-GLASETERA, NEAR THE MOUNTAINS-
“Helloooo, Iono Zone! Here we are!” Iono, the streamer extraordinaire, spins on her heel as she gestures towards a small hotel. Still somewhat removed from the actual mountains, but close enough to have them looming directly overhead, enough that you could use it as a waypoint if you wanted to go out there and just say you’d been there, this little cabin did quite a lot of tourist business. Iono had opened the floor to suggestions on where to visit for her next stream, and this had won.
So, now, she eagerly pushes the door open, looking around to see if on a winter’s night a traveler had shown up that would be interesting to talk to… or, depending on who they are, to mess with. She snickers to herself and to chat.
A quick glance reveals that the streamer… doesn't have many options, actually. There's not much activity in the dining area, only a couple of the cabin's small handful of guests up and active right now. Even in this cozy cabin, it seemed, the cold outside kept some people bundled up in the comfort of a bed.
Still, there's a choice to be had, options for her. Sitting near to the fire, an older gentleman in a sharp suit rocks in a chair, clutching a plate of eggs tightly as he nibbles at his meal. Nearer to the door, a woman in black sits with her own meal, a notepad sitting beside her plate, going unread. Beneath her seat, a Persian snores, the cat curled up snugly, content to beat the chill in the air by hunkering down.
“Hmmmmmm. Alright, chaaaat, let’s see. I don’t think either of them are actually that interesting, but if we’re talking about who to mess with…” Iono looks back and forth, and then approaches… the man! She grins, shark teeth on display. “Hello, hello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!”
"Hm? What's tha-?" The older gentleman looks up with a slight start, too lost in his own thoughts to have noticed Iono's approach and taken aback by her unusual grin. He sits in silence for a moment as he composes his thoughts, tightening his grip on his plate. "Ahem," he finally begins, clearing his throat, eyeing Iono warily. "Er, what might I do for you, young lady?"
“Well! You can do something for yourself, and for me! You can be live on stream with the ultimate influencer, woman of the year, Iono!” Under her breath, Iono snickers. Oh man, this guy is perfect. Chat is gonna bully him so hard once she gives them the floor for ideas.
Live? Stream? Influencer? The man is no master at hiding his bewildered expression, letting Iono blather about her titles as he takes another bite of his eggs, chewing his meal contemplatively, as if formulating a response. "Well, young lady," he begins after his pause, looking Iono up and down, taking in her wild multi-colored hair, her ill-fitting jacket, even her overly-energetic movements.
"I, er, I must- Er, oh, would you look at the time? I've overstayed my welcome down here. I really must return to my room". Rising up with his plate still in hand, he gets on his feet and is quick to tip his hat to Iono. "I have a very important call to make. My spo- My bos- My nephew, that's right, that's it. It's my nephew, you see. The boy has a birthday coming up soon, and I need to know what to get him," he hurriedly tacks on, walking right on by Iono, heading towards the guest rooms. "Best of luck with your, er, stream-hunting. You'll find plenty of little streams trickling under the ice and snow". Turning back only to offer those parting words, the man completes his retreat, leaving Iono without her guest of choice.
“...Ah.” Iono grumbles as chat promptly goes wild with laughter - part of the nature of Iono’s vibe was that chat would enjoy her getting bullied as much as they would her messing with anyone else. “Well… I guess we’re going for that woman. Let’s see if going slow works!” Approaching the woman, Iono hurls herself down into a seat across from her. “Sooooo.
What brings a gal like you to a place like this?”
"Myself," the woman begins, rather calm and composed for someone thrust into conversation, slowly bringing her gaze up to Iono, "I have traveled here to stay near to Glasetera's mountains. Challenging hikes and difficult terrain to navigate that they present, mountains oft possess secrets divulged only to those who seek to find them. I thought I might overhear information regarding those secrets were I to draw near to the mountains and see them for myself, perhaps from passing explorers." The woman, now looking over Iono properly, pauses, leaving Iono with that thought while she assesses her. "And what, may I ask, brings you here, Miss…?" She trails off, awaiting Iono, expecting the woman to fill in the blank.
“Ionoooo! The wonderful streamer herself. I’m here to document the world of Glasetera to the many, many adoring fans I have, who will watch me trek through new heights and new locations! It’s a new, unique way to bring this to the masses, and it’s the wave of the future at that!” Iono says, flopping her sleeves. “You certainly don’t look… dressed for challenging hikes. No offense, ma’am.”
"So you're filming and broadcasting this conversation? Very well," the woman takes the opportunity to adjust her appearance, running a hand over her dress to smooth it out. "I should hardly take offense to your comment. I feel quite a chill out here in this dress. Going out without more layers is nearly out of the question." Fully aware that she's on camera now, she pushes her chair back slightly, content with her appearance and ready to speak to both Iono and her audience. "I thought I had prepared myself well, but, soon after arriving here, I had to purchase even thicker clothing. I come from the Resort Gorgeous, on Five Island. You have heard of the Sevii Islands, yes? Those islands are where my home is, and our weather is as unlike the weather here as is possible, you understand. It has taken some time to adjust to the local climate."
“The Sevii Islands… oh, yeah! The little vacation islands out in the Atlantic, right?” Iono nods. “I’ve heard of them, they’re one of the Pokemon culture spots. I’m a trainer myself, too!” Iono says, pulling out one of her Premier Balls and tossing it up and down in her hand, before putting it back. “But if that’s your vacation home, where are you from? Saffron? Celadon? Am I getting close?”
Immediately, Selphy raises a hand to signal her desire to interrupt Iono, but the streamer carries on, taking her guesses. "Ahem." She clasps her hands together forcefully, resting them upon the table after making sure she commands Iono's attention. "I believe you misunderstood me," strained, pointed politeness colors her voice. "I live on Five Island year-round, and was born and raised on the islands. My experiences with those cities you've named were merely temporary, nothing more than mother and father's brief business trips on which I accompanied them. Your observation that the islands have their own rich Pokémon-infused culture is a correct one, however." She gestures towards Florin, the Persian rather content to ignore Iono and her audience entirely, pretending that she's still asleep.
“Ah.” Iono waves her sleeves awkwardly, sweating a bit. “Yes, well! Well. That’s neat.” As Iono tries to salvage the conversation, an idea hits her. Selphy was talking about the mountains, right? So perhaps… “Saaaay, I’m gonna go up to the mountains tomorrow. Not far, but enough to look around. Wanna make it a two-person trek?”
Selphy's body language betrays her interest in the suggestion, the woman leaning forward slightly, less concerned with Iono's audience than with Iono's proposal. She softens the slight edge in her voice. "I have no reason to decline your offer. I must ask, however - do you have a plan in mind?" A trip into the mountains did take some planning, even a short one. One had to know their goal and, broadly, where they might be headed to properly prepare for any emergencies that might arise. "Might we have a destination, or will we explore freely?"
“Hmm… hold on a second. I need to consult my si- the Iono Hype Squad.” Turning away from Selphy and lowering her voice, Iono speaks to chat. “So. Chat. Rich gal from the tropical islands… she’s gotta be a wimp, right?”
total wimp i bet
she wont even last out in the cold, kek
careful iono, youre going to drag back an icicle
1%er, give her a scare
you gotta walk away and leave her alone a few minutes
iono ill send $2 right now if youll promise to walk away and scare her
who cares about her. ill give you $5 if you take your jacket off for us
persian cute :3
definite rich girl in over her head
“Knew it.” Iono nods as she listens to chat. She turns around with a smile. “I’d say, let’s explore freely. We’ll meet each other up there, trek around for the day, see what we find! Sound good to you?”
"That's acceptable." Unconcerned with whatever Iono had been doing with her chat, Selphy nods, signing aboard on the expedition. "I'll prepare this evening so that we lose no daylight tomorrow. You are familiar with the crossroads a ways up the path? Perhaps we might meet at the crossroads and proceed from there?"
“Yep, yep.” Iono says. “I know exactly what you mean. I’m ready to make this happen!” Internally, she giggles. Oh, she’s definitely going to have fun with this one!
The next day, waking up at a reasonable-for-her time, Iono yawns as she grabs up her supplies. A quick breakfast, looking around for Selphy. Iono doesn’t see her. She looks around again, and rolls her eyes.
“So, chat. Wanna take bets on if she wimped out?”
Ill superchat 10 if she actually comes
probs still in bed
shes not showing
Iono's wait continues, and… she continues to find no signs of Selphy! The woman never comes out. She doesn't show for a meal, doesn't even wander out of her room to decide that, whoops, she didn't want to go on an expedition after all. The minutes continue to tick away, and the chat grows restless, eager for something other than waiting around.
“...Huh. Well. Looks like the “wimped out” crew wins this one!” As she finishes her breakfast, Iono shrugs. “We’ll just make this an exploration stream, like I originally planned. Let’s go!” With that, Iono heads up the mountain, approaching the crossroads that Selphy had mentioned. She yawns a bit, the sun still low in the sky thanks to her early start.
Amidst all of the stone and snow, Iono spots it, right up ahead at the crossroads, some kind of… figure moving about, albeit… not much, mostly just sitting there. A few members of her chat notice, too, taking guesses at what it might be - too small to be a human, and quadrupedal, besides that - while it remains distant. The closer Iono gets, the more apparent the figure's identity becomes, her chat flaring to life as they, like her, realize that there's a Persian waiting patiently at the crossroads, wearing a coat of her own, tailored to her feline body.
"Mrooow." Florin beckons Iono as soon as the woman comes near, tilting her head to the left, leaving Iono behind and heading that way herself a moment later, only occasionally glancing back to make sure that Iono is following her.
“...Oh no. Chat I think we fucked up.” Iono says, biting her lip in nervousness. “Look, if we have to get her airlifted out for breaking her leg because she tried to venture out into a dangerous location, you guys will crowdfund me a lawyer, right?”
lawyer crowdfund ez
you arent liable trust me i am very smart legitimate lawyer man
no, we want to see the iono trial
trial of the century, tbh, call in that miles guy for it
id give you my life savings iono
rich ladys so fucked isnt she
The cat leads Iono past the fork in the road, staying on the path… for a short time. It's not too far up the road that she turns, wandering into the snow, carefully placing her paws in fresh footsteps, ones that couldn't have been made but within the past few hours. The cat leads the streamer on a winding path through the snow, getting awfully far from the beaten path, before finally stopping at the mouth of a tiny cavern, quite easy to miss entirely, what with the snow piled up in front of its entrance.
"Mrew," the Persian insists, waiting for Iono to step inside.
“Well. Now I feel really bad.” Iono sighs very deeply as she steps inside, hoping that Selphy is merely lost or injured and not dead. She can avoid too much of a charge that way! She climbs in, and blinks as her eyes adjust to the internal lighting…
."Iono? I had come to assume that you weren't coming," Selphy, in full winter gear, calls out, noticing Iono in the dim light before the streamer notices her. Selphy dumps another load of snow onto the pile nearby before taking five, setting her shovel down and climbing out of the hole she's in. She steps over to the wall, grabbing a second shovel and one of the pickaxes leaning against the stone, then walks them over to Iono, offering them up to the streamer. "I am pleased to see you arrived without trouble after all. Rumors hold that there's a cache of treasure of some kind buried here, or so I have read. If we work efficiently, we should have no trouble clearing away enough snow to see for ourselves if there is truth to the rumors." She turns to look back at her progress. "You may wish to start further back in the cavern. Breaking through the ice is less laborious than moving the snow. It would do you well to warm-up before you strain your body," she says, shaking the pickaxe in her hand to emphasize her suggestion.
“...” Iono gestures at Selphy as her brain attempts to process this information. “Wait.
You’re not dead, or freezing to death, or severely injured. What’s going on.”
"Well, I should hope not!" Iono's confusion briefly leaves her puzzled, but when Iono lets slip her most dire expectations, she pieces together some of what's going on, responding with a subdued chuckle. "I do believe I've worn the appropriate dress for this weather, and, as cold as it may be here, keeping my footing on the ice is hardly any more difficult here than in Icefall Cave."
“...Huh.” Still re-evaluating her entire perception of Selphy, Iono decides to just go ahead and try actually exploring. That always does at least some numbers with chat, after all. Grabbing up the pickaxe, Iono hauls it over to the ice, and begins to chip away at it. One stroke. Two strokes. Three strokes.
“Well, it’s not the most repetitive thing I’ve ever done.” Iono mumbles under her breath.
>not the most repetitive :eyes:
LORE SQUAD WEVE GOT A RED ALERT
wait can someone link me to the lore doc
already added "less repetitive than cracking ice" to the doc
FACTORY WORKER???
Whats more repetitive than this, totes boring
guys i think jt is onto something - assembly line?
iono plz tell me you used to do med insurance billing itll get me through this day
calling it, city garbage collector, its where she learned languages too
LOOKING UP OLD TOYATA PLANT RECORDS 4 GIRLS SHARP TEETH
@electricsimp youre girlfriend is revealing lore
Barely even realizing that she’d dropped mention of the legendary Before Times, sending the part of her chat wondering about Iono’s origins into overdrive, Iono focuses on the ice. Selphy might notice, to her surprise, that Iono is just… still going. Chipping at that ice without tapping out after a few strikes, contrary to what you’d think when looking at the excited, interesting-encounter-hunting streamer.
She does stop after another couple minutes, though, squatting down and leaning in to light the little hole she’s dug. “I think I found something.”
"Oh? Let me see." It comes as a pleasant surprise that Iono sticks with it, clearing away her own little hole in the cramped space. Selphy climbs out of her own hole once again to join Iono in hers, coming down and peering down at the streamer's find. While it's not entirely apparent just what it is at a glance, it is apparent that it's something of interest! "My, how impressive. Shall we uncover it fully?"
After a little more digging, the duo uncover enough of Iono's find to grab it and dislodge it with a tug, managing to pull out what ultimately turns out to be… a duffel bag, not especially old or rare, and hardly a typical treasure, but a find nonetheless. It's when the duo opens it up, though, that things actually become exciting, some dirtied, threadbare gloves and jackets set aside to reveal a cache of jewelry underneath, along with an assortment of papers, some with journal entries, some detailing the enchantments applied to the jewelry, some with crumpled newspaper clippings, and some even containing recipes! It may not be a whole pile of shining gemstones, but it's not exactly without value!
"So it would appear that the rumors had some truth to them," Selphy notes after looking over the find, sounding quite satisfied. "So, Ms. Iono, was this expedition worthwhile to you? Did your discovery excite your audience?"
“Looks like it!” Iono says - and she means it. Not only is chat hype, but the donations are coming in, some for the simple act of Iono’s adventures, others out of excitement to see the jewelry, and one odd donation that says just “swing a pickaxe again”. She’s used to those, though. “Heh heh, I bet we can have a good time going through this at the villa.
I’m ready to take off, though. Somehow I don’t think there’s gonna be a second find.”
A bit later, Selphy and Iono both trek back down the path to the cabin where they had met, returning from their little hike content - and Iono returning with a little extra to her name, her discovery hers to do with as she pleases, Selphy only taking photos of it. Florin, meanwhile, rests in the comfort of her ball, out of the cold.
"Well, it was a pleasure to have company today," Selphy goes on as the duo make small talk on their way back. "I admit that I hadn't expected such a display of dedication from you. Should I take it that you venture out on expeditions occasionally?"
“Yep! Chat loves that. The Iono Zone, travelling with me to wild, unexplored places… it’s why I came up to Glasetera in the first place! Following a bunch of wild rumors! And at least one of them turned out to be totally true, so I’ve decided to just keep searching around here until I find everything interesting! Or until chat gets bored. One of the two.”
Ah, then she might be the right fit. Interesting.
Selphy hardly hides the gleam in her eyes as she continues. "In that case, you - and members of your audience - might one day in the future consider visiting our Sevii Islands. The islands offer much to those seeking adventure and hoping to make discoveries. From hiking up Mt. Ember to seeing for yourself the Pattern Bush to wandering through the Sevault Canyon, there is enough to keep you active and your audience entertained. Why, we can offer as much as any other region you might have heard of. Hoenn, Unova, Alola, and certainly Kanto, we offer what you might expect to find in them and much more of interest."
“Huh! And here I thought they were just a tourist spot.” More willing to accept Selphy’s views on adventurous locations now that she’s seen that Selphy isn’t the idle rich after all, Iono cheerfully replies. “All anyone home would mention was Treasure Beach, Resort Gorgeous, things like that. The resort destinations. I’ve never even heard of a Pattern Bush before.”
"Unfortunately, our islands rarely attract attention. When they are a topic of discussion, much of what they offer is ignored. I shall not call it surprising. Of those who visit the islands, few of them will visit any islands other than One Island - or, as your viewers might benefit from knowing, Knot Island, as it is also called." Between her follow-through and her new interest in hearing about the Seviis, Selphy speaks to Iono quite warmly, speaking to her directly, but sprinkling in tidbits that might interest her audience, little nuggets of information Iono might be able to play on at some point. Holding Iono's attention, she pushes a little further. "Why, if someone like yourself were to visit, some portions of our islands may be recorded on by someone from off the islands other than an academic for the first time in some years. Imagine that, you becoming the first, to say, mount a full, streamed exploration through Altering Cave, or collecting another first, perhaps becoming the first to record a battle with the Gym Leader in the depths of Berry Forest."
“Woooow…” Iono says, chat excitedly commenting on ideas. They seem more excited in seeing Iono flopping than succeeding, but that’s just their way of loving her. “Heck, I never heard of them having any names but numbers. Seven islands, Sevii Islands, after all.
Wait, gym leader? What? I thought they didn’t have a league. Nobody talks about it!”
"The Sevii Islands have a league, one of our own design. There may only be seven gyms rather than eight, but our gym leaders are respected members of our community and are adept at testing challengers. Were it the case that anyone outside of the islands had actually completed the whole challenge, I expect one might hear of it more. To date, only islanders have completed the league."
“World firsts, world firsts…” Iono drifts off in thought. World firsts are BIG deals. Huge deals, at that. She almost starts to drool at the idea of how being a famous world first could practically double her streaming audience. The attention, the love and respect for Iono… and all the many, many new donations that would come in daily! Exactly the kind of thing that would keep her bills paid for years to come.
But trying to avoid looking too hype and giving Selphy the upper hand, Iono manages to compose herself. “Yes! That’s fascinating. Perhaps if I ever have reason to go there, I’ll try out a gym or two. How did you do in it?”
"Ah, oh." Well, there wasn't any reason for dishonesty… "The battles were a struggle at times. Training Pokémon has never been my greatest of hobbies. I relied more on Florin's assistance than she relied on mine, in those times. The experiences were enriching, however."
“Ahu, I see, I see.” Iono does see. If someone who hasn’t focused hard on training Pokemon was able to muddle through, then of course Iono herself would be able to do this easily! It would be nice to fill out her team a little more than three, but even with just three she’d probably have a great time against the leaders there!
Her expression of barely restrained glee is obvious, even if not the reasons why.
Well, that was that, then, wasn't it? Iono seemed interested enough to tough it out. She didn't need to hear about all the rest of that. Surely, even if she stumbled once, she'd get up for another try… "I'd call it worthy of your consideration at some point. You said… Or, rather, I have yet to get acquainted with your team. What Pokémon do you have with you?"
As Iono gets into introducing her team members, the duo continues on their trek, their small talk going on even as they reach the cabin. There, near to Glasetera's mountains, the pair continue talking as the warm up and the day, like Iono's stream, winds down and comes to an end.
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