What should she do with her life?
Myna was at odds for the answer. She'd been trecking around behind the strange procession of her uncle, who seemed to be adopting children (metaphorically) left and right, Lilly, and Hau. Was it her imagination or did Lilly blush every time Hau spoke to her?
She was doing quick sketches of everything she saw, incredibly glad she'd learned the skill years before. Hau was continuing on through his challenge, and a week had passed. She'd made more friends with the pokemon living in Hau'oli, said thank you a few times, though words still felt weird, She'd even given Hau a tiny 'hi' when he ran up to her this morning.
There was something about the kid that just made her want to talk… they were making their way into panaolia town, when Professor Kukui stopped. He looked around a bit with a thoughtful look on his face. Then his eyes lit up, having seemingly found what he was looking for. "lunch first! Yeah?" he looked to the kids for their imputs.
Lilly frowned murmering that she had no money, Hau jumped up and down next to her though, yelling something about malasada, 50% of Hau was pokemon, 50% malasada, and 100% energy.
Myna realized she hadn't given her answer, so she nodded.
There werer peanuts on the floor. In bowls on the table. It was dusty, but somehow still clean… everything was almost like Unova rustic.. it was a vry pretty place, but not for a sketchbook, for a background in something one day. She took out her cell and started tking photos. A young man dressed like a milkcowboy led them to a small circular table and handed each of them cheap paper menues.
After he'd left, Kukui looked to Hau, "ya ready to make the treck up Wela?"
Hau nodded, "yeah, but how come people aren't allowed to go with the challenger?"
That was news to Myna… she glanced at Kukui who didn't notice.
"the treck to the volcano is simple enough, but up?" Kukui laughed, "even the researchers that go up to study need a good strong pokemon."
Hau nodded, looking no less enthusiastic about his coming trip.
"that beign said, the journey up takes two days if you go the challenger way."
"is there another way professor?" lilly looked interested, and Kukui nodded,
"yes there's a tunnel about halfway up made for natives and researchers to use to get to the top quickly."
Lilly nodded thoughtfully, but other then opening up her menu, didn't draw any more attention to herself.
"So, that's why I told all of you to bring a few changes of clothes, I have a friend here who owns the town inn, we'll be here aabout three day, maybe a fourth before heading back to Melemele for Myna's appointment." He looked at each of the kids, "all good, yeah?' they all nodded.
"all redy to order?' a young woman dressed like a country girl stood with a smile and a notepad. Everyone looked a ther surprised and sheepishly, except Lilly who smiled and nodded.
oOo
they had eaten and arrived at the inn, Kukui had given Hau his dirrections, and the kid took of with a smile, a wave, and a "see you guys soon!" Lilly had forgotten herself in her excitement and dragged Myna through the inn, gushing about how cute and pretty it was while Kukui signed them into two rooms, one for the girls and one for himself because Hau would be camping. Lilly had managed to find a plaquard that explained the inn's history and was reading it aloud to Myna, who still wasn't very good at reading ALolan.
Although she admitted it was interesting, Myna thought it strange tht Lilly ws trying to commit it to memory, unless your goal was to be a historian, Myna assumed the only history you needed wax your own, and the stuff to learn from. But then on second thought, you can always learn from history…. She took her own thoughts back fro herself, but still didn't understand Lilly's joy in memorization…
She glanced up as Kukui approached, sorting keys. He handed one to each girl, told them their room was 203, and waved with a "have fun around town, yeah?!"
And thus was why Myna and lilly both stood in the enterance to a quaint hotel room, surprisingly large for how ccheep Myna had noticed Kukui's bill to be. Both beds were laden with light patchwork quilts. The closets had no doors, and were little more then dark wood shelves in a hutch, with a ice matching wooden rodd and about five hangers on each rod. This was to be their home for about three to four days.
Myna thought it was pretty, but the wood was the exact same as the home her father had built… She didn't know how to feel about that, she tried not to think about that. A flash of a party he had brought her to went through her mind and she banished it quickly, with a violent flinch.
Lillie glanced over at her, a bit of worry on her face. She didn't address it though, and instead moved to claim a bed. Myna followed her lead.
Lillie plopped on her bed, and laughed alittle to herself. A giggle, Myna realized, then wondered why that was such a realization. "is this what a sleepover is like?" the blonde asked the redhead. Myna thought for a moment, according to books? Maybe? She didn't have any experience sleeping over with girls her own age.
"So you're in speech therapy?" Lillie seemed to have a need to converse. Myna nodded. She was itching to call Apapane out of its pokeball, but the bird had had a wild time flying the whole way to the island, even when Myna signaled for it to come back. "what's that like?"
Myna glanced at her, a hint of a ssmile on her face, Lillie knew as well as Myna that the redhead wasn't so great with speech. To the half kalosian looking girl, making noise with her vocal cords, seemed… wrong. She made a so so motion with her hand. Lillie smiled, seeminly accepting a challenge Myna was pretty sure she never issued.
"but don't you want to know what your voice sounds like, like a normal tone?"
Myna shrugged, you don't hear your voice the way others hear it, after all. Though speaking when needed could make life a bit easier, she guessed.
Lillie looked almost… competitive? "just one sound?"
Myna smiled like one who found a loophole in the law, "T."
Lillie's face turned red when she realized. "Seriously!?"
Myna's laugh sounded like someone finding a meme on their phone funny in public.
oOo
of course the girls (and nebby who'd been sleeping in its bag) were not about to spend these coming days in the hotel, Lillie had bid adu to look at the ruins a couple miles outside of town, and Myna, was walking through the town. Of course the rock shop would catch her eye, she admitted to herself long ago that she was wildly predictable.
The door had a milkowbell attached to it, and a strange souding instrument stopped at the sound. "Alola!" she smiled at him and waved a little.
It was a tall and wirey old man with a milkcowboy hat and a guitar-like instrument. "wannarockigottalottta?" the rapid and dialected Alolan threw her for a good minute, and she managed to forget not to stare blankly at the man while she processed that. Then, just as he was about to assume she has no idea what he said, she smiled and nodded.
The ol man gave her a strange look, but smiled nonetheless and motioned around. She smiled back and dipped her head slightly. She had full scale bowed to someone soon after arriving in Alola, and quickly realized that wasn''t the custom here. Not to mention Kanto wasn't people's first guess at to where she grew up.
She settles on lookin through the shop, picking up little rocks here and there.
"thee earth's alive, r'at'leas' 'twas!" she looked up over the metal rack of rocks, interest littering her eyes. The earth was teeming with life, what was the old man on about. "now lissen 'ere lass, ya know, the eart' it breaths, as sure as ye and me. 'n 'n massive creatures used tun live on 'er, 'til the catyclism!' he sounded just like that, typos and all.
Myna tilted hr head. "ye can still find 'em ya know, ya wanna know how?" she stared at him, and he picked up a large rock. "s'like an ankle on a yuman ya see, that's wat 'twas on whate're grew it!" for an old man he was incredibly intense. He shook the rock, about as big as his head, hat and all, "ya wanna know what we become!?" he stopped as though thinking to himself, "unless something eats us or our bodies…" she narrowed her eyes slightly, but continued watching the man.
Why did she drag out the crazy, the absolutely insane, in everyone she met?
She did not expect him to slam the rock on the ground. Now she understood why the floor was brick. The rock chipped but didn't otherwise change. Until out of nowhere a nail was slammed into the hipped area, and a hammer slammed into the nail.
What the hell…?
The rock shattered, revealing a georgous fire opal geode. "ya see lass! Mudfossils! All dem colors thare, ya see e'em, thems be different chemichical prosseseess, ya see how purdy life is!?" he got a crazy kind of twitch to his eye, "ewen in death, yeah?"
Myna nodded. She wasn't sure she believed the man, but what he said was interesting nonetheless, "ye go on thare 'n choose yerself a nice sized chunk, int no one e're lissen tuh me know-lege." She nodded, and chose a small piece, "don be shy lass, take that big one thare!" Scratch that, she took a large piece.
"come back if ye wanna know how tuh find some noice rocks eh las, 'll save thee res o'the ankle fer ya!"
Whackjob. She smiled and waved to him before ducking out of the store, trying to keep her pace from being faster than normal.
what just happened…? Did she accidentally trip on acid…
