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!
With the tea done and served, Phoebe hopped over to the window, where she sat like a guard dog on watch. She could've chosen to stand by the door too, but she was more worried about what was outside as opposed to what was in the hallway. The hallway had been dark but empty when she'd just walked through out. Outside the building, Phoebe suspected that even a hydreigon couldn't take back the night.
"Native and guest all look the same to me," Neo admitted, showing her colors as a small town girl. She sipped at the tea again. Still scaldingly hot, and she was pretty sure she'd just burnt her tongue. She wasn't sure how Iskander was drinking it. "Cities too. Lots of people, big crowds. It's not always like that?"
She'd have said she should come back when it was less crowded, but Neo wasn't sure when that'd ever be. Maybe after they restored Bellona--if they ever restored Bellona.
iskander laughed. "you're not from the city, are you?" he came from juno city; the constant influx of new trainers from other regions and all over kohaku had been easy to identify amidst the natives. the natives were usually more relaxed, less uptight about things -- the others were either excited, depressed, or lethargic. iskander had seen a great variety. had he been in juno right now, he would still be able to tell the difference between those new to the area and those who weren't.
"i suppose it's a pretty useless skill. it's something that's good to know, but not necessary to know," the agent said. but for science, for research and development - he didn't know - a researcher might deem anything important. "sometimes the cities aren't as crowded. sometimes it's not tourist season, and it's extremely obvious when it is. like if you've ever seen pictures of sol city and its vacation houses, you'll know what i mean. but now, nerio's sort of a jumble. pretty confusing, since it's on the edge of everything."
nerio was a city trapped between enthusiastic and hopeful recruits coming in from di manes, while the defeated and disillusioned returned from bacchus to nerio. of course, this had created conflict -- while interesting to watch, things often got dirty. they'd somehow managed to keep it mostly clean, if only because of local gang influence who desperately clung to the identity of nerio. "one day, when this is all over, we could come back to nerio. see how different it is, but this isn't going to happen until a very long time later, is it?"
iskander smiled a small smile, more at his cup of tea than at the researcher. he glanced up, as if suddenly remembering something. "oh yeah, tomorrow. i was going to ask if you would go to the yagi-head tomorrow. it's a club in the casino, and ..." iskander sipped his tea. still hot and scalding. "i figured tonight shouldn't be the last time we see of each other. consider it an answer to your implied question."
"I've seen pictures," she said, remembering the photos she'd seen in the books at Zahir's mother's house. Sol City had looked like something out of a dream: endless sunshine and blue sea. She'd never been there before. "I've been to Hespera City. Was quiet there though, back then."
She pulled her knees up to her chest, curling into a little huddle on the sofa. She nursed the tea with the cup clutched in her hands. "Hopefully not too long. Too long and there won't be a Nerio to come back to."
Neo thought about Nerio City--honestly thought about it. She'd dropped in for the labs and naturally she'd gone to the casino, but beyond that... she'd barely even noticed the city. It'd been just a place, a stepping stone to the scourge. She remembered that she once wanted to see the sights, hear the sounds. She hadn't done that yet. She hadn't even thought to really enjoy herself in the city.
"I'd like that though, one day. And tomorrow too, yes. I'd like to." Neo blinked, startled at a little confused at herself. She hadn't intended to accept the invitation. She had better things to do than waste time at a casino with a near-stranger--or did she, really?
"You're doing it backwards," she commented. She smiled and quickly took a sip of tea at the same time so that no one could see."We're supposed to go clubbing before you take me home."
"i'd be disappointed if there weren't a nerio anymore," iskander said. to think that what was once a city would end up being nothing forever. it was a striking image; barren land from the end of di manes until bacchus town. "because then i can't see you at a later date, when this is all cleared up." iskander smiled, finding neo's comment amusing. he hadn't expected that from the researcher.
"then i'll take you home again after we go clubbing, if i haven't been forced to evict yet," said the agent, glancing at his reflection in the cup of tea, "i have a shower." mneme's death seemed so far away now, iskander thought as he watched neo sip her tea. hadn't it been just a while ago? neo seemed to be able to put that down after a while; maybe this was the normal response. maybe this was how normal people worked. they moved on, instead of thinking about it. iskander figured he could learn a thing or two from neo; too bad he'd met her a little too late for that.
"you know, this yagi-head place? it's on the thirty-seventh floor of the casino. just tell them you're delta's friend," iskander said, "i already let them know i might be bringing someone along." technically, he was attending as zahir's friend, but he figured that he wouldn't mind him bringing along someone else -- iskander was already registered on the list, anyway. "well, you could do that if we're not heading there together." he raised his bandaged hand, smiling wryly. "need to get that burn heal tomorrow."
She was, honestly, a little surprised to hear that he'd even to see her ate a later date. Neo blinked, otherwise impassive, but then she smiled. The smile felt natural, although Neo wasn't quite comfortable with it. Perhaps it was too soon--she wasn't sure if she should be in mourning, not when she was certain splash-happy Mneme would've preferred that she moved on, smiled again, as soon as possible.
"I've seen it before, I think. I can manage that." Her mind was starting to become foggy. The scourge battle, the burial, her last run outside, it'd been a long day. Still--she couldn't help but note that if Delta was a false name, it was one he used frequently enough to put on an entry list.
"Tomorrow," she repeated. That felt like forever way, in a good way. Like a good night's sleep worth of time. "Tomorrow would be nice."
Neo glanced to the couch she sat on, suddenly a little more aware than she was before. She wasn't a very big person, it was enough space for her to curl up for a night. "Do you have a pillow I could borrow? If not, the armrest will do."
iskander's grin was easy. the yagi-head was a more popular place than he'd thought, then. he made a mental note to let zahir know that the establishment was quite possibly getting more popular than either of them had imagined, and that they should probably start meeting up someplace else to drink. "great," said the agent, nodding. he'd get that burn heal tomorrow, finish up whatever else in nerio, then head to the yagi-head later.
"oh, feel free to have the bed," said iskander, "i don't sleep much at night. i don't feel too at ease around here, unfortunately." it didn't make sense for him to have the bed when a guest was in the house, anyway. neo deserved a good night's rest more than he did; mneme's death, the woman outside, everything that had transpired today probably had taken a toll on the researcher.
he rummaged through his duffle bag with his good hand. "go ahead. i'm just going to hit the showers, then maybe try to get some reading in," he said, while placing his book of the day on the nightstand where it was easily seen. pride and prejudice, said the cover in cursive lettering. iskander stood up, his towel over his shoulder together with a fresh change of clothing.
it was probably strange, iskander thought, as soon as he realized that neo hadn't seen him outside a suit before. he stood awkwardly at the door to the bathroom, before disappearing into it without another word.
...So when did he sleep? Neo would've asked--protested, even, because a guest shouldn't impose--except she was tired, more emotionally than physically. Instead, she nodded. "Alright."
After he went into the shower, she finished her tea and left the cup in the kitchen sink. While she was there, she looked around the kitchen and the rest of the small apartment, only a cursory examination. There was little telling about Delta from the way he lived. Neo suspected he made his time here as minimal as possible. Nothing to be learned, unless she made something about all the soda pop he kept.
So she went to the bed, sitting with her back to the headboard, and turned on the bedside lamp. With her journal in her lap, she started an entry for the day.
After writing the date, she didn't know how to go on. Neo wasn't sure if this was because writing about putting down your own pokemon was hard, or if she wanted to wipe the entire day from her memory. Pretend it never happened as a twisted measure of ignoring her failures.
