On returning to the hideout, Alptraum was ambushed by Tulani. "It's time for dance practice," she proclaimed, and cajoled Alptraum into becoming Jingle the Savanite. Then came the adornment with bells before any actual dancing. Tulani began with the not-silent dance, which was still slow and elegant.
Once she got into the rhythm, Jingle's mind wandered slightly.. and ended up someplace (and someone) else completely. Alptraum found herself in her default female form, naked and alone in a cave lit by some seams of rainbow crystal and sporting odd-looking stalactites and stalagmites. She'd never been here before!
Alptraum blinks. "Bluh?" she asks the space ever so intelligently. "Where is this place? Why am I even here...?" Her ears splay out and she makes one mighty frown.
In reply, the bat feels a familiar divine presence (though a bit less powerful than some) and Zakaro appears before her. "Good, you're here," the goddess says, smiling. "Ready to get a bit creative?"
Alptraum peers. "Where exactly is here?" she demands of the Goddess. "And why? What do you mean by ... creative? That sounds ominous when you say it..."
"It's just another cave in my mountain, part of my territory," Zakaro says. "And by creative I mean trying to apply some of the things you've learned.. and perhaps push a bit beyond what you've already been doing with your shadow."
"You have a lot of caves, then. And those crystals help, I imagine," Alptraum comments and gestures towards one above. "Now ... did you have something specific you wanted me to try in here, then? Summon people? Change the location...?
"I want you to create a shield," Zakaro says, and points to Alptraum's left arm. "Right there."
"Well, that should be easy-ish. I've made shields before using the shadow," Alptruam says. Which is true! Just ... not very often. So, she holds out her left arm a but from her body and concentrates, trying to form a sheet of 'solid' shadow against it, and curving back a bit towards here A bit like a furled wing, really.
Once it's formed, Zakaro feels the front of it. "Can you make it sticky?" she asks.
"Sticky ... why?" Alptraum asks. She shudders, but thinks of how sticky so many of Gorphat's things are, and tries to see if she can influence that texture upon the outside of the shield.
Zakaro feels it again, then reaches behind a nearby stalagmite and produces a sword. It's not a Babelite style, as the blade is straight. It's also made of something Alptraum can't quite identify, as it looks both glassy and metallic. "One of my treasures," Zakaro says. "I believe it used to be one of Rephath's treasures, actually. The Eternal Blade, named because the edge never dulls." She demonstrates by using it slice off the tip of a hanging stalagtite."
"Yikes! And if that is Rephath's, shouldn't it be returned?" Alptraum asks as she backs up a bit!
"I'm sure I've got it for a reason," Zakaro claims. "Now raise your shield. I promise not to cut you."
"That's not the same as promising not to injure me," Alptraum points out, warily. Still, she raises her shield and hides behind it!
Zakaro carefully pokes it with the sword a few times. "Hmm, the stickiness isn't working." After that she tries to slice off a bit of the top of the shield, but it takes a bit of effort, and Alptraum can feel it almost dragging her arm as well. "Alright, since your shadow isn't actual matter it doesn't cut easily. But it could be improved."
Alptraum tries to make claw-like hooked spikes on it to catch and ensnare the blade while being poked at! "Realize it is part of me," she sort of squeaks at the pulling.
The blade is withdrawn with a bit of effort. "Not always," Zakaro says. "You haven't been using real shadow manipulation much. What the mages call Shadow Magic. There are certain aspects of shadow that you can try to incorporate still. I can think of two things to try."
"Well, I'm not a mage," Alptraum points out. "I treat it as more of an extension of myself, than an abstract thing. Anyway, what do you want me to try, then?"
Zakaro grins. "Well, it may be a bit complicated and may not work, but.. you've been able to extend your shadow between real shadows via some sort of shadow realm. I want you to put a real shadow over your shield, and try to turn it into a shadow portal into that realm. That way, any weapon would just pass through the shield into that space."
"Uh," Alptraum says, staring dumbly. "I ... am not sure how to do that," she admits. She looks around for an actual shadow in the room to work from ... then realizes she can use her wings to make one. So, she spreads one out to put her shield in shadow, then tries to focus and imagine the shadow ... sticking to her shield. Like draping a towel over it, or something.
"It isn't something you haven't done before, using the shadow and your dagger," Zakaro claims. "That is also a different realm that you can access." After more concentration, Alptraum can begin to feel the shadow cast onto her shield. Which means she should be able to grab it.
"The dagger is different, and it comes with a built-in helper," Alptraum points out, ears splayed out as she focuses, trying to grab onto the shadow. Which is rather like trying to grab onto water.
It's easier to hold onto the edges of it, Alptraum finds. She can curl her own shadow over them, like a frame.
So after a bit of fiddling, the shield has sort of a curved-out lip all around the outer edge to try and catch hold of the darkness. Then ... she slowly draws her wing back to see what happens.
The shadow looks slightly different to her than her own shadow. While both are black, the one on the shield looks more like a hole because of the frame.
"That just looks weird," Alptraum ends up admitting. "Anyway, I think it worked, sorta. If you want to try poking it?"
"Can you extend some of your shadow into it from the back, just to make sure it's acting like a portal?" Zakaro says, as she picks the bit of stalactite that got sliced off.
"I'm not sure if that will tell me anything since I didn't feel much last time, but I can try," Alptraum agrees aAnd tries to do just that, to see if any shadow can come through the back 'side' of the real shadow.
It takes some effort, but a point at the center of the shield goes somewhere without poking through the front.
"Well, I think it worked. It's like sticking a foot in a sock," Alptraum claims.
"I wouldn't know what that's like," Zakaro claims, then winds up her arm and pitches the hunk of mineral right at Alptraum's shield! It actually penetrates a bit before falling to the ground, but Alptraum didn't feel any impact. And it looks like the bit that actually penetrated into the shadow is now gone from rest of the rock, leaving a slightly curved slice.
"Aaaand that's why I worry about sticking things in there!" Alptraum squeaks out, wide-eyed as she stares at the half-eaten rock. "Imagine if someone's arm went in!"
"They'd be trying to punch a shield?" Zakaro asks. "I consider this a success, and I'm glad I didn't use the sword. It confirms something though: nothing is sharper than a shadow's edge."
"Do you think it would have damaged the sword? And yes, some people punch shields. Really big people do that to really small people, like me," Alptraum points out, "Because it'll usually knock us down."
"Well, then it's their fault for being stupid enough to punch an obviously magic surface," Zakaro claims. "Now, have you actually used the Reaper to cut anything?"
"Yes, I used it on servants of the Royal mages when I hunted them down and recovered stolen artifacts," Alptraum answers. "Why do you ask?"
"Can you manifest it for me?" Zakaro asks, making a cutesy face while she does so.
"Yes, that's easy to do," Alptraum agrees. She uses her free hand, the right to draw out and make shape the Reaper-weapon, the odd mutation of Rephath's weapon she ... loaned him.
Once formed, it doesn't feel like a part of her. It's more like when she draws someone out of the dagger into a separate shadow-body. The skeletal-looking spine grows, then the dragon-skull at the top and finally the shadow blade from the mouth and the flaming axe-blade on the other side of the skull.
"Let's see how it does purely as a weapon," Zakaro says, and points to a nearby stalagmite rising from the floor. "Slice that in half."
Alptraum has to dismiss the shield to properly wield the weapon with both hands. Her face scrunches up and she pokes her tongue out from the left side of her mouth, then takes a mighty swing! at the stalagmite.
The blade passes through the stone without any resistance. Which means Alptraum now has to keep from losing her balance as she twists around.
"Yeee!" goes Alptraum as she spins around a few times before regaining her composure!
The stalagmite looks unaffected, until the slight angle of the slice makes the top slowly slide off, leaving a mirror-smooth surface behind.
"Ouch." Alptraum has to admit, "I didn't even feel it make contact."
"Hmm, things seem to need a little reminder that they've been cut it seems," Zakaro says. As she watches Alptraum recover from the swing, she also notes, "Maybe a smaller weapon would be best."
"Well, not over-swinging it would be best. I had expected some resistance," Alptraum claims.
"Maybe you could make a sword?" Zakaro suggests. "A shadow blade has no mass, and a two-dimensional edge."
"As a woman I seem to lack my sword," Alptraum deadpans. She tries to put away the odd weapon and in its stead make a sort of shadow-copy of the shape of the sword Zakaro holds."
What she gets is something close, but still with a skull and a draconic eyeball, along with a skeletal grip. The blade is fairly straight though. It doesn't feel like a part of her, so maybe the skull and eye are part of the reason for that.
Alptraum goes to find another stalagmite. And this time when she swings, she doesn't go overboard...
It slices though cleanly, like neither the blade or the rock are actually there.
Alptraum kicks the stalagmite just to be sure it actually cut it like the Reaper did. Hopefully the top comes off and she doesn't break her foot.
Once it realizes it's been cut, the top slides off and leaves a mirror-like surface behind. "You should be able manage a shield while using that," Zakaro says. "See if you can make one that's not part of you, like you did the weapons."
"Are you trying to turn me into a fighter?" Alptraum has to ask. Anyway, it's back to trying to make a shield, but this time outlined in bones and such instead of being shaped like a bat wing. Maybe the bone motif helps?
It's a bit like summoning a spirit from the dagger. What she gets is a bone-backed and framed dragon scale, with a large dragon eye at the center. Growing out from the surface of the scale are bits of shadow-flame and shadow-edges, oriented in random directions like broken glass.
"I'm seeing what you can do," Zakaro claims.
The back of the shield has bony fingers instead of straps. They flex and spread and clench, as if waiting for something to grab onto.
Alptraum tries to let the shield grab onto her arm ... and not freak out and run screaming at the same time. "This is really disturbing. Is my mind really like ... this?" she has to wonder at the freakiness of the shaped shield.
"It may be something inherent in the shadow spirit," Zakaro suggests. Then she starts walking away, tapping stalagmites as she goes. The touched rocks begin to rattle and shake until they break off at their bases, and begin to roll towards each other. "Time for a proper test," the goddess says, as the former stalagmites start to stick together to form a rough sort of body, forming legs, a torso and arms that all still look like cones. Then one of the arms reaches up and snaps a stalactite off of the ceiling, wielding like a club (despite its other arm already resembling one). It lacks any sort of head though.
"Well, they often claim warriors are a stony bunch?" Alptruam jokes a bit as she watches this. She approaches slowly, pondering. Well, rather thinking back on old dances and such, which probably came from fighting ages in the past. Since she knows a few old gypsy dances and such, she figures she'll use those to add some fluidity to movement instead of just whacking at things.
The golem is perfectly fine with just whacking at things, so long as that thing is Alptraum. It swings down with its club towards the Eeee woman.
"Yike!" goes Alptraum! She hadn't expected it to move too! So soon she's into pirouetting away from it, then side-gliding back towards it to make a cut at one of its arms!
Her blade slices into it, but it doesn't strike high-enough to slice all the way through. The golem quickly swings it's club back at Alptraum though. It may be made of minerals but it isn't slow.
Good thing Alptraum is flexible because she bends nearly double to dodge that swing! And then proceeds to try and grab that arm with one of her feet, so she can use its momentum to move her around as she tries to take another strike!
Alptraum's foot gets a grip, but this leads to her being swung around towards a wall! At the last moment, bony appendages unfold from the back of the shield and reach past the bat to dig their talons into the stone and absorb the shock to spare Alptraum from the impact.
"Dagh!" Alptraum complains! She's no warrior! Has never had any real training in it other than bar brawls and stupid things from childhood. She releases her feet to let the shield stop her ... and hopefully send the golem stumbling now that it lost weight!
The weight of one Eeee girl is apparently not much compared to the stone golem. It does continue to twist, but this brings the club swinging by as well. It hits the shield and Alptraum feels the impact in her arm, but it isn't as much as it could be without the odd limbs bracing it. Gravel flies away as the club is cut and damaged by the sharp bits of shadow on the surface of the shield.
Alptraum grunts and drops down low, and makes a cutting sweep towards its knees! Her arm is tingling from that impact; if it had actually hit her, bones would have been broken!
"A shield is also a weapon," Zakaro says from the other side of the cave. "Nothing you bring to battle is purely offensive or defensive."
"Easy for you to say!" Alptraum growls as she tries to take it out at its knees.
The shield retracts its limbs into its back and edges when Alptraum moves. The knees are thin enough that she can get in close enough to make a clean slice through the left one, causing the Golem to fall backwards and let go of its club. It hits the ground.. and then gets up again inverted, with its former arms now being legs. The intact right arm now picks up the club again.
Alptraum moves away from the creature and circles, trying to stay on its left to make strikes hard for it to do. She's also having all sorts of unpleasant flashbacks to Sylvania, when the tribe was attacked by far too many horrors over the years. Enough that she's growling and speaking in Sylvanian now without even realizing it. This time she tries to use the shield to 'catch' the club when it comes and use it to redirect its momentum before she makes any attempt to sword strike.
The shield seems to know what she wants. The limbs burst out to brace it for the blow, which shears off more of the club. The limbs on one side move in time with Alptraum, pushing the club in a direction that diverts the golem's momentum at a downward angle that leaves the right side open.
And Alptraum uses some of the force on the shield to bolster her own speed and strength, using it to spin herself around and try to cleave its' right side.
She manages to slices down through the creatures 'hip', causing it to fall again. With two limbs gone, it isn't getting back up again.
Alptraum doesn't give it time to recover. This time she tries to use the shield to pin down the creature by slamming into it with its edge, then following that up with an attempt to use the sword to remove the remaining two limbs.
The golem can't do more than flail as the shield lets go of Alptraum's arm and uses its other limbs to secure itself to the floor on either side of the stone monster to keep it in place. Dealing with the limbs is easy at the point, as Alptraum slices them off at the shoulder and hip.
And she does just that, while yelling at Zakaro in Sylvanian, "Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Calm down, I'm trying to prepare you," Zakaro replies in the same language. "Your ultimate foe is the General. She is strengthened by multiple black hearts and living armor. Those hearts came from your shadow, so it is not beyond reason to think that they might convey some resistance to your attacks as well. You need to be a match for her."
"She was raised as a warrior, I was not. I don't expect I could stand against her in anything that remotely resembles a fair, or ordinary fight," Alptraum admits, and sighs, as she switches back to Babelite now that she realizes she slipped a bit. "And if they came from my shadow, at close range I might be able to take control of them and tear her apart from the inside."
"Then you need to survive long enough to get that close," Zakaro says. "That is why you need to master your shadow control. You need to be able to blind and deafen all around you with darkness. To mute your own sounds and form to be something that eyes slide past. To cast mirages and decoys. This is what Shadow Magic does. Your own Countess started to train you in such, and I will complete that training."
"I never figured you for a fighter," Alptraum admits as she retrieves his 'shield' and moves away from the remains of the golem.
"I am about power," Zakaro says. "And you will be much more powerful when you go to face the General. You will be our Sabaoth, and carry the power of the Sisters with you."
"That terrifies me, truth be told. I've never wanted power, or to be powerful. It's useful, and allows me to help others ... but power for its own sake just holds no allure for me," Alptraum admits. "I don't want to be corrupted any worse than I already am. The world doesn't need another monster."
"You won't be holding that power indefinitely," Zakaro promises. "Our power is not so great as you might think. But it is a conduit that will aid you. You won't end up like Dronnel did."
"See, I don't want to abandon you, either. I'm more worried about myself, and what I might become, I guess," Alptraum says and shrugs some. "But there's no one else better suited to have it other than the Avenger. Probably because neither of us desire it, and thus are less likely to abuse it."
"Dronnel had it too long, but it isn't what corrupted him," Zakaro explains. "It was the mists, where he drove Diphath's forces to."
"Our power provides a conduit, but Diphath was also part of that, and was able to inject a bit of herself through it," the goddess goes on. "The General is not Diphath."
"And Amenlichli working her way into his mind," Alptraum says. "Hopefully some day she'll just be a memory too."
"The General fights against her as well," Zakaro says. "Don't forget that."
"I know. If things were different, we might almost be allies," Alptraum says and nods a bit. One ear skews to the side some. "But her focus to try and take Babel makes being allies impossible."
"She's part of the Old Babel," Zakaro says. "It's programmed into her."
"I know. Pity," Alptraum says and hefts up her sword and shield again. "I suppose we should do some more practicing, then."
"Well, you aren't going to fight her naked," Zakaro says. "I think you should see what sort of armor you can summon up."
"I don't want anything cumbersome; I favor moving fast over bulky," Alptraum claims. She sighs and shakes her head a bit. To practice, she dismisses the shield for now. Then it's just shadow over the body, and trying to segment it like a short of chitinous exoskeleton, smooth and contoured for now. No spiky bits to get caught, or grabbed.
Zakaro taps her lips, and notes, "Going for passive armor then? Do you feel when it's hit?"
"Depends on how hard of an impact. Also, if they're using iron or not," Alptraum explains as she whacks her own arm on a stalagmite a couple times to test how much she can feel through the 'armor' and how much it gives currently.
At the moment, there's some natural give to lessen the impact, but Alptraum can certainly feel it. Not painful, more like feeling something through a thick callous of skin.
Alptraum hmms. She tries 'ridging' the surface to make the areas that don't need to flex a bit more rigid; aiming for trying to make it more chitinous in stiffness.
It ends up resembling her right forearm a bit after some effort, with it's odd melted, overlapping plates sort of look.
Alptraum of course tests the resilience again.
It's stiffer, but that means she feels the impact more.. and there's a slight 'ringing' feel as well.
Alptraum blehs. So, she thickens it a bit more and tries to layer a softer layer underneath the harder outer to act as a buffer.
The makes things a bit bulkier, but it does absorb the impact better and lessen the sensation some. "You really want to pick a fight with that rock," Zakaro observes.
"I'm testing impact, thank you," Alptraum sighs at Zakaro. "It lets me judge how well it deadens strikes on its surface. Would you rather I hit you?"
"Well, I'm softer than a rock," Zakaro claims, but then she has that sword back in her hands. "Ready for poking?"
"I prefer a different kind of poking," Alptraum claims, "But that will have to do."
"Just stand still and I'll be gentle," Zakaro promises, and takes a stab at Alptraum's chest!
The tip of the blade actually penetrates the outer hardened layer, and it burns. There's even smoke! Zakaro pulls it out again, leaving a sword-tip sized hole.
This leaves Alptraum dancing around and cursing like a sailor on shore leave with a particularly bothersome STD. "That's not being gentle!" she complains in a growl.
"It was just the tip," Zakaro claims. "Do you need to concentrate to repair the damage?"
"Yes," Alptraum says once she's done doing laps and cussing. Once she's still, it's focus on trying to close and repair the puncture.
"So, maybe active armor would be better, so that you don't have to think about it," Zakaro suggests. "Of course we can't assume the General doesn't have iron infused weapons. Or would those affect her as well?"
"It wouldn't be good for the shadow and such that helps animate her," Alptraum points out, "But it's possible. And what do you mean by active armor?"
"Like your sword and shield," Zakara says. "Those seem to have their own animating spirits separate from you."
Alptraum makes a face. "I'm not sure how to do that. Most of it is, well, instinct," she says. So, she returns to focusing on the 'armor', but with the same sort of sensation of being, well, 'disconnected' like the sword and shield are. Maybe if it's not actively linked it will repair itself?
The armor begins to shift. It looks like it's growing a separate skeleton, just on the outside. And of course there's an ominous eyeball growing out of the center of the chest. But it feels lighter. Actually, Alptraum feels lighter in general.
"I really don't know what's up with the eyeballs," Alptraum has to admit, vaguely creeped out by it.
It also expands to enclose her neck and the back of her head.
There's something weird too about the part cradling her head.
Alptraum, probably soon to regret it, reaches around to feel her neck and the back of her head.
There's a smooth orb back there, suggesting that she (or the armor) now has an eyeball in the back of her head.
It's still growing around Alptraum's head, trying to form a helm and face-plate like a dragon's skull.
Alptraum also checks to see if she still has, well, /hair/. And if the armor is stuck/attached to her head. And then there's the brief panic that it's still growing, and she has to force herself to calm down and let it finish. Then she checks to see if it's basically, well, fused to her body in any way.
She can still feel her hair (it pours out of an array of slits in the back). While the helmet provides some padding, it doesn't feel attached - since Alptraum can feel it pressed against her head. It doesn't cover her ears at all though.
Alptraum realizes how bad that could be. Ears are important! So, the solution to that is to try to encase them like, well, horns.
"So perhaps the shadow has its own spirit, or else one is coming from the dagger," Zakaro suggests. The helm reacts to Alptraum's wish, and horns sprout to protect the ears.
"Hey, secretary, are you messing with the armor?" Alptraum asks Kaira in the dagger. Or tries anyway.
It takes a moment for the dragon to respond. "What? No, what's going on, I can't see."
"Well, come out and look!" Alptraum requests.
The orb that's normally on Alptraum's right wrist is covered by the armor, and it looks like Kaira has to struggle to get past it. "I'm assuming the naked tattooed lady is related to Zakaro in some way?" Kaira asks.
"It is Zakaro," Alptraum answers. "She is oddly normal."
"I'm not sure that makes grammatical sense," Zakaro says.
"Compared to your sisters, you are milquetoast," Alptraum adds.
"Normal normal, or normal for one of the Sisters normal?" Kaira asks. She seems to be squinting a lot as she looks around.
"I grant people power," Zakaro points out. "That precludes a lot of dancing around things and getting right to the point."
"I'll help you be weirder," Alptraum offers.
"What are you wearing, Alptraum?" Kaira asks. "It looks unflattering."
"Armor made from the shadow. I don't even know what it looks like," Alptraum admits. "Unflattering how?"
"It covers up most of your face and looks like it's made out of bones and scales," the ghostly dragon says. "It's even covering your wings now." Indeed, Alptraum can feel it doing just that, like a another set of wings is covering her own.
"So I looked like I skinned a dragon?" Alptraum asks. "That sounds spooky and kind of fun." Now she wants a mirror. Ah well!
So Kaira projects what Alptraum looks like. The armor hides her figure, and it looks a bit like the shield, with dragon-like scales and skeletal supports. But extra skeleton bits, except for the ribcage. There are bones across her belly, and multiple rows across her arms and legs.
The helm has teeth too, which protect the exposed areas of Alptraum's face.
"You're right, that's not very flattering at all," Alptraum admits as she peers at it, turning this way and that. "It doesn't to anything for my chest or hips, or butt ... or ... what am I saying?" she says and sighs out. "Any idea why it has eyes and such, and can act somewhat autonomously"
"It's the shadow being the shadow, maybe?" Kainudy guesses. "It wasn't like this before you were given Rephath's axe."
"Oh, she gave you that?" Zakaro asks.
"Mostly I'm worried I don't have full control of it?" Alptraum points out, then answers Zakaro, "Yes, she did."
"Hmm, a bit premature but you did need it to deal with the Royal Mages I suppose," Zakaro says. "That could be the reason. It hasn't been talking to you has it?"
"No. Usually objects do not talk to me," Alptraum says and gives Zakaro a funny look. "Why would you even suspect it would?"
"It's a divine weapon," Zakaro points out. "I assumed it was made from the spirit of a great fighter. Your dagger talks to you, after all."
"Kaira talks to me. That's a bit different," Alptraum says, "She also hosts tea parties."
"Does she make you wear frilly dresses to them?" Zakaro then asks.
"You do realize I'm a guy, right?" Alptraum asks of Zakaro, in a very female-pitched Eeee voice. Still a bit of denial, it seems.
"So?" Zakaro asks.
"Guys don't normally wear frilly dresses?" Alptraum points out.
"I'll remember that for next time," Kaira says.
"This is Babel," Zakaro points out. "And I imagine a dragon can make people wear whatever she wants them to."
"I'm her boss, not the other way around," Alptraum claims.
"What do you make her wear then?" the goddess asks with a smirk.
"Usually she goes naked," Alptraum says, "Which I prefer. She looks good in nothing but scales."
"Ah, so everyone is naked at these tea parties?" Zakaro asks.
"Usually," Alptraum confesses.
"Sounds like one of Inala's.." Zakaro starts to say, then lunges forward at Alptraum with the sword!
Alptraum tries to dodge!
It feels like a single step, but Alptraum finds herself several body lengths away from where she was.
"Hey, that was useful!" Alptraum cheers! "I guess this is somehow boosting my movement."
Alptraum tries it again to see how far she ends up when she tries to lunge normally in a direction.
Again she travels much farther than anticipated, but it doesn't feel like there was any extra effort involved.
"An exo-skeleton," Zakaro says. "The Tower tried that, but it always ended up killing the soldier. So they just built a better soldier instead."
"There's probably some interaction between the armor, sword and shield as well," the goddess suggests.
"Okay, that will take extra practice to get used to the amplified movements," Alptraum muses as she ponders things and rubs her .. helmet? So, she starts 'dancing' about some, testing to see how much 'normal' movements are amplified.
It takes some practice, but if Alptraum wants to move normally, she just has to think about it. The amplified movement is always on tap, but the cave is too confined a space to test things like flight or real jumping.
"Are Eeee known for their fancy footwork?" Kaira asks. "It looks odd having armored feet that still look like hands, just with bigger talons now."
Which is all good to know. Not knowing could mean over-shooting dangerously. Once she feels comfortable enough with movements in this weird thing, she re-summons the sword and shield to see what happens. "I'm known for my movement, remember where and what I grew up as!" Alptraum points out. Then oddly suddenly has a dread of having a dream of being recruited to be one of the tribe dancers in those weird overly endowed, dreams.
"Well, let's see how you put it to use in combat," Zakaro says, raising her sword. "Attack me!"
Alptraum stretches a few times, then takes up a fighting stance. This time a bit more like she was wielding a dagger; she holds the sword in reverse-grip. That is followed up with several pulls and feints as she closes the gap with Zakaro to attack by sweep-dodging by and sword-striking in passing.
Zakaro leaps backwards away from the swipe, but the sword blade splits into multiple sections connected by a line of shadow, becoming a bladed whip that sweeps and catches the goddess. "Aha, tricks!" Zakaro declares as the blade-whip slashes her stomach. There's no blood or anything though.
"I didn't even plan that, but you were right that the weapons seem to adapt," Alptraum concedes after that bit of surprise. There's more movements like this, quick move-throughs, attempts to slasha nd retreat versus just trying to stay there and endure.
The more dance-like the movements, the more effectively the sword and shield adapt, making sure to block any counter attacks. And that part is important, because fighting Zakaro is like fighting an undead monster that just isn't effected by the damage. The cave takes some damage as well. Beyond the chain-sword attack, the shield can 'grab' with its spidery limbs when contact is made against anything other than a weapon strike, as it grabs onto Zakaro's arm at one point and forces her in line for a stab to the gut.
Alptraum know she's not really a fighter, at least not a traditional one, she her movements are more of a 'sword dancer' kind of style, leaning on some of what she remembers from Naga dances and the line instead.
There are a few instances where it's clear the armor is boosting her strength as well, and when in the dance even her wings can be used for striking (since the armor can 'see' what's behind her when she's twisted or spun around.
Alptraum doesn't know if she can actually fly like this or not, given the additional bulk. But that requires a bigger place to test and experiment with. So, for now it's a lot of move movement practice and attacks all geared around sort of 'strafing' the opponent.
Zakaro is also not a fighter, and lacks Alptraum's grace. But she can certainly take a lot of punishment, and her relic sword is used as a shield as well as a weapon. There are times when she should have landed a blow, but was deflected or dodged. With the reactive way the armor works, it's possible for Alptraum to shield and strike at the same time.
The shield and sword even swap hands on their own to try and counter when Zakaro dodges to one side or the other.
Which was just what Alptraum was thinking of doing at the time. She can use each equally well, so swapping sides is as simple as shrugging to her. It's more useful than when she used to write notes with each word written by the other hand, at least.
"Alright," Zakaro says, lowering her sword. "I'm not sure you're learning anything new from cutting me up. You need a proper fighter to hone yourself against."
"It's helping me hone moving, which is important," Alptraum claims, but does stop. "That was surprisingly useful."
The armor begins to retract on its own, starting with the helm and extremities and flowing into the central eye on the chest before that vanishes as well.
Alptraum ahs! That gives me a better mental image.
"So someone like Koldesh?" Kaira asks. "Or should I provide someone?"
"Koldesh is likely to have seen the General in action," Zakaro suggests.
"Koldesh would probably enjoy kicking the crap out of me. And she fights like an Eeee would, so would be a close General proxy," alptraum concurs.
"Being outdoors would help as well, to mix in the aerial aspects," Zakaro says.
"So I should probably go to their mountain and fight in their training arena," Alptraum offers.
"Or someplace more secluded," Kaira advises. "If the General has spies or other means to watch the Temples it might diminish the surprise factor. I'd ask Koldesh to give a demonstration of armored Eeee combat with another Yodh first."
"Fair. Then arrange private lessons later," Alptraum nods.
"So, are you going to thank me for this lesson?" Zakaro asks Alptraum.
This gives Alptraum some pause. "How do you want to be ... thanked?" she asks warily.
"A verbal thank you will suffice," Zakaro claims. "Oh Great Zakaro, you have my deepest thanks for revealing unto me this power.. or similar."
"That seems ... mm," Alptraum muses. She she sashays up and pulls Zakaro into an actual kiss. One that involves a lot of tongue. When it breaks, she lifts her chin and murmurs to her, "Oh great Zakaro, thank you for your attention, and your gifts of knowledge and encouragement to explore the powers I wield, both in Your name, and in others. You have my adoration." She punctuates that with a nip on that ear.
"Ah, very good!" Zakaro says. "Nobody every tries to be seductively thankful with me!"
Kaira huffs. She never gets thanked like that!
"I'm working up to ravishing you sometime," Alptraum coos, licks inside that ear, then slips back. "I've given you plenty of affection," she comments to Kaira's huff.
"It's not the same," the dragon claims.
"So you don't want me to be affectionate at all. Got it," Alptraum says.
"You know what I mean!" Kaira counters. "You don't thank me like that. Nobody ever does."
"No, I just treat you as a friend, provide you support and link to the real world, and help you with your mission," Alptraum points out. "And you've never shown any interest 'like that'."
"Thank you for all that you do to support me, Alptraum," Kaira says in a serious tone. "Now bend down so I can lick your ear."
Alptraum actually laughs! She's a good sport and actually does bend down. Though she licks Kaira once she's down there.
It's like licking a cloud, as the dragon is still phantasmal. "You have a strange weapon there," Zakaro comments.
"Oh, this is mundane and normal. She's much odder usually," Alptraum claims.
"I leave the oddness to Blakat," Zakaro claims with a wave of her hand. "Ready to return to being in one place?"
"Unless another Goddess decides to grab me, I suppose so!" Alptraum agrees and rises, but not before whispering to Kaira, "I'll make it up to you. You are important to me."
"I'll look forward to it," Kaira says before winking out. Then Zakaro pokes Alptraum in the nose and says, "Boop!" Then it's just Jingle, who has been dancing this whole time and trying to mimic Tulani. "We'll need to do this back-to-back too," the Sphynx says. It's been difficult, since their legs are different and Tulani has wings.
"Easy for you to say, you have back things and weird legs!" Jingle signs over her shoulder with her left hand. It's also a moment of feeling really, well weird as if nothing happened and did at the same time.
"You normally have legs like mine.. but weird feet," Tulani replies as she does a pirouette with her arms raised up and hands touching over her head.
"/Yes, but now I have feet and legs like this, so trying to match you is harder," Jingle signs, then tries to mimic that spin in time without completely colliding or falling over.
"You should be more graceful as a Savanite," Tulani argues. "You're all leg."
"Not a natural one, I'm usually some sort of weird Eeee, and some are very weird," Jingle signs. Still she's trying, and trying to focus on the leg differences and how to move-step them without bouncing, and thus look more like gliding.
"Try focusing on the upper body instead, and let your legs sort themselves out," Tulani advises, and lowers her arms slowly while twisting them back and forth to make the bells jingle.
"So, I'm trying too hard?" Jingle inquires, then instead of worrying so much about her legs, she does focus more up upper body movement, hip, and arm rolling.
"Shoulders, hips, arms," Tulani says. "They are what guide the rest of the movements." She flutters her arms down and strokes her hips and butt, making sure to turn as she does.
So Jingle tries to mimic those upper body movements instead of worrying about her footwork at all. She doesn't have as curvy hips as Tulani does, though.
It helps, since it's easier to follow just those movements of instead of the whole body. And she can do some of them better without wings getting in the way, like some of the arches and single-leg stands. Although she should have paid more attention to the belly-dancing instead of the belly-dancers when she was younger. But the Radovahs didn't use bells in their belly dancing.
It's hard to pay attention to the dance when you're young and hormonal, though! Their movements always tended to encourage the mind to wander to more, ah, horizontal dancing thoughts. But now on she continues to practice, steps, rolls, and arm lifts, and being reminded her forehead and part of her nose has studded gem-piercings in it branding part of her face with Inala's flower. And it's not like she can hide that without a hood to cover it in this form. She's been spending a lot of time as one of Inala's ... though most of the time she enjoys it more than worries about it. Her hips may be thin, but she is getting quite good at making suggestive, presenting, rolls with them in spite of that.
The longer legs do a lot to counter the slender hips, and she's got a decent butt attached to them. To another Savanite, she'd be irresistible! Tulani is starting to move a bit slower now, Jingle notices.
Jingle can also really bend down, slide-spread her legs, and lift that tail too. She remembers how she'd have reacted to that when she was just a guy Eeee. When she rises back up, she now slows too, trying to match Tulani's speed and sync movements.
Because of the wings, Tulani can't move as quickly on the leg sliding bend-overs. She also may be getting tired, as they've been at it for over an hour at least.
"Are you okay?" Jingle signs to Tulani. "You're slowing a bit aaaand ... you just mis-stepped?"
Tulani stands up straight and pushes her hands into the small of her back. "Just starting to stiffen up a bit. I'm built more for flying than dancing apparently. At least not endurance dancing."
"I don't feel stiff yet," Jingle teases, then does a stretching, slow, cartwheel around Tulani in a circle. She grins once back on her feet and even pokes out her pierced (and tip-forked) tongue. (Since Pierce has a split tongue, Jingle seems to as well).
"You're naturally bendy though," Tulani points out. "I can still lick the back of my heel though if I want to! It's just all the hip swaying and swinging that's getting to me."
"So, you want to take a break, then?" Jingle signs and gestures towards one of the pillow piles.
"Yes! But I'm not taking the bells off," Tulani answers, and sits down on the pillows, then lies down. "Ahhhhhh.."
And Jingle slides right into Tulani's lap! Purring, she starts massaging Tulani's shoulders and arms.
"Ooo, is this because you really like me as a dance instructor?" Tulani purrs right back. "I'll have to turn over for you to get my back though.."
Jingle smirks, but she does get up long enough to let Tulani flip over. Then she's right back to straddling the sphynx and starts working on her back, shoulders, and wing joints.
""Given the time, may want to wrap up. I have another young-femtraum one and a surprise one, but not sure there's time for either.
Tulani flexes her claws while Jingle works, and continues to purr. Jingle doesn't get the retractable claws thing though, which probably isn't fair.
Jingle can only really purr or make simple noises, and since her hands are busy she can't sign either! So, she continues to massage, kneading deep, but using her palms to do that to avoid too much claw. It's oddly meditative, and allows the mind to wander while she works. It does remind her just how muscular Tulani is, though. Twice the muscle of any Eeee.
Here at what appears to be the peak of Mt. Gorphat sky is a yellow-white haze and brings down almost unbearable heat. The stench filling the air is heady in its power, smelling of mildew, rotting vegetation, spoiled meat, feces, mixed with a sweet unplaced aroma that makes the mixture all the worse. Bodies lie in pools of what might charitably be called water, though it is more a hue of brown or green or maybe a tinge of yellow. Fur is damp and slicked so as to show putrid skin underneath, riddled with sores, the skin having a moist texture and a look that suggests that of a bruised and ripened banana, crushed so that its insides have burst free of its leathery skin. It's a bit of a departure from massaging Tulani.. but maybe Alptraum needs to learn not to let the mind wander anymore..
A furred once more Nicora finds herself in this horrible place; prior to her descent into the abomination of an Eeee Nicora has become. Rather, she first smells it, and ironically it's probably at least somewhat similar to what Nicora smells like when she's being a Yodhgorphat, truth be told; fetid, putrid, and diseased. She starts gagging and covers her nose as she looks around, wide-eyed and horrified. "Mother Gorphat?" she questions this awful place.
An open cave teases with the promise of reprieve from the blistering heat, and rivulets of water trickle down the mouth, slicking the earth that slides down within, promising a rough time for any who care to make their way back out, if it were not for all the dead bodies along the way that offer purchase for the desperate.
Within minutes, Nicora is already sweating and her fur is slicked down from the humidity and perspiration. The flies are already nipping and biting at her. Itching comes with the biting and sweating, too, making everything that much harder. She struggles along, one hand over her nose, though it isn't helping much. Nor is the fact she's completely naked, and exposed to every bit of awfulness in this place. And down into that cave she starts to go.
Once inside the cave, Alptraum can make out alcoves hewn into the rock walls. Perhaps in mockery of the statues lining the corridors of the Temple, there are bandage-wrapped bodies of female bats resting in each alcove, propped up by poles rammed through their torsos like spits, their heads wrenched back with mouths open as if crying out in agony or ecstasy. Given the nature of the Yodhgorphat, it could well be both. But she also hears a musical voice from deeper within the cave sing, "Enter, Beloved.."
Nicora continues onward, following that voice and scratching herself as she walks. She doesn't notice that in places where she's been scratching the most, the fur has fallen out in clumps, leaving behind sickly green-yellow skin mottled with sores where the flies had been biting. She's too busy staring at the impaled Eeee, and realizing that they really could be 'enjoying' that, given how broken some become. The fly biting doesn't really relent as she continues either, or at least it still feels like biting; particularly on her chest, in two lines of four running down to her lower belly.
Deeper in, a carpet of filth leads to a sullen, squalid pool of fetid matter. On the far side of the pool, a strangely beautiful, hauntingly gaunt apparition lounges on a heap of rotting Zolken pillows, her fur glowing a soft green. Around her, Yodhgorphat gather, fanning her face and tending to her various needs, one feeding occasional tidbits from a platter into her mouth.
Gorphat notices Nicora and smiles. "Welcome home, daughter," she coos.
By the time Nicora reaches the edge of the pool, she's a mess. Fur is gone in huge patches, the skin beneath it looking slimy and sore-covered. Where she thing she was bitten on her chest, welts have formed, causing the tissue to crown upward like lines of nipples, and it's not helped by the ones closest to her actual breasts are swollen more, making them look like smaller breasts under her real ones. And speaking of real ones, they've swollen from possible infection, with the left one about twenty percent larger than the right one for whatever reason. The nipples seem to be leaking either puss, or some sort of slime. Her eyes are badly jaundiced and bloodshot now too. And yet she continues on as if in a trance; she wades into that pool towards the Goddess. In her wake, a line of shed fur floats; each step she takes, more falls away. When her hips sink below the surface of the pool, her vulva begins to burn and itch intensely, the flesh swelling up and distorting into a purplish-bruised-looking lumpy mound.
Still, Gorphat just smiles to her. Neither she nor her attendants offer any help to rapidly deteriorating Nicora as she forces herself forward. Gorphat does make a 'come hither' jester though, if only briefly.
Alptraum continues on, slow and unsteady. By two thirds of the way across, she's completely bald from head to toe; skin a sickly green-yellow with glowing green veins as the diseases of the swamp assault her body. It's also coated with a sheen of what seems like a thin coating of slime-mucus. She's also looking a bit ... bloated. It's not fat, exactly, but more like overly retained water and swollen glands bloating out her entire form unevenly. Her chest has really swollen, the breasts at least three times as big any typical Eeee would be, and they're not perky, but hang down and sway. So to the other lumps, those fly bites now looking even more like a two lines of four misshapen breasts. Her lower belly has also swollen too, distended with stretch marks that should only be on pregnant Eeee. Except .. she's not pregnant at all; her intestines' and such are just that badly inflamed. "Mother Gorphat," she rasps out as if in a trace. Step by strained step.
She eventually makes it to Gorphat's moldering pile of pillows. The goddess reaches to caress Nicora's cheek, causing inflammation of weeping pustules to form in the wake of her fingers. "Nobody comes to me here, in my old sanctum," she says, her voice musical due to her divine aura. "I'm not supposed to be like this anymore."
Alptraum crawls up onto the pillows. She hisses out when something gives-way inside her; and much of her uterus slips out from her swollen nethers, hanging low. It's coated in squirming maggots. And her intestinal swelling also becomes more clear as she has a tail of small worms falling from her backside too, along with a rancid-smelling trail they produce. The touch and inflammation makes her cry out and shiver. "For Babel, no, this is not you anymore. But ... it is the You that I joined and pledged to. It is the You I love," she claims as she tries to crawl in closer to the Goddess. "It is the You I enjoy being with."
"You give me reason enough to be this way then," Gorphat says, and continues to pet Nicora. "My self-creating work of art. Soon everyone will see your true glory as a Yodhgorphat."
Nicora lifts her head to lick and kiss at Gorphat's hand like she were some sort of deranged 'pet'. There isn't a part on her that doesn't itch, ooze, or swell. "Eventually I fear I will be the only one that will see or know this side of you so well," she rasps. "Or be made so beautiful by your hand. Every blessing and trial I cherish, even when they feel unbearable. I do not wish to lose you, and what ... we have together. I miss spending time with you."
"Even here, in my charnal chamber?" Gorphat asks. "Magog might get jealous," she chokes, and gives Nicora a sticky kiss on the forehead. "Is that why you sought me out here?"
"You are my Mother, not Magog," Nicora rasps, then breaks into a coughing fit when she tried to sort of trill after that kiss. "The place is not as important as being with You. I needed to see you, to be with you as one of Yours, so I came to wherever you were." She dips her head down and kiss-licks along Gorphat's chest.
It's bigger than usual, since Gorphat is in her goddess-sized aspect. Nicora can feel the bones beneath her withered skin, which tends to flake off against her lips. She has patches of bald skin, but those still glow green like her fur. There's a rattle to her breath that doesn't come out in her voice at all.
"I hope you will also permit Alptraum to make love to you again, and from time to time," Nicora murmurs, then actually attempts to find one of Gorphat's nipples and suckle upon it, really leaning into this Mother weird mindset the bat is in.
The one she finds is very dry, but it's relaxing to suckle on anyway even if it does seem a bit salt-crusted. "So the Barsunala also still finds me attractive like this, rather than as Gephesa?"
Nicora speaks when she switches to the other one after a bit. "He finds both your forms beautiful," she claims as she does. "And welcomes either in his bed."
"He has a bed?" Gorphat chuckles dryly. "It would have to be my bed, if any."
"Any time you wish him to be in your bed, just ask," Nicora burbles.
"Hmm, I may just do that then," Gorphat says, not at all ominously.
And Nicora goes back to nursing, her raspy purr and Gorphat's wheeze making for an oddly relaxing sort of droning sound. Everything gets fuzzy and indistinct after a bit, and the smells seem to fade (or she got used to them). And then after some blinking it's Jingle that wakes up on top of Tulani. She sits up groggily, yawns, and stretches upward. There's this pause. "Did I just agree to have Alptraum by Gorphat's bed mate...?" she suddenly wonders, feeling her stomach sink. Surely that was just a weird dream.