bravenewworld | The Day of Fire. [Calderan Summer Solstice OPEN log]

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The Day of Fire. [Calderan Summer Solstice OPEN log]

It's the morning of the 21st and it's clear even to the inexperienced Unionite, Refugee, or Citadel resident that the city has a different air to it. If it wasn't the atmosphere that got them, then the stalls lining the streets would. Many people are still working on getting set up for the night festival, but the stalls that are complete are lining many corners and they are filled to the brim with bright colors. From afar, the streets look like someone threw a rainbow of paint across the city.

They haven't seen anything yet.

It's not yet time for the festivities so any visitors are free to wander the streets. The natives seem to be delighted if amused at all the people interested in the holiday and are happy to sell anyone as much colored powder as the want. Sometime close to noon is when things change. The natives all kind of stop what their doing. The colored stalls start to close up and everyone looks tense.

A long, rattling trumpet sound rings through the streets and that is when all hell breaks loose.

It's every man and pokemon for themselves. Have fun everyone.

[Ooc: Feel free to make your own top levels in addition to using the prompts below! Have fun guys!]

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[Burn heal? What's that?

After a long day of being in the sun and in the colors, drinking it up, and forgetting about everything that had happened in the months that had led to this point, the odd peace of the bonfires throughout Caldera's streets had an almost surreal feeling to them. It was peaceful, almost like nothing had changed at all in the time that he had been away...

Shirtless and covered from the tips of his shaggy hair to the toes of his boots with colored powders, Cliff stood off to the side admiring one of the fires with an oddly wistful smile playing on his lips.

For the first time in a long while, he really and truly felt like he was back at home...]

[Oops. Sorry to interrupt your wistful firegazing, Cliff. That's someone barreling into you who lost his footing and luckily tumbled into you and not the fire.]

Whoa!

[Good thing too, because what is burn heal???

Cliff's stance remained as solid as the mountains out beyond the city, and he glanced over his shoulder with a complaint ready on his lips.]

'Whoa' yourself. I'm all for drinking it up this time of year, but--

[He abruptly cut himself, eyes widening as he recognized the young man even through the heavy mess of colors.]

Hayato?

[Clearly, he was dreaming. Or he had drunk too much. It was hard to say.]

[It's also probably a good thing he tumbled into Cliff because Hayato was a lot sturdier than he used to be and anyone less of a brick wall than Cliff might have still landed them in the fire.]

[When he hears his name he goes rigid.]

[That voice was definitely familiar.]

[He looks up like a deer in the headlights. He didn't think he'd ever see Cliff again because the last time he saw him was in a war camp in Gigas, just before he was dragged off to the Enhanced facility.]

...Cliff?

[That had been an incident that he never wanted to think about again, not after spending countless days and weeks keeping the bastards off of the skinny twerp. He ran a hand though his hair, staring at Hayato in disbelief.

He had gotten a few more scars and a few new tattoos since they had met, but Hayato....]

What the hell are you doing here?!

[That actually causes him to take a step back.]

I-

[What are you doing here!? Like he's not supposed to be here. Cliff would figure it out. If he knew Hayato was alive he could easily guess that he'd survived the Enhanced project. That he wasn't human anymore. He thought he was over the crippling fear of seeing people he knew from home again, but now it's all back.]

[He abruptly turns away. It might look like he's just having a hard time meeting his eyes, but in reality it's because he felt the rise of his scars, and that would be all he needed right now.]

Celebrating.

[Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit--

It wasn't fear that Cliff felt, but relief. He couldn't give a swinub's ass about whether Hayato had been altered or not, the sheer fact that the young man was alive at all was the only thing that mattered to Cliff.]

--Where do you think you're going?

[Cliff spoke quickly when he saw Hayato turn away, reaching out a hand to grab his shoulder before he disappeared from his life for a second time.]

[There was definitely something different, there. He didn't give like a normal human, almost like he was denser. The result of being Steel typed.]

No where.

[He didn't move, but he was tense. When he makes himself calm down enough that his scars start to fade he turns to look at him again.]

I'm not. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for the festival- I. I escaped a few months ago. It looks like you did, too.

[...He seemed tougher than before. Denser. Harder. Cliff furrowed his brows as he studied his friend, mind already whirling with the various possibilities.

They both knew what had happened. It was obvious. But, it was also too loaded to talk about.]

It wasn't easy, [Cliff added, confirming Hayato's words. He hadn't liked what he had found when he returned to Caldera either...but life always kept moving forward.] But, you know that.

[He looked out over the street, looking for someplace quiet and out of the way where they could go for a little privacy.]

...Listen, don't go just yet. Let's grab a drink or something, yanno?

[And Hayato was hoping it would stay that way honestly. He knew it wouldn't, though. He also owed Cliff something of an explanation.]

...Yeah. We can do that.

[He glances for the nearest place. Most of the bars were closed for the festival but there were likely still a few open. Quiet with only a few people.]

[Or, they could do it the old fashioned way-- with a bottle of spirits and a private corner in some back alley....or, even the little place he had been crashing for the few weeks since he's been back in Caldera. Swiping a bottle off of a table as they moved passed, Cliff tossed a few coins in exchange and led Hayato through the maze-like back roads of Caldera.]

Let's go back to my place. It ain't much, but it's quiet and out of the way.

[Just the way he liked it.]

[There's a pause before he nods. That would be fine. He nods.]

That's fine. [And preferable, really. That way they really could talk without getting overheard.]

Right-o. Follow me.

[Now with a destination in mind, Cliff led Hayato through the alleys to a small place on the very edge of the downtown. It was close enough to still be a part of the city, but far enough away to afford peace and privacy when it was needed.

Like right now.]

Here we are, [He said as he opened the door and flipped on the lights.] Make yourself comfy-- and, don't mind the bird. She's a friend.

['Bird' being a Hawlucha. Cliff had no idea where she was, but he was sure that she was safe.]

[Some part of him was a little wary of going out like this into some place he'd never been, but he had to keep telling himself that it was Cliff and obviously didn't mean any harm. He hated being so paranoid sometimes.]

[He peers into the room curiously before he heads inside. He didn't see the 'bird' right away bit he nods.]

Sure. How long have you been back?

[He would have to check on Goro eventually. The little cretin was probably causing all kinds of trouble.]

Few weeks, [He replied, pulling down some drinkware for the two of them while he spoke.] Long enough to get back in town and...I dunno. Live.

How 'bout you? No one I spoke to had heard anything about you.

[Not that he had too many opportunities to speak with any other prisoners. They kept Cliff under close watch after they took Hayato-- he barely had any freedom of movement, even in his cell. The scars left by some of the restraints were proof of that.]

[He slides his hands in his pockets, busying himself with looking around at Cliff's place of residence.]

A few months. I've been in Union.

[And he wouldn't have been here at all if someone hadn't taken it upon themselves to drag him here.]

Union?

[...That was surprise, and it showed in Cliff's eyes as he poured them both a few shots of liquor.]

Why there? Why not...I dunno, stop home first?

[Cliff, for one, was still searching for signs of his old combat team, human and pokemon alike. The Hawlucha he had met along the way was a complete, but not unwelcome, newcomer.]

[Way to ask the really hard questions first, there Cliff. That actually makes him pause. He swallows, shaking his head.]

It's complicated. I needed to make some kind of fresh start. Put what happened behind me. I wasn't ready to come home yet- I'm still not.

[Ignoring the parts of him that still insisted he had no right to be here. He pushed those thoughts down pretty hard.]

Edited 2015-06-22 22:48 (UTC)

Well, there's only so long you can run from what's in your blood.

[Because, even for the roughest of scoundrels, there really was nothing like the one place they could ever call home.]

...You're still you, [Cliff added cautiously after a length, downing some of his own drink. The experiments that Gigas were no secret-- even if no one had the full picture, everyone inside knew that something nasty was being worked on.] I don't care what those bastards tried to make you believe. You're still you.

[So everyone seemed convinced to tell him. And maybe he was running from his own blood. A little, anyway. The rest of him just realized that being home meant being done, and he wasn't done yet. He had a war to fight. He wasn't just a photojournalist anymore. Gigas had made sure of that.]

[He's sipping absently at his own drink- He's not about to drain it, since it had no effect on him anyway. He doesn't want to waste any more of Cliff's alcohol- when he says that. It makes him stop.]

How are you so sure of that?

[It's an honest question.]

[Cliff set his glass down on the counter with a firm clack and offered Hayato the most honest and reassuring smile he could that night.]

Because, you've always had good eyes. You still do.

[And the eyes told a lot about a person. He was no psychic-type, but he liked to think that he was a pretty good judge of people.]

[...He couldn't help it, that smile was infectious. It always had been, even when things were so desolate in that prison camp. It was nostalgic in a good way despite the unhappy circumstances it made him recall.]

[His smile is light and humorous. He laughs, shaking his head.]

I guess there's no point in arguing with you, either, huh?

[He offers him back his empty glass.]

Here- I don't want to waste more of your alcohol. It doesn't work on me anymore.

[A roundabout way of confirming what Cliff might have assumed about him. That they did experiment on him, that he's been altered.]

[It was all the confirmation Cliff needed-- and enough reason for him to grab his own glass and down the rest of it in a single go.]

What? That's unforgiveable-- no one should mess with a man's right to enjoy a drink!

[He was upset for other reasons too, including the fact that Hayato had been targeted and forcibly altered at all. Forcing combat capabilities on to those with a peaceful mindset was one thing, but taking away their ability to enjoy the simple things in life was a completely different crime in and of itself.

...It also made for an easier, less loaded target for the both of them to focus on.]

All right, we're gonna need to go and fix this, you know.

[Well. That ...was not the reaction he expected, though maybe he should have. It was a Cliff sort of thing for him to get worked up over. He also had a sneaking suspicion he was deflecting on purpose, and that was fine.]

[He can play along, at least. He gives an annoyed hand gesture.]

You're telling me. Do you know how mad I was when I found out? I spend a stupid amount of money on drinks trying to figure out if it was me or if Union just had really weak beer.

[He was actually pretty asschafed about it. he does pause at that last part, though.]

...Fix this? What do you mean?

[It was deflection, because Cliff had aimed to have a good time that night and, honestly, these memories were too heavy for his tastes that night. They could properly debrief another time.

This was the Day of Fire. Every Calderan needed to go have fun.

He slammed his glass on the table, offering up a wild grin.]

What are we gonna do? We're gonna find the biggest, meanest, most foul tempered Darmanitan on this side of the mountains, fight it, and see if we can get it to help us find the spiciest peppers in Caldera.

[He was joking, except for the part about the peppers.]

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