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 turned to the door, and the pounding on it. "i don't mind doing that," he said, "but i can't lock this door after i exit. you should stay safe."
he placed a hand on the first bolt, and glanced back at her.
"I can't move from here, but it's no matter. I won't mind being eaten alive if I watched you die first. Perhaps it'd be cathartic."
vN4g|Dh_ < 50 neo can't go through with this
"Wait," she said, and like most things she said to him, she expected him to listen. "What do you fear? It doesn't seem like you're a part of my nightmare, so why would I be in yours?"
iskander's grip on the bolt relaxed, and he turned back to listen to her. he was used to this; neo said something, he paid attention and replied to it. he hadn't found fault with the way things worked, but instead, she had.
"this isn't my sort of nightmare, either," he said, "i don't know what i'm afraid of. sometimes i inexplicably tune into certain frequencies and i feel fear gripping me, but it passes soon enough. it doesn't happen in a dream. nightmares don't work like this for me. my nightmares -- they're brighter. happier. things like: i'm sitting with my family at the dining table. they're talking about going hunting again. delta, please don't do something silly. delta, go play hide-and-seek and don't show your face until i find you."
iskander smiled, but it wasn't a confident one. he glanced off to the side. "this isn't my dream."
"Then why are you here?" she asked, not terribly concerned by the scourge outside the door. She meant what she said. If he died first, she would enjoy the show and reap the consequences as they came.
"I wouldn't summon you into my nightmare. You don't scare me. Likewise, I hope I don't scare you. I never did punch you again, but last I checked, it was not super-effective. Nothing to fear. Yet here you are--here I am, in a dream that's supposed to be a nightmare."
Gingerly, with curiosity, she took the fork in another hand, knife already in one, and sliced at the aorta of the heart drenched in bloody sauce.
6Kp9_Djw < 1-30 neo's heart, 31-60 iska's heart, 61-100 just a heart < 50 it hurts like fuck
still in his half-present state, iskander drifted languidly over to where neo was, and watched her stab her own heart with the knife. cut into her own heart with a knife. iskander rather it was his. he believed that he was supposed to suffer through many things, if only so that other people didn't need to live through that.
the poochyena snapped and licked at whatever little was left of neo's heart, and soon even the tiniest morsel had disappeared down their throats. they turned on the two, and growls started rumbling in their throats.
tSL75pm0 <50 they go for iskander, >50 neo
they knew where the heart had came from. the scent still lingered upon their tongues and they could taste it lurking in the air. it was the girl, the female, the one sitting at the table. not the half-faded one, no. that wasn't very tangible.
but the girl was tasty.
they made their move as a collective party.
iskander was thrown to the side by two of the hounds, who snapped and bit at his heels to drive him away.
The table toppled over as the dogs leapt across it. The knife served as a weapon for only a second, lost when she plunged it deep into a poochyena's eye, twisting it so it whisked its brains. That was only one dog out of many.
She kicked at the hounds, and powerful jaws clenched down on her ankles, tearing off her feet. Instinct told her to run, but she couldn't even rise on bloodied stumps. She screamed endlessly, a sound that pierced the night.
the child was crying. it didn't like this one bit -- all the dogs attacking one person but never him. this wasn't fair. everything died and were trophies for his house, a sign of accomplishment and achievement to last a lifetime. against the wall, it helplessly watched as the wave of poochyena assaulted her.
"leonida, no," it cried, "stop, you brutes. stop. you stop, right this instant!"
the dogs tore into flesh, and because neo wasn't able to move, they gained the upper hand. first it was the limbs and then the flesh around her ribs but never the neck or the head -- they savored the moment where life and death mingled in the air.
they howled triumphantly when she fell to the ground, dead.
"... no! ..." the child screamed.
<50 the dogs listen
they gathered around the child's legs, and nuzzled it. one raised its head to the child's face and licked away the tears.
soothingly, they said:
'it'll be alright. we'll be here for you. it's alright if she's dead. let's play a game together, and you'll forget about everything soon enough. this land, this world -- it's your playground. you can play as many games as you like, and we'll play with you. don't cry. people don't like us, and they don't like you too. things will work out if we stay together.'
"I can't move from here, but it's no matter. I won't mind being eaten alive if I watched you die first. Perhaps it'd be cathartic."
