Nicora doesn't know how long the fever and hallucinations lasted (at least, she thinks they might have been hallucinations; hard to tell in the Temple of Gorphat. Maybe the walls really do ooze puss every so often) but she's sure it's been at least a day. She's survived the Kiss, and according to her mirror.. it makes her turn green when flushed. And if there's actual arousal involved, those areas can glow green. Even her eyes take on a green appearance when bloodshot. It's as if her blood itself has turned green.

"I'm an idiot, I can't believe the things I agree to," Nicora complains as she half-rolls, half slides off her 'bed. At least she can stand now, and stretch, and not feel like she's about to die; though she doesn't feel great. After staring at herself in the mirror for a bit more, she experiments; she pricks the tip of her finger with a fang to see what color her blood actually is.

The wound itself glows green.. but the blood still looks red when it comes out. Maybe it's only green when under pressure in her body.

Nicora smirks, then next cups her two smaller, secondary breasts, massaging them to get them to ... leak a bit. One, to test the color of her milk, and two, to test how it tastes.

"Ewww," Nicora says and makes a face. "Who will want to nurse on me now? I'm never going to stop." She looks at herself in the mirror, and at her eight teats. She sighs, then tastes the bright green milk.

It tastes.. like milk. A bit thin, and also with that hint of saltiness to it. It doesn't induce gagging or anything either.

Then Nicora spends the next few minutes, well, fondling her mutant chest. "Right, after everything I've been through, I'm going to treat myself; it is time for some new jewelry," the Eeee states rather plainly to her reflection. "I've got six new places for some."

That of course requires going to a salon where it can be done... and paying for it somehow. Not to mention just getting there without succumbing to one or more of her blessings.

"First things first, a little release," Nicra says as she drops down onto her hands and knees. "Hosheb, your ... wife needs you," she murmurs to the room. Apparently she's going to get some relief first from her demon lover-husband. It's not like Hosheb ever feels that good, in fact he tends to hurt a lot ... but it is all she has.

Since Nicora has been laid up for a day, Hosheb has had time to recover his energy.. and so is a bit vigorous, thanks to the horrib tattooed on Nicora's back.

And Nicora's room, for another bit, is filled with the cries of someone in a lot of pain. Hosheb is not exactly build for pleasuring; but again, at least it is something a bit more firm than the worms. She even thanks him when relief comes, through it will be short lived. So ... now it is a matter of going. And in preparation for that ... she actually removes a lot of her jewelry. Out comes the tongue stud and the nose ring. The ring hole is filled with its plug. Out comes all her lower rings as well, save the the one through Inala's orb. So that leaves her with just the two studs in her primary chest, and the one ring. "Should be enough to not be identifiable," she decides.

The fever had driven out the last of the womb-worms at least, so if she has to wear clothes they shouldn't get slimy.

"And ... hm, I can't go like this, either," Nicora says. So, she kneels and closes her eyes Her focus is on the shadow . and her goal ... to engulf herself. She needs to go as someone who would not likely be bothered or look too suspicious, so she focuses on a male form this time. The form of Dar, the Eeee guard she has used as a s disguise before.

When Dar opens his eyes a while later.. nothing seems to be glowing on him, at least.

"That's a relief," Dar says as he rises and stretches, then feels over his body to make sure everything is where it should be and that he is intact, and not some weirdo with multiple teats.

So far all of his equipment appears to be standard for an Eeee. No tail with a mouth, no extra teats, and no glowing or green fur showing up.

Satisfied he is intact, the Eeee goes and gets some of his male clothing he carries along in case of needing a disguise. It is simple and generic enough. He also collects his backpack, and makes sure he has some sort of clothing for Nicora, even if it is just simple peasant-woman Eeee attire. It will have to do. "I'll be glad to be out among people for a bit. And I can rent a room at the Inn for half a day where I can change. If anyone sees me going in as Nicora ... well, they'll just figure I have disturbing tastes in whores," he chuckles to himself.

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

Helse is actually manning the desk today, naked as usual but covered in what might represent a fireworks display or some very odd but bright flowers. She looks up from her pipe as a new customer arrives.

A rather plainly dressed female Eeee enters. She has a hood up to hide her head and face, but her shape and size gives away the gender. "I hear this place excels in the ways of art and the unusual. Well, I am ... different, and I wish to turn my deformities into things of art," she, Nicora, says. She then pulls back her hood, revealing her completely furless visage. "Will you work on me?"

Helse's brows rise, and she sets her pipe aside. "Are you looking to get tattooed, if you're lacking fur, or something else?" the woman asks.

"I have a few tattoos," Nicora admits. "I seek something more ... substantial. "Since nature and the Goddesses decided that I should have an abundance of ... teats, I thought that I should put them to some use. I wish to have the rest pierced with jewelry," she explains simply, then even pulls up her shirt to show what she means by an abundance.

"My, that is an unusual mutation," Helse notes. "Are you from Babel, or one of the lowland cities?"

"I was born outside of Babel, but with mutations like these, and being so ugly, I had to leave and come to live ... well, in places where questions are not often asked," Nicora claims and shrugs a bit. She lets her shirt fall back down. "If you do not wish to touch me, I understand. It would not be the first time."

"Where did you get that tattoo of ... uh.. maggots eating their way out of your stomach?" Helse asks, and comes around the counter. "Come with me," she says.

"That ... and another, were forced upon me. I was kidnapped by a gang that thought they could sell me to the Yodhgorphat. They decided I needed to be uglier and ... " Nicora shakes her head and sighs. "Good thing for me is that the Temple was destroyed before I was brought to it." The Eeee then steps forward to follow Helse.

"I didn't think the Yodhgorphat bought people.. it isn't like they ever had any money," Helse notes as she guides Nicora into the main salon. There's only one other a customer: a Savanite with extremely long and curly hair, which several of the Nagas are trying to straighten out for whatever reason. There is a pot of boiling water involved. Helse brings Nicora to a vacant chair. "Now, did you have an idea of what you would like?" she asks. "Bars, chains, rings, clamp-on shields?"

Nicora settles herself down into the chair as she looks about. She even watches the savanite for a bit. "Pierce would like her a lot,/" she thinks. "I was thinking rings interconnected by chains, but it depends on what you believe I can actually support safely," she says, her attention returning to Helse.

"Well, teats are pretty sturdy, given their purpose," Helse notes with a grin. "Nothing we have is going to be too heavy for them. Are they especially sensitive or anything?"

"Do you want them numbed before piercing then?" Helse asks. "It may hurt for just a moment.."

"No, I think I will experience it without any numbing," Nicora claims, her fingers tapping on the armrests. "And how large do you think I should go on the jewelry?"

"Take off your shirt, and I'll take some quick measurements," Helse says. "If everything is fairly normal-sized, then anything we have will work fine. Do you mind if the tattoo is covered or detracted from?"

"I will leave that to you. I imagine you can do something artistic with it," Nicora claims. She undoes her shirt ties and is soon slipping it off, leaving her upper half now completely bare.

There's a squeak from the Savanite, but the reptiles aren't shocked at all. Of course, they may just not notice things like multiple breasts or teats. That's weird mammal stuff. Helse fetches a box, which she opens to show various sorts of piercings on velvet. "Now.. forgive me for asking, but what is your budget for this?" she asks.

"I can spend up to two hundred and fifty shekels. I've been saving for a bit to .. treat myself," Nicora claims.

"A treat for the teats, hmm?" Helse asks, and adjusts the display accordingly. Among those left are rings in shapes of the symbols for the Seven Sisters even.. although it works better for some than others. "Do you want all eight to match?" she asks. "Or perhaps go with pairs.. or even asymmetrical pairing.."

"I don't think all eight should match. Pairs, definitely. That way I can line them up or do asymmetrical when I wish," Nicora claims. "For now, just line them up. For one set, I think it should be Gorphat, because of what I was almost forced to become. "

Helse hmms, and selects some chains, and a large Gorphat symbol; The Wound. But she also selects four simpler rings. She spends a bit of time holding the chains between the lower teats, as if gauging how much is needed to achieve a particular droop..

Nicora watches this, bare brow arched a bit. "What is she going for? Some sort of hang, yes, but why?" she has to wonder. Her toes also fidget a bit; here she is in this chair again, and this time it is her fault.

"I'm going to try something, and I think you'll like it," Helse notes. Then the alcohol-dipped needle comes out, and the bat is squeezing Nicora's teats to firm them up. The room is well lit though, so any green glow shouldn't be too visible. If it is, Helse doesn't comment yet. She just goes to work with the piercing needle.

Nicora grips the armrests tightly and also grits her teeth. "This is going to hurt. I know how badly it hurt when Mordecai did it, then stretched them open to fit the bar," she thinks. Even her ears quiver.

Her vision takes on a green tint as her blood pressure rises. Helse is quick and professional though, and uses a clean cloth to blot up the blood and almost certainly some green milk. When it's over, she produces a mirror so Nicora can see the result: each of the lower four teats has a simple ring through them, but connected to these are chains, which in turn connect to the Wound ring. The chains lengths are such that the symbol hangs just above Nicora's tattooed navel, and the sweep of the chains almost suggests wings. "What do you think?" Helse asks.

Nicora cannot help herself, she does end up making several pained sounds during the procedure ... and her toes curl tight around the base of the chair. Finally, Nicora's eyes clear enough she can actually see, and her lower stomach quits screaming in pain and is more throbbing, she looks down at the mirror. Her head tilts this way and that. "I ... like it," she concludes. It does look like insect wings, which is ... fitting given what it drapes over.

"Is there a goddess you would like to use for the smaller pair of breasts?" Helse asks.

Nicora thinks on this. "Inala," she decides. After all, Inala is sort of responsible for them.

The process is similar. Helse pierces the two teats, somehow overlooking the weird fluids, and constructs a bridge between them with the symbol held in the center. This time there are tiny bars of blue and white polished stone that hang from the chain, the longest next to the Flower and then gradually getting shorter until the ones that hang from the rings themselves are barely a quarter of an inch long.

Poor Nicora squeaks painfully, but this one is not as bad as doing four, thankfully. She's also quite pleased with the results. She even manages a pained smile afterward. "That also looks quite nice," she tells Helse. "Thank you. I am sorry you had to, well ... I know I am not particularly desirable to touch."

"I've worked on a human before," Helse claims. "The green milk is a bit odd though. Part of the mutation?"

"You think so?" Helse asks, a bit shocked. "I suggest you find out. It could be an infection or something."

"Again, who would touch me?" Nicora points out and frowns. "It has been like that since I matured."

"Well.. if it's harmless then I won't press," Helse says, and finishes cleaning her tools. "The total comes to 182 Shekels," she notes. "If you have any problems, like swelling or other irritation, come back right away."

"IS it common?" Nicora asks as she counts out the payment, then offers the shekels to Helse. "And ... do you know of any place where, well, people would touch someone like me? I don't get much in the way of companionship, and you did say you have worked on humans; and they are hideous."

"This is Babel," Helse notes. "Novelty is.. often pursued, for better or for worse. Is there someone who will find you beautiful? Yes. Will they treat you properly? Who can say. Depravity was once something we held as a virtue here."

"How nicely vague," Nicora notes, but she's smiling anyway. Her legs are a bit shakey as she rises, but she does manage to rise without falling over. And the throbbing pain is also doing a good job keeping her from thinking about the other throbbing thanks to Gorphat's blessing.

"My advice is to be cautious of anyone who approaches with flattery," Helse says. "But from your story, you probably already are cautious. If things ever get bad or you need to hide or vanish.. just come back here."

"That's a kind offer to make to someone you do not know," Nicora points out, but smiles anyway. "I will keep it in mind." Soon she is fitting her shirt back on, mindful of the tenderness as she does so. "Thank you again, it was worth the money," she adds, heading for the door.