Pothy Problems
"Sister, I need a cleric's blessing. I have money! My..."
"Oh, is your companion hurt? Let me just..."
Pause.
"Sir, this is just a stuffed animal."
The front steps of the Temple of Althea, goddess of Compassion, Family and Protection. A cleric in charge of welcoming guests is bundled up in fur-lined robes, talking to a young man in a garish knit cap. He's wearing a fur-lined coat of his own, and on his back, bundled up against the mysterious chill of this Alexandrian Winter, is a roughly human sized shape strapped into place like a child.
Skyler looks slightly offended when the cleric calls his burden 'just a stuffed animal'. "First of all, *rude*. *Just* a stuffed animal? I'll have you know it's a limited edition Shamrynn Murder Pothie." He bounces his back, as if soothing the stuffie strapped to his back, "There's only a handful in existence, we burned the rest when they came to life and tried to kill us. Then killed the maker when she turned out to be possessed by an evil god." He lifts his chin in an offended tone, adding "And second of all, it might be possessed so I need a blessing to make su... HEY!"
The Cleric has walked back into the temple.
Skyler pouts, reaches up to pet his stuffie, and turns to the next temple. "Maybe we can try Tarien. I bet the Trickster's priests aren't so stuck up." He kicks a snow drift, carefully covers the raven's head again, and begins to walk towards the next temple.
The Goblin strides out of the Temple of Angoron, bundled up in a wolf pelt, with rabbit fur gloves, sturdy little leather boots and a luxurious black bear fur cape. Her cheeks are practically glowing, flushed red as if from some exertion.
She eyes Skyler and his attempt to get his large stuffed animal blessed. "They won't waste their spells or blessings on stuffed animal, and uh... if you get too pushy, they may end up destroying that. I mean, what's to say it won't come back to life again and try to eat people?"
At the new arrival, Skyler reaches up and covers where the stuffed raven's ear holes would be. If it were alive. "Don't listen to her." He tells the stuffed animal firmly, before turning back to Murder, squinting at her as he tries to remember where he saw her.
And then it clicks. "Oh! The farting gobbler!" He says cheerfully, and continues to bounce his stuffed animal like a restless child. "Murder, wasn't it? And I'm offering to *pay*." As if that makes a difference. "Besides, I think it's okay, but I want to make sure since she sold her soul to evil the maker doesn't possess it out of spite. She got melted by some divine miracle, but you never know."
Murder eyes the stuffed raven a moment, as the man covers its 'earholes'. She shakes her head and lets out a lengthy breath.
"Even still, clerics have a limited number of spells each day and they do not wish to waste them on inanimate objects. They serve the people, and reserve their spells for them. Why do you want it blessed exactly? If the maker is dead, she ain't doing anything on this plane of existence ever again."
"Because the other giant Pothies came to life and tried to murder people?" Skyler blinks down at Murder, expression politely unsure as if he can't understand where she's lost the thread of the logic of his thought process. Which, of course, implies there is one which might be where the disconnect is happening.
He adjusts his stance, and shrugs one shoulder at Murder, "I don't know how that works." He admits, "But since we murdered her in her own home.." Beat. "Excuse me, that makes it sound like a crime. I think Telamon said she was already dead. Since we burned down the evil altar in her house." He considers and nods, "Yeah that's better. Anywho! Since we burned down the evil altar in her house, the Pothy's been kinda off. I swear I saw it move the other night! I stuffed it's tail hole full of salt once I cut one, since that's suppose to work against evil spirits, but I wanted to make sure."
He spreads his hands, "I mean, I'd be content with just some holy water to shove up there like an enema, so it's not like they have to waste a spell."
The Goblin raises an eyebrow as Skyler speaks about murdering people in their home. A look of disgust appears on her face at the mention of cutting a tail hole into a stuffed animal... stuffing it with salt doesn't improve her facial expression.
"Wait wait, you cut a tail hole into a stuffed animal and stuffed salt into it?" She wrinkles her nose. "You can have whatever kinks you want but eewh, you don't need to share them. There's been no other attacks since that one time so... I don't think you need to worry. You can continue ... enjoying its salty bottom."
Skyler looks utterly offended, gawking at Murder for several heartbeats before he turns to Stuffed-Pothy and mutters, "Don't listen to her, we're doing what's best for you." He then shakes his head.
"It's not a sex thing." He says firmly, "I was using it to hold my old armor, and the only place I could cut a hole for the salt was under the tail." His brow furrows, "I sewed it back shut. And like I said, it moved the other day. And I was there when we destroyed the body so maybe something clung to me? Like when you step in poop?"
The smack of her little hand hitting her forehead is sharp and loud. "If it's clung to you... you are the one who needs the cleric's services, not the stuffed animal. It can't just randomly be possessed, someone has to be mucking around for that to happen."
Murder eyes the stuffed animal, and her eyes begin to glow red. "I can fix it for you though. Just a quick fire and it'll be allll better!"
"It's a Limited. Edition." Skyler says firmly, eyes narrowing as he adjusts the cover protectively, "Since we ganked that lady, there's not gunna be any more. Listen, do I destroy your memorabilia?"
He shakes his head, and reaches up to pet his Pothy, "So I'm safe to keep them in my room? It won't spontaneously murder me or Jarik in our sleep?" He beats. "The way Jarik snores, though, I wouldn't blame them."
"None of my memorabilia has crawled out of my bag to kill anyone, so you've no reason to destroy it.", Murder says, striking a little pose with her hands on her hips.
"Nor have I ever worried if my memorabilia will murder my lover while I sleep. Snoring or not."
She shakes her head. "I don't think you have to worry about it at this point. If you've killed the maker, and all the other dolls went inert, and were destroyed... I think you'll be fine. Yeeesh, such a worry wart."
"Maybe you should worry about it." Skyler says with both eyebrows rising, "I mean, I didn't either until I thought I saw it move. It's Alexandria, you never know."
His tone is very defensive, and he purses his lips, "Besides, Jarik and I aren't lovers. We're just friends! It's cheaper to share a room, and he hasn't been as lucky about finding jobs as I have and he's got a child to think about." Beat. "Well. An familiar, but it might as well be his child!"
He scrubs his face, and glances at the next temple, "So you think I'll be fine?"
"It's entirely possible you're just seeing things. Or your friend is playing a prank on you." The Goblin exhales out her nose quickly enough for it to whistle.
"And it's fine... a familiar is not a child, yeeeeesh. How you humans got to the top of the pile is beyond me."
Murder blinks and she nods emphatically. "I think you will be alright. If the lady is dead, there's no one who can make the plushies move. And no one really knows you have it, right? Can do anything to it if they don't know it exists even! You're worrying for no reason."