paladinlost | 93rd moon [video]

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93rd moon [video]

[The view: the ceiling of the most enpensive restaurant in Celadon. The background noise: dozens of customers enjoying their meals, and Cecil tapping his fingers on a wooden table.]

When I first awoke in New Bark Town, four years ago, I was... unwell. This whole world's very existence confused me, and so did my presence in it. The relatively weak and harmless-looking monsters were also a shock. Had it not been for Rosie's sweetness, I surely would have attempted to fight her. You could say that day was very unpleasant, though still far from the worse I've had.

[The background noise: a liquid hitting glass. The view: a quick flash of a wine bottle in a corner.]

And yet... when I finally managed to use the Pokégear, I was contacted by friends I'd not seen in seventeen years. Friends I'd not remembered in seventeen years, and that I would not have expected to ever see again even if I'd kept those memories. I also met kind people, good people, who made my first few weeks here much easier than they would otherwise have been. All have been gone for years, now, but I still find myself thinking of them fondly. Therefore... you could say that day was a good day, too.

[The action, unseen and barely heard: Cecil making a silent toast to all those people, and downing that glass before setting it back on the table.]

...Well! Now that I've shared my first day experience, it's only fitting that you do the same. Surely you all have interesting stories to share.

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My first day was much the same, actually.

I didn't understand why I was here, how I'd come to be here, why this animal that didn't look like a proper animal was bound to me...

But it wasn't long at all before someone very important to me contacted me through the Pokegear, then other people I'd known back home and thought I'd never see again.

This place gave me back my family.

Those opportunities are this world's greatest kindness, though it is not shared with all. Are all of those people still here with you? Have you had the chance to welcome other loved ones on their first day in return?

[After a moment's debate, Lust switches on the video function as well.]

They are. We're lucky.

And something of the sort. Not a loved one, but someone I knew and was pleased to see well.

That's wonderful to hear. I'm happy for you, truly.

[And if he's a little jealous too, well. He's used to it by now.]

How did your starter react to your initial confusion? I hope its feelings were not hurt.

Though to be fair, I've only been here a handful of months.

Oh, Guttle didn't suffer for it. I was confused, but his company was welcome. And now he's painfully spoiled.

Four years, huh. I'm just shy of that myself, by a few months...

Honestly, the most memorable part of that day was Rose pounding me to the ground while Mammon laughed at me...

["Clefairy~" Rose, who is on his shoulder, leans over to rub against his head a little, because she knows his memories are fond~]

Ah. That means you still plenty of time to-

[He stops himself from saying 'to lose people'; that would be cruel and unpaladinlike.]

-see annoyances from home arrive, and to spoil Guttle beyond any spoiling the world has known.

Congratulations for lasting this long. She pounded you to the ground? To think that I once complained that Rosie would pull my hair while teaching me the subtleties the Pokégear.

[But since they're talking about Cleffas, he doesn't sound particularly worried about the pounding.]

[He hasn't been making much of a practice of answering with video lately, but...there's no harm in making an exception this time, he thinks. He's having a fairly good day, after all. About the only thing truly off is that he's got a scarf on despite the warmth of the weather; it's patterned after Ho-Oh's plumage, from the look of it.]

Four years...that's quite a long time!

[Thank you for that highly astute observation, Ishimaru, everyone needed that.]

I've been here for over a year now, but I can still remember the first day I came here - it was the first time that I'd been outdoors in a while, so I spent a lot of it on a street corner, appreciating being able to see the sky again.

I was reunited with a couple of my friends from home before the day was over, though, and I met many of the people who would later become my friends here as well! Not all of them are here anymore, but I still have reminders of them here and there that I keep close to me.

I find this place better than the one I left; I'm glad I came here, it's been worth it! How about you - have you come to like it here, despite your reservations at first?

[My, that's a very pretty scarf. Please don't mind the Milotic sneaking behind her trainer to look at the lovely colors.]

...You know, now that you mention it, by the time I was brought here I'd not seen the outdoors for some time either. It's a shame I was not in any state to appreciate the view; was the weather pleasant on that day, at least?

[It probably would not have mattered, he thinks, but pleasant weather tends to improve any situation.]

The chance to see friends from home in peaceful circumstances and meet new people is the best aspect of this situation, truly, even if it does not always last. It's also why I can say I like this world, though I'd return to my home in a heartbeat, were I offered the opportunity.

[...that is a very pretty serpent you have there, goodness.]

That seems to be what most people here want - to go home eventually, I mean! I wouldn't, personally, but our situation is a bit different from most; at the same time, I still find myself missing familiar things and people like my family and what have you, so I can understand the feeling even if I don't really share it.

[Empathy, honey. You just described...oh, never mind.]

I remember the weather being pleasant that day, though, yes! I don't know if it actually was or if I just wanted it to be, but I remember the skies being clear. Someone was standing next to me for a while trying to work out what I was looking at, and I don't think she would have been doing that if there was actually something to see.

Plenty of time to enjoy what I have while I have it.

{But she isn't very worried, with how long Envy's been here.]

The little butterball already is. I really am fond of Pokemon, now that I've become more used to them.

It all depends on what you could go back to, certainly. I've known people who had lost everything in their worlds, and could enjoy the presence of dead loved ones as long as they lived here. For those people's sake, I wish there was a way to ensure we could stay in this land forever, even if I'd much rather go home to my family.

[He won't say that most of those people have since disappeared, because that is extremely depressing and he's hoping for another happy anniversary this year.]

That's quite lucky. I've not noticed a difference between the stays of those who arrive during winter storms and those who arrive on warm summer days, but I still like to think of it as a blessing.

They do tend to attract fondness and affection easy. Considering most of my early experiences beyond Rosie, I never could have imagined that four years ago.

Same to you. And she used to do it all the time. Nowadays she sticks to pulling my hair or using Thunderbolt though...

...Is it just a thing, with the Clefairy line? To torment their trainers until they do what they want? Or is it just our two?

Rosie does not truly torment me, not since she realized why I was not quite quick enough to understand her early lessons. But they do seem to have a bossy streak, along with a strongly maternal side. Which is a great step up from Mt. Moon's Clefairies' taste for stolen cooking sherry, mind you.

Cooking sherry, really.

["Clef?" Rose kind of tilts her head. What's that?]

Can't say I've ever let Rose try that stuff. Ahh, what kind of food and stuff does Rosie like?

Really. It was one of those busy three-day periods.

[This obviously explains everything.]

Sweets, mostly, but my early cooking breakthroughs have left her with a taste for omelets and other egg products. It's a change from all the berries she gobbled during our first few weeks.

...Ahh, yeah, that'd explain it.

The sweets aren't so different from Rose, then. Ever since I let her try some dango, she just can't get enough.

Have you considering introducing her to a new type of food, in hopes that she'll fixate on it instead? Especially if you can find one that is more easily accessible.

I never had much interaction with animals beforehand. Not as companions.

[As test subjects, plenty. But that's not the sort of thing one shares.]

There's something comforting in knowing you'll never be alone.

There certainly is. Have you ever surfed between two cities? It's less convenient than travelling by boat, but when you wake up in the morning, in the middle of nowhere, with your Pokémon's back keeping you above the water even when the sea rages... You feel as though nothing will ever convince them to abandon you.

So do I.

...Most people seem to think that in order to have one, we'll have to sacrifice the other - that is, if we find a way to ensure we can stay, we'll have to stay for whatever reason. I don't see why it can't be a choice, though, if we can find a way to do it.

How likely do you think it is, that we'll find something like that?

Ahh, it's not that hard to find if you know where to look. And it's not like she's so obsessed she won't eat anything else, unlike a certain person I could mention...

[...okay Ferris will eat other things sometimes but the point stands]

...With every year that passes, it feels as though the likelihood of us finding a convenient way to control our comings and goings shrinks. We can only search for leads in two regions, and this world is much larger than any of us first believed... However, I do believe that it exists somewhere, and that if we found it we could indeed choose to leave or return to this world at will. The trickest part might be retaining our memories once we return home, but I've no doubt we could find a solution.

[They're definitely motivated enough to find one, no matter how long it takes.]

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