GLoG 93: Something something something babies

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

The man's green eyes go wide and he reflexively tenses. This girl was some sort of demon. But that didn't always mean evil in the Nexus, strangely enough. He reaches under his shirt and draws out a silver pendant, a lithe wolf running with an emerald for its eye. He breathes a prayer. "Hunter, guide my sight." Was she evil, or did she only look that way?

Waiting for the result of his spell, he put on an uneasy smile. "Uh, hello, I'm Balthier."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Sekhmet tenses as the holy icon is brought out. The little silver figurine glows and grows warm in her presence.
Despite the evidence of her being a powerful and dangerous demon, the spell, however comes back with a clear result ... She's not evil.
Sekhmet awkwardly waves and starts backing away. "Uh, sorry to disturb you. I was just looking for where that sound is coming from."

[Rebonack]

[Lake]

"I can do that?" Maridia replies, looking genuinely surprised that's even an option.

That distraction is enough to get her shoved into the honey pot.

Oh no!

Now she's being licked!

She begins licking herself, too. Honestly this could have turned out way worse.

As for the cubs?

They flew over here with mom! Geneva didn't want to leave them here alone until they were properly fledged. Sure they can't pull off the extremes of flight magic their parents can (yet) but maybe some day! Time to head back to the sapling cabin! The cicadas will, of course, continue screaming everywhere.


[Sapling Cabin]

Gwen is just going to be hanging out over there coloring unless someone decides to disturb her.

And Khannie?

"Yeah I'm doing magic homework. It's really hard but I'll get it," Khannie says, her tone resolute. She tries not to look too closely at the hippogriff cub. Gosh he's so adorable. "Umm..."

Stay strong, Khannie! Keep doing the homework! Don't give in!

"Is it okay if I pet you?"

Failure.


[Near the Woods]

As Sekhmet wonders what's making all the noise a cicada will land on her horn and begin vibrating its abdomen.

IT IS VERY LOUD!

[Morty]

[Lake ==> Sapling Cabin]

Brinika's ears tilt up and down in consternation. They end up stuck with one of them pointing up while the other points down.

"Pushing her into the pot is just rude, Pookie."

It's at this time that the posse of kids of various ages arrive at the daycare. Brinika strides in, triumphantly, and does... something approximating a salute in Reelshka's direction. There's a lot of gusto packed into this altogether tiny frame.

"We brought the other kids back, auntie! But Gilda got bit by a bug."

Reelshka, who was about to say something to Miranda, turns from her to the cub.

"Did you? Let us take a look." She looks back to Miranda. "This is a good time to ask, I suppose. Do you have any first aid training? There's often a need of it. Not just to help the kids, but we also lend our infirmary to people who need medical attention."

[Earl of Purple]

Lake --> Sapling Cabin

"You can always ask to share Pookie's honey. And maybe then he won't try to push you into it." Or maybe he will. Pookie isn't always the most well-behaved of bears.

As the girls and griffins leave to Sapling Cabin, Pookie follows, still licking at Maridia and occasionally dipping a paw in the honey instead. Cheasadh doesn't salute Reelshka, she just waves cheerfully.

[Ironsmith]

[Sapling Cabin]

Oh. There it was.

"Ah, well... kinda." Miranda replies. "We've made enough advances in medicine that first aid generally isn't that complicated. But that's less 'me' and more 'our tech'. If I don't have help from this little guy..." she pats her Hotbox for emphasis, "...I'd be more underfoot than anything."

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

Balthier lowers his holy symbol and looks relieved. Despite her appearance, this girl was good hearted, and not a threat. No wonder Shadow didn't react more strongly to her presence. His smile is more genuine now.

He looks a little confused as he pushes himself to his feet. "What sound?" He didn't hear anything unusual, but after a moment's thought he realizes. "The cicadas, you mean?"

[bc56]

Near the Woods

"Uh, the what?" Then there's suddenly a loud buzzing thing stuck to one of Sekhmet's horns. "What is that!? Aaaa, getitoff getitoff!" She flails at the insect ineffectually, too afraid to actually touch it and pull it off. If she had some presence of mind, she might be more effective, but she's panicking.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

"Whoah, whoah, calm down, it's not going to hurt you." Balthier walks closer and tries to swipe the buzzing little insect away from Sekhmet, if she doesn't panic about him getting close that it.

Shadow just sits and watches, his ears twitching and his head tilting, wondering what hall the hubub was about.

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Through combined effort the cicada finally gets chased off of Sekhmet. She calms down a bit, but is still seeming high-strung. "What was that?" Some kind of bug, she knows, but she couldn't see it. What if it had bit her? Or laid eggs on her? That sounds gross and nasty. Are those things making all that noise? There must be so many of them, to be so loud. What if they all started swarming her and... No, focus Sekhmet. They're just bugs.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

"That" Balthier says, "was a cicada. They're an insect. Usually they hibernate underground, but every say 10 years or so, they come up in mass and start screaming like that. Trying to get a girl to notice them. Then they lay their eggs and all die off, and the larvae stay underground until the next time to emerge and start screaming."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Now Sekhmet just feels silly.
As her startlement and fear subside, she wants to see what it was she was so scared of. "Oh, uh... Sorry for getting scared like that." In the meantime, she holds out her hand, palm up, and waits. A few instants later, a cicada alights on the palm of her hand and stays there, quietly. "Oh, so, uh, this is what it was." She looks at it curiously. "All it cares about is having babies. It doesn't care if it lives or dies? Why?" How can she tell just by looking at it?

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

Balthier shrugs his broad shoulders. "That's what life does, really. It wants to continue, and so it propagates itself wherever and however it can. Simple creatures like that? They only know to continue through their descendants. Nothing else matters. Higher beings tend to have more self preservation instincts, and some think they can become immortal through their works, or some other way."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

"Uh..." Sekhmet isn't going to mention her own immortality now. It seems like that would be rude. She's not even sure how to wrap her head around it. But then again... "Uh, what if you're not quite alive? Or, uh, you won't die, ever?" Balthier seems like he understands these things. Maybe he can give Sekhmet some advice.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

"Like a vampire?" He wonders, then looks her over. "Or, a demon perhaps?" He asks. Balthier frowns, thinking. "They could certainly do great works. However they live on a much longer timescale than I'm used to thinking about. I can never guess what the Fae might do, their motives are often obscured. They do what they can not to go crazy, I suppose. Living that long, seeing so much change, losing so much over time...I'm sorry. That's probably not what you wanted to hear. It's just... I tend to deal with such beings when they do end up at that stage. When they become dangerous, more so than usual, even."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Sekhmet's lip trembles. It's not what she wanted to hear, but maybe it's what she needed to hear. She looks like she's in her late teens or early twenties, but she's a demon. How ancient is she under that youthful mask? "I don't want that to, uh, happen to me." She reaches up with her left hand to touch the pendant she's wearing as if for protection. Balthier might notice two things.
First, Sekhmet is wearing a wedding ring. Second, the necklace, with its shooting star design, isn't just jewelry, but a holy icon itself. Strange that a demon would wear such a thing.

[Deathkeeper]

Sapling Lodge

Glory trots in behind the girls, looking incredibly proud of the fact that her sister got bit by a bug and she didn't. Clearly it is because she is a superior hunter. Obviously she's sad her sister is in pain! But she totally wouldn't have gotten bit. Totally.
Regardless, Glory sits down next to Gwen who is looking sad as ever.
Meanwhile!
"I dunno, do people pet you?" Gabriel asks Khannie. She smells funny. Normal humans usually smell different. And her voice doesn't seem to come from exactly where her mouth is.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

"I'm sorry." Balthier says. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's not a forgone conclusion. It's just... I'm the one who gets to clean up the mess, when it does happen." He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "I think if you find something to keep you going. You'd be fine."

"Oh, hey, is that a holy symbol?" He asks, desperately looking for a way to change the subject. "I don't recognize it."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Sekhmet is relieved for the change in topic. "Oh, uh, it belongs to Message. She's, uh, a goddess of hope and redemption and, uh, other things. Whose is..." she gestures to the wolf icon on Balthier's neck.
She's still a little nervous being around a priest of some sort. He doesn't seem like he'll hurt her, but she knows how feared demons can be. She dares not talk about herself too much, in case she reveals something that causes Balthier to turn on her.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

Balthier pulls his holy symbol out so she can get a better look at it. It's a lithe wolf, running, worked in silver an with an emerald for its eye.

"This is the symbol of the Hunter. I am one of his chosen. Around these parts they'd call me a paladin, though I don't really fit in with those knightly types. That's more the Lord's thing. Ah right, I'm a follower of the Church of Faerie. The Lord, The Lady of Light, the Lady of Night, and the Hunter make up the pantheon where I'm from. My job is to, usually, root out evil beasts and slay them before they hurt people. However, I'll hunt for food for the hungry, do work for those who need help. I've been doing more of that, here. Evil is... not as straightforward here in the Nexus as it is in Albion. Nothing is, actually. I'm still learning."

"Your Message sounds like a nice Goddess. Hope is something we all need, and redemption is something we should all hope for, should we stray from our path."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

"I am so thankful I met her," Sekhmet replies, simply. But the matter of fact tone suggests something. Did Sekhmet meet a goddess? In person? "Your Hunter sounds, uh, like a noble god. GLoG is a good place, uh, to help people, or to, uh, find help." Sekhmet is often too shy to partake in either, but she tries.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

Bathier blinks. "Did you say you met your goddess? Like actually?"

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Sekhmet stammers as she responds. "Uh, yes? Uh, her, uh, avatars." Sekhmet is no normal demon. Perhaps Balthier suspected that. Few demons would wear a holy symbol or live in a bastion of Good like this camp. But he's probably also noticed that she's exceptionally powerful, if not actively using that power. She desperately tries to keep the conversation going, but there's only one direction she can think to take it. "Uh, I've met a few gods. But Message is the one that, uh, took me in."

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

Balthier's silver eyebrows go up. "I see. That's... pretty amazing. My god communicates with me, but I've never met him, or the others." He rests his hands on his hips and stares up at the treeline. "Imagine having a choice in the matter." That was something he never had.

[bc56]

Near the Woods

"Uh... It's terrifying. To meet someone and know they could, uh, vaporize you in a heartbeat. I've, uh, been lucky. Only one of them, uh, tried to hurt me, and I got away. Most gods, uh, are not friendly to, uh, people like me." Sekhmet is a demon. To many, that means she should be killed on sight. "You didn't have a choice? Uh, what do you mean?"

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

"I was born with this silver hair, green eyes too. Marked by the Hunter as one of his Chosen. At five years old I was brought to an Abbey to study and train. There was no question what I would do with my life." Balthier explains. "Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy about it. I think my temperament naturally suits the work. And Shadow's always with me. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

The big direwolf picks up his head and twitches his ears at the mention of his name. Balthier grins at him.

He looks back at Sekhmet. "I can see where you'd get into trouble. Back home in Albion... Hells, I'd probably be the one hunting you to be honest. But the Hunter sees the good in you, and so can I."

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Sekhmet gives a sad, but understanding smile. "I was marked from birth too. But, uh, not for service to a god." Sekhmet's face flickers with concern. She's not sure how much she can trust this paladin, and it shows. She falls silent, not wanting to say more without further prompting.

[Artemis97]

[Near the Woods]

Balthier tilts his head, looking a little like his wolf in his curiosity. "Something more sinister?" He asks.

[bc56]

Near the Woods

Sekhmet looks down at her feet. Her tail is swishing agitatedly. "I don't know. It's, uh, not what I want, but I don't get a choice. It's, uh, worse for me, but better for, uh, everyone else." She sighs deeply. "It's just a matter of time. Uh, it could be days, or, uh, millennia."

[Rebonack]

[Sapling Lodge]

Everyone has arrived for fun and adventures and homework!

Gilda poofs herself up to look bigger and tougher at the talk of her getting bit by a bug, but in the end she limps over to the growups and holds out her paw to be examined.

There's a little spot of red on one of her toe-pads where there tiger beetle's sharp jaws broke the skin. It looks a little tender but it'll probably be just fine. A little disinfectant and an adhesive medical strip likely wouldn't hurt since she DOES walk on her feet/talons.

Just for good measure, Gilda glares daggers at Glory. Her sister is acting so smug and she wasn't even the one who caught the beetle.

Gwen, meanwhile, looks up from her book. "Did you catch your bug?" she asks.

She's probably referring to the dragon fly from earlier. Given how many other things Glory had been attacking since then there is a not altogether trivial chance that Glory has forgotten about the dragon fly in question. It's been a pretty exciting morning thus far.

As for Maridia? She's still being grappled by Pookie. They're both licking each other. It's probably cute (and sticky)

Khannie frowns at the scene. "Maridia you're not supposed to get into Pookie's honey it's hard to clean off!"

Probably harder to clean the honey off the bear but hey that isn't Khannie's responsibility. She's going to have to give Maridia a bath again. The little girl huffs and decides she's going to ignore her dumb familiar and pet a hippogriff instead. But alas! He didn't give her permission to pet him! She tries her best not to feel consternation at this. "No, of course not, I'm a girl."

People don't pet girls.

Obviously.