GREATER GOOD [r]

[cass]

His mother missed him. At least, her voice told him so over the phone. They mainly talked about him and his opportunity to kill the scourge, but the only important conversation Kaz managed to pull out of his mother was that she was still working at the restaurant. She didn't sound like she meant it, but he didn't want to press the subject, nor did he want to go see her. For all she knew, her only son was still in Juno, "training." After hanging up the phone in the Pokemon Center, Kaz sighed, hoping that she wasn't lying.

His view of Proserpina hadn't changed in the past weeks. Before obtaining Vera, it was a haven for his family, a place where they could start anew. Now, it was still a haven, but from the Scourge. Oh god, he was beginning to think like an Eos initiate. He wanted to think about life afterwards, back in Bacchus when it was inhabited again. If it was inhabited again.

Vera was sitting patiently, her back against the wall at his feet. The Vullaby seemed to be lacking his own confidence, but she was agreeable. He felt bad for what he would inevitably put her through, and yet that was her purpose. She was bred for this battle with the Scourge. Shit, there he went again. Kaz moved across the empty room, Vera on his heels, taking a seat in one of those uncomfortable chairs all sitting rooms seemed to have. He would bet his own life that the Pokemon Center in Nerio was never this peaceful.

toska copying everyone with the [r] tag so hopefully that's not wrong

[toska]

karimi sits at the pokemon center with her pokemon and a circle of eos researchers. she was supposed to be out of proserpina weeks ago, but karimi didn't particularly mind. she just had to keep ad-libbing the excuses for her colleagues, something that her arcanine was exceptionally good at. karimi doesn't think too hard about what that means.

there's a part of her that longs to return to pax. maybe it's because the adrenaline rush has finally worn off. maybe it's because there's a sense of fulfillment that comes from battling the scourge that she can't get anywhere else. at the same time, the new faces in this city give her hope. sol city has not yet been touched by the scourge (and hopefully never will be), but there is no fight in her people. the people of proserpina are different, especially since a significant portion of the population were now refugees from the scourge-infested areas.

it's been a few hours, and fresh researchers are still scanning her pokemon with their pokedexes. karimi smiles for them and makes small talk, telling them stories of the triumphs that she had seen in the thickest warzones. they hang on to her every word, desperate for any morsel that will help them survive. they care about fighting, she thinks. karimi feels as if staying another week would be worth it. there is so much hope here, enough to keep a region afloat, maybe.

out of the corner of her eye, she spies a single trainer with a vaccinated vullaby. karimi owned a vullaby herself, so she recognized the different coloration immediately. "hey!" she motions joyously at him. "come sit with us!"
cass

[cass]

A voice brought him out of his pensive trance, one that, at first, didn't seem to be addressing him. Not him, but other Eos members. Kaz found that one rose above the rest, telling stories about her run-ins with the Scourge. He tuned in, though the eavesdropping didn't last long. His head swiveled (a bit too quickly, he found), and Kaz offered her a smile. He wasn't going to deny her invite, that would have been rude. Besides, she certainly had some advice for him. With a slight wave, Kaz started toward an empty chair next to her. "Thanks for the invitation." It was better to sit amongst the researchers than to sit alone, even if all they wanted to do was play with their Pokedexes.

"I'm Kaz, by the way." he outstretched a hand for her, not really bothering with the others that remained. They did the same. "And you're seasoned and wise, I presume?" it was an okay play on words, though Kaz found himself regretting the lame attempt at humor. As friendly as the girl was, he didn't need to be stepping on anybody's toes when it came to the Scourge. Most people were more passionate about it than him, and he didn't know whether or not talking about the Scourge in a joking manner was acceptable.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you before." that probably didn't justify the eavesdropping. Somehow Kaz thought that it would be okay.
toska

[toska]

"pleased to meet you, kaz!" none of the researchers really seem to mind his inattention to them. they were too busy scanning the new pokemon that karimi was bringing out of her pc. karimi leaves them to their business - after all, every dex entry gained put them one step closer to learning how to synthesize the eos vaccine. karimi had so many pokemon that they should probably be able to create the vaccines today, if they're diligent.

"haha, i don't think anyone could avoid becoming wisened after a year." karimi gives him her hand with a cheery smile. "and you can never underestimate what a healthy amount of luck can do for ya"

plenty of capable trainers have died, but that's not something that karimi usually imparts to the newbies, not when luck was something that was out of everyone's control. all that they can do is work harder to become stronger, smarter than before. that's the best that anyone can do, really.

"i'm alia karimi, but everyone calls me karimi. i'm a researcher from decima town." or what remained of decima town, really. "and don't worry about it! i wasn't exactly trying to have a private conversation anyways. are you another new recruit from juno?"
cass

[cass]

"Jeez, you've been at this a year?" it was actual surprise in his voice. Relief washed over Kaz as he looked at the girl, realizing that if she could make it a year and stay so positive and cheerful, then it was possible for him to do so as well. Something told him he wouldn't be quite as lucky, as it had hardly been a week and the way he thought about and perceived things was changing. Then again, he didn't know who she'd been a year ago, either. "I mean, Kohaku's been dealt so much bad luck with the Scourge that the universe needs to shed a little good fortune on us, too, right?" That felt like the understatement of the year.

"Nice to meet you, Karimi. I'm sure you saw your share of nightmares in Decima Town alone." he said it as if the topic didn't need to be pressed, but Karimi seemed to be willing to share.

"Yeah, one of many." he said rather unenthusiastically, his eyes pointing to all of the noobish researchers around him. "I'm a trainer, though that was probably pretty obvious." After all, he wasn't gawking over her Pokemon. He suddenly realized he'd been wrong before. "Or, I guess I should say one of not so many?" When Kaz learned that the applications weren't exactly flooding the Eos program's system, he wasn't exactly surprised. It certainly explained why they let him in.
toska

[toska]

"well, more like ten months maybe? close enough." she shrugs. time meant less and less to her as the war went on. all that really mattered was for her to take advantage of what time that she's got, and she'll fight for every second of it. "...some make it, some don't. that's just how it is, and we can't make the mistake of thinking that the ones who don't make it are weak." her family wasn't weak. her family was strong, strong enough to fight on eos' rosters. strong enough to die on them too. "the ones who don't make it are unlucky. wait, i don't mean to get all somber on you, sorry!" she catches herself before she ends up becoming a force of discouragement.

"oh...gods, yeah." karimi never expected decima to have been overrun twice. if the region wasn't in need of so much hope right now, then karimi would have taken it as a lesson. a lesson that not even putrid ruins are safe, long after they have been stripped of their value (their people, their memories, their culture). "yeah, i can't let that happen to anyplace else. that's just...unforgivable."

god, she is the literal worst at pep talks. especially pep talks involving decima.

"depends on the field, i think. trainers are eterally popular." karimi can't deny that the applicants weren't as plentiful as they were a year ago, but eos manages. "that just means that i gotta give as much attention to the new researchers as i can, really." karimi stands up when all the pokedexes have completed scanning. she puts the pokemon back inside their balls and retrieves another six for them to scan. "i think the more that you see at the frontlines of battle, the more you realize how essential the new recruits are."
cass

[cass]

She was right to apologize for her macabre comments -- not so much for him, but for the others around him. He was probably tougher than most of the nerds. Kaz was still bothered by the reality, considering that it was coming from someone who had been there. He wondered whether or not she knew any of them personally. Kaz held his tongue.

"Wow." was all he could offer Karimi. "Don't sweat it. Nobody can fault you for telling the truth." Karimi felt bad, but Kaz truly couldn't fault her for telling him exactly what he was walking into. And he hadn't been graced with good fortune.

He nodded along as she spoke of the other recruits. "I guess you can't blame them, he paused, but only for a moment so as to keep from being ripped a new one. "I mean, some people just put self-preservation before anything else. They want to leave the dying to others." As cowardly as it was, Kaz felt his own words in his conscience. He shouldn't have been justifying his lack of will. "Not that they realize that they'll probably die anyway if we all fail."

This was theory for him, not for her. She was aware of all of this. He glanced around at the eager initiates around him. "You can scan my Vullaby if you want." That counted as helping, right?
toska

[toska]

the nerds in question were also researchers who knew better than to jump into situations blindly. most of them were much more well-informed than karimi was when she first started out as an eos researcher. karimi is eternally thankful that they showed at all, since they did have to put up with a lot of prejudice to come here as well.

"nah it's just...there's been so much bad news lately, yanno? and there's a difference between telling the truth and being a downer." she can't say that all of her statements were pure factual tidbits free of her emotionally charged opinions. nobody can. that's what makes the war worth fighting. "yeah, i don't think it means anything if people don't come of their own free will." karimi believed before her entire family died, and she believes now. "what probably pisses me off more is when people quit halfway. that's no way to fight. that's mostly my personal opinion, though. i mean, i know my colleagues would say that every bit helps. they're not wrong."

karimi lets out the latest batch of pokemon for the researchers, a vullaby among them. she wasn't vaccinated. she smiles at kaz. "that's how i knew you were eos, by the way. the colors are different." knowledge is their power. "i've already filled out almost two boxes, but i've had to stop collecting pokemon ever since i started focusing on combating the scourge."
cass

[cass]

He could understand where she was coming from. Some of these people -- in fact, probably a good portion of those standing around him, had been given awful news within the past year. Whether it be family members, spouses, Pokemon...most had suffered heavy losses with the emergence of the Scourge. Kaz reconsidered his "bad fortune." "I understand. I think it was a statement I needed to hear." Was this all really worth his mother's mode of compensation? He didn't need to be out there. He didn't want to be.

Karimi's words were littered with the type of opinions he would probably form about most things. This was different though. At least, it was for him. "Maybe it's better that some people quit. Maybe they can contribute in a different way. At least, for those who go out to the frontlines. There's no excuses for those who quit for nothing, though." He was calling his potentially future self out. Part of Kaz hated himself for how removed he was from the actual cause. The other part was thinking about his mother. "There just comes a time when enough's enough? Some people can't handle it all." Kaz gave Karimi a timid look. His eyes darted away nervously, finding a fixation on his idle Vullaby. She was mainly looking at the other Pokemon. It wasn't like him to feel wrong.

"But I guess we don't have much choice, do we?"

Comparing Vera to Karimi's Vullaby, they were different. He'd never seen another, so he assumed Vera was normal. Perhaps she was better than that. "You know your stuff. That's comforting." he chuckled softly, his gaze returning to meet her. He wasn't even sure how to respond at that point. "I'm sorry." It didn't sound convincing.
toska

[toska]

"i'm happy to help!" she grins at him, and she means it. "i know the beginning can be kinda rough, you know? all the stories coming in from the frontlines, all the anticipation...trust me when i say that it gets a little better once you've hit nerio or so. the reports are more accurate by then, and you'll have prepared your pokemon plenty if you've gotten that far." she was lucky enough not to lose any of her pokemon, at least. karimi knows that not everyone was as fortunate.

"nah, i mean i know that we still need people to run cities and stuff. even this pokemon center is here to support us, and they're fighting too." karimi thinks back to a better time. "even older siblings who have to stay behind to look after the younger ones. they're heroes too. it...it takes a special kind of strength to give into restraint sometimes" she only wishes that she had enough foresight to be that particular kind of hero. she shouldn't have gone off by herself, she should have taken care of larsa, the triplets, everyone -

"...we're fighting so that everyone can have a choice." she thinks back on the conversation that she had with neo at kohaku university. "we're fighting so that people can have their dreams back. not just civilians, mind you. you should fight for your dreams too!"

the vullaby looks at the other inquisitively before sitting down to snooze a little. not much else to do while she was cooped up in a pc box.

"well, i've been doing this a lot longer than the greenhorns. i'm not here to lecture them forever, though. if all we needed was raw data, then there would be no point in sending every researcher off with pokedexes, you know? without experience, information means very little."

[heads up, you qualify for threads in ceres forest now!]
cass

[cass]

Karimi was understanding of the rookies. Kaz appreciated that. He imagined that if he got as far along and as strong as she seemed to be, he wouldn't want anything to do with the people who were floundering like he was. Perhaps he should rethink that. "Yeah, it's all very intimidating. And rightfully so, but still," his voice trailed off. "Do you prepare yourself by Nerio? Can you ever prepare yourself?" Kaz was looking at Karimi intently now, indicating his seriousness. He was afraid. Horrified. And yet, he was displacing that fear by pretending that he didn't really care. Right? "I get that we train, we learn about what's up ahead, but are we ever ready? Were you ready?" It was so vague, and yet he knew that Karimi would know what he meant. The question was probably popular among the initiates.

Silence sunk in as he absorbed her words. "Yeah." she was right. That was a good way of looking at things. Kaz thought of his end game again, a faint grin spreading across his face: Bacchus Town with his mother, happy, safe. Kaz knew that he was not the only one with a dream like that. "Hm, I guess I already am." that was a sudden realization -- the only way things could progress the way Kaz wanted them to was if he went out and slayed the Scourge. It was, of course, easier said than done, but it was a step in the right direction. He smiled again, and then wondered how Karimi was still smiling. She must have been working towards a goal, as well.

"I see." he didn't have any type of rebuttal to offer her, or else he would have. Kaz felt obtuse, trying to talk Scourge. There was really only one thing he even could even voice. "There's so much to learn. So much I don't know." And Kaz wasn't the most modest of people. "I already said that, didn't I?" he'd at least thought it.

[oh, neat! did you still want to do iker & physis threads?]
toska

[toska]

karimi contemplates the question for a bit. "i'd say that if you haven't turned back by nerio, then you've got something good going for you. there's also plenty of wild pokemon to battle on the road." she laughs at a certain memory. "god, maybe i should mention a certain exploding sudowoodo that i met in di manes. now that was a surprise. kohaku doesn't disappoint, even in the scourge-free areas."

she punches him in the shoulder playfully. "hey, at least all you have to do is fight your battles. i've had to give orders and keep the pokedex scanner on the scourge for half my fights. seriously though. you're ready by your first tussle, and i gotta say that if you're not, bring a friend. make lots of friends. seriously, you never know when you'll need one. i know it took forever for my rufflet to evolve, so i had to keep borrowing a friend's pidgeot for travel. researchers like myself get you vaccines. breeders are your source for the best vaccinated eggs. rangers are beasts against the scourge."

karimi reaches for her bag and takes out a syringe of eos vaccine. "to prove my point, i'll give this vaccine to you! i know that the dream world shop has been jacking up the prices since last year." she makes a face. "this vaccine is a token of my faith in you, okay? use it well!" she means for it to be a gesture of support, of solidarity.

oh god, everyone's finished scanning, haven't they? karimi rushes to swap another tray of pokemon.

"well, we all have to start somewhere! maybe you should try jasper before you leave. badges help a lot for trainers, i've heard."

[yes, the vaccine mentioned is an actual ooc item that i'm giving you. also i can mod you a physis event in ceres if you want! iker's still stuck in proserpina if you wanna thread with him lol (pls do)]
cass

[cass]

Kaz swatted at her hand playfully, a small chuckle rising up the back of his throat. He was glad that Karimi lightened the mood. And yet, he was glad that he could get real advice. Kaz noted that he would leisurely visit Pokemon Centers farther down the road. "Heh, well then let's hope I make it to Nerio." Besides, he wanted to see Bacchus, anyway. That was reason enough to continue.

Again, he found himself wishing that he had a story to give her. All in due time, apparently. Kaz took Karimi's advice and stored it away. He could make friends. He considered Karimi to be an acquaintance at the very least. "Maybe fighting the Scourge isn't so different from everyday life," he drew the parallels to success in the civilian realm -- just make connections and be prepared. "if you add flesh-eating zombies." the joke was crass at the least, but Kaz didn't expect Karimi to mind it much. They'd already gotten serious. He was getting a grip on things. He could handle this.

He reached out and took the syringe, eying up the liquid inside. Damn, people are dying for some of this, Kaz ignored the dramatic irony. "Thanks, Karimi." there was no use groveling. And yet, he felt like he had to. He wanted to. Karimi probably didn't know that she'd really influenced him with nothing more than a few minutes of advice in a Pokemon Center, but she deserved some kind of reward for it. "You've been sitting here, giving me all this great advice and stuff, and I have nothing." he may have been raised by a whore, but Kaz had manners. "Maybe," he pondered for a moment. "I can just promise you that eventually, when I've slain one or two of those damn beasts, I can return the favor?" Not that he knew what that would be.

Promises were all he had at that point.

[toska i love you, i just want to smuggle you across state borders. but i'd say definitely to the iker thread, and like 99% positive to the physis event thread? i know you scale the levels but i should prob show up with not level 10s. we can skype later??]
toska

[toska]

"i'll be rooting for you!" karimi wasn't too worried. before bacchus city, travelling across kohaku was almost like an ordinary pokemon adventures. and pokemon adventures were traditionally embarked by eleven year olds with baseball caps, remember. kaz looked a lot older than eleven.

there's plenty that karimi considered unique about fighting the scourge, but she doesn't see much point in going into detail. she's found that to be a bad approach for pep talking the new recruits. either their imagination blows her account out of proportion, or they misdiagnose and march in with a kind of hubris that gets people killed. experience was the only thing that could substantiate theory. that much she knows.

"hey, if you're here to go out and fight some scourge, that's all the thanks that i need in the world!" really, it was. getting people to the frontlines was definitely a lot harder than it had once been. "we can swap stories when you get to the frontlines. i'll probably be hanging around pax lake to gather samples, liberating bacchus city, or running some tests at kohaku university...once i find the heart to leave proserpina." she laughs as she exchanges another pc tray. "it's a little hard these days, with all the new faces flowing in."
cass

[cass]

Karimi really only asked for one thing from him. It was a big favor, despite the fact that he'd already formally accepted the challenge from Eos, and he wished that he could guarantee her his participation. Rather, he nodded readily, feigning self-assurance, an act he'd already mastered. He was sure that Karimi wouldn't be able to tell.

Maybe things would ironically be easier at the frontlines. The stage fright would be gone. If he could urge himself to start, Kaz was confident that he could make that far, barring any complications. "Yeah, let's." Karimi surely already had stories that she was withholding. Kaz made a mental note to pull them out of her the next time he saw her. By then he would have a story or two to give her, even if it was just a wild Scourge fight. He wondered how many of the others around him he would recognize in places like Bacchus and Decima. A chuckle rose out of his throat as Karimi listed her to-do list. It was a heavy work load, but that was probably to be expected. He was now sure that Karimi was of great importance somewhere above him in the pyramid that made up the Eos program. "Oh, is that all you'll be doing?" he returned the gentle shoulder nudge from before, grinning. The happy grin soon dissipated as he looked around the Pokemon Center. He remembered the peacefulness of it. "Proserpina is nice. Must be nice for you. Things here are peaceful, Scourge-free." For now.

"I'm sure the researchers appreciate getting to interact with a higher-up researcher such as yourself." he was still going off that same hunch, but nobody went about this beast of a task for a year and didn't make progress.
toska