[slaps roof of barn]

[endsjustified]

WHO: lilies
WHERE: lily
WHEN: day 76 postgame

[you can fit SO many crises in here]

Comments

[mykidisthebest]

Does that mean it doesn't need to stay in her body?

[endsjustified]

If it’s empty now, then…one supposes…

[mykidisthebest]

That has me concerned that whoever it is will be looking elsewhere.

[endsjustified]

With the selection of bodies in the pasture, though — if they were capable of setting traps in all of Blossom’s potential hosts she’d be caught already, don’t you think?

[mykidisthebest]

[thinks about that for a second...and nods]

That's true. It must be specific to her body, then.

[endsjustified]

Well, it’s a lead, which is better than anything we’ve tried to do with this body so far.

[mykidisthebest]

[...]

Do you think we could get some of her blood while we're here? I'd like to make a duplicate of her body if we can. Even more so after this.

[endsjustified]

…

[HUH]

You’d have to either draw that limbus from the clinic stock or we’d need to take another trip to the plant, but yes. I was thinking of drawing a dose of her blood in case it came in useful somewhere too, but I hadn’t thought towards limbus yet.

[mykidisthebest]

I did ask Azdaja if I could use some of the clinic stock of limbus and she agreed. I also asked for discretion.

[endsjustified]

Miss Azdaja can certainly be relied on for that.

Let’s draw off enough for a body and perhaps a cup extra. Perhaps we’ll find uses for both…one wonders if that entity would settle in a replacement body too.

[mykidisthebest]

Do we want it to settle in a replacement body? The limbus has been here the whole time, so it feels like if someone needed or wanted an extra body, the opportunities for that were always here.

[gets out some materials for safely drawing blood from the body, in that case. no reason to be sloppy about it]

[endsjustified]

[they are following proper medical procedure (they are not)

he takes care of sitting Blossom’s body up and holding her in place for the draw, since he can lift her with relative ease]

I don’t think it’s ideal; but if it’s attracted to Blossom’s body in particular, and it does appear, then wouldn’t it be another chance to communicate and find out what it wants? Or where it’s from? It was trying to pull me beyond the pasture, which implies it intended that for Blossom.

[mykidisthebest]

Beyond the pasture, huh. We'd be in trouble if Blossom got snatched away like that, since her abilities are part of what's holding this place together. But I don't think it's bad to try and have a quick chat with it.

Do you think our lovely Lady would know what this likely-demon is about? I'm not sure if I want to ask her for information related to Blossom if she might use it badly, but at the very least we could use that as a...gentle threat to get Blossom to talk to us first.

[endsjustified]

I don’t want to alienate Blossom too much, so we should leave the threat as a last resort, but we should still warn her about its presence in general. And we can separately ask the Lady…perhaps when we ask her help with the wolf city trip, so we only need call her once?

[mykidisthebest]

I'm in favor of that. The less we bother her, the better. And I don't want Blossom to feel like she can't talk to us anymore if we push too hard; I just want to see if she'll be more open with us where she can be.

[endsjustified]

She might appreciate the warning, but I suspect learning of a new existential threat will make her cry, so you should ask your questions about the tomb and the significance of the plants there first. Belladonna and hydrangea, wasn’t it?

[braces Blossom’s back against his shoulder and reaches to hold the basin, so Lethe can make the cut]

[mykidisthebest]

[makes the cut with as much precision as he can and takes the basin back so the blood can drip into it. hashtag professionals]

That's right. Belladonna is pretty well known for being poisonous--another common name for it is deadly nightshade. Hydrangea has different meanings in each country, I think, but in Korea they're a symbol of change and enduring love. They usually bloom at the start of summer. Since the flowers aren't really linked, it feels pointed for both to be by her.

[endsjustified]

You can always ask her what their cultural significance is to wolves. It might differ from what we’re familiar with.

[mykidisthebest]

I kind of want to know if there's a pasture full of these flowers out there in the mist too.

[endsjustified]

A pasture of fanged beasts, perhaps…

[mykidisthebest]

Something like that, yeah! I kind of assumed everyone used to live in normal houses, since the city looked the same as the ones I know. But people still lived here after the war, and we know there were more pastures besides this one. There must be places where wolves stay too.

[endsjustified]

…

The Snake had to come from somewhere; Ceo must live somewhere. You’re probably right.

[mykidisthebest]

Somewhere safe from the Wolf King's influence would be...a pasture like this, or a place they can live while wearing those masks. The Snake doesn't wear a mask, though, so I have to think it's similar to the pasture.

[endsjustified]

Blossom and Stormy did say other pastures must be overrun — that this one remains because it has the concentrated strength of the royal houses. But perhaps there are holdouts.

Among other things, even if fanged beasts are as susceptible to being absorbed by the Wolf King as we are, they aren’t being scented and pursued the moment they enter the mist.

[mykidisthebest]

I wonder if one of the Weeds would be able to tell us what the Snake knows about that. If he knows anything at all.