Atop the altar sits a Lapi doe named Tara. Well, a Lapi doe that looks just like one named Tara that works in Sylvania. She's black-furred with a fluffy whit chest, and the cool night air isn't causing her bare fur discomfort. The incense, however, is making her a bit dizzy.
Mave circles the altar and swings the incense burner as she mutters a prayer to Inala. A bowl of some sort of magic potion sits next to the doe, but she's been told not to touch it until told. It's also the first time she's seen Mave in her High Priestess robes, which aren't so much 'robes' as a series of fancy draped veils.
"Being lapi is strange. I feel ... like I should be timid. Or is it submissive? I sure feel jumpy," 'Tara' thinks as she fidgets now and then from where she sits on the altar. She is also by this point thinking this is a completely crazy plan. Fake being pregnant? Find a way to have a huge gut and an awkward walk? Crazy! But she's dealing with crazy people and needs to find the center of the coven. She shakes herself out of this and looks at Mave. If anyone can make a pregnancy appear real, it would have to be Inala and her yodh! Hopefully this won't go too bad.
"Hopefully this will work and not go badly," Mave notes, as she finishes her circle. She leans over and kisses Tara's belly in blessing, then says, "You can drink the potion now."
"Could it go badly? What are the worst outcomes?" the doe asks as she picks up the cup. Her hands are actually shaking as she sniffs it; wondering just what it is she's about to drink.
It smells similar to the fertility potion Mave concocted for Alptraum and Rose.. and Phlagaea.
"Well, we've never tried this with a Lapi before, much less a shapeshifted one," Mave notes. "Still, I know this brew is very similar to one that works on Lapis."
"It smells like I do when I get 'in the mood'," the doe thinks, nose wrinkling. At least she has had it before, so takes the potion to her lips, and drinks it down lowly to avoid choking.
The potion is dizzying, unsurprisingly. It also makes her want to lie down and take deep breaths, which Mave advises her to do: "Just lie down and take deep breaths."
"Yeah, probably a good idea," Tara says in a detached sort of way; her breathing already odd; along with the rest of her body feeling odd. Movements are slow, but soon the doe is laying down on the altar and looking up at the broken ceiling. Breathing is erratic at first as she tries to find some semblance of mental focus ... but eventually eases into slow and deep rhythmic breathing.
Each deep breath seems push the effects of the potion through her body. Warmth spreads out from her stomach to the tips of her toes and fingers (and ears as well). It also seems to settle in certain areas - her usual erogenous zones and also deeper inside her abdomen. Mave presses a hand to Tara's forehead to gauge her temperature.
Tara's eyes have drooped to the point of being half-lidded and she has this silly sort of smile on her face; the doe is very apparently aroused. "I feel really good," she mumbles; and she does! It's enough that she's actually relaxing and letting go of any previous fears.
Of course, that's when Mave starts to fondle and tweak the doe, often asking, "Is this sensitive?" just before pinching something.
Tara actually squeals from the pinch; apparently very sensitive there! It's a good thing her mind is also hazy, because her behavior is ... well, embarrassing!
The rubbing and squeezing go on for some time, bringing the poor doe to a rather high state of readiness.. and then it suddenly stops! It feels like Mave has left, but.. there's also something else. The air is different, and the wind.. and Tara can feel sunlight on her face.
Tara isn't certain at some point if she wasn't begging for a strapping young buck. It's hard to tell what she was doing from her perspective in the final moments before things just changed. The doe whimpers; apparently not pleased to be left like that! But that whimper ends when the changes register. She takes a couple breaths, then opens her eyes.
She isn't quite sure where she is now. The altar is gone, replaced by a padded reclining couch of some sort. The temple itself is an open-air columned pavilion, exposed to the sky but with gauze curtains hanging in the arches, which sway in the breeze. There is a stone table with brass bowls full of fruit and crystal pitchers of juice, and not quite familiar music coming from somewhere beyond. It seems vaguely Olympian, but also not quite.
"Okay, I must be hallucinating. That potion was ... making my brain regress to pretty primal drives," Tara mutters as she sits up a bit more to get a look at herself and see if she is really still a doe, or one of her more commonly used forms.
She's still Tara, and still feeling very aroused. A shadow falls across one of the curtains, which is then flung aside as a Lapi buck strides into the pavilion. He's purest white, with blue eyes and long hair. He's also slightly shaggier and bigger than even Galand, and certainly more muscular and.. well-endowed. The buck covers the distance to Tara in a few strides, and scoops the doe up into his arms, making her feel rather petite.
Tara giggles in a way that would embarrass even Snowcora! She begins to pet the buck's cheeks and ears, murmuring, "Why, aren't you a strong-looking lad? I bet you can cure the tensions I feel." Of course after saying that, Tara is thinking, "What am I saying?!?! I'm being driven by hormones! I can't believe I said that!"
In reply, the giant Lapi kisses Tara on the lips - and that gives it all away. Tara knows that kiss, in another form: Inala! But before she can react, the buck takes her on the couch, playing her like a musical instrument. That part isn't so different from Galand.
"Inala this is so twisted I ... ooooooooohhh" Tara thinks for a few seconds before the buck's expert work has her lost in sensation again. Soon all she is doing is pleading and whimpering again; begging the buck for everything he can give to her; physically speaking.
Tara is introduced to a few new positions, including one where she's practically hanging upside down from the buck's hips. It's almost too much: after all, Inala doesn't get tired. Eventually, however, the buck decides to give Tara a break to catch her breath and stretch her limbs. "Would you like something to eat?" he offers, in Inala's voice of course.
And Tara's answer to that for the next couple of minutes is to lick, nibble and otherwise tend to the buck's endowments for a several minutes before her brain clears enough she can think. When she does and sees what she's doing, her ears flush hot and she sits up. "Yes, some food would probably be good," she admits and look upward, unable to actually look Inala in the eyes at the moment. "This is embarrassing," she thinks.
A peach is handing to the doe out of the bowl - one of Inala's signature fruits, according to legend. "Your ears are blushing," the transformed goddess notes with a chuckle.
"Yes, well, I was just eating part of you," the doe mumbles as she pulls down her ears, then proceeds to eat the peach.
Inala pulls Tara into his lap, wrapping strong arms around the doe to rub at her belly with his fingers. He's tall enough that his chin is still above the doe's head. "That just means you're hungry," he chuckles.
"I like doing that and I shouldn't. It's weird," Tara complains in between bites. "And this whole plan is weird; trying to make my body appear very pregnant. Your daughter, Mave, thinks it will work, but isn't sure."
"Well, we can prepare it, certainly," Inala says, his hands wondering upwards now to squeeze and kneed. "I think you will me Sister's help with providing the actual.. contents."
Tara pauses and blinks. "Wait, you cant' just make me all plump-looking. I actually have to have something inside me?" she asks. She might sound terrified, but the kneading hands really help with calming the doe down for some reason.
"Yes," Inala says. "Here, let me put something big inside of you so that you won't worry so much.." And then it's back to being ravished again.
"What kind of something? Which sister?" Tara manages to ask, but the last bit of sister, is more squealed than anything. Why does Inala have to make it feel so good to be, well full?
"Gorphat of course," Inala notes, while nibbling on one of Tara's long ears as he services the doe.
"But it would be something horrible," Tara whimpers all the while her body betrays her and she's an active participant to the servicing.
"Oh, probably," Inala admits. "But you want horrible in this situation."
"Only if it doesn't hurt me too," Tara whines, her jaws clenched. Her hands are on her mower stomach now where she can feel the buck moving within her. "And will she even agree to it? Or will I have to offer Her something more?"
"I'm sure she will agree," Inala says, and really starts justifying the term 'buck' at that point. "You are her Yodh, after all.."
"Will I need to go to her quickly after I am prepared?" Tara asks, her voice wobblling like mad now that she's being bucked about. And sicen He is behind her; it's not like she can really resist any movement he makes; not that she would in her current state anyway.
"It would be best, as you will be most receptive after this," Inala notes. "However, it will still take some time before that.. and more than just Me. I'm only warming you up."
"What more will it take?" Tara asks and soon she's down on her hands and knees so that Inala can really 'lay into her' so to speak!
The buck is too busy grunting for a few moments, before finally slowing and taking a deep breath. "Oh.. real Lapis.. sort of.."
"But the only one I know well is in Rephidim," Tara gasps out once she can speak again. "Hortense's property."
"Yes, he'll do.. now that Hortense has had time to prepare.." Inala says, giving the doe a few more love-taps with his hips.
"Prepare? And oh, I want to show Mordecai how Gorphat reshaped Nicora; will I be able to?" Tara asks with pauses between each word because of the 'taps' Rather, she ends up grunting between each word.
"Hmm, the latter may be difficult, as you do not want to leave this form, even in the astral link," Inala says. "You may have to wait to show off for him.."
"So, must remain a doe for however long this will take?" Tara whimpers, "I can manage that; but I fear for my mind; I'll become more like a Lapi each day."
"What is it you fear in thinking like a Lapi?" Inala asks, and nuzzles the back of Tara's head.
"I'll be all ... timid and submitting," Tara admits, head bowed and ears flushed hot.
"Ah, you have never met a pregnant Lapi?" Inala asks with a chuckle. "Hormones will make you.. aggressive. Defensive. Many things. Timid too, perhaps.. but less submissive than you think."
"Well, that is comforting," Tara admits, "A couple weeks as a doe might not be so bad, even if large. I hope?"
"You will adapt, as you have to all the other forms," Inala claims, and then gives Tara a bite on one ear. "You may even enjoy it.."
"How long will I need to carry something inside me?" Tara asks, then fuzzes out from the bite. For some reason that felt really good.
"Mmm, until you no longer need to, of course," Inala claims. "I can't really say. It will depend on your circumstances.."
"Could be short, could be a while?" Tara asks, shivering. "I guess I will just have to ... learn to live with it. When do I need to go to the buck?"
"Are you ready now?" Inala asks.
"Can I nibble on you for a bit more before I go?" Tara asks in a soft voice.
Inala chuckles again, and pulls back from the doe and sprawls out on the couch, giving her full access to whatever she might desire.
Tara can't really make eye contact, but soon she's nibbling and licking on the buck in rather intimate ways. Surprisingly gentle too, given those large teeth. It's not until about fifteen minutes pass before the doe admits, "I had better go now or I won't want to leave. You're too enticing."
The buck sits up, and kisses Tara on the forehead - which makes the world spin! When it settles down, the doe finds herself in the familiar crystal cavern on Rephidim, lying atop the raised dias beneath the 'chandelier' formation. She's not alone, either, as two of the harem does are with her - along with the buck. "Wow, you look.. nice," the Lapi male comments. It's apparent the other does have been keeping him in a state of readiness until Tara showed up.
"Ah, hello," Tara says and wiggles her fingers at him. "Inala told me Hortense was preparing something, but it doesn't look scary this time." She also smiles nervously and twitches her ears, "And, uhm, I need you to, uhm, kinda get me pregnant."
"Well.. I can try!" the buck says, and jumps right into it, since Tara is 'warmed up' still from Inala. What this buck lacks in 'elegance' he certainly makes up for with enthusiasm! But then, it isn't the first time he's been with this particular form either.
This moment is ... somehow more loving. Her body feels more diffused, accepting. maybe it's because this isn't some sort of God that she feels less nervous. Plus, she has always liked him since she met him. The warmth she feels right now is very comforting; and maybe that's the point? Lapi are voluntary ovulators, and a comfortable moment like this is perfect for encouraging nature.
The does aren't idle - they each keep busy by stroking and scratching and biting Tara here and there, sometimes in rhythm with the buck and sometimes deliberately out of rhythm. Mostly they're comforting presences to either side of the doe. Lapi just feel better when cuddling.
"If I had been born a doe, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad?" Tara things in the throes of the moment. It certainly makes her feel better with the idea of remaining a doe for some time.
After the buck has made one successful attempt and is working on his second, Hortense arrives. She's leading a train of Lapi. Each of her does is guiding a blindfolded, ball-gagged and hand-tied buck by their natural handle, rather than a leash. One of the bucks looks familiar to Tara - she thinks he might have been at the student pub Nicora and Tulani visited before ending up in The Morgue. The other four are of various ages and sizes and colors and patterns, with the only thing they have in common being the rapid, nervous twitching of their noses and that they are providing firm handles for the does to lead them by.
"What, no gag and blindfold for me?" Tara actually teases Hortense when she sees her, and even waves her fingers at her. "Hello boys," she adds to those being lead in. She's still quite entwined about the current buck, though. "Looks to be an ... energetic evening?" she thinks to herself.
"Did you want some?" Hortense purrs, leaning in close to Tara.. and dangling a blindfold and ballgag in one hand. The guide-does sit the bucks down on the edge of the dais.. and keep them in a ready to go state, of course.
"I'll make thins more interesting," Tara replies, smiling to Hortense.
Hortense grins, and once her pet buck is ready for a break she and the does truss up Tara - including tying her hands behind her back. The doe is then lifted up and carried to where the line of bucks are.. and gently lowered into one of their laps. Because of the bindings, it's up to Hortense and her does to move the two Lapis around like puppets!
And poor Tara can't really talk; but the buck she's with learns how much she's enjoying it because the moaning sounds she makes are quite ... telltale! And worse, the lapi body seems to like the gag and blindfold. It seems to trigger some sort of weird instincts within it.
The does and Hortense laugh and giggle and are clearly having a grand time with they're life-size toys, and talk openly about how to position them and how fast to make them move. One of them does something to the buck, and Tara feels him shudder, followed by the controlling doe going, "Oops! I think we need a fresh one now!"
And Tara murmurs something pleasant; because, well if he released, it was into her; and its apparently what the body needs! She murmurs something else, it might even be 'more'! Hard to say. Lapis are terrible.
And so Tara is passed from one random buck to another. Some of them try to add their own movements to the effort, but Hortense and the does counter, not willing to give up any control. Eventually, Tara finds herself in the arms of a buck that can move: the original! He makes sure her last tryst of the night is gentle, sensual and also rather ticklish, since she can't resist.
And boy does a muffled giggle sound funny! It's apparent she knows who it is because she nuzzles him affectionately; demarking him as the 'head-buck' so to speak. She also tries to keep him as long and drawn out as she can; making sure that when he releases; it'll be wonderful for him, and her.
The end is signaled by a bite on Tara's neck as the buck shudders. Tara hands are then untied as well, and ball-gag removed... but not the blindfold yet.
"You can do that to me any time," Tara mutters to the buck in her arms. She even nuzzles along his neck. She feels very content right now; pleasantly warm in her abdomen too. She doesn't mind having the blindfold remain, either.
"That is nice to know," Mave says, and brushes one of Tara's own ears away from her eyes. "How are you feeling?" the Yodhinala asks.
"Incredibly satisfied," Tara murmurs as she blinks her eyes awake. Her left hand also lazily rubs over her lower abdomen. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Asleep?" Mave asks. "Well.. you've been zoned-out for a few hours. It's nearly dawn now. Do you know where to go next?"
"I have to go to Gorphat. Inala said she could provide me with something to carry inside me to complete the disguise. That is if my body is ready? Can you tell?" Tara says as she sits upright on the altar.
Mave tests by poking Tara in the left nipple. It's very sensitive now, and her breasts might even be a bit swollen. "You're likely as ready as you're going to get," she concludes.
"Then I have to go now. I Inala said it would work best if I was at my most receptive," Tara admits as she slides off the altar. "I don't know what I will be carrying; but the next time you see me; I may look ... very pregnant." The last part comes with a very worried look. It is, after all, Gorphat.
"Tulani should go with you.. at least to carry you around," Mave suggests. "You're a bit more vulnerable now that you are ground-bound. I should have a cloak that will fit you though."
"Okay, that's fine," Tara says, nodding, as she walks out of the temple with Mave to go meet with Tulani. "I'm going to need your help more than ever after this ... on how to be a mother." The last bit is very strange to say, but that is what it will be.
A silver dragon waits outside the Temple, having carried a cloaked figure to the door. Somehow, the temple seems.. less welcoming to the Lapi, but that could just be her new, altered perception of things.
"I'll try not to be too long," Tara tells the dragon. She takes a deep breath, then enters the main temple. After a short walk, she finds herself in the room with the altar. "Mother?" she calls out timidly, pulling her ears down, "It is I, your Daughter, and your servant Scourge. I have taken a new form to trick our enemies, and I am trying to make it perfect bait. Inala has helped me in making in receptive to pregnancy ... but she said it is you that must provide the final part of the disguise; something for me to carry within me; something to make me pregnant.
" The doe goes to the altar and kneels before it. "So I come to ask for your guidance, direction; and ... pregnancy gift." she prays. "I will pay whatever price you will require of me."
A hard, claw-like hand touches upon Tara's shoulder. "It is time to return with me to the Hive then," Hosheb says in his somewhat scratchy voice from behind the doe.
That claw makes her shiver. The doe then swallows and feels terror creep into her. The hive? That place of horror? She gets an inkling of what the solution may be, and it nearly causes her to run for the door. It's sheer force of will that makes the doe rise slowly. "I will go to the hive. Thank you, Mother, Hosheb," she says and even bows deeply, kissing the surface of the altar. The doe then can't get out of there fast enough. Something about that place terrifies this body. She practically shakes the entire time in there! Outside, she says in a hurry to Tulani, "We're going to the hive! I'll direct. You'll have to land farther from it and let me walk. It's only safe for me."
"Is there plenty of space around it?" Tulani asks, as the doe gets secure on her shoulders.
"Yes, and few people. It's not a safe place for normal people," Tara explains, then pats Tulani's neck when she is ready. "It's on the outskirts ... Get airborn and I'll point the way.."
The area is indeed abandoned, and Tulani has no trouble landing within view of the tower. "Okay, that looks ominous," the dragoness rumbles. "Sure you'll be okay?
"I was promised I would be safe here. I should be fine," Tara claims, sounding more confident than she feels. She slides off the dragon and walks towards the door into the hive. She remembers this horrible place and what the horribs did to her here; and how it felt to hang for hours without any movement. But, Hosheb promised she would now be safe here. She keeps thinking that as she enters the tower; that phrase repeating through her mind the only thing keeping her going deeper along the path; and over the cleaned bones that appear the deeper she goes.
Finally she reaches the central chamber. This early in the morning, little light reaches the floor, but ears and whiskers do well at detecting movement. Hosheb is there, hanging from a rafter and larger than life, while a few common horribs flitter about loudly.
"Hello. You might remember me. You scent marked me a while back. I had a deferent body then," the doe says nervously to some of the common horribs. She makes her way towards Hosheb, then says towards him, "I have come, my lover."
different ...
Hosheb lowers himself to the ground, momentarily being on all sixes, as it where, before scuttling over to Tara and pulling off her cloak. "Are you ready?" the demon asks.
I'm not sure what I should be ready for, but this body is as ready as it can be," Tara says with tangible fear in her voice. This place scares her, and the doe form magnifies it. Yet, even with that she leans down and kisses Hosheb on his horrible mouth. "I trust you, and put my fate in your claws," she tells him softly.
And so the doe is pushed down to the floor and mounted by the demon. Hosheb is not - nor can be - the most gentle of lovers, and his hard skin can't be all that sensitive, but at least he doesn't crush Tara.
Tara cries out. Even though she trusts him, when he mounts here it almost always hurts to some degree. "I trust you," she repeats to him in pain as his segmented and rough part settles inside her. And maybe all the 'dream experience' made her dilate a little, because it doesn't hurt as much as she thought it would.
It doesn't go on for long.. certainly not long enough for Tara to enjoy any of it. Hosheb simply stops and withdraws, saying, "You are ready." Then the louder, nerve-chilling buzz of the horrib queen approaches.
Tara feels Hosheb complete, though it truly brings her no pleasure at all, and the spiny withdraw hurts on top of it. The shrill cry that follows causes the doe to practically freeze. She knows that buzzing. All too well. What she will be carrying, and what she tried to not think about, she cannot deny any longer. "I'm to be a clutch host once more," she thinks, and knowing what has to be faked; far more horribs than the first time. "I trust you," she squeaks softly to Hosheb; trying to possibly convince herself too. She survived it once, she can again, right?
The giant horrib queen hovers over Tara as if in uncertainty, until Hosheb grabs it and forces it down into the proper position, so that the ovipositor can be inserted through the doe's birth canal instead of simply piercing her flesh.
Tara looks horrified. Yet, the doe sits up enough that she can use her hands to help guide the ovipositor into her body. It has to go deep enough, she knows, to pass into the womb. It'll be uncomfortable, she is certain; but perhaps the bucks and Hosheb have made it more willing to open for the queen. She bites her lower lip, then starts guiding the chitinous tube into her body.
There are a few bare, pulsating patches on the Queen, but there's no telling how many 'eggs' are being laid inside Tara's womb. Eventually the pulsing stops though and the horrib becomes agitated, until Hosheb pulls it free and releases it back into the upper areas of the hive. Of course, he then pins down Tara with his own pincers and ravishes her again, taking much longer this time and being more forceful.
Tara struggles to remain her composure as she watches the patches pulsate. She can feel something going on inside her since she isn't numb, but it's hard to describe it. It's like, well, almost like before a period when things feel just a little heavier inside her. And judging by how long the queen is within her; it has to be a sizable number of eggs; probably many, many, more than she held before. This does not help calm her nerves! She breaths a sigh of relief when the queen draws out ... but that is short lived. A cry of shock and she is back on her back. She doesn't have time to think about what may be happening inside her because the pain of being ravished is quite the distraction. It hurts much worse this time around. "I trust you," she squeaks out again in a pain-heavy voice.
Once all of the fresh eggs are fertilized, Hosheb draws back for a moment - but only to change 'tubes' apparently, as he back inside the doe quickly enough. This time the results are visible, as Tara's belly begins to swell!
This one is smoother, so hurts much less! That is, until whatever it is doing inside her causes her stomach to swell. She can feel this; and the weight grows as her lower abdomen swells upward. It's uncomfortable, to say the least, to feel her flesh stretching out.
When it seems like she might burst, Hosheb grunts and something different comes out, even as he's withdrawing. It feels.. gooey.. but is keeping the 'yolk' from spilling out, until the doe develops her own cervical mucous plug.
The doe whines softly in discomfort. Her skin feels stretched to near burst and she feels like she has gained at least two dozen pounds or more. Her insides feel ... squished; cramped. It's a disturbing feeling, hard to explain. When the new bit is added, her eyes widen. She can feel an extra weight there; and the heavy weight concentrated at a point is disturbing; as it the fact she can feel it harden. She knows something is plugged, somehow ... and there is no going back or a forced expulsion of what is within her.
"They will mature at the normal rate," Hosheb says. "You have two weeks before you will birth them."
It's awkward to reach around her stomach now and she feels herself ... and feels something hard and rubbery within her when she probes a little inside; sealing her quite tightly for the time being. "No going back," Tara things in horror. She then rolls to her side and sits upright to look at her gut and get a full view of just how big she is! "How many did the queen lay?" she asks timidly. "She was inside me a lot longer this time."
"I do not know, between six and a dozen I would guess," Hosheb notes. "It should not hinder you overly much."
Amelia says, "Not that large.. uh. What's smaller than a basketball? Soccer ball?"
Tara rubs her distended stomach as she can't help herself and keeps staring at it. "I feel strange. Heavy; full beyond description," the doe admits, "I will be a real mother; and you are the father. I should feel terror, yet I somehow also feel content; almost happy."
"Yes, pregnancy releases hormones that make you happy," Hosheb remarks.
"Does it please you?" Tara asks Hosheb. It's strange, but the Lapi might actually want it to.
The demon's mouthparts clack and quiver a bit. "I.. do not know," he admits. "That is.. not something I would recognize if I felt it."
"But, you ... do like me, yes?" Tara asks as she motions the demon closer. "Do I smell of being a clutch-mother, or will I?" she asks him.
"I.. like you," Hosheb admits, coming closer. "Your smell will attract drones to you.
"I smell like a horrib?" Tara asks.
"Like a queen," Hosheb corrects. "So drones will come at the prospect of founding a new hive."
"I'm a horrib queen now? Kind of?" Tara asks and scratches her cheek. She's still rubbing her gut. Maybe it makes the skin tension ease some. "Should I go offer thanks to our Mother?"
"You do not need to, unless you it will make you feel better to do so," Hosheb says. "The Temple is not a good place for a pregnant woman, however. There are many lingering toxins."
"I feel I should. I will not be able to stay there until I birth; and should honor her before I have to leave for a time," Tara says as she struggles to get up. That turns out to be quite hard! Body balance is completely different and the weight keeps wanting to tip her over. "I will miss you too, but I guess I have some of you with me," she tells the demon.
"My minions will be close, always," Hosheb promises, before fading back into the shadows.
Tara has to squat to collect her cloak, then she pulls it on. She's more than ready to get out of here and so she's heading back through the passages as quickly as possible. Her gut feels so .. jiggly, but then it is mostly gel and less egg weight; that will change over time. She tries to not think about what birth may be like; and instead focuses on one day at a time. A thanks to Gorphat, then back to the temple of Inala for lessons on how to be pregnant.
Tulani raises her head when Tara returns, and notices the belly straining against the cloak. "That was.. quite eventful?" the dragon asks.
"You have no idea. This feels .. beyond strange. I am ... effectively a horrib queen for the duration of this. I will be birthing their larvae; instead of being devoured by them. Smell me and you may sense it," Tara admits and looks at the ground. "I need to return to the Temple of Gorphat for a few minutes; to offer my thanks and apologize for being unable to be there for the next two weeks."
The dragon's nose wrinkles at the notion of returning to the temple. "You smell tender. Climb on," she notes and lowers herself to make it easier. "Will you be able to hang on with that thing in the way?"
"With difficulty, probably," Tara admits. "I'm sorry I'm making you fly all over." It's a struggle to get on, and it feels bizarre when she leans over and things squish around, but she manages to get a decent hold. "Just no acrobatics..."
"Hah, don't worry about that," Tulani says, and takes off gently. "I've heard that Lapi can't throw up, but all bets are off during pregnancy I think."
"And I know what is inside me, yet I feel good about it," Tara complains. "Bodies react weird in this state."
"Yeah, I've had friends whose personalities changed completely," Tulani notes, soaring between the towers. At least nobody is shooting at them yet. The last of the buildings passes, and they're at the very edge of the city, turning towards Mt. Gorphat.
"I'll try not to get any weirder. I'm also glad you won't see the birth, I don't know what it will be like, other than horrible," Tara admits. She spots the mountain ahead and shivers. That place has changed her life.
Soon enough, the doe is waddling into the main hall again.
The air smells different, ranker. And the oppressiveness of the place is that much more acute. The altar is still as she left it just a short while ago.
Tara makes her way to the altar and kneels down before it (with help from the altar). "Mother, I have been blessed by you and your demon with the honor of being a surrogate horrib-queen," she says softly, praying, "Though it will try my body and will; I bear it in your honor to root out and destroy Your enemies. My only regret is that this condition will prevent me from coming to your temple for at least two weeks. I hope you can forgive that of me, but it is in no way a sign of faltering as your daughter." She takes a deep breath, then swallows, "And to show my faith, I .. ask that when I return as Nicora, that you bless my body to remain as it is; pale white and devoid of any hair, until it is absolutely necessary that I regrow my fur and skin color. I gained those ... changes on your path, and I will wear them as a badge in Your honor for as long as I can."
"Such a willing disciple," the goddess's voice whispers though the temple, with an approving gurgle.
"It may make me hideous in the eyes of others; it may be considered being disfigured," Tara murmurs, "But it was given by you in my trials, to test me; and I feel honored to wear it. It may even make for a new canvas for the Artist to decorate solely in Your honor. Yodhgorphat Scourge; symbol of your trials to make one stronger."
"There will be more trials ahead, for all of us," Gorphat whispers.
"And I am honored to bear tour sacred creatures; and grow them within me for the two weeks of their incubation. Your demon prepared and sealed me well; a vessel of doom for Your enemies," Tara adds. "I love You with all my heart." What's scary is she sounds like she actually means it.
"You will smite our enemies, Scourge," Gorphat claims. "It is your destiny."
It's a struggle to rise, but Tara manages it after a minute or so. "Until I return to this temple, You will remain in my heart," Tara promises. The doe turns away from the altar and waddles her way towards the temple. Her body really dislikes this place right now.
Tulani is glad to see the doe back so soon, and quickly carries her off towards the friendlier Temple of Inala..
"I've completely gone crazy; I'm going to birth horribs. I'm going to be sold as a slave to a horrible house. I've lost it. I've completely lost it," Tara thinks to herself and sniffles. "But ... the sex and physical pleasures are amazing..." Maybe it's true that if you beat on someone enough, they end up liking it...