Not because of Coalition security, or being watched, held captive or the any of the usual reasons. This time, there were just too many hands grabbing at him. If it wasn't for Myrtle arriving to help while Abel attempted to distract the dancers, Dar would have been doomed to another day without rest.

He was extra exhausted by the time he made it back to the ruins of the Temple of Inala, and passed out soon after handing over the color codes and pass-signs needed for covert communications with Thath.

"Not even a 'how was your day, Tulani'?" the Sphynx notes with a sigh, and tucks the tired bat in to get some sleep.

By morning, the Eeee was feeling more alive again (although being exposed to the Light of Nala during his nap might have helped). "Did you get enough to eat while you were at the Tower?" Mave asks him once he stirs.

"I had lots of fnerf, several Gigi, and a Savanite. I couldn't eat another bite," Alptraum jokes as he stretches upward. "How have you two been? Having slumber parties and pillow fights?"

"I have been working," Mave claims. "Tulani has been.. doing whatever it is she does." The Yodhinala waves a hand in the air to indicate 'whatever'. "Felines are restless creatures. She's already left for the day. She wants you to meet her at the salon, claiming that she's taken your jewelry there to be cleaned."

"Then I have to go as Pierce?" Alptraum asks, brow arched a bit as he rolls over enough that he flops into Mave's lap!

"Well, I suppose so," Mave notes, grinning and reaching down to scratch under the bat's chin. "Unless you'd rather do something else first? Did you enjoy your time at the Tower? Everything go as you hoped it would?"

Alptraum rolls over again, then comes up and pushes Mave back with his hands and kisses her, for whatever reason is best known to him. "It went fine," he finally admits once the lip lock ends. "Thath is going to do some reaearch into particular things to try and locate followers of Amena. I also confirmed several nobles are involved with her."

"Which ones?" Mave asks. "I might know of them. I was High Priestess here for awhile you know.." She doesn't seem to resist being pushed over or kissed, but does have a grin on her face.

"Well, Khanti is one. Herod Abbas is another," Alptraum explains, right before his head dips down and he nurses on the Yodhinala.

Mave rubs the back of Alptraum's neck as he nurses, and looks thoughtful. "Khanti.. Khanti.. I don't recall that as a noble family," she decides. "Bureaucrats. Corrupt ones. Now the House of Abbas goes back a long way, despite not being what one would call high nobility. They served the Sabaoth and the royal court. Earned their title, in other words - generally by taking care of things that the higher nobles didn't want to sully themselves with."

Alptraum releases, then slides up and licks Mave's nose. "And remind me to show you parts of a dance later," Alptraum says, "It has similarities to the one you used to summon a demon; I would like your input on what it possibly summoned at one time."

"Oh? That one was based on an old fertility ritual," Mave confesses. "I take it you have something else to do before showing me the dance then?" she asks coyly.

"I have to go meet Tulani of course," Alptraum says and winks. He's such a tease.

"Ah yes, your master," Mave says, and licks Alptraum's nose back. "You do seem to enjoy being the slave, you know. Is there some strange freedom in it?"

Alptraum smirks. "It's entertaining. Plus people are much more honest around you when they think you're no threat," he points out.

"Hmm, I suppose there is some pride to be found in always being lied to then," Mave suggests. "Shall I fetch your slave garb while you change then?"

"If you're good, I'll even let you dress me," Alptraum teases as he finally lets Mave up so he can settle down and concentrate on changing himself. He has ot get better at this anyway for the trials to come.

"Only if things go badly. I want to try to do this myself," Alptraum thinks. He's taken to visualizing his current body now when in this weird limbo-place ... and then overlaying an image of the form he wishes to wear over it; then slowly drawing it in until he fells the new shape, almost like putting on new clothes. Only in this case, very restrictive ones that remove his wings, ears, and even his ability to talk.

It's always awkward until the big transition (absorbing the wings) is done. Once things start approaching the kenned 'template' though, the changes speed up and almost take care of themselves, to the effect that Alptraum couldn't stop the change if he wanted to. But even when the change is complete.. Pierce feels off without all the jewelry.

The reformed Savanite sits up blinking and rubbing his chest lightly. Everything does feel weird without all the jewelry he normally has in. All he has right now are three small studs that can't be removed without significant pain. He also rolls his jaw, then makes a garbled barking sounds. It's always strange for a few minutes to be unable to form coherent words with the simpler vocal chords and more limited jaw and lip movement.

Mave is there with the loincloth (or loin-flap, really) and collar. "I wonder if the holes have closed up?" she asks, possibly in revenge for the teasing earlier.

Pierce stands up ... and after Mave's comment, he actually checks. He knows the nose one won't because it has a permanent grommet in it, but the chest, tongue, and navel are a different story.

It's so hard to tell, without having something to poke with, since the holes were.. well, flexible. Mave helps by pulling on the cheetah's nipples though! Once stretched enough the dimples show where the holes are.

Pierce whews, relieved the holes are still there. Having them redone would hurt, a lot. So, he grins at Mave and gestures to himself to be 'clothed'.

Mave attaches the collar, then ties on the 'flap'.. and reaches under to adjust things so that nothing shows.

Which makes Pierce dance around a bit as she's rather 'feely' while adjusting! Once she's done, he kisses her cheek and heads for the stairs out. "I can't believe I'm happy about going and collecting my jewelry; it feels so strange to be without it in this body."

With a bit of combing and brushing, Mave declares the slave fit for the public. "I'm sure they've missed you at the Salon."

Pierce smirks. "Missed in not having someone to make squirm, perhaps," he thinks.

The Yodh then hands Pierce a shopping list. "Be sure to give this to Tulani. I need these supplies," she explains.

It looks like mostly cosmetics ingredients: herbs and powders and flower essences. There are also some practical, food-related entries. Mave hasn't left the bunker since they arrived, after all.

Pierce folds the list, then nods to Mave. "Anything else, Mistress?" he signs, amused.

Mave thinks, and says, "Some cream, if you can find any. Tulani likes cream so I can't really trust her to bring any back."

"I do too in this body," Pierce warns, ears wiggling, "If there is nothing else, I'll go."

"All right then, be careful and don't talk to strangers," Mave notes, patting Pierce on the behind to send him on his way.

Pierce sashays said butt all the way up the stairs, probably giving Mave a nice show of spotty behind.

Slaves to Art
This upscale salon for slaves offers many services, from grooming to body art. Like many stores under the upper deck of the plaza, it doubles as a support tower, and is cylindrical in shape, with partitions added to separate it into multiple rooms. Unlike traditional Babelite homes, it lacks the overall openness, with relatively narrow halls and 'doors' made from hanging strands of beads. The main room has several grooming stations, a few of them specifically for the more procedures like piercing and tattooing.

Helse smiles as Pierce enters the shop. "It's about time you returned," she notes. "Your mistress is in the nest room, entertaining a guest."

Pierce bows deeply to Helse in apology. He even meekly slinks over and kisses her cheek, before turning and looking at the back room. He gestures towards it, probably asking if it is fine if he goes back?

"She didn't say to keep you waiting," Helse notes, and shoos the Savanite away from her desk.

Pierce ears' wiggle, and he heads towards the back room. At least he can hand the list off quickly.

Through the hanging-bead curtains, Pierce sees that Tulani is talking with.. Orca! "So, you can let her know, aye?" the big Skreek is asking the Sphynx.

"I'm sure I'll run into her before the deadline, and let her know," Tulani tells the rat, and glances towards the entry when she notices Pierce's shadow.

Pierce blinks. Well, there is someone unexpected ... and Tulani is with him! She can never tease about Nikky being with him again. The Savanite taps on the wall to announce his presence, then slips through the curtain.

Orca nearly jumps at the knock, but calms when he sees that it's just a slave (and of course, without any of the familiar piercings there isn't anything connecting Pierce to Nikky).

"Thanks, Tulani," Orca says, and kisses the back of the Sphynx's hand. "I owes you for this. Just hope I can repay it sometime."

"Well," Tulani says, winking at Pierce as she talks to Orca, "Can see those implants of yours again?"

Pierce rubs his forehead at the reminder of the implants. He actually turns his back to give Tulani and the Skreek some privacy!

The rat can't really argue that point, so stands up and drops his pants. There are some odd sounds, and a few squeaks from Orca before Tulani lets him go. "Thank you, I just needed to refresh my memory," the Sphynx purrs. After getting his pants back up, Orca makes his escape, although he's walking a little funny.

And Pierce doesn't help by swatting the rat on his butt as he hurries out. He just couldn't resist. To Tulani he signs, "You are terrible."

"Oh, you didn't see what I did," Tulani notes to Pierce. "Orca has a secret. I couldn't get it out of him, but he's doing something in a few days and it has him scared that he won't be coming back, so he wants to see Nikky again before that."

"I don't like the sound of that. I don't want to see him hurt. He is a good guy, if a pervert," Pierce signs to Tulani. "Maybe Nikky should drug him and lock him up."

"I was hoping more for finding out it is that has him scared," Tulani notes. "He might tell Nikky.. but he'd definitely tell Snowcora, if she did that Barada's Kiss trick on him. He's got a room at the Laughing Chibix."

"Oh, well, Nikky could go, seduce him, then I shift while he's asleep and get him to tell Snowcora," Pierce signs, "Easy. Well, except for all the work before that. He's insatiable."

"Everyone has their limits," Tulani points out, and then looks over Pierce. "I suppose you want all your stuff put back in?" she asks with a grin.

"Yes," Pierce signs and impulsively rubs his chest again. "It feels weird to be without them now. I got used to the tension they gave to the parts they were in."

"They should be ready by now," Tulani says, and reaches to remove Pierce's flap. "Just relax and it'll all be taken care of!" she promises.

"Ready? It's not ... " Pierce starts to sign, then gives up and lets Tulani remove the flap, leaving him in just the slave collar. Of course it is hard to relax, but he tries his best. Mostly by taking several deep breaths...

Tulani leaves, and returns a moment later with a bowl (full of familiar rings and bars and such) and four of the Nagas, including Sephia - who has a bottle and a rag in her hands. "Pleassse, stand up ssstraight, legss and armss apart," she tells Pierce.

The naga make Pierce nervous. They always look like they're up to something and it usually means he ends up squirming. But, since he has to act the part of the lowest-ranking slave here, he has to do as they request. So, he stands up as straight as he can, legs spread roughly a foot apart and his arms held out about a foot from his sides. "I shouldn't be so paranoid," he thinks.

The bottle is touched to the rag, and the rag to Pierce's left nipple.. and it burns! Alcohol, for sure. Sephia is very thorough in disinfecting the site before one of the others starts to insert the barbell.

Pierce's brow dances like mad when the alcohol burns. He even lets out a small hiss once the insertion starts; turns out the holes shrink some when the jewelry has been out for a bit and it has to stretch back out. Once thing is certain, he'll be very aware of their presence again for a time.

As the second nipple is prepped, it dawns on Pierce just where so many of his other rings go. Two of the other Naga are already preparing his ears.. by licking them first, for whatever reason.. but then using their fangs to spread the earring holes back open.

"This is really strange," Pierce thinks, particularly when he feels fangs in his ears! It's nearly impossible to hold still, but the fear of something tearing is somehow managing it. His tail behind him lashes about, though; a grand appendage for expressive relief!

For the tongue stud, there's no alcohol.. but Sephia has a unique method in any case. Holding the stud in her forked tongue, she actually kisses Pierce and tries to find the hole blindly. There's a bit of poking as a result, but eventually it finds its place. To attach the clasp on the bottom, the Naga uses her fingers though. "You ssshould have a forked tongue," she hisses to the slave. "You can do trickss with it.."

Okay, so Pierce finds he doesn't mind the kissing so much; it feels rather nice in the end. He even behaves and lets Sephia secure the bottom anchor without any fuss. "Not Naga though," he briefly signs and wiggles his own tongue at her.

"It will ssssurprise your clients, then," Sephia notes. And then the alcohol is used on his back, along with lots of pinching to find the holes for those rings (which originally were on the much more easily accessed tips of his wings).

At least the back rings aren't so bad. It's like an odd back scratching. Once they're in, though, he can feel them in place, much like the frontal ones. Yep, it's going to be very noticeable! He looks at Tulani now, sure she's enjoying every minute of this!

Tulani smiles innocently, which really doesn't work on the face of a cat. "Take a deep breath," she advises.

That's an odd request. Still, it may be wise to follow it. So ... Pierce takes a very deep breath.

While they can't speak, Pierce can sure make a lot of very loud noises! All sorts of barking and chirping escape his lips when that hits! "Tulani is gonna get it! he thinks and plots revenge!

At some point, it's necessary for the cheetah to lie down. While one reptile holds the convenient handle out of the way, the one with the best vision works on reinserting the rings. At the other and, Sephia holds Pierce's head in her coiled 'lap' and pops out the grommet plug so that the nose ring can be reinserted.

"This is ... I'm not sure if I like it or hate it," the Savanite has to think as he's being worked on 'both ends'. Still, he does grin up at Sephia and sick his tongue out at her playfully. It also helps distract him from the sensations in the lower area.

It also distracts him from the Naga's wrapping their coils around his limbs, apparently. After the last ring is put in, he's not let up. Instead, he gets an alcohol sponge-bath for his bread-and-butter part.. and Tulani is still holding the bowl. There's more in there. And Helse has also entered the room, decorated with snowflakes today, and carrying her surgical bag.

"Wait, what?" Pierce signs with a hand, even though he can't move his arms. His head strains around as he tries to look and see what is going on! "She betrayed me!" the Savanite thinks. And he does recognize that bag ... and the sinking feeling in his stomach tells him something bad is about to happen. It's only made worse by the coolness of the alcohol has made things very much 'standing at attention'.

And then comes the numbing bite.. which isn't numbing when it comes, after all. "You don't want to be outdone by a Skreek, right?" Tulani asks, as she hands the bowl over to Helse, who uses forceps to pluck out a dripping gold-coated stud.

The bite gets a bark! He glares at Tulani for a moment, then wilts. Not being outdone by a skreek means she intends him to have more! She was serious that night. He tries to lift his head up enough to watch this time, worried by just how much they're going to do!

The main thing Pierce sees is the inside of the bowl as it's set down next to one of his secured legs. Nine! There are nine studs this time. And then Sephia tilts his head back so he can only see her, looking down at him with a grin. "It will be fine," she promises. "We will have lotsss of fun afterwardsss. And maybe think about getting your tongue forked. It issssn't like you need it to speak.."

Pierce blinks again and sticks out his tongue. Is she really being serious? He doesn't have a lot of time to think about that because all he can think about is nine. He's going to be very, very, bumpy! He ends up looking up at Sephia ... and whimpers.

"Awww, okay, for you I will do this," the Naga says, and then dips down sink her fangs into the cheetah's neck and pump her sedative poison into him. The room goes bleary, then dark...

When Pierce wakes up again, he feels.. normal. Everything's there, back where they belong. And he only feels a tiny bit heavier down below, barely noticeable. "How are you feeling?" asks the purry voice of Tulani, who is sitting on some pillows next to him.

"Heavier, maybe," Pierce signs as he sits up so he can see and feel just what they did to him. "You are very evil," he adds.

At least it's all healed. In the unaroused state, the studs are hard to notice, but at least they don't move around or anything. Helse knows what she's doing.

"Oh, you complained about the first set too, but I bet you enjoyed them," Tulani claims. "Just think of this as my little gift.. to Rose!"

Pierce counts them out, then sighs. Twelve. He shakes his head a bit and is grateful it is all healed well. "She'll probably like them," he admits in sign, "So I might forgive you. Maybe." He also wiggles his nose, feeling the familiar weight against his upper lip. "Sephia wants to fork my tongue," he tells Tulani.

"I could do tricks with it and better excite clients, or something," Pierce signs and shrugs, "She seems to think it is possible."

"Better find out if she's done it before then," Tulani suggests. "What do you want to do about Orca?"

"Well, I wil have to go. I don't want him to get hurt, so I need to know what he has to do. Then maybe I can find some way to protect him," Pierce signs. "I do like the guy, and the Nikky-body loves him in its own way."

"Agree to marry him, and he'll probably back out of whatever he's gotten into," Tulani suggests with a grin. "Tomorrow we start watching for drops from Thath. Are you expecting anything?"

"Nikky can't get married to him. That's just cruel since she can't stay with him," Pierce points out. "And I don't know when we'll get anything. I have to make a trip to Gorphat's Temple and recover Undercity maps; we're going to need them to find the Dipthath cult hideouts."

"Ugh, do you need my help with that?" Tulani asks. "I don't know if my contact would have any information on the Undercity."

"It's probably safer if I go alone. Goorphat likes me. she's not so bad once you get to know her, either,," Pierce claims, and taps his chest, "So I should be safe to get in and get them. What is the worst thing that could happen? Wait, don't answer that."

"As long as she doesn't think infections are cute," Tulani says. "Anyway, are you recovered enough to.. test things out?" she asks next with a big grin.

"She uses them to make people stronger. I'll be fine," Pierce claims. The other question gets a roll of his eyes. "And why should I test them out with you?" he teases, "You made me suffer!"

Pierce blinks. "So, not you?" he signs nervous now. "Who am I supposed to test them with?"

"There's this dance group that just came in with a bunch of seashells they want made into earrings," Tulani notes.

Pierce chuffles. "Oh, I know them. They were at the Tower. So, you want me to have them pay for my time, is that it?" he teases

"Well, one of them is a human," Tulani. "I figured she'd be free, just because I hear they are gentler on their lovers." She's still grinning, of course. "The rest are a bunch of Gigis. Hardly as good as a Sphynx.."

"This is true," Pierce says, possibly to feed her ego. "So ... want to go sell my time to them? I want to see how you barter this..." He grins.

"Barter? Nah, I'd only do that with a Vartan," Tulani claims. "Because I have the shiniest spotty in town. Just wait here and look cute." And Tulani is off through the curtained door.

"I don't even have to try and look cute! Pierce thinks smugly. Part of him also feels oddly 'content' from having the familiar tension of the jewelry back in place. Maybe it really does work well as a reminder since it stays through forms. The Savanite then stretches out and lounges on his side; putting his body quite on 'display'.

Lain is brought back, and her eyes go big at the sight of Pierce. She's wearing a simple dress, and lots of necklaces. "I have some experience with this studding," she tells Tulani before kneeling down to take a closer look at things. "Four rows?"

And of course Pierce stretches out to show off himself and the studding. He even chuffs a soft purr at Lain.

So of course the woman grabs on, and squeezes. Humans like grabbing things, nearly as much as Rath'ani. "Mula, Mila, Mina, Mali, Momo, Minerva!" she calls out, summoning the Gigi's. "You've got to come feel this.."

Poor Pierce's eyes go wide! It's hard to look seductive when someone is squeezing you! Why is it everything seems to backfire on him...?

The cats pour in, crowding the room and trying to get a turn. There's is a lot of purring, and it's very loud. "Hey! Don't break him!" Tulani calls from somewhere in the back, as Pierce flashes back to the night before at the hands of the dancers..

"Well, I have to look at the positive side. With my jewelry back, I can make this even more interesting for them!" Pierce thinks as he clicks the tongue stud against the roof of his mouth. Spots vanish into a pile of tawny-furred bodies. May the Gods help the Eeee that live nearby because ... the purring could be heard for blocks!