Sentry Lights

## Premise

After forming a relationship, Nikola and Lina have had to have heart to hearts on a lot of things--from big to small, from the mundane to the utterly fantastic. But now, it's time for the most important new-relationship ritual of all. It's time to meet the dog.

## Cast

* Nikola N. Change (Authorticity)
* Carolina "Lina" Noticia (kt)
* Sentry (Zen)

## Notable NPCs

* Penny Change (Nikola's ma)
* Dima Change (Nikola's mother)

## Plot Summary

Immediately after Building Bridges, Nikola has Lina wait outside the building while they run inside. Nikola runs up to their room and asks if Sentry wants to meet Lina, then tells Sentry they cannot pick up Lina and fly off with her. Once Sentry agrees, Nikola grabs a bag of treats for Sentry out of the kitchen and runs downstairs to get Lina. Nikola hands Lina the bag of treats, and Lina gets confused by the variety of treats and asks if she should know anything about Nikola's dog. Lina asks if Sentry is "a dog but not a dog" and Nikola confirms, but says Sentry is a good boy and smart. Outside Nikola's bedroom door, Lina asks how big Sentry is, and Nikola says they're about Tailwind-sized. Lina is a little bit worried, but still excited to meet Nikola's dog.

Nikola heads into the bedroom first and hugs Sentry while Lina comes in after. Lina immediately thinks Sentry is cute, and Nikola lets go of Sentry, who walks up to Lina to sniff her. kt uses their birthday inspiration to get Lina a nat 20 on Animal Handling and gives Sentry a treat, and Sentry instantly likes her and approaches to be pet. Lina is delighted by Sentry, and Nikola is delighted to see his girlfriend and his pet getting along. Nikola joins in on petting Sentry and explains to Lina that he met Sentry while Yllwyll was using them to kidnap pets and they were carrying off the mutant in one of the recent pictures on the Hellspring City blog.

As Sentry does a blep and Lina fawns over them, Nikola reads Lina's mind and sees Lina is comparing Sentry to “Rex”, a name Nikola doesn’t recognize. When they question this, Lina explains that Rex is Roadkill's pet. Nikola winds up seeing one of Lina's memories of Rex, who is an odd but cute little mutant, and has to sit down because they're overwhelmed by its cuteness. Nikola says Roadkill didn't seem the type to have a pet, and Lina deflects and tries to avoid giving a straight answer, saying Rex is good for protection. Nikola says they hope to meet Rex one day, though Lina says she's not sure they'll ever get to. Nikola also says they want to have a talk with Roadkill soon, and Lina apologizes in advance for how she anticipates that talk going. Lina says Roadkill will kill Nikola if they eventually hurt Lina, and Nikola agrees they'd probably deserve it, and says they see themself and Roadkill as being on the same side. Lina gives Nikola a kiss on the cheek, he falls to the floor, and Sentry starts licking Nikola's face.

Nikola asks if Lina wants to call his other moms with him, which Lina agrees to, and both of them sit and lean against Sentry as Nikola calls. Lina tries to figure out what kind of bird Sentry is, and determines they are a sharp shinned hawk. Nikola calls his ma, Penny, first. Nikola and Penny talk about the state of the orchard, and Nikola brings up that they were wanting to plan a field trip. Penny says Nikola and their friends are always welcome, and Nikola takes the opportunity to introduce Lina as his girlfriend. Penny is excited to hear about them dating, but Nikola is very embarrassed and plays dead for a bit until their ma mentions sending them some cider and they perk back up. Nikola tells Penny about some of Lina's achievements, and it's Lina's turn to be embarrassed. Nikola says Lina reminds him of his mother on a good day, and Penny says she's excited to meet her.

Nikola explains that Lina will be arranging the field trip, and then asks if there's spare soil and seeds from the orchard that she could send to the city for a school project of theirs. Penny says she'll have to check around, but should be able to send some over. Nikola says they've been missing the orchard, but are doing better now with Lina and their other friends, which Penny is glad to hear. Lina asks if there's anywhere to go swimming near the farm, and Penny says there's the creek near the farm, though it might be cold in the spring when the field trip happens. Nikola mentions that Lina's family are reporters, and Penny is initially taken aback, but Nikola reassures her that Lina is good and like-minded to Penny. Nikola asks how their mother is doing and if they can call, and Penny says she's having a good day and offers to give her a heads up that the call is good news, which Nikola accepts before hanging up.

Nikola hugs Lina and Sentry, and Lina asks why Nikola's mother kills phones. Nikola explains their mother has a sort of horror genre, and his mutant form inherited a lot from her. Lina mentions some of her own genre effects, and Nikola says she'll probably have a lot in common with his mother. Nikola spends a moment giving Lina their full attention, since she gets overlooked so often, which flusters Lina.

Nikola calls their mother, Dima, next. When she picks up, Nikola remarks that the call is very good quality, and then introduces Lina as his girlfriend. Dima asks how long Nikola and Lina have been dating, and Nikola picks up on the fact she's worried Lina is going to break his heart. Nikola forges on and talks Lina up, talking about her accomplishments and her interest in gardening, and after telepathically checking in with Lina, also mentions that she has some genre troubles, though not with horror. Dima is a bit curious and Lina explains her cutesy genre effects. Nikola says they think Lina is worth trusting, and Dima says she supposes Nikola's opinion is the one that matters most here. Lina offers to let Dima shovel talk her, but Dima says there's no need for that as long as Lina isn't planning anything nasty.

Nikola brings up the idea of the field trip again, and says Dima and his other moms could meet his friends, which Dima hesitantly agrees to. Nikola says he trusts his friends very much, and thinks they and Dima would get along, and Dima says she'll trust his judgement. Nikola says Lina is similar to Quartz when she was younger, causing Lina to panic over the implication of being a rebel, which Nikola is trying to convey without stating outright. Nikola asks about Dima's involvement with Wellspring, and Dima says she has visited Wellspring City very briefly, and grew up fairly nomadic. Lina thinks Dima would like and get along with Roadkill, and might get fewer strange looks in Endsville and want to visit, which Nikola side-eyes her for. Nikola says he wants Lina in his life for a long time, so he looks forward to introducing Lina to his parents, which Dima now reciprocates. Nikola announces that he has a dog now just before hanging up the call. Sentry perks up as they hear themself mentioned.

Nikola says they're going to wait a while to call Quartz again and get yelled at. Lina asks if Quartz might come to town to try dealing with the situation, but Nikola says she doesn't have much authority over him at the moment, plus she was even more rebellious as a teen, so he's not worried. Nikola asks if Lina wants to watch some anime together, and Lina enthusiastically agrees. Nikola gets Sentry all worked up with the promise of watching a show where they can bark at little critters on the screen, and the three go to watch the show together.

## Notes

This was played on kt's birthday!

Nikola says Sentry has been keeping him sane the past couple months and is a good listener

kt mentions that Lina is small enough she could probably ride Sentry

The idea of Nikola's mutant form being 3d like origami came up during this FPS

There were no missing pet posters up for Sentry

Nikola does not understand the difference between anime and other forms of animation

There's a mention of *Smalls' Small Friends,* an in-universe show made by one of Magic's characters, at the end of the FPS; Nikola is creeped out by the show because "it seems no one really wants to be there", but Lina admires the water physics

## Art Gallery

Title card, drawn by ktRoadkill's pet, Rex, drawn by kt