Queen of the Damned (Host)

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 50/70, PP = 45, EP = 5/48, Status = Injured, Low on Energy, Bound

Rolls

Spoiler

Attack: Miss.
Attack: Hit.
Nerzalil has been grappled.

The shard of her flesh, a piece of blackness containing as much of her essence as Nerzalil thought could be safely expended at once, hurled across the spring directly at the white winged woman, the blade of shadow aiming for her heart. Unfortunately, things didn't seem to be going well for Nerzalil today, and as the flying blade hurled itself through the short space toward its target, the woman simply shifted her body slightly, her head turning to watch the shard as it went by and flew off into the woods, not even touching her even though it came within centimeters of the tip of one of her breasts. She turned back toward Neri as she clumsily surged across the pool toward her, her right arm limp and leaking her glowing white blood into the pool.

Suddenly, the water surged up all around her, and Nerzalil was caught in its grasp. The winged woman settled back into her earlier position, but the smile was gone, and had been replaced by a disapproving scowl. Water surrounded her entire body, save for her head, and she felt herself floating helplessly within it as though it were a hundred feet deep, even though the sphere of liquid she was trapped in was only about eight feet across in any direction. It wouldn't be impossible for her to get herself out of this, of course, as even the animated water would only require that she do a little swimming, but the woman she had just attempted to kill would have ample opportunity to respond in any number of ways, not the least threatening of which would be to submerge her completely, and wait for her to drown.

"Why do you attack one who has shown you no hostility, shadow demon? Is the idea of some knowing that your kindred exist truly so frightening to you? I am no human, and my kindred have known of your presence in the world since before you even came to this jungle. We have worked to stay out of your kinds way, of course, but you are not the threat to this world that your enslavers were, so we have not taken action against you, even as some demanded your eradication. The fey do not commit genocide as lightly as you seem to believe we do, and we would not do so by proxy through alerting the mortals of these lands." She scolded Neri like a child, though the shadow demon had little to compare the words to, other than how some of the demon lords she had been enslaved to had spoken down to her.

The winged womans scowl darkened, and she continued with an unpleasantly violent edge to her voice; "Would it be easier for you to understand me if I spoke to you as your former handlers did? Should I beat you until you cannot move, as you have done to your right arm? Should I hold my ability to wipe your kind from existence over your head as we spoke, a grin upon my face like some child standing over an ant-hill with a piece of glass? Would it comfort you if I raped you, and drank of your black soul until there was not enough left for you to think? Would you be more at ease if I forced you to beg with desire for such, as you were once made to do? I have tried to treat you as an equal, but you seem to understand only the way of a master to a slave. What shall it be?"

 

[Host]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

The Shadow Demon initially waded against her watery bindings, and only struggled harder when the female announced herself as one of the fey – it was silly, really, given that the end result was the same regardless of whether the sidhe or the humans did them in… but the Shadow demon, like all of demon kind, had been taught to fear the fey, and it had stuck.

The humans that lived on this world were almost pitifully unaware, by demon standards; the fact that only a small number of them were beginning to grasp magic made them seem almost inconsequential to the inhabitants of hell. Their sentience was the only thing that separated them from monsters – and some magic-using non-sentients were certainly more worthy of rights in hell than a human would be. But the fey… they were the real rulers of this world. When the demons invaded, it was always the fey to arrive, first and fastest, fighting demonkind back with unparalleled ferocity while human cattle only mulled around in confusion, matching them arcane blast for arcane blast. The fey could feel the energies of their world, and where hellspawn would warp and twist it, they would soon arrive.

Nerzalil had hoped that, given that her kind were not creating a gate or any other structure liable to warp the energies of their new home, the fey would be unable to find them. No such luck, apparently…

Nerzalil’s struggling stopped suddenly as a thrash of her head to the right sent a bolt of liquid fire leaking out of her head, down her neck and terminating in her ruined arm. The female let out several ineffectively suppressed shouts of agony, slightly muffled by her mandibles, which were closed tightly against her face. Her desperate attack had left all the nerves leading to her arm horribly frayed, and trying to send an action down the same nerves felt like someone using a buzzsaw to slowly carve a channel straight through the small of her back.

Neri didn’t listen too hard to the fey’s remaining words. They wouldn’t have exactly cut Neri one way or the other; not only was she used to being verbally derided by demons who got off on seeing others belittled, the idea itself was ludicrous to her. Being told that she only knew the way of a soldier might have struck closer to home, given that Neri had initially hoped for peace with the people of the new world, and now could barely remember a time in which she thought it possible. Coexistence she could understand; but you could only coexist with allies – and if there was one thing that two years of encounters with this world’s natives had seen to hammering into the Shadow Demon’s psyche, it was that their species could only be enemies. A few sentences from a stuck-up fey woman wasn’t enough to remove a prejudice that embedded.

Nerzalil had no reason to continue to act in the manner of a succubus, nor any desire to, and so returned to her typical and far more direct method of conversation. At the moment, that included a good deal of sarcasm – the only response she could consider adequate for the impossible idea being suggested.
“…Are you trying to convince me that they fey are my friends? Really? When even the Humans know to kill things like me on sight – and they don’t even know that we’re parasites! Besides, fey girl who knew everything about me before we met… who spoke words that could only cause me to attack; who dodged my attack as if forewarned, who used that attack to flaunt your superiority - tell me what part of your actions should make me think of the fey as friendly. But don’t let my disbelief stop you from talking as nicely as you please – several of my acquaintances in hell were nothing but polite while they stuck things into me with varied, ill intents.”

The Shadow Demon hung her head, out of tiredness more than anything. With her spiritual energy this low, and this quickly depleted, she had to fight to stay conscious.
“…So, are you here to kill my kind off for good, is there something you want… or did you just feel the need to gloat? Was our survival so far all some cruel joke, or is there another reason the fey let us get this far?”

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 50/70, PP = 45, EP = 5/48, Status = Injured, Low on Energy

Rolls

Spoiler

Grapple: Nerzalil wins.

"Friends? No. But we have chosen that your eradication is not necessary, . And I would point out to you, demon, that I am not human." The woman responded heatedly, and her previously serene features twisted into a scowl. She paused a moment, glaring at Nerzalil as her eyes glowed softly, but then, she closed them and sighed the tension disappearing.

When she opened her eyes again, her expression was once more completely calm, and her tone was even. "I wish you would listen to me. I need not be an enemy to you and your kin. The humans would wipe you out if they knew of you, yes. Or they would, if they had the strength to. They do not have that strength anymore. I came to you because I wished to warn you, Nerzalil. Something is coming. Very soon, it will Arrive, and when it does, I fear that many things will change.

"I want nothing from you, O Queen. I wanted nothing, except to see what could be. You have shown me the sum of what you are, and so I will take my leave. All I can leave you with at this point, is that you will receive no quarrel from my kin or myself, unless you yourself seek it. Believe me or not, I care little." With a flap of her wings, the woman took off from the pool, and ascended up into the sky. As she'd been struggling the whole time, Nerzalil broke free from her watery prison just as she left, but before she could attempt to launch another attack, the woman was gone into the sky. Her struggles proved to have been moot, as the construct collapsed behind her a moment later.

The beetle, the only one of her kindred whom Nerzalil yet had with her, stared at her, waiting. She was still in pain from what she'd done to her arm, and she was still bleeding slightly from where she'd torn a chunk of her body to fling at her quarry. What's more, she was almost completely drained of energy, what little strength she had left barely enough to keep her moving. The water around her was extremely comforting, even stained with her glowing blood as it was, and the idea of sinking into it and sleeping was a highly appealing, albeit dangerous one.

 

[Host]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Nerzalil was silent, though defiant while the winged fey spoke – well, mostly. As the thing affected an air of mock reverence and referred to her as a queen, the Shadow Demon tensed, her expression steeling from detest into cold loathing. To be treated as if her position was noble and worthy of respect was perhaps the most insulting thing anyone could do towards Neri, as the winged woman was certainly well aware. The remark was enough for her to start wading against the enchantment again. Nerzalil had a remark far less indirect in response; a low hiss, but loud enough for Neri’s intentions.
“Bird Bitch.” If daggers could be glared and words could be thrown with force, the angel’s remains would have landed some distance away, perforated and crushed. Alas, reality continued to operate as normal, and the winged creature escaped unscathed.

The shadow demon female paused, her mind simply empty for a few moments. Physically, she was in fairly good shape, her arm notwithstanding. Mentally, she had a headache and everything was muted and hazed; her emotions were all over the place, and her judgment certainly seemed to be at least a little impaired, though how much of that was from spiking terror and adrenaline, and how much was spiritual depletion was impossible to tell. Her body demanded rest, despite being physically quite energetic – Well, her body would have to wait; there was always more to do, and right now that was getting to safety before night fell – and deciding what to do about the apparently omnipresent fey. “You,” Nerzalil began commanding the beetle, and though she spoke normally, to her own ears her voice seemed oddly distant and separate from herself. “Seal this wound. I have taken too much time, and getting back is going to be slow if I am bleeding out on top of my injuries.”

The Shadow Demon’s current matriarch could only really think of the fey as she headed back, going slowly to compensate for her considerably diminished perception. Granted, her current state probably wasn’t the best one to be making species-wide decisions in, but there was nothing better to do but think through the oddity that had just gone down.

The winged fey knew all about Neri’s situation, and had intentionally commented in such a way that caused Neri to attack. She had derided the reason for the attack she had forced the shadow demon to make, claiming that she and her kind were peaceful… and then decided to warn her about some soon-to-arrive threat.
Clearly, they did not want to simply destroy her kind… toying with them for the sadistic enjoyment of it, though, was another thing altogether. However, Neri expected that if pleasure through cruelty was the creature’s goal, she would have toyed with the shadow demon more blatantly, and would have left her in a state of fear rather than puzzlement. Even the grilling that Neri had gotten about ‘not attacking someone who has not harmed you’ didn’t seem so sadistic in hindsight; while Neri –had- been forced to attack, the response the woman gave could be seen as a legitimate warning for future encounters – and the way she had sounded while saying it supported that. There was far too little of the malice Neri had come to expect from such things.

If the lecture was a legitimate warning, then the claim that the fey were friendly might also be legitimate. While Neri knew of the fey as rabid, fanatic killers of demonkind, the woman she had spoken to clearly broke that idea. Perhaps it was easy to accept the pessimistic idea that her kind were not threatening, or perhaps it was spurred by the incredibly lax manner in which the fey allowed humans to rule their world… either way, Neri began to seriously consider the idea that the rulers of this world might actually not care about the shadow demons’ continued existence. The fey might be the first species on this world to actually find her kind’s existence permissible… and the idea of it was oddly disturbing.

Neri had been created between the second and third invasions. While she had been given independence, she was still born of the shadow demon collective, and had inherited the hive’s shared memories at that time. While the memories were oddly vague, they included two wars worth of deaths at fey hands – something that left a distinct impression. She had an instinctive fear towards the fey, but if they were friendly, well, she would just have to get over it. There weren’t that many shadow demons left who even had part of the hive mind’s memories still in them; most had been born after their species-wide psionic connection had broken, so that side wouldn’t be too problematic either.

It was, of course, also possible that the fey had wanted to goad her into doing their dirty work; while they had not asked directly, she had clearly shown which of them was the more powerful, and had then remarked that there was a threat for Neri to fight. Given what the woman had said, the fey had a raging hard-on for beating around the bush and acting with, at the least, mock civility; it could be interpreted that the fey had given Nerzalil a target they wanted destroyed. Even that seemed unlikely, given that she could still just take her kin and flee, rather than fight – the woman had made no stipulation that she had to actually stop the incoming threat. Being a mindreader, the girl would have presumably known what Neri was going to do before she did it, though – so if Neri defended the jungle, there was a chance that it had been the angel’s intention. If she fled, on the other hand, then the ploy clearly couldn’t have been about getting her to fight on the fey’s behalf…

Spoiler

Action: Travel back home. There are a pair of Night-Elves in waiting, and some terrible news to hear.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 70, PP = 45, EP = 48, Status = Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: Nerzalil and ??? both win!

The stag immediately complied with her orders, sealing her wounds with the jelly-like paste that it secreted. The patch solidified quickly, and the shadow demon's body was mended. Though her head still ached, her energy rejuvenated itself quickly enough to levels that would be usable, and as she left the glade, once more dressed and armed, Nerzalil felt as if she might be ready for the dangers of the forest. Putting her armor back onto her voluptuous form, Nerzalil and her stag beetle headed back out into the woods, returning toward her hive.

Nerzalil was understandably distracted on her return trip, the conversation with the angel and her continued pain, however lessened it might be, weighing heavily on her. Fortunately for her, however, she managed to make good time even with the stag by her side, slowing her somewhat, and that allowed he to compensate for her diminished attention to her surroundings.

It might also have helped that, when she stumbled into something, she almost literally stumbled into it. Two of the beings she had been searching for, ironically, walked almost directly into her, having been staring off in opposite directions. The pair of plant girls stopped mid stride as they came into view of Nerzalil, not more then ten feet from her, and in perfect unison said; "Ermm.... Hello?"

 

[Host]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

The shadow demon’s arms moved towards her blades when she found the pair quite so close to her, suddenly quite visible out of the thick foliage that the females resembled. Her hands didn’t even get to rest on the hilts, though; after a moment, and with a blink of confusion, one of Nerzalil’s hands went back down to the beetle in a gesture of pause, while the other rose in returned greeting. The sudden, serendipitous encounter combined with a lack of any hostile response had thrown her slightly - but the exactly simultaneous speech had thrown her even more. Still, one thing at a time.

“Uh, I’d tell you not to attack, but you already aren’t.” Not feeling the need for any deception or subtlety, Neri quickly pressed forwards with her agenda, before the plants had said anything in reply. “I need to get a message to the being, or beings in power among your kind. It seems my people have unintentionally made an enemy of yours – a situation I find unfortunate, and would like to rectify.”

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 70, PP = 45, EP = 48, Status = Fine

The two alruane glanced at one another, and held their gaze for several moments. After a short while that was nonetheless oddly conspicuous, they turned back to Nerzalil, and once again spoke in perfect unison; "Okay! What do you want to tell us? And who are you exactly?" They didn't respond to her peaceful gesture, instead staring at her upraised hand in confusion.

 

[Host]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

The inability of the pair to recognise her kind was both odd and annoying to the Shadow Demon. Nerzalil’s brothers might not be the most powerful species in the new realm, but the plants should at least have enough respect to remember who they’re warring with! A mild annoyance from the plant’s inability to place her race briefly worked its way into the matriarch’s speech. “I’m Nerzalil, of the Shadow Demons. My kind attacked one of yours, and all manner of plant-creatures have been fighting against us since. …Am I right in thinking you plant people all one big group? You’re not splintered into different factions or anything?” the possibility was unlikely, given the way the women were acting – which Neri was burning to ask about, but deigned to as more important things were beckoning. Her earlier annoyance disappeared as she started getting down to business.

“I don’t know much about your species, but from what I have seen, we do have similar goals... we are both capturing humans. I think it could be possible for us to work together, in that area at the least, rather than compete. This jungle isn’t small, and there are more than enough dangers in it to make the prospect of a friendly force bolstering your own an enticing one. Not spending effort attacking each other has obvious benefits, and our combined force of arms should be able to take more captives than either of us could alone. But to do that, we would require an understanding of each other; at the moment, I know too little of you to determine how we could work together. To that end, I propose an exchange of information about our people, between myself and whomever leads your kind on neutral ground – there is a stream not too far from here that should make a good location. …That is, assuming I am not already talking to the leaders of your kind…” Nerzalil couldn’t resist asking the question any longer; it had been on her mind since the moment they met, and now the answer had become pertinent to the conversation. The idea of meeting another species with a similar situation to her own was enthralling.

“…Are your people interconnected? Do the minds of all your kin meld and merge together, speaking as one, forming a collective? The Shadow Demons were once possessed of a hive mind, keeping our individualities joined… but it was torn from us years ago. You two the first beings I’ve seen since that were able to move as if with one mind.”

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 70, PP = 45, EP = 48, Status = Fine

The plants blinked at Nerzalil as she explained who she was, and glanced at each other for a moment before responding; "Oh... Right. Them..... Well.... We do all try to coexist together. I suppose that we could try to do the same with you... Though your kind are fairly yummy!"

"You need to talk to one of the ancient ones directly... There is only so much that can be communicated over the link. A stream... No, you would have to go to them. They can't move. We won't hurt you though, no matter how yummy you are!"

"We share ideas, yes. We decide as one what course of action to take, so long as we are close enough together. The more voices there are, the more powerful the connection becomes, until it outweighs the individual minds of all but the strongest members. We're too far from the nearest of our kin to communicate quickly, and we can only hear the loudest of voices at this distance.

 

[Host]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

“Oh, we can probably work something out about eating us. We’re too close to extinct at the moment, but when our numbers recover it should be fine.”

…To say the Shadow Demons had an odd philosophy toward death and the sanctity of their individuals' lives was putting it lightly. In their society – before its fall - a dead shadow demon simply became part of the hive mind forever, which made the moral issues regarding sentient sacrifice far less important. Being allowed to die was a privilege – but that was not to say that Shadow Demons didn’t enjoy living, as well. ”…if we can find a way to restore our hive mind…” She slowly added, the briefest edge of distress evident in her voice. Now, Nerzalil couldn’t be sure where her species’ souls were ending up… or if there was even a way to restore the insects’ hive mind to them. The idea that the entity they had known as the All-Devourer might be lost permanently, and the impact it could have on her kind’s culture… did not bear thinking about.

The confirmation that the plants shared a similar, though seemingly weaker ability to her kinds own was, while amazing, little more than trivia. The existence of a shared consciousness between the plant people that were close to each other did nothing to help her own hive; Neri doubted that even these ‘ancient ones‘ would be able to give any hot tips on hive-mind repair. Still, their willingness to co-operate towards shared goals was more than Neri could have hoped for, and her exuberance flowed unbidden into her behaviour. “Great! Will you be able to tell them that I’m coming tomorrow? I’d go immediately, but it’s getting dark, and I’ll need the time to prepare anyway.”

I’ll have to raise an escort… I wonder what plants would want as a gift? …Air from my lungs? Actually, would they expect a gift, or be disturbed by it? Crap, what kind of culture do these Shadow-Demon-shaped plants even have?

Thinking about it, for the moment, Neri was content to presume that the race of unusually mobile foliage would share a similar outlook to her race’s own. Both species possessed group minds, and they both apparently required other species for their own ends – food, presumably; a far better use than the embarrassing and disgusting one the Shadow Demons were currently taking captives for. While the plants hadn’t mentioned anything about the resting place of their dead, the way they had explained their connection suggested that they did not become part of the plant’s hive mind equivalent. This would suggest that they would be less warlike than the Insectile species, and would value the lives of their individuals much more highly. Other than that, if they were assumed to be similar to her own kind when they had possessed their hive mind… they would hold pity towards anything forced to live without a direct link to others in their group. They would be great thinkers and philosophers – or, at least, the collective would – and would thusly prefer to not speak questions until they had thought them through. Clearly their hive mind was not so encompassing that they found it unnatural to speak at all, or to find it hard to act without the guiding minds of others, which was one difference. They would be curious, and wise, and merciful, and kind (– all in Neri’s own alien, biased opinion, of course -) to a degree that one who had never experienced their connection, like Nerzalil, might find unusual.

…But, despite all that she could assume about the species, Nerzalil still had no idea whether or not to get the unusual creatures a gift! She stood, stunned, with self-inflicted panic at the myriad ways she could manage to unintentionally sabotage any chance for her kind to find a friendly form in the hostile hell-world they hid in. Nerzalil remained that way for more than a few moments, looking as if prepared to speak, but never making a sound. Finally, with a sigh, she asked straight up. Tact had always been the hive mind’s domain, and while her enslavement had given her something of an unintended crash course in the subject, brute force was still her preferred answer.

“Look, is there anything I have to do, or need to know before I go to see these ancients? Like ‘bow when you meet them’, ‘don’t stand close to them’, ‘bring them a sacrifice’, ‘don’t stand on any plants’? …I really hope I don’t have to avoid stepping on plants…” Neri finished, looking down at the omnipresent carpet of vegetation.

(After this, if nothing too eventful is said, presume Neri bids them adieu and makes back to the hive with her lone beetle.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 70, PP = 45, EP = 48, Status = Fine

The plant's cocked their heads as Neri mentioned that there were too few of the shadow demons, as if confused, and replied; "We would give them back when they're tired." The two nodded when she asked if the pair could warn their leaders of her coming, and replied; "We will come to find you tomorrow, in the morning."

At her questions about proper etiquette among the ancients, the two giggled as one, an altogether discomforting sound all told. "The ancients cannot move save for their arms, so you need not bow or hold yourself strangely. You ought to try to stand in the center, but only so that you can hear all of them properly. And you need offer us nothing during your visit, though we would be glad to have you and a few of your kind to stay among us for a short while. Do not concern yourself about the silent ones, they recover swiftly enough."

~~~~~~~~~​

After bidding the two plants adieu, Nerzalil returned to her journey, the rest of which was uneventful. She found her burrow in a state of chaos, however, as a trio of shadow demon spawn greeted her before she had even entered the burrow, her stag beetle trailing behind. As one, they quietly reported; "Demons have taken a burrow containing some of our spawn. Some of our kin were killed. They remain there, in great numbers, and have begun to spread throughout the jungle. They are close to three other burrows. The two captives you sent arrived safely, and carry spawn even now."

 

[Host]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Neri let the strange comment about giving her kind back after being eaten pass, with only a look equally peculiar to the statement in return. Other than that, though, the news was all good; she would have to see how well the meeting went before deciding to stay with the plants, but otherwise everything was right on track. The Shadow Demoness waited until she was well away from the pair to let out a quiet cheer, pumping her fist, and grinning all the way to her mandibles.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neri’s face was a visage of rage, horror, and incomprehension. Her species, already nearly on its deathbed from demon actions as it was, had just been stabbed once more by their kind. She almost had to wonder if they were not being hunted down by some band still loyal to hell. The angel’s earlier warning sprang to mind immediately, which didn’t particularly help matters – but in the end, the “How in the fuck!?” of the equation could wait for more peaceful times.

While the three spawn stood quite emotionlessly, Neri very nearly collapsed under the weight of the news. She was forced to sit down, and mull over the news, starting from the beginning…
While the Spawn had all spoken at the same time, Neri couldn’t help but notice the slight discrepancies in inflection and posture. They were still stubbornly trying to hold on to the way they acted with a hive mind, despite their inability to do so – which Neri found reassuring. However, their lack of emotion was problematic; if they couldn’t understand each other’s desires, conflict would arise. No shadow demon had fought against shadow demon, yet, and their queen planned on doing her best to see that the record continued.

She couldn’t help but notice the irony; Back before all of this, when the All-Devourer was still around, Neri would try to emulate her mentally connected kin as much as possible – showing no emotion, and upholding all the same values her kind showed. Now, instead, her emotional responses were their role model, helping the overly stoic creatures to understand the (admittedly clumsy and inefficient) physical motions for displaying feelings. Like all the other new things the Shadow Demons’ situation was forcing them to do, this one also pained Nerzalil - but she preferred it to the alternative.
From her place on the ground, Neri held her head and mulled over the news, taking things from the beginning…

“Wait, someone went back and scouted the burrow without being prompted? …Good, very good, the information they got is invaluable in this emergency. Each of you, when I dismiss you, find a small escort and head each to one of the three burrows in threat. Have them stop impregnating half of any females they have, and prepare to move them here when they have all finished birthing; when they are able to be moved safely, take them back with you. Tell them, if the demons attack, they should scatter into groups of no more than five, head a kilometre in any direction away from their burrow, and then attempt to make their way back here. ”

Nerzalil’s defensive orders would not remove the threat of the demons, but they would help mitigate damage, with any luck. She would have to deal with the new threat somehow; migrating was the last resort, but one she kept in mind. A vengeful part of the shadow demoness wanted to retract her order, and change it to “MOBALISE FUCKING EVERYTHING” – but a much larger part of her was rightly terrified of the sudden demonic presence… not to mention, that directly aggressive kind of action had very nearly sent them extinct once already. The demons had already taken one burrow; if they could do that, the losses Nerzalil’s kind would suffer in an up-front attack would be far too great – if they could even win against the demonic forces at all. Even this significant upheaval, though, had useful elements to it; demons were quite certainly both pregnable and impregnable, in certain senses… and they would be facing the wrath of this jungle just as much as Neri’s own kind. If she could keep them from hunting her people down, specifically, and had them fight another group instead… say, the fey… that would leave the insects the opportunity to prey on the distracted demons, like they did any other inhabitant of this jungle. All-Devourer willing, they may even be able to rout the demons, if they could secure the plants’ help.

And then there was more to think about – “When you take some of our people to go to the hives, leave… leave the ones that I use to guard captives. As always, I will need them to question the two new women.” Neri informed the trio, beating around the bush; she typically had only the more heavily endowed of her brothers guarding the captives, and it was that aspect she required from them. Neri’s interrogation technique demanded the presence of at least one shadow demon for each girl, and the more ‘intimidatingly built’ her brothers were, the better.

“Alright. Dismissed.”

Reaching the prisoners and finding the guards proved to be uneventful; despite all the other world-shaking events that had occurred in the span of a single day, the prison was where Neri had left it, the guards at their posts. The humans would be inside, pregnant, and waiting. Neri steeled herself against the actions she was about to commit.

Torture, Neri had figured out over time, was a tricky art – especially torture for the sake of information. If a person had information another wanted, then they were valuable – which meant their life was less threatened, dampening the effects of the procedure. In order to torture someone effectively, you had to let the information come to you; let the victim think that their death, or at least maiming, was inevitable unless they used some bit of bargaining information.

Thus, when Nerzalil entered the room, her only action was to look over the pair without a word, scrutinising them – and especially, their pregnant bellies, checking on the progression of the spawn as if it were more important than the lives of the two humanoids… because, to Nerzalil, it was.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nerzalil (Host)

Spoiler

HP = 70, PP = 45, EP = 48, Status = Fine

The three spawn all nodded at once when Nerzalil's orders had been delivered, and when she had finished speaking, they immediately set about their tasks. The signs of their developing individuality were still only minor, but she began to notice them all the same. One had a slightly different gait than the other when he walked. Another glanced around constantly, as if searching constantly for danger. Along with the tiny inflections in voice when they spoke, they made each shadow demon distinct, at least to Neri's perceptions.

Nerzalil found the two night elves that she had captured just as she had expected to, stuck to the wall with their bellies bloated with spawn. They had the usual glassy, lifeless eyes that came when one of her kind had drained their energy. With the spawn growing inside of them, they would be barely coherent.... Which was both a good, and a bad thing. With their emotions so suppressed, they would be less likely to resist her questioning, so long as she worded things carefully. They would also be just as numb to pain and fear, however, which would limit the usefulness of such techniques. The two elves remained silent, staring almost blankly at Nerzalil as she prepared to interrogate them.

 

[Host]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

They had the usual glassy, lifeless eyes that came when one of her kind had drained their energy. With the spawn growing inside of them, they would be barely coherent....

(Fuuuuuuuuuuhgot about that entirely. I think we may have to retcon the energy drain off the regular SD’s though. Assuming they survive into DG3, the new talent forces them to feed on energy, rather than merely allowing them to. (EDIT: Haven't checked if this is still true) Still, the offspring would probably be bad enough.

Now, time to salvage this post.)

Neri was mildly annoyed at just how fucked out of their minds the pair were. She had expected at least a more defiant look, or a look of recognition from one of them. Granted, they were sure to end up in a state similar to this, but the pair of spawn had perhaps been a bit too vigorous in taking their prize. She sighed, affecting a more kindhearted look – faking goodwill was one of the easier skills to pick up from succubi, though her own performance was somewhat marred by the inhumanity of her species. Still, Neri doubted that the pair of doped-off-their-faces humans could tell the difference.

She cupped the head of one in a seductively affectionate manner, a practiced maneuver liked by some of the less ‘extreme’ demons she had been in service for. The seductive aspect was quite accidental – she wanted to display affection and kindness towards the pair, but Shadow Demons simply didn’t do that. When you had a direct and complete mental link with your entire species, the comfort of intimacy is made totally obsolete. Add to that the Shadow Demon’s lack of natural gender, and the creatures never had a reason to so much as touch each other. Even though Neri had grown up independent of the hive mind, she parroted their behaviour for quite a while; the idea of physically comforting someone was still quite foreign to her by the time she had become a slave. After that, well, Nerzalil –had- gained quite a lot of experience in showing affection – but always with a sexual bent.

“Are you alright?” she asked of the women, starting the conversation simply. “I hope my brothers weren’t too rough with you… unless you wanted them to be, of course.” She winked, an action she found overly trite but probably necessary. The insectile demon didn’t let them dwell on that one for more than a moment; she’d rather not have them thinking about anything that would make them desire to resist her, if she could help it. “I’m sorry. I don’t really want to capture people like this, and certainly not to do anything to you against your will… but I have no choice.” It helped that Neri was, at least at the moment, speaking the truth. Even if they had been of their right minds, Neri probably could have convinced them of at least that much. “My kind is nearly extinct. We used to be enslaved by demons, but we managed to escape through the Dark Gate into this world. We had hoped to live alongside whatever creatures were here… but as soon as we saw anyone, they would attack us. Getting to this forest to hide was all we could do to save ourselves. To make matters worse… the only way we could be brought back from the brink of extinction is to breed with your kind.”

And now, finally, with the sob-story over, the lying began. The best interrogations always failed to seem like an interrogation – whether you used pain, pleasure or deception, getting the other party to spill their guts of their own accord was always easier than forcing it out… but you had to find the right leverage. In hell, goblins could usually be manipulated with pleasure, knights with a display of weakness, succubi by flashing a glimpse of innocence, or the chance of petty vengeance. Humans, too, would surely have their own flaws…

“I only brought you two here so that you could bear one of our children each – I wouldn’t trouble you any more than that! I’m sorry to have forced this on you, but they will be born soon, and then you will be able to go back to your homes. I’m afraid the pregnancy has left you quite weak, and the birth is going to take even more out of you. But I won’t leave you to face the jungle alone; we will take you to your city after the children are born.”

Neri affected an air of mild embarrassment. “Well… I say that, but I don’t actually know where you’re from. Could you explain how to get there?”

Assuming Neri managed to at least get the location of their encampment, she would continue to gather information. “Thank you… although I’m afraid I can’t just walk in and hand you over; I can’t trust that your people won’t attack us. But I don’t want to leave you by the gate to be snatched by some animal, though, either. Can you think of any way we could get you into your city without being noticed?”

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

Spoiler

Nerzalil: HP = 70, PP = 45, EP = 48, Status = Fine

(They're night elves not humans, and nay, no retcons shall be allowed! It wouldn't make sense for the adults to not have to drain energy if the children had to. Also, you still need to post your DG3 character sheet.)

The violet-skinned woman looked up at Nerzalil with glassy eyes as the shadow demon queen gripped her chin, her face blank save for occasional twitches. Nonetheless, Neri's teachings from the succubi seemed to have paid off, as despite how muted they were, she could read every one of the captive woman's reactions, as she seemed unable to hide them in her drained state. That was a boon, at least.

When she put on her seductive manner and asked them how they were, the two were clearly distrustful, and wary of her, and even showed a bit of revulsion at the idea that they had asked for such treatment. As she apologized, however, they became confused, though their wariness remained. Hints of pity appeared on their faces, which would likely not have been present had they not been so drained and had the capacity for more in depth thought, appeared as she explained that her race was nearly extinct. The reaction was purely surface emotion, and would have been quickly been forgotten if the weakened women had had the capacity for anything deeper, and it was fortunate now that they were not. It gave Nerzalil something to work with.

And work with it she did, quite well. Fear vanished from the captured women, and was replaced by understanding as she explained that they only had to bear one child each. Then, each even nodded in thanks as she promised to escort them back to their village once they had given birth. Neither seemed to even consider that she might be lying. "We... Are from a village.... Keshic Falls.... I don't know... Where it is from here... But.... It runs along a wide river... And our village stands at... At the top of a large waterfall." Nerzalil had an idea of what she was talking about, at least. "We could.... Could be left..... Near the edge of the village.... Unless... You could bring us up... The cliff.... Nothing in the jungle can do so... So it is unguarded."

 

[Host]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

They're night elves not humans

(You know that, and I know that, but Neri doesn’t know that. I’m trying to write some of my descriptions using information as the character would understand it; helps me remember what the character is and isn’t supposed to know. As for the shadow demons’ draining, the adults have bodies, while the children are something along the lines of infectious ideas… not to mention that Neri still wouldn’t need draining, which also wouldn’t make much sense. ….But, despite the complaint, I guess I’m okay with them needing draining. It makes them seem a bit hypocritical about their/Neri’s hate of sexual pleasure, but I can probably get around that.

Anyway: Shadow Demon lore dump, GO)

The information the two girls gave was about as good as Neri could have hoped for. Now that she had everything she could want from the pair, Neri could reveal her deception without risk of losing information, and begin breaking in the pair of new breeding tools – “Thank you, I should be able to get you back safely now. You have only need to wait and we will take care of the rest.” Neri finished, readying to leave. Right now, the women were in a state of happiness, and cruelty - especially wanton cruelty - went against her species’ general philosophy. The mortal races had enough to torture them without Shadow Demon intervention. It was foolish sentimentality to just leave them be now, when she would only end up trying to break them later… but at least this way the hive’s prey would have a moment’s peace.

If her kind could still hunt in their ancient way, the flesh of the two women would have been long eaten, and their souls in the room instead; trapped by the walls, but free of their binding bodies – a far preferable situation to the one they were in now. It was the shadow demon understanding that being a living individual was the most terrible fate available to a being.* A body was a person’s prison, trapping them within desires ruled by humours in the flesh – hunger, lust, fear, and more besides, they all caused the creature to painstakingly work and worry after desires the soul did not need. To compound this, the sufferer’s individuality left them acutely alone – unsupported, they could only fear as their fate was swept up in the affairs of people they didn’t know, things they didn’t understand. The mortal desire of love was, from what the hive could tell, a desperate approximation by mortals to the same closeness and security their kind was naturally born into – and it was because of this that the living creatures of the worlds ha d the Shadow Demons’ utmost pity. Despite everything that had happened, this philosophy had remained unchanged**.

In the past, the bugs were quite happy to show the demons kindness and aid them in transcending their physical state, as they were happy to do with any mortal – stripping them of their bodily form and tying up their soul in the hive, to stop them accidentally floating off and suffering some terrible fate. Free of the foulness of their form, the soul would be used to feed and spawn new Shadow Demons… or in the cases of the luckiest of ghosts, to wholly become one of the arthropodian host.
At this point of the process, the insectoid demons themselves admit to being selfish; they could try to convert every soul wholly to one of their own, but doing so would give them nothing to feed from, causing the species to starve itself to death. Instead, most spirits to whom they showed kindness were kept mainly as everlasting food - of course, even this was to the soul’s benefit, as the spiritual euphoria of draining would help abate the loneliness and confusion that even non-physical beings face. Finally, the luckier souls would be spiritually infected with a Shadow Seed… and as a chunk of their soul was slowly converted to one of the Shadow Demons, some mortals would experience brief, light snatches of the thoughts of the hive mind. This quick brush against the reassuring weight of a hundred-hundred insect minds was undoubtably the second best thing for a soul, next to actually becoming a part of the Shadow Demon collective, and so the hive mind did all it could to see that they were covered in the full weight of its reassuring embrace.

Despite the foulness of the two women’s fate – to be kept physically extant, even though the insects had the pair at their mercy - Neri could not help but look upon them with fondness. Her expression was almost motherly towards the pair… though if the women had known quite why Neri was smiling, they would likely not have been reassured.

Neri saw in the pair of happily doped women, the beginnings of scenery from her better days, when ‘her’ would not have been an accurate description for the demon. The massive black structure of a hive, its familiar visage rising out of the landscape; through the tunnels, the wisps of ethereal sounds could heard well before the central chamber was reached; and then there, in the centre, a wide open inverted cone, the walls plastered with a thousand lights - each one, a soul carefully kept in place, meticulously tended to like clockwork… and each one humming its own quiet tune of contentment, joining and filling the hive’s heart with a haunting melody that Neri had come to think could be nothing other than the sound of peace itself. The energy… the magic both metaphorical and literal pumping thick through the hive’s heart, never failed to invigorate the impromptu queen, and even its simple reminder brought a happy nostalgia to her mind. The same thing would not be seen in the world again, of course. Striped of their ability to strip others of their spirits, their kind could only make a perverse approximation of the beauty they once created.

But damn if Neri wasn’t going to get as close to making a hive as she could. It would be one step at a time… and two had been made right here.



Neri considered the information of the human(oid) settlement in her chambers***. It was not overly pressing, not in comparison to the other events that had managed to occur in the span of one day – but it was the only event she had total control over. Still, the village presumably would not be going anywhere, and Neri had an appointment tomorrow… come to think of it… the pair of plant people may have said not to bring a gift, but that didn’t stop the big bug from doing so anyway...

When morning came, Neri was ready to greet it. The plants were to find her, if what they had said was true. Still, she wanted to make a good impression. First contact normally meant disassembling one of the other species’ individuals for the combined purpose of better understanding their biology, and also better understanding their physical prowess – but that had been gotten over with some time ago, and now it was time to begin negotiations… which meant an escort. It was good practice, and not to mention polite, to show the other party that you meant business and that you found them legitimately threatening; all things best said in your bodyguard count, if the nobility of hell had taught Neri anything. A brief walk through the hive found her three spawn she felt could be spared for the endeavour, and the one stag-rider in the hive; and a few words to each had her a reasonable party. The group was numerous enough to hopefully allow her to escape if attacked, as well as powerful enough to hold their own if a third party ambushed the gathering… but not so large or powerful that the plants should find any reason to worry. Her resolve steeled, Neri left the burrow and began looking for the hopefully present plant people… presumably, they would be somewhere around where she had first met them.


*Of course, the Shadow Demons themselves had physical forms; that was a necessary evil for interacting with the world. The evils of form, however, were nothing against the insects’ hive mind. With a collective consciousness, all fear and uncertainty was eliminated by taking solstice in the constant, reassuring presence of everyone else thinking the exact same thing as you; all pain and discomfort was made irrelevant when shared through the sum of the Shadow Demon will.




**The black, insectoid extra-terrestrials had gone through a lot in their enslavement, enough that it could make a creature start thinking of other beings as only filth, and desire to commit genocide against them to ensure our eternal vigilance and security! -….but that went against their morals, would be unoriginal, and besides, the original sufferers had been far too distraught about the loss of their hive mind to have the time for hate or xenophobia.



***– having chambers was something of an oddity, though she had long gotten used to it; the alternative was the… awkwardness of her decidedly female form sleeping around her now quite male brothers – and, well… her kin were doing a good job on upholding the old ways and not becoming ruled by lust, and she didn’t want to add any undue stress and suffering to the struggle they were making.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

Spoiler

Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine

When morning came, Nerzalil assembled her escort and prepared to make way to the arranged meeting place. There had been no further troubles throughout the remainder of the day or through the night, thankfully, and her bodyguard had been easy to assemble. They were out the entrance to the cavern that was their home in a matter of minutes.

The alraune were present, as they had promised, and greeted Neri with a wave of their tentacles. "Greetings! Are you ready to go and meet the Elders?" They said, once more speaking in perfect unison and with identical inflections.

 

[Host]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

From the moment they spoke, Neri had a readable look of contentment to her. Seeing something other than her own kind acting in unison was… oddly charming. Cute, perhaps. Being so easily swayed by these creatures probably wasn’t the best attribute for diplomatic purposes, though, so she tried to rein it in a little. “Ahem. Yes, we are. If you would, my dears… take us to them.”

The distinctly feminine shape of the two quite alien creatures was not lost on Nerzalil. Though her eyes did not have pupils to wander, her mind focused greater than usual on the details of their sensuality. She was acutely aware of how well rounded their breasts were, how smooth their plant-skin looked, how beautifully their hips rounded out to form their figure, how unblemished their flowers were…
Oh, you idiot! Mentally, Neri slapped herself. I can’t believe I forgot to sate my lust. I must have been so worried and excited that I exhausted myself to sleep... Ah, blast. I’ll just have to put up with it…

Neri attempted to determine how much of an impact their guides were having on the other shadow demons present. Any of them paying too much attention to the pair as they travelled got a scathing look from their impromptu ruler. They might not be able to help their body’s physical reaction, but they could help how much they let it control their behaviour. She wouldn’t let these plant creatures see her kind in such a shamefully, mindlessly instinctive state…

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

Spoiler

Nerzalil: HP = 97, PP = 44, EP = 47, Status = Fine

Covered as her body was in her golden armor, and as alien as her inhuman features were, it seemed that Nerzalil's unslaked physical needs went unnoticed by the pair of alraune, who nodded and turned to lead Neri through the jungle. As they traveled, she noticed that all of her honor guard were as guilty as she of eying up their guides, and she had to shoot glances at them sporadically in order to keep them from walking perhaps a little closer than was necessary to the two plant women. Though they couldn't use them to breed their own kind, the members of that race that they had captured had been insatiable, and had inspired an unhealthy amount of interest in her kindred before Neri had had them dealt with.

The plant women required no paths to navigate the jungle, but then again, neither did her own kind, so they made good time. They encountered no threats along the way, the size and nature of their group warding off any of the creatures they did pass. Eventually, they began to see more and more of the plant creatures around them, and not just alraune this time. The weeds that spawn the plant women were abundant in this area, and though normally they would be all too happy to point their flowers her way in an attempt to use her for just that purpose, for some reason they ignored Neri and her escort. The more animalistic plant creatures, the ones that resembled some of the native creatures of the jungle, stalked about as well, but they only seemed to glare at her rather than offer an aggression toward her. Which was probably good, since she lost count of just how many of the plant creatures they had passed after a hundred.

A short while later, a tree beside them moved... Or Neri thought that it was a tree until she noticed its massive bulk, easily the match for an ogre or troll, and its vaguely humanoid body shape. It didn't make a sound as she passed it, but Neri noticed several other creatures just like it as they continued on. The jungle gradually became more dense, until she began to have trouble even seeing her two guides, or hearing their movements over the rustling caused by her and her kindred moving through the underbrush.

Finally, however, Nerzalil broke from the trees and dense jungle to find herself in something she hadn't expected to see ever again after entering the jungle: A clearing. And not just any clearing, but a massive one, complete with a small pond in the center. Five massive, black trees formed a circle around that pond, each larger than any tree Neri had ever seen before, their canopies only covered in a sparse coating of dying leaves despite their ancient size. There was no doubt that they lived yet, however, as Neri could see thousands of vines writhing along their branches, the ancient darkened wood creaking ominously from time to time. "These are the elders..... They have been waiting for you for some time, Nerzalil of the Shadow Demons." Their guides turned and spoke as one once more, but this time they wore deadened expressions and their tone was completely unlike before. Where before they had been friendly and joyous despite their shared words, now they were utterly emotionless, and Neri got the impression that they weren't speaking for themselves anymore.

"They will speak to you through the water. Your guard may remain on the edge of the glade, or within the jungle at your discretion, but they may not approach." They said, and then moved around Neri to enter the jungle themselves. There were no other plants in the clearing save for the grass on the ground, and besides the trees and the pond the shadow demon could see no other distinguishing features in the massive clearing.

(How Neri actually dealt with the captured alraune is up to you.)

 

[Host]

Re: Queen of the Damned (Host)

Though they couldn't use them to breed their own kind, the members of that race that they had captured had been insatiable, and had inspired an unhealthy amount of interest in her kindred before Neri had had them dealt with.

The inevitability of sex, and her kind’s having of it, was something that Neri, begrudgingly, accepted. Even sex for the simple satisfaction of the insidious sensation known as lust was something she could agree with; being overly lustful affected judgment and reactions in a number of intolerable ways, making sex the lesser of evils. But the kind of sex their one and only captive Alraune had been inadvertently inspiring in her species, well…

Upon realising that the female wouldn’t spawn any young to her kind, Neri made the captive available for ‘general release’. The idea was quite fine, and would have worked well with any normal captive woman… which the plant was not. In her insatiability, the plant goaded the demons to drown themselves in sex; in countless positions and with extensive skill, she inspired lustful contemplation rather than quelling it, tricking Neri’s brothers into a desire for sex even when satisfying lusts was no longer a factor. Tricking them into seeking sex for the purpose of recreation, for the good feeling that the act itself produced… making them give into the addiction, leaving their thoughts constantly perverted by the new experience. That was unacceptable. If they had the hive mind, there wouldn’t have been an issue with the exceptional ability of the Alraune… but without it, each Shadow Demon individually would be slowly corrupted into giving themselves over to the addiction.

In the end, however, the issue had ended itself well before it actually became an issue. The first plant person they had met and taken home was some time ago, and they had been still operating on rather unintelligent practices. ‘Once a week’ was about how often a human, and therefore a plant, must need to be fed, and most Shadow Demons were still assuming females had as much endurance and range of motion as they did – and that they could recover from broken spines or similar injuries. The plant’s fibrous body saved her somewhat from the latter, and her diet might have saved her from the former… had the shadow demons not kept her in a carapace-covered room with nothing save the occasional dim glow of a Shadow Demon to light it. While most captives of the Shadow Demons had failed to raise concerns about their nutrition because they had a belly full of worms, and therefore a soul empty of energy, the reason for the plant girl staying quiet while starving to death was a mystery… but the fact that plant did not speak was without dispute. Perhaps she had made some less obvious, non-verbal communication that Neri’s brothers had failed to pick up on, but whatever the case, the unfortunate growth wilted to nothing.



The ever-thickening forces of the plants were admittedly worrying to the insect, though she tried not to show it. If she got panicked, her entourage would quite probably follow her lead. Still, the forces of foliage were worrying the warrior. Neri had seen very little on this world that did not mean her immediate harm, and the plants had been in that category up until yesterday.
The deeper she got, the more insistently the fight or flight response niggled at the back of her mind. If the plants wanted to get rid of an annoying rival, they needed to do nothing but attack her right now; they had gone through enough dangerous creatures already that Neri had lost count. Honour guard or no, she would die if the jungle’s seemingly most numerous inhabitants were to turn on her now. It was official; she was now quite seriously gambling the continued existence of her people on the idea that the plants would not prove hostile. And exactly what reason did she have to suspect they would be friendly? She had killed one of their own unprovoked, and more than that when they had counterattacked. Well, let’s see; they had sounded nice in synch, and she had lowered her guard just because they seemed nice and didn’t immediately reject her proposal to parley.

Devourer damn it all, she was trusting the survival of her species to people she had met yesterday, hoping that the wholly alien creatures would follow to truce traditions from another plane.

What in hell are you doing, Neri? was the only thing she could think as she stepped into the unexpected clearing. The elders themselves were a surprise; not that they were large, or trees, but that they seemed so damaged and dead compared to the vibrancy of the creatures they commanded.

The announcement from the pair of alraune nearly made Neri jump – not just from her nervousness, but also from the quite unexpected, quite familiar tone that they took. Their feminine voices made it unusual, as was their use of full sentences… but otherwise, they sounded quite a lot like her kind used to. Contrary to her earlier distrust of their charming ways, the sound steeled Neri.

What am I doing? I am… hoping.

With only a nod to the mouthpieces and a wave back towards the jungle to her followers, Neri continued forwards to the centre of the glade.
On closer inspection, the trees were not dead, or wounded, so much as… monstrous. Vines moved actively in the canopy, almost as if trying to make up for the lack of leaves by mimicking them and waving in the wind. The black bark covering the tree didn’t seem unhealthy, as on first inspection, but instead something healthy in the wrong direction – like an intensely prosperous tumour… like her kind’s Larvae feasting on their mother’s soul. Despite her steeling of herself, the trees unnerved her… not because of their appearance, but because they were undoubtedly great and immensely complex beings. After all, they had a system of minds at their disposal in much the same manner as her Father – and Neri’s Father was impossible to argue against. He simply had so many years of knowledge and philosophy, so many minds to think with that Neri believed he could never be wrong. If these creatures were anything similar, they would know her worth the second she spoke with them. The thought of it chilled Neri… because she knew exactly what they would find. She could only hope that they did not find her sins to be as reprehensible as they truly were.

She felt that there was no need to announce herself and her intentions to the trees. They knew who she was, and would probably know as much about her as the winged woman had as soon as she connected with them. The only question was… uh, how exactly did she speak with them? She looked at the water, and should she feel nothing out of the ordinary, she kneeled, tenderly touching the pond. Feeling somewhat silly, she simply announced herself with “Yes?”, not wanting to waste the time of the plants by relaying why she was there when they quite clearly already knew. If that failed to work, she would step slowly into the water, wondering why the giant lumps of wood couldn’t just tap politely on her mind, instead of making her go through all these shenanigans.