Having grown accustomed in sleeping in what is essential a giant cushioned bowl, Lilac has no trouble lounging in the center of her Naga-sized bed. Laying on her back, chalk pencil in one hand and notebook in the other, she jots down notes and ideas as they come to her. "Talk to Curators, not done. Get clothes, check. Get instrument," she glances at the few instruments she's picked up during her stay, "triple check. Get bow for tail, not done. Warn Ummy and Anisa, not done. Annnd, meet python for date – that's tonight!"

The bed is quite comfortable; even with the occasional sensation that she's the main course on one really big dinner plate. Umeko is off dealing with the nobility for the night; having to act proper and polite … which means she'll be in a grumpy mood later. So … it's a very good thing Lilac should be out for the evening. And not a moment later … the doorbell 'rings'. Of course, the ring is more like the air being let out of a balloon. The Naga sure have a thing for stuff that hisses.

Lilac scrambles out of the bed, which requires a roll, some four-on-the-floor scrambling, and a flip off the edge on to her feet. "I am so nimble these days. Being one step away from a slavering monster has its advantages," she remarks after landing. Checking her hair in a mirror as she walks, she calls out, "Who is it?"

One side of her hair sticks straight up; the infamous 'bed-head'. Outside the door, there's a hissing reply of, "Ssssilvasss. We ssspoke earlier in my ssssshop. You wissshed to see more of our mossst beautiful city."

Ears shooting up, Lilac frets! I've never been on a date with a Naga before, she worries, quickly trying to press down the stray hair until she gives up, licks her hand, and flattens it with slobber, I don't even know what Naga expect! But, I guess he liked me as I was, or he wouldn't be here. Maybe he's just using me to get to Ummy, but that's all the more reason to go and find out what's what. She straightens her outfit, a loose thing that's more flowing sashes, bagginess, and color than flattering of figure, and then she steps to the door. "Well," she says, opening it, "here I am!"

Lilac once again finds herself face to face with a huge serpent. This time the reptile is draped in open-front flowing robes in a rainbow of bright and chaotic colors. Atop his head is tied a little red fez, complete with tassel, too. He looks down at Lilac with a bemused twitch of those scaly lips. "Sssso, you wissshed to learn of the mussic of our land, yesss?" he asks. "Or perhapssss ssssample the divine cuisssine?"

"Um, music sounds grand. I am a bard, when I'm not being Lady Ummy's bodyguard or fighting wars," Lilac answers. "And, food is always good, too! Fighting and barding make me really hungry." In truth, just about everything makes Lilac really hungry, but she doesn't want to sound like a glutton.

The reptile curls its fingers, motioning Lilac to exit her room and come with him. "Well … then I know jusssst the place to ssssample ssssuch things," the snake claims. "An experience like no other!"

Lilac's head tilts as she walks out of the room, and she raises an eyebrow. "I'm going to hold you to that, I've seen a lot of things!"

Silvas leads Lilac through the odd streets, past the still milling throngs of serpents and reptiles. The finally reach their destination, it seems, when he guides her into a building called 'The Entangled Serpent'. "You can experience everything in here," he assures the human.

"Wow," is all Lilac can say at first. She hasn't seen anything quite like it, although the squirming pit reminds her a little too much of the 'red squigglies' from the Temple of Being. "What is this place?"

"A restaurant and place of relaxation," Silvas explains, "Where food can be savored, sounds absorbed, and contact relissshed." He clasps his hands together, then asks, "Sssssooo, do you wisssh to ssssample ssssome food?"

"Well, I am a little hungry," Lilac admits. Of course, she's never a little hungry, but she doesn't feel the need to suggest she's a pig. "So, do we seat ourselves?"

"Yessss," Silvas says as he heads towards the odd collection of tables, "And I will handle ordering. I promisssse to surprisssse you." He selects a table a little out of the way and private, then coils down next to it.

Lilac follows, then lithely drops herself into one of the bowls on the floor and settles down on her side. It says a lot for her physical growth, that she's learned to harness her animalistic agility into something more or less graceful – at least most of the time. It's different than how she was half a year ago, awkward and jerky, fast without much grace. "You know, I think I'm getting used to sitting in these bowls. I'm going to be puzzled by chairs soon, I just know it."

"Do not vissssit the landsss of the night, of the Eeee. Their perchesss will drive you insssane," Silvas says, somehow managing to look amused. He waves over one of the serpents who appears to be patrolling the tables and speaks in hushed Imperial with him.

Lilac starts noticing something odd as she sits in the bowl. She can't hear it, but she can feel rhythmic vibration through it. A strange, thumping song, perhaps; orchestrated to be felt more so than heard.

"Where I come from, we have Eeee, but half of them drink blood," Lilac confides. "I tried it once, on a dare, and it was gross. Then again, I've sort of been tasting blo- … I mean, there's been a lot of blood lately, what with our attack on Viper's Hold. Yep!"

The 'waiter' bobs his head and slithers off. "Sssso, do you enjoy ssspicy meals?" Silvas inquires, his attention returning to the table. "Nothing is more tasssty to a Naga than a meal that squirms and burns as we swallow… "

"Um, well, no, but I'm willing to try anything. Part of the fun of traveling is trying new things. Unless it's squibbit." She shrugs a little, then smiles. "Sometimes, I even like to hunt. I've eaten the, um, mud fish of the desert, and a beetle. Usually I hunt whatever just happens to be around – you can't be too picky!" She giggles, albeit nervously, wondering if she's being a little too open about her 'other side' and its activities.

"Good, good," Silvas says with a broad grin, "You may find the appetizerssss interessssting." And no sooner than he's said that, than the 'waiter' returns and sets a covered dish before each of them and two bottles of some thick, red, sauce.

"Well, interesting is always interesting. But, you know the old curse, I'm sure!" She pushes herself up to sit on her knees, leaning forward with her ears perked. "That sauce looks good, what's under the cover?"

Her Naga date also seems well inclined to let Lilac discover what she was ordered before he bothers to uncover his plate. "Lift and ssssee," he offers.

Scootching forward, Lilac leans over, sniffs a little, then picks up the lid!

Lilac finds herself face to face with … a bunch of squirming somethings! They're not exactly squibbits. Rather, they look more like tiny, brainless, furless, Skeeks all milling about in a bowl, squeaking at each other. Silas uncovers his, then promptly starts putting some of the red sauce on them. He then picks one up by the tail and lowers it slowly in his mouth, swallowing it whole. A small shiver in the snake as he then says, "Ahh, they sssquirm ssso nicely."

"Erm," is Lilac's response as she stares at the squirming mass, disturbed by how her mouth begins to water a little. Carefully, she reaches over and tries to poke one. "I'm not used to my food being so mobile," she admits, ears wilting. "I might have to change for this."

Poking one gets her a small squeak. "Oooh, jussst try one," Silvas encourages the human. "Jussst sssswallow. Do not chew."

"Um, wellllll … " Leaning over, Lilac grabs one by the tail and lifts it up. "Humans, we're sort of the chewing sort. I'm not sure I can even swallow this whole." She peers at it, gauging how successful she might be in swallowing it without chewing.

Well, it's no bigger than some candies and soft treats, really. She might be able to swallow one. It doesn't help matters that it's staring at her with little black eyes. Silvas is currently enjoying a few more…

Trying not to look at the eyes – why do so many things she likes to eat have to have cute eyes? – she dips the critter in sauce and slowly lowers it into her mouth, wincing. This has to be on the top of the list of weird things I've tried to eat, and if I wasn't hungry, I'd definitely consider maybe not eating this, she thinks.

The sauce is spicy! Which is good, because it distracts her from the fact there's a little creature wiggling around in her mouth. Now, the question becomes if she intends to swallow it…

Deciding it's now or never, Lilac tries to swallow it – and not just because the wiggling is getting weird. She needs something to drink and she needs it now!

Swallowing it turns out to be challenging, but not impossible! And if she thought it was weird before … it gets worse. She can feel it squirm the entire time it goes down her throat. And as if there are some small mercies in the world, the 'waiter' comes by and leaves two large mugs of water…

Quickly, Lilac grabs her water mug with both hands and begins gulping it down! Her ears twitch, along with her tail, and she isn't sure if she wants to drown the wiggling or quench the burning more! When she finally stops swallowing, she puts the mug down and pants. "Whew, that's … that's really spicey," she admits.

"That wassss the mild," Silvas explains as he watches the panting human. He interlaces his fingers and rests his chin upon them as he asks, "Did you enjoy the feel?"

"Um, I hope you won't be upset if I say no. I just don't think I've got a Naga sense of swallowing things whole. I'm really more of a biter and a chewer. But, maybe I have a surprise for you," the woman answers. "And, maybe this will be easier if I try it another way."

"Issss that ssso?" the serpent asks.

"Oh, it is. I'm sure you've never seen anything like it," insists the human. "Now, close you eyes. Like the meal, this requires a surprise. Just close your eyes, count to twenty, and open them!"

Silvas has to drape part of his robe over his eyes … most snakes lack eyelids, afterall.

Lilac blinks at the snake's motion, looking perplexed a moment before she catches on. Oh! Silly me. More differences between them and I. She shrugs, then puts her hands to the lip of the bowl and concentrates. She focuses on the shape of the beast superseding and replacing her own, as the dead Korv taught her to do in her dreams. In moments, fur has replaced smooth skin, her face has elongated into a muzzle of sharp teeth, and her eyes glow with a menacing light. Lilac the beast sits on her haunches, wagging her tail for when the snake looks at her again.

The snake slips his robe back off his eyes, then just stares at Lilac. "Very amusssing," Silvas finally admits, grinning in his odd way. He then starts looking under the table and around for Lilac. "You can come back now," he says.

The beast, meanwhile, begins grabbing the little critters by their tails, then tossing them into the air before snapping them up. She pauses now and then to watch the snake's antics, ears going askew, before she resumes eating.

Silvas continues to look around for the human he came in with. Meanwhile, Lilac's meal just squeaks and squirms each time she eats another one.

Deciding she better hurry up, Lilac forgoes the snackrobatics and just wolfs down the meal morsel by morsel, until there's nothing left on her plate. Then, she shifts to stand on her hind legs, and covers her eyes with her paws, before peeking to look at the snake.

"Ah! Of coursssse, you must be a sssstudent of the ssssphere of illusssion," Silvas concludes after he watches Lilac's antics for a bit. "Very amusssing, yesss!"

The beast barks, then covers her eyes with her paws again. After that, she points a paw at the snake and waggles it at him, indicating he should cover his eyes again!

"I will play your game," Silvas agrees, covering his eyes again.

The change is reversed, until Lilac is again a human being. She drops from her legs on to her butt, rubbing the sauce off her face with the back of her hand. "How's that for a trick," she asks, grinning wide.

"I've ssseeen better done by the magesss of the empire!" Silvas claims, "But it wassss good for a foreigner."

"Oh, hee, I'm sure you have, uh-huh," Lilac indulges the python. She brushes the now completely empty plate aside, and says, "Those weren't bad, they just took some finesse in eating them – a little magic."