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DECEMBER LOG PT1

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→ OH THANK GOD

(click to expand - the boba shop survived!!)

Sandstorms quietly continue to blow across Melona's desert, tinged black with ash carried over from the west where the volcano still intermittently sputters and spits, its hiccups and coughs darkening the sky to the west. Occasionally, a clap of thunder can be heard even as far as Melona's dome, and a shadow can be seen within the ash clouds looming above the mountains. Whispered rumors travel throughout the region, carrying warnings that "The storm is alive," remembering the destruction wrought upon Toran and the volcanic eruption two months ago that had devastated Hami, the town to the northwest. For two months, the heat and the ash had choked the skies over the mountains of Hami, but eventually, the lava stops flowing. Eventually, the skies begin to clear. Eventually, the people of Melona become curious enough— concerned enough— aware enough that their life inside their bubble that blinded them to the plights of the world at large— to start sending small groups out to Hami to see what aid, if any, they might require. The gym leader himself wanted to head the expedition, worried about his friend and fellow gym leader in the neighboring town, but he got yelled at enough for leaving his post during the last month that he reluctantly agrees to remain at the gym. Because, apparently, challenging gyms is very very important to some people, never mind the world being in a crisis and the safety of both people and Pokemon being at stake.

Instead, the desert guides are the ones who lead the way to Hami, knowing the desert and the mountains and are able to carve the most direct path towards the town. Self-sufficient as the townspeople of Melona tend to be, they do not ask for volunteers to join them, but they do not turn down help either, whether from bleeding hearts who want to do everything they can to assist people in need, or those who just want to get to the next town for their badges and ribbons. Like the trek from Mango to Melona, travel to Hami also takes several days of camping, of riding upon Numel through the sand, of climbing mountains and scaling unstable cliffs because there is no well-worn path from the ground to the peak. And nestled in the middle of the mountains, where Hami is supposed to be...

Ash and cinders. A field of rubble. Skeletons of buildings jutting up out of the ground where they are half collapsed and half buried in the ground, flames licking what little wood and scraps of cloth remain and hungering to devoid the new souls that have stepped within their domain. Aside from the rescue team from Melona, there is not another soul in sight, no sound of everyday chatter in the distance nor husks of bodies left charred on the ground. In this town laid to ruin, a single building has been left relatively untouched by the flow of lava that had run through its streets and washed away all its people. The sign hanging above the front door, blackened at the edges, reads: "Hami Boba." Inside, a single worker in uniform can be seen slumped over the counter, who is startled so badly when the door opens that she falls off her stool and blanches as if she'd seen a ghost— which is exactly what she thought, because who else would be here in Hami after everything that had happened? The volcano had erupted two months ago, she explains, all of the sudden without warning and most of the townspeople were forced to leave. Others stayed behind, those with rock and ground Pokemon who weren't bothered by the heat, or those with water and ice Pokemon who were willing to tough it out to battle the lava and the flames in an effort to save their town. This war against nature lasted over a month, and nobody ever came to their aid... But eventually, it became clear that their greatest threat came from the sky, from the ash that fell upon the land like a woolen blanket and smothered all the air, driving the last of the resistance fighters out.

In the end, the only person left in the entire town was her. The boba shop was constructed with the nearby volcano in mind, and there is no lack of things to eat inside the shop when there was only herself to ration for, but the funny thing is... even though she was stuck indoors and was horrifyingly lonely, she could feel a cool breeze pass through the shop every once in a while, and the air remained fresh. It felt as if there were something watching over her, she explains shyly, and there must have been, because she held onto that hope all this time and her patience finally paid off. Her first customers in two months!! Would they like some boba? The store's specialty is Shuckle berry juice boba! The stamps are a little dried out, but you get a cute red Slugma stamp for visiting this shop.

→ WELCOME TO THE NEW HAMA

(click to expand - it's free to live out here)

So, there's that. There is no town, not really. No gym, no contest hall. But the Melona guides aren't satisfied with leaving it at that, so they stock up on all the Shuckle berry juice boba they can carry and continue their search for the town's residents. They offer up Abras to teleport anybody who doesn't want to continue back to Melona, and then split into small groups to spread out across the mountainside, winding around smoldering lava lakes and trudging through paths knee high in ash. Here and there, all across the mountain range, small campsites can be seen. Up on a ledge on the cliffside, a group of people can be seen foraging berries alongside some wild Mankey. Out in the open in a valley, another group of people are seen roasting meat and nuts over several wild Torkoals' backs. At the base of one of the mountains, another group of people and Machop are hard at work breaking large boulders into smaller pieces to build shelter. Rather than having relocated to a single area, the people of Hami seem to have scattered to live in the mountains, welcome enough to the Melona guides and those who accompany them but denying that they need any help or expressing any real desire to reform a central town. There is no need, after all. Everything they need to live on is provided by the land and the wild Pokemon who share not only their habitat, but where to find food and water, and keep them warm and safe through the night. The volcano still grumbles from time to time, the seas around them continue to churn with relentless whirlpools, and sandstorms rage in the east towards Melona. But right now, they're just trying to live day by day.

While there is no main town any longer, the people do come together from time to time in the valley to share resources and spread news, and once a week, they sit together under the stars and hold Pokemon Contests on a stage that is nothing more than a large, wide slab of rock. The gym leader, Tsubomi, specializes in both fire and fighting type Pokemon and honors battles wherever she is challenged. Because of the lack of a gym building, she might need to be tracked down, though she is easier to find than Konoha, often making set rounds from group to group, checking up on the townspeople spread across the mountains. Central to all the campsites are natural hot springs, and both people and wild Pokemon come here to submerge themselves in the steaming waters and rejuvenate after a long, hard day. When the first of the rescue team arrives at the hot springs, two familiar faces are seen: a girl with pink hair and a boy with blue hair. Nanami opens her eyes blearily and pats Minato on the face. He looks up at the group and goes, "Hey. What's up?"

→ AW NUTS...

(click to expand - you really should have done something about that volcano)

A couple nights into the month, a shooting star is spotted streaming across the sky and disappearing into the waters to the southwest.

The ground shakes.

In the dead of night, the sky is lit up with a spew of fire that bursts out of the volcano hundreds of meters in the air, black smoke billowing up into the air in thick clouds, the mountains hacking up ash and molten rock. Screams can be heard throughout the mountain range as lava rushes down the slopes, people trying to grab what little they have left for a second time— though many already have nothing left but their lives. Wild Pokemon flee from the mountains in herds, heading for the desert to face the sandstorms rather than being consumed by flame.

The ground shakes. It cracks.

Desert becomes beach as the sand spills into the water, the cusp between mountain and desert becoming a chasm driven deep into the water as the Hami mountains break away and start sinking into the sea.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ For the sake of timelines, the Melona guides first head for Hami on December 3, the volcano erupts on December 5, and Hami subsequently becomes its own island on December 6. Destruction and evacuation can be played out however you want, but the boba shop remains standing in the end. The building is in impeccable condition. Not even the ash sticks to it.
⬥ Please make note of the new investigation form in the toplevel below, involving investigation style.
⬥ The second event log will go up on December 15.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Honestly, she doesn't know when the volcano will erupt again, since it looks fairly active, but even with the fact of the possibility of it erupting again and how they're just staying there for seemingly no good reason makes her sigh out loud. ]

Their funeral, I guess. This place is only safe place from the volcano for whatever reason, so it makes sense to stay here.

[ Though she knows not everyone can fit here... she thought at least one person other than the worker would be here, but no. There wasn't anyone. ]

[ He sighs. ]

It does. There's just not much room.

[ But he's sure Sooyoung is already aware of that. ]

Do you think the volcano is going to erupt again sometime soon? Disaster tends to follow us, so there's a good chance of it happening while we're here.

[ Sooyoung raises an eyebrow. ]

Is that supposed to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, catman?

I sure hope not!

[ He waves a hand. ]

I'm just thinking aloud, is all. It might be a good idea to prepare, just in case.

Good luck with that.

[ Seeing as to how stubborn the people seem to be about living in the mountains... well, it doesn't mean the foreigners can't prepare, but there's like... nothing here. ]

Have you visited the egg thing again?

[ He shakes his head. ]

I haven't. I don't want to get lost in the ruins again, even if I didn't mind being in there. Have you gone back?

No point in me going.

[ No psychic band and all. ]

I just need to lend Yoo Joonghyuk the Ditto and he can go with Kim Dokja or something.

[ See? She's contributing. Sort of. ]

Oh, a good idea!

[ Fai counts it as contributing, honestly. ]

I can see the two of them finding their way back to the Pokemon rather quickly.

If they wouldn't, they wouldn't be Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja.

[ She has... a decent amount of trust in them. That much is obvious. ]

If they couldn't handle that much, they'd be losing their touch.

[ It really sounds like she has quite a bit of faith in them. ]

Are they used to doing things like this?

Much, much more. Though, they're a little behind.

[ Behind on what? Will she ever divulge the specifics? Debatable. She finishes the rest of the shuckle berry boba and looks at the empty cup. ]

I'm sure you can handle something like a fetch quest yourself. Nothing like a task so mundane to sink time into...

[ Behind? He has no idea what she means by that, and he's too afraid to ask...

He lays his head down on the table. ]

All I did before coming here were fetch quests! I'm too lazy to do them here.

Hm? Like what?

[ Depending on Fai's answer, he might be relegated to dogman instead of catman. ]

Feathers!

[ He smiles, lifting his head up a little. ]

They're magical feathers. There's a high concentration of magic within each feather, so our fetch quests are never simple. You know how it is when it comes to objects that contain powerful magic.

[ Magical feather fetch quests... hm. She looks over at Fai, staring at his face with a frown, but it seems to be a different kind. Is she thinking? Always. Analyzing? Maybe. ]

You don't look like the type to have hero syndrome.

[ He doesn't like that look, but he keeps smiling anyway. ]

I don't. Not at all.

[ So she's right about that. ]

I asked to be taken across as many worlds as possible, and gathering feathers was a stipulation of that deal.

[ Sooyoung didn't take Fai as a tourist sort of guy either, so there's obviously something behind that. Her curiosity isn't too high, but-- ]

I'll be collecting that favor now. Tell me your story.

[ Fai just stares at her for a moment. He wasn't expecting her to actually cash in on her favor like this... ]

...Where do you want me to start?

Where you think is an appropriate beginning.

[ Don't let her down, catman. ]

[ It's all or nothing, and since this is a favor, he'll start at the beginning. Congratulations on being the only person to get his full backstory, Sooyoung. ]

Alright. You're welcome to stop me with any questions you have.

[ He smiles a little. It's definitely fake, and definitely a defense mechanism. ]

I was born in the country of Valeria with my twin brother. We were born to one of the princes, but unfortunately he passed away soon after. In Valeria, twins are considered an omen—they're a curse. Our mother took her own life out of guilt for giving birth to us.

[ He pauses. ]

Naturally, the king considered us a threat, and the fact that the two of us had strong magic further convinced him that he needed to be rid of at least one of us. He asked us to decide who should die and of course we refused to kill the other.

[ As rude as Sooyoung usually is, maybe it's a surprise? Maybe it's not, but she stays quiet the entire time while being attentive to what Fai is saying. She recognizes that look on his face, and they're already here, so might as well make the best of it. ]

[ He's actually a little surprised that she's being so attentive. It's weird, but then again, she wouldn't waste the favor she was owed. ]

When we refused, the king decided that his only option was to make us as unhappy as possible, with the belief that doing so would rid Valeria of the curse we brought upon it by being born. We were locked in a tower, where magic would not work and time flowed in a way that we would always be on the brink of death, but unable to die. It was also the place where any who were executed in Valeria would be buried. Their bodies would remain forever in the state in which they were dumped in.

[ Looking down at his boba cup, he lets out a small breath. ]

We wouldn't be let out until the world ended, so it was a permanent sentence. I was put in the bottom of the tower—in the dumping ground. Fai was put at the top.

[ Yep, he sure did just drop that his twin is named Fai. He forges on ahead. ]

I couldn't tell you how long we were trapped there. Years, perhaps? I grew taller and my hair grew longer... It may have been five or six years outside of the tower.

[ The cup in his hand is shaking a little, and he sets it down to hide that fact. ]

[ Catman has so much more baggage than she expected. It's as if someone just dropped an entire trauma conga line onto him. Thanks, CLAMP. Sooyoung takes notice of the shaking cup before Fai sets it down.

She holds her hand out as if to tell him to stop. ]

You need a break.

It's alright. Really.

[ He smiles a little more. ]

I said I owed you a favor, didn't I? I don't mind doing what you asked. [ There's a small pause as Fai debates saying something. Ah, what the hell. ] I've never told anyone all of this, so it's just a little strange to be doing so, is all.

[ Well, he's told a few people bits and pieces, and Hien only knows as much as he does because he saw it for himself. Somewhat voluntarily divulging everything is just something he's never done before. ]

[ She's about to say that Fai's defense mechanism is really starting to show here, but holds herself back. Honestly, she expected Fai to refuse if it's heavy like this, but here he is, telling her anyway. ]

... Go on then.

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ OH THANK GOD

→ WELCOME TO THE NEW HAMA

→ AW NUTS...

→ MOD NOTES

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