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!
"this reminds me of something someone told me," said iskander as he lifted a pearl-white rock he found amidst some ruins. he started walking back to the grave, and placed it on top of the mound and surveyed his work. it needed finer adjustments, and he proceeded to do just that as he spoke. "someone said that the half-empty glass is more optimistic than the half-full one, simply because there's still some water left in there. the half-full one, it's not really full and you're not satisfied with what you have, so it's a bad thing. pessimistic, like you'll never get it filled up ever again."
the agent stepped back from the grave and stared at the rock. it could really use some flowers; he wanted to find some, but bellona was no flower field. maybe another day, then. he'd be back after finding some; maybe the wobbuffet would have liked a bunch of daisies or even some sunflowers.
"i would offer my house for you to freshen up, but it's in juno, unfortunately," iskander said, smiling, "but i did bring napkins." he moved over to neo, and sat by her side. he retrieved a napkin and some wet tissues from his pocket, and passed it to neo. "here." in the meantime, he cleaned his own and pried open the lunchbox. "i do have a small room rented for a week in nerio; you could use the shower there if you want."
Neo managed a wry smile to the glass analogy. "So if the glass is completely empty, at least there's nothing to lose? I'll take that. There's no more downhill from there."
She took the napkin and wet tissues gratefully. Neo was perhaps the least hygienic of all the researchers, safe scientific procedures be damned, but she'd make some effort to clean herself up for a meal, especially one someone else had made. It was... polite.
"If you're alright with me imposing on you, then yes, I do want, more than anything else in the world right now," she said, as she wiped down her hands and took the time to clean her nails. "A week, you said? What brings you back to Nerio for so long?"
"exactly," iskander said, "from then thereon there's only up and optimism." the agent let neo take the first piece of sandwich before taking one of his own. the magikarp was still fresh; it was pretty good, but he felt that sashimi would have been a better option after all. he finished off his slice of sandwich and allowed neo to have the rest if she wanted.
he nodded. yes, he was fine with neo around. company was always great; plus the fact that he wasn't sure what neo would do after this event. iskander had wanted to do nothing but sit in his room and read his books for weeks after his loss; he didn't know if neo would go after more scourge or pent herself up, or mingle around with friends or do whatever. he didn't know, and he felt inclined to care for her.
"more people are getting here and fighting," said iskander, "i figured a week would give me time to stock up in the department store and head out here again to ... play nurse joy, as some of them have said." his voice took on a grim tone; he didn't seem to like the title, but he put up with it anyway. "i still have two days left here, so might as well make the most of it."
Neo wasn't actually hungry, but she knew she should eat. Unlike somebody else, she didn't live on diet of bitter powder and hot chocolate--that was unhealthy. She ate half a sandwich like a soldier downing rations, but the other half she'd dwindled down to a delicate nibble.
"Nurse Joy heals because it's her job. Maybe she likes her job, I don't know, but she still gets paid for it. I don't know what you get out of this."
She added, "Nurse Joy also stays in the pokemon center, nice and safe. Maybe you haven't noticed, but the places you go, they're deathtraps."
"less wounded pokémon," iskander said, "less dead ones, too. the scourge aren't merciful." he didn't know what was in it for himself, though. he walked around giving out items like one of those people actively fighting scourge, and he got nothing in return. neo was right. maybe he ought to stop doing this and find something else to do. maybe he ought to stop running about in scourge-fields and stay somewhere safe.
"you're right, though."
iskander wiped sweat off his forehead and blinked at the ground. the gap in his heart seemed to widen after burying mneme, and the conversation they had. "maybe i should quit," he said with a nod, "stay in the cities." he traced patterns in the dying grass, solemn. "where it's safe." he drew a star, then another star next to it.
"it feels like i'm not really contributing anything to the cause, though. it feels like i'm just another person who can't do anything. i feel useless."
like a stray pokémon hinging on their last inch of life. he didn't want to fall into the same state as them. he helped strays, helped the weak, helped the wounded until they could stand again. he didn't want to become the same, because then no-one would save him.
"neo?"
it was like answering his own question, but things didn't work that way.
"Staying safe in a city? Would be boring. Smart, though. But if you're asking me, smart won't save your soul."
Smart people stayed out of trouble. This basically meant no one with more than five brain cells would volunteer for EOS, but yet they did. Excepting Stefan, most everyone she'd met in the program were at least passably clever if not genuinely intelligent. You don't join EOS because it's the smart thing to do; you join because it's the right thing to do.
"It's the end of days, if you listen to the street prophets. I think the end of days is the sort of time where you have to at least try to make a difference. Not for the sake of everyone else, but so you can look back and have no regrets."
She hadn't made much eye contact with him since he showed up, wasn't in the mood for it, but she looked to him when he spoke her name. "Delta," she responded.
iskander remained silent throughout. it was true that he didn't want to have regrets. it was also true that he wanted to do something for the sake of himself, but now that neo had struck awareness into him, iskander didn't want to risk his own life anymore. maybe he ought to retract his application for the eos program. it'd be safer. he'd have regrets, but without the scourge, he would be living with regrets anyway.
he smiled when she said his nickname, and nodded. "let's not think too much about this," he said, even though his mind was still spinning with thoughts, "you should get that shower before you reek." he laughed softly, getting to his feet and offering her a hand up. "c'mon."
(She hadn't been lying when she told J he should laugh more. It was a nice sound.)
Neo took his hand and pulled herself off the ground, picking up the lunchbox along the way.
"Yeah. Lead the way?"
She looked back to the grave. It was, she decided, a good grave. It was better than most pokemon could ask for these days. It was the most she could do for Mneme, and Neo decided that meant she'd done her best. Time to move on.
