By the time Tulani showed up, the brain-fever potion was ready. The Sphynx cut down the cocooned Eeee and put her onto Nicora's bed so the potion could be administered. "So.. what was this girl like that she wants to have her past erased?" Tulani asks Nicora.
"She liked to cut or whip the balls off men," Niocra remarks rather dryly. "And that was when she was in a good mood. She's also the one who ordered that Nikky be raped."
"Ahhh... nobility I'm sure," Tulani notes, and pokes Dimity's cheek. She's still cocooned, save for her head. Brutus buzzes in his corner, as if waiting to be able to hang his 'prey' back up again. "And this potion will either melt her brain or let you get into it and fix her?"
"Well, it destroys memories by overheating parts of the brain from my understanding. Or makes it so I can adjust them some so her personality changes. I have to admit doing this bothers me. We are all the sum of our memories. But, if the other option was killing her ... not really any worse of a choice," Nicora admits as she sits on her bed for a moment. "I can deal with horrible things happening to me, but to others it bothers me."
"So she wanted her personality to die.. or is she actually looking to be redeemed somehow?" Tulani asks, looking at the girl. "Whatever made her this way can't be nice."
"She believed she was privileged," Nicora notes. "In that respect I was lucky, I didn't grow up here and grew up with nothing. I learned what it meant to survive and how equal everyone really is when it comes down to it."
"I guess we just pour the worm juice down her throat then?" Tulani asks, propping Dimity up so she won't choke.
"From the handwriting in the books I read, yes. They don't have very good penmanship here. I also don't read Babelite as well as I can speak it," Nicora says. "You want to drink it first to test it?"
"I'm sure you were divinely inspired or something," Tulani claims. "But if things look bad, I've got the Light with me. Gorphat may be upset by its use, but I don't think killing this girl was in her plans."
"Can you stab me with it and kill me? I'm ready to go," Nicora remarks dryly. She rubs her forehead again as she eyes the prone woman. The Yodhgorphat forces herself up to grab some clothing to use as a makeshift pillow to prop the woman's head up.
Tulani helps, and even holds the girl's mouth open. It's been a few days since she probably ate last, but the horrib venom may make her body ignore that. "A few sips to test that she doesn't gag?" she suggests.
""You didn't answer my question," Nicora points out as she lifts the flash now and pours a couple drops into the Eeee's mouth to test it.
"The Light can't kill anyone, you know," Tulani notes. Dimity seems capable of sipping on her own, as a reflex.
"Then I'll get you a regular sword. And yes, it can kill. Someone like me anyway since I am the opposite of it," Nicora points out as she continues to feel the liquid to the prone Eeee.
Dimity drinks down all of the tea. It doesn't take long for it to have an effect, either, as she starts panting.
"And, it seems to be working. That was quick," Nicora notes. "Which means I'll have to dive into her mind soon. We should probably have a cool bath to put her in afterward so she doesn't overheat."
"I'll go talk to your retainer then, what's her name.. Sil?" Tulani says. "It'll be ready."
"Sil," Nicora agrees.
"Do you need any help going into your trance or whatever?" Tulani asks next. "Is there anything I need to keep watch for?"
"As I am asleep during it, nothing that I know of," Nicora points out. "And as for going in ... no. I know her and I should be able to then find her after going to sleep myself. Plus, I have my bugs to watch over me. Brutus there can grab around my back of he wants to keep an eye on me."
The drone does hover protectively. He can probably calm any convulsions that occur as well, with his venom.
"Or he can coccoon me up too so I don't thrash if you're worried about that," Nicora suggests. "That way we're both immobilized."
"Would that actually help? You'd be in similar condition to the girl then.." Tulani wonders, and looks to the door. "I'm sure if I just call, Sil will hear. Eeee are good like that.."
"Might help. Similar states help with synchronizing," Nicora admits. "Being coccooned isn't that bad, either, by the way. No fur so it comes off without much discomfort."
"Ugh, I hadn't even thought about that part," Tulani says. "This girl might as well want to become a Yodhgorphat then, since she'll lose most of her fur anyway.."
"It will grow back. Mine doesn't," Nicora points out. "You get used to it. I like being furless."
Sensing his mistress's intent, Brutus lands on Nicora.. and stings her. The cocooning begins before the paralysis begins to fully take effect.
"Hey!" Nicora blurts out, but since it was her intention anyway, she isn't that mad. "If the queen needs to practice egg-laying, my body is available," she thinks to the horrib as her limp body is slowly coated in extremely sticky goo.
Tulani decides to get Sil, rather than watch the gruesome process. "Did-a-chick," Brutus chitters happily as he arranges Nicora so she's lying atop Dimity, and just works to cocoon her to the existing cocoon. "Dud-a-chum!"
"Enjoying yourself?" Nicora asks of the insect. In spite of herself, she ... sort of likes the feeling of the goo cover her bit by bit in the places she can actually feel.
With her face right in front of Dimity's now, it's easy to feel the heat coming off the girl. "Zu.." she whispers, already in the throws of some memory or nightmare.
And so of course Nicora snogs the girl since they're face to face.
Worm-tea breath is awful. But if it helps with the link... And maybe it does. Dimity is just muttering, but Nicora knows she was trying to say "Zuzu."
Nicora closes her eyes while keeping the kiss held. It is here she tries to fade into sleep and dream while the insect behind her is turning her into something hard-shelled and immobile.
At first, Nicora just feels asleep, but then hears crying. It lets her focus in on her target. Dimity must be about eight years old. She's huddled in the corner of a large bedroom with a lot of fancy furniture and toys, and a window that lets in actual sunlight. A very worried looking maid is trying to coax her out. "Come along, you don't want to miss the party, do you?"
"I want Zuzu!" Dimity cries. "I don't want her to go away!"
For the moment, Nicora (or is it Alptraum?) just focuses on being a shadow, listening to what is going on to figure out who thus zuzu person is.
"There will be sweets," the maid offers in desperation. The door to the room opens, and a severe and formally attired Eeee man enters. "Leave," he tells the maid, who bows and scurries out. The man comes to stand over Dimity, and his voice is deep. "Stop this, girl. Come see your sister off on her marriage. Smile. Leave her a happy memory."
"No!" Dimity wails. "She doesn't want that old ugly man, she told me so. You're making her do this! I hate you!" She even tries to kick the man, but it's a half-hearted effort.
If a shadow could arch an eyebrow, it would. "He is right on that respect, if you have to, say goodbye before it is too late, the shadow thinks as it watches the family dynamic unfold.
"Yes, I am making her do this," the man says.. in Dimity's mind, he's just Father. "And one day I will make you do it as well. That is the price for the life you enjoy. Toys, servants, teachers.. all so you can fulfill your duty to the clan. You must accept this, Dimity. Nothing will change it."
"Will I ever see Zuzu again?" Dimity asks, sniffling. The lecture has left her feeling a bit numb.
Except allowing your body to be mutilated and pledging yourself to Gorphat," the shadow thinks wryly as it shifts about the room. Wit h the way it shifts the light, perhaps the idea is to make this seem even more like a dream and less like actual reality.
"Probably not for many years," Father says. "Until you are married yourself. She belongs to a different world now. But you'll be there too, in time. And you can see each other once more." The man holds his hand down, in a do-not-refuse manner, and the little girl takes it and is pulled to her feet. "You've ruined your dress. I'll have the handmaid redress you. You will miss the ceremony, but will presentable for the reception."
And of course the shadow will follow ... by pretending to be the little girl's shadow. "Bets anyone that whomever the sister married ends up killing her, and this the child's hatred of men?" the shadow thinks.
Things blur. There is a lot of people around, strangers and family. They loom large in Dimity's mind. She keeps looking for her sister. "Zuzu?" she calls quietly, her voice lost in the conversations. Finally she spots her: her sister isn't that much older.. perhaps thirteen or fourteen. The man next to her is much older, middle-aged at least. But he's wearing a lot of shiny jewelry. He seems more interested in talking to Father than to his new bride, who just.. smiles vacantly. Her eyes meet Dimity's.. and the expression is one of sorrow. To the girl, her sister is saying I wish you didn't have to see this.
The Shadow tries to focus on the man, to perhaps remember who this person was, or could still be. It also wishes she didn't have to see it either ... and envelops the girl a bit to make it all seem a bit more hazy.
"I'll never see her again," Dimity whispers, as the people and scenery begin to blur. "The Boomer took her. Father was so mad. He only cared about the money lost when that clan vanished, taking it all with them into the void."
"The boomer took a lot of people," the Shadow notes in whisper, "Thousands. The money is irrelevant, it is only the people that mattered."
"I only cared about her," Dream-Dimity says. "She was my only sister." The room comes back into view. Dimity is slightly older now, struggling with some sort of stringed instrument. The music teacher sighs, shaking his head. "We should focus on your voice," he says. "The Abbas family is world famous for producing opera singers."
"I won't sing," Dimity growls, and finally sets aside the instrument (though really she wanted to throw it and see it splinter beyond repair). "I just won't."
"Everyone matters," the shadow notes, "In varying degrees."
"I will bring you something different, perhaps a flute," the teacher says. "That is an acceptable instrument."
"Be sure to have a chain attached that can go around my neck!" Dimity shouts at the man, who doesn't react. He collects his sheet music, and leaves without a word. "I hate this," Dimity tells the room, or the shadow, or herself. "Always having to perform. Just so I can be sold to some fat rich monster. Have to charm them! Have to know what will charm them! Know how to please them but never please myself.."
"Flutes are nice," the shadow mutters from its own little place in this non-existent world. It is also still mulling over something, the sister. Dimity never got to say goodbye. Could its role as the guide allow her to say goodbye, even this late?
"I miss her," Dimity says. "She looked so sorry for me.. She was going to be a slave and she felt sorry for me!"
"Because you were going to be left alone while you had to think on the fate coming," the shadow notes. "All trials are easier to endure if someone else is there with you."
"All I had was a tutor.." Dimity says, and things change again. It's a different room. A sitting room? There's an older man there, with gray on his chin. Also a young man, stripped bare and looking nervous, along with another girl. "Observe," the old man tells Dimity, then nods to the girl. She kneels down in front of the young man and.. does things to him with her mouth. Dimity curls her lips in disgust. "I'm not going to do that," she claims.
"Actually, that isn't that bad to do. Some of my forms enjoys it," the shadow thinks. At least it has the good taste to not say that. Instead it notes, "With the right person it is enjoyable. With a forced one it is not."
"You will do this and whatever else is necessary," the tutor states. "This method does not impugn your value, but can be used to gain favor with a man. Soon, you will be shown to society. There will be interest. You must not offend any potential suitor.."
"Anyone who does that to me is going to have it bitten off," Dimity claims, which earns her a slap from the tutor.
"Yeah, that doesn't go over well to bite there," the shadow thinks.
"You clearly do not appreciate what you have, child," the tutor says as Dimity rubs her cheek. She doesn't cry anymore. She just seethes. "I'm sending you someplace to further your education, and reduce your prudishness. You will learn to be a fine, upstanding woman in public and a whore in private."
"That ... does not sound good at all," the shadow thinks. If it could frown, it would.
The sitting room gives way to a place more open. It seems nice, almost whimsical, with walls made of gauze and fountains and pillows. Dimity is dressed like the other girls in the harem, but is off-limits of course. The girls give her distance.. she's not one of them, after all. Only the eunuchs talk to her. She examines them to see what makes them so nice. And then there are the lessons. Cousins, uncles.. even her own father come to the harem and use the women. It frightens her at first, but then.. she feels some excitement. It isn't about the act, she decides. It's about power.
"This isn't how you should treat people, you know. It is one to join out of choice, but it should never be forced," the shadow whispers to Dimity.
"I have no control over my life, but I can control others," she tells the shadow. "That will be my pleasure. This is my future. To be used by some man.. but not even to be special. Just the one to sire legitimate heirs. He'll come to women like this for his pleasure. And what will I have? Children, perhaps. That's the only love I can expect. The only loyalty.."
"Helping others is a greater pleasure than controlling them. If you control, you become just like the people you hate. Are you sure you wish that?" the Shadow asks.
Dimity is older, closer to her current age. She's just had dinner with a boorish man that her father invited. She could barely even remember his name. Now she sits, as her handmaid begins to undo her annoying corset. "It's all I can become, of my own choice," she notes. Another servant arrives with fresh linens, and Dimity commands him to ravish her handmaid. "I don't know if she has a husband, or a family," she notes. "It doesn't matter. They'll do it, because I have the power. The man will do it because he wants to. I think he was beaten afterwards by.. someone. I never saw him again. The servants were told not to do everything I told them to after that. I wasn't punished though."
"You cannot take out on everyone else what happens to you. Life will have terrible moments, you need to fix those, not revisit the terrors on others out of anger," the Shadow notes. "Because your choice is turning you exactly into your father."
"I wish.. I wished.. that I could be like the eunuchs," Dimity replies. "Just.. find what was making me angry and.. cut it off! I tried, too. I tried to be the nice, submissive but charming woman.. but then things changed. The family changed. We weren't mingling with the high nobility anymore. The men I met now.. I called them the Ignobility. But they didn't want someone to just look pretty and nod and laugh. They were crueler men. So I did as I was taught. I became like them, to charm them. They taught me a lot though. How to use a whip! How to see people as objects. How to just let go and be a monster. I started to enjoy it. Really.. enjoy it. Like I could do this. Survive this sort of life.."
"It should only be fun if the partner is consenting," the shadow notes. "Liking to hurt people for the sake of hurting ... that isn't living at all. That is living in a hell that you walked into. There is a point that survival isn't worth it. If you lose everything you hold dear ... what are you surviving for? To keep a happy memory alive, or to create more misery."
"To pretend I wasn't just an object too," Dimity says. "It was easier, if I had to be one.. then everyone should be one. But the rat.. that rat wouldn't break. The guard did. Or he was already broken. Most people are, I've found. Not not her. I wondered what that was like. To not be broken. Would Zuzu have broken if she lived? What would she think of me?"
"The rat had a hard life. Harder than what you have seen. She chose to not let it break her; she learned how to survive without losing the better parts of her self. Well, for the most part. But she also had the fortune to not be born into nobility," the shadow admits. "She learned to focus on the days and small things that could be happy. To have friends she could trust and rely on. She used her body to control people some, yes, but never harm. Just ... in ways that benefited her."
"No fate but what you make," Dimity says. "Your own choices. I would like that. I'm sure it is hard and painful, but.. it's freedom, isn't it? That's the price? Can you take all of this away.. except Zuzu? So all I remember is that I loved someone and they loved me?"
"I might be able to do a bit more than that. If I am permitted to do so," the Shadow notes. That is when it grows quiet and yet a bit darker. It remembers the cries from the boomer, and the feelings of the sea. So ... it tries to locate the single thread that could be the memories of Dimity's sister. If she can find it, perhaps the two can find peace with each other before life changes again. Dimity will have the option of a harder life if she chooses Gorphat, but even that will have to be her choice. Nothing is forced.
It takes some time, but time is relative in dreams. But the Barsunala has this power. Not to be a medium, but to summon and move spirits. Zuzu is there. A memory forms. A different tower, this one overlooking the palace itself. Zuzu is there, sitting at the window with a bundle held to her chest, which she coos to.
"Not many get a chance to say goodbye. Even less get it when it should be too late," the Barsunala says to Dimity as he takes form from the shadow and draws her to this place. "If you want to let go of your past, then make peace with it. Find your strength again and say your goodbyes; find the love you had as a child."
"Zuzu," Dimity whispers, and kneels at the other woman's feet. "It's you?"
Zuzu smiles and musses up Dimity's hair with a free hand. "It's about time you visited," she chides. "Little Persal wanted to meet his auntie, didn't he?" she burbles to the infant in her other arm.
The Barsunala, Alptraum, rubs his forehead a bit. "This is both the best and worst part of this job," he mutters to himself. "I have to witness tragedy and loss, time and again. But, I can ease its pain too, in small ways. Maybe some day it will all be worth it."
"I'm sorry," Dimity says. "I'm sorry for.. everything. I wish I could have come with you. I should have tried. Are you happy?"
"Of course I'm happy," Zuzu says. Another shadow forms behind her - a young, rather handsome Eeee. He's wearing a guard uniform, but his hand rests on Zuzu's shoulder in a way that suggests he's much more than just her guard. "You'll be happy too, Dimity. You just have be ready for it when it comes."
"I'm happy now," Dimity says, and wipes at her eyes. "I'll be happy for you too. I'll find my own.. I just have to.. cut away the stuff that makes me angry.."
"Do that and you might look like Nicora," the Barsunala thinks wryly.
Zuzu is quiet, but keeps smiling and rubbing her sister's head.
"I'm ready," Dimity says. "Make me a eunuch. Make me numb. Whatever it takes. Make it so I can be happy with hardship and.. not being an object. No more objects.. no more toy people."
"You're a female, I can't make you a eunich," Alptraum points out. "You can start a new life with memories of someone that loved you. But from there you must make your own choice. I cannot force you to do anything. That is an advantage of being mortal; you have choices and you can change."
"I hope they're good choices," Dimity says. "Will I still have my name? Or is that a choice now too?"
"That too is a choice," the Barsunala notes. "Do you have one you prefer?"
"Something.. that tells me who I want to be," Dimity says. "I can't be Zuzu. Penance? So I know I have things to make up for, even if I can't remember them?"
"Hm. Penance is actually a good name," the Barsunala has to agree. "It will be so."
"And so Dimity bar Abbas dies, by her own choice," Dimity says. "Long live Penance."
"And in new hardship you will find peace and happiness," the Barsunala decrees. He waves his hand in a symbolic gesture to dismiss the young woman who was summoned, then to end the nightmare Dimity has been having.
"It's so hot.." Dimity mutters, fading away from the dream.
And the Barsunala tries to wake up as well; even if it does mean returning to being nude, scarred, and ugly.
Nicora feels hot too. She's been absorbing Dimity's body head after all - which probably helped the fever-stricken girl slightly. "Hey, are you awake?" Tulani whispers from close by.
Nicora stops kissing Dimity finally. "Yes, I am fine. Now I just have to figure out how to get up," the Eeee admits as she checks just how coccooned she was.
Brutus may have kept on working even after Nicora was asleep. Now the horrib returns.. and starts eating the cocoon to free Nicora again. The other drones arrive to join in.
"I have a weird life," Nicora thinks to herself. Granted, she does get to have all sorts of perverse fun, but it is still a weird life.
"Is there anything those bugs do that isn't disturbing to watch?" Tulani mutters. Now that Nicora can turn her head, she sees Sil waiting, and a bathtub. They actually brought in an entire bathtub - and Nicora didn't know they had one in the Temple.
"She will need to be cooled off in the tub," Nicora instructs Sil. Once she is able to move some, she climbs off the other girl and shakes to shed the coccoon remnants. "And no, everything they to is disturbing, it is part of their charm," she tells Tulani.
"Do we need to get her out of the cocoon first?" Tulani asks, moving in preparation to lift up Dimity.
"Yes, it would help as that will hold heat in," Nicora agrees.
Tulani waves at the horribs, and points to the still-cocooned girl. "If you guys aren't full.." she asks. The drones all seem to look to Nicora for permission.
Nicora waves her hand. "Go ahead. I will convinec Tulani to spend time with you later so that she gets used to you," she tells the insects.
There's a lot of crunching as the bugs go to work. It would not be something one would want to wake up to, certainly. Ever efficient, the horribs devour the cocoon and the girl's fur, leaving behind pristine, bare black skin. This means they have to eat the ungooped fur and hair from her face and head as well though.
"It will grow back, unlike mine," Nicora reminds. "Such is only temporary for her."
"At least she won't be recognizable in the meantime," Tulani says, one hand over mouth as she watches.
"The horribs could always keep her trimmed, if that is your wish, Yodhgorphat," Sil suggests.. although with a tremor in her voice indicating her worry that she might be subjected to similar treatment someday.
"Oh, no. If she decides to join she will be acid bathed as I was," Nicora says and waves her hand.
"But I can have them trim you if you wish, Sil?" Nicora offers.
"Even I would take that over being shaved by horribs every day," Tulani admits. The bugs finish their job, looking like the would lick their lips if they had any. The others return to the royal nest, while Brutus stays behind. Dimity is still putting out a lot of heat.
"Or you, Tulani," Nicora suggests. She goes to lift Dimity up and move her into the cooling tub now.
"My lady.. I.." Sil falters, then says, "I have been asked by some of the followers if there was.. a way to show their devotion beyond the green hair."
The Sphynx helps, since Nicora is still a bit tingly when it comes to recovering from the horrib venom. The new potential Yodh is submerged to her neck, and her temperature starts to cool towards normal.
"Shaved cats are not attractive," Tulani notes.
Nicora actually pats her back between her wings should Brutus wish to land there and 'ride' around. "And shaved bats are?" she points out to Tulani. "Incidentally, why are you here today?"
After the horrib perches on Nicora, Tulani says, "Mave told me you needed my help at the Temple when I woke up. And you do okay for a shaved bat."
"She did? I am not sure what for. We need to plan out investigating the smuggling, I suppose," Nicora notes. "I want to infiltrate and disrupt the smugglers helping the General."
"If you don't need me anymore, Yodhgorphat..." Sil says, as the conversation turns to things she probably shouldn't be listening to.
"I still wish you would become my Sister," Nicora notes to Sil, "But if not, you may go."
"I am married and a mother, milady," Sil notes, a bit embarrassed.. and then hastens out.
"I'm a mother too," Nicora points out helpfully.
Once she's sure the other Eeee is out of earshot, Tulani asks, in Sylvanian, "Can you still turn into a pig, but hide your arm?"
"Male or female?" Nicora asks with a smirk. "I probably can do it easier now than before."
"And I suppose I could just try it now to be sure," Nicora adds.
"I don't know that it'd make a different gender-wise.." Tulani says. "Not yet anyway. I know that livestock is the most likely cargo to get 'skimmed' though. If we know when a shipment is coming in, might be able to sneak you in and have Absssel drop you into the smugglers' wagon. Might need to clear it with the Yodhrephath though, if they understand the whole 'undercover infiltration' notion in the first place."
"I can clear it with them so it doesn't go bad. What would be more valuable, a sow or a male hog? One is probably worth more than another for whatever purpose," Nicora points out and rolls her bare shoulders. "I can also become naga to arrange things at the dock."
"When we'd transport livestock.. the males were more valuable. Bigger, and usually used for stud. A lot of sows aren't much good if they can't make more sows," Tulani says. "Hmm, I wonder what Absssel likes. Can you do a big female Naga if you had to? Too bad we gave the bunny to Fluffer already, she could have been used for some kinky Naga regurgitation thing.. take turns swallowing her or something. It's Babel, so I figure the snakes get their kinks on as well.."
"Yes, I can become a large female Naga," Nicora agrees. "And I have to admit the naga at the club is fun to be with. Swallowing is underrated."
"So.. should I try swallowing the rat sometime?" Tulani teases. "Not sure it's the same for dragons though." She puts a hand on Dimity's forehead. "She's doing better."
"Sure, you can try swallowing the rat," Nicora says with a smirk. Remember, I could shift while inside and make you explode."
Tulani raises an eyebrow. "I think I can puke faster than you can change," she says. "But I'm not sure I'd want to try it. That route has been strictly one-way so far."
"Probably is only one way," Nicora has to agree. "And you probably think me insane for trying basically anything."
"If you were drunk it would sound reasonable," Tulani claims. "I've been around a lot of sailors, and Arkold. I've heard just about every proposition there is, including the impossible ones."
"I've done the impossible ones," Nicora points out. "Know anyone else who has horrib children?"
"Wouldn't that be everyone the horrib's normally implant?" Tulani asks. "You're just the only one to survive.."
"My point. Plus, I enjoyed it," Nicora adds.
"There has to be something that makes childbirth enjoyable, or nobody would do it more than once," Tulani points out.
"Yes, normal birth," Nicora agrees, "That was anything but normal. But I still liked it."
Nicora shrugs slightly. "Even the worm births had their ... moments."
"You are a weird boyfriend," the Sphynx claims. "And I'd rather not talk anymore about childbirth, if that's alright. What do you need me to find out before we try the insertion into Clan Hortus?"
"How I get employment down there for one. For two, where I find the Yodhrephath to discuss the plans with so they don't get too involved," Nicora suggests. "From there I can probably get it arranged for where some hogs could be stolen and we go from there. No one will suspect a hog."
"Well I would assume you'd go to Rephath's Temple to deal with the Yodhrephath," Tulani says. "I know they change out often, probably to avoid the locals trying to form any sort of friendships with them and vice-versa. If we go with the Naga notion, I'll check with the crane people. That seems to be booming, with so much demand now that stuff is coming into the city regularly."
"I think Naga is needed if nothing else then to scout out the area a bit," Nicora notes, "Plus I can use that form as the agent the Yodhrehath can know and not try to kill. So I suppose Alptraum now has to plan a visit to the Temple of Rephath. They know and trust him. As much as they trust anyone anyway."
"Rephath trusts him," Tulani notes. "They just have to do what she says. Plus it'll mean they get more criminals to make examples of without having to wait to catch them in the act themselves."
"Ah, it isn't just Rephath. Alptraum saved them from the Rephidim attack," Nicora notes. "He flew to them and warned them away."
"That has to count for something," Nicora adds.
"Oh? I suppose that would be worth a bit," the Sphynx notes with a grin. "Now I'm trying to think of other favors they could do.."
"Alptraum saved a lot of people. Some that probably didn't deserve it," Nicora notes with a small shrug.
"Just because they didn't deserve it doesn't mean you shouldn't have tried," Tulani says. "Nobody used to think the people of the Streets Below 'deserved' any better either."
"When you get to hear the whispers of the dying, you learn to try," Nicora notes again and shrugs. "Sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't."
"What about this girl in the tub?" Tulani asks. "Did she deserve this second chance?"
"In reality? No. She was horrible to others out of anger. She could have acted differently," Nicora notes, "But I had to try anyway. I don't enjoy killing and I don't want to give up on someone if they have a possibility they could be better."
"Was it because she asked?" Tulani asks. "If she hadn't.. would she be dead now?"
Nicora thinks about this. "Probably," she admits. "It showed hope."
"She'll be waking up soon," the Sphynx notes, checking the girl's forehead again. "Want to be alone with her?"
"I figured she would not be awake for a while," Nicora admits.
"I'm not sure what I will say to her right now," she adds.
"She's cooled down a lot.. I was going by that," Tulani says. "Fever's broke. But I guess she's probably weak and exhausted too. You should get one of the nurses to check on her."
"Mmm, probably should, yes. I will do so," Nicora agrees.
"I imagine it depends on what you want her to wake up to," Tulani says.
"I'm not exactly something anyone wants to wake up to," Nicora admits. "I know I am hideous. I accept it."
"I was thinking more of the menagerie in here," Tulani admits. "I've gotten used to you. Although I can see how someone seeing you for the first time, and not realizing those are tattoos, would be a bit shocked.."
"What is wrong with my children?" Nicora asks, sounding hurt.
"For most people, they'd be dangerous animals," Tulani reminds. "I've scared people before."
"So ... the nurses should move her to an outer tent until she awakens and I can see what she may wish to do," Nicora says and nods slightly.
"I don't know how she'll react to being furless, but not much to be done about that," Tulani notes. "I can ask one of the Yodhrinala to come collect her if you want?"
"Yes, and she should be bandaged up. We can claim it was an infestation that had to be cleared and it will grow back," Nicora suggests. "Which is partially true anyway."
"Mites or something, gotcha," Tulani says. "That would explain the fever. What should they tell her if she asks how she got here?"
"Found in the rubble of a recently collapsed building," Nicora says, "Lots of bugs, and lots of rubble."
"Alright, sounds good enough," the Sphynx notes. "Oh.. want the bathtub taken out or left?"
"Left! I need a bathtub," Nicora claims. "I do not think it will offend Gorphat."
"I suppose you could fill it with worms," Tulani says, pursing her lips and nodding her head. "I'll go get the nurse sent over then, and check out the docks."
"What, you do not think I can have a normal bath?" Nicora has to ask.
"Well.. I assumed you had the horribs lick you clean or something.." the Sphynx says with a smirk.
And before Tulani can leave the room, Nicora grabs her shoulders and gives her a lovely Yodhgorphat kiss. On the lips.
"Mmmph!" Tulani complains! She does not try to kiss back, either. "Your tongue and spit are green you know.." she says when she can.
Nicora licks Tulani's lips. "So?" she asks. "I like it."
"No, what you like is to tweak me," the cat points out. "Because you must have revenge on me for something. There can be no other explanation!" She thrusts her arm towards the ceiling in emphasis.
"That too may be true. Go fetch the Yodhrinala. I wish to sit and rest a bit," she notes.
Tulani escapes (but blows a kiss from the doorway) leaving Nicora with her new charge. And Brutus, still on her back.
And so Nicora goes to sit on her bed (as well as shoo the horrib off her back so she can lean back). "That went as well as I could have hoped, I suppose," she admits as she lazily tugs one of her more intimate rings.
"I like that you got rid of her fur," Gorphat notes, sitting on the edge of the tub. "Never thought of one's past being a disease.. but I suppose it works."
Nicora smiles slightly at that. "I hope to encourage her to become your Daughter, but it will have to be her choice, I will not force her," she notes as she sits more upright to be respectful.
"And do I hear you now prefer your Daughters without fur?" Nicora asks.
"It would make them stand out," Gorphat notes. "But then, anyone can shave.. it's not quite the same thing. And I can't manage the tattoos on anyone but you. Still.. I think they should all go through it, even if temporary. By having the horribs chew it all off of course. That part I'd keep."
"What of me? Am I to remain without still?" Nicora inquires. She slips off her bed ... and goes to kneel right before Gorphat of course and look up.
"You are my canvas," Gorphat says, reaching down to cup Nicora's jaw in her hand. "Why would I cover that up? Can any Yodh claim to be as devoted?"
Nicora tilts her head, seemingly content in the touch of Gorphat's hand underneath her chin. "I wished to hear that again, as I prefer to be completely without any fur now. Each of your blessings that I once feared and struggled with I have come to embrace and cherish. I would never give up or wish to cure any of them," she claims.
"Good, since it will be up to you to decide which blessings are bestowed on new acolytes," Gorphat says, grinning.
"No acolyte will have a blessing that I do not," Nicora claims, sounding a bit jealous too
"Well, that is fair," Gorphat admits. "How else would you know which is appropriate for them? You seem to be attracting many male worshippers as well. I'm undecided on what their status should be. Bargorphats are rare. Very rare."
"Do you wish for them to join as well? I do not mind trying to recruit. Though, they do like me for a chance at, well, sex," Nicora has to admit.
"They must take on an appropriate blessing then," Gorphat notes. "And it is no surprise that they desire you! You are my beautiful embodiment of struggle."
"What sort of blessing should they take on? Painful arousals? Oozing of slime from their parts?" Nicora inquires, head tilted.
"Those are good suggestions," Gorphat notes. "Try them out on a few."
"I will have to figure out how to make one ooze. I can practice on myself as well, I suppose," Nicora suggests. "I will do so."
"It should not be that difficult," Gorphat assures. "Mix a bit of irritation into the prostate.. a dash of urinary tract inflammation.."
"I will try to do so. I am still novice at cursing. I bear blessings better than I cast them," Nicora admits and shrugs a bit.
"You must practice then," Gorphat insists. "I know you are going on another of your little hunting trips - practice on the ones you determine deserve it."
Nicora bows her head a bit. "I will do so. Is there any blessings or gifts you wish for me to bear now?" she inquires. "Or shall I tend to this child and prepare for my next move?"
"Devote your attention to the tasks at hand.. for now," Gorphat notes. "I will reward you based on what the new girl chooses."
Nicora bows her head. "As you wish, Mother," she says.
Gorphat gives Nicora a sticky kiss on the forehead, and then is gone. There is noise outside of people approaching - probably the Yodhrinala.
Nicora rises. "I have a woman for you to take to the tends outside and bandage. I need to be summoned when she awakens," she calls out to those who approach. "She may join my temple, she may not. It will be her choice alone. I could force, but the act means more if done of free will. I will help you carry her out, then I must rest. It has been a wearing day."
"Yes, Yodhgorphat," the nurses say as they lift the former Dimity out of the water and dry her off. "Is there anything else we need to know about her condition? The hybrid said she was found in ruins?"
"She was treated for mites, hence the fur removal. She also had a high fever and what may have been blows to her head. Her mental condition may be fuzzy upon awakening," Nicora claims. "Be gentle with her if you can; I feel she has had a rough time."
"Of course, Yodhgorphat," the head nurse says, as they prepare to carry the girl out. "Thank you, for treating the really bad cases. There is only so much we can do on our own."
"My suffering has to help for something," Nicora says as she bows, "I endure so that others do not have to, and those that do can find comfort in that I survive. So should they. I will speak with you soon."
The two nurses carry Dimity (or now Penance) out, so Nicora can rest.
And of course Nicora's method of resting ... well, she collects the tube loaned to her from Mave. Perhaps a little pleasure, followed by a lot of pain from Gorphat's blessings will allow her to rest. Or feel normal. Or ... who really knows? The Yodhgorphat is insane. But a helpful insane. Maybe. Hopefully.