[Nexus] GLoG 76: Now With a Decipherable OP!

[Morty]

Sophie lets herself be pulled along. She'll ask the questions she wants on the tea party, she figures.

[Neon Knight]

A short distance away from the cabins, a rather large fairy ring of mushrooms stands. With a wave of her hand, Tarin causes one of the mushrooms to grow large and tall enough to be used as a table. Another wave and two of the mushrooms are large enough and positioned just so to serve as chairs. Tarin tries to deposit Sophie in one of them and takes the opposite seat, a tea set appearing when she snaps her fingers. "Do you want lemon, honey, sugar, milk, or lime with your tea?"

[Morty]

Just sugar, please, Sophie says, surveying her surroundings. She allows herself to be seated.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin pours the tea. Their surroundings appear to be normal woods, no different than any other patch of woodland that one would find around GLoG. "Now, you were asking where I was from, dear? Oh, I don't know. Sometimes, I think I just popped into existence one day at the whim of some giant omnipotent will in another dimension."

[Morty]

Oh, I see. An indepentent spirit then, not a ghost. And you've been catching people with a fishing rod and bringing them to your tea parties ever since? Sophie asks, sipping her tea.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin laughs, a high, bubbly sound. "Oh, no, dear! Sometimes I use nets, and traps! People are wily, and you have to keep changing your game up if you're going to catch them."

[Morty]

Have you tried, well, not catching them? You got me to attend your tea party without catching me first, Sophie points out. Your tea is very good, by the way.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lakeside]

There is a girl sunbathing by the lake in a conservative, red, one-piece bathing suit! She's obviously not looking for a tan.

Her nose is small, but it still has that regal quality to it. Her rosy red lips, curved upward into a satisfied and relaxed smile, and cheeks, tinted with a hint of red, stand in clear contrast to the milky white of her skin. Her eyes are enchanting facets of immaculate emeralds. Her long, silky, raven black hair hangs limply around her shoulders, resting upon the nape of her neck, some strands brushing against the soil beneath, blowing gently in a light, warm breeze. Her build is athletic and attractive. She is very curvy, to say the least. She has a sweet, stunning face and small, delicate hands. A striking birthmark planted in the center of her right cheek adds even more character to her kind face and even kinder body. Her hands are folded underneath her head, acting as a improvised pillow upon which her head is rested. Her feet are closest to the lake. She lies on her stomach murmuring incoherently, probably fast asleep.

Well, well, well. It appears as though Valaira (the real and original one) has returned to GLoG after a prolonged absence...

Shh! Don't rouse her from her slumber just yet!

[Neon Knight]

"Why, thank you, my dear." Tarin takes a sip from her own cup of tea. "Well... I suppose it worked in your case. I might try it again. It isn't as fun as catching people, though."

[Morty]

People don't like being caught, though. Sophie has decided to get to the issue at hand.

[Neon Knight]

"That is true." Tarin appears momentarily disheartened, before brightening. "But the tea makes up for that!"

[Morty]

Well... not entirely, Sophie says diplomatically. If you invite people to tea in a friendly way, they'll enjoy it even more.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin put her hand on her chin, seeming to think for a moment. "Maybe, but... people are always telling me they're too busy. But when I catch them, I can make them have tea with me!"

[Morty]

People are often busy, yes. But sometimes, they aren't. You could ask them when they won't be busy. Maybe I could help you ask people to come to your tea parties? Sophie suggests. It's not very polite to make anyone do something against their will.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin frowns. "But... then I would have to wait!" And that's just unbearable. Right?

[Morty]

Well, yes. People aren't always available when we want them to. It's a fact of life. Don't you have anything to do other than make tea parties, though? Sophie doubts that she has, at this point.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin pauses. "...there's more to life than tea parties?"

[Morty]

Sophie nods. She was expecting such answer, really. Yes, there is. There's a whole world of different things out there.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin tilts her head curiously. "Like what?"

[Morty]

Sophie is silent for a moment. How to explain this to someone who's never known anything other than tea parties. Why tea parties, anyway? It just seems like a ridiculous aspect of reality a being might be fixated upon. Too many to count, really. Do you know what books are? Or stories?

[Neon Knight]

"Why, of course!" Tarin titters a bit, raising a hand to cover her mouth. "I am a story, after all."

[Morty]

Huh. So she realizes she's a story... strange. Well, people read stories for their amusement. They also play games, work, make food and talk to each other. She decides not to mention sex for now. That'd be just awkward.

[Neon Knight]

"Hmmmm...." She ponders this for a moment. "But, I'm not a person. Why should I do any of that?"

[Morty]

Sophie seems taken aback. Of course you're a person. Why would you think you're not?

[Neon Knight]

"Well, because people call me a monster. And an abomination. And a freak." Tarin starts counting off on her fingers. "And a witch, a fair folk, a trickster, a sneak, a thief... many names. But never a person."

[Morty]

Those people are wrong, prejudiced and closed-minded. You think, you speak and you feel. You have everything it takes to be a person, Sophie says with fierce indignation. And it's much easier to just smear somebody and call them names instead of trying to understand them. I feel ashamed of such people.

[Neon Knight]

Tarin appears a bit surprised at Sophie's outburst, and a bit miffed. "There's no reason to get upset. After all, if I'm not a person, then I obviously don't have feelings, or thoughts."

[Morty]

Sophie calms down a little. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get that angry. It's just... I can't think of you as a non-person. It's obvious you have feelings and thoughts and you're a person.

[Neon Knight]

"Really?" Tarin folds her arms across her chest. "And how do you know that I really have thoughts? And feelings? Why is it so obvious?"

[Morty]

Well... Sophie is silent for a while. It's hard to explain. But it just feels obvious after talking to you. You don't sound like someone with no thoughts or feelings.