The Queen hummed, "Nothing. And this time I do not lie. Some of my fellows don't have teeth, you see. So I gather some from lessers and carve them instead. I truly love my family, Tahi-shei. Walks Like Rain, Six Stripes, Trot of Sorrowed Fox, Smallwing... they've proven their worth, their loyalty."

She smiled and clasped her hands together again, "But... if I am to help you, and bring my fellows to assist your cause, I need to know this isn't a trap. I know of the Collector, of some of the masters. People talked at the festival in Polaris and I learned plenty. Some don't like the culture we're building."

She clasped her hands behind her and sighed, "Just a tooth, Tahi-shei. So I know you aren't here to kill me. If you try, though..."

She said nothing more, just smiled.

@Tahi-shei

The deer shrugged. "Alright. I presume you have a way to remove it, because teeth don't exactly come out easily. I presume this will hurt, so if you've any way to stop the bleeding or prevent infection, I'd appreciate it." He recalled how his baby teeth had fallen out -- one of them had been dislodged in something he was eating, and he recalled vividly how that had hurt. And that one hadn't even really had a root -- it hadn't been stuck in his jaw, not like these.

He considered for another moment and said, "I suppose my only other requirement is that you don't pick one that I need to eat." He opened his mouth for her, and waited.

@arwen

gore

The Queen nodded enthusiastically, her butt wiggling in excitement as she rubbed her hands together, "Oh yes- oh yes~!! I can clean the wound and then cast a spell to stop the bleeding, oh yes!!"

The moment Tahi-shei opened his mouth, her hands were in there, poking and prodding, deft fingers feeling along every tooth. She poked along the plate at the front of his mouth, where upper front teeth should have been.

"Interesting...", she noted, swaying back and forth as she wiggled one of his molars, "I will take... this. You have plenty of them, I'm certain taking one won't hurt things... except you, of course."

Queen of Lies felt at it, feeling the base and the best place to grip, getting spit and leftover mush from whatever he'd recently eaten on her hands. She was too busy to care, though, which was lucky for him. She took a firm hold of the tooth, chittering louder and louder with excitement.

Then, she pulled.

Yanking on it twice, she managed to pull it out, but not very cleanly. But it was out. She withdrew from Tahi's mouth and left him to writhe or whatever he'd do, inspecting the tooth and getting to work cleaning it off, picking at plaque and the blood that stuck to it. She was definitely the worst dentist in the world.

Wiping the blood off her hands, she brushed herself off, tiny little hairs catching the liquid and allowing her to use her hands and legs to clean off any gross fluids she'd gotten on herself.

"Did it hurt?", she asked, turning to face Tahi-shei, "I'm so very sorry, Fungal Prince, but tell me how it felt. Was it a sharp pain? Does it still linger?"

Why in the world would the Queen even wish to know?!

@Tahi-shei

gore

Tahi-shei shifted a little awkwardly as her hands reached into his mouth, and did his best to lock up his body as she gripped it and pulled. The deer jerked back on instinct, potentially aiding her, and stamped loudly against the ground as he tried to pull in his panic. The white-hot pain seared through his jaw, and he realized with startling clarity that he had underestimated this pain. His chest heaved with panic, and he spat blood onto the stone.

This is hellish, mused the deer, distantly, as it faded into a pulsing but manageable horror. "Hurts like tearing," he said, sarcasm tinging in his voice. His voice was muffled and strange around the blood drooling from his mouth. "Lingers. More manageable now."

@arwen

"Tearing pain...", she mumbled, "Interesting..."

Queen of Lies strung the tooth on her necklace and scuttled forward, putting her hands on Tahi's face, "Hold still, Fungal Prince. I'm going to cleanse your entire mouth of bacteria and then use a spell to give you a different bacteria that encourages healing, okay?"

She chittered to herself as she prepared the spell, just hoping it would work. And it did! Of course~. Tahi-shei's mouth was cleaned, including the wound, and upon gentle inspection, was still sluggishly bleeding.

"Next, I'm going to make the bacteria to heal it," she said, "It'll encourage clotting and boost your immune system a bit so it can fight off any mouth nasties~!"

@Tahi-shei

He didn't resist Arwen's spell, but he was still pouting. He considered using Fungal Wake in his mouth, but decided against it -- swallowing the waste product of decaying mold didn't sound like the best idea to him, since it'd probably give him a sore throat, or worse.

Mostly though, his mouth tasted weird now. Clean, he supposed, if what she said was correct, but the taste in his mouth was weird. He glanced at Arwen, and opened his mouth again to wait for her to finish up. The blood was rather unpleasant.

@arwen

The Queen stuck her hand inside and felt along the wound delicately, her fingers barely even touching, "Clotting... immune booster..."

She muttered to herself as she prepared the spell, running through bacterias she'd used in the past, trying to create one that would work specifically for this task. Once she'd gotten the specifics down (at least in her head), she cast the spell warily, nodding slowly as her magic took hold.

"There," she hummed, "Now it will heal faster and it will be less likely to become infected. If it does, feel free to come back to me and I'll cleanse it again."

The Queen of Lies chirped happily and wrapped her arms around Tahi's neck, chittering in glee, "Congratulations! You're now officially an ally of myself and my fellows- I'm planning on calling them the Court! You can come to us if you have need, for healing, plagues, or aid for other reasons. Prices will vary but you get a sort of... discount!"

She pulled away and peered at the tooth, cooing and humming to herself, inspecting it and chipping away at grit and grime, swaying back and forth before looking at Tahi.

"I'll see you around, then?", she said, in a fantastic mood, now.

@Tahi-shei

Tahi-shei didn't resist Arwen as she slung her arms around his neck, still working on the weird taste in his mouth. Prokaryotic magic was useful, apparently -- though it might have been more useful if she'd never stolen one of his teeth in the first place. His tongue ran over the gap -- this was going to take some time to get used to. He cleared his throat, finally, and dipped his head to her. "Very well. I will keep you in mind in the future, Queen of Lies."

He looked her over and inclined his head. "In any case, I must keep moving -- many deals to make, you know. You are welcome to come to Orion, of course -- knowing how to heal your family will be useful to anyone, and it would be good to introduce you to the others, if you are willing. But if you do not come, I will give you more information in the future." He nodded, and then turned to leave.

@arwen
/exit tahi-shei

The Queen cooed and clasped her hands together, "Well, have fun, then! I'll see you at the gathering. Orion... I'll alert my fellows!"

She scuttled off quickly, tooth in hand, plotting out the speech she wished to say to the others.

She liked Tahi-shei, he was interesting! Maybe... she'd found herself a possible friend.

@Tahi-shei for vis
Exit