The Twofold Houses 5: Rebuilding

[Rebonack]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Oooooh!

Busted!

Lapis glances at the other children, then down at the Frisbee in her hands.

"Umm... maybe we should tell your brothers and sisters that we've got brownies before..."

She leaves the rest of that sentence unspoken.

Before Russell tries to eat them all.

"I helped my mom make them! They're really good. They're the special recipe she makes for Trog's Tavern," Lapis explains as she considers whether or not to try throwing the Frisbee to Russell. He looks pretty busy so she tosses it to Lucy instead. "Do you help your mom make stuff?"

[Deathkeeper]

Training Day

Koshal nods.
”Yeah, but most knives aren’t balanced for throwing. And even if you train they hit blade-out as often as blade-in and when that happens you have a sharp thing bouncing all over the room. So that’s why you don’t chuck knives without practicing with blunt ones for ages.” Honestly he thinks Wenomir would be better off just using a pistol but that’s just him.

[Gullara]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

"We can get mom to tell them." Laela decides after giving Russell another warning look. The boy gets off the chair and runs back over to where he'd been standing earlier, much less sneakily.

"Mommy only cooks sometimes. Daddy cooks lots more." Lucy explains as she tosses the frisbee to Laela. "Sometimes I help though!"

[Rebonack]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Alright!

Now it's just time to wait for the Frisbee to get thrown to her!

Then she'll toss it to Russell and the cycle will be complete.

"How many brothers and sisters have you got?" Lapis asks curiously. "I know I've got a bunch but I haven't met most of them."

Which is, no doubt, a really weird idea.

After a moment or two Lapis seems to realize that the other children might think this is very strange.

"I guess dragon kids aren't like mammal kids? I knew how to do stuff and take care of myself pretty much as soon as I was born."

There!

Clarification.

No doubt all questions have been answered now.

[Morty]

[Training Day]

"I learned how to throw knives from a Watchtower member long ago," Wenomir says in a pensive tone. "He left before it became Vigil." He then smiles, looking back at Adir. "I indeed never thought I would. I don't really look like a kid-friendly person, do I?" He motions to his many scars. "You can tell them Uncle Wenomir is pretty busy, but he'll do his best. I'm sure you and Sakura will appreciate my keeping an eye on two or three of them for a while."

[Gullara]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Lapis doesn't have to wait long. Here it comes!

"I got eight brothers and sisters." Lucy declares. "But mommy's pregnant with another one, so it's gonna be nine."

Laela wears a perplexed look, though. "Dragon? What do you mean?" Laela's seen her two times, and neither are dragon-like at all.

"Yeah! And Cora and Bastion and Jillian know each other." Lucy adds.

[Murkus]

[Evening Vigil]

"I won't. Don't fret," Adir tells her as he leans down and receives his peck on the lips. He gently squeezes her arm as she goes by. Yes, it was better this way. He knew Sakura would just tell him it was a dream again. He needed to be sure. He had to be. It wasn't just the dream, it was what else he'd dreamt about.

Adir is paranoid. He keeps a good lid on it, but most people like him are, coming back from the lives they've led. He doesn't give sign of it much at home any more, and rarely if he's alone with Sakura... but he still counts the exits to any new room he enters, and he never has his back to a door. It's mechanical, as habitual as brushing his teeth.

In his mind's eye, that little toy cat tumbles onto the floor over and over. Something is wrong here... something is not right...

If something was not right, he would put it right. If it was nothing... well that was all well and good, wasn't it? Then Sakura was right, as she usually was. The kid was sick of her cat. The dream was just a dream.

Despite this distinct possibility, Adir waits until everyone has gone to bed. He sits right under the children's rooms and simply listens. He has keen ears. There was nothing supernatural about them, at least not before he took on this Winter thing. Even before, he had to sort of tune things out to achieve a human level of hearing. If he focused on it, or let himself just listen, he could hear everything going on in the house. Nearly down to the smallest detail. He could tell which of the toys the kids were playing with from three rooms away.

His ears pricked, the stag tries to spend some of the time actually in his den... but he ends up spending most of it on the stairwell leading up to the bedrooms, frittering with a huge old knife, wondering... wondering. And around eleven or twelve o'clock, if nothing has alerted him yet, he has an idea. He stows his weapon and goes to Cassie and Laurana. He tries to pick them up without waking them - he's getting pretty good at it, considering how often the kids fall asleep elsewhere in the house - and he tries to carry them downstairs to the living room. All bundled up. He almost goes so far as to set up a fake Cassie and Laurie in their beds, but he stops himself. That would be crazy, right?

He just leaves the beds as is, as if the girls had suddenly gotten up to bother their parents. And unless Cassie and Laurie wake up when he's carrying them, he probably goes back to the stairs.

[Training Day]

When Koshal gets to the realistic part of throwing knives - practicing for ages - some of that telltale glint in Cern's eye goes out. Adir is happy to see it. He's more happy to hear Wenomir offer to babysit. "Wenomir. You would do that?" He grins and actually tries to make the warrior extra uncomfortable with a rather hefty hug. "I am more than happy to let you take a few off our hands. You know, four, five." Why's the number keep rising? "You sure you won't take the whole lot?"

[Rebonack]

[Evening Vigil]

At the stroke of midnight, just as Adir's plan is forming in his mind, there comes a sound.

Once?

Twice?

No.

Three times.

*TOK. TOK. TOK.*

If once one might dismiss it as simply the house settling in the cool of the night. But three times?

No. No, something is wrong. That... knocking. It came from the girls' room.

A heartbeat later and... something else.

Something worse.

A feeling of heaviness. Of torpor. Of smothering terror and formless fear. A miasma of unnatural stillness falling over everything that draws breath.

Something is in the house.

Adir will have to fight to convince his limbs to move. But fight he will, no doubt. Fight his way to the children's room where he'll find a nightmare made manifest. A greasy, furry, thing of soot and darkness hauling itself out from under Laurie's bed through a cloud of gloom so thick it can be felt. Its hands move with deliberate strength, though its ropy arms dangle uselessly as if it were nothing more than a puppet on strings. Perversely, a perfectly pristine top hat is somehow balanced atop the monster's spherical head.

It faces away from Adir, looming over Laurie and drinking in her fear.

If ever there was a time to strike, it would be now.


[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Lapis catches the flying disk and launches it toward the flower-headed child! It's a pretty good throw. Nice and straight, not too fast.

She's pretty happy with that throw, really.

"Wasn't their mom not a dragon, though?" Lapis replies curiously. "I think maybe that makes it different."

If you've got a mammal for a mom then obviously your childhood is going to be mammal-like. That's just common knowledge.

[Murkus]

[Evening Vigil]

Adir's ears shoot up on the sides of his head, and he turns his face instantly towards the stairs. He feels... he feels... slow. Why isn't he shooting up the stairs right now? Why won't his boots take his weight?

It's magic. This is magic. It's awful. Something awful...

Maybe not just magic.

Adir blinks. The seconds tick away. The frame of the aperture that opens onto the second floor seems to wobble, and Adir realizes his eyes are watering.

You're afraid, too. You can feel... it... and it's stretching that fear, wrapping it around you like a sheet--

The stag pushes himself to his feet. The voice changes.

Hey, hold on a second.

He takes two of the steps with one lunge.

This is stupid--

Four.

Come on and think this through--

Six. Eight. The top. The hall. Cassie and Laurie's door is here.

It can kill you. Whatever it is. It can--

MY KIDS ARE IN THERE.

And just like that, every ounce of fear in the stag is encased in a perfect sheet of glacial ice. It freezes in a flash, as dead and still as the deepest fissure at the top of the world. He lets that stillness ripple through him, balming his worries, his raw and rising rage.

He could have gotten here faster, but that terrible pall was holding him back. He has to make up for lost time. He pushes the door open as quietly and swiftly as he can manage. Then he spies the thing... and his anger breaks like an arctic storm, filling him with terrible liquid speed.

Were he thinking clearly, the form of the thing might make him hesitate. It was a nightmare. A child's nightmare, true, but it certainly has the child in him screaming. Such as it is, he doesn't give himself time to think, doesn't allow the shell around his psyche time to crack. He crosses the room, almost literally, faster than thought.

Throwing a punch is as much about how you move your body as how you throw your arm, and Adir knows how to move. Adir drops his weight on his front foot mid-stride. His torso twists as he racks his arm back. There's a killer glint in his eye as his flesh aligns itself with his eye and mind. The muscles in his back and along his shoulders draw up and pinch together as they tense for the blow.

He hits the creature square in the head with a right cross that could fell a tree.

[Rebonack]

[Evening Vigil]

It feels like punching a muppet.

Adir's fist crashes into the nightmare, flinging it away, but the thing is so light and flimsy he might actually manage to over-balance himself as a cloud of greasy black soot explodes from the monster. It hangs thick in the air, burning eyes and lungs.

With an unremarkable thump the boogie flops against the wall like a discarded towel and, for a moment at least, lays still.

Somehow, against all possibility, the top hat perched atop the nightmare's head stands undaunted.

Several black, furry hands brace themselves against the floor as the thing lifts itself up until its white, mask-like visage faces the enraged father. A mockery of a comedy mask, the eyes and mouth mere smears of darkness that jitter and writhe like some unwholesome cross between television snow and skittering spiders. Its head lolls off to one side as a singe hand rises, extends a too long, too many jointed finger, and waggles it admonishingly.

Such a hideous thing. It really draws the attention with its stilted, unnatural movements, arms dropping and hands moving with malicious intent.

Especially the three hands that never moved away from the bed when the nightmare was punched.

The trio of limbs launch themselves from the floor like striking vipers, aiming to fasten vice-like fingers around Adir's leg. Should the monster catch hold of him, it will employ its uncanny strength to try yanking him off his feet and unceremoniously hurl him through the bedroom window.

He probably shouldn't allow it to do this.

[Gullara]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Russell take a small step back and clamps both his hands over the frisbee. A clean catch for a clean throw. He gives it an easy toss back to Lucy, very coordinated for his age. It flies right to her and she snags it.

"Ummm, I guess so." Lucy is forced to concede. She guesses Lapis would know better than her. Even if it sounds weird.

Laela frowns, thinking about her friends' dad and wondering if there was any similarities there. He's not around anymore, after all. She's so distracted that the frisbee flies right past her head. She starts and watches it go past her. "Oops." She considers going after it, but a new plan strikes her. "Let's get a brownie and go turtle hunting now." She decides.

[Evening Vigil]

That's more than enough commotion to wake both the girls up. There's a moment of startled confusion, but the sight in front of them, dimly light by the night light, plus the miasma of fear is enough to make both girls shriek. Laurana leaps up and clamours off the foot of her bed to get away from those horribly long arms.

Though Adir may be hurled and crash through the cutting glass, he won't hit the hard ground outside. A large, wooden hand is there to catch him and absorb his momentum. He'll be given barely a moment to take that in before Sarget reverses Adir's course and pushes him right back into the room.

[Deathkeeper]

[Training Day]

Koshal really isn't sure how to respond. He probably shouldn't butt in on Adir and Wenomir's conversation. And yet something just doesn't seem right. Namely those numbers. They seem, almost-
"That's a lot."
Yes, that.

[UncleWolf]

[Play Date]

Cora holds the jacket up, turns it around to look at it from both sides. "It's a coat?" She asks, looking up at Jezebel. Bastions gift seems better...

Bastion gasps audibly. "Wow!" He drops to his knees by the box to examine it. This is so cool. Ariel is lucky she can draw his attention. "Uh, she's in the kitchen I think?"

As if summoned by the question, or she learned they have guests when she saw Charles, the youngest Mithar runs into the room. "Hi!" She greets, beaming.

Play Date

Cessie blinks several times, her mind having a difficult time managing Cora and consider what Jezebel just said at the same time.
All she knew that bag had to be hidden away for now.

"...Garn, can you take this in my room please?" She holds out the bag, daring not to glance down at the contents inside. "Place it on, ah, the bed." Garn knew to always lock the door to the master bedroom so she had no fear of the children coming across it there.

She'd give Jezebel a kiss on the cheek but their difference in height made that difficult so instead she just takes her hand and gives it a squeeze while nodding in response to her question and mouthing 'later'. Cessie then turns to address her children. "Wow, isn't that amazing, Bastion? Imagine what you can build with that." Turning to Cora, she gestures at the nearby full-body mirror. "Put it on, Cora. I'm sure Wenomir will think it's very fitting for a warrior." Or at least that's what she assumed it was for. Why else would Jezebel have bought it?
Cessie would have prefered if they both opened it at the same time as Jillian opened hers but it didn't look like that was going to be the case.

Garn breaks eye contact with Sergei once his master asks of him though does take the accepted gift before he turns around.
Though as he approaches Cessie, who is still holding out her bag for him, she notices his gift. "Even you got a gift, Garn?" She smiles. "You know, kids. It was Garn's birthday just a few days ago..." Cessie had never thought of bringing up the gargoyle's birthday until now but she suspected that the children might find this information important.

Play Date

Jezebel smiles a bit and leans slightly to make the kiss easier. "Don't worry Cora, I think you'll enjoy it. It's puncture proof, fire proof, and ought to stand up to anything you can put it to." She insists. It was a more child-friendly way of saying it was as knife-proof, las-proof, and bullet-proof as it could be without getting too heavy or relying upon magic to do so. That said, she was almost certain that somehow Cora was likely going to find something that'll put the jacket through its breaking point. Particularly after claiming it'd last through anything the rambunctious girl could do to it. Luckily she had a deal with the craftsman in case something breaks. "There's also a few pockets on the inside to keep stuff in." She adds, settling down next to Cessie provided there's enough room for a second person to sit with her. "I wanted to get you a pink or red one, but mom said you'd probably like a black jacket more." Ariel chips in before deciding to scamper off quickly to go look for the other sibling.

Despite not smiling, Garn will get the sense that Sergei is quite pleased with himself when he's forced to take the gift from the boy. Once he does, Sergei gives a small bow and turns promptly upon his heel to head back to the others. He casts a glance at Ariel as she slips past him, but he just shrugs it off. "Happy late birthday, Garn!" He calls out before looking closer at the gifts Cora and Bastion got. "...that's a big box." He admits, a bit of wonder in his voice. "And a really nice jacket." He sounds quite a bit impressed. Behind him, Ariel skids to a stop as Jillian shows up and she throws her arms wide open to try and give her a hug. "Look! We brought stuff!" She exclaims, gesturing wildly behind her at the entire room.

Jezebel reaches out, taking Cessie's hand and giving it a squeeze as she leans over to whisper. "Ready to tell them today?"

[Morty]

[Training Day]

For all his lightning-fast reflexes, Adir's hug catches Wenomir by surprise. Riddle, he's big now. He returns it quickly, though.

"I don't think I could handle all nine," he says. "I don't have your or Sakura's superpowers in this area. But I can keep a few busy if I'm not otherwise occupied." What did he just get himself into? He looks over at Koshal. "Adir and Sakura do have quite a few."

[Shadowcaller]

[Sweet Dreams]

The dragon folds its hands together and makes a polite bow. "I apologize, Sakura. I should have explained my intentions better. I had been planning to ask you to interact with this aspect yourself for a little bit. It would appear to you as a child and I considered that perhaps you would know how to deal with a child that in a way is your own. But my intuition might been been wrong as like you say, it isn't exactly like a child." The aspect could really appear to Sakura in any form but if she believed it would appear to her a child, then it would.
"So after clarifying, how do you feel about this idea?"

[Playing Around]

Anika walks with her hands behind her back as if she had been an anime protagonist for the final bit to the keep. The rest of the way they've actually taken a cab by Blanche's suggestion rather than the plan the druid insisted on which was an bear ride that would take almost the entire day.
"So Cora is pretty different from C-command, but the other two are pretty similar to her. They're all neat kids though. Turning into a bear is a real winning with them." She remarks with a chuckle.

[Arkhosia]

Playing Around

”Well, sounds like I’m at a bit of a disadvantage,” Blanche jokes. She’s in her casual attire, and for once she isn’t armed in the slightest. Usually the catgirl carries a pistol, but it seemed like it would a little impolite to do so considering the circumstances. “So, uh, what do you mean by that? Like, personality-wise?”

[Shadowcaller]

Playing Around

"She got hair made of fire so you take your own conclusions." Anika remarks with another chuckle.

...

"Oh ****! You got a thing with fire, don't you? You gonna be okay with that? She got this little cute hat to cover it up if it's a bother." The druid exclaims as she seems to be attempting to mime a hat.

[Arkhosia]

Playing Around

”Oh! Er, yeah, that’s quite a difference.” Blanche idly wonders how the hell thats even physically possible, before remembering that it’s the nexus. It’s not worth questioning.

Blanche hesitates. ”I’m not sure, I think I’ll be okay? I mean really, it’s only just the smell of burning stuff, and I doubt she has that going on.” Despite the confidence in her words, she’s not entirely sure... but mostly, she just seems a little touched that Anika would both recall that little issue with Ithuriel and express concern over it.

[Shadowcaller]

Playing Around

"Nah, nah, nothing like that. It's not actual fire. It just looks like it." Anika assures confidently. "Kinda like the fire on those goblin screens. You know, the ones with the moving pictures."

[Arkhosia]

Playing Around

The catgirl can’t help but giggle. ”Gosh, you and your goblin magic.” She smiles over at Anika. “Well, lets hope I can impress your friends, even if they are like 20 years younger than me.”

[Shadowcaller]

Playing Around

Anika smiles back. "Hey, I can call it whatever I want. I mean I don't see anyone else coming up with an alternative term for it."
But Blanche's next comment seems to make her consider. "I suppose you could call them my friends despite being so tiny and young." She remarks as they walk past the gate and into the keep proper.

[Murkus]

[Evening Vigil]

Adir has enough time to stare dumbly between his clenched fist and the raggedy thing lying on the floor. He sorta shakes his hand like a faulty tool, blinking and coughing in the haze. He watches the thing rise up to wag its finger and reaches for his knife. "Laurie, Cassie, go get your--"

And then he's swung off his feet with inhuman force, tossed through the window like another string-cut puppet. On the bright side, his large body breaks most of the glass on the first pass. Unfortunately, it still cuts him. He hits Sarget's palm bleeding but recovers strong. The treant barely has to bother trying to shove him back through - it helps, but he comes springing through the gap like the world's largest and heaviest acrobat. He hits, rolls on his shoulder, and comes up with his knife in his hand. With steel he strikes out at the bogey, this time his aggression tempered by a wary eye.

Thinking on his feet, he hacks at one of those skinny limbs that threw him. "Go, girls!" he roars, slashing and then dancing back, trying not to get grabbed again. "Okay, chuckles," His knife pirouettes from one hand to the other. "Why don't we chat some before I pop you like a balloon?"

Brave words for a man dripping red like Adir is, but his eyes and his hands are steady.

[Training Day]

"Isn't it? My baby's a machine. And we like the little tykes, so we just keep making them," Adir lets Wenomir go with a laugh and a grin. "I really do appreciate it. We have to catch our sitters where we can. Maybe you could take a few up to VIGIL. I know my eldest ones still talk about it since Halloween."

He glances at Koshal. "What do you think, kid? You trying to volunteer? They're not all so poorly behaved as Cern."

"Hey!"

[Rebonack]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

"That's a great idea!" Lapis concludes as she begins skipping off toward the table and basket. "Mom and I made enough of them so everyone could have three, but you don't want to eat three all at once or you might get a tummy ache."

How did Zee know the right number of brownies to make?

She probably just read the thread's opening post.

Lapis hops up on the table and grabs a brownie in each hand, holding them out to the sisters.

"You said your dad does the cooking? What kind of stuff does he make? Is it good?"

All excellent questions.

No doubt she'll be finding out since she's going to be staying for dinner, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

No third brownie for Russell, though. Lapis just warned them about that! No stuffing yourself with too many brownies!

"It's best to just eat one and THEN have dinner," Lapis explains.

[Evening Vigil]

Well!

Mister Hobbins had been hoping it would be able to defenestrate the father, grab the remaining child, and then flee. But the situation just became more... complicated.

The nightmare moves quickly, but not quickly enough. The blade slices cleanly through one of Hobbins' ropy limbs, sending it flopping to the ground lifelessly.

Strange...

Even in the low light that doesn't look like a limb at all.

Just a small heap of cobwebs, bristly boar hair, pitch, and a few dry twigs.

The touch of cold iron burns gossamer like a flame burns a spider's web. Without dreamland logic holding it together, the severed limb has come unwound and left nothing more than rubbish behind.

The boogie doesn't cry out in pain. It doesn't even flinch. It just stares at Adir with that awful mockery of a comedy mask it has for a face, eyes and mouth crawling. Two seconds of silence pass.

Three.

Four.

And then the boogie falls onto the ceiling as if gravity had just reversed itself. It strikes with a thump, a half dozen limbs snaking out from its body to grab-!

...the room's light fixture?

Greasy fingers worm their way under the ceiling lamp as Mister Hobbins rips it free, wires and all, and hurls it at Adir. Seems it isn't too keen on getting close to that blade.

[Gullara]

Play Date

Cessie blinks several times, her mind having a difficult time managing Cora and consider what Jezebel just said at the same time.
All she knew that bag had to be hidden away for now.

"...Garn, can you take this in my room please?" She holds out the bag, daring not to glance down at the contents inside. "Place it on, ah, the bed." Garn knew to always lock the door to the master bedroom so she had no fear of the children coming across it there.

She'd give Jezebel a kiss on the cheek but their difference in height made that difficult so instead she just takes her hand and gives it a squeeze while nodding in response to her question and mouthing 'later'. Cessie then turns to address her children. "Wow, isn't that amazing, Bastion? Imagine what you can build with that." Turning to Cora, she gestures at the nearby full-body mirror. "Put it on, Cora. I'm sure Wenomir will think it's very fitting for a warrior." Or at least that's what she assumed it was for. Why else would Jezebel have bought it?
Cessie would have prefered if they both opened it at the same time as Jillian opened hers but it didn't look like that was going to be the case.

Garn breaks eye contact with Sergei once his master asks of him though does take the accepted gift before he turns around.
Though as he approaches Cessie, who is still holding out her bag for him, she notices his gift. "Even you got a gift, Garn?" She smiles. "You know, kids. It was Garn's birthday just a few days ago..." Cessie had never thought of bringing up the gargoyle's birthday until now but she suspected that the children might find this information important.

Play Date

Jezebel smiles a bit and leans slightly to make the kiss easier. "Don't worry Cora, I think you'll enjoy it. It's puncture proof, fire proof, and ought to stand up to anything you can put it to." She insists. It was a more child-friendly way of saying it was as knife-proof, las-proof, and bullet-proof as it could be without getting too heavy or relying upon magic to do so. That said, she was almost certain that somehow Cora was likely going to find something that'll put the jacket through its breaking point. Particularly after claiming it'd last through anything the rambunctious girl could do to it. Luckily she had a deal with the craftsman in case something breaks. "There's also a few pockets on the inside to keep stuff in." She adds, settling down next to Cessie provided there's enough room for a second person to sit with her. "I wanted to get you a pink or red one, but mom said you'd probably like a black jacket more." Ariel chips in before deciding to scamper off quickly to go look for the other sibling.

Despite not smiling, Garn will get the sense that Sergei is quite pleased with himself when he's forced to take the gift from the boy. Once he does, Sergei gives a small bow and turns promptly upon his heel to head back to the others. He casts a glance at Ariel as she slips past him, but he just shrugs it off. "Happy late birthday, Garn!" He calls out before looking closer at the gifts Cora and Bastion got. "...that's a big box." He admits, a bit of wonder in his voice. "And a really nice jacket." He sounds quite a bit impressed. Behind him, Ariel skids to a stop as Jillian shows up and she throws her arms wide open to try and give her a hug. "Look! We brought stuff!" She exclaims, gesturing wildly behind her at the entire room.

Jezebel reaches out, taking Cessie's hand and giving it a squeeze as she leans over to whisper. "Ready to tell them today?"

[Play Date]

Cora gives Cessie and Jezebel a suspicious look. They're acting a bit weird. But she's gotta try her jacket on. She swings it over her shoulders and slides her arms in. "It's really big." She comments, swinging her loose sleeves around.

Oof, Jillian is hugged by surprised! She hugs the other girl back. "Stuff? What kinda stuff?" Everything sure is exciting in here.

Meanwhile in all the chaos Bastion catches a detail and doesn't let it pass by. He goes over to Garn. "Happy birthday." He hugs the gargoyle.

[Sweet Dreams]

The dragon folds its hands together and makes a polite bow. "I apologize, Sakura. I should have explained my intentions better. I had been planning to ask you to interact with this aspect yourself for a little bit. It would appear to you as a child and I considered that perhaps you would know how to deal with a child that in a way is your own. But my intuition might been been wrong as like you say, it isn't exactly like a child." The aspect could really appear to Sakura in any form but if she believed it would appear to her a child, then it would.
"So after clarifying, how do you feel about this idea?"

[Sweet Dreams]

"Well, alright. I think we can try it. I guess I might need your help." Sakura says hesitantly, but she'll take Ambrosia's word for it.

Playing Around

The catgirl can’t help but giggle. ”Gosh, you and your goblin magic.” She smiles over at Anika. “Well, lets hope I can impress your friends, even if they are like 20 years younger than me.”

Playing Around

Anika smiles back. "Hey, I can call it whatever I want. I mean I don't see anyone else coming up with an alternative term for it."
But Blanche's next comment seems to make her consider. "I suppose you could call them my friends despite being so tiny and young." She remarks as they walk past the gate and into the keep proper.

[Playing Around]

As the two walk into the courtyard at the same time Cora rounds the corner. She comes to a halt. The girl's head flares with flame and she's decked out in her full storybook roleplay outfit. She points her wooden sword at the two and shouts. "Stop invaders!"

[Evening Vigil]

Adir has enough time to stare dumbly between his clenched fist and the raggedy thing lying on the floor. He sorta shakes his hand like a faulty tool, blinking and coughing in the haze. He watches the thing rise up to wag its finger and reaches for his knife. "Laurie, Cassie, go get your--"

And then he's swung off his feet with inhuman force, tossed through the window like another string-cut puppet. On the bright side, his large body breaks most of the glass on the first pass. Unfortunately, it still cuts him. He hits Sarget's palm bleeding but recovers strong. The treant barely has to bother trying to shove him back through - it helps, but he comes springing through the gap like the world's largest and heaviest acrobat. He hits, rolls on his shoulder, and comes up with his knife in his hand. With steel he strikes out at the bogey, this time his aggression tempered by a wary eye.

Thinking on his feet, he hacks at one of those skinny limbs that threw him. "Go, girls!" he roars, slashing and then dancing back, trying not to get grabbed again. "Okay, chuckles," His knife pirouettes from one hand to the other. "Why don't we chat some before I pop you like a balloon?"

Brave words for a man dripping red like Adir is, but his eyes and his hands are steady.

[Evening Vigil]

Well!

Mister Hobbins had been hoping it would be able to defenestrate the father, grab the remaining child, and then flee. But the situation just became more... complicated.

The nightmare moves quickly, but not quickly enough. The blade slices cleanly through one of Hobbins' ropy limbs, sending it flopping to the ground lifelessly.

Strange...

Even in the low light that doesn't look like a limb at all.

Just a small heap of cobwebs, bristly boar hair, pitch, and a few dry twigs.

The touch of cold iron burns gossamer like a flame burns a spider's web. Without dreamland logic holding it together, the severed limb has come unwound and left nothing more than rubbish behind.

The boogie doesn't cry out in pain. It doesn't even flinch. It just stares at Adir with that awful mockery of a comedy mask it has for a face, eyes and mouth crawling. Two seconds of silence pass.

Three.

Four.

And then the boogie falls onto the ceiling as if gravity had just reversed itself. It strikes with a thump, a half dozen limbs snaking out from its body to grab-!

...the room's light fixture?

Greasy fingers worm their way under the ceiling lamp as Mister Hobbins rips it free, wires and all, and hurls it at Adir. Seems it isn't too keen on getting close to that blade.

[Evening Vigil]

The girls are screaming and not moving. They want to get out of here, but they'd have to run past the monster. They can't bring themselves to do it. So they stay where they are, huddled in the far corner as far as they can.

While Adir clashes with the fiend, Sarget pushes his long arm into the room and over to the girls. "Grab on." He instructs. The two immediately climb on and grab hold.

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

"That's a great idea!" Lapis concludes as she begins skipping off toward the table and basket. "Mom and I made enough of them so everyone could have three, but you don't want to eat three all at once or you might get a tummy ache."

How did Zee know the right number of brownies to make?

She probably just read the thread's opening post.

Lapis hops up on the table and grabs a brownie in each hand, holding them out to the sisters.

"You said your dad does the cooking? What kind of stuff does he make? Is it good?"

All excellent questions.

No doubt she'll be finding out since she's going to be staying for dinner, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

No third brownie for Russell, though. Lapis just warned them about that! No stuffing yourself with too many brownies!

"It's best to just eat one and THEN have dinner," Lapis explains.

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Russell hangs around in the yard. He clearly disagrees. Two brownies then have dinner.

The two girls grab their brownies and dig in. "Mm!" "Yum!"

"Umm..." Lucy mumbles through her full mouth. "He makes lots of stuff. Like bunches of stuff from mommy's garden and some meat from hunting." Lucy tends to want to play with her cars over hang out in the kitchen when cooking is going on.

Thank goodness we have a more responsible older sibling here. "Yeah he makes lots of roast veggies, like carrots and potatoes and beets. And daddy hunts so we get some meat in stew and stuff. And um, sometimes for lunch he makes piles of eggs. And pancakes! Pancakes are my favourite." Lucy nods her head vigorously.

[Rebonack]

[New Friends, New Games, and a Basket of Brownies]

Lapis, likewise, gets a brownie for herself.

But only after she's given one out to her friends!

Her mom has taught her that it is very important to consider the needs of others. It's one way to show you care.

She smells it first, savoring the aroma, then quickly devours it. They're so great, she loves them! They don't make anything like them at VIGIL so it is always a special treat when Mother brings her some. Or even better, gets Lapis' help to make them! Like this batch!

She even managed to not mix up any of the ingredients!

But then?

A revelation!

Lapis gasps! "I LOVE pancakes! They're my big favorite! They always have lots of pancakes at VIGIL's mess hall for breakfast, I like them with banana-ginger chutney the most!"

Then she turns to the other girls, bouncing with excitement, leaning forward with anticipation. "What do you like putting on your pancakes the most?"

With talk of pancakes turtles are (very) briefly forgotten.

[Shadowcaller]

[EVENT: The Nexuswide Story]

Every character in the thread will (if their players allow it) suddenly know a story, or perhaps several versions of one story, as if they’ve learned of it long ago.
Do you remember where you learned of Red Riding Hood, Snowwhite or Goldilocks for the first time? Since the characters won’t exactly remember where they learned of this story. Though the story and its many versions won’t only exist inside the characters heads as it's being added to storybooks and other media across the multiverse at the same time.
It’s just a story however.It has no special mental influences or compulsions connected to it. The story just exists as a simple narrative within a characters memory and sometimes such a mundane thing can have the greatest effect.

Spoiler: The Story: Once upon a time...

Show

...there was a king that ruled over the fairest of lands. There were many beasts and villains threatening the lands but he always managed to best them with the aid of his noble knights. But one day those who he had fought so hard to protect rebelled against him.
They took his title, they took his crown and threw him out of the fairest of lands to be forgotten.
But learning of the king’s banishment, the beasts saw their opportunity and attacked.
Without their hero king the inhabitants of the fairest lands could not protect themselves and without his title and crown the king could not protect them.

Thus the king was forced to watch on his forgotten throne as the beasts rampaged through not only his former home but also the kingdoms outside the fairest of lands. The inhabitants fought valiantly but against the beast's sheer numbers they could not win.
But finally the king had enough and dubbed new knights that would unite the kingdoms against the beasts. Along with his new knights the king returned to the fairest of lands and freed it from the beasts which had taken it over.

Only then could he reclaim his rightful title and crown and used them to once and for all end the threat of the beasts. Once the beasts had been defeated the king would grant many gifts to those loyal knights who had helped him retake fairest of lands and freed the kingdoms from the beasts. Then he would take the greatest among them as his queen and they would live happily ever after as rulers of the fairest land.

This is the “prime story” but it’s likely not the version your character knows. The version or versions they’ve heard of is likely specific to their homeworld with the actors and elements being unique to it. So their players can feel free to invent their own versions of the story that can be wildly different as long as it have these elements:

1. A being/person is a figure of great importance in a fantastical place.
2. They are banished from it for some reason.
3. A great threat emerges which not only threatens the fantasy land but ALL the lands.
4. The banished is helped by a group of people to regain their former glory and with it they end the threat and save the day.

Again, knowing the story has no special effect in itself. It's up to the players if:
A: The characters learn it at all.
B: If they do anything with it.
The story is connected to the King of Rags (who is controlled by the player Morty) so that's where they would have a chance to do anything with the knowledge.

[Sweet Dreams]

The dragon nods curtly. "Don't worry, I will take charge of the situation if things go out of hand. I've done this before." The dragon attempts to reassure. "Besides, you're in charge here. You can summon and dismiss aspects of yourself here at will. But as I imagine it would be hard knowing what exact feeling to focus on I might need to help you out." It pauses and Sakura might now notice that they appear a bit larger than before. Have they subtly been growing all this time or all at once right now? It's impossible to tell.
"Meaning you would have to entrust your mind to me for a moment, symbolically. This space work through symbolism and concepts which means that some things can be quite peculiar." While Ambrosia's big reptilian eyes have been focused on her for all this time for a moment they look away. "Quite peculiar indeed." A beat. "I... need you to put your head in my maw. I know how strange it sounds but it's to show that you entrust your mind to me. I don't make these things up. Remember, you can't be harmed in this space so you won't be in danger, nor would I put you in it. You have my word as a dragon and as a person on that." Perhaps that's why Ambrosia is suddenly larger. Her jaws could now easily fit the dryad's entire head in-between them.

[Play Date]

Cora is too suspicious!
Garn instinctively returns Bastion's hug and pats the boy on his head. "...thank you." He rumbles even though he doesn't quite get why he's being hugged.
Cessie can't help but to smile as she observes the exchange. Her son's initiative was just too heartwarming.
She doesn't even notice Jezebel until she takes her hand. "Oh, of course. As soon as they all opened their gifts." She glances at her girlfriend. "You're setting a dangerous precedent with this though." She adds with a mischievous smile
The sorceress gives Jezebel's hand a small squeeze before she quickly let's go to kneel down before Cora. "That's since you're supposed to grow into it, treasure." She remarks while playfully giving her daughter a head rub. "And I think you're going to grow fast. You will get taller than me for sure. Maybe even as tall as Jezebel."

[Arkhosia]

Playing Around

”The word’s technology, we’ve had it for hundreds of years,” Blanche counters with a playful little poke, fully aware that this only applies to her home setting and not Anika’s. She looks like she has another joke to crack, but any of those ambitions are quickly silenced when Cora makes her appearance.

She stumbles back in surprise, hand briefly moving to her hip, and falls on her rear as she processes Cora’s appearance. “M-my, you really gave my quite a scare, noble warrior!” she nervously attempts to compliment, whispering worriedly to Anika “I-I may have been wrong about the fire thing.”

[Shadowcaller]

Playing Around

“It’s not the same thing.” Anika insists. “Technology is stuff like bows, fire and even some rifles, but then you go a step further and enter magical territory-”
But she’s interrupted by Cora, in full gear no less. Looking between the girl and Blanche she knew exactly what to do. She will move in-between Cora and the catgirl while spreading her arms wide. “You got this intruder good. She’s already surrendering.” Anika gestures at Blanche. “Since I'm afraid this catty-gal is a bit like your aunt…” She makes a circular motion with her hand as she attempts to recall the name. “Pink-hair, whoever you had to wear that hat for? Yeah, Blanche here is not OK with fire, not even fake fire.”

[Deathkeeper]

[Training Day]

"I don't know if I'm good with that many kids. I'm only really used to watching after Susila." Koshal says, brain still reeling. His people never have more than two at a time. Can they really just casually have so many kids at once? Must be different for deer-flower-people.
"She's Lady Danir's page." he clarifies just to be safe.

[Morty]

[Training Day]

Wenomir's smile gets a little wider.

"I'm not sure if Vigil is a child-friendly place, but Laela and Lucy did already end up there once. And what kid wouldn't want to visit a flying island full of professional butt-kickers?" He looks at Cern. "I think you're deceiving Koshal, Adir. I think Laela's the one he should be watching out for. Didn't she sneak Cora and Bastion here before that big mess happened?" Looking back to the young minotaur, he adds: "I come from a serf family and nine kids isn't that unusual for folk like us. Not that I really am a serf nowadays. Or father material."