In the turning, flowing wind, I sing alone

[starinheaven]

There’s a little girl, dressed in a light, summery dress, with matching white sandals, arriving on Stardust Beach, blinking at the sunlight and feeling the coastal wind on her face and tasting the salty sea-scent of the air.
For a time, she’s absolutely stunned, daring not to move (has her imagination ever been this strong?!), then, without really meaning to, she’s forced to take a few steps (the wind is so strong!), that she steps into wet sand and realizes she couldn’t just be imagining this. It’s a little too soggy and gross. She decides, then, maybe it was the last few years that were a very bad, very long, and very strange dream (although she liked the Pokemon…), and this was reality! She giggles and takes off her sandals, putting them higher up on dry sand (hot, hot!), before rushing back to the wet sand to play.

She twirls and spins and laughs, but when she turns back around, searching the beach, she cannot find her mama or her papa.

“… didn’t we go together? We’re at the beach now…”

Wasn’t the car crash and everything else a dream? She couldn’t have gotten here on her own! It’s true it’s not the same beach she knew and even the people looked a bit different, but maybe they just went on a very, very long trip!

Question 1: Vacation?
Ai decided to ask around on the beach, gently tapping shoulders and tugging on sleeves.
“Excuse me, have you seen my papa or my mama? Um, papa’s hair is much more wavy than mine, but grey, and he has a nose this long…”

Question 2: Heaven?
She had to find her parents! They had to be here, right? Because if they weren’t… then the car crash and these past years weren’t all a dream… then, maybe she’s just gone on ahead to Heaven? So she decided, in between asking about her parents, she’ll also ask some people if this place were Heaven!
“Excuse me, is this Heaven?”
Ai thought this was a very clever way to find out more quickly, than if she had only asked everyone one question, then started all over with the next one. She should find her answer quicker this way!

Sand

Ai had never seen sand that looked like this before! It was so pretty and mysterious. Almost like konpeito! But she knew better than to try and taste it… although she really did feel tempted to. It looked so pretty… she sat down and held grains up to the sunlight and wondered if the stars fell down and turned to sand or if the entire island was one very big star broken up into many little stars… oh, but it wasn’t hot or shining, like the sun, were they stars that went out, like switched-off lights or snuffed-out candles? Ai kept wondering, while rolling the little grain between her fingertips.

Whatever they were, they were pretty, so Ai wanted to collect some sand, along with seashells and bits of seaweed and anything else.

Comments

sand

[domeinion]

Oh! Are you also studying the sand?

[A girl who looks about 14 waves from where she's taking notes, accompanied by a Torchic that's pecking at the sand for food.]

It's always good to have a fellow researcher around!

[awww, Alice]

[starinheaven]

[Ai turns and smiles at the question.]
Oh, my papa is a researcher too! I guess I am, since I’m trying to unlock its mysteries…

[To borrow a phrase from her father…

She stood up and looked curious.]

What did you learn about it? There isn’t sand like this anywhere else, is there? At least, I never saw any before, not even in pictures or on TV.

[domeinion]

[She smiles and laughs a little.] I've never seen it either, but it looks almost as if it was made by microscopic organisms. Something like... you know how, for instance, a Shelgon will shed its shell right before it evolves? Or how some Pokémon might outgrow their shells and leave them to grow new ones? That, but on a much smaller scale!

[starinheaven]

Oh! [Ai squints as she tries to study the grain up close.] ... we should put it under, um, a microscope! A whole bunch of sand, so we can see if maybe some of them are still living in them.

[domeinion]

That could work! It's not quite my specialty, but I do like them. They remind me of fossils.

[starinheaven]

Do you like studying fossils best?

Oh, um, I didn't get your name! My name is Ai... Fuji Ai!

[domeinion]

Ai? I'm Alice! Alice Smith. [She smiles.] My usual area of study is Pokémon physiology, but I do know a few things about fossils. They're important to me, and to my home in a way they don't seem to be to others.

[starinheaven]

Like the girl who went to Wonderland? That's such a pretty name!

[Ai tilted her head as she listened.]

Do you have a lot of fossils where you're from?

[domeinion]

I wouldn't say a lot. She pauses. Looks sad for a moment, then smiles despite herself.] Wonderland, huh... What kind of place would you want to go?

[starinheaven]

[Oh, did Ai say something that upset her? She immediately looked apologetic and tried to hold Alice's hand.

She wasn't sure what she said that upset Alice and while she appreciated Alice's attempts to brush past the subject, Ai wanted to apologize too, so she tried to comfort her... but she also didn't want to be rude and push the subject when Alice wanted to change topics, so she'll answer:]

Just being on the beach is amazing. I haven't been to the beach in so many years... that's all I really want right now!

Um... [She also would like to go home, but she knew better than to ask for that right now, knowing she can't come and go as she pleases. Just being out in the world again was good enough for now, even if it was a little lonely.]

[domeinion]

[Alice shakes her head. Oh, right, she probably shouldn't upset the child. She doesn't push her away or resist, though, poor kid must miss home.]

That's a good one! I used to live by the ocean, so it's nice to be on an island like this. And most of the people here are nice, too, of course.

[starinheaven]

The ocean is very pretty, isn't it? Ai... I like it too.

[Ai kept holding on, but turned and watched the waves and saw some ships in the distance.]

Where are those ships going?

[domeinion]

Hmm... If I could guess, it'd be just over to the next island! Ultern is more than Ohritori, even though that's where we all arrive at. There are little islands to explore, too, and bigger ones with more towns on them.

[starinheaven]

That sounds so lovely! It'll be like a little adventure, then, going to another island...

Which have you been to?

[domeinion]

So far just this and the little ones around it, personally. But I wouldn't mind leaving the lab for a bit to look into more! There's so much to see and I've barely scratched the surface, it feels like.

[starinheaven]

[Her smile fades a moment before she quickly replaced it (with a slightly strained one) at the mention of a lab. She'd gotten so sick of always being in that lab... living in memories was better. But it wasn't anything against labs personally, she just had no access to the outside world in so long, that she wasn't in any hurry to go back inside a laboratory any time soon.]

Oh, you have a lab too?

[But thinking of how much there is to explore earns a brighter, more genuine smile from Ai.]

Oh, I know what you mean! Even when you think you've seen all of it, there's so much you still haven't... the closer you look, the way things look in the light and in the dark...

[domeinion]

It's nothing impressive like the local professor's. Just something my Pokémon and I built to work out of and store all my research.

[But she notes the change in expression and ponders it, letting Ai continue.]

Absolutely! Not to mention sometimes strange things happen here even besides the drifting phenomenon. Sometimes an effect with no known cause will spread across the islands for a day or so, or a powerful Pokémon will come along and shake things up.

[starinheaven]

[A smaller lab without a lot of funding might actually be better, in Ai's opinion! Certainly better than a huge laboratory funded by Giovanni...]

How mysterious! It sounds exciting, but is it scary? [It sounds like there's no shortage of adventure here, by that description!]

[domeinion]

Not most of the time! My metrics of judgment might be off on that compared to yours, but there wasn't any danger the last few incidents. Aside from the time a number of Pokémon spontaneously grew giant, there was some scattered property damage there. But I don't recall any reported injuries.

[starinheaven]

Then, it sounds like a lot of fun! Except for maybe the damage, but giant Pokemon also sound really amazing!

Did they shrink back down? Could they shrink and grow whenever they wanted to?

[domeinion]

They did go back to normal eventually, but it was a little hard to get a handle on until we found the Pokémon that caused it.

[starinheaven]

Oh? What sort of Pokemon was it? I didn't know there was one that could make other Pokemon change size!

[domeinion]

It's one that came from Galar! I've never been there in person -- I'm from Kanto, you see -- but I've heard of it. There are mysterious and powerful ones from all over, and that's what makes this line of study so interesting!

[starinheaven]

That's so far away! I'm from Kanto too... that sounds very mysterious!

Pokemon are amazing, aren't they?

[domeinion]

You are? Where from? I was born in Cerulean City, but I lived in Pallet Town for a while before I started travelling.