The flight back was very uncomfortable for the recently transformed Lapi doe. Aside from suddenly ballooning out, there was the matter of the shadow constantly making adjustments - pushing her body to 'catch up' to the apparent advanced state of pregnancy she was in. Organs were shifting around, her back and hips hurt and she had to pee. Tulani wisely kept quiet, or at least didn't make any wise-ass comments to her moaning passenger. The dragon landed as lightly as she could, but it still felt jarring to the doe.
After a visit to the bushes, the doe (who now called herself Taahira) was able to get down the spiraling stairs to the underground bunker with Tulani's help, wondering why her feet felt swollen now.
Mave was prepared with a tub of steamy water and a brand new, separate nest. "Oh my.." she commented. "Gorphat doesn't fool around, does she?"
"This is absolutely miserable," Taahira complains as she waddles along; the weight a good twenty to thirty pounds more than she is used to, and all of it pressing on her hips. "Why does anyone want this? Why did I want this at one point?" she asks Mave, and possibly the room in general. She even has her hand bracing the small of her back to compensate for the weight as she heads for the hot bath, hoping it will ease her aching feet. She also pokes at her stomach, testing how firm it feels, or doesn't feel. It was alot of goo, and given how stretches she feels; it can't be that soft.
It's pretty taught at the moment - no squishiness, thankfully. Of course pressing on it just puts pressure on other things - but at least her bladder is empty right now.
"Wait until the hormones really start to kick in," Mave notes. "You're only miserable because you went from nothing to ready-to-pop in a few hours, instead of months," Mave says. "So you'll need a crash course in how to move properly. Tulani, fetch a chair."
The Sphynx grabs a fancy looking chair (although in Sylvania it might be considered a stool or footrest - chairbacks aren't seen as essential in Babel, except for those worried about being stabbed in the back during dinner).
"And I have to pee like every five minutes!" Taahira continues as she slides into the hot water. "And that ... demon squirted something in me that has filled me so I can't push anything out; making sure it really 'takes root'. Do you know how uncomfortable it feels to have something 'wedged' in you?" As the heat from the water makes its way into her, she sighs.
"I'm sure I could lecture you on physical discomforts - Yodhgorphat Scourge," Mave says, smirking a bit. "We'll clean you out tomorrow, after you've had a chance to create your own plug."
"Tulani, fetch me a pot so I can throw it at Mave," Taahira complains, waving her arms and looking like some sort of beached sealife.
"Now, now, you'll grow to like this," Mave promises, and massages the doe's shoulders. "There'll be some fluid retention in your legs and feet, probably. Don't worry about it, it's just swelling and will go away. Now, how's your stomach? I don't think these.. uh.. grubs.. are feeding off of you directly, right?"
"No, Hosheb injected something in me they will feed on and replace as they grow. I won't get any smaller; they'll just get bigger. I have up to a dozen inside me, implanted directly into the body's womb," Taahira explains; her expression looking rather disturbed by that thought. "And how in the world will I grow to like this? Are you telling me I might make a habit out of this?"
"Well.. it's more that you forget the discomfort afterwards I suppose," Mave notes, and waves her hand. "That comes from holding the child of course, which I doubt you'll be doing. But at least it should be over quickly? Do you have a due date?"
"Roughly two weeks," Taahira says as she tries to relax in the water while Mave works over her shoulders. Her own hands can't keep from feeling over her rather distended gut.
"And just watch, Gorphat will decide that I'll be a breeder for her blessed insects after this and have to do this regularly," Taahira mutters.
"That's not much time," Tulani says. "How long before she's convincing, Mave? And how convincing does she have to be, if nobody is very familiar with Lapis in Babel?"
"She has to be not-clumsy, and.. less grumpy," Mave asserts. "Like someone who has had months of dealing with this."
"And we need to put together clothing from the wardrobe that is appropriately Abu Dhabian," Taahira points out.
"Well, that will be easy enough.. fitting them might be trickier, however," Mave notes. "I'm good with needle and thread, luckily. Have you figured out your cover story yet?"
"A disgraced wife who became pregnant, but not from her husband. Being sold to punish and to get rid of the children, so to speak, by removing them from Abu Dhabi and thus association with the husband," Taahira explains. "So I might also require some clothing befitting of a woman disgraced or broken. Like a muzzle or something."
"And which looks better? This bloated body, or Nicora?" Taahira asks Tulani and even flashes a bucktoothed grin.
"Hmmm, a muzzle?" Mave asks. "Wouldn't they just cut out your tongue in Abu Dhabi? But we have plenty of muzzles and gags.. I'm sure one can be modified for a Lapi."
"A slave without a tongue is damaged. Better to muzzle it to keep the goods intact," Tahhira suggests, then shrugs. "Not required, just a thought."
"Better? Uh... well, this one looks.. healthy certainly. Pregnant bunnies are cute, after all," the Sphynx notes.
"Can you imagine Nicora looking pregnant?" Taahira asks, possibly to mess with Tulani.
Mave carries over a bundle of clothing from the racks, and starts to sort through them, while Tulani gives the doe a look. "I imagine she'd look like Rosalind does.. just plucked bald and bleached."
"Boo, you take away any fun I could have my teasing you," Taahira complains and splashes water at Tulani. "But, didn't you want to get pregnant some day. Now we know a way to do it. Sort of..."
"I think I'd prefer the gradual way," Tulani claims. "How far do you think you'll be able to walk like this? I don't know where Helse will be setting up our meeting."
"Depends on if Mave can teach me how to walk like this," Taahira admits as she climbs out of the tub. As nice as it feels, she probably does need some lessens from Mave on how to cope with this body.
"Hold still," Tulani says, as she attacks Taahira with a towel. Certain areas have certainly become a lot more sensitive now, making it hard not to giggle.
The doe ends up giggling, a lot. "My chest is really sensitive now," she complains when the toweling slows some. She then makes a face and mutters, "Oh great, I'm going need to be milked at some point."
"We can handle that tonight," Mave notes. She's spread out a collection of Abu Dhabi-style clothing. Naturally, it's mostly been modified to fit Eeee forms. "Not a lot of practical clothing, admittedly," Mave apologizes, holding up a bit of gauze fabric festooned with sequins.
"It's not supposed to be practical, it's supposed to make women look like artwork," Taahira points out. "That's how those in Abu Dhabi want their women; pretty and docile."
"Well, you can thank me for teaching you to be docile then," Tulani notes to the bunny, before getting out of grabbing range. "All that time as Pierce will pay off now."
Taahira takes one step after Tulani, then wobbles and has to balance herself. "Yes, well, I will be having to find that mindset like this. It shouldn't be that hard," she admits. "The urge in this body is to, ah, submit. I let Hosheb do this without any attempt to stop him."
"Could you have stopped him?" Mave asks, one eyebrow raised. "How much influence do you have over the Sabaoth Seven?" She holds up a purple ensemble that normally leaves the belly bare.
Taahira waddles over so she can hold up that ensemble to her body to see if it looks right. Which ... it does, and shows off the very pregnant doe. "Probably. If I wanted to. when I'm around them; some of the bodies just react. I give into their needs," she admits and looks upwards. "Even though it hurts really bad whenever Hosheb mates with me, the bodies seem to want it. It's crazy."
And remembering something, Taahira asks Tulani, "Do I smell of horrib this time like I did last time?"
"Well.. you just came out of a horrib lair," Tulani notes, and then sniffs. "The bath might have washed the worst of it off. Maybe a hint still there.."
"So, not too noticable unless someone really looked for it? That's probably good," Taahira admits.
"Eeee aren't known for their keen noses," Tulani points out. "Nor Fnerfs I think. Naga.. I don't know how sensitive their tongues are."
"I have to admit I'm a little nervous about going into the Abbas household. How soon do you plan to sell me to them? How long will I have to live with them and be their doting slave?" Taahira asks nervously as she busies herself looking at the clothing again.
"Well.. how long do you think it'll take for the cult to try and indoctrinate you?" Tulani asks.
"As much as I hate to admit it, a week to ten days, probably," Taahira admits, frowning. "So probably as soon as some of the larvae start to squirm in me, I should be sold."
"We'll really need to work on getting your comfortable in this body then," Mave says. "I have a set of pregnancy exercises that should work for you. Lapi does are not built to be overly hindered by pregnancy after all.. you should pick things up quickly enough."
Taahira sighs and nods to Mave at this. "I wonder what the cult will do to me before I birth. From what I've seen that are very twisted and cruel," she remarks. The doe then shakes her head and asks, "Anyway, what are the lessons and how do we begin?"
"Sit on the stool," Mave says. "First lesson is sitting down and getting up again. Should be easy, yes?"
"I somehow doubt it," Taahira admits as she goes to sit on the stood. It more ends up like falling on her butt on the stool since her balance is so off.
"Your center of gravity has shifted drastically," Mave explains. "Do you have a feel for where it is now?"
"Yes. It's centered around where I carry my clutch," Taahira admits as she leans back a bit. Sitting up straight is uncomfortable.
"So, imagine moving around that point," Mave says. "When you get up, you'll need to lean forward more, bend your knees, then angle back as you rise up."
Taahira takes a breath as leaning forward puts pressure on her insides. It feels incredibly strange as she does so, then puts her hands on herknees and pushes on them as she rises. It's slow, but a lot less awkward than when she sat down.
"Now, just keep getting up and down until you're exhausted," Mave says cheerfully.
"That probably won't take too long," Taahira says as she makes a face. Surprisingly, though, it's an hour of getting up and down before the doe feels tired and she complains, "My back really hurts now. And I have to pee. Excuse me." And off the doe waddles to pee, returning fifteen minutes later. Maybe she didn't want to get up.
By the time Taahira returns, Mave has the nest (mostly pillows) ready and waves the doe over. "Now we will find a comfortable resting position for you," she says.
"I suspect it'll be on my back, with Mount Horrib jutting upward," Taahira admits as she heads to the nest. Getting into it is an effort of kneeling down, kind of like sitting, then slowly rolling onto her back. This leaves her gut sticking at least eight inches above her.
"Take a deep breath, and see how far you can expand your diaphragm," Mave requests.
Taahira does try to take a deep breath, and finds it's very hard! The doe rolls ot her side and tries again. "This is better," she admits, but she has to hold her belly up a bit. "Maybe stick a pillow under my stomach."
The nest is rearranged accordingly. "How does your bladder feel now?" Mave asks. "Less pressure?"
"A lot less pressure," Taahira admits. "This is much better. My insides don't feel so squished."
"Okay, let's see how long you last," Mave says. "In a few hours, you'll probably need to switch sides, so get what rest you can."
"I look horribly fat, don't I?" Taahira says, probably in a fit of hormones. "I'm ugly."
"You are beautiful," Mave asserts. "And I should know. I have seen hundreds of pregnancies."
"You're just saying that," Taahira mutters as her eyes close. It seems the doe was more tired than she let on, because she is fast asleep soon thereafter.
"Do we really have to milk her?" Tulani whispers to Mave?
"Not yet," Mave assures the feline.