Audio;

[truthdecided]

Ren is in the clinic.

[Akechi's words are blunt, monotone, and he tries desperately to not any ripples of worry or distress slip through his thoughts.

Still, those focusing closely may still feel it. A tingling feeling like ants skittering across one's brain.]

I will be doing what I can to care for him. Obviously, I'm not clinic staff, but I owe him as much.

[Something like irritation starts to flare, but it fizzles out fast.]

I told him not to overdo it. Now he's going to fall even further behind.

Comments

[dripdrive]

[Oh! It's his lover! Now Anasui definitely will let him in. Anasui already respects determined people but he relates so strongly to people devoted to someone they romantically love!]

Hmph. Could be random. Could be what Pokemon you are. Could be a reflection of your need to atone. It's hard to say. [Anasui's response is calm, very unlike some of his thoughts.] Regardless, you have it, and it'll probably be useful for recovery purposes.

Understood. It'll be open to you as long as Ren is in the hospital.

[truthdecided]

All I know is that it began when the nightmares subsided, at roughly the same time Ren's aches and pains took hold.

[He pauses momentarily, watching Ren in his sleep. Just to be safe, he shuffles closer.]

There must be a reason he's been plagued by pain, while I sleep so effortlessly. It's abnormal.

[dripdrive]

That sounds like something Ren should have gotten checked and treated ages ago.

[But anyway...]

Bizarre things happen all the time. It may be abnormal but that doesn't mean there's a cause. ... But did you guys do anything differently around that time when it manifested?

[truthdecided]

Ren is rather stubborn about his own self-care.

[He hums, folding his wings over his chest.]

But as for our behavior, I did notice my nightmares subsided after I spoke to Ren about some of my reservations. Ren, on the other hand, refused to discuss his nightmares.

[dripdrive]

... Well, if anything, Ren is going to learn that if you don't self-care, then others will be forced to care for you. And judging by the little I know of Ren, he'll probably hate that more.

[He's a damned protagonist if he's ever seen one.]

Hmm... And now it's easier for people to be relaxed around you. While Ren is still plagued with such a thing... Seems related to me, though how or why, I have no idea.

[truthdecided]

He likely will.

[Heh. That even got a little laughter from Akechi. Well played, Anasui.]

Though, yes. I have a sneaking suspicion that the two are related. I may have to put out an inquiry among our number to see how many have noticed changes in their sleep since the nightmares ceased.

[dripdrive]

Mmm... make sure to note when they arrived too. My sleep is regular when I'm not by Emporio and I suspect anyone not around during those nightmares won't have that power either.

[truthdecided]

Agreed. The phenomenon subsided by the time the second wave of arrivals appeared, which begs the question of why it was only us affected to begin with.

[dripdrive]

[Anasui mentally raises his hand up, as if to say 'hey, I'm one of those arrivals in the second wave'.]

The fog has been receding strangely. Maybe it's something involving that... Or it's random. Who can say?

[truthdecided]

Quite a few strange phenomena have occurred over the past several months.

[Images flicker in succession. An Orthworm defending a medicine lure as if it was its own child, a Persian deliriously fighting to defend a Purrloin it mistook for its own child... The Swoobat Swarm, the spreading fog, the rain and the memories it unveiled...

Then there's Zweilous, more recently.]

The fog, the forest spores, the general aggression among the wild Pokémon population... A great many mysteries remain, and though it's true that the fog has receded since the three large bounties joined Bottlecap Bay, that doesn't guarantee that it's over.

[dripdrive]

[Even though he's witnessed some of these events (the latter ones especially), it's fascinating to see it from another perspective. Anasui reviews the memories like someone studying footage. He gives a low hum as he mills his own thoughts over.]

More realistically, our problems are just beginning. Especially since we're going to start branching out of the forests soon. [Not that branching out is a bad thing. More, Anasui knows how a calm before a storm feels more than anyone else.]