To the most excited rabbit in the lands of the old faith:

(They deserve more screentime)

( THEY DO BE Ahhhhh they look so sweet thank you so much!!!)

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon waves back enthusiastically, Fiy gives a small wave of their own, Brelaylyn Brelaylynjust a nod, Thoron simply watches him go. They soon arrive to Shamura’s library, their disciple bowing respectfully before standing aside. Shamura nods. “Thank you, Sidone.” They look to Teddy. “I understand you’ll be leaving us soon, Dr. Walters.” They comment, sitting in their reading chair, reading a book, if Teddy notices he could read that it was some sort of spell book.

Teddy brushed and shook as much dirt out of his robe as possible during their walk to the building. Yet it still didn't seem clean enough for meeting a god. He had been complementing whether it'd be more polite to remove his robe in favor of his relatively clean uniform beneath or not when they reached the library.

He bowed along with the disciple, then looked up at Bishop Shamura and nodded with his hands clasped in front of him. "I'll be gone by morning. Where is my ship?"

While he did notice the book, as long as he was incapable of applying the knowledge within he was uninterested.

Little gift for @crownsandbishops !

I love squad 26 and your work in general. Take this as a sign of my appreciation for your hard work. Your posts are always a treat!

I want to write about clay as a medium for Iraqi artists...

This vessel, identified here as “ceramic form,” is attributed to Jewad Selim!

Source: فنون عربية, a 1980s pan-Arab culture initiative put out by Iraqi intellectuals in London, I believe as part of the Iraqi Cultural Centre initiatives. This image appears along with others as an illustration to a negative review by Sakhr Farzat of Afif Bahnassi’s volume on Arab art published under the auspices of Unesco.  See https://archive.alsharekh.org/MagazinePages/MagazineBook/Finoon%20Arabiah/Finoon%20Arabiah_1981/Issue_2/index.html

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon chuckles at that and grins. “Then I’ll have to thank this Reverend Mike when he comes to visit us.”

Teddy smirked. "You'll take that back once you get to know him."

@candbrp

(Previous) But Finoon is kind of dumb and insistent so they continue anyways. “That’s not really a thing we do here in Silk Cradle, I think Bishop Heket does that the most? But even then not really ever because the Bishops are too strong to even need demons to deal with whatever ‘threats’ they might face! She mostly just does it for fun and because it’s cool I think.”

Teddy was pleasantly surprised that Finoon knew about demons.

"I'd do it for fun if I could," he said with a small glint in his eye. Then he paused and put his hand on his chin as he thought about turning into a demon.

Well... watchdogs probably couldn't. The books weren't clear on if if it was purely the Bishops' doing or if they only activated a special capability their followers possessed.

After a bit he went back to work. "Demons here are strange. They're either powerful spirits or gods in their own right throughout the rest of the galaxy. Not followers transformed into temporary combat support."

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon nods eagerly. “Bishop Leshy and Heket make it so,” they explain. “Bishop Leshy is a prolific gardener, digging the rows himself, using his mouth and body because he’s a worm! And then Bishop Heket uses her magic of bountiful harvest to cause such beauty!” Brelaylyn brings the team over to collect some gardening equipment before dividing the group into different areas in the garden, assigning Teddy and Finoon over to some thick, gorgeous purple hydrangeas.

Teddy politely nodded throughout Finoon's explanation. "They told me. I'm glad they get along well with their siblings."

Then once they reached their section of the garden he blankly looked at his tools, looked at the flowers, and looked at Finoon.

"...Excuse me... how do I use these?"

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon nods in understanding. "We typically rise around six in time for breakfast." they explain. The other three thankfully didn't bother Teddy, Fiy was already settled in to sleep.

"Thank you," Teddy said with a nod in return. "Sleep well."

Then he burrowed under his covers to ensure that his screen's light wouldn't bother his roommates as he converted to Skullship time in order to set an alarm.

Fortunately it was a quick job and after a few minutes he was able to fall asleep.

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon blows a raspberry. "No way, I will thank him for giving you a reason to come back." they say stubbornly.

With how often Teddy interacted with mouthed species it took a moment for him to process that gesture. And when he did, he shut his eye and raised his hand to his "mouth."

"Kshkshksh... We'll see..."

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon nods eagerly. “We’d be happy to have you again!“ they beam and then hum. “And I hope you do come back, we’d have no real way to know if you ever will return until it happens I guess.”

"So do I. It may be hard to justify making the time when nothing here will help with my research projects but..."

Teddy returned Finoon's smile with one of his own. "I'm sure Revenard Mike would demand for me to bring him sooner or later."

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon nods to confirm the first bit, and nods again at Teddy’s second question. “They’re different, at least I think? From what I hear it’s something you’re primed for, only those engaged with the magic of a bishop often change in a way that lets them maintain their old self.” They explain.

"How fascinating," Teddy said as he shoved more clippings into his pocket. "Perhaps I should look into it more if I pay this land another visit."

@candbrp

(Previous) “Oh! Over there!“ Finoon says, pointing over to a large compost bin. They give a soft hum. “Some of Shamura’s disciples take on monstrous form when exposed to certain magic,” they comment. “But they’re still them,” their ear flicks. “Bishop Heket’s followers say when the demon ritual is performed, they don’t remember anything from it when they come back.”

Teddy headed over to the bin and shook out the contents of what was usually his blaster pocket.

"So they only experience the exhaustion? Shame."

Once he processed what Finoon said about Bishop Shamura's followers he speedwalked back to them and trimmed plants close to them. "Wait... by monsters you don't mean demons, do you?"

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon hums. "I'm not actually even sure that's how it works here?" they admit. "I've never actually seen it happen, but word does kind of get around between our temples, and the few who have been through it in Heket's ranks say it's different."

"Hm." It was a shame that Teddy had already made an enemy of at least a few of Bishop Heket's followers. If not the goddess herself. There wasn't enough time for a trip to Anura anyways.

"Say, where should I put my clippings?"

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon was very helpful in that regard, seeming very familiar with the ins and outs of tending this garden. At the next question though they perk andd so look to Teddy in confusion. “A demon?” They echo.

"Guess not," Teddy said with a shrug.

Then he continued on as if he didn't bring up an incredibly bizarre subject with all the implications involved.

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon nods and grins at that, unaware of the whole thing with Narinder. They perk realizing Teddy's confusion and chuckle. "Oh it's easy, basically we're going to look through the plants and use these little clippers here to trim off anything that looks like it's wilting or rotting, and then when we go over there." they point to a bearer plot of garden. "We'll use this thing that looks like a big fork to mix more fertile soil onto the plot and then dig holes for new plants with the shovel." they explain.

Teddy nodded along with Finoon's explanation and got to work once they finished. As they worked he periodically asked them about if this piece seemed wilted enough to cut off or not.

Eventually he decided to ask a different question. "Have you ever become a demon before?"

@candbrp

(Previous) The group leader perks at that in surprise. Finoon reacts as well, getting up as he starts to leave. “Wha- but why?” They ask. The group leader nods. “I did not mean to suggest you weren’t welcome with us, we had just finished things quicker than expected, and I thought I should offer you the choice to go indulge in Bishop Shamura’s library or something else if you had wanted.” They clarify.

"That's very kind of you. But..." Teddy rubbed the back of his head as he glanced at Thoron, then to the floor.

"...Doesn't Bishop Shamura's favoritism make it... awkward? You shouldn't have to defer to a newbie."