GLoG 92: Generosity, Love, Opportunity, Growth

[bc56]

Cafeteria"Wife?" Sekhmet asks. It seems like the only question to ask; Sophie implied that she was a Tiefling.

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

Sophie nods.

"Yes. My wife, Trick, is a tiefling like you." She reaches into her pocked for a phone, taps on it and shows Sekhmet a photo of her with a tiefling woman, standing in front of a house, holding each other close and smiling. "That's us, not long after I moved in with her. She told me what it was like, growing up as a tiefling."

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"So you know what it's like," Sekhmet responds, "But what can I do about it? I can't just stop being a Tiefling!"

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

"No, nor should you," Sophie asserts, leaning back in her chair a little. "But you can trust me when I say that no one here in GLoG will hold it against you. If anyone does, just tell me or Mrs. Reelshka and we'll deal with it promptly. You're safe here. Of course, I know it won't erase what has already happened to you. But I might be able to help you come to terms with it. If you want."

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"How, exactly?" Sekhmet's not even sure she wants to come to terms with it. Just thinking about it gives her fearful chills.

[Morty]

[Dwarf Fortress]

One day, Reelshka is walking into the tunnel, holding Tuskfang by his hand. It takes the little woblin boy a lot of effort (and his mother's firm grip) not to run off ahead of her in his excitement. Today, he'll finally get the promised pet.

[Cafeteria]

"Your experiences seem to have made it difficult for you to feel safe and comfortable around people," Sophie explains. "A natural reaction, given how you've been treated. But you should learn how to let your guard down a little, when you know you're safe. I can help you with that."

[bc56]

Cafeteria

Sekhmet looks nervous. "But, uh, what if it's not safe?" She glances around, as if expecting something to pop out and attack.

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

Sophie steeples her fingers together.

"Well, let's see," she says in a rational tone. "I can assure you that here, in the campsite, we won't tolerate any prejudice towards anyone, tieflings included. If anyone gives you trouble on this account, just tell an adult and we'll sort it out." She sounds calm, measured and reassuring, but with firm conviction as well. "As for outside the camp... where do you work, exactly?"

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"Uh, I got an apprenticeship at Pontius' Custom Constructs." Sekhmet smiles briefly when she speaks; she likes it and is learning a lot.

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

"That would be in Inside, wouldn't it?" Sophie says. "Inside is chaotic at the best of times, but there's no laws or customs giving people free rein to persecute any particular group, tieflings included. But maybe we can arrange for some way for you to feel safer. Maybe someone you can call if you feel unsafe."

[bc56]

Cafeteria

Sekhmet looks confused. "Call?" She doesn't have any sort of mobile communication device; such things didn't exist on her homeworld, and she doesn't have enough money to buy one here.

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

Sophie blinks. She doesn't meet people who don't know what phones are often nowadays. But she recovers quickly.

"Oh. Well, I mean using a device like this one." She holds up the phone she used to show a picture of Trick. "They can be used to communicate across long distances very easily. We can get you one." Not an expensive one, but it'll do the job. And won't overwhelm Sekhmet with features.

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary

Roughly five minutes after the Drider leaves, the Sapphire woman in the cocoon finally shows a sign of life other than breathing by cracking open one eye. "...is she gone finally?" She asks in a whisper. "And can I have some of that coffee? I could use a bit to wet my throat. It's tiring to stay still for so long."

[Recaiden]

Anchor had been cleaning up the infirmary and looking impatiently at some inscrutable countertop medical machinery when suddenly-
"How long have you been awake?"
She pours another up of coffee for the sapphire woman.
"And don't move around too much too soon!"

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary

"Since she first bit me about two days ago trying to paralyze me." The woman admits, wincing as she sits up ignoring the doctor's advice and immediately regretting it. "Oh pulsar I ache. Stars, couldn't she have been more gentle in moving me around? And that escape pod." She holds her hand up to her forehead, wincing and clenching her eyes shut. "And I'm starving. Mind opening the curtains as wide as possible? I need sunlight."

[Recaiden]

"Lie back down before you hurt yourself." the doctor instructs.

"The windows don't go any wider, but a nurse will bring you some food in a minute."
Anchor carefully presses a cup into the woman's hands.
"Here, you'll need water to start with."

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary

"The sunlight is my food." The woman insists as she takes the cup and lays back a bit in order to sip from the cup. "I can eat a bit of physical food, and I can drink things, but it plays nova with me to eat more than sugars and alcohols."

[Recaiden]

Anchor thinks about that for a moment. Sounds more like a dumb escape attempt than actually needing to photosynthesize or something.
"We'll get you outside soon then."
And in the meantime the girl can have some plain sugar. No alcohol.

"Were you actually paralyzed at any point? Just what happened to get you here?"

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary

"Not at all, but I knew what she was trying to do since the start. Since the ship was crashing though, I figured I'd play along rather than let my throat get cut like the others." She explains, reaching up to rub her throat. "Ship busted, stuff got loose, my cover got blown, and when I was cornered by other crewmembers I found myself bit on the neck by Leap. What was I supposed to do? Not play paralyzed?" If she's given the sugar, she'll mix a bit in with her water to drink before reaching into her jumpsuit to start checking her pockets.

[Recaiden]

Yes, she's given the sugar.

"Your cover?" Anchor asks, paging through a book looking for something.
"I guess this was your best chance in those two days.

Whatever Leap left in her pockets, I guess she'll find there.

"Ah, here we go."
Anchor traces a finger along the page, mutters almost silently under her breath, and a small but very bright spark of light appears in the air over the sapphire girl's infirmary bed.
"And what are you going to do now, I mean, once you're recovered?"

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"How, uh, how does it work?" Sekhmet seems fascinated by the phone, something more potent and complicated than anything made by magic or technology in her world.

[UncleWolf]

Infirmary

"She never searched my pockets. Huh." The woman says, sounding a bit surprised as she pulls out a wristband and a small button the size of a quarter. She pauses when she feels the little sun, giving a small sigh. "Better, but I'm going to have to sunbathe soon." She thumbs the button, causing a small hologram of what could only be the badge of a law enforcement agency to pop up. "I am Propagator Mintaka, currently working alongside Cross-Dimension Customs to try and track down slavers. Or at least, I was until that ship crashed. Now I have to make contact with my bosses, call down my own ship, get some sunlight, and then pull on some actual clothing that's not this damned jumpsuit." She explains, setting the hologram aside to try and wriggle out of said jumpsuit.

[Recaiden]

Of course she is.

Anchor closes the spellbook and comes over to look at the badge. Not a law agency she recognizes, probably not from any nearby dimensions, could be stolen, but anyone who names themselves opposed to slavers is worth giving a chance.
"Right, we have clothes for the patients- Shapeless baggy clothes, but they don't leave you half-naked.
"Let me help you; you were in a crash and still for days, you need to be careful." She will dash over to get the space-detective out of her jumpsuit, and then fetch an ugly hospital gown.

"And do you want us to do anything about the tracking device she put on you?" Mintaka is probably planning on using it for some ridiculous scheme, but they should offer.

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

Sophie considers this for a moment. How does she explain mobile phones to someone who's never seen one? Sekhmet seems to come from a fairly low-technology world. One like Trick's, maybe. Tieflings don't seem to crop up on worlds with technology closer to her world, for some reason.

"Every phone has a number. When I put another phone's number in this one, it allows me to speak into it and the other person will hear me through their phone. The sound is recorded and sent by an invisible signal." She smiles bashfully. "I'm afraid I don't know much about the technological details of how it works."

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"Oh! Phone, like talking." Sekhmet gets the etymology, although the idea doesn't quite make sense to her.

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

Sophie nods.

"You could use a phone to call me or someone else if you don't feel safe. Then we'd either advise you on what to do or come help you. Would that make you feel safer?"

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"Uh, yes, I think so." Sekhmet isn't quite sure when advice would come in handy, but having someone able to come help will be a huge blessing.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Therapy - Lucy]

"How would this work?" Sophie seems genuinely curious and maybe a little bewildered. "You all occupy the same body, so most of those rooms would be unused most of the time."

[Dragon Therapy - Lucy]

"Well, if it's a big enough castle it wouldn't really be a big deal, would it? There'd be plenty of room to share. Besiiides, we could just, uh, y'know, have our own tower with all the rooms close together a-and maybe have a big central chamber for Sylvess with like a staircase round the outside a-and our rooms coming off of that so we'd always basically be in the same place regardless o-of which one of us is out!" She declares with a big grin, like she's just had the greatest idea in the world. "I-it could totally work! It'll be great!"

[Morty]

[Cafeteria]

"That's one problem solved, then," Sophie says. "Like I said, we can get you a spare phone, and maybe you'll be able to buy your own with what you'll earn from your job."

[bc56]

Cafeteria

"Where can I get it?" Sekhmet's not sure when Sophie mentions buying a better one herself. Something so sophisticated would have to be exorbitantly costly. She's not sure how GLoG can afford to give one away, honestly.