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Pua Kealoha dreams of a life beyond the confines of his small Alolan town and their repressive way of living. When a string of newcomers arrive in town, he is suddenly presented with a gateway to the outside world. As his newfound freedom clashes with those around him, Pua must choose between his family, his future, and his dreams, before an outside threat makes the choice for him
This is Dreams That You Dreamed
Contains strong language and themes around sexuality and parental conflict that some may find triggering (not now, but in the future)
Contents:
DAWN
The Golden Hour (here)
New Boy
The Paradise Professor
Walk Beneath the Stars
The Lesser Routine
Working Classless
(COMING SOON)
DUSK
MIDNIGHT
The Golden Hour (here)
New Boy
The Paradise Professor
Walk Beneath the Stars
The Lesser Routine
Working Classless
(COMING SOON)
DUSK
MIDNIGHT
Awards:
The Golden Hour
April 2011
It took a few seconds for the first bell chimes to reach him up in the valley, but in an instant, Pua knew he was dead.
"Shit!" He leapt to his feet, kicking up a cloud of dust that added to the filth already coating his skin. "Rocky! Here boy, come here boy… Rocky!"
"Ruff!"
Pua eyes darted across the thick field until he saw a scruffy brown face buried amongst the green. He lunged forward and grabbed his Pokémon in one swift movement; it made his back twinge in pain, but Pua knew however much he suffered in the next few minutes would be nothing compared to what his mother would inflict on him if he was late.
"We need to run, okay? You ready for that?"
"Ruff!"
Pua laughed. "Good boy." He put the puppy down and, without any hesitation, Rocky started running. Pua's laugh died on his face as he watched the Rockruff sprint away, a cloud of dust trailing behind him. There was no way he could possibly keep up with that pace. Then the second clang of bells hit him, and Pua knew he had no choice.
Praise Arceus for inventing the bubble bath, he thought with a grimace and started sprinting.
He should have realised the time earlier. Now that his head was out of the dirt, Pua could see the sun had sunken, pulling the colour away with it and leaving only dusky yellows pooled on the horizon; he had been out here at least six hours, roughly four and a half hours longer than he had promised.
In Pua's defence, it wasn't his fault. It was Ikaika's. He was the one who had told him about the nest of Bagon, so really, Pua should point his mother in Ikky's direction when she inevitably wanted to unleash her rage. Admittedly, Pua could have gotten some more information as to the Pokémon's exact location before searching the entirety of Route 3 for them, but surely he couldn't be blamed for their elusiveness.
Who the fuck am I kidding. She'll never buy that. Pua groaned, whether from his current pain or the one he knew was coming he couldn't tell, but it felt good to groan. It echoed over the valley as he bolted across the bridge, joining the thud of his feet slamming against the wood. Rocky was already out of sight, and the bells had rung for the fourth time; no matter what he did now, what excuse he came up with, he was going to get punished.
"Ruff!"
Pua skidded to a stop. It felt good to stop, but that lasted a second before the pain settled. His body already hurt from a solid day crawling through caves and fields, and his decision to try and run several kilometres in mere minutes without stretching was only making that pain worse. His ribs felt like they had collapsed and were trying to crush his lungs; his nose and throat burnt; his stitch crawling further up his chest. He groaned as he turned slowly, and groaned again as he craned his neck back. At the top of a vertical cliff face, on the outer boundaries of Iki Town, was Rocky, sitting pleasantly underneath a fence.
"Why do you hate me?"
"Ruff!" Rocky tilted his head to the left, pouting at the question.
"I'm joking, don't worry," Pua said, forcing a smile, though even that hurt. It seemed to reassure Rocky though, who barked at him and began panting frantically. "Shush!" Pua hissed, the fifth clang of the bell ringing out.
He looked the cliff up and down and sighed. He knew he didn't have time to make it down to Route 1; there was only one choice left, even if it filled his beating heart with dread. Tapu Koko, I'm doing this for you, so you better give me strength, he thought bitterly as he ran back to the edge of the path. With a tribal yell, Pua sprinted forwards and flung himself at the cliff.
His chest slammed into the exposed earth. Pain shuddered through his body, but Pua repressed it and focused on getting a foothold. He got a grip on some roots and pushed his feet into the earth. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Pua to haul himself up, arms screaming in protest, until he was closer to the top. He reached out and grabbed onto a fence post, and hauled himself up as the roots disintegrated in his hands.
"Fuck me." The seventh chimes sounded as Pua rolled onto smooth land. He was so close, but he had no desire to carry on. The grass was so soft and cool he felt his body sinking into it, his muscles already relaxing into position. Pua tilted his head to his right and stared at the sunset, smiling as the dying light washed over him. Surely I can miss one meeting, who is it going to hurt?
The answer came to him instantly: him. He would be hurt a lot if he didn't make an appearance. Pua could already imagine his mother seething in her seat. She may love this island and the community and the gods, but that love could easily turn to hate if things didn't go her way. He was surprised she wasn't already out here, tearing through the town trying to find him.
With a groan, Pua pushed himself up, his muscles protesting every movement, and slowly got up to his feet. He limped down the gap between several houses before stumbling out onto the main street. "Ruff!" Rockruff barked, hopping madly on the spot as his eyes flickered from his trainer to the chapel. At least someone is waiting for me.
He turned towards his destination. The church stood on the other side of the town square, yet as the sun set behind it, the building's shadow managed to stretch towards Pua, engulfing all the surrounding buildings in darkness. The sun made the orange tiles shimmer like fire, and as Pua limped towards it, he felt he was descending into the mouth of hell.
Pua paused as he approached the main doors, eyeing the wings that stretched out from either side of the central chamber, wondering if he could slip through the kitchens and pretend he'd been in the bathroom. But as he stood there, Pua realised something was wrong. He looked up at the bell house that sat at the point of the giant roof and then it hit him; all was quiet. The bell had stopped ringing, which meant everyone was indoors. The meeting had already started.
Pua swore under his breath and looked down at Rocky. "Alright, we can still salvage this, just don't make a scene," he hissed.
"Ruff!" The Rockruff replied, and promptly sprinted through the doors.
Wood hit wood as the doors bounced off the support beams, sending a shivering through the building and down Pua's spine. Fuck. He was left only with only his reflection, and even Pua didn't want to see that: his cheeks were flushed, there was dirt nestled in his thick black hair, and sweat coated his chestnut skin. He raised his arms and saw his shirt was damp from armpit to waist. He was a mess, an obvious one at that. It was probably sacrilegious to enter the church like this, but Pua had no choice.
Here goes nothing, he thought, and with a final sigh, he stepped inside.
In his mind, he had expected everyone to turn dramatically and glower at his dirty, sweaty body. Yet the sound of the door thudding shut was drowned out by raucous choir song that reverberated through the room. Standing in the doorway feeling like a corpse who had just crawled their way out of a grave, Pua couldn't help but smirk at his own fear. Everyone may be dressed up in their Sunday best, the parishioners decked out in a rainbow of colours like a human kaleidoscope, making his appearance all the more revolting, but they were too focused on the ceremony to care. In his frantic state, Pua had forgotten one simple fact; most people actually wanted to be here.
"Pua! Pua!"
Pua jumped at the sound of his own name and turned terrified to his left. His friend Leilani was staring at him scandalised, frantically tapping the seat next to her. Without any hesitation, Pua slipped in next to her, relieved at her presence even if her long red dress put his tatty clothes to shame.
"Where were you?" She hissed.
"The fields."
A smirk slid across her face. "You know, you don't have to go all the way out there to have a wank. There are perfectly good trees nearby where you can hide your sin."
"Careful, we're in a place of worship; Solgaleo and Lunala might strike you down."
"I'd like to see them try with something this fabulous," Leilani said sassily, shaking her head and letting her long black hair shimmy in the light.
Pua sniggered into his hand, and for a moment felt at peace. Sitting in the church normally left him feeling ridiculous. This room alone was big enough to fit five houses, yet apart from the benches and religious artefacts on the walls, it was an empty vessel serving little purpose for most of the year. Even as a child, Pua had felt it was a waste of space. Yet as he sat at the back of the church, relief washing over him, he looked to the high vaulted ceiling and watched as the dying light poured through a cartoonish glass sun, and for once was left with a sense of euphoria.
Silence suddenly consumed the church. The singing had stopped and everyone had settled into their seats, backs straight and eyes focused on the front of the room. Pua and Leilani copied them as the man they were here to see stepped up to the plinth perfectly centred in front of the aisle.
On paper, there was nothing that made Joshua special. Average height, an unremarkably attractive face, slim body; he did not stand out physically like so many of the men in the town did. Even his kiehe, a blinding shade of orange, seemed meek compared to the congregation before him. Yet when the Kahuna began speaking, his power was revealed. Joshua was young, not even in his thirties, yet over the last few years Pua had watched as even the eldest and wisest people in the village found themselves transfixed by his voice and encapsulated by his speech.
"It is a pleasure to see you all here again." His first words echoed thunderously against the empty roof, and Pua noticed a ripple of admiration seemed to pass through the townspeople. "The gods thank you for the time you sacrifice each week to recognise the sacrifices they have made for us."
Joshua bowed his head for a moment and a hundred people echoed his movement. When Joshua straightened up again, there was a mass shuffling as everyone followed suit. Pua thought he detected a smile on the Kahuna's face at this, but he was too far away to be certain, and when Joshua stepped around the plinth and into the aisle, his face was sombre.
"Did you all see the news this week?" He called the question out into the room for all to answer and paused as murmurs of agreement flowed back to him. "Good, I am glad to hear it. Now tell me, what is the biggest story you remember from last week?" Joshua paused, eyebrow raised quizzically as if in a pantomime. When no one responded, he stretched his arms out and spun around, eyes flickering from person to person. "No one? Were you all lying to me?" He said teasingly, and he laughed with his flock. "Of course not. No, it appears we are caught up in a global slow news week. Only Skitty being rescued from trees making headlines, am I right?" He added, pointing to one old woman Pua couldn't identify from afar, and her cackle made everyone else laugh.
"It makes a nice change, doesn't it?" In a second, the laughter died. Joshua's face had become stony once more, and no one dared so much as giggle to their neighbour. "For three years straight, we watched as horrors struck down our allies around the world. A criminal organisation nearly took over Kanto and Johto. Civil war between business empires and activist groups in Hoenn almost ended in global environmental catastrophe. Just last year, a cult leader in Sinnoh thought he knew better than the gods and sought to remake the world in his image.
"Throughout all of these barely averted disasters, one thing was clear to me. Pride." Joshua paused as murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd and nodded knowingly at his patrons. "These men – Giovanni, Cyrus, Maxie, Archie – they all had pride in their hearts. These hubristic men saw themselves as better than all others, great enough to command the gods themselves. Pride was what drove them, and it is what proved to be their downfall.
"However," Joshua said, pointing vigorously to the skies, "they are not alone. Yes, these men indeed went above and beyond anyone else, but their sins are not theirs alone. Our neighbours, they push people to be the very best, they push each other to usurp their betters and take what they consider to be theirs. They have become so driven by pride and greed that they have let their obsession with battling, with training, with championships hold them by the throat and refuse to let go. These are regions that allow the battling of Pokémon to be at the very height of their government. These are regions that view their gods beneath them; that put them on the same level as Rattata and Pikipek and allow them to become the property of children! The horrors that they endured, they brought them upon themselves as the gods punished them for their delusions of grandeur, for their pride with which they see themselves!"
Joshua marched back to the front of the chapel as applause and cheers of approval swelled behind him. "It has been a year since we watched Mount Coronet turn red with the blood of innocents. One year, and already our neighbours have moved on. Their hubris will continue to be their downfall until they learn the true cost of their actions.
"But WE, we here in Alola know our place. We know the Pokémon around us are our equals, we know that it is only by the grace of the gods above us that we have not been struck down and suffered the way our neighbours have. For centuries, we have been free from turmoil and tragedy. We were the first region to end the conflict with Pokémon, to live with them in harmony, and since then we have seen only peace. Yet we will only continue to have peace so long as we reject the sins that have consumed the other regions. We will only be free from apocalypse if we reject the practices that are trying to infiltrate our islands. I pray that you all stand with me and swear to Solgaleo, to Lunala, to Tapu Koko, swear to them that you will not let these foreign poisons seep into our shores!"
The noise that erupted inside the chapel was so sonorous anyone not in the know may have thought that Tapu Koko himself had appeared. Instead, Pua watched as half the congregation rose to their feet, clapping and stamping and screaming. Those who did not and could not lifted their hands and threw back their heads, shouting their prayers to the skies. Joshua disappeared behind this sea of agreement, but Pua could imagine the Kahuna watching this without irony, and the thought made him cross his arms tighter.
"Well, that was fucking pathetic."
Pua struggled to stifle his snigger at Leilani's sister, Helena, slapped her across the shoulder.
"Do you want to get the whole family ex-communicated?"
"Don't tell me you believed any of that?" Leilani scoffed.
"Of course not, but all these other fuckers do, so if you are going to smite them, smite quietly." Helena rolled her eyes at Pua before strutting back to her family who were mingling with the crowds, leaving Pua and Leilani leaning against the church. Pua's eyes followed Helena as she left, disappearing into the throngs of townspeople who were refusing to let their weekly church visit end anytime soon.
"You perv, stop watching my sister!"
Pua turned incredulously to his friend. "I was not! I was looking at her pareo, jeez," he said defensively, pointing at the hot pink fabric tied around Helena's waist. "You know I wouldn't be checking her out."
"I know," Leilani said, rolling her eyes and punching him on the shoulder. "God, you are so easy to wind up."
Pua smiled awkwardly. He had been on edge ever since he had told her his secret a few weeks ago; he trusted Leilani with all his heart, but she was so fiery that it made her hard to read most of the time. "You probably shouldn't use that word dismissively around here, Kahuna Joshua might hear you."
"Oh no, you're right. Do you think he'd prefer if I said fuck loudly instead?"
"You won't know until you try."
"FUCK!" Leilani said in a barely concealed stage whisper. Pua had to turn and face the church to try and dissociate himself, but his carrying snigger betrayed him. "Oh calm down, no one even heard me. I doubt they can hear anything with Joshy's little sermon buzzing about their tiny minds."
"Do not get me started," Pua groaned, returning to his regular lean. "What even brought that on? You think he's heard about that gang that's started up?"
Leilani scoffed. "You mean those high school dropouts? They are hardly at the stage of creating mutant demons and summoning gods, are they? He's just getting his case out there early before anyone gets convinced otherwise."
"What are you on about?" Leilani was struggling not to smirk, a shrewd smile Pua had come to know all too well. "You know something, don't you? Spit it out!"
"That's what he said," she shot back, winking, her smirk only growing wider.
"Oh my god, you're such a bitch sometimes." Pua stepped in front of her and shoved his face right into hers. "I am going to stay like this until you tell me everything!"
"Gross," Leilani scoffed, dramatically turning away and shoving his face away. "Fine, I suppose I'll let you in on my little secret, but you've got to promise not to – sweet Mudsdale dick, who the fuck is that?"
Pua turned to follow her line of sight. Across the town square, near the closest house to the church, stood two men. One stood with his back to Pua, but with those broad shoulders slowly giving way to age and fat, enclosed in a lemon yellow jacket that was as much a symbol of the island as Tapu Koko, it could only be Hala. He appeared to be showing around the second man, a thin pale man in tatty jeans and a shirt, an obvious outlier amongst the sea of brown faces and colourful kiehe around him.
"No idea, but in those clothes, he's probably just some shabby tourist."
"Not him," Leilani groaned, grabbing Pua's head and turning it to the left. "Him."
Pua looked again, and when he saw who Leilani was pointing at, he froze on the spot. A teenage boy stood a few feet from the tourist, arms crossed dismissively and a vacant look on his face. Dressed in a blue singlet and matching shorts, skin like fine china was on display for all to see, a shade of white so fine it made the man he was with look native by comparison. His hair was the colour of straw, which only made it look more like a mess, bits sticking up while a thick clump hung fringe-like over half the face. Pua had no idea who this was, but there was something about this pale stranger that fascinated him. He wanted to walk over, but there was a tickle down his neck that was hot and cold all at once that made him slink further back against the church.
"You don't think they'd actually let any more white people move in here, do you?"
"Of course not," Pua said, talking through the lump that arisen in his throat. "Can you imagine Rhydon? She'd have a seizure if that happened."
"Uh oh, speak of the –"
"PUA KEALOHA!"
The six syllables exploded across the square like a thunderclap, and as if he had been electrocuted, Pua leapt forwards in shock. The sudden movement made his tired muscles tense, but renewed pain was the least of his issues. He could see most people had turned to him, and Pua's face obediently blushed in reaction, but he only had eyes for one person.
The townspeople had been huddled closely together a moment earlier, but they all parted as Anahera Kealoha made her way through the crowd. As tall as most men with shoulders to put them to shame, Anahera was not a woman many took for granted, especially when her broad face was as tight with rage as it was currently.
"Where were you?" She bellowed while she was still metres from her son. "I nearly missed the service waiting for you! You look disgusting, what were you doing out there?"
"Time just slipped away from me," Pua said without thinking, and regretted it as his mother's face narrowed further.
"Well I certainly won't be letting that happen again! Your pet managed to make it inside so I trust you did as well."
"Yeah, I sat with Leilani and her –"
"Good." Anahera turned briefly to Leilani and dismissed her with a mere uptick of her lips. "That's one less thing I'll have to apologise to Kahuna Joshua about."
"You don't have to apologise to him for –"
"No, I shouldn't have to!" Anahera shouted, eyes bulging from her sockets. "If you had come home on time and dressed less like a homeless tramp than I wouldn't have to, would I? You better pray that Tapu Koko does not look on us poorly because of this. Come home, let's get home before anyone else sees what a state you're in."
They wouldn't have noticed me at all if you hadn't made a scene, Pua thought bitterly, but he swallowed his words. Anahera was already marching ahead, the people parting for her looking at her briefly before turning back to Pua, and he doubted there was a redder brown boy on the island than him.
"See you tomorrow," he muttered to Leilani, not daring to meet her eye, and he followed after Anahera.
"Ruff!"
Pua paused and looked down. Rocky was running in circles around him as though trying to trip him over, panting obliviously to the chaos around him. "I knew we should have stayed in the fields," Pua mumbled to the dog. The Rockruff's obliviousness made him smile, but as he walked past everyone in town, he kept his head down and his eyes on the earth, hoping to whoever was out there that no one was watching, especially not the stranger.
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