The Sound Of Approaching Feet--

[thalassino]

And then, suddenly--

The elevator was open, lights in the Station Master's house warm and inviting. Suddenly there he was, grinning once more, offering rides once again. He says nothing of the situation, nothing except, with a grin-- "The rain is gone."

That means it's safe to go up.

The ride up is silent, swift, but once up--

SilenceIt is

Comments

N | 0103201028 | Open

[singularjustice]

[ Whistle once. Whistle twice. A trill of birdsong coming from a boy's lips...and then silence.

They have left him. His closest friends. No birds, no animals, nothing that slithers or flies, nothing to keep him from being lonely.

If someone stumbles across N, they will find him by himself, wandering aimlessly as he looks for signs of life amongst the fog. ]

[lunateclock]

[Stumbles across is right. Minato is traveling with Yukari, looking around, hands for once not in his pockets, as he holds a sword.

....And a whistle.

He glances at Yukari.]

...Did you hear that?

[garudyneinstyle]

...

[Yukari is ready to shake her head. She tries to stay close to him, with the fog, and--

The second whistle.

She blinks once, and looks ahead of her, catching a glimpse of green hair against white.]

It looks like...

[...N?]

[singularjustice]

[ Voices? Not those of Pokemon or animals, but people.

Familiar voices. N freezes as he spots them. ]

Minato. Yukari.

[ Friends? Were they really that? He wanted them, wanted to go to them, but fear twisted in the back of his mind. ]

[lunateclock]

[The reaction is strange. Minato pauses as well, but hesitating is not like him, and so after a moment he steps forward regardless, something telling him to be slow and gentle with N.]

Yes. We're here--I'm so glad you're okay.

[garudyneinstyle]

Yeah...me, too.

[Yukari agrees, stepping forward as well. She is studying him closely, sensing already that something seems off. This is...

Strange.]

Where have you been? We've been really worried...

[singularjustice]

I'm not okay.

[ Tears suddenly prick his eyes, though anger and sadness war with each other for dominance. ]

Can't you hear it? There's nothing, nothing around us. All their voices have been silenced.

[ By who? Was it people? His human friends? He was supposed to trust them, but if they did this, if he had been wrong to trust them-- ]

W-we have to get out of here. I can't stay here --

[lunateclock]

[.........he simply nods grimly. Alright. He can accept that, and it's not like there's time to delay.]

Alright. Let's go then. Let's get you out of here.

[garudyneinstyle]

[The tears startle her, but--following Minato's lead, she nods as well.]

...Yeah. Back to the city. C-Come on, we shouldn't stay here--

This fog is really creeping me out...

[singularjustice]

C-come on!

[ Good. He has his friends. That's what he wanted, right?

But he does not step towards the elevator. Instead, he starts to lead them away from it. ]

[lunateclock]

[..............Minato pauses. And then he reaches out to grab N's hand.]

No--this way, N.

[garudyneinstyle]

...

[Away from the fog, N. Yukari gestures back towards the elevator that would lead down to the city, when Minato grabs his hand.]

Your Pokemon are waiting for you.

[singularjustice]

No, no, that's wrong.

[ N grasps Minato's hand tightly, but pulls him the opposite direction. ]

We need to go this way.

[lunateclock]

[He wasn't expecting the tightening of his grip or the sudden pull in the other direction, so Minato stumbles before regaining his balance.]

...N?

[garudyneinstyle]

What are you doing?

[Yukari casts him a sharp look when she notices how N protests, pulling him in the other direction...something isn't right about the way he's acting.

Though they've long noticed that, perhaps...]

[singularjustice]

We need to go this way. Come on, we should hurry--