, the dragon didn't protest. isaac carried the creature awkwardly, and nodded at his sister.
delilah raised an eyebrow. "see? you've already made progress." as expected of her little brother. she bent down and flashed a bright smile at the axew. "take good care of issac, okay?"
straightening, the woman tilted her head. "well, kind of?" she said sheepishly. "you know i've never been very good, but it's enough for me to eat."
speaking of survival skills ... "what about you?" delilah poked issac's forehead. "how're you going to survive in the wild?"
clavier nodded, puffing out its chest just slightly. it took pride in itself and its ability to look after its ranger partner, immature or not. isaac had displayed traits that sa'di had noticed, so all it had to do was place its trust in sa'di's decision.
didn't stop the other pokémon from shying away from isaac, leaving it alone at the forefront to be chosen. clavier grit its teeth at the thought, but eventually forced it into a smile at delilah.
"i cook," isaac said to delilah, "it's true! i've been learning ever since ..."
his voice trailed off, and he stared at his sister. ever since i became the only one in nerio. "ever since i was thirteen, i've been learning secretly." he finished, a grin blossoming on his face.
the woman shook her head, smiling. "you could've been the one to make dinner, then!" she said teasingly. then delilah prodded him again with her finger, her eyebrow still raised. "make me a meal, and we'll see how good your cooking skills are."
delilah faltered for a moment, before continuing. "but you do know how to make a fire and stay warm and everything, right?"
she didn't believe him when he said he would remain in the city; she had to at least make sure he wouldn't get caught out in the cold, unforgiving wilderness. (the thought of him out there made her shudder.)
"um," isaac stalled for time. he did know how to make a fire to cook, and most of the time that was the fire that kept him warm. he'd managed to get all the way to juno that way; it hadn't failed him, so he figured he was pretty well-off in terms of comfort. "none of you ever asked me to," he said shyly, shuffling in his shoes.
"i can make a fire to cook, so i've always used it," he admitted, "sometimes starting a fire is real hard without a fire-type." isaac hadn't dared look at his sister since the admission. "sometimes people let me camp with them. i'm usually the one cooking so they let me do it, and i get shelter that way."
the boy drew invisible figures on the ground with the tip of his right shoe.
delilah wasn't sure if she should be punching him for doing something so dangerous or hugging him thanking arceus he was still alive.
she remained silent for a very long moment, struggling to regain her composure. didn't he know it was dangerous? how could he trust strangers? did he even have a pokemon? delilah clenched her fist unconciously.
"a-at least ..." her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. (the woman began to slowly uncurl her tense fingers.) "at least you're ... all right." delilah's breath caught in her throat, and -- for once -- she dropped her pretense of being the 'strong' person she wanted everyone else to believe.
she gently touched issac's shoulder. "be careful, issac. please."
isaac remained plainly oblivious to the myriad of emotions delilah was going through. he watched her move from anger (at him, at herself? he had no idea) to finally showing signs of weakness behind the façade she wore, and found her as human as any other person who wore their hearts upon their sleeves.
"i'm fine, delilah," he assured her, giving her hand a little squeeze when it was no longer balled into a tight fist. "i promise i'll be fine."
the ranger looked at his sister after a moment's pause, considering the gravity of her words.
delilah's expression froze before her guard was up once more.
of course she wanted to leave him -- not alone, but safe. she wanted to leave him so he wouldn't be exposed to danger, and if that meant he would stay in an empty house then so be it. (but now that he was going to go off with his own pokemon, was safety even possible?)
so she chose her words carefully, masking the hurt that threatened to stop her voice. "do you want to come with me, then?" or would he want to go on his own, without her?
(delilah already knew what she would have said, were she in issac's place.)
isaac's grin dimmed into a smile, and for a moment, he reveled in the hurt that coursed across his sister's face. was that how he felt when left in nerio? isaac no longer remembered. his dark eyes fell on his sister's ones as they rebuilt their defenses; his eyes no longer bore hope, even at the suggestion that left her lips. instead, they were calm, almost understanding of his situation.
he wasn't wanted. he would only drag her down if he got into trouble. going along was never an option, only a thought that he held while he had yet to realize the betrayal by his own siblings.
isaac continued to smile his smile that did not quite reach his eyes, before he turned, and left his sister behind.
