Story Notes:
Sorry for the long absence; I've had a lot of things to do, a massive amount of writer's block recently (The latest Karistaa Usko chapter's presently in Limbo), and a complete overhaul of my mythos, so I decided to do one more in the general Pokemon universe. As the July contest inspired me a bit to write this chapter, it's a contest entry (or, at the very least, Nowhere and Everywhere is since I'm not certain how long this inspiration will hold).As usual: Pikachu, Pokémon, Mother et al. are the property of Nintendo. The characters are mine, as is the plot.
Suffer the Little Ones
Suffer the Little Ones
*)June 27, 2009(*
The political structure of the storm appears to be closer to what we would see in a human society than a Pokemon herd. The omulosi act as the legislative and judicial branch, and the Kabaka the executive, and all of them take their task of administering the herd seriously - indeed, I see more dedication in the storm's administration than any human institution.
Society-wise, my colleague Eoin has learned, the hard way, that gossip dominates the day amongst the Pikachu, after eating and getting into fights over mates. He was targeted by a rather vile rumor (exactly what the rumor was I will not say, but suffice it to say you would find it patently ridiculous and blatantly offensive, at the least) which was started by one of the omulosi and which has spread like wildfire in the storm. Exactly which omulosi spread the rumor (which came from a Pikachu's incautious musings) I do not know, but the Kabaka has indicated a willingness to discipline the omulosi responsible - he also finds the rumor repugnant.
Thus far, our status is good, minus the rumor. Await our next status report.
Lori Tanner
*)July 1, 2009 - 05:13(*
Farai stretched his tail, yawned, and got to his hindpaws, turning around and making a scratch on the tree bark beside him. The rest of his group was only just now rousing themselves from slumber as the sun drizzled thru the trees onto their bodies.
Farai was approaching 12 years old, and was a Pikachu. He was somewhat overweight, due to his fondness for large berries and aversion to exercise. He was one of the few literate and English-language speaking Chu in the storm, having learned how to read from various human detritus swept into the grove from outside. His fur was patchy in places, a result of several scraps he'd fought in, most of which he'd lost. His mind was a jumble of human words and conspiracy theories regarding same, and for this the Pichu had taken to calling him "Mothopendo" - human-lover, a nickname which the Pikachu were starting to use. Nothing made Farai happier than actually meeting a human, and for this he was often dismissed as insane, nevermind the fact he did not want to be captured any more than any other Chu in the storm. His eyes were green, and his voice was somewhat sharp.
He looked up, seeing if anyone else was waking. Several groups were still engulfed in shadows and stayed asleep, while others were themselves waking up. Feeling a need, Farai stumbled to his tree and urinated, turning around at the last minute to see a large (and unusually-so) Raichu scribbling something in a notebook. Having no interest in whatever the Kabaka said, he had missed the announcement that there were humans in the storm, and thus this giant Raichu writing something (as far as he knew, none of the omulosi were literate) was unusual. He carefully stepped over his sleeping comrades and waddled over to the Raichu.
07-2009-01
Despite all my efforts to tell him to go find a Raichu to fuck, Nicolau still insists on me, and has gotten a bit clingy as of late, even allowing me to use his private facilities, which includes a hot spring, his private toilet, and, from what he told me, an "unusual house" by Mt. Silver. I am unsure
Seeing the fat Pikachu approaching him, Eoin quickly clapped his diary shut and quickly shoved it under him, hiding the pencil down his front. He turned to look at the Pikachu, acting like it was business as usual. "Yes?" he asked.
The Pikachu didn't immediately answer, instead looking for evidence of a costume. Finding none, he stood beside Eoin, and cocked his head.
"What do you want?" he asked, avoiding eye contact. He'd heard of the Mothopendo from the omulosi, and suspected that this was he.
"You look really suspicious..." came the reply, in English, from the Pikachu.
Eoin assumed this was his translator (given the thick African accent), and, thru it, replied, "Why? Is it because I'm tall?"
"Amongst other things," noted the Mothopendo, again in English and again with the African accent. "Last I saw, the omulosi couldn't write."
Eoin mentally swore for allowing himself to be seen making a journal entry. "I wasn't writing, I was drawing," he said, again thru the translator, still believing he was being replied to in Chu.
Farai looked Eoin dead in the eyes. "You're not tricking me with that disguise, human. Take it off."
Realizing that Farai was speaking in English, he switched the translator off. "I'd sooner not. The Kabaka might get mad at me if I were to walk about nude inside the storm."
His suspicions confirmed by the response in fluent English, Farai moved in to press his advantage when two Pichu bulldogged him, knocking him down. Hearing nothing but complaints in Chu, Eoin turned his translator back on to listen.
"Mothopendo, leave him alone!"
"If you listened to the Kabaka, you'd know he's a guest!"
"Geroff me, kids!"
Eoin wasted no time in standing up, switching his translator back on, and crying out for an omulosi to help him. "Omulosi! Mothopendo's harassing me!"
As Farai got up from under the Pichu, two of the beefier omulosi ran up and quickly restrained him, pushing him onto the ground and giving him a quick jolt of electricity through his tail. Farai grew still, except for weak complaints and vague threats towards Eoin.
"Did you...?" started Eoin.
"Paralyzed him," came the response. "He'll snap out of it after a few days, but for now we're isolating him." The omulosi that spoke turned to Eoin. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," said Eoin, looking down at the two Pichu picking themselves up. "Those cubs saved my tail."
The beefier omulosi picked up Farai's stunned body, his mouth still struggling to form syllables that were obviously curses. "The Kabaka isn't awake yet; what are you doing out here?"
"I was making an entry in my journal," said Eoin. "That glade doesn't give me anywhere near enough light to be able to see what I'm writing, so I stepped out."
"I see," said the omulosi, not understanding much of what Eoin said (being illiterate and thus unable to appreciate what Eoin was doing). "Does Lori know about your journal?"
"She does," replied Eoin, getting the feeling they were reading a rather crude connotation from "journal" and "writing". He decided to play along. "Don't know why she'd care, given I prefer orbs to slits."
Right away, the omulosi not carrying Farai smiled. Eoin had no idea why, but vaguely suspected it had something to do with the rumor. "So you are homosexual?"
"Read my face: I am not bedding your Kabaka. Perish the thought." Eoin's demeanor turned sour rather quickly.
"I wasn't going to make any suggestions of that nature," he smiled. "I was actually looking for a mate m-"
Eoin responded to the suggestion with a swift kick into the belly of the Raichu, whom doubled over and groaned, hissing and holding his ribs.
"I am not bedding you, either, you perverted sunuvabitch, and I am getting very tired of the insinuation." Eoin's hands balled into fists. "Now, please, get out of my sight."
The wounded omulosi stumbled back to his feet and gestured for his comrade to take Farai away, which he did. He then glared at Eoin.
"Look, I know the Kabaka's a bit... brusque... bu-"
"Shut up or my next shot will be aimed at your crotch," threatened Eoin. "I'm not going to have sex with a Raichu, Pikachu, Pichu, or whatever-Chu. You got that?" As if to make clear his threat, the electrodes on his cheeks generated sparks.
"I'm not saying you have to. I'm just saying that... If the Kabaka does lose it and rape you, I'll be happy to take you in instead." The omulosi wheezed from pain as he said this.
Eoin sighed. "Alright, fine..." He doubted Nicolau would let him out of his sight. "May I at least get your name?"
"Ime," was the response.
Eoin committed the name to memory. He was going to talk with Lori later, if circumstances permitted. "Alright, Ime, if things go wrong, I'll come and crash with you."
Ime nodded, then stumbled away.
Lori slowly peeled the Rindo berry as Eoin stepped into the small house. Chausiku was also in there, busy cleaning herself. He simply said, "We need to talk about something."
"Now?" Lori turned to Chausiku, whom looked up and shrugged, then stood up and walked out. Eoin took her place. "What is it?"
"It seems that there's more than one horny Raichu lusting for me," he said, "and that there's a Pikachu who seems to be on to us."
"But didn't Nicolau make it clear that we were humans, and guests?" said Lori.
"According to the two Pichu who bulldogged him off of me, he tunes the Kabaka out," said Eoin. "I believe they called him 'Mothopendo.'"
Lori sighed. "I've run into him before. His name's Farai." Lori sighed. "He has a stash of torn pages from magazines, books, and journals, as well as a few flashcards lost by kindergarteners by where he sleeps."
"You mean he's hoarding fluff for his nest?" asked Eoin.
"At this rate the only mate he'll have is a tree knothole," said Lori. "Not only can he speak and read our language, but he's also proficient in cooking up conspiracy theories involving humans. I listened to him rant and rave on a stump for about half-an-hour, and, while a lot of the stuff he says would embarrass the writing staff of Eureka, three scenarios he came up with are scarily plausible."
Eoin listened. "How plausible?"
"Happen-in-our-year-here plausible," replied Lori. "In particular, he predicts humans wanting to capture members of the storm will find it, that humans will start an interspecies war over this stuff, and that the humans will kill off all the Raichu."
Eoin tried to keep a straight face, but at that last response he fell back and erupted into laughter, clapping his hand over his face in hysterics. For a few seconds, Lori thought he'd die laughing, but he composed himself after a few minutes and calmed down.
"What's so funny?" said Lori.
"I don't think the humans would last five minutes in a war with this place," said Eoin, still snickering. "To think that they'd attempt to start a war, let alone kill off the omulosi and Nicolau, is rich!" His sniggering slowed, and a few moments later he was back to business. "That is... if you've been scrambling the transmissions."
"I have," said Lori. "As much as I may like them, I don't trust them not to make the location of the storm available to Trainers. That's why I'm not laughing."
Eoin was still smiling. "Don't worry about it, Lori!"
"I kinda have to," she said. "If word gets out as to where this storm is, and a couple Trainers get killed because of it, and we're still here, they're going to think they kidnapped us. I don't even think the University'll be able to help, 'man bites dog' and all that crap," said Lori.
"'Man bites dog?'" asked Chausiku from outside.
"Basically, in journalism the more alien story takes priority over the more mundane," said Eoin. "'Storm kidnaps and rapes two humans' is going to sell more copies or get more people tuning in than 'Humans live amongst storm, defend them.' If a war breaks out, the University's PR department can't help us because they can't debunk what 200 million people see and read."
Chausiku nodded and turned back around, having to concede the point.
"Anyhow, there was another thing you were saying?" asked Lori.
"Yeah," sighed Eoin. "An omulosi named Ime is willing to shack me up at his place if the Kabaka decides to rape me."
"You seem a bit nervous at this," said Lori.
"I kinda am. He tried to hit on me as he restrained Farai. I kicked him in the ribs," came the reply. "However, I think he learned his lesson from that."
"Do you want me to keep an eye on him?" asked Lori.
"During Chu duty, yes," said Eoin, standing up and getting ready to leave. "I have some other things I have to do; I'll see you later."
Lori nodded and watched him exit.
As Eoin left, Chausiku led him aside, so that Lori did not overhear, and said. "Eoin, there's actually a group in the storm that, like you, are shoga."
The translator kicked back "gay" for the Swahili term. "How'd you know?"
"Ime told me. He generally confides in me because I don't start rumors to spite people."
Eoin grimaced. "Please don't tell Lori, and please tell me it's not sexual."
Chausiku shook her head. "For the most part it's not, at least for the omulosi. I believe Ime is a member of the group, so he's likely to hide your sexuality, if Farai hasn't blurted it out. In any case, my lips are sealed in front of Lori."
"Why the need for a group, though? The Kabaka is a known gay," noted Eoin.
"As far as the omulosi go, they're safe," said Chausiku. "Pichu, Pikachu, and... aliens... not so much, since they're far easier harassed by their peers."
Eoin sighed, then asked, "So this group is the only place gays can see their mates?"
"Yes," said Chausiku. "The alternative is mating in broad daylight, which tends to offend the nimbus into violence."
"'Nimbus?'" asked Eoin.
"The females of the dhoruba," said Chausiku. "We call the males cirrus."
"Please don't tell me I'd have to fuck someone," whimpered Eoin.
"Just don't remove your costume. Who knows, you might find support within that group," said Chausiku.
Eoin thought about it, and asked, "Is the Kabaka part of this group?"
"He is, and was when he was a Pichu," said Chausiku.
Eoin thought some more, balancing the desire to have some support in the storm (and a way to counter these damned rumors) with having to gaze upon the Kabaka's face, having a strong suspicion the Kabaka may use the group as an excuse to fuck him. He decided, however, the benefits far outweighed the risks. "When do they meet?"
"They meet in a secure, private glade, during the full moon," she said. "To keep straights from posing as new members and causing mayhem, they require you to flash yourself in front of a member of the same gender."
Eoin gulped even more. Another means for the Kabaka to embarrass him by forcing him to pull out his penis. "The next full moon's when?"
"Next Tuesday, I'd think," said Chausiku. "If you'll excuse me..." With that, Chausiku stepped back into the hut.
Chausiku sat back down. "What did he want to talk about?"
"The Mothopendo," said Lori.
"That crazy Pikachu? Don't trust a damn thing he says; he's speaking out of his backside," said Chausiku, pshawing her.
"But, I heard him. He threw out three scenarios he was dead certain were going to happen!" said Lori.
"He's 'dead-certain' about a bunch of stuff that's laughable. Just ignore his deluded rants," said Chausiku, leaning back.
Lori looked back at Chausiku, but decided not to continue talking and instead toyed with her tail.