In one of the hallways, a Sphynx and a Skreek check room numbers. "Here it is," Tulani tells Nicorina in a whisper. "I've got the one just across here, so you can come and 'change' as needed."
"And not because you want some time with him too?" Nikky remarks with an impish smirk.
"He asked for you," Tulani points out, using her clawtip to poke the rat-girl. "Be sure to find out what has him so worried."
Nikky rubs her hands together. "Oh, I will, and have fun doing it," she says and quickly has to stop herself from cackling. She shoos Tulani off, then turns towards the door. She raps on it once with each hand, then spins and thumps it with her butt for good measure.
Just as Tulani closes the door to her room, the one before Nikky opens a crack so the occupant can see who is outside.. and then the door if flung open and Nicorina finds herself being scooped up and twirled around a bit. "You came!" Orca declares, using a foot to close the door with. The room isn't anything special: a bed, a desk, a chair and some supplies, including a bottle of wine.
Nikky goes whee as she's spun around! "Y' sound so surprised by dat," She says and pokes Orca in the nose. "Like I ever refuse yer invitations; yer mah sweetie skreek," she claims. "Plus, I was worried, sounds like you getting into stuff you shouldn'."
"Ah.. what did Tulani say?" Orca asks, stopping the spin to sit Nikky down on the bed. "Are you hungry or thirsty or anythin'?"
Nikky actually crosses her legs. "Dat you seemed worried, like you were gonna do somet'ing dangerous," she says, "An I don like dat. Yer supposed t' be safe an tryin' to seduce me." The last bit comes with a wink, at that. "An I be a little thirsty, I guess. Not too hungry quite yet."
"I'll help you build an appetite!" Orca promises, and pulls the cork out of the wine bottle with his teeth. The glasses are not fancy, just regular leather mugs that someone might carry on their belt. He pours a generous amount before handing over the mug. "An' I thought I already seduced you?"
"Doesn' mean y' can't keep doing it," Nikky points out, saluting the other skreek with the mug. She then takes a long drink; but the the rat has always liked booze.
It's wine.. Saskanar from the fruitiness of it.. and therefore a bit light on the alcohol. But then Eeee aren't known for being heavy drinkers. As soon as she tips the mug back, Nikky can sense Orca's fingers going to work on her clothes. "Keep doin' it, right!" the man says. "And I ain't doing anything.. uh.. really dangerous. Just.. don't know when I'd be back is all."
Nikky lets Orca's hands work for the moment. "Oh," she asks as he lifts her mug from her lips. "Jus wut are ya going to do?"
"It's a secret," the Skreek boasts, as he gets the blouse off and starts on the skirt.
Nikky stretches, pressing her chest right into Orca's face. "Y'kin tell me," she murmurs, then bites his ear. "I know ya wanna."
"Mmmmff!" Orca happily mumbles. "Nah, you'd only worry and pine for me and stuff," he claims, before using his whiskers as ticklers.
"So? Doncha want me worryin' about you, an all ready for you ta get back?" Nikky teases, cackling. She curls her feet around him and uses her toes to pinch his backside.
"Eeep!" Orca squeaks, and retaliates by.. wiggling out of his pants? "Stress is bad for gettin' knocked up. I wants you all relaxed and nubile," he claims.
Nikky laughs! "Yer determined t' get me pregnant still?" she teases as she uses her feet to help get his pants off.
"Of course!" Orca claims, as he wrestles Nikky down to the bed. "Now more than ever," he adds while nibbling on her neck.
"But whhhhyyy?" Nikky squeals as she stretches out on her back on the bed. She proceeds to nibble and lick one of his ears since they're so conveniently in range.
"Don' know when I be back, or if you be here still," Orca claims, but Nikky can feel some tension there.
"Pfft, y' know I'll be around fer you," Nikky chides, then lightly bites his ear. "C'mon, where ya going?"
"Not far," Orca says, "but still.. a long ways, I think." He isn't one to be philosophical or vague, generally. The Skreek is very straightforward.. and straight forwards right into Nikky at that point.
And that's when Nikky squeals. It's been a while and her body really likes it. Her legs wrap around Orca and her claws, well, his back gets a bit of a workout! Maybe her body wants him to get her pregnant, or maybe she's just crazy.
Orca doesn't talk much at that point. It's also clear that he blames his lack of 'success' at impregnating Nikky on 'not enough positions - one of them has to work.' So together they test the durability of the door, the chair, the desktop, the floor and finally the bed, but only because Orca needs to rest a bit eventually.
And while Orca is trying to rest, Nikky is being quite evil with her tongue and its stud; making the other skreek squeal himself with her insistent 'treatment'. But at long last she actually does let the skreek rest and lies down beside him. She's even smiling at him and caressing his cheek.
As he pants, Orca asks, "Hungry now?"
"But I just ate you," Nikky teases and winks. She licks his nose, then says, "But yeah, a little."
The black-and-white buck Skreek waves tiredly towards the boxes of supplies. "I gots cheese, jerky, some sort of blue bug-meat stuff the flappers treat like candy, hard-tack and some dried fruit.."
"Aw, an here I thought we were gonna go out," Nikky teases as she slides off the bed to go rummage in the boxes. This, naturally, gives Orca a nice view of her backside. She even makes sure her tail is up so he can see everything.
"I think I jus' gonna chew on you for a bit," Orca says, turning onto his side to watch and trying not to doze off.
Nikky is quite the exhibitionist and Orca gets quite the show as she collects some jerky, fruit, and cheese. The cheese ends up going on everything as she sits down in a chair near the bed and eats, a leg propped up again for the continuance of the show.
"I like to watch you eatin' like that," Orca says with a grin.
Nikky shifts, making certain rings 'jingle'. "So, where ya going?" she asks again with a grin, then pops some cheese in her mouth.
"Someplace where it's always twilight," Orca says sleepily, and with an oddly poetic lilt.
"Oh? Why ya going?" Nikky asks, "An feel free t' take a nap. I be here when ya wake, promise."
"Contract.. mm..." Orca mutters as his eyes close.
Nikky waits for a bit to be sure Orca is asleep. "Time t' be human again," she then mutters and rises so she can go across the hall and shift. She hasn't been the maiden for a while either and feels ... oddly excited to become that decorated 'servant' of the Goddesses.
It should not be an issue to cross a hallway naked. Of course, in the time Nikky's been with Orca, someone a few doors down is having a Perfectly Legal Business Meeting that requires a guard posted outside. The Eeee leers openly while Nikky waits for Tulani to open the door.
And Nikky, being Nikky, flashes the Eeee with her be-ringed areas. "C'mon Tulani. Wake up," she thinks.
Finally the door opens, just as the guard looks like he's about call Nikky over. "You sure took your time," Tulani notes, and yawns into her hand. "I'm guessing you didn't get the story out of him since you aren't dressed.."
"
"Nope, time t' pull out de maiden an de kiss of babble," Nikky says as she eases her way into the room. "I just gots to shift." And so the skreek plops herself right down ont he floor and closes her eyes so she can extrude the shadow and shift her body to Snowcora.
It's easier than shifting into Nicorina was, but that could just be due to the lack of wings to deal with. Rats and humans aren't that different; one just has a tail! Everything else is close enough.
"The multi-colored hair is weird," Tulani notes when the transformation is complete. "Precisely because it looks natural."
"I like it, and all the tattoos, and being naked and hairless," Snowcora says as she stretches, then rises, probably to weird Tulani out even more. She the licks over her lips and adds, "Time to go have the rat kiss and tell. Back in a bit..." She waves with her fingers, then slinks over to the door, out, then back across the hall.
The guard looks even more surprised at the sight of Snowcora, at least until she slips into Orca's room (good thing she propped the door slightly so it wouldn't lock). The rat is still snoozing.. but whatever he's dreaming about certainly has him aroused it seems.
Snowcora behaves herself and doesn't follow the first instinct to tend to that arousal in multiple ways (dratted Inala!). Instead, she slinks over to the bed and licks her lips again. The human then leans down and kisses the skreek lightly on the lips. "Now, tell me where you're going," she whispers softly when her lips come away.
"Hell.." Orca mumbles, looking stressed. "Valley.. General wants to meet us.."
Snowcora frowns at that. "You shouldn't go," Snowcora whispers in his ear. "The General is not to be trusted."
"No choice," Orca mutters and squirms. "Nobody walks away from Guardians. Bad stories of meeting General.. nnnnnnnn!" The last part was a sound of pain.. and it might be from the fertility tattoos on his manhood glowing blue now.. just like Snowcora's Inala-tattooed loins are now.
"What stories? You can tell me," Snowcora whispers as she moves lower to 'deal' with Orca's discomfort. She's a little nervous about letting those tattoos within her altar, so she tries to see if 'other' ways alleviate it first.
This seems to relax the Skreek a bit. "Stories," he mutters. "People come back different. Changed, or crazy.."
"Changed how? Crazy how?" Snowcora asks. Perhaps it's Inala's hand guiding her, but soon she's on the bed with the skreek and guiding the glowing runes into her own glowing altar and bracing herself for whatever might happen.
"Ugh.. staring at nuthin' and hearing voices and.. and.. oooooo!" Asleep or not, the power of Inala takes over Orca's body, giving Snowcora a bit of a rough ride.
And Snowcora loves it, even if it wasn't a good idea! "So, they are all possessed by black hearts," she thinks in a brief moment of lucidity, "That's bad! We have to protect them!"
"Nikky!" Orca calls out. How can he be asleep through all of this? He's gotten grabby now, squeezing and pinching and nursing and trying, no doubt, to use be naughty with his tail as well.
And Snowcora encourages all of it; herself being in a semi-haze of lust. Inala has sure done a number on her, given how much she teases, encourages, and otherwise ravishes the rat. "Can you tell me anything else about where you go?" she whispers in his ear in another brief free moment.
"S-ss-secret path," Orca gasps. "Only way to reach da General. Monsters everywhere else.."
"Describe the path," Snowcora encourages ... right before she takes his furless tail and lightly chews on its tip!
"D-d-don' know it!" Orca cries, actually tearing up with closed eyes. "We'll be led. Special guide. Just me and the captain.."
"What guide?" Snowcora asks next, then sucks on his tailtip. She's an evil human, yes.
The man's back strains and arches. "Dunno! Some creep.. rumor is it's a monster!"
"Does it sing?" Snowcora asks as she presses down, grinding against the skreek as she mercifully releases his tail.
"I dunno! Dunnoooo" the rat croons, reaching release of a rather forced nature, due to the interaction of the blessings overriding mere biology.
Snowcora's movement stops and she basks in the release; the blessed release of the fountain of life a rush inside her Inala-blessed body. "You shouldn't go. Neither you or the Captain," she says in a whisper. "Too dangerous."
"We'll be killed if we don't.." Orca whimpers, seeming to deflate a bit.
"Then I will have to find a way to protect, or rescue you, when you get back," Snowcora claims as she eases her body off his and shudders. She really doesn't want to let him out, but she has to.
"Dangerous to follow.." the man mutters.
"I know," Snowcora murmurs, deciding that she may have to visit Rugharo again soon; that this wasn't enough. She slides off the bed and kisses Orca's cheek. "You and he will be protected somehow, promise. Or cured of anything the General may do to you..."
"Nikky.." Orca mutters, seeming more at ease.
"She'll be back with you soon..." Snowcora whispers in his ear. "Just tell me when you're going and where you are to meet your guide ... and I will find Nikky for you..."
"Eighteen days," the rat mutters. "At an old temple in the undercity. Not sure which one.. Cap knows.."
"Ah, good, time still to get other things done," Snowcora thinks, relieved. She kisses his cheek again and says, "I will go find your friend..." And off the human slinks, basking in the delightful glow of Inala's gift.
Once outside, that glow has other effects. After all, unlike in the rooms, which are warded, there's nothing to prevent the aura from extending out in the hallway. This causes the guard down the way to literally fold up and grab at himself in shock. At least it keeps him from looking down the hall to see the naked glowing woman enter another room.
"I'm that good. Thank you, Inala, Snowcora thinks smugly as she enters the other room. "They're going into the forbidden zone, Hell's Valley, in eghteen days, to meet the General. They'll meet a guide in the undercity at an old temple. He doesn't know where, but the Captain does," she tells Tulani.
"The Captain may be harder to crack," Tulani notes from the room's bed. "But we might be able to shadow them to the rendezvous point. Think we can plot out all the old shrines by then? I'm guessing it'll be one of the Diphath ones."
"I hope to. I have to make a circle to all those shrines as well as the Gorphat ones anyway as a task," Snowcora says a she plops down on the side of the bed. "I really don't want them going in there. I don't wait either ending up undead."
"Rikat wasn't undead," Tulani notes. "Undead are kind of hard to hide after all. Soldano and Orca are smugglers, they can't be zombies and still be effective. So it may be a control thing. Something to ensure loyalty, and.. well, let them know there is no escape from her, not even death."
"So I'll have to cure them after they're infected. Lovely," Snowcora grumbles. "Well, I can do it. I care about them, even if he can't ever really have Nikky."
"Speaking of having Nikky," Tulani notes, tail lashing, "are you going to be spending the rest of the day with him? Now that the spying part is done, you don't really need me as backup do you?"
"I indended to spend more time with him, yes," Snowcora says, "What will you go do?"
"Narrow the search," the Sphynx notes. "I imagine the shrine is likely to be in the domain of your new acquaintance Herod bar Abbas. What else can you tell me?"
"What section of the city is he in? I can tell you the rough location of where the temples are," Snowcora says. "And as for what else, Herod runs his own markets and imports food to make profit. You might be able to get in posing as a food merchant."
"He's set up at the far end of the city, opposite the main air and ground trade route," Tulani notes. "So he could easily monopolize things since he's so far from the main markets. Also near the Valley of Mists."
"And oh, one minor thing ... Herod's brother is probably an undead vampire in the temple. Former singer, assassinated. Yiou probably don't want to go in there alone. It's also likely he is the guide," Snowcora warns. "So look for vampire signs, like drained bodies but do not go in. And ... hmmm" She gets up and goes to fetch some paper from their stuff and quick-sketches from memory the northern area for Tulani as shown by the Yodhgorphat map. It's hard to forget that place since it's where she accidentally started the path to be one of them.
"I'll see if I can match this to a current map," Tulani says. Being an airship scout means being able to find a route despite poor references.
"And find a good hiding place where we can observe from," Snowcora suggests. "Anything else before I go skreek?"
"How are the new studs working out?" Tulani asks with a grin. "You may praise me at your leisure.."
"Oh, I'm quite enjoying them. They feel wonderful in this form," Snowcora says with a grin. She waggles her thin brow on her tattooed face; then disappears back into the shadow!
When Nicorina emerges, Tulani is looking out into the hallway. "There's a very trepidatious looking guard down the hall," she warns. "Did you traumatize him?"
"Who me? Haf I ever traumatized anyone?" Nikky asks as she walks up to Tulani and gooses her on the butt, then slips by her and back into the hall. She sashays all the way, too.
The guard looks away this time. In the other room, Orca is still asleep, and looking.. drained. He's probably going to wake up hungry.
Nikky slides up into bed with Orca and curls her arm around his waist. She's content to just sleep with him until he wakes up. She's comfortable in this form after all.
And so Nikky gets to take a little nap as well. Since the rooms have no windows (and the entire hotel is effectively 'under ground' below the upper plaza layer) there's no way to tell how long they've slept. But Orca does stir eventually, which rouses Nicorina as well. "Oi had the strangest dream.." the First Mate mumbles.
"Oh? Whazzat?" Nikky asks as she sits up slowly. "An want som'ting to eat? Name it an I grab it for ya."
"Mmm, I'll have anything that I can eat off of you," Orca says. "Oh, I dreamed I was visited by Inala, and she gave me some sort of blessing."
"Oh? What kinna blessing?" Nikky asks, feeling jealous all of a sudden if Inala actually did visit him in a dream. She slips off the bed and goes to collect things that work well for eating off someone, but that means mostly fruit slices and cheese. Soon she's sliding back into the bed and strategically placing food all over her body; some even tucked slightly into tender places. Crazy skreek.
Licking his lips, Orca says, "She blessed my loins! I guess the tats really helped. So after I feast on your bounty.. I'm gonna feast on your booty! Arrr!"
Nikky cackles, "Just realize if yer blessed, ya better be /really good/!" She then /stretches/ out and just /enjoys being nibbled upon!
Orca doesn't wait until his done eating to prove his blessing - he just clears the plate where necessary, then moves on. Maybe there is a little something extra this time though - some residual energy from the Shrine Maiden maybe?
If there is, Nikky surely takes the time to enjoy it, proving that after a nap she can be quite vigorous herself. "What did you do to him, Inala?" the decorated skreek wonders in the throes of passion. "Or was this all me?"
Inala or Snowcora - or maybe the cheese, Orca's lovemaking no longer has that edge of desperation it did earlier. He's really focused on making sure Nikky enjoys it as much as he does.
"Promise me ya be careful," Nikky asks of the other skreek before kissing him gently. It's a kiss of actual affection; not one fueled purely by lust.
"I promise," Orca says. "I do ever'ting I can to come back safe."
"Ya better," Nikky says just before licking his nose. "Cuz you gots something amazing and great t' come back to. Me!" She cackles at that, though its tone suggests she really is joking. Nothing more need be said for the next hour or so; the skreek is just content to enjoy what remains of the day with her ratty friend. It may be soon that she won't be able to enjoy much anymore, either, after all.
There's a chill in the air tonight, especially noticeable to Snowcora even through the rabbit-fur cloak she wears. As usual, she isn't really sure what's brought her here, with all that's going on: Orca having to meet the General, the Path of Affliction, the lingering effects of the two Blessings of Inala interacting.. or just a need to try and connect with someone else right at this moment.
Even if she wanted to, Snowcora couldn't stop herself as she approaches the old Altar to Inala. Step by step and she draws closer. Soon she has spread her rabbit-fur cloak on its surface and has climbed upon it, laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Her own fingertips trace over her sides and stomach as if she is in a daze, drawing in closer to that blue orb embedded in her skin just between her navel and altar. Her eyes close and she touches it, then in slow, deliberate circles, caresses it, bringing it to life and the intense warmth that flows through her womb and then outward.
She feels the light suffuse her, transport her.. but when she feels she's arrived, she opens her eyes on an unfamiliar cavern. There are no glowing crystals in the walls, nor happy Lapis or bare-skinned kinky albino Eeees. The chamber seems to be both warm and clammy at the same time, and utterly dark.
this is completely unexpected. Snowcora sits up in this darkness. "Hello?" she calls out softly, for the first time since she was in her haze, feeling worried. She even hugs around herself; unsure of where she even could be. "Maybe it's just a dream," she thinks.
Her voice seems to be swallowed by the heavy darkness.. but is that a flicker of light? And not a strange flicker, even, but a familiar one. Liquid, like a submerged lamp bobbing close to the surface. Then comes the sound of something pulling itself.. after a fashion.. across the stone. The light moves with the sound.
"Melusine?" Snowcora calls out, wonderif if that movement is the shadow dragon that literally changed her into what she is today. She tries to get to her feet and head towards that light.
The floor is rough and gravelly - a fall would not be kind to Snowcora's skin. "Melusine?" a wet sounding voice echoes back, as the light draws nearer. "Is that my name?"
"It might be? Are you a Shadow Dragon?" Snowcora asks as she takes step by slow step towards the light ahead.
The gravel slides out from under the human's right foot, where a slight slope was hidden. Before she can fall, however, there is a rushing sound and something catches her.. and scoops her up. The light bobs close, as a soft, rounded 'head' peers down at her. Rubbery arms hold her up, one under her knees and the other her shoulders. The fingers seem jointless and webbed, with nothing like claws. "Are you a dragon?" the voice asks. "What is a dragon?"
"I am bonded to a shadow dragon, but I am ... well, normally an Eeee, but I have been reshaped by a creature to look like this," Snowcora says to the odd thing. She isn't sure what she's looking at, but doesn't feel that she's in any danger ... yet. "What do you remember? What do you feel?"
"I feel you," the creature says. "You are warm, and soft.. but also rigid. You are not a rock, and not a mushroom, and not me. What do you feel when you touch me?"
"Something soft and fluid," Snowcora answers as she reaches out and caresses its head. "Formless."
There isn't a lot of sensation beyond pressure felt by Snowcora's right hand, although the orb does pulse once, briefly, at the contact. "Your hand is colder than the rest of you," the creature notes.
"This one is where I am bound to the Shadow Dragon," Snowcora explains. She reaches out with her left and touches its head again. "This one is me," she explains.
The tattoos on Snowcora's left hand glow bright green, and the color flows across the body of the creature. It follows paths that match the swirling patterns Mordecai laid down, and illuminate the symbol of the Wound on the thing's chest. The glowing lines give it a shape - a glowing outline in the dark: in form it seems a bit like a salamander, but winged like a dragon. Tentacle-like appendages stretch from the back of the streamlined head, and the eyes light up as solid orbs. The skin still feels like shadow-skin though - like Melusine. Snowcora has seen this creature before, reflected in Nala's mirror.
Snowcora blinks. Repeatedly. "Are you me?" she asks of it in a soft voice. "You're ... beautiful. Scary, but beautiful." Her hand continues to caress and explore its unusually shaped head, even its webbed fingers.
"You," the dragon-thing says. "Maybe. But.. not yet. I am waiting at the end of.. a Path. I am part of you that is yet unborn. Life from Decay. Child of.. Muriavin? And one other.. I bear Her mark.."
"Gorphat," Snowcora explains as her finger traces out the shape of the Wound on its chest. "My ... lover. And soon to be my ... Mistress," she adds in a worried voice.
"One of Three, the Three who are One," the shadow creature recites. "I am the last piece. The Wraith, the Maiden and the.. Scourge."
"So you are what I will become?" Snowcora asks. She's both fascinated and horrified by that possibility. Then a thought strikes her and she tries to figure out of this creature even has a gender.
Given the shadow-fleshy nature of it.. there's certainly nothing revealed from the glowing patterns.
"Er, are you male, or female?" Snowcora asks the strange creature.
"I stand between the others," Scourge claims. "The third aspect. Male Wraith, Female Maiden.. and me. Both, neither, other. You will need me soon."
"You're both genders then. That is ... very odd," Snowcora admits, then chews her lip. "What if I choose to not become you? To ... flee?"
"Then.. there will be no Renewal," Scourge claims, sounding upset. "I will remain unborn, and without me you will not be able to follow and protect the ones you care about in the land of mist. Only I of the three can safely go there. It is a place where I fit in."
"Are you what awaits me at the end of Gorphat's Path?" Snowcora asks. "And if I don't become you, I can't protect those I care about?"
"Yes," Scourge says. "Complete the Path of Affliction to find me, and then you can travel the Path of Mists in safety. I fit there. I stand between the other two. The third form. Not alive or dead, male or female, plant or animal." In a less oracular tone, it adds, "Like a mushroom, really."
Snowcora's brow arches a bit at that. "Fitting Gorphat's gift would be a fungus," she finds herself thinking. "Er, do you walk on two legs or four?" she asks, uncertain just how the creature moves.
"Yes," comes the reply. "Both. Or neither." It flaps its wings, and waves it's thick, serpent-like tail. "Through the air, through the water, on my legs, on my belly, in light or in shadow."
That's ... weird. "Can you see? Or are you blind?" Snowcora asks, since it described her earlier by touch.
"I see what there is to see," Scourge explains. "I smell.. everything, with my entire being. I hear and see and scent and feel and .. suss.. through my skin as well."
"I don't know how I would cope being you. You are so ... alien," Snowcora admits. "So different. In this body I have jewelry that keeps me focused, unchanging parts. But as you, you have nothing like that."
"My form is my form: it does not change," Scourge claims. "But is not where I... end. It is not my boundary, my cage. I can spread, infect others for a time."
"What do you mean infect others? Can you show me?" Snowcora asks, and even offers her left hand to it.
"I cannot infect you, for you are-will-be me," the creature notes, but still tries to demonstrate. It opens its toothless mouth, and exhales.. a cloud? It coats Snowcora's hand like fine dust. Or like fungal spores, more likely.
Snowcora looks at the odd 'spores' and even flexes her hand. "What does these do to others?" she asks.
"They inhale.. the spores attach to their.. senses," Scourge says, having difficulty with the proper terms. "I suss through them, suss what the afflicted senses. If they are weak of will, I can push. The bodies will reject me eventually."
"Ah, I think I understand," Snowcora claims. Becoming this is ... terrifying, really. So very different. "How did I get here?" she finally asks, "And how do I go back?"
"You came here because you wanted to meet me, did you not?" Scourge asks. "So that I can guide you on the Path? This is in your mind. To leave.. wake up?"
"No, I just ... I'm scared of the path. I have to become a Yodhgorphat, one of Her actual Daughters. I have already been reborn through her womb. I do not know what more lies ahead," Snowcora admits.
"I lie ahead," Scourge says. "Am I not beautiful? Do you not want me? Make me real, and I will have always been a part of you."
"Yes, you are beautiful. Scary, though," Snowcora admits and bites her lip. "It's just that I know Gorphat will make me suffer first."
"Yes, that is Her purpose," Scourge agrees. "She stands between the others, and Her influence lasts the longest. Birth and Death are brief, but Gorphat's challenges are those of a lifetime."
"And she will take away that which I derive pleasure from, if you have no gender," Snowcora also admits and tugs lightly at her multi-colored hair.
"There are other pleasures," Scourge promises. "Ones unique to the third state."
"And do you serve Gorphat? The mark on your chest is very prominent," Snowcora says as she traces that symbol again.
"I am you," Scourge claims. "Whom does the Wraith serve? The Maiden? Is service even the proper term for such relationships?"
"It depends," Snowcora admits, then shrugs slightly. "I will be going to the next trial in the morning. I have eighteen days before my friends enter the mists ... so I guess I must become Her daughter before then, so I can become you."
"Then you should rest," Scourge suggests. The creature seems about to say something else, but remains quiet.
"I ... " Snowcora starts to say, then decides that perhaps it is for the best to not ask anything more. After all, this could be a really bad dream. Goddesses are worse than drinking too much ... and right now she is starting to feel exhausted. so, she closes her eyes and in one moment of hope ... dares to think she might wake up someplace normal. Yeah, now that would be a dream...