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But where will *you* go now, Blood?

His reply is very telliing. He can’t go ‘home’ now either, and acknowledges that neither of them have true ‘family’ anymore.

It looks like it’s been a long and tiring day for Michelle. How long has it been for Greg and the rest?
And before she can rest, how stubbornly will she have to defend her new friend?

I just noticed Michelle’s eyes are not only not glowing (and haven’t been since she returned to this island), they’re back to having dark irises like they used to.(and like they /usually/ do when she’s in human form). I’m guessing the fact she was the main power source, or at least jump-starter, for the hellmouth might have something to do with that.
Along with their greater expressiveness, it helps show how tired she is.

Okaaaaayyyyy … it was the sunset. With the sun setting in what would be East of Staffa. I wonder whether our two avalon-goers are in for a surprise how much it is not home they’ve arrived in …

Kory said in the comments just a few pages ago that it’s not Fingal’s Cave (and therefore it’s not Staffa).
Staffa has the basalt columns, but otherwise looks nothing like this little stone muffin of an island. Also, Staffa is in the Inner Hebrides instead of the Irish Sea.

… not sure how I managed to miss Kory’s reply so far, thanks for the pointer. Yup, Staffa (see ch1p14) has some greenery on top, while this island (ch7p65) does not … guess those basalt columns are a bit too “match found!”-enticing … as are the matching grey hellmouths …

This is the same dinky island, seen from a lower angle. Staffa is a much larger, longer island with its cave out on the southern end. Staffa is also within sight of other islands and of the Scottish mainland. And, it might be difficult to keep a secret hellmouth hidden in a cave that’s a tourist attraction.

Hint, Michelle – if you need assistance working something out for Bloodcarver, remember one person: He may be an annoying know-it-all git but there is a certain Rakshasa that might be of use when a “radical solution” is required :)

It would be interesting to see if Michelle could make a new medallion.

She offered to make some for the dragons, but Dis Pater refused. So apparently she knows how, or at least knows that the skill is part of the historical info-dump she got when they brought her to the phoenix egg.

I wonder how many attempts it’ll take for her to get it right? (And can she repair Greg’s?)

I hope Michelle and Blood become long term friends. Even after he tried to Kidnap her. He seems like a good guy.

…as far as fire-breathing dragons go who’d drag you to hell…! B-)

But yeah, given his circumstances he seems to have more integrity than could be expected, and he generally seems to keep his word.

From all we know so far he should deserve a medaillon, at least if non-murdering and non-snacking on sentients are part of the consensus agreement!

(Having that in an explicit binding agreement with Vera might have been an even better idea!)

I just had an idea (can you smell the smoke?) that’s unrelated to these events.
A bunch of hypothetical Unturned folks with indicative surnames like John & Lorne’s.
Aside from Lyon, there are “normal’ critter names like Wolf and Baer and Aguila, in multiple languages and spellings.
The only SkinDeep-type critter surname that comes to mind is Griffin.
But, then I’ve seen Ziegefuss, which is German for “goat-foot”. (Of /course/ it’s a metaphor for climbing skill!)

I’d guess that the probability of finding actual unturned people that way – if that’s what you meant to suggest – would be only marginally higher than with guessing that every Miller, Smith, and Baker holds that exact profession. :-3 Family names propagate in ways that do not coincide with the pathes that genetics or vocations travel …

I’m well aware of the fact that many surnames have little or nothing to do with their modern bearers’ occupations, or homes/origins, or descriptive nicknames (some of which were originally ironic), or paternity.
Many moons ago, I met someone named Sauerbier. Its English meaning is just what it sounds like in German: “Sour Beer”. I can explain it with a question: If your buddy made one bad batch of home-brew, how soon would you let him forget it? Unfortunately for his descendants, he was still stuck with that nickname when his government declared all surnames hereditary.
I’m not suggesting any search effort by the characters. I just thought it might be a fun idea to kick around.
Another ordinary(?) critter name is Hart, as in “Stag”.

I see … Germany really nailed down people’s family names in the 18th century, has been rather restrictive with name changes ever since, and never was an outspoken immigration nation, either. As a result, “you can’t choose your family – nor your family name!” is quite the common sentiment here – too common to go “wait, your name is what!?” except for the most outlandish ones, I’m afraid. :-3

(And Sau(e)rbier/Suhrbier, Wolf, Bär etc. IMHO are way too frequent to qualify: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_(Familienname)#Namenstr%C3%A4ger )

It wasn’t just Germany; it happened all across Europe. In medieval Europe, you parents chose your first name and your community chose your by-name, or last name. The basic categories of by-name were patronymics (and a rare few matronymics), occupations, locatives that say where you live or where you’re from, descriptives, and nick-names. Animal names were generally references to reputed characteristics of the critter in question. The community might change your by-name whenever they saw fit.
Then, in about the 13th Century, European governments all declared surnames to be hereditary. That made it easier for them to keep track of people for purposes of taxes and conscription. If you try to change your name after that, you must be some kind of evil-doer.
In this context, it also occurs to me that Kory’s rules of magical heredity can complicate things. Even if the name starts out literally identifying a mytholo, another cryptid line can cut in and change things for descendants. You may find something as amusing as stories about a werewolf named Kitty.

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