Intense emotions are awkward. I never really learned how to handle them. I instinctively deal with others emotions with a poker face and a closed mouth. Being a rock helps with that- nobody getting mad at me for not reacting. 'You don't even care! Say something!' Okay stop shouting and let me think about what I'm going to say.

Hmm. While I don’t care much about my old life it seems that things that used to bug me still bug me. Like, I’m not torn up about the breakup but I’m irritated about the way she acted?

Yeah. This is messy. Mr. Crow hustled his wife out here without even explaining- well, he tried, but he was rather incoherent. I'm gathering the kid- well, he's mid-twenties- has been in a coma for a while. Also he's their grandson, not son. Assumptions make an ass of me, eh? His name is Netli. I dub him Crow Jr.

They're throwing a whole bunch of assumptions around. To deal with souls is the domain of the gods, therefore the gods must have sent me unless I'm the god. Which god though? Mr. Crow hesitantly proposes Akasha, she rejects it. Akasha witnesses, he does not act. Implied is that there are other gods that DO act. Interesting, all in all. I’m so uncomfortable. Eventually they agree to risk it and then I realize that I have no method of saying yeah I accept your acceptance.

Uhm.

Ms. Kittysaur is cranky when she wakes up.

I send the feliz- feline lizard- out again, having her attract their attention and lead them back to the tent, then lead them back. Slight awkwardness in that she did not want to wait for them to grab Crow Jr., but they got back with the body. Beyond the chamber of the murals is the operating chamber, which may also look like a sacrificial altar depending on cultural context. Also inscribed on the wall of the chamber is a picture of an orb sending out tentacles and Mr. Crow blocking them with his aura. Not quite accurate but close nuff for guvmnt work.

No you can’t watch. Yes you have to leave your comatose son in the scary murdercave with a cranky wild animal. I don’t make the rules. They are somewhat upset but comply. Time for science to be done! Mad science. I have no idea if this will work at all, I’m just making up shit as I go along. I have no records of prior attempts and am only able to manipulate souls in the crudest of ways- suck, blow, swallow. Also chew.

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Coughs.

I preprepared some soul soup by ejecting it into an empty core after my soulstomach does whatever it does. This is because I don’t want to just merge his soul with that of various small animals- I anticipate it may have unwelcome side effects, like pissing on the furniture to scentmark it. One of my old roommates had a poorly trained chihuahua once. Never again. When the stomach processes the food it dissolves the fruit from the jello salad metaphor, which is made of the same stuff just structured differently. That’s why I don’t remember the lives of however many small animal souls I’ve eaten so far. Low hundreds I think.

Then I actually have to move my pearl over the chamber and use my trunk to poke a hole in his skull and pour the stuff in. It uh, looks right? It’s round now instead of having a big hole in it. Hmm. I patch up the hole by just using essence to reinforce his pattern- same thing I do when I edit it, just without the editing. This also incidentally fixes a whole buncha small shit- signs of malnutrition, leg bone that didn’t heal quite correctly, scars fading. Not, however, calluses. Or the big muscles. Is it because those are reactions to stimulus rather than improper healing?

Whatever, it’s a good thing.

Then I zoom myself out of there, send the cat to grab the grandparents, and wait for him to wake up. I feel pretty stressed being so close to the surface and so close to humans and I feel the need to start digging deeper. Well, on the same level, actually. I think I’m going to create a ring inside the entirety of the crater walls so they have no idea which entrance is the closest to my core. Confusion to my enemies, living space to my minions. This will require messing up the essenceflow even more, but I got ideas.

I’m wondering if it’s normal to take this long to wake up after soul repair when the grans get back, but then Mrs. Crow shows out “Netli!” and he reacts. He turns his head and then forces himself up and slides his legs over the side smiling at her. Group hug, the grans both sobbing and he looks… Puzzled. Got this calm, kinda dopey smile on his face. They tell him to get up, he gets up, Mrs. Crow says let me look at you, he lets them look at you. How do you feel? Okay. Same calm smile on his face, even when they sob about how they thought he’d never get healed, how they found him one day with a hole in his head and nothing they tried could make him wake back up.

Eerie.

Eventually the overflowing emotions wind down and they bring him home. While watching them all walk back it hits me: He’s not acting, only reacting. He does what they say and answers all questions but doesn’t do or say anything on his own. Plus, that smile never changes. It seems something might be missing after all. They haven’t noticed yet, but they will. How will they react… Well, I did warn them. Kinda. Can’t be blamed.

…

I’m gonna go dig more.