After deciding to leave Hexen and Kizzy to the tender care of Mave, Alptraum heads down to the castle's hog pits to recharge his arm. As before, the hogs 'taste' delicious and the act of shadow-consuming them also feels very good, and goes a little ways towards sating his urge to change things. It does, however, remind him how hungry he is himself.

The sun is setting, so it's also time for Snow to be waking up. Figuring he could find the Shrine Maiden first, then deal with food, Alptraum heads back up to the royal suites where the transformed human has a guest room.

The floor is mostly quiet, save for the sounds of the housekeeping staff, one of whom points him in the right direction. As he gets closer to the room, he can hear movement and the sound of water.

Alptraum slinks up to the door as if he were a spy on a secret mission. He looks both ways to ensure he's alone and then does something terribly devious! He knocks on the door. "Snow," he whispers to the door, "You awake?"

"Who is there?" comes the girl's voice, sounding a bit distant and with a slight echo. If the room is laid out like the other guest suites, there'll be a full bath beyond the bedroom.

"The terror of … oh forget it, it's Alptraum," Alptraum says and quits acting ridiculous. He even stands up straight and adjusts his clothes. "Want a visitor? If you're busy, I can come back later."

"Oh, you should probably come in," Snow replies. "Something's happening… "

"Something wrong?" Alptraum asks as he opens the door and slips it. He quickly closes it behind himself and heads towards the bathroom, where he figures she is.

The bat's feet brush though something on the way; feathers. The bed is also covered with them. In the bathroom, he finds Snow on her knees with her washcloth, trying to shake out the fur that's caught in it. She's really naked now, her Khatta fur laying on the floor around her. Half of the feathers have fallen from her wings, her tail looks shriveled and her muzzle is blunter. "I think it started when I was asleep," she says, slurring a little from the intermediate shape of her mouth.

Alptraum's eyes get big. "Wow," he says. He conveniently leaves the part out about 'looking terrible' though. The bat sits down on the floor near her and tilts his head this way and that. "Well, you're reverting," he says, "And I guess you have a choice. You can return to normal over time or I can speed it up. Or … I can restore the sphynx in you and return you to your furred shape. What do you want to do?"

"I think I'd better go back to human," Snow notes. "I've kept track. The time between the initial transformation and the reinforcement was longer than the time since the reinforcement to now. I think there may be a limit that just can't be extended."

"I'm sure I can fix that eventually," Alptraum says and shrugs. "I liked you well, all furred and fun. Though … bald and smooth is fun too." He grins and waggles his ears. "So … want me to help you revert back, then?" he asks and holds out his right hand. The shiny black 'skin' between the bones 'bubbles' and rolls in some sort of macabre anticipation of shaping.

Snow doesn't notice the excited state of the shadow-arm, as she just glances back over her shoulder at Alptraum's face. "This… feels really weird. I'd feel better if you could change me back all at once."

Alptraum nods and scoots closer so that he can hug her from behind. Fairly quickly the shadow is oozing out from his arm to engulf the shifting human in its gooey embrace. "You still look pretty, even all molted and weird as it is," he whispers to her as her lower half has quickly been immobilized and the shadow rapidly moves upward towards her head.

It isn't as intimate as kenning, but it's nearly there. Also, Alptraum can confirm – now that he's fully charged – that it takes a lot less energy and time to change someone back to their natural state. As relatively quick as the process is, though, it's still being done on an empty stomach and by the time it's completed the hot water that filled the washbasin has gone cold.

Alptraum tries one small experiment as he reverts Show to her human form. He tries to see if he can leave her with slit-iris; something to remind her of her time as a sphynx, though it too will be gone in a day. He also has an extreme urge to bite the woman right now, but won't do that without permission. As good as she smells and as hungry as he is, he still has some manners.

Once the shadow retracts, Snow twitches and comes back to consciousness. The girl takes a moment to stretch her arms up over her head and shake out her hair… then tries to scratch at her shoulders. He pink eyes do retain the slit iris though! "How long did that take?" she asks, her voice sounding normal again with no trace of a purr.

Alptraum thinks about it. "About half an hour?" he offers, not quite sure himself. He also grins a little sheepishly as he adds, "And I hope you won't be mad … but I left you with one small sphynxism. It'll likely fade in a day, but … I thought they were pretty… "

Alptraum also absently rolls his right hand and focuses on it for a second, trying to see how the shadow is feeling and making him feel.

It's a bit quiet after the exertion, but still a little frisky, from the wiggling; less motion, more throbbing.

"What is it?" Snow asks, standing and turning, stretching and twisting to try and spot it herself.

Almost as an afterthought, the girl sniffs herself to see if she smells like a cat…

"You still want to change stuff, don't you?" Alptraum ponders as he looks at his hand. He finally notices Snow's antics, though and says, "Look in the mirror."

The girl leans on the basin to get within a few inches of the mirror. "No whiskers, or… oh, my eyes!" she realizes. "How'd you do that? I thought you couldn't do parts?"

"I didn't change them back," Alptraum explains, "So it wasn't so much me doing a part as skipping one when I helped you back to yourself. I think the eyes look good. So does the way you bend over when you're looking that close in the mirror… "

"You really flatter me too… " Snow starts to say, only to be interrupted by a growl from Alptraum's stomach… followed by one from her own. "Are you hungry too?" she asks instead.

"Extremely. I was going to ask if you would let me bite you … but I suppose you want to go to the kitchen instead?" Alptraum asks as he pushes himself back to his feet and stretches upward.

"I can wait to eat," Snow says, turning to sit on the sink. "And I'm still kind of tingly from the transformation. Where do you want to bite?"

"You always offer me a choice. Do you have any preferences?" Alptraum asks as he grins and even waggles his brow. "Otherwise … I know exactly where I'm going to bite… "

"I haven't decided on a preference yet," Snow claims, turning up her chin and swinging her legs. "But this is probably not the best place to sit for a long period, so you're free to scoop me up too if you like."

And scoop up Alptraum does. The Eeee doesn't take her to the bed, though, instead he pushes her back up against the wall, using it to brace her as he settles her legs around his waist for extra support. His head moves and dips in, biting the girl on the left side of her chest. There's the usual sharp pain, followed by a dull throb, then a pleasant sensation as Alptraum drinks. From an outside perspective it, well, looks like he's nursing.

Snow helpfully rubs the back of Alptraum's neck with her free hand. And even though the bat can't actually reply, she asks, "Is the kitchen very crowded? I don't do well in large groups; I get nervous and that makes my aura twitchy. Maybe this is my favorite bite after all… mmmm. Too bad I'm hungry and you have your mate here, or… "

Alptraum is very slow as he drinks from this particular spot. Minutes pass before his jaws release the girl and his head pulls back. As he continues to brace her there, he places his right hand over the now oozing puncture wounds to try and repair them before she is let down. "The kitchen itself isn't often crowded. Nor is the servants dining room. I've eaten in both," he finally explains. "And it's also probably good we don't … because I have to go see the County's Shadow Dragon and I'm not sure what she will want… "

"Aren't Shadow Dragons… well… shapeless?" Snow asks, as her punctures close under Alptraum's ministrations. "Or are they all squirmy like your hand gets now?"

"Squirmy and shapeless," Alptraum answers as he gently lowers Snow to the floor. "I can introduce you to her sometime if you like. She could make changes permanent… " He looks back to his hand now to see if it is being … frisky again.

"I don't know," Snow says. "Dragons have really strong auras, and that… I don't know how I'd react. Shadow Dragons are technically monsters we're trained to deal with, but… "

"No pressure to meet her," Alptraum claims, "She's mostly my issue to deal with since she is linked to the woman I love." He ponders something, then asks, "Do you now consider me one of the monsters you're trained to deal with?"

"Alptraum, you're a possessed vampire," Snow says, waving a hand and pushing some feathers out of the way with her foot. "Hardly a monster. I mean, you aren't even undead."

"I was almost undead once, but I got better!" Alptraum jokes and grins fangily. "Want me to get your robe so you can go to the kitchen to eat? I can show you the way since it's down and that's roughly the direction I need to go anyway."

"Okay," Snow says, looking a little wobbly on her feet. "I might need some help walking down there. After you feed, we don't usually stay upright."

"It is also good that you don't find me too monstrous, otherwise something might have been a problem," Alptraum remarks. "The Countess was going to request that you're assigned to this County, as she wants someone to look after me when I travel." He heads back into the main bedroom to fetch the woman's cloak.

"Well… I suppose I can protect you from monsters," Snow admits with a grin.

"And provide food, and keep me company, and … " Alptraum adds, grins, waggles his ears, then drapes Snow's cloak over her shoulders. "And basically she wants me to have someone with me I trust and can rely on. She doesn't want me facing things, well, alone. She worries."

"After following you around, I agree with her," Snow notes. "But at least you'll have a full Yodhinala to protect you in Babel, right?" she asks as she closes up the cloak and puts on her slippers.

"You think Mave will protect me? She only looks after herself," Alptraum notes and shrugs. As he heads towards the door now, he looks back and asks, "And what do you mean? You don't think I can survive on my own?"

"Well, I have helped you out a little, haven't I?" Snow asks as she gets up and follows, only staggering a little.

"Yes, you have helped," Alptraum agrees. Once she reaches the door, Alptraum opens it and then finally puts his arm around her to support her some as they exit. Since his arms are a bit full, the Eeee does something different. He extrudes a shadow-tendril to take grip on the door handle and pull it closed as they walk.

There's a moment where the tendril sticks, and stretches a bit before finally coming free and coiling back into the hand. Snow brings up the hood of her cloak, even though they're indoors.

"And truthfully, I worry I've corrupted you. You were a bit more, well, pure until you met me," Alptraum admits quietly. "And then I took your innocence and exposed you to all forms of strange magic, down to flesh shaping of yourself and of me."

"I make my livelihood by luring giant worms into trying to mate with me," Snow points out, "in graveyards. You aren't the first out-of-the-ordinary being I've had to work with, Alptraum."

"No, but I am arguably the most dangerous," Alptraum counters as the pair descend the tower.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me you were dangerous?" Snow says in a mock gasp, as she focuses on negotiating the stairs. "And how far down do we have to go? Having flown in, I now realize walking out is going to be exhausting."

"I can always change you again before we leave," Alptraum teases. He also then decides to just pick Snow up and carry her on his back between his wings. "It's several floors down and about a five minute walk. The castle is large."

Squeaking, Snow claims, "This is undignified!" as she bounces against the Eeee's back.

"But less tiring!" Alptraum quips as he heads down. "Don't worry, we'll be there before you know it!"

"And oh, don't worry about it, but I am certain the Countess will call you in for an interview soon. She's only moderately terrifying to allies," Alptraum teases…

Before they know it, they reach the upstairs kitchen. It's hot from the ovens, and smells like bread and blood. "Does she know we've been intimate?" the Shrine Maiden whispers to Alptraum in a worried tone.

"Probably," Alptraum admits, "I doubt it will come up." Once the smell hits, Alptraum stops and lets Snow down from his back. "And here you go, the nefarious kitchen, were the traitors are bled to feed the vampires… " he claims. "I'm sure all the screaming is over by now… "

"I smell pork," Snow notes, and pokes Alptraum in the ribs with a finger. "I hope they have bacon. I really liked that when Rina made breakfast."

"You liked me as a hog, too. You have a hog fetish," Alptraum teases and rubs his side. "And I guess I can't scare you. You know when I'm not being serious. Drat." He then waves for her to folow him into the kitchen.

Only a few staffers are finishing up supper, and the kitchen looks like it's setting up for the night shift with new cooks arriving as other leave. Someone finally notices Alptraum and Snow and asks, "Oh, what would you like? We have stew that can be reheated in a minute… "

"I'm fine, I just ate, but I think she would like some bacon," Alptraum explains and steps aside to motion to Snow. "She's a guest, so please take care of whatever she asks for within reason? I have another meeting I must go to soon, but I wanted to be sure she found food."

"Eggs are good too. This is my breakfast," Snow says. The night-shift chef – a Khatta – shrugs and says, "Come this way and I'll get you fixed up."

"Thank you. Will you be all right while I go see to the … creature?" Alptraum asks as he pats Show on the back.

"I'll come back and check on you after I see her. I don't think I will be gone too long. She'll want to know about the heart, I'm sure, and be fed some. Might interrogate me on other matters. Might not. It's hard to predict with her," Alptraum says. "The staff will take good care of you. You're an important guest. Unlike me, who is just a boy toy… " He grins and winks.

"Take care," Snow says, before being led to a small table. Now Alptraum just has to follow the stairs all the way down to the sub-sub-sub basement… or find a window to jump out of instead.

Alptraum decides to walk down. There is always a sense of dread when he descends towards Melusine's lair. Her mood is hard to predict and she has more than once done horrible things to him, like, oh, kill him. So, the walk will help him build up his nerves. "I hope she is in a reasonable mood tonight… " he thinks.

The walk gives plenty of time to worry. Eventually Alptraum reaches the heavy doors of the Shadow Dragon's lair, and the armed guards pull them open for him to reveal the darkness beyond, lit by just a ring of light in the floor.

Alptraum actually salutes the guards, then steps through. The boom of them closing behind him makes his stomach sink more than normal. Alptraum swallows down the knot in his throat as he steps into the lair, though he remains outside of the ring of light. "Mistress Melusine?" the Eeee calls out, "I have returned and I have good news… "

Something moves in the darkness, and flows over the ring of light to momentarily plunge the cavern into complete darkness. "Alptraum," Melusine says in her odd voice. "Were you successful?"

"The heart was repaired successfully, yes," Alptraum answers as his ears flick about, trying to make out the sound enough to place where all of her might be. "Once final preparations have been made and you are strong enough, we will be able to attempt the transplant."

It becomes clear that Melusine is rearing up right in front of Alptraum, forming her serpentine 'head' just a foot or so away from his own nose. "Thank you," the shadow-beast says. "I have been… hungry… waiting. Your hand has changed."

"I, er, well. You're welcome, Melusine. I am glad to have been able to complete the first part of helping you," Alptraum answers, too nervous to move, even with the Shadow-Dragon's head so close to his own. "And yes, it has changed. I think I am … becoming more Shadow. Sensation has returned and I have learned how to shape the flesh of others to a degree. I have also discovered how … ah … pleasurable it is." Alptraum then lifts his hand up and holds it out, offering, "You may examine it, or all of me, if you wish."

Something pushes the Eeee from behind, so that his hand is thrust into the blobby head of Melusine with a bright flash of light. It feels… well, like a vampire suckling on him might be, if a vampire could swallow up his entire hand. It's warm, tingly, and very very sensual. "Flesh holds many pleasures to be extracted," Mel says. Alptraum can feel the tendrils of his hand spreading out into her, and feeding her the energy he's collected.

Alptraum makes a small squeak when he's thrust forward, only to find it quickly replaced by a burbling hiss of enjoyment as he feels the union of shadow flesh form between his hand and her body. As much as he tries to fight it back, a shiver ripples through the bat as it all just feels so good. "As I'm learning," Alptraum agrees in an almost whisper. "The urge to shape and be shaped has been growing, though its intensity comes and goes with how much I have fed and done. I learned that with help I can shape myself as well." The Eeee then can't help himself and finds himself stepping forward a bit more until his chest and cheek and lightly pressed up against Melusine's 'head' and his arm is now within her all the way to his shoulder.

More of Mel's bulk wraps around Alptraum, subtly kenning him. "You have been busy," she says. "You cannot fully transform yourself yet though, but I see you have been transformed. And you enjoyed it?"

That disturbing, sinking, feeling in the pit of his stomach grows and yet with the embrace of Melusine, he finds it hard to recognize how much danger he may be in. The sensations of her touch is enough to push back the fear for now. "Yes, I did," Alptraum answers softly. "I saw the world in a new way, I felt new things, I thought differently. It was short but enjoyable during the time," he admits.

"It must be intensely pleasurable to be devoured by shadow then, wouldn't you think?" the dragon suggests, buoying Alptraum up like a living couch. "I am too weak to transform you myself, but once I am whole again, and offer you such as a reward."

Something in Alptraum's mind seems to click. He finds himself at least asking, worriedly, "Devouring me, or transforming me?"

"Your choice," Melusine purrs. "Do you love me?"

"I … do not know. I fear you, certainly," Alptraum admits in a small voice. "Why do you ask me such… ?"

"Because it tells me that I have work yet to do to win you over," Melusine answers with disturbing honesty.

"What do you want of me?" Alptraum asks, finding it very hard to move while being cradled by the shadowy mass beneath him. "What more could I possibly give you?"

"Your devotion," Melusine claims. "To prefer me over that other dragon."

"It sounds like … like you want me to be a devoted pet," Alptraum admits as he suddenly thinks of Melusine's Rhugrat.

"Pets bleat when you pet them," Melusine claims, as the energy-suckling begins to lessen. "You do not bleat. Rosalind is a good partner, but she does not have to be my only one."

"You are already bound to her and I am bound to another shadow dragon, though I fear its ultimate goal may be to slowly reshape me into a creature of shadow, perhaps completely," Alptraum admits, "Your link to her, though, also means as long as you are bonded to her you will have access to me. I wish you happy as part of keeping her happy." He feels an odd twinge when the suckling lessens and before he realizes it, he asks, "Once you're done feeding, would you, ah, keep the link for a while? If there is any energy left I can show you how much I can transform my limb without help."

"I can," Melusine says, withdrawing her mass away from the arm except for a few sticky-looking tendrils.

Alptraum checks to see how much energy is left and if it will be enough to shift few a few arm forms to demonstrate for the Shadow Dragon.

Mel didn't suck him completely dry, but there's probably only enough for two or three changes, unless he can get Melusine to help.

Alptraum's brow furrows a bit and the first shift begins, the one to a feline hand. The shadow ripples and twists as does most of the soft flesh as it reforms and the fur alters, to even the claws growing. Melusine's own tendrils, though, stay in place somehow and even once the hand has reshaped, her tendrils are going through the skin at the points where it attached, linked to the shadow deep within.

"You are learning quickly," Melusine says. "Perhaps being solid yourself gives you an advantage of some sort."

A second shift follows and soon Alptraum wears the hand of a human, pale skinned and smooth. That only tends to make it look more disturbing that there are black tendrils of 'ooze' going through the skin to the shadow beneath. "Perhaps, or perhaps I simply learned more than I thought from you when you kenned me and taught me how to embrace and encourage the shadow," Alptraum offers. His head tilts and he then has to ask, "If you had the power and choice, what would you transform me into?"

"You have a human model," Mel notes. "I would be interested in obtaining one." She then seems to think for moment, bobbing Alptraum up and down a bit. "I cannot change you into a shadow like myself. There are rules that must be followed regarding the relatedness of forms. I could turn you into any number of warriors, though, or change singular aspects. Would you prefer I indulge my artistic side?"

"I … am curious what you consider artistic," Alptraum admits though he knows he really shouldn't do that. "I think I have enough power for one more shift," he says, "Will you teach me a form for my hand tonight? A little bit of your artistic ability, but using what remains in my charge? I do not wish you to drain or exert yourself. The transplant will be soon, after all. Bit, I am curious to see what you can do when you are … creative."

"I might be able to transfer something to your shadow," Melusine says, and more tendrils begin to attach the limb to the blob-head. Alptraum's own shadow begins to bubble and squirm as if boiling, growing into thick stalks. Mel withdraws her tendrils to leave Alptraum's arm covered in a strange, slimy coating. Waving stalks sprout all over, tipped with very colorful eyes. Even his finger-tips end in eyes, while the snail-like flesh cycles through various colors, visible because the entire mass is glowing.

Alptraum really thinks he should be horrified, but he's also somehow fascinated by the flesh. He rolls his 'wrist' and flexes his fingers to see how much they move and if there are still bones within or not. At one point he even closes his eyes to see if he, well, can see through the eye stalks. "What is this?" he asks as he starts feeling along the strange flesh with his left hand.

The bones are still there, but flexing things causes feathery antennae to pop out all over, making the arm look like a glowing electric fern. The impression of snail-flesh is not disproved by the touch of his left hand – it's like touching a giant slug. There's no seeing or sensing through the eyes or antennae though. They just exist and react without transferring any sensation beyond touch.

"You are very tempting, Melusine. You could teach me much about discovering the pleasures of forms," Alptraum finds himself admitting as he still reclines on the shadowy mass beneath him. Part of his brain is screaming at him to run and yet the other part is urging him to stay with Melusine, to give into her wishes. 'Surely it can't be so bad to be devoted to her and reshaped at her whim?' comes a disturbing thought he has to push back into the recesses of his mind. He does this by concentrating and trying to see if he learned the pattern for the new shape when she transferred it to the shadow.

The transfer was not like kenning, so it's hard to tell if he could reproduce it – it is, in fact, more like when Kaira takes over the shadow to reshape it, but not quite. Were Kaira is exerting control the the dragon's blood element, Mel is doing so through the shadow element.

"Do you like me, Melusine?" Alptraum asks, "Do you find me desirable?"

"I would like to devour and mate with you, in time," Melusine says, as she floats the bat on her body. "Am I not treating you nicely enough?"

"But … would not devouring kill me?" Alptraum asks. "And you have been treating me very well. I am just curious of what you think of me."

"Devouring need not be fatal," Mel notes. "You devour others without killing them, and it is enjoyable, is it not? You are interesting; a mortal who straddles two worlds, out of choice. And you have embraced me and mine, have you not?"

"I find myself embracing it more and more," Alptraum admits as he looks to the disturbing mass of an arm he bears. "The shedding of the shell terrified me, but when I realized the shadow was spreading and had gone to my elbow … I found myself happy in a way. Excited for the possibilities. Part of me wants to not use the power, and other wants to explore every possibility it offers."

"You are held back by Kaira," Melusine coos. "She puts strange notions of responsibility in your head, and does not reward you adequately for your cooperation."

"And how would you reward me?" Alptraum practically purrs back at Melusine. "If you were to take the place as my mentor dragon?"

"New forms, new explorations of the flesh," Melusine offers. "How to relish your power, and use it to dominate others."

"Your often is very tempting. I will give it consideration," Alptraum promises. "For now, though focus must be on making sure Rosalind and I can adequately feed you before the transplant. I want you to be complete again, it helps you, Draco County, and Rosalind."

"You can merge together with me tonight to increase the spirit flow once more," Melusine notes.

"Merge together? Do I not need Rosalind for that, of can you draw flow just by being merged with me?" Alptraum asks.

"Both of you, yes," Melusine notes. "If it were just the two of us, it would only be for pleasure."

"Pleasure with you is not something I would readily turn down," Alptraum claims. "I will check with Rosalind if we should try to do a transfer tonight or ina day or so. Many things are going on and she may not have the energy for the link."

"You must make sure she does not tire or stress herself," Melusine notes, sounding a bit more … stern? "You are to protect her and see to her comfort, above everything else. And also make her happy." The last seems added as an afterthought.

"Of course. She is my life," Alptraum asserts rather strongly.

"See that she is well rested, and prepared, before bringing her here," Melusine says, calming down a bit.

"I will. I should be going," Alptraum says sounding reluctant to give up his spot and link with Shadow Dragon. "Before I go, though, are you … pleased with the progress and amount of embrace my shadow has taken? Am I right in that I have slowly become more shadow flesh?" The last question comes as he lifts his be-slugged arm. He tries to 'relax' the form to see if his hand reverts to 'normal'.

The form seems to melt back – squirmingly – to the default state, just as Melusine sort of slides Alptraum back to the floor. "Thank you for visiting me, Alptraum. I see the progress as progress – there is no deadline or hurry."

"Do you have any hope for the final outcome? What would you desire the end result to be?" Alptraum asks as he takes a step forward again so that he's close to Melusine's 'head'.

"My desires are not your destiny," Melusine notes, the head looming before Alptraum. Sparkles of light can be seen in it now, when the shadow's 'heart' comes near the surface. "My desires are my own. Your destiny is your own. It is of no benefit to seek their entwinement – that will happen or it will not, on its own."

"It is my curiosity, nothing more," Alptraum admits and shrugs. The Eeee then leans forward until his nose and lips lightly touch Melusine's head. There he lightly kisses her and then steps back. "It was good seeing you, Melusine. I had missed you during the trip," he says. "We will see each other again soon, and it will then be in preparation for making you whole."

"Rest up as well, Alptraum," Melusine says. "It will require great effort on your part."

"I will," Alptraum says as he heads towards the exit to the lair. He stops midway and looks back over his shoulder. "Ah, yes, I have something I needed to tell you. Kaira requested that I did, rather. She wished you to know that she aided in the repairing of the heart. In fact, her draconic nature assisted in making sure it was completely repaired."

There is a subsonic rumble from the shadow dragon. Anger? Indigestion? The moods of a blob are hard to read. "I'll have to thank her," Mel finally replies, a bit coldly.

"She held it in her womb as part of the ritual. It was … disturbing," Alptraum adds, "And I will pass on your thanks."

Can a blob look nauseous? It's too dark to tell. "She is an odd one."

"We are all odd in our own ways," Alptraum offers and finally heads to the exit. As he approaches the doors, he decides he needs to contact Kaira. Now that he's out of Melusine's 'range', the full force of how he reacted to her hits him … and scares him.

After the door closes behind him, the guards seem to have a throat-clearing fit.

"Do you have something to say?" Alptraum asks the guards and arches his brow a bit.

"Ah, no… sir… it's just… well… " the guard seems to have trouble coming out with whatever it is, and then just points down.

Alptraum looks down.

At some point during the visit, it appears that Melusine somehow stripped off all of Alptraum's clothes, save for the belt holding the spirit dagger.

Alptraum blinks a few times. He considers going back into the chamber to recover them … but finds he's just too scared to actually do so. So the bat rubs his forehead and sighs. "I want you both to remember something right now. It's better me, than you. Would you want to tend to her needs?" he says rather sharply, then marches off naked and annoyed. Out comes the spirit dagger and it's jammed rather angrily into the sheath-slow of his arm. "Kaira, we have to talk. Now," he thinks. While he waits for a reply, he tries to extend his shadow cloak to provide him some modesty. Sure it'll be all black, smooth, shiny and everything will be defined … but it is better than being completely naked. Plus maybe it'll make Kaira laugh enough that she won't try to kill him when he tells her what just happened…