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Phorkys was one of the attractive merfolk men from Hydropolis, the guard who would not leave unless Evermore was a Level A military power, cuz his lady fans would not accept a 'wasting' of his talent. [He runs Cetus' Chosen group of hammer-units, right?? The ones I always use cuz of their excellent skill of making refreshing units in skirmishes (healing) cheaper on the Might cost?? Probably, lol. They aaaare a bit glass-canon-y, but it's always good to have them! Like Chip, and his 'destroy the cannons' ability!]
In game canon, he is talked about by Ah Chu, who hates that he comes into her weapons shop, stands around and looks at shit for hours, and then leaves without buying anything, lol. so he's possibly a bit... absent-minded? un-observant? really in his head about things? or really stingy with money, not wanting to BUY the new weapons he looks at? OR he has a really high quality standard, but I think that's just what Ah Chu THINKS, and it isn't TRUE...
And Moggie May, this catfolk archer woman from the forests outside of Dell, might be the one I know THE LEAST about, cuz i didn't even know she existed until like several chapters AFTER she actually appeared! Her quest is related to Filippos, the younger archery-loving hunter human boy from Hydropolis - he wants to learn to cook cuz she DOESN'T COOK SHIT, LOL. Their trail snacks include 'salted meat, and unsatled meat.' and that's it. so he wants to learn to cook for her. it's very cute.
She is also beloved by NEREUS, of all people, the merman who sings in the symphonium, who had the golden voice, and it was stolen by a calypso-like nymph on Makronos. But Moggie May herself is VERY tight-lipped. She's not literally a Min-Ti expy, Min Ti still somehow has an even more severe bearing about herself. More of a frown, more military experience. I think Moggie is just a hunter, never been /to war/, precisely, even tho i thiiiiink Moggie comes with a group of archers for skirmishes?? not sure tho??
I think the the thing they'd bond over would be the Monster Hunting Guilds - this is a canon political event that cropped up near end-game that doesn't get enough attention from the writers! (I doooo get the feeling that the character writers were involved mostly or ONLY at the beginning, and as polish and final tweaks were applied, they were NOT consulted anymore, and that's why the story starts out strong and really kinda stumbles at the end... anyway.)
They'd admire each other as good fellow hunters, fellow wallflowers, since there are other guild-members who go out for glory, and Phorkys does it mostly to stay sharp with his skills, and to lead his men. Moggie does it cuz I get the sense she likes being out in the woods, that's where she feels in her element, like Katniss. I wonder if she and the vet grimalkin, Rumpel, might know each other or something?? Both out in the woods, chasing monsters, just, for different ends.
Hmm, maybe instead of the monster-hunting guilds, they're both with their groups at the training grounds. Skirmish drilling. Perhaps they DID both TRY the guilds, but left due to the slightly off vibes. They're not really the type to join such a thing, ya know? Moggie is even more anti-social than he is, she'd legit WANT to be in the woods and alone. Phorkys doesn't necessarily value PURE solitude, as she does, because I kinda see him as MORE dedicated to his men than Moggie is to HER group... Not sure why tho? Well, maybe cuz Phorkys is very duty-bound, a guard, that sort of thing. LMAO, what if Moggie has a sort of Artemisian Nymph Gaggle thing goin' on with the archers?? Her own Callisto among them, perhaps XD
That could be a point of difference between them, when they talk - they have very different perspectives on their army units. Phorkys treats his soldiers well, with a personal touch, yes, but with a regimented, professional distance that is PART of the army experience. They are not FRIENDS, they are COMRADES, and they share the carousing and loud laughter and physical back-slapping and casual nudity that a close-knit regiment WOULD have in war-times. But they aren't, like, quite as SPECIAL to each other as Moggie finds her Nymphs. (check on the name of her unit - oof, it's "the feline firing squad" That's a bit rough... I'm making this rated-T, these two are getting up to mild-to-moderate violence!)
It's almost religious, almost sexual, the way they gather for a hunt, perform their combo moves, seek the same prey like a pack of hunting dogs, the boundaries between their bodies melting away as their minds converge on one goal... It's a spiritual-religious-ecstasy sort of experience, when they go out to hunt.
Phorkys listens very stoically, respectful and thoughtful, and after some companionable silence, he begins his own story, about the regimented patterns they go through, how the predictability of the military life becomes a bulwark for them, against the uncertainties of fate. It's something they can DEPEND on, the rote repetition and lifting weights and running laps and such-like. It feels like pounding away all the uncertainties of life underfoot, when they do drills of running laps. Like relaxing into a chair that was /built/ to fit you just right.
She listens respectfully and silently too, nodding slowly with a very serious face. "We come from very different worlds," she summarizes when he is done gesticulating, the glow of passion for his topic having faded from his eyes. "And still, fate brought us to this same point in place and time." She opens her mouth for another sentence, doesn't find it, and closes it instead. He watches her with tilted head for a moment, then she impulsively sticks out one bare hand for a formal clasping. "I think we should try to get along." He gives a chuckle as he meets her offer with a confident grasp of her forearm.
"I don't think that will be hard for /us/, but how about your forest nymphs?"
She shrugs, and drops the hand. "They'll learn. As long as your men can shut up long enough to realize that they're not dumb just because they don't talk much." He nods seriously, already planning to test them with a day of silence, perhaps a group meditation exercise at the Gardens. She knocks her elbow into his and smiles with half her mouth. "Relax. I can see you planning drills already, Mr. Overworked Captain. How about we go take a break?" His eyebrows jump and she bristles. "Best part of hunting together is to nap in a pile until the sun begins to set." He can't help the awkward smile that spreads over his face and she grins. "Have you never...?"
He shakes his head. "No." She grabs his hand, more intimate this time, and whips her head around to seek out her hunting squad.
Which is how Phorkys next woke up, surrounded by a snoozing pile of grimalkin archers, to the sound of leaves rustling and the warmest body temperature he's ever felt from another being, several women's hands upon his body and not a jot of terror in his mind. They would not grab him and rend his flesh if he at all disobeyed them or tried to leave - indeed, as they woke one by one and stretched and uncurled into a loosely-organized arrow formation to begin the dusk's hunt, one even laid a hand directly on his crotch to support herself in standing, and offered that same hand to his face once she was on her feet, completely unaffected by the experience. He marveled at it, then at her, and obeyed her jerked chin, turning to face Moggie May who had warmed his back with her own as they all slept, smile widening at the bloodlust in her eyes. Now the hunt begins.