GLoG 92: Generosity, Love, Opportunity, Growth

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Reelshka can be found easily enough, hanging up some laundry. Near her is a stroller, containing a child Asher will recognize as Maltrika, Reelshka and Pathfinder's baby daughter. She's a very curious child, looking like a wolf-person but with a short muzzle, long pointed ears and cat-like eyes. Making her look altogether like a fox or bat. Her fur is grey like her father's. Reelshka hears the two angels approach and turns to them curiously.

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

"It's not nice to scare people, Eao, and if you scare people they won't help you or be your friend. Sometimes even if you tell them not to be afraid, they still get scared and hard to talk to." Asher tries to explain as the winged children walk up to Reelshka. "Hi, Reelshka and Maltrika." He waves to them both. "This is Eao, she's an angel too! But a different kind. I brought her to learn about GLoG!" There's also something they shouldn't forget. "Aaaand she wants to ask about trains!"

[bc56]

Angel Children

"Hi, I'm Eao!" Eao looks annoyed when Asher mentions the trains. "There's no point in asking if she's not an expert. I can get the knowledge I need from a book."

[Shadowcaller]

[Woods]

Domhnall looks...confused.
"Uh, no, but these woods are our home. So maybe I am? Frankly, I don't have a clue what it even is. So uh. I don't know how much I can help unless you wanna explain some things." Were there supposed to be people associated with it? Maybe it has some guardian that assaulted the 'drone.'

[Woods]

"Interesting." Jal's voice remarks as the 'drone' focuses its attention on the well. "That is what could be described as a 'mana battery'. Mana being a form of 'magical' energy which as you can see spring freely from it. It has a wide-range of applications but it's not really relevant here without me getting into some really complex theories so let's just that I'm in need of this particular form of energy for my studies of the nexus. I'm not intending to use this particular well if it's already being used by someone else however."

Domhnall might suddenly get the feeling of being watched, though maybe that was just his imagination as he can't see anyone else around.

[Deathkeeper]

[Woods]

Domhnall takes a few steps towards the well, looking down at it.
"Really? It does all that? Guess it would be useful for those wizardly types. How d'ya know it's being used by someone else? Probably whoever trashed that thing yer using." And probably with good reason. If Domhnall had an ancient magical power source he wouldn't trust something that looks like that getting near it. And the vagueness of this guy's "studies" is worrying as well.

[Recaiden]

Edward takes the piece of paper, though he doesn't have a phone of his own. "No, chocolate, onions or silver. Got it." He puts the piece of paper in his pocket and waves as Andy leaves.

"I'll have to give it a go, then. When I'm wearing suitable clothing, I mean. This stuff's not really waterproof." Anflaed smiles, and will help Shan climb up if they need it.

After a moment of hesitating, Torry waves at Andy as well.
"Are there, uh, never mind."

Imagine having clothes that aren't waterproof.
Shan accepts help climbing up, although they don't really need it.
They linger a bit at the top to ask "Why are you scared of it?"

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Maltrika makes an excited baby noise when she sees Asher. It's something between a growl and a less wolfish baby's cooing. Reelshka turns away from her laundry.

"Hello there, Eao. I'm Reelshka and this is my daughter Maltrika, like Asher said. You're welcome here in GLoG, though I'm afraid I don't know a lot about trains. Why do you want to learn about them?"

[Earl of Purple]

Daycare

"Are there what? Now I'm curious." Edward smiles at Torry, curious and a little uncomfortable- whilst he's willing to help GLoG out however he can, he was... kinda hoping it'd be building things. Like the toy he was carving when Karl approached him with the children in tow.

"Well, um, I can't actually swim. I get worried that I might drown, and that would not be pleasant." It's quite a stupid fear, and Anflaed knows it is, but that doesn't stop her being afraid of it. She was scared of heights, too, but that changed when she agreed to glide to GLoG from Skyside to escape slavery.

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

"Be nice, Eao. It doesn't hurt to ask, she might know someone." Asher says, then turn back to Reelshka, leaving Eao to answer the goblin's question if she so wishes.

Important question, though! Considering how she's acting and all! "How old are you, Eao?" Asher inquires.

[bc56]

Angel Children

"I need to find a train. Bad things will happen if I don't!" Eao explains. "I'm 19, Asher," she answers, unsure of why he's asking.

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Reelshka's ears point upwards in surprised. She's 19, but looking like a small child. Is it just a case of different ageing? Hopefully she didn't just take on a child's form to fool Asher.

"The nearest train I know of is the Riftline, that goes through the major cities. Does it need to be any particular kind of train?"

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

"19 what, Eao?" Asher presses, because if she was 19 years she wouldn't be acting this way. In some ways, she reminds him of Lapis, who is days old. A less-nice Lapis.

New angels tend to not know how to relate with mortals well. He'd know, he's existed for more than 7 years.

"19 days?" It can't be months, she'd at least have learned why hiding her eye-wings is important by then. Maybe. "It's okay, Eao! I just want us to be friends, and I can teach you angel stuff if you want, too." He wants to be friends with everyone. Except demons, he wants to smite those. He'll wait for Eao's answer before saying his age. "I'm 7 years old, I know stuff"

He looks at Reelshka and giggles at her surprise. "Angel stuff, Reelshka. My true form is big!" He reveals, for he trusts her.

[bc56]

Angel Children
"Yes, 19 days," Eao replies to Asher. "Wow! That's old!" She looks at Reelshka. "I've been on the Riftline. This is a different train. I think it goes somewhere in Outside, but I'm not sure. I can't... Remember."

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Nineteen days? This explains a lot, but it also poses even more questions. Reelshka is going to have to approach this delicately.

"I don't know a lot about angels, so I'll trust you on this, Asher. At any rate, would it help if you saw a map of train connections? We should have one somewhere. Or I can ask a friend of mine for one."

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

"I knew it! You act like a new angel, I was like that too." Asher giggles when called old. "That's nothing, my 'momma' Ruth's age is in the thousands! When I'm her age, I'll be the caretaker of a new angel!"

If Reelshka has questions, she can always ask Ruth or Asher. They'll be more than happy to oblige. "I can teach you, Reelshka!" He announces, hugging her. When the goblin suggests train connections, he looks happy. Progress! "See, she's helping, Eao!"

Eao can't remember? The way she says it gets Asher's attention. "What made you forget?" He asks, a curious expression on his face.

[bc56]

Angel Children

"Yes, that might help!" Eao says excitedly. Then she's asked why she can't remember. "I don't know. I can't remember that either. I think I was dead for a while. Then my mom brought me back!"

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Reelshka hugs Asher back, smiling at his enthusiasm and eagerness to help. However, what Eao says next doesn't do much to ease her concerns about the entire situation.

"Does your mom know you're here? Or should we call and tell her?"

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

Asher grins up at her when he's hugged back, but his face becomes serious when Eao speaks of her origins, almost cutely. "So, Zee found your corpse and made that into an angel. There are holes in your memory, she would have tried to patch that, I think. Yet, you still can't remember." He releases the hug and ponders some more.

"I know! What if I look into the past? I might be able to learn something!" He looks to Eao. "Want me to try? We angels aren't stuck in three-space, y'know."

--------------
-edit prior answer to say *thousands of years* while I figure out age of eagleverse

[bc56]

Angel Children

"You can do that?" Eao seems surprised. "I can move in 5 dimensions, but not through time." It's not her domain, although she doesn't know enough about her kind to know that. "She doesn't know I'm here, but she never knows where I am. I can call her if I get in trouble. I'm independent."

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Reelshka's concern only grows. She died? And was brought back as an angel? And that doesn't count as being in trouble? This doesn't sound right to her as a parent and a caretaker. Neither does never knowing where your child is.

"This sounds like something you should tell her about. Maybe she can help you remember what train you're supposed to find, too."

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

"Yes!" Asher bobs his head forward a few times. "I can look into your past to see what happened. No big deal, Eao." When she talks about Zee probably not knowing about her presence, Asher's quick to correct her. At least, based on his knowledge of how things work for his kind. "I'm sure she does, on some level. My momma's always watching over me even though it looks like she leaves me to do what I want, and we can communicate no matter the distace. When I met Lapis, I was flying over VIGIL and I called out to my momma in GLoG and she instantly appeared!" He figures it's the same for her.

Reelshka might note that Asher doesn't seem as concerned as she is, even with his thinking deeply about the situation. But judging by what he's revealing, no cause for him to be concerned at all. "I'm sure Zee would have tried her best to restore your memory." It's what he - or Ruth - would do. "And momma says independence is good in healthy measure, but too much can alienate us from others."

[bc56]

Angel Children

"She did try. It's just too gone." It's an awkward way for Eao to explain, but she doesn't really understand that she had fatal brain damage before Zee brought her back. Those memories are completely destroyed without a trace. "She already knows. She created me to solve it."

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

More alarm bells in Reelshka's head... she doesn't like the idea of creating a child for a purpose. But pushing Eao probably won't do much good now, so she'll have to find out more.

"Well, alright. Let Asher try to find out which train you're looking for, then we can take a look at a map if it doesn't work."

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

Asher reacts with sympathy. "Aww... if it's too gone, then it's not coming back, is it? We have to find other ways to get the information." Information! Ruth taught him to use his hyper-cosmic awareness to access information beyond three-space. Like this thing called fourth-wall, for instance. He used it to understand what Anika was saying, and Zee can do it too! But not Eao, apparently.

Or information from the past, like he's about to do.

When she reveals she was created for a purpose, however, Asher gets all excited, smiling and even jumping a few times. "That's good! Very good, if you were created for a purpose, then no one can fulfil it like you, and since we live forever, you'll end up fulfilling it no matter how long it takes! Yay!" Everyone's created for a purpose! Especially every angel. "I have purposes too, like watching over creation in my world, helping the mortals of my world who've come here to the Nexus, and..." His face suddenly turns very serious with righteous retribution. "... repelling demons."

The peaceful serene smile returns. "I'll start now, okay? I just asked Ruth, my 'momma', and she said it's okay." He looks at Reelshka. "If? Have more faith."

And then?

He places his hands on her shoulders and looks intently at her, gleaning information about her past by looking back to before her rebirth. He starts to glow brightly as well, a serious look on his face.

[bc56]

Angel Children

One of the first things Asher might notice is that Eao, before she was an angel, was ancient. The second is that up until 19 days ago, she was a robot. A machine in the shape of a humanoid ant, it served as an advance scout for an army of similar machines, through numerous campaigns, on myriad planets, for hundreds of years. It arrived in the Nexus and was dispatched from headquarters, a massive hidden silo buried in Outside, to explore the city of Inside for potential targets. While there, it encountered a magical substance which imparted on the barely sentient machine a sense of poetry and beauty. Its systems became corrupted, and the other robots began hunting it. It encountered Zee, who rescued it from one such hunting party, and it led her to a train station that was under attack by the robots. During the fighting, it sustained heavy damage, and its computer brain filled with water. Zee restored it by turning it into the seraph Eao.

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

After Asher's scan, he looks at her sympathetically. "Oh, Eao. I'm so sorry." Then he hugs her. "Since your angel name is Eao, I'll tell you mine. It's Reuel. My caretaker, Ruth, is Uriel. Ruth and Asher are the names we're using for these forms, just as we're posing as male and female even though we have no gender." Or more precisely, some form of genderless males.

He starts to share what he saw. "The train... I'll start at the beginning: You were an ancient robot ant-person sent to the Nexus to scout out Inside for potential targets for your ant-person army, based in Outside. Magic taught you art and beauty, and your kind began hunting you for 'corrupted systems'. Zee rescued you from one of the hunting groups but you got damaged... your computer brain was damaged too. The things you forgot, they aren't coming back. Zee turned you into a seraph to save you, and help you save the Nexus." But! He's learned things! "I know where the train station is, I saw. And the Outside base, you're strong enough to take them on now. We can go there with our big adult forms!"

See? He promised to help, and now he's helping! It's probably a lot for Eao to take in, however, but Asher hopes it helps fill in the blanks in her memory, at least. "Where do you want to go first? I think we should go to the train station!"

[Morty]

[Angel Children]

Reelshka listens to Asher's account with growing dismay. She doesn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't that.

"...we need to inform someone if there's an army of robot ants trying to invade," she finally says.

[bc56]

Angel Children

Eao has a somber look on her face as she responds. "Asher, I know which train station you're talking about. I woke up there. It's the wrong one. We already saved that one." To Reelshka, she says, "Someone does know! I know and Asher knows, and you know, and Mother knows. And Mother talks to lots of people, so I'm sure some of them know too!"

[Purple Eagle]

[Angel Children]

"But what if that's what they want us to think, and it's really the right one? It's unlikely, but it's also been 3 weeks, they could have come back! While we try and figure out other places, we should check it just in case." Asher suggests, though the plausibility of that depends on how long Eao spent at her train station re-birth place. "Though, after their defeat, they probably wouldn't come back for more..."

He responds to Reelshka, right after Eao's done talking. "... and momma knows too." He told her at the same time as Eao. "Did you find any clues at the train station, apart from which train you're looking for, Eao?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Woods]

Domhnall takes a few steps towards the well, looking down at it.
"Really? It does all that? Guess it would be useful for those wizardly types. How d'ya know it's being used by someone else? Probably whoever trashed that thing yer using." And probably with good reason. If Domhnall had an ancient magical power source he wouldn't trust something that looks like that getting near it. And the vagueness of this guy's "studies" is worrying as well.

[Woods]

"In theory, just as water could be used as a washing implement and sustenance but also energy generation depending on the materials at hand and your technological expertise. But yes, it looks pretty damaged I must admit. Probably its own fault too. These drones are breed for combat, not scientific discovery, sadly. They're not supposed to attack anyone but if they're attacked, which isn't too unreasonable for someone to do considering what they look like, they reverse back to their original programming." Jall explains, sounding more annoyed than anything.

Domhall can't see anything until he spots a tiny twig and a few leaves suddenly fall down as something seemed to have moved up in the trees above him. He caught a glimpse of something pretty big. Certainly larger than anything you'd expect to find up in the trees of these woods, the present 'drone' excluded of course.