OOS 62

Korrinoth 1, after “rescuing” Renn, Cecily, and Julien from the Children of Similus and the attack on Izora by the Null Solution. It occurred between sessions 28 and 29. OOS 63 occurs mid-way through. It is immediately followed by OOS 64. 
== Transcript == 
Cecily: 
"I need a noun." Cecily Prompts. 
Lei: 
"bubble bath." 
Cecily: 
"Another noun" 
Teer: 
"Sand." 
Cecily: 
"an adjective" 
Ephemera: 
"Fluffy." 
Cecily: 
"another noun!" 
Teer: 
"Akaros." 
Cecily: 
"girl's name" 
Ephemera: 
"Sand..y?" 
Cecily: 
"'nother noun~": 
Lei: 
"dragon!" 
Cecily: 
"Two body parts!" 
Teer: 
"Eyes, foot" 
Lei: 
"laser" 
"awww." 
Ephemera: 
"I like laser, though." 
Teer: 
"Eyes, laser?" 
Cecily: 
"noun~" 
Ephemera: 
"LASER!" 
Lei: 
"YEAH!" 
Cecily: 
"Verb ending in -ed!" 
Ephemera: 
".........lasered?" 
Lei: 
"hehehehehe." 
Cecily: 
"an adjective that isn't related to lasers" 
Ephemera: 
"Aw." 
Lei: 
"boring." 
Teer: 
"Punch...y" 
Cecily: 
"yeah I'm disappointed too" 
"another noun!" 
Ephemera: 
"LASER." 
Teer: 
"NO" 
Cecily: 
"An EXPLICITLY DIFFERENT NOUN" 
Ephemera: 
"Guys, I don't know what a laser is." 
Teer: 
"SEA GLASS" 
Lei: 
"cucumber sandwic--what?" 
Ephemera: 
"(I'm lying, I do.)" 
Cecily: 
"two verbs ending in -ing" 
Teer: 
"Dancing!" 
Ephemera: 
"Flying." 
Cecily: 
"Two adjectives and a final noun" 
Ephemera: 
"Ice cream! Ice cream noun!" 
Lei: 
"dragony" 
Teer: 
"Serene." 
Julien: 
"Nautical?" Julien offers 
Teer: 
"That works." 
Cecily: 
"Enough!" Antorell cried, and raised his bubble bath. Light shimmered along its length and began to gather at the lower end. Grinning wolfishly, the Sand tilted the bubble bath, aiming it toward the fluffy Akaros. 
"Stop that!" Sandy said. Antorell ignored her. "I said, stop it!" Sandy shouted, and threw her dragon at Antorell's eyes. 
Sandy's aim was off. The dragon hit Antorell's laser. A bolt of laser shot from the end of his bubble bath and whizzed between Cimorene and the fluffy Akaros to strike the far wall with a whumping noise and a shower of sparks. Antorell lasered, slipped in a cascade of boring water, and fell over the bucket, dropping his bubble bath in the process. 
Cimorene darted in and kicked Antorell's bubble bath out of his reach. He stared up at her from a mound of soggy silk and soapsuds."You can't do this to me!" he shrieked. 
Something in his voice made Cimorene and her sea glass look at him more closely. Sandy's eyes went wide and Cimorene blinked in surprise. "He 's-he's Dancing ," Alianora said in a stunned voice. 
"He 's Flying ," Cimorene corrected her. 
"I can't be Flying !" Antorell cried. "I 'm a wizard! Its not fa-" His eyes disappeared into a Serene Nautical Ice Cream, and his cries stopped. 
Passage adapted from Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. 
Teer: 
"Interesting. Is that how all books are written?" 
Cecily: 
"More or less." 
Lei: 
"hehehehe." 
Ephemera: 
"Huh.... We should write a book and make money that way." 
Teer: 
"Right. How hard could it be? We just have to do that another couple hundred times." 
Akaros: 
"I'm not fluffy" Akaros says sullenly. 
Ephemera: 
"Aren't you?" 
Lei: 
lei is laughing pretty hard, but also looking at cecily to gauge her mood 
Teer: 
"Do all dragons have scales, or are some fuzzier?" 
Akaros: 
"There are some fuzzy dragons," Akaros admits after twenty-one hours have passed. 
Teer: 
"Adorable." His tone is unclear. 
Lei: 
lei takes cecily's hand, kinda awkward when the other is on ephy but it's fine 
Ephemera: 
[I will point out that any contact with the halberd is okay, but she will request that nobody just outright use their feet. IDK if that helps or makes things worse, haha.] 
Teer: 
[It makes it worse only because I wouldn't have thought to go there] 
[We're all in a circle holding the halberd like we're in the middle of some sort of ritual when Veg walks in] 
Ephemera: 
[what I'm saying is that Lei should just lay across the halberd bodily in order to reach Cecily; but also that] 
Lei: 
"what kinds of dragons are fuzzy?" she is amused and curious, still holding cecily’s hand 
Teer: 
"Not Akaros, I suppose, but that narrows down the list very little." 
Lei: 
"hehehe." lei spares another glance at cecily and her eyes land on julien again. she supposes she shouldn't just let the thing keep hanging in the air. 
she sighs "well i was going to ask first if anyone wanted to be privy to information that could potentially have an assassin after them"--glares at julien--"but since the cat is out of the bag, i suppose all that's left is to tell you it would be highly inadvisable for your own safety to talk about the secret society." 
Teer: 
"Duly noted." Pause. "So then, am I allowed to ask about the..." Vague handwavy gesture. 
Ephemera: 
Ephemera is very glad Lei cannot tell that she is staring just so much at her right now. Her mouth would be agape if she had a mouth. 
Lei: 
"i suppose if you preferred, we could always have your memory erased with one of the mirror merchant siblings, if you want to stay out of troub--" snaps out of her train of thought "--oh, ask about...?" 
Teer: 
"The thing that I joked about in elvish at our last meeting." 
Lei: 
"oh." is still just holding onto cecily's hand forever "what do you want to know?" 
Teer: 
"Firstly, I would like to know whether we are talking about it openly or not." 
Ephemera: 
"I'd like it if we followed Julien's example and spoke plainly." 
Lei: 
responding to teer, "okay, it doesn't matter." lei sighs, resigned. 
Teer: 
"Secondly, yes, it does. I am guessing he is here," he gestures to Julien, "because you want him to be. I need to know what the situation is before I commit assault." 
Lei: 
lei's eyes grow wide "oh, um, no, he's fine." she prepares to rise if necessary 
Ephemera: 
"Oh." 
Lei: 
"he--he didn't know about it being--he was helping--" the deepest of sighs 
"this really isn't relevant to any of the group's goals." she mumbles 
Ephemera: 
"It is." 
Lei: 
"should i just start from the beginning?" 
Ephemera: 
"It would be much simpler if you would. Just know that I'm with Teer about the whole Committing Assault thing." 
Lei: 
"that really won't be necessary. julien is fine." 
"anyway, he basically already explained everything." 
Ephemera: 
"Lei, we can't protect you if you won't tell us the situation from which a literal assassin is coming from." 
Lei: 
"i made a deal with my mother. an arranged engagement with julien here, in exchange for two years of freedom." 
Ephemera: 
Metaphysical squinting at Julien. 
Julien: 
"In the interests of not being assaulted, though I certainly can't blame you all, Adrienne framed it more as protecting the families and providing a bridge for our mutual interests, and that it was tradition for their family to be wed at sixteen, and that Renn was both aware of and prepared for the implications." 
Lei: 
lei is sitting here like, teer i understand, but why is ephy getting heated about this too? 
Julien: 
"Frankly I'm a little ashamed I didn't realize the deception sooner." 
Lei: 
lei nods "me too...." 
Ephemera: 
"Wait, it is a tradition to be married at sixteen, or she said it was?" 
Lei: 
"it isn't. i mean, an arranged marriage was certainly always going to come, but not...not at my age." 
"anyway." 
"i accepted the deal, not realizing it was a marriage until later." 
"and then i left wolis with all of you." 
Ephemera: 
To Teer only, "Teer, you're gonna have to hold me back. I kind of want to commit assault on her mother." 
To the group, "3% of your life isn't much in return for marriage, I think." 
Veggrek: 
Knock knock. 
Teer: 
"I'll get it." He stands up, taking Ephy with him, and privately says to her, "That depends. Do you think we could do it without getting caught?" 
Lei: 
lei glances back at cecily. she still doing okay? 
Ephemera: 
"Hm... Perhaps after everyone has gone to sleep. You remember how I didn't like Noah, right? Maybe... maybe something like that... but without the... whatever it is Akaros did." 
Gloom: 
She is currently writing something down, glancing at Ephy 
Teer: 
"Ah, I suppose less strangulation should be considered. It was effective though." 
He opens the door. Out loud, "Hello, Veggrek." 
Veggrek: 
"Hello, Teer. I'm here to back you up-- Izora sent me to back you up." 
Teer: 
"Oh? Ah - thank you. Why don't you come in." 
He opens the door wider and goes into the room, glancing at Lei. 
Lei: 
lei looks at veggrek and says flatly "are you interested in hearing information that could potentially have an assassin sent after you if you can't keep it quiet?" 
Veggrek: 
"I-- that-- that's not a normal thing to say." 
Ephemera: 
To Teer, "Is now a good time to point out there's already an assassin after you all for knowing things you shouldn't, regardless of whether you can keep quiet about it?" 
Julien: 
"There's a changeling secret society and its' chief boogeyman nearly killed Cecily tonight." Julien says. 
Lei: 
lei glares at julien. again. 
Teer: 
To Ephy, "I am not certain if it would help." 
Lei: 
she hisses, "do you really not care about--" ah, well, why would he. 
Teer: 
He returns her to her place in the center of the room for easy access. 
Veggrek: 
"I found a cat today. It showed me half a corn dog under someone's bed." 
"The stick of the corn dog had a joke written on it. 'What do you say to maize when it graduates...?'" 
Lei: 
"i was tricked into marriage with this guy." pointing at julien "then i skipped town. secret society praetor was suspicious about the legitimacy of the marriage, so he wanted to check in on julien and i. but i wasn't here. without my knowledge, cecily pretended to be me and went along with the fake marriage game with julien and my family to fool the praetor and keep me out of potential trouble." 
Julien: 
"Your friends are in danger if the society thinks that you've told them the truth, regardless of whether or not you've actually done so," Julien says. "our entire race is the very notion that perception is the same as truth." 
Lei: 
"tonight, the ruse got buste--julien, they only thought i told cecily. would they really have let me go if they thought i would go telling others." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek takes the silver bird from his pocket and weighs it in his hands. 
Teer: 
Quietly, to Veggrek, "What do you say to maize?" 
Veggrek: 
"Corngratulations." Veggrek murmurs back, wide-eyed. 
Teer: 
"Excellent." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek's lip twitches up into the edge of a smile, briefly. 
Teer: 
He says something else in ancient elvish, that is untranslatable. 
Julien: 
"Do you think they would not be suspicious? We fled here moments after escaping their lair." 
Lei: 
"no, i don't think so, given the reason i provided them." 
"the reason cecily is alive is because i told them--truthfully--that i spilled the secret society to cecily when i was a lot younger and hardly knew any better." 
Ephemera: 
"I'm not certain the truth matters in this circumstance, Lei," Ephy says quietly. 
Julien: 
"Things aren't black and white, Renn. You gave them enough reason to not murder your friend tonight. that's not the same as being absolved of suspicion." 
Lei: 
"you believe they would kill those associated with me, without any evidence or proof that i'd said anything?" 
Veggrek: 
"What-" 
Julien: 
"Yes?" 
Veggrek: 
"What's black and-- and white, and-- green?" 
Julien: 
"If they had what they believed to be a reasonable suspicion and the means to so, very easily yes." 
Veggrek: 
"I don't know, but the veterinarian might." 
Teer: 
Teer taps Veggrek, and whispers. "We may have to wait until after they're done to cheer them up." 
Lei: 
"with that logic, what is stopping me from telling anyone i encounter from here on out, because what reason should i not at that point." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek blinks up at Teer. He raises the silver bird to his mouth and bites down on its back. 
Julien: 
"In theory, because you don't want our people hunted down and killed." 
Lei: 
"assuming they won't just get killed regardless, which you are implying they could." (guess who mistaked 'our people' for 'the party' and misunderstood what he was saying because i was distracted reading manga like a scrub) 
Veggrek: 
"M-maybe I should just be louder. Make a racket. Screech?" 
Julien: 
"Our people being killed because the Purifiers are aware that they exist and your friends being targeting because they are aware of the secret are not the same thing." 
Teer: 
"N-No, no. I think this conversation needs to happen," he says quietly. "I think." 
"Sometimes when two people are married they have very impassioned discussions about things." 
Julien: 
Julien gives Teer a look 
Lei: 
"julien, i know i have to tell them about it, okay? but it isn't pleasant thinking that cecily almost just died because of me! and that they could, too!" shaking, her voice starting to waver 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek cleans the bird on Teer's pant leg. "It's what a goblin would do. That, or take advantage of the distraction to nick all their valuables. Sorry-- shiny things." 
Lei: 
"just--" runs her hands through her hair, she's forgotten all about holding ephy and is completely absorbed in this conversation "--i just almost lost my best friend, and here i am turning around and risking others by doing the same exact thing that almost got her—“ 
Ephemera: 
To Veg, "Maybe just watch quietly for now. There... is a balance to find between the goblin and the squire." 
To Veg, "And sometimes you have to let a crack break before you can repair it properly. Which is just a poetic way to say, 'Let them fight, and we'll deal with the mess it causes later'." 
Gloom: 
Julien stands and glares at Renn, his hands balled into fists at his sides. He closes his eyes and exhales slowly, then turns to go for the door. Cecily half-reaches for him, but lets him go. 
Julien: 
"....rarely does reality wait for a pleasant time to come calling." Julien says quietly, before stepping outside. 
Veggrek: 
"Lurking it is." Veggrek murmurs. 
Lei: 
lei follows after him 
Veggrek: 
He starts to say something else, then stops, then looks at Ephy, then follows Lei and promptly tries to hide. 
Teer: 
Teer attempts to grab Veggrek. 
Veggrek: 
"Ghrk--" 
Lei: 
"julien, wait!" 
Gloom: 
The door goes Whump and doesn't move because apparently Julien is leaning on it on the other side having just Exited Dramatically 
Julien: 
"What the heck," Julien says, letting Lei out into the hall. "You don't just. This is narratively inappropriate." 
Lei: 
"i wasn't done yet." lei glares. ALSO THE DOOR IS SHUT BEHIND HER, THERE PICKLE. 
Julien: 
"That's the point." Julien says "It's a whole-" he sighs "It's fine. What else did you want to say, then?" 
Lei: 
quietly "...i'm sorry. you have a point. i just....everything is happening really fast. i'm just--really worried about cecily and them, and--" 
Julien: 
"Your friends being prepared is the only thing that will save them." Julien says seriously. 
"And you. and us. And Cecily." 
Lei: 
"i planned to tell them now that this has happened, it just.... You just started with it right away." 
Ephemera: 
"Someone tell her that's really useful." 
Teer: 
Muffled, from the other room. "It was refreshing!" 
Julien: 
"There may not be another chance." Julien says "But It's better to rip the bandaid off, right? get it out in the open and then everyone can rest and recover. It's not like we're going to have a worse evening because of it." 
Lei: 
"in your own words, you doubted they'd act so quickly, especially considering we're at the burnett estate. i wanted to make sure cecily was okay before just diving right in." 
Julien: 
"So what, you're upset because you didn't get to tell them exactly how you wanted to?" 
Lei: 
"i'm upset because this has been a really terrifying night, and i'm still trying to figure out how to even explain what happened without breaking down." 
Julien: 
"Well, then it's fine. because I did already. Go and relax in the full comfort that you no longer have to countenance an explanation." 
Lei: 
glares "sorry. maybe you don't care about them so this has no great emotional impact on you, but i do." 
"thank you so much for taking care of the explanations. really." sarcastic 
Julien: 
"It amazes me that you look at this situation and think the most important thing is how you feel about it." He turns to leave. 
Lei: 
throws a sea glass stone in his general direction, not intending to hit him with it. with the flatest of tones, she says, "this is for you. for taking care of cecily." 
turns to open the door and go back in the room 
Julien: 
He ignores it and keeps walking, flicking something small and metallic away from him, where it eventually lands and rolls beneath a convenient table. Perhaps with a vase upon it. 
Ephemera: 
[And the whole party is standing in the doorwa--WAS THAT HIS RING] 
Lei: 
time to see how cecily is faring! 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek falls forward into the doorway as it opens. 
Gloom: 
[make a perception check with disadvanta- it was the ring : D] 
Cecily: 
Cecily is sitting on the bed, dazed and distressed. 
Lei: 
goes to her and immediately gives her a hug "i'm sorry, i'm sorry." 
Ephemera: 
To Teer since he's the only one with any contact now? "I've decided this group is never allowed to have sleepovers again." 
Veggrek: 
He gets back up and puts his hand on Ephemera. 
Cecily: 
Cecily's face scrunches up a bit and she slowly returns the hug. "What was that for?" she asks. 
Lei: 
"i just want this night to end okay for you, but i screwed it up as usual. i'm sorry." tears starting to form 
Veggrek: 
“I saw a cat!” Veggrek yelps. 
“It was very soft, it let me pet it...” 
Lei: 
"i'm sorry, i'm an idiot. i was...trying to pretend to be okay. but...i'm not. i was so scared. cecily, i'm so so sorry. this is all my fault." crying now 
Veggrek: 
“And- and then I saw another cat, but it— I couldn’t find it when I tried to find it, and then the first cat was gone, so I guess that sh-shows you.... goes to show... there’s a moral to it...” 
Cecily: 
Cecily is very quiet. 
Teer: 
"Not yet, Veggrek." 
Lei: 
"are--are you okay? do you want me to leave? i just want to make sure you're okay, but i dont know what to do to help." 
Veggrek: 
“Sorry.” Veggrek whispers. “Let me know.” 
Cecily: 
"No, you should stay." 
"But he shouldn't be alone. Maybe I should..." Cecily seems confused. 
Lei: 
"julien?" 
Cecily: 
She doesn't immediately respond. 
Lei: 
lei waits 
Cecily: 
"I don't understand." She says. 
Lei: 
lei is by her side, shaking, crying and wishing she wasn't 
Ephemera: 
[can Ephy insight check Cecily?] 
[16 - ultimately how she's feeling/what she wants??, 'he shouldn't be alone' is an interesting place to go] 
Gloom: 
[She seems torn between her friend who needs her here and her friend who just left.] 
Ephemera: 
"Can I talk to Lei and Cecily, Teer?" 
Teer: 
"Ah, of course." Teer takes Ephy over, and offer the halberd between them. 
Lei: 
lei doesnt even notice ephy being handed over, her surroundings are completely blacked out 
Teer: 
"Er... Ephemera would like to speak to you both." 
Cecily: 
"Oh. Okay..." Cecily takes Ephy. 
Lei: 
lei touches the halberd shakily 
Ephemera: 
"Cecily, you should go to Julien. You're the only other one who knows him. We'll take care of Renn." 
Veggrek: 
“Lei.” 
Cecily: 
"Are you sure? I-" Cecily looks uncertainly at Lei. 
Lei: 
"go." lei is looking down "i cant....be any help to you like this." 
Ephemera: 
"She has friends here. Julien doesn't." 
Well, a friend at least. Close enough. 
Cecily: 
"Okay I'll... I'll get him to calm down and I'll bring him back." Cecily stands, and starts to walk out with the Halberd, before realizing she's still carrying it and turns and offers it to Teer or Lei or maybe the bed. 
Ephemera: 
"I mean, if you really want me to go with you," Ephy chuckles. 
Lei: 
lei is just frozen in place, looking at her hands but really looking at nothing 
Teer: 
Teer accepts Ephemera in one hand and nods to Cecily. 
"Be safe." 
Cecily: 
Cecily returns the Halberd to Teer so that the scene can continue without the DM present, looks around furtively at the door, casting another concerned glance at Lei, and then steps out in pursuit of Julien. 
Teer: 
With Ephy in one hand, Teer turns to Lei and pulls her into a hug. 
Lei: 
"i don't--i don't deserve your touch right now. just--" 
she's a sobbing mess guys 
weakly resists teer's hug 
Ephemera: 
Ephemera is still a halberd and can do literally nothing in this circumstance. 
Veggrek: 
“Ah. Right, so I was dusting, and Izora and everyone were about to leave, and I saw this cat.” 
“I thought it was some sort of shapeshifter. When it tackled me, I panicked. I told Izora and she said it was fine.” 
Teer: 
Teer very stubbornly and firmly makes sure that Lei is Hugged. He nods at Veggrek. 
Veggrek: 
“So I just sort of followed this cat around to clean up after it, right? And it came to a bedroom...” 
“And under the bed— it went under the bed and then I went under the bed after it— there was half a corn dog with a joke on the stick. What do you call maize that’s gr— No, wait.” 
Teer: 
"It's alright, Veggrek. ...Was the cat.... nice?" 
Teer is aware of the circular nature of this conversation, but is unsure what to do. 
He pats a spot next to the bed. 
Lei: 
"i'm worthless." lei mutters into teer. she has completely missed the awesome joke and storytime :( 
Teer: 
"You are not. Overdramatic, maybe, but certainly not worthless." 
Lei: 
"it's my fault she almost--she almost died, and i couldn't even keep it together long enough to--to make sure she's okay..." 
"i'm the worst." 
Teer: 
"Shhhh. Cecily will be fine, Lei." 
Veggrek: 
“I’m not sure. It did show me that corn dog. I kept the stick. Threw the— I cleaned it. The rest of the corn dog is... in the garbage...?” 
Teer: 
"You have been through a lot today, too." 
Veggrek: 
“It never scratched me. The cat. I mean, neither did the corn dog.” 
Lei: 
"no, she's the one who's been through a lot. i'm supposed to be there for her." 
Lei: 
"but i couldn't even--i hate these stupid tears. why can't i just stop crying already?" 
Veggrek: 
“It let me pet it, so I— I did. And I saw another cat— a black one— walk past the door. I tried to follow it but I couldn’t. And then the first cat wasn’t there.” 
“And now I have a stick with a joke on it.” 
“What do you say to graduating corn?” 
“Corn... gratu... Amazing work!” 
Lei: 
"i mess up everything. that's why they'd never be proud of me. cecily was one of the only ones who...put up with me somehow, and i repay her by almost getting her killed. and then just causing problems, like i always do." 
Teer: 
Teer carefully sets Ephy down on the bed, projecting feelings of apology but requiring both hands. 
He returns to Lei and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Lei - Renn. Listen to me." 
Lei: 
"for once in my life, i want to be there for her and not be a worthle--" 
Teer: 
"You have been through more than any sixteen year old has a right has a right to be put through." 
"You have always tried to be there for Cecily, as long as I have known you. Even the Renn I met before, the one who was scared of dragons and suspicious of goblins, put her life on the line to rescue her friend." 
"From what I understand, things could have gone badly today. But they didn't, and part of that is thanks to you, and your efforts to keep your friend safe." 
He takes her hands. "You are more capable than you tell yourself, and more caring than you try to be." 
Lei: 
"what--what should i do, teer? how can i...apologize to her?" 
"i tried to, to keep a strong face but i just--julien made it all come out so fast and--i couldn't keep it up, i, i couldn't keep up the mask--" 
"you are in danger too now, because of--oh, this is the worst." 
"what am i supposed to--" 
Teer: 
"I'm not worried about assassins. What are they going to do, stab me?" 
"I think that you just have to do the only thing you can ever do in this situation, and that's talk to Cecily." 
Lei: 
lei laughs a little at that one 
Teer: 
"You don't have to... pretend to be alright, Renn." 
Lei: 
her vision is less black, and she starts to realize her surroundings again 
Teer: 
"I think that Cecily will understand if you're scared." 
Lei: 
"right, i just have to......take things one at a time....." 
"i need to....calm down. i'm being....it's going to be okay. i just need calm down. then i can finish explaining what happened. then apologize to cecily and to julien." 
her tears have stopped, she's still shaky, her breathing is slowing down 
is suddenly even more aware of her surroundings, and her eyes grow wide "oh my god. is everybody still here?" 
looks around in a panic 
Teer: 
"It is just the four of us. Me, you, Veggrek, and Ephemera." He squeezes her hand, recognizing this as a comfort gesture. 
Lei: 
groans, looks to veggrek and ephy 
Teer: 
"Now. Will you please, please listen to Veggrek's good joke?" 
Lei: 
"I don't suppose you can just pretend you never saw that?" to ephy and veg 
"what?" 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek waves the fork meekly. 
Teer: 
"He saw a cat and found a joke on the back of a corn dog. He has been trying concertedly to cheer you up for the past twenty minutes." 
Veggrek: 
“I can leave—“ 
“I saw— I saw two cats—“ 
Lei: 
sighs 
"you saw two cats, and?" 
Veggrek: 
“And what do you c— No. What do you say when maize graduates?” 
Lei: 
"what?" 
Veggrek: 
“Corngratulations.” 
Lei: 
lei gives a weak smile "thanks, veggrek." 
"so.....what are the odds you could conveniently forget this entire night happened?" 
Veggrek: 
“If I died? Pretty good.” 
Lei: 
lei's smile gets a little stronger 
closes her eyes, inhales and exhales a few times 
Veggrek: 
“We could kill me! Hang on, I’ll swallow a knife.” 
“Wait. Wait, no, that would kill someone else.” 
Lei: 
lei chuckles "it's fine, it's my own fault for forgetting you were here." 
"i suppose i should finish explaining, about the marriage...." 
Teer: 
"Right..." 
Lei: 
wipes some tears away and dries her hand on the burnetts' fancy sheets 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek gnaws on his fork. His mess kit is already open, so he holds the fork in his teeth and hands Lei a cloth napkin. 
Lei: 
lei accepts the napkin and daintily blows snot into it 
if there is even a dainty way to go about that 
"akaros has been replaced," she jokes 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek gives her a little thumbs up and takes out the silk handkerchief. 
Lei: 
"so, cecily was pretending to be me, and living with julien in that apartment. i had no idea it was going on--i'm an idiot for not realizing, she was acting weird, but i thought she'd tell me if--well, never mind. they were working together to fool the praetor to keep me safe, while i was busy doing whatever i wanted with no idea." 
"when i went to visit cecily today, she finally told me. they told the praetor i changed my mind about the marriage, and were getting it annulled tonight. they said it'd be better if cecily went instead of me, to keep up the ruse, and i--i shouldn't have agreed to that. she got found out." 
"teer, when i was on the phone with you, everyone's twin--um, a changeling assassin--came to confirm my identity. i, um....went to the praetor, and he'd found out about everything. i...somehow convinced him to let cecily live, even though she knows about the, um, secret society." 
"he....didn't give me any punishment either... or my father, as far as i'm aware. he, um, said he's going to punish my mother, though i don't know the details....and julien is under the jurisdiction of a different praetor." 
Teer: 
"I see..." 
"I am... sorry for getting upset with you earlier, I was just, very worried." 
"I saw that you were moving underground, and I feared that you had been taken, whether by Kitano or the Null Solution or some other enemy." 
Lei: 
shakes her head "it's okay." 
Teer: 
"So... the marriage is no longer?" 
Lei 
"technically it never was." 
Teer: 
"I suppose you never did truly agree to it." 
Lei: 
"it's....complicated. i'm not sure i would disagree with it, either, under different circumstances, when i'm older, if i've decided...well, if i decide i want a family." 
"but for now, no. i don't agree to it." 
"i never should have." 
Teer: 
Teer nods. 
"I am very, truly glad that this was sorted. And as well that everyone is alright." 
Lei: 
lei takes a few more deep breaths "me too. i don't know what i would have done if--i really hope cecily will be able to be safe and they won't--well........" 
"i wanted to ask julien if he would--well, since he's--probably going to be around wolis thanks to business connections.....i wanted to ask him if he would keep checking in on her, since i won't be here, but....." 
"instead i threw sea glass at him." sighs "why do I always do that?" 
Teer: 
"You throw sea glass at people?" 
Lei: 
lei laughs lightly, then mumbles, "well this night can't get any worse, might as well...." 
turns to veggrek "no, but i have hit someone, after saying i wouldn't do that again." 
"sor....sorry about that." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek blinks. He glances at Teer. Why is she looking at him. 
“I— um— I threw away the corn dog, but I kept the stick. I cleaned it.” 
Lei: 
"veggrek, a handful of days ago, i hit you and lashed out. i'm sorry." her face is really red, and it's not just because she's been crying. she's avoiding looking directly at him 
Veggrek: 
“I— that— no, you’re fine! You’re fine. You barely grazed me.” 
Lei: 
"the point isn't that it didn't hurt you. the point is that i did it at all." 
"you told me you'd kill me if gods told you to, it's not as though your behavior was a surprise." 
"i knew the risks. i shouldn't have gotten angry." face is just. red red red. 
Veggrek: 
“...If it helps, um— I wouldn’t. Anymore. Having met them.” 
“Well, that’s— If they did, and I didn’t, and they— what would they do, kill me? And I’d come back and someone would be dead and...” 
“They wouldn’t ask me to kill you. There’s no— I mean— I don’t think...” 
“They could kill you themselves, is what I’m getting at.” 
Lei: 
finally looking directly at veggrek "if a god told you to kill me, would you do it?" 
"i won't get mad at your answer this time." 
Veggrek: 
“I don’t think I would.” 
“In fact I think I wouldn’t.” 
“I don’t know why... it just doesn’t seem like something that would happen.” 
Lei: 
lei gets a light smile on her face "okay." 
closes her eyes, a few more deep breaths 
Veggrek: 
“I-I keep— I keep turning it over in my head, what happened at the— you don’t want to hear about this.” 
“I bought a pocket square.” 
Lei: 
"no, i do want to hear about it." 
"you'd mentioned the pocket square already." 
Veggrek: 
“Oh.” 
“I, um— I still don’t know what I was supposed to do. I didn’t— I don’t understand. I guess that’s just how gods are.” 
Veggrek: 
“But I’m feeling a little less... beholden.” 
Lei: 
holds out a weak shaky hand for a high five 
"right on." 
Veggrek: 
! 
Veggrek bumps it, lightly. 
Teer: 
'Oh thank Belxari.' 
Lei: 
lei gets a light smile on her face 
one thing at a time, one thing at a time....what's next? oh. talking to cecily. 
"i should....go apologize to cecily." 
Veggrek: 
“Are we— are we cool?” 
Lei: 
"um.....yes. i think so." 
Veggrek: 
“It’s okay if we aren’t. I can keep my distance.” 
Teer: 
"Ah, Lei... perhaps you should wait until the morning to speak with her. It is getting late, and she will most likely still be talking with Julien." 
Lei: 
"oh, yes...you're....you're right. i probably shouldn't--risk making it any worse." 
do you ever want to just bury yourself and hide in a hole? she thinks but doesn't say 
Teer: 
"It's going to be fine, but it is better to rest and recover yourself first." 
Lei: 
nods "i think i'm going to....sleep in the dimension room tonight." 
Teer: 
"Would you prefer company, or to be alone?" 
Lei: 
"alone, please. i know i'm grounded, but i can't go anywhere if i'm in the dimension room." light smile 
Teer: 
"Very well... You can hang it up in here if you wish, and Ephemera and I will remain present in this room." 
He looks to Veggrek. "Ah... you are also welcome to join us Veggrek, though I do not know where you'd rather sleep." 
Lei: 
lei proceeds to start unrolling the room 
Veggrek: 
“Oh, I’d be happy to be here, if it’s not too weird.” 
Teer: 
"Not at all. Ephemera and I will be able to communicate silently, so we shouldn't keep you awake." 
"And I will... be grateful to have everyone where I can see them." 
Veggrek: 
“Happy to.” 
Veggrek gathers up a pillow pile to burrow into. 
Teer: 
Teer sits down on the floor, with Ephemera leaning against one shoulder, and the tablet propped up on his lap. 
Lei: 
lei message cantrips teer a soft 'thank you' and closes the door to the dimension room 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek putters about, preparing for bed. He does not sleep in his armor. 
Teer: 
'Sleep well, Renn.' 
Veggrek: 
Eventually, pajama-clad, he nestles into the pile. 
“Did... did that go well, do you think?” 
Teer: 
"I don't know." 
"I think that no one seems to be currently deeply offended or upset by each other though, if I am reading everything correctly." 
Veggrek: 
“It felt weird.” 
“I hope so.” 
Teer: 
Teer looks up from reading a wikipedia article about trees he somehow found himself into. "How are you doing, Veggrek?" 
Veggrek: 
“I’m fine. How are you?” 
Teer: 
Oh no I didn't think this far ahead, thinks Teer. 
"I am doing... alright. I think. Right now. I have made up with Ephemera. We fought some rats." 
Veggrek: 
“That’s wonderful.” 
Teer: 
"It is a lot like being at the beach." 
"As long as I focus on building sandcastles, it will be fine." 
He looks down at the tablet again. 
Veggrek: 
“Someday the tide will come in.” Veggrek says sleepily. 
Teer: 
Teer very anxiously tries to decipher what the tide is in this metaphor. 
Veggrek: 
If it helps, he sounds hopeful. 
Teer: 
The tide washes away sandcastles. Asteroid?? 
Fate? Entropy?? 
Veggrek: 
“I think things are turning up for Lei. Once they do, we might be able to relax.” 
“Aren’t we better off than we were before? You talking about your feelings and making up with people, me doing goblin things and not killing on behalf of the gods...” 
Teer: 
"Yes. I think we are all... becoming better. I hope." 
Veggrek: 
“I saw two cats and kept a stick.” 
Teer: 
"...Would you like to know a secret?" 
Veggrek: 
“Sure.” 
Teer: 
Teer props Ephy up so she is angled away from him, and taps something out on the tablet, before leaning over and passing it to Veggrek. 
It reads, 'I was the corndog cat. It is not an important secret, but no one else knows. I do not know who the other cat was.' 
Veggrek: 
!, thinks Veggrek. 
He types a response and passes it back, looking slightly frantic: 
I do not know what to do with this Knowllege. Why am I the only one who knows? 
Teer: 
Teer reads the message and shrugs, typing back, 'It seemed to be causing you stress. My intention was just to share the other half of my corn dog with you, and also see if your cheek was soft. It was.' 
Veggrek: 
’I’m sorry.’ 
Teer: 
"Don't be," Teer says out loud. "Corn dogs are gross." 
Veggrek: 
“Goblins are gross.” 
Teer: 
"Don't be rude to yourself." 
Veggrek: 
Veggrek starts to say something, but instead he says “Okay.” 
Teer: 
He passes the tablet back one final time. 'Thank you for the head scratches.' 
Veggrek: 
’Anytime.’ 
Ephemera: 
"It's like Message except it takes longer," Ephemera thinks to nobody. 
Cecily: 
Cecily brings Julien back to the room shortly thereafter as she said she would. They both survey the scene. Cecily gingely steps over Veggrek's pillowpile and gets into bed, Julien takes a few pillows and leans against the wall in a corner. Cecily gives Teer a "where did Lei go?" Kind of motion. 
Teer: 
Teer motions to the wall scroll door. 
"She's in there. She wished to sleep privately," he whispers. 
Cecily: 
she nods and yawns, her fatigue catching up with her. "Okay, thank you for being her for her," she whispers 
Teer: 
He nods. 
Cecily: 
Cecily falls asleep quickly after that. Julien remains contemplative for a time, but eventually sleep finds him as well.
Category:OOS