[OPEN] We pass by headstones on a walk

[arcanegrasp]

Who: Dr. Elias Coldwood (arcanegrasp), Glory the Fledgling God, and YOU!
What:Establishing wider socialization for Glory, general CR with Elias
When: Spring + Early Summer
Where: The Lighthouse
Warning(s): General eldritch body horror [More pending - will add as they come up!]



Prompts below, noted with the level of CR required for each! For folks that planned with me on the plotting post, feel free to pick whichever one sounds the most correct for what we'd hashed out!

Comments

We counted dark spots on the moon [CR + Previously discussed!]

[arcanegrasp]

The last few months of Elias' life have been... eventful, to say the very least of them.

Between his "secret" discovered, his jailtime, and his subsequent bail, all tangled up with his preferred solitude coming to an indefinite end, he's hardly known what to do with himself. His days are much busier than they'd ever been now: between meeting with Shen Qingqiu to streamline socialization and care efforts, concerned neighbors and nosy townsfolk finding their way to his door in equal measures, and his own continued work with the documentation and study of the local wildlife, it feels as though he's barely had a minute to himself to simply sit down and be. He's always led a life of "get up and go", and now, he's starting to regret not taking the time he had a bit slower, all things considered.

There's no time to contemplate "should have"s or "could have"s, however. He's up for the day, dressed and put together as best as he can be (his hair is still a mess, and his clothes are a bit disheveled, but he's clean, at least?), and he's just in time for the early-morning knock at his door. It still jolts the nerves, but it's routine, and as he always does, he answers the door, waving the familiar face inside.

"Come in, come in. I've gotten breakfast made, if you haven't eaten. I won't be offended if you want to get right into it, of course," he half-jokes, turning to seek out the last bit of his tea. "What's on the list for today?"

[redlightgreenlight]

It's not strange for her to be here, in fact, she's been here several times since releasing him from the DSA. She smiles at him as she enters.

"Thank you, but I don't have much of an appetite these days."

Not since devouring Efrain's heart and the subsequent, but temporary, near insanity had taken hold. Luckily it had long since passed.

"I hope there is less traffic these days, I've tried to warn people away as much as I can without actually stationing guards on your property."

After all, he's not under arrest anymore.

[arcanegrasp]

"Hah! No need for guards, no," Elias assures her, the laugh a bit awkward. Goddesses' mercy, he's imagining it now. Thank goodness the constabulary hasn't seen fit to tighten his security any further than his own handiwork. "Most of what I get now is the occasional, ah--- well-meaning neighbor. It's been, for the most part, relatively calm!"

While he prattles, a nervous tick that's still not quite shaken from the time he's been trying to spend acclimating to people in his home, he leads Valdis down the stairs, snapping his fingers in a quick, simple spell to summon an orb of light.

"I'll warn you in advance, of course, that Glory's been a bit... rambunctious the last few days. I think the warmer weather's gotten her excited, but I've been doing what I can to make it very clear that we don't pick up our guests. ...Apologies in advance if that hasn't quite gotten through yet."

[redlightgreenlight]

Valdis follows him down, reaching out to feel Glory with her senses, searching for the soul, the emotions, the dark innocence of a child borne from blood.

"I don't think that will be an issue, I plan to shift before I see her this time. She's not big enough to lift the Hound and I'm much harder to hurt in that form anyway."

A child Glory may be, but she has the potential to be dangerous by accident, even young animals must learn boundaries. Sometimes those boundaries are hard to set, but Valdis knows she can be gentle yet firm if Glory gives enough pause.

"Besides, better to learn with me than someone else who she might kill by accident."

[arcanegrasp]

"Ah--- you make a very fair point," Dr. Coldwood concedes, hanging the lantern atop a hook as they reach the basement at last. "Take all the time you need, then, I'll wake her."

Down in the basement, within Valdis' reach, a resting mind snaps alert as one mind brushes another. Her own thoughts are whispers, a crowd murmuring unintelligible thought to one-another, but the murmuring of a buzzing mind falls to silence as soon as there are footsteps outside her space.

The door creaks open, hushed "good morning"s are shared, before hoofed feet clatter onto cobblestone. Golden eyes peer out into the still-opened door, and tentatively, with the words coming out practiced but still trying to become refined in their structure, Glory calls out. "Mmmiss Val-diss?"

[xiaoxiuya]

"Breakfast would be lovely, thank you," Shen Qingqiu replies with a smile, taking a seat at the kitchen table and pulling a much dog-earred notebook out of his bag. A man of his cultivation level doesn't actually need to eat, but he enjoys good food and good company -- and the latter is not to be underestimated, when it comes to repairing the breach of trust between himself and Elias. Time spent chatting over a meal is a good way to make sure they're staying on the same page.

"It's a beautiful day outside, and the forecast says there's little chance of rain. I thought we might try taking the little one outside for a few hours? Just around the base of the lighthouse," he adds, trying to soothe Elias's most likely objection before it can be raised. "Perhaps if we take a few of her toys out with us, she might be persuaded to play like normal in the open air? And then if she's not too tired, we might work on her Emeran lessons for a time after bringing her back inside."

[arcanegrasp]

Pleased with the answer, Elias falls into the familiar rhythm of the mornings of Shen Qingqiu's visits as they've come to be over the months. The kettle comes off the stove, cups of tea are poured, eggs and meats are plated with bread and carried over. A mere few months ago, the terse greetings and workplace-attitudes are a far cry from this. It's comfortable, almost domestic. It's closer proximity than any one person's regularly been to him with any regularity in some time.

Strange how things turn out, isn't it?

The addition is quickly made before hackles can raise, though it doesn't stop a suspicious glance back. Objection its left to uncertainty, lips pulled into a tight, thoughtful frown as he passes the food and drink over, before sitting just to the other side of the table. "Are you entirely certain she's ready for something like that? You don't think she might--- spook and attempt to run off, if the local wildlife decides to get a bit nosy?"

Not that Glory's had much trouble with that before, considering the few bugs trespassing in her room that were met with an unfortunate end by curious teeth.