victory_road | THICK AS THIEVULS

[ As Romelle chases after the little thief, she'll be treated to the sight of Keith seemingly materializing from out of nowhere dressed in a black T-shirt and pajama pants and holding a red toothbrush. To top all of this off, his hair is even more of a mess than usual thanks to having a bit of a bed head. For a moment, Keith seems startled then deadpans his way back into resignation.

It's one of these weird weekends again, is it? Why does he never have his pokegear when this happens, does he have to sleep with that thing duct taped to his hands now...

He glances around looking for someone with a gear he could borrow when he spots... ]

...Romelle?? Wait. What are you doing here?

[ Maybe the implication that she's the one out of place here is a little rich coming from a dude who isn't even wearing shoes right now, but shhh. ]

[Romelle recognized that voice! She pointed after the Nickit.]

It stole my- [Wait.] Were you sleeping out here in the woods?

[Keith, why would you do that if you didn't have to? Sleeping in the woods could leave you open to all sorts of horrible accidents and terrifying creatures!]

Huh? No, I haven't --

[ Gah. Romelle's only been back for like 2 seconds and she's judging him already.... He deflates slightly, shoulders rounding a pinch. ]

I wouldn't be camping barefoot, okay?

[ Surely an amazing defense that inspires only the highest degree of confidence. TIME FOR A TOPIC CHANGE. ]

When did you get back here anyway? What got stolen?

[That definitely did not inspire confidence. In fact, the quirked eyebrow Romelle was using on him right now indicated as much.]

Get... back...?

[Okay, that was... odd. She shook her head, Keith's current "I'm just brushing my teeth this morning" fashion choices put aside for now.]

What are you talking about? [Actually, no. The fashion choice combined with him asking her when she'd gotten back were highly concerning.]

Keith, are you alright?

[ Keith blinks. The situation is already disorienting enough as is, the added realization that Romelle clearly doesn't remember a damn thing about her stay here is icing on an already unnecessary cake. He takes a deep breath, looking more serious.]

I'm fine, Romelle. This is just that time of year when space-time is even more broken in Johto than usual. [ A beat.] I realize that sounds crazy, but trust me.

[ He'll let that sink in for a moment, then: ]

Looks like you don't remember being here before, huh? [ He offers what he hopes is a bit of a reassuring smile, but actually saying that out loud stings a little. ] It's okay that you don't. That happens a lot around here. But I'm really glad to see you again and I know Allura and the others will be, too.

[Actually, with everything they'd been through back home, it didn't sound all that crazy to begin with. Romelle looked momentarily befuzzled, but nodded. At least he wasn't wandering around the woods barefoot in his PJs with just a toothbrush on purpose. That just seemed like a bad idea overall.

She shook her at the question about remembering being wherever 'here' was.]

How is that I don't remember?

[The idea that she might be missing memories was pretty frightening...]

Nobody really knows for sure.

[ An answer he's certain Romelle will find as satisfying as he did. ]

It might have something to do with the legendary pokemon here, but we don't know. If we do come from the same reality, you should probably know that people can be brought in at different points in space-time.

[ He'll let her digest that one for a bit, then try to flattne his hair a bit. ]

What's the last thing you remember from home?

[Keith wasn't wrong. Romelle frowned at the response, probably just as expected, too.

And then, the kicker... different points in time? Different points in time and different realities? How did they even know if they were truly all the same people that they actually knew?

Her mind spiraled a little as she considered the question.]

The Clear Day festival.

[Wasn't there something about time paradoxes and bad things happening and whatnot if people knew their futures? She hoped her response was clear enough but not to revealing, if that was the case.]

[ Right. The Clear Day festival -- the last break that any of them had gotten before everything well and truly went straight to hell, huh? But that's enough of an answer that he can readily discern what he should and shouldn't be saying, even if it may not matter when Johto's in its current state. ]

So you chased a Nickit from the festival all the way to Johto, huh?

[ Stated that way, maybe that's objectively a little funny. Offering Romelle a warm smile, he finally does something about the toothbrush he's pointlessly holding onto by sticking it in a pocket. ]

Guess we owe the little guy a thanks? [ A beat, then more seriously: ] If there are any questions you have, just feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer.

It didn't seem very far. [Romelle frowned a little.] Why would I thank it for getting me lost? Or... stealing my stuff... [She sighed. Questions... right.]

So, why have you stayed here? Can't you get home? Does that mean I'm stuck, too?

[ Keith has to laugh a little, though not unkindly. It's been a little while since Romelle was last here and even if she doesn't remember her stay, it's good to have her and her questions back. At least for the time being. ]

True. I'd help you chase it down, but ... [ Gesturing vaguely at his feet. Not that a lack of shoes is seriously going to stop him here. He's also just not sure when the next glitch is going to happen and where that's going to take him. ]

I've been here for about a year, so yeah. Pretty stuck. You probably aren't. Unless you've got your own starter pokemon and met "Mom" you'll probably be going back home soon.

[ A beat, then some of the amusement fades. ]

You should try to enjoy it while you're here.

[Geeze, Keith, this just kept getting more and more confusing. But, wait... Oh!]

So, Krolia is here, too, then? It would be good to see her, too. [Though what meeting up with Krolia had to do with anyone being stuck in this strange place was beyond Romelle at this moment.]

A year. [If she remembered correctly, what humans called a year was around the equivalent of a deca-phoebe... that was a long time to be trapped away from home.] Well, I suppose once I get that communicator back, I should be okay. What would you suggest is 'enjoyable'? [She trusted Keith's judgement, for the most part. While she wasn't as big on the thrill seeking, he did seem to be a bit more of a pragmatist than some of the others.]

Huh? [ A blink then: ] Oh.

No, I didn't mean Krolia. I'm talking about the weird person in New Bark Town. Usually people wake up in her house and she claims to be your mom before kicking you out of the house with a starter and a backpack. No matter how hard you try, you can't get back in. It's pretty messed up.

[ And yes, he did try, but we'll just... not talk about that?? ]

Anyway, there's a lot of places to go see. This world is kind of similar to how Earth used to be, so there's bound to be a lot of things you'll want to try. You could go to the Ruins of Alph and go check out some rune pokemon. Or you could go visit Cinnabar Island where they built the sanctuary for the aliens that showed up here last year. Buggy would probably like to see you again.

[ ..., of course he picks out things that aren't all that representative of the normal Earth experience but this is what you get, Romelle.... ]

Edited 2020-07-24 07:20 (UTC)

Mm. I've not met her. I sort of just ended up here somehow. [She wasn't exactly sure, honestly.]

How long do you think I'll be here for, then? [It might not be a bad idea to take advantage of a forced vacation, but random exploring wasn't really something she did. And now Keith was talking about someone else who already knew her.]

I'm not sure. It might be a little strange meeting someone who I don't remember.

THICK AS THIEVULS

a mystery route .... hello!!!

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