[Nexus] GLoG 81: Ghostbusters!

[The Bushranger]

[Lakeshore (A)]

Salix still looks confused by the other two. She still has no idea what a crab is, or why you'd want to eat one. Her nose wrinkles as she looks at the dead crab. Nasty thing. She's never seen an animal act like that.

"Then maybe it should be taken to the kitchen and prepared for dinner?" the Huldra suggests as he trots over to the critter and dismisses the boulder. Boulder is now a foxfire wisp again!

He'll then reach in through the crab's shattered carapace with one of his tails and pull the things heart out.

And then eat it.

Om nom nom nom!

Tasteh.

He glances at the two girls. "Do you think you can help me carry it? I don't think I'll be able to manage on my own very easily."

"...OK, eew. And eeew! You're supposed to eat the legs," Mikani points out, shaking her head, before walking over to the crab carcass carapace and trying to drag it off...

===

[Lakeshore (B)]

"I don't know much either," says Karry to Brinika, though she's clearly not afraid to try. "I could teach you, though."

Then Jamie draws the young girl's full attention. Her eyes widen with utter fascination. "A mermaid? Really? Can I meet her?"

"Maybe...I'm not sure she likes visitors," Jamie says with a smile.

((And she's technically Happy's, so...))

[Gullara]

[Lakeshore (A)]

"Yuck." Salix sticks out her tongue. That was totally gross! It's not really weird to her, though. Foxes eat meat, and that was meat. Still gross, though.

[Rebonack]

[Lakesore Albatross ==> Kitchen!]

Time to take the crab elsewhere!

Yay!

No doubt all sorts of tasty things can be made out of it!

Oh.

And you can totally eat the meat inside the crab, too. Not just the legs!

Though the legs are the best part!

"Hello? Anyone in here?" the Huldra calls out. "We brought some weird animal for dinner that goes well with butter?"

At least that's what Jamie said.

[Morty]

[Lakeshore (B)]

"You should learn to swim. It could save your life," Jamie tells Brinika.

Of course, being a goblin, the fluid she's more likely to encounter underground is lava, and swimming in that is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

"And yeah, we can go swimming here. There's even a mermaid who lives in the lake!"

"I don't know much either," says Karry to Brinika, though she's clearly not afraid to try. "I could teach you, though."

Then Jamie draws the young girl's full attention. Her eyes widen with utter fascination. "A mermaid? Really? Can I meet her?"

Goblins aren't dorfs and they're smart enough not to build their colonies over active volcanoes.
Swimming sounds scary, Brinika says sheepishly. What if the water floats up and swallows me?

Common Grounds

"Their children tend to be taller than you, but you're similar appearance wise. And they seem to be a little more...savage? Not in a bad way I mean. Just less civilized than you are." Pathfinder tries to explain.

I suppose we weren't always civilized either, Reelshka says. It's strange to imagine such big goblins, though. Of course, some say we were bigger too before we went underground. But that's ancient history or mythology...

[UncleWolf]

Common Grounds

"Perhaps your people wandered over to mine a long time ago." Pathfinder supposes. "With seeing this place, anything could be possible."

Shore

As Lily Applehill waits at the lake for the Wolfen brothers to return from their several days long hunt, she'll hear a splash nearby before seeing a familiar form swimming quickly towards her under the water. Right at the shoreline, Waterstrider leaps out of the lake to grab the halfling girl and pull her into a hug with a happy growl.

(Godmod approved)

[happyturtle]

Lakeshore

Lily squeals and hugs Waterstrider, wet fur and all. "I missed you! Where's Pathfinder?"

[Morty]

[Common Grounds]

Reelshka nods. That's possible... She pauses. You know, since you've given us such a tale of Wolfen mythology, maybe I could tell you something about goblin myths... if you want.

[Murkus]

Edge of the Forest

"My name's Natalie. What's yours?" Natalie wears a friendly smile.

"Caden. Nice to meet you," Says the boy. Ever curious, even beneath some eldritch thumb, the boy asks, "Whatcha doin' out here?"

[Lakeshore (B)]

"We should find out! I've never seen a mermaid before," Karry exclaims, quite enthralled now. She scooches closer to the water, perhaps hoping to catch a glimpse of the fish-tailed maiden. Though she hardly looks at Brinika, she says, "It's not the water that swallows people, I think. It's sharks."

[Earl of Purple]

Edge of the Forest

"I'm trying to find a Monkey Puzzle Tree. Do you know where to find one?" Natalie's curious, and wants to know if she can climb one. Because, apparently, monkeys can't, and Natalie can turn into a monkey.

[Murkus]

Edge of the Forest

Apparently eager to help, Caden looks around and asks, "What's it look like?"

[Earl of Purple]

Edge of the Forest

"Um, it'll be big, with pointy leaves, but they're not as triangular as pine trees or fir trees. Apparently monkeys can't climb them." I think that's an accurate description. If not, I'm misidentifying another type of tree, but I've never been close enough to a Monkey Puzzle to have a proper look.

[UncleWolf]

LakeShore

"He went back to the hut with our supplies." Waterstrider replies with a smile. "Climb on my back and I'll get you there." He offers. Assuming she does so, he'll take off with great speed, sprinting through the campgrounds and through the forest with a graceful lope. Now that she has time to look him over better, she'll see that the Welfen's fur has changed, now including streaks of white and dark gray all over his body.

Common Grounds

Pathfinder flips the blanket off of himself, finally feeling well enough not to need it before settling back against the log with the goblin. "I think I'd like to hear that sometime." He says with an agreeing nod.

[happyturtle]

Lake Shore >> Forest Hut

Lily is quite happy to go for a ride, and when they get there, they'll find Tito, arriving with a basket of food to Renetta as an excuse to peek at Flamecrest. "Waterstrider! Your fur is different!" Tito says at once. It's definitely easier to see from the ground than from atop Welfen back.

[Gullara]

[Forest Hut]

Renetta hears voices outside, so she picks up Flamecrest and goes to investigate. "Waterstrider, you're back." She says as she steps outside, her tail wagging. "What happened to your fur?" Flamecrest, meanwhile, buries her face into her mother's chest at the sudden sunlight in her eyes.

[Morty]

[Common Grounds]

Reelshka is glad to see that Pathfinder seems to be feeling better and leans against him contentedly.
I'm afraid I won't be able to put on the kind of show you did, though, she says jokingly.

[The Bushranger]

(Crabby post later)

[Lakeshore (B)]

"Thankfully, there's no sharks here," Jamie says with a giggle as she walks over to the water's edge as well. "Not even for jumping."

[Murkus]

Edge of the Forest

"Um, it'll be big, with pointy leaves, but they're not as triangular as pine trees or fir trees. Apparently monkeys can't climb them." I think that's an accurate description. If not, I'm misidentifying another type of tree, but I've never been close enough to a Monkey Puzzle to have a proper look.

"Sounds pointy. Why are you looking for it? Do you wanna climb one?" Asks Caden, looking around.

[Earl of Purple]

Edge of the Forest

"Yes- I want to know if I'm better than a monkey in a tree." Natalie smiles as she says it. Though she hasn't stopped smiling since she met Caden, this is a wider smile.

[Morty]

[Lakeshore (B)]

Brinika scowls a little.
What's a shark? She asks.

[Murkus]

[Lakeshore - (B)]

"Oh, I wouldn't wanna jump over one!" Says Karry. She then turns to Brinika, saying, "They're these big fish with a lotta teeth. They can get as big as a wagon!"

[Forest's Edge]

"That sounds silly," Caden says, though not in a bad way. "You wanna go find one?

[Earl of Purple]

Edge of the Forest

"I'm a latent shapeshifter- a human that can naturally change forms. Unlike non-latent shapeshifters, I can't absorb forms on my own. I need something to forcibly polymorph me before I can shift into that shape. The shape I've had longest is that of a monkey." Natalie smiles at the explanation, hoping it's understandable. After she discovered her ability, she did a bit of research to find out more and if there's a way she could gain forms on her own without using magic. Also to see if there's any clothes available that can move across forms, too.

[UncleWolf]

Pathfinder's Hut

Waterstrider will pick Tito and his food up on the way there, and after a brief hug, sets both him and Lily down in front of the hut before stepping forward to nuzzle his beloved and their child lovingly. Only then does he answer. "It...It's a long story, but not a bad one. Pathfinder could explain it better. Has he arrived y-"

"I have." Pathfinder says with a smile from the edge of the clearing, wrapping one of his paws in a bandage, hiding the white fur underneath. "I needed to stop by the infirmary first."

Common Ground

The shaman chuckles a bit. "I don't mind if it doesn't come with a show. It's the story itself that is important."

[happyturtle]

Forest Hut

"You hurt your paw!" Lily says. "Is it a magic paw now, like Waterstrider's?"

[Gullara]

[Forest Hut]

Renetta loops her free arm around Waterstrider and looks at him with obvious concern, despite his assurance that it's not bad news. "Of course, it can wait. Is your paw going to be okay?" She says to Pathfinder once he arrives.

[Hattish Thing]

Lake

Marty gasps. He's really quite easy to deceive when panicked. He frowns and almost falls back in the pool. Anything to avoid the evil cat that told him he killed everyone. Marty believed him, he's not that smart really. W-Wait...you're n-not dead!

[UncleWolf]

Pathfinder's Hut

"Yeah, just a deep cut." Pathfinder lies before gesturing for them all to sit down near the camp fire. "As for what happened and how..." He starts with a smile before telling the stories of the hunts and what happened. He leaves out the part of his death for the children, saying that instead he had fallen from a great height but was lucky and wasn't hurt. Renetta will probably be able to figure out that it's a cheap cover for what really happened though, even if he doesn't say what.

[happyturtle]

Forest Hut

Lily climbs into Pathfinder's lap and listens closely, paying attention to everything. "You are both very brave warriors. I want to go hunting like you do." Lily knows what's best in life. Valour.

"You're crazy, Leelee."

"Nuh-uh."

Tito rolls his eyes rather than continue the argument. "Did you bring back any game?" Tito knows what's best in life. Food.

[Reinholdt]

[Lake]

"That's because I'm immortal and impossible to kill." Reinholdt tells Marty, having to take a second to figure out what his life had to do with anything.

[Gullara]

[Forest Hut]

"Very brave." Renetta agrees, leaning against Waterstrider a little more heavily. She's not quite sure what to make of it all. "But, how did that all happen?" She asks, puzzled.

[Hattish Thing]

Lake

Marty is freaking out. N-No! I c-can't! Can't...no...D-Dead?