Nicora's sleep is never that great in this form. Between the odd 'dreams' inspired by the Fungi-From-Beyond to the general discomfort of her body, it is rare for the part-time Yodhgorphat to get more than a few hours sleep at a time. This time the dreams are just flashes and impressions of the Temple itself from odd perspectives. So when the screaming starts, it takes a bit of time for her to realize is isn't from the dream. It's from down the hall!
"No not the tubules!" Nicora blurts as she jerks awake, blinking. Well, not that blinking helps any. So, grumbling, she gets up. "I bet it it one of those demons visiting and scaring the servants again. Really, you think they would be used to it by now," she says as she tries to find the source of the scream ... while still mostly naked.
There are auras about. From the color, Sil is the one most frightened, with Fon next to her.. possibly holding a broom. There are other flickers here and there.. possibly the Grabbits, if they're still around - Greve didn't really say if he was going to continue to watch over Nicora after all. At least the caretakers are close by.
"Sil! Fon! What is the problem?" Nicora calls out as she makes her way through the shadows towards the auras she recognizes.
"We are being overrun!" Fon calls out. "I am trying to keep them from your chambers, Mistress!" Indeed the commotion is just down the hall a bit.. and Nicora is getting flash visions of Fon and Sil's faces.
Nicora shakes her head. "Over-run by what?" Nicora says as she continues towards the pair. "No one dares attack this temple..."
"Horribs!" Fon calls. "Giant ones!"
"It couldn't be ..." Nicora thinks as she hurries onward. "Horribs are sacred to Gorphat. They may be here for a purpose," she calls back.
"Do we let them through?" Fon asks worriedly, as Nicora reaches the couple. The flashes are more frequent, and seem to focus on her now, from six different viewpoints, including from the ceiling.
"Gah. I might kill them myself," Nicora growls to herself when she counts out six images. She proceeds to rub her forehead, then announce, "Yes, allow them through. I will smite them myself if they cause any problems."
Fon seems uncertain, but shakily lowers the broom. The horribs immediately rush forward. They ignore the servants and cluster around Nicora, but at least they don't climb onto her or knock her over this time, just buzz their wings and chant "Did-a-chick!" over and over.
"You all have a lot of nerve coming here," Nicora admonishes the horrible creatures, "I have half a mind to take that broom and beat you myself!" She then sniffs loudly (but that may just be due to her perpetual cold thanks to Gorphat). "Why are you here?"
The horribs seem admonished, lowering their claws and clicking them apologetically. "Dud-a-chum," they claim, and buzz their wings. It's strange, getting all of their impressions at once, but at least it sort of lets Nicora sift some kind of meaning from them. It might be 'queen' or 'nest' - or both are the same concept to horribs.
"I have no idea what these creatures are saying," Nicora admits to Fon and Sil, "And you may go. I will deal with these pests." The Yodhgorphat then pokes herself in the gut, noting to the horribs, "It is still inside me, but then I expect you can smell it. I haven't removed it ... yet."
"Dud-a-chum!" the creatures 'wail' and try to grovel at Nicora's feet, even curling their stinger-tipped tails under their own bodies.
"You were all ready to hold me down and stab me," Nicora says to the horribs, then sighs. "I have decided to leave it within me, in Gorphat's honor, do not worry. I am trying to help it root within me."
This perks up the horribs (do they actually understand what Nicora is saying, or use some other sense?) and the do their little 'dance' around her.
"This is ridiculous," Nicora says as she tries to make her way between them and head back to her room. At least it does remind her to use the shadow soon to check on the stats of her royal cargo.
Of course the drones follow her. This actually makes it easier to 'see' where she's going at least, even if it means also having to look at her naked behind. Her tattooed tail gapes and silently hisses at the horribs.
"Yes, I know I have a sexy butt," Nicora teases. She even sashays as if trying to thrill the horribs! Or maybe she finds the whole thing very, well, bizarre. "You should have asked if I wanted to have a parasite inside me."
There's a momentary standoff at the entry to the High Priestess's chambers. All of the horribs focus away from Nicora and onto Blarf, as he wiggles, expands and contracts atop his pile of mulch.. and seems to be 'watching' the horribs as well.
"Dud-a-chum?" one of the drones seems to ask. Is it friendly?
"Blarf, these are your brothers. Play nice. And yes, it is friendly," Nicora says as she continues into her room and over to her bed to sit down. It's been a bit, so she's likely a veritable slime factory again by now.
Blarf senses this, and extends his tentacles to clean Nicora. The horribs move about, investigating the room and climbing the walls. With a bit of concentration, Nicora is able to filter out the visions from the horribs.. or focus on just the ones she wants.
Nicora helps Blarf stick one of his suction tubes into her, well, she has to admit it, gaping Inala's gate. If she could see it, she highly suspects she could give a rhian mare a run for her money on how wide an object could be inserted. Bleh. So, while Blarf works, Nicora closes her eyes and leans back so she can focus on the shadow ... so she can probe herself slowly inside to find the 'walnut' those nasty bugs stuffed in her.
The egg seems to be taking up most of the space, but there is still a lot of 'goo' making up the rest. It seems to have adhered successfully to the top of the womb.. and there are signs of increased bloodflow to that region.
Nicora probes and feels around it with the shadow ... and even tentatively gives it a tug to see how well it is 'stuck'.
It doesn't want to move, certainly. It doesn't seem that there's a direct connection yet, other than the blood flow suggesting things are moving in that direction.
"The queen seems fine," Nicora remarks as she withdraws the shadow. She then spreads her legs and says to the horribs, "Examine me if you wish."
Blarf isn't finished with its cleaning, but once it does one of the horribs clambers onto the bed and mounts Nicora. She can barely feel it, aside from the poke as the feeding tube pushes through the cervix. Then her belly feels a bit more bloated. It's nowhere near what Hosheb might do, but then he was feeding six transplanted larvae, not a single egg.
"Hey, I didn't say you could do that," Nicora burbles at the rather forward Horrib. It also, well, hurt when it pushed past the cervix, but not severely. "and you six are not going to be good for keeping my urges under control, are you?" she chuckles.
The horrib clacks its claws. "Did-a-chick?" It retracts the feeding tube.. then curls its tail down to push into Nicora with the fist-sized stinger bulb. It can't go in very far, due to the stinger itself.. but the giant insect can twist it back and forth instead of pushing in and out.
Nicora makes one heck of a face, then squeals! "Careful with that, you might sting me!" the Yodhgorphat says. She also waves for one of the other insects to come over. She seems to have an odd idea, because she opens her mouth to the insect.
The second horrib comes over.. and seems confused. It extends its feeding tube though.
Nicora leans forward slowly, then actually closes her lips around it. She doesn't remember actually tasting it before, and it is liquid, which should eb safe.
The second horrib senses not to just pump its nutrient goo full bore, and waits for the suction to release small amounts. It tastes.. horrible. Acrid and salty and less like blood than rotten half-digested meat.
Nicora on sucks on a small bit before leaning back. "Geh, that is awful. Nasty," she remarks, looking, well ... green? "And I doubt it does much for my breath, but that I at least cannot smell." She sits back and thinks for a moment, "I suppose you want a place to stay here?"
The other four seem to have settled into hanging spots in the ceiling, near to the glowing patches of moss. They seem content to stay right here in Nicora's chambers, despite the tentacled monster and.. yes, with the horrib's eyes Nicora can see Grabbits lurking behind pots and piles of junk.
"I didn't say you could stay in here," Nicora remarks, then spits, trying to clear the taste. "What, are you making sure I do not try to extract the egg if I change my mind? You were threatening me the other night."
"Dud-a-chum!" the nearest one claims. It sounds protective.
"You threatened to sting my neck," Nicora points out. "So, what is going to happen to me when this queen starts to grow?"
There's another sound in the Temple - one low enough that Nicora can still hear it. The horribs become agitated, and retreat to the ceiling (the one that was trying to 'satisfy' Nicora leaves with a loud 'pop' sound).
This causes Nicora to jerk and shudder. She even takes a few breaths, "Wow, okay, that did feel good." The low tone, though, makes her head tilt. She tries to spread out the aura now and look for what made the sound.
It's much clearer this time - clearer than the insects, certainly. A sharp, predatory aura, nearly white. And it's approaching.. searching its way through the halls.
"Grognk," Nicora says, suspecting that is what is coming. Demons like to frequent her chambers, after all; she's the veritable demonic whore.
What arrives certainly resembles Gronegk.. since it is a wild Grok. A big one. Very big.. Nicora could probably ride on it. The other creatures go silent when it enters, the smooth eyeless skull panning around the room. Finally it comes up to Nicora.. and licks her hand.
Okay, this is not what Nicora expected. She draws her hand back slightly, nervous of this dangerous creature. "Are you here to collect me, then?" she asks the creature nervously, given its size betrays that it may be so. She rises from the bed slowly.
The Grok chuffs, then.. curls up at the foot of Nicora's bed.
Nicora blinks. "I guess not? Are you the injured one?" she has to ask, looking a bit confused as she slowly sits back down. "It is safe," she calls up to the insects above her.
The horribs don't seem convinced, until one finally does come down to join Nicora on the bed. Before anything else can happen, however, Sil screams again.
Nicora throws up her hands! "Welcome to Hotel Nicora, why yes, we have bugs!" the Eeee says, exasperated! She rises to her feet again, grabs her walking stick, and goes off to find Fon again!
"It's a Skedat this time, Mistress," Fon reports when Nicora arrives, sans entourage. The insectoid tank in question is nearly two feet across, with a four-foot-long barbed tail. It seems to be hunkered down with its feet all inside the shell.. waiting.
"Skeksis," Nicora grumbles, "They're all coming to look after me now? She makes her way towards the 'tank', then pokes it with her staff. "What do you want?" she asks it.
"Watch others. Not be left out," the bug 'says' to Nicora, although it's really more of.. Wraith-sense. Skekos is related to the Wraith, after all.
"This is fine, my Mother's Sister's are sending guards, that is all," Nicora claims to Fon. To the creature she notes, "These are my servants, leave them be."
The tank-shell rises up a few inches from the ground, and plows forward towards Nicora's chambers. It doesn't swerve, so Fon and Sil have to jump to avoid having their feet run over. "Are we to expect.. more of these?" Sil asks. "I'll have to figure out what to feed them all.."
"Likely, expect things that serve Ephasto as well," Nicora admits, "And remember, they explode." She pauses and grumbles, "I have a very strange life." Back to her chambers she goes. Surrounded by bugs, and one in the oven.
The chibix aren't exactly an issue when they show up, since they are small and can't really do much (plus, in a pinch, they can be eaten). There are eight of them though, that hop and chirp and flap all about. Muffled explosions attest to the attempted arrival of Eeeps. That just leaves.. Rugrhats.
Nicora just rubs her head. "As long as they all don't try to mate with me," she grumbles, clearly frustrated. "What is this, a zoo? I need to find them all chambers elsewhere. It is hard enough keeping this place clean."
Sil arrives.. and stays at the threshold, rather than risk the attention of the protective creatures. "Mistress.. there is a herd of Rugrhats outside. They aren't trying to enter though, just.. sort of.. herd about. There are Eeeps too, but they are keeping high up on the temple gargoyles. Do you have any.. instructions for dealing with them?"
"Can they ... be set up in a corral outside of the hospice and used to help the ill?" Nicora asks afer she has to mull it over. What she thinks is ... this is completely ridiculous. As if being a parasite host wasn't bad enough, now she's a farmer.
"A petting zoo?" Sil asks, looking thoughtful. "Although some of them must be making milk too. And the wool can be used for bedding. I will see to it, Mistress. Are you alright in here with all of these.. animals? It seems crowded."
"Can you prepare ... corrals for these too in the dungeons below. I cannot have this many creatures in my chambers, I would get no sleep," Nicora notes as she rubs the back of her bare, slimy, neck.
"How do I ... get them to move to them?" Sil asks. "They aren't trained are they?"
"I will ask them to move once they are prepared," Nicora notes, "Or ... I could keep them for bed partners." That last bit comes with a crude grin. Fitting in Babel, anyway.
"I will prepare some of the nearby chambers," Sil notes. "Until there are Yodh to fill them, I suppose they could be used to house your pets."
"The Yodh would be my pets too," Nicora notes, grinning wickedly. "The horribs may stay with me if they wish; they have reason to remain and will likely fight if forced to move."
Sil eyes the two biggest 'pets' - the giant Grok and Skedat. "Do you plan on riding the Skedat as some sort of mobile throne?" she asks Nicora.
Nicora makes a burbling laugh. "I had not thought of that, but I could. If I want to represent laziness, I suppose that would be appropriate. But then I might also get fat," she remarks.
"You could do with a bit more substance, Mistress," Sil notes. "You are entirely too thin, for someone so.. often pregnant."
"I do not particularly desire to be fat," Nicora notes.
"As you will, Mistress," Sil says. "I will prepare a chamber for the horribs. The chibix can just.. occupy the Temple as they always have, I suppose. The Grok can do whatever it pleases I think - but I imagine it will have to leave to hunt every so often?"
Nicora nods. "That is likely, yes," she agrees. She looks up at the horribs, then notes, "They may have their own chamber, but I suspect they will stay here often, eh?" She might have been actually asking the disgusting bugs.
Five of the horribs actually drop to the floor and follow Sil (who moves briskly as if they're chasing her) while one remains in the room. The same goes for the chibix, with all but one of them flying off. The Grok makes a concession of standing guard out in the hall, while the Skedat.. sits there impersonating furniture. Although if it raised and arched its tail properly, it could serve as a rather low-to-the-ground chair, if someone were to sit cross legged. Having one horrib stick around also has the benefit of giving Nicora an extra pair of eyes.
"I have a menagerie," the Yodhgorphat remarks dryly. "I hope Mother Gorphat does not disprove."
"Imagine riding around on Sunala's animal," a familiar voice whispers to Nicora from behind. The horrib hasn't noticed Gronegk yet, but stealth is the domain of the Tracker. The demon noses Nicora's shoulder. "Greve cannot keep a secret. He is as blabber-mouthed as his mistress is scatter-brained."
"Hello Gronegk," Nicora remarks as she leans back a bit against the nosing demon. She doesn't bother looking since she is blind anyway. "Was there concern about my safety and so these were sent?"
"That may be the excuse given," the demon claims, "but really it is a matter of balance. Nobody wanted Hosheb to have more of your favor than he already does. This way, you are reminded of the rest of us."
Nicora burbles a laugh. "I am Yodhgorphat. Gorphat and her creatures come first," the Yodh claims as she scratches at her bare skin lightly. And since Grognek is here, she feels her gut in case she might be due for, well, another episode of painful stretching.
"You should not fear birthing another monster so soon after giving Greve one of his own," Gronegk says, and starts licking Nicora.
"Then why are you here?" Nicora has to ask the other demon. She doesn't want to admit it, but a tongue on the bare flesh tends to feel particularly nice.
"To make love to you of course," Gronegk says. "I will be the next to 'father' one of your special creatures, although that will not happen today."
"It takes something sizable for me to even feel it anymore," Nicora admits, sounding frustrated by that fact, frankly. Still, she rolls herself forward and shifts a bit, putting herself on her hands and knees.
Gronegk takes his time, working up to the main event with his tongue. He is more sensual, compared to the other demons, after all. This awareness also means he's capable of teasing out Nicora's desire all the more, which can feel a bit cruel as well.
Nicora's head is down on her bed and her butt, well, raised up quite nicely. Instead of cries of pain, this time she makes cooing and softer sounds. And ... how do her toes and fingers wiggle. Just the way he licks gets the right places indeed and she feels, well, all the more swollen and glowing in certain areas. "If I don't find release with him this will be agony," she worries for a brief moment.
Finally the demon mounts Nicora. And again takes his time, as he does manage to fill her, having the advantage of a muscular member that can flex and expand as needed. Nicora is able to watch it all via the horrib, which certainly puts a new perspective onto it. It really is pretty messy.
And why does that actually excite her all the more? It's like the nastier and the gooyer, the more she gets aroused. She skin practically glistens like a slug, and there's a sizable puddle beneath her. She's crying out, cooing, muttering, and even squeaking as little waves of actual enjoyment flow, and they're growing!
Gronegk is a hunter.. and part of that is an instinct to play with his prey. In this case, he plays with Nicora, seeing how far he can bring her to the brink before backing off.. then surprising her with a rush to the finish line.
Nicora ... complains a lot. At one point she's actually pleading with the demon to take her completely. She's promising the demon anything he wants if he just lets her experience Inala's blessing. Nevermind she's saying this in Gorphat's temple, but she's not quite thinking about that at this point. When the finish comes, her entire body is a ripple of sensation and her cries are a horrific array of gurgling, hacking, and whining!
"Am I not your best lover among the Seven?" Gronegk asks, his tooth-filled muzzle next to Nicora's ear.
"You seem to be right now," Nicora burbles as one of her nostrils blows a bubble in the slime pool beneath her.
"I will return each day, until you are ripe again," Gronegk promises. "My energy is not so limited as the others, as Rephath is still worshipped by many."
"If you do, my room will be a veritable slime pit; you inspire its ... creation," Nicora claims as she rises up, leaving strings of goo in her wake.
Blarf takes over, tentacles going for the goo. Gronegk finds it amusing. "I wonder what mine will be like," he ponders, then gives Nicora a lick on the cheek before slinking away into the shadows from whence he appeared.
"A giant shell with teeth, most likely," Nicora remarks as she flops backwards now in the greenish slime that Blarf works on cleaning up. "Ahh. That felt ... it is good to have some reprieve from the need," she admits to the room.
"You can do without it, I'm sure," Gorphat whispers into Nicora's mind. "But alas, it is not exactly a challenge.. merely a necessary balance to Inala's meddling."
"Do without which? The reprieve? To be forever denied the ecstasy of that relief would be an unbearable fate," Nicora claims as she rests her palms on her loose-skinned stomach. "I m sorry, Mother, but it is part of being female that makes many things worth the harder parts."
"If you could convince Inala to remove her blessing, I would remove my counter-blessing," Gorphat claims. "You would then be as a normal woman, taking normal pleasure and having normal desire."
"I could, yes ... but I do find contentment in your blessing too, Mother. It is a reminder of your touch ever upon me. The frustration and need ... I have found that whenever you bless me, I just feel even closer to you. I do not wish to lose what," Nicora admits.
what -> that
"I want your blessings," Nicora finally admits to Gorphat, and herself.
Of course, that's when one of Gorphat's blessings kicks in, making her sore and feeling tight and clenched despite the supposed looseness. Then again, repeated cramping like this could begin to counter the stretching.
Nicora's jaw clenches tight and she doubles up for a few minutes. Several deep breaths and she claims, "I want to endure more than any of your Daughters before, Mother. I want to be the ultimate Yodhgorphat. The epitome of endurance and revulsion."
"An inspiration to others?" Gorphat asks, sounding close, despite only her voice being present. "You must be a symbol, a beacon. Others must follow you, because I will not have you forever."
"You will not? I suppose not. But, you have me now and that is what matters," Nicora claims.
"And you hold my fate in your hands," Gorphat notes. "Do not forget that."
"I have not. I have thought of a new test for new Yodh. If this new hive of horribs are to be born instead of eating their way out, then a new Yodh should submit to the queen and birth her a new drone," Nicora suggests. "If you approve, that is."
"An intriguing notion," Gorphat notes. "It could, at the very least, replace the Third Station. You are likely the last one to ever follow the Path of Affliction to its completion. For others, those Stations which provide lessons may be all that are used."
"/Indeed. The horrib queen is slowly starting to bind to my body, Mother," Nicora notes and even rubs her flopp-skinned gut affectionately. "Soon it will be a part of me." She then sighs and notes, and soon after it is born, I must undertake the /other/ path and bring an end to the General."
"It is more than an ending," Gorphat notes. "It is a new beginning. The city must shed its past and fight for a new future. It is a Challenge that all will undertake."
"And one I may not survive. But it must be done," Nicora notes as she rolls a bit to her side. "But until then I will enjoy your presence and love, Mother. And return it in kind."
"I will tolerate the animals, because they are offerings to you as a Yodhgorphat, and not as the Shrine Maiden," Gorphat notes. "The Rugrhats stay outside though."
"I requested that they be corralled at the hospice and used to help the sick," Nicora notes, "They will not be inside the temple."
"Good," Gorphat notes. "That will remain the case, until Inala allows Horribs to roost in her temple."
"I somehow doubt that will happen," Nicora burbles a laugh. "You two are very competitive."
"She is the vain one, not I," Gorphat claims. "You may use one of the Horribs to help you to see."
"So you do not intend to allow me to see normally again?" Nicora asks, sounding a bit worried.
"My intent is for you to discover your other senses," Gorphat claims. "The Horrib counts as such. Learn to control it."
"Yes, Mother," Nicora signs softly.
"Have you not learned to see in new ways?" Gorphat asks. "Useful ways?"
"Yes, I have. But I do miss the old ways; I still feel crippled," Nicora admits, "But I will always do as you wish of me."
"You will learn to go beyond your body," Gorphat promises. "That is all I ask of anyone."
"Ah, one of my servants tells me I should gain more weight," Nicora remarks as she sits up a bit now that the cramping has eased some. "Do you prefer your Daughters thin or ... thick?"
"The High Priestess has traditionally been rotund," Gorphat notes. "However she had Yodh to tend to her and carry out the functions of the Temple and the Sisterhood. You do not have that luxury. And a lean Yodhgorphat is more sympathetic to the plight of the starving masses."
"I would have attempted to be more rotund if that is your wish, but if I am fine, then I will not try," Nicora agrees and nods her head once. "I rather imagine I am unique in terms of your former High Priestesses."
"I did not have to share them," Gorphat says. "But also they were not as close to me. There were some who barely spoke to me at all."
"And I am occasionally your lover," Nicora notes, sounding rather proud about that, too.
"That too is something unique," Gorphat notes. "Few have ever come to me in that way. And none more than once."
"And I hope to continue to be that for you," Nicora claims as she lies back down and stretches. She feels rather tired from the visit fro Grongnek now and her eyes want to close.
"You will be," Gorphat promises, and her presence seems to fade.
And as Nicora's eyes close, her stuffed up nose picks up an actual scent; it's acrid. It may be she is actually smelling the horrib scent, but soon she yawns and sleep starts to overtake her mind. The bat is crazy, so very crazy. She somehow enjoys this.