[Voice / Potential Action]

[yallstupid]

[The sound of rushing waves is not something Guzma expected to hear as he slowly came into consciousness. For a moment, even through the haze of his still waking mind, he almost expects to have come home, back to Alola, but the blazing sun above, the hot sand at his back, and the cool lick of clear seawater at his feet tells him otherwise. It's too quiet to be anywhere in Alola... Tourist line the beaches even in the early hours - exercising, walking, enjoying the stunning views of the rising sun...

This is different.

Yet...familiar.

Rolling over to his side, Guzma picks himself up, and isn't at all surprised to find a backpack with his name etched into it. Haha...well now. Guess this place still had some need of him. He searches not the backpack, but first his pockets, and spits a curse all over again. Two...just two. Of course he wouldn't be lucky enough to keep the third, like in Havenwell. Not here. Nothing here ever comes easy. He'll see who was kept and who was left behind in due time, but he knows the weight of Golisopod's pokeball, it's always with him. His partner through thick and thin....inseparable through everything the multiverse throws at them. Hah.

He dusts the sand out of his hair and clothes, sighing as he shoulders the bag and picks out the familiar stone, giving it a tap with his finger before he clicks his tongue. What time is it? Who the hell knows? Guzma doesn't give a damn - he's been woken up by this thing time and time again, so it's high time he repaid the favor.]

Yo, yo, yo - it's ya boy. Guess me n' them islands not done our song and dance, yeah? Roll call, public of Enso - chime in what who's still living the ding dang dream.

[And as he walks, beelining for the mana pool to head to his old islet home (and evict anyone who may have taken up residence), he's keeping an eye out for...certain people.]

Comments

voice

[catpiper]

[She hadn't gone to sleep yet, or so she thought.

The heat's making it difficult to take an afternoon nap, no matter how much shade she manages to get under. It's hot. Super hot. But it always is, so she had been occupying herself with other things-harassing Pepper, for one. Picking up rocks, shoving the pillows to one side of the tent and other such nonsense when-

A sound comes from her bag and it's a voice she can pick up on no matter how many layers of fabric muffle the iStone's sound.

It's what makes her realize she has to be asleep. There's no way she's hearing this voice otherwise and she pinches her arm, her leg, and-

She can feel it. It hurts, but that doesn't mean much in a place like this. Believing that he's actually back, if she happens to be in a dream, is going to be painful when she wakes up, so for now-]

Bro?

[yallstupid]

[He stops walking.

He stops walking and simply stands, dumbstruck, in the middle of the jungle for a solid minute before he can find his voice once more. She's...here? She's back? Guzma was sure she had--...she was... She had gone, before him. He was sure of it. Shortly before he left, was brought not to the island region he actually calls home, but another world, a new world... Guzma knew she had left him, too.

He exhales a stiff breath that he didn't know he was holding, and every thought redirects itself to her voice. Please, don't let this be another trick. He wouldn't be able to able it this time around. He wouldn't be able to hold back if it wasn't her, and he'd utterly and totally lose himself to everything he hates about himself. Please...be real. Be her.

Be Ren.]

Where are you?

[catpiper]

[There's a powerful silence that follows as she tries to decide just how far she wants to go into this dream. It backfired horrifically months ago-her attempt to keep going back to memories of her family and relive those moments.

It feels like a risk now and something chokes her, as she opens her mouth to speak again. Her eyes feel hot and heavy and it's not because of the heat.]

Home. I'm home.

[And he's-]

Where are you? I'll find you-I won't stop looking until I do.

voice;

[mockiri]

[Oh! This guy! She knows this guy. Have an echo right back:]

Still living the ding dang dream.

[What a great new phrase he's just given her.]

[yallstupid]

[The heck? Did his voice just echo back at him? Guzma pauses, looking at his stone quizzically before giving it a thump his his hand, turning it over in his palm.]

The heck? Wait-- [Wasn't there like, a...kid? A little Murkrow looking kid. What was their name again? God, fuck, he doesn't remember. Guzma's good with faces, not names. Not unless he makes a key point to remember them.]

Uh...bird? Bird girl. Chatot??

[mockiri]

[Well... close. Kind of. She chirps anyway.]

I am Kiri!

voice

[eudaimonikos]

No clue who you are, but I'm here!

[Michael only met Guzma that one time when Guzma was like eight, he does not recognize his adult voice at all.]

[yallstupid]

[More like eleven or twelve, but who's really counting? Guzma sure wasn't, and reliving those godawful childhood days were terrible, though he can't quite pin the voice. Ah...how he misses the technological luxuries of Havenwell already. His tablet would be able to have a video function, easy, and he may actually know who this person is, at a glance.

Hence why, with no familiarity, his response is a bit clipped.]

Fantastic. Good to know, random citizen, thank you for participating in the annual island census.

[eudaimonikos]

You got it, random guy!

[hey, not like you introduced yourself at all either on this island-wide broadcast, buddy!]

text

[hyperlit]

back too??

[Why are so many people returning? They'd thought they'd lost you too, buddy!]

[yallstupid]

[Too? Are...are people returning? Why? For what purpose? Is something happening that needs people that were once here to come back? Guzma hums thoughtfully after a moment of quiet, and he chews his lip. This could be either good or bad, and judging by the island's track record...he's not placing any bets on it being good, really. Though what is there to do? Just grin and bear it, and wait for things to come as they may.]

Yeah, seems that way, don't it? You doing okay there, D?

[hyperlit]

[A long delay.]

[When they finally answer, it is a credit to how much things have changed since they first met Guzma that they are willing to say this much, even if it is...sparse:]

missed you

voice;

[philoxenia]

[ They've never met but, well... they have a thing in common. Er, sort of. Both returned fairly recently, even if it had been an entirely different her. ]

I'm certain we've never met, but welcome back.

[yallstupid]

[The chuckle that escapes his mouth his quiet, more like a hiss of air through his teeth. He can't say one way or the other if it's good to be back, but...at the least it's familiar. Some sort of unfinished business, probably, that brought him back here. Plus, it seems others are returning as well...]

Heh, yeah. Can't say y'all's voice is ringing any bells, but...hah. How long's it been? There still something what keeps track'a the date 'round here?

[philoxenia]

[ Ah, well... it's a relief that he didn't know her before. She lets out a sigh that's half-relieved, but quiet. ]

I believe so, yes. I hope it hasn't been too terribly long for you. I just arrived not too long ago, myself, so I'm still getting used to a lot of things around here...

voice;

[yakyuuman]

Yo yo yo, my boy! Welcome back!

[ A few seconds of dramatic silence. ]

... Yo yo yo, who are you tho?

[yallstupid]

[Boy, it sure is a good thing that the stones don’t have a video function, otherwise the sight of Jyushimatsu’s face (and who it reminds him of) may have set Guzma off enough to fling his stone so far out to sea it’d give that dang water dragon a black eye. The voice is unfamiliar, though not surprising. Guzma half expects everyone he’s really met to be long gone. Funny that he’s getting the welcome committee though... Never been one to be welcomed anywhere, this guy.]

Guzma. Probably never met, if you’re fairly new here, yeah? [Or they just never crossed paths. And that, perhaps, is a blessing in disguise.]

[yakyuuman]

[ Thankfully so, because the blissfully unaware hellspawn of a Matsu already likes this guy already. And the smile he gives the stone is wide, on the verge of creepy. Indeed, good thing videos don't exist here. ]

Yeah! I came here around... uh, some time ago! [ A bunch of months, he could safely say. Does anyone even hold a calendary here? ]

I'm Jyushimatsu! Not sure if welcoming you back is a good thing because this island is pretty shitty sometimes, but I guess you've got friends here!

[ Yeah, there's a -matsu in that name. Suspicious, but not that much, right? ]

voice

[lesbeau]

[That kind of voice is hard to ignore when it wakes you up, and it takes a moment for Beau to register where it's coming from before she sleepily echoes back.]

Who put you in charge of the census? Go yell at the librarians, not at us.

[yallstupid]

[Oh, he’s pretty sure he remembers this one. The name no so much, but the face and voice, absolutely. There’s no one spicier than this one on any of the islands in this world, except maybe himself. And it looks like his little declaration may have woken that hot pepper up from her beauty nap. He’s not exactly sure what time it is here, after all, his watch broke ages ago, and he tossed it. Never thought to get a new one in Havenwell, either – too expensive and frankly not worth it when the tablet told time itself.

...Not like he cares about waking anyone up after dawn. Ren wakes him up before the sun even rises most days, this is revenge for the island whole.]

Dang, still spicy, huh? What’s you name again? You’re the girl that could bench press a Steelix, right?

[lesbeau]

[Beauty nap sure is one word for things, unless you're Beau and sometimes you like to take beach naps in the afternoon.]

The hell's a Steelix?

[So yeah, he's probably right. She squints at the screen, trying to place the voice with the name it should give her. A few beats later, she responds--]

Oh wait, you're pizza guy. Shit. How long were you gone?

voice

[demonpuppy]

Uh. I'm here?

[They don't know him all that well, but...he did ask for everyone? They think?]

[yallstupid]

[Oh...huh. The name rings a bell, sort of, but not well. Guzma hums thoughtfully as he his head tilts from side to side as he walks closer to the temple, feet crunching on twigs and brush as he moves along through the jungle. Hm...maybe he should pick up some spare clothes, see if that huge pit is still there with anything decent in it. Heck knows his stuff's probably gone...]

Uh...which one are you again? [There's too many dang kids in this place.]

[vagabone]

I'm still here. [Unfortunately. Tired old bones, not all in one piece, ready to go home any second now. Same old story.]

Welcome back to the world's worst island vacation, hah.

[yallstupid]

Hah. [Guzma’s laugh is short and dry. Nice joke, but he can do one better. He’s not too familiar with Hector, and the voice doesn’t ring too many bells, but nonetheless, a welcome back. It feels weirdly bittersweet, to be welcome to a place that was never supposed to be called “home”. Yet...he has some pretty fond memories of this place, despite everything.]

It’s no Alolan getaway, huh?