GLoG 94: Good place to grow up

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Cabin

Natalie waits in silence until she sees the nod, and then walks deeper into the darkness and leans over to give Sasha a hug. Natalie gives pretty good hugs, though she doesn't do so on-screen too often.

[Reinholdt]

[Abandoned Cabin]

For her part, the shadowy monstrosity is a terrible hugger. To be fair to her though, it's a bit of a question as to whether or not she has any arms at all. There's something solid there at least as Natalie's hug proves.

That something happens to be quite cold. It's like hugging a can of carbonated beverage of your choice that just came out of the freezer. In terms of temperature. In terms of consistence, it's much more like hugging oil that both clings to, yet drips off of Natalie. Oil with bugs in it. Tiny bugs that just... move around. Can't see them, but there's something viscous and living deep in those shadows.

Sasha gives no indication as to when Natalie should stop, but a part of her trembles a little, as if holding back a sob.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Cabin

Well, Natalie doesn't mind being hugged back, and is going to continue to hug for a while. Several minutes, easily, unless Sasha moves. Then she has to let go because her fingers are getting quite cold. Also, the oily insectile texture under Sasha's robes is pretty creepy and Natalie's putting on a brave face, but it didn't feel very nice.

[Reinholdt]

[Abandoned Cabin]

Sasha does not move, nor end the hug herself. Though the black ichor from her void filled eyes does slow at some point, only leaking a little, dripping with the same consistency of all her cold, oily, insectile shadowness. When Natalie pulls away the shadow creature does not follow her. And she also doesn't say thank you, which some might see as rude, but Natalie has probably figured out by this point that the shadow creature chooses silence not out of necessity, but for Natalie's sake.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Cabin

"Did that... help?" Natalie rubs her hands together to warm her fingers up. She should have brought a hand-warmer with her, but she didn't, and she won't summon one whilst she's so close to Sasha.

[Reinholdt]

[Abandoned Cabin]

Well, the creature of shadows can't say that it's brought back her father, so the help seems... minimal.
But...
She feels a little better she guesses.

Sasha slowly nods.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Cabin

"I'm glad. I'm sorry about your father, and that there's nothing more I can do. I'm in [Earl can't remember which] Cabin; second door on the left. Um. Come find me, maybe, if you want another?" Hopefully knock first, rather than just appearing above Natalie's bed whilst she's sleeping and staring at her until she wakes up. That might not work so well.

[Reinholdt]

[Abandoned Cabin]

As a creature who considers the physical world to be relatively mutable and easily traversed, Sasha is unlikely to knock. She's heard people knock before, but she hasn't an inkling as to why. They usually just walk in anyways. Knocking appears to be a superfluous extra step. Natalie can expect to be stared at by an abomination in the future while she tries to sleep.

Sasha just nods a little though. Oh yeah. And she'd have to find out which cabin that was. Probably won't be too hard. Slip in, see if Natalie's in there, slip out if she's not. Easy.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Cabin

"Do you have everything you need? Should I let Sophie know you're here?" Natalie leaves a pause between the two questions so Sasha can answer the first before the second, if she desires. Because otherwise, she's running out of ideas and would like to go back where there's sunlight and warmth. Assuming the sun still shines, anyway.

[Reinholdt]

[Abandoned Cabin]

Sasha stares at Natalie with the first question. Everything she needs? Food? Yeah, she's got food. Or rather she finds the bugs and rodents and ice cream when she gets hungry. But don't tell anyone she's been the one sneaking the ice cream out of the freezer at night. There's a slight nod.

But when Natalie asks about letting Sophie know Sasha's in here, the shadow girl emphatically shakes her head no. Don't do it! She doesn't want to see Sophie right now.

Not that Natalie would need to tell Sophie. There's no way the therapist doesn't already know where Sasha is hiding. Creepy cabin with haunted wailing at night? Pretty obvious.

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Cabin

"Right. So, um, I'm going now, but... I'll come back tomorrow, maybe?" See if Sasha wants another hug then, for example, or if she's run out of food or something. And she'll pack gloves, as well.

She picks the stool up and takes that with her; if she summons it again, there will be light involved, so whilst she could leave it behind she'd rather not in case she accidentally summoned it again.

[Reinholdt]

[Abandoned Cabin]

A tendril of shadow, barely visible if Natalie squints, pulls out of the ground and sways back and forth. Waving goodbye.

Each night is a little less haunted than before, until the rumors dissipate entirely.

[Ironsmith]

[=> Main Lodge]

Braon can't remember ever having a good reason to come to GLoG.

The first time she came here, she wanted to strike up a deal with the demon queen, to enact vengeance on her uncle (who is still at large, so that clearly worked out). That ended with her nearly being tossed straight into hell and having to run away as quickly as she could.

Then, the second time, she came back on the brink of death to reunite Sekhmet with her father, very nearly bleeding out in the process. That did end up with her in hell, which served as a long and painful reminder that no good deed goes unpunished, at least not when she's the one performing it.

Now, for the third time? This one's a real winner.

Not for the first time, Braon looks down at the folder in her hands and considers turning around and just walking away. Going back in here was practically suicide. An organization calling itself "Good" would be anathema to her in the first place, but already having a personal history with this place just made it worse. It certainly didn't help that people hadn't entirely forgotten about her stint as a kidnapper, and that would be of particular interest to them. And Sekhmet's still here...

This is a bad idea.

This is the right thing to do.

They're going to kill her.

If they try, she'll run. She's good at that.

...This is going to hurt, but she should get it over with.

With that thought in her head, Braon steps into the lodge and looks around for an administrator or someone to talk to.

[Rebonack]

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

Khannie is sitting on a rock near the lake practicing her illusions. At the moment? That involves making a pretend rock. Rocks are WAY easier than things like oranges. She doesn't have to really worry about what rocks smell or taste like, so she can focus on sight touch and sound. "Isn't that hole going to fill in with water? You'll get soaked and freeze," she says to the weird blue kid who showed up a few minutes ago with this crazy lightning sword thing and started using it to dig a cube-shaped hole straight down into the ground.

"Nope!" comes Lapis Lazuli's reply from a good fifteen feet underground. "Stuff only falls into the holes if someone pushes it in! It's kind of silly but I love it!"

Khannie has noticed that Lapis seems like she loves lots of things. She's also pretty sure that Lapis isn't actually a half-elf. If she is then she's got some crazy weird magic powers.

But that's okay.

The Nexus has plenty of room for weird kids.

"What happens if you use it on the water?" Khannie asks. "Does it just make a block of water disappear? Then the lake would have a hole in it?"

"I don't know but that sounds like it would be fun to find out do you think I should try that Khannie?" Lapis, still unseen at the bottom of the hole, asks.

Khannie frowns a little. "I never told you my name," she points out. This is definitely a weird kid.

"Yeah I know you didn't but I can do this scanny thing that tells me lots of things about people like their name and their job and lots of other stuff too but any Aspirant can do that it's easy to know just names and jobs," Lapis rambles back.

"I don't have a job, I'm just a kid," Khannie retorts.

"Yeah you do you're a Magical Girl Sorcerer the scanny thing said so!" Lapis counters.

Super weird kid, Khannie concludes.

Khannie, for the record, is a rather unremarkable looking thirteen year old human girl who is starting to fill out in that awkward teen puberty way. Brown hair in a little pony tail, fair skin, grey-blue eyes. She's wearing a nice poofy jacket over a warm sweater on account of it being a cold February day. There's even some snow on the ground!

Lapis (who is at the bottom of a pit at the moment) is a half drow child that looks to be eight or nine. Dusky bluish skin, black hair, and red eyes. Also wearing this cute dress that is suited for neither digging holes nor cold weather. Not that she's visible unless you're peering down the hole.

[Beans]

[Main Lodge]

Braon is met by a brown tabby catlady leaning on a cane with an arm-support. Her glasses, plain dress, and cardigan say "librarian"; her copious scars, notched ears, and limp say "alley cat". "Oh, welcome," she says with a smile. "I'm Hysmine---are you a visitor, or looking to join?"

She's in the process of getting up from a desk and tucking a folder under her arm. She glances Braon over, though it's very much out of interest as opposed to judgement.

[Ironsmith]

[Main Lodge]

The fiendling bristles at Hysmine's greeting, not entirely sure what to make of immediately being asked if she wants to join GLoG. She quickly concludes that Hysmine has no idea who she is, which is... probably both a good and bad sign.

Braon brushes her dark brown hair out of her face and tucks it behind a set of short ebony horns, looking down at the tabby catlady uncharacteristically nervously. She doesn't like being in the position of having to rely on strangers for help, especially those that could turn on her at any moment if she said the wrong thing.

...So maybe it would be better to not say anything at all.

Braon holds out the folder to Hysmine, quietly biting her lip with a set of pointed teeth, not meeting the woman's gaze.

Spoiler: Folder's Contents

Show

IGPC
Inside General Practice Clinic

Notice of Patient Referral

Name: Braon Hexenborne
Age: 24
Sex: F
Ht: 5'8"
Wt: 150 lbs
Blood Type: B-

Ms. Hexenborne came to our clinic presenting with the following symptoms: chronic nausea, fatigue, dizzy spells, chronic irritability, frequent urination, recurring headaches, and chronic tension in the neck and shoulders. In the process of our usual diagnostic screenings, I've found a number of minor infections for which I have already prescribed a routine of antibiotics (see attached). However, more importantly for GLoG, hormone tests and auscultation have confirmed that Ms. Hexenborne is between six and eight weeks pregnant.

Whereas Ms. Hexenborne does not have any relatives or friends available to assist her as her pregnancy continues, I have given her instructions to consult with GLoG regarding your prenatal care programs, the services of a midwife, and the possibility of assistance with postnatal care. Be advised of the following potential complications:

-Contrary to appearances, Ms. Hexenborne's physiology has more in common with the Nexus's various draconic populations than it does demons, devils, or other lower-plane natives. Bear this in mind when prescribing any medications or treatment.

-Ms. Hexenborne's self-described sexual history shows no possibility of conception occurring any earlier than two weeks prior to her examination, and yet as I have already mentioned, her symptoms are more closely aligned with the sixth to eighth week of pregnancy. While it is certainly possible that she has been less-than-forthcoming about the time at which conception took place, there also exists the possibility that Ms. Hexenborne's species undergoes abnormally fast germination, and she may be ready for delivery in as little as eight weeks from today.

-During examination, Ms. Hexenborne has shown an extreme reluctance to cooperate with male caregivers, which seems to be a result of an underlying psychiatric condition, possibly in turn from unresolved trauma. She has also refused all but the most basic and necessary treatments, and has shown no interest in palliative care. If you have difficulty securing her cooperation at any point, it is better to highlight the undesirable natural consequences of her actions than to use anything which she may perceive as coercion, including refusal of treatment or accommodation. Under no circumstances are you to attempt to physically restrain her.

-Toxin screening has shown evidence of an alcohol dependency. While Ms. Hexenborne has already been advised of the dangers of consuming alcohol during her pregnancy, it may be prudent to put her under watch until the day of delivery.

Be aware also that Ms. Hexenborne has shown signs of further psychological instability both pertaining to the pregnancy itself and with regards to eventual motherhood. While I have not recommended it to her, I would suggest urging her to make use of your psychiatric resources to ease the stresses of the situation and avoid any related health risks.

Best of luck.
[indecipherable scribbled line]
Gulraen Myath, M.D.

[Beans]

[Main Office]

Hysmine looks over the folder with growing concern. "... Ah, I see. Well, our medical facilities are top-notch. I think we'd better go see Sophie---she manages quite a bit here." She tucks the folder under her arm with the one she already has. "If you don't mind following me, please?"

[Ironsmith]

[Main Office]

Braon's eyes widen at the prospect. Maybe this desk clerk didn't know who she was, but someone a little more involved in GLoG's goings-on was likely to have some idea. Even putting that aside, the more people Braon went on to see, the more likely it was someone would recognize her from TV or something. She should just leave now.

If she leaves now, she's not going to get the help she needs.

She doesn't need any help. She can manage this on her own.

She couldn't manage a simple sabotage mission on her own, what makes her think she can handle this without help?

Braon sighs and follows Hysmine. She can always bolt if she needs to.

[Morty]

[Main Office ==> Sophie's Office]

The Solar therapist appears to have just finished with one of her appointments. This one appears to have been a very large reptilian person who is leaving her office clearly distraught and deep in thought. He doesn't pay much attention to Hysmine or Braon as he continues on his way. Sophie steps out after him.

"Good afternoon, Hysmine. Does someone need my help?"

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

This sudden bout of hole-digging hasn't escaped notice. Fortunately, right now it's not an indignant grown-up but a curious child. Tuskfang, the half-goblin half-wolfen son of one of GLoG's caretakers, comes running with his pet Crundle, Hornclaw.

"Hi Khannie! Why are there holes all over the place?"

[Beans]

[Sophie's Office =>]
Hysmine nods. "Yes, Sophie, this is Ms. Hexenborne---she's got a medical referral, which I believe Nurse Piper will find useful." She hands over the first folder. "And here are the usual reports---I think one more set are due to come in soon, so I'll bring those afterward. Oh, and the final writeup for the knittathon is at the back there." The second and somewhat thicker folder follows.

She smiles at Braon. "You're going to be alright here." She limps back out to check for that last set of reports.

=> Main Office

Hysmine finds that those reports have come in. She scrolls through the documents, when...

Oh.

Well, hell.

She sits down at her desk heavily, all thoughts of charity knitting drives and new residents pushed aside.

[Ironsmith]

[Sophie's Office]

Crap.

Braon recognizes this woman, which means she probably recognizes her. She was there when Braon was running away from Sekhmet on her first visit. Granted, Braon's appearance has changed a fair bit since then... she doesn't have thorny vines growing out of her back anymore, for one. And she didn't exactly give Sophie her name last time they kind-of-sort-of-almost met, and she would have only seen her from behind... maybe she'll luck out and Sophie will assume she's someone else?

She certainly hopes so. Otherwise she was just brought into the office of someone who is almost certainly going to want her head on a pike.

[Rebonack]

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

A ghost of a smile tugs at the edge of Khannie's mouth.

Tuskfang is cute. Not like cute cute but regular cute. Cute like a puppy. And in her experience anything that even smells kind of like a treasure hunt is going to get his attention. Not like that's what's going on here, though. This is just some weird kid digging holes in the ground for no reason, right?

"Hey Tuskfang. I dunno, this kid-"

"I'm Lapis Lazuli!" comes Lapis' voice from the bottom of the hole.

"-Lapis just showed up and started digging. I didn't ask her why yet; she digs really fast," Khannie concludes.

"I'm digging for treasure!" she announces moments before something gets tossed over the mouth of the pit. Calling it an ornate box would be seriously under-selling how fancy this thing is. It looks like someone took a piece of the clearest blue sky and refined it into a stone, then overlaid that with intricate goldwork. There's something weird about that metal, though. Almost as if it has a story to tell and it's just waiting for an opportunity to speak. There's a latch on the front of the box with an obvious key-hole.

"Woah, what's that?" Khannie says, eyes widening as she leans forward on her rock. "That was just buried here?"

Who the heck would bury something that pretty at a random campsite?

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office]

"Thank you, Hysmine." Sophie's voice and her bright blue eyes betray absolutely nothing but politeness when Hysmine drops off the papers and departs. "Ms. Hexenborne," she says once the other woman is gone. "We haven't met, but I know of you. It's surprising." She says all of it in a conversational tone and opens the folder. "Though it does appear that you need our help."

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

"Wow. This is real treasure!" Tuskfang's eyes go as wide as saucers. Everything else is forgotten for a moment... but then some reality sneaks in. "But my mom and Mrs. Sakura and Mrs. Sophie will be mad that you're digging holes here. Someone could fall in."

[Ironsmith]

[Sophie's Office]

Oh. Great. She did know who Braon was.

The fiendling scowls and crosses her arms, looking away from Sophie, her face visibly darkening at the revelation. "You don't have to [hecking] rub it in." She grumbles.

After all, needing help from these people? Kind of humiliating. Having it pointed out was just a slap across the face as far as she was concerned. Sort of the difference between knowing she doesn't look good in yellow and having someone tell her point-blank that she doesn't look good in yellow.

That sort of thinking isn't going to get her anywhere. She should at least try to get along with these people.

"...But yes, I... I'm in a bit of trouble." Braon adds, carving out the statement from a defeated sigh. She can't handle this on her own. She has no idea what she's in for, and even if she did... well, some women just straight-up died from childbirth if they didn't have access to appropriate medical care, didn't they? And that's when there's only one child to worry about. Braon's expecting to hear she's carrying triplets, at a minimum. Because simply being halfway screwed just would not do.

[Rebonack]

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

Khannie has, by now, dismounted from her rock and is examining the small treasure chest. She tries pulling at the latch a few times to no success. "It's locked."

Maybe she could bust it open?

"Why would someone fall into a hole wouldn't they see it?" Lapis asks as she finally appears over the edge of the pit, hoisting herself up with little difficulty. Considering that the pit is fifteen feet deep and she was previously in the bottom of it that's pretty impressive.

"There are lots of little kids here," Khannie points out, glancing up from the chest. She tries not to fix her gaze on Tuskfang when she says this. "Little kids don't always look where they're going."

Lapis seems to consider this as she scrambles out of the hole and onto the icy ground. "I can fill it back in! I can do it really quick then we can try to find a key for the treasure box!"

It occurs to Khannie that filling in that giant hole should take a long time, but then again DIGGING the hole should have taken a long time, too, and apparently that didn't stop Lapis from excavating it in about three minutes. "I guess?"

This is all really weird. Khannie is pretty sure there's some sort of magic going on but she doesn't know what sort.


[Pouncing at Snow Drifts]

Gilda is sitting very still, ears erect and eyes forward.

Motionless.

Watching.

Every now and again the very tip of her tail twitches back and forth. Every now and again one of her ears swivels, tracking a faint sound of scurrying under the snow.

She waits.

Watches.

Then the muscles in her haunches bunch moments before she launches herself skyward and crashes face-first into a deep snow drift.

She's left with her back legs sticking out of the snow and her tail fluttering in the breeze like a flag.

[Beans]

[Pouncing at Snow Drifts]

A much less upset Hysmine is trudging along one of GLoG's paths, boots crunching the tamped-down snow, when she sees a young griffin yeet herself into a snowbank.

She blinks.

"Are you... quite alright there? Er, lash your tail once for yes and twice for no?" Being of the semi-feline persuasion herself, she's not unfamiliar with the urge to pounce at and into things---and the delicate process of pretending you didn't just wildly bungle a pounce that you absolutely did bungle.

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office]

Proud, humiliated at having to ask for their help but willing to do nonetheless. Clearly backed into a corner and afraid. Time to dispense with subtleties, then. Being cagey will only make her more angry and less trustful.

"To business, then. We don't turn anyone away. It's our rule. But we also have a responsibility to safeguard the children in our care. So we need to make sure you're not a threat to them. And for this I'll need your cooperation and honesty."

[Lakeside Hole Digging]

"You'd need to fill them really fast before someone sees them." Tuskfang looks around at the holes. His Crundle wanders up to Lapis and sticks his tongue at her a few times, as lizards do. It's an ugly little lizard-gremlin. "And how come this box is here at all? Who put it here?"

[Ironsmith]

[Sophie's Office]

Oh boy. Braon's all too familiar with this part. Their safety is going to come at the expense of her freedom, isn't it? They're going to lock her in a cabin until the big day or something. Because that's what people do when they're confronted with something dangerous; either kill it or put it in a cage.

Of course, that's a minor irritation compared to the insinuation that Braon would ever hurt a child. She hasn't yet, and she certainly can't think of a good reason to. The distrust isn't exactly warranted, is it?

Failing to cooperate would probably result in a child getting hurt; hers, no less.

...Harrumph.

"Fine. What do you need?" Braon growls, arms crossed.

[Morty]

[Sophie's Office]

Braon's afraid, that much is clear. And offended at Sophie's implied accusation. Interesting. Let's dig deeper and try to encourage Braon to open up. Sophie nods.

"Thank you. Can you tell me what happened the day you met Sekhmet here? She told me, but I want to hear your version and your perspective."

It's a reasonable request, she thinks. There's a suspicion hanging around Braon and it needs to be cleared up. It's clear, though unspoken, that Sophie is open towards anything Braon has to say for herself.

[Ironsmith]

[Sophie's Office]

Clear to Sophie, maybe. But Braon hasn't survived as long as she has by spilling her guts to anyone who asks politely. Sekhmet herself had only served to reinforce the notion that she should clam up; even when the demon queen heard and pitied her, she nearly got Braon killed afterwards. That's the way she chooses to frame it, at least; the reality was that Sekhmet had saved her life several times in the events that ensued. They just wouldn't have played out that way if Braon hadn't said anything.

But... maybe Sophie would be different. And it's not like this is anything resembling a secret.

Braon sighs and shakes her head. "I'd heard Sekhmet was having fertility problems. I came to see if I could help her with them." She begins bluntly. "My old clan had a method for granting people immense magical power and fecundity. Obviously, it works." She runs a finger along the lower portion of her belly as she talks; no sign of a bump yet, but Sophie and Braon both know why she's here. "She rejected my help there, because... well, my clan were kind of [genitals] and the method they used was... just brutal." She folds her arms over her chest and looks away. "I offered to help her some other way. We were *this* close to an arrangement when she went off on me, out of the blue. I was lucky to get out alive."

That was a lie. But the truth was pretty damning if Sophie was worried about the safety of the kids. And Braon honestly doesn't think that would tell the whole story anyway... she hasn't felt right in her skin for a while now. There've been supernatural forces tinkering with her brain for... at least since Verdant Heights. She wasn't really back to her old self until she got back to Trog's, after breaking free from the Scorching Depths (and totally not being released). Damn shame she only got to enjoy it for a couple of weeks.