[PRP] Nerds

[Suudonym]

Every time Sorey thought he had had his fill of the ruins, he found something else that caught his interest. Time and again he found his attention drawn back to the partially-destroyed stone structure, its surfaced pocked and cracked from centuries of weathering. He reached out and gently lay his fingertips on the cool stone. If he looked closely, it almost looked as if it were carved - or perhaps that was just a hopeful misinterpretation of the rock's natural imperfections. But then, it was supposedly some kind of shrine or holy building, so perhaps it wasn't so far-fetched...?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

After bidding her father's Noivern good-bye for the time being, Alice turned and headed into the ruins with a spring in her step, camera in hand - fully charged and ready to take as many pictures as she possibly could - and Cassandra dutifully trotting alongside her. "It's too bad dad couldn't come with us," the girl said, frowning a little as she powered on her camera and held it up to take a few cursory pictures to test the lighting. Cassie, for her part, offered her trainer a polite and insincere noise of disappointment.

Alice shot her Sylveon a brief, rueful smile. "Maybe next time, hm? I'd really like to get some good pictures today, the lighting wasn't very good last time we came with dad..." She trailed off as they entered the ruins proper and paused mid-step. Someone else stood amongst the ruins, and her features brightened a bit. It looked like they wouldn't be alone today, after all. "Hello," she said politely as she approached, though she stopped and stood nearby as her gaze swept over the remains of what had once surely been a breathtaking building. "I, um, I didn't expect anyone else to be here this time of year. It's beautiful, isn't it?"  

[Suudonym]

The sound of another voice pulled Sorey from his examination of the structure, and he stood and turned to respond properly. For a moment he had expected that maybe the archeologist who had guided him and Mikleo there was going to scold him for touching the ruined architecture, but it was only a moment before he determined that that was not the case. "Hello," he greeted in turn, faintly surprised. "I'd say the same - I got the impression that this isn't a very popular place." He looked over the area, raising his arms slightly to gesture to the entirety of the valley, "It's incredible! Man, what I would give to see this place when the buildings were still standing...!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Far from scolding him for touching what he shouldn't, Alice reached her own hand out towards the weathered rock, her fingers carefully ghosting along its surface. "I know, there usually aren't many people here. Or at least, I don't think so. I don't know why, though," she said with a frown and a shake of her head. "These ruins are amazing!"

The thought of what the valley looked like in its prime had occurred to her multiple times before, and just like every previous time, Alice bent her knees and bounced a little in place. "I know!" She exclaimed with no less enthusiasm than she'd had the first time she came here. "I can only imagine how amazing it was, the shrine and all the buildings, their berry fields, everyone just living in harmony with their Pokemon..." Alice trailed off, picturing everything in her head. If only she could see what it was like back then...

Cassie rolled her eyes and sat down nearby, readying herself for a long afternoon that wouldn't be as quiet as she'd hoped.  

[Suudonym]

There was an opportunity at hand, and Sorey became aware of it almost subconsciously. The words came before he even thought about them much, replacing awe and reverence with a sense of studiousness that bordered on voracious, "What do you think about the fate of the people that lived here? The predominant theory is that persecution drove them away, but doesn't that seem strange?" The question had been bothering him for what felt like an eternity, and he was eager to debate the subject with someone who seemed as interested in it as he did.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Alice slipped the wrist strap of her camera over her hand so she could lift both hands to press over her cheeks, then up over her eyes as the images in her mind flickered from peaceful and harmonious to a tremulous and uncertain altercation. "That's what I've heard, but it kind of does," she agreed as she lowered her hands, a perplexed frown entering her expression. "Persecution from who, and why? And where did they even go? It's like once they left here, they practically vanished."  

[Suudonym]

Sorey nodded, folding his arms. "Allegedly, they were shunned for their close relationship with pokemon - or so I've read - but it just can't be that simple! Symbiotic relationships between pokemon and humans exist throughout the world. Why is it in Kodo, of all places, that that relationship is frowned upon?"

Mikleo said, coming around from the other side of the ruined structure,

"This is my partner, Mikleo," Sorey informed with a gesture to the Vaporeon. "He supports the persecution theory. He says that the ability to talk to pokemon might be creepy or unnatural to someone who's seeing it for the first time, so the Kodoans in this community may have been shunned by those outside of it."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Symbiotic, yes, absolutely," Alice agreed, frowning still. She opened her mouth to continue but paused as the Vaporeon appeared, and she found herself momentarily distracted. "Ohh, you can talk to water-types? That's really cool," she said, then gestured to herself and then to her Sylveon, "my name's Alice, and this grump over here is Cassandra." The fairy-type trotted over to swat at her trainer's leg with one ribbon before using another to offer the pair a polite wave.

"Oh, but, um, I think I'd have to agree with that part," Alice admitted, switching tracks back to their discussion. "I think I remember my dad going on about how the Egg was lost eventually and after that, people wouldn't develop the ability anymore, and the number of people who had it already eventually dwindled. That, and historically people have lashed out at things they don't understand," she added with another puzzled frown.  

[Suudonym]

"Uh, something like that, yeah," Sorey replied with a shrug. As much as he wasn't fond of being misleading, he imagined that it would be easier on both parties if he just went along with the explanation that was already well-understood. "I'm Sorey. It's nice to meet you both."

Mikleo followed.

Sorey hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose that might account for the poor relationship the Kodoans had with pokemon thereafter. If communicating with pokemon was considered something to fear, people may have begun distancing themselves from pokemon in order to avoid persecution..."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"The pleasure's all mine," Alice said politely, offering a smile and a wiggle of her fingers in lieu of a proper wave at Mikleo. "Either that," she suggested, "or the ones that could kept quiet about it, because it is true that eventually the ability was lost until Ground raised the Egg again. I think another theory is that they all packed up and left, but I think that one's even more unlikely..."

Cassandra tilted her head at Mikleo. she said, ears perked and expression curious.  

[Suudonym]

"I wouldn't say it's out of the question," Sorey replied, an air of liveliness sparking in his eyes at the prospect of a potential debate of ideas. "A mass exodus may not be likely - or rather, there would probably be records of it if that were the case - but we're talking about a group of people who were extremely close with pokemon. Water-types, flying-types... They had plenty of means to leave the island discreetly if they wanted to."

Mikleo listened with great interest, but when he realized Cassandra was speaking to him, he shifted his attention to the Sylveon. he answered.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ohh, I didn't think of it that way," Alice said, eyebrows raising a bit as she considered it. "That's very true, they could have easily moved elsewhere without relying on any other humans because they had such a close relationship with pokemon at the time. I wonder where they went, though... If that's what really happened, then I suppose it makes sense that they didn't leave any record of how they disappeared or where they went, especially if they were also being persecuted. That would only tell their persecutors where they went, after all." The young woman paused, a thoughtful and slightly absent expression on her face as she pictured their exodus in her head. Pidgeot and Lapras and so many other pokemon helping, aiding their friends in their relocation... "Do you know of any other theories?"

Huh... Why couldn't Alice understand her then? Well they hadn't been together since they were that young, so maybe that was why. is cool. You two must have interesting conversations a lot, then,> she said as her gaze shifted up to the pair of humans again while they debated the fate of a past civilization. Such a topic was, unfortunately, not her cup of tea.  

[Suudonym]

Sorey's excitement cooled a bit, fading into recollection as he tried to remember the various things he had read when researching the region's history. "There was another possible ending to the persecution theory," he said, "but personally I'm not fond of it, regardless of how accurate it may or may not be. Some historians speculate that the native Kodoans might have been wiped out through violence, like a witch hunt. Even if there's a grain of truth to it, though, I can't accept that all of the Kodoans were killed. That just doesn't seem possible."

Mikleo said, Debating the fate of a past civilization was, in fact, Mikleo's cup of tea, but he wasn't so rude as to shush someone speaking to him just so he could join in - especially since one of the participants was a human who wouldn't understand him. He'd just have to discuss it with Sorey himself later.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Mmn. I don't like that one either," she said with a frown, "even if it does fit in with persecution by people who didn't understand the ability. People have done some extreme things out of fear of things they don't understand though, unfortunately - like witch hunts," Alice finished with an expression of distaste, though it slowly morphed into quiet thoughtfulness. "It could be a combination of all of them, really; maybe it started with violent persecution, so those remaining either lived quietly with everyone else or left with their pokemon friends? Oh, or," she suggested suddenly, expression brightening at the thought of another theory, "what if it was more a matter of different cultures clashing? Sooner or later the larger overtakes and absorbs the smaller, and the larger culture remains much more prominent than the smaller, especially over time. Maybe something like that happened?"

Cassie's ears perked up and her eyes widened a bit. Well, that certainly explained why Sorey could understand Mikleo with such ease; the Sylveon tilted her head, curiosity piqued.  

[Suudonym]

"That's another idea," Sorey nodded, "although frankly I'm not sure how much I can support it. It's one thing to integrate a culture's clothing, language, or traditions, but to destroy relationships with trusted companions? I just can't imagine it - no one could ever convince me to stop considering Mikleo my family, even through threat of force." He folded his arms thoughtfully. "...I guess not everyone may be able to go that far, though."

Mikleo shook his head slightly,