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!
"It doesn't do much." That was her actual opinion. It wasn't a very useful process. "It becomes a more perfect cloning process. Less cloning, more outright copying. It's a pure physical restoration, including their memory patterns for battle techniques and training. It's being hailed as a resurrection process, but there's no actual memories or personality retained. It's just an uncanny doppelganger."
Neo was apparently a huge Panpuff Girls fan. Go figure. The reference was perfectly understood by her, in any case.
"If we tip it too much, we might just end up with a second hades virus."
Her souffle was about a third finished, and Neo set down her spoon. It was the most she could do. Tresillian would just have to forgive her.
"just good old muscle memory then," said iskander, "all from that tiny bit of dna and some amberwell water." his fascination was evident in his voice; neo's mention of a doppelganger only made him chuckle softly under his breath. there was that J person, wasn't there? who looked like him and had quite the odd diet -- briefly, iskander's mind wandered.
how similar were they? it was probably a physical resemblance more than it was a complete resemblance, he thought. iskander applied neo's explanation to the situation: they were just uncanny doppelgangers, no actual memories or personality shared between the both of them. with that thought in mind, he realized he wasn't sure if he wanted to meet J.
"but sometimes, appearances are all you need. isn't that what they do in books and movies? they clone someone because they look the same, and it doesn't matter even if they act different or talk different -- it's just because they can look each other in the eye and think of the other person they remind each other of." iskander fed himself some souffle. "-- and i wouldn't want a second hades virus."
he set down his spoon and glanced up at the ceiling. "i've been hearing less anguish and crying ever since i returned here," he said, "i feel better, i suppose. i don't know how i'll manage with two viruses running rampant."
Phoebe came in to collect the last course. She left, but a minute later, she returned with a glass of water and a pointed look at Neo. Neo paid the reuniclus no mind, although she did take a sip of the glass of water--slowly and carefully, because she was well aware that she was drunk enough to accidentally knock something else over while reaching for the glass.
"It's good enough for some people. Definitely good enough for some purposes. People have used the process for their deceased pokemon. It's most useful for breeders that have lost their prize studs, but otherwise... trainers and reearchers don't bother with it really. No one wants a reminder of a pokemon we lost hanging around."
"Maybe a second virus would help us. It could be hades kryptonite!" Neo giggled--it was over quickly, as soon as she realized she was sounded like a schoolgirl. When was the last time she giggled?
She shook her head, her cheeks still flushed from the wine. She laughed, tired and a little remorseful. "The books and movies warn us about hubris too."
"hades kryptonite? the eos virus?" iskander said, sharing a laugh with neo -- he was sharp enough to allow his laughter to fade when neo's did. they resumed their silence over the dining room, with him sipping his wine and her slipping into a tired sort of laughter. it was a good change -- laughter was good, and he didn't mind hearing her laugh more, really.
"isn't the hades virus sort of like a way to punish us? that's what they used to preach at the chapel before it was demolished," said iskander, "the scientists proved them otherwise by creating a vaccine to combat it, and they weren't on good terms with the church. i don't know who's right or who's wrong, but so far, science as been prevailing. we've got a vaccine to a virus, and so far, so good."
The priests said a lot of things. Neo used to listen to them, but she'd stopped after the scourge attacked. She couldn't even tell you why. It wasn't like the hades virus cheapened faith.
"We're not dead yet," Neo agreed. It was a paltry blessing, but it was one to count on for the time being.
She brightened when Delta took the seat next to her--he was closer, that was nice--and turned to face him, leaning her shoulder onto the back of her dining chair. "Would you mind company for the night?" she asked. There was a light in her eyes, or maybe it was just the wine. "I could try flying to Proserpina through the night too, but I might run someone over. That'd be fun--I mean, awful. That'd be so awful."
"no, i don't mind -- neo," iskander said, amidst laughter. "running someone over isn't funny!" despite his words, he was laughing at the idea. he could almost see phoebe's concern for the other person, and neo's attempts at salvaging the situation -- would she fly off in an instant after giving the victim a hyper potion? that seemed plausible. time was of the essence, after all. "but yes, stay for the night. you're not going out there alone, even if you have phoebe and all your other pokémon."
the idea of another person in the house was a strange thing to get used to, but iskander could see tresillian was happy, and he was certain that he liked having someone else around as well. it was a familial sort of feeling, if he had to put it in words -- but he wasn't sure if he was right.
he took her hand, and held it lightly; he was content to remain like this for the moment until he smiled, then planted a kiss on the back of her hand.
She liked his voice, she decided. In theory, she always had. J had the same voice, but it had been different at first with Delta. When had she learned to trust him? When had she stopped caring that he was potentially a threat?
(She shouldn't be holding hands with him, the saner, sober part of her said. She shouldn't be blushing, not even from the wine, when he kissed her hand.)
She laughed to herself, because she didn't know if he was shy or if he preferred too let her lead. She supposed she'd find out.
Neo stood up, taking her hand out of his only to reach for his collar. Kisses on the hand were sweet, but she preferred kisses on the mouth. In other places too.
"I want a room. Now," Neo said, and what she wanted, she expected to get.
"It doesn't do much." That was her actual opinion. It wasn't a very useful process. "It becomes a more perfect cloning process. Less cloning, more outright copying. It's a pure physical restoration, including their memory patterns for battle techniques and training. It's being hailed as a resurrection process, but there's no actual memories or personality retained. It's just an uncanny doppelganger."
