Starglow Basin etch-a-sketch

Medusa, at the conclusion of all the shit that went down, took it upon herself after notifying the Gods that be (@Toula and @Rashepses, incidentally) that she would scout out Qiao and “the cub”. Her cub. Hers. But as she followed the long and winding ass trail—that backed her up more than a few times in that Qiao was clever in her escape, or else Medusa was a bit of an idiot (…a healthy mix probably)—she had plenty of time to think.

She had called the boy hers. But now that the adrenaline wore off, was that the truth? Medusa realized, not for the first time, she was a horrible mother. And so not cut out for it, really. It was probably better she didn’t actually make good on the shit she said. He was Nazli’s now. So she was doing this for her, kind of. And for Pharaoh and for Semer-Wati. 

Yes, yes, this wasn’t the journey of claiming her kid but one of gratitude. 

But each step she made she lacked that. How fuckin’ far did this witch travel? the “w” word thought of more fondly than the rest of the inquiry. Qiao had earned a point for plucking up the kid. Kinda noble, actually. It further muddied the waters on what Medusa thought she saw that day there was a dead kid… had Qiao maybe been there to help, too, a lost cause? 

But the long walk—that she wasn’t grateful for. Nor was she for the heat of even evenings, mornings being a pain in her ass. She was lucky stinky hurt man hadn’t realized her clear weakness in the daylight, which was just all around discomfort. Not a disqualifier but it made fighting a lot less fun. 

Snacks were hard to come by, which was fucked up. The Gods should be watching and showering her with that shit for her trouble. But nope! Zilch!

And at the end of the road one night came the stanky smell of Soto, blood on the ground, and one absent kid. You’re absolutely fucking joking me, she half-cried out, fucking tired—

It meant so many things. The war wasn’t over, for one. And that was probably most important. But it also meant she had to return home empty fucking handed, and the ache of not seeing her the kid here effected her more than she realized.

She moved to hide under a tree for a while just to get out a nice cry—then she’d head back and tell Akashingo the news.