Mia Blaze
Objection!
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2016
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When their fighting parents become too much to deal with, a seventeen year old Clemont manages to whisk his younger sister Bonnie away into the calming nature of the Laminae National Park to make her happy once again. However, what seems to be a peaceful, lazy job quickly turns into a magnitude of events leading back to the death of a lookout six years prior
This is a Firewatch AU. Firewatch is a game about... watching for fires in a forest but has a gripping plot with mystery to keep people entertained and stunning graphics. I'd suggest watching a play through or playing the game yourself to slightly understand the whole story. Also, the latter part of the chapter contains dialogue close to that of the game itself.
Pokemon do exist and are more animal like but still are sentient enough to be protected from shooting. People can't eat or kill a Pokemon as they would face jail time for doing so, especially killing/eating from a National Park like Laminae Forest is. As such, battling with them except in life or death situations are also frowned upon but not banned under Pokemon Rights Laws, or PRLs.
Anyway, enough about that, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1
“Come on big brother!” A blonde haired thirteen year old called from where she stood on top of a downed tree log. Her sky blue eyes sparkled in excitement as her hands clutched tightly around the straps of her yellow backpack. “We’re almost there! I can feel it!”
“Hold up,” her seventeen year old brother, with hair and eyes of the same colour as hers, panted as he plodded after her to keep up. Heat mystified his glasses, with the heat coming from his own body made by the action of lightly hiking for a day or so. “I can’t keep on climbing like this, it’s way too hot…”
“Clemont!” She yelled at him with a pout, moving her hands to her hips sassily. “You are so slow! Wasn’t it you who wanted to take this outdoor job?”
“It was Bonnie. To get away from the problems with them. I didn’t want you around it.” He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, shaking off the droplets which he had collected from his forehead. “Still, I hate that social worker, she was a right idiot.” Clemont watched as his sister’s face fell slightly, giving her a questioning look in return. “What’s the matter, did I say something wrong?”
“I thought you were going to use another word to describe that God-awful woman,” she moaned with a toddler like tantrum tone to her voice. “Then I could accuse you of learning swear words so I could say them.”
Of course Bonnie would say that to him. She had never really got upset when they talked alone about home life but when it came to the opinions of expressing one’s frustration and anger at something or someone, he preferred the expression to be clean and lacking in the swearing department, especially due to Bonnie’s sassy nature. He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at her. “You know how I feel about swearing.”
“Yeah, the well-known five worst swear words, but there are sooo many more than that!” Bonnie replied with a deadpanned look crossing her facial features. She pulled a map of the area out of her bag’s closest pocket to her right hand side. “According to this thing, Twin Forks tower should be just up ahead.”
“Thank God, after three days hiking, I could use a bed and a good night’s sleep.” Clemont moaned, which was something he never normally did considering he was the most grown up member of his family. He managed to drag himself on for the final stretch of the journey, grabbing his sister’s hand as she helped him up and over a log.
“That’s my line,” Bonnie grinned jokingly as they continued walking. For a while they walked in near on silence – the sounds of nature and their own footsteps against the dusty path were the only things that contradicted it – before the younger sibling decided to speak up once again. “Hey, brother? Thanks for doing this for me. I don’t really want to be back in Lumiose with… you know.”
“I know, and you’re welcome,” the older sibling gave her a gentle smile before coughing nervously, a habit of his due to his usually timid and shy nature. “And, you have been nagging at me that I need to get out and about more.”
“Uh huh! Glad to see you’ve finally listened.” Bonnie smiled back, taking in the luscious surroundings, full of life and colour. The branches in the trees, leaves included, swayed with the gentle breeze, cries from the various Pokémon that lived in the area were peaceful and relaxing to the soul. Up ahead, the path was opening up to a clearing, on with a tall white structure in it. “We’re here!” She ran on towards the lookout and climbed up the stairs two at a time, the setting sun in the background providing a desktop worthy view of the area around her.
“Bonnie, wait up!” He stopped beside the stairs leading up to their new place of residence, grimacing at the thought of having to use those horrible things for the next few months. Slowly he followed her up the stairs, minding his head on the low boards as he did so before walking over to where she was standing and he began take in the beautiful sunset with her.
“We get to wake up to this every day for the next month or so…” Bonnie smiled peacefully without having to force the expression for either of her parent’s benefit, her head rested on her arms that were crossed over the banister she was leaning on. “This is going to be awesome.”
“There will be no electronics, video games or computers for a long time.” Clemont looked down at his little sister, realising that the statement affected him more than it did her as he was an inventor by heart. “Can you handle that?”
“With books and paper, I can pass the time. Don’t worry!” She winked up at him with confidence before she turned around to face the door of their new home. Bonnie took a deep breath, her heart pounding at the prospect of a summer full of peace and relaxation. “Ready to see inside?”
“Yep. It’ll be better once those boards are down, during the day we won’t even need the electricity due to the natural daylight.” He answered her question honestly whilst also wondering what it was like inside. Whilst this was a chance to get Bonnie out of the cross fire of their arguing parents, it was also a chance for him to relax as well. It was easier to look after one teenaged cynical comedian than it was two raging alcoholics, both of whom hated each other’s guts and wanted to kill each other, and one teenaged cynical comedian. He reached out for the door handle, testing it to see if they needed to find a key, only to be surprised that the door was unlocked as the two siblings entered.
The lodge was a singular room with two beds opposite each other, the ends pointing to the west facing wall. Cupboards were there to house food and equipment for survival, a sink was in place for washing the dishes. In the middle of the room was a map with a black length of sting and a piece of cardboard which the two had no idea of what it was there for. There was a desk right beside the door, and there were spaces beside the beds to place personal items, as well as a lamp on a bedside table between the two. On the desk was a walkie talkie radio that was in its docking station, yet switched on due to the lack of needing to be charged.
They walked in, with Bonnie instantly running towards the bed she deemed worthy of the two to be hers and jumped on it, plopping her back on it whilst kicking off her yellow hiking boots to rub her sore feet gently. Clemont took a more graceful approach by lightly placing his bag down on his bed, noting the boxes which had labels written on them such as ‘supplies’ and ‘cutlery and crockery’ in neat, swirling letters. What caught his attention the most was the walkie talkie, his scientific mind wondering if he could copy its circuitry to make another one for his sister. As much as he loved Bonnie, he would never let her control a vital piece of machinery such as this seemingly normal walkie-talkie like this one was. Whilst he was studying it, someone talking through the device suddenly made Clemont jump and squeak with multiple horror movie plots running through his brain
“Hello? Twin Forks, come in.” A young, male sounding voice flowed through the radio, precise and clear as if their channel was created to be like if the two speakers were talking face to face. Bonnie gave him an unamused stare which said 'Seriously?' to him as she began to pull all of her stuff out of her bag and set it down exactly where she wanted it. As if the device was going to bite him, Clemont shakily reached his hand out and grabbed the walkie talkie whilst retracting his hand quickly. After he had regained a more calm disposition, he pressed the button and kept it held down as he spoke into it.
“Hello... this is Twin Forks...” He could hear his sister slap her forehead in annoyance behind him at his stammering. She hated his lack of self-confidence when it came to talking to people, even when it wasn’t face to face contact. The reason why Clemont had really liked this idea as a summer getaway was because of the isolation and lack of human interaction. Now, he guessed that wasn’t going to happen due to someone in an official tone having talked to him.
“Wow, you sound tense, what's up?” The voice seemed peaceful and therapeutic in its tone, almost as if it was the voice of nature itself, alluring Clemont into a state where his defensive barriers were being broken down gently to let it in. Whilst his guard was down, Bonnie had got up from her bed and had swiped the walkie talkie from out of his hands, choosing to take control of the situation.
“It’s just my big bro isn't into introductions,” she explained cheerily to the person on the other line, however she soon paused in thought back to the application slip her brother had shown her. The voice contradicted the name of the supervising female lookout who had written the slip and gave them the job. “I thought you were supposed to be a middle aged lady or something. I mean you are Lightning Tail lookout, right?”
“Oh, that... was my mother,” the voice continued to speak, not phased at all by the new arrival over the walkie talkie. The slightly shocking revelation that the speaker and the Supervisor were related seemed to answer some of the questions the siblings held, especially since they weren’t questioning Bonnie’s appearance in the lookout when children weren’t normally allowed in. However, the Supervisor had overlooked Bonnie’s age after learning of the reason why they were applying but stated that she would only pay Clemont for the job, as Bonnie was way too young to be working out here in the middle of a forest. “She used to run this lookout almost constantly and now, she’s passing down that role to her only son, me. It’s almost like the summer job I've always dreamed of having, with a year of free probation before I can even get a penny. So, out of my need for small talk, why are you out here?”
“Umm... I think getting to know names is better than asking what we're doing here first.” Clemont responded nervously, still not totally trusting the person they were speaking to as they could still be a serial killer pretending to be a lookout. His mind would like to run into the worst possible scenario when something happened that was outside his relatively small comfort zone, and talking to a stranger who claimed to be related to their boss classified as something outside his comfort zone.
“Oh, alright then. I'll save mad juvenile prison escape plots until later…” At that point Bonnie burst out laughing whilst clutching her sides from the lack of being able to breathe, obviously she thought that statement was totally hilarious in an exaggerated form. “My mum, Delia, is the one who put the placement in, she's a high up in the business, but you two know that already. My name, as ironic as it sounds, is...”
“Forest… Pines… Blaze… Bolt… Red!” Bonnie threw names at the radio, having stolen it again from her older brother, before the person could even respond. Of course she only used words either associated with nature, fires and the lookout that her new acquaintance was positioned out as it was all she could deduce from what she had heard.
“So close yet so far…” The other lookout chuckled lightly to themselves, however another voice squeaked a form of laughter alongside the chuckles. It seemed as if they weren’t completely alone, just like the siblings had each other. “My name is Ash.”
Bonnie once again burst into laughter as Clemont snagged the walkie talkie. “Sorry about my sister’s rudeness but I have to say your name is very ironic since we have to look out for forest fires.”
“Oh ha ha, it looks like we have a smarty pants in the house,” the now named Ash replied sarcastically, sounding slightly ruffled at the thought of having his own name mocked by strangers. “Actually, for your information, she got my name after a fire. Some idiotic, drunk lookout thought it would be funny to call a fire the Ash Fire, which makes no sense at all when you think about it but, to be sympathetic, people do and say stupid things when drunk. Mum was pregnant at the time and, thought it was good for the name of a baby, either male or female.”
“Your mother must have been working here a long time, huh?” The older sibling continued to talk, feeling more relaxed with conversing to someone else other than his little sister.
“Yeah, for at least two decades as far as I’m aware of but I don't know all the details,” Ash seemed to sound quite proud as he spoke to them, proud of his mother and her loyalty to the job of being alone with nature surrounding her whilst looking out for smoke and fire. “I’ve been here all my life, practically, I know the forest like the back of my hand. There hasn't been one cave round here that I haven't fallen into.”
“How nice… you're Klutzy?” Bonnie had regained control of the two way conversation, clutching the lookout’s radio to her chest like it was a very precious item to her and she wasn’t going to give it back to her brother no matter what sweet delicacy he was going to offer her in exchange.
“And you're sassy but am I complaining?” It was Clemont's turn to laugh as his sister began to pout, no one had ever been sarcastic back at her but that was mostly because the only people she had ever really talked to where her father, mother, brother and that cow of a social worker. “Speaking of you, I don't know your names, and why you're here. I still think you're prison inmates that are related that have escaped from prison in a daring and destructive manner.”
“I'm Bonnie, and the antisocial wreck who is terrified of you is my older brother, Clemont. Oh and yes darling, we did escape prison whilst under the conviction of tenth degree murder.” Clemont yelled at his sister angrily, calling out her name to reprehend her actions which could have seriously ruined their credibility with her attempt at being funny.
“Oh God, tenth degree?” He then felt especially relieved when their new acquaintance just laughed at her sister’s weird sense of humour. “Well, that's way more exciting than my story. So, how on earth did you two get convicted of tenth degree murder?”
“Bonnie is just joking,” Clemont sighed, after having ripped the walkie talkie from her grasp. “Our parents are fighting so, being old enough, I decided to get us away and out for the summer.”
“Wow… you're over sixteen in both physical age and mental age?” Ash began clapping one handedly, seemingly impressed by the revelation. “That's impressive. The other lookouts are all under that, mentally of course… well at times they can be responsible but...”
“And you're not?” The blonde haired inventor asked cautiously, he knew that some people didn’t like talking about their personal life and didn’t want Ash to get offended.
“No, turned fifteen a few weeks ago in May.” Ash seemed happy enough to give out the information, even having a cheery tone as he spoke to further disprove his hypothesis of the kind of person the Lightning Tail lookout was. “Oh, and don't tell me, your sister, she's thirteen and a few months.”
“How did you know?!” Bonnie gasped in surprise, neither herself or her brother had mentioned anything about her age and was shocked at the totally correct guess.
“Still ultra-sassy, just dipping your toe into the teenaged waters.” The two imagined that Ash was grinning as he explained his reasoning behind the guess whilst it sounded like he had stood up and went to go do something. What sounded like a Pokémon’s cry added to the mixture of sounds they were hearing, confirming that the fellow teenager wasn’t alone. “I was just like that at your age… man, that makes me sound so old.”
“Trust me, seventeen is still older.” Clemont chuckled softly at the hyperbolic humour of the statement.
“That is old. Your birthday cake must have millions of candles.”
“Don't push it.” He groaned, tired of listening to his younger sister laughing at him all in thanks to the lookout with the same kind of cynical humour as she had. Maybe that’s why Clemont found it so easy to speak to him, because Ash’s way of speaking heavily reminded him of Bonnie’s.
“Is that a threat? Wow, I never thought I'd hear that on first time communicating with you.” By then, Ash had sat back down again, a nice purring like sound, mixed with a high pitched squeak of content, seemed to be coming from a pokémon next to him which sounded a lot like a Pikachu. “Oh and, FYI, there is a gorge between our lookouts. If you think you can climb it, go ahead but, I'll be gone before then.”
“Don't worry about that, big brother can't hike or even do exercise for anything, not even technology.” Bonnie responded cheekily, giving her brother a childish stick out of her tongue, complete with a ‘nyeh’ like sound.
“BONNIE!”
“Wow, he is extremely unprepared,” the two siblings decided to look towards the Lightning Tail lookout, seeing the silhouette of a figure facing west whose features could be sort of made out if they squinted. “Luckily, there are three other lookouts in full working condition at this moment in time so hopefully, if they aren't on call, you two can just lounge around in there all day, every day... like me when I'm not out hiking.”
“A professional?”
“Like an Aipom or a Mankey... or any monkey like Pokémon you could think of. Seen it, I've been compared to it.” With a quick chuckle, the fifteen year old leaned back in his chair as told by the creak of the legs against the floorboards. “Aren't you two tired from that three day long hike? Man, you two should be sleeping like logs right about now. Tomorrow is another day, after all.”
“Yeah, we’re really tired and should be going to sleep.” Clemont dictated their actions, much to Bonnie's discontent about the fact she had a bedtime still, even as she stifled a yawn behind her hand to hide the truth that she was extremely tired from the hiking and sleeping in sleeping bags on a rocky, hard floor. Soft mattresses were a much nicer object to sleep on and blankets were always a plus to keep warm.
“Alright then, enjoy it and, by the way...” Confused as to what Ash wanted to add, they stilled themselves from getting ready for bed and listened intently. “Welcome to your new summer job at the Laminae National Park Forest. We are not responsible for death, dismemberment...”
“Goodnight!” Clemont rushed his word before turning off the radio, something that could be done only when going to bed or charging at night, both situations applied to them at that moment in time. Bonnie sniggered at her brother's flustered face over that obscure reference to a horror indie game which shouldn’t really apply to a calm job at a National Park forest. Whilst her face said it all, her words confirmed her opinion of their fellow lookout.
“I like him.”
It was around 4 in the afternoon when the siblings woke up after their hike, in fact they had slept for an entire day as they were that tired from the three days out in the wilderness. Bonnie was lying back on her bed, reading a book she had brought with her for entertainment, one she hadn’t read before and had brought just to pass the time as fire watchers. Clemont was sat at the desk, tinkering with an invention he had given no general purpose at first, but now was making into walkie talkie which relied on solar power to work instead of a battery. Not long after they had started their little activities, a familiar voice spoke up on the only fully functional walkie talkie device.
“Good morning, Twin Forks, or should I be saying good evening?” A small chuckle came over the line. “You two have been out like logs but, with a few hours of daylight left, I guess we could get some work out of you.”
“Work?” Clemont asked wearily, knowing that the sun was starting to sink slightly in the sky.
“Yeah, work. That’s what you signed up for.” He could practically hear the sarcasm dripping off of Ash’s voice as the latter spoke. “Luckily, you have an experienced person like me showing you the ropes.”
“Aren’t you new at this job too?” Bonnie questioned from her position on her bed, still staring into the page she had been stuck on for the past few minutes.
“I practically have lived here in this park all my life,” the fifteen year old scoffed down the channel, sounding slightly shocked at the same time as his own credibility was being knocked down by his new co-workers. “Also, my mum has worked here as long as I can remember and, trust me, I’ve been around her to pick up anything she has done.”
“Okay then, professional. Instruct.” Clemont replied simply as his sister sat upright, discarding her book amongst the others that lay on the end of her bed.
“Do you see that thing in the middle of your room?” It turned into a rhetorical question, even though the siblings could have easily answered back to him, well Clemont at least. Bonnie had no idea what the thing was doing in the cabin much less what it was for. “It’s a fire finder, invented by W. B. Osbourne in 1914. Since we don’t have that much electricity, that’s the closest you are going to get to an interactive device in the forest.”
“Well, my brother likes inventing. He’s actually working on a walkie talkie that runs on solar power but can be charged on the docking station in the tower.” Bonnie stated proudly, causing Clemont to blush as she was practically telling a stranger his pride and joy in life, the thing only she knew about. He had always hidden his inventions away from the eyes of his parents in case they sold them off to get a quick back.
“Wow, I am impressed!” Ash’s voice suddenly seemed interested in the direction this conversation was heading. “I’ve always been interested in science, Biology mostly. I guess you are a Physics kinda guy, Clemont.”
“Well, yeah. With the amount of natural light the tower gets, it makes sense to have a backup one,” he explained, feeling proud to have met someone who thought the idea of his inventions was cool. “Plus it could be Bonnie’s just in case something happens that separates us.”
“That’s great! Maybe I could get some electronics added into your first supply box,” Ash said kindly before he suddenly dropped his walkie talkie, the clatter coming through before the line cut out. Clemont and Bonnie gave each other confused glances until they got a reply to reassure them that nothing crazy had occurred. “Sorry about that… dammit, a month in and I’m already seeing things.”
“A month?” Bonnie inquired whilst going over the forest’s summertime schedule realising that there was an inconsistency between that and Ash’s words. “I thought the summer season didn’t start until next week.”
“Mum’s been preparing me,” he replied with a nervous chuckle, obviously slightly shaken by the idea that his mind was already playing tricks on him. “ It’s my first time alone and… JESUS CHRIST!”
“The profanities.” Clemont mumbled out of annoyance at a form of swearing which used the Lord’s name in vain, even though he was an atheist, wondering where the sudden anger had come from.
“No... urgh! Just look out of your west facing window! Tell me what you see!” Ash spoke with sudden urgency, sounding extremely angry for some reason as his teeth seemed to be clamped together to make the gritty sound they were hearing. The two siblings did as told, only to stare out of the window at the rise of smoke and flashing white lights.
“Fireworks?!” Bonnie cried, remembering the fire warning from when they entered the park thanks to a taxi. The sign warned that fire danger was at its maximum due to dry heat and a lack of rain, meaning that no fires no matter what should be started in the forest at all.
“Is that…” The seventeen year old began only for his words to catch themselves in his throat.
“If you were about to say legal then, no!” Ash continued and answered his question for him from the walkie talkie, muttering things in other languages which Clemont would have bet weren’t nice and that’s why they were being said in those said languages. “I’m sorry for sounding so demanding, but you need to go down there and set them straight! All the other rangers and lookouts are either too far away or out doing jobs.”
“Like, rough them up with knuckle dusters, kinda set them straight?” Although she asked it innocently, Bonnie’s eyes sparkled with mischief and mayhem from the idea.
“No! Of course not! No, no, no, no, no!” Clemont could imagine the horrified expression on the other outlook’s face from his sister’s question. “Just tell them off, make them stop and take any crap they throw at you because, rest assured, that they will throw buckets at you.”
“Right. I’ll make sure Bonnie doesn’t cause any trouble,” the older male couldn’t help but grin at Bonnie’s pouting, it was nice to feel in control of his sassy little sister every now and again. “And we’ll sort this out.”
“Thanks very much,” a loud sigh of relief came from the other end of the channel. “If you need to contact me, I’ll be here to take it. The fireworks are coming from Jonesy Lake area; it should be on your map, not too far. Can either of you rappel?”
“What?” Bonnie asked in confusion, speaking for the both of them. She needn’t have worried, however, as her brother spoke his own concerns moments later.
“What does rappel mean?” Clemont added, which earned another sigh, this time of annoyance, from the walkie talkie.
“Oh boy. Okay then, you’ll have to go the longer route. If you go through a cave near your lookout, then you can reach an area where you can get to the lake without having to go down a cliff face.” Ash explained, the siblings following where he meant from their map, realising he was right and now knew how to get to the lake quickly without using too much energy to make their way there.
“Got it! Thanks.”
“Great. Now go and give them a piece of your minds!”
“Roger.”
“Uhm… the name’s Ash.”
“Right…” The conversation ended there on an awkward note as the siblings ran out with their pre-packed backpacks, heading towards Jonesy Lake with a mission of finding out who on earth was lighting fireworks at this time with the summer heat making it a danger to the preservation of the park. It was their first ‘mission’ of their summer job and were hoping to resolve this one as soon as possible.
This is a Firewatch AU. Firewatch is a game about... watching for fires in a forest but has a gripping plot with mystery to keep people entertained and stunning graphics. I'd suggest watching a play through or playing the game yourself to slightly understand the whole story. Also, the latter part of the chapter contains dialogue close to that of the game itself.
Pokemon do exist and are more animal like but still are sentient enough to be protected from shooting. People can't eat or kill a Pokemon as they would face jail time for doing so, especially killing/eating from a National Park like Laminae Forest is. As such, battling with them except in life or death situations are also frowned upon but not banned under Pokemon Rights Laws, or PRLs.
Anyway, enough about that, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1
2020
It’s summer in Kalos and you notice that your parents are starting to act weirdly around you and your six year old sister, Bonnie. You are Clemont, a ten year old interested in machinery and inventions, as such you don’t notice as much as you should do. One night, you wake up to sounds downstairs and find your parents arguing in the kitchen
Leave them be and go back to bed. /Confront them whilst you are down there.
2022
The arguing has gotten worse and even Bonnie has begun to pick up on it. Their shouting is loud enough to force you to lose concentration on homework and other important things. However, your grades aren’t dropping at school. You are more worried about Bonnie than anything. She keeps on asking you about why your parents are fighting
You say you don’t know. /You tell her everything is going to be okay.
2025
Your parents are still arguing, mostly about the two of you. Your father goes out for hours and comes back drunk, crashing into things which causes fights and violent outbursts from them. One fight causes them to agree that a divorce is the only way they can be happy.
You’re almost sixteen and can buy your own place to get away from their control however Bonnie is still eleven. She can’t go and you aren’t old enough to take care of her yourself under the laws. You’ve been looking at some houses but realise that means you’d have to leave her behind.
You get a house but promise to come back every week or so. /You stay to be there for Bonnie’s sake.
The divorce goes ahead but both of your parents fight for custody over the two of you. A part of you wishes you took the house offer you were given but keeping your sister company normally makes you forget about it. Seeing her smile, which is rare now, lights up your day.
Neither of your parents can get enough money to buy a separate place, so sleep in separate rooms in your house. Your father got arrested for drunk driving, a few months later; your mother got arrested for assaulting a friend who was trying to give her advice. You decide neither parent can take care of Bonnie but social services won’t let you take care of her until you are eighteen. The social worker, Val, gives you two options. Either stay with your mother or with your father. You react by…
Yelling at her “Are you crazy?!” and point out the arrests to her. /Trying to explain without sounding spoilt and childish that your parents aren’t in the best condition to look after you.
She doesn’t listen and asks Bonnie, who does the same thing as you. Your parents are still fighting for custody and your mother has managed to get her own place and a job by lying about her arrest. Social services think its best if you spend the week with your mother and the weekend at your father’s. Your father disagrees and tries to get you for the week. It ends up with you two spending a week at one parent’s place before a week at the others
It is the only option so you have to take it.
2027
Even with the system, your parents still argue whenever you two are handed over. They don’t care about you anymore and focus the attention of their arguing to Bonnie, which she hates. They get into a fight and both end up in hospital with serious injuries. The social worker, Val, threatens to put your sister into a care home whilst you have to look after one of your parent’s houses.
You try to convince her you can look after your sister. /You agree with her and do as you are told.
Val reluctantly agrees but only if you can find a job to keep you two alive. You find an ad for a fire lookout in the newspaper which includes lodging and food.
You take it.
It’s summer in Kalos and you notice that your parents are starting to act weirdly around you and your six year old sister, Bonnie. You are Clemont, a ten year old interested in machinery and inventions, as such you don’t notice as much as you should do. One night, you wake up to sounds downstairs and find your parents arguing in the kitchen
Leave them be and go back to bed. /Confront them whilst you are down there.
2022
The arguing has gotten worse and even Bonnie has begun to pick up on it. Their shouting is loud enough to force you to lose concentration on homework and other important things. However, your grades aren’t dropping at school. You are more worried about Bonnie than anything. She keeps on asking you about why your parents are fighting
You say you don’t know. /You tell her everything is going to be okay.
2025
Your parents are still arguing, mostly about the two of you. Your father goes out for hours and comes back drunk, crashing into things which causes fights and violent outbursts from them. One fight causes them to agree that a divorce is the only way they can be happy.
You’re almost sixteen and can buy your own place to get away from their control however Bonnie is still eleven. She can’t go and you aren’t old enough to take care of her yourself under the laws. You’ve been looking at some houses but realise that means you’d have to leave her behind.
You get a house but promise to come back every week or so. /You stay to be there for Bonnie’s sake.
The divorce goes ahead but both of your parents fight for custody over the two of you. A part of you wishes you took the house offer you were given but keeping your sister company normally makes you forget about it. Seeing her smile, which is rare now, lights up your day.
Neither of your parents can get enough money to buy a separate place, so sleep in separate rooms in your house. Your father got arrested for drunk driving, a few months later; your mother got arrested for assaulting a friend who was trying to give her advice. You decide neither parent can take care of Bonnie but social services won’t let you take care of her until you are eighteen. The social worker, Val, gives you two options. Either stay with your mother or with your father. You react by…
Yelling at her “Are you crazy?!” and point out the arrests to her. /Trying to explain without sounding spoilt and childish that your parents aren’t in the best condition to look after you.
She doesn’t listen and asks Bonnie, who does the same thing as you. Your parents are still fighting for custody and your mother has managed to get her own place and a job by lying about her arrest. Social services think its best if you spend the week with your mother and the weekend at your father’s. Your father disagrees and tries to get you for the week. It ends up with you two spending a week at one parent’s place before a week at the others
It is the only option so you have to take it.
2027
Even with the system, your parents still argue whenever you two are handed over. They don’t care about you anymore and focus the attention of their arguing to Bonnie, which she hates. They get into a fight and both end up in hospital with serious injuries. The social worker, Val, threatens to put your sister into a care home whilst you have to look after one of your parent’s houses.
You try to convince her you can look after your sister. /You agree with her and do as you are told.
Val reluctantly agrees but only if you can find a job to keep you two alive. You find an ad for a fire lookout in the newspaper which includes lodging and food.
You take it.
“Come on big brother!” A blonde haired thirteen year old called from where she stood on top of a downed tree log. Her sky blue eyes sparkled in excitement as her hands clutched tightly around the straps of her yellow backpack. “We’re almost there! I can feel it!”
“Hold up,” her seventeen year old brother, with hair and eyes of the same colour as hers, panted as he plodded after her to keep up. Heat mystified his glasses, with the heat coming from his own body made by the action of lightly hiking for a day or so. “I can’t keep on climbing like this, it’s way too hot…”
“Clemont!” She yelled at him with a pout, moving her hands to her hips sassily. “You are so slow! Wasn’t it you who wanted to take this outdoor job?”
“It was Bonnie. To get away from the problems with them. I didn’t want you around it.” He ran a hand through his sweaty hair, shaking off the droplets which he had collected from his forehead. “Still, I hate that social worker, she was a right idiot.” Clemont watched as his sister’s face fell slightly, giving her a questioning look in return. “What’s the matter, did I say something wrong?”
“I thought you were going to use another word to describe that God-awful woman,” she moaned with a toddler like tantrum tone to her voice. “Then I could accuse you of learning swear words so I could say them.”
Of course Bonnie would say that to him. She had never really got upset when they talked alone about home life but when it came to the opinions of expressing one’s frustration and anger at something or someone, he preferred the expression to be clean and lacking in the swearing department, especially due to Bonnie’s sassy nature. He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at her. “You know how I feel about swearing.”
“Yeah, the well-known five worst swear words, but there are sooo many more than that!” Bonnie replied with a deadpanned look crossing her facial features. She pulled a map of the area out of her bag’s closest pocket to her right hand side. “According to this thing, Twin Forks tower should be just up ahead.”
“Thank God, after three days hiking, I could use a bed and a good night’s sleep.” Clemont moaned, which was something he never normally did considering he was the most grown up member of his family. He managed to drag himself on for the final stretch of the journey, grabbing his sister’s hand as she helped him up and over a log.
“That’s my line,” Bonnie grinned jokingly as they continued walking. For a while they walked in near on silence – the sounds of nature and their own footsteps against the dusty path were the only things that contradicted it – before the younger sibling decided to speak up once again. “Hey, brother? Thanks for doing this for me. I don’t really want to be back in Lumiose with… you know.”
“I know, and you’re welcome,” the older sibling gave her a gentle smile before coughing nervously, a habit of his due to his usually timid and shy nature. “And, you have been nagging at me that I need to get out and about more.”
“Uh huh! Glad to see you’ve finally listened.” Bonnie smiled back, taking in the luscious surroundings, full of life and colour. The branches in the trees, leaves included, swayed with the gentle breeze, cries from the various Pokémon that lived in the area were peaceful and relaxing to the soul. Up ahead, the path was opening up to a clearing, on with a tall white structure in it. “We’re here!” She ran on towards the lookout and climbed up the stairs two at a time, the setting sun in the background providing a desktop worthy view of the area around her.
“Bonnie, wait up!” He stopped beside the stairs leading up to their new place of residence, grimacing at the thought of having to use those horrible things for the next few months. Slowly he followed her up the stairs, minding his head on the low boards as he did so before walking over to where she was standing and he began take in the beautiful sunset with her.
“We get to wake up to this every day for the next month or so…” Bonnie smiled peacefully without having to force the expression for either of her parent’s benefit, her head rested on her arms that were crossed over the banister she was leaning on. “This is going to be awesome.”
“There will be no electronics, video games or computers for a long time.” Clemont looked down at his little sister, realising that the statement affected him more than it did her as he was an inventor by heart. “Can you handle that?”
“With books and paper, I can pass the time. Don’t worry!” She winked up at him with confidence before she turned around to face the door of their new home. Bonnie took a deep breath, her heart pounding at the prospect of a summer full of peace and relaxation. “Ready to see inside?”
“Yep. It’ll be better once those boards are down, during the day we won’t even need the electricity due to the natural daylight.” He answered her question honestly whilst also wondering what it was like inside. Whilst this was a chance to get Bonnie out of the cross fire of their arguing parents, it was also a chance for him to relax as well. It was easier to look after one teenaged cynical comedian than it was two raging alcoholics, both of whom hated each other’s guts and wanted to kill each other, and one teenaged cynical comedian. He reached out for the door handle, testing it to see if they needed to find a key, only to be surprised that the door was unlocked as the two siblings entered.
The lodge was a singular room with two beds opposite each other, the ends pointing to the west facing wall. Cupboards were there to house food and equipment for survival, a sink was in place for washing the dishes. In the middle of the room was a map with a black length of sting and a piece of cardboard which the two had no idea of what it was there for. There was a desk right beside the door, and there were spaces beside the beds to place personal items, as well as a lamp on a bedside table between the two. On the desk was a walkie talkie radio that was in its docking station, yet switched on due to the lack of needing to be charged.
They walked in, with Bonnie instantly running towards the bed she deemed worthy of the two to be hers and jumped on it, plopping her back on it whilst kicking off her yellow hiking boots to rub her sore feet gently. Clemont took a more graceful approach by lightly placing his bag down on his bed, noting the boxes which had labels written on them such as ‘supplies’ and ‘cutlery and crockery’ in neat, swirling letters. What caught his attention the most was the walkie talkie, his scientific mind wondering if he could copy its circuitry to make another one for his sister. As much as he loved Bonnie, he would never let her control a vital piece of machinery such as this seemingly normal walkie-talkie like this one was. Whilst he was studying it, someone talking through the device suddenly made Clemont jump and squeak with multiple horror movie plots running through his brain
“Hello? Twin Forks, come in.” A young, male sounding voice flowed through the radio, precise and clear as if their channel was created to be like if the two speakers were talking face to face. Bonnie gave him an unamused stare which said 'Seriously?' to him as she began to pull all of her stuff out of her bag and set it down exactly where she wanted it. As if the device was going to bite him, Clemont shakily reached his hand out and grabbed the walkie talkie whilst retracting his hand quickly. After he had regained a more calm disposition, he pressed the button and kept it held down as he spoke into it.
“Hello... this is Twin Forks...” He could hear his sister slap her forehead in annoyance behind him at his stammering. She hated his lack of self-confidence when it came to talking to people, even when it wasn’t face to face contact. The reason why Clemont had really liked this idea as a summer getaway was because of the isolation and lack of human interaction. Now, he guessed that wasn’t going to happen due to someone in an official tone having talked to him.
“Wow, you sound tense, what's up?” The voice seemed peaceful and therapeutic in its tone, almost as if it was the voice of nature itself, alluring Clemont into a state where his defensive barriers were being broken down gently to let it in. Whilst his guard was down, Bonnie had got up from her bed and had swiped the walkie talkie from out of his hands, choosing to take control of the situation.
“It’s just my big bro isn't into introductions,” she explained cheerily to the person on the other line, however she soon paused in thought back to the application slip her brother had shown her. The voice contradicted the name of the supervising female lookout who had written the slip and gave them the job. “I thought you were supposed to be a middle aged lady or something. I mean you are Lightning Tail lookout, right?”
“Oh, that... was my mother,” the voice continued to speak, not phased at all by the new arrival over the walkie talkie. The slightly shocking revelation that the speaker and the Supervisor were related seemed to answer some of the questions the siblings held, especially since they weren’t questioning Bonnie’s appearance in the lookout when children weren’t normally allowed in. However, the Supervisor had overlooked Bonnie’s age after learning of the reason why they were applying but stated that she would only pay Clemont for the job, as Bonnie was way too young to be working out here in the middle of a forest. “She used to run this lookout almost constantly and now, she’s passing down that role to her only son, me. It’s almost like the summer job I've always dreamed of having, with a year of free probation before I can even get a penny. So, out of my need for small talk, why are you out here?”
“Umm... I think getting to know names is better than asking what we're doing here first.” Clemont responded nervously, still not totally trusting the person they were speaking to as they could still be a serial killer pretending to be a lookout. His mind would like to run into the worst possible scenario when something happened that was outside his relatively small comfort zone, and talking to a stranger who claimed to be related to their boss classified as something outside his comfort zone.
“Oh, alright then. I'll save mad juvenile prison escape plots until later…” At that point Bonnie burst out laughing whilst clutching her sides from the lack of being able to breathe, obviously she thought that statement was totally hilarious in an exaggerated form. “My mum, Delia, is the one who put the placement in, she's a high up in the business, but you two know that already. My name, as ironic as it sounds, is...”
“Forest… Pines… Blaze… Bolt… Red!” Bonnie threw names at the radio, having stolen it again from her older brother, before the person could even respond. Of course she only used words either associated with nature, fires and the lookout that her new acquaintance was positioned out as it was all she could deduce from what she had heard.
“So close yet so far…” The other lookout chuckled lightly to themselves, however another voice squeaked a form of laughter alongside the chuckles. It seemed as if they weren’t completely alone, just like the siblings had each other. “My name is Ash.”
Bonnie once again burst into laughter as Clemont snagged the walkie talkie. “Sorry about my sister’s rudeness but I have to say your name is very ironic since we have to look out for forest fires.”
“Oh ha ha, it looks like we have a smarty pants in the house,” the now named Ash replied sarcastically, sounding slightly ruffled at the thought of having his own name mocked by strangers. “Actually, for your information, she got my name after a fire. Some idiotic, drunk lookout thought it would be funny to call a fire the Ash Fire, which makes no sense at all when you think about it but, to be sympathetic, people do and say stupid things when drunk. Mum was pregnant at the time and, thought it was good for the name of a baby, either male or female.”
“Your mother must have been working here a long time, huh?” The older sibling continued to talk, feeling more relaxed with conversing to someone else other than his little sister.
“Yeah, for at least two decades as far as I’m aware of but I don't know all the details,” Ash seemed to sound quite proud as he spoke to them, proud of his mother and her loyalty to the job of being alone with nature surrounding her whilst looking out for smoke and fire. “I’ve been here all my life, practically, I know the forest like the back of my hand. There hasn't been one cave round here that I haven't fallen into.”
“How nice… you're Klutzy?” Bonnie had regained control of the two way conversation, clutching the lookout’s radio to her chest like it was a very precious item to her and she wasn’t going to give it back to her brother no matter what sweet delicacy he was going to offer her in exchange.
“And you're sassy but am I complaining?” It was Clemont's turn to laugh as his sister began to pout, no one had ever been sarcastic back at her but that was mostly because the only people she had ever really talked to where her father, mother, brother and that cow of a social worker. “Speaking of you, I don't know your names, and why you're here. I still think you're prison inmates that are related that have escaped from prison in a daring and destructive manner.”
“I'm Bonnie, and the antisocial wreck who is terrified of you is my older brother, Clemont. Oh and yes darling, we did escape prison whilst under the conviction of tenth degree murder.” Clemont yelled at his sister angrily, calling out her name to reprehend her actions which could have seriously ruined their credibility with her attempt at being funny.
“Oh God, tenth degree?” He then felt especially relieved when their new acquaintance just laughed at her sister’s weird sense of humour. “Well, that's way more exciting than my story. So, how on earth did you two get convicted of tenth degree murder?”
“Bonnie is just joking,” Clemont sighed, after having ripped the walkie talkie from her grasp. “Our parents are fighting so, being old enough, I decided to get us away and out for the summer.”
“Wow… you're over sixteen in both physical age and mental age?” Ash began clapping one handedly, seemingly impressed by the revelation. “That's impressive. The other lookouts are all under that, mentally of course… well at times they can be responsible but...”
“And you're not?” The blonde haired inventor asked cautiously, he knew that some people didn’t like talking about their personal life and didn’t want Ash to get offended.
“No, turned fifteen a few weeks ago in May.” Ash seemed happy enough to give out the information, even having a cheery tone as he spoke to further disprove his hypothesis of the kind of person the Lightning Tail lookout was. “Oh, and don't tell me, your sister, she's thirteen and a few months.”
“How did you know?!” Bonnie gasped in surprise, neither herself or her brother had mentioned anything about her age and was shocked at the totally correct guess.
“Still ultra-sassy, just dipping your toe into the teenaged waters.” The two imagined that Ash was grinning as he explained his reasoning behind the guess whilst it sounded like he had stood up and went to go do something. What sounded like a Pokémon’s cry added to the mixture of sounds they were hearing, confirming that the fellow teenager wasn’t alone. “I was just like that at your age… man, that makes me sound so old.”
“Trust me, seventeen is still older.” Clemont chuckled softly at the hyperbolic humour of the statement.
“That is old. Your birthday cake must have millions of candles.”
“Don't push it.” He groaned, tired of listening to his younger sister laughing at him all in thanks to the lookout with the same kind of cynical humour as she had. Maybe that’s why Clemont found it so easy to speak to him, because Ash’s way of speaking heavily reminded him of Bonnie’s.
“Is that a threat? Wow, I never thought I'd hear that on first time communicating with you.” By then, Ash had sat back down again, a nice purring like sound, mixed with a high pitched squeak of content, seemed to be coming from a pokémon next to him which sounded a lot like a Pikachu. “Oh and, FYI, there is a gorge between our lookouts. If you think you can climb it, go ahead but, I'll be gone before then.”
“Don't worry about that, big brother can't hike or even do exercise for anything, not even technology.” Bonnie responded cheekily, giving her brother a childish stick out of her tongue, complete with a ‘nyeh’ like sound.
“BONNIE!”
“Wow, he is extremely unprepared,” the two siblings decided to look towards the Lightning Tail lookout, seeing the silhouette of a figure facing west whose features could be sort of made out if they squinted. “Luckily, there are three other lookouts in full working condition at this moment in time so hopefully, if they aren't on call, you two can just lounge around in there all day, every day... like me when I'm not out hiking.”
“A professional?”
“Like an Aipom or a Mankey... or any monkey like Pokémon you could think of. Seen it, I've been compared to it.” With a quick chuckle, the fifteen year old leaned back in his chair as told by the creak of the legs against the floorboards. “Aren't you two tired from that three day long hike? Man, you two should be sleeping like logs right about now. Tomorrow is another day, after all.”
“Yeah, we’re really tired and should be going to sleep.” Clemont dictated their actions, much to Bonnie's discontent about the fact she had a bedtime still, even as she stifled a yawn behind her hand to hide the truth that she was extremely tired from the hiking and sleeping in sleeping bags on a rocky, hard floor. Soft mattresses were a much nicer object to sleep on and blankets were always a plus to keep warm.
“Alright then, enjoy it and, by the way...” Confused as to what Ash wanted to add, they stilled themselves from getting ready for bed and listened intently. “Welcome to your new summer job at the Laminae National Park Forest. We are not responsible for death, dismemberment...”
“Goodnight!” Clemont rushed his word before turning off the radio, something that could be done only when going to bed or charging at night, both situations applied to them at that moment in time. Bonnie sniggered at her brother's flustered face over that obscure reference to a horror indie game which shouldn’t really apply to a calm job at a National Park forest. Whilst her face said it all, her words confirmed her opinion of their fellow lookout.
“I like him.”
It was around 4 in the afternoon when the siblings woke up after their hike, in fact they had slept for an entire day as they were that tired from the three days out in the wilderness. Bonnie was lying back on her bed, reading a book she had brought with her for entertainment, one she hadn’t read before and had brought just to pass the time as fire watchers. Clemont was sat at the desk, tinkering with an invention he had given no general purpose at first, but now was making into walkie talkie which relied on solar power to work instead of a battery. Not long after they had started their little activities, a familiar voice spoke up on the only fully functional walkie talkie device.
“Good morning, Twin Forks, or should I be saying good evening?” A small chuckle came over the line. “You two have been out like logs but, with a few hours of daylight left, I guess we could get some work out of you.”
“Work?” Clemont asked wearily, knowing that the sun was starting to sink slightly in the sky.
“Yeah, work. That’s what you signed up for.” He could practically hear the sarcasm dripping off of Ash’s voice as the latter spoke. “Luckily, you have an experienced person like me showing you the ropes.”
“Aren’t you new at this job too?” Bonnie questioned from her position on her bed, still staring into the page she had been stuck on for the past few minutes.
“I practically have lived here in this park all my life,” the fifteen year old scoffed down the channel, sounding slightly shocked at the same time as his own credibility was being knocked down by his new co-workers. “Also, my mum has worked here as long as I can remember and, trust me, I’ve been around her to pick up anything she has done.”
“Okay then, professional. Instruct.” Clemont replied simply as his sister sat upright, discarding her book amongst the others that lay on the end of her bed.
“Do you see that thing in the middle of your room?” It turned into a rhetorical question, even though the siblings could have easily answered back to him, well Clemont at least. Bonnie had no idea what the thing was doing in the cabin much less what it was for. “It’s a fire finder, invented by W. B. Osbourne in 1914. Since we don’t have that much electricity, that’s the closest you are going to get to an interactive device in the forest.”
“Well, my brother likes inventing. He’s actually working on a walkie talkie that runs on solar power but can be charged on the docking station in the tower.” Bonnie stated proudly, causing Clemont to blush as she was practically telling a stranger his pride and joy in life, the thing only she knew about. He had always hidden his inventions away from the eyes of his parents in case they sold them off to get a quick back.
“Wow, I am impressed!” Ash’s voice suddenly seemed interested in the direction this conversation was heading. “I’ve always been interested in science, Biology mostly. I guess you are a Physics kinda guy, Clemont.”
“Well, yeah. With the amount of natural light the tower gets, it makes sense to have a backup one,” he explained, feeling proud to have met someone who thought the idea of his inventions was cool. “Plus it could be Bonnie’s just in case something happens that separates us.”
“That’s great! Maybe I could get some electronics added into your first supply box,” Ash said kindly before he suddenly dropped his walkie talkie, the clatter coming through before the line cut out. Clemont and Bonnie gave each other confused glances until they got a reply to reassure them that nothing crazy had occurred. “Sorry about that… dammit, a month in and I’m already seeing things.”
“A month?” Bonnie inquired whilst going over the forest’s summertime schedule realising that there was an inconsistency between that and Ash’s words. “I thought the summer season didn’t start until next week.”
“Mum’s been preparing me,” he replied with a nervous chuckle, obviously slightly shaken by the idea that his mind was already playing tricks on him. “ It’s my first time alone and… JESUS CHRIST!”
“The profanities.” Clemont mumbled out of annoyance at a form of swearing which used the Lord’s name in vain, even though he was an atheist, wondering where the sudden anger had come from.
“No... urgh! Just look out of your west facing window! Tell me what you see!” Ash spoke with sudden urgency, sounding extremely angry for some reason as his teeth seemed to be clamped together to make the gritty sound they were hearing. The two siblings did as told, only to stare out of the window at the rise of smoke and flashing white lights.
“Fireworks?!” Bonnie cried, remembering the fire warning from when they entered the park thanks to a taxi. The sign warned that fire danger was at its maximum due to dry heat and a lack of rain, meaning that no fires no matter what should be started in the forest at all.
“Is that…” The seventeen year old began only for his words to catch themselves in his throat.
“If you were about to say legal then, no!” Ash continued and answered his question for him from the walkie talkie, muttering things in other languages which Clemont would have bet weren’t nice and that’s why they were being said in those said languages. “I’m sorry for sounding so demanding, but you need to go down there and set them straight! All the other rangers and lookouts are either too far away or out doing jobs.”
“Like, rough them up with knuckle dusters, kinda set them straight?” Although she asked it innocently, Bonnie’s eyes sparkled with mischief and mayhem from the idea.
“No! Of course not! No, no, no, no, no!” Clemont could imagine the horrified expression on the other outlook’s face from his sister’s question. “Just tell them off, make them stop and take any crap they throw at you because, rest assured, that they will throw buckets at you.”
“Right. I’ll make sure Bonnie doesn’t cause any trouble,” the older male couldn’t help but grin at Bonnie’s pouting, it was nice to feel in control of his sassy little sister every now and again. “And we’ll sort this out.”
“Thanks very much,” a loud sigh of relief came from the other end of the channel. “If you need to contact me, I’ll be here to take it. The fireworks are coming from Jonesy Lake area; it should be on your map, not too far. Can either of you rappel?”
“What?” Bonnie asked in confusion, speaking for the both of them. She needn’t have worried, however, as her brother spoke his own concerns moments later.
“What does rappel mean?” Clemont added, which earned another sigh, this time of annoyance, from the walkie talkie.
“Oh boy. Okay then, you’ll have to go the longer route. If you go through a cave near your lookout, then you can reach an area where you can get to the lake without having to go down a cliff face.” Ash explained, the siblings following where he meant from their map, realising he was right and now knew how to get to the lake quickly without using too much energy to make their way there.
“Got it! Thanks.”
“Great. Now go and give them a piece of your minds!”
“Roger.”
“Uhm… the name’s Ash.”
“Right…” The conversation ended there on an awkward note as the siblings ran out with their pre-packed backpacks, heading towards Jonesy Lake with a mission of finding out who on earth was lighting fireworks at this time with the summer heat making it a danger to the preservation of the park. It was their first ‘mission’ of their summer job and were hoping to resolve this one as soon as possible.
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