Sojaveña Wilds Brisa's Cabin

[HelloYellow17]

Wes scooted as close to Koa as he dared to glance over the pages with Dave, then nodded in agreement. “Definitely sounds like another visit with Gerome is in order,” he said. “I figured he knew more than he was letting on. Here’s to hoping he’ll be willing to share.” Not that Wes could blame him for being guarded with a bunch of brand new, mysterious strangers that had quite literally teleported out of nowhere, but still. He hoped by now they’d earned the Tyranitar’s trust a little more.

He straightened up and glanced around, then sniffed the air to see if he could pick up on any unusual scents. If there was nothing more to see, then perhaps they were done here…

 

[Jackie Cat]

He looked around the study. Was there much else of interest? If not, maybe he'd head up to the bedrooms and see if there was anything to find there.

The party could have stayed there a while, studying the minutiae of Jesse's erratic notekeeping, but it seemed they'd caught the low hanging fruit, such as it was. Jesse's bedroom, were the group to break in there as well, would prove not to contain the same sort of revealing information as his study (if indeed he'd been the last to use it).

He peered closer at the desk area to see who was on those wanted posters...

The posters were dated to many years ago, and referred to outlaws none of the party would recognise unless they'd made a habit of scouring old newspapers. One of the posters, for one Fearow "Terror Ricky" Ricardo was signed by the eponymous bird.

He skimmed the journal one last time to see if 'she' was mentioned anywhere else prominently before setting it down.

Some of the more recent entries made mention of "her" speaking to Jesse, always "last night". Like most of the entries in the journal, they were difficult to decipher, rife with shorthand, scribbly handwriting, and Jesse's peculiar idiolect. It seemed that only certain entries stood out as legible for being written in a state of unusually severe anger.

He straightened up and glanced around, then sniffed the air to see if he could pick up on any unusual scents. If there was nothing more to see, then perhaps they were done here…

The study smelled only of the expected, but there were very faint, long-stale scents in the upstairs bedroom of what might have been a feline pokémon. Nothing that the three dogs' inexpert noses would be able to pinpoint with great accuracy, but enough to confirm that someone other than Brisa or Jesse had used this room. It smelled differently enough to Brisa's room that it might not have been Sierra, either – assuming a Luxray smelled much the same as her Luxio relative.

 

[Butterfree]

A her who seemingly always spoke to Stranger last night. Was this the same kind of deal as the cloud, too? Talking via dreams? The cloud had maintained they hadn't done this before, and its performance gave him no reason to doubt that, but presumably then some other entity had been summoning heroes before. Was that this lady?

The locked bedroom, presumably Stranger's, smelled of... Well, it resembled the Meowth of the party more than anything, but different. Brisa's feline friend, presumably - only natural she'd have used the unused room, though that did make it more peculiar that that bedroom had been locked. Nonetheless, nothing of worth to find there.

They had enough, he supposed. Leads on humans (a Dakota and a 'fucking lizard prick in a stupid fucking hat'). New questions to ask Gerome. Nothing that'd quite help them find this disappeared hybrid girl, though.

He expelled a breath as they left the cabin. Something about all this stuck in his brain in a way he couldn't quite put his finger on.

At least he'd managed to grab a bottle of whiskey. Not like this Stranger prick was using it.

<><><><><>​

 

[Chibi Pika]

Laura had been the one to suggest Brisa's cabin, and as the group approached the lonely structure out in the scrubland, it certainly seemed like the ideal spot. A way for the ARK Unit to stay sheltered and have some privacy, while still close enough to town to get food, and easy for the team to reach.

"So, this is Brisa's cabin," Jade said, tail swishing idly in the autumn breeze. "I only knew her for a little bit, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind you using it while she's not here."

Not here... Jade winced internally. Now that Terminal Two had been destroyed and the trains were running again, she'd been itching to head east and hunt for leads. But that wasn't the focus right this second.

The ARK Unit padded around the cabin's perimeter, inspecting it. Seemingly satisfied, it turned to the others and said, "I see. This place is where I will stay, then. For how long?"

Jade shrugged. "Uh... as long as you like, I guess? There's not anywhere you need to be or anything. So you can take your time and get used to being outside the lab before deciding what to do next."

It felt weird thinking of the chimera as the ARK Unit. Same way that it would've been awkward to keep using Experiment 009 to refer to Nine. Maybe just... Ark? Did it have a name? Did it want a name? Jade was used to Pokemon culture on Earth where names were optional, but then, Ark wasn't exactly a normal representative of Forlasan Pokemon culture.

 

[Ambyssin]

"It's up to you," Nova said. "Like I said before. You get to choose for yourself."

He looked over at the cabin, then down at his claws, then back up at the cabin. Nova wanted to bring up Alexander and the danger he posed, but didn't want to bring the mood down right away. "It can be for a little while or a longer while. And you could always head into town with me if you want." He wagged his fish tail slowly. "Or join me on a simple job. Sometimes I help map out some old roads and clear debris from the trails in the Wilds."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion scanned the place up and down, reflexively comparing it to his motel room as the yardstick for Null home quality. “Seems like a pretty nice place.”

Still, Ark would probably need help eating and things. Might not want to come down to the town to find someone every time. “If you need a hand eating, I can come up when you need. And the Silver River upstream of town is a good place to drink through the helmet without help.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura grabbed a chair from the dining table in the main room, swiveled it, and took a seat. It had been a long walk.

"I bought some Escape Orbs in town," she said. "For you, I mean, Ark. If you're ever in danger, you can use them to teleport to a safe location you have memorised – like the town centre, or Silver Ravine. And this area's pretty strongly covered by Betel's network, so they can alert us if you're ever in trouble, I think."

Yes, Laura. I hope to be up to the task.
​

"Can we call you Ark, by the way? It does sound like a good name, but, like – I don't know, it feels like I should ask what you want."

She tapped her paws against her legs, restlessly. Always overthinking. Always worried...

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ark sniffed at some of the dusty glasses on a shelf, or at least, what looked like sniffing. A bit hard to tell with the mask. It glanced between Nova and Gladion, tapping a claw on the well-worn floorboards.

"Tasks to perform, nutrients to consume; these things were provided for me. I will need to obtain them." It lowered its head to the both of them, perhaps out of gratitude for their help.

"You say I should choose things for myself; I do not know what things I choose." The chimera paused for a moment and then, rather abruptly said, "The plants by the front of this dwelling, they are what?"

Jade blinked, turning around. "Oh, um..." She leaned out the doorway and grabbed a small sprig, rolling the white-dusted, slightly fuzzy leaves in her paw. "Sage, I think? Probably."

"Sage. The scent is pleasant."

"Oh, that's... that's good then!" Jade said, ears pricking forward. "You'll get to smell it all the time here."

Ark tilted its head in thought at Laura's question. "A name, I have not needed one before. Should I have one?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"It's... an important thing," Nova said. "It helps give you an identity." He puffed his chest slightly. "And gives people you trust something they can call you."

The gesture deflated slightly. "I was... not that creative, personally. My creator labeled me N0-V4, so I just went with 'Nova.'" He offered a small smile. "I'm sure you can come up with something better. Even if it's not right this second."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura rested her chin on one paw and looked thoughtfully at the chimera.

"You're a person," she said, after a moment's consideration. "People have names so they can refer to each other, and know each other... Some names are chosen, and might mean something – say something about who we are or want to be. Some names are given... Parents name their children, usually."

She frowned, her heart breaking a little – Ark didn't even sound childlike when they spoke. Just deprived of experience and agency. How were the Shadows affecting them...?

"You can be Ark, if you like. Or... you could receive a name from one of us, or change your mind later, choose something else. You could name yourself after something you like, even."

Sage, for instance. Would be kinda funny, if the naive, sheltered chimera wanted to be 'Sage'.

 

[Chibi Pika]

At first, Jade wasn't entirely sure if Ark was responding to what Nova said, or to Laura. It was kinda funny--the reply worked equally well for both of them.

"Something I like," the chimera echoed, tapping a claw. "The scent of the plant called Sage, I like it. I could be named that."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion smiled. “Sage. I like your name, Sage. I think it’s superstitiously supposed to be a healing plant. Seems to bode well.”

He smirked at Laura. “You sure about parents thing? Seems like people named by their parents are minority here, right now.”

Then, cast his eyes back to Sage. “I named myself, too. And also for a plant. For a gladiolus plant. That’s one that’s supposed to mean strength. I like plant names, they’re pretty flexible. Jade is a plant, too, but it’s also a gemstone.”

A possibility occurred to Gladion that made him laugh. “Hey, Jade, you a plant-Jade? If so, the mean person here chose their name, and the mean person here has a plant name. That would mean Sage and I get to be the normal ones on the room!”

 

[Ambyssin]

"I mean as long as you don't have a disk in your drive you're normal-type," Nova mumbled. Then he realized what he'd said and shook himself out.

"Sorry. Bad jokes are a force of habit for me."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura grinned sheepishly at Gladion's first joke, and snerk'd at his second. Howls, how ridiculous.

"'Sage' it is, then," she said, with a satisfied sigh. No more uncertainty there, at least.

A healing plant. That was nice.

"I've been wondering what we ought to tell you and what you might be better off figuring out for yourself," she told Sage, carefully. "Right now, we don't really know your history or what you need. But I think it's important you know that how you were treated before was... wrong. And that we want to help you. You're still Shadowed... Are you suffering?"

Laura winced sympathetically. She'd shied away from using Shadow too much, but even dipping into it was... unpleasant. Her stomach wobbled to think about being stuck that way, deep in the darkness.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade couldn’t help laughing, and it felt good to laugh. Casual, like being with friends.

“I didn’t actually know it was a plant,” she said sheepishly. “I get the genstone thing a lot from my team, though. Since, y’know, Pokespeech—gotta be the literal translation.”

Ark—or rather, Sage—tilted their head at Laura’s question. “My history… you already know some of this. To create and wield Radiance—this is why I was made. But I was unable to fulfill that purpose, so I was given a new one.” They paused, looking down at the deep violet plumage across their chest.

“This is what I am. And I am not suffering, but my body will continue to generate Shadow. So that others do not suffer, I will need to release the Shadows away from everyone, I think.”

Jade nodded thoughtfully. “Sorta like Nine. He’s, uh, a friend from back home, kind of like you. He needed to release the lightning in his body every so often, so that it wouldn’t build up too much.” She idly glanced out the window. “Well, having a nice secluded space for that is a good thing, probably.”

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova recalled what he'd heard from Mhynt. Dare he try and even ask about it?

Yes, he dared.

"And if... there was a way to get rid of the 'generating shadows' purpose? Is that something... you might want?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Sage looked down slightly, contemplating. "That is... I do not know." They glanced between everyone else in the party, hesitant. "Shadows and Radiance... you were able to use them both, without succumbing. Will you keep using them?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion winced. “Not my idea of a good time, but given what’s going in the world I’m probably going to have to. I’m glad you’re taking yours well, but I found my shadows made me miserable, and radiance… aches. I’d like to keep mine to a minimum. Or maybe I’ll find it’s a developed tolerance over time.”

 

[Ambyssin]

"Of course I will," Nova responded. He was about to say something else, but stopped. Nova couldn't make it about him, here. "I have... a lot of experience with shadows. Not good experience, but experience."

He sighed. "The only reason I brought it up is because there's this zweilous who has some control over shadows. He can corrupt people with shadow in a different way... and then puppet them." His crest drooped. "I'm worried that he might be able to sense your powers and come for you. And we're trying to stop him, but we can only work so quickly."

 

[Chibi Pika]

"A tolerance. I was given one, probably. The Shadows do not make me feel anything. They just are." Sage lowered their head. "Removing them is... I do not know what would happen."

Jade's ears fell. It was probably hard for Sage to imagine being anything other than what they were.

Sage looked up. "Having Shadows, are you in danger, also?" the chimera asked, their eyes sharp.

Jade swallowed. "Yeah, probably." Glinting eyes, lightless flame.

"Then for us, the same danger is shared."