Grendel antics

[Originally written July 4 2020]

After much consideration, I ended up choosing a Treehugger named Ariel. I don’t think the world is ready to deal with Hardman Norns yet, the world isn’t populated enough yet to have Magmas in the Desert, and I thought it better to have the Treehuggers, who don’t wander, rather than Fallows. I may also bring in Siamese and/or Bondi norns, but not yet. Sadly, her intended mates ended up not needing her after all, but I’ll get to that later.

The Grendels had dispersed around the Ark. Cleo decided to hang out in the Jungle, Prospero had settled into the Desert, and Romeo had apparently dragged Hamlet along on one of his adventures, as I found them both out in the hallway. For some reason Romeo was whimpering so I checked him for illness and then took him home to the Woodland.

Tybalt and Mercutio traded places, with Tybalt staying on the bramboo terrace with Hermia, who was content to stay put, while Mercutio went off to the Jungle with his nephew Othello.  Sadly, I got distracted watching Mercutio chase Guildenstern around just long enough for Iago to beat the poor young Norn to death just offscreen. Whoops.

One of the Grendels announced he was ill, so I spritzed him with the antibacterial spray from the hoverdoc and decided it would be a good idea, since I didn’t know who’s been in and out of the Jungle, to make the rounds of the whole ship and check on each Grendel for illness.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern apparently decided this was a great time to start an all-out brawl. The Jungle erupted into a cacophony of slaps, punches, grunts, and yelps; Cleo laid an egg in the center of the chaos; a mecha-grendel got punched across the room; if there had been a chair present it would have been smashed over somebody’s head, I’m sure.

I broke this situation up by kicking everyone out.

I moved most of the creatures to the Woodland and took Romeo, who was still sneezing, to the Learning Room to recover, along with Cleo. She had gone grey and the Jungle is not a good place for old creatures. Hermia came to pay them an unexpected visit while I fumigated the area to remove any remaining bacteria. This little visit went surprisingly well, with no slapping. 

Meanwhile, I hatched the egg and named the baby Gertrude. Romeo lived up to his name and took the opportunity of being alone with a female to do some unexpected kisspopping while I was off giving Gertrude her “hit toy yes, hit norn no” lessons. Or rather, trying to; the little Grendel was obsessed with buttons and ignored everything else to focus on them.

Romeo had either decided to take Cleo on an adventure to celebrate her pregnancy or to mount a rescue mission for Gertrude. So he pulled the poor old Grendel out of the Learning Room with him, pushed the teleport pad, and warped straight into the workshop, then immediately warped back out again, taking Gertrude with them both while she slept! 

I found the three of them curled up in a pile of gadgetry in the Desert, all sound asleep, while Hamlet disconnected the volcano rig.

Unfortunately, all this kept me from checking in on the Woodland, and Puck also fell victim to Iago’s aggression. 

I was determined to continue trying to raise both Norns and Grendels, though, so against my better judgement I hatched Cleo’s surprise egg and named the little hatchling Brutus. 

During this trip to the Meso I discovered that Antony had also grown old. He may have been a handful but you can’t deny the charm of his silvery coloration, which is only enhanced by his grey hair!

Speaking of silver, there was a silver lining to this cloudy session; Gertrude and Hermia struck up an unexpected friendship, playing with the ball and drums together. Why can’t all Norns and Grendels live in this sort of harmony?