-III-
It's been a few hours since Nanu received his 'guest' from Tapu Bulu and at long last she's starting to wake up.
She groans as she tries to sit upright. He can't tell if it's from weariness or pain, but she appears to be having some trouble. She pauses, resting back on her elbows as she moves to rub her eyes. She doesn't even complete this as the gears in her head turn and she realises the situation she's in. He can tell there is likely a myriad of thoughts flying through her head and there's a good chance she will panic at any moment.
Nanu stands and she turns her head. Her blue-grey eyes are wide with confusion, staring up from under the mess of her fringe. He raises a hand in a placating gesture, but the tension that's drawn in her shoulders doesn't release.
"Easy," Nanu starts, trying hard to muster a tone that's neutral and calm. It's either the exhaustion talking or he's forgotten just how shit he was with bedside manner. "Not gonna hurt you, alright?"
She blinks sluggishly, but maintains her wary posture. He wonders if she's having trouble seeing from the way she squints her eyes.
"Wh…" She struggles to get a word out; her voice coming out hoarse. As she tries to manage a 'who' or 'where' she begins to cough from the effort.
She must be dehydrated.
Nanu leaves to get a glass of water to remedy that dry throat of hers. His Pokémon are close at hand, watching and waiting in case they're needed. When he returns, her coughing still hasn't subsided and he starts to suspect a Spore attack is responsible for her condition. He knows even a small whiff of the stuff is enough to leave one's throat feeling caked in dust. Moreover, Spore tended to have side effects when inhaled by humans.
He brings the glass towards her and she reaches for it rather desperately while simultaneously trying to bolt upright.
"Hey now, take it slow! You're gonna get a nasty rush to the head…!" He can't get the words out fast enough before the poor woman nearly falls from the couch. He catches her with his free arm, fortunate to have not spilled the water held in the other. "Don't be hasty - if you're coming down from a Spore attack, you're going to wind up hitting the deck trying to move that fast."
Nanu helps her to right herself and once he's sure she's not going to lurch sideways onto the floor, he brings the water to her again.
Her hands are visibly trembling as she takes the glass so he keeps a firm hold on it until he is sure she won't drop it. There's a hint of suspicion in her eyes as she looks back at him, but it doesn't linger for long. Her needs quickly override her caution. She drinks steadily, seeming to relish in it like she hasn't had water in days. When she finishes she's able to clear her throat without starting into another coughing fit.
"Where am I?" Her voice is weak and still rough around the edges, but it's an improvement from seconds ago.
"Po Town police station," Nanu answers while taking the empty glass from her. He's quick to catch the flash of unfamiliarity in her gaze, almost like she didn't understand. So he specifies, "Ula'Ula Island."
When even those words don't click, a horrible sensation creeps down the length of his spine.
It can't be.
Not another one.
"Alola," he adds.
Her eyes grow wide again and for a few seconds she's completely lost for words.
"I… what?" She frowns, thinking deeply. The more it sinks in, the more she's shocked. She shakes her head in disbelief. "That can't be right, Alola is… Alola is a whole ocean away."
That horrible sensation is forming a heavy weight in Nanu's chest. It's a fight to suppress the flurry of conclusions his mind is drawing.
She can't be.
There was no sign — no warning.
"Where're you from?" Usually Nanu can pin a person's origin from the way they spoke, but so far he's only able to interpret a very slight Kantonian - or possibly Johtonese - tone from her. Moreover, 'a whole ocean away' could be literally any other region in Alola's surrounds.
She's quiet for a while and there's a look in her eyes that Nanu can only describe as vulnerable. She pulls the thermal blanket closer to her body.
"The Aedis region," she says softly. Nanu's surprise causes him to lean back slightly. "It's an island in the southern sea. D-do you know of it?"
"Yeah, I know of it," he confirms. It's not a region he hears much of these days; owing both to its remoteness and to the fact it's a basket-case of a region. He's only familiar with the place thanks to Interpol and the one case he'd dealt with there. It's not a case he'd seriously committed to memory; after a decade the details are hazy.
"How did I get here?" Her question intensifies the unsettling sensation that crawls over Nanu's skin.
"I was hoping you could tell me that." He sits himself down on the coffee table so that they could speak at eye-level. "When you were brought in from the storm earlier you had nothing but the clothes on your back."
He notices her fingers tighten around the blanket as the colour drains from her face.
Nanu internally kicks himself. What a poor choice of words; now he's given her the wrong idea.
"Your clothes are hanging up to dry. After you came in looking like a drowned Yungoos, I didn't want to take the risk of you getting hypothermia."
She seems to accept this explanation and she silently lets out a held breath, letting her shoulders sag a bit. Her freckled cheeks are more flushed now and she averts her eyes - looking instead at the bandages on her arms. She doesn't ask about them, even as she turns her arms over to look at the full extent of the dressing. There are so many emotions passing over her at once, Nanu's unsure whether to keep pressing her for answers. The nagging sensation under his skin urges him on.
"What's the last thing you remember, Miss...?" He hopes his tone conveys his query. He's sure it hasn't when she hesitates to reply - worrying maybe that she doesn't even recall her own name. Then finally…
"Nahima," she says. "Siane Nahima..."
She goes quiet again; her brows furrow deeper as she thinks. The longer Siane spends contemplating the more Nanu's dread grows; a wailing klaxon in his mind, louder and louder. He doesn't realise he's lost himself in the white noise until Alpha firmly brushes her cheek against his arm. His hand finds the fur of her neck and the vibration of her purrs bring him back to the room. When he glances down at his feline companion, she returns his gaze with firm reassurance.
"The last thing I remember…" Siane begins, as if to remind herself of the question. "I had just gotten home - it was late and my Pokémon were asleep. I was going to go to bed…" Her eyes narrow. "There was someone at the front door… I was going to answer it and… that's it. I don't remember anything else after that."
It's no more conclusive of an answer and if anything it's more worrisome. Nanu takes a deep breath and continues to softly pat Alpha.
"Do you remember the date on that night?" He tries instead.
Siane's face lights up somewhat, enlivened by the fleeting joy of recalling even just one detail with certainty.
"Yes, it was the 6th of August."
Uh oh, not good.
"What?" She catches his change in demeanour and her face falls. He wishes he wasn't so tired - it's affecting his ability to keep up a façade. "How long have I-"
"A while." He knows she's not going to like it, but she deserves to know. "Today's the 28th."
Siane's previous states of disbelief are unmatched by the expression that takes over. It's like the wind has been knocked from her lungs and for a heartbeat Nanu thinks she's forgotten how to breathe as she stares back completely frozen. She can't form a sentence - struggling to make sense of the whole situation. Her hands tremble.
Alpha chirps at Nanu, recognising the emotional shift taking place, but there's truthfully little he could say that would be of any comfort. There was a good reason he left sensitive moments like this for Looker to handle. That thought alone brings him on the verge of opening the mental floodgates and he's grossly unprepared to be facing any of that right now. He's busy trying to quash the memories that are bursting at the seams of his mind that he doesn't think when he reaches out to her.
"Hey, look at me," he says, giving her forearm a gentle squeeze. The contact snaps her out of her daze and she turns to him; her eyes misty. "We'll get to the bottom of this, alright?"
Siane's breathing comes shaky and a few tears spill over her lashes, but she holds herself together enough to gently nod her head.
"Alright…" She whispers.
Nanu pulls his hand away now that he's certain his message has gotten through.
"Is there someone you can contact in Aedis? Any family, close relatives?"
"I'm not sure…" Siane fidgets her hands, occasionally reaching up to brush away any more tears that threaten to fall. "My dad passed away a long time ago and my mum… I don't know where she is. We haven't spoken for years."
"What about friends?" Nanu asks, reaching for the tissue box that's sitting on a shelf beneath the coffee table. He passes her a few.
She looks sheepishly up at him, taking the offered tissues with one hand while reaching to scratch the back of her neck with the other. Her expression shifts momentarily as she feels the gauze patch and she recoils. She dabs away at the rest of the tears.
"To be honest with you, I wasn't in the habit of remembering their phone numbers..." She breathes out in a short bitter laugh and scrunches the tissue in her hand. "Kind of dumb of me, really."
Nanu doesn't respond. He's too busy thinking about the predicament before him. It's problematic for sure, but not unheard of or impossible to deal with. He'll have to contact the authorities in Aedis if he's going to have any luck trying to help Siane get back home.
The rain picks up outside as silence begins to settle between them; soft chatter from the television that's been left on fills the void. He wonders if he'll be able to reach the hospital now that the thunder has ceased. Then he realises he's half seeking an excuse to not sit here feeling awkward not knowing what to say.
"Gonna try call Malie City hospital again - get you looked at properly once the weather clears," he declares while standing up. "Think you can sit tight?"
She nods.
"You need something, you give Mini a shout," he instructs, gesturing to his Absol who is sitting patiently beside the couch. Siane glances over and seems to notice for the first time that the room is full of Pokémon. She pulls the blanket up again and he sees a hint of distrust under her awe, particularly towards Mini and Krooks. "They've got some mean looking mugs, but trust me, it's just for show."
She still doesn't seem convinced.
Whether he's still buzzed from the beer earlier that night or delirious from a lack of sleep, Nanu feels compelled to emphasise the point. She's already feeling terrible, there is no reason to make her feel worse by thinking his Pokémon would bite her at any opportunity.
Krooks makes a happy grumble as Nanu approaches. With a tiny twirling gesture of his hand the hulking croc rolls over belly-up. He rubs his foot along Krooks's underside which earns even more joyful growls from the Pokémon. The big dope even flops his tail about, which disturbs some of the Meowth that are still sleeping.
"See, completely harmless."
Siane's eyes soften and her posture relaxes. She doesn't quite laugh, but the tiniest fraction of a smile appears on her face and she exhales with some relief.
"Okay, I believe you," she concedes.
Point made, Nanu puts his foot back down and resumes his previous course of action, Krooks rumbling in disappointment. Alpha settles on the cushion where Nanu had been sitting before, opting to wait there while he went about making the phone call.
"Oh, before you go," Siane starts, her voice breaking slightly - throat perhaps still a bit dry. "I, um… I didn't catch your name, officer..."
Out of reflex he gives a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Just Nanu is fine."
He never really liked titles anyway.
"Well… Thank you, Nanu," she says earnestly.
What a weird thing to say. Well, he supposes it is a customary thing to say given the circumstances, but still. What else was he going to do? Leave her on the floor after Tapu Bulu left her there?
By the time he catches himself lost in thought, too much time has passed to reply to Siane without it sounding strange, so instead he leaves the room. She doesn't seem affronted by this, though, and as he begins to shut the door he sees her gingerly reaching her hand out to a Meowth that has trotted up to the couch. He's glad that this Meowth is keeping a lid on their energy for once and now feels comfortable to leave Siane for the moment without having to worry about returning to absolute feline chaos.
It takes another two attempts before Nanu manages to reach the hospital. As he had predicted the weather was still too treacherous for them to dispatch a paramedic. There's no choice but to arrange for one as soon as the storm subsides, but at least now it's settled.
And about damn time, too. Nanu can barely fathom his exhaustion when he sees it's approaching 4'o'clock. He supposes now that Siane is more or less in a stable condition, he could squeeze in some shut eye. At least until the paramedic shows up during the day, that is.
His joints pop noisily in protest as he stands and walks back to the living quarters; the old cop really starting to feel his age. He's halfway to speaking when he sees that Siane is already lying down on her side. One of her arms is tucked under her head while the other dangles slightly off the edge of the couch.
Seems she's fallen asleep again.
He's not surprised - Pokémon attacks can knock one about, and after the ordeal she's been through he can't exactly blame her for feeling wiped out. He turns the television off and goes to pull the thermal blanket over her shoulders when he realises she would probably be fine with a regular blanket now. Leaving the current one would only cause her to overheat, especially once it starts to warm up in the morning. As he leaves to fetch a new blanket he thinks she could probably use a shirt too. Her outfit would definitely not be dry for a while and he knows it would be uncomfortable for her to be in an unfamiliar place in just her undergarments.
Nanu finds a spare blanket in his closet that's relatively clean from Meowth hair and bundles it under one arm. Finding a shirt is a much greater challenge though, as he ruefully remembers that he hasn't gotten around to doing his laundry in a few days. After a bit of fossicking he finds a purple shirt in the back of the closet and decides it's better than nothing.
He returns, placing the folded shirt on the coffee table where she'll see it and quietly swaps the thermal blanket out. The foil material is almost impossible to move stealthily, but Siane is so out of it that she doesn't stir.
As he stands back he hears a rattling come from behind one of the window blinds. When Creeps emerges, Nanu already has her Poké Ball in hand and recalls her before she can scuttle off under some furniture.
"Think that's enough mischief from you for one night," he remarks. Ball in one hand, he retrieves the coffee he had forgotten - cold now - and empties it in the kitchen sink. He refills the glass he had for Siane and does a once over of the lounge room. The Meowth are already asleep and Krooks, Big Boss and Mini are settling down. Satisfied, he turns off the light and heads to his room. Alpha follows him like she's sleepwalking and finds her place at the end of his bed.
Nanu's so tired he barely even processes his pre-bed routine, yet somehow he's still mulling over Siane's peculiar case. Not that he's having particularly coherent trains of thought, however. The threads keep circling in on themselves and by the time he lays himself in bed they fall apart altogether.
Arceus, finally.
He's waited all day for this and for once he's not even ashamed to think that.
