Earning her keep

[arceusstansme]

Who: Akari and any poor sod who crosses her path.
What: Akari is here to prove her worth to Bottlecap Bay. Whether you like it or not.
Where: Bottlecap Bay
When: Sometime during April (all of it)
Warnings: Swearing, the traumas:tm:



Some people (or, well, Pokémon) would take a day or two to adjust to having their bodies shaped into something new and thrown into a new location. Maybe take a moment to adjust to any weird dysmorphia about suddenly having no fingers or being a sentient bag of garbage (which, let's be real, isn't a change for some people.)

Akari on the other hand started to work. Someone needed a berry delivered from point A to point B without being eaten somewhere in the middle? Akari was on it. Needed someone to go tell their kid who was playing dangerously close to a ledge to stop it? Akari was already there. It didn't matter; it seemed like the moment someone looked mildly uncomfortable, the Cyndaquil was already there trying to fix an ill or find something.

It would be impressive if it seemed like she took a break. Or if she didn't seem like she was just sitting in traffic waiting for a light to turn as she listened to whatever someone needed. It was also obvious she was also trying to make sure the task was done 100 percent, even if she checked back in with the person like she was throwing a cigarette butt at them when she was done.

That was just the nature of her. Sometimes you might see her resting her feet for a second or two; other times you might see her waiting for someone or something to appear to give a message or deliver something. Or sometimes, she might stop and stare at you for a moment before asking if you needed help.

Comments

[truthdecided]

Akari may have noticed a shadow flying over her while running around doing busywork. Perhaps she may even spot a certain bird perched on rooftops watching her.

Eventually, he'll break his watchful silence, head cocked to the side.

"Not one for breaks, I take it."

[arceusstansme]

When the borb speaks, she turns around and looks at him.

"Nope, I can rest when I am tired, or dead, whichever comes first." she said easily.

"Besides, we all know that in villages like this, you got to earn your keep. So insurance."

Insurance that will still not work if something goes wrong and everyone has it in their heads somehow she is to blame. But hey, over it! She doesn't dwell (she dwells).

[truthdecided]

"There's a difference between earning your keep and overexertion." His voice is sharp, clipped. "Extend yourself too far now, and you won't be able to help later, especially if you end up in the clinic again."

[arceusstansme]

"I am always quick to bounce back."

She points out, not so helpfully.

[truthdecided]

"You say that now, but what if you're too exhausted to bounce?"

He hops down, swooping toward the ground. "I know 'the grind' all too well. Juggling school work, detective work, and... certain other affairs was a regular part of my routine."

[arceusstansme]

"If you throw anything at the ground hard enough, it will bounce back."

She said, simply, she didn't want to be caught being 'weak' or even 'mildly vulnerable'.

"See, you had to worry about school. Awful! I didn't and still don't."

[truthdecided]

"Eggs, glass, and ceramics shatter. Bones break. Drop an object from a high enough position and, small terminal velocity notwithstanding, the impact will undoubtedly do damage."

Sorry, Akari. He has to rain on your parade with his nerd wisdom.

"Though, if you don't attend school, how does anyone in your world receive an education?"

[arceusstansme]

"I don't know how kids are raised, I guess their parents teach them or whatever. I already knew how to read and stuff. There was no school in Jubilife. Or if there was, I sure didn't know about it. So I guess the school of hard knocks."

Stop being a nerd, gosh!

[truthdecided]

But you see, Akari. This raises so many questions.

"...So how common is literacy? Are there books? Written records?"

He's looking very attentively now. His nerding cannot be contained.

[arceusstansme]

There are books and stuff, I mean- I am like, making the first Pokédex and all that. So I guess people can read. I don't ask. Like, I can read and that's what's important.

[truthdecided]

"This... Pokédex is like an encyclopedia, I take it?" Pokémon-index? It makes sense, at any rate.

[arceusstansme]

"Yup, I go out into the wilds, catch and observe Pokémon. Write things about them to bring back to Laventon or anyone who is curious about a Pokémon."

She nods as she says that.

"It includes things like Catch 500 Bidoof, or see a Magikarp used splash 100 times and stuff."

[truthdecided]

"Five hundred."

Um... That's... rather a lot, Akari. A concerning number, in fact.

"Setting aside the likelihood of hyperbole, wouldn't that disrupt local ecosystems? Not to mention, that would be a rather large sum of mouths to feed, even if it were loser to the dozens."

[arceusstansme]

"We don't keep them all, we just like measure them and stuff and send them back out. Like, we got to find out the average size and stuff. Be like 'Yup that's a normal size Bidoof, or oh they can get this big without being an Alpha and stuff."

[truthdecided]

"Ah, so it's more of a capture and release program... That makes significntly more sense." He nods along. Not all that dissimilar from the work of wildlife biologists, at least. "I had wondered the ethics of capturing an entire team's worth of Pokemon, admittedly. That's quite the responsibility, especially given their intelligence."

[arceusstansme]

"A lot of people in Hisui don't have full teams. Most only have one or two Pokémon. And usually they have ones that's a decent strength and the others much weaker."

Melli with his level 22 Zubat. Really?

"If a Pokémon doesn't want to be with you, it can break out of the ball."

[truthdecided]

"Ah, so there is some level of agency... I see." Akechi hums, eyes scanning the room. "Still, I can't say I'm entirely surprised that the locals generally regard humans with wariness. Perhaps the role humans play in this world is more hostile."

[arceusstansme]

Maybe, but yeah, in Hisui we all know a Pokémon can and will eat you if given the chance.

[Paras.]

[truthdecided]

Such is the way of nature. Large predators require large meals, and if you venture into their territory, they can and will fight back.

[That smirk on his beak suggests he's having a bit too much fun discussing this... that, or he just finds it amusing.]

[arceusstansme]

Paras.

[Akari started.]

I have been all over Hisui, I have run from Alpha Garchomps, caught Gods and been plopped into the middle of a horde of angry Pokémon.

But Paras. They are nosey, and I know they have developed a taste for human flesh. Doesn't matter if they are small or big.

[truthdecided]

Paras.

[His voice drips with skepticism.]

Grass and bug hybrid Pokémon that are easily dispatched with fire or flying type moves, and they're the ones that scare you?

[arceusstansme]

You haven't known fear until you're sitting in a bush, trying to draw a Pokémon, then all of a sudden they descend on you.

And chase you. And keep chasing you longer than any Alpha ever has.

[truthdecided]

Alphas being... powerful, I take it?

[You'll have to forgive him, Akari. There's some jargon he doesn't get yet.]

[arceusstansme]

Oh yeah, they are the big boys and girls. Stronger and much bigger. Like, an Alpha Raichu was taller than me when I was a human.

[truthdecided]

So what you're saying is I could have been larger than this.

[He gestures with his wings, feathers slightly ruffled.]

But instead, I'm stuck at the size of a volleyball.