Video 6: Show Me the Way to Go Home (Action for Azalea)

[justanexpression]

[Jack turns the feed on but doesn’t say anything right away, preoccupied with settling the pokemon he’s surrounded by this time. A Togepi sits in his lap, with a Meowth curled into a ball against his leg on one side, and a Buneary and Smeargle snuggled together on the other. All four of them look positively depressed and Jack, for once, doesn’t seem much better.

Spot the Swablu is on Jack’s shoulder as usual, doing her best to groom him all better and looking somewhat distressed herself that it’s not working.]

So... these guys showed up yesterday. I never actually got to meet them in person before, but the names are all right, and they seem to recognize me...

[The Meowth glances up when he pets her head but then returns to her ball.]

I guess this means they’re both really gone, now? That’s usually what it means when your friends’ pokemon suddenly show up in your computer, right?

[He runs a hand through his hair, accidentally undoing Spot’s work and making her whistle in frustration before pecking his fingers out of the way to start over. It gets him to smile, at least.]

Have you ever been surprised that you ended up missing someone you never thought you would?

Comments

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[akito]

[ And he'll just sprawl across one of Jack's shoulders, because personal space isn't a concept he understands when somebody seems like they need a hug, and scratches Spot's head with a free hand. ]

If you have people important enough to you to miss, that is good enough reason to be happy, ne?

[handydecisions]

Yeah, but that don't matter when it was somebody you already knew.

Were you real close?

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[justanexpression]

[It's... strange. Definitely strange. He's not used to physical contact so much. The few people who could actually see and touch him generally weren't the touchy-feely sort to begin with, unless you count Tooth's obsession with his teeth, which he doesn't.

Akito's position makes the scattered pokemon readjust their positions, although the end up becoming interested in Akito's team before they can curl back up.]

Does that really count even if they're gone?

[justanexpression]

...I guess so, yeah. We were sort of on the same team back home. Family, almost.

I'm Jack, by the way. Jack Frost.

[video]

[justanexpression]

That's pretty much exactly what it's like with Bunny.

[Jack chuckles and pets Spot's chest, distracting her for the moment.]

Yeah, I did. Don't ask how, cause I don't know. I think naming her helped, somehow. Oh, and look...

[He picks the Meowth up gently, holding her to the camera.] I've got my own, now, you don't have to loan me yours anymore.

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[akito]

Where have they gone? Home? [ he lets out a small laugh ] That doesn't mean they're gone. They're still here where it counts. And you know that it's just good-bye for a little while, not good-bye forever.

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[justanexpression]

Only if I go home, too.

[And while that generally seems a pretty certain thing someday... he's not entirely sure he wants to, not anymore.]

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[akito]

Or if they come back. Which is entirely possible, if they've already been here before!

[ which makes him feel as though he likely won't run across anyone from his world here, but the thought doesn't bother him as deeply as it would have before. ]

Either way, you still care about them, and they still care about you, ne? And it's okay to miss the people you care about, but it's not okay to stay sad about it for very long!

[handydecisions]

I'm doubly sorry, then. Someone I know just left here a little bit ago - she was like family to me.

Jack F-- [8|]

I'm Lee. Lee Everett.

[voice]

[usedvicegrip]

...Dunno if I've known anyone long enough for that. Haven't been here that long, y'know?

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[justanexpression]

Do people actually come back? [He's never heard of that before. Not that he thinks Tooth or Bunny should come back, exactly. They'd both really not liked it here so much. If it's hard for him to be grounded, he can only imagine how much worse it was for Tooth.]

Okay, yeah, you're right. You win. Happy?

[justanexpression]

At least they were the kind of family I'd be happy only seeing at reunions? [He chuckles a little at his own joke, but it wasn't entirely false. Tooth was pushy but mostly okay, but he'd have been just fine only checking in with Bunny from a distance.]

[voice]

[justanexpression]

I haven't really, either, but I knew these two from back home, so it's kinda cheating, I think.

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[akito]

I don't see why they wouldn't, ne?

[ he still doesn't move, as he's comfortable enough where he is. he hasn't had a chance to hug someone since long before he woke up in New Bark. ]

Are you happy?

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[justanexpression]

[He rolls his eyes, but it's fond.]

Getting there. [He nudges at Akito.] Sit up and introduce me to your pack. Where'd you get so many?

[Maybe some of them could help cheer up Tooth and Bunny's teams, too.]

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[akito]

[ He sits up, scootching so that there is a respectable amount of space between them now, and claps his hands together once, excited, before calling his team over with a quick whistle. ]

This is A-T, she's my starting Pokémon. And then there's Mikura, we caught him our second day here as a Sentret! And this is Kushiro - I got him the same time I got Spitfire, our Litwick, and they hatched on the same day as well. Spitfire is with our eggs right now, keeping them warm so they hatch more quickly! Nessie and Hanako-chan are keeping him company - they're our Lapras and Petilil.

You've already met Regalia, ne? He's our Jolteon! Agito got him as an egg, since we kept arguing about what kind of evolution we liked best for an Eevee. And then this is Akira, he's our Riolu! And then you already know Shark- [ at the mention of his name, the Gible is quick to leap up and assault them both with enthusiastic licks, much like an excited puppy, to which Akito merely laughs and pushes him away with a firm hand. ]

Then there's Atmosphere! He evolved into Togetic recently. He's also a shiny Pokémon!

We hatched all of them except for Miku-Miku and A-T.

What about you? Introduce me to your friends!

[voice]

[usedvicegrip]

Huh! I haven't seen anyone from home yet!

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[justanexpression]

[He remembers A-T from the very first time he talked to Akito, and yes, he definitely remembers Shark, laughing even as he leans away to avoid the sliming.]

Sure, not that there's half as many. Uh, you know Spot.

[And now that Jack's feeling a bit better, she'll happily flutter over to Akito, grooming him cheerfully in greeting.

Meanwhile, Haroom the Togepi has managed to climb out of Jack's lap to look curiously at the Togetic. He's the wrong color!]

These guys were all Tooth's and Bunny's. I think it was only them, but if there were any others, they didn't show up here. That's... that's Haroom, there. And, um...

[He's still not good with their names, exactly, but he's doing his best.]

Rashmi, and this's Br'er and Tulane.

[voice]

[justanexpression]

Yeah, I guess it's different for some people than others.

Have you met any of the ponies yet? It sounds like half their world's here.

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[akito]

[ Akito settles in comfortably, scratching Spot's chest as she grooms him. Atmos returns the curious look he's receiving; hovers down closer to the earth-bound Togepi and lets out a chirp in greeting. ]

Ah, so Bunny left? I guess he won't be needing a business loan, then.

[ He turns his attention back to the Pokémon he's being introduced to. ] But it's good to meet you! Jack is a good person to be with until you are reunited with your first trainers.

[video]

[trickyoutwice]

Bunny? You know a guy named Bunny?

[And to find out later, once other matters like the new possession of just one of the cutest cats Niou's ever seen is settled, is that guy here so Niou can meet him for the sole purpose of making carrot jokes? But, of course, the matter of the cat comes first, and Niou leans in for a closer look at his Gear's screen, making an involuntary little cooing noise.]

Heh, so you do. Pretty cute, does yours have a name? Thing Ten really likes salmon.

[video]

[justanexpression]

[Unfortunately, Niou's a few days too late for carrot jokes. Which is a pity, because Jack totally would have helped him with those.]

Yeah, I know a guy named Bunny. Well, he was a guy here. Back home, he's a rabbit. E. Aster Bunnymund. He's one of the ones that went home.

[The Meowth blinks, paying more attention to her surroundings to paw at the screen. Cooing? Can she eat it?]

Her name's Rashmi. Don't ask me what it means, that'd be Tooth's idea, probably. I... I don't know what she likes yet. [But he's going to find out, for all of them.]

[handydecisions]

[Lee chuckles a little too.]

Still. No one else here you know, I take it? That you know from back home, that is.

[justanexpression]

Not from back home. [There were the weird, twisted memories of Pitch and Sandy from the weekend that the world sort of tried to go crazy, but those didn't mean much for who or what was actually around, did they?]

I've got plenty of people here to stick with now, though. The ones that went back'll be okay without me.

[video]

[trickyoutwice]

[A tragically missed opportunity. Then again, there's always new opportunities to be made for two enterprising young lovers of fun at others' expenses. Right now, though, there's something a little more of urgent interest.]

—he was seriously a rabbit back home?

[Niou has the sneaking suspicion this is payback for the little prank he pulled on Jack last time, but Jack seems so sincere about it.]