"If they are not hands, what are they?" A mistake just meant another, more interesting answer. Its curiosity overpowered any indignance stirred by the fault. It worked to distract her from the outrageous dismissal of her height, a clear emblem of her superior design.

"The Palace? There's nothing like that in the palace. Just food and cushions, and paper with weird patterns on it that I'm not allowed to eat." But he was unsure, the doubt creeping into his once arrogant voice. It was more a denial - This can't be, or else my ambitions will endanger me - rather than another knee-jerk attempt at a power play.

A challenge, another one. How dare the Hogg! "I'm not SCARED. YOU are, with your silly silly stories about Hands and Goop." But the recent 'hunt' had been a blow to its pride, and it didn't have the energy to do much other than spew nonsense and nap.

"But I'm sleepy. And I've already bitten one face - I don't need to bite a Hand." It retreated, no longer on the offensive. A toddler needs her rest after a big day! [of biting faces]

@Nidhogg

The serpent... laughed, a chittering hissing clicking mess that he probably thought sounded perfectly normal. It sort of, instead, sounded like he were choking.

"You have hands! You know what hands are for! THEY DO STUFF FOR YOU. So these HANDS do stuff for-" Shit, who did they work for, again? Nidhogg had finally grasped the metaphor, but he'd for a moment forgotten who their ultimate leader was in all of this. Forgotten Rrevalk, their Creator, Chaos, all of it. (In his defense, his days indeed consisted mostly of Biting and Eating and Lurking, not worship or even dutiful service.) His glowing eyes darted around, frantically searching for an answer in the blank black rock around him.

He did not, needless to say, find one.

"...THE FORBIDDEN NAME," he decided on. That made sense--if he wasn't allowed to say it then he wouldn't be called on it-... right?

And as he didn't want to be asked in the first place (he wasn't sure he could keep up the lie well enough) he leaned in very ominously, every eye narrowing, his voice dropping to a loud, sinister whisper. "It comes in the shadows and pulls skin off bones and eats your food and cuts off your claws if you don't serve right!" -There, a fairy tale for the ages. And, after a moment's debate: "Master Stod serves it directly!"

There! Lies neatly bundled together! Surely nobody would doubt him now.

Except doubt struck him anyway. What if this kid did ask? He couldn't risk it.

"OKAY BYE," he snapped, then realizing that might be (mis?)construed as suspicious, he hesitated. "I AM GOING TO PRAY TO THE FORBIDDEN NAME SO I CAN KEEP MY CLAWS."

With that, Nidhogg scampered off, scurrying for the walls and the shadows beyond.

exit Nidhogg

@V-Opal-One

The Opal decided immediately upon hearing Nidhogg's laugh that it could absolutely do better than him. It didn't even feel the need to prove that fact - He was content in the knowledge alone. Nothing this lizard could say would ever make him forget that. He had won already, and he was the only one smart enough to realise it.

She kept this in mind as the Hogg continued, perhaps in an attempt to defend herself from the knowledge of The Forbidden Name, but it couldn't block all of it out. What reason did she have to doubt this gembound's words? He had a name, she didn't. He was older [she had already internalised him as some sort of uncle-like figure] and... Well, not wiser, but he'd certainly seen more.

It raised its head so the lower was the only one visible, its true and unrestrained reaction kept safely out of sight. The Opal liked its skin. It also liked its claws, but it felt its skin took priority. It got a sense that life without it would be very, very bad.

And then Nidhogg was gone, leaving the child alone with his thoughts. Suddenly, sleeping seemed like a near impossible task - but it still left to curl up in a corner somewhere, making sure to double check the shadows around it as it did.

[exit via naptime]