GLoG 94: Good place to grow up

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

"No, no, its fine." Jaahlyn insists, though grimaces once its clear that Sekhmet heard that nature remark. "And my nature is, uh, like my fey thing and satyrs are... well, a bit embarrassing honestly."

Certainly a word for it- eep! You- you're hearing this too aren't you? It's hard to not think- anyway...

There's a mental sigh from Jaahlyn and it's seen in her expression too. "I might occasionally get into some embarrassing thoughts your majesty, just giving you a far warning here and apologize in advance. Our minds are not the cleanest of places." The satyr clears her throat. "Anyway, music. I'm going to attempt to mentally map out the process and you can follow along I guess."

And so Jaahlyn sits down and crosses her legs as if she was meditating and closes her eyes.
Okay, music. So, uhh, what would be the best music for Sekhmet? No, I shouldn't pick the music for her- or should I? My music is too- she might be embarrassed. Here's there a brief flash of people in a bed. A mental image that flash by too quickly for Sekhmet to really grasp. ****, stupid mind! You didn't see that did you? It's- the mind rebels when you're trying to force your thoughts straight...

Jaahlyn opens her eyes and one brief glimpse of Sekhmet's face seem to be enough to put her mind at ease once more and she closes her eyes again.

Music, the music of the night. I can do this. Solemn tunes of the sea, yes, that could work. The old tune~

Then a song starts playing in Jaahlyn's mind though instead of sounds there are notes and mental images of herself using the bow against the strings. It all sort of flows together as Sekhmet gets glimpses of a beach and the sea. Seems like it's all from Jaahlyn's own point of view as she's watching someone else, an older man with a greying beard, sitting on a rock playing a flute-like instrument and this time there's sounds. A slow melancholy melody.
Then the mental image flash back to Jaahlyn's perspective as she's looking down on her violin trying to emulate the tone.
These are quick flashes between many different moments of her practicing until it flashes to what seems to be festivities involving the tune where the same man (though his beard is longer) is playing it and a group of women are dancing slowly to it. Though its less of a dance and more like a series of gestures that fit with the slow tempo of the music. It seems like a ritual of sort.

Also, the women are all bare-chested but no one seems to be paying any attention to that, least of all the viewer of all this.

Then the mental vision cuts back to Jaahlyn watching herself practicing her violin again and now the melody is much closer to what she was hearing.
This seems to be enough for the satyr as she suddenly opens her eyes and stands up on her hooves. "Alright, uh, did you get all that?"

[bc56]

Campground
"I got it, you can continue." Sekhmet's face is a little flushed. She wasn't expecting to see people in bed or dancing naked. But she'll live.

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

They were topless, not naked. Big difference *nodnod*

"Good." Jaahlyn smiles, though Sekhmet might get a feeling there's a sense of sadness behind it. "Then let's begin." She picks up her violin and puts the bow to the string and the moment she does something more than just a mental image is invoked.

Everything Sekhmet has seen so far has been from a first person perspective. Jaahlyn's perspective. But now she can see Jaahlyn from a third person perspective standing on the same field as that man sat playing the melody. In the real world she's of course standing on the campgrounds of GloG but to Sekhmet the two landscapes blend together.

The cabins are still there but they're also a magnificent palace. The two somehow occupying the same place and blending into one another as Jaahlyn's mental landscape seem to leak out into the real world around her.

In the distance Sekhmet can see the lake which is now also playing the role of the sea which sorrunds the isle of GloG. But an organization is nothing without its members and Sekhmet can now through Jaahlyn's mental vision see glimpses of them all as they're conducting their daily business. However, like the campgrounds themselves all GloG members are also the inhabitants of the island. Sekhmet recognizing the eldery man that was playing the strange flute and the dancers that were moving to it, but they're now somehow merged with the various GloG members like ghosts occupying the very same spaces. There's children playing, people talking, chores being done, fishing boats entering and exiting their harbor.

It's a sunny beautiful day but as soon as Jaahlyn's bow is pulled along the strings of the violin for the first time dark clouds starts coming in from all sides as powerful gusts of wind starts to berrate the island mercilessly. The once so peaceful sea have turned dark and waves trash the shore, swallowing everything it touches.

The satyr is now dressed in a black version of the clothes that the women wore (though mercrifully wearing a top) and as she plays the storm which swallowed up the isle of GloG only seems to be getting worse. The people that were living life are now seeking shelter from death as the sea claims the fishing boats and their crew. They're still occupying the same spaces as the people of GloG, they're just acting differently.

Then with closed eyes Jaahlyn starts to accompany the melody with song.

Rain, thunder, lighting
Clashing tides; no mercy from the sea

Even as the waves seems to swallow up their beaches Sekhmet gets a vision of people huddling together with one another as even in this darkness, a young girl still smiles to her mother.

But surely hope is rising~
And our end; won't be

The waves only seem to grow higher as the sea itself seem to quickly raise to claim the isle of GloG and all its inhabitants as the rains simply won't stop. The little girl holds out her hand outside her family's shelter and it's almost instantly drenched. In the background her mother can be seen crying.

Skies cry above me
Still no mercy; from the sea
Peace you'll soon remember
As it all drowns; in harmony

The sea raises to the point the people are forced to abandon their homes and seek shelter on higher ground. But there isn't much high ground to be sought as the island is fairly flat and soon there's nowhere to run. The girl, her mother and their family can be seen trapped on the roof of their own home.

Rain, thunder, lighting
Our doom; will soon be

The isle of GloG is gone and Jaahlyn herself is now standing underwater, somehow still playing as the ghostly forms of its inhabitants are gathering all around her as their broken bodies are sinking beneath the waves. The girl, the elderly man, the dancers and all the other people Sekhmet saw on the island are there. Their expressions peaceful as Jaahlyn let's the melody soar once more.

But surely hope is rising~
And my song
And my song
And my song
Will bring calm to thee

The ghosts all nod to Jaahlyn as if to thank her before they start to fade away one by one until only the little girl is left. She floats up to the satyr to caress her cheek before she too disappears as Jaahlyn opens her eyes once more.

She is still and silent for a moment, GloG now returned to normal, before turning to Sekhmet. "Did you get that, your majesty?"

Sekhmet would have through reading the satyrs mind realized that she has written these lyrics herself to fit with the same melody played by the weird flute. She's changed it slightly considering that she's covering it with a completely different instrument but also to fit more with the lyrics that she made for it.

[bc56]

Campground
Sekhmet watches with interest and investment. By the end, she wipes some tears off her cheeks. "That, uh, that was beautiful. And sad. What, uh, was that place? Did that really happen?" She pulls her psychic touch out of Jahlynn's mind at the same time. She doesn't need to see any more.

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

Jaahlyn's eyebrows raise, it doesn't seem like she expected that kind of interest from Sekhmet. Which she can no doubt tell as she's still probing Jaahlyn's mind.
A queen interested in the background to my song? That's unusual. Who is she really? She can barely speak a sentence without stuttering yet she's clearly royalty. Jaahlyn might believe that Sekhmet isn't reading her mind anymore as she suddenly seem to fixate on her. Scanning her features.

"Ah... that was my home and apparently it sank beneath the waves? I wasn't there for it thought so I don't know if that actually happened, just that everyone on it died. But when I learned of it I just... wanted to write a song about it. It was a long time ago so please don't cry, your majesty. The past is the past after all."

[bc56]

Campground
Actually, Sekhmet's not probing Jaahlyn's mind anymore, so she misses the bewildered commentary. "Oh no, that's terrible!" Sekhmet has an urge to hug Jaahlyn. Even if she didn't live through the destruction of her homeland, that's still terrible...
She doesn't resist the urge, so if Jaahlyn doesn't prevent it, she'll be receiving a hug from a demon queen. "I'm sorry. That's, uh, that's... I'm sorry." She's not done crying yet. "Everything you, uh, knew and grew up with, uh, gone? I'm sorry."

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

Jaahlyn doesn't resist the hug but seems awkward about returning it. She had not expected to get hugged by a demon queen today.

"It's fine, I... made peace with that a long time ago, your majesty. In fact, even if it hadn't happened they still would all be dead of age by now. It's the pain of immortals like us. To watch everyone you love grow old- uh." And this was the point Jaahlyn realized she had screwed up as nothing about Sekhmet suggested that she had lived so long that mortal friends or family had grown old and died around her. "-maybe you should try to consider a moment you like to make into a song? Something that evoked strong feelings at the time." She gives the demon queen a light squeeze, hoping she hadn't just made her even more upset.

[bc56]

Campground
Jaahlyn's comment apparently strikes a nerve in Sekhmet. "Uh... I'm only twenty." She shivers, but not from the cold. "Honestly, uh, living that long, uh, is scary." She's visibly fighting back tears now. "I don't want to see everyone I know grow old and die while I stay the same forever!"

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

Twenty?!

She was just a child!

Jaahlyn had imagined her being young but not that young.

The satyr's embrace grows firmer, the previous awkwardness she seemed to hold regarding it completely gone, as she soothingly start to run her fingers through Sekhmet's hair. "It's fine, Sekhmet. A bright, loving, woman like you have all the time and power in the world to make your own future. For you, and everyone you love." She will then gently guide Sekhmet head to the base of her neck in case the demon queen wanted to cry. "But what's even more important is that you try to live in the present, not in the future. Since as the saying goes, the future is never now and you can never catch it no matter how hard you try."

[bc56]

Campground
Sekhmet accepts the unspoken invitation to cry into Jaahlyn's shoulder. She doesn't really understand the advice that's being given, but really that's not the important part for her. "I'm sorry... I'm, uh, not much of a queen, am I?"

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

Jaahlyn pulls back a bit to be able to look into Sekhmet's eyes and smiles reassuringly.

But in response to her question, the satyr shakes her head. "No one is, not until they've learned and you're new at this aren't you, Sekhmet?" She inquires softly as she starts to loosen her embrace around the demon queen if she can tell that the worst is over. "Yet you have something many of the queens I've seen lack."

Jaahlyn places her finger on Sekhmet's chest. "A good heart. Don't ever let go to waste, you hear me?" Her tone turns stern, almost motherly despite the fact she appears younger than even Sekhmet. Indeed, she doesn't just appear young, her body is actually not much older than 18. Her mind on the other hand...

[bc56]

Campground

"Thank you..." Sekhmet sniffles. "It's, uh, good to hear someone say that." Sekhmet, intellectually knows that Jaahlyn is many times older than her. But she looks about the same age. Maybe they could be friends.

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

Jaahlyn smiles once more. "Well, I got you down in the blue so I'm obligated to get you up aren't I? But..." She slowly let's go off Sekhmet and picks up her violin as to display it to the demon queen. "But that was the power of music, your majesty." Sekhmet might notice how the satyr switched from using her name back to her title again. "Even if it wasn't magical you still felt something powerful didn't you? Now imagine if I had enhanced that music with magic to boost its effect. Whatever anyone felt hearing it, magnified several times."

[bc56]

Campground
"I think I understand." Sekhmet smiles faintly. "Thank you for showing me that." She's not really sure how it applies, but it was nice. "If we could, uh, meet again sometime, and you could teach me to, uh, sing like that, uh, I'd appreciate it."

[Shadowcaller]

Campground

Jaahlyn bows as Sekhmet compliments her. "Of course. Perhaps I shall make a visit to your court at some point then, your majesty? I'm a quite experienced troubadour as I have played in many courts." And Jaahlyn would prefer Sekhmet not visiting her as she didn't even have a proper home.

[bc56]

Campground
"Uh, okay. I'll, uh, see you later then!" Sekhmet leaves, heading back to her cabin. She's sure Jaahlyn can find her way to the court when the time comes.

[Ironsmith]

[Campground (Night)]

Well.

She made it.

Miranda steals into the campgrounds, silently grateful that so few people were up right around now. She's hoping not to catch the attention of amy sentries or lookouts or anything; she's gone to a lot of trouble to make sure Lizzie doesn't slip out into another body, and she doesn't want all that effort wasted now, so close to her goal. It doesn't help that she still hasn't managed to print off a pair of pants that fit her new hips yet (she would have settled for a skirt, but she doesn't actually have any in her files, a fact she'd never noticed before today).

Right. Okay. One of these cabins had the demoness in it. The question is, which one?

[bc56]

Night Campground
That's a lot easier said than done. And Lizzie is back to resisting further progress. She's adamant that the two of them should leave here as quickly as they can and never return.
And with Lizzie in her head, Miranda should be able to see the guardian spirits of the campground for the first time. Lizzie is convinced they're a threat to both possessed and possesser but perhaps they're an opportunity as well? Or Miranda might find it wiser to search for the demoness another way?

[Ironsmith]

[Night Campground]

For once, Miranda and Lizzie are in complete agreement. Miranda's not sure how the spirits will respond to seeing her, or what they're capable of doing, but she's pretty sure they'll have trouble distinguishing her from the demon squatting in her head... and even if they can, they're likely to deem Lizzie a sufficient threat to make what happens to Miranda herself irrelevant. Best to avoid them for now.

Of course, while Miranda's gone on stealth missions before, she's not used to sentries that can walk through walls and possibly see through them. She might end up confronting them anyway.

[bc56]

Night Campground
This leaves Miranda in a bit of a predicament.
She needs to sneak around in the dead of night to find a demoness she's never met who might be asleep right now, all while avoiding the sight of supernatural beings who have who knows what powers.
Luckily, their powers actually work in her favor, not that she or Lizzie know that. But for now they both are trying to keep out of sight. The challenge is for Miranda to find out where this demoness is without drawing attention.

[Ironsmith]

[Night Campground]

Right. Miranda can't exactly just stop someone and ask; that would sort of defeat the point. And while she can narrow down some cabins by merit of "I've been in there and there's no demoness", there are still quite a few options to consider.

And that's about when she'll see a certain heavily-scorched section of foliage. Right! That's how she heard there was a demoness here in the first place. She got into a fight with that lady from the news. Totally thrashed her, even.

Miranda kneels next to the scorched foliage and looks to see which direction it favors, then follow that until she reaches a cabin. It seems likely that's where the demoness went afterwards; back home to sleep. If not, she'd probably at least still find a trail.

[bc56]

Night Campground
Unfortunately, this method won't bear much fruit. The demoness collapsed from exhaustion and was carried to the infirmary once the fires subsided, so there isn't really a trail to follow. The line mostly leads from the tree to a hillside nearby. The grass is starting to grow back, but the tree is completely dead and scorched. If Miranda had some way to detect fiendish power, she might be able to track it that way. Or there are probably other options too.

[Ironsmith]

[Night Campgrounds]

If Miranda weren't so opposed to asking for Lizzie's help, and Lizzie weren't so opposed to Miranda finding this particular demoness, there would be an obvious solution here.

But as it stands, she'll have to resort to other methods.

When she sees she's heading to the infirmary, she stops and re-evaluates her approach. She can't go into most of the building; the staff and patients would be too vulnerable. But she knows the layout of the building, and the infirmary would keep basic admittance records. She could sneak in and-

Miranda facepalms. Or she could go straight to the administrative building. They'd have records of Sekhmet there, for certain... along with quite a few other things that Lizzie probably shouldn't see.

Ugh. This would go so much better if she could just ask someone where Sekhmet is. Why did that have to be so hard? They should have a sign, or a pamphlet, or something to help Miranda find who she's looking for. Maybe a computer system, or...

Miranda turns her attention to the workshop. The drones. They can help her, should recognize her, and can't be possessed by Lizzie. All she has to worry about is getting into a locked cabin. How hard could that be?

[bc56]

Night Campground
Lizzie isn't about to let Miranda just break into the shed. She begins sending erratic signals to her hands, triggering muscles to contract or release at random. Simply put, she's trying to ruin Miranda's hand-eye coordination so it's harder to do things like pick locks or operate that fancy magic device she has for creating tools.

[Ironsmith]

[Night Campgrounds]

Miranda kneels next to the workshop doors and pulls a couple of hairpins from her hair, setting about attempting to pick the lock, only to have her efforts frustrated by Lizzie at every turn. After a few attempts, she manages to get the hairpin stuck in the lock, such that she can neither pull it out readily or resume picking. Dammit!

She had hoped to be delicate about this, but Lizzie wasn't making that easy.

"...Sorry, whoever. I'll fix the door later." Miranda mutters to herself.

Just a moment before attempting to kick out the door latch.

[bc56]

Night Campground
Lizzie can't stop that.
So Miranda should be in, although her hands are still jittering like crazy. "If she's really as good as you think she is, she'll kill us both to be sure I don't get anywhere. There's no way she's powerful enough to dislodge me." A lie, but that doesn't stop Lizzie from telling it. She knows who they're going to see better than Miranda does.

[Ironsmith]

[Night Campgrounds]

"Maybe." Miranda shrugs, walking into the workshop and looking for an active drone. "But she still can't be possessed by you, and that does deal with the problem." Lizzie might recall she'd already considered a self-sacrifice play before; threatening her with it now wasn't going to play out much better. "It's not how I would expect to go out, but it beats the normal route."

"The normal route", Lizzie will see (since Miranda's thinking about it) seems to be an inevitable neurodegeneration; living to a ripe old age in Miranda's time eventually ends with forgetting everyone she'd care about (which is tactfully censored, to keep Lizzie from accessing that information), and eventually a death of personality, after which she'll be euthanized. As a pair of footnotes, Lizzie will learn that Miranda has witnessed this happen twice already; both her grandfathers succumbed to the condition, and she was there in their last days. Lizzie will also learn tangentially that Miranda's a high-risk case of having this happen to her relatively early, most likely before she hits sixty; her high-stress lifestyle and chemical dependency on nicotine have seen to that.

[bc56]

Night Campground
"Oh... Oh..." Lizzie inwardly is laughing but outwardly sends her concerns. "You're in trouble aren't you. Only a few short decades until the end, and you end up lost and alone, forgetting everything and everyone you ever knew." There's going to be a but, isn't there. "But it doesn't have to be this way. You could be immortal. If you get me a proper vessel, I could set you up for life; an eternity with your young mind and young body, untroubled by time or by that poison you keep on ingesting. Even if someone were to stab you in the heart, it wouldn't keep you down forever. No human sacrifice required, and I'll even throw in magical power for free." Lizzie at least attempts a sales pitch; Miranda probably knows better than to deal with demons. And if she really wanted, she could ask the demon she's looking for, who is allegedly nicer, about it.

[Ironsmith]

[Night Campground]

Miranda gives little more than an annoyed huff in response, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why. She's an adamant believer in one of those "paradise for the faithful" religions; Lizzie is offering her eternal life and youth for compromising her morals, when she's already expecting eternal life, youth, bliss, and reunion with lost family members (including the aforementioned grandfathers), as well as having most of her friends join her when their time came. Lizzie would have better luck selling fast food to a gourmet chef.

"You know something?" Miranda grumbles, stumbling through the workshop. "Where do you get off promising anything at all like that? You're immortal and have magic, and I can only assume you got to keep your looks, too. And yet here you are, reduced to a mere voice, and if I had just a bit more time to prepare, you'd be trapped and powerless forever. Why would I take a deal that will probably end with me turning out like you? Why did you take that deal?"

[bc56]

Night Campground
"The voice thing is a temporary setback. If you hadn't picked me up, someone else would have. And I got much better than keeping my age in the deal, thank you very much. I lost about 40 years, and I stayed that way for, oh... It's been just over 4 centuries. And as far as most of the court is concerned, I'm still young and ambitious. One of my closest cohorts is well over 3000." She laughs at Miranda's questioning. "When your memory starts to go, your joints creak, and your skin sags, believe me, you'll change your mind."