Alptraum wakes up still feeling a little groggy, but based on the snoring the Eeee next to her in bed is down for the count. Cyprian did work himself to exhaustion after all. Of course, this leaves Alptraum to her own devices, quite literally since she has no clothing and her masculine clothes are presumably back in the ritual chamber.
Alptraum rubs her face. "Ugh," she mutters, as she checks over herself. Still solidly female. Concerned, she also tries to gauge how aroused she might be right now. Maybe she needs some way to suppress the urges she has in case Inala intends to keep this as her 'new normal' so to speak.
"SnARKKkkssup," Cyprian snores. Alptraum then hears a light knock on the main door, out in the vestibule. It then opens and Cyprian's pale assistant enters. Alptraum knows this because the adjoining door is still open. The assistant goes straight into the other door though, which is presumably Cyprian's office.
"Well now," Alptraum says as she watches the assistant walk through. "Hey, do you have a robe I can borrow? I'm a bit naked here," she says, bluntly.
The assistant returns at the call, coming as far as the doorway. "Is Mage Cyprian going to be able to keep to his schedule this morning?" the pale Eeee asks. "Where are the clothes you arrived with?"
"I have no idea, but it is unlikely he can keep a schedule; he had a rough morning," Alptraum claims, "As for my clothing, they were the victim of a really nasty trap spell. They don't fit me anymore." Which is ... technically true!
"So you just walked here naked, or where you hidden by a shadow or illusion spell?" the man asks. He then steps into the bedroom, and goes to Cyprian's wardrobe. "How tall are you?" he asks.
Alptraum holds up a hand, saying uselessly, "About this tall." She actually has no idea how to describe her height. A bit more thought and she adds, "About half a head sorter than your boss, and lighter. As for how, everyone else was worn out from the trap so it was a clear path here."
"Is black acceptable?" the man says, pulling out a black under-robe. "He rarely wears this one."
"Common color for me, matches," Alptraum agrees. "I just hope it's not too long." She pauses at that, and shakes the dirty thought that just came to mind. She reaches out to take it and try it on before she says something stupid."
The assistant leaves the room, heading back for the office after handing over the robe. It's a bit loose, and will need some sort of belt. It also pools at the floor a bit.
"Yeah, goodbye to you too," Alptraum mutters as she fights with the robe. She tries to pull it up some, bunch it, and use that as sort of a waist tie.
Still, the shoulders more or less match up. Alptraum may be female, but is still a Sylvanian female. The assistant actually returns though, carrying a footstool and a pair of scissors. "Please stand on the footstool," he requests.
"Are you sure that's okay to do?" Alptraum asks as she gets up onto the stool.
"Mage Cyprian can easily request a new robe from the tailor," the Eeee notes, and starts cutting well above Alptraum's ankle, but below mid-calf. Once the strip is clipped, he folds it over and asks, "Please hold the robe closed for a moment while I tie the sash."
Alptraum holds the robe closed. "You're surprisingly calm. You must deal with odd regularly," she comments as she watches this. Seriously, this guy is far too calm!
"This is just the way I am, I suppose," the assistant notes as he uses the extra cloth as a sash, even tying a bow over Alptraum's hip. "I hope this will suffice," he says, standing back up. Even on the footstool, Alptraum is barely taller. If not for the brown eyes, the man might be mistaken for an albino. But she's seen how some mages have physical quirks.
"I'm a monster, I could eat the building, and I'm not as calm as you," Alptraum deadpans. She reaches up and pats him on the head. "Thank you," she says, "You did a very good job."
"I'll reschedule the mage's appointments for the day," the man says, not quite sure how to react to the pat. "Will you be visiting him regularly?"
"I already have, but ... not so much like this. I don't think this will be that common, sorry," Alptraum says. "It wouldn't help his reputation if I did." She shrugs a little.
"He is apparently a very eligible bachelor due to his celebrity status," the man explains. "Except to his peers. Mind Mages are considered odd, after all." The deadpan manner is also a bit odd.
"He's also creepy. But I'm creepier, so I guess it works," Alptraum says, shrugs a little. "But no, I'm not after him for status. And frankly him being involved with me would make things worse for him."
"Well, miss monster, do you need an escort out, or do you have further business in the tower?" the man asks.
"I should probably check in with the doctor in case she's trying to kill people again," Alptraum claims. "I know where she is."
"Alright, I'll get back to my duties then," the pale Eeee says. "Was your time with Mage Cyprian satisfactory? I ask in case he wants that kept track of."
"He fell asleep, didn't he? I must have done well," Alptraum says, smugly. "So, yes, it was fine. You want to experience it personally?"
"Not particularly," the assistant replies. "Passion is not something I think that I can achieve."
"Then you haven't been with me. So, think about it," Alptraum says, leans over and licks his nose. Then she hops off the stool and walks towards the door. "Why the hell did I say and do that?" she's also wondering.
"I'll make a note in my journal," the man promises, followed by another ripping snore from Cyprian. The hall outside is empty for the moment at least, but Alptraum can hear the tower growing more active.
"Maybe I should dive off the tower and just not open my wings," Alptraum mutters as she gets moving. May as well check in with Trilby briefly; perhaps that nutjob has something that can help keep libido suppressed.
The novices working in the infirmary all look tired, like they've been up all night. They don't recognize Alptraum though. "Yodhsunala!" one gulps, getting pushed forward. "What.. uh.. brings you to our humble infirmary?"
"I have it on my list you're to be collected," Alptraum says, deadpan.
The novice's eyes roll back and she faints. Luckily one of her coworkers is there to catch her. "It must have been all that cake she ate," the other says woefully.
"I'm actually here to see Trilby," Alptraum says as he looks at the fainted worker. She shakes her head a bit. "I'm not here to collect anyone."
"She's through that door!" one of them says, pointing to the door to Trilby's office-laboratory. "She's in a very weird mood though, so.. uh.. be warned?"
"Is she dressed as a pirate and plundering booty?" Alptraum asks as she heads for that door.
"It's been awhile since she came out," the nurse explains. "She's got that Lapi with her too, and he was delirious acting really weird. Don't get within grabbing distance."
"So, a typical day here," Alptraum says, just before rapping her knuckles on the door.
"Who is it?" Trilby demands from the other side.
"Almost Death," Alptraum replies.
The door is unlatched, and a Skeek arm reaches out to grab Alptraum's robe and yank her inside before the door is slammed shut again.
Wah! goes Alptraum as she disappears into the pirate's den! "I have no booty," she's heard to say as she disappears.
"Yes you do, don't deny it!" Trilby accuses. She looks.. disheveled and also like she hasn't gotten any sleep. "Wait.." she says, then pulls open Alptraum's robe to expose her breasts. "Is this from the curse?" she asks.
"Not from the one dealt with earlier. This is Inala messing with me," Alptraum claims. "She's made it so I have to be a woman, and worse, horny as hell."
"Ah, I hadn't detected a gender swapping component of the curse," the bedraggled mouse says. "It took a lot of effort, but I've figured out how to break it."
"The one the spell used?" Alptraum asks, "Or this one?" She gestures at herself. "Either would be good, to be honest. The curse almost broke Cyprian. I had to fix him."
"But he is free of it now?" Trilby says. "And I mean the curse that was released in the ritual. Well, partially released, otherwise things would be much worse."
"He's fine now, and snoring loudly. You may want to check him for damage later, though. I think I fixed it," Alptraum says. "So, how do you fix this one? And how could it have been worse?"
"The effected people need to have sex with a member of the same species," Trilby says. "I'm 75% sure of that. Can you turn into a bunny?"
"Yes," Alptraum says, eyes narrowed. "Several kinds, even."
"We need a doe, before the patient dies," Trilby says. "Just pick a doe. I don't think he'll remember any of it in the state he's in. I've tried surgical solutions.. but they don't work with magical arousal. Oh.. I think the 'worse' result would be everyone doing it until they died, and possibly spreading it as well. I'm still suffering from it myself."
"Any doe? Like one blessed by Gorphat, even?" Alptraum asks, and probably teases some. "She's extremely, uh, hormonal."
"You just have drain him, which should remove the curse," Trilby says. "But Kindly One servants may not be the best for this, I'd rather not get them involved as well. The Lapi has it the worst though, on top of.. well.. being a Lapi."
"Well, to be fair, the doe has to be drained into, to help with her issues," Alptraum notes, "So it kind of meshes with this. But I can pick another."
"Something that won't traumatize him if he becomes lucid," Trilby says. "Please? I don't know how fragile his mind is right now."
Alptraum sighs. "You're all too soft. Fine," she mutters. "Do I have to do this while you watch, though?"
"Umm.. yes. Yes, obviously I have to.. monitor the patient," Trilby says. "And work his restraints. Right now he's tied down to the bed. And no I didn't take advantage. He's a patient."
"You just used him in an attempt to cure him," Alptraum clarifies and sighs. "Fine, fine," she growls. She removes the robe, then plops her bare butt right on Trilby's desk. Hopefully she's not dripping yet. Into the shadow she goes to, well, index the bunnies available!
There are several, but there's also a 'default' Alptraum-bunny: black fur, white chest tuft and a white blaze and hair - the basis for the Gorphat-bunny before all the changes. Buttertraum might not be safe, as the Lapi is a merchant any might actually meet the real Butterscotch one day.
So, it's the bunnygirl version of himself it is! Bunny of death can't be that scary, can it? Certainly not as scary as a drooling toothless one, anyway. So, template selected, then it's just a matter of applying it.
The change goes smoothly, once the wings are absorbed. Then a fluffier version of Alptraum emerges. Still horny of course, but that's probably useful right now.
"You are a pervert," she tells Trilby. "I bet you're going to watch and play with yourself."
"I'll be monitoring the course of the curse," Trilby claims. "Otherwise he might just keep going afterwards."
"No one keeps going after being with me. I break Goddesses," Alptraum claims, and crosses her arms. "Where is he?"
"In my bedroom," Trilby says, and goes to open the other door. Alptraum can see the bed beyond, and the Lapi strapped down to it. She's very familiar with Mr. Fluff but has never seen him that big before.
"Yeah, Cyprian was like that too. He's going to have damage in there," Alptraum notes as she saunters her bunny-butt in there. No need for foreplay for this one, even if she has the urge to lick that like a lollipop. Instead, she straddles him, grateful she's already aroused and thus ... damp enough to sit. Good lord he's huge! when he goes in and her eyes go big.
The buck moans and twitches, and Trilby asks, "Should I release him?"
"I wouldn't," Alptraum says. She closes her own eyes so she doesn't have to see either him or Trilby staring at her, and slowly rides him. Slow at first until she can build up some 'steam' and loosen up.
Despite the restraints, the buck can still.. well.. buck, and does so almost reflexively. He also makes weird noises, from moans to gurgles to high-pitched squeaks. It also feels amazing, as it usually does when it's same-species.
Alptraum is actually trying to hold herself from peaking, while trying to get him to peak quickly. She's also examining it with the shadow, since that's also a good distraction from what she's feeling from it.
The rabbit is definitely overloaded from the examination. Trilby probably hooked him up to a pump, like Hortense would. Just for medical purposes.
Alptraum is actually trying to reduce that swelling, and sure none of the passages are too clogged or tight. That's got to really hurt at this point for him. It reminds her a bit of when Alptraum had issues.
Once the shadow-massage reduces some of the inflammation, the buck bursts and lets out something like a scream at the same time.
Alptraum panics and seizes up herself, eyes huge! She sits there for a moment, wondering if she just killed the guy! Good lord, that was a scream. It takes her several minutes before she can even manage to move again.
The Lapi buck is panting, but is still aroused and starts bucking again.. 'refilling' from the feel of it. It took several rounds with Cyprian, and this guy was the epicenter of it all.
So, Alptraum settles herself in. She needs to get this guy to trigger without triggering herself! If she pops, it gets harder to focus and control. So while she's riding this guy, she's thinking on anything else she can think of, including Nicora, Dar, and anything else that's extremely unpleasant. Somehow they all tend to revolve around Gorphat. Weird.
It's very hard to distract herself. The sensations are intense after all, and that's with minimal movement. The Lapi can't use his hands or mouth, so everything is focused at the point of contact. And even that makes her want to be.. pounded into the mattress, given a choice.
So it's a struggle. She wants to get him to pop at least two more times before she takes the risk of doing so herself. So, it's rather maddening and frustrating bit of work to try and forcibly deny herself while working him!
Her own curse is working against her. The longer things go one, the more her own pressure builds.. which means pop number two hits her hard too, causing her to shudder and fall forward onto the buck.
Alptraum screams herself when it happens, then flops forward with a thump. She lays there panting, wide-eyed, and twitching all over. "Dagh take me," she hisses out, drooling. While not moving, she tries to determine his state now.
He's still firm inside of her, and trying to buck his hips still. "Do you want me to loosen the restraints?" Trilby asks. "He's still got some 'charge' left, but doesn't seem so.. feral.. now."
"Good idea, because I'm not sure how much I can move now," Alptraum mutters, whimpers.
So the Skeek loosens the straps on the buck's legs and arms, enough for her to hold onto Alptraum's arms as he really starts bucking. This feels blindingly pleasurable, of course.
Alptraum rolls over! So at least she's lying on her back and not being bounced in the air! Then she settles in to enjoy.
This makes it feel even better, and the buck is able to grab her breasts, and nuzzle her throat. And also increase the rate of humping of course.
Alptraum wishes she had some dignity. Trilby must think very badly of her at this point, and the things she does and gets into. Heck, the bunny doesn't think much of herself, really. But, for now, she just tries to relax into it and let it all happen 'naturally'. And not think too much about the moans she makes in the process.
She pops of course, multiple times. It makes it hard to keep track of the buck's progress though, once she starts having chain orgasms. At some point Trilby must have fully released the restraints, as the doe finds herself being pounded into the mattress with the buck on top of her. This seems to go on for a long time. Until the buck actually pauses after one of his shuddering releases.
And the doe even when she comes to her senses is on the verge of passing out, herself. "I hate you," she mutters to Trilby, tiredly. IF she could reach the pillow, she'd have thrown it at her.
The buck is clearly exhausted, but tries one more time. It's not rutting, but actual lovemaking, with kisses and nuzzles and breast suckling and massaging. It still feels intense, but a more comfortable sort of intense. "The curse has been used up," Trilby declares. "You can get back at me by becoming a male Skeek."
"I'm not sure I can," Alptraum whines. "That didn't help you too with him getting cured...?"
"No, but it was a possibility that curing him would fix everyone else," Trilby says. "The curse has a contagion element, so it needs to be dealt with individually. Which can be an issue because Rostre was right there. And while you seemed to mollify Tulani.. I'd like to check her. She's a mule, a hybrid. So I don't know if she needs another Sphinx or a Vartan and a Khatta or something else."
"I can duplicate her, only as a male," Alptraum mutters, opening her eyes, "But there is no way I can deal with everyone infected. I need some rest before I even try to help you. It's very hard to become male right now. I'm not even sure I can."
Trilby's whiskers curl. "I could give you something for the fatigue," the mouse offers. "And I'm sure you'd turn male for me, with a little encouragement. Aren't I irresistible?"
"You can try to give me something. And you're not irresistible, you're scary," Alptraum comments as she stretches out, painfully.
"I'll be right back," the Skeek promises, leaving Alptraum with the Lapi, who finishes her off (and himself) with a moan and barely a trickle. At least he seems undamaged, but does fall asleep on top of her.
Alptraum pushes the lapi off, and pulls him out with a grunt. Ooof. How he can even be slightly hard is impressive. But once extracted, she rolls until she falls off the bed, then weakly gets up.
Her legs are a little wobbly. Trilby returns with a mug full of a glowing liquid. "This is.. well, what I take to keep going. Enchanted Mateh. The taste isn't all that good, but it does the job."
"I drink blood to live. How bad can it be?" Alptraum asks, takes the mug, then starts chugging. She doesn't mention how many different males she has drunk, too, and that she can tell the species apart by taste now. That's nothing to be proud of.
It goes down like fire, and spreads out from her belly. Suddenly Alptraum is vibrating and her brain feels fizzy. This would surely be illegal anywhere.. and probably is among the Mages too. Trilby probably doesn't care though. "Feeling better?" she asks.
"No! But I am awake! Let's go for a jog!" the bunny literally screams every word. And then she starts running circles in the room.
Instead of joining the jog, Trilby just sheds her robes. Her fur is disheveled, but her breasts are very perky and she's giving off a lot of pheromones. "How about a hug instead?"
Alptraum runs around for a bit longer, then runs right up to her and lifts her up in a really, really, tight hug! She really is vibrating.
Trilby nips one of Alptraum's ears, and asks, "So.. got any cute Skeek guys in there?"
"You'll have to let me go, or I might eat you," Alptraum squeaks from that crushing hug. Hopefully she'll let her go before a rib breaks. And this is of course assuming she can even maintain a changed shape.
Trilby lets go, and steps back. And runs her hands over herself while swaying her hips.
Alptraum expects threats to never tell anyone about this after it's all over, truth be told. She sits on the mage's desk and crosses her arms before dropping into the shadow again. Once there it's more of just bringing up the echoes of the weird people she met at the 'Eek-Eek' club, or whatever it was called and using them to create someone Trilby would never likely meet...
The aroma of Trilby's pheromones helps things along. When the shadow retracts, a male Skeek is there on Trilby's desk. A very aroused male Skeek. Alptraum feels almost dizzy from it.
Alptraum needs to remember to try and make more blood, or something, because fueling two heads never works well for men. Is this the issue of the blessing as Trilby isn't that seductive. She's more terrifying.
Well, she might not be seductive in the traditional sense, but being held and licked by her feels nice. Alptraum knows it's Inala's blessing and Trilby's curse interacting, but it's hard to care about that at the moment.
Alptraum bluh. Okay, it's a good reminder of how nice it feels, and why guys always react so well when that's done to them when he's in a woman's body. Or a man and it's Eeee, since it's hardly uncommon. He's doing all he can to not fall off the desk!
The urge to get back into a woman's body is still there, it's just Trilby that's the woman in this case. He also feels a bit.. larger down there. Maybe it's just being shorter that makes it seem that way.. but as Trilby fondles him it still feels like her hands are full.
Alptraum ends up looking down. Things usually aren't that big on a skeek. Is there accidental augmentation?
He certainly seems to have larger assets down there, so it's a good thing his legs are spread. Maybe it's to make sure he can make it through flushing the curse out of Trilby. The doctor-mage stops licking to look up at Alptraum. "Sooo. On the floor, up against the wall, bent over a bench.. or all three, preferably?" she asks.
Well, at least he didn't let Rhian bleed in or it might kill the doctor. The answer to that is easy enough since she's down there and he can push her down onto her back from the desk, then jump on her. If he manages that, then it's a valiant attempt to see if that thing will fit!
After a few tries, it fits! Then he just has to resist rutting.. or not resist. Trilby is eager for anything it seems from the way she squirms and squeaks.
Alptraum spends a moment trying to pin her down, by the wrists, then goes into a full-on rut. If the doctor wants it, better give it or she might get out needles.
Trilby makes panting, squeaking noises! The elixir she gave Alptraum is really helping here, and it feels wonderful. He also learns a bit more about the curse she's under. It clearly gets worse the longer it goes without being dealt with, meaning it's taking a lot of effort to get the mouse mage to pop, despite her clearing enjoying everything so far.
Which means Alptraum also tries to use the shadow to ... 'unclog' any of the routes and ways that popping usually happens. So he has to keep at least a little focus to try and deal with things.
The woman's toes and fingers spread out, and she makes a hooting sort of sound as she finally pops. But there's still more curse to deal with, so she's quickly congested again.
Alptraum, for the moment, is also popping hard though.
While popping, the mouse can't really do anything except ride it out. Once it's over, though ... now it's pulling Trilby up and pushing her against the wall! She wanted that, after all. Of course doing that bends things in a painful too. Ow.
Trilby helps by wrapping her legs over Alptraum's hips, and her arms over her shoulder. She also growls a bit.
Alptraum is wondering if this is more a cat than a mouse with how she's reacting. Alptraum could change ... no, no changing the doctor. She would kill him. So, he pounds her instead.
The bouncing mouse is even more of a squeak toy this time. It makes her breasts bob too, since they actually exist in this orientation. Will she have any fur on her back after all of this? She also does this with her mouth, like trying to kiss him but generally missing and nuzzling his neck or nosing his ear.
Which could be good or bad, given how big of teeth skeeks have. It's actually good he has to focus on using the shadow too as part of this as it keeps him from going tooo far down into a rut over it. Though things might be really sore afterward and for a while. Oof. Hopefully the shadow doesn't feel too much like she has a hoo-hoo full of eels.
Whatever it feels like makes Trilby cackle. It's a squeaky cackle, and makes her short of breath, but does bring her to her release.. after several minutes. How can she cackle so long?
Alptraum assumes its because she honed it from yelling so much. And time for switch three! So it's completely out she goes, and Trilby gets dumped belly down on the desk! One good hip grip later and Alptraum is back at it! Fortunately he hit the right spot.
The squeaks are more grunty now, and Alptraum does have to dodge a flailing tail. He can also see some abrasions on her back from the floor and wall, where the fur is matted with blood.
Alptraum will get blamed for that. He gets blamed for everything. Great. So ... while he's busy doing this he shifts up and tries to use the shadow to fix those wounds first before doing anything else.
The shadow goes to work, and it isn't clear if Trilby notices. She's now in a position to push back against Alptraum, so she does. She also tries to get her tail into his mouth.
So of course Alptraum bites onto it to keep it from whipping around so much! He lets her control pace while he focuses on fixing injuries.
The abrasions heal, although the fur will really need a shower to get the blood out. Hopefully the current activity doesn't cause sore nipples!
Alptraum wonders if those sore nipples would he hers ... or his? He's got experience with that both as a guy and a girl! And scarily more recently as a guy. If Dartraum can even be considered male anymore.
So focus goes back to making sure nothing ... clogs, while he tries to put the mouse to explode. Hopefully not bloodily.
Biting the tail really seems to help, causing her to let out a very high-pitched scream, and finally clearing out the last bits of the curse. He also explodes pretty spectacularly too, thanks to both Inala's blessing and Skeek virility.
And when it's over Alptraum flops forward and lays on top of Trilby, wheezing!
He's still pretty aroused though, even if Trilby has finished and is trying to catch her breath as well. There's still Rostre and Tulani to deal with. At least he has a Naga form already.
Alptraum pulls away from Trilby before moving to go change shape again. This time a male naga; he's got a couple of those in there somewhere. including the mutant one with weird bits. So of course he picks that one.
After the change, he still has weird urges. Like the one to eat Trilby. But at least he doesn't need a robe to get around, he just has to be sure not to startle the students outside.
"My butt hurts," Trilby complains, still laying across her desk.
"I could make it hurt worsssee," Snaketraum threatens as he makes it to the door. Best to deal with Rostre before she does something weird .. er.
There's a cry of alarm when Alptraum emerges into the infirmary. "Did you eat Mage Trilby?" one of the students asks.. less in horror than in hopefulness.
"No, she's in there with a sore butt," Snaketraum says rather vaguely. "One of you should go massage it."
"Oh no, my hands have fallen off!" one of the claims, their hands pulled back into the sleeves of their robe.
"Ssssttumps make for good kneading," Snaketraum comments as they slither to the door. Awkwardly. Hasn't moved via tail only in a long time.
The question now is where to go.. back to the ritual chamber to see if Rostre is still there, or down into the bowels where her laboratory and sleeping quarters are?
Closest place first, so checking the ritual room before going down to her chamber of horrors.
The doors are barred from the outside, with one of the guards in place. He blinks as Alptraum approaches though. "Uh, this room is off limits," the guard claims. "There's some sort of monster in there." There's a heavy thump against the doors just after he says that.
"That was me. I escaped. But that was bad manners. I should go back in," Snaketraum claims, menacingly.
"But I just heard it thump," the guard claims uncertainly. "I'm only supposed to keep whatever is in there from getting out.. not from anyone going inside.."
"That's my other half. I split apart," Snaketraum claims with a perfectly straight face. Literally.
The guard hmms, then unbars the door the opens it just wide enough for Alptraum to get through. "Be quick then," he says.
"Right, I will be quick as you seem to want to be eaten quickly, understood," Alptraum claims before slithering in. He'll probably pay for that later.
As soon as his tail clears, the guard closes the door. Alptraum is then attacked by Rostre, who coils around him!
"Blarghp!" goes Alptraum! This turns into a wrestling struggle because it's not always easy to find the passages in a naga! Nor to get his out because, everything is internal.
Things get a bit knotty, but Alptraum finds Rostre's boobs, which act as a landmark of sorts. From there he can find everything else!
From there it's only south! And a lot of stabbing painfully. For both of them. Good thing they're roughly the same size.
Success! It's very hot in there too, so plenty of blood flow. Once Alptraum is in, Rostre settles down a bit, loosening her grip and biting his shoulder instead.
And things turn into a squirming mass of, well, monsters. Also odd there is heat given snakes are usually cold-blooded. So, time to use the shadow again to deal with the curse problems in order to work it out.
There's definitely a lot of congestion in the area, as it's pretty engorged. It also seems to make the big woman extra sensitive. She was already sensitive there too, since her scales tend to dull any touching.
So there's a lot of focus there on untangling the issue causing the inflammation and sensitivity! Since this is less, well, stimulating as a snake it's a bit easier to focus for the moment. Alptraum should have become a plumber.
It doesn't prevent the curse and blessing from interacting though, as Alptraum is also ultra sensitive in that area. The squeezing also helps! And there are the breasts, which should be sensitive too. Hopefully it doesn't take too much more to set Rostre off. The squeezing can be a bit uncomfortable after all!
The breasts also make Alptraum jealous! He wants breasts! Oh, wait. Ugh. He's in such a weird state, mentally. And physically as there is now a pretzel of snake on the floor that writhes like something out of a nightmare.
It's hard to tell where the two serpents separate. Rostre hisses into Alptraum's throat as her internal muscles squeeze and pull on him rhythmically. She even grabs his hands and holds them to her breasts, since a real Naga wouldn't know what to do with them. Maybe she doesn't recognize him, or else isn't able to really think clearly.
Alptraum knows what to do with them. And no, it doesn't mean using them like bongos (even with the temptation to). Of course he's hissing too at points. And hands are squeezing a bit roughly too. Not that it will help squeeze out the curse.
Well, it helps a little bit, as Rostre convulses! But she's still got a lot of curse energy (she was right there next to the Lapi when it went off after all, and she's been waiting quite a while).
Alptraum now wonders if he's going to survive this. Some parts are likely to be REALLY SORE after all the activity. So ... onto business. Focus on dealing with breaking the curse before any sort of pleasure.
That may be difficult, given how the magic interacts, and that it looks like it will take four more convulsions to clear her slate.
There goes those thoughts about will he actually survive this? So the focus becomes more on just, well, pacing things so there's no cardiac arrest during while trying to untangle the curse mess.
Rostre becomes a bit more relaxed each time, until she's actually resting on her back with just her tail entwined with Alptraum. She still pulls on him though, just with less urgency. It makes though a lot more pleasurable for Alptraum at least.
So for the last two it's more just trying to enjoy it ... slowly, instead of fighting with a curse. It also gives him a chance to recover slowly. Ooof.
It works, in that Alptraum has some amazing orgasms along with Rostre. Once the curse is cleared from her, she still clings to him though. "I can think again," Rostre claims.
"I'm not sure I can," Alptraum claims. "Also, I hope you know who this is. Otherwise you're even weirder than I thought."
"Hmmm.. I have an idea, but maybe one more round will help jog my memory," the Spirit Mage teases, and gives a very slow flick of her tongue.
"Or we need to take out your brain and fix it," Alptraum counter-teases. At least as a snake they can go for a while ... so he'll give her what she wants (because when it's slow it's almost restful).
Things have cooled down at least, so it's more 'normal' this time.. aside from the breasts of course. It does end in a nice synchronized release, which is actually relaxing (and given how much muscle is involved, that's a lot of relaxation).
And there's something fun about being two giant sexual socks, of a sort. It's more uniquely different than most other experiences. Hopefully they don't end up in an actual knot, though.
Rostre does uncoil, releasing Alptraum. "We should be doing thisss all the time," she notes. "Jussst without the curssse part, but I think I've been able to analyze it. A variant of Compulsion, which iss a forbidden ssspell."
"Can you create a functional dispel for it quickly? We can't save everyone in the Tower by boinking them," Alptraum breaths, laying there in a jumbled heap. Which is still somehow comfortable.
"It'ss only the people that were in thiss room," Rostre says. "I think the two asssisstantss took care of each other. Tulani left after she woke up, and took your clothess."
"I hope she's okay," Alptraum says, "She seemed alright when I saw her before I left, but ... now I have no idea where she is." Worried snake looks like calm snake, alas.
Amelia says, "We were all asssleep from exhaussstion," Rostre says. "After I awoke, I began to get.. resstless.""
Alptraum groans. "That means I'll have to go find her. Great. She could be anywhere," he sighs out. "Dagh. Maybe I can sense her if she's being ... weirdly horny"
"There does ssseem to be some interaction between the curse and your own.. condition?" Rostre suggests. "Maybe you could usse it asss a compasss pointer."
"I can just sense auras, which seems frankly easier to use than some sort of weird sex sonar," Alptraum claims, and sighs. "And is my condition really that well known? Great."
"I figured it out," Rostre says. "You were clear of the curssse, so something elsse had to be driving you."
"I have my own curses of a sort. Annoying, trust me. One right now is prettymuch enforcing I must be female almost all the time," Alptraum mutters.
"Isss it a burden?" Rostre asks. "Perhapss a suppressor could be made."
"It can be at times. I'm assuming it'll be removed at some point, though. But what if it's not? I'll basically have to be female all the time," Altpraum says. "Which in itself isn't horrible, that's not what I mean. It's being ... restricted."
"And horny?" the serpent suggests.
"Yes. And give it time and I might actually be able to get pregnant," Alptraum adds.
"Tsssss, and you probably find it eassy to find partners," Rostre says enviously.
"I could bed anyone in the city, and their pets," Alptraum says.
"Petsss?" Rostre asks. "Doess that mean I should get a pet?"
"Don't be weird," Alptraum chides. Nevermind he's the king of weird. So as he lays there he starts trying to find Tulani, if she's even still in the building.
There are a lot of auras, but it shouldn't be hard to isolate the 'cursed' one. He finally finds it.. upwards? Is there a room up at the peak of the tower, or is she outside and up on the roof.
The net of it is, she's still at the Tower, which is good. Unless she's humping the spire. Which is bad. So, Snaketraum tries to go back to being, well, Alptraum so he can go looking for her.
This presents a minor obstacle: his original clothes are gone, taken by Tulani according to Rostre. And the serpent's poncho won't really work with Alptraum's wings. He might be able to wear it as a skirt though.
He can also make clothing out of shadow. Which makes him look like he's wearing a suit of rubber. Eh, oh well. People know he's weird.
Rostre gets her poncho back on and knocks at the door. "Open up," she says. "Is the monster dealt with?" the guard outside asks. "Monster?" Rostre asks, her expression.. well, the same as always.
"The monster is dealt with," Alptraum confirms as he sits up, then gets up, and is covered in shadow and 'smoke'. "Well, that monster anyway."
The door is unbarred and opened a crack so the guard to can peek in. "Ah, Mage Rostre and.. the Barsunala?" he asks.
"For the moment, yes," Alptraum agrees.
The guard opens the door and stands clear. "I'll call the housekeeping crew then, after you've left."
"Are you saying I'm messy?" Alptraum asks with one white eyebrow arched.
"Only that it smells a bit like chemicals in there," the guard says, no doubt remarking on Rostre's special chemical odor.
"Well, then I suggest you also offer to give Mage Rostre a bath weekly. It would save cleaning up later," Alptraum points out, all smiles.
The guard eyes the big breasted Naga. "Doesn't she just shed her skin?" he asks.
"Not weekly. Now, pardon, I need to go hunt down a sex crazed feline," Alptraum says. "You should be careful, she'll hump anything and anyone. and I know how much all of you hate that."
"The Sphinx?" the guard says. "She left hours ago, growling a lot."
"She's still here," Alptraum notes as he starts walking. "She's hunting."
"Oh.. good luck then," the guard offers to Alptraum's back. With the shadow-smoke effect, Alptraum looks ominous enough that others dodge into the nearest doorway when he passes by on this way to the flyers landing.
Alptraum doesn't always want to look scary, but sometimes it does pay off. Granted he has other forms that would give nightmares, but ... not today. Up, up, he goes.
Tulani is found at the top of the main dome of the tower, watching the Procession.
"Hey," Alptraum calls out and up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm burning up," Tulani growls. "I think I'm going to explode. Like.. literally explode."
"It's the trap curse. It causes massive overdrive hormonally and worse," Alptraum says. "The problem is how to burn it out will be ... a challenge with you."
"Why a challenge?" Tulani growls. "We already tried and it didn't do anything."
"It requires being the same species," Alptraum says. "That's part of the trap."
Tulani blinks at this, and then starts to laugh hysterically. When she finally stops to catch her breath, she says, "Oh man.. I'm not any species. I'm a mule."
"That's ... well, part of the problem. I can simulate you, but not a male you," Alptraum points out. "But, there's an alternate solution. You won't like it, even though I've encouraged it."
"An alternative to dying from a need that can't be met?" Tulani asks. "I don't have a lot of choices right now. What is it?"
"You're also a dragon, even though you deny it," Alptraum says. "And that I can match."
Tulani is silent for a bit, then begins to undress. "Halfway," she says. "That's as far as I'll go."
"All the way," Alptraum says, "We need to be sure it's a full match. I'm sorry. But ... it is necessary. Please don't be afraid of what you are. If you are, that's when it can control you."
Tulani hesitates. "What if I can't come back?" she asks, with real concern in her voice.
"Remember, I know you. This you. I can help you come back, or even force it," Alptraum points out. "You really do need to practice and become comfortable with that side of yourself. It's beautiful too, Tulani. And you're still you, even if you're afraid you're not."
"I'm holding you to that," Tulani claims, and touches the scar on her chest. There's a flash of light, and then a silver scaled dragon is perched atop the Mages Guild tower, and her full attention is focused on Alptraum.
Unfortunately Alptraum's draconic aspect derives from steel dragons, so his natural dragon form is ... one of them. More on the terrifying side than elegant. But right now a real dragon is needed, and so Alptraum goes into the shadow to bathe in the essence that makes up the shadow. Even if it's not exactly a revered species.
It takes more time for the transformation, given the size difference. And when the shadow recedes, Alptraum feels different. It's not like when he changed to make the trip to Summerland. It may be that he's in rut.
Alptraum stretches a bit. "I ... suggest we fly out of the city. We might otherwise collapse a building, or draw a crowd," he rumbles, with a voice so deep as an Eeee's voice is ... not.
"What's wrong with breaking a few buildings?" Tulani asks, and snorts a stream of cold mist. "There are plenty of ruins surrounding the city."
"Those are fine. Just not in the city," Alptraum tumbles and goes aloft. Unfortunately given his state, he's leaving nothing to the imagination regarding his, er, lance.
There's air traffic of course, as most of Babel comes alive at night, but the Eeee are quick to change course well before the dragons would run into them on their way out of the city. There's one ruined watchtower that Alptraum is familiar with at least, and thus easily found.
That's going cause quite the rumor mill in a few hours. Two beasts over the city. There's some wide arcs to avoid more populated paths, at least, and then the slow approach to the abandoned tower. He gestures towards it, then heads that way to land.
Tulani lands almost silently, which is impressive for anything that large. Then she heads inside to the ground floor through one of the partially collapsed walls. Various creatures flee as a result, but no Eeee have been dwelling in it at least.
Alptraum follows along. Having to stare at her backside is not helping calm things down. "Ready to create a few new urban legends?" he asks, right before biting her on the butt and tugging up, playfully.
Tulani growls, and twists around to try and bite Alptraum's shoulder. He can feel the frost.. is she trying to give him a literal cold shoulder?
Alptraum dances backwards. "Hey now, not in the mood anymore?" he rumbles back at her. Teasing is all well and good, but they are both dangerous like this.
The silver dragon looks more like she's in hunting mode than flirting mode. Tulani hasn't spoken anything yet, and is just circling Alptraum in the base of the tower with her head held a bit low, never taking her eyes off of him.
Alptraum circles in counter, head lowered too, brow arched. "Focus," he reminds her, folding his wings in close to protect them.
She does seem focused in the moment.. just before she pounces and tries to pin Alptraum onto his back! Wrestling, but so far no clawing or biting.
Alptraum counter-wrestles! He's not trying to overtake her, just give her a challenge as it ... might be necessary? Just giving in seems like a bad idea with her in this mood. The downside in, it's making the old building rumble and some debris fall!
It's a challenge to avoid banging into the walls, to be sure! And Tulani is very much wrapped around him at this point, including wings and tail and some neck. Then come the claws! Lightly for now, at least.
Alptraum realizes this could go bad quick. But at least up close means he can shadow her if it gets too rough. The claws make him twitch, but he doesn't try to stop her yet. More he growls back at her and tries to bite under her chin on her neck. His hindquarters grinds against her, mostly trying to figure out where things, well, are.
At the bite, Tulani does shift her hips so things suddenly line up. She still doesn't let up on her claws though, or the grappling.
Alptraum is careful to be sure, then makes use of that alignment! Unf! It feels both extremely alien and weird, and good at the same time. He also for a moment actually ponders asking Inala to bless her with a child, since her own state of being a mule seems to bother her. But ... that's probably a horrible idea.
Tulani responds with more hip grinding.. well haunch grinding. She still seems to be try get the dominant position, but Alptraum still has the upper hand with his bite. It's a long way from where the action is though.
Alptraum decides to slowly 'throw' the fight and let Tulani take the dominant position. Which means a whole lot more rolling, but always letting up at points where Tulani could press advantage if she chose. Not easily, but surely openings for her to 'win'.
This leads to the dragoness getting the top position, and holding down Alptraum's forearms. She even gives them an extra push as if to say 'stay put' before she rears up (until her head hits the ceiling, her horns gouging some ruts into it). She looks smug, which is one of the four or so expressions a dragon's face seems capable of.
Alptraum playfully struggles while being held, but with no intend to escape. This is, oddly fun and amusing. Also nice to see Tulani feeling ... better? Well, at least more in control. and this is as much about convincing her she has control as it is about dealing with that ridiculous curse that got her too. He pokes out his tongue a bit at her.
Tulani dips her head as if going for the tongue, but instead curls her neck until her head is upside down, the horns brushing Alptraum's chest.. and then she breathes frost right where they're connected! The sudden cold has a surprising, exciting effect on Alptraum, causing him to release in a shocking burst, and apparently has the same effect on Tulani as well!
It also makes Alptraum squawk loudly! That was ... definitely a first. It leaves him looking both a bit wide-eyed, and confused.
Then Tulani is nuzzling at his throat before offering hers.
Alptraum .. isn't sure how to respond to that. At first he simply nuzzles in kind on her, but then he parts his jaws and bites onto that neck. Hard, but not so hard as to draw blood.
This produces something like a purr, if gravelly from the dragoness. She slides off of him, while still grabbing at him to pull him over as rolls onto her back.
Alptraum ahhs, and now gets it. He rolls with her, jaws held in place, and now it's his turn to pin her down. Going for the forearms first of course, before wrapping the tail about hers as he tries to, well, rejoin them.
She's certainly still receptive, meaning the curse hasn't run its course yet. She's also still growl-purring, and flexing her claws even while pinned.
Alptraum growls right back, and holds her down. This time he's thrusting, and in hard, violent sort of thrusts. It tends to send dust up into the air each time he does and her hips grind against the old floor. "Inala," he thinks while he's doing this. "Is it withon your powers to grant her a child in the future? I am not asking now, but, maybe some day. And if so, what would you wish in trade?"
There's a whisper of a reply, "Such things are between me and her to decide." Tulani grunts with the thrusts, but finally says something: "Harder!"
"Not if I am paying the cost for her," Alptraum points out. As for that ask ... harder? He was going hard! But, harder he goes! And thus, more dust! And probably some ominous sounds from the building as a rutting dragon is a lot of moving mass.
Things are indeed shaking! It doesn't help that Tulani is thumping her tail and flexing her wings. At least her legs aren't kicking anything, and her arms are still pinned. She's also rocking her hips and making laughing sounds, but they're a bit hysterical.
"The price doesn't matter," Inala whispers. "She's the one to make the wish. And what do you think she asked Nala for, in exchange for her cooperation?"
Alptraum is actually glad to see Tulani enjoying herself. She's been terrified to become this, yet here she is, in control, able to talk, and enjoy it. "Something similar, I suspect. I know it's something she desires. I just wish for her to see one of her wishes come true, I guess," he thinks while he tries to go hard, but not so hard as to collapse the building. "Believe it or not, I care about her."
The way Tulani is reacting, maybe she wants to collapse the building. She's definitely to interesting things down there. Dragons are built differently, and there are a lot more muscles in that region, and she's using all of them.
"The Barsunala is the caring side of death," Inala says. "It is good that you care as Alptraum too."
Alptraum would rather not get buried in building debris! Or squish any squatters. So he's taking care to at least pay some attention to the noises the building is making and moving her about some on the floor to move the stress around. It also dawns on him; egg-laying. It would explain all the muscles there.
They're certainly good for holding on with, making it a bit of an effort on his part to meet her demands. "More.. BITING!" she demands next. "Grabbing!"
It's not like she has bits like mammals do to grab! So, grab he does, in randomish places! And with claws! And also more biting, along with a bit of head-thrash shaking on that neck!
This makes Tulani growl more, and stop laughing. It also causes her clench as well, and Alptraum can feel the muscles begin to flutter as she loses control and lets out a cloud of mist from her jaws.
Alptraum ahas! So this continues, the claws scraping and probably knocking off a scale or two. The biting on her neck moves around, and each one comes with a hard thrash, such as a cat killing its prey, or a large monster thing trying to bite out a throat. Though he's not trying to do that.
It certainly helps with releasing the tension of the curse, until her paws push on his chest and she says, "Wait.. uh.." She seems to have difficulty forming her thought. "Slow now. Gentle. Loving.." she requests.
Alptraum's jaws relax and the clawing becomes more of an embrace. Instead of thumping and threatening the building, it's more of a coiled undulation; not unlike what a naga might do (and did earlier).
Tulani purr-grumbles, and clings to Alptraum for maximum body contact. Now that things aren't so rough (and noisy), the creaking of the old support timbers if more noticeable, along with bits of ceiling falling on them. It's just old wood though, so probably wouldn't be much of an issue.
So, slow and gentle it is. "See," Alptraum murmurs to her, "You're just fine like this too. It's just another aspect of the whole of you." He nuzzles along her neck some too. "You'll never feel quite happy if all of you isn't at peace."
"Mmmmmm," Tulani replies. She may not be thinking about any of that right now. "Knock it down after," she eventually says, a bit huskily.
Alptraum snorts a laugh at that. That sounds more like a pirate than anything else. Still, it's back to using the shadow to check things now that she's calmer ... and trying to make sure that curse is finally going away.
It's definitely.. ebbing? It's hard to separate from the draconic urges. She's moving her southern parts more now though, so may be reaching a point of release. "Show me your flame," she asks, again in that husky voice.
Alptraum gives that a moment's pause. Does he even have a flame? He can't recall trying that before. But he thinks back to what Tulani did earlier, and thus he lets go with his jaws and curls under. Then there's a draw in of breath, then a deep sort of heaving out that follows as he tries to find the organs to produce whatever breath he actually, well, has.
It's more of a spark, deep in his chest. And then flame comes in a torrent that surprises him. It feels a lot like.. well.. an orgasm. It also blasts a hole through the stone wall. Tulani shudders beneath him, finally releasing the last of the curse as well.
It almost makes Alptraum tip over too! That was a surprise! Instead, there's a flailing bit of rolling before he settles again. Well, he makes for a lousy dragon, really. Not that he spends much time as one as it is. And right now it would probably just be a girl anyway. Which Vorgulremik would make fun of. Ugh.
Alptraum is still feeling pretty masculine at the moment though, and Tulani is giggling.. or choking. "You made a hole!" she laughs.
"I'd hoped I found your hole," Alptraum jokes, "Because otherwise, ow." Then he's looking back at the hole in the wall. "Your fault," he claims. "Feeling better?"
"Mmmmm, almost," Tulani claims. "Building is unstable. Should knock it over for safety," she notes.
"When I'm able to pull out, sure," Alptraum murmurs. "And I told you, you'd be fine."
"Still wanna eat people," Tulani claims.
"Just ignore that," Alptraum offers. "We can fund you things to hunt in the woods. You just need to redirect the urge."
"To destroying towers?" Tulani suggests, and wags her tail a bit.
" ... sure," Alptraum agrees and laughs. "I'm just glad I was able to remain male. It's a lot harder to right now."
"Oh? I'm not enough to make you want to stay male then?" Tulani asks. A question with no right answer!
"What I want doesn't enter into it. Magic is capricious," Alptraum points out and licks her nose. "So I could just make you male instead..."
"You wouldn't survive," Tulani claims. "I'd hump all the towers too. Babel would collapse."
"I would die laughing," Alptraum claims and thrusts. He's also glad suddenly this was dealt with before Dar contracted something like it. That bat has enough issues. If he's even real, which Alptraum isn't sur about. Could just be a nightmare.
Tulani makes a cute noise at the thrust. "Still up for more?" she asks.
Alptraum mmphs. "Is that your way of saying you are?" he asks.
"A dragon is ready for anything," Tulani claims. "And it will distract me from being hungry."
"I thought you wanted to break the tower," Alptraum points out.
"That too!" the dragoness claims. "It can wait a few hours. You can last a few more hours, right?"
Alptraum snorts. "Days," he claims. Dragons and their egos. And demonstrated by seeing if he can collapse the floor again with thrusting.
The floor above does indeed fall to the floor below, in bits and pieces and some large chunks. There isn't much for the bits to catch on though, sliding or bouncing right off of the smooth scales of the dragons. There's a lot more mist and flames as well, which make for a lot of smoke when the mist-dampened debris is set on fire. Even damp wood burns from dragon fire! There also some more bouts of playful tussling. Morning sunshine eventually pours in through the perforated walls.
And in the tower rubble. "Hah, I win," Alptraum claims at some point and thrusts a forearm into the air. "You are forever more my little slave hen!"
"Thppt!" goes Tulani's tongue. "How so, oh mighty drake?" she demands.
"Because!" Alptraum declares, then seems at a loss for a reason. "Uh..."
"You didn't die?" Tulani suggests.
"Couldn't I say the same for you?" Alptraum asks and bites her nosetip.
"I'm not worn out at all," Tulani claims, and licks her nose with a cold tongue.
"So, I should take you hunting, then?" Alptraum asks.
"After knocking of the tower," Tulani reminds. "It's rickety."
Alptraum slowly unwinds himself from her. "Fiiiine, we'll take down the tower," he says.
Tulani twists around to her belly once free, and stretches in a very feline manner, including a shiver that runs from nose to tail. Then she slinks out through one of the larger openings.
Alptraum is less graceful, and lumbers after her. He also playfully swats at her tail a few times. "I do like you like this, by the way. You seem ... less stressed," he says. "And angry with me."
"I am almost never angry at you," she claims, and sitting up once she's clear.
"You seem angry with me most of the time," Alptraum says as he works his way out, then looks back at the old tower. Hmm. Which way would be safest?
"I'm a feline," Tulani explains. The tower looks bigger from the outside. Certainly there are a lot of flammable materials on the inside, but outside it is mostly made of stone bricks. It's also a bit conical, sloping inwards a bit towards the top, a trick to make it look taller from the ground. It also has a lot holes in it that weren't created by dragons (that Alptraum knows of).
Alptraum hmms. He moves a bit to the side and inhales. A deep draw, then an attempt at fire to blow a hole in the side again, this time closer to the base!
This blows a hole, and also causes a fire now that the 'kindling' from the fallen floor has dried out a bit (or become charcoal). Tulani roars in approval.. and throws her body against it, cause the stone to push in without fully collapsing.
Alptraum moves again and tries for another position and hole. A good line of holes should make it unstable! Just ... it'll fall in the direction of those holes so he'll have to move fast.
"From the air!" Tulani declares, and flaps her wings so she can rise up and attack the top with her ice breath. Blasting holes in the base where he wants it to collapse is a simple matter too.. and getting away as things start to crumble may goad Alptraum to use his wings as well.
When the base is a bit more swiss-cheese like he does hurry out of the way and go airborne. Realizing this might, well, alert guards to come look, he doves at the top of the tower and tries to slam into it to see if he can get the base to go.
The tower begins to lean, and rather than fall over begins to collapse as it goes.
"With our luck this will be owned by some stogy old Eeee that declares a blood feud on on flying lizards," Alptraum jokes as he circles, watching the tower.
The rubble does look.. nice. Something about it soothes a dragon's soul. Nothing should be bigger and stronger than a dragon after all!
Alptraum admires for a bit, then shakes his head. "Satisfied?" he asks Tulani.
The silver dragon rolls around in the debris for a while, before asking, "How many more abandoned watchtowers are there?"
"That's enough for one day. We don't need to cause a citywide panic. Lets just go hunting out in the wilderness, it'll help with the hunger," Alptraum suggests and tilt-nods his head in a direction away from the city.
"Fiiiine," Tulani gripes and gets up out of the rubble. "What are we going to hunt?" she asks.
"Probably boars or similar. Not people," Alptraum warns as he guides her out and away from the city. "Whatever wild animals we can find that look fun."
"Yes, fun!" Tulani declares. "They need to flee nicely!" she claims, stretching her wings.
Alptraum rolls his eyes behind Tulani. At least she seems happy! Which was the whole point. Does he push her too much, though? Changing shapes for him is ... fun. Not something to generally be afraid of. Perhaps she'll see that some day too.