GLoG 93: Something something something babies

[Zefir]

"They want to know what happened to you." Spike starts out.
But look at Andy's face, the way his expression falls. They have to nod.
"Know this: I don't care whether you get married at all. But what is your problem with them?"

"In that case you can tell them I am fine here." he replies. he then turns around to his door to enter his room again, but he looks back over his shoulder to say. " Anything else?

[Recaiden]

"If you explain why, I can do better at convincing them to leave you alone."
They suggest to Andy.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

There aren't treats sitting out nearby, but there is an obvious place to look for them. The kitchen! In the kitchen, there's a cupboard and a refrigerator, as well as a microwave and a stove, and a ceramic bowl on the floor with the name "Ellie" painted on it in a rough hand.

[Hawthorn Cabin]

The children head off. They stop at the entrance and look around. "Look, Russell." Lucy goes over to the bowl and points down at it. "They are a pet. You're right." More reassured, Lucy pulls open the fridge to investigate. Russell pulls open a cupboard that he can reach.

[Rebonack]

[Lakeside Sit]

Geneva smiles back at Sekhmet.

She looks really tried.

"Thanks."

Did that make her feel better?

Maybe... a little bit?

Mostly she just feels beat.

"I'm sorry Sekhmet, I think I'm going to need to call the lessons for today. Those panic attacks take a lot out of me."

They're absolutely exhausting.

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

In the pantry are packaged noodles, canned soups and vegetables, and other cheap foods. In the fridge, much of the same, but also a paper packet of raw hamburger, marked "For Ellie." That's probably what the kids are looking for.

Lakeside Sit
"Uh, okay. Sorry about that." Sekhmet waves farewell and gets up to head back to her cabin.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

"Here Russell." Lucy pulls the hamburger out of the fridge and shows it to Russell. The boy points out the name. "Yeah." Lucy squints at the name. "Ellie. That's a girl name. I guess she's a meat eater. Like you!"

Russell takes the package and Lucy closes the fridge. Then they're off to the other room again. They crowd around the door. "Ellie?" Lucy calls.

[bc56]

Sniff. Sniff. Scratch. Ellie is still on the other side of the door, but she smells the meat. She's definitely interested in the children now. She lets out a faint hissing sound. All the while, the creature is sniffing and scratching at the door.

[Deathkeeper]

[Woods]

Anika do notice his lack of confidence and scratches her head. "Maybe you can bring some friends? There can't just be kids in GloG, right? Maybe it wouldn't be right of me to ask you to protect from this place from demons but I'm worried they use this place to do something nasty to people living nearby. Like you." She gestures at him.

[Woods]

"I'm not helpless!" Domhall insists indignantly.
"But I could talk to Pathfinder about having some spirits keep an eye on it. And maybe Sophie. I don't know why but she seems like she's actually really tough." He doesn't think he's ever seen her so much as take a practice swing at something, but he just kind of gets that idea about her.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy and Russell sit there for a moment, then the boy leans over to whisper in Lucy's ear. "Good idea." She pops up and looks around for a broom or something else similar. Russell just lies on the floor so he can peek under it at Ellie some more.

[bc56]

A broom can be acquired from a nearby closet. But wait! Don't witches have magic brooms? This one seems pretty normal. In the meantime, Ellie continues to intermittently scratch and sniff at the door. Whatever it is, it looks like no earthly animal from the glimpses caught through the crack in the door.

[Zefir]

"If you explain why, I can do better at convincing them to leave you alone."
They suggest to Andy.

Andy stops with a sight.

"Actually it's non of your business , but fine." he turns to him befor he goes on. "I was just an object of the contract so there is nothing that binds me to it. Easy as that."

Andy will then wait for the replay. He'snot sure how he takes that answer anyways

[Recaiden]

Andy really doesn't want to talk about this.
Understandable, perhaps?
"Thank you."
And with that, they takes a step backward and disappear. Invisible, inaudible, nothing there.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy doesn't seem to consider the importance of a witch's broom, but she's fairly distracted. She reconvenes at the door and the kids get into position. The hamburger wrapping is removed by Russell, Lucy takes up position by where the door will open, and Russell grabs the door handle. Lucy puts the broom down by the package and nods to Russell. He pulls the door open, Lucy tries to push the package in for Ellie, and then Russell tries to close the door again.

A flawless plan.

[bc56]

As soon as the door is opened, Ellie lunges forward. Apparently, it's more interested in the children than the hamburger. It's a largish beast, with clawed limbs, an armored crest on the back of its head covering its neck, and a pair of tentacles sprouting from its shoulders. It does have a blue collar around its neck. It hisses angrily as the door slams against it, pinning it between door and frame. But it's strong, a beast bred for battle, and it won't be easy to hold there. Furthermore, it's tentacles lash out, aiming to entangle the children and lift them off the ground.

[Zefir]

Andy really doesn't want to talk about this.
Understandable, perhaps?
"Thank you."
And with that, they takes a step backward and disappear. Invisible, inaudible, nothing there.

Kinda that. Imagine last you remember was an explosion, next you wake up in a hospital, part of your head replaced by machines and one arm and your father tells you he arranged that by promissing you to a foreign person who has a high rank in leading fraction of your world.

If they can be seen by heat vision or any means of non magical vision scans then Andy will watch after them untill they left the area. If the nexus has taught him one thing then it is not to be suprised how people appear or siapear. He will then take a look left and right mostly to be sure if there were anyone listening. He would like to not explain it to others, but when does a wish come true?

[Recaiden]

That would be a terrible shock, having something like that happen.
I imagine one would be disbelieving at first.

Heat vision will detect a slight shimmer. Not the glowing outline of a person, but a thin sinuous haze of disturbed air.
And this heat signal is leaving, heading towards the road out of GLoG.

[Gullara]

As soon as the door is opened, Ellie lunges forward. Apparently, it's more interested in the children than the hamburger. It's a largish beast, with clawed limbs, an armored crest on the back of its head covering its neck, and a pair of tentacles sprouting from its shoulders. It does have a blue collar around its neck. It hisses angrily as the door slams against it, pinning it between door and frame. But it's strong, a beast bred for battle, and it won't be easy to hold there. Furthermore, it's tentacles lash out, aiming to entangle the children and lift them off the ground.

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy is easily scooped up,and she immediate shrieks. The kicks and struggles, but chances are that does nothing. Russell, meanwhile, is extremely reactive. He dives out of the way quickly and scrambles out of reach. At the very least he avoids the grasp for the moment.

[bc56]

The creature pushes the door aside, and dragging the struggling Lucy along, pursues Russel. It circles around, positioning itself between the door and the child, trying to block his escape. It hisses again. Then it lashes out again with its free tentacle, once again attempting to entangle and immobilize.

[Shadowcaller]

[Woods]

"I'm not helpless!" Domhall insists indignantly.
"But I could talk to Pathfinder about having some spirits keep an eye on it. And maybe Sophie. I don't know why but she seems like she's actually really tough." He doesn't think he's ever seen her so much as take a practice swing at something, but he just kind of gets that idea about her.

[Woods]

"I dunno who either of those are, but demons are pretty tough!" A pause. "So what's the deal with GloG anyway? Isn't that an organization for people who don't want to fight? I admit, I don't know much about it. I heard mostly babies live there which sounds cute but not great for fighting off demons."

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Unfortunately Russell isn't some agile acrobat. It won't take Ellie long to corner and grab him. Lucy screams for help, but Russell is more proactive. He's got pretty pointy teeth, and Ellie might be bitten as he tries to struggle free.

[bc56]

Even when bitten, Ellie doesn't release its captives. It drags them across the room, to the couch, and heaves them up onto it, then settles itself down at the foot of the seat. It seems to be keeping a wary eye on the two children, but it releases them and seems to relax. Its tentacle snakes out and snags the packet of hamburger, which it begins contentedly munching on.

[Deathkeeper]

[Woods]

"I dunno who either of those are, but demons are pretty tough!" A pause. "So what's the deal with GloG anyway? Isn't that an organization for people who don't want to fight? I admit, I don't know much about it. I heard mostly babies live there which sounds cute but not great for fighting off demons."

[Woods]

Domhnall shakes his head.
"Nah. It's more like it's just a place for people who want to help other people without necessarily fighting. Like doctors and Sophie who's a uh, the kind of doctor for your head." he taps on his temple.
"Of course I just needed a place to stay and a job, so I set myself up here. Lots of tough people here I think, but they don't go around lookin' for a fight like some other folks do." He's not about to go pointing any fingers, but he gets the idea she might be that type.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

The children are seated with no issue. Lucy takes a moment longer, but both calm soon enough. They watch Ellie warily, expecting her to take some sudden hostile action again. When nothing comes, Russell creeps to the side of the couch, just to see what Ellie does.

[bc56]

Ellie hisses at Russel and rises slightly from where it's lying. It fixes him with one orange eye and starts to move a tentacle towards him. Evidently, it wants the children to stay on the couch.
It will be several minutes before anything else happens without interference, plenty of time for the kids to get bored or to try something to get away.

[Shadowcaller]

[Woods]

Domhnall shakes his head.
"Nah. It's more like it's just a place for people who want to help other people without necessarily fighting. Like doctors and Sophie who's a uh, the kind of doctor for your head." he taps on his temple.
"Of course I just needed a place to stay and a job, so I set myself up here. Lots of tough people here I think, but they don't go around lookin' for a fight like some other folks do." He's not about to go pointing any fingers, but he gets the idea she might be that type.

[Woods]

"A 'head-doctor'?" Anika scratches her head as she considers this for a moment. She had heard about head hunters but never about head doctors...

Wait! Head hunters captured heads, right? And then there were these spell-casters, witch doctors, that could heal and used alchemy to shrink the heads... was that what he meant? Was this Sophie some kind of witch-doctor? It made a certain kind of sense.

Even if she didn't want to fight, witch-doctors could cast all sort of powerful spells. Her uncle and druidic mentor had studied troll culture extensively and a part of her training had been following him on his field studies. Which was how she had learned to turn into a shark in fact.
"Actually, take me to her. I think she might be able to help us."

[Morty]

[Sapling Cabin]

Tuskfang is sitting on a bench near the cabin, intently peering at a piece of paper and evidently waiting for someone. His pet crundle Hornclaw is milling about, climbing on things and perching on them to watch his surroundings.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

The boy slinks back to where he was sitting. He stares Ellie down.

Lucy watches this whole interaction and thinks for a bit. She then removes one of her shoes and throws it across the room over Ellie. A distraction..?

[Sapling Cabin]

Jillian arrives here being sent off by Auntie Sakura from a short ways away. She approaches along with Lucy, her hand firmly gripping her friend's. But she lets Lucy lead the way. This is an unfamiliar place and she's meeting someone she doesn't know.

[bc56]

Ellie stares back at Russel. It's pretty good at staring. Speaking of staring, a shoe is thrown! Ellie looks over at it and opens its mouth hungrily. It starts to stand up and head towards the source of the sound...
Then settles back down in a watchful position. It's not going to fall for that so easily.
But maybe the kids have something else to worry about, because a few minutes later, the front door begins to open. Uh oh! The witch is coming back!

[Deathkeeper]

[Woods]

"A 'head-doctor'?" Anika scratches her head as she considers this for a moment. She had heard about head hunters but never about head doctors...

Wait! Head hunters captured heads, right? And then there were these spell-casters, witch doctors, that could heal and used alchemy to shrink the heads... was that what he meant? Was this Sophie some kind of witch-doctor? It made a certain kind of sense.

Even if she didn't want to fight, witch-doctors could cast all sort of powerful spells. Her uncle and druidic mentor had studied troll culture extensively and a part of her training had been following him on his field studies. Which was how she had learned to turn into a shark in fact.
"Actually, take me to her. I think she might be able to help us."

[Woods]

Domhnall nods. Easy enough.
"Aye, sure. Right this way, lass. Good-bye sparky well." Dom leads Anika back towards the camp. It isn't a terribly distant walk, nor is it hot or cold enough for it to be unpleasant.

[Gullara]

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy crosses her arms. It never worked. The kids are forced to sit an puzzle over their predicament for the time being. But then the door opens! The kids share an alarmed look. "The witch!" Lucy hisses. But what can they do? They're trapped.