Chapter 4: Makuahine
"Enough of this rivalry, brother. You shall take the sky in the midst of light and see all the goings of the day, and sister will take the sky in the midst of dark, and see all the secrets of the night. Is this not fair?"
"And I thought you to cheat us! And what of you, sibling of neither Sun nor Moon?" The Lycanroc of Night asked, for those in the dark are prone to suspicion. "If I am to observe the night, and brother is to observe the day, what then will be left for you?"
The third Lycanroc smiled wisely and looked off the coast, their muzzle pointed to the horizon.
"I? I shall take the Dusk, for I am of you both. When you and brother swap your duties, just as the sun sinks into the ocean, and the moon rises from the sea, I will meet you both to coat the sky. I shall see as you both do, and you will regale me with all you have seen. While you rest, I will return to the land and pass all that you have seen onto the world beyond. For the stories of the Sun and Moon are the stories of the world, and so those stories shall be told."
~ Kawika Mauna, "The Three Lycanrocs," from Alolan Fables for Children ~
The next few days seemed to fly by in a strange blur for Moon, with some feeling like no more than a few minutes while others would stretch on so long into the day that Moon swore time was playing tricks on her. The adjustment of her new pokemon being a member of the family went swimmingly, with the only outlier being Meowth's less than receptive tendency to swipe at her popplio's nose while it crawled around the house. In three days, Moon had gone through half a pack of band-aids on her popplio and two spray bottles of water on Meowth.
Her mother, on the other hand, had no problem with her new pokemon. Though she didn't exactly seem to relish the need to buy twice the amount of pokemon food, she welcomed it as a new member of the family and had asked Moon what she planned on their Mewoth's new archrival the following morning over breakfast.
"Hmm, I dunno." Moon muttered as she chomped on a spoonful of corned beef hash. Her popplio stared up at her from its spot beside the stool, watching her with its big goofy eyes as though it was just as curious to hear what its new name would be. Moon gently booped it with her toe. "Never named a pokemon before. I'd ask you for name suggestions, but…"
"No, that's fair." Her mother admitted with a sigh as she sliced them both a tangerine. "I thought I could just call Meowth whatever and then start calling him something else once I thought of a proper name. Then, by the time I came up with a name, he only answered to 'Meowth' and I had to give the name to something else." She set the slices on Moon's plate, dropping an extra overhead of the popplio, who leapt into the air and gobbled it down.
Moon sucked on a slice in thought while glancing back at her mother. "What were you gonna name Meowth? Can I use it?"
Her mother opened her mouth, then stopped. She stared at Moon for a moment, smiled, and then shook her head. "Ah, I don't think you'd want to name it that. Besides, better to come up with one on your own, make you feel more connected with your partner. Something personal, something that means a lot to you." Moon rolled her eyes at her mother's excuse and picked her pokemon up, giving it another once-over to assess for proper naming.
"How am I supposed to give this dork a name? Look at him, he's just a little guy!" She exclaimed.
"That one's a girl, Mahina."
"... Look at her, she's just a little guy, Mom!" Her mother rolled her eyes at her and smirked, with Moon throwing out names at random as the both of them continued their breakfast. "Alright, what about 'Bwark-Bwark'?"
"Really? What about 'Slipper'? That's a cute name. You said she slid around when you battled in Iki Town."
"Bwarkus the Maelstrom."
"Moon, that's way too long-"
"Mewoth Two."
"No."
In the end, after much back and forth and debate, Moon decided on the name "Chlorine". Her mother accepted it for being the closest thing to a normal name she had suggested, with Moon unwilling to admit it was only because she had spotted a bottle of the stuff in her mother's groceries behind the counter. Meowth, who had awoken from his morning nap during their brainstorming, celebrated this by scratching Chlorine on the nose.
This had led Moon to take a look at her favorite to-do list in her music journal and realize that she had not one, but two points on her list that she could cross off.
~ Convince mom to get a native pokemon!
~ Participate in a cultural event of some kind! Or multiple! Or all of them!
That put her up to a total of four points completed out of however many, which for having spent three months on Alola wasn't two bad. She took a look at her next unchecked to-do.
~ Ride a pokemon! (Meowth does not count; you will crush him.)
That one was just a little bit harder. She supposed she could have gone down to Professor Kukui's lab and ask him to let her ride one, as he surely wouldn't mind, but something about that just felt like cheating to her; a technicality No, if she was going to ride a pokemon, she wanted to feel like a she was atop a feral creature of the woods that was sprinting or soaring through its territory with graceful agility, not on a farm ponyta with someone gently guiding her with the reigns.
She'd probably have to skip that one for now. What else did she have?
~ Explore the deep wild with no adult supervision.
~ Stay in a fancy hotel and order room service like you always wanted!
~ Punch a grown man. Reason need not be specific, but it must be justified.
Well, at least one of those seemed a little more likely. They didn't have any money to justify going to a fancy hotel, but exploring somewhere on Alola with no adult supervision? Oh, that she could do, in fact the easiest way to go about it would be to take part in the Island Trial, as from what Moon understood a big part of the trials was going out alone and showing your mettle. Just you and your pokemon, like the hundreds of legendary trainers before who had set out into the great unknown with wide eyes and sweaty hands.
That could've been her. That should've been her. The next generation of young trainers making their mark on the world with just their pokemon and their grit, it wasn't just a far off dream. There was a reason it was an offered opportunity for up and coming trainers as a valid career choice, this kind of journey made champions out of youngsters like her. Sure, she wasn't exactly champion material, but she had the opportunity to take that journey, didn't she?
To her mother, the matter didn't even seem up for debate.
"Oh, absolutely not." Her mother had said the morning after returning from Iki Town. "I am more than grateful that the Tapu rescued you, and that the kahuna welcomed you with open arms to join such a ceremony – but no. I cannot, in good conscience, let you go out there all on your own to face Arceus knows what. Not… no, I'm sorry." And for the rest of the day, that had been the end of that. Moon relented. The conversation was dropped, but not forgotten. She would try again the next day.
It was by the fourth day that Moon began to grow nervous. Sure, she had overheard her mother and Professor Kukui discuss it when he had brought her back, and it was only natural for her mother to want to protect her, but the way their relationship had worked to that point had given her the impression that she'd have made some progress by now. Generally when there was a disagreement between the two, one would push and nudge while offering up clever counters and proof of why it was a good idea until eventually they relented, be it Moon doing something her mother asked of her, or her mother giving in to Moon's childish requests.
Moon didn't think of it as her being spoiled; they communicated with one another. It wasn't her stomping and throwing a tantrum for a toy; it was the both of them understanding and expressing themselves for what they were vying for. When her mother had insisted on her pursuing an education instead of immediately going into being a trainer, it had been because she was still young and learning about the world and herself. It was easy to pick up being a trainer at any age, but jumping back into an education at a later stage in life usually cost money. She could certainly verify that part.
When Moon had wanted to listen to buy a CD from a particularly vulgar musician (Of whom she proudly had a signed poster hanging in her room, now.) her mother had been against it, but Moon flat out told her she would probably end up hearing it sooner rather than later through friends, the internet, or some other manner. Rather than having to sneak around her mother, wouldn't it just make more sense to buy it and let her enjoy the music she resonated with? After pointing out her mother had often said worse things in traffic than what was on the CD, she agreed.
This time however, there was no sign of balking. She tried reasoning.
"Mom, come on. I got hand-picked by the guardian of the island, the freakin' pokemon that IS the island to some people!" Moon said while they were clothes shopping. "They gave me the celebration and the pokemon and everything, it'd be borderline wasteful of an opportunity and insulting to our culture to not let me do this, right?" Her mother, who had been looking at a pair of work boots, did not look back at her.
"Just because the deity thinks you show potential, doesn't mean it's your destiny to hone in on that potential. You could have the potential to be the greatest knitter of all time, but that's no reason to just run off out of the blue on your own on a dangerous trek cross-island to take part in a knitting competition." She hummed and held two pairs of sturdy looking boots out to Moon. "What do you think, steel-toed or built-in insoles?"
She tried playing to her mother's budget.
"Think about how much money you'd save if I wasn't here gobbling down all the food? You're dishing out like, twenty bucks for cereal that's gone in a week and a half." They were at the local supermarket, with her mother carefully weighing various snack foods while Moon continued. "You're always complaining about how much food prices are going up. Just imagine a few weeks without having to cash out breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
"Moon, I'm your mother. Making money and providing food for you to eat is practically an adage of motherhood, and I'd be a pretty poor one if I let you go traipsing around the region just to save some cash on food. Speaking of," She held up two bags of flavored trail-mix, "Azumarill-Berry or Count Swirlia?"
To her surprise, she wasn't the only one trying to convince her mother. She had snuck on the roof one afternoon since tensions between her and her mother were starting to sour when she overheard a conversation taking place directly below her between her mother and Professor Kukui over the phone. She slid down the slant of their bungalow's roof and held her ear just over the edge, not that she had to try too hard; her mother loved putting her calls on speaker phone when she was sitting on the veranda. Or as the sticky note attached to a beam titled it, the lanai.
"You know the more you push, the more she'll want to go, right? Kid is one eager bidoof for our culture, Lei, you did too good a job in teaching her about Alola growing up, and now she wants a bite of it."
"Yeah, and I have no problem with her doing that here, where I'm not spending every hour wondering whether or not she's in a ditch or a- a- a basement or something!" Her mother groaned aloud, and Moon heard the unmistakable sound of her mother flopping into one of the springy sun chairs they owned. "I mean, am I really that far in the wrong? I'm not trying to say she's fragile, but she's not been the same since we found out. You sit there and tell me with I'm wrong to worry about my daughter going off all on her own, where nobody can help her if she-"
"Of course you're not wrong to worry, but she won't be alone! She's got her popplio; what did you say she named it? Chlorine?" There was a burst of laughter from the phone that was too light to belong to Kukui, and Moon recognized Professor Burnet's voice as she cracked up in the background. She asked something incomprehensible and Professor Kukui responded. "I know right? Kid is a riot, I swear to God. Anyway, I know what you're going to say, which is why I've been thinking… maybe you're right. Maybe going off on her own is too risky with the way things are-"
"Thank you!" Moon's mother said, but the professor kept going, this time his voice was actually hushed despite the speakerphone and Moon had to lean a little further off the edge to hear properly. She could see her mother, head leaned upon her fist as sat with the phone held in front of mouth.
"So what if I have my assistant tag along with Moon? She'll have a person there to make sure she's not overdoing it, and maybe Lillie will get some benefit out of it too with her memory-" Moon winced as she felt tiny traitorous claws digging into her exposed legs, and she immediately turned around to see Meowth kneading on her calves, climbing along her back. She tried to gently brush him away without making any noise, but she watched with the utmost horror as Meowth picked up her hibiscus hat and with all of the malice of a disgruntled feline, dropped her hat over the edge.
Mewoth looked back at her with a clear look that said, That'll teach you to bring another pokemon into my kingdom, silly girl.
Moon looked at him and wondered how much more trouble she'd be in for dropping him off the roof too. Then, of course, was the silence that followed the rolls of thunder that only her mother could shout with a cloudless sky above.
"... MAHINA KANOA, GET YOUR ASS OFF OF THAT ROOF RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME GOD THERE WILL NOT BE A TAPU ALIVE THAT CAN RESCUE YOU FROM WHAT I DO."
Moon got off the roof.
By the fifth day, an argument erupted between the two that left Moon shut in her room for two days. Her mother had never grounded her, she just felt the need to be alone after the argument that had transpired. Something told her that her mother needed the time to cool off as well, considering neither of them had ever really gotten into a proper argument before.
It had all started when her mother had asked Moon if she wanted to start school shopping early. They had been driving home from a restaurant in Hau'oli City her mother had been insistent on trying, since they so rarely got to eat out, when they had passed a billboard advertising backpacks, pencils, and other school supplies at half off. Moon still thought it strange that in Alola kids were given twice the amount of summer vacation compared to Kanto, but she sure didn't complain.
Her mother peered under the windshield as they passed beneath the sign, the smooth tangerine sky casting the city in a warm orange glow that signaled the end of another day. Moon had been staring out the window and humming a melody under her breath while tapping a beat against her styrofoam covered leftover, when her mother glanced at her and nodded at the glowing billboard.
"Look at that, backpacks for half off. Granted, half off in Alola is still about full price of what we'd pay in Kanto, but…" She smiled at Moon as if this would help mollify the tension. "What do you say on my next day off we go and get some of your school shopping out of the way, huh? Get it done early, and you can enjoy the rest of your summer vacation without having to bother with it. Maybe we can get a hike in somewhere before you start high-school. Sound good?" Maybe another time Moon would've been happy to go on a hike with her mother, but now she raised her head from the glass and lowered her eyebrows.
"Wouldn't have to buy school supplies if you let me take the trial." Moon said simply. There was an accusation in her voice that she hadn't meant to include, but hadn't tried to hide either. Her mother sighed as they skirted around the evening traffic, slipping into the turning lane. The blinker went on.
"Moon, I know all of this has been… hard." Her mother replied in that soft tone she usually did whenever they approached the subject. "But it's important that we try to keep things normal, that's what you wanted right, for everything to go on being normal?" She spared a second's glance at Moon, but Moon did not return it. Maybe she couldn't. "Baby I know how hard you're trying… but if we keep pretending like this isn't something we have to deal with, it's just going to be harder in the long run."
Moon scoffed as her gaze returned to the passing cars beside them. "Nothing about it is normal, I know it's not! I just- I want to be treated normal, though! I don't want it hanging over my head every day anymore than it already is! It's not like we moved out here to Alola because it was the 'normal' option." She countered. "I thought the whole reason for us coming back home was for me to connect with it all, to actually do those things that you told me about growing up."
The blinker turned off as the glow of Hau'oli City's outskirts was laid out before them. "We came back to Alola so we could both heal." Her mother said in a tone that suggested she had told herself this many times before. "And yes, you are a major part of that, but we both have responsibilities we have to adhere to regardless of the circumstances. I still have to take care of you and make sure you're taking care of yourself, instead of just going off and…" Her voice caught in her throat, and Moon was sure she had been close to saying something she hadn't truly meant.
For some reason, this only infuriated Moon more. "Mom, there's like, five other kids who are exactly my age, doing the exact same trial-thing!" She groaned, unable to keep the whine out of her voice. "There are kids my age who have conquered leagues! How am I supposed to be anything other than a spectator my entire life like those loud fatass tourists-"
"Hey, you watch your mouth!"
"-when I'm still stuck just like I was in Kanto! Just this time, my cage got upgraded to a beachfront instead of a single room!" Moon's fingers were twitchy in her hands, outlets of the anger that was surging up inside her. She knew she probably sounded like a whiny brat who wasn't getting her way, and all that did was make her more frustrated with herself, but this was important to her.
"Those kids aren't like you, Moon, you know that." Her mother's voice cracked with exasperation as they passed beneath streetlights that had yet to turn on for the evening.
"What, fragile?" Moon shot back, thinking of the conversation she had overheard the day prior.
"Vulnerable. You are not weak, you never have been, but honey, I need you to understand where I'm coming from. Think about my position! Please, think about how I feel here!"
"Think about how you feel?!" Moon asked, unable to hide her incredulity. "You're keeping me tethered because you're worried I'm going to die like dad did, and instead I'm gonna die choking on the leash!" There was a terse silence that followed where Moon stared at her mother for a few seconds, waiting for a yell or a verbal rebuttal so brutal it would put Moon in tears, but it didn't come. Somewhere inside, she knew it wouldn't; that wasn't who her mother was. Instead her mother refused to look at her, focusing on the road like the responsible driver she was.
That hurt more than any raised voice could have. The streetlights were on now, and the fading shadows in between each one gave just enough opportunity for her mother to blink away her own tears under the cover of darkness.
"I'm not scared that you're going to die." She said in a concerningly quiet tone. "I'm scared that you're not going to care if you do." The truck continued down the stretch of their neighborhood as they passed the boardwalk and the bungalows, slowly but surely without another word spoken between them. The truck wobbled side to side as they pulled into their driveway, and when her mother silently turned off the car and sat back in the driver's seat, Moon understood the nonverbal request for being alone.
She wanted that too right about now.
Unbuckling her seatbelt, opening the door and climbing the steps, those were all vague watery memories that she barely recalled as she walked through the house. She did not acknowledge Meowth as she normally would have, instead going straight to her room and shutting the door behind her with more force than necessary. Too angry to close it gently, and too reasonable to fully slam it. She didn't bother with the lightswitch, pacing around her room as she tried not to let the tears break through. They did anyway, and that only fueled her frustration.
So there she was, crying. She hated crying. She'd cried enough. Screw crying. She hated herself for how she had spoken to her mother, hated how she had disregarded her feelings but was unable to cast aside the notion that some parts of her own feelings had been disregarded too. She hated how she couldn't stop crying over something so small and stupid, but a small voice of reason in the back of her head told her that she was allowed to cry. Like motherhood, childhood had its own adages, and Moon was pretty sure that having emotions you couldn't entirely control all the time was one of them.
Chlorine raised a sleepy head from where she had been napping on Moon's pillow as Moon strode over to her closet and slid open the doors, pushing button-ups and t-shirts aside to reach for what was hidden behind all the different clothes she had yet to even wear. There, hanging from what was originally a coat hanger, was a guitar. A bass guitar to be exact.
It's sleek design had been specifically crafted to resemble a grafaiai with large spots of teal scattered around a white base, with the neck striped to match the pokemon's fluffy tail. The strings were alternating hues of hot pink and neon blue, much like the poisonous saliva grafaiais used to paint. This choice of color was fitting considering who the guitar originally belonged to, but Moon didn't care about that. She couldn't even play the bass guitar.
Perhaps that wasn't entirely true, Moon thought as she dragged it out and sat on the floor against her bed, giving the strings a pluck before turning the tuners appropriately. Playing the ukulele had taught her about finger placements to play her desired chords, and as the original owner of the guitar had told her, "It's all frets and fingers.". On the other hand, there were more strings than she was used to, the strings themselves didn't have the same softness as the nylon ones on her ukulele, and the fact that the chord shapes were all completely different made it like learning a second language. Same concept, different format.
She didn't need to know how to play though, she just wanted noise. Noise kept her distracted, it took her away from the now. It was part of the reason she had picked up music in the first place. Her ukulele was usually the go-to remedy for these types of woes, but her mother never liked hearing the ukulele, and she didn't feel like adding to the barrier between them. True, her mother didn't entirely care for the bass either, but its low hum was softer and more subtle, and managed to bring out the sullenness she felt better than her ukulele did.
She felt something small and slippery plop onto her head, and she looked up to see Chlorine leaning over top of her and giving her a curious look. Moon managed a smile and raised a hand to caress her pokemon with the side of her finger.
"Hey girl. Can you give me a beat to go off? Softly though, something like this… bump. Bump. Bump. Bump." She patted her hand against her lap until Chlorine picked up on it, happily slapping her flipper along the side of the bedspread to give Moon a muffled beat to play to. That was all she needed, plucking at the strings and playing… well, not a song per se. A melody probably would've been too kind as well, but it was a rhythmic noise that didn't sound unpleasant, and she could focus on that. Hold onto it. Sink into it, away from the bad feelings.
She stayed like that for a while, just letting the bass emit low chords over and over while Chlorine patted her bed to keep her on beat. With the hum of the bass she could stop everything around her, and like the sound of muffled cars on a nightly freeway, or a ticking clock in an otherwise silent living room, this kind of otherworldly noise was enough to make her eyes droop. Crying, however warranted or unwarranted, was a horribly tiring business at any age and fourteen was no different.
She didn't even realize she had fallen into a dreamless sleep until she awoke the next morning with an ungodly crick in her neck and sunlight filtering in through her blinds. Cradling her neck, Moon returned the bass to its spot within her closet and Chlorine, whom she had found slumped over the side of the bed, to her ball before she could adopt her trainer's awful sleeping habits. When she creaked open the door and stuck her head out, she saw the only other occupant was Meowth, sitting on the counter and licking his paws. Her mother had already gone to work.
Moon stepped out and felt her socks collide with something, glancing down to see her styrofoam leftovers had been placed in front of her door. That stirred some guilt within her, then frustration, then frustration at having frustration, and she finally decided it was too early for such a wide range of emotions (The fact that the clock hanging in the kitchen read "1:12" was irrelevant to Moon.) and slipped into the bathroom. When she came out she scooped up her leftovers, stuck her tongue out at Meowth, and descended into her room once more. It was a stay-inside-and-do-nothing kind of day, Moon decided.
Moon heard the sound of her mother's truck pulling up that evening through her headphones, and a part of her really wanted to go out and apologize to her mother for the night before. However, she knew that her mother was prone to wanting nothing more than to sit on one of the beach chairs out on their veranda with a beer after a hard day's work, and figured she could afford her that luxury. The fact that this was a convenient excuse for Moon to put off her festering feelings of guilt and resentment was wholly coincidence, of which she assured herself for the rest of the night.
Once she thought she heard her mother approach her door and stop, only to softly walk away.
Come and talk to me, dang it! Help me apologize for being a jerkass! Stop being a considerate parent about my feelings after our argument about not considering my feelings!
As Moon crawled into bed that night, she resolved to fix everything with her mother in the morning. The hurt of being denied the opportunity to partake in the trial had lessened considerably since the night before, and she had realized with a pang that the sting of guilt from what was likely a minor disagreements compared to most households had helped her realize that going on the trial wasn't nearly as big a deal as she had initially considered. Her mother had even offered to go hiking with her, likely as a way to make up for being unable to participate in the Alolan tradition.
If her mother had planned for her to come to that shameful revelation through post-argument distance, then Moon had severely underestimated the foresight of mothers everywhere.
So when she awoke the next morning from her mother rapping her knuckles against the door, her barely conscious mind immediately convinced her that shouting was the appropriate response as she practically tumbled out of her own bed in a fit of unnecessary urgency and sent Chlorine flying off of her chest at light speed.
"Shaaddup, I'm an asshole!" She called just before her face hit the floor. Pain surged through her cheek and shoulder as she kicked off the sheets that had tangled her, and for a moment she simply lay there on the yellow carpet with one foot still in the bed as the fog quickly left her brain. Then she heard her mother's voice from the other side of her door.
"... Did you call me an asshole, or yourself one?" Her mother asked, and Moon lifted her head to look at the door.
"Me. I- sorry, I wasn't thinking… just woke up." She wondered if she sounded as stupid as she felt, but rather than reprimand her her mother seemed to simply accept this and carry on. She noticed Chlorine picking herself up from where Moon had accidentally launched her, and immediately scooped the pokemon into her arms with apologies abundant.
"Well, it sounds like you already got your comeuppance for it judging by that noise. Are you alright?"
Moon gave a noncommittal grunt in response as she gently set Chlorine back on the, hoping her mother would just come inside already. She couldn't very well apologize for being a jerk with a door separating them, though she figured she should at least get off of the floor first. She rose, dusted herself off, and meant to open the door for her mother to come in and engage in a proper conversation, but her next sentence stopped her just as she reached for the doorknob.
"Hey, listen… Kukui invited us over. I guess he and Hala are personally seeing the kids on the island trial off, and he thought you might want to wish them luck." She paused for a moment and Moon could hear her sucking in her breath. "Well, maybe not that little punk who called you a haole, but the kahuna's grandson, the one who you said helped you back to Iki Town? Seeing him off might be a nice way to thank him for that. So, go on and get ready, okay? Oh, and bring Chlorine. Kukui wants to see her." The sound of footsteps told Moon her mother had walked away, and in turn her hand fell away from the doorknob as she stood there and stared.
She breathed through her nose, her fingers wiggling as she tried to resist the urge to kick something, but boy did that sound cathartic right about now. Just as she had been ready to apologize, just as she had accepted she had been a jerkass to her mother whose only real crime had been concern for her daughter, her mom had to throw this at her. She had completely forgotten in the week since the events at Iki Town that today was the day the trials officially began, but the fact that her mother had reminded her completely refueled the fire inside of her.
"Didn't even ask if I wanted to go, just 'Hey Moon, you know that thing you really wanted to do but I won't let you? How about I tease you with it by having you go and watch everyone else leave to do it!'." She grumbled as she changed out of her sweats into proper shorts. "Like, who does that? Is she teaching me a lesson for yelling at her? Is she just unaware of how uncool this is?" She turned to Chlorine, whose head was still wobbling after her impromptu flight. Moon let out a sigh and kissed her pokemon on the head before returning her to her ball. At least her mother had never woken her up by launching her.
After picking out an outfit from her closet, which she realized too late was the exact same one she wore to the Iki Town ceremony, she was rushed into the bathroom by her mother to brush her teeth which she did, and to brush her hair which she did not. She pulled the hat the professor had given to her over her head instead, glaring at her mother as she passed by the bathroom with her work uniform on. Going out with a messy bedhead, that would show her mother alright.
"Come on, come on!" Her mom ushered her out of the bathroom and towards the front door. "I already let you sleep in, and- oh! I have to grab something, go on ahead and get in the truck." Moon turned and raised her arms towards her mother, her mouth open wide in exasperation as she watched her zoom away into her own bedroom.
"How are you gonna hurry me up, and then take even longer?" Moon groaned as she turned back to the door. Mothers, she thought to herself as she passed by Meowth who had fallen asleep inside of his food bowl. "See you later, stink-stink." She muttered before shutting the door behind her and hopping down the steps towards the driveway. She squinted at the sun as waves of heat rolled off of her and had her in a decent sweat by the time she got situated in the bed of the truck. Her mother came out roughly ten minutes later, but Moon didn't acknowledge her until she heard her name called.
"Moon, passenger seat." Her mother had already opened the driver side door and turned the car on, which only elicited another groan from Moon.
"He's like, three streets away." Moon argued despite the fact that she was already hopping out of the bed and into the passenger's seat. "Could've walked there if we wanted, not to mention you didn't give me the keys to turn the AC on." As if in answer, her mother tossed the car keys inside while she set something Moon couldn't see into the bed of the truck before hopping in herself. Despite her arguments, Moon didn't exactly feel like walking to the professor's in this heat anyway; she was just being petty.
Something something, fourteen years old, right?
Moon sighed as the truck gently roared to life, rolling Chlorine's pokeball in her lap as her mother pulled them out of the driveway. The ride to Kukui's was in fact short, no more than a minute and a half of actual drive time, but the fact that her mother didn't say anything during it was somewhat unnerving to Moon. She wouldn't look at her either, and Moon suspected that maybe her mother had been more upset by their falling out than she was. Their relationship had grown fairly strong in the past six months since her father's passing, and she didn't like the wedge their situation was driving between them.
Of course she knew that sometimes parents and kids had arguments and blowouts, she wasn't stupid. But the fact that they never argued made the little spats like these all the worse. Moon, having already gotten over the slight of being roped into attending the sendoff for the trial-goers, wanted to ask her mom to stop and talk everything out as they pulled up to the professor's lab, but her mother was already slipping out of the truck in that hurried manner that all mothers seemed to have at any given time. Moon blew a stray hair out of her eyes and hopped out as well.
For someone who loves to talk, I sure do manage to suck at it when it's important.
The professor's lab was an old fashioned wooden bungalow that sat along the beach at the furthest stretch where it wouldn't receive a lot of foot traffic from tourists or other beach goers. When coupled with the fact that the entire building looked as though it had been torn down and rebuilt twice over, with a broken fence railing, a quarter of the building that consisted solely of metal, and more makeshift patches than an seamstress' first quilt, Moon suspected the professor had more than assured his privacy.
It was as they were walking across the sand that Moon heard the sounds of what she wasn't ashamed to admit sounded peculiarly like a physical domestic dispute. The sound of blunt forces smashing against one another, colliding with wood, metal, and everything in between was enough to rattle the window panes and give little shakes throughout the rickety pokemon laboratory. Moon stopped in her tracks; she had never actually been to the professor's lab before since usually he was the one stopping by her house for dinner.
Her mother rolled her eyes, continuing at an even pace across the sand. Moon trotted to catch up to her just as a heavily muffled voice could be heard from the inside of the lab.
"Oh yeah, Lycanroc! That's what I'm talking about, give it everything you got! Let's go!" The professor's voice resounded through the walls. Moon snorted lightly and glanced up at her mother.
"Didn't realize the professor started calling Burnet 'Lycanroc'. Cute nickname." She mumbled, eliciting a gasp and a gentle smack against the arm from her mother beside her. This only made Moon laugh all the more.
"Mahina Kanoa! Skies above, keiki your age don't need to be making jokes like that, absolutely uncalled for…" Her mother's scolding faded into muttering as she shook her head. "I swear, when I was your age we didn't even know what stuff like that meant."
The professor's voice shook the laboratory once more. "My body is ready for you, girl! Now give me what your brother couldn't, before I send you packing with him!" Moon's face lit up with a mixture of smug astonishment and glee, her eyes widened and mouth agape as she turned back to face her mother who looked nothing short of utterly disappointed.
Peeking through the window in a short white dress that reflected the late morning sun blindingly back at Moon was none other than Lillie, her big floppy hat curled upwards as she stood on the tips of her toes to see in, a book tucked beneath her arm. Every time the lab shook she winced and slowly shook her head, and as the two approached the steps to the lab they could hear her murmur under her breath in-between the din.
"Ugh, why can't he just take the coat off when he does this? Never wearing a shirt is fine but taking off the coat when he spars is just too much? Really?" Lillie sighed and let her head gently hit the glass pane. "I just cleaned it too… and now Professor Burnet is going to put him through the wall because she'll have to buy him another coat and then we'll have to fix that hole and-"
"Hiya Lillie!" Moon called out as she clambered up the steps. Lillie jumped slightly, turning on the spot and pressing herself against the wall behind her, though when she saw who exactly was approaching she seemed to relax just a little bit. Moon had almost completely forgotten that Lillie lived with the professor, and somehow seeing her here made Moon a little less upset about having to come. She didn't really have friends in Alola, something that was entirely her choice, but after the thrilled albeit short meeting between the two, Moon found she didn't mind the girl's presence.
"Oh, Alola Ms. Kanoa, and… Moona! It's nice to see you two." Lillie said as she waved her free arm out in greeting. Moon saw her mother give Lillie a strange smirk but thankfully didn't correct her, and instead gave her a slightly hurried return greeting.
"Alola, dear. How are you doing? Eating well?" She strode up to the door and peeked inside, pursing her lips at whatever display was taking place on the other side. "Oh for goodness sake, how long has he been going at it this time? He knew we were coming, too." She tapped her knuckles against the door, but the struggling inside continued and Moon tried to peek over her mother's shoulder to get a better look.
"Roughly half an hour." Lillie answered, stepping back. "He said he'd get some 'research' done while he waited for you, since apparently the kahuna got called into the city for some important business… something about a tauros? I came outside to read before we leave because it's so noisy, but I don't want to interrupt…" Whether this was out of respect for whatever it was the professor was doing, or out of a healthy dosage of fear in getting close to it, Moon wasn't quite sure.
Her mother sighed and pinched her nose, muttering under her breath. "Oh Hau'oli traffic is going to be a joy. Fantastic. Well, we might as well get a move on then." Not seeming to harbor such hesitations as Lillie, her Mother gave up on knocking and instead twisted the doorknob and pushed forward.
The door swung open and both Moon and Lillie followed behind Moon's mother as she waltzed right into the living room, hands on her hips in a way that Moon often saw her adopt whenever she let her room get too messy. The interior of the lab was surprisingly tidy compared to the outside, with a large fish-tank acting as a divider to the back part of the lab, and a bar counter on the left that separated the living room from the kitchen.
Professor Kukui was in the middle of the living room, sprawled out on the floor with his coat hanging halfway off of his shoulders and adorned with numerous tears and rips, just as Lillie had predicted. Beside the professor was a large sandy pokemon that was almost as long as he was tall, with sharp points of cream fur that jutted out like rocks, whom Moon recognized as a 'lycanroc'. The professor raised his head at them and flashed them a wide grin, forcing himself to stand with a grunt.
"Alola Lei, cousin Mahina!" He greeted, hands on his knees as he let out a deep breath. He was practically glistening with sweat, and it didn't show nearly as much as it smelled. Moon noticed with a slight wince. Lillie seemed to notice too, because she immediately broke away to grab a spray bottle from the kitchen counter that Moon recognized as the same air freshener her mother liked to buy. "Ah, woah, easy Lillie! I'm not- ack! Kū! It's not that bad!" He laughed as he tried to dodge out of the way, but she wasn't quite as jovial about the matter.
"It! Reeks! In! Here!" She said in between sprays. "How on earth can you possibly get any research done while being overwhelmed by the smell of sweat and wet dog?! I can't even read my book inside, it's that bad!" She huffed one final time as the professor danced out of herreach, glanced at the lycanroc as though she wanted to spray it too, then thought better of it as she turned and returned the bottle to its place on the counter.
From above them suddenly came a burst of hearty laughter, and Moon looked up to see another familiar face smiling down at them all. "Yeesh, I've been watching him wrestle that lycanroc for almost thirty minutes now and not once did I see him look as scared as when you started chasing him with that bottle!" Hau chuckled from where he sat on the edge of the loft that overlooked the rest of the lab, swinging his legs. "Just what kinda girl are you, sister?"
Lillie's face contorted into multiple expressions in mere seconds, going from confusion, to disapproval, to utter terror and alarm as she looked up at Hau. "H-hey! That loft is my- well, it's the professor's, but he is letting me stay there and all of my personal belongings are up there so please do not go up there!" She threw her hands on her hips and Moon thought it was startling how similar the pose was between Lillie and her mother.
"But, I already am up here-"
"Then come down!" Lillie said while throwing her hands up in exasperation. Hau gave another laugh as he pushed himself off of the loft, landing right beside Lillie with an audible thwomp! that made the poor girl jump while Hau laughed all the more. From beside her, Moon's mother rolled her eyes at the two's antics, but the smirk she wore was exactly the same as the one the professor had on as he mopped himself down with a towel. It was one filled with reminiscence.
The lycanroc stood from where it had been laying and yawned, padding off towards the kitchen as Professor Kukui passed by and gave it several playful pats along the side of its face, as though its head were a basketball he was dribbling while softly praising it with a "Atta' girl, good play, good play." before letting it go and turning back to Moon and her mother.
"Sorry 'bout that, Hala got called up because of a runaway tauros in the city. Figured I'd get a workout in while I wait for you, and it ended up turning into me wrestling with my lycanrocs. Crescent and her brother just evolved the other night, so I'm testing their prowess." He explained. His eyes shifted over to Moon, or more specifically the pokeball in her hand, and his face broke into an even wider smile. "Heeey! That must be Chlorine's ball, huh? How's she holding up, huh? Bring her out!"
Moon blinked in surprise, but she raised the ball regardless and clicked the latch to release her popplio out into the room. The little blue pokemon emerged in a flash of light, balancing on her front flippers with her tail posed over her head, only to fall forward and land on her back with a "Bwark-BwARK!" Moon shook her head and sighed.
"Yep, betcha heard all these voices out here and thought you'd show off, huh? I am a terrible influence on you." She murmured as she picked her pokemon up and set her right. She was briefly aware of her mother turning around and stepping back outside, but the professor caught her attention once more by leaning down and inspecting Chlorine gently by holding her head between his thumb and forefinger.
"Healthy shade of blue, eyes are clear of any mucus or discharge, good signs, good signs. She been battling any?" Professor Kukui asked, rubbing Chlorine on the head.
"Nah. Just Meowth using her nose as a scratching post." Moon admitted. She didn't really see much point in battling if she wasn't going to become a trainer. "I can get her to slip and slide when I play music though. Almost took out a window if that counts." Both Moon and the professor shared a small chuckle as Chlorine basked in the attention, but a thought struck Moon as she looked around and saw that it was just the three of them in the lab. "So, where are the other trial-goers?" She asked.
The professor stood back up and scratched the back of head, turning to look at the rest of the lab as though he expected the others to magically be there. "Hm? Oh, yeah, most of them already set out from home. The trials aren't a race of course, but you're technically allowed to start as soon as you get your pokemon and your amulet. Hau here-" At the mention of his name, Hau looked at Moon and gave her a shaka, shaking his own amulet. "- was going to set out from Iki Town, but I've offered to drive into Hau'oli since that's where the kahuna is. Oh! Lillie, you got your stuff ready?"
"Yes, Professor!" Lillie nodded. "Non-perishable foods, a map of the island, compass, bottles of water, a flashlight, sunscreen, repels, sleeping bag, spare clothes, aaand… my personal belongings." She smiled and moved to grab her duffel bag, which looked to have doubled in length and size with everything that had managed to be stuffed inside. The bag itself was nearly as tall as Lillie was now and as she struggled to heave it up over her shoulder, Moon saw a look of realization flicker across her face.
"I… may have overpacked." She managed, clearly forcing a smile as the bag's weight bent her to one side. Moon was both impressed by her preparation and immediately jealous as she had a realization of her own, and her smile slowly faded from her face as she looked over at Lillie and Hau.
Lillie, someone who didn't even have a pokemon, was going along on the island trial. True, perhaps only as a spectator, but the hot well of bitter jealousy that rose within her had no space for reason as she blew air through her nose and glanced away. A spectator was still more than she was. Just as she had forgotten about it, there it was to flick her in the nose and make her feel things she didn't want to feel. Would they expect her to join them in dropping off Hau in Hao'oli? Was she mature enough to do that without being a grump just because she wasn't included?
She turned away to face the door, but stopped dead at the sight before her.
There was her mother, squeezing in through the door with a familiar bag hanging from the strap she held in her hands. The neck of her ukulele stuck out through the bag, but it had clearly been stuffed to capacity not unlike Lillie's duffel and was practically bulging as a result. More than the sight of her ukulele, more than the sight of her bag, seeing the mournful look on her mother's face that wouldn't rise above the floor as she pushed the door shut with her foot, and slowly approached Moon, told her everything she needed to know.
It was only when her mother stood before her did she finally raise her gaze to Moon's, and the mere weight of what was behind her mother's eyes could have leveled mountains to rubble, sunk freighters to the ocean bed. It was a weight she couldn't possibly understand as a mere teenager, and though she could not know just how much was behind those eyes, she knew of what was behind them. One didn't have to look underwater to understand that the ocean held depths.
Gently, her mother raised the bag to Moon, and Moon took it in turn.
"I never planned on stopping you." Her mother admitted softly, and it was then the unusual weight of the bag compelled her to open it, and as she did she saw the new additions stuffed behind her ukulele were familiar. A pair of tough leather boots with built-in insoles. A bag of Azumarill-Berry flavored trail mix. "I had hoped… stupidly, that I could dissuade you from going. I knew it wouldn't work, but as a mother I thought I…" Her voice wavered, and when Moon looked up she saw tears welling up in the corner of her mother's eyes. "I had to try."
Moon let the bag fall to her side, both of her arms wrapping around her mother's waist as she felt tears of her own begin to form against her wishes. Mothers, she thought to herself.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Moon whispered, muffled by her mother's work uniform. "I'm a jerk and I got mad and I shouldn't have and I really suck, and I tried to apologize but I'm petty and dumb…" She felt her mother's arms wrap around her back as she planted a kiss atop her head, which only made her cry harder. She was thankful for her mother's uniform at that moment, as oily as it smelled, because it stopped the others from having to see her tear-stained snot-dripping face. Crying really was ugly business.
"You get that from me." Her mother said with a chuckle, genting rubbing her fingers through her hair like she hadn't done in years. "Was that why when I woke you up you immediately called yourself an asshole?"
"Mmhm…"
"Oh, you silly girl. You're not an asshole. You're… just a teenager, Moon. You're been through so much in fourteen- Arceus, almost fifteen years now." The gentle press of her mother's face to her head was so comforting, even if she couldn't explain why. How had she been in the same house as her mother for months and never just asked for this? "You're growing and becoming a woman, and I hate that as much as I love it. But, do you remember the story of the three Lycanrocs?"
Moon nodded as she pulled back and looked up at her mother; she must have asked her mother to read that one in particular a hundred times growing up.
"The Lycanrocs of the Day and Night argued over who got to set the sky at what time." She recounted. "Time kept going out of whack and nothing could happen on time because the Lycanroc of the Day stopped the Night one from coming out at all, and so the people of Alola prayed for an answer. The third sibling stepped in and gave them each their equal time and stuff, and then took the in-between times like dawn and dusk for themself." Moon looked up to her mother, who nodded in confirmation.
"Exactly. And just like the Lycanroc of the Day, I can't keep trying to smother the Moon. I have to let it free." Her mother said, and the tone in her voice shifted from soft to firm in the way that only mothers could so instantaneously. "But like the Dusk Lycanroc, I have to set some conditions if I let you go… alright?" There it was: verbal confirmation that she was being given permission to pursue the trials. Moon felt her head bobbing up and down before her mother had even finished speaking. At this point, she was so happy to be able to take the challenge that she didn't care what the stipulations were.
"First," Her mother began while staring Moon in the eye, "You can't go alone – no, that does not mean your goofy little popplio – I need to know that someone other than a pokemon is looking out for you, no offense towards Chlorine intended. So," And here her eyes glanced over Moon's head, and when she looked back she saw her nod at the professor. "Kukui has agreed to allow Lillie to travel with you, as a companion to watch your back while doing research for him at the same time."
Now Moon's glance turned back toward the other two who had been silent during this entire exchange. Hau had mercifully gone to play with some of the professor's pokemon that wandered the room, and Lillie had become deeply invested in rearranging her bag several times over until her name had come up. Moon felt a rush of gratitude to them for respecting her privacy, and as Lillie turned to acknowledge them she flashed a nervous little smile before nodding her head.
"I'm looking forward to traveling with you, Moona." Lillie said in her usual soft tone that seemed reserved for anyone other than the professor. "I'm not really a trainer, so I might have to rely on you a bit more when it comes to dealing with pokemon. I uh, I am sorry for that, but I'll do my best to not be a burden." She nodded her head once more, repositioning her duffel over her shoulders. Moon chuckled silently to herself.
I'd say mom assigned me a carer, but I'm honestly not sure which one of us will be doing more of the looking out, here. "It's just 'Moon', actually, but you're free to call me whatever you'd like! I guess I'll be in your care from here on out." She smiled at Lillie, and this seemed to completely revoke the girl's ability to meet Moon's eyes as she soon began looking at anything but. Or more likely, the realization she had called Moon by the wrong name had left her embarrassed. A tap on the shoulder reminded Moon of her mother behind her, and she turned to face her once more.
"The second thing, is that I need you to uphold your responsibilities." Moon's immediate thought was wondering how she was going to take out the trash while she was in the island's jungle, but her mother didn't let her carry that notion for long. "I want to hear from you at least twice a week, whether that's from a crummy phone call or whatever. I want to see you, in person, at least once every three weeks, no debate, at the bare minimum. I don't care if you have to fly a charizard back here, you find a way, got it?"
"I got it, Mom-"
"I mean it, Moon." Her mother's voice took that no-nonsense tone once more. "Once. Every. Three. Weeks. I need to see that my baby is okay with my own eyes, and you have doctor appointments that you absolutely cannot miss, understand? I absolutely can and will revoke my blessing for this if you slip up." It was a testament to their relationship that Moon had only ever heard her mother this serious a handful of times, and so she knew rather than any joke or playful promise, the best thing she could do to put her mother at ease was to agree wholeheartedly. She nodded.
"I promise I'll come and see you, three weeks minimum. What's the third requirement?"
"This." Now her mother's voice was so soft that Moon was certain only she could hear it, as her mother reached into her pocket and pulled out a string of purple lacey cloth that Moon unfortunately recognized. With gentle fingers, her mother took the violet ribbon and wrapped it around her wrist, tying it over into a nice little bow so that it looked like her hand was a tiny present.
Moon glanced down at the ribbon, and pushed the air through her nose. "I don't want to wear it." She mumbled, just loud enough for her mother to hear. Rather than rebuke her, her mother smiled softly and lifted her chin with her thumb and forefinger so that their eyes could meet.
"I know." She said simply. "But it's the last thing I'll ask. If not for him, then wear it for me." With that, she leaned down and kissed Moon on the head one last time before stepping back. The quiet moment between them ended as her mother, eyes now dry and sharp, addressed everyone else in the lab. "Alright, that's enough out of me. Kukui, anything left on your end before they head out? I gotta get to work."
Professor Kukui, who had been quietly conversing with Lillie behind them, stood at attention and looked between the two girls. Hau had seemingly resigned himself to being swarmed by two lycanrocs and a snubbull, and Moon was only briefly aware of his hand sinking into the pile of pokemon as the professor crossed the lab towards the back. He stood in place for a moment, hands on his shoulders as though debating something before slowly turning and approaching the girls once more with his hands behind his back.
Professor Kukui looked at Moon, a strange twinkle in his eye that Moon couldn't quite place as excitement or anxiousness. Anticipation, perhaps? He gave a small cough and stood up straight as though attending a rather formal ceremony, but his smile remained.
"Ahem, Moon Kanoa." He began. "I see the fierceness and defiance in you that I was tormented by in the form of your mother when I was your age. You're stepping into a different world, and with it, it's only fair you're given a leg-up to meet that brave new horizon." He held out his hands, and in them was a bright orange tablet that hummed to life with bright blue eyes staring back at Moon. Moon raised her eyebrow at it.
"This is a tradition carried by eons of wizened and respected professors across the world, from ages past to this very moment. I think every professor looks forward to the day where they can bequeath this… to an aspiring new trainer who is ready to take on the world. This is one of but a few of its kind, but it's without a doubt the current pinnacle of technology in the realm of studying pokemon." The professor tapped the screen a few times, and the rotom-dex buzzed with delight before pulling up a scream of applications.
"It's got it all cuz, a full framed center for the camera lens, advanced scanning technology, even access to the Alolan Ranger Radio frequency for updates about what's going on in the trails." He gave it an acknowledging shake before holding it out to her, nodding for her to take it. "Therefore, I would like to ask that you take this rotom-dex, and as you journey, record the many wonders of the world that you find."
"No thanks." Moon chirped.
The professor stared at Moon for a moment, blinked, and then turned to face Lillie.
"Lillie, this is a tradition carried by eons of wizened and respected professors across-"
"Yeah, I understand, Professor." Lillie said, offering a resigned smile as she took the living pokedex from the professor. "I already know about what it can do, so I'm probably the best person to handle it anyway." She gave Moon a look before shaking her head, readjusting her bag to her other shoulder as she began to head towards the door. "I'm going to go get Ne-eeeested in the truck, b-bye Ms. Kanoa! I promise to keep a good eye on Moon!" Lillie gave an awkward smile to Moon's mother before hurrying out the door.
Moon smirked as Lillie passed her and turned to see Hau trudging along from the kitchen with a pink and black pokemon wrapped lovingly around his ankle. Hau glanced up at her with a grin of his own before gently trying to pry it from his leg with little success.
"Sorry for taking the spotlight, Hau." She apologized, leaning down to help him. "Are you coming with me and Lillie? I know it's not a race, but I…" She paused as a voice in the back of her head argued against what she was about to suggest. "I guess, you know, it'd be nice to have you come along for a bit since we're starting from the same place."
"Rajah dat, sistah. Ah, thanks Professor!" Hau said as the professor stepped in and took the fluffy pink pokemon, coaxing it softly away from Hau's ankle. "Don't worry about having a moment with your mom, man. I'm just glad you're getting to come along! I'd have to be a real stick in the mud to want to try and do this whole thing solo." There was a sudden groaning that stopped Hau in his tracks, and he looked down and patted his stomach remorsefully. "Auē, we're gonna have to stop somewhere first… can't become challenge champion on an empty stomach."
Moon realized that in her mother's rush to get to the lab, she hadn't eaten breakfast either. "Oh, dang, you too? Uh, there's a Burger Kingambit across the street from the mall, or that famous malasada joint off of Ele'ele Street?" Hau's eyes took on a dazed-like trance as soon as the word 'malasada' left her mouth, and for one strange moment Moon thought he might kiss her. Then from the front porch, Lillie's voice snapped him to his senses.
"What exactly is 'malasada'? Is that a local type of salad or something?" She called, evidently still struggling to carry her duffel. Hau and Moon exchanged wide-eyed horrified glances before Hau, shaking his head, walked out of the front door and bent down to help Lillie lift up her bag.
"Oh sister, we got a lot to teach you about Alola." He said with a grunt as they both lifted the bag as though it were a fallen log and quickly made their way to the professor's truck. Moon smirked as she watched them go, patting the head of her ukulele with one hand and holding Chlorine with the other. Life in Alola was never dull, it seemed, and she was excited to follow her companions into the world of adventure truly and fully. That is, until a hand gently grabbed her shoulder.
"Just a second, Moon." The professor said, and when she turned to look at him she saw that the look on his face had turned uncharacteristically serious. She had only seen that kind of look on him once before, on her first morning in Alola when he had received a phone call. It was the kind of look that made something in the back of her head realize that this man was in fact a revered researcher in his field for a reason, and that reason probably went hand in hand with the fact he let himself get bodied by pokemon as a workout.
She stopped and turned to face him fully, glancing at her mother beside them who seemed to share the professor's sudden change in tone. The professor's eyes, gray like the clouds above a crashing sea, bore into hers.
"Obviously, it's important that Lillie is there to watch your back. But that's not the sole reason she's going with you…" He took a deep breath, sharing a glance with her mother. "The truth of the matter is, Lillie has experienced severe… amnesia, since her arrival three months ago. Now that's a word that gets thrown a lot willy-nilly, but it is our hope – that being me and Burnet – that in letting her traverse the islands alongside you, she might be able to recollect some of what she's forgotten. What I need from you," And here he took both of her shoulders in his hands, "is a promise."
Moon stared at the professor for a moment. This was a lot to suddenly take in, on a day filled with sudden twists and turns, but the gravity of the professor's voice kept her grounded. She nodded.
"Keep her safe." He said. Quick, simple, but so heavy. "I know you know about Nebby already, meowth's outta the bag with that one. Your mother also knows. It is incredibly important, both to Lillie and in general, that you make sure nobody finds out about Nebby, yeah? Both Lillie and her pokemon, I need you to watch their backs just as much as they will yours. Keep her safe like I would keep you safe. Ua maopopo iāʻoe?"
Moon rolled this through in her head several times. Watch over Lillie and her weird little pokemon. She could do that, couldn't she? She'd already gone to bat for her against a spearow, what was another couple of birds or a stray rockruff? "Ua maopopo… uh, iaʻu kou manaʻo." She looked up to her mother to confirm she'd actually said it right, to which her mother gave a small nod. Putting on a smile, her mother leaned down and hugged her one last time.
"Mahalo, cousin." Kukui said, and Moon could hear the genuine relief in his voice. "Go on out to the truck, yeah? Figure out where I'm apparently taking you little stuffuls to eat before you begin." He gave her a familiar warm smile and nodded, which Moon took as her indicator to leave. She didn't look back as she stepped out of the lab and onto the sand dunes below, mostly because if she did then she might start crying, and if she was stuck having friends she could at least look cool in front of them.
From inside the house, her mother was under no such obligation. With a scrunched face she buried her eyes in the recess of her thumb and forefinger, letting out a small gasp as Moon climbed into the back of the truck. Kukui watched the truck for a moment before turning to his longtime friend and offering her a napkin from the nearby table.
"You should be proud, you know. You said she cut off each and every one of her friends right before she came to Alola, didn't you? Now look at her. Heh, you know, there's a saying that all kids leave home someday?" He said, fully aware of the reaction this would net him. True to form, Moon's mother glared up at him and shook her head.
"It's a stupid saying…" She mumbled, blowing her nose none too softly. "I just… I know I can't shackle her up, Ku. I don't want her to be miserable, I don't, I really want my baby to be happy. But what if she…" And here her voice caught in her throat, as the words that had been replaying in her head over and over forced to clench her eyes shut "What if she's going out there just to die?"
Professor Kukui gave a soft chuckle, watching through the open doorway as Hau and Moon seemed to be explaining to Lillie in great detail about what exactly a malasada was, with the former giving both a mild look of concern at their excitement over breakfast. He could tell she must've suggested a healthy alternative, because both kids recoiled with expressions of absolute offense. Moon even fell back in the bed of the truck for dramatic effect.
"Is that what you saw in her?" He asked. He took off his sunglasses and rubbed them on the sleeve of his tattered coat. "Come on, you're the one with parenting experience. If I can see it, I know you must've, you're just letting all those motherly fears get the best of you." Moon's mother looked at him in a way she must've a thousand times by that point, one that always said, Get on with it already. He looked back out to the truck.
"She wasn't excited to take on the trials just to see if she could die. She's going out there so that she can actually live."
Twelve miles off of the coast of Melemele, deep within the confines of an artificial island that sat in the midst of the Alolan Ocean, a woman sat at a computer as charts and graphs flickered across her screen. The room was dark, lit only by the numerous blinking lights and screens that showed maps of the islands. There were maps that showcased the islands by their natural temperatures, maps by height from sea level, maps based on population, and even a screen dedicated to a map that showed radiation levels in fixed points around the islands.
It was this screen that reflected off of the woman's lenses, and as she adjusted her glasses she leaned in to look at the single red circle that one of the foundation's members had brought to her attention. There it was, sitting just above the center of the island to the northwest. No matter how many times she looked at it, it was still there like an annoying insect that was determined to buzz past one's ear.
"What on earth are you doing, Miss Lillie?" She mumbled, running her hand down her face and covering her mouth. She was so deep in thought that she barely noticed the soft sound of footfall behind her until a familiar voice brought her out of her stupor and nearly out of her skin.
"Assistant Branch Chief Wicke."
"Ah! Oh, I- apologies Madame President, you startled me."
The woman behind Wicke smiled, and it wasn't a smile that put one one edge, but as Wicke had long since learned it wasn't necessarily one that warmed you either. It was as though she was smiling for the sake of social etiquette or protocol, to smile simply because she thought it looked pleasant as opposed to actually being pleasant. Her hand landed daintily on Wicke's shoulder as she slowly lowered herself to be eye level, and her eyes fell to the computer screen.
"You're straining yourself, Wicke." The act of ceremony and rank was dropped in an instant; an act for looks, just like the smile. "You're juggling too much at once, and while your dedication to our mission is as always appreciated, it would do me well to see you lighten your load lest you fatigue yourself. I myself know how tempting and satisfying progress can be, and I know the exhaustion that comes with it." Her gaze flickered toward Wicke, and she could just see it out of the corner of her eye. "Exhaustion would be unbecoming of you."
Wicke nodded. "Of course, Madame President. I apologize, I'm just… well, as you say, the thrill of progress makes transgressors of us all."
"Faba has told me that we have received a reading. Something that would pique my interest?"
Of course he has. Wicke nodded and pointed to the screen, showcasing the red circle that she had been staring at for nearly ten minutes now."These are the scintillation detectors that we had installed on Melemele, covering the area from southern Hau'oli to the northern meadows. A week ago, we received a sudden spike in activity, lasting exactly six seconds before fading." Her hand cruised over to the cursor and she rewinded the timescale, showcasing the small red circle growing and fading.
Her boss stared at the screen a moment more before speaking. "I see. So, all of this is because of… what, an exploding microwavable oven in a residential area? Focused solar energy from a pokemon?" She shook her head, and Wicke could feel the rebuke before it ever left her lips. "I apologize for my tone, but frankly Wicke I had been led to believe this was… noteworthy. Inform the Ranger Association, if you must, but this is…"
"It's not radiation." Wicke said. That caught her boss's attention, and she knew it would. "It shows up as radiation, because it houses similar elements that are found in both x-rays as well as gamma rays, but it isn't strictly radiation." She changed monitors now, sliding her swivel chair over to another screen as she pulled up a video feed from a security camera, and beside it a chart. "This is noteworthy, because the makeup of this 'burst' is giving us the exact same readings from this event three months ago." She clicked the little arrow at the bottom of the feed, and it began to play.
The screen showed an angled view of the second floor conservation room. Though it wasn't centered, in the upper right corner of the screen was a group of security personnel surrounding a figure on the floor. Then there was a burst of light, and the footage on the camera feed began to grow fuzzy. The glass shattered in unison as the light hurled into the sky, sending the foundation members backwards like a gas explosion.
The video feed stopped.
"As you can see," Wicke continued, "the exact same readings from this event with Project Nebula match the charts when paired with a geiger counter. The rays of light aren't explicitly radioactive as they don't seem to inflict any sort of radiation poisoning, but because they share such a similar cellular makeup we can actually trace it all the way back to when we did the initial scan on Professor…" Oh, she was treading on dangerous territory here. Easy Wicke, easy. "On the area where Professor Mohn vanished ten years ago."
Her boss was staring at the screen now, like a creature watching its prey slip into a trap.
Domesticated.
Patient.
Consuming.
"Oh, Lillian." Her boss whispered, creeping forward past Wicke so that she was face to face with the screen, as if she planned to crawl inside it. "I see now. I must admire your ingenuity, your intuitiveness. A small comfort that you took something good from your parents." She took a deep breath. In. Out. "If you were as beautiful as you are smart, this could've been solved so much sooner."
Wicke said nothing, scrunched uncomfortably in her seat as her boss arched over her. It was only when she finally pulled back from the screen that Wicke was able to sit straight, and when she turned to look at her longtime colleague and superior, the smile she saw worried her. Not because it was cold, but because it was warm.
"Wicke, dear." She said, her voice soft and gentle with the allure of mother extending her arms to needy children. "I believe it's time the Aether Foundation took up recruiting again."
We've got two pieces of fanwork up for TWFTM! Moon's plane song from Grape_Soda, and a piece of fanart from Sin_04T! Both are linked on my profile, so go and take a look because they both did absolutely fantastic! Thanks for reading!