route_1065 | carefree the songs our children once sang,

Entry tags:

emil | nier

carefree the songs our children once sang,

Who: Emil + anyone in Violet!
Where: Violet City (Center, Sprout Tower, Air Show.)
When: July 27th - August 3rd.
Summary: Emil's first week in Violet City!
Rating: PG-13 at most, probably for mun's mouth if anything.
Log:

[ARRIVAL IN VIOLET - POKEMON CENTER - LATE MONDAY THE 27TH, STORMY.]
[It's already evening when Emil and Stilzchen run into town, the boy trying to use his purple coat as an umbrella to protect them from the rain and clattering overhead. Stilzchen doesn't seem to pay it any mind, tugging his trainer along as fast as he can. He'd known they must have been close, but Emil doesn't even realize they've made it to town until he hears the soft, automatic whirr of the center's doors open before him. Finally free of the storm, he follows the wall a few steps away from the door so he won't be in anyone's way when he sinks down in a slump on the floor.]

We made it... We're in Violet! You did it, Stilzchen!

[He gestures for the Sableye to come over to him and he obliges, galumphing over and into Emil's lap. Rain-soaked and unsettling as Stilzchen may be, it doesn't keep Emil from closing his arms around him in a tight hug. The little Shade-like creature had grown to be quite the guide, even through the disgusting weather turns through July.]

Thank you...

[It takes a while for the pair to get settled in, but once they are, Emil can be found camped out on a loveseat with a styrofoam cup of tea, lifting his blindfolded eyes to the ceiling whenever there's a particularly loud crash of thunder. The rest of the time, passersby might notice him mumbling at their approach, apparently listing traits like age, sex, and general build that...sound pretty accurate to them. But he's definitely still blindfolded..right?]

[HORTON HATCHES AN EGG - AROUND TOWN/POKEMON CENTER - TUESDAY THE 28TH, CLOUDY.]
[After a day of exploring Violet, Emil's back to his loveseat, almost vibrating with excitement. A week's worth of travel means that the egg he'd picked out from the Breeding Center is finally ready to hatch, and while he can't actually see it happen (Stilzchen is ever-present with the 'gear's camera function) he definitely wants to be there and alert for this miracle of miracles. It isn't just the mammal hatching from an egg that gets him, although that's what he'd commented on just over a week ago to the network, but the fact that this baby in particular is going to be a kitty.

He's so excited.

And when the bubbling joy of KITTY finally settles a bit, Emil will still be obsessively cuddling his little kitten and proposing various names to her.]

[LURING A ~~CHATOT~~ LITWICK? - SPROUT TOWER/POKEMON CENTER - WEDNESDAY THE 29TH, RAINY.]
[He hadn't been planning on getting another pokemon so soon, already feeling overwhelmed by Suddenly Shade and Cutest Cat. They were helpful, certainly, but no matter how much Stilzchen made it a point to take care of him, Emil doubts that Sebastian, Sensei, or anyone before them would have let him have one pet to take care of on his own, let alone a potential third.

Still, he couldn't help being interested when his Sprout Tower tour is interrupted by a whistle and a harsher-but-still-Emil mimic of his own humming. Most of his day is spent continuing to sing to the Chatot, but it's a Litwick that creeps ever closer while the bird remains high up in the beams watching.

Having grown used to Stilzchen's ghostly presence, it isn't until he gets back to the center and the Sableye is around to point the stowaway out to him that Emil realizes he's been haunted.]

[PLAYING WITH POKEMON - POKEMON CENTER - THURSDAY THE 30TH, RAINY.]
[With the weather having taken a turn for the worse again, Emil spends most of his time indoors on Thursday, getting to know the newer members of his team, Lua and Spencer. It also give him an opportunity to learn a little something about his starter! Turns out, Stilzchen's a little jealous of the new baby, or at least the attention Lua's been receiving, and so his day is dedicated to trying to cat. Impish as he is, it's really hard to act like a feline, but he's doing his best.

Lua doesn't seem bothered (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!), and Emil's more confused than anything. Oh well, who wants to do more Head It?]

[ALL WORK AND NO PLAY - VIOLET MONKS' FIELDS (Emil) + FALKNER'S AERIAL SHOW (Stilzchen, Monday only)/POKEMON CENTER - FRIDAY THE 31ST, SUNNY - MONDAY THE 3RD, HOT AS BALLS.]
[YEAH, THE WEATHER'S NOT AWFUL AND WET AGAIN, that means...that means it's time to get a job...

...so Emil basically got super broke without realizing it because he's not used to handling his own finances, look he's ten. Luckily, the monks of Sprout Tower have agreed to let him work in the fields with them, spending a while to make sure he's able to prune correctly while he refuses to take off the damn blindfold. By the third day, he's confident enough to not even have Stilzchen hovering over his shoulders, which is good because the ghoul's got other plans for Monday. While Emil labors in the field, the Sableye's at Falkner's air show, trying his hardest to go unnoticed while still being able to record some footage for his trainer.

It's possible he might get in trouble for that, oops. But Emil doesn't have to know, really! Especially since the poor kid comes home each night looking like he's praying for a rainstorm to happen so at least he wouldn't feel so faint in the heat.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He's silent a moment, then sits up a little and offers a smile as he changes gears, too.]

Not really. It's hard to battle this way, instead of doing everything myself. I'm also not used to being the one to give orders -- I really miss Nier's commands, even if he mostly let Kainé and me do as we pleased. Stilzchen's been really great, though, and he's patient with me when it comes to that. I've got a lot to learn before I'll be any good at training, I think.

Spencer and Lua I just got really recently. There's probably been time, but... [Emil lifts the ball of yarn in explanation. They've been distracted.]

I understand. It looks like you've been having fun with them, either way.

[He resumes stroking the top of Stilzchen's head as he talks.]

Battling isn't really that important, if you'd prefer to do other things. My Pokemon seem to be fine with me letting them do what they would like, most of the time.

[Oh, that's a very nice thing, Stilzchen's thinks, and now that his trainer no longer seems concerned with something, he can go back to enjoying this contact full time. He leans further into the touch, resuming his nightmarish "purring".]

I have been having fun! [And he'd like to think his pokemon have been, too.] And I think I must have had a cat before, with this feeling I have... Small and white, like Lua.

It's nice that this world really let's you do what you want, most of the time. It's weird to get to relax so much, but it's not a bad feeling, either! I guess I just never noticed how exhausting it was to live like that. [He'd give just about anything to show Kainé, Nier, and Weiss. And maybe Sebastian could be there, and Yonah, from before she got sick. Halua...

Huh. Even that would be possible, wouldn't it?] I'd like to be able to get stronger, eventually, but for now... This is fine. If you don't battle much though, Kaneki, what do you do?

[He keeps petting the Sableye as he replies, just to give his hands something to do.]

Well...I like to read a lot. I spend a lot of my time with books. Fiction, usually, but I've been doing research as often as I can, learning about this place...let's just say I should be able to find my way around if I ever decide to visit Kanto.

[...he hopes.]

[Stilzchen will make it a little easier for Kaneki, hopping up and curling into his lap. He's seen Emil's cat do that, though Lua was usually rude as heck and fell asleep right away, making it so Emil couldn't move and the petting wasn't even properly appreciated.

Lua, a little confused by this attention hog, goes to hang out with Spencer instead. Cats can only put up with human affection for so long, after all.]

Haha... That's a lot of research -- [He doubted he could find his way by following text alone, but then he was used to mapping out areas for himself. Or running through a giant open area with no landmarks to speak of that was fun.] -- but then, I guess you've had a lot of time for it, hmn... Do you read to your pokemon?

[Having the Sableye jump up into his lap is a little unexpected, but not unwelcome. He's not quite so nervous of him anymore- especially not after getting to see him in person, as well as all of those Sableye Neku showed him in Mt. Moon that one time- so he settles after a moment, resuming the pettings once Stilzchen is secure in his lap.]

I do. Hide enjoys being read to quite a lot, actually.

[He's pretty much gotten into the habit of having Kaneki read to him every night before bed at this point.]

Ah -- you could get him a new book of stories, for while he recovers! I bet that would make him feel better even faster, right? It'd make me feel better, anyway...

That's a great idea. I'll have to think about what kind of stories he might like...he seems to enjoy picture books more than anything else.

[Emil turns his face down so he can giggle into his hand.]

He sounds a lot like a kid... Picture books, playing in the rain... If I knew of a good one for children, I'd tell you, but...

[Having just got here and not knowing what most books were like, you know, not much help.]

I don't even know what kind of story it'd be back home... I think Nier told his daughter a legend about a flower, but I don't know if that would really be that interesting for him.

I don't know...he's very curious. I'd be surprised if there was a story out there that he really didn't like.

[He's not counting his favorite genres of course, since he's 99% sure Hide wouldn't really enjoy those.]

Can you remember how the legend went?

Ah... [He frowns then, concentrating before shaking his head.] I'm sorry... I don't think I ever got the long version...

[We don't exactly talk about Yonah except to say "yes, we will fix all the problems." A long story about it might have been too much for Nier, so Emil always accepted the throwaway comments explaining his actions, the few times he got them.]

The flower's called a Lunar Tear, though. I don't know if it appears in other worlds...? It's white, really pretty, and kind of glows like the moon... That must be how it got it's name. Kainé always loved them, too, her grandma used to make a...crown or a necklace out of them for her. They're really hard to find. [None of this really matters, he realizes, but it was the only things he really remembered about them and he had to give something, right?] But the reason they're special, why Yonah knew about them, is that if you found one, it was supposed to grant a wish for you. Yonah went out looking for one, and then... That's when Nier met Weiss, I guess.

But I don't know why it's said it can grant wishes, or anything. Sorry.

[Kaneki laughs softly, shaking his head.]

You don't have to apologize. That sounds like something straight out of a fairy tale...I'll make sure to tell Hide about them.

I suppose so...

[It's not true, either. Nier had found so many of the things, enough to make Kainé another lei for when they got her back, but the one thing he would have wished for, had to have wished so many times... They hadn't been able to get Yonah back, not because of a wish.

Soon. When he got back home, they would get her soon.

Emil exhales slowly, keeping that determined thought at the front of his mind for a moment before returning to his easy smile. It may be their current goal, but he wouldn't be able to do anything about it here.]

I'm afraid I don't know very many happy stories. Most of the books I've read are lab reports, that type of thing, if there even are any written down anymore...

Remind me to contact you, the next time I'm in Goldenrod. Or maybe, if we're both there at the same time, you and I could visit the bookstore together. There are a lot of happy stories there...a lot of them I think you'd really like.

[He pauses, then, because that also gives him another idea.]

You could also write some of your own, if you would like. Sometimes, creating a story is just as fun as reading one.

Absolutely! If you don't mind, I'd really like that!

[The other idea gets him to tip his head a bit.]

Hmn... I don't think I've ever written more than a letter, before. Writing a story, and having it be something people would like... That sounds hard.

Mm. That's why a writer writes about what they know. Even if it might not be something that everyone would like...at least they'd be able to enjoy writing about it.

[He looks down at Stilzchen briefly, letting his fingers carefully run along the surface of the gems in his back, if he'll allow it.]

And if you enjoy what you're writing about it, other people will be able to tell when they read what you've written. Does that make sense?

[The Sableye does indeed allow it, not even reacting as much as one might expect. It was something Emil had done a lot, after he began to trust the creature, first trying to figure out how different Stilzchen and Shades were from each other, and then because it was something solid to focus on when he needed to get out of his head.]

Yeah... It does. [For a moment, he had doubts, thinking about how anything he knew enough about to write about would be dreary and no fun at all, but... He had plenty of good memories. Going on an adventure with people he loved, and cared for him in return...

Yeah. That sounded like something he'd like to read.] Is that something you'd like to do, someday?

I really would, yes.

[He answers without hesitation, a small smile working its way onto his expression. He'd been really too busy with college work to think much about it, but he had wondered what he could come up with, if he ever did try to write a book of his own someday. He doubts it would be anything close to the likes of Takatsuki Sen, but...]

I mean, I have more than enough time to, here...so I might give it a try, one day.

When you do -- [Because it sounded like an excellent idea and Emil was in full support, so no 'if's here.] -- I'll have to be sure I'm around to read it. Even if it ends up being a scary mystery, like you like.

We'll see. It doesn't have to be scary to be interesting.

[And even something as simple as finding something that's been lost counts as a mystery. He's not even sure how well he'd do at trying to write about...say, a serial killer or something.

As he says that, a voice calls for him from the front desk. He carefully lifts Stilzchen from his lap, putting him on the seat of the couch and excusing himself so he can go.

A few minutes later, he returns with Hide in his arms, the Smeargle with his paws wrapped around Kaneki's neck and one of his hind feet wrapped in a blue bandage.]

Looks like it was a pretty big thorn after all, but they were able to get it out fine. [He says as he takes his seat again next to Emil's Sableye.] He'll be okay, just a little sore for a day or two.

[Kaneki writing about serial killers would just become Hot People: The Series.

Emil "looks" over to the main desk, mentally counting the steps it takes Kaneki to get there and trying to not listen in. He was curious as to how the pokemon would be, but it would have been pretty rude... He waits expectantly for Kaneki's explanation of the issue, finally smiling again when he hears Hide will be fine.]

That's wonderful! [Stilzchen tips his head to the side, having gone back to being bipedal when he was moved. By now, he's used to being met with uncertainty so he doesn't get too close to the Smeargle, instead waving from where he stands on the cushion.] The nurses here really are great, aren't they? I'm glad it won't be a big problem for you guys.

[He sits back down on the couch again, Hide peering over Kaneki's shoulder at the Sableye nearby. He's actually less startled by his presence than he could be, but that might be because Kaneki has some rather...interesting Pokemon of his own. At any rate, his paint-brush tail wags a little in response to the greeting, to which Kaneki has to lift a hand and take gentle hold of the end so he doesn't accidentally splatter paint on his jacket.]

They are. It's nice that these Centers exist at all, and free of charge too...I guess battling would be a lot more expensive if they weren't. Not many young kids would be able to do it.

[The returned greeting makes Stilzchen a little bolder and he inches closer, a curious rumble in his throat. Having a reason to be in the Center was never fun, but... At least you'll feel better in a few days, right? And then you can play more!]

Ah... Yeah, I guess they couldn't. I didn't even think about that... [When you had healing spells and plants everywhere that could make you feel better, it wasn't much of a concern.] Though there's always something you could do. My friend Nier used to take a lot of jobs from the different people we'd meet -- there wasn't really anything he wouldn't do, even when Weiss tried to tell him it would just be a bother. It'd be harder, but probably not impossible or anything.

[Hide gives a small nod coupled with a low whine. He'll be back to playing in no time, at least he hopes...]

That's true. If someone wanted to badly enough, they'd find a way to make it work...even if they had to work a job between actually working to be a trainer. And I know a lot of trainers give money to the winner when they lose anyway.

[That's always something he's felt a little weird about. Even though it seems like a universal constant around here, he doesn't feel right taking someone else's money like that.]

[That was good. The Sableye gives a wide, toothy smile meant to be encouraging, ear spikes perking up. There were ways to play without feet, too, and it gives an excuse to be carried around by your trainer more! That was always a plus, huh?]

It's like its own job that way. But you really have to keep moving, or else you run out of money paying for meals and things... Even with the Center being free to stay at, I'll need to find a job I can do soon.

I wonder if... [He pauses then shakes his head.] I wonder what it used to be like, to be a trainer. There are a lot more of us now, and people don't always take it seriously. Was it different before we came, do you think...?

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject