#pla calaba

Emmet knows they cannot stay here! Even though he does not know where here is. That is a verrry scary thought. He releases both his Pokemon, Archeops to scout ahead for signs of human life and Eelektross to protect them. He carries his brother on his back until Archeops spots a settlement of some kind and directs them to it. It’s an odd collection of tents in the snow, but it’s better than nothing.

Of course, people panic at the sight of Emmet, this stranger in white and red. But Warden Calaba is there, and she has long since learned the difference between a stranger and a Zoroark, and there’s desperation in the man’s voice. She allows them tentatively into the village, where she has him bring Ingo to the medic’s tent. He still hasn’t woken up. Emmet is getting increasingly worried.

The leader of this small settlement arrives- he learns through both his and Calaba’s broken Kantoian that this place is known as the Pearl Clan. The leader is a young girl named Irida, and she asks him many questions, and he tells them that they are from Unova, and he does not know how they got here, or even where here is. She tells him he is in... Hisui, he thinks she said? She asks if they are with the Galaxy Team. He shakes his head. He does not know what that is. They are Subway Bosses!

They do not seem to know what a Subway is.

Irida and Calaba debate in a language he does not know. They agree to let them stay until his brother wakes up, and then they will decide what to do from there. Emmet is getting the feeling that they do not like outsiders, but they still agreed to help his brother, so they cannot be bad people. He makes a passing remark about how fine the coat of Irida’s Eevee is, and though she only seems to understand every other word, she beams at the praise.

She asks about his Pokemon. He’s pretty sure they’re only getting every other word. He assures her they’re very tame, since he noticed the way the villagers were eying them. He saw some verrry strong looking Pokemon in the distance on his way here, so he thinks he can guess why.

Then finally, Ingo wakes up. Emmet is delighted. But... something is wrong. His brother’s stare is blank, vacant. He looks at him, and...

INFOOOO

Pearl clan is a group of werewolves/werepokemon (except for Ingo who thinks they're all furries)

The Diamond clan is a group of vampires

Gingko guild is a bunch of Fae and demons, they just want your name and souls

Julibilife is mostly humans but is kinda a mixing pot of all the creatures

And everyone is trying to hide it from Akari and Rei (also Akari and Rei and 20+ bc 15 is kinda young to be SAVING THE WORLD)

I can imagine she was one of the loudest people being against Ingo becoming a Warden, maybe even him becoming part of the Pearl Clan him being a stranger and all. But once the decision was made she didn't complain but was still wary towards him. And their relationship was purely professional.

After meeting Akari and her change of heart I'd like to imagine she seeks him out to apologize for her behavior towards him, hoping he would forgive her. Ingo understands her point of view, of being wary of outsider but is happy about her change of heart. Their relationship improves and Calaba often makes him medicine or a salve for his feet. (considering the legwork he is doing this guy definitely needs something for his tired feet after walking around all day)

I share the same thoughts Anon! I hinted at that a little bit in my fic It’s Just A Cold, actually! But I really like the progression you have laid out in terms of their relationship, it’s so good!! (And I love anything having to do with Calaba because she is actually high up there on my list of favorites… she’s a grandma with a beaver and a big bear!!)

Seeing as how Calaba was so set in tradition and her own ways, and didn’t want your help or anyone else’s when she first meets you, I felt that she was perhaps the same way with Ingo when he first came to Hisui and joined the Pearl clan.

I love your progression though of it going from distrust, to tolerance, to acceptance and a change of heart ;w; and even making him stuff!!!

Snowpoint Settlement, Alabaster Icelands, Hisui Region, 1804 AC

Calaba knew the signs well. One didn't reach her age without experiencing at least one supernatural occurrence. The way Warden Ingo's eyes glowed in the dark, how the whites of his eyes glowed a soft blue when he was certain of the truth from time to time, the way he was just warm enough even when traversing the Alabaster Icelands at night in his tattered coat.

It was something the elders of the clan experienced once before and kept the knowledge to those who should be made aware of it, like Irida and some Wardens. Not Gaeric, and not Ingo. Lian would be told once he was older.

Calaba rested on Ingo's back as they headed back. The man had disassociated. She feared she broke the taboo when it came to someone like him, waking a dreaming god, but she knew that a god kept asleep for too long would cause more harm than good. Ingo was with them for a few years now, a lot longer than Gaeric's cold resilient father, he stayed for barely a year, but a god has their responsibility to the world to play. Much more important things to do than to play human in their long and deep sleep.

Ingo was silent when the linking cord her granddaughter made rang out. The whites of his eyes became a solid blue as he silently picked her up and automatically carried her all the way to the Snowpoint settlement without much of a word.

“I apologize for the deception, holy one.” She began on their trip. “But surely you must know you can't stay asleep forever.” silence was the reply. She sighed.

“This is a story that happened many years ago, forty years or so if my memory hasn’t failed me. You see, Lord Avalugg entered hibernation for the cold winter months. One year, he went to sleep a little too early, practically near the end of summer. We worried that he became ill or if age was coming to him early, or perhaps he simply wanted a nap after a hard year’s work, no one but Lord Avalugg knew the reason why. Then one autumn night, a sudden freak snowstorm struck. It lasted for an hour or two but when it ended, Lugvic appeared. He was like you in a way. Lost and no idea where he was. He couldn’t remember his name until a week among the Pearl Clan. Oh he was such a strong and handsome man with his icy blue hair and thick beard, that tanned brown skin, and those piercing yellow eyes. He quickly integrated into the clan as if he was born into it. He fell in love and married during the winter solstice. It was a happy life.” she gave a soft smile at the memories of the wedding. She then frowned as she continued.

“But I noticed strange things about him. I am a married woman and all but I was also one of the clan’s healers. I was the one who helped heal him up at the beginning. Lugvic’s skin remained cold to the touch no matter how hot the inside of the yurt could get. The most blatant of his strangeness was how he went around shirtless in the middle of winter as if it was a warm summer’s day. Those who noticed his oddness, mostly the elders, assumed he was some male froslass taking human form to live a happy life and it was better to stay quiet about it, lest sorrow and anguish struck the happy couple. They were deeply and truly in love. She was Lord Avalugg’s previous warden, before she stepped down due to her age, though I won’t leave my wardenship by something as silly as age. They were already planning on having a large family.”

She then sighed for a moment, her breath becoming visible as their surroundings slowly shifted into the Alabaster Icelands’ wintry embrace.

“Lord Avalugg stayed asleep at the start of spring, which was unusual for him. Lugvic helped as much as he could, even pulling the plow all by himself, but without Lord Avalugg’s strength, there would be less fields plowed and thus less food grown to keep starvation at bay in the coming winter. We asked a wise man from holy Michina for guidance and he, through a ritual, found that Lord Avalugg had entered a deep, deep sleep, a sleep so deep that their soul left their body and wandered out. We thought that Lord Avalugg had followed his ancestors, becoming one with the ice, but the wise man said that he was still alive, simply asleep, and that there was a way to awaken a sleeping god. I was then given the task by the wise man in private. To weave the colored strands into a braided rope with a bell on each end, the linking cord. The colors had to match the body and the spirit, to strengthen the bond between them enough to bring the spirit back into their body. So many colors, and even with the wise man’s allowance in making multiple cords, to make one that would awaken Lord Avalugg from his deep slumber was beyond me. But then, Almighty Sinnoh helped me one night. It was late at night as I was weaving another cord, the stress of multiple failures were getting to me. I had three strands that represented Lord Avalugg, one for the glacial ice, one for the rocky skin, and one for the sharp eyes. My thoughts then came to Lugvic, and thinking it would be another failure, I grabbed the threads that matched his hair, his skin, and his eyes. I wove them into a cord and attached a bell on each end. I then presented it to the wise man for another attempt at the ritual.”

Tears began to fall.

“It worked. With the ringing of the bell, Lord Avalugg was groused from his slumber, still asleep but his body was calling for his spirit to return, to awaken once more. We celebrated that night but I kept my eyes at Lugvic. He was sorrowful then. I think he knew what happened, that he became aware of his true status, that he became lucid. He promised her that should they have a son, she would name him Gaeric. My younger sister kept that promise. We partied until a freak snowstorm struck. Everyone fled back into the yurts, all but one. A young girl was lost in the sudden snow, screaming for help, and Lugvic ran out despite my sister’s plea. Before they parted, he hugged her tightly, kissed her a silent farewell, and promised that he would never forget her. He then ran off into the snowstorm. And once we lost sight of him in the snow, the snowstorm ended as suddenly as it appeared. The girl was found, safe and sound, with a familiar braided cord on her wrist, the ringing of the bells helped in finding her before the hyperthermia became serious. Lugvic, on the other hand, vanished just as he appeared. My sister was inconsolable for weeks. Until the tell-tale sign of pregnancy made her focus on the last reminder of Lugvic she had left.”

She then wiped away the tears before they could freeze.

“Gaeric was born a healthy baby boy, with some of his father’s features, especially the tolerance for the cold. One day, when I was alone before Lord Avalugg, I asked him if he remembered being Lugvic, of the love he shared with my sister, of all the plans and promises made that winter. Confusion was the only reply. As if he were nothing but a dream, Lord Avalugg recalled nothing of being Lugvic and even saw young Gaeric as nothing more than another child of the Pearl Clan, to play and entertain like all the other children. It was then I decided, for my sister’s sake. Let the elders whisper amongst themselves of Lugvic being a male froslass, this was a secret I would keep to my grave. My sister convinced herself that her love died saving the young girl. His body fell into the icy water and was swept away. Not realizing that Lugvic the man was the dream of Lord Avalugg himself. His promise to her was broken the moment he woke up, and yet she served him as his warden faithfully until she became too old to travel and had to step down. Only for Lord Avalugg to choose Gaeric as his next warden. And still I kept myself quiet.”

A sigh as the Snowpoint settlement became visible in the distance.

“I know you’re judging me with those blue eyes of yours, holy one. That my silence of Gaeric’s true heritage, the silence of the clan, is something that disgusts you. Do you think I should tell my sister and nephew the truth? That Lugvic, the man my sister loved so dearly that she never married again, was nothing more than a dream of Lord Avalugg? That Gaeric has the blood of a noble pokemon through his veins and that he serves his father without him knowing about it? That they were quickly forgotten despite Lugvic’s promise? Let them have that perfect ideal of him. That he was a strong and brave man who gave his life to save a child in need. That he was human even with all his quirks. That he was someone who was meant to be remembered, even if he was nothing more than a dream. That he was as real as anyone else. That he left his mark on the Pearl Clan. That he left a legacy through his son. That Lugvic the man would live on even if he was born of lies.”

The tears flowed out once more, only for a warm hearthfire touch to wipe them away and Ingo’s glowing blue eyes staring at her silently.

“For that’s what dreams are, isn’t it? Not real, not true, nothing but lies.”

A dream is not a Truth. But it can be a Truth made real. What is a lie, an Ideal, but a Truth yet to be made true?

Ingo seemed to speak through her mind, shocking her at the awesome and awful power, at the terrific and terrible strength, at the horrific and horrible Will.

Tell me, young Warden Calaba, are you dreaming right now?

The bells of Ingo’s linking cord, silent despite the shaking of his movements throughout the whole trip, rang out like a loud and sudden slam.

And Warden Calaba shot up from her bed with a sudden inhaling gasp.

Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked around. She was in her yurt back in the Snowpoint settlement, yet the moment between being brought to bed and being on Warden Ingo’s back some distance away was blank. As if something was Proclaimed to be true and so it was.

The door then opened as Gaeric entered the yurt. Shirtless as he usually went.

“Ah, auntie! You’re up! We were so worried about you! Warden Ingo carried you all the way from the mirelands. Mother thought your heart gave out from your duties.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m the older sister, she doesn’t need to baby me like I’m some wrinkly infant.”

Gaeric laughed at that.

“At least you’re feeling well then.” he said as he went to pour some water for her.

“Tell me, Gaeric.” she began. “Warden Ingo’s eyes, what color were they again?”

“Huh? They’re silver.”

“Were they silver when we arrived?”

“What sort of question is that? They were always silver. Sure they glow in the dark but I find that neat.”

Calaba snorted at that as she took a sip of water.

“Warden Ingo told us you ended up drinking a bit, hence why he had to carry you all the way from the Diamond Clan.” he said as she stared at her reflection in the ceramic cup.

“Warden Calaba?”

“I heard you the first time, no need to repeat yourself. So, where did Warden Ingo go? I doubt he would stay here for too long, what with that ruined coat of his.”

Gaeric laughed. It was a familiar laugh.

“Of course, he went back to the Coronet Highlands after he dropped you off. Still in his usual daze though.”

“Must have been a deep slumber…” she muttered much to Gaeric’s confusion.

“What was that?”

“Nothing but some elder nonsense you shouldn’t worry about. Now go, I’ll let my sister do the nagging. Aren’t you going to climb on Lord Avalugg’s back for a clean up or something?”

Gaeric laughed at that.

“No, no, just an early morning jog and swim before I begin my daily duties to Lord Avalugg.”

“Well, go jog around then. I’m perfectly capable of eating by myself.”

With a grin and a short respectful bow, her nephew ran out to jog shirtless in the snow and soon swim in the half frozen river.

She stayed silent at how much like Lugvic he was, not wanting him to disappear like a dream if she spoke out.

Akari picks Cyndaquil bc that’s who I picked, and also, hey! An (eventual) fire ghost type to maybe jog some of Ingo’s memories lose! Plus it and Chandelure could be buds post-reunion. In addition to the Zorua Ingo helps befriend, she’s also inspired by him to catch her own Gligar, and ends up with one of Lady Sneasler’s kits choosing to join her. She also has a Luxray and a Gengar to round out her team.

I feel like Calaba is among those who are still suspicious of Ingo... but not for the reasons people would first think. She actually thinks the Warden is fine, he clearly has no intention of hurting them, and if he wanted to deceive them, well, he’s doing a bad job of it. Too honest. No, what she’s afraid of is what will happen when he gets his memory back- if his amnesia is the only thing keeping him so human.

(she feels sorry for him, in a way.)

Ingo likely lives in a tent near Lady Sneasler’s den, and can sometimes go for days without any human contact. This steadily tips his scale more towards the Zoroark side of himself, although temporarily getting yeeted from his host body probably didn’t help with that. The latter is why the tips of his hair have started to turn red as it gets longer.

Irida: Irida’s parents... never really noticed she wasn’t their real daughter. It never mattered to them. This sounds like a good thing! It was not. They only ever saw their children as extensions of themselves- little mini-mes to mold into perfect little replicas of themselves. You know, that kind of parent. They were very rich, and she grew up very cultured... and extremely unhappy. She ran away at thirteen and through the Zoroark grapevine, made contact with the Pearl Clan and was taken in. Prior to the events of the AU, she was living in student housing in Nimbasa while pursuing a degree in Pokemon conservation.

Lian: I’ve already touched on Lian’s story a bit, actually! Basically he was treated normally by his parents (and his Uncle Clay) but unfortunately after his mom passed, his dad remarried to a woman who was far more interested in him than she was his son with his unnerving red-marked eyes. After his father died too, she took him and moved, and then pulled the classic ‘wait here until I come back’ maneuver after which she never did. The Pearl Clan had been in Unova for roughly a year or so when this happened, so he was taken in. Prior to the series, he was actually living with Palina! After the series he gets adopted by his Uncle Clay.

Palina: She was born and raised in Kalos to a loving family. An only child. Her parents loved her dearly, and for a long time, she thought she was one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, it didn’t last- she was exposed around fifteen, and their attitudes changed immediately when they found out what they’d been raising all this time was not the daughter they’d brought into the world. She fled Kalos, traveled to Sinnoh where she heard there were far more Zoroark, and met up with the Pearl Clan. She understands Ingo’s deep hesitance to tell Emmet the truth better than anyone. Prior to the series, she was living in a nice loft apartment with Lian!

Gaeric: Actually one of the lucky ones. His parents an isolated life on Mount Coronet, living a self-sustaining lifestyle and acting as guides and rescuers to those who lost their way on the mountain. Probably one of the few people to actually see a Hisuian Zoroark in the flesh in the modern era, they knew as soon as they saw red around their son’s eyes that he’d been replaced. They loved the child anyways, and raised him with a deep appreciation of the mountain they lived on... until their untimely death while trying to rescue hikers buried in avalanche when he was eighteen. Gaeric left, and wound up joining the Pearl Clan. Prior to the AU events, he was living in a cheap apartment on the outskirts of Nimbasa.

Calaba: She was born when the folklore surrounding Hisuian Zoroark was much more prevalent. She did not have a good time. That’s all anyone needs to know.

Pastoria Settlement, Crimson Mirelands, Hisui Region, 1804 AC

Ingo was looking for Calaba in the Mirelands to deliver a letter when he found himself being dragged to the Diamond Clan settlement by one of their members, a Miyamizu Hitoha, if he remembered the naming convention right. He couldn’t help but feel like it was supposed to be the other way around.

“A man your age should be eating more.” was the only explanation of his sudden appearance at the Miyamizu yurt with five bowls of rice and various vegetable meals. It became much more awkward when Calaba appeared and the two went on a whole argument.

Calaba accused Hitoha of trying to steal from the Pearl Clan of their Warden, just like how she stole her son Wabisuke from her.

“I married him and we’re happy together. It’s not my fault you Jinnouchis are so stubborn.”

“Oh you are lucky I’m too old to carry my naginata!”

“Threatening a member of the Diamond Clan?” Hitoha said with fake shock and terror, up to placing the back of her hand on her forehead. “Oh, is this about regaining the Jinnouchi family honor from the whole battle of whatsits and the skirmish of somesuch?”

“Well, I have something better than a naginata.” Calaba said with a sinister grin. With a slam, a hanafuda deck was placed on the table.

“Gonna try to win back your Warden with a game of cards?”

“What’s this? Has the Diamond Clan famed resilience finally cracked?”

Hitoha simply grinned.

“What’s the starting bet?”

Ingo found himself on a front row seat watching a rather competitive game of koi-koi between Calaba and the younger Hitoha. Hitoha’s daughter, Futaba, chuckled at the sight of the two after weaving some colorful linking cords.

“Don’t worry about those two. They’re good friends. The enmity between them when mother married father faded years ago.” She then noticed the empty bowls on the table. “You certainly have a strong appetite.”

“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t realize how much I was eating.”

“No need to worry. Mother tends to make excuses when it comes to making granny visits. Calaba’s a warden for the mirelands yet she rarely does visit. Then again, she lost family in the earlier skirmishes between the clans back then.”

“While that is true then, it is no longer true now.” Ingo began as he glanced out at the two arguing over the winning hand. “While it is true that things can change for the worse, it can also change for the better. The world simply is, what we can control is our reaction to it.”

Futaba blinked at that.

“That is a Truth in life.” Ingo said, silvery eyes seemed to glow with soft blue light, as welcoming as a hearthfire. “The world is vast and ever changing and that for one to thrive, one must adapt to the world.” Flashes of memory then struck him. “I… I remember someone disagreeing with me on that. ‘Why must we change to fit the world when we have the power to change it? The world should change to fit us.’ I remember the words clearly. Yet I don’t recall if we fought or simply disagreed, or if it was a recent argument or one long past.”

“At least you remember more and more right? May time bless you in the coming future. While the Pearl Clan would have told you that the Diamond Clan are nothing but miserable layabouts melancholic about the passing of time, at least we accept it.” Futaba said as the two looked out into the Crimson Mirelands. “‘All things change in the passage of time’s relentless march. From birth to death, the exceptions to this are rare. From the past to the present to the future, we accept as Almighty Sinnoh’s law. We all have regrets. We all have our sorrows. But as it becomes nothing but memories in the past, we must not hold tightly to them. Instead we, like time itself, must move on towards the future, just as summer can not return back into spring but move forward instead.’ The words of one of our ancestral scholars. I believe it was ‘On the Defense of Time’, back when the schism of the clans was new.”

Ingo looked surprised at that as he went to face her.

“Just because we live as nomads and tribes, doesn’t mean we have our learned men and women. The words of both clans are kept in holy Michina for posterity. The last of the Celestica people in Hisui, the true Celestica people, remained there. The valley where Almighty Sinnoh appeared personally to bless the valley in a covenant. The covenant has long been fulfilled but still the blessing remained. Michina Valley remained eternally warm and bountiful like spring or summer, as if the passing of the seasons or even the coming cold that made most of the Celestica people left in the first place was untouched there. Have you visited Michina Town yet?”

“No, I unfortunately have not.”

“You should. Even though you’re an outsider adopted into the Pearl Clan, everyone should visit Michina Town in the name of peace and see for themselves the power of Almighty Sinnoh. Even if it’s just a curiosity, there is something in the air of Michina Valley that seems to be filled with the touch of the divine itself.” she then gave him a linking cord, one woven with red and white, and blue and black threads with a small bell on both ends of the linking cord. “I don’t know why, but I feel like these colors were meant for you.”

Before Ingo could reply, Calaba shouted out.

“Koi-koi! I won the pot!” she then poured herself a cup of celebratory liquor, either sake or vodka.

“We better head off before we miss our station.” Ingo said to Futaba. “Thank you for the meal.” he said as he helped Calaba carry a lot of medicinal leeks and various ores.

On the trip back, once they were far from the Diamond Clan settlement, Calaba started a conversation despite her slight tipsiness.

“I heard you agreeing to the whole Diamond Clan theology back there. I swear if you decide to go turncoat…”

“I will not switch lines. The Pearl Clan has helped me greatly despite my memory issues.”

“You and your metaphors.” she chuckled. “Well, since you heard of the Diamond Clan’s heretical nonsense, you should hear something from the Pearl Clan’s ‘On the Defense of Space’, said to have been written by my ancestor, the great alchemist Jinnouchi Hohenheim. They say his magic was so strong that he could warp the ground he stands on with a slam of his hand. Now, how did it go… ah, yes. ‘All things are possible in the vastness of space’s embrace. From land to sea to sky, existence is filled with many mysteries to learn, wonders to discover. From our homes to the distant lands beyond to the very stars themselves, we accept as Almighty Sinnoh’s law. Let not the fear of the unknown keep you in one place. Let not the vast distances dissuade you from experiencing the peaks and valleys of the world, from achieving the goals you set yourself. Instead we, like space itself, must keep on expanding in every way, not just the heights and depths of physical space, but also in the emotional, mental, and spiritual spaces as well. For the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’” she then chuckled once more. “A lot better than the Diamond Clan’s defense.”

“Perhaps it is simply due to me being an outsider, but both sides ring true to me.”

“Bah, don’t let Gaeric hear you say that or he might bodyslam you for blasphemy at the Icepeak Arena.”

“I Will defend my Truth either way.” Ingo replied as Calaba glanced at him as night began to arrive.

“Tell me, have your eyes always glowed blue?”

“I… this is the first time they glowed blue.”

“Warden Ingo.” she said with certainty. “You’re dreaming right now, aren’t you?”