genessia | [Action in Nova & Genessia] Easter Romp

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[Action in Nova & Genessia] Easter Romp

[What more can a young girl ask for than a day that was full of bunnies, and she loves bunnies. So, can you really expect her to not plan to have a meaningful day with her own pet bunny rabbit? Or blame her for dressing for the occasion?

Among her Pokémon, Sylveon was ready to play. It had its own little Easter egg basket and it was hopping around outside the apartment, waiting for Anastasia. And here she was dressed up in a pink and white two piece ensemble with fluffy tail and bunny ears headband, ready with her own basket which her pet bunny was riding in to join her Sylveon and...

Where did all these colorful eggs come from? There were so many eggs that most of them weren't even trying to hide. Anastasia's Sylveon pranced around, only picking up eggs that had pink or white on them.

Anastasia followed the eggs around Nova, but with her Sylveon acting largely on its own, Anastasia wandered as far as Genessia. ]

Are you comfy, Patter? [She lifted her basket to look at her bunny.] I hope you are, because Genessia is playing one of its pranks again.

[Then she wasn't paying attention and bumped into someone... Thankfully she was going slow, so it wasn't a hard collision.

Though, her bunny band fell off her head.]

Oh, I'm sorry... Excuse me.

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[Soma had been having a pretty decent day. He wasn't especially thirsty, he wasn't hungry at all, and the light of the sun was keeping his darker nature at bay well enough that his senses weren't going wild searching for 'prey'. And then... he found an egg. It wasn't even terribly well hidden, just... kind of sitting there, near the sidewalk, in a 'nest' of colorful shredded plastic. It was obviously meant to be found - anything colored that gaudily is meant to be seen.

When he touched it, though... things changed. The world was brighter. The grass was greener. The sun... the sun was hotter, and it burned his bare skin wherever it showed. The white-haired youth - surely no more than ten years old, and sickly to boot - cried out and dove for the shade, not noticing as he did the girl in the bunny costume. For a brief instant, he recognized her - but even as he opened his mouth, the memory of her name fled his mind, as did all his memories of Genessia, and the Castle, and anything at all to do with vampires and monsters. Quickly, he bundled the over-large coat around his shoulders, slinking back into the shade of the tree, as close to the trunk as he could get. Very nearly hiding from a twelve year old girl in a bunny costume. Yes. Clearly this was the hero she had come to know.]

[Anastasia saw this boy run and hide, but it was her Sylveon who was already there to investigate.

The Fairy-type sniffed the hiding boy before setting down its basket and used it's ribbon feelers to lift the jacket and greet the boy with a cutie-fang filled smile.]

Syl-vie-on~ [Spoken in a sing-song "I see you~" tone.]

Sylvia, is everything...?

Oh... Hello. Are you okay?

[Having his coat-fortress lifted away by tentacles attached to a face full of teeth was occasion for the child to shriek and backpedal away, clutching the coat as he went. Unfortunately, this sent him back out into the scorching light - and even as the girl and her monster watched, they could see his skin start to redden wherever the light hit it. Give it a little longer and there will be blisters. He scrambles back into the shade, but only just, maintaining all the distance he can from the tentacled beast. Sorry, Sylveon - your cute just isn't enough to overcome the stark terror of the revelation that monsters exist.

And Ana, sorry, but that question is going unanswered for the moment.]

[Leave it to a kind-hearted Princess wearing bunny ears to not leave someone in distress alone. Especially if it's a child younger than her.

She puts her basket down and carefully approach and lift the jacket herself.]

Hi there... It's going to be all right. Sylveon and I aren't going to hurt you.

[If the boy will just trust her enough, she will be able to see what the sun did to him.]

[Slowly, gradually, a familiar gray eye under equally familiar white hair will peak out from the very familiar coat. But they're all attached to a child two years Anya's apparent junior, one who has some pretty serious burns going on his hands and face. He might be crying a bit. Don't mind the tears. He's just terrified, that's all.]

[Soma?

No, it couldn't be. There's no way Soma's gaming avatar came out of Holodeck'd. But seeing those burns, she had just the idea.]

There we go. See? I'm not scary.

[She's cute, even. Right? She takes off her bunny band and then removes a ruby-encrusted circlet.]

The sun did that to you, yes? The sun and I don't get along either. But... You can use this. It will protect you from all forms of heat.

[She extends the circlet out to put it on the boy's head.

The temperature is fine for her, but just barely. If she goes too long without proper protection, the warmth from the sunlight with eventually wear her down and make her sick.]

[Cute, hideous, nice, mean, it never mattered. When people got around him, they changed. All their worst qualities were amplified. So... why wasn't that happening now? And why was she trying to put something on his head? Something that looked... well, now that he could see it, it looked like some kind of crown. All gold and red and sparkly. Once she's placed it, he reaches up gingerly to touch it. It feels... solid. Real. Heavy. Maybe it really is gold? But why would someone her age have something like that?

Still. She had told him it would protect him from the sun. He sticks a hand out, experimentally. Holds it there a few seconds. And the same reddening happens again; he jerks his hand back and takes the circlet off, scowling at it as if it has offended him - or, more to the point, failed him.]

It won't help. Heat isn't the problem. I'm allergic to the light.

[She quickly takes the circlet back, afraid he might throw it at her, or where she won't be able to reach it.

So it's the sun, not the heat? This amplifies the complexity of the situation. The worst the sun does to her is make her sick and hurt her sensetive eyes.]

That complicates things... I heard Pokémon can change the weather, but I don't know how... But you shouldn't stay here either...

[But then, she had a thought... What if she called on her Goddesses for help? Only theoretical as she is under the impression the Goddesses made her into a weapon, not anything like a holy acolyte.

Still, she'll wait to hear if the boy had any prior intentions.]

[He's going to give her a very odd look right now.] 'Pokemon'? Change the weather? Hakuba-ojiisan can read the weather, but he never said anything about changing it. And what's a 'pokemon'?

[He glances at Sylveon again.] Are they all... like that?

[She does have a point though - he can't stay here. Hakuba will be looking for him! And Mina, kami forbid. Mina will have his hide if he comes home all burnt up again.]

Pokémon are amazing creatures. It would take too long to explain them.

Can you walk? I can walk you home if you know where you live.

I... don't think home is near here. This doesn't look like any part of Hokkaido I've been in...

[He may be shrinking back into that coat. Unfamiliar places, unfamiliar people, monsters, and a girl who believes in magic. So very much weird for one poor, normal boy to come to terms with in way too little time.]

[How can she not believe in magic? She is magic. But these names, they are too similar to be coincidence. It can't be, can it?]

...What is your name?

...Soma. Soma Cruz. [He almost gives it in the Japanese order, and pronunciation. But something about this girl tells him she wants the Western ordering. She definitely doesn't look or sound Japanese, after all.] What's yours?

[Nope. She actually sounds just a little bit French. But Japanese influence is starting to wiggle its way in.]

Soma?! But how... I last saw you just the other day, you were several years older than me.

You really don't remember me? I'm Anastasia, Anya.

[She's... seen him before? Older? How can that be? He's certainly never seen her before, much less this place.]

An...ya? [A curious headtilt. The name feels familiar to his tongue, but... his mind draws a complete blank.] I feel like I should know that name, but... it's just not there. What's happened to me?

[Okay, she knows exactly what this is now.]

I am almost certain this is another one of Genessia's pranks... They're not frequent and only last a few days. Exactly how long, I can't say...

[It's a good thing that coat isn't any deeper, or he'd be lost to sight completely.]

A prank? What kind of person thinks it's a prank to kidnap someone? If I'm gone for that long, Hakuba-ojiisan is going to murder me, if Mina doesn't get to me first.

You don't have to worry... Time flows differently here. Time essentially paused there.

[But she has no proof.]

Genessia pranks everyone. I probably will be affected at some point in the next few hours or days.

But... but this doesn't make any sense! Monsters, fine, I can buy that. I've always kind of believed in them. Magic, I can even buy that - Hakuba-ojiisan has done some strange things that I've seen, when he thought I wasn't watching. But stopping time?

[Bitty is kind of distressed.]

[And what better for a Princess to do but make it worse. She's not a Disney princess after all, but a logical one.]

I know I have no proof or any possible way to prove it, but for the most part... we have no choice but to take it. I'm a Princess, and I would rather be home, being groomed for ascension to lead my Kingdom. And yet, here I am. I have no choice but accept it as everyone else does. We can search for, what could be in vain, a way home, but until then, we have to continue on.

Moving forward is better than staying still...

[And now, just a glimpse of that fortitude she's come to know from him - and the compassion, too. He pokes his head just barely out of the coat, looking at her... just a little strangely.]

How long... have you been here? I mean, if I'm going to have to stay here, I need to know just how long that could be.

[How long...? She idly looked at her hand. First her palm, then the other side.]

How long... It varies. Some are here for hours, others days. Months, even... I was here nearing three years now. It probably doesn't matter, but I have not aged a day since I got here.

[Days... months... maybe even years?! And this girl has been here three years already. That inkling of pity has just surged into a great big swell of it.]

You... must miss your parents a lot, huh?

Quite honestly, I...

[She doesn't even have a home to go back to. Invaders and conquerors came and took it all away from her. As much as she wants to cry, she can't.]

I do. I miss them very much...

I wish... I wish I could go back to mine. But they aren't going to be there. I lost them... five years ago. I still don't know exactly what happened to them; Hakuba-ojiisan came to my house, and took me home with him. Told me they weren't going to be coming back, that something had happened to them, and that I was to stay with him now. Mom and dad had told me it might happen - that he might come and pick me up. But I never thought it would. Dad was strong. Really strong. If he was there... there wasn't anything that could hurt them. That's what I thought.

[He looks away, not wanting to let her see the tears. Betrayed by a world that couldn't bear someone different. He never did find out what happened - that Graham's cult had arranged an 'accident' in an attempt to remove the potential competition his father presented, never suspecting that they should have aimed for the son.]

[Something about Soma she never knew. Though, she wasn't going to linger on it. It won't help either of them.]

You can be strong to, you know. Just like your father. Boys usually are. Don't you want to show me how strong you are?

[In the next year or so, Hakuba the elder will end up sealing his memories of the event, to prevent him from falling further down the path of darkness. Soma the elder doesn't even know this story; when Grandpa Hakuba sets a seal, he doesn't fool around.

With her assertion that he can be strong, he almost laughs. Almost.]

Sure, give me a sword and I can beat people twice as big as I am. But no one will teach me how to use one; they tell me I'm not listening to them, when I do what looks like the obvious thing. What good is that going to do me, in a world where I can't even go outside without getting burned?

Normally when people judge you unfairly, you prove them wrong. And you overcome whatever obstacle may stand before you.

[Perhaps her judgment was mistaken. There's only so much she can do to convince him. Maybe she said all she can, and can only let Soma make his choice now.]

How can I 'prove them wrong' when their first reaction is usually to hit me? All I can do is avoid them - when they don't seek me out themselves.

[It isn't just people, either. About the only animal he's found that isn't instinctively wary of him is a cat. Not all cats. *A* cat.]

I don't know how life was for you at home, Princess, but mine was... bad. All I can do is run and hide, and hope they don't find me, because if I fight back, they get mean.

By doing something and becoming someone no one wants to hit. Preferably, someone respectable. Someone so well-meaning that it makes them feel bad for ever wanting to hurt you.

And if you must know, my country was conquered. Hakuba gave you a home. Mine was taken away. And still, I move forward, doing what I can to try to take it back.

The choice is up to you if you want to stay and get hit, or become someone who makes changes.

Oh... I'm sorry... [And he genuinely is. After all, he knows what usually happens to the heads of state after a nation is taken over. ...How does he know that? Too much going on for him to search his memories for where he picked up that fact.]

I'd like to be someone who changes things. I just... don't know if I'll ever have the chance. Especially if I'm stuck here...

The Soma I know, the one you will become, gave me this magic circlet. My people can get sick and die if temperatures are high enough, and this circlet makes it possible for me to go outside in the summer time.

You can change things, even if it's just one life at a time.

I... gave you that?

[Now he's REALLY confused.]

But... how did I even GET something like that?

It doesn't matter how or when. All that matters is your other self cares about me enough to do it.

[He changed something. He was able to help someone. No matter how it was accomplished, the knowledge that he had improved someone's life... even if it was sometime far off in the future, or however the hell time works in situations like this, it was something. He smiles, just a tiny one.]

You remind me of Mina. Maybe that's why.

Maybe...

[She ultimately still knows very little about Mina.]

But now you know. You can be strong in some way.

It's good to know that, at least. ...Doesn't help me burning in the sun, though. Is there anywhere near here I can get inside?

[Anya might remember the tea house he took her to before. Since that's where he ends up. His stomach will speak up now with a rather pronounced growl.]

...Preferably someplace I can get something to eat.

Oof-!

[Sayaka staggered back a little but looked down at the girl]

Heh, it's fine. [she spotted the band, bent down and handed it to the other] What's the hurry? Trying to get those eggs?

Umm, not necessarily...

[It was originally going to be the plan, but then she realized just how many of them were. She knew it wasn't normal. She politely takes back her bunny band and puts it back on her head.]

I was following my Pokémon, Sylveon. And talking to my bunny.

[She holds up her basket to show the other girl a little white rabbit. It was startled by when Anastasia bumped into her that it buried its face in the fake grass.]

Something about these eggs...doesn't seem right. Don't you think?

[Sayaka tilted her head at the bunny, then at the eggs, squinting]

Definitely. I wouldn't recommend getting those eggs anymore. Also have you always had that..rabbit and Sylveon?

[she was suspicious of those too!]

[The bad feeling she has about these eggs was enough for her to take her word for it. She only picked up a few when she first noticed them, but now she's taking them out of her basket.]

I've had Sylveon for a couple of years, and Patter here for a few months.

[Then it clicks... She begins to look around frantically for the Pokémon that wandered off. Why do her Pokémon wander off so much?]

Oh no! Sylvia has been collecting them more than I have! Where did she run off to...?

[Oh no..]

Quick, what does she look like? Let's look together, we can't let her collect any more-!

Um, she looks like a dog. Pink and white fur, big ears... She has feelers that look like ribbons on a bowtie and another bow on her ear.

[Sylveon looks cuter than the description.]

I think she went this way.

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[Action in Nova & Genessia] Easter Romp

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