Sephia and the other crossbow-armed Naga that escorted the two smaller cloaked figures to the edge of the market have vanished into the shadows to look for good sniping positions. Covered head to toe, Helse leads the likewise garbed Taahira further into the market. "How are you holding up?" she asks. It's been quite the trek so far, especially for a gravid Lapi.
"My lower back is a little sore and my feel as well, but I am otherwise doing fine. I can make it. I wouldn't have been chosen for this otherwise," Taahira says in a soft voice from beneath her hood. One hand is constantly on her stomach to help balance its weight and it's only now and then that she feels an odd movement within her. "How are you doing? I hope you do not feel guilty about ... selling me."
"I trust your friends will keep up their side of things and protect you," Helse admits. "Don't worry about me. "Be sure to remember to act submissive, naive and probably a bit stupid. Act as if you don't really understand Babelite. Cry and whimper a lot if you can - I can help with that if you need it."
"You can help me whimper and cry? How?" Taahira asks, glancing at the odd Eeee. "And yes, they will protect me. I'll be fine. Have faith in them; I do. And I can act when it will be needed. Just cue me when you're approaching where I will be ... sold."
"I can slap you across the nose," Helse offers. "It's very effective and causing tears." Since entering the market, Helse has kept a firm grip on Taahira's left arm, and steers her towards a crowded area. It's pretty clear that they are approaching a black-market slave auction. The selection is not very good: older, ragged-looking Savanites no longer able to work in upper households due to injury or disfigurement, Eeee children (either orphaned or being sold by desperate parents) and a few under-dwellers that lost fights or couldn't pay debts. Helse guides them past that part, however, and through a rag curtain into an old shop.
A squeeze on the arm is the cue to the doe that they are close to meeting with her buyer.
At this point Taahira goes silent and keeps her head lowered. Her eyes and ears, though, are searching ... and her nose quivers rapidly. At the squeeze, her shoulders pull in and she moves half a step back so it appears the doe is being pulled along as much as anything by Helse. Eyes squint and blink to make the edges moist ... then comes the sniffing; soft with hints of choking. Following that, a pitiful mewling-whine of a sound. It's not loud enough to be annoying, but present and clear the doe is not comfortable with her situation. Nor does the way her robe shakes slightly, as if she's trembling.
Helse nods approvingly, and then brings the doe to a dark corner of the room. Hard wooden manacles and chains hang from the wall here, and Helse goes about securing Taahira's hands behind her back. "I'll be back shortly," she says, and then leaves the doe alone. Well, not entirely. There definitely vermite noises.
Taahira's whining doesn't completely stop, but it does shift to more of a choking sound as she stands there. She tries to draw in on herself, to the point of even trying to bring her arms around to cover up; but all that does is make them jangle around a bit in their bindings. Those long, tattooed, ears of hers flick about, trying to track every sound.
There's plenty of sound outside, despite the baffling of the rags. Lapi ears have nearly the same range as Eeee ones, after all, but can hear low sounds better, and those easily pass through the barrier. Helse is talking to someone, and after a few moments of silence, she returns to the room. "Soon," she says, speaking in Standard.
The Eeee woman approaches the bound bunny, and fixes the ball-gag into place.
Helse is answered by a pitiful mewl and a bit more squirming and clinking of chain from the doe. It's a bit of a wrestle to get the gag in place; Taahira not wanting anyone spying to think she was willing, but it's still only a matter of a few seconds before her buck teeth are holding the ball in, and the straps behind her head and around her short muzzle making sure it doesn't come out. Another pitiful sound; this one muffled, as large, wet, eyes blink up at Helse.
Helse seems pleased with the look, and goes to light some makeshift candles (lamp oil being a bit of a luxury item in these neighborhoods). The better light does little to improve the decor, but at least there isn't a lot of time to not admire it before the curtain is swept back and an Eeee warrior enters. He's big, and scarred with half of his left ear missing - apparently bitten off. His armor, however, is in very good condition, and lacks any sort of insignia to place him with a particular House. He immediately glares at the doe.
The doe squeaks, but the gag does a great job of keeping that sound muffled and not likely to leave the current room. She takes a step back and to the side, as har as her wrist-bindings will allow them crouches as far as they, and her distended stomach, allow, as if she was trying to curl up and away from him. Her eyes, wide, look at him in terror. "That's a big Eeee. Tough, too. I wouldn't want to find him as Alptraum. He looks like he can take a beating," the doe thinks as she sizes up this threat.
"Raz," Helse says, and continues in Babelite, "she can't understand anything but Khattan, Skeek and Standard. And her Standard is either weak or she is slow. I can't keep her around, so do you want her or not?"
The big Eeee, Raz, grunts. "Always blunt, Helse. How is her health?"
Taahira squeaks in protect and gives Helse a pleading look; one that possibly means 'Don't leave me with him'
"Well, aside from being pregnant, she's fine," Helse notes. "No damage. Her husband didn't hit her, just marked her and shipped her off. Abu Dhabian's like to pretend their hands are clean, after all." At the doe's complained, the Eeee swats her across the nose - enough to sting without really hurting. "And she cries and whines all the time."
Raz comes over to the Lapi and gestures for her to stand up.
And true to form, the doe's eyes well up and tear from the slap; forcing the doe to blink and sniffle. While still crouched, she looks up at the large Eeee with now very wet, wide eyes. The doe quivers; her nose twitches rapidly, and very slowly she rises. It's clear enough she probably didn't want to rise, but on the other hand, she's terrified of this Eeee.
Once Taahira is on her feet, Raz, pulls her cloak back so that it's bunched up at her bound wrists. He looks over the Abu-Dhabian style belly-baring attire, and examines the does ears, noting the tattoos and places where earrings once pierced the skin. He then crouches down and presses his right ear to her belly. "Still alive in there," he notes to Helse. "I heard that stressed Lapi can spontaneously abort - but then, there are lots of myths about Lapi, aren't there?" He smiles to Helse, showing several missing teeth. "How much are you asking?"
Helse holds up her right hand, spreading all five fingers.
"High price for a half-witted adulterer," Raz counters.
The doe's eyes remain wide, and when she is touched she bites down on that ball in her jaws, causing it to flex. "He did check enough to make sure I appear real," the doe thinks as she continues the act of terror. She also has to resist twitching at being called a half-wit .. but she's not supposed to understand Babelite!
"It's mostly for the novelty," Helse says. "After she births, you'd have the only Lapi sex-toy in Babel."
"Is that all she's good for?" Raz demands.
Helse shrugs. "She's a mess now, but will clean up well," she claims. "You know I have an eye for these things."
"No, but I'm quite good at sex!" Taahira thinks. Her body quivers, but she's actually amused at the exchange. "Also good at killing evil people..." she thinks a bit darkly for a moment.
"Three," the hard Eeee counter-offers. "She's useless right now, and will need to be coddled until her kits are weaned or whatever."
Helse smiles grimly. "You and I both know that won't be happening. Why else would I be making you this offer, Raz?" she counters.
Anger flashes across the man's face for a moment, before he forces control of his features. "Four then, and you have to throw in something extra to sweeten it."
"How many people have gone through this for real?" Taahira wonders. She can't realy crouch or curl up again with her robe bunched, so she just backs up until she is pressing to the rough wall. A pitiful whine comes again from the doe, and a sniff.
Helse purses, her lips, then spits into her hand and holds it out. "Gehnoh, as the invaders say," she offers.
Raz clasps hands, and then pulls Helse up close to him. Her cloak is shed, and the sweetening of the deal occurs right there in front of the doe. Raz is.. impressive, if not gentle.
"In a different situation I might have enjoyed him," Taahira thinks. The doe has to turn her head away and close her eyes, though, after seeing only a few seconds to keep up the act. She can still hear it, though. "I hope I know what I am getting into," she thinks.
Things end with a clink of gold coins passed to Helse. "Always a pleasure, Helse," Raz says without humor, before he turns his attention back on the doe. "What's her name?" he asks as he pulls the cloak back around the bunny.
"Taahira," Helse notes, adjusting her own cloak. "I think it means 'Chaste' of all things."
Taahira seems happier, for what it is worth, to have her cloak back on. At mention of her name, she looks up and over at Helse.
This elicits a laugh from Raz, who unhooks the end of the chain from the wall, but leaves the manacles in place, forcing the doe's hands to remain behind her back.
"Goodbye, Taahira," Helse says in Standard, and gestures to Raz. "You belong to Raz now."
"Well, at least he didn't add a collar," Taahira thinks. Her act, though, is to look between Helse and Raz. Eyes widen at that proclamation and the doe whines rather impressively. With that whine, it's a good thing she is gagged!
"Stop that," Raz commands in Standard, with a definite threat behind his tone. "You will be silent, or learn how to eat through that gag. Lapi are supposed to be quiet."
Taahira's ears flick and she bites down on the gag in her jaws. The whine does at least stop. She looks down at her feet now. "This is going to be a rough week," she thinks, "But if I passed the test to be a Yodhgorphat, I can survive this and bring them down."
It's a long walk along dark elevated roads before their destination comes into view, well lit in the twilight and mists. Taahira has not had an easy time, as Raz has no concept of 'potty breaks' and kept to a brisk pace. The doe is left exhausted, which may have been the purpose all along.
The doe even stumbles now and then as having her hands bound behind her puts her more off balance than her large stomach already did. Her breathing is also fairly ragged as it passes through her slit-nostrils; the gag more or less makes it impossible for her to mouth-breath. By this point she really needs to pee. All that jostling and movement really put pressure on things; but she just has to grit and bear it for the time being. So, distractions are found in trying to memorize the path they took, should she ever need to repeat it.
During the journey, there were occasional flashes of silver in the distance. It might be early ice, or might be a certain dragon shadowing the doe. Raz tugs on the chain, and says, "Nearly there," - then has to repeat it again in Standard. Their path is linking up to a larger road with actual wagon traffic on it, carrying goods towards a plaza that grows from the side of the tower ahead. Raz flags down one of the Fnerf-drawn wagons. The driver is wearing the Abbas livery. The Eeee even helps Taahira up onto the bench.
Taahira answers the man through brief sounds through the gag, just loud enough to indicate she understands when he actually speaks in standard. She also doesn't look towards the flashes, but does feel comforted that Tulani might very well be keeping an eye on her. She would have done the same, were roles reversed. Once she's settled on the bench, she bows her head to Raz and makes a sound. It might have been a thank you, but it is hard to tell. She is thankful to be sitting down. It lessens the urge her body keeps reminding her of, and it takes pressure off her lower back and feet.
The rest of the journey is much more comfortable. The road is smooth, and the Fnerf keeps a steady pace. They merge with more wagons, and while some stop at the plaza - clearly the marketplace for the Abbas fiefdom - theirs continues on into the tower itself, to an enclosed roadway. Eventually they stop before a loading dock, and Raz helps Taahira down while other hurry to unload the wagon. The crates look familiar to the doe - she's certain she's seen them before, on the Shadowdrake.
It's hard getting out of a wagon pregant, with her arms behind her back, but the doe does manage it with the provided help. She keeps her head down, but her eyes flick about, noting the crates. "No surprise there," she thinks, "There are only a few they would be supplying here over the black market."
From there, it's a maze of hallways, and Raz may deliberately be trying to confuse the Lapi's sense of direction with the route he takes, until finally they stop in front of a door. Raz pounds on it. "Fresh meat!" he calls through it in Babelite.
Taahira almost bites down on the gag. "Fresh meat? That sounds ... rather bad," she thinks. Still, since she supposedly cannot understand it, she has to resist acting at all. Once in a while she steals a look towards Raz, perhaps pretending to size up her new owner.
"I'm meat in many eyes now, it seems. The creatures I am allowing to grow within me; and remind me of their presence now and then, and those I am about to join," the doe thinks a bit wryly.
Raz doesn't seem to be paying any attention to the doe right now. The door is opened by a Savanite slave girl, who immediately bows her head to the Eeee. Raz hands over Taahira's chain to the feline. "Take her to Chiyuta."
The cheetah bows again and gives the chain a gentle tug to show that the Lapi is to follow her.
Taahira's expression seems to relax some now that she has been handed over to the savanite, and is being taken away from the horrible Raz. Once she is a bit away from him, she doesn't look down at the floor so much, and seems more agreeable to walk along with the savanite.
The door is closed and bolted behind her, and then slave-girl leads Taahira through a series of chambers - all fairly well appointed - filled with Savanites, a few Nagas and the occasional Eeee, all wearing collars. Her guide can't seem to stop staring at the doe's belly every so often, even though it's covered by the cloak still. They soon arrive at a small office. There is a desk, filing cabinets and ledgers. The cheetah rings a small bell on the desk.
Since it appears that most all present are slaves, Taahira is more open about looking around; though she does not slow down the walk any as they go. When the bell rings, the doe waits quietly, just biting down on the ball in her muzzle so often as she looks over the savanite with her of any signs of mistreatment.
The Savanite girl fidgets a bit until an Eeee woman arrives - although more of an older girl really. None of the slaves seen so far look older than the early twenties, if that.
"They like them young, I guess," Taahira thinks. "Young and pretty." She looks up at the Eeee briefly, checking for mark of a slave before deciding if she should lower her head or not.
"Ah, you must be the new girl," the Eeee says, sitting on the edge of the desk. "You can unbind her, Zeta," she instructs the Savanite, before telling the doe, "I am Chiyuta, head slave for women. I'll be taking care of you."
Taahira holds still so that the savanite can unbind her. She'll be glad enough to get those manacles off; it surely made her feel helpless. She also nods to the head slave indicating she understands, since she cannot speak until the gag is removed.
The gag comes out just before the cloak is removed, leaving Taahira in her 'native' garb. "That's all, Zeta," Chiyuta says, dismissing the other slave, until she and the doe are alone.
Exposed in this room with this strange woman, Taahira ends up looking at the floor again and rubbing her wrists. "It's true, isn't it?" she asks in a weak, timid, voice, "Not a dream. I'm ... a slave in this house?"
"That's right," the Eeee says, and leaves the desk to put a collar around the doe's neck. She can't help but put a hand on Taahira's bulging belly as well. "Tell me your story?" she asks.
Taahira's breath draws in as she feels the weight of the object slip around her neck, then the lock-click that follows as the slave collar locks in place. "My name is Taahira. I'm ... a horrible, foolish, doe," she whimpers, "My husband, Tamir and I have been married for a couple years. He was always away on business ... and what am I to do? Sit in darkness and fee lonely? Maybe I should have because it would have been better than this. But, no, I listened to a young buck; he was so handsome and nice. He claimed that he could comfort me, and that he even had a potion to make intimate comfort safe. I ... trusted him ... and now look at me." The doe puts her own hand on her extremely swollen gut. When I couldn't hide it anymore and my husband returned he was so mad.
But .. he seemed to forgive me. But, it was all just show, because I think he drugged me. I woke up one morning, feeling groggy and my left ear burning. And I found this horrible mark tattoed in my left ear ... and worse, I was on a ship bound for this horrible city. My husband got rid of me." The doe has to stop there because she buries her face in her hands to stifle a choking sob. "I went from being beautiful, to being something to just be bought and sold; fat and unwanted," she mutters.
Chiyuta puts a comforting arm across the doe's shoulders. "I have heard that being a wife in Abu-Dhabi is not so different from being a slave," she says. "You will find new life here." She also feels the doe's ears, examining the tattoos and jewelry holes. "You will be pretty again."
Taahira reaches up and feels over her ears too, over the spots that once held jewelry. "But, but, the stories about this city; that it is a pit of carnal pleasures," the doe chokes softly. "I made one mistake, am I to now live that mistake for the rest of my life?"
"It freed you from your superficial life," Chiyuta claims. "Your husband did not truly love you, or he would not have left you alone and unprotected, would he?"
"Are you saying I would be loved here? Slaves are loved?" Taahira asks, sniffling as her nose twitches.
While stroking the top of the doe's head, Chiyuta says, "I am saying you should not mourn the passing of a life that was a lie."
"Oh, if you only knew,/" Taahira thinks. "Maybe," the doe says without much conviction in her voice. "The man that brought me here, Raz; my ... owner I was told, was cruel when he bought me."
"He is a hard man, but you will likely not see him often," Chiyuta claims. "You belong to House Abbas, and he is a servant as well. We are a great and proud house."
"Who will I see most often?" Taahira asks and wipes at her eyes, "And what will be duties be here?"
A hand rubs at the doe's belly again. "For now, your duties will be to relax, I think," Chiyuta claims with a grin. "How soon will you give birth?" she asks.
"A week, maybe two at the most. I'm not really sure," Taahira admits as she holds her own belly for a bit; feeling the slight movement within. "There is some movement, but no indications it will be in the next day or two."
"Then your duty shall be to have a good birthing," the Eeee says. "I will take you to your own room now, if you like?"
"I would not mind a chance to rest ... and, uhm, use a powder room," Taahira admits and bows her head and blushing ears. "The trip here was hard and many things have been shaken."
"Come with me, and we'll see to everything," Chiyuta says, and leads the doe out of the office and into the maze of rooms once more. The walk isn't far at least, before Taahira is brought to a small room that seems made specifically for pregnant women. It's warm, there is a nest-like sleeping bowl, a curtained toilet and a sit-up bathtub on ornate feet. At the very center is a dangling pink ribbon pull-cord.
"What is the cord for?" Taahira asks as she waddles her way to the curtained area and draws it about herself. It actually takes her some time because she is actually being private about going because it is rather embarrassing to go with someone else in the room with you.
"That will summon help if you need it," Chiyuta explains. "Is it true that Lapi only eat vegetation?"
"Yes. And blood will make some of us faint," Taahira admits from behind the curtain. "I am really to be left here to myself to relax?" She pauses. "Please forgive me, but I haven't heard of any slave being so nicely treated."
"You aren't really ready for anything else," the Eeee notes. "It may be some time before you can perform any duties beyond motherhood, after all. I will have fruit sent down, until we can get more vegetables. Is there anything you crave or need beyond what you have here?"
"Another change of clothes so that I will not be naked when these are being cleaned," Taahira requests as she exits the curtain; feeling a great relief of pressure. The pressure from her clutch of horrib-larvae, remains ever present. She bites her lip slightly and looks at her feet for a moment while lightly rubbing her left ear. "What will my duties likely be after that?" she finally asks in a timid tone.
"That is yet to be determined," Chiyuta claims, but is smiling. "Just rest for now, you must be tired after your trek. Pull the cord if you would like a bath drawn, or need help or a massage."
"Thank you, Miss Chiyuta," Taahira says bows to the Eee, then goes to the nesting bowl and carefully crawls in it. She curls up in its center with her fingertips tracing the collar on her neck. "They're good at trying to get me to relax, I must admit. If I didn't know better, I would think this was not so bad," the thinks as she lets her eyes close. She is actually tired after all!
Some time later, the doe is disturbed by the sound of someone entering the room.
Taahira's eyes slowly open and she lifts her head up slowly. "Hello?" she says timidly into the room, looking for who just entered.
An elegant figure stands in the doorway. The Eeee woman is draped in finery, in a style reminiscent of Abu-Dhabi but with Babel's risque flair, featuring several bracelets of actual silver. The cream-colored Eeee approaches, carrying a bowl of fruit and flowers. "Hello," she says, her voice well cultured. "I am Lady Mahalia bar Abbas, your proper owner. You are Taahira. Am I pronouncing that correctly?" The woman's Standard has none of the sharpness typical of a Babelite accent. It's so smooth that it's downright slippery.
Taahira sits up in the bowl-bed and bows her head. "Please forgive me for not getting up abd bowing ... Mistress," she says, that last word catching as if it's unusual for the doe to say. "It is difficult to move fast now; I mean no disrespect Yes, you pronounce my name correctly," she also answers. "Your other servants have been so kind to me since I arrived. It has ... not been what I expected."
The woman sets the fruit down at the edge of the bed, and sits next to the doe. "Do not fret," Mahalia says, and brushes her hand along the back of the Lapi's neck. "I am here in my other capacity: midwife," she explains. "I'd like to examine you."
Taahira quivers from the touch; the doe appearing nervous and afraid again. "What do you wish of me to make the examination easier, Mistress?" the doe asks, then bites her lip and looks at one of the pillows in the bowl.
"And here is where I find out how well I am faking being pregnant," Taahira actually frets.
"Disrobe please," the woman asks. She doesn't seem to be carrying any medical tools at least - there's isn't anywhere to hide them in her outfit.
Taahira has to rise out of the bowl to disrobe. She doesn't wear all that much, so it is a simple matter to undue the ties that hold her light pants and her chest wrap to her body. These she folds up and places them back in the bowl, then moves to stand before Lady Mahalia. "Shall I remain standing, or lie back in the bed?" the doe asks as she looks at the floor, her right hand rubbing her left wrist nervously.
The Eeee watched the doe's movements closely. "You carry yourself well, but you should lie down for this," she offers.
Taahira climbs back into the bowl carefully, making sure she is mindful of her stomach and positioning. She ends up lying on her side first, then rolling onto her back.
Mahalia checks the doe's throat first, of all things, feeling her pulse and probably blood pressure. There's something about her movements that reminds the doe of Mave, especially during the breast exam. She also presses her ear to Taahira's swollen belly to listen, though she spends much longer at it than Raz did.
The touching makes the doe quiver again; and she may actually be nervous. This is the first real test of her disguise! "She has experience in this, so she wasn't lying. A priestess, perhaps. Of who I can suspect," the doe thinks as she tries to lie still. She manages stillness for the most part, except for her twitching nose.
"You are quite the fertile one," Mahalia reports as she finally lifts her head up and smiles to Taahira. "Triplets at least, possibly quadruplets. You should be proud."
"That many? How, how can you tell?" the doe asks, wide-eyed and trembling. "It cost me my husband," Taahira adds as she sniffles and wipes at her eyes again. "I don't feel proud of bring fertile."
"From what Chiyuta tells me, you are better off without him," Mahalia claims. "I listened to the heartbeats. I am most familiar with Eeee of course, so I can only offer an educated guess. Do you not want to be a mother?"
"I don't know," Taahira admits, rubbing her left ear. "It gave me this horrible mark on my ear." The doe shifts a bit, then rubs her own stomach and admits, "And while it feels good most of the time to be pregnant; even with the problems it causes ... when I look down, I feel shame."
"Here, maybe this will help?" Mahalia says, and removes one of her silver-and-crystal earrings and places it into one of the holes in Taahira's left ear.
"I couldn't accept that. What if someone else sees it?" Taahira nearly whimpers. She does reach up, though, and feels over it as if she doesn't want to lose it, either.
"They won't say anything, since it is clear that I gave it to you," Mahalia says. "Now just lie back and take deep breaths."
Taahira looks unsure, but she does lie back and start taking several deep breaths. "This must be what was meant by getting me to trust them," she thinks. "Which is why I cannot agree easily all the time..."
The Eeee explores the doe's nether regions with one hand, while keeping the other on her shoulder. "That's it, deep breaths," she repeats. Those fingers are long...
The first few seconds of that are some rather sharp breaths, indeed! Even the poor doe's toes curl. She actually has to think about deep breathing to be able to breathe deeply! "Okay ... I'm back to feeling like property..." she thinks.
"Everything seems fine inside," Mahalia says, and gives the doe a pat on the head for being cooperative. "You aren't going to give birth in the next day or so, at least.
"Do you know how long? I think maybe a week, but I'm not sure," Taahira admits as she lets out a breath after the head pat.
"That seems a good guess," Mahalia notes. "You should trust your feelings on that. Are you feeling more relaxed now? Stress is not good for you in this condition."
"Maybe a little. This is ... it's a lot to accept," Taahira admits, reaching up to finger the only apparel she currently wears; the collar locked to her neck. "I don't want to be a slave," she admits, nose and lower lip quivering.
"What would you like to be then, if you could be anything you wanted?" Mahalia asks, leaning in close.
"Home. Not scared," Taahira admits; inching back from the looming Eeee. "Not ugly with marked ears."
"This can be your home," Mahalia whispers. "And your marks could become symbols of beauty here." She then offers the doe a peach from the fruit bowl.
"How? The one on my left ear means I am a horrible, wanton person ... and I did falter once in that; and have been forever-marked," Taahira admits as she gingerly accepts the peach, then nibbles on it.
"Sins of one land can be the virtues of another," Mahalia claims. "Or the world could change, so that you are seen as an ideal. Everything changes in time."
"Is that the duty you wish of me in your home, Mistress?" Taahira asks nervously. "To ... embrace physical desires?"
"I want you to be happy, and feel.. important," the Eeee replies. "You may be a slave, but that does not mean you cannot attain a degree of authority or power. These come with one's worth to the House."
"Can you help me?" Taahira asks, practically hugging the peach core, "It will not be easy for me to ... change all I know and believe. But maybe with help over time it would be easier for me and I would feel better." She bites her lip again.
"Of course I will help you," Mahalia says, and strokes the doe's cheek. "Do you like me, Taahira?"
"You seem nice," Taahira says haltingly, "But I don't know you well. I want to like you, Mistress."
"I like you, Taahira," the Eeee says, apparently not insulted at the doe's trepidation. "Would you like me to make you feel good?"
The doe's eyes blink, looking very innocent when she does. "Yes...?" she answers in a halting tone.
The Eeee woman begins to pet and caress the doe. Again, the reminder of Mave's techniques is there - as is their effectiveness.
Poor Taahira seems quite nervous at the beginning; and bites her lip often. But before long the does whimpers and shivers are not due to fear; nor is the cry she makes when the rush comes to her body; arching her back in spite of the weight of her stomach. When the rush tapers; Taahira's ears are blushing warm in embarrassment.
"Wasn't that nice and relaxing?" Mahalia asks, as she discretely wipes off her hands with the edge of a blanket.
"Yes," Taahira admits. "It felt ... tingly, and warm ... and okay."
"Rest and refresh yourself," the woman says, standing up. "I'll bring you fresh clothes later."
"I'm not sure I could ever do that to you, Mistress," Taahira admits as she curls up on her side in the bowl. "But, thank you for being kind to me, and forgiving. Maybe I'll be okay here after all."
"Of course you will," Lady Mahalia claims with assurance. "Your new life starts today."
Taahira closes her eyes again for the second time today. "If I didn't know better, I really might be comfortable here. Good thing I know what they do. Plus having a little fear all the time because I've got flesh-eating bugs growing inside me probably helps keep me on my toes," the doe thinks.
The chamber is an odd mix of Abu Dhabian harem and Gypsy camp. Taahira sits on a plush cushion at the center, on a raised dais. Several bucks kneel before her, and she knows that those who fail to please her are destined to become eunuch bodyguards. Her head and arms and ears are laden with beads and gem-studded drapes. Her belly is flat and trim, and she can feel.. powerful.
Taahira sits there, confused for moment. Wasn't she just ...? Her head shakes. No, that would be silly. "Ah, hello my dear boys," she coos at the three bucks before her, smiling. "You need not fear, for even if you fail me in one sense, you can serve me in another ... once your distractions are removed. You want to serve me, no matter the cost, yes?"
And after saying that, she thinks, "What am I saying to these poor bucks?!"
"Of course, Lady Taahira!" they all reply in unison. When they look up, the doe can see that their left ears bear identical marks to her own.
Taahira leans back, smiling. "Why don't you show me just how much you want to please me?" she offers, curling her finger as if summoning them. "Who is saying this?" she thinks. "Why do they have the same mark as me?"
The three bucks approach, and after some jostling, one settles in to massage Tahira's shoulders, and the other two massage everywhere else.
"Because you claimed to be ashamed of it, of course," another voice whispers.. from underneath her. The zolk of the cushion dimples a bit, suggesting scales, and one large button becomes a yellow, reptilian-slit eye. "You're under a spell," Vorgulremik claims.
"Very, very, good," Taahira tells them, and even pets each of their heads in turn affectionately. "Would you still serve me if I had all three of you snipped?"
"What sort of spell?" Taahira thinks, "And cast by whom? What is its purpose?"
"Any service to you would be an honor," the shoulder-working buck claims. The other two nod in agreement, perhaps a bit nervously. Are they afraid of her?
"Really?" Taahira asks. "Shall I test that perhaps? Shall I call the surgeon?" Quite the evil doe! Oe rather, quite one taken by having power over someone.
"You were likely given something, which acts as the focus," the dragon-cushion suggests. "It is only a Dream, targeted at affecting your attitudes. Your shame becoming a symbol of power, perhaps. And domination of those who rejected you. Simple revenge, really."
"Am I being watched in it? Do I have to play it out?" Taahira thinks.
The button-eye scans around the room, and then Vorgulremik notes, "I do not sense any observers. This is a simple fantasy, after all. There may be some sort of biofeedback monitoring through the focus, but nothing so complex as looking into it."
"So, what do I do with these boys?" Taahira wonders. "And what could be the focus?"
"I bet it is the earring," Taahira suddenly realizes.
"Something you were given, that you would feel attachment to," Vorgulremik suggests. "As for these dream-rabbits, do whatever you want to them. They are not real."
"And afterward, can I come spend time with you?" Taahira thinks, it almost feels flirty! This dream is messing with her!
"I would appreciate a visit," the dragon-cushion admits.
"Bald and pregnant?" Taahira thinks next.
"Or as the mysterious Shrine Maiden, which I have not seen," the dragon says. "Of course, a dragoness is also always welcome."
"I rather like my bald Eee form, for reasons I can't explain," Taahira admits, "But first I have these boys to deal with ... and give the focus something to digest."
"I'll leave you to it, then," the dragon says.. and then the cushion is just a cushion again.
"Or ... I could test you by challenging all three of you to pleasure me at the same time. There are three of you; I have three places you could ... become part of me," Taahira teases the bucks, and even plays with one of their ears with her fingertips.
"As you wish!" the bucks all agree, moving from grooming to seduction.. and gently pushing the doe onto her side to accomplish the necessary acrobatics.
It's also certainly a new experience to be some, ah, completely occupied. It's a feeling of fullness that is ... disturbing! But she plays it out, and them, encouraging each to 'give their all' to her!
After all that effort, the nervousness returns to the bucks. They know the time of judgment is at hand..
Taahira sits up and licks slowly over her lips. "Oh, I think I'll allow you to keep your distractions another day," the doe says, "And you will have to do better each and every day to keep them. But someday, and possible soon, all of you will be snipped." She even makes 'scissor' motions with her fingers. "Or ... you can beg me to do it now, if you wish," she offers.
"We will continue to pleasure you, Mistress!" the bucks say as one.
"We shall see, we shall see," Taahira says as she lies back on her pillow, eyes drooping closed as she basks the in pleasure of controlling these three so ... utterly. It's also around then her mind goes to Gorphat, her Yodhgorphat body, and ultimately, Vorgulremik.
When Nicora opens her eyes, she's on the fur-pelt pile of Vorgulremik's bed, with the dragon lying next to her.
And with a quick check, she finds her body sickly-pale, devoid of any sort of hair; and with a disturbingly distended gut. "I'm both enjoying and being terrified by, being pregnant," she admits to Vorgulremik next to her. "I have half a dozen or more flesh-eating bugs growing inside me that I will have to birth when the time is right; or they'll eat me. It's a ... unique experience."
"Seems normal to me," Vorgulremik notes. But then, his kind also eat their way out of their mothers.
"It's also being a great bit of bait," Nicora adds and rubs her dream stomach, and the flesh rippling shortly thereafter as the echoes of the larvae shift about a bit. "The supposed Lady of the house is already courting me and trying to corrupt me. I just realized that dream was probably from the earring she put in my left ear. Weird dream. There was an urge to be evil and cruel just for the sake of it at time."
"I'm also surprised to see you feeling lonely," Nicora adds as she curls some of the fur pelt around her body to warm it. One thing can be said about this body; it is a constant reminder of her pledge to Gorphat!
"Lonely?" Vorgulremik asks. "I am looking out for you as best I can, is all."
"And not because you want to rut me?" Nicora teases, grinning. "Anyway, as you can see, I'm inside the Abbas home. I have been collared; and they are being extremely kind to me."
"You have not been acting defiant, so.. the carrot before the stick," the dragon says, rolling onto his back. "There is nothing wrong with rutting, is there? You seem to enjoy it."
"I've come to enjoy it ... a little," Nicora admits as she actually moves closer to the dragon. "Do you think the kindness will continue, or it may stop and be more of a stick?"
"That depends on your response," the dragon notes. "If you act pliable, and respond to the indoctrination.. then they will continue as they have."
"I feel as if I should resist some. If I make it too easy for them it might be suspect," Nicora notes as she drapes one of her sickly-skinned arms over Vorg's chest.
The scales are rough against the exposed skin. "Use your judgment," the dragon suggests. "Are you tempted by the idea of dominance?"
"Sometimes, I suppose. Why?" Nicora asks as she eases her arm back off Vorgulremik.
"You can be on top this time if you desire," Vorgulremik offers.
"With you I prefer to be on the bottom," Nicora admits, then sticks her tongue out. "So, seven or so more days of this, then it's popping time and attacking them outright."
"Do you have any suspects for Diphath's priestess yet?" the dragon asks.
"Yes. The Lady of the house, whom I have just met," Nicora claims as she stretches out, then massages her stomach gently. "She seems quite authoritative. But ... an interesting gambit would be the head slave Chiyuta. Hide in a role, as it were; an unexpected one. As I get to know them and more, I will have a better idea."
The dragon rolls over to mount the hairless Eeee. "Be on watch for the nosferatu. There may be other normal vampires as well."
"Want me on my hands and knees?" Nicora asks Vorgulremik and even traces a finger down his cheek. "Do you think others will visit me, then? Actual vampires?"
Vorgulremik helps get the bat into position on her hands and knees, and playfully bites the back of her neck. "Yes. You are new and exotic, a flavor they likely haven't had before. They may mask it with ritual."
It's not exactly comfortable to be bitten on her neck; but it's oddly arousing all the same ... which makes her arch her back up. She shifts a bit more; putting herself in perfect position for Vorgulremik to 'take' her; and effectively dominate her through the act. "So I should expect to bleed some. They shouldn't taste the horrib hormones, at least; that should be isolated."
"Your own hormones would cover any lesser taste," the dragon says, taking the Eeee from behind and making her belly (and other parts) jostle back and forth. "They may have odd effects on the vampires."
Nicora cries out; and it's definitely a sound of enjoyment. "You do know you're rutting a Yodhgorphat now," she teases, "The must disgusting and hated Eeee alive." There's a pause as the Eeee just enjoys the rather crude moment with the dragon before adding, "I wonder what kind of reactions they could cause in a vampire. Curious."
"They may think it will act as a contraceptive in female vampires," the dragon grunts. "I've eaten worse than Gorphat, you know."
"So, does being Yodhgorphat make me more, or less, attractive to you?" Nicora growls to the dragon, anchoring herself to hold up to hist strong thrust. "And are we going to meet every night I am here?"
"It shows you are willing to submit to a higher being, despite their unsavory aspects," Vorgulremik whispers in Nicora's ear. "You should visit me every night. Always."
"I might. Maybe I'll even be a female of your kind for you to dominate," Nicora teases. "But that all requires that I survive this place. I'm in the horrib's nest again, and this one scares me more than real ones."
After a few vigorous movements, Vorgulremik notes, "You have me watching over you, at least."
"And Gorphat and her servant Hosheb, I expect," Nicora points out after recovering her breath from the gasps and cries the few moments before provided.
"But mostly me," the dragon insists, giving the bat another 'love bite' in emphasis.
And the bat shivers from that bite, and makes several interesting sounds. So does her movement, which is rather encouraging of the dragon to continue.
The dragon continues as urged, several times over. It's then that something seems to be dragging on Nicora's consciousness. Pressure. Bladder pressure!
Nothing inspires finishing up more than bladder pressure! She cries out as her body finds pleasure from this horrible creature! And the next thing she knows she's sitting up in bed. Soon ... she's out of bed and waddling like mad for the curtain. "I like being pregnant, except for this little aspect," the doe murmurs to herself. Soon, relief will come ... and then sleep, and another day is this nightmare pretending to be a happy home...