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Once there were two.
And one looked upon time’s steady pace.
Adaman was often called impatient by those outside of the Diamond Clan, but he and many within felt that he was simply full of respect to the time we are given on Sinnoh’s earth. Don’t tarry and make others wait for you, when you can save them the time and set them free to do with their days what they want. To do it fast isn’t to rush it, for to rush and do wrong means you have to turn around and do it again.
And so he was having trouble with the task set upon him, to travel from the Heartwood to Jubilife Village, while ensuring that he stopped at not only Deertrack Heights to pay respect to the Lord Wyrdeer, but also spot where the Pearl Wardens over the years have marked as significant for any number of reasons. It’s the time-honored (ironically) traditional test for Warden’s before they officially take the position, and is meant to test their knowledge of Hisui’s great spaces.
And Adaman just wishes he could instead use his time wisely.
Once there were two.
And one looked upon the expanse of space.
Irida, despite what some might say, is not lazy or a time-waster. She simply appreciates the world around her, as do all of the Pearl Clan, seeing the vast stretches of land, sea, and sky as a marvel that one mustn’t let become simply the background. Take not for granted the sunset vistas, the meandering river bends where fish gather, nor the high-walled valley forests teeming with life. To take your time traveling this land is to show the utmost respect of Space and what it grants a people.
And yet, despite caution and forethought being her watchwords, Irida found herself with a full itinerary for the day, starting in Deertrack Heights, winding down the hill through the Heartwoods, through the Oreburrow Tunnels, and then finally into Jubilife Village. Along the way, she has a task at nearly every point of interest, ranging from clearing any blockages on the hill’s slopes, ensuring that the Machop population isn’t preventing passage through the tunnels, all the way to making sure saplings within the Diamond Clan’s territories are growing properly. These are all important duties of a Warden, and jobs that need to be done, but to do them in a single day before she goes to meet Adaman at the Village seems like overkill.
Irida just wishes she had a moment to breathe, and take in the Space around her.
And the two set out:
The first obstacle in Irida’s way was a fallen tree on the path southward from Deertrack Heights into the Heartwood. It looks like it freshly fell in the strong winds from the night before, likely one of the echoing cracks she had heard while staying with Mai at her camp. She fights the urge to scan the area to see which tree fell, and instead formulates the course of attack.
She briefly considers calling out to her Flareon, Apeko, to burn the log to ash, or at least to burn through the middle to make it more manageable to move by hand, but she wouldn’t have the time if she did so. Not only does she need to keep this path clear, but she needs to go down to the Tidewater Dam, and make sure that the Birbarel aren’t blocking off the creeks into the Heartwood. Despite that forest being Pearl Clan territory, it was a gesture of goodwill that the Diamond Clan would help in this way, and being the temporary Diamond Warden of the Fieldlands, it fell on Irida to handle it, and handle it the Diamond Clan way.
With a sigh at the thought of wasted space, she calls out to Kiroram, her Espeon, to help. The purple feline looks over the log, then lets out a shrill cry as she lifts it with Psychic. The weighty log lifts as though it were weightless, and Kiroram moves it to the side, the log pivoting and swinging wide above Irida’s head, before it drops into the underbrush on the side of the path. The task done, she moves on, her three helpers in tow.
————
As Adaman passes the Tidewater Dam, he realizes that he hadn’t thought to grab anything for food on a full day of travel. Even if he moves as efficiently as possible, a path that he had already planned out the night before to save himself the time of doing so today, he would still be arriving at Jubilife well into the evening. And while he does love Beni’s potato mochi, eating that on an empty stomach is a terrible idea.
The fourth stop (fourth! how many points of interest can you have in just the Heartwood?!) behind him now, Adaman makes sure to grab a few Oran berries from a nearby tree, leaving enough for the local Pokemon to still eat. But he knows that isn’t going to be enough to last the day, that berries, while tasty and good for a quick boost, won’t sustain until he wraps the day. He’s going to have to plan to fish at some point, which means he’s going to have to make time to cook.
Oh Sinnoh, we’re in it now, because if he needs to stop and pray at 37 more places in the Fieldlands before nightfall, he’s going to need to speed the process up. He can’t linger too long, but he can’t disregard the customs as the temporary Pearl Warden. Even if his Sinnoh isn’t their Sinnoh, it would be disrespectful to not take his time praying, spending his precious time understanding the world around him. Even if it meant he had to delay good a little bit longer.
the fullness of the future they did seek,
He hadn’t expected just a stretch of shoreline to strike him like it is, but Adaman finds himself letting the seconds morph into minutes as he looks out over the waters of Sandgem Flats, the pooled lake around Ramanas Island ebbing lightly in the breeze. A boat rocks on the waves, the trio of teenagers fishing off it dressed in navy blue, salmon pink, and a deep maroon; a trio of teenagers from different homes, who all met each other despite the distance between their homes and found true camaraderie. Past them, stalking along the shores of the Island, the Alpha Infernape stalks its way up and down the beach, its flaming crest flickering in the wind. Adaman finds himself smirking, and checking the position of the sun, sits down and gestures over his Leafeon, Omapaykar, to join him for some light fishing.
the world’s far end would they greet.
Forty-eight Machop live within Oreburrow Tunnel, Irida comes to find as she chases her fourth group out into the main opening of the cave. Despite their shouts, it was obvious the Pokémon were playing, especially with how Konruci, her Glaceon, and Apeko were prancing within the groups. While the two and Irida were focused on gathering all of the rowdy Pokemon into a single space, Kiroram was at the back end of the tunnels, clearing the remains of a small cave-in that blocked access to the tunnels from the north. And the entire point of this whole chase game was because the Machop didn’t like the group clearing out their own little training wall. And, to get the job done quick but correct, they split the work; Kiroram won’t have trouble blasting and moving rubble on her own, so even if they spend time placating the local Pokemon population, important work is still being done.
Two different paths —
Irida takes a few moments to look over the waters below the Worn Bridge, with a Gyrados winding under the formation, thankfully not noticing its watcher above. She takes only a brief moment to look upon the scene, the water dragon swirling through the air before plunging into the water below, several Magikarp leaping into the air to clear the space. With a smile, she steps back from the edge, clambering over the small fence that the Galaxy Team had erected along the edge of the natural bridge.
In fact, that was her purpose in passing through this area. As the Worn Bridge leads directly to Deertrack Heights, it is traditionally considered a part of Diamond Clan territory, and so the Clan was in charge of making sure that it was done to satisfaction. And being the Warden today, it fell to Irida to make sure that the work was up to par. Safety checks, as her Warden in the Highlands would doubtless say, and in her amateur opinion, she felt the fencing would keep travelers safe. As Jubilife expands, they requested permission from the Clans to try mining in Oreburrow Tunnel, and this would be their main path to bring it back to the Village.
Irida gives the fence a few good shoves along its length, nodding in approval as it barely budges. She may not weigh much, but if it doesn’t move with a directed tackle, then she’s happy with the result.
each walking alone a path their own,
Adaman could see Irida from where he was, standing atop the cliffs surrounding Lake Verity as she crosses the wooden bridge over the branch of the river that splits the Fieldlands in two. He smiles, then turns to face the seemingly placid lake beneath him. He’s a little south of the actual spot that Lian had marked for him, but considering the intent was to watch the sun in a specific relative location, he made the decision to change the spot to accommodate for the sun’s movement through the year.
He made good time, he feels as he sits down to rest, pulling a strip of cooked Magikarp from his pack. Behind him, further down the cliffs, he could hear the crackling yowls of the Luxray pack, and in front of him he could see a Togekiss gliding on the winds. Far below in the waters, a school of Magikarp leap into the air, unaware of the man dozens of feet above them chewing on one of their own. The sun slowly dips in the sky, its reflection approaching the eastern shore as it begins to line up with the peak of a distant hill.
Adaman swallows the cooked strip of food, and closes his eyes in prayer. To Sinnoh, to Dialga, to the Pearl Clan’s Palkia. A prayer for peace, for the placid life they have found to persist.
though they walk with almighty Sinnoh.
“I beat you for once,” Irida says with a smug expression as Adaman walks into the Fieldlands Base Camp as the sun is beginning to sink behind the horizon.
“Lake Verity is a beautiful place this time of year,” he says with a shrug as he joins her at the unlit fire. “Saw a few kids fishing over by Ramanas, looked like they were having a good time.”
Irida rolls her eyes at Adaman’s obvious deflection before nodding. “Yes, the Jubilife kid came by and said that Niara was on her way home. He had a few Magikarp and a Finneon with him.” She smiles and stands up, stretching her arms and back before relaxing into a neutral stance next to Adaman. “So, how was it living a day as a Pearl Clan Warden?” Her smile nearly hides the smirk of assured success.
Adaman snickers and gives her a self-assured smile. “It was good to relax a little,” he says after a moment. He pulls up his little pouch of cooked Magikarp, with only two small strips left within. “I even found some time to cook some food, since I forgot to prepare some this morning.”
“So impatient that you forgot to get food?” Irida says with a laugh, getting a flinch from her counterpart as he stammers for a retort. “Don’t worry, I nearly forgot it myself in the rush to get out this morning. Mai had to remind me to grab what she had prepared for me.”
“That’s my sister, always prepared for my bad habits,” Adaman says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Though you obviously took the importance of time management to heart,” he says, giving her a sly smile of his own. “You were on your way here before I even had a chance to finish my last stop.”
“What can I say, I know this Space well,” she says with a confident shrug, before gently elbowing him. “Though it was a little exhilarating to see how fast I could do some of the tasks Mai had set up for me. Those Machop are a feisty bunch, I never realized how many of them there are.”
“Oh, for sure,” Adaman says, turning to begin the walk to Jubilife Village, Irida falling into step beside him. “Mai tells me they usually don’t gather together all that much, so if you don’t rile them up, you’ll never see them all.”
Onward the two walk, the Diamond of Time and the Pearl of Space, two representations of both their faiths and their gods, side by side. Peace is a long road to walk, and the journey may take years. But these two, with the fire in their hearts and the desire in their souls, they, if anyone, can surely weather the journey.