GLoG 92: Generosity, Love, Opportunity, Growth

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

Tuskfang flops down on the grass himself but actually stays silent for a moment. Meanwhile, Brinika's ears twitch.

"Sure! What are you going to play, though?"

Campground

"Hi, Asher. Thank you, though. And I've always been nice, I just... Didn't realise how young you were." Because Asher's bigger than Cheasadh was at his age, she assumed he was older than he really was.

[Campgrounds]

((Showed you both the avvie, let's say that's how he's always looked (save silver skin, it looks dark olive right now). Next time he cries and the skin glamour wears off, he'd just keep it like that))

Asher accepts Cheasadh's explanation with a smile. "Okay, t-then we can be f-friends!" He declares, then focuses his purple eyes back on Brinika, his purple-tinged white wings twitching. "C-Can I play a h-harp?" It's the first instrument a little angel learns, after all.

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

"Sure. Do you have one?" Brinika asks. "I think I remember you playing it once."

"You can play a harp? What's a harp?" Tuskfang pipes up.

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

"I've never seen a harp, either. It's a string thing, isn't it?" Cheasadh's not seen one, either. But she's vaguely aware of what they are.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Therapy]

"I don't really, um, I don't know what else to say." Sylvie seems to have hit a bit of a dead end. She sighs and falls silent for a moment, rubbing her snout thoughtfully as she tries to get around the topic. "I-I mean, that's sort of...it. There's only me. There's only ever only me. A-and I can't let that be, um, it."

*****

[Memory Woods]

Most beloved.

Most cared for.

Loved, at all.

What strange concepts. But the Prof thinks of the nearest thing he has to someone he cares about right now. One might, perhaps, expect it to be Edict. But the shade is safe, secure, and not a concern of the Prof's any time soon. He doesn't care, not at the moment. No, the nearest he has right now is Magtok. So that's who he thinks of. And that's where the pain goes, presumably.

Did he just make Needs cause harm to Magtok? Maybe? That might be amusing.

The Prof watches Magtok's vision with interest, though out of context it has little significance to him. It's nice to see Feia rattled by something for once though. It's nice to see things not going according to plan for her. It means it can be done.

...

Did the vision just speak to them?

Curious.

[Morty]

[Dragon Therapy]

"That does seem to be the root of the problem." Sophie takes another note. "Your alternate personalities seem to be a defence mechanism against your fear of dying as the last copper dragon. But that's just my initial impression. I have to discover more before making any diagnoses. Have you had relationships before meeting your boyfriend? Significant ones and friends? And did you have them as... yourself, or your other selves?"

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

"Sure. Do you have one?" Brinika asks. "I think I remember you playing it once."

"You can play a harp? What's a harp?" Tuskfang pipes up.

Campgrounds

"I've never seen a harp, either. It's a string thing, isn't it?" Cheasadh's not seen one, either. But she's vaguely aware of what they are.

[Campgrounds]

"Y-eah! It's this!" Asher replies, a harp appearing in his hands, seemingly made of solid light. "M-Momma made it for me!" He declares, and starts playing a peaceful melody on it, grinning at all of them and not realizing that the emotions he's feeling as a result of the music is making the skin glamor Ruth put on him wear off. It's an effect like an illusion wearing off, if Brinika's familiar with it that is, and all that changes is that his skin looks like it's made of shiny silver now.

"L-Let's play music, C-Chea can sing!"

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

Tuskfang gasps and springs to his feet.

"What's happening to your skin, Asher? Do all harps do that?"

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

Cheasadh shakes her head vigorously when told she can sing. "No! No, I can't sing, my voice is terrible, you don't want to hear it!" She turns to look at Asher after Tuskfang comments on it, but he's already asked the most pertinent question.

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

Asher stops playing when he notices his skin, looking really worried for a little bit, but then remembering that these are his friends. Besides, there's all sorts of people in GLoG. So, he reveals the truth directly. "T-This is how I look, m-momma used her power so we don't look too w-weird." He reveals, searching their eyes for their reactions.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Dragon Therapy]

"Well, there iiis someone Lucy's spending a lot of time with. Um, well, a-a couple of people, but only one of them is, uh, who she-uh-" Sylvie trails off awkwardly, not entirely comfortable talking about another person's...

Well, what he- what she perceives as someone else.

Sylvess' head is a very confusing place.

"Lucy's always the one who makes friends. She's good at it."

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

Brinika simply watches Asher for now, resting her chin on her hand. She doesn't look particularly shocked or perturbed by this. She's seen weirder than silver skin. Tuskfang, meanwhile, looks curious and excited.

"It's not weird. It's cool! Shiny, like rings and stuff."

[Dragon Therapy]

"Hmm. Are any friend's of Lucy's friends of yours as well?" Sophie asks. She has guessed what Sylvess pointedly didn't say and decided not to pry.

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

Cheasadh reaches out to gently poke Asher's arm, just trying to figure out if it's hard and cold like metal, or soft and warm like her own skin. "It's weird, but Sophie glows now. And there's a tree lady that lives in the fenced off bit. And Natalie can turn into a bird. There's plenty weird here, it doesn't matter." There's weirder, too, but I can't remember who else she's actually interacted with that would be weirder.

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

Their reactions, especially Tuskfang's, greatly calm Asher down, and his face brightens a lot. "Yay!" He declares his happiness, reaching to pat Pookie while letting the gnome poke at his arm. She'll find that his skin is soft and warm indeed.

Then he looks at Brinika, starting to play a happy tune and waiting for her to drum. "Y-You can sing, too!"

[Lord Magtok]

Memory Woods

Spoiler

Show

[Memory Woods]

Most beloved.

Most cared for.

Loved, at all.

What strange concepts. But the Prof thinks of the nearest thing he has to someone he cares about right now. One might, perhaps, expect it to be Edict. But the shade is safe, secure, and not a concern of the Prof's any time soon. He doesn't care, not at the moment. No, the nearest he has right now is Magtok. So that's who he thinks of. And that's where the pain goes, presumably.

Did he just make Needs cause harm to Magtok? Maybe? That might be amusing.

The Prof watches Magtok's vision with interest, though out of context it has little significance to him. It's nice to see Feia rattled by something for once though. It's nice to see things not going according to plan for her. It means it can be done.

...

Did the vision just speak to them?

Curious.

[Memory Woods]

Delilah sort of gets out of the way? She shimmies off to the side, but retains her grip on that necklace in Affytok's hand, as it is somewhat necessary to the situation at hand.

On the bright side: she doesn't really need to respond to anything Affidavit has said here, because it doesn't really matter.
On the less-than-bright-side: pain.

Almost everything Needs couldn't mitigate, it's going straight to her. She's not going to be able to remain standing through this, but that's why humans evolved knees to fall onto. Probably.

Latched onto Magtok's being, the cloaked aspect of divinity is devoting a not-inconsiderable amount of its attention to splitting the spell in two, as it takes effect. The damaging, pain portion is being lanced away and pushed on further down the line towards Delilah. Meanwhile, the important part of the spell, that traces that bond of affection towards its target, is encouraged on its way with a scrying spell tacked onto the side of it.
Performing a task like this usually isn't great with spells of this magnitude, and even less so while the spell is actively running its course, but Needs did make it a bit simpler.

And onwards it travels, the Cloak watching with interest. Attached as they are, Magtok and Affidavit get similar views.

Spoiler: Elsewhere

Show

[snip]

Lurking around the borders of Magtok's consciousness, The Cloak seems displeased.
Per the agreement, he was given a view of everything she was and now that it is concluded, she will begin the process of detaching herself.

A Magtok that exists solely as a sort of thoughtform, a mental avatar of the cyborg, winces and mutters something to The Cloak about being spotted. That's about all he has time for, before fading away once more. Not even that jolt of agony is enough to keep him from fading back into The Cloak's spell-induced unconsciousness.

"Psychotropics & Extranatural Metabolisms," Needs recalls, considering whether or not to embark on a secondary quest to locate a copy of the tome. Also, yes, the cyborg's brother can see into Magtok's dreams; that shouldn't really be a big surprise to anyone present.

"Time is short. We have been seen." Potentially a much greater issue than whatever's in that book. Doesn't really matter if there's anything worth reading in it if Feia comes charging after us and sets the world aflame while we're busy consulting a library catalog.

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

Tuskfang clearly has more questions about Asher's skin, but he knows to quiet down when Brinika is about to sing. After thinking for a while, she'll try to sing a duet with Asher.

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

Cheasadh's just sitting down and listening, with Pookie. Pretty much as before. She's not very musical, she can enjoy listening to it, but she's not very confident in singing and hasn't been taught how to play an instrument.

Pookie's sticky, but his fur is very soft underneath that. And Cheasadh's a bit surprised by the softness of his skin; she was expecting the skin to be harder.

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

Asher giggles at Pookie's fur, sticky as always. He plays the melody to Brinika's singing, and after a while, he joins her. His singing is near-flawless now that he's dealt with the problem of not keeping to time. He made sure to work hard on it after the teen goblin told him about it last time!

[CosmicHobbit]

[Entrance]

Chaos Crane is back, and carrying a bag full of random groceries! He's been gone for a couple hours, and anybody who knows that might wonder why he's coming back with only one bag with groceries after that long.

Oh yeah, and he has a blue slightly cat-like infant with him.

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

Tuskfang listens to the duet with an open mouth, his normally wagging and flicking tail having come to a still. This is amazing! Once the song is over, Brinika grins widely.

"You've got a lot better since I last heard you, Asher."

[Entrance]

Rather than Reelshka, Chaos will be greeted by a dark-skinned human woman in a jacket and jeans.

"Oh, hello. Chaos, was it?"

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

When the song's finished, Pookie and Cheasadh both applaud vigorously. They were similarly spellbound during the performance, and didn't move or make a noise. Pookie even forgot about his tub of honey. "That was great, you're both awesome." She nods enthusiastically as she speaks, and Pookie's offering Asher his half-empty pot of honey.

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

Tuskfang listens to the duet with an open mouth, his normally wagging and flicking tail having come to a still. This is amazing! Once the song is over, Brinika grins widely.

"You've got a lot better since I last heard you, Asher."

[Entrance]

Rather than Reelshka, Chaos will be greeted by a dark-skinned human woman in a jacket and jeans.

"Oh, hello. Chaos, was it?"

Campgrounds

When the song's finished, Pookie and Cheasadh both applaud vigorously. They were similarly spellbound during the performance, and didn't move or make a noise. Pookie even forgot about his tub of honey. "That was great, you're both awesome." She nods enthusiastically as she speaks, and Pookie's offering Asher his half-empty pot of honey.

[Campgrounds]

Asher grins back, looking like Brinika just gave him the world. "Yaaay, I r-really prac-tissed since last time! M-Momma helped me!" He graciously accepts the honey, drinking a bit from the pot, then giving it back and grinning with honey-stained lips, honey he licks up. "T-Teddiursa!"

Then Scout shows up! The little bear slowly lumbers over to Asher and nuzzles against him, and the boy pets his friend. "E-Everyone, this is S-Scout. T-Tuskfang met him, a-and he's getting a lizard too!" He announces, and when Scout sees Pookie, he waves.

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

Brinika beams with pride.

"Thanks, sis! Then a bear appears. "Oh, wow. You've got a bear too? He's a lot bigger, though," Brinika says. "What's this about a lizard?"

"Mom says I can get a water lizars from Endok and Olon's dad! Asher will help me take care of it!" Tuskfang bounces with unbridled enthusiasm.

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

The honey's very thick and quite gloopy; drinking straight from the pot is a little tricky. That's why Pookie usually dips his paws in and sucks it out of his fur.

"He is bigger. Not as cute, though." Cheasadh's very defensive of her little bear friend, who will try to snatch his honey pot back if it's offered to Scout. He's quite jealous of his honey, even if he is somehow able to find it anywhere.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Memory Woods]

"I only hope the knowledge gained was worth the price paid." The Affy-puppet-cyborg mutters irritably. Both the price in pain, and the price of being found out.

Being found out is of particular concern if it means Feia is aware the Prof is catching a ride inside Magtok's mind. That's not something she's meant to know. "Well, if your business is concluded, perhaps we should be on our way, hmm?"

*****

[Dragon Therapy]

"Hmm. Noot reeeally? I-it's sort of a size thing, y'know? Dragon can't fit in the same places, so me and Lucy don't tend to be in the same place with the same people much. I guess Sam sort of has to know about both of us, uh, but I don't know exactly how well he understands all this."

[CosmicHobbit]

[Entrance]

Rather than Reelshka, Chaos will be greeted by a dark-skinned human woman in a jacket and jeans.

"Oh, hello. Chaos, was it?"

Chaos nods. "Correct. And you are?" The cat-like baby is looking around it's surroundings, occasionally speaking baby gibberish.

[Purple Eagle]

[Campgrounds]

Brinika beams with pride.

"Thanks, sis! Then a bear appears. "Oh, wow. You've got a bear too? He's a lot bigger, though," Brinika says. "What's this about a lizard?"

"Mom says I can get a water lizars from Endok and Olon's dad! Asher will help me take care of it!" Tuskfang bounces with unbridled enthusiasm.

Campgrounds

The honey's very thick and quite gloopy; drinking straight from the pot is a little tricky. That's why Pookie usually dips his paws in and sucks it out of his fur.

"He is bigger. Not as cute, though." Cheasadh's very defensive of her little bear friend, who will try to snatch his honey pot back if it's offered to Scout. He's quite jealous of his honey, even if he is somehow able to find it anywhere.

[Campgrounds]

As always, Tuskfang's enthusiasm is infectious, so the angel boy joins him in bouncing in his spot. Scout, however, tries to move closer to the gnome and her pokemon, trying to befriend them. "Scout's a young b-bear, and he's f-friendly!" He says, mainly for the benefit of Cheasadh and Pookie. Maybe they'll warm up to him if he tells them how friendly he is! "T-Tell them, Tuskfang!"

He strums some notes on his harp.

[Morty]

[Campgrounds]

"Yeah! He's a friendly bear like Pookie. But he's bigger and walks on four legs, so I guess it's a different kinda bear." His tail flicks. "Did he sleep in the winter? My dad says that's what bears do."

[Entrance]

"My name is Sophie Mouchabiére. One of the caretakers here, and the resident therapist." She glances down at the baby, smiling. "And who's this cute little person?"

[Dragon Therapy]

"Hmm. But you've shifted from dragon to kobold without changing your personality," Sophie says. "So you can change shape while remaining your main self."

[Earl of Purple]

Campgrounds

"What'd he do if he didn't sleep in the winter, Tuskfang? Stay awake all day for three months?" Or more, or less, depending on whereabouts on the globe you stand. Cheasadh, incidentally, hasn't heard of bears hibernating, and it's not something she has to worry about with Pookie, first because he's too young and secondly because he's a tame pokemon which doesn't need to sleep for so long.

[CosmicHobbit]

Entrance

Chaos smiles. "This is Ryan." While Chaos is smiling, his mind quickly comes up with a lie as to where he got Ryan. Chaos isn't the best at lying, but if somebody isn't looking for lies he should be able to pass it off as truth. "When I was doing my research, I found this guy on the streets. Took him in to see if there was a good amount of potential in his DNA, but now I'm quite attached to him. Haven't managed to get adoption papers yet."

[Morty]

[Entrance]

Sophie's cheerful and outgoing demeanour don't change even as she feels an odd premonition. As if something here isn't right.

"Picking a child off the streets to adopt them... it's quite abrupt, isn't it? It's a noble sentiment, to be sure, but are you ready for such a responsibility? I've considered adoption myself... I still do, really."