it begins with a simple question, asked for the sake of filling in an awkward silence between a group of children with little in common and no personal connection to one another.
thorton, the oldest, takes her and lucyâs pause as an invitation to answer the question first. heâs all clear eyes and dressed up ambition, and he doesnât hesitate to describe his plans. âonce i finish school, iâm going to build a technological empire.â as he speaks, moon watches him with mild interest. he definitely has the intellect to achieve his dream, and she wonders if the next time she meets him, heâll be one of those high-flying CEOs, all starched suits and polished brilliance. he continues to ramble on about his desire to invent and innovate, until lucy interrupts him mid-sentence. âi plan on following my brotherâs footsteps and joining the international police,â she declares, arms crossed. while thorton is all cool intensity, lucy is bright hot determination. sheâs a little too pushy for moonâs tastes, but she recognizes the wide-eyed adoration that lucy holds for her older brother. lucyâs got high expectations for herself but has proven time and time again that sheâs capable of putting in the work to reach her goalsâ moon admires her drive, even if she doesnât appreciate the girlâs moodiness.
âand what about you, moon?â
three pairs of eyes turn to meet her own and moon is overwhelmed by a sudden wave of panic. standing in the presence of such big dreams makes her feel small, insignificant.
âuhhhâŠâ
sheâs only fourteen and people expect her to have her life together, planned out to a t. she knows she desperately wants to be someone, wants to make a name for herself, wants to leave behind a legacy to be proud ofâ itâs just the how that leaves her feeling helplessly lost.
sheâs not like hau, with his perpetual optimism and his constant drive to improve. sheâs not like lillie either, who still finds the strength to be warm and kind and forgive, despite all that sheâs suffered at the hands of her mother. in the beginning, she thought maybe she could find some camaraderie in gladion, but all those thoughts flew out the window the moment he ran into the fray at aether paradise to confront his demons head on.
theyâre expecting her to answer, to detail some equally enterprising goal, but moon comes up empty. she doesnât know where sheâs headed, is pretty sure that all sheâs accomplished at this point is the result of following other peopleâs adventures in lack of her own. she falters, considers weaving an elaborate lie about how she intends to become an architect or an astronaut or anything rather than saying i donât know.
lying is more trouble than its worth so in lieu of offering the truth, she deflects. âdo you ever wish that it was possible to push the fast-forward button and skip all the boring parts until you get to the part where youâve gotten everything figured out?â
thorton frowns at her and starts to explain why its logistically impossible for such a device to even exist, while lucy huffs and rolls her eyes as he rants.
theyâre both drunk. logically speaking, they should be having fun thanks to the help of the alcohol (just like everyone else present at this silly party, which serves as some sort of mixer for previous and current champions.) but theyâre both sprawled out on the ground in the field behind their hostâs house. cool blades of grass press into moonâs back and sheâs faintly aware of warmth that gold gives off, lying only an arms-length away from her.
âdo you know what a faller is?â
gold shakes his head no, and moon realizes that he likely hasnât spent enough time in alola to fully understand what sheâs going to say next. she says it anyway.
âtheyâre basically people whoâve passed through⊠wormholes. apparently they have a âstrange energyâ about them which attracts⊠certain pokemon.â here she stops, bites her lip, wonders if she should try to explain ultra wormholes and ultra beasts to someone who probably doesnât have the clearance to be privy to this information. âthe police have been quietly luring these pokemon in for capture by using fallers as bait.â
gold gives a low snort. âhardly sounds legal, but since when has that stopped anyone.â
her heart beats erratically in her chest, and her nerves feel out of place compared to the lulled breathing of her companion. she swallows before opening her mouth again.
âthereâs reports of fallers dying when pulled into confrontation. the deaths are covered up, but seeing as so few fallers even exist, thereâs no way its a coincidence.â
sheâs silent for a long moment, can sense the gears turning in his head as he connects the dots. gold may play the role of jokester, but heâs not stupid.
âthey-â she pauses, trying to keep her voice steady, before starting again. âthey want me back in alola tomorrow.â
âiâm scared.â she admits to the silence. sheâs spent the last four hours in the company of some of this generationâs greatest trainers, all of whom have risked their life in one way or another for the greater good of their region or the world. each and every one of them have come face-to-face with death and part of her feels incompetent for being unable to do the same.
normally she wouldnât be this forthcoming, especially to one of those very trainers, but she knows that goldâs so far gone that he likely wonât remember this conversationâ and even if he does, she doubts that heâd care enough to share her confession with other people.
she sits up suddenly, ignoring a small wave of dizziness, waiting for it to pass in a moment. âiâm trying to be brave âcause when iâm brave, other people feel brave but i feel like my heart is caving in.â this part comes out as a rush and she doesnât stop for a breath before continuing. âi canât tell them no. but iâm scared to die.â
gold stares at her, opens his mouth and closes it. he looks taken aback. this likely isnât where he expected this conversation to go when he joined her outside.
âmoon?â
all of a sudden she regrets opening her mouth, regrets oversharing, regrets spilling her secrets to a person she admires, a person who she barely knows and has only previously had three or four conversations with. this isnât his problem and this isnât her place.
moon makes herself smile. she has to be brave for a little longer, long enough that she can hold her ground to protect everything she loves.
âits okay,â she says. maybe it isnât.
but she knows what she has to do.
she gets up, taps at her phone screen and orders an uber to take her to her hotel room. she has to catch a ferry in the morning and she should get as much sleep as she can.
âmoon.â she looks up from her phone and watches as an uncharacteristically somber expression crosses goldâs face. heâs never seemed as serious as he does now. âyou know, you canât save everyone.â
moon hadn't planned on saying anything, was perfectly content with keeping her mouth shut and focusing on reading her book, mimikyu playing in the sand a few feet away from where she was lounging on the shore.
she really hadn't planned on saying anythingâ but as she watched a petite brunette in a red swimsuit wipe out on her surfboard for the what must have been the eighteenth time, moon decided enough was enough.
the girl in question was still sputtering and hacking up salt water when moon approached, her book temporarily discarded in favor of more pressing matters.
she uses her sunglasses to push her bangs out of her face as she wades into the shallow water, before offering the girl a hand to her feet.Â
âyâknow, iâve been watching for a couple of minutes,â (and here moon wonders if this is going to come off as a little weird) âiâm a pretty experienced surfer and i thought i could offer some tips.â she offers a crooked grin, before realizing that thereâs a chance that the girl may take offense â âif you want, of course.â she adds hastily.
âso, are you one of nanuâs boys?âÂ
moonâs tone is friendly enough, but her words are slightly invasive (as is the way sheâs standing just close enough to show the bare minimum of respect for personal space.) the tall blond had caught her attention the moment she spotted him â based off the way he held himself, as well as how his hand kept hovering by his hip â she quickly assumed he mustâve been an officer of some sort. with her interest peaked, she saw no reason to not approach the stranger, especially considering he was garnering plenty of wary glances from townspeople â moonâs not the only person who can spot a cop, after all, and the blondâs presence is putting everyone ill at ease.
âwhat business do you have with po town?â
kenna here back at it again!!!! diff muse, i used to write sabrina / @saffronist but im trying my hand at something different, iâll probably bring sabs back in a couple months when i have more time on my hands -- anyway ya know the deal!!
like for starter (cap around 3) + feel free to mssg me to plot or just talk whtever
If being wrongâs a crime, Iâm serving forever
If being strongâs your kind, then I need help here with this feather
If being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side
At the swinginâ party down the line
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