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[The screen flickers on to show a boy who looks like he’s a little bit in a fog. Behind him, a Buizel bounces around happily through the snowdrifts, nearly disappearing only to poke her head up every now and then, her whiskers and fur caked with snow.]

Hello? Is anyone out there? My name is Shaun Mars. There was this lady who called herself my mom, and she gave me a backpack full of food and clothes and stuff, and I sorta...just wanted to know if that had happened to anyone else. And also, if the food was...safe to eat. It’s like rice, and I think there’s fish and vegetables and stuff too, or something.

I think I might've gotten someone else's Pokegear thing. It says it's my birthday today, but my birthday was two days ago.

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[...Wow, that sure is a really little kid out there, stranded in New Bark in the middle of winter and sounding extremely lost. Normally, Carmen would stick to straight-up text as a matter of course, but given the circumstances, she'll make an exception this time. Because super pinged by lost little kids, okay.]

Hello, Shaun. I can hear you. You've just arrived here, haven't you?

[Oh dear. He definitely didn't seem to be in a good mood. Then again, considering where he just woke up...]

Don't worry. She kinda does that to everyone. The food's perfectly safe to eat.

But I'm pretty sure that pokégear is supposed to be yours. You don't end up with someone else's when you first get here.

Edited 2013-01-22 02:41 (UTC)

[It's okay, he has a coat.

Besides, he's from Philly, which has been snowed under with more inches of snow than he is tall over the span of his living memory.

He shies away from the sound of the woman's voice, not visibly flinching but coming close.]

Uh-huh. Who are you?

Someone who can help answer your questions for you, I hope.

[It's not hard to pick out that he's defensive and scared at the moment. She'll just stay as casual as she can and let him acclimate to her in his own time.]

My name is Carmen. What's happened to you just now happened to me once, too.

[He's not in a bad mood, he's just. Really confused.]

She does? But... why? Is my real mom okay?

Oh. Is there a way to change the birthday?

...It did?

[He's uneasy, but she's not there in person to hurt him, and there's nothing she can really do to him over a machine.]

But you're a grownup. Why did that lady think she was your mom? Is she sick?

[Admittedly, Carmen has her own opinions on Mom's relative state of health, physical and mental, but that's not the point right now.]

No. She's just following a script, like in a play. She says the same thing to everyone who comes here, no matter how old or young they are.

Oh. She didn't seem like she was following a script. I think she really thought she was my mom.

Is the food she gave me safe to eat?

She's a very convincing actor. Don't worry about her, though; if you try to talk to her again, she'll only just say the same things.

It's a box of sushi, isn't it? And a bag of trail mix, too. It should be all right to eat, so long as you like sushi.

I don't want to go back there. She's not my real mom, even if she is nice.

I've never had it before. My d-

...I'm not supposed to take food from strangers.

[Uh-oh. That sounded suspiciously like the beginnings of a "my dad". Pinged x2.]

That's right, you're not. But everyone here is a stranger, and you might not be able to find a place around for you to buy something to eat instead. At least not until you reach the next town.

What if you fed some of it to your Pokemon? That might be a way of seeing if it's safe.

[IT WAS but possibly not for the reasons she may think.

He's just trying really hard not to think about his dad right now. Or his mom, but that's harder to manage, and doesn't hurt as bad if he accidentally does.]

...I guess.

-- I can't do that! What if she gets hurt?

[THAT'S COOL, kid guy, just think about education instead. Education is awesome. PROBLEM SOLVING TOGETHER, ALL THE WAY.

...also, he raises a good point.]

Then you'd find the doctor in town and take her there. Even when Pokemon get hurt, it's never permanent.

[That statement takes Shaun completely by surprise, and he goes silent for a long moment.]

It probably would be for mine.

[His tone is small and sad, almost broken. He's never had anyone he loves get hurt non-permanently. Even when his dad woke up from the coma, he wasn't really the same as he'd been before the accident.]

[AUGH, JUST SNAP HER HEART IN TWO, this poor kid.]

It wouldn't. That's not how Johto works.

[There's not a single bit of hesitation in her voice when she says it, either.]

Is it all right if I ask you some questions, Shaun? We can trade, one for one.

[HE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO TRUST PEOPLE WHO TRY TO TELL HIM THAT THE WORLD IS OKAY. He is going to continue to be under the impression that Pokemon can be killed until he learns otherwise through battling.]

...I guess. But only ones I wanna answer.

[There's a new kid here - and he doesn't seem to be as panicked, confused, or afraid as some of the others have been, including Clementine herself, which is good, probably. He's obviously disoriented and lost, though - and of course he is. Maybe just talking will be of a little help to him there?]

You don't like fish?

[It isn't hard for her to manage a non-grave, not-too-terribly-concerned tone with a little of her attention on that little Pokémon - a baby seal, or a weasel? - playing in the snow in the background.]

That's fair enough. How about where you're from? I'm from California, originally.

[...Technically true.]

[Shaun is surprised at actually being answered, but everything about him is withdrawn and quiet so he doesn't show it much.]

I've never had this kind before. What is it? How do I know it's safe?

[Susie runs up onto the top of a snowbank behind Shaun, peering down at his pokegear from her perch.]

[He's not sure whether he should answer or not, but he decides that Philadelphia is big enough.]

I'm from Philadelphia.

[She had her suspicions. STILL GOT IT.]

I've been there a few times. That's where the Liberty Bell is, isn't it?

Uh-huh. I've been there lots of times on class trips.

[Clementine's eyes flick up to the Buizel and she gives it a smile for a second - then, back to Shaun...]

Sushi... That lady gives some to everyone when they first come here. Mine was okay. I think the other people in New Bark Town I met were okay, too.

Are you still by yourself?

That must've been fun. I've been to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, too — the place where the bell was originally commissioned in 1752.

It's your turn to ask me a question now, if you want.

[Shaun still doesn't trust it, but he supposes it might be okay. Maybe he should've stayed long enough to ask the lady to eat some first, just in case.

He nods.]

Well, not really. I mean, I have Susie.

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