for outbounds

[offtracks]

[ In the end, Ingo's return to his home station doesn't come down to any action of his own at all.

Akari's the one who offers the trip. She doesn't make any promises, but after the work she has put in for the almighty Sinnoh, she insists that it owes her a favor. Ingo spends a few days contemplating it, sitting quietly in his favorite spots on the mountain. Can he really leave? Whatever else he may be missing, he has built a good life here in Hisui. He is happy, most of the time. He could stay, and know exactly what his future tracks look like, and there wouldn't be any problem with that.

But...even after all this time, he still can't quite ignore the gnawing ache in his chest. How much would he regret passing up this offer? Would it not just poison anything he might build here? He has to know. Maybe he'll regret leaving Hisui behind in the end, but at least he'll know.

So he spends some time making his goodbyes. He officially steps down as Warden, and accepts one of Lady Sneasler's elder kittens as a passenger. He bids farewell to the Clan. They let him keep his bracelet, and his tunic - keepsakes, for a one-way trip. The whole time, he cannot help but question himself - is this really right? He's abandoning people that he knows care for him, to return to a complete unknown. Is that selfish of him?

Maybe. Maybe it is. But he still cannot waste the chance. And, suppressing any lingering conflict in his heart, he does.

The flash of light separates him from Akari. He had expected that; though they've agreed to try and find one another again, they did not come from the same home station. Wherever he came from, it is dark and silent. Ingo recognizes the feeling of the cool air on his skin: he's underground. Some sort of tunnel? It's hard to say from here which way is out. So he just starts walking. He hadn't been dressed for travel back then, so how far away from civilization can he really be?

After a little while, something bright and roaring barrels through the tunnel. Ingo hears it coming; he backs away from the tracks and presses himself against the wall, watching the thing pass by with wide eyes. There are people inside. Some seem to be looking back at him.

He keeps closer to the shadows and moves more cautiously after that. Scary... ]

Comments

[offtracks]

[ Ingo's first instinct is that wandering into Emmet's room would be simply disrespectful! It's...also quite standoffish to decline an offer to share space, though. But so soon after meeting...! He ends up saying nothing at all. ]

Have you been traveling?

[ Ingo peers down at the spider, while Gliscor chirps back. ]

[outbounds]

More just busy ... it is fine, it will pass.

[ In other words he's been leaving early and staying late and spending Minimal time at home.

Another chitter in response to the chirp. A lot of new faces...? But oh! Also, the return of...

Galvantula sort of, kind of, lifts her thorax and front legs a little bit? Up? ]

[offtracks]

[ What will pass? Oh, but the gesture is clear enough. Ingo stoops down to carefully offer Galvantula uppies. ]

Ah, well, I am sorry if I put you further off-schedule!

[ He knows that's not exactly something to apologize for, he's just...not sure what to say. His arrival will almost certainly make a great deal more work! ]

[outbounds]

[ Emmet glances over, expression an odd mix of wistful and fond as he pauses in the middle of tidying up the room and notices not Nutmeg, but her mother clambering up and taking Ingo's offered uppies. ]

... Ingo. You do not have to apologize for that. I am Emmet and I would deal with endless amounts of busywork if it meant that you were— if it means that you are—

[ His fingers flex a little, his grip on the edge of the blanket he's holding tightening and relaxing again in repetitive little motions as his sentence breaks off with a shudder. Ah, not now. The way Ingo has been conducting himself, it is clear that this is awkward and strange enough for him already without having to deal with Emmet's mess on top of that. He should not be adding to his troubles. So! So.

He mouths the words first, trying them out before straightening his posture and glancing back over. ]

... sorry about that. Where were we?

[offtracks]

[ Ingo's mostly focused on properly handling this unfamiliar Pokemon, but he does look over when Emmet cuts himself off.

Of course it's a lot. Too much, probably. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing; good things can be overwhelming too! Ingo may well feel that way later, if he can stop himself from feeling lost and ill-at-ease. But that's his own problem. He should...see if he can pull the brakes a bit for Emmet. ]

...who is this?

[ The spider, that is! ]

[outbounds]

That is, ah— Galvantula. [ he says, with a slight catch as he substitutes the species name for a personal one. ] One of them. She does not battle with me much anymore; tends to stay home and tend to Joltik or eggs if there are any.

[ Galvantula's pedipalps wiggle a little bit as she dangles in Ingo's hold. That's her! No Joltik follow her out from underneath the bed, but who's to say if there's any around or not. ]

[offtracks]

[ Ingo notices the catch, but it seems natural. It's typically considered most polite to use the common name when introducing a Pokemon, at least in Hisui. Family names aren't just handed out to any passing stranger! ]

Do you often have eggs?

[ He's surprised - that's highly unusual by Hisuian standards! Only Wardens have any regular experience, so far as he knows, and even then not all of them. ]

[outbounds]

Often ... enough? It is not all the time, but I am a Joltik breeder.

[ And these Joltik make excellent starters for anyone who might deserve them, thank you very much.

Nevermind the ones he has just hanging around. ]

[offtracks]

Ah! I have a Sneasel egg.

[ A point of commonality! That feels encouraging! ]

[outbounds]

You brought it with you?

[ So that means it's from Hisui, right? An ancient Sneasel egg! Wonder of it means it might learn things the modern ones don't; it's always interesting to see how the same species differs across places and times— apparently Galvantula in some other regions can't get Cross Poison, for example, and some of them do get Camouflage!

(He has no idea.) ]

[offtracks]

Mmm, yes. Lady Sneasler gave it to me when I was set for departure.

[ Of course it's sad to think about her. Even more so now that Ingo knows she's certainly dead. But it's...fine. He made his decision, and now he has to stand by it, that's all. ]

[outbounds]

Sneas...ler?

Not Weavile?

[


oh this is going to be a very different Sneasel, isn't it. ]

[offtracks]

No, those are only in the south.

[ And...here, apparently? ]

[outbounds]

Huh.

[ Huuuuuh. ]

I see. Then this will be a verrrrry special Sneasel.

[offtracks]

How interesting! Johtonian Sneasel are the unusual ones back - in Hisui.

[ He doesn't stumble that noticeably, he...thinks. He knew when he left that Hisui was no longer to be his home. But it's not even been a full day; he can't just make such a clean and effortless break as that. ]

[outbounds]

[ He notes the stumble; will not address it or bring it up unless something else makes him. ]

Is that right? I know parts of Sinnoh stay cold all year long. Feels like the snow would be a perfect place for them.

[offtracks]

They've certainly been settling in well enough.

[ As to why Hisuian Sneasel ended up the way that they are...well, Ingo really couldn't say. ]

Why do you call it Sinnoh? The region? When did that begin?

[outbounds]

It is what they call it now. Mmm... I am not sure exactly when it stopped being 'Hisui' and started being 'Sinnoh.' Some time after more people started living there, I think? But I am not a historian. Museums, Lenora, textbooks would know more specifically.

[ Or they could just look it up online, but maybe they'll ease back into technology a bit more slowly after how lost he'd seemed with the tablet earlier. ]

[offtracks]

Sinnoh is the name of the creator, not the land.

[ So it's sort of a strange shift...but, well, neither of them knows anything about it. No sense asking more questions. He's not even...entirely sure he wants to see any history textbooks. ]