GLoG 92: Generosity, Love, Opportunity, Growth

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

SEE! I told you! Endok says triumphantly. Well she's not part fishman either cause she doesn't have gills. Both kids look at Sekhmet to double check. What is a tiefling then? Endok asks Sekhmet, both kids rounding on her. They're both preeeeetty certain it's half troll.

[Rebonack]

[Cafeteria]

Well.

This endeavor appears to have been a success!

Except for the whole... no actual magic happening.

Khannie finishes up her cake and ice cream, looking a little disappointed.

"Sorry the book wasn't magical, guys," she grouses. "I was sure it was a real wizard book, but I think it was just a cook book written in some other language."

It's okay, Khannie.

Those things are easy to confuse with each other.

She gives her foot a little stomp. "Where are we going to find a real wizard book, anyway?"

Should Sasha manage to indicate that she's still hungry, Khannie will refill her bowl with another helping of cake and ice cream.

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

Sekhmet was ready for the kids this time, and the question makes much more sense this time. The answer might be disappointing though. "I'm part human and, uh, part devil."

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

She knows how to do magic. Rath says helpfully. WOOOOOOAH WOW The kids say at the same time. ARE YOU A WIZARD? CAN YOU MAKE THE PICTURE OF A LITTLE BIRD? DO YOU HAVE MAGIC HAIR? CAN WE MAKE YOUR MAGIC HAIR INTO A HOE? They are incredibly excited at this revelation, all questions of her ancestry put aside.

Cafeteria

Olon and Endok are slightly put off by how Sasha eats, but giggle when they see her with ice cream around her mouth. Olon takes a napkin and passes it to her. Here spooky ghost girl you can clean up with this. She says. Apparently that's just Sasha's name now.

At least the cake was pretty good. Endok says, finishing his. We could go to that library tomorrow and ask them. You wanna come ghost girl? She is much less intimidating now that she's covered in ice cream.

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

Sekhmet is a bit surprised by the dwarf kids' insistence. Should she do party tricks? It seems somewhat disrespectful to real magic. "My hair's not magic, and why would you, uh, make tools out of hair?"

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

She's probably not a singing wizard. Olon tells Endok seriously, who nods. A different wizard told us you have to have a uh... a power source! So she gave us a bit of her hair and we made a hoe with it and now all the plants are growing WAY quicker.

Rath pipes up. She did her magic with a wand she carved herself. It's more important that way. The kids seem suitably impressed.

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

Sekhmet pulls the wand out. It's, uh, not finished." It's not. It's only half carved, the handle cleanly shaped, but the other end still covered in rough bark. With a little subtle concentration, a few blue sparks fly off the end of the wand and disappear harmlessly in midair.

[Gullara]

[Daycare]

Asher peeks in to look at the drawing, but she doesn't say anything, and his lips start to quiver. Before he can say anything, however, she answers him all of a sudden! He looks at the drawing again and smiles. "I l-like your drawing. W-What's your name?" He asks, hoping he doesn't get ignored for so long again. He'll try and be strong, but a few more of that and tears will abound.

[Daycare]

The girl looks at him finally. There's an impatient air about her. "Annie. Who are you?"

[Reinholdt]

[Cafeteria]

Magic book? Sasha thought they were eating cake. These kids were quite confusing. Still, she heartily accepts seconds, devouring it just as quickly and even holds out her bowl for thirds like a kid who has just discovered sugar for the first time ever. Which is more or less what's happened. Going to get sick she is, if Khannie gives in too easily.

The little ghost girl does seem to understand the point of a napkin though. Or rather, she understands what clean up means and if the napkin does that, then she will utilize the napkin for that purpose! She even mostly gets it clean. Mostly. There's that one little speck of frosting that escapes her notice and stands out against the velvet darkness that is Sasha.

She'll nod to the dwarfs. She's heard of berries before and if liberries are as tasty as cake and ice cream, she'll want to come with.

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

Woooooooooooooah. Olon says. How'd you do that? Endok asks. Did you carve a magic rune into it? He asks, trying to get a better look at the wand. Oh but hers won't work for you. You'd have to carve your own. Rath chips in. Lots of hard work. She adds. The kids look to Sekhmet for confirmation.

[Rebonack]

[Cafeteria]

"You can't have thirds of dessert," Khannie says in that stern 'I'm a kid and I totally know what I'm talking about' tone. "If you have thirds you'll get a tummy ache."

And those are the worst.

Khannie is obviously the oldest one here, so she has to be responsible!

"That sounds like a good idea Endok," Khannie agrees with a nod. "We should go back to your house and get to bed, it's gunna be dark soon."

Or darker, at least.

Things are pretty dark with the spooky ghost girl around.

"Are you just going to go back to that room by yourself?" Khannie inquires of Sasha, sounding a bit concerned.

Sitting alone in a room by yourself sounds terrible.

[billtodamax]

Cafeteria

OH! You should stay over too! Olon says, enthusiastically. Endok takes another napkin and tries to clean off the speck that Sasha missed. He got used to her pretty fast. Dad can drag in another bed, I think we have some we aren't using. Sasha definitely needs to sleep like a regular child would.

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

"Oh, yes. It takes, uh, lots of hard work and practice to become, uh, a wizard." Should she really be encouraging this behavior? Sekhmet plays along anyway.

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

How big does the wand have to be? Olon asks. Can you make a really tiny one so it's quicker to make? She bets Sekhmet never thought of that. Olon is wise to the ways of wizards, you see. OH! Or maybe, you can make it super huge like a big cool staff! Then I bet it'd be way stronger. Sekhmet should talk with more children they have much to teach her. Luckily she's saved from more questions by a call from the kitchen. Dinner's ready! Utost calls, bringing out a pair of plates, one of which he sets in front of Sekhmet and one he sets in front of Rath. Come on you little crundles you can get your own. He says, heading back into the kitchen followed by his children to get their dinner. Sekhmet will find she has a grilled bass fillet seasoned with strange dwarven spices, plus roasted mushrooms to the side. Despite the strangeness (or maybe because of it) the meal is incredibly delicious. The bass has been cooked to perfection, delicately seasoned to bring out the flavour of the fish, and the earthy mushrooms compliment it perfectly. Utost has Legendary cooking skill, since for a long time it was just him, his wife, and baby Olon.

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

Sekhmet tucks into the fish. She eats fairly neatly; her manners are impeccable. ""This is really good! Thank you!"

[UncleWolf]

"Alright then." Anchor says. She's long ago come to the conclusion that fixing peoples' minds without permission is trouble.

She directs Leap to have a seat in a convenient place. "Well, we want you in good condition. Here, hold out your hand-" She grabs a little machine and Leap will end up going various basic checks. Blood pressure? "Okay, now take a deep breath." Good lung function? Good book lung function? Steady heartbeat(s)?

"You know, that's pretty unusual, having a variety of different forms after reproducing. I'd love to see them. I mean, well- Anyway, it's not really very spiderlike, I mean it's all new to your subspecies, right?"
"Here, look straight ahead, this light will be a little annoying..." Gotta check that her eyes are good. Luckily there's only one pair to go over.
"And we'll want to draw some of your blood to test, if that's not a problem? Have you had anything to eat or drink recently besides the coffee?"

The blood pressure seems like it is safe despite her odd anatomy, same with the double-heartbeats and her two sets of lungs. With all of that she would probably be quite a natural runner with it helping her endurance. Her left arm is offered freely for a blood draw, even as Leap sips a bit more coffee. "Mm." She gives, shaking her head. "Nothing apart from water. And it isn't very spider-like, but we were made as adaptable creations. There's even word of particularly fuzzy ones in the colder regions." She explains with a bit of a smile. "Have I passed doc, or will you need to keep me here for observation as well? I do not imagine it would go over well when she wakes up." She adds, tilting her head towards her ex-prisoner. "I have an old nest near by that I can hide in if the need calls for it if you would prefer that I stay close."

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

Utost and the kids come back in, and the family will share a pleasant dinner with Sekhmet with thankfully less questions of her as the kids conspire with each other on how to best make their magic wands. Sekhmet will be offered her choice of rum, ale, or wine with dinner and after the kids are shuffled off to bed and Utost heads back into the kitchen to clean up she'll find herself left alone with Rath again. Honestly, we can drag a bed out if you need somewhere to stay. There's plenty of room. She offers again. She looks concerned for Sekhmet.

[Recaiden]

The blood pressure seems like it is safe despite her odd anatomy, same with the double-heartbeats and her two sets of lungs. With all of that she would probably be quite a natural runner with it helping her endurance. Her left arm is offered freely for a blood draw, even as Leap sips a bit more coffee. "Mm." She gives, shaking her head. "Nothing apart from water. And it isn't very spider-like, but we were made as adaptable creations. There's even word of particularly fuzzy ones in the colder regions." She explains with a bit of a smile. "Have I passed doc, or will you need to keep me here for observation as well? I do not imagine it would go over well when she wakes up." She adds, tilting her head towards her ex-prisoner. "I have an old nest near by that I can hide in if the need calls for it if you would prefer that I stay close."

"You've done well so far. Here, have a biscuit." It should help after losing that bit of blood.

Anchor is busy for a moment writing labels and measurements, sealing samples.
"You should stay nearby. I'll definitely need to get a closer look, I mean, and it'll take time to run all the tests. But I do need to think about all the patients." she waves to the prisoner.

"And there's one more part to the check-up." The doctor gets out another stethoscope-like device and presses it to Leap's temple, to check her emotions and general mental functioning. Is she in an okay way? This all seems pretty stressful. Kidnapping, crash-landing, fighting, imminent losing your mind...

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

"No, no. I have a place to, uh, stay already. That won't, uh, be necessary." Sekhmet has an entire cabin to herself right now. She'd rather stay there than with the dwarves. The underground atmosphere is somewhat uncomfortable, and she doesn't feel safe around the other dwarves, who probably don't feel safe around her either.

[billtodamax]

"Lake", evening

Well the offer's always there. Rath says, pushing off her knees to stand up. Come on, let's get you home before it gets too dark. She says, offering a hand to help Sekhmet up. It's not very useful Sekhmet is a lot taller than she is.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

[Cafeteria]

"You can't have thirds of dessert," Khannie says in that stern 'I'm a kid and I totally know what I'm talking about' tone. "If you have thirds you'll get a tummy ache."

And those are the worst.

Khannie is obviously the oldest one here, so she has to be responsible!

"That sounds like a good idea Endok," Khannie agrees with a nod. "We should go back to your house and get to bed, it's gunna be dark soon."

Or darker, at least.

Things are pretty dark with the spooky ghost girl around.

"Are you just going to go back to that room by yourself?" Khannie inquires of Sasha, sounding a bit concerned.

Sitting alone in a room by yourself sounds terrible.

Cafeteria

OH! You should stay over too! Olon says, enthusiastically. Endok takes another napkin and tries to clean off the speck that Sasha missed. He got used to her pretty fast. Dad can drag in another bed, I think we have some we aren't using. Sasha definitely needs to sleep like a regular child would.

[Cafeteria]

Sasha stares intensely at Khannie with complete confusion. She wasn't asking for dessert. She wanted more cake. After an electrifying battle of wills with overly dramatic scene music, Sasha's tendril droops sadly, the bowl withdrawn. It was clear she wasn't getting any more.

She does nod to Khannie though! Or at least try to, but there's an Endok in the way. Gah! What's he doing? Endok will find her face... almost warm. Especially compared to the rest of her chilling shadowy nature. It could be the shadow girl equivalent of a blush? Hard to say since it lacks color. Could just be that's the most human-ish part of her.

Then she nods to Khannie. Darn meddling dwarfs! Interrupting her otherwise polite timing. What are they talking about with beds and staying over? Like... are they talking about a surgery table? Sometimes those people stay over. She doesn't really need to be experimented on.

[Rebonack]

[Cafateria ==> Dorf Forts]

If Khannie knew what Sasha was staring at her about she would explain that cake and ice cream are TYPES of dessert. Just like a rosebush is a type of plant or a kangaskhan is a type of pokemon.

But, alas, Khannie is completely lacking in mind-reading psychic powers!

She'll just have to nod in agreement with the dwarves.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Khannie says as she dumps her dishes in the sink without washing them.

Because grownups wash the dishes.

You really expect a child to be responsible for cleaning up their own mess without being asked?

Heck no.

"Come on, we can go tell scary stories!"

Khannie really doesn't know many scary stories, but that's what you're supposed to do at sleep overs.

[bc56]

"Lake," evening

Sekhmet stands on her own, mainly because Rath is too short to help her up. "Thanks for, uh, dinner."

[billtodamax]

Cafeteria

Endok smiles at Sasha after cleaning her up. You still had a bit of ice cream on your face. He explains. Olon is a bit confused though. Wait hang on were you nodding that you were gonna stay in the room or were you nodding that you're gonna sleepover. Cause staying in that dark room looks boring. And spooky but maybe that cancels out if you're spooky too. She says. Wait does that mean you have to tell like... double spooky stories? Endok asks. So it doesn't cancel out, you see.

"Lake", evening

Any time Lass. She says, before leading Sekhmet back out to the surface. There are markedly less dwarves out and about but still some burning the midnight oil, working on various projects in silence. You'll be alright getting home from the surface? Rath double checks.

[Rebonack]

[Middle of the Campsite]

Reality shifts as five years worth of dead time evaporates, leaving an apparently? human woman standing in the middle of the campsite. Her clothing is ill-fitting, having been loaned to her by other members of GLoG. Her skin is the wrong color and texture, more like flexible bone than anything else. Her hair is red, flecked with black and brown, giving it a rusty appearance. And probably most notable is the fact that her eyes are day-glow orange.

She doesn't notice when the deadtime sloughs off. She does, however, notice that the sun's position has changed. Time has passed? She isn't sure how MUCH time has passed. It is slightly disorienting. Also disorienting is the fact that the machine she was following is gone.

So is the other with the... tool...

What had she called it? A jetpack?

That one is gone, too. Everyone is gone.

She found herself troubled by that. The machine other, the Kestrel, was going to help her find the food she needed to wake her bodies up. She would be right again and she could return to growing like she ought to do. And maybe doing other things, too. The singing and dancing the other called Cadence had shown her. And... talking. Talking was such a perverse, slow means of learning. How she wished she could take communion with these humans, to add their voices to her own. But they were adamant that she shouldn't do such a thing. She had been told they would react to it with violence.

And she was so small and soft and vulnerable now. They could drive her to extinction without much trouble. And above all, she desired to continue to live.

So... so she won't try to take communion with the humans. Because she has no wish to perish.

But before all that she needed to find food.

And the other that would show her the way is gone.

So... With no one else to show her, Choir needed to find her own way. She turned her back to the sun and began walking, arms clutched around herself.

Alone.

She felt so alone.

[bc56]

Lake, evening

"I'll, uh, be okay." Sekhmet responds. "Thanks again. Bye!" She starts to head back to her cabin

[Reinholdt]

[Cafeteria -> Dorf Forts]

Sasha nods to Olon, answering clearly which question she was nodding to earlier. She tilts her head ever so slightly at the other two. Spooky scary stories? Doubled? What on earth were they talking about?

Oh. Well, uh, Khannie's moving so better follow her for now. The tendrils of shadow carefully deposit the bowl into the sink, showing remarkable dexterity and care for tentacles of darkness. Spooky shadow girl slides after Khannie, dipping into the ground again as they traverse the camp.

[Rebonack]

[Dorf Forts]

"I don't think our new friend can really tell stories," Khannie reasons. "Since she doesn't talk. Maybe she can mime them?"

It seems like it would be hard to mime stories to Khannie.

Or at least scary stories.

Tone of voice is SUPER important to scary stories and if you can just make vague motions getting tone across would be hard.

"Hey, you've got magic powers, right?" Khannie inquires of Sasha. "Do you know anything about wizards?"

Oh.

Oh no.

She just went there.

[billtodamax]

Dorf Forts

The dwarves think that is an excellent idea, turning to Sasha (as they head to their rooms through the fort, down the now well-trodden stairs and past various dwarves at work who are now much more used to humans in the fort (and don't seem to notice Sasha)) and saying: Can you teach us cool shadow magic? Or ghost magic? We wanna be wizards!

[Reinholdt]

[Dorf Forts]

Sasha shakes her head, then nods her head, then shakes her head.

Or no wait. Was she supposed to nod twice and then shake? Or maybe a triple shake?

The shadow girl was getting lost in all these questions. It was absolutely dizzying to have so much attention. At least, attention that didn't involve torches and pitchforks.
Not necessarily bad though.

But it does leave her in a bit of a panic. She was clearly expected to do something. Even if she didn't really have any idea what that was supposed to be. There was that one thing she could do, but that usually left people screaming very loudly. Well, except for Sophie... Does that mean it was ok? M-maybe. If they were asking to go somewhere else or sink into the floor like her perhaps.

She puts that probably bad idea on hold to do the only other thing she can think of. A sinister looking scythe rises from floor in front of Sasha, gripped tightly in a pair of shadow tendrils. The handle is covered in metal thorns to keep unprotected hands from safely grabbing the weapon. It is about as cold as metal can get and still be touchable and the wicked blade drips darkness.

Every wizard needs a wand right?