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!
he hadn't been sleeping well. in fact, he hadn't been sleeping at all these few days -- he was looking worse for wear. his eyes were bloodshot, and his pale skin had gone even paler; ismael was suffering, but he was keen to not let it hinder his performance.
he sought out the library for its quiet environment, and hoped to get some rest while he was there. maybe a five-minute nap, or something along those lines. it'd help a lot, he felt. sadly, the library was currently playing host to a few happy trainers who had just obtained their gym badge from jasper.
they chattered away, and ismael hadn't the heart to tell them off.
he merely watched them, lethargy ebbing and flowing through his veins.
proserpina had a pulse that not even a library could escape, but this place certainly beat hanging around queen's boulevard. hisham walks towards ismael, shooing away the trainers in his path. "don't you all have another badge to get to?" half of them leave, seemingly reminded that there's actually a world outside of proserpina gym. in some ways, he envied their ability to focus on small victories. the scourge invasion didn't really help that kind of attitude.
"you could just come up to my hotel room to nap instead of settling for that musty old chair." hisham pulls up his c-gear to confirm that it's only a seven minute walk. "i can appreciate a solid work ethic, but you're not of much use to yourself or anyone else like this" vertigo
ismael's breathing was level, but his eyes weren't responding as they ought to. they stared down at the table, and his shoulders were slumped. hisham's words were like slurring to him; his brain seemed to be processing slower than usual, and he didn't really hear much of what the trainer said.
"it's fine," ismael whispered, running a hand through his cropped alabaster hair. "it's quiet, and i like it here."
"if you were trying to convince me that you're fine, then maybe you could look like you're fine." hisham grumbles before taking a bottle of water from his bag and setting it in front of ismael's slumped form. he could go out and buy another one at any time, but it didn't look as if ismael could. he hopes it's just a bug, but spending time in a hospital doesn't sound as fun as sitting in a library if things turn out to be worse for the other man. "what are you doing in this library that's important enough for you to be spending sick days in it, anyway?"
ismael took the bottle, but didn't drink it. he just rolled it about in his hands, feeling the coolness of the liquid against his skin. he hadn't been feeling well at all these few days.
"i read about the amberwell. it says it has healing properties."
it seemed like a good enough explanation. he would go there, maybe drink a few mouthfuls of water and see if things improved.
hisham wasn't a man who liked to lend himself to superstition, but he was kind of forced to in a pokemon world. and anyway, if it was going to give ismael hope, then there was always a chance of a placebo effect. or maybe a little cold water will put some sense into him to go to bed earlier.
that's not what he says, though. "is that in proserpina? i think one of the locals would have mentioned it." vertigo
he pushed a small, relatively new book towards hisham. it was opened to a page on the amberwell and its healing waters. it functioned like a pokémon center would, apparently -- and the vaccines for the hades virus were also distilled from the water.
"most of the locals have heard of it, i think." ismael tried to blink away the tiredness in his eyes.
"i haven't been here long," he dismisses with a small wave. "i don't think i look sick enough to merit any advice about those springs anyway"
he scans the pages quickly. speed reading was just one of the many talents that he had to pick up when he was filling out the family's legal paperwork at age eleven.
"i assume that you've really tried everything, then?" he blinks at ismael. "...surely you don't plan on venturing out alone? or have you caught a pokemon since the last time i saw you?" vertigo
"i had an aspirin. things might have gotten worse from there," ismael said breathlessly, resting his head on his hands. his head felt heavy, and like it didn't belong to him. "... i haven't."
"look, i'm not sure if i trust you to even walk across the street right now, much less make the venture to the amberwell--" fuck, is he dying right now? please don't be dying right now. "stay with me, ismael. look, just. this book seems alright. maybe the amberwell is worth checking out, but not if you get eaten by a hungry mightyena along the way. bring a friend, maybe."
hisham is the ultimate pinnacle of masculinity, so of course he hopes that ismael doesn't force him to spell out an offer of help. vertigo
there were small windows of time where ismael seemed less tired than before, and this was one of those moments. a sudden burst of renewed vigor surged through him.
"i can manage on my own. you can stay here, i don't want to trouble you."
actually, fuck that man-pride. fuck this man's politeness and consideration too. hisham wasn't really used to sincerity from anyone, so this kid just kills him sometimes.
"we're going in the same direction. i'll just grab a badge real quick, maybe. i'm already here." he says it as if it was as difficult as getting a hamburger. "and i can make sure that you're alive to reach this amberwell. arceus, ismael, i didn't drag you out of danger for you to jump back into it." vertigo
what hisham doesn't know will certainly irritate him later.
"you'd be surprised. the fact that you're sitting here with me at all is proof that you haven't folded." he smiles. "kinda used to people running off after they get what they want, actually. i guess my good looks just aren't enough to hold all of them."
hisham takes a glance at the center of the library, where a world of pain awaits. for jasper, at least. "rock types, right? i can take him." vertigo
