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!
iskander found himself laughing at phoebe's new pastime. it was great to hear that at least someone out of all of them hadn't had their spirit dampened somehow, or their expressions sobered by the rise and fall of nerio. "she seems like she would," said he, touching his hand, the one that had suffered a burn. it had healed fine, perhaps not due to phoebe being a very good nurse, but she had been the one to hand him a soda pop to ice it for a while. "she's very caring and sweet.
"though i've never really met your other pokémon," said iskander -- the other one had been mneme, and mneme wasn't something he wanted to bring up. the wobbuffet was probably goo by now, buried six feet under and yet, he still remembered. "but phoebe's great, i'm sure the others are, too."
he glanced over at her bag, giving the researcher a nod in agreement. "sure." he smiled.
having phoebe in the room would brighten up the mood considerably, he felt. nothing like a reuniclus making small talk and helping around, not that there was much else to do in his house. still, an extra being was company, and iskander appreciated that in all shapes and forms.
"Very caring and very sweet," Neo agreed, "but she has fat hands. She's okay with bandages though, just no syringes. Ever."
Neo smiled. "You haven't met Icarus. You don't want to meet Icarus either. He's a gyarados bent on world domination, but I think all he really wants to do is splash around until the end of time."
Neo released the reuniclus, and Phoebe materialized in the air. At first she was confused (this wasn't Sol City, like she'd expected), but then she bounced over to Iskander, all sunshine and warm hugs.
<You're alive!> she said, stating the absolute obvious. <That's great! How've you been?>
Phoebe was a little less sunny when she turned to Neo and reminded her, <You're supposed to be in Sol City, you know.>
"that can only mean you've let her try that." it didn't really come as a surprise; most people had to make do with what they had. still, iskander had a mental image of phoebe fumbling the syringe while still being adorable, and he found that he couldn't fault her for that. really, who could, especially when phoebe had a personality to more than make up for it? (but in hindsight, iskander felt that a syringe inserted wrong would hurt like hell.)
the subject of icarus made iskander chuckle. "they've got intimidating faces, though," he pointed out, "and i'm sure his splashing, though ineffective, would at least throw some water around. harmlessly, but still." neo certainly had a colorful cast of pokémon, he thought. as to how she managed to raise a gyarados obsessed with the idea of splashing, he didn't know. most magikarp just wanted to kill everything they can with dragon rage when they evolved.
his thoughts were interrupted as phoebe emerged from her pokéball, bounding over to hug him. he hugged her back to the best of his ability, but considering her constitution (which was what, eighty percent plasma?), it was a bit of a task. iskander settled for having his arms rest around her, and giving her as cheerful a reply as he could muster.
"yes, i'm alive, and you too, phoebe," he said, "i've been rather bored here, but there's nothing a good book or two can't remedy. and also visits from friends." he patted the reuniclus on the head, then kept his hand there as he turned to neo. "... they can wait? -- neo, i'm not keeping you away from some sort of date or appointment, am i?" he watched her; it wasn't the first time neo hadn't been forthcoming with information, but he always looked over that in favor of other things.
"because if you're running late, i shouldn't be taking up your time."
"The university," Neo said stiffly, almost with a bit of distaste. "A fine establishment, but their efforts to find a cure to the hades virus is--" she struggled to find a diplomatic word, "not how I'd approach the problem."
They approached the blindly, which would've been forgivable at the start. They had so little information on the scourge at first. Now, things were different. They needed to do research on the virus first, to examine it, to break it down--to make it break down. Mindless concoctions of the Amberwell's limited waters did them no good.
She shrugged. "Some others besides. The boats depart every day from Proserpina to Sol City though. If I catch tomorrow morning's, I won't be late for the afternoon conference. And if I don't... it's no matter."
Quite frankly, she could use a day off. "Don't worry about it. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it was a good use of my time."
so people were trying to find a cure to the hades virus? would giving out more samples of the virus hinder their progress, or speed it up further? the more scourge they caught, the more they knew about the virus, but it also meant that vaccines ought to be produced far quicker than they could afford. iskander glanced at phoebe; her unique coloration indicated her status as a vaccinated pokémon. at least their prized fighters weren't about to fall victim to becoming scourge -- mneme, he thought, and forced the image away.
"you're right," iskander conceded, "priorities in life, and that kind of thing. the conference sounds boring; isn't it going to be old people talking about what everyone already knows?" he settled into one of the armchairs, tired of standing. "do you attend classes there, or came from there? i mean, researchers start out somewhere, most of them from stuffy scholarships."
at this moment, tresillian spoke from outside the door. "sir?" his voice was a quiet, but audible one, "will the young lady be staying for dinner?"
iskander glanced from neo to the door. he wondered; having her stay would be a nice change, but asking her to stay longer than -- she did mention tomorrow morning's boat.
"Please. I don't have the riches to afford a proper university education in Sol City. They take in the eos researchers though, throw money at us because they've got too much to spare."
Neo sighed. The tone of her voice became gentler, more grateful. "They're a good place. They're just... very theoretical. I don't think they can get much done without doing fieldwork. Brilliant minds though." She smiled, laughed softly. "But most of them are stuffy--and ancient too."
She turned to Tresillian, then to Phoebe to seek an opinion. <I like food,> Phoebe said, showcasing the massive intellect of psychic pokemon.
Neo was going to say no. Instead, she said, "I'd love to."
iskander was of the opinion that they were wasting good money on researchers. they could have used it towards other avenues; maybe build a few more institutes in pax to replace the lost one. but no. they did not, and chose to shower researchers with money to play with their pokédexes. he wondered if they were running away from reality, or hoping that one of these researchers would become their shining knight in armor.
given neo and her tendency for the field of science, they might be onto something.
at the agreement, tresillian nodded and left. iskander suspected that the butler was up to something. an extravagant meal would be too much; he had half a mind to go after him to tell him not to go all-out. three people eating wasn't much of a reason to hold an eight-course meal. he filtered away those thoughts.
"i'm glad you're staying for dinner.
"and -- going back to that, they're brilliant, but if they aren't using it the right way, things aren't going to change," said iskander, "learn from them, and then leave. make greater things happen and have them be envious of you." he smiled. "you can do it."
Phoebe darted out the door after Tresillian, and her telepathic voice faded off into the distance. <Are there kitchens here? Can I help? Do you have a million soda pops here too?>
Neo didn't bother chasing after the reuniclus. How much harm could she really do trying to help around the kitchen? Less than around a makeshift hospital, she was sure.
Neo laughed, a little bitter. "It's been six months of nothing at the university, all nothing," Neo said. She'd once dreamed of attending the university. Now, she had, although not under the best circumstances. Her only conclusion was that the university was where great minds went to die. Maybe hers would be counted among them.
On her chair, Neo brought her knees up to her chest, curling up like a wounded animal. "I don't know what I've done to give you such faith."
tresillian patiently addressed phoebe's questions as he went downstairs. "yes, there are. no, but you may watch. yes, we do." he took a few more steps down, then paused in his tracks. "how did you know about the soda pops, if i may ask?" the butler's face was a bemused one. not many people knew of iskander's fondness for the fizzy drink.
---
iskander's expression changed. he sighed, and bit his lower lip. he didn't know what he said to make neo somewhat bitter, maybe even disappointed at how her life had turned out. it was probably the comment about the university. yes, most likely.
"i trust my friends," said he, "i believe in them. before you ask, it's another one of those questions i can't really form an answer to. consider it something like a gut feeling." he watched her, and remembered. "but you like facts, right?
"i'll eventually find some facts to supplement my response with. but for now, you've just got to take my word for it. i don't think i'm a bad judge of people."
was he? he probably was, considering his usual associations. but it was all in the name of a game, and he was going to play it to the end.
<He had a lot in Nerio too. All the soda pops! Soda pop heaven!>
---
"It's hard to trust gut feelings."
She'd like to think that Delta was a perfectly good judge of people. In the end, that didn't matter so much. She was more concerned about her judgement. She was here, after all. That wasn't the best decision she could make, although it was easy enough to explain away.
She used to take time off from eos work, by wandering through cities, visiting her old home, or just by idling the time conducting senseless experiments. Those almost seemed productive compared to visiting a handsome man's home though.
"I like facts, yes. I like results better." That was the core of it. The battle against the scourge over the last six months had become a sustenance battle. That'd be ill-fated on the long run. Humans felt exhaustion, and so did normal pokemon. The scourge was tireless.
She sighed. Enough with that. Neo sat up straighter, folded her hands in her lap for a second before opting to reclaim her cup of tea. It was warm.
"I like your optimism. I don't know if it's just an act for me when I'm around, but it's nice to see. Little things like that keep me going these days."
"then we would just have to satiate his sweet tooth, wouldn't we?" tresillian allowed himself a small chuckle. he entered the kitchen; it was very well-equipped, not to mention well-stocked. "what's your favourite food? perhaps i can cook something we all like for dinner."
---
"gut feelings aren't all that bad. it can save someone."
iskander flinched slightly. just a slight tensing of the shoulders, a tilt of the head. all to indicate that he took neo's comment not too well at all -- but he smiled, all the same. "it's not an act," he said, looking away, "i'm not offended in the least, but times like this really make you want to hope for something better. a light at the end of the tunnel, that kind of thing."
his gaze was now on the floor, at the carpeted ground. he tried to see some sort of pattern in the plain colors, but failed to. "i hope i'm helping you, neo. i hope i'm helping someone, at the very least, because i promised to stay here in juno and i can't do much at all."
iskander stood up, exhaled, and went to the door.
"give me a minute."
as he left, he seemed slightly tired, despite his happiness at neo's visit. being cooped up in an empty yet vast family home did that to people.
<I eat anything,> Phoebe answered. <Except the still-beating hearts of newborn babes. Those aren't tasty.>
---
If he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, Neo was inclined to believe that Delta was just seeing things. They'd freed Nerio--but at what cost? And how slowly!
"You're helping," she replied. It was nearly an interjection, but too listless to have the proper force. "Of course you are."
Neo bit her lip. She didn't think he was hurt, but she still felt like she offended him. She should've kept her mood up. It was getting harder day by day though.
She stood, turned to the door but didn't follow him out. "Are you--"
"I'm sorry," she called out, partially apologetic but mostly just at a loss for words. More to herself, she added, "Should keep my issues to myself."
tresillian gave a hum of approval. this reuniclus certainly was well-trained. "good to hear," he said with a nod, "now, please hand me the flour. they're in the lower cupboards, off to the left. oh, and may i have your name? it would be easier to address you by something."
---
iskander was leaning against the banisters, thinking. it wasn't exactly right for him to walk away from a situation like that. tresillian would never stand for it. at the same time, he didn't ... really know what else to do other than act on a feeling. it felt strange to just give in to instinct and leave upon hearing something that didn't agree with his own thoughts. he would have normally stood his ground, tried to give some sort of response, and remain where he was as he had always been.
he took a deep breath. he couldn't keep walking away like that. things wouldn't fix themselves if he kept walking away. he had stayed at pax, went to nerio, and stayed in juno. acting like a brat the moment neo appeared in juno wasn't the way things worked. it was foolish to do so. just because this was his own home didn't give him the right to act as he did --
-- yeah. it was quite possible that he was in the wrong here. iskander steeled himself and went back to the library.
he stood in the doorway, and found neo standing there as well.
"no, i am. i'm sorry, i mean. i should act more like my age instead of like a ten-year-old brat," said iskander, his eyes never quite focusing on her, "i'm sorry for that outburst."
and then he smiled, just a small one, because the situation didn't call for something ultra-bright and happy. "i won't do it again," he promised.
phoebe flipped the cupboards open telekinetically and passed the flour to tresillian. the bag of flour of floated in midair, waiting for the butler to take it.
<I'm Phooooebee, nice to meet you,> she said in a bell-like sing-song.
---
he wasn't the only one that wasn't ready for eye contact. neo mostly looked at her feet.
"you've been fine. you're amazing," she said a bit too quickly. neo bit her lip, teeth nearly drawing blood--then she smiled, which was a great effort unto itself. "but not again--that'd be good. you scare me sometimes, delta."
she took a half step towards him, hesitated, then bridged the distance between them.
"but it's okay. really."
she stood on her toes, which didn't take her far enough. with more force than she intended, neo grabbed his collar to pull him close, faces nearly touching.
phoebe? oh. that made much sense to tresillian. he nodded, plucking the bag of flour out of midair. the butler proceeded to measure a cupful of it, and busied himself with making some batter. "so you're phoebe. you're well-liked by him, you know. he thinks you're great -- but i'm sure he has mentioned it to you by now. he's not really one to hold his tongue, even as a child."
---
the fact that he scared her sometimes came as a sort of odd relief to iskander; it meant that she wasn't mad at him, and that alone was something he appreciated. however, he had promised not to burst out like that again, and he was inclined to keep his promise. as neo stepped closer, iskander remained where he was -- in the doorway, looking down at neo who wasn't quite looking at him. that was fine.
he didn't know if he could --
the sudden movement surprised him, but he didn't resist. he found himself in close proximity to her, and then the kiss happened, and he wasn't sure if he was tensing up or relaxing. things like this were almost foreign to him; things like this -- "neo," he whispered, and hesitated as if he was about to add something else. instead he pulled her closer to him and into a hug.
