sorry for your loss

[cuteandinnocentpet]

[When people are returned to the main floor, they will find a trail of cupcakes from the elevator to the dining room. There is a table of drinks, pills, and cupcakes and cakes from the automat.

And on the table, in the center, is this asshole, with a party horn in its mouth. Despite that, it talks into everyone's mind.]

As you strangers tend to have a tradition of parties after an execution, I took the liberty. The plates and cups are over there.

[. . .

be merry I guess]

Comments

[unwittingking]

Heh, sounds kind of crazy, but in the more fun way.

[And he definitely recognizes that smile. That’s a smile he’s made, more than once in his life.]

Can I ask who Kiri is?

[katzenpfote]

Oh... ah. She is a little bird girl we met in the Labenda Swamp. A kenku, specifically - they cannot speak or communicate with words they make themselves, only mimic things in the voice of whoever said it.

She is four. We found her stuck in the mud with crocodiles nearby. she and her family were fleeing the fighting in the valley. She got trapped and her family was forced to leave her. ... We think we found the remains of her sisters, but not her parents.

Ah... anyway, we took her along with us as we cleared out a safehouse for the Gentleman so his network could continue to work smoothly. We kept going and ended up in Hupperdook, and we found some children whose parents were locked up for worshiping unauthorized gods. That was the same dungeon where Cliff's mechanical warden had gone berserk, so in payment for getting rid of it we asked for the Schusters to be released.

... We left Kiri with the kids so she would not be in the fighting, and they got along very well. So once we returned the parents we gave them a good amount of gold to compensate for the new mouth to feed. ... Jester sends her messages from time to time, so I am sure she has learned a variety of new and excitingly inappropriate words.

She was a good bird... I am glad we did what we could for her, since we could not find her parents. But she was... oh, I don't want to say she was our child, though Jester might dispute that, but she was very charming. Very sweet and cute, even if she did stab dead bodies because she was trying to help fight.

[unwittingking]

[He listens, a smile on his face, even through the more concerning parts. Poor girl...he's happy she got a happier ending than expected, but it's still pretty sad. Also a bit off-putting, to hear about a four-year-old stabbing dead bodies. But at that point she was probably already somewhat mentally traumatized, so that might not have been too bad.]

Well, good to hear she got to a good home and is doing alright. It's sad to hear about what happened to her family, but at least she was lucky enough to have met you and your friends.

And even if you wouldn't think of her as your child, I wouldn't blame you if you still considered her as family. Even if you only knew her for a short time, it doesn't sound like something that happens often, and it sounds unforgettable for the most part. She's probably going to be grateful to you all forever for what you did for her.

So don't sell yourself short or anything, okay?

[katzenpfote]

Ah... I'm trying. It's a difficult lesson to put into practice. The rest of the Nein are family to me now... I think Nott still thinks of me as her child, somewhat. I'm significantly older than her actual child though, even if you adjust halfling years and human years to be equivalent.

[unwittingking]

It takes time. You’ll figure it out eventually.

[And that...was a bit of a bombshell to drop. Something to think about, Nott and halfling aging, with dog aging as well, but also...]

Nott...she’s a mother?

[And it sounds like the kid isn’t dead? Hopefully?]

[katzenpfote]

... Right, I didn't tell you, did I? She was... erm. Without going into too much detail about the circumstances, she was originally a halfling with a husband and son and a goblin tribe had her drowned and turned into a goblin. He's five years old.

[unwittingking]

Oh.

[Well, that’s...horribly saddening.]

Has she ever tried to get in contact with them? Or was she afraid they wouldn’t believe her?

[He wouldn’t blame her for either, really.]

[katzenpfote]

... Even I didn't know for a long time, but there were things I hid from her and the group. Still are. Some of them know more than others, but...

I don't think anyone will ever get the full story of all of the training I did.

But she can disguise herself - most of us can. We heard that her home village of Felderwin was hit by an attack from the Dynasty. The village and surrounding area is a major agricultural provider for the Empire, after all. We found her old home burnt, nearly to the ground, and her husband's alchemy lab had some strange devices and a note left by someone that is almost definitely from the Assembly, detailing how her husband had been forced to work with... well. A very important item that was in our possession. Or a similar one, we are not certain.

Her son had run down to find the neighbor, and she spoke to him briefly before she took us aside and explained what had happened to her. We discovered her husband had been taken in the Kryn attack, so we followed the giant worm tunnels down under the mountains, across miles and miles of tunnel and lava before we ended up on the other side. I'll spare you the long story but eventually we ended up in front of the Bright Queen and were about to be attacked before I pulled out that important item and returned it to them. It is a religious relic to them. In return, her husband was freed. We have yet to be able to take him back to his son, but we will do so as soon as possible.

[unwittingking]

[He listens intently. This is a story he wants to hear, even if it's sad. It's a story from Caleb; he feels pretty obligated to hear these things, for his friend. They need to be here for these things.

He pales a bit when hearing the part about the house burning, but gets better when the son is mentioned. Some worry appears on his face by the end of it, but...there's not much they can do, here.]

Good to hear they were at least able to meet each other again, even if it wasn't under the best circumstances.

I hope you can get them all reunited, when you get back. And...even if she doesn't know who I am, could you tell Nott I'm sorry for her? It's weird, I know, just...people shouldn't have to go through that.

[Being separated from their family. He knows that more than well enough, now...]

[katzenpfote]

... I'm sure she'll appreciate that, even if she's prickly about it. It's hard for her, I think... but I am determined to find a way to restore her form.

[unwittingking]

Well, if worse comes to worse...you can get me and I might be able to help. I know someone that's able to change people's forms permanently. Though you'd both have to be ready for him being annoying about it.

[Because even if he's not horrible, Kitsunes are tricksters after all.]