#dreaming

"Please don't use the B word right now?" Gwen almost whimpers

well, whines

She pokes at the etching.

Gwen gets blurry for a second, but the troll doesn't seem to notice

A squint-frown-scowl.

the poke made a small dent

She works at the etching, seeing if she can reshape it to a more Gladiola-like form.

(Dex plus Crafts , Dif 4, because she's ak nocker, and because she knows Gwen)

/roll 6 4

It's tempting, real tempting, to play a slight prank like bringing Gladiola up a cup size. Good thing for Gwen Thistle's a nocker and a pro

And besides, this is her medium.

And it SO is

And the dog features change rapidly back to..well, trollness

Gwen doesn't know this "This is what I get for haggling with a death god. Or even the dream of a death god. I so screwed up"

"I dunno, Hades seems okay."

"You woulda liked Cerberus."

"You met Cerebrus? Cool"

"Yeah. He likes donuts."

Of course she'd made a bigger deal about than Hades. "Look, I'm changing fast, I can feel it. If I can't turn back to a troll, maybe.. just promise me you won't pimp me out for the kennels? Karma sucks "

SNORT.

Hey, her paws are hands again

"Would you stop fretting and LOOK, you clod?"

"I'm TRYING to go with dignity" SHe says loftily "To face my end when I..." She looks at her hands "HEY! I have hands back again! You did it!"

"Not quite. You're still tethered to this rock."

"Oh..shit." Gwen says "What do I do? The strand seems unbreakable"

"I'm workin' on it!"

"Sorry sorry, just any minute now Arawn might come in wondering where his new dog is"

"And your anxiety cycle is gonna help us how?"

"Try grinding up those gears, Rocky."

"Fine fine..." Her brow knits "Mmm wait, I can't break the leather. Could I carry the rock?"

"Maybe!"

She moves and tries to get a grip, "Slippery .Don't want to marr the me symbol"

(Int plus tech or science for our nocker)

/roll 8

At first, the nocker had an idea on how to create an easy way to lift up the stone so Gwen could slide it easily on a no friction surface, but so great is her GENIUS that she has the idea of ... friction! the leather...she could grease the strands and use THAT to unwind them off eah other, undo the knotwrk

"...I have an idea."

"Love it already" Gwen says

"Mmph."

Bag-rummaging!

Her bag has stuff, of course it does. Materials of all ssorts

AND, in an act of TRUE heroism, Citrine offers up one of the last powdered donuts

She takes her chapstick, digging out a hunk and heating it up in her hands to use THAT as a lubricant.

and it works! Mom was right, this stuff is necessary for safe travel during cold winters

Gwen frowns "I think I hear footsteps"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... loosen it up fast, please?"

"Jeeez, yeah, I'm just lollygaggin', huh?"