Sojaveña Wilds Brisa's Cabin

[windskull]

"Nip," Nip replied. "Well met. I'm afraid we're a bit disoriented at the moment. We got separated from our group."

 

[Jackie Cat]

The galvantula made a thoughtful noise. "Well met indeed! Now let me think..." He moved his pedipalps as he spoke, but the sound seemed to come from his thorax rather than from his mouth. His larger eyes closed in thought – the smaller ones didn't appear to have lids.

"Yes and no," he said, at length. "You two ain't the first unclothed strangers to show up outta the blue in these parts, but the last one I met weren't recent. Feline gal. Here about a year ago, if memory serves."

Alejandro tipped his head up at the cabin.

"This ain't mine," he said. "Belonged to a friend of mine, and her parents before her. She took that other gal in for a while, but a few months ago they headed east on account a' some errand, since when I been keepin' a few eyes on it. I reckon she wouldn't mind folks in the same position usin' it for shelter, but you'll wanna take a trip into town if'n you wanna earn your food and sundries."

 

[Tetra]

Koa's ears flicked and he tipped his head to the side. A year ago? So the Voice had tried this before with another hero? Unconsciously he glanced east.

His first impulse was to go east find out who this other hero was, ask them what was going on and get some clues. What happened to them? Where had they gone? He quickly decided against it. He could almost hear Blake and Kitto chiding his impulsiveness. There wasn't enough to go on. It would be a fools errand.

"Thank you, that helps. Do you know anything else about the feline, or where they went or their names or anything? Any detail helps." Those were the sorts of questions detectives always asked in stories.

After a moment, he added "Wait, unclothed?" he glanced down at his spiky blue fur. "Aren't most pokemon usually unclothed?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

Al chuckled. "Most wild 'mon are. Some roughlander types, too, 'less they're visiting town. I guess you might be from somewhere pretty different, but 'round here, wearin' somethin' tells folks you're a thinkin' pokémon. Sapient. Could be gear, could be fabricated clothing, could be li'l decorative cosmetics an' accessories an' such. So's ya don't get mistaken for a wild critter."

He tapped his own goggles and utility cuffs, then blinked and stretched his pedipalps in what looked like an arachnoid smile.

"Seein' ya just now, I thought you was some runaway ragamuffin or somethin', at first!"

 

[windskull]

Nip followed the galvantula's movements, taking in his accessories with a contemplative blink. "I believe I understand what you mean. We didn't use... clothing where I'm from, but we commonly dyed our fur with different patterns to identify each other." And their tribal alignment, but he had the sense to keep that part to himself for now.

He glanced back into the empty cabin. "You wouldn't have anything you could spare or we could borrow for the time being, do you?" Hopefully something unrestrictive. But again, he left that part unspoken.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Alejandro nodded. "Yeah, there might be some bits 'n' pieces in the cabin, or I keep a box of spare trinkets 'n' fabrics at my shop in case I need 'em for any of my projects. You're welcome to something from either."

He seemed to remember something with a jolt.

"Ah, yeah, Koamaru, was it? You were askin' about my friend, and the traveller I mentioned. I'm not familiar with the traveller's species, and she weren't forthcomin' about herself, but my friend..."

Despite the galvantula's alien facial features, he still managed to look deeply wistful.

"Her name was Brisa Escarpa."

 

[Tetra]

"Brisa Escarpa... Brisa..." he murmured to himself. "Okay, that helps thank you!" Maybe it would be helpful once they found the others. Hopefully he remembered that. The name at least felt distinct enough that he wouldn't forget it. For the briefest of moments, his mind wandered and he licked his lips. What he wouldn't give for some cider... or water. Maybe they could stop by that river.

So not all the pokemon here were sapient? That was... weird to imagine. All the pokemon back home were thinking, in a way, even though they also weren't much like humans. Some pokemon were wilder than others but the idea of one that didn't really think at all was hard to wrap his mind around. Did that mean they were just like... animals? "So, people will just think we're just wild if we don't wear something? I guess we should put something on to fit in," he mused. It was weird to think how he didn't feel a strong inclination to find clothes. Unless they had jackets here... Did they even make jackets for Electrike?

"I guess if you're sure 'Brisa' won't mind we should grab something then, for now..." A part of him felt weird borrowing a stranger's clothes, but there weren't exactly many options it seemed. They could always return it later, right?

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Well, she's been evolved since way back when, and most folks don't throw stuff out just 'cause they out-grew it, so I figure there might be some garments from when she were a kid," mused Alejandro.

As it happened, the spider was right.

The bedroom he reckoned was Brisa's – not at all extravagant, almost spartan in a way – did have a small cardboard box tucked away with a collection of old belongings, including a few bandanas and scarves in different colours. Some of them looked as if they'd fit Koa and Nip.

 

[windskull]

Nip rustled through the fabric squares - scarves, if he remembered the term correctly. Yes, this would do for now.

Taking a simple, bright red one for himself, he rolled it up into a thick band, tying it into a loop before slipping it onto his left arm and tightening it. Simple, efficient, and nonrestrictive.

Once done, he glanced back at Koa. "Are you going to need help securing yours?"

 

[Tetra]

Oh great. Kids clothes. He wasn't a kid. He decided to swallow his pride, considering his Elektrike body was fairly small. Elektrike body. It felt bizarre to think about still.

He made his way back into the cabin and to the second floor, nosing around until he came across a box of fabric. No jackets, to his dismay. A few scarves and bandanas. A scarf didn't really appeal to him, so he nosed around until he found a rust red bandana, and carefully picked it out.

Once done, he glanced back at Koa. "Are you going to need help securing yours?"

He looked up, scrap of bandana held in his jaws. For a second, his brain did mental gymnastics trying to wonder how he'd tie it on, before he gave up. Setting the bandana on the ground, he nodded to Nip. "Yeah, I have no idea how this works," he said, holding up one paw and staring at it. He could try it out another time he supposed. "Thanks," he added.

 

[windskull]

"No problem." Nip accepted the bandanna, not the least bit bothered that it was slightly damp where Koa had held it in his jaws. "Around the neck, I assume?"

 

[Tetra]

Koa nodded. Once it was tied on he took a momnet to peer down at himself. He stared at the bandana for a moment, admiring it. It smelled ever so faintly of something feline... electric too. He couldn't help but feel slightly comforted. Once he'd donned the bandana, he headed back outside to Al.

What now? He supposed they'd just have to head into town. Find all the other heroes and then figure out what they were supposed to save this world from. But there was also the matter of being strong enough to save the world, he realized. The Voice had said something about needing to grow stronger. Which would take time. That meant resources, training... figuring out this pokemon body, fighting as a pokemon and they still need to figure out how to stop whatever the problem was and- He huffed under his breath in frustration. Too many things to think about.

"Let's head for town I guess. Maybe the others are there, or we can find more clues." Despite the confidence he tried to project, his words came out as more of a question than a statement. He didn't want to make Nip feel like he was being ordered around. He wasn't Nip's trainer after all.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Alejandro gave the pair an approving nod as they came back out. "That looks fair handsome, lads," he wheezed. "Those used to belong to a very fine ranger indeed, so do her credit as you wear 'em."

He gestured with a foot towards town.

"Reckon your best bet if ya wanna find the rest of your group is the boarding house in town. Any outta-towners'll probably be stayin' there, especially if there's a number of 'em."

The galvantula gave Koa and Nip a run-down of the kind of information they might need. Strangely, it seemed like it might not be the first time he'd done this for someone in their position – basic facts about not just the local area but the world itself, as if it made perfect sense that wanderers might not know what a 'Mystery Dungeon' was.

"Regional terminology bein' what it is," he said, as if that explained why he would need to tell them at all.

Finally, he invited the two strangers to swing by his shop any time, for any reason – it was the tinkerer's scrap-pile on the edge of town, with the gold-and-blue awnings that looked like his own legs. Species-themed signage was not uncommon for various venues, apparently.

"Good luck, you kids," he rasped, with a muffled cough. "I don't have the first idea what you're up to, but I can tell a good egg from a bad egg. Even if the rest o' town gives ya the mean looks, I'm happy to lend a helpin' hand."

Spiders couldn't really smile, as such. But Alejandro managed to look friendly, with his 'palps pushed up like cheeks on a vertebrate.

 

[windskull]

Nip dipped his head respectfully. "You have been very kind to us, thank you." He paused, glancing at Koa. If he wasn't mistaken, electrike were obligated carnivores, just like Sneasel. If they needed to find food along the way, he'd either have to hunt, or forage for some sort of edible plant and deal with the consequences later.

But he didn't know the restrictions on that sort of thing in this world. And the last thing he wanted was to immediately brand himself a criminal. Again.

"I do have one question, before we set off." He paused, considering how to word it. "if we get hungry along the way... What would be safe to eat?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"if we get hungry along the way... What would be safe to eat?"

Alejandro gave a patch of fur a thoughtful scratch.

"Well if ya can be sure they're wild and not thinkin' 'mon, we don't got any rules restrictin' hunting and the like. Meat-eaters like us gotta be mindful. I hear the fishing's good in the Silver, which you can follow into town. And o' course, berries – not li'l botanical fruits, I mean dungeon-grown Berries – grow in these parts on account of there bein' an old natural dungeon not far from here. Those are always safe, even if they don't much meet your fancy."

 

[windskull]

Hm... In his world, all Mon thought. It was just the nature of having to hunt to live. It sounded like he would have to be more careful here. But the way Alejandro spoke, it sounded like the ideal options were fishing, or foraging for medicinal berries to tide himself over.

"Understood, thank you." He glanced to Koa. "Are you ready to go? I know a bit about fishing, though I haven't done much of it."

 

[Tetra]

The galvantula gave Koa and Nip a run-down of the kind of information they might need. Strangely, it seemed like it might not be the first time he'd done this for someone in their position – basic facts about not just the local area but the world itself, as if it made perfect sense that wanderers might not know what a 'Mystery Dungeon' was.

"Regional terminology bein' what it is," he said, as if that explained why he would need to tell them at all.

Koa did his best to listen and make note of all the baffling things he explained. Al seemed surprisingly knowledgeable and good at explaining the world. Mystery dungeons? By the sound of it they almost reminded him of the way legends spoke about the distortion world. It creeped him out a little, the idea of a whole place that could change on a whim. He hoped he didn't have to go into those too often.

"Good luck, you kids," he rasped, with a muffled cough. "I don't have the first idea what you're up to, but I can tell a good egg from a bad egg. Even if the rest o' town gives ya the mean looks, I'm happy to lend a helpin' hand."

Al's words brought a flicker of warmth to Koa's heart. He was so friendly and helpful. This mission was off to an amazing start and it hadn't even been that long. If everyone here was this nice this would be a delight.

"Well if ya can be sure they're wild and not thinkin' 'mon, we don't got any rules restrictin' hunting and the like. Meat-eaters like us gotta be mindful. I hear the fishing's good in the Silver, which you can follow into town. And o' course, berries – not li'l botanical fruits, I mean dungeon-grown Berries – grow in these parts on account of there bein' an old natural dungeon not far from here. Those are always safe, even if they don't much meet your fancy."

A shudder passed through Koa at Nip's question. He'd never even thought about that but now that Nip brought it up he was famished. Except there were no convenient trainer meals and no Anubis to heat things up (although with how hot it was he wouldn't be surprised if we could just cook from the sunlight alone).

Al's response didn't make him feel much better. He'd never thought about it much, but Sneasel and Elektrike were both carnivores, weren't they? The pokemon here were apparently like plain animals in his world, which he barely thought much of, but the thought of hunting one made him feel weird.

"Are you ready to go? I know a bit about fishing, though I haven't done much of it."

It took him a second before he realized he hand't answered Nip. "Fishing sounds good, yeah. Let's go, we can follow the river into town and see what we find." He'd fished once or twice with Blake, but only ever for pokemon and only as a human. He stared at his paws. How was he supposed to do that in this body? Guess I'll figure it out when I get there.

Mentally shrugging off his doubt, Koa bid goodbye to Al and started down towards the river.

After a moment he decided walking in silence the whole time might be too awkward. They were all supposed to be some kind of heroes, right? A team of heroes. Which meant he should probably get to know his teammate. "So Nip... were you a human back home too?"

 

[windskull]

Though Nip would have been fine with a quiet walk, he was also opened to idle chatter. He turned his head towards Koa, his ear flicking at the question, then looked back towards the river.

"Human..." The word felt weird on his tongue, foreign and unfamiliar. He thought back to his brief time in the nexus. Those were the tall, gangly things that changed into pokemon bodies, right?

"No, I am not," he answered after a moment. "And there are none of them in my world. Not even changed ones, as far as I know. I have always been a sneasel." He paused, holding his arms up to look at his stained claws. "But I wasn't like this. My fur colors were a bit different. And I can't seem to summon my ice anymore." Frustrating.

"What about you? Are you one?"

 

[Tetra]

Huh. Somehow he'd assumed everyone here would be a trainer, or at least a world like his. But Nip had never even heard of a human before so that meant he had to be from... some other world? One like this with talking pokemon? He briefly found himself wondering if these were the sorts of places the legendary Hoopa supposedly could travel to.

"What about you? Are you one?"

Koa nodded. "Yeah I am. There's humans and pokemon where I'm from. I know everyone got turned into a pokemon, but I wonder why you turned into a different Sneasel." He stared at Nip, squinting and tilting his head. "Actually... you look a little like these ancient sneasel that used to live in my region. We used to call them Hisuian Sneasel. I think they could use poison?"

 

[windskull]

"Poison, huh?" Nip looked back to his claws. "I suppose that explains the purple. I've never met a Sneasel like this, but that doesn't mean they don't exist where I'm from."

He considered for a moment before adding, "My world isn't too different from this one, at a glance. We have mystery dungeons, pokemon that choose to live together and pokemon that choose to live wild. But it's not exactly the same."

Not wanting to hog the conversation about himself, he asked "What are humans like? You seem to distinguish yourself as different from Pokemon."