video

[purifyingroots]

[The PokeGear’s camera flicks on, and, for a moment, the whole frame is taken up by… what looks to be a soft, muddy equine muzzle. The Pokemon huffs, vapor clouding the camera for a moment, then it picks up the Gear in its teeth and trots it toward its Trainer - not that said Trainer is visible until the culprit drops the Gear on the ground and brays at him.]

What do you have there, Earth Colt?

[A man who might be around his forties, could easily be older - maybe the consistent dark brown of his hair would be a hint, if his eyebrows and lashes weren’t so starkly white - picks up the Gear, such that his thumb lands right over the camera for a few moments. The only reason it moves is that he starts turning the device over in his hands, staring down at it with some concern in the moments that his face is visible.] Ah… this was in the pack that woman gave me, wasn’t it? I’m afraid I’m not… sure what it is.

[Earth Colt brays again, and the camera jumps as he bumps his Trainer’s hands with his nose.] Do you know? If it’s… some kind of recent technology, you may understand it better than I.

[His Mudbray snorts. Buddy, do you see any thumbs on him, it’s a miracle he got the camera on to begin with. Millennial Tree Cookie answers apologetically, still examining the Gear with his brow furrowed.] I am sorry, but such things have never been within my knowledge… is its use really necessary? I’m sure we can find our own way without the use of this device, whatever its purpose may be. That woman said we are to walk this route to the nearest town, correct? There are sure to be more answers there...

[Nope, he's not aware that he's on-camera at all - let alone that other people can see this.]

Comments

[fortuna_tenax]

[ Oh sweet Jesus. It looks as if it's absolutely freezing- something she already hates- and from the sounds of it, he doesn't even realize that his Gear is on... or broadcasting. Should someone tell him? It could help him realize that there's more to the device than he may think... She's. Not the best with regular, non-HIVE people, but... Jinx switches her own video on. ]

Uh- sir? You're currently broadcasting a recording. ... That's something your Gear does.

[ nailed it. ]

[purifyingroots]

[Someone less steady-handed than Millennial Tree Cookie, but roughly as unfamiliar with technology, might have dropped the device when a voice mysteriously started emitting from it. Instead, the camera suddenly stops rotating every which way for a moment (doubtless a relief to those watching).

...Unfortunately, it stops with the camera and screen facing the ground.

This man is not even wearing shoes, so that's not great.]

...Excuse... me?

[He also has no idea what most of those words meant. ALSO not great.]

[fortuna_tenax]

[ Woah, that could have been bad. She probably shouldn't have startled him? But she wasn't sure what else she could have done. ]

Careful with this thing, I don't know how durable it is. But it lets you talk to people who aren't there- like we're doing right now. If you turn it around we'll be able to see each other.

[ And then she frowns, not that it can be seen by him right now. ]

And just where are your shoes?! Look at the weather, you're going to hurt yourself! Surely you received some!

[ LOCAL TREE GETS LECTURED BY FIFTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL, MORE AT 11 ]

[purifyingroots]

I-I see.

[Turn it... around?? He definitely rotates it on the wrong axis at first before glimpsing the screen and figuring it out.] --Ah! Hello. [He still definitely does not know where the camera is, but... it's a start.

And... now he looks down at his feet, frowning.] Oh... cold can cause tissue damage, can't it. But I don't own any-- [He glances down at his Mudbray, who noses meaningfully at the bag slung over his shoulder.] Ah, I see.

[Once again, no consideration for the camera as he fumbles to open his backpack. This whole thing is some kind of motion sickness nightmare.]

[fortuna_tenax]

[ Don't think she doesn't catch onto that phrasing. She realized that this realm removed magic... did it. Did it make people human as well? ... He did sound like a particularly ditzy robot... But it's far too early to call the verdict. Besides, the constant shaking and moving is giving her a bit of a headache, she needs to not think too hard on that. Getting the man into a less horribly dangerous attire was more pressing than Gear manners though-- ]

Do you have any heavier clothes in there too? It's the middle of winter, you need to bundle up before you make yourself sick or worse.

[ At least she's not as severe in her. Advice? This time around. ]

[purifyingroots]

Ah-- just a moment. [Well, at least he's... kind of getting his bearings, bit by bit, as people respond. There's a brief break in his responses to Jinx, and when he replies again he looks to be sitting under a tree, rummaging through his backpack.

...Presumably, his Mudbray must have helped him figure out how to change who he was responding to, because there's no way he got that on his own.]

Someone else asked about clothing as well... I think there's something in this bag.

[At least the risk of genuine, long-term harm seems to have gotten through to him, even if the discomfort he's inevitably already in wasn't enough for him to seek a solution.]

[fortuna_tenax]

[ Jinx dislikes how invested she is in this stranger's safety. Still, she waits patiently, and is pleased to see there's some progress being made at least. ]

If it what you have in the backpack isn't enough, try layering your clothes- it'll be better than nothing, certainly.

You're... really new, aren't you?

[purifyingroots]

[Well, the clothing he's finally retrieving from his bag isn't particularly heavy, but at least it has sleeves. And sandals, and socks, and pants that aren't gonna leave a whole leg out. He'll... go ahead and put the socks and shoes on, to start with.

He smiles slightly, as if considering what he knows is a dumb joke, definitely about how new is not a word he'd use to describe himself under most circumstances. But, in the end, he does know basically what she's asking.] I did arrive here not long ago.

icb you didnt dadjoke my resident dad magnet u _ u

[fortuna_tenax]

And no one stopped you from walking into the wild so unprepared?

[ Shes' DEFINITELY offended on his behalf. ... But then, she'd gone out in just a dress and a shawl, so maybe the people in that town are just wildly apathetic. ]

I got here a couple weeks ago. This is probably the worst time to show up, honestly.

[nastyboy]

[Dimitri has a lot of his own issues, both mental, emotional, and romantical, but when Gremlin comes up with the Gear and his mouth and some frantic tiny rat hand flailing...]

[Well. Once he sees what's up, Dimitri decides that he can, you know, maybe put those aside for at least one minute. Those clothes are Not meant for the cold of winter.]

Sir? This device lets you speak with others from far away. Do you have clothes better suited for cold weather?

[purifyingroots]

[The man stops his troubled examination of the Gear, holding it at arm's length, as if unsure if it's dangerous or not. Oh, that is... an image on the screen, of what looks like a human. Still a little odd, seeing those around.]

I... see. [Sort of.] I'm not sure... oh, I suppose I should check, ah... [More awful wobbling from the camera while he reaches for the backpack slung over his shoulder, which is threatening to tangle in the loop of fabric draped over his arms. Literally nothing about this outfit is made for traveling.] The bag she handed me... "Mom".

[No, he has not even opened the thing yet. Honestly, as soon as he was outside and knew he was supposed to be walking somewhere, he just started doing that and didn't stop, despite the fact that he's definitely shivering by now.]

[nastyboy]

[SIR? SIR??? SIR, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF THE SAINTS]

[Dimitri's voice is so very quiet with concern.]

Please take shelter underneath a tree, or perhaps the porch of a house, while you look for the spare clothing she should have packed. There should also be food.

[Please be warm clothing. Please be warm. Please-]

[purifyingroots]

[Well, at least he does that without complaint, though Dimitri might glimpse a flash of surprised amusement crossing his face. It is certainly rare for anyone to... well, instruct him like this, even in the time he's taken on a more mobile form.] Very well.

[He sets the Gear down while he sits underneath a nearby tree; at least he leaves it face-up, even if just a glimpse of his arm and backpack are in view. His Mudbray follows closely, all but sticking his nose in the backpack as soon as it's opened.] Is it, then, standard for these things to be provided when one arrives here?

[Asked with the same nonchalance one may use when asking about a restaurant's prices, or something equally mundane.]

[nastyboy]

[Dimitri doesn't see this as particularly strange. This gentleman is clearly of the older variety, and, well, once you get to a certain age... Listen he's just saying that old people generally reach their give-a-frick limit sooner.]

[For now, he just watches as best he can, and gives up when it's clear that, well, this is all he can do.]

Ah, yes. I do not understand how it works, entirely...

[And, now that he's more stable, he's kind of worried for Mom??? Like, she's well stocked, no doubt, but... He's concerned.]

Still, along with extra clothing that seems to have no rhyme or reason to its choice, there should be a box of food, items with which to do laundry and bathe ones self, and a book describing the... norms of this place.

It will tell you if you have the equipment to be a breeder, or a trainer, of Paliens.

...Although the locals do call them Pokemon.

[He'll admit to that just so this poor man isn't confused.]

There are also other things, but... clothing is the most important.

[purifyingroots]

[Honestly, that's a fair and accurate connection to make. It's really just that but More.]

I see... food is important, too, isn't it?

[Buddy, he definitely meant in terms of immediate urgency, but okay. He does, at least, seem to have found the clothing left in his pack, and is examining that.]

Would Earth Colt be one of these "Paliens", then?

[.....Yeah he's going with that name. Of course he is.]

[nastyboy]

[Food is important... Dimitri is, somehow, getting More Concerned.]

Yes. Yes it is very important. Ideally, you need three meals a day, although you can make do with two, and it is better to eat something than nothing.

Seeing as it is winter, it will be hard to forage on the path, although your Palien companion might be able to search for some things... Still, I am certain that if you ask those in New Bark Town, where you are currently, they may be able to help give you more for the journey to Cherrygrove, which is more accomodating.

[People.... don't normally need to be told food is important.]

[Is. Is this elderly gentleman that far gone? Dimitri can remember some very lucky people who had managed to grow old enough for gray to appear in their hair - a rarity in such a war torn country like Faerghus. Sometimes, their minds went...]

[...He needs to find more food to send off on Elshot. And maybe some clothes. Elshot recently evolved, so it should not be hard...]

But yes, your Earth Colt is indeed a Palien. His particular breed is called a Mudbray, and they are exceptionally strong when it comes to physical matters. You could ride him, although the positioning would not be comfortable..

[purifyingroots]

I... see. [Three meals a day... he wonders if that's cultural or biological. Cookies seem to just eat whenever they feel like it (which is almost always), and he's never exactly understood the biology of the organisms he's observed in that much depth. He supposes it's best to assume he really should stick to that for now.

Anyway, he is sure as hell looking at the Gear like this is new information, sorry about that Dimitri.

He looks over at Earth Colt, who snorts pointedly at him, and looks back to Dimitri with a gently amused smile.] I doubt he would like that, but I do appreciate the information. I should be able to walk on my own; if I've got legs, I may as well use them.

[And also now that he's putting socks and sandals on, maybe he won't get horrible frostbite.]

[video]

[demonpuppy]

It's taking a video! You turned it on.

[Chip is a bit concerned--man, this guy really doesn't know what's going on, huh?]

You need to keep it pointed at your face if you wanna talk to people.

[video]

[purifyingroots]

A... video?

[Said like he has no idea what that is. Because he doesn't.]

What part of this... machine is meant to be pointed at my face?

[please explain strange child]

[demonpuppy]

Do you see the moving picture on it? That's the video!

[Chip waves to hopefully catch his attention better.]

The camera's a little black circle on this side, um... [They have to take a moment to look at their own 'Pad and reverse-engineer the position of everything pointing in about the right area in the camera view.] About here, I think? You don't have to hold it super close, though.

[purifyingroots]

[More careful Gear-Rotating before he finds what they're talking about. He... definitely squints down closer to the camera than he strictly needs to for a moment, before Chip specifies that he doesn't have to do that, aaand it's right back to awkward arm's-length.]

I believe I've found it. Thank you, this device is... entirely new to me.

[demonpuppy]

[Yeah that's probably good enough.]

Does where you're from not have them yet? My Dad's...um. [They make a face for a moment.] I know some people that're from the past, too!

[purifyingroots]

They may well exist, I simply... have never been particularly attuned to such developments.

[When you've been around so long you've felt continents reshape around you, it gets... a little hard to keep track of things like the invention of phones. However many times phones have been invented by now, between the humans and the Cookies.]

Whether I am from the "past" would depend on your present, wouldn't it?

[He suspects the future might be more accurate... unless this child is also a Cookie who's changed forms upon arrival.]

[demonpuppy]

But...if...

[That bit about 'past' and 'present' throws Chip for a bit of a loop. They hadn't considered that idea, but mostly--]

Why wouldn't the future have phones??

[purifyingroots]

[...Hm. Well, there's one simple answer to that, but it's not one Millennial Tree Cookie is entirely comfortable relaying to such a young human. His perspective on the vast expanse of time and its consequences may be a little skewed, but he's always felt for those beings shorter-lived than himself, and telling one - a child, at that - about the destruction of their species seems far too cruel.

Fortunately, there's another answer, as well. He smiles, gently amused.] Information is all too easily lost, as time draws out, and that information sometimes takes technology with it.