GLoG 92: Generosity, Love, Opportunity, Growth

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

"Until it withers and dies and is thrown out with the rubbish, replaced by a new one. Do I need to keep an eye on you, Karasu?" She's smiling now, though. "So I do need to keep an eye out. One robin isn't enough for you any more. I'd best take you far away from where there's robins, so you don't drift away. Come on, let's go to the docks." Natalie's smile grows into a grin and she reaches out to grab Karasu's hand and pull her after her, headed towards the docks.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Landing]

Sylvie leans over to give Spako an affectionate snout-to-snout nuzzle, "Don't worry, Spako. This is still me. A-and I'll make sure to keep it that way. You, uh, I don't mind if you join, but the others might...they mighta be kinda grumpy that you want them to go?" Sylvie's voice trails off towards the end as she makes that rather awkward admission.

With or without Spako, she'll follow Sophie into her office.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Memory Woods Hut]

Venmaunt and Feia both stare at Magtok like the idiot he is. The former, with disgust, the latter with pity.
Delilah's visible discomfort grows.

Which is probably a vague explanation for why she flings a cracker at the cyborg's head, shuriken-style.
Discomfort is steeled into something vaguely resembling her typical mocking scorn.
Resembling, but not quite there. It's hollow.
"Hey, dumbass. What do you think She'd say about your plan?"

[billtodamax]

Off to see the DORFS!

That's cool. Olon says authoritatively. Bears are cool. She marches into the room with Endok who is puzzling over Asher's answer. So you're like a bird man? He asks eventually. That's pretty neat. Mum said that sometimes there are some birdmen down in the caves and they kinda look like Bab. Speaking of the pets, Olon has picked up one in each hand and presents them to Asher and Tuskang. Taguz says you have to be careful cause their bones aren't that strong yet ok? She says.

[Lord Magtok]

Memory Woods Hut

Magtok reflexively reaches out towards the cracker speeding towards his face, a tiny little knife built into his finger making two lightning-fast motions in the air, slicing Feia's shuriken into four mini-shurikens roughly equal in size. Huh, maybe that sword training nonsense with Affidavit wasn't a complete waste of time after all. Mag quietly resumes moving for the door immediately after, though. Yeah, let's just pretend that little trick with the cracker was totally intentional, move on, and hope nobody will comment on it.

"She'd tell me to be a little more trusting, to share my real plan with the team instead of assuming the worst and leaving everyone in the dark," Magtok answers, rolling his eye. "I would respond by saying that you are not my team. Feia could have planted memories as easily as she ripped them out. You're compromised, psychologically tainted, and good intentions won't make much of a difference if there's a trigger word that will make you reach out and stab me in the back. I mean, it only makes sense for someone like her, right? To build a contingency plan into her duplicate, to implant a chain of events into her son's brain, convincing him that his act of rebellion actually worked and he got away safely? I've been given as much actionable intel as I'm likely going to get from this little meeting, and now I'm leaving. You're welcome to try to convince me otherwise in the time it takes me to walk out of shouting range, but Needs is already late for his next oxen sacrifice, and the things he sacrifices them to aren't known for their patience and understanding."

[Morty]

[Off to see the DORFS!]

Tuskfang seems to have taken Olon's words to heart as he reaches out with his fingers to very gently stroke the bird's head.

"My dad told me that birds and bats need to have light bones because they fly," he says. "Do you have light bones so you can fly too, Asher?"

[Purple Eagle]

Romantic Lake Boating

"Until it withers and dies and is thrown out with the rubbish, replaced by a new one. Do I need to keep an eye on you, Karasu?" She's smiling now, though. "So I do need to keep an eye out. One robin isn't enough for you any more. I'd best take you far away from where there's robins, so you don't drift away. Come on, let's go to the docks." Natalie's smile grows into a grin and she reaches out to grab Karasu's hand and pull her after her, headed towards the docks.

Romantic Lake Boating

Karasu grins back, squeezing Natalie's hand. "Not even time and space could keep us apart for very long. The robins don't stand a chance." She happily and eagerly follows, letting Natalie lead the way.

Off to see the DORFS!

That's cool. Olon says authoritatively. Bears are cool. She marches into the room with Endok who is puzzling over Asher's answer. So you're like a bird man? He asks eventually. That's pretty neat. Mum said that sometimes there are some birdmen down in the caves and they kinda look like Bab. Speaking of the pets, Olon has picked up one in each hand and presents them to Asher and Tuskang. Taguz says you have to be careful cause their bones aren't that strong yet ok? She says.

[Off to see the DORFS!]

Tuskfang seems to have taken Olon's words to heart as he reaches out with his fingers to very gently stroke the bird's head.

"My dad told me that birds and bats need to have light bones because they fly," he says. "Do you have light bones so you can fly too, Asher?"

[4 Kids and 3 Pets]

"N-No! I'm like an angel!" Asher finally says, knowing that it'd clear Endok's confusion a bit more. While his woblin friend reaches for the swallow, he reaches out to gently pet the bat, while Scout steps forward to sniff at both animals, and then at the dwarven kids. That done, he'll sit on his rump between the two other pets, copying Asher and Tuskfang by using his forelegs to gently pat the animals.

"N-No, Tuskfang. My momma s-said that phee-zeeks doesn't apply t-to us." He replies, then turns to both animals, using his animal-speak on them. "<Hi, I'm Asher, and this is Scout! Be friendly, okay?>" Scout nods, making a noise that Asher understands to mean "Yes, bond friend!"

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

Natalie will lead Karasu to a boat, climbing in and sitting down. "Um, I don't know how to row a boat, so... Sit next to me and show me." It shouldn't be too hard, since the point of it is to be rather easy to use. Even if it is rather hard work.

[billtodamax]

Off to see the DORFS!

I think they have even weaker bones than that cause they're babies. Olon tells Tuskfang sagely.

My dad says angels guard the vaults that demons live in. That's not... quite what Utost told him. Close enough. Bab and Ator are happy enough being pet by the children, but when the bear reaches out the scuttle back up Olon's arm, Bab letting out a cry of alarm. Asher will understand it to mean "AHHH!". They respond to his words with some slightly guarded chirping. "BRING FRUIT" "FRUIT AND INSECTS" "SAVE US FROM PREDATOR"

Hey! Olon cries out as her pets scamper upwards, before reaching up to pull each of them down off their places on her arms. It's not a very elegant motion. Act nice! She tells them sternly.

[Morty]

[Off to see the DORFS!]

"I think they're scared of Scout," Tuskfang says. "They don't know he's a friendly bear. I don't know what phee-zeeks are, though. Is that what makes people stay on the ground?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Dragon Landing]

Spako gives Sylvess a look. ”You know what I’m going to say to that, but I’m not going to do Miss Sophie’s job while she’s right there.” You know, that the others can’t be mad because they don’t exist. Then he smiles and gives Sylvia an effectionate tap on the nose. Boop!
”With my charge safely escorted, I shall return later for you. Play nice.” he says, leaving the two to their work.

[Island Barrow]

Isaac will in fact remember to block the trap on their way out.
"Well, we can look around the place some more. Maybe there's other things lying around." he suggests.

[Morty]

[Dragon Landing ==> Therapy]

"Very well, then. If you'll follow me."

Sophie will lead Sylvess to a cabin off to the side, where she'll open a door leading to a cozy and sound-insulated room. She takes a seat in a chair, taking a notebook off a shelf and labelling it with his name. Sylvess will be able to sit or lie down on a comfortable couch.

"First off I'd like to assure you that everything you say in here is entirely confidential. I'm not going to disclose it to anyone. I will not judge or criticize, simply fairly assess the situation and try to help. I'd like you to tell me about your situation first. Whenever you're ready."

[Purple Eagle]

Romantic Lake Boating

Natalie will lead Karasu to a boat, climbing in and sitting down. "Um, I don't know how to row a boat, so... Sit next to me and show me." It shouldn't be too hard, since the point of it is to be rather easy to use. Even if it is rather hard work.

Romantic Lake Boating

"Always. I'll row, just watch me." Karasu replies, sitting opposite Natalie. "I need to be in the middle for this. At least we're still close enough for our knees to touch." She says, putting the oars in the hooks and then paddling away from the shore. "Note my overhand grip, my positioning. The recovery phase between paddles How I paddle when I do this..." Once they're in the water proper, she'll paddle by moving both hands in opposite directions until the boat's turned around 180 degrees, then place the oars back in the boat. "... and then stop the boat."

It's then that she pulls out her present, a dagger. "My first Valentine's gift, besides teaching you to row. This is a shadow knife, made by my brother Mirai, infused with some shadow I generated. It's sharp, moreso at night in case you're jumped and I'm not there to protect you. Very durable, and if you hit with it enough times you can fire that kinetic energy to push away your target." She says, handing the weapon to Natalie. Along the hilt is inscribed a heart with N+K in the middle.

Spoiler

Show

Natalie got Shadow Blade!
One-Handed
High sneak attack crit
Pierces armor at night
Increased damage at night

Off to see the DORFS!

I think they have even weaker bones than that cause they're babies. Olon tells Tuskfang sagely.

My dad says angels guard the vaults that demons live in. That's not... quite what Utost told him. Close enough. Bab and Ator are happy enough being pet by the children, but when the bear reaches out the scuttle back up Olon's arm, Bab letting out a cry of alarm. Asher will understand it to mean "AHHH!". They respond to his words with some slightly guarded chirping. "BRING FRUIT" "FRUIT AND INSECTS" "SAVE US FROM PREDATOR"

Hey! Olon cries out as her pets scamper upwards, before reaching up to pull each of them down off their places on her arms. It's not a very elegant motion. Act nice! She tells them sternly.

[Off to see the DORFS!]

"I think they're scared of Scout," Tuskfang says. "They don't know he's a friendly bear. I don't know what phee-zeeks are, though. Is that what makes people stay on the ground?"

[Off to see the DORFS!]

((When I use the <> around words for Asher speaking to animals, usually, he's making animal noises. In this case, he's just talking normally since there's different types of animals present, but they can understand him nonetheless.))

Asher nods when Endok speaks. "When I g-g-grow up, I'll help my world fight bad d-demons and use m-my power to maintain its n-nature!" When the animals get away from Scout, the young bear seems a bit sad and voices his displeasure, while Asher works to calm the animals. "<N-No he's not a predator, he's nice! He's my bond friend, he won't do anything unless I tell him to, and I won't! P-Promise! If you play well, I'll b-bring lots of fruit and insects, okayyyy?>" He implores the animals.

When asked what physics is, Asher just shrugs. "D-dunno..." That subject is beyond him for now.

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

Natalie follows Karasu's movements, absorbing how to row a boat. It's not actually that hard, she thinks.

She blinks in surprise at the gift, taking it and examining it closely. It's... A knife. "Oh, wow. It's... Very nice." Natalie appreciates the gift, but not its aesthetics. "Is it safe to use with my magic?" To summon it straight to her hand without worrying about drawing it or even keeping it nearby, but so it's easily accessible wherever she may be.

[Purple Eagle]

[Romantic Lake Boating]

"I could have made it a pretty red and black, but I went for utility and stealth rather than prettiness. You'll thank me this evening when I show you some moves. It's very safe, promise." Karasu smiles at Natalie, then places her hands on her laps.

"Wanna lay down side by side and enjoy the view of the sky?" She asks, moving to sit beside the other girl.

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

"It's not as pretty as one I'd have picked, but it feels quite nice in the hand, and it's not like I need to carry it around where everyone can see to make sure it's accessible when I need it." Since she can conjure it into her hand, most of the time at least.

She'll smile and join in with Karasu at the bottom of the bed, reaching down to hold her hand. She doesn't notice that Karasu didn't actually answer her question on if the knife's safe to be teleported around.

[Purple Eagle]

[Romantic Lake Boating]

But Karasu did! That what she means by 'very safe, promise'. Once they're both laying down, eyes on the sky, the dark-skinned girl sighs contentedly. "Best kettle ever." She simply says, looking up at the floating clouds. "Not many people know we're together. We should change that."

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

"I don't want to go out of my way to tell people. It's not their business, y'know?" She doesn't mind telling people if they ask, or see them together, but she also doesn't want to shout it from the rooftops. It's her life; so long as she's happy it doesn't matter what other people think.

There is another reason why people don't generally know about them, which Natalie doesn't mention.

[Rebonack]

[In Search of a Fortress]

"That's so cool! I haven't ever met any actual wizards before, what was she like?" Khannie asks as she sets the book down.

Here it is.

The moment of truth!

Khannie opens up the book revealing-!

Tolkien style elf script.

Lots and lots of it.

The book is currently upside down, but Khannie can't really tell.

"I have no idea how to read this," she admits.

[Island]

"Well, we already found a cool barrow on the island," Lucas points out. "Who knows what else we'll find here?"

Probably a rock.

And some trees.

A magical barrow is already pretty amazing. That stuff is hard to beat.

[Purple Eagle]

[Romantic Lake Boating]

"I don't want to go out of my way to tell people. It's not their business, y'know?" She doesn't mind telling people if they ask, or see them together, but she also doesn't want to shout it from the rooftops. It's her life; so long as she's happy it doesn't matter what other people think.

There is another reason why people don't generally know about them, which Natalie doesn't mention.

[Romantic Lake Boating]

"Bollocks, pardon my language. I wasn't around for a year. I didn't know what was happening behind the scenes that makes it possible for me to be here now, but we have an island home! I'm here for good. You really gonna imply that if I hadn't left, all our friends and acquaintances wouldn't know about us?" Karasu replies a bit forcefully, and also regretfully, squeezing Natalie's hand. "You don't have to beat about the bush with me, luv. I know I cocked up. But now, we're here looking at the pretty clouds and prettier birds flying by, and enough time in future for me to be a proper girlfriend to you, yeah?" She finishes, pecking her girlfriend's cheek.

"Maybe we could even go on an adventure. A safe one."

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

"You're right, they would know by now. But you did, and they don't. I still don't want to advertise it, just to make up for that. We've not known each other that long, yet. For all we know, if you'd stayed we'd have broken up six months ago after a raging fight. Then advertising our relationship would look pretty stupid, wouldn't it?" Not counting the year Karasu was gone for, they've been dating, what? Two months, if that?

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Landing ==> Therapy]

"Very well, then. If you'll follow me."

Sophie will lead Sylvess to a cabin off to the side, where she'll open a door leading to a cozy and sound-insulated room. She takes a seat in a chair, taking a notebook off a shelf and labelling it with his name. Sylvess will be able to sit or lie down on a comfortable couch.

"First off I'd like to assure you that everything you say in here is entirely confidential. I'm not going to disclose it to anyone. I will not judge or criticize, simply fairly assess the situation and try to help. I'd like you to tell me about your situation first. Whenever you're ready."

[Dragon Therapy]

Sylvie sits herself down, tucking her wings in and swishing her tail.

...and she just kind of sits there quietly for a little bit, trying and failing to think of how to start things off. There's quite a lot to cover and starting anywhere just sort of feels like it's going to raise more questions.

Maybe that's the point though?

"Um. W-well, um-" Sylvie rubs her snout and sighs, "I-I don't know. I, um, I don't really know why Spako likes me. I feel like I just cause him a lot of problems a-and just, um, vanishing for days because I wasn't in, uh, control of myself-" She pauses and sniffs, "I'm surprised he didn't just dump me on the spot for that."

[Morty]

[Dragon Therapy]

"He clearly cares enough to get you help instead of cutting you loose," Sophie says gently. "And he's right to do that. So let's make the most of it. You said you vanished for days on end. How often does it happen?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Therapy]

"O-oh, um, nothing like that has happened before. I-I mean we can go a while without seeing each other but, uh, I- Lucy was caught in the Riverside stuff a-and it was really bad and I was too scared to come back out...I think. I don't know. I don't know exactly what happened, or what happened afterwards until I came back out. A-and that's not normal! If Lucy wants to go do something, that's fine, b-but I can- I mean normally I can just take over again if I ever need too." The dragon pretending to be a kobold rambles, the words starting to gush out as if some mental barrier's been broken.

Or maybe she just wants to say it all before Sophie labels her as crazy. She is crazy, isn't she? This is how crazy people behave. This isn't normal.

"But now I don't know what Lucy did, what happened to her, what any of them did during that period of time."

[Purple Eagle]

Romantic Lake Boating

"You're right, they would know by now. But you did, and they don't. I still don't want to advertise it, just to make up for that. We've not known each other that long, yet. For all we know, if you'd stayed we'd have broken up six months ago after a raging fight. Then advertising our relationship would look pretty stupid, wouldn't it?" Not counting the year Karasu was gone for, they've been dating, what? Two months, if that?

Romantic Lake Boating

Karasu chuckles for a while, possibly annoying Natalie, at least until she explains. "Sorry, Talie. It's just that... two months! It's felt more like two years. You know how the Nexus can be, a day passes, but looking back it felt like 3 months. I'm sensitive to these things." She shrugs. All she knows is that her perception of time is affected quite a bit in the Nexus. "And in that time, I think we've known whether or not we fit. An unlikely pair, a scholarly conjurer and a teenage spy, you with your nurturing and laid-back albeit quite oblivious self, and me with my cool, reserved but rather needy self. I'm uncharacteristically optimistic about our relationship, TaTa. You know, asides my brother, you're one of the few people that can tease me in just the right way without souring a conversation?" She discovers she's rambled on a bit, and stops herself.

She turns from the sky and to Natalie, amber eyes glinting in the sun. "Let's make a promise, yeah luv? Whatever happens, rain or shine, we'll sit down and talk about it, keep that communication line open. Yeah?"

[Morty]

[Dragon Therapy]

Sophie appears in no hurry to label Sylvess as crazy. She just takes notes, and when she speaks again, it's with the same calm and supportive air, simply digging a bit deeper.

"Let's see if I understand you correctly. You used to be aware and in control of what your personalities did. And you could take over again when you wanted. But then one of them, Lucy, was caught in the invasion of Riverside and you lost track of them due to the trauma of what happened there. You just returned to control after a certain time."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Therapy]

"Y-y-yeah, I guess that's about right." Sylvie fidgets a little more, seemingly unable to get comfortable on the couch. Or maybe the conversation is just making her a little uncomfortable. "It's just all sort of like a big black hole in my memory, like I just c-can't see what happened then. I, um, I think she tried to make me come out at one point to fly away from it all, a-and I wouldn't."

[Earl of Purple]

Romantic Lake Boating

"I'm hopeful too, Karasu. But I've not done this before, and... I don't know if I trust that hope, y'know? I don't know if we'll stay together because I don't know how any of this really works." Now that's off her chest, she listens to Karasu. "Of course, Karasu. I promise I'll talk to you, no matter what."

[Morty]

[Dragon Therapy]

Sophie takes a few more notes.

"When do your alternate personalities come out normally, outside traumatic events?"

[Chaotic Bob]

Memory Woods Hut

Magtok reflexively reaches out towards the cracker speeding towards his face, a tiny little knife built into his finger making two lightning-fast motions in the air, slicing Feia's shuriken into four mini-shurikens roughly equal in size. Huh, maybe that sword training nonsense with Affidavit wasn't a complete waste of time after all. Mag quietly resumes moving for the door immediately after, though. Yeah, let's just pretend that little trick with the cracker was totally intentional, move on, and hope nobody will comment on it.

"She'd tell me to be a little more trusting, to share my real plan with the team instead of assuming the worst and leaving everyone in the dark," Magtok answers, rolling his eye. "I would respond by saying that you are not my team. Feia could have planted memories as easily as she ripped them out. You're compromised, psychologically tainted, and good intentions won't make much of a difference if there's a trigger word that will make you reach out and stab me in the back. I mean, it only makes sense for someone like her, right? To build a contingency plan into her duplicate, to implant a chain of events into her son's brain, convincing him that his act of rebellion actually worked and he got away safely? I've been given as much actionable intel as I'm likely going to get from this little meeting, and now I'm leaving. You're welcome to try to convince me otherwise in the time it takes me to walk out of shouting range, but Needs is already late for his next oxen sacrifice, and the things he sacrifices them to aren't known for their patience and understanding."

Venmaunt actually looks vaguely, and briefly, impressed by Magtok's dismantling of the cracker.
The two women don't seem to concern themselves with it much, but that's mostly because Feia is giving Delilah a little push that she's trying to resist.

"Your concerns are fair, if perhaps the sort of thing my sister would be inclined to rely upon. Discord amongst possible foes tends to keep them from coordinating anything too dangerous, after all."
Feia does add in this final statement, as Magtok turns to leave, but doesn't actually contribute anything in the way of "hey, stick around!"
Venmaunt, positive impression from the cracker slicing or no, doesn't seem inclined to try to stop him either. Or do anything but shake his head.

Delilah, however, engages a bit more. Not until Magtok has walked out the door, but once he does she decides to run after him to catch him outside.
"Magtok, wait. There's, uh, two more things. Then you can leave to go do whatever it is you think is best."
This would be a great time to wait for him to possibly stop and respond, but she rushes forward as if he was going to literally disappear the second she pauses at all.
"Venmaunt wants to stage a raid of individuals from this place, hoping they'll succeed where other realms' heroes haven't. I don't know if that will work, or if it's even a good idea, but maybe you would be interested in that.
And...do...you want to talk to her?"