GLoG 93: Something something something babies

[bc56]

Grounds

"I, uh, think I remember all of what happened then? Uh, two weeks ago, I, uh, was getting ready for my wedding. Fourteen months? I, uh, think I was just getting used to living here?" She just seems confused. She's sure she's never met Anchor before, and now weird time things are going on?

[Gullara]

[Sapling Cabin]

"Cern's braver than I am. Cern isn't afraid of anything!" Tuskfang declares with confidence. Then, however, his attention is brought right back to the map. His tail wags. "Yeah! My cousins drew it. When we follow the map, we'll find the next map, and so on, until we find treasure. It's one of my favorite games."

[Sapling Cabin]

"They're captains too?" Lucy says, looking eagerly at the map. It seems everyone has a fancy title but her! "How do we go find it?"

[Sapling Cabin]

It's because Lucy is a peasant bab.

"Does it have clues?" Lucy's eyes search the map. "Where's the first place we have to go?"

Hawthorn Cabin

Sekhmet grabs a teakettle, fills it, and sets it on the table. Shouldn't she heat it up? Apparently not, because it starts whistling while she's rummaging in the cupboard. She retrieves some teabags and a package of iced biscuits. "No scones, uh, sorry."

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy and Russell climb onto chairs at the table. "Oh, okay." Lucy tries not to be too disappointed. She's sure they biscuits are good too. Hard to beat scones, though. "What kinda tea do you got?"

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

"I've got black, yellow, and chamomile." Sekhmet replies. She sets the teabags and biscuits down and gets out the rest of her tea set, passing a teacup to each child and placing the sugar bowl in the middle of the table. She pours a bit of hot water into each cup.

[Recaiden]

"Well, I think some stuff happened that you don't remember because it ended up not happening to you."
Anchor says, which probably doesn't help that much.
"But there's another Sekhmet who it did happen to. Watch out for them."

[bc56]

Grounds

"How could there, uh, be another me? How could things happen to me but not to me?" Time stuff gives Sekhmet a headache, and this Sekhmet has barely had to deal with it at all. "I, uh, guess I should expect to meet myself?" That doesn't make much sense to Sekhmet. "What's, uh, the problem, exactly?"

[Recaiden]

"Well, it's like you change things around, take a picture, put them back where they started, and then recreate the scene in the picture, you know?"
Anchor shakes her head, that's not really important.
"The problem is that it's not really yourself, it's a soulless murderous horror-creature that has some memories of being yourself."
"I mean, it's not all bad." She did help stop Neshiyahel. Actually she was much more useful than the original Sekhmet. "But it is still, you know....pretty bad."

[bc56]

Grounds

"What?" This just confuses Sekhmet more. How can a monster remember being her? "How do you know? What do I do?" She really has no clue how to react to this. If there's another her running around causing trouble, surely someone would have noticed by now and told her? "I, uh, guess I can warn you if I see myself?" Sekhmet intends to do no such thing. She won't get someone killed, whether or not they're herself, because someone else thinks they're a monster.

[Recaiden]

Well, Anchor isn't going to answer questions that Sekhmet didn't ask aloud.
"I know because I was there. Sekhmet - the other Sekhmet, she got encased in eldritch magic, and started screaming, and crumbled to ash, and her soul departed. Then this monster of coral and wheels came out and started killing things and said that it was Sekhmet and finally folded itself down into a normal-looking body."
Anchor shakes her head.
"I mean, I think I'm warning you, that if you see yourself, keep your distance."

[bc56]

Grounds

"That, uh, doesn't sound like me." Sekhmet isn't sure this is true. "Wait, uh, you said her soul was gone? Do you, uh, know where it went?"

[Recaiden]

"Well, it didn't come through our system, so wherever it normally would have gone in your world."
Anchor muses. She wasn't particularly keeping track of it.

[Earl of Purple]

Near the Lake

It's a bit chilly to actually go swimming at the moment, but Cheasadh's here anyway. She's sitting on a light stool, made for people her size, and reading a book, just enjoying the fact today, whilst chilly, is sunny. She's a gnome, wearing a pink parka and a pair of jeans. The book she's reading is a collection of fairy stories, collected by goblins.

[bc56]

Grounds

"Then, I, uh, think I know where she is. But it would be, uh, incredibly dangerous. Too, uh, dangerous." Sekhmet doesn't want to go there. She doesn't trust Anchor enough to literally go to Hell to test her theory.

[Purple Eagle]

[Near the Lake]

Zara shows up, wearing a black long-sleeved sweater and the long pink skirt she got whilst shopping with her girlfriend Abi. She has that perpetual smile (of varying intensity) plastered on her lips, and skip-walks by before stopping to look at the gnomish girl.

It's Cheasadh, one of GLoG's redemption success stories! She'd heard quite a bit about the girl, and here is a chance to get to know her better! She'd even learnt to pronounce her name properly, and how to spell it, too! So, she changes course and walks to the reading girl.

"Hi, Cheasadh!" Her smile is genuine as she waves to the young gnome. "I'm Zara Ben Haim. Shalom!" Her smile is genuine. Too genuine, if such a thing exists. "What're you reading?"

[Earl of Purple]

Near the Lake

"Hi. I'm Cheasadh... But you knew that. How?" Cheasadh closes the book and tilts her head curiously at the larger girl. "A book of children's stories, goblin ones." I'd have to ask Morty for some more specifics, though.

She's looking a little suspicious of Zara, but not worried about it. It's been a long time since GLoG was directly threatened, and this is a safe place.

[Recaiden]

"What's so dangerous? I mean, are you planning to get her back from the afterlife?" Anchor inquires. That's a bit hasty, isn't it?

[bc56]

Grounds

"I, uh, just want to talk to her. And, uh, yes, that's, uh, where she'd be." Sekhmet seems to be thinking. "I, uh, can't summon her without knowing her Name, and I, uh, doubt it's the same as mine if her, uh, experiences are so different." She paces back and forth, her tail lashing.

[Morty]

[Sapling Cabin]

Tuskfang shows the map more closely to the two girls. It shows an area on the northern shore of the lake, near the giant slide. There's also a clue written on it:

Down is fast and up is slow, where they meet you'll find step two.

"So that's where we need to start looking," he says.

[Purple Eagle]

[Near the Lake]

"Oh, I work here, caring for little children. I only started some time ago!" Zara says, clapping her hands enthusiastically. The only thing that comes close to her bloodlust is her love for little kids! Perhaps it's her training that allows her to be patient with even the naughty ones.

Or maybe it's the look she gets in her eyes when they push her too much that scares them into submission. Who can say?

"I know your name, I heard all about you from Karasu and Zabb."

A book of children's stories? Zara's interested, and sits on the ground beside her. "Oo, can I see? Does it have cute pictures? Lemme see!"

[Earl of Purple]

Near the Lake

"It doesn't have any pictures, and no. I'm sorry, but it was loaned to me, I can't just give it out." She holds it tight. "All about me? Then you have me at a disadvantage. Because I know nothing about you. And... I'm small, but I'm not a little child. I'm eleven. Please don't patronise me." The enthusiasm, smile and the fact Zara knows more about Cheasadh than vice versa are all making Cheasadh think something's up here. It doesn't seem real, and she's... not exactly on guard, but certainly concerned.

[Purple Eagle]

[Near the Lake]

"I'm asking to see, not to borrow it!" Zara responds, nodding as she notes Cheasadh's behaviour with a rather critical eye. She just smiles back at the little gnomish girl when she requests not to be patronized, almost staring. So far, she's been acting like what she's been told to expect. "And where did I call you a little child exactly, hmm? If you were a little child, you'd know me, because I'd have cared for you at some point!" It's not rocket science.

Then she shrugs. "It's good to be a little child. Some say I act like one, and I like it!" In some ways, she does have a rather childlike mind. "So, about me? I'm from Karasu's world, I came here when I was 10. I've lived in an orphange inside an island since!"

She stares at Cheasadh a little, then giggles rather cutely. "I've heard of your past, so I'll tell you mine: I was raised and trained as an assassin, but lost my memories during a mission when I was 10. I remember everything, now!" Though of course, she recalls such memories fondly, unlike Cheasadh. "Now I'm 16 years old, I want to be an adventurer, and I also will be working here as a social worker. I draw too! So now, you know all about me: any questions?"

"And also..." She stretches her hand, then returns it to normal. "I'm a rubber girl!"

[Recaiden]

"Can you talk to her without summoning her?" Anchor muses.
"Or summon someone else to contact her?"

[bc56]

Grounds

"I could... No, I would need a part of her, uh, corpse. Uh, the best way would be to go down there, uh, myself and, uh, find her, but, uh, that's too risky." Sekhmet shakes her head. "I, uh, don't think I can do anything. Not safely."

[Gullara]

Hawthorn Cabin

"I've got black, yellow, and chamomile." Sekhmet replies. She sets the teabags and biscuits down and gets out the rest of her tea set, passing a teacup to each child and placing the sugar bowl in the middle of the table. She pours a bit of hot water into each cup.

[Hawthorn Cabin]

Lucy looks at Sekhmet blankly. She knows there's different kinds of tea, but she doesn't know anything about the different kinds. "What kind do you like?" She asks instead.

Russell reaches across the table and grabs a biscuit. His priorities are far more clear. The munching begins immediately.

[bc56]

Hawthorn Cabin

"I, uh, think you'd want chamomile." Sekhmet passes over a teabag. Meanwhile, Russel eats a biscuit. It's slathered with sweet icing and is probably fairly tasty, as packaged snacks often are. Sekhmet smiles at the children. "You two, uh, come to the, uh, day care here?"

[Earl of Purple]

Near the Lake

"And you can see it from there, and don't have to handle it. If you try running off with it, I can't stop you." Cheasadh frowns slightly. "My little childhood was not very pleasant for other people, and then at the age of seven I started understanding exactly how it wasn't pleasant. So... So I don't always like reminders of that. Who told you about my past? And why did they tell you?" Cheasadh isn't very happy with whoever that is, judging by the tone of voice and body language.

[Recaiden]

"I could... No, I would need a part of her, uh, corpse. Uh, the best way would be to go down there, uh, myself and, uh, find her, but, uh, that's too risky." Sekhmet shakes her head. "I, uh, don't think I can do anything. Not safely."

"And I don't think there'd be much left, unless there was some part of her from before the town." Anchor sighs.
"I can't recommend trying to go in there alone."

[bc56]

Grounds

"Are you, uh, offering to come with me?" Sekhmet asks. "Having a god, uh, by my side would make it a lot safer. Holy, uh, power would be a huge help."

[Recaiden]

"Are you asking me to come with you?"
"It doesn't sound easy, and we'd want at least a third person along. But I mean, I could."
And Anchor sounds like she is in favor of the mission.

[bc56]

Grounds

"Only if you, uh, want to." Sekhmet responds. "A third person? I, uh, don't know who to, uh, ask."

[Purple Eagle]

[Near the Lake]

Zara stretches her neck to get a better look, then nods once it returns to normal. "I suppose I can!" She listens as Cheasadh explains why she doesn't like the memories, and gets that glint of bloodlust in her eyes. She'd have rather enjoyed a childhood like that, or so she thinks. Without the 'therapy' she was made to go through that turned her into this... let's just say that the bloodlust was already there, and her 'therapy' only reinforced it. "Funny, I had my first kill at the age of seven!" She has a look on her face that says she enjoys that memory.

However, she can see how serious Cheasadh is concerning those memories, and gets a rather compassionate look in her eyes. Not her mouth though, that remains with at least a little smile. She points to it and explains, in case Cheasadh thinks she's being mocked. "The 'therapy' I went through to make me a good killer made it so I'd smile all the time. If I'd not ended up here, I'd have been given the antidote and be frowning all the time... but I prefer smiling all the time to frowning all the time!" She says, giggling at the end there.

That being said, she decides to share just who revealed such to her. "Hmm..." She says, looking rather like a child in that moment, but deep inside, is choosing her words carefully. Should she mention Karasu? Hmm... no, she won't. "I caught wind of there being more to your story than I was told, so I went fishing for more information. Little Mortimer the ghost boy told me everything! He got good at hiding real good, and was also curious, so he told me. I checked with a furry dude he pointed me to, in order to make sure, and thus I know everything! When I asked the staff, all they said was that you're different from when you first came here."

She clasps her hands, grinning at Cheasadh. She's quite glad that the gnomish girl had made so much progress! Torturing and sacrificing random normal-sized folk off the street is worse than killing random people in very creative ways. As far as she could tell, Cheasadh's family didn't have a good enough reason for doing so... but she'd still have loved to live the gnomish girl's childhood. "Don't worry, Cheasadh, I won't remind you again, nor will I tell anyone else." She says, after blinking away the bloodlusty look that had begun to come into her eyes. "My childhood was unpleasant for my targets too..." She says, then shrugs. She doesn't share Cheasadh's realization as to just how 'bad' that was.

"We can talk about something else if you'd like? I can draw you, I'm really good!" She pulls out her sketchpad and pencil, then grins at the not-so-little gnome.