GLoG 93: Something something something babies

[Morty]

[Grounds ==> Sophie's office]

Reelshka reaches her cabin and lets Maltrika inside, where she runs off to her father. She will then lead Hysmine to a therapist's office located in one of the cabin. She'll be introduced to a short, dark-skinned woman with bright blue eyes that seem oddly perceptive... like they see a person laid bare and understand them without even trying. Reelshka introduces her as Sophie Mouchabière before taking her leave.

"I've got some time now if you want to talk," Sophie says. "My next appointment isn't in a while. It seems you've travelled far to get here and you have a lot you need to tell me. That you didn't want to say to Mrs. Trollfinger or in front of her daughter."

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office]
After saying goodbye to the goblin mother, Hysmine turns and is... almost immediately caught out by the clear-eyed woman. Something seems to deflate in her. She lets the bag slip from her shoulder onto the floor and leans heavier on her cane, though hints in her posture and figure practically sing "ex-military" to the scrutiny of the Hunter-turned-Solar-therapist.

"You see right through me, then---for the best, really." She smiles ruefully. "I'm not a villain, Miss Sophie, or at least I won't call myself one. That word's too theatrical. Too fun, too clean. I'm just a common war criminal, albeit one whose sins run deep. Not the sort of thing I wished to spill in front of a mother and young child."

[Murkus]

[Sapling Cabin]

"I know, it's pretty, right? I wish I had one," Lucy says of Jillian's tail. The question gives her pause, and she rolls her head to one side. "Is he a what?"

[Morty]

[Sapling Cabin]

Tuskfang's fuzzy brow furrows in thought. What's a "lord" mean? Was it...

"I don't think I am. To be a lord you gotta be important, right? Have a castle and stuff. And knights, maybe. Brinika's cousin Iknika talks about being a knight and serving a lord or lady."

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"Yes, the word 'villain' has a certain theatrical quality to it," Sophie says. "I prefer to deal in the reality of things. You seem to have faced what you've done, enough to seek help. Please tell me more and don't worry about me. I hear... all kinds of things."

[Sophie's Office - Anika & Domhnall]

"Setting up wards isn't something I can do," Sophie admits. She seems to decide something. "I can do a lot more than just therapy, but not that. I could deal with the demons if they showed up, but not pre-emptively. Hmm. We might need to find help elsewhere. Maybe Pathfinder could extend the spirit-charm there? I'm not very familiar with what he does."

[Deathkeeper]

[Sophie’s Office- Domhnall and Anika]

”At the very least we could set up some sort of alert for when they show up. The demon that was there said it wanted to study it. So they might not be looking to destroy or eat it or something. But I wouldn’t let them get it.” Don says with a nod. The demons just seemed like bad news to be running around near the camp.

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]
She cracks a wan smile. "I started as a lab-born assistant for a military official in the nation I came from---mostly, my purpose was to be a walking indicator that he could afford me. Mind, I was also trained for both desk and a bit of field work, so I wasn't entirely ornamental. It was in the field that it started---my owner was to fire the first shot in a POW execution. He didn't have the stomach for it. By then, I knew the whole ghastly system well enough to know that if he lost face here, he was going down, and me with him, almost certainly to a considerably worse end." She pauses. "So I took his sidearm and did it for him. And I didn't... feel anything about it, really. No sudden realization hours later that turned my stomach. No seeing the face of the person I shot in my dreams for weeks after. I told myself it was survival, and I accepted it." She lowers herself into a seat, her ears not so perky any more.

"And I kept going from there. I kept doing his dirty work and putting his name on it to keep us afloat, and because I resented him. Eventually, someone above caught on that ultimately I was better at most of his job than he was. I went from private property to state property, something to point at problems and pin medals on. Mostly I did it from a desk, or a rear operating base, organizing and signing off on things more than pulling the trigger myself. But I was so..." Her nose wrinkles, and the next word comes out coated in venom. "... good at it, at all this administration, and I never cared about who I was hurting. I always told myself it was all just treading water. It took an overthrow of the government I served, and my imprisonment, to give me the time to realize what a monster I'd been."

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

By now, Sophie will have led Hysmine inside her office. It's a simple and mostly unadorned room, but a comfortable one. The catwoman will have space to put down her things and sit down comfortably while Sophie takes a seat in a chair.

"Your story is not unfamiliar to me," she says, without any judgement or emotion in her tone. "Evil done in the name of survival. When you're surrounded by people who treat you as a thing, you wanted to at least become a useful, indispensable thing. One that won't be thrown aside when inconvenient."

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]
She looks at her hands, the knuckles scarred. "And such a handy little tool I was. I saw smaller nations set against one another so we could sell arms to both sides, or so we could move in and absorb them. Or both." The cat lady huffs softly, a bitter smile tugging a corner of her mouth. "I am not always so glad of having survived the attempts on my life that came from my awful work. Back then, though, they made me a press darling for it. I came out of the hospital to flowers and photographers each time."

She looks back up at the therapist, a bone-deep tiredness in her scar-lashed face. "I was a tool even when the revolution jailed me. The part of the military that backed the revolt wanted to keep me around, quietly, because I was useful. Voices on the other side called for my public trial and execution. The disagreement set some of them at each other's throats, and then the holdouts of the old regime rolled back in to try to scramble back to the top. I... by then, I had the time to understand I was, what I'd done. I didn't want to die without having made some effort to atone, and I didn't want to just go back to being a tool for cruelty again, so... when a chance came, I took it, escaped, fled."

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"I see." Sophie makes a note in her book. "Part of redemption must be seeking to redress the wrongs you've committed, in whatever way is necessary or possible. So you may need to return to your country sooner or later. Do you know what the situation is there now?"

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

She swallows. The thought of returning is like a host of icy hands pawing through her guts. "I... get some news now and then. I escaped a few months back, and since then there's a three-way tug of war between the factions at play."

Hysmine looks at the clear-eyed woman. "I... I know I could do something. Or... someone with my skill could. But the thought of using that talent again makes me sick. It feels like... like cutting raw chicken, then using the same knife to chop someone's salad and not being sure it's washed properly. I don't know if I could trust myself to organize a parish bake sale, let alone something to even make up for a fraction of my sins." She smiles ruefully. "I'm afraid I'm a spineless old thing, at the heart of it all."

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

She's in no hurry to go back, as Sophie expected. She crosses something out on the list.

"It's understandable and I see what you mean by your analogy. Perhaps in time we can work towards using your skills for good, rather than your personal power or someone else's. There is always a lot to be done around the campsite. Why do you say you wouldn't trust yourself to organize a bake sale, however?"

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but I do feel like... like it's tainted. Like I'm going to stain things by touching them." She glances away again. "I... it is hard to think I can do anything good. I know I can, but... it was hard even to come here. I stalled for weeks, feeling like I'd just find a way to ruin this." Vocalizing it seems to bring some things into focus, as she sits back and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"This is... a lot, isn't it?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Sophie’s Office- Domhnall and Anika]

Pathfinder? Yeah, that was definitely a shaman name right there. Especially considering he could apparently set up 'spirit wards' and if she knew anything about shamans it was that they would never shut up about spirits. Sounded like he might be a tauren too but you could never be sure in the nexus. She had totally expected Sophie to be a troll for one but she didn't even have the hint of tusks. Definitely a human, in particular with those round ears of hers.

"Pathfinder sounds like the person to talk to then. I know plenty of shamans that'd been very good at dealing with demons in the past. To be fair, they usually just throw lighting, or stab, at them a lot, but there's probably a lot more ways than I know about. A spirit ward sounds super-useful."

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"It's perfectly natural to feel this way," Sophie says, with a calm and soothing tone. It assures that it really is fine and normal. "We'll need to find a way for you to be productive without feeling like you corrupt things by touching them. Perhaps working under close supervision from others in the camp might help. If you don't trust yourself, you can trust them."

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

The soothing tone cuts through her spiraling self-degredation. Her ears flick and swivel slightly.

"Thank you, Sophie. I... that would be good, I think. I'm good with... records, money, duty rosters. If I know I'm accountable to people, I think I can feel safer that I won't ruin things."

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

Sophie nods approvingly.

"It might be a good start, then. I will speak to Mrs. Trollfinger, Mrs. Frescot and other caretakers to set you up with some duties. We'll see how it goes, but in the long run we'll need you to regain some independence and agency. Your downfall started with being a tool for others. To begin making reparations for it, you will need to act on your own volition. But all in due time."

[Sophie’s Office- Domhnall and Anika ==> Ironoak Cabin]

"I have never known Pathfinder to throw lightning," Sophie admits. "Though I don't know him very well. His wife is one of the people in charge here. Inasmuch as anyone is. I'll take you to him." She gets up and leads the two towards one of the cabin, where she hopes to find Pathfinder. If he's there, it's entirely likely there's one or more little woblins with him.

[Deathkeeper]

Sophie's Office/Ironoak Cabin

"Pathfinder's a wolf-guy. Real swell." It might be that Domhnall is reading Anika's mind with that moonwell water magic!
But really he just thought he'd clarify after she asked if Sophie was a troll because if her occupation.

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

The contrite war criminal dares to smile gratefully, sitting up a bit more. "The way forward looks much clearer now. Thank you again---it will be... so good to have something helpful to do for others."

[UncleWolf]

Ironoak Cabin

Pathfinder is easily found outside the cabin should one follow their nose towards the smell of roasted boar and sound of an electric carving knife. The Wolfen is a bit of a mess as he finishes processing the carcass of a wild boar, but most of it was already finished and chunks of honey and rosemary covered meat were cooking on a grill. At the very least he wasn't teaching anything dangerous like how to use a slingshot. "Despite the common misconception that I don't like technology, one can't really replace a good carving knife." He declares when the guests find him, as if he was entirely unsurprised by their arrival. The knife gets turned off and he faces them, revealing a "Pet the Cook" butcher's apron featuring a few paw prints on it. "A little bird has told me that you're here for something important, but would you like to join us for lunch?" He asks, gesturing at the picnic table with places set including ones for his children.

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"That's a plan, then. For now..." Sophie turns the page in her notebook. "It sounds like you don't have any long-term ideas yet, beyond simply leaving your old life behind. We can hope they come in time."

[Ironoak Cabin]

The three children seated by the picnic table and waiting expectantly are somewhat unusual. The older boy looks like a goblin with wolfish traits, while the other two, twins by the looks of it, take more after their father. But with short muzzles, long ears and cat-like eyes, they look somewhat more like foxes or bats than wolves. Domhnall will no doubt recognize Pathfinder and Reelshka's three children. They utter a chorus of greetings when they see the guests, looking at them with big, curious eyes.

"Hello, Pathfinder. Hello, children. We are here for something important, yes. Though Domhnall and Anika can tell you more."

[Shadowcaller]

Ironoak Cabin

"He's a worgen? Huh." Anika inquires, not expecting a yes. Wolf-people were apparently pretty common around here even if they all went under different names.
Well, not as common as humans but still.
In fact, the two were probably connected somehow. Humans seemed especially good at turning into wolves for some reason.

As they reach Pathfinder's cabin Anika can't say she expected anything less from a shaman than carving out what seemed to be his latest kill. That boar probably dropped at least one flank steak by the looks of it. "Wow." She looks to Sophie. "Can we stay for lunch? The well is probably safe for the time being. I mean, the little bird told you all about the demons, righ, Mr. Pathfindert?" She looks to the wolfen.

[Deathkeeper]

[Ironoak Cabin]

Dom grins at the wolfen. "Wow, Pathfinder. If I'd known I'd be invited to a feast mayhap I'd have dressed for the occasion!"
That's a joke.
The only things that can make Domhnall get dressed is combat and the cold.
"We were just going to talk about the camp's watcher-spirits after Miss Anika and I ran into a demon in the woods. We can surely take some time to eat." He wouldn't have even mentioned the purpose of their visit until after lunch, but Anika already dropped the d-word.

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

Hysmine nods, sitting up a little more, adjusting her shawl. "Learning to trust myself should help with that, stop me from... freezing up whenever I try to think out a real long-term goal." Settling more comfortably, she remembers a name that was mentioned. "I've already met Mrs. Trollfinger, but what does Mrs. Frescot do here?"

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"Mrs. Frescot is one of the caretakers of our childcare centre. We look after children, particularly those in need." She looks up at Hysmine, struck by a sudden thought. "Are you comfortable working with children?"

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

Hysmine nods. "I am, especially with the assurance that I've someone to answer to. As long as it doesn't involve a lot of getting down on the floor and up again, given---" she pats the shape of the knee brace under her skirt. "But I've found some modest skill with some crafts---knitting, crocheting, and the like mostly---and can probably teach those readily, depending on the age we're talking about here. And if there's call for warm things, hats and scarves and mittens and such, for the little ones, I can see to that." She smiles a bit, something lighting up behind her eyes. "That's about all I've been able to feel good about regarding myself since I left my old life, so I packed a lot of practice into the last months."

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

"We do need clothes frequently," Sophie says. "Many people come to us with little or nothing, so we need to provide for them. I think your skills should come in handy for us." Hopefully feeling useful in a productive way and without hurting people will help Hysmine get closer to a state of mind where she needs to make more difficult choices as part of her redemption.

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office - Hysmine]

Hysmine nods, her ears perked up and her tail moving a little behind her. The bone-deep weariness seems to have ebbed, replaced by the blessed hope of a real way forward. "I'll see to it, then! I've patterns already for some things, and I'm sure I'll be able to find any others I need." She shifts, leaning forward a little as she grips her cane, preparing to stand. "Thank you again, Sophie." The therapist can likely already see the wheels turning in her head; this is a woman who thrives on being busy, never wanting to be idle too long, and the promise of fruitful work has put a spring back into her limping step.

[Gullara]

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Does she have that bad of a reputation, that even the children think she's a cannibalistic monster? She tries to laugh it off, but is still a bit uncomfortable. She had hoped that living here, her devilishness would not be such an issue. "I, uh, don't even know how to make pies." Trying to be calmer, and scratching Ellie's back for emotional support, the witch asks again. "Why, uh, why are you in my home?"

[Hawthorn Cabin]

"The other kids said you're a witch." Lucy clarifies. To what degree the children pie stories are also rumours or unrelated witch stories she picked up is hard to say. "Ummmm, we were just looking." At the witch house. Or rather, they were supposed to be just looking. Lucy gives Russell a look. The boy is immune to the accusation in her eyes.

[Sapling Cabin]

"I know, it's pretty, right? I wish I had one," Lucy says of Jillian's tail. The question gives her pause, and she rolls her head to one side. "Is he a what?"

[Sapling Cabin]

Tuskfang's fuzzy brow furrows in thought. What's a "lord" mean? Was it...

"I don't think I am. To be a lord you gotta be important, right? Have a castle and stuff. And knights, maybe. Brinika's cousin Iknika talks about being a knight and serving a lord or lady."

[Sapling Cabin]

"Oh." Jillian looks at Lucy momentarily. "Lucy called you 'sir'. That's what you call lords." Jillian explains to Tuskfang. "My brother Bastion is a lord because mommy is a lady of Hestopia, so you could call him sir."

[bc56]

The "witch" seems a little surprised. She laughs nervously a little. Where she's from, witches are burned. "I'm, uh, not a witch." That probably raises other questions. If she's not a witch, why does she have magic books? A familiar? "Uh, I'm Sekhmet. Nice to, uh, meet you?"

[UncleWolf]

Ironoak Cabin

The Wolfen gives a bit of a snicker as he flips the boar meat over to finish cooking it. He holds out his hand, causing a shimmering crow to materialize in it upon contact. A spirit, certainly, and it tilts its head back and forth several times before cawing and flying off while vanishing. "...Not really. I can't say many animal spirits are particularly verbose, but they at least informed me of visitors and a disturbance deeper in the forest. I was waiting for arrangements to watch my children before I investigated personally. Depending on what kinds of fell creatures are involved, I might not be particularly useful but I can do my best to lend a hand." He explains as he starts piecing out the food. It seems that there's exactly enough there for all present. "So, what would you have of me? And what is a moonwell?" It was certainly a new thing to him at least. As he passes each of his children, he can't help but ruffle their ears and hair lovingly.