GLoG 94: Good place to grow up

[Deathkeeper]

Cavorting with Chaos

Witches are what magical girls fight, and it's what hatches out of the soul gems when they lose control. Labyrinths are their domain. So she's probably either reliving memories of hers or well, she's entirely correct. That seed is basically the Witch's corpse after Khannie defeated her. So the inside of it is probably like a Labyrinth... Zebes is doing guesswork for a lot of this.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Chaos
"You're saying that she's the witch she's looking for? Uh, how bad would it be if she found out?" Sekhmet really doesn't want to mess this up. I really don't want her to go crazy again.

[Morty]

[That Cabin]

As soon as Braon mentions plastering someone's brains over the cobblestones, Sophie cuts her off with a wave of her hand. It's a strangely imperious gesture given how casual it is.

"You're wrong, so I'm stopping you. I didn't kill that man. But I think my life story can wait until later. If you're honest with me, you can expect the same in return. But right now we need to get you settled. You have to rest."

[Main Office]

Sophie scratches her head.

"Could you elaborate on that webbing? We try not to modify the cabins too much, you see."

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

"I dunno how to deal with possums. It could bite us," Tuskfang says apprehensively. "My dad would know. He knows all about animals. And I don't think we should give food to wild animals."

[Beans]

[Main Office]
"It wouldn't be stuck to the inside of the cabin, it'd be..." She takes a piece of scrap paper, very roughly sketching something vaguely resembling an oblong, smallish trampoline with the fabric hanging loose instead of taut. "A frame made out of---well, mostly a resin I can produce, and some wood---and then it has silk across it. Beds for human-shaped people are a little awkward for our bodies." She adds a sleeping Vaess to her sketch. "Though not so awkward that I need to change stuff right away. I won't be throwing anything out or sticking resin or webs to the cabin, so you don't need to worry about that."

[Rebonack]

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

"I think possums mostly just hiss and play dead," Khannie says, eyeing the animal uncertainly. She had read about them a little bit since a few turned up in their yard back home. Like most non-pokemon animals Khannie finds them at least a little interesting. Possums are, supposedly, harmless. "But they only play dead if somethings scares them."

Do they really want to scare this poor possum?

Can our heroes really bring themselves to committing such a crime?

For the record, Lapis just picked the last one up and set it aside.

But she's mostly watching right now because she wants to see how normal kids solve problems.

It's educational!

Our heroes can't just pass up the key, can they? They might have to if they can't solve the possum problem.

[Deathkeeper]

Cavorting With Chaos
"You're saying that she's the witch she's looking for? Uh, how bad would it be if she found out?" Sekhmet really doesn't want to mess this up. I really don't want her to go crazy again.

Cavorting with Chaos

Witches are born when the girls are overwhelmed with negativity. It would probably be bad. If you tell her you're going to have to let her know gently. Judging from his tone of "voice" Zebes knows exactly how near-impossible it is to tell someone something like this gently.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Chaos
Don't tell her unless I can do it without hurting her, uh, okay. I'll, uh, keep in touch.

Inside the gem, Sekhmet resets her focus on what Mary is doing. She tries to hide her worried expression and probably fails.
She's just really worried about this kid, she doesn't want her to be hurt.

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting With Witches]

Mary is watching Sekhmet at the moment, a bit concerned and puzzled why this funny looking lady isn't leaving the Labyrinth. She's also keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings. This place is a real dump, even for a Labyrinth, and the utter lack of familiars so far is starting to disturb her. She's never been in one this long without encountering some kind of opposition. Where are they all? It's causing a steadily twisting knot of anxiety that just keeps getting worse. Are they about to get attacked en mass? Or is something worse going on? The girl also isn't quite sure why Sekhmet just zoned out all of a sudden.

Probably some sort of Nexus magic.

Lots of people in the Nexus have magic.

Okay maybe not lots but plenty of the famous people do.

That leaves Mary wondering whether she counts as famous, even if her artwork keeps getting destroyed. It still touched the people who saw it, even if only for a little while. Maybe she should leave a signature on all her works? Or is her unique style enough to make it recognizable?

Perking up when Sekhmet becomes more aware again, Mary smiles. "I'm glad you stuck with me ma'am, honest I am, but you really need to get going before I shake a flannin with this Witch."

Fight. Before she gets into a fight with the Witch.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
"Uh, I'll be fine." Sekhmet shakes off her remaining disorientation. "I, uh, was in here a while finding you, and, uh, I didn't see any sign of anyone else. Are you absolutely sure there's a witch here?"

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting With Witches]

Mary isn't dumb.

She can tell there's something up.

"Found me? Was I just lounging in here, is that it? I don't remember going into any Labyrinths but this is one of 'em and that means there's a Witch to batty-fang, it does. You can't have a Labyrinth with no Witch that never happens."

Mary is absolutely correct, of course.

The only problem is that she's the Witch she's looking for.

And clonking herself with a brick probably wouldn't help even a little bit.

"Are you canny to something you aren't telling me, ma'am? Not meaning to pry but this is all quite queer if you don't mind me saying."

Oh oh!

The little girl is onto you, Sekhmet!

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
Sekhmet shakes her head. "Listen, uh, a friend told me to help you. I, uh, don't know the whole story, but, uh, when I found you here, you were really, uh, out of sorts. Completely, uh, unaware and, uh, very sick. I don't know how that happened, but, uh, there was no one else around." She's increasingly nervous. If Mary catches her in her lie (namely, that there is no witch), things could get very bad very quickly.

[Ironsmith]

[That Cabin]

As soon as Braon mentions plastering someone's brains over the cobblestones, Sophie cuts her off with a wave of her hand. It's a strangely imperious gesture given how casual it is.

"You're wrong, so I'm stopping you. I didn't kill that man. But I think my life story can wait until later. If you're honest with me, you can expect the same in return. But right now we need to get you settled. You have to rest."

[That Cabin]

Braon frowns. Hmph. Even if she's wrong about Sophie, she gets the feeling it's not by a lot (but of course she would, catching on when she's in the process of misjudging someone is a paradoxical notion), so it just disgruntles her that she's denied to opportunity to pick this lady apart.

In self-defense, of course.

But going into the cabin to rest? Yeah, she can handle that.

Braon turns and goes to open the cabin door. If it's locked, that will last for about three seconds; she's not putting up with any locks today. As soon as she's in, she'll give a little shiver; it'll be cooler in the cabin, which is beneficial for most people, but not an ex-resident of the Scorching Depths.

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting With Witches]

Alone.

Unaware.

Sick.

In a Labyrinth with no Witch.

What was happening before she woke up here?

A building she rebuilt had just sunk into the mud and that ugly frog was sitting in the middle of the ruins. And then what? She had felt hopeless. Like nothing she could do mattered. And then-

-some time passed? Where she was just wallowing in the morbs, feeling terrible and useless and ugly.

But then someone reminded her of how happy people looked BEFORE her artwork kept getting thrashed. It was like coming up for a breath of air after getting dunked under water. Was it this lady who had pulled her out?

Alone.

Unaware.

Sick.

In a Labyrinth with no Witch. Wallowing in the morbs. Hating the ugly world. Reaching out to people and-

Mary's eyes suddenly widen.

"I'm the Witch," she half whispers, the surroundings altering slightly at the realization. Like brushstrokes of paint spreading from the brick road Mary had created, spreading color into the bleak surroundings. "The Witch was me, wasn't it? It's loony but that's the truth of it, right? But Kyuubee said I was to be fighting Witches, not being one."

Was she lied to?

Or did the strange cat just leave that part out?

She turns to Sekhmet, a pleading, hopeful look on her face. "I didn't... I didn't hurt anyone, did I ma'am? Please say I didn't I wouldn't ever mean to."

Zebes can actually answer that question. He and Khannie had caught Mary shortly after she was bewitched, before anyone stumbled into her Labyrinth to be devoured.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
As Many reasons out what happened, Sekhmet prepares for something to explode.
But nothing does.

She approaches Mary, gesturing to offer a hug. "Yes, uh, you were the witch. Or are. I, uh, I'm not sure. But, uh, it's okay now. You don't have to deal with this, uh, alone."

Outside, more messages are sent. Uh, she's asking if she hurt anyone while she was a witch. Do you know? Is it safe to tell her?

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting With Witches]

A hug?

Oh yeah.

Mary is definitely accepting that hug.

She doesn't answer Sekhmet, not right away at least.

Just having someone to hug right now is pretty high on her priority list.

Her mind is such a jumble! Had she gone mad? Was that why she turned into a Witch? Are all Witches just Magical Girls that have gone mad? And if that's true, why isn't she mad still? Did it really just take someone sharing hope with her? Giving her one little handhold that she could grab onto? No, that isn't it. This woman helped pull her out of the mud and set her head straight. Otherwise she would still be mad.

But now what?

Can she just... leave the Labyrinth?

Will it just fade away?

Can she go back to being a Magical Girl with her new-found understanding of how much a difference she's really making in the lives in the Slums?

Mary doesn't know the answers to any of those questions.

But she DOES know that hugging Sekhmet is nice, so she keeps that up.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
Sekhmet is more than willing to keep the hug going as long as Mary likes. She doesn't know the answers to any of the questions Mary isn't asking, but that's not important right now. She needs to practice caring for children as it is; it won't be long until she has one of her own.
She's slightly worried about one thing though. She's not sure if Mary will be able to come with her when she leaves. After all, she's only here in her psychic presence, but Mary doesn't have a body outside to return to.

[Deathkeeper]

Cavorting with Witches

No clue, but she's that seed because Khannie beat the snot out of her witch-self. That's all I know. Zebes sends back.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
I'll, uh, not tell her that. But, uh... Can I bring her out with me? She's better now and I don't want to leave her alone in here." Sekhmet sends back. She really doesn't want to hurt Mary, intentionally or otherwise, and it seems like abandoning her would hurt a lot.

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting with Witches]

"Okay..." Mary finally mutters, stepping away from Sekhmet so she can look out through the little brick archway she created leading to... a snowy forest?

That looks like a snowy forest.

Mary hasn't ever been in a forest before, snowy or otherwise.

She's been in the city all her life. Maybe not the same city, though. She got lost in the streets one day and wandered into Inside, which is a bit like the old city and a bit different too. It has more parks for one but she was warned those were dangerous so she stayed away. But this! This is like looking out into a picture book, only it's real.

The girl takes a deep breath and a step forward.

Then another.

Then raises her hand toward the threshold-

-where it passes it becomes a mass of indistinct smudges giving the rough impression of a hand. Mary is quick to pull it back, taking a few stumbling steps away from the threshold, clutching her hand to her chest.

[Deathkeeper]

Cavorting with Witches

I mean, probably not? She has no body anymore. Assuming she wouldn’t become a full Witch again, she’s still going to need a physical form to inhabit. And that sort of stuff I don’t know anything about.
There’s lots of options of course. He just doesn’t really know anything about them.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
"Are, uh, are you all right?" Sekhmet is quick to rush to Mary's side. "Uh, my friend just warned me that you might not be able to, uh, leave in your current state. We, uh, don't have your body..."

She just tried to leave and, uh, her hand got all smudgy, Sekhmet's thoughts carry an undercurrent of "it would have been nice to know that a while ago." But she doesn't hold much resentment there.

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting with Witches]

Over the course of the hug color had been steadily spreading from where Mary stood, though the surroundings weren't making much more sense than they were before. It looks like the Labyrinth is gradually taking on the appearance of a brightly painted impressionist style landscape? That seems to be the artistic style that most impressed upon Mary. The pictures she created with her bricks certainly suggested it.

But when she tried passing the threshold and recoiled the paint begins rotting and festering into toxic mud again.

It seems as though the state of the Labyrinth is a reflection of her state of mind.

Considering that it is an extension of her, a part of her, that shouldn't be too much of a shock.

Mary nods at Sekhmet's question, still clutching her hand protectively. She looks down at it, working her fingers to make sure they're all still there.

"Am I trapped in here, ma'am?" Mary asks, a hint of hopelessness creeping into her voice.

In the distance shadows loom.

Misshapen, shattered factories and smoke-stacks belching soot.

[bc56]

Cavorting With Witches
"I, uh, don't know. I hope not. But, uh, I'll do everything I can to help you." Sekhmet means it. She's there and ready for another hug if necessary. She idly thinks that if this place is a reflection of Mary's mind, then training the young witch to harness psychic power might help her keep it under control.

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting with Witches]

Training the girl to deal with what's going on might be helpful, yes. Especially training to help keep her emotions from getting out of control.

Her madness hinges completely on hopelessness.

But if hope can be maintained?

Hope is hard to maintain, though, when you have been reduced to a spirit of despair.

"All the Witches are like this, aren't we? We're all just girls that have been twisted up and driven mad with grief. But you're going to help us, right ma'am? There's hope for us?"

That's a very fragile question.

Fragile like the hope glimmering in Mary's eyes.

Hopefully Sekhmet has a good answer.

[Deathkeeper]

Cavorting with Witches

Oof. Yeah, that doesn't sound good. remarks Zebes. That's kind of what a Witch looks like.

[bc56]

Cavorting with Witches
"Yes. There is always hope," Sekhmet has many names. One of them is Strel Hof, the Hopeful Star. Of course she thinks there's always hope. "You're not alone, the, uh, other girls have been told, and I was, uh, brought in to help. I'm an expert in working with minds and souls." Honestly Sekhmet is surprised Mary hasn't made a connection between her appearance, her presence in this psychic realm, and what she actually is. Maybe she just doesn't expect demons to be pregnant.

We already know she's a witch, but, uh, we want to help her, right? I'm worried that if she stays trapped in here, she might, uh, drive herself crazy again," Sekhmet really doesn't want anything bad to happen to Mary. So much terrible stuff has happened to her already. Is there any way to get her out safely?

[Morty]

[That Cabin]

Sophie will open the cabin's door with a key.

"You can take one of the rooms here and stay in it for as long as you're with us. Once you've got some rest, you should head into the infirmary, so we can give you a medical check and confirm what the report said about your health. And then we can schedule your first appointment with me."

She's listing off this to-do list very casually.

[Main Office]

"Oh, that should be fine." Reelshka's concerns are clearly abated. "Would it be okay for you to share the cabin with someone? You'll get your own room, but we only have so many cabins. And you can leave Sujo in the daycare if you ever need to, of course."

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

Tuskfang isn't really accustomed to dealing with possums. His parents always tell him not to bother wild animals, for his safety and theirs. So he just approaches the possum with a slow, measured step, trying to make himself look bigger (and not really succeeding).

[Beans]

[Main Office]
Nefila nods, shifting her baby Sujo again. "I don't mind sharing, not at all. I'm not used to lots of personal space, so it might be more comfortable than if I were all by myself in some ways. And having the option of the daycare helps too. My kind aren't really made for solitary life, so having a group to work with and be with is a big comfort."

[Ironsmith]

[That Cabin]

Sophie will open the cabin's door with a key.

"You can take one of the rooms here and stay in it for as long as you're with us. Once you've got some rest, you should head into the infirmary, so we can give you a medical check and confirm what the report said about your health. And then we can schedule your first appointment with me."

She's listing off this to-do list very casually.

[That Cabin]

Okay, yeah, Braon's definitely going to do one of those things. And she's going to do it really well, which hopefully will make up for deficiencies in the other two.

Braon shivers a little as she hangs her cloak on a peg by the door. Dammit, why did it have to be so freaking cold in here? Sophie would probably object to her lighting a fire (unless it was in the fireplace, which only helps maybe three square meters of the room), and she doesn't care to burn down the cabin anyway.

Clearly there's only one solution to this conundrum. Blankets. All of the blankets.

Though wearing armor to bed has never really felt right, either, especially not since her time in the 'Depths. It messes with her ventilation, and besides that, it's not exactly optimized for comfort.

It takes until Braon's shucked her boots and undone one of her bracers for her to give Sophie an insistent glare. "...Like what you see?" She grumbles, giving a little nod to the door.

She probably did. Braon got a vibe from her.

Maybe.

Braon might be projecting.

[Rebonack]

[Cavorting with Witches]

Mary has been in the Nexus for a while now. She has met a pretty wide cross section of unusual people. Maybe Sekhmet's appearance is just less important than what she's doing?

And what Sekhmet is doing is giving Mary hope.

That light in her heart grows a little brighter, to which the Labyrinth reacts. Darkness and mire recedes once again, color spreading further. Those looming ruins look less like ruins and more like green hills painted to appear in the distance. Or maybe more like pictures of painting left free standing. Like Khannie has described these places before it isn't dissimilar to what it would looking like if a kaleidoscope ate a magazine scrap book and then barfed it up.

Regardless, the surroundings are growing steadily brighter and less confusing. Maybe that reflects the growing hope and peace in Mary's soul.

"Then... you're a soul doctor, ma'am?" Mary asks, perking up at Sekhmet's explanation.

She could probably use one, if this chaotic mishmash of nightmarish swamp and verdant hills is her soul.

Mary does her best to stand straight and tall. "I'm a bricky girl, ma'am. If I can help I will, but I haven't the foggiest what I can do."

It should be noted that out in the real world Zebes can easily see a change in the grief seed Sekhmet is holding. Where before the gem at the center of the silver filigree was like pitch black onyx it has turned to an extremely dark translucent blue.


[Lakeside Hole Digging]

Tuskfang approaches the possum with confidence!

It's been hissing at Lapis but seeing the little wolfy lad approaching it is just too much. The animal flops over on its side, curling up slightly and lolling its mouth open. It kind of sticks a little, too. If it's breathing it isn't very obvious.

"I think it's playing dead," Khannie says.

The possum is no longer sitting on top of the key, either. Tuskfang could just reach in there and grab the shiny thing.