Isla Gill
Mentions: @Pyromania99 @PKMNB0Y Location: SS Calliope, Byjerlfal City
She could hear it, even though the topside decks were maybe three, four above. In her minds eye, she could see all of them, all the people, all the noise about the battle. When Isla had boarded, she couldn’t really have imagined there being so many in one place, all packed around together.
Deep breath, deep breath. Her headphones were tight around her head, music blasting. At the quiet points, she could still hear them. There were so many, watching and yelling and moving and- no, no, too much. For a brief moment before, she’d looked up the city they were going to, Byjerlfal. No idea on how to pronounce the place, one way or another, but then again she’d forgotten about the name the moment the population numbers popped up. After that, Isla hadn’t read much at all about the city.
In some ways she really,
really wanted to get back home. She knew everyone there and they all knew her. It was simple and easy, with the only ones who came and went being the trainers at the tower. They were in a whole different category to her, people she couldn’t really make real friends with as they always came and went. But…with so many people, everyone was going to be like that. Isla was already wanting to leave the city before she’d even arrived, to get out on the road and see Pokemon or nature, to just be away from all the people and noise and movement.
Eidda. Hands shook a little as they rummaged around a pocket in her jacket before finding the little folded-up map dad had printed off. There were a lot of places around, different routes to take, a whole new…continent, really. A thought arose at that. How different would the food really be? She’d grown up eating fish, mainly. There was enough coastline for that, surely, but…would they be the same? Maybe, maybe not. Things to try out, Isla supposed, things to try out and experience. She had to like something there, surely, and maybe it’d be something surprising.
Her eyes glanced at the little phone resting on the desk, charging away, and at the message the Professor had sent. What was her name? It reminded her of a Pokemon in some ways.
Camphor, that’s what it was. She’d mentioned Tanoby, as well as Nemesis. They seemed sort of…dismissive on things, things deemed boring or dull or sad like the Unknown at those Ruins. Dad
had warned her, said that if the Professor was difficult to work with to just accept it and remember she’d not have to work with Camphor directly in the field, right there, all the time. It was weird advice, especially considering all the other Professors Isla knew about. She could remember Oak’s talks, televised and recorded as they were, or Elm and Birch. They were all pretty good, educational, interesting. What’s a Professor like if not that? What’s a Professor who’s not good with talking or being…
nice? She wasn’t entirely sure.
The ship’s announcement system came on, something she only noticed by the fact that a little green light appeared next to the speaker. As she took her headphones off, the sound of wind crept through the noise as the Captain gave his announcement. It sounded like he was outside, somewhere.
Was he battling? Isla thought, suddenly distracted. Maybe, maybe. The sounds of it had seemed to die down, she thought. In any case, there was that announcement.
“-pulling into port shortly! Everyone get ready to pack up and move out! If you need assistance, ask any of the crew! I’ll be out on deck.”
She looked over at her bags, just an old forest green duffle they’d bought from one of the Seagallop sailors a few years before, already packed away. Sure, there was a sleeping bag tucked away there, a blanket or so, few sets of clothes and the like, a set of waterproofed pants for fishing, and in some ways it was probably not as packed as it could be. It looked almost sad, drooping over slightly with all the weight at the bottom, the metal fasteners at the top jangling slightly. Two rubber boots hung by their laces on one of the straps, only serving to make it look even more awkward. A quick check around the room and, well, everything seemed to be in order there, nothing lost, nothing out of place, and a made bed.
Good, good, she thought, everything nice and set. Getting up, her hand slapped against her pocket and gears started to whirr. Phone, phone, phone, phone - she checked under her bag, under the pillow where she kept it while asleep, before her head whipped around to the other side of the room.
Desk. Good. Only she could lose something in plain sight, and a bit of relief came at the fact that no one had seen that. It was fully charged, too, and quickly enough unplugged from the socket, the charger wrapped up and put into its proper pocket on her pants. Good.
A ship’s horn, closer. It was…a few blasts, though she couldn’t really make out in what order. Might as well go outside to check. Slipping her phone into her pocket and heaving up the duffle about her shoulders, Isla patted herself down again, checking that she had everything in her pockets where it should be, especially that key card, and clicked off the lights. Down, down, down the hall, and she could hear people in a lot of the rooms packing away in the last minute. Where’s that exit to the weatherdecks, where is that…ah, there. She took the turn, opening the door out into the wind. Well, there was the source of it, a tug pulled up alongside. Leaning out over the railing, boots swinging to one side for just a moment, she felt herself staring, trying to make out details here, there. People moved about on the decks, seeming to be so far away, one of them looking up just a moment. Isla couldn’t help but smile, waving down before feeling foolish at waving, of all things, at a…tug. Whoever it was down there waved back. Ah, crisis averted. Good. Looking back up, she saw for the first time, truly for the first time in person, that city as the tugs swung the ship around, the one she had been staring at moving away and off to the other side.
It seemed so big, compared to everything else, so big and just…tall. Buildings reached up, sleek glass and steel shining against the light, and the streets between them seemed to be lost. Next to the piers and quays, long and low warehouses dotted the landscape, roofs painted at random intervals with various company colors, logos, designs. Where would she find that…assistant? They had to be near the pier, that’d be the best place to be, that or a…terminal, like there was for the Seagallop ferries. There
had to be one somewhere, to process people coming on or off the ships. Swallowing her nervousness at the idea, especially at the fact that her plan had boiled down to waiting at the terminal until the vast crowds had finally sifted away from the piers and into the city, she stood there, waiting, waiting as they slowly, slowly came closer to the pier. The warehouses seemed to grow bigger for a moment before they moved past, off and away to a more clear, clean area.
Finally they were right alongside it, the tug engines growing louder as they pushed the ship up against the buffers. Here and there Isla could see little teams waiting, hardhats and even some Pokemon dotting the length of the cruise liner. Lines were cast off and away to the pier, teams working quickly to secure them away, and still they waited. A brow was brought up, a crane working quicker than Isla could have guessed before it was in place as well and lines also set down and secured. Figures moved along it, up and down for a long handful of minutes, before it was finally open to traffic. Quick as can be, it seemed like a floodgate had been opened as tourists moved down it as rapid as they could, down and out into the city.
Wait, wait. She didn’t want to deal with that sort of traffic. She just sort of marveled, breathing in and out, looking at the city and the various little details. There didn’t seem to be any little groups forming on the pier…maybe at the terminal. Probably. Hopefully. Aside from a phone number to call, out to Camphor’s lab directly, there wasn’t much of a backup plan for Isla. She knew she should have gotten out more during their voyage, out and talked to people to try and find others who would be going to the lab as new hires, but just…every time she’d tried, there had just been too many people. Too late for that sort of wishful thinking. Wait, wait. Ah, it was finally clearing up after a…Isla checked her phone.
Fifteen minutes? Time had just gone and flown away. She sighed. It wouldn’t do that at the terminal.
Making her way over to it, she turned in her room card with one of the staff members before briefly bounding down the brow. It shook and bent at the action, elastic as it seemed to be, and her heart just dropped. She stopped, waiting for it to stop moving, before starting again with careful, measured steps. Someone behind her chuckled at the pause, another somewhere behind them snorted in annoyance, and Isla tried to ignore both reactions. Definitely not the sort of thing she’d been used to with the Seagallop, there it was as short as could be and you were just…there. Dry land, there it was. She walked to the side just a few steps, letting others go past as she scanned about for…another person who was scanning about? Someone standing to the side and waiting for others? Maybe? There was someone off to the side, and tentatively Isla took a few steps forward.
“Excuse me, sir?”
He looked over, then down again one he realized that whoever he was talking to wasn’t exactly as tall as himself.
Oh, heck, he was tall with a big gut, a sparse beard, crinkles in his face that spoke of long years smiling. The huge backpack set down next to him said either tourist or another new hire, but the sparse beard did not say the same. Too old? Maybe he was the assistant, Isla didn’t know how old those got especially with a strange person like this Professor. Maybe he’d just…go out and live life in the mountains? Maybe? He replied with a curious little accent, almost nervous and too quiet among the hum-drum of the pier, and Isla almost had to stretch upwards to hear him. “Yes?”
“Um…” She paused, unsure. The accent didn’t say he was from Eidda…unless she was wrong about that and it was from Eidda. Oh, heck, it was too much to analyze in the moment. “Are you…Professor Camphor’s assistant, sir?”
He stared for a second before smiling, chuckling to himself. “Ah, no. Waiting on the wife. Forgot something in the room. But hey-good luck to you. Good for the kids to run around, even better if some Pokemon Professor helps em out. You have fun.”
“Ahhh…well, thank you. You have a good day, sir.”
“Oh, we will, we will.”
Well,
that didn’t work. Looking about again, she didn’t see anyone else waiting on someone to come down. Terminal it was. Where was it…signs, signs, signs…pursing her lips, she walked off from the waiting man purely because she didn’t want to stand around with him and make something awkward. It’d be weird. Where was it…she couldn’t see. Even then there seemed to be too many people and the ship itself still seemed to have more waiting as others came off the brow. Wait, there was a…no, probably not. Maybe? He seemed to also be looking, young as well with maybe a foot of height on her and just a single bag. All the other tourists seemed to be carrying a house with them. Maybe. She inwardly collected herself, little courage and all after the brush with failure before, before approaching him before he got too far away from the pier and all the people coming off of it. Getting in close, she cleared her throat as loudly as she might which was not very loud at all, before speaking up.
“Excuse me, sir, are you…are you one of Professor Camphor’s new hires too?”
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