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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Apr 27, 2024 17:48:03 GMT
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Post by Robot on Jan 11, 2022 21:04:40 GMT
"Excuse me, Thel?". Lusamine's hand was on his shoulder suddenly, her fingers soft and a little cool to the touch. "Can you understand him? You've been having a conversation, or so it looks... And you've gotten him to eat... That's wonderful!". The salandit's middle was visibly distended with food, and it settled quiet and content, watching Thel from the corner of his eyes.
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 11, 2022 21:13:51 GMT
"Of a sort, I suppose, yes," Thel says, awkwardly. "It's just... some understanding of their society. Salandit get punished if they do anything outside of what their matriarch instructs them to do... which makes doing things like eating first incredibly difficult. You mentioned how the local populations are having trouble hunting, right? So... the males of the den won't want to eat for themselves out of fear. They'll want the ladies to be fed first. Even when they're completely separated like this."
"So, for this one here, I... well, I offered to go and check on his den, and also protect him from retribution for eating before any of them."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 11, 2022 23:09:38 GMT
"I see... so in taking the males from their social structure because they were the ones in poor health, we actually put them under a great deal of stress.". Her hand slid to her breast and cupped against the hollow of her throat. "Thank you, that's very insightful... It is just nice to know there is something that can be done. Do you mind assisting the team with the remwinder of the Salandit? Knowing they aren't at risk of expiring would mean a lot to all of us."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 11, 2022 23:16:50 GMT
"That's exactly it," Thel says, nodding. "It's not a particularly fair life that they have, but it's the one you have to keep in mind."
"And, ah, sure, I can try and do that, I guess." He awkwardly looks over at Em and Patience. "Are you... okay if I go off and do that, or...?"
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 12, 2022 19:24:36 GMT
"I wouldn't mind coming with.". Em replies with a smile, moving up to lightly rub under the Salandit's chin. "They are kind of cute.". She bumped his shoulder with hers.
"I'll get our rooms looked after and maybe let them do some tests or talk an engineer's ear off... I want to know so much about this place."
"I don't mind helping you with both of those.". Lusamine volunteered. "You are my guests, and Patience my ward."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 12, 2022 19:32:14 GMT
"Your company is always appreciated," Thel says to Em, squeezing her hand. Now more than most times, too, given he still has a tangle of emotions to work out. But she could probably feel that.
"I'm so glad you're enjoying here," he says, smiling at Patience, before teasing, "I just hope we'll be able to drag you away eventually to come back with us."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 20:33:07 GMT
"Please, you couldn't get rid of me if you wanted to." Patience stuck her tongue out at him, before starting back up the stairs to the walkway, Lusamine in tow with a delighted expression on her face.
The hours leading up to dinner are spent in conversation with Em and Salandit. The researchers are close by but not near enough to cause disquiet to either party. Time and again, the story from his brothers are the same. The eventual outcome too.
Luin, Luxo, Valere, Ailn, Eli, Telen, Nial, Zol, Vuln, and Len. Ten in all, eating again due to several hours of verbal coaxing and listening to their woes. Em remained by his side offering gentle touches and physical handling to the reptiles which confused them a little at first but assisted the process overall.
Then, they brought in the first Salazzle. She was old, far older than any Thel could recall. Whip thin where most Ladies might be well fed and tended. She regarded Thel without any of the usual flirtatious pretense, coyness, pomp, or circumstance. "I am Lady Vidal.". Her voice was dry and warm. "Eldest of the sisters. You are Thel. My sons call you mediator."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 21:05:56 GMT
"I'm glad to hear it, because I wouldn't want to," Thel calls back to Patience, laughing.
The time with the Salandit is... very strange. It's familiar, but very, very different. Even the two or three months of his life so far have changed his perspective enough that even the recognizable seems alien. He's grateful for Em's presence and support throughout the process.
"Mediator is apt enough," he says. He's a little anxious, but having spent the last little while with the Salandit, and with Em here, it isn't too bad. Certainly not as bad as Diva. Yet. "My goal here is to make sure that you all survive, and are healthy. Nothing more, nothing less." We'll, it's a start, at least. But having a solid position is a better plan than waffling.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 21:19:26 GMT
"You have brought my sons a great deal of comfort in a hard time." The Salazzle stated with gravity. "They lead difficult lives, and do not grasp that we are far from where we nest. Even under my orders, they would not eat, for fear of some trick or reprisal from this... High Lady." She sniffed indignantly. "Excuse me."
She turned away from Thel and Em, rolling a stream of acrid smelling fire back and forth across the rocks in the small enclosure before sagging wearily into a groove among the stones. "Never seems warm enough for these old bones."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 21:26:52 GMT
"It's understandable, with how much of their lives are dedicated to being taught fear," Thel points out. "And, from what I understand, there are more... drastic reprisals recently. Talk of brothers and sisters being eaten in times of hardship. And that's something that... well, I suppose I've gotten myself talked into trying to fix." It's strange to him speaking to a Salazzle as more of an equal than anything else.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 21:51:16 GMT
Vidal studied him quietly for a five count, unblinking. "You seem to know half of the cycle, which is unabashedly cruel." She snorts. "But there is no hardship. Only a glutton that takes without end and produces no young to hunt for her.". Folding her forelegs under her chin, she let herself breathe.
"As a Salazzle ages, her clutches grow smaller, her toxins weaken. Her standing begins a backslide from which it will not recover. She begins to understand the things she has done with her vanity and folley of her youth. Unclaimed sons scattered about the mountain, serving who may come and bully them the most fiercely.". With some effort, she lifted her upper body free of the stone to look him in the eyes.
"The last clutches she has, before she is barren, become her family. They are everything to her. Mean her life or death. Some seek these wayward sons by scent, to save them from this life. Many perish in doing so, with everything on its head. On the northern spire of the mountain, even a few of the young Ladies have started experimenting with this new way."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 22:02:42 GMT
"I see..." he says, taking it in. It's... very much different to how he saw the world. To how he could have seen the world. How much trust is he willing to be put into this? It probably wouldn't be too much to at last have wary acceptance.
"And... what would happen were this glutton to be removed?" he asks. "It seems as though there has been some... internal turmoil with the hierarchy. What would break? Who would be hurt?" It still feels strange to hear himself speak such words. But there's still the spark of anger at... all of this.
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 22:14:57 GMT
"Remaining, she would make the mountain barren, in time. No sisters, no brothers, no prey.". Vidal let her head loll side to side as she ticked off her point. "Then, so long as she remained where it was warm enough, continue eating, I would imagine. Normally, the demands of a sister are to provide for her body. The tax making a clutch takes on her body. The High Lady has born no clutch, and so has no standing. Any trying to act on it have found their poisons and fire do nothing. Death is slow and painful, as She prefers live food."
Lowering her head again, she closed her eyes. "Tell me, Mediator Thel, was it wise to usher my children to these humans, with their white coats and sterile smells?"
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 22:25:46 GMT
"I do not know them well enough to say one way or another with certainty," Thel admits. "But I believe they have the best of intentions. They put themselves through hardship to bring my sister here in her time of need. You will be provided for here... though I imagine that you would much prefer to return home, so long at it is safe. This is... a nice place, but it is not truly real."
"I will do what I can for you all, though I know not exactly where the trouble's origin lies, exactly. There... looked to be a lot of mountains." Not all of them equally good, but there is a lot of space that one would need to search. He's not sure at all why he's considering going in person, though. That seems like the worst idea possible...
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 22:40:30 GMT
"The humans have built on and through an active volcano. One of their... Oh what's the word... Kahuna? A man that thinks highly of his fighting skill, he nests there. That will be the mountain you seek.". Vidal exhaled wearily. "Please, may I have whatever my boys left over? I eat what they eat, such is the Way now."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 22:50:33 GMT
"Of course," Thel nods. "I told you, I'm here to make sure that you all are healthy and survive. You're included in that. There's enough for you all."
"And thank you. I will see what I can do about finding a solution. It may not be for some time, but... I will work on it." He gets up from sitting cross-legged on the ground. "I'll leave you with the food to eat as you wish." He's still unsure about how to feel about all of this. It's very... strange.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 22:56:45 GMT
Vidal looked at the meal set before her. "You know where to find me, if you should wish to speak again, Thel." She called softly as he turned to go, before tucking into her meal in earnest, with all the urgency of a starved animal.
Em had her arm around him before he had gone three steps. A supportive squeeze, and she walked in step with him. "This has all been very taxing for you... I should have said something when I saw they were bringing a Salazzle out, I'm sorry."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 23:10:36 GMT
"It's okay," Thel says, sighing, before giving her a smile. "It went as well as it could have, I guess. I have... a lot to think about. Need to take some time to process it all."
"The short version is... there's been a rise of an awful monster. A Lady who has an insatiable appetite, who can't be harmed by poison or flame. She's consuming the mountain, and even her kin. Something... unthinkable, really." As much as he says that he's okay, he does feel rather shaken now that it's had time to sink in.
"...you can say that you told me so," he gently teases, before getting more somber. "Because... as much as I never thought I would want to have anything to do with home again, I can't just sit here and do nothing. Even though it's dangerous. I just... I don't know."
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Post by Robot on Jan 13, 2022 23:18:40 GMT
"Just because someone decides to be horrible, doesn't mean you have to do the same.". She lightly curled a strand of his bangs around her finger. "You can't leave them to a horrible fate, because part of you really wishes someone would have rescued you from similar or worse. A hero doesn't have to be a good person, but to people that have it this bad, any good person is a hero. Even just over little things."
She kissed him softly. "It's well past time you had supper, and we should make sure Patience isn't being a bother to our hostess."
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Post by DataNinja on Jan 13, 2022 23:25:12 GMT
"You can always put what I'm feeling into words better than I can," he says, gently leaning against her for a moment. "And it always helps."
"...is it that late already?" Thel asks, blinking. "It's still so light out. But... I guess we did fly for six hours..." He gives a smile. "I get the impression, though, that Lusamine really wants to be bothered. She misses her children, and she said it's rare to have any here."
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