07 🐾 Video

[bigsadwolf]

[Legosi looms into view as the feed flickers to life. He's standing in front of what appears to be a small lot that had previously been for sale. Previous being due to the big "SOLD" sticker slapped over the sign at the front of the little pathway leading back to the house. It's a modest place, but what really sets it apart is the large side yard it sports.]

Good morning. I hope everyone is staying safe, under the circumstances.

[He's been keeping his head low, because Nope. He is DONE with giant birds for a while, thanks.]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I've moved. ...well, it's more accurate to say I've finally settled down someplace. I'm going to be living in Azalea Town, now. Though I expect getting moved in may take a bit more time with everything that's been going on.

[The grey-haired young man (he knows) sighs, scratching the side of his neck.]

Anyway, um...if you need me, this is where I will be staying. I'm still going to travel every so often, but I thought it was time to get to work on the garden I've been planning to build.

[With all of that said, he offers the camera an extremely small, easy to miss smile before cutting off the feed.]

Comments

[bigsadwolf]

Thank you. Please stay safe...but I do recommend visiting, if you ever get the chance. And also, maybe try going through Ilex with someone? It's much easier to get through it if you aren't alone.

[Legosi didn't mind hoofing it by himself, mostly because he just wandered taking in the sights and Pokemon until he found the exit.]

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, I think I might.

[He ponders this suggestion.]

It does seem like it would be more enjoyable with someone. Not to mention safer. Well, maybe if I ever start traveling with someone.

"Eevee!"

[Radley chuckles.]

Someone in addition to the Pokemon, I mean.

[He pets his Pokemon.]

[bigsadwolf]

Pokemon do make good travel partners if you don't happen to have someone else to go along with you. They'll keep you protected no matter how far into the forests or caves you go.

[Legosi has had to learn the hard way that this human body simply cannot do what his wolf one once could, but at least having his Pokemon with him leaves him feeling less completely vulnerable.]

[crystalmaster]

Oh, definitely. My girl's been amazing company. But even with all she can do, I feel kinda protective of her, you know? I don't like relying just on her. There's a lot of dangerous Pokemon out there.

[Probably some dangerous people too.]

[bigsadwolf]

That's a good mentality to have. Being self sufficient is more valuable than you'd think, especially in a place like this.

[Not that this world is bad, or even dangerous MOST of the time (now does not count), but it sure does just drop you in and expect you to be able to fend for yourself immediately. He's lucky he was already living on his own, thinking on it...]

[crystalmaster]

It sure is. I had to start finding my own way several years ago. Never in the middle of such a rural area, though! But the city had its own challenges. And later on I moved to a really small town and had to take a lot of the initiative myself on how to improve it.

[bigsadwolf]

Really? How did that turn out, if you don't mind me asking?

[crystalmaster]

Well, my friends and I built the town diner. The townspeople were pretty happy about that. It's a mining town and there were a couple of saloons, but nothing more family-friendly to eat at.

There were other things going on there, but that's more complicated to explain. There was another guy who wanted control of the town, but he was a creep. I did everything I could to push back against him and his bullies, and that ... didn't always turn out so well.

[Which is an understatement. He's still haunted by so much of the outcome. Still, he smiles brightly and tries to hide his pain and horror.]

But things are okay there now, so at least I don't have to worry about that while I'm here.

[bigsadwolf]

Well...what matters is that you tried, and that things turned out okay in the end.

[He's not going to press further than that, because it sounds like a stressful time.]

Exactly. That is one good thing about being here. Any issues from home can be put out of your mind, at least for a while.

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, I guess.

[Considering that people died, Radley doesn't feel he can see it that way. But there's certainly nothing he can do about it anymore, even if he was home. It's all over and done with, although the scars for him and others may go on for the rest of their lives.]

That is nice. I'm glad too if it's really like no time's passed at home. I hate to think of my friends worrying about me and not being able to find me.

[Well, he hopes they would worry, as he wants to be cared about, but he doesn't want to put them through agony.]

[bigsadwolf]

That's how it works, as far as I've been told. Living here is like...living in a time capsule, in a way. Life doesn't continue on without us back home, so if and when we do eventually go back, it will be as if we never left.

[He's thankful every day for that. He knows he would miss the people he's met here, genuinely...but he misses Haru. Just having her here for a brief moment was enough to remind him of that.]

[crystalmaster]

That's good.... But I just started realizing ... what if we're here so long that our original home doesn't even feel like home as much as here will? Heh ... there's no easy answers, are there....

[He sighs in resignation. He was always kind of troubled as a kid reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and how long the kids stayed in Narnia, growing up and ruling there for many years, and then suddenly they're thrust home, back to the ages they were when they had first left, as if no time had passed at all. No wonder poor Susan had come to feel like it must have been a dream.... He hopes that won't be his situation. He still wishes something could work out where he could take his Pokemon back with him, but he supposes that could never be, since it doesn't happen for others.]

[bigsadwolf]

I suppose that is possible...

[That's a thought that's come across his mind as well, but he tries not to dwell on it too much. It's too sad to imagine.]

The best you can do is make a life for yourself here that's as good for you as you can. You deserve that much, even if it isn't your original home.

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, that's what I figure. Who knows, maybe eventually all our friends will end up here.

[Although some seem to get sent home while others remain, which is also sad.]