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[Maybe Blue isn't quite expecting Nanu to agree with him there, and it forces a pause. Blessedly, he manages to retain a clear enough mind not to send anything untoward without meaning to, for the moment...]

'm not having nightmares... [He mutters back slowly, the only thing he can muster dispute to.] Is it always like this around here? Maybe I should just go live on the mountaintop, too...

No, it's not. [ ... ] Usually the problems are a lot more bizarre.

[And a lot less murdery? Kind of? This sort of problem is far more mundane to Nanu. It's something that could have happened (and probably has many times) back in their own world.]

I wouldn't be so quick to render yourself a hermit.

I don't know if I like the sound of that much better...

[But he'd reluctantly admit that it put him at least a little more at ease. Not that their world was without crime, but that the brutality that was described to him would be met with such indifference.]

If the police here are so useless, then what do people do if they're in danger?

There's less blood. [IS THAT BETTER]

[Honestly, it depends on Blue's likes and dislikes and overall temperament. Nanu dislikes and complains about 99% of the time, and finds a lot of Empatheias's quirks annoying. But he can't speak for how the teen would have responded to the phenomenons he's experienced after over half a year here...]

Count on each other. The native folks put up with a lot, but there are plenty who pitch in to help us 'otherworlders' when it counts. And that's big when some of us have screwed up things around here big-time, ourselves.

[.....Yes..]

[Blue isn't sure what to make of that description; it sounds like there's a lot about this place that he won't quite be able to understand, yet. The culture is so different...]

[But even where things are the same, Blue has his own hangups when it comes to 'counting on others'. That suggestion is going to be a bitter pill to swallow all its own, for someone who finds it difficult to find reasons to lend trust.]

What kinds of things...? You mean like how there's criminals here from our world? Others, too?

People have had their own ideas on how things "should" work around here. Dangerous ideas. Some fools even up and decided to attack an Arehtei a while back.

[Nanu's not exactly fond of the Arehtei and whatever they have to do with pulling people out of their own worlds, if anything at all. But it was still a stupid idea, one that caused a lot of people to be hurt—including Anabel.]

But sure, criminals and troublemakers too. The world's antics keep most folks busy enough, but there's always gotta be one bad Leppa in the bunch.

That sure sounds criminal to me.

[His memory echoes forth as he recalls news of what had happened recently (...recently for him) in the Sinnoh region, brought on by Team Galactic- muddling with the Pokémon of Creation. It wasn't too different-sounding at all. Not to mention that guy Archie...]

[But he supposed these people didn't have Pokémon to defend them from coming to harm. Even battling criminals back home wasn't as scary, knowing his Pokémon were stronger.]

Whatever. You're sure right that this has nothing to do with me, either. So staying as far from it as possible sounds good to me.

[Ah yes, those bozos. Nanu was never on their case, but he'd read up on them and followed the news. Honestly, all anyone has to say is the word "Team", and there's trouble to follow. His disgust might translate over to Blue when the thought of them comes up.]

[He's just glad their pokémon came with them at all. If Nanu had come without any of his, he would have gone down a hole he probably couldn't dig himself out of.]

That's the right idea. But I shouldn't need to tell you that Empatheias's trouble has an uncanny way of finding most everyone, anyway. Keep on your toes and all that.

See, that's why I don't like the sound of it! [Blue complains again, an unnerved feeling broadcast once again. Strange things... he's heard other murmurs and implications of 'strange things', of people saying there's no telling what could be expected of situations Blue found to be perfectly normal.]

[Like those eggs, for instance. What was everyone so worked up for? It doesn't occur to him that this very conversation is caused by one such haywiring.] Just what kinda stuff has happened around here...?

You mean other than casual telepathy and emotions coming to life every time you feel something stronger than apathy?

[The problem with the gossip about "strange things" is that it's always a surprise. Nanu's given up trying to expect specific happenings, and just goes along with whatever crap comes next.] The first month I was here, gravity went screwy. People, buildings, all sorts of things flyin' around unless they found a way to stay grounded.

[He's thinking back, now. Some memories, here and there. Hey; Blue asked.] Lake Niras once receded on its own. Folks found a hoard of ancient tech down in the caverns. ...That Helisium festival last year had big walkin' teapots and kettles giving out emotion-infused tea—and, no, they were nothin' like pokémon. [eaugh that was unsettling] Then there was a nighttime carnival a while later, during harvest month. That had all sorts of loony crap—food that changed your appearance for the night, costumes takin' over people entirely. ...Someone just outright turned into a cat. [yeah he met that one personally]

Were you here for Selenium last month? Can't recall. That one was more somber, but the stuff no less peculiar. Come to think, most festivals have odd things pop up more often than just week-by-week.

I guess you don't know any Psychics. Sabrina's like this all the time at League meetings... Okay, you got me on the emotion stuff, though.

[Blue listens to this grocery list of oddities with a slowly growing confusion, the unsettled feeling creeping back across their crystal connection. Okay, so maybe he wasn't just bluffing... But Blue had a hard time imagining actually seeing these things in reality, and not just hearing about them like in a game or comic book.]

So then... No one knows why any of this happens, right? It's not those legendaries? The 'Arehtei's doing? ...At least none of it sounds too dangerous on its own, just weird and annoying.

[Nanu could probably dig up more, but those are the ones that stood out, and most of the ones he got directly involved with involuntarily. He still thinks some of the festivals and traditions are nice... it's just all the nonsense tied into it that makes dealing with them a gamble.]

Some of them might be. I know they've got their own way of making their presence known in town. [please don't try to catch the arehtei, blue...] It can go either way, sometimes. Since so much of it is focused on emotions and memories.

Selenium was a good example. Some folks observed family or friends and had a nice time. For others, it was a nightmare.

I heard something like-- Archie said they interact with humans a lot. [Look, Blue Oak don't fuck with no legendaries, this is Gen 1. He dislikes the idea, therefore, of actually seeking them out himself, but to others it seemed as though one didn't even need to hunt for them in order to cross their paths.] Do you think they're dangerous or anything like that?

[Nightmares... Legendaries certainly weren't 'good' or 'bad', he thought. They just were, tied to nature as they were. He wondered if the Arehtei were the same.] Then that's people's own faults, right?

They do. Not all of them are happy about it. ...I'd liken them to the legendaries of our world. They're plenty dangerous if they want to be, but so long as they don't have a good reason... [Insert a big mental shrug. It's pretty much what Blue's been thinking.] But do I think they're malicious? No. They serve their own purposes and are tied closely to the world—and our amulets. So whether we, or they, like it or not; we're tied together, too.

[He's not giving the impression that he's scared of them, if it's any consolation to Blue (not that the kid would admit it).]

Yes and no. The magic nonsense in this world doesn't always work the way we want or expect it to. The candles at Selenium brought forth images of people's loved ones. Doesn't mean they could control what they saw or the memories they dredged up.

Not all happy...? [Blue repeats, like he's trying to interpret that and not liking where it's leading his mind- an unhappy legendary never led to anything good.] Most people that've mentioned it seemed to like them. Did something happen with one of 'em?

[That said, if they're all really stuck together, then there's nothing to be done about it. Blue just hopes he doesn't cross the paths of any of the less 'happy' Arehtei by accident... And from Nanu's description, he's sure glad he wasn't around for this Selenium, either.]

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