Zeloosh Market
During Babel's younger days, this would have been a major market plaza. Now, however, the city has left it behind as it grew ever upward, leaving a shadowed and garbage-strewn platform behind. But not abandoned. This is one of the higher (and thus 'better') locations in the Undercity, and is well populated with stalls and hawkers and scavengers. The hanging roads haven't been demolished in this part of the city, so Zeloosh Market is still a major hub, especially when it comes to the rare (and very illicit) forms of trade between those who dwell below and those who dwell above.

This close to Greytown, the Streets Below are still fairly populated - only the really bad off on the lowest levels have evacuated to the havens on Mt. Gorphat and Mt. Blakat. And as one of the hubs of the 'black market' trade it would stay in business no matter what. And where there are criminals, there are spies - and that is what brings Alptraum and his old evil jar to these parts. Tulani gave him a list of markings to follow to find a Yodhbarada. She couldn't give him a location, since that varies on the whim of the particular Yodh staking out the market.

A diamond shape marked in chalk on a fallen archway tells Alptraum that he's getting close. There are several potential hiding holes in this part of the plaza.. and he can already suss-out which ones have a single occupant.

"They're as bad as gypsies. It's like following 'good mark' tags we left each other; the towns with the easiest pickings," Alptraum thinks as he slinks through those gathered, eyes flicking to the path of marks as he makes his way about. Even though he can sense where the person might be, he doesn't make a direct path for that spot. That's too obvious and there are undoubtably people watching; there is some honor among thieves, so to speak.

There are a log of Nagas out today, which makes for some awkward traffic as the serpents tend to favor 'biggest has right of way', or else just run right over one another. Several Garter Naga dangle down from an old pipe, offering directions and information on where to find the 'best' items. There's a noticeable gap in traffic near the entrance of the nearest hidey-hole, and it's even got a mark on it - a circle-in-circle, which should mean it's the door Alptraum wants.

"Snakes. It would have to be squirmy snakes," The occasionally squirmy-gut Eeee thinks as he slinks about, dodging the serpents. Weaving in and out, he makes his way towards that marked entrance. HE slips through, muttering something about too many snakes.

There's a ping from the ceiling, where a small bat hangs upside down, wings wrapped around her (in order to hold her clothes in place, most likely). "By the pricking of my thumbs.. the Barsunala this way comes," the girl chirps. The face poking down from the wings is most definitely Cricket's.

"Indeed, it is your time. I am here to collect you," Alptraum claims as he moves in further, away from the entrance and prying eyes and ears.

"Nuh-uh!" the girl protests. "I've still got two more years!" She drops and flips, landing with one knee down and her arms and wings spread. "Ta-da! What brings you to my office, oh Lord of Shadows?"

"Actually, you have longer than that," Alptraum notes, "One of the many changes I am making." He eyes the girl as she bows; unsure if she's honest or mocking him. "Two things. One, I need this jar of horrors delivered to the Mage's Guild quietly and into the hands of Mage Cyprian," he says as he digs the jar out of a side pack and holds it up. "Behold the organ squeezer, compliments of the Cult of Diphath."

"Oooo," Cricket asks, reaching for the jar. "For the Avenger? Yummy! He's so dark and broody and.. well, not that you aren't, of course!"

"I know I'm nowhere near as impressive or as handsome as him," Alptraum remarks a bit dryly. "It may have something to do with blood magic, something none of the sisters have any dealings with in any recent recorded history. They might have something on record that can decipher its full purpose and meaning."

"Oh.. that's nasty stuff," Cricket agrees, taking the jar with care. "The big Dream Ritual ran on it, for the most part.."

"I know where some of it may originate from and I have to go there soon enough," Alptraum admits and shrugs. "Now, the second reason. I need to know what exactly it is that the Yodhbarada have on a man known as Captain Karada, and I want to bring whatever torment is holds over him to an end."

"Well, now... but he was married into one of the big houses, House Tekkis.. which was prominent enough to be considered a threat by the High Princess. Guess what happened to them when the Boomer hit.. or not, since it's pretty obvious. The Captain had a lot of daughters.. all lost. Tekkis had holdings outside the city though.. which would all go to the legitimate heir.."

"A lot of people died in that; many families. Not a memory I wish to remember," Alptraum notes. "Now I could guess at what you mean about legitimate heir and assume someone must have survived, but please, continue."

"Yes, Lady Jenari's infant son and his caretakers escaped to the Streets Below," Cricket explains. "It was understandable - if the High Princess knew of him, he wouldn't survive for long. Karada is not without his own wealth - which has put towards the maintenance of his airship, in the name of the Yodhrephath. But he would also control whatever the son came into from the mother's side, if he became known. Note that it 'the' son, not his son. So it's a bit complicated. For the time being, we keep the boy safe, and keep the secret that Karada was cuckolded. We aren't sure how he actually feels about the boy."

"And you haven't tried to find out?" Alptraum inquires. "Does the child know? I imagine the child suspects. As one who was raised by others, trust me when I say we we always know if who we are with are the ones who sired us. It's subtle when you're young, but you always suspect."

"He's only seven years old," Cricket notes. "We believe Karada was going to raise him as his own. House Karada was very powerful in the military. And annoying for being hard to corrupt. Tekkis was.. well, they did fill the ranks of the Yodhbarada. So we feel some claim on the boy, by blood. I suppose we can enter negotiations with Karada about it. But you've seen the Temple of Rephath. Hardly a place for raising a child."

Alptraum's eyes narrow. "You will not use a child as a political pawn," he says as the chamber they are in somehow feels darker as something about the thought of children being used as such causes him to instinctively draw on the more draconic aspects of aura. "Children are not for negotiation. Lives are not to be bought, sold, or traded. It may have been done in the past; but it will be done no longer."

Cricket shrinks down a bit. "Think of the boy's welfare though, at least," she squeaks. "Imagine if you had been raised in Babel, by either your father or the Yodhsunala. Assuming you didn't succumb to weakness, or politics. You were sent where you'd be strongest and safest. What if Karada decides to abandon the Yodhrephath in order to raise the boy himself? What if he just becomes a target for Karada's enemies? There is always more than just what is wanted."

Alptraum leans in. "I'm also thinking of what damage could be done to the child," he notes and holds up his hand with two fingers barely apart. "I came this close to turning my back on the world and burning it myself. Do you want to know the rage someone who is raised that way can feel when they uncover the truth? I can tell you. I could show you. Part of me still would love to burn away all the politicians and the power players who toy with others lives."

"We're protecting him from all of that," Cricket claims, a bit weakly. "Babel isn't safe for him. We can.. we can tell Karada where he is. Then it will be up to him to decide if he wants to involve the boy in.. all of this."

Alptraum draws back as the weight of the room seems to lessen a bit. "No. I wouldn't risk that until how he feels about the boy is known. I would not wish the child to be a pawn of the father any more than the pawn of anyone else," he says. "And as much as I would like to believe such doesn't happen, I know it does. Even the power currently boosting Diphath Herself is ... literally an icon of such behavior. The Demo-Queen of Aztepa."

"It would be best, from the perspective of the Yodhbarada, that the Yodhrephath in particular do not learn of the boy," Cricket says. "So.. what would you have us do? Tell Karada the boy is safe, cared for and educated? The child was a newborn when his father last saw him."

"The competition between the Sisterhoods needs to end," Alptraum notes. "I am wondering if I should speak to him first and try to determine if he can be trusted with such. You already said the family is known for not being easily corrupted, but I imagine it did happen from time to time."

"It is more out of a concern that the Yodhrephath may not appreciate their Captain keeping such a secret from them - and whether or not the child presents a weakness or potential control point for Karada," Cricket notes. "They would want to control the situation, by having him in their Temple."

"A fair point and a reasonable one. Though ... some already suspect the Yodhbarada is already trying to do just that," Alptraum points out. "Who do you think asked me to help him?"

"The weak-hearted Mage, who else," Cricket guesses. "Karada is a hard man, who makes hard choices. He isn't going to soften for a wet-eyed wind summoner. Even he will concede that his 'son' is better off in the care of others, outside of Babel."

"Do not insult her," Alptraum warns as the pressure returns like a sledgehammer. "Or do I need to show you real suffering; the kind you feel in your bones, not what you trade on paper and notes under the cover of darkness?"

The girl cowers down and cries. "No! I'm sorry! I won't do it again, I swear!" she whimpers.

Alptraum even lifts his right hand, which is rolling in shadow. "Is this what you also say of me? The weak-hearted Barsunala? The one who is corrupted with the sickness called compassion? Is that what people like her, and like me are to you?" he asks, voice hollow. "Cowards who can change nothing?"

"No," Cricket cries. "It.. it is only a weakness to the Yodhrephath. Even the Yodhblakat have a place for compassion.. even if only as a source of amusement. The Yodhrephath aren't cruel, just.. cold."

"And yet they fear me, the weak-hearted Barsunala," Alptraum says. "The one who has never tried to force them through power to do anything. I have done things to amaze, surprise, to put on a show ... but I have never forced. And right here and now I am making a point; just because I haven't doesn't make me incapable of it. Just because I care and want people to work together doesn't make me weak. I could be a tyrant if I wished to exercise everything I am capable of." And then Alptraum steps back and waves his hand, the shadow dissipating along with the overbearing pressure. "But I won't," he says, his voice softer. "Because that is not the world I want to make. That Air Mage shares that in common with me. She had access to power that could eradicate much ... do you know what she did with it? She gave it up to help Babel; she could have used it for so many other things ... and she wanted to help her people instead. A truly strong person is one who can stay their hand, even whe

Cricket smiles a little. "So.. I suppose it's true that only people who deserve power are the ones who don't seek it? Or was it that nobody who wants power deserves to have it?" she asks.

Alptraum rubs his forehead, upset with himself for using such a sledgehammer approach to make a point. "It is probably more the latter," he says. "Some people have to take a position of power because the alternative is worse. So you seek it out of necessity, not out of want." He also sighs, adding, "I also do not like having to make a point so ... heavy handed."

"It's good that you can, though," Cricket squeaks, still a little shaken. "Babel was ruled with a heavy hand for long time. For a lot of people, it is more comfortable to respond to than.. hope."

"I'm sure plenty joke about me behind my back for my reliance on hope. If Babel cannot change to that, then perhaps I should walk away and let the city burn," Alptraum mutters.

"Nobody talks about you behind your back," Cricket assures. "The power of the Kindly Ones has slipped.. but nobody mocks them. And you are the Barsunala. Everyone knows how Sunala reacts to gossip. Besides, nobody knows anything about you. Before, you were just.. a regular person, showing up to help build a stage.. I don't think anyone remembers that now. Not after what's happened to some of Babel's more notorious sorts."

"The people who fear you are the people that are supposed to fear you, in other words," the Yodhbarada claims. "The others are looking for someone to follow."

"That is a lie. I know the Yodhbarada knows at least some about me; from my last visit and from my own dealings with Barada, Herself," Alptraum points out.

"What the Yodhbarada know isn't the same as what anyone else knows," Cricket points out. "Nobody has paid us for information on you, your past or your family. Just as a nobody has about the avatar of Sunala, or her companion... and some would say her conscience.. Daughter-of-Shadows. The Yodhsunala have lost none of their power, and nobody who plans on dying eventually dares to antagonize them."

"Anyone who betrays Daughter of Shadows would find themselves dying a whole lot sooner, and that will be the most pleasant part of the experience," Alptraum warns. "That is something I assure you I would see to."

"And nobody doubts that," Cricket says. "There is no safer place in Babel.. or perhaps all of Ai.. then the seat next to Sunala's throne. At least now, anyway. The faction that opposed having a living incarnation of death seems to have quieted down, as Sunala's status as the premier Sister continues to rise."

"Do the Yodhbarada have anything that currently belongs to Karada's ... son," Alptraum inquires, "I have thought of a possible alternate solution that risks not revealing the location of the child and thus not risking him ... and to see what the reaction of him would be to see this child."

"Do the Yodhbarada have anything that currently belongs to Karada's ... son," Alptraum inquires, "I have thought of a possible alternate solution that should not risk revealing the location of the child ... and to see what the reaction of him would be to see this child."

"The boy came to us with nothing but his nursemaid and a caretaker," Cricket recalls. "What he has now.. well, certain members of the Tekkis family outside Babel know of him, and secretly supply his needs. There is.. hmm.." The girl looks thoughtful. "Well, an artifact that isn't his, but which we hold onto to. I don't think it would have significance to Karada, however."

"No, but it might allow me to find his mind, and then allow the pair to meet in a dream," Alptraum notes, "It would be a way to judge how he reacts without exposing the child physically."

"You really can do that?" Cricket asks, wide eyed. "I could have something sent, probably. Something personal enough to work, but not likely to be missed immediately."

"Yes, I can do that. I could have you present in the dream too," Alptraum points out. "And once how he reacts from that will make it easier to decide how much you would be comfortable telling him beyond it."

"As I said, I'm not going to force the Yodhbarada to do anything. It has to be their choice how much they tell, and how much they are willing to work with another," he adds.

"If it were anyone else asking.. or suggesting this.." Cricket notes, then smiles. "But Barada really likes you. You're fun. I'll get this jar into the Avengers hands, and get what you need for setting up a dream-meet with Karada and son. I am of course obligated to mention that we may ask you for a favor in return sometime."

"It may not be me," Cricket notes. "And I don't have one ready. There is a lot of stuff you already have to chew through, after all. It may be something simple, or information."

"I do suppose after today you would likely rather never see me again," Alptraum concedes. "I understand the expectation, but realize I will not do any favor that will harm Babel, or anyone close to me."

"A Yodhbarada sees everyone," Cricket claims. "And we would ask for something you would be comfortable doing or sharing. We want to stay on your good side, after all. Me especially!"

Alptraum huffs a bit at that. "I am not proud of my behavior today," he notes. "I should have better control."

"Well, it does make me hopeful for you defeating the general," Cricket says with a grin. "I don't think she can be that scary."

"Even better!" Cricket declares! "Is there anything else you want me to do or look into for you?"

"No. That is it. I am quite sparing in what I ask of the Yodh," Alptraum points out, "Much to their surprise usually."

"Well, we do like to feel involved in things," Cricket claims. "Now that Blakat is getting some attention too, you can bet that Zakaro will want something soon."

"Delightful," Alptraum mutters and rubs his forehead again. "Is there anything you want to ask of me? Few get to ask questions without the whole 'dying' aspect."

"Well..." Cricket says, swinging one foot through the dirt that covers the floor. "Can you impersonate anyone?"

"What does that mean?" Cricket asks. "Is it something you can do to Kindly Ones? I mean.. could impersonate one of them?"

"Just curious," Cricket claims. "I don't know the extent of your abilities. What's 'ken' mean?"

"What does that mean?" Cricket asks, stepping back. "You can eat people? I mean.. whole. Does that even kill them?"

"Yes, whole. No, I don't, and no, I won't," Alptraum says as he rubs his forehead again.

"So.. you can't completely imitate someone then," Cricket notes. "Because you'd have to destroy them to do it."

"Well, if I want all their memories, correct," Alptraum agrees. "Which I do not."

"Not really practical, unless it's someone you're going to kill anyway I suppose," Cricket laments. "And.. you probably wouldn't want their memories anyway."

"Oh, we have our own ways," Cricket says with a grin. "Mostly, people just tell us what we want to know."

"Well, we have to do some of the work," Cricket admits. "Now, for a serious question: what sort of girl does the Avenger like? Do you know if takes long baths?"

"Hey.. he's the Avenger," Cricket notes. "That makes him the coolest mortal guy in Babel."

"I guess I'll just have to hand it to him during business hours then," Cricket says with a sigh.

"Plenty of people?" Alptraum notes. "Cyprian is a very serious and reserved man. He cares and wants to help, but isn't the type looking for quickies, short romance, or trysts."

"What about pats on the head?" Cricket asks, then frowns. "Well, he wouldn't do that to a Yodh I imagine. Oh well, at least I'll get to meet him!"

"Think he'd sign something for me though?" Cricket asks. "I could just present a receipt though for him to sign.." she considers, tapping her chin.

"He would likely sign anything within reason," Alptraum notes, "So no flashing your chest or privates."

"I'd want something that could survive a bath," Cricket sniffs. "And to show off to the others, of course. Trophies count."

"Then why have you never asked for my signature?" Alptraum has to ask. "Too commonplace?"

"Well, you're special," Cricket notes. "You really could sign a body part and have it stick, right?"

"Well, for a while. To make it permanent requires a bit of an assist later," Alptruam notes.

"What would you use as your signature?" Cricket asks, held tilted to the side.

"Well, it would have to be something that the Avenger would recognize," Cricket notes. "So that he knew you had sent me personally.."

Cricket pushes her lips out. "Too bad.. would have been neat for him to consider me your personal Yodhbarada contact," she laments. "Do you want me to be your personal Yodhbarada? I mean.. so people can get in touch with you through me?"

"Given you're the only one I've talked to in years, sure," Alptraum agrees and shrugs his shoulders.

Cricket claps her hands together. "Right! Then.. uh.. you should sign me somehow!"

"One way I could do that wouldn't be terribly proper, though it would be appropriate for Barada," Alptraum remarks.

"Because in most places commenting that something like a piercing in avery private place that represents a secret to share to a select few is not something you do with children," Alptraum points out matter-of-factly.

"Hey, I'm not a child," Cricket claims. "I'm a Yodh. All Yodh are considered adults."

"So?" Cricket says, standing up as tall as she can. "Just make me older then."

"Can I have time to think on how, then?" Alptraum asks. "It has to be appropriate and not offend Barada, after all."

"I'm not odd," Cricket insists. "I'm just.. creative. The Yodhbarada are young and.. vibrant.."

The girl closes her eyes and tilts her head back, as if expecting to be kissed (although she doesn't pucker her lips).

And Alptraum places his right hand over part of her face! And worse, her whole head is then soon engulfed in shadow. A lot more than necessary, but that's because she deserves a little teasing. All he focuses on is her right eye; the iris specifically. The color of it is pushed gently to suppress it, while the night vision aspects of her eye is pulled forward to tint the iris. It is, after all, the reflectiveness of the Eeee eye that does help them at night in addition to echolocation. The result, if he gets it right, ought to be a pale silvery eye.

There's a lot of tension in Cricket's body during the process. She can't feel anything happening, but the shadow itself feels odd. Her aura shows some worry, and a lot of excitement.

Alptraum then ... actually extends the shadow to completely engulf her ... and he proceeds to ken her ... from the inside out. Since she likes weird ... well, she gets the sensation of being licked from the inside out.

Now that is different. Alptraum hasn't done this to a person since learning to see auras, so he can actually observe the sensations it produces in Cricket as it progresses. This actually helps him to not get to overwhelmed by the sensations of the process - it's not quite laying with Inala, but it isn't too far off. It's certainly the most intense thing Cricket has ever experienced.

Alptraum draws the shadow back before he goes too far ... and so that he can breathe a bit to calm /himself down. "There, done," he says after a bit. "You can open your eyes."

"Oooo... hoo-hoo-hoooo" Cricket moans a bit before fluttering her eyes open. Sure enough, her right one seems little more than a pupil in the dim light. "That was like.." she starts to say, then blinks and shakes her head to clear it. "Uh.. what did you change on me?" she asks, feeling around her face and head.

"It's a secret," Alptraum says with a fangy grin. "You don't get to find out until you get to a mirror."

"You can trust in that it is very noticeable," Alptraum further adds. "And you are quite the little pervert."

"Depends. If you were a bit older, I might explore that aspect," Alptraum notes.

"Hey, I'm twelve years old," Cricket claims, standing up straight again. "I've been around."

"I've had a boy," the girl claims. "Five times, in fact. I'm very pretty and clever after all, and boys are easy."

Alptraum laughs lightly. "I'm not, I'm afraid," he notes, then ruffles her head. "Why don't you go figure out what I've changed. We can talk later."

"I'll check on my way to deliver the jar," Cricket promises, then asks, "It's something neat though right, the mark?"

"Weeell," Alptraum admits as he rubs his chin, "It might affect your ability to get another date."

With that warning, Cricket feels around her chest (as if there were anything there in the first place), then her face again. "Are you just teasing me?" she asks, eyes narrowed.

Alptraum smiles. "I think you'll like it," he admits, "But you'll have to figure out what it is..."

"Alright.. I'll trust you!" Cricket says, then looks around. "You have to close your eyes now. You aren't supposed to see me leave."

"As long as you don't see me!" Cricket says. He does sense her leave.. out the doorway, of course. Then she's lost in the crowd.

Alptraum opens his eyes, then rolls them. "Well, at least she takes me a bit more seriously now," he mutters as he now has to make his way out and back into snake-land.

Patient Room, Temple of Gorphat
More of a cell than a room, this stone chamber features drains in the floor and in the stone examination table-slash-altar in the center. There are plenty of the green glow-light bottles to illuminate the place, with a cluster of them hanging right over the table.

A bed of loose straw takes up one corner of the room, along with some buckets and cleaning supplies spread about. A tattered cloth provides a semblance of privacy as well. The room's occupant is using one inverted bucket as a stool, and another as washbasin as he cleans his only pair of clothes. It's the very same room Otto was 'restored' in, so it isn't surprising that the Skreek has made it his home.

Otto finds a rat has suddenly pounced on Otto's back. "I hear yas been all mopey since I left yas," she whispers right into the skreeks ear. "Dat is no good at all. Nope. None. I gonna fix dat," the skreek adds. She fails to mention the noticeable weight she feels in her gut now in this form; but then all female forms feel it, they're smaller after all. It might not show much on Nikky; but boy can she feel it.

The big Skreek turns to look over his shoulder in shock! "Nikky? You're alive! You.. recognize me like dis?"

And Nikky grabs the skreek between his legs and squeezes. "Hard t' not. No many skreeks built like dis," she points out.

Otto stands up with that little cue, and tries to pull Nikky around in front of him!

Nikky giggles like mad as she's pulled around! "Well, I kin tell you missed me!" she croons, tail whipping about to show herself off. "Care t' show me how much?" she asks, brow waggling. She might actually be worse than usual given she's got pregnancy hormones going on right now. They might not be natural children, but boy does her body act like they are. That even might be their influence since they're connected into her actual bloodstream still.

And Otto.. kisses Nikky! At least until he's got her maneuvered onto the table-altar. Then he starts kissing her all over! "I miss you.." he says.

Nikky goes mmmft! She kisses right back, passionately as she gropes the rat all over. When the kissing moves from mouth to all over, she giggles like mad and wiggles her toes! She also flicks her tail and coils it so that it plays with a sensitive part of him! "I always be around here en dere. I be skreeky like dat," she squeals, "An I miss you too."

"I can really feel you now," Otto says. "I'm embarrassed about how.. inexpert.. I was then. I been practicing.." And then he's inside Nikky, and.. well, milking her. Just not into buckets.

Nikky goes mmmft, again! He's so large and yet fits perfectly. Inala's blessing at work, even in Gorphat's temple. "Y'were fine, even then. You meant it when you did it and dat was more den most. An yah, I hear you be servicin' de High Priestess here. I hear she all squishy, oozy, fun!" the crazy rat giggles.

Otto groans. "She nothing like you.. you feel better than anything!" he claims. Grabbing Nikky's ankles, he pushes her legs until her toes are touching her shoulders.. then starts to really thrust.

"She de same person!" Nikky thinks. What she says, though, well, it's a whole lot of cackling and giggling because it just feels so lovely. Rats really know how to get into it ... and each other. She pushes back as much as she can from her position!

Eventually Otto flips Nikky over, so that she's face down on the table with her hind end out over the end. This gives him a bit more 'cushion' so he can be a bit harder in his movements. He still holds on to Nikky's hands though, which means her arms are a bit stretched.

"Rrrrr, yah, jus like dat. I like it when de guy forces me t' take 'im," Nikky croons from her face-down position and her arms far above her head. "Well, de right guy anyway!" she adds as she can now use her thighs against the altar to push back more as Otto really goes at her! And even though she's blessed to be 'universal fit', she can still really bear down when she wants to!

It's a good thing, since Otto is possibly a bit bigger than Orca was.. and Nikky didn't have the blessing for him at first! "I not force.." Otto promises. "I.. stop when you want me to!" He isn't in any way likely to stop soon though.

"If you stop I be very unhappy!" Nikky claims as she bears down hard, "An if you try, I squeeze it off!"

"You can do that?" Otto asks. After all, Nikky is the only Skreek he's been with. To prevent whatever that might be, he speeds up, which makes the slapping noises run into their own echoes.

"Well, no, but get gots ya to keep it up!" Nikky cackles. She shuts up for now, closes her eyes, and focuses just on really enjoying it. It's even better when she's pregnant it seems!

The larvae are certainly excited. Maybe Skreek hormones are like adrenaline to them? The squirming feels good too.. so maybe there's some hormone feedback too. Otto keeps it up until he has to pause and catch his breath.

"Gah, the squirming feels soooooo good!" Nikky thinks in her haze of skreekiness. It feels so good she doesn't even complain when Otto has to stop; she stops with him and just basks in everything. "Oooh, yah, Gorphat, a womb full of horrib larvae is just wonderful," she thinks.

To make things a little easier on himself, Otto picks up Nikky and carries her to the straw bed, so he can lie back and let her be on top - like the first time, when he couldn't move very well.

And so now Nikky is completely in control ... so of course she cackles like mad as she now bobs up and down on the rat. "Y' really should find other skreeks t' spend time with. Dey will like you too. Y' feel great!" she claims.

Otto moans and puts his hands on Nikky's hips, before saying, "Too big.." He also seems a bit hypnotized by the bouncing parts of Nikky. The bouncing also really seems to appeal to the larvae. Must be the shockwaves.

"Bah, dere be skreeks who kin handle ya!" Nikky claims. And boy can the skreek bounce; she rolls like a jelly dessert. "Oooh yah, could get used to dis," she thinks.

The big Skreek can't hold out, and shudders in release - but Nikky has learned a few new tricks, like the one Honey pulled on Pierce to keep him at attention no matter what. It may not be entirely comfortable for Otto in the short term.. but he eventually gets his second wind. The next half hour is spent with him sitting up, giving the best of both worlds as Nikky gets to keep up her bouncing while he gets direct access to all the rest of her with his mouth and hands.

Maybe it is the larvae helping, but his release felt just amazing. So much so that she did make use of all the tricks Honey has shown Pierce to keep the rat going and going. She isn't going to stop until he seems to be having some serious discomfort; the rat knows what she wants and she's getting it! Even the nursing and groping helps in keeping her in that exquisite ratty happy place.

The straw is familiar too. It smells like her 'nest' back on the Shadowdrake even. Especially when she's inevitably rolled around in it, for those times when Otto feels a bit more aggressive and wants to pin her down.. or twist her sideways, or get her on her hands and knees.. and sometimes just her hands since he's got her legs in the air. It's possible that some part of Inala's blessing is imparting to the partner, or things would be very sore by now. After hours of this, Otto finally runs out of energy and collapses.

And Nikky rolls over onto her back and gasps out, relaxing herself and letting poor Otto get some well-deserved sleep. One hand goes to rest on her gut too. "Dere, satisfied now? I know I am. For a few hours anyway. Rats are always ready fer more!" the skreek thinks to herself. It's probably an exaggeration, but that's Nikky!

"I do better t'morrow," Otto promises groggily, and kisses Nikky on the cheek. It's a bit of a dry kiss, but then it's amazing the Skreek still has any moisture left at all. Nikky's gut feels.. bigger too. Not by much, but the contents feel larger.

Nikky sighs and cuddles up with Otto. She should sneak off and shift back, but right now she's going to just cuddle up with the skreek and rest. After all, Gorphat herself instructed she do so! Mostly! Plus she really doesn't want to move right now; her insides are all lovely-squirmy and she just ... wants to enjoy that.