reveiller | 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.'

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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.]

Well, now I know where your interests lie. [teasing]

[Pffff-- Naoki rubs at the back of his neck with one hand, the other still holding the egg.]

I, well...it's interesting. What can I say...

Mm, I think you'll like it here, then.

[Naoki blinks...then smiles faintly with a shrug of his shoulders.]

Maybe. [He wants to go home, though. He'd just managed to recreate the world, after all.]

[He shrugs as well -- though possibly for entirely different reasons.]

That's not very enthusiastic.

Haha--sorry, I'll be more enthusiastic when I'm awake properly.

I'll hold you to that.

[hmmm] Have you ever heard of the story of the cat on the moon?

[Naoki blinks at that, thinks for a moment and then shakes his head briefly.]

I'm not sure. [He can't recall if he has, anyway.]

[a grin]

Well, neither have I. But I think this is a good chance to make our own legends, at any rate.

[He blinks again...and then laughs, ducking his head slightly.]

You're right. Seems like there's a lot of opportunity to make things here...

The land of opportunities. We don't know a lot about this place, do we. How it works, how it came to be.

We don't...

[He quirks a half-playful smile.] All this mystery makes it more interesting, though, I think.

Also makes us the pioneers in the brave new world. [a chuckle]

Have any grand and exciting plans for your stay here?

Me? Nah. Maybe I'll get some on the way, but right now I'm just feeling my way along in this place.

How about you? [...which reminds him, he hasn't gotten his name yet. The look Naoki fixes on him is curious.]

Well, there's nothing wrong with keeping your options open -- this place can be unexpected in the best of ways. Maybe you'll realize that your calling in life lies with match-making pokemon on game shows.

[A pause as he considers this, thoughtfully.] Mm, I'm not sure. Planning was never really my sort of thing.

[Naoki laughs at that thought.] Maybe. Never know. Wouldn't be able to say how good I'd be at that, though.

Well. Maybe you'll find out for yourself eventually, too.

Really, now. Have you ever given it a try?

And maybe I will, maybe I won't. It should be fine, so long as I don't leave before I figure out which is which.