[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

[Wildcard] Eldritch Parent Support Group

[sunshinesally]

One afternoon, there's a knock at Elias' door.

Beyond it, there is a smiling, eager woman. In one arm, she's holding a lovingly wrapped package that is very obviously a bottle--- ostensibly there is wine in there. Her other hand holds a rope, dragging behind her a string of cantaloupe-sized rubber balls in rainbow colors, strung together by said rope like pearls. The front-most ball has a carefully painted smile and floppy rope antennae, and the other balls are threaded with rope "legs". Some kind of toy, perhaps. It seems she dragged it all the way here. It looks heavy.

"Hi!" She sighs out the word, still grinning. "I'm Sally Boyle. I, ah, I'm the pharmacist in town. We've met a few times, j-just briefly. Um. Listen, I'm sorry if this is presumptuous, but I heard about--- everything, and I also am raising both a toddler and an eldritch entity. Mind you, mine are separate individuals, my toddler's human and Yellow is--- more or less a teenager, but I thought it might be nice to someone who can relate a little and--- Christ, I'm rambling. I brought presents! One for the baby---" She gestures to the toy. "---and one for Dad." She offers the bottle. "If you'd like to talk, I'm here for you."

[arcanegrasp]

Of all the people he'd anticipated visiting, the local pharmacist wasn't one of them, and Elias is so surprised by the sight that she's able to get through her entire explanation without interruption, save for him looking a little bewildered, even as he takes the bottle.

"Oh, goodness, ah--- wow, you're--- thank you?" The words come out as a baffled little laugh, but he can't help a smile, puzzled as he might be. He comes to his senses and opens the door the rest of the way, offering a hand. "That looks heavy, here, let me bring that in! Would you--- care for a drink? Doesn't have to be the wine, of course, but I'd be happy to share. You said your teenager is eldritch?"

He's rambling now, as well, but who could blame him, with so much to process? As soon as he's got the toy, he's quick to step aside and let her in.

[sunshinesally]

"I'll have whatever your having," Sally assures her, following him in. "And yes! His name is Yellow, he's apparently part of one of those Elder Gods called the King in Yellow, and he takes it very seriously despite also really wanting to be more human. He likes to pretend he isn't a sweetheart, but he absolutely is. He and my toddler are absolutely inseparable. Maybe they can have a playdate with yours, once she's a little more people-friendly. You know, it can be so hard to start acclimating little ones to strangers no matter what species they are. Gwen was so shy when I first got here."

[arcanegrasp]

"The King in Yellow! Not a name that rings a bell, but it certainly does fit with what I have heard," Elias half-jokes, and despite some lingering tension, there's something... freeing, in a way, to have Glory discussed like she's no different than any other child. It strikes nostalgic chords that haven't been hit in an age, and it brings a soft, warm smile to his face before he's even realized it.

"Her acclimation has been slow, to be certain. We've not yet had much interaction with any in her, ah... cognitive range? Her age and her current progression aren't synchronized, but she's learning quickly! She may find herself to that of a seven or eight year old before we know it."

While he prattles, the silence of isolation of what Glory is giving way to the relief that someone has outside experience with such a thing, he finds a couple glasses, and brings the wine back. She brought it, so why not share it?

"Tell me, have you had any trouble with your boy in the, ah--- physicality of his existence? Glory, she certainly tries, but she's so very large, and she can't quite gauge just what amount of force hurts we mortal creatures. She's begun to grow sensitive, as well, as far as we've seen - which is better than the alternative, of course! But... it isn't particularly productive when she's got an Emeran lesson for the day, and she's inconsolable because she crushed a beetle she found in her room."

[sunshinesally]

"Oh, yes, he usually wears a human form, but when Yellow is mad, the tentacles come out and he gets---- non-Newtonian. It's a whole thing. And then he'll sulk because he's given himself an emotional crisis. I think he feels guilty for his temper, but then is embarrassed that he feels guilty because he thinks he's meant to be above morality somehow, and then he's unhappy about that because he wants to be liked, and then that's an identity crisis about what it means to be the King in Yellow--- he's got very complicated feelings. My partner and I, we try to help him through it, but we've only managed to get as far as we have through little bits and pieces. But, you know. Teenagers." Sally shrugs, chuckling fondly. "It'll be alright. For both of them. One step at a time. They both need to learn how to temper their own strength, and that takes practice!"

[arcanegrasp]

Elias can't help a chuckle of his own, and leans back against the seat that he'd taken, listening with equal parts keen interest and fondness. What a strange thing to come to anticipate, when Glory reaches that of a teenager's mind - will she be as temperamental, he wonders? Maybe she'll get an attitude? It's strange, to consider that new, and exciting to wonder, yet here he is.

"It does! I imagine your boy will figure it out before long, as well. And I'm certain, even if he acts as though he doesn't, he appreciates it," Elias jokes fondly. "Glory is at a point where she's oscillating wildly between terribly clingy and remarkably independent. It's anyone's guess when I wake her in the morning, if she'll decide that she's spending a day telling her own stories to herself, or if it's a day where I'll be getting nothing done, because she's got to be attached to my hip. Does your boy ever go through such a time? Or has he hit the point of being a teenager where he's decided to try to be detached?"