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!
the receptionist had been very surprised when a trainer had checked in a teenager atop a charizard into a room. but then again, she had seen weirder. ismael had remained unconscious throughout their journey back into proserpina, and it wasn't until four hours later that he finally stirred.
ismael was still groggy, but he wasn't running a temperature so far. he seemed to have stabilized, in fact. the amberwell water had helped, somehow.
Thalia had given Ismael the bed and settled in a chair, content to wait patiently until he woke up. Or so she'd thought, 3.5 hours ago when she was convinced any minute now he'll be up. She'd dozed off clutching a water bottle.
Charizard was still out though, blowing sparks lazily and making the room uncomfortably warm. As Ismael woke, he placed a claw on the bed and huffed a friendly flame in his direction.
ismael woke with a yelp. seeing a charizard alongside a breath of flames wasn't a good sight to wake up to, but as his fennekin snuggled up to him, the boy smiled and realized that he wasn't in any sort of nightmare. it had been a relatively dreamless, painless sleep. perhaps the amberwell had worked its magicks on him, as the stories went.
"hey," he whispered to the fox pokémon as it settled down on his lap. "... sorry. was i out for long?" he asked the charizard, upon noticing that thalia had dozed off.
Charizard held up four claws to Ismael's question, and tapped Thalia on the shoulder with his tail. She sputtered awake to a faceful of smoke, but her coughing took on a distinctly pleased tone as she saw Ismael.
"Do you feel better?" she asked finally. "You look a lot better."
ismael nodded. that had been a long time spent unconscious. "i don't feel that bad now," said the teenager, "sorry for making you wait." he shifted, and tried to get up. fennekin barked happily and bounced about on the bed.
"oh, i see." a sheepish grin on ismael's part. he was now standing, but he relied on the nightstand for support. "... yes, i'm sorry to trouble you," said ismael, "i think i need new ones."
even though they had dried on the way back owing to charizard and fennekin's heating, they were definitely dirty as thalia had said.
he slowly made his way over to the bathroom, turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water. it was good to note that the water wasn't actually stinging him this time around.
Thalia picked through her suitcase while Ismael was in the bathroom. The most unisex clothes she could come up with were a kind of shapeless red sweater and a pair of black leggings. She laid them out on the bed for Ismael's consideration upon his return.
ismael emerged from the bathroom looking refreshed and more alert than he was before. the amberwell and his extended soak in it had helped more than he had expected it to; he was almost not suffering from the virus at this point. perhaps the waters had worked to serve as some sort of immunization for him.
"... leggings?" ismael asked, but picked up the red sweater. he decided to pass on the leggings for now. a moment later, he emerged from the bathroom wearing a red sweater a little short for him, but it fit nicely enough to not look too awkward. "it looks alright," he said, smiling. "thank you."
"sorry about that," ismael apologized once again. he really didn't know what to do with the pair of leggings. he could probably have put them on under his jeans, but it seemed unwieldy to do so. he glanced at thalia, and then out of the window.
"i suppose i should leave. i can't impose on you for too long."
he didn't know where he could go to after he left, though. perhaps the next city, and onward and away from where hisham and his brother was. he couldn't bear the idea of seeing them again -- it felt like running away or staying where he was would result in either one of two options, and he really didn't want that.
the fennekin barked at him, wagging its tail expectantly. it didn't seem eager to leave, though.
"You can leave," Thalia agreed. "But where will you go? The last time I left you on your own with no direction, no offense, we ended up here. I'd rather not have that happen to you again."
ismael hung his head, and slumped down to sit on the bed next to thalia. fennekin hopped into his lap, eager to keep its human company. also to keep its human warm, since that was its function in the first place.
ismael hugged the fox close. "you're right," he quietly admitted. "i'm ... i'm hopeless, aren't i."
Thalia had given Ismael the bed and settled in a chair, content to wait patiently until he woke up. Or so she'd thought, 3.5 hours ago when she was convinced any minute now he'll be up. She'd dozed off clutching a water bottle. 
