Queen's note: when you have a cool idea for a character and then remember you have to write it all out and how that character interacts with others and the world. As a result, Grandma Wraith is really mouthy in more than one way with no hands and no eyes lol

Garnets

Chapter Seventy Eight:

Sass and Cleaning Up

"I would have never imagined that brat having it in him, let alone know how to bond with a mortal to have a child of his own." The blind Wraith noted as she was tilting her massive head back and forth as if trying to look at where the small mortal in question was presented in front of her. Unlike Gaia who had swam in the air, but also had a range of flushing colors, this creature seemed to be just white with silver highlights and duller gray low tones. She paused and the Wraith tilted her head, considered something and then added, "Well, considering he did not seem to either like the idea of sex, or knew what it was… This makes more sense."

Lily made an interesting sound as she snorted and then promptly choked on the startled laugh that tried to bubble out. Resulting in her dropping the torch and trying to reflexively cover her mouth but just had her fingers running into the mask covering the lower part of her face.

"Am I wrong? As I said, my Hell born son is a prude." the pale Wraith's jaws opened in a fang-filled smile, her long tail that was now freed from the forge moved to curl behind the phantom and mortal. The very end that was split in two tips came up to neatly touch the torch. Putting out the golden flame before delicately picking the burned out torch with the two tail tips. The grip tightened on it and there was a flood of energy to start crystals forming over the whole thing.

The torch was tossed up and over, Lily watching it as the phantom wolves bounded after it playfully, exited to play again. They seemed almost fully solid and alive again. Not that bit transparent as the two happily played tug-a-war with the torch.

"Now," the deep feminine, but gravel voice spoke again, making Lily jump, then squeaked in alarm that the massive head came back so close. Barely a foot away as the pale Wraith sniffed this little thing again, "What are you, child?"

"Um…I'm…me?" Lily could not think for a few seconds, those were still really big and a lot of teeth, the outer set looked like they were coated in pearl. Some bigger than her forearm, or arm in a few cases.

The blind Wraith tilted her head, and then did her equivalent of a wide grin, "I like that answer child. But not what I meant. You are not Argenta born, or one of those they had in their colonies… They seem to like to breed with half of everything. Something else? You are alike to my children."

"Oh…oooh, um, I'm a human…miss wraith?" Lily managed, not sure what was considered polite manners to a Wraith. Also where should Lily look? "...Gaia said she as a few others made us humans from the Argenta… 'a long time ago.'"

There was a snort of cool, as the air vibrated with the following chuckle. "Miss Wraith. That's a good one. Clearly you got your manors from someone else other than your father."

Lily blinked, looked up at the Phantom still behind her and held her shoulders. Suddenly realizing that was not referring to her dad, Frederik. Wait, did the Wraith think as well that John was her dad?

"But that was wonderfully vague," The Wraith tilted her head and again it was like she was trying to see Lily with one of the scarred over eye socket impressions. "Then again if it's really Gaia, that vague-ness fits that brat."

Lily tilted her head this time, remembering the shining, air swimming powerful being that reminded her of an old great white shark. Brat did not seem to fit that image, but then neither did prude fit the image of John. This Wraith though seemed somehow far older than even Gaia was, some sort of sense in the back of one's mind and body. Also the voice too, gave the impression of a grandmother still. Impression or illusion?

The giant, alligator-like muzzle opened and before anyone could react, the Wraith licked the human and Phantom. Very much like the grooming licks the wintherin had done just a little bit while ago, only bigger. Thankfully it was not wet, just damp with some sort of glowing fluid, not saliva. With that same surprising dexterity of a mother alligator, the Wraith extracted the human from her guard and sat back. Hearing the frightened sound from between her fangs and from what was to her a very small, young child. So she gave a reassuring purring vibration as the pale wraith settled. Then the massive jaws opened as the Wraith let Lily slide back out between the forelegs. Thick limbs for supporting weight framd the space, and though the six digits were clawed they were not made to grip or manipulate small things to the Wraith.

Very much trapped, still, Lily meeped and closed her eyes as she was being very thoroughly inspected. There was not much to do as the old Wraith was inspecting without really any hands or eyes. It was a long few minutes of being moved and sniffed at, and a wide tongue that nudged Lily's comparatively tiny self. It ended with several, slightly damp but distinctly grooming licks.

At least the damp was not slimy. The human was definitely colder now, and found out that the lack of color on this Wraith continued into her mouth.

"Ah, Mother, the young Lady has no real experience with Wraiths…" Zanin said as he was finally allowed on the bridge walkway.

"That's quite obvious with how she's shivering." The blind Wraith noted as she lifted her head, carefully tucking this new life against her chest. There was an unspoken air of ' the little one will get used to me.' If not for how large her forelegs were in comparison, it was almost the same as a wintherin tucking a hatchling against them in a nest. "Did Gaia really give this child her gift?"

"Yes Mother," Zanin confirmed, watching Lily looking back up at him and mouthing the word 'help?' he winced inside his helmet, trying to sort out how to reassure the girl as he faintly heard the lift moving again in the background. The living Sentinel prayed that things would stay peaceful unlike last time-

"Uhg, that brat is turning senile as she ages. She needs more radiation to eat. Really, it's not that hard to fix a gift to fit with someone that has a crystal heart."

Zanin blinked, and then frowned in his helmet, "I'm… I'm sorry I don't understand Mother Wraith?"

"...did…did something bad happen to my heart again?" A lost voice finally spoke up from being almost physically lost between the Wraith's forelegs. Lily sounded so lost and worried as well that the Wraith was shifting to 'look' down, as if blinking all three sets of blinded eyes.

"Nothing is wrong with you, my little child. Or that pretty little heart of yours." The Wraith said with a deep, reassuring purr, muzzle dipping to nuzzle and lick again. Then the massive head lifted as she scented the air, "Aaah, there's my Hell born son, took him long enough. I am surprised he has not eaten that Corps Lord yet."

With only a few minutes, and aware of that, the blind Wraith ducked her head. Those giant jaws opened as she caught the wraith gift in the human. Not removing the energy there, but smoothing it out, enough that this life that was so much alike the Argenta could handle it better. It was like unknotting the worst of the kinks out of a hose, not everything was 'fixed' but energy could move better with the young soul.

There was an angry and comparatively rough primordial yell from the hall. It had the blind Wraith lifting her head all the way up and, though there were no eye ridges or something to move, she gave off the impression of scowling. "You shut up boy! I can hear you from here, leave the dead alone and bring your sad, tailless rump in here and explain yourself."

The massive head swung towards Zanin, and he tensed but even he could not get away as a large tongue slid out. He too was licked, first on his right arm then almost around to his left shoulder. "...?!"

"And when did you start to try and make gifts boy?" The Wraith lifted her voice with a low growl, sounding very much like an unimpressed grandmother that disapproved of what their own child did with the grandchildren. "Did you really start flinging them around and hope things stuck?"

The massive head ducked down and gave Lily another reassuring, grooming lick before lifting her head. "And you did not even finish giving your child a popper one either. Lazy Hell born. Just because that other brat gave her one, does not mean you need to slack off."

There was a very interesting sound that came from the hall, confusion and more than a bit shocked. Then footsteps picked up, out pacing his Sentinels to get to the door.

"Help?" Lily tried to call up at Zanin, as the massive forelimbs shifted around her. She did not seem that confident that she would be helped though. The paws were thick and clawed but not made for gripping small things (like herself?) it seemed, but to support weight and grab the crystals or even cliff faces.

Zanin looked back and forth, grunting as his whole back was licked again, trying to sort out how to do just that. The Phantoms too did not seem to be exempt from the random lick now that the blind Wraith was fully awake and aware. Then looking up at the sound as the second half of the door was grabbed before there was a flare of a power to get through the barrier.

The Slayer paused, definitely recognizing the creature that was just extending her long neck to sniff around where Jade was sitting on the ground on her knees. Trying to be still and quiet as whatever just happened. Zanin on the bridge and two phantom wolves?

Where was Lily?

Want!

"Oh shut up, the baby is safe." The Wraith snorted as she found the third living soul in the room and slid her tongue out to lick and get a taste or scent. Huffing in surprise at finding that this argenta woman was practically drained of all of her wraith gift, on the verge of losing it completely and changing.

The Slayer lunged forward, but he was just too late and ran into the side of massive jaws as the Wraith shamelessly just grabbed Jade much the same way she had with Lily. This time letting out a long breath of swirling, visible energy through her partly open jaws. Concentrating on filling rather than flooding the void left by the nearly completely stolen gift. The blind Wraith swung her head back around to the bridge, knocking the Slayer over, and at the startled grunt from him she seemed to grin again. Those wide jaws opened again to Zanin and the phantom beside him, offering the dazed argenta back to the Sentinels to take out. Some clothes caught on the inner set of silvery teeth but Zanin caught Jade's head as he looked over the glowing patterns that were fading on the woman's skin, reminding him of speckled stripes.

Bristling the Slayer jumped back up to his feet and started after, something unclear in Primordial slipped out. It was more like he had blurted an angry sound than proper words, but it had the Wraith snorting back in an unimpressed way. The much smaller demigod (god?) looked back and forth to find his Flower- just spotting her as lavender color on the 'ground' between the thick, pale white forelegs before he was grabbed. Not by the massive jaws but the long tail had flicked up again from where it was resting. Curling up onto the walkway and then just as it had been able to pick up and toss the torch, the slit ends of the tail wrapped tight against the Slayer's left leg and then torso. Not so hard the armor was compromised but he gave a startled sound at being yanked off his feet to the left. Clipping the walkway with his right shoulder and was pulled under it, then up into the air on the other side.

It was a bit dizzying but not so much for the Slayer to completely lose his sense of direction as he looked around upside down. Reaching out he braced a hand by grabbing a fang on the massive muzzle coming to sniff at his back, and then front as he was turned. The Slayer growled a wordless threat, half promising to give as much hurt on the Wraith for this- only to blink in surprise as he was growled at back with just as much intensity. The blind Wraith had a lot more fully exposed fangs then the Slayer did. The sound distinctly vibrated through him as well as the air, making crystal flakes rattle around the room and those random puddles of liquid energy jitter and jump about.

It was very much like being growled at by a titan. Only there was no smell of rotting flesh and the temperature of the air dropped notably several degrees instead of rising.

The Slayer paused, feeling awkward at the returned show of aggression with no reserves of fear. That awkward moment of realizing something that normally feared him did not and was possibly just as willing to fight.

…Or throw him across the massive room.

"Ugh, you smell like Jekkad again," The Wraith grunted as she took deep, scenting breaths, licked at the arm that tried to smack her before delicately grabbing the helmet between her forefangs. The Slayer had to be fast to unlock it to let the Wraith take it off and drop the helmet before sniffing at the now exposed head. "I had just gotten that scent off you before taking a nap. Now you are soaked in its stinking energy again."

Blue-green eyes glared from where the Slayer was hanging. Grabbing at first a tooth again before his severe, scowling expression shifted to alarm as what was said sank in. He tried to somehow get away but there was no where to go before he was licked, from head to knees.

Annoyance! Offend-annoyed.

The Wraith grinned at the protest as she shifted the much smaller primordial. Dropping him from a solid twelve feet up and pinned his legs with one forepaw. The Wraith's tail curled back into a comfortable position before she started what could be called aggressive grooming. Well able to more or less keep pinning the former War King every time he freed himself.

It did not matter that technically he could kill a Wraith now, that he broke reality a few days ago. She had long since learned how to do both of those things eons ago. This Wraith did not care and it showed as she tried to get the worst of the Hell scents off her adopted, sometimes feral, primordial son.

Every time the Slayer wedged his arms under him and got some leverage he was smacked to the side a bit and off balance by the other forepaw. Or if he almost crawled out he was grabbed roughly and dragged back into range for the grooming. The Slayer paused as he realized he was now laying down on his front in one of the puddles of cold liquid energy. He was very wet now and could see the little human in her spot against the Wraith looking a bit damp and had very wide eyes. Her mask was actually still in place, though for once this place would have the best air, if not better than the Fortress.

Flower safe? John tried to sign, trying to make sure she was safe as much as reassure Lily as the Slayer was groomed unimpeded.

Cold. Lily signed back, not sure if she was allowed to move from her spot.

John made a face, he could taste blood but the raw Wraith energy was soaking in past the armor and into him too. It was healing sore muscles and had an interesting effect that the Slayer had forgotten about. The building anger he had bled out like something was cut. He was definitely resigned to this new fate and after a few minutes the grooming stopped.

The Slayer tried to get up, slower this time and had the full weight of the Wraith's left forepaw settle on his back.

He was not allowed to move yet as the blind Wraith settled back fully. Her odd son was not fully clean, but at least he would smell much better now with some good energy to absorb. The Wraith now leveled a Look at the doorway, no matter there was no eyes she was definitely glaring.

"And my other wayward son comes back-" the Wraith started, pausing at the startled sound from…

Malum had reflexively knelt like a few others, and made a startled sound at the words.

"...Not you boy," the Wraith shifted to fan one of her forewings dismissively, for the first time there was a flush of color through her frame and wing membranes. A shimmering like an oil slicked puddle, "I can smell from here you are Ceres' son. Though why you are in my nest city instead of hers I have no idea. I was referring to you Valen. Are you finally done sulking in Jekkad?"

The once Sentinel Commander winced, standing in that awkward moment of about to kneel when he was called by name. Of all things the Wraith's gravel voice vibrating Primordial had him feeling like… a boy. "I was waiting for my judgment… Mother Wraith."

"You put yourself in time out, how can you serve a penance or get judgment from anyone other than this brat, hiding in Jekkad?" the Wraith motioned roughly at who she pinned, meaning the Slayer, who grumbled something in primordial, "Shush boy, I'm talking to Valen."

The Slayer growled, and basically got smacked again for it. Or scuffed, it was hard to tell exactly what happened with the size difference.

"...please don't hurt Valen, miss," a worried voice spoke up from out of sight as the Wraith was about to say something again.

She looked down, long neck arching, and seemed surprised. "I will not hurt my wayward son, little one. I know he can not handle as much as your father can. I'm not that horrible of a mother… recovering nap aside."

"Urgh?" The questioning sound came from under the forepaws.

"Of course it was a nap," The Wraith gave the impression of a slow blink as her head tilted to 'look' at one of the phantom guards, "How long has it been? What's the date?"

The phantom Sentinel beside Zanin gave an awkward shrug, "I'm sorry, Mother, we've been here for a long time but…I can not tell the passage of time anymore."

Jade took a deeper breath for the first time since getting her gift returned. The woman had only partially been able to focus on what was said and at the mention of a date, she automatically said the rough date. At the same time the Slayer was rumbling a rough guess from his spot as well.

There was a long pause as the blind Wraith turned her head from one to the other several times. Then the massive head lifted and seemed to glare off into the far off distance. "This is the last time I will eat anything from Ceres' 'favorite star.' Lies, all of it."

"Have… wait…" Lily's voice spoke up, sounding incredulous, as if not believing she was about to ask. "Have you been… sleeping this whole time, sleeping off a hangover?"

"No." The Wraith said automatically, paused and had to remember what that word 'hangover' meant. "Wait… maybe. Yes…"

Even the Slayer paused and looked up as the Wraith for the lack of a better term just yawned as if not able to stop it.

"Don't drink things your sisters give you from a white star." The blind Wraith sighed, letting out a stream of cool air as she loosened her hold on the Slayer. "It's...spicy. And potent."

"That doesn't sound good to me, to be honest." Lily noted as she watched John pry himself out from under those massive forepaws. Getting free and pausing as if expecting to get smacked again. But as he was not trying to get out from between the Wraith's forelegs, he was allowed to sit up. "Can gods really get…drunk?"

"Not on anything mortal or immortal made." The Wraith noted, not sounding ashamed but also like she was confused at how long she had been sleeping. At a very interested sound from ground level she tilted her head sideways as if to listen or eye the Slayer. "No, you can not have any, there's none left."

The Slayer, now sitting up and stretching gave a disappointed grunt. Not wanting to admit he did feel better, instead carefully stood to walk over to where Lily was. Trying to see where his helmet was dropped. The demigod knelt and offered his hands, giving a lopsided smile as Lily grabbed at him. He pulled the young woman closer as he rocked back to sit properly. Carefully inspecting the human as he sat back and closed his arms around Lily. What scrapes she had gotten had been healed neatly, and there was a broken canteen not far away with some odd looking plants.

His human felt almost too cold, but was not shivering as much as last time they had met the Wraith Gaia on earth. Almost as if she could handle it better? John still made his frame heat up to bleed off the excess heat from armor and person. Squishing Lily as tight as he dared to, in an awkward hug, and was relieved when she pressed her head against his bicep and relaxed enough for him to notice. Not all the way, his human might not be able to on her own for a while.

"Mm?" The Slayer managed to hum a questioning note, not tasting blood anymore by making smaller sounds, though his throat was still sore.

"Is this going to be a normal thing?" Lily asked softly, feeling a bit better with being held by someone familiar even if he shook his head. Bigger than her still, but at least John was well known now, and did not make her dizzy with every movement of mass from the Wraith. More so when Lily could feel safe closing her eyes tight as her guardian spread a hand over her back.

"Right, I was talking to you Valen." The Wraith remembered, shaking her head and shifting so her neck settled in a long 's' curve and almost fully facing where the other Sentinels were. "You stink of Jakkard as well."

Mine.

The younger Primordial was not smacked this time but still had a reflexive warning on it from the Slayer as he looked up at the under side of the Wraith's jaw. Getting a snort back.

"And you are both my sons," The Wraith pointed out, slowly tilting her head as if to look down. "You were the one to crawl into my nest after becoming a Demigod. And even before that, you slept in the nests of my wintherin children. Now come here Valen so I can get the blasted tainted energy off you."

To be honest, each of the living Sentinels were about to share the same fate in the short term.

Reviews!

RavenShichiyou:
This whole thing is breaking poor lily's brain a bit. It's not everyday you meet an old god-goddess thing...that's hung over. I'm glad you like grandma wraith!

XFireStoneX:
He is to her, and other Wraiths XDXD

Ghostlord6977:
Whaaaat?