reveiller | video. | action for cherrygrove.

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video. | action for cherrygrove.

Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one...

[When the video feed flickers on, you get a nice view of the starry night sky stretching endlessly above. His voice filters through whimsically like something distant and far away.]

There's Andromeda to the north, Libra... Vulpecula, and maybe Orion's to the left, hidden away in the corner. [a chuckle, slightly regretful] Mm, I'm just kidding. I don't recognize any of the constellations here. And even if I did, I'll willing to bet that their names are probably somewhat different than the way I remember them.

Teddiursa Minor, maybe, or The Great Victreebel.

[He laughs, airy.] The stars here are still pretty, albeit nameless.

[The video screen dips downwards and inwards, illuminating a brown-haired boy, lightly smiling. There's an egg cradled in his lap. And wherever he's sitting, it's high above the ground, for the treeline is right there behind him, their tips caressing the sky.]

You know, it's a little strange that it takes a week-long coma and a very vivid dream to realize how nameless everything is here. [A pause, pensive. And almost to himself--] And it was a very, very vivid dream. I don't think I realized how vivid it was, until it came true.

[Breeze in the background, and he looks up, distracted. When he turns back, he's smiling again, wider than before, which probably means he's just that much more melancholy.]

Has anyone here had any happy dreams since coming here?

[action]

[For any late-night Cherrygrovers, he's sitting on a lamppost near the town square -- egg in his lap and Flygon sitting next to him -- murmuring to himself idyllically. His words, drifting along the wind-]

'...Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.'

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...Almost. [So he says with a groggy chuckle.

man it takes him way too long to wake up. It'll be another good half hour before he can think properly.]

[Hm. Gears, clicking away.]

Well, that's fairly good to know. Though I think I've always wanted to talk to a sleeping person. [Aaaand whistling-- the Flygon carries him down genially.]

Sleep-talking is supposed to be prophetic, isn't it?

Have you? [Sleepy mumbling. Shisa stares at Fuji, ears twitching as she stays by Naoki's ankles.]

Hmm? It is?

[Ah, perfect.]

It is, isn't it? And I think I am-- right now.

[aaaand, moving to his satchel. cue egg! He turns it over in his hands introspectively, before holding it up to the light.] Say... what's your name?

You are? But...

[Pausing and trailing off. Naoki blinks with sleepy curiosity at him, and then covers a yawn with his hand.] Naoki--Naoki Kashima. And yours?

[He pauses for a delicate second, then holds out the egg, almost disregarding the question--]

Naoki, then. Mind holding this for me?

[Naoki blinks at him. He's confused, momentarily, by the lack of answer to his question but just says, holding out his hands in the process,]

Uh? Sure?

Here we go. [Handing over the egg, he digs around in his satchel.

Ah, a few pokemon treats. Bending down, he shakes one in Shisa's direction.] Late night snack?

[Naoki shifts the egg to the crook of one arm, supporting it with his opposite hand. Shisa, in the meanwhile, perks up and wags her tail, trotting closer.

She sniffs at Fuji's hand before accepting the treat, then trotting away to gnaw at it. Amused, Naoki says,] Shisa, say thank you.

[GNAWGNAWbarkGNAW.]

[He hums, just a little surprised, because honestly, this is the first time that he's been so close to a dog and... not have it within inches of his face angrily.

It's probably the treats.

Aaaand, holding out another, this time a little higher so that the dog can't readily reach it.]

[Shisa eyes the treat.

... :| She's not gonna jump for that, buddy. So she sits. With as much of a lineface as a Houndour can make. Naoki just merely watches, amused.]

[No, but you might have a better chance at jumping at your trainer, all things considered. Because he's tossing the treat to Naoki. Think fast!]

Catch!

Whoa-- [H-hey, he's holding an egg here, Fuji! He lifts one arm slightly--

But Shisa is moving in between, jumping to snap up the treat midair and landing at Naoki's feet. Gnaw gnaw gnaw. She's also wagging her tail like crazy, apparently proud of herself.]

[... my, this is fun.

Laughter. This one is going up in an arc.]

[Tailwagtailwagtailwa-- And, jumping! Shisa catches this one neatly, landing and wriggling after she does as she noms on the treat. Smug puppy is smug.

And Naoki comments, with a laugh,] Now she's just showing off.

I think we already knew she was a winner, though, what with the way she set that blanket on fire. [He makes no move to throw another, though, giving the puppy an introspective look.]

Heh--a winner from the very start.

[Said puppy stares right back, quite keenly, her ears perked up.]

[Hm.]

'Shisa', huh. Those are the guardian dogs -- the stone ones that people put on rooftops, aren't they?

[Naoki brightens at that, smiling. Fuji makes the first person who's gotten the nickname.]

That's exactly right.

[A chuckle. Mythology's the sort of thing that he likes.]

They come in pairs, don't they? One with an open mouth; the other closed.

Right. [Naoki nods firmly, seeming pleased--mythology's a topic he could go on for ages about, really.]

Depending on who you ask, of course, some believe why they have their mouths open or closed can be different. But any way you look at it, one is there to keep the bad away, the other to keep the good in.

[Hey, here's the dude that names his tennis moves after mythology. He hums in consideration.]

It's a balanced system, huh.

[Aaaand waving another treat. Hello there, houndour.] Which of the two is Shisa?

[Shisa perks up, her tail wagging as she eyes the treat. Naoki looks at her thoughtfully, then smiles, half to himself.]

...Maybe a bit of both.

Just a bit?

[It's a bit of an absent question, though. He tosses another treat.] Mm, if you had a cat, what would you name it?

Or half-and-half.

[Naoki laughs softly and then blinks at the question as Shisa busies herself jumping for that treat.] A cat? Well... Maybe Baihu. [Nekomata, Senri, Pazuzu...all the demons he encountered once before who were cat-like come into mind.]