Heart of Dorkness

Bane Eight - Behold

Luciana narrowed her eyes at the creature before her. It was a bit of a mess, if she was going to be honest with herself.

The idea was to have a creature fill a particular niche in her forces, a command creature who could also act as reconnaissance. She had also noticed a slight increase in the number of monsters born with innate Joy-based magics, and she had very few monster archetypes that used that kind of magic, at least not in the upper range of monster types.

The creature floating before her used Joy magic to float in the air. They were large and round, with their insides filled with sacs of gases that allowed them to weigh less than they would otherwise. It was actually one of Valeria’s ideas. She had made balloon monsters for Luciana once.

She smiled a little at the fond memory. She was down in the pits beneath her castle all on her own, she could allow herself a smile. Valeria had learned that it was Luciana’s naming day, and so she had baked a cake and created balloon monsters to decorate the dining room with.

The cake had been impossibly hard, and the balloon monsters had come off their cords and splattered against the ceiling above. It had been a nice afternoon.

The idea with the gas sacs had been somewhat inspired. It opened a whole avenue of new possibilities for Luciana.

Her new creature mouth opened in a mimicking grin.

“Too much mouth,” Luciana said. The entire lower half of the monster was all jaw and teeth.

Then again...

“Maybe tentacles,” Luciana muttered. “With more eyes.”

There were some kinds of subtle magics that could be worked using eyesight. And a creature that floated and who had several eyes that could look in multiple directions could fill that reconnaissance niche perfectly.

The fact that it was downright terrifying to look upon was a nice touch as well. Most of her monsters mimicked something found in nature. Wolves and crows and other animals given a monstrous touch.

She was particularly proud of some of her more creative creations, like the flaming pentagoose. Truly a creature designed to inspire nightmares.

The door into the pit creaked, and Luciana wiped the smile from her face faster than most could blink. Judging by how little her guardian monsters moved, the person slipping into the room could only be Valeria.

“Hey Mom,” Valeria said.

Luciana half-turned to see Valeria walking her way. The girl absently patted one of her monsters on the head before moving closer. She was getting older, Luciana absently noted once again. A little taller, a little more developed... maybe a little more mature... if Luciana squinted very hard.

She wondered how much Valeria would change in the next months and years.

“Whoa! Who’s that cutie pie?”

Luciana suspected she wouldn’t change that much. “I have yet to name this one. I’m creating something that can float high above difficult terrain to observe and relay information.”

“So a buddy who can watch things, huh? Maybe... a Watcheridoo?”

“... Let’s put aside finding a name for this one until the design is perfected,” Luciana said. “There are a lot of little issues to work out still. It tends to roll too easily. I added those sacs at the end of those tentacles to allow it to better balance itself, but they serve little purpose otherwise.”

“They only have one eye?” Valeria asked.

Luciana nodded. “For now.”

“It’s a pretty impressive eye, but it’s going to have a hard time with depth perception. How big is its brain?”

“Relatively small,” Luciana said. “I kept its organs simple.”

“In that case, maybe add a bigger occipital lobe, then more eyes? Oh! A ring of eyes around the head?”

“I was considering adding them to the end of those tentacles. But their flexibility precludes that a little.”

“Maybe replace them with stalks?” Valieria asked.

Luciana nodded. She was considering that already. “It’s a valid idea. Perhaps with the next version of this creature.”

“The next Watcherinoo.”

She was not calling it that. “So, why have you descended all the way down here?”

“Because you’re here,” Valeria said.

Luciana nodded and suppressed that flutter of joy in her heart. “I see. And what is it that you need?”

“Couldn’t I just come here for a hug?”

The dark goddess sniffed. “You get plenty of those already, I imagine your daily quota is filled as it is, enough that you hardly need to seek out more.”

“Silly Mom, you can always use more,” Valeria said. She bumped into Luciana’s side and squeezed her tight. Luciana carefully returned the hug. They were alone down here, there was no harm in allowing herself a little bit of joy that way.

“And now will you tell me why you’re here?” Luciana asked. The curiosity was eating away at her.

“Ah, well,” Valeria said. She stepped back and failed to meet Luciana’s eyes. “It’s a bit delicate.”

“Go on,” she said.

Valeria took in a deep breath, then let it all out. “Mom, if two girls like each other, is that okay?”

Luciana raised an eyebrow. That's what her daughter came here to ask? “I suppose that’s a rhetorical question. You seem quite fond of your friends, and you’ve seen that I enjoy spending time with Semper.”

“Oh, well, yeah. You like Semper, right?”

Wasn’t that obvious? “I would hardly allow her in my home if I did not,” Luciana said.

Valeria nodded. Her emotions were... conflicted. Strange. Luciana supposed she was working up to her actual question. “Well, uh, Mom, what about if a girl really likes another girl.”

“Yes?” Luciana said.

“Like, like-likes. Like they spend a lot of time reading together, and sit very close to each other, and have secrets and stuff like that. M-maybe they do even more stuff that’s closer than that even.” Luciana stared in growing confusion as Valeria’s face reddened.

Then it clicked.

“You mean if two... girls love each other?” Luciana asked.

“Well, I suppose women, not girls, I guess,” Valeria said.

Luciana wrestled her emotions into order. Not a difficult task for her, but not something she had expected to do right then and there. Her daughter was essentially confessing to her that her romantic attractions were of a more womanly bent. It wasn’t a big deal, certainly. It was even a great thing in some respects. No pregnancies, for one. That was a weight off of Luciana’s shoulders. “I suppose that if both parties are accepting then there’s no real issue,” she said casually while carefully evaluating every word.

“Right, like, uh, Semper came here because she wanted to.”

“Yes?” Luciana said.

“Well, uh, yeah, that’s all I wanted to ask,” Valeria said. “I should get going now. We have a lot of practice to do.”

“Who is we?” Luciana asked.

She didn’t know if that was an appropriate question to ask. All the books she’d secretly been reading as of late that taught one how to be a proper parent didn’t cover anything quite like this.

Then again, Valeria wasn’t exactly a bastion of subtlety. Luciana imagined that if she was interested in someone, it wouldn’t be hard to make out who that was.

Was Luciana going to have to deal with a broken hearted Valeria if her daughter’s feelings weren’t reciprocated? Would it make things awkward if Valeria’s love interest remained in their home after a rejection?

She could feel the headache starting already.

“Huh? Oh, me and Felix and Esme,” Valeria said. She bounced forwards, gave Luciana a hug, then darted out of the room like a spooked squirrel.

Luciana stared at her leaving form for a moment, then she sighed. Her daughter was feeling... romantically about one of her friends? That was a strange development, though perhaps not unforeseen. That begged the question though... which one?

Or was it both?

Luciana felt her cheeks attempting to warm and she refused them.

She had to share this with Semper. The goddess of Contempt would love to hear about this, and maybe Semper could share some advice. Luciana felt as if she could use every bit of advice she could get her hands on at that moment.

This was... a very strange mix of emotions she was feeling.

That was so typical of Valeria, to barge into the room and make a mess of Luciana’s emotions. It was truly a gift.

With a sigh, she dismissed her new creature (a watcher? A gazer? A beholder? She’d think of a better name later) and spun to leave the pit.

She needed some time, some tea, and perhaps a few hours of gossiping with Semper to overcome all of this unnecessary stress.

And maybe she could put her new creature’s spying capabilities to the test. Afterall, it was her responsibility as a mother to know things about her dear daughter.

***