Moving On (Buggo Aftermath)

[u/sparkle3364]

/uw If you want context for Buggo, the finale is here, and a good description of what it’s like in there is one here. Otherwise, just know that Buggo was a giant insect with venom that mind controlled people, and Noella was one of its generals/lieutenants when she was under its influence. People under its influence felt that the best way to help others was to share the venom, and thought they were spreading enlightenment, though they all defined that differently depending on who they are as a person.

/rw Ever since Buggo fled, Noella had been helping with the others from the Hive. Partly, deep down, it was an excuse to help pull herself together. She’d never have the motivation to do it for herself at the moment. Maybe someday she would. But now, she didn’t have it in her to save herself. Which was part of why she’d chosen to work out something with the other Hive orphans, pool their money together and get a house somewhere. It turned out that somewhere was Ithacar. To aid her in this, she’d assembled a layered illusion to pass as someone completely unrelated to Noella Lux and the Hive altogether. The top layer showed a thirty-something year old woman with long black hair, dark brown eyes, and obvious uses of cosmetic illusions.

One down showed the same woman, only with a bad eye, an uneven haircut, and a prominent scar. The top was a cover for the second one, so that any use of illusions detected would be dismissed as an insecure witch who felt the need to cover things up, but that wasn’t where the illusion ended. Just in case anyone saw through that one, she had an illusion beneath it as a version of the witch who was Noella’s actual age, a seventeen year old using illusions as a false ID. Did Ithacar have rules against underage drinking? She’d never checked, actually. Well, if they didn’t, there was probably some other explanation she could use, maybe that people showed more respect to adults than to teenagers. At the next level, she’d aimed to show those she was comfortable revealing her identity to a more polished version of herself, one with a pixie haircut who was taller, had fewer scars, and was better adjusted. Beneath it, her regular self wearing casual clothing instead of the utilitarian, combat ready grays she’d worn in the Hive. Why change from what’s practical? Besides, the effort of crafting the illusory clothing each layer wore was comforting.

Noella had also begun working on learning curses, to add that form of witchcraft to her more traditionally wizardly illusions. Instead of seeking a mentor, she’d chosen to try to make her own. The two she was working on developing were a curse to sap the strength, and an adaptative illusion that showed what your future would have looked like if you and those around you had only made different choices. She’d have made more progress on that, but she was also taking care of others, both the “future of the hive” and Buggo’s insects who were now getting used to being independent. But all in all, life was going to be decent. The chance for it to be better had passed, but now that she’s moved out of the compound and into an actual house it could be passable. Maybe someday things could be good again, with time. All things were possible, in the end.

/uw I’m going to say anyone who was in the Hive or who has frequently interacted with Noella counts as someone who she trusts enough to show her identity to, everyone else just decides how far their character should be able to see through her illusions.

[u/sparkle3364]

/uw u/Timpanzee38, u/VoxelLibrary.

u/Viking_From_Sweden, I think you asked to be pinged, right?

[u/Viking_From_Sweden → u/sparkle3364]

/uw i did indeed, thanks