BC's Best... Cottages?

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
Having navigated the treacherous floor, our heroes set out into the jungle and eventually reach the mangrove forest again.
Marigold looks out over what will soon be her domain. Then she looks at Bella, Rose, and Sekhmet in turn. "You're sure it's okay?" She wants to be sure.

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

"Well, Sapphira made you root at that outpost and then you uprooted again and everything was fine," Rose reasons. "So this will probably be fine too!"

Bella, by contrast, shrugs. "I mean, that's basically what happened right? This should be the same except not in hell."

In Bella's opinion the not in hell part should make it way better!

Right?

Of course they aren't taking into consideration that Mary was harmed when Sapphira was removed. But Mary has had plenty of time to recover no doubt everything will be totally okay.

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
"No matter what happens, I love you," Sekhmet adds.

With that settled, Marigold gives everyone a little smile and then merges into the ground.
Marigold blossoms begin sprouting immediately.

"Wowee, this feels so good!" the trees creak excitedly. "I feel ten times better! No, a hundred!"

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Bella is holding her breath here in anticipation.

Not that she really has to breath anyway but she isn't really clear on that and she may or may not forget to start breathing again when all of a sudden-

Oh wait, no, she's still breathing in to talk. Phew.

"Okay cool! It sounds like everything is okay then?" she asks, pretty glad that nothing weird immediately happened. "I wonder if this might help you get better faster? I mean, if you've gotta gaiad Name then that has to recover too, right? Maaaybe?"

The precise question of how infernal and eldritch magic mix is definitely an odd question to seek answers to. Honestly Bella really can't do eldritch magic that much because... well... she isn't supposed to be able to? ESPECIALLY if it isn't the fox wearing her. If that's how it was working she could probably pop her fox tail out and do some tricky fox magic but when she's dreamed out into the world like this? No dice.

BUT!

But.

Right now the question is how to get an infernal gaiad to heal faster. And it sounds like rooting was the right idea.

"Do you want me to hang out with you so you've got someone to talk to, sis?" Bella asks, sitting down on that inscription covered rock. Being a swamp with no one to chat with sounds boring. But then again, Bella really doesn't understand gaiad mindsets so maybe it isn't?

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
"You guys can stay if you want," Marigold answers, "There's so much going on I can't really keep track of it. Oh! Bella can you move a little? You're blocking the sunshine from a snake," a rocky-colored cobra hisses from behind Bella's back, near her tail. "Don't worry, she's just a little upset about her nap being interrupted."

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Oh.

Whoops!

"Ah, haha, sorry miss snake?" Bella says as she veeeeery gingerly scoots away from the reptile that she really doesn't want to upset. Kind of strange that there would be snakes out on some little island, right? Usually snakes and small islands don't mix. Unless you're talking about sea snakes.

"I'll stick around for a while," Bella says. "I would feel kinda bad if I just up and ditched you."

She's a very noble friend in that way.

"I'm just glad it all worked out! I should probably get back to my other duties since my job here is done!" Rose declares, who honestly did relatively little but what she did do was handy. Thus! She moves to begin pronking back toward the manor to take the portal.

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
The Nexus dumps people and objects in all sorts of random places. Why not animals? Why not have snakes on islands?

For her part , Sekhmet quietly takes a seat on a stone, bouncing the baby on her knee.
The snake settles back down once Bella moves away.
"It's so different. I am the snake. And the rock and the trees and the wind and water and dirt and... Everything. I'm still getting used to it. I'm gonna be quiet for a while while I figure things out, but you can still talk to me."

What follows is a long period of the trees and grasses rustling, the water splashing and gurgling, all with the sense of someone rustling through a room to find out where everything is located. Bella and Sekhmet will have to wait.

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Honestly Bella hasn't ever thought of that before.

Having a snake just dumped into your lap while you're working on something wouldn't be an experience she would enjoy.

Regardless! Bella will just sit quietly for a little while, enjoying the view of the swamp. Normally she wouldn't have thought of a swamp as being the sort of thing with a nice view but this place is honestly really pretty. And Marigold is working on making it even prettier! A real magical forest that's partly underwater.

That's really all a swamp is, isn't it?

Just a forest where the floor is a pool? Or at least really soggy.

"Red's getting really big," Bella comments, turning her attention to Sekhmet and the toddler. "How old is he now?"

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
"He's almost 18 months," Sekhmet beams with pride at her little boy, who gurgles happily.
"I, uh, haven't really asked how you're adjusting to, uh, everything that happened," they've done some magic lessons but not talked about about that particular part of the whole "killed and succubized" thing.

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

"Two years is when they usually figure out how to yell no to try to get their way," Bella laughs. "I dunno what terrible twos are gunna look like with a kiddo that can set stuff on fire but it's gunna be an adventure."

Khannie has extensive experience wrangling various sizes of small children thanks to her time at Glog. Bella, of course, shares that experience. It'll probably be handy to have her around.

At Sekhmet's question Bella frowns slightly. "I mean, I'm gunna admit it really sucked at first but then that was over pretty quick. But since then it's been cool? I've loved being able to keep Mary company. I've gotten to learn some neat new magic. Being a succubus isn't... I mean it isn't terrible. It's definitely different. And I can tell that if it hadn't been Mary's sting that made me I woulda been REALLY messed up."

The non-purifed demons are a bunch of creeps for the most part. They act with respect toward Bella because of her status but...

"I'm glad that the fox had some tricks hidden in her poofy tails otherwise Khannie woulda been DEAD dead. I got really lucky."

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
"He doesn't seem to have figured out magic yet," Sekhmet observes, "I hope he doesn't catch fire when throwing temper tantrums." He very well might, since their particular brand of infernal magic runs off of strong emotions.
"I'm glad you're mostly all right. It's just that it's still corruption getting into the world and..." Sekhmet trails off. "Am I a bad mother? I didn't even notice that Sapphira had her hooks in Mary. I assumed it was just normal teenage rebellion combined with the sudden onset of her powers and...

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Heh.

Fire baby.

Bella is left remembering that one scene from The Increadibles which is, obviously, one of her favorite movies.

"I haven't really talked much about Khannie, but you gotta understand she's not that different from you. She doesn't really like thinking about it much but she isn't mortal. She's a unicorn. And the sorta unicorn she is are powerful spirits. All unicorns are symbols of purity, and black ones are purity of death. But Khannie isn't death of physical stuff, she's death of corruption. I dunno for sure, but I think it wasn't an accident that I helped destroy the corruption in Mary. And it wasn't accident that the corruption in ME got made into something good, too," Bella says, giving Sekhmet an encouraging grin. "I guess what I'm saying is... don't feel too bad about it? I'm Mary's room-mate at school and I didn't realize anything was wrong, either. I think if unicorn-me had spent more time around her she might have figured it out, but all this happened pretty much as soon as my powers grew in and I was still figuring out what was going on."

Bella gets up and scoots closer to give Sekhmet a hug.

"You aren't a bad mom. Nobody's perfect and Sapphira's tricky AND a giant butt. It still worked out and we know to look for this sorta thing now."

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
Children of titanic power tend to be a fun idea to those who don't have to deal with them... And a horrific one to those that do. Nobody wants to be wished into the cornfield.

But aww, hugs. Sekhmet loves hugs, a fact that is well known to most people who've interacted with her. "Thanks," she sniffles. Is she crying? Maybe a little.

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Maybe a little, yeah.

A little crying is okay.

"Do you still feel like you're a bad mom?" Bella asks after a few moments. Sometimes what you feel like and what you are are two totally different things. That's an experience Bella is pretty familiar with.

[Ironsmith]

Knocking at the Door
"She tried to kill me once," Sekhmet replies, "At a spooktober party." She sighs. "There are very few people whom I can genuinely say I hate, and Ilpholin is one of them. I can understand the demon hunters who show up to stop demonic attacks, or even hunt down specific demons who've caused trouble. But the people who hunt down demons, or any other group of people, simply because of what type of people they are, I cannot stand."

[Knocking at the Door]

Exstacy grimaces. "...Yeah, um... about that. There's... um... still a, um... problem."

"...Of course." Euphoria takes another sip of her tea. "There may be other, legitimate demon hunters still coming after me. It is unlikely any of them will present as grave a threat as Ilpholin, but it would be unwise to ignore them."

Exstacy braces herself for the inevitable follow-up, but before any questions of that sort can be asked, Euphoria volunteers the missing information.

"Before I joined DEATHKISS, I was a demon of considerable age, and as per the nature of our home plane, that came with a considerable toll. Outside the context of our band, it is likely you will have heard some horrible things about me. And they are almost all true."

"But she's retired now." Exstacy interjects. "We got out of that business when we started the band. Euphoria hasn't hurt anybody since then."

"There was Mixer."

"That doesn't count. Self-defense." Exstacy crosses her arms.

"...Regardless, that does seem to be salient information. If you still intend to harbor us."

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
"Maybe," Sekhmet responds. She's happy to continue the hug longer.

But there's an interruption. "Mum? Bella? Help! My body's missing and everything looks weird!" That sounds like Mary?

Knocking at the Door
Sekhmet sighs. "Helping demons who want to be better is what I do. Even after..." she starts trying to do the math on her fingers and quickly stops, "... A lot of murders," a staggering number which Sekhmet doesn't want to think about, "I accept anyone who has repented and is seeking forgiveness and redemption." It does give her some reservations about keeping these women in her home, however.

[Ironsmith]

[Knocking at the Door]

"One hundred and twenty-five thousand, three hundred and eighty-one." Euphoria says flatly, setting her teacup down. "Some by my own hand, some by proxy. It will not do any of us any good to be any less than forthright about that. And while we're being forthright, no, I'm not seeking redemption. I haven't come to you here to obliviate my past from recollection. I also won't pretend I'm a better person now than I was a year ago. I am under no delusions about that and I would advise you not, as well."

Exstacy winces. "Okay, Euphoria, that's en-"

"In fact, were it just me, I wouldn't be here at all." Euphoria stands, making her way behind the uncomfortable-looking succubus she brought with her. "I'm here because of her. Where I have hundreds of thousands on my hands, she has one, who has herself since forgiven her and is only absent today because she's busy attempting to reconcile with her other killer. Stacy does not deserve to be hunted and put down like a dog."

Exstacy doesn't look like she could get more uneasy.

"So I ask that you hold nothing back in her defense, especially not on my account. I came on the premise that taking shelter alongside her was the best way to ensure her safety, so she would not come out looking for me and I could play a part in keeping her safe. But I am flexible on this point, and if you have any difficulty providing her with sanctuary because of how it would incidentally protect me, I am willing to step aside."

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

The drama continues...

Bella jumps a bit when Mary's voice suddenly comes from...

Somewhere?

"Okay I didn't think that would be a thing..." Bella mutters. "Um, Marigold was trying to root like gaiads do in the swamp here to see if it would help recover faster? This is normal eldritch magic stuff I don't think you need to be worried too much. You're sorta the swamp right now? Like, all of it. This is like when the Fox or Glister does the melt into shadows thingy. You're all spread around and you've gotta sorta focus on being in just one spot and pull senses together and your body should reform."

Bella is operating off what she remembers doing as Khannie. This one's a pretty slick trick. She just sort of melts into the darkness and all the shadows nearby are her. Great for hiding or for zipping around really quick.

[bc56]

Knocking at the Door
Sekhmet gives Euphoria a look. Not "oh God you killed so many people" or "I can never trust you" but more of a skeptical "Really?" "Would you give up your life to keep her safe?" It seems like a truly unrepentant killer wouldn't consider herself worthy of being cast out and hunted down.

Dramatic Island
"I can try..." Mary concentrates. Leaves swirl together, coalescing into the demon princess.
"Urk!" Mary doubles over in pain without her staff to support her. "It... Still hurts."

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Bella is immediately at her sister's side to help her up.

She might not have a staff to lean on at the moment but she DOES have Bella.

Hopefully the next best thing works well enough.

"Gunna say I'm pretty glad that actually worked," Bella says, only now revealing that she wasn't one hundred percent sure that her sister reconstituting herself would work the same way as the Fox' shadow tricks. They're both eldritch magic though, right? So they should work more or less the same way? That's what she was counting on and it looks like it worked out!

"So what changed? Marigold said she was trying to get a handle on the weald thing and then all of a sudden you were yelling," Bella asks.

Was that telepathic yelling?

As opposed to the more traditional 'using the environment to speak' deal gaiads do.

[Ironsmith]

[Knocking at the Door]

Both succubi stare silently, first at Sekhmet, then at each other. It takes some amount of time before Euphoria actually has an answer.

"I doubt it matters. We aren't going to see any situation where the stakes and sacrifices are that clear." The demoness rests her hands on Exstacy's neck. "I know she would not want me to, correct?"

"Well... no." Exstacy grimaces. "I mean, that's a lot to ask of anybody. But Phory in particular, knowing what would happen to her if someone did kill her, that's..." The succubus swallows and breaks eye contact, staring up at the ceiling. "Am I sitting under the air conditioner or something?"

"Moreover, that isn't what I'm doing now." Euphoria continues. "I have much more experience dealing with my fellow demons, and demon hunters in general, than Stacy does, and I am a much more tempting target. If it is your judgment to split us up, you are not sending me to my death, I am sending Stacy away from hers."

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
The staff is over there, on the ground, where Marigold left it. Sekhmet brings it over. "I dunno, one moment I was Marigold in the swamp, and the next, I was me again but still all pulled apart like that." It was indeed telepathic rather than gaiad-speech. Mary leans heavily on the staff."Cept for hurting to move, I do feel better. Less empty inside."

Knocking at the Door
"If I may be blunt," Sekhmet responds, "You are putting your friend's safety above your own. You implied you deserved to be hunted like a dog. Those aren't the words of an unrepentant murderer. It's not my place to judge what's already happened. Only to helo the repentant. But I also have a responsibility to protect my family." Sekhmet's eyes narrow. "If I catch one whiff of you trying to 'fill your quota' while you're living under my roof, you will be ejected faster than you can say 'persona non grata.' Are we clear?"

[Ironsmith]

[Knocking at the Door]

"We can both promise you the same." Euphoria says with a nod.

"...Yeah, if Euphoria ever caught me making a serious attempt at anyone's life, I'm sure she'd put me through the wall." Exstacy manages, with a shaky smile. "Not hyperbole. And while I'm not strong enough to do the same thing to her, we wouldn't be speaking if I ever caught her trying to hurt anyone, either. Especially to 'make quota', since that would imply selling out in addition to murder."

"In summary; you have nothing to worry about from us, in that regard."

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Uh oh.

Bella is being confronted with a mystery.

And like Khannie she feels compelled to solve mysteries whether they're based in dungeons or not. Now she has a Mary-shaped mystery to figure out. "Maybe you've gotta keep your eldritch magic filled up, too? I dunno if eldritch magic really works quite the same way infernal magic does. There's stuff you've gotta do to restore it. Like gaiads rooting or kumiho eating Names."

Those are the only two that Bella has any real experience with. She's pretty sure Phelsie isn't a true faerie so she doesn't really work that way. She's more akin to other sorts of faewyld wildlife like displacer beasts and blink dogs. And the faewyld is DEFINITELY different from the Dreamlands. There's some superficial resemblance to the Enchanted Forest but that's really about it.

Near as she can tell infernal magic seems like it just builds up on its own over time. There are things a demon can do to get more but... those things sound pretty sketchy. Like eating damned souls.

[bc56]

Knocking at the Door
"Then we are agreed. I will give you both what shelter I can." Sekhmet is too nice for a demon. She forgot to include a catch. On the other hand, she has a supreme sense for lies. If the two succubi were at all trying to mislead her, she will know.

Dramatic Island
Mary is starting to feel uncomfortably scrutinized. "How should I know? The only person who knows demon stuff well enough to figure it out is SAPPHIRA!" She snaps. "Mary?" Sekhmet sounds worried for her daughter. Mary tries to relax. "Sorry. It's just... I've had enough of being poked and prodded while people try to figure out what's wrong with me."

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]
(the drama continues...)

Bella flinches a bit at that reaction.

Okay.

Yeah.

She can see that.

And this is definitely a problem both she and Khannie have. Sometimes they just... push a little too much.

"Sorry sis," she says, her tone gentle. "We can just drop it. Do you wanna just rest for a bit or something?"

No more poking OR prodding or figuring for a while.

[Ironsmith]

Knocking at the Door
"Then we are agreed. I will give you both what shelter I can." Sekhmet is too nice for a demon. She forgot to include a catch. On the other hand, she has a supreme sense for lies. If the two succubi were at all trying to mislead her, she will know.

[Knocking at the Door]

Mislead? No.

Holding back information? Yes. Exstacy more so than Euphoria, but both are still doing it.

But regardless, both of them seem enthused, or at least relieved, as Sekhmet makes her promise. Exstacy even lets out a little sigh, shoulders dropping as the tension goes out of them.

"Thank you very much, your highness." Euphoria says with an upward nod. "How soon can you be ready?"

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
"I think I'd just like to be alone for a while," Mary says, and sits down on a rock quietly.
Sekhmet pats her daughter's shoulder gently and reaches out to Bella. The gesture is benign enough but carries a deep connotation of "if you try to push this, I will drag you away myself." "Just come back to the house when you're done. Or call for me and I'll come,"

Knocking at the Door
Sekhmet knows the succubi are hiding something. But she can't just leave them to get killed by Ilpholin. They were telling the truth about that much. "How much of your things are you bringing? And would you prefer to stay up here or down there?" She makes a vague gesture at the ground, but she means Hell. Hopefully that's clear.

[Rebonack]

[Dramatic Island]

Bella definitely seems uncomfortable.

She was a bit of a bone head and upset one of her friends.

She would REALLY like to avoid doing that but-

The succubus heaves a sigh and nods, moving to follow Sekhmet away. She'll glance back over her shoulder at Mary as they're leaving, just to be sure everything is okay.

[bc56]

Dramatic Island
When Bella looks back, Mary is still sitting quietly.
She's not a mind reader (yet; she could learn), so she can't know what her sister/friend is thinking.

What were you thinking!?
Um...
You really screwed up there. What if I couldn't figure out how to put myself back together? I might've fallen apart or ended up like her," Mary gestures to one seat around the metaphorical table of her mind, where a wispy, vaguely curvy silhouette is seated. Mary's succubus-self suffered the worst from Sapphira's forced exit from her mind.
I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!
You never think!

...

This internal exchange will continue for a while.